Simon Castro, Michael Brady, Josh Smith Elect Free Agency
TODAY: Castro, Brady, and Smith all indeed elected to become free agents, as per Matt Eddy of Baseball America.
NOVEMBER 6: The A’s announced on Monday that right-handers Simon Castro, Michael Brady and Josh Smith have all been assigned outright to Triple-A Nashville after clearing waivers. The moves give Oakland enough space to reinstate outfielder Dustin Fowler and righties Andrew Triggs, Paul Blackburn and Bobby Wahl from the 60-day disabled list.
Castro, 29, totaled 37 innings out of the Oakland bullpen, working to a 4.38 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9. Castro averaged nearly 94 mph on his heater, but as an extreme fly-ball pitcher that saw 14 percent of flies against him turn into homers, he also averaged 1.7 long balls per nine innings pitched. The journeyman righty posted a career-best 14.9 K/9 in 38 Triple-A innings this season but averaged five walks per nine, as well. He’s set to turn 30 next April.
Brady, 30, made his big league debut in ’17 but struggled to a 5.68 ERA in 31 2/3 innings. He averaged just over six punchouts per nine frames but did so with strong control (1.7 BB/9). Like Castro, he’s an extreme fly-ball pitcher that struggled to keep the ball in the yard despite the spacious confines of the O.Co Coliseum. But, also like Castro, he enjoyed an impressive year in Triple-A, tossing 53 1/3 innings with a 3.21 ERA, 8.6 K/9 and 1.0 BB/9.
The 30-year-old Smith turned in 35 MLB innings with an ERA just south of 5.00 but posted a 3.70 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 41 1/3 innings of work at the Triple-A level. He’s yet to find success in the Majors in parts of three seasons with the Reds and A’s but has fared better in Triple-A and should latch on as a depth option in another organization.
All three players outrighted by the A’s will have the option of electing minor league free agency in lieu of the outright assignment and figure to do just that.
KBO’s KT Wiz Sign Jae-Gyun Hwang
Jae-gyun Hwang has signed a four-year, $7.9MM deal with the KT Wiz of South Korea’s KBO League, Yonhap News’ Jeeho Yoo reports (Twitter link). Hwang was outrighted off the Giants’ 40-man roster in September and he elected to become a free agent after the season.
In returning to the KBO, Hwang ends his big league experiment after just one season. He signed a split contract with the Giants last January and hit a solid .285/.332/.453 over 386 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. After being called up to the big leagues in June, however, Hwang only managed a .154/.228/.231 slash line, albeit in just 57 plate appearances. Hwang was called up while regular third baseman Eduardo Nunez was on the DL, though even after Nunez was traded, the Giants preferred to give the starting third base job to the returning Pablo Sandoval rather than give Hwang a fuller look at the hot corner.
It was reported last season that Hwang turned down much richer offers from Korean teams (including the KT Wiz) in order to test himself in MLB, and clearly he wouldn’t have found anything near a $7.9MM deal if he’d chosen to remain in North America for another season. The 30-year-old Hwang posted some impressive numbers in his first 10 KBO seasons, hitting .286/.350/.436 over 4690 PA with 115 homers and 173 stolen bases.
Minor MLB Transactions: 11/11/17
The latest minor moves from around baseball:
- Former major league reliever Wesley Wright has ended his playing career to take a job as a pro scout with the Twins, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Wright, 32, combined for 307 innings with five teams – primarily the Astros – from 2008-15 and posted a 4.16 ERA, with 8.65 K/9 against 3.96 BB/9 and a 47.3 percent groundball rate. The left-hander held same-sided hitters to a weak .234/.313/.334 line along the way. Wright spent part of 2017 with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate and got his release in July after struggling to a 4.88 ERA over 31 1/3 frames.
Minor MLB Transactions: 11/9/17
This week’s Minor League Transactions roundup from Baseball America’s Matt Eddy features a staggering 572 minor leaguers that have elected free agency now that the offseason is underway. While many are relative unknowns, there’s also no shortage of former big league contributors among the bunch. Justin Masterson, Jair Jurrjens, Dustin Ackley, Nick Franklin, Chris Heston, Felix Doubront, Kris Medlen, Christian Bethancourt, Anthony Gose, Christian Colon and Jose Tabata are among the many recognizable names that are now available for any club to sign. Virtually everyone on Eddy’s list that finds a new team will be inking a minor league pact, but that certainly doesn’t preclude them from delivering significant value in 2018.
