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Padres, Brewers Agree To Four-Player Trade

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2:00pm: The Brewers have formally announced the deal. They’ll also receive a player to be named later or cash from the Padres, per a team press release.

9:57am: The Padres and Brewers have broken open a quiet trade market with an interesting swap of young big leaguers. Outfielder Trent Grisham and righty Zach Davies are heading to San Diego, with second baseman Luis Urias and southpaw Eric Lauer going to Milwaukee in exchange.

This is a rare need-for-need, value-for-value trade. For the Friars, Grisham could pair with Manuel Margot in center field and ultimately move to a corner spot when top prospect Taylor Trammell is ready. Both he and Urias have debuted but not yet accrued a full season of MLB service. Meanwhile, Davies will represent a sturdy rotation piece. He’s projected to earn $5.0MM in his second-to-last season of team control.

On the other side, the Brewers now appear to have a double-play partner for Keston Hiura. Indications are that the club will utilize Urias at shortstop. Whether there’s still room for Orlando Arcia remains to be seen. The 24-year-old Lauer could deliver solid innings for years to come. While he’s not as established as Davies, the southpaw has shown well early in his career and remains under control through the 2024 season.

For the most part, 2019 was a bit of a dream season for Grisham. The former first-rounder finally turned the corner at the plate, raking in the upper minors (.300/.407/.603) to earn his way up to the majors.

Grisham ended up seeing significant time in the big leagues for the postseason-qualifying Brewers. He wasn’t exactly an instant star, but turned in a palatable .231/.328/.410 slash in 183 plate appearances while contributing highly graded defense. Unfortunately, the season ended on a sour note, as Grisham committed a costly error that cemented the Brewers’ Wild Card meltdown.

It feels funny to treat Davies as a secondary piece in this deal; that’s certainly not the case. Still just 26 years of age, he spun 159 2/3 innings of 3.55 ERA ball last year. True, Davies wasn’t exposed often to lineups for a third time. And there’s probably some good fortune embedded in those results. Davies will never be much of a strikeout pitcher, with a career K rate of 6.4 per nine. But he has proven over the years that he can produce good results despite his limitations, with a 3.91 ERA in 614 1/3 career innings.

In Urias, the Brewers see a compelling young hitter that just hasn’t quite found his footing in the majors. He’s just 22 years of age and carries a .305/.403/.511 slash over 887 Triple-A plate appearances. Urias has succeeded largely with his strong plate discipline (108 walks, 172 strikeouts) and excellent bat-to-ball skills. But there’s a bit of pop in the bat as well, as he has 28 long balls during his time at the highest level of the minors.

That said, there are some questions — there’s a reason that Urias has spent so much time at Triple-A while some other Padres players have breezed through and never returned. The initial MLB returns were tepid. Urias owns a .221/.318/.331 batting line in 302 plate appearances in the bigs. It seems reasonable to suppose he’ll improve upon that, but to what extent remains to be seen.

There are also some questions whether Urias can handle the shortstop position with sufficient aplomb at the game’s highest level. He spent the majority of his time in the minors at second base and has graded better there than at short in his limited MLB time at both spots. But the Brew Crew has been willing to rely upon its infield placement to help cover up any range issues.

It’d be easy to lose sight of Lauer here, but he’s a notable asset in his own right. The former first-rounder has thrown 261 2/3 MLB innings over the past two seasons, working to a cumulative 4.40 ERA. Nothing jumps off the page about him — 8.2 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 38.9% groundball rate, 1.20 HR/9 — but he could bring steady innings at a cheap rate. The Brewers will likely plan to utilize Lauer in a somewhat flexible role to maximize his utility, as they have other hurlers that might not quite warrant traditional starter usage.

Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter link) broke the deal, with Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (via Twitter) and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link) adding key details.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Cubs Claim C.D. Pelham

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The Cubs announced that they’ve claimed left-hander C.D. Pelham off waivers from the Rangers. The move brings Chicago’s 40-man roster to a count of 38 players. Texas has also announced the move, adding that right-hander Taylor Guerrieri went unclaimed on waivers and has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Nashville.

Pelham, 24, boasts a blistering fastball that averaged better than 96 mph in his 2018 MLB debut, but the former 33rd-round pick struggled through a poor season in the upper minors in 2019. Pelham allowed 43 runs in 32 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season and walked more batters (40) than he struck out (37).

The waiver claim is likely about the appealing nature of Pelham’s raw pitch arsenal, but there’s clearly an enormous amount of work to be done in order to refine the lefty. Still, with a pair of open spots on the 40-man roster, there’s little harm in placing a claim — and the Cubs could always try to pass Pelham through waivers themselves in order to keep him in the organization without committing a 40-man spot.

