Francisco Cordero Formally Announces Retirement
Longtime closer Francisco Cordero has officially announced his retirement, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes. Cordero, of course, hasn’t pitched in the Majors in three seasons — his last big league game came on Aug. 1, 2012 — but he had yet to fully give up on his goal of returning, as evidenced by the fact that he pitched in winter ball in 2013 and 2014 and also went to Spring Training with the Red Sox in 2014.
Cordero explained to Rojas that he didn’t want to walk away without making a formal announcement of his decision, and so even though he himself suggested that the timing is a bit unusual, he still felt it was the right thing to do. Cordero formally thanked each organization for which he pitched over the course of a 20-year professional career and the fans who supported him during that time.
Originally signed by the Tigers at the age of 19 back in 1994, the now-40-year-old Cordero made exactly 800 relief appearances (no starts) with the Tigers, Rangers, Reds, Blue Jays, Brewers and Astros from 1999-2012. The Dominican hurler compiled a lifetime 3.38 ERA with 8.7 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 329 saves and a 47-53 win-loss record. Cordero made the All-Star team on three occasions, and though he never led the league in saves, he did record three seasons of 40-plus saves, topping out at 49 in 2004.
Cordero’s consistently strong results from 2002-07 led him to sign one of the largest contracts ever received by a relief pitcher — a four-year, $46MM contract with Cincinnati that, to this day, is topped only by Jonathan Papelbon‘s $50MM guarantee with the Phillies and B.J. Ryan‘s $47MM guarantee with the Blue Jays. In total, Cordero earned more than $66MM over the life of his career, according to Baseball-Reference.com. MLBTR wishes him and his family happiness in his post-playing days.
Brewers Claim Daniel Fields
The Brewers announced that they’ve claimed outfielder Daniel Fields off waivers from the Tigers and optioned him to Double-A (Twitter link). With this claim, Milwaukee now has 38 of its 40-man roster spots filled.
The 24-year-old Fields, a sixth-round pick by the Tigers, made a brief appearance in the Majors with Detroit this season, going 1-for-3 in what is to date the only big league game of his career. He’s spent most 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. BA twice ranked Fields as the best athlete in the Tigers’ minor league system, though the last time he earned that distinction came in the 2010-11 offseason.
Athletics Extend Bob Melvin Through 2018
5:40pm: The Athletics have announced a two-year extension for Melvin that runs through the 2018 season. In a statement, Melvin said that he is “fully committed to this team, this organization, and this fan base.”
1:10pm: The Athletics will hold a press conference this afternoon in order to announce an extension for skipper Bob Melvin, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported earlier in the year. Slusser and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com both say (Twitter links) that Melvin’s new deal will be made official today, though its duration and terms remain unreported.
As Slusser noted in the earlier report, and reiterates today, Oakland is also likely to promote Billy Beane to the president-level position while handing the general manager’s seat to current AGM David Forst. It is not yet clear precisely how those long-time colleagues will change their everyday duties, or whether and when the move will be consummated.
The timing may seem curious at first glance, given that the team is mired in last place and Melvin was already under contract through next season. But he’s long been viewed as a top-quality skipper by the organization, and the overall results have been strong. Since taking the reins in 2012, Melvin has led the club to two AL West crowns and one Wild Card berth.
The A’s, of course, are well known for their crafty roster-building and player-usage approaches, and Melvin has proven well-suited to the organization’s philosophies. As the Chronicle’s Bruce Jenkins wrote in an interesting profile last year, Melvin blends more traditional approaches to managing (“drill-sergeant qualities”) with an understanding of and comfort with modern analytics.
Speaking at the time of Beane, Melvin described an interesting dynamic that has helped the club to thrive in recent seasons despite a perpetually low payroll and frequent roster turnover. “The thing about Billy is that he allows debate,” Melvin said. “Spirited debate. I don’t think he wants you to agree with him all the time. There’s a system in place here, something we’ve all bought into, but on a day-to-day basis, there can be disagreements. Sometimes it might get a little heated, but I appreciate that I have a voice in it.”
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/9/15
Here are today’s minor moves:
- The Yankees announced that outfielder Tyler Austin has been outrighted to Double-A. Recently designated for assignment, the 24-year-old has not progressed as hoped since rating as a top-100 prospect entering the 2013 season. Austin earned his first crack at the Triple-A level this year, but slashed just .235/.309/.311 with four home runs and eight stolen bases over 299 plate appearances.
Cardinals Activate Matt Adams, Designate Nick Greenwood
The Cardinals have announced the activation of first baseman Matt Adams, who has missed a lengthy stretch with a quadriceps injury. To clear 40-man space, the club designated left-hander Nick Greenwood for assignment.
