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Contract Notes: Gonzalez, Breslow, McGowan, Narveson, Russell, Burriss

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Here are a few contract details relating to some recent roster decisions …

  • Miguel Gonzalez’s contract with the White Sox does not include an opt-out clause, Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago reports on Twitter. The veteran righty will represent useful rotation depth in Triple-A. Though he is coming off of a disastrous 2015 and didn’t show well in the spring, the 31-year-old has provided plenty of solid innings (with occasionally excellent results) over the years. He’s all the more useful to Chicago without concern of a hard opt-out date.
  • Marlins relievers Craig Breslow and Dustin McGowan have both signed advance consent agreements allowing them to be removed from the major league roster without guaranteeing the remainder of their salary within 45 days of Opening Day, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports on Twitter. Breslow will earn at a $1.5MM rate in the majors, as was reported upon his signing, while McGowan will take home $1MM annually. Meanwhile, Heyman adds, lefty Chris Narveson will earn $1.2MM in the majors. He doesn’t specify whether Narveson has an advanced consent agreement.
  • The Phillies are set to pay southpaw James Russell at a $1.5MM rate and Emmanuel Burriss $925K annually, Heyman adds on Twitter. Russell has had some productive campaigns in the past, and cracked the Opening Day roster after posting nine strikeouts and no walks in his 6 2/3 spring innings. As for Burriss, 31, he appeared briefly in the big leagues last year for the first time since a five-year run of part-time action with the Giants between 2008 and 2012.

Minor MLB Transactions 12-12-15

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Here are the day’s minor transactions:

  • The Tigers signed 17 minor leaguers, reports Anthony Fenech and James Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press. Among the most notable names are left-handed pitcher Drake Britton and right-handed pitchers Rafael Dolis, Lendy Castillo, and Preston Guilmet. The club also inked infielder Tommy Field. Britton, a former top Red Sox prospect, has pitched well in limited major league action. However, he scuffled with the Cubs Triple-A affiliate last season, posting a 5.08 ERA in 83 innings. Guilmet has strong minor league peripherals, but he’s struggled through 23 major league innings with a 8.22 ERA (4.28 xFIP).
  • The Tigers also inked right-handed pitcher Jake Brigham. However, his situation is unique in that he’s also pursuing a contract with NPB’s Rakuten Eagles. Brigham, soon-to-turn-28, has posted decent numbers as a minor league swingman. The Braves gave him a brief major league audition last season in which he threw 16 innings with a 8.64 ERA.
  • The Braves have signed former Reds starter David Holmberg, reports Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Holmberg, 24, has thrown 62 major league innings over 12 starts and two relief appearances. He has a 6.24 ERA with 4.79 K/9 and 5.08 BB/9. Atlanta also acquired reliever Ethan Martin. The former Phillies swingman flashed decent stuff with command problems in the majors, leading to a 5.93 ERA, 10.43 K/9, and 5.93 BB/9 in 44 innings.
  • The Orioles have signed lefty Jeff Beliveau. The southpaw missed most of 2015 with a labrum injury. He’s experienced success as a situational reliever, including a 2.63 ERA with 10.50 K/9 and 2.63 BB/9 in 2014 (24 innings, 30 appearances).
  • The Marlins have added righty Dustin McGowan. The once successful 33-year-old pitched poorly for the Phillies while struggling with control in 2015. He was only marginally better at Triple-A. If McGowan recovers his form, he could be a valuable reliever. He has a career 4.68 ERA with 7.35 K/9 and 3.90 BB/9 in 505 innings.
  • The Mets have inked former Brewers closer Jim Henderson. Injuries caused the 33-year-old to lose his ninth inning role in 2014, and he’s failed to reestablish himself since then. Last season in 29 innings for Milwaukee’s Triple-A affiliate, Henderson posted a 4.55 ERA with 7.58 K/9 and 5.16 BB/9.
  • The Padres have signed Philip Humber to a minor league deal. Humber pitched the 2015 for the KBO’s KIA Tigers in 2015. He posted a 6.75 ERA in the offensively charged league. Humber is perhaps best remembered for his unlikely perfect game for the White Sox in April of 2012. He was also part of the haul that brought Johan Santana to the Mets.

Minor Moves: Dustin McGowan, Jayson Nix, Josh Prince

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Here are the day’s minor moves …

  • Phillies righty Dustin McGowan has been added to the Triple-A roster at Lehigh Valley, per Director of Media Relations Matt Provence (via Twitter), meaning that he accepted his outright assignment. The club has also released infielder Jayson Nix. Over 195 plate appearances this year at the Triple-A level with the Phillies and Orioles organizations, Nix has struggled to a .162/.196/.222 slash. He has seen at least some MLB action in each of the past seven seasons, but will need to find another minor league opportunity to work his way back to the big leagues.
  • The Tigers have released infielder Josh Prince, James Schmehl of MLive.com reports. Prince, 27, joined the Detroit organization as a minor league free agent after spending his entire prior pro career with the Brewers. He enjoyed a cup of coffee in 2013, but has otherwise played exclusively in the minors. Prince’s primary calling card is his speed — he has 217 professional stolen bases over parts of seven seasons — and his up the middle capabilities on defense. He had scuffled to a .205/.295/.299 slash in his 132 plate appearances at the Tigers’ Double-A affiliate.

