Rangers Agree To Minor League Deal With Jett Bandy
The Rangers have agreed to a minor league pact with catcher Jett Bandy, reports Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. He’ll add a bit of catching depth to the Texas system after the Rangers’ surprising decision to move on from catcher Robinson Chirinos.
Bandy, 28, has spent the past two seasons in the Brewers organization after Milwaukee acquired him in the trade that sent Martin Maldonado to the Angels. Bandy, a former 31st-round pick, was with the Halos for the entirety of his career prior to that swap.
Bandy showed some decent pop in his limited big league time with the Angels, swatting nine homers and nine doubles through his first 233 big league plate appearances in 2015-16. That came on the heels of a solid .291/.347/.466 showing through 344 Triple-A appearances in 2015 (albeit in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League), so it’s understandable how the Brewers would’ve been optimistic that he could hit enough to hold down a roster spot. That, however, simply didn’t happen with the Brewers. Bandy’s two seasons in Milwaukee were disappointing, as he struggled to a .202/.282/.326 batting line through 259 trips to the plate.
To his credit, Bandy has thrown out 31 of 98 runners who’ve attempted to steal on him in the Majors (32 percent), though Baseball Prospectus also gave him slightly below-average marks in terms of pitch blocking and framing during his time with the Brewers.
With Chirinos no longer in the fold, the Rangers are severely lacking in catching options, so it’s natural to see them add some depth. Jose Trevino, who has all of eight MLB plate appearances and hit .234/.284/.332 with Double-A Frisco last season, sits atop the catching depth chart alongside Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who spent more time as an infielder than a catcher in the bigs last season. Texas will likely add further catching depth throughout the winter.
Rays, Jake Smolinski Agree To Minor League Deal
The Rays are in agreement with free-agent outfielder Jake Smolinski on a minor league contract, tweets Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. The Sosnick, Cobbe & Karon client will presumably be in Major League camp with Tampa Bay come Spring Training.
Smolinski was outrighted by the Athletics and became a minor league free agent earlier this offseason. He’d have been eligible for a modest raise over last season’s $775K base salary on the heels of a pair of seasons in which he saw limited action. Smolinski’s 2018 campaign was cut short by a blood clot in his left calf, and in his 41 plate appearances he hit just .128/171/.205. The former second-round pick did post a terrific .278/.372/.548 slash in Triple-A this season and is a career .227/.287/.357 hitter in the Majors. The right-handed-hitting Smolinski has experience at all three outfield spots and has handled lefties well throughout his big league tenure, batting .282/.351/.473 through 276 trips to the plate.
Tampa Bay isn’t lacking for outfield depth with Tommy Pham, Kevin Kiermaier, Mallex Smith and Austin Meadows all on the 40-man roster, to say nothing of utility option like Brandon Lowe and Daniel Robertson. But Smolinski will vie for a bench role that’d allow the organization to take advantage of that success he’s enjoyed against lefties. If he doesn’t make the roster, he’ll likely head to Durham as an upper-level depth option to be called upon in the event of an injury.
Minor MLB Transactions: 11/7/18
Interested in learning about the players that have just reached the open market as minor-league free agents? There are quite a few, and Matt Eddy of Baseball America lists them all.
Here are some notable recent minor transactions from around the game:
- First baseman Ike Davis has decided to wrap up his playing career, according to Ken Davidoff of the New York Post (Twitter link). The 31-year-old had most recently attempted to revitalize his career by moving to the mound, drawing some positive initial reviews from the Dodgers. He ended up only making a few rookie ball appearances, though, so obviously the transition did not work out. Ultimately, Davis will be remembered for his time in a Mets uniform. The former first round pick showed plenty of promise early in his career, but a lower leg injury and bout with valley fever in 2011 seemingly sidetracked him. Davis ultimately compiled a .239/.332/.414 slash line with 81 home runs in 2,392 trips to the plate at the game’s highest level.
