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Zeke Spruill

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/14/17

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Here are a few recent minor moves that took place amidst the recent flurry of major league rumors and transactions…

  • A source tells MLBTR’s Jeff Todd that Felix Doubront has agreed to terms on a contract with the KBO’s Lotte Giants. Doubront hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2015, though he did spend some time with the Triple-A affiliate of the A’s last season. His most successful MLB season came with the Red Sox in 2013, for whom he made 27 starts and two relief appearances spanning 162 1/3 innings. During that year, he compiled 139 strikeouts and pitched to a 4.32 ERA.
  • The Rangers have agreed to terms on a minor league contract with right-hander Zeke Spruill, TR Sullivan of MLB.com tweets. Spruill is best known as one of the five players the Diamondbacks acquired from the Braves in exchange for Justin Upton back in 2013. The sinkerballer pitched a handful of innings across a pair of seasons with Arizona during his MLB career, allowing 16 runs in 34 IP. He’s spent the past two years pitching in Korea.
  • Unsurprisingly, yet another international prospect has been signed by the Rangers. Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reveals in a tweet that Texas has inked 16-year-old outfielder D’Vaughn Knowles to a deal for $500K. The Bahamian native will join Yenci Pena and Keithron Moss as international players to join the Rangers following Shohei Ohtani’s decision to sign with the Angels.
  • Outfielder Cesar Puello has signed with the Diamondbacks on a minors deal and will receive an invite to spring training (hat tip to Nick Piecoro of azcentral.com). Puello made his major league debut last season; the outfielder accrued 39 plate appearances between the Angels and Rays. While his results at the MLB level were rather pedestrian, the Dominican native showed some impressive upside with a .397/.440/.620 across 200 plate appearances at Triple-A Salt Lake, the highest level of the Angels’ farm system. It should be noted that the above slash line came with a .493 BABIP.
  • Tony Pena’s son Francisco Pena has earned a minor league pact with the Cardinals, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. He’ll serve as an addition to the Redbirds’ catching depth. Pena has made MLB appearances with the Royals and Orioles, garnering 14 hits in 60 plate appearances (including three home runs).

Rogers, Noesi, Spruill, Coello Sign With KBO Teams

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Former Major League right-handers Hector Noesi, Esmil Rogers, Zeke Spruill and Robert Coello have signed contracts to play in the Korea Baseball Organization. The Hanwha Eagles have signed Rogers to a one-year, $1.9MM contract, making him the highest-paid foreign player in the league, the club announced (report from Jeeho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency). Noesi, meanwhile, will become the league’s second-highest-paid international player, landing a $1.7MM guarantee on his one-year deal with the Kia Tigers (Yonhap link). Kia also inked former Diamondbacks righty Zeke Spruill, who will receive a $700K salary. And, right-hander Robert Coello has signed with the Nexen Heroes for $550K on a one-year deal (Yonhap story).

Rogers, 30, was released by the Yankees at the trade deadline this year and latched on to play with the Eagles in KBO. Rogers was outstanding in 10 starts with the Eagles, tossing four complete games (three shutouts) as he worked to a 2.97 ERA with 7.1 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in 75 2/3 innings in what is a notoriously hitter-friendly league. His salary is technically $1.7MM, though he also receives a $200K signing bonus, per the above report.

Noesi, 28, will be getting his first taste of Korean ball with this contract. While he struggled to a 6.89 ERA in 33 2/3 innings with the White Sox this past season and eventually yielded his rotation spot to impressive rookie Carlos Rodon, Noesi logged 166 innings of 4.39 ERA ball for the ChiSox a year prior and comes with a strong minor league track record.

The 26-year-old Spruill was long one of the Braves’ most highly ranked farmhands but found himself traded to the D-backs in the original Justin Upton trade. After appearing in the Majors with Arizona in 2013-14, Spruill spent this past season with the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket, where he recorded a 3.94 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 across 114 1/3 innings. The former second-round pick will also be playing overseas for the first time.

Coello, 31, has appeared in parts of three seasons in the Majors, most recently in 2013 with the Angels. He’s struggled to a 5.90 ERA in an admittedly tiny sample of 29 innings but has a career 3.78 ERA while averaging better than a strikeout per inning in parts of seven Triple-A seasons. He split the past season between the Triple-A clubs of the Rangers and Giants.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/6/15

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Mariners have released utilityman Willie Bloomquist, the club announced (via MLB.com’s Greg Johns, on Twitter). Bloomquist was designated for assignment recently after a tough .159/.194/.174 start to the season. Seattle will owe the versatile defender the rest of his $3MM salary for the year.
  • The Red Sox outrighted right-hander Zeke Spruill after recently designating him, per a club announcement (h/t to Tim Britton of the Providence Journal, via Twitter). As he’s never before been outrighted and has little service time, Spruill did not have the opportunity to elect free agency after clearing waivers. The 25-year-old will continue working at Triple-A, where he’s worked 53 1/3 innings with a 5.40 ERA with 3.9 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 over 53 1/3 innings for Pawtucket.

Red Sox Designate Zeke Spruill

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The Red Sox have designated righty Zeke Spruill for assignment, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports on Twitter. His 40-man spot was needed for the promotion of Noe Ramirez.

The 25-year-old has worked exclusively at Triple-A this year for Boston, which acquired him from the Diamondbacks on the same day the Wade Miley deal went down. He owns a 5.40 ERA with 3.9 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 over 53 1/3 innings for Pawtucket.

Spruill had spent time with the D’Backs in each of the last two seasons. In total, he’s thrown 34 big league frames, posting a 4.24 ERA and striking out 23 batters while issuing nine walks.

Red Sox Acquire Zeke Spruill

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The Red Sox have acquired righty Zeke Spruill from the Diamondbacks in exchange for right-hander Myles Smith, Arizona announced. This move was separate from the other trade announced tonight between these two clubs.

Spruill, 25, has thrown 34 big league frames over the past two seasons, working to a 4.24 ERA over three starts and nine relief appearances. He had been a full-time starter in the minors until last year, when he transitioned to a swingman role. He also posted a 6.14 ERA at the Triple-A level — after previously landing in the mid-3.00 level in two seasons in the upper minors — but did see his strikeout rate skyrocket to 8.2 K/9 (with 2.3 BB/9).

Smith threw last year at the low-A level at age 22. He registered a 5.82 ERA over 103 2/3 frames, splitting time as a starter and reliever, and struck out 6.3 while walking 5.4 batters per nine. WEEI.com’s Alex Speier explains (Twitter links) that Smith is athletic and has a very live arm, but struggled with control and has not been pitching for very long.

D’Backs Designate Zeke Spruill For Assignment

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The Diamondbacks have designated right-hander Zeke Spruill for assignment, according to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com (via Twitter).  The move will make room on the 40-man roster for Yasmany Tomas.

Spruill, 25, has made three starts and nine relief appearances for Arizona across the last two seasons.  However, the former second round pick of the Braves (2008) spent the bulk of 2013 and 2014 in Triple-A.

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