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A’s Designate Daniel Coulombe, Release A.J. Griffin

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The Athletics have designated left-hander Daniel Coulombe for assignment and released right-hander A.J. Griffin, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Coulombe’s DFA clears space on the 40-man roster for today’s acquisition of Jed Lowrie, whereas Griffin’s release serves as resolution to his own DFA from last week.

Coulombe, 26, split the 2015 campaign between the Dodgers and A’s, logging 16 total innings with a 5.63 ERA and an 11-to-9 K/BB ratio. He showed a greater penchant for strikeouts at the Triple-A level, whiffing 41 hitters in 41 1/3 innings, but his control problems existed in Triple-A as well, as evidenced by his average of 5.2 walks per nine innings there in 2015.

Griffin’s name is a more familiar one for fans from Oakland and around the league in general. The now 28-year-old spent a season and a half in the Athletics’ rotation from 2012-13, recording a 3.60 ERA with 7.5 K.9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 282 1/3 innings. Though Griffin surrendered an alarming 36 homers in 2013, he threw exactly 200 innings of 3.83 ERA ball and looked to be settling into Oakland’s future as a back-of-the-rotation starter. However, Griffin underwent Tommy John surgery in Spring Training 2014 and returned for just 14 1/3 minor league innings this season before going down to a shoulder injury.

If he can demonstrate his health, Griffin represents a somewhat intriguing buy-low candidate — particularly for a team with a large home park, which would help to offset some of the right-hander’s extreme fly-ball tendencies.

Athletics Acquire Jed Lowrie

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The Athletics announced on Wednesday that they have re-acquired infielder Jed Lowrie from the division-rival Astros in exchange for minor league right-hander Brendan McCurry.

Jed Lowrie

Lowrie, 32 in April, signed a three-year, $23MM contract with the Astros last offseason. He’s been with Oakland or Houston each season dating back to 2012, although the circumstances are certainly unique. The Astros acquired Lowrie in a trade with the Red Sox prior to the 2012 season, and Houston sent him to Oakland that winter in exchange for Chris Carter, Brad Peacock and Max Stassi. After a nice two years in Oakland, Lowrie signed the three-year deal with Houston last winter, but the emergence of Carlos Correa made him a bit superfluous for the Astros, thus leading to today’s trade.

Lowrie is owed $15MM over the next two seasons, including a $7.5MM salary in 2016 and a $6.5MM salary in 2017. His contract comes with a $6MM team option for the 2018 season that includes a $1MM buyout.

In 2015, Lowrie batted .222/.312/.400 with nine home runs, playing mostly third base but also logging some time at shortstop as well. Lowrie got off to a blistering start in 2015, hitting .300/.432/.567 through April 27 before suffering a torn ligament in his right thumb that required surgery. That injury kept Lowrie out of action through July 30, and while it wasn’t reasonable to expect him to maintain his April production, the injury likely sapped his production over the final two months. Lowrie hit just .194/.265/.341 after being activated, and the immediate impact made by Correa cost him his role as the team’s everyday shortstop, hence the shift to third base. With an offseason of rest under his belt, better 2016 production could be expected from Lowrie, who can help the A’s at any of the four infield positions.

The capacity in which Lowrie will be deployed by the A’s is unclear. Marcus Semien was the team’s primary shortstop in 2015, but his 35 errors were the most in the Major Leagues by a player at any position. Danny Valencia hit well enough in 2015 (.284/.356/.530) that Oakland seems likely to want to get him regular at-bats. Third base is probably the best spot for Valencia, but the A’s also have Brett Lawrie as an option at the hot corner. Lawrie, of course, has plenty of experience at second base (thus raising the possibility of a Lawrie/Lowrie double-play tandem), but some feel that Semien may ultimately end up playing second base. Lowrie could serve as a left-handed complement to Mark Canha at first base as well, considering that Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle recently tweeted that Ike Davis is likely to be non-tendered by Oakland.