- Padres righty Kazuhisa Makita was outrighted after clearing waivers, per MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell (via Twitter). That’s no surprise, in light of his $1.9MM salary for the coming season. Makita could yet emerge as a useful asset for the Pads, as he showed an ability to generate both swings and misses and quite a few infield flies at the MLB level. Unfortunately, the Japanese hurler was also tagged for seven home runs and a 5.40 ERA in 35 innings in his debut big league campaign.
Kennys Vargas Signs With Chiba Lotte Marines
Japan’s Chiba Lotte Marines announced that they have agreed to a one-year deal with first baseman Kennys Vargas (h/t YakyuDB.com). The burly switch-hitter is said to be earning approximately $1.5MM in the pact. Vargas is a client of Rep 1 Baseball.
Still just 28 years of age, Vargas failed to crack the big leagues in 2018 after seeing at least some action in each of the prior four campaigns. He bounced around the waiver wire at the outset of the season but spent most of the year off of the 40-man roster, playing at Triple-A Rochester. The Twins organization which had employed him since 2009, recently released Vargas, who’d have qualified for minor-league free agency unless he was added back to the MLB roster.
Vargas did not turn in his most useful campaign in the upper minors in 2018. In the past, though, he has at times put up intriguing numbers. At his best, Vargas blends an excellent eye at the plate with good power, though his raw strength has never really shone through with eye-popping slugging numbers. In 859 MLB plate appearances, he owns a .252/.311/.437 slash with 35 long balls.
Yankees, CC Sabathia Agree To One-Year Deal
TODAY: The deal has been announced by the Yankees.
YESTERDAY, 6:53pm: Sabathia confirmed on Brandon Steiner’s podcast earlier this week that he plans for 2019 to be his final season.
5:31pm: The two sides are, in fact, in agreement on a contract, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports (on Twitter). The deal is pending a physical.
5:24pm: The Yankees and left-hander CC Sabathia are working through the “final details” of what will be a one-year, $8MM contract for the 2019 season, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Sabathia, according to Sherman, had little interest in exploring the open market and instead preferred to quickly hammer out a one-year pact to return to the Bronx for what could very well be the final season of his illustrious career. Sabathia is represented by Kyle Thousand of Roc Nation Sports.
Sabathia, 38, will slot back into the Yankees’ rotation behind Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka, though the team will surely be in the market to add some additional rotation help. Lefty J.A. Happ is set to hit the open market, while fellow southpaw Jordan Montgomery will miss a significant chunk of the 2019 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery earlier this year. Top prospect Justus Sheffield headlines the team’s internal options, with righties Chance Adams, Jonathan Loaisiga and Domingo German also serving as depth. Sonny Gray, too, remains in the organization for now, but general manager Brian Cashman has indicated that expects to find a trade partner for the change-of-scenery candidate.
The Yankees, though, who dipped back under the luxury tax threshold this season, will undoubtedly be in the mix for any top-end starters that could be available this winter. On the free-agent market, that includes lefties Patrick Corbin, Dallas Keuchel, Happ and perhaps Japanese southpaw Yusei Kikuchi. The trade market could yet bear further enticing options, with recent reports indicating that the likes of Corey Kluber and James Paxton could become available.
Sabathia may not be the dominant arm that he once was, but the crafty veteran still gave the Yankees a strong 2018 season and would be a fine fifth starter behind the presumptive external options the Yankees plan to add. Sabathia, after all, notched a 3.65 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 1.12 HR/9 and a 44.4 percent ground-ball rate over the life of 29 starts and 153 innings this past season. His swinging-strike and chase rates were the best they’d been since 2012, and his fastball velocity still checked in a bit north of 90 mph — roughly in line with his past four seasons.
Athletics Outright Beau Taylor
The Athletics have outrighted catcher Beau Taylor off the 40-man roster, as first noted on the Pacific Coast League transactions page. The 2011 fifth-round pick is now a free agent, as his initial minor league contract has expired. The A’s have 34 players on their 40-man roster.
Taylor, 29 in February, made his big league debut in 2018 and went 1-for-5 with a double and a walk in seven plate appearances. While the seven games in which he appeared this year represent the entirety of his MLB experience to date, Taylor has shown strong on-base skills in the upper minors, hitting .261/.364/.363 with a 13.5 percent walk rate against a 23.3 percent strikeout clip in Triple-A across the past two seasons. Defensively, he’s been a bit below average in terms of throwing out would-be base thieves (24 percent) but has generally drawn average or better framing marks dating back to the 2014 season.
