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Archives for August 2014

Morneau Claimed By Brewers, Pulled Back By Rockies

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Rockies first baseman Justin Morneau was claimed off revocable waivers by the Brewers, but pulled back by Colorado when the sides could not reach a deal, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. An unknown offer from Milwaukee was apparently insufficient to pry Morneau free.

Morneau, 33, has enjoyed a career renaissance since joining the Rockies over the offseason, posting his finest season since his injury-shortened 2010 campaign. Leading the league with a .317 batting average, Morneau has reached base at a .360 clip while slugging an even .500 and swatting 14 home runs in 453 plate appearances. Of course, the lefty has continued to struggle against southpaws, putting up rather sizeable platoon splits (.930 OPS against righties; .655 OPS versus same-handed pitchers).

He does come with an increasingly attractive contract: earning just $5MM this year, Morneau is guaranteed $6.75MM next season along with a $750K buyout on a $9MM mutual option for 2016. (His 2015 salary is likely to rise by $500K based on a plate appearance escalator.) While it would have made little sense for Colorado to give Morneau away for a meager return, it is also fair to wonder whether the cellar-dwelling club should have dealt (and, looking forward, should deal) the veteran while his value is trending upwards.

With his defense and baserunning factored in, Morneau still profiles as less than a 3-WAR player, ranking in the middle of the league’s regular first baggers when his numbers are adjusted to account for playing at Coors Field. But that would have represented a nice upgrade for the Brewers, whose combined first base output stands at 1.5 fWAR and a 92 wRC+.

Astros Pull Back Chad Qualls

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WEDNESDAY, 8:24pm: With the period for a deal expiring, and Qualls still with Houston, the obvious conclusion is that the Astros failed to work out a deal with Detroit and have revoked the waiver request. MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart confirms that Qualls will in fact stay put.

8:18am: A trade is looking increasingly unlikely, writes MLB.com’s Jason Beck. Between Qualls’ highly affordable contract and his desire to play out his contract and retire as an Astro, there’s little motivation to deal him. Beck reports that the Astros recently had a pro scout watching Detroit’s Double-A team, which includes prospects such as Steven Moya, Devon Travis and Angel Nesbitt, all of whom could be of interest to Houston. However, Detroit already parted with top prospects Corey Knebel and Jake Thompson in the Joakim Soria trade, and the team is reluctant to deal more well-regarded prospects for another reliever.

Asked about the waiver claim, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus (who caught Qualls for four years from 2004-07) told Beck: “I don’t think there’s anything to talk about. As far as I know, Tigers baseball stance, there’s really nothing to it.”

TUESDAY: Hall of Fame journalist Peter Gammons reports that the Tigers were awarded the claim on Qualls (Twitter link). As he notes, it’s hardly surprising that Detroit placed a claim, though it’s at least mildly surprising that the Yankees, who had waiver priority and have been aggressively claiming players, neglected to go after Qualls.

The Tigers have had bullpen issues all season, with Joe Nathan struggling at the back of the bullpen and deadline acquisition Joakim Soria hitting the disabled list with an injury earlier this month. Qualls would provide a solid late-inning option for the Tigers and could serve as a low-cost 2015 replacement for Joba Chamberlain, should the setup man find a new home as a free agent after a strong season in Detroit.

MONDAY, 9:00pm: MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart writes that it’s more likely that Qualls will be pulled off waivers than traded.

5:50pm: Astros right-hander Chad Qualls has been claimed on revocable waivers by an unnamed club, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). It’s not clear if the Astros are willing to move Qualls, but the Astros will have until Wednesday to work out a deal with the claiming club, Rosenthal adds.

Qualls, 36, signed a two-year, $5.95MM contract with the Astros in the offseason. He’s owed about $531K of his $2.7MM salary through the end of the year, plus a $3MM salary in 2015. His contract contains a $3.5MM salary for the 2016 season which comes with a $250K buyout, bringing his remaining guarantee to about $3.781MM through the end of next season.

The veteran ground-ball specialist has been excellent in 2014, posting a 3.07 ERA (and an identical 3.07 FIP) with 7.8 K/9, 1.0 BB/9 and a 56.7 percent ground-ball rate in 44 innings. He’s spent a good deal of time in the closer’s role this season as well, picking up 14 saves for manager Bo Porter.

Houston isn’t averse to trading its closer midseason, as the team pulled the trigger on a trade to send Jose Veras to the Tigers last summer. Somewhat coincidentally, the Tigers are a very likely candidate to have placed a claim on Qualls this season, given their need for bullpen help in a tight AL Central race. However, as Peter Gammons reported over the weekend (Twitter links), the Yankees are “claiming everyone” on waivers, so it’s possible that the Bombers placed a claim with the hope of working out a deal or at the very least blocking their Wild Card competitors from strengthening their bullpens. The Yankees would have waiver priority over the Tigers.

