Phillippe Aumont Declines Outright, Elects Free Agency
Righty Phillippe Aumont has declined the Phillies‘ outright assignment and instead elected free agency, Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports on Twitter. Aumont was designated for assignment over the weekend.
Aumont had previously been outrighted, meaning that he had the option to hit the market this time around. The 26-year-old righty had never managed to show sustained results as a big league reliever, struggling in particular to limit free passes. Aumont lost his 40-man spot early last year, but remained in the organization after clearing waivers.
He was doing a nice job of preventing runs at Triple-A this season after moving back to a starting role, posting a 2.35 ERA in 65 innings despite continued control problems. Philadelphia brought Aumont up for a big league start to bolster its threadbare rotation, but the results weren’t pretty. He walked seven batters in just four frames and served up two home run balls en route to allowing six earned.
With Aumont formally leaving the Philly organization, we can officially close the books on the 2009 deal that sent Cliff Lee to the Mariners. The Phillies never received any significant contributions from the young players it acquired, though of course the club ultimately re-signed Lee not long after.
Astros Agree To Terms With Alex Bregman
2:58pm: Bregman’s bonus is expected to be $6MM, reports Drellich (on Twitter). That would add an approximate $1.42MM to the $1.069MM they’ve already saved, giving the team about $2.3MM over slot to offer Cameron. Of course, as noted below, the team’s second- and third-round picks remain unsigned, so there are still some yet-undetermined factors in calculating Cameron’s maximum bonus.
12:35pm: Bregman tells MLB.com’s Chandler Rome that he’s “pretty sure” he’ll be introduced at Minute Maid Park tomorrow (Twitter link).
12:27pm: The Astros are in agreement with No. 2 overall pick Alex Bregman, reports Mark Berman of MyFOXHouston.com (All Twitter links). Bregman has arrived in Houston to sign his contract with the Astros, according to Berman. A shortstop out of Louisiana State University, Bregman himself confirmed that the deal is in place and voiced his excitement over beginning his pro career when talking to Berman. “I was so excited. I can’t wait to get wherever I’m going,” said Bregman.
Earlier this week, the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich reported that the ‘Stros were closing in on agreements with Bregman and No. 37 overall selection Daz Cameron. GM Jeff Luhnow told Drellich he hoped to have a couple of signings to announce during the upcoming homestand, which starts tomorrow.
Bregman was universally considered among the top four prospects in this year’s draft class. He rated as the No. 4 prospect in the draft in the estimation of Baseball America, Keith Law of ESPN.com and Jonathan Mayo/Jim Callis of MLB.com. Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel ranked Bregman third.
Law calls Bregman the “best pure hitter in the class,” sharing the opinion of many scouts that Bregman will eventually end up at second base. That’s far from a guarantee, however, as McDaniel notes that he feels Bregman can stick at short, and both the MLB.com and BA scouting reports add that he has a chance to be an average defender there. BA notes that “average” range isn’t good enough for some clubs, but Bregman projects as a plus defender at second if he moves to the other side of the bag. BA calls Bregman “one of the safest picks in this year’s draft,” noting that he has an exceptionally long track record of success, dating back to his high school days, when he led the USA 16U and 18U teams to gold medals in 2010 and 2011.
If Bregman’s bonus comes in below the slot value of $7,420,100, the Astros could use those savings and the roughly $189K they saved on No. 5 overall selection Kyle Tucker in order to offer Cameron a significantly above-slot bonus. A look at MLB.com’s draft bonus tracker also shows that the Astros have saved $273K on fourth-rounder Anthony Hermelyn, $66.5K on fifth-rounder Trent Thornton, $43K on sixth-rounder Nestor Muriel, $120K on seventh-rounder Michael Freeman, $76K on eighth-rounder Garrett Stubbs, $154K on ninth-rounder Zac Person and $148K on 10th-rounder Scott Weathersby. All told that’s a savings of about $1.069MM in addition to any savings from Bregman’s bonus and their remaining unsigned second- and third-round selections. Cameron’s slot value is $1.6686MM, so the Astros seem well-positioned to offer substantially more in order to convince him to sign rather than attend Florida State.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Yankees Designate Jose De Paula For Assignment
The Yankees announced that they have designated Jose De Paula for assignment. The move allows the Bombers to reinstate Ivan Nova from the 60-day disabled list following his rehab assignment.
The Yankees signed De Paula to a one-year major league contract back in November. The split contract called for the left-hander to earn $510K for pitching in the majors and $175K in the minors. De Paula, 27, owns a 3.77 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over 470 career innings in the minors. In total, De Paula made just three appearances for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate this season.
As the MLBTR DFA Tracker shows, there are now five players in DFA limbo: Scott Atchison, Phillippe Aumont, Hector Noesi, Jeff Bianchi, and De Paula.
Dillon Gee Accepts Outright Assignment
3:53pm: Unsurprisingly, Gee has indeed accepted the assignment to Triple-A, tweets MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.
TUESDAY, 12:43pm: Gee has cleared waivers, the club announced. He remains shy of five years of service time, meaning that he had to accept the assignment or forfeit the remainder of his guaranteed salary.
