Indians Release Scott Atchison
The Indians have released reliever Scott Atchison, the club announced. The 39-year-old righty had been designated for assignment earlier in the week.
Atchison struggled to a 6.86 ERA over 19 2/3 innings this season, though ERA estimators such as xFIP (4.35) and SIERA (4.03) paint a somewhat more sympathetic view of his 2015 performance. Atchison has been badly hurt by the long ball, as he’s already allowed six homers and owns a 2.75 HR/9, which more than triples his 0.91 career HR/9. His 42% ground ball rate is also well below his career 49.7% GBR, which especially hurts since Atchison isn’t a strikeout pitcher.
Cleveland signed Atchison to a $1MM extension last August that paid him a $900K base salary in 2015 as well as a $100K buyout of a $1MM option for 2016. The right-hander was in the midst of a very solid 2.75 ERA campaign for the Tribe in 2014 and had posted very effective numbers from 2011-14 as a member of the Indians, Mets and Red Sox.
With Atchison’s release, only four players remain in limbo according to the MLB Trade Rumors DFA Tracker: Erik Kratz (Red Sox), Rafael Lopez (Cubs), Jose Tabata (Pirates) and Chris Volstad (Pirates).
Orioles Sign First-Round Pick DJ Stewart
The Orioles announced that they have signed first-round pick DJ Stewart. The outfielder was selected with the No. 25 overall pick. Stewart’s deal calls for him to earn $2,064,500, full slot for his draft position, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com (on Twitter). Callis adds that he considers Stewart to be one of the best bats in the 2015 class.
Stewart, an FSU product, slashed .318/.500/.593 with 15 homers in 64 games last season. As a sophomore, the 21-year old was the ACC Player of the Year and an All-ACC First Team selection after leading the conference in batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage.
Stewart was ranked No. 26 by Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel, No. 30 by of Baseball America, No. 36 by and Jonathan Mayo/Jim Callis of MLB.com, and No. 70 by Keith Law of ESPN.com. Originally chosen by the Yankees in the 28th round of the 2012 draft, Stewart has improved his stock tremendously over the last three years. In their scouting report, BA was highly complimentary of Stewart’s quick swing and plate discipline. With an adjustment to his stance, some scouts believe that he’ll be able to hit for more power going forward.
Pirates Designate Jose Tabata For Assignment
The Pirates have designated Jose Tabata for assignment, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter).
The outfielder once looked like a future cornerstone player but he has fallen off in recent seasons. Last year, Tabata’s struggles resulted in him being outrighted off the 40-man roster. In 41 plate appearances this year, Tabata hit just .289/.341/.289. He fared much better in Triple-A, however, slashing .352/.422/.396 with eleven walks against just eight strikeouts over 102 turns at the plate.
Tabata’s deal calls for him to earn the prorated portion of $4MM this year and $4.5MM next season under the early-career extension that he signed. Back in May, GM Neal Huntington indicated that 2015 could have been Tabata’s final year in Pittsburgh.
As the MLBTR DFA Tracker shows, there are now four players in DFA limbo: Tabata, Rafael Lopez, Erik Kratz, and Scott Atchison.
Minor Moves: Mazzaro, Gillespie, Brigham, Carson
Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.
- The Marlins have outrighted righty reliever Vin Mazzaro, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. Mazzaro had recently been designated for assignment. It’s not clear whether he’ll accept the outright. He pitched 12 innings for the Marlins this season, posting a 3.75 ERA with six strikeouts and six walks. Mazzaro has pitched in the big leagues in all of the last seven seasons, but in the past two years he’s spent most of his time in the minors. He’s pitched 20 innings with Triple-A New Orleans this season, with a 3.15 ERA, 9.9 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9
- The Marlins have announced that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Cole Gillespie, who will take Giancarlo Stanton‘s place on the active roster as he heads to the disabled list with a hamate fracture. The 31-year-old Gillespie has played for the Diamondbacks, Giants, Cubs, Mariners and Blue Jays in a big-league career that has spanned small parts of four seasons. He was hitting .291/.356/.360 in 281 plate appearances for Triple-A New Orleans.
- The Braves have selected righty Jake Brigham‘s contract, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets that the Braves haven’t made a corresponding move but that that could depend on whether the Braves’ game today in Pittsburgh is postponed due to rain. Williams Perez hurt his foot in yesterday’s game and could be placed on the disabled list, but if the Braves have to play a doubleheader tomorrow, Brigham could simply be used as the 26th man. The 27-year-old Brigham has a combined 3.13 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 at Double-A and Triple-A this season. He has never pitched in the big leagues.
- The Athletics have released outfielders Matt Carson and Kent Matthes, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy tweets. The 33-year-old Carson hit .209/.296/.336 for Triple-A Nashville after the A’s acquired him from the Dodgers last month. The 28-year-old Matthes was once a highly regarded prospect in the Rockies system, but he also struggled for Nashville in 2015, hitting .233/.294/.358 in 239 plate appearances after also hitting poorly at the Triple-A level last year.
- The Red Sox have released catcher/first baseman Luke Montz, Bill Koch of the Providence Journal tweets. The 31-year-old was hitting .167/.270/.333 for Triple-A Pawtucket. He appeared briefly for the Nationals in 2008 and the Athletics in 2013 and has a .163/.250/.347 in his very brief big-league career.
Cubs Designate Rafael Lopez For Assignment
The Cubs have announced that they’ve designated catcher Rafael Lopez for assignment. The move clears space on the Cubs’ 40-man for righty Donn Roach. To clear space on their active roster for Roach, the Cubs have optioned righty Yoervis Medina to Triple-A Iowa.
