Tigers Re-Sign Bobby Parnell
The Tigers have announced the re-signing of reliever Bobby Parnell to a minor league deal, as Lynn Henning of the Detroit News was first to report on Twitter. Third baseman Casey McGehee — who, like Parnell, was released on Monday — is reportedly also likely to re-join the organization.
By releasing and re-signing Parnell, 31, the Tigers avoided the need to pay him a $100K retention bonus. Though the results on the field this spring weren’t pretty, Parnell was said to be ramping up his velocity as camp progressed.
The former closer made it back from Tommy John surgery last year, only to strike out 13 and walk 17 in his 24 innings. Of course, he has shown plenty more previously. Over the 2010 to 2013 time span, he ran up a 2.79 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9.
Mariners Acquire Nick Vincent
The Marines have acquired righty Nick Vincent from the Padres, per a team announcement. San Diego will receive a player to be named later in the swap. MLB.com’s A.J. Cassavell first reported that a deal was in the works, via Twitter.
Seattle had long been on the look for another middle relief option with a variety of injuries impacting the team’s depth. The out-of-options Vincent was obviously available at a minimum cost, and will slot right into the pen.
Vincent, 29, owns a sparkling 2.63 ERA over 150 2/3 MLB frames, with 9.6 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9. And he’ll be pitching at the league minimum this season before qualifying for arbitration next winter (if he achieves sufficient service time).
That looks like an intriguing package, but there are reasons he was had so cheaply. Vincent doesn’t generate very many groundballs and has a sub-90 average fastball. He may be in for some regression in terms of allowing home runs and saw his control lag last year (3.9 BB/9). Metrics like SIERA (3.90) and xFIP (4.26) took note of such factors in valuing Vincent’s 23 frames in 2015, though they have liked him quite a bit in prior years and it’s fair to note that he was rather dominant over his 50 1/3 innings at Triple-A.
Nationals Release, Re-Sign Bronson Arroyo, Burke Badenhop
The Nationals have released and re-signed right-handers Bronson Arroyo and Burke Badenhop, according to a club announcement. Both players had joined the team on minor league deals over the winter, and have now agreed to new minor league pacts to stay in the organization.
The moves were made because of opt-out terms in their prior agreements, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com tweets. Their original opt-out dates were not reported, but certainly may have fallen in this general time frame. It’s not clear if and when the players can elect to seek another opportunity moving forward.
Arroyo, 39, had been in the rotation mix before a rotator cuff issue sidelined him this spring. He’s expected to rehab and make an attempt to return to the hill over the summer. While the organization has several young options that will compete at Triple-A in hopes of earning starting shots if a need arises at the major league level, Arroyo could certainly present an option if he’s able to work back to full health.
Badenhop, meanwhile, had been looking to crack the pen after an up-and-down year with the Reds in 2015. The groundball-heavy righty didn’t have good results in spring action and wasn’t able to force his way into a fairly competitive relief situation. But he’ll look to rebound at Triple-A and re-enter the picture later in the year.
Angels Acquire Chris Jones From Orioles
The Orioles announced that they have acquired minor league outfielder Natanael Delgado and infielder Erick Salcedo from the Angels in exchange for right-hander Chris Jones.
Jones, 27, was designated for assignment less than a week ago. Now, he has been traded for the third time in his career. As Tim Dierkes noted on Wednesday, Jones was sent by the Indians to the Braves in October 2011 in the Derek Lowe trade. In April 2013, he was traded from Atlanta to the Orioles for Luis Ayala. Last year, Jones made 22 starts and eight relief appearances for the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate. In that span, he posted a 2.94 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9. Jones will help provide rotational depth in Triple-A, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (on Twitter).
Delgado, 20, was ranked as the No. 27 prospect in the Angels’ system after the 2014 season by Baseball America. Delgado signed with the Angels for $280K in 2012 and has tacked on muscle mass and strength since then, per BA. Blessed with “extremely strong hands and above-average bat speed,” Baseball America believes that he’ll have to improve his hitting in order to have value going forward.
