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Archives for April 2014

Minor Moves: Perez, Loewen, Neil

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Here are the day's minor transactions:

  • The Rangers have released minor league southpaw Rafael Perez, tweets Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest. The 31-year-old was a valuable member of the Indians' bullpen from 2007-12 (with the exception of a disappointing '09 campaign) but hasn't pitched in the bigs since that time due to shoulder surgery. Perez put up solid numbers with the Twins' and Red Sox' minor league affiliates last season and had yielded three runs with four strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings at Triple-A this year.
  • The Phillies have signed outfielder Adam Loewen to a minor league deal, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Loewen, 30, was once rated as high as the 13th overall prospect in the game by Baseball America — as a pitcher. He transitioned to the field since having his career derailed by elbow issues, and last year posted a .267/.359/.435 line in 496 plate appearances, most of them coming at the Double-A level. But Loewen will return to the hill with Philadelphia, according to a tweet from Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.
  • Righty Matt Neil has agreed to a minor league contract with the Rays, also via the MLB transactions page. The 27-year-old had spent his first three years in the Marlins organization. Last year, splitting time between starting and relieving at both upper-minor levels, Neil threw to a 3.70 ERA in 109 1/3 frames. 
  • As MLBTR's DFA Tracker shows, White Sox reliever Donnie Veal has just joined Lucas Harrell (Astros) and Sam Fuld (Athletics) in DFA limbo.

California Notes: Ramirez, Billingsley, Puig, Athletics

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Here's the latest MLB news from the west coast:

  • The Dodgers averted a potentially devastating injury last night when x-rays revealed that star shortstop Hanley Ramirez did not suffer a break in his hand on a hit-by-pitch, Alanna Rizzo of SportsNet LA reported on Twitter. The club's middle infield decisionmaking — in particular, declining Mark Ellis's reasonable option — drew some questions in the offseason, though Dee Gordon has been a revelation thus far and Alex Guerrero is off to a fast start in Triple-A. The Dodgers also got good news recently on rehabbing starter Chad Billingsley, who underwent an MRI that showed no damage to his elbow after experiencing discomfort in a throwing session, as MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports.
  • As we noted a few days ago, the emerging story of Yasiel Puig's defection from Cuba has led to increased focus to the travails of players seeking to reach the bigs from the neighboring island. In another piece on the incredible tale, ESPN The Magazine's Scott Eden describes the underground system that brought Puig (and others) to the majors. 
  • The Athletics have compiled what Fangraphs' Tony Blengino calls a "low-risk, reasonably high-reward" staff. Oakland's rotation — in particular, Dan Straily, Scott Kazmir, and the surprising Jesse Chavez — has both generated a promising batted-ball mix (low line-drive, high ground-ball, and high pop-up rates) and logged strong K:BB ratios early on in 2014. When you add youngster Sonny Gray to that mix, and consider the reasonable pay rates of all the arms, Blengino says that the A's have done an excellent job of constructing their rotation. Indeed, despite injuries to Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin, Oakland's starters lead the league in fWAR and are second in ERA.
  • Of course, much of the offseason focus on Oakland revolved around the team's surprising buying spree of expensive relievers, as MLBTR's Steve Adams recently documented. Though the pen has had some hiccups at the back end to start the year, it still ranks 6th in ERA as a unit. With Jim Johnson already having been removed from the classic closer role, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders whether the team could stick with a closer-by-committee approach — more out of opportunity than need. 

AL Notes: Nunez, Vizquel, Cousins, A’s

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We touched on some American League notes late last night, but here are a few more for the morning:

