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Athletics Designate Zach Neal

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The Athletics have designated righty Zach Neal for assignment, according to MLB.com’s Jane Lee (via Twitter). Presumably, the move was made to open a 40-man spot for the just-added Sam Moll.

Neal, 28, has functioned as an optionable swingman for Oakland over the past two years, with an unusual blend of elite control and (at least in the minors) a demonstrated ability to induce infield pop-ups. He was outrighted last year, but added back to the 40-man when he was called up earlier in 2017.

All said, Neal owns a 4.89 ERA through 84 2/3 MLB innings, with just 37 strikeouts to go with only 7 walks. He has struggled in the upper minors, too, with only a 4.99 ERA and 4.3 K/9 against 1.0 BB/9 over 74 frames.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/16/17

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Here are some of the latest minor moves from around the game, courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy except where otherwise noted:

  • The Mariners outrighted right-hander Christian Bergman to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, per a club announcement. Bergman, 29, had the right to opt for free agency now or at the end of the season; given that he’s now listed on Tacoma’s roster, it seems he’ll wait and consider the latter option when the time comes. Bergman, 29, has thrown 51 1/3 innings on the year for Seattle, working to a 4.91 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.
  • Outfielder Daniel Robertson will return to the Indians on a minors deal after being designated for assignment and then released, the club announced. The 31-year-old has appeared in each of the past four MLB campaigns — each time with a different team.  This year, he took 88 plate appearances for Cleveland, slashing .225/.287/.338. While it’s not clear whether Robertson will factor at the major league level again this year, the fleet-footed, high-contact 31-year-old could conceivably make for a useful bench piece once rosters expand in September.
  • The Diamondbacks have added right-handers Andury Acevedo and Louis Coleman on minors deals. Acevedo, who’ll soon turn 27, was intriguing enough to land a 40-man spot with the Cubs a few years back, but has yet to show any consistency on the mound in the upper minors. As for Coleman, who threw 48 innings of 4.69 ERA ball last year for the Dodgers, he’ll return to Arizona after briefly testing the open market. He has worked to a 2.05 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 over 57 innings this year in stints with the D-Backs’ and Reds’ top affiliates.
  • Heading to the Reds on a minors deal is slugging outfielder Adam Walker. He has bounced around via waiver claims and minor-league deals of late, seeing time in three organizations thus far in 2017. All told, he has compiled a tepid .185/.220/.410 batting line — with a dozen home runs but also 88 strikeouts against just ten walks — in his 241 plate appearances in the upper minors.
  • The White Sox released infielder Grant Green, who had previously seen brief action in the majors this year with the Nationals. On the season, Green owns an overall .232/.306/.300 slash over 245 plate appearances at the Triple-A level with those two organizations. The 29-year-old was once considered a notable possible contributor with the Athletics and Angels, but has managed only a .248/.283/.336 batting line in his 353 trips to the plate in the majors.
  • Six-year MLB veteran Collin Cowgill has been released by the Padres. Cowgill, 31, joined the organization on a minors deal over the winter, but never earned a crack at a return to the majors. He carries a .235/.297/.390 slash through 220 plate appearances
  • Finally, the Rangers have released lefty Bobby LaFromboise and righty Jaye Chapman. The former has made 27 MLB appearances and shown some intriguing numbers at times, but struggled last year at Triple-A with the Phillies and was sidelined for much of the current season. The 30-year-old Chapman, meanwhile, is looking to work back toward the majors for the first time since his lone stint back in 2012. But he was hit hard in his 36 2/3 innings at Triple-A Round Rock, with a 6.63 ERA and 6.9 K/9 against 5.2 BB/9.

Luhnow: “Expectations Very Low” For Astros To Add Starter

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Astros GM Jeff Luhnow suggested today that he doesn’t anticipate making another significant acquisition this month. In an appearance on the Josh Innes Show on SportsTalk 790, the Houston executive said in particular that the team isn’t likely to add a starter.

“Right now I would set expectations very low that anything happens between now and the end of the month,” Luhnow said when asked about the possibility of bolstering the rotation. While he noted that the club will “continue to monitor” the market, Luhnow indicated there are no ongoing talks to pick up another arm.

