Cubs, Brian Matusz Agree To Minor League Deal
The Cubs have signed free-agent lefty Brian Matusz to a minor league contract, reports Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). The longtime Orioles southpaw was recently traded from Baltimore to Atlanta alongside a Competitive Balance Draft Pick in a salary dump deal. The Braves immediately designated Matusz for assignment upon making the deal and released him shortly thereafter.
The 29-year-old Matusz missed significant time with an intercostal strain this season and has struggled when healthy enough to take the mound. He’s surrendered eight runs in six innings while allowing 11 hits and seven walks with just one strikeout. Those unsightly numbers aside, Matusz has a solid track record in the bullpen, where he posted a combined 3.32 ERA with 9.4 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 in 151 2/3 innings from 2013-15. In that time he faced 333 lefties and held them to a miserable .190/.245/.320 batting line with a 100-to-17 K/BB ratio.
While off-hand comparisons to Orioles-castoff-turned-Cubs-ace Jake Arrieta are probably unavoidable, there’s not much of a parallel here, as Matusz has already been cast aside by a second team and already has enough service time to become a free agent at season’s end, whereas Arrieta was acquired in a trade with four and a half years of club control remaining. Matusz, however, will be stretched out as a starter with Triple-A Iowa, according to MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko, so it appears he’ll at least be presented with an opportunity to show that he has some rotation upside remaining. Of course, the Cubs don’t have a spot in their rotation that is open at the moment — Arrieta, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Kyle Hendricks and Jason Hammel have all pitched to a 3.05 ERA or better — but Matusz could be a depth piece in the event of an injury to one of those five or a safety net should Clayton Richard‘s recent struggles in the bullpen persist.
Nationals Agree To Terms With Comp Pick Carter Kieboom
The Nationals have agreed to terms with their first selection from this year’s amateur draft, high school shortstop Carter Kieboom, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson first reported. Bonus terms weren’t reported.
He is the younger brother of Spencer Kieboom, a 25-year-old catching prospect who’s also in the Washington system. The younger Kieboom followed his brother to Marrietta, Georgia’s Walton High School. And he, too, committed to Clemson University, but won’t join him in attending.
It’s an open question whether Kieboom can stick at shortstop for the long run, though expectations are that he’d be a quality defender at third regardless. And his bat could be good enough to carry him at the corner infield, with observers giving him high marks for instincts, bat speed, coordination, and approach at the plate.
In the aggregate, ESPN.com’s Keith Law rates Kieboom as one of the thirty best draft-eligible prospects. Other outlets aren’t quite as enamored, with Baseball America placing him 44th and MLB.com giving him #45 billing.
The Nationals have a $2.066MM allocation for the 28th overall slot, which was used to take Kieboom. Washington also had the next choice, which it used on University of Florida righty Dane Dunnning, who is still pitching in the NCAA tournament.
The club didn’t have much of a need for cost savings, as it selected just one high-schooler in the first ten rounds: southpaw Jesus Luzardo, who was plucked in the third round. The Nats gave up their first-round selection by signing Daniel Murphy.
Reds Agree To Above-Slot Bonuses With Taylor Trammell, Chris Okey
The Reds have struck deals with two key picks from the recent amateur draft, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (Twitter links). Cincinnati has agreed to terms with competitive balance selection Taylor Trammell and second-rounder Chris Okey.
Trammell went 35th overall, but landed a bonus commensurate with his pre-draft standing. The high school outfielder from Georgia gets $3.2MM, well north of the $1,837,200 pick allocation.
Baseball America rated Trammell the 13th-best prospect available this year, citing his top-tier speed, quality bat, and growing power. There’s plenty of athleticism and, per BA, growing translation of the tools. Other outlets are less bullish on the two-sport athlete, however; MLB.com ranked him 32nd, while Keith Law of ESPN.com was far less bullish, placing Trammell down in the 44th slot.
Okey is another highly-regarded player who got something extra for waiting for Cinci to pull the trigger. He’ll take down $2MM after being chosen with the 43rd overall pick, which came with a $1,497,500 slot value.
The Clemson backstop received the highest grades from the MLB.com team, which placed him at #46 among eligible prospects. He doesn’t truly stand out in any particular area, per the report, but has solid overall abilities both at and behind the plate. The other prospect evaluators cited above generally concur, placing him in the fifties entering the draft.
The Reds reportedly saved $1,562,900 on its signing of second overall pick Nick Senzel, as against the funds available for his slot. But with the new commitments, Cincinnati is now just over $300K in the hole — which it ought to have little trouble covering with later bonuses. Of course, teams can also go up to 5% over their total pool — given Cincinnati’s league-leading $13,923,700 total pool, that’s an additional $696,185 of wiggle room — without sacrificing a future pick.
Giants To Sign Ruben Tejada To Minors Deal
The Giants have inked infielder Ruben Tejada, Connor Grossman of KNBR reports. It’s a minor league deal for the 26-year-old.
Tejada was recently cut loose by the Cardinals, who had signed him to a $1.5MM deal as they looked to fill in at shortstop. Previously, Tejada was tendered a contract by the Mets but then released before his $3MM deal became guaranteed. They owe him $491K after that move.
For San Francisco, Tejada provides another middle infield option for the organization. He’s a steady but unexciting player who generally rates just below average at the plate and with the glove at short. He struggled early in St. Louis, slashing just .176/.225/.235 over forty trips to the plate.
Rangers Place Yu Darvish On 15-Day DL
The Rangers have placed star righty Yu Darvish on the 15-day DL with ongoing shoulder and neck issues, per a team announcement (via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, on Twitter). Reliever Alex Claudio will take his place on the active roster.
