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Derek Norris

Derek Norris Reportedly Agrees To Deal With Sugar Land Skeeters

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Veteran catcher Derek Norris has signed on with the Sugar Land Skeeters, as Mick Reinhard of Mayflies & Big Flies first reported on Twitter. The organization has yet to announce the move.

Based upon his MLB experience alone, Norris would surely command a spot at the top affiliate of some organization. The 29-year-old has appeared in 610 games over the past six seasons, after all. And he hit as well as could be hoped in limited action this spring — 7-for-17 with a home run — after joining the Tigers on a minor-league deal.

Though Norris has struggled quite a bit at the plate in recent seasons, with a .190/.256/.343 slash since the start of 2016, teams are always on the hunt for catching depth. In that regard, it’s surprising at first glance to hear that Norris was forced onto the indy ball circuit. That said, the recent domestic violence allegations against Norris that led to league discipline — and the controversial manner in which he and the Tigers addressed the matter this spring — may well have been a consideration for other affiliated organizations.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/29/18

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We’ll use this post to catch up on some recent minor moves …

  • Veteran catcher Derek Norris and right-hander Enrique Burgos were released by the Tigers yesterday, tweets Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. Both had previously been reassigned to minor league camp after being informed that they wouldn’t crack the Opening Day roster. Norris went 7-for-17 with a homer in camp for Detroit, while Burgos was tagged for six runs in 4 2/3 innings with the big league team. Both will look to latch on elsewhere and work their way back to the majors.
  • In a minor swap for an unknown return, the Phillies acquired Dean Anna from the White Sox, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link). The 31-year will give the Phils some infield depth, though they will surely hope not to have a need for it at the MLB level. Anna has scant MLB experience but has been playing at Triple-A since 2013. Most recently, he posted a .285/.364/.376 slash at the highest level of the minors with the Royals in 2017.
  • The Pirates have released a group of minor-leaguers, John Dreker of Pirates Prospects reports (subscription link). The most prominent among them are outfielder Barrett Barnes and hurlers Cody Dickson and John Stilson. Barnes was the former 45th overall pick but did not stand out in brief action at the Triple-A level last year. Dickson is a former fourth-rounder who topped out at Triple-A last year, while Stilson has never yet received an MLB opportunity despite compiling a 2.75 ERA in 131 Triple-A innings.
  • The Twins have released former first-round pick Levi Michael, according to LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (via Twitter). Michael, 27, was taken with the 30th overall pick in the 2011 draft out of the University of North Carolina. A middle infielder who has also tried some time in center more recently, Michael has just never really turned the corner. For an organization rich in young infielders, he evidently was not worth keeping around. Michael did briefly reach the Triple-A level last year after a decent bounceback showing in Double-A, where he slashed .264/.362/.380.
  • Among the other players set free of late was former MLB catcher Johnny Monell, who was released by the Rays, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). Monell, who recently turned 32, had returned to affiliated ball after a one-year tour with Korea’s KT Wiz. He has seen only limited time in the majors but does sport an appealing .278/.350/.460 lifetime batting line at Triple-A.

AL Central Notes: Tigers, Fiers, Hirano, Twins, Indians, Adams

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The rebuilding Tigers are pursuing a pair of potential bounce-back starters, right-handers Chris Tillman and Mike Fiers, as well as Japanese closer Yoshihisa Hirano, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News tweets. On the other hand, they’re not after free agent starters Jason Vargas, Jeremy Hellickson or ex-Tiger Anibal Sanchez, according to McCosky. Detroit’s interest in Tillman has been known since last month, and he and Fiers look like strong candidates to sign one-year deals after enduring rough 2017 campaigns. Hirano also figures to land a short-term pact because of his age (34 in March), though he ran roughshod over hitters as a closer in Japan for most of the past decade. The Tigers join the Cardinals as the second team with reported interest in the righty.

