Minor Moves: Pacheco, Coke, Young, White
We’ll track the days minor moves here:
- Catcher Jordan Pacheco has accepted his outright assignment with the Diamondbacks and will head to Triple-A Reno, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com tweets. The D-backs designated Pacheco for assignment last week after he hit .242/.333/.333 in 78 plate appearances.
- As expected, the Blue Jays have selected the contract of lefty Phil Coke, per a club announcement. Coke worked out of the Cubs bullpen earlier in the year, showing a big fastball and strong peripherals (8.1 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 63.6% GB%) but struggling nonetheless to keep runs off the board. Toronto will hope that Coke can provide a useful southpaw component in the pen as the team assesses its options heading into trade season.
- The Braves have outrighted outfielder Eric Young Jr. to Triple-A, the club’s top affiliate announced on Twitter. Young, 30, has slashed just .169/.229/.273 in 85 big league plate appearances this year. After opening the season with a significant role, Young’s playing time dwindled to a trickle with his struggles and the resurgent play of late addition Cameron Maybin.
- Also headed to Gwinnett is righty Alex White, who has signed a minor league deal with the Braves just days after being released by the Astros. The 26-year-old, former top-100 prospect has not lived up to his pedigree in recent seasons. His stock had already fallen by the time Houston acquired him from the Rockies before the 2013 season, and Tommy John surgery caused him to miss that whole year. Since then, White has allowed over six earned runs per nine innings at the Triple-A level. This season, he struck out only 18 batters in 43 2/3 frames.
Athletics Sign Dayan Viciedo
3:35pm: Viciedo has signed a minor-league deal and will head to Triple-A Nashville, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets.
2:46pm: The Athletics have signed former White Sox outfielder Dayan Viciedo, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy tweets. It’s currently unclear whether the deal is of the Major-League or minor-league variety, and CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reported earlier today that Viciedo had many minor-league offers in hand but was hoping for a big-league deal.
The White Sox released Viciedo in February after a disappointing 2014 season in which he hit 21 homers but posted a .281 OBP and struggled defensively. He then caught on with the Blue Jays, but he requested his release at the end of Spring Training and has not played since. Viciedo has obvious deficiencies as a player, but he’s only 26, and as Eddy points out, he’s a career .291/.331/.507 hitter against lefties. He could perhaps be useful as a bench bat.
Cubs Sign Rafael Soriano
FRIDAY: Soriano’s deal does, in fact, include an opt-out clause that allows him to become a free agent if he’s not in the Majors by the All-Star Game in mid-July, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes.
TUESDAY: The Cubs have signed veteran reliever Rafael Soriano to a minor league deal, adding another option to the team’s late-inning mix. He’ll earn the pro-rated portion of a $4.1MM base salary and can add up to $4MM in incentives (based upon games finished and appearances).
It rates as a surprise that Soriano signed a minors pact, of course. After all, he landed at 37th on the top-fifty free agent list of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes, who explained that Soriano was still a plenty capable reliever last year. Now, he becomes the final name on that list to sign.
On the other hand, as I wrote back in October, the righty faced plenty of competition in his segment of the market. And while technically a minor-league arrangement, his new pact comes with expectations of a relatively quick call-up as well as a significant salary upon his addition to the MLB roster. Early and frequent opt-out clauses would also seem likely, though they remain unreported.
Soriano’s new deal comes not long after he changed representation. Still on the market with two months of the season in the books, Soriano switched from the Boras Corporation to Octagon Baseball. He indicated then that he hoped to sign in fairly short order, and he had been set to hold a showcase later this week.
Of course, it remains to be seen what Soriano has left in the tank. He faded down the stretch last year after a nice start, ending up with a 3.19 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 over 62 innings. All said, Soriano has produced solid (but not spectacular) results over the last two years despite a loss of fastball velocity.
Looking further back, the former All-Star has been fairly consistent in terms of his end-of-year production, if not his game-to-game results. Going back to the 2006 campaign, Soriano has thrown at least 60 frames seven times and only once ended a year with an earned run average higher than last year’s final mark. While his save tallies may have boosted his prominence beyond his true talent, Soriano has been one of the more reliably useful pen arms in the game for some time.
