Angels Designate Javy Guerra For Assignment; Place Joe Smith On DL
The Angels have designated righty Javy Guerra for assignment, as MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweets. It’s the second trip through DFA limbo for Guerra this year; previously, he cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment. Guerra’s roster spot will go to lefty David Huff, who is starting tonight. Also coming up for the Halos is righty Mike Morin, who takes over with set-up man Joe Smith hitting the 15-day DL with a hamstring strain. Smith tried to pitch through the pain in his hamstring for three weeks, the L.A. Times’ Pedro Moura tweets, but he’s ultimately succumbed to a stint on the disabled list. His hope will to be ready for activation in the minimum allotment of 12 days (his stint is retroactive to Saturday).
Guerra, 30, has appeared in seven games for the Halos this season, totaling 6 1/3 innings and surrendering four runs on five hits and seven walks (one intentional) in that time. His last effective stint at the big league level came in 2014, when he pitched to a 2.91 ERA in 46 1/3 innings for the White Sox, and it’s also worth noting that he was a solid bullpen piece for the Dodgers back in 2011-12, even serving as the team’s closer for much of 2011. In 156 2/3 innings at the Major League level, Guerra has a 2.99 ERA, though his strikeout rate (7.4 K/9) is below average for a reliever, and he’s often battled through sub-par control as well (career 4.3 BB/9).
Guerra has already cleared waivers once this season, so one would think there’s a good chance that he can do so again. However, he’ll again have the option to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, which could come into play if Guerra believes there’s another club that presents him a better opportunity to return to the Majors.
Yankees Designate Tyler Olson, Select Anthony Swarzak
The Yankees have designated lefty Tyler Olson for assignment, per a team announcement. The club selected the contract of righty Anthony Swarzak, who takes Olson’s 40-man slot, and optioned fellow righty Luis Cessa to open an active roster spot.
The 30-year-old Swarzak returned to American ball on a minor league pact with the Yankees after spending the bulk of 2015 pitching for Korea’s Doosan Bears. He’s a veteran of six big league seasons, all of which have come with the Twins with the exception of 2015, which he began with the Indians and finished in Korea. Swarzak, a former second-round pick and well-regarded prospect, never established himself as the starter Minnesota had hoped when Baseball America rated him as the game’s No. 100 overall prospect prior to the 2006 season. However, he did settle in as a useful long reliever/spot starter for the Twins for a few seasons, working to a 4.21 ERA with 5.5 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 380 2/3 innings from 2011-14. His best season was a 2013 campaign that saw him post a 2.91 ERA in 96 1/3 innings for Minnesota.
Olson, 26, worked 2 2/3 innings for the Yankees this season and allowed a pair of earned runs. He’s also recorded 27 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level, though his 5.27 ERA there is lackluster as well. New York acquired Olson from the Dodgers alongside Ronald Torreyes this offseason, but he’ll now be faced with his third DFA since the end of the 2015 campaign. The former seventh-rounder has a 3.99 career ERA in the minors.
Pirates To Promote Jameson Taillon
The Pirates will promote highly-regarded pitching prospect Jameson Taillon for his major league debut tomorrow, per a team announcement. He’ll square off against the defending NL-champion Mets in his first taste of the bigs.
Taillon, the second overall pick of the 2010 draft, moved steadily up the ranks in the Bucs’ farm before he was derailed by injuries. First came a lengthy absence for Tommy John surgery, then a hernia. The hope had been that he’d be available this time last year, but the Pirates may yet be rewarded for their patience.
Though he last appeared professionally in 2013, the 24-year-old righty has returned with a vengeance in 2016. Over 61 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level, Taillon carries a 2.04 ERA. He has allowed just 44 base hits and is walking less than a batter per nine while recording a sturdy 8.9 K/9 strikeout rate.
Taillon discussed his remarkable return just yesterday in an interview with SB Nation and MLBTR scribe Charlie Wilmoth. He says he matured his approach, got stronger, and refined his mechanics even while recovering from his injuries.
