Blue Jays Agree To Terms With Jordan Groshans, Adam Kloffenstein
12:24pm: Groshans will receive $3.4MM, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis (on Twitter), leaving just over $800K of the extra pool space needed to fit Kloffenstein. The latter’s precise bonus amount is $2.45MM, Callis adds on Twitter.
10:50am: The Blue Jays have reportedly agreed to terms with top draft choice Jordan Groshans and third-rounder Adam Kloffenstein. The duo is expected to command a major portion of the team’s overall draft pool.
Stefan Stevenson of the Star-Telegram reported Kloffenstein’s agreement to a bonus in the $2.5MM range, though the exact number is not yet known. Meanwhile, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reported that the team had sorted bonus values out on draft night with both players. It’s still unknown just what Groshans will sign for, but Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets that there is now a deal in place with the first-rounder.
Making this pair of additions work was clearly the key to the Toronto draft strategy. Groshans was taken with the 12th overall pick, which comes with a $4,200,900 allocation. Kloffenstein went 88th, at a $652,900 slot, meaning the team needed to set aside close to $2MM of pool availability from other picks in order to sort the money out.
Groshans, a Kansas commit who plays on the left side of the infield, topped out at 28th in pre-draft rankings. Fangraphs put him there, but was the only outlet to tab him as among the top thirty players eligible for selection. Groshans is said to have interesting power upside and an “electric” overall set of tools, but also still a few things to iron out as a pro.
As for Kloffenstein, he’s a righty who had been committed to play his college ball at TCU. As Davidi details in his story, Kloffenstein had an interesting draft experience amidst uncertainty as to whether any team would meet his bonus request. In the end, he’ll take a deal to join the same organization as his neighbor and friend. Kloffenstein’s highest grade came from Baseball America, which cited the big-framed hurler’s recent strides and remaining projectability.
Twins Designate Gregorio Petit
The Twins have designated infielder Gregorio Petit for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot was needed for the signing of reliever Matt Belisle, which is now official.
Petit, 33, has seen scattered MLB action in six seasons. He had appeared in a dozen games this year, logging eight singles and four walks in thirty trips to the plate.
During his time as a professional, Petit has mostly appeared at shortstop. But he has ample experience at second and third base as well, and has also appeared in the corner outfield.
Twins To Sign Matt Belisle
10:13am: It’s a MLB deal for Belisle, per LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star-Tribune (via Twitter), so the club will have some other roster maneuvering to make way for the addition.
9:37am: Veteran righty Matt Belisle will remain in the American League Central after being released by the Indians, with reports indicating he’ll join the Twins. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press tweeted the connection, with Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweeting an agreement is indeed in place.
Details of the new arrangement are not yet known. The Twins’ bullpen has not exactly dominated, but also does not have glaring weaknesses in its middle-relief ranks, so it’s not immediately clear whether and when Belisle will get a shot at returning to the majors.
Belisle, who’s now 38 years of age, spent the 2017 season with the Minnesota organization, so he’s certainly a familiar face. Indeed, he even recorded nine saves for the team last year. That was part of a remarkable mid-season turn for the veteran, who carried a miserable 8.59 ERA through 22 innings but worked to a 1.41 ERA with 36 strikeouts against eight walks over his final 38 1/3 frames on the year.
Despite that strong finish, Belisle settled for a minor-league deal and had to battle for a job with the Cleveland organization in camp. He cracked the roster, but managed only four strikeouts while allowing six earned runs in 10 1/3 innings to begin the season. After being released and re-signed, Belisle has been more effective at Triple-A, but evidently did not show enough to interest the Indians in keeping him.
Indians Release Matt Belisle
The Indians’ top affiliate has announced that righty Matt Belisle was given his unconditional release. He had been pitching with the Columbus Clippers since signing a minors deal in mid-May.
Belisle, who just turned 38, had opened the season in the MLB pen for the Indians after turning in a solid overall effort last year with the Twins. He was designated for assignment just over a month into the season, though, after surrendering six earned runs on nine hits in 10 1/3 innings.
In some regards, Belisle has produced similar results in an identical number of frames since reporting to Triple-A. While he has surrendered five earned on ten hits, though, the underlying numbers are much more promising. After managing only four strikeouts during his time in the majors this year, Belisle has recorded an 11:1 K/BB mix for Columbus.
It is not immediately clear whether Belisle had an opt-out opportunity or otherwise requested his release. Based only upon his recent track record and showing, however, it seems reasonable to guess he’ll land in a spot where he’ll have a clear chance at returning to the majors.
Cardinals Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Nolan Gorman
The Cardinals have reached agreement on a bonus with first-round draft pick Nolan Gorman, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). If and when the pact is finalized, the nineteenth overall draft pick will receive a full-slot bonus of $3,231,700.
