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Pete Kozma

Pete Kozma Elects Free Agency

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7:58 pm: Kozma has officially elected free agency, per the team.

11:38 am: The A’s have outrighted veteran infielder Pete Kozma off their 40-man roster, according to MLB.com’s transactions log. Oakland has yet to formally announce the move, but Kozma will become a free agent now that he’s gone unclaimed on waivers.

Kozma, 33, was added to the Athletics’ 40-man roster for the season’s final weekend after Elvis Andrus suffered a season-ending leg fracture. He went 1-for-11 during that Oakland cameo — his first big league action since the 2018 season in Detroit. The rest of Kozma’s season was spent with Triple-A Las Vegas, where he batted .244/.307/.337 in 500 plate appearances and collected the 1000th hit of his minor league career.

Best known for his time with the Cardinals, Kozma was the primary for St. Louis in 2013 when the Cards fell to the Red Sox in the World Series. He hit just .217/.275/.273 in 448 plate appearances that season but graded out as a plus defensive infielder on a Cardinals staff that had the game’s second-highest ground-ball percentage.

That was the only season in which Kozma ever logged even semi-regular action. His 111 plate appearances with the 2015 Cardinals are the second-highest mark he’s reached in any of his eight big league seasons. In 825 plate appearances at the Major League level, Kozma is a .213/.276/.288 hitter. He’s a lifetime .235/.305/.340 hitter in the minors and could latch on as a depth option somewhere else in minor league free agency.

A’s Select Pete Kozma

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The Athletics have placed infielder Vimael Machin on the injured list and selected the contract of veteran infielder Pete Kozma from Triple-A Las Vegas, per a club announcement. Oakland didn’t provide an injury designation for Machin, which suggests he’s been placed on the Covid-19-related injured list. He won’t count against the 40-man roster while on that list.

Kozma, 33, will be returning to the big leagues for the first time since 2018. He’s logged 113 games with the A’s top affiliate in 2021 and posted a .244/.307/.337 batting line in 500 trips to the plate.

Offense has never been a strong point for Kozma, a defensive standout with the Cardinals from 2011-15. Kozma was the everyday shortstop in St. Louis in 2013, when the Cardinals made it to Game 6 of the World Series before falling to the Red Sox. Outside of that season, however, Kozma has been primarily used as a bench piece or an up-and-down depth option. He’s only topped 100 plate appearances twice in his career: 2013 (448 plate appearances) and 2015 (111).

It’ll likely be a short stay on Oakland’s 40-man roster for the veteran Kozma, but the A’s are in need of some infield help with Machin on the injured list and with primary shortstop Elvis Andrus sustaining a fractured fibula that required surgery. He can handle any of shortstop, second base or third base over the final weekend’s worth of games. Kozma technically remains arbitration-eligible now that he’s on the roster, but it’s quite possible he’ll simply be outrighted and become a free agent at season’s end.

Athletics Notes: Pinder, Rosenthal, Shortstop

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The A’s placed versatile Chad Pinder on the 10-day injured list with a knee sprain last week, but manager Bob Melvin indicated this week that Pinder should expected to miss a fair bit longer. Speaking with Mike Ferrin on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link, with audio), Melvin called Pinder’s injury “worse than we originally anticipated” and added that he does “not expect him back anytime soon.” There’s no specific timeline on the injury or an indication as to the severity of the sprain (or any additional damage). Pinder was out to a 3-for-10 start to the season, including a homer, and has posted a .245/.304/.435 batting line in 1083 plate appearances since establishing himself as a utility option with the A’s back in 2017.

