Here are today’s minor transactions from around the league…
- The Indians announced today that catcher Brett Hayes has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Columbus. However, Hayes has been previously outrighted and therefore has the ability to reject the assignment in favor of free agency. The 31-year-old picked up 36 plate appearances while Yan Gomes was on the disabled list and batted .156/.229/.438 with three homers. Hayes has decent pop for a catcher — career .154 ISO — and has caught 25 percent of baserunners that have attempted to steal against him in parts of seven big league seasons. A lifetime .205/.250/.359 hitter in 464 plate appearances, Hayes was designated for assignment Sunday when Gomes was activated from the DL.
- Former Rockies outfielder Cole Garner has agreed to a minor league deal with the Blue Jays and will report to Double-A New Hampshire, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter link). The 30-year-old Garner hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2011 — his lone taste of the big leagues — but he was hitting .342/.392/.584 in 166 plate appearances in the Mexican League this season. Garner, who once ranked as Colorado’s No. 22 prospect, per Baseball America, has batted .284/.343/.480 in more than 1300 career PAs between Triple-A and the Mexican League.
- With Hayes’ outright, there are now eight players in DFA limbo (as shown in MLBTR’s DFA Tracker): Ryan Lavarnway, Travis Ishikawa, Radhames Liz, Carlos Peguero, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Todd Redmond, Phil Coke and Erik Cordier.
