Blue Jays Release A.J. Jimenez
FEB. 13: The Blue Jays announced today that Jimenez has been released.
FEB. 9: The Blue Jays have announced that catcher A.J. Jimenez was designated for assignment. His roster spot was needed for the previously reported signing of righty Joe Smith, whose deal was also announced.
Jimenez, 26, has taken an odd career route to date. He has remained in the Toronto organization for all of his nine professional seasons, but hasn’t yet cracked the majors. Most recently, he was added back to the 40-man in November — only now to be removed yet again.
Last year, Jimenez returned for his fourth run at the Triple-A level. He ended up with a .241/.290/.377 batting line over 248 plate appearances, representing rather typical levels of offensive production for him in the upper minors. Though he once rated as one of the Blue Jays’ top organizational prospects, he’s struggled greatly across three straight minor league campaigns. He’d have had to beat out offseason additions Jarrod Saltalamacchia (minor league free agent) and Juan Graterol (waiver claim) in order to win a spot as the backup to Russell Martin this season.
Blue Jays To Sign Jose Tabata
The Blue Jays have struck a minor-league deal with outfielder Jose Tabata, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Other terms of the arrangement remain unreported at this time.
Still just 28 years old, Tabata will be looking to spark a career revival in Toronto. Once a highly promising young talent, he was shipped to the Dodgers in the middle of the 2015 season in a bad-contract swap that sent Michael Morse back to the Pirates.
After two solid seasons to start his MLB career with the Bucs, Tabata signed an extension that the club hoped would deliver surplus value over its lengthy term (six guaranteed years with three options). But he struggled in the first season after signing and never developed into more than a part-time player in Pittsburgh. Hopes were raised by a solid 2013 campaign, in which he slashed .282/.342/.429 over 341 plate appearances, but Tabata fell off sharply thereafter.
Los Angeles paid down the remainder of the deal when it cut Tabata loose last summer, wrapping things up with a $250K buyout of a 2017 club option. He had failed to earn a return to the majors after a tepid start to the 2016 season at Triple-A, though he did exhibit his typically high-quality approach during a stint in the Mexican League. In 123 plate appearances for Quintana Roo, Tabata slashed .320/.439/.410 while drawing 18 walks against just 13 strikeouts.
Blue Jays Designate Chad Girodo For Assignment
The Blue Jays announced that they’ve designated left-hander Chad Girodo for assignment in order to create roster space for fellow southpaw J.P. Howell, whose one-year, $3MM deal has now been announced by the team.
Girodo just turned 26 three days ago and is coming off a season in which he made his Major League debut with the Jays. In 10 1/3 big league innings, the former ninth-rounder allowed five runs (4.35 ERA) on 11 hits and two walks with five strikeouts. His work in Triple-A Buffalo resulted in a 3.79 ERA with 6.1 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 57.2 percent ground-ball rate. Including both his Major League and Minor League work, Girodo yielded a .263/.289/.419 batting line to left-handed hitters and a much more alarming .347/.417/.584 slash to right-handed opponents.
Blue Jays Sign J.P. Howell
FEB. 9: The Blue Jays announced the signing of Howell to a one-year deal and confirmed that he’ll earn $3MM in 2017.
JAN. 31, 5:25pm: FOX’s Ken Rosenthal tweets that Howell’s deal with the Blue Jays will guarantee him $3MM.
4:40pm: The Blue Jays have reached a one-year deal with left-handed reliever J.P. Howell, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). The Legacy Agency client’s contract is pending a physical, Olney notes.
[Related: Updated Toronto Blue Jays Depth Chart]
Howell, 34 in April, has spent the past four seasons as a member of the Dodgers’ bullpen, working to a collective 2.49 ERA with 8.1 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a hefty 58.5 percent ground-ball rate across 205 2/3 innings of relief. In that four-year stretch, left-handed opponents have been stymied by Howell, batting a collective .210/.283/.274 in 423 plate appearances. While Howell carries some degree of a platoon split, right-handers have batted a relatively unimpressive .246/.329/.351 against him over the life of that same four-year term.
