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Dodgers Outright Yadier Alvarez

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The Dodgers announced that righty Yadier Alvarez has been outrighted after clearing waivers, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick was among those to tweet. He had been designated for assignment recently.

Alvarez lost his 40-man spot after some shoulder issues cropped up. It’s unclear as of yet what his health outlook is. Any injury issues would only add to the slate of challenges facing the youngster, who’ll turn 24 later this week.

Once considered a blue-chip pitching prospect, Alvarez has long dealt with control issues and slid off track in 2019. He only made two appearances last year while struggling with injury and disciplinary issues.

Alvarez has yet to appear in the majors. Based upon the history to this point, it seems unlikely he’ll reward the team for its up-front investment ($16MM, which was effectively doubled by tax obligations). Still, the Dodgers will presumably be glad to have the chance to hang onto the remaining upside in Alvarez’s powerful right arm. Better still, the team can work to get him on track without tying up a roster spot.

Tom Koehler Retires

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Right-hander Tom Koehler, in camp with the Pirates as a non-roster invitee to Spring Training, announced his retirement from baseball on Instagram this morning. The 33-year-old Koehler says he’s looking forward to “starting [his] next chapter in the game,” whenever and whatever that may hold. For now, it seems as though he’ll take some time with his family.

Tom Koehler

From 2013-16, Koehler was a solid and durable constant at the back of the Marlins’ rotation, averaging 30 starts per season while pitching to a 4.14 ERA with averages of 6.8 strikeouts, 3.7 walks and 1.0 home runs per nine innings pitched. He struggled early in the 2017 season and found himself traded to the Blue Jays, with whom he posted an intriguing 15-game relief stint (2.65 ERA, 18-to-6 K/BB ratio in 17 innings). That showing prompted the Dodgers to take a look at Koehler in the offseason with the hope that he could transform his career as a late-inning bullpen piece.

Instead, Koehler was beset by shoulder injuries in 2018. After spending more than half the season trying to rehab an anterior capsule strain and make his Dodgers debut, Koehler underwent surgery that ended his 2018 season. He never threw a pitch at the MLB level for the Dodgers. He signed with the Pirates both last offseason and earlier this winter but wasn’t able to get back onto the hill.

It’s a tough way to end a playing career, although as an 18th-round senior sign back in 2008, Koehler exceeded any and all expectations. The Stony Brook alum pitched in 161 Major League games, totaling 784 1/3 innings of 4.39 ERA ball along the way. Koehler’s 36-55 record is more an indictment on the sub-par Marlins rosters surrounding him for much of his career than on his own abilities on the mound. He was generally a serviceable option, twice leading the club in games started and once leading them in innings pitched. Koehler was never a household name but pitched into his arbitration years, helping him to secure more than $12MM in total salary. Best wishes to Koehler in whatever path he next pursues.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/1/20

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  • The Pirates have signed infielder Sherman Johnson to a minor-league contract with an invitation to MLB spring training (h/t to Andersen Pickard). The 29-year-old tallied 11 MLB plate appearances with the 2018 Angels but has otherwise spent his entire pro career in the minors. In parts of four Triple-A seasons, Johnson has compiled a .241/.347/.364 slash while mostly lining up at second and third base. The Florida State product entered pro ball as a 12th-round pick in 2012.

Brewers Extend Freddy Peralta

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February 28: The Brewers have officially announced the deal, which covers the 2020-24 seasons and contains club options for 2025 and 2026.

February 26: The Brewers are closing in on an extension with righty Freddy Peralta, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links). It’ll be worth a guaranteed $15.5MM over a five-year term. Peralta, a client of Rep 1 Baseball, will also give the Milwaukee organization a pair of club options in the pact. They could tack on another $14.5MM in total value if exercised.

As Rosenthal notes, this is nearly the same contract as that reached recently between Aaron Bummer and the White Sox. But there are some notable distinctions.

Peralta wouldn’t have qualified for arbitration until 2022 at the earliest. (Bummer was on track to be a Super Two at the end of the season.) And Peralta owns only a 4.79 ERA through 163 1/3 career innings. (Bummer had a highly productive 2019 effort.)

