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Zach McAllister

Yankees Select Zach McAllister

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The Yankees announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of veteran righty Zach McAllister from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and placed right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his right elbow. Anthony Rizzo was transferred to the 60-day injured list to create space for McAllister on the 40-man roster. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported shortly before the team’s official announcement that McAllister was slated to be called up to the big leagues.

It’s the 35-year-old McAllister’s first big league stint since the 2018 season. Originally selected by the Yankees in the the third round of the 2006 draft, it’ll also be McAllister’s debut appearance with the organization that started his big league career. The Yankees traded McAllister to Cleveland in a 2010 swap that brought outfielder Austin Kearns back to the Bronx. He went onto become a solid arm both in the rotation and the bullpen, but McAllister’s peak proved brief.

From 2012-13, McAllister started 46 games and pitched 259 2/3 innings for the since-renamed Indians, logging a 3.99 ERA along the way. He struggled in 15 starts the following season but found new life after a move to the bullpen. From 2015-17, he was a key member of Terry Francona’s relief corps, compiling 183 1/3 frames of 2.99 ERA ball.

McAllister again got out to a rough start to begin the 2018 season and this time found himself cut loose by the only big league club he’d ever known. He briefly signed with his longtime division-rival Tigers late in that 2018 season but pitched just 3 1/3 innings while allowing eight runs. He hasn’t pitched in the Majors since.

Since that brief stint in Detroit, McAllister has quickly reached journeyman status. He’s inked minor league deals with the Dodgers (twice), Rangers, Phillies, Cardinals and Diamondbacks but never climbed back to the Majors with any of them. That hasn’t stopped him from continuing his efforts to grind his way back to the show, and he’ll finally get that opportunity after a half decade in the minors — with the team that originally drafted him 17 years ago.

Plenty has gone wrong for the Yankees’ this year, but McAllister’s promotion was well-earned even when setting aside Loaisiga’s unfortunate injury. Since signing with the Yankees earlier this summer, he’s pitched 16 2/3 innings with the RailRiders, recording a pristine 1.62 ERA with a 20-to-4 K/BB ratio (33.3% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate). He’ll be a free agent again at season’s end and won’t be pitching for a postseason contender, but that won’t make the return to the Majors any less sweet for him after a lengthy, half-decade odyssey around the minor league circuit.

Yankees Sign Zach McAllister To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees signed veteran right-hander Zach McAllister to a minor league deal over the weekend, per an announcement from their Triple-A affiliate. McAllister, a WME client, is already active in the organization, having pitched a scoreless inning for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday.

McAllister, 35, opted out of a minor league deal with the D-backs last week. He hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2018 but was a steady presence on Cleveland’s pitching staff for six years, logging a combined 3.84 ERA with roughly average strikeout/walk rates in 529 innings between the rotation and bullpen from 2012-17.

The deal with the Yankees is something of a homecoming for McAllister. New York selected him in the third round of the 2006 draft but traded him to Cleveland in 2010 as a player to be named later in return for outfielder Austin Kearns. He never appeared in a big league game with the Yankees before being shipped out. This reunion will give him another opportunity to do so in the season’s final couple months.

McAllister has pitched to a 4.81 ERA in 39 1/3 Triple-A frames this year, fanning 30.4% of his opponents against an 11% walk rate. The Yankees are the veteran right-hander’s fifth Triple-A stop since his last big league appearance in 2018. He’s also spent time with the Dodgers, Phillies, Cardinals and D-backs. McAllister logged a 3.99 ERA with the Cardinals’ top affiliate last year, punching out 30% of his opponents with Memphis. He’s maintained that strikeout rate this year, and if the Yankees need a depth arm in the bullpen at some point between now and season’s end, he’ll give them a veteran option.

D-backs Grant Zach McAllister His Release

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The Diamondbacks granted right-hander Zach McAllister his release from their Triple-A affiliate in Reno, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports. He’d been with the Aces all season and is now a free agent.

