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Archives for February 2021

Indians Sign Billy Hamilton

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FEB. 12: Hamilton will make a $1MM salary and up to $950K in incentives if he gets to the majors, per Heyman.

FEB. 11: The Indians are nearing a contract with free-agent outfielder Billy Hamilton, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Daniel Alvarez Montes of El ExtraBase first reported the news, noting it’s a minor league contract.

It’s back to the state of Ohio for Hamilton, who played with the Reds from 2013-18. Although he has never been any kind of offensive threat, Hamilton had his best seasons in Cincinnati on the strength of a superlative combination of defense and base running. Hamilton hit a meager .245/.293/.333 in 2,736 plate appearances as a Red, but he succeeded on 277 of 340 stolen base tries (81 percent) and ranked in the top 10 of big league outfielders in Defensive Runs Saved (65) and Ultimate Zone Rating (45.5).

The 30-year-old played the previous two seasons with four different teams (Royals, Braves, Cubs and Mets), but his offensive numbers got even worse. Hamilton batted an ugly .210/.278/.270 with 28 steals over 389 PA, though he’ll nevertheless get an opportunity to earn a spot in a Cleveland outfield that finished last in the AL in fWAR (minus-0.9) in 2020. Hamilton joins Ben Gamel as the second minor league outfield addition of Thursday for the Indians.

Diamondbacks Sign Asdrubal Cabrera

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The Diamondbacks have signed infielder Asdrubal Cabrera to a one-year, $1.75MM contract with $1.05MM in incentives, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

Cabrera has played for six teams since his career began with Cleveland in 2007, and he spent parts of the previous two years with the Nationals. While he performed quite well with the Nats during their World Series-winning campaign in 2019, hitting .323/.404/.565 in 146 plate appearances, Cabrera put together a less imposing line of .242/.305/.447 over 213 PA last season. That isn’t far from the switch-hitting 35-year-old’s lifetime offensive output, though, as he has batted .268/.330/.426 across 7,046 trips to the plate.

Cabrera has divided the majority of his career among the middle infield and third base, though he didn’t play any shortstop between 2019-20. Unless that changes, he’ll be a fallback option behind Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte and third baseman Eduardo Escobar.

Yankees Release Ben Heller

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FEB. 12: The Yankees announced that they have released Heller.

FEB. 10: The Yankees have designated right-handed reliever Ben Heller for assignment, according to a club announcement. The move clears roster space for right-hander Darren O’Day, whose previously reported deal with the Yankees has now been officially announced.

Originally acquired from the Indians alongside Clint Frazier and Justus Sheffield in the Andrew Miller blockbuster, the now-29-year-old Heller has seen sparing action with the Yankees in four seasons. Injuries have persistently dogged Heller, dealt with bone spurs early in 2018 before eventually learning he’d require Tommy John surgery. Those injuries knocked out his entire ’18 campaign and most of his ’19 season as well. He returned in 2020, but a nerve issue in his right biceps limited him to just six innings this past season.

Heller has pitched in parts of four seasons with the Yankees — 2016-17 and 2019-20 — but has totaled just 31 1/3 innings at the MLB level because of that broad array of arm troubles. Despite his minimal workload, he’s somewhat remarkably accrued more than three years of MLB service, albeit with most of that time coming on the 60-day injured list.

It has to be pointed out that Heller has been quietly effective in those 31 1/3 frames, working to a 2.59 ERA. However, his 21.7 percent strikeout rate and 10.9 percent walk rate are both worse than the league average, which has contributed to a less-bullish 4.20 SIERA mark.

Heller, who owns a 2.45 ERA and 32.5 percent strikeout rate in 99 Triple-A innings, still has a minor league option remaining, which could make him attractive to other clubs in need of bullpen depth. The Yankees will have a week to trade Heller, place him on outright waivers or release him.

Red Sox Designate Chris Mazza

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The Red Sox have designated right-hander Chris Mazza for assignment, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. They did so in order to make room for the re-signing of lefty Martin Perez.

Mazza joined the Red Sox in late 2019 as a waiver claim from the Mets, and he became a regular in Boston’s staff last season. The 31-year-old finished fifth among Red Sox pitchers in innings (30), though he was unable to establish himself during that time. Mazza posted a 4.80 ERA/4.97 SIERA with subpar strikeout (21.3) and walk (11.0) percentages. He does, however, have another option left and a good track record in the minors, where he has pitched to a 3.21 ERA in 507 2/3 frames.

