The Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization have inked right-hander Drew Gagnon to a $650K contract with a $200K signing bonus, Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net reports. The Tigers also re-signed outfielder Preston Tucker on a $550K salary with a $300K bonus. The Mets released the 29-year-old Gagnon in late November, which came after a couple brief but rough seasons in New York. Gagnon pitched to a 7.32 ERA across a combined 35 2/3 innings as a Met, but he did have a productive 2019 at the Triple-A level. Tucker, also 29, didn’t hit much in major league stints with the Astros, Braves or Reds, though he performed well after leaving the White Sox’s Triple-A affiliate last May to head to Korea. In his first year as a Tiger, Tucker batted .311/.381/.479 with nine home runs in 399 plate appearances.
Now for the latest minor moves from the bigs…
- The Angels announced that right-hander Jose Rodriguez cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. The move leaves the Angels with one open spot on their 40-man roster. The 24-year-old Rodriguez made his major league debut in 2019, and though he managed a 2.75 ERA during that 19 2/3-inning span, he also totaled almost as many walks (11) as strikeouts (13). Furthermore, Rodriguez had difficulty across 44 1/3 frames at the Triple-A level, where he stumbled to a 6.29 ERA with 9.14 K/9 and 4.47 BB/9.
- In another Angels transaction, the club signed lefty Hoby Milner to a minor league contract, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com tweets. While Milner spent the previous two seasons with the Rays, the ex-Phillie didn’t log much major league time in either campaign. But the 28-year-old amassed plenty of impressive innings last season as a member of Triple-A Durham, with which he worked to a 3.06 ERA and recorded 12.99 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9 over 61 2/3 frames.
- The Marlins have picked up infielder Gosuke Katoh on a minors deal, Wells Dusenbury of the Sun Sentinel writes. His agreement comes with an invitation to big league spring training. Notably, there are now members of the Miami front office who were in New York’s FO when the Yankees picked Katoh in the second round of the 2013 draft. Evidenced in part by his high selection (No. 66), Katoh was once a highly promising prospect. While Katoh hasn’t made it to the majors since then, the 25-year-old did have a nice season in 2019. In his first action at the Triple-A level, Katoh slashed .279/.382/.443 with 11 homers and eight steals in 308 PA.
- The Mets have signed catcher David Rodriguez to a minors pact with an invitation to MLB camp, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Rodriguez, 23, spent his first seven professional seasons in the Rays’ system, making it to the Double-A level in each of the past two years. He hit .225/.303/.366 with seven homers over 295 PA in 2019.
So the Mets have a couple pitchers, Gagnon and Flexen, move to the KBO? Maybe Sewald and Rhame can join them?
Thank you!
Triple-A Salt Lake! Triple-A Salt Lake. Triple-A Salt lake… yeah… Triple-A salt lake.
So much for high ranked prospects…..
A lot of people seem to think high ranked prospects come with guarantees, like mattress tags or toasters.
Go suck a toe!!!! I had forgotten about him. Gad to see he is still trying to live his dream.
The insane price paying Cole–you will be able to sign 3 mid-level SP.. Let the Yankees choke coughing up $300 million dollars. Too many pitchers have blew up their pitching arm/elbow so they require TJ Surgery.
Those are interesting issues, although these days TJS is so well-understood that most pitchers come all the way back, meaning the only real cost to the signing team is the time missed. Cole unlike Strasburg hasn’t had TJS yet, so he’s got to be a far, far better choice if he signs for anything like what Stras got.
The Yankees are in that rarified air where getting the best starter available and among the best in the game significantly increases their chances of winning the WS. Even for something like 8/280m it makes a lot of sense for them.
The Rangers may have figured out the best strategy–for mid-market teams. Each of the last three offseasons they’ve offered 3/30m to the guy they’ve judged to be the best mid-rotation pitcher on the market, and struck gold.
This year it’s Kyle Gibson. You can have 8 of him for the cost of a Strasburg!
David Rodriguez? Well, you need an A-ball catcher, otherwise the baseball rolls right to the backstop.