Padres Return Rule 5 Pick Blake Smith To White Sox
Padres pitcher Blake Smith has cleared waivers, according to Dennis Lin of U-T San Diego (on Twitter). The Padres will now return the Rule 5 Draft selection to the White Sox.
Smith, 28, was a second round pick of the Dodgers in 2009 The University of California product was in the Los Angeles organization until May 2015 when he was shipped to the White Sox for left-hander Eric Surkamp.
Last year, Smith split time between Double-A (with both Dodgers and White Sox affiliates) and Triple-A, posting a combined 3.23 ERA with 10.9 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9. When he was left exposed, the Padres pounced in the Rule 5 draft. However, he apparently did not do enough to compel the Padres to add him to the big league bullpen.
Added To The 40-Man Roster: Sunday
As Opening Day approaches, teams will be making tough roster decisions involving their veteran players. Some of these decisions pertain to Article XX(B) free agents who have their opt-out date on Tuesday, though other players have opt-outs that fall on Sunday or Monday. We’ll keep track of the players who make the big league roster cut here:
- The Mariners confirmed that Dae-Ho Lee has been added to the 40-man roster, as Bob Dutton of The News Tribune tweets. Lee had the ability to opt out of his minor league deal today if he did not make the 40-man cut. Per the terms of his deal, the Korean first baseman will earn a $1MM base salary with $3MM in possible bonuses.
- Mariners right-handed reliever Joel Peralta has been told he’ll be added to the 40-man roster, Greg Johns of MLB.com tweets. However, nothing is official yet since the 40-man roster is currently full. It’s possible that a move involving Jesus Montero could free up a spot for the reliever.
- The Brewers have added Blaine Boyer to their 25-man roster, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Journal-Sentinel (on Twitter). Boyer, 34, posted a 2.49 ERA in 65 games for the Twins last season, but that was offset by a sub-par 4.6 K/9. Now that Boyer’s fate has been decided, Milwaukee must figure out what to do with Franklin Morales and Chris Capuano who have opt outs on Monday and Tuesday (respectively).
- Brewers outfielder Ramon Flores will make the Brewers’ big league roster, as Todd Rosiak of the Journal-Sentinel tweets. Flores was out-of-options, so the team did not have the option of sending him down to the minors.
- Left-hander Ross Detwiler has been told he’ll be on the Indians‘ Opening Day roster, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com tweets. Per the terms of his deal, Detwiler will earn a $1MM base salary with the opportunity to add another $1.5MM in performance bonuses. The former No. 6 overall draft pick spent last season with the Rangers and Braves but struggled with both teams.
Indians Release Will Venable, Joe Thatcher
The Indians have released outfielder Will Venable and left-hander Joe Thatcher, as Jordan Bastian of MLB.com tweets.
Venable, 33, was traded from the Padres to the Rangers in August of last year. After hitting .258/.318/.378 in 308 plate appearances for San Diego, Venable’s slash line dropped to .182 .325 .227 in 82 plate appearances for Texas. In total, Venable slashed .244/.320/.350, numbers that were a step up from 2014 but not in step with his previous Padres seasons. The Turner Gary Sports client would have received a $1.5MM base with up to $2MM in incentives had he made the Indians’ roster.
Thatcher was informed on Saturday that he would not be making the team. Thatcher could have accepted a minor league assignment with a June 1st opt-out date, but he apparently requested his release instead. The 34-year-old pitched to a 3.18 ERA with 10.3 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 across 43 appearances last season. Those 43 outings came across two separate stints for the Astros as he was designated for assignment in July and re-signed in August. In a small sample size of 3.2 IP, Thatcher allowed just two hits, fanned four, and walked only one batter in his second turn with Houston.
Braves Acquire Eric O’Flaherty From Pirates
10:15am: The Pirates have confirmed the swap via press release. In exchange for O’Flaherty, the Bucs will receive cash considerations.
