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Retirement/Comeback Notes: Masterson, Wilhelmsen, G. Soto

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A look at the latest official retirement announcements from around the game, plus a potential comeback . . .

  • Pitcher Justin Masterson, 33, is officially retired, per his agent Randy Rowley (Twitter link via Fancred’s Jon Heyman).  Masterson, who came up with the Red Sox, was a rotation stalwart for the Indians over the early part of the decade, posting an excellent 12.3 fWAR from 2010-’13.  The low-slot righty posted some of the league’s highest ground-ball rates over that frame, rarely missing an outing in the process. After a dreadful, walk-marred 2014 campaign, the then-29-year-old never reclaimed his barrel-avoiding touch. The Dodgers took a flier on him prior to the ’17 season, but he struggled in Triple-A Oklahoma City and never did make an appearance for the parent club.
  • Reliever Tom Wilhelmsen announced his retirement on Instagram this morning. Wilhelmsen, 35 on Sunday, was suspended from baseball in 2004 and subsequently quit the game the next season; in 2009, though, he returned to pitch for the Golden (Independent) League’s Tucson Toros and was signed by Seattle the next spring.  He quickly inserted himself into the bullpen mix for the M’s, posting four seasons of a sub-3.35 ERA from 2011-’15.  Command issues often plagued him, though, and he was released by Arizona after a rough start to the 2017 season.
  • 2008 Rookie of the Year Geovany Soto will attempt a comeback next season after sitting out 2018, per agent Paul Kinzer (via MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes on Twitter). Soto, 35, has been mostly a backup option after a rough 2012 with the Cubs and Rangers, though has often acquitted himself well in limited action since.  He last appeared in the majors with the 2017 White Sox, slashing .190/.271/.405 in 48 plate appearances.

White Sox Decline Option On Geovany Soto

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The White Sox announced that they’ve declined a club option over veteran catcher Geovany Soto. Details of Soto’s option weren’t previously known, but Dan Hayes of NBC Sports Chicago tweets that it was a $3.5MM club option with a $250K buyout. The decision to opt for the buyout is hardly surprising; the 34-year-old Soto received just 48 plate appearances in 2017 and missed the bulk of the season due to elbow surgery.

Soto will turn 35 in January and hasn’t received more than 210 plate appearances in any single season since 2012. The former NL Rookie of the Year (2008, Cubs) is a lifetime .245/.330/.435 hitter with 108 homers in 2876 plate appearances. between the Cubs, White Sox, Rangers, A’s and Angels. He’s had two stints with the White Sox now, and given their organizational needs, it seems plausible that the two sides could yet agree to a new minor league contract for the 2018 campaign. If not, he’ll likely command interest on a minor league deal and could look to latch on somewhere as a depth option or in a competition for a backup role next season.

Geovany Soto To Undergo Elbow Surgery

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The White Sox have announced that catcher Geovany Soto will undergo arthroscopic surgery for debridement and the removal loose bodies in his right elbow — a procedure that’ll sideline him for at least the next 12 weeks, per the team. Soto has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list, and his 40-man roster spot will go toright-hander Gregory Infante, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Charlotte. Cody Asche has been optioned to Triple-A to make room for Infante on the active roster.

[Related: Updated White Sox Depth Chart]

Soto, 34, returned to the ChiSox for his second stint with the team this year and was expected to receive a fair share of the playing time, but he’s tallied just 48 plate appearances and batted .190/.271/.405 on the year thus far. He’ll now be out until at least mid-August due to the injury. In his stead, Omar Narvaez and Kevan Smith seem likely to handle the bulk of the catching duties on the South Side of Chicago.

The 25-year-old Narvaez should slot in as manager Rick Renteria’s primary backstop; since making his Major League debut in 2016, he’s proven to have a keen eye at the dish but hasn’t demonstrated much in the way of power. Narvaez has walked more than he’s struck out (13.9 percent versus 12.8 percent) and posted a collective .253/.355/.310 batting line in 187 plate appearances as a big leaguer to date. He’s caught just 18 percent of potential base thieves thus far in his career, though he’s gone 4-for-8 in that regard this year after struggling substantially in 2016 (2-for-25). Baseball Prospectus pegs him as a slighty below-average pitch framer.