At the same time, there’s arguably even greater upside here for the Milwaukee organization. Peralta is capable of working as a starter — or, perhaps, as a provider of bulk innings or roving high-leverage arm. He may not yet have ironed out all the kinks, but he was a well-regarded prospect who now owns a flashy 11.6 K/9 (versus 4.2 BB/9) in his young MLB career. Oh, and he is still just 23 years of age.

Peralta’s earned-run numbers dipped in 2019 when compared to his 2018 debut. Like many other hurlers, he struggled to contain the long ball in a season that produced record home-run levels due to the altered composition of the baseball itself.

In other ways, though, he made clear strides. Peralta upped his average fastball to the 94 mph level on the year; notably, it trended steadily up to the point that he was sitting 96 by season’s end. That primary offering continues to exhibit excellent spin rate. Peralta boosted his swinging-strike rate to 13.0%. He was also fairly stingy in terms of hard contact; Statcast credited opposing hitters with a .333 wOBA but only a .309 xwOBA.

For the Brewers, the downside in such an extension is minimal given the low cost of the deal. It’s always possible that Peralta simply doesn’t piece everything together and remains a fringe big league option, but the financial risk is negligible. If Peralta is able to emerge as even a serviceable fifth starter or reliever, the deal will be well worth it; anything more could turn the pact into a downright bargain for president of baseball operations David Stearns and his staff. That’s not to say that Peralta shouldn’t have signed the deal — turning down life-changing money at any point is extraordinarily difficult — but the upside outweighs the risk rather notably.

As for how Peralta will factor into the immediate plans, that remains to be seen. He’s battling offseason acquisition Eric Lauer and right-hander Corbin Burnes for the final spot in Milwaukee’s rotation this spring. Even if he doesn’t win the job off the bat, injuries always arise, and the Brewers’ rotation has enough uncertain names that it seems likely we’ll see Peralta make some starts in 2020. If not, the aforementioned bullpen role always remains a possibility.

It’s also worth highlighting the extent to which Peralta’s deal enhances the long-term potential for a cost-efficient rotation in Milwaukee. Josh Lindblom’s three-year, $9.125MM deal spans the 2020-22 seasons. Brandon Woodruff and Burnes are controlled through 2024 and Adrian Houser through 2025. Obviously, not all five members of that quintet are going to pan out as viable big league starters. But some combination of those arms should comprise a notable chunk of the rotation for the foreseeable future — and they’ll likely do so while combining to earn less than $20MM annually as far into the future as 2022.

Peralta is now under control longer than any of his teammates, though Milwaukee’s affinity for precisely this type of value-focused contract structure suggests that similar arrangements will be pursued in the coming weeks and in subsequent offseasons.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Diamondbacks, Dalton Pompey Agree To Minor League Deal

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The D-backs have agreed to a deal with outfielder Dalton Pompey, per Sportsnet’s Jamie Campbell (Twitter link). It’s surely a minor league pact for Pompey, who has acknowledged the new opportunity himself in some replies on Twitter.

Now 27 years old, Pompey was once considered to be among the game’s premier prospects. During the 2014-15 offseason, Baseball America rated him as high as 30th overall among minor leaguers, while both MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus ranked him inside the top 50. In the preceding season, Pompey had skyrocketed from Class-A Advanced to the Majors, hitting a combined .317/.392/.469 with nine homers, 22 doubles, nine triples and 43 stolen bases across his three minor league stops. Even his .231/.302/.436 output in 43 big league plate appearances were impressive, considering that he was a 21-year-old who’d never played above A-ball as of Opening Day that season.

The switch-hitting Pompey had another productive season in the upper minors in 2015 but struggled in 103 MLB plate appearances. Still, the sky appeared to be the limit for the 22-year-old, who was heralded as a plus defender with a high-end hit tool and blazing speed that made him a threat on the basepaths and anytime he put the ball in play.

Sadly, Pompey’s career has been waylaid by injuries — most notably a series of concussions. He barely played in either 2017 or 2019 due to concussions troubles, and a wrist injury limited him to 57 games in 2018. In total, over the past four seasons, Pompey has been able to suit up for just 188 games between the big leagues and the minors — an average of only 47 contests per year. By the time the 2019 season rolled around, he’d exhausted all of his minor league options; the Blue Jays were forced to designate him for assignment in July, at which point he went unclaimed on waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A. Pompey became a free agent at season’s end.