More notes out of Oakland…

  • In a recent appearance on the A’s Cast podcast, general manager David Forst indicated that Trevor Rosenthal was throwing well and feeling good early in camp before the symptoms that prompted his thoracic outlet surgery caught everyone off guard. “He threw the ball well at the beginning of camp, and it seemed like these symptoms popped up out of nowhere,” said Forst. “There’s certainly hope for [a return] sometime in August. Everyone’s protocol is a little different, and timeline’s different based on how the surgery goes.” Oakland inked Rosenthal to a surprising $11MM guarantee late in the offseason, so they’ll obviously be hoping to salvage some kind of return on that investment. For the time being, the A’s aren’t going to define their bullpen roles, it seems. Righty Lou Trivino has notched the club’s first and only save of the season thus far.
  • The A’s aren’t exactly flush with depth options at shortstop should Elvis Andrus sustain any sort of injury, as Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle notes in his latest mailbag column. Jed Lowrie or Matt Chapman could slide over to short in a pinch, should something happen mid-game, and Kawahara points out that both Vimael Machin and veteran Pete Kozma are on the A’s early taxi squad. Machin is more of a second baseman/third baseman, but he played 44 innings at short last year and has 600-plus innings there in the minors. Kozma, meanwhile, is traveling with the club on the taxi squad despite not being on the 40-man roster. The 33-year-old obviously doesn’t have a strong track record at the plate, but he’s a steady defender who enjoyed a nice showing with Oakland in Spring Training. The lack of immediate depth at shortstop is another manner in which the A’s are feeling Pinder’s absence; he’s logged 224 innings there over the past few seasons and would make a logical replacement option if Andrus were to sustain an in-game injury.

AL West Notes: Adell, Marsh, Flexen, Kozma

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Jo Adell was removed during the second inning today’s game after the Angels outfielder collided with the wall in search of a fly ball.  The move was made for precautionary reasons, as Adell said he “felt something” after the crash, manager Joe Maddon told the Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris and other reporters.  Team trainers didn’t find anything in the way of a hyper-extension after examining Adell, so the youngster may have escaped any real harm.

Considered one of the game’s top prospects prior to his MLB debut last season, Adell is a big part of the Halos’ future outfield plans, along with fellow up-and-comer Brandon Marsh.  A lingering shoulder injury from last season has kept Marsh from any outfield action this spring, though he is expected to be back on the grass next week and Marsh tells MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger that he believes he’ll be ready for the start of the season.  Adell and Marsh will both likely begin the season at the Angels’ alternate training site and then with their Triple-A team, before factoring into the Major League roster at some point during the year.

More from the AL West…

  • Chris Flexen was one of a relative few free agent pitchers to sign a multi-year deal this winter, inking a two-year contract (plus 2023 club option) with the Mariners that will pay the right-hander at least $4.75MM in guaranteed money.  Tom O’Connell, Flexen’s agent, tells The Athletic’s Corey Brock that Seattle was one of “four or five teams very interested in Chris,” and the Mariners sealed the deal after Flexen was impressed by GM Jerry Dipoto’s pitch of the organization’s merits during a Zoom call.  The M’s had done their homework on Flexen in the KBO, as assistant GM Justin Hollander said that during the league shutdown, the Mariners had extra scouts breaking down film of games from Korea and Japan — both to give the scouting staff some work, and also to hunt for any potential hidden-gem offseason targets.  Clearly Seattle liked what it saw in Flexen, who had only an 8.07 ERA over 68 career MLB innings with the Mets from 2017-19 but excelled with a 3.01 ERA and 28K% over 116 2/3 innings as a starter with the KBO’s Doosan Bears in 2020.
  • The Athletics are giving Pete Kozma a long look in Spring Training, as the veteran infielder has thus far played in all of Oakland’s spring games, MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos writes.  Kozma is trying to make his way back to the majors for the first time since 2018, and while Kozma has long been known as a glove-first player, he has been on fire at the plate in the Cactus League.  The A’s already have Chad Pinder and Tony Kemp slated for both second-base duty and as utilitymen, though Kozma is making a case for himself for a bench job.  It probably doesn’t hurt Kozma’s chances that Jed Lowrie (also in camp on a minors deal, and a veteran with a much longer MLB track record) has only just returned to game action as Lowrie tries to return from the leg injuries that have plagued his last two seasons.

A’s Add Three To 40-Man Roster, Announce Several Minor League Signings

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The Athletics announced Friday that they’ve selected the contracts of right-handers Miguel Romero and Wandisson Charles, as well as outfielder Greg Deichmann. Oakland also announced minor league deals and non-roster invites to Spring Training for 11 players. Right-handers Domingo Acevedo, Cristian Alvarado, Argenis Angulo, Matt Blackham, Ben Bracewell, Montana DuRapau, Brian Schlitter and Trey Supak will all be in camp with the A’s next year, as will infielders Pete Kozma, Frank Schwindel and Jacob Wilson.

Each of Romero, Charles and Deichmann was in Oakland’s 60-man player pool for the truncated 2020 regular season, but none of the three made his big league debut this year. Both Deichmann (No. 13) and Romero (No. 25) currently rank among the Athletics’ Top 30 prospects at MLB.com.

