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Orioles Notes: Castillo, Alvarez, Jackson, Andino

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The Orioles placed catcher Welington Castillo on the 10-day DL this afternoon after he suffered a groin injury that stemmed from a ball that deflected off the foot of Didi Gregorius when Gregorius was hit by a pitch yesterday. As MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko writes, Castillo spent several hours in the emergency room yesterday, though the injury is “not nearly as serious” as the testicular injury suffered by Caleb Joseph last year that cost Joseph a month of the season and required surgery. “He’s got a hematoma there in his groin that we’re going to monitor and see how it progresses,” manager Buck Showalter told reporters (via Kubatko). The O’s debated whether they should even put Castillo on the DL, per Kubatko, as the current belief is that he won’t require 10 days.

A few more notes on the Orioles…

  • Kubatko also points out (on Twitter) that Pedro Alvarez has an opt-out clause in his contract tomorrow. The 30-year-old slugger entered play today hitting just .219/.293/.443 through 51 games, though he belted his 12th homer of the season in today’s game. That continues an outrageous tear for Alvarez, who has now homered eight times in his past 13 games and is hitting well over .300 in that stretch. Alvarez has been trying his hand in right field with Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk, though most teams would likely still view him as a first base/designated hitter candidate.
  • I’ll also point out that the minor league deal that veteran right-hander Edwin Jackson inked with the Orioles back in April reportedly contained a June 1 opt-out provision as well (according to Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun). While Jackson has had issues with his control down in Norfolk, he’s logged a 3.86 ERA with 14 strikeouts through 16 1/3 innings. Of course, he’s also issued 10 walks, hit two batters and uncorked a pair of wild pitches, so there are plenty of red flags with the mercurial righty.
  • The league announced today that veteran infielder Robert Andino, who was playing with Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate, has been hit with a 50-game suspension after testing positive for Amphetamine. The 33-year-old Andino logges his first 13 games in the Majors since 2013 last season and was off to a .234/.282/.375 start through 2016 plate appearances in Triple-A.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/6/17

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

  • The Blue Jays announced the signing of infielder Jonathan Diaz to a minor league deal earlier this week.  Diaz was originally drafted by the Jays in 2006 and this is his third separate stint in the organization.  Diaz has a .406 OPS over 65 career plate appearances in the majors, all with the Red Sox and Blue Jays during the 2013-15 seasons.  The 31-year-old spent 2016 playing for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate.
  • The Reds have signed infielder Zach Walters to a minor league contract, reports Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. The 27-year-old switch-hitter spent the 2014-15 seasons in the Indians organization after being traded over from the Nationals in exchange for Asdrubal Cabrera, and he was with the Dodgers last season. Walters has displayed plenty of pop, with 10 homers in 181 career MLB plate appearances, but he’s also been extremely strikeout prone in the bigs. Overall, he’s a .176/.227/.382 hitter in the Majors, though his .265/.312/.482 career line in Triple-A is more palatable. Walters logged a .770 OPS in 94 games with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate last season and played every position on the diamond besides catcher.
  • The Brewers announced today that right-hander Rob Scahill has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A. The 29-year-old had previously been designated for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for infielder Ehire Adrianza, who was claimed off waivers before promptly being designated for assignment himself (in favor of first baseman and fellow waiver claim Jesus Aguilar). Scahill pitched well for the Brewers late in the 2016 season, tossing 18 1/3 innings with a 2.45 ERA and a 14-to-3 K/BB ratio. Scahill’s ground-ball rate has soared in each of the past two seasons, sitting around 62 percent in that time. He’s yet to find consistent success in the Majors, though he does possess a very solid 3.03 ERA in his past 65 1/3 innings in the big leagues.
  • The Orioles announced that they’ve re-signed infielder Robert Andino to a minor league contract. Baltimore also confirmed its previously reported minors contract with Johnny Giavotella. The 32-year-old Andino will return to Baltimore for his second stint after previously spending the 2009-12 seasons with the Orioles. In 2016, Andino returned to the Majors following a two-year absence from the bigs and picked up seven singles in 24 plate appearances with the Marlins. He spent most of the season in Triple-A New Orleans, hitting .267/.319/.427. Capable of playing shortstop, second base and third base, Andino will likely provide the O’s with some infield depth in the upper minors. While Andino does receive an invite to Major League Spring Training (per Rich Dubroff of PressboxOnline, on Twitter), Ryan Flaherty is in line to be the team’s primary utility option.

Marlins Designate Robert Andino For Assignment

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The Marlins announced that they have designated infielder Robert Andino for assignment, which will clear a spot on the 40-man roster for right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne, who has been claimed off waivers from Baltimore.

