Athletics Claim Alex Hassan, Designate Cody Ross
The Athletics have claimed outfielder Alex Hassan from the Rangers, the Rangers have announced. Also, the Athletics have designated Cody Ross for assignment, according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser (on Twitter). The A’s also promoted righty R.J. Alvarez and outfielder Billy Burns, placed Eric O’Flaherty on the DL (shoulder), and optioned Hassan to Triple-A Nashville.
If the news about Hassan sounds somewhat familiar, it’s because Hassan has spent the past several months in a waiver loop that’s rather comical (unless you’re him, presumably). Originally a Red Sox farmhand, he’s been claimed by the Athletics, Orioles, Athletics (again), Rangers, and Athletics (for a third time), all in the past seven months. The Rangers and A’s engaged in a similar waiver battle with infielder Adam Rosales last year. Hassan was hitting .267/.343/.350 in a small sample at Triple-A Round Rock, although he has a career .394 on-base percentage in the minors.
The 34-year-old Ross went 2-for-25 in nine games with the Athletics, who signed him after the Diamondbacks released him last month. The Diamondbacks are still on the hook for the bulk of Ross’ $9.5MM 2015 salary, plus a $1MM buyout on his 2016 option. Ross has played parts of 12 MLB seasons, suiting up for the Tigers, Dodgers, Reds, Marlins, Giants and Red Sox in addition to the Diamondbacks and Athletics, and hitting .262/.322/.445.
Red Sox Promote Blake Swihart
SATURDAY: The Red Sox have formally announced that they’ve promoted Swihart and placed Hanigan on the disabled list.
FRIDAY: The Red Sox will promote top prospect Blake Swihart, Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com reports on Twitter. Swihart will fill in for Ryan Hanigan, who went down tonight with a broken finger.
Boston will continue to look for external candidates behind the plate with both of its top two options (Hanigan and Christian Vazquez) now out for the foreseeable future. The team is still not interested in bringing back Jarrod Saltalamacchia, however, McAdam says.
It remains unclear, then, whether Swihart will end up sticking in the bigs for the rest of the year. But he’ll certainly have a chance to do so; certainly, the club could add another catcher and chose to move Sandy Leon rather than Swihart. If he can avoid an optional assignment, Swihart will line up to qualify for Super Two status down the road.
Things probably hinge on the 23-year-old’s defense, the main limiting factor coming into the year. It isn’t that Swihart lacks athleticism or promise; it’s that he is still working out the finer points after converting to the position late in his high school career. His offensive upside for an up-the-middle bat is undisputed, and is the cause for his consensus top-20 prospect rating.
Though Swihart struggled somewhat in his first Triple-A action last year and has not hit for power there this season, the bat seems about ready. All said, he owns a .287/.341/.428 slash over five minor league seasons since being taken late in the first round back in 2011.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Brewers Designate Luis Jimenez For Assignment
The Brewers have announced that they’ve designated infielder Luis Jimenez for assignment. They also activated center fielder Carlos Gomez (hamstring) from the 15-day disabled list.
The Brewers claimed the 27-year-old Jimenez from the Angels in October. He made the team out of Spring Training but played infrequently, making only two starts and hitting just 1-for-15. Jimenez played second and third base for Milwaukee, although he’s mostly been a third baseman in recent years. He hit .286/.321/.505 in 501 plate appearances for Triple-A Salt Lake in 2014, generally in line with his minor-league track record of hitting for good average and power but drawing few walks.
Blue Jays Designate Matt West, Andy Wilkins
The Blue Jays have announced that they’ve designated righty Matt West and first baseman Andy Wilkins for assignment. The moves clear space on the 40-man roster for righty Scott Copeland and outfielder Ezequiel Carrera, who the Jays are promoting from Triple-A Buffalo. They also optioned lefty Andrew Albers and outfielder Dalton Pompey to Buffalo.
West, 26, pitched four innings for the Rangers last season. He had pitched 12 1/3 innings or relief at Double-A New Hampshire this season, striking out 17 batters and walking four while allowing just one unearned run. A strong performance at Double-A should perhaps be expected from an older pitcher with experience at higher levels, although West has only four years of pro experience as a pitcher, having initially come through the Rangers’ system as an infielder.
