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Archives for May 2016

Neal Cotts Exercises Opt-Out Clause In Contract With Angels

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MAY 18: The Angels decided against adding Cotts to the 25-man roster and have released him, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. He’s now a free agent and can sign with any club.

MAY 17: Veteran southpaw Neal Cotts has exercised an opt-out clause in his deal with the Angels, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). That provision came with a May 15 date, so the team’s clock on deciding whether or not to add him to the active roster has already begun to run.

It’s not clear whether today represents the deadline for the Halos to act on Cotts, but such provisions typically have a 48-hour window. With numerous other pitching moves in the works for the organization — including a minor league deal for David Huff earlier today — it remains unclear whether he fits at the major league level.

Cotts, 36, joined the Angels on a minor league deal after he was released by the Astros late in the spring. He’s since thrown 13 2/3 innings at Triple-A, posting a 3.29 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9.

Cotts has generally been a sturdy option since re-emerging from a long layoff back in 2013 with the Rangers. Since that time, he’s run up a 3.03 ERA over 187 MLB frames, with 186 strikeouts against 63 walks.

Geovany Soto Out Four To Six Weeks Due To Torn Meniscus

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Angels catcher Geovany Soto will miss the next four to six weeks due to a torn meniscus in his right knee that will require surgery, GM Billy Eppler told reporters, including Pedro Moura of the L.A. Times (links to Twitter). Catching prospect Jett Bandy will join the Angels tonight, Moura adds.

Soto becomes the latest in a seemingly ceaseless cavalcade of injuries for the Angels, who currently have Garrett Richards, Andrew Heaney, C.J. Wilson, Andrelton Simmons, Huston Street, Daniel Nava, Craig Gentry, Cory Rasmus and Cliff Pennington on the Major League disabled list. That list doesn’t include left-hander Tyler Skaggs, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery but has had some recent setbacks at the Triple-A level.

Soto, 33, has hit well in limited action with the Halos this season, batting .283/.338/.483 with three homers in 67 trips to the plate. He signed a one-year, $2.8MM contract with the Angels this offseason. With Soto on the shelf, Bandy will pair with 25-year-old Carlos Perez behind the plate to comprise the Angels’ primary catching tandem. Bandy made his big league debut for the Angels in 2015 but received just two plate appearances in his brief promotion to the Majors. The former 31st-round pick rated 23rd (MLB.com) and 27th (Baseball America) in a weak Angels farm system heading into the season. He’s off to a .274/.314/.411 start with a pair of homers at Triple-A Salt Lake this season, and he’s caught 13 of 27 potential base thieves (48 percent). Bandy has halted 36 percent of stolen base attempts over the course of six minor league seasons.

Royals Designate Jose Martinez For Assignment

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The Royals have designated outfielder Jose Martinez for assignment and optioned Christian Colon to Triple-A Omaha, tweets Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. The pair of moves creates space on the 40-man and 25-man rosters for infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield, whose contract has been selected from Omaha.

Martinez, 27, got some consideration for a big league spot on the heels of an otherworldly 2015 season in which he won the Pacific Coast League batting title and posted an overall slash line of .384/.461/.563 with 10 homers in 396 plate appearances last season. However, he had a poor Spring Training and has seen his production come back down to Earth in 2016, hitting .298/.356/.433 through his first 160 plate appearances. That monster campaign restored some of the former White Sox farmhand’s prospect status, with Baseball America rating him 24th in Kansas City’s minor league system this offseason. BA’s scouting report describes Martinez’s swing as a “smooth, flat, line-drive swing” that could generate 10 to 12 homers per season but isn’t likely to yield significant power contributions. They also graded him as an average defender in the outfield corners.

Merrifield, also 27, doesn’t rank among the organization’s top 30 prospects but is enjoying a solid campaign at Triple-A himself and brings some defensive versatility (and an excellent name) to the table. He’s hitting .278/.342/.458 with five homers and 16 steals through just 163 plate appearances this season. He’s appeared at first base, second base, third base and all three outfield spots in 2016, though the bulk of his work in the minors has come at second base and in left field (more than 2000 innings at each position). MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets that manager Ned Yost and many in the front office talked Merrifield up as a perfect 25th man for the roster this Spring Training, so he’s clearly had the eye of Royals decision-makers for awhile, and his strong start to the season will now be rewarded with his first promotion to the Majors.

Padres Acquire Jabari Blash From Mariners

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3:47pm: Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune tweets that the Mariners will receive cash instead of a PTBNL in the deal.

3:06pm: The Padres have struck a deal to acquire outfielder Jabari Blash from the Mariners, per an announcement from Seattle. A player to be named later or cash will return to the M’s in the deal.

