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Mike Clevinger: The One That Got Away From The Halos

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The post-trade-deadline trades of yore can’t happen anymore under baseball’s current rules. That’s a shame in some respects, because the August revocable waiver trade period delivered some doozies over the years. Here’s a story about one of them …

Back in 2014, the Angels were sprinting towards an AL West title and looking to bolster their bullpen. GM Jerry Dipoto had already swung a series of deals: he acquired closer Huston Street, nabbed lefty setup man Joe Thatcher, made a memorable change of scenery deal to get Jason Grilli for Ernesto Frieri, and even took a flier on Rich Hill (who never contributed in Anaheim).

The Street swap — the biggest of these moves — took place two weeks before the trade deadline. Dipoto was understandably still itching to improve a talented roster and ensure that the team was fully loaded for the postseason when an interesting opportunity arose in early August …

Vinnie Pestano

Vinnie Pestano was on the outs with the Indians. He was excellent in 2011 and 2012 but had stumbled in the ensuing two seasons. Still, a glance at his 2014 numbers shows why the Halos perked up when they saw his name scroll across the waiver wire.

Pestano, then 29, had a 13:1 K/BB ratio in nine MLB innings that year — even if he also allowed five earned runs. And in his 30 1/3 Triple-A frames, he owned a 1.78 ERA with 37 strikeouts against a dozen walks. It didn’t hurt that Pestano was earning just $975K and could be controlled through 2017.

The Indians hadn’t put Pestano on revocable waivers with intentions of letting him go for nothing. When the Angels were awarded the claim, they had to work out a deal to bring Pestano over from Cleveland.

It turned out that Dipoto had managed to make the above-noted additions without sacrificing any prospects who ended up turning out to be big losses over the long haul. That wasn’t so with the Pestano move, which cost a little-known prospect by the name of Mike Clevinger.

Mike Clevinger | Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

At the time, the 2011 fourth-rounder was on the radar but hardly an elite prospect. He was still in the middle of his first full professional season, having been sidelined for much of 2012-13 owing to Tommy John surgery. And though he had shown quite well at the Class A level to open the 2014 campaign, Clevinger had only managed a 5.37 ERA over his 55 1/3 High-A frames.

Clevinger didn’t exactly hit the ground running with the Cleveland organization, as he struggled through just five more High-A appearances after arriving. He really popped in 2015, when he punished Double-A hitters to the tune of a 2.73 ERA in 158 innings. Still, as the 2016 season approached, the idea of a Jacob deGrom career path was mostly floated because the two hurlers both feature flowing locks.

While he wasn’t then and never would be a top-100 sort of prospect, that was also true of deGrom. And as it turned out, Clevinger has tracked a lot more closely to the Mets star than anyone could’ve seriously predicted.

Clevinger went through some rookie struggles but produced very good results in 2017 and 2018. Last year, he took an ace turn. Though he missed a significant stretch owing to a teres major muscle strain, Clevinger produced monster numbers when healthy. Over 126 innings, he worked to a 2.71 ERA with 12.1 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.

While he suffered some more poor fortune with a meniscus tear this spring, that’s likely not to impact the future (particularly since he’s rehabbing while the season is on hold). Suffice to say that Clevinger is one of the game’s more valuable pitching commodities, as he’s just entering his first of three arbitration-eligible seasons. (He’ll earn $4.1MM.)