More on Detroit and two of its American League Central rivals:

  • Although the Twins voided their contract with Dominican shortstop prospect Jelfry Marte last month after he failed a physical, they still “have a shot” to re-sign the 16-year-old, according to Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press (on Twitter). Marte’s next deal will unsurprisingly come with a lesser bonus than the $3MM the Twins had given him, relays Berardino, who adds that there are “no hard feelings” between the player and the team. The Twins made two trades on Wednesday that reduced their remaining international bonus pool space for 2017-18, but they still have $1.25MM available, Berardino notes.
  • If the Indians don’t re-sign free agent first baseman Carlos Santana and outfielder Jay Bruce, the recently non-tendered Matt Adams could make sense as a first base/designated hitter option, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com observes. Adams and Edwin Encarnacion would share the two positions, suggests Hoynes, who lists several other non-tendered players (Terrance Gore, Drew Smyly, Chi Chi Gonzalez, Jared Hughes, Hector Rondon and Bruce Rondon) as possible buy-low targets for the Indians.
  • The Twins have hired Pete Maki as their minor league pitching coordinator, Aaron Fitt of D1Baseball.com reports (on Twitter). Maki had been on Duke University’s staff since July 2015, serving as its pitching coach for two seasons. Duke had a combined four pitchers come off the board in the previous two drafts, the highest being fifth-rounder Bailey Clark (Cubs, No. 164) in 2016.
  • Catcher Derek Norris, whom the Tigers signed to a minor league contract Tuesday, will earn a base salary of $1.2MM if he cracks their roster, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). Norris could also rake in $300K in incentives.

Tigers Sign Leonys Martin To Major League Deal, Sign Derek Norris To Minors Pact

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The Tigers announced that they’ve signed outfielder Leonys Martin to a one-year, Major League contract for the 2018 season. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (via Twitter) that he’ll earn a guaranteed $1.75MM with the opportunity to pick up another $1.1MM via incentives.

Meanwhile, catcher Derek Norris, right-hander Enrique Burgos and outfielder Jim Adduci have signed minor league deals that contain invites to Spring Training, per the team. The Tigers also confirmed their previously reported minor league deal with first baseman Edwin Espinal.

Martin, 30 next March, should have ample opportunity to pick up at-bats with the Tigers, who enter the offseason with a thin outfield mix. Mikie Mahtook, JaCoby Jones and Nicholas Castellanos currently sit atop the depth chart in Detroit, though Jones has yet to establish himself in the Majors while Castellanos is a trade candidate. Martin could supplant Jones, and at the very least the two will compete for regular at-bats during Spring Training this year.

In Martin, the Tigers are adding a left-handed bat and a fleet-footed defender that can handle all three outfield spots. The former Rangers/Mariners outfielder hasn’t hit much in recent years, but Martin has consistently drawn top-notch reviews for his defensive work — most of which has come in center field. Defensive Runs Saved pegs him at +46 in nearly 4500 big league innings, while Ultimate Zone Rating has him at 30 runs better than average. Detroit outfielders, collectively, drew marks of -10 and -7 from DRS and UZR last season, so adding Martin to the mix should prove to be a significant boon, even if it comes at the expense of some offense.

Martin’s struggles with the bat have indeed been pronounced over the past three seasons, during which time he’s twice posted an OPS south of .600. Overall, in his past 1024 MLB plate appearances, Martin has batted .228/.283/.345. At his best, Martin does show some pop, and he’s always a threat on the basepaths as well. Martin’s batted-ball profile has been increasingly fly-ball oriented in recent years, and while many in the league have had great success in that regard, it hasn’t worked out for him. Perhaps a return to a more ground-ball-based approach and some work to curtail his recent uptick in punchouts can at least return his bat to serviceable levels.

As a bonus for the Tigers, Martin comes with just four years, 161 days of Major League service time, meaning if he does turn things around at all, he’ll be controllable through the 2019 season via arbitration. That could help both in making him a multi-year asset for a rebuilding Detroit club or by making him more appealing to potential trade suitors in the event of a bounceback.

Norris, 29 in February, struggled to a .201/.258/.380 line in 198 plate appearances with the Rays last season. He hasn’t performed well at the plate since a solid run with the A’s and Padres in 2013-15, though he at one point in his career showed a penchant for drawing walks and the power to post double-digit homer totals. He’ll compete for a backup catching job, though with James McCann and John Hicks in the fold, it seems likelier that he’ll head to Triple-A to open the year.

Norris was released by the Rays this past June, and his season formally came to a conclusion on Sept. 1 when commissioner Rob Manfred placed him on the restricted list for the final month of the year “based on the results of” an investigation into domestic violence allegations made by his former fiancee. Notably, it does not seem as though there were ever any criminal charges brought forth against Norris. He’s not facing any punishment from the league in 2018.

The 27-year-old Burgos has shown the ability to miss bats at the big league level, averaging 10.8 K/9 in 68 1/3 innings across multiple stints with the D-backs, dating back to 2015. He’s averaged nearly 96 mph on his fastball but has also issued five walks per nine innings as a Major Leaguer. He’ll vie for a spot in an unsettled Tigers bullpen and, if he can eventually put things together, is controllable all the way through the 2022 season.

