Minor Moves: Almonte, De Leon, McGuire
We’ll keep tabs on the day’s minor moves right here:
- Zoilo Almonte has elected to become a free agent, as per the MLB.com transactions page. Almonte was outrighted off the Braves‘ 40-man roster last week and had the option of free agency or accepting an assignment to Triple-A. Almonte signed a Major League contract with Atlanta this offseason after spending his entire nine-year pro career in the Yankees organization, posting a .523 OPS over 149 plate appearances in 2013-14 at the MLB level.
- The Dodgers signed righty Jorge De Leon to a minor league deal, as per their official transactions page. De Leon switches uniforms for the fourth time since October after the A’s claimed him from the Astros, released, and signed by the Cubs during the offseason. De Leon has a 5.19 ERA, 10 walks and 10 strikeouts over 17 1/3 innings for Houston over the 2013-14 seasons.
- Earlier this week, the Dodgers signed right-hander Deck McGuire to a minor league deal, as announced by McGuire himself via Twitter. McGuire was taken by the Blue Jays with the 11th overall pick of the 2010 draft but he hasn’t fared well in 572 2/3 minor league innings, posting a 4.78 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. The righty was dealt to the A’s for cash considerations in July and then outrighted off Oakland’s 40-man roster in August.
- The Diamondbacks have loaned infielder Walter Ibarra to Monterrey of the Mexican League, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert tweets. Ibarra, 27, has yet to see big league action. In 489 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level, he has slashed ..265/.301/.346. He has spent some time in past seasons playing in his native Mexico.
Rays Re-Sign Alexi Casilla
The Rays have signed infielder Alexi Casilla to a new minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Durham, according to the Durham Bulls’ Twitter feed. Casilla originally signed a minor league deal with Tampa in January but was released at the end of March. The move allowed the Rays to avoid paying Casilla a $100K retention bonus as an Article XX(B) free agent, yet clearly they wanted him back in the organization.
Casilla, 30, only appeared in one Major League game in 2014 (with the Orioles) as he spent most of the season at Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate. Since first breaking into the bigs in 2006, Casilla has posted a .247/.302/.331 slash line and gone 80-for-91 in stolen base chances over 1893 career plate appearances with the Twins and Orioles.
Dodgers Acquire Ryan Webb
The Orioles and Dodgers announced that Baltimore has traded right-hander Ryan Webb, Minor League catcher Brian Ward and a Competitive Balance (Round B) draft pick to Los Angeles in exchange for right-hander Ben Rowen and Minor League catcher Chris O’Brien.
Webb, 29, was removed from the Orioles’ 40-man roster this week and is slated to earn $2.75MM in the second season of a two-year, $4.5MM contract this year. The former Marlin was solid, if unspectacular in his lone year with Baltimore, working to a 3.83 ERA (101 ERA+) with 6.8 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 48.7 percent ground-ball rate. The ground-ball rate is above the league average but checks in well below Webb’s career mark of 56.1 percent.
The Dodgers will hope for a return to form not only in terms of ground-ball rate, but also in ERA. The durable Webb notched a 2.91 mark in 2013 but struggled to repeat that mark in 2014. Webb gives the Dodgers another relief arm to step into an injury-plagued bullpen that has seen both Kenley Jansen and Brandon League sidelined by early-season injuries. Webb’s ground-ball skill set would seem highly similar to that of League, who rebounded from a dreadful 2013 season to serve as a very useful reliever in L.A. last year during the regular season.
The Dodgers will also take on Webb’s entire salary, which was likely a condition required in order to coerce the Orioles to part with the Competitive Balance pick. Baltimore will send the No. 74 pick in the 2015 draft to the Dodgers to help facilitate the deal. That pick comes with a slot value of $827K, which the Orioles will lose from their pool and the Dodgers will add to their pool. The Orioles’ draft pool will drop from $7,677,400 to $6,850,400, while the Dodgers’ pool will rise from $6,954,700 to $7,781,700.
Ward, also 29, has never cracked the Major Leagues. Signed as a 23-year-old undrafted free agent in 2009, he’s worked his way to Triple-A and batted .227/.330/.286 at that level in parts of the past two seasons. While he clearly doesn’t offer much in the way of upside with the bat, Baseball America did rank Ward as the best defensive catcher in Baltimore’s Minor League system heading into the 2013 season.
