Right-handed relief pitcher Rafael Soriano is still a free agent. Just recently, Soriano fired his agent Scott Boras and hired Octagon to represent him to try to get him a contract for the rest of the season, with Boras never really stimulating a market for him.
Octagon announced on Twitter that Soriano would be holding a throwing session for teams on June 11 in the Dominican Republic. According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Cubs are three teams that are interesting in Soriano, calling the Cardinals a "surprise entry" into the mix. The Blue Jays have had previous reported interest in Soriano and want to see what his price tag is now that he's changed agents. Out of pure speculation, Heyman also mentions the Dodgers and Mariners as two teams that could be fits for Soriano, as he notes that it's unknown if either team has truly looked into him as an option for their respective bullpens. The Yankees are another team that has been connected to Soriano, considering they have needed a right-handed reliever. New York has five lefties out of the bullpen. Soriano, 35, has had a successful career as a closer over the past five seasons, and served in that role with the Nationals over the last two. He pitched well last year, going 4-1 with a 3.19 ERA and 32 saves, but in the second half of the season Soriano imploded, pitching to a 6.48 ERA en route to the loss of the closer's job. --Devan Fink
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Seeing a trade, especially a significant one, is rare in May, but today the Cubs and Mariners agreed to a deal that does register as significant, with the Cubs moving a starting-caliber catcher who had to sit behind starter Miguel Montero.
The clubs announced the move of Cubs catcher Welington Castillo to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for a right-handed relief pitcher in Yoervis Medina. The Mariners have been in search of a more productive catcher than their 24-year-old Mike Zunino, who is hitting just .179/.241/.358/.600 (70 OPS+) in 116 plate appearances thus far this year. While Castillo has not been absolutely stellar offensively this year, his pedigree definitely makes him an immediate upgrade over the struggling Zunino. Castillo is a 28-year-old with just over three seasons of service time heading into 2015, making him an inexpensive option through his final three years of team control. He signed to a $2.1 million deal this season as a final pre-arbitration player. In fact, Zunino's slash line this season is actually better than Castillo's, as the latter is hitting just .163/.234/.349/.583 in 47 plate appearances. However, Castillo has made just eight starts this season, so most of his plate appearances have been off the bench, where a player isn't likely to be in the game. Castillo has a career .252/.320/.398/.717 line, so history suggests that as he transitions back to a starting role, his offense will improve. Defensively, Castillo has been very solid, totaling 25 defensive runs saved in his 2425.2 innings at catcher. With a surplus of catchers on the roster, the Cubs needed to move Castillo, especially for a position of need. That's exactly what they got in Yoervis Medina, a strong right-handed reliever that has only two seasons of big league service time. The 26-year-old Medina will be a welcome sight in a Cubs bullpen that has the eighth-highest ERA in baseball. Over the course of his career, Medina is 10-9 with a 2.82 ERA (3.74 FIP) in 137 innings out of the Mariners bullpen. This season, the Venezuelan is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA (4.49 FIP) in 12 innings. Medina was able to dial up the fastball last year, averaging 94.9 mph with his heater. However, it isn't quite the same this year, averaging 92.4 mph. It may be due to heat up as the weather heats up. Medina also offers a two-seamer/sinker and a knuckle-curve. --Devan Fink
Here's the latest news from around the league...
Kris Bryant is a Cub. I'm not talking about an Iowa Cub. Kris Bryant is now a member of the Chicago Cubs and will be playing third base today against the San Diego Padres, reports said. According to reports out of Chicago, the Cubs promoted Bryant last night, exactly twelve days into the season, which will guarantee them a seventh season of control into the future. His arrival might be the most awaited since the likes of Bryce Harper or Mike Trout. He was rated the No. 1 prospect in the minor leagues by Baseball America prior to this season. That's with very good reason. Since the Cubs drafted Bryant with the second overall pick in the 2013 draft, all he has done is hit home runs, hitting 43 between Double- and Triple-A last season. A lot of controversy surrounded the Cubs and Bryant when he was demoted following Spring Training, even after hitting nine home runs in just 14 games (40 at bats). The Cubs said that Bryant needed to work more on his base running and defense before being able to be called up to the Majors. However, everyone else--including his agent Scott Boras, who had more than a few words on the matter--knew that it was a service time issue. Since Bryant will not get a full year's worth of being on the Cubs' Major League roster this season, he won't get a full year of Major League service time. It's that simple. A player can play six full seasons (in service time) before becoming a free agent. Since Bryant won't rack up a full season, the Cubs will get him for a seventh season, 2021. Many people had varying opinions on what was right for Bryant, but it was definitely the right move for the Cubs. They sacrificed twelve days of the Major League season to get a full season down the road. Better yet, the Cubs are 5-3 and atop the NL Central without Bryant. Thus far with Triple-A Iowa, Bryant is 9-for-28 with three home runs and 10 runs batted in over 33 plate appearances. Now that Bryant's "defense" and "base running" have been "fixed" up, it's time to see him in the Major Leagues. Cubs fans: the future is now. It is time to get excited for it. --Devan Fink Free agent outfielder Juan Pierre has officially retired from baseball, he announced on his personal Twitter account on Friday. Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald first reported the news. The speedy outfielder notched 614 stolen bases over a 14-year career with the Rockies, Marlins, Cubs, Dodgers, White Sox, and Phillies. Pierre's best attribute was easily his speed, as his 614 stolen bases ranked 18th all-time and first amongst active players at his retirement. Pierre did not play Major League Baseball in 2014, so retirement comes as far from a shock. The 37-year-old Pierre attended the University of South Alabama and was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 13th round of the 1998 MLB Draft. He worked his way quickly through the minors, reaching the big leagues in 2000 at age 22, and never going back to the minors until rehabbing from an injury with the Dodgers in 2008. Pierre was not a home run hitter. In fact, he launched only 18 home runs during his 8000+ plate appearances. However, Pierre's speed helped him to get over five times as many triples as home runs, as he had a career 94 three-baggers. Overall, Pierre is a lifetime .295/.343/.361 hitter, mostly out of the leadoff spot, where he was slotted at in 80.6 percent of his plate appearances. As a big leaguer, Pierre earned himself $57 million, according to Baseball Reference, and was worth a total of 23.2 fWAR and 83.2 Base Running Runs (BsR). I wish Juan Pierre the best in retirement and enjoyed watching him play, especially during the ladder part of his career. It still astounds me that he could be that effective on the bases even at that age. --Devan Fink |
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