Indians Sign David Hernandez, Jake Elmore, Steven Baron
The Indians announced this morning that they’ve signed veteran right-hander David Hernandez, utilityman Jake Elmore and catcher Steven Baron to minor league contracts. Hernandez and Elmore will report to Summer Camp in Cleveland, while Baron will head to the team’s alternate training site in Eastlake, at their Class-A affiliate’s facility. All three have been added to Cleveland’s player pool, bringing their total to 58 players.
Hernandez, 35, wrapped up a two-year deal with the Reds in 2019. He was brilliant in the first season of that contract, pitching to a pristine 2.53 ERA and 3.38 FIP with 9.1 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 over the course of 64 innings. Unfortunately, the second season of the deal was as ugly as the first was impressive; in 42 2/3 innings, Hernandez was clobbered for an 8.02 ERA.
That’s an alarming number, of course, but it should be pointed out that Hernandez was plagued by a sky-high .393 average on balls in play — more than 100 points higher than his career mark. As was the case with many pitchers during last year’s juiced-ball campaign, Hernandez also saw his home-run rate soar (0.76 HR/9 in 2017-18; 1.48 HR/9 in 2019). He’d been in the original Spring Training with the Nationals but was cut loose.
The 32-year-old Elmore has appeared in 217 games and logged 527 plate appearances at the MLB level. Elmore is just a .215/.292/.275 hitter in that time, but he’s demonstrated substantial versatility; in 2013, the Astros used him at every position on the diamond — including catcher and pitcher. Elmore has at least 106 innings at all four infield spots, 234 innings in the outfield (including 14 in center) and has also caught 4 1/3 innings and pitched two frames (one run allowed) in the Majors.
Baron, 29, was the No. 33 overall pick by the Mariners back in 2009 but has never gotten much of a look in the big leagues. In 26 plate appearances, he’s batted .115/.115/.154. Baron is a veteran of 11 minor league seasons, though, and is widely regarded as a strong defensive backstop. He routinely posts strong framing marks in the minors and boasts a huge 39 percent caught-stealing rate in those 11 seasons. In 678 Triple-A plate appearances, Baron is a .237/.299/.313 hitter.
Amateur Draft Signings: 7/2/20
Let’s round up the latest draft signings …
- The Reds have inked Christian Roa to an at-slot deal, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports on Twitter. The Texas A&M righty takes home just over $1.5MM to go pro. Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen was rather bullish on his outlook, grading Roa the 34th-best player available. It seems the Reds were also optimistic that Roa’s growing velocity would stick as he enters the Cincinnati system.
- Two more Giants draft picks have gone under contract, with the team announcing the under-slot signings and Callis covering the bonuses (Twitter links). Supplemental second-rounder Jimmy Glowenke, a middle infielder out of Dallas Baptist, went for $600K ($953,100 slot value). Fifth-rounder Ryan Murphy, a right-hander from Le Moyne, secures $25K ($379K slot value). Glowenke placed 110th on the Baseball America board on the basis of his strong hit tool, reasonable power outlook, and solid defensive chops.
- The Diamondbacks inked fourth-rounder A.J. Vukovich to a $1.25MM bonus, per Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com (Twitter link). That’s well north of the $483K pool allocation. He had been slated to head to Louisville to play third base, but will instead enter the Arizona system. MLB.com ranked Vukovich as the 86th-best player in the draft pool, explaining that the athletic youngster has existing and projectable power.
- The Pirates also went over-slot, locking up third-round choice Nick Garcia, Callis reports via Twitter. He lands a $1.2MM bonus after being taken 79th overall ($780,400 slot value), thus completing the Pittsburgh draft business. The Bucs obviously felt the Chapman University righty was worth a little extra coin. Most draft pundits graded him as a late-second round talent. BA was highest at #56, citing the D-III performer’s “stuff, delivery, youth and fresh arm.”
