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Quick Hits: Rockies, Brewers, Yankees, Mariners

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Royals bench coach Don Wakamatsu is no longer in the running for the Rockies’ managerial job, reports Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. Both the Rockies and Diamondbacks interviewed Wakamatsu, whose previous experience as a manager came with Seattle from 2009-10. Arizona ended up hiring Torey Lovullo, leaving Colorado as the majors’ only skipper-less team.

Here’s more from around baseball:

  • Tampa Bay police arrested Brewers center fielder Keon Broxton on a misdemeanor trespass charge Friday morning, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Broxton’s arrest came after the 26-year-old refused to leave the area of a fight. According to the police report, Broxton was “extremely intoxicated,” “hostile” and had “visible injuries to his face but declined medical attention.” Broxton got out of jail on $500 bond a few hours after his arrest and later issued a statement apologizing to the Brewers, their fans and law enforcement officials. “I will learn from this incident and I will certainly make better decisions moving forward,” he said (Twitter link via Haudricourt).
  • Yankees catcher Brian McCann could end up on the move via trade this offseason, but general manager Brian Cashman is bullish about keeping him as the team’s main insurance behind young star Gary Sanchez. “Based on his success the past season, Sanchez is the everyday catcher,’’ Cashman told George A. King III of the New York Post. “[McCann] can DH and catch a minimum of two games a week. We have two power-hitting catchers, one right and one left who hit 20 homers.’’ The Yankees highly value McCann, having reportedly asked the Braves for underrated center fielder Ender Inciarte or promising right-hander Mike Foltynewicz in return. Even if the Braves were amenable to giving up one of those players, McCann – who’s owed $34MM through 2018 – has a full no-trade clause and would have been able to veto the deal. “If we need to address something from the Yankees, they will let us know,’’ McCann’s agent, BB Abbott, told King via email. “Until then, we are allowing the club the space to run and build their club.’’
  • The Mariners concluded the 2016 season with a payroll near $150MM, a franchise record, and owner John Stanton told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times he’s unsure if the club will spend more than that next year. However, Stanton would be open to a payroll increase if general manager Jerry Dipoto were to insist on one. “If Jerry came to us and said there was the one piece that I think we needed to be successful, I think we’d go out and get it,” said Stanton, who took over the Mariners in August. “I just hate to lose,” he added. The Mariners have now gone a league-worst 15 straight years without a playoff berth, though they did finish with a respectable 86-76 record this past season. Jason Martinez of MLBTR and Roster Resource estimates that the M’s have roughly $129MM committed toward next year’s team.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/4/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Orioles declined the team’s previously unknown option over righty Logan Ondrusek, as BaltimoreBaseball.com’s Dan Connolly was among those to tweet. Ondrusek had signed with the Orioles out of Japan in the middle of the 2016 season, but was outrighted in late August after a brief stint. It was essentially a formality at this point for the team to decline the option (which was for an unknown amount). Baltimore had hoped that adding Ondrusek would represent a creative way to bolster their relief corps in the middle of the season, and brought him back stateside after he continued to produce good results for the NPB’s Yakult Swallows.
  • The Reds announced that utilityman Ivan De Jesus has been outrighted off of the 40-man roster. He has been a fairly significant part of the major league team over the last two years, playing in 180 total games. But his batting output dwindled in 2016: despite a slightly higher batting average and identical .311 OBP in comparison to his 2015 line, De Jesus slugged only .312 in his 243 plate appearances.
  • Two recently outrighted Mariners — lefty Charlie Furbush and catcher Steve Clevenger — have both elected free agency rather than accepting a minor league assignment, per MLB.com’s Greg Johns. The team is still waiting to learn what righty Ryan Cook will do; he, too, was recently cut from the 40-man.
  • Lefty Ricky Romero will remain with the Giants on a minor league deal, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). Soon to tun 32, Romero is now well removed from his days as an effective major league starter. He only appeared in two games in 2016, both at the Triple-A level, and has thrown just 53 2/3 total innings professionally since 2013 — the last season in which he reached the big leagues.
  • The Yankees selected the contracts of catcher Kyle Higashioka and right-hander Domingo German, adding them to thee 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 draft. Though he’s already 26, and has been Rule 5-eligible before, Higashioka is coming off of his most promising season as a professional. Over 416 plate appearances at Double-A and Triple-A, he slashed .276/.337/.511 with 21 home runs. Meanwhile, the 24-year-old German pitched last year at the Class A and High-A level after missing all of 2015 due to Tommy John surgery. He ended up starting ten games and posting a 3.81 ERA over 49 2/3 innings, with 6.9 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9, but will look to get fully back on his promising track next year.

