Padres Outright Rowan Wick
The Padres have outrighted right-hander Rowan Wick after he cleared waivers, per a club announcement. That move frees up a 40-man spot for the club’s final roster decisions.
Claimed off waivers from the Cardinals during the offseason, Wick will land somewhere in the Padres system to open the 2017 season. He’s known for a big arm but is still new to pitching after moving out from behind the plate. Last year, he worked to a 3.19 ERA in 42 1/3 innings, most of them in the upper minors, while recording 8.9 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9.
Bryce Brentz Clears Waivers
The Mets successfully ran outfielder Bryce Brentz through waivers, Matt Ehalt of The Record reports on Twitter. It seems that the out-of-options Brentz will be outrighted off of the New York 40-man roster, though he’ll have the right to decline an assignment to Triple-A.
Brentz has bounced from the Red Sox to the Pirates and then on to the Mets over the offseason. The former first-round pick turned in a strong showing last year at Triple-A, hitting .271/.334/.529 with 31 home runs in 494 plate appearances.
Now, though, Brentz will have to decide whether to stay with his new organization or instead set out onto the open market. The Mets do not appear to have a direct path up to the majors, though obviously the organization likes the player. Given that every other team has now passed on a chance to add Brentz to a 40-man roster, it seems unlikely he’ll earn an Opening Day job in the big leagues, though perhaps there are some more promising opportunities out there.
White Sox Acquire Ricardo Pinto
The White Sox have acquired righty Ricardo Pinto from the Phillies, per a club announcement. International bonus pool money of an unknown quantity will head to the Phils in the swap.
Pinto becomes the latest hurler to join the White Sox bullpen depth chart, though the odds are that he’ll open the season in the minors. The 24-year-old did not show well in his first effort at the majors but has generally been effective in the minors.
Last year, Pinto worked to a 3.86 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 60 2/3 Triple-A innings. Though he mostly functioned as a starter in prior seasons, he split his time between the rotation and bullpen in 2017. It certainly seems as if Pinto’s future hopes lie in the relief corps.
Rays Release Daniel Hudson
The Rays have released right-hander Daniel Hudson, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Hudson had been acquired in the trade that sent Corey Dickerson to the Pirates earlier in the winter.
With the decision, the Rays will remain on the hook for Hudson’s $5.5MM salary — less the $1MM that the Pirates sent with him. That means the Tampa Bay organization could have saved a fair bit more by simply cutting Dickerson loose — though they also added young infielder Tristan Gray in that exchange.
Hudson, 31, may have started out in the Rays’ plans but turned in a wild spring. He coughed up nine earned runs on eight hits and five walks over his 5 1/3 Grapefruit League innings.
That showing came on the heels of a middling 2017 season in which Hudson contributed 61 2/3 innings of 4.38 ERA ball while compiling 9.6 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9. Hudson still worked in the 95 to 96 mph range and carried a 12.1% swinging-strike rate, but obviously the Pirates were hoping for better results when they gave him a two-year guarantee.
Braves Announce Roster Decisions
1:02pm: Atlanta will also keep Chris Stewart as a third catcher, per Robert Murray of Fan Rag (via Twitter). The veteran receiver had signed a non-guaranteed MLB deal over the winter.
9:52am: The Braves have announced a series of roster moves that set up the team’s Opening Day, 25-man unit. Third baseman Rio Ruiz has been optioned while non-roster players including righty Anibal Sanchez, outfielders Ezequiel Carrera and Danny Santana, and infielder Sean Kazmar were reassigned out of MLB camp.
These decisions reflect some shifts in thinking over recent days. It had seemed that Ruiz would open up with a shot at third base due to an injury to Johan Camargo. But the organization ended up snagging Ryan Flaherty, who now is set up to get some run at the hot corner in concert with utilityman Charlie Culberson.
Likewise, Santana long seemed a likely candidate to take a utility role from the bench, but the recent signing of Peter Bourjos seems to have bumped Santana from the immediate plans. As MLB.com’s Mark Bowman suggested earlier today on Twitter, Santana (along with Carrera) can be stashed at Triple-A to begin the season. That’s preferable to boosting either player to the 40-man and perhaps then facing an early call when it comes time to add a fifth starter. Instead, Lane Adams will now likely take an Opening Day job, barring an intervening acquisition, though the out-of-options outfielder could now be vulnerable when the roster pressure arises.
Speaking of that fifth starter’s spot, it seems the expectation remains that Sanchez will ultimately ascend to the rotation. For now, though, he’ll be assigned to Triple-A. If and when he does come up, he’ll need to be added to the 40-man roster.
While this slate of moves allows the Braves to avoid any final decisions — since control rights have been maintained over all the team’s options — that doesn’t mean that some moments of reckoning won’t soon arise. As we discussed in our review of the club’s offseason, this roster seems primed to undergo a fair bit of turnover at the start and over the course of the 2018 season.
Athletics Outright Raul Alcantara
The Athletics have outrighted right-hander Raul Alcantara to Triple-A, MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets. The out-of-options reliever will have the right to reject the assignment, having already been outrighted previously.
Alcantara, 25, had been in competition to take the club’s last bullpen slot. Instead, he’ll end up in the upper minors — either with the Oakland organization or, if he chooses, another team.
