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The Chicago White Sox acquired Oakland Athletics infielder Brett Lawrie in a trade Wednesday in exchange for minor league pitching prospects Zack Erwin and J.B. Wendelken.

The White Sox announced the news through their official Twitter account.

Lawrie primarily played third base for Oakland this past season but has experience at second base; the 25-year-old batted .260 with 16 home runs and 60 RBI and still has upside. He spent his first four years as a pro with the Toronto Blue Jays.

It appeared as though Lawrie was fired up for his change of scenery:

Syracuse.com’s Jameson Fleming believes Lawrie will eventually live up to his talent and is therefore worth the investment:

To briefly examine the Athletics’ end of the trade, Erwin is a 21-year-old southpaw who showed promise in the minors this year with a 2-2 record and 1.34 ERA in 15 appearances with seven starts. Drafted in the fourth round in 2015, Erwin didn’t play higher than Single-A in his first year of professional baseball.

As for Wendelken, the 22-year-old righty played the two highest levels of minor league ball and fared rather well himself, registering five saves and a 3.20 ERA as a reliever after struggling in a starter’s role in 2014.

A’s outfielder Josh Reddick reacted to the trade and added an interesting anecdote about Wendelken’s arrival:

Chicago lost a similarly versatile infielder to Lawrie in Gordon Beckham, who signed with the Atlanta Braves in free agency. But Lawrie is definitely an upgrade, albeit one who did come at a cost in the form of two pitching prospects.

At least Lawrie is a proven everyday starter who packs some power at the plate and is a solid defender. Those are characteristics the White Sox have to be encouraged about he enters his prime.

After going 76-86 this past season with a lineup that had MLB ranks of 28th in runs scored and 29th in slugging percentage, Lawrie frankly injects some life into a clubhouse in need of it. He has tantalizing potential and is a fiery personality who could provide a welcome spark for baseball on the South Side of the Windy City.

White Sox manager Robin Ventura also manned the hot corner during his playing days, so he could well be a fine mentor for Lawrie as he tries to fully capitalize on his considerable skills.

Note: Minor league stats courtesy of MiLB.com.

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The Detroit Tigers bullpen was a disaster last season, so the team reportedly added some reinforcements Wednesday in the form of left-handed setup man Justin Wilson.    

According to Jennifer Hammond of Fox 2 Sports Detroit, the Tigers acquired Wilson from the New York Yankees. MLB Roster Moves said Detroit gave New York right-handed pitchers Luis Cessa and Chad Green in the deal. 

Wilson posted a 3.10 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 66 strikeouts in 61 innings for the Yankees last season. He also pitched three years for the Pittsburgh Pirates before New York landed him in a trade that sent catcher Francisco Cervelli Pittsburgh’s way. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reflected on the combination of moves:

Steve Adams of MLBTradeRumors.com praised the trade from Detroit’s perspective, saying, “In Wilson, the Tigers will receive the lefty setup man they’ve been seeking and do so at what should be an affordable rate. Wilson is controllable for three seasons via the arbitration process.”

Wilson is only 28 years old, which means the prime of his career could theoretically come in Detroit following this deal.

That is welcome news for the Tigers after their bullpen finished a dismal 27th in the league in bullpen ERA in 2015. That collective effort was one major reason they disappointed on the way to a 74-87 campaign and last-place finish in the American League Central.

As for the Yankees, MLB.com ranked Luis Cessa as Detroit’s sixth-best prospect and Green as its 19th-best prospect following the 2015 season.

New York also has closer Andrew Miller and two-time All-Star Dellin Betances in its bullpen still, although Bob Nightengale of USA Today noted the Bronx Bombers recently discussed Miller with the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Adams assumed Wednesday’s trade meant Chasen Shreve and Jacob Lindgren would be the primary southpaws in New York’s bullpen in 2016, barring any other moves.

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Jarrod Saltalamacchia was once seen as a highly regarded catching prospect who could occupy a power-hitting spot in the middle of any order. He will have an opportunity to resurrect his career at the age of 30 with the Detroit Tigers after the American League team reportedly signed him Sunday.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports noted the Tigers inked the catcher to a major league deal. Detroit will pay Saltalamacchia the minimum, while the Miami Marlins will cover the rest of his $8 million salary.

