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Padres, Indians Complete Mike Clevinger Trade

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The Indians and Padres have completed their massive Aug. 31 trade in which Cleveland sent right-hander Mike Clevinger to San Diego. Per announcements from both teams, the Padres have acquired right-hander Matt Waldron.

Waldron, who turned 24 in September, joined the Indians when they chose him in the 18th round of the 2019 draft. He made a good impression during his first minor league season, in which he amassed 45 2/3 innings of 2.96 ERA pitching with 11.2 K/9 against a measly 0.8 BB/9 between the rookie and Low-A levels. Of course, Waldron wasn’t able to build on those numbers this year because the pandemic wiped out the minor league season.

However Waldron pans out, the Padres probably don’t regret making the deal. Even though he missed time with injuries after the team picked him up, Clevinger helped the Friars to the playoffs with 19 innings of six-run ball in September. Clevinger has two more years of affordable control left, so he’ll remain a key cog for the Padres going forward.

The Indians, meanwhile, saw three of the six players they acquired for Clevinger and outfielder Greg Allen don their uniform in 2020. Righty Cal Quantrill was highly effective over a small sample of work; outfielder/first baseman Josh Naylor went on a tear during their two-game playoff loss to the Yankees after a subpar regular campaign; and catcher Austin Hedges’ struggles at the plate continued.

Rockies Sign Dereck Rodriguez To Minor League Deal

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The Rockies have signed right-hander Dereck Rodriguez to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training, according to his agent, Gavin Kahn of EnterSports Management.

This deal means Rodriguez will return to the National League West, where he spent most of the prior three seasons with the Giants organization. The Giants designated Rodriguez for assignment in August, and the Tigers claimed him, but he didn’t throw a pitch for Detroit.

Rodriguez, the son of legendary catcher Ivan Rodriguez, entered the pro ranks as a sixth-round pick of the Twins in 2011 but didn’t crack the majors until 2018 with the Giants. He came out of nowhere that year to perform like one of the league’s best rookies, throwing 118 1/3 innings of 2.81 ERA/3.74 FIP ball with 6.77 K/9 and 2.74 BB/9.

Considering the results Rodriguez posted in his first season, the Giants probably thought they had a long-term piece for their rotation. But the 28-year-old Rodriguez wasn’t able to follow that up from 2019-20. Including just four innings in ’20, Rodriguez logged an ugly 5.94 ERA/5.89 FIP and 6.38 K/9 against 3.41 BB/9 in 103 frames during the previous two years. For Colorado, though, there isn’t any real harm in taking a chance on Rodriguez and hoping he returns to rookie form.

Pirates Release Dovydas Neverauskas; Nick Burdi Elects Free Agency

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Nov. 9: Burdi has rejected his outright assignment in favor of free agency, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic tweets. It’s still possible that he could return to the club on a new minor league deal, of course, but he’ll have the option of speaking with other clubs as he goes through the early stages of his rehab process.

Nov. 7: The Pirates have outrighted right-hander Nick Burdi to Triple-A, according to the MLB.com transactions page.  In another move for the Bucs earlier this week, right-hander Dovydas Neverauskas was released.  Both pitchers were recently designated for assignment.

Burdi will remain in the organization as he recovers from Tommy John surgery in October.  The 27-year-old will miss the entire 2021 season, the latest major injury setback in a career that has already seen Burdi undergo a previous TJ procedure as well as a thoracic outlet syndrome surgery.  Burdi has just 12 1/3 career MLB innings to his name, including 2 1/3 frames of work with Pittsburgh in 2020.

Neverauskas’ release could pave the way for a contract with a team in Asia, as Pirates GM Ben Cherington hinted last Monday.  Originally signed by the Pirates way back in 2009, Neverauskas is still pretty young (turning 28 in January) as he moves into this potential new phase of his pro career.  Over 80 2/3 career Major League innings, Neverauskas posted a 6.81 ERA, 2.20 K/BB, 8.6 K/9, and an ugly 2.2 HR/9.

Blue Jays Re-Sign Robbie Ray

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The Blue Jays have announced that free agent left-hander Robbie Ray has been re-signed.  ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link) was the first to report that the southpaw will receive a one-year contract worth $8MM.

