Cubs To Sign Rob Scahill
The Cubs have agreed to a minors deal with righty Rob Scahill, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). It is not yet known whether Scahill will receive a spring invite, though it stands to reason that he would.
Scahill, who’ll turn 32 right as camp opens, has appeared in each of the past seven MLB seasons, though he has yet to tally 35 frames in a given campaign. All told, the reliever owns a 3.85 ERA through 149 2/3 innings. He has managed just 6.0 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in that stretch, but does carry a healthy 55.0% groundball rate.
For most of the 2018 season, Scahill pitched for the White Sox’ top affiliate. Though he only provided Charlotte with a 5.64 ERA, Scahill did post an uncharacteristically robust tally of 10.5 strikeouts per nine.
Barring injury, the odds seem long for Scahill to crack the Opening Day roster for the Cubs. Still, he could be a worthwhile depth piece for the Chicago organization and will enter Spring Training with at least a fighting chance at staking a claim to big league pen job.
Marlins To Sign Hector Noesi
The Marlins have inked a deal with righty Hector Noesi, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. It’s not clear whether the minor-league accord includes a spring invite, but Noesi can earn $800K if he cracks the MLB roster.
It has been some time since Noesi, who’ll soon turn 32, has appeared at the game’s highest level. He threw nearly four hundred innings over a five-year span from 2011 to 2015, pitching to a 5.30 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9.
In the interim, Noesi has plied his trade abroad. He carried an excellent 3.44 ERA over 408 1/3 innings in his first two seasons in the hitter-friendly KBO, though he slipped to a 4.60 ERA in 174 frames last year. Most recently, Noesi has made five strong starts in the Dominican Winter League.
Rays To Sign Luis Santos
The Rays have a minor-league deal with righty Luis Santos, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). It seems he’ll receive an invitation to MLB camp.
Soon to turn 28, Santos has thrown 36 2/3 major league innings over the past two seasons. He has allowed 21 earned runs in that span, with eight home runs putting a big dent in the bottom line. Santos does carry a solid combination of forty strikeouts against 14 walks in his still-nascent MLB career.
Formerly a starter, Santos worked almost exclusively in a relief capacity in 2018 in both the majors and minors. In 42 2/3 frames spread over twenty appearances for Triple-A Buffalo, Santos pitched to a 2.74 ERA with 8.4 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9.
The multi-inning capabilities are surely of interest to the Rays. Beyond that, Santos has also shown some interesting skills. He carries a 14.2% swinging-strike rate during his time in the majors and last year averaged over 94 mph with his fastball.
Nationals To Sign Vidal Nuno
The Nationals have agreed to a minor-league deal with southpaw Vidal Nuno, according to Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). He’ll receive an invitation to participate in MLB Spring Training as well as opt-out opportunities if he doesn’t earn a roster spot. Nuno would earn at a $1.3MM rate in the big leagues.
Nuno, 31, turned in a sparkling 1.64 ERA in 33 frames last year for the Rays. His underlying peripherals, however, were not quite so promising as the bottom-line results would otherwise suggest. Nuno was helped along by a .216 batting average on balls in play and 100% strand rate.
Teams clearly do not anticipate that Nuno will be capable of replicating his 2018 output; otherwise, he’d have been claimed when he was outrighted after the end of the season or would have commanded a MLB deal in free agency. Still, he seems to be a worthwhile depth piece, having compiled a 4.06 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 over nearly four hundred career frames at the game’s highest level.
For the Nats, Nuno could represent both rotation and left-handed relief depth. He took ten starts at Triple-A last year but has mostly worked out of the pen in recent major league campaigns. Historically, Nuno has found much greater success against same-handed hitters, so he could compete for a LOOGY job in camp.
