Blue Jays Acquire Travis Bergen From Diamondbacks
The Blue Jays are acquiring left-handed reliever Travis Bergen from the Diamondbacks in exchange for cash considerations, per various reporters (including Scott Mitchell of TSN). Right-hander Patrick Murphy is going on the 60-day injured list to clear 40-man roster space. Arizona had designated Bergen for assignment earlier this week. The teams have since announced the move.
It’s something of a homecoming for Bergen, who entered pro ball as a seventh-round pick of the Jays back in 2015. The Giants selected Bergen in the Rule 5 draft in advance of the 2019 season but returned him to Toronto in the middle of that year. The Blue Jays ultimately selected Bergen to the 40-man roster themselves, but they wound up flipping him to Arizona last summer for Robbie Ray. (Perhaps more meaningfully for the D-Backs, Toronto also agreed to pick up most of Ray’s $1.42MM salary for the 2020 stretch run).
Bergen will now team up with Ray, who re-signed with the Jays over the offseason. Despite spending most of his pro career in the Toronto organization, he’s only pitched in one MLB game as a Blue Jay. The rest of Bergen’s big league experience consists of 19.2 innings for the 2019 Giants and 6.2 innings for the Diamondbacks last year. Overall, he has a 4.82 ERA at the highest level. His 24% strikeout rate is fairly typical for a reliever, but Bergen has been plagued by a lofty 14.9% walk rate in his limited MLB time.
Between being selected in the 2019 Rule 5 draft and the lack of a minor-league season last year, Bergen has even less experience at Triple-A than he does in the big leagues. However, the 27-year-old struck out 43 against just nine walks with a 0.50 ERA in Double-A in 2018. Bergen has yet to reach arbitration and has three option years remaining, so the Jays can cheaply shuttle him back-and-forth between the majors and Triple-A Buffalo so long as he sticks on the 40-man roster.
Murphy has a sprained AC joint in his shoulder and hasn’t pitched in spring training, Mitchell notes. He made four relief appearances for Toronto last season.
Minor MLB Transactions: 2/28/21
The latest minor transactions around the game:
- The Blue Jays activated infielder Breyvic Valera from the restricted list, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet was among those to note. Valera has been out of action since last July, when he reportedly had difficulty leaving his home country of Venezuela. The 29-year-old is now back in camp, where he’ll compete with Santiago Espinal and non-roster invitee Joe Panik for a utility infield job. Valera is out of options, so he’ll need to make the team out of camp or be exposed to other clubs. His activation puts Toronto’s 40-man roster at full capacity.
- The Padres announced the signing of Patrick Kivlehan to a minor-league contract. The deal contains an invitation to big league spring training. Now 31 years old, Kivlehan picked up 242 MLB plate appearances between 2016-18, seeing action with the Padres, Reds and Diamondbacks. He managed only a .208/.302/.401 line in that time, but he’s generally been a strong hitter in the high minors and has plenty of pro experience in both the corner infield and corner outfield. Kivlehan spent last season at the Blue Jays’ alternate training site.
- The Marlins are signing lefty reliever Steven Okert to a minor-league deal, reports Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. The deal does not come with a major league spring training invite, so he’s presumably ticketed for Triple-A Jacksonville to begin the season. Okert earned MLB time with the Giants every year from 2016-18. The 29-year-old has tossed 48.1 innings of 4.28 ERA/4.01 SIERA ball over 70 appearances at the big league level.
Quick Hits: Pujols, Blue Jays, Kennedy, Santana
There was a brief flurry of speculation about Albert Pujols‘ future earlier this week when Deirdre Pujols, the Angels veteran’s wife, created an Instagram post that seemed to hint that the future Hall-of-Famer would call it a career after the 2021 season. Deirdre clarified her online statement soon after posting, and her husband also addressed the matter in speaking with media (including The Associated Press) today at Spring Training.
“This thing just got blown out of proportion,” Pujols said. “My mind is not even there. My mind is on staying focused, healthy, and hopefully trying to help this ballclub win this year, and that’s it. If I feel at the end of the year that that’s it, I’ll announce it [and] go home. But I’m not even there yet.”
Pujols is entering the final season of his ten-year, $240MM deal with the Angels, and 2021 will be the slugger’s 21st MLB campaign. After four years of subpar offensive production, it would certainly seem like the 41-year-old is nearing the end of the line, though it seems we won’t know for certain until the season is through.