Salcedo, 23 in June, has seen time at shortstop, second base, third base, center field, and right field in the minors. The Orioles’ press release indicates that his future will be in the infield, however. Salcedo was ranked as the Angels’ No. 27 prospect after the 2013 season by BA.
Rangers Acquire Bryan Holaday From Tigers
The Rangers announced that they have acquired catcher Bryan Holaday from the Tigers in exchange for right-hander Myles Jaye and catcher Bobby Wilson. In a related move, the Rangers have designated left-handed pitcher Sam Freeman for assignment.
The Rangers have been on the lookout for a catcher this offseason and it appears that the asking prices for their more ambitious targets were too high. Texas was connected to Brewers backstop Jonathan Lucroy as well as Padres catcher Derek Norris. A little over a week ago, however, Rangers GM Jon Daniels said that he was prepared to go into the season with the catchers he already had in camp.
“At this point I anticipate both our catchers are in camp,” Daniels said. “We are open if there is a true improvement to the team, but we’re not going to change for change’s sake.”
Now, Daniels has found what he perceives to be a better understudy for Robinson Chirinos. The Rangers will presumably use Holaday as their No. 2 catcher instead of Chris Gimenez, Michael McKenry, or 2010 sixth-round pick Brett Nicholas, who was said to be having a strong spring. Holaday is not as big of a name as Lucroy, but he came at a much lower cost than the Brewers catcher would have and is also more affordable (Lucroy will earn $4MM in 2016).
Holaday was out-of-options and didn’t have a spot in Detroit with James McCann and Jarrod Saltalamacchia ahead of him. The 28-year-old TCU product has appeared in the majors in each of the last four seasons for the Tigers. Over a combined 282 plate appearances, he owns a .251/.283/.340 slash line. In parts of three Triple-A seasons, he has slashed .245/.305/.339.
Wilson, 32, spent time with the Rays and Rangers in 2015 and didn’t do much with his bat in 147 plate appearances (.189 /.255/.250). Of course, Wilson isn’t known much for his offense and instead has built his reputation as an excellent defensive catcher.
Jaye is a 24-year-old right-handed starter. A former 17th round pick of the Blue Jays in 2010, Jaye pitched to a 3.29 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 26 Double-A outings last year.
Freeman is out-of-options and the Rangers did not have a spot for him on their 40-man roster. The 28-year-old seems likely to get picked up by a team in need of relief help. For his career, Freeman owns a 3.23 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 across four big league seasons.
Diamondbacks Release Matt Reynolds
The Diamondbacks announced that they have unconditionally released left-hander Matt Reynolds.
Reynolds, 31, agreed to an arbitration-avoiding deal with Arizona back in November which gave him a $675K salary for 2016. He also could have added $25K to that sum with 55 appearances. The southpaw spent the bulk of 2015 in Triple-A Reno where he pitched to a 5.58 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 across 50 innings. He also spent the last five weeks of the season with Arizona where he allowed seven earned runs while striking out 18 batters with seven walks across 13 2/3 innings.
Back in November, MLBTR’s Steve Adams identified Reynolds as a potential non-tender candidate. The D’Backs retained the reliever for less than his projected $800K arbitration salary, but his improved value apparently did not sell the team on keeping him. Reynolds is a client of agent John Shinn, as shown in the MLBTR Agency Database.
Cubs Release, Re-Sign Victorino, Parra, Kawasaki
1:55pm: The team has indeed reached new contracts with all three players, ESPNChicago.com’s Jesse Rogers reports on Twitter.
10:43am: The Cubs have released Shane Victorino, Manny Parra, and Munenori Kawasaki, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports (Twitter links). Chicago has interest in reaching new deals with all three, but obviously wasn’t willing to add them to the active roster or pay the $100K roster bonuses that each would have commanded as an Article XX(B) free agent.
