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Jen-Ho Tseng

Rangers Sign Jen-Ho Tseng To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers announced Wednesday that they’ve signed right-hander Jen-Ho Tseng to a minor league contract. The former Cubs righty, who was designated for assignment released recently, will head to extended Spring Training begin a throwing program, per Rangers executive vice president of communications John Blake.

Tseng, 24, was a fairly high-profile signing for the Cubs back in 2013, receiving a $1.625MM signing bonus as an 18-year-old amateur out of Taiwan. He was considered one of the Cubs’ more promising young arms for years after his signing and breezed through much of his minor league tenure, posting quality numbers against older, more experienced competition en route to a brief cup of coffee with the big league team in 2017.

The 2018 season, however, was a disaster for Tseng. After logging a 1.80 ERA in 55 1/3 Triple-A innings in 2017, Tseng was tattooed for a 6.27 earned run average in 136 1/3 frames there last year. He allowed a career-high 2.9 walks per nine innings pitched and a career-worst 1.32 homers per nine frames in last year’s ugly showing. While Tseng’s modest strikeout rate made that 2017 ERA look ripe for at least some regression even at the time, few would’ve expected such a stark downturn in his performance. Spring Training wasn’t any prettier in 2019, as Tseng yielded eight runs on eight hits and two walks with just one strikeout in 4 2/3 innings in Major League camp.

Those struggles were enough for the Cubs to move on, but the Rangers, known to be on the lookout for rotation depth, are in a better position to give a chance to a young arm not far removed from success in the upper minors. Unlike the Cubs, the Rangers didn’t enter the season with legitimate postseason aspirations. Given the patchwork nature of their rotation (plus injuries to Yohander Mendez and Edinson Volquez), Texas not only has a need for depth but also a relatively clear path to an opportunity for Tseng if he can get out to a strong start once he joins a minor league affiliate.

Cubs Release Jen-Ho Tseng

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The Cubs announced today that they have released righty Jen-Ho Tseng, as Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune was among those to tweet. He had been designated for assignment recently.

Now 24 years of age, Tseng originally signed with the Cubs out of Taiwan in 2013. He has produced good results at times in the minors, but the club obviously did not feel he was likely to provide much at the game’s highest level.

After a strong 2017 showing in the upper minors, Tseng was knocked around last year for a 6.27 ERA in 136 1/3 Triple-A innings. Tseng did manage a reasonably promising combination of 7.6 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, and a 48.4% groundball rate, and was likely unfortunate to carry only a 59.2% strand rate, but he was also touched for twenty long balls.

Tseng only has eight MLB frames under his belt, over which he has compiled an impressive 11:2 K/BB ratio. But he has also surrendered three home runs and eight earned runs in that brief span. Tseng struggled badly in limited Cactus League action this spring.

Cubs Option Carl Edwards Jr. To Minors, Send Mike Montgomery To IL, Promote Kyle Ryan And Select Allen Webster

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In a relatively surprising development out of Chicago, the Cubs will option Carl Edwards Jr. to Triple-A Iowa, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times (via Twitter). Mike Montgomery, meanwhile, has been put on the injured list with a left lat strain, per ESPN’s Jesse Rogers (via Twitter), who also announced the Edwards Jr. move on ESPN 1000 this morning, and MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian (Twitter link). Bastian was among those to report that the club has promoted lefty Kyle Ryan and selected Allen Webster from AAA Iowa. Righty Jen-Ho Tseng was designated for assignment to make room for Webster on the 40-man.

Edwards’ decline, while not wholly out of character, took a sudden downturn this season after he had entrenched himself as a key piece of Joe Maddon’s bullpen since 2016. Edwards Jr. no doubt has wipeout stuff, but he has long struggled with loss of command in stretches, never more clearly than in the early stages of this season. In four appearances spanning just 1 2/3 innings, Edwards has surrendered 6 earned runs, 2 home runs and 5 walks (32.40 ERA). Still, the move must come as somewhat of a shock to the system for the “Stringbean Slinger,” who has averaged 66 appearances per season over the last two seasons with a 2.81 ERA and 12.2 K/9 to 5.3 BB/9.