Howell is coming his worst ERA (4.09) since 2011, but the rest of his stats were fairly consistent with his 2015 marks. The veteran southpaw averaged 7.8 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 in last season’s 50 2/3 innings, and his 59.1 percent ground-ball rate was again one of the best in all of Major League Baseball (15th among pitchers with at least 50 innings thrown, per Fangraphs). Among Howell’s other most appealing traits is durability. While he did undergo surgery to repair the labrum in his left shoulder back in 2010. Howell hasn’t landed on the Major League disabled list since the 2011 season.
One somewhat concerning element of Howell’s 2016 campaign was the .302/.343/.417 batting line that he surrendered against left-handed opponents. However, that figure seems largely attributable to a .375 BABIP against lefty hitters. He still managed to strikeout out 21.4 percent of the lefties he faced in 2016, and while that number represents a slight dip from the 23.2 percent mark he tallied in 2015, Howell’s control against lefties was improved last season (3.9 percent walk rate versus 7.3 percent in 2015). Howell also saw his fastball velocity dip to an average of 85.3 mph in 2016, which could also have caused some clubs to shy away.
For the Blue Jays, left-handed relief has been a glaring area of need all offseason. Toronto watched bullpen mainstay Brett Cecil hit free agency and sign a still-surprising four-year, $30.5MM deal with the Cardinals, leaving Aaron Loup as the most experienced left-hander in manager John Gibbons’ bullpen. While much of the chatter surrounding the market for lefty relievers has centered around Jerry Blevins and Boone Logan in recent weeks, Howell more quietly remained available as an alternative with a lengthy track record of quality innings.
As it stands, he figures to join Loup as a second lefty in support of closer Roberto Osuna, veteran setup man Jason Grilli and sophomore righty Joe Biagini in Toronto. The remaining spots in the Toronto bullpen could go a number of ways, as the Blue Jays will have Bo Schultz, Ryan Tepera, Dominic Leone, Danny Barnes, Glenn Sparkman, Mike Bolsinger and Matt Dermody all in the mix for jobs. It also seems highly plausible that Toronto president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins could continue to pursue relief help and look to add one of the many right-handers remaining on the market.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Blue Jays Sign Jake Elmore To Minor League Deal
The Blue Jays announced that they’ve signed utility infielder Jake Elmore to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training.
The 29-year-old Elmore logged 99 plate appearances with the Brewers in 2016, hitting .218/.371/.244. Elmore boast a solid 10 percent walk rate in his big league career (some, but not all of which is attributable to batting eighth in front of the pitcher at times in the National League), but he’s just a .215/.297/.280 hitter in 478 Major League plate appearances. His greatest asset is his defensive versatility, as Elmore has played every position on the diamond — including pitching — in his big league career.
Most of Elmore’s work has come at shortstop (352 innings), but he has 100+ innings at first base, second base and in left field, as well as 84 innings at the hot corner in the Majors. He’s bounced all over the diamond in the minors as well and can function as a safety net for the Blue Jays at a number of positions as a result.
Blue Jays To Sign Joe Smith
FEB. 7: Smith’s deal comes with a $3MM base salary and $500K in performance bonuses, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney.
FEB. 4: The Blue Jays have reached an agreement with right-handed reliever Joe Smith on a one-year Major League deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The signing, should it become official, will require a 40-man roster move by Toronto. Smith is represented by Excel Sports Management.
Smith, 33 in March, posted a 3.46 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 1.38 HR/9, and 50.3% groundball rate in 52 innings for the Angels and Cubs. In terms of peripheral stats, it was the veteran sidearmer’s worst campaign since 2010. The Blue Jays will look for Smith to recapture some of his excellence spanning 2011-14, when he was fourth among all relievers with a 2.25 ERA in 271 2/3 innings. Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro has a previous connection to Smith, having acquired him in December 2008 while serving as general manager of the Indians.
Early in the 2016 season, Smith became the top man in the Angels’ bullpen when Huston Street went down with an oblique injury. However, Smith hit the DL himself in June with a hamstring injury. Shortly after his return, he was dealt to the Cubs at the trade deadline. Smith’s time with the Cubs was particularly brief due to a recurrence of the hamstring injury, and he was left off the team’s playoff roster.