As for Infante, the 29-year-old will be returning to the Majors for the first time since a brief, five-game stint with the White Sox all the way back in 2010. He has just 4 2/3 innings under his belt in the Majors, though he possesses a solid Triple-A track record and has been excellent there in 2017. Thus far with Charlotte, Infante has tossed 13 innings and allowed just three runs on seven hits and six walks with 16 strikeouts. Overall, he owns a 3.47 ERA in parts of seven Triple-A campaigns, though he’s been a bit wild there at times, averaging just under five walks per nine innings pitched.

AL Central Notes: Naquin, Anderson, Soto, Tigers

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The Indians made the somewhat surprising decision to option outfielder Tyler Naquin to Triple-A Columbus yesterday in order to clear a spot on the roster for the return of outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall. While some may raise an eyebrow at demoting a player who finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .296/.372/.514, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian writes that the Indians didn’t want Naquin to be playing sparingly in a bench role for now. “It was something that, when I say we stressed over it, I mean it was a lot,” manager Terry Francona tells Bastian. “…I don’t think coming off the bench necessarily suits Naquin right now. Nobody’s giving up on him being an everyday player.” For the time being, Cleveland will go with Michael Brantley, Chisenhall, Brandon Guyer, Austin Jackson and Abraham Almonte in its outfield mix. Interestingly, Chisenhall started in center field for Cleveland yesterday, so it seems he’ll be viewed as at least a temporary option there.

More from the American League Central…

  • White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson appeared on the Baseball Tonight podcast with Buster Olney (audio link) and talked about his days as an amateur, his experience playing basketball in his youth and the decision to ink a six-year, $25MM contract extension before reaching one full year of Major League service time. “It was more so the security level had to meet where I wanted to feel secure with my family,” says Anderson. “It was an exciting moment. We went back and forth two or three weeks, and was able to get this thing — get it figured out and get it going. Just on my family’s side, my daughter and my wife, it was relieving just to be able to tell them and let them see that we’re going to be OK and be fine.” Sox fans will want to give the interview a listen, as it offers some good insight into the background of one of the team’s rising stars and core pieces.
  • Chicago announced yesterday that catcher Geovany Soto was headed to the 10-day DL with elbow inflammation, summoning Kevan Smith from Triple-A Charlotte to take his spot on the roster for the time being. Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago writes that while Soto experienced some abnormal discomfort when making a throw, an MRI revealed everything in his elbow to be “fairly OK” (Soto’s own words). Soto says there’s no tear in his arm but there are “a couple floaters” (presumably referring to spurs or loose bodies). He’ll rest the elbow and use medication to treat the issue, though there’s not yet a clear indication of when he’s expected to return to the White Sox.
  • Though many Tigers fans were upset with the team’s decision to demote ballyhooed relief prospect Joe Jimenez after one appearance in the Majors, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press argues that the move represented a logical course of action for a club in need of temporarily lengthening its bullpen. Detroit would’ve been without a long reliever in the first game against the division-rival Indians and would have been exposed in the event of a short outing from starter Daniel Norris, Fenech writes. And the risk of further depleting the bullpen by having to turn to the likes of Francisco Rodriguez, Justin Wilson, Alex Wilson and Kyle Ryan in the first game of a series against their top competition in the AL Central wasn’t a scenario with which Detroit wanted to be faced. “If something happens tomorrow with Daniel Norris early in the game, we won’t make it nine innings unless Andrew Romine toes the rubber,” manager Brad Ausmus told reporters after the game. Jimenez figures to be back with the team in short order, according to Fenech, though he’ll need to spend at least 10 days in the minors. Fenech also adds that righty Anibal Sanchez “is not going anywhere” in the near future, as he’s the team’s most experienced piece of rotation depth and the club still believes he can get outs in the Majors, even if he won’t ever return to peak form.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/2/17

