Indians Designate Jerry Sands For Assignment
The Indians announced (via Twitter) that they have designated Jerry Sands for assignment. In a related move, Carlos Santana has been reinstated from the paternity list.
Today’s move marks the second time this year that Sands has been DFA’d by Cleveland. Sands’ first assignment came roughly one month ago when Sands was bumped in favor of right-hander Ryan Webb. Sands wound up getting outrighted and accepting his assignment rather than going elsewhere.
Sands has not received much opportunity at the big league level since a solid run at age 23 with the Dodgers when he slashed .253/.338/.389 in 227 plate appearance. This year, he hit quite well in a limited sample size of 27 big league PAs while also performing well at Triple-A. In 91 plate appearances for Columbus, Sans hit .257/.385/.473 with four homers.
As MLBTR’s DFA Tracker shows, Jerry Sands now joins Thomas Field, Grady Sizemore, Marc Krauss, Sergio Santos, Eric Stults, Alejandro de Aza, and Radhames Liz in DFA limbo.
Giants To Sign Kevin Frandsen To Minor League Deal
The Giants are set to sign Kevin Frandsen to a minor league deal, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com tweets. It’s a return to the start for the well-traveled veteran who was drafted by the Giants in 2004.
Frandsen, who recently just turned 33, spent 2014 with the Nationals and hit .259/.299/.309 across 105 games. After the season, the Nats avoided arbitration with him by agreeing to a one-year, $1MM deal that includes up to $300K worth of incentives. However, Washington wound up letting him go on April 1st, leading him to a minor league pact with the D’Backs. Frandsen’s stint in Arizona only lasted one month after posting a a .309/.352/.333 slash line over 89 plate appearances for Triple-A Reno. and he’ll now try to stick with another NL West club.
The veteran will look to replicate his play with the Phillies in 2012 when he slashed .338/.383/.451 in 210 plate appearances. He also offers versatility in the field with experience at first base, second base, third base, and left field.
Kevin Correia Declares Free Agency From Giants
Pitcher Kevin Correia has declared free agency from the Giants in advance of his June 1st opt-out date, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Correia was well pitching for Triple-A Sacramento, but there was simply no room for him on the big league roster.
In 37 2/3 innings this season, Correia posted a 3.58 ERA with 6.0 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9. Even though that performance comes from a limited sample size of six starts, it’s not hard to imagine Correia fielding interest from teams in need of pitching this summer.
Correia originally signed a minor league pact with the Mariners on March 9th of this year, but he was granted his release on March 30th when he was to be demoted from big league camp. Less than two weeks later, the Giants picked him up on a minor league deal that included two opt out dates, one on June 1st and another on July 1st. After pushing the eject button prior to the first date, Correia will now be in search of his third team in 2015.
Correia split the 2014 season between the Twins and Dodgers, struggling to one of the least effective seasons of his big league career. The All Bases Covered Sports Management client served as a durable source of innings for Minnesota in the first season of a two-year, $10MM contract in 2013, but last year he slumped to a 5.44 ERA, averaging just 4.6 strikeouts per nine innings against a solid average of 2.3 walks per nine. His previously above-average ground-ball rate dipped below the league average as well, checking in at 43.2 percent. Still, both FIP and xFIP feel that Correia’s ERA could’ve been a bit lower, pegging him at 4.67,
The veteran was a fourth-round pick of the Giants in 2002 and spent parts of the 2003-08 seasons with the Giants, working to a combined 4.59 ERA in 398 innings between the rotation and bullpen.
On Saturday, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reported that Correia was likely to be released by the Giants this weekend.
Blue Jays Sign Phil Coke To Minor League Deal
The Blue Jays have signed left-handed reliever Phil Coke to a minor league deal, tweets Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. The southpaw was released by the Cubs last week after allowing a 6.30 ERA in 10 innings (16 appearances). Coke featured solid peripherals including 8.10 K/9, 2.70 BB/9, and 63.6% GB%.