It was a tough season overall for Ray, who posted a 6.62 ERA, 11.8 K/9, 2.3 HR/9, and a 7.8 BB/9 (highest of any pitcher in baseball with at least 50 innings pitched) over 51 2/3 combined innings for the Diamondbacks and Blue Jays.  If there is a silver lining, Ray’s numbers over his 20 2/3 innings with the Jays were better than his numbers with the D’Backs, though even a 4.79 ERA, 6.1 BB/9, and 1.7 HR/9 with Toronto is nothing to write home about.

Robbie RayStill, the Jays clearly saw enough to welcome Ray back into the fold and line him up for a spot in Toronto’s rotation.  Passan notes that the Blue Jays intend to use Ray as a starting pitcher, adding him to a rotation mix that includes Hyun Jin Ryu, Nate Pearson, Tanner Roark, and Ross Stripling.  It’s safe to assume that the Jays aren’t done exploring the pitching market, given how Ray, Roark, and Stripling all didn’t pitch well in 2020 and Pearson also struggled (and had some injury problems) in his first MLB season.

Home runs have always been an issue for Ray over his seven-year career, though his control went from being a concern to a full-on problem in 2020.  The one constant, however, has been strikeouts, as Ray has an 11.1 career K/9 and even led the league in that category in 2017 (12.1).  That season was Ray’s peak, as he finished seventh in NL Cy Young Award voting and seemed to be blossoming as a front-of-the-rotation starter.  However, Ray was more okay than spectacular in 2018-19, as his walk totals crept upwards, his ground-ball numbers declined, and batters began to generate more hard contact against his arsenal.

Ray’s fastball velocity also dropped by almost two miles an hour, from a 94.3mph average in 2017 to a 92.4 average in 2019.  His velocity clicked back up to 93.7mph last season, and while there wasn’t much to like about Ray’s Statcast metrics in 2020, he still finished in the 80th percentile in fastball spin rate.

Ray is still only 29, and the one-year commitment gives the Blue Jays a chance to take a longer look at Ray without sacrificing any flexibility in future payrolls.  Toronto is thought to be one of the few teams who has some spending capacity this offseason, and this early strike to re-sign Ray (when most clubs reportedly have yet to even figure out their 2021 budget situations) indicates that the Jays could be aggressive players as they look to build on their wild card berth from the past year.  MLBTR ranked Ray 36th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents, correctly predicting him for a one-year contract but for only $6MM.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

KBO’s Lotte Giants Re-Sign Dixon Machado

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The Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization have re-signed infielder Dixon Machado, per a team announcement (h/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net). It’s a one-year deal with a club option for 2022. Machado will make $650K in the first year of the deal, and he would pick up another $800K if the option were exercised, Kurtz reports. The option comes with a $50K buyout, bringing the total guarantee to $700K.

Machado hit .280/.356/.422 (105 wRC+) with twelve home runs over 551 plate appearances in 2020, his first season of KBO action. He was the Giants’ primary option at shortstop, starting 139 contests over a 144-game slate. That solid performance was evidently enough for the team to keep him in the fold for the time being.

The 28-year-old is more well-known to U.S. fans for his major league stint with the Tigers. Once a decently-regarded prospect in the Detroit system, Machado only managed a .227/.285/.295 line over parts of four MLB seasons.

Padres, Royals Complete Trevor Rosenthal Trade

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The Padres and Royals have completed their August trade that saw reliever Trevor Rosenthal head to San Diego for a player to be named later. The Royals have acquired right-hander Dylan Coleman in exchange, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets.

Now 21, Coleman was a 2018 fourth-round pick of the Padres who has done well at the lower levels, minus a rough High-A debut a year ago. Coleman has pitched to a 3.18 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings during his minor league career.

The 30-year-old Rosenthal, a former lights-out Cardinals closer who has battled injuries of late, enjoyed a rebound campaign between the Padres and Royals in 2020. He didn’t allow a single earned run over 10 frames as a Padre and ended the year with a 1.90 ERA/2.22 FIP and 14.45 K/9 against 3.04 BB/9 in 23 2/3 frames. Rosenthal is now one of the most desirable relievers on the open market.

