The Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired catcher Carlos Ruiz from the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, they announced, as first reported by Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In exchange for Ruiz, the Phillies received catcher A.J. Ellis, right-handed pitching prospect Tommy Bergjans and a player to be named later. The Dodgers wanted an upgrade against left-handed pitching, and Ruiz certainly fits the bill. This season, Ruiz has an .830 OPS in 57 plate appearances against southpaws, with his career mark being 92 points higher than against righties. Overall, the 37-year-old Ruiz is hitting .261/.368/.352 this season with three home runs and 12 runs batted in over 193 plate appearances. He split time at catcher this season with Cameron Rupp. According to FanGraphs, Ruiz has been a good defensive catcher, making him pretty valuable overall. He has been worth 1.3 wins above replacement this season, per their calculations. Ruiz will become a free agent this offseason as he finishes out a three-year, $26 million deal. It is not known whether he plans to continue his Major League career in 2017 and beyond. For the Phillies, they will be receiving Ellis, who will be a good clubhouse presence for the team going forward. It's interesting that Los Angeles decided to trade him, as he was Clayton Kershaw's "personal" catcher. It is possible that Ruiz will fill this role going forward. Like Ruiz, Ellis is also a free agent this offseason but has not been nearly as productive. The 35-year-old is hitting just .194/.285/.252 this season with one home run and 13 runs batted in over 161 plate appearances. He's provided decent defense but has been worth -0.3 wins above replacement overall. The Phillies also received the right-hander Bergjans, who was the Dodgers' 8th round pick in the 2015 MLB Draft out of Haverford College near Philadelphia. This season, he is 3-13 with a 4.98 ERA and a 133-29 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 130 innings at Class-A Advanced. Bergjans was not listed among the Dodgers' Top-30 prospects, via MLB.com. --Devan Fink
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The Miami Marlins have acquired outfielder Jeff Francoeur in a three-team trade with the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers on Wednesday, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported.
In the deal, the Braves acquired minor league first baseman and shortstop Dylan Moore from the Rangers and minor league catcher Matt Foley from the Marlins. Texas received three international signing bonus slots (two from Miami and one from Atlanta). The 32-year-old Francoeur will provide outfield depth for the Marlins, especially in the wake of Giancarlo Stanton's groin injury that could keep him out for the rest of the season. Francoeur also will be a veteran presence in an otherwise young and inexperienced clubhouse, something that the Braves had relished during his stay. In fact, the team decided to hold onto Francoeur at the non-waiver trade deadline due to this. As for performance, Francoeur does not provide loads of value. This season, he is hitting .249/.290/.381 with seven home runs and 33 runs batted in over 276 plate appearances. Francoeur has played a tick above replacement level with defense and base running added in, with his wins above replacement checking in at 0.1, per FanGraphs. In dealing Francoeur, the Braves will receive the 24-year-old Moore. The Rangers' 7th round pick in 2015, Moore has hit for an .816 OPS in 494 plate appearances between Class-A and Class-A Advanced. He is not among the Rangers' top-30 prospects, per MLB.com. The Braves also received the 22-year-old Foley from the Marlins. The 40th round pick in 2015 has a .644 OPS in 44 plate appearances Rookie-Level and Class-A Short Season this season. --Devan Fink
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Monday that they have extended third and first baseman David Freese on a two-year deal.
As Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reported, Freese will earn a guaranteed $11 million in the new deal. There is also a team option for 2019 valued at $6 million with a $500,000 buyout. According to Heyman, Freese can earn up to $22.5 million over three years on the contract, as the deal includes performance bonuses based on plate appearances. The 33-year-old Freese signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Pirates this past March after being non-tendered by the Angels in November. Most famous for the walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series as a member of the Cardinals, Freese still remains a serviceable option on both sides of the ball five years later. This season, Freese is hitting .276/.355/.437 with 12 home runs and 49 RBI in 391 plate appearances. He has posted a 117 wRC+ this season as well as a 3.7 UZR/150 at third base and a -13.1 UZR/150 at first base. Freese has been worth 1.6 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs. Prior to signing Freese, the Pirates have $53 million guaranteed to nine players next season with another seven players hitting arbitration. Baseball-Reference projects their 2017 payroll to be at $88.3 million, a 27 percent increase from 2016 if so. --Devan Fink
The Texas Rangers will be signing outfielder Carlos Gomez, as first reported by Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.
Gomez will sign with the Rangers for a prorated portion of the league minimum salary, which works out to around $110,000 for the rest of the season, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. The Rangers will send Gomez to Triple-A Round Rock for a quick tuneup for a few games before adding him to the Major League roster this Thursday. The 30-year-old Gomez was designated for assignment on Aug. 10 by the Astros. The two-time All-Star (both with the Brewers) has struggled this season, hitting just .210/.272/.322 with five home runs and 29 RBI in Houston. According to FanGraphs, Gomez has been above average defensively and on the bases this year, but it has not been enough to equate out to actual value. Gomez has been worth -0.4 wins above replacement. Once signed by the Mets out of the Dominican Republic in 2002, Gomez broke out in 2013 when he hit for a .843 OPS (128 OPS+) in 590 plate appearances with the Brewers. He continued his success in 2014 and was named to back-to-back All-Star teams. The Astros acquired Gomez from the Brewers on Jul. 30, 2015, but he has not lived up to expectations there, leading to his release just over a year later. Houston still owes Gomez the rest of his $9 million salary this year, working out to about $2 million remaining. He is in the final year of a four-year, $28.3 million deal he signed with the Brewers and will hit free agency again this offseason. --Devan Fink
The Atlanta Braves have announced on Tuesday that top infield prospect Dansby Swanson will be promoted to the Major Leagues on Wednesday.
The need for an infielder came about when the Braves traded Erick Aybar to the Tigers. Swanson, 22, was the No. 1 overall pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2015 MLB Draft. He was traded to the Braves this past offseason in a blockbuster move as part of a package that sent Shelby Miller to the desert. Swanson has hit well since coming out of LSU last year. This season, in 470 plate appearances between Class A-Advanced and Double-A, Swanson is hitting .275/.362/.426 with nine home runs and 55 runs batted in, all while playing shortstop. The Georgia native is ranked as the fifth-best prospect in baseball per MLB.com's midseason rankings. He is an all-around great player, posting above average or better marks with his hit, run, arm and fielding tools. He has the potential to be a perennial Major League All-Star. For the Braves, the promotion of Swanson is a huge deal. Atlanta has undergone one of the biggest rebuilding projects in all of baseball and has posted the worst record in the Major Leagues this season at 44-74. The team plans to open up a new ballpark for the 2017 season, when the team hopes to begin a turnaround from a few bleak seasons spanning the past three years. With Swanson, the future for the Braves seems closer than ever. --Devan Fink |
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