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Minor MLB Transactions: 9/2/16

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We’ll use this post to keep tabs on any notable minor moves today:

  • The Blue Jays recently inked outfielder Quintin Berry to a minor league deal, the team’s Triple-A affiliate announced. With the move, the 31-year-old will be available to reprise his now-familiar role as a late-season baserunning option, this time in Toronto. As Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca was among those to tweet, Berry was actually added on the 31st of August, so he could conceivably be utilized in the post-season. He hasn’t seen more than nine plate appearances in a season since his run with the Tigers in 2012, and hit only .270/.348/.325 in his 395 plate appearances at Triple-A this year for the Angels, but has nevertheless received MLB action in each of the last three Septembers due to his baserunning prowess. Back in 2013, Berry entered three postseason contests for the Red Sox — one in each round — and swiped a bag each time without stepping up to the plate.
  • Outfielder Collin Cowgill has accepted an outright assignment with the Indians after clearing waivers, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports on Twitter. Designated for assignment yesterday, the 30-year-old will remain an option for Cleveland, particularly with rosters now expanded. He saw minimal time at the big league level this year, and struggled at Triple-A, but could still provide the club with a solid outfield glove and additional righty bench bat down the stretch — if the team deems it worthwhile to free up a 40-man spot. Over his 759 career plate appearances in the majors, Cowgill owns a .234/.297/.329 slash line with a dozen home runs and 14 steals.

Red Sox Designate William Cuevas

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The Red Sox have designated righty William Cuevas for assignment, per a club announcement. His 40-man spot was needed as the club purchased the contracts of lefty Robby Scott and top infield prospect Yoan Moncada.

Cuevas, 25, received a brief major league promotion earlier this year, allowing six walks in the five frames he pitched. He has spent the bulk of the year at Triple-A, where he carries a 4.19 ERA over 131 frames. Trouble is, Cuevas wasn’t able to maintain the strikeout rate he had shown in prior years, as he K’ed just 5.8 batters per nine in that span.

The 27-year-old Scott gets his first major league nod after turning in 78 innings of 2.54 ERA pitching with 8.4 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 at the Triple-A level. He’ll be joined by Moncada, who is considered by some to be the top prospect in the game. (Read more on Moncada’s promotion here.)

Blue Jays Designate Matt Dominguez For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have designated third baseman Matt Dominguez for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for left-hander Matt Dermody, the team announced this afternoon. Dermody’s agency, KVA Sports, first tweeted word of his promotion yesterday.

Dominguez, now 27 years of age, once looked like a potential everyday third baseman for the Astros when he showed significant pop and quality defense at third base from 2012-13, but he’s always struggled with on-base percentage and hasn’t performed well in the Majors or minors over the past three seasons. Dominguez hit just .215/.256/.330 in an everyday role with the 2014 Astros and didn’t play in the Majors last season, spending most of the year with Milwaukee’s Triple-A affiliate. He received 12 plate appearances with Toronto this season but has again spent much of the year in Triple-A, where he’s batted .272/.317/.427 with 18 home runs.

As for Dermody, the 26-year-old forced his way into the Jays’ plans this season with a strong showing across three minor league levels. Opening the season as a 25-year-old at Class-A Advanced, he’d certainly have been considered a long shot to make his way onto the big league scene, but Dermody has posted a 1.82 ERA and a 47-to-8 K/BB ratio in 54 1/3 innings this season. He’s held both lefties and righties to a sub-.290 OBP, though his strong work against lefties looks considerably more sustainable, as he’s whiffed 34 percent of them (13 percent strikeout rate against righties). Pitching for a team that has had difficulty finding consistent left-handed relief work, Dermody could conceivably find himself on the postseason roster, as Brett Cecil is currently the only other lefty reliever in manager John Gibbons’ bullpen.

As a reminder, readers can head over to Roster Resource for a full list of transactions thus far since Sept. 1 roster expansion.

Nats Select Contracts Of Latos, Burnett; Den Dekker Designated For Assignment

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The Nationals announced that they’ve designated outfielder Matt den Dekker for assignment as part of a series of roster moves. Den Dekker’s 40-man spot will go to left-handed reliever Sean Burnett, and the team has also selected the contract of right-hander Mat Latos, with righty Joe Ross moving to the 60-day DL to clear room. Washington has also recalled Pedro Severino, Brian Goodwin, Matt Grace, Rafael Martin and Trevor Gott from Triple-A Syracuse.