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Sunday’s minor moves…

  • The White Sox have selected the contracts of three offseason minor league signings – infielder/outfielder Cody Asche, catcher Geovany Soto and right-handed reliever Anthony Swarzak. The 26-year-old Asche was once a well-regarded prospect with the Phillies, but he scuffled to a .240/.298/.385 line in 1,287 plate appearances with the club from 2013-16. Soto, who’s in his second stint with the White Sox, has typically served as a capable offensive catcher, and has thrown out would-be base stealers at a league-average rate, though his pitch-framing numbers have declined in recent seasons. Swarzak, meanwhile, has created intrigue this spring with an uptick in velocity. The 31-year-old threw harder than usual with the Yankees last season, and he logged terrific strikeout and walk rates of 9.0 and 2.03, respectively, per nine innings. However, a bloated home run-to-fly ball ratio (27.8 percent) led to a 5.52 ERA in 31 frames.
  • The Twins have selected catcher Chris Gimenez’s contract and placed reliever Glen Perkins on the 60-day disabled list, according to Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press (Twitter link). The 34-year-old Gimenez has a history in Cleveland, including last season. His time there helped him land a minor league pact with the Twins, whose new front office head, Derek Falvey, used to work for the Tribe. Gimenez, a lifetime .218/.297/.335 hitter in 776 PAs, has garnered slightly negative reviews as a framer and will back up the defensively adept Jason Castro in Minnesota. As for Perkins, the Twins’ former (and future?) closer, the three-time All-Star is continuing to rehab from the shoulder surgery he underwent last June. Perkins threw just two innings in 2016.
  • The Indians have released left-hander Tim Cooney, who sat out of all last season because of shoulder problems and has dealt with a forearm strain this spring. Cleveland claimed Cooney off waivers from the Cardinals in November, a year after Cooney debuted in the majors and impressed across 31 1/3 innings and six starts. All told, Cooney registered a 3.16 ERA, 8.33 K/9 and 2.87 BB/9.
  • The Orioles have selected veteran outfielder Craig Gentry’s contract. The 33-year-old’s fate was reportedly tied to Rule 5 outfielder Aneury Tavarez, whom the Orioles returned to the Red Sox on Sunday. Gentry’s reemergence looked highly improbable a couple years ago, when he contemplated retirement after suffering a sixth concussion. He also only picked up limited major league experience over the past two seasons, and the Angels released him last year after he dealt with a spine injury. At his best, Gentry brought a solid blend of offense, defense and baserunning as a member of the Rangers from 2012-13. The right-handed hitter will now serve as a platoon option for a Baltimore team with lefty-swinging corner outfielders in Seth Smith and Hyun Soo Kim.
  • The Mets have selected the contract of infielder Ty Kelly, who’s back on their 40-man roster after the team designated him for assignment in February. Kelly could have ended up elsewhere at that point, but he ultimately cleared waivers. The 28-year-old made his big league debut with New York last season, hitting .241/.352/.345 in 71 trips to the plate.
  • The Reds have selected the contract of outfielder Patrick Kivlehan, who joined the organization as a waiver claim last September. Kivlehan debuted in the majors last year and picked up 24 plate appearances between San Diego and Cincinnati. The 27-year-old has mostly played at the Triple-A level, where he has slashed .255/.308/.477 in a combined 915 plate appearances with the Seattle, Texas and San Diego organizations.
  • The Marlins have selected the contract of first baseman/outfielder Tyler Moore, whom they signed to a minor league deal in December. Moore spent 2012-15 as a member of the NL East rival Nationals, with whom he hit .228/.281/.401 in 649 PAs. The 30-year-old was with another of the Marlins’ division rivals, the Braves, last season, but he didn’t make it to the majors. Instead, Moore was with Triple-A Gwinnett, where he batted just .229/.276/.375 over a small sample of PAs (106).

