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Ricky Nolasco

Twins, Angels Swap Ricky Nolasco, Hector Santiago In Four-Player Deal

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In a surprising move, the Twins announced that they’ve picked up left-hander Hector Santiago and minor league righty Alan Busenitz from the Angels in exchange for Ricky Nolasco and minor league righty Alex Meyer.

Hector Santiago

The move is certainly a curious one for both clubs, as neither would’ve been pegged to add starter that is only controllable through the 2017 season. However, the Twins’ signing of Nolasco has been a bust, and they’ll now swap him out for a starter that has had more success in recent seasons. That Minnesota will come away with the superior big league arm in this deal is a positive if the team intends to contend in 2017, as it has previously indicated. Santiago is sporting a 4.25 ERA on the season and has a solid 3.75 ERA with 8.0 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 in 577 2/3 innings dating back to 2013 — the first season in which he was primarily a starter at the big league level. He’s one of the more homer-prone pitchers in baseball, though for a club that hopes to deploy Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler in a spacious outfield next season, the Twins may not be as worried about Santiago’s fly-ball/home run tendencies as a club in a smaller park.

They’ll lose Meyer — the more highly regarded minor league arm in this trade — as the cost of upgrading the current roster, though the addition of Busenitz gives them an arm that has performed well in Double-A this year, even if he’s never been been all that highly regarded. The 25-year-old Busenitz is a former 25th-round pick and posted a 1.93 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 1.4 BB/9 in 32 2/3 innings before being promoted to Triple-A Salt Lake, where he has struggled considerably. Busenitz has served up 11 runs in 13 Triple-A innings, though the 13-to-5 K/BB ratio he’s posted is at least somewhat encouraging.

Meyer, formerly regarded as a top 50 prospect, has battled significant shoulder injuries and hasn’t pitched since early May due to injury. Scouts have long viewed him as a potential bullpen piece, and the Twins used him primarily in the ’pen last season. It’s unclear how the Halos will attempt to utilize Meyer, who will turn 27 this offseason, but it’s possible they’re looking at him as a buy-low option to plug into a farm system that is devoid of upper-level talent. Whether the Halos look at Meyer as a potential power arm for the bullpen or a possible starter in 2017 and beyond, his ceiling is higher than not only that of Busenitz but than the vast majority of the prospects in their barren farm system.

Ricky Nolasco

The Angels will slot Nolasco into their big league rotation and hope that he can right the ship after a brutal two and a half years in Minnesota. Nolasco signed a four-year, $49MM contract prior to the 2014 season and has missed significant time with a right elbow strain, right elbow inflammation and a right ankle impingement while with the Twins. His work with Minnesota has resulted in an ugly 5.44 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in just 321 innings of work. Of course, prior to signing with the Twins, Nolasco was a fairly durable innings eater with the Marlins and Dodgers, From 2010-13, he averaged 188 innings per season and posted a 4.33 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9. If a change of scenery and a return to his native SoCal can revitalize Nolasco and see him return to that form, he could be either a solid contributor to the 2017 Angels or at least turn into a reasonable trade chip. That the Twins are on the hook for $4MM of his 2017 salary should help increase his appeal on the market if he is able to rebound.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that Santiago, Nolasco and Meyer were all in the cash-neutral deal (links to Twitter). MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweeted that Busenitz was going to Minnesota. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune chipped in some specifics on the finances (links to Twitter). 

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rotation Rumors: Pirates, Quintana, Gray, Hill, Twins

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After dealing Mark Melancon, the Pirates may not be done with their deadline moves, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. The team isn’t necessarily looking to act as a seller, though; instead, Pittsburgh is targeting a starter. The Melancon swap, after all, doesn’t represent full-blown capitulation, as it brought back a quality, major league level reliever in Felipe Rivero. Pittsburgh is said to be talking with the Rays, among other teams, and one can’t help but wonder whether the Bucs see an opportunity to achieve some value on an underperforming arm with a favorable contract situation.

