Angels’ Waiver Claim Of Christian Friedrich Reversed
The Angels announced (Twitter link) that their waiver claim of left-hander Christian Friedrich has been reversed and he has been returned to the Rockies based on “medical evaluation.” The Rockies announced that Friedrich, who had been designated for assignment prior to being claimed by the Rockies, has subsequently been released. The Angels’ announcement includes the following statement:
“Based on Friedrich’s initial medical evaluation, the Angels raised a concern with the Commissioner’s Office about Friedrich’s ability to play at his accustomed level. Upon evaluation of the circumstances by the Commissioner’s Office, it was determined that Friedrich would be returned to the Rockies.”
Friedrich, 28, was selected 25th overall out of Eastern Kentucky University back in 2008, but he’s struggled for much of his pro career, amassing an ERA north of 5.00 at both the Triple-A level and in the Major Leagues. This past season, Friedrich posted a 5.25 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a 47.4 percent ground-ball rate in 58 1/3 innings of work. He’s typically performed considerably better away from Coors Field, however, and has also posted stronger numbers against lefties than against right-handed hitters.
While the Friedrich situation is rather uncommon, it’s not unprecedented and has even happened somewhat recently, when the Rangers returned left-hander Edgar Olmos to the Mariners after claiming him last spring — just under one year ago.
The entire situation stings for the Angels, who claimed Friedrich and designated infielder Taylor Featherston for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Friedrich’s arrival. Featherston was subsequently traded to the Phillies — Philadelphia GM Matt Klentak, a former assistant GM with the Halos, clearly seems to be a fan — and they’ll now effectively lose Featherston for nothing, as he was traded for cash considerations or a player to be named later. Considering the fact that the Halos carried Featherston, a Rule 5 Draft pick prior to the 2015 season, on their roster the entire year but used him incredibly sparingly in a season where they missed the postseason by a single game, the entire process will probably leave a bad taste in the mouths of fans.
Nationals Sign Matt Belisle To Minor League Deal
FEB. 19: Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter) that Belisle’s deal contains a $1.25MM base salary, plus incentives, in the Majors. The veteran right-hander can opt out of his contract on either March 27 or June 1 if he has not been added to the Major League roster, Heyman adds.
FEB. 17: The Nationals announced that they have signed veteran reliever Matt Belisle to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training. The 35-year-old right-hander is a client of CAA Sports.
Belisle spent the 2015 season in the Cardinals’ bullpen and enjoyed strong bottom-line results in 33 2/3 innings, but his control took a notable step backwards, and his season was shortened significantly due to a lengthy DL stint that stemmed from right elbow inflammation. When healthy enough to take the mound, Belisle posted a strong 2.67 ERA, averaging 6.7 strikeouts and 4.0 walks per nine innings pitched to go along with an impressive 52.4 percent ground-ball rate.
Looking a bit further back, Belisle is perhaps one of the few relievers that can lay claim to consistently solid results over an extended period of calling Coors Field home; from 2010-14, Belisle totaled 381 2/3 innings for the Rockies, registering a 3.75 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9. As Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post notes, the only pitcher in all of Major League Baseball to appear in more games during that five-year stretch was Tyler Clippard.
At his peak, Belisle averaged about 92.5 mph on his heater, but his fastball sits more 90-91 mph now. He’ll hope to join a bullpen where Jonathan Papelbon will, of course, handle closer’s duties. Offseason signee Yusmeiro Petit should have a multi-inning role, and trade acquisition Trevor Gott should factor into the setup group along with free-agent pickups Shawn Kelley and Oliver Perez. Incumbent hurlers Blake Treinen and Felipe Rivero could factor into the mix as well, while right-hander Aaron Barrett is recovering from September Tommy John surgery.
Cubs Sign Aaron Crow, Release Luis Cruz
The Cubs have signed reliever Aaron Crow to a minor league pact, the club told reporters including Mark Gonzalez of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter links). Chicago also has released lefty Luis Cruz after he failed his physical.
Crow, a 29-year-old righty, spent last year with the Marlins organization after being acquired from the Royals. He was only available to Miami because he scuffled in 2014, with his strikeout and groundball rates plummeting along with his velocity. And as things turned out, Crow he never threw a competitive pitch for the team. He ultimately required Tommy John surgery, leading to a non-tender earlier this offseason.
Before that, though, Crow had done some quality work in the back of the Kansas City pen. Over 2011-13, he ran up 174 2/3 innings of 3.19 ERA pitching while carrying 9.0 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 and inducing grounders on more than half of the balls put in play against him. If he can make it back to anything like that level of production, he’d obviously make for quite a bargain for the Cubs.
The 25-year-old Cruz had been a member of the Astros organization for his entire career to date. But he lost his 40-man spot after throwing 116 innings of 4.27 ERA ball at Triple-A last year, with 7.2 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9. Chicago had picked him up on a minor league deal, but has now nullified that contract owing to the medicals.
Royals Sign Mike Minor
The Royals have officially signed free agent lefty Mike Minor to a two-year deal worth a reported $7.25MM. After promising Minor $2MM for 2016 and $4MM for the following campaign, the contract includes a mutual option for 2018 that’s valued at $10MM with a $1.25MM mutual buyout.