As for Guerrieri, he once ranked as one of the game’s premier pitching prospects in his days with the Tampa Bay organization, but injuries have largely derailed much of the promise he once showed. The 26-year-old (27 next week) posted a 5.68 ERA in 26 1/3 innings at the MLB level in 2019, although his 3.47 ERA, 9.7 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and 55.7 percent grounder rate in Triple-A offer more encouragement.

Yolmer Sanchez Clears Waivers, Elects Free Agency

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Nov. 27: Sanchez went unclaimed on waivers and will become a free agent, Rosenthal tweets. A formal announcement from the club should follow.

Nov. 25: The White Sox have outrighted infielder Yolmer Sanchez from their 40-man roster, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). MLBTR had projected him to earn $6.2MM in arbitration.

While he has at times been a solid contributor in Chicago, Sanchez is coming off of a rough 2019 season at the plate. There are quite a few veteran alternatives available in free agency, making it tough to pay that kind of cash to retain him.

Sanchez has been trusted with quite a lot of playing time on the South Side of late, appearing in over 140 games in each of the past three seasons. But his offensive output has declined steadily in that span, dropping from a .267/.319/.413 batting line and 95 wRC+ in 2017 — that is, five percent below league average — to last year’s .252/.318/.321 slash and 74 wRC+.

While Sanchez has maintained the same general strikeout and walk levels all along — he’s a bit below the league average with both his career 7.5% walk rate and 21.0% strikeout rate — his power has fallen off a cliff. Sanchez went from a dozen home runs and a .147 isolated power mark in 2017 to just two dingers and a .069 ISO in 2019.

What hasn’t changed is Sanchez’s excellent glovework. Whether utilized at second or third base, he has graded as a top-notch performer — even winning a Gold Glove Award for his work at second base in 2019. That makes him a strong candidate to find a landing spot as a utility piece. Barring a big upswing at the plate, however, it’s hard to imagine Sanchez as a regular lineup piece on a team with designs on immediate contention. If and when he does land elsewhere, he’ll be controllable through the 2021 season via arbitration.

Brian Johnson Clears Waivers

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Nov. 27: Johnson went unclaimed on waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket, the team announced. He doesn’t have the requisite service time to reject that assignment in favor of free agency, so he’ll remain with the Red Sox organization and hope for another chance at the MLB level in 2020.

Nov. 25: The Red Sox have placed southpaw Brian Johnson on outright waivers, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). That starts a two-day window within which Johnson can be claimed.

Johnson, who’ll soon turn 29, struggled to a 6.02 ERA in 40 1/3 innings in Boston last year. Elbow troubles limited his availability and perhaps contributed to his ineffectiveness.

A first-round pick in 2012, Johnson turned in excellent results and overcame some challenges on his way up the farm ladder. He wasn’t much of a strikeout hurler but was obviously tough to square up, as opposing hitters produced meager batting averages on balls in play and didn’t muster many home runs.

That has generally been the case in the majors as well, as Johnson averages less than 90 mph with his fastball and doesn’t get many swings and misses. But he was able to limit the hard contact and post a 4.34 ERA in the 130 2/3 MLB innings he threw before the ’19 campaign.

Marlins Release Wei-Yin Chen

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The Marlins announced that left-hander Wei-Yin Chen has cleared waivers and been released. This move boils down to little more than a formality, as Chen was designated for assignment last week and no team was ever going to claim the remaining $22MM on his contract (which expires at the end of the 2020 season).

Chen, now 34, was a steady source of quality innings from 2012-15 in Baltimore, pitching to a 3.72 ERA in the hitter-friendly AL East while averaging 29.25 starts and 176 innings per year. That durability and reliability led the Marlins to invest a whopping five-year, $80MM contract in the lefty when he hit the free-agent market, but the deal went south almost immediately.

Chen barely kept his ERA under 5.00 and tossed just 123 1/3 innings in his first year with the Marlins. A UCL injury wiped out nearly all of his 2017 season and much of the 2018 campaign, and he pitched just 68 1/3 innings of ineffective relief work in 2019. Overall, he recorded a dismal 5.10 ERA in 358 innings with Miami.

Now that he’s a free agent, Chen is free to sign with any club, and a new team would only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the Major League roster. That sum would be subtracted from the $22MM owed to Chen by the Miami organization, but at this point the Marlins have accepted the fact that they’re on the hook for the vast majority of his remaining guarantee.

Greg Bird Clears Waivers, Elects Free Agency

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1:07pm: The Yankees announced that Bird has indeed rejected an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

12:35pm: Now-former Yankees first baseman Greg Bird has cleared waivers, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). He’s officially available on the open market.