While we heard yesterday that the ’Stros have had some recent chats with the Tigers about Justin Verlander, it also seemed that there was no real momentum toward a deal. The longtime Detroit ace is just one of many players to have cleared waivers this month, though he’s actually the only starter to have reportedly done so to this point.

Despite Luhnow’s understandably cautious comments, perhaps it’s still possible something could come together. Houston and Detroit have “a good understanding of the other’s position” in trade talks, Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports (Twitter links). That situation, he suggests, could yet set the stage for a late-breaking deal later this month.

Beyond Verlander, it’s tough to identify a plausible target for Houston during the August trade season. An unknown organization has placed a claim on Blue Jays righty Marco Estrada, though there’s no indication it was the Astros or that any deal is likely. A variety of other hurlers could also conceivably make for August trade candidates, though none have been tied to Houston.

While the Astros would surely like to upgrade their overall pitching mix, the team has made clear it won’t reach on a valuation to do so. And there’s little reason for the club to add an arm for depth purposes, with the division in hand and plenty of viable rotation pieces on the staff. If anything, it would seem the organization would have potential interest in adding a hurler worthy of taking the ball to start a postseason game.

It’s worth your time to give a listen to the remainder of the interview as well. Luhnow discussed a variety of topics, including the recent acquisition of Tyler Clippard — a pitcher the team has “had [its] eye on for a couple years” — and the outlook on young contributors Derek Fisher and Francis Martes.

Jered Weaver Announces Retirement

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Padres right-hander Jered Weaver has announced his retirement through a team press release. The former Angels ace had an impressive 12-year career in the majors.

Jered WeaverWeaver, 34, had been on the disabled list for much of the season with hip issues. In a statement, he explained that he has not been able to get back to health. “While I’ve been working hard to get back on the mound, my body just will not allow me to compete like I want to,” says Weaver.

“Many thanks to the Padres organization for the opportunity to play in the amazing city of San Diego. You have been very professional and respectful during this process and I really appreciate that. I would also like to thank my teammates for welcoming me in with open arms and for all the support throughout the season. I’m excited for the next chapter in life and making up for lost time with my family. Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years. It was a great ride!”

Undoubtedly, Weaver will be best remembered for his long run of success with the Halos from 2006 through 2016. He topped two thousand total innings with the organization, working to a 3.99 ERA there.

That overall record tends to understate just how good Weaver was in his prime. In particular, in a five-year span beginning in 2010, he spun over a thousand frames of 2.99 ERA ball with 7.6 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. The first three of those campaigns included All-Star nods and top-five Cy Young finishes.

A former first-round draft pick out of Cal State, Weaver moved quickly through the Angels’ farm system. He played a significant role in driving several of the team’s postseason appearances. Over seven total appearances in the postseason, he threw 27 2/3 innings and compiled a 2.60 ERA.

More recently, Weaver dealt with health issues and a notable drop in velocity. Never a hard thrower, he sat below 85 mph with his fastball over the past three seasons but still managed to gut out 379 1/3 innings over 66 starts. The final nine of those came with San Diego.

The Friars had inked Weaver to a one-year, $3MM contract following the conclusion of the long-term extension that Weaver signed with Los Angeles six years ago this month. He never got going with his new organization, though, managing only a 7.44 ERA with 23 strikeouts in his 42 1/3 frames before hitting the DL.

That late fade doesn’t detract from a top-quality overall career. Weaver wraps things up with 34.8 rWAR and 30.3 fWAR on his ledger. He also notched a memorable no-hitter in 2012. MLBTR offers Weaver a tip of the cap and best wishes for his future endeavors.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

8 Candidates To Be Acquired Via Waiver Claim

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Following the July non-waiver trade deadline, revocable waivers present obstacles for teams wishing to trade players on their 40-man rosters. If a player clears waivers, his team can trade him anywhere. If he’s claimed on waivers, though, the player’s team can only trade him to the team that claims him.