Gorman, a high-school third baseman from Arizona, was widely ranked as one of the fifteen-best prospects entering the draft. His loudest tool is his power at the plate. And it’s not just projection; in Baseball America’s words, Gorman hits the ball “harder than almost anyone in the [draft] class.”
The draw of that pop led prospect hounds — as well as the Cards — to put a lofty draft grade on the left-handed-hitting slugger despite some questions. His pure hitting ability isn’t considered as advanced, though he has excelled against significant velocity. And though he’s said to carry a quality arm, there are plenty of questions as to whether he’ll stay at the hot corner in the long run.
Notably, multiple outlets — including BA and Fangraphs — observed that Gorman has become stiffer at the plate and in the field of late, adding to the worries. These concerns obviously weren’t that pressing, though, as the 18-year-old still landed in the middle of the first round. As ESPN.com’s Keith Law explained it, “if he hits enough just to get to the power, it won’t really matter where he plays” in the field.
Phillies To Sign First-Round Pick Alec Bohm
MONDAY: Bohm’s agreement is “done,” Heyman tweets, and will come in at $5.85MM.
FRIDAY: The Phillies have agreed to a bonus amount with top draft choice Alec Bohm, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). When the deal is finalized, Bohm is expected to receive a bonus in the range of $6MM.
Bohm went to Philadelphia with the third overall pick, which comes with a $6,947,500 slot allocation. His agreed-upon amount, then, will leave the club with an additional $1MM or so with which to sign other draftees.
A third baseman from Wichita State, Bohm was widely tabbed as a top-ten draft prospect entering the festivities. The Fangraphs prospect evaluators were highest on him, rating him third on their board, while ESPN.com’s Keith Law graded him at #5 and MLB.com and Baseball America both placed him seventh.
All agree that Bohm is a top-flight hitting prospect, as he delivers both impeccable plate discipline and substantial raw power. There’s some disagreement, though, as to whether he’ll be able to remain at the hot corner in the long run given his big frame. Fangraphs believes he “has the hands, arm, and athleticism to handle third,” while MLB.com is significantly less bullish on his tools in the field.
Indians Promote Francisco Mejia
The Indians have promoted top prospect Francisco Mejia, per a club announcement. Right-hander Evan Marshall was optioned to create active roster space.
Mejia, who’s known most for his bat, was announced as a catcher/outfielder. It’s still unknown just how the team will deploy him in the mid and long-term, but he’ll fill in for backup catcher Roberto Perez for the meantime. Though the team says Perez is not going on the DL — at least, not yet — he is expected to miss some time after being struck by a pitch in the hand yesterday.
Mejia, who made a brief MLB cameo last year, entered the season as a consensus top-twenty prospect leaguewide, with many assuming he would hit his way into the MLB mix sooner than later. Defensively, though, there are far greater questions. Thus far in 2018, he has split his time about evenly behind the plate and in the grass.
While he has worked to find a defensive home, Mejia hasn’t produced to his typical levels at the plate. In 214 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors, he owns a .214/.271/.33 slash. That said, as the team notes in its release, the switch-hitting Mejia has been on a hot streak of late. And he came into the season with a track record and reputation as a polished hitter from both sides of the plate.
While the Cleveland organization gets a sense for what kind of contribution it can expect from Mejia now and in the future, the 22-year-old will accrue MLB service time. He already had 31 days from 2017, and can earn as many as 112 from this point through the end of the current season, so he could profile as a future Super Two qualifier if he stays up for good.
Mejia made the news earlier this season when he brought a lawsuit seeking to abrogate his contractual relationship with an entity called Big League Advance. The litigation will determine whether Mejia is forced to pay a portion of his ongoing MLB earnings.
Cubs Select Anthony Bass
The Cubs have selected the contract of right-hander Anthony Bass from Triple-A Iowa, clearing space on the 25-man and 40-man rosters by optioning Cory Mazzoni and transferring Eddie Butler from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL (Twitter link via Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune).
Bass, who turned 30 this offseason, has only pitched 5 2/3 innings in the Majors over the past two seasons, all coming with the Rangers last season. He spent the 2016 campaign with Japan’s Nippon Ham Fighters, working to a 3.65 ERA in 103 2/3 innings.
That said, Bass still brings a fair bit of Major League experience to the table. The right-hander has logged 284 career innings, working to a 4.60 ERA with 6.0 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 47.6 percent ground-ball rate in the big leagues. He’s spent the season to date in Triple-A, pitching to a pristine 2.28 ERA with 20 strikeouts against six walks in 23 2/3 innings out of the bullpen.
Butler, meanwhile, has been out since April 20 due to a groin strain and has yet to be sent out on a minor league rehab assignment. He’s already nearing the 60-day mark on the disabled list, and being transferred over won’t reset the date on which he’s eligible to be activated. He’ll technically be eligible to activated later this month, though there’s no indication from the Cubs as to when he’ll be healthy enough to return.