  • After a solid start to his tenure with the Twins' Triple-A affiliate, recently-acquired infielder Eduardo Nunez has earned a (brief) call-up to the bigs, writes Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (passing on a report from the Rochester Chronicle and Democrat). Nunez will get the chance to be the team's 26th player for the second game of today's doubleheader before going back to the minors on Friday, though it seems quite possible he'll get a real shot with the MLB club at some point given Pedro Florimon's struggles.
  • The Tigers' search for a replacement at shortstop led them to ask 46-year-old Omar Vizquel if he was interested in making a comeback, reports Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer. "They asked me if I'd like to come and take some grounders," said Vizquel. "I said, 'No, I've been retired for two years.'"
  • Scott Cousins will not exactly be continuing his career as a baseball outfielder when he joins the Rangers, reports Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. The 29-year-old will head to extended spring training, where he will try to convert into a left-handed pitcher.
  • The latest in the Athletics' ballpark situation has focused on the possibility of a ten-year lease extension at the O.co Coliseum. As Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com reports, A's co-owner Lew Wolff says the club would be willing to make over $10MM in stadium improvements if such a deal were struck. (Of course, for those who follow ballpark funding issues, that outlay will seem a relative drop in the bucket.)

AL Notes: Defensive Value, White Sox, Astros, Fuld

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As defensive metrics gain precision and acceptance, we can expect an increasing move toward player contracts that better reflect the contributions of premier glovework, writes Doug Mittler for ESPN The Magazine (Insider link). "The market is established by offense because defensive numbers are difficult to ascertain,"  said Mets GM Sandy Alderson. Mittler says that current bargains, like Alex Gordon of the Royals and Ryan Hanigan of the Rays, may be harder to find in coming seasons. (I would suggest that some recent extensions of defense-first players — including those of Andrelton Simmons of the Braves and Elvis Andrus of the Rangers — may reflect just that kind of movement in the market.) 

Here's the latest out of the American League:

  • It is early, of course, but the White Sox look like a very different club on the offensive side of the ledger, writes Grantland's Jonah Keri. The preliminary results have put a shine on an offseason that, as MLBTR's Tim Dierkes described, brought significant MLB-ready talent into the South Side. Like Dierkes, Keri advises caution for the prospects this season but foresees a bright future for some of the team's young position players. 
  • An alternative method of rebuilding — the Astros' total strip-down of MLB talent and payroll — took another important step forward with the debut of George Springer. In an interesting interview with Drew Fairservice of TheScore.com, club GM Jeff Luhnow said that he hopes the club's pool of prospect talent will "have an expectation to win" after experiencing success together at the minor league level. And he made clear that Houston will look to take full advantage of its substantial amateur spending dollars. Looking ahead, Luhnow explained that the club is already thinking about how to manage inevitable payroll increases: "With so many young players coming through the pipeline, we’re not going to be able to lock them all up. Just keeping them all through arbitration is going to get expensive and we also want to dip into the free agent market so we’ll have to be wise about how we spend the dollars. Our flexibility gives us the opportunity to make the right investments at the right time."
  • As noted earlier, recently-designated Athletics outfielder Sam Fuld is expected to draw interest from several clubs, according to a report from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). The Twins and Angels are among the teams that are likely to be involved on Fuld, says Slusser.

NL Notes: Hamels, Morse, Diamondbacks, Walker

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There was some great news out of New Jersey today, as venerable Hinchliffe Stadium was designated a National Historic Landmark. As MLB.com's Mark Newman reports, the Art Deco structure is one of just a few still standing to have hosted Negro League action. 

Here are some notes out of the National League:

  • The Phillies are close to welcoming back Cole Hamels from the DL, reports CSNPhilly.com's Reuben Frank. Assistant GM Scott Proefrock said that the lefty may return as soon as next week. Needless to say, a healthy Hamels is absolutely critical if Philly has any hope of contending — and avoiding the need for a possible sell-off of veteran pieces — in 2014.
  • Michael Morse has looked to be an excellent addition for the Giants in the early part of the season, writes Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News. The hot start for Morse has answered the question whether he could return to health, and validated manager Bruce Bochy's internal push for the slugger. For his part, Morse says he was guided to San Francisco by former Giant Mark DeRosa and 49er running back Frank Gore. While Morse is never going to look good in the outfield or on the basepaths, Bochy has managed that issue by frequently replacing the lumbering 32-year-old late in games. Morse will re-enter the open market after playing out his one-year, $6MM deal, and should be an interesting player to watch as the season goes on.
  • Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall says it is too early to throw around blame for the team's rough start, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Hall said that "it's far too early to say" that either GM Kevin Towers or manager Kirk Gibson are in danger of losing their jobs. "I wouldn't say anybody's in trouble at this point." The tandem was extended over the offseason, but nevertheless could face hot seats if Arizona cannot turn around a 4-14 start that has left them already 7 games back in the division.
  • Pirates second baseman Neil Walker has seen promising returns on his offseason work to revamp his swing from the right-handed side of the plate, writes Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Though he has just a few regular season plate appearances so far, the switch-hitting 28-year-old has continued the solid work he did off of southpaws during Spring Training. For his career, Walker has touched righties for a .799 OPS, but has only notched a .665 mark against lefties. Set to reach free agency after the 2016 season, Walker could significantly increase his utility, value, and potentially his extension candidacy if he can up his production from the right side.