Victorino had already been told he wouldn’t make the active roster, and is reportedly taking an opportunity to rehab his injured calf before moving onto the Triple-A roster. The other two players also seemed like longshots to crack a deep Cubs roster coming into the spring. Parra, 33, has had his moments as a southpaw pen piece, but was looking up at Travis Wood and Clayton Richard in the organization’s pecking order. Things were even tougher for the defensive-minded Kawasaki, who was buried behind multiple infielders.
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/29/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- Padres righty Philip Humber has decided to retire after learning he wouldn’t make the club, A.J. Cassavell of MLB.com tweets. Now 33, Humber was once the third overall pick in the amateur draft, but never was able to consistently deliver results at the MLB level and will end his career with a 5.31 ERA in 371 innings. He last cracked the majors back in 2013 with the Astros. Of course, Humber also twirled an exceedingly rare perfect game for the White Sox in 2012, giving him quite a notable place in the history books.
- Shane Robinson has requested and been given his release by the Indians, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports on Twitter. Robinson had been on the fringes of the Cleveland outfield competition, but the club was set to go with other options and he exercised the opt-out clause that MLBTR recently reported. The 31-year-old is valued more for his glove than his bat; he owns a .237/.302/.313 batting line in 649 career plate appearances over parts of six seasons.
- As expected, Roberto Hernandez has officially exercised his opt-out clause and requested that he be released by the Blue Jays, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets. The 35-year-old is hopeful of finding a major league opportunity elsewhere after Toronto decided not to add him to the active roster (and take on what would have been a $1.25MM salary). In 84 2/3 innings last year, Hernandez worked to a 4.36 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.
- Lefty Caleb Thielbar is headed to the indy league St. Paul Saints, Seth Stohs of TwinsDaily.com tweets. The former Twins southpaw, who’s just 29, played a bit role in Minnesota’s pen over 2013-14 but only got five innings in the majors last year. He had good run prevention numbers at Triple-A, but uninspiring peripherals may have tamped down interest from major league teams.
Rangers Release Drew Stubbs
The Rangers have released outfielder Drew Stubbs, per an announcement from club executive VP of communications John Blake.
He had exercised his opt-out provision, Jeff Wilson of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram reports (Twitter links). Texas would likely welcome a reunion on a new minors deal if Stubbs can’t find a gig elsewhere, Wilson adds.
There were several factors at play here for Texas in deciding not to add Stubbs to the 40-man. His most valuable assets are speed and defense up the middle, and Ian Desmond‘s work at center in the spring may reduce their appeal of carrying a backup for Delino DeShields Jr. And, of course, there’s reason to believe that one or both of fellow right-handed-hitting outfield options Justin Ruggiano and Ryan Rua could provide more with the bat.
Stubbs, 31, has had a couple of solid seasons on offense, but on the whole carries a batting line that is about 10% below the league mean. He’s never graded as a standout defender, but has a solid glove. And while he hasn’t always maintained a sky-high stolen base total, Stubbs has rated as a truly elite baserunner.
Marlins Release Justin Maxwell, Don Kelly
The Marlins have released outfielder Justin Maxwell and infielder Don Kelly, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports (Twitter links). Both were in camp on minor league deals.
Mawell had exercised an opt-out clause, and obviously Miami was not willing to add him to the 40-man. His deal would have paid him $1.1MM at the major league level. The 32-year-old had an early-season renaissance with the Giants last year, but ultimately produced at just a .209/.275/.341 clip in his 274 plate appearances on the season.
Kelly, meanwhile, was an Article XX(B) free agent and thus would’ve been due a $100K roster bonus had he been kept in the minors. Now 36, Kelly took just one major league plate appearance last year, though he did make a big league showing for the seventh consecutive season. The glove-first infielder also only managed to suit up for a dozen minor league games with the Miami organization in 2015.