Blash, of course, has spent much of the year playing at the major league level for the Friars after being selected in the winter’s Rule 5 draft. San Diego designated him for assignment recently, and Blash evidently cleared waivers and was offered back to his original organization — the Mariners, who had declined to protect him in the offseason by adding him to their 40-man.

Clearly, the Padres are more enamored of Blash’s future prospects than is his former team. The 26-year-old will head to Triple-A to attempt to refine his hitting, which wasn’t possible when San Diego controlled his Rule 5 rights.

Blash struggled to a .120/.241/.160 batting line with 13 strikeouts in his first 29 trips to the plate in the majors. But he showed some promise last year in the upper minors compiling a .271/.370/.576 slash in 476 plate appearances in the upper minors.

Marlins Claim Cody Hall From Diamondbacks

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The Marlins announced that they’ve claimed right-hander Cody Hall off waivers from the D-backs and optioned him to Triple-A New Orleans. Arizona had designated the 28-year-old Hall for assignment over the weekend.

Hall’s stay with the Diamondbacks was rather brief, as he was picked up from the Giants just this past offseason, having spent the entirety of his career until that point with San Francisco. The former 19th-round draft pick had a solid season with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate last year, posting a 3.46 ERA in 67 2/3 innings, and he made his MLB debut in 2015 as well, working 8 1/3 innings out of the Giants’ bullpen. However, he’s struggled with the D-backs’ Triple-A club in Reno, surrendering 13 runs on 23 hits and seven walks with 10 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings of work.

West Notes: Henderson Alvarez, Yadier Alvarez, Tolleson, Dyson

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The MRI results on the shoulder of Athletics righty Henderson Alvarez were inconclusive, manager Bob Melvin told reports, including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links). They’ll be sent for a closer look by Dr. James Andrews, who performed his surgery. As things stand, then, it’s largely unknown when Alvarez will be able to re-start his rehab process and begin working back toward the big league hill.

Here are a few more notes from out west:

  • Dodgers righty Yadier Alvarez is looking good at extended Spring Training, per a recent scouting report from new Fangraphs prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen. The review was glowing, with Longenhagen calling Alvarez one of the game’s most exciting pitching prospects on the basis of his athleticism, smooth mechanics, and high-octane stuff. You’ll want to give the write-up a full read for all the details, but it sounds as if the Dodgers have reason to like their big investment.
  • The Rangers have formally moved Shawn Tolleson out of the closer role after his rough outing last night, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram was among those to report (Twitter links) Tolleson currently owns a 9.20 ERA and has blown three of his last five save opportunities.
  • It appears that Sam Dyson will be first in line to take a shot at locking down the 9th inning for the Rangers, though it’s unclear how long a leash he’ll have. He’s worked to a 1.43 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9 in 50 1/3 innings for the Rangers since coming over rather quietly in a trade last summer. With the chance to pad his resume with some saves, he could be in line for a nice payday this winter, when he’ll likely qualify for Super Two status after entering the season with 1.142 years of service on his ledger.

AL East Notes: Ortiz, HanRam, Smith, Matusz, Morales

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Red Sox slugger David Ortiz sat down for an interesting interview with Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. His retirement tour has turned into a show of force, as the 40-year-old entered the day with a .311/.395/.674 slash that places him among the game’s most productive bats. He maintains that he’s “happy with the decision” to call it quits, citing wear and tear and family considerations, though he did drop an intriguing note to Passan. “Like I said, I’m good with the decision that I made right now,” said Ortiz. “But would you leave $25 million on the table? I don’t want nobody to offer me that.” Before leaping to conclusions, it’s worth recalling that Boston has a club option that could reach a maximum of $16MM in value, but it’s certainly hard to ignore the fact that Ortiz still seems as capable as ever of doing damage at the plate.

Here’s more from the AL East:

  • Thus far in 2016, everything has come together for Hanley Ramirez in his second season with the Red Sox, as Rob Bradford of WEEI.com writes. His offensive production has caught up with the good vibes that his sunny attitude and smooth transition to first had already produced. At this point, the remaining $44MM on his contract looks like a reasonable investment, with Ramirez looking like an option at first and/or as a replacement for the outgoing Ortiz in the DH slot.
  • Red Sox reliever Carson Smith has been slowed by ongoing elbow soreness, as Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald was among those to report on Twitter. That’s limited his availability recently, and has made another DL stint a possibility. As Alex Speier of the Boston Globe explores, the Boston pen hasn’t had quite the late-inning pop that was expected, particularly given Smith’s limitations and evidence of decline in Koji Uehara. The unit as a whole has still been plenty solid, but it’s still an area to watch for an organization that obviously hopes to make a deep run in 2016.
  • The Orioles face a tough call on lefty Brian Matusz, writes Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com. He’s been hit hard after missing time early due to injury, giving up a lethal combination of free passes and home runs, though he says he’s healthy now. Connolly ticks through the options, which include simply placing Matusz on outright waivers. His $3.9MM salary is sure to clear, but the 29-year-old could keep his guarantee and reject an assignment. But unless a DL opportunity presents itself, Baltimore will otherwise be resigned to giving him a chance to pitch through his difficulties.
  • Though he’s spent almost the entirety of the season on the DL, Franklin Morales is now guaranteed $2MM from the Blue Jays, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca explains in a tweet. The southpaw’s advance consent date has passed without action, so Toronto can no longer avoid the rest of the contract by cutting him loose.