It’s easy to see that a .406 BABIP led to the poor ERA. While that figure hints at a spell of bad luck, Coke has often battled BABIP demons. He has a career .320 BABIP with much higher figures in recent seasons. He also has very large platoon splits which limits him to a purely situational role.
Despite obvious issues in the bullpen, Toronto relievers have actually pitched decently. Their 3.88 ERA ranks in the middle of the pack. The club has two left-handed relievers on the roster – closer Brett Cecil and Aaron Loup. Since the Cecil is reserved for the ninth inning, adding a situational lefty like Coke would make sense.
Minor Moves: Barfield, Bianchi, Frandsen
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League have signed former A’s prospect Jeremy Barfield, tweets Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Barfield, the son of former major leaguer Jesse Barfield and brother of Josh Barfield, spent parts of four seasons with the Athletics’ Double-A affiliate and reached as high as Triple-A. The 26-year-old is a career .261/.334/.402 hitter in the minors.
- Infielder Jeff Bianchi has rejected an outright assignment from the Red Sox after clearing waivers, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal tweets. He is now a free agent. Bianchi enjoyed a proverbial cup of coffee with Boston this year, but spent most of his time in the organization compiling a useful .302/.373/.340 slash at Triple-A. He has seen more extensive time with the Brewers in the past.
- The Diamondbacks have released veteran utility infielder Kevin Frandsen, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports on Twitter. Frandsen, 33, owns a .309/.352/.333 slash over 89 plate appearances for Triple-A Reno. He spent last year with the Nationals, contributing only a .259/.299/.309 batting line in his 236 plate appearances. Since a strong year for the Phillies in 2012, Frandsen — who mostly plays at second and third — has been at or below replacement level.
Rangers Designate Tommy Field
The Rangers have designated infielder Tommy Field for assignment, executive VP of communications John Blake announced on Twitter. As expected, righty Chi Chi Gonzalez has been called up for his first big league action, necessitating the move.
Field, 28, received 45 turns at bat for Texas before the move. The right-handed hitter compiled a .195/.250/.366 line in that span, with two home runs and a stolen base. He appeared mostly at second base, though he is also capable of playing shortstop.
Braves To Sign Ryan Lavarnway
The Braves have agreed to a minor league deal with catcher Ryan Lavarnway, Kevin McAlpin of the Braves Radio Network tweets. Lavarnway had elected free agency after being outrighted by the Orioles.
Lavarnway, 27, will join options such as the veteran Wil Nieves at Gwinnett. He could become an option at the major league level if young backstop Christian Bethancourt continues to struggle with Atlanta. Bethancourt has already lost playing time to A.J. Pierzynski, and the team may prefer to give him more regular playing time to re-discover his stroke.
Of course, Lavarnway himself is a former prospect who has yet to reach the lofty ceiling he once seemed to offer. At least on paper, Lavarnway has moved around quite a bit since the end of his tenure with the Red Sox last November, but he’s only appeared in action for the Orioles. In a sporadic 32 big league plate appearances this year, he slashed a meager .107/.219/.143.
Minor Moves: Lavarnway, Asencio, Beltre, Kobernus, Redmond, Quiala, Black
Here are Friday’s minor moves from around baseball…
- Catcher Ryan Lavarnway has elected free agency rather than taking an outright assignment from the Orioles, the club announced. The 27-year-old received just 32 plate appearances with Baltimore, registering only three hits. He has yet to make good on his former promise, but should have no trouble finding another club interested in giving him a slot at Triple-A to get back on track.
- The White Sox released Jairo Asencio, according to a tweet from its Triple-A affiliate. Asencio, 31, has tossed 55 2/3 big league innings in parts of four years, but has not appeared in the majors since 2013. He worked to a 5.03 ERA in 19 2/3 innings at Triple-A, but did rack up an impressive 28 strikeouts against just six walks.
- Both outfielder Engel Beltre and utilityman Jeff Kobernus have signed minor league deals with the Giants, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports on Twitter. Both have a smattering of big league experience, though neither has hit much in limited action. Beltre was a long-time Rangers farmhand, while Kobernus has only previously appeared professionally in the Nationals organization (though he did spend a spring with the Tigers as a Rule 5 pick before being returned).
