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Minor MLB Transactions: 2/7/19

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Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • The Rays re-signed outfielder Jason Coats to a minor league pact and invited him to MLB Spring Training, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Coats, who’ll turn 29 later this month, spent the 2018 season with Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate, where he hit .247/.293/.448 with 15 home runs. Coats has a bit of big league time under his belt, having tallied 28 games with the White Sox in 2016. While he struggled to get on base last season, though, he has a stronger track record in Triple-A overall, where he’s a .277/.327/.462 hitter in nearly 1300 plate appearances.
  • The Dodgers have signed righty J.D. Martin to a minor league pact, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. A first-rounder way back in 2001, Martin never established himself in the Majors but has been working to reinvent himself as a knuckleballer over the past three seasons. Martin spent last year with the Rays’ Double-A affiliate, where he posted a 4.49 ERA with 5.1 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9 in 124 1/3 innings of work. Those numbers aren’t exactly encouraging, though the knuckleball is still fairly new to Martin. As Rosenthal notes, he’ll work with Dodgers adviser Charlie Hough on further refining his ability to utilize the increasingly rare pitch.
  • The Dodgers have also signed veteran Cody Asche to a minor league deal, tweets J.P Hoornstra of Southern California News Group. Asche, 28, spent the entire 2018 season in AAA, hitting .220/.304/.399 across 368 plate appearances. He last appeared in the majors with the Chicago White Sox in 2017, where he played 19 games mostly as a DH. Hoornstra notes that Asche will not receive an invite to spring training with Los Angeles.
  • The Mets have signed left-handed pitcher Sean Burnett to a minor league contract, tweets the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff. The deal, Davidoff notes, does not include an invite to MLB spring training. Burnett spent the 2018 season pitching primarily with the Marlins’ AAA affiliate, where he posted a 5.49 ERA, although he flashed more promising peripherals. He struck out 10.5 batters per nine innings while walking just 2.3, good for a 4.6 K/BB ratio. Burnett, 36, has not pitched in the majors since 2016. For his career, he has pitched to a 3.52 ERA in 378 1/3 major-league innings.

Marlins Release Severino Gonzalez, Sean Burnett

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The Marlins have released right-hander Severino Gonzalez and veteran left-hander Sean Burnett from their Triple-A affiliate in New Orleans, as first tweeted by the club’s Triple-A broadcaster, Tim Grubbs.

Gonzalez, 25, spent a day on the Marlins’ active roster in early April after having his contract selected from New Orleans, but his addition was purely a depth move, it seems. Gonzalez didn’t get into the game in his lone day on the roster, and he was designated for assignment the next day. He ultimately accepted an outright assignment back to New Orleans, where he went on to struggle for much of the season.

In 33 2/3 innings out of the bullpen this season, Gonzalez has stumbled with a 5.61 ERA and similarly discouraging peripheral metrics. Never one to miss many bats, Gonzalez has averaged 6.1 K/9 so far in 2018, and his typical otherworldly control has taken a step back. While his 2.4 BB/9 mark is still strong, it’s also a bit of a step back from the career 1.8 mark he’d posted at the Triple-A level prior to 2018. The real problem for Gonzalez, however, was the long ball; he’d previously been stingy in that regard but has been hammered for seven homers in his 33 2/3 frames. The former Phillies prospect does have strong K/BB numbers in 66 Major League innings (all with Philadelphia), but he’s nonetheless logged a 6.68 ERA as a big leaguer.

As for Burnett, the 35-year-old veteran has appeared in parts of nine Major League seasons and had a nice peak from 2009-12 as an excellent setup man for the Pirates and Nationals before undergoing Tommy John surgery after signing a two-year deal with the Angels. Burnett has continued to grind since injuries ruined his two-year stint with the Halos, and he briefly resurfaced in the Majors with the 2016 Nats.

