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Post by kinsm on Feb 10, 2017 13:38:32 GMT -5
It's been a couple of weeks since my last update:
Signed for 2017: OF Desmond Jennings (minor league contract), UT Zach Walters (minor league contract), LHP Mike McGee (minor league contract)
---Jennings, now 30 years old, has missed most of the past 2 seasons with left knee and hamstring injuries. Since his major league debut back in 2010; he's seen action in 567 major league games including 65 with the Rays last season where he hit .200 - .281 - .350. In 2,351 major league plate appearances he has a line of .245 - .322 - .393, though the righthanded hitter has done much better against lefties during his career (.264 - .346 - .431). He was released by the Rays this past August. Though he still has an option year, the Reds would not be able to use it without his permission (if they were to purchase his contract) since he has over 5 years of major league service. He was initially signed as a 10th rd draft pick by the Rays in 2006. Jennings will make 1.5M$ if he makes the 25 man roster, he may earn up to an additional 1M$ in performance bonuses based on games played. His contract comes with a spring training invite, and if he's healthy he has a good shot of making the Reds bench as a 4th/5th outfielder.
---Walters, 27 years of age has seen action in each of the past 4 major league seasons. All told accumulating 181 PA's with the Nationals, Indians, and Dodgers. He's hit .265 - .312 - .482 in over 400 games at the AAA level since 2012. At this stage of the game he's primarily a corner IF/OF'er but he can also play 2B and SS if need be. He was initially drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 9th round of the 2010 draft, and has been part of 2 trades (Jason Marquis and Asdrubal Cabrera). Walters has burned through all 3 of his major league options so if his contract is purchased by the Reds they can't send him back to the minors without placing him through waivers.
---McGee, 24 years of age, played 4 years at the University of Buffalo, and went undrafted every year he was eligible. He didn't play organized ball last year and was signed after a tryout. In 2015, McGee finished out his senior season making 13 starts while striking out 58 batters across 54.1 innings of work and holding opposing batters to a .259 batting average against. In total, he had a 9W-16L record and pitched 190 innings of 5.87 ERA ball over his college career with 184 H, 163 BB, and 161 K's.
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Post by kinsm on Feb 12, 2017 17:32:44 GMT -5
Traded: Cash $$$, and 2B Brandon Phillips (to ATL)
---Phillips has been the primary starting 2Bman for the Reds the past 11 years, since being acquired in a Jeff Stevens trade with the Indians in April of 2006. Only six players have played in more games with the Reds (Rose, Concepcion, Larkin, Bench, McPhee, and Perez), and only Bid McPhee started more games at 2B in Reds franchise history. The Reds will pay $13M of his $14M due this year. He will carry with him to Atlanta his partial no-trade clause (in addition ATL will pay him a $500K moving fee if they trade him prior to the end of the season).
The three time all-star's career ranks amongst Reds leaderboards: 16th in Position Player WAR (30.5), 18th in Offensive WAR (25.2), 12th in Defensive WAR (8.5), 48th in Batting Average (.279), 7th in Games Played (1,614), 7th in At Bats (6,351), 7th in Plate Appearances (6,899), 9th in Runs Scored (877), 9th in Hits (1,774), 9th in Total Bases (2,722), 9th in Singles (1,240), 8th in Doubles (311), 12th in Home Runs (191), 10th in Extra Base Hits (534), 10th in Runs Batted In (851), 28th in Walks (376), 8th in Strikeouts (920), 14th in Stolen Bases (194), 9th in Caught Stealing (69), 13th in Runs Created (854), 10th in Times on Base (2,230), and 6th in Hit By Pitch (80).
Acquired via Trade: LHRP Andrew McKirahan and RHRP Carlos Portuondo
---McKirahan, 27 years of age, was outrighted off the Braves 40 man roster a few months ago (i.e., he went unclaimed via waivers). He was initially drafted by the Cubs in the 21st round of the 2011 draft out of the University of Texas. After failing to have his contract purchased after the 2014 season the Marlins drafted him in the Rule 5 draft. He spent all of the 2015 spring training with the Marlins but failed to make their opening day squad, before he could be returned to the Cubs he was claimed off waivers by the Braves. He was subsequently suspended for testing positive for PED use and received little playing time once reinstated from the restricted list. Early in 2016 spring camp McKirahan tore his UCL in his elbow resulting in his 2nd Tommy John Surgery and missed the entire season.
