Rays Sign Curt Casali
The Rays have signed catcher Curt Casali, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports. It’s a minor league contract for Casali, whom the Rangers released Wednesday, according to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times.
Casali is headed back to familiar stomping grounds, having been a member of the Rays organization from 2013-17. He collected 466 major league plate appearances during that time, including a meager 13 last season, and batted .199/.285/.385. While Casali obviously wasn’t a significant offensive threat during that stretch, he did earn positive defensive grades, and he threw out 31 percent of would-be base stealers (29 percent was league average).
Now that he’s back with the Rays, the 29-year-old Casali will once again be part of a behind-the-plate mix headlined by starter Wilson Ramos and backup Jesus Sucre. Ramos and Sucre are the only catchers on the Rays’ 40-man roster.
Rangers Acquire Eliezer Alvarez
The Rangers have acquired infielder Eliezer Alvarez from the Phillies, per club announcements. Cash considerations will go to Philadelphia in return. Texas cleared a roster spot by transferring righty Ronald Herrera to the 60-day DL.
Alvarez, who was acquired in last September’s Juan Nicasio trade, lost his 40-man placement when the Phils decided to elevate utilityman Pedro Florimon. Now, the 23-year-old is moving on to his third team within the past year.
Signed out of the Dominican Republic by the St. Louis organization back in 2012, Alvarez put himself on the prospect map with a strong 2016 campaign. Playing at the Class A level, he posted a .404 on-base percentage, hit six home runs, and swiped 36 bags in 499 plate appearances.
Alvarez was unable to carry that level of output into the upper minors, though, as he scuffled a bit in 2017. Over his 209 trips to the plate at Double-A, he maintained a .247/.321/.382 slash with 56 strikeouts and 16 walks.
Clearly, though, the Rangers still see some cause to be intrigued in the youngster. Alvarez has lined up primarily as a second baseman thus far, though he has also seen a bit of action on the left side of the infield, so he could conceivably represent a future utility option.
Orioles Designate Jose Mesa Jr., Announce Alex Cobb Signing
The Orioles have designated Rule 5 righty Jose Mesa Jr. for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot will go to veteran starter Alex Cobb, whose four-year contract is now official.
Mesa, 24, was the last of three pitchers taken by the Baltimore organization in the most recent Rule 5 draft. Obtaining his rights in full from the Yankees would have required that the O’s carry him for all of the upcoming season on the active roster. Now, unless his Rule 5 rights are either traded for or claimed off waivers, Mesa will be offered back to the Yanks.
The young hurler obviously showed enough to draw interest from the Orioles after being left unprotected. In 84 innings at the High-A and Double-A levels last year, he allowed just 18 earned runs on 48 hits and 32 walks while recording 101 strikeouts. But it seems he’ll need some more seasoning before trying out the majors. Mesa struggled in his chances this spring, recording five strikeouts and seven walks in 7 2/3 innings.
Phillies Release Fernando Abad
The Phillies have released lefty Fernando Abad, per a club announcement. He had been in camp with the organization on a minor-league deal.
Abad had an opt-out opportunity tomorrow, so it seems the organization went ahead and made up its mind about his roster status. He would have earned a $2.5MM salary in the majors, with some incentives as well. The contract also came with a mutual option for the 2019 campaign.
The 32-year-old southpaw has seen significant MLB action in each of the past eight MLB seasons. All told, he owns a 3.65 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in over three hundred major-league innings. Overall, he has held opposing lefty hitters to a .237/.287/.383 batting line.
Abad returns to the market on the heels of Antonio Bastardo, another established southpaw who was released late in camp. Both will surely land somewhere, though scoring an immediate MLB opportunity will likely depend upon whether another organization decides it has a clear need for a lefty reliever.
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/21/18
We’ll track the day’s minor moves in this post:
- The Twins have placed first baseman/DH Kennys Vargas on waivers, according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. The Minnesota organization had been trying to find a trade for the burly switch-hitter, but will instead see whether he can clear waivers and be outrighted. Vargas will learn his fate by the middle of the day on Thursday, says Berardino. The 27-year-old owns a .252/.311/.437 slash with 35 home runs in his 859 total MLB plate appearances over the past four seasons.