With Taylor now off the 40-man roster and Jonathan Lucroy hitting free agency, the only remaining backstop on the Oakland 40-man roster is Josh Phegley. The A’s have a well-regarded prospect looming on the horizon in the form of Sean Murphy, but he’s only played three games at the Triple-A level and is likely viewed as a prospect in need of additional development. Additional help behind the plate figures to be an area of focus for the A’s this winter.
Angels Outright Five Players
Nov. 4: Despaigne has elected free agency, the Angels announced.
Nov. 3: Despaigne has not yet cleared waivers, per his agent. Should he do so, the 31-year-old may opt to reject the assignment and become a free agent.
Nov. 2: The Angels announced Friday that right-handers Deck McGuire, Odrisamer Despaigne and Eduardo Paredes have all cleared waivers, as have infielder Jefry Marte and catcher Francisco Arcia. All five have been assigned outright to the minor leagues.
Marte, 27, saw the most playing time of the bunch in ’18, appearing in 90 games and tallying 209 plate appearances for the Halos. He gave the Angels a fairly productive part-time bat back in 2016, but since that time the corner infielder has posted a dismal .199/.271/.346 slash. The right-handed-hitting Marte has played primarily first base in the Majors but also has more than 300 innings at the hot corner and nearly 200 innings in left field.
Despaigne, 31, was roughed up for 17 runs in 18 2/3 innings late in the year when pressed into duty for an Angels staff that was decimated by injuries. The journeyman righty has bounced around the league on a series of waiver claims and minor league deals since signing with the Padres back in ’14. In 349 2/3 innings between San Diego, Baltimore, Miami and Anaheim, Despaigne has a 4.94 ERA with a middling 5.6 K/9 mark.
The 29-year-old McGuire and 23-year-old Paredes each limped to ERAs north of 6.00 in fewer than 30 innings of work. McGuire is a former first-rounder who’s yet to pan out in the big leagues but has had some recent success in the upper minors. Paredes, though he has youth on his side, has had some control issues in the upper minors and hasn’t impressed in a pair of big league seasons.
Arcia, meanwhile, made his big league debut as a 29-year-old this season and posted a .654 OPS in 20 games. He posted a .282/.353/.393 slash at the Triple-A level this year and has a dozen minor league seasons under his belt.
Rangers Hire Chris Woodward As Manager
The Rangers officially announced the hiring of Chris Woodward as their manager for the 2019 season. He signs a three-year deal with a club option for 2022 to become the 19th full-time manager in club history.
He will be introduced by the team at a press conference on Monday, November 5th at 10am CT at Globe Life Park in Arlington.
Woodward’s hiring brings an end to an exhaustive process to identify a successor to recently dismissed skipper Jeff Banister. He was replaced late in the season on an interim basis by Don Wakamatsu, who was considered a candidate for the full-time gig but evidently has not landed it. The hiring was initially reported last night by Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). Woodward, who has most recently served as the Dodgers third base coach, was called a “frontrunner” earlier in the day by Jon Morosi of MLB.com (via Twitter).
The Rangers undertook an extensive search, but the initial effort failed to yield a clear candidate. Woodward, who just finished up his duties with the Dodgers in the World Series, was part of a second wave of names under consideration. Evidently, he aced the interview.
Woodward, 42, built a 12-year MLB career after originally being taken in the 54th round of the 1994 draft. He last saw major-league action in 2011 and hung up his spikes for good after the 2012 campaign, so he isn’t that far removed from his playing days.
Since that time, Woodward has worked in both the Mariners and Dodgers organizations. With Seattle, he served as minor league infield coordinator before moving up to the MLB staff for two campaigns. He ended up joining the staff of Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts. Over the past three seasons, he has high-fived many a homer-trotting Dodger and helped guide the organization to consecutive World Series appearances.