Kole Calhoun To Miss Four To Six Weeks

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Kole Calhoun will join fellow Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton on a lengthy DL stint, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). An ugly-looking ankle turn last night resulted in a bad ligament sprain that will put Calhoun on the shelf for four to six weeks, according to manager Mike Scioscia.

Early in his second season of substantial MLB action at the age of 26, Calhoun was off to a .250/.297/.500 start in 64 plate appearances, with three home runs and two stolen bases to his credit. Last year, Calhoun provided to be a nice surprise in Los Angeles, providing a .282/.347/.462 line in 222 plate appearances while knocking eight long balls and swiping two bags. Though defensive metrics saw him as slightly below average at the corner outfield last year, Calhoun has graded out quite well in a small sample thus far in 2014. With 130 days of MLB service to his name entering the year, Calhoun could qualify for Super Two status after the 2015 season.

Replacing Calhoun on the MLB roster in the immediate term is minor league free agent Brennan Boesch, who was called up today with Calhoun hitting the 15-day DL. Boesch will join J.B. Shuck and Collin Cowgill as outfield options to flank star Mike Trout while Calhoun and Hamilton are on the shelf. The Halos could be one of several teams with interest in adding Sam Fuld, who is still in DFA limbo after being designated by Oakland on Saturday, according to a tweet from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. It is difficult to see the team making a more impactful move unless one or both of its injured regulars fall off track in their recovery.

Minor Moves: Giants Release Dontrelle Willis

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Here are the day's minor moves:

  • The Giants have released veteran pitcher Dontrelle Willis, according to the International League transactions page. Willis, 32, has not seen MLB time since 2011, but had several outstanding seasons early in his career with the Marlins. He had thrown just 2/3 of an inning in two appearances for the Giants' Triple-A affiliate, though he uncorked three wild pitches in that span. More importantly, Willis reportedly suffered what appeared to be a serious arm injury during his outing Sunday.
  • As reflected on the MLBTR DFA Tracker, two fairly interesting players — Lucas Harrell (Astros) and Sam Fuld (Athletics) — remain in DFA limbo. 

Padres Notes: Gyorko, Headley, Cashner

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Here are a few notes on the Padres, who opened the day a full three games back of the division-leading Dodgers and Giants in the National League West:

