Padres To Sign Adam Rosales
The Padres have agreed to a minor league deal with infielder Adam Rosales, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports on Twitter. He’ll provide a veteran utility option to the organization.
Rosales, 32, has seen action in each of the last eight MLB seasons. All said, he owns a .227/.294/.342 batting line and 27 home runs over 1,226 plate appearances. Much of his appeal, of course, lies in the fact that he’s capable of playing all over the infield. Indeed, Rosales, has logged at least five hundred major league frames at first, second, third, and short.
Orioles Claim Joey Terdoslavich
The Orioles have claimed infielder/outfielder Joey Terdoslavich off waivers from the Braves, according to a team announcement. Terdoslavich lost his roster spot to make way for the signing of Kelly Johnson, which Atlanta announced today.
The 27-year-old Terdoslavich had previously spent his entire career in the Braves organization. He’s only taken 162 trips to the plate in the majors over the past three seasons.
While he’s yet to get much of a chance in the majors, Terdoslavich owns a reasonably useful .264/.337/.423 batting line in over 1,300 plate appearances at Triple-A. Of course, it’s been some time since he received a look at third base, and that slash isn’t all that impressive for a player who is limited to first base and corner outfield duties.
Yankees Acquire Kirby Yates From Indians
1:35pm: The Indians have announced the trade. According to the Associated Press, the Yankees paid Cleveland $78K for Yates.
1:25pm: The Yankees have acquired right-hander Kirby Yates from the Indians in exchange for cash considerations, according to Jack Curry of the YES Network (via Twitter). Yates had been designated for assignment by the Indians earlier this week. Cleveland had originally acquired him from the Rays earlier this offseason.
Yates, 29 in March, enjoyed a solid rookie campaign in 2014 when he logged a 3.75 ERA with a robust 10.5 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9. He couldn’t replicate that in his age-28 season, however, due largely to an incredible amount of home runs allowed. Yates is an extreme fly-ball pitcher, but nearly one third of the balls put in the air against him left the yard this past season (30.3 percent). Extreme fly-ball pitcher or not, that rate is nearly unheard of and is almost certain to regress in the future. However, the poor results left Yates with a 7.97 ERA due to yielding 10 homers in 20 1/3 innings. That skill-set and the homer-friendly confines of Yankee Stadium would seem to be a dangerous combination, although Yates’ track record of missing bats is enticing, and homers were never a problem for him throughout his minor league career.
Because the Yankees’ 40-man roster was only at 37 players prior to the acquisition of Yates, a corresponding move is not necessary in order to clear a roster spot.
Minor MLB Transactions: 1/7/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Royals have agreed to a minor league deal with righty Chien-Ming Wang, as Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter links). The Taiwanese veteran would earn a $1MM base rate if he makes the major league roster, and can achieve up to $1.5MM in incentives in a starting capacity or as much as $250K as a reliever. Wang, who’ll turn 36 just before the season starts, hasn’t cracked the majors since 2013. He spent last year with the Triple-A affiliates of the Braves and Mariners, and also made three starts for the independent Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. In his 130 innings of affiliated ball, Wang posted a 5.88 ERA and registered just 61 strikeouts against 35 walks.
Mariners Sign Ryan Cook
The Mariners have announced the signing of right-hander Ryan Cook, as Jon Heyman first reported (Twitter links). It’s a split contract that will pay Cook a $1.1MM base salary in the majors and $300K in the minors, according to Heyman.
Cook, 28, was a promising setup man for the A’s from 2012-13 but saw his control and ERA begin to trend in the wrong direction in 2014. Shoulder troubles crept up and delayed his start to the 2015 season, though, and the entire season would up being a more or less lost year for him. Cook logged just 8 2/3 innings between the A’s and Red Sox, allowing an astounding 18 earned runs (19 total runs) on 20 hits — four of them homers — and seven walks. Cook fared better in the minors, where he recorded a 3.16 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 in 42 innings of relief. He was traded from Oakland to Boston on July 31 this season, then claimed off waivers by the Cubs in November, though he was ultimately non-tendered.