- Joining the Angels is David Calabrese, who secured the $744,200 slot value associated with his third-round selection, Callis tweets. The Canadian high-school outfielder will forgo his commitment to University of Arkansas. He could just be the steal of the draft, if the analysis of Keith Law of The Athletic proves correct. Law was far higher on Calabrese than the rest of the draft pundit cohort. Calabrese is quite youthful and exceptionally fast, making for an intriguing blend of baseline characteristics. Law believes that Calabrese has the makings of a quality hitter and could grow into some pop.
Dodgers To Sign AJ Ramos
The Dodgers have agreed to a minor-league deal with righty AJ Ramos, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Ramos will join the club’s 60-man player pool.
This is great news for Ramos, who hasn’t pitched competitively in quite some time. He has been sidelined by serious shoulder issues since a disappointing half-season with the Mets in 2018.
It emerged only recently that Ramos was on the comeback trail. Once the Dodgers got a look at his form and related pitch tracking info, they obviously decided to jump right on the opportunity.
Now 33 years of age, Ramos looked to have regained his fastball velocity in his recent workout. But he’ll still certainly have a lot to prove once he arrives to Dodgers camp.
Ramos was long a quality late-inning arm for the Marlins, spinning 327 1/3 innings of 2.78 ERA ball over parts of six seasons. He recorded 92 saves over that span before being shipped to the Mets in an off-beat swap between non-contending teams in the summer of 2017.
Red Sox Add Jonathan Lucroy To 60-Man Player Pool
The Red Sox announced Thursday that they’ve formally added catcher Jonathan Lucroy to their 60-man player pool. Lucroy joins the pool as a non-roster player and brings Boston’s total to 48 players (37 members of the 40-man roster and 11 non-roster invitees).
Lucroy, 34, inked a minor league deal with the Red Sox over the winter and reportedly reworked that deal in recent days before being formally added to the player pool. He’ll give the Sox a sixth catcher, joining Christian Vazquez, Kevin Plawecki, Jett Bandy, Juan Centeno and Connor Wong.
The 2019 season marked the third consecutive year of what has been a precipitous decline for Lucroy. Once arguably the game’s best all-around catcher, Lucroy batted just .232/.305/.355 between the Angels and Cubs last season and has posted a tepid .248/.315/.350 slash in 1263 plate appearances since Opening Day 2017. His formerly vaunted pitch-framing skills have taken a nosedive and now rate below the league average, and Lucroy’s caught-stealing rate has dipped since peaking at 39 percent in 2016.
That said, as far as depth options go, there’s plenty of value in bringing a two-time All-Star and 10-year big league veteran into camp to help work with the pitching staff and provide a safety net in the event of injuries elsewhere in the catching corps. Lucroy is also quite familiar with Boston skipper Ron Roenicke, who managed the 2011-15 Brewers when Lucroy was one of the club’s best players.
Blue Jays Claim Breyvic Valera, Add Three Others To 60-Man Pool
The Blue Jays have claimed infielder Breyvic Valera off waivers from the Padres, per an announcement from both teams. In addition to Valera, the Jays announced that they’ve added right-hander Bryan Baker, outfielder Josh Palacios and infielder/outfielder Patrick Kivlehan to their 60-man player pool.
Valera, 28, was carried on the Blue Jays’ roster for most of the offseason but was lost to the Padres on a waiver claim back in February. He spent time with both the Jays and Yankees in 2019, though he appeared in just 17 games and took just 52 plate appearances. Overall, Valera has appeared in the Majors with five teams but played in just 54 games, hitting .223/.294/.298 in 138 trips to the plate.
Lack of MLB track record aside, the switch-hitting Valera is the owner of a .302/.374/.442 slash in 1550 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Coupled with his defensive versatility –he’s played second base, third base and all three outfield positions — it’s easy to see why so many clubs have been intrigued by his skill set and taken brief looks at him. He’s out of minor league options, though, so the Jays will have to either carry him on the roster to open the season or else once again place him on waivers.