Here are some more notes on major pitchers whose names are in discussions as the deadline approaches:

  • The Rangers have spoken with the White Sox about Jose Quintana as well as Chris Sale, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets, but there’s no more reason to believe the sides are closer on the former than there is to think they’ll line up on the latter. At this point, there’s a difference of opinion between the teams on those southpaws’ values, per Rosenthal.
  • There’s no chance that the Athletics will deal righty Sonny Gray at the deadline, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports. It is hard to call that a surprising revelation, given that we’ve heard no signals out of Oakland that he’d be made available. The A’s are obviously uninterested in selling low on a 26-year-old pitcher who had pitched like an ace heading into this season, but who has struggled badly in 2016. Gray’s strikeout rate has held steady, and he isn’t giving up many more walks than is typical, but he carries a 5.43 ERA over 107 2/3 innings and missed time with a trap strain. The 2016 downturn will at least tamp down Gray’s arbitration salary, and with three more years of control, it certainly behooves the Athletics to hold onto him at least until he can rebuild some value.
  • Meanwhile, word is the Athletics could still deal southpaw Rich Hill even though he won’t return to the mound before the deadline and just hit the 15-day DL. Heyman tweets that there’s still “significant interest” in the veteran despite his lingering blister issues. Though he carries a risky profile given his recent and prior injury issues and lack of a productive big league track record prior to his out-of-nowhere breakout late in 2015, Hill has been aces when healthy in 2016. Over 76 frames, he owns a stellar 2.25 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9.
  • While none of these names are of the level of the pitchers discussed above, the Twins are said to be shopping Ricky Nolasco, Tommy Milone, and Fernando Abad, according to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Nolasco and Milone could both conceivably be looked at by teams in need of some rotation depth, while Abad remains a useful LOOGY option for organizations that hope to bolster their pen. None, of course, seem particularly likely to draw major returns; if anything, Nolasco would likely be moved for a bit of salary relief.

Deadline Rumors: Hellickson, Reds, Rangers, Aybar, Gibson, Twins

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Here’s the latest on some notable players whose names have popped up in trade speculation…

  • The Phillies are scouting the Marlins’ rookie league affiliate for prospects in a possible Jeremy Hellickson trade, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  The two NL East rivals have been connected to Hellickson rumors for a few weeks now, as Miami is known to be searching for rotation help.  Given the lack of premium talent within the Marlins’ farm system, Hellickson could be a more reasonable acquisition than other Marlins targets like Jake Odorizzi, Matt Moore or even Chris Sale.  The Pirates, Red Sox and Orioles are among the teams also linked to Hellickson in trade rumors.
  • The Rangers are exploring many trade options and have been linked to multiple teams, though they don’t appear to have had any “substantive talks” with the Reds, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets.  Texas has been linked to Jay Bruce, and the right fielder could be a fit with Shin-Soo Choo constantly battling injuries and Prince Fielder gone for the season, though Grant seems to imply that the Rangers’ interest in Bruce didn’t get too far.  Anthony DeSclafani would certainly the attract the Rangers and other pitching-needy teams if Cincinnati made him available, though DeSclafani’s breakout year may have also made him into a building block for the rebuilding Reds.
  • The Braves are “aggressively shopping” Erick Aybar and left-handed relievers, a rival executive tells Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link).  Aybar would seem to have limited trade value given his horrible year at the plate, as his brief hot streak in June gave way to more struggles in July.  Southpaws Hunter Cervenka and Ian Krol have generated some trade buzz already, and it’s possible Atlanta could be trying to sell high on Dario Alvarez.  (UPDATE: Rosenthal’s tweet also listed Jeff Francoeur as a trade chip, but he has since issued a correction saying that the Braves aren’t shopping Francoeur and will only deal him if they get a big offer.)
  • The Twins are in “listening mode — at best” on right-hander Kyle Gibson, a source on a contender tells Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter links).  The Twins “appear more focused” on trading Ervin Santana or Ricky Nolasco, which is no surprise given that the team would love to get some salary relief from either of those big contracts.  Gibson has yet to truly live up to his former top prospect status, though he put up solid numbers in 2015 as a low-strikeout ground ball specialist.  Gibson will become eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter, and he is under team control through 2019.
  • Also from Berardino (Twitter links), he speculates that the Twins could try to position themselves as the proverbial “third team” in a three-team trade.  The Twins have some prospect depth that could be offered to contenders short on quality minor leaguers (Berardino cites the Marlins, Tigers, Mets and Orioles here) to help facilitate some deals, with Minnesota receiving some players who could help them next season but who are also still in their pre-arbitration years.

