Nationals To Re-Sign Matt Albers To Minors Deal
The Nationals and right-hander Matt Albers are in agreement on a new minor league contract, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter links). Albers was released by the Nationals earlier this week, likely in order to avoid paying the Article XX(B) free agent a $100K retention bonus. He’ll now return to the Nats on a minors pact that comes with a $1.15MM base, $600K worth of incentives and opt-out provisions on May 15 and June 1, per Cotillo. Albers is represented by SSG Baseball.
The 34-year-old Albers struggled through one of the worst seasons of his career with the White Sox in 2016, pitching to a dismal 6.31 ERA with 5.3 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 48.6 percent ground-ball rate in 51 1/3 innings. Each of those figures represents a significant step back from the four-year window of success enjoyed by Albers from 2012-15. In that stretch, the former 23rd-rounder logged an excellent 2.32 ERA with 6.1 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and an outstanding 59.2 percent ground-ball rate.
That run of strong performance could be a ticket back to the Majors for Albers, if he can get off to a strong start in Triple-A Syracuse and convince the Nationals or other clubs that his 2016 season was an aberration. Washington named Blake Treinen its closer earlier today, and he’ll be supported by right-handers Shawn Kelley, Koda Glover and Joe Blanton. From the left side, the Nationals will utilize a trio of Sammy Solis, Oliver Perez and hard-throwing Enny Romero early in the year.
Mariners, Mark Lowe Agree To Minor League Deal
6:04pm: It’s a minor league contract for Lowe, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (on Twitter). The right-hander will head to Triple-A Tacoma to begin the season.
4:08pm: Shortly after being cut loose by the Tigers, veteran right-hander Mark Lowe is set to sign a deal to return to the Mariners, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). The 33-year-old Lowe is represented by Frye McCann Sports.
Seattle is where Lowe revitalized his career back in 2015. After throwing just 18 2/3 innings big league innings from 2013-14, Lowe inked a minors deal in Seattle and proved to be one of the best minor league pickups of the offseason; in 36 innings with Seattle that season, Lowe turned in a ridiculous 1.00 ERA with a 47-to-11 K/BB ratio. That performance led to a trade to the Blue Jays, where Lowe took a step back but still logged a 3.79 ERA with a 14-to-1 K/BB ratio in 19 innings, helping the Jays to the postseason.
That terrific rebound campaign led the Tigers to commit to Lowe in the form of a two-year, $11MM contract, but that deal yielded disastrous results. Lowe’s average fastball velocity dipped from 95.5 mph in 2015 to 92.4 mph, and he stumbled to a 7.11 earned run average. Lowe did still strike out nearly a batter per inning, but his BB/9 rate shot from 2.0 to 3.8, and he went from averaging 0.65 HR/9 to 2.19 HR/9 as a member of the Tigers.
It’s not clear whether the Mariners are signing Lowe to a Major League deal or a minor league deal, but the financial commitment will be minimal either way. The Tigers are paying Lowe $5.5MM this year as part of the aforementioned two-year contract, and the Mariners would only be on the hook for the Major League minimum of $535,000 (or the pro-rated version of that sum, for whatever time Lowe spends in the Majors).
As it stands, the Mariners’ bullpen is slated to be anchored by flamethrowing right-hander Edwin Diaz, who emerged as a dominant closing option for manager Scott Servais last season. Also likely to be in the relief corps are right-handers Nick Vincent, Evan Scribner, Dan Altavilla and Casey Fien, while left-hander Marc Rzepczynski will be locked into a spot after signing his own two-year, $11MM contract this winter. Right-handers Tony Zych, Steve Cishek and Shae Simmons are all currently being slowed by injuries.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Diamondbacks Outright Christian Walker
The Diamondbacks have outrighted first baseman/corner outfielder Christian Walker to Triple-A, the team announced via press release. The former Orioles prospect has had an active offseason, going from Baltimore to Atlanta to Cincinnati to Arizona on waivers before clearing waivers this time around. Now that he’s cleared waivers, Walker is no longer on Arizona’s 40-man roster but will remain in the organization and be assigned outright to Triple-A Reno.
Walker, 26, saw brief cups of coffee with Baltimore in both 2014 and 2015, hitting just .148/.258/.296 in a minuscule sample of 31 plate appearances. The former fourth-round pick (2012) has turned in solid overall numbers across parts of three Triple-A campaigns, but he’s never exhibited a mastery of upper-level minor league pitching. In 1332 plate appearances with Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk, Walker carried a .260/.324/.429 batting line to go along with 42 homers and 72 doubles.
There was no longer a long-term fit for Walker in Baltimore, with the Orioles having both Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo signed for at least the next three seasons. Beyond that, Trey Mancini had leapfrogged Walker on the Orioles’ depth chart and was viewed as a superior prospect that is limited to the same positions.
