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Archives for December 2013

Mariners Designate Chance Ruffin For Assignment

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The Mariners announced that right-hander Chance Ruffin has been designated for assignment. The move will make room on the M's 40-man roster for Franklin Gutierrez. 

Ruffin, 25, made nine big league relief appearances last season but spent the bulk of the year in Doulbe-A and Triple-A where he posted a combined 3.91 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9.  Ruffin was taken with the 48th overall pick in the 2010 draft by the Tigers.  Detroit sent Ruffin as the player to be named later in the Doug Fister deal in 2011.

To keep track of Ruffin and everyone else in DFA limbo, check out MLBTR's DFA Tracker.

Minor Moves: Tanaka, Germano, Reynolds

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Today's minor moves..

  • The Rangers have agreed to a minor league deal with Kensuke Tanaka, according to a report from Sponichi (Japanese link) passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (via Twitter).  The Giants released the second baseman/left fielder back in September after designating him for assignment.  The 32-year-old saw limited time with the Giants this season but excelled in 400 plate appearances at Triple-A Fresno, batting .329/.400/.397 with three homers and 22 steals.
  • The Rangers have signed right-hander Justin Germano to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas News (via Twitter).  Germano saw two innings of work for the Blue Jays last season but spent most of 2013 with their Triple-A affiliate, turning in a 4.47 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9.
  • Greg Reynolds signed to pitch for the Seibu Lions of NPB in 2014, according to CAA Sports (via Twitter).  Reynolds spent last season with the Reds' Triple-A affiliate, posting a 2.42 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 156 1/3 innings.
  • The Mariners announced that they've outrighted outfielder Travis Witherspoon to Triple-A Tacoma. The 24-year-old Witherspoon was designated for assignment last week to clear a roster spot for Corey Hart.
  • Rick van den Hurk is returning to the Samsung Lions of the KBO, where he helped them capture the the Korean Series title last year, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).  The deal is pending a physical exam.  VandenHurk, 28, last appeared in the majors with the Pirates for a handful of games in 2012.  
  • The Pirates announced that they have signed seven minor league free agents, including Travis Ishikawa, Michael Martinez, Daniel Schlereth, Adam Wilk, and Kyle McPherson.  All of those deals are minor league contracts with invites to big league spring training.  Ishikawa had 20 combined plate appearances for the Yankees and Orioles last season, but spent the bulk of the year at the Triple-A level, where he hit .290/.389/.465 with nine homers.  Martinez, 31, had 40 big league PAs for the Phillies and posted a .300/.352/.407 line for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.  Schlereth, a first-round pick in the 2008 draft, has 94 career big league relief appearances to his credit.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

 

Brewers Eyeing Michael Young

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The Brewers are interested in Michael Young as a first baseman, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The Dodgers and Rockies are also in the mix for Young.  The Nationals are involved too, but they're also exploring other options at present.

Young could pair with Juan Francisco at first base in Milwaukee.  It certainly helps that, as Rosenthal notes (link), Brewers GM Doug Melvin and coaches Jerry and Johnny Narron know Young from his days with the Rangers.

The Brewers have been combing the first base market and lost a potential option when they're own free agent, Corey Hart, hooked on with the Mariners.  Recently, our own Charlie Wilmoth looked at some of the other remaining options at the first base position, including the Cardinals' Matt Adams, the Mets' Ike Davis ( whom they've been heavily connected to), and Kendrys Morales.  Adams would be a tremendous addition, but prying him away from divisional rivals could be tough.

Astros Acquire Jesus Guzman

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The Padres have traded outfielder/first baseman Jesus Guzman to the Astros for infielder Ryan Jackson, according to Corey Brock of MLB.com (on Twitter).  

San Diego got interest in Guzman in late July, but he wound up staying put for the rest of the season.  The 29-year-old took a step back from his previous two seasons with the Padres in 2013, hitting just .226/.297/.378 in 318 plate appearances.  Prior to that, Guzman had a .277/.342/.446 slash line through 592 PAs in 2011 and 2012.