More from around baseball…
- George Springer will surely play every day in the Blue Jays‘ outfield, so his addition means the team’s other starting outfielders from 2020 will see their playing time either reduced or somewhat altered. Both Randal Grichuk and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith) that they wondered if they’d be traded, yet as Spring Training continues, that duo and Teoscar Hernandez are all still on the roster. It remains to be seen exactly how the Jays will arrange their lineup to get everyone at-bats, though Gurriel could find an opening with a return to part-time infield duty, as manager Charlie Montoyo is having Gurriel work out as a first baseman and third baseman. The Jays already have Cavan Biggio lined up for the bulk of the action at the hot corner, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also hopeful of getting some third base time while sharing first base/DH duty with Rowdy Tellez. Getting at least one other position under his belt can only help Gurriel, however, especially after his defensive struggles as an infielder earlier in his career.
- Ian Kennedy debated signing with two other teams before settling on the Rangers’ minor league offer, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter). The Royals, Kennedy’s former team, were one of the two other suitors, though Kennedy seems to have a clearer path to regular bullpen work in Texas. A starter for all but two of his first 291 MLB games from 2007-18, Kennedy enjoyed a stellar season as the Royals’ closer in 2019, but he is out to re-establish himself after a difficult 2020. Kennedy posted a 9.00 ERA over 14 innings before a left calf strain brought a premature end to his season.
- Danny Santana is also coming off an injury-plagued season, as the super-utilityman amassed just 63 plate appearances over 15 games with the Rangers. After undergoing elbow surgery in September, Santana is now set to hold a showcase for scouts on Thursday, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link) reports, and Santana has also been holding private workouts for teams. The 30-year-old has played all over the diamond over his seven years with the Twins, Braves, and Rangers, and was a revelation for Texas in 2019 — he hit .283/.324/.534 with 28 home runs, with by far his best wRC+ (111) since a 132 wRC+ over 430 PA as a rookie with Minnesota back in 2014.
Blue Jays, Tommy Milone Agree To Minors Deal
The Blue Jays have agreed to a minor league contract with free-agent left-hander Tommy Milone, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets. The deal includes an invitation to major league spring training.
Milone has garnered a significant amount of big league experience with several teams since he first came into MLB in 2011 as a National. Although he has only averaged 87 mph-plus on his fastball, Milone has hung around to make 183 appearances (145 starts) and total 913 2/3 innings of 4.56 ERA/4.28 pitching.
The 34-year-old divided last season between the Orioles and Braves, and though he put up some of the finest strikeout and walk percentages of his career (22.1 and 3.3, respectively), opposing offenses victimized him. Milone ultimately surrendered 29 earned runs and 55 hits (including nine homers) across 39 innings. That amounted to an unsightly 6.69 ERA, though Milone did notch a much more respectable 4.12 SIERA.
All nine of Milone’s appearances last year came as a starter, and he could now at least push for a depth role in Toronto’s rotation. The team’s slated to enter the season with Nate Pearson, Robbie Ray, Tanner Roark and Steven Matz complementing Hyun Jin Ryu in its starting five.
Quick Hits: Suarez, Anibal, Chatwood, Choo
The Reds have failed to add an established shortstop since last season ended, leaving them with Kyle Farmer and Jose Garcia as the leading in-house candidates to handle the position at the beginning of 2021. Third baseman Eugenio Suarez played a significant amount of short at the start of his career, so perhaps he’d be able to emerge as the Reds’ solution there now, though manager David Bell said the club is not considering the 29-year-old for the spot, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com relays. While the Reds “know” Suarez is cut out for the position, they have not had “any serious discussions about it yet,” per Bell. Putting Suarez at short could enable the Reds to move Mike Moustakas from second to third, where he has played for the majority of his career, or open up the keystone for Nick Senzel.
- Free-agent right-hander Anibal Sanchez has rejected “multiple” major league offers since he held a showcase a month ago, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Sanchez is holding off on signing for the time being over concerns centering on COVID-19 and the protocols that accompany it, though he’s not opting out of the season as of now, per Heyman. The soon-to-be 37-year-old struggled last season as a member of the Nationals, with whom he logged a 6.62 ERA/5.03 SIERA in 53 innings.
- Blue Jays free-agent pickup Tyler Chatwood revealed that he will work as a late-inning reliever in 2021, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet relays. Chatwood, who joined the Jays for a $3MM guarantee, has started in 143 of 197 career appearances, but the righty mostly had a rough time out of the Cubs’ rotation from 2018-20. Historically, though, there hasn’t much difference between Chatwood’s work in either role. The sample size is much larger as a starter, but he has a 4.38 ERA/.337 weighted on-base average allowed in that job versus a 4.53 ERA/.332 wOBA as a reliever.