Once you’re done perusing that list, here are the rest of the day’s minor moves from around baseball…
- The Rays have re-signed southpaw Adam Kolarek to a minor league pact and invited him to Spring Training, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The 28-year-old Kolarek (29 in January) made his MLB debut with the Rays last season and wound up yielding six runs in 8 1/3 innings at the Major League level. Kolarek turned in a sensational 1.65 ERA with 9.5 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a ludicrous 72.6 percent ground-ball rate in 43 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level, however. The soft-tosser averaged just 88.1 mph on his heater in his brief big league sample of work, but his strikeout rate and otherworldly ground-ball tendencies in Triple-A make him an intriguing depth option next season.
- Former big league righties Joe Wieland and Spencer Patton are set to return to the Yokohama DeNa BayStars of the Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, per a report from the Kyodo News. Each is signing a one-year deal to return for his second season in NPB. The 27-year-old Wieland turned in an excellent 2.98 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 133 innings (21 starts) with the BayStars in 2016. He’s previously seen MLB time in parts of four seasons, totaling 52 2/3 innings between the Padres, Dodgers and Mariners. Patton, 30 in February, pitched 60 innings with a 2.75 ERA, 9.9 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in his first NPB campaign. Patton previously tossed 54 2/3 innings between the Rangers and Cubs from 2014-16.
Reds To Sign Kevin Quackenbush
The Reds have struck a minor-league deal with righty Kevin Quackenbush, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (via Twitter). He will receive an invitation to major-league Spring Training, per C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link).
Quackenbush had been with the Padres organization ever since he was selected in the eighth round of the 2011 draft. The reliever posted compelling peripherals in his first two seasons in the majors, but has trended in the wrong direction more recently. If he can get back on track, he ought to have a shot at earning a job in a Reds bullpen that has quite a few potential vacancies.
In 2017, Quackenbush struggled with free passes for the first time as a big leaguer, allowing 5.5 per nine (against 7.9 K/9) while stumbling to a 7.86 ERA over his 26 1/3 innings. Things were somewhat better at Triple-A, where he ran a 3.90 ERA in 27 2/3 frames, but he still didn’t produce like the pitcher who previously routinely carried double-digit K/9 rates in the minors.
Rays To Sign Vidal Nuno
The Rays have agreed to a minors pact with southpaw Vidal Nuno, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). Nuno took to the open market after having been outrighted by the Orioles in late August.
Tampa Bay could allow the 30-year-old Nuno a chance to compete for a roster spot in Spring Training. He has seen time in each of the past five MLB seasons, working both as a starter and a reliever.
Most recently, Nuno struggled to a 10.43 ERA in a dozen outings for the O’s. But he was much better at Triple-A, posting a 4.05 ERA over 26 2/3 frames with 10.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9. And Nuno was a useful performer at the MLB level in 2016 with the Mariners, running up 58 2/3 innings of 3.53 ERA pitching with 7.8 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9, though the results came despite a worrying .289/.324/.487 batting line for opposing hitters.
Nuno represents a useful depth option given his swingman capabilities. At this point, though, it seems most likely that he’d function as a lefty specialist. He has long been much stingier against left-handed hitters, who carry only a .237/.301/.382 overall slash against him in the majors.
Diamondbacks Re-Sign Rubby De La Rosa To Minors Deal
The D-backs announced Tuesday evening that they’ve re-signed right-hander Rubby De La Rosa to a two-year, minor league contract. He’d been released by the Diamondbacks back in September after undergoing a second career Tommy John surgery in August. He’s been assigned to Double-A Jackson and will spend 2018 rehabbing with the hope of returning to a big league mound in 2019.
De La Rosa, 29 next March, battled UCL issues in 2016 but elected to undergo stem cell therapy rather than a second Tommy John procedure. The stem cell treatment looked to have done the trick at one point this past season, as De La Rosa turned in excellent numbers across three minor league levels (mostly Triple-A) before returning to the Diamondbacks in late June. Unfortunately, he’d toss just 7 2/3 innings before going back on the shelf and ultimately going under the knife once again.
A former top prospect, De La Rosa has yet to establish himself as a regular rotation member in the big leagues, but many have wondered how he’d fare as a full-time reliever over the course of his big league career. In this past season’s brief sample, he averaged a hearty 97.1 mph on his fastball, lending credence to the notion that he could function as a power arm out of the ‘pen if he ditched his changeup and went with a pure fastball/slider combination. De La Rosa has long fared better against right-handed opponents and could become overpowering against them if his stuff plays up in a short-relief role.