Latos, 28, opened the season with the White Sox and pitched brilliantly in April before his production cratered in the May and June. After posting a 0.74 ERA through four starts (which came in spite of a 13-to-7 K/BB ratio in 24 1/3 innings and was propped up by a .167 BABIP), Latos went on to yield 29 earned runs over his next 36 innings before being released by the South Siders. He hasn’t pitched in the Majors since, though he’s thrown well in the Nationals’ minor league system, tallying a 1.06 ERA in 17 innings with Triple-A Syracuse. However, he’s still not missing bats even at Triple-A, punching out just 10 hitters against seven walks in those 17 innings. Latos figures to head to the bullpen initially, though he could get some spot starts in September with Stephen Strasburg and Ross currently on the DL.

Burnett, 34 in two weeks, will return to the Majors for the first time since 2014, though he only tossed two-third of an inning in that injury-shortened season. The veteran southpaw has thrown just 10 1/3 innings at the Major League level in total since he last donned a Nationals uniform back in 2012. Burnett’s career has been slowed by elbow injuries and Tommy John surgery, but he’s pitched well across four Triple-A stops this season (Dodgers, Braves, Twins, Nationals). In 47 1/3 innings at that level, Burnett has a 2.28 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9. Opposing lefties have batted just .213/.246/.279 against him in 65 chances this season, so he could be used in left-on-left matchups, which could prove vital to a team that has lacked quality left-handed relief.

Den Dekker, 29, had a solid season as a reserve outfielder for the Nats in 2015 when he batted .253/.315/.485 with five homers in 110 plate appearances, but he mustered just a .176/.282/.294 line in 19 games/39 plate appearances this season. Most of his 2016 campaign has been spent in Syracuse, where he’s hit .208/.290/.319. His overall numbers both in the Majors and minors are considerably better than his 2016 production (or lack thereof), and den Dekker is capable of playing all three outfield positions, so he could latch on elsewhere as a bench piece. If not, he should hold appeal to clubs on a minor league pact as a free agent this winter.

As a reminder, readers can head over to Roster Resource for a full list of transactions thus far since Sept. 1 roster expansion.

Reds Designate Kyle Waldrop For Assignment

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The Reds announced today that they have designated outfielder Kyle Waldrop for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for left-hander Wandy Peralta, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Louisville. Cincinnati also recalled left-hander Cody Reed and righties Robert Stephenson and Keyvius Sampson from Louisville.

Waldrop, 24 (and not to be confused with the former Twins pitcher of the same name), rated as one of Cincinnati’s top 30 prospects from 2011-15, per Baseball America, but he’s struggled through a poor season at Louisville, hitting just .254/.302/.365. The corner outfielder has yet to display the power in Triple-A that he did at Class-A Advanced and Double-A. A former 12th-round pick, Waldrop has tallied 24 plate appearances at the big league level across the past two seasons, collecting five hits (one double), a walk and six strikeouts.

The 25-year-old Peralta, meanwhile, has not frequented Reds prospect rankings but enjoyed a solid season working primarily out of the bullpen. In 75 2/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A, the Dominican hurler has pitched to a 2.50 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a huge 58.8 percent ground-ball rate. Over the past two seasons, left-handers have actually handled Peralta considerably better than right-handed batters, though he carried a more traditional platoon split earlier in his minor league career.

As a reminder, readers can head over to Roster Resource for a full list of transactions thus far since Sept. 1 roster expansion.

Rangers Promote Yohander Mendez

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The Rangers are promoting top left-handed pitching prospect Yohander Mendez as part of their first wave of September call-ups, reports MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan. The 21-year-old is already on the 40-man roster and thus won’t require a corresponding move to accommodate his addition to the Major League roster.

Mendez received a $1.5MM signing bonus during the same international signing class that brought the Rangers Nomar Mazara and will be making his Major League debut the first time he gets into a game for Texas. While he began the season at Class-A Advanced, he’s sliced through minor league competition with relative ease, dominating his way to a big league audition. Mendez has a 2.19 ERA on the season as a whole, having worked to a 2.57 mark at High-A, 3.09 in Double-A and a lustrous 0.57 mark in 31 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. In 111 minor league frames, Mendez has allowed just 72 hits, walked 41 and struck out 113 with a 46.3 percent ground-ball rate. Mendez has dominated right-handed hitters (.558 OPS) and left-handed hitters (.484 OPS) alike and could factor into the Texas rotation as soon as next season, even if he’s more of a bullpen/spot start consideration in 2016.