He didn’t pitch in the Majors or minors in 2017, and while his 5.49 ERA in 19 2/3 innings this season looks ugly, there’s still some reason to believe he could have something left in the tank. Burnett notched an outstanding 23-to-5 K/BB ratio in those 19 2/3 innings, allowing just two homers along the way and registering a 48.4 percent ground-ball rate. And while he allowed far too many hits in New Orleans (30, to be exact), he was also plagued by a sky-high .452 average on balls in play. Burnett punched out nine of the 25 lefties he faced (36 percent) without allowing a walk, so perhaps a club could view him as a potential situational lefty at the very least.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/17/18

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We’ll keep track of the day’s minor moves here…

  • The Marlins’ media info account tweeted that the team has acquired third baseman Eric Jagielo from the Reds in exchange for cash considerations. Jagielo was selected by the Yankees in the first round of the 2013 draft. After an excellent 2015 season with the club’s Double-A affiliate, Jagielo was a key piece in the trade that sent Aroldis Chapman to the New York Yankees. Since then, however, his power has mysteriously disappeared, and he’s struggled to be productive in the upper levels of the Reds’ farm system. After a midseason promotion to Triple-A last year, Jagielo struggled to a .161/.283/.195 slash line across 139 plate appearances.

Earlier…

  • The Marlins have added left-hander Sean Burnett on a minor-league pact, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports. He’ll start off in extended spring training. Now 35, Burnett has 378 1/3 career innings under his belt, almost entirely as a reliever. Though he appeared in the majors as recently as 2016 (with the Nationals), the southpaw hasn’t pitched more than ten innings in a season since a very successful 2012 campaign. In that season, he managed an impressive 2.38 ERA across 70 appearances out of the bullpen for the Nats, striking out 9.05 batters per nine while walking just 1.91.

Phillies Release Sean Burnett

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The Phillies have released veteran left-hander Sean Burnett, according to a team announcement. The reliever, who had an opt-out in his minor league contract for Sunday, requested his release.

At his best, Burnett was a high-end bullpen option from 2009-12, when he combined for a 2.86 ERA and a 55.4 percent ground-ball rate with the Pirates and Nationals. Arm issues have derailed Burnett’s career since, however, as the two-time Tommy John surgery recipient didn’t throw more than 9 2/3 innings in any of the previous four major league seasons. After missing all of 2015, he returned to the bigs with the Nationals last year and allowed two earned runs on three hits in 5 2/3 frames. Burnett spent most of the season at the Triple-A level as a member of four different organizations – the Nats, Braves, Dodgers and Twins.

While spring training stats don’t carry any significance, the 34-year-old Burnett did fare decently in camp with the Phillies. In nine innings, he yielded two earned runs on six hits and two walks, though he didn’t record any strikeouts. That showing clearly wasn’t enough for the Phillies to hand Burnett a roster spot, and he’ll attempt to catch on with a different organization as a result.

Phillies Notes: Roster, Herrera, Klentak, Burnett

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Some notes from The City Of Brotherly Love…