The Jays’ contract with Smith comes on the heels of a one-year pact signed with lefty J.P. Howell on Tuesday. Howell will fill the role of the departed Brett Cecil, who signed a four-year deal with the Cardinals. Holdovers in the Blue Jays’ bullpen include Roberto Osuna, Joe Biagini, and Jason Grilli.
With pitchers and catchers reporting in a week for some teams, free agent relievers Joe Blanton, Travis Wood, and David Hernandez are among those still looking for a home.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor MLB Transactions: 2/6/17
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the game…
- The Blue Jays announced the signing of infielder Jonathan Diaz to a minor league deal earlier this week. Diaz was originally drafted by the Jays in 2006 and this is his third separate stint in the organization. Diaz has a .406 OPS over 65 career plate appearances in the majors, all with the Red Sox and Blue Jays during the 2013-15 seasons. The 31-year-old spent 2016 playing for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate.
- The Reds have signed infielder Zach Walters to a minor league contract, reports Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. The 27-year-old switch-hitter spent the 2014-15 seasons in the Indians organization after being traded over from the Nationals in exchange for Asdrubal Cabrera, and he was with the Dodgers last season. Walters has displayed plenty of pop, with 10 homers in 181 career MLB plate appearances, but he’s also been extremely strikeout prone in the bigs. Overall, he’s a .176/.227/.382 hitter in the Majors, though his .265/.312/.482 career line in Triple-A is more palatable. Walters logged a .770 OPS in 94 games with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate last season and played every position on the diamond besides catcher.
- The Brewers announced today that right-hander Rob Scahill has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A. The 29-year-old had previously been designated for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for infielder Ehire Adrianza, who was claimed off waivers before promptly being designated for assignment himself (in favor of first baseman and fellow waiver claim Jesus Aguilar). Scahill pitched well for the Brewers late in the 2016 season, tossing 18 1/3 innings with a 2.45 ERA and a 14-to-3 K/BB ratio. Scahill’s ground-ball rate has soared in each of the past two seasons, sitting around 62 percent in that time. He’s yet to find consistent success in the Majors, though he does possess a very solid 3.03 ERA in his past 65 1/3 innings in the big leagues.
- The Orioles announced that they’ve re-signed infielder Robert Andino to a minor league contract. Baltimore also confirmed its previously reported minors contract with Johnny Giavotella. The 32-year-old Andino will return to Baltimore for his second stint after previously spending the 2009-12 seasons with the Orioles. In 2016, Andino returned to the Majors following a two-year absence from the bigs and picked up seven singles in 24 plate appearances with the Marlins. He spent most of the season in Triple-A New Orleans, hitting .267/.319/.427. Capable of playing shortstop, second base and third base, Andino will likely provide the O’s with some infield depth in the upper minors. While Andino does receive an invite to Major League Spring Training (per Rich Dubroff of PressboxOnline, on Twitter), Ryan Flaherty is in line to be the team’s primary utility option.
AL East Notes: Sanchez, Stroman, Blue Jays, Swihart, Wieters
Here’s the latest from around the AL East…
- It could make sense for the Blue Jays to pursue extensions with Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman this spring, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi opines. Locking up young pitching is obviously a logical tactic, and if nothing else, the Jays could gain some cost certainty on both starters through their arbitration years. Sanchez will be arb-eligible for the first time next winter, while Stroman is going through the arbitration process for the first of four trips (as a Super Two player) this offseason, to the point of going to a hearing to determine his 2017 salary. On the other hand, since both players have so many years of control ahead of them, the Jays could wait at least one more season to see what they really have in either starter before discussing a long-term agreement.
- Dalton Pompey will need a big Spring Training to break into the Blue Jays‘ planned Melvin Upton Jr./Ezequiel Carrera platoon in left field, MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm writes. The Jays want Pompey to play every day, so if he does make the big league roster, it won’t be in a bench role. A good spring performance, however, will put Pompey in line for a promotion should one or both or Upton or Carrera get off to a slow start. Elsewhere in the mailbag piece, Chisholm notes that it may be hard for any prospects to find a spot on Toronto’s Opening Day roster, and highly-touted Cuban signing Lourdes Gurriel Jr. isn’t likely to be a viable roster candidate until 2018.
