The Cardinals have claimed righty Merandy Gonzalez off waivers from the Giants, per a club announcement. Southpaw Brett Cecil was moved to the 60-day injured list to create roster space.
The 23-year-old Gonzalez didn’t have a stirring performance in 2018, leading the Marlins to dump him from their 40-man roster. But he has drawn no shortage of interest from clubs that like the raw tools, with the Cards now following the Giants in being willing to commit a roster spot to get a first-person look.
The Reds have claimed righty Jose Lopez off waivers from the Giants, per a club announcement. To open a roster spot, lefty Brandon Finnegan was designated for assignment.
Lopez had been claimed from Cincinnati in mid-February. Given a chance to reconsider their decision after watching both players this spring, the Reds decided they’d rather have him back at the expense of Finnegan. While he didn’t impress in camp, Lopez remains an interesting hurler with a strong pedigree.
Finnegan’s career has gone off the rails a bit after beginning with real promise. He has dealt with injury issues and produced brutal results last year. The former first-rounder, who cracked the majors in his first professional season, was tagged for 11 earned runs in five innings this spring.
As had been anticipated, the Indians have purchased the contract of Hanley Ramirez. To open a 40-man spot, the club designated righty Ben Taylor for assignment.
Ramirez is back in the bigs for the first time since he was cut loose by the Red Sox last year. He’s expected to serve as the team’s primary designated hitter to open the season.
Taylor, 26, turned in 57 1/3 innings of 2.51 ERA ball with 11.0 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 last year at Triple-A. He also ran up eight strikeouts against one walk (but allowed two home runs) in his six MLB frames. Clearly, the Indians did not anticipate that sort of performance carrying forward into the future.
The Indians also announced several injured list placements, all of which were known in advance. Shortstop Francisco Lindor, second baseman Jason Kipnis, and outfielder Bradley Zimmer are all on the shelf to begin the season.
March 28: Leon has accepted his assignment to Triple-A, the team announced.
March 26: 1:14pm: Abraham now tweets that Leon has not actually not yet made a decision on whether he’ll accept the assignment. He has 48 hours to do so.
12:54pm: The Red Sox announced Tuesday that catcher Sandy Leon has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket. Evan Drellich first reported (via Twitter) that Leon had gone unclaimed, and the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham tweets that Leon has accepted an outright assignment.
Because Leon has more than three years of MLB service time (4.149 years), he could’ve rejected the assignment in favor of free agency. However, only players with five-plus years of service can reject an outright assignment without forfeiting the salary on their contract, so electing free agency would’ve cost Leon $2.475MM. He’ll remain with the organization and, while he won’t count against the 40-man roster, he will count against the team’s luxury tax calculations (a technicality that was changed in the last CBA).
Leon, 30, struggled through an awful season at the plate in 2018, hitting just .177/.232/.279 through 288 PAs. His bat has continually declined since what now looks like a clear outlier campaign in 2016, but he’s regarded as a terrific defender in terms of limiting the running game, framing pitches, and managing a staff.
Despite that proficient glovework, however, Leon found himself squeezed off the Boston roster by a cluttered catching mix no longer deemed tenable by the organization. Boston spent the entire 2018 campaign juggling playing time for Leon, Christian Vazquez and seldom-used former top prospect Blake Swihart. With both Swihart and Leon out of minor league options and Vazquez locked in as the team’s No. 1 catcher, the Sox ultimately cut bait on Leon in favor of Swihart, who’ll now serve as the primary backup in 2019. If Leon does stick with the club, he could eventually resurface in the big leagues in the event of an injury or prolonged struggles for one either Vazquez or Swihart.
The Rangers announced that they’ve selected the contracts of outfielder Hunter Pence, infielder Logan Forsythe and right-hander Jeanmar Gomez. The trio of veterans will all be on the Opening Day roster. Right-hander Connor Sadzeck was designated for assignment to clear one spot on the 40-man roster, while fellow righty Luke Farrell was placed on the 60-day injured list to create another. Texas also optioned outfielder Zack Granite to Triple-A and placed lefty Yohander Mendez on the 10-day IL.
Sadzeck, 27, had been in competition for a bullpen job all spring, but the control issues that plagued him in the big leagues continued to manifest during exhibition play. While Sadzeck’s average fastball of 97 mph is undeniably tantalizing, he walked 11 batters in 9 1/3 MLB innings last season and issued another eight free passes through 8 1/3 innings of Cactus League action. In his place, the Rangers will entrust a bullpen spot to Kyle Bird — a 25-year-old lefty acquired as part of the Jurickson Profar trade.
