Royals Sign Kyle Zimmer, Designate Cheslor Cuthbert
The Royals have signed right-hander Kyle Zimmer to a one-year deal, the team announced (Twitter links). Zimmer’s deal is a Major League deal, and MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports (via Twitter) that it is a split contract. Zimmer will earn $124K in the minors and $555K (the MLB minimum salary) if he cracks the Royals’ big league roster. In a corresponding move, the Royals have designated third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert for assignment.
After being selected with the fifth overall pick of the 2012 draft, Zimmer has yet to reach the majors, as his development has been stalled by a series of injuries. Shoulder and elbow problems have been consistent issues, and Zimmer underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in July 2016. All in all, Zimmer has tossed just 259 minor league innings since making his pro debut in 2012, and he didn’t pitch at all last season.
In this context, it’s a little curious why K.C. felt the need to sign Zimmer to a Major League contract rather than another minor league agreement, though obviously the price is far from prohibitive and the split deal gives Zimmer a bit of extra guaranteed cash.
Despite all the injuries, Zimmer continued to be listed on multiple top-100 prospect rankings as recently as 2016, due to the potential he flashed when he was able to take the mound. Zimmer has a 3.54 ERA, 10.8 K/9, and a 3.44 K/BB rate in the minors, though he did have a 5.79 ERA over his only Triple-A exposure, a 32 2/3-inning stint in 2017. Zimmer worked mostly as a reliever in 2017 and that would seem like his clearest path to the majors, though just making the Show would be an achievement for Zimmer at this point given his plethora of health issues.
Cuthbert has also been plagued with injuries over the last two seasons, playing in just 88 total games for the Royals with only a .215/.278/.313 slash line over 270 plate appearances. Cuthbert looked to breaking in as a regular in the Kansas City lineup in 2016, though his diminished play over the last two years has made him an expendable part of the Royals’ rebuild.
The Royals avoided arbitration with Cuthbert by agreeing to a $850K contract for the 2019 season, though like all arb deals, this contract isn’t guaranteed until the season actually begins. If the Royals were to part ways with Cuthbert before the 16th day of Spring Training, they would only owe him 30 days of prorated termination pay based on his contract value (so in this case, roughly $143K). Cuthbert is also out of options, so even if Kansas City wanted to keep him in the organization, he’d have to clear this waiver process.
Dodgers Sign Paulo Orlando To Minors Contract
The Dodgers have signed outfielder Paulo Orlando to a minor league deal, MetsMerized’s Michael Mayer reports (Twitter link). Orlando will receive an invitation to the Dodgers’ big league Spring Training camp, the Southern California News Group’s J.P. Hoornstra adds (via Twitter).
Orlando broke into the majors with the Royals in 2015, receiving 251 plate appearances for the eventual world champions and becoming the first Brazilian-born player to ever appear in a World Series game. He was a part-time outfielder in his first two seasons, and batted .302/.329/.405 over 484 PA in 2016, though a .380 BABIP played a big role in that production. After that solid start to his career, however, Orlando has struggled over the last two seasons, appearing in just 64 total games and batting only .182/.209/.250, shuttling up and down to the minors and also dealing with some injuries.
Orlando was something of a late bloomer in the big leagues and turned 33 in November, though he’ll give L.A. some additional outfield depth at all three positions. Between signing Orlando and Shane Peterson to minors deals in recent days, the Dodgers are restocking their outfield depth (albeit at a lower level) after trading Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp to the Reds.
Orioles Claim Austin Brice, Designate Breyvic Valera
The Orioles have claimed right-hander Austin Brice off waivers from the Angels, as announced by both teams. In a corresponding move to clear roster space, the O’s have designated infielder Breyvic Valera for assignment. Baltimore now has a full 40-man roster.
