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Minor MLB Transactions: 2/19/18

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Here are Monday’s minor signings from throughout the league…

  • The Reds announced that they’ve signed right-handed reliever Ben Rowen to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training. The 29-year-old Rowen has just 11 2/3 MLB innings under his belt (none since 2016), but the sidearmer has a lengthy track record of success in Triple-A. While Rowen had a down season in 2017, working to a 4.41 ERA in 63 1/3 innings, his struggles came in a hitters’ paradise — the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas. Overall, Rowen has a career 2.81 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9 in parts of five Triple-A campaigns, and he has routinely racked up ground-ball rates north of 60 percent thanks in large part to his unorthodox delivery.
  • The Dodgers have inked former Cubs/Rockies outfielder Tyler Colvin to a minor league deal, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. Now 32 years old, Colvin hasn’t been in the Majors since 2014 and hasn’t been affiliated with a big league organization since a 2015 stint with the White Sox’ Triple-A club. He spent the 2016 season with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League and struggled to a .218/.264/.339 slash through 277 plate appearances, and he didn’t play professionally in 2017. Colvin had success in the Majors back in 2010 (113 OPS+) and 2012 (114 OPS+), but his overall .239/.287/.446 slash through 1309 MLB PAs is reflective of the fact that he’s had more struggles than success in the big leagues.

White Sox Sign Tyler Colvin

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The White Sox have signed outfielder Tyler Colvin to a minor league contact and have assigned him to Triple-A Charlotte, per the Knights’ Twitter feed. In a corresponding move, the White Sox released former 2009 first-round pick Jared Mitchell.

Colvin was in camp with the Marlins before opting out of his minor league deal in April. The 29-year-old outfielder spent 2014 with the Giants slashing .223/.268/.381 in 149 plate appearances before being outrighted in August. Colvin was the Cubs’ first-round choice and the 13th overall selection in the 2006 draft, but has struggled in the Majors batting .239/.287/.446 during his six-year career with the Cubs, Rockies, and Giants.

Mitchell was the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 draft and also has failed to live up to his billing. The 26-year-old outfielder has scuffled at the Triple-A level posting a line of just .205/.328/.327 over the course of four seasons at Charlotte, including a mark of .050/.174/.100 in 46 plate appearances this year.

Tyler Colvin Opts Out Of Marlins Deal

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Outfielder Tyler Colvin has opted out of his contract with the Marlins and is now a free agent, reports MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (on Twitter).

Formerly the 13th overall pick in the 2006 draft (by the Cubs) and the No. 75 prospect in all of baseball (per Baseball America prior to the ’09 season), Colvin has never developed the way many expected him to, but he’s seen a good chunk of Major League action in each of the past five seasons.

Last year, Colvin totaled 149 plate appearances with the Giants, slashing .223/.268/.381 — again showing plus power but difficulty getting on base. That’s been the story of Colvin’s career, as the outfielder/first baseman boasts an impressive .207 isolated power mark but has managed an overall batting line of .239/.287/.446.

Defensive metrics have never loved Colvin’s work, but he doesn’t rate horribly at any of the three outfield positions per Defensive Runs Saved. Ultimate Zone Rating considers him adequate on the corners and below-average in center (-12.4 per 150 games). Of course, while Colvin has 650 innings or more at all three outfield positions, all of his defensive sample sizes are still small enough that they should still be taken with a grain of salt.

Colvin likely hoped to crack the Marlins’ roster as a fourth outfielder and part-time first baseman, however when he signed, Miami had yet to add Ichiro Suzuki to its ranks. The Marlins’ outfield picture looks to be a difficult one to crack, so the 29-year-old Colvin will presumably hope to find a new Minor League deal with a team that presents a clearer path to a Major League roster spot.

Minor Moves: Hoffman, Colvin, Valaika, Wilson

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The latest notable minor league signings, courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy except where noted.

