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Rockies Sign C.J. Cron To Minor League Contract

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The Rockies announced that first baseman C.J. Cron has been signed to a minor league contract, which contains an invitation to the team’s big league Spring Training camp.

Cron signed a one-year, $6.1MM free agent deal with the Tigers last winter and got off to a strong start in Motown, hitting four homers with some good on-base and slugging numbers (.194/.346/.548) over 52 plate appearances.  Unfortunately, Cron’s season was prematurely ended after he suffered a left knee injury that required surgery.  As one might expect, there hasn’t been much offseason buzz about a player coming off such a procedure, though as of last month, Cron was cleared for full activity and is expected to be ready to contribute in full during spring camp.

The 31-year-old Cron has delivered above-average offensive production (110 wRC+, 111 OPS+) over his seven Major League seasons, hitting .257/.312/.464 with 118 home runs over 2586 career plate appearances with the Tigers, Twins, Rays, and Angels.  Because Cron is a first base-only player whose bat is merely above-average and not elite, however, teams have found him expendable, as both Minnesota and Tampa Bay chose to non-tender him rather than pay Cron’s increasing arbitration salary.

An opportunity presents itself for regular playing time in Denver, as Cron now might be the favorite for the Rockies’ starting first base job.  He will be competing with Josh Fuentes and another minor league signing in Greg Bird, as Ryan McMahon looks to be shifting across the diamond to take over from Nolan Arenado at third base.  Cron is surely one of many veteran hitters hoping the NL ends up adopting the designated hitter again, as it would create another route for regular at-bats both in 2021 and in future years.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/15/2021

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Some minor league moves from around the sport…

  • Former Tigers infielder Dawel Lugo will play 2021 with the expansion Mariachis of Guadalajara of the Mexican League, per Evan Woodbery of the MLive Media Group (via Twitter). The 26-year-old Lugo spent time in each of the past three seasons on the Tigers’ roster, though with just 11 plate appearances in 2020. In all, Lugo owns a .236/.270/.358 batting line, 61 wRC+, over 400 plate appearances with a 20.0 percent strikeout rate and 4.0 percent career walk rate. Lugo was signed back in 2011 by the Blue Jays as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He was sent from Toronto to the Diamondbacks for Cliff Pennington in 2015 and then on to Detroit as part of 2017’s J.D. Martinez deal. He ranked among his organization’s top-30 prospect by Baseball America in every season from 2013 to 2019 except for 2016. Most recently, he was the Tigers’ No. 17 prospect before the 2019 season as a versatile, contact-oriented infielder with some potential for doubles power.

Brewers Sign Brad Boxberger To Minors Contract

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The Brewers have agreed to a minor league deal with right-hander Brad Boxberger, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel reports (via Twitter).  Boxberger will receive an invitation to the team’s Major League Spring Training camp.

After signing a minors contract with the Marlins last winter, Boxberger posted a 3.00 ERA over 18 innings with Miami, plus 3 1/3 scoreless frames during the team’s playoff run.  It was a nice bounce-back performance for Boxberger in terms of pure results after struggling in 2019 with the Royals, though there wasn’t much difference between the two seasons from an analytical perspective.

Boxberger’s 22.8K% and 10.1BB% were both below average and there weren’t a lot of positives within his Statcast numbers, with the exception of a fastball spin rate in the 90th percentile.  For added pluses, Boxberger posted a career-best 51% grounder rate, and his fastball averaged 92.5mph for his highest velocity since 2015.

It was during that 2015 season that Boxberger achieved All-Star status for a 41-save season with the Rays, but he then battled some injuries and became something of a journeyman since Tampa traded him to the Diamondbacks in November 2017.  Since Opening Day 2018, Boxberger has now been a member of six different organizations, counting Milwaukee.  The right-hander will compete for a job in a Brewers bullpen that has plenty of talent but relatively little MLB experience, so Boxberger could add a veteran element to the mix.

Jared Hughes Announces Retirement

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Right-hander Jared Hughes has announced his retirement after 10 Major League seasons.  “I’ve hung up my cleats. It was time,” the 35-year-old Hughes said on his Instagram page, joking that “they were worn out from all the sprinting.”

