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Archives for June 2015

Outrighted To Triple-A: Frieri, Veal

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Here’s a look at the latest outright assignments..

  • The Rays outrighted Ernesto Frieri to Triple-A Durham, according to the MLB.com transactions page.  Frieri signed a one-year, $800K deal to join the Rays this winter but was designated for assignment last week.  The 29-year-old worked to a 4.63 ERA over 23 1/3 innings for Tampa Bay, striking out 7.3 and walking 4.2 batters per nine.
  • The Braves sent left-handed reliever Donnie Veal outright to their Triple-A affiliate, according to the transactions page.  Veal, 30, was also designated for assignment by the Braves back on May 5 and accepted an outright assignment to remain with the club.  The former second-round draft pick (Cubs, 2005) has appeared in five games with the Braves this year and allowed runs in each of them — seven total in just 4 1/3 innings. He has a career 5.48 ERA in the Majors, but he has a track record of success in the minors.
  • To keep up with the status of players who are designated for assignment, check out MLBTR’s DFA Tracker.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Cole, Trumbo, Trout

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On this date in 1989, the same game was played partly outdoors and partly indoors for the first time in major league history when the Blue Jays beat the Brewers, as Leo Panetta of NationalPastime.com writes.  The SkyDome’s retractable roof was open to start the game but had to be closed in the fifth inning due to rain.  Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere..

Please send submissions to Zach at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.

Quick Hits: Indians, Correa, Astros, Gee, Reds

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Here’s the latest from around the league.

  • The Indians aren’t likely to option Jose Ramirez or call up Francisco Lindor, writes Paul Hoynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. As Hoynes puts it, Ramirez often does something to help the team win despite a .184/.252/.245 slash. The club would like to see more from Lindor before considering a promotion. He’s currently hitting .265/.341/.383 at Triple-A. Mike Aviles is stretched thin covering for both Ramirez and third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall. The team could promote utility infield Zach Walters, but there’s no guarantee he would be an upgrade. As such, Ramirez will probably continue to play with regularity.
  • Astros top prospect Carlos Correa could be promoted as soon as their upcoming series against the White Sox, writes Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle. Manager A.J. Hinch spoke with reporters about the importance of being mentally and physically prepared for the majors. With Jed Lowrie sidelined, the club has turned to a combination of Marwin Gonzalez and Jonathan Villar. The pair have not performed well. Given Houston’s place atop the AL West, there is some pressure to summon Correa. Since his promotion to Triple-A, he’s hitting a restrained .253/.324/.429 in 102 plate appearances.
  • The Astros have the highest bonus pool for the upcoming draft, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Houston can spend $17,289,200 because they have the second and fifth overall picks. GM Jeff Luhnow aims to have the “best yield” of any club. In the past, the Astros signed Correa to an under-slot contract in order to go over-slot for Lance McCullers and Rio Ruiz. They attempted to do the same last year with Brady Aiken and Jacob Nix, but Aiken’s failed physical ruined that plan.
  • The Mets have scrapped their six-man rotation, and Dillon Gee will move to the bullpen, writes Adam Rubin of ESPN. Gee is unhappy with the move. He believes he’ll have less value to the team and on the trade market as a reliever. He’s owed $5.3MM in 2015 and is club controlled through 2016. The club was using a six-man rotation to limit the workloads of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard. New York may also promote Steven Matz at some point. He has a 1.94 ERA with 9.08 K/9 and 3.27 BB/9 in the hitter friendly PCL.
  • The next few weeks will decide if the Reds are deadline sellers, writes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. The team is currently 23-31 and seven games back from the second Wild Card slot. If the club continues to scuffle, players like Aroldis Chapman, Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake, and Jay Bruce could be shopped. Cueto and Leake are free agents at the end of the season.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Mets, Tigers, Yankees, Coghlan

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The Mets appear to be keeping tabs on Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez and shortstop Jean Segura, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports in his latest video. Of the two, Ramirez is the more practical target for New York. He is expected to retire after the season and does not have a no-trade clause. The Mets are also interested in Ben Zobrist, but they believe other teams will outbid them.