Earlier Updates

  • The Tigers announced that they have selected the contracts of right-hander Myles Jaye and left-hander Chad Bell from Triple-A Toledo. The 24-year-old Jaye split the 2016 season between Detroit’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, working to a combined 3.95 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 53.3 percent ground-ball rate in 161 2/3 innings (28 starts). MLB.com ranks Jaye as Detroit’s No. 26 prospect, writing that he has a 91-93 mph and a solid three-pitch mix but also noting that he lacks an out pitch. Their report pegs his ceiling as a fourth or fifth starter and says he’s not far from Major League readiness. Meanwhile, the 27-year-old Bell posted a 3.29 ERA with 8.1 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a 52 percent ground-ball rate in 98 1/3 innings at Triple-A between the Rangers and Tigers organizations. Detroit picked him up from Texas in the May trade that sent catcher Bobby Wilson to the Rangers. Bell worked more as a reliever than a starter and held opposing lefties to a .605 OPS, including a .286 slugging percentage. He’ll join Kyle Ryan, Blaine Hardy and Joe Mantiply as options to serve as a second lefty behind Justin Wilson in Detroit’s bullpen next year.

Mariners Claim Dean Kiekhefer

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The Mariners have announced the claim of lefty Dean Kiekhefer off waivers from the Cardinals. Seattle now has four open spots remaining on its 40-man roster.

Kiekhefer, 27, debuted last year for the Cardinals, but didn’t impress in his 22 frames. He allowed 13 earned runs with a 14:7 K/BB ratio over that span while averaging just 88 mph with his fastball. Right-handed hitters mashed against the soft-tossing southpaw, though he did limit opposing lefties to a .209/.261/.326 slash. Presumably, Seattle has thoughts of possibly using him in a LOOGY role.

Things do look a lot more promising when you glance at the minor league numbers. Kiekhefer has shown masterful command, permitting just 1.2 walks per nine to fuel a 2.38 ERA through 151 Triple-A innings, though he has never been much of a strikeout pitcher (6.5 K/9 in the highest level of the minors).

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/3/16

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Here’s a collection of minor moves from around the game, to add to the long list of outrights we posted earlier:

  • The Braves have signed righty Danny Reynolds to a minor league deal, tweets MLBTR’s Zach Links. Reynolds struggled with Double-A Arkansas in the Angels’ system in 2016, with a 5.61 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 6.4 BB/9 over 33 2/3 innings. The 25-year-old was released in June and wound up in independent ball. Most reports offer praise for his velocity, however, and his stuff was interesting enough that he went from the Angels to the Dodgers to the Astros and back to the Angels in a four-month series of waiver claims starting last December, so the Braves might hope he provides a bit of upside than the typical organizational player.
  • Mariners catcher Steve Clevenger has elected to become a free agent, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. The M’s announced yesterday that they had outrighted Clevenger. The 30-year-old hit .221/.303/.309 while playing sparingly in the big leagues last season. He missed time to an elbow injury, then was suspended by the team following a pair of offensive tweets.
  • The Rangers have announced that they’ve selected the contract of IF/OF Drew Robinson, preventing him from becoming a minor league free agent. The 24-year-old had a solid season with Triple-A Round Rock in 2016, batting .257/.350/.480 with 20 home runs in 539 plate appearances. Robinson has struck out in more than a quarter of his career minor league plate appearances and typically doesn’t hit for good averages, but his walk-heavy offensive game has been resilient as he’s moved through the Rangers’ system, and his ability to play six positions (first, second, third and all three outfield spots) could help make him useful at the big-league level.

Astros Claim Nori Aoki From Mariners

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The Astros announced today that they’ve claimed outfielder Nori Aoki off waivers from the Mariners. As MLB.com’s Greg Johns pointed out earlier today (on Twitter), there’s been a public misconception that Aoki is eligible for free agency because his option didn’t vest and because his previous contracts allowed him to hit free agency upon their completion. That doesn’t appear to have been the case with the one-year deal he inked in Seattle last offseason, and he’ll now be controllable by the Astros via arbitration for the 2017 season.