Cafardo’s Latest: Sox, D-backs, Royals, Marlins, Twins, Phillies

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With the free-falling White Sox open to selling off veterans, power-hitting third baseman Todd Frazier could end up switching uniforms by the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Frazier is on a reasonable $7.5MM salary this year and will make one more trip through arbitration in the offseason. His .212/.300/.476 batting line is far from great, but the right-handed Frazier is second in the majors in home runs (28). Meanwhile, the team’s second-best starting pitcher, lefty Jose Quintana, is available for an “overwhelming” package, a major league source told Cafardo. The highly effective Quintana, 27, is controllable and affordable through 2020, and has logged a 3.13 ERA, 8.15 K/9 and 2.26 BB/9 in 123 2/3 innings this season.

More from Cafardo as the deadline draws closer:

  • Regarding the possibility of the Diamondbacks trading star right-hander Zack Greinke in the first season of a six-year, $206.5MM contract, a source told Cafardo, “It would take a great return of players and the team would have to assume the entire contract. The Diamondbacks wouldn’t pay a dime.” It seems as if Greinke will stay put, then. Before landing on the disabled list with an oblique injury earlier this month, the soon-to-be 33-year-old recorded a 3.62 ERA, 7.49 K/9, 1.73 BB/9 and 47.6 percent ground-ball rate across his first 109 1/3 innings as a Diamondback.
  • The Royals have interest in Red Sox righty Clay Buchholz, who’s currently in their bullpen, but Boston would have to pick up large portion of his remaining $13MM salary for 2016 in a trade. Buchholz’s contract also includes a $13.5MM club option for next season. In 20 appearances (13 starts) and 82 2/3 innings this season, the 31-year-old has compiled a sky-high 6.10 ERA to pair with ugly strikeout and walk rates (5.99 and 4.03, respectively, per nine).
  • The Marlins scouted Red Sox southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez and a couple of Twins – right-hander Ricky Nolasco and left-hander Tommy Milone  – in Boston earlier this week. It looks as though the 23-year-old Rodriguez is unavailable, per Cafardo. Nolasco, a former Marlin, is on a $12MM salary through next season and has continued a trend of having difficulty preventing runs this year (5.40 ERA) through 116 2/3 innings. Milone has also posted a lofty ERA (4.71 in 49 2/3 frames), though he carries a more modest salary of $4.5MM.
  • Phillies righty Jeremy Hellickson is another candidate to join the Marlins, and southpaw reliever Mike Dunn could be part of a deal. As a 31-year-old pending free agent, Dunn would seemingly be an odd pickup for the rebuilding Phillies, however.

Notable Opening Day Roster Decisions

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With Opening Day fast approaching, and a variety of deadlines hitting clubs around the league, we’re seeing plenty of final roster and initial playing time decisions being made. While many don’t necessarily implicate control rights or other contractual matters, some are particularly noteworthy. Among them:

  • Ricky Nolasco has won the Twins’ final rotation spot, with the club optioning Tyler Duffey to Triple-A, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger tweets. The 25-year-old Duffey had an impressive ten-game debut last year, but was outperformed in camp by the high-priced veteran Nolasco, who struck out 14 in his 13 1/3 innings. Duffey, meanwhile, surrendered a 7.30 ERA in 12 1/3 innings, with six walks to go with just six strikeouts. Minnesota also seems to have set its pen and the rest of its 25-man Opening Day roster, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune tweets, by reassigning Logan Darnell to minor league camp. It appears that Fernando Abad will function as the sole lefty middle reliever on the club.
  • It appears that reliever Craig Breslow has made the Marlins’ roster, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com tweets.  Breslow inked a minor league deal with Miami this winter and will earn $1.5MM in 2016 if he makes the roster.
  • The Giants have optioned catcher Andrew Susac and will go with Trevor Brown in the reserve role to open the season, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area was among those to report on Twitter. Susac has dealt with injuries this spring and could certainly stand to receive more steady playing time. That creates a nice opportunity for the 24-year-old Brown, a glove-first receiver who has a lot to prove with the bat.
  • The Brewers will go with Yadiel Rivera and Rule 5 pick Colin Walsh as bench infielders, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. That leaves Hernan Perez without an apparent role. He’s out of options, so a roster move could be coming for the 25-year-old. Meanwhile, Walsh will get a chance to stick in Milwaukee, which is obviously intrigued at the idea of keeping his future rights.

Twins Assistant GM Antony On Hunter, Park, Murphy, Nolasco

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Jesse Lund, of SB Nation’s Twins blog Twinkie Town, recently did a wide-ranging interview with Twins assistant GM Rob Antony (Part 1, Part 2). Here are a few highlights.