---Portuondo, 29 years of age, was signed by the Braves to a minor league contract last February with a $900K bonus (after he defected from Cuba). Portuondo posted pretty unremarkable numbers for Santiago De Cuba from 2005-14, with a 5.75 ERA, 194 strikeouts and 188 walks in 355 1/3 innings pitching in the top Cuban league. Though he had missed the previous 2 seasons of organized ball he saw action in 17 minor league games last year, most of them at the A+ level.
***Neither player has been invited to Reds major league camp, and the 40 man roster now sits at 39.
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Post by kinsm on Feb 13, 2017 17:29:58 GMT -5
Claimed off Waivers: RHP Lisalverto Bonilla (from PIT)
---The Reds wasted no time filling the 40 man roster spot opened up with Brandon Phillips' departure by making their sixth waiver claim of the winter. Bonilla, soon to turn 27, was initially signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Phillies in 2008. He was traded to the Rangers in the Michael Young deal and later claimed off waivers by the Dodgers. He saw action in 20 major league innings with the Rangers in 2014, then he missed all of 2015 with an elbow injury that resulted in TJS. He spent last season playing on a minor league contract with the Dodgers. He was signed by the Pirates as a six-year minor league free agent, with a guaranteed $575K contract, around Thanksgiving but lost his 40 man roster spot when the Pirates signed Pat Light. All told he's pitched a career 3.33 ERA in 540 minor league innings with 485 H's, 181 BB's, 607 K's. Bonilla has just over a year of major league service time (most of it spent on the 60 day DL) and still has 2 minor league options.
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Post by kinsm on Feb 14, 2017 14:18:12 GMT -5
Claimed off Waivers: RHRP Nefi Ogando (from PIT)
---The Reds made their seventh waiver claim of the winter. The 27 year old righty throws in the mid to upper 90's fastball and has induced grounders on 58% of the balls put into play against him in his limited time in the majors, though he has recorded just ten strikeouts against ten walks over his 19 2/3 MLB frames. Over his 52 2/3 innings at the highest level of the minors, Ogando owns a 3.08 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9. A look at Ogando’s minor league production reveals a similar tale; he’s averaged 7.4 K/9 in his minor league career and just 7.0 per nine in Triple-A. Walks have been a persistent issue for him in the minors as well, as he’s consistently averaged between four and five walks per nine innings pitched. Ogando was initially signed by the Red Sox in June, 2010 out of the Dominican Republic and was later traded to the Phillies for John McDonald. He has now changed hands on waivers four times in the past 14 months, going from Philadelphia to Miami to Pittsburgh and now Cincinnati. Ogando still has one option year remaining.
Placed on Cincinnati 60 Day DL: RHSP Homer Bailey
---Bailey will be ineligible to return to the field until late May (he can begin a rehab assignment before that).
Signed for 2017: RHSP Bronson Arroyo (minor league contract)
---Arroyo, 39, hasn’t pitched in two years. The right-hander appeared in 14 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014. He had a 7-4 record with a 4.08 ERA. The 15-year major league veteran, spent eight seasons in Cincinnati. He was 105-94 with a 4.05 ERA and started 265 games.
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Post by kinsm on Feb 17, 2017 23:17:45 GMT -5
Signed for 2017: UT Ryan Raburn (minor league contract)
---Raburn has been a regular major leaguer since April of 2008, and is coming off a disappointing season with the Rockies. The soon to be 36 year old is a career .253 - .317 - .436 hitter in over 900 games. He has been much better versus lefties in his career (.827 OPS vs. .685 OPS against righties). Ryan was initially signed as a 5th rd selection by DET in the 2001 draft.
***Raburn is an Article XX-B Free Agent, if an Article XX-B MLB free-agent signs a minor league contract at least ten days prior to MLB Opening Day, and then is either not released by 12 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day prior to MLB Opening Day or added to an MLB Active List (25-man roster) or MLB Disabled List by 3 PM (Eastern) on MLB Opening Day, the player automatically receives a $100,000 retention bonus, and the player can unilaterally opt-out of the minor league contract on June 1st if he has not been added to an MLB Active List (25-man roster) or an MLB Disabled List by that date.
***He'll make 900K$ if his contract is purchased prior to opening day, and assuming he has a strong spring that is very likely. He was in a similar situation last off-season when he had his club option declined by CLE and signed a minor league deal with COL after spring training began; which paid him 1.5M$ when he was added prior to opening day.
