AL West Notes: Iwakuma, Samardzija, Astros, Angels
With a string of three consecutive strong starts under his belt, Hisashi Iwakuma would make for an interesting trade candidate, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. However, as Sherman reports, the Mariners remain hesitant to undergo any sort of sale of veteran pieces as the trade deadline nears. Iwakuma, who’s earning just $7MM this season ($2.86MM remaining), has now allowed just four runs over his past 20 2/3 innings, striking out 18 hitters against four walks in that time. Iwakuma’s name — and the Mariners’ likely reluctance to sell — are both topics that came up on today’s edition of the MLBTR Podcast.
A few more notes from around the AL West…
- The Astros discussed Jeff Samardzija with the White Sox prior to acquiring Scott Kazmir earlier today, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN. The lack of a consummated trade was not due to the fact that the White Sox weren’t willing to part ways with Samardzija, a source tells Crasnick (Twitter link), but rather just due to the fact that the Astros deemed Kazmir a better fit.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Astros aren’t ruling anything out when it comes to their next move on the trade market. The team could use another bullpen arm — GM Jeff Luhnow has voiced a preference to add a flamethrower — and another bat would make sense as well. However, the Astros’ priority, as one team official tells Rosenthal, is simply “talent.” It would seem, then, that the Astros are open to making further moves to bolster their rotation rather than limiting themselves to bullpen or lineup additions.
- The Angels were already looking at potential third base upgrades before losing David Freese for at least three weeks last night, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. They’re continuing to look at the market for third basemen, but an outfield bat remains the Halos’ top priority, according to Fletcher. Freese hit the DL last night after a Mike Pelfrey fastball broke his right index finger.
- In the meantime, though, it’ll be Kyle Kubitza occupying Freese’s roster spot. The Angels recalled Kubitza, a 25-year-old prospect acquired from the Braves in an offseason swap, prior to today’s game vs. the Twins. Taylor Featherston got the start at third base, though Kubitza did enter the game as a pinch-hitter.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/22/15
Here are some recent minor moves from around the game:
- The Mariners have acquired Triple-A reliever Tyler Knigge from the Phillies in exchange for cash, Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports on Twitter. Knigge, 26, was a 12th-rounder back in 2010 that has advanced as far as Triple-A. He’s spent time there in both 2014 and 2015, working to a 4.89 ERA with 5.5 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 70 innings. His numbers at Double-A and Class-A Advanced were markedly better.
- Braves reliever David Carpenter was outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Carpenter — not to be confused with the former Atlanta reliever and current Nationals reliever of the same name — has worked 3 2/3 innings in the bigs this season and 46 2/3 innings at the Major League level as a whole. He’s struggled to a 5.40 ERA, though the 27-year-old has a more palatable 2.73 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 over the life of his minor league career.
- The Dodgers recently released righty Ryan Buchter after he opted out of his deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The 28-year-old notched a stellar 1.65 ERA with 39 strikeouts against 16 walks in 32 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season.
- And the Rays released infielder Vince Belnome, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. The 27-year-old Belnome has been solid throughout most of his Triple-A tenure, but he’s slumped to a triple-slash of just .169/.293/.225 in 191 plate appearances this season.
- The Brewers announced yesterday that they’ve signed lefty Jeremy Horst and released right-hander John Ely. Horst, 29, saw a fairly significant amount of Major League action from the 2011-13 seasons with the Reds and Phillies. He has a career 3.32 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9 in 72 2/3 innings. Horst began the season with the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate, where he tallied a 1.64 ERA with 42 strikeouts against 16 unintentional walks in 38 1/3 innings. As for Ely, the now-29-year-old Ely logged 115 2/3 innings with the Dodgers from 2010-12 but hasn’t appeared in the bigs since. Injuries have played a role in his absence from the league, but he also struggled to a 7.42 ERA in 13 1/3 innings between Rookie ball and Triple-A this season.
2016 Competitive Balance Lottery Results
The Reds have drawn the first competitive balance selection in the 2016 draft, as Cash Kruth of MLB.com reports. While the precise draft slots remain to be determined, Cincinnati will pick after the conclusion of the first round (including compensation choices).
Here is the order of the selections, which were determined by lottery between the clubs that fell among the ten smallest markets and/or the ten smallest revenue pools league-wide. Other teams that participate in revenue sharing are also eligible, but only for the second round.
Round A (selections occur after first round)
1. Reds
2. Athletics
3. Rockies
4. Diamondbacks
5. Marlins
6. Pirates
Round B (selections occur after second round)
1. Padres
2. Indians
3. Twins
4. Brewers
5. Orioles
6. Rays
These results mean that the Cardinals, Royals, and Mariners failed to receive a pick despite being eligible. With some restrictions, the picks can be traded — and increasingly have been in recent seasons. You can take a look at this year’s draft results and slot values to get an idea of the range of selections (and drafted players) that the most recent competitive balance awards ultimately represented.
