Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Mariners Rumors

Mariners Designate Francisco Martinez

By | at

The Mariners designated outfielder Francisco Martinez for assignment, according to a team press release.  The move opens a 40-man roster spot for infield prospect Nick Franklin.  In addition to selecting Franklin's contract, the Mariners also optioned Dustin Ackley and Lucas Luetge and recalled Hector Noesi.

Martinez, 22, was hitting .206/.242/.254 in 136 Double-A plate appearances.  Two years ago, Martinez, Charlie Furbush, Casper Wells, and Chance Ruffin were traded by the Tigers to the Mariners for pitchers Doug Fister and David Pauley.  In 293 2/3 innings since the trade, Fister has a 3.10 ERA, 7.5 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, and 0.64 HR/9 for the Tigers, and he remains under their control through 2015.  Fister's ERA since the trade is 13th in all of baseball among those with 250 innings.  Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski acquired four-plus years of something close to an ace, while Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik is left with reliever Furbush and converted starter Ruffin. 

 

Mariners Promote Nick Franklin; Demote Ackley

By | at

Second baseman/shortstop Nick Franklin has been called up and will join the Mariners today, tweets Ryan Divish of The News Tribune.  Franklin will have to be added to the team's 40-man roster; he'll take the place of a minor leaguer, tweets Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.  The news comes on the heels of Carlos Triunfel's season debut, which occurred Friday.  Triunfel's one start came at second base, though both Mariners prospects can play both middle infield positions.  Former first-rounder Dustin Ackley, meanwhile, has limped to a .205/.266/.250 line and will join Jesus Montero at Triple-A, according to Shannon Drayer of ESPN 710.

Franklin, 22, was drafted 27th overall by the Mariners out of high school in 2009.  He was hitting .324/.440/.472 in 177 Triple-A plate appearances, a vast improvement from his production at that level last year.  Franklin's rankings on top 100 prospect lists prior to the season: 69th by ESPN's Keith Law, 79th by Baseball America, and 43rd by MLB.com.  BA ranked him fifth among Mariners prospects prior to the season, noting, "He profiles as a solid regular who could play in a few All-Star Games." 

If he stays up all year, Franklin will accumulate 126 days of big league service, making Super Two arbitration eligibility possible after the 2015 season.  It's unknown whether that amount of service will put Franklin within the top 22% of the two-to-three class at that point.  Super Two players go to arbitration four times instead of the usual three.

Quick Hits: Angels, Montero, Gomes, Dodgers

By | at

Miguel Cabrera might have been hitting home runs in Anaheim if the Angels had been able to swing a deal for him in 2007, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. The Marlins had Cabrera on the trade market, and the Angels offered Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis and either Ervin Santana or Nick Adenhart. But the Marlins wanted both Santana and Adenhart, and the Angels changed their minds about dealing Kendrick, and the trade fell through. Had the deal worked out, Shaikin says, Cabrera could have joined with fellow 2012 MVP candidate Mike Trout in the Angels' lineup. (Of course, Trout was acquired with the No. 25 pick in the 2009 Draft, which was a compensation pick for losing Mark Teixeira. If the Angels had acquired Cabrera, they might not have acquired Teixeira, which means it's possible they wouldn't have drafted Trout. They also would have had to sign Cabrera to a long-term deal, the way the Tigers did. Reimagining history can be complicated.)

The Marlins' side of the deal would have worked out a bit better, too. We'll never know what might have been with Adenhart, who died in an accident in 2009, and Mathis hasn't hit well. But Kendrick turned out to be a better player than any the Marlins got when they sent Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to the Tigers for a package centered around Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin.

Here are more notes from around MLB.