It’s been six years since Pompey debuted in the Majors, which makes it seem like he’s older than he is, but he won’t even turn 28 until next December. He has plenty of hurdles to clear before he can be considered as an option to resurface in the Majors, and the D-backs have a deep outfield mix that’s controllable for the foreseeable future. David Peralta signed a three-year extension earlier this winter, while the Snakes acquired the final two seasons of Starling Marte’s contract in a trade with the Pirates, and free agent Kole Calhoun signed a two-year deal with a third-year option. Standout second baseman/center fielder Ketel Marte is also signed long-term, while backup outfielder Tim Locastro can be controlled another five years.

Still, the D-backs will give Pompey a proving ground to attempt to demonstrate that his injury troubles are behind him. And with a strong, healthy showing in camp and/or in the upper minors, he could position himself as one of the first lines of defense in the event of an injury at the MLB level.

Blue Jays To Sign Marc Rzepczynski

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The Blue Jays have agreed to a minor league deal with veteran left-hander Marc Rzepczynski, manager Charlie Montoyo revealed when meeting with reporters Monday morning (Twitter link via Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling). Rzepczynski still needs to complete his physical, but once he does, the JBA Sports client will head to Major League camp as a non-roster invitee.

Rzepczynski, 34, didn’t pitch in the big leagues in 2019 — the first time since 2008 that he didn’t pitch at least 10 innings in a big league season. Instead, the southpaw spent the year with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate, where he pitched to a 5.04 ERA with 36 strikeouts against 28 walks in 44 innings of relief. Suffice it to say, the 2019 campaign wasn’t one of the southpaw’s best.

That said, Rzepczynski has a generally solid track record at the big league level. He’s compiled a 3.89 ERA and near-identical 3.88 FIP in 434 2/3 MLB frames — including a quality run from 2011-17 that saw him log a 3.61 earned run average (3.59 FIP) in 299 1/3 innings. It’s been two years since his last effective campaign at the MLB level, but there’s little harm in taking a speculative spring look to see a rebound appears possible.

Major League Baseball’s recent rule changes — the three-batter minimum for pitches, specifically — won’t do any favors for the man perhaps more commonly known as “Scrabble.” Rzepczynski has generally been used in a specialized left-on-left role throughout his career. Lefty hitters have mustered only a dismal .227/.296/.305 slash against him in 857 trips to the plate, but righties have had far less difficulty, as evidenced by a .280/.385/.437 output in 1035 plate appearances.

Padres To Sign Brian Dozier To Minor League Deal

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6:28PM: Dozier will earn $2.2MM if he makes San Diego’s roster, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link), plus some extra money is available to Dozier via contract incentives.

10:38AM: The Padres have agreed to terms with second baseman Brian Dozier and invited him to MLB spring training, report AJ Cassavell of MLB.com (via Twitter) and Robert Murray (Twitter link). It’ll be a minor-league deal, Murray adds (via Twitter). Dozier is a client of All Bases Covered Sports Management.

Dozier was once an elite performer for the Twins but has tailed off a bit in recent years. Over the last two seasons, he compiled a .225/.320/.408 line (94 wRC+) with 41 home runs in 1114 plate appearances with Minnesota, the Dodgers and the Nationals. That pales in comparison to the stellar .269/.349/.522 (129 wRC+) mark with 72 homers he posted over the two seasons prior.

At age 32, Dozier’s days as a masher are probably behind him. Even recently, though, he’s remained a generally productive player. Not only has he gotten regular playing time on contending clubs, he’s remained a solid hitter. Last season in Washington, Dozier hit .238/.340/.430 (99 wRC+). Defensive metrics are mixed on his work on second base. UZR thinks he’s a perfectly fine defender, while DRS and Statcast are more bearish.

As the slash line indicates, Dozier remains capable of hitting for power and drawing walks, making him a solid veteran bat near the bottom of a team’s order. He also makes a fair amount of contact, although his fly ball approach has perennially driven low batting averages on balls in play. The Statcast metrics also suggest Dozier’s something of a league average bat, as his .331 xwOBA last season ranked in the 49th percentile.

