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Minor MLB Transactions: 7/2/16

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

  • The White Sox have announced that they’ve acquired catcher Alfredo Gonzalez from the Astros and optioned him to Double-A Birmingham. Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets that the Astros will receive cash considerations in return. The Astros designated Gonzalez for assignment last week after he batted just .158/.236/.205 in 162 plate appearances at Double-A Corpus Christi. The 23-year-old posted a .409 on-base percentage in a 2015 season split between three levels, however, and has a reputation for having a good arm.
  • Righty Casey Coleman has opted out of his minor league deal with the Mariners, Tacoma Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto tweets. Coleman is in the midst of a terrific season, with a 2.08 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 39 innings of relief in the PCL. “It was just a thing where I’ve been told I have some of the best numbers in the whole league,” said Coleman, via News-Press.com’s Seth Soffian. “Seattle had a bunch of guys that were coming off injury soon and their roster was pretty full. I’ve put myself in a situation to hopefully sign somewhere else.” Coleman, who will be 29 tomorrow, has a career 5.72 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in parts of four big-league seasons with the Cubs and Royals.

AL International Signings: 7/2/16

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Here’s a roundup of key international signings from the American League not yet covered elsewhere on MLBTR.

  • The Astros have agreed to terms with Dominican shortstop Freudis Nova and Venezuelan shortstop Yorbin Ceuta, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez writes (Twitter links). Nova, who will receive $1.2MM, ranks eighth on MLB.com’s list of the top international prospects available this signing period. He has power potential and a good bat overall, and while he might eventually have to move to third or the outfield, he should get chances to stay at short. Ceuta ranks 11th on Baseball America’s top international prospects list, with their extensive scouting report (subscription only) noting that he could end up with good OBP figures, although he doesn’t look like a big power hitter. He could stick at shortstop or move to second base.
  • The Mariners have agreed to sign Dominican outfielder Luis Veloz to a $1.2MM deal, Sanchez tweets. Via MLB.com’s scouting report, which ranked Veloz the No. 25 prospect available this signing season, he wins praise for his arm and has good raw power, and could eventually end up a starting right fielder in the Majors. He was widely expected to sign with the Mariners.
  • The White Sox have agreed to terms with Dominican outfielder Josue Guerrero on a $1.1MM deal, via Baseball America’s international signing tracker. BA ranked Guerrero the 33rd best prospect available. He’s the nephew of Vladimir Guerrero, joining a long line of minor leaguers who are related to the former Expos and Angels star. BA’s scouting report notes that Josue has good raw power, although he might be strikeout-prone, and he’s limited defensively and might end up a left fielder.

Heyman’s Latest: Yankees, Pirates, Teheran, Marlins

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There appear to be different viewpoints in the Yankees front office about how to approach the deadline, Jon Heyman of todaysknuckleball.com writes. GM Brian Cashman may actually be more inclined to sell some assets than is the ownership and upper-level management, per the report.

After a long look at that situation, Heyman goes on to provide some other notes from around the game:

  • Some within the Yankees think there’s a very good chance that Aroldis Chapman will be around for the long-term, whether that comes about via extension or a re-signing over the winter. Meanwhile, a team official says the price on Andrew Miller is so high that the odds he’ll be dealt are miniscule.
  • The Pirates could sell off a few short-term pieces if the club isn’t in contention come late July, but a broader sale isn’t expected. Heyman suggests Francisco Liriano, Mark Melancon, David Freese, and perhaps Tony Watson as plausible trade chips. You could probably also throw names like Matt Joyce, Sean Rodriguez, and Juan Nicasio into the mix as well.
  • Julio Teheran may be pitching his way out of a trade for the Braves, says Heyman. Rival executives suggest that they see a trade as unlikely, and also gave some endorsement of his value. Heyman cites three who believe Teheran is a better trade piece than Sonny Gray of the Athletics at this stage.
  • There’s plenty of demand on the starting pitching market, which is perhaps one reason to think that some arms could end up being pried loose. Heyman lists the Orioles, Red Sox, Dodgers, Tigers, Rangers, Blue Jays, Astros, Mariners, and Yankees as looking for rotation pieces.
  • The Marlins are also reputed to be looking for starting pitching, with Drew Pomeranz on the wish list. But a Miami source tells Heyman that the team finds it “hard to trust Pomeranz” given his relatively thin track record.
  • The Padres “at least took a look” at Jose Reyes before he signed with the Mets, per Heyman. It isn’t clear what sort of opportunity San Diego was interested in offering, but it’s not surprising to hear that the organization is looking for low-cost ways to seek value.

