Rob Segedin Archives - River Avenue Blues

Yanks acquire lefty Tyler Olson, infielder Ronald Torreyes in minor deal with Dodgers

January 12, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

In a very minor trade, the Yankees have acquired left-hander Tyler Olson and infielder Ronald Torreyes from the Dodgers for infielder Rob Segedin and either a player to be named later or cash, both teams announced. The 40-man roster is now full.

Torreyes, 23, is both well-traveled and the more notable of the two players the Yankees acquired. He originally signed with the Reds as an international free agent out of Venezuela (2010), then was traded to the Cubs in the Sean Marshall deal (2011), traded to the Astros for international slot money (2013), sold to the Blue Jays (2015), then sold to the Dodgers (2015). Phew.

This past season Torreyes hit .262/.310/.348 (82 wRC+) with a tiny 8.2% strikeout rate in 464 plate appearances split between Double-A and Triple-A. He also made his MLB debut in September and went 2-for-6 with a double with Los Angeles. Baseball America ranked Torreyes as the No. 24 prospect in Houston’s system coming into 2015.

Torreyes originally came up as a shortstop but he has experience at the three non-first base infield positions as well as left field. He’s a right-handed hitter — albeit not much of an offensive threat — who seems like a candidate for the final bench spot given his versatility and extreme contact ability. Torreyes has two minor league options left.

Olson, 26, made the Mariners out of Spring Training last season but stunk (eight runs in 13.1 innings) and was quickly shipped back to Triple-A. The Dodgers claimed him off waivers earlier this offseason. Olson had a 4.47 ERA (4.37 FIP) in 54.1 Triple-A innings in 2015. He’s a fairly generic reliever with an upper-80s fastball and a mid-70s curveball. Like Torreyes, Olson has two options remaining.

Both Torreyes and Olson had been designated for assignment in recent days, which is why they came at such a low cost. Segedin, 27, hit .286/.359/.425 (129 wRC+) in 72 games split between Double-A and Triple-A last season. He was New York’s third round pick back in 2010 but didn’t pan out as hoped. Segedin settled in as a nice organization player these last few seasons.

In a nutshell, the Yankees upgraded the 39th and 40th spots on the 40-man roster, which weren’t even occupied to begin with. Olson and Torreyes give the team some more optionable depth — the Yankees can send them up and down as needed next season. That’s about it. Maybe Torreyes can be a useful bench bat. Probably not. Didn’t cost much to find out.

Thinking about minor league promotions

June 29, 2012 by Mike 22 Comments

The minor league season is a little more than halfway complete, with the four full-season affiliates having already played at least 74 games out of their 144-game schedules. That means promotions should be upon us, and in fact this week’s Dellin Betances demotion might represent the start of a wave of player moves. Josh Norris recently spoke to someone who said to expect some movement in about a week, and last night the Yankees bumped righty reliever Nick Goody up from Short Season Staten Island to Low-A Charleston. He’ll be the first 2012 draftee to appear in a full-season league.

The Yankees have already made some very minor promotions, like Mikey O’Brien to Double-A Trenton and Chase Whitley to Triple-A Empire State, but the most notable moves should come very soon. Here’s a preview of what could be in store in the next week or two…

C Gary Sanchez to High-A Tampa
This one seems like a total no-brainer. Sanchez is repeating Low-A Charleston and doing so in a big way — .304/.357/.534 with 13 homers and 11 steals (!) in 277 plate appearances. He’s also played ten fewer games behind the plate than last year and has 16 fewer passed balls. A move up to Tampa would force Sanchez to split catcher and DH duties with J.R. Murphy, which they did for the first few weeks of last season. Murphy is having a great June — .316/.354/.494 with three homers — but his overall performance (.260/.324/.374) has been underwhelming. Splitting catching duties is not ideal, but Sanchez needs the promotion and it will help keep both guys from wearing down in August and September. As an added bonus, Francisco Arcia and his .305/.393/.495 batting line would get a chance as the full-time catcher for the River Dogs once Sanchez is promoted.

OF Tyler Austin to High-A Tampa, OF Rob Segedin to Double-A Trenton
Moving Austin up is another no-brainer. He’s been the best hitter in the farm system this year, with a .328/.408/.621 batting line to go with 14 homers and 17 steals in 292 plate appearances for Low-A Charleston. It’s pretty clear that he isn’t being challenged enough at the level, so move him on up. In a corresponding move to clear an outfield spot, Segedin can move up to Trenton. He’s hitting .291/.359/.446 in 312 plate appearances this year after finishing last season in Tampa. The Thunder outfield is pretty packed with the Almontes (Abe and Zoilo) and Melky Mesa, but Cody Johnson’s injury and Neil Medchill’s general non-prospectness free up the DH spot. Segedin can also play third on occasion.

