Neftali Feliz Elects Free Agency
9:48pm: Feliz has elected free agency, Cotillo tweets. There will obviously be interest in his services, particularly as he has maintained his mid-90s velocity, though it remains to be seen whether Feliz will receive any immediate opportunities at the major league level.
1:39pm: Rangers righty Neftali Feliz has cleared outright waivers, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Feliz was designated for assignment last Friday.
The 27-year-old Feliz is playing on a $4.13MM arbitration deal this year and remains controllable for a final year in 2016. That obligation, combined with the sub-par performances that led to the DFA, likely ensured that he would not be claimed.
Because Feliz has topped five years of service at this point, after entering the year with 4.151 to his credit, he can choose to elect free agency without giving up his remaining salary. Per the report, Feliz is still deciding whether or not to take an assignment with Texas.
One one of the game’s more exciting young pen arms, Feliz has scuffled this season to a 5.09 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9. Though he’s had much better results in recent seasons, it has been some time since Feliz rated well in the eyes of ERA estimators. He has not dipped below the 4.00 mark by measure of SIERA since the 2011 season, after which the Rangers unsuccessfully sought to move him into the rotation.
[RELATED: Rangers To Sign Cuban Free Agent Andy Ibanez]
Phillies Sign Jhailyn Ortiz
JULY 9: The Phillies have officially announced the signing. They also announced the singings of Venezuelan catcher Rafael Marchan and Dominican infielder Kuedy Bocio and lefty Manuel Silva. As Baseball America’s Ben Badler notes (on Twitter), Ortiz’s bonus is actually $4MM, which will help the Phillies to stay within their international bonus pool, which now stands at $5.28MM.
JULY 2: The Phillies have an agreement with Dominican first base prospect Jhailyn Ortiz, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports on Twitter. Agreement is still being “finalized,” per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, who tweets that the bonus is for an estimated $4.2MM.
Ortiz ranked sixth on Sanchez’s list of top international prospects, with Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel ranking him 14th and Baseball America’s Ben Badler ranking him 18th. Already listed at 6’2″ and 260 pounds, raw power is Ortiz’s best tool. He’s currently a left fielder, but most expect him to move to first base. Ortiz as the type of power “that does not come around very often,” per Sanchez. McDaniel gives Ortiz 70-grade raw power and notes that he’s surprisingly fleet of foot at the time being, though he figures to eventually slow down some. Badler notes (subscription required and recommended) that Ortiz showed a lot of swing-and-miss at events in February and March, leading to some concerns among scouts. There’s a lot of risk, per Badler, but there’s 25-plus homer upside if Ortiz can make similar adjustments to the ones Nomar Mazara made after signing with the Rangers.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/9/15
Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.
- Somerset Patriots outfielder Scott Cousins has retired, Mike Ashmore of MyCentralJersey.com writes. The announcement was made as Cousins was removed from the Atlantic League All-Star Game on Wednesday. Cousins played parts of four seasons with the Marlins and Angels from 2010 through 2013, hitting .179/.230/.285 in 193 career plate appearances. He says he’d like to finish his college degree, then become a hitting coach or scout. “I’d love to be an area scout; it’s a simple lifestyle, I get to watch baseball and I get to mentor guys where I used to be,” Cousins says. “I’m not going to get rich at it, and I’m perfectly OK with that.”
- Giants pitcher Brett Bochy is currently listed on the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats roster, so it appears he has been outrighted after being designated for assignment last week. Bruce’s son has produced a 4.30 ERA, 5.5 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 29 1/3 innings with the River Cats this season. He briefly appeared in the big leagues last year.
- The Reds have acquired righty Miguel Celestino from the Red Sox, Portland Sea Dogs broadcaster Mike Antonellis tweets. Celestino, 25, posted a 4.53 ERA, 6.7 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings at Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket. He’s spent most of the past three seasons pitching in relief. He did not rank in MLB.com’s list of the Red Sox’ top 30 prospects.
