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Archives for May 2019

Cardinals Move Michael Wacha To Bullpen

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The Cardinals have decided to move struggling righty Michael Wacha to the bullpen, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch was among those to report on Twitter.

Wacha, 27, just hasn’t turned the corner this year after turning in good results during an injury-shortened 2018 campaign. Through nine starts in the present season, he carries a 5.59 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 5.6 BB/9 over 46 2/3 frames.

It’s certainly hard to ignore the downturn in Wacha’s overall showing. He’s working with less velocity than ever before (93.0 mph average fastball). His swinging-strike (8.1%) and soft contact (11.9%) rates are sitting at career-low levels. Wacha has been out of the zone on nearly three of every five pitches, much lower than his career average, and has already allowed as many homers (9) this year as he did in nearly twice as many innings in 2018.

The timing isn’t great for Wacha. He’s earning $6.35MM this season in his final run through arbitration. Unless he can engineer a stunning turnaround over the final two-thirds of the season, Wacha’s prospective free agent opportunities will be more of the bounceback than the multi-year variety.

It isn’t yet known how the