Athletics Acquire Edward Mujica
The Athletics have acquired right-hander Edward Mujica and cash considerations from the Red Sox in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations, the teams announced. Right-hander Jarrod Parker has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list to clear a 40-man roster spot for Mujica in Oakland, per MLB.com’s Jane Lee (Twitter link).
This complicated-looking trade likely essentially means that the Red Sox are giving up Mujica, plus a bit of extra money to pay some of the remainder of his $4.75MM 2015 salary, in exchange for a bit of salary relief. The Red Sox designated Mujica for assignment this week after he posted a 4.61 ERA with eight strikeouts and three walks in 13 2/3 innings this year. The former Cardinals closer didn’t make much of an impression after signing with the Red Sox before last season, posting a 3.90 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 2014.
Mujica doesn’t throw particularly hard and has modest strikeout totals, not topping that 2014 6.5 K/9 in any of the last four seasons. As a result, his upside appears limited. He’s always had good control and has gotten his fair share of ground balls, however, so perhaps he can provide the Athletics with a decent middle reliever at a reasonable price until he becomes a free agent after the season. The Athletics’ bullpen has produced a 5.29 ERA this season while struggling through injuries, so Mujica looks likely to help.
Minor Moves: Beck, Constanza, Pineiro, Nelson
Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.
- The White Sox have announced that they’ve selected the contract of righty Chris Beck to be the 26th man for the second game of their doubleheader today. Beck, 24, has made his way through the minors with few strikeouts but strong control, posting 5.4 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 since the White Sox drafted him in the second round in 2012. This season, he had a 4.78 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 26 1/3 innings with Triple-A Charlotte.
- The Reds have signed outfielder Jose Constanza to a minor-league deal, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. The 31-year-old Constanza collected 240 plate appearances with the Braves from 2011 through 2014, batting .273/.316/.323. He spent most of last season with Triple-A Gwinnett. The Braves released him last month.
- The Blue Jays have signed veteran starter Joel Pineiro to a minor-league deal and assigned him to Double-A New Hampshire, Jays broadcaster Mike Wilner tweets. Pineiro, 36, last pitched in the big leagues with the Angels in 2011. He pitched briefly in the Cubs and Angels systems in a comeback bid last season, then pitched winter ball in Puerto Rico.
- The Brewers will sign infielder Chris Nelson to a minor-league deal, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter links). The Phillies recently released Nelson from their minor-league deal with him. The five-year veteran played briefly with the Padres in 2014. The former first-round pick has a career line of .265/.311/.388, with many of his at-bats coming in hitter-friendly Coors Field.
- The Padres have outrighted catcher Wil Nieves to Triple-A El Paso, according to the MLB.com transactions page. The Padres designated Nieves for assignment earlier this week to make room for top prospect Austin Hedges. It’s unclear whether Nieves will accept his outright assignment or opt for free agency. Nieves appeared in just six games for the Padres this year.
- The Cubs have outrighted righty Anthony Varvaro, also according to the MLB.com transactions page. The Cubs recently claimed Varvaro from the Red Sox and then designated him for assignment on Wednesday. He did not appear in a game for them. He pitched in nine games for Boston earlier this season.
- The Athletics have released outfielder Alex Hassan, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. That news might actually come as a relief to Hassan, who had been claimed five times in the past seven months. The A’s designated Hassan for assignment yesterday.
- The Angels have released corner infielder Ryan Wheeler, via the Pacific Coast League transactions page. They had claimed the 26-year-old from the Rockies last August. Wheeler, who played briefly in the big leagues in 2012, 2013 and 2014, was hitting .291/.304/.418 for Triple-A Salt Lake, although he has a track record of hitting for better power at the Triple-A level.
- The Rays have announced that they’ve placed Alex Cobb, who’s having Tommy John surgery, on the 60-day DL and selected the contract of 23-year-old righty Andrew Bellatti. Bellatti had struck out 20 batters in 21 1/3 innings at Triple-A Durham this season, posting a 2.11 ERA, pitching as a starter even though he had spent most of the previous three seasons working in relief. As Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times explains, it’s been a strange path to the Majors for Bellatti, a 2009 draft pick who spent a few months in jail for vehicular manslaughter following a 2010 car accident.
