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Richie Shaffer

Brewers Sign Richie Shaffer, Rymer Liriano

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The Brewers have signed corner infielder/outfielder Richie Shaffer and outfielder Rymer Liriano to minor league contracts, according to Jim Goulart of Brewerfan.net (h/t: Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). Both players will report to Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Shaffer had been without a team since the Indians released him June 8, which came after he opened the season with a .164/.216/.310 line in 125 Triple-A plate appearances. The 27-year-old was far better last season with the Indians’ top affiliate, hitting .227/.338/.464 with 30 home runs in 546 PAs, though he did post a 34.4 percent strikeout rate.

Strikeouts have long been a problem for Shaffer, a former Clemson slugger whom the Rays chose 25th overall in the 2012 draft. Still, Shaffer has registered a useful Triple-A line (.229/.327/.440 with 64 HRs in 1,449 PAs). He also logged league-average major league production in 142 PAs with the Rays from 2015-16, when he combined to bat .213/.310/.410 with five long balls.

Liriano, 27, quickly landed on his feet after the Angels released him Wednesday. Unlike Shaffer, Liriano has held his own at Triple-A this year, hitting .268/.343/.523 with 16 HRs in 269 PAs. Liriano’s now set for his second stint with the Brewers, with whom he suffered facial fractures on a hit by pitch during a spring training game in 2016. He ended up missing the season as a result, and the Brewers waived him that fall.

Also a former Padre and White Sox, Liriano has recorded an impressive Triple-A line of .282/.361/.466 with 47 homers in 1,389 PAs. Despite that, Liriano hasn’t delivered on the promise he had with San Diego, where he topped out as one of the game’s 50 best prospects. Thus far, he has amassed 167 major league plate trips and slashed just .220/.293/.287 with a pair of HRs.

Indians Release Richie Shaffer

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The Indians announced that they’ve released corner infielder Richie Shaffer from their Triple-A affiliate in Columbus. The 27-year-old former first-round pick had been in his second season with the organization.

Selected 25th overall by the Rays back in 2012, Shaffer logged fairly pedestrian numbers in the low minors before breaking out with a big 2015 in which he batted .267/.357/.539 in 108 games between Double-A and Triple-A as a 24-year-old. Tampa Bay brought him to the Majors late that season, but he managed just a .213/.310/.410 slash with five homers in 142 plate appearances with the Rays from 2015-16. The Rays traded Shaffer and Taylor Motter to the Mariners in exchange for three minor league pitchers (including Andrew Kittredge) that offseason, and he bounced around the waiver wire before settling in with Cleveland prior to the 2017 campaign.

Shaffer notched an .802 OPS with 30 homers for Cleveland’s top affiliate in 2017, but he’s off to an ugly start in 2018, having batted .164/.216/.310 through 125 PAs in his second season with Columbus. He’s primarily been a third baseman in the minors but also has significant experience at first base and in both corner outfield slots.

Indians Notes: Lindor, Ramirez, Jackson, Shaffer

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It was on this day in 1910 that the Chalmers Auto Company announced that a new car would be awarded to the batting champions from the American and National League.  This innocent promotion ended up leading to a memorable controversy, as Cleveland’s Nap Lajoie “won” the AL batting title after collecting eight hits in nine at-bats (under very dubious circumstances) during a season-ending double-header against the St. Louis Browns.  Chalmers ended up awarding cars to both Lajoie and runner-up Ty Cobb in the wake of the embarrassing situation.