  • The Tigers may not need to buy at the trade deadline due to the impending returns of Justin Verlander, Victor Martinez, Bruce Rondon, and Alex Avila. The lineup has struggled to push runs across the plate, but they lead the AL in OBP. When asked by Rosenthal, GM Dave Dombrowski said there are no scenarios under which the club could become deadline sellers. That means David Price, Yoenis Cespedes, and Alfredo Simon are unlikely to be traded.
  • The Yankees rotation may not be a priority at the trade deadline if the current starters remain healthy. In addition to the current options, Ivan Nova will begin a rehab assignment soon. Prospects Luis Severino and Bryan Mitchell provide further depth. The club could still acquire a star like Cole Hamels, but GM Brian Cashman says some of their top prospects are untouchable.
  • The easiest position for the Cubs to upgrade is left field. Chris Coghlan is hitting just .224/.298/.421 on the season. An unusually low .245 BABIP explains his low average. The club could hope for BABIP regression or replace him in one of several ways. They could trade for somebody like Zobrist. Alternatively, Javier Baez could be promoted to man third base with Kris Bryant moving to the outfield.

Yankees Notes: Tanaka, Ellsbury, Rogers, Trout

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The return of Masahiro Tanaka to the Yankees rotation has given the team new life, writes John Harper of the New York Daily News. Tanaka showed good velocity in his return to action, topping out at 96 mph. Beyond Michael Pineda’s strong season, New York has received inconsistent performances from the rotation. If Tanaka returns to his 2014 form, the club will be in a better position to buy at the trade deadline. Here’s more on the Bronx Bombers:

  • Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury remains sidelined with a knee injury. He has a heavy-duty brace that won’t be removed for at least another week, reports Wallace Matthews of ESPN. He is currently expected to return to the club in early July. The team has survived his absence by moving Brett Gardner to center field while using Chris Young, Garrett Jones, Carlos Beltran, and Ramon Flores in the outfield corners. A trade appears unlikely since the team has survived Ellbury’s absence for a couple weeks with eight wins and seven losses.
  • Reliever Esmil Rogers may be on a short leash, writes Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. The bullpen nearly blew a seven run lead in the ninth inning yesterday. Five of the runs were charged to Rogers who failed to record an out. The Yankees pen currently has five left-handed relievers, but manager Joe Girardi says it isn’t a problem, per Ryan Hatch of NJ.com. Southpaws like Andrew Miller, Justin Wilson, Chasen Shreve, and Jacob Lindgren can be used against both righties and lefties. However, Girardi would like another reliable right-handed weapon – something Rogers may not be able to provide.
  • As we prepare for the Rule 4 draft, Charles Curtis of NJ.com details just how close the Yankees came to selecting MVP Mike Trout. The club viewed Trout as the second best player in the draft and held the 29th overall pick. An area scout for the club provided coaching for Trout and had firsthand knowledge of his work ethic. Unfortunately for New York, the Angels swooped in with the 25th pick.
  • The Yankees will pick 16th this year, their highest selection since 1993, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Decades of success and big free agent purchases have left the Yankees with few early draft picks. Sherman notes that the club didn’t have the opportunity to select 18 percent of current major leaguers. For those interested, Sherman breaks down the results of recent drafts.

 

Braves Sign Aardsma To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have signed right-handed reliever David Aardsma to a minor league deal, tweets Mark Bowman of MLB.com. He opted out of his contract with the Dodgers on June 1. With Los Angeles’ Triple-A affiliate, Aardsma posted a 2.41 ERA with 11.09 K/9 and 3.38 BB/9 in 18 and two-thirds innings. He will report to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Aardsma last appeared in the majors with the Mets in 2013. Over his career, he has a 4.23 ERA with 8.96 K/9 and 4.97 BB/9. His best seasons came with the Mariners in 2009 through 2010 when he collected 69 saves in 121 innings. A hip injury and Tommy John surgery caused him to miss most of the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

The Braves bullpen is the worst in the majors by conventional measures. Adding Aardsma is a savvy, low risk move for the club. Atlanta has used 16 relievers, and they have contributed a league worst 5.03 ERA. Advanced metrics like SIERA and xFIP rate the club between the second and fifth worst bullpen.

Jason Grilli and Jim Johnson have acquitted themselves nicely in the late innings, but the front end of the bullpen remains in disarray. Given the state of affairs in Atlanta, Aardsma should have an opportunity to rejoin the majors.