  • With a full 40-man roster, the Phillies have several tough choices to make before Opening Day, CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury writes.  Chris Coghlan, Daniel Nava and Brock Stassi are in camp on minor league deals and, if any make the team, someone else would have to be displaced.  The Phils have two bench spots open, in Salisbury’s estimation, plus another bench spot for the backup catcher (either Andrew Knapp or Ryan Hanigan, the latter of whom isn’t on the 40-man).
  • The Phillies’ five-year, $30.5MM extension with Odubel Herrera is already looking like a shrewd move for the team compared to other extensions for center fielders, David Murphy of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines.  The Braves signed Ender Inciarte to a similar extension (five years and $30.525MM, with a sixth year option) while the Rays locked Kevin Kiermaier up for six years and an option for $53.5MM.  All three are strong-to-great defenders but Herrera is the best hitter of the trio, Murphy notes, plus a year younger.  The extension also allows the Phillies future flexibility under the luxury tax, making it especially valuable for a big-market club that aims to spending freely once it emerges from its rebuilding phase.
  • General manager Matt Klentak sat down with MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand for an interview detailing how Klentak got his start in baseball, his path to becoming Philadelphia’s GM, some of the Phillies’ offseason moves and more.
  • Sean Burnett took a rather extreme measure to combat his elbow pain in 2013, the southpaw told PhillyVoice.com’s Ryan Lawrence last week.  Burnett was dealing with a damaged ligament that was not quite damaged enough to require Tommy John surgery (Burnett had already undergone a TJ operation in 2004), so he decided to force the issue.  “I would go back to my [hotel] room, set up some pillows on the headboard and would chuck balls at it hoping it would pop just so I could get it fixed,” Burnett said.  “The pain I was in was excruciating.  I knew it wasn’t going to get any better.  If you throw a ball long enough you know what it’s going to take and how your body feels.”  Burnett’s elbow finally gave out during a game against the Mariners in May 2014 and he underwent the surgery, which kept him out of action until this past September when he returned to the big leagues in the Nationals bullpen.  After signing a minor league deal with the Phillies this winter, Burnett is competing to be the second lefty in Philadelphia’s bullpen.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/9/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Astros added infielder Reid Brignac on a minor-league deal, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports on Twitter. His contract includes a spring invite. Brignac, 30, has bounced around quite a bit since his days as a frequent contributor to the Rays earlier in his career, appearing most recently with the Braves. The former top prospect has appeared in each of the last nine major league seasons, but hasn’t cracked 100 plate appearances in a single year since 2011. All told, Brignac owns a .219/.264/.309 batting line over 951 trips to the plate in the majors.

Earlier Moves

  • Southpaw Sean Burnett will head to camp with the Phillies, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). If he can crack the roster, Burnett will receive a $1.25MM salary if and when he pitches in the majors, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter links). The deal also includes $1.75MM in available incentives along with a March 26 opt-out date, per Nicholson-Smith. Burnett, 34, returned to the majors in 2016 with the Nationals after missing time due to injury. He posted a 3.18 ERA with three strikeouts and a walk over 5 2/3 innings across ten appearances in his return to D.C., and figures to have a shot at earning a lefty specialist role in Philadelphia.
  • The Braves have a minor-league deal in place to bring back infielder Emilio Bonifacio, Cotillo tweets. Now 31, Bonifacio has played in the majors in ten consecutive seasons. But his opportunities have dwindled of late, and he spent most of 2016 at Triple-A. In his 471 plate appearances at Gwinnett, Bonifacio slashed a solid .298/.356/.369. He could conceivably challenge for a utility role next spring.
  • Outfielder Junior Lake will join the Red Sox on a minor-league pact, per Cotillo (via Twitter). The 26-year-old, a right-handed hitter, cracked the majors briefly this past season with the Blue Jays and has appeared in each of the past four MLB campaigns. But Lake has seen only 51 games of action since playing an active reserve role for the Cubs in 2013-14. He hit .231/.314/.352 over 318 plate appearances last year at Triple-A.
  • Righty Logan Bawcom is headed to the Padres on a minor-league deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Bawcom has yet to crack the big leagues, but showed well in the upper minors last year in the Dodgers organization. Spending most of his time at Triple-A, the 28-year-old posted 98 innings of 1.93 ERA ball over a dozen starts and 24 relief appearances, with 7.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.
  • The Mariners outrighted lefty Dean Kiekhefer, the club announced. He had recently been designated for assignment. A 22-inning MLB debut in 2016 didn’t go very well, as Kiekhefer pitched to a 5.32 ERA for the Cardinals, but he has posted sub-3.00 earned run averages in each of the past three seasons in the upper minors.
  • Catcher Johnny Monell is heading to Korea, but it’s the KT Wiz and not the NC Dinos who’ll sign him. Cotillo had reported a connection to the Changwon-based Dinos yesterday, but says that the destination changed after that arrangement fell through. (Twitter link.)