Deichmann was a second-round pick out of LSU in 2017 and has struggled at the plate in the minors due to wrist injuries, but he erupted with nine homers, two doubles and a triple in just 95 Arizona Fall League plate appearances in 2019. Romero, 26, averaged 10 K/9 and kept his ERA south of 4.00 in an outrageously hitter-friendly Triple-A setting in 2019 — a far more difficult task than one might expect at first glance. Just 28 of the 143 Triple-A pitchers with at least 70 innings managed a sub-4.00 mark thanks to the introduction of what was widely believed to be a juiced ball in an already hitter-friendly setting.

Among the non-roster invitees, Kozma jumps out at the most recognizable name. The former Cardinals shortstop has long been touted as a defensive wizard but has never been able to provide much in the way of offense to accompany his proficiency with the leather. DuRapau’s agents announced his signing last week, as we previously covered. The 34-year-old Schlitter is a well-traveled journeyman who logged 9 2/3 frames with the A’s in ’19. Supak was once a well-regarded prospect with both the Brewers and Pirates but will look for a fresh start with the Oakland org. Schwindel, a right-handed-hitting first baseman, got a very small cup of coffee with the 2019 Royals.

Freddie Freeman, Three Other Braves Test Positive For COVID-19

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A quartet of Atlanta Braves tested positive for COVID-19: Freddie Freeman, Pete Kozma, Touki Toussaint, and Will Smith, per Sportscaster Kelly Crull. Though the teams do not have to release the names of the players who test positive for coronavirus, in this case, the players consented to have their names released in order to spread awareness.

Smith and Toussaint are asymptomatic at this time. Freeman tested negative upon intake, but started developing symptoms before workouts were to begin, per The Athletic’s David O’Brien. Since it appears Freeman caught the virus while at Braves’ camp, this will be an important situation to track.

Not to mention, it’s possibly a blow to the Braves on-field expectations for 2020. There’s no telling how severe a case Freeman is dealing with, and even after he’s back to full health, he’ll need to pass the new protocols to return to play. Freeman, 30, is the longest-tenured member of the Braves. When he made his debut in 2010, Chipper Jones, David Ross, Derek Lowe, Jason Heyward, Tim Hudson, Craig Kimbrel, and Brian McCann were still a part of the team.

Though it seems like he’s been around forever, Freeman still produces like a superstar. He hit .295/.389/.549 even while dealing with an elbow injury that sapped him of some power.

Smith, meanwhile, could return earlier if he remains asymptomatic, but it’s important to remember that anybody appearing without symptoms who test positive could simply be pre-symptomatic, at which point there’s no telling yet what kind of timetable for a return might be. Smith was to be an important piece of Atlanta’s bullpen after joining the club from San Francisco via free agency. As the Giants’ closer last year, Smith went 6-0 with 34 saves and a 2.76 ERA/3.23 FIP over 60 games.

Toussaint had an outside shot at winning a spot in the Atlanta bullpen, though he figured to join the big league club at some point during the season as he has in each of the past two campaigns. Kozma was to serve as a depth infield option after playing all of 2019 for the Tigers’ Triple-A club.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/4/20

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Baseball America has posted its traditional roundup of minor moves dating to the start of the offseason. We’ve already covered quite a few of the transactions over the past several weeks, but there are several additions on minor-league pacts that have to this point eluded detection …