McAllister, 35, hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2018. He spent six years as a steady back-of-the-rotation starter and then middle reliever in Cleveland, pitching to a combined 3.84 ERA with a 21.4% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate in 529 innings of work. McAllister fell off quickly, however; he was rocked for a 6.20 ERA in 45 frames during the 2018 season and hasn’t pitched at the MLB level since.

McAllister had brief stints with the Triple-A affiliates for the Dodgers (2019) and Phillies (2021) but didn’t reach 15 innings in either of those seasons. He tossed 67 2/3 frames of 3.99 ERA ball with the Cardinals’ top minor league club last year, striking out 30% of his opponents along the way, and has a 4.93 ERA in 38 1/3 Triple-A innings with Reno this season. It’s an ugly number on the surface, though it’s worth pointing out just how hitter-friendly the Pacific Coast League is; nearly two-thirds of PCL pitchers with 30 or more innings this year have an ERA north of 5.00. McAllister has again fanned 30% of his opponents in 2023, although his 11.2% walk rate leaves plenty to be desired.

With the D-backs not giving him a look before today’s out date, the veteran righty will head back to the market in search of a new opportunity with a club in clearer need of bullpen depth.

Diamondbacks Sign Zach McAllister To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks have signed right-hander Zach McAllister to a minor league deal, per Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. McAllister will presumably receive an invitation to major league Spring Training, though no official announcement has been made.

McAllister, 35, appeared in eight big league seasons from 2011 to 2018 but hasn’t made it back since. He spent most of that big league tenure with Cleveland before getting released in 2018 and then making three appearances with the Tigers. He was a solid starter for a time, posting a 4.24 ERA over 22 starts in 2012 and then a 3.75 ERA in 24 starts in 2013. He struggled in 2014, however, and was transitioned into a bullpen role.

He had a good three-year run of effective relief from 2015 to 2017, posting a 2.99 ERA in that time while striking out 26.1% of batters faced and walking 8.6% of them. Unfortunately, his ERA ballooned to 6.20 in 2018, leading to his release. He’s been pitching in the minors since then, spending 2022 in the Cardinals’ system. He tossed 67 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 3.99 ERA, 30% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate. He’ll provide the Snakes with a veteran depth option who is coming off a season of solid results in the minors.

Cardinals Sign Zach McAllister To Minor League Deal

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The Cardinals have agreed to a minor league deal with righty Zach McAllister, the team announced this morning. He’ll report to Major League Spring Training and provide some depth in the rotation and bullpen.

Three full seasons have passed since McAllister last pitched in the Majors. He spent some time with the Phillies organization in 2021 but logged just 10 2/3 innings in the minors. The 34-year-old was a mainstay on the Cleveland pitching staff from 2012-17, first spending some time in the rotation before solidifying himself as a quality reliever. From 2015-17, McAllister posted a 2.99 ERA with a 26.1% strikeout rate against an 8.6% walk rate — often pitching more than an inning at a time.

Now 34 year old, McAllister will give St. Louis some depth both in the rotation and in the bullpen. The Cards’ rotation is largely set, with Jack Flaherty, Adam Wainwright, Steven Matz, Dakota Hudson and Miles Mikolas the likeliest quintet to start games. Righty Drew VerHagen, signed to a two-year deal after a strong run in Japan, could also vie for some rotation work but may begin in the bullpen. In-house options like Jake Woodford and Johan Oviedo add further depth to the rotation, as does non-roster invitee Aaron Brooks. McAllister has a ways to go before he pushes his way into consideration for a big league roster spot, but he’ll give the Cards some experience depth to stash in Triple-A Memphis even if he doesn’t make the club out of camp.

Dodgers To Sign Zach McAllister

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The Dodgers have agreed to a minor-league deal to bring right-hander Zach McAllister back to the organization, according to reports. The right-hander, who spent a short amount of time with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate late last season, was somewhat surprisingly cut loose by the Rangers at the end of Spring Training despite having signed a big league deal with Texas.