Steve Clevenger Suffers Broken Bone; Mariners Recall Mike Zunino

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TODAY: Zunino will get the call, GM Jerry Dipoto tells Jim Duquette of MLB Network Radio (Twitter link). He’ll be looking to make good on his top-quality prospect pedigree and big-time power.

[Related: Updated Mariners Depth Chart]

YESTERDAY: Mariners catcher Steve Clevenger has been diagnosed with a break to the third metacarpal in his right hand, as MLB.com’s Greg Johns was among those to tweet. He was struck by a foul ball behind the dish in tonight’s game.

Clevenger, 30, was acquired over the winter in exchange for Mark Trumbo. He hasn’t quite produced at the rate of the slugger he was dealt for, but he’s a useful receiver — particularly since he hits from the left side. Over 76 plate appearances on the year, he owns a sub-optimal .221/.303/.309 slash while serving as a backup for Chris Iannetta.

Seattle does have multiple options in the organization. Former regular Mike Zunino, who is still just 25, has been quite productive at Triple-A, with a .282/.366/.516 batting line and 15 long balls in 287 trips to the plate.

If the club decides it isn’t quite ready to give Zunino its next shot, it could look to either Steve Baron or Rob Brantly. The former — who like Zunino is 25 years of age and resides on the 40-man roster — is currently playing at Double-A. Brantly has a fair bit of MLB experience, though he too is a younger option. But he’d require a 40-man spot.

West Notes: Greinke, Urias, Panik, Karns, Rangers

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The D-backs announced that ace Zack Greinke left tonight’s game after two innings with tightness in his left oblique. The severity of the injury isn’t known, but the D-backs have already suffered quite a few injuries this season and can ill afford to lose Greinke for any substantial period of time. Since a rocky start to the season, Greinke has turned in a 2.58 ERA over 11 starts dating back to April 30. Arizona has already lost A.J. Pollock for much of the season (if not all of it) and also has Rubby De La Rosa, David Peralta, Chris Owings and Socrates Brito on the disabled list at this time.