  • The Braves have signed left-handed pitcher Chris Nunn to a minor-league deal that includes an invite to spring training, according to Robert Murray. Nunn, originally a 2012 draftee of the Padres, has yet to see Major League action since his professional debut, making stops in Independent leagues along the way. Now 28 years old, he’s played in the upper minors with the Astros and Dodgers organizations in the last two years. Last year, in 50 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A, Nunn struck out 66 batters while walking 24. After posting a 1.33 ERA in Double-A, his numbers ballooned at the next level, though he largely maintained his bat-missing prowess.
  • The Padres signed outfielder Abraham Almonte. The 30-year-old switch-hitter saw action in 17 MLB games for the division-rival Diamonbacks in 2019. He was quite productive with the Snakes’ Triple-A affiliate in Reno last season, slashing .270/.382/.558. That dwarfs his prior MLB performance, though. In 1,138 plate appearances over the past six seasons, the center field-capable Almonte has compiled a .239/.298/.373 line (81 wRC+).
  • The Reds re-signed infielder Christian Colón and added catcher Francisco Peña to the organization. Colón, most known for his top five draft status and World Series heroics with the Royals, logged eight MLB plate appearances in Cincinnati last season. That rewarded a solid .300/.372/.443 line in extended action with Triple-A Louisville, although Colón was unsurprisingly bumped from the 40-man roster at season’s end. Peña tallied 202 uninspiring MLB plate appearances with the Royals, Orioles and Cardinals from 2014-18. He’s shown decent pop for a catcher at Triple-A, though; in parts of six seasons at the minors’ highest level, he has compiled a .259/.301/.469 line.
  • The Dodgers re-signed right-hander Justin De Fratus. The former Phillie has spent the last two seasons in the L.A. organization, but he hasn’t seen the majors since 2015. While all 191 of De Fratus’ MLB appearances have come out of the bullpen, he’s primarily been a starting pitcher in the minors in recent years, albeit with uninspiring results. The Dodgers also added hard-throwing lefty reliever Reymin Guduan. Guduan is still just 27 and had little trouble racking up strikeouts in the Astros’ organization, both in the high minors and at the MLB level. He’s always issued a few too many walks, though. Perhaps more concerning, Houston released Guduan in September after a team-imposed suspension for an undisclosed disciplinary issue.
  • The Rockies re-signed righty reliever Wes Parsons. The 27-year-old was claimed off waivers midseason from the Braves, but a dreadful MLB showing cost him his 40-man roster spot. Parsons logged a cumulative 5.45 ERA with more walks (29) than strikeouts (26) in 34.2 innings. Colorado also signed outfielder Michael Choice. The former top prospect, now 30, hasn’t logged significant MLB action since 2014. He’s spent the past two seasons in the Mexican League, but a strong 2019 effort there earned him another look in affiliated ball.
  • The Braves signed veteran infielder Pete Kozma. The longtime Cardinal has just a .215/.278/.291 career line (54 wRC+) in parts of seven MLB seasons. He hasn’t done much at the dish in the minors, either, but he’s a well-regarded defender around the infield.
  • The Angels signed former Cubs’ prospect Arismendy Alcántara. Alcántara hasn’t played at the highest level since 2017, and his career .189/.235/.315 line (49 wRC+) reflects the plate discipline woes that have done him in. He’s still just 28 years old, though, and his 2019 return to affiliated ball following a year in the Mexican League went well. The utilityman was productive across two minor-league levels in the Mets’ organization last season and showed better discipline than he has in his MLB career.
  • The Mets added former White Sox outfielder Ryan Cordell. Twice traded as a prospect, the 27-year-old fell flat in his first extended MLB look in 2019, with just a .221/.290/.355 line (73 wRC+). He’s capable of logging some time in center field, though, and he put together a decent minor-league resume between myriad injuries.
  • Finally, the Yankees brought aboard utilityman Rosell Herrera. Herrera logged fair MLB time with the Reds, Royals and Marlins the past two seasons. His resultant .225/.286/.316 slash (63 wRC+) won’t turn any heads, but Herrera has an 82nd percentile sprint speed, per Statcast, and has logged time at six different positions (short, second, third, and all three outfield spots) as a big leaguer.

Tigers Re-Sign Pete Kozma, Harold Castro

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The Tigers announced that they’ve signed 12 players to minor league contracts (full list here), including veteran shortstop Pete Kozma and infielder Harold Castro — each of whom was outrighted off the 40-man roster and became a free agent two weeks ago. That pair will be invited to Major League Spring Training, as will former Astros right-hander Jose Cisnero.

Kozma, a former Cardinals shortstop, had two stints with the Tigers this season but hit just .217/.236/.348 in 73 trips to the plate. His Triple-A stats weren’t an improvement (.203/.260/.295), though the defensive specialist has always been primarily known for his glovework. He’s still just 30 years of age and won’t turn 31 until after Opening Day next April.

Castro will turn 25 at the end of the month and made a very brief MLB debut this past season, going 3-for-10 in limited action as a September call-up. He once ranked among the organization’s top 30 prospects, per Baseball America, but that was back in 2014, and he’s done little at the plate in recent seasons. He split the 2018 season between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting a combined .265/.283/.319 in 367 plate appearances.