Nats Select Contracts Of Latos, Burnett; Den Dekker Designated For Assignment

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The Nationals announced that they’ve designated outfielder Matt den Dekker for assignment as part of a series of roster moves. Den Dekker’s 40-man spot will go to left-handed reliever Sean Burnett, and the team has also selected the contract of right-hander Mat Latos, with righty Joe Ross moving to the 60-day DL to clear room. Washington has also recalled Pedro Severino, Brian Goodwin, Matt Grace, Rafael Martin and Trevor Gott from Triple-A Syracuse.

Latos, 28, opened the season with the White Sox and pitched brilliantly in April before his production cratered in the May and June. After posting a 0.74 ERA through four starts (which came in spite of a 13-to-7 K/BB ratio in 24 1/3 innings and was propped up by a .167 BABIP), Latos went on to yield 29 earned runs over his next 36 innings before being released by the South Siders. He hasn’t pitched in the Majors since, though he’s thrown well in the Nationals’ minor league system, tallying a 1.06 ERA in 17 innings with Triple-A Syracuse. However, he’s still not missing bats even at Triple-A, punching out just 10 hitters against seven walks in those 17 innings. Latos figures to head to the bullpen initially, though he could get some spot starts in September with Stephen Strasburg and Ross currently on the DL.

Burnett, 34 in two weeks, will return to the Majors for the first time since 2014, though he only tossed two-third of an inning in that injury-shortened season. The veteran southpaw has thrown just 10 1/3 innings at the Major League level in total since he last donned a Nationals uniform back in 2012. Burnett’s career has been slowed by elbow injuries and Tommy John surgery, but he’s pitched well across four Triple-A stops this season (Dodgers, Braves, Twins, Nationals). In 47 1/3 innings at that level, Burnett has a 2.28 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9. Opposing lefties have batted just .213/.246/.279 against him in 65 chances this season, so he could be used in left-on-left matchups, which could prove vital to a team that has lacked quality left-handed relief.

Den Dekker, 29, had a solid season as a reserve outfielder for the Nats in 2015 when he batted .253/.315/.485 with five homers in 110 plate appearances, but he mustered just a .176/.282/.294 line in 19 games/39 plate appearances this season. Most of his 2016 campaign has been spent in Syracuse, where he’s hit .208/.290/.319. His overall numbers both in the Majors and minors are considerably better than his 2016 production (or lack thereof), and den Dekker is capable of playing all three outfield positions, so he could latch on elsewhere as a bench piece. If not, he should hold appeal to clubs on a minor league pact as a free agent this winter.

As a reminder, readers can head over to Roster Resource for a full list of transactions thus far since Sept. 1 roster expansion.

Nationals Acquire Sean Burnett From Twins

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12:15pm: The Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate announced the acquisition of Burnett from Minnesota in exchange for cash considerations.

11:51am: The Nationals have agreed to a deal to acquire left-hander Sean Burnett from the Twins, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). The veteran southpaw had been pitching for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate prior to the trade. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweets that it’s not clear what the return will be, but it doesn’t sound like the Nats gave up a player, which would indicate that some presumably nominal cash considerations are going back to the Twins.

Burnett, 34 next month, has split the season between the Triple-A affiliates of the Dodgers, Braves and Twins, working to a 1.91 ERA with 6.0 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 in 42 1/3 innings. Left-handers, in particular, have mustered a pitiful .164/.203/.236 batting line against Burnett in Triple-A this season.

Cotillo adds that Burnett is bound for Triple-A with the Nats as well, so he won’t have his contract selected to the big league roster right away. However, the Nationals currently have Oliver Perez as the lone southpaw in their bullpen, and he hasn’t been pitching well as of late, so it’s certainly quite plausible that Burnett could return to the Nationals’ big league roster, where he spent parts of four seasons from 2009-12. During that stretch, Burnett logged an outstanding 2.81 ERA in 201 2/3 innings of relief.