Occasionally, though, when a player is claimed, his team will simply allow him to depart, in which case the player (and his contract) will head to the new team. Such moves are somewhat rare, perhaps for obvious reasons — the player must be good enough, and his salary favorable enough, for the new team to take on the contract, but he must not be a valuable enough asset for his old team to keep him or seek something in return. There has been one such move already this August — the Pirates claimed reliever George Kontos from the Giants, and the Giants simply let Kontos (and the remainder of his $1.75MM 2017 salary) depart. Higher-profile players also occasionally change teams in this manner. For example, Manny Ramirez went from the Dodgers to the White Sox via a waiver claim in August 2010, with the White Sox taking on $3.8MM in salary.

Here, we’ll speculate on players who could meet similar fates at some point this month. Before we begin, some caveats. First, these sorts of moves are hard to predict. If we’d written this list two weeks ago, for example, Kontos (who’s productive, has a reasonable salary, and is eligible for arbitration for two more seasons after this one) probably wouldn’t have been on it. Second, not all waiver activities make it into published reports, and it’s possible some of the players below have gone through the process already this month. Third, there are occasionally August trades that effectively function as waiver claims, in which a team claims a player, then pays only a nominal return for him. Such transactions officially are trades, but are very much like pure revocable waiver claims. The Pirates’ acquisition of Sean Rodriguez from the Braves earlier this month was one example.

With that in mind, here are a few players who could conceivably head from one team to another this month via a revocable waiver claim.

Rajai Davis and Santiago Casilla, Athletics. The 36-year-old Davis makes $6MM, is a free agent at the end of the season, and has not hit well this year, with a .236/.294/.358 line thus far. The Athletics might prefer to be rid of his salary, particularly since his departure would open opportunities for prospect Boog Powell. At the same time, a contender might value Davis’ experience and basestealing ability enough to claim him. Casilla would be a somewhat trickier proposition, since he’s owed about $6MM total through 2018 and is having a decent season (though he has hardly been flawless, as we saw last night). But the Athletics might decide to go in a different direction and shed salary, particularly since Casilla is 37. He could also potentially clear waivers, if he hasn’t already.

Carlos Gomez and Andrew Cashner, Rangers. Gomez’s comeback has continued this season, with 15 homers and a .251/.339/.455 line, but he’s making $11.5MM this year and is a free agent in the fall. Cashner also has a relatively hefty salary, at $10MM, and is also an impending free agent. It’s unclear how teams might value him, since his 3.32 ERA this season doesn’t match his poor 4.7 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9, but he did reportedly attract interest at the trade deadline.

Drew Storen, Reds. Storen is a former closer who’s making a not-insignificant salary ($3MM) and is a free agent after the season. Storen has been good enough this year to be useful to a contender (3.75 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 52.1 GB%) but not so good that the Reds would be able to seek much for him.

Lucas Duda and Steve Cishek, Rays. The Rays are still in the Wild Card race, but have lost four straight and are now behind five other teams in the densely packed AL field. Duda and Cishek are good players, but it seems possible the salary-conscious Rays could consider jettisoning the pending free agents if the team’s recent woes continue. Duda makes $7.25MM this season, while Cishek makes $6MM.

Dee Gordon, Marlins. This one seems like a longshot, but it’s worth at least noting here. Gordon is owed about $40MM through 2020. There was interest in him at the trade deadline, although his salary was a sticking point for some clubs. It’s unclear how the Marlins’ new owners might think about Gordon during a season in which he’s batting .299/.339/.361, and a team like the Angels might be inclined to claim him. There’s also precedent for a player with a contract as significant as Gordon’s changing teams via a revocable waiver claim — in 2009, the Blue Jays allowed Alex Rios and the $62MM remaining on his contract to depart for the White Sox. Of course, it would probably be terrible PR for Marlins ownership’s first significant move to be an enormous salary dump, and Gordon, despite his PED history and mediocre 2016 season, is still a useful player — and a fairly young one at 29.

Athletics Acquire Sam Moll

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The Athletics have acquired lefty Sam Moll from the Rockies, per an announcement from the Colorado organization. Cash considerations or a player to be named later will make up the return for Moll, who had been designated for assignment recently.

Moll, a 2013 third-rounder, showed enough to earn a 40-man spot but had yet to receive a major league promotion. He carries a 4.18 ERA over 47 1/3 innings on the year at Triple-A, with 7.4 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 along with a healthy 50.3% groundball rate.