Minor MLB Transactions: 1/17/19
We’ll track the latest minor moves throughout the league here…
- Outfielder Charlie Tilson cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the White Sox and has been sent outright to Triple-A Charlotte, the team announced to reporters (Twitter link via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Sun Times). Chicago will now be able to hang onto the 26-year-old speedster without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to him. Tilson suffered a torn hamstring in his MLB debut with the South Siders back in ’16 and saw his 2017 season wiped out by a stress reaction in his ankle. He returned to hit .264 with a solid .331 OBP in 121 plate appearances with the White Sox last season but slugged just .292. Lack of power isn’t new for Tilson, who has batted .266/.321/.356 in just shy of 700 Triple-A plate appearances. Tilson now finds himself a ways down the depth chart in Chicago and will need a strong showing in 2019 to move back up the organizational ladder (or to pique the interest of another team).
Royals’ Eric Skoglund Suspended 80 Games
Royals left-hander Eric Skoglund has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for “Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators S-22 (Ostarine) and LGD-4033 (Ligandrol),” the league announced Wednesday.
Skoglund, 26, would presumably have been in the mix for a rotation spot with the Royals this spring but will instead sit out the first half of the season without pay. The 2014 third-rounder has had some success at the Triple-A level thus far in his career but has not yet broken out as a reliable MLB option in Kansas City. In 14 appearances for the Royals in 2018 (13 starts), Skoglund pitched to a 5.14 ERA with 6.3 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 1.54 HR/9 and a 42.1 percent ground-ball rate. He does have a 4.13 ERA with nearly a punchout per inning and similar control numbers through 109 innings with the Royals’ top minor league affiliate in Omaha.
Kansas City presently figures to open the season with Danny Duffy, Jakob Junis, Brad Keller and Ian Kennedy in the rotation. Skoglund’s subtraction from the race for the fifth spot will give names like Jesse Hahn, Trevor Oaks, Heath Fillmyer and Ben Lively a greater chance of making some starts in the early stages of a 2019 season that appears destined to be a rebuilding year for the Royals as they work to develop a new core following their 2015 World Series Championship.
The suspension will open a spot on the Royals’ 40-man roster, which had previously been full.
Diamondbacks Acquire Tim Locastro
The Yankees announced Wednesday that they’ve traded infielder/outfielder Tim Locastro to the Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league lefty Ronald Roman and cash. Locastro was designated for assignment earlier this week in order to open a spot on the Yankees’ roster for DJ LeMahieu. Arizona’s acquisition of Locastro fills the team’s 40-man roster.
Locastro, 26, has just 15 MLB plate appearances to his name, but he’s a .307/.402/.443 hitter with six homers, 33 doubles, two triples and 30 stolen bases (in 34 attempts) in just 114 games of Triple-A experience in the Dodgers’ system. New York acquired him from the Dodgers earlier this offseason, but Locastro didn’t last the full offseason on the Yankees’ 40-man roster following several infield additions, including LeMahieu and Troy Tulowitzki.
Locastro has played all over the field in the minors and has spent most of his time at second base and shortstop. He does have a pair of options remaining, and he’ll give the D-backs some additional depth in both the infield and the outfield following today’s reported agreement with former Mets infielder Wilmer Flores (for which they’ll now need to make a corresponding move following the acquisition of Locastro).
As for the 17-year-old Roman, he’s yet to even begin his professional career with the D-backs in earnest. He signed as an international amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic back on July 2 when this year’s international class kicked off and has not pitched for any of the team’s Rookie-level affiliates. He’ll presumably head to the Yankees’ affiliate in the Dominican Summer League this coming season, where he’ll make his in-game pro debut.
Cubs Claim Ian Clarkin
The Cubs announced today that for the second time this offseason, they’ve claimed lefty Ian Clarkin off waivers from the White Sox. The South Siders designated Clarkin for assignment last week after signing Kelvin Herrera.
It’s the second time this winter that the ChiSox designated Clarkin for assignment. The crosstown Cubs claimed him from their south side counterparts back on Nov. 20 and promptly tried to pass Clarkin through waivers themselves (thus allowing them to keep Clarkin without giving him a 40-man roster spot), only for the White Sox to scoop him back up with a claim of their own.