The 26-year-old Rowen is an extreme side-arm pitcher that generates a huge amount of ground-balls and has been tough to hit for opposing batters throughout his Minor League career. Rowen has held opponents to just 6.9 hits per nine innings in the Minors and worked to a 3.45 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 47 Triple-A innings last year. In 2013, Rowen posted a ridiculous 0.69 ERA in 65 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A, averaging 7.9 strikeouts and 2.3 walks per nine innings.
O’Brien, 25, ranked as the Dodgers’ No. 26 prospect and profiles as a backup catcher, per Baseball America’s Ben Badler (on Twitter). The former 18th-round draft pick (2011) spent the 2014 season with the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate, slashing .266/.341/.438 in 407 plate appearances.
Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reported that Webb and Ward were headed to the Dodgers (Twitter links). FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweeted that Rowen and O’Brien were on their way to the Orioles, and Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun tweeted that the Comp Pick was going to the Dodgers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Orioles Release J.P. Arencibia
The Orioles have released catcher J.P. Arencibia, reports MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko (on Twitter). The former Blue Jays/Rangers backstop was reassigned to Minor League camp at the end of Spring Training and was expected to head to Norfolk but will now be a free agent.
Arencibia, 29, spent 2011-13 seasons as the Blue Jays’ primary catcher, surviving early in his career on plus power in spite of low averages and on-base percentages. However, his .194/.227/.365 line wasn’t enough to outweigh his 21 homers in 2013, and the Orioles cut him loose following the season. Arencibia spent time at catcher and first base for the Rangers last season but didn’t see his overall production improve much.
Rangers Claim Alex Hassan From Athletics
The Rangers have claimed outfielder Alex Hassan off waivers from the division-rival Athletics, Texas EVP of communications John Blake tweets. To make room on the 40-man roster, left-hander Matt Harrison has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list.
The 27-year-old Hassan has grown accustomed to changing uniforms over the past year, to say the least. Originally with the Red Sox, he was designated for assignment in November and claimed by the A’s, only to be designated and claimed by the Orioles just days later. Hassan believed he was Baltimore-bound until late February, when the Orioles designated him to make room for Everth Cabrera, and the A’s re-claimed him on waivers. Hassan again found himself on waivers after losing his 40-man spot to the recently signed Cody Ross, and he’ll hope to stick with a Rangers organization that is thin on quality outfield options at the moment.
That Hassan is so often claimed isn’t necessarily a surprise when considering the production he’s provided at the upper levels of the Minor Leagues. The former 20th-round pick is a career .282/.387/.411 hitter in 1082 Triple-A plate appearances, and he’s never posted an OBP lower than .377 in a full Minor League season. Hassan has played both corner outfield spots and first base a fair amount, giving him some versatility to go along with that high-OBP approach and his history of strong batting averages. All told, Hassan has walked in nearly 14 percent of his Minor League plate appearances while striking out at a relatively low rate of 17.9 percent in the Minors.
Minor Moves: White, Presley, Capps, Perez, Smoker
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- Astros outfielder Alex Presley has cleared waivers and is now deciding whether to accept his outright assignment, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). He is expected to accept the assignment in order to retain his $1MM salary, per the report. Righty Alex White has also cleared waivers and has been assigned to Houston’s Triple-A affiliate, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart tweets.
- Veteran righty Matt Capps has re-signed with the Braves, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo reports on Twitter. The former Nationals closer had been with the club this spring but was released. Capps, 31, gave up two long balls in his only two innings of work, and has thrown just 12 professional innings over the last two seasons.
- The Mariners have loaned lefty Rafael Perez to Mexico’s Quintana Roo Tigers, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune tweets. Perez, 32, was once a mainstay in the Indians’ pen and owns a 3.64 ERA over 329 big league innings. His peripherals declined, however, and he has not pitched in the big leagues since 2012. Perez has put up strong numbers in the upper minors over the last two years, however, and even returned to working as a starter last year.
- Former top draft pick Josh Smoker has signed with the Mets, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports. The 26-year-old, who washed out of the Nationals’ system, is said to be working back into the mid-90s with his fastball.
Athletics Designate Alex Hassan
The Athletics have designated outfielder Alex Hassan for assignment, the club announced. Oakland cleared roster space for the just-signed Cody Ross with this move and an optional assignment for Billy Burns.