Fernando Rodney Changes Agents
Mariners reliever Fernando Rodney has signed on with Octagon Baseball, the agency announced on Twitter. Rodney had previously been with MVP Sports Group.
A 13-year MLB veteran, the 38-year-old Rodney is nearing the end of a two-year, $14MM deal with Seattle. He was excellent last year, working to a 2.85 ERA with 10.3 /9 and 3.8 BB/9 over 66 1/3 frames, racking up a league-leading 48 saves in the process.
But things have turned south thus far in 2015. Over 37 2/3 frames, his ERA stands at an ugly 5.73, leading to a loss of 9th inning duties. While his walk rate has gone up slightly, Rodney has seen his strikeout rate drop to 7.2 K/9 as he continues to generate less swings and misses.
Rodney still has time to rebuild value this year, and there at least some signs of promise. His average fastball velocity still tops 95 mph. Though he’s allowed long balls at about twice his career average, Rodney’s groundball rate is still over 50% and he’s allowed less overall hard contact than in the previous two seasons.
With the change in representation, it would seem likely that Rodney intends to play in 2016. Though Rodney’s age and recent results suggest that his new agents will have their work cut out for them, he’s sure to generate interest given his track record and maintained velocity.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Pitching Market, O’s, Zunino, Inciarte, Astros
In his latest notes post for FOX Sports, Ken Rosenthal writes that while he opined on Saturday that pitching-hungry GMs should act sooner rather than later, he spoke to one exec yesterday that plans to wait until the trade deadline is nearly at hand, believing prices will drop late in the month. A second exec opined to Rosenthal, though, that the market for pitchers other than Johnny Cueto and Cole Hamels will soften in the coming days. Rosenthal gets the sense that the trade market will “erupt” and action will be “frenetic,” but it might take awhile to reach that boiling point.
Some highlights from his column (though I’d recommend checking out the entire column)…
- Orioles GM Dan Duquette is very serious about wanting to add a bat and has indeed expressed interest in Jay Bruce, Justin Upton and Carlos Gomez, but as Rosenthal notes, the Orioles may have the thinnest farm system in the game. Baseball America ranked Baltimore’s farm just 29th heading into the season, and that was before recent injuries to top arms Dylan Bundy and Hunter Harvey. The team has some interesting names ready at the Triple-A level, but they also need to replace departing free agents Chris Davis, Matt Wieters and Wei-Yin Chen and will need to rely on the farm to fill some of those holes.
- The Mariners aren’t just looking for a backup to Mike Zunino, Rosenthal hears, but a veteran option who would allow them to send Zunino back to Triple-A. Of course, he points out the fact that Seattle had such a player in the form of Welington Castillo but traded him to the D-Backs in the Mark Trumbo deal, only to watch Castillo out-hit Trumbo.
- The Padres talked with the Diamondbacks about a trade that would’ve brought both Aaron Hill and Ender Inciarte to San Diego during Spring Training, and they’ve made a much more recent inquiry on Inciarte than that as well. The D-Backs are also receiving interest in David Peralta, Rosenthal writes, but Arizona isn’t motivated to trade either outfielder. Both are controlled through the 2020 season. Inciarte is a logical trade candidate for the Padres, in my mind, as a plus defender in center field and a left-handed bat — two things which the club currently lacks.
- The Phillies may end up hanging on to Jeff Francoeur rather than trading him, according to Rosenthal. While a last-place team hanging onto a short-term veteran such as Francoeur seems counter-intuitive, he notes that the return on Francoeur would be extremely minimal, so the team may value his leadership over the warm body they’d receive for trading him. I agree that the return on Francoeur, who’s hitting .257/.288/.449 with suspect range in the corner outfield, wouldn’t be all that exciting.
- The Astros do want to add a bat, but the team’s search for starting pitcher is a significantly greater priority, sources tell Rosenthal. GM Jeff Luhnow did tell MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart on Friday that getting a bat is a growing area of focus, however, and Chris Carter hasn’t played since Friday due to an ankle sprain. (He and other Houston first basemen have struggled at the plate even when healthy, as well.)
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/19/15
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Nationals are set to call up reliever Abel de los Santos, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca. The 22-year-old was acquired over the offseason from the Rangers (along with infielder Chris Bostick) for Ross Detwiler. A hard-throwing righty, de los Santos had a 2.65 ERA, 8.44 K/9, and 1.69 BB/9 in 37 innings at Double-A. His promotion will necessitate a move on the Nationals’ 40-man roster which is currently full.
