Indians Sign Michael Roth, Release Tyler Cloyd
The Indians announced a series of minor pitching transactions on Twitter. Left-hander Michael Roth has been inked to a minor league deal with a spring invite, while righty Tyler Cloyd has been released to afford him an opportunity to pitch in Korea.
Roth is a 24-year-old who has thrown mostly in relief at the major league level while working as a starter in the minors. The University of South Carolina grad has been hit around in the bigs, but worked to a solid 2.62 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 140 2/3 innings as a starter at Double-A. Roth refused an outright assignment with the Angels after being designated for assignment back in November.
The 27-year-old Cloyd, meanwhile, worked at Triple-A last year with the Indians organization, pitching to a 3.89 ERA over 166 2/3 frames with 6.4 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9. He had served as a spot starter for Cleveland at the MLB level over the prior two years, compiling a 5.98 ERA over 93 1/3 total innings.
Cubs To Sign Chris Denorfia
JANUARY 6: Denorfia will be guaranteed $2.6MM this year, with an additional $400K in achievable incentives, Heyman tweets.
DECEMBER 31: The Cubs have agreed to terms with outfielder Chris Denorfia, former teammate John Baker tweets. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal confirms the deal (via Twitter), adding that it’s for one year. He will receive about $2.5MM, tweets CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman. Denorfia is a client of Pro Star Management, Inc.
Denorfia, 34, hit .230/.284/.318 in 330 plate appearances with the Padres and Mariners in 2014. Before that, though, he had four straight productive years in San Diego, always posting OPS figures in the .700s despite the difficulties hitting there. He’s also hit well against lefties throughout his career, batting .292/.358/.430 against them, and he can play all three outfield spots (although he didn’t play much center in 2014).
The Cubs traded another righty outfielder, Justin Ruggiano, to the Mariners two weeks ago for relief prospect Matt Brazis, and Denorfia should be a reasonable substitute. (And not just with his play — MLBTR projects Ruggiano will make $2.5MM this season, approximately the same amount Denorfia will now make.) The Cubs can platoon Denorfia with lefty Chris Coghlan in left field while also having him fill in as needed at the other outfield spots.
Minor Moves: Boggs, Ashley, Heathcott, Lennerton
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- Peter Gammons reports that the Red Sox have signed former Cardinals right-hander Mitchell Boggs (Twitter link). Not surprisingly, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com hears that it’s a minor league deal. Boggs, 30, struggled through 51 minor league innings between the White Sox and Giants in 2014, totaling an alarming 8.59 ERA after a rough 2013 at the big league level. However, Boggs was both durable and effective for the Redbirds from 2010-12, notching a 3.08 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 201 1/3 innings.
- The Brewers announced that they’ve signed catcher Nevin Ashley to a minor league contract that contains an invitation to Major League Spring Training. The 30-year-old Ashley, a longtime Rays farmhand, spent last season with the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate. With Indianapolis, he batted .246/.332/.345 in 234 plate appearances — numbers that are commensurate with his lifetime .235/.322/.365 batting line at the Triple-A level. Ashley was twice named the best defensive catcher in the Rays’ system by Baseball America and has gunned down 38 percent of attempted base-stealers in a nine-year minor league career.
- The Yankees have re-signed former first-round pick Slade Heathcott to a minor league contract, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). The Yanks non-tendered Heathcott this December on the heels of a season that limited him to just nine games. Injuries have long been a problem for the center fielder, although Heathcott is still heading into just his age-24 season and has a lifetime .268/.346/.404 triple slash in the minors. Somewhat painfully (for Yankees fans, anyhow), Sherman notes that the Yankees had intended to select Mike Trout with the 29th overall pick in 2009, but he went four picks prior to the Angels as a compensation pick for the loss of Mark Teixeira… who had signed with the Yankees.
- The Tigers have re-signed first baseman Jordan Lennerton, the infielder himself tweeted on New Year’s Eve. MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports that it’s a minor league contract, but it’s unclear whether or not Lennerton will be in big league camp (he was in 2014). Lennerton, 28, had a down season in terms of average and slugging percentage last year at Triple-A, though he still batted a respectable .249/.362/.395 on the whole.
Royals Sign Edinson Volquez
The Royals announced Tuesday that they have officially signed right-hander Edinson Volquez to a two-year contract with a mutual option for the 2017 season. The contract reportedly guarantees Volquez $20MM, including a $7.5MM salary in 2015 followed by $9.5MM in 2016 and a $3MM buyout on the $10MM mutual option.