The results at the MLB level have been lacking for Alcantara, who has been knocked around in 46 1/3 total big league frames and surrendered six earned runs while recording just two strikeouts in his 8 2/3 innings this spring. But he has impressed in his time at Triple-A in the past two campaigns, working to a 1.82 ERA in 79 1/3 innings with 6.1 K/9 against 1.1 BB/9.
Nathan Eovaldi To Undergo Elbow Surgery
1:02pm: Eovaldi will indeed undergo surgery, the team announced. He might require a rehab timeline of six to eight weeks, Topkin suggests on Twitter.
Eovaldi will be replaced for the time being by righty Austin Pruitt.
12:12pm: The Rays have suffered a tough blow on the eve of Opening Day, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that righty Nathan Eovaldi will be down to open the season. “Loose bodies” in Eovaldi’s elbow will likely require surgery, per the report.
A potential timeline is not yet clear at this point, though Topkin suggests that Eovaldi is still expected to be a candidate to pitch for the organization at some point in the 2018 season. A two-time Tommy John recipient, Eovaldi does not appear to be at risk of that kind of consequential procedure. But it’s obviously concerning to hear that he may well end up under the knife yet again.
Eovaldi, 28, had joined the organization on a two-year, $4MM deal that allowed him to rehab in 2017. The hope all along was that he’d bounce back in the coming season, and his anticipated presence became a key facet of the team’s plans as he progressed. Instead, he’ll now join prospects Jose De Leon and Brent Honeywell — both of whom underwent TJ procedures this spring — on the shelf. The Rays traded away Jake Odorizzi earlier in the winter, further paring back the organization’s depth.
Tampa Bay has been plotting an interesting approach to their pitching staff, with intentions of using four starters and then filling the fifth starter’s role with a mix of relievers. Whether or not that’ll still be the plan remains to be seen. Clearly, though, the depth will be pressed. The three remaining starters — Chris Archer, Blake Snell, and Jake Faria — will need to be supplemented, with Matt Andriese seeming a likely candidate. That’ll still mean finding another reliever capable of giving some length, with recent trade acquisition Anthony Banda among the 40-man options that had been slated to open the year on optional assignment.
Needless to say, it’s brutal news for Eovaldi, who was on the cusp of launching his comeback. He had recorded a 14:1 K/BB ratio and allowed only six earned runs in 16 2/3 innings this spring. The six-year MLB veteran has long tantalized with his skill, including an upper-nineties heater, but has never quite fully turned the corner at the game’s highest level. In 739 career innings, Eovaldi owns a 4.21 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.
Nationals Sign Carlos Torres
March 31st: Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports tweets that Torres will earn $1.5MM if called up to the majors, with $1MM available in incentives. Beginning May 15th, Torres can request his release every 15 days if he is not on the Nats roster.
March 28th: The Nationals have signed right-handed reliever Carlos Torres to a minor league contract, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. The deal includes multiple opt-out dates for Torres, Cotillo adds.
[RELATED: Nationals Depth Chart]
The 35-year-old Torres only spent a few days on the open market after Cleveland released him Saturday. Torres joined the Tribe on a minors pact in the offseason, and he then yielded seven earned runs on 14 hits and six walks (with nine strikeouts) in 10 1/3 spring innings. That subpar performance, not to mention the Indians’ impressive cast of relievers, sealed his fate with them.
While Torres struggled during his brief stint with the Indians, he has been a useful major leaguer during his career. Since debuting in 2009, Torres has seen action with four teams (the White Sox, Rockies, Mets and Brewers) and pitched to a 4.00 ERA/4.17 FIP across 491 innings. Torres has been quite durable along the way, having logged at least 70 innings in four of the previous five seasons. He racked up 72 2/3 frames of 4.21 ERA/4.89 FIP pitching last year in Milwaukee, where he notched 6.94 K/9, 4.09 BB/9 and a 45.7 percent groundball rate.
Orioles Return Rule 5 Pick Jose Mesa Jr. To Yankees
The Orioles announced today that Rule 5 pick Jose Mesa Jr. has been returned to the Yankees organization. He’ll report to Triple-A.
Mesa, a 24-year-old righty, had recently been designated for assignment. Having cleared waivers, he’ll head back to the organization that selected him in the 24th round of the 2012 draft.
Baltimore had considered Mesa for a bullpen spot along with two other Rule 5 pitchers, but elected against keeping him. Now, he’ll wait for an opportunity in a loaded New York pen.
Mesa did not turn in a compelling showing this spring, but has shown his share of promise in the minors. Last year, he pitched to a 1.93 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 84 innings over 29 appearances — including eight starts — at the High-A and Double-A levels.
Tigers Sign Jairo Labourt
The Tigers have signed lefty Jairo Labourt to a minor-league deal. He had bounced around the waiver wire this spring and will end up back where he started, in the Detroit organization.
Labourt, 24, has long struggled with free passes, doesn’t excel particularly at generating swings and misses, and doesn’t draw a noteworthy volume of grounders. But he has traditionally succeeded in the minors at generating a hefty volume of infield fly balls while also allowing few home runs.
Whether or not those skills will really translate to the majors is, of course, an open question. Labourt did reach the bigs briefly last year with the Tigers, allowing seven walks and throwing five wild pitches in his six innings. But he also turned in 66 1/3 solid innings over three minor-league levels, working to a 2.17 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9.