Saltalamacchia played nine games for the Marlins and 70 for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season and hit .225 with nine home runs and 24 RBI. While he was far from an offensive force, he isn’t long removed from an impressive stretch with the Boston Red Sox from 2011 to 2013, when he hit a combined 55 home runs.

He has never been spectacular in the field and boasts a minus-32 mark in total defensive runs saved above average during his career, according to FanGraphs. He has thrown out only 22 percent of potential base stealers during his career, per ESPN.com.

Saltalamacchia is not a defense-first catcher, but he will give the Tigers some pop in their order if he can return to the offensive form he demonstrated as a member of the Red Sox.

Don’t expect Saltalamacchia to automatically slide in as the starting catcher in the Motor City, though, especially since James McCann played 114 games there in 2015.

McCann hit .320 against left-handed pitching last year, compared to his .247 average against right-handed hurlers, per ESPN.com. Saltalamacchia has hit .248 against right-handers and .230 against southpaws over the last three seasons, and 27 of his 34 home runs during that span have come against righties, per ESPN.com.

This signing provides Detroit with some options to mix and match the lineup based on opposing pitchers, considering Saltalamacchia hits right-handers better, while McCann hits lefties more effectively.

Saltalamacchia may not turn heads like he used to, but the Tigers added some depth at the position and a catcher who once hit 25 long balls in a season.

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The Detroit Tigers have reportedly reached an agreement with free-agent starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey on a two-year contract.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported a deal was expected. Joel Sherman confirmed the news, which is pending an official physical, and passed along the length of the contract.

Pelfrey is nothing more than rotation depth for Detroit. He’s coming off a three-year stint with AL Central rivals Minnesota Twins that saw him post a lackluster 4.94 ERA with just 197 strikeouts in 341 innings across 64 starts.

He did have slightly more success when facing the Tigers during that time period, though. He had a 3.88 ERA in nine outings against his new team while with Minnesota.

One thing he does do well is keep the ball in the park. He’s only given up 99 home runs in 217 career appearances, and when you consider the spacious Comerica Park ranked 26th in homers per game last season, per ESPN, it could make him a good fit.

Ultimately, he’ll likely fill one of the bottom two spots in the Tigers’ rotation to open the 2016 season. Detroit already has a solid top three in Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez and previous offseason acquisition Jordan Zimmermann.

Expectations should be limited for the 31-year-old right-hander, but if Pelfrey can provide the team with 30 starts and an ERA similar to last season’s 4.26, it should be a worthwhile investment. Anything better than that would be a bonus.

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The most famous moment of Joba Chamberlain’s baseball career came against the Cleveland Indians in the postseason. Now he hopes to help the franchise return to the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

The team announced it signed the relief pitcher to a minor league deal Tuesday with an invitation to big league spring camp. Normally, a minor league deal would fly under the radar during the MLB offseason, especially on the same day the Boston Red Sox agreed to a deal with superstar ace David Price, per the Boston Globe‘s Peter Abraham. But Chamberlain has a memorable history with the Indians.

Chris Cwik of Yahoo Sports detailed the pitcher’s unfortunate experience in Game 2 of the 2007 American League Division Series. Chamberlain took the mound in the eighth inning for the New York Yankees but was swarmed by a group of midges. The game was delayed, and he needed bug spray to remove the midges.

It visibly bothered Chamberlain, and Cleveland scored a run off him to tie the game. The Indians eventually won in the 11th inning. 

The Indians also addressed the incident after Tuesday’s signing:

The Yankees replied with a humorous response of their own:

Craig Calcaterra of NBCSports.com pointed out Chamberlain may not have to worry about the midges if he is pitching for the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate, the Columbus Clippers:

Calcaterra’s assessment comes after a disappointing 2015 season for Chamberlain. The former Yankee pitched for the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals and finished with a 4.88 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and minus-0.7 WAR in 27.2 innings, per Baseball-Reference.com. It was the worst statistical season of a career that started in 2007 with the Yankees, and similar numbers would keep him in the minors in 2016.  

At his best, Chamberlain was a shutdown option in the back end of the bullpen who bridged the gap from the middle innings to the closer. He finished with a 0.38 ERA in his rookie season and followed that up with a 2.60 ERA and 118 strikeouts in 100.1 innings pitched in his second campaign.

While he has struggled to reach that level of effectiveness since (he posted an ERA above 4.00 in five of the next seven seasons), Cleveland at least knows there is a track record of success in place.