  • The Red Sox have signed lefty Matt Hoffman, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish tweets. Hoffman, 26, pitched in the high minors in the Phillies and Twins organizations in 2014, posting a 3.75 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 48 innings of relief. He’d spent the previous six years in the Tigers organization, working his way up to Triple-A Toledo.
  • The Marlins signed 29-year-old outfielder Tyler Colvin.  In 2014, he posted a .223/.268/.381 slash line with two homers over 149 PA for the Giants.  Colvin elected free agency in October, allowing him to pursue opportunities elsewhere.  Over parts of six seasons at the big league level with the Cubs, Rockies, and Giants, Colvin has a career line of .239/.287/.446.
  • The Cubs re-signed second baseman Chris Valaika. The 29-year-old slashed .231/.282/.339 across 131 plate appearances for the Cubs last season, which is more or less consistent with his career .238/.282/.351 slash line over parts of four seasons. At Triple-A Iowa, Valaika hit .278/.344/.423 in 397 PAs.
  • The Tigers signed Josh Wilson to a minor league pact. The 33-year-old infielder hit .239/.271/.299 in 72 PAs for the Rangers in 2014, though he spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A Round Rock.
  • The Orioles signed left-hander Cesar Cabral. The 25-year-old pitched in four games for the Yankees last year allowing three runs, four hits, three hit batsmen, and a pair of walks in only one inning of work. Cabral spent the rest of the season splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A posting a 6.28 ERA, 10.2 K/9, and 7.9 BB/9 in 32 relief appearances totalling 38 2/3 innings.

Minor Moves: Free Agents, Blue Jays

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Here are the latest minor moves from around the game.

Tyler Colvin Accepts Outright Assignment

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Here are today’s minor league transactions, with the newest moves at the top of the post…

  • Outfielder Tyler Colvin has accepted his outright assignment to the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo reports (Twitter link).  Colvin had the option of becoming a free agent when San Francisco outrighted him earlier this week.  The 28-year-old has a .223/.268/.381 slash line and two homers over 149 PA with the Giants this season.

Giants Release Dan Uggla, Outright Tyler Colvin

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AUG. 8: The Giants have released Uggla and outrighted Colvin to Triple-A Fresno, according to the team’s transactions page.

AUG. 4: Uggla has declined to go to Triple-A, Pavlovic tweets, and it is “hard to see him back with [the] Giants at any point.”  As for Colvin, Giants assistant GM Bobby Evans told Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) that the outfielder has been informed that the Giants would like to keep him at Triple-A if he clears waivers.  Colvin has the option of becoming a free agent.

AUG. 1: The Giants have designated Uggla and Colvin for assignment, tweets Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News.

JULY 30, 9:21pm: The Giants have actually optioned Colvin to Triple-A, and have yet to formally make a move regarding Uggla, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The club has not confirmed that Uggla has or will be released, tweets Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com.

8:46pm: The Giants have released second baseman Dan Uggla and outfielder Tyler Colvin, reports MLB.com’s Chris Haft. San Francisco is expected to undertake several roster moves, possibly including new additions as well as the activation of several regulars from the DL.

While the club has been rumored to be pursuing several possible options at second base, nothing has reportedly come to fruition at this point. The Giants need roster space regardless, as Angel Pagan, Brandon Belt, and Hector Sanchez are all expected to be activated in relatively short order.

Uggla struggled mightily in his short time in San Francisco, failing to register a hit in 12 plate appearances while striking out six times (to go with three errors in the field). Of course, that is a continuation of his difficult time this year and last in Atlanta. Since the start of 2013, the 34-year-old has slashed .171/.291/.326 over 694 plate appearances, racking up 217 strikeouts along the way.

Colvin, meanwhile, owns a meager .225/.270/.384 line in 148 plate appearances on the season. He joined the Giants on a minor league deal after spending the prior two seasons with the Rockies. Once a well-regarded prospect, the 28-year-old had a strong 2012 campaign but has not produced at the MLB level since.

Quick Hits: Pirates, Colvin, Free Agents, Dunand

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The Pirates hold the top spot in Baseball America's ranking of every organization's minor league system (BA subscription required).  This list has some updates from the original ranking in the 2014 BA Prospect Handbook, as while the top dozen teams remain the same, some clubs have moved up and down the list due to subsequent offseason moves.  The Yankees, for instance, rise to the #13 spot due to their signing of Masahiro Tanaka, as he is technically a "prospect" as an MLB rookie.