Turning to the three players added to the 60-man pool today, it’s feasible that any of the bunch could emerge as an MLB option. Kivlehan, 30, has logged 132 games in the Majors and tallied 242 plate appearances — albeit with a lackluster .208/.302/.401 slash in that time. Palacios, 25 later this month, spent the 2019 season in Double-A and turned in a .266/.371/.416 slash in a very pitcher-friendly setting. The 25-year-old Baker split last season between the Jays’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, pitching to a 3.17 ERA with 11.8 K/9 in 54 innings. Baker, however, also averaged six walks per nine frames and piled up 10 wild pitches, illustrating that control is an issue for him.
Toronto originally announced a player pool with 58 names, so the addition of these four will put them over the limit. However, as Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets, a team can exceed 60 players if exceptions need to be made due to positive COVID-19 tests. It’s likely, then, that the Jays either have had additional positives in the organization that will remove some players from the 60-man pool or that additional transactions are coming today. Notably, the MLB.com transactions page does list Brandon Drury, Elvis Luciano, Hector Perez and Jonathan Davis as players to have been recently placed on the 10-day injured list with no reason given, though it’s not clear there’s any correlation to today’s moves.
SK Wyverns Release Nick Kingham
The SK Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Organization have released right-hander Nick Kingham, Naver Sports reports (translation via MyKBO’s Dan Kurtz, on Twitter). The former Pirates top prospect was limited to just two starts before going down with an elbow injury that has yet to sufficiently heal.
Kingham, 28, signed with the Wyverns back in November — agreeing to a $500K base salary and a $200K signing bonus to play in Asia for the first time in his career. The injury prevented him from getting much of a chance, though, and Kingham’s Wyverns stint will end with eight earned runs and a 6-to-4 K/BB ratio in just 10 2/3 innings.
Back in 2014-15, Kingham was touted not only as one of the Pirates’ best prospects but as one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. He ranked 64th on Baseball America’s Top 100 list in the 2013-14 offseason and landed at No. 75 on MLB.com’s top 100 a year later. The 2010 fourth-rounder breezed through Class-A Advanced and Double in 2013 (2.89 ERA, 9.0 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 in 143 innings) and enjoyed similarly strong results between Double-A and Triple-A in 2014 (3.34 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 in 159 frames).
Kingham made just six starts in 2015 before going down with elbow pain that eventually proved to be due to a UCL tear, however. The right-hander had Tommy John surgery that May and was sidelined until July 2016. Kingham eventually made it to the Majors in 2018 — three years after he first looked to be on the cusp of MLB readiness — and wowed Bucs fans when he took a perfect game into the seventh inning of his debut effort. Things went downhill from there, however, and Kingham finished his rookie year with a 5.21 ERA in 76 frames.
Kingham never found his footing in multiple looks with the Pirates, as he was designated for assignment after a combined 6.67 ERA in 110 2/3 innings in his original organization. He did notch a 3.00 ERA in 21 innings of relief with the Blue Jays late last year, although that came with a 5.51 FIP and an ugly .296/.360/.506 opponents’ batting line. Kingham won’t turn 29 until November and has a solid Triple-A track record under his belt, so he could still resurface as a depth piece for a big league club or perhaps get another look in Asia once his elbow is back to 100 percent.
As for the Wyverns, Kurtz notes that they’re looking around for a replacement option for Kingham, so it’s possible that we’ll see a familiar name eventually head over to South Korea to take his place on the roster.
Athletics Add Six Players To 60-Man Pool
The Athletics on Wednesday announced the addition of six players to their 60-man player pool: infielders Eric Campbell and Robert Puason, right-handers Wandisson Charles and Miguel Romero, and outfielders Luis Barrera and Brayan Buelvas will all join the group. Campbell will head to Oakland to join the team’s big leaguers, while the other five will head to the Athletics’ alternate training site.
Campbell, 33, is the lone member of the bunch with Major League experience. From 2014-16, Campbell was an up-and-down utility option for the Mets, appearing at all four infield spots and both corner outfield positions while hitting .221/.312/.311 in 505 plate appearances. Campbell spent the 2017 season in Japan and has been with the Triple-A clubs for the Marlins and Athletics organizations. In all, he’s seen action in parts of six Triple-A campaigns and batted a combined .310/.417/.480 in 1880 plate appearances.