White Sox To Sign Geovany Soto

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JAN. 6: Soto’s chances of making the big league roster indeed appear to be quite strong. FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that the contract includes not only a $2MM base salary but a club option for the 2018 season, lending credence to the notion that the Sox are banking on Soto more than the typical veteran minor league signee.

JAN. 5: The White Sox have struck a minor-league deal with free-agent catcher Geovany Soto, according to Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com (via Twitter). Soto, who has played previously in Chicago with both the White Sox and Cubs, will turn 34 in two weeks’ time.

After providing the South Siders with a .219/.301/.406 batting line over 210 plate appearances in 2015, Soto returned to the open market in search of a new opportunity. He ended up landing with the Angels on a one-year, $2.8MM contract.

This time, Soto will have to earn his way onto a roster in camp. Though he hit quite well in Los Angeles — .269/.321/.487 — Soto managed only 86 trips to the plate in 26 games. The problem was a knee issue that hindered him throughout the year and ultimately forced him to the DL for good in mid-August.

It seems reasonable to expect that, as Levine notes, Soto will have a solid chance at taking an active roster spot. The top two catchers on the depth chart, at present, are Omar Narvaez and Kevan Smith — each of whom made his major-league debut in 2016. Alfredo Gonzalez and Roberto Pena perhaps also represent options.

Blue Jays Rumors: Encarnacion, Catchers, Bullpen

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The latest on Toronto:

  • The Blue Jays continue to monitor and stay in touch with free agent first baseman/designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman. Encarnacion’s preference is to re-sign with the Jays, but he’s talking less with them than he is with other teams, per Heyman. Notably, Toronto general manager Ross Atkins expressed pessimism Wednesday about re-upping Encarnacion. While the 33-year-old’s market has seemingly shrunk in the past week, agent Paul Kinzer isn’t worried that Encarnacion will have difficulty securing a sizable contract – whether with the Jays or another team. “Not only is he the best player in this class, he’s one of the best in baseball,” Kinzer told Heyman. “We’re going to be fine. He and I are patient. He’s good” (Twitter links here).
  • Having lost left-handed setup man Brett Cecil to the Cardinals, the Blue Jays are on the hunt for a southpaw reliever, leading to interest in Jerry Blevins, Mike Dunn and Javier Lopez, report Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and Shi Davidi. However, the contracts given to Cecil (four years, $30.5MM) and fellow lefty Marc Rzepczynski (two years, $11MM) have perhaps driven up the prices for Blevins, Dunn and Lopez, meaning the Jays could scour the trade market for a cheaper option than free agency offers, Nicholson-Smith and Davidi observe.
  • Along with Chris Iannetta, fellow free agent catchers Bobby Wilson and Geovany Soto are on Toronto’s radar, write Nicholson-Smith and Davidi. The Blue Jays are looking for someone to back up Russell Martin, whose 2016 reserves – Josh Thole and Dioner Navarro – are also on the open market.

NL News & Rumors: D-backs, Cubs, Padres, Reds, Marlins

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The Diamondbacks are aiming to improve their bullpen and have reached out to a pair of familiar free agent relievers, Brad Ziegler and Daniel Hudson, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Ziegler previously spent parts of six seasons with the Diamondbacks, who traded him to Boston in July. New D-backs executive vice president and general manager Mike Hazen was the Red Sox’s GM at the time, of course, so he’s familiar with Ziegler. Hudson, meanwhile, has been with Arizona since 2010. The 29-year-old has recorded a 4.50 ERA, 9.07 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 128 innings as a reliever over the past two seasons.