With the Cubs losing six in a row after a win on Opening Day, changes were clearly in store for the Northsiders. Edwards’ had one option remaining, which could be a consideration here, as the only other pitchers on the staff with options remaining are lefty Randy Rosario (1) and starter Kyle Hendricks (3). Hendricks is clearly going nowhere, while Rosario has been one of the few strike-throwers out of the Cubs’ pen so far this season.

Montgomery, meanwhile, has similarly struggled through the first week of the season, appearing four times with a 16.88 ERA over 2 2/3 innings of work. He has been a key swingman for the Cubs over the last three seasons, appearing in 82 games, 33 of them starts since his acquisition from Seattle in the middle of 2016. As you may recall, Montgomery relieved Edwards Jr. to get the save in the game seven of the Cubs World Series win in Cleveland – his first career save.

Webster, 29, was a former top prospect in the Dodgers and Red Sox organizations, and was a key figure in the blockbuster waiver deal that sent Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Josh Beckett to Los Angeles in August of 2012. He struggled mightily in Boston, with both arsenal and command, and was quickly shipped to Arizona, where the troubles worsened. The former 18th-rounder’s been a reclamation project in the Chicago farm since last Spring, and the club will hope he can suddenly regain his long-ago form.

Ryan, 27, has appeared in 86 big-league games with the Tigers since his debut in 2014, posting a 3.87 ERA/4.29 FIP/4.50 xFIP over 128 innings. He rarely misses a bat, having struck out just 4.92 men per nine since his debut, though is typically adroit at keeping the ball out of the air (54% career ground-ball rate). Ryan’s been much more effective against lefties (3.39 FIP against) than righties (4.76 opponents’ FIP) in his four-year career thus far.

Tseng, a 24-year-old righty who appeared in three games for Chicago over the last two seasons, was hammered in 24 starts for Iowa last season (6.27 ERA/5.13 FIP).

Roster Notes: Padres, Paddack, Rangers, Cubs, Scahill

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The Padres #5 ranked prospect per MLB.com (#34 overall) is angling to get the nod on Opening Day, per MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. Chris Paddack threw four scoreless innings, which included a stretch in which he struck out five consecutive Oakland A’s batters in his most recent spring start. Last season, Paddack made seven starts in Double-A after cruising through High-A, where he notched an eye-popping 14.3 K/9 versus 0.7 BB/9 in 52 1/3 innings. Double-A didn’t slow him much, going 3-2 with a 1.91 ERA in 7 starts, 8.8 K/9 to 1.0 BB/9. Still, from Double-A to an Opening Day start would be quite the jump for the 23-year-old, just a year removed from missing all of 2017 to Tommy John surgery. The competition is fairly wide open, however, as the Padres, by design, brought very little in the way of established talent to camp. Since the offseason departures of veterans Clayton Richard (traded to Blue Jays) and Tyson Ross (signed with Tigers), Robbie Erlin boasts the most experience in the group, and he’s not even a lock to make the rotation. Fellow southpaws Joey Lucchesi and Eric Lauer each have a shot to get the Opening Day nod, as well. Let’s check in on the Rangers’ and Cubs’ camps as teams begin to whittle their spring rosters…

  • The Rangers culled their number of players in camp to 60. Pitchers Taylor Guerrieri, Michael Tonkin, Miguel Del Pozo and Brady Feigl were all assigned to minor league camp, per the Rangers’ executive VP of communications John Blake (via Twitter). Guerrieri, 26, joined the Rangers after making his major league debut last season with the Blue Jays. A former first round pick of the Rays, he was a starter in the minor leagues until missing most of the 2017 season due to injury. Toronto claimed him off waivers before last season, where started 7 games in Triple-A before appearing 9 times out of the Blue Jays pen, pitching to a 5.02 FIP in a small-sample 9 2/3 big league innings. Tonkin, 29, appeared in parts of five seasons for the Twins from 2013 to 2017 with a 4.57 FIP across 141 games. Del Pozo, 26, reached as far as Double-A in the Marlins system before joining the Rangers as a non-roster invitee. While Feigl, 28, is back in the Rangers system where he has pitched for the past two seasons.
  • The Cubs made a number of roster moves today, with promising righties Adbert Alzolay and Jen-Ho Tseng being optioned to Triple-A, while Justin Steele and Oscar De La Cruz were sent to Double-A, per the Athletic’s Patrick Mooney (Twitter links). Also on the move, Duncan Robinson, Ian Clarkin, Colin Rea, Ian Rice, Charcer Burks and Jacob Hannemann are being moved to minor league camp (Twitter link). Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter) adds Craig Brooks, Alberto Baldonado and Evan Marzilli to the list of players headed to minor league camp. The Cubs spring roster has now been cut to 54.
  • Rob Scahill, meanwhile, was released outright by the Cubs, per Mooney (via Twitter). Scahill has pitched at the big league level for parts of seven seasons running, topping out at 31 appearances in 2016 spread between Milwaukee and Pittsburgh. In total, the 32-year-old boasts a career 3.95 ERA (4.67 FIP) in 124 games for Rockies, Pirates, Brewers and White Sox.

