Minor MLB Transactions: 1/12/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Padres added lefty Ryan Buchter to the 40-man roster yesterday, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Buchter, a minor league signee, had drawn interest from an international club, which precipitated the move. As Lin notes, it appears that San Diego is committed to bringing a variety of unproven arms to camp to compete for bullpen jobs, with Buchter representing one such option.
- The Orioles have reached agreement on a minor league deal with infielder/outfielder Alex Liddi, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter. Liddi, 27, has taken 188 plate appearances in the big leagues, but none since 2013. He played last year at the Double-A level for the Royals, slashing .287/.324/.474 over 514 plate appearances.
Minor MLB Transactions: 1/11/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Brewers announced today that the minor league contract of southpaw Nick Hagadone has been voided. The live-armed lefty is trying to return from an elbow fracture, which was obviously known beforehand. But “significant issues” arose when his physical was conducted, according to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, and that scuttled the deal.
- The Phillies have brought back lefty Anthony Vasquez on a minor league pact, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports on Twitter. Vasquez, 29, hasn’t seen the majors since a seven-start debut back in 2011. He threw 134 innings last year in the Philadelphia organization, including twenty starts for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, and ended the year with a 4.10 ERA with 5.1 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9.
- Outfielder/first baseman Matt McBride has joined the Athletics on a minor league deal, Matt Eddy of Baseball America notes in his rundown of recent minor moves. McBride has 158 big league plate appearances on his ledger, though he hasn’t done much in his limited opportunities. The right-handed hitter did put up a healthy (albeit park-inflated) .328/.380/.549 slash last year in 337 Triple-A plate appearances.
Cardinals Sign Seung-Hwan Oh
6:34pm: The deal would max out at $11MM — $5MM in 2016 and $6MM in 2017 — if Oh triggers all available incentives and the team picks up its option, per Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News (Twitter links).
1:40pm: The Cardinals have officially signed star Korean reliever Seung-hwan Oh to a one-year deal with a club option that reportedly guarantees him about $5MM. Oh, who is represented by Chip Sloan of Pryor Cashman LLP, did not require a posting fee to sign because he was a free agent.
Known by the nicknames “Stone Buddha” and “Final Boss,” Oh is perhaps the most celebrated Korean closer with 498 games finished over an 11-season career split between Korea and Japan. The right-hander has a career 1.81 ERA, 10.7 K/9, and 2.1 BB/9 over 646 1/3 innings between the two countries. In 2013, after nine seasons in the hitter-friendly KBO, Oh made the transition to the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and continued his success, including a 2015 campaign that saw him post a 2.73 ERA, 8.6 K/9, and 2.1 BB/9. A two-year old scouting report credits him with a mid-90s fastball, hard slider, and slow curve. MLBTR’s Steve Adams spoke to a pair of scouts earlier this offseason that praised Oh’s fastball and labeled his slider as at least an average offering. As Han Lee of Global Sporting Integration tweets, Oh would become the fourth Korean reliever to jump from NPB to the Majors, joining predecessors Sang-Hoon Lee, Dae-Sung Koo and Chang-Yong Lim. (None of the three pitched more than a season in MLB, though none came with Oh’s track record in Asia, either.)
Oh won’t be the “final boss” of the St. Louis bullpen, given Trevor Rosenthal‘s firm hold on the closer’s job, though he will add some much-needed depth to a back-end bullpen trio that saw a lot of action in 2015; setup man Kevin Siegrist appeared in a league-high 81 games, with Seth Maness (76 games) and Rosenthal (68) also seeing a lot of work. The additions of Oh (if completed) and the re-signed Jonathan Broxton will give manager Mike Matheny more flexibility in deciding his late-game options.
Daniel Kim of KBSn first reported that the sides were close to agreement (via Twitter). Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the deal was nearing finalization, pending physical, and reported the contract value.
Jocketty: No Deal Between Reds, Alfredo Rodriguez
6:43pm: Cincinnati president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty said that team and player “do not have a deal,” as C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. As Rosecrans adds, though, that doesn’t necessarily mean an agreement isn’t in place, as most executives would decline to confirm such an agreement before it’s final. And Jocketty did admit that Rodriguez “is a player of interest.”
6:11pm: The Reds have struck a deal with Cuban shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez that will pay him $6MM, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. Rodriguez, 21, left Cuba back in May in hopes of pursuing a career in the major leagues.
Importantly, as Sanchez, explains, the signing will put Cincinnati into the max penalty for international bonus spending. The club had been just within its allotment after its prior signings, but is now set not only to pay a 100% tax on its overages but also to lose its ability to sign an international player for over $300K for the next two signing periods. With that bullet bitten, it’s fair to wonder whether the Reds will pursue additional players before this July 2 period closes.