The D-backs won’t be able to gauge that anytime in the near future, of course, but De La Rosa will be a name to keep an eye on when his elbow is (hopefully) healed up for the 2019 season — his age-30 campaign.
Twins To Sell Michael Tonkin’s Contract To Japan’s Nippon Ham Fighters
The Twins have sold the contractual rights of right-handed reliever Michael Tonkin to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter links).
The move will benefit both sides, as it clears a 40-man roster spot for the Twins and gives Tonkin the opportunity to land a significantly larger payday than he’d have received in the United States; he’ll sign a two-year, $2.1MM contract with the Fighters, per Berardino. The Wasserman client will also have the opportunity to earn an additional $500K worth of “reachable” incentives, and he’ll have the chance to serve as the Fighters’ closer as well.
Tonkin, 28 later this month, was one of the top-rated relief prospects in the Twins’ system for several years but has yet to capitalize on that promise in the Major League level. He’s received multiple opportunities with the Twins, appearing for the big league club in each of the past five seasons but never seizing a permanent session in the club’s bullpen. In 146 1/3 innings with the Twins, Tonkin has pitched to a 4.43 ERA with 9.2 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 1.54 HR/9 and a 39.9 percent ground-ball rate. He has, however, consistently dominated the Triple-A level, pitching to a 2.41 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 through 160 1/3 innings.
The move will subtract yet another player from the Twins’ 40-man roster and, according to Berardino, net the Twins more than $500K in addition to the 40-man spot. In the past week, the Twins have lost left-hander Randy Rosario to the Cubs, outfielder Daniel Palka to the White Sox and left-hander Nik Turley to the Pirates (all via waivers). Once Tonkin’s move to the Fighters is complete, Minnesota’s 40-man roster will stand at 33 players. Major League teams have until Nov. 20 to set their 40-man roster in advance of next month’s Rule 5 Draft, so the Twins could yet shed another player or two in advance of that deadline to clear room for additional prospects to be protected.
Mariners Outright Zach Vincej
The Mariners have outrighted infielder Zach Vincej to Triple-A, per a club announcement. He had only recently been claimed off waivers from the Reds.
Clearly, Seattle hoped all along to grab and stash the 26-year-old infielder. He has seen brief action at the game’s highest level and could be a depth option in 2018. Perhaps the M’s also like his chances to build upon his first run at Triple-A, when he posted a .270/.325/.370 slash.
Minor MLB Transactions: 11/7/17
After a busy transactional day yesterday, let’s catch up on some of the latest minor moves:
- Catcher Bryan Holaday and outfielder Alex Presley have elected free agency from the Tigers, Evan Woodberry of MLive.com reports on Twitter. Each of the veterans was outrighted recently, though Woodberry hints that Detroit has interest in bringing both back on minors deals. Holaday will enter the pool of catchers that are looking for opportunities to compete for reserve jobs in camp. The 32-year-old Presley should also draw attention from other organizations; he turned in 264 plate appearances of .314/.354/.416 hitting in 2017.
- The Rockies selected the contract of outfielder Noel Cuevas, per a club announcement. Acquired from the division-rival Dodgers in the trade that sent Juan Nicasio to Los Angeles, Cuevas blossomed at Triple-A Alburquerque in 2017. Across 528 plate appearances, he posted a .312/.353/.487 slash with 15 long balls and 16 steals.
- Two players were also added to the Yankees 40-man roster, the club announced. Outfielder Jake Cave is one of them; the one-time Rule 5 pick won’t be eligible for the draft again this year. He turned in a compelling season in the upper minors, including a robust .324/.367/.554 batting line with 15 long balls in 297 Triple-A plate appearances. Joining him is righty Nick Rumbelow, who returned from Tommy John surgery with aplomb last year. Over 40 1/3 innings, he allowed just five earned runs on 21 hits while racking up a 45:11 K/BB ratio.
- The Indians selected the contract of Eric Haase, per the MLB.com transactions page. The 24-year-old backstop knocked around Double-A pitching to the tune of a .258/.349/.574 batting line and 26 homers through 381 plate appearances.
- Cuban catcher Lorenzo Quintana is joining the Astros for a $200K bonus, per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). The 28-year-old is not subject to international signing restrictions. Quintana was long one of the most productive receivers in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, carrying a lifetime .310/.377/.438 batting line, but he last played there in the 2014-15 season.