Minor MLB Transactions: 3/14/17
We’ll track the day’s minor moves here:
- Righty Andrew Bellatti has joined the Orioles on a minors deal, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. The 25-year-old had spent his entire career with the division-rival Rays organization, but lost his 40-man spot last summer. Bellatti worked to a 2.31 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 23 1/3 MLB innings in 2015, his first and only big league stint. But he struggled last year in the minors, allowing 11 earned runs in 14 1/3 frames on the year while working through shoulder troubles.
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/13/2017
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the game…
- The Cubs announced that they’ve granted right-hander Maikel Cleto his release. The hard-throwing 27-year-old hasn’t appeared in the Majors since tossing 29 1/3 innings for the 2014 White Sox. Since that time, Cleto has had some Triple-A success in both the White Sox and Braves organizations, logging a combined 2.75 ERA with 11.5 K/9 against 4.6 BB/9. Cleto has never had much of an issue missing bats, but his control has always been problematic for years. He owns a 6.60 ERA and a 58-to-30 K/BB ratio in 45 Major League innings.
Earlier Moves
- Outfielder Jason Coats has re-signed with the Rays on a minor league deal after being released earlier this winter, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Tampa Bay claimed Coats, 27, off waivers from the White Sox back in January, but he tore his UCL the same day that he was claimed, prompting the Rays to cut him loose to free up a 40-man roster spot. Now, he’ll spend the 2017 season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery as a member of the Rays organization, it seems. Coats batted just .200/.298/.340 in a brief MLB debut last year (58 plate appearances), but he had a huge year with Triple-A Charlotte, batting .330/.394/.519 with 10 homers, 22 doubles and a pair of triples in 332 PAs.
Braves Claim Kevin Chapman From Astros
The Braves announced on Monday that they’ve claimed left-handed reliever Kevin Chapman off waivers from the Astros. Houston reportedly placed the 29-year-old Chapman on waivers over the weekend. Atlanta had an open spot on its 40-man roster, so no corresponding move is necessary.
Chapman is out of minor league options, so the Braves will need to either carry him on their roster to start the season or once again expose him to waivers if they hope to send him to the minor leagues. The former fourth-round pick has a career 4.09 ERA with 7.9 K/9, 5.1 BB/9 and a 43.1 percent ground-ball rate in 55 big league innings.
While Chapman saw quite a bit of time in the Majors in 2013-14, he’s logged just 13 1/3 combined innings with the Astros over the past two seasons as they’ve relied heavily on Tony Sipp as the primary (and in many cases only) left-handed option in manager A.J. Hinch’s bullpen.
Chapman struggled in Triple-A this past season (4.87 ERA in 61 innings) but does have a strong track record at that level, where he’s worked to a collective 3.67 ERA and racked up 262 strikeouts in 208 2/3 innings (11.3 K/9). He’s also struggled with his control throughout his minor league tenure, however, as evidenced by a career 4.7 BB/9 rate in the minors (4.9 in Triple-A). Chapman doesn’t dominate opposing lefties and permits them to reach too often via walk, but he’s also prevented them from hitting for any sort of power against him. In total, same-handed opponents have batted .263/.354/.325 against Chapman in the Majors. He’ll give the Braves an additional lefty option for the bullpen and compete with the likes of Ian Krol, Paco Rodriguez and non-roster invitee Eric O’Flaherty for a spot at the end of camp.
Phillies, Mariners Swap Joey Curletta, Pat Venditte
The Phillies have traded outfielder Joey Curletta to the Mariners for ambidextrous reliever Pat Venditte, per an announcement from Philadelphia.
This is the second trade since last August involving the 31-year-old Venditte, whom Seattle acquired from Toronto for minor league infielder Tim Lopes. A 20th-round pick of the Yankees in 2008, Venditte debuted in the majors with the Athletics in 2015 and has since logged a 4.97 ERA, 7.46 K/9, 4.09 BB/9 and 36.2 percent ground-ball rate in 50 2/3 innings. Twenty-two of those frames came last year for Venditte, who ran up a 5.73 ERA between the Blue Jays and Mariners.