This isn’t how the Yanks expected things to end. The now-27-year-old had a big 2015 debut, hitting .261/.343/.529 with 11 homers in 178 plate appearances, creating some optimism that he could settle in as a long-term option at first base. As one would expect given that rookie output, Bird was afforded quite a few opportunities over the years, but on-field struggles and injury issues sapped him of staying power.

In the past four seasons, Bird has only managed to stay on the field for 140 games and 522 plate appearances, recording a woeful .194/.287/.388 batting line in that time. Ultimately, Bird took seven hundred plate appearances for the Yankees. He hit 32 home runs and carried a .211/.301/.424 slash line. He has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining and should latch on with another club in need of first base/DH depth.

Rays Acquire Brian O’Grady, Designate Jesus Aguilar For Assignment

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The Rays have acquired outfielder/first baseman Brian O’Grady from the Reds, per club announcements. The Cincinnati organization will receive a player to be named and cash in the swap.

First baseman Jesus Aguilar was designated for assignment to create roster space. He had been projected to earn $2.5MM in arbitration.

O’Grady is a left-handed hitter who earned his first shot at the majors last year. He scuffled in limited opportunities but otherwise showed well in 2019. Over 489 Triple-A plate appearances, O’Grady slashed .280/.359/.550 with 28 home runs. The 27-year-old is optionable and affordable, making him a potential depth piece for Tampa Bay.

Aguilar had simply not performed as hoped when he was picked up in the middle of the 2019 season. He turned in a .261/.336/.424 batting line in 107 plate appearances — not enough to motivate the club to commit to his salary and continue to tie up a roster spot. Aguilar’s big 2018 season makes him an intriguing buy-low target for clubs interested in first base/DH help.

Mariners To Sign Carl Edwards Jr.

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The Mariners have agreed to a contract with righty Carl Edwards Jr., per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). It’s a MLB deal for the reliever, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Edwards will earn $950K with another $500K in available incentives, Nightengale adds via Twitter.

Shoulder troubles ended Edwards’s 2019 season early. But it had been a forgettable one before that point. Edwards struggled on both sides of a trade that sent him from the Cubs to the Padres before being cut loose by the San Diego organization.

The M’s obviously are hoping that Edwards can regain the form that enabled him to throw 118 1/3 innings of 2.81 ERA ball over 2017-18. Even then, his 12.2 K/9 was accompanied by 5.3 BB/9, so there was room for improvement. But Edwards has a big arm and will bring plenty of upside with him to Seattle.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/26/19

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Mariners have signed outfielder/first baseman Jose Marmolejos to a minor league contract, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. The deal comes with an invitation to spring training for the 26-year-old Marmolejos, who had been with the Nationals his entire professional career (which began in 2011). He divided last season between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting .315/.366/.545 with 16 home runs in 382 plate appearances at the minors’ highest level.

Astros Sign Dustin Garneau

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3:42pm: The signing is now official. Furthermore, agent Marc Kligman tells Mark Berman of FOX 26 that the deal comes with a $650K base salary and $75K worth of incentives (Twitter link).

10:43am: The Astros have agreed to a one-year deal with backstop Dustin Garneau, per Jake Kaplan of The Athletic (via Twitter). It appears that he’ll rather unexpectedly receive a 40-man spot with the signing. The dollars aren’t yet known.

Garneau has settled into a journeyman existence in recent years. Though he has at times shown a promising bat in the upper minors — he has three .900+ OPS seasons in high-octane Triple-A offensive environments — the results haven’t been there in the majors. Over 381 lifetime plate appearances at the game’s highest level, Garneau has slashed just .207/.290/.343. If he’s able to cement himself as a viable option over a full season behind the dish in Houston, he’d be controllable all the way through the 2024 campaign — although he’d likely be eligible for arbitration as a Super Two player next winter.

While he isn’t exactly legend for his framing or throwing, Garneau is regarded as a strong defender. His former skipper with the A’s, Bob Melvin, had kind words for Garneau’s overall game management ability — the sort of thing that’s essentially impossible to capture from objective measurement. It seems fair to presume that the ’Stros think they’ll get good work behind the dish and in the game prep arena out of Garneau, with any offense mostly an added bonus.

It also seems rather clear that this is one of multiple planned catching moves for the defending American League champs. Garneau joins Garrett Stubbs on the Houston 40-man. But odds are the team will allow those players to compete for the reserve job in camp. (Garneau will have a strong edge since he’s out of options and just signed this deal.) Another backstop — perhaps a returning Robinson Chirinos — is likely to be brought aboard as well.

 

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