- Evan Meek has signed with an unknown Korean team, reports Sung Min Kim of River Ave Blues. Meek, 32, threw 37 innings for the Nationals Triple-A affiliate this season. He posted a 2.15 ERA with 7.88 K/9 and 4.54 BB/9. A veteran of six major league campaigns, Meek has a career 3.63 ERA in 196 relief innings. He was an All Star in 2010 while playing with the Pirates.
- The Mariners have optioned designated hitter Jesus Montero to Triple-A, writes Greg Johns of MLB.com. Montero, 25, was temporarily filling J.A. Happ‘s roster spot. As many remember, the Yankees traded Montero for Michael Pineda during the 2012-2013 offseason. Neither player returned much value prior to this season, but Pineda has emerged as a force in the Yankees rotation and Montero is now showing some life too. During his five game audition, he went 3-for-10 with three walks and one strikeout. He’s hitting .332/.370/.529 at Triple-A with 15 home runs in 368 plate appearances.
- The Brewers have released former 2009 second round pick Cameron Garfield, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Constitution. In parts of six seasons, Garfield failed to advance beyond High-A. This year, he hit .233/.267/.306 in 202 plate appearances. Per Haudricourt, the Brewers had five picks in the first two rounds of the 2009 draft. Garfield was the last one remaining in the system.
Mariners Unlikely To Add Big-Name Player In Trade
While the Mariners remain in the market for a backup catcher and perhaps a right-handed reliever, GM Jack Zduriencik makes a move for a significant name between now and the non-waiver trade deadline seem unlikely. Via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, Zduriencik said the team’s acquisition of Mark Trumbo may be its most notable move:
“We did the Mark Trumbo thing. We tried to jump the market and make a deal at the time that we thought could bring in, what we considered, a pretty good power bat for our lineup, to help augment what we already have. I think anything else will probably be moves within the organization. There’s always the possibility something could happen, but you’re not really counting on it.”
The Mariners have aggressively attempted to remedy what has a perennially disappointing offense through both free agency and trades over the past two seasons, but to little avail. Both Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz were signed to significant free agent contracts, while on the trade market, Zduriencik has acquired Trumbo, Austin Jackson, Seth Smith and the since-designated-for-assignment Justin Ruggiano. While Cano was excellent in his first season with Seattle and Cruz is hitting quite well in 2015, the moves, as a whole, have done little to help the Mariners overcome their run-suppressing home environment. And as Divish notes, the decision to part with Welington Castillo in the Trumbo trade is presently haunting the Mariners. Castillo’s bat looks revitalized with Arizona — .289/.366/.533 in 101 PAs — while the Mariners continue to receive little offensive production behind the plate. (Of course, Arizona’s hitter-friendly environment must be considered as well.)
Divish goes on to write that a hot start to the second half could lead Zduriencik to seek ownership approval to make further additions, though current asking prices are beyond what the Mariners have to offer in prospect collateral. Furthermore, continued struggles could lead to the sale of impending free agents such as Hisashi Iwakuma, J.A. Happ and Jackson. Such a fade could also bring into question Zduriencik’s future with the club, Divish notes, as expectations entering the season were high.
One encouraging note for the Mariners and their fans should be the relative ease of their second-half schedule. As ESPN’s Buster Olney noted earlier today in ranking the strength of clubs’ remaining schedules, the Mariners are currently slated to play just 22 of their final 73 games against clubs that carried a record of .500 or better into the All-Star break. The bad news for Seattle, though, is that many of those games will come in the next two weeks. The Mariners took a tough 4-3 loss at Yankee Stadium last night, and after two more games there, they’ll head to Detroit for four games before hosting the Blue Jays for three. The only games they’ll play against a sub-.500 team prior to the trade deadline will be when they host the D-Backs from July 27-29. From there, they head to Minnesota for a four-game set.
Mariners Release Erik Kratz After He Opts Out Of Deal
TODAY: Kratz opted out of his deal when he learned he would not receive a promotion, per a tweet from his representatives at J.M.G. Baseball.
YESTERDAY: The Mariners have released catcher Erik Kratz, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). Kratz had been playing at Triple-A since being released by the Royals and signing a minor league deal with Seattle.
Given this morning’s report that the Mariners were nearing a deal to acquire a backstop, it would appear that this move is designed to allow current backup Jesus Sucre to return to Tacoma. It remains unclear whether a deal will get done, but the release of Kratz certainly lines up with that outcome. Nevertheless, Divish notes on Twitter that his sources tell him there are no trade talks that can be characterized as being “close.”
Kratz, 35, owns a .211/.276/.400 slash over 105 Triple-A plate appearances on the season. He also briefly appeared at the major league level with Kansas City. Over parts of six seasons in the big leagues, beginning in 2010 when he was already thirty years of age, Kratz has put up a .217/.270/.400 slash with 23 home runs in 537 turns at bat.