More from the game’s western divisions…

  • The Dodgers’ rash of injuries in the rotation has the team re-thinking the looming shutdown of top prospect Julio Urias, tweets Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. The team may rely on Urias in the rotation for as long as it can despite the fact that his innings are a concern coming off a season in which the 19-year-old threw just 80 1/3 total innings at the minor league level. Including tonight’s six-inning start, Urias has already thrown 77 innings this season between the Majors and minors.
  • Giants second baseman Joe Panik was scratched from tonight’s game after displaying concussion-like symptoms, writes Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. While Panik hasn’t sustained a head injury within the past few days, he was struck on the helmet by a Matt Moore pitch on June 18, and Schulman writes that the symptoms appear to be a delayed effect of that occurrence. Panik could land on the 7-day disabled list tomorrow, Schulman adds.
  • The Mariners have moved right-hander Nate Karns to the bullpen, as MLB.com’s Greg Johns writes. Seattle is getting injured hurlers Taijuan Walker and Wade Miley back this week, and veteran lefty Wade LeBlanc pitched well in his Mariners debut. Manager Scott Servais tells Johns that the move isn’t considered a permanent one for Karns but explains that the team is hoping to get Karns back on track following a rough patch of starts in recent weeks. Karns posted a 7.33 ERA in the month of June after logging a strong 3.43 mark over the season’s first two months, and the 17 walks he issued in 23 1/3 innings this month speak to the fact that there’s more than simple poor fortune at play in his struggles.
  • Rangers GM Jon Daniels tells Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News that he’s more focused on getting injured pitchers Yu Darvish, Derek Holland, Colby Lewis, Keone Kela and Tanner Scheppers healthy right now than he is on the trade market. Kela, according to Daniels, is the closest of the bunch to returning and could be back prior to the All-Star break (which would be ahead of his initially projected schedule). However, Daniels also tells Grant that he won’t take the 10-game lead that Texas carried into play today for granted and assume that he has the luxury of too much patience. “We’re aware of where we are, but I try not to look at things that way,” said Daniels of the his club’s sizable division lead. “We’re very cognizant of what can happen quickly.” Part of the reason for not yet placing a significant emphasis on trade talks may be a lack of willing trade partners, as well; Daniels told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford on Monday that there simply isn’t much quality pitching available on the trade market.

AL West Notes: Astros, A’s, Mariners

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Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow hinted that Double-A shortstop/third baseman Alex Bregman could be on his way to Triple-A Fresno during the upcoming week, tweets Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez is also a candidate to receive a promotion to Fresno, per McTaggart. Bregman, the more notable of the two, has hit a phenomenal .295/.403/.555 with 14 home runs and 35 walks against 26 strikeouts in 269 plate appearances. The No. 2 pick in last year’s draft, Bregman could soon be a factor at third for the surging Astros – though Luis Valbuena’s production has risen substantially since a poor April. Hernandez, 23, has seen Double-A action since 2014 and is currently posting his best-ever numbers at that level, batting .302/.383/.434 with six homers and 29 steals across 306 trips to the plate with Corpus Christi.

News on a couple of Houston’s division rivals:

  • Athletics right-hander Henderson Alvarez had a platelet-rich plasma injection for his throwing shoulder and will be shut down for three more weeks, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. He had the injection a week ago after an MRI showed no structural damage in his shoulder, per Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area (Twitter link). Alvarez missed most of 2015 because of shoulder troubles and the A’s signed the ex-Marlin in the offseason to a one-year, $4.25MM deal with the hope that he’d reestablish himself in their uniform, but it hasn’t been in the cards yet.
  • After exiting in warmups Thursday with “general soreness,” Mariners righty Adrian Sampson will undergo season-ending surgery on his elbow, according to Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. “This isn’t as bad (as Tommy John), but surgery is required,” Sampson, who underwent Tommy John surgery as a high schooler in 2009, told Dutton. “They’re saying it’s a Grade III, which is enough that they have to repair it with surgery. They’re saying I should be good by spring training.” The Mariners acquired Sampson from the Pirates last year for J.A. Happ, and he threw 80 1/3 innings of 3.25 ERA ball – with a 6.83 K/9 and 1.34 BB/9 – for Triple-A Tacoma this season. Sampson, 24, made his major league debut June 18 against the Red Sox, who teed off on him for four earned runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 frames.
  • Injured lefty Wade Miley, whom Sampson replaced in the Mariners’ rotation, is close to returning from a sore shoulder, writes Greg Johns of MLB.com. “Pain free. I’m ready to rock and roll,” Miley said Friday after a 55-pitch rehab start for Class-A Everett. The Mariners will hope for better results from Miley when he comes back, as the 29-year-old ran up a 5.28 ERA – far above his career mark of 4.06 – in 76 2/3 innings prior to the injury.