McCurry, 23, was Oakland’s 22nd-round pick in the 2014 draft and rode a strong showing in 2015 to the No. 30 rank on MLB.com’s list of top Athletics prospects. The Oklahoma State product split the year between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, compiling a 1.86 ERA with 11.7 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9. In total, McCurry has a 1.37 ERA in 91 2/3 innings as a pro (all coming out of the bullpen), although it should be noted that he hasn’t been moved through the system all that aggressively and has been more experienced than much of the competition that he’s faced. MLB.com notes that McCurry can spot a fastball that tops out at 93 mph on either side of the plate. His best pitch is a curveball, and while his upside is probably only that of a middle reliever, he has a high probability of realizing that potential due to his control and ability to succeed regardless of opponent handedness.

MLB.com’s Jane Lee was the first to report that Lowrie was headed back to the A’s (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AL West Notes: Trumbo, Angels, Soto, Astros

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Multiple execs around the game tell ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick that they expect Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto to trade Mark Trumbo for a second time (Twitter link). Dipoto, formerly the Angels GM, sent Trumbo to Arizona in a trade that netted him Hector Santiago and Tyler Skaggs prior to the 2014 season and again inherited the first baseman upon taking over in Seattle. He’s targeted defense and on-base percentage in many of his early moves at the helm in Seattle, and Trumbo doesn’t necessarily fit with that type of philosophy. Trumbo projects to earn $9.1MM in 2016 and is a free agent following next offseason.

A few more notes from the division…

  • The Angels announced a wave of front office hires today, including the previously reported addition of former Padres manager/former Angels pitching coach Bud Black as a special assistant to GM Billy Eppler. Former Yankees scouting director Steve Martone has also been brought on as assistant GM (also previously reported but not official), and 27-year-old Jonathan Strangio has been promoted to AGM also. Strangio, a Harvard grad that joined the Angels as an intern in 2012, spent last season as the team’s manager of Major League operations. The Angels also promoted Bobby Scales from director of player development to special assistant; Justin Hollander from director of baseball ops to director of player personnel; and Mike LaCassa from assistant director of player development to director of minor league ops. The team also announced that A’s third base coach Mike Gallego has been hired as its new director of baseball development.
  • Eppler tells MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez that Geovany Soto, who inked a one-year, $2.8MM contract with the Angels today, will compete with young backstop Carlos Perez for the team’s starting role behind the plate next spring (Twitter link). The situation could ultimately result in a timeshare more than a standard starter/backup alignment, Gonzalez notes.
  • Brian McTaggart of MLB.com spoke to Astros GM Jeff Luhnow about his team’s upcoming arbitration decisions and was told that there are no budgetary constraints dictating whether or not the team will tender or non-tender any of its eight arb-eligible players. Nonetheless, McTaggart writes that one of Chris Carter, Luis Valbuena, Evan Gattis or Jason Castro is likely to be non-tendered, with Carter representing the likeliest option. With prospect A.J. Reed representing an affordable alternative, the team can probably afford to cut bait with Carter. Valbuena and Jed Lowrie are capable of handling first base in his stead if needed, McTaggart adds.
  • The Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich breaks down the Astros’ search for a reliever. While ESPN’s Jayson Stark reported recently that Houston is “hell-bent” on adding a closer, Luhnow said that’s not necessarily the case and he’s more “hell-bent” on improving the team by any avenue necessary. Of course, Luhnow isn’t likely to openly tip his hand about how strongly he wants a given asset, and Drellich points out that it makes sense to downplay this report in particular due to Luke Gregerson’s status as a well-respected leader in the bullpen. Luhnow again noted that it’d be nice to add an arm that can throw 95 to 100 mph, stating that he likes the notion of being able to give plenty of “different looks” to opposing lineups, though he didn’t characterize the need to add to the ’pen as any kind of top priority. Drellich writes that Houston would probably take Tony Sipp back on a two-year deal right now, but setup men like him — Sipp is arguably the market’s top lefty — tend to seek three years. The general expectation, though, seems to be that the Astros will add at least one relief arm (McTaggart noted that it’s likely in the above-linked piece as well). Luhnow told Drellich that for the time being, trade talks are more active than free-agent talks.

