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Archives for August 2015

Diamondbacks Designate Danny Dorn

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The Diamondbacks have designated outfielder Danny Dorn for assignment, Zach Buchanan of the AZCentral.com reports on Twitter. His 40-man spot was needed for the activation of Jhoulys Chacin.

Dorn, 31, reached the majors for the first time this year, but managed just five hits (one for extra bases) in his 32 turns at bat. But he does have an extensive track record of solid production in the upper minors, and has raked to the tune of a .386/.444/.618 slash in his 305 Triple-A plate appearances this season.

Rangers Sign Drew Stubbs To Minors Deal

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The Rangers have announced the signing of outfielder Drew Stubbs to a minor league contract. Stubbs was recently released by the Rockies.

Stubbs, 30, was optioned to Triple-A after a miserable start to the season, but has turned it on since being recalled. All told, he owns a .216/.286/.431 slash — well below league-average once park factors are accounted for. That represents a disappointment both for him and the team, which tendered him a contract after Stubbs put up a strong .289.339/.482 slash line last year.

For the lefty-heavy Rangers, Stubbs could provide a useful option down the stretch. He’s actually been better against right-handed pitching this year, but carries a wide platoon split over his career (.670 OPS against righties, .811 versus lefties). Having spent most of his career in center field, Stubbs also represents a nice glove to have in the fold.

Colorado will remain on the hook for the rest of the cash owed this year to Stubbs, who avoided arbitration with a $5.83MM deal. If he does make it to the Rangers’ big league roster, though, the Rockies will get a small offset equivalent to the pro-rated portion of the league minimum salary.

Sabathia Possibly Done For Season; Yankees Re-Sign Capuano

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The Yankees will place left-hander CC Sabathia on the disabled list due to a right knee injury, and manager Joe Girardi told reporters, including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter link) that “it’s a possibility” that Sabathia will not pitch again in 2015. As a result of the injury, the Yankees have re-signed Chris Capuano, who had briefly elected free agency, according to a team announcement.

The 35-year-old Sabathia exited yesterday’s contest due to knee pain after just 2 2/3 innings. If his season is indeed finished, he will end the year with a 5.27 ERA with 7.4 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in 138 1/3 innings. It would also mark the second straight year in which a right knee injury ended Sabathia’s season early. He has one more guaranteed season remaining on his contract and will earn $25MM in 2016, but his 2017 vesting option for the same amount will become guaranteed if Sabathia’s left shoulder remains healthy in 2016. The only ways for the option not to vest are if Sabathia ends the season on the DL due to a shoulder injury, if he spends 45 or more days on the DL due to a shoulder injury or if he makes six or more relief appearances due to a shoulder injury.

For the Yankees, it further depletes the team’s rotation depth, although as Jack Curry of the YES Network noted earlier today (on Twitter) that Michael Pineda threw a bullpen session today and is slated to return to the rotation on Wednesday vs. Houston. Pineda, then, would join Masahiro Tanaka, Ivan Nova, Nathan Eovaldi and Luis Severino in the rotation, with Capuano (and perhaps eventually Bryan Mitchell) serving as depth options.

Capuano, who turned 37 earlier this week, has pitched 33 innings for the Yankees in 2015 but struggled to a 6.55 ERA. He’s averaged 8.5 K/9 but also yielded 4.4 BB/9, hit three batters and served up five homers. Capuano has, somewhat incredibly, been designated for assignment and outrighted three times in the past month. As the Yankees announced, he technically rejected his most recent outright in order to sign a new Major League contract and expedite his return to the big league roster.

Diamondbacks Release Gerald Laird

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AUG: 24: The Diamondbacks have released Laird, per the club’s transactions page at MLB.com.

AUG. 20: The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve reinstated catcher Gerald Laird from the 60-day disabled list and designated him for assignment.

As Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic points out (Twitter link), the move allows Laird the opportunity to latch on with another club where he’ll have a better opportunity for playing time prior to the end of the season. Laird opened the season with the D-Backs, but since his injury earlier this year, Arizona has added catcher Welington Castillo and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, lessening the need for Laird’s presence on the roster.