- Former MLB righties Manny Delcarmen and Zach Stewart have signed with the Atlantic League’s New Britain Bees, per a club announcement. Neither hurler has touched the majors in quite some time, but both are still plying their trade professional. Delcarmen spent parts of six seasons in the Red Sox bullpen (along with a brief stop with the Rockies) between 2005 and 2010, throwing a combined 292 2/3 innings of 3.97 ERA ball. He spent last year with the Bridgeport Bluefish, compiling a 4.40 ERA in 57 1/3 innings. Stewart, a former third-round draft pick, was knocked around in the 103 frames he threw in the majors in 2011-12. He briefly appeared with the Orioles’ top affiliate last year after a stint in 2016 with Korea’s NC Dinos, where he ran up 150 innings with a 4.56 ERA.
Pirates Release Daniel Nava
The Pirates have released outfielder Daniel Nava, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). The 35-year-old veteran signed a minor league deal with Pittsburgh last month but his chances of winning a job dimmed after the Pirate acquired Corey Dickerson. If the roster crunch wasn’t enough, Nava underwent back surgery in late February, sidelining him for a projected 10-to-12 weeks.
This might not be the end of Nava’s days in Pittsburgh, however, as Pirates GM Neal Huntington told reporters (including Liz Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) that he hopes to re-sign Nava to a new deal “to continue his rehab and hopefully help our Major League club later this summer.” A reunion certainly seems possible, as Nava might prefer to take a new contract now rather than wait until he is healthy to explore options with other teams.
Whatever the scenario, the outfielder will surely draw some interest given his strong track record against right-handed pitching. The switch-hitting Nava owns a .281/.374/.404 slash line in 1541 career plate appearances against righties, and he enjoyed a solid (albeit injury-shortened) season with the Phillies in 2017. Nava hit .301/.393/.421 in 214 PA for the Phils, reviving his career after struggling through lackluster years in 2015-16.
Braves Return Rule 5 Pick Anyelo Gomez To Yankees
The Braves have returned Rule 5 draft pick Anyelo Gomez to the Yankees, as announced by New York’s official Twitter feed. The 25-year-old right-hander has been assigned to the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate. Atlanta had originally selected Gomez out of the Yankees’ farm system with the eighth overall pick of last December’s Rule 5 Draft.
Gomez owns a 3.24 ERA, 9.3 K/9, and 2.58 K/BB rate over 269 1/3 career innings in the minors. Most of that experience is in the lower levels, though he impressed enough in 2017 to earn a promotion to Double-A (36 2/3 IP over 17 games) and even a brief two-inning cup of coffee at the Triple-A level. Gomez started just one of his 38 games last season, and the move to the bullpen resulted in a 1.92 ERA in 70 1/3 innings across all levels. With an abundance of strong arms in the minors, Gomez’s return only further reinforces the Yankees’ depth, though he is probably behind several other pitchers in terms of getting a big league promotion some time this season.
The Braves technically had two Rule 5 picks on their roster, as injury-plagued right-hander Dan Winkler‘s Rule 5 status is still in effect despite missing much of the last three seasons due to injuries. Winkler and the other intriguing arms in Atlanta’s system created a tough road for Gomez to find a spot on the 25-man roster, and he didn’t help his case with a rocky performance (10.80 ERA) over 8 1/3 Spring Training innings.
Astros Extend Jose Altuve
The Astros have officially struck a massive extension with star second baseman Jose Altuve. The deal, which includes a full no-trade clause, reportedly promises Altuve $151MM over five seasons.
Altuve is already under contract through 2019, a season the Astros control through a $6.5MM club option under the incredibly team-friendly deal the sides struck back in 2013. Of course, at the time, the second baseman was nowhere near the top-line performer he is today. Altuve has since changed representation, joining the Boras Corporation.
The new contract will begin at the conclusion of his existing deal, meaning the five-year term will begin with the 2020 campaign. This pact, then, will give Houston control over Altuve through the 2024 season, which will be his age-34 effort.
Altuve receives $21MM in the form of a signing bonus, with $1MM due upon final approval of the contract, $10MM later this season and $10MM in 2019. The contract provides a $26MM annual salary in each of the five seasons. That rate can escalate in the final three years of the contract depending upon his performance in the MVP voting, with a $3MM bump for a first-place finish, a $2MM bump for a second-place showing, and $1MM if he comes in third, allowing for maximum increases of $3MM, $6MM, and then $9MM in the 2022-24 campaigns.
