Offseason Notes for December 12th

Writing a headline for this former outfield prospect is a piece of, uh, cake.

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Offseason Notes.

1. (Less Than) Assorted Headlines
2. Projecting: ZiPS for ZiPS for Los Angeles (NL)
3. Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: Cincinnati Reds Television

(Less Than) Assorted Headlines
Today’s headlines aren’t particularly assortable.

Cleveland Signs Pie
Outfielder Felix Pie Pie has agreed to terms on a minor-league deal and spring invite with the Cleveland Indians, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports. Pie, 26, appeared on Baseball America’s top-100 prospect list for five consecutive years (2003-07) as a minor leaguer in the Cub system. His major-league career hasn’t been particularly impressive to date: 1051 PA, .249/.298/.374 (.301 BABIP), 75 wRC+, -0.1 WAR. Of course, it’s also very possible that he was mismanaged by Cubs. Pie could make $1 million in salary and performance bonuses in the majors, Connolly notes.

Projections: ZiPS for Los Angeles (NL)
Dan Szymborski has published his ZiPS projections for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Below are some of the notable ones. (All numbers assume major-league competition. OPS+ and ERA+ are park-adjusted.)

Scott Van Slyke, LF, 25: .248/.307/.408, 94 OPS+
Angelo Songco, LF, 23: .248/.297/.411, 92 OPS+
These projections aren’t particularly notable in and of themselves; rather, they’re notable because (a) they’re among the top-10 offensive projections in the Dodger organization and (b) they belong to two players of whom even an attentive baseballing fan may never have heard. The pair appear 17th and 14th, respectively, on John Sickels’ recently published (and preliminary) top-20 prospect list for the Dodgers. Neither player appears on Baseball America’s recently released top-10 prospect list.

Brian Cavazos-Galvez, 1B, 25: .255/.279/.402, 84 OPS+
I’m still clinging, perhaps irrationally, to the notion that Cavazos-Galvez can be useful at the major-league level. He’s displayed both power on contact and speed (in the form of stolen bases, at least) in the minors — and has never posted a strikeout rate above 15%. Unfortunately, the defensive projections aren’t particularly glowing: ZiPS rates Cavazos-Galvez as merely Fair in the outfield corners — and, while he earns an Average rating at first base, his bat is unlikely to play there.

Kenley Jansen, RHP, 24: 63.0 IP, 98 K, 31 BB, 5 HR, 165 ERA+
If I’m not mistaken, that 165 ERA+ makes Jansen the second-best reliever among the team projections Szymborski has published so far. Giant set-up man Sergio Romo is projected for a 177 ERA+. Meanwhile, ZiPS projects Mariano Rivera for a 143 ERA+.

Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: Cincinnati Reds Television
This offseason, FanGraphs is asking readers to rate the broadcast teams for all 30 major-league clubs. (Click here for more on this project.)

Rate other teams: Arizona / Atlanta / Baltimore / Boston / Chicago (AL) / Chicago (NL).