Joba Chamberlain Opts Out Of Blue Jays Deal
10:03pm: Chamberlain exercised an out clause in his contract, according to the Blue Jays (hat tip: Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, on Twitter).
9:50pm: The Blue Jays have released right-hander Joba Chamberlain from their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, the team announced (Twitter link).
The 29-year-old Chamberlain signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays on July 21 after being released by the Tigers. However, after 22 shaky innings with the Tigers this year, Chamberlain struggled in even more dramatic fashion with Toronto’s top minor league affiliate. Appearing in seven games, Chamberlain totaled just five innings and surrendered 10 runs (eight earned) on nine hits and four walks with seven strikeouts.
Chamberlain’s average fastball velocity remained strong at 93.5 mph this season, but his strikeout and swinging-strike rates both dipped, and he was exceptionally homer-prone, yielding five homers in his 22 frames.
Toronto was on the lookout for bullpen help at the time that Chamberlain was signed, but the relief corps there has since been solidified. LaTroy Hawkins was acquired alongside Troy Tulowitzki in a blockbuster deal with the Rockies, and GM Alex Anthopoulos also acquired Mark Lowe from the Mariners. The addition of David Price in a second Anthopoulos blockbuster has allowed the Blue Jays to deploy Aaron Sanchez in a relief role, adding another strong arm to the late-inning relief mix.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/13/15
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- Righty Wilfredo Boscan has accepted his outright assignment with the Pirates‘ Triple-A affiliate, as he started for the club tonight. MLBTR’s Zach Links reported yesterday that Boscan had yet to decide whether to elect free agency, but he evidently turned down the chance to hit the open market. The 25-year-old has had a nice season in his first year with the Pittsburgh organization, putting up 94 2/3 innings of 3.33 ERA ball coming into today’s action. (That earned run average is on its way down as we speak: Boscan has thrown five scoreless frames as of publishing this post.)
Blue Jays To Sign Chris Heisey
The Blue Jays and outfielder Chris Heisey have agreed to a minor league contract, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The 30-year-old Sosnick, Cobbe & Karon client was recently released by the Dodgers. He’ll report to Triple-A Buffalo for the Blue Jays, where he’ll be assessed as a potential bench option for the Jays.
Heisey received just 34 plate appearances with the Dodgers in 2015 after coming over from the Reds in exchange for right-hander Matt Magill. Heisey spent the bulk of the season at the Triple-A level, where he batted .236/.355/.481 with 14 homers. Prior to his brief time with the Dodgers, Heisey spent parts of five seasons in Cincinnati, serving as a high quality part-time player for much of his tenure. He had a poor year in 2014, but from 2010-13, Heisey slashed .254/.308/.433. He was particularly impressive at the plate in an 18-homer 2011 campaign.
Though Heisey hits right-handed, he’s showed a reverse platoon split throughout his career. His power and K/BB numbers are virtually identical versus lefties and righties, though, so the reason for his poor production against left-handed pitching may simply be BABIP-related. Heisey has a .309 BABIP against right-handers in his career but just a .251 mark versus left-handers.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/12/15
Here are today’s minor moves, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…
- The Pirates have outrighted right-hander Wilfredo Boscan to Triple-A. According to MLB Trade Rumors’ Zach Links (via Twitter), Boscan can choose to reject this assignment since this is the second time he has been outrighted, and the Bucs are awaiting his decision. Boscan, a nine-year minor league veteran, is still waiting to make his Major League debut despite three stints on Pittsburgh’s roster in 2015. He was designated for assignment last week.
- The Phillies selected the contract of left-hander Cesar Jimenez from Triple-A, the team announced. Righty David Buchanan was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move. Jimenez has been designated for assignment and outrighted three times in three seasons by Philadelphia, most recently in April. He has a 2.67 ERA and 20 strikeouts over 33 2/3 IP with the Phillies since 2013, including two-thirds of an inning this season.
- The Padres outrighted catcher Tim Federowicz to Triple-A, the team announced. Federowicz was designated for assignment on August 1 following his reinstatement from the 60-day DL. The veteran backstop suffered a meniscus tear during Spring Training and has been limited to just 18 minor league games in 2015.
- Six players still remain in ‘DFA limbo,’ which you can see for yourself via the MLB Trade Rumors DFA Tracker.
Padres Sign Bud Norris; Designate Dale Thayer, Taylor Lindsey
The Padres have signed righty Bud Norris, according to a team announcement. San Diego also selected the contract of righty Colin Rea and designated reliever Dale Thayer and infielder Taylor Lindsey for assignment to create roster space, according to Scott Miller of Bleacher Nation (via Twitter) and MLB.com’s Corey Brock (Twitter link).