Ironically enough, the Angels showed trade interest in Clevinger this spring … with the Indians reportedly responding by asking about elite prospect Jo Adell. The Halos would surely rather not have traded him away in the first place. Pestano did make a dozen strong appearances down the stretch in 2014, with two more in the team’s unsuccessful ALDS appearance, but he washed out in 2015 and hasn’t been seen in the majors since. It’s yet another reminder that sometimes those under-the-radar deals end up being quite important over the long haul.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/11/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league, each courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted…

  • Second baseman Cole Figueroa has elected free agency instead of an outright assignment to Triple-A from the Dodgers, per an announcement. Los Angeles designated the 29-year-old for assignment Friday after claiming him off waivers from the Pirates two weeks ago. Figueroa has picked up only 84 major league trips to the plate, but he has produced a respectable .288/.356/.376 line in nearly 2,000 Triple-A PAs.
  • The Red Sox have outrighted outfielder Ryan LaMarre to Triple-A Pawtucket, tweets Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Boston designated LaMarre for assignment when it acquired infielder Aaron Hill from the Brewers last week. Since the Reds took him in the second round of the 2010 draft, LaMarre has totaled just 32 major league plate appearances – six of which came earlier this year with the Red Sox. The 27-year-old has batted .265/.343/.379 over 2,469 trips to the plate in the minors.
  • The Reds have outrighted Juan Duran off their 40-man roster. The 24-year-old outfielder got a late start to his season and has struggled to a .191/.235/.255 batting line through 15 games and 51 plate appearances this season. Duran ranked among BA’s top 30 Reds prospects from 2008-11 but hasn’t appeared on that list since.
  • The Braves signed right-hander Maikel Cleto to a minor league contract. The hard-throwing 27-year-old has experience in parts of four big league seasons with the Cardinals and White Sox but hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2014. He’s averaged an impressive 11.6 K/9 in the Majors but has also averaged six walks per nine innings and posted an unsightly 6.60 ERA in 45 innings. Cleto pitched 14 innings in the Mexican League and caught Atlanta’s eye it seems, perhaps due to a much-improved 16-to-1 K/BB ratio in that brief stint.
  • Right-hander Vinnie Pestano has been released by the Yankees. The 31-year-old opened the season at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and enjoyed a strong April, pitching to a 3.38 ERA with 16 strikeouts and one walk in 10 2/3 innings but hasn’t pitched for the club since due to injury. Pestano has six seasons of big league experience and has worked to a 2.98 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 202 2/3 innings at the big league level.
  • The Marlins traded left-hander Tim Berry to the Padres in exchange for cash considerations. Berry, who was outrighted off Miami’s 40-man roster earlier this season, began the year in Double-A and was hit exceptionally hard, but he’s righted the ship after a stint on the disabled list and some time at Class-A Advanced, posting a 2.78 ERA over his past 22 2/3 innings (including one appearance with San Diego’s Class-A affiliate).

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/23/15

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We’ll track the day’s minor moves here:

  • Today’s Dodgers minor league additions include outfielders Alex Hassan and Rico Noel, the previously reported Lisalverto Bonilla, and righty Daniel Corcino, Eddy tweets. Hassan is an OBP specialist who bounced around quite a bit last year and has spent most of his time at the Triple-A level over the past several seasons. Noel, soon to turn 27, has big-time speed on the bases and cracked the Yankees’ roster late last year as a pinch runner. And the 25-year-old Corcino has at times looked like a reasonably promising young pitcher, but missed most of last year after Los Angeles claimed him off waivers from the Reds.
  • The Yankees have agreed to sign veteran righty Vinnie Pestano and catcher Sebastian Valle, Eddy adds on Twitter. Pestano, 30, has had some strong MLB campaigns in the past. But he only notched 11 2/3 big league frames last year with the Angels, though he’s posted impressive strikeout tallies at every level. Valle, a 25-year-old backstop from Mexico, spent most of his career in the Phillies organization before moving to the Pirates last year. He’s yet to reach the majors.
  • Joining the Mets on a minors deal is first baseman/outfielder Marc Krauss, per another Eddy tweet, along with pitchers Buddy Carlyle and Duane Below. Krauss has racked up 435 major league turns at the plate over the last three years, slashing .188/.255/.324. Carlyle, who just turned 38, has posted strong numbers in the upper minors and majors over the last several years.
  • The Padres have added pitchers Jose Dominguez and Carlos Pimentel on minor league deals, Eddy tweets. As Eddy notes, Dominguez has a live right arm while Pimentel was named the PCL’s pitcher of the year last season with the Cubs.