Central Notes: Stearns, Braun, Pirates, Burnett, Shaw

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Here are some news items from both the NL and AL Central…

  • In an interview with Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio link), Brewers GM David Stearns discussed that his team’s plan “at this stage [is to] acquire and develop the best young talent we possibly can,” and thus if teams come calling about Milwaukee’s young players, Stearns would want an “exceptionally high” return.  Stearns, however, didn’t exactly say that this makes a veteran player like Jonathan Lucroy or Ryan Braun more likely to dealt.  In fact, he noted that the possibility of trading Braun hasn’t been something that he’s had to seriously consider in his brief time as Milwaukee’s GM, and “there is no motivation for us to move…an elite-level player.”  That said, Stearns did say he’d already talked to both Braun and Lucroy about the trade rumors circling around both men and said he’d keep them appraised of any developments should they arise.  Stearns expects “active discussions” leading up to the trade deadline he said the Brewers “are in a situation where we need to be open-minded and we need to be open to any possibility.”
  • If the Cubs keep running away with the NL Central, ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required) feels the Pirates may focus on deadline acquisitions that can help them in 2017, as reaching the coin flip that is the Wild Card game isn’t worth giving up substantial talent for a short-term rental.
  • While the Pirates may have a need at catcher, both Clint Hurdle and Neal Huntington felt John Jaso’s past concussion history ruled him out of consideration for work behind the plate, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets.  Chris Stewart and the newly-acquired Erik Kratz look to handle the catching duties while Francisco Cervelli is on the disabled list.
  • It doesn’t appear that Sean Burnett will exercise his June 15 opt-out clause even he isn’t on the Twins’ Major League roster, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (via Twitter).  Burnett signed a minor league contract with Minnesota in May, his fourth minors deal with as many clubs since November following prior agreements with the Braves, Dodgers and Nationals.  The veteran southpaw has a 2.66 ERA over 20 1/3 relief innings at Triple-A this season as he looks to return to the bigs for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2014.
  • Bryan Shaw had another tough outing on Saturday, leading Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer to wonder if the Indians need to look for a more reliable setup man at the deadline.  Shaw’s season has been a roller-coaster, going from a terrible April to lights-out in May and thus far shaky in June, all adding up to a 5.18 ERA, 9.25 K/9 and 3.33 BB/9 over 24 1/3 innings.  Shaw’s main problem has been the long ball, as his whopping 2.2 HR/9 is more than triple his career average prior to this season.

Twins, Sean Burnett Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Twins and left-handed reliever Sean Burnett have agreed to a minor league pact, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link). The Munsey Sports client opted out of a contract with the Braves last week. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Burnett has a June 15 opt-out date and would earn a pro-rated $1MM base salary upon making the Majors, with an opportunity to earn up to $1MM more via incentives.

The 33-year-old Burnett has already been with the Dodgers and Braves this season, working to a combined 1.38 ERA with 10 strikeouts against seven walks in 13 innings of work. He’ll hope to make a return to the Majors for the first time since 2014 under his new deal, as surgery to repair an elbow impingement in 2013 and Tommy John surgery in 2014 have slowed his career. Prior to those setbacks, Burnett was a solid reliever for the Pirates and Nationals, working to a 2.85 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 234 innings from 2009-12. Lefties have batted .228/.293/.336 against him to this point in his big league career.

The Twins’ bullpen has been an unmitigated disaster this season, with a 4.75 ERA that ranks 28th in Major League Baseball and beats out only the Rangers (5.43) and Reds (6.47). Closer Glen Perkins went down early with a shoulder injury and recently had a setback, and other left-handed options have struggled, with the exception of Fernando Abad, who has quietly been excellent since signing a minor league deal this winter. Rookie Taylor Rogers is the only other lefty in the Twins’ bullpen, though the converted starter has struggled out of the gates in his brief taste of the Majors. Burnett will join a large stable of lefty relievers at the Triple-A level that are not on the 40-man roster; the Twins currently have southpaws Ryan O’Rourke, Logan Darnell, Dan Runzler and Buddy Boshers in the Rochester ’pen.

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