Joakim Soria, Eric O’Flaherty Clear Revocable Trade Waivers
Royals right-hander Joakim Soria and Braves lefty Eric O’Flaherty have cleared revocable trade waivers, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. As such, either player is free to be traded to any other club.
That Soria, 32, went unclaimed is hardly a surprise considering the fact that he’s just four and a half months into a substantial three-year, $25MM contract signed as a free agent this offseason. Soria, though, has hardly performed like a $25MM pitcher, pitching to a pedestrian 4.03 ERA with 9.1 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 52.9 percent ground-ball rate. While the strikeouts and grounders are impressive, Soria has demonstrated the worst control of any healthy season he’s had in his career this year and is allowing hard contact at a career-high rate of 29.3 percent, per Fangraphs. The frequency with which opponents are barreling up his offerings has led to a career worst 1.4 HR/9 rate.
Soria is earning $7MM this season in the first year of the slightly backloaded deal, meaning he still has $19.72MM remaining on his pact from now through the end of the 2018 season (including the buyout of a 2019 option). While his performance to date hasn’t been encouraging, the Royals may be able to find a taker if they’re willing to eat some of that contract, though they could also simply hope for a better performance in 2017. Soria is, after all, still missing bats and keeping the ball on the ground, as previously mentioned, and his 92.8 mph average heater is actually the best of his career.
The 31-year-old O’Flaherty is more affordable than Soria, with a $1.75MM base salary on the minor league deal he signed this winter, but his performance has been considerably worse. His ERA to date sits at a decidedly unappealing mark of 6.91, and while his 54 percent ground-ball rate is promising, his 22-to-11 K/BB ratio (plus two hit batters and three wild pitches) is less inspiring. While some might hope that O’Flaherty could at least be relied upon as a lefty specialist, he’s allowed same-handed opponents to bat .284/.329/.439 against him. The Braves were able to find a taker for Erick Aybar, so perhaps there’s hope that he could be moved, but even Aybar had a solid three or four weeks of production under his belt prior to being flipped (in a trade that saw the Braves take some salary back in the form of Mike Aviles). O’Flaherty has surrendered six earned runs in his past six innings, issuing more walks (six) than strikeouts recorded (five) in that time.
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Tigers Sign Pedro Ciriaco
The Tigers have signed infielder Pedro Ciriaco to a minor league deal, as Evan Woodberry of MLive.com tweeted earlier today. The 30-year-old was released recently by the Marlins.
Ciriaco represents another infield option for the injury-addled Tigers, who also just acquired Erick Aybar from the Braves. He could well play a niche role for Detroit down the stretch once rosters expand at the start of September, as both his glove and his baserunning have typically drawn good reviews.
The Tigers won’t be expecting much out of Ciriaco at the plate, though. He owns a .256/.282/.302 batting line over 273 plate appearances on the year at Triple-A with the Rangers and Marlins organizations. And he has slashed only .268/.294/.368 over his 649 trips to the dish at the major league level over parts of six seasons.
Astros Release Prospect Danry Vasquez After Domestic Violence Suspension
The Astros have released prospect Danry Vasquez this evening, with the team’s announcement coming right on the heels of a league announcement that he has been suspended indefinitely. Vasquez was arrested after allegedly striking his girlfriend at the stadium of the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks.
Vasquez, 22, signed with the Tigers as an international free agent, and ended up being dealt to Houston in the 2013 Jose Veras trade. The outfielder had been seen as a legitimate prospect, though he was left unprotected and went unclaimed in last December’s Rule 5 draft and was struggling in his first action in the upper minors this year.
The league was able to move much more quickly with regard to Vasquez than it has several major league players. Because he was not on the 40-man roster, Vasquez is not represented by the MLB Player’s Association and lacks many of the protections available to the other players suspended recently — all of whom agreed to accept punishment after at least some negotiation with the commissioner’s office.
Braves Designate Mike Aviles For Assignment
The Braves have designated infielder Mike Aviles for assignment, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. Atlanta also has activated catcher Tyler Flowers from the DL and placed fellow backstop A.J. Pierzynski there in his place with a hamstring injury.
[Related: Updated Braves Depth Chart]
Aviles was acquired just yesterday — along with minor league catcher Kade Scivicque — in the trade that sent shortstop Erick Aybar to the Tigers. Clearly, he was involved in that deal only to offset part of Aybar’s salary. Acquiring and then designating players is a tactic the Braves have utilized in several recent deals to facilitate financial exchanges.
The 35-year-old veteran had struggled rather notably this year, carrying only a .210/.258/.269 slash in his 181 plate appearances on the season. Aviles is a versatile defender and valued presence in the clubhouse, but he has never been a terribly productive hitter and his results at the plate have steadily dipped over the last three seasons.
Braves Release Omar Infante
Before they two other, more significant middle infield moves today, the Braves cut ties with veteran Omar Infante, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Twitter. Atlanta went on to trade Erick Aybar, getting Mike Aviles and a prospect in return, and promoted top prospect Dansby Swanson.
