GM Swain has never been known for his knee jerk reactions or long winded traded talks. In fact Jersey Shore had not made a trade in over a year, the last coming when they brought Jerry Burgess in from El Paso for a handful of prospects. On Tuesday the Bags completed their first trade since then. According to sources talks went swiftly and were very concise which resulted in Catcher Warren Goyer, formerly of Cleveland coming to Jersey for 3 players. Those players were MR Chris Woodruff, 3B Williams Seppings and former 1st round pick 3B Richard Coker.
Goyer is 27 in his 3rd year in the BSA. He came up through Reno's system before being traded to Cleveland in 2015 where he got his first extended playing time. In 429 AB, he hit a paltry .219, but did slug 18 2B, 18 HR and drove in 62 runs. This season thus far he has seen the bulk of the playing time and in 353 AB, he has matched his totals from last year in doubles and has 17 HR while bring up the average to .238. He has always had big power potential and Jersey thinks with their hitter friendly park they may have brought in a guy who can start and hit 30 HR. Not bad for a team which already has the power in their lineup. Current catcher Luis Antonio Duran who has been in the organization since 2011 and starting catcher for the past 4 is without a contract next season and rumors have it trading for Goyer was to replace Duran. That will set to be seen, but with Duran looking for a big deal, that could be a possibility.
Leaving Jersey is MR Chris Woodruff who was claimed off of waivers before the season. He could never get it going and demoted to AAA where he pitched decent. He is 31 years old and has good pitches, he could put up decent numbers in Cleveland.
The 2nd player traded is 3B William Seppings. He is 29 and been with the team since the inaugural draft, but hasn't seen much playing time in AAA the last couple years. He is more or less just organizational filler and was included in the trade because he was on the 40 man roster and had a 400K contract.
The 3rd and last player going was the main piece. Former 1st round pick, 1B/3B Richard Coker. We recently did our prospect breakdown on Coker, which can be found: here. Coker in his 4th year with the team was having his best year in AA and was on pace to be called up soon to AAA. He was currently hitting .293/.391/.434. He has a high contact rate and hits the ball to the gap. He lacks power and his walk rate has been going up while his K rate has been going down. Scouts have compared him to a slightly less version of 3B Alberto Perez, who is on pace for 200 hits and hit the game winning single in the All Star game this season. We here at the Bag Report will be keeping tabs on Coker and wish him the best in Cleveland.
Will this be the only trade the Bags make until the deadline later this week? Nothing is on the hot stove right now, but that could change in an instant. Stay tuned Bag fans!
GO D-BAGS
And we are off! It seems like we just had opening day and in the blink of an eye and the first month of the season is in the books. A successful 17-9 month puts Jersey where they left off last season but puts them in 3rd place behind the hottest team in baseball, the Chicago Machine and the arch rivals Greenville. This month had a little bit of everything like usual, but more positive than negative.
Players of the Month
2B Mikey "The Machine" Bryant: .404/.487/.677 6 HR 26 RBI. Why not start with the hottest hitter in baseball right now? It isn't Bryant's first time being on the POTM and it won't be his last. Bryant was on fire all month. He had 12 multi-hit games and 5 3+ hit games including a 5 hit performance against the Sheens.
3B Alberto Perez: .373/.387/.676 7 HR 20 RBI. We all remember Perez from his playoff run last year and came out with a bang this season. For a guy not known for power bashing 7 HR was unheard of, but the Bags will take it. He also added 10 doubles. Looks like he is here to stay. We know the power might not hold up, but if he can keep his average up, Perez could be a force in the Jersey lineup this year.
OF Leon Foster .270/.353/.517 5 HR 25 RBI. Welcome back Mr. Foster. After using his option to come back to Jersey Foster is showing that power he used to display when he came over from New York. 2nd in the team in RBI in a contract year, Foster trying to prove he can still ball.
CL Jaime Saenz 1-1 8 saves 1.59 ERA 1.15 WHIP. Saenz took over the closer role and flourished taking over for Daniel Morris. He had more K's than IP and with a lot of blowouts he didn't get into that many games. He looks like he will be the closer to stay.
Roster Questions, Changes and Answers
A month and we have seen no serious injuries which helps keep the roster in tact. We did see a new player in the fold this month as 19 year old MR Hyo-Chin Kim was called up to spot start for Rob Goodship as he missed a start with a minor injury. Kim looked good throwing 7.1 IP, giving up 3 ER and K's 2 for his first ML win. With his high stamina we might see more of him in the spot starting role in the future.
MR Chris Woodruff was waived and DFA'ed after a terrible start where he seemingly couldn't get anyone out. MR Takafumi Ogusuku was recalled and pitching 2.1 scoreless innings while striking out 6.
There's a lot of young talent in AAA ready to be called up if needed including SS Schroeder, OF Torres, OF Kino, and OF Dodd who are all hitting AAA very well.
Minor Leaguers of the Month
In a new section this year we will be picking one hitter and pitcher from the entire organization of farm clubs to pick one pitcher and hitter as POTM for the organization.
