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Archives for March 2014

Indians Release David Aardsma

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The Indians have granted right-hander David Aardsma his release, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Aardsma asked for his release after being informed that he would not make the big league bullpen, according to Bastian.

The 32-year-old Aardsma returned from a lengthy Major League disappearance to fire 39 2/3 innings of 4.31 ERA ball for the Mets last season. Prior to that stint, Aardsma had thrown just one inning from 2011-12 as he battled back from Tommy John surgery. In New York, he averaged 8.2 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 but posted a low (even by his standards) 32.8 percent ground-ball rate.

Aardsma doesn't have the zip he had prior to Tommy John, when he averaged better than 94 mph on his fastball with regularity. He checked in at an average of 91.2 mph last season but still posted a strong 11.7 swinging-strike rate. Aardsma stranded 80.5 percent of his baserunners last season — a mark he is unlikely to repeat — but also was plagued by a 14.6 percent homer-to-flyball ratio, which figures to come down (his career mark is 9.5 percent). For what it's worth, Aardsma has had a strong Spring Training, yielding two earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and no walks in six innings of work.

Bruce Rondon To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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The Tigers will be without setup man Bruce Rondon for the 2014 season, as Tom Gage of the Detroit News reports (via Twitter) that the flamethrowing right-hander will undergo Tommy John surgery. It's a major blow to a bullpen that already contained plenty of question marks, but general manager Dave Dombrowski tells reporters that he'll look to fill the void with internal candidates (per the Detroit Free Press on Twitter).

The news increases Joba Chamberlain's importance to the Tigers and likely that of right-hander Al Alburquerque as well. This is the third major injury to a member of the Tigers' projected 25-man roster already this spring, as Andy Dirks will be sidelined up to three months after back surgery, and stress fractures in each of Jose Iglesias' shins will likely cause him to miss the entire 2014 season.

Rondon, 23, posted a 3.45 ERA with 9.4 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 46.8 percent ground-ball rate in 28 2/3 innings out of Detroit's bullpen last year, and he had fired seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and no walks thus far in Spring Training. Rondon's innings can be replaced, but it will be virtually impossible to replace his velocity; his 99.3 mph average fastball was the highest among all big league pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched — even Aroldis Chapman (98.3 mph).

While Iglesias' injury led many to speculate on a Stephen Drew signing for the Tigers, the free agent market for relievers is more bleak. Ryan Madson and Joel Hanrahan represent a pair of potential impact arms, but each is coming off major surgery, and Madson hasn't pitched in the Majors since 2011. Dombrowski continues to repeat the "internal options" refrain, but at some point one has to wonder if the growing number of injuries will cause him to make a somewhat notable move to regain some of the lost production.

AL East Notes: Ortiz, Sizemore, Machado, O’s, Oviedo

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Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino chatted with Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com yesterday and informed Edes that his club and designated hitter David Ortiz have continued to work on an extension over the past few weeks. Ortiz himself told Edes that things were looking good in extension talks, and Edes feels that there's "little doubt" the two parties will agree on a new contract, perhaps before the end of Spring Training.

More news and rumors out of the AL East as you gear up for the weekend…

  • MLB.com's Phil Rogers takes a look at Grady Sizemore's remarkable Spring Training, noting that the former Indians All-Star is improbably closing in on a job as Boston's Opening Day center fielder. Rogers offers several quotes from manager John Farrell, who was the Indians' director or player development when Sizemore was working his way through their minor league ranks.
  • Stephania Bell of ESPN.com reports that Dr. Neal ElAttrache has lifted all physical restrictions for Orioles third baseman Manny Machado in his rehab from last season's knee injury. Machado has been slowed a bit by mild calf and hamstring strains but is nonetheless free to proceed to the final stages of his rehab. Opening Day is still questionable for the 2013 All-Star, however.
  • Orioles manager Buck Showalter was irritated that ESPN received quotes from ElAttrache before the doctor had relayed the information to himself and the team, writes Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Connolly adds that the Orioles might keep Machado playing in minor league games so they can increase the amount of at-bats he gets and also back-date a potential DL stint earlier so that he can be activated before the 15th day of the regular season if ready.
  • Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette tells MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski that he's proud of his scouting and player development departments, as they've taken a bottom-three farm system and progressively improved it. Asked if he felt that the club's core players would be homegrown five years from now, Duquette said, "That is the only way to do it. I don't know any other way to do it."
  • After arriving to camp late due to a visa issue, Juan Carlos Oviedo threw a simulated game to live hitters yesterday, according to MLB.com's Bill Chastain. However, Rays manager Joe Maddon still thinks it could be a long-shot for Oviedo to make the club. Said Maddon: "It became obvious, in spite of the fact that he's throwing the ball well, what really comes rushing to your mind is this guy hasn't been pitching in a while. … And so now you're going to rush him back under these circumstances? It might not be a good idea."