  • After Jesus Montero's demotion, his role in the Mariners' future is unclear, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports writes. Mike Zunino now appears to be the Mariners' future catcher, and Montero will work on playing first base at Triple-A Tacoma. If Montero will play predominantly first base and designated hitter going forward, that puts him in an awkward position, because one of the reasons he was sent down in the first place was that his hitting wasn't particularly good even for a catcher. Still, the door remains open to Montero, Morosi notes, since Mariners first baseman Justin Smoak has not hit well, and main DH Kendrys Morales will be a free agent at the end of the season.
  • Yan Gomes' play so far is creating a "pleasant problem" for the Indians, Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon-Journal writes. Gomes, who arrived in Cleveland with Mike Aviles when the Indians sent Esmil Rogers to the Blue Jays last offseason, is hitting .311/.328/.672 with five home runs in 61 at bats so far. His performance suggests he might be able to one day become an everyday catcher, not just a utility player who catches occasionally, Ocker writes. Carlos Santana is, of course, the Indians' starting catcher, but if Gomes keeps hitting, the Indians will have to find a way to get him more playing time.
  • The Dodgers were criticized for absorbing hundreds of millions of dollars in salary (and giving up five players, including prospects Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa) when they acquired Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto from the Red Sox last August. But, MLB.com's Lyle Spencer tweets, Gonzalez, Crawford and Punto have been the Dodgers' three best position players this year. Of course, that says more about the Dodgers' offense than anything else — the Dodgers are scoring just 3.39 runs per game, second-to-last in the National League.

Mariners Designate Robert Andino For Assignment

By | at

The Mariners have designated infielder Robert Andino for assignment and elevated shortstop Carlos Triunfel to the big league club. This seemingly simple transaction took some unusual twists and turns throughout the day.

Now that the dust has settled, Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times recapped the series of events. As MLBTR explained earlier today, Dave Cameron of Fangraphs and U.S.S. Mariner tweeted that Andino had been placed on outright waivers to open a 40-man roster spot. A 40-man spot was needed to permit catcher Jesus Sucre to come up and replace the demoted Jesus Montero. However, that waiver move would not have cleared space on the team’s 40-man for 48 hours, the time required for Andino to clear waivers (unless he was claimed). Instead, Baker reported, the Mariners had intended to designate a minor leaguer for assignment to make way for Sucre, leaving Andino on the roster (at least for the time being). As Baker explains, the report of the Andino waiver move meant that the team would be dressing a player who would be (or, at least, believed he would be) out of a job shortly.

Later this afternoon, the Mariners announced that Andino had been designated for assignment, with Triunfel promoted to take his spot. (Baker reported the news first on Twitter.) By designating Andino, the club immediately cleared a 40-man spot for Sucre (who is also now on the active roster) and a 25-man spot for Triunfel (who already occupied a 40-man spot). Triunfel, however, had already flown out this morning with Triple-A Tacoma for the team’s game in Reno, NV. The youngster was then re-routed back to Seattle this afternoon.

This odd sequence leads Baker to infer that the M’s changed course after the Andino waiver news broke. As Baker notes, Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik said that he was already looking to bring up Triunfel. While Zduriencik would not confirm that Andino had been placed on waivers, he did say that no transaction had been made prior to today. Whether the reasons, as Baker explains, “what happened today is hardly routine.”

The net of Seattle’s dealings today is that Andino finds himself in DFA limbo, with the team having ten days to trade, outright, or release him. The 29-year-old Andino batted just .184/.253/.237 for the M's this season, appearing primarily at shortstop. He also has extensive big league experience at second base and has seen some time at third base. Andino was acquired by the Mariners from the Orioles in exchange for Trayvon Robinson back in November.

In parts of nine Major League seasons between the Marlins, Orioles and Mariners, Andino is a .232/.294/.318 hitter. He grades out as a plus defender — particularly at second base — according to both UZR and The Fielding Bible.

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

Quick Hits: Beltran, D’Backs, Montero, Draft, Cashner

By | at

Epifanio "Epi" Guerrero, one of the key figures in the history of Dominican baseball, passed today at age 71.  Guerrero signed a number of notable international talents (including Cesar Cedeno, Carlos Delgado and Tony Fernandez) while working in the Astros, Yankees, Blue Jays and Brewers organizations as a scout and coach during a career that began in 1965.  Guerrero was one of the first scouts to be involved in the development of the academy system that gave countless young Dominican prospects chances at a professional career.  We here at MLBTR extend our condolences to Guerrero's friends and family on his passing.

