Phillies Sign Elvis Araujo To MLB Deal
The Phillies have inked left-hander Elvis Araujo to a major league deal, the club announced today. The towering lefty never moved past the Double-A level with the Indians, but was hard to score on at that level and has looked good in the Venezuelan Winter League.
Araujo, 23, has struggled with control at times in his minor league career, including over his 21 Double-A frames, over which he walked 15 batters. But he did miss bats, posting a career-high 9.0 K/9 at both the High-A and Double-A level last season.
The southpaw nevertheless drew enough interest to warrant a major league pact, as Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com tweets. It could be that his time this winter in his home country turned some heads. As the Phillies note in their release, Araujo has struck out eight and given up just three hits in seven frames thus far.
Phillies Sign Francoeur, Seven Others To Minor-League Deals
The Phillies have announced the signings of eight players to minor league deals with spring training invites. The list includes multiple players who could presumably play a role on the big league team if it deals from its current roster.
The list of announced players is as follows:
- Infielder Andres Blanco
- Outfielder Brian Bogusevic
- Infielder/outfielder Russ Canzler
- Infielder/outfielder Chase d’Arnaud
- Outfielder Jeff Francoeur
- Catcher John Hester
- Outfielder Darin Mastroianni
- Outfielder Xavier Paul
Every player on that list has MLB experience, and many have fairly extensive time in the bigs. Francoeur, of course, is a former top prospect and long-time starter who spent time both playing in the outfield and pitching last year in the Padres organization. He is one of several signees who could provide options if the Phillies were to move any of their current outfielders. The infield-capable members of this list may create some flexibility as well.
At various times, all of Marlon Byrd, Ben Revere, and Domonic Brown have found their names as rumored trade candidates. Though shortstop Jimmy Rollins and, to a lesser extent, second baseman Chase Utley have both been named as potential trade chips as well, those players enjoy full no-trade protection and appear less likely to be dealt.
Blue Jays, Tigers Swap Anthony Gose, Devon Travis
The Blue Jays announced that they have acquired second base prospect Devon Travis from the Tigers in exchange for center fielder Anthony Gose.
Of the two players involved in the deal, only Gose comes with Major League experience. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski tells Lynn Henning of the Detroit News (Twitter link) that Gose will play center field regularly for the Tigers if all goes according to plan. The fleet-footed Gose is known to be an outstanding defender with a questionable bat, though he carried a fair amount of hype upon reaching the Majors in 2012, as he’d previously ranked as a Top 100 prospect according to Baseball America, MLB.com, Baseball Prospectus and ESPN.
Gose hasn’t hit much in his time in the bigs, compiling a .234/.301/.332 batting line with five homers and 34 steals (in 45 tries) over 616 plate appearances. However, Gose is still just 24 years of age and will play nearly all of next season at that age. He’s perfectly capable of playing center field based both on scouting reports from his prospect days and defensive metrics such as UZR/150 (+13.6 in a 900-inning sample) and Defensive Runs Saved (+2). Gose has hit .241/.316/.350 against right-handed pitching in his career, so he could at least fall into a potential platoon with Rajai Davis if he struggles against lefties. He’s under team control through the 2019 season and won’t be eligible for arbitration until at least the 2016-17 offseason.
Gose is no stranger to seeing his name in trades. Originally drafted by Philadelphia in the second round back in 2008, he was shipped to the Astros in the Roy Oswalt trade before being flipped to Toronto in a one-for-one swap with Brett Wallace. Within the press release announcing the swap, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski offered the following statement on Gose:
“Anthony is a true center fielder than can provide us with above average defense in center field with a good arm. He possesses above average speed and can steal bases at the major league level. He swings the bat from the left side and we feel that he will continue to improve his offensive game. We are very happy to welcome him to the Club.”
While Gose comes with upside, the acquisition of Travis appears to be a nice return for Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos. Baseball America ranked Travis as the game’s No. 84 prospect heading into the 2014 season and just today ranked him as the No. 1 prospect in Detroit’s minor league system (though ESPN’s Keith Law still tweets that he considers Travis a “non-prospect).