The veteran Laird has a lifetime .243/.305/.353 batting line in 2734 plate appearances but came to the plate only twice in 2015 before landing on the disabled list due to a back injury.

Orioles Designate Nolan Reimold For Assignment

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In a series of roster moves, the Orioles announced that they’ve designated outfielder Nolan Reimold for assignment and reinstated infielder/outfielder Steve Pearce from the disabled list. Though getting Pearce back deepens the club, the Orioles took another injury hit in his place, as the team announced that J.J. Hardy has landed on the DL with a groin strain. Right-hander Jorge Rondon has been recalled in his place to give the O’s some extra bullpen depth.

Reimold has spent most of his career either alternating frequently between Triple-A and the Majors or between the active roster and the disabled list. Although he has more than five years of big league service under his belt, Reimold has played in just 354 games at the Major League level. He’s shown on multiple stints in the past that he has the raw talent to be a productive big leaguer, but he’s now 31 years old with a history of neck problems as well as spinal fusion surgery under his belt.

Reimold batted .227/.306/.340 in 108 plate appearances this year and has .214/.276/.361 in 326 PAs dating back to 2013. He’s spent nearly all of his career with the Orioles, although he did briefly appear with the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks in 2014 before returning to Baltimore on a minor league deal this winter.

Braves Recall Christian Bethancourt, Designate David Aardsma

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The Braves announced a series of roster moves today, most notably recalling young catcher Christian Bethancourt from Triple-A Gwinnett and designating veteran reliever David Aardsma for assignment. Outfielder Eury Perez has also been optioned to Triple-A, with righty Sugar Ray Marimon being recalled to join the bullpen.

Originally signed to a minor league deal with the Dodgers, the 33-year-old Aardsma excelled at the Triple-A level and opted out of his contract with L.A. in May, quickly latching on with the Braves. Aardsma was added to the big league bullpen in relatively short order, and he’s totaled 30 2/3 innings of relief with Atlanta this year.

Though he’s missed quite a few bats (10.3 K/9 and a career-best 14.8 percent swinging-strike rate), Aardsma has also been more homer-prone than usual, surrendering six long balls in his time with the Braves. Paired with a 4.1 BB/9 rate, he’s posted a 4.70 ERA this season. He’s already cleared revocable waivers, so the Braves will have the ability to try to trade him for a nominal return if there are teams intrigued by Aardsma’s strikeout capabilities. xFIP and SIERA, which both normalize his abnormally high homer-to-flyball rate, peg him a 4.13 and 3.44, respectively, giving some hope for improved performance.

As for Bethancourt, the 23-year-old was looked at as Atlanta’s catcher of the future not long ago and may still be, though reports earlier this year tied the Braves to young catchers. Bethancourt batted just .198/.221/.287 in 104 PAs earlier this year and has batted just .223/.248/.279 in 222 big league PAs. However, he was hitting .327/.359/.480 at Triple-A this season and is lauded by scouts for his defensive prowess, including a throwing arm which many grade as an 80 on the 20-80 scouting scale.

Astros, Dallas Keuchel Have Discussed Long-Term Deal

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Dallas Keuchel will be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter and is under team control through at least the 2018 season, but the lefty tells Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle that his agent, Darek Braunecker of Frontline Athlete Management, has discussed a multi-year deal with Houston. For his part, Keuchel is very open to remaining in Houston long-term. As he tells Drellich:

“[Houston] is all I’ve known, and it’s where I want to be. I know we’re in a great position for the next probably five, 10 years… it’s all about winning. Me personally, it’s not about the dollar amount. … With that being said, it’s got to be something that’s fair and that’s right for both parties. I’m not trying to break the bank. I’m just out here to have fun and pitch and do the best I can.”