Here are some news items from around the baseball world…

  • While it has been assumed that the Cardinals will part ways with Carlos Beltran after this season, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch thinks both Beltran and the Cardinals could benefit from Beltran re-signing a short-term contract, provided the veteran was willing to take a hometown discount.  While Miklasz has a point that Beltran is a surer thing to produce for a contender than youngsters like Oscar Taveras or Matt Adams, I would be surprised if Beltran returned to St. Louis in 2014.  If the Cards were confident enough in their young talent to let Albert Pujols and Kyle Lohse go, they'll do with the same with Beltran.
  • The Diamondbacks may not need to make any major moves before the trade deadline, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal writes.  The Snakes have depth at several positions and further reinforcements are coming as some injured players return from the disabled list.  The only possible area of need could be at closer given J.J. Putz's elbow problems but GM Kevin Towers is "100% confident" that Putz will recover.
  • The Mariners talked with Jesus Montero about a long-term contract before he was linked to the Biogenesis scandal, but nothing came of those conversations, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets.  Earlier today, the M's demoted the 23-year-old to Triple-A.
  • If MLB announces that an international draft will take place in 2014, Baseball America's Ben Badler notes that teams like the Rangers, Yankees, Cardinals or Reds (who are likely to pick near the end of that draft's first round) could be wise to exceed the spending cap on international prospects this year.  Such teams would lose their 2014 or '15 international draft first-rounder for going over the cap, but it could be worth it to get a jump on the non-American/Canadian talent market.
  • MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo profiles some of the top corner infielders in the upcoming amateur draft, a list led by University of San Diego third baseman Kris Bryant.
  • ESPN's Keith Law discusses draft prospects, minor leaguers and other moves from around the game in a live chat with fans.
  • Andrew Cashner is making great strides as a starting pitcher for the Padres, MLB.com's Corey Brock writes.  Cashner has a 2.80 ERA in six starts for the Friars in 2013 after being limited to mostly bullpen work over his first three seasons due to injuries and concerns about his arm strength.  If Cashner develops into a solid starter, it will obviously give the Padres a much greater return on the Anthony Rizzo trade from January 2012.
  • The Rays' pitching depth is the envy of baseball, MLB.com's Bill Chastain writes, and that depth at the Major League level gives all their minor league arms time to properly develop into the club's next generation of rotation stalwarts.

MLBTR's Zach Links contributed to this post

Mariners To Demote Jesus Montero

By | at

Mariners catcher Jesus Montero will be sent to Triple-A Tacoma today, reports Ryan Divish of The News Tribune.  Catcher Jesus Sucre will be selected to join the big league club, and it appears Montero won't do much catching at Triple-A.

It was a blockbuster challenge trade of two extremely promising and valuable young players. Montero had 18 excellent big league games for the Yankees under his belt when he was sent to the Mariners in January 2012.  The principal player coming to New York in the deal was soon-to-be 23-year-old righty Michael Pineda, who had averaged nearly 95 miles per hour on his fastball as a rookie, made the All-Star team, and finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting.  Young players of this caliber are rarely traded.  Things went south quickly for Pineda, as decreased velocity in his second Spring Training start was a harbinger of a shoulder injury that would lead to surgery in May 2012.  What's more, Pineda was arrested for a DUI in August of that year.  Pineda continues to work his way back from the surgery, with the expectation of making his Yankee debut this year.  Whether Pineda's rookie campaign was the high point in his career is anybody's guess.

Montero's first full season in 2012 was disappointing.  Known almost entirely for his offensive prowess, he posted a .260/.298/.386 line in 553 plate appearances.  Montero caught in 56 games, serving as DH in 78.  In a full-time catching role this year, he did even less with the bat.  As "a man without a position," as Divish puts it, the bar for Montero to become a regular designated hitter in the Majors is quite high.  Oh, and the reported connection to Biogenesis doesn't help.

There were a couple of additional players in the Montero-Pineda swap.  The Mariners acquired righty Hector Noesi, who hasn't impressed in 120 1/3 big league innings so far.  The Yankees added prospect Jose Campos, rated their fifth-best by Baseball America prior to the season.  Campos made only five starts last year in low A ball, missing most of the season due to a bone bruise or a small fracture in his elbow.  The injury has Campos on an innings limit in the 85-90 range this year.

One year and four months after the exciting Montero-Pineda swap, the players involved in the trade are a mess across the board, which leads to today's poll: which pair of players do you prefer moving forward? 

