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.
Rays To Sign Cuban Outfielder Dayron Varona
The Rays have signed Cuban outfielder Dayron Varona to a Minor League contract, reports Baseball America’s Ben Badler. The signing bonus on the deal for the 27-year-old isn’t known at this time, though ESPN’s Keith Law recently wrote in a scouting report that he expected Varona to receive an eight-figure bonus when he eventually signed. Badler notes that Varona’s bonus isn’t believed to be a “high-level investment.”
Varona has been working out for clubs since January, and Badler shares Law’s view that his best tools are his defensive capabilities. Badler notes that Varona has above-average speed and enough arm strength to play all three outfield spots. In the above report from Law, he notes that while he didn’t personally see Varona cover enough ground to definitively say that he could handle center field, his speed seems to indicate that he can do just that. Law says that Varona’s arm is strong with a quick release, grading it at least a 60, if not a 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale.
As Badler notes, Varona does not yet have his visa, so he must first obtain that before jumping into the Rays’ Minor League ranks. Some scouts have pegged him as Triple-A depth, per Badler, while others feel that he can be a viable fourth outfielder at the Major League level. One would assume the Rays, of course, fall into the latter camp. In seven seasons in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, Varona is a .312/.376/.470 hitter that has averaged a homer ever 39.5 plate appearances.
The Rays have already exceeded their 2014-15 international signing pool, so this move continues an aggressive push on the international market. While Tampa is already in the maximum penalty bracket, they will not owe any penalties on Varona because he is exempt from the international spending limits.
Braves Outright Donnie Veal
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…
- Left-hander Donnie Veal has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett by the Braves, the pitcher himself announced (Instagram link). Veal had the ability to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency, but he elected to return to Triple-A Gwinnett. He notes in the above link that it’s disheartening to be added to the roster and removed in the same week, but he’s grateful that he doesn’t have to move his family around the country and can remain in the organization. Veal allowed four runs in 3 1/3 innings with the Braves this week and has a lifetime 5.16 ERA with 72 strikeouts against 49 walks in 68 big league innings. At the Triple-A level, Veal owns a 3.95 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning pitched.
Athletics To Designate Alex Hassan For Assignment
The Athletics have designated outfielder Alex Hassan for assignment, reports Robert Murray of Baseball Essential (Twitter link). Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle adds (also via Twitter) that the DFA will clear room on the roster for right-hander Angel Castro, who will join the bullpen.
Hassan has, unfortunately, become somewhat of the poster boy for some possible flaws in the DFA system, which MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth recently examined at length. Hassan entered the offseason in the Red Sox organization, but was claimed off waivers by the A’s and then the Orioles. Baltimore designated Hassan for assignment in February, with the A’s claiming him off waivers yet again. He would then be designated by Oakland in April, claimed by Texas and designated again before being claimed for a third time by the A’s. This marks the fourth official DFA for Hassan since late February — a mark that doesn’t include the original two instances in which Boston and Oakland tried to sneak him through outright waivers.
From Hassan’s standpoint, it’s clear that multiple clubs view him as a good enough player to keep on a 40-man roster for depth purposes, and while that’s normally a good thing for a player, it can also hinder their development, as they’re ineligible to play while waiting to learn of their outcome in DFA limbo.
Hassan is a career .278/.381/.402 hitter at the Triple-A level, although he’s batted just .230/.305/.297 in 82 plate appearances between the Triple-A affiliates for Texas and Oakland this season. At his best, the 27-year-old offers the ability to hit for a high average and get on-base at a strong clip without striking out too often. He can handle first base and the outfield, so it’s not surprising that clubs view his skill-set as an appealing one.
D-Backs Sign Jarrod Saltalamacchia To Minors Deal
7:39pm: Saltalamacchia can opt out of his contract if he isn’t on Arizona’s Major League roster by June 1, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. The opt-out clause likely won’t be an issue, however, as the catcher is expected to join the D’Backs well before the end of the month.
2:22pm: The Diamondbacks took some strides to address their early catching woes on Thursday when they announced that they’ve signed Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a Minor League contract following the veteran catcher’s release from the Marlins (Twitter link). Saltalamacchia is a client of agent Jim Munsey, who took some time to sit down with MLBTR Podcast host Jeff Todd to discuss his client’s release from the Marlins (in addition to several other issues).
The 30-year-old Saltalamacchia inked a three-year, $21MM pact with the Marlins in the 2013-14 offseason, but the south Florida native’s homecoming didn’t go as planned. Saltalamacchia batted just .220/.320/.362 with the Marlins last season, and he found himself released this year after a 2-for-29 start to the season. The move came as somewhat of a surprise, given the fact that Saltalamacchia had roughly $14.16MM remaining on his contract at the time he was designated for assignment. The Marlins attempted to trade Saltalamacchia, according to several reports, and it was at least somewhat of another surprise that they weren’t able to find a team willing to pay $1-2MM of the remaining commitment to ensure that they were able to sign him.
As it stands, the D-Backs will reap the benefits, as Miami is on the hook for the entirety of Saltalamacchia’s salary, minus the pro-rated portion of the league minimum that the D-Backs will pay him for any time spent on the active roster.
Arizona’s catching situation has been dismal in 2015, with Tuffy Gosewisch and Jordan Pacheco combining to bat .219/.276/.250 — much of which has been fueled by an unsustainable .400 BABIP for Pacheco (as MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted last night). The move from the spacious Marlins Park to Arizona’s Chase Field should prove to be quite advantageous for Saltalamacchia, who has 15-25 homer pop in the past and boasts an above-average .175 isolated power mark (slugging minus batting average). Saltalamacchia has long been a better hitter against right-handed pitching than left-handed pitching, as evidenced by a career .775 OPS versus righties and a .596 mark versus lefties. That could allow the D-Backs to effectively platoon Saltalamacchia and Gosewisch, and while Gosewisch doesn’t offer much offense against lefties, he’s considered a stronger defender, so a platoon would minimize some of Saltalamacchia’s defensive deficiencies, to an extent.