Minor Moves: Nick Masset, Astros, Omar Duran

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Marlins announced that they’ve outrighted Nick Masset to Triple-A New Orleans. The 33-year-old right-hander was designated for assignment over the weekend in order to clear a spot on the roster for Henderson Alvarez’s activation from the 15-day disabled list. Masset has actually delivered strong results in 9 2/3 innings for the Marlins — a 1.86 ERA with six strikeouts against one walk. However, he’s also seen his fastball velocity drop by more than a mile per hour this season, as it’s now averaging 91.5 mph. Still, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Masset eventually earn another crack at the Marlins’ big league roster, assuming he accepts the outright assignment.
  • The Astros have placed right-hander Sam Deduno on the 15-day DL and transferred Jed Lowrie to the 60-day DL in order to clear space for right-hander Lance McCullers, Jr. on both the 25-man and 40-man rosters, the club announced. McCullers’ contact has officially been selected from Triple-A, and he will start tonight’s game against the A’s. Houston selected McCullers with the 41st pick in the 2012 draft — 40 picks after they picked Carlos Correa with the No. 1 overall selection.
  • Left-hander Omar Duran signed a minor league deal to return to the Athletics organization, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Duran spent his entire career in Oakland’s minor league ranks prior to the 2015 season but signed with Detroit this past winter. After being released, Duran signed on and was assigned to Class-A Advanced Stockton, where he made his debut last night. The 25-year-old has a career 3.28 ERA with 12.1 K/9 and 5.7 BB/9 through 288 minor league innings, but he’s thrown just 22 2/3 innings at Double-A and has not advanced beyond that level.

Jed Lowrie To Undergo Thumb Surgery

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7:50pm: Via the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich, GM Jeff Luhnow says that the specific injury to Lowrie is a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb (Twitter link). That’s not to be confused with the elbow ligament of the same name which is the cause for Tommy John surgery. A torn UCL in the thumb is the same injury for which Dustin Pedroia underwent surgery in the 2013-14 offseason.

7:25pm: Astros shortstop Jed Lowrie will be out until after the All-Star break following surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb, the team announced tonight.

Jonathan Villar has been recalled from Triple-A to take Lowrie’s spot on the 25-man roster, but the loss of Lowrie is a significant one for an Astros team that is off to a hot start and currently sits atop the AL West. Fresh off inking a three-year, $23MM contract (plus a club option) to return to Houston this offseason, Lowrie was hitting an exceptional .300/.432/.567 with four home runs. While that level of production was of course not sustainable, Lowrie was set to be relied upon as a key contributor near the top of or in the middle of the Astros’ lineup.

Villar is the player that Lowrie was signed to replace, after his 2014 shot to cement himself as Houston’s everyday shortstop fell short. Villar’s blistering speed wasn’t enough to to outweigh his lack of on-base skills, as the switch-hitter batted just .209/.267/.354 in 289 plate appearances last year.

The long-term injury to Lowrie will naturally lead to speculation among Astros fans and those throughout the league as to whether or not top prospect Carlos Correa is an option to replace him. The 20-year-old is off to a blistering start at Double-A Corpus Christi, hitting .382/.440/.735 with four homers through Monday. A consensus Top 5 prospect and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft, Correa is one of the most promising Minor Leaguers in the game. However, he’s also played fewer than 20 games above Class-A Advanced, so promoting him at this juncture or in the near future would be a highly aggressive move and seems unlikely.

AL Notes: Harrison, Headley, Lowrie, Floyd, Tigers

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The Rangers and pitcher Matt Harrison seemingly received positive news yesterday, as the righty, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets that an X-ray of Harrison’s back came back clean. He will undergo a CT scan on Wednesday in hopes of being cleared to throw in January.

