Minor League Free Agents
Baseball America has released its list of minor-league free agents (H/T to John C. for alerting me) and here’s a breakdown by position:
CATCHERS
AAA – Carlos Maldonado
AA – Devin Ivany, Miguel Perez
High-A – Brian Peacock
INFIELDERS
AAA -Michael Aubrey, Tug Hulett, Matt Antonelli, Seth Bynum
AA – Adam Fox, Tim Pahuta, Josh Johnson
OUTFIELDERS
AAA – Gregor Blanco, Jeff Frazier, Jesus Valdez
AA – Buck Coats, Leonard Davis, Archie Gilbert, Jonathan Tucker
RHPs
AAA – J.D. Martin, Garrett Mock
AA – Luis Atilano, Jimmy Barthmaier, Carlos Martinez, Shairon Martis
Low-A – Sam Brown
LHP
AA – Oliver Perez
That’s 26 for those counting, 537 total (up from 534 last year) ranging from St. Louis (7) to the Phillies and Marlins (both 31). Earlier in the offseason, the Nationals signed Adam Carr and Hector Nelo to minor-league deals. I would expect the next transactions post (last week’s covered Oct. 19-24) to have a handful of veterans listed as I think most of regulars can think of some names that we would have otherwise thought would be on this list.
UPDATE
Two BA transactions posts have been up since this went to virtual press and the only FA signing was that for Josh Johnson. Double-checking both MiLB.com and BA (in case they revised like I’m doing now), Chris Rahl and Chris McConnell re-signed during the Oct. 19-24 period while, as noted in the comments, Adam Carr and Hector Nelo re-sgined during the Sept. 20-26 period.
I had Christian Garcia, and Hector Nelo as FA’s, as both had their original contracts broken if I remeber right. I also had a Valdez and Blanco as FA’s. Brown was the only one I didnt have
#resginmartis
* #resignmartis
Wow, m dumb, Valdez and Blanco are on the list. So other than Nelo and Garcia, I was right!
Nelo was signed in late September. Garcia is likely one of the names that will be listed in the batch of transactions dated after Oct. 24 — still not posted on BA as of 7:03 p.m.
The BA Transactions post (10/25 – 11/03) is finally up, but nothing noted from Washington for the week.
I was expecting to see that some older guys had signed contracts prior to the deadline, too. As usual, there’s nothing that can be divined from looking at the current rosters as I can see FAs per BA still listed on the Suns, Sens, P-Nats, and Chiefs. Which is why I again must repeat my thanks for SpringfieldFan for maintaining the Big Board and Draft Tracker.
The only name I see as a ‘must sign’ would be Antonelli; he was a far better hitter than Bixler but there was a 40 man problem that kept him from being called up.
I agree, to a point. Everyone is probably tired of me talking about Antonelli, but for now the Nationals are clearly dedicated to Desmond and Espinosa as the starters and Lombardozzi as the primary backup. Rendon is also likely earmarked for 2b, although he will start at 3b in the system. I think their first move will be for a veteran in the IF/OF swing role. Antonelli has only played six games in the OF in his pro career, so it’s a big leap of faith to have him serve in that role.
If Antonelli gets a ML contract, he should take it an run. He may take a minor league deal from a team that lacks depth in the middle infield as offering a better shot at the majors than the Nationals, where he is blocked. I would like to see the Nationals re-sign him (not ahead of Jerry Hairston, but probably ahead of a vet like Cora). At the worst, he’s decent depth at AAA (where he could also continue to work on his OF skills) and I think he still has an outside shot at developing into the player he seemed to be becoming prior to being derailed by injuries. I understand if they don’t (having Harper, Rendon and Purke on ML contracts does limit their flexibility somewhat, and they have lots of options).
Boom goes the dynamite! Twenty-six players handed their walking papers; I’ll pine for some (Peacock, Antonelli, Ivany, J. Johnson, Martis) but won’t miss others (O. Perez, Mock) for a moment.
We’ll see how many get re-signed over the next couple of weeks, but both SYR & HAR will need some serious roster rebuilding.
Matt Antonnelli = Seth Bynum = AAAA
Apparently the only signs prior to the deadline were McConnell and Rahl. The trick is to create room at AA and AAA for those prospects moving up or starting the year there and still have some talent at both AA and AAA to surround them with.
Corey Brown will most likely be back at AAA Rahl should move up to AAA with Komatsu and Harper starting the year at AA. Neither dominated in Harrisburg last year. Johnson is roadblocked in the infield and may look for opportunity elsewhere. Tyler Moore should start in AAA but a decision must be made on what to do with Maerro. Norris may go back to AA but that is more flexible than Moore’s situation. Tyler certainly has nothing left to prove in AA.
Of course a trade could change all of this.
The idea of a trade now seems less comical than it did just a couple of years ago. The question is whether the prospects are the bait or the replacements for the traded players.