- Blake Swihart‘s eventual role with the Red Sox could be serving a multi-positional threat who can catch 90 games while also contributing at first, third, DH and the outfield, Peter Gammons writes in his latest piece at GammonsDaily.com. Boston moved Swihart to left field last season due to defensive issues behind the plate, though Swihart is intent on carving out a niche for himself as a catcher. Since Sandy Leon and Christian Vazquez both have their own question marks, Swihart could still emerge as a catching option for the Sox in 2017. As Gammons and Sox bullpen coach Dana LeVangie both mention, Swihart doesn’t have all that much actual catching experience in his career, and got precious little time as a catcher last year due to the position switch and the ankle injury that shortened his season.
- Re-signing Matt Wieters “would be sentimental, but not practical” for the Orioles, MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli opines. There have been whispers that Baltimore could bring back Wieters as a part-time DH and in a timeshare behind the plate with Welington Castillo, since Wieters could be had at a lowered price given his long stay in free agency. Signing veterans at a relative bargain price is a Dan Duquette specialty, Ghiroli notes, though the O’s aren’t actively pursuing Wieters. It could also be hard for Baltimore to offer Wieters enough playing time, given Castillo’s presence and the likelihood that Mark Trumbo will get more DH at-bats this season.
- For more out of Baltimore, check out this set of Orioles Notes from earlier today on MLBTR.
Pitching Notes: Hammel, Jays, Royals, Blevins, Blanton, Braves
Let’s take a look in at the latest on the pitching market:
- MLB Network’s Peter Gammons tweets that one Cubs official to whom he recently spoke believes that many teams around the league assumed Jason Hammel was injured when Chicago surprisingly decided to decline his seemingly reasonable $12MM club option. That’s not the case, however, per Gammons, who notes that Hammel is in good health. It’s been a surprisingly slow market for the 34-year-old Hammel, who looks to be the top remaining starter on the open market. The 2016 season saw Hammel toss 166 2/3 innings with a 3.83 ERA, 7.8 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and a 42.1 percent ground-ball rate. Over the past three seasons, Hammel sports a 3.68 ERA, 8.3 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 40 percent grounder rate. Hammel did see his strikeout and walk rates trend in the wrong direction last year, which contributed to a 4.48 FIP, 4.34 xFIP and 4.28 SIERA that are among his worst marks since establishing himself as a big league starter.
- Despite adding lefty J.P. Howell, the Blue Jays are still looking for another pen arm, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). It doesn’t seem as if there’s a clear preference between a righty and a lefty, as the club is said to be exploring both varieties of pitchers.
- Likewise, Royals GM Dayton Moore says that his club still intends to add another arm, though it’s not clear specifically whether it’ll be for a starter or reliever, as Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com was among those to tweet. Either the trade or the free agent market could hold the missing piece, the GM noted.
- The Mets and left-hander Jerry Blevins “have been exchanging concepts” for some time now, writes ESPN’s Buster Olney, but the Mets have only proposed one-year scenarios to this point. Blevins is known to be seeking a multi-year pact and seemingly has a realistic shot of obtaining one. Payroll has reportedly been an issue for the Mets — their current projection of $146MM would be their second-highest Opening Day mark ever — though the New York Post reported yesterday that the Mets are open to pursuing a back-loaded deal, which could serve as a compromise of sorts.
- Similarly, Olney notes that the Dodgers were very pleased with Joe Blanton last summer but have limited interest at this time after spending a combined $192MM to retain the trio of Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner and Rich Hill. Los Angeles is open to adding a reliever, but there have been rumors that they’re focused on one-year deals, and Olney’s mention of them does little to dispel that notion.
- While there’s some uncertainty as to which left-handers will be working out of the Braves‘ bullpen in 2017, Atlanta hasn’t expressed much interest in free agents such as Blevins, Javier Lopez, Boone Logan, Travis Wood and Chris Capuano, per David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Braves feel that those options are either too expensive or not definitive enough upgrades to sign. Ian Krol and Paco Rodriguez (if healthy) are likely to see significant work in the Atlanta relief corps this season, per O’Brien, who also runs down a number of other internal options.