Here’s some news from modern-day Cleveland baseball…

  • There aren’t any extension talks going on between the Indians and Francisco Lindor, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (via Twitter).  Cleveland isn’t necessarily in any rush since Lindor isn’t even eligible for arbitration for two more seasons, though the Tribe has historically looked to extend young talent when possible.  Once Jose Ramirez’s extension is finalized, he’ll be the ninth member of the Tribe’s roster signed to a multi-year extension by the team.  Lindor’s extension case will be particularly fascinating to watch given his status as one of the sport’s rising superstars.  (Cleveland.com’s Zack Meisel recently speculated that a Lindor extension might cost the Indians something in the neighborhood of $65MM-$75MM on a six-year deal.)
  • Ramirez’s extension was finalized after about a month of negotiations, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes.  According to Rafael Nieves, Ramirez’s agent, yesterday was the self-imposed deadline for the extension to be settled, so Ramirez could focus on preparing for Opening Day.  Ramirez originally turned down an offer comparable to Jose Altuve’s four-year, $12MM extension with the Astros from 2013.
  • Austin Jackson’s minor league contract with the Indians was known to contain an out clause near the end of Spring Training, and MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports (Twitter link) that Jackson’s opt-out date is actually tomorrow.  Jackson is hitting well this spring though it may still be difficult for him to carve out a spot in the Tribe’s crowded outfield picture.
  • After an offseason in “DFA limbo,” Richie Shaffer is hoping for some stability with the Tribe, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan writes.  Shaffer was traded from the Rays to the Mariners in November and then designated for assignment and claimed by Seattle, Philadelphia and Cincinnati before finally landing in Cleveland on a waiver claim…and then being DFA’ed again and outrighted off the Indians’ 40-man roster.  Needless to say, it was a trying offseason for Shaffer and his family, and Passan’s piece is well worth reading as an insight into how such transactions take their toll on a player.  “That was the first time I’d ever been talked about in that light – as a player a team would consider DFA’ing,” Shaffer said.  “A year prior to that, I was in the Futures Game….Baseball’s an odd business. The game is pretty simple, but the business is strange. Once you get DFA’d once, there’s almost this perception that you’re a guy who can be DFA’d. Essentially, the next person who picks you up gets you for nothing, so you’re just as expendable to the next team because they got you free.”

Quick Hits: Free Agents, Johnson, Braves, Blue Jays, Reds, Shaffer

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Just over a year removed from the 2015-16 offseason, nine of the top ten contracts handed out last winter are already looking problematic, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes.  Only Johnny Cueto turned in a vintage season in the wake of signing his pricey deal with the Giants last winter, while the other nine (David Price, Zack Greinke, Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, Jordan Zimmermann, Jeff Samardzija, Wei-Yin Chen and Mike Leake) ranged from slight to complete disappointments in their first seasons with their new teams.  Injuries played a role in several of these down years, which is perhaps even more ominous for the teams that have tens of millions in remaining commitments to these players.  While this winter’s free agent market wasn’t as star-studded as the last, the lack of early returns on many of the 2015-16 investments could be another reason — beyond the new CBA, luxury tax concerns or a simple lack of elite talent — that teams were far more reluctant to spend over the last few months.

Some more from around the baseball world…

  • Kelly Johnson has received interest from the Blue Jays, Braves and Reds about a minor league deal and non-roster invite to Spring Training, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  Johnson, however, is still holding out in the hopes of landing a Major League contract.  Atlanta’s interest in a reunion with Johnson has been well-documented, though Cincinnati and Toronto are new names as suitors.  The veteran utilityman would fit as a needed left-handed bat and versatile bench piece for both the Reds and Jays.
  • The Reds also have Ryan Raburn and Desmond Jennings in camp on minor league contracts, and their track records mean more to manager Bryan Price than their Spring Training performance necessarily does, the manager tells MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon and other media.  “Hopefully with the Raburn, Jennings group of experience and even [Hernan] Iribarren with his background, you want to have at least one of those guys if not two of them on the club to lend that experience,” Price said.  The skipper’s further comments about valuing experience and versatility could be another hint as Cincinnati’s interest in Johnson, though that’s just my speculation.
  • After a wild offseason that saw Richie Shaffer become property of five different teams, he may now be emerging as a candidate for the Indians’ Opening Day roster, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian writes.  Shaffer is hitting very well in spring action and his ability to play first base, third base and both corner outfield slots serves him well on a Cleveland team that is looking for flexibility with Jason Kipnis and Michael Brantley both facing DL stints to start the season.
  • Then again, it’s pretty rare for a player to win an Opening Day job with a big spring unless he’s already in a general manager’s plans, ESPN’s Jim Bowden writes (subscription required).  As GMs Dayton Moore, Jerry Dipoto and Thad Levine all tell Bowden, teams tend to have a set timeline for their minor leaguers and many non-roster invitee veterans are around to provide depth.  “Intuitively, we know that 10-15 innings pitched or 40-50 plate appearances do not represent a significant amount of performance from which we should make meaningful changes,” Levine explained.  “That being said, when a player’s performance is married with work ethic, character and a clear sense that he will enhance the team’s chemistry, the temptation to alter plans becomes real.”