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Post by kinsm on Feb 26, 2017 1:32:49 GMT -5
Signed for 2017: RHSP Deck McGuire (minor league contract)
---McGuire, soon to be 28 years old, was the 11th overall draft pick in 2010 by the Blue Jays but has failed to live up to those lofty expectations. During his six year minor league career he has seen action in over 800 innings with TOR, OAK, LAD, and STL. Last season he spent the year pitching for the Cardinals AAA affiliate; producing a 5.11 ERA in 27 starts (141 IP) with 136 H's, 53 BB's, and 119 K's. McGuire has only burned 1 of his 3 option years, something to keep in mind if the Reds ever purchase his contract.
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Post by kinsm on Mar 1, 2017 14:22:44 GMT -5
Signed for 2017: RHRP Robert Stock (minor league contract)
---Stock, 27 years old, was the 67th overall draft pick in 2009 by the St. Louis Cardinals but has failed to live up to those lofty expectations. He's pitched in just 4 innings above A+ and spent last year playing in the Indy Leagues (CAN-AM). He carries major control issues, during his 189 inning minor league career he's walked 139.
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Post by kinsm on Mar 9, 2017 22:50:42 GMT -5
Claimed off Waivers: 1B/LF Christian Walker (from ATL)
---Atlanta had just picked up Walker off waivers a couple of weeks ago, but they clearly weren’t able to succeed in passing him through waivers themselves. Walker, 26 later this month, was long viewed as a potential first base/DH option in the Orioles organization, but both of those spots are blocked in the long-term by Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo. Beyond that, Walker had seen himself leapfrogged by fellow first base/DH prospect Trey Mancini within the Orioles’ ranks. Walker saw brief cups of coffee with Baltimore in both 2014 and 2015, hitting just .148/.258/.296 in a minuscule sample of 31 plate appearances. And while the former fourth-round pick (2012) has turned in solid overall numbers across parts of three Triple-A campaigns, he’s never exactly exhibited any sort of mastery over upper-level minor league pitching. In 1332 plate appearances with Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk, Walker has a .260/.324/.429 batting line to go along with 42 homers and 72 doubles. While he’s been primarily a first baseman in his pro career, Walker did spend some time in left field last year (90 games), so he could be an option as a bench bat with Cincinnati.
Walker is the Reds 8th waiver claim this winter (Alcantara, Guerrero, Jenkins, Graterol, Shaffer, Bonilla, Ogando, and Walker). Walker still has one option year remaining.
Designated for Assignment: RHRP Jumbo Diaz
---The 33 year old Diaz has been with the Reds since November of 2012 when he signed the first of two minor league contracts with them. His contract was purchased in June of 2014 and has seen action in 142 major league games since then. Diaz can throw in the upper 90's, is making league minimum, and still has an option year left - it wouldn't be surprising to see him claimed, even this late into the offseason when 40 man roster spots are hard to come bye (though if someone were to claim him they wouldn't be auditioning him since he's playing in the WBC). If he clears waivers (March 13th deadline) he'd likely stay with the Reds as a nonroster invitee since he can't elect free agency.
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Post by kinsm on Mar 10, 2017 21:45:09 GMT -5
Lost off Waivers: RHRP Jumbo Diaz (by TBR)
---Diaz had been designated for assignment late last week when the Reds claimed Christian Walker from the Braves. The Rays placed right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, who will miss the 2017 season following Tommy John/flexor surgery, on the 60-day disabled list to create a spot on the roster.
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Post by kinsm on Mar 22, 2017 20:34:30 GMT -5
Released: RHP Hawtin Buchanan, RHP Deunte Heath, RHP Johnny Hellweg, RHP Jake Johnson, RHP Keenan Kish, RHP Jordan Ramsey, LHP Michael Sullivan
---Two weeks before opening day is typically the starting point of the annual purge, whereby all 30 teams start making room on their active milb rosters (since they are limited).
---Buchanan, Heath, and Hellweg were all signed this offseason.
---Johnson was drafted in the 15th round of the 2015 draft, he pitched in 82 minor league innings (6.80 ERA).
---Kish was drafted in the 34th round of the 2014 draft, he pitched in 8 minor league innings.
---Ramsey was drafted in the 7th round of the 2015 draft, he pitched in 42 minor league innings (6.12 ERA).
---Sullivan was drafted in the 29th round of the 2014 draft, he pitched in 112 minor league innings (4.57 ERA).