While he possesses the ultra-rare capability of being able to pitch with either arm, Venditte has been far more successful as a southpaw, having held left-handed hitters to a .179/.242/.366 line. Righty-swingers have handled him, evidenced by a .277/.380/.523 line. Currently pitching for Italy in the World Baseball Classic, Venditte will join the Phillies as a non-roster player when the team is eliminated or the tournament ends, per Jayson Stark of ESPN (Twitter link).
Curletta, who turned 23 this past Monday, has also been involved in a pair of trades since last year. The Phillies acquired him from the Dodgers in September to complete the deal that featured catchers Carlos Ruiz and A.J. Ellis. The Dodgers chose Curletta in the sixth round of the 2012 draft, and he has since ascended to the Double-A level. Curletta struggled there last year, though, as he hit just .206/.280/.371 in 107 plate appearances.
Baseball America previously wrote that the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Curletta is a “physical monster” with “light-tower power” as a right-handed hitter. However, scouts have questioned whether he’ll hit in the big leagues, and BA noted that doesn’t provide any speed or defensive value. Curletta will now head to the Mariners’ minor league camp, tweets Greg Johns of MLB.com.
Astros Place Kevin Chapman On Waivers
The Astros have placed left-hander Kevin Chapman on waivers, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Jake Kaplan, who doesn’t expect anyone to claim the reliever. Thus, the Astros will likely end up outrighting him to Triple-A Fresno.
The out-of-options Chapman, 29, has been with the Astros since 2012, when they acquired him in a trade with the Royals. Chapman made his major league debut the next season and logged a stellar 1.77 ERA over 20 1/3 innings, though that came with unimpressive strikeout and walk rates of 6.64 and 5.75, respectively, per nine frames. He has since tossed 13 1/3 more major league innings, including eight last season.
All told, Chapman owns a 4.09 ERA, 7.85 K/9, 5.07 BB/9 and 43.1 percent ground-ball rate in 55 innings at baseball’s highest level. He has been more successful in 208 2/3 Triple-A innings, having registered a 3.67 ERA, 11.3 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9.
Nationals Place Derek Norris On Waivers
The Nationals have placed catcher Derek Norris on waivers, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman. If no one claims Norris, the likelihood is the Nationals will release him, per Heyman. While Norris is slated to make $4.2MM this year, the Nationals will only be responsible for 30 days’ termination pay (~$700K) if they cut him.
Norris has had two stints with the Nationals, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2007 draft, but hasn’t been able to crack their big league roster. The Nationals traded Norris, then a prospect, to the Athletics in 2011 in a deal for left-hander Gio Gonzalez. Washington subsequently re-acquired Norris this past December from the Padres in a move that saw the Nationals send right-hander Pedro Avila to San Diego.
After the Nats reunited with Norris, the assumption was he’d end up as their starting backstop this year. But rumors that they’d sign free agent Matt Wieters persisted throughout the offseason, and that possibility came to fruition when the Nationals inked the longtime Oriole to a two-year, $21MM guarantee (with an opt-out after 2017) in late February. As a result, Washington has tried to trade Norris, who took its acquisition of Wieters in stride.
“It doesn’t change much for me other than the fact that it may or may not be the teammates I’ll be playing with,” said Norris. “So on my end it’s control what I can control. Go out there and play my games and get ready for a season.”
Considering no one has swung a deal for Norris, it’s clear his salary has been prohibitive on the heels of a disastrous 2016 season. In his second and final year in San Diego, Norris posted an ugly .186/.255/.328 line with a career-worst 30.3 percent strikeout rate in 458 plate appearances. Historically, though, Norris has fared respectably. Between his 2012 debut and 2015, he slashed an above-average .246/.336/.392 in 982 PAs with the A’s and Padres. The 28-year-old is also coming off his second straight season in which both Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner assigned him plus pitch-framing marks. It stands to reason, then, that teams looking to make improvements behind the plate before Opening Day will court Norris if he reaches free agency.
