Dodgers Outright Ryan Webb
The Dodgers have outrighted righty reliever Ryan Webb to Triple-A Oklahoma City, according to the MLB.com transactions page. The team acquired Webb from the Orioles late last week after Baltimore designated him for assignment. He had not yet reported to the team. Since Webb has over five years of MLB service, he can refuse an outright assignment, although it’s not yet clear whether he’s done that.
Webb had already cleared outright waivers with the Orioles. He is set to make $2.75MM this season. It appears, then, that the trade between the Dodgers and Orioles was almost entirely about the Dodgers taking on Webb’s salary, which is likely why the Orioles were willing to give up a Competitive Balance Round B pick in the deal even though they were also the team giving up a big-league player.
Webb, 29, posted a 3.83 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 49 1/3 innings with the Orioles last season. In his six-year big-league career, he has also pitched with the Padres and Marlins.
Yankees Sign Kyle Davies; Designate Matt Tracy
The Yankees announced they have signed right-hander Kyle Davies to a Major League contract. To clear room on the 25-man and 40-man rosters, the Yankees designated left-hander Matt Tracy for assignment.
The Yankees had signed Davies to a Minor League deal in February after the 31-year-old had spent the past two years in the Twins and Indians organizations. Davies last appeared in a MLB game in 2011 with the Royals and has a line of 5.59 ERA, 6.4 K/9, and 4.3 BB/9 across seven seasons with the Braves and Royals.
Tracy’s designation comes just one day after he was promoted to the big league club. The 26-year-old made his MLB debut yesterday in the Yankees’ 8-4 loss to the Red Sox tossing two innings allowing three unearned runs on two hits and a pair of walks. Tracy posted a 3.76 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 150 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2014.
Phillies Designate Cesar Jimenez For Assignment
The Phillies announced that they’ve designated left-hander Cesar Jimenez for assignment and selected the contract of right-hander Sean O’Sullivan, who will start today’s game against the Nationals.
The 30-year-old Jimenez pitched just two-third of an inning in the early stages of the 2015 season but has been up and down with the Phillies in each of the past two seasons. Jimenez has worked to a very strong 2.67 ERA in 33 2/3 innings dating back to 2013, though his ratios of 5.3 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 and 4.27 FIP tell a less favorable story than his bottom-line results. Jimenez has been more effective against lefties than righties, but he hasn’t exactly dominated same-handed hitters; lefties have batted .238/.310/.357 against him in 143 big league plate appearances.
Jimenez was the only lefty in the bullpen behind setup man Jake Diekman, and the loss of Mario Hollands to Tommy John surgery removed another option for Philadelphia. They’ll likely hope that Jimenez can clear waivers and remain in the organization — an outcome that has already happened twice in the past calendar year.
Indians Release Brewer, Purchase Marcum’s Contract
The Indians announced a series of roster moves this morning, including the release of right-hander Charles Brewer, who had occupied a slot on the team’s 40-man roster. Cleveland has placed Yan Gomes on the 15-day disabled list with a knee sprain, optioned lefty Kyle Crockett to Triple-A, recalled right-hander Austin Adams and selected the contract of former Blue Jays/Brewers starter Shaun Marcum.
Cleveland picked up Brewer, 27, from the Diamondbacks this offseason. He didn’t appear in the Majors last year, but he did pitch six innings for the 2013 D-Backs, yielding a pair of runs with five strikeouts against two walks. In 169 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level (in the very hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League), Brewer has a 5.29 ERA with 6.9K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.
As for Marcum, the right-hander will be taking the mound in the Majors for the first time since 2013 when he debuts for the Indians. Marcum was very good from 2010-12 with the Jays and Brewers, working to a 3.62 ERA (113 ERA+) with 7.5 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 520 innings of work. A nerve injury in his neck and thoracic outlet syndrome have hindered Marcum over the past two years, however. He spent the 2014 season rehabbing with the Indians in their Minor League system but only totaled 17 2/3 innings.
Minor Moves: Florimon, Peguero, Adrianza, Tracy
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.
- Reds pitcher Raisel Iglesias will make his major league debut tomorrow, writes Jason Haddix for MLB.com. He’ll be opposed by Cardinals hurler Carlos Martinez. The Reds committed to a seven-year, $27MM contract with Iglesias during the 2014 season.
- The Orioles selected the contract of knuckleballer Eddie Gamboa, writes Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com. Wesley Wright was added to the disabled list in a corresponding move. Gamboa, 30, had yet to reach the majors although he figures to bounce back and forth this year. He’ll serve as depth in case Kevin Gausman is needed in long relief in the next couple games.
- Pirates utility man Pedro Florimon has cleared waivers, tweets Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He has been outrighted to Triple-A. Per Brink (also Twitter), since Florimon has been outrighted before, he can decline and become a free agent. Brink is told no decision has been made.
- The Rangers have announced that they’ve selected the contract of corner outfielder Carlos Peguero and recalled pitcher Jon Edwards. They’ve also moved Derek Holland (shoulder) to the 60-day disabled list and Ryan Rua (ankle) to the 15-day disabled list. Peguero is in the Rangers’ lineup tonight. The 28-year-old Peguero has played briefly, and not particularly impressively, for the Mariners and Royals in parts of four big-league seasons, but he’s demonstrated serious power in the minors (with 30 homers for Triple-A Omaha last year) and in Spring Training.
- The Giants have outrighted infielder Ehire Adrianza to Triple-A Sacramento, MLB.com’s Chris Haft tweets. The team designated Adrianza for assignment last week. Adrianza, 25, hit .237/.279/.299 in 106 plate appearances while playing mostly shortstop and second base for the Giants last season.
