Minor MLB Transactions: 4/25/16

Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

• Lefty Phil Coke will head to Triple-A for the Yankees after his rights were acquired from the indy league Lancaster Barnstormers, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports on Twitter. Coke, 33, has bounced around quite a bit in recent years and was most recently released by the Braves during spring camp. He appeared in the majors last year with the Cubs and Blue Jays, allowing eight earned runs with 12 strikeouts and five walks (two intentional) over 12 2/3 frames.
• The Cubs have released right-hander Jonathan Pettibone from his minor league contract, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports. Chicago signed the former Phillies right-hander to a minor league pact back in February in hopes that he’d be able to return to health following a pair of shoulder surgeries in 2014 and 2015. Pettibone last appeared in the Majors in 2014, but it was 2013 that he looked the part of an intriguing long-term piece in the Phillies’ rotation. That year (his age-22 season), Pettibone logged 100 1/3 innings with a 4.04 ERA, 5.9 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 49.4 percent ground-ball rate in 18 starts at the Major League level.
• The Giants have added veteran minor league catcher Steven Lerud on a minors deal, per Eddy. The 31-year-old began the year with the Mariners but didn’t make the big league roster and was released in early April. Lerud, 31, spent the 2015 campaign in the Nationals organization, batting .238/.320/.301 in 231 plate appearances (60 games). Lerud saw brief action for the Phillies in 2012-13, but he’s spent most of his career in the minors and is a lifetime .229/.347/.324 hitter in parts of four seasons at the Triple-A level.
• Righty Loek Van Mil was released by the Twins, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger tweets. The 31-year-old, who stands at 7’1, was bombed for 14 earned runs in just 5 1/3 innings at Triple-A this year, while issuing six walks against four strikeouts. The Netherlands native has yet to crack the majors, and has struggled in his time at the highest level of the minors. He has, however, been better historically at Double-A, where he owns a 3.01 ERA in 212 frames with 6.1 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9.
• The Pirates have released outfielder Antoan Richardson from Triple-A, per a club announcement. Richardson, a speedy 32-year-old, was scuffling in limited duty. He’s been up in the majors before as a late-season option, recording six steals despite taking only 21 plate appearances. In 785 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Richardson owns a .261/.377/.347 slash and has 56 steals while being caught only three times.