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Mariners Acquire Ben Gamel From Yankees

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The Mariners have acquired outfielder Ben Gamel from the Yankees, reports MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes (via Twitter). Shortly after Dierkes’ report, the teams announced the trade, adding that they’re sending right-handed pitchers Jio Orozco and Juan De Paula to the Yankees in return.

Ben Gamel

The 24-year-old Gamel is the younger brother of former Brewers top prospect Mat Gamel and made his Major League debut with the Yanks earlier this year in May. He’s logged just 10 plate appearances at the big league level (eight official at-bats), collecting one hit and one walk, but turned in a very solid season at the Triple-A level with the Yankees’ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre affiliate. In 533 plate appearances, Gamel batted .308/.365/.420 with six homers and 19 stolen bases while appearing at all three outfield positions.

Prior to this trade, Gamel rated 24th among Yankees prospects in the eyes of Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. That duo praised Gamel’s line-drive, all-fields approach at the plate and rated both his hit tool and speed as above-average, noting that while he lacks the plus speed of some center fielders he makes up for some of that with terrific instincts and quick reads off the bat. Gamel hit a career-high 10 home runs but is more of a threat to rack up doubles and triples — a skill set that would seem to fit well in Seattle’s spacious home park. Gamel figures to, at worst, profile as a fourth outfield candidate for the Mariners but could play his way into a bigger role if he’s able to carry over the success he’s enjoyed in 245 career Triple-A games (.304/.361/.447).

Of the two arms going back to the Yankees in this deal, Orozco appears to be the headliner. The 19-year-old rated 20th among Seattle farmhands, per Callis and Mayo, who praise the teenager’s “advanced feel for three pitches,” referencing the former 14th-rounder’s fastball, curveball and changeup. At 6’1″ and 208 pounds, Orozco is a bit undersized but has a more advanced feel for pitching than most prospects his age, per the MLB.com report. In 70 professional innings since being drafted last year (all of which have come with Seattle’s rookie-level affiliate in the Arizona League), Orozco has a 3.73 ERA with 11.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.

De Paula, 18, signed with the Mariners as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic and made his debut in the Dominican Summer League last year. He’s pitched alongside Orozco in the Arizona League in 2016, working to an impressive 3.07 ERA with 11.6 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in 41 innings (seven starts, four relief appearances).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/31/16

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Let’s catch up on some minor moves from yesterday:

  • The Orioles have outrighted both outfielder Julio Borbon and righty Logan Ondrusek to Double-A, per a team announcement. The 30-year-old Borbon has not seen extensive major league time since playing a big role on the 2010 Rangers, but he offers a left-handed-hitting center field option that could come in handy given the injury concerns surrounding Adam Jones. Ondrusek, 31, came over from Japan in a surprising recent move, but has struggled through 6 1/3 innings with Baltimore. Still, he’ll provide some depth down the stretch should a need arise.
  • Outfielder Alex Presley has accepted a Triple-A assignment with the Tigers after clearing waivers, John Wagner of the Toledo Blade reports on Twitter. Presley was designated for assignment recently, but the opportunity remains for him to play a role at the major league level late this year, especially with Cameron Maybin now dealing with another thumb problem.
  • The Tigers also announced that the club purchased the contract of infielder/outfielder JaCoby Jones. Acquired in the deal that sent Joakim Soria to the Pirates last summer, Jones has struggled for most of the year at Triple-A. Over his 324 plate appearances in his first trip to the highest level of the minors, Jones owns a .243/.309/.356 slash with 11 steals. He’ll provide some versatility in Detroit, though, as the 24-year-old has spent time at both third base and center field this year.
  • The Mariners have outrighted righty Jarrett Grube off of the 40-man roster, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reported on Twitter. He had already been pitching at Triple-A, and the team did not announce a corresponding move, but the transaction will open a fresh major league spot. That may ultimately be filled by fellow righty Evan Scribner, who is expected to be activated soon from the 60-day DL, per Bob Dutton of the Seattle times (via Twitter). As for Grube — who is in something of an unusual position as a 34-year-old who has just one MLB appearance under his belt — he’ll return to pitching at the highest level of the minors, where he owns a 4.13 ERA over 113 1/3 innings on the year.

Hisashi Iwakuma’s 2017 Option Likely To Vest

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Mariners right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma quietly surpassed 162 innings last week in a start against the Yankees, meaning he has now crossed the minimum innings threshold for his 2017 club option to vest at $14MM. However, MLBTR has learned that Iwakuma’s contract also stipulates that he must finish the season without incurring a specific injury, so while he’s now likely to see his option vest, the 2017 salary is not quite guaranteed just yet.

