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Michael Martinez

Indians Outright Michael Martinez, Sign Daniel Robertson To Minors Deal

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The Indians have announced that they’ve outrighted utilityman Michael Martinez. They’ve also signed outfielder Daniel Robertson to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite.

Martinez, 34, spent 2015 and part of 2016 in the Indians organization before heading to the Red Sox in a minor trade last July. He then headed back to the Indians in August on a waiver claim. He made sporadic appearances with Cleveland throughout its playoff run, collecting three plate appearances and scoring once in the World Series. (His last plate appearance was the ground out that clinched the Cubs’ Game 7 victory.) In the regular season, he appeared at six positions and batted .238/.267/.307 in 106 plate appearances. He was set to make a projected $600K in the arbitration process, a relatively paltry sum, but he still figured to be a non-tender candidate due to his light bat. The Indians still hope to keep Martinez, though — as Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com tweets, they’ve offered him a minor league deal to remain in the organization.

The 31-year-old Robertson spent 2016 in the Mariners organization, batting .287/.357/.412 for Triple-A Tacoma and briefly appearing in the big leagues. Robertson has batted a mere .273/.322/.325 in parts of three seasons in the Majors, but he can play all three outfield positions and has fared reasonably well at the Triple-A level, with an offensive game built heavily around walks and a .362 career Triple-A on-base percentage.

Indians Claim Michael Martinez, Designate Tyler Olson

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The Indians have claimed utilityman Michael Martinez off waivers from the Red Sox, per a team announcement. To clear a 40-man roster spot, the Indians designated lefty Tyler Olson for assignment.

Boston had actually added Martinez from Cleveland not long ago, and now sends him back. The 33-year-old switch-hitter has just 70 MLB plate appearances on the year, over which he carries a .273/.304/.364 batting line.

That doesn’t sound like much production, and it isn’t, but it actually stands quite a bit higher than Martinez’s career .515 OPS in 542 plate appearances. He has continued to draw interest from organizations, though, because of his defensive versatility. Martinez has lined up at every position except for first, pitcher, and catcher.

Olson, 26, was himself a recent waiver mover, with the Indians representing his third team on the year. He has reached the majors, but has received only minimal time there. Over his 95 1/3 career Triple-A innings, Olson has pitched to a 4.81 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 3.0 B/9.

Red Sox Designate Tommy Layne, Michael Martinez

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The Red Sox have designated left-hander Tommy Layne and utilityman Michael Martinez for assignment in order to clear spots on the roster for newly acquired southpaw Fernando Abad and newly promoted outfield prospect Andrew Benintendi, as MLB.com’s Ian Browne and Tim Britton of the Providence Journal first noted (links to Twitter).

[Related: Updated Boston Red Sox Depth Chart]

Layne, 31, has a 3.77 ERA with 7.9 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and a 53.2 percent ground-ball rate in 28 2/3 innings out of the Boston bullpen this season. He posted fairly similar numbers in 2015, but the key difference between the two seasons is his performance against left-handed opponents. Last year, Layne was unhittable in such situations, limiting left-handed hitters to a comical .148/.248/.170 slash in 102 plate appearances. This year, though, lefties batted .259/.355/.333 against him, thus prompting the Sox to look outside the organization for an improvement, which they found by flipping hard-throwing relief prospect Pat Light to the Twins in exchange for Abad.

Martinez, meanwhile, scarcely saw playing time during his brief tenure with the Red Sox. He appeared in just four games and totaled seven plate appearances, going 1-for-6 with a walk and two strikeouts. The 33-year-old is a career .198/.244/.271 hitter in parts of six big league seasons (542 plate appearances). He has experience all over the diamond, having spent time in the outfield and at second base, third base and, to a lesser extent, shortstop.

Red Sox Acquire Michael Martinez From Indians

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The Indians announced today that utilityman Michael Martinez has been traded to the Red Sox in exchange for cash considerations. Martinez had been designated for assignment this past Saturday.

[Related: Updated Red Sox & Indians Depth Charts]

The 33-year-old Martinez has never hit much in the Majors but brings some defensive versatility to the Red Sox’ depth chart. Though he’s just a .199/.244/.272 hitter at the big league level, Martinez does have experience at second base, third base, shortstop and all three outfield positions. He batted .283/.306/.383 in 63 trips to the plate with Cleveland this season and is a lifetime .282/.336/.395 hitter in parts of nine seasons at the Triple-A level.