Cook will come to camp with the Mariners, presumably, and compete for a job in a new-look Seattle bullpen that saw a spot open up today when righty Anthony Bass was released to pursue an opportunity in Japan. If he can rediscover the form he showed with the A’s from 2012-14, Cook will be controllable through the 2018 season as an arbitration-eligible player.
Dodgers Designate Ronald Torreyes For Assignment
The Dodgers announced that they have designated infielder Ronald Torreyes for assignment in order to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for their newest pitcher, right-hander Kenta Maeda.
Torreyes, who turned 23 in September, was traded to the Dodgers from the Blue Jays back in June, with cash considerations heading to Toronto in exchange. Torreyes got a brief cup of coffee with L.A. in 2015 — his Major League debut — collecting a pair of hits in six at-bats/eight plate appearances. Torreyes has seen most of his professional defensive work come at second base, though he does have significant experience at shortstop (144 games) and third base (65 games) as well. He’s also seen a bit of time in the corner outfield.
This past season, Torreyes batted .261/.308/.347 between Double-A and Triple-A across three organizations: the Astros, Blue Jays and Dodgers. While he’s never shown much pop, Torreyes has hit for average pretty consistently in the minors while displaying the aforementioned defensive versatility. He’s a lifetime .287/.330/.358 hitter at Triple-A and an overall .298/.353/.409 hitter in the minor leagues.
White Sox Claim Daniel Fields From Dodgers
The White Sox announced today that they have claimed outfielder Daniel Fields off waivers from the Dodgers. Fields was designated for assignment last week after the Dodgers finalized their signing of left-hander Scott Kazmir.
Fields, 25 next month, has spent the majority of the past two seasons at the Triple-A level, where he’s batted a combined .225/.312/.358 with 13 homers and 25 steals in 825 plate appearances. Baseball America has ranked him among the Tigers’ Top 30 prospects in each of the past six offseasons (26th last winter) since he received a $1.625MM bonus to forgo his college commitment to Michigan. Their latest scouting report noted that he has fringy arm strength and is a fringe-average runner, making him better suited to play left field than center field. He does have average raw power, per BA, but he’s also prone to swinging and missing.
Much like catcher Josmil Pinto, Fields is being bounced around the league quite a bit this winter. After spending 2015 with the Tigers, he’s been claimed by the Brewers, Dodgers and now White Sox, making them his fourth organization since season’s end. Considering the fact that the Sox have been linked to outfield upgrades, it makes sense to add Fields as a depth piece. However, the fact that Chicago may yet bring in a veteran outfielder also lends some uncertainty to Fields’ roster spot.
Pirates Sign Right-Hander Trey Haley To Major League Contract
The Pirates announced that they have signed right-handed reliever Trey Haley to a one-year, Major League Contract on Thursday.
Haley, 25, has spent his entire career in the Indians organization since being selected by Cleveland in the second round of the 2008 draft. The Texas native rated among Baseball America’s Top 30 Indians prospects from 2008-13, ranging from No. 14 to No. 28 and at times earning the distinction of having the best-rated fastball and the best-rated curveball in Cleveland’s minor league system. Control problems have long plagued Haley, but he’s never had an issue missing bats, as he’s averaged about a strikeout per inning in his minor league career. This past season, Haley reached the Triple-A level for the first time and posted a strong 2.45 ERA with 9.8 K/9 against 5.2 BB/9 in 55 innings between Double-A and Triple-A.
Haley will land on the Pirates’ 40-man roster and compete for a job this spring despite never having thrown an inning in the Majors. While the signing will come as a surprise to some, these types of deals — Major League contracts for career minor leaguers — happen a few times each offseason. This winter, we’ve already seen left-hander Buddy Baumann (Padres), right-hander Cesar Vargas (Padres) and right-hander Andury Acevedo (Cubs) land Major League deals despite having no prior Major League experience. (Right-hander Tony Barnette, too, landed a big league deal with the Rangers despite zero MLB innings, although he’s been pitching very successfully in Japan in recent years.)