- Right-hander David Aardsma is slated to throw for interested teams tomorrow in hopes of landing an invite to Major League Spring Training somewhere. The 35-year-old last pitched in the Majors back in 2015, tossing 30 2/3 innings with the Braves and registering a 4.70 ERA. Aardsma has added about 20 pounds while following an Olympic weightlifting program in hopes of boosting his velocity. He struggled through a brief showing with Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate last season but turned in strong minor league results in 2014-15.
Trade/Free Agent Rumors: Blevins, Jays, Alvarez, Breslow, Dozier
The Mets are open to a back-loaded two-year contract with Jerry Blevins, according to Ken Davidoff and Mike Puma of the New York Post. The Mets have long been reported to hold interest in a reunion with Blevins, but the team’s inability to find a taker for Jay Bruce‘s $13MM salary has been a deterrent to their ability to re-sign the southpaw reliever. Blevins, according to the Post duo, has been seeking a contract in line with Mike Dunn‘s three-year, $19MM contract with the Rockies, though it’s not clear if any such offer will materialize. Recently, FOX’s Ken Rosenthal reported that Blevins’ agents have signaled to interested teams that they expect to be able to secure at least a two-year, $12MM deal. If Blevins is to land that type of commitment from the Mets, most of the salary would be allocated to the 2018 season, when the Mets will have considerably more financial flexibility. Bruce, Curtis Granderson, Addison Reed, Neil Walker, Rene Rivera and Lucas Duda are all set to come off the books after 2017.
Here’s more on the free agent and trade markets…
- After agreeing to a one-year deal with lefty reliever J.P. Howell earlier today, the Jays are still on the hunt for a right-handed arm, reports Rosenthal (Twitter link). The Blue Jays are hoping to add a righty for a similar commitment to the $3MM that Howell commanded on his one-year deal with Toronto. Notably, Rosenthal quells some of the buzz that has built up regarding the Jays and White Sox closer David Robertson. Over the weekend, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo reported that the two sides had been in touch earlier this winter, and while many have used that as a launching point for further speculation, Rosenthal reports that there’s been no recent talk between the Jays and the White Sox.
- Agent Scott Boras is trying to engage the Rangers in talks about slugger Pedro Alvarez, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Texas has been tied to a different first base/DH option, Mike Napoli, for the better part of a month. There’s somewhat of a disconnect between Napoli and the Rangers, though, as Napoli has reportedly been seeking a multi-year deal while the Rangers only want to make a one-year commitment. Alvarez would represent an alternative with comparable power but a worse glove at first base. Texas could theoretically mix Alvarez into a first base/designated hitter carousel that also features some combination of Jurickson Profar, Joey Gallo and Ryan Rua, though Crasnick’s report doesn’t specify if the Rangers have any genuine interest in Alvarez.
- MLB Network’s Jon Morosi adds the Diamondbacks to the list of teams with interest in southpaw Craig Breslow (Twitter link). As Morosi notes, Arizona execs Mike Hazen and Jared Porter were both with the Red Sox when Breslow pitched for Boston from 2012-15 (as was D-backs exec Amiel Sawdaye). Breslow’s name has become more prevalent on the rumor circuit since a showcase at which he demonstrated a new arm angle for about half the teams in the league. The 36-year-old spent most of the 2016 campaign in the Marlins organization, tossing 14 innings of 4.50 ERA ball in the Majors. Breslow logged a 2.82 ERA in 402 Major League innings from 2005-13, but he’s pitched to a 4.93 ERA in 133 2/3 innings since that time.
- Morosi also tweets a late addition to the Brian Dozier saga, noting that at one point the Twins sought Jose De Leon, Yadier Alvarez and Willie Calhoun from the Dodgers in exchange for the second baseman. Certainly, that’s an aggressive ask, though it strikes me as likely that said package was presented early in talks. Most recent rumors pertaining to the talks between the Twins and Dodgers suggested that the Dodgers were set on sending only De Leon to Minnesota (as the eventually did in order to acquire Logan Forsythe from Tampa Bay), while the Twins sought at least one additional piece to the deal. Obviously, the two sides were never able to agree on a price, prompting the Dodgers to shift their focus to Forsythe.