Those numbers don’t tell the full story on Moll, who was generally regarded as one of the organization’s top thirty or better prospects entering the season. He brings mid-nineties heat from the left side with a slider and even a change that can be effective at times.

Nationals Select Contract Of Alejandro De Aza, Place Brian Goodwin On DL

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The Nationals have made yet another move in the outfield after losing a player to injury. As Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post first reported (via Twitter), Washington will select the contract of veteran Alejandro De Aza and place Brian Goodwin on the DL with a left groin strain.

To open a 40-man spot, the Nationals moved shortstop Trea Turner to the 60-day DL. That placement won’t impact his anticipated timeline to return to the active roster. He has been out since the end of June with a broken wrist but has recently resumed batting practice.

While the Nats aren’t in need of wins down the stretch, given their healthy NL East lead, the club nevertheless continues to face significant injury concerns, particularly in the outfield, as it looks forward to the postseason. Washington’s entire original starting outfield — Adam Eaton, Bryce Harper, and Jayson Werth — currently resides on the DL, though the latter two are expected back by the end of the year.

Michael Taylor only just returned from his own DL stint, joining summer addition Howie Kendrick, the lumbering Adam Lind, and youngster Andrew Stevenson in the current mix. That group will now be supplemented by De Aza, who had signed on with the organization on a minor-league deal in mid-June after failing to crack the Athletics roster in the spring.

When he makes his debut with the Nats, De Aza will appear in his tenth MLB campaign with his seventh organization. The former White Sox regular owns a lifetime .261/.328/.398 batting line. Over his 212 trips to the plate this year at Triple-A Syracuse, De Aza has slashed .280/.368/.403. He obviously hasn’t hit for much power this year, with four home runs, but has drawn 25 walks against just 30 strikeouts.

The Nats will hope that De Aza can help hold the line in the same way Goodwin has. A former top prospect, the 26-year-old Goodwin has turned in surprisingly strong numbers since being thrust into an unexpectedly significant role. In his 278 plate appearances this year in the majors, he’s batting .251/.313/.498 and has launched 13 long balls to go with six steals. Goodwins .247 isolated slugging mark and 16.5% home run per flyball rate headline a notable power outbreak for a player who had never seemingly harnessed his tools in the upper minors.

White Sox Recently Extended Kenny Williams, Rick Hahn

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Earlier this summer, the White Sox extended the contracts of executive vice president Kenny Williams and general manager Rick Hahn, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports in the course of a lengthy interview with long-time club owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Precise terms are not known, but both have received new long-term deals, per the report. Reinsdorf also discussed the organization’s current rebuilding efforts in a piece that’s well worth a full read.

Both executives are longstanding members of the organization. Williams played with the White Sox, joined the club as a scout in 1992, and has steadily climbed the ranks ever since. He took the GM seat in 2000, helping to engineer the club’s 2005 World Series-winning roster, and left it with a move further upstairs twelve years later.

Hahn took the baton from Williams as GM in 2012 and has held that role since. He originally joined the South Siders when Williams took over the baseball operations, moving to the organization after a stint as a sports agent. He quickly rose to become the assistant GM and was long seen as an eventual successor.

In recent years, that pair of top baseball decisionmakers oversaw the construction and then dismantling of a strong core of young talent. High-end, controllable players such as Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, and Adam Eaton seemingly gave the club a chance at a nice window of contention, and it spent big on complementary veterans (through trade and free agency) to put a winner on the field. Those efforts failed to come to fruition, though, and the Sox haven’t posted a .500 record since 2012.

With evident needs all over the roster after a  disappointing 2016 campaign, Reinsdorf authorized a dedicated sell-off. Sale and Eaton were moved in successive Winter Meetings blockbusters. Quintana went this summer to the cross-town Cubs. And ensuing deals saw David Robertson, Todd Frazier, Melky Cabrera, and Tommy Kahnle swapped out for young talent.

While Reinsdorf says it was “very tough” to go through that process, particularly given that he’s 81 years old, he tells Nightengale that he determined he has “an obligation to do what’s right for the fans.” It was particularly difficult to boost the Cubs by sending them Quintana, he noted, though again he cited the need to focus on his own organization’s needs. “I know the White Sox fans will be upset if Quintana pitches them to the World Series,” says Reinsdorf, “but I also know we got their two best prospects.’’