In many years, that would’ve been enough for Dozier to find a guaranteed MLB job, but the free agent market at second base was loaded with similar veterans. It’s still a bit surprising to see he’ll have to earn his way onto a 40-man roster in spring training, although there’s certainly room for him to do so with the Padres.

Jurickson Profar, Greg Garcia and Breyvic Valera are San Diego’s top three current options at second base. Padres’ GM A.J. Preller is surely fond of Profar, having signed him as an international free agent with the Rangers and acquired him from the A’s this offseason. Dozier arguably outplayed Profar last season, though, as the latter has never quite made good on his vaunted prospect status. Meanwhile, non-roster invitees Esteban Quiroz and Gordon Beckham figure to have a tougher shot at making the club.

There’s nothing to lose, meanwhile, from San Diego’s perspective. They’ll get a look at a more productive player than most minor-league signees who plays a position of uncertainty. Alternatively, they could consider Dozier as a right-handed bench bat, a profile which the 26-man active roster makes more capable of stashing on the roster. Dozier has a career .270/.354/.500 slash against left-handed pitching and has continued to hit southpaws well in recent seasons.

Diamondbacks Sign Mark Leiter Jr. To Minors Contract

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The Diamondbacks have signed right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. to a minor league deal.  Leiter announced the move last week on his Instagram page, with the caption “new elbow, new team.”

Leiter missed all of the 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last March.  Given the normal 12-15 month timeline for TJ recovery, Leiter might not yet be ready to pitch even if the D’Backs did want to put him on their Opening Day roster, though he could also continue to recover and ramp up in the minors until he is ready for a potential big league return.  Assuming good health, Leiter provides the Diamondbacks with a versatile depth arm who has worked as both a starter and reliever.

Most recently a member of the Blue Jays roster, Leiter (who turns 29 next month) became a free agent after the season.  The righty has a 5.53 ERA, 8.4 K/9, 2.47 K/BB rate, and 48.2% grounder rate over 114 career MLB innings, all with the Phillies and Blue Jays in 2017-18.  While some ERA indicators (4.37 xFIP, 4.23 SIERA) hint that Leiter’s real-world ERA is unduly inflated, Leiter hasn’t helped himself by allowing 25 home runs over his 114 frames of work, averaging out to an untenable 1.97 HR/9.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/23/20

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Let’s keep up to date with the latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Indians announced that they’ve inked left-hander Ty Boyles to a minor league contract. The 23-year-old southpaw, a 2013 draftee of the Reds, has spent his entire 7-year professional career in the Cincinnati organization, reaching as high as the Double-A level last year. After beginning his career as a starter, Boyles transitioned to a full-time relief role last year, getting into 47 games and working 66 total innings. He struck out 64 batters against 34 walks, notching a 4.36 ERA in his first full season in the bullpen. He was a 2018 participant in the Arizona Fall League. He’ll report to minor league camp with his new organization.

Red Sox Claim Phillips Valdez Off Waivers, Place Pedroia On 60-Day IL

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The Red Sox have claimed right-hander Phillips Valdez off waivers from the Mariners, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, Dustin Pedroia was placed on the 60-day injured list.

Valdez, 28, had been designated for assignment on Friday following the Mariners’ claim of Taylor Williams, another right-handed reliever. He debuted with Texas last year and was claimed off waivers by Seattle in November, but was unable to stay on the roster for the entirety of the offseason. In his brief Major League stint last year, he tossed 16 innings of 3.94-ERA ball, striking out 18 batters. He was deployed exclusively as a reliever after spending the majority of his minor-league career as a starter. We’ll have to wait and see how the Red Sox view his future role, but evidently they like Valdez enough to give him a shot with the team.

Pedroia’s placement on the 60-day IL isn’t reflective of any new developments in his recovery from left knee complications: after suffering a “significant setback” this winter, Pedroia targeted late May or June as the most optimistic date for his return to the field, meaning that those first 60 days were always out of the question. And with Pedroia having only appeared in nine games over the last two seasons, Boston surely hasn’t been planning around a sizable contribution from the former MVP.

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