Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

14 Former Big Leaguers Hitting Well On Minor-League Deals

By | at

This time of year, plenty of teams have a need for gap-filling players — some of whom can end up with more expansive opportunities. Sometimes clubs go with younger options, but there’s often good reason to go with a familiar player who has already spent ample time at the game’s highest level. Of course, you’ll also prefer a player who is active and performing well against the next-best thing to MLB pitching.

I thought it’d be interesting to round up some hitters who could be considered by their own teams or others over the coming weeks and months. Each of these 14 players has at least two years of MLB service but was forced to settle for a minor-league deal over the offseason. They’re also each turning in better-than-league-average production, though you’ll want to bear in mind that the outwardly gaudy numbers were logged in exceedingly hitter-friendly offensive environments.

Abraham Almonte, OF, Diamondbacks: The journeyman is one of several Arizona outfielders to warrant placement on this list. Indeed, his performance is arguably the most surprising and interesting of all. Almonte isn’t just on a hot run with the stick. He’s showing impeccable plate discipline (43 strikeouts vs. 41 walks) and heretofore unseen power (ten home runs, .279 ISO). Almonte has also swiped eight bags. Not a bad stat line for a center-field capable player.

Brandon Barnes, OF, Indians: Though he has seen just 21 MLB plate appearances since the end of the 2016 season, the former Astros and Rockies outfielder is clamoring for attention right now at Triple-A. He’s off to a .297/.352/.581 slash with 15 homers and five steals through 256 plate appearances. He was similarly impressive last year at the highest level of the minors, albeit in a very different offensive environment.

Andres Blanco, INF, Braves: Blanco’s late-career renaissance with the Phillies faded in 2017, but he has been turning in strong offensive numbers at Triple-A ever since. He didn’t earn a call-up despite a nice showing last year with the Brewers’ top affiliate. This year, Blanco owns a .261/.371/.450 slash with tetn long balls through 294 plate appearances. Perhaps his luck will be different this time around, though it’s tough to see a path up in Atlanta.

Drew Butera, C, Rockies: He has already been up and down to the majors this year, accepting an assignment back at Triple-A after clearing waivers. Nobody really thinks the veteran backstop — 36 in August — is a sudden offensive powerhouse. But hey, it’s a nice to see the glove-first performer enjoy a good run at this late stage of his career. He’s drawing walks at a 16.1% clip against a 17.9% strikeout rate and carries an appealing .311/.429/.467 batting line through 112 plate appearances at Albuquerque.

Danny Espinosa, INF, Mets: Espinosa had his moments over the years with the Nats, but there were times when his plate discipline reached untenable levels. It seemed he was all but done for after a brutal run over the past two years. But the switch-hitting middle infielder is showing new life at Syracuse, where he carries a .256/.340/.462 slash along with 11 home runs and eight steals. He’s striking out at a pleasing 21.1% rate while walking 10.5% of the time.

Ryan Flaherty, INF, Indians: Flaherty never turned the corner for the Orioles and couldn’t sustain a hot start last year with the Braves. Now, he’s turning in solid work at Triple-A with the Cleveland org. His .265/.370/.455 batting line is only good for a 108 wRC+, but that’s a notable enough showing for a guy who was valued a fair bit for his versatile glovework.

Ryan Goins, INF, White Sox: Say it with me, Jays fans: “I told you so!!!” Many of the Toronto faithful were sad to see Goins depart, though he was never much of an offensive performer. Now? He’s walking (12.9%) and slugging (.503) at personal-high rates. He’s now through 224 plate appearances of .314/.404/.503 hitting (133 wRC+) for the Sox’ top affiliate.

Logan Morrison, 1B, Yankees: It’s not clear whether there’s any chance the Yankees can shoehorn LoMo into their roster, but if not he might well end up elsewhere. Morrison is showing some signs that his power stroke could be back; through 120 plate appearances, he has recorded nine long balls and sports a .318 ISO/.564 SLG. He isn’t getting on base as much as one might like, but he isn’t striking out much either.

Chris Parmelee, 1B/OF, Dodgers: He didn’t even appear with an affiliated team last year, but the former Twins and O’s big leaguer is back in action at the Double-A level for the Dodgers. He’s striking out at a 27.2% clips but drawing walks at an even more robust rate (16.0%) and driving the ball (eight home runs, .239 ISO).