Adams, 27, last saw action on May 26th. He was hitting just .243/.281/.375 on the season at that point, a disappointing drop-off from the well-above-average batting lines he had put up over the prior two seasons. Adams will look to get back on track late in the year, both to reestablish himself in the team’s regular mix and to bolster his upcoming, first-time arbitration case.
In his absence, the Cardinals added fellow left-handed power hitter Brandon Moss, who has hit well since coming to St. Louis. The club also promoted top prospect Stephen Piscotty, a righty, who has seen some action at first. Both Moss and, in particular, Piscotty are also capable of playing the corner outfield. All told, the club has some flexibility both to bring Adams back slowly and to play matchups in the post-season.
Greenwood, 27, has thrown 36 big league innings for the Cards, including just one appearance this year in which he did not record an out. The southpaw has worked both as a starter and a reliever in the minors. After a solid campaign throwing mostly from the pen last season, he has scuffled to a 5.79 ERA in 129 Triple-A frames on the year in 2015, with 4.2 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9.
Tim Hudson Says He’ll Retire After The Season
Giants righty Tim Hudson says he’s hanging up his cleats after the season, as John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter. Previously, the 40-year-old had indicated that he was likely to retire, but it now appears he has made up his mind.
“This is definitely my last year, for sure,” said the veteran. “It’s the right thing to do. It’s the right time for me and my family.”
This season hasn’t been quite the send-off that Hudson might have hoped for (though he had quite a memorable outing last night). He has missed time due to injury and is carrying an ERA over four per nine for just the third time in 17 seasons.
But Hudson is still remarkably useful given his age. He has continued to generate a groundball rate of over 50% and would undoubtedly draw plenty of interest as a free agent were he to consider signing.
Still, it’s not terribly surprising to hear that Hudson has decided to call it quits. He has made clear throughout the year that things were likely headed in that direction. And as he and his wife discussed in the above-linked piece, via Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, a variety of considerations beyond pitching capability have driven the decision.
We’ll have to wait until the end of the year to make a final tally of Hudson’s overall body of work, but needless to say, it will be impressive. Hudson broke into the league with the Athletics back in 1999, spent nine years with the Braves, and capped it off in San Francisco. All told, he has racked up over 3,000 innings with a lifetime earned run average of less than 3.50 runs per nine innings.
Those results came mostly via a sterling 58.0% career groundball rate rather than dominant strikeout tallies. In fact, Hudson has averaged only 6.0 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 in his career. He nevertheless managed to compile over fifty wins above replacement over his career as a consistent, quality, and durable rotation piece.
That body of work is probably not enough to get him into Cooperstown, but Hudson undoubtedly rates as one of the best pitchers of his era.
Added To 40-Man Rosters: O’Brien, Stauffer, Hill, Baron, Ramirez
With Triple-A seasons coming to a close, there’s been another wave of players whose contracts of have been selected to their respective teams’ 40-man rosters. Here’s a list of today’s 40-man moves…
- The D-Backs announced that they’ve selected the contract of slugging prospect Peter O’Brien. The catcher-turned-outfielder was the key piece that Arizona picked up from the Yankees in last summer’s Martin Prado swap. The 25-year-old O’Brien batted .284/.332/.551 and belted 26 homers this season for Triple-A Reno. The knock on O’Brien has long been his lack of a true position. Arizona seemed to be of the belief that he could remain behind the plate, but that’s no longer the case, as he’s been shifted to the outfield. That thinking led the D-Backs to leave their catching vacancy largely unaddressed this winter, although the midseason acquisition of Welington Castillo has certainly shored things up on that front. Evan Marshall was moved to the 60-day DL to accommodate O’Brien’s addition.
- The Mets have selected Tim Stauffer‘s contract, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. Stauffer, who can serve in a long relief capacity for manager Terry Collins, began the season with the Twins after signing a one-year, $2.2MM contract as a free agent. The longtime Padres hurler got off to a dreadful start in Minneapolis, though, posting a 6.60 ERA in 15 innings before being released. Stauffer went to indy ball, pitching 16 innings for the Sugar Land Skeeters before the Mets signed him to a minor league deal. He notched a 2.48 ERA in eight Triple-A starts for the Mets.
- The Red Sox have selected Rich Hill‘s contract, as first reported by Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). The 35-year-old spent parts of three seasons in Boston from 2010-12 and had a 2.83 ERA in 54 innings between the Triple-A affiliates for the Red Sox and Yankees. He also had a brief stop in indy ball this season, pitching well in 11 frames for the Long Island Ducks.