With Norris in the Nats’ rearview mirror, they’ll enter the season with Wieters and Jose Lobaton as their backstops. They also have Triple-A prospect Pedro Severino, whose name has come up in trade rumors.
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/11/17
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- Former big league right-hander Donovan Hand tweeted that he’s signed a minor league contract with the Mets earlier this week. The 30-year-old tossed 68 1/3 innings of 3.69 ERA ball with the Brewers back in 2013 and saw another brief stint in the Majors with the Reds in 2015. More recently, Hand spent the 2016 season pitching professionally in Taiwan as well as in the independent Atlantic League back in the States. The former 14th-round pick seems likely to open the season with the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate, where he’ll serve as a depth option. In 372 1/3 innings of work in Triple-A, Hand has a 4.38 ERA with 6.2 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9.
Orioles Agree To Minors Deal With Pedro Alvarez
For the second straight offseason, Pedro Alvarez lingered on the free-agent market until March, and for the second straight season, the slugger has found a home with the Orioles. Alvarez has reportedly agreed to a minor league deal to return to Baltimore. His contract contains a $2MM base salary and another $3.5MM worth of incentives. Most surprising of all, however, is that he’ll reportedly be tabbed as an outfielder this time around.
Alvarez, a Scott Boras client, spent the 2016 season in Baltimore, where he served primarily as a designated hitter but also saw 12 games at third base. Last year was a fairly typical season for the 30-year-old slugger, as he displayed significant power but struck out at a fairly high rate and provided little in the way of defensive value. Alvarez turned in strong numbers against right-handed pitching, hitting .251/.326/.522 with 21 of his 22 home runs. In a limited sample of 38 plate appearances against left-handed pitching, Alvarez hit just .237/.286/.368 with one homer.
It remains to be seen exactly how Alvarez will factor into the mix in Baltimore if the deal is completed and if he makes the club. While Alvarez was in lingering on the free agent market for the second consecutive offseason — he signed in Baltimore on March 8 last year — the Orioles re-signed Mark Trumbo and also acquired Seth Smith from the Mariners. With Smith and Hyun Soo Kim set to line up in the corner outfield against right-handed pitching, Trumbo figures to serve as the team’s DH on those days. That’d leave Alvarez as more of a bench bat or spot starter on days in which one of Trumbo, Kim or Smith needs a breather.
Alvarez has been working on his outfield defense all winter, per FanRag’s Jon Heyman, who reported the terms of the agreement. Nonetheless, it’s difficult to imagine Alvarez, who has graded as a poor defender at both corner infield positions, playing an average or better corner outfield. And the Orioles have a plethora of alternatives from which to choose.
In addition to the aforementioned trio of Trumbo, Smith and Kim, the O’s have sophomore Joey Rickard (a much-needed right-handed bat) and Rule 5 picks Aneury Tavarez and Anthony Santander in camp as well. Infielder Ryan Flaherty, too, has played some outfield in his career and figures to be assured of a bench spot, if healthy. Non-roster invitees Craig Gentry and Michael Bourn are in the mix as well, though Bourn is currently being sidelined by a broken finger.
A minor league deal for Alvarez serves as the latest data point in an offseason that has exemplified the market’s continuing shift away from one-dimensional sluggers. While a hefty supply of first base/designated hitter options in free agency this winter undoubtedly worked against Alvarez, the non-tender of NL home run leader Chris Carter and his subsequent $3.5MM deal with the Yankees was a clear sign that front offices are continuing to gravitate away from players of this ilk. Even higher-profile sluggers have settled for lesser deals than initially expected in recent years, as illustrated by the three-year deals for Trumbo and Edwin Encarnacion.
FanRag’s Tommy Stokke first reported that the two sides were nearing a deal (via Twitter). FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported the agreement and the terms (Twitter links).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pre-Arb Deals: Lindor, Duvall, Sano, Franco, Odor, Realmuto
You can find a primer on how pre-arbitration salaries work right here. In essence, teams can renew players at whatever price they wish, so long as it meets or exceeds the MLB minimum — which currently sits at $535K. But all teams consider at least nominal raises for players with prior experience. If you really want to dig into the details of the process — and how different teams approach it — be sure to check out this close look from MLBTR’s Zach Links.