Originally a fourth-round pick for the Pirates in the 2006 draft, Hughes spent his first six big league seasons pitching in Pittsburgh’s bullpen, contributing heavily to their playoff teams in 2014 and 2015 (Hughes had a 2.12 ERA in 131 1/3 innings and 139 appearances over those two seasons).  He then bounced around to the Brewers, Reds, Phillies, and Mets over his final four years, finishing with a 4.84 ERA over 22 1/3 frames for New York in 2020.

One of the sport’s premier grounder specialists, Hughes posted a 61.3% groundball rate over his 541 1/3 career innings — since the start of the 2011 season, he owned the third-highest grounder rate of any pitcher with at least 500 innings pitched.  This helped Hughes achieve consistent success throughout his career despite the lack of the blazing fastball or big strikeout numbers one might expect from someone who cut an imposing 6’7″ frame on the mound.  Hughes’ on-field numbers often outpaced his advanced metrics, and his impressive 2.96 career ERA is significantly better than his career 3.79 SIERA.

MLBTR offers Hughes our congratulations on a fine career, and we wish him the best in his post-playing endeavors.

Dodgers Extend Austin Barnes, Avoid Arbitration

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The Dodgers have avoided arbitration with catcher Austin Barnes by agreeing to a two-year deal worth $4.3MM, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter links).  The contract breaks down as a $300K signing bonus, $1.5MM in 2021, $2.5MM in 2022, and another $400K in potential incentives based on games played.

Barnes was seeking a $2MM salary for the 2021 season and the Dodgers countered with a $1.5MM figure, but the new deal both avoids a hearing and locks Barnes up for both of his remaining arbitration years.  The catcher is still scheduled to hit free agency following the 2022 season.

MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected Barnes to earn between $1.3MM and $1.7MM through the arbitration process, so the catcher will top that projection (counting both salary and the signing bonus) and he also banks some extra financial security for 2022 in the process.  The Barnes deal wraps up the Dodgers’ arbitration business for the winter, and it is the second multi-year contract L.A. has struck this week in order to avoid an arbitration hearing, after reaching a two-year, $8MM pact with Walker Buehler.

Originally a ninth-round pick for the Marlins in the 2011 draft, Barnes came to Los Angeles as part of a memorable seven-player trade in December 2014.  While not considered an elite prospect at the time, Barnes hit well in the Dodgers’ farm system and seemed to emerge as a catcher-of-the-future candidate when he hit .289/.408/.486 over 262 PA in 2017.  His bat hasn’t been nearly as potent since, however, and Barnes has settled into a backup role behind Will Smith.

With another highly touted catching prospect in Keibert Ruiz on the cusp of regular playing time, it remains to be seen if Barnes will be part of the Dodgers’ long-term plans.  His two-year agreement could now make him something of a trade chip, or the Dodgers might prefer to move Ruiz in order to land a higher-tier trade target.  This all to be said, Los Angeles could also just end up keeping all their catchers as part of the team’s philosophy of amassing as much depth as possible — the addition of the universal DH would help in that regard, as more at-bats would be available.

Barnes’ deal carries a $2.15MM average annual value, adding to the Dodgers’ increasingly large luxury tax bill.  The club now has a projected tax number of over $257.5MM (according to Roster Resource), beyond the highest penalty level of $250MM.  The Dodgers are facing a tax bill of over $15MM and, for passing the $250MM mark, a 10-position drop in the draft order for their highest pick in the 2021 draft.  There has been speculation that L.A. could look to trade a contract in order to at least duck under the $250MM threshold, but since the Dodgers are being taxed at the “first-timer” rate, they seem comfortable in making this one-year splurge to reload for another World Series title.

Athletics To Sign Sergio Romo

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The Athletics have agreed to a one-year deal with Sergio Romo, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link).  Romo will be paid $2.25MM, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.  Romo is represented by Meister Sports Management.

Romo hit the open market after the Twins bought out their $5MM 2021 club option on the right-hander for $250K back in October.  Originally acquired by Minnesota in a deal at the 2019 trade deadline, Romo will now head back to the Bay Area, where he starred on the other side of the Bay Bridge pitching out of the Giants’ bullpen from 2008-16.

Since leaving the Giants following the 2016 season, Romo hasn’t been quite as dominant as he was during his San Francisco heyday, with some increase in his home run and walk rates over the last four seasons.  But overall, Romo has still been an effective reliever as he approaches his 38th birthday, including posting a 4.05 ERA and an above-average 26.4K% and 18.4K-BB% over 20 innings with Minnesota in 2020.  Statcast graded Romo as a plus contributor (if not really elite) in every category across the board last season, and his 3.82 SIERA indicates that Romo was perhaps even slightly unlucky from an ERA standpoint.