This is the second time the hard-throwing Brice has switched organizations this offseason, as he was claimed off the Reds roster by the Angels back in November, but then DFA’ed by the Halos last week once they signed Jonathan Lucroy. Brice, 26, has a 5.68 ERA over 84 career innings with the Reds and Marlins from 2016-18. His main issue at the big league level has been the home run ball, with an ungainly 1.9 HR/9 over the last two seasons. Despite his homer woes, Brice has generated ground balls (career 51.2% grounder rate) at an above-average rate. It’s a fairly low-risk acquisition by the Orioles, who will be exploring any number of young players as they begin their rebuilding process.
Valera has a .529 OPS over 86 career Major League plate appearances with the Orioles, Dodgers, and Cardinals, and he is perhaps best known for being included as part of the trade package L.A. sent to Baltimore last summer for Manny Machado. Turning 27 next week, Valera does own a pretty solid .299/.357/.388 slash line over 3659 career minor league PA and he offers some utility depth. Valera has spent much of his pro career as a second baseman, though he has experience playing any position on the diamond except catcher and pitcher.
Brewers Sign Cory Spangenberg
TODAY: The Brewers have officially announced the signing.
DEC.20: The Brewers are in agreement on a one-year, Major League contract with infielder Cory Spangenberg, pending a physical, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. It appears to be a split contract for Spangeberg (who has a minor league option remaining), as Rosenthal notes that he would earn $1.2MM in the Majors and $250K in the minors. Spangenberg is represented by Jet Sports.
Milwaukee is known to be in the market for infield options, particularly after non-tendering Jonathan Schoop, though the split nature of Spangenberg’s deal underscores the fact that he’s viewed more as a depth option than a primary addition for general manager David Stearns and his staff. The Brewers figure to continue exploring the market for a higher-profile solution, though Spangenberg’s ability to play second base or third base could very well put him in the mix for a bench job this spring.
Spangenberg, 28 in March, was the 10th overall selection in the 2011 draft but has yet to cement himself as a regular contributor at the MLB level. While he showed promise in his first few looks at the Majors, hitting .274/.330/.408 through 410 plate appearances, Spangenberg’s bat has gone dormant since that time. From 2016-18, he managed just a .251/.312/.384 slash through 868 plate appearances for the Padres while seeing time at second base, third base and in left field.
Yankees Designate A.J. Cole For Assignment
The Yankees announced that they’ve designated righty A.J. Cole for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Troy Tulowitzki, whose one-year, Major League contract is now official.
The Yankees bought Cole from the Nationals last April, acquiring him in exchange for cash after Washington had designated the one-time top prospect for assignment themselves. Cole gave the Yankees 38 innings of 4.26 ERA ball from that point forth, pitching in primarily a multi-inning relief role. Along the way, Cole offered some signs of encouragement, as he averaged 11.6 K/9 and registered an enormous 15.9 percent swinging-strike rate with a very good 34.3 percent opponents’ chase rate on out-of-zone pitches.
However, Cole was also exorbitantly homer-prone, yielding nine long balls for an average of 2.13 homers per nine innings pitched. That’s been an ongoing problem for the 26-year-old in each of the past three MLB seasons, as he’s averaged a staggering 1.9 homers per nine innings in that time. In 148 innings at the big league level, Cole has a 5.05 ERA with 9.2 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9.
Yankees Sign Troy Tulowitzki
Jan. 4: The Yankees have officially announced the signing. Tulowitzki’s contract comes with a full no-trade clause, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets.
Jan. 3: Tulowitzki’s physical with the Yankees is taking place today, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
Jan. 1: The Yankees have agreed to a deal with free-agent shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, pending a physical, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports. It’s expected to be for the league minimum, Passan adds, meaning the Yankees would pay Tulowitzki $555K, as the Blue Jays are on the hook for the remainder of the two years on his contract after releasing him. Tulowitzki is a client of TWC Sports.
The 34-year-old Tulowitzki will remain at shortstop with his new team, suggests Passan, who reports that the Yankees still haven’t ruled out signing free agent Manny Machado. Rather, they simply couldn’t pass up Tulowitzki on such an inexpensive salary. The Yankees were in position to land the five-time All-Star for a minimal fee because the AL East rival Blue Jays released him last month and ate the remaining $38MM on his contract in the process.