Earlier Updates

  • The Braves have added first baseman Nate Freiman on a minor league deal, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. Recently released by the A’s, Freiman put up a meager .220/.279/.321 batting line last year at Triple-A but has shown more in recent years.
  • Heading to the Orioles on a minor league deal is outfielder Xavier Avery, Eddy also tweets. Avery, who’ll soon turn 26, spent time with three organizations last year at the Triple-A level and has yet to return to the majors since a 2012 debut in Baltimore.
  • Catcher Jhonatan Solano has signed a minor league deal with the Nationals that includes a major league camp invite, the club announced. Solano, 30, spent last year with the Marlins — his first season outside of the Washington organization. He’s never done much damage with the bat, but is a well-regarded receiver.
  • The Tigers also added several other players on MiLB pacts. In addition to making the Valdespin addition official, Detroit announced the signings of righties Logan Kensing, Melvin Mercedes, and Dustin Molleken as well as infielder Alberto Gonzalez and outfielder Nate Schierholtz. Mercedes and Molleken have spent the vast majority of their time in the minors, but the others all have ample big league experience. The 33-year-old Kensing allowed ten earned runs in 15 1/3 frames with the Mariners last year. Gonzalez, a seven-year MLB veteran, spent last year in the upper minors with the Detroit organization. And the 31-year-old Schierholtz failed to reach the majors last year after a string of eight seasons, playing instead for Japan’s Hiroshima Carp.
  • The Tigers have reached a minor league deal with infielder/outfielder Jordany Valdespin, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. Valdespin, who turns 28 today, does not receive an invitation to major league camp, per MLB.com’s Jason Beck (also via Twitter). The Dominican utilityman has seen MLB action in each of the last four seasons, but made it into only two games with the Marlins last year. He slashed .291/.378/.371 over 457 plate appearances at the Triple-A level in 2015.

Elected Free Agency: Gee, Thayer, Gillaspie, Pestano

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Several players with significant big league service time have elected free agency since the conclusion of the regular season. Per baseball’s collective bargaining agreement, players with more than three years of Major League service time that have been outrighted off a 40-man roster have the right to elect free agency at season’s end.

This list — not to be confused with our full list of 2015-16 free agents (which has been updated to include these names) — represents some of the players that would’ve been arbitration eligible following the season and were regular or fairly regular contributors recently but now find themselves on the open market after being outrighted…

