Blue Jays To Sign Marc Rzepczynski
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
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
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
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
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.
Orioles Outright Richard Urena
The Orioles announced today that they’ve outrighted infielder Richard Urena to Triple-A Norfolk after he cleared waivers. That means he’s no longer a member of the 40-man roster, but he’ll nonetheless be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee.
Urena had been designated for assignment on Friday when the O’s claimed Andrew Velazquez, another infielder. Urena will have a chance to compete with Velazquez and others for a reserve role with the Major League club, which currently has Hanser Alberto and Jose Iglesias installed as the starting middle infield. There’s a whole host of middle infielders with MLB experience—including the likes of Stevie Wilkerson, Richie Martin, and Pat Valaika—in competition for a bench spot on the Baltimore roster.
Urena, who came up as a shortstop, is a capable second and third baseman, and even occasionally suited up in left field for the Blue Jays last year. After parts of three seasons in the Majors, his offensive performance has not been especially impressive, as he’s notched a .636 OPS with just two home runs through 263 plate appearances. Urena spent the majority of the 2019 season at the Triple-A level, posting a .274/.314/.393 batting line with six home runs.
Mariners Sign Rymer Liriano
The Mariners have signed outfielder Rymer Liriano to a minor-league contract with an invitation to MLB spring training, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). The club has since confirmed the agreement.
Liriano hasn’t reached the majors since a brief stint with the 2017 White Sox. Between that time in Chicago and some work with the 2014 Padres, he has compiled 167 MLB plate appearances with a .220/.293/.287 slash (66 wRC+).
He spent 2019 with the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse, where he hit .209/.346/.403 with ten home runs in 247 plate appearances. Still just 28 years old, Liriano came up as a center field prospect in the San Diego system but was used exclusively in the corners last season. He’ll presumably vie for a spot in an uncertain Seattle corner outfield mix this spring.
White Sox Sign Aaron Bummer To Five-Year Extension
The Chicago White Sox signed Aaron Bummer to a five-year, $16MM contract extension, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. The deal also includes two option years that could raise the overall value to $29.5MM, per Nightengale. Nightengale notes that it’s the “largest extension given to a non-closer who has yet to qualify for salary arbitration in #MLB history.” Bummer is represented by O’Connell Sports Management.
Bummer, 26, evolved into a reliable lefty out of the pen for the ChiSox last season, and he’s now set to burn worms on the Southside through the 2026 campaign. Bummer will make $1MM this season, $2MM in 2021, $2.5MM in 2022, $3.75MM in 2023, and $5.5MM in 2024. The option years are for $7.25MM and $7.5MM, respectively, with $1.25MM buyouts, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. The 2026 option could escalate to $9MM with a second- or third-place finish in the AL Reliever of the Year voting, or $10MM if he wins the award, according to The Athletic’s James Fegan.
The White Sox are getting one of the game’s premier groundball artists at rates that carry minimal risk. The investment signals both their confidence in Bummer, and their continued commitment to longevity for the incoming core. Bummer was among the best in the game at limiting barrels last season (2.3% barrel%) and well as opponents’ expected slugging percentage (.281 xSLG). Bummer’s sinker drives his arsenal, and it jumped in velocity last year to an average of 95.6 mph. In 58 games out of the pen last season, the southpaw produced a 72.1 GB%, ranking behind only the Yankees’ Zack Britton in that regard.
Big picture, Bummer joins Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez as White Sox to have been extended through 2026 (including option years). The ChiSox now have a long-term piece in their bullpen to add some stability to that area of the club. In an era of flame-throwing strikeout artists, Bummer also brings a different approach. Should he continue to pitch as he did last season (2.13 ERA/3.41 FIP), the Sox will happily charge him with care of their late innings.
White Sox Extend Leury Garcia’s Contract To Include 2021 Team Option
The Chicago White Sox signed Leury Garcia to a one-year, $3.5MM guaranteed deal today, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. The deal includes a $3.25MM base salary for 2020 with a $3.5MM team option for 2021. The White Sox can decline next year’s option with a $250K buyout. Garcia’s deal takes the place of the one he signed in January to avoid arbitration, giving the team the option of a second season. Garcia is a client of Rep 1 Baseball.
Garcia, 29 in March, has been a longstanding member of the White Sox. He joined the club midseason in 2013 from the Texas Rangers in a trade for Alexis Rios. He had been a part-time player every season since the deal until last year when he started 135 games for Chicago, the largest chunk of which came in centerfield, though he spent time at every position except pitcher, catcher, and first base.
As for this season, Garcia may open the year as the regular second baseman, though whoever gets the at-bats in the early going will likely eventually yield playing time to Nick Madrigal. Regardless, he provides the team with a valuable safety net. He’s comfortable in the clubhouse, unlikely to kick up a fuss over playing time, and he can play wherever they need him on the diamond. His career .256/.292/.357 doesn’t inspire a whole lot of confidence, but as a bit player, he should continue to compliment the White Sox roster nicely at a low investment.
Victor Alcantara Receives 80-Game PED Suspension
Free agent righty Victor Alcantara has received an 80-game suspension, per a league announcement. He tested positive for banned perforrmance-enhancing drug stanozolol.
Alcantara, 26, had appeared in each of the past three MLB campaigns. He was cut loose by the Tigers at the end of the 2019 season and had not yet signed on with another organization.
While he gets a good number of groundballs with his 94 mph sinker and carries a decent lifetime 10.5% swinging-strike rate (about average for a starter), Alcantara hasn’t found consistent success in the majors. Through eighty total frames, he carries a 4.28 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 along with a 52.3% groundball rate.
It was never likely Alcantara would land a major league deal, but he was also an obvious candidate to get a non-roster shot. No doubt he’ll still command another opportunity, though he’ll need to serve his suspension upon joining a new team.