Still, Chamberlain is 30 years old and a number of seasons removed from his best performances. He must prove himself with this minor league deal if he hopes to get another shot at pitching in Cleveland.

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Last winter, the Washington Nationals signed a front-line starter away from the Detroit Tigers. On Sunday, the Tigers returned the favor—and kicked off their latest revamp in earnest.

Last year it was Max Scherzer who went from the Motor City to the nation’s capital. Now, Jordan Zimmermann is leaving D.C. for Detroit after reportedly reaching an agreement for a five-year, $110 million deal, per ESPN:

And so, after weeks of waiting, the first big free-agent domino has fallen. At last, we’ve got something more than whispers and speculation to fuel the hot stove.

To be fair, this isn’t the first move the Tigers have made. The club has already signaled its intent to be active under new general manager Al Avila, swinging trades for reliever Francisco Rodriguez and outfielder Cameron Maybin.

Inking Zimmermann, though, is a clear signal the Tigers intend to restock and take aim at an immediate return to relevance after suffering through their first losing season since 2008.

The 29-year-old right-hander isn’t the shiniest pitcher on the market; that title belongs to either David Price or Zack Greinke, depending on your persuasion. But he’s an ace-level talent and has been one of the game’s most durable, reliable arms in recent years.

Zimmermann’s ERA climbed to 3.66 in 2015 from a career-best 2.66 mark in 2014. But he eclipsed 200 innings for the second time in three seasons. Indeed, as ESPN.com‘s Jerry Crasnick noted, he’s tossed more frames over the past four seasons than any National League pitcher not named Madison Bumgarner or Clayton Kershaw. 

And he ended last season on a strong note, pitching at least into the sixth inning in 13 of his final 14 starts, though he did yield six earned runs in two games over that stretch.

In seven seasons, all with the Nats, Zimmermann owns a 3.32 ERA with 903 strikeouts in 1,094 innings and has made two All-Star teams.

Now, he joins a rotation that desperately needed a boost. After losing Scherzer last winter and Price at the July trade deadline, Detroit’s starters finished with the worst ERA in the American League last year.

Justin Verlander, whose declining velocity and effectiveness have knocked him off the ace perch, gave the Zimmermann signing his stamp of approval:

Detroit can cross its fingers for a rebound from Verlander and fellow fallen stud Anibal Sanchez and the emergence of young left-hander Daniel Norris (age 22). But Zimmermann adds a needed piece. He alone won’t get the Tigers back to the top of the AL Central, a position now owned by the reigning World Series champion Kansas City Royals. But it’s a good start.

Assuming the offensive core of Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez and Victor Martinez has something left in the tank, the Tigers aren’t far from relevance. 

And while the Zimmermann deal could well be the biggest splash of the offseason for Detroit, it’s reasonable enough to allow for more moves. As CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman noted, “Tigers owner Mike Ilitch never has been afraid to spend.”

In fact, while still plenty robust, the five years and $110 million Zimmermann got fall short of the six years and $126 million predicted by MLB Trade Rumors’ Tim Dierkes. And Dierkes’ projection didn’t feel like a reach. 

The biggest worry with Zimmermann, besides his slight dip in performance, is the Tommy John surgery he underwent in 2009. Despite his recent durability, there was concern on Washington’s end, as Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post outlined:

The life expectancy of a “second elbow” after Tommy John surgery is thought by some in baseball to be about eight years. One of the teams that believes it, not as dogma but as an important rule of thumb, is the Washington Nationals. …

[Fear] of “TJS2” is part of why Zimmermann is leaving after 2015. He’s starting his sixth season of pitching with his “new” elbow.

It’s all guesswork, of course. Injuries are an inexact science. But it’s possible questions about his elbow cost Zimmermann that additional year and/or a few million bucks.

Either way, he’s signed. He’s well-paid. Free-agent season is officially (finally!) in swing. And the Tigers are back on the road to contention. 

“My only regret is that we were not able to bring a championship to the fans of this great city this season,” Zimmermann wrote in a farewell message to Nats fans, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post.

It won’t come easy. It never does. But he’ll get another chance in a new locale as the revamp continues in Detroit.

All statistics current as of Nov. 29 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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In an era of baseball when right-handed power is at a premium, South Korean slugger Byung-ho Park figured to draw a lot of attention, with the Minnesota Twins winning the bidding rights to negotiate with the 29-year-old. 