Jace Peterson, INF, Orioles: Peterson has appeared with four MLB organizations in his five seasons of action. He’s currently busy tamping down on the strikeouts that crept into his game (13.7% strikeout rate vs 11.9% walk rate) and showing a bit of a power boost (six homers, .178 ISO) at Triple-A with the O’s.

Rob Refsnyder, INF/OF, Reds: Though he couldn’t stick with the Yankees and Rays, Refsnyder is making another bid for the majors after an early season trade sent him from the D-Backs’ top affiliate to that of the Cincinnati organization. Refsnyder is a bit BABIP-reliant (.410) but is obviously making good contact, as he’s through 233 plate appearances of .325/.395/.522 hitting.

Travis Snider, OF, Diamondbacks: It seems hard to believe that Snider is still just 31 years of age and hasn’t sniffed the big league since way back in 2015. He’s edging back on the map now with an interesting return to the affiliated ranks after a year away. Through 232 plate appearances, the left-handed hitter has drawn 39 walks against 49 strikeouts while also managing to put the ball over the fence six times.

Matt Szczur, OF, Diamondbacks: Now a month away from his 30th birthday, Szczur is showing newfound power — albeit in a fairly small sample. Through 112 plate appearances with the Snakes’ top affiliate, he has a whopping .303 isolated power mark and seven dingers.

Ruben Tejada, INF, Mets: The 29-year-old is back with the Mets organization after a fairly memorable career opening there. He hasn’t touched the majors since 2017 but is busy raising eyebrows at Triple-A. Through 109 plate appearances, Tejada has as many walks as strikeouts and a cool .359/.450/.576 batting line.

A few other interesting or notable minor-league hitters who are performing well but did not quite meet all the list’s specifications: Dilson Herrera & Arismendy Alcantara (only 1+ years MLB service);  Mikie Mahtook & Yasmany Tomas (not on minor-league deals); Yadiel Hernandez (signed a minor-league deal out of Cuba but has yet to debut in majors)

Latest On Mitch Haniger

By | at

After undergoing surgery to fix a ruptured testicle earlier this month, Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger hasn’t received clearance for any running or baseball activities, manager Scott Servais told MLB.com’s Greg Johns and other reporters.  While Haniger is doing some light weights work, the injury “was a little more serious than we’d originally anticipated,” Servais said.  “So it may be he’s going to need to play a few games, obviously, before we just fire him out there….we’ll just have to wait and see.”

It now seems as if Haniger may not return until after the All-Star break, as Servais said he had hoped the outfielder could be back in the fold prior to July 7, the last game of the season’s unofficial first half.  “But we just need to be patient,” Servais said, noting that the team will be cautious with Haniger’s recovery process.

Haniger had 15 homers and a .220/.314/.463 slash line over 283 plate appearances at the time of his injury.  While these numbers still represent above-average production, all three slash line statistics were down from Haniger’s superior lines in 2017 and 2018.  A .257 BABIP had something to do with the offensive decline, though Haniger’s strikeouts were way up (a 28.6% strikeout rate that soared above his 23.3% career mark).

While Haniger’s extra swing-and-miss tendencies were certainly a concern, he still would have attracted major attention on the trade front if the Mariners looked to move him at the deadline.  Haniger drew some trade interest over the winter, though while Seattle has been aggressive in moving its higher-priced players, the M’s would have required a big return before dealing a long-term piece like Haniger.  The outfielder is under team control through 2022 and will only reach arbitration eligibility for the first time this winter.

If Haniger won’t return until after the break, however, there might not be enough time before July 31 for him to show that he’s healthy and productive, so teams won’t be willing to give the Mariners the trade package they undoubtedly desire.  Still, it was a longer shot that Haniger would actually be dealt this summer anyway, as the M’s are in no real rush to move him as a cost-controlled player.  The club could easily wait until the winter to revisit Haniger’s market, if the Mariners end up dealing him at all.

Injury Notes: Arenado, Simmons, Ahmed, Montgomery

By | at

After fouling a ball off his left foot today, Nolan Arenado left the game with what the Rockies described as a contusion on his big toe.  The injury occurred in the top of the eighth inning, and the third baseman took his position in the bottom half of the inning before being subbed out in the bottom of the ninth.  The Rockies’ announcement specified that the move was made “for precautionary reasons,” noting that Arenado suffered a similar injury against the Padres last week.  Arenado told the Athletic’s Nick Groke and other reporters that today’s foul ball exacerbated the injury, though x-rays didn’t reveal any damage.  Particularly with Trevor Story hitting the IL earlier today, the absolute last thing the Rockies need is to lose their other superstar infielder to injury, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Arenado misses a game or two to fully heal up.