Darvish had only just returned from a Tommy John rehab stint, providing Texas with an ace-level arm as it seeks to capture the AL West. The 29-year-old was excellent in three starts, allowing just five earned runs and a dozen hits over 15 2/3 innings, with 19 strikeouts against six walks.
The disabled list placement isn’t necessarily a grave concern in and of itself, as the team will understandably be cautious with its prized righty. But the nebulous injury concerns that have led to it could be a major problem. It’s unclear at present what the timeline and prognosis is for Darvish.
Depending upon how things play out, Darvish’s injury status could impact the trade deadline. Texas was already said to have some interest in looking at controllable starters this summer, and the impetus could grow if Darvish misses a significant amount of time.
Angels Designate Kyle Kubitza
The Angels have designated third baseman Kyle Kubitza for assignment, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link). He was the club’s seventh-ranked prospect in the estimation of MLB.com, but lost his 40-man spot as the team continued to cycle through pitching.
Kubitza, who’ll soon turn 26, got a taste of the majors last year but struggled in 19 games of action. The former third-round pick had been productive in the lower minors, and showed fairly well last year in his first taste of the hitter-friendly PCL, but he’s off to a tepid .253/.349/.366 start in 2016.
While roster pressures are always tough, it’s somewhat surprising to see the Halos compelled to part with a decent prospect here. The team’s new leadership, under GM Billy Eppler, obviously didn’t quite see eye to eye with its prior front office. Former GM Jerry Dipoto had sent well-regarded young lefty Ricardo Sanchez to the Braves to add Kubitza back before the 2015 season.
Angels Designate David Huff, Select Al Alburquerque
The Angels made a series of roster moves involving their oft-rotated pitching staff. As MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez first suggested (Twitter links), the team will designate lefty David Huff for assignment and place righty Cory Rasmus on the 15-day DL, clearing active roster spots for right-handers A.J. Achter and Al Alburquerque.
Huff, 31, surrendered ten earned runs in just 5 1/3 frames over two starts, allowing 13 hits and four home runs along the way. He had been tasked with stepping into the rotation while the club awaits Tim Lincecum, who is expected to be ready for major league action this weekend.
Achter has provided 11 1/3 innings of 4.76 ERA pitching on the year to the Halos’ pen, but this’ll be the first shot for the veteran Albuquerque. He has thrown 21 2/3 frames at Triple-A on the season, working to a 2.49 ERA with 10.4 K/9 with 4.2 BB/9.
Dodgers Release Carl Crawford
The Dodgers have released outfielder Carl Crawford, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets. Recently designated for assignment, Crawford obviously did not draw any interest on the waiver wire.
Crawford is still owed $35MM or so on the ill-fated contract he first signed with the Red Sox, after all, and there was no chance that was being taken over by another organization. That cash will remain on the Dodgers’ books, with other teams free to add Crawford at the league minimum rate.
Though the waiver clearance was fully expected, it would be surprising if there isn’t at least some interest in the 34-year-old veteran. He has struggled this year, and continues to deal with a variety of maladies, but Crawford still owns a useful .278/.320/.400 batting line in over 1,000 plate appearances over his four seasons in Los Angeles.
That’s solid league-average hitting, which is all the more appealing when combined with his other skills. Crawford continues to move well on the bases when healthy. And he’s long been viewed as a quality outfielder. The recent returns from defensive metrics aren’t as promising, but he’s only been seen as a negative in a small and injury-riddled sample.
The fleet-footed Crawford certainly isn’t the player he once was, but as an essentially free asset he makes for an interesting addition to the open market. Organizations interested in a left-handed-hitting outfielder could do a lot worse, at a much higher cost, so he could be pursued relatively broadly for a just-released player.
Yankees Designate Layne Somsen For Assignment
The Yankees announced that they’ve designated right-hander Layne Somsen for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for first baseman Ike Davis, whose previously reported Major League deal is now official.
The 27-year-old Somsen was claimed off waivers from the Reds in late May and assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He’s posted a combined 1.44 ERA with 10.4 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9 in 25 innings between the Triple-A affiliates for New York and Cincinnati and also made his big league debut for the Reds this season, surrendering five runs in 2 1/3 innings. A 22nd-round pick by the Reds in 2013, Somsen has a strong 2.42 ERA in 189 2/3 career minor league innings to go along with a 193-to-77 K/BB ratio.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/13/16
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Angels announced today that right-hander Cody Satterwhite has been released from Triple-A Salt Lake so that he may sign with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (Twitter link). The 29-year-old Satterwhite — a former farmhand of the Tigers and Mets — was in his first season in the Angels organization and had pitched to a 1.80 ERA with 7.9 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 18 relief appearances, totaling 25 innings. The former second-round pick (Tigers, 2008) has a career 3.71 ERA in 96 innings at the Triple-A level.
Earlier Moves
- The Blue Jays are set to select the contract of left-hander Scott Diamond from Triple-A Buffalo, reports Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. The Canadian-born southpaw hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2013 with the Twins, but he has a strong 3.16 ERA through 74 innings in the minors this season. Diamond, 29, isn’t one to miss many bats (4.5 K/9 at Triple-A this season, 4.2 K/9 in 343 MLB innings), but he’s displayed excellent control throughout his career and keeps the ball on the ground quite well. He’s been starting with Buffalo but could step into a multi-inning relief role for the Jays; Nicholson-Smith writes that manager John Gibbons said the team’s bullpen is “on fumes right now.” The Jays will need to make a 40-man move to add Diamond to the mix, but they could simply move fellow lefty Franklin Morales to the 60-day DL in order to create room.