Norris, 30, was recently designated and released by the Orioles. He owns a 7.05 ERA over 66 1/3 innings on the year, with 6.8 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9. Baltimore will pay the balance of Norris’s $8.8MM salary on the year, less a pro-rated portion of the league minimum for whatever time he spends on the Padres’ active roster.
Of course, the Friars will hope for more from Norris, who threw 342 frames over the past two seasons with much better results. Over that span, he permitted 3.92 earned runs per nine while averaging 7.5 K/9 versus 3.1 BB/9. He’ll look to regain some value before hitting free agency again after the season, but he’ll have to do so from the bullpen. Padres GM A.J. Preller confirmed that will be Norris’s role, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets, explaining: “We’re intrigued in a shorter role, to see how his stuff plays up for the rest of the year.”
San Diego will also see what it has in the 25-year-old Rea, who has steadily climbed the system after originally being selected in the 12th round. This year, he carries a 1.95 ERA across 101 2/3 innings in the upper minors, though he has not performed as well in his time at the Triple-A level (26 2/3 innings over six starts with 6.8 K/9 vs. 4.0 BB/9).
Thayer, 34, entered the season coming off of three straight strong campaigns in San Diego. Last year was his best: 65 1/3 innings with a 2.34 ERA and 8.5 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. While Thayer outperformed the expectations of ERA estimators over that span, he seemed at worst to be a steady middle reliever.
But this season has been different. Over 37 2/3 innings, Thayer has posted a 4.06 ERA that actually seems somewhat lucky in light of his peripherals. He has seen his strikeout rate drop to less than six per nine while allowing over three-and-a-half batters to reach for every nine innings pitched.
As for Lindsey, he came to San Diego as a key part of last year’s Huston Street deal. The 23-year-old former first-round pick has scuffled in the upper minors since joining the Padres organization. Splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A this year, Lindsey owns a .197/.294/.298 slash with four home runs and four steals over 272 plate appearances.
Orioles Acquire Matt Buschmann, Jason Stoffel
Here are today’s minor transactions from around the league…
- The Orioles have announced the Buschmann trade and, additionally, the team announced the acquisition of right-hander Jason Stoffel from the Astros in exchange for cash considerations. A fourth-round pick by the Giants back in 2009, Stoffel has worked to a 4.91 ERA in 44 relief innings this season at the Triple-A level. The 26-year-old’s overall track record in the minors and at Triple-A is better than that, however, as he owns a career 3.55 ERA with 9.3 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9. Houston acquired Stoffel from the Giants in the 2011 trade that sent Jeff Keppinger to San Francisco. He previously ranked as high as 15th among Giants farmhands, though that was five years ago at this point.
Earlier Updates
- The Orioles have acquired right-hander Matt Buschmann from the Reds in exchange for cash considerations, reports Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). The 31-year-old is a veteran of 10 minor league seasons and has split the 2015 campaign between the Reds and Rays organizations, pitching to a 4.03 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 131 2/3 innings. Buschmann has a 3.79 ERA over his past four minor league seasons and should serve as a depth piece for the O’s.
Nationals, Tony Campana Agree To Minor League Deal
12:04pm: Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports that Campana’s minor league deal runs through the 2016 season (Twitter link). Even if he doesn’t end up seeing time with the big league club this season, then, the Nats will get a look at him this summer and next year in Spring Training as well, when he’d have a chance to crack the roster. With Denard Span set to hit free agency this winter, Campana will provide the Nats with a depth piece beyond this season.
12:00pm: The Nationals have agreed to a deal with speedy center fielder Tony Campana, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter links). MLB.com’s Bill Ladson adds (also via Twitter) that it’s a minor league contract.
Campana, a client of Pro Star Sports Management, signed a minor league deal with the White Sox this past offseason but suffered a partially torn ACL in February. He’s rehabbed quickly from the injury, however and has already been performing baseball activities for a month, per Heyman.