The Venezuelan southpaw saw his name land on a number of midseason top prospect lists, ranking 47th, 49th and 59th, respectively, on the lists of Baseball Prospectus, MLB.com and ESPN.com. All three of the linked reports praise Mendez’s three-pitch mix, with his changeup regarded as the best of his offerings. He sits 90-94 mph with a fastball and has at least an average breaking pitch as well. Keith Law calls him a “potential mid-rotation starter, if not better,” with the primary question at this point being how well Mendez can shoulder the workload of a full season’s worth of innings. Mendez tossed 78 1/3 innings between the minors and the Arizona Fall League last season, but that modest sum represented his career-high in innings pitched prior to this season’s count of 111. Listed at 6’5″ and 200 pounds he’s still fairly lanky in build, and considering his youth, there’s room for him to continue growing and fill out that frame, as noted in MLB.com’s report on him.

As a reminder, readers can head over to Roster Resource for a full list of transactions thus far since Sept. 1 roster expansion.

Cubs Notes: Strop, Arrieta, Left-Handed Bats

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Cubs setup man Pedro Strop has suffered  a setback in his rehab from a torn meniscus in his left knee, as Bruce Levine of 670 The Score/CBS Chicago writes. Strop suffered a groin strain while rehabbing the knee and, rather than going out on a minor league rehab assignment in the near future as had been planned, will now be pushed back until the third week of September. The Cubs still expect Strop to return before season’s end and to pitch in the playoffs, but his delay could continue to put a tax on some of the Cubs’ current late-inning arms. Levine notes that manager Joe Maddon used Aroldis Chapman three straight days, culminating in a 31-pitch outing on Wednesday this week and prompting young Carl Edwards to get a save opportunity (which he converted) in Thursday’s contest. There’s better news on John Lackey and Hector Rondon, with the former expected to come off the DL to make a start on Sunday and the latter expected to return to the relief corps early next week.

More on the NL Central leaders…

  • Jake Arrieta has looked downright mortal in 70 innings since late June, logging a 4.37 ERA with some middling rate stats (6.9 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, 1.3 HR/9), and Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan dives into the right-hander’s recent struggles. Notably, Sullivan points out that Arrieta’s slider has become less effective, and the result is that left-handed hitters have begun to have a considerably easier time with him at the plate. Arrieta’s overall number of strikes to lefties has plummeted, while opposite-handed batters have seen a significant uptick in hard contact, exit velocity and launch angle against the 2015 Cy Young winner. Sullivan examines some minor distinctions between Arrieta’s 2015 delivery and his delivery in his recent starts, noting that the Chicago ace is dropping his back leg earlier in his delivery than during his dominant run and over-rotating his upper half. It’s not a definitive cause of Arrieta’s struggles, of course, but Sullivan’s entire analysis is well worth a look for Cubs fans that have been befuddled by Arrieta’s recent decline.
  • ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers writes that while many fans have wondered why the Cubs haven’t moved on from hitters Tommy La Stella, Chris Coghlan and Miguel Montero — in La Stella’s case, due to his stepping away from the team for a time following a demotion and in the others’ case simply due to their offensive struggles — each of the three could play an important role in September and October. With so many impact right-handed relievers on the teams they’ll face down the stretch and in the playoffs, each presents Maddon with a potential late-inning matchup. Moreover, the Cubs won’t need a 12- or 13-man pitching staff for a best-of-five series and could choose to carry an extra position player off the bench — and La Stella or Coghlan could fill that role. Montero may still be the odd man out in that scenario, Rogers notes, as the club could elect to carry a more speed-oriented player such as Albert Almora in his stead.

10 Under-The-Radar 2017 Free Agents Posting Strong Seasons

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We often focus on free agents who are lined up for monster contracts — indeed, MLBTR’s most recent power rankings were just released today — but there are plenty of players who can command strong salaries even if they won’t likely receive four or more years worth of guaranteed money. Here are ten somewhat under-the-radar big leaguers who seem primed to hit the open market on a high note:

Steve Pearce, IF/OF, Orioles: Pearce hasn’t quite matched his top-end output since moving from the Rays to the O’s, and he has missed time due to injury, but Pearce is still delivering a strong .256/.341/.513 batting line for Baltimore. He’s running out a 144 OPS+ on the year, which qualifies Pearce as a highly intriguing, multi-position on the market to come.

Sean Rodriguez, IF/OF, Pirates: Always a versatile player, Rodriguez has upped his game this year with a career-best .250/.339/.482 batting line over 252 plate appearances. The 31-year-old doesn’t have the track record or slugging upside of Pearce, but he has enhanced his position quite a bit.

Martin Prado, 3B, Marlins: Though he has had a few poor stretches and no longer hits quite as many home runs as he used to, Prado has somewhat quietly hit rather well ever since he was dealt to the Yankees in the middle of 2014. This year, he’s swinging a .319/.371/.432 stick with typically solid glovework, making a three-year deal possible.

