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Red Sox Claim Erik Kratz Off Waivers

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12:56pm: The Red Sox announced that they have claimed Kratz off waivers.  Kratz will provide the team with depth now that Blake Swihart is listed as day-to-day with a sprained left foot.

12:28pm: Erik Kratz has been claimed off waivers by an unknown team, MLBTR has learned.  The catcher was designated for assignment by the Royals on June 11th.

The claiming team is currently unknown, but the Mets and Red Sox both saw catchers leave the game with injury yesterday.  The Mets, however, already have depth behind the plate in Kevin Plawecki and Anthony Recker, so the Red Sox might be the more probable destination.

Most of Kratz’s career has been spent with the Phillies, but he’s also had brief stints in Toronto and Kansas City. All told, Kratz has shown nice power but low batting average and on-base capabilities, as evidenced by a .217/.270/.400 batting line. He’s also a skilled pitch-framer, however, and he’s thrown out 32 percent of attempted base-stealers in his big league career.

Kratz was scheduled to return from the 15-day disabled list earlier this month but was designated for assignment before he could be called back into action for KC.  Kratz would have served as Salvador Perez’s backup in Kansas City had he stayed on board, but that job has gone to Drew Butera instead.

Cafardo On Sale, Ramirez, Uehara, Papelbon

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In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe suggests ten steps to help fix the Red Sox.  The first item on the list is one that has been discussed quite a bit – Boston’s need for a true ace in the rotation.  Beyond that, Cafardo would like to see the Sox trade Clay Buchholz, focus on acquiring players who can thrive in their environment, and hire an executive to oversee and question the moves of GM Ben Cherington.   Here’s a look at some of the highlights from Cafardo’s Sunday offering..

  • White Sox left-hander Chris Sale is on a strikeout tear and teams would surely like to add him this summer.  However, team sources tell Cafardo that Sale is not available.  Even though the White Sox are in last place, they see him as the cornerstone of their franchise.  Sale, 26, has a 2.74 ERA with 12.1 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 through 13 starts this season.
  • There have been conflicting reports on the subject, but Cafardo hears that the Mets have made inquiries on Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez.  Ramirez, who turns 37 this week, has hit just .220/.256/.405 in 211 plate appearances this season.  However, some feel that a move to a contending club could get him back on track.  Cafardo also writes that it wouldn’t be surprising if the Giants or Padres got in the mix on the veteran.
  • Teams are watching Red Sox closer Koji Uehara and monitoring him to make sure that he’s free of serious injury concerns.  At the same time, his $9MM salary for next season is a deterrent for rival teams.   “There’s always going to be a holding of your breath to commit to him, but he’s still very good. Boston would have to pick up some of the salary. But I think teams will definitely inquire and make a push for him,” one AL evaluator told Cafardo.
  • Jonathan Papelbon would seem to be a great fit for the the Blue Jays, but money continues to be an issue for Toronto.  The Phillies could probably assume a lot of Papelbon’s deal for this year and some of the $13MM vesting option for 2016, but the sense is that Toronto wants to go even cheaper.  Also, they don’t want to give up youngster Daniel Norris to find their late-inning solution.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: A’s, Asche, Orioles

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On this date in 1998, Michael Bouton penned an open letter to the Yankees in the New York Times, asking the franchise to reconsider their ban on his father, Jim Bouton.  As Leo Panetta of NationalPastime.com writes, the Father’s Day letter worked when Bouton was welcomed back to Yankee Stadium the following month for Old Timers’ Day.  Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere..

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

Braves Sign First Round Pick Mike Soroka

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The Braves have reached agreement with first-round choice Mike Soroka, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com (on Twitter).  Soroka will receive about $1.97MM, the full value of his slot.

Atlanta selected the Canadian right-hander with the No. 28 overall pick in the draft.  Callis describes Soroka as having solid athleticism with the potential to develop three solid pitches.  The high schooler already boasts a 94 mph fastball, though Baseball America lists his above-average curveball as his best pitch as this time.  BA noted that there is some concern about his across-body finish to his arm action, but he has no history of arm problems.

Soroka was committed to play for Cal, but the lure of the major leagues ultimately won out.  The 6’5″ hurler was rated No. 90 in his class by BA, 67th by Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs, 60th by MLB.com (Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis), and 61st by Keith Law of ESPN.com.  Soroka, who turns 18 in August, was one of the youngest players in this year’s class, as Teddy Cahill of BA recently wrote.

Orioles To Sign Ryan Mountcastle

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The Orioles have reached agreement on a deal with first-round choice Ryan Mountcastle, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com (on Twitter).  Mountcastle’s deal is slightly below slot as he’ll make $1.3MM versus the suggested ~$1.71MM.  He was advised and is now represented by agent Tripper Johnson of Sosnick Cobbe & Karon.

Mountcastle, a Florida native, played shortstop in high school but projects as a third baseman, according to Callis.  The youngster boasts solid bat speed to go with the strong arm necessary for playing the third base position.  The Orioles received the pick with which they selected Mountcastle as compensation for the loss of Nelson Cruz to free agency.

Mountcastle ranked as the draft’s No. 108 prospect in the eyes of Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel, 110th on the Top 200 compiled by Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, and 122nd on Baseball America’s Top 500.