  • The Twins weren’t necessarily surprised by Torii Hunter’s retirement in October, Antony says. That Hunter made his decision early in the offseason allowed the Twins time to plan, and helped them enter the bidding for KBO slugger Byung Ho Park. Later, Antony adds that the Twins had been aware of Park since he was in high school, and they were interested in signing him even then.
  • The Twins struggled offensively at the catcher position in 2015, and especially didn’t do well from the backup catcher spot. That deficiency led them to acquire John Ryan Murphy (who they got from the Yankees for Aaron Hicks). Murphy, Antony feels, can be a long-term answer as a starting catcher. That trade took place in November, and Antony says that the Twins wanted to make the deal quickly because many teams were looking for catching and the Twins wanted to get a player who might be around for several years. For that reason, they felt that the trade market was a better avenue to pursue than the free agent market.
  • The Twins considered blowing past their international bonus pool in recent years but did not do so because of the way the market for international amateur talent unfolded. “[W]hat ended up happening was a few teams – basically we had about six, seven players that we were prepared to just go get and spend millions of dollars on – well, some teams that lost out on guys they were after went after some of those same players and basically doubled what we were prepared to do,” Antony says.
  • The Twins have not discussed the possibility of eating a portion of the $25MM remaining on Ricky Nolasco’s contract in a potential trade, despite how poorly the first two years of his contract have gone. Nolasco’s role on this year’s team is unclear, but Antony emphasizes that the Twins plan to use him and still view him as a potentially helpful pitcher.

AL Notes: Bautista, Desmond, Hultzen, Rondon

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Star Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista is looking for a contract that will keep him in Toronto into his forties at a $30MM+ AAV, says Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter links), but the 35-year-old is perhaps more willing to negotiate than some of his prior comments would suggest. Previous reports of Bautista’s contract requests have reflected just that kind of asking price while sometimes portraying his stance as being more firm. Jays GM Ross Atkins made clear recently that talks have been amicable, and Heyman adds that Bautista does hope to continue on in Toronto, so it appears there is still some hope that the sides can come together on a new contract for the pending free agent.

Here’s more from the American League:

  • Twins righty Ricky Nolasco believes he should remain in the club’s rotation, agent Matt Sosnick tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link). Referencing last year’s disappointing, injury-filled campaign, Sosnick suggests that his client “deserves to show the Twins what he looks like without trying to pitch through pain.” If Nolasco is pushed to the pen, says Sosnick, he’d approach the front office to “directly address his feelings of disappointment” and “ask the team about his other options.”
  • The initial returns on Ian Desmond in left field appear to be positive for the Rangers, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. He also notes that the Giants had some interest in Desmond earlier in the winter as a super-utility option that would primarily play in the corner outfield, while the Orioles were involved later.
  • Mariners lefty Danny Hultzen has suffered a setback in his bid to get back on the bump in a relief role, Shannon Drayer of Seattle’s 710AM ESPN was among those to report on Twitter. He’ll seemingly rest a while as he deals with shoulder stiffness, which hopefully will clear up on its own. It has been a long and difficult road for the 26-year-old, who has dealt with a series of arm issues since he was chosen second overall in the 2011 draft.
  • Tigers reliever Bruce Rondon touched 100 mph yesterday and continues to show good form in camp, as Aaron McMann of MLive.com reports. After a disappointing end to the 2015 season, in which he was asked to leave the organization due to his lack of effort, Rondon has drawn positive reviews so far this spring. “He’s been good,” said skipper Brad Ausmus. “He’s done his work, he’s taken his non-pitching fundamentals seriously. He’s put in the effort and he’s looked strong so far on the mound.”

Central Notes: Cubs, Perez, Nolasco, Reds

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Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein says his team’s deal with Ben Zobrist and its trade of Starlin Castro to the Yankees were a matched pair, Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago writes. “This was a multiple-bank shot,” says Epstein. “We needed all the components of both deals to line up. That included the medicals and timing to sync up. We were not counting any chickens before they had hatched.” The pair of moves, in which the Cubs essentially used the money they would have had to pay Castro to fund most of Zobrist’s contract, will not limit the team’s options as its offseason continues to unfold, Epstein says. “Really, all the moves we were pursuing previously are still potentially alive for us,” Epstein said. “We don’t have to act out of need or desperation now. We now can be pretty selective.” Here’s more from the Central divisions.