Jackson, 25, saw time in 20 big league games for the Cardinals from 2012-13 before being waived in the fall and picked up by Houston.  Jackson spent the bulk of 2013 with the Cardinals' Triple-A affiliate in Memphis.  Over the last two years in Memphis, Jackson has a .275/.343/.371 slash line with the better results coming in 2012.  The Padres put a claim in on Jackson when he was up for grabs, but the Astros were able to get him instead, Brock tweets.

Marlins Designate Kyle Skipworth For Assignment

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The Marlins have designated Kyle Skipworth for assignment, a source tells MLBTR.  The 23-year-old was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2008 draft.

The catcher got his first taste of big league action this past season, seeing a handful of plate appearances across four games in the spring.  Prior to 2009, Baseball America had Skipworth ranked as the No. 89 prospect in the country.  At the time of his selection, BA touted Skipworth as "the best high school catcher in the nation, and [maybe] the best prep prospect at that position since Joe Mauer was the first pick in the 2001 draft."  The Marlins gave the athletic youngster a $2.3MM signing bonus after selecting him.

The move will create room for the newly-signed Casey McGehee on the 40-man roster.  You can keep up with everyone in DFA limbo using the MLBTR DFA Tracker.

Kurt Suzuki Has Interest from Twins, Mariners

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The Twins and Mariners are possibilities for veteran catcher Kurt Suzuki, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).  The Cubs are also among the clubs with interest, as noted by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle last week.

While Minnesota likes the 30-year-old, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press (Twitter link) hears from a person with direct knowledge that nothing is going on yet between the club and the catcher.  Suzuki hit .232/.290/.337 with five homers in his second straight season split between the A's and Nationals.  Though he's typically been solid in terms of catching base stealers, Suzuki caught just eight of 65 potential thieves in 2013 (12 percent) and graded out as one of the league's worst in terms of pitch-framing. He was highly adept at blocking pitches in the dirt, per Fangraphs, trailing only Yadier Molina in that regard.

Mariners Sign Franklin Gutierrez

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4:31pm: The Mariners confirmed the deal via press release.

8:57am: The Mariners and Franklin Gutierrez are in agreement on a one-year, $1MM contract, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes (Twitter links). The Octagon client can earn an additional $2MM via incentives, according to Rojas, who adds that Gutierrez's incentives begin when he reaches 250 plate appearances That milestone would net him an additional $200K.

Gutierrez posted a .248/.273/.503 in 141 plate appearances in 2013 — his age-30 season. A pair of hamstring injuries shelved Gutierrez for the majority of the season, marking the third straight year in which injuries have caused him to spend more than 60 games on the disabled list. Since Opening Day 2011, Gutierrez has appeared in 173 games but missed 283 games while on the disabled list.

When healthy, it's tough to deny his upside, however. The veteran inked a four-year, $20.5MM extension with the Mariners after an outstanding 2009 season in which he batted .283/.339/.425 with 18 homers, 16 stolen bases and turned in the best center field defense in the game, all totaling a stellar 6.0 WAR. Following his injuries, the Mariners made the obvious call to decline the $7.5MM fifth-year option on that contract in favor of a $500K buyout.

Gutierrez will join an outfield mix that currently includes Dustin Ackley, Michael Saunders and recent signee Corey Hart, though Seattle has other options on the 40-man roster such as Abraham Almonte, Xavier Avery and Carlos Peguero. The team has also been linked to both Nelson Cruz and Shin-Soo Choo as GM Jack Zduriencik looks to bolster a perennially low-scoring offense.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports first reported last night that the Mariners and Gutierrez were nearing a new contract.

Royals Acquire Danny Valencia

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The Orioles announced that they have acquired outfielder David Lough from the Royals in exchange for infielder Danny Valencia.