  • Dillon Gee: The right-hander opened the season in the Mets’ rotation, and the possibility of trading him loomed large in Spring Training and early in the regular season. Instead, Gee was designated for assignment after eight appearances (seven starts) and a 5.90 ERA this season. Of course, Gee’s FIP and xFIP marks were mostly in line with his career numbers, and he was plagued by factors like a .355 BABIP and a fluky 63 percent strand rate. Gee would eventually clear waivers and be outrighted, due in large part to his $5.3MM salary. His struggles continued, to some extent, in Triple-A, where he logged a 4.58 ERA in 88 1/3 innings, though that performance comes with the caveat that the Pacific Coast League is an incredibly hitter-friendly environment. Gee has less than five years of Major League service, so any team signing him this winter could control him for two seasons. He’s a nice bounceback candidate for a team in need of help at the back of its rotation.
  • Dale Thayer: The elder statesman of the players listed here, the 34-year-old Thayer was designated and outrighted earlier this season when the Padres signed Bud Norris. Thayer worked to a reasonable 4.06 ERA in 37 2/3 innings this season, but his 6.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 rates were significant departures from his previous seasons, perhaps a portent for less desirable results. However, Thayer was an effective member of the San Diego ’pen from 2012-14, notching a 3.02 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 with eight saves — he briefly served as closer whilst Huston Street was injured in 2012 — across 188 innings. Thayer, too, has four-plus years of service and would be controllable for two seasons upon signing.
  • Conor Gillaspie: The White Sox’ regular third baseman from 2013 through the first half of 2015, Gillaspie looked the part of at least a serviceable platoon option at the hot corner until a dismal start to the most recent season. Designated for assignment by the Sox then acquired by the Angels, Gillaspie would again be designated in Anaheim and eventually outrighted. He hit just .228/.269/.359 this season between the two clubs, but he managed a solid, if unspectacular .265/.322/.404 line from 2013-14 in Chicago. Those numbers are almost identical to his lifetime .266/.325/.410 line versus right-handed pitching, suggesting that the 28-year-old can help a big league roster in a platoon capacity. At 28 years old, he has three-plus years of service and would be controllable for three seasons.
  • Vinnie Pestano: The Angels designated and outrighted the former Cleveland setup ace struggled through 11 2/3 innings in the Majors this year. Pestano, who lost his grip on regular setup work in 2014, posted a 5.40 ERA with 13 strikeouts but eight walks (two intentional) in the Majors this season. However, he was a dominant setup man in Cleveland from 2011-12 and has posted serviceable big league numbers and strong Triple-A marks since. With a lifetime 1.97 ERA, 11.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in his Triple-A career, a reasonable amount of big league success and two years of team control remaining, Pestano could be a nice buy-low candidate for teams seeking low-cost bullpen help
  • Hector Noesi: Last season, Noesi stepped into the White Sox rotation and soaked up 166 innings with a 4.39 ERA. The 2015 campaign didn’t go as smoothly, however, as his 6.89 ERA in 32 2/3 innings ultimately served as reason for a DFA and an outright assignment. Noesi will turn 29 in January and has three years of team control remaining for any team that feels it can get him back to the fourth/fifth starter he looked like for much of the 2014 season.

Full lists of players that have declared free agency following a 2015 outright assignment can be seen on the transactions pages for the Triple-A Pacific Coast League and International League.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/4/2015

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We’ll track the day’s minor moves here:

  • The Giants announced today that infielder Joaquin Arias has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A (Twitter link). The versatile 30-year-old hit just .207/.207/.276 in 59 plate appearances in 2015 — the second season of a two-year, $2.6MM contract he signed to avoid arbitration following the 2013 season.
  • Left-hander Aaron Laffey has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A, tweets MLB.com’s Dargan Southard. Lackey will have the option to reject the assignment in favor of free agency. The veteran lefty pitched 7 1/3 innings for the Rockies this season, allowing three runs on eight hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

Earlier Updates

  • Red Sox infielder Jemile Weeks, Angels righty Vinnie Pestano, and Cubs outfielder Mike Baxter have all accepted their outright assignments rather than electing to test the free agent waters, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reports (Twitter links). The trio of players were all designated for assignment recently as their clubs looked to free roster space for deadline acquisitions. Weeks, 28, has seen only a smattering of big league action since playing as a full-timer in 2011-12. Pestano has been a solid reliever over several full seasons, but has struggled mightily with his control this year. The 30-year-old Baxter will also head to the upper minors to serve as depth after putting up a .246/.348/.263 slash over 66 plate appearances with Chicago.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/3/2015

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Blue Jays have outrighted outfielder Ezequiel Carrera to Triple-A, Ben Nicholson-Smith reports on Twitter. The 28-year-old was recently designated for assignment after seeing his role taken by trade acquisition Ben Revere. Over 164 plate appearances for Toronto this season, Carrera owns a solid .279/.327/.374 with three home runs and two stolen bases. That represents his most significant big league action since his rookie campaign.
  • Angels reliever Vinnie Pestano has also cleared waivers and been outrighted, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweets. The recently-designated, 30-year-old righty has tossed 11 2/3 innings of 5.40 ERA pitching on the year, though he has had more success in the past. Over 202 2/3 career frames, he’s allowed just under three earned per nine. While he’s continued to strike out better than ten batters per nine, control issues (6.2 BB/9) have limited Pestano’s effectiveness this season.