Said the Rangers, via a press release:
“We are excited to welcome Chris Woodward and his family to the Texas Rangers,” said Rangers President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Jon Daniels. “Chris brings high energy, outstanding leadership and communication skills, a strong knowledge of the game and its evolving strategies, and great integrity—attributes that we feel are vital for our next manager. We believe these traits will resonate with our players, our staff, and our fans. He has also been a big part of a very successful stretch in Los Angeles.
“We interviewed a number of strong candidates during an extensive interview process for our managerial role and believe we have found the right fit in Chris Woodward. We look forward to working with him and everyone on the baseball staff to develop and grow a culture that will lead to success for many years to come.”
Minor MLB Transactions: 11/3/18
In this post we will track the minor moves from around the MLB today…
- Right-handed pitcher Pierce Johnson is now a minor league free agent after clearing waivers, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Pierce was a first-rounder for the Cubs back in 2012 and appeared regularly on their organizations’ list of top prospects. He spent last season shuttling between the San Francisco Giants and their Triple-A club. With the big league club, the 27-year-old appeared in 37 games, pitching to a 5.56 ERA, with a not-too-promising 7.4 K/9 to 4.53 BB/9. His numbers in Triple-A were much more heartening: 17 games, 3.57 ERA, 11.91 K/9, 3.97 BB/9. If he can figure out a way to translate those minor-league strikeout numbers to the big leagues, he could certainly develop into a useful bullpen piece.
- The Baltimore Orioles re-signed left-handed pitcher Sean Gilmartin, per John Meoli of the Baltimore Sun. This after being outrighted by the Orioles two days ago. The 28-year-old lefty appeared in 12 games for the Orioles last season after spending the previous three with the New York Mets. Despite the low number of appearances, Gilmartin soaked up a number of innings for the Orioles, throwing 27 innings with a 3.00 ERA. He also spent time with the Orioles and Cardinals Triple-A affiliates in 2018. Gilmartin returns to the Baltimore organization on a minor league deal. Unfortunately, his peripheral metrics don’t rate so highly as that sparkling ERA: 5.39 xFIP, 5.00 K/9, 3.67 BB/9. For his major league career, he has appeared in 78 games with a 3.84 ERA (4.43 xFIP) for the Mets and Orioles.
7 Players Receive Qualifying Offers
Today marked the deadline for players to receive one-year qualifying offers at this year’s rate of $17.9MM. This year, a record-low seven players were issued qualifying offers.
In past years, no fewer than nine players have received qualifying offers. That’s how many were extended offers in the first (2012) and most recent (2017) seasons under the system. On the high side, twenty players received qualifying offers in 2015. But that was also the first year in which any players accepted the one-year offer, which may itself have had an impact on future teams deciding whether to issue it. At the end of the day, of course, the actual players and teams involved matter most, and that can vary quite a bit from year to year based on a wide variety of factors.
New rules went into effect last winter, so you’ll want to review those to understand how the process works. Those rules likely will continue to dampen the use of the QO on the margins, both through the reduction of draft compensation for issuing teams and by the prohibition on multiple QOs for the same player. Of course, it’s worth bearing in mind that every free agent class is different — and that every team situation is as well.
Here are this year’s free agents who were extended a qualifying offer by their teams (in alphabetical order):
- Patrick Corbin, SP, Diamondbacks (announced)
- Yasmani Grandal, C, Dodgers (post)
- Bryce Harper, OF, Nationals (link)
- Dallas Keuchel, SP, Astros (link)
- Craig Kimbrel, RP, Red Sox (link)
- A.J. Pollock, OF, Diamondbacks (announced)
- Hyun-Jin Ryu, SP, Dodgers (post)
Several players that were discussed as QO candidates ended up being bypassed — which, generally, is a good thing for their earning power in free agency. Charlie Morton (Astros; post) is the most surprising, with Michael Brantley (Indians; post) and DJ LeMahieu (Rockies; post) among the other conceivable candidates who won’t be weighing offers. Of course, several other prominent players are ineligible to receive a QO because they were traded mid-season (e.g., Manny Machado) or had previously received one (e.g., Nelson Cruz).