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Kevin Jepsen

Rays, Kevin Jepsen Agree To Major League Deal

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The Rays and right-hander Kevin Jepsen, who was released by the Twins recently following a DFA, have agreed to a Major League deal, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (links to Twitter). Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported shortly before that news that the two sides were nearing a deal (via Twitter) and had first mentioned the Rays’ interest in a reunion with Jepsen last week, while Cotillo tweeted yesterday that the Rays were one of many teams to whom Jepsen and his agents at the Beverly Hills Sports Council had spoken.

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With this agreement, Jepsen now returns to the very club that traded him to Minnesota roughly one year ago (in exchange for minor league right-handers Chih-Wei Hu and Alexis Tapia). The soon-to-be 32-year-old was brilliant for Minnesota down the stretch last season and stepped into the Twins’ closer role following an injury to Glen Perkins, logging a pristine 1.61 ERA with 8.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, a 40.8 percent ground-ball rate and 10 saves. That stellar performance led to a $5.3MM salary in arbitration this offseason, but Jepsen looked like a completely different pitcher with the 2016 Twins than he did with the 2015 version of the team.

In 30 2/3 innings with Minnesota this season, Jepsen posted a dismal 6.16 ERA and saw a significant decline in nearly every rate stat. He averaged just 6.5 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 with a 30.2 percent ground-ball rate. Per Fangraphs, Jepsen yielded 29.6 percent hard contact in 2015 but saw that number soar to 38.4 percent in 2016, thanks largely to an 8.5 percent increase in his line-drive rate (19.8 percent to 28.3 percent). He’s also seen drops in the chase rate and swinging-strike rate of his opponents, and opposing batters have greatly upped their contact rate against him.

Suffice it to say, the 2016 season hasn’t gone as planned for Jepsen (or for the last-place Twins). However, the Rays have had success with reclamation projects of this nature in the past, and Jepsen comes at a very affordable rate. The Twins are on the hook for the remainder of that $5.3MM salary (minus the pro-rated portion of the league minimum, which means he’ll cost the Rays about $222K through season’s end.

[Related: Updated Tampa Bay Rays depth chart]

Jepsen will join a Rays bullpen that currently features Alex Colome as the closer. Brad Boxberger had been tabbed for that role after leading the AL in saves in 2015, but he underwent hernia surgery in Spring Training and suffered an oblique strain in his first appearance back on the mound in late May when he returned from that first injury. Tampa Bay’s relief corps also features right-handers Erasmo Ramirez, Matt Andriese and Tyler Sturdevant at the moment. That group is probably safe, but Jepsen could take over the spot of struggling relievers Enny Romero or Ryan Garton. A 40-man roster move will also need to be made to accommodate Jespen’s return.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Twins Release Kevin Jepsen

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JULY 11: The Twins have released Jepsen, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

JULY 3: The Twins have designated right-handed reliever Kevin Jepsen for assignment, reports LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Twitter link). To replace Jepsen on its roster, the club has recalled outfielder Eddie Rosario from Triple-A Rochester, tweets Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.

[Related: Updated Twins Depth Chart]

Jepsen, whom the Twins acquired from the Rays for minor league righties Chih-Wei Hu and Alexis Tapia at last year’s trade deadline, is in the midst of his worst major league season. Aside from his 3.52 walk rate per nine innings, which matches his career total, most of the longtime Angel’s numbers have dropped off precipitously this year. It’s no surprise, then, that his stint filling in for injured closer Glen Perkins went poorly. Over 30 2/3 innings with the Twins this season, the 31-year-old Jepsen posted a 6.16 ERA, 6.46 K/9, 30.2 percent ground-ball rate and blew four of 11 save opportunities.

For his career, Jepsen has recorded a 3.83 ERA, 8.31 K/9 and 46.4 percent grounder rate in 381 major league frames. The fact that Jepsen is fresh off his best two-year stretch makes his decline this season more surprising, as he pitched to a 2.47 ERA and backed that with an 8.96 K/9, 3.34 BB/9 and 46.6 percent grounder mark from 2014-15.

Jepsen’s average fastball velocity has fallen since 2014, though it’s still at 94 mph. Given his velo and recent viability as a late-game option, Jepsen could catch on with another team for the stretch run. If he clears waivers and then signs elsewhere, the Twins will owe Jepsen the remaining portion of his $5,312,500 salary  – which is $2.64MM, per Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press – minus the prorated league-minimum amount he’d earn from his next club.

