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Mets Sign Alex Claudio, Stephen Nogosek To Minor League Contracts

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The Mets recently signed left-hander Alex Claudio and right-hander Stephen Nogosek to minor league deals, Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America reports.  The signings are allowed during the lockout since both players are minor league free agents.

Claudio was released by the Red Sox in late September after inking a minors deal with Boston in August.  That deal with the Sox came on the heels of a 5.51 ERA over 32 2/3 innings with the Angels, as Claudio had some uncharacteristic struggles against left-handed batters and with his control (10.1% walk rate).

Known for his durability and his knack for inducing grounders, Claudio enjoyed some solid success with the Rangers and Brewers from 2014-20, even if his lack of a traditional high velo/high strikeout bullpen resume twice led Milwaukee to non-tender him.  Claudio’s early-career numbers (a 2.66 ERA over 162 1/3 innings from 2014-17) were better than his more recent work (4.28 ERA in 149 1/3 IP in 2018-20), and he has also had trouble keeping the ball in the park in two of his last three seasons.  In 2021, Claudio posted a 26.1% homer rate, allowing six home runs over his 32 2/3 frames with the Halos.

Only just entering his age-30 season, Claudio could be an interesting candidate for something of a rebound year, particularly since the defensively-challenged Angels weren’t a great fit for a groundball pitcher.  The Mets can take a closer look at Claudio in spring camp, and he would seemingly have a good shot at winning a job in a New York bullpen thin on southpaws.  David Peterson represents the only healthy left-handed pitcher on the Mets’ entire 40-man roster.

For Nogosek, it marks a quick return to the organization after the Mets cut him loose at the November 30 non-tender deadline.  Nogosek (who just turned 27 earlier this week) first came to the Mets from the Red Sox in July 2017 as part of the trade package for Addison Reed, and the righty has eight career MLB games on his resume.  Between 6 2/3 innings over seven appearances in 2019 and a single three-inning appearance this past season, Nogosek has a 9.31 ERA in his brief big league career.

As a minor leaguer, Nogosek has a 3.55 ERA over 238 innings, working as a reliever for all but three of his 170 games.  Nogosek can miss some bats (27.01% strikeout rate) but control has been an issue, with an above-average 11.91% walk rate in his time on the farm.  He struggled to a 5.14 ERA over 35 innings with Triple-A Syracuse in 2021, and also spent about six weeks on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation.

Angels Sign Magneuris Sierra, Kyle Barraclough To Minors Deals

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The Angels have signed outfielder Magneuris Sierra and right-hander Kyle Barraclough to minor league contracts, according to Baseball America’s Chris Hilburn-Trenkle.  Both players are eligible to be signed during the lockout since they entered the offseason as minor league free agents.

A veteran of five MLB seasons, 2021 saw Sierra receive his most playing time as a major leaguer, as he made 225 plate appearances over 123 games with the Marlins.  However, Sierra hit only .230/.281/.268, which roughly matched his slash line over his 315 previous career PA with St. Louis and Miami from 2017-20.

Though consistent hitting was hard to come by even in the minors for Sierra, he was still a well-regarded prospect based on his defensive ability alone, with Baseball Prospectus ranking him as the 56th-best minor leaguer in the game prior to the 2018 season.  Sierra came to the Marlins as part of the four-player prospect package the Cardinals sent to the Marlins for Marcell Ozuna back in the 2017-18 offseason, and while he did indeed show some solid glovework at all three outfield positions in his limited big league playing time, the Marlins outrighted him off their 40-man roster at the end of the 2021 campaign.

Sierra will now get an opportunity to earn a backup outfield job in Anaheim, or at least serve as minor league outfield depth at the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate.  Sierra will be joined by a former Marlins teammate in Barraclough, as the two were both on Miami’s roster in 2018 — which was also essentially Barraclough’s last effective year as a big league reliever.  The righty had a very solid 3.21 ERA and 29.8% strikeout rate over 218 2/3 innings from 2015-18 working out of Miami’s bullpen, if with the warning sign of a 14.3% walk rate.