Orioles Release Delmon Young
The Orioles have released outfielder Delmon Young, the club announced. Young had been designated for assignment on July 1.
Baltimore had indicated that it was optimistic of finding a trade partner for Young, as it did previously with Alejandro De Aza. Despite the fact that the veteran is only owed a shade over $1MM the rest of the way, the O’s were apparently not able to find a taker for a piece of that contract.
Young will surely draw interest on the free agent market. Though the 29-year-old is in the midst of a mediocre .270/.289/.339 campaign at present, he slashed a highly useful .302/.337/.442 in part-time play last year.
Alex Gordon Out Two Months With Groin Strain
10:51am: Gordon has a grade two-plus strain and is expected to miss eight weeks of action, manager Ned Yost told reporters, including McCullough (Twitter links). Surgery does not appear to be necessary, per Yost.
10:09am: While we are still awaiting news on the MRI results, the Royals have already gone ahead and added Alex Gordon to the 15-day DL. The outfielder left the club’s game last night with a left groin strain.
Kansas City will welcome the return of righty Yordano Ventura, who was activated as part of a series of moves. Lefty Brandon Finnegan was also recalled to the big league club.
Gordon, an easy All-Star selection after a typically excellent first half, took a scary spill while pursuing a ball hit to the left field wall. After the game, manager Ned Yost did not express much confidence, indicating that Gordon could be lost for a significant stretch.
Kansas City, which owns the American League’s best winning percentage, does have internal options. The speedy Jarrod Dyson figures to see a good piece of the action, while the right-handed-hitting Paulo Orlando provides a platoon mate.
Depending upon the prognosis, an outside addition remains possible, though the team may still prioritize starting pitching and/or second base. Adding a player capable of manning both the corner outfield and the keystone — Ben Zobrist being the best-known example of that archetype — would have obvious facial appeal.
For Gordon, 31, it’s not the best time to go down for a lengthy stretch, and not only because of team considerations. He faces a (rather easy) decision on his player option and pending free agency. Gordon’s value probably will not take much of a hit if he’s able to demonstrate a return to health later this year, though he already faces some age-related limitations on his earning power.
Yankees Designate Taylor Dugas
The Yankees have designated outfielder Taylor Dugas for assignment, the club announced. His 40-man roster spot was needed for the promotion of infielder Cole Figueroa.
Dugas, 25, has played both of the past two seasons in the upper minors, splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A. He had a solid campaign in 2014, but has fallen back to a cumulative .221/.329/.260 slash in 219 total plate appearances this season.
Twice an eighth-round draft choice out of Alabama, Dugas has spent his entire career in the New York organization. He has spent most of his time in left field, though he’s also played in center and right.
Dodgers To Sign Josh Sborz, Philip Pfeifer
TODAY: Sborz will take home $722,500 and Pfeifer will receive $222,500, MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets. In total, then, Los Angeles saved $446,700 on the two signings.
By my count, with some help from the MLB.com draft signings tracker, the Dodgers have $175,200 in savings from their current signings to play with. Of course, if the team goes less than 5% over its final pool allotment (which will depend on which players are signed from the first ten rounds), it won’t incur any lost future picks, providing some additional wiggle room.
YESTERDAY: The Dodgers have reached deals with two of their higher draft choices, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Virginia righty Josh Sborz (74th overall, $827K slot) and Vanderbilt lefty Philip Pfeifer (101st, $564.7K), whose teams recently squared off in the College World Series, have agreed to undisclosed bonuses. (Slot values via Baseball America.)
Sborz rated as high as 114th on pre-draft boards, with MLB.com giving him that ranking and praising his arm speed and solid slider while noting that he’s expected to end up in the pen. Meanwhile, Baseball America tabbed Pfeifer as the 195th-best draft prospect, explaining that he lacks a big fastball but has three solid pitches and good deception.