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/2/17

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We’ll keep tabs on the latest minor moves here:

  • The Indians have outrighted corner infielder/outfielder Richie Shaffer after he cleared waivers, the team announced. That brings to an end his winter tour d’waiver, which saw him spend time on the rosters of the Rays, Mariners, Phillies, and Reds before he landed with Cleveland. The 25-year-old, who’s primarily a third baseman, wasn’t able to capitalize on his opportunity with Tampa Bay, as he slashed .213/.310/.410 over 142 plate appearances over the past two campaigns. But he does own a solid .243/.338/.445 batting line with thirty long balls over his 788 career trips to the Triple-A dish.
  • The Athletics have signed minor-league deals with two young Cuban players, as MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets. Righty Luis Miguel Romero and outfielder Enry Pantojas have both joined the Oakland organization. Neither player has received much in the way of prospect attention, so there’s little public information available. The 23-year-old Romero last appeared in Cuba’s Serie Nacionale in 2015, when he pitched to a 3.31 ERA over 35 1/3 innings and managed just 23 strikeouts to go with 16 walks. Of course, that was just his age-21 campaign. Pantojas, who just turned twenty, has even less of a track record. He hit .304/.429/.348 in Cuba’s top league back in 2015, but that came over just thirty plate appearances.

Indians Acquire Carlos Frias, Designate Richie Shaffer For Assignment

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The Indians announced that they’ve acquired right-hander Carlos Frias from the Dodgers in exchange for cash and designated infielder/outfielder Richie Shaffer for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

[Related: Updated Cleveland Indians Depth Chart]

The 27-year-old Frias spent the bulk of the 2016 season with Los Angeles’ Triple-A affiliate after logging significant innings for the Dodgers in 2015, when he posted a 4.06 ERA in 77 2/3 innings. Frias exhibited a strong ground-ball rate with the 2015 Dodgers (55.1 percent) but averaged just five strikeouts per nine innings pitched against three walks over that same span. Metrics such as FIP, xFIP and SIERA all pegged him for an ERA closer to the mid-4.00s due to his pedestrian walk rate and lack of missed bats.

Frias did start 13 games for the Dodgers that season, though, so he’ll give the Indians some depth either in the rotation or in the bullpen. And he has a minor league option remaining as well, so Cleveland can send him to the minors at the end of Spring Training even if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster.

The 25-year-old Shaffer was recently claimed off waivers from the Reds, with minor league slugger Jesus Aguilar losing his roster spot in Cleveland to facilitate that claim. A former first-round pick, Shaffer spent parts of the past two seasons with the Rays (who drafted him 25th overall in 2012) but posted a lackluster .213/.310/.410 in 142 Major League plate appearances. In 188 Triple-A games (788 plate appearances), however, Shaffer has batted .243/.338/.445 with 30 home runs.

Shaffer has experience at both infield corners and both outfield corners, though the bulk of his work in the minors has come at third base. Like Frias, Shaffer can still be optioned to the minors without first being exposed to outright waivers, so he could latch on with his sixth organization of the winter. The Indians, though, had one of the lowest waiver priorities in the league and were still able to claim him just four days ago, so perhaps they’ll be able to slip him through waivers and retain him without dedicating a 40-man roster spot.

Indians Claim Richie Shaffer, Designate Jesus Aguilar

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The Indians have claimed corner infielder/outfielder Richie Shaffer off waivers from the Reds, per a club announcement. Presumably, he lost his roster spot in Cincinnati to clear space for the signing of righty Scott Feldman. Cleveland designated first baseman Jesus Aguilar to free its own 40-man spot for the claim.

Shaffer has made the rounds this winter, at least on paper. He entered the offseason with the Rays before bouncing to the Mariners, moving to the Phillies and then to the Reds before landing with Cleveland.