Saltalamacchia at one point, from 2011-12, graded as an excellent pitch-framer, but his marks in that regard of deteriorated, as he was below-average in 2013 and graded out as one of the worst in the league in 2014. He’s also thrown out just 22 percent of attempted base-stealers in his career, although in 2011 he was decisively above average in that regard as well, catching 31 percent of those who attempted to run against him.
In the end, the move is a no-risk endeavor for the D-Backs, who will hope that Saltalamacchia can help bridge the gap to prospect Peter O’Brien, whom the organization still hopes can handle catching in the Majors. O’Brien has been moved to the outfield in the early stages of the season after developing a concerning issue with throwing the ball back to the mound at the end of Spring Training, and scouts from other organizations have long questioned whether or not the powerful prospect will be an adequate defender behind the plate.
Saltalamacchia will head to Triple-A to get some at-bats before joining the big league club, tweets Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona. Between paternity leave and his DFA period, Saltalamacchia hasn’t appeared in a game since April 23.
The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro was the first to report that the D-Backs were expected to sign Saltalmacchia. MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reported that the two sides had agreed to a Minor League deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mike Carp Opts Out Of Contract With Dodgers
First baseman/outfielder Mike Carp opted out of his deal with the Dodgers, MLBTR has learned. Carp just signed a minor league deal with L.A. two weeks ago, but had managed only two hits in 23 plate appearances for Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Dodgers acquired Andy Wilkins from the Blue Jays on May 3rd, likely a factor in Carp’s decision.
Since posting an .885 OPS over 243 PA for the World Series-champion Red Sox in 2013, Carp has been under contract with four different teams — he was claimed off waivers by the Rangers last summer, signed a minor league deal with the Nationals in January and then elected free agency after failing to win a spot on their Opening Day roster. Carp only hit .175/.289/.230 in 149 PA with Boston and Texas last season.
Minor Moves: Collins, Morgan, Matthews
Here are the latest minor transactions from around the baseball world, with the newest moves at the top of the post…
- The Royals moved lefty Tim Collins from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL, the team announced. The move was an expected one, as Collins will miss the entire 2015 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March.
- Outfielder Nyjer Morgan has been released by the Korean Baseball Organization’s Hanwha Eagles, Han Lee of Global Sporting Integration reports. Morgan signed a one-year, $700K contract with Hanwha in the offseason and hit .273/.405/.333 over 42 plate appearances, but as Lee reports, Morgan had some personality clashes with the coaching staff. The seven-year MLB veteran appeared in 15 games with the Indians in 2014.
- The Rangers released left-hander Kevin Matthews, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. Matthews was picked 33rd overall by the Rangers in the 2011 draft but has only pitched 132 1/3 career minor league innings due to multiple injuries. Wilson notes that Texas probably could’ve parted ways with Matthews later in the season, though his release may have been quickened after the southpaw was charged with a DWI on Wednesday.
Astros Designate Ronald Torreyes For Assignment
The Astros have designated infielder Ronald Torreyes for assignment in order to clear a roster spot for outfielder Preston Tucker, who has been promoted from Triple-A, according to a team announcement (Twitter link).
The 22-year-old Torreyes was originally signed by the Reds out of Venezuela back in 2009. The versatile 5’10”, 150-pound infielder was eventually traded to the Cubs alongside Travis Wood and Dave Sappelt in the trade that sent Sean Marshall to Cincinnati. The Cubs eventually flipped Torreyes to the Astros in exchange for a pair of international bonus slots, and Houston added him to the 40-man roster in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft this winter.
Torreyes, however, was hitting just .200/.211/.214 in 72 plate appearances at the Triple-A level this season — a far cry from the .298/.345/.376 slash that he posted at the same level in 2014. Baseball America ranked Torreyes 24th among Astros farmhands heading into the season, and MLB.com ranked him 28th. Scouting reports believe that he has the upside of being a big league utility player.
Royals Acquire Drew Butera From Angels For Ryan Jackson
The Royals have acquired catcher Drew Butera from the Angels, Kansas City announced. Infielder Ryan Jackson will head back to the Halos in the deal.
For Kansas City to create roster space, lefty Tim Collins has been moved to the 60-day DL. Butera, who was designated for assignment recently by Los Angeles, will presumably slot in as the club’s backup catcher. He has never done much offensively, but represents an experienced option behind starter Salvador Perez, who is the league’s most heavily relied-upon backstop.
Jackson, 26, saw very brief major league time with the Cardinals but has mostly played at the Triple-A level in recent years. Over parts of four years at the last stop in the minors, he owns a .275/.346/.371 batting line.
Athletics Designate Chad Smith
The Athletics have designated righty Chad Smith for assignment, the club announced. His roster spot will go to fellow right-hander Fernando Rodriguez, who was called up from Triple-A.
Smith, 25, was bombed for five earned runs in his 1 1/3 innings this year, surrendering five hits and three walks. He had thrown 11 2/3 solid frames at Triple-A, however, and has generally been fairly productive in his rather short time in the upper minors.
Oakland claimed Smith off waivers from the Tigers back in February. He lost his 40-man spot with Detroit when the team needed roster space for the addition of Joba Chamberlain.