Of course, the move also comes at a point where Taillon is unlikely to qualify for Super Two status. Even if he’s able to stick in the majors the rest of the way the top prospect could only accumulate 118 days of service.
As Taillon tells Wilmoth, the Super Two matter isn’t one that concerns him. “As far as the Super Two rule goes,” he said, “I’d hate for that to be a reason to keep someone down if they’re 100 percent ready, but I felt like I actually had something to work on, so that kind of cancels it out for me.”
It remains to be seen not only whether Taillon can perform, but also what kind of role he might play the rest of the way. His long layoff raises the specter of an innings limit; while he has worked to over 140 frames in two prior seasons, he missed two full campaigns in the interim.
Manager Clint Hurdle did note that the long layoff gives Taillon “a full gas tank” to work with, though he also suggested that a permanent rotation spot is no sure thing. Per the skipper, factors both in and out of Taillon’s control will determine the team’s course moving forward. (Reporting via Rob Biertempfel & Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Twitter links, and Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, via Twitter.)
Even if Taillon doesn’t hold down a starting job for all of 2016, he — and similarly hyped youngster Tyler Glasnow — could have a major impact on the Pirates’ fate this year. As I explained in listing those two among twenty prospects whose promotions could alter the trade deadline, both could have an impact as starters and/or relievers, deepening the staff and shifting the club’s role in the market this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/7/2016
We’ll keep tabs on the day’s minor moves here:
- White Sox righty Phillippe Aumont has retired, according to an announcement from the club’s Triple-A affiliate. The 27-year-old, once a heralded prospect with the Phillies and Mariners — and a significant piece of the 2009 Cliff Lee trade — had surrendered 15 earned runs in 11 innings on the year, with 14 strikeouts but also 11 walks on his ledger. Aumont last appeared in the majors nearly one year ago, but it doesn’t appear as if he’ll continue trying to make his way back. Over 43 2/3 major league frames, he compiled a 6.80 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 7.0 BB/9.
- The Angels will select the contract of lefty David Huff to start tonight’s game, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. As MLBTR reported, Huff signed on with the Halos in mid-May after opting out of his contract with the Royals. After carrying a sterling 29:2 K/BB ratio while working from the pen with the Royals’ organization, the 31-year-old has allowed 7 earned runs over 11 2/3 innings from the Triple-A Salt Lake rotation. He has continued to show an elevated strikeout rate as against his prior track record, however. It remains to be seen whether Huff can earn a longer shot at the major league level, whether from the rotation or as a multi-inning-capable reliever.
Dodgers Designate Carl Crawford For Assignment
The Dodgers have designated outfielder Carl Crawford for assignment and recalled catcher/infielder Austin Barnes from Triple-A Oklahoma City to take his roster spot, per a team announcement.
Designating Crawford could bring about a significant financial hit for the Dodgers, who will likely have to pay the remaining $35MM on his contract, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter). Crawford, who’s signed through next season, “got caught in the numbers game,” Dodgers vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes told MLB Network Radio (Twitter link). The Dodgers do have a slew of non-Crawford outfield options in Joc Pederson, Trayce Thompson, Scott Van Slyke, Howie Kendrick and Enrique Hernandez – not to mention the injured Yasiel Puig and Andre Ethier – but this is nonetheless quite a fall from grace for such a high-profile player.
As a quality hitter who offered excellent defense and established himself as a terror on the bases, Crawford was a premier all-around player with the Rays over the first several seasons of his career. The four-time All-Star’s success in Tampa Bay led the division-rival Red Sox to sign him to a seven-year, $142MM contract in 2010, but Crawford fared poorly in Boston during parts of two seasons. The Red Sox then shipped him to the Dodgers in 2012 as part of a salary-dumping trade that also featured first baseman Adrian Gonzalez going to Los Angeles. As noted by the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham (Twitter link), Crawford was just two days removed from Tommy John surgery at the time.