Infante had signed on with Atlanta on a minor league deal about six weeks ago, following his release by the Royals. Kansas City is still paying the full $8MM owed to Infante this year, as well as a $2MM buyout on a 2017 option.
Since joining the Braves organization, the 34-year-old Infante has played in 27 games for Triple-A Gwinnett. Unfortunately, he has largely continued the same listless hitting that led K.C. to cut ties with him in the first place. Over 116 plate appearances at Triple-A, Infante carries a .209/.226/.300 batting line that is actually a fair bit worse than the .239/.279/.321 mark he owns in 149 trips to the plate this year in the majors.
Braves To Promote Dansby Swanson
The Braves will promote top shortstop prospect Dansby Swanson tomorrow, according to a team announcement. President of baseball operations John Hart says that the youngster will be in the starting lineup tomorrow, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.
Swansons promotion comes on the heels of the team’s trade of shortstop Erick Aybar to the Tigers. That deal brought in a prospect and also opened a spot for Swanson to receive his first taste of the majors. For the time being, at least, he won’t be accompanied by hopeful future double-play partner Ozzie Albies.
Mid-season top-prospect lists all agreed that Swanson is one of the ten best pre-MLB assets in baseball. MLB.com (#5), Baseball America (#7), and Baseball Prospectus (#10) all concurred in that regard.
Regardless of his precise placement, Swanson looks to be a key future piece for the rebuilding Braves, who acquired him — along with outfielder Ender Inciarte and righty Aaron Blair — in an offseason swap for righty Shelby Miller. That trade seemed like a score at the time and has further tilted in Atlanta’s favor as Miller has struggled. Still, it remains to be seen how the trio of quality assets will perform for the Braves — though they have plenty of seasons to come to provide value.
[Related: Updated Braves Depth Chart]
Swanson was always seen as the headliner of that deal. The number one overall pick of the 2015 draft out of Vanderbilt, he came to Atlanta with expectations of both a swift rise and strong future value. Both he and Albies are shortstops by trade, though it seems the latter will likely end up playing second when both reach the majors.
Though he has moved as quickly through the system as had been forecasted, Swanson hasn’t dominated the minor league ranks to the extent of Alex Bregman of the Astros — another SEC shortstop who was taken one pick behind Swanson but beat him to the majors. Swanson made short work of the High-A level, but owns a solid but not overwhelming .261/.342/.402 slash in his 377 plate appearances thus far at Double-A.
Still, the Braves felt that Swanson was ready to skip the highest level of the minors altogether. And prospect watchers seem to agree with the optimism, grading him as an above-average future big leaguer in virtually all aspects of the game. An advanced approach, good pop, some base stealing ability, and a sure glove with good physical tools give Swanson a full arsenal with which to work. Though he isn’t a true standout in any area, he comes with both a solid floor and the ceiling of a perennially above-average regular.
By making the move now, the Braves will allow Swanson to accumulate 47 days of service time. Assuming he is able to play well enough to lock down the starting job at short for the 2017 campaign — which is surely the club’s hope — then he’d first reach arbitration eligibility in advance of the 2020 season while qualifying for free agency after 2022.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Tigers Acquire Erick Aybar
The Tigers have announced a deal to acquire shortstop Erick Aybar from the Braves. Headed in return to Atlanta are infielder Mike Aviles and catcher Kade Scivicque. Detroit will receive cash in the deal, per David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). Tigers GM Al Avila declined to discuss details, but did offer that “it’s pretty even” in terms of the salaries involved, MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets.
Detroit made the move with its two starters on the left side of the infield — shortstop Jose Iglesias and third baseman Nick Castellanos — currently parked on the DL. Adding Aybar will presumably provide an option at both positions, though he has played almost exclusively up the middle over his 11-year career.
[Related: Updated Tigers Depth Chart]
Aybar, 32, was picked up by the Braves in last winter’s Andrelton Simmons deal. Presumably, the club hoped he’d provide a steady option that might turn into a trade chip, but it wasn’t always smooth sailing. After an abysmal start to the season and some injury issues, the veteran has actually been rather productive of late.
Things began to turn around in June, when Aybar slashed .302/.393/.396 upon his return from the DL. Though he dipped a bit in July, he is putting up a strong .333/.333/.519 batting line over 54 plate appearances thus far in August. The overall results aren’t pretty, and defensive metrics are also down on Aybar’s glovework, but Detroit is understandably focused on near-term performance in bolstering its roster for the stretch run. With Aybar set to hit the open market after the season, he’s a pure rental.
The Braves appear to have sent a fairly significant amount of cash to facilitate the swap. Aybar was earning $8.5MM this year, while Aviles is playing on a $2MM deal. With about $2.18MM still owed to the former and around $517K to go for the latter, Atlanta would have needed to send around $1.5MM to make up the difference.
It’s tough to view the inclusion of Aviles as much more than a salary-balancing tactic, though he’ll presumably bolster the infield depth and provide a veteran presence for the rebuilding Braves. He had been relied upon rather heavily by the Tigers in June and July, but generally hasn’t produced in his age-35 campaign. Overall, Aviles owns a .210/.258/.269 slash over 181 plate appearances.
