The Houston Astros announced Wednesday the signing of right-handed starting pitcher Charlie Morton to a two-year deal.
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Morton's deal is worth $14 million. Incentives can push the total to $19 million. Morton will earn $625,000 each for making 15, 20, 25 and 30 starts in both 2017 and 2018. The 33-year-old Morton made just four starts with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2016. He tore his left hamstring on Apr. 23 and was out for the remainder of the season. Morton could potentially be a serviceable option for Houston in a weak market for starting pitchers. His curveball, in particular, provides upside, and the Astros began to value the curve more as the 2016 season went on. He will slide into the rotation alongside Dallas Keuchel, Collin McHugh, Mike Fiers and Lance McCullers. Last year, Morton went 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA and a 19-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 17 1/3 innings pitched. His last full season was in 2015, while he was with the Pittsburgh Pirates. That year, Morton went 9-9 with a 4.81 ERA and a 96-41 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 129 innings pitched. For his career, Morton has a 4.54 ERA and a 1.87 K/BB ratio. He has struggled staying on the field, dealing with injuries such as a torn UCL, sports hernia, and hip surgery, among others. In fact, he has not made 30 starts at any season throughout his career. In his introductory press conference with the Astros, Morton said that he should be ready to go for 2017. "I'm where I would hope to be and expect to be," he said. --Devan Fink
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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
Three top prospects around the league were promoted to the Major Leagues on Sunday.
Astros promote Alex Bregman In a move that was expected to come for quite some time, the Astros officially promoted shortstop Alex Bregman after their game tonight. His MLB debut will come tomorrow against the Yankees. Bregman, 22, was the Astros' 1st round (2nd overall) pick in last year's MLB Draft out of LSU. He has absolutely crushed every pitching he faced in the minor leagues and has a .986 OPS this season with 20 home runs in 368 plate appearances at Double-A and Triple-A. With Houston, Bregman is expected to fill in at both the infield and the outfield, where he has gotten some in-game experience more recently. Diamondbacks promote Braden Shipley The Diamondbacks promoted right-handed pitching prospect Braden Shipley to start for them tomorrow against the Brewers. The 24-year-old Shipley was the Diamondbacks' 1st round pick (13th overall) in 2013 out of the University of Nevada-Reno. In 19 starts this season with Triple-A Reno (quite fittingly), Shipley has posted a 3.70 ERA and a 77 to 22 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 119 1/3 innings pitched. It's currently unknown if Shipley is expected to stay in the Majors for an extended period of time or make just tomorrow's start. Rockies promote David Dahl After a long road through the minor leagues that included having his spleen removed after an in-game injury, the Colorado Rockies will be promoting outfield prospect David Dahl before tomorrow's game, a source confirmed to Cover Those Bases. Dahl, who had to have a splenectomy in May 2015 due to an outfield collision, picked up right where he left off in 2016. Thus far, the Rockies' 2012 first round pick (10th overall) has a .963 OPS with 18 home runs in 400 plate appearances between Double- and Triple-A this season. In 16 games at the minors' highest level, Dahl has posted an outlandish 1.417 OPS with five home runs. It's not currently known how long Dahl's stay in the Majors will last, a source said. --Devan Fink
The Houston Astros have signed Cuban infielder Yulieski Gourriel to a five-year, $47.5 million contract, reports Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com.
Gourriel, 32, defected from Cuba in February and has been in search of a Major League contract ever since. He is expected to be Major League ready this season and can fill in at third base, shortstop and at second, though third was his primary position in Cuba. He played for Cuba's 2004 and 2008 Olympic teams. The Astros currently have Luis Valbuena at third base, and the left-handed hitter could use a compliment on the other side of the plate, which is where Gourriel hits. Houston also has top prospect and former 1st round draft pick Alex Bregman waiting in the wings, and many have speculated that he will be called up soon. Valbuena has been serviceable out at third, hitting for a .269 batting average and a .838 OPS in 297 plate appearances. As previously mentioned, however, Valbuena does not hit left-handed pitching all that well, making just 19 starts against southpaws this season. He has a career .669 OPS against lefties. That's where Gourriel should come in. Though it does not compare to the Major Leagues, Gourriel hit for an absurdly great .500/.589/.874 slash line in his last season in Cuba. In 224 plate appearances, he hit 15 home runs, drove in 51 RBI and posted a 38 to 3 walk-to-strikeout ratio. No matter what league one plays in, those are some impressive numbers, even considering Gourriel was playing in the Cuban National Series, Cuba's professional baseball league. He will need some at bats in the minor leagues before coming to the Astros. According to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, Gourriel will make $3.5 million this season, $14 million in 2017, $12 million in 2018, $10 million in 2019 and $8 million in 2020. The Mets, Dodgers and Royals were among the teams also interested in Gourriel. --Devan Fink
The Spring Training roster crunch continues. As Opening Day approaches, the Houston Astros and San Diego Padres made a trade Monday, sending right-hander Dan Straily to San Diego for catcher Erik Kratz.
All 30 Major League clubs have been working to pear down their roster to prepare for the regular season, which begins for six teams on Sunday. The move made today could be a sign of things to come, as flurries of semi-major to minor trades are often completed in the days leading up to the beginning of the year. The Padres' addition of Straily is a curious one. He'll likely serve as bullpen depth for them once their season begins, but it is plenty possible he may have to make at least a start or two this season due to his experience there. Last season, Straily spent most of the season in the Astros' Triple-A affiliate, and he posted a 4.77 ERA and a 124 to 25 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 122 2/3 innings pitched. He pitched in 22 games, all starts. As for his entire career, Straily, 27, has a 4.60 ERA and a 4.71 FIP in 260 1/3 innings pitched, working to a 217 to 105 strikeout-to-walk ratio at the big league level. He has spent time with three different clubs to this point. On the other side of the deal, the Astros' acquisition of Kratz fills a need at backup catcher. Jason Castro will open the season at the starting spot, but Kratz is now a pretty much lock to make the team off the bench. A stocky 6'5" and 240 pounds, Kratz may be able to provide some power at the position. As a former 29th round pick, Kratz, now 35, was never considered a top prospect, but worked his way up to the Major Leagues and has been fairly productive. In 2012 and 2013, Kratz, with Philadelphia, hit a combined 18 home runs (nine in each year) in 157 and 218 plate appearances, respectively. He slugged a respective .504 and .386 those two seasons, by far his best. With Houston, Kratz's main role will be to spell Castro off the bench and perhaps hit a few home runs while he does so. He fills a definite need though and finds himself in a new home as rosters continue to be crunched. --Devan Fink Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle and Dennis Lin of the San Diego-Union Tribune first reported the story. |
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