Tulowitzki was among the majors’ premier players with the Rockies from 2009-14, and he remained a solid contributor with the Blue Jays for two seasons after they acquired him in July 2015. Now, though, the oft-injured Tulowitzki is essentially coming off two lost seasons. He batted a career-worst .249/.300/.378 across 260 plate appearances and 66 games in 2017, which he missed most of on account of hamstring and ankle injuries. Tulowitzki then sat out all of 2018 because of bone spurs in both heels, and after the Blue Jays released him, general manager Ross Atkins called it “unlikely” Tulo would return in ’19 to play an “above-average” shortstop over a long season.
While Atkins and the Blue Jays were no longer interested in dealing with Tulowitzki’s injury issues, the ex-superstar drew plenty of looks from other teams after they cut him. In addition to the Yankees, at least 10 other clubs were on hand to watch Tulowitzki work out on Dec. 18. At the time, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reported Tulowitzki wanted to sign someplace where he could receive regular at-bats at one position. It seems he’ll get his wish in New York, where he’s in line to fill in for injured shortstop Didi Gregorius, who underwent Tommy John surgery on his left elbow in October. Gregorius is expected to return sometime during the summer.
Gregorius is coming off his second straight season of at least 4.0 fWAR – a mark Tulowitzki hasn’t reached since 2014. Realistically, Tulowitzki won’t come close to replicating the production a healthy Gregorius would have put up in ’19. Nevertheless, for a low cost, the Yankees are gambling that Tulowitzki’s a higher-upside play than the other shortstops available in a weak free-agent crop (Machado excluded).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rays Acquire Oliver Drake, Designate Jaime Schultz
The Rays have acquired right-hander Oliver Drake from the Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations, as per an announcement from the Jays. In order to open a spot for Drake on the 40-man roster, Tampa Bay announced that fellow righty Jaime Schultz has been designated for assignment.
Toronto designated Drake for assignment last week to open a spot on the roster for newly acquired southpaw Clayton Richard. It’s the second time Drake has landed with the Rays this offseason; Tampa Bay claimed him from the Twins on Nov. 1, only to later lose him to the Jays via waivers.
Drake, 32 next week, is baseball’s most well-traveled player over the past calendar year. The right-hander pitched for a record-setting five teams in 2018, spending time with the Brewers, Indians, Blue Jays, Angels and Twins. Though he struggled with four of those clubs, Drake actually pitched quite well in Minnesota, giving the Twins 20 1/3 innings of 2.21 ERA ball with 22 strikeouts against seven walks over the life of 19 relief appearances.
Many were puzzled that Drake continually was claimed on waivers despite sub-par results for much of the 2018 campaign, but Drake’s blend of missed bats (13.2 percent swinging-strike rate, 9.6 K/9), solid control (3.2 BB/9) and ability to keep the ball on the ground at a roughly league-average rate (44.6 percent) continue to hold appeal around the league. He’s not a spin rate savant by any stretch of the means, but fielding-independent pitching metrics like FIP (3.24), xFIP (3.51) and SIERA (3.48) all paint a much better picture of Drake than his unsightly 5.29 ERA. His strong finish with Minnesota likely only further enhanced his appeal.
As for Schultz, the 27-year-old was once considered one of Tampa Bay’s more promising minor league arms. However, he struggled to a 5.64 ERA in 30 1/3 innings last year, and while he racked up 35 strikeouts in that time, he also issued 17 walks and hit three batters. He also underperformed in Triple-A last season and has never been able to consistently avoid issuing free passes in the upper minors. Schultz does have a nice track record of missing bats, though, and he averaged a solid 94.9 mph on his heater last year, so perhaps another club will be interest in taking a look.
Rangers Claim Luke Farrell
The Rangers announced Friday that they’ve claimed right-hander Luke Farrell off waivers from the Angels. Farrell had been designated for assignment last week when the Halos signed free-agent catcher Jonathan Lucroy.