AL Notes: Medlen, Desmond, Brantley, Shaw, Yankees, Jepsen, Rasmus

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Royals right-hander Kris Medlen suffered a setback in his return from right shoulder inflammation in today’s rehab outing, reports MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. Medlen has been out since mid-May with the injury and suffered a strain of the same shoulder while throwing a breaking pitch on the 49th pitch of his outing, per Flanagan. He’s set to be re-evaluated later today but seemingly won’t be an option for the Royals at any point in the near future.

Here’s a look at some of the latest news out of the American League …

  • Rangers GM Jon Daniels says that the club would have interest in working out a long-term deal with outfielder Ian Desmond, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Though he said that he wouldn’t discuss the matter beyond acknowledging that fact, Daniels heaped praise upon the deserving All-Star. Grant argues that the time is now for Texas to try to strike a deal. That certainly won’t be easy, but as Grant notes, Desmond may have some added motivation given that he previously turned down a chance at a major payday.
  • Michael Brantley finally received some good news and is progressing toward a return to the Indians, per Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Brantley received a cortisone shot after a recent diagnosis of tendinitis in his biceps and will resume batting practice tomorrow before possibly progressing to simulated games and a rehab assignment. It’s not clear exactly when after the All-Star break Brantley will return, per Hoynes, but both Brantley and Indians manager Terry Francona implied that the DL stint may not last all that much longer.
  • The Red Sox are holding their breath on third baseman Travis Shaw, who fouled a ball off of his foot tonight. As Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal tweets, initial testing was inconclusive and Shaw’s foot is showing lots of swelling. Whether or not there’s a serious injury remains to be seen, but a glance at Boston’s depth chart shows that the club could be pressed regardless if Shaw is out for more than a day or two. Brock Holt could be a replacement option, but he’s being utilized in left field at the moment. Marco Hernandez is the only other infielder on the active roster with Josh Rutledge on the DL, while the 40-man possibilities at Triple-A are Sean Coyle and Deven Marrero.
  • While it remains unclear what path the Yankees will take at the trade deadline, the organization is already working to reshape its roster, Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees blog explains. Reducing the role of Alex Rodriguez, demoting Nathan Eovaldi to the bullpen, enhancing Aaron Hicks’s playing time, and keeping Rob Refsnyder up are among the recent decisions that Jennings explores.
  • Assuming he clears waivers, the Rays have interest in a reunion with reliever Kevin Jepsen, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Jepsen was designated recently by the Twins, who had picked him up from the Rays last summer. The 31-year-old righty has fallen off badly after a long track record of solid pen work; given his salary ($5.3MM and change), a claim seems unlikely, though perhaps a trade could materialize if Minnesota is willing to keep most of that obligation.
  • Angels reliever Cory Rasmus needs core muscle surgery, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Rasmus, who already underwent such an operation last year, had been placed on the DL with what had been called a groin strain. The 28-year-old was carrying a 5.40 ERA through 21 2/3 innings and had taken a big step back in the K/BB department, having issued 14 free passes while K’ing just 13 batters.

Cafardo’s Latest: Gray, A’s, Giants, Twins, Pads

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Athletics executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane is elite at maximizing players’ values, opines the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo, who writes that Beane is in prime position to shine as this year’s trade deadline approaches. The last-place A’s, who are likely to sell, have appealing trade chips like outfielder Josh Reddick, starter Rich Hill and relievers Ryan Madson, Sean Doolittle and John Axford. None will be as intriguing as 26-year-old right-hander Sonny Gray if the A’s put him on the block, though. The A’s are unsure about whether to make Gray available, per Cafardo, who reports that double-digit scouts from contenders take in each of his starts.

More rumblings from Cafardo:

  • The Giants are aggressively shopping for relief help and a middle-of-the-order hitter to fill the void left by the injured Hunter Pence. Bullpen possibilities include Twins righty Kevin Jepsen and southpaw Fernando Abad, both of whom the Giants have recently scouted. As far as the outfield goes, any of Ryan Braun – whom the Giants have discussed with Milwaukee – struggling Padre Matt Kemp or free agent Carl Crawford could end up in San Francisco. Kemp has recovered at the plate from a nightmarish May this month, but he remains a defensive liability who’s owed $21.5MM annually through 2019.
  • Jepsen and Abad aren’t the only Twins who might change uniforms this summer. Third baseman Trevor Plouffe and infielder Eduardo Nunez could also pique contenders’ interest. Nunez is surprisingly excelling this year, hitting .318/.348/.485 with nine home runs and 16 steals – the fifth-highest total in the majors – through 249 plate appearances. He’s on a mere $1.48MM salary this season and is scheduled to make one more trip through arbitration.
  • The Red Sox, Royals and Blue Jays are potential landing spots for Padres center fielder Jon Jay, who’s batting a solid .299/.345/.410 through his first 287 PAs of a contract year. Jay, 31, is earning $6.23MM this season.
  • With Colorado having designated him for assignment Wednesday, 33-year-old shortstop Jose Reyes will soon be looking for a new home, and the scuffling White Sox are a team to watch. Chicago already released one veteran shortstop, Jimmy Rollins, earlier this week. His replacement, 22-year-old prospect Tim Anderson, has gone 9 of 34 with four extra-base hits, nine strikeouts and no walks.