Neither Pence nor Forsythe is expected to hold down an everyday role with the Rangers, though Pence is in the Opening Day lineup as the designated hitter with a lefty opponent on the mound. Pence should see occasional time in the corner outfield and at DH, particularly against lefties, while Forsythe can provide some platoon support for lefty-swinging Rougned Odor at second base. The veteran Forsythe has experience at all four infield positions, so he’ll give rookie manager Chris Woodward plenty of versatility off the bench.
The Giants have announced their final roster moves, with a trio dropped from the 40-man. Out of options players Mac Williamson, Alen Hanson, and Tom Murphy have all been designated for assignment after failing to crack the active roster, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets.
It had been clear already that Hanson and Murphy were on their way off the 40-man, but Williamson’s fate was not resolved. But the writing was largely on the wall. The San Francisco organization made clear it would carry newly acquired outfielders Michael Reed and Connor Joe along with third baseman Pablo Sandoval.
Williamson has flashed ability at times, including a stirring power outburst last year at Triple-A. But the 28-year-old’s 2018 season was stunted by a concussion and he has yet to make good on his talent at the game’s highest level. Through 339 total plate appearances in the majors, Williamson carries a .222/.295/.386 slash with 13 home runs.
10:59am: The Friars have a surprising plan in place for one aspect of their early-season roster maneuvering. They’ll promote young lefty Nick Margevicius to start Saturday’s game, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter).
Margevicius, a 2017 seventh-round draft pick, has not pitched above the High-A level.
10:37am: As expected, the Padres announced today that they have selected the contract of top prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. To open roster space, the club designated righty Bryan Mitchell for assignment.
While the Tatis promotion was already known, the decision to drop Mitchell is rather fascinating. The righty had seemed in line for a rotation spot despite an ugly spring showing. Instead, the Friars will carry six outfielders on their initial roster after claiming Socrates Brito yesterday.
Clearly, something has to give. It seems that the organization is opening with an unbalanced roster alignment in order to hang onto resources. Some early-season transactions seem all but inevitable; whether that’ll involve an outside acquisition or internal promotion remains to be seen.
It seems likely that Mitchell will end up clearing waivers and remaining in the organization, so this may not be the end of the line for him. But the move still represents an acknowledgement that things haven’t worked out as hoped. The San Diego organization effectively purchased his rights in a swap last winter from the Yankees, but Mitchell coughed up 44 earned runs and carried a brutal 38:43 K/BB ratio in 73 MLB frames in 2018.
TODAY: The deal ships $1MM in international bonus availability to Toronto, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter).
YESTERDAY, 7:40pm: Slusser reports that the Jays are covering more than $10MM of the $12MM remaining on Morales’ contract.
7:06pm: The two teams have announced the trade. Toronto is sending Morales and cash to Oakland in exchange for minor league infielder Jesus Lopez and international bonus money. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, Oakland transferred right-hander Jharel Cotton to the 60-day injured list as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
7:02pm: In a surprising move, the Blue Jays have traded designated hitter Kendrys Morales to the Athletics, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (via Twitter). The 35-year-old Morales is earning $12MM in the final season of a three-year, $33MM contract with the Jays, so presumably Toronto is providing substantial financial relief in the deal.
Oakland recently lost first baseman Matt Olson when the slugger underwent a hamate excision procedure on his right hand. Olson suffered the injury in the second game of the Athletics’ two-game set against the Mariners in Tokyo. With Khris Davis locked in as the primary designated hitter in Oakland, it seems likely that Morales will play first base while Olson is sidelined. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Olson will be out anywhere from six to eight weeks.
Morales won’t match Olson’s offensive output or especially his glovework, but the veteran switch-hitter is coming off a solid 2018 rebound campaign in which he batted .249/.331/.439 (112 OPS+) with 21 homers. His recent work at first base has been extremely limited, as he’s logged just 30 games at the position over the past two seasons. The A’s also have Mark Canha and Jurickson Profar (who played 24 games at first base last year in Texas) as alternative options at first base should the need arise.
