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Archives for August 2013

Orioles Acquire Mike Morse For Xavier Avery

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The Orioles made a pair of waiver claims with the hopes of bolstering their lineup this week, and Friday they were able to convert on one of them by acquiring Mike Morse from the Mariners in exchange for outfield prospect Xavier Avery. Both teams have announced the trade via press release.  Morse

Morse, 31, came to the Mariners in a three-team trade that sent John Jaso to the A's and prospects A.J. Cole, Ian Krol and Blake Treinen to the Nationals. Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik had high hopes in re-acquiring Morse after the right-handed hitter mashed his way to a .296/.345/.516 line with 64 homers in 346 games from 2010-12. However, Morse has been a disappointment in Seattle. He slugged six homers in the season's first nine games but is now hitting just .226/.283/.410 with 13 homers overall. He's missed time this season with a broken pinkie finger as well as a severe quad strain.

Morse, who was claimed by the Orioles on Wednesday, is a free agent at season's end, so he is strictly a rental. He's earning $6.75MM this season, meaning that he has approximately $1.1MM remaining on his contract. While Morse has experience as a corner outfielder and first baseman, he's regarded as one of the game's worst defensive outfielders by both Ultimate Zone Rating and The Fielding Bible.

The Orioles also placed a claim on Minnesota's Josh Willingham, but the two sides couldn't work out a deal due to the Twins' high asking price for their left fielder. The Twins reportedly asked for top left-handed pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez, causing the O's to balk and turn their attention to Morse.

Avery, 23, is currently ranked as Baltimore's No. 10 prospect, according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. He entered the season ranked seventh among Orioles prospects according to Baseball America. The former second-round pick is hitting just .237/.312/.312 in 333 plate appearances at Triple-A this season, though he opened the year with a respectable .300/.391/.406 line in 186 Double-A plate appearances. Avery has stolen 29 bases in 37 attempts across the two levels, which matches up with Mayo's report that Avery's speed is his best tool. Mayo writes that he's good enough from a defensive standpoint to play center and could be an everyday player if his offense improves. BA echoes that statement, noting that Avery has strong hands and good bat speed but lacks pitch recognition and is too aggressive at the plate.

Avery made his Major League debut for the Orioles last season, batting .223/.305/.340 with a homer and six stolen bases in 94 plate appearances.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported that the Orioles had traded for Morse (Twitter links), and Peter Gammons of the MLB Network was the first to break the news that Avery was headed to Seattle (on Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Orioles Sign Dan Johnson

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A look at today's minor moves from around the league…

  • The Orioles, who recently struck a deal for Mike Morse, have acquired another bat by signing Dan Johnson to a minor league contract, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Johnson recently opted out of his minor league deal with the Yankees after batting .253/.379/.447 with 21 homers in 559 plate appearances at Triple-A. Johnson is a career .237/.338/.412 hitter in parts of seven big league seasons with the A's, Rays and White Sox.
  • Russ Canzler of the Pirates and Aaron Harang of the Mariners remain in DFA limbo, as can be seen in MLBTR's DFA Tracker.

Twins Pull Willingham Back Off Waivers

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FRIDAY, 12:33pm: The Twins and Orioles could not come to an agreement on a trade, and Willingham has been pulled back off waivers, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Earlier reports indicated that the Twins asked for top prospect Eduardo Rodriguez, causing Baltimore to back off.

WEDNESDAY, 10:57pm: The Orioles are the team that claimed Willingham, a source tells Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).  The O's are trying to work out a deal with the Twins.

5:01pm: Josh Willingham has been claimed off waivers by at least one other team, according to a big league source cited by Phil Miller of the Star Tribune. The team that was awarded the claim isn't known at this point. The Twins will have until noon on Friday to put together a trade for the slugger or pull him back.

It's been a disappointing season for Willingham, 34, who missed all of July with a knee injury. Since returning to the lineup on Aug. 9, he's hit just .177/.316/.371. As MLBTR's Steve Adams noted on Tuesday, the left fielder has continued to hit for power and post a strong walk rate, but more pop-ups and fewer line drives have dragged down his batting average. However, it was just a year ago that Willingham slashed .260/.366/.524 for the Twins in 615 plate appearances, so he may be a good candidate for a bounce-back campaign in 2014.