Continue for updates. 

Park Reportedly Traveling to Minnesota

Saturday, Nov. 28

According to a report from Naver Sports, per Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press, Park is flying to America on Sunday with a stop in Chicago before traveling to the Twin Cities. 

“From there, Park will head to the Twin Cities, where he is scheduled to meet with Twins officials and undergo a physical exam,” according to Berardino’s translation of the report. “If ‘negotiations proceed smoothly,’ the report states, Park could be introduced as the newest member of the Twins next week.”

Berardino did note that it is “unclear” if this means that Park has agreed to terms on a deal with the Twins or at least made progress on a contract. 

Twins general manager Terry Ryan said after the team won the bidding for Park with a $12.8 million posting fee that he was “hopeful of coming to an agreement,” per Phil Miller of the Star Tribune.

Park has been one of the premier sluggers in Korean baseball for years, posting a .343/.436/.714 line in 140 games last year with the Nexen Heroes. It’s not a one-to-one transition from the Korean Baseball Organization to Major League Baseball, but the Twins saw enough potential in the bat to put up a lot of money just to speak with him.

The Twins do have a logjam at first base and designated hitter right now, with Joe Mauer, Miguel Sano and Trevor Plouffe sharing time at the positions.

Park’s presence would create more chaos, though teams are never going to shy away from adding a bat and will worry about where to put someone when the problem arises. 

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The Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies pulled off a minor trade on Tuesday, with reliever Tommy Kahnle going to the White Sox in exchange for minor league right-hander Yency Almonte. 

Scott Merkin of MLB.com first reported the deal.        

While not a blockbuster deal, the White Sox are strengthening an area of need. Bullpen depth was a problem last season with all five of their main relievers posting an ERA of at least 3.41, per Baseball-Reference.com. 

Kahnle isn’t a prominent reliever, but as Dan Hayes of Comcast SportsNet Chicago noted, the right-hander does miss bats and limits what arm-side hitters do against him:   

Getting Kahnle out of Coors Field also figures to help lower his ERA total. The Rockies were able to flip an asset with no substantial value given where the franchise is at for a 21-year-old who had a 3.41 ERA and 120 hits allowed in 137.1 innings over two levels. 

According to Baseball America, Almonte “is at his best” utilizing a fastball that touches 95 mph down in the zone with a slider as his strikeout pitch. 

The White Sox spent big on their bullpen last year with closer David Robertson, so investing in a low-cost arm like Kahnle is smart business. The Rockies need to build around young power arms in hopes of overcoming the thin air in Colorado. 

Almonte may not be the game-changing piece to turn the Rockies’ system around, but he’s a young power arm who may one day slot in the back of their bullpen. 

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As the Chicago White Sox look to improve on a disappointing 2015 season, they are reportedly open to trading outfielder Avisail Garcia.

Continue for updates.

Garcia Becoming Expendable As White Sox Improve Outfield

Thursday, Nov. 19

Garcia came to the White Sox as the centerpiece of a three-team trade in 2013 but has failed to live up to expectations.

Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com said his struggles, coupled with the addition of former All-Star outfielder Melky Cabrera last season and the emergence of rookie Trayce Thompson, have put the 24-year-old Garcia on the trade block.    

The outfielder hit .455 during the 2012 American League Championship Series with the Detroit Tigers, which created high expectations when he came to the White Sox. However, in two-plus seasons, Garcia has slashed just .263/.312/.389, with 25 home runs and 109 RBI in 236 games.

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn has declined to comment on Garcia’s availability but has not given up on his ability to play in the major leagues, per Hayes:

We can’t lose sight of the fact that he was still playing last year at 24, at a young age. That really was his first full season in the majors.

The ceiling is still extremely high. Certainly everyone, including Avi, would have preferred to show more consistency and flashes of that upside on a more consistent basis. But it doesn’t change the optimism around him for the future.

Even though Garcia is young and just came to the White Sox two years ago, only three players currently on the team have been in Chicago longer. That number could shrink to one if Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham aren’t with the team in 2016, per Hayes:

His tenure and potential aside, words from Hahn on the development of Thompson don’t bode well for Garcia, according to Hayes:

I think Trayce has shown the ability to start. How we make that work is probably a better question come spring once we see how the whole roster looks. We’ve known from Trayce for the last several years he can be an above-average major league defender at three outfield positions. That gives us a little flexibility on how to work him in best and he’s certainly, from an offensive standpoint, showed he deserves to play. That’ll either work itself out before spring based on transactions or come spring we’ll figure out a way to use him best.