Baseball America’s scouting report of Mountcastle credited him for having above-average power and speculated that his defensive shortcomings could result in him playing left field.  McDaniel feels he’ll end up in left as well, giving him at least average tools across the board with the exception of in-game power, where he’ll be more fringe-average.  Mayo and Callis note that the aforementioned bat speed yields “elite” exit velocity when Mountcastle squares up on a ball.

MLBTR Originals

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A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR the last seven days:

  • On this week’s installment of the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, host Jeff Todd spoke with right-hander Barry Enright about his journey through the game, which took him to the big leagues and has most recently brought him to the Mexican League’s Tijuana Toros.  Then, Jeff checked in with Joe Sheehan of Sports Illustrated and the Joe Sheehan Newsletter to talk about the Red Sox and more.  A new episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast will be released every Thursday and can be accessed on iTunes, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.
  • Earlier today, MLBTR was the first to report that Jo-Jo Reyes signed a minor league deal with the Angels.  Reyes, who was named an All-Star in the Mexican League two weeks ago, will report to Triple-A Salt Lake.  Reyes aims to return to the majors for the first time since 2011.
  • Prior to the start of the draft on Monday, Steve Adams put together a comprehensive primer to get fans up to speed.
  • Hey, sabermetricians!  MLBTR is looking for someone to spearhead a paid statistical research project.  Click here for details.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Taillon, Orioles, Red Sox

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On this date in 2002, history was made as there was no designated hitter used in a full slate of games for the first time since 1972, as Leo Panetta of National Pastime writes.  That’s because that day saw 14 inter-league contests all played in National League parks. Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere..

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

Dodgers Notes: Seager, Rollins, Greinke

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While some Yankees fans are licking their chops over the prospect of Bryce Harper coming to the Bronx after the 2018 season,  Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times believes that the Dodgers have a better chance to sign the outfielder.  Of course, other teams, including the incumbent Nationals, will have something to say about all of that.  Here’s today’s look at the Dodgers..

  • Dodgers shortstop Jimmy Rollins is struggling at the plate but that doesn’t mean that we’ll be seeing top prospect Corey Seager right away, Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles writes.  Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the team will promote Seager when he is ready, not because Rollins is underperforming.  “We feel like he’s in a really good place to be a really good major league player for a long time, but when that is will be determined by when he’s ready to do it, when we feel like it will put him in the best position to be as good as he can be as quickly as he can be,” Friedman said.   Seager was rated as the No. 5 prospect in the country heading into the 2015 season by Baseball America.  All of the other prospects ranked ahead of Seager have been promoted already.
  • The Dodgers aren’t doing much to entice Zack Greinke to stay, Mark Saxon of ESPN.com writes.  Greinke has been vocal about his lack of run support this season as he continues to lose despite strong pitching.  Greinke, of course, has the right to opt out of his contract following this season.  If he doesn’t opt out, Greinke will be in line to earn $78MM over the remaining three years. Through 13 starts this season, the 31-year-old owns a 1.95 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9.
  • The Dodgers are eschewing traditional batting statistics to try and ascertain the true value of hitters, as Pedro Moura of the Orange County Register writes.   For example, outfielder Scott Schebler appeared to be struggling early on in the year with Triple-A Oklahoma.  However, new Dodgers director of player development Gabe  Kapler presented Schebler a pack of data showing him that he wasn’t so much struggling as he was getting unlucky.  Several other players who spoke with Moura confirmed that the Dodgers aren’t getting hung up on batting average as they’re focusing more on the “real indicators” of performance.

Giants Scouting Reds’ Mike Leake

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Over the weekend, we learned that Giants executives Brian Sabean and Lee Elder were on hand at Wrigley to watch the Reds take on the Cubs, ostensibly to take a closer look at Reds starter Johnny Cueto.  It turns out that they stayed in Chicago on Saturday night too in order to scout fellow Reds starter Mike Leake, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links).

The Giants saw Leake give up five hits and three earned runs with one strikeout over the course of five innings.  It wasn’t Leake’s best start of the season, but the right-hander has been pretty decent on the whole, pitching to a 4.35 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 13 starts this season.  The 27-year-old had even stronger numbers prior to this year.  From 2010 to 2014, Leake posted a 3.92 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9.

The Reds are staring at a sizable 12.5 game gap between them and the first place Cardinals, leading many to speculate that they will be sellers in July.  Cueto and even Aroldis Chapman have been mentioned in trade rumors, but Leake could also make sense for a contending team such as the Giants.

One AL scout recently told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that Leake should be able to “pitch in either league with no problem.”  That same scout speculated that there could be more bites on Leake than any other hurler at the deadline, but that remains to be seen.  Leake is earning $9.775MM this year and will be eligible for free agency after the season, making him a possibility for a short-term rental or more.  The Reds did not try to sign Leake to an extension this offseason and that reportedly did not sit well with the pitcher.

Angels Sign Jo-Jo Reyes

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The Angels have signed Jo-Jo Reyes, a source tells MLBTR.  The veteran left-hander will report to Triple-A Salt Lake.

Reyes, 30, was previously with Campeche of the Mexican League and was named an All-Star there roughly two weeks ago.  Reyes last appeared in the big leagues in 2011 and will work towards reaching the majors once again in 2015.  In that 2011 season, Reyes pitched to a 5.57 ERA in 25 starts and four relief appearances for the Blue Jays and Orioles.  He posted a 5.6 K/9 rate versus a 3.1 BB/9.

He’s also quite familiar with the Triple-A level, having spent parts of seven seasons there.  Reyes owns a 3.68 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in Triple-A for multiple teams.

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