9:50am: The Braves have acquired left-hander Eric O’Flaherty from the Pirates, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). O’Flaherty inked a minor league deal with the Pirates in February and, roughly six weeks later, his Pittsburgh stint is over. There is no word yet on what the Pirates will receive in return. However, Atlanta probably didn’t give up much in the deal as they satisfied their need for a southpaw in the bullpen. 
The deal brings O’Flaherty back to the organization where he has enjoyed his best seasons. From 2009 through 2013, the reliever posted a stellar 1.99 ERA, though it came with less impressive rates of 7.2 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9. In a limited sample size of 20 innings in 2014, the lefty posted a 2.25 ERA with 6.8 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9. Could a return to Atlanta mark a return to strong pitching for the 31-year-old? He’s hoping that will be the case after a turbulent 2015, his first full season back from Tommy John surgery.
The veteran began the 2015 season with the A’s before an August trade shipped him to the Mets. In 25 games for Oakland, O’Flaherty pitched to a 5.91 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9. Things dipped even further from there in his 8 and 2/3 innings for the Mets as he allowed 13 runs with only 6 strikeouts and 5 walks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Chris Denorfia Opts Out Of Yankees Deal
The Yankees announced that outfielder Chris Denorfia has exercised his opt-out clause. Denorfia signed a minor league pact with the Yankees in early March that allowed him to exit the contract by the end of the month.
Denorfia, 36 in July, inked a one-year deal worth $2.6MM with the Cubs prior to the 2015 season. The veteran turned in a .269/.319/.373 slash line with three homers across 231 plate appearances, numbers that weren’t in line with the best work of his career. Still, he offers solid hitting against lefty pitching with a career .285/.353/.419 line in those situations.
Prior to his slide in 2014, Denorfia had a run of four solid seasons at the plate, and he was hoping to return to that form for the Bombers. Instead, he’ll presumably seek employment elsewhere with an eye on turning things around.
Dale Thayer Opts Out Of Orioles Contract
Veteran right-handed reliever Dale Thayer has opted out of his minor league deal with the Orioles, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes has learned. Thayer is now a free agent. He allowed three runs and struck out six batters in six spring innings.
Thayer had an uphill battle for a roster spot in a relatively well-defined Orioles bullpen. Top candidates for relief jobs include Zach Britton, Darren O’Day, Mychal Givens, Brian Matusz, Brad Brach, Vance Worley, T.J. McFarland, Odrisamer Despaigne, and out-of-options prospect Dylan Bundy. Those names only represent the most established options, making Thayer a long shot to crack the roster. For example, Zach Phillips was recently signed as an insurance policy to banged up southpaw Matusz.
Thayer struggled to a 4.06 ERA with 5.97 K/9 and 3.58 BB/9 with the Padres in 2015. He was remarkably better in previous seasons including a 2.34 ERA with 8.54 K/9 and 2.20 BB/9 in 2014. Over the course of his career, he’s posted respectable rates – a 3.47 ERA, 7.62 K/9, and 2.36 BB/9 over 251 innings.
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/26/16
Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball:
- The Angels have acquired right-handed pitcher Troy Scribner from the Astros in exchange for cash considerations, tweets Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. Scribner, 24, spent the entire 2015 season at High-A ball. He posted a 5.49 ERA with 9.99 K/9 and 5.13 BB/9. His best campaign came in 2014 when he showed substantially better command and topped out at Double-A.
- The Phillies have released outfielder Andrew Amaro, tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The Amaro surname is no coincidence. Amaro, a 35th round pick in the 2015 draft, is the nephew of former Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. This marks the second minor leaguer of a famous parent who was released today. Trevor Gretzky, son of hockey hero Wayne Gretzky, was cut loose by the Angels earlier today. Incidentally, Gretzky was once traded for Matthew Scioscia, son of Angels manager Mike Scioscia.
Reds Sign Ross Ohlendorf To Big-League Deal
The Reds have signed righty Ross Ohlendorf to a Major League deal, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. The Reds have announced that it’s a one-year deal. Ohlendorf is a client of Jon Fetterolf.