SUNDAY: The Mets have placed Dillon Gee on outright waivers with the intent of sending him to Triple-A, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN.com. Gee’s name has been in trade rumors for a very long time but the Mets designated him for assignment late last week when they couldn’t find a match.
From 2010-14, Gee notched a 3.91 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 639 2/3 innings, and he’s typically posted a ground-ball rate near or above the league average (career 46 percent). This season, however, he has struggled to a 5.90 ERA in 39 2/3 innings for the Mets. Meanwhile, Gee was owed about $3.24MM prorated on his $5.3MM salary at the time of his DFA, so teams were wary of taking him on. Now, the Mets will be able to stash him in Triple-A Las Vegas, barring a claim between now and noon CT Tuesday.
Gee missed time this year with a groin strain and spent nearly two months on the DL in 2014 with a strained lat muscle. His 2015 struggles, along with the injuries and his salary have presumably diminished his trade value since Opening Day. However, in his defense, his rough 2015 numbers were hurt badly by his outing against the Braves on Monday when he surrendered eight runs in just 3 and 2/3 innings.
Gee could theoretically refuse an assignment to Las Vegas if he clears waivers and declare free agency, but as Rubin notes, he’s unlikely to do that since it would cost him the $3.1MM he’s owed for the remainder of the season.
Indians Designate Scott Atchison
The Indians have designated righty Scott Atchison for assignment, the club announced. His roster spot will go to fellow right-hander Austin Adams.
Atchison, 39, had a great 2014 campaign, when he tossed 72 innings of 2.75 ERA ball for Cleveland with 6.1 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9. More broadly, he had performed well — at least according to ERA estimators, if not always results — dating back to the start of 2011. All said, the Indians felt comfortable giving Atchison a $1MM deal for 2015, which was agreed upon last August.
This year has been different, however. While his strikeout and walk numbers are similar, Atchison has not generated groundballs as consistently and has been punished by the long ball (25.0% HR/B, 2.75 HR/9). The average velocity on both his fastball and slider is down two full miles per hour. Even the most optimistic of advanced stats show him as a below-average performer at this point, and his ERA stands at an unsightly 6.86 over 19 2/3 innings.
Adams, 28, has put up big strikeout numbers this year at Triple-A, though that ability has not shown up yet in his limited MLB action over the last two years. In 18 1/3 total big league frames, he has a 4.91 ERA with 5.4 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9.
Minor Moves: Dustin McGowan, Jayson Nix, Josh Prince
Here are the day’s minor moves …
- Phillies righty Dustin McGowan has been added to the Triple-A roster at Lehigh Valley, per Director of Media Relations Matt Provence (via Twitter), meaning that he accepted his outright assignment. The club has also released infielder Jayson Nix. Over 195 plate appearances this year at the Triple-A level with the Phillies and Orioles organizations, Nix has struggled to a .162/.196/.222 slash. He has seen at least some MLB action in each of the past seven seasons, but will need to find another minor league opportunity to work his way back to the big leagues.
- The Tigers have released infielder Josh Prince, James Schmehl of MLive.com reports. Prince, 27, joined the Detroit organization as a minor league free agent after spending his entire prior pro career with the Brewers. He enjoyed a cup of coffee in 2013, but has otherwise played exclusively in the minors. Prince’s primary calling card is his speed — he has 217 professional stolen bases over parts of seven seasons — and his up the middle capabilities on defense. He had scuffled to a .205/.295/.299 slash in his 132 plate appearances at the Tigers’ Double-A affiliate.
Draft Signings: Davis, Degano, Williams, Matheny
Here today’s notable draft signings, with slot value information via Baseball America:
- The Dodgers went well over slot to sign fifth-round pick Brendan Davis, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Davis gets $918,600, which is $605K north of the 162nd pick’s assigned slot value. Baseball America placed him just inside its top 500 list, noting that Davis was expected to attend Cal State Fullerton after missing much of his senior high school season with a broken wrist. A “smooth athlete” with good instincts and solid power and hit tools, the shortstop had been a fairly highly-valued prospect before the injury intervened. Los Angeles has yet to sign its top two picks, Walker Buehler and Kyle Funkhouser, and presumably expects to find some savings from those prospective deals to make up for the Davis overage.
- Meanwhile, the Yankees will realize some savings on second-rounder Jeff Degano, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter). The southpaw will earn a $650K bonus after being taken 57th overall ($1,074,400 slot value), freeing $424,400 for New York to apply toward other picks. ESPN.com’s Keith Law was high on Degano, ranking him the 54th-best player available. Law credits Degano with a low-90s fastball, sweeping slider that could grow into an above-average offering, and reasonably promising change. Degano does have some injury questions and already has undergone Tommy John surgery.
- Phillies third-round pick Lucas Williams has agreed to an at-slot, $719,800 bonus, Mayo tweets. The high school shortstop was not considered an early-round option by many prospect hounds coming into the draft, but still commanded a full-slot bonus to forego his commitment to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
- The Red Sox have agreed with outfielder Tate Matheny, son of Cards skipper Mike Matheny, to a $512,700 bonus, per Callis (via Twitter). That is the full slot value for the 111th overall pick. Matheny, an outfielder from Missouri State, rated 107th on Baseball America’s list. BA noted that he lacks any notable tools, but has average abilities in several areas and makes the most out of them with plus makeup.