The key to the deal from the Braves’ side is the addition of the 23-year-old Scivicque, who was taken in the fourth round of the 2015 draft. He has spent the entire year at the High-A level, posting a .282/.325/.380 batting line with six home runs. Still, he was recently rated the 20th-best prospect in a thin Tigers system by MLB.com, which credited his strong receiving skills while noting that he may not have enough bat to profile as more than a back-up in the majors.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Blue Jays Designate Junior Lake For Assignment
The Blue Jays have activated outfielder Ezequiel Carrera from the disabled list and designated fellow outfielder Junior Lake for assignment, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet tweets.
Lake, 26, has already been designated for assignment and outrighted by the Blue Jays once this season but returned to the big league roster on Aug. 10 when Jose Bautista joined Carrera on the disabled list. His second stint with the Jays was more brief than his first, and he’s now appeared in a total of 22 games with Toronto this season but collected just 39 plate appearances. In that time, Lake has batted .200/.282/.371 with a homer and three doubles. Toronto will have 10 days to make a decision on Lake, though an outright seems likeliest considering the fact that he’s already accepted one such assignment this year. In 703 plate appearances spanning parts of four Major League seasons, Lake is a .235/.278/.376 hitter.
Giants, Joe Nathan Agree To Minor League Deal
Right-hander Joe Nathan last donned a Giants uniform in 2003, but it looks like he’ll have the chance to do so again in the near future, as Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports that Nathan is set to sign a minor league pact with San Francisco (Twitter link). The deal is still pending a physical, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Originally selected by the Giants in the sixth round of the 1995 draft, Nathan broke into the Majors with the Giants in 1999 and settled in as a strong late-inning relief option with a breakout season in 2003. That campaign preceded a trade that sent Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser to the Twins in exchange for A.J. Pierzynski, after which Nathan went on to establish himself as one of the most successful closers in recent history. At 41 years of age and with a recent Tommy John surgery under his belt, Nathan is no lock to perform like he did in his peak years with the Twins and Rangers, but he looked solid during a brief stint with the Cubs in 2016 and will give manager Bruce Bochy some much-needed depth in his bullpen, either later this month or perhaps when rosters expand in September. Schulman tweets that the Giants may not wait until Sept. 1 to bring Nathan up if he is throwing well.
Current closer Santiago Casilla has had some struggles since the All-Star break, most recently blowing a two-run lead against the Orioles by serving up a three-run homer to Jonathan Schoop over the weekend. Nathan could eventually join Hunter Strickland, Derek Law, Sergio Romo and George Kontos as another right-handed option for Bochy to deploy in the final weeks of a playoff push. The six-time All-Star allowed four runs on three hits and five walks with nine strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings on a minor league rehab assignment earlier this summer and fired a pair of scoreless innings for the Cubs (two hits, two walks, four strikeouts) before being designated for assignment and subsequently released.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/16/16
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- Veteran outfielder Chris Denorfia has been released from his minor league contract with the Giants, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Denorfia, 36, signed with San Francisco back in early June and batted .269/.329/.408 in 143 plate appearances across two levels (most of the time spent in Triple-A) before his release. He’s a veteran of 10 big league seasons and is a career .272/.330/.392 hitter at the Major League level.
- The Dodgers released infielder/outfielder Zach Walters following his DFA on Sunday, reports J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group (Twitter link). Walters received just five big league plate appearances with the Dodgers this season but slashed a respectable .276/.326/.444 in 366 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Walters has plenty of pop, as evidenced by his 10 big league homers in just 181 plate appearances, but he’s also struck out in 36 percent of his trips to the plate as a Major Leaguer. Still, as a player with power and experience at shortstop, second base, third base and in the outfield, the 26-year-old switch-hitter figures to draw interest elsewhere.
- Right-hander Jeff Ferrell, who was designated for assignment by the Tigers last week, was released by Detroit yesterday, tweets Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. The 25-year-old entered the season as Detroit’s No. 21 prospect, per Baseball America, but he hasn’t pitched since May due to injury. Last season, Ferrell notched a 2.58 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 38 1/3 innings at the Double-A level.
- Outfielder Darin Mastroianni has signed a minor league contract with the Rangers, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (via Twitter). Mastroianni, 30, had a nice season as a fourth outfielder for the Twins back in 2012 but battled an ankle injury the following season and ultimately was designated for assignment in 2014. He’s bounced around the league on a number of waiver claims minor league deals since that time, making brief MLB appearances with the Blue Jays and with the Twins (in a second stint). The fleet-footed Mastroianni is a career .271/.341/.349 with 87 steals in 108 tries across 369 games.
- The Marlins released infielder Pedro Ciriaco, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Miami acquired Ciriaco from the Rangers back on July 8 in exchange for lefty Eric Jokisch (who had been designated for assignment), but he hit just .221/.239/.250 in 68 plate appearances with Triple-A New Orleans. The versatile 30-year-old has plenty of big league experience under his belt, having compiled a .268/.294/.368 slash in 649 plate appearances across 272 Major League games from 2010-15.