Minor Moves: Hensley, Weathers, Scioscia, Gretzky

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Here are today's minor moves from around the league.

  • MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that the Nationals have released minor leaguers Clay Hensley, Kyle Attl, Taylor Wrenn, Drew Rossi, Casey Selsor, Greg Holt and Martires Arias. Of the group, only Hensley has big league experience. The 34-year-old explained to MASNsports.com's Dan Kolko last month that a weighted-ball program had allowed him to rediscover his velocity, prompting his comeback attempt. Hensley fired 4 1/3 scoreless innings in Nationals camp but walked four batters in that time. He has an even 4.00 ERA in 517 career innings with the Padres, Marlins and Giants. Hensley's last Major League action came in 2012.
  • The Giants have released right-hander Casey Weathers, per the club's official transactions page. The 27-year-old was drafted eighth overall by the Rockies in the 2007 draft, but underwent Tommy John surgery following the 2008 season and never regained his form. Weathers had a solid ERA and gaudy strikeout numbers in that 2008 season but struggled with his command and has seen his control issues worsen since surgery. His last minor league action came in the 2012 season with the Cubs when he walked an alarming 53 batters in 34 innings of work.
  • The Angels have traded 1B Matthew Scioscia (Mike's son) to the Cubs for OF Trevor Gretzky (Wayne's son), Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Scioscia, 25, hit .194/.248/.224 in three minor-league levels last year. The 21-year-old Gretzky, a seventh-round pick in 2011, hit .274/.300/.333 in the low minors in 2013.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Orioles Sign Luis Ayala

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10:10pm: Rosenthal tweets that the deal between Ayala and the Orioles is officially complete. In a second tweet, he adds that it's a minor league contract with an invite to big league camp that contains multiple opt-out dates.

10:41am: The Orioles have agreed to a deal with reliever Luis Ayala, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tweets. FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported last night that Ayala had an offer from the Orioles. Ayala is represented by Boston Sports Counsel.

The Nationals released Ayala yesterday. His decision to sign with the Orioles returns him to the team with which he pitched in 2012 and early in 2013, before being traded to the Braves. The 36-year-old posted a 3.27 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 33 big-league innings last year. He has also pitched for the Expos, Nationals, Mets, Marlins, Twins and Yankees in a Major League career spanning parts of nine seasons.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Added To The 40-Man Roster: Thursday

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Between now and Opening Day, several minor league signees will win jobs with their clubs and earn 40-man roster spots. Earlier in the week, for example, Chone Figgins and Justin Turner were added to the Dodgers' 40-man roster and headed to Australia with the club having won bench roles. We'll be keeping track of minor league signees making their clubs with posts just like this one as the season draws near…

  • The Rockies have added catcher Michael McKenry to the 40-man roster, signaling that he will serve as the team's backup catcher this season, the team announced on Twitter. McKenry is 5-for-20 with a homer and three doubles thus far in Spring Training. The 29-year-old's 2013 season was cut short in Pittsburgh when he damaged his meniscus while sliding on the basepaths (he underwent surgery in late July). Originally drafted by Colorado, McKenry broke into the bigs with the Pirates and had his best season in 2012, when he batted .233/.320/.442 with a dozen homers in 275 plate appearances.

Marlins Not Interested In Trading Pitchers

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Though recent reports have indicated that the Marlins could be willing to move Jacob Turner, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com writes that the club isn't inclined to deal from its wealth of starting pitching at this time. Moreover, Juan C. Rodriguez of the Miami Sun-Sentinel spoke with an NL executive from a rival team in need of pitching who called the Marlins just this week and was plainly told that Turner isn't available.

As Frisaro notes Turner is out of minor league options, as is left-hander Brad Hand, who is battling with right-hander Tom Koehler for the fifth spot in the rotation. Koehler is currently the favorite for that job, but even if Hand misses out on a rotation slot, Frisaro writes that he would move to the bullpen as opposed to being traded.

At some point in the future, it seems logical to think that the Marlins will be willing to deal from their perceived surplus. While they currently have Jose Fernandez, Nathan Eovaldi, Henderson Alvarez and Turner penciled into their rotation, top prospects such as Andrew Heaney, Justin Nicolino, Anthony DeSclafani and Brian Flynn are on the way and all fairly close to the Majors. As that wave begins to push the current crop of starters in the Majors, Miami could choose to deal either a starter in their big league rotation or multiple prospects in order to bring in some established or promising offensive talent to support slugger Giancarlo Stanton.