The 29-year-old Campana has appeared in the Majors in each of the past four seasons, spending time with the Cubs, Diamondbacks and Angels. He’s batted .249/.296/.288 in 477 plate appearances, but his speed his calling card. As Heyman notes, if he gets back on track in time, Campana could be a September/October bench asset much in the same way that Terrence Gore was for the Royals in 2014. Campana is 66-for-75 in stolen base attempts in his Major League career, and he’s 211-for-279 in minor league attempts.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/10/15
Baseball America’s Matt Eddy has rounded up all the most recent minor moves. Among the notable ones that have not yet appeared on MLBTR …
- Righty Chin-hui Tsao has been outrighted by the Dodgers, per Eddy. The 34-year-old pitched briefly for the Dodgers in 2015 in his first big-league action since 2007 and probably didn’t help his case by allowing three homers in seven innings. He did, however, get fairly good results in the upper levels of the Dodgers’ minor league system this season, posting a 3.93 ERA, 11.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 34 1/3 innings of relief.
- The Marlins signed right-hander Erik Cordier and released infielder Jordany Valdespin, per the report. The 29-year-old Cordier has only appeared in one big-league season (with the Giants, in 2014), but he’s frequently attracted interest from teams looking to fill out their Triple-A clubs, since he throws in the upper 90s and generates strikeouts. As one might expect from a Triple-A reliever with such a profile, though, he has control issues, walking 5.1 batters per nine innings in his minor league career. The Marlins outrighted Valdespin last month. He’s spent most of the season with Triple-A New Orleans, where he’s hit .293/.348/.387 while playing second base and all three outfield positions.
- The Brewers released several minor leaguers, including lefty Michael Kirkman and infielder Donnie Murphy, Eddy adds. The 28-year-old Kirkman pitched parts of five seasons with the Rangers from 2010 through 2014, but he has only appeared in the minors in 2015, pitching 32 innings with the Brewers’ Triple-A team in Colorado Springs. He’s posted a 2.81 ERA with 9.6 K/9 but with a very high 7.9 BB/9. Murphy has hit .257/.352/.371 in 162 plate appearances with Colorado Springs, playing all four infield positions. He has appeared in parts of nine big-league seasons with the Royals, Athletics, Marlins, Cubs and Rangers, although he hasn’t played in the big leagues this year.
- Also, the Red Sox have signed lefty Rich Hill out of the Atlantic League, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. Hill, 35, pitched at Triple-A for the Nationals earlier in the season and posted a 2.91 ERA and 32 strikeouts over 21 2/3 innings, although he also walked 21 batters. The Nationals released him in June, and he made one start for the Long Island Ducks. Hill appeared in 16 games with the Angels and Yankees in 2014.
- Pirates righty Vance Worley has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Indianapolis, Cotillo adds on Twitter. Worley recently lost his roster spot when Pittsburgh added Joe Blanton. He’d have foregone the remainder of his $2.45MM salary by electing free agency. Worley has been fairly effective this season while pitching mostly in a swingman role (3.78 ERA, 6.1 K/9, 2.5 BB/9), so he could return to the Pirates when rosters expand in September.
Dodgers Promote Jose Peraza
The Dodgers have promoted top infield prospect Jose Peraza, who will make his big-league debut while starting at second base tonight, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Regular Dodgers second baseman Howie Kendrick left Sunday’s game after injuring himself while running the bases. He had an MRI on his hamstring today, and the team has announced that it has placed him on the 15-day DL. Manager Don Mattingly said yesterday that he expected Kendrick to miss significant time.
The 21-year-old Peraza only recently joined the Dodgers organization, having arrived from the Braves in the massive three-team Mat Latos / Hector Olivera deal. He was hitting .302/.327/.398 in 469 Triple-A plate appearances this year.
MLB.com ranks Peraza the No. 29 prospect in the game, praising his excellent speed — Peraza has little power and doesn’t walk much but has been an effective offensive player in the minors thanks largely to his ability to run out hits and to his baserunning. He has 204 stolen bases in the equivalent of about three full seasons’ worth of minor league plate appearances. Baseball America ranked Peraza the No. 54 prospect in baseball heading into the season.
Phillies Acquire Tyler Pastornicky From Rangers
The Rangers announced that they’ve traded Triple-A infielder Tyler Pastornicky to the Phillies in exchange for cash considerations.
Formerly a Braves prospect, Pastornicky never grabbed hold of Atlanta’s second base or shortstop job and was eventually released by the Braves in Spring Training. He signed a minor league deal with the Rangers shortly thereafter and has batted .281/.322/.366 between Texas’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates.
The Phillies announced that Pastornicky will join their Triple-A affiliate in Lehigh Valley, so it would seem that he’ll serve as a depth piece for the team over the final third of the season. The 25-year-old will hope for a return to the Majors and better results than the .243/.295/.314 batting line he posted in 268 plate appearances across parts of three big league seasons with the Braves from 2012-14.