Placed On Revocable Waivers: Wednesday

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We’ll use this post to track the players placed on revocable waivers today …

  • The Blue Jays also placed knuckleballer R.A. Dickey on waivers on August 25th, Cafardo tweets. That means that he will either clear or have his claim awarded to a team at some point today. (Of course, that does not mean he will ultimately change hands.) Dickey is owed $12MM next year and comes with a $12MM club option ($1MM buyout) for 2016. He has not shown his Cy Young form since coming to Toronto, and owns a 4.11 ERA over 400 1/3 innings across the last two seasons.
  • The Red Sox placed a series of younger players on revocable waivers yesterday, Cafardo tweets. Bryce Brentz, Drake Britton, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Anthony Ranaudo all hit the wire on Tuesday, and would all appear to be unlikely to clear or be included in any deal.

Earlier Updates

  • Blue Jays starter Mark Buehrle has been placed on revocable waivers, according to a tweet from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The 35-year-old lefty has had one of his finest seasons, posting a 3.41 ERA over 161 frames, but is guaranteed $19MM next year in the last season of his heavily backloaded four-year, $58MM contract. Toronto had figured to be a buyer for much of the year, and may well still hold onto its veteran pieces for next year, but now looks to be a longshot for the postseason after slipping back to .500. It is not clear precisely when Buehrle went on the wire.

For a more complete explanation of how revocable trade waivers and August trades work, check out MLBTR’s August Trades primer. You can also check out MLBTR’s list of players that have cleared revocable waivers to see who is eligible to be traded to any team.

Minor Moves: Brignac, Aceves, Joseph

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • Phillies infielder Reid Brignac has accepted an outright assignment with the club rather than electing free agency, Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com tweets. The 28-year-old Brignac, once a top prospect, has hit .222/.300/.346 in 91 plate appearances this year for Philadelphia.
  • The Yankees have released righty Alfredo Aceves from their Triple-A affiliate, the club announced. The seven-year MLB veteran had struggled to a 6.52 ERA in 19 1/3 frames with the big club this year, but had been more effective in his 28 1/3 minor league frames (3.49 ERA). Aceves generally posted strong results up through 2011, even if his peripherals did not quite support them, but has not been a productive big leaguer since.
  • Also being cut loose by the Yankees is Corban Joseph. The 25-year-old infielder has seen only a cup of coffee at the MLB level, but owns a .260/.343/.424 slash over 855 career Triple-A plate appearances.

Latest On Astros And Brady Aiken, Jacob Nix

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AUG. 27, 4:51pm: The Astros are highly unlikely to be afforded any chance to sign Aiken, a source tells Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. The source also expressed the belief that Selig must have been referring to Nix.

Given the present state of confusion, it should be noted that Aiken could at least theoretically be seeking to receive some accommodation from the league that would not be directly tied to Houston’s own rights, obligations, and interests moving forward. That hypothetical possibility would potentially square reports that the club is not talking with the first overall choice with Selig’s comment that a “solution” of some kind is being pursued.

4:03pm: There are no current discussions between the Astros and Aiken, according to a report from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. On the other hand, Houston is working to reach agreement on some sort of deal with Nix before his grievance hearing, Heyman says.

Heyman suggests that Selig may have misunderstood the question he was asked — which referred specifically to Aiken — when he said that some “solution” to the Aiken situation was in the works. On the other hand, it is worth noting that Selig said no grievance action had been filed, which is (so far as has been reported) true with respect to Aiken but not Nix.

2:35pm: Commissioner Bud Selig was in San Diego yesterday for the opening of the Padres’ Hall of Fame plaza — named Selig Plaza — and was asked by Jennifer Jensen of 10 News whether or not Aiken had been granted an extension on his signing window:

“We’re working on that right now. There are a lot of things in movement there so it would be inappropriate for me to comment, but I would say we are working towards a hopeful solution.”

Asked a second time, Selig again refused to confirm or deny that an extension had been granted, but he repeated that they are “working toward a solution.” Selig did reveal that no grievance has been filed yet by Aiken’s camp. While his comments are somewhat vague, the commissioner did not shoot down the possibility that Aiken could still reach a deal with the Astros. As Jim Callis of Baseball America points out (on Twitter), it seems fair to assume that the other 29 teams in the league would be none too pleased to see Aiken strike a deal with Houston well beyond the signing deadline.

