Cubs To Sign Matt Murton To Minor League Deal
It’s a nostalgic day at Wrigley Field, as former Cubs outfielder Matt Murton has officially signed a minor league contract to return to the Cubs, MLBTR has learned. A report from Yahoo Japan first reported that an agreement was in place last week.
The now-34-year-old Murton was originally selected by the Red Sox with the No. 32 overall pick in the 2003 draft but was traded from Boston to Chicago in the four-team Nomar Garciaparra blockbuster. Murton made his big league debut with the Cubs in 2005 and went on to spend three-and-a-half seasons as a productive member of the team’s outfield, batting .294/.362/.448 in his time with the Cubs. Murton would eventually be traded to the Athletics (alongside Josh Donaldson) in a trade that netted the Cubs right-handers Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin.
Murton’s big league career after leaving the Cubs was brief; he appeared in just nine games for the A’s before he was included in an offseason trade that sent him to the Rockies, and he saw just 29 games as a member of Colorado’s big league club. Murton did have a big year at the Triple-A level with the Rockies in 2009, though, which seemingly caught the eye of the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Murton signed on with Hanshin for the 2010 season and crushed Japanese pitching, hitting .349/.395/.499 with 17 homers in his first season overseas. While his initial plan may not have been to embark on such a lengthy stay, Murton would go on to spend a total of six seasons with Hanshin, batting a combined .310/.352/.437 in 3534 plate appearances with the Tigers.
Now back with the Cubs, Murton will look to force his way into an outfield mix that has Kyle Schwarber, Jason Heyward and Jorge Soler lined up as the starters (from left field to right field) with Chris Coghlan and Matt Szczur also in the mix for bench roles. Ben Zobrist and Arismendy Alcantara, too, are capable of playing the outfield, though Zobrist will be the Cubs’ primary second baseman, and Alcantara is probably bound for Triple-A after struggling there in 2015.
Minor MLB Transactions: 2-12-16
Here are today’s minor signings and outright assignments from around the league…
- The Phillies announced that they have outrighted left-hander Bobby LaFromboise to Triple-A Lehigh Valley after he cleared waivers. The veteran southpaw was designated for assignment when the Phillies acquired infielder Taylor Featherston from the Angels earlier this week. LaFromboise, 29, has a very strong year with the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate in 2015, recording a 2.98 ERA with 8.6 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in 54 1/3 innings, and he also tossed eight one-run frames at the Major League level as well. LaFromboise went from Pittsburgh to Anaheim by way of waiver claim and then was snatched up by the Phillies on waivers last month. He’ll be in big league camp at Spring Training as a non-roster invitee later this month, according to the team.
Royals Reach Two-Year Extension With Mike Moustakas
The Royals are closing in on a two-year deal with third baseman Mike Moustakas, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports (Twitter links), with Jon Heyman tweeting that it’s a done deal. He is expected to be guaranteed $14.3MM in the contract, per Flanagan, with $5.6MM coming in 2016 and $8.7MM for the following year.
With the move, Kansas City has avoided an arbitration hearing with the 27-year-old and precluded any need for future arb negotiations. Moustakas could still partake in long-term talks, of course, but this agreement buys up all of his remaining arbitration eligibility without adding any team control.
In that regard, Moustakas joins teammate Lorenzo Cain in locking in a raise but failing to reach a lengthier accommodation with the reigning World Series champs. Josh Donaldson, J.D. Martinez, and A.J. Pollock are other prominent players who have landed two-year, arb-only pacts as a way to help bridge 2016 salary disputes.
The $5.6MM price point set for the coming season represents the exact midpoint between the sides’ $7MM and $4.2MM filing figures. And it lands just a shade below the $5.7MM salary that MLBTR projected earlier in the winter. Moustakas, a client of the Boras Corporation, had earned $2.64MM in his first turn at the arb process last year.
Moustakas was long considered a significant prospect, but largely disappointed in his first four years in the majors. But a late surge for the surprising 2014 Royals raised hopes that he’d found his groove, and his 2015 campaign suggests he did. Moustakas not only turned in another strong defensive campaign, but surged to a .284/.348/.470 slash and career-high 22 home runs in a performance that dwarfed anything he’d done previously.