Phil Coke Declines Optional Assignment, Elects Free Agency
Lefty Phil Coke has declined an optional assignment with the Blue Jays, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca tweets. As was his right given his 6+ years of service, Coke has elected free agency.
Coke, 32, had allowed just one earned run in 2 2/3 innings in Toronto, striking out three but walking two. Combined with his stint with the Cubs earlier in the year, he owns a 5.68 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 on the year.
Though he’s continued to bounce around, Coke figures to have another big league shot in relatively short order. His velocity is down a tick from last year, but he still brings 92 to 93 mph heat from the left side and has fairly promising peripherals. SIERA values his contributions this year at a 3.15 earned run equivalency, while FIP likewise shows him at a promising 3.39 mark.
Reds To Sign Second-Rounder Antonio Santillan
The Reds have agreed to a slightly-above-slot $1.35MM bonus with second-round pick Antonio Santillan, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports on Twitter. He was taken 49th overall, which came with a $1,227,800 pool allocation.
Santillan rated as high as 63rd on pre-draft boards, with MLB.com giving him that slot. His fastball can reach the upper nineties at times and he possesses a big breaking ball, giving the high school righty plenty of upside. But MLB.com says Santillan has a long way to go in smoothing and repeating his delivery, as well as adding a legitimate third pitch.
The big hurler ranked somewhere within the top 100 on all major draft pundits’ lists, but only barely: Baseball America pegged him right at the century mark. Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs had Santillan at 69th overall while ESPN.com’s Keith Law rated him 84th, noting the high ceiling but adding that Santillan is most likely to end up a reliever.
Santillan was committed to Texas Tech, but Cincinnati reached a bit over $100K over slot to nab him. The Reds had racked up some savings with lower-round choices, and still appears to have some additional space to work after signing its first four picks. Fifth-rounder Miles Gordon and sixth-rounder Ian Kahaloa — both high schoolers — are the highest Cinci picks whose bonus agreements remain unreported.
Indians Sign Brady Aiken
JUNE 22: The bonus is for $2,513,280, Callis tweets.
JUNE 19: 5:25pm: The precise bonus value is not yet known but will be above the slot allotment, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports on Twitter.
11:10am: The Indians announced the signing of Aiken, noting that he’s already completed a medical evaluation with the team and is rehabbing at the club’s Spring Training complex in Goodyear, Ariz.
11:00am: The Indians have signed left-hander Brady Aiken, the No. 17 overall pick in this year’s draft, reports Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (on Twitter). Terms of the bonus are unknown, although the 17th overall slot comes with a value of $2,393,600, according to Baseball America.
Aiken, of course, has been in baseball headlines for more than a year. Selected with the first overall pick by the Astros in the 2014 draft, Aiken was widely expected to sign and even headed to Houston to take a physical and finalize his contract. However, the Astros came away from the physical feeling uneasy about the status of the ulnar collateral ligament in Aiken’s left elbow and reduced their bonus offer from roughly $6.5MM to $5MM. Aiken elected not to sign and in the offseason enrolled at the IMG Academy in Florida in order to be eligible again for the 2015 draft.
Aiken’s season at IMG didn’t last long, however. He left his first start of the season, stating afterward that “something felt a little wrong” in his throwing elbow, and further tests revealed that he had torn the UCL that had given the Astros pause. Aiken underwent Tommy John surgery shortly thereafter.
The injury naturally caused Aiken’s draft stock to drop a bit, but the mystery surrounding his elbow may have caused his stock to slip a bit further. Multiple reports headed into the draft indicated that there was general concern surrounding Aiken’s elbow because his Tommy John surgery and UCL were both said to be abnormal. Houston was said last summer to be concerned by general size of Aiken’s UCL — said to be smaller than a standard elbow ligament — and the difference from that of a straightforward Tommy John case created genuine befuddlement among draft experts as to where he might be selected and which team might take the gamble on Aiken’s highly talented left arm.
Cleveland stepped up and took that gamble, and the potential reward they face if Aiken is fully healthy and can have a normal career moving forward is sizable. Aiken was widely labeled as one of the top talents in each of the past two draft classes. Despite the injury, Aiken was ranked 17th in this year’s draft by Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs, 22nd by Baseball America, 24th by MLB.com (Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis) and 27th by Keith Law of ESPN.com.
Aiken sits in the low 90s with his fastball and has topped out at 96-97 mph, and McDaniel labels three of his pitches — fastball, curveball and changeup — as future plus pitches, giving each an average-or-better grade at present despite his age. Mayo and Callis praised his advanced command and a curveball that added more power and depth late in Aiken’s prep career. BA termed Aiken a “standout athlete,” noting that the former high school quarterback also comes with an ideal 6’3″, 210-pound frame. ESPN noted that as good as Aiken’s pure stuff is, his delivery is one of the cleanest they’ve seen out of a high school pitcher in quite some time (making the injury concerns all the more confounding).