The Pirates’ 40-man roster is currently full, so they’ll have to make a corresponding move in order to complete Haley’s signing. The team has yet to announce that transaction, however.
Mariners Release Anthony Bass To Pursue Opportunity In Japan
The Mariners announced on Thursday that they have released right-hander Anthony Bass so that he may pursue an opportunity with a team in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. The specific team with which Bass will sign in Japan has not yet been reported.
The move comes as somewhat of a surprise, as Seattle had only just acquired Bass this offseason in a trade that sent Tom Wilhelmsen, James Jones and Patrick Kivlehan to the Rangers. (Seattle received center fielder Leonys Martin in the deal as well.) While Bass wouldn’t necessarily have been guaranteed a roster spot with the Mariners, he seemingly was in a good spot to land a bullpen spot behind new closer Steve Cishek and new setup man Joaquin Benoit. The 28-year-old was eligible for arbitration and projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to take home a $1.1MM salary in 2016, so Bass and his representatives at the Beverly Hills Sports Council probably received a fairly notable offer from the yet-unnamed overseas club. Typically, in these situations, the foreign team will also pay the MLB club some kind of cash considerations as compensation for releasing the player.
Bass spent the bulk of the 2015 season in the Rangers’ bullpen, working to a 4.50 ERA with 6.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 48.5 percent ground-ball rate in 64 innings of relief. He’s totaled at least 27 innings at the Major League level in each of the past five seasons, with the 2012 campaign representing his largest body of work (97 innings, including 15 starts for the Padres). In 278 1/3 innings, Bass has a 4.40 ERA and has averaged 6.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 to go along with a 47.8 percent ground-ball rate and a 92.6 mph fastball.
Brewers Sign Chris Carter
9:10pm: Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter) that Carter can earn an additional $500K based on plate appearances, meaning his contract will max out at $3MM in 2016. That’s a lower baseline than the $4.175MM upon which his projected 2016 raise was based, meaning that even if Carter struggles similarly in terms of batting average this coming season, his projected price tag should come in south of this winter’s $5.6MM. And, if he does end up with a projection that sizable, it’ll likely be due to markedly increased performance, in which case the Brewers probably wouldn’t mind the salary bump.
6:32pm: The Brewers announced on Wednesday that they have signed slugging first baseman Chris Carter to a one-year contract. He’ll reportedly earn $2.5MM with the chance to add to that salary via performance incentives. Carter’s contract also contains incentives that can boost the value of his deal. The agreement will reunite the Sports Management Partners client with GM David Stearns, who served as assistant GM in the Astros’ front office before being named general manager in Milwaukee.
“We are pleased to be able to add Chris to our organization,” said Stearns in a press release announcing the move. “Over the past three seasons, Chris has proven to be one of the most consistent power threats in the game. We believe that his skills and experiences will complement our team well and provide additional production to our lineup.”
Carter, 29, has spent the past three seasons in Houston, batting a combined .218/.312/.459 with 90 home runs while spending the majority of his time at first base and designated hitter. However, a .199/.307/.427 batting line, 32.8 percent strikeout rate, projected $5.6MM salary (via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) and the presence of rising prospects A.J. Reed and Tyler White led Houston to non-tender the slugger back on Dec. 2.
Presumably, Carter will become the Brewers’ primary first baseman, as the team has traded away incumbent first basemen Adam Lind and Jason Rogers over the past few weeks. While defense isn’t Carter’s strong point (-8 UZR/150, -14 DRS in 2064 career innings) and his strikeouts do yield a low batting average, Carter is one of baseball’s most powerful hitters. Over the past three seasons, his 90 home runs rank eighth in the Majors, and his .241 isolated power mark places him 11th among qualified batters. Of course, Carter’s 33.7 percent strikeout rate in that time also is the highest in all of baseball.
Carter was eligible for arbitration for the second time as a Super Two player this offseason at the time of his non-tender, meaning the Brewers will be able to control him for up to three seasons if he remains productive enough to justify the raises he’ll receive via the arbitration process.
Kristie Rieken of the Associated Press first reported the agreement and Carter’s guarantee (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.