[Related: Updated Houston Astros depth chart]

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Aoki, 35 in January, will give Houston an option to take some at-bats in left field next season in the wake of Colby Rasmus’ impending departure. He’ll bring a contact-oriented approach to the Astros that represents something of a departure from the strikeout-prone bats with which Houston has been comfortable in recent years. Aoki hit .283/.349/.388 in 467 plate appearances and struck out at just a 9.6 percent clip with Seattle last year after signing a one-year deal in the offseason.

That contract guaranteed Aoki $5.5MM and came with a vesting option for the 2017 season, but Aoki fell 13 PAs shy of triggering that guaranteed 2017 payday. It would appear that the Mariners sought to outright Aoki, thereby allowing him to re-enter the free agent market, but he’ll now head to Houston as an arbitration eligible player. Presumably, he’s the front-runner for everyday at-bats in left field right now, where he’ll bring a career .286/.353/.387 slash and minuscule eight percent strikeout rate to the table. That’ll position the Astros to deploy an outfield with Aoki in left in budding star George Springer in right field. As it currently stands, defensive standout Jake Marisnick will get the bulk of the at-bats in center field, although the Astros have a number of versatile pieces that could allow them to pursue a variety of avenues this offseason.

Springer, for instance, could shift over to center field — especially now that Tal’s Hill has been removed from Minute Maid Park — and allow the Astros to pursue a big-time corner outfield bat. Alternatively, Houston could give Alex Bregman and/or Yulieski Gurriel some time in left field with Aoki covering right field and Springer taking some turns in center, thus freeing up more room for a corner infield/designated hitter addition.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mariners Exercise Seth Smith’s Option, Decline Option On Chris Iannetta

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The Mariners announced today that they’ve exercised their $7MM option on outfielder Seth Smith and declined a $4.25MM option on catcher Chris Iannetta. FanRag’s Jon Heyman first tweeted that Smith’s option would be picked up, and SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweeted that Iannetta’s would be declined.

Smith, who turned 34 at the end of September, proved to be a useful platoon bat for the Mariners, hitting .249/.342/.415 with 16 home runs and a healthy 11 percent walk rate on the season. To say that he was heavily shielded from facing left-handed pitching would be something of an understatement, as Smith received just 33 plate appearances against southpaws compared to 405 against righties. The reasoning behind the move isn’t hard to determine however; Smith has mashed at a .272/.355/.472 clip throughout his career when he holds the platoon advantage but has looked lost against left-handers, as evidenced by a career .202/.282/.312 slash against same-handed pitchers.

On the defensive side of the coin, Smith’s contributions to the team didn’t draw favorable reviews. Both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating pegged him as a poor left fielder and a roughly average right fielder. Smith has never been known for his glove, but this year’s poor marks in left field came in a fairly small sample, and he’s been largely adequate there over the bulk of his career per those same metrics.

As for Iannetta, the 33-year-old got off to a hot start with the Mariners in 2016 and looked to be working his way toward triggering a vesting option for the 2017 season based on his strong play through the season’s first two and a half months. As of June 16, Iannetta was batting a very respectable .247/.348/.412 through 198 trips to the plate. However, his production thereafter cratered, and as a result his playing time diminished. Iannetta received just 140 plate appearances from that point forth, in part due to the return of Mike Zunino but also due to the .160/.237/.216 slash line to which the veteran limped.

Iannetta was a well-above-average bat for the Rockies and Angels from 2008-14, but he’s now coming off a pair of dismal seasons at the plate that saw him bat a combined .199/.298/.332 in 655 plate appearances. Iannetta still possesses good discipline at the plate and a bit of pop from the right side of the dish, but he’ll probably have to entertain offers to be a backup catcher this winter after this 2015-16 run.

Mariners Announce Six Roster Moves

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The Mariners announced on Wednesday that they’ve claimed right-hander Ryan Weber off waivers from the Braves and designated catcher Steven Baron for assignment. Additionally, the team has outrighted catcher Steve Clevenger, left-hander Charlie Furbush and right-hander Ryan Cook off the 40-man roster. Beyond that, the Mariners also announced that righty Adrian Sampson has been lost on waivers to the Rangers (who made their own announcement of the move shortly before Seattle’s press release was issued).