Farrell, 27, joined the Angels organization in September after being claimed from the Cubs, though he never actually threw a pitch for the Angels. He spent the rest of the 2018 campaign in the Chicago organization, pitching to a 5.17 ERA with 11.2 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, 2.01 HR/9 and a 30.6 percent ground-ball rate in 31 1/3 innings for the Cubs. Farrell’s 3.64 ERA in 51 1/3 Triple-A innings was considerably more respectable and was fueled by a vastly superior 0.66 HR/9 mark; his K/BB numbers in the minors this past season were fairly similar to those he posted at the MLB level.
The son of former Red Sox skipper John Farrell, Luke has totaled 44 1/3 MLB frames over the past two seasons, spending time with the Royals and Reds in addition to his work with the Cubs. He does have a minor league option remaining and has worked extensively as a starter in the minors, so he’ll give Texas some optionable depth and a flexible piece that can pitch in multiple roles.
Texas also formally announced a pair of previously reported minor league signings: right-handers Rafael Montero and Adrian Sampson will both be in Major League camp as non-roster invitees this spring.
Minor MLB Transactions: 1/3/19
Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the game…
Latest Updates
- Per a team release, the Mets have signed OF Rymer Liriano and reliever Arquimedes Caminero to minor league deals and invited both to Spring Training. Liriano, 27, was a former highly-rated prospect in the Padres system, but slumped badly upon his promotion to Double-A in 2012. In 167 career plate appearances with the Pads and White Sox, the Dominican-born outfielder has put together a .220/.293/.287 (66 wRC+) line, with just two home runs and a 31.7% strikeout rate. He appeared in 65 games for Triple-A Salt Lake last season, slashing .268/.343/.523 in the hitter-friendly PCL. Caminero, 31, was a big part of the 2015 Pirates bullpen, posting a 3.62 ERA/3.80 FIP in a robust 74 2/3 IP for the club. He also has big-league time with the Marlins (’13’-14) and Mariners (2016), and all told has a 3.83 ERA, 8.3 K/9, and 4.01 BB/9 in 155 career IP. Caminero spent the last two seasons with Japan’s Yomiuri Giants, where he scuffled last season following a strong debut showing in 2017. The Dominican-born righty returned to the U.S. last August to undergo what seemed to be a minor elbow procedure, per the Yomiuri club.
- Per Robert Murray of The Athletic, the Mets have also agreed to a minors pact with right-hander Casey Coleman. Coleman, 31, has appeared in parts of four MLB seasons with the Cubs and Royals, most recently in 2014. He’s spent much of the last four seasons in AAA with a number of clubs, working primarily as a reliever. The 6-foot righty has been blistered in his last two trips through the PCL, working to a 6.75 ERA/5.19 FIP with the Astros in ’17, and a 6.91 ERA/5.11 FIP with the Cubs last season. In 177 2/3 career MLB innings, Coleman has posted a 6.23 K/9 against 4.51 BB/9, but has been able to induce grounders at an above-average rate. Per Murray, the deal includes an opt- and buyout clause for Korean and Japanese teams.
- Per a team release, the Red Sox have invited righty Domingo Tapia to Spring Training. Tapia, 27, was a once-promising Mets farmhand who was eventually moved to the bullpen after serious command issues as a starter from 2012-14. Most recently of the Reds organization, the Dominican-born hurler worked to a respectable 3.47 ERA/4.06 FIP for Triple-A Louisville last season, though his peripherals (6.43 K/9, 3.71 BB/9) were hardly encouraging.
Earlier Moves
- The Dodgers have signed right-hander Markus Solbach to a minor league contract, as announced by Solbach’s team in the Australian Baseball League, the Adelaide Bite (Twitter link). The German-born Solbach has previously spent time in the minor league ranks with the Twins and D-backs in addition to four seasons pitching on the independent circuit (CanAm and Frontier leagues). This winter, the 27-year-old has turned in a ludicrous 0.43 ERA and a 55-to-7 K/BB ratio in 41 2/3 innings in the ABL. However, he hasn’t pitched in affiliated ball since notching a 3.56 ERA with 7.9 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 through 65 2/3 frames with Arizona’s Class-A Advanced affiliate. Originally signed by Minnesota as a 19-year-old out of Germany, Solbach has pitched professionally in parts of eight seasons and generally demonstrated strong control with less-impressive strikeout numbers. He’s posted a cumulative 3.30 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 733 pro innings, though he’s never pitched above the Class-A Advanced level for an MLB organization.