More from the American League:

  • The Athletics put in a “competitive” bid for Chase Headley at an earlier stage of his signing process, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Oakland would have moved Brett Lawrie to second had it landed Headley, Rosenthal adds. That tidbit also gives us some information about the timeline of the A’s involvement, of course, as Lawrie was not acquired until the end of November.
  • Jed Lowrie chose to sign with the Astros from a group of four finalists, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle writes. Drawing broad interest due to his ability to play across the diamond, Lowrie had “significant dialogue” with no less than 17 teams, per agent Brodie Van Wagenen. But the Astros emerged as the best choice. “It was very clear to Jed that they wanted him, not a player like him or a player that played his position,” Van Wagenen said. “They wanted him. And I think when we were lining up the numbers at the end, that won the day.”
  • Just-inked hurler Gavin Floyd is ticketed for the Indians rotation, GM Chris Antonetti tells reporters including Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer. He is expected to join Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and Trevor Bauer, along with the victor of a spring pitch-off between Danny Salazar, T.J. House, Zach McAllister, and Josh Tomlin. Notably, Cleveland obtained a fourth option year on Salazar, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets, which significantly enhances the team’s flexibility with the talented but inconsistent righty.
  • The Tigers are working the market for left-handed relievers, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free-Press reports on Twitter. As Fenech further discusses in a series of tweets, Detroit has made minor league offers to a pair of southpaws who are expected to land big league deals, and it remains to be seen whether the club will up its offers. The remaining market is fairly thin on left-handed pen pieces at this stage.

Astros Sign Jed Lowrie To Three-Year Deal

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The Astros announced that they have signed infielder Jed Lowrie to a three-year contract that runs through the 2018 season. Lowrie’s contract reportedly guarantee him $23MM: $8MM in 2015, $7.5MM in 2016 and $6.5MM in 2017 with a $6MM club option ($1MM buyout) for 2018. The team will announce a corresponding roster move on Tuesday.

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The 30-year-old Lowrie, a client of CAA Sports, will serve as Houston’s shortstop in the early stages of the contract — presumably until top prospect Carlos Correa is ready to take over the position. At that point, Lowrie could see time at third base (though the Astros also have prospects Colin Moran and Rio Ruiz rising through the system), serve as a super utility player, or potentially have appeal to other clubs in a trade.

In the meantime, the addition of Lowrie isn’t particularly good news for incumbent shortstops Jonathan Villar and Marwin Gonzalez. Villar opened the season as the team’s starting shortstop, and while he possesses game-changing speed, he didn’t hit or get on base enough to take full advantage of that excellent tool. Gonzalez is the better defender of the two internal options, so he is seemingly the more likely of the two to fill a reserve capacity for Houston now that Lowrie is on board.

With this contract, Lowrie will return to the organization with which he enjoyed a solid but injury-shortened 2012 season. After years of promise in the Red Sox organization, Houston acquired Lowrie (along with Kyle Weiland) in exchange for Mark Melancon three years ago (almost to the day). Lowrie’s original stint with the Astros lasted for just one season, as he and Fernando Rodriguez were flipped to the A’s for Chris Carter, Brad Peacock and Max Stassi the following offseason.

Lowrie enjoyed an excellent 2013 season with the A’s in which he batted .290/.344/.446 with 15 homers and a career-best 45 doubles. His bat slipped in 2014, however, as he batted just .249/.321/.355. While defensive metrics suggested that he improved at shortstop in 2014, defense has never been Lowrie’s calling card, and many clubs expressed trepidation over deploying him at short. He drew interest from clubs as a second baseman and a third baseman, but one would imagine that Houston’s promise to give him some time at shortstop, along with the fact that Lowrie resides in Houston in the offseason, gave the Astros a leg up over their competition.

With Lowrie now off the free agent market, Asdrubal Cabrera is likely the best remaining infielder available to teams with a free agent need. However, while clubs had their doubts about Lowrie’s defense, those doubts seem to be even more pronounced in Cabrera’s case.

As for the Astros, this marks the third significant free agent signing for the club in the past week, as they’ve also inked right-handed relievers Pat Neshek and Luke Gregerson, the latter of whom seems likely to be a closer for new manager A.J. Hinch. Houston could still address its starting rotation on the open market, and while they haven’t given up a draft pick with any of these signings, they showed a willingness to do so with a pursuit of David Robertson.

Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle first reported the terms of the agreement (All Twitter links). SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweeted further details.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL West Notes: Kemp, Kim, Giants, Arruebarrena

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Before dealing Matt Kemp to one division rival, they were in deep talks with another about a deal, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). The Diamondbacks rejected L.A.’s request for center fielder A.J. Pollock but was willing to ship top pitching prospect Archie Bradley to add Kemp. Of course, we do not know the details of those discussions, including especially the amount of Kemp’s salary that would have been covered.