- The Yankees have announced that they’ve promoted lefty Matt Tracy. To clear space for Tracy on the 25- and 40-man rosters, the Yankees optioned lefty Chasen Shreve to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and moved Ivan Nova to the 60-day disabled list. Tracy will need to be added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster. Tracy’s stay on the roster could turn out to be short, however — the Yankees can use some quick bullpen reinforcements after their 19-inning game against the Red Sox last night, and Tracy would presumably join the team for that purpose. The 26-year-old posted a 3.76 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 150 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A last year.
- Two players remain in DFA limbo, via MLBTR’s DFA Tracker: lefty Sam Freeman (Rangers) and outfielder Carlos Quentin (Braves).
Hiroshima Carp Sign Outfielder Nate Schierholtz
The Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s NPB have signed outfielder Nate Schierholtz to a one-year, $1.16MM contract, reports the Japan Times. Schierholtz is expected to join the team as soon as April 21. He opted out of his minor league contract with the Rangers on March 28.
Schierholtz struggled to a .195/.243/.309 line in 383 plate appearances last season. However, he turned in a useful 2013 campaign with the Cubs that included 21 home runs and a .251/.301/.470 slash. The left-handed hitter is also a career .253/.302/.419 hitter against right-handed pitchers.
Rangers Claim Stolmy Pimentel
The Rangers have announced that they’ve claimed righty Stolmy Pimentel from the Pirates. To clear space on their 40-man roster, the Rangers have transferred Lisalverto Bonilla to the 60-day disabled list. The Bucs designated Pimentel for assignment last week.
The 25-year-old Pimentel is out of options, so he’ll join the injury-ravaged Rangers’ 25-man roster, with a forthcoming move yet to be announced. He has strikeout stuff, with a good fastball and 10.5 K/9 in the Pirates’ bullpen last season, but he also walked 16 batters in 32 2/3 innings and posted a 5.23 ERA. He was mostly a starter throughout his minor-league career (which included several stops with the Red Sox before he headed to Pittsburgh in the Joel Hanrahan deal), but it might be hard for him to develop as a starter without being able to head back to the minors first.
Minor Moves: Luis Merejo, James Harris
Here are the latest minor moves from around the game, all via Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (links to Twitter):
- The Braves have released lefty Luis Merejo, who has been out for quite some time after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The 20-year-old international signee had “shown promise” in his debut in the Gulf Coast League back in 2012, says Eddy, and indeed he struck out 11.6 and walked just 2.0 batters per nine in his first 41 professional innings.
- Outfielder James Harris, who had been released by the Rays, was signed by the Athletics. One of Tampa’s multiple sandwich picks back in 2011, Harris has slashed a meager .215/.291/.305 in 898 turns at bat in his career in the lower minors. He is still just 21 years of age, however.
Giants, Kevin Correia Agree To Minor League Deal
APRIL 10: Heyman reports that Correia’s deal has an $850K base salary in the Majors as well as up to $800K worth of incentives (Twitter link). Correia also secured two opt-out dates on the contract — the first coming on June 1 and the second coming on July 1.
APRIL 7: The Giants have agreed to a Minor League contract with veteran right-hander (and former Giant) Kevin Correia, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). Longtime Giants scribe Andrew Baggarly first reported that the two sides were nearing a Minors pact (Twitter links). Correia, who had been in camp with the Mariners but was released late in the spring, would head to extended Spring Training to ramp up his pitch count before heading to Triple-A, Baggarly adds.
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.
The Giants are in need of rotation depth, however, and Correia can provide that. He’ll give San Francisco an option to use as a spot starter or long man in the bullpen down the line. The Giants’ rotation depth has already been compromised by a strained flexor tendon that has landed Matt Cain on the 15-day DL and a minor back issue that has delayed Jake Peavy‘s season debut. Chris Heston has already been recalled to make a spot start, while Ryan Vogelsong, who had been re-signed as a reliever, has been asked to step into the rotation in Peavy’s stead. Swingman Yusmeiro Petit, who set a Major League record for consecutive batters retired in 2014, could eventually factor into the rotation mix if injuries persist.
The 34-year-old Correia 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.
Royals Sign Troy Patton To Minor League Deal
The Royals and left-hander Troy Patton agreed to a Minor League contract the day before the season began, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America (Twitter link). Patton won’t be available to begin the season, as he was hit with an 80-game suspension in November after testing positive for amphetamines. Patton had previously served a 25-game suspension for the same reason — Adderall usage without a therapeutic use exemption.
Suspensions aside, Patton was a largely serviceable reliever from 2011-13 with the Orioles, working to a 3.05 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 45.8 percent ground-ball rate. Baltimore flipped Patton to the Padres in exchange for catcher Nick Hundley last year, however, and he struggled in a small, 14-inning sample of work between the two clubs, yielding eight runs on 16 hits (two homers) and five walks. Overall, Patton sports an aesthetically pleasing 3.25 ERA and has held lefties to a weak batting line of just .243/.284/.349. FIP and xFIP both feel his ERA should be closer to 3.90, while SIERA pegs him at 3.51.
At 29 years of age, Patton still has some relative youth on his side, and he’ll provide the Royals with some depth at an area of need once his suspension is complete. Kansas City lost left-handed reliever Tim Collins for the season due to Tommy John surgery, so Patton could conceivably work his way into a bullpen role later in the year. And, with 4.138 years of big league service, he could be controlled via arbitration on the perhaps unlikely chance that he emerges as a viable contributor.