Latest On Mariners Pursuit Of Catcher
1:51pm: Despite moving to release Triple-A backstop Erik Kratz, the Mariners are not “close” to a deal to add a new catcher, multiple sources tell Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). He does add that Seattle has been looking for a new reserve behind the dish, though it has found the prices unreasonable.
12:23pm: While the Braves have had talks with Seattle regarding A.J. Pierzynski, he is not the backstop who is close to being acquired by the Mariners, Morosi tweets.
12:09pm: The Blue Jays are not involved, says Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (on Twitter). Toronto backstop Dioner Navarro has long looked like a strong trade candidate, but it appears he isn’t the player being pursued by Seattle.
9:54am: The Mariners are close to striking a deal for a backstop, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. The report does not give any indication of the identities of the player or the other team involved in talks.
Seattle, of course, has already traded for a catcher this year, acquiring Welington Castillo from the Cubs. But Castillo has since been shipped to the Diamondbacks as part of the Mark Trumbo deal.
Mike Zunino, who is only 24, still looks like he could be a long-term piece for Seattle. But his struggles have become rather pronounced: his batting line sits at .160/.223/.292 after 277 plate appearances on the year. While Zunino is well regarded as a pitch framer, and Defensive Runs Saved is a fan (+7) of his work behind the dish. But Baseball Prospectus does not rate him highly in its measure of Fielding Runs Above Average.
The addition of Castillo seemed like an effort to supplement Zunino, and it appears that the Mariners are about to undertake another such attempt. Of course, it is entirely unclear at this point what kind of addition is under contemplation. MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently provided a complete breakdown of this year’s trade market at the position.
Mariners, Red Sox Interested In Jason Frasor
8:05pm: The Red Sox, too, are interested in Frasor, a source tells WEEI.com’s John Tomase. The Sox are currently sorting through options to improve a bullpen that has lacked reliable options behind Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa, Tomase notes, and Frasor is among the considerations.
5:08pm: The Mariners are “taking a hard look” at right-hander Jason Frasor, according to Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. Frasor became a free agent earlier this week after he was designated for assignment by the Royals and opted for free agency.
As Dutton writes, manager Lloyd McClendon recently expressed displeasure with the performance of his team’s right-handed relievers. McClendon noted that much attention is paid to the club’s anemic offense, but the team had offensive struggles in 2014 as well. A lack of quality right-handed relief options, in McClendon’s estimation, has been a significant detriment to the team’s success. “In my opinion, the biggest disappointment to date has been the right-handers we’ve had to shift in and out of our bullpen to try to bridge the gap,” said McClendon.
Seattle has indeed seen its shares of struggles in the bullpen. Danny Farquhar, Tom Wilhelmsen, Yoervis Medina and Dominic Leone were standout performers in 2014, but neither has performed well in 2015. The 28-year-old Farquhar’s velocity and strikeout rates have plummeted, while his walk and home run rates have both soared. The result has been a 6.23 ERA — more than three full runs higher than his 2.66 mark from 2015. Wilhelmsen’s ERA has more than doubled, though it’s at least worth noting that his strikeout and walk rates have improved; he, however, has been plagued by a BABIP north of .400 and a fluky strand rate. Medina and Leone have both been traded this season after their own struggles. None of the four is presently in the Major Leagues.
Also of note regarding the Mariners’ bullpen struggles is the collapse of 2014 closer Fernando Rodney. The veteran has long had control issues, but in his best years they’ve been masked somewhat by a hefty strikeout rate. That hasn’t been the case for Rodney this season, as he’s posted a dreadful 5.50 ERA with just 7.0 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9. The 38-year-old has also been more homer-prone than usual.
Overall, the Mariners have received a collective 3.81 ERA from their bullpen, which ranks just 22nd in the Majors. Sabermetrics don’t paint any rosier of a picture, as FIP (3.81), xFIP (3.85) and SIERA (3.54) all feel that the production has been mediocre, at best, relative to the rest of the bullpens in the league. Rookie Carson Smith, journeyman Mark Lowe and lefties Joe Beimel and Charlie Furbush, however, have delivered strong to excellent bottom-line results.
Of course, Frasor would hardly represent a guaranteed cure for the Mariners’ bullpen troubles. Although the 37-year-old worked to an excellent 1.54 ERA in 23 1/3 innings with the Royals, he also issued 15 walks (13 unintentional) in that time and posted the lowest K/9 rate (6.9) of his career. Additionally, given his track record, one would imagine that there will be a number of clubs to show interest in the veteran right-hander, whose brush with midseason free agency seems unlikely to be lengthy in nature.