  • The Pads have been one of the few MLB teams to have been burned by early-career extensions in recent years, notes Dave Cameron in a piece for FOX Sports. One issue — putting aside the injury and performance issues that have cropped up — is that San Diego has made several of its bets on players whose expected future market value (through arbitration and free agency) was simply not that high. That, in turn, limited the amount of upside (in terms of cost savings) that the team could realize through those contracts. The team's recent extension of Jedd Gyorko, Cameron argues, is of the same ilk: he is not a high-average hitter or stolen base threat, and his power is less impressive if he plays at third in the future. Cameron opines that, while the deal is not necessarily a bad contract, the team still took on significant risk without getting a real chance at landing a "huge bargain."  
  • Current third baseman Chase Headley, meanwhile, reportedly turned down his chance at a new deal, and looks destined for the open market at the end of the season. MLB.com's Corey Brock noted that Headley had told him late in the spring that he "just [didn't] think it was ever the right time" to strike an extension. "There's enough ground in between us to where it wasn't going to work out right now," Headley said. "We just couldn't find that common ground." As Brock explains, the likely options now for San Diego look to be a trade, qualifying offer after the year, or another run at a contract. Headley addressed the QO himself with Brock: "We weighed that [in discussions with the team] and it's not a great system for the player. You have to play six full seasons just to get to free agency. … When you get to that point in your career, I don't think it's necessarily fair to have this one shot at free agency affected by that. At some point, someone is going to take one of those." Of course, Headley added that accepting the QO is "not a bad way to go" because "that's a pretty big number for one year."
  • Staff ace Andrew Cashner is showing signs that he could be developing into a true ace, writes Scott Miller for FOX Sports San Diego. Acquired from the Cubs in exchange for young slugger Anthony Rizzo, in what was a bold trade for both clubs, the 27-year-old has made clear that he wants and expects to be a dominant force. "I definitely want a no-hitter," said Cashner, calling it "one of my goals." Indeed, he has looked capable of that recently. Cashner has allowed just 10 hits and three earned runs through his first 21 innings (over three starts) in 2014, striking out 9.4 against 3.0 free passes per nine while holding opposing hitters to a .363 OPS. After re-discovering his slider last year, Cashner worked to a 2.14 ERA in the second half. As he plays out his first arb-eligible season, the big righty looks like a prime extension candidate in his own right.

Athletics Claim Marcus Walden Off Waivers From Blue Jays

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The Athletics have claimed righty Marcus Walden off waivers from the Blue Jays and optioned him to Triple-A, the club announced. Walden was designated yesterday, and presumably hit the waiver wire immediately.

Walden, 25, has worked mostly as a starter in the minors, but had been throwing in relief at Triple-A to start the 2014 campaign. At Double-A last year, he worked to a 3.71 ERA in 162 1/3 innings, with 4.9 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9. 

Toronto paid the cost of losing Walden's rights after some odd roster maneuvering. The club opened the year with Jeremy Jeffress on the active roster and then designated him with the intention of calling up Chad Jenkins to take his place. Jenkins was initially announced as being recalled, but that was not possible because he had not yet been on optional assignment for ten days. Walden took Jenkins's place, but that meant that he had to be exposed to waivers when a 40-man spot was needed.

AL West Notes: Astros, Franklin, Walker, Reddick

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The Astros have made the promotion of George Springer and DFA of Lucas Harrell official by announcing each move via press release. As Houston fans (and fantasy baseball players) eagerly await Springer's big league debut, here's a look around the rest of the division…

  • Springer won't be the only highly touted prospect to arrive in the Majors today; the Mariners will recall Nick Franklin from Triple-A Tacoma, reports Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, who expects Logan Morrison to hit the DL in order to clear a 25-man roster spot. According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter), Franklin could see some time in the outfield. Franklin, 23, got off to a blistering .395/.469/.744 start in 11 Triple-A games after an offseason loaded with trade speculation.
  • Mariners right-hander Taijuan Walker was scratched from last night's rehab start after complaining of stiffness in his arm, reports Don Ruiz of the Tacoma News Tribune. GM Jack Zduriencik said that Walker — who is a consensus Top 10 prospect — will be re-evaluated today. Seattle's rotation has been solid so far, but they've experienced a good deal of poor luck with injuries to Walker, Hisashi Iwakuma and James Paxton.
  • Jerry Brewer of Athletics Nation looks at Josh Reddick's struggles this season and tracks the history of pitches he's seen in two-strike counts dating back to 2012. Brewer notes that Reddick has long struggled against good fastballs and curveballs, while feasting on sliders and changeups. Pitchers are hammering Reddick with fastballs and curves thus far, and the result has been a 33 percent strikeout rate to go along with his .098/.196/.098 batting line. The A's are in a clear jam as they decide what to do with Reddick, Brewer writes. Reddick has a minor league option remaining, but he could see as much or even more velocity in Triple-A, which will contain no shortage of up-and-coming power arms.

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