The writing appears to be on the wall that Garcia, who will be in his first year of arbitration in 2016, will not be back in Chicago.

Although his contract is very cheap and he has age on his side, White Sox brass must be tired of waiting for him to produce.

Follow @MikeNorrisBR

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The Korean Baseball Organization has to be taken seriously.

The country’s premier baseball league’s last two significant imports have both produced at high major league levels, and now a third has the potential to be the best of the group.

On the heels of Hyun-jin Ryu and Jung-ho Kang, the KBO has posted its first potentially impactful power-hitting prospect in Byung-ho Park. The 29-year-old first baseman hit 53 home runs in the KBO last season, 52 the year before and was the league’s MVP in 2012 and 2013. He could recapture the award for the 2015 season.

During Major League Baseball’s general manager meetings last week, it was announced that the Minnesota Twins submitted the winning bid—$12.85 million—for the rights to negotiate a contract with Park. If the Twins cannot work out a deal with Park within 30 days from the time they won the bidding, which happened on Nov. 9, they will be refunded the bid and Park will return to Korea.

“Our evaluators think he can make the transition [to the majors],” Twins general manager Terry Ryan told John Shipley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “We’ve seen him play a lot and we think he can help lengthen our lineup and make it work out for everybody.” 

The KBO is known as a hitter-friendly league, but coming on the heels of Kang’s breakout 2015 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who posted a $5 million bid to negotiate with him, there is a more legitimate belief that Park can step into the majors and have a meaningful impact right away.

Kang, a former teammate of Park in Korea, was not seen as the kind of player who might finish third in National League Rookie of the Year voting when he finished his first spring training with the Pirates. He batted .200 with 17 strikeouts in 45 at-bats after hitting .356/.459/.739 the season before in the KBO. But after making the team’s Opening Day roster and eventually becoming its starting shortstop, Kang finished the season with a .287/.355/.461 with an .816 OPS and 124 OPS+.

Knowing it is possible for dominant KBO hitters to have success in the majors, Park is being looked at as more than just a player who would succeed in the minors. According to two MLB officials with teams that pursued Park, the exit velocities off his bat were on par with some of the best hitters in the majors, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported.

“The thought process from our scouts who have seen him extensively is that this guy has an outstanding chance to come over here and be a middle-of-the-order presence,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said on MLB Network last week. “We decided to pursue it mainly because it’s a big right-handed bat that we feel is going to play over here.”

Other successful KBO players have all been pitchers before Kang. Most recently it has been Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu, who has given his club a 3.14 ERA and 2.97 FIP over his two seasons. He missed last year with a shoulder injury, but during his first two years with the Dodgers, Ryu’s FanGraphs WAR was on the same level as ace Zack Greinke.

Of course, hitters are different and come with a different set of judging criteria. As an example, Eric Thames, who managed to play only two major league seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners, hit 47 homers in the KBO last season. Also, pitchers typically throw much slower in Korea. 

Park hit .343/.436/.714 with a 1.150 OPS last season, but he also struck out 161 times in 622 plate appearances. Those strikeouts are a result of a long swing, and it will most certainly have to be compacted if he is going to hit the kind of fastballs with which major league pitchers will definitely challenge him.

Attention Twins Fans: Park Byung-ho hit a solo home run tonight against Mexico to help Korea get the win pic.twitter.com/38tR3jclsk

— Dan (@MyKBO) November 14, 2015

But again, Kang’s success as a hitter this past season with Pittsburgh is seen as a positive thing for Park’s transition, assuming the Twins are able to sign him.

“He’s right in the prime of his career,” Ryan told Shipley. “He’s got of lot of baseball behind him in that Korean league, which is similar to the Japanese league. They have some decent players there that have had some success in the major leagues.”

Park is likely to find some of that in the American League, where he’d likely be a designated hitter. Those exit velocities do not lie, and there are plenty of current major leaguers who are All-Stars despite massive strikeout totals. 

Park has the talent to be the next player of that ilk, further solidifying the KBO as more than just a place to find pitchers.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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