The 33-year-old Ohlendorf opted out of his minor-league deal with the Royals earlier this week. He figures to provide help for a Reds bullpen that lacked stability behind closer J.J. Hoover.
Ohlendorf missed a chunk of the 2015 campaign due to a groin injury but pitched decently when healthy, posting a 3.72 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 19 1/3 innings with the Rangers and also showing a good strikeout rate in 36 2/3 innings in Triple-A. It was his first big-league season since 2008 spent primarily in the bullpen, and he experienced the bump in velocity typical of starter-to-reliever conversions, throwing his fastball at an average of 93.8 MPH. Ohlendorf has played parts of eight seasons in the big leagues, also appearing with the Yankees, Pirates, Padres and Nationals.
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/25/16
Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest moves at the top of the post…
- Reds minor leaguer Jose Veras has received a 72-game PED suspension, as Cincinnati assistant director of media relations Jamie Ramsey tweets. Veras, 22, has not yet moved past the Dominican summer league in his professional career. He shouldn’t be confused with the long-time MLB veteran and former closer by the same name — who is still a free agent looking for his next opportunity after failing to crack the majors last year for the first time since he reached the bigs in 2006.
- Right-hander Deolis Guerra became a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment from the Angels, though manager Mike Scioscia told reporters (including MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez) that Guerra was staying with the club on a new minor league contract. The Halos selected Guerra off the Pirates roster in the Rule 5 draft last winter, and since Guerra had already been outrighted off Pittsburgh’s roster when he was with the organization, he didn’t have to be returned to the Bucs after his initial removal from Anaheim’s roster. Guerra, who turns 27 next month, made his Major League debut last season, posting a 6.48 ERA over 16 2/3 innings for Pittsburgh. He boasted some impressive peripherals (17 strikeouts against three walks) but also allowed five homers in his short stint in the bigs.
- Outfielder Felix Perez has requested a release from his minor league deal with the Orioles, possibly to pursue an opportunity with a Japanese team, Rich Dubroff of CSNmidatlantic reports (Twitter links). Perez hit .281/.329/.404 over 2114 plate appearances in the Reds’ system from 2010-14 and he spent 2015 playing for Monterrey’s Mexican League team.
Nationals Outright Tyler Moore
TODAY: Moore has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, per an announcement from the club.
YESTERDAY: The Nationals placed first baseman/outfielder Tyler Moore on waivers yesterday, James Wagner of the Washington Post reports on Twitter. It’s not immediately clear if the club is seeking release or outright waivers, but Moore would not be able to refuse an assignment if outrighted, as he’s accrued less than five years of service and has never previously been removed from the 40-man.
Moore, who is out of options, had agreed to a $900K salary in his first season of arbitration eligibility.Washington will remain on he hook for about one quarter of that non-guaranteed amount (45 days of pay, or approximately $221K). Moore had seemed in line for a bench bat role, but obviously the organization decided to go with another alignment.
The Nationals have utilized Moore in a bench role in each of the previous four campaigns, though he’s never exceeded 200 plate appearances in a single year. All told, he owns a .228/.281/.401 slash with 24 home runs over 649 trips to the plate at the major league level.
Moore played his way into the organization’s plans with a strong 2012 effort, but has fallen shy of league average production in each year that’s followed. He has generally hit well in the upper minors and obviously has intriguing power, but he’s not a natural outfielder and doesn’t represent a platoon option at first base. With four solid outfield options on hand and a variety of potential bench pieces with greater versatility, it seems that Moore was the odd man out.
To some extent, the move represents a vote of confidence in the health of Ryan Zimmerman, as Moore would likely have stepped into a time share with Clint Robinson had Zimmerman been deemed unready for the start of the season. Of course, he might well still take such a role, if he clears waivers and is stashed at Triple-A. Any team considering a claim of Moore would need to take on his arbitration obligations, and Moore’s anemic spring batting line could make that unlikely.