Adduci, 32, returned from a strong stint in the Korea Baseball Organization this year and made his way to the Tigers’ big league roster, where he batted .241/.323/.398 in 93 PAs. Adduci has just 241 big league PAs, which have resulted in a .209/.283/.302 slash.

MLB Places Derek Norris On Restricted List For Remainder Of Season

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Major League Baseball has announced that free-agent catcher Derek Norris has been placed on the restricted list for the remainder of the season. The league says that it issued its decision “based on the results of” an investigation under the domestic violence policy; commissioner Rob Manfred did not otherwise explain the result except to state that he determined that Norris’s “conduct warranted discipline.”

Norris will not appeal, per the announcement, and will be eligible again to sign a contract after the conclusion of the current season. The 28-year-old was released earlier this year by the Rays and had not signed with another organization since. Norris will also lose the right to collect $100K of salary he was still due from Tampa Bay; the organization will instead donate that sum “to one or more charitable organizations focused on preventing and treating survivors of domestic violence,” per Manfred’s statement.

The league commenced an investigation into Norris after his one-time fiancee, Kristen Eck, accused him publicly of physical and emotional abuse. Norris denied that he had committed the alleged actions. It does not appear that Eck pursued criminal charges, but detailed her allegations (as Topkin wrote earlier this summer) and seemingly agreed to cooperate with MLB’s investigation.

The joint MLB-MLBPA domestic violence policy vests the power to investigate, assess culpability, and issue punishment in the commissioner. That authority is not contingent upon any actions by public authorities and does not require a criminal conviction.

Norris had struggled on the field this year prior to losing his job with the Rays in late June. Still, as an experienced major league backstop, he might well have had an opportunity to join a roster for the month of September were it not for today’s decision (along with whatever underlying facts the league was able to ascertain). Of course, today’s decision could well also have an impact on his future prospects in the game.

Rays Release Derek Norris

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JUNE 27: Norris has been released after clearing waivers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.

JUNE 23: The Rays have designated catcher Derek Norris, according to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). He’ll make way for Wilson Ramos, who’ll be activated from the 60-day DL, while Jesus Sucre will continue on as the team’s reserve backstop.

Norris, 28, was added just before the start of the season after he was released by the Nationals — who had themselves acquired him early in the offseason when Ramos hit the open market. Ramos ended up signing an incentive-laden deal with the Rays, who knew he’d miss the bulk of the first half while completing the rehabilitation of a torn ACL.

While Norris helped bridge to Ramos, and ended his run with the Rays with a bang by hitting his ninth homer tonight, he had struggled at the plate. Largely matching a messy 2016 effort, Norris has managed only a .188/.242/.347 slash in his 198 plate appearances on the year. Still, he figures to draw plenty of interest elsewhere given his past success at the plate and excellent pitch-framing reputation.

The Rays are surely pleased to be getting Ramos back now. If he can provide anything like the production he carried last year — .307/.354/.496 with 22 home runs in 523 plate appearances — he’ll be quite a bargain. With Tampa Bay in fairly solid position to contend at least for a Wild Card, Ramos may deliver a significant boost in advance of the deadline.

MLB Investigating Abuse Allegations Against Derek Norris

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12:20pm: Norris has issued a statement, via his agent, to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times:

“First, I want to be absolutely clear that abuse of any form, is completely unacceptable. Allegations regarding this issue are a very serious matter and should not be taken lightly under any circumstances. That being said, in this circumstance, the comments made by my ex-fiancee could not be further from the truth. I have NEVER been physically or emotionally abusive towards her, or anyone else in my life. I plan to go above and beyond to assist MLB with their investigation into this matter.”

The Rays have also commented on the matter, though their statement was considerably more brief: “The Rays wholly support MLB’s Domestic Violence policy. We take these allegations very seriously and will fully cooperate with the Commissioner’s Office on this matter.”

8:00am: Major League Baseball is investigating allegations of  “physical and emotional abuse” that have been brought forth against Rays catcher Derek Norris, MLB spokesperson Pat Courtney confirmed to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. Norris’ ex-fiancee, Kristin Eck, made the claims against him in a recent post on Instagram. It’s not clear at this time if there is any ongoing criminal investigation, though Crasnick’s report makes no such mention.