Since the Marlins traded Barraclough to the Nationals in October 2018, however, he has managed only a 5.59 ERA over 46 2/3 frames, thanks in large part to a big spike in home runs allowed.  The past three seasons have been Barraclough pitch at the big league level with the Nats, Giants, and Twins, and he also was briefly a member of the Yankees and Padres organizations on minor league deals.  With the Angels in constant need of pitching help, there would seemingly be a path for Barraclough to win a job in their bullpen if he can show some improvement during Spring Training.

Diamondbacks Sign Braden Bishop, Keynan Middleton To Minors Deals

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The Diamondbacks recently signed outfielder Braden Bishop and reliever Keynan Middleton to minor league contracts, according to Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. Both players had qualified for minor league free agency at the end of last season after clearing outright waivers during the year.

Bishop has spent the entirety of his big league tenure with the Mariners. A 3rd-round pick in the 2015 draft, the speedy center fielder reached the majors in 2019. He’s tallied 99 cumulative plate appearances over the past three seasons, hitting .133/.188/.156. Seattle designated Bishop for assignment in May, and he landed with the Giants on waivers. Within days of claiming him, San Francisco DFA’d the right-handed hitter themselves, and on that occasion he passed through unclaimed.

Despite putting up an impressive .326/.388/.549 line across 320 trips to the plate with the Giants’ top affiliate from that point forth, Bishop didn’t make it back to the majors. The 28-year-old will try to play his way back into the big leagues with their division rivals in Arizona. The D-Backs have a glut of young outfielders on the 40-man roster, but none of Daulton Varsho, Stuart Fairchild, Pavin Smith, Cooper Hummel or Jake McCarthy has yet gotten settled at the major league level.

Middleton has pitched in the majors in each of the past five seasons. He’d spent his entire career in the AL West, beginning as a third-round pick of the Angels in 2013. He pitched for four years in Anaheim, including a 3.43 ERA in 80 appearances over his first two seasons. Middleton underwent Tommy John surgery midway through the 2018 campaign, however, and he wasn’t as effective upon his return from that procedure.

Cut loose by the Angels last offseason, the right-hander latched on with the Mariners (where he and Bishop briefly overlapped). Middleton worked 31 innings across 32 appearances with Seattle but didn’t find a ton of success, posting a 4.94 ERA with worse than average strikeout and walk numbers (17.1% and 13.6%, respectively).

Recent struggles aside, it’s easy to see why the D-Backs would take a no-risk shot on Middleton in hopes he can rediscover some of his early form. The 28-year-old still averaged 95.6 MPH on his fastball last year. Perhaps of more interest, Middleton generated swinging strikes on a very strong 14.2% of his offerings — a surprisingly high number given his low strikeout rate. Arizona relievers had a 5.08 ERA and ranked dead last in strikeout/walk rate differential (9.7 percentage points), so Middleton should have a good chance at cracking the roster with a strong showing in Spring Training.

Royals Sign Arodys Vizcaino To Minor League Deal

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The Royals announced this morning that they’ve signed reliever Arodys Vizcaíno to a minor league contract. As a minor league free agent, the right-hander remained eligible to sign a non-roster deal over the course of the lockout. Should he crack the big league club, Vizcaíno would lock in a $1MM base salary with an additional $500K available in incentives, reports Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter).

Vizcaíno has appeared in parts of seven major league seasons, with the bulk of his time coming with the Braves. He debuted with Atlanta in 2011, making 17 appearances as a rookie. Vizcaíno required Tommy John surgery the following Spring Training and missed the entirety of the next two seasons. While rehabbing, he was traded to the Cubs. After making five appearances with the North Siders in 2014, Vizcaíno was flipped back to Atlanta, where he’d spend the next few years.

Between 2015-18, the Dominican Republic native was a generally reliable member of the Braves relief corps. He posted 30+ innings with a sub-3.00 ERA in three of those four campaigns, spending a good chunk of time as Atlanta’s closer. Vizcaíno underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in April 2019, though, and he hasn’t appeared in the majors since. Flipped to the Mariners for salary relief, he qualified for free agency at the end of the 2019 campaign. Vizcaíno went unsigned in 2020 and only made seven outings with the Mets Triple-A affiliate last year.

