Phillies Release Casey Fien
The Phillies announced that they’ve released veteran right-hander Casey Fien.
Fien, 33, had been on the 60-day disabled list due to an impingement in his right shoulder and would’ve required a 40-man roster spot in the month of September upon his activation from the DL. Instead, the Phils will cut him loose and use that slot to look at other options in the season’s final month.
Philadelphia acquired Fien from Seattle back in early May, but Fien didn’t log much time in the Majors for either the Phillies or the Mariners this year. In a total of 12 innings, he was tattooed for 17 runs on 23 hits and six walks with 10 strikeouts.
Fien had a nice run with the Twins from 2012-15, pitching to a 3.54 ERA with 7.9 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9 in 223 2/3 innings, but he’s now struggled to a 7.19 ERA with the Twins, Dodgers, Mariners and Phillies over the past two seasons. If he’s healthy, though, he’ll likely find some minor league offers this winter, which would afford him the opportunity to break camp with a big league club in Spring Training next year.
Giants Outright Jae-Gyun Hwang
The Giants have outrighted infielder Jae-gyun Hwang off the 40-man roster to clear a spot for catcher Tim Federowicz, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. That means that Hwang won’t receive a September call-up for the Giants, and it likely spells the end of his time in the organization.
A star in the Korea Baseball Organization, where he batted .335/.394/.570 in his final season with the Lotte Giants, Hwang signed a minor league contract with San Francisco this past offseason in hopes of eventually solidifying himself as an everyday option in the Majors. While he posted a solid .287/.334/.458 in 380 Triple-A plate appearances, though, Hwang received only a scarce handful of at-bats with the big league club; in a meager total of 57 plate appearances, he posted a .154/.228/.231 batting line with one homer and one double.
Hwang won’t have the ability to elect free agency until after the season, so the outright effectively ends his first season of American pro ball before he ever got much of a chance in the Majors. It’s not clear at this time whether his camp will pursue further Major League opportunities in 2018 and beyond or if he’ll return to South Korea, where he’d surely draw lucrative offers in the KBO.
MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Verlander, Upton, Maybin
IMPACT ROSTER MOVES
- HOU: SP Justin Verlander (and approximately $16MM) acquired from the Detroit Tigers for C Jake Rogers, OF Daz Cameron, SP Franklin Perez, and PTBNL/cash ; C Evan Gattis (wrist soreness) placed on 10-Day DL; C Juan Centeno recalled from minors; OF Cameron Maybin claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels; RP Dayan Diaz designated for assignment. | Astros Depth Chart
- Centeno was the catcher and batted 8th in Friday’s game.
- LAA: OF Justin Upton (and approximately $1MM) acquired from the Detroit Tigers for SP Grayson Long and a player to be named later; 2B Brandon Phillips acquired from the Atlanta Braves for C Tony Sanchez. | Angels Depth Chart
- PHI: SP Jerad Eickhoff (nerve irritation in hand) placed on 10-Day DL; RP Ricardo Pinto recalled from minors; RP Juan Nicasio claimed off waivers from Pirates; 1B Brock Stassi designated for assignment. | Phillies Depth Chart
- TEX: SP Miguel Gonzalez acquired from the Chicago White Sox for 3B Ti’Quan Forbes; RP Anthony Bass designated for assignment. | Rangers Depth Chart
[Related: MLB Lineup Tracker | MLB Disabled List Tracker | MLB Rotation Depth Tracker ]
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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES
- ATL: RP Rex Brothers will be recalled from minors; RP Ian Krol and RP Luke Jackson will be activated from 10-Day DL on Friday September 1st; INF Johan Camargo, INF/OF Adonis Garcia and INF/OF Danny Santana are expected to be activated from 10-Day DL on Monday September 4th, according to Dave O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. | Braves Depth Chart
- BAL: SS J.J. Hardy will be activated from 60-Day DL on Friday September 1st, according to David Hall of the Virginian-Pilot; C Chance Sisco and 1B/OF Pedro Alvarez will have contracts purchased from minors; OF Joey Rickard will be recalled from minors on Friday September 1st, also according to Hall. | Orioles Depth Chart
- BOS: 2B Dustin Pedroia will likely be activated from 10-Day DL on Friday September 1st, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com. | Red Sox Depth Chart
- CHC: INF/OF Mike Freeman and RP Dillon Maples will have contracts purchased from minors; C Victor Caratini will be recalled from minors; RP Justin Grimm will be activated from 10-Day DL on Friday September 1st, according to Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago. | Cubs Depth Chart
- CHC: SP Jon Lester will be activated from 10-Day DL on Saturday September 2nd, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. | Cubs Depth Chart
- CLE: OF Greg Allen will have contract purchased from minors on Friday September 1st, according to Keith Law of ESPN; SP Josh Tomlin will be activated from 10-Day DL on Sunday September 3rd, according to Zack Meisel of The Athletic. | Indians Depth Chart
- CWS: SP Reynaldo Lopez will be activated from 10-Day DL on Friday September 1st, according to Dan Hayes of CSNChicago. | White Sox Depth Chart | TOP PROSPECT ALERT!
- HOU: SS Carlos Correa will likely be activated from 10-Day DL on Sunday September 3rd or Monday September 4th, according to Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. | Astros Depth Chart
- LAD: SP Clayton Kershaw will be activated from 10-Day DL on Friday September 1st, according to the team; OF Andre Ethier will be activated from 60-Day DL on Friday September 1st, according toKen Gurnick of MLB.com.; OF Alex Verdugo will have contract purchased from minors, according to J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. | Dodgers Depth Chart | TOP PROSPECT ALERT!
- LAD: SP Brock Stewart will be recalled from minors on Saturday September 2nd, according to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. | Dodgers Depth Chart
- LAD: SP Alex Wood will be activated from 10-Day DL on Sunday September 3rd, according to Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. | Dodgers Depth Chart
- MIA: SP Dillon Peters will have contract purchased from minors on Friday September 1st, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. | Marlins Depth Chart
- MIL: C Andrew Susac and RP/SP Brent Suter will likely be activated from 10-Day DL on Friday September 1st, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com; SP Brandon Woodruff will be recalled from minors on Saturday September 2nd, according to the team. | Brewers Depth Chart
- NYM: SP Matt Harvey will be activated from 10-Day DL on Saturday September 2nd, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. | Mets Depth Chart
- SEA: OF Jarrod Dyson will likely be activated from 10-Day DL on Friday September 1st, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com. | Mariners Depth Chart
- STL: SP Jack Flaherty will have contract purchased from minors on Friday September 1st, according to the team; SP Sandy Alcantara will have contract purchased from minors on Friday September 1st, according to Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. | Cardinals Depth Chart | TOP PROSPECT ALERT!
- WSH: RP Enny Romero will be activated from 10-Day DL and RP Austin Adams will be recalled from minors on Friday September 1st, according to Mark Zuckerman of MASN. | Nationals Depth Chart
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MINOR TRANSACTIONS
- CIN: C Tucker Barnhart placed on Paternity Leave List; C Chad Wallach recalled from minors. | Reds Depth Chart
- CHC: OF Leonys Martin acquired from the Seattle Mariners for player to be named later or cash considerations. | Cubs Depth Chart
- Martin will presumably be added to the 25-man roster in September.
- NYY: RP Giovanny Gallegos recalled from minors; RP Caleb Smith optioned to minors; C Erik Kratz acquired from the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations. | Yankees Depth Chart
- Kratz will presumably be added to the 25-man roster in September.
- STL: RP John Gant recalled from minors; RP Kevin Siegrist activated from 10-Day DL and designated for assignment. | Cardinals Depth Chart