With age and glovework on his side, a repeat of that strong effort won’t be needed for K.C. to make out on this new contract. But there’s every hope that Moustakas has matured at the plate and established a new performance baseline, having decreased his reliance on pulling the ball and found success against left-handed pitching.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor MLB Transactions: 2/11/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Yankees announced that outfielder Lane Adams has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A. He had been designated for assignment recently as New York looked to work the waiver wire to stash assets in the upper minors without clogging up the 40-man. The team has apparently accomplished just that, adding to its outfield depth. Adams, 26, had a tough go in his first run at Triple-A last year, but had performed well earlier in 2015 to earn the promotion. All told, he ended the year with a .281/.347/.445 slash to go with 16 long balls and 31 stolen bases.
Pirates Sign Cory Luebke To Minor League Deal
The Pirates announced that they’ve signed left-hander Cory Luebke to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. The former Padres lefty hasn’t pitched since 2012 after having three seasons wiped out by a pair of Tommy John surgeries, but he could conceivably factor into the club’s rotation or bullpen picture.
Now 30 years old (31 in March), Luebke had an impressive rookie season back in 2011, logging a 3.29 ERA with 9.9 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 139 1/3 innings out of the San Diego rotation. That was enough for the former Padres front office regime to roll the dice on a potentially team-friendly contract of four years and $12MM plus a pair of club options. Had both options been exercised, the Padres would’ve controlled Luebke through the end of his first would-be free-agent year, and he’d have earned $27.75MM in total over the life of the deal. Unfortunately for both team and player, Luebke never got the chance to build on that strong rookie showing, as he pitched just 31 innings in 2012 before succumbing to injury. He’ll now look to follow the path of many other pitchers before him and breathe new life into his career as a member of the Pirates organization.
Pirates To Sign Eric O’Flaherty To Minors Deal
The Pirates have agreed to a minor league deal with lefty reliever Eric O’Flaherty, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports tweets. He’ll receive an invitation to MLB camp.
It has become cliche at this point, but the Bucs do have a record of helping to turn around once-productive pitchers. And O’Flaherty certainly fits the general mold of past refurbishment projects.
The 31-year-old was at one time rather dominant for the Braves, running up a 1.99 ERA over nearly 250 frames from 2009 through 2013. He averaged a pedestrian 7.2 K/9 in that span, but limited the free pass (2.5 BB/9), got a ton of easy outs (58.3% groundball rate), and was plenty useful even against right-handed hitters.
Things weren’t so rosy last year, his first full campaign back from Tommy John surgery. He ended with an abysmal 8.10 ERA, which only got worse after a mid-season trade from the Athletics to the Mets. And the peripherals weren’t great either, as O’Flaherty ended with 6.3 K/9 against 5.4 BB/9. He was able to generate grounders right at his career rate, and there are indications he suffered some bad luck (.388 BABIP, 57.6% strand rate), but clearly he has some work to do to get back on track in the coming spring.
Braves To Sign Carlos Torres
Reliever Carlos Torres has agreed to a deal with the Braves, reports Jim Seimas of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, who adds that he chose Atlanta over the Yankees and Dodgers (Twitter link). Bill Shanks of FOX Sports Radio and the Macon Telegram tweets that it’s a minor league deal with an invitation to Major League Spring Training.
Torres will give the Braves an option either in their rotation or bullpen, though the latter seems more likely based on his lack of recent rotation experience. The rebuilding Braves have a wide-open bullpen picture, with right-handers Arodys Vizcaino, Jason Grilli and Jim Johnson as the locks to factor into the relief corps. Beyond that trio, the likes of Mike Foltynewicz, Daniel Winkler, Ryan Weber and Shae Simmons (who is recovering from February 2015 Tommy John surgery) all represent right-handed options on the 40-man roster. Non-roster invitees that will be competing with Torres include David Carpenter, Alexi Ogando, Jhoulys Chacin and Chris Volstad, among others.