Tigers Designate John Schreiber For Assignment

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The Tigers announced that they have designated right-hander John Schreiber for assignment to make room for newly signed outfielder Nomar Mazara.

Schreiber, a Michigan native whom the Tigers chose in the 15th round of the 2016 draft, came out of their bullpen in each of the previous two seasons. The 26-year-old has totaled 28 2/3 innings in the majors thus far and recorded a 6.28 ERA, though some of his other numbers are far more encouraging. For instance, Schreiber has logged a 3.65 SIERA with strikeout and walk percentages that check in far above average (25.6 and 6.2 percent, respectively).

Schreiber has accrued 59 1/3 innings in Triple-A ball, where he has pitched to an excellent 2.28 ERA and amassed 70 strikeouts against 21 walks. He has three minor league options left, so some other team could take a chance on him in a trade or via waivers in the next week.

Braves Claim Travis Demeritte From Tigers

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The Braves have claimed infielder/outfielder Travis Demeritte off waivers from the Tigers, per announcements from both teams. Atlanta released right-hander Jeremy Walker in a corresponding move.

Demeritte was the 30th overall pick of the Rangers in 2013, but they traded him to the Braves in 2016 for pitchers Lucas Harrell and Dario Alvarez. Demeritte stayed with the Braves until they sent him to the Tigers at the 2019 trade deadline in a deal for reliever Shane Greene. He combined for 219 plate appearances as a Tiger from 2019-20 and batted .217/.264/.323 with three home runs. The Tigers designated the 26-year-old Demeritte for assignment last week. Despite his woes in the bigs, Demeritte’s a .286/.387/.558 hitter in 399 PA in Triple-A with two minor league options remaining, so he could have a legitimate second act with the Braves.

Walker, 25, was a fifth-rounder of the Braves in 2016 who worked his way to the majors in 2019, when he tossed 9 1/3 innings and surrendered just two earned runs on nine hits and four walks (with six strikeouts). Walker impressed at the Double-A and Triple-A levels before then, but he didn’t pitch at all last year because of shoulder problems.

Twins Officially Sign Alex Colome, Designate Ian Hamilton

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The Twins announced that they have officially signed right-handed reliever Alex Colome. To make room for Colome on their 40-man roster, they designated fellow righty Ian Hamilton for assignment.

It was a short stay on the 40-man for Hamilton, whom the Twins claimed from the Phillies via waivers exactly one week ago. Hamilton also spent time with the Mariners earlier in the offseason. He entered the pros as an 11th-round pick of the White Sox in 2016, but they designated him for assignment in September.

Now 25 years of age, Hamilton has thrown 12 innings in the majors and yielded six earned runs on 10 hits with nine strikeouts against seven walks. Hamilton has averaged almost 96 mph on his fastball, though, and has another minor league option remaining. He owns a 4.85 ERA with 48 strikeouts against a meager seven walks in 42 2/3 Triple-A frames.

Marlins To Acquire Dylan Floro

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2:32pm: The Dodgers are also getting righty Kyle Hurt, a fifth-round pick of the Marlins in 2020. Hurt is a California native who pitched at USC. Baseball America wrote before the draft that teams interested in Hurt “see his future as a hard-throwing reliever.”

2:01pm: The Marlins are set to acquire right-handed reliever Dylan Floro from the Dodgers in exchange for lefty Alex Vesia and a prospect, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter). It’s the second bullpen-related trade of the day for the Dodgers, who dealt lefty Adam Kolarek to the A’s in exchange for infielder Sheldon Neuse as part of a four-player trade this morning.

Floro may provide an upgrade to Miami’s bullpen, which was among the worst in the majors a year ago. The 30-year-old, whom the Dodgers acquired in a trade with the Reds in 2018, pitched to a 3.10 ERA/3.68 SIERA with a 22.4 percent strikeout rate and 7.1 percent walk rate in 98 2/3 innings in a Los Angeles uniform. Floro’s 52.7 percent groundball rate during that span was one of the main reasons he was so effective, as he also posted a meager 8.5 percent home run-to-fly ball rate. Floro isn’t eligible for arbitration until after this season, and he’s not due to become a free agent until the end of 2023, so he could be a multiyear piece for Miami.

Vesia, 24, was a 17th-round pick of the Marlins in 2018 who made a 4 1/3-inning major league debut last season and allowed nine earned runs on seven hits and seven walks (with five strikeouts). He does, however, carry a 1.62 ERA with great strikeout and walk rates in 100 innings of work in the minors.