Weber, 26, is the lone addition to the Mariners’ roster and will join the organization on the heels of a 2016 campaign that saw him post a 5.45 ERA in 16 appearances (two starts) with the Braves. Weber totaled 36 1/3 innings and averaged 5.7 K/9 against 1.2 BB/9 to go along with very solid 50.8 percent ground-ball rate. His work in Triple-A Gwinnett was considerably more impressive, as he posted a 2.76 ERA with 6.0 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 in 62 innings there. Weber will give Seattle a depth piece for both the rotation and the bullpen and comes with a minor league option remaining, so there’s no need for him to break camp with the team next spring in order to remain in the organization (assuming he’s not trimmed off the 40-man roster later this winter).

Furbush, 30, is the most notable subtraction from the roster. He’s been a key cog in the Seattle bullpen since 2012 but missed the entire 2016 season due to shoulder troubles that ultimately resulted in surgery to repair a partial tear of his left rotator cuff in August. He’d likely have made the same $1.6MM that he made in 2016 if he remained on the roster and went through arbitration, so his outright, while noteworthy, isn’t much of a surprise, either. From 2012-15, Furbush logged a 3.23 ERA with 10.3 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 in 175 1/3 innings with Seattle.

Clevenger, meanwhile, is another unsurprising roster cut. Acquired in the much-maligned swap that sent Mark Trumbo to the Orioles this past offseason, he batted .221/.303/.309 in just 76 plate appearances and missed time with injury before ending his season on a team-issued suspension following some offensive tweets. While Mariners fans rightly cringe at the trade in retrospect, the deal was largely regarded as a salary dump at the time, and trade interest in Trumbo around the league was tepid, at best (hence the limited return).

As for Cook, the former Athletics standout has seen his career stall in recent years due largely to injuries, and 2016 brought more of the same. The Mariners announced in their press release that the 29-year-old had Tommy John surgery on Oct. 20, so he figures to be out for the entire 2017 season as well after only pitching a single inning with Seattle’s Rookie ball affiliate in 2016. Cook notched a 2.60 ERA and averaged better than a strikeout per inning in 190 1/3 frames over the first three seasons of his career in Oakland, but injuries have limited him to just 8 2/3 innings in the Majors since that time.

Baron, 25, was the 33rd overall pick in the 2009 draft but clearly hasn’t lived up to that draft billing. He’s gone hitless in his only 11 Major League plate appearances and has received very limited time in Triple-A, slashing .277/.316/.391 in 197 plate appearances. Overall, he’s a .234/.291/.341 hitter in 544 minor league games.

Rangers Claim Adrian Sampson From Mariners

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The Rangers announced on Wednesday that they’ve claimed right-hander Adrian Sampson off waivers from the Mariners. Sampson, who turned 25 in October, had elbow surgery this past June and is expected to open the 2017 season on an injury rehab program, per Rangers executive vice president of communications John Blake. At the time of the operation, Sampson explained to the Tacoma News Tribune’s Bob Dutton that he didn’t require Tommy John surgery but still had a Grade 3 strain in his flexor bundle that required surgical repair.

Sampson, a Seattle native, will leave his hometown organization after spending only a year there. He was acquired by the Mariners in July 2015 in the trade that sent J.A. Happ to Pittsburgh and showed well in his Triple-A time with the M’s this year, tossing 80 1/3 innings of 3.25 ERA ball with 6.8 K/9 against 1.3 BB/9. The Mariners likely hoped to be able to sneak him through waivers due to his injury in order to keep him in the organization while freeing up a 40-man roster spot, but the Rangers snagged him off waivers and will now need to carry him on their own 40-man roster throughout the offseason or attempt to pass Sampson through waivers themselves.

Mariners Interested In Re-Signing Dae-Ho Lee

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Korean slugger Dae-ho Lee recently returned home after his first season in the Majors and spoke to reporters at Incheon International Airport in Korea, revealing that manager Scott Servais and second baseman Robinson Cano have already informed him that they hope he’ll return for a second season with Seattle in 2017 (via the Korea Times). And Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports that Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto has confirmed his desire to re-sign the 34-year-old slugger as well, citing a lack of quality right-handed platoon bats on the open market.