As ever, that sort of movement reflects the fact that there’s plenty of interest in the 25-year-old, but also questions about just what kind of contributions he’ll make in the near term in the majors. He owns a .213/.310/.410 batting line in his 142 MLB plate appearances, all of which came over the last two years in Tampa Bay. But the righty hitter owns a solid .243/.338/.445 slash with thirty long balls over 778 total Triple-A plate appearances.

The 26-year-old Aguilar hasn’t hit much in scattered MLB time over the past three years, and has burned through his options in the process. But he, too, has shown more in the upper minors. In his 1,647 trips to the plate at Triple-A, the right-handed-hitting Venezuelan carries a .271/.346/.472 batting line and has swatted 68 home runs.

Reds Claim Richie Shaffer, Tyrell Jenkins Off Waivers

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The Reds announced on Friday that they’ve claimed infielder/outfielder Richie Shaffer off waivers from the Phillies and also claimed right-hander Tyrell Jenkins off waivers from the Rangers. Both players were recently designated for assignment by their now-former organizations.

Shaffer, 25, spent parts of the 2015-16 seasons at the Major League level with the Rays but batted a disappointing .213/.310/.410 in 142 plate appearances. The former first-round pick has been considerably more productive at the Triple-A level, where he’s slashed .243/.338/.445 with 30 homers in 188 games. Shaffer, a right-handed hitter, has experience at all four corner positions but has spent the majority of the time at first base. In his big league career, he’s actually been better against right-handed pitching than left-handers, but he doesn’t come with much of a platoon split looking back throughout his minor league career. He’ll presumably compete for a bench job with Cincinnati in Spring Training.

Jenkins, meanwhile, has moved around the league quite a bit in the past couple of years. The former Cardinals top prospect (drafted No. 50 overall in 2010) went to the Braves in the Jason Heyward/Shelby Miller deal back in 2014, and Atlanta traded him to Texas earlier this month. The Rangers, though, designated Jenkins for assignment this week and weren’t able to pass him through waivers. Jenkins draws plenty of praise for his athleticism, but he’s posted rather unsightly numbers in the Majors (5.88 ERA, 4.5 K/9, 5.7 BB/9 in 52 innings) and in questionable rate stats in Triple-A (2.86 ERA in 129 innings but with 5.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9). Jenkins won’t turn 25 until July, however, so the Reds are adding a bit of upside at minimal cost for the time being. (It seems far from a given that Jenkins will survive the offseason on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster.)

Phillies Acquire Clay Buchholz

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The Phillies have officially struck a deal to acquire righty Clay Buchholz from the Red Sox, as Jon Heyman of Fan Rag first reported (via Twitter). Second baseman Josh Tobias will be the piece going to Boston in the swap, in which Philadelphia will pick up all the remaining obligations to Buchholz, as Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer was first to report (via Twitter). Philadelphia designated just-acquired third baseman Richie Shaffer for assignment to clear roster space.

Oct 10, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Clay Buchholz (11) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Cleveland Indians during game three of the 2016 ALDS playoff baseball series at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Buchholz, 32, has seemed like a fairly likely trade candidate ever since Boston struck its deal to acquire Chris Sale. That acquisition left the team with a somewhat over-stuffed depth chart in its rotation, with the luxury tax line also representing a possible factor. The Sox had previously picked up Buchholz’s $13.5MM option for the 2017 season, making him an expensive depth piece. He is slated to hit free agency after the upcoming campaign.

[RELATED: Updated Phillies & Red Sox Depth Charts]

For the Phils, the move represents a clear continuation of the strategy put in place this winter (and reflects much the same approach as that employed a year ago). After starter Jeremy Hellickson took his qualifying offer to remain in Philadelphia, the club went on to deal for veteran infielder/outfielder Howie Kendrick and reliever Pat Neshek, each of whom had one season left on their original free-agent contracts. And the organization also added late-inning man Joaquin Benoit and infielder Andres Blanco on single-season, MLB arrangements while picking up minor-league free agents such as Daniel Nava, Sean Burnett, and Pedro Florimon. While building out the roster with solid veterans who don’t tie up the payroll beyond the 2017 campaign, Philadelphia also made a value bet on center fielder Odubel Herrera, who inked a five-year extension.

