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Vidal Nuno

Rays Sign Vidal Nuno

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The Rays have signed left-handed reliever Vidal Nuno III, according to Roster Roundup. He presumably inked a minor league contract.

Nuno landed a minors deal with the Nationals back in January, but they released him last week with a June 15 opt-out date approaching. The 31-year-old struggled to a 7.25 ERA/6.32 FIP with 10.07 K/9, 4.84 BB/9 and a 35.9 percent groundball rate in 22 1/3 innings with the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate before returning to the open market. A significant portion of that damage came in one appearance, though.

With his Washington stint in the rearview, Nuno’s returning to the Tampa Bay organization. He spent last season with the Rays, notching 33 innings of 1.64 ERA ball in the majors. The soft-tossing Nuno’s success in the run prevention department came with less encouraging peripherals, though, as he recorded a 4.46 FIP with 7.91 K/9, 2.73 BB/9 and a paltry 28.6 percent grounder rate. He also benefited from a perfect strand rate and a .216 batting average on balls in play against.

Also a former Yankee, Diamondback, Mariner and Oriole, Nuno saw big league action in each season between his 2013 debut and last year. He owns a 4.06 ERA/4.68 FIP, 7.45 K/9 against 2.51 BB/9, and a 37.9 percent grounder mark in 377 innings at the sport’s top level.

Nationals Release Vidal Nuno

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The Nationals have released left-hander Vidal Nuno III  from his minor league contract, as first announced yesterday by Paul Braverman of the Fresno Grizzlies’ communications department (Twitter link). Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post added that Nuno had a second opt-out date in his deal looming on June 15.

The 31-year-old Nuno’s numbers with Triple-A Fresno don’t look particularly appealing at first glance, as he’s been tagged for a 7.25 ERA in 22 1/3 innings of work. That ERA is perhaps a bit misleading, as Nuno had a 3.98 mark in that regard as recently as two appearances ago. However, the southpaw was clobbered for six runs in an inning in his second-most recent outing, and he followed that up by allowing three runs in an inning his last time out. Beyond that pair of awful outings, he’s had a solid, if unremarkable run in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Nuno is not far removed from a 2018 season in which he turned in a 1.64 ERA with 29 strikeouts against 10 walks (three of which were intentional), 1.36 HR/9 and a 28.6 percent ground-ball rate in 33 innings for the Rays. He benefited from a tiny .216 BABIP and a ridiculous 100 percent left-on-base percentage — all of the runs he allowed came on home runs — but Nuno does have a respectable track record at the big league level. He’s started 42 games and made 113 relief appearances while compiling a 4.06 ERA, 7.5 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 1.55 HR/9 and a 37.9 percent ground-ball rate through 377 innings.

Quick Hits: Brewers, Kimbrel, Keuchel, Astros, Correa, A’s, Nats

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The Brewers have reportedly engaged in “pretty serious” negotiations of late with closer Craig Kimbrel, who remains available even after the start of the season. Now, having lost closer Corey Knebel to season-ending Tommy John surgery, a union between the Brewers and Kimbrel looks even more plausible on paper. However, barring a massive drop in asking price, the Brewers aren’t in position to sign Kimbrel or the majors’ other big-ticket free agent, starter Dallas Keuchel, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Both Kimbrel and Keuchel rejected a $17.9MM qualifying offer from their previous team at the outset of the offseason. But even if they wind up settling for one-year contracts, odds are those deals will approach or exceed the worth of the qualifying offer. The Brewers, for their part, probably don’t even have half the value of the QO left in their budget, Haudricourt relays, as they’re already sporting a franchise-record Opening Day payroll. As a result, Haudricourt posits they’re more likely to rely on in-house reinforcements such as injured reliever Jeremy Jeffress and on-the-mend starter Jimmy Nelson than splurge on one of the two star free agents sitting on the open market.