Ben Badler of Baseball America provided an explanation of the youngster’s abilities when he left Cuba. The key takeaway is that Rodriguez is a polished defender who has a long way to go with the bat.
Rodriguez won the Rookie of the Year award in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, based largely on his impeccable glovework (and the defection of leading candidate Yusnier Diaz). Indeed, he hit just .265/.301/.284 over 304 plate appearances on the way to earning the award. Rodriguez also has good wheels, according to Badler, which certainly could boost his odds of eventually cracking the majors.
MLB Declares Randy Arozarena Free Agent
Cuban infielder/outfielder Randy Arozarena has been declared a free agent, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. The 20-year-old joins fellow standout Lazaro Armenteros as intriguing prospects who are now free to join an MLB organization.
According to Badler, Arozarena will hold a showcase in Mexico on January 22. Expectations appear to be that he’ll sign in relatively short order after that occurs. Notably, Arozarena will be subject to international bonus limitations.
In its last ranking of young Cuban talent, BA listed Arozarena as the ninth-best prospect who was (then) still on the island. Calling him a “quick-twitch athlete,” Badler praises Arozarena for his speed and says he could play up the middle and feature at the top of a big league lineup — if he reaches his potential.
While it doesn’t seem as if there’s a lot of power projection for the youngster, Badler does say he’s got enough pop to be a double-digit home run threat despite generally featuring a “line-drive approach.” And he’s said to have good contact skills, bat speed, plate discipline, and pitch recognition, making for an appealing overall package.
Defense remains something of a question, as Arozarena has moved around quite a bit in recent years. He has a history at shortstop and has featured there in showcases, but as Badler explains he has also been utilized quite a bit in the outfield in recent years. It’s not clear yet where Arozarena will end up, but it appears likely that he has a good shot at being able to handle a challenging defensive assignment in the long run, adding to his value.
Though he’s a fair bit older than Lazarito, Arozarena is still not a player who’ll be pursued for his immediate impact. Badler guesses that he’d be likely to open at the High-A level to start the 2016 campaign, suggesting it could be a few years until he factors at the major league level.
Diamondbacks Sign Wesley Wright
The Diamondbacks signed left-handed reliever Wesley Wright to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, according to a tweet from the team’s Triple-A affiliate. The Reynolds Sports client, presumably, will compete for a bullpen job in Spring Training with the D-backs.
Wright, 31 later this month, totaled just 7 1/3 innings in the Majors last season between the Orioles and Angels, as a shoulder strain kept him on the disabled list for more than three months. While 2015 was somewhat of a lost season for the lefty, Wright had put together a solid track record across the four prior seasons when he worked to a combined 3.25 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 166 1/3 innings between the Astros and Cubs.
Wright yielded a huge number of fly-balls in last season’s small sample of work, but he’s historically been more of a ground-ball pitcher, as evidenced by the 52.7 percent ground-ball rate that he recorded during that strong run from 2011-14. Wright doesn’t throw particularly hard, but his 90 mph fastball has enough life considering his handedness, and he’s held left-handed batters to a .237/.313/.334 batting line across parts of eight Major League seasons. Of course, on the flip-side of that equation, he’s yielded a .263/.353/.476 batting line to right-handed batters, so the D-backs would likely need to be cognizant of playing matchups in most situations were Wright to make the club.
The Diamondbacks have a number of right-handed arms that will compete for spots in the bullpen, but there’s a lack of left-handed options for manager Chip Hale in the bullpen. Andrew Chafin enjoyed a strong season in 2015 due in large part to his impressive ground-ball rate, but Matt Reynolds is the only other lefty relief option with notable Major League experience, and he struggled quite a bit in his return from 2014 Tommy John surgery. Elsewhere on the 40-man roster, Keith Hessler struggled in his big league debut last year, and Will Locante needs more minor league time before being a realistic option for the MLB club.
Giants Designate Cody Hall For Assignment
The Giants have designated right-hander Cody Hall for assignment, per MLB.com’s Chris Haft (Twitter link). The move creates a roster spot for the newly-signed Denard Span.
Hall, who just turned 28 earlier this week, made his Major League debut in 2015, posting a 6.48 ERA over 8 1/3 relief innings for San Francisco. Hall was a 19th-round draft pick for the Giants in 2011, and he’s pitched exclusively as a reliever over the course of his pro career. In 254 1/3 minor league frames, Hall has a 2.62 ERA, 10.4 K/9 and 3.26 K/BB rate. Baseball America ranked Hall as the Giants’ 19th-best prospect prior to the 2015 season, although this past year wasn’t his best. Hall worked to a 3.46 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in 67 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level. He also made his big league debut, tossing 8 1/3 innings for the Giants but yielding six runs on 10 hits and four walks for a 6.48 ERA and 1.68 WHIP in that brief sample.