The 27-year-old Lopez earned a spot on the Cubs’ roster late in the 2014 season by hitting well at Double-A Tennessee and holding his own at Iowa, and he collected 14 big-league plate appearances last year. His hitting has failed to progress thus far this year, however — he’s currently batting .276/.333/.340 at Triple-A, with no home runs in 176 plate appearances. The depth Lopez represents is also less crucial than it was a year ago, with Miguel Montero and David Ross in the big leagues and Kyle Schwarber as another potential option.
Red Sox Outright John Cornely
The Red Sox have outrighted righty reliever John Cornely and assigned him to Double-A Portland, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal tweets. Boston acquired Cornely from Atlanta for cash considerations after the Braves designated him for assignment last month.
The 26-year-old Cornely has appeared in just one inning in the big leagues, an April outing with Atlanta. The fly ball pitcher has spent most of this season in the high minors, where he’s posted a 4.35 ERA, 10.5 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 31 innings.
Athletics Sign Phil Coke To Minor League Deal
The Athletics have signed lefty Phil Coke to a minor league deal with a July 10 opt-out, according to Class A+ Stockton Ports broadcaster Zack Bayrouty (on Twitter). Coke has been assigned to Stockton. He is a client of Full Circle Sports Management.
Earlier this week, Coke declined an optional assignment and became a free agent after 2 2/3 innings with the Blue Jays. Previously this season, he had pitched for the Cubs, who released him in late May.
The opt-out in Coke’s new deal suggests both he and the A’s think he has a shot to get back to the big leagues quickly. Coke has struggled to a 5.68 ERA in the big leagues this season, but with reasonable strikeout and walk numbers (12 strikeouts and five walks in 12 2/3 innings) and a strong 59.0 ground ball percentage that suggests the 32-year-old might have more gas left in his tank. For his career, much of which he’s spent with the Yankees and Tigers, Coke has a 4.20 ERA, 7.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.
Giants Sign Phil Bickford
SATURDAY: The Giants have officially announced the signing.
FRIDAY: The Giants have agreed to an at-slot, $2,333,800 bonus with first-rounder Phil Bickford, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports on Twitter. The righty was taken 18th overall.
Bickford previously went unsigned by the Blue Jays as the tenth overall selection back in 2013. He spent a year with Cal State Fullerton, but then moved to the Community College of Southern Nevada to advance his draft eligibility by a season.
The right-hander was rated as high as 21st among prospects heading into the draft, with MLB.com placing that mark on him. Mayo & Co. were impressed with Bickford’s big fastball, which runs into the upper nineties in a relief capacity, along with his improving slider.
While MLB.com likes Bickford to stick as a starter, ESPN.com’s Keith Law noted that some scouts who saw him recently believe he’s a pen arm in the long run. The issue seems to be one of consistency and of developing a third pitch, as Bickford has a lot of work left on his changeup. Law ranked Bickford 38th on his board and called him “the most volatile prospect in the draft,” with ambiguous health and personality issues also factoring in.
Obviously, San Francisco felt comfortable taking a chance on Bickford’s significant upside. As Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area notes on Twitter, Bickford becomes the last of the club’s first dozen picks to agree to terms.
Orioles Sign First-Rounder DJ Stewart
JUNE 27: Stewart himself announced today (via Instagram) that he has officially signed with the Orioles.
JUNE 26: The Orioles are nearing an at-slot deal with first-round selection DJ Stewart, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com reports (Twitter links). Stewart is in Baltimore for his physical, so it appears that the finishing touches will be in place shortly.
Stewart, an outfielder from Florida State, was taken 25th overall. That slot came with a $2,064,500 allocation, and Melewski says that he’s expected to receive that amount for signing.
The industry consensus had Stewart as a first-round talent, with Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs rating him the 26th-best available prospect. Baseball America (30th) and MLB.com (36th) also placed him in that range, while ESPN.com’s Keith Law valued the overall package somewhat lower, rating Stewart 70th on his board.
Stewart’s best attributes are featured at the plate, where he presents strong hit and power tools, as evidenced by a lengthy track record of major college success. Though Stewart has yet to tap into his full power potential, he is said to deliver an advanced approach that made him a reliable on-base threat at FSU.
In spite of his stocky build, Stewart is considered a good athlete with average speed. Scouts say he possesses below-average arm strength, but he figures to be a reasonable option in left.
Baltimore is still juggling its draft spending after handing seventh-rounder Gray Fenter a well-above-slot $1MM bonus that will require the club to come up with over $800K in extra pool space. However, in addition to some other savings from later selections, the O’s freed $411,900 in capacity in agreeing to terms with 36th-overall selection Ryan Mountcastle. The club has agreed to terms with all of the selections from the top ten rounds except for second-round pick Jonathan Hughes, a high school righty.
Cardinals Sign Second-Rounder Denton For $1.2MM
Yesterday, we noted (via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) that the Cardinals have signed third baseman and second-round pick Bryce Denton. Today, MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets that Denton will receive $1.2MM, significantly above the $935,400 pool value for the No. 66 pick. Denton had been committed to Vanderbilt.
ESPN’s Keith Law ranked Denton the No. 67 prospect in the draft, while MLB.com rated him 74th. Baseball America ranked him 95th, noting that he has good raw power and bat speed but could eventually move to one of the corner outfield positions.
Via MLB.com’s Signing and Bonus Tracker, Denton is the fourth over-slot signing the Cardinals have made in the first ten rounds, also reaching for Comp Round A pick Jake Woodford, supplemental pick Jordan Hicks and eighth-rounder Ian Oxnevad. Cardinals top pick Nick Plummer‘s bonus fell right in line with MLB’s recommendations, with the Cards instead finding dollars for their over-slot signings in part by drafting three college seniors elsewhere in the top ten rounds.