Cubs Designate Pierce Johnson For Assignment

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The Cubs announced on Wednesday that they’ve designated right-hander Pierce Johnson for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for fellow righty Jen-Ho Tseng, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Iowa.

Now 26 years of age, Johnson once ranked as one of the Cubs’ very best pitching prospects and was considered the game’s No. 87 overall prospect by Baseball America in the 2013-14 offseason. The former No. 43 overall pick turned in a very strong 2.74 ERA with 9.4 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 across two A-ball levels in 2013 in order to earn that distinction, but his star has faded since that time.

Johnson posted similarly strong ERA marks in both 2014 and 2015, but he struggled with control in ’14 and saw his strikeout rate drop drastically in ’15. The Cubs shifted him to the bullpen for much of the 2016 season in Triple-A Iowa, but Johnson responded with a 6.14 ERA and 6.1 BB/9 through 63 innings that year (albeit with a gaudy 10.7 K/9 rate).

The 2017 season was better, as Johnson pitched almost exclusively in a relief role and posted improvements in ERA (4.34 ERA), strikeout rate (12.3 K/9) and walk rate (4.5 BB/9). He has an option remaining beyond the 2017 season, so he could very well draw interest from other clubs in need of pitching depth that can afford to exercise more patience with the once touted right-hander than the Cubs can afford to at this juncture.

The 22-year-old Tseng, meanwhile, currently ranks as the Cubs’ 13th-best prospect in the estimation of Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com. Chicago signed the Taiwanese righty to a $1.625MM bonus as an 18-year-old amateur back in 2013, and he’s enjoyed success at each stop as he’s risen through their minor league ranks. Tseng split the 2017 campaign between Double-A and Triple-A, logging a combined 2.54 ERA (including a 1.80 ERA in 55 Triple-A innings). He’s averaged a combined 7.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 this season, and his ground-ball rate spiked from 39.4 percent in 90 1/3 Double-A frames to 53.1 percent in his 55 frames in Iowa.

Cubs Sign Jen-Ho Tseng

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August 12: Tseng has officially signed his deal with the Cubs, reports MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (via Twitter). 

July 26: The Cubs have signed 18-year-old Taiwanese right-hander Jen-Ho Tseng for a $1.625MM bonus, according to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez (on Twitter). Sanchez adds that top international prospect Eloy Jimenez, who agreed to terms with the Cubs earlier this month, will officially sign with the team next week.

Sanchez ranked Tseng as the No. 29 prospect in this year's international crop, noting that his broad frame bodes well for future durability. Tseng's fastball touches 95 mph and sits comfortably in the low 90s, according to Sanchez, who adds that Tseng also has a feel for a curveball and slider. Tseng continued to draw interest from the Twins even after the initial reports that he was nearing a deal with the Cubs surfaced on July 9.

The Cubs have already signed Gleyber Torres for $1.7MM, Jefferson Mejia for $850K, Erling Moreno for $650K and Johan Matos for $270K, and their agreement with Jimenez is for $2.8MM. Despite having acquired additional bonus money from the Orioles and Astros, the Cubs are on pace to vastly exceed their $5.52MM international bonus pool.

I analyzed the Cubs' international expenditures earlier in the month, noting at the time that they were likely facing a strict penalty for exceeding their pool by 10 to 15 percent. The penalty for such an overage would be a 100 percent tax on the overage as well as severe restrictions on 2014-15 spending that would prevent the team from signing a player for any more than $500K. However, given the size of Tseng's bonus, it appears that the Cubs will exceed their bonus pool by 15 percent or more, which would mean they won't be able to sign a player for more than $250K in 2014-15 (in addition to the 100 percent tax on the overage).