Valencia, 29, split 117 games between Baltimore and Triple-A Norfolk last season, being recalled to the Major Leagues on May 19.  In 170 plate appearances last year for the O's, he had a .304/.330/.553 slash line to go with eight homers.  The 29-year-old has seen scattered MLB action since a mediocre stint as the Twins' everyday third bagger in 2011, however.  Valencia has spent parts of four seasons in the Major Leagues with Minnesota (2010-12), Boston (2012) and Baltimore (2013). 

Lough, 27, hit .286/.311/.413 in 96 games for Kansas City in 2013, playing all three outfield positions. He finished eighth in the AL Rookie of the Year balloting and led all rookies in WAR, as noted by the O's press release.  The outfielder also finished the season with a stellar 27.3 UZR/150 rating, good for sixth amongst all outfielders in baseball.

Braves Acquire Ryan Doumit For Sean Gilmartin

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2:17pm: The Twins have confirmed the trade via press release. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reports that the Braves are taking on all of Doumit's $3.5MM salary (Twitter link).

1:54pm: The Braves have acquired Ryan Doumit from the Twins in exchange for left-hander Sean Gilmartin, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

Doumit-Ryan

Doumit, who will turn 33 on April 3, is coming off a down season in which he batted .247/.314/.396 and dealt with concussion issues late in the year. However he's just one year removed from a strong .275/.320/.461 showing with a career-high 18 homers for the Twins.

Though he's not considered a strong defensive catcher, Doumit would give the Braves a cheap option behind the dish in the wake of Brian McCann's departure to the Yankees. Doumit is owed jusr $3.5MM in 2014. The Braves have Evan Gattis, Gerald Laird and Christian Bethancourt as internal options at catcher, but Bethancourt could require more seasoning, Laird is a backup and Gattis has serious OBP concerns. He alsos struggled against right-handed pitching (.236/.284/.473), which is where Doumit exceeds (.270/.330/.454).

Gilmartin, 23, entered the 2013 season ranked as the Braves' No. 4 prospect, per Baseball America, and their No. 3 prospect, per MLB.com. Though he suffered a down year, BA still ranked him 10th among Braves prospects, and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo kept his ranking strong at No. 4.

Gilmartin struggled through injuries and posted a 5.06 ERA across three levels in 2013, averaging 6.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in a total of 105 innings. Selected with the No. 28 overall pick in the 2011 draft, Gilmartin draws praise for his polish from both BA and MLB.com. BA writes that his 89-91 mph fastball has good movement and is complemented by a plus changeup and a slider with "sharp, late break." According to Mayo, "[Gilmartin's] ceiling is somewhat limited, but he's not far from being ready to step in as a middle-of-the-rotation type in the big leagues."

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports first reported that the trade was close (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Marlins Sign Casey McGehee

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The Marlins have been on the lookout for an answer to their hole at third base this offseason, and they filled that spot on the diamond today by officially announcing a one-year deal with Casey McGehee.  McGehee, who spent last season playing in Japan, will reportedly earn a base salary of $1.1MM and has additional incentives in his deal contract.  Back in October, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reported that McGehee was seeking a return to MLB.

The 31-year-old may not be the No. 1 target of big league clubs from the Rakuten Golden Eagles — that honor goes to his now-former teammate Masahiro Tanaka — but McGehee did hit .289/.371/.512 with 27 home runs in his first season there and got some attention from MLB scouts.  McGehee is represented by Barry Meister, as shown in the MLBTR Agency Database.  McGehee earned a guaranteed $1.5MM with the Golden Eagles last season, meaning he'll take a slight pay cut to return to the Major Leagues (although his incentives likely can carry him beyond that mark).

McGehee broke into the Majors in impression fashion with the Brewers, batting .291/.346/.477 with 39 homers in 273 games (1064 plate appearances).  His production vanished over the next two years, though, as the former 10th-round pick batted just .221/.282/.351 over his next 952 plate appearances prior to his signing in Japan.

Last week, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported that Miami was intrigued by McGehee.  Wilson Betemit, who lost 2013 to injuries, was also discussed as an option by the Marlins.

Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald first reported the agreement (on Twitter). Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the Major League guarantee (also on Twitter).

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