Angels Designate Vinnie Pestano For Assignment

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The Angels announced that they’ve designated right-hander Vinnie Pestano for assignment in order to clear a roster spot for newly acquired outfielder David Murphy.

Pestano, who was acquired from the Indians in a minor swap last August, now finds himself designated for assignment to make room for a former teammate. The 30-year-old Pestano appeared in 19 games for the Halos this season and totaled 11 2/3 innings with a 5.40 ERA.

Pestano at one point looked to be emerging as a key piece of the Indians’ bullpen, totaling 132 innings with a 2.45 ERA, 10.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 from 2011-12, but he began to struggle in 2013 and fell out of the team’s plans in 2014. He’s pitched just 30 1/3 innings in the big leagues over the past two seasons.

AL Notes: White Sox, Ramirez, Angels

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Ken Williams lost out on a chance to become the Blue Jays’ new president and CEO this offseason, but he’s enjoying his current role with the White Sox, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports. “I can’t worry about something that I have no control over,” he says, but he’s clearly thrilled about this year’s team after adding Jeff Samardzija, David Robertson, Melky Cabrera, Adam LaRoche and Zach Duke in the offseason. “I hesitate to say, because I don’t want to disrespect any of the other teams we’ve had, but I don’t know if I’ve been this optimistic and excited to see a team play on a day-to-day basis,” he says. Here’s more from the American League.

  • One player worth watching in Mariners camp is pitcher Erasmo Ramirez, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune writes. Ramirez is out of options. The Mariners will likely try to get him through waivers since there’s no space for him on the team (unless the Mariners option both Carson Smith and Dominic Leone), but another team is likely to claim him. (Ramirez posted an underwhelming 5.26 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 2014, but since he’s 24, has big-league experience, and can start or relieve, some team might find him to be an attractive waiver claim.) The M’s could deal Ramirez, but since he could wind up on the waiver wire anyway, there isn’t much incentive for teams to give up much for him.
  • Angels reliever Cory Rasmus has a core injury that will cause him to miss six to eight weeks, Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com writes (Twitter links). That will leave two open spots in the team’s bullpen. One of those will likely go to Vinnie Pestano, and Gonzalez thinks it’s possible that the other will be occupied by Matt Lindstrom, who is an Article XX(B) free agent.
  • Nonetheless, the Angels are impressed with Scott Snodgress, who they see as a potential hard-throwing lefty bullpen option, Gonzalez writes. They signed Snodgress as a minor-league free agent over the winter. Snodgress spent most of last season as a stater with Double-A Birmingham in the White Sox system, posting a 3.89 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9, but the Angels saw him as a reliever. “This is a team that, for the most part, has gone through the last year and a half without a consistent presence on the left-handed side of the bullpen,” says GM Jerry Dipoto. “From Day 1, we’ve talked about bullpen being a role, and I think that intrigued him.”

NL West Rumors: Morse, Rosario, Rockies, Padres

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The latest from the NL West..

Angels Avoid Arbitration With Vinnie Pestano

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11:34am: Pestano’s deal is worth $1.15MM, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (on Twitter). MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had pegged him for a $1.2MM salary.

11:24am: The Angels announced that they have avoided arbitration with right-hander Vinnie Pestano by agreeing to a one-year contract for the 2015 season.

Pestano, a client of the Legacy Agency’s Greg Genske, was acquired by the Halos in August after the team claimed him from the Indians on revocable trade waivers. The 29-year-old had to be excited by the move, as it allowed him a chance to pitch in his hometown. Pestano, an Anaheim-area native, impressed in a short sample with the Angels, allowing just one run on five hits and four walks in 9 2/3 innings with 13 strikeouts. Formerly a wipeout setup man for the Indians, his stock dropped in Cleveland prior to the trade. However, he still owns an excellent 2.83 ERA with 10.9 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 191 big league innings.

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