Eck’s comments do not specifically mention Norris by name, but she’d previously appeared on MLB Network in a video interview promoting some charity work, in which she was identified as Norris’ fiancee. Her comments also imply that Norris is the man in question: “…I also was physically and emotionally abused by this beautiful man. He gave me a lifestyle most people only dreamed of, but it came at a price. … When I left I had $300 to my name, I had no access to money, I had no access to cars and was only given the courtesy to remove my items from our home.”

Commissioner Rob Manfred and his staff will look into the matter under Major League Baseball’s relatively new domestic abuse policy, which has already led to suspensions of varying length for Aroldis Chapman, Jose Reyes, Hector Olivera and Jeurys Familia. Each of those cases was dealing with allegations of singular incidents, and MLB’s investigation into each of those incidents was also performed simultaneously with criminal investigations. The allegations against Norris, at present, are more generalized in nature, which will likely require a different type of investigation from the Commissioner’s Office.

That is not to say, of course, that the claims levied against Norris should be considered lesser; certainly, it’s a serious matter that could well result in a punishment for the six-year big league veteran. However, Norris’ case does come under different circumstances than the previous cases that yielded suspensions, so it remains to be seen precisely how the league will handle this scenario. Olivera is the only one of those previously punished under the policy whose investigation occurred during the season, and he was initially placed on paid administrative leave during that investigation. It’s not yet clear if Norris will also be placed on leave.

Rays Sign Derek Norris

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TUESDAY: Norris’ deal comes with $250K in incentives for 50, 75, 100 and 125 days on the big league roster, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag. He’ll also collect $250K if the Rays trade him.

SUNDAY: To make room for Norris, the Rays have placed right-hander Kevin Gadea on the 60-day DL with elbow tendinitis, according to Topkin. If healthy, the Rays would have returned the Rule 5 pick to the Mariners (Twitter links).

SATURDAY: The Rays have officially announced the signing.  A corresponding move to create a 40-man roster spot will come later today, Topkin tweets, with the simplest scenario being that Ramos would be placed on the 60-day DL.

FRIDAY, 3:40pm: Norris will earn $1.2MM and can add another $800K via incentives, Topkin tweets. That’ll be on top of the $688K or so he’s owed by the Nationals under the arb arrangement he had reached at the outset of his short-lived stint in D.C.

1:28pm: Free agent catcher Derek Norris will sign with the Rays, reports Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. Norris chose the Rays over four other suitors (Twitter link). It’ll be a one-year deal, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Rays could control Norris for two years, though, as he’ll be arbitration eligible for the last time in 2018.

Derek Norris[RELATED: Updated Rays Depth Chart]

The Rockies and Cardinals had also been mentioned recently in connection to Norris, who reached the open market when the Nationals released him March 15. That came after a failed attempt to trade Norris, who would have been due $4.2MM. Instead, he’ll presumably earn a significantly lower salary with the Rays. Norris picked Tampa Bay over other teams because he expects to receive more playing time there than he would have elsewhere, according to Brown.

The Rays signed a high-profile backstop, Wilson Ramos, in free agency over the winter, but after suffering a torn ACL last season, he probably won’t debut until May or June. Even when he is healthy enough to return, Ramos could break back in as a designated hitter. Thus, as opposed to going with the unexciting duo of Luke Maile and Curt Casali as their primary catchers, the Rays are adding Norris, who’s easily the most proven of the three.

The 28-year-old Norris isn’t without his flaws, having batted an ugly .186/.255/.328 with a career-worst 30.3 percent strikeout rate in 458 plate appearances with the Padres last season. However, Norris isn’t far removed from slashing a palatable .246/.336/.392 in 982 PAs with the A’s and Padres from 2012-15. Norris is also coming off his second straight season in which both Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner assigned him plus pitch-framing marks behind the plate. That surely added to his appeal from the Rays’ standpoint, as the organization is known to value framing.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Quick Hits: Draft, Norris, Sternberg, Hanson, Quintana

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This year’s amateur draft class is still quite unsettled, though in Baseball America’s initial ranking of the Top 100 draft prospects, Hudson Belinsky and John Manuel note that a pair of two-way players are standing out as the potential top two picks.  Louisville first baseman/left-handed pitcher Brendan McKay is drawing most of his attention as an “elite pure hit tool” batter though “at least one” interested team prefers him on the mound.  No right-handed high school pitcher has ever been drafted first overall, though 17-year-old Hunter Greene has an upper-90s fastball and has touched the 102mph mark.  This kind of live arm at such a young age has even drawn some Dwight Gooden comparisons, so most evalutors prefer Greene as a pitcher, though he also possesses “top-of-the-scale raw power” as a shortstop.  The Twins own the first pick in June’s draft, though McKay and Greene are just two of nine players Minnesota is reportedly considering for the top selection.