Between Romo and the re-signed Yusmeiro Petit, the Athletics have added two veteran workhorses for the bullpen in a single evening.  Petit leads all pitchers in appearances since the start of the 2017 season, while Romo averaged 56 innings and 63 appearances per season from 2010-19.  Romo worked as a regular closer with the Rays in 2018 and the Marlins in 2019, and he could pick up some save opportunities should Jake Diekman (the favorite for ninth-inning duty in Oakland) run into any difficulties.  For now, Romo looks to slot in as a set-up man.

Mets Sign Mike Montgomery, Tommy Hunter To Minor League Contracts

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The Mets have signed Mike Montgomery and Tommy Hunter to minor-league contracts (via Tim Healey of Newsday). Both pitchers will receive invitations to major league spring training.

Montgomery has pitched in the big leagues in each of the past six seasons. Best known for recording the final out of the 2016 World Series as a member of the Cubs, he has settled in as a decent swing option in recent years. Since the start of 2017, the left-hander has pitched to a 4.03 ERA across 351 innings. He doesn’t miss many bats, managing just a 17.3% strikeout rate in that time. Montgomery has a decent track record of throwing strikes, though, and has induced ground balls at a strong 53.1% clip over the past four years.

The 31-year-old Montgomery entered 2020 as a member of the Royals’ rotation, but he went down with a lat strain just two innings into his first start. That knocked him out for much of the shortened season; he returned for a pair of relief appearances at the end of September before being outrighted off Kansas City’s roster.

Montgomery could compete for a spot at the back of the rotation or for a multi-inning relief role. That flexibility could prove beneficial for a New York team that’ll be without Seth Lugo to open the season due to the latter’s upcoming surgery to repair a bone spur in his elbow. At the moment, Joey Lucchesi looks the favorite to start the year in the final rotation spot behind Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Marcus Stroman and David Peterson.

Hunter, on the other hand, is a pure reliever. The 34-year-old pitched in 24 games for the Phillies last season, working to a 4.01 ERA/3.57 SIERA across 24.2 innings. Decent showing notwithstanding, Hunter’s 91.7 MPH average fastball was down rather significantly from the mid-90’s velocity he showed at his 2013-16 peak. That drop-off, coupled with Hunter’s slightly below-average strikeout (24.5%) and swinging strike (10%) rates, likely contributed to his inability to find a guaranteed deal this winter. Nevertheless, it’s easy to envision the generally reliable veteran earning a roster spot with a decent showing in spring training.

White Sox Announce Series Of Minor League Deals

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The White Sox announced the additions of fourteen players on minor league contracts with MLB spring training invitations this week. Among the signees not previously-reported are infielder Matt Reynolds; right-handers Ryan Burr, Tayron Guerrero, Alex McRae, Connor Sadzeck and Mike Wright; and left-handers Jacob Lindgren and Kodi Medeiros.

Reynolds and McRae have the most recent MLB experience of this contingent, having played in the big leagues last season. Reynolds appeared in three games for the Royals. Also a former Met and National, the right-handed hitter has compiled a .212/.282/.323 slash line across 251 plate appearances in parts of four seasons. McRae tossed a pair of scoreless relief appearances for Chicago in 2020. The right-hander has a 7.50 ERA/5.64 SIERA in 36 MLB innings with the Pirates and White Sox over the last three years.

Burr, Guerrero and Sadzeck are all righty relievers who last pitched in the majors in 2019. Each brings a power arm and has flashed some bat-missing ability (Guerrero and Sadzeck especially), but all three have been plagued by control problems. Wright was a swing option early in his career with the Orioles and can serve as a potential rotation or long relief depth piece for the Sox. He spent last season with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization, where he started 29 games and posted a 4.68 ERA with below-average strikeout (17.9%) and walk (9.1%) rates. Nevertheless, Wright managed to pitch 157.2 innings last season, perhaps giving him a leg up from a durability perspective on pitchers who spent last year in the United States, where a shorter season led to drastically curtailed innings totals.