More from around the game…

  • Astros shortstop Carlos Correa is likely to make his season debut Sunday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle suggests. Correa suffered a neck strain a week ago, which has left short to the error-prone Aledmys Diaz and elite third baseman Alex Bregman so far this season. Upon his return, the 24-year-old Correa will aim to rebound from a surprisingly pedestrian 2018 campaign, his second straight injury-limited season.
  • Athletics catcher Chris Herrmann, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee toward the beginning of March, expects to miss eight to 10 weeks, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The recipient of a $1MM guarantee over the winter, Herrmann had the inside track on a season-opening roster spot before going under the knife. His injury opened the door for minor league signing Nick Hundley to join holdover Josh Phegley as the Athletics’ top two catchers. Hundley and Phegley have gotten off to slow starts in the early going.
  • Nationals left-hander Vidal Nuno III decided not to exercise his March 27 opt-out clause, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post tweets. Nuno, who did not make the Nats’ season-opening roster, will have another chance to exit his minor league deal June 15 if he’s still with the organization. In the meantime, the 31-year-old is set to begin the season at the Triple-A level, per Dougherty. Nuno spent most of 2018 in Triple-A with the Rays, but he did amass 33 innings in the majors and pitch to a stingy 1.64 ERA (alongside an unspectacular 4.46 FIP and a paltry 28.6 percent groundball rate) with 7.91 K/9 and 2.73 BB/9.

Roster Notes: Rox, Brewers, Phils, Nats, Reds, Marlins

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The latest on several teams’ rosters…

  • First baseman Mark Reynolds will make the Rockies’ roster, Nick Groke of The Athletic tweets. A Rockie from 2016-17, Reynolds rejoined the club on a minor league deal this past January after spending last season with the Nationals. In his return to Colorado, the 35-year-old Reynolds will back up the team’s headlining offseason acquisition, Daniel Murphy.
  • More from Groke, who reports catcher Brett Nicholas has requested and received his release from the Rockies. However, it’s possible the Rockies will try to keep Nicholas, Groke adds. An ex-Ranger, with whom he totaled 110 plate appearances from 2016-17, Nicholas signed a minors pact with the Rox in November. He has always faced an uphill battle to make the team, though, considering it has Chris Iannetta, Tony Wolters and Tom Murphy on its 40-man roster.
  • Catcher Erik Kratz won’t crack the Brewers’ roster, leaving him to await his trade/waiver fate, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. This had been the expected outcome for Kratz, who’s stuck behind Yasmani Grandal and Manny Pina on Milwaukee’s depth chart.
  • Infielder Philip Gosselin won’t make the Phillies, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia relays. It seems the 30-year-old will remain on hand as minor league depth, however. The journeyman has accrued 579 major league PAs, though he didn’t play much at the MLB level from 2017-18, and batted .263/.314/.361.
  • The Nationals have informed left-hander Vidal Nuno he won’t make their roster, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. Nuno now has six days to decide whether to opt out of the minor league deal he signed in January. The 31-year-old has logged solid results this spring, having allowed two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings while recording six strikeouts against one walk. Nuno was similarly effective across 33 innings with Tampa Bay last year, when he put up a 1.64 ERA (with a much less impressive 4.46 FIP) and 7.91 K/9 against 2.73 BB/9.
  • The Reds have sent right-hander Anthony Bass to minor league camp, according to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Bass had been competing for a bullpen spot with the Reds after they signed him to a minors deal in December. He owns a 4.51 ERA/4.20 FIP with 6.07 K/9 and 3.31 BB/9 and a 47.9 percent groundball rate in a combined 299 1/3 innings with the Padres, Astros, Rangers and Cubs.
  • The Marlins are “expected” to retain Rule 5 pick Riley Ferrell, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports. The club took the right-hander fourth overall from the Astros in December, and he has since pitched well over 6 2/3 spring innings (two earned runs allowed on five hits and five walks, with 10 strikeouts). Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel of FanGraphs regard the 25-year-old Ferrell as “at least a big league-ready middle reliever with a chance to be a set-up man.”