The deal also includes extensive performance incentives, MLBTR has learned. Minor can earn $175K roster bonuses upon reaching 30, 60, 90, and 120 days of service for the coming season. He can also pick up $165K apiece upon hitting his 11th through 20th starts, and another $165K for every five innings tallied between 75 and 120. (Each of those provisions, in other words, could earn Minor up to $1.65MM.)
Minor can also reach incentives for 2017, though they’ll require him to be more active. He stands to earn $225K upon reaching his 12th start, with another $225K due for every other start thereafter (capping out with his 30th). And he gets $225K for every ten innings accrued between 110 and 200. As above, then, Minor can hit each of those paydays ten times apiece.
Add it all up, and Minor can take down up to $4MM for the coming season — $700K via service-time bonuses and $3.3MM based on starts and innings. And he can boost his 2017 salary by as much as $4.5MM, if he turns in at least thirty starts and 200 frames. The deal also includes award bonuses.
Notably, Minor will follow another injury-limited former Braves pitcher in seeking a rebound in Kansas City. Kris Medlen signed a similar contract before the 2015 campaign, successfully making his way back to the mound with the Royals. (The club did something similar with Luke Hochevar, as well.)
Like Medlen, Minor was non-tendered after arm troubles disrupted an extremely promising start in Atlanta. He was projected to earn $5.6MM in arbitration from the Braves, and seemed likely at one point to receive it. But reported setbacks in his recovery from shoulder surgery caused the team to change course, leaving Minor a free agent.
Kansas City will hope that Minor can follow players like Medlen, Hochevar, and Ryan Madson in reviving their careers and providing excess value in the process. The most recent results from the lefty weren’t promising, as he struggled to a 4.77 ERA in 145 1/3 innings back in 2014 before missing all of last season.
But the strong ceiling is evident. Originally taken with the seventh overall pick, Minor ran up 466 2/3 innings of 3.72 ERA pitching over 2011-13. Though he’s never had much velocity, Minor has managed to carry solid strikeout and walk rates when his shoulder has cooperated.
Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com tweeted the contract terms, with MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes clarifying the total guarantee on Twitter.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rangers Extend Jeff Banister
The Rangers announced on Friday that they have exercised their 2018 club option over manager Jeff Banister and added a new club option for the 2019 season to his contract as well. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets that Banister essentially receives an entirely new contract, as he not only secures a 2019 option but also receives a salary raise.
That the decision on Banister comes well before the Rangers had any urgency to make the call indicates how pleased the front office and ownership was with the job that Banister did in 2015 — his first year as a big league manager. In terms of on-field results, there’s little for Rangers decision-makers to be unhappy with. Few pegged the injury-ravaged Rangers to contend in 2015, especially after ace Yu Darvish missed the season due to Tommy John surgery, but Banister’s club ultimately won the America League West on the strength of an 88-74 record. The Rangers’ strong performance under Banister earned him American League Manager of the Year honors in his rookie season as a skipper.
Banister’s Rangers enter the 2016 season with greater expectations. Darvish will return to the picture for much of the upcoming campaign, and the Rangers will enjoy a full season of trade-deadline acquisition Cole Hamels as well. Derek Holland and Martin Perez each hope to be ready for a full season as well after missing significant time early on in 2015.
Rays Sign Ryan Webb
FEB. 19: Webb can earn up to $500K worth of incentives based on appearances, Topkin reports (Twitter link).
FEB. 18: The Rays announced to the media today that they have signed right-hander Ryan Webb to a one-year deal, via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link) and Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribine (Twitter link). Topkin tweets that Webb is guaranteed $1MM and can earn more via incentives. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, right-hander Chase Whitley was placed on the 60-day disabled list. Whitley is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The 30-year-old Webb, a client of the Wasserman Media Group, spent the bulk of 2015 with the Indians, logging a 3.20 ERA with 5.5 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 59.2 percent ground-ball rate in 50 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. Webb was the subject of some rather unique roster shuffling with the Orioles and Dodgers, in which the Dodgers took on the entirety of Webb’s remaining $2.75MM salary in a four-player trade that also netted L.A. a Competitive Balance Draft Pick. The Dodgers outrighted Webb immediately, and Webb, as a player with five-plus years of service time, was able to reject the assignment and still be guaranteed the entirety of his salary. As such, the Dodgers effectively purchased a draft pick from Baltimore through that transaction (as MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth examined in greater depth at the time).
Despite that curious situation, Webb has been a largely effective reliever over his six years in the Majors. While he doesn’t miss many bats (career 6.2 K/9), Webb has a career 3.35 ERA with reasonable control (2.9 BB/9) and an excellent 56.5 percent ground-ball rate. He’s endured just one stint on the disabled list since debuting in 2009 — a six-week stay for inflammation in his right shoulder back in 2011. Webb hasn’t missed any time since that apparently minor injury, however, and has been a durable arm out of the ‘pen, averaging 55 appearances/58 innings per season from 2010-15 with the Padres, Marlins, Orioles and Indians.