- Outfielder/designated hitter Shin-Soo Choo returned to his native Korea on Monday, signing a one-year, $2.4MM contract. But Choo indicated that he heard from up to eight major league teams that offered him more money than he’ll make in Korea, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. In explaining why he chose to go to the Korea Baseball Organization, Choo said, “I want to play in Korea because I want to play in front of my parents and I want to give back to Korean fans.” As Wilson notes, the 38-year-old Choo’s parents have never seen him play pro ball in person. They’ll now get that opportunity.
Dodgers, Blue Jays Complete Ross Stripling Trade
The Dodgers have acquired first baseman/outfielder Ryan Noda from the Blue Jays, Juan Toribio of MLB.com was among those to report. Noda was the second of two players to be named later (joining right-hander Kendall Williams) in the teams’ August trade centering on veteran righty Ross Stripling.
Now 24 years old, Noda became a pro when the Jays chose him in the 15th round of the 2017 draft. He has mashed in the minors since then, having combined for a .272/.422/.478 line with 40 home runs and 35 stolen bases in 1,292 plate appearances among the rookie, Single-A and High-A levels. However, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote last month that Noda “strikes out a lot for someone older than is usual for his level” and may only amount to a Quad-A type of player. Noda fanned in just under 30 percent of his plate appearances during his most recent minor league action in 2019.
Quick Hits: Pujols, T. Rosenthal, Gardner, Hoskins
Deirdre Pujols, wife of Angels first baseman Albert Pujols, suggested on Instagram on Monday that this will be the final season of the 41-year-old’s storied career. However, she quickly amended her post and made it clear that he won’t necessarily retire after 2021. Indeed, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report that Pujols hasn’t made a decision on his future beyond this year. But as someone who has struggled immensely over the past few seasons, it doesn’t seem likely that the future Hall of Famer will land another guaranteed contract even if he wants to play in 2022. Regardless, he’ll earn $30MM this season on the 10-year, $254MM deal he signed with the Angels entering the 2012 campaign.
- The Brewers were among the teams that tried to sign reliever Trevor Rosenthal before he inked a one-year, $11MM guarantee with the Athletics, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The Braves were also known to be in the mix, and they made the right-hander a back-loaded offer for two years, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Trevor Rosenthal ultimately chose the A’s back-loaded proposal (they’ll pay him through 2023).
- Outfielder Brett Gardner re-signed with the Yankees for a $5.15MM guarantee, but at least a few other teams considered prying him out of New York. The Braves, Angels and Blue Jays all showed interest in Gardner during his long stay in free agency, per Heyman. However, Gardner’s goal was to remain a member of the Yankees. A 2005 third-round pick who made his big league debut in 2008, Gardner is easily the Yankees’ longest-tenured player.
- Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who underwent Tommy John surgery last October, said that he has been “medically cleared” for all spring training activities, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays. It’s not certain whether Hoskins will be in the Phillies’ lineup on Opening Day – that will depend on how many reps he gets this spring – but it’s not “out of the picture,” he stated. After a somewhat disappointing 2019, the 27-year-old slugger enjoyed a major rebound last season, when he slashed .245/.384/.503 (140 wRC+) with 10 home runs in 185 plate appearances.
Extension Notes: Lindor, Correa, Bieber, Bichette
New Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor revealed that there’s “mutual interest” in an extension, though he believes “it’s too early” for serious talks to start, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com. Lindor said in early January, shortly after the Mets acquired him from Cleveland, that he wouldn’t want to discuss a new contract during the season. His feelings on that subject seemingly remain the same, as he notes, “It would be unfair for me and the rest of the team to have ongoing conversations on an extension, and we show up on Opening Day and our mind is somewhere else.” Considering Lindor’s stance, the Mets figure to spend the next month-plus trying to lock up the 27-year-old, who has been a premier player throughout his career and who was the biggest acquisition the club made in the offseason.
- The Astros’ Carlos Correa could join Lindor as part of a star-studded class of free-agent shortstops next winter, but he would also like to secure a new deal before the upcoming season, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes. “If the Astros want to extend me, I would like to get it done before the season starts,” Correa said. “I feel good, my body feels great and I feel I’m going to have such a great season. Once the season starts, I don’t want to be involved and distracted with those conversations.” Correa, 26, put up uncharacteristically mediocre production in 2020, but he stayed healthy for the first time in a few seasons. He avoided arbitration Feb. 6 with an $11.7MM agreement for 2021, but he and his agent haven’t heard from the Astros about a long-term deal since then, McTaggart relays.
- Indians ace Shane Bieber hasn’t discussed a long-term deal with the club, but he’d be willing to do so, Zack Meisel of The Athletic tweets. The Indians don’t necessarily have to urgently sign Bieber, who won’t be eligible for arbitration until after 2021 or free agency until the end of 2024. But with the club’s low budget in mind, it could behoove it to extend the reigning AL Cy Young winner sometime soon.
- Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette told Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet and other reporters that he’s open to an extension, but the team hasn’t made him an offer so far. The 22-year-old Bichette has been a revelation for the Blue Jays dating back to his 2019 debut, having slashed .307/.347/.549 with 16 home runs and eight stolen bases in 340 plate appearances. Fortunately for Toronto, it isn’t in danger of losing Bichette in the near future, which would explain the lack of urgency in inking him to an extension. Bichette still has two pre-arbitration years remaining and isn’t slated to reach free agency until after 2025.
Red Sox Claim Joel Payamps, Place Franchy Cordero On COVID Injured List
The Red Sox have claimed right-hander Joel Payamps off waivers from the Blue Jays, according to Boston’s Twitter feed. To create roster space, outfielder Franchy Cordero has been placed on the COVID-19 injured list, as the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham reported earlier today.
Payamps returns to the Sox less than two weeks after Toronto acquired him in another waiver claim, after the Red Sox designated Payamps for assignment to make roster room for the newly-signed Garrett Richards. The Sox themselves first landed Payamps on a waiver claim back in November when the right-hander was DFA’ed by the Diamondbacks.
A veteran of eight minor league seasons in the Rockies and Diamondbacks organizations, Payamps has received brief looks at the MLB level in each of the last two seasons, appearing in two games for Arizona in both 2019 and 2020 (with a 3.86 ERA over his seven career innings in the Show). Over 665 2/3 innings in the minors, Payamps has a 4.15 ERA with a modest 20.34 strikeout rate, starting 119 of 145 games but seeing increasing work as a reliever in both the affiliated minors and in the Dominican Winter League.
Cordero was acquired from the Royals as part of the three-team trade with the Mets that saw Andrew Benintendi head from Boston to Kansas City. Cordero has shown some glimpses of potential but has been plagued by injuries, appearing in only 95 Major League games over his four seasons as a big leaguer. It isn’t known if Cordero’s placement on the COVID list is because of his own positive test for the virus, or if he was placed on the list as a precautionary measure due to possible exposure.
Quick Hits: Braves, Rosenthal, Ohtani, Ray, Cherington
The Braves had interest in Trevor Rosenthal before the reliever signed with the A’s, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman writes (Twitter link). With Rosenthal now off the market, Atlanta is still looking for right-handed relief help, and Heyman wonders if the Braves could turn to a familiar face in Shane Greene. Apart from some consideration from the Twins earlier this month, there hasn’t been much buzz about Greene this offseason, despite his 2.39 ERA over 90 1/3 innings since the start of the 2019 season. Greene doesn’t have a big fastball and his peripherals haven’t been overly impressive, however, which could explain why he still available heading into his age-32 season. Atlanta did recently add veteran righty Nate Jones to their bullpen mix on a minor league deal.
Some more notes from around baseball…
- Most players make changes in the wake of a rough season, but Shohei Ohtani faced the increased challenge of overhauling himself as both a hitter and a pitcher after a 2020 campaign the Angels star called “pathetic.” Ohtani’s offseason endeavors included a trip to Driveline Baseball, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports, and Ohtani and his agent Nez Balelo told reporters that the pitcher/DH has adopted a new training regiment, a new diet, and made changes to his swing. Ohtani’s training has been helped by the fact that he is now recovered from a flexor strain that limited him to 1 2/3 innings as a pitcher in 2020, which came after not pitching at all in 2019 due to Tommy John surgery.
- Robbie Ray‘s foray into the open market didn’t last long, as the southpaw re-signed with the Blue Jays shortly after the free agent period opened in early November. This gave Ray more time to spend with Jays coaches on trying to correct his form following a mediocre 2020 season, Ray told reporters (including The Toronto Star’s Gregor Chisholm). Ray made changes to his arm slot prior to the 2020 season, which may have led to such disastrous results as a 6.62 ERA and 45 walks over just 51 2/3 innings with the Diamondbacks and Blue Jays.
- The Pirates are still in the early stages of a rebuild, and GM Ben Cherington gave an outline of the team’s basic plan to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and other reporters. Modeled after how other clubs have undergone rebuilds, Cherington broke it down into three steps: talent accumulation, developing that talent, and then adding to that talent base through trades and free agency. The general manager also made it clear that the Bucs are still in the first step, as “whatever improvement we’ve seen in our overall organizational talent — and I think we have seen some improvements in the last year — it’s not enough. We’ve got to keep going. We’ve got to be one of the stronger organizations just in terms of overall talent to give ourselves the best chance to win.”