Because teams cannot acquire more than 50 percent of their initial international bonus pool, the maximum bonus pool for the Cubs would be $6.836MM. With Tseng signing for $1.625MM, the Cubs have committed $7.895MM to international prospects. That's $1.059MM over their maximum international bonus pool, or a 15.5 percent overage, suggesting that the team is likely facing the maximum penalties for international spending next summer.

Twins Notes: Norris, International Money, Tseng

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The Twins look like sellers again this year, as they're on pace for their third straight 90-loss campaign. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports looked at the team's trade chips last week, noting that a market for first baseman Justin Morneau hasn't really materialized as of yet. Here's more on the Twins from Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twins news comes about halfway into the article)…

  • Even though they're sellers, vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff tells Wolfson that the Twins could still add a player that is controlled beyond 2013. Radcliff wouldn't comment on specific names, but a league source informed Wolfson that the Twins are interested in Bud Norris. The Twins would have plenty of competition were they to make a play for Norris, as he's been connected to the Rangers, Pirates, Dodgers, Giants, Blue Jays and Red Sox in the past week alone.
  • The Red Sox, Braves, and Phillies all had scouts at Target Field over the weekend. All three teams have been connected to bullpen help of late, and the Twins have trade candidates such as Jared Burton and Brian Duensing in their 'pen. Glen Perkins, of course, has drawn quite a bit of interest, but the Twins have turned interested parties away thus far. Casey Fien also drew some interest from the Giants earlier this summer.
  • No international signings are imminent, but Radcliff described the process as "fluid," noting that the Twins still have money to spend. However, the team has no plans to trade any of its remaining bonus slots.
  • The Twins are still interested in 18-year-old Taiwanese righty Jen-Ho Tseng, who is reportedly close to a deal with the Cubs. The team will remain in contact with his camp until they receive official word.
  • Radcliff said Byron Buxton, who was recently named the No. 1 prospect in baseball by ESPN's Keith Law (ESPN Insider required), could ascend to Double-A New Britain before the season is over. That would be a quick rise for the 19-year-old, who began the season with Class A Cedar Rapids and has moved up to High-A Fort Myers recently.
  • The Twins were interested in Jake Arrieta before he was acquired by the Cubs in the Scott Feldman deal earlier this month.

Jen-Ho Tseng, Cubs Close To Deal

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The Cubs are close to a deal with Taiwanese pitcher Jen-Ho Tseng, MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reports. Sanchez expects that Tseng's bonus will cost the Cubs a little over $1.5MM. Sanchez had tweeted on Monday that the Cubs had emerged as the favorite to sign Tseng.

Sanchez ranked Tseng the No. 29 international prospect. The 18-year-old Tseng has a fastball that reaches 95 MPH, along with a curve and slider. He was the youngest player on Chinese Taipei's WBC roster.

The Cubs have already signed Gleyber Torres for $1.7MM, Jefferson Mejia for $850K, Erling Moreno for $650K and Johan Matos for $270K, and they have an agreement with top outfield prospect Eloy Jimenez for $2.8MM. That means they will have exceeded their $5.52MM international bonus pool even before the Tseng signing.

The Cubs can still trade for the right to spend more bonus pool money, but Sanchez notes that they can only do so up to a 50 percent increase over their original $4.56MM pool. If they traded up to the maximum amount, that would leave them with a bonus pool of $6.84MM. Assuming Tseng signs for an even $1.5MM and that the Jimenez deal is completed, the Cubs will spend $7.7MM just on Jimenez, Torres, Tseng, Mejia, Moreno and Matos.

If the Cubs exceed their pool by 10 to 15%, they cannot sign an international prospect for more than $500K during the 2014-15 signing period. If they exceed it by more than 15%, they cannot sign a player for more than $250K. In either case, they would have to pay a 100% tax on this year's overage. It now appears very likely that the Cubs will exceed their 2013-14 bonus pool by more than 15%, which may be a plan they developed on the fly — they recently traded for more pool space in the Scott Feldman and Ronald Torreyes deals, and it's hard to see why they would have done that if they planned on paying the stiffest penalty for exceeding their pool.

MLBTR's Steve Adams wrote last week about the Cubs' international bonus situation.

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