Wilkins, also 26, appeared briefly in the bigs for the White Sox in 2014 before the Jays claimed him in March. He was off to a .264/.353/.319 start in 85 plate appearances for Buffalo, although he hit .293/.338/.558 with 30 home runs for Triple-A Charlotte last year.
The 22-year-old Pompey rates as one of the Jays’ top young talents, but he has struggled in the bigs so far this season, batting .193/.264/.337. Carrera, a minor-league signee in December who had a .407 on-base percentage at Buffalo, will take his place on the active roster for now.
Carlos Quentin To Retire
Mariners outfielder Carlos Quentin confirms that he will retire from the game, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports in a series of tweets. Quentin had been playing with Seattle’s top affiliate since inking a minor league deal, but left Tacoma last night.
Quentin, 32, has $8MM left on the deal that he originally signed with the Padres. San Diego shipped him to the Braves just before the start of the season, of course, as part of the salary swaps included in the Craig Kimbrel deal. Atlanta cut him loose in short order, eating the remainder of that contract.
The route being pursued currently would see Quentin retain his rights to that guaranteed money. Atlanta would have been able to earn some relief had Quentin continued playing, though that amount would not have exceeded the pro-rated portion of the Major League minimum salary.
The Mariners will technically grant Quentin his release, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (via Twitter), but that’s little more than semantics. Heyman notes that Quentin’s injuries will no longer allow him to play, which is the reason for his departure from Tacoma and his decision to retire.
The Mariners had hoped that Quentin would re-establish himself as a viable part-time bat, though obviously the team was not relying on that outcome and essentially took on no financial risk in signing him. Between 2008 and 2013, Quentin slashed a robust .260/.356/.503 with 136 long balls. But he has been slowed by injuries in recent seasons, making only 815 total plate appearances in that stretch.
Quentin confirmed in the press release that physical issues drove the decision to retire. “Over the past several days, it became clear to me that my injuries have taken too great of a physical toll for me to be able to perform at the level I expect from myself,” he explained. “As a result, I believe it is the right time for me to walk away and to refocus my energy on the next chapter of my life with my family.”
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Joe Saunders Opts Out Of Mariners Deal
Lefty Joe Saunders has opted out of his minor league deal with the Mariners, Triple-A Tacoma announcer Mike Curto reports on Twitter. The 33-year-old will head onto the open market in search of a more favorable situation.
Saunders, a starter for virtually all of his career, had been throwing from the pen for the Rainiers. He allowed seven earned runs in 11 frames, but did strike out a healthy number of batters (12) while issuing just four walks.
Over a decade in the bigs, Saunders has racked up over a thousand frames of 4.37 ERA ball. But he has struggled in his last two seasons, including a 32-start run in Seattle in 2013 when he managed only a 5.26 earned run average. The 42 innings that Saunders threw last year for the Rangers and Orioles were even less successful.
Minor Moves: Andrew Albers, Casper Wells, Omar Duran
Here are today’s minor transactions from around the league…
- The Blue Jays announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Andrew Albers and optioned struggling top prospect Daniel Norris to Triple-A. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Albers, Maicer Izturis has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list. Albers, a native of Saskatchewan, signed a Minor League deal with the Blue Jays this winter after spending the 2014 season with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization. The Twins signed Albers out of independent ball in 2011, and he eventually was named their Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2013 — the season in which he made his MLB debut. Albers’ 60 innings that year is his lone sample of MLB work, the end result of which was a 4.05 ERA with 25 strikeouts against seven walks. Alexis Brudnicki of the Canadian Baseball Network first reported that Albers would be joining the Blue Jays (Twitter link).
- The Tigers have released outfielder Casper Wells and left-hander Omar Duran, MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweeted earlier this morning. The 29-year-old Wells was in his second stint with Detroit after initially being a 15th-round pick of Detroit in the 2005 draft. Wells was sent to Seattle in 2011’s Doug Fister trade and has spent parts of four seasons in the Majors as a platoon/reserve outfielder. At his best, he handles lefties well and is capable of playing all three outfield spots. He hit just .209/.292/.326 in a small sample of 48 PAs at the Double-A level in 2015, however. As for Duran, the longtime A’s farmhand inked a Minor League pact with Detroit in the offseason but yielded nine runs (eight earned) in 8 1/3 innings at the Double-A level this year. The ability to miss bats at a high rate has allowed Duran to succeed in the lower levels of the Minors despite poor control, but the 25-year-old’s proclivity for walks figures to become more troublesome in the upper levels of the Minors. He’s worked just 22 1/3 innings at Double-A in his career.