Phillies Sign David Robertson
7:00pm: Robertson’s deal does contain a range of incentives, per Jon Heyman of Fancred. The 33-year-old will be awarded $50K each for an All-Star appearance, Gold Glove award, or League Championship Series MVP award, and $100K if he’s awarded MVP of the World Series or wins the Cy Young (plus $50K for finishing second, and $25K for a third-place finish). He’ll also donate 1% of his salary to the team’s charity fund.
1:00pm: The Phillies have announced the signing. Because they had two open spots on the 40-man roster, a corresponding move was not necessary.
12:29pm: The Phillies have agreed to a two-year, $23MM contract with free-agent reliever David Robertson, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (via Twitter). The contract contains a $12MM club option for a third season, and Robertson has already passed his physical. He’ll earn $10MM in 2019, $11MM in 2020 and is guaranteed at least a $2MM buyout on the 2021 option. If the option is picked up, the self-represented Robertson would take home a total of $33MM over three years.
Robertson, 33, has been among the game’s most consistent relievers since emerging as a regular more than a decade ago. He’s totaled at least 60 innings and 60 appearances per season dating back to 2010 and hasn’t been on the disabled list since 2014, when he missed the minimum amount of time due to a mild groin strain.
Robertson is fresh off a quality 3.23 ERA with 11.8 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9 and a 45.3 percent ground-ball rate in 69 2/3 innings with the Yankees. He kept his ERA south of 3.50 and averaged at least 10.8 punchouts per nine innings in all four seasons of his the four-year $46MM pact he signed with the White Sox. His 2017 season — 1.84 ERA, 12.9 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 2.57 FIP, 2.76 xFIP through 68 1/3 innings between Chicago and New York — was particularly brilliant.
After spending his entire career to date in the American League, Robertson will head to the National League for the first time, where he’ll pair with breakout 2018 rookie Seranthony Dominguez at the back of a Philadelphia bullpen that also features veterans Tommy Hunter, Pat Neshek and Juan Nicasio, in addition to lefties James Pazos and Jose Alvarez. Hector Neris, Edubray Ramos, Yacksel Rios and Victor Arano are among the other bullpen options for the Phillies, but it presently stands to reason that Dominguez and Robertson will team to handle the majority of the high-leverage innings in Philadelphia.
To that end, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that the Phillies’ intention with Robertson is to use him “whenever the game is on the line, regardless of inning.” That should put Robertson firmly in the mix for some saves in Philadelphia, but he’ll also likely be called upon to help escape jams earlier in the game. In those instances, Dominguez could then be in line for more conventional save opportunities.
Robertson is the latest addition in an offseason that has been rife with turnover for the Phillies after GM Matt Klentak promised changes were coming on the heels of a historic late collapse. Since their season ended in catastrophic fashion, the Phillies have shipped out Carlos Santana, signed Andrew McCutchen and acquired each of Nicasio, Pazos and Jean Segura on the trade market. The heaviest lifting for the Phillies may very well be yet to come, though, as the Phillies have been linked to top free agents Bryce Harper and Manny Machado more strongly than virtually any team in baseball.
The Robertson contract falls rather closely in line with the two-year, $25MM contract that Andrew Miller landed with the Cardinals, perhaps further serving to establish the market for the tier of veteran relievers just below top available arm Craig Kimbrel. The Phillies and Yankees were both rumored to be in the mix for Robertson, Zach Britton and Adam Ottavino, so with Robertson now off the board, both Britton and Ottavino could see their markets accelerate.
Fancred’s Jon Heyman first suggested that a deal between the two sides appeared to be getting close (via Twitter), and The Athletic’s Jayson Stark had reported shortly beforehand that there was “lots” of talk surrounding the Phillies and Robertson (Twitter links).