The specific nature of the injury that Iwakuma must avoid remains unknown, though concerns about his health submarined what would’ve been a three-year, $45MM contract with the Dodgers this past offseason. (He instead re-signed in Seattle on a one-year, $12MM deal with a pair of options for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.) The 35-year-old has avoided the disabled list entirely this season, however, so he’s certainly in the clear at the moment. In fact, not only has Iwakuma avoided the disabled list, he’s been far and away the healthiest member of the Seattle rotation. No other Mariners starter is within 40 innings of Iwakuma’s 163 frames, as each of Felix Hernandez, Taijuan Walker, James Paxton and Nate Karns has spent time on the disabled list. In his 163 innings, Iwakuma has pitched to a solid 3.81 ERA, though a number of his secondary statistics have trended in the wrong direction, including his strikeout rate (6.5 K/9), walk rate (2.0 BB/9), ground-ball rate (39.8 percent) and average fastball velocity (87.8 mph).

Iwakuma’s innings count for the remainder of the season is worth keeping an eye on as well, as his volume of innings in 2016 could impact his contract status for 2018. Assuming his 2017 option ends up vesting, Iwakuma’s 2018 option will vest at $15MM if he is able to throw a combined 324 innings between 2016-17. As it stands, he needs 161 innings next year to lock in that $15MM payday in 2018, though every inning he tosses in the final stages of the 2016 season will bring him a small step closer to that goal.

Iwakuma’s contract also contains plenty of incentives for the 2016 season, and he’s already begun reaching them. He took home $500K for reaching the 150-inning mark and is owed an additional $500K for every 10th inning he pitches after that mark, up to 190 innings. In other words, he’s already earned $1MM worth of incentives and could push that up to a total of $2.5MM if he throws another 27 innings, which looks quite likely. Those incentives will not be a part of his contract in 2017-18 if those options vest (though they would be in the event that his options fail to vest, and the club exercises the option anyway).

Mariners Sign Al Alburquerque To Minors Deal

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Right-hander Al Alburquerque has signed a minor league contract with the Mariners, as was first reported by Triple-A broadcaster Mike Curto last week (Twitter link). The longtime Tigers reliever spent the majority of the 2016 season with the Angels but was released on Aug. 13.

Alburquerque, 30, logged a 3.80 ERA with a 26-to-13 K/BB ratio and a 44.9 percent ground-ball rate in 23 2/3 innings with the Halos’ Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake this season. Alburquerque also tossed two innings for the Angels at the Major League level this year, allowing one earned run on two hits and two walks with a strikeout. He’s appeared in a pair of games for Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate and will hope to earn a promotion to the big league level when rosters expand on Thursday.

While Alburquerque hasn’t pitched much in the Majors this year, he was a regular contributor to the Detroit bullpen from 2011-15, continually demonstrating an ability to rack up strikeouts but also consistently showing below-average control. In 225 innings as a member of the Tigers, Alburquerque posted a very solid 3.20 ERA and averaged an impressive 11 strikeouts per nine innings, but he also averaged five walks per nine innings pitched over the life of his Tigers career. If he does end up making an appearance on the Mariners’ roster next month, Seattle will have the ability to control him through the 2017 season if desired, as he’s currently just shy of five years of big league service (a September call-up would push him over the threshold).

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/27/16

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.

  • The Reds have selected the contract of catcher Rafael Lopez from Triple-A Louisville, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. To clear space on their active roster, they’ve optioned infielder Tony Renda to Louisville. The Reds needed an extra catcher due to a minor hand injury to Tucker Barnhart. The 28-year-old Lopez appeared briefly in the big leagues with the Cubs in 2016, but has not done so since. He’s hit a modest .213/.262/.297 for Louisville this season.
  • The Mariners today announced a bevy of roster moves — they selected the contract of righty Dan Altavilla from Double-A Jackson, recalled first baseman Dae-Ho Lee and switch-pitcher Pat Venditte from Triple-A Tacoma, and placed righty Tom Wilhelmsen on the 15-day disabled list with lower back spasms. (They also optioned outfielder Nori Aoki and infielder Michael Freeman to Tacoma, as had previously been reported.) The 23-year-old Altavilla, a fifth-round pick in 2014, has never pitched above the Double-A level, but he’s had success there this season, posting a 1.91 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings.
  • The Twins have selected the contract of righty Alex Wimmers, as Ted Schwerzler of Off The Baggy was first to tweet. Wimmers made his big-league debut with a scoreless inning yesterday. The 27-year-old was the 21st overall pick in the 2010 draft, but his path to the big leagues was slowed by injury. He’s had a solid season in the bullpen at Triple-A Rochester, with a 3.62 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 49 2/3 innings.
  • The Orioles announced that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Julio Borbon and optioned righty Mike Wright to Triple-A Norfolk. The 30-year-old Borbon briefly played for the Orioles this season but has spent most of the year with Double-A Bowie, where he’s batted .275/.336/.362 with 28 stolen bases. He’s hit sparingly in parts of five seasons in the big leagues, but his speed might make him an effective tactical player if the O’s opt to stick with him until rosters expand.