With the D-backs, he’ll serve as a depth piece, as the Snakes have their own long-term option at Walker’s primary position of first base: Paul Goldschmidt. The corner outfield slots are presently occupied by Yasmany Tomas and David Peralta, with Socrates Brito on hand to represent another option. However, a strong performance in the Pacific Coast League could allow Walker to work his way back onto the Major League scene with his new organization.
Phillies Designate Tyler Goeddel For Assignment, Select Brock Stassi’s Contract
4:56pm: The Phillies have now announced that Goeddel has been designated for assignment in order to clear a 40-man spot for Stassi, whose contract has been officially selected from Triple-A.
4:06pm: The Phillies will designate outfielder Tyler Goeddel for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for first baseman/outfielder Brock Stassi, who has won one of the final bench jobs in Philadelphia, reports Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). The Phillies could look to trade Goeddel, their 2016 Rule 5 pick (out of the Rays organization), in the coming days, Gelb adds.
The 2016 season was a struggle for Goeddel, 24, though that was perhaps to be expected after skipping the Triple-A level entirely as a Rule 5 selection back in 2015. Though Goeddel batted .279/.350/.433 in Double-A back in 2015, Goeddel logged an anemic .192/.258/.291 batting line across 234 plate appearances in his big league debut last season.
Of course, the Phillies didn’t have the option of sending Goeddel to the minors to help him get back on track, as he had to remain on the roster as a Rule 5 pick or else be exposed to waivers and offered back to Tampa Bay. Ultimately, it seems that the waiver route will now be a possibility for Goeddel anyway, though the Phils could also find a trade partner and exchange him for a non-40-man player. Any team that acquires Goeddel, however, would be able to option him to the minors for the 2017 season, as the Rule 5 restrictions no longer apply to Goeddel having survived the 2016 season on Philadelphia’s 25-man roster.
Orioles Reliever Oliver Drake Clears Outright Waivers
The Orioles will likely assign right-hander Oliver Drake to Triple-A after he cleared outright waivers, according to Rich Dubroff of PressBoxOnline.com (via Twitter). Drake entered the spring out of options, meaning he had to make the active roster to keep his 40-man spot.
Drake, 30, has shown some swing-and-miss ability in 33 2/3 MLB innings over the past two seasons, and has been quite productive in the upper minors. Indeed, he has compiled a 13.5% swinging-strike rate in the majors with his intriguing forkball.
While it seemed Drake had a reasonable shot at cracking the O’s pen, he struggled quite a bit this spring. He allowed 13 earned runs on 23 hits over 13 1/3 innings, though he did record 13 strikeouts to go with just three walks.
Rangers Extend Rougned Odor
MARCH 30, 10:18am: Texas will announce the deal today, per Rangers executive VP of communication John Blake (via Twitter). He also confirmed the six-year term, beginning in 2017, and presence of a single club option.
Jon Heyman of Fan Rag has the full breakdown: Odor receives a $2MM signing bonus, with salaries of $1MM, $3MM, $7.5MM, and $9MM before the would-be free-agent years, which are valued at $12MM apiece.
8:15am: The deal is official, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. The option year is valued at $13.5MM, with a $3MM buyout.
MARCH 25: The Rangers are “increasingly optimistic” of finalizing a contract extension with second baseman Rougned Odor before Spring Training is over, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. The deal “may only be lacking formalities” at this point. Grant reports the deal is six years in length, while FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports that Odor will earn $49.5MM and the contract also contains a club option year. Odor is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.
The two sides have discussed a long-term deal at various points over the last year, and Odor may have helped his case delivering a 33-homer season in 2016, albeit with a unimpressive on-base percentage (Odor hit .271/.296/.502 over 632 PA). Odor’s defense at second base has also drawn consistently below-average grades. While some deficiencies exist, however, Odor did generate 4.4 fWAR over the last two seasons and he just celebrated his 23rd birthday last month.
Odor is already slated to earn $563, 180 this season in his final year as a pre-arbitration player. Assuming the extension overwrites that salary, then the six-year agreement will cover 2017, Odor’s three arbitration-eligible seasons and his first two free agent years. Should Texas exercise that club option for 2023, that will extend the Rangers’ control through Odor’s third free agent year, though he’d still be just 30 years old when he’d be eligible for the open market.
The deal is only slightly less expensive than the six-year, $52.5MM extension Jason Kipnis signed with the Indians prior to the 2014 season, which was a deal often used as a comparable during Odor’s extension talks (and also negotiated by the Beverly Hills Sports Council). Kipnis signed his deal entering his age-27 season but also had a more solidly established track record as a star player, so those two factors could have weighed out to deliver Odor roughly the same amount of money.