Some more injury situations from around baseball…

  • There was some thought that Andrelton Simmons could return to the Angels roster this weekend, though manager Brad Ausmus told reporters (including Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times) that Simmons won’t be returning quite so soon after coming up limping during last night’s minor league rehab game.  The shortstop could still potentially rejoin the club sometime next week, Ausmus said, and may not even play any more rehab games.  A Grade 3 ankle sprain put Simmons on the injured list on May 22, so even pushing back a return until next week still represents a very quick recovery from such an injury.
  • Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed suffered what the club termed as a left hand contusion after being hit by a Jeff Hoffman pitch in today’s game.  The injury forced Ahmed out of the game in the fifth inning, though manager Torey Lovullo told MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert and other reporters that x-rays were negative and Ahmed could still potentially play tomorrow.  The defensively-gifted Ahmed has started all but four of Arizona’s games this season, and Ketel Marte would likely move from center field to shortstop if Ahmed did need to miss any time.
  • The Yankees have shut Jordan Montgomery down from throwing for two weeks, manager Aaron Boone told media (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch).  The southpaw felt soreness while throwing a batting practice session as part of his rehab from Tommy John surgery in June 2018, and an MRI revealed inflammation in Montgomery’s throwing shoulder.  Despite the setback, Boone didn’t close the door on Montgomery potentially being able to return to the Yankees at some point this season.

Latest On Athletics’ Extension Talks

By | at

After locking up Khris Davis on a three-year extension in April, the Athletics have continued to look into long-term deals with some of their key players.  The A’s have approached Marcus Semien on multiple occasions about an extension, though Semien tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that there haven’t been any recent talks between the two sides.  Beyond Semien, Slusser notes that the A’s have also explored multi-year contracts with Matt Chapman and Matt Olson.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Oakland’s interest in keeping any of these players, and it seems likely that negotiations will continue on an on-and-off basis for some time to come.  Both Chapman and Olson are controlled through the 2023 season, and while Semien can be a free agent after the 2020 season, it could be that talks with the shortstop simply paused once the season began, as most players prefer to save contractual business for the offseason.

Both Chapman and his agent, Scott Boras, recently discussed the possibility of an extension with Slusser in separate editions of the “A’s Plus” podcast.  Boras, as you might expect, took a slightly more bottom-line approach, noting that discussions with the A’s carry something of an extra hurdle.  “Oakland is in a place where they have a lot of promise that requires definition, that requires sureties that they’re going to have a stadium,” Boras said.  Nonetheless, the agent also said that “We keep our ears open and listen and talk to ownership regularly about” a long-term deal between Chapman and the team.

For his part, Chapman wants a deal that “has to be fair for both sides,” though he reiterated his desire to remain in Oakland over the long term.  “I do want to be a part of this team and I would love to be extended and play a long time….Hopefully, we can get something done,” the third baseman said.

The Davis contract represented Oakland’s first extension in quite some time, as the team focused on something of a rebuild on the fly to amass a new group of talent.  After the 2017 season, however, Billy Beane said the A’s would now start to look at identifying and then extending the true core members of the roster going forward.

Rockies Place Trevor Story On IL

By | at

7:23pm: Story’s injury won’t require surgery, though the shortstop will be out of action for “multiple weeks,” as per The Athletic’s Nick Groke (Twitter link).

1:45pm: Story is headed to the IL, per a club announcement, with Brendan Rodgers up to replace him on the active roster. The full outlook for the injury remains unknown at this time.

7:34am: Rockies shortstop Trevor Story left the team’s win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday with a right thumb injury. He’ll undergo an MRI on Thursday, Nick Groke of The Athletic was among those to report.

X-rays on Story’s thumb were negative Wednesday, but as Groke notes, that doesn’t guarantee he’s out of the woods. Despite a negative X-ray on a left thumb injury in August 2016, Story still had to undergo season-ending surgery on account of a torn UCL in the digit. The Rockies weren’t serious contenders at that point, though, whereas they’re in the hunt for their third straight playoff berth this season. After Wednesday’s win, the club sits 39-34 and tied with the Phillies for the National League’s second wild-card spot.