McAllister, 31, was a mainstay in the Indians’ bullpen from 2015-17 but struggled through a career-worst season in 2018. He signed with the Rangers over the winter on a $1MM Major League contract and seemingly pitched well in Spring Training — 3.00 ERA, 10-to-2 K/BB ratio in 12 innings — making his release all the more unexpected. Last year, McAllister was torched for a 6.20 ERA in 45 innings between Cleveland and Detroit. His velocity remained consistent, however (95.3 mph average fastball), and he posted a solid 39-to-10 K/BB ratio. Prior to that dismal season, McAllister gave Cleveland 183 1/3 innings of 2.99 ERA relief with 10.0 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 over a three-year span.

The Dodgers don’t have an immediate opening in their ’pen, so McAllister will quite likely head to Triple-A Oklahoma City for now. Kenley Jansen, Joe Kelly, Pedro Baez and Dylan Floro are the top right-handed relief options for skipper Dave Roberts, whose bullpen also contains out-of-options righty Yimi Garcia. The Dodgers do have an open spot on the 40-man roster, so if they decide in the near future that McAllister warrants a closer look against MLB opposition, they’ll only need to make a 25-man roster move to accommodate him.

Rangers Release Zach McAllister

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The Rangers announced that they’ve given right-hander Zach McAllister his unconditional release. It’s a somewhat surprising development given that McAllister had signed a Major League contract with Texas in the offseason and enjoyed a solid Spring Training to date. In a dozen Cactus League innings, he’s allowed four runs on 12 hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts.

With McAllister now out of the fold, the locks for the Texas bullpen include Jose Leclerc, Jesse Chavez, Shawn Kelley, Chris Martin and Jeffrey Springs (the latter of whom was informed last week he’d made the team). Right-hander Jeanmar Gomez is also in line to make the roster following the sudden retirement of Jason Hammel. Out-of-options righty Connor Sadzeck, presumably, is a candidate to open the year in new skipper Chris Woodward’s bullpen as well, though offseason acquisition Kyle Bird is also still in camp.

McAllister, 31, struggled through an awful 2018 campaign with the Indians and Tigers, posting a combined 6.20 ERA in 45 innings of relief between the two clubs. He did turn in a quality 39-to-10 K/BB ratio in that time, though, and McAllister’s 95.3 mph average fastball velocity was as strong as ever. Prior to that ugly season, McAllister was a mainstay in the Cleveland bullpen from 2015-17, where he worked to a 2.99 ERA with 10.0 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 through 183 1/3 innings of relief.

Rangers Sign Zach McAllister

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4:21pm: The Rangers have now formally announced the addition of McAllister on a one-year deal. Their 40-man roster is now full, meaning they’ll need to make a corresponding move once Asdrubal Cabrera’s reported one-year agreement becomes official.

3:55pm: The Rangers are in agreement on a one-year, Major League contract with veteran right-handed reliever Zach McAllister, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The Excel Sports client will earn a $1MM salary in 2019, and Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets that he can boost his earnings via an incentives package.

McAllister, 31, struggled through an awful 2018 campaign with the Indians and Tigers, posting a combined 6.20 ERA in 45 innings of relief between the two clubs. He did turn in a quality 39-to-10 K/BB ratio in that time, though, and McAllister’s 95.3 mph average fastball velocity was as strong as ever. Additionally, he actually made some gains in swinging-strike rate and particularly on his opponents’ chase rate on out-of-zone pitches.

It’s also worth noting that McAllister was a quality reliever for Cleveland from 2015-17, during which time he turned in a 2.99 ERA with 10.0 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 through 183 1/3 innings of work. Texas has plenty of open spots in its relief corps behind closer Jose Leclerc and the re-signed Jesse Chavez, so it’s not all that surprising to see the organization add an affordable veteran arm. If McAllister can successfully rebound to his 2015-17 form, he’d presumably become a trade asset for the Rangers this summer.

