Right-hander Erasmo Ramirez is “likely” to be removed from the Mariners’ 40-man roster either via waiver claim or by clearing outright waivers and electing free agency, reports MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (on Twitter). That would suggest that Ramirez, 28, has already been placed on outright waivers, as both of those outcomes involve the team attempting to pass him through the waiver process.

More to come.

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David Freese has agreed to return to the Dodgers on a one-year deal, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweeted Thursday morning that there was momentum towards a deal between the two parties.

More to come.

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According to a team announcement, Brewers catcher Stephen Vogt has cleared outright waivers and elected free agency. Vogt, along with pitchers Jimmy Nelson and Brent Suter, was reinstated from the 60-day disabled list today. The 34-year-old Vogt did not play in the majors in 2018 after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in May. With the addition of Nelson and Suter, the Brewers’ 40-man roster now consists of 37 players.

More to come.

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The Orioles announced Thursday that they have outrighted four players off the 40-man roster. Left-hander Sean Gilmartin and right-hander Gabriel Ynoa, along with infielders Corban Joseph and Jace Peterson, will be outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. While Gilmartin and Peterson have elected free agency, the club has agreed to terms with Joseph and Ynoa on minor league contracts for the 2019 season. The move leaves the Orioles with 36 players on their 40-man roster.

More to come.

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The Astros have declined their club option on right-handed reliever Will Harris, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). Harris’ option would’ve paid him $5.5MM had it been exercised. He won’t become a free agent, however, as he has not yet reached six year of Major League service time. As such, Harris will remain under Astros control as an arbitration-eligible player. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him at a $3.6MM salary for the coming season, so it’s not surprising to see the ’Stros decline an option that would’ve paid him a considerably larger sum.

More to come.

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Pirates catcher Ryan Lavarnway has elected free agency after clearing outright waivers, reports MLB.com’s Adam Berry (Twitter link). The 31-year-old veteran spent the 2018 season with Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis and received a call to the Majors in September, going 4-for-6 with a double in pinch-hitting duties down the stretch.

Once a well-regarded prospect with the Red Sox, Lavarnway has bounced around the league over the past few seasons, seeing occasional time in the Majors but spending considerably more time in Triple-A. He’s a career .208/.268/.326 hitter in 426 MLB plate appearances and a .276/.366/.431 hitter in 1865 PAs at the Triple-A level. He figures to have interest as a depth option in minor league free agency this winter and will likely get an invite to come to Spring Training with a team in 2019.

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The Cubs have exercised their 2019 club option on right-hander Pedro Strop, the team announced. He’ll earn $6.25MM for the upcoming 2019 campaign and will be a free agent next offseason, barring a further extension of his contract.

More to come.

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The Mariners have agreed to a highly unusual two-year contract with lefty Marco Gonzales, reports Fancred’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). The contract promises Gonzales a total of $1.9MM despite the fact that Gonzales is still two full years from reaching arbitration. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that Gonzales will earn $900K in 2019 and $1MM in 2020.

Presumably, then, there’s some type of club option associated with the deal that will give the Seattle organization the right to control at least one of Gonzales’ arbitration seasons at a predetermined rate. Beyond that, it’s not entirely clear why the Mariners would bump Gonzales’ pay to this extent; he earned just north of the league minimum in 2018 and could’ve been given only minimal raises over that sum in both of the next two seasons. While it’s only a minor difference, the Mariners are effectively promising as much as an additional $700-800K with this deal.

More to come.

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Rays Sign Sandy Gaston

Posted: November 1, 2018 in Uncategorized
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The Rays have formally announced the signing of hard-throwing Cuban pitching prospect Sandy Gaston. The 16-year-old (17 in December) showcased for big league clubs at Marlins Park alongside Victor Victor Mesa and Victor Mesa Jr. in early October and, as of last week, was reported to be nearing a deal with the Tampa Bay organization. Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald has previously reported that the would-be agreement was believed to include a hefty $2.6MM signing bonus. Slightly more specifically, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets that the official bonus checks in at $2.61MM.

At last check, the Rays were reported to have about $3.5MM in their international bonus pool, meaning the signing of Gaston will account for the majority of their remaining resources. In return for their investment, the Rays will secure the rights to a young pitcher who ranked 16th among international prospects, per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, and 24th on this year’s class in the eyes of Baseball America’s Ben Badler.

Already listed at 6’3″ and 205 pounds, Gaston’s greatest asset is a blazing fastball that routinely sits in the upper 90s and has reached 100 mph. His secondary offerings are said to lack consistency, as one might expect from a still-developing arm in his teens, and he’s still working to refine his command. Badler’s report on him notes that some scouts who’ve seen Gaston more recently have come away with the impression that his delivery is more under control, though he still notes that Gaston bears similarity to another flamethrowing teenager who has yet to pan out — former Marlins No. 2 overall draft pick Tyler Kolek. That’s not an indictment on Gaston’s future, of course, but rather a means of illustrating that there’s a fair bit of risk associated with Gaston despite his considerable upside.

 

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The Cubs announced Thursday that they’ve claimed outfielder Johnny Field off waivers from the Twins.

Field, 26, split the 2018 season between the Rays and Twins, making his big league debut for the former and eventually landing with the latter via a series of waivers claims. The former fifth-round pick (Rays, 2013) totaled 233 plate appearances last season and hit .222/.254/.403 with nine homers, 13 doubles and four steals. Field punched out an alarming 72 times against just seven walks in that time, though he also saw time at all three outfield spots and posted slightly above-average overall marks.

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