Cisnero is exactly one year younger than Kozma and hasn’t appeared in the Majors since the 2014 season with Houston. He broke into the Majors as a 24-year-old in 2013 and showed a bit of promise, pitching to a 4.12 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and 1.03 HR/9 in 43 2/3 innings as a rookie. Elbow issues torched his 2014 season, though, and he’s only pitched 5 1/3 innings of affiliated ball since that season ended. He’s pitched exclusively in the Mexican League and in Winter Ball since that time — also all in limited fashion. He’s off to a strong start in the 2018-19 Dominican Winter League, having yielded three earned runs on four hits and four walks with 11 strikeouts through 10 1/3 innings of relief.

Tigers Outright Four Players

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Oct. 25: The Tigers have announced all the moves, adding that Coleman, Adduci and Kozma have indeed elected free agency. Castro, it seems, will remain with the organization.

Oct. 24: The Tigers have outrighted shortstop Pete Kozma, right-hander Louis Coleman, first baseman/outfielder Jim Adduci and infielder Harold Castro after each the four cleared waivers, per the team’s transaction page at MLB.com. They’ll join right-hander Artie Lewicki, who did not clear waivers and was claimed by the D-backs, as the first five offseason roster casualties for the Tigers.

Kozma, still just 30 years old, had two stints with the Tigers this season but hit just .217/.236/.348 in 73 trips to the plate. His Triple-A work wasn’t any prettier (.203/.260/.295), though the defensive specialist has always been known more for his glovework than his bat.

Coleman, 32, racked up a fairly significant workload in Detroit this year, tallying 51 1/3 innings out of manager Ron Gardenhire’s bullpen. His 3.51 ERA looks fairly appealing at first glance, but he managed just 7.2 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9 and worked off a fastball that averaged 89.1 mph. Coleman benefited from a strand rate (78.8 percent) well north of the league average and a BABIP (.270) that was a good bit shy of the league norm, though both those numbers were in line with his career marks.

The 33-year-old Adduci has spent time with the Tigers in each of the past two seasons but mustered only a .267/.290/.386 batting line in 185 trips to the plate in 2018. The Canadian-born veteran has had plenty of success in Triple-A (career .287/.354/.414 hitter) and also fared well in a pair of seasons with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization (.307/.369/.530).

Castro, 25 next month, went 3-for-10 in his big league debut this season after having his contract selected in late September. He didn’t give the organization much reason for optimism with his Triple-A showing, hitting .257/.270/.310 in 251 plate appearances, and it’s been four years since he was ranked 28th among Tigers farmhands by Baseball America.

All four players — certainly Kozma, Coleman and Adduci — seem likely to become free agents and look for new minor league pacts in the offseason. Both Kozma and Coleman would’ve been arbitration-eligible this offseason, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting Kozma at a modest $700K and Coleman at $1.1MM.

Tigers Select Pete Kozma, Transfer Jose Iglesias To 60-Day DL

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The Tigers have selected the contract of veteran infielder Pete Kozma from Triple-A Toledo and created roster space by transferring Jose Iglesias from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL, per a club announcement.

The move formally brings an end to Iglesais’ 2018 season and could very well mark the end of his time with the Tigers. The defensive standout is set to hit free agency after the 2018 season and may not factor into the mix for the rebuilding Tigers, though the team doesn’t have an heir-apparent waiting in the upper minors. Dixon Machado could perhaps get another shot, but he’s already been designated for assignment and outrighted off the 40-man roster this season — a move the organization surely wouldn’t have made if it held much belief that he could be a regular contributor for them in 2019 and beyond.

Iglesias will have age on his side as he enters free agency, as he’ll turn 29 in January. His bat has tailed off since a pair of impressive seasons in 2013 and 2015 — he missed 2014 due to injury — but he remains a premium defender at short. In 464 plate appearances this season, he batted .269/.310/.389 which, paired with his strong glovework, made him worth a bit more than two wins above replacement (2.2 rWAR, 2.6 fWAR).

Kozma, 30, spent 15 games with Detroit earlier this season and hit .175/.195/.300 through 41 plate appearances. The former Cardinals infielder hasn’t hit much in Toledo either, posting a dreadful .203/.260/.295 slash through 296 trips to the plate, but he’ll give the team a quality defensive presence off the bench for the final couple of weeks.

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