Marlins To Sign Yadiel Rivera

The Marlins have reached an agreement with infielder Yadiel Rivera, as Rivera himself announced via his Twitter feed that he is joining the organization.  Rivera elected to become a free agent after he was outrighted off the Brewers’ 40-man roster in late September.

Rivera, 25, was a ninth-round pick for the Brewers in the 2010 amateur draft and he appeared in each of the last three big league seasons, posting just a .434 OPS over 88 career MLB plate appearances.  Hitting has never been Rivera’s calling card, as he owns just a .240/.287/.344 slash line over 3433 career PA in the minors, though he rose to the majors due to his defensive versatility.  Rivera has been a shortstop for the bulk of his career but also spent significant time at second and third base.

Miami is already short on infield depth both at the major and minor league levels, and things could get even thinner if trade chips Dee Gordon and Martin Prado are dealt this winter.  Rivera will give the Marlins some extra depth at least the Triple-A level, with JT Riddle, Miguel Rojas, and Brian Anderson all in line to get extra duty in the bigs, especially if Gordon and/or Prado are no longer with the club.

Dodgers Release Jose Miguel Fernandez

The Dodgers have released infielder Jose Miguel Fernandez, as per the official transactions page for the Double-A Texas League (tip of the cap to Baseball America’s Matt Eddy).

It was just last January that Fernandez signed a minor league deal with a $200K signing bonus, ending a rather prolonged stretch in free agency following the second baseman’s escape from Cuba in December 2015.  While Fernandez posted some very good batting numbers in Cuba’s Serie Nacional (.319/.403/.423 in 2580 career plate appearances), he also hadn’t played since 2014, which unsurprisingly led to some rust during showcase appearances for scouts.

Still, there was some thought that L.A. had scored a bargain when they inked Fernandez, as he was seen by some as a player who was ready for a relatively quick promotion to the big leagues.  Indeed, his performance in 2017 seemingly did little to shake that assessment, as Fernandez hit .306/.366/.498 over 369 PA for Double-A Tulsa.  Fernandez continued to display good contact skills with just 33 strikeouts (against 24 walks), and he hit 16 homers at the Double-A level — a nice power increase considering he only hit 37 homers total in all his time in the Serie Nacional.

Fernandez didn’t play after July 29 due to a DL stint, and unless that injury was something particularly serious, his release seems rather surprising.  Even if the Dodgers faced a roster crunch or simply didn’t see Fernandez as a long-term piece, one would think a trade would’ve come before an outright release (though the Dodgers might’ve quietly shopped him and found no takers).  Still, given the relatively low price Fernandez cost Los Angeles in the first place, the Dodgers might’ve felt they weren’t losing out on much by releasing him.

The 29-year-old Fernandez now figures to get some attention on the free agent market, particularly from teams in need of middle infield help.  Fernandez has spent much of his career at second base, though he also has a handful of games at first base, third base and in left field.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/23/17

Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

  • The Red Sox have signed second baseman Esteban Quiroz to a minor league deal, as per a tweet from Team Mexico’s official Twitter feed.  (WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford was among those to report that the contract contains an invitation to Boston’s big league Spring Training camp.)  Quiroz, who turns 26 in February, has a career .293/.402/.451 slash line and 38 homers over 1573 career plate appearances in the Mexican League, plus he also represented Mexico in the most recent World Baseball Classic.  Dustin Pedroia will miss at least the first two months of the season recovering from knee surgery, so Quiroz will be part of the second base mix during camp as the Red Sox look for fill-ins for their longtime star.
  • The White Sox signed right-hander Dustin Antolin to a minor league deal.  The Somerset Patriots of the independent Atlantic League (Antolin’s most recent club) broke the news on Twitter; Antolin signed with Somerset after being released from his minor league deal with the Nationals last June.  The 28-year-old Hawaiian has a 4.40 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 2.07 K/BB rate over 446 1/3 career innings in the affiliated minor leagues, mostly in the Blue Jays’ farm system.  Antolin has one MLB appearance to his credit, tossing two innings for the Nats in 2016.
  • The Rockies signed righty Scott McGough to a minors contract, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports.  McGough was a fifth-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2011 draft and was sent to the Marlins as part of the Hanley Ramirez trade in July 2012.  The 28-year-old has a 3.48 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 2.43 K/BB rate over 325 2/3 minor league innings (almost entirely as a reliever) with the Dodgers, Marlins and Orioles.  McGough’s only MLB experience is a six-game stint with the Marlins in 2015.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/22/17