However, while Lee sounds open to returning to Major League Baseball, he stressed to reporters that playing time will be a major factor in his decision. Seattle seems likely to give lefty swinging Dan Vogelbach, acquired in the July trade that sent southpaw Mike Montgomery to the Cubs, every opportunity to establish himself in the Majors next season. That could leave Lee in a part-time role once again if he returns to the Mariners, which may prompt him to look elsewhere.

“Playing time is an important factor to consider when choosing a team,” Lee said (via the aforementioned Korean Times link). “…Early on, it was fun to come off the bench to pinch hit, but it started to hurt my pride later. I wanted to play more, but it’s entirely up to the manager how he runs the team. I have no hard feelings for manager Servais. If anything, I should have played better and tried harder.”

Lee, 35 next June, was a superstar in both Korea and Japan before testing international free agency but had to settle for a minor league deal and a $1MM base salary with incentives this past winter in order to prove himself to Major League clubs. He succeeded in doing so, though, hitting .253/.312/.428 with 14 home runs in just 317 plate appearances despite calling the pitcher-friendly Safeco Field his home. Lee did strike out at a higher clip against right-handed opponents (25 percent) than left-handed opponents (22 percent), and his overall production against righties (.244/.292/.407) was weaker than his output when holding the platoon advantage (.261/.329/.446). That said, Lee’s overall offense was better than the league average, although he faded in the final months of the season after getting off to a strong start.

A contending club may not leap to sign Lee as its starting first baseman or DH, but it’s easy to envision him once again drawing interest in a bench or platoon capacity. It’s also not out of the question that a rebuilding club could look to plug Lee into a more regular first base/designated hitter role as an affordable source of pop. He did slug at a 26- to 27-homer pace in a pitcher-friendly setting this past season, and neither Ultimate Zone Rating (+1.8) nor Defensive Runs Saved (-3) felt that his glovework through 622 innings was a significant detriment. Alternatively, if he wishes to continue playing, I’d imagine there would be plenty of interest from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and the Korea Baseball Organization, though Lee did specifically note that he “learned a great deal from playing with good players on a big stage,” in Major League Baseball.

Quick Hits: Fernandez, Pillar, Tanaka, Yankees, M’s

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Some news from around baseball…

  • According to toxicology reports released today, Jose Fernandez had cocaine in his system and a blood-alcohol level that was twice the legal limit during the boat crash that took the lives of the Marlins ace, Eduardo Rivero and Emilio Jesus Macias on September 25, David Ovalle of the Miami Herald reports.  Authorities have yet to determine who was driving the boat at the time of the crash — neither Rivero or Macias were legally drunk, though they both had alcohol in their systems.  (Rivero was also found to have cocaine in his system.)
  • Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar underwent surgery this week to repair a torn thumb ligament, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reports.  The defensive standout is expected to be fine by Spring Training.  Pillar hurt his thumb while stealing a base on August 6 and spent some time on the DL before playing through the injury throughout the rest of the regular season and Toronto’s postseason run.
  • The Yankees should listen to offers for Masahiro Tanaka this winter, Mike Axisa of the River Ave Blues blog opines, though obviously it would take a big haul for New York to actually trade its ace away when the Bombers are themselves looking for quality pitching.  Tanaka can opt out of his contract after the 2017 season, which seems like a very likely possibility assuming he stays healthy and keeps delivering his usual strong performance.  Tanaka would be hitting the free agent market heading into his age-29 season and would score well beyond the three years/$67MM owed on his Yankees deal through 2020.  If New York only has one year left of control of Tanaka, it makes sense for the club to see what it could potentially get back for the right-hander in a deal.  Axisa’s mailbag piece covers other several Yankees-related topics, including how the Yankees’ prospect return in the Aroldis Chapman trade was better for the club than if they had swung the rumored Andrew Miller-for-Kyle Schwarber deal at the deadilne.
  • The Mariners aren’t likely to make a big splash in free agency, MLB.com’s Greg Johns opines as part of a reader mailbag.  Seattle already has $88.5MM locked up in just five players (Robinson Cano, Felix Hernandez, Nelson Cruz, Kyle Seager and Hisashi Iwakuma) so there isn’t much remaining payroll room for another big contract.  Johns thinks GM Jerry Dipoto will instead spread funds around to address several needs, improve depth and continue to raise the Mariners’ talent floor.
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