Here are some items from around the baseball world…

  • Tyler Colvin has accepted his assignment to the Giants' Triple-A affiliate and will report tomorrow, CSNBayArea.com's Andrew Baggarly reports (via Twitter).  Colvin signed a minor league deal with San Francisco in February that contained an opt-out clause if he wasn't added to the team's Opening Day roster.
  • While fans may worry that their teams will be hamstrung in the future by massive contracts, Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci notes that the financial costs aren't as great as they seem given how much revenue Major League Baseball is generating and passing down to all 30 teams.  These big deals also tend to create extra revenue for teams — Verducci cites how the Mariners' huge deal with Robinson Cano helped "a brand that needed polishing," and Cano's presence will help ticket sales and TV ratings.
  • High schooler Joe Dunand's streak of eight home runs in as many at-bats has raised the youngster's profile, CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman writes.  Dunand, 18, was considered by some scouting directors to be "a fringe pro prospect," but his homer streak attracted scouts from the Mariners, Angels, Royals, Orioles, Mets, Braves and Giants (among other teams) to his game on Wednesday.  Dunand has committed to North Carolina State but could turn pro depending on his draft prospects.  There's also the matter of Dunand's impressive bloodlines; his uncle is Alex Rodriguez.
  • The Nationals announced that right-hander Erik Davis underwent Tommy John surgery today and will miss the entire 2014 season.  Davis made his Major League debut last season and posted a 3.12 ERA and a 12.00 K/BB rate in 8 2/3 IP for Washington.

Giants Sign Tyler Colvin

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7:42pm: The deal is official now that Colvin has passed his physical, Schulman tweets.

4:34pm: Colvin himself tweets that he has "signed the dotted line."

10:37am: The Giants have agreed to terms outfielder Tyler Colvin, the Mercury News' Alex Pavlovic tweets. Colvin's contract is a minor-league deal, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Colvin will make $1MM if he makes the team, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman notes. Colvin is represented by Relativity Baseball.

The deal is pending a physical. Colvin had previously agreed to a big-league deal with the Orioles, but the O's backed out of the deal once Colvin took his physical with them, citing back issues.

Colvin, 28, has a career .241/.289/.454 line in 1,167 career plate appearances spread over parts of five seasons with the Cubs and Rockies. The lefty spent much of the 2013 season with Triple-A Colorado Springs, where he hit .275/.377/.480.

Free Agent Notes: Zito, Perez, Gaudin, Colvin, Burnett

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In case you missed it from Friday, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark provided an interesting look at the views of 23 MLB executives on the still-concluding off-season. Intervening events already have impacted some of the conclusions (and will continue to do so), but the piece is chock full of interesting observations nonetheless. Among them: whether or not the money was all wisely spent, the voters say that the Yankees are the most improved team in the American League. A comparatively quiet off-season from the National League left the Nationals as the most improved club on that side (largely on the back of the Doug Fister trade), with the Padres a somewhat surprising choice for the second slot. As for least improved, the Orioles and Blue Jays top the list on the AL side, though Baltimore has already made an off-season altering move and Toronto still could. (The Tigers came in third.) The Reds and Pirates pulled up the rear among National League teams. After the Fister deal (an "all-time heist," as Stark summed up the collective viewpoint), voters liked the Rays' trade for Ryan Hanigan and the Athletics' acquisition of Jim Johnson.

Here are notes on some other free agent situations around the game …

  • Last we checked in with lefty Barry Zito, it was to learn that his option was being declined by the Giants. The reason, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, is that Zito has apparently not done anything to pursue a contract. Though he is not necessarily hanging up his spikes for good, says Heyman, the 36-year-old will seemingly not pitch in 2014.
  • Southpaw Oliver Perez is considering offers from four clubs, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. A decision is expected in short order.
  • Swingman Chad Gaudin tweeted today that he is in line for surgery and expects to be at 100% in three months. Gaudin, was recently released by the Phillies when he failed his physical, did not disclose details of his malady.
  • Outfielder Tyler Colvin could still end up with the Orioles, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Baltimore somewhat infamously blew up its contract with the 28-year-old after he failed his physical.
  • A.J. Burnett was mistaken when he said that the Orioles did not express much interest in him, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). In fact, says Rosenthal, Baltimore made multiple offers but Burnett wanted to pitch in the National League.
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