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Indians announced that they’ve signed left-hander Jeff Beliveau, right-hander Leonel Campos and infielder Drew Maggi to minor league contracts with invitations to Major League Spring Training. Both Beliveau and Campos pitched out of the Blue Jays’ bullpen in 2017. The 30-year-old Beliveau tossed 15 2/3 innings and struggled to a 7.47 ERA, though he racked up 17 strikeouts against six walks in that time. Beliveau threw 24 excellent innings for the Rays in 2014 but has seen his career slowed by shoulder surgery. As for Campos, the 30-year-old posted a 2.63 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings with Toronto last year but also walked eight in that time. He’s averaged 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings in Triple-A but has also battled control issues. As for Maggi, the 28-year-old hit .271/.367/.392 in 298 Triple-A plate appearances with the Dodgers last year and owns a lifetime .272/.362/.385 batting line at that level.
  • Outfielder Zach Borenstein is joining the Mets on a minor league deal with an invite to big league Spring Training, writes MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. The 27-year-old posted a .272/.337/.440 line with the D-backs’ Triple-A affiliate in 2016 before taking a step forward and mashing at a .279/.351/.573 clip there this past season. Those numbers came in a hitter-friendly setting, though Borenstein’s overall .283/.355/.502 slash line in seven minor league seasons is similarly impressive.
  • The White Sox have signed third baseman/corner outfielder Patrick Leonard to a minor league deal, tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Leonard, who turned 25 last month, was one of the pieces the Royals sent to the Rays in the famed James Shields/Wade Davis for Wil Myers/Jake Odorizzi swap between the two teams. The former fifth-rounder logged strong numbers through the Double-A level in his career but has thus far struggled at a .254/.317/.375 pace in parts of two Triple-A seasons.

Orioles Acquire Jaycob Brugman

The Orioles have acquired outfielder Jaycob Brugman from the Athletics, per a club announcement. A player to be named or cash will go to Oakland in return.

Brugman, 25, was just designated for assignment by the A’s. He reached the majors for the first time last year, posting a .266/.346/.343 slash over 162 plate appearances. A generally solid on-base threat in the minors, the left-handed hitter has shown a bit of pop at times but has not always sustained it in the upper minors. Metrics did not view his work in center field favorably in 2017, though that was a short sample and scouting reports have generally suggested he’s a solid overall defender.

[RELATED: Orioles Depth Chart]

It’s certainly possible that the Orioles could allow Brugman to compete for a reserve/platoon outfield role in camp. He’ll play at or near the league minimum and might help the team save funds to dedicate to the rotation, which is clearly a more pressing area of need. The O’s have a variety of right-handed bats to work with already. Adam Jones and Trey Mancini are certainties to see regular time. Mark Trumbo will likely mostly function as a DH but could factor in the mix, while top prospect Austin Hays will receive consideration despite a tepid late-season debut. Reserve options on hand include switch-hitting Anthony Santander and right-handed-hitting Joey Rickard.

Padres Sign Colten Brewer, Designate Kyle Lloyd

The Padres have announced the signing of righty Colten Brewer to a MLB contract. To clear a 40-man spot, the organization designated fellow right-hander Kyle Lloyd for assignment.

Brewer, 25, was a minor-league free agent from the Yankees system. He struggled last year in his first attempt at Triple-A, coughing up 13 earned runs on 17 hits in ten innings. But Brewer compiled 41 1/3 innings of 1.31 ERA ball, with 9.4 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9, at the penultimate level of the minors.

As for Lloyd, he made his first MLB start in 2017 but otherwise spent the year in the upper minors. Through 147 1/3 innings, Lloyd worked to a 5.01 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.

Astros Place Juan Centeno On Outright Waivers

The Astros have placed catcher Juan Centeno on outright waivers in order to remove him from the team’s 40-man roster, according to a report from Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle.

Centeno is still on the waiver wire, but Kaplan writes that Houston is hoping he’ll clear and remain with the organization at Triple-A. It’ll be his choice whether to do so, as he was previously outrighted by the Twins in 2016.

With a fully-stocked MLB roster, the ‘Stros were likely always going to need to clear some space before potentially adding players from outside the organization. The 28-year-old Centeno was particularly vulnerable given the presence of Brian McCann, Evan Gattis, and Max Stassi.

Centeno has seen big league action in each of the past five seasons, carrying a composite .235/.289/.339 slash line through 315 plate appearances with four different organizations. The left-handed hitter spent most of 2017 at Triple-A, hitting .311/.354/.383 in hist 257 plate appearances

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/21/17

Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • Infielder Niko Goodrum has agreed to a minor league deal with the Tigers, according to his agents at Reynolds Sports Management (on Twitter). The longtime Twins farmhand made his big league debut as a September callup in 2017 but logged just 18 plate appearances for a Twins team that couldn’t afford to give many at-bats to unproven talent as it fought for a playoff spot. The 25-year-old (26 in February) switch-hitter batted .265/.309/.425 in his first taste of Triple-A this past season and has batted .258/.344/.419 in parts of two Double-A seasons. A former second-round pick (2010), Goodrum has primarily been a shortstop in the minors but also has considerable experience at third base, second base and in the outfield corners.

MLB Strips Braves Of 12 Prospects, Applies Future Amateur Restrictions

The Braves are slated to lose their rights to a dozen young prospects as punishment for international signing violations. Additionally, the Atlanta organization will face limitations on their amateur signing rights in the future.