Hall joins five other players in DFA limbo according to the MLB Trade Rumors DFA Tracker.
Pirates, Daniel Bard Agree To Minor League Deal
The Pirates and right-hander Daniel Bard have agreed to a minor league contract, per reports from MLB.com’s Adam Berry (links to Twitter) and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Rob Biertempfel (Twitter link).
Bard, now 30 years of age, was once a lights-out setup man for the Red Sox but has pitched just a single inning in the Major Leagues dating back to 2013 due to a landslide of injuries resulting in severe control problems and, ultimately, surgery to relieve throacic outlet syndrome. Bard has been largely absent from baseball since 2013, throwing just 17 1/3 innings across multiple minor league levels, the Puerto Rican Winter League and the aforementioned one inning with Boston.
From 2009-11, Bard was outstanding, however, posting a 2.88 ERA in a considerably more hitter-friendly era than today’s game even a few short years later. That 2.88 ERA, when adjusted for the league and Bard’s home of Fenway Park, resulted in a 154 ERA+, indicating that he was 54 percent better than a league-average pitcher. He averaged 9.7 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in that time to go along with a well-above-average ground-ball rate and a fastball that averaged better than 97 mph.
Bard told Berry that the Pirates’ history of reclamation projects with pitchers made Pittsburgh an appealing destination for him as he seeks to revive his career. “They seem to help out the Pirates a lot, and the Pirates seem to help them out a lot,” said Bard of pitchers that have revitalized their careers with the Bucs. Among the most notable names to have turned their careers around in Pittsburgh in recent years are A.J. Burnett, Francisco Liriano and Edinson Volquez.
Cubs Sign Jesus Guzman To Minors Contract
The Cubs signed first baseman/outfielder Jesus Guzman to a minor league deal, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports (via Twitter). Guzman spent 2015 with the Hiroshima Carp, hitting .230/.336/.420 over 116 plate appearances in NPB.
The 31-year-old owns an impressive .856 career OPS in the minors (3835 PA) and his first extended taste of Major League action saw him deliver an .847 OPS over 271 PA with the Padres in 2011. Guzman’s numbers tailed off after that initial season, however, and he managed only a .188/.272/.248 line in 184 PA with Houston in 2014 before electing free agency and signing with Hiroshima.
As you’d expect for a right-handed hitter, Guzman has performed much better against lefty pitching than righty pitching over his career, with a .746 OPS against southpaws against only a .670 OPS against righties. With a strong Spring Training, Guzman could find a place for himself on Chicago’s roster, backing up Anthony Rizzo at first or perhaps even finding a platoon spot in left field. Kyle Schwarber and Chris Coghlan (both left-handed hitters) and the switch-hitting Ben Zobrist are slated for left field, though the bulk of Zobrist’s playing time will be at second base.
Marlins Sign Edwin Jackson
SATURDAY: The deal is now complete, Heyman tweets. Heyman also adds that Jackson will receive a full no-trade clause, which is somewhat remarkable given Jackson’s situation. Of course, the Marlins will only pay Jackson $507.5K, so the no-trade clause shouldn’t be a significant hindrance to the Marlins.
MONDAY 11:33pm: There’s a deal in place pending physical, per Jon Heyman (via Twitter).
1:50pm: The Marlins are nearing an agreement on a Major League contract with right-hander Edwin Jackson, reports MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (via Twitter). Miami was first reported to have interest in the 32-year-old Legacy Agency client last week. Because Jackson is still slated to be paid $13MM from the Cubs in the final season of his four-year, $52MM contract with Chicago, he’d only cost Miami the league minimum, which would be subtracted from the sum owed to Jackson by the Cubs.
While Jackson’s contract with the Cubs will go down as a bust, he rather quietly enjoyed a strong season split between the Chicago and Atlanta bullpens last year. In 47 relief appearances totaling 55 2/3 innings, Jackson posted a 3.07 ERA with 6.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 41.1 percent ground-ball rate. His 93.9 mph average fastball was his strongest mark of the past four seasons, although that shouldn’t come as a surprise when factoring in the move to short relief stints. When previously linked to Jackson, the Marlins were said to be considering him for their rotation, though one has to imagine that a relief role is a possibility as well, should a deal ultimately be agreed upon.
The addition of Jackson, Frisaro tweets, will not preclude the Marlins from continuing to search for upgrades to their pitching staff. Perhaps, then, the Marlins are merely looking at Jackson as depth for the rotation that can be transferred to the bullpen in the event that another arm is acquired either via free agency or trade. Relying on Jackson as a fallback rather than a set-in-stone rotation member would seem a reasonable course of action for Miami, who entered the day with a rotation picture consisting of Jose Fernandez, Jarred Cosart, Adam Conley, Tom Koehler and one of David Phelps or Justin Nicolino.