BA’s subscriber-only scouting report (subscription highly recommended) explains that Travis has excellent bat-to-ball skills, balance at the plate and bat control. Per BA’s Ben Badler, Travis has the ability to square up both fastballs and offspeed pitches well enough to hit 10-15 homers per season and is an adequate defender at second base who turns double plays well.
Toronto’s interest in Travis is hardly surprising, as the team is known to be on the lookout for second base help that will allow Brett Lawrie to play at third base full time. Travis should fill that role eventually, although he may not be ready for immediate big league action. The 23-year-old appeared in 100 games at Double-A Erie in 2014, batting .298/.358/.460 with 10 homers in 441 plate appearances. Last year, Baseball America’s Clint Longnecker took an excellent look at the changes Travis has made from his days at Florida State that enabled him to become one of the game’s better second base prospects.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Dodgers Notes: Outfield, Ellis, Lowrie, International Signings
Speculation that the Dodgers will move one of their outfielders this winter is nothing new, and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman acknowledged the likelihood of that outcome today. As Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles writes, Friedman told reporters this morning, “I think it’s most likely the best course of action to move one of those players,” referring to Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford. Saxon writes that the belief is that Ethier is most likely to be moved, followed by Crawford, but Friedman wouldn’t rule out listening to offers for Kemp, nor would he rule out trading two outfielders and opening the season with Joc Pederson in an everyday role. He did imply that Kemp would be the most difficult to move, however: “Obviously what Matt has done, what Matt’s capable of doing, is significant, especially in this day and age with the run-scoring environment the way it is. His ability in the batter’s box is different.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kemp has already drawn some interest, per Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
More on the Dodgers…
- Heyman tweets that the Dodgers are looking to upgrade at catcher but feels the team has to keep A.J. Ellis around despite a down year at the plate due to how much ace Clayton Kershaw likes working with him (Twitter link). He wonders if the team might pursue an upgrade and use Ellis as a personal catcher for the 2014 Cy Young winner.
- The Dodgers aren’t likely to pursue free agent shortstop Jed Lowrie, tweets Saxon. Los Angeles is potentially losing Hanley Ramirez to free agency, so some have speculated that free agent shortstops may be of interest. The team does, of course, have internal options such as the defensively gifted Erisbel Arruebarrena and the more offensive-minded Alex Guerrero.
- The Dodgers today announced a trio of international signings (Twitter link): Frank Sanchez (the nephew of Dodgers third baseman Juan Uribe), Edwin Reyes and Jerson Dometilla. Each is 16 years old, and SB Nation’s True Blue LA has more on each player.
Pirates Acquire Francisco Cervelli For Justin Wilson
Another Yankees catcher is on his way to Pittsburgh, as Francisco Cervelli has been acquired by the Pirates in exchange for lefty reliever Justin Wilson, the teams announced tonight.
Cervelli’s arrival in Pittsburgh could be protection against losing free agent Russell Martin, though Heyman tweets that the Bucs are still in on Martin. As things stand, the 28-year-old would presumably pair with Chris Stewart in the club’s mix behind the dish. (Oddly, all three of those backstops, of course, went to Pittsburgh from New York.)
The Pirates are getting a catcher who has performed well in limited recent action. Unfortunate injuries — a foul tip and collision followed by a hamstring strain — cut Cervelli short in each of the last three years, holding him to just 225 plate appearances. But he does own a .291/.373/.447 slash in that stretch, and could be a solid piece if he can stay on the field. Because of his limited ability to rack up statistics, Cervelli is projected by MLBTR/Matt Swartz to earn only $1.1MM next year.
Wilson, meanwhile, is just 27 and is still a year shy of arbitration eligibility. He took a step back last year in terms of ERA, though metrics like FIP felt he was just as good in 2014 as he was in 2013; both place him in the mid-3 earned run range. On the whole, over the last two years Wilson owns a 3.03 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 over 138 1/3 frames.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported, on Twitter, that the Pirates had acquired Cervelli, and the New York Post’s Joel Sherman tweeted that Wilson was headed to the Bronx in exchange.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Eric Stults Elects Free Agency
Left-hander Eric Stults has chosen to become a free agent after the Padres outrighted him to Triple-A, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports (Twitter link). Stults was designated for assignment by the Padres last week.