Chicago currently sits at 20th in the league in terms of reliever ERA, and its late-inning options (such as Hector Rondon, Pedro Strop, and Jason Motte) have been short of dominant. With Neil Ramirez still working back from injury, it is easy to see the need for another quality arm.
By adding Soriano now, the Cubs will gain some time to assess their pen in advance of the trade deadline. It remains possible that the club will be in the market for higher-end relief talent, though the return of Ramirez will hopefully deliver additional punch from the right side.
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that a deal was close. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweeted that the deal was done. James Wagner of the Washington Post tweeted the contract details.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rays Designate Bobby Wilson
The Rays have designated catcher Bobby Wilson for assignment, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. His roster spot was needed to clear space for the promotion of a trio of arms.
Wilson, 32, has not done much damage on offense, slashing .145/.203/.145 in his 59 plate appearances on the year. He has rated solidly on defense, however. Wilson has seen scant MLB time since a run as the Angels’ backup over 2010-12. All told, he owns a .201/.263/.299 batting line in 510 career trips to the plate.
Minor Moves: John Bowker
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Giants dealt first baseman/outfielder John Bowker to the Pirates earlier in the week, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area tweets. Bowker came to the San Francisco organization over the offseason after a run in Japan. The 31-year-old former big leaguer has hit .263/.304/.372 in his 148 plate appearances at Triple-A. Pittsburgh sent cash or a PTBNL in the deal, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).
Rangers Release Mike Kickham
The Rangers have released lefty Mike Kickham, per a club announcement (h/t to Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest).
Texas claimed Kickham off waivers just over a month ago from the Mariners. The 26-year-old has struggled at Triple-A since, permitting 21 earned runs in just 27 innings of work. Even worse, he has struck out just 16 batters while issuing an alarming 35 free passes.
Kickham has only minimal big league experience, having thrown 30 1/3 innings over the last two seasons with the Giants. Those weren’t terribly successful either, though he has shown the ability to induce swings and misses from MLB hitters.
Erik Bedard To Retire
Dodgers lefty Erik Bedard has decided to retire, according to a tweet from the club’s High-A affiliate Rancho Cucamonga. He has seen action in parts of eleven big league seasons.
Bedard, 36, was only just returning to action after suffering a strained muscle in his back. He had thrown 14 1/3 innings at the High-A level on the season, striking out seven and walking one while allowing eight earned runs.
The southpaw is well removed from his heyday, but was once one of the more effective starters in the game. Pitching for the Orioles, he came in fifth in the Cy Young voting back in 2007, when he threw 182 innings of 3.16 ERA ball with a league-leading 10.9 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9.
That big campaign led the Mariners’ to deal for him, forking over a prospect package fronted by Adam Jones and Chris Tillman to add him. Though Bedard continued to put up good results, shoulder issues bit hard and limited him to 255 1/3 frames over his three years in Seattle (plus another 38 after he was dealt to the Red Sox in the middle of 2011).
Bedard has bounced around since, putting up solid strikeout numbers but failing to hold down the free passes. All told, Bedard has racked up just over 1,300 big league innings of 3.99 ERA pitching while averaging 8.6 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, and a 41.9% groundball rate.
Cardinals, First-Rounder Nick Plummer Agree To Terms
The Cardinals and first-round draft pick Nick Plummer have agreed to terms, writes Tony Paul of the Detroit News. Plummer, a Detroit-area native, tells Paul that he will sign for the slot value of $2.124MM. Plummer will fly to Florida on either Friday or Monday to complete his physical and make the signing official.
A center fielder out of Brother Rice High School in Michigan, Plummer was a consensus first-round talent, although his specific ranking on top prospect lists had some variance. Baseball America ranked Plummer 11th among potential draftees, and ESPN’s Keith Law considered him the draft’s 14th-best prospect. Meanwhile, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com pegged him 27th, and Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel had him at No. 30.