Injuries have long been an issue for Crawford, who appeared in just 310 games with LA prior to today’s designation. He began this season on the disabled list with a back issue and returned to appear in 30 games, during which he hit a terrible .185/.230/.235 in 87 plate appearances. To Crawford’s credit, he was a solid piece for the Dodgers from 2013-15 – slashing .286/.328/.414 with 18 home runs and 48 steals in 1,032 trips to the plate – but LA has now deemed the soon-to-be 35-year-old expendable.
Crawford, a career .290/.330/.435 hitter who has swatted 136 homers and stolen 480 bases, could catch on elsewhere at a cheap cost after he clears waivers (assuming no one claims him, of course). The Dodgers would have to pick up the remainder of his salary.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/6/16
Here are the day’s most notable moves from around the game, all coming courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy, unless otherwise noted…
- The Nationals brought back infielder Steve Lombardozzi on a minors deal, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson reports. Lombardozzi, 27, saw minimal playing time in each of the last two years at the major league level after playing a significant role in D.C. during his 2011-13 stint. After failing to find a suitable opportunity over the winter, Lombardozzi joined the independent league Southern Maryland Blue Crabs to start 2016. He was off to a .367/.401/.428 start with eight steals before the Nats came calling.
- Righty Nick Tepesch has joined the Dodgers on a minor league deal and will take the ball tonight at Triple-A, as Oklahoma City Dodgers broadcaster Alex Freeman tweets. Interestingly, he’s squaring off against his recent teammates at the Rangers’ top affiliate. The 27-year-old recorded over 200 frames for the Rangers over 2013-14, posting a 4.66 ERA with 5.4 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9, but missed all of 2015 and eventually underwent thoracic outlet surgery. After returning for 11 starts at the Triple-A level this year, where he tallied a 4.11 ERA, Tepesch opted out of his minor league deal with Texas.
- Outfielder Jake Goebbert has been outrighted to Triple-A Durham by the Rays after being designated for assignment. The 28-year-old entered the season as an accomplished Triple-A hitter, but he’s struggled mightily with Durham this season, hitting just .183/.288/.275. Even with his career numbers at Triple-A weighed down by his 2016 performance, Goebbert is a lifetime .271/.375/.444 hitter at that level. The Pirates saw enough in him to give him a big league deal this winter, but he didn’t make it through Spring Training and was ultimately claimed off waivers by Tampa Bay after being designated for assignment. He’ll look to get back to his productive ways now that he’s been removed from the 40-man roster and hope to factor into Tampa Bay’s big league plans later in the year.
- The White Sox outrighted outfielder Daniel Fields off their 40-man roster over the weekend, and the 25-year-old was released shortly thereafter (presumably upon refusing the assignment, as was his right having been previously outrighted). Fields is a career .281/.359/.423 hitter in in 672 plate appearances at the Double-A level, but he’s struggled to a .223/.312/.345 line in 957 PAs at the Triple-A level. The former sixth-round pick (2009) had spent his entire career in the Tigers organization prior to this season.
- The White Sox also picked up veteran catcher Brett Hayes in a trade that sent cash considerations to the Diamondbacks. The 32-year-old Hayes tallied 32 plate appearances with Cleveland last season and has appeared in parts of each of the past seven Major League seasons, splitting his time between the Marlins, Royals and Indians. He’s a career .205/.250/.359 hitter at the big league level and a .239/.279/.387 hitter in nearly 1200 PAs at the Triple-A level.
- The Cardinals have signed right-hander Daniel Bard to a minor league deal after he was released by the division-rival Pirates. St. Louis will become the latest organization to attempt to revitalize Bard’s once dominant right arm in the hope that he can resurface as a quality bullpen piece. Bard, a former first-round pick, was a strong setup piece for the Red Sox from 2009-11 (specifically in 2010) but struggled terribly in 2012 and had a cataclysmic decline in the years to follow, as he lost the ability to throw the ball over the plate entirely. His last stint in affiliated ball came with the Rangers’ Class-A affiliate in 2014 when he faced just 18 men and walked nine of them in addition to hitting another seven.