Blue Jays Claim Matt Tuiasosopo, Release Luis Perez

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The Blue Jays have claimed outfielder Matt Tuiasosopo off waivers from the Diamondbacks and released left-hander Luis Perez in order to clear room on the 40-man roster, according to Alex Seixeiro of Sportsnet (on Twitter).

The 27-year-old Tuiasosopo spent the 2013 campaign with the Tigers, batting .244/.351/.415 with seven homers in 191 plate appearances. That was by far his best season at the plate, having spent parts of three years with the Mariners but slashing just .176/.234/.306 in 210 PAs with Seattle.

As a right-handed swinger, the natural assumption would be that Tuiasosopo could platoon with Adam Lind, but that's not necessarily the case; Tuiasosopo has actually been less effective against opposite-handed pitching than same-handed pitching throughout his career, and that was the case in 2013 as well. He batted just .216/.336/.371 against lefties — clearly demonstrating a keen eye at least — and a robust .313/.389/.521 against right-handers. The latter of those splits came in a sample of just 54 plate appearances and was bolstered by a .481 batting average on balls in play, which is sure to regress going forward.

Perez, 29, tallied just five innings for the Jays last season and allowed a pair of runs in the process as he returned from Tommy John surgery. He was an important part of the club's bullpen in 2012 prior to that operation, posting a 3.43 ERA with 8.4 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and 47.8 percent ground-ball rate in 42 innings. He's held lefties to a .239/.311/.341 batting line in his career, but he underwent surgery this January to remove some scar tissue from his surgically repaired elbow.

Scouting Odrisamer Despaigne

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Cuban righty Odrisamer Despaigne joined infielder Aledmys Diaz in a 90-minute February 13th showcase in front of more than 50 scouts at the Peoria Sports Complex in Arizona, according to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez.  At the time, agent Jaime Torres told Sanchez, "We'll field offers shortly on Despaigne."

Diaz, an infielder, was expected to sign before Despaigne.  He inked a four-year, $8MM deal with the Cardinals on March 9th.  Despaigne remains unsigned, and hasn't shown up on the pages of MLBTR since the showcase.

I talked to a high-ranking international scouting official to get a scouting report on Despaigne, to perhaps shed some light on why he hasn't signed.  The official has seen Despaigne three or four times in person and has seen him dating back to 2010.

The picture painted by the official was not particularly exciting.  "I would say his stuff is average across the board. He's got feel and he's got deception, and he knows how to pitch.  The biggest thing going for him is his ability to mix and match and change slots and change arm angles.  He probably throws four different pitches from different slots and different angles. He never gives guys the same look, and he throws a lot of strikes. But he doesn't have anything plus."  The official considers Despaigne's pitches to be fringe-average or slightly above-average, depending on the day.  

The official went on to explain where Despaigne might fit in with a Major League team.  "I see him as a middle inning type of guy. He's going to have to really throw a ton of strikes to have success. He's really no different than a lot of six-year free agents and non-roster invitees that are out there right now. I think he fits in well to a bullpen probably as a middle inning reliever and potentially a long guy or a No. 5 starter."  I asked how Despaigne compares to the Phillies' Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, a Cuban pitcher who signed a three-year, $12MM deal in August.  That deal was drastically reduced due to injury concerns, which have carried into spring training.  The official has always projected Gonzalez as a reliever as well, but feels the Phillies pitcher has "much bigger stuff" than Despaigne.  

Despaigne is no different than a lot of pitchers currently on the roster bubble in spring training, opined the official, which could explain why he remains unsigned.  An eight-figure contract for Despaigne appears unlikely, but it does seem that he'll pitch in the big leagues in some capacity.

Athletics Claim Kent Matthes From Rockies

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The Athletics announced that they've claimed outfielder Kent Matthes off waivers from the Rockies and optioned him to Triple-A Sacramento. Jarrod Parker, who underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this week, was transferred to the 60-day disabled list to clear a spot on the 40-man roster (Twitter links).

Matthes, 27, ranked among the Rockies' Top 30 prospects (per Baseball America) as recently as last winter, when he was 16th on the list. A former fourth-round pick out of Alabama, Matthes has a solid .275/.332/.505 batting line in his minor league career, although he did not reach the Triple-A level until last year — his age-26 season. As BA notes, a torn patellar tendon, a broken hand and an oblique strain have severely shortened three of his minor league campaigns. However, he was still good enough in 2011 to take home California League MVP honors for batting .334/.378/.642 with 23 homers in 93 games before his hand was broken when it was hit by a pitch.

BA noted in the 2013 edition of its annual Prospect Handbook (highly recommended) that Matthes is an average runner with one of the strongest arms in the Rockies' system and profiled as a solid defender in right field.

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