Andino, 32, inked a minor league pact with the Marlins — the organization that originally drafted him in the second round back in 2002 — and had his contract selected to the Major League roster last month. Andino logged 24 plate appearances with Miami across 13 games, batting .292/.292/.292 (seven hits, all singles, no walks). That marked his first trip to the Majors since the 2013 season. Capable of playing second base, shortstop and third base, Andino is a lifetime .233/.294/.318 hitter in parts of 10 seasons between the Marlins, Orioles and Mariners. He hit .267/.319/.427 at the Triple-A level this season and has authored a .260/.306/.393 batting line in parts of eight seasons at that level.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/28/15

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Matt Eddy of Baseball America has all the latest minor league moves, and there are some notable additions that have not yet appeared on the pages of MLBTR. Among them:

  • The Marlins have signed righty Dylan Axelrod, lefty Troy Patton, and shortstop Robert Andino. Axelrod has seen MLB action in each of the last five seasons, but has seen his opportunities dwindle and owns only a 5.27 career ERA in 228 2/3 frames. Patton has had success at times in the bigs — he was a solid contributor to the Orioles from 2011-13 — and threw 30 1/3 innings of 2.37 ERA pitching last year at Triple-A. As for Andino, he’ll return to the organization with which he cracked the majors after spending last season in independent ball.
  • Outfielder Alex Castellanos is heading to the Rockies, per Eddy. The 29-year-old has seen only minimal MLB time, despite solid numbers at Triple-A. He played briefly last year for Japan’s Yomiuri Giants.
  • The Cardinals signed righty Jeremy Hefner, who is working his way back after Tommy John surgery. Hefner threw 224 1/3 frames for the Mets, with a 4.65 ERA, over 2012-13.
  • Joining the Diamondbacks are righties Matt Buschmann and Jose Cisnero. Buschmann, 31, spent time with three organizations last year and has yet to crack the majors. Still just 26, Cisnero has made it to the bigs with the Astros but threw at Double-A last year in the Reds organization, continuing to show an ability to miss bats but also a predilection to miss the zone.
  • The White Sox inked right-hander Josh Wall. Wall has made 15 major league appearances in past seasons. Heading into his age-29 campaign, the reliever will be looking for a chance to pick up some more MLB frames after throwing sixty innings of 2.70 ERA ball last year at Triple-A, with 10.4 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9.

Pirates Sign Robert Andino

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The Pirates have signed infielder Robert Andino to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, the team announced on Twitter. Andino is represented by the Legacy Agency.

The 29-year-old Andino collected just 85 plate appearances for the Mariners in 2013, batting .184/.253/.237 in that time. He played slightly above-average defense at shortstop in that small sample, however, as he's done throughout his career at the big league level. Andino has 1073 Major League innings at shortstop and 1870 innings at second base, and Ultimate Zone Rating pegs him as slightly above average at each position.

Andino will provide the Bucs with additional shortstop depth beyond likely starter Jordy Mercer and defensive standout Clint Barmes (who recently re-signed in Pittsburgh). Andino, a 2002 second-round draft pick, has a career .232/.294/.318 batting line in 1467 plate appearances between the Orioles, Marlins and Mariners.

Pirates Acquire Robert Andino

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The Pirates have acquired infielder Robert Andino from the Mariners in exchange for a player to be named later, tweets Shannon Drayer of ESPN Radio Seattle. Andino was not on Seattle's 40-man roster at the time of the deal.

The 29-year-old Andino saw big league action earlier this year for the M's, struggling to a .184/.253/.237 line over 85 plate appearances. His Triple-A numbers are not much better, as he possesses a .229/.281/.333 triple-slash in 167 plate appearances to go with three home runs and two stolen bases. The club had outrighted Andino back in late May.

 