Set to turn 24 next month, Clarkin is a former first-round pick (No. 33 by the Yankees in 2013) whom the White Sox originally acquired in the 2017 trade that sent David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle to the Yankees. While outfield prospect Blake Rutherford headlined the Sox’ return in that swap, Clarkin was an interesting addition to the mix, even if his prospect star had dimmed by the time he was traded.
However, Clarkin was hit hard in 68 innings of Double-A ball last year, turning in a 4.98 ERA with nearly as many walks (4.1 BB/9) as strikeouts (4.6 K/9). The Cubs organization is reportedly facing some ownership-mandated financial restrictions this winter and clearly sees some potential in Clarkin. The Cubs have again turned to Clarkin as a low-cost depth piece, though it’s possible they’ll again try to run him through waivers in order to maintain greater 40-man roster flexibility. At present, there are 39 players on the Cubs’ 40-man roster (including Clarkin).
Reds Sign Buddy Boshers, Felix Jorge
The Reds have landed some additional pitching depth, signing lefty Buddy Boshers and righty Felix Jorge to minors deals, according to Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link) and MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (Twitter link). Both receive invitations to participate on the major-league side of spring camp.
Boshers, 30, has thrown 86 1/3 total MLB frames over parts of three seasons, working to a 4.59 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. The reliever did not receive any chances last year at the game’s highest level, but did turn in strong results at Triple-A. Over 57 total innings, he worked to a 3.32 ERA while racking up 9.8 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9.
As for Jorge, who turned 25 earlier this month, he has only received a brief taste of the majors. Unlike Boshers, most of his experience has come as a starting pitcher. In his most recent full season, 2017, Jorge turned in 149 innings of 3.68 ERA ball over stints at Double-A and Triple-A. He hasn’t shown much swing-and-miss ability in the upper minors, but has long been seen as a possible future MLB talent. Jorge ended up missing all of 2018 with a triceps injury, so he’ll first need to show he’s back at full health.
Minor MLB Transactions: 1/15/19
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves from around baseball…
- Former Yankees top prospect Slade Heathcott is retiring from the game, Heathcott himself announced this week (hat tip: Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post). Now 28 years of age, Heathcott was the No. 29 selection in the 2009 draft and rated as the game’s No. 63 overall prospect, per Baseball America, in the 2012-13 offseason. However, after tearing through the lower ranks of the minor leagues, Heathcott began to struggle in Double-A and never found great success there or in Triple-A. He did have a strong 17-game cameo with the Yankees in 2015, during which he went 10-for-25 with a pair of homers and a pair of doubles. Heathcott split last season between the Athletics organization and the independent Sugar Land Skeeters, but he tweeted this week that he’s moving on from baseball in pursuit of his commercial pilot’s license.
- Left-hander Tyler Matzek has agreed to a minor league contract with the Diamondbacks, tweets Robert Murray of The Athletic. Once the No. 11 overall pick in the draft (2009, Rockies), Matzek was considered one of the game’s premier pitching prospects at one point but has persistently battled control problems throughout his pro career. Matzek has a 4.06 ERA with 6.8 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9 in 139 2/3 big league innings, but he’s averaged 6.5 walks per nine innings in parts of seven minor league seasons. Matzek hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2015 and spent the 2018 season with the Texas AirHogs of the independent American Association, where his control troubles continued. In 88 2/3 innings, Matzek logged a 5.89 ERA with 93 strikeouts but 66 walks and 10 hit batters.
- The Twins have signed right-hander Jeff Ames to a minor league contract, MLBTR has learned. Ames, 28 at the end of the month, hasn’t cracked the big leagues and had mixed results between Double-A and Triple-A with the Brewers and Nats last season. He’s averaged better than 11 strikeouts per nine innings pitched across the past two seasons but has also averaged more than five walks per nine in that time. Ames has a 4.50 ERA in 64 career innings at the Triple-A level and a 2.66 ERA in 125 frames of Double-A ball. Though he’s been an extreme fly-ball pitcher throughout his minor league career, Ames hasn’t struggled with home runs much outside of the 2018 campaign, when he surrendered six big flies in 38 total innings of relief (1.42 HR/9).