The Rockies’ success in recent years has come thanks in no small part to Story, who exploded on the scene as a big-hitting defensive standout in 2015. The 26-year-old is off to a .294/.360/.547 start this season with a 120 wRC+, 17 home runs, 12 stolen bases and 2.9 fWAR in 328 plate appearances. Story has also appeared in 72 of Colorado’s 73 games in 2019.

The Rockies replaced Story on Wednesday with Pat Valaika. However, the team could recall Brendan Rodgers or Garrett Hampson from Triple-A Albuquerque if it has to put Story on the injured list.

MLB Draft Signings: 6/20/19

By | at

Here’s a look at the latest noteworthy draft signings, with the newest moves at the top of the post.  Click here for the full list of slot values and draft pool bonuses, and you can find prospect rankings and scouting reports from Baseball America’s Top 500,  Fangraphs’ Top 200, MLB.com’s Top 200, and the Top 50 of ESPN.com’s Keith Law….

  • The Orioles have signed Kyle Stowers, their pick from Competitive Balance Round B, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo reports (Twitter link).  Stowers signed for $884.2K, matching the recommended bonus price for the 71st overall pick.  Stowers received a pretty wide range of evaluations from draft pundits, with Fangraphs (32nd) rating the Stanford outfielder highest, Baseball America (102nd) putting Stowers outside their top 100 and MLB.com (78th) falling in between.  He has a big swing that has led to strikeouts in the past, though Stowers has shown some solid left-handed hitting and power potential.
  • The Angels signed third-rounder Jack Kochanowicz, Mayo tweets.  Kochanowicz signed for a hefty $1.25MM bonus worth almost twice the $637.6K slot price of the 91st overall pick, as the high school right-hander clearly needed a heavy incentive to break his commitment to Virginia.  BA (61st), MLB.com (75th) and Fangraphs (80th) all had Kochanowicz in their top 80, noting his 6’6″ height and potential for three plus pitches as he continues to develop.  This includes adding velocity to a fastball that already clocks in the low 90’s.

Dodgers Place Rich Hill On Injured List

By | at

5:23pm: Speaking to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (Twitter links) and other reporters, Hill said he was told he had a flexor tendon strain.  The southpaw has already received a PRP injection and won’t start throwing for around a month.  Hill didn’t have any firmer details about when he could be able to return to the mound, though he does expect to pitch again this season.

5:05pm: The Dodgers have officially placed Hill on the 10-day injured list with a left forearm strain, as per a team announcement.  Infielder Matt Beaty was optioned to Triple-A, while right-handers Josh Sborz and JT Chargois will join the 25-man roster.

7:14am: Dodgers starter Rich Hill lasted just one inning Wednesday before exiting with what the team called left forearm discomfort. While the southpaw will undergo an MRI on Thursday to determine the severity of the injury, a 10-day IL stint is a certainty, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports.

A forearm injury is ominous for a pitcher because it sometimes serves as a precursor to Tommy John surgery. Hill has already undergone the procedure once, in 2011, though he’s “pretty confident” he won’t require it this time. The 39-year-old revealed that a “very preliminary ultrasound” showed his elbow ligament’s still intact.

Even if Hill has avoided a possible career-ending scenario with this injury, it will still represent the latest IL stint during his recent rebirth. A series of injuries have prevented the journeyman from throwing more than 135 2/3 innings in a season since he unexpectedly emerged as a quality starter late in 2015 with the Red Sox.

The Dodgers acquired Hill from the Athletics during the summer of 2016 and then prevented him from leaving in free agency the ensuing winter with a three-year, $48MM contract. Now in the last season of his deal, the still-effective Hill has pitched to a 2.55 ERA/4.11 FIP with 10.36 K/9, 2.04 BB/9 and a 48.9 percent groundball rate over 10 starts and 53 innings.

After Hill departed Wednesday, the Dodgers’ bullpen worked eight solid innings to help the first-place club cruise to a 9-2 win over the Giants. The Hill-less Dodgers will turn to fellow lefty Julio Urias to start Thursday, with righty Ross Stripling backing him up, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com tweets. With Urias and Stripling among fallbacks behind Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Walker Buehler and Kenta Maeda, the Dodgers’ rotation should continue to perform like one of the majors’ best as it awaits Hill’s return.

Phillies Likely To Place Pat Neshek On Injured List

By | at

TODAY: Neshek has been placed on the 10-day IL, the Phillies announced today.  Left-hander Ranger Suarez was called up from Triple-A to take Neshek’s roster spot.