NL Notes: Mets, Alonso, Giants, Rodriguez, Nats, Nuno

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A quick look around the National League…

  • Renowned for his offensive ability, Mets first base prospect Pete Alonso has lived up to the billing this spring with a  .423/.464/.885 line and three home runs over 26 exhibition at-bats. But it’s the 24-year-old’s defense which has truly raised manager Mickey Callaway’s eyebrows, per Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News. “I kind of knew the offense was going to be somewhat special. So for me, the defense and how locked in to a game he is every day (is surprising),” said Callaway, who added, “All the little things that it takes to be a quality major-league player, he’s doing them on defense.” A consensus top 100 prospect, Alonso is competing with Dominic Smith, who was a touted farmhand not long ago, for the Mets’ starting job at first. Smith has also raked this spring (.435/.500/.609 in 23 ABs), and it could help his cause that New York would gain an extra year of control over Alonso by sending him back to the minors until mid-April. The Mets, however, have insisted service time won’t play a role in whether Alonso lands an Opening Day roster spot.
  • After enjoying a stunningly effective rookie year in 2018, Giants right-hander Dereck Rodriguez has earned a place in the team’s season-opening rotation, manager Bruce Bochy said Saturday (via John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle). Bochy noted that he hasn’t set the entire quintet in stone yet, but as Shea points out, Madison Bumgarner, Jeff Samardzija, Derek Holland and Drew Pomeranz look like locks to accompany Rodriguez in the starting five. Rodriguez was arguably the best member of the group last season, when he turned in a 2.81 ERA/3.74 FIP with 6.77 K/9 and 2.74 BB/9 in 118 1/3 innings (21 appearances, 19 starts).
  • Left-hander Vidal Nuno’s minor league contract with the Nationals includes opt-out chances on March 27 and June 15, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports. Thanks in part to the Nationals’ release of fellow lefty Sammy Solis on Saturday, Nuno’s chances of cracking their 25-man roster by one of those dates have seemingly improved, Dougherty observes. Further, the 31-year-old Nuno has gained an important fan in manager Dave Martinez, who said Saturday: “From what I’ve seen, he’s got a multitude of pitches that he can get people out with. I mean lefties, righties, he’s not afraid of pitching in. I like him. His presence on the mound is good. He attacks the strike zone. I really like what I see so far.”

Nationals To Sign Vidal Nuno

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The Nationals have agreed to a minor-league deal with southpaw Vidal Nuno, according to Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). He’ll receive an invitation to participate in MLB Spring Training as well as opt-out opportunities if he doesn’t earn a roster spot. Nuno would earn at a $1.3MM rate in the big leagues.

Nuno, 31, turned in a sparkling 1.64 ERA in 33 frames last year for the Rays. His underlying peripherals, however, were not quite so promising as the bottom-line results would otherwise suggest. Nuno was helped along by a .216 batting average on balls in play and 100% strand rate.

Teams clearly do not anticipate that Nuno will be capable of replicating his 2018 output; otherwise, he’d have been claimed when he was outrighted after the end of the season or would have commanded a MLB deal in free agency. Still, he seems to be a worthwhile depth piece, having compiled a 4.06 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 over nearly four hundred career frames at the game’s highest level.

For the Nats, Nuno could represent both rotation and left-handed relief depth. He took ten starts at Triple-A last year but has mostly worked out of the pen in recent major league campaigns. Historically, Nuno has found much greater success against same-handed hitters, so he could compete for a LOOGY job in camp.

Rays Outright Andrew Kittredge, Vidal Nuno

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The Rays have outrighted right-hander Andrew Kittredge and lefty Vidal Nuno from their 40-man roster after both cleared waivers, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links). The former was assigned to Triple-A while the latter has elected free agency.

Kittredge, 28, suffered mightily in the majors in 2018, getting torched for 33 earned runs in 38 1/3 innings. He fared much better at Triple-A, however, and has generally impressed of late in the upper minors. It seems reasonably likely he’ll get another shot at some point if a need arises.

As for Nuno, the 31-year-old was quite effective in his brief time in the majors, allowing just six earned runs in 33 innings over 17 appearances. He also had a solid showing in a starting role at Triple-A. While the Rays obviously did not want to commit to keeping him around, plenty of other teams will be glad to give him a look in camp in 2019.