AUG. 21, 11:46am: “There’s nothing to report, nothing going on there,” Astros owner Jim Crane tells Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter link) in regards to a possible Aiken deal.

11:25am: The Astros could still end up signing first overall draft pick Brady Aiken, and “the expectation from those close to the negotiation” is that the two sides will reach an agreement around the time of Jacob Nix’s grievance hearing, Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel reports (Twitter links).  The MLBPA filed the grievance on Nix’s behalf last month, and the hearing will reportedly be held during the offseason.

As McDaniel puts it, the possibility of Aiken inking a deal beyond the July 18th deadline for signing draft picks is an “MLB’s discretion situation.”  It had been presumed that Houston had forfeited their right to sign Aiken (plus Nix and 21st-rounder Mac Marshall) when they couldn’t reach agreements with any of the players by July 18th.  In failing to sign Aiken, the Astros received the second overall pick in the 2015 draft as compensation.

Aiken had a verbal agreement in place with the Astros just a few days after he was selected as the #1 pick in the 2014 draft, but no official deal was finalized due to the team’s concerns over Aiken’s unusually small UCL, a detail discovered during a post-draft physical.  This led Houston to drop their offer from the agreed-upon $6.5MM bonus (which was already over $1.4MM below the assigned slot price of the first overall pick) to $5MM.  This set off a chain reaction that caused the Astros to pull their $1.5MM agreement with Nix off the table, as signing Nix at that price would’ve put the Astros over their draft pool limit and put them in danger of facing penalties such as the loss of two future first-round picks.

Needless to say, it would be surprising to see Aiken wind up wearing Astros orange given the harsh words that Casey Close (the agent for both Aiken and Nix) had for the organization and GM Jeff Luhnow in the wake of the controversy.  As it stands, Aiken would have to either attend a junior college and re-enter the draft next year or commit to a college and not be able to turn pro for three more years.  It’s possible the high schooler is simply eager to begin his professional career and/or wants some financial security now, given that anything could happen to lower his stock over the next 1-3 years.

For the Astros, signing Aiken would help the team save face after it was widely criticized for its handling of the situation.  Aiken has until September 1 to file a grievance himself, though that deadline could be extended.

Manny Machado Likely Out For Season

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AUGUST 27: Machado’s surgery was successful, and the likeliest scenario remains that he will be at full strength for the start of Spring Training, according to a tweet from Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.

AUGUST 22: Orioles third baseman Manny Machado is likely out for the rest of the season, Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports tweets. He will have knee surgery at some point within the next week. The Orioles announced last week that Machado had a right knee ligament sprain and had previously been hopeful that he would be able to return as soon as next Wednesday. He has been out since August 11, when he twisted his knee while swinging.

Machado’s absence will be tough for the Orioles, who currently are 73-53 and atop the AL East. Machado has hit .278/.324/.431 this season, and as usual has contributed plenty of value with his defense. He has, however, been limited to 82 games, having missed all of April with a separate knee injury. The Orioles could respond by moving Chris Davis to third base and having Steve Pearce play first, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com suggests (via Twitter).

Yankees To Sign Chris Young

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The Yankees have agreed to terms with outfielder Chris Young on a minor league contract, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter).

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Young, a client of Reynolds Sports Management, began the season with New York’s other team after signing a one-year, $7.25MM contract in the offseason. The Mets were looking to buy low on a player that averaged 3.7 wins above replacement from 2010-12 before a down season in 2013, but unfortunately for all parties involved, Young’s struggles continued.

The former Diamondback batted just .205/.283/.346 in 287 plate appearances with the Mets before being designated for assignment and ultimately released earlier this month. Young, 30, can provide the injury-plagued Yankees with some additional outfield depth should he be added to the 40-man roster in advance of Sept. 1, when Major League rosters will expand.

With Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury locked into left and center field, respectively, Young could potentially join a right field mix that includes Ichiro Suzuki, Martin Prado, Zelous Wheeler and Carlos Beltran if added to the roster. He can also handle either of the other two outfield spots in the event of a day off or an injury for Ellsbury or Gardner, which could be significant, as Gardner has dealt with a right ankle injury over the past few days.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blue Jays Designate Sergio Santos For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have designated right-hander Sergio Santos for the second time this season, according to a team press release. The move makes room on the roster for fellow right-hander Chad Jenkins.

The 31-year-old Santos has had a difficult time remaining healthy since being acquired by the Blue Jays in a 2012 trade that sent right-hander Nestor Molina to the White Sox. Santos underwent shoulder surgery that season, battled a triceps injury last year and has missed time with a forearm strain in 2014.