Most notably, perhaps, the Braves will lose their rights to highly regarded prospect Kevin Maitan, as Jon Heyman of Fan Rag first reported (via Twitter) and as earlier reporting suggested. A long list of others are also being stripped from the organization, as Ben Badler of Baseball America reported earlier. Backstop Abrahan Gutierrez, shortstop Yunior Severino, righty Juan Contreras, shortstop Livan Soto, righty Yefri del Rosario, shortstop Yenci Pena, righty Guillermo Zuniga, outfielder Juan Carlos Negret, and outfielder Antonio Sucre are also heading on to the open market, according to the Baseball America report. Those prospects were members of the club’s vaunted 2016-17 July 2 class. A big name from the following signing period, Korean shortstop Jihwan Bae, is also being taken from the team, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, with outfielder Brandol Mezquita and shortstop Angel Rojas rounding out the list of departing prospects.

Maitan, in particular, was viewed as one of the best young international players in recent memory at the time of signing. Despite a tough debut in the Appalachian League, the infielder ranks 38th on MLB.com’s latest list of the top prospects in baseball. Even if it’s true that the current front office is not quite as enamored with Maitan as some others, he’s a notable asset to lose. (BA’s J.J. Cooper rounds up the latest impressions of Maitan right here.)

Looking forward, the Braves will also face restrictions for future amateur classes, as Passan details. The club will be capped at $10K per player for the 2019-20 period and will not be allowed to sign shortstop Robert Puason. According to Passan, the investigation found that the team had improperly agreed to a deal with him ahead of his market eligibility. In 2020-21, Atlanta will operate with half of the hard-capped spending capacity it otherwise would have had access to. Also, owing to an offer of “extra benefits” to 2017 draftee Drew Waters, the Braves will lose their third-round pick in next summer’s draft.

Other organizations will surely flock to sign the players that are now free agents. Those prospects will be allowed to retain their original bonuses in addition to negotiating new ones. Generally, those players will be subject to the already-extant rules and limitations in the international arena. But Passan tweets that teams will be allowed to use currently available international funds or draw from their 2018-19 pool to sign these players (but may not utilize both). MLB organizations still have uncommitted international money — some of it likely earmarked for Shohei Ohtani and a few other quality names still available — so there could be quite some competition for the former Braves prospects.

Clearly, the Braves took a significant hit for the amateur infractions that occurred during the regime of president of baseball operations John Hart and GM John Coppolella. Those two executives have departed already (see here and here), with the latter having received the brunt of the public scrutiny. Though precise details are still largely unreported, Passan says signing-bonus packaging was the primary concern identified. While the Yahoo Sports report acknowledges that other organizations have likely engaged in generally similar behavior, it seems the Braves’ actions were particularly brazen and widespread.

Newly minted GM Alex Anthopoulos will still have plenty of talent to work with, but the cupboard of young talent won’t be quite as stocked as the organization had hoped when it snapped up an impressive group of international free agents — evidently, through illicit means. On the one hand, these penalties won’t have any direct effect at the MLB level, since none of these players was close to the big leagues. On the other, Anthopoulos will not have as much flexibility to part with far-off talent if he enters the trade market in search of assets. That’s all the more notable given the restrictions on international spending rights for the coming seasons. The net result is that the Braves’ talent intake at the most youthful level will have been substantially curtailed for multiple consecutive seasons. Such a result runs directly counter to the overall strategy that the organization had employed.

For Anthopoulos to craft an overall slate of players that promises the kind of sustainability that Atlanta (like all organizations) hopes to create, he’ll have to remain all the more mindful of finding opportunities to draw in younger assets even while exploring ways of moving the major league roster into position to contend. Taking chances on talented but risky players on the 40-man roster is one way of infusing talent, but the club would need to sacrifice certainty and/or tie up valuable roster spots to do much of that. It’s also possible that the Braves will end up moving some higher-level prospects to build out the lower levels, though again that’s a diversion of resources that could otherwise be utilized in other ways. Any way you slice it, the organization will be much more constrained than it would have been absent the penalties. Of course, that also seems to be a fairly natural result of the fact that the team acquired these young players in an improper manner (the details of which, somewhat surprisingly, have yet to be fully detailed in firm reports).

Braves Acquire Josh Ravin

9:24pm: Ravin has now been dealt to the Braves in exchange for cash considerations, Shaikin tweets. He joins fellow reliever Grant Dayton in following executive Alex Anthopoulos from Los Angeles to Atlanta.

7:31pm: The Dodgers have designated righty Josh Ravin for assignment, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times was among those to tweet. As he departs the 40-man, righties Trevor Oaks and Dennis Santana will join it.

Ravin, 29, showed some big swing-and-miss potential after landing with the Dodgers but never fully caught on in the majors. A PED suspension and some injuries certainly had an impact. Ravin ultimately threw 16 2/3 frames in the bigs in 2017, allowing 12 earned runs with a 19:9 K/BB ratio. In 35 1/3 Triple-A innings, he pitched to a 4.33 ERA with 14.0 K/9 against 4.8 BB/9.

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