Indians Designate Michael Martinez For Assignment

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The Indians have announced that they’ve designated utilityman Michael Martinez for assignment. The move clears space on the team’s active roster for lefty Shawn Morimando and on their 40-man roster for righty Joe Colon. The team selected Colon’s contract and optioned him to Triple-A Columbus. Morimando’s exact role with the team has yet to be announced, although it’s reasonable to assume his promotion has something to do with the Indians having played a 19-inning game against the Blue Jays yesterday and needing a fresh arm for today.

The veteran Martinez has batted .283/.306/.383 in 63 plate appearances for the Indians this season, playing second, third and all three outfield positions. That’s a considerably better offensive showing than he’d previously shown in his six-year big-league career, in which he’s batted just .199/.244/.272.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/14/16

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.

  • The Marlins have placed right-hander Kendry Flores on the 15-day DL with a strained pitching shoulder, per a team announcement. Flores, whom the Marlins recalled from Triple-A prior to their Saturday doubleheader, left his start against the Nationals after three shutout innings because of the injury. It was the first big league action of the year for Flores, who threw 12 2/3 innings of 4.97 ERA ball, struck out nine and walked four with the Marlins last season.
  • Catcher Michael McKenry has opted out of his minor-league deal with the Rangers, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. McKenry was batting .220/.389/.341 for Triple-A Round Rock after agreeing to terms on a minor-league deal in December. He hasn’t yet played in the big leagues this season even as the Rangers have used four different catchers at the Major League level. McKenry, now 31, is a career .239/.319/.407 hitter in parts of six seasons with the Rockies and Pirates.
  • The Braves have released minor-league catcher Ryan Lavarnway, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. The Braves’ recent acquisition of Anthony Recker likely meant the Braves had less playing time for Lavarnway, but given Lavarnway’s career .374 minor-league OBP, he should be able to find work elsewhere. He has appeared in the last five big-league seasons, spending time with Boston and Baltimore in addition to Atlanta.
  • The Indians have announced that they’ve selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Michael Martinez, who also played briefly for them last season. The five-year MLB vet was batting .288/.351/.442 for Triple-A Columbus. Martinez will take the place of Michael Brantley, who is heading to the 15-day DL with shoulder inflammation. Brantley had surgery on the shoulder in the offseason. Via MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian (on Twitter), however, a recent shoulder MRI didn’t reveal any serious problems. Brantley was off to a slow start this season, batting just .231/.279/.282 since making his season debut in late April. To clear space for Martinez on their 40-man roster, the Indians transferred catcher Roberto Perez (hand) to the 60-day DL.
  • The Dodgers have released utilityman Elian Herrera to give him an opportunity to play in Japan, Alex Freedman of the Oklahoma City Dodgers tweets. Herrera was hitting .218/.308/.238 for Oklahoma City while playing shortstop, second, third and left field. He batted .242/.290/.395 with the Brewers last season before signing a minor-league deal with the Dodgers last winter.
  • The Twins have signed utilityman Thomas Field, as Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press tweets. Field has been assigned to Triple-A Rochester. The 29-year-old has played sparingly in parts of four seasons in the big leagues. He began the season with the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate in Toledo, but he was released after playing just 15 games there. He spent most of last season with Triple-A Round Rock in the Rangers system, batting .247/.347/.439 over 435 plate appearances and playing second base, shortstop and the corner outfield positions.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/14/15

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.

  • The Mets have announced that they’ve signed second baseman, third baseman and outfielder Ty Kelly to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. Kelly, 27, established himself as a solid hitter coming through the minors, but he had a down year with the Cardinals’ and Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliates in 2015, combining for a .222/.322/.296 line in 429 plate appearances, including just 16 extra-base hits. He had hit for more power in Triple-A in previous seasons, though, and his versatility and willingness to take walks (he has 486 walks and 484 strikeouts in his minor league career) give him value on a Triple-A roster.
  • The Indians have agreed to terms with infielder/outfielder Michael Martinez on a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. Martinez opted free agency after refusing an outright assignment earlier this week. Martinez collected 32 big-league plate appearances in 2015 but spent most of the season at Triple-A Columbus, where he batted .289/.344/.424 over 401 plate appearances. Between the two stops, the 33-year-old played at every outfield position and every infield position except first base.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/12/15