Here’s the latest from the National League West:

  • The Padres are unlikely as things stand to reach agreement with Kwang-hyun Kim before today’s deadline, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. With a 2pm PST expiration, we could learn more on that situation soon.
  • The Giants intend to add a starter sooner rather than later and do not intend to participate in a drawn-out bidding process, AGM Bobby Evans told reporters including John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).
  • In addition to checking in with Asdrubal Cabrera, the Giants have inquired with Jed Lowrie about his interest in spending time at second or third, also per Evans. (Via Shea, on Twitter.) Lowrie apparently indicated that would be a possibility. The team could theoretically add a player at second and move Joe Panik to third, Evans also told the scribes, per MLB.com’s Chris Haft (via Twitter).
  • The Dodgers will be open to moving shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena after the Jimmy Rollins deal is finalized, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. The 24-year-old is owed $16MM over the next four years.

Winter Meetings Rumors: Giants, Santana, Marlins, Morneau, Dodgers, Angels

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Needless to say, it was a frenetic end to the Winter Meetings. Over the course of the morning, several forward-looking reports emerged. We’ll round those up here:

  • The Giants are focused on free agent starter James Shields, according to Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News (via Twitter). San Francisco is alive on both Shields and Ervin Santana, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle adds on Twitter. The club met with Shields in San Diego, as Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reported yesterday (Twitter link).
  • The Twins are still trying to land Santana, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, who adds that the Giants, Royals, and Yankees have also expressed interest in the free agent righty.
  • The Marlins are still looking hard at the free agent and trade market for a first baseman, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports on Twitter. A deal could come at any time, Spencer adds.
  • Attempts by the Marlins to deal for Justin Morneau of the Rockies have fallen apart, tweets MLB.com’s Tom Singer. He hears that Miami could rekindle talks with the Pirates regarding a Pedro Alvarez-for-Nathan Eovaldi swap.
  • Communications between the Marlins and Rockies regarding Morneau will continue, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports on Twitter, though Harding’s source says he is not sure if the potential match “has legs.”
  • The Dodgers did not make their moves as a prelude to dealing away Zack Greinke or dealing for Cole Hamels, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports on Twitter. Los Angeles has already done its heavy lifting with yesterday’s series of moves, says Sherman.
  • After trading away second baseman Howie Kendrick, the Angels are “open to opportunities” for additions at the position, GM Jerry Dipoto tells Mike DiGiovanna of MLB.com (Twitter link). The Halos are not interested in free agents Jed Lowrie and Stephen Drew, per Dipoto. Of course, the team just added Josh Rutledge to join in-house option Grant Green in the current mix.

Nationals Rumors: Desmond, M’s, Detwiler, Clippard

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The Nationals and Mariners have discussed Ian Desmond on several occasions but talks between the two teams have yet to really gain traction, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter).  Washington likes Brad Miller, so conceivably the young shortstop could be part of a larger package the M’s would send back to D.C.  Here’s some more about the Nationals…

  • Jordan Zimmermann has been drawn more trade attention than Desmond this week, according to FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi.
  • The Nats are actively discussing Ross Detwiler and Tyler Clippard with multiple teams, Rosenthal tweets.
  • The Nationals still want a second base upgrade and they’re talking with lots of teams about Clippard and Jerry Blevins, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter).
  • The Nationals have inquired on Rays second baseman Ben Zobrist, but it appears like a long shot to pry him away, according James Wagner of the Washington Post.
  • Jed Lowrie would appear to be a fit for the Nationals but there doesn’t appear to be anything happening on that front, Wagner writes.
  • General Manager Mike Rizzo has said throughout the winter that Anthony Rendon could slide to second base should they acquire a third baseman.  While some rolled their eyes at the notion of moving Rendon away from his natural position, people around the Nationals tell Wagner that they are indeed looking at third baseman and if there is a good one to be had, Rendon would be shifted to second.
  • The sense from teams that asked the Nationals about Clippard is that Washington wants better than a low-tier prospect and trading him wouldn’t be simply to dump his $9MM salary, according to Wagner.
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