Mets Trade Ali Sanchez To Cardinals

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The Cardinals have acquired catcher Ali Sanchez from the Mets in exchange for cash, per a club announcement. New York had designated Sanchez for assignment this week after adding Jonathan Villar on a big league deal. The Cardinals are now up to 39 players on their 40-man roster.

Sanchez, 24, made his MLB debut with the Mets in 2020, though he only tallied 10 plate appearances, going 1-for-9 in that time. He’s regarded as an above-average defensive catcher with solid bat-to-ball skills but minimal power. He split the 2019 season between Double-A and Triple-A, batting a combined .261/.326/.322 with a homer and 17 doubles. That production closely mirrors his tepid .259/.317/.331 slash in parts of six minor league seasons, though it should be noted that Sanchez has only fanned in 14.2 percent of his 1484 minor league plate appearances.

Sanchez threw out 44 percent of attempted base thieves against him in his last minor league season (2019) and boasts an even better 46 percent mark in his minor league career. He’s a potential backup option for Yadier Molina if the Cards want to give Andrew Knizner regular at-bats in Triple-A rather than have him sit on the big league bench and start once per week or so.

Dodgers, Athletics Swap Kolarek For Neuse In Four-Player Trade

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11:45am: The two teams have announced the trade.

11:02am: The Athletics and Dodgers are in agreement on a trade that’ll sent lefty Adam Kolarek and minor league outfielder Cody Thomas from L.A. to Oakland in exchange for infielder Sheldon Neuse and minor league righty Gus Varland, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter).

Adam Kolarek | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Kolarek, 32, will be an immediate boost to an Oakland bullpen that has lost Liam Hendriks and Joakim Soria this winter and could yet lose Yusmeiro Petit (still a free agent) as well. Kolarek has emerged a ground-ball specialist capable of utterly overwhelming left-handed hitters in recent years, pitching to a combined 3.07 ERA and 3.61 SIERA with a below-average 17.4 percent strikeout rate but strong walk (5.7) and ground-ball (63.3) percentages. He’s controllable for four seasons and won’t be eligible for arbitration until next winter, so he’s a cost-efficient add for an A’s team that has aggressively slashed payroll this winter while eschewing any real expenditures.

The near-term piece headed back to L.A. is the 26-year-old Neuse, who made his MLB debut with Oakland in 2019 but didn’t appear in the Majors this past season. Neuse saw sparing action in his brief debut, taking 61 trips to the plate and batting .250/.295/.304 with a 31 percent strikeout rate. It wasn’t a particularly encouraging debut, but Neuse posted big numbers in his last season of Triple-A ball, hitting .317/.389/.550 with 27 big flies — good for a 126 wRC+.

Sheldon Neuse | Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

Neuse has seen some time at second base, but his best position is probably third base, which left him blocked by Matt Chapman in Oakland. His presence gives the Dodgers something of a fallback option in the event that Justin Turner ultimately decides to sign elsewhere, but it’s unlikely that Neuse’s acquisition in any way closes the door on a reunion with Turner. Neuse has a pair of minor league options remaining, making him the type of depth the Dodgers tend to stockpile: a formerly high draft pick who’s a bit old to be a prospect now but has some defensive versatility and a solid upper-minors track record at the plate.

Turning to the minor league pieces in the swap, the A’s will acquire Thomas, a 26-year-old corner outfielder with plenty of power but some swing-and-miss tendencies that limit his overall upside t the plate. The former 13th-round pick hit .236/.308/.443 (108 wRC+) in a Double-A environment that proved to be a hitters’ wasteland in 2019 and batted .285/.355/.497 a year prior in Class-A Advanced.

Thomas went unselected in this year’s Rule 5 Draft, illustrating that he’s far from a premium prospect, but he’s a near-MLB bat with a career .219 ISO (slugging minus average) in the minors. It’s conceivable that he could emerge as a big league option in 2021-22.

Varland, 24, was the Athletics’ fourth-round pick back in 2018 and still has just 64 1/3 professional innings under his belt. He didn’t rank prominently among Oakland’s top prospects, though Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs gives him the potential for an above-average heater and slider — albeit with work to do in terms of control and improvement of a third pitch. Varland pitched just 26 1/3 innings at the Class-A Advanced level in 2019, working to a 2.39 ERA and 4.00 FIP with a 27-to-8 K/BB ratio and 37 percent ground-ball rate.

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