Among the prospects, Puason is the most well-regarded of the bunch. The 17-year-old signed with the A’s as the headliner of their July 2 class of international prospects a year ago, inking a hearty bonus of nearly $5MM. A switch-hitting, 6’3″ shortstop with plus speed, a strong throwing arm and projectable hitting tools, Puason is a long ways from the Majors and surely won’t be considered for a role with Oakland’s big league club in 2020. He’s yet to even suit up for a game with the Oakland’s affiliate in the Dominican Summer League, but the A’s clearly want to ensure that his first full season in the organization affords him some game reps — even if only in simulated games — and some time with the coaching and player development staff.
Barrera, though, is a much more near-term option for the A’s. The 24-year-old hit .321/.365/.513 in 54 Double-A games last year and ranks ninth among Oakland farmhands at MLB.com. He split the 2019 season between center field and right field and is on the Athletics’ 40-man roster, so it’s highly feasible that he could get the opportunity to debut in the event of some injuries on the Major League club.
Cardinals Add Elehuris Montero To 60-Man Pool
The Cardinals have added third base prospect Elehuris Montero to their 60-man player pool for Summer Camp, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak tells reporters (Twitter link via Mark Saxon of The Athletic). He’ll head to their camp at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, bringing their current player total to 45.
Montero, 21, was one of the Cardinals’ very best prospects and landed on Baseball America’s Top 100 list heading into the 2019 season. He’d torn through Class-A in 2018, raking at a .322/.381/.529 batting line (157 wRC+) at just 19 years old. His stock, however, took a tumble in 2019 when he looked overmatched against Double-A opposition, hitting just .188/.235/.317 in 59 games. Montero was nearly four years younger than the average competition he was facing in the Texas League, though, so the downturn in production isn’t as concerning as it might’ve been for an older player.
The lost minor league season won’t do any favors to young players like Montero — those in need of a rebound after a poor season. But by placing him in the 60-man player pool, the Cards will at least be able to give him some developmental reps along with big leaguers and other well-regarded prospects. Montero was added to the team’s 40-man roster this past offseason, though it still seems unlikely that he’d be called to the Majors anytime soon after such pronounced struggles in Double-A a year ago.
Rockies Agree To Terms With Supplemental 1st Rounder Drew Romo
The Rockies have wrapped up their draft business by agreeing to terms with catcher Drew Romo, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). He’ll receive a bonus for the precise $2,095,800 slot value of the 35th overall pick.
Romo will bypass a commitment to Louisiana State University to go pro with the Rox. He’s seen as a defensively proficient switch-hitting backstop, which is certainly a nice starting point for a player hoping to maximize his opportunities to reach the majors.
The question remains whether Romo will really ever emerge as a compelling player on offense. Baseball America cites “swing-and-miss concerns” and indicates that the upside is limited. Per BA, Romo “has a good understanding of the strike zone and could provide enough offense with his plate discipline and ambush power.”
Though high school catchers constitute a generally disfavored class of players, Romo’s serious defensive chops were sufficient to push him into the top forty players chosen. That’s at the top of the range at which prospect watchers graded him, but all agreed he was at least a second-round talent.
Giants Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Patrick Bailey
The Giants have agreed to a $3.8MM bonus with first-round selection Patrick Bailey, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). He was selected 13th overall, a position that came with a $4,197,300 slot allocation.
This represents the first big draft strike for the San Francisco organization, which has quite a bit of signing left to do. The savings on this selection will presumably be rolled over to later-drafted players.
Bailey, a backstop out of N.C. State, will slot in behind recent top selection Joey Bart in the long-term catching pipeline. If and when the club ends up with some tough decisions to make involving those two players and long-time star receiver Buster Posey, it’d surely consider it a good problem to have.
Entering the draft, all major pundits graded Bailey as one of the twenty best players available. ESPN.com and Fangraphs each rated him within the top dozen. The switch-hitter isn’t exactly hyped for his endless ceiling, but prospect watchers seem to agree he has solid all-around skills and real potential to become a regular backstop at the game’s highest level.