The Rangers organization has yet to announce the move, but Texas did announce a trio of minor league signees today — right-handers Taylor Guerrieri and Michael Tonkin, as well as catcher Tony Sanchez. Each will be invited to Major League Spring Training. Tonkin’s addition was already covered here at MLBTR earlier this month.

Guerrieri, 26, made his MLB with the Blue Jays this past season but only appeared in nine games, totaling 9 2/3 innings with a 4.66 ERA (five runs allowed). A former first-round pick and top prospect with the Rays, Guerrieri’s career has been slowed by injury — most notably including Tommy John surgery in 2013. He’s also served a 50-game suspension in the minor leagues (for a “drug of abuse” as opposed to a performance-enhancing substance). Guerrieri has pitched to a 3.31 ERA in parts of two Double-A seasons (182 innings) but has not yet found much in the way of success in Triple-A or the Majors.

Sanchez, now 30 years of age, was a first-rounder himself back in ’09 but has appeared in just 52 big league games with a .257/.301/.375 slash to his name through 156 plate appearances. He’s a career .253/.340/.403 hitter in nearly 2000 Triple-A plate appearances, though, and he’ll give Texas some depth behind 40-man options that include Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Jeff Mathis and Jose Trevino. Jett Bandy, too, will be in camp with the Rangers as a non-roster invitee.

Dodgers Sign Zach McAllister To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers have signed veteran right-hander Zach McAllister to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Oklahoma City, as announced by the team’s Triple-A director of communications, Alex Freedman (Twitter link).

McAllister, 30, has struggled through a disastrous season split between the Indians and Tigers, working to a combined 6.20 ERA in 45 innings of work. However, he has a solid big league track record and has posted a quality 39-to-10 K/BB ratio so far in spite of the poor results. McAllister’s 95.3 mph average fastball velocity is as strong as ever, and he’s actually made some gains in swinging-strike rate and his opponents’ chase rate on out-of-zone pitches.

From 2015-17, McAllister served in a setup capacity for the Indians and pitched to a pristine 2.99 ERA with 10.0 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 through 183 1/3 innings of work. Given the Dodgers’ extreme bullpen struggles of late, it’s understandable that the organization is speculating on some depth additions in an effort to solidify the group in the season’s final month. With rosters set to expand on Sept. 1, McAllister could be in line for a quick return to the big leagues.

Zach McAllister Elects Free Agency

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The Tigers announced Tuesday that right-hander Zach McAllister has cleared waivers and elected free agency after being designated for assignment over the weekend. He’s free to sign with any team for the pro-rated league minimum for the remainder of the year, with the Indians on the hook for the bulk of his $2.45MM salary.

McAllister, 30, was with the Tigers for all of eight days before being designated for assignment for the second time this season. The longtime Cleveland setup man was hammered for eight earned runs on the strength of 10 hits (one homer) in three appearances with the Tigers. In total, he tossed just 3 1/3 innings in a Detroit uniform, though he did collect five strikeouts without issuing a walk.

While the 2018 season has been a disaster for McAllister (6.20 ERA in 45 innings), he was a quality bullpen piece for the Indians over the past three seasons. From 2015-17, he pitched to a pristine 2.99 ERA with 10.0 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 through 183 1/3 innings of work. To his credit, McAllister is still averaging a healthy 95.3 mph on his fastball in 2018, and his swinging-strike rate (9.7 percent) and chase rate on pitches out of the strike zone (31.3 percent) are both improved from recent seasons — particularly the latter, which is easily a career-best.

McAllister now has more than six years of big league service after crossing that threshold earlier this summer, meaning any team that signs him will merely be in control of him for the final few weeks of the season. His performance hasn’t been worthy of a spot on a postseason roster anyhow, but if he hooks on with another club prior to Sept. 1, he’d be eligible for the playoffs with his new team, should he be able to demonstrably right the ship over the season’s final five weeks.

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