RHRP Phil Wetherell to High-A Tampa, RHRP Mark Montgomery to Double-A Trenton
Wetherell’s numbers are not eye-popping — 5.05 ERA with 38 hits allowed in 35.2 innings — but he’s missing bats (9.3 K/9 and 23.3 K%), limiting walks (3.3 BB/9 and 8.2 BB%), and keeping the ball in the park (just one homer allowed). As a 22-year-old college reliever, there’s only so much to be gained from facing Low-A hitters. Montgomery, on the other hand, has the huge numbers — 1.54 ERA with 53 strikeouts (13.6 K/9 and 38.1 K%) and 12 walks (3.1 BB/9 and 8.6 BB%) in 35 innings — and the wipeout slider to back them up. A short reliever with a breaking ball that good should overwhelm Single-A competition like Montgomery has, and now it’s time to get him up to the next level.

LHSP Vidal Nuno to Triple-A Empire State
The Betances demotion as well as the Adam Warren recall thinned out the Triple-A rotation in a hurry. They still have D.J. Mitchell, Ramon Ortiz, and John Maine in their regular spots and could pull Nelson Figueroa and Mike O’Connor out of the bullpen, but moving Nuno up should also be a serious consideration. He’s an older guy (25 next month) the Yankees plucked out of an independent league last season and he’s done nothing but dominate since joining the organization: 154 strikeouts (8.1 K/9 and 22.8 K%) and just 32 walks (1.7 BB/9 and 4.7 BB%) in 171 innings. Nuno has been stellar since moving into the Double-A rotation last month, allowing just four earned runs in 40.1 innings across seven starts. The Yankees lack left-handers in the system and moving Nuno up gives them a chance to evaluate him at the highest possible level.

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Last month I wrote about the idea of promoting Mason Williams based mostly on his insane contact rates, though I could see it going either way. I would understand if they bumped him up to Tampa or kept him in Charleston, there are viable reasons to do both. Sanchez and Austin are the definite promotions though, ditto Montgomery. The four (really six) moves listed above seem like the most logical ones to make this July.

Four Yankees heading to Arizona Fall League (so far)

August 30, 2011 by Mike 31 Comments

Rosters for the Arizona Fall League were released today, though not in their entirety. David Phelps, Corban Joseph, Rob Segedin, and Ronnier Mustelier are the four Yankees farmhands named to the Phoenix Desert Dogs roster so far, but they still have two or three spots to fill. Those will almost certainly be pitchers, but one will not be Graham Stoneburner.

Phelps’ assignment is completely expected after he missed all that time with the shoulder issue, he’s got innings to make up. CoJo’s been hitting well this year and it’s worth getting him the extra at-bats. Interestingly enough, Segedin’s on the roster as an outfielder, so perhaps a full blown transition is going to take place soon. Mustelier is the interesting guy. He’s an older dude (just turned 27) that signed out of Cuba this year, he’s been mashing nonstop since signing (.374/.421/.553 in 134 PA), and he’s played five positions (second, third, and all three outfield spots). It’s unlikely they’d send filler to the AzFL, and I wonder if he’s got a chance to a righty bench bat in the future. We’ll see.

Prospect Profile: Rob Segedin

January 19, 2011 by Mike 36 Comments

Rob Segedin | 3B

Background
A semi-local kid, Segedin grew up a Yankees fan in Old Tappan, New Jersey. He attended Northern Valley Regional High School, where he lettered in baseball all four years. Segedin helped the Golden Knights to the county championship as a freshman, and the state sectional title as a junior while placing as the runner up as a sophomore and senior. As you can imagine, he racked up plenty of hardware, so let’s recap…

Owns the New Jersey state record with 181 career hits
All-League honors all four years
New Jersey Hitter of the Year as a junior and senior
First Team All-State as a junior and senior
First Team All-County as a junior and senior
Second Team All-County as a sophomore
Member of the National Honor Society

Segedin also played for the Bayside Yankees, a prestigious travel team whose alumni includes Jon Lester, Rocco Baldelli, Steve Karsay, Nick Hundley, John Lannan, and Pedro Alvarez. He helped them to the Premier National Baseball championship in 2006 and 2007, winning team MVP honors in ’06. Because that’s not enough, Segedin also served as his class vice president and graduated Magna Cum Laude.

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Yankees agree to terms with third rounder Rob Segedin

August 11, 2010 by Mike 22 Comments

Via Jim Callis, the Yankees have agreed to terms with third round pick Rob Segedin on a $377,500 bonus, which is about $108,000 over slot. I’m actually pretty surprised that he signed at that number, it seems pretty low. Maybe that’s just an indication of where the market is at.

A draft eligible sophomore with extra leverage, the Old Tappan, NJ native hit .373/.463/.625 during his time at Tulane (.434/.518/.788 last season) with more walks (68) than strikeouts (49). Segedin was drafted as a third baseman, but back and shoulder injuries could push him to the outfield. The righty swinger can definitely hit, and is the most polished player selected by the Yanks this year. Here’s some video.