We have already covered a few notable salaries for 2017: Kris Bryant set a record at $1.05MM; Mookie Betts didn’t agree with the Red Sox, but still got $950K; and Astros star Carlos Correa was renewed at the minimum after failing to see eye to eye. Here are a few of the latest numbers, all via the Twitter feed of Jon Heyman of Fan Rag unless otherwise noted:
- The Indians agreed to a $579,300 salary with star shortstop Francisco Lindor. A well-rounded performer at just 23 years of age, Lindor made his first All-Star team after landing just shy of Correa in the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year voting. It’ll be interesting to see whether the sides continue to talk money over the next few years in an effort to reach a long-term deal.
- The Reds renewed outfielder Adam Duvall at $577,500. He was evidently looking for more after a breakout 2016 campaign in which he hit 33 homers but lagged in the on-base department (.297 OBP). Duvall has established himself as the team’s regular left fielder, though, and did out-earn two other power-hitting players in the same 1+ service class.
- Third baseman Miguel Sano agreed to a $572,500 payday from the Twins, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports. The 23-year old swatted 25 long balls but fell off a bit from his torrid rookie year. He’ll still get a fairly solid pay boost, though, in his 1+ service-class year.
- Fellow young hot corner slugger Maikel Franco agreed to a $560K deal with the Phillies. Franco, 22, went through a similar sophomore slump as Sano while matching him in the long ball department. These two seem likely to be compared for years to come. Franco, though, will likely qualify for arbitration a year earlier, as he’ll easily reach Super Two status next winter so long as he stays on the MLB roster for the bulk of the upcoming season.
- The Rangers will pay second baseman Rougned Odor $563,180 in their agreement. The hard-nosed 23-year old delivered 33 bombs from the middle infield, though like Duvall he also fell short of hopes with a .296 OBP. Texas is already weighing a much heftier commitment, though, with reports suggesting the sides are in talks on a deal that could exceed $50MM in guaranteed money.
- Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto was rewarded for his promising 2016 campaign with a $562,500 deal, per Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). Realmuto, who’ll soon turn 26, will reach arbitration next winter, where he’ll be paid handsomely if he can repeat his numbers from last season. Over 545 plate appearances, Realmuto slashed .303/.343/.428 and provided 11 home runs and a dozen steals — though he was aided by a .357 BABIP.
Rays Claim Jumbo Diaz From Reds
The Rays have claimed right-hander Jumbo Diaz off waivers from the Reds, per MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (on Twitter). Diaz had been designated for assignment late last week when the Reds claimed Christian Walker from the Braves. The Rays placed right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, who will miss the 2017 season following Tommy John/flexor surgery, on the 60-day disabled list to create a spot on the roster.
The 33-year-old Diaz posted a seemingly palatable 3.14 earned run average in 43 innings out of the Cincinnati bullpen last season, but the hard-throwing righty also displayed some troubling trends. Diaz posted career-worst marks in K/9 (7.7), BB/9 (4.0), swinging-strike rate (10.4 percent) and average fastball velocity (95.9 mph). A .239 BABIP and a strand rate just north of 80 percent also contributed to that impressive 3.14 mark but prompted ERA alternatives like like xFIP (4.60) and SIERA (4.24) to forecast a more pessimistic outlook.
Diaz logged significantly better strikeout and walk rates in his only other two seasons in the Majors, however (2014-15). All told, he carries a 3.65 ERA with 9.4 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, a 43.7 percent ground-ball rate and a heater that has averaged 96.9 miles per hour. Diaz is out of minor league options, so he’ll have to break camp with the Rays at the end of the month or once again be exposed to waivers before he can be sent to the minors. However, the Rays’ opportunity to see Diaz up close will be somewhat limited, as he’s currently pitching for the Dominican Republic in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.