Injury Notes: Alvarez, d’Arnaud, E-Rod, Angels, Minor, DeSclafani, Morrow

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Athletics right-hander Henderson Alvarez underwent an MRI in his shoulder yesterday, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. The early belief is that Alvarez has a minor shoulder strain, which Slusser notes is not necessarily unusual in rehabs from this type of shoulder surgery, nor would it be considered a significant setback. Alvarez was said to be targeting a mid-May return to a big league mound, but the minor setback, at the very least, seems likely to push back that timeline.

Here are some more injury notes from around the game:

  • There’s no indication that Travis d’Arnaud is close to a return to the Mets, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. At this time, d’Arnaud isn’t even with the team but has traveled back to his L.A. home to work out his ailing shoulder with a personal trainer. The oft-injured 27-year-old has played in just 13 games for the Mets this season. In his absence, Kevin Plawecki will get his chance to prove that he can be considered an everyday option behind the dish.
  • Likewise, the Red Sox are facing significant uncertainty with southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez, as John Tomase of WEEI.com reports. He’s still experiencing knee soreness, with diminished velocity seemingly resulting, and will miss his next scheduled rehab start. Hopes had been that the youngster would be back in the majors by this point, but instead he’ll throw a bullpen session later this week while the team assesses next steps. Boston is understandably proceeding with caution, lest the knee problem worsen or lead to some other injury. Rodriguez’s current rehab stint has been halted, giving the organization the option of re-starting another 30-day clock, though that step has yet to be taken.
  • The Angels’ bad luck in the injury department has shown no signs of abating, as the team has placed outfielder Daniel Nava and reliever Cory Rasmus on the 15-day DL. As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes, both players are dealing with groin strains, though neither is expected to be out for much more than the minimum.
  • Royals lefty Mike Minor is headed to Triple-A and hopes to be ready for the majors by early June, according to Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link). The 28-year-old, who is Kansas City’s latest pitching injury reclamation project, had allowed three earned runs — on five hits and five walks, with a dozen punchouts — in 7 2/3 innings over two starts at Double-A.
  • There’s some cautious optimism on Reds righty Anthony DeSclafani, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes. He felt good in a 40-pitch pen session yesterday, and says that he believes his oblique issue may now be behind him. Next steps remain to be determined, and the club will be careful after a previous rehab effort resulted in a setback, but hopes are that DeSclafani can begin making his way back toward the major league rotation in earnest.
  • News was less positive on some recovering Padres, as MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell writes that righty Brandon Morrow and infielder Cory Spangenberg have both suffered setbacks. Morrow is experiencing fatigue in his surgically repaired shoulder, and it’s not clear when he’ll be able to resume throwing. That could result in player and team agreeing to push back his current June 1 opt-out date, per the report. Spangenberg, meanwhile, tweaked his injured left quad and will need to go back to the rest and strengthening regimen that he had hoped to be done with by this point.
  • Key Padres right-hander Tyson Ross is still not throwing, Cassavell adds, but he’s at least been cleared for full-blown strength work on his own injured shoulder. “You’ve basically got to lay a good foundation first, and that’s what we were doing,” Ross said. “It’s just kind of limited ranges, and making sure everything is strong and stable. And then progressing on up the chain from there. Things have been going great.”

Korea’s Samsung Lions Acquire Arnold Leon

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The Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization have acquired right-hander Arnold Leon. Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net noted on Twitter that a move was in the works, and it’s since been announced by the team (via Yonhap News).

Leon, 27, had been pitching for the Blue Jays’ organization, which acquired him from the A’s for cash over the winter. He provided Oakland with 26 2/3 frames of 4.39 ERA ball last year, and had surrendered two earned runs in 2 1/3 MLB innings in 2016. Since being outrighted off of the 40-man, Leon has thrived in limited action at Triple-A Buffalo, where he’s allowed just three earned in a dozen frames with 16 strikeouts against just two walks.

It’s not clear what kind of release fee was negotiated, but it seems likely that Toronto received some compensation. Leon, meanwhile, will earn $500K in Korea, which he’s only have been able to take down in the majors if he stayed up all year. He is said to be Samsung’s replacement for Collin Balester, who was released after early struggles.

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