The 27-year-old Keuchel had a breakout season in 2014 and has emerged as one of the American League’s top pitchers with an elite 2015 season that features a 2.37 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 63.1 percent ground-ball rate in 178 2/3 innings. As Drellich notes, comparable pitchers (at least, in terms of service time) such as Wade Miley and Lance Lynn signed away their three arbitration seasons last winter for $19.25MM and $22MM, respectively. Keuchel, however, has a much stronger two-year platform heading into arbitration and could surpass both of those figures for his arb years.

It stands to reason that the Astros would want to secure at least one, if not two or three free agent years for Keuchel, which, in my mind, would need to be valued in the $15-17MM range. However, from the player’s point of view, signing away precious free agent years isn’t as desirable, even if it’s for a relatively sizable sum. Keuchel’s best chance at a $100MM+ contract would be to hit the open market heading into his age-31 season, as he’s currently projected to do. He also has a strong arb case this winter based on his excellent 2014-15 work, so he can reasonably bank on a pair of life-changing paydays in the next two offseasons even if his 2016 campaign doesn’t go as well as 2014-15. Keuchel’s comments about not breaking the bank do offer some hope, however, that he could look to set some kind of precedent for extensions for players with three to four years of service time, as opposed to maximizing his arb salaries and signing a nine-figure contract in the 2018-19 offseason.

There’s also some logic behind the scenario in which Keuchel signs a three-year deal that locks in only his arb seasons. Keuchel would secure his first fortune and still be positioned to hit the free agent heading into his age-31 season. The Astros, in turn, would gain cost certainty over a pitcher whose arb prices could escalate at an abnormally high rate due to his status as one of the American League’s best arms and a potential Cy Young candidate.

Drellich also spoke to right-hander Collin McHugh, who said that he, too, is interested in signing a long-term deal with Houston, although no talks have taken place between the Astros and McHugh’s agents at Moye Sports Associates. McHugh, however, has one less year of service time and won’t be arbitration eligible until next winter. McHugh, another somewhat surprising breakout pitcher in the Astros’ rotation, has pitched to a 3.36 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in 313 2/3 innings since being claimed off waivers in the 2013-14 offseason.

Also of note, Drellich reports that the Astros plan to make a run at re-signing Houston native and July trade acquisition Scott Kazmir this winter, though there have unsurprisingly been no talks at this point, as Kazmir is intent on testing the market.

Cubs Place Jorge Soler, Jason Motte On DL

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The Cubs have placed right fielder Jorge Soler and right-hander Jason Motte on the disabled list due to a strained oblique and a strained right shoulder, respectively, tweets Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com. In corresponding moves, infielder Tommy La Stella and left-hander Zac Rosscup have been recalled from Triple-A, he adds. Levine also tweets that Soler might be out for a month.

The loss of both players thins out the depth of a surging Cubs team that currently sits 6.5 games back from the division lead but has a six-game lead on the Giants for the second Wild Card spot in the National League. While the injuries may not be a significant detriment to the Cubs’ Wild Card chances due to their fairly substantial lead, the Cubs surely would prefer the pair to be healthy and in a good rhythm entering a potential playoff game or series.

Soler, 23, has had a rather disappointing absence of power this season but is hitting a respectable .265/.325/.385 with seven homers on the season. His contributions in 2015 have been about replacement-level when factoring in sub-par defense in right field, but the upside Soler brings (which he displayed in his first taste of big league action in 2014) is greater than that of his replacements. For the time being, the Cubs can use a platoon of Chris Denorfia and Chris Coghlan in right, with La Stella filling in at second base when Coghlan is in the outfield.

The 33-year-old Motte enjoyed a nice first half of the season (in part due to a .240 BABIP), but he’s worked to a 6.00 ERA in the second half (with his BABIP swinging wildly in the other direction — .385). Inconsistencies aside, he’s totaled a 3.91 ERA with 6.3 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 30.3 percent ground-ball rate. Those numbers are a far cry from his best days with the Cardinals in 2011-12, but his absence will nonetheless thin out a bullpen that is already without injured righties Rafael Soriano and Neil Ramirez.