More from Arizona and a few other NL cities:

  • Along with bolstering his bullpen, Hazen hopes to add left-handed hitters, he told Piecoro. “I think being a little more left-handed could certainly help us,” Hazen said. “Pigeonholing it into one specific focus, I think, would be too complicated to try to pull off. I think we can be opportunistic about that.” The Diamondbacks have four established or potential regulars who are either lefties or switch-hitters in third baseman Jake Lamb, outfielder David Peralta, catcher Chris Herrmann and infielder Ketel Marte, notes Piecoro. They could trade outfielder Yasmany Tomas in an attempt to become less right-handed, but there’s not much of a market for him, sources informed Piecoro. While Tomas belted 29 home runs in 2016, the 26-year-old’s .272/.313/.508 line wasn’t great overall; further, he doesn’t provide defensive or baserunning value and still has $48.5MM coming his way through the 2020 season.
  • The Cubs made attempts over the past couple years to acquire right-hander Tyson Ross from the Padres and could pursue him in free agency, according to Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago. “The Padres were close to trading Ross to the Cubs for Starlin Castro,” a major league source who worked for one of the teams told Levine. “San Diego execs were mixed on asking for Castro or Javier Baez. The deal went down to the wire in late July of 2015 but never got to the point of exchanging medicals.” Ross was a front-of-the-rotation starter at that point, but he only threw 5 1/3 innings last season and is currently recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. The Padres non-tendered him Friday.
  • The rebuilding Reds are committed to giving regular playing time to young middle infielder Jose Peraza in 2017, general manager Dick Williams and manager Bryan Price told C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). That’s particularly notable with two up-the-middle veterans – second baseman Brandon Phillips and shortstop Zack Cozart – in place. Cincinnati attempted to deal Phillips last offseason, but he took advantage of his ability to block a trade. Phillips, who has one year and $14MM left on his contract, is reportedly more open to waiving his no-trade clause this offseason. Cozart also has one year of club control remaining, and he nearly went to the Mariners prior to last summer’s non-waiver trade deadline. Seattle has since acquired Jean Segura, taking it out of the running for Cozart, but he could still interest other shortstop-needy teams looking for a capable and affordable stopgap. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $4.7MM arbitration award for Cozart.
  • With Jeff Mathis headed to Arizona, the Marlins are in the market for a veteran backup catcher, per Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Free agents like Geovany Soto and Dioner Navarro are candidates to end up in Miami as the main reserve behind J.T. Realmuto, writes Frisaro.

Injury Notes: McCullers, Cain, Gray, Ross, Soto

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The Astros still don’t know whether they can expect top young righty Lance McCullers Jr. to return this season from his elbow woes, as MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports on Twitter. “We won’t know until he gets evaluated in a week,” said manager A.J. Hinch. “It’s all guess work at this point.” After climbing back from a rough start to the year, Houston now sits just one game over .500 and is in danger of falling out of contention. The 22-year-old McCullers owns a 3.22 ERA — matching his results from a season ago — and is sorely missed.

Here are some more notable pieces of information on the injury front:

  • Giants righty Matt Cain is headed to the DL with a lower back strain, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to tweet. San Francisco activated righty Cory Gearrin from his own DL stint in a concurrent move, which does at least bolster the pen. It seems possible that veteran righty Jake Peavy could slide back into the rotation in place of Cain, who hasn’t completed six innings in a start since May 21st and was tagged for 11 earned runs over his last two outings.
  • While it’s still far from a sure thing, the Athletics may yet welcome back righty Sonny Gray this year, manager Bob Melvin said yesterday. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets, the 26-year-old staff ace is beginning plyometric workouts and is feeling better. He recently hit the disabled list with a forearm strain and has struggled all year long, compiling an uncharacteristic 5.74 ERA in 116 innings of work.
  • Tyson Ross has made it through a 30-pitch live BP session with added pen work, giving some hope that he’ll return for the Padres late this year, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). Still, the veteran righty will need to throw another such session before a rehab stint can be considered as he tries to return from shoulder troubles. With just one outing on his record for the season, Ross won’t command much if any raise on his $9.625MM arbitration salary in his final year of eligibility, but it will surely be difficult for the Pads to trade him over the winter if he can’t return to full health by the end of the year. Ross may yet feature as a spring or mid-season trade candidate next season, as he’ll qualify for free agency after the 2017 campaign.
  • The Angels placed catcher Geovany Soto on the 15-day DL with knee inflammation, as Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Soto had appeared to be a plausible August trade candidate, but his knee surgery earlier this year seems to have lingered. The 33-year-old carries a useful .269/.321/.487 slash on the year, though he has compiled that in only 86 plate appearances. He is set to return to the open market at season’s end.