All told, the new additions add $57.7MM to the books for Philadelphia in the coming season. Given that much of the rest of the roster will earn at or near the MLB minimum, it’s hardly a massive outlay for an organization that routinely placed among the game’s biggest spenders before embarking upon a rebuilding path (and has only recently begun a lucrative new TV deal). Importantly, none of these acquisitions cost the Phillies much in the way of future value. They’ll allow the club to field a more competitive product, reduce the pressure on younger players in the system, and, potentially, cash in some of the new assets for future value — either by trade-deadline swaps or even future qualifying offers.

In Buchholz, the Phils have added an enigmatic starter who has at times been rather excellent and still comes with his share of upside. In 2015, he worked to a 3.26 ERA over 113 1/3 frames with a strong 8.5 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9, representing one of several seasons in which he looked like a quality number 2 or 3 starter. But he dealt with elbow issues in 2015 and wasn’t able to repeat in his latest campaign. Buchholz was bumped from the rotation at one point and ended 2016 with 139 1/3 frames of 4.78 ERA pitching to go with 6.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. While he has often generated grounders on about half of the balls put in play against him, he dipped to 41.2% last year.

Despite the struggles, Buchholz did carry a typical 92.1 mph average on his fastball and a 9.5% swinging-strike rate that’s right at league average for a starter. He also ended the year on a good note, posting a 2.86 ERA across the last 44 innings he’ll throw in a Red Sox uniform (barring, at least a surprise reunion at some point down the line). As Tim Britton of the Providence Journal detailed at the time and Buchholz himself discussed with David Laurila of Fangraphs, there were adjustments that may help explain the turnaround and could add some confidence to the Phillies’ hopes. Buchholz wasn’t able to work in the zone as much as he had in 2015 (though that was something of an outlier year), and also couldn’t maintain the 5.9% HR/FB rate that helped drive his success in the prior season.

As MLBTR’s Steve Adams posited at the outset of the winter, pitchers such as Buchholz and then-Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia could have their options picked up before being dealt. While neither brought back major hauls in their respective trades, their respective teams were able to hold onto them as depth to enhance their flexibility entering the offseason, then pivot to a trade when it was determined that their services wouldn’t be needed.

Certainly, the Cards seem to have earned more for Garcia (who came with a $12MM salary) than the Sox got out of Buchholz’s final season. The trio of youngsters shipped from the Braves for Garcia all had placed among the Atlanta organization’s top thirty prospects (per MLB.com), while Tobias has never received that kind of recognition. The 24-year-old split last year between the Class A and High-A levels, hitting well (.304/.375/.444) for much of the year at the former and struggling (.254/.324/.357) in 146 plate appearances after his promotion.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Phillies Claim Richie Shaffer, Release Phil Klein To Pursue Asian Deal

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The Phillies have claimed infielder/outfielder Richie Shaffer off waivers from the Mariners, per a club announcement. Additionally, the team announced that righty Phil Klein was released in order for him to sign a contract to play with an organization in Asia.

Philadelphia announced Shaffer as a third baseman, perhaps suggesting that’s where they see him being utilized — though, of course, that position will almost certainly be manned regularly by Maikel Franco. Shaffer can also play the corner outfield or first base.

The 25-year-old Shaffer, a former first-round pick, bounced from the Rays to the Mariners earlier this offseason. He was riding high after a big 2015 season in which he hit 30 total long balls between the upper minors and the majors (where he received his first, brief look). But he largely struggled in the campaign that just ended, posting a meager .227/.329/.367 batting line at the Triple-A level and earning only twenty games in the bigs. Those struggles made him expendable, but the Phils evidently see enough upside to take a chance with a 40-man spot — though the team could ultimately attempt to sneak him through waivers at some point.

Klein, 27, also landed in Philadelphia through a waiver claim — in his case, from the Rangers. He did not pitch particularly well in his four appearances late in 2016 for the Phils, and owns only a 5.50 ERA over his 55 2/3 total major league innings. But Klein has carried impressive strikeout numbers and posted dominant results in the upper minors, which surely lent to his appeal to ballclubs on the other side of the Pacific. It is not yet clear just where Klein is headed.

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