Twins Avoid Arbitration With Kevin Jepsen

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We’ll track the day’s smaller arbitration agreements in this post:

  • The Twins have announced a deal with righty Kevin Jepsen. He’ll earn $5,312,500, per the club, which lands nearer to his $5.4MM asking price than the team’s $5.05MM filing. MLBTR had projected him at $6MM, though, so Minnesota will certainly save some cash as against the projection system’s expectations. Jepsen came to the Twins from the Rays on deadline day last summer in exchange for minor league righties Chih-Wei Hu and Alexis Tapia. The 31-year-old finished strong, logging ten saves and dropping his already-solid earned run average to a 2.33 mark on the year. Over his 69 2/3 total innings, Jepsen struck out 7.6 and walked 3.5 batters per nine. While the season was a success on the whole, it wasn’t all roses: Jepsen’s K rate dropped (he had struck out better than a batter per inning in each of the prior two campaigns) and he lost just over one full tick on his average heater. Then again, his swinging strike rate was still in the double-digits, and he still ran up his fastball at a sturdy 94.5 mph average. The 31-year-old figures to play an important role in the Twins’ pen before hitting the open market after the season.

2016 Arbitration Filing Numbers

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MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker is the place to go to see the arbitration contracts agreed upon thus far, as well as the figures exchanged between teams and players that were not able to reach agreement before today’s noon deadline to swap salary positions. Matt Swartz’s arbitration projections are available here.

As MLBTR has previously explained, 156 players officially filed for arbitration (after some eligible and tendered players had already reached agreement). Of those, 34 players have yet to reach reported agreements with their clubs. Of course, those players can still reach agreements before their hearings (which will take place between February 1st and 21st). If the case goes to a hearing, the arbitrator must choose one side’s figures, rather than settling on a midpoint.

We’ve gathered the highest-stakes arbitration situations remaining — those where the player files for at least $4.5MM — in this post, but you can find them all in the tracker (with two as-yet-unreported exceptions).

AL East Notes: Sabathia, Red Sox, Jepsen

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Though he gutted out a quality start after a tough first inning last night,Yankees southpaw  CC Sabathia is dealing with bone-on-bone arthritis in his right knee, the left-hander told MLB.com’s Barry Bloom last night. Sabathia told Bloom that he’ll eventually need knee replacement surgery, but “that’s the price you pay.” Sabathia has been wearing a brace on his injured knee which he says prevents the ligaments in the joint from rubbing together when he plants to throw a pitch. As such, he’s able to maintain his mechanics.

A few more notes from around the AL to kick off the week…

  • The Red Sox could use an “alpha dog” atop their rotation, writes Peter Gammons of the MLB Network and GammonsDaily.com. Gammons breaks down a number of options for the Sox, including Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda (whom, according to one scout that spoke to Gammons, is “too slight” to pitch every fifth day in the Majors). Gammons outlines the case for and against the Sox reeling in top free agents David Price and Zack Greinke within his column, and he also looks at Johnny Cueto’s struggles since over the past month with the Royals.
  • Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes that while the trade of Kevin Jepsen from the Rays to the Twins doesn’t stand out as one of the more memorable deals from this past deadline, it had a significant impact on the Rays’ clubhouse. There was a feeling in the air that the team had given up by trading one of its top setup men to a team they were chasing in the Wild Card race, Topkin hears from people around the clubhouse, especially considering that the return was a pair of low-level minor leaguers who weren’t going to contribute in 2014.

Twins Acquire Kevin Jepsen

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1:44pm: The Twins have announced the trade.

1:27pm: The Rays will be getting minor league righties Chih-Wei Hu and Alexis Tapia from the Twins, tweets La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

12:59pm: The Twins and Rays are in agreement on a trade that will send right-hander Kevin Jepsen to Minnesota, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

Bullpen help has been the Twins’ primary need for quite some time, as the team lacks quality setup options for Glen Perkins, with the possible exception of converted starter Trevor May, who has recently been handling the eighth inning in Minnesota. Blaine Boyer, Aaron Thompson, Brian Duensing and Casey Fien have all had struggles at various times this year, with Thompson already having been shipped to Triple-A.