Since embarking upon this new path, the White Sox have compiled one of the game’s top farm systems. In addition to the numerous youngsters added via trade, Chicago inked highly rated Cuban prospect Luis Robert and is on course to score a top draft choice next year. The club’s most intriguing new assets litter top-100 prospect ranking lists, and several — including Yoan Moncada and Reynaldo Lopez — have already earned promotions to the majors.

Turning that aggregation of young talent into a successful MLB roster, of course, will still require a concerted effort. The Sox currently own an ugly 45-71 record and will face many challenges in player development and, eventually, further roster maneuvering designed to supplement the hoped-for new core. More immediately, the team’s top decisionmakers will need to consider trades involving players such as Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia, each of whom has played well this year and can be controlled for two more seasons via arbitration.

There’s mostly a blank slate on future salary commitments, though, which will surely aid the undertaking. After pushing payroll to north of $130MM by the end of 2016, the front office has pared things back to the point that the recent extension of shortstop Tim Anderson stands as the only significant remaining long-term commitment.

MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Barraclough, Freeland, Polanco

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IMPACT ROSTER MOVES

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

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MINOR TRANSACTIONS

 

East Notes: Yankees, Mets, Nava, Orioles, De Leon

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Both the Yankees and Mets acted rationally with their approaches in trades this summer, opines Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Yankees showed a willingness to deal from the middle range of their considerable prospect depth to avoid luxury taxation, as they did with the Jaime Garcia trade and reportedly tried to do in their pursuits of Jay Bruce and Neil Walker. Sherman writes that the Yankees asked the Mets to eat $2.7MM of the remaining $3.7MM on Bruce’s contract in exchange for two prospects. The Mets clearly didn’t deem the difference between that pair and Ryder Ryan (whom they acquired from the Indians for Bruce) to be sizable enough to eat that cash. While many Mets fans chastise the organization for not spending, Sherman points out that the Mets have taken on salary (Bruce, Addison Reed, Yoenis Cespedes) in recent years. They’ve also already begun spending for 2018, Sherman adds, pointing to the acquisition of AJ Ramos. In that sense, saving money in trades to better stock the team’s offseason war chest could have relatively immediate impact on the team’s fortunes. Of course, it remains to be seen how their offseason plays out.

A bit more from the game’s Eastern divisions…

  • The Phillies announced tonight that outfielder Daniel Nava has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a lower back strain. The veteran Nava’s injury is especially noteworthy given the fact that he seemed a logical August trade candidate for the Phils. The 33-year-old switch-hitter hasn’t done much against left-handed pitching this year — he’s always been weaker as a right-handed bat — but he’s clubbed righty pitching at a .347/.427.492 clip through 143 PAs and could’ve been a solid bench addition for a contender. There’s still time for Nava to get back and demonstrate his health to interested parties, but his back injury clearly diminishes the chances of a trade.
  • Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com writes that Orioles GM Dan Duquette has a long history of making August deals — six in the past five years — but opines that there’s not much worth pursuing for the O’s this summer. Baltimore’s greatest need is starting pitching, but the remaining available arms are mostly fringe fifth starters that don’t represent a clear upgrade over the Orioles’ current options. Nonetheless, Connolly states that he does find it likely that Duquette and his staff make some kind of move, noting that the Orioles have “always had a little interest in” Derek Holland and are quite familiar with Miguel Gonzalez — both currently pitching for the rebuilding White Sox. I’d agree with Connolly that neither seems to represent an upgrade, though the O’s could probably acquire either pitcher primarily in exchange for salary relief.
  • Rays right-hander Jose De Leon is on the minor league disabled list for the third time this season, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. De Leon, who has previously dealt with forearm/flexor issues, now has tendinitis in his right elbow, per Topkin. It’s been a frustrating first season with the Rays organization for De Leon — a highly touted pitching prospect that was acquired in a straight-up swap that sent Logan Forsythe to the Dodgers. De Leon has appeared in just one big league game with the Rays and has only 38 1/3 minor league innings under his belt, though he’s logged a 3.05 ERA with 44-to-16 K/BB ratio in the minors when healthy.

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