Outrighted To Triple-A: McGowan, De La Rosa

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Today’s outright assignments…

  • The Phillies outrighted Dustin McGowan to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, according to the MLB.com transactions page.  The 33-year-old has struggled with his control this season, leading to a 6.94 ERA in 23 1/3 innings. McGowan’s 21 strikeouts in that time are a solid mark, but he’s also walked 20 hitters, and his ground-ball rate is down significantly from its peak — a trend that began last year in Toronto and has continued in 2015.
  • Padres left-hander Eury De La Rosa cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A El Paso, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter).  De La Rosa, 25, has pitched exclusively at Triple-A this year, working to a 4.03 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 5.6 BB/9 over 22 1/3 frames. That represents a career-worst K:BB ratio in his professional career.
  • As we passed along earlier today, Mets pitcher Dillon Gee was also placed on outright waivers.  As the DFA Tracker shows, that leaves six players in DFA limbo: Jhonatan Solano, Phillippe Aumont, Andy Parrino, Hector Noesi, Jeff Bianchi, and Rickie Weeks.

Phillies Designate Dustin McGowan For Assignment

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The Phillies announced today that they have designated right-hander Dustin McGowan for assignment and recalled left-hander Jake Diekman from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

The 33-year-old McGowan has already been outrighted off the 40-man roster once this season but remained with the organization after he cleared waivers. He’ll have the option o elect free agency once again, if he is ultimately exposed to waivers and clears for a second time. The veteran swingman has struggled with his control this season, leading to a 6.94 ERA in 23 1/3 innings. McGowan’s 21 strikeouts in that time are a solid mark, but he’s also walked 20 hitters, and his ground-ball rate is down significantly from its peak — a trend that began last year in Toronto and has continued in 2015.

Diekman, 28, entered the season as one of the more intriguing arms in the Phillies’ bullpen mix but struggled to a 6.75 ERA through 21 1/3 innings before being optioned to Triple-A earlier this month. His brief trip to the minors was as encouraging as Phillies’ decision-makers could possibly have hoped, as he fired seven scoreless innings, allowing just five hits and a walk while punching out seven batters. Diekman whiffed 100 hitters in just 71 innings last year and posted FIP, xFIP and SIERA marks between 2.64 and 2.85, suggesting that he had performed much better than his 3.80 ERA otherwise indicated. He’ll likely rejoin Ken Giles as a setup option for closer Jonathan Papelbon, though he could move into a more prominent role in the Philly bullpen if Papelbon is ultimately traded.

Minor Moves: McGehee, McGowan, Schebler, Venditte, Marrero, Mooneyham, Demeritte

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • Several notable players are en route to the big leagues. The Giants have brought back third baseman Casey McGehee after he hit well in a brief Triple-A stint (having accepted an optional assignment). Fellow veteran Dustin McGowan, a right-hander, has been recalled by the Phillies; he had been outrighted off the 40-man earlier in the year. And the Dodgers have called up outfielder Scott Schebler, the organization’s minor league player of the year in 2013, who will see his first MLB action. He was placed on the club’s 40-man roster last year, though his numbers have fallen off somewhat early this season after two consecutive .900+ OPS campaigns in the high minors.
  • Most exciting of all, perhaps, is the news that the Athletics have announced that switch-pitcher Pat Venditte has been added to the big league roster. A nearly-unprecedented hurler, Venditte reverses the very idea of platoons by moving seamlessly between pitching with his right and left arms. He’s been outstanding this year at Triple-A, tossing 33 frames of 1.36 ERA ball with 9.0 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9. The 29-year-old has been particularly stingy when facing lefties, holding them to a remarkable .095/.136/.095 slash.
  • First baseman Chris Marrero has reached a minor league deal with the White Sox, Mike Ashmore of MyCentralJersey.com writes. The former Nationals prospect, now 26, had been playing with the indy league Somerset Patriots. He’ll report to Double-A for the Chicago organization.
  • The Nationals have released lefty Brett Mooneyham, who was their third-round pick in the 2012 draft, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. Mooneyham, a 25-year-old Stanford product, has struggled badly with control and shifted exclusively to the pen at the A-ball level this year. He owned just a 6.41 ERA over 19 2/3 frames with 16 strikeouts against 13 walks.
  • Rangers prospect Travis Demeritte, a first-round pick in 2013, has been hit with an 80-game suspension for using banned substances, Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest reports on Twitter. The infielder was repeating the Sally League at age 20. Over 664 plate appearances at the level, he owns a .220/.320/.438 slash with 30 long balls and 16 stolen bases but a whopping 240 strikeouts.

Phillies Outright Dustin McGowan

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The Phillies announced this afternoon that they’ve outrighted Dustin McGowan to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The move will clear space on the 25-man roster for the promotion of Maikel Franco, and it also, of course, clears a spot on the 40-man roster, reducing the current total to 39.