Which pair of players do you prefer moving forward?
Michael Pineda and Jose Campos 67.79% (6,933 votes)
Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi 32.21% (3,294 votes)
Total Votes: 10,227

West Links: Dodgers, Ethier, Norberto, Mariners

By | at

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly offered up some brutally honest and scathing remarks for his players and the team's upper management prior to Wednesday's game, and Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times has a recap. Mattingly benched $85MM right fielder Andre Ethier in favor of rookie Scott Van Slyke, commenting that to use his “most competitive lineup” and one that would “fight the hardest.” Mattingly wouldn't confirm whether or not he still viewed Ethier as an everyday player. He also noted that the front office tried to buy an All-Star team, stating: “All grit and no talent isn’t going to make you successful. But all talent and no grit is not going to get you there, either.” Here's more out of baseball's Western divisions…

  • One rival general manager told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that it seems like Mattingly is trying to get himself fired.
  • Dave Cameron of Fangraphs writes that Ethier is now "eminently available" and suggests some speculative trades. Cameron proposes a swap of Ethier and Jeff Francoeur, with the Dodgers picking up the tab (Twitter link) on Ethier's final two seasons. Doing so would save the Dodgers up to $40MM, allow them to call up Yasiel Puig and give Kansas City an upgrade over Francoeur. He also suggests a swap with Franklin Gutierrez of the Mariners or dumping Ethier on the Rangers.
  • Jordan Norberto's preference is still to re-sign with the Athletics after being released earlier in the month, according to John Shea and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Norberto was cut loose due to an elbow strain, and he's throwing again as he rehabs from the injury. The Cubs, Royals and Rays are all interested in Norberto, but he told Shea and Slusser: "I've never felt anything for a team before like I do about the A's – the teammates, the pitching coach, the manager, the fans."
  • The Mariners need better than what Aaron Harang is giving them every five days, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, who suggests that it's time to designate Harang for assignment and give Jeremy Bonderman a try. Bonderman has a 3.79 ERA in nine Triple-A starts.
  • The Mariners are better than their record indicates, writes Rosenthal, but a number of their key offensive pieces are free agents. Rosenthal feels that the Mariners and GM Jack Zduriencik are at a crossroads, but an improved record could make Seattle a desirable destination for Northwest natives Jacoby Ellsbury and Tim Lincecum.

Poll: The Next 2012 First-Rounder To Be Called Up

By | at

The Orioles made headlines last night by announcing the promotion of Kevin Gausman to the Majors. Gausman, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2012 draft, reached Double-A as a 22-year-old and posted a 3.11 ERA with a 49-to-5 K/BB ratio in 46 1/3 innings there. With that promotion, Gausman becomes the first member of last year's first round to make it to the Majors. Among 2012 first-rounders, only four other players have even reached the Double-A level to this point.

Mike Zunino, selected by the Mariners at No. 3 overall, has reached Triple-A, but the catcher is hitting just .220/.290/.496 through 33 games in Tacoma. Given the Mariners' need for offense, however, he could be a hot streak away. Promoting him would allow the Mariners to use Jesus Montero at DH, but that only adds to a roster crunch of corner OF/1B/DH types in Seattle.

Right-hander Michael Wacha, the No. 19 overall selection by the Cardinals, has also reached Triple-A. He's posted a 2.05 ERA, 5.8 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 through 52 2/3 innings for the Memphis Redbirds to open the season, and the Cardinals have some injury problems in their rotation with Jaime Garcia and Jake Westbrook on the shelf. For now, they've gone with John Gast and Tyler Lyons over Wacha.

Marcus Stroman's 50-game suspension for a positive stimulant has finished, and the Blue Jays right-hander made a strong debut at Double-A with five scoreless innings in a start. Many pegged the Duke product to be the quickest first rounder to reach the Majors last year, and Baseball America's Ben Badler wrote Sunday that it "shouldn't take him long" before he's big league ready.

James Ramsey, the Cardinals' other selection (No. 23), is the only other player from the first round to reach Double-A or higher thus far. As an outfielder, he has an uphill battle to reach the Major Leagues given the presence of Matt Holliday, Jon Jay, Carlos Beltran and top prospect Oscar Taveras within the Cardinals organization. He's a huge long shot, but he's advanced further than most college players from the first round already.