Minor Moves: Lambin, Andino, Putnam, Bowden

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Today's minor moves…

  • The Royals signed third baseman Chase Lambin to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports (Twitter link).  Lambin, 33, had been playing for the independent Sugar Land Skeeters, the latest stop in a 12-year minor league career that has seen him play in the Mets', Marlins', Nationals' and Twins' farm systems, plus a year in Japan with the Chiba Lotte Marines.  Lambin is still looking for his first cup of coffee in the majors after posting a .270/.343/.437 line over 4475 minor league PA.
  • Mariners infielder Robert Andino has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports (via Twitter).  Andrino was designated for assignment (in rather complicated fashion) by the M's last week.  The Orioles considered making an offer for Andino, Connolly reports, but the club decided against bringing back their former utilityman.
  • The Cubs have selected the contract of right-hander Zach Putnam and added him to the 40-man roster, the team announced.  Kyuji Fujikawa was moved to the 60-day DL and Alex Burnett was sent to Triple-A in a pair of corresponding moves.  Putnam has a 3.26 ERA and a 10.2 K/9 in 19 1/3 relief innings in Triple-A this year and a 4.82 ERA in 9 1/3 career Major League innings with the Indians and Rockies.
  • Reliever Michael Bowden cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A by the Cubs, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page.  He accepted the assignment, notes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.  Having been outrighted before, Bowden had the right to elect free agency, but then his contract would have been terminated.  The 26-year-old posted a 3.78 ERA, 3.8 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, and 35.3% groundball rate with no home runs allowed in 16 2/3 relief innings for the Cubs before being designated for assignment on Tuesday of last week to open a roster spot for Matt Garza.  The Red Sox drafted Bowden 47th overall in 2005 as part of the compensation for the loss of free agent Derek Lowe.  He was chosen five picks after Clay Buchholz, who was part of the compensation for the team's loss of Pedro Martinez.
  • Eight players currently reside in DFA limbo: Ben Francisco and David Huff of the Yankees, Francisco Martinez of the Mariners, Edinson Rincon of the Padres, Ramon Ortiz and Clint Robinson of the Blue Jays, Nick Green of the Marlins, and Mark Lowe of the Angels.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Mariners Designate Robert Andino For Assignment

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The Mariners have designated infielder Robert Andino for assignment and elevated shortstop Carlos Triunfel to the big league club. This seemingly simple transaction took some unusual twists and turns throughout the day.

Now that the dust has settled, Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times recapped the series of events. As MLBTR explained earlier today, Dave Cameron of Fangraphs and U.S.S. Mariner tweeted that Andino had been placed on outright waivers to open a 40-man roster spot. A 40-man spot was needed to permit catcher Jesus Sucre to come up and replace the demoted Jesus Montero. However, that waiver move would not have cleared space on the team’s 40-man for 48 hours, the time required for Andino to clear waivers (unless he was claimed). Instead, Baker reported, the Mariners had intended to designate a minor leaguer for assignment to make way for Sucre, leaving Andino on the roster (at least for the time being). As Baker explains, the report of the Andino waiver move meant that the team would be dressing a player who would be (or, at least, believed he would be) out of a job shortly.

Later this afternoon, the Mariners announced that Andino had been designated for assignment, with Triunfel promoted to take his spot. (Baker reported the news first on Twitter.) By designating Andino, the club immediately cleared a 40-man spot for Sucre (who is also now on the active roster) and a 25-man spot for Triunfel (who already occupied a 40-man spot). Triunfel, however, had already flown out this morning with Triple-A Tacoma for the team’s game in Reno, NV. The youngster was then re-routed back to Seattle this afternoon.

This odd sequence leads Baker to infer that the M’s changed course after the Andino waiver news broke. As Baker notes, Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik said that he was already looking to bring up Triunfel. While Zduriencik would not confirm that Andino had been placed on waivers, he did say that no transaction had been made prior to today. Whether the reasons, as Baker explains, “what happened today is hardly routine.”

The net of Seattle’s dealings today is that Andino finds himself in DFA limbo, with the team having ten days to trade, outright, or release him. The 29-year-old Andino batted just .184/.253/.237 for the M's this season, appearing primarily at shortstop. He also has extensive big league experience at second base and has seen some time at third base. Andino was acquired by the Mariners from the Orioles in exchange for Trayvon Robinson back in November.

In parts of nine Major League seasons between the Marlins, Orioles and Mariners, Andino is a .232/.294/.318 hitter. He grades out as a plus defender — particularly at second base — according to both UZR and The Fielding Bible.

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

AL Notes: Astros, Draft, Andino, Nelson

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The Astros haven't yet decided who they're taking with the first overall pick in the 2013 Draft, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports. Possible candidates for the top pick include college pitchers Mark Appel, Jonathan Gray and Sean Manaea; college hitter Kris Bryant; and high school outfielders Clint Frazier and Austin Meadows. "I think it's important to keep scouting them until the very end," says Astros scouting director Mike Elias. "We're making sure we're keeping the field as open as we can. We are not going to make that decision when there's no reason to, six weeks before the Draft." The Astros' draft signing bonus pool, which stands at $11.7MM this year, could play into their decision about who to draft. In 2012, the Astros took Carlos Correa first overall and signed him for significantly less than his bonus pool allotment, allowing them to take high-upside talents like Lance McCullers Jr. later in the draft. Here are more notes from around the American League.

American League Non-Tenders

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Here are today’s American League non-tenders. All decisions must be in by 11pm CT tonight. Be sure to track all tender decisions using MLBTR's Non-Tender Tracker. Related resources include our list of non-tender candidates, our projected arbitration salaries and our arbitration eligibles series.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

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