If the Cubs do wish to make an outside addition, there are a handful of relievers that have cleared waivers, though each has his flaws (hence the clearing of waivers). Jonny Gomes is one veteran outfielder that has already cleared waivers. Any player acquired prior to Sept. 1 would be eligible to play in the postseason. The Cubs, however, may simply elect to stay the course until Sept. 1, when expanded rosters will give them the opportunity to bring up additional internal reinforcements.

(Re)Introducing The MLBTR Mailbag

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It’s been a good seven years since MLBTR’s Mailbag series ran with regularity, but as we near the end of the 2015 season and gear up for an offseason that features one of the stronger free agent crops in recent memory, we’re once again dusting off the series.

Readers can submit questions on any MLBTR-relevant topic — trades, free agency, extensions, arbitration, etc. — to mlbtrmailbag@gmail.com, and every Monday we will collect a handful of responses and offer our take. While Tim Dierkes and I briefly entertained the notion of answering the most recent questions at the top of that inbox, which included queries on Joe Crede and Akinori Otsuka, among others, we decided it best to start from a clean slate.

Depending on response volume, we’ll run the first edition either later today or next week, and every Monday going forward from that point on.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Utley, Angels, Zobrist, Zimmermann, Giants, Execs

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In his latest notes column for FOX Sports, Ken Rosenthal looks at the failed attempt to acquire Chase Utley made by both the Angels and Cubs. Anaheim “blew it” by not adding Utley, opines Rosenthal, as the Halos had more playing time to offer than the Dodgers but didn’t pull the trigger on a deal despite only having acquired “complementary hitters” in July. (That seems harsh, as there’s no guarantee that the current iteration of Utley is anything more than a complementary piece himself.) As for the Cubs, they initially showed interest while Utley was still hurt, but Utley wasn’t comfortable being traded while on a rehab assignment, says Rosenthal, so the Phils waited to put him through waivers. By the time he returned, Howie Kendrick had been hurt in L.A., creating a match with the Dodgers.

Some more highlights from the column…

  • As others have noted, the Angels’ GM opening is a tough sell to prospective candidates because Arte Moreno is more involved than the average owner, and Mike Scioscia has more power than the average manager. One rival general manager described the Angels’ GM role to Rosenthal as such: “You take all of the beatings (from Moreno) and you’ve got no power (due to Scioscia).” Jerry Dipoto resigned from his post this summer due to reported clashes with Scioscia.
  • The Blue Jays tried to trade for Ben Zobrist, but the Athletics’ asking price was Matt Boyd plus other pieces, Rosenthal hears, which was too steep for GM Alex Anthopoulos. Boyd was ultimately one of three pieces used to acquire David Price from the Tigers.
  • Rosenthal reports that the Giants are likely to pursue right-hander Jordan Zimmermann as they look to bulk up their rotation this offseason. However, he notes that the Wisconsin native may prefer to return to the Midwest. Zimmermann ranked eighth on the most recent edition of MLBTR’s Free Agent Power Rankings, though he’s had a couple of rough starts since then.
  • The Giants may also consider attempting to unload the final year of Angel Pagan’s contract this winter. Pagan is slated to earn $10MM next season in the final season of a four-year, $40MM contract after playing in just 167 games from 2013-14 and struggling at the plate in 102 games to this point in 2015. San Francisco could use Gregor Blanco in center field in the event that they’re able to move Pagan.
  • The recent trend of teams promoting an assistant GM to GM and a current GM to president (as the White Sox and Giants have done) could continue this offseason as teams try to prevent their top AGMs from departing for GM vacancies elsewhere, Rosenthal writes. The Rangers could promote Thad Levine to GM (and presumably elevate Jon Daniels), for instance, and the Cardinals could promote Mike Girsch (presumably promoting GM John Mozeliak as well). And, should Mark Shapiro end up with the Blue Jays, the Indians could bump Mike Chernoff to GM and make Chris Antonetti president (Cleveland previously did his by moving Shapiro from GM to president and Antonetti from AGM to GM). Levine, Girsch and Chernoff could all attract interest from other teams this winter.

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