Angel Pagan, OF, Giants: Expectations were rather low heading into the year, as the 35-year-old Pagan has dealt with injuries and was coming off of a brutal 2015. But he has responded with a .293/.346/.437 slash and remains a quality baserunner and fielder. Age will be a major limitation, but Pagan should draw plenty of interest.

Matt Joyce, OF, Pirates: Few players have had as dramatic a turnaround as has Joyce, who just turned 32. He owns a rather remarkable .263/.404/.522 batting line with a dozen long balls in 230 plate appearances. Even if the vast bulk of that damage has come against right-handed pitching, he has been good against lefties in limited action and looks to be quite an appealing platoon candidate.

Franklin Gutierrez, OF, Mariners: Speaking of platoon candidates, the righty-swinging Gutierrez has followed up on a stunning 2015 comeback campaign with a sturdy effort this year. He has been more good than great, and has only really been useful against southpaws, but it’s still a nice place to be for a player who had seemed unlikely to be playing at all not long ago.

Doug Fister, SP, Astros: In retrospect, Fister’s 2015 campaign looks more like an injury-plagued down year than the beginning of the end. The peripherals don’t quite support the 3.60 ERA he carries over 157 1/3 innings this year with Houston, but the towering right-hander is in a strong position with few quality starters available this winter.

Joe Blanton, RP, Dodgers: Sure, Blanton’s reinvention as a reliever came about last year, but was anyone sure if it would last? He has now tallied 69 2/3 frames with the Dodgers in 2016, posting a 2.58 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9, and looks like a high-quality relief target entering his age-36 campaign.

Travis Wood, RP, Cubs: Wood’s days as a pure starter may be over, but his swingman potential adds to the value. A 3.35 ERA over 53 2/3 innings is obviously appealing, even if it comes with rather drastic platoon splits (.937 OPS vs. righties, .500 vs. lefties).

Boone Logan, RP, Rockies: We have already talked Logan up a bit as a trade candidate who was (somewhat oddly) not traded. The 3.15 ERA is nice, but the real star is his 16.1% swinging-strike rate — which is accompanied by a robust 51.6% groundball percentage. Logan has finally translated the whiffs into good results after his two prior seasons were wrecked in part by a sky-high BABIP-against.

Dodgers To Recall Yasiel Puig, Send Clayton Kershaw Out For Rehab Start

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Two notable Dodgers are on the track for a return to the majors, per reports. The club will recall Yasiel Puig at some point this weekend, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter. And president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman says that peerless lefty Clayton Kershaw will begin a rehab assignment this weekend, as the Times’ Bill Shaikin tweets.

Puig’s return to the majors promises to be an interesting storyline to follow over the coming weeks and beyond. Trade rumors have swirled around Puig for some time as he struggled on the field and was demoted earlier this year.

The Dodgers pulled their enigmatic outfielder back from waivers after he was claimed (with multiple teams reportedly submitting claims), but some still expect he’ll be dealt this winter. FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported (via Twitter) that it was an NL team who won the claim on Puig, and reports have indicated that the White Sox and Orioles made claims of Puig, though they had lower waiver priority than every club in the NL and subsequently didn’t have a chance to swing a deal. Reports have ruled out the Marlins and Braves, and Giants GM Bobby Evans said in a radio appearance with John Middlekauff on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco that his team did not claim Puig (Twitter link).

Regardless of which team it is that was awarded the claim on the mercurial 25-year-old, he’s staying in the only Major League organization he’s ever known. Following his surprising demotion, Puig obliterated Triple-A pitching over 90 plate appearances, slashing .358/.422/.605. It’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that he’ll prove an impactful addition for the NL West-leading Dodgers, and it’s an open question whether Puig will end up on the block at season’s end. If he does, the fact that multiple teams sought to claim him should at the very least indicate that there will be a market for his services.

There’s little question that Kershaw would make for a major addition down the stretch. Remarkably, he still paces all pitchers in fWAR for the season despite not having pitched since late June. Word is that Kershaw may only need a single rehab outing before he is ready to return from his back injury, which suggests he could take the major league hill four times before the regular season wraps up.

Mariners, Padres Complete Nick Vincent Trade

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It has been a long time coming, but the Mariners and Padres have finally completed the late-spring trade that sent righty Nick Vincent to Seattle, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). Cash considerations, rather than a player, will head to San Diego to tie up the deal.

Vincent has been a nice addition for the M’s, contributing 47 innings of 3.83 ERA ball on the year. The bottom-line results may not be terribly exciting, but Vincent has racked up 10.3 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 since coming over. He has been a bit homer-prone, but the slider specialist owns a career-best 12.9% swinging strike rate and seems fairly likely to be tendered a contract this fall heading into his first season of arbitration eligibility.

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