Hassan, 27, has only minimal time in the big leagues. But he has slashed .282/.378/.426 in four seasons at the Triple-A level, suggesting that he possesses a high-OBP, relatively low-power bat that could be useful in a reserve role in the bigs.
Hassan bounced around quite a bit over the offseason. In fact, he was claimed by the A’s on two separate occasions, which also means this is the second time he has been designated by the team in the last few months.
Yankees Outright Austin Romine
The Yankees have outrighted catcher Austin Romine to Triple-A, the club announced. Romine had been designated for assignment after losing the backup catching competition.
The 26-year-old, a former top-100 prospect, has struggled in limited action at the big league level. Last year was his worst as a professional, as he slashed just .242/.300/.365 in 313 plate appearances at Triple-A and receive minimal MLB action.
It is at least something of a surprise to see the out-of-options Romine clear waivers, but it seems that no club was interested in adding him to its active roster or trying to pass him through waivers itself. For New York, he represents a nice insurance policy with some upside.
Cubs To Sign James Russell
The Cubs have signed lefty James Russell, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports on Twitter. Russell was released by the Braves earlier this spring.
Of course, Russell spent much of last season (and all of his career before it) with Chicago. Dealt along with Emilio Bonifacio to Atlanta last summer in exchange for catcher Victor Caratini and cash, Russell put up good numbers down the stretch. He ended the year with a career-low 2.97 ERA over 57 2/3 innings between both clubs.
In spite of his solid results last year, a rough spring led to his departure from the Braves, who will be on the hook for about $600K of salary but were able to avoid paying Russell the full $2.4MM he had agreed upon to avoid arbitration. Because Chicago was able to land him with a minor league deal, Russell will represent a free roll for the team if and when he makes it onto the major league roster.
Interestingly, Russell now joins Jason Hammel, Bonifacio, and Jeff Samardzija as players who were dealt away last summer by the Cubs and are back with Chicago organizations — the latter two with the White Sox.
Pirates Extend Josh Harrison
The Pirates have announced a four-year extension for infielder/outfielder Josh Harrison. Pittsburgh will guarantee the super-utility man $27.3MM over the next four seasons and will also hold two club options that could bring the deal’s total value to $50.3MM.
Harrison, who is represented by MSM Sports, will take home a $1MM signing bonus. After earning his previously agreed-upon $2.8MM salary this year, he will earn $5MM (2016), $7.5MM (2017), and $10MM (2018). The options are worth $10.5MM ($1MM buyout) and $11MM ($500K buyout). The options can each increase by up to $1MM depending upon escalators based upon MVP voting, accounting for the rest of the achievable value.
Harrison, 27, broke out last year for the Bucs after several years shuttling between the big leagues and upper minors. Despite previously carrying a sub-.700 OPS, Harrison slashed .315/.347/.490 in 550 plate appearances in 2014, adding 13 home runs and 18 stolen bases.
Playing excellent defense at multiple infield and outfield positions not only helped enhance Harrison’s overall productivity, but makes him a highly versatile piece moving forward. In the aggregate, Harrison posted 5.3 rWAR and 5.0 fWAR last year.
That elite contribution came at an opportune time, as it landed Harrison a $2.8MM contract in his first year of arbitration eligibility. In exchange for promising away the rest of his arbitration years and three seasons of free agent eligibility (two via options), Harrison now pockets an additional $24.5MM in guaranteed money.
MLBTR’s Steve Adams took a look at Harrison as an extension candidate back in September. After a detailed breakdown of his surprising emergence, Steve explained the difficulties that the two sides might encounter in valuing a new contract. A new factor was introduced when the Bucs landed Korean infielder Jung-ho Kang.
But with Harrison showing no signs of slowing down over a solid spring, team and player were able to bridge any differences and find common ground. In the end, Pittsburgh will commit slightly more than the Indians did last year for Michael Brantley but will pick up an additional season of control in the second option. The club will now enjoy the wide flexibility that Harrison offers in planning their next several offseasons, while hoping that his contract pays off as much as Brantley’s has.
Detractors will note that Harrison benefited from a .355 BABIP last year. But he has traditionally carried a high mark in the minors and still would have had plenty of value on offense — to say nothing of the other elements of the game — had that number been lower. If Harrison can remain even a slightly above-average hitter, he ought to justify his contract and then some.
All links to Twitter: Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first reported the total value of the deal. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported details while Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review also reported financial details and Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette added the deal’s escalator clause.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.