Willingham is owed $1.26MM for the remainder of the 2013 season and will be paid $7MM next year.

O’s Working On Morse Trade; Unlikely To Land Willingham

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12:15pm: The Twins asked the Orioles for multiple pitching prospects in exchange for Willingham, according to Kubatko. Prized lefty Eduardo Rodriguez was among Minnesota's targets. The 20-year-old Rodriguez ranks as the No. 86 prospect in baseball at this time, according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.

9:42am: The Orioles have been highly active on the waiver market this week, claiming both Josh Willingham of the Twins and Mike Morse of the Mariners. Morse is far likelier to end up with Baltimore it seems, as Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets that a Willingham trade is "not happening at this point" because of the Twins' lofty asking price. Kubatko says the Orioles and Mariners are still actively trying to work out a deal for Morse, though.

Willingham is under contract for 2014 at just $7MM and belted 35 homers for the Twins last season, so it's not a surprise to see them asking a lot even in a down season for Willingham. Despite his low batting average, he's still posted strong OBP and ISO numbers. Morse is a free agent at season's end and owed just over $1.1MM for the remainder of the 2013 season. There have been reports indicating that he's likely to be moved, as he no longer has a place in the Mariners' organization. He hasn't played in either of the team's two games since being claimed by the Orioles.

Indians Sign Kelly Shoppach

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The Indians have signed catcher Kelly Shoppach to a minor league contract and assignmed him to Triple-A Columbus, the team announced via press release.

Shoppach signed a one-year, $1.5MM contract with the Mariners this offseason and appeared in 35 games, hitting .196/.293/.346 over 125 plate appearances. Shoppach was pressed into everyday duty once Jesus Montero was demoted but ultimately wound up being released. Since that time he's bounced around, signing minor league deals with the Nationals and Pirates. He opted out of his deal with the Nats and was release by Pittsburgh after seven games.

The 33-year-old Shoppach spent the 2006-09 seasons with the Indians, hitting .245/.331/.456 with 43 homers in 301 games. He's struggled at all levels this season but has always been a threat against left-handed pitching, hitting southpaws at a .261/.355/.501 clip throughout his career.

Brewers Looking To Trade Reliever

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The Brewers are working to trade one of the team's relievers before Saturday's post-season roster deadline, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter). Nothing is expected to be announced tonight, however.

As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes explained earlier this month, the Brewers have several bullpen assets that are August trade candidates. Two righties, John Axford and Burke Badenhop, could be candidates. Axford, a 30-year-old former closer, is making $5MM this season and carries a 4.45 ERA to go with a 8.9 K/9 rate that is a step down from his career numbers. Axford does come with three more years of team control, but he would have to be considered a strong non-tender candidate. Badenhop, who is on a $1.55MM deal and will enter his final season of arbitration eligibility in 2014, is not a power pitcher but has an above-average 3.17 K/BB ratio to go with his 3.75 ERA this year.  

Lefty Mike Gonzalez, who signed a $2.25MM one-year deal in the off-season, is another possibility. He has scuffled to a 4.34 ERA, but does sport an excellent 11.0 K/9 and filled a big role for the Nationals down the stretch last year. He has been more effective against lefties than righties this year, though the .258/.327/.413 line he has surrendered to left-handers hardly qualifies him as a shut-down southpaw.

D’Backs Close To Trading Kubel To Indians

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10:56pm: It could be that the Diamondbacks placed Kubel on waivers and that the Indians won the claim, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tweets. If that is the case, of course, the Diamondbacks could simply allow the Indians to assume the remainder of Kubel's deal, which still has over $2.25MM left to be paid (including the 2014 buyout).

10:43pm: The Diamondbacks could be set to ship Jason Kubel to the Indians, Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com reports on Twitter. Nick Pecoro of the Arizona Republic confirmed the report, also via Twitter, saying that a trade was close and calling Cleveland a "strong possibility" to land the outfielder.