The 33-year-old Torres has spent the past three seasons with the Mets, pitching to a combined 3.59 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 46 percent ground-ball rate in 241 innings (155 relief appearances, 10 starts). However, his solid production took a step backward in 2015, as he posted a 4.68 ERA in 57 2/3 innings, which led the Mets to designate Torres for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for Antonio Bastardo, who signed a two-year deal with the reigning National League Champions. Torres ultimately elected free agency after clearing outright waivers. Because Torres and the Mets had already agreed to a one-year, $1.05MM contract to avoid arbitration, the Mets were responsible for 30 days of termination pay on that non-guaranteed arb deal — a total of about $172K.
Minor MLB Transactions: 2-10-16
Here are the day’s minor signings from around the league…
- The Angels have signed right-hander Javy Guerra to a minor league deal, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter). The former Dodgers closer served a 50-game suspension last season for a drug of abuse but will look to work his way back into a big league bullpen with the Halos. Last year, Guerra was limited to a total of just 5 1/3 innings between the Majors and minors, due largely to his suspension. However, he tossed 46 1/3 innings of 2.91 ERA ball for the White Sox in 2014 and has high-leverage experience as well, having saved 21 games for the Dodgers as a rookie in 2011. All told, Guerra has a 2.87 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and a 43.3 percent ground-ball rate in 150 1/3 innings between L.A. and Chicago.
- Infielder Brandon Hicks has agreed to a minor league deal and an invite to big league Spring Training with the Dodgers, SB Nation’s Eric Stephen tweeted yesterday. The most recent big league action for the 30-year-old Hicks came with the 2014 Giants, when he received 242 plate appearances across 71 games. While Hicks didn’t hit for average whatsoever, he did show some power. That did little to mask his 32 percent strikeout rate, though, and he finished with an overall batting line of .162/.280/.319 with San Francisco. Hicks struggled with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate last season but is a career .244/.327/.429 hitter in parts of six seasons at that level.
Giants Avoid Arbitration With Brandon Belt
The Giants have avoided arbitration with first baseman Brandon Belt by agreeing to a one-year deal, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. He’ll receive $6.2MM, Jon Heyman tweets.
The sides had seemed headed for a hearing. MLBTR projected Belt to earn the exact amount he ultimately received in his second (and second-to-last) trip through arbitration. He filed for $7.5MM, with the team countering at $5.3MM to create a $6.4MM midpoint.
Soon to turn 28, the smooth-swinging lefty has been a steady and excellent performer for San Francisco. Since debuting back in 2011, he’s racked up just over 2,000 plate appearances with a cumulative .271/.347/.456 batting line and 63 home runs. And he not only delivers a high-quality glove at first, but has shown the ability to fill in at the corner outfield in a pinch.
After an injury-shortened 2014, Belt got back on track in 2015 and was running numbers comparable to his excellent 2013 campaign before running into concussion issues late in the year. He is expected to be ready for a full spring, though, and health matters don’t appear to be much of a concern for the team.
There are indications that a long-term deal could be a consideration. And, indeed, the Giants already struck a deal with fellow 4+ service-time stalwart Brandon Crawford. Belt has always seemed a more tenuous fit in an extension scenario, though, as he occupies a position that could eventually house star catcher Buster Posey depending upon how things progress.
Phillies Designate Bobby LaFromboise
The Phillies have designated lefty Bobby LaFromboise for assignment, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. His roster spot will go to just-acquired infielder Taylor Featherston.
This move constitutes the latest in a multi-step roster shuffle for the Phils, who designated former top prospect Jesse Biddle to make space for the claim of LaFromboise. Now, they’ll look to sneak him through waivers — or, instead, watch him go to his fifth organization in the last four years.
The 29-year-old has spent most of the prior two campaigns in the Pirates organization. He posted a 2.98 ERA in 54 1/3 Triple-A innings in 2015, logging 8.6 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. And he’s contributed 11 2/3 good MLB frames to Pittsburgh over the last two seasons, allowing just two runs (on a pair of solo homers) and nine total baserunners while striking out a dozen opposing hitters in that short sample.