- Right-hander Felipe Paulino, who was granted his release from the Indians in order to pursue a deal in Japan late last month, has signed a deal with the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, his agents at Octagon tweeted last week. The 32-year-old Paulino, a veteran of six Major League seasons, was pitching quite well for Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate, having logged a 2.77 ERA in 10 relief appearances. He’s worked as a starter for the vast majority of his career and has displayed an ability to miss bats at the big league level but has nonetheless struggled to a 5.22 ERA in 403 2/3 big league frames. This will be Paulino’s first stint in NPB, but as we often see, players that have struggled to thrive in the Majors can still make an excellent living pitching in Asia.
Cardinals Option Kolten Wong To Triple-A, Activate Jhonny Peralta
The Cardinals have optioned second baseman Kolten Wong to Triple-A Memphis, the team announced tonight. The move will clear a spot for the activation of shortstop Jhonny Peralta from the disabled list — a move that will become official tomorrow. Peralta has spent the entire season to date on the disabled list due to a fractured left thumb.
General manager John Mozeliak revealed last week that upon Peralta’s activation from the disabled list, he would serve as the club’s everyday third baseman, with Matt Carpenter sliding over to second base. The shuffled defensive alignment will allow hot-hitting Aledmys Diaz to remain the Cardinals’ everyday shortstop, but it also vastly reduces Wong’s opportunity for playing time. Rather than reduce Wong to a bench role, the club has elected to send him to Memphis to get everyday at-bats.
While Wong’s production this season certainly merits the demotion — he’s batting just .222/.306/.286 on the season — the decision nonetheless had to be a difficult one for a Cardinals front office that just awarded Wong with a five-year, $25.5MM contract extension three months ago. Many pundits raised an eyebrow at the extension at the time given Wong’s second-half decline in 2015, but his overall .262/.321/.386 slash line from last season was sound, relative to his peers, and as a former first-round pick that batted .280/.343/.434 in the first half of that 2015 season, there was reason to believe that he could make some strides in terms of consistency and deliver a better overall performance in 2016. That, however, clearly has not been the case.
Diaz, on the other hand, has been an opposite tale. Initially signed to a four-year, $8MM contract as an international free agent out of Cuba, Diaz floundered throughout his early minor league tenure and was actually outrighted off the 40-man roster last July. Any club could’ve had him for the remainder of the $8MM on that deal, but he instead cleared waivers and remained in the Cardinals organization. While that seemed somewhat inconsequential at the time, it’s proven to be a godsend for the Redbirds in 2016, as Diaz forced his way onto the roster early in the season in the wake of Peralta’s injury and has subsequently batted .328/.359/.547 with eight homers in 206 plate appearances. While Diaz has been a liability with the glove — 12 errors, -5.4 UZR — his bat was enough for the Cardinals to designate presumptive Peralta stopgap Ruben Tejada for assignment recently and will now keep him in the team’s everyday plans.
The return of Peralta likely means reduced playing time for utility man Jedd Gyorko, whom the Cardinals picked up in an offseason swap that sent Jon Jay to the Padres. Gyorko had been serving as a platoon partner for the struggling Wong, but with Carpenter, Diaz and Peralta now set to receive regular plate appearances, it may become more difficult to work him into the lineup with regularity.
Kris Johnson Signs Three-Year Deal With NPB’s Hiroshima Carp
Former Major League left-hander Kris Johnson has signed a new three-year deal with the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (links to Twitter), who adds that the deal is believed to contain the largest guarantee ever for a foreign player in Asia. Johnson’s deal could ultimately top $15MM, per Crasnick, though the implication appears to be that the $15MM is not entirely guaranteed, so there may be incentives or an option required to surpass that mark.
Regardless, it seems that Johnson, a client of Sosnick, Cobbe & Karon, has secured a very notable sum from the Carp as a show of faith following a dominant 2015 season and a similarly brilliant start to the 2016 campaign. The former Pirates and Twins hurler turned in an incredible 1.85 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 in 194 1/3 innings last year, and he’s followed up that performance with a 1.99 ERA through his first 81 1/3 frames to open the 2016 campaign. All told, he’s racked up 275 2/3 innings of 1.89 ERA ball since making the jump to Japanese ball.