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

  • Indians infielder/outfielder Michael Martinez elected free agency after refusing an outright assignment, the club announced. The 33-year-old veteran hit .267/.290/.333 in 32 plate appearances with Cleveland this season and will seek a minor league deal elsewhere as a free agent. The longtime Phillie is just a career .187/.235/.256 hitter between Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, though he can play several positions and has a decent Triple-A track record, making him a nice depth piece.
  • The Cardinals announced that they’ve signed catcher Eric Fryer and right-hander Juan Gonzalez to minor league contracts. Fryer, 30, has spent the past three seasons in the Twins organization and received 124 plate appearances in the Majors, hitting .236/.323/.355. He has similar Triple-A numbers, and while he’s struggled to catch runners in the Majors, he’s done so at a 30 percent clip in the minors. He’ll give the Cards an alternative to the light-hitting Tony Cruz at backup catcher. As for Gonzalez, The 25-year-old posted a 1.62 ERA with 9.2 K/9 vs. 2.9 BB/9 in 50 innings split between the Dodgers’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2015. That marked his first experience at the Triple-A level, though, so it did take him awhile to reach that point, considering he’ll be 26 early next April.

Indians Designate Carlos Moncrief

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The Indians have designated outfielder Carlos Moncrief for assignment, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets. That move, along with a 60-day DL transfer for lefty T.J. House, created roster space for the team to add Michael Martinez and lefty Giovanni Soto to the 40-man roster.

Moncrief, 26, has not yet reached the majors. He’s slashed a somewhat disappointing .227/.346/.367 this year while splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A, with the better half of the results coming at the lower level. Moncrief put up a more robust .271/.328/.431 batting line in 2014, all of which was spent at the highest level of the minors.

AL Central Notes: Perkins, Ramirez, Almonte, Indians

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Twins closer Glen Perkins told reporters today that he can “barely walk” due to back spasms, per La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Twitter links). Perkins will not accompany the team to Houston for its weekend series and will instead remain in Minneapolis for treatment. Per the Pioneer Press’ Jace Frederick and MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger (Twitter links), Perkins says he is “baffled” by the recurrence of back pain, as he felt fine after recording a save on Tuesday and believed himself to be 90 to 95 percent healed. Instead, he awoke Wednesday to the realization that he could barely get out of bed. It’s not known how long Perkins will be sidelined, but the injury makes the Twins’ acquisitions of Kevin Jepsen and Neal Cotts look that much more important. That duo, along with Trevor May, who has temporarily converted to a reliever (with strong results), will figure to play a key role as the Twins hope to remain in Wild Card contention.

Here’s more from their division…

  • Alexei Ramirez hopes to return to the White Sox in 2016, he tells Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune. “This was the team that gave me the opportunity to play in the big leagues and I want to spend the rest of my career here,” said Ramirez via interpreter. Chicago holds a $10MM option with a $1MM buyout on the 33-year-old Ramirez, essentially making it a $9MM decision for the Sox. Ramirez’s .243/.273/.345 batting line would make that seem like an easy call, Ramirez has made things tougher on GM Rick Hahn and his staff by hitting .285/.324/.435 with six homers and seven steals in 53 games dating back to July 1.
  • Zack Meisel of Cleveland.com chronicles Abraham Almonte’s long journey to the Indians, including his battle with alcohol abuse along the way. Almonte admits that a shoulder injury suffered in 2010 as a minor leaguer with the Yankees led him to drinking nearly every day and candidly recounts the story of how he overcame his problems. Now with the Indians after being traded three times in three seasons, Almonte says he’s having the most fun of his career, and he’s drawing praise from teammates and coaches alike. Almonte, still just 26 years old, is hitting .274/.326/.536 with three homers and three steals in 92 plate appearances as Cleveland’s primary center fielder. His defense, characteristically, has been outstanding according to metrics such as Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved.
  • The Indians will likely promote left-hander Giovanni Soto and infielder Michael Martinez tomorrow, tweets MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. However, neither is on the team’s 40-man roster, meaning they’ll have to make a pair of 40-man moves in order to accommodate the duo. This is my speculation, but moving T.J. House to the 60-day disabled list would clear one spot, but there’s no injury-related move that could free up a second spot (unless the team decides Carlos Carrasco is done for the year), making a DFA seem probable.
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