Pitcher:
MR Angel Lara (AA): 11.1 IP 0.00 ERA 0.71 WHIP 4 Hits 17 K's. Lara was as close to perfect as you come in April almost striking out 2 batters per innings while only giving up 4 hits. He earned himself a promotion at the end of the month and will be in Tuscaloosa next month.
Hitter:
OF Dave Dodd (AAA): .367/.461/.765 8 HR 31 RBI . The guys is an absolute stud. Top 3 ranked hitter prospect in the game and is showing why. He crushed AA for 2 weeks then AAA for 2 weeks. He even stole 4 bases. In 24 games he knocked in 31 runs and looks like he really wants to play soon for the D-Bags.
After taking a tough loss in Game 7 of the World Series against the mighty Hendersonville Hitmen, there was a lot of uncertainty when it came to Jersey players. A lot of star players with contracts set to be up, a player's option and a few holes opening up. Here's what has happened since that fateful day in Hendersonville.
The day after the season Leon Foster decided to accept his 13.87 Million dollar option he was given in 2013 as part of his 4 year extension. After starting out decent last season Foster strained his hip and missed 3 months. Jersey brass thought it was inevitable he would take the option but I think deep down everyone hoped he would turn it down. Foster should start in CF, at least against lefties, this up coming season. Foster sits 8th on the All-time HR list with 205.
The first two weeks of November had to feel like Christmas for many Jersey Shore fans. On November 4th Jersey announced they bought out 2, possibly 3 years of arbitration and signed superstar 1B Matt Doyle to a 6 year deal worth 39.35 million dollars. The deal will keep Doyle in Jersey through the age of 32. Doyle led the CL in HR last year with 44 and only 2 seasons into his Jersey career he sits only behind Mikey Bryant on the Jersey Shore all time HR list with 77.
Three days later on November 7th, Jersey announced they avoided losing their FA deadline pickup Jerry Burgess by agreeing to a 5 year contract worth 45.29 million dollars. Burgess won 7 starts after coming over from El Paso and was vital in their playoff run winning 3 of his 6 starts and keeping Jersey within striking distance in Game 7.
Five days after the Burgess signing, Jersey announced they had come to an agreement with FA to be and arguable ace of the staff 30 year old Art Ellis to a 6 year contract which will keep him in Jersey for the remainder of his career. Ellis posted one of the best seasons put up by a Jersey hurler, posting a 2.94 ERA and striking out 210.
On November 21st, the league announced that MR Brian White recieved a new contract worth 600K through arbitration, which was no surprise, and Catcher Luis Antonio Duran won his arbitration hearing and will receive $8.75 million this upcoming season. With Duran's number being that high, there is probably a slim chance he will be back for 2017. Regardless he will be starting the season as the team's starting catcher.
Free agency started November 24th and Jersey said good-bye to two players. The first being one of the longest tenured player closer Daniel Morris. With the money going to the starters, there was just not enough to go around. Morris leaves Jersey leading the team in all-time ERA (2.59), Saves (170), appearances (387), BB/9 (2.0), K/BB (4.18), WHIP (1.17), OOPS (.626) and VORP (139.4).
Also departing through free agency is the speedy OF Scott Powers, who spent 3 years in Jersey after a trade from Niagara Falls. Powers a multi-use speedy OF, never lived up to the potential Jersey thought they would get when they made the trade in 2013. His spot on the roster will go to one of the money OF Jersey has stashed away in AAA.
The Rule V draft took place on December 1st and with the 22nd pick Jersey selected MR David Rice with the 22nd pick. Rice of the former Pittsburgh (now Chicago) franchise. Rice will become the 2nd lefty in the pen after new closer Jaime Saenz. Last season Rice pitched in AA and a 3.61 ERA and 140 K's in 124.2 IP.
Jersey also lost a player in the Rule V draft as well. St. Charles selected speedy utility infielder Dave Henson whom Jersey signed to a MLC in 2014 after being released from Vista. Henson hit .270 with 14 SB in 63 AB with Tuscaloosa last season.
Towards the end of Spring Training Jersey made a couple of waiver moves. The first being claiming MR Chris Woodruff from the Jacksonville Jackhammers. Woodruff struggled in Jacksonville last year posting a 6.44 ERA in 50.1 IP, but the Jersey brass must have seen some potential.
On the same day Jersey claimed Woodruff, Boston claimed 1B Edgardo Gonzales. Gomzales who has been with Jersey since the inaugural draft always has played well in AAA but has had trouble cracking the 25-man roster. Gonzales got only 29 AB in the last 3 seasons.
On April 2nd, the day before the season was set to begin Jersey announced another contract extension. One of the best hitters in last year's playoffs 3B Alberto Perez agreed to a 4 year deal buying out his arbitration years worth nearly $8M dollars. Perez is slated to start at 3B this season with Adam Morrow sliding over to SS.
Losses: CL Daniel Morris, CF Scott Powers, SS Dave Henson, 1B Edgardo Gonzales
Additions: MR Dave Rice, MR Chris Woodruff
Extensions: SP Jerry Burgess, SP Art Ellis, 1B Matt Doyle, 3B Alberto Perez
2016 is here! Look for the roster breakdown, coming soon!
GO D-BAGS