  • The Rangers have had recent trade talks with the Indians, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan tweets. The Rangers are looking for a catcher, Sullivan notes, and the Indians’ Roberto Perez would make sense for them — he’s a good defender with a bit of hitting ability.
  • Ricky Nolasco’s contract with the Twins allows him to block trades to three teams each year, and Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN tweets that those three teams are the Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays. As Wolfson suggests, that might not matter much right now — Nolasco has two years and $25MM remaining on his contract, and it doesn’t appear likely the Twins could trade him after two ineffective seasons, except perhaps in a swap of bad contracts.
  • The Reds have promoted Nick Krall and Sam Grossman to assistant GM, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. Krall had been the Reds’ senior director of baseball operations, and Grossman their senior director of baseball analytics. The team recently promoted assistant GM Dick Williams to GM.

Twins Seeking To Deal Ricky Nolasco

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The Twins are seeking trade partners for righty Ricky Nolasco, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reports on Twitter. Minnesota is “trying” to move what it can of Nolasco’s $25MM salary over the next two seasons, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press tweets.

Needless to say, finding a taker for Nolasco will require some creativity. He missed much of last season after undergoing ankle surgery, and owns an ugly 5.64 ERA over his 196 1/3 innings for Minnesota.

Soon to turn 33, Nolasco has performed better in the estimation of advanced metrics, which have generally valued him as around a 4.00 earned run-equivalent performer since he signed on with the Twins. And his average fastball velocity has held at just over 90 mph. Nolasco has been hurt by a high .359 BABIP and low 66.7% strand rate over the last two seasons.

It’s not hard to imagine other teams having interest in taking a shot at a rebound, then, particularly since Nolasco showed enough to warrant a four-year, $49MM commitment in the first place. The Padres represent at least a hypothetical match, per Cotillo. But it seems clear that he’s not worth the remainder of his contract, so the Twins would surely need either to take another bad contract in return or eat money in any trade scenario.

AL Notes: Nolasco, Wren, Dipoto, Walker

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The Twins have announced that they’ve reinstated starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco from the 60-day DL and cleared space for him on their 40-man roster by placing lefty Logan Darnell (pneumonia) on the 60-day DL. Nolasco has not pitched since May, having missed most of the season with a right ankle impingement. He had surgery on his ankle in July to remove a bone fragment. Nolasco won’t return to his usual starting role — instead, he’ll pitch in relief for the remainder of the season, as MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger reports. His return gives him the opportunity to end a second straight disappointing year on a positive note. He’s almost halfway through his four-year, $49MM deal with the Twins (which includes a club option for 2018), and he’s now posted ERAs of 5.38 in 2014 and 5.51 in 32 2/3 innings this year.

  • The Red Sox’ new front office alignment — featuring Frank Wren as senior VP of baseball ops and reporting to president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski — can work, opines Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bradley notes that Wren had a tendency to be impulsive, but Dombrowski will rein in his reactionary impulses. Additionally, Bradley believes that Wren has a knack for scrounging for relievers and bench pieces, which can be of benefit to Boston. While he acknowledges that his defending of Wren is unpopular among Braves faithful (the Dan Uggla and Melvin Upton Jr. contracts still sting), Bradley adds that Wren never lost 90 games in a season with the Braves, who actually led the National League in victories from 2010-14 with Wren serving as GM.
  • Dombrowski says that he would love to add Jerry Dipoto to the Red Sox front office in a full-time capacity, but he’s presently waiting for the jobs for which Dipoto has applied to be resolved, tweets Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. Dipoto, who is currently an adviser with the Red Sox, is known to have interviewed for the Mariners’ GM vacancy and was reported to be one of two finalists earlier today.
  • The Mariners aren’t completely ruling out the possibility that Taijuan Walker could make another start, but his season is likely over, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune writes. Walker isn’t hurt, but the Mariners want to be careful about his workload — he’s pitched 169 2/3 innings with the M’s this season after only pitching 129 innings total split between the Majors, the minors and the Arizona Fall League last year. “Ensuring that he’s healthy and goes into next season feeling good about what he’s accomplished this year, that outweighed everything else,” says manager Lloyd McClendon. If Walker’s season is over, it was a solid first full year in the big leagues for the former top prospect — he posted a 4.56 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 overall, but rebounded from a bumpy April and May to post a 3.26 ERA, 8.4 K/9 and just 1.2 BB/9 in his last 20 starts.
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