Rangers GM Jon Daniels has long sought to lock up star players (both young and old) throughout his tenure in the Texas front office, with Odor joining the likes of Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltre, Ian Kinsler, Martin Perez, and Derek Holland as notable Rangers who inked long-term deals with the team. The Rangers could face a somewhat more difficult challenge in reaching extensions with two veteran stars (Yu Darvish and Jonathan Lucroy) before the two hit free agency next winter.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/30/17
Here are the most recent minor moves of note from around the game:
- Righty Jair Jurrjens has agreed to a minor-league pact with the Dodgers, Hudson Belinsky of Baseball America reports on Twitter and PG Sports first tweeted. The 31-year-old, who once seemed like a budding ace, last threw in the bigs in 2014 and did not pitch last year after a rough Triple-A stint the season prior. But Jurrjens reappeared in the World Baseball Classic, throwing 11 1/3 innings of 2.38 ERA ball for the Netherlands, and earned another shot at a comeback.
- Speaking of former Braves standouts, the Rays have brought back lefty Jonny Venters on a minors deal, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. The 32-year-old finally threw his first competitive pitches last year in the Tampa Bay organization, but again stalled out in his attempt to return from three Tommy John surgeries. The once-excellent southpaw hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2012.
Tigers Release Mike Pelfrey
The Tigers have released veteran righty Mike Pelfrey, per a club announcement. Detroit will remain obligated for the $8MM owed to him for the coming season.
Pelfrey, 33, has struggled since inking a two-year pact with the team last winter. In 2016, he worked to an unsightly 5.07 ERA with just 4.2 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 over 119 frames. And he was torched for 15 earned runs on 24 hits in his 17 innings this spring.
The Tigers were said to be looking for a taker for the righty, even offering to pick up some or all of his remaining salary, but it seems no other organization was interested in adding Pelfrey to its 40-man roster. Still, he seems an easy bet to land a minor-league deal from a club looking to bolster its depth.
Dillon Gee Exercises Opt-Out Clause
Right-hander Dillon Gee has utilized the opt-out provision in his minor league deal with the Rangers, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Texas will have 48 hours to add Gee to its 40-man roster. If the Rangers decide against adding Gee to the roster, he’ll become a free agent that can sign with any club.
Gee, 30, reeled off six shutout innings against his former Royals teammates today, yielding just two hits and racking up nine strikeouts to put an exclamation point on a solid Spring Training with the Rangers. In 19 2/3 innings during Major League camp, Gee logged a 3.20 ERA with a stellar 18-to-3 K/BB ratio. While he’s been tagged for 25 hits, only one of those has left the yard for a home run.
The Rangers signed Gee to a minor league deal this offseason as the right-hander sought to work his way back from surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome, which he underwent last October. Gee spent the 2016 season with the Royals — his first professional season pitching anywhere other than the Mets organization — and logged a 4.68 ERA in 125 innings split between the rotation and the bullpen. The 2015-16 seasons were something of a struggle for Gee, but prior to that he’d logged a 3.91 ERA with 6.5 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 639 1/3 innings for the Mets.
The Rangers could utilize Gee either as a long man in the bullpen or as a starter early in the season while Andrew Cashner rehabs from a bout with biceps tendinitis. With the Rangers seemingly relying on a combination of Cashner and right-hander Tyson Ross (who also had thoracic outlet surgery this offseason, but later than Gee) to contribute regularly in the rotation down the stretch, retaining Gee as a depth option is undoubtedly a tempting option for Texas. The team does have alternatives, including A.J. Griffin, Nick Martinez and Mike Hauschild, but Gee comes with more experience and a greater track record of MLB success than those options.
Of course, the Rangers also have to weigh the financial component of the situation. Gee’s minor league deal with Texas reportedly comes with a $2MM base salary. If he cracks the Opening Day roster, that figure will become guaranteed regardless of whether he sticks on the roster for the entire season. While it’s hardly a prohibitive sum for a big league team, the Rangers may not be keen on paying Gee at that rate if they don’t feel there’s a long-term spot for him on the roster.
Cardinals Add Eric Fryer To 40-Man Roster
The Cardinals announced on Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of catcher Eric Fryer and placed injured left-hander Zach Duke on the 60-day disabled list to create a spot on the 40-man roster.
The 31-year-old Fryer batted .267/.336/.319 in 133 plate appearances as a backup between St. Louis and Pittsburgh last season and returned to the Redbirds on a minors pact this winter. With today’s move, Fryer has officially won a reserve spot with the Cardinals once again. He’ll serve as the backup to Yadier Molina in 2017 and could also function as a stopgap of sorts while highly touted catching prospect Carson Kelly continues to develop in the minors.
With Fryer’s addition to the Opening Day roster, the Cardinals are largely set on the position-player side of the equation, as can be seen on their depth chart at RosterResource.com. The veteran Fryer will be joined on the Cardinals’ bench by the likes of Matt Adams, Jedd Gyorko (who figures to platoon with Kolten Wong), Greg Garcia and Jose Martinez, who won the team’s reserve outfield role over the weekend.