West Notes: Gurriel, Pagan, Giants, Montas, Friedman, Powell

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Astros GM Jeff Luhnow didn’t make clear whether or not his team has interest in Cuban infielder Yulieski Gurriel, but did say that the organization has taken a good look at him, as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports. “We’ve done our homework and we’re very well aware of the player and what we believe he’s capable of doing,” he said. It’s still anybody’s guess whether Houston will stick with its internal options at third base — including Luis Valbuena, utilityman Marwin Gonzalez, and prospects Colin Moran and Alex Bregman — or instead pursue outside help.

Here’s more from out west:

  • The Giants are open to bringing back outfielder Angel Pagan on a short-term arrangement when his current contract is up after the season, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Twitter links). That could change depending upon what the team does on the trade market, he adds. San Francisco has been rumored to be looking at outfielders, infielders, and both starters and relievers. Needless to say, it’s shaping up to be an interesting deadline for the NL West leaders.
  • As for possible outfield additions, the Giants have put in a call to the Reds on Jay Bruce, Schulman reported earlier today, though it seems that the Cincinnati brass has yet to respond on the inquiry. He notes that the preference may well be for a right-handed bat, but with good options potentially scarce the club won’t rule out a left-handed hitter.
  • Young Dodgers righty Frankie Montas has been diagnosed with a broken rib, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). He already had rib issues earlier in the year, and Rosenthal suggests the new problem is related. The highly-regarded prospect had been set to receive a big league call-up before the injury cropped up, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
  • Dodgers GM Andrew Friedman discussed his club’s uneven start to the season with McCullough. He says that the club still “feels good about where we are looking forward,” particularly given the need to weather some early injuries. Friedman suggested that the impressive stock of younger talent in the system could still be used to bolster the big league roster, though it remains unclear whether and when that’ll happen. “Our mindset since I’ve gotten here has been to focus on elite-level players,” Friedman explained. “That being said, we also had to focus on rounding our roster. With where our roster is, where our depth is, and with the quality of our upper-level prospects, it allows us to focus more intently on that.”
  • Mariners outfield prospect Boog Powell has been hit with an eighty-game PED suspension, as MLB.com’s Greg Johns was among those to tweet. That’s obviously disappointing for a player who was generally regarded as one of the organization’s best upper-level youngsters. The 23-year-old was struggling at the plate at Triple-A this year, but has put up strong numbers over most of his minor league career. Powell was part of the deal that also brought Nate Karns to the M’s.

Mariners Option Nori Aoki

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The Mariners have optioned outfielder Nori Aoki to Triple-A, the club announced. His service time means that he had to clear revocable option waivers first, but couldn’t elect free agency without sacrificing his guaranteed salary.

[Related: Updated Mariners Depth Chart]

Seattle is in need of pitching reinforcements and the roster space to fit them, but the decision was also tied to Aoki’s struggles — especially against lefties, per MLB.com’s Greg Johns (Twitter links). Aoki says he is on board with the move and is prepared to work his way back.

It’s an especially notable move given that Aoki, 34, has never spent time in the minors except on rehab assignments. He went straight to the big leagues after signing from Japan back in 2012. Aoki was also a fairly significant free agent acquisition for the M’s, who guaranteed him $5.5MM over the winter.

At the time, it seemed like a nice value on a sturdy veteran. After posting league-average or better batting lines over each of the past four seasons, though, Aoki has scuffled to a .245/.323/.313 slash over his 284 plate appearances thus far. Aoki has also been gunned down on seven of eleven steal attempts.

The struggles go fairly deep for Aoki. He has been dreadful against opposing southpaws, with a .434 OPS. He’s hitting more groundballs and less line drives than ever, and his infield pop rate has skied to an ugly 17.1%, so the contact profile looks quite a bit different than usual.