AL Notes: Twins’ GM, Santana, Indians, Miller, Chapman, Soto, Astros

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Twins upper management told Terry Ryan a month ago that he wouldn’t be retained beyond the present season, and allowed him to choose his own method of departure, Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN reports (links to Twitter). Ryan, obviously, asked to be let go rather than hanging on the rest of the way, as reflected in today’s announcement. Looking ahead, Minnesota intends to look outside the organization for a permanent replacement, but didn’t commit to that route. Notably, owner Jim Pohlad said that the new GM will not have a chance to replace skipper Paul Molitor.

Here’s more from Minnesota and the rest of the American League:

  • The Twins have engaged in talks with the Red Sox, with Boston keeping an eye on righty Ervin Santana, according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. But the teams do not appear to be lining up at the moment. Meanwhile, Minnesota still needs to decide if it wants to keep useful veterans around its talented but not fully realized core, and Berardino wonders whether it will end up making sense to part with the final two years of Santana’s deal now that he’s pitching fairly well.
  • One factor in the Twins’ decisionmaking will obviously be related to the financial ramifications of any deals, but now-acting GM Rob Antony says that there isn’t a mandate to trim payroll. As Berardino tweets, Antony says that the organization doesn’t “have financial problems” in need of resolution at the deadline.
  • Despite losing Yan Gomes for a lengthy stretch, the Indians aren’t prioritizing the addition of a backstop, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The club is relatively bullish on both Roberto Perez and Chris Gimenez, it seems. Presumably, that assessment is also informed by the club’s view on other needs.
  • Outfield would certainly be one area where the Indians could stand to improve, but relief pitching is likely the most pressing. Per Rosenthal (Twitter links), Cleveland is focused on adding a lefty to the team’s right-handed-heavy pen mix. Andrew Miller of the Yankees is “probably” at the top of the club’s wish list, says Rosenthal, though you could certainly say the same of many other organizations that are looking for relief upgrades.
  • Whether the Yankees shop Miller or fellow power lefty Aroldis Chapman remains to be seen, but it’s a fait accompli in the view of Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. He argues that the club shouldn’t stop at dealing away pending free agents, but should be willing to deal most any players who draw interest — with Miller among the possible exceptions. Feinsand also notes that New York is taking a close look at the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate.
  • Even if he’s traded away, Chapman says that he’d remain interested in re-uniting with the Yankees as a free agent, Feinsand tweets. “I would love to come back and be part of the team again,” said the fireballing southpaw, who matched his own record tonight by launching a ridiculous 105.1 mph heater.
  • The Angels announced that catcher Geovany Soto is headed to the 15-day DL with left knee inflammation. That seems to take him off the table for pre-deadline dealing, though Soto could certainly end up being dealt in the revocable waiver trade period. Los Angeles selected the contract of Juan Graterol to take his place on the active roster. The 27-year-old will receive his first major league opportunity after opening the year with a .292/.331/.357 slash in his first full year at the Triple-A level.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow says that he expects to be busy over the coming weeks, as MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart writes. But that doesn’t mean the club will be pushing the action; Luhnow says “there’s no real sense of urgency on our part necessarily.” Rather, he explained, “as teams pick up the pace, we’re certainly going to be involved in the conversations.” It’s possible to imagine Houston targeting a starter, as McTaggart notes, but Luhnow says that he’d only be interested in a certain kind of arm. The ’Stros would be looking at starters who are not only healthy and effective at present, but who are capable of slotting into the team’s hopeful post-season rotation.
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