A $20MM contract represents a win for Volquez and his representatives with the Wasserman Media Group — last week, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported that Volquez was seeking precisely that figure. Volquez, 31, earned a two-year deal thanks to a strong season in Pittsburgh in which he posted a 3.04 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 192 2/3 innings, to go along with a 50.4% ground ball rate. His peripherals lagged behind his ERA, with figures of 4.20 for both his xFIP and SIERA, and the Pirates were a terrific fit for a pitcher like Volquez, thanks to their shift-heavy infield defense and their good framing tandem of Russell Martin and Chris Stewart, not to mention well regarded pitching coach Ray Searage. Volquez’s control, in particular, still is a weakness, with five straight seasons with BB/9 rates exceeding 4.0 before 2014.
That doesn’t mean the Royals overpaid, however, or that Volquez can’t successfully eat innings in Kansas City. His stuff is excellent, with a mid-90s fastball that at times ranged into the high 90s last year, to go along with a curveball that he used very effectively. Also, Volquez has managed to pitch at least 170 innings in each of the last three seasons despite his control issues. Heading into the offseason, MLBTR’s Zach Links projected Volquez would get two years and $18MM, only a bit less than he actually received.
While he may not replace James Shields in terms of production, Volquez figures to slot into the space that was previously occupied by “Big Game James.” He’ll join Yordano Ventura, Jason Vargas, Danny Duffy and Jeremy Guthrie in manager Ned Yost’s rotation. While Volquez will undoubtedly miss Martin’s framing and the Pirates’ infield shifts, it’s also worth noting that he’s joining one of the best defensive clubs in baseball and will again call a pitcher-friendly park home, so there’s a good chance that he can pitch well enough to live up to his guarantee.
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported that the deal was complete (Twitter links). SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo initially tweeted that the two sides were close. Heyman tweeted the final contractual details.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rockies Sign Nick Hundley
JANUARY 5: The Rockies have announced the signing. Hundley will receive $6.25MM in the deal, per Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter), with $3.1MM coming this year and $3.15MM due for 2016.
DECEMBER 31: The Rockies have agreed to terms with catcher Nick Hundley on a two-year deal worth a bit over $6MM, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun writes. The deal is pending a physical. Hundley is an Athletes First client.
The Orioles also offered Hundley a two-year deal but did not offer as much money and could not promise as much playing time, Connolly tweets. Hundley hit .243/.273/.358 in 218 plate appearances in 2014, joining the Orioles in May after Baltimore acquired him from the Padres for Troy Patton, hoping to find catching help in the absence of the injured Matt Wieters. Wieters should be healthy for 2015, however, and the Orioles already had four other catchers on their 40-man roster (Steve Clevenger, Caleb Joseph, Michael Ohlman and the newly acquired Ryan Lavarnway).
Hundley will now join Wilin Rosario and Michael McKenry on the Rockies’ depth chart, although Rosario has been the subject of trade rumors this offseason and could ultimately be headed to the AL, where he can play DH. Hundley’s deal looks to be the biggest one for the Rockies so far this offseason — the only other player they’ve signed to a Major League deal so far is Daniel Descalso, who got two years and $3.6MM.
Hundley is generally regarded as reliable defensively. Historically, he hasn’t rated as a good framer, although he posted slightly above average framing numbers in 2014. The 31-year-old hit well early in his career, peaking with a stellar .288/.347/.477 season in PETCO Park in 2011. Since then, though, his offense has declined, perhaps beginning with a 2012 knee injury. He hasn’t posted an OPS above .679 in any of the last three seasons, and he eventually lost playing time as Yasmani Grandal and Rene Rivera emerged in San Diego. Of course, after years spent in PETCO, Coors Field could help boost Hundley’s offensive numbers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rockies Designate Chris Martin For Assignment
The Rockies have designated righty Chris Martin for assignment, the club announced. His departure from the 40-man will open roster space for Nick Hundley, whose signing was announced today.
Martin, a towering 28-year-old, reached the big leagues with Colorado despite not pitching in the minors until age 25. He had signed with the Red Sox after a successful independent ball stint, and came to the Rockies in last winter’s Jonathan Herrera trade.