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Post by kinsm on Mar 27, 2017 10:24:01 GMT -5
Signed for 2017: IF Claudio Finol (D.R. - July), OF Axel Alexio (Venezuela - July), LHP Dawrin Mendez (D.R. - August), IF Jeison Rijo (D.R. - August), IF Mario Soto (D.R. - August), OF Isaias Silverio (D.R. - August), OF William Nava (Venezuela - August), OF Victor Gonzalez (Venezuela - August), IF Ermys Reyes (D.R. - August), IF Debby Santana (D.R. - August), RHP Andry Cuevas (D.R. - October), RHP Ariel Mojica (D.R. - October), LHP Ruben Nunez (D.R. - October), RHP Victor Ruiz (Mexico - October), RHP Juan Gonzalez (Venezuela - October), IF Alverson Palacios (Venezuela - October), IF Juan Ambiorix Pichardo (D.R. - December), RHP Maiker Manuel (D.R. - December), C Junior Alejandro Melo (D.R. - December), RHP Juan Manuel Abril (D.R. - January), RHP Uarlim German (D.R. - February), RHP Jorge Mallen (D.R. - February), RHP Carlos Santos (D.R. - February), OF Deybert Lozano (? - February), RHP Samuel Berroa (? - February), RHP Eduardo Salazar (Venezuela - March), RHP Frainger Aranguren (? - March), RHP Manuel Cachutt (Venezuela - March)
---Above are the 28 unannounced international signings through March 26th of this year. These are in addition to the 2 international signings that were previously announced: SS Alfredo Rodriguez (Cuba - July) and RHP Vladimir Gutierrez (Cuba - September).
They will count towards the Reds 2016-17 international bonus pool (5,163,400$) which runs from July 2nd 2016 through June 15th 2017 (All international players who turn 17 before September 1st, 2016 are eligible to sign during that time-frame).
No word on any bonus amounts at this time for the 28 (Rodriguez & Gutierrez have had their signing bonuses previously announced). Though, we do know from Baseball America tracking that none of those whom signed prior to New Years Day received more than 695,000$ (top 50 for the 2016 calendar year). Most of them were signed for much less than that figure, the two Cuban signings put them over their pool.
***Expect the Reds to make more signings between now and June 15th. As they've only signed 30 players thus far, they signed 43 during the '15-'16 period, 40 in the '14-'15 period, 35 in the '13-'14 period, and 42 in the '12-'13 period respectively.
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Post by kinsm on Mar 28, 2017 14:02:18 GMT -5
Released: UT Ryan Raburn
---Raburn was an Article XX(B) free agent, meaning that the team had to add him to their roster, and if they hadn’t, either offer him a $100K retention bonus or release him.
Claimed off Waivers: 2B Scooter Gennett (from MIL)
---Gennett, 26, agreed to a $2.525M contract over the winter to avoid arbitration; that’ll now be the responsibility of the Reds to pay. He comes with two more seasons of arb control. Milwaukee had utilized Gennett quite frequently over the preceding four seasons, during which he carried a .279/.318/.420 batting line over 1,637 plate appearances. That’s roughly league-average production, though the vast bulk of his time — and his productivity — came against right-handed pitching. Gennett has hit just .187/.237/.254 against southpaws, greatly reducing his function.
Gennett is the Reds 9th waiver claim this winter (Alcantara, Guerrero, Jenkins, Graterol, Shaffer, Bonilla, Ogando, and Walker). Gennett still has one option year remaining.
Lost off Waivers: 1B/LF Christian Walker (to ARI)
---Walker's 40 man roster spot goes to Gennett.
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Post by kinsm on Apr 1, 2017 13:16:05 GMT -5
Released: CF Desmond Jennings
---Jennings, 30, had signed a minor league deal that would have paid him $1.5MM had he made the Reds opening day roster. However, he hit .195/.300/.415 with two home runs and two steals in 18 spring games and had been reassigned earlier in the week.
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Post by kinsm on Apr 2, 2017 11:39:03 GMT -5
Purchased from AAA Louisville: UT Patrick Kivlehan
Placed on Cincinnati 10 Day DL: SP Anthony DeSclafani, RP Austin Brice, RP Nefi Ogando, C Devin Mesoraco
---Brice, Ogando, and Mesoraco's DL stints are retroactive to March 30th.
Recalled from AA Pensacola & Placed on Cincinnati 60 Day DL: SP Nick Travieso
Optioned to AAA Louisville: SP Tim Adleman, SP Sal Romano, SP Jackson Stephens, RP Lisalverto Bonilla, IF Dilson Herrera, OF Jesse Winker, OF Phillip Ervin
Optioned to AA Pensacola: SP Keury Mella, SP Luis Castillo, RP Ariel Hernandez, OF Aristides Aquino
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