BA’s scouting report notes that Plummer has the bat speed and leverage to generate plus pull power and an up-the-middle approach with good plate coverage. Each of the reports above mentions that because Plummer is more of an average runner and has questionable arm strength, a move from center field to left field could very well be needed down the line. Plummer’s bat appears to be his best asset, with Mayo and Callis referring to him as “one of the most dangerous high school hitters in this draft,” and Law adding that there’s enough bat to profile as a regular even if he does move to left. McDaniel feels Plummer can eventually show 50-grade power with 55 speed (ratings on the 20-80 scouting scale).
Plummer becomes the first of the players from the 2015 first-round to come to terms on an agreement. Upon signing his contract, he’ll report to the team’s Spring Training facility and then begin playing with St. Louis’ rookie-level affiliate in the Appalachian League.
Royals Designate Erik Kratz For Assignment
The Royals announced today that they have reinstated catcher Erik Kratz from the 15-day disabled list and designated him for assignment (Twitter link). The decision means that Drew Butera will be Kansas City’s backup to Salvador Perez going forward.
The 34-year-old Kratz had previously served as Perez’s backup, although he scarcely saw action due to the excellent young backstop’s exceptionally high workload behind he dish. Kratz picked up just five plate appearances in four games with the Royals this year and has been on the disabled list since early May with inflammation in his left foot.
Most of Kratz’s career has been spent with the Phillies, but he’s also had brief stints in Toronto and Kansas City. All told, Kratz has shown nice power but low batting average and on-base capabilities, as evidenced by a .217/.270/.400 batting line. He’s also a skilled pitch-framer, however, and he’s thrown out 32 percent of attempted base-stealers in his big league career.
Butera, 31, is considered by many to be an excellent defender in his own right, however, which is largely why he has amassed 771 big league plate appearances despite being one of the least productive hitters in the game. The longtime Twin is a career .182/.236/.265 hitter in parts of six seasons with the Twins, Dodgers, Angels and now Royals. Kansas City acquired Butera from the Angels on May 7 in exchange for infielder Ryan Jackson.
Nationals Acquire David Carpenter From Yankees
The Yankees announced that they have traded recently designated right-hander David Carpenter to the Nationals in exchange for minor league second baseman Tony Renda. Outfielder Nate McLouth has been placed on the 60-day DL to accommodate Carpenter on the 40-man roster.
New York acquired Carpenter from the Braves this offseason on the heels of a pair of excellent seasons working as a setup man for Craig Kimbrel in the Atlanta bullpen. (That trade sent the previously vaunted Manny Banuelos to Atlanta and also netted the Yankees southpaw Chasen Shreve.) However, after posting a 2.63 ERA over 126 2/3 innings with 10.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 from 2013-14, Carpenter struggled quite a bit in his brief time with New York. As a member of the Yankees, the 29-year-old worked to a 4.82 ERA in 18 2/3 innings, striking out just 11 hitters against seven walks.
Carpenter maintained very strong fastball velocity with the Yankees, averaging 94.9 mph on his heater. He also posted a career-best 42.4 percent ground-ball rate and struggled with home runs, so perhaps the Nationals feel that a move back to a larger stadium in the National League will help to alleviate his troubles with the long ball. Of course, there will be additional work needed to sort out the righty’s control and restore his significantly diminished strikeout rate.
Carpenter is earning $1.275MM after avoiding arbitration this offseason, and the remaining $815K or so of that sum will be picked up by the Nats. If Carpenter is able to turn it around in D.C., the Nationals will have control of him through the 2017 season — his age-31 campaign.
The 24-year-old Renda, a second-round pick of the Nats in 2012, ranked as Washington’s No. 12 prospect this offseason according to Baseball America and currently ranks 22nd on MLB.com’s Top 30 list. BA praised his compact swing and line-drive stroke, noting that his bat has a chance to be above-average, and he’s tough to strike out. Both scouting reports agree that Renda lacks plus tools across the board but has outstanding makeup and work ethic. He’s not said to be a plus runner but has potentially average speed and is a “solid defender, capable of making the routine plays well,” per Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, though the duo does refer to him as an “offensive-minded” second baseman. Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel didn’t rate Renda among his top Nats prospects this offseason, but he did mention that the infielder has a good approach and advanced bat control despite a lack of power. In 228 plate appearances at the Double-A level this season, Renda has batted .267/.330/.340 with a homer and 13 steals.