Though Martin did not put up an impressive ERA (6.89) in his 15 2/3 innings of MLB work, ERA estimators were much more impressed with Martin’s ability to generate grounders (60.8%) and strike out big league hitters (8.0 per nine). And his work at Triple-A with Colorado was rather promising, as he struck out 12.2 and walked 3.0 batters per nine over 26 2/3 frames. While Martin posted only a 4.39 ERA, he was pitching at a hitter-friendly park and in a hitter-friendly league.
Rangers Sign Juan Carlos Oviedo, Designate Matt West
The Rangers have inked righty Juan Carlos Oviedo to a minor league deal with a spring training invite, club executive VP of communications John Blake announced on Twitter. Texas also designated righty Matt West for assignment to create roster space for the re-signing of Adam Rosales, Blake further tweets.
Oviedo, who will soon turn 33, returned from a long big league layoff to throw 31 2/3 innings of 3.69 ERA ball last year for the Rays. He put up 7.4 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9 over that stretch. On the other hand, ERA estimators were none too excited about his effort. He worked to a 4.52 FIP, 5.32 xFIP, and 4.46 SIERA.
West, meanwhile, is a 26-year-old reliever who reached the big leagues briefly last year with the Rangers. He made just three outings at the MLB level, but put up a solid 3.34 ERA over 56 2/3 frames in the upper minors. West backed those results with 10.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.
Rangers To Re-Sign Adam Rosales
The Rangers have agreed to terms with utility infielder Adam Rosales on a one-year, $900K contract, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). The Rangers had non-tendered the Octagon client earlier this winter.
Rosales, 31, has bounced around a fair bit but is obviously valued for his versatility. Over parts of seven seasons, he has spent over 450 MLB innings at each of the non-catching infield positions in addition to seeing some time in the outfield.
Of course, Rosales is not terribly productive offensively. In 1,101 career turns at bat, Rosales owns a .226/.294/.342 slash. But he produced at a roughly league-average clip last year for Texas and posted a sturdy .276/.349/.434 line in 307 plate appearances at Triple-A.
Mets Re-Sign Buddy Carlyle To Minor League Deal
The Mets announced that they have re-signed right-hander Buddy Carlyle to a minor league contract with an invite to big league Spring Training. Carlyle is a client of Octagon.
Caryle, 37, made a surprising return to he Majors at age 36 last season after a two-year absence and fired 31 dominant innings out of the New York bullpen. Though his heater averaged just 90.5 mph, Carlyle still punched out an average of 8.1 hitters per nine innings versus just 1.5 walks per nine, and he did an excellent, albeit possibly unsustainable job of keeping the ball in the yard.
In addition to excelling with the Mets last season, Carlyle has posted strong minor league results over the past three seasons and should have a chance at cracking the Mets’ bullpen once again. All of this comes despite the fact that through his age-33 season, Carlyle had authored just a 5.58 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 253 1/3 big league innings. Nonetheless, metrics such as FIP (2.65), xFIP (3.21) and SIERA (2.82) all feel that last season’s small sample of success was a bit more than pure smoke and mirrors, though skepticism is warranted until he can prove his effectiveness over a longer period.
Royals To Sign Ryan Madson
JAN. 5: Madson will earn $850K if he makes the big league club and has the opportunity to earn up to $150K via incentives, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
JAN. 4: The Royals and Ryan Madson have agreed to a minor league deal, a source tells Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. The pact includes an invitation to major league spring training.
Madson, 34, hasn’t pitched in the major leagues since 2011 because of elbow issues. In that season, Madson established himself as one of the game’s most promising closers, pitching to a 2.37 ERA with 9.2 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 48.8% ground ball rate in 60 2/3 innings for the Phillies. When a reported four-year, $44MM deal fell through between the two sides, he joined up with the Reds on a much smaller contract, but he never made it to the mound.
Even with his injury woes, teams were still anxious to sign Madson, a reliever boasted a half-decade of strong late inning work. The Halos gave Madson a deal worth $3.5MM in guaranteed money prior to the 2013 season, but he was only able to make one brief Advanced-A appearance all year long. After that, the All Bases Covered client sat out 2014.
The right-hander pitched to a 2.89 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 329 2/3 innings from 2007-2011. In parts of nine seasons with the Phillies from 2003-11, the veteran posted a 3.59 ERA with 7.8 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 47.7% ground ball rate.