As Jeff Sanders of the Union-Tribune recently explained, the Padres’ decision to designate Stults was largely based on financial reasons (the $4.6MM he’d earn through the arbitration process, as projected by MLBTR’s Matt Swartz) rather than the southpaw’s performance as a Padre. Stults has been a reliable innings-eater since joining the team in May 2012, posting a 3.87 ERA and 2.71 K/BB rate over 472 IP. The advanced metrics, however, rank Stults as a below-average performer at pitcher-friendly Petco Park, so the Friars felt they could afford to let Stults go in lieu of their other pitching depth.
Stults, who turns 35 next month, has a career 4.12 ERA over 635 2/3 IP with the Padres, White Sox, Rockies and Dodgers over eight Major League seasons.
Minor Moves: Roach, Kieschnick, Roberts
Here are today’s minor transactions, with the newest moves at the top of the post…
- The Cubs claimed right-hander Donn Roach off waivers from the Padres, according to a Cubs press release. Roach was designated for assignment by San Diego last week. Roach, an Angels third-round pick in the 2010 draft, joined the Padres as part of the Ernesto Frieri trade in May 2012. He made his Major League debut in 2014, posting a 4.75 ERA in 30 1/3 IP for San Diego.
- Outfielder Roger Kieschnick has cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Angels‘ Triple-A affiliate, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. Kieschnick was claimed off waivers from the D’Backs last month and was DFA’ed by the Angels earlier this week.
- The Royals have signed veteran infielder Ryan Roberts and left-hander Joe Paterson to minor league contracts, the team announced (via Twitter). Both deals contain Spring Training invites. Roberts signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox in April and appeared in eight games for the club, though he spent most of his season at Triple-A Pawtucket. Paterson pitched 34 innings out of the Diamondbacks bullpen in 2011 but only 6 1/3 Major League innings since. The southpaw has posted strong numbers in the minors over his career, notching a 2.75 ERA, 2.75 K/BB rate and 358 strikeouts over 356 1/3 innings, all in Arizona’s farm system.
Yankees Sign Jose De Paula
The Yankees have signed left-hander Jose De Paula to a one-year, Major League contract, the team announced. It’s a split contract that will pay De Paula $510K if the majors and $175K in the minors, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reports (Twitter link).
De Paula, 26, has a 3.86 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 3.43 K/BB rate over 452 1/3 career innings in the minors. He spent his first six pro seasons in the Padres organization before pitching for the Giants’ Triple-A club last season. Eighty-nine of De Paula’s 105 career outings have been as a starter, though since the Yankees are short on left-handed relief options, it seems likelier that the team will use him out of the bullpen on the Major League level.
Minor Moves: Castellanos, Cardinals
Today’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Mets announced that they’ve signed outfielder Alex Castellanos to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. Castellanos, 28, has bounced around to many clubs on waivers over the past 18 months due to his strong Triple-A numbers. He’s a career .286/.372/.497 hitter at the Triple-A level, though he’s batted just .171/.186/.390 in 43 big league plate appearances.
- The Cardinals have signed third baseman Scott Moore and right-handers Marcus Hatley and Miguel Socolovich to minor league deals with invitations to Spring Training, per the team’s transactions page. The 26-year-old Hatley has spent his whole career with the Cubs and has big strikeout numbers in Triple-A but a career ERA around 5.00 at that level. Moore, 30, has 152 games of MLB experience but hasn’t been in the Majors since 2012 with Houston. He hit .238/.326/.397 with the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate last year. Socolovich, 28, saw big league action with the Cubs and Orioles in 2012 and spent last year in the Mets’ system, posting a 3.64 ERA with 10.3 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 59 1/3 innings of relief at Triple-A Las Vegas.
Braves Release Cory Gearrin
The Braves have released right-hander Cory Gearrin, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com (Twitter link). The 28-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery this past April.
Gearrin didn’t take the mound in 2014 but did pitch well for the Braves in 2012-13, totaling 51 innings of work and pitching to a 3.00 ERA with 7.6 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a ground-ball rate well north of 50 percent. The side-armer has a 4.28 ERA in 69 1/3 career innings, though stats like FIP (3.43) and SIERA (3.41) give him much more credit than that mark.
Gearrin’s release drops the Braves’ 40-man roster count from 37 to 36 and creates some additional room for the club to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft or to add additional players via free agency and trade.