AL Notes: Davis, Aoki, Jones, Ondrusek, Angels, A’s

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Wade Davis is making progress on his way back to the Royals, as he’s set for an inning of action at Triple-A, as MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets. Kansas City has thrived without their 30-year-old closer, but that doesn’t mean his return doesn’t come with anticipation. The defending World Series champs have clawed their way back into the postseason picture — no surprise for this group — but still sits four games out of Wild Card position and need every advantage that can be found.

Here’s more from the American League:

  • The Mariners optioned outfielder Nori Aoki to Triple-A tonight as part of a series of roster moves, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times was among those to tweet. While he has struggled for much of the year, Aoki has actually been quite useful at the plate in August with a .338/.392/.426 batting line for the month. But Seattle needed fresh arms, and so took advantage of the ability to remove the veteran from the active roster for the time being. He’ll surely be back shortly with rosters expanding in a few days.
  • Orioles outfielder Adam Jones left tonight’s action with what the team is calling a hamstring strain. That could be a big problem for the O’s, who not only need Jones’s bat in the lineup but don’t have any ready replacements on their depth chart. But skipper Buck Showalter says that he doesn’t believe Jones will require a DL stint, as Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com tweets.
  • Earlier today, the Orioles designated righty Logan Ondrusek off of their active roster. Unlike a typical DFA, the move simply puts the player on ice while he is passed through optional assignment waives. The procedural step was taken to enable the team to reinstate lefty T.J. McFarland from the DL.
  • The Angels have hired a new amateur scouting, adding former Cardinals cross-checker Matt Swanson, as ESPN.com’s Keith Law reported on Twitter. Los Angeles has continued to experience change in the upper levels of its player intake and development departments, which is no surprise given that GM Billy Eppler only took the helm last October.
  • Just like their AL West rivals, the Athletics are engaged in a complicated ballpark situation, though their’s may be trending away from their current digs at the O.Co Coliseum. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Matier & Ross recently provided a look at the latest on the search for a new site, with quiet majority owner John Fisher said to be looking closely at a spot in Oakland’s Howard Terminal that is the preferred spot of mayor Libby Schaaf.

Mariners To Activate James Paxton, Designate Wade LeBlanc For Assignment

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The Mariners will make a series of roster moves this afternoon, per Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune, who reports that lefty James Paxton will be activated from the disabled list with fellow southpaw Wade LeBlanc being designated for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster. The Mariners will also option right-hander Tony Zych to Triple-A and recall infielder Mike Freeman to give the club another bat as Kyle Seager nurses a sore foot.

LeBlanc, 32, was picked up from the Blue Jays back on June 22 in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations and gave Seattle a series of steady starts to help stabilize the rotation amid injuries. In 44 2/3 innings out of the rotation, LeBlanc turned in a 4.43 ERA with a 34-to-9 K/BB ratio, managing to work his way around an alarming 12 homers in that time. He’s also made three relief appearances, yielding three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.

Paxton, 27, has been out for most of August after suffering a contusion on his left forearm when he was hit by a comebacker. He’s posted a 3.53 ERA with 8.0 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 in a career-high 81 2/3 innings for the Mariners this season.

AL Notes: Weaver, Gray, Storen, Jays

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Angels righty Jered Weaver isn’t ready to decide whether or not he’ll be back in 2017, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. “There’s still a lot of season left,” said the veteran hurler. “When the time comes to answer those questions, I will.” Though Weaver has been hit hard this year, there are some positives, including a steadily rising average fastball velocity (albeit one that still sits in the mid-eighties). Both Angels GM Billy Eppler and Weaver’s agent Scott Boras note that the 33-year-old has been durable this year, though he is now two seasons removed from being a high-quality major league starter. It’s not yet clear whether the Halos will have interest in continuing their longstanding relationship with Weaver, who has spent all 11 years of his career with the organization and is finishing out a five-year, $85MM contract.