Mike Kickham Clears Outright Waivers
Lefty Mike Kickham has cleared outright waivers, and the Rangers have assigned him to Triple-A Round Rock, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. The move clears a spot on the Rangers’ 40-man roster.
The Rangers claimed the 26-year-old Kickham earlier this week after the Mariners designated him for assignment. It appears, though, that he passed through waivers rather quickly after that, and now will provide depth for Texas. Kickham was a reliable Triple-A starter in the Giants system in 2013 and 2014, but he struggled in brief shots in the big leagues and is off to an awful start at Triple-A this year, walking 28 batters in his first 21 innings.
Indians Designate Anthony Swarzak For Assignment
The Indians have announced that they’ve selected the contract of veteran lefty Bruce Chen and designated righty Anthony Swarzak for assignment. Chen is expected to start Saturday against Minnesota.
The Indians signed Swarzak to a minor-league deal in January after the Twins outrighted him, and he made Cleveland’s bullpen out of Spring Training. He posted a 3.38 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 13 1/3 innings with the Indians, although he allowed four unearned runs in that time. For his six-year career, the 29-year-old has a 4.45 ERA, 5.6 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 453 innings, spending about a third of that time starting and two-thirds of it relieving.
Angels Acquire Chad Smith From Athletics
The Angels have acquired righty Chad Smith from the Athletics for cash considerations, Oakland announced. Smith had been designated for assignment.
The 25-year-old had a rough go in a short stint this year at the big league level for the A’s, who claimed him off waivers from the Tigers this winter. All said, he owns a 8.31 ERA in his 13 big league frames, with 11 strikeouts and eight walks. He was better in his 11 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season, however, permitting just three earned runs while striking out seven and issuing five walks.
For the Angels, the move was about building bullpen depth. As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets, Smith will be optioned to Triple-A.
Mets To Promote Noah Syndergaard
The Mets will promote top pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard to start on Tuesday, GM Sandy Alderson told reporters today, including ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin (Twitter link). Righty Dillon Gee is headed to the DL with a groin strain, though the injury does not appear to be serious.
Syndergaard, 22, is widely regarded as one of the very best prospects in all of baseball. The towering righty came to New York along with backstop Travis d’Arnaud in the deal that sent R.A. Dickey to the Blue Jays.
Since that trade, Syndergaard has shot up prospect boards by continuing to show a huge fastball, solid control, and quality secondary offerings, as Baseball America explained in rating him New York’s best minor league arm coming into the year. There is a clear industry consensus that Syndergaard is ready and able to be a quality big league pitcher: BA rated him the 11th best prospect in the game, with MLB.com (#10) and Baseball Prospectus (#9) concurring in the general assessment. Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs is somewhat less bullish, but only slightly, as he rated Syndergaard just inside the top 20 while expressing some concern with the consistency of the youngster’s offspeed offerings.
Syndergaard has done nothing to tamper expectations so far in 2015. Over 29 2/3 frames at Triple-A Las Vegas, a tough place to pitch, he has a 1.82 ERA with 10.3 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9. That start to the year seems to answer any questions that might have cropped up after Syndergaard proved somewhat easier to score against than expected last year (4.60 ERA) in his first run at the highest level of the minors.
It remains to be seen, of course, whether Syndergaard will hold down a big league job this year. Certainly, the opportunity is there. While Gee has been as solid as usual, and the Mets have ample rotation depth even after losing Zack Wheeler for the year, the club’s strong 18-10 opening to the year only raises expectations and increases the importance of putting the best product possible on the field.
If Syndergaard is able to hold onto an active roster slot all season, he would set himself up for future Super Two qualification. But by keeping him down to start the year, the Mets would retain control over their prized young arm through 2021. Regardless of roster status, it is not likely that Syndergaard will spend the entire year putting up long outings at the big league level; he has yet to exceed 133 frames in a professional season, meaning the club will likely look to manage his innings.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Marlins Designate Reid Brignac
The Marlins have designated infielder Reid Brignac for assignment, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweets. Miami will reinstate Christian Yelich from the DL, necessitating the move.