It has now been more than three years since Vizcaíno was a regular member of a big league bullpen. Yet there’s no harm for the Royals in taking a flier on a pitcher with some MLB success on his resume. Vizcaíno has sported a mid-high 90’s fastball in the past. If that velocity returns a few years after his shoulder procedure, it’s possible he’ll factor into the Kansas City bullpen at some point.

CPBL’s CTBC Brothers Sign Francisco Pena

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The CTBC Brothers of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League announced the signing of former big league catcher Francisco Peña (h/t to CPBL Stats). It’ll be the first experience in an Asian professional league for the 32-year-old, who has spent the past fifteen seasons in affiliated ball in the United States.

Peña has appeared in the majors in parts of five seasons, logging at least brief time each year between 2014-18. He broke in with the Royals but tallied just seven combined plate appearances with Kansas City’s pennant-winning clubs in 2014-15. The right-handed hitting backstop spent parts of the next two seasons with the Orioles before tallying a career-high 142 plate appearances as Yadier Molina’s backup with the Cardinals in 2018.

Over 202 MLB plate appearances, Peña owns a .216/.249/.311 line with five home runs. He’s spent the past few seasons in Triple-A, including the 2021 campaign with the A’s top affiliate in Las Vegas. He hit .250/.322/.459 over 447 plate appearances in that extremely hitter-friendly setting but will now make the jump to Taiwan. He’ll team up with fellow former big leaguers Shawn Morimando and José Valdez, each of whom signed with the Taichung-based club last October.

Braves, Jackson Stephens Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have signed right-handed pitcher Jackson Stephens to a minor league deal, according to Alfonso E. Saer Gomez and David O’Brien of The Athletic. (Twitter links.) As noted by both tweets, the 27-year-old was recently awarded Pitcher of the Year in the Venezuelan Winter League.

Stephens was selected by the Reds in the 18th round of the 2012 draft. Working primarily as a starter, he worked his way up the minor league ranks and was able to make his MLB debut in 2017, throwing 25 innings over four starts and three relief appearances. In 2018, he made 29 more appearances, all out of the bullpen, throwing 38 1/3 innings. He hasn’t been able to crack the big leagues since, making his 63 1/3 innings over those two campaigns the total of his big league experience thus far. He has a career ERA of 4.83, strikeout rate of 19% and walk rate of 8.5%.

In 2019, he logged 84 innings in Triple-A and then elected free agency after he was outrighted off the roster at the end of the year. After missing out on 2020, he spent 2021 with Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League. He logged 65 innings there, with an ERA of 4.98. Shortly thereafter, he joined Cardenales de Lara and had perhaps his best run of success to date. In 49 1/3 innings over 14 games, including nine starts, he struck out 44 hitters, walking only 10, putting up an ERA of 1.82. As mentioned, he was awarded the league’s Pitcher of the Year honors.

Stephens doesn’t have much on his track record that can match that recent showing in Venezuela, either in the majors or the upper minors. However, he’s only 27 years old, turning 28 in May. For the Braves, there’s no harm in bringing him aboard and seeing if that recent uptick in his performance is due to some sort of adjustment that could be sustainable.

Twins, Dereck Rodriguez Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Twins are in agreement with Dereck Rodríguez on a minor league contract, according to an announcement from the right-hander’s representative, Gavin Kahn. It’s something of a full-circle moment for Rodríguez, who began his career in the Minnesota system as a sixth-round pick in the 2011 draft.

While Rodríguez spent his first six pro seasons in the Twins organization, he’s yet to pitch in the majors with Minnesota. During his initial run, he topped out at Double-A and elected minor league free agency after the 2017 campaign. He hooked on with the Giants on a minors pact that winter and earned his first big league call the following season after an excellent start in Triple-A. Rodríguez unexpectedly became a key member of the San Francisco rotation, tossing 118 1/3 innings of 2.81 ERA ball as a rookie.