Houston is wrapping up a historic season in which the organization broke through with a World Series title. Altuve was a central component of that undertaking. He qualified for his fourth-straight All-Star game, won his third batting title in four seasons, and capped things off by taking home honors as the Most Valuable Player in the American League.
Despite his diminutive stature, Altuve has developed into an offensive force. He put up high-quality campaigns in 2014 and 2015 before going to another level over the past two seasons. Since the start of 2016, Altuve carries a .341/.403/.539 batting line with 48 home runs. He doesn’t walk all that much and has traded just a bit of his impeccable contact ability for some additional pop, but Altuve still maintained a quality K/BB ratio (12.7% strikeout rate vs. 8.8% walk rate) in 2017.
That’s rare air for a middle infielder, making Altuve all the more valuable. While he has generally graded out as an average performer at second, there’s also value in his legs. He has already swipe 231 bags in his career and was credited with creating four runs on the bases in 2017 by Fangraphs’ BsR measure.
The new contract rewards one of the game’s best players with a significant new payday, and does so two full seasons before he’d have reached the open market. As McTaggart notes, this will easily be the largest deal ever struck in team history, handily topping the $100MM Carlos Lee contract.
Though the deal only covers five additional seasons, it does so at a top-level rate of pay. This contract is just the sixth in MLB history that includes an average annual value of over $30MM and is easily the largest extension for a second baseman cataloged in MLBTR’s Extension Tracker.
MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart first reported the agreement. Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweeted that the agreement was in place and reported the financial details in a series of tweets. Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reported the no-trade clause on Twitter.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Athletics Agree To Terms With Brett Anderson
The Athletics have agreed to a contract with veteran lefty Brett Anderson, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. It’s a minors deal, but other terms are not yet known.
If the deal becomes official, Anderson will return to the place where he first broke into the majors back in 2009. He turned in strong efforts for Oakland for parts of five seasons, working to a cumulative 3.81 ERA over 450 2/3 innings. Of course, that only worked out to about ninety frames per season, as Anderson dealt with a variety of injuries.
Anderson has had his successes since leaving the A’s, as well. In particular, he turned in a strong effort in 2015 for the Dodgers, making over thirty starts for the first time since his rookie year and finishing with a 3.69 ERA over 180 1/3 frames. That earned Anderson a qualifying offer, which he accepted for the ensuing season.
Unfortunately, Anderson has been neither healthy nor effective since that point. The 2016 season was mostly lost to back surgery. And Anderson limped to a 6.34 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 55 1/3 innings last year after landing with the Cubs on a make-good contract.
There are still some signs of hope, however. Anderson is still just 30 years of age. Last year, he still managed fairly typical fastball velocity, posted an 8.8% swinging-strike rate that was the second highest of his career, and generated a typically solid 49.2% groundball rate. Anderson also may have suffered from some poor fortune with a .364 BABIP and 60.9% strand rate, though Statcast felt the results largely matched expectations based upon the quality of contact he surrendered.
Diamondbacks Release Antonio Bastardo, Reassign Neftali Feliz
The Diamondbacks have released veteran lefty Antonio Bastardo, per a club announcement. He had inked a minors deal with the organization back in January. That move was one among several that give some shape to the club’s pitching plans for the 2018 season.
Also departing MLB camp were righties Neftali Feliz and Jimmie Sherfy, the latter via optional assignment. Veteran position players Jeremy Hazelbaker and Christian Walker were also optioned, while backstop Anthony Recker was reassigned.
Bastardo and Feliz both landed with the Arizona organization in hopes of launching career turnarounds. The former would have earned a $1.5MM salary in the majors, with a hefty $4MM incentives package also available. Instead, neither player will have a MLB job out of camp — at least with the D-Backs.
The 32-year-old Bastardo certainly ought to have a chance to catch on elsewhere. After all, he turned in good results this spring, racking up nine strikeouts against just one walk in his 5 2/3 innings of action (though also surrendering two long balls). Though he struggled badly in 2017, Bastardo has long been a useful major-league reliever.
As for Feliz, 29, he’s also coming off of a rough campaign in which he managed only a 5.48 ERA over 46 innings. He seemed a reasonable bounceback target given his strong 2016 output, but has struggled in camp. In six innings, Feliz has been tagged for six earned runs on ten hits while recording just three strikeouts to go with three walks.