Quick Hits: Pompey, Ross, Reds

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The Blue Jays have moved center fielder Dalton Pompey from Triple-A Buffalo to Double-A New Hampshire, as Ben Nicholson of Sportsnet.ca notes. It’s been a rough season for the 22-year-old Pompey, one of the Jays’ top prospects. He hit .193/.264/.337 in 91 plate appearances in the Majors before being sent to Buffalo, where he continued to struggle offensively while also dealing with knee trouble. “He just hasn’t gotten it going yet,” says Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos. “I don’t know that there’s anything specifically. … Some guys just aren’t swinging well at a certain time.” Here’s more from around the game.

  • The Nationals lost 4-2 to the Cubs Saturday, but top prospect Joe Ross had a reasonably good big-league debut, allowing three runs over five innings but striking out four without walking a batter. Ross’ promotion caught him by surprise, as Chase Hughes of NatsInsider.com writes. Padres starting pitcher Tyson Ross, Joe’s brother, watched him make his big-league debut in Washington, and Cubs manager Joe Maddon noted similarities between the two pitchers. “Quick arm. Velocity was there. Really, an effective slider, not unlike his brother,” says Maddon. “Great athlete… He’s going to be very good for them. Coming out of Double-A, he represented himself really, really well.”
  • With his big-league debut Friday, Jon Moscot became the fourth rookie pitcher to start for the Reds this season, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes. Moscot joins Anthony DeSclafani, Michael Lorenzen and Raisel Iglesias. “Well, we’re playing with what we have,” says manager Bryan Price. “[W]e had to make some roster adjustments for some payroll flexibility which led to some of the offseason moves. And it also created some opportunities for these young guys when needed to come in and pitch, but we knew this was our fall back.” The Reds currently have Homer Bailey and Iglesias on the disabled list, and they recently designated Jason Marquis for assignment after nine unsuccessful starts, leaving Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake as the only veterans in the rotation at the moment.

Minor Moves: Santos, Solano, Sands, Hester

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.

  • Reliever Sergio Santos has cleared waivers and will elect free agency, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The Dodgers designated Santos for late last month after the former White Sox closer struck out 15 batters and walked seven while allowing seven runs in 13 1/3 innings this season.
  • The Marlins have announced that they’ve outrighted catcher Jhonatan Solano to Triple-A New Orleans. The designated him for assignment yesterday. The 29-year-old has a career .184/.222/.301 line in 108 career plate appearances with the Nationals and Marlins, hitting a somewhat better .241/.286/.346 in about two seasons’ worth of plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
  • The Indians have announced that outfielder Jerry Sands has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus. Last week, the Indians designated Sands for assignment for the second time this season. The 27-year-old Sands has hit 9-for-27 with a home run and two doubles for the Indians this year. Perhaps more representative is his .257/.385/.473 at Triple-A, a line consistent with the strong minor-league performances he’s posted throughout much of his career.
  • The Phillies have released catcher John Hester, MLBTR’s Steve Adams tweets, noting that Hester had surgery on his meniscus this spring but is now healthy. The 31-year-old has played in ten minor-league games this season. He spent 2014 with Triple-A Salt Lake in the Angels organization, batting .261/.338/.411. He has a career .216/.294/.351 line in 232 big-league plate appearances spread over four seasons with the Diamondbacks and Angels.

Diamondbacks Designate Jordan Pacheco

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The Diamondbacks designated C/IF Jordan Pacheco for assignment, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. The move clears space for third baseman Jake Lamb, who returns from the disabled list.

The Diamondbacks claimed Pacheco from the Rockies last season, then outrighted him and signed to a minor-league deal over the winter. He’s been one of many catchers who’ve suited up for the D-backs (who’ve also used Tuffy Gosewisch, Gerald Laird, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and now Welington Castillo at the position), but Pacheco doesn’t have a strong defensive reputation and was hitting just .242/.333/.333 in 78 plate appearances. Pacheco can also play the corner infield spots, but with Saltalamacchia and Castillo at catcher and Lamb returning, there weren’t many opportunities available to him at any position.

Rockies Outright Charlie Culberson

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The Rockies have announced that they’ve reinstated infielder Charlie Culberson from the 60-day disabled list and outrighted him to Triple-A Albuquerque. The Rockies placed Culberson on the DL in April with a bulging disc in his back.

The 26-year-old Culberson collected 233 plate appearances in 2014 but hit for a .195/.253/.290 line that was especially meager given that he played half his games at Coors Field. He’s capable of playing all four infield positions when healthy and has also played left field, though, so he does provide a bit of versatility. He’s a career .284/.316/.469 hitter at the Triple-A level, although he’s mostly posted those numbers in the offense-friendly environment of Colorado Springs.

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