Kubel was designated for assignment by Arizona on Tuesday. His poor defensive play and meager .220/.288/.324 line (over 267 plate appearances) led to the move, though he made a much stronger offensive contribution in 2012. 

Kubel is earing $7.5MM this season, the second of his two-year, $16MM deal. His contract includes a $7.5MM mutual option for 2014 which carries a $1MM buyout. 

Latest On Morse, Willingham, Morneau

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A group of power-hitters has received the most attention of late as potential August trade chips. Let's look in at the latest …

  • The Orioles are still in negotiations on both of the slugging outfielders that the team recently claimed on revocable waivers, FOX Sports' Jon Morosi tweets. Baltimore made the winning claims on Michael Morse of the Mariners and Josh Willingham of the Twins. Morse appears the more likely of the two to make his way to Charm City, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun explains. (Indeed, we learned earlier that Seattle appears motivated to let Morse go.)
  • At this point, the Twins are not close to dealing either Willingham or first baseman Justin Morneau, reports Darren Wolfson (Twitter links). While noting that things could change quickly, he says that the current thinking is that the club will not reach agreement with Baltimore on Willingham before tomorrow's 11am deadline. 
  • Likewise, according to Wolfson, Minnesota is not expected to find a trade partner for Morneau before Saturday night. The left-handed first baseman, who has cleared waivers and can therefore be dealt to any club, has recently been linked to the Pirates, Orioles, and Yankees. 

Quick Hits: Astros, Giants, Blue Jays

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For an interesting bit of history on baseball and money, have a peak at this piece from Baseball Nation's Larry Granillo on the value of baseball's broadcasting rights back in 1961. Let's take a look at some business-related notes from around today's game …

  • The Astros are not, in fact, the most profitable team in baseball history, writes Maury Brown of Forbes. An earlier Forbes article had made the surprising assertion that baseball's worst team had shorn payroll to earn an unprecedented amount of money, leading to a sharp rebuke from the club. As Brown explains, the original piece contained significant factual inaccuracies, primarily regarding Houston's TV income.
  • Meanwhile, the 'Stros are looking to continue increasing their international presence in Venezuela, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. The organization is investigating the possibility of registering a full or partial Astros squad in the Venezuelan Parallel League. As McTaggart notes, Houston was the first MLB team to open a baseball academy in Venezuela, and over the years has signed such productive big leaguers as Johan Santana, Bobby Abreu, and Freddy Garcia from the South American nation. (Interestingly, only Abreu ever played for the Astros, registering 234 uneventful plate appearances before he broke out with the Phillies.)
  • The Giants have been forced to pay over $500k in back wages and damages to various clubhouse and administrated employees after violating various employment laws, the Associated Press reports (via ESPN.com). Over three years, the U.S. Department of Labor said, San Francisco failed to comply with federal minimum wage, overtime, and record-keeping standards.
  • Triple-A baseball will stay in Buffalo through at least 2016 after the Blue Jays extended their affiliation today, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (links to Twitter). GM Alex Anthopoulos said that the partnership had "gone exceptionally well" and that Buffalo was "the perfect fit."

Minor Moves: Edgmer Escalona, Dan Johnson

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We'll keep tabs on today's minor moves right here …

  • The Rockies have outrighted 26-year-old righty Edgmer Escalona to Triple-A Colorado Springs, the club announced on Twitter. Escalona, who was designated for assignment last Friday, struggled to a 5.67 ERA with Colorado this year. 
  • The Yankees have released first baseman Dan Johnson, according to the International League transactions page. Sweeny Murti of WFAN was first to report the move (on Twitter). After signing a minor league deal over the off-season, Johnson has posted a strong .253/.379/.447 line in 559 plate appearances at Triple-A this year. The 34-year-old last saw big league action in a short stint with the White Sox last year, and has a career .237/.338/.412 triple-slash over 1,551 MLB plate appearances. 
  • Three players remain in DFA limbo: Jason Kubel of the Diamondbacks, Russ Canzler of the Pirates, and Aaron Harang of the Mariners. You can keep tabs on designated players via MLBTR's DFA Tracker.

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