Here’s more from the American League:

  • The Athletics seem unlikely at this point to receive another start from righty Sonny Gray in the 2016 season, as John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group writes. Oakland’s medical staff still hasn’t cleared Gray to begin throwing. Without much time in the minor league season to permit a rehab assignment, the road back to the big league hill may not pick up again in earnest until the spring. Manager Bob Melvin suggests that the best outcome at this point may be for Gray to “just throw off a mound and throw a bullpen” to give the 26-year-old “peace of mind about how he feels going into the offseason.”
  • Mariners righty Drew Storen is headed to the 15-day DL with right shoulder inflammation, per a club announcement. His active roster spot will go to outfielder Guillermo Heredia. While the Seattle pen has several injured hurlers filtering back to the majors and remains a solid overall unit, it’s another blow for the 29-year-old Storen. Since coming to the M’s a few weeks back after being designated by the Blue Jays, Storen has thrown 10 1/3 innings of 4.35 ERA ball. That’s an improvement in the results department over his poor half-season in Toronto, but Storen has recorded only six strikeouts in Seattle and hasn’t reversed his pronounced velocity decline. He’ll be a free agent after the year, and will surely end up seeking an opportunity to bounce back and return to being the quality late-inning arm he was during most of his six seasons with the Nationals. [Related: Updated Mariners Depth Chart]
  • Adding to several firings in the upper reaches of their scouting and player development departments, the Blue Jays have decided to part ways with minor league pitching coordinator Sal Fasano, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports. The long-time MLB catcher has been with the Toronto organization in various capacities since 2010. GM Ross Atkins recently discussed the team’s changes and plans for finding replacements.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/22/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league, each courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted…

  • The D-backs have outrighted left-hander Adam Loewen to Triple-A Reno following last week’s DFA. The 32-year-old has spent time as both a pitcher and an outfielder over the life of his pro career but has returned to the mound for the past few seasons. He yielded 10 runs in six big league innings with the D-backs this year but had a 3.43 ERA in 39 1/3 innings with Reno prior to the original purchase of his contract. Loewen has whiffed 44 batters in that time, but he’s also walked 28, demonstrating some significant control problems.
  • Outfielder Daniel Robertson has been outrighted to Triple-A by the Mariners. He, too, was designated for assignment last week but, like Loewen, ultimately cleared waivers. The 30-year-old can handle all three outfield positions and has a solid .289/.361/.394 batting line in parts of five Triple-A seasons to go along with a .277/.322/.325 slash in 298 big league PAs.
  • The Angels have outrighted second baseman Sean Coyle to Double-A after he was designated for assignment last weekend. The Halos picked up the former Red Sox prospect on waivers earlier this year, but his .140/.252/.237 slash in 110 plate appearances with the Angels’ Double-A affiliate led to the loss of his 40-man roster spot.
  • The Angels also released fleet-footed outfielder Quintin Berry from their Triple-A affiliate. The 31-year-old Berry batted .270/.348/.325 with 35 stolen bases in 45 attempts over the life of 100 games/395 plate appearances this season. Berry’s wheels have landed him a big league job in each of the past three Septembers, and another club could look to add him to the 40-man roster when rosters expand in September in order to give its manager a late-inning weapon on the basepaths.
  • Left-hander Josh Outman has been released by the Pirates. The 31-year-old inked a minor league deal with Pittsburgh earlier this summer and wound up posting a 4.95 ERA in 20 innings with the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis. That number isn’t exactly eye-catching, but Outman did post a solid 15-to-3 K/BB ratio and, in 23 plate appearances, limited left-handed hitters to a miserable .100/.217/.100 batting line with eight punchouts, so perhaps a team in need of a lefty specialist will consider him for the season’s final month.

Mariners Outright Joe Wieland

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The Mariners have announced that they’ve outrighted righty Joe Wieland to Triple-A Tacoma, removing him from the 40-man roster. They had optioned Wieland to Tacoma yesterday to create space as Steve Cishek returned from the DL.

This marks the second time the Mariners have outrighted the 26-year-old Wieland this season — they also did so back in May. They returned him to their roster just last week, and he made one start, giving up six runs in five innings. The Mariners acquired Wieland from the Dodgers in a depth move last offseason, and he has spent most of 2016 with Tacoma, posting a 5.38 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 103 2/3 frames.

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