Minor Moves: Teaford, Cooney, Abreu, Golson
Here are the latest minor league transactions, with the newest moves at the top of the post…
- Rays lefty Everett Teaford has accepted an assignment to Triple-A after clearing waivers, MLBTR’s Steve Adams tweets. Teaford could have elected free agency as he has previously been outrighted. The southpaw made only one appearance during his stint with the big league club this year, but will serve as a useful depth piece for the organization as it works to bring back a host of arms off of the DL.
- The Cardinals have selected the contract of left-hander Tim Cooney, the team announced. In corresponding moves, Adam Wainwright was moved to the 60-day disabled list and catcher Cody Stanley was optioned to Triple-A to create room for Cooney on the 40-man and 25-man rosters, respectively. Cooney, 24, was a third-round pick in the 2012 draft and he has a career 3.50 ERA, 3.95 K/BB rate and 7.6 K/9 over 385 1/3 minor league innings. The southpaw is ranked by MLB.com as the tenth-best prospect in the St. Louis farm system, and he’ll make his Major League debut today when he starts for the Cardinals against the Phillies.
- Infielder Tony Abreu and outfielder Greg Golson have signed with the Mexican League’s Veracruz Red Eagles, according to the team’s official Twitter feed. Abreu elected to become a free agent last fall after appearing in 56 games for the Giants in 2013-14. Abreu has a career .254/.283/.373 slash line over 615 plate appearances with the Giants, Royals, D’Backs and Dodgers since 2007. Golson, who has 42 MLB plate appearances to his name between 2008-11, has spent the last three seasons playing in the minors, the independent Atlantic League and the Mexican Pacific Winter League.
Dodgers Claim Eury De La Rosa
The Dodgers have claimed left-handed pitcher Eury De La Rosa off waivers from the Athletics, reports J.P. Hoornstra of the L.A. News Group (Twitter links). To make room on the 40-man roster, Brandon McCarthy has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list, he adds. De La Rosa will be assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, per Hoornstra.
The 25-year-old De La Rosa has worked exclusively at Triple-A for the Athletics this season, firing six innings with three unearned runs, five walks and four strikeouts in that time. Oakland picked De La Rosa up in a minor trade that sent cash to the D-Backs in December following a solid half-season of work in the Arizona ‘pen. Last year, De La Rosa totaled 36 2/3 innings of relief for the Snakes and notched a 2.95 ERA with 7.9 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 43 percent ground-ball rate.
The question for De La Rosa, of course, will be just how long he remains on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster. Of late, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and his associates have been aggressive on the waiver wire, but the purpose behind most of their claims has been to attempt to pass the new player through outright waivers by designating him for assignment within days of the successful claim.
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly has previously explained to Hoornstra and other reporters that the whirlwind of transactions has actually been part of the team’s plan and wasn’t unexpected among decision-makers within the organization. Recently, Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles wrote that the rash of injuries incurred by the Dodgers has played a part in the revolving door that has been the team’s final roster spot.
Minor Moves: Robert Stock, Doug Mathis
Here are today’s minor moves:
- Former Cardinals farmhand Robert Stock was the first pick in this year’s independent Frontier League draft, the league announced. The right-hander and former second-round pick topped out at High-A in his career in affiliated ball but worked to a 4.17 ERA with 151 strikeouts in 172 2/3 innings. Of course, he also walked 120 in that time, demonstrating some control problems that likely hampered his advancement through the St. Louis organization. The full list of draftees is available in the above link, with several former Minor Leaguers appearing on the list.
- Former Rangers righty Doug Mathis is headed to Taiwan to join the Uni-President Lions, MLBTR’s Steve Adams tweets. The 31-year-old saw action at the major league level from 2008-10, working to a 4.84 ERA over 87 1/3 innings. Mathis has spent most of his time since at Triple-A with several organizations. All said, across parts of eight seasons at the highest level of the minors, Mathis owns a 4.24 ERA with 6.1 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 over 592 innings.