The 33-year-old McGowan signed with the Phillies late in Spring Training after being cut loose by the Dodgers. He’s struggled to a 5.79 ERA in 14 innings with the Phils, however, with the most troubling part about his performance being an eye-popping 16 walks in those 14 frames. McGowan has battled slight control issues in the past, but never anything of this magnitude.

That McGowan was outrighted means that he’s already cleared waivers. The Phillies, then, opted to immediately place McGowan on waivers as opposed to designate the righty for assignment.

NL East Notes: Mejia, Phillies, Span, Braves

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The Mets announced today that closer Jenrry Mejia will be placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 5, due to posterior elbow inflammation. Mejia’s injury adds another to a long list of pitching injuries for the Mets early in the season, but his injury does appear to be of the short-term variety. Jeurys Familia will step into Mejia’s spot in the closer’s role in the interim. (Fantasy players looking to stay on top of closer situations can follow MLBTR’s fantasy-focused @closernews handle on Twitter.)

Here’s more from the NL East…

  • Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg explained to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki the team’s thought process in its final roster decisions at the end of Spring Training. Signing right-hander Dustin McGowan upon his release from the Dodgers was a welcome move for Philadelphia, as they’d had interest in him earlier in the offseason before he signed in L.A. Jeff Francoeur was selected for a roster spot despite others performing better in spring because the team wanted a right-handed bat on the bench and felt that Francoeur’s clubhouse presence would benefit the young players on the roster. Cesar Hernandez was outperformed by Cord Phelps, but the Phillies wanted a shortstop on the bench, and Hernandez was out of Minor League options, paving his way to the Opening Day roster.
  • Nationals center fielder Denard Span may be back from core muscle surgery sooner than expected, writes MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. Span has already begun performing hard sprint drills and has played defense in a pair of Minor League games. Span tells Ladson that he he thinks he could potentially return to the lineup before the calendar flips to May, potentially putting him about two weeks ahead of schedule.
  • Freddie Freeman was among the Braves players to speak to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman about the difficulty of losing Craig Kimbrel as a teammate following Kimbrel’s trade to the Padres. “He got sent down from High A to Low A, and then all of the sudden became Craig Kimbrel,” Freeman reminisced. “It’s the craziest thing. When a guy gets traded, you think about all those stories in the Minor Leagues. … It’s definitely tough seeing him go. But I think everybody’s mentality in this clubhouse is to prove everybody wrong.” Manager Fredi Gonzalez said he felt the players handled the news well, and veteran Jonny Gomes worked to make sure that the trade wasn’t something dwelled upon as the team geared up for Opening Day, Bowman adds.

Phillies Sign Dustin McGowan

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8:51pm: Philadelphia has confirmed it’s a one-year, major league deal via Twitter. He’ll pitch out of the bullpen.

8:05pm: MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki confirmed the deal and implied McGowan will make the Opening Day bullpen. The club has announced six relievers. They have a seventh – Luis Garcia – in camp. However, Garcia still has options.

7:12pm: The Phillies have agreed to a deal with right-handed pitcher Dustin McGowan, reports Jerry Crasnick of ESPN (via Twitter). No word yet on whether it’s a major or minor league deal. He was released by the Dodgers on Tuesday.

The oft-injured 33-year-old posted a 6.75 ERA with five strikeouts and one walk in eight spring innings. He appeared for the Blue Jays last year with a 4.17 ERA, 6.70 K/9, and 3.62 BB/9 in 82 innings split between eight starts and 45 relief appearances.

Twins Notes: Starters, McGowan, Santana

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Here’s the latest from the Twins as they head towards their Monday opener in Detroit…

  • The Twins aren’t looking for starting pitching help right now as they feel they already have enough internal candidates to replace Ervin Santana, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports (Twitter link).  Mike Pelfrey will step into the rotation while Santana serves his 80-game suspension, with Trevor May and Alex Meyer on hand as depth options.
  • Though the Twins were recently “kicking the tires” on righty Dustin McGowan, 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson reports that the former Blue Jay isn’t going to end up in Minnesota (Twitter link).  The Twins are known to be seeking bullpen help, so they may yet strike a deal with a different player or pick someone up on waivers before Opening Day.
  • Santana’s suspension is the latest blow to Minnesota’s recent history of free agent pitching signings, CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa writes.  While the Phil Hughes signing was a big success, Pelfrey and Ricky Nolasco underachieved last season after signing multi-year deals and now Santana will miss the first half-season of his four-year, $54MM contract.  While there’s still lots of time for Santana, Nolasco and Pelfrey to make good on their deals, Axisa notes that the mid-market Twins can’t afford to make expensive mistakes in free agency.
  • Unsurprisingly, Twins GM Terry Ryan tells Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the club bases its decision to call up prospects not on service time, but on the player’s readiness for the majors.  The service time debate could soon arise in Minnesota when star prospects Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano are close to the bigs.  The Twins didn’t delay Joe Mauer’s service clock in 2004, yet Miller observes that doing so would’ve gained the team an extra year of control over Mauer and possibly saved them some money off the $184MM extension he eventually signed.
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