- The Mariners announced that they’ve selected the contracts of catcher Steven Baron and right-hander J.C. Ramirez. Baron, 24, hit .265/.334/.361 between Double-A and Triple-A this season, catching 28 percent of opposing base stealers. As for Ramirez, the 27-year-old has a strong 2.72 ERA at the Triple-A level this season and also worked to a 4.11 ERA in 15 1/3 innings with the Diamondbacks. Seattle picked him up from the D-Backs in exchange for cash considerations in late July. Charlie Furbush was transferred to the 60-day DL in order to clear room for one of the two additions.
Marlins Claim Tommy Medica
The Marlins have claimed first baseman/outfielder Tommy Medica off waivers from the Padres, Miami announced. Medica will not immediately report to the organization, per the announcement.
Also announced today by the Marlins were the recall of righty Scott McGough and the transfer of starter Henderson Alvarez to the 60-day DL.
Medica, 27, is a right-handed hitter who has seen 338 career plate appearances at the major league level. He’s slashed .246/.308/.417 in those chances, spread over 2013-14, with 12 home runs and six stolen bases.
After several big seasons in the minors, Medica has fallen off since moving up to the Triple-A level. This year, he owns a .259/.314/.364 batting line with just five long balls in 363 plate appearances. Medica has, however, hit lefties well; in theory, then, he could be part of an affordable platoon situation at first base next year alongside the left-handed-hitting Justin Bour.
Tigers Designate Daniel Fields For Assignment
The Tigers have designated outfielder Daniel Fields for assignment, Chris Iott of MLive.com reports. His 40-man spot will go to infielder Josh Wilson, who will be activated.
Fields, 24, reached the big leagues and recorded his first hit this year, but saw just one game of action. He’s spent most of his time at the Triple-A level over the past two seasons, slashing .225/.312/.358 in 825 plate appearances. Though not much of a power source, Fields has swiped 25 bags in that span.
Detroit drafted Fields in the sixth round back in 2009, drawing the high schooler to the professional ranks with a $1.625MM bonus. While he’s shown flashes at times, including a big 2013 season at Double-A (.284/.356/.435 with 24 steals), Fields has yet to show that he can hit consistently at the highest level of the minors.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/7/15
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…
- Righties Brandon Kintzler and Preston Guilmet were outrighted off of the 40-man roster by the Brewers, the club announced. As Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel explains, the 31-year-old Kintzler has dealt with injuries after serving as a reliable bullpen piece in recent seasons. Over the last two years, he contributed 135 1/3 innings of 2.93 ERA pitching with 5.9 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9. Guilmet, 28, has bounced around quite a bit on the waiver wire and ultimately saw action in four teams’ systems this year. While he struggled in limited big league action, Guilmet worked to a 2.19 ERA with 8.4 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 in his 49 1/3 Triple-A frames. Milwaukee also selected the contract of catcher Nevin Ashley, who will see his first big league action at 31 years of age after putting up a solid .306/.374/.442 batting line in 381 Triple-A plate appearances this year.
- Also outrighted today was righty Jake Buchanan of the Astros, per a club announcement. Recently designated for assignment, the 25-year-old Buchanan owns a 4.06 ERA over his 44 1/3 innings with Houston since the start of 2014. He has struck out 5.1 and walked 3.2 batters per nine in that span.
- The Yankees announced that they have once again selected the contract of left-hander Chris Capuano. This should be the final 40-man transaction of the season for Capuano, whose tumultuous season has seen him jettisoned from the 40-man roster numerous times. Capuano was, in fact, designated for assignment four times within one calendar month from late July through late August, though the DFA roller coaster should be over for him thanks to expanded September rosters. The 37-year-old veteran has struggled with the Yankees in 2015, totaling a 7.71 ERA in 35 innings. He posted a solid 4.25 mark in 65 2/3 innings for the Yankees last season but has seen his control take a step back, among other issues, in 2015. To clear room for Capuano on the 40-man roster, lefty Jacob Lindgren was activated from the minor league DL, recalled to the Majors and placed on the 60-day disabled list.
- The Giants announced that they’ve transferred Tim Lincecum to the 60-day disabled list to clear a 40-man roster spot for right-hander Brett Bochy, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A. Bochy, 28, has just 3 1/3 innings of big league experience — all of which came in 2014. He’s spent the 2015 campaign at Triple-A, where he’s recorded an impressive 2.95 ERA with 6.7 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 in 58 innings of relief. He is the son of Giants manager Bruce Bochy.