Brignac, 29, had just one hit and three walks over 17 plate appearances this year for Miami. He signed a minor league deal over the winter with the Fish to serve as a depth piece.
Over eight years of big league action, Brignac owns a .219/.266/.310 slash in 922 plate appearances. His appeal, of course, lies not in his abilities at the plate, but in his defensive versatility. Defensive metrics valued Brignac’s work up the middle quite highly back when he had a more regular role with the Rays, and he has spent time at short, second, and third over his time as a professional.
Athletics Acquire Matt Carson From Dodgers
The Athletics have traded for outfielder Matt Carson from the Dodgers, Melissa Lockard of Oakland Clubhouse reports on Twitter. Los Angeles will receive cash in the deal, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group tweets.
Carson, 33, has seen short big league stints with the A’s, Twins, and Indians, compiling a .237/.257/.356 slash in 187 turns at bat. That included, most recently, an impressive swing through Cleveland back in 2013, when he produced about half a win of value with seven hits, a home run, and three steals in just 13 plate appearances over 20 games.
Carson has spent much of his time at Triple-A over the years, taking just under 3,000 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors. All said, he has put up a strong .272/.338/.471 batting line with 110 home runs at Triple-A, though he was off to a slow start this year in Oklahoma City.
Chris Nelson To Sign Minors Deal After Release By Phillies
5:28pm: Nelson is indeed pursuing an opportunity with another team, but it is with a major league organization rather than a KBO club, MLBTR has learned. Nelson has agreed to a minor league pact with an unknown team after being released by the Phillies for that reason.
3:25pm: Nelson was indeed released to pursue an opportunity in Korea, MLBTR has learned (Twitter link). It’s unclear at this point which team is interested in Nelson or if he’s received interest from multiple clubs.
10:39am: The Phillies announced that they’ve released infielder Chris Nelson from his Minor League contract. It’s unclear whether the utility infielder requested his release due to an opt-out clause, but he’ll now be free to pursue other opportunities.
Nelson, 29, was the ninth overall draft pick by the Rockies in 2004. He’s seen a fair share of Major League action in each of the past four seasons, averaging 218 plate appearances per year between the Rox, Angels, Yankees and Padres. In that time Nelson has batted .265/.311/.391, with much of his success coming in 2012 when he hit .301/.352/.458 with Colorado. A good deal of that success was driven by his batting average on balls in play and the positive effects of Coors Field, however, and he’s yet to recreate that level of productivity since.
Nelson has experience at second base, third base and shortstop in the Major Leagues, though defensive metrics aren’t particularly high on his work at any of the three. Nonetheless, there’s value in that versatility, and he’s a career .307/.362/.473 hitter in Triple-A that had relatively solid marks in a small sample this season, so one would imagine that he could draw interest from another big league team or, perhaps, a club in Japan or Korea.
Indians Sign Carlos Marmol To Minors Deal
The Indians have announced the signing of right-hander Carlos Marmol to a minor league contract. Marmol, a client of the Kinzer Management Group, was reportedly throwing in the mid-90’s from a new arm slot during a scouting showcase in the Dominican Republic.
Velocity has never really been an issue for Marmol over his career, as control (a career 6.2 BB/9) has always plagued his ability to be a reliable bullpen arm. In his prime, Marmol posted a 2.54 ERA and a whopping 441 strikeouts over 308 1/3 innings out of the Cubs bullpen from 2007-10. Even during that impressive stretch, however, he still averaged 5.6 walks per nine innings.
Marmol only managed an 8.10 ERA, 9.5 K/9 and 6.8 BB/9 over 13 1/3 innings with Miami last season. After being released by the Marlins, Marmol signed a minor league deal with the Reds, though he never pitched for Cincinnati on the MLB level and had an overall controversial tenure with the organization.
Cleveland’s bullpen has generally posted middle-of-the-pack bullpen numbers this season, though Marmol is probably seen as more of a project at this point than as someone who could provide immediate help to the Tribe’s relief corps. Marmol’s natural stuff is still so intriguing that there’s no harm for the Indians (once this deal is finalized) in seeing what he has in Triple-A.
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported that a deal was close (Twitter link). SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo reported (via Twitter) that the deal was done.