The Rays certainly have room to add a useful arm like Webb to the relief corps, as the team traded Kevin Jepsen to the Twins last July, traded Jake McGee to the Rockies just last month and outrighted Brandon Gomes off the 40-man roster following the season. That trio accounted for 138 innings of relief for the Rays last season, and Webb will absorb a fair portion of that workload.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Blue Jays Sign Tony Sanchez To Minor League Deal
The Blue Jays announced that they have signed former Pirates catcher Tony Sanchez to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training.
Sanchez, who is represented by ACES, will compete for a backup role to Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin — a former Pirate himself. The 27-year-old Sanchez was selected fourth overall in the 2009 draft and saw time in parts of three big league seasons with the Bucs, batting a combined .259/.303/.378 with four homers in 155 plate appearances. Rated as one of baseball’s Top 100 prospects by Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus in 2010-11, Sanchez’s bat stalled in the upper minors after he excelled at Class-A and Class-A Advanced. With parts of four seasons at Triple-A under his belt, the Boston College product has a .248/.342/.415 batting line at that level. He’s caught 22 percent of opposing base-stealers throughout his minor league tenure and 17 percent in the Majors. Baseball Prospectus, which keeps track of minor league framing numbers as well as Major League numbers, feels that Sanchez has been a generally above-average pitch-framer throughout his time at the Triple-A level.
Josh Thole currently projects to be Toronto’s backup catcher, and his familiarity with R.A. Dickey‘s knuckleball perhaps gives him a leg up in any competition that could form in Spring Training. Sanchez will add to a relatively thin depth chart behind the plate for the Blue Jays, however, who currently have A.J. Jimenez and veteran Humberto Quintero in camp as big league alternatives or options at Triple-A Buffalo.
Minor MLB Transactions: 2/18/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Brewers have released southpaw Pat Misch to enable him to pursue an opportunity with Japan’s Orix Buffaloes, the club announced on Twitter. Misch, 34, had been set to spend big league camp fighting for a job with Milwaukee after hooking on with a minor league deal back in January. It’s been quite some time since he appeared in the majors, but that doesn’t mean that the veteran hasn’t enjoyed an interesting career of late, as detailed by Baseball America’s John Manuel. Since several rough seasons stateside and a Tommy John procedure, Misch has consistently put up good numbers since the start of 2014. Along the way, he’s appeared in winter ball, indy ball, Triple-A (with the Marlins), and Taiwan’s top league. And at that last stop, Misch spun a no-hitter in Game 7 of the Taiwan Series.
Dodgers Sign Louis Coleman
The Dodgers have signed veteran righty Louis Coleman to a one-year deal, his representatives at Frontline Athlete Management announced. He’ll receive $750K in the MLB contract, per Devan Fink (via Twitter).
Set to turn 30 on Opening Day, Coleman has spent his entire career to this point with the Royals, but was designated and eventually released earlier this winter to clear the way for Ian Kennedy. He had agreed to a $725K arbitration contract, meaning that Kansas City will remain on the hook for thirty days of salary (or a shade less than $119K). Los Angeles will also have the chance to control him for two more years via arbitration.
Coleman appeared in only four big league games last year and struggled in 2014 as well. But he posted strong results at Triple-A, with a 1.69 ERA and 8.9 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 over 64 frames, and has put up some interesting results in the past.
Over a three-year run from 2011-13, Coleman was rather quietly excellent. He tallied 140 1/3 innings of 2.69 ERA pitching, racking up 10.3 K/9 vs. 3.7 BB/9 while surrendering less than seven hits per regulation game. Though his fastball sits in the 89 to 90 mph range and he otherwise relies heavily on just one offspeed pitch (a slider), Coleman has been able to generate huge swing and miss numbers at times.
D-Backs Exercise Chip Hale’s 2017 Option
8:07pm: Arizona has exercised its option over Hale for 2017, Jon Heyman reports (Twitter links). As things stand, though, there’s no new contract.
3:06pm: The Diamondbacks and manager Chip Hale have agreed to a contract extension that will run through “at least” the 2017 season, reports Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Hale had been entering the final guaranteed season of a contract that included a club option for the 2017 season.
Hale, 51, initially signed a two-year deal with the Diamondbacks in what has been his first stint as a big league manager. Hale, a former utility infielder for the Twins and Dodgers from 1989-97, does have extensive experience on Major League coaching staffs, however, and had previously managed at the minor league level as well. Hale led the 2015 Diamondbacks to a 79-win season — a better outcome than many anticipated. The D-backs, in fact were within striking distance of the division lead as late into the season as Aug. 23, when the club sat five games out of first place.
Expectations will be wildly different for Hale as he enters his second season at the helm in Arizona. While few pegged them to even sniff the .500 mark last season, Arizona’s high-octane offseason included the signings of Zack Greinke and Tyler Clippard as well as a blockbuster trade for Shelby Miller. With Greinke and Miller atop the rotation and a full year of Patrick Corbin, who missed the beginning of the 2015 season recovering from 2014 Tommy John surgery, Arizona’s front office has placed pressure on its field staff and player personnel to deliver not only a winning club, but one that can contend for a postseason berth in what should be a competitive NL West division.