The Dodgers still have some work left with their selections from the first ten rounds. First-round Vandy right-hander Walker Buehler and sandwich selection Kyle Funkhouser of Louisville remain unsigned, as does sixth-rounder Edwin Rios, a first baseman from Florida International.
Dodgers Designate Eric Surkamp
The Dodgers have designated lefty Eric Surkamp for assignment, the club announced (via J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group, on Twitter).
Los Angeles needed his 40-man spot as part of a series of moves, as the team continues to turn over its bullpen. Yimi Garcia and Ian Thomas will head to Triple-A on optional assignment, while relievers Chin-hui Tsao and Josh Ravin will ascend to the big league roster.
Surkamp, 27, appeared in just one game with the Dodgers this year, allowing four earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out four and walked one, but permitted two long balls.
Over parts of four big league seasons, Surkamp has only thrown 57 total frames at the MLB level. All said, he owns a 6.47 ERA with 5.8 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9. He has mostly worked from the pen in the majors, though he’s spent most of his minor league time as a starter.
It’s interesting to note the return of Tsao. The 34-year-old native of Taiwan last appeared in the bigs in 2007. In the interim, he found himself banned from his home country’s top league amid game-fixing allegations, as Joseph Yeh of the China Post details. Tsao has managed only a 4.40 ERA over 30 2/3 frames at Triple-A this year, but is carrying an impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio of 11.4 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.
Cardinals Designate Aledmys Diaz For Assignment
The Cardinals have designated infielder Aledmys Diaz for assignment, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports on Twitter. A 40-man spot was needed for the promotion of veteran first baseman Dan Johnson.
Per Langosch, St. Louis hopes that Diaz will clear waivers given that he’s still owed a significant amount of salary. The Cardinals signed Diaz as an amateur free agent in March of last year, guaranteeing him four years and $8MM.
After entering the year as the organization’s 11th-rated prospect in the eyes of Baseball America, the 24-year-old Diaz has taken a step back in 2015. Playing at Double-A, he owns a .235/.292/.344 slash over 268 plate appearances on the year. Those numbers are down from a partial showing in the minors last season, when he put up a .765 OPS in 125 turns at bat at the High-A and Double-A levels.
Baseball America noted in its evaluation that Diaz had a more advanced bat than glove, though the Cards have remained hopeful that he could turn into a big league shortstop. The youngster has spent virtually all of his time at short thus far as a professional. Over sixty games there this year, Diaz has committed eleven errors.
Outrighted To Triple-A: O’Sullivan, Wilson, Gorzelanny
Here are today’s outright assignments from around the league…
- The Phillies announced that right-hander Sean O’Sullivan has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. O’Sullivan was outrighted earlier this week after spending the bulk of the first half in the Phillies’s rotation. The 27-year-old has never enjoyed much success in the Majors, but he’s soaked up 302 1/3 innings with the Royals, Padres, Angels and Phillies from 2009-15, including 71 frames for the Phils in 2015. O’Sullivan worked to a 6.08 ERA this year. That number is clearly unappealing, but he did provide a serviceable 4.79 ERA through his first 10 starts before allowing six runs in each of his final three turns.
- Infielder Josh Wilson accepted an outright assignment from the Tigers after being DFA earlier this week, writes MLive.com’s Chris Iott. The versatile veteran actually hit quite well in a small sample with Detroit this season but doesn’t have a track record of offensive success. Rather, he’s carved out a career through defensive versatility, as he’s logged significant innings at shortstop, second base and third base in addition to brief cameos in left field and at first base.
Earlier Updates
- Left-hander Tom Gorzelanny has accepted an outright assignment from the Tigers after clearing waivers, tweets MLB.com’s Jason Beck. Gorzelanny was designated for assignment alongside Joba Chamberlain on Friday and had the right to elect free agency and retain what remained of his $1MM salary. Instead, he’ll work on a sidearm delivery at Triple-A Toledo, according to Beck. The veteran Gorzelanny posted a 6.38 ERA in 24 innings for Detroit this season.