A’s, Padres Complete Jorge Mateo Trade

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The Athletics and Padres have completed their late-June trade that sent infielder Jorge Mateo to San Diego, Oakland announced. The A’s will receive outfielder Julio Perez in return.

The 19-year-old Perez debuted in the minors in 2018 and then blossomed in rookie ball the next season, when he batted .268/.349/.512 with 11 home runs and 11 stolen bases across 238 plate appearances. FanGraphs then ranked Perez as the No. 22 prospect in a deep Padres system.

Mateo, 25, was a high-end prospect in his younger days, but he hasn’t been that productive in the minors or the majors over the past couple of seasons. He made his MLB debut in 2020 and batted .154/.185/,269 without a home run in 28 PA.

Diamondbacks Acquire Ronny Simon From Cubs

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The Diamondbacks and Cubs have completed the pre-trade deadline deal that sent left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin to Chicago for a player to be named later. The D-backs have acquired infielder Ronny Simon for Chafin, Arizona announced.

Still just 20 years old, the switch-hitting Simon tore the cover off the ball at the rookie level in 2019. Simon amassed 196 plate appearances then and batted .333/.411/.571 (164 wRC+) with three home runs, 14 stolen bases and almost as many walks (21) as strikeouts (25) over 196 plate appearances. Based on what he has done in the minors, Simon seems like a nice get for Arizona.

Chafin was a productive reliever for the Diamondbacks for several years, but with the team out of contention and with him nearing free agency, it made sense to part ways. The 30-year-old gave the Cubs 3 1/3 innings of one-run ball (including playoffs) but is now on the free-agent market.

Braves, Orioles Complete Tommy Milone Trade

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The Braves acquired left-hander Tommy Milone from the Orioles for two players to be named later prior to the Aug. 31 deadline. A little over two months after the fact, those players’ identities are now known. The Orioles are getting infielders AJ Graffanino and Greg Cullen, per an announcement from the Braves.

AJ Graffanino, the son of former major league infielder Tony Graffanino, joined the Braves as an eighth-round pick in 2018. He has since ascended to Single-A ball, where he slashed .301/.333/.378 in 153 plate appearances during his draft year. MLB.com ranked the 23-year-old as the Braves’ No. 23 prospect before the trade, writing that “he has very good hands and a strong arm suited for shortstop.” However, with just one professional home run so far, it’s unclear how much of an offensive impact Graffanino will make in the majors.

Cullen entered the pros in the same draft class as Graffanino as a 15th-round pick. He was not a high-ranked Braves prospect, but Cullen, also 23, did slash .270/.393/.401 (138 wRC+) with nine homers in 568 PA in Single-A ball in 2019.

However these prospects turn out, the Milone acquisition didn’t go as planned for the Braves. The soft-tossing veteran posted a disastrous 14.90 ERA in 9 2/3 innings with Atlanta. Between the two teams, the now-free agent logged a 6.69 ERA/4.76 FIP over 39 frames in 2020, though he did record excellent strikeout and walk numbers (9.23 K/9, 1.38 BB/9).

Phillies Acquire Rodolfo Sanchez From Rays

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The Phillies and Rays have completed their August 18 trade that sent Edgar Garcia to Tampa Bay, as the Phillies announced the acquisition of player-to-be-named-later Rodolfo Sanchez.

A 20-year-old right-hander, Sanchez was an international signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2016.  While not seen as a top-30 prospect in Tampa’s farm system, Sanchez has some solid numbers thus far in this pro career, posting a 3.03 ERA, 3.28 K/BB rate, and 8.6 K/9 over 160 1/3 innings.  63 1/3 of those innings came at the lower A-ball level in 2019, as Sanchez was used exclusively as a starting pitcher for an entire season.

Garcia ended up with a 10.80 ERA over 3 1/3 innings and four appearances with the Rays, getting touched for three runs in an inning’s worth of work against the Yankees on August 31.  That marked his last MLB appearance of the season, as the Rays soon optioned Garcia down to their alternate training site.

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