YESTERDAY: Phillies reliever Pat Neshek suffered a left hamstring strain in the team’s loss to the Nationals on Wednesday night. He’s likely heading to the 10-day injured list as a result, manager Gabe Kapler said (via Scott Lauber of Philly.com).

This will be the second IL placement of 2019 for Neshek, who went down May 25 with rotator cuff inflammation and just returned June 16. The 38-year-old hasn’t been available enough to the Phillies’ liking since they reunited with him on a two-year, $16.25MM pact entering 2018, nor has he been as effective as the team hoped.

Shoulder and forearm problems shelved Neshek until last July after he signed his deal. Dating back to then, the soft-tossing Neshek has posted a 3.46 ERA/4.32 FIP with 5.18 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9 in 41 2/3 innings. Neshek was coming off a 62 1/3 inning-season of 1.59 ERA/1.86 FIP ball with 9.96 K/9 against .87 BB/9 divided between Philly and Colorado when the Phillies re-signed him.

The Phillies already have key relievers in David Robertson, Seranthony Dominguez, Adam Morgan and Tommy Hunter on the IL. Like Neshek, Robertson and Hunter recently joined the Phillies as pricey free-agent signings, though they also haven’t quite worked out for the club yet.

Cubs DFA Tim Collins, Promote Adbert Alzolay

By | at

TODAY: The Cubs have officially announced the move.  Alzolay tells 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine and other reporters that he was informed by the team that he’ll be pitching tonight.

YESTERDAY: The Cubs have designated reliever Tim Collins for assignment, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. His 25-man roster spot’s going to promising pitching prospect Adbert Alzolay, who’s coming up from Triple-A Iowa.

The more notable move here is the call-up of Alzolay, a 24-year-old who rates as one of the Cubs’ best farmhands. Now 24, the right-handed Alzolay joined the Cubs as an international free agent out of Venezuela for just $10K in 2012. MLB.com currently ranks Alzolay fourth on the Cubs’ list of prospects and notes the team’s of the belief he could develop into a mid-rotation starter.

Alzolay has thrived this year at the Triple-A level, where he has pitched to a 3.09 ERA/3.10 FIP with 12.94 K/9 and 1.69 BB/9 in six starts and 32 innings. However, even though key starter Kyle Hendricks is on the injured list, the Cubs aren’t planning to have Alzolay join their rotation immediately. He’ll instead back up No. 5 starter Tyler Chatwood, who’s set to take the ball Thursday against the Mets.

Collins, meanwhile, has gone back and forth between Chicago and Iowa since the club signed him to a major league deal in late March. The 29-year-old lefty has thrown 7 2/3 innings this season in Chicago, with which he has allowed three earned runs on nine hits and three walks (with four strikeouts). Collins also owns a 2.12 ERA (with a far less encouraging 5.45 FIP) and 9.53 K/9 against 4.76 BB/9 in 17 Triple-A frames this season.

Mets Fire Pitching Coach Dave Eiland

By | at

4:11pm: The Mets officially announced the coaching changes, including the additional news that Jeremy Accardo has been named the team’s “pitching strategist,” a newly-created role.  Accardo had previously been working as New York’s minor league pitching coordinator following two years as a pitching and bullpen coach in the Mets’ farm system.

2:35pm: Phil Regan will take over for Eiland, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter). The former MLB hurler managed the Orioles for one season (1995) and has plenty of coaching experience. The 82-year-old has been involved with the Mets organization for some time and had been listed as pitching coordinator of the team’s minor league/player development group.

Ricky Bones will take over as the bullpen coach; he had served in that role last season but was replaced by Hernandez.

2:07pm: The Mets have parted ways with pitching coach Dave Eiland, per a report from James Wagner of the New York Times (via Twitter). Bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez is also on his way out, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Plans for replacements aren’t yet known.

Eiland had been hired in advance of the 2018 season. He was a key hire for the staff of then-rookie skipper Mickey Callaway, who was himself a former pitching coach. Before coming to New York, Eiland had long guided the hurlers for the Royals.

This move comes as the Mets continue to sink in the standings. Their rotation hasn’t been quite the exceptional unit it was expected to be, while the bullpen has been an unmitigated disaster. That’s obviously not entirely the fault of these pitching instructors, but they’ll take the fall in hopes that a mid-season shakeup can deliver improved results.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top