Rays Select Ryan Weber

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The Rays have selected the contract of righty Ryan Weber, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter links). Tampa Bay moved fellow righty Wilmer Font to the 60-day DL to create 40-man space.

In other moves, reliever Andrew Kittredge is also coming up to the active roster. To create the two needed openings there, the Rays have placed lefty Vidal Nuno on the 10-day DL and optioned righty Austin Pruitt.

Weber, 27, was up earlier in the year but only made one appearance before being outrighted. He has been successful at Triple-A, turning in 68 2/3 innings of 2.23 ERA ball. Though his combination of 5.8 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 aren’t terribly exciting, Weber has carried a 51.8% groundball rate and functioned in a multi-inning capacity — a consideration of particular importance given the Rays’ unusual staff usage.

Jake Faria Out At Least Six To Eight Weeks; Rays Select Contract Of Vidal Nuno

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3:10pm: Rays manager Kevin Cash revealed that Faria will be out for a fairly substantial amount of time, with an absence of six to eight weeks likely being on the short end of his realistic timeline to return (Twitter link via Topkin). He could be sidelined into August, Topkin adds.

2:24pm: Nathan Eovaldi is going on the 60-day DL to create 40-man space, Topkin tweets. Since he has been out all year, Eovaldi will still be eligible to come back on May 28th.

11:37am: The Rays will make a pitching change today, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Righty Jake Faria will hit the 10-day DL after suffering an oblique injury, while the club will select the contract of lefty Vidal Nuno to replace him.

It’s still not known what the Rays will do to create a 40-man roster opening, but one will be needed to accommodate Nuno. The southpaw signed a minor-league deal with Tampa Bay over the winter.

Faria, 24, has struggled a 5.48 ERA over his 47 2/3 innings through ten starts on the year. He’s averaging 7.0 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9, both of which represent steps back from his more promising debut effort in 2017. Faria has also overseen a steep decline in his swinging-strike rate, from 12.0% to 8.6%.

Hopefully, then, his time on the DL will also afford an opportunity to pursue some solutions to his troubles on the mound. It is not yet known how severe the oblique injury is; depending upon the extent of the damage, Faria may require anything from a relatively brief to a rather lengthy stint on the shelf.

As for the 30-year-old Nuno, he has plenty of experience over the past five MLB campaigns, over which he has thrown 344 innings of 4.29 ERA ball. He struggled quite a bit last year with the Orioles, but has been more effective thus far in 2018 at Triple-A. In his 40 1/3 innings at Durham, Nuno owns a 3.57 ERA with 37 strikeouts against just three walks.

It’s not yet clear just how the Rays will deploy their new hurler, but the loss of Faria only deepens the intrigue surrounding the club’s unorthodox pitching strategies. Chris Archer and Blake Snell will presumably continue to be utilized mostly as traditional starters, but beyond that it may largely be a patchwork effort.

Rays To Sign Vidal Nuno

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The Rays have agreed to a minors pact with southpaw Vidal Nuno, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). Nuno took to the open market after having been outrighted by the Orioles in late August.

Tampa Bay could allow the 30-year-old Nuno a chance to compete for a roster spot in Spring Training. He has seen time in each of the past five MLB seasons, working both as a starter and a reliever.

Most recently, Nuno struggled to a 10.43 ERA in a dozen outings for the O’s. But he was much better at Triple-A, posting a 4.05 ERA over 26 2/3 frames with 10.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9. And Nuno was a useful performer at the MLB level in 2016 with the Mariners, running up 58 2/3 innings of 3.53 ERA pitching with 7.8 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9, though the results came despite a worrying .289/.324/.487 batting line for opposing hitters.

Nuno represents a useful depth option given his swingman capabilities. At this point, though, it seems most likely that he’d function as a lefty specialist. He has long been much stingier against left-handed hitters, who carry only a .237/.301/.382 overall slash against him in the majors.

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