The addition of Morales will also help to balance out a righty-heavy Athletics roster. Prior to the trade for Morales, switch-hitters Profar and Robbie Grossman were the only two players on the active roster capable of hitting left-handed. A career .264/.328/.468 hitter against right-handed pitchers, Morales isn’t exactly a standout but will present a sound platoon partner for the right-handed-hitting Canha.
For the Blue Jays, the move creates some much-needed roster flexibility. Teoscar Hernandez can now receive semi-regular at-bats in the DH slot, with Billy McKinney, Kevin Pillar and Randal Grichuk lining up around the outfield. The Jays can also rotate some other regulars through the DH slot, and the trade of Morales could even create a path to the Majors 24-year-old first baseman Rowdy Tellez on the heels of a .280/.308/.600 showing in Spring Training.
The return for the Jays, as one would expect when dealing a soon-to-be 36-year-old DH in the final season of an undesirable contract, is minimal. The 21-year-old Lopez spent the 2018 season with Class-A Beloit, where he hit .239/.293/.402 with 10 homers, 15 doubles and a couple of triples in 326 plate appearances. He spent time at third base (587 innings), shortstop (65 innings) and second base (53 innings). Lopez wasn’t ranked among the Athletics’ top prospects. The amount of international money picked up by Toronto in tonight’s deal isn’t clear, though international funds must be traded in blocks of at least $250K.
The Blue Jays have announced their Opening Day roster. Reliever Javy Guerra will make the club, meaning his contract was selected to the 40-man roster.
In other roster news, first baseman Rowdy Tellez received a promotion for his second stint in the majors. He’ll take the place of Kendrys Morales, who was dealt to Oakland yesterday.
Guerra, 33, has spent parts of eight seasons in the big leagues, most recently in 2017-18 with the Marlins. He has a career 3.42 ERA with averages of 7.2 strikeouts, 4.0 walks and 0.6 home runs allowed per nine innings pitched. The 2018 season was an ugly one for the former Dodgers closer (5.55 ERA in 35 2/3 innings), but he had a solid partial season with the Fish in 2017. Guerra also allowed just one run in 10 1/3 spring innings, notching a 10-to-4 K/BB ratio along the way.
Tellez, 24, mashed five spring homers and hit .280/.308/.600 in 52 plate appearances. That output came on the heels of an intriguing MLB debut in which Tellez batted .314/.329/.614 with four homers and nine doubles in just 73 plate appearances in 2018. Tellez hasn’t had anywhere near that type of success in Triple-A, but scouting reports have long touted his above-average power. He’s also fanned at a 17.7 percent clip in Triple-A — a lower rate than one might expect for a first baseman whose primary asset is his power.
The Braves have announced their final Opening Day roster moves. As expected, righty Josh Tomlin and outfielder Matt Joyce were selected. To clear a 40-man roster spot, catcher Raffy Lopez was designated for assignment.
The Atlanta organization’s late-breaking addition of Tomlin came after a barrage of pitching injuries that the club hopes will prove to be minor. Starters Mike Foltynewicz and Kevin Gausman have officially been placed on the 10-day injured list along with relievers A.J. Minter and Darren O’Day.
The veteran Joyce will make the roster at the expense of Adam Duvall, who remains with the organization but has been optioned to Triple-A. A career .250/.351/.451 hitter against right-handed pitching in nearly 3400 plate appearances, Joyce will give the Braves the left-handed-hitting fourth outfielder they’d reportedly been seeking. He’s not an option in center field at this stage in his career, though on days that Ender Inciarte needs a breather, Atlanta can shift Ronald Acuna Jr. into center field while deploying Joyce in a corner.
Tomlin will serve as a long man out of the bullpen, providing depth for a Braves rotation that has been hit by injuries this spring. In addition to Foltynewicz and Gausman landing on the IL, right-hander Mike Soroka was out for much of Spring Training due to shoulder troubles and was optioned to Triple-A to build up strength. Tomlin had a brutal season with the Indians in 2018 but gave Cleveland nearly 500 innings of 4.44 ERA ball from 2013-17. The 34-year-old righty doesn’t miss many bats and has one of the game’s slowest fastballs but also has uncanny precision; over his past 557 MLB innings, he’s averaged just 1.1 BB/9.
Lopez, 31, hit .176/.265/.284 in 117 plate appearances with the Padres last season. The Braves acquired him from San Diego in exchange for cash back in early November, but he didn’t have a place on the active roster behind Tyler Flowers and Brian McCann.
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