Heyman’s Latest: Vizcaino, Outfield Market, Chapman, Padres

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Jon Heyman of todaysknuckleball.com has another lengthy report full of trade rumors and rumblings. Among the highlights:

  • Closer Arodys Vizcaino is drawing “intense” interest and is receiving more attention on the trade market than any other Braves player, according to Heyman. A high level of interest in Vizcaino should come as no surprise; the 25-year-old boasts a 1.83 ERA dating back to Opening Day 2015 and is earning just $897,500 this season after avoiding arbitration for the first time as a Super Two player this past winter. He can be controlled through the 2019 season, so the Braves would assuredly have a considerable asking price for three and a half years of Vizcaino.
  • The Indians continue to monitor the market for outfield help, and they’re also in the market for some bullpen reinforcements, though they have competition on that front. The health of Michael Brantley will impact how aggressive Cleveland is in its search for outfielders, though there’s yet to be any definitive word on how long Brantley will be sidelined.
  • The Royals, too, are on the lookout for outfield help, and Heyman lists Jon Jay and Melvin Upton Jr. as possibilities, though he does so in a fairly speculative manner. Heyman further splashes some cold water on the Yordano Ventura trade rumors from earlier this month, quoting an anonymous Royals exec: “With starting pitching at a premium, of course we aren’t trading him.”
  • Aroldis Chapman’s name continues to come up in speculation, but Heyman writes that the Yankees haven’t ruled out signing the lefty to an extension as opposed to entertaining trade offers. Heyman adds that the Yankees have yet to even have internal discussions about selling off parts of their MLB roster.
  • If the Athletics end up selling — which they aren’t yet prepared to do — the team will consider anything, per Heyman. But GM Billy Beane is least interested in parting with Sonny Gray and Sean Doolittle, both of whom come with extended, cheap control.
  • Across the bay, the Giants are still willing to consider acquiring a starting-level outfielder even though Hunter Pence appears on track to return before the end of August. The idea would be to move Angel Pagan into a reserve role, it seems.
  • Derek Norris is available on the trade market, but the Padres players receiving the most interest at this time are Jon Jay and Fernando Rodney, per Heyman. He adds that the Padres are open to trading anyone, but an early deal for Wil Myers shouldn’t be expected due to the fact that he’s the team’s official All-Star Game ambassador in San Diego this season. Beyond that, a “Padres-connected” source told Heyman the team would expect four top-tier prospects to part with the controllable Myers, who is having a breakout season at the plate.
  • The Mariners are set to shop for starting pitching this summer, per Heyman, though they could also aim for relief help. It’s not unusual for depth issues to creep up in a pitching staff, but Seattle is probably less than enthused with the fact that Felix Hernandez is now in the midst of an extended DL stint after a less-than-promising start to the season (despite his strong results).
  • Multiple clubs are trying to buy low on Francisco Liriano, but the Pirates aren’t inclined to sell at this time. The Orioles, it appears, are one such team, as MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reported yesterday that Baltimore has interest in the underperforming southpaw.
  • The Angels “are officially out” on Cuban third baseman Yulieski Gurriel, according to Heyman. The 32-year-old figures to command a significant multi-year deal, and adding another eight-figure average annual salary to the ledger would severely impede the Halos’ ability to avoid continual luxury tax penalization. Heyman also notes that Tim Lincecum could eventually become trade bait for the Angels if the team continue to struggle and if Lincecum performs well.

Mariners Acquire Wade LeBlanc

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The Mariners have acquired southpaw Wade LeBlanc from the Blue Jays, per an official announcement from Seattle. A player to be named later or cash will head back in return.

LeBlanc isn’t going directly onto the 40-man, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). But he is expected to be activated to take a start on Friday, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune tweets.

[Related: Updated Mariners depth chart]

The 31-year-old lefty didn’t crack the majors last year, ending a seven-year run in which he spent at least some time in the bigs. Instead, he pitched in Japan — an experience that he was kind enough to share with me on the MLBTR Podcast.

LeBlanc returned to affiliated ball this year with the Blue Jays organization, signing a minor league deal. He has shown quite well thus far at Triple-A, spinning 89 2/3 innings of 1.71 ERA ball with 8.5 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9.

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