- The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Todd Redmond has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Buffalo. Redmond was designated for assignment a week ago and will have the option to reject the assignment in favor of free agency. He pitched well in more than 70 innings for the Jays in both the 2013 and 2014 seasons, but he’s struggled in 2015, yielding 11 runs in 8 1/3 innings of work thus far.
- The Astros and Cuban right-hander Yoanis Quiala have agreed to terms on a minor league contract, reports Scout.com’s Max Wildstein. Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle tweets that the Astros view Quiala as a starting pitcher, though he did work mostly in relief in his lone pro season in Cuba. The 22-year-old Quiala made 16 appearances (nine in relief, seven from the rotation) in the 2012-13 season in Cuba, totaling 52 2/3 innings with a 2.22 ERA, 5.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9. Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald reported (Spanish link) back in November that Quiala had been granted free agency by Major League Baseball, adding that he can run his fastball up into the mid-90s. Given his age and limited experience, Quiala would be subject to international signing limitations. Because the Astros have already spent the vast majority of their 2014-15 budget, it seems unlikely that Quiala received a significant bonus; even $1MM would put Houston well over their allotted pool. Ben Badler of Baseball America ran down all of Houston’s significant expenditures in his April review of their international signings.
- The KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization have signed first baseman Dan Black, who had been playing with the Triple-A affiliate for the White Sox, Han Lee of Global Sporting Integration reports (on Twitter). Black, 27, is a former 14th-round pick of the White Sox (2009) that was hitting an impressive .324/.457/.568 with six homers in 34 games for Triple-A Charlotte this season. He’ll be paid $300K, according to the Yonhap News Agency, and will be replacing former big league right-hander Andy Sisco on the Wiz’s roster. Sisco, who was recently released by the Wiz (according to the Yonhap), posted a 6.23 ERA with 42 strikeouts but 25 walks in 39 innings of work with the Wiz in what was his only KBO action to this point of his career.
Erik Cordier Declines Assignment, Re-Signs With Giants
Right-handed reliever Erik Cordier declined an outright assignment with the Giants but re-signed with the club on a minor league deal, Chris Haft of MLB.com tweets. The live-armed hurler had been designated for assignment and cleared waivers.
Cordier, who works in the triple digits with his fastball, struck out nine and walked only two in six MLB innings last year for San Francisco. He has steadily improved over a lengthy minor league career, with his strikeout tallies soaring after moving to a pen role.
The 29-year-old had been on a rehab assignment to start the year. He owns a 1.50 ERA with twenty strikeouts against eight walks over a dozen minor league frames in 2015.
Cordier’s new deal contains several opt-out dates, per Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News, which explains the procedural moves.
Brewers Rescind Brandon Kintzler DFA
6:13pm: Milwaukee announced that it has rescinded the move and instead placed Kinzler on the 15-day DL, with the team apparently learned that Kinzler was suffering from a pre-existing knee issue.
1:23pm: The Brewers announced that they have designated right-handed reliever Brandon Kintzler for assignment in order to clear a roster spot for shortstop Jean Segura, who has been activated from the disabled list. Segura had been on the shelf with a broken pinkie finger.
The 30-year-old Kintzler has allowed five runs in seven innings since being recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs earlier this month, and his 6.35 ERA in 5 2/3 innings at Triple-A this year wasn’t much more inspiring. Still, as Adam McCalvy notes, Kintzler could have simply been optioned to Triple-A but was instead designated for assignment. He becomes the third relatively long-tenured reliever to be designated by the Brewers over the past few weeks, as the team outrighted Rob Wooten to Triple-A last night and did the same with Jim Henderson earlier this month.
Kintzler has been an effective middle relief option for the Brewers over the past two seasons, however. From 2013-14, he notched a 2.93 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 135 1/3 innings of work, thanks in part to a 57.2 percent ground-ball rate. Milwaukee’s 40-man roster drops to 37 with Kintzler no longer on board.