Let's open this up to a poll…

Who will be the next 2012 first-rounder to be called up to the Majors?
Michael Wacha 40.71% (3,019 votes)
Mike Zunino 28.75% (2,132 votes)
Marcus Stroman 21.58% (1,600 votes)
A player who has yet to reach Double-A 6.51% (483 votes)
James Ramsey 2.44% (181 votes)
Total Votes: 7,415

Minor Moves: Cotts, Boyer, Barton

By | at

The latest minor moves…

  • The Rangers plan to purchase the contract of lefty reliever Neal Cotts if tonight's game is played, tweets Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest.  The 33-year-old hasn't seen big league action since 2009, but he's been dominant in 23 Triple-A innings this year.  The Rangers already have an open spot on their 40-man roster for him.
  • The Hanshin Tigers have a basic agreement with righty reliever Blaine Boyer, according to Sanspo (via Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker). Boyer, 31, pitched 15 relief innings for the Royals' Triple-A affiliate before exercising his out clause to pursue the opportunity in Japan.
  • The Mariners signed 17-year-old Brazilian righty Daniel Missaki, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America.  Badler notes that he was the youngest player in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
  • The Athletics announced that first baseman Daric Barton cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A, after he was designated for assignment Saturday to open a spot for Chris Young.  He's earning $1.1MM this year, which may have limited interest.  Barton led the American League in walks as a 24-year-old in 2010, but has battled injuries since.  He's still a walk machine at Triple-A, though, with a .422 OBP through 128 plate appearances.
  • The Angels outrighted outfielder Scott Cousins to Triple-A yesterday, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page.  Cousins had been designated for assignment on Saturday to make room for Chris Nelson.
  • The Yankees outrighted infielder Alberto Gonzalez to Triple-A yesterday, according to the International League transactions page.  Gonzalez had been designated for assignment on Saturday to make room for Reid Brignac.
  • Three players currently reside in DFA limbo: Jon Rauch of the Marlins, Derek Lowe of the Rangers, and Michael Bowden of the Cubs.  Rauch and Lowe figure to be released by their clubs in the coming days, while Bowden will have to decide whether to accept an outright assignment if he clears waivers.

AL West Notes: Profar, Astros, Mariners

By | at

The Rangers have placed Ian Kinsler on the disabled list with an intercostal strain and recalled middle infielder and top prospect Jurickson Profar, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. Profar already had a cup of coffee last September, collecting 17 big-league at-bats. But the promotion of the No. 1 player on recent top prospect listings from Baseball America, Keith Law, and MLB.com is cause for excitement. The Baseball America Prospect Handbook praises Profar's all-around game, particularly his bat speed, plate discipline and defense, noting that "Profar may not have the most power, the most speed or the strongest arm on the field, but he's typically the best player out there."

Profar, 20, has hit .278/.370/.438 for Triple-A Round Rock so far this year. He is already on the 40-man roster. If he sticks in the big leagues, he would be eligible for free agency after the 2019 season, and he would be a Super Two player, meaning that he would be arbitration-eligible after the 2015 season. Super Two status would only be an issue if the Rangers kept Profar in the big leagues much of the rest of the season, however, and it remains to be seen what they will do with Profar once Kinsler returns from injury.

Here are more notes from the AL West.

  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow and owner Jim Crane watched a potential draft pick in Chapel Hill Saturday (likely UNC third baseman Colin Moran), and Luhnow says he's pleased that Crane came along, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports. "We don't comment on Draft-eligible players for obvious reasons, but we continue to put in a lot of time against it, and it was great Jim was willing to go out and see a player with his own eyes," says Luhnow. "We might try another couple before it's all said and done."
  • The Mariners blew it by missing out on Michael Bourn this winter, Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times argues. "[T]he Bourn thing, for me, is a classic example of how this rebuilding process has played out for the Mariners," says Baker. "It’s taken a long time to get where we are and I do think we could have seen some better baseball a bit quicker had the Mariners spent some dough this winter and in prior ones to shore-up where they were lacking." Bourn is hitting .311/.363/.473 and has been a key contributor to one of baseball's best offenses with the Indians, while the Mariners have the worst offense in the American League. The Mariners do have the No. 12 overall pick in the upcoming draft, however, and they would have had to forfeit that pick if they had signed Bourn.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top