Cardinals Select Daniel Poncedeleon
The Cardinals announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Daniel Poncedeleon from Triple-A Memphis. First baseman Luke Voit has been optioned back to Memphis in a corresponding move.
It’ll be the first call to the Majors for Poncedeleon, who persevered through a frightening head injury that necessitated brain surgery after he was struck in the head by a comeback line drive last May (link via MLB.com’s Jen Langosch). The 26-year-old was a ninth-round pick of the Cards back in 2014.
Poncedeleon made just six starts for the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate last season due to that scare, but he’s appeared in a dozen games (11 of them starts) in Memphis this season, pitching to a 2.41 ERA with 10.7 K/9, 5.3 BB/9, 0.3 HR/9 and a 32.4 percent ground-ball rate in 59 2/3 innings. While he’s not considered among the Cardinals’ top couple of tiers of prospects, Poncedeleon received an honorable mention in last year’s rankings from Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs, drawing praise for an “above-average downhill fastball, deep-breaking curveball and fading changeup.” Longenhagen’s report notes that there’s a chance Poncedeleon ultimately settles into the bullpen.
[Related: Updated St. Louis Cardinals depth chart]
For the Cardinals, Poncedeleon will give them another option both in the rotation and in the bullpen following some injury woes in both regards. St. Louis recently lost Alex Reyes for the season and is uncertain as to when Adam Wainwright will be healthy enough to return, though the team still has a strong rotation mix of Carlos Martinez, Miles Mikolas, Luke Weaver, Michael Wacha and Jack Flaherty. But relievers Matt Bowman, Greg Holland, Tyler Lyons, Luke Gregerson and Dominic Leone are all also on the disabled list, so Poncedeleon replenishes some needed depth for their staff.
Rays Trade Brad Miller To Brewers For Ji-Man Choi
June 11: Tampa Bay is covering $2.209MM of the remaining $2.709MM remaining on Miller’s contract through season’s end, according to the Associated Press. Choi’s split contract calls for an $850K salary in the Majors and a $250K salary in the minors, and he’d be owed about $513K through season’s end if he were to spend the rest of the year in the Majors. That doesn’t seem likely to be the case, so the Rays will save a bit of money while paying Choi at his minor league rate of pay, though the overall cost-savings in the deal look to be more or less negligible, even for a cost-conscious club like Tampa Bay.
June 10: The Rays have dealt infielder Brad Miller to the Brewers for first baseman Ji-Man Choi, as announced by both teams on Twitter. Tampa will also send some cash to Milwaukee as part of the deal. Miller and Choi have each been optioned to Triple-A with their respective new organizations.
Miller was designated for assignment earlier this week, though he had hit respectably well (.256/.322/.429 with five homers) over 174 plate appearances for the Rays this season. Beyond those decent batting numbers, however, Miller brought little else to the table — he has continued his career-long struggles against left-handed pitching, and has posted below-average defensive numbers wherever he has played around the diamond. Miller is also coming off a rough 2017 campaign, so it could be that the Rays sought to sell as high as they could on him while he was still productive, in order to get at least some of his $2.79MM in remaining salary off the books.
[Updated Brewers and Rays depth charts at Roster Resource]
Though Miller doesn’t bring much defensive value as a shortstop or second baseman, he can at least offer the Brew Crew some extra pop at both middle infield positions. Jonathan Villar hasn’t done much against righty pitching over the last couple of years, while defensively-gifted shortstop Orlando Arcia is suffering through a dreadful year at the plate. Miller and Arcia could form a platoon, with Arcia stepping in as a late-game defensive replacement on days when Miller starts, plus the Brewers also have veteran Eric Sogard in the bench mix.
Middle infield was a weak spot for a Brewers team that is fighting for a postseason berth, and the low-cost addition of Miller could mean that the club won’t seek out more substantial second base or shortstop help at the trade deadline. Miller also adds a bit more depth to the roster at first base and in the corner outfield positions, though Milwaukee is already pretty set at those spots.
Choi signed a minor league deal with the Brewers last offseason that guaranteed him $850K if he reached the majors, so he’ll only add another $510K or so to Tampa’s payroll. The 27-year-old hit .233/.281/.500 over 32 plate appearances for the Crew, getting some time at first base with Eric Thames and Ryan Braun hit the disabled list. (Just yesterday, in fact, Choi hit a pinch-hit grand slam in Milwaukee’s 12-3 rout of the Phillies.) The 27-year-old will essentially replace Miller as a left-handed hitting option in the Rays organization, though the team is currently giving top prospect Jake Bauers (another lefty bat) a chance to stick in the big leagues as a regular first baseman.