That strong run prevention came without huge strikeout or ground-ball totals, though, and Rodríguez didn’t replicate that success over the following seasons. He posted a 5.64 ERA over 99 frames in 2019, then was limited to just two relief appearances in 2020 before San Francisco designated him for assignment. Claimed off waivers by the Tigers, he spent the rest of the season on optional assignment to Detroit’s alternate training site before being outrighted off the 40-man roster at the end of the year.

Rodríguez signed a minor league pact with the Rockies last offseason. He spent the year with their top affiliate in Albuquerque, pitching to a 6.72 ERA across 85 2/3 innings in an extremely hitter-friendly environment. Now 29 years old, Rodríguez will try to turn the tide and rediscover some of his rookie year success in Minnesota. The Twins starting staff is fairly open beyond Dylan Bundy and Bailey Ober. They’ll surely add to that mix after the lockout, but Rodríguez might have an opportunity to land a back-end role with a strong showing in Spring Training and/or start to the regular season at Triple-A St. Paul.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/11/22

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The latest minor league moves from around the sport…

  • The Reds announced that infielder Juniel Querecuto has been signed to a minor league deal, and invited to the team’s big league Spring Training camp.  A veteran of 10 pro seasons, Querecuto reached the majors for a four-game cup of coffee with the Rays in 2016.  After six seasons in Tampa’s organization, Querecuto moved onto the Giants’ Triple-A team in 2017 before joining the Diamondbacks for four years.  Beginning his career as a utility infielder, Querecuto has branched out to more of a super-utility type, getting action as a first baseman and at all three outfield positions since 2019, though the majority of his time has still been spent as a shortstop, second baseman, and third baseman.  Known more for his defensive versatility than his bat throughout his career, the 29-year-old Querecuto did hit .301/.354/.489 with 13 homers over 396 PA with Triple-A Reno last season.

KBO’s Kia Tigers Sign Sean Nolin

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The KBO League’s Kia Tigers have signed left-hander Sean Nolin to a one-year contract.  As per Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News, Nolin will earn $600K in guaranteed money ($250K signing bonus, $350K salary) and up to $300K more in incentives.

Nolin had re-signed with the Nationals on a minor league contract back in November, but it appears as though the club released him so Nolin could pursue the opportunity in the Korea Baseball Organization.  This isn’t Nolin’s first time playing abroad, as he previously pitched in Japan with the Seibu Lions in 2020, tossing 21 1/3 innings with the NPB club.

The southpaw followed up that brief NPB stint with a return to North American baseball, via a minor league deal with the Nats that eventually led to a big league call-up.  With 26 2/3 innings of 4.39 ERA ball with Washington, Nolin banked his first Major League action since way back in 2015, when he pitched for the A’s.  Once a notable prospect in the Blue Jays farm system, Nolin pitched 31 1/3 MLB innings from 2013-15 before injuries waylaid his career, including a Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for all of the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Over 670 1/3 career frames in the minors with six different big league organizations, Nolin has a solid 3.48 ERA and 24.11% strikeout rate.  He has worked as both a starter and a reliever, giving the Lions some flexibility in how they might deploy him on their 2022 roster.

Rays Re-Sign Chris Mazza

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The Rays have re-signed Chris Mazza, the righty announced on Twitter. With big league transactions frozen, it’s no doubt a minors pact. Mazza was eligible to sign after being outrighted and electing minor league free agency in early November.

Tampa Bay acquired Mazza from the Red Sox over the 2020-21 offseason. The 32-year-old went on to make 14 appearances with the Rays, tossing 27 1/3 frames as a multi-inning relief option. Mazza was a reliable strike-thrower but not an overpowering bullpen arm, posting below-average strikeout and ground-ball numbers. He worked to a 4.61 ERA in the majors but had a more impressive 3.16 mark in 37 frames with Triple-A Durham.

It was the third straight season logging big league time for Mazza, originally a 27th-round draft choice of the Twins. He broke into the bigs with the Mets in 2019, then spent 2020 with Boston. Over his three seasons, the California native owns a 4.89 ERA/4.73 SIERA across 73 2/3 innings. Mazza is out of minor league option years, so if he pitches his way onto the Rays 40-man roster in Spring Training, he’ll need to remain on the active roster or be exposed to waivers.

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