While the 31-year-old never quite put it together while pitching in America, there were reasons to believe in some upside. He was selected with the 40th overall pick of the 2006 draft by the Red Sox and posted solid results as a 23-year-old in Double-A back in 2008 before reaching Triple-A as a 24-year-old in 2009. However, Johnson never found consistency at the Triple-A level and ultimately wound up with a 4.46 ERA through 563 Triple-A frames and a 5.32 ERA in just 23 2/3 MLB innings between Pittsburgh and Minnesota. Following the 2014 season, the Twins sold Johnson’s rights to the Carp for a reported six-figure sum after the lefty posted a 3.48 ERA in 132 innings for Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate.
Assuming his three-year contract begins next season, he’ll now be in Japan through at least his age-34 campaign. That would mean he could potentially try to return to the Majors for the latter stages of his career, if he’s able to maintain this level of success, and perhaps cash in on a notable payday or two in his late 30s.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/5/2016
Today’s minor moves from around baseball:
- Right-hander Jeff Walters has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Las Vegas and will remain with the Mets organization, according to ESPN’s Adam Rubin. Walters, whom the Mets designated for assignment earlier this week, had the option of becoming a free agent after clearing waivers. He’ll instead try to improve on the 9.27 ERA he put up 22 1/3 innings with Las Vegas prior to his designation.
- The Royals have signed infielder Irving Falu to a minor league contract, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports (via Twitter). Falu, 32, was with the Royals organization from 2006-13 and then spent time with the Brewers, Padres and Reds the previous two seasons. He opened 2016 in the Mexican Baseball League and slashed .359/.410/.476 with five home runs in 237 plate appearances, also adding nine steals. In 130 career major league PAs, Falu has hit .277/.320/.345.
Red Sox Make Handful Of Roster Moves
The Red Sox have placed catcher Ryan Hanigan and catcher/left fielder Blake Swihart on the 15-day disabled list, brought up outfielder Rusney Castillo, right-hander Heath Hembree and backstop Sandy Leon from Triple-A Pawtucket, and optioned righty Noe Ramirez, the team announced.
Both Hanigan and Swihart left Boston’s win over Toronto on Saturday with injuries. Hanigan departed in the sixth inning with a neck strain, while Swihart exited in the seventh after crashing into the wall down the left field line on a catch and hurting his left ankle.
Hanigan hasn’t offered much at the plate this year, having hit an ugly .186/.250/.229 in 70 plate appearances, though he has thrown out six of 19 would-be base stealers (good for an above-average 32 percent rate). Swihart has provided a decent .258/.365/.355 line in 74 PAs while adjusting to an outfield role. The losses of him and Hanigan will obviously have a negative effect on the Red Sox’s catcher depth behind Christian Vazquez, which is why the club promoted Leon. In 129 PAs with Pawtucket this season, Leon has batted .237/.310/.333 with two home runs. He owns a .187/.258/.225 line in 235 major league trips to the plate.
With Swihart down, Castillo could now have a chance to reenter the picture for the Red Sox, though he’ll sit Sunday in favor of Chris Young. Since signing a $72MM deal with Boston in 2014, the Cuba native has garnered just 333 big league PAs, hitting an underwhelming .265/.304/.383. He has spent nearly all of this year in the minors, where he has continued to post less-than-stellar statistics (.241/.302/.317 with one homer in 159 PAs).
Hembree, on the other hand, has been successful for the Red Sox this season. The 27-year-old has compiled a 2.14 ERA, 7.71 K/9 and 2.14 BB/9 in 21 big league innings. Those numbers are relatively similar to his career totals (2.81, 7.17 and 2.95, respectively) over 64 frames. Hembree has also pitched to a solid 3.07 ERA, complemented by a superb 11.0 K/9, in 246 1/3 minor league innings.
Since debuting in the majors last season, Ramirez has racked up 24 innings of 5.25 ERA ball to accompany a 9.00 K/9 and 5.25 BB/9. Ramirez’s minor league career has been a different story, though, as he has a 2.86 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 283 innings at lower levels.