Here’s more from around baseball…

  • The Rays are currently “on the outside looking in” of the Derek Norris hunt, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (via Twitter), though they are still one of multiple teams talking to the free agent catcher.  The Rays have a need at catcher since Wilson Ramos will miss some time at the start of the season and require DH days after returning, and they’ve been linked to Norris since he was released by the Nationals last week.
  • Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg spoke to reporters (including MLB.com’s Bill Chastain) about the team’s search for a new ballpark, noting that the Rays have already moved on from their top choice.  “We had some ideas on locations that weren’t available, that I thought would work perfectly, that were off the table,” Sternberg said. “So we’re sort of moving down our list, No. 2, 3, and 4.  Sometimes it’s like starting pitchers.  You have five of them, and sometimes No. 4 is better than No. 2, and really better than No. 1.“
  • Reds right-hander Nick Hanson, the club’s third-round pick in the 2016 draft, will undergo Tommy John surgery, as reported by SB Nation’s Eric Roseberry and the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Zach Buchanan (Twitter links).  Hanson, a Minnesota high schooler, was slated to attend the University of Kentucky before agreeing to an above-slot $925K bonus to join the Reds.  The 2017 Baseball America Prospect Handbook ranked him as the 30th-best prospect in Cincy’s system, describing the 6’6″ 18-year-old as “understandably raw with a loose arm” but owning a fastball in the 91-95mph range and the potential for an above-average curveball.  Given the usual TJ recovery period, Hanson’s best-case scenario for a return is midway through the 2018 season.
  • Jose Quintana is worth the big price it would cost the Pirates to acquire the southpaw from the White Sox, Paul Zeise of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette opines.  Quintana’s strong track record and affordable contract make him a good fit for the Bucs, who could sacrifice young arms Tyler Glasnow and Mitch Keller in order to win now with Quintana, in Zeise’s view.  Giving up outfield prospect Austin Meadows could be difficult, though Zeise wonders if the Sox have perhaps slightly lowered their asking price.  (White Sox GM Rick Hahn said nothing had changed on that front in comments to reporters today.)  Pirates GM Neal Huntington “should do [the trade] today,” Zeise writes, if Chicago would accept Glasnow, Keller and Josh Bell.

NL West Notes: Hoffman, Norris, Hoover, Padres

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Some news and notes from around the NL West…

  • The Rockies optioned Jeff Hoffman to Triple-A today, with manager Bud Black telling reporters (including Nick Groke of the Denver Post) that Hoffman required “a little more refinement” and consistency.  “The fastball has velocity, but he has to locate the fastball,” Black said.  “The slider and curveball are very good pitches.  They are major league quality.  But he has to consistently get them into good spots.  The overall command of his pitches is something he needs to harness.”  Hoffman, one of the game’s top pitching prospects, posted a 4.88 ERA over his first 31 1/3 innings in the majors last season.  With Hoffman at Triple-A, rookies German Marquez, Kyle Freeland, and Antonio Senzatela are all competing for the last two spots in Colorado’s injury-thinned rotation.
  • The Rockies are one of the teams interested in catcher Derek Norris, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.  Colorado joins the Cardinals and Rays as teams known to have interest in the free agent catcher.  With Tom Murphy on the DL with a fractured forearm, the Rockies are a logical candidate to be exploring upgrades behind the plate.
  • J.J. Hoover is looking like a good bet to break camp with the Diamondbacks, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes.  Hoover signed a minor league deal with the D’Backs in January that will pay him a $900K base salary if he cracks the big league roster, which seems like a distinct possibility given the righty’s solid spring numbers and Arizona’s wide-open bullpen competition.  Hoover posted solid numbers out of Cincinnati’s bullpen from 2012-15 before taking over as the Reds closer and suffering a disastrous 2016 season.
  • The top 50 international bonuses of 2016 are compiled by Baseball America’s Ben Badler, with the Padres’ $11MM bonus to Cuban lefty Adrian Morejon leading the way.  San Diego owns five of the top 12 entries and a league-leading 11 of the top 50 overall, which isn’t a surprise given the Padres’ tactic of blowing past their bonus pool limit to hoard as much young international talent as possible during this signing period.  As a result, the Padres will be limited to signings worth no more than $300K during the next two international signing periods.
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