Lindgren and Medeiros were both well-regarded prospects at one point whose careers have since been sidetracked. Lindgren has been through a series of injuries and hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2015, although he’s still only entering his age-28 season. Medeiros, once a top fifteen overall draft pick by the Brewers, has never consistently performed in the minors and has yet to play in the big leagues.

Blue Jays Release Shun Yamaguchi

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FEB 13: Having gone unclaimed, the Blue Jays released Yamaguchi, per Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports (via Twitter). They will nevertheless remain on the hook for the $3.175MM owed to Yamaguchi this season.

FEB 11: The Blue Jays have designated right-hander Shun Yamaguchi for assignment, tweets Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae. The team hasn’t formally announced the move, though it’s listed on their transactions log at MLB.com. It seems that’ll create roster space for last night’s reported waiver pickup of righty Joel Payamps.

Toronto signed Yamaguchi, 33, to a two-year deal worth a guaranteed $6.35MM last offseason. The former Yomiuri Giants and Yokohama BayStars righty had a 14-year run of success in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, working both as an effective closer and a high-quality rotation piece at various points of his career there. Through 1080 1/3 NPB frames, Yamaguchi notched a tidy 3.35 ERA (3.22 if you exclude his ugly NPB debut as a teenager) with 112 saves, a 23.1 percent strikeout rate and a 9.1 percent walk rate.

The Blue Jays used Yamaguchi out of the bullpen exclusively in 2020, and the results simply never came through as the team hoped. The right-hander appeared in 17 games and yielded at least one run in 10 of those outings. His overall 8.06 ERA is skewed to some extent by a seven-run implosion at Yankee Stadium, but even setting that aside Yamaguchi’s ERA still would’ve clocked in north of 5.00. His 21.7 percent strikeout rate, meanwhile, was a bit below par, while his 14.2 percent walk rate was well north of the league average.

Yamaguchi is still owed $3.175MM in 2021, and the Jays will have to eat that salary. They have a week to trade him, run him throughout outright waivers or simply release him, though it’s difficult to imagine any club taking on Yamaguchi’s salary — particularly at a time when most teams have been overwhelmingly stingy about their budgets.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/13/21

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Some minor league moves from around the sport…

Latest Moves

  • The Cardinals have signed outfielder Matt Szczur to a minor league deal that contains an invite to their big league Spring Training camp, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury reports (via Twitter).  Szczur hit .231/.312/.355 over 667 plate appearances with the Cubs and Padres from 2014-18 but he hasn’t since returned to the majors.  The 31-year-old signed minor league contracts with the Diamondbacks prior to the 2019 season and the Phillies prior to 2020, with Philadelphia releasing Szczur back in June.

Earlier Today

  • The White Sox signed infielder Marco Hernandez to a minor league contract back in January, as originally noted by the transactions page for Triple-A East (formerly the International League).  Hernandez was released by the Red Sox in August, ending a six-year stint in the Boston organization that saw Hernandez hit .265/.300/.342 over 271 plate appearances in parts of three MLB seasons.  He was part of Boston’s 60-man player pool but didn’t see any big league action in 2020.  Hernandez played mostly second base with the Red Sox but he also has experience at third base and shortstop, so he will be competing for a utility infield job in Chicago’s camp.
  • The Angels announced that left-hander Dillon Peters was outrighted Triple-A at clearing waivers.  Peters will be invited to the team’s Spring Training camp after being designated for assignment last week.  The southpaw pitched in just one MLB game in 2020, getting hit for four runs (three earned) over 1 2/3 innings for the Angels.  A groundball specialist while coming up in the Marlins’ farm system, Peters has a 5.83 ERA and only a 16.7K% over 132 2/3 career Major League innings with Miami and Anaheim.
  • Diamondbacks left-hander Taylor Guilbeau has been outrighted to Triple-A, the team announced.  Guilbeau cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week, and he will also be invited to Arizona’s big league Spring Training camp.  Guilbeau posted a 2.70 ERA over 20 MLB innings with the Mariners from 2019-20, with the D’Backs acquiring the grounder specialist on a waiver claim in October.
  • The Twins announced that southpaw Brandon Waddell has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A after being designated for assignment last Thursday.  Waddell has been invited to the Twins’ Major League Spring Training camp.  A fifth-round pick for the Pirates in the 2015 draft, Waddell made his MLB debut in 2020, tossing 3 1/3 innings over two games with Pittsburgh.  Minnesota claimed Waddell off waivers from the Pirates in October.
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