Jepsen, 31, should provide some stability, though he isn’t necessarily an elite upgrade. He has a solid track record dating back to 2012 (3.12 ERA in 187 1/3 innings), but his strikeout rate and control have both taken a step back in 2015. Jepsen’s averaged 4.3 walks per nine against 7.3 strikeouts per nine, both of which are departures from his career marks and his rates in recent seasons. Even without a return to his previous strikeout levels, though, Jepsen will improve the strikeout rate in a Twins bullpen that handily ranks last in the Majors in strikeout.

Jepsen is earning $3.025MM in 2015 and is controllable through the 2016 season, so he’ll likely be ticketed for a raise into the mid-$4MM range or so this winter.

AL East Notes: Pineda, Ackley, Orioles, Rays

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Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda is dealing with a right arm injury, as WFAN’s Mike Francesca first reported, although the injury’s severity remains unclear. Joel Sherman of the New York Post cites Yankees executives in saying that the issue is a strained muscle in Pineda’s forearm as opposed to anything in his elbow, and it’s not believed to be serious at this time (Twitter links). Nonetheless, Marly Rivera of ESPN tweets that Pineda won’t start tonight’s game for New York, as had previously been scheduled. While many will speculate that there’s an increased need to add pitching, there’s been no definitive report on Pineda requiring a lengthy absence from the rotation. (And while some have said otherwise, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweets that there’s no issue with Ivan Nova’s arm at present.)

More on the Yankees and their division, which is still reeling from Toronto’s now-official addition of David Price…

  • The Yankees recently reached out to the Mariners to express interest in Dustin Ackley, reports Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). The two sides discussed a scenario in which outfielders Ramon Flores and Ben Gamel would’ve gone to the Mariners, but Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik wanted more for Ackley, and talks have since cooled, per Feinsand. Ackley, the former No. 2 overall pick in the draft, is again struggling this season and has batted a mere .215/.270/.366. Many have speculated that Zduriencik is loath to undertake in any type of sale, as his job security could be tied to the Mariners’ finish this season. Nonetheless, it’s a bit surprising to hear him holding out for any sort of return on Ackley, though Flores and Gamel admittedly aren’t all that well-regarded. Flores ranked 27th on MLB.com’s midseason edition of the Yankees’ Top 30 prospects, while Gamel didn’t place.
  • The Orioles are continually being asked for the likes of Kevin Gausman, Jonathan Schoop, Mychal Givens and even Manny Machado in trades, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). Each of those players is considered a deal-breaker for Baltimore, he writes. The Orioles have been seeking upgrades to their corner outfield situation recently.
  • The Rays are indeed listening to offers on Nate Karns (as was reported earlier today), tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. However, Topkin feels that the likeliest trade candidate, if the Rays move someone at all, remains right-hander Kevin Jepsen. Topkin reported last week that the Rays may very well trade a relief pitcher prior to the trade deadline.

Quick Hits: Royals, Pirates, Dodgers, Benoit

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Here’s a roundup of the latest trade-deadline-related news:

  • The Royals are still working to upgrade their bench, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets.  Kansas City is looking at both infielders and outfielders to improve its reserve group.
  • Rays reliever Kevin Jepsen is now a stronger trade candidate now that the Rays have slipped to 49-51, Morosi tweets.  Jepsen, who is eligible for free agency after the 2016 season, owns a 2.88 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 through 45 appearances this season.
  • Tigers manager Brad Ausmus is adamant that his team should not sell before the deadline, Chris Iott of MLive.com writes.
  • Pirates GM Neal Huntington says that he’s not necessarily done shopping even after acquiring Aramis Ramirez, Adam Berry of MLB.com writes.  “We’ve shored up what we felt was our biggest soft spot. We’ll continue to look,” Huntington said. “It just gives us some versatility and flexibility to find where we think the next best match and next best fit is.”  However, he wouldn’t specify what area he might target in the coming days.
  • One issue for the Dodgers is that they aren’t willing to part with top prospects Corey Seager or Julio Urias, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.  At that point, there’s a big dropoff to whoever their No. 3 prospect might be, whether it’s pitcher Jose De Leon or someone else.
  • The perception in the market is that the Padres will definitely move Joaquin Benoit before the deadline, Buster Olney of ESPN.com tweets.
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