Following his previous DFA, the Jays immediately placed Santos on outright waivers, hoping that his contract — he’s earning $3.75MM in 2014 and has a $750K buyout on a $6MM option for next season — would allow him to clear. That’s exactly what happened, and the Jays sent him to Triple-A with the hopes that he could rediscover his 2010-11 form. He fired 10 2/3 shutout innings in the minors and was promptly brought back to the club, but he’s struggled again in his return. Santos made just two appearances and allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings. He surrendered a pair of homers in that time, although he did also record three strikeouts.

Santos, who converted from shortstop to the mound, has consistently shown the propensity to miss bats, but command has been an issue for him. It’s possible that he could rejoin the team in September, but even if that happens, it certainly seems unlikely that Toronto would exercise the club option given his recent struggles.

AL West Notes: Angels, Zduriencik, Chirinos

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Wade LeBlanc struggled in his lone start for the Angels and found himself designated for assignment the next day, but manager Mike Scioscia explained to reporters, including MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez, that the poor outing wasn’t necessarily the cause of the DFA. “This isn’t a reactionary move to a bad outing from last night to say that we’re looking past Wade LeBlanc,” said Scioscia. “Right now, in the short term, we have to because we really don’t have many options for these next couple days, and you need a fresh arm out there.” The Halos are on the hunt for additional starting depth in the final days of August, but it remains to be seen whether GM Jerry Dipoto and his staff can add yet another arm from outside the organization.

Here’s more on the Angels and the AL West…

  • Angels owner Arte Moreno is remaining adamant that his team will not cross the $189MM luxury tax threshold next year, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears from rival clubs. The Halos already have $140MM worth of luxury tax commitments on the books, and adding an arm like Bartolo Colon would add $10MM more to that commitment (luxury tax is calculated based on the average annual value of a player’s contract). That makes both Scott Feldman and A.J. Burnett difficult fits as well.
  • Mariners president Kevin Mather told reporters, including MLB.com’s Greg Johns, that extension negotiations with GM Jack Zduriencik didn’t take long. “The question really was, ’Do you like it here? Are we treating you OK? Are you enjoying your job?'” Mather explained. “[Zduriencik] said, ’I love it here, my family loves it here.’ I said, ’Well then let’s stay. Let’s stay.’ Big smile on his face. I said, ’I guess that’s a yes.'” For his part, Zduriencik expressed his happiness with the extension and with where his organization stands. He did, however, indicate that he’s not about to become complacent: “You’re never satisfied. If I had Mays and Mantle, I’d still be looking for more. That’s just the nature of what you do. But I think we’re on our way to being what we want to become and that’s a world champion.”
  • Robinson Chirinos has impressed the Rangers in his first season of semi-regular playing time and figures to play a “significant” role with the 2015 club, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. While the club hasn’t decided how big a role he will play, minor league catching instructor Hector Ortiz tells Grant that he initially thought Chirinos was a backup type of catcher, but he know thinks there’s more ability in the tank. Chirinos says the team has said they want to see what he can do on an everyday basis over the season’s final weeks, so it certainly seems possible that this is an audition of sorts. The 30-year-old has batted .231/.282/.408 with 11 homers in 288 PAs. He’s also thrown out 38 percent of base stealers.

Mat Latos, Mike Leake On Revocable Waivers

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With August wrapping up, the window for teams to sneak players through revocable waivers is coming to a close. Those who are interested can check out MLBTR’s list of players that have cleared revocable waivers, and those that are still unfamiliar with revocable waivers and August trades in general can check out our August trade primer.

With that said, we’ll keep track of today’s list of players that have been placed on revocable waivers here…

  • Reds right-handers Mat Latos and Mike Leake were both placed on revocable waivers yesterday, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). However, a trade of either is unlikely. Cincinnati is expected to move a starter this prior to next season, says Rosenthal, but it’s unlikely to happen until they can negotiate with all 29 other clubs. (Obviously, Latos and Leake aren’t going to clear waivers.) Latos, 26, is earning $7.25MM this season and is eligible for arbitration for the final time this winter. He opened the year on the DL but has turned in a 2.99 ERA in 84 1/3 innings, albeit with a career-low 6.1 K/9 (his 2.5 BB/9 rate is right in line with his career marks). Leake, also 26 and arb-eligible for the final time this offseason, is earning $5.925MM in 2014. He’s posted a 3.51 ERA with 7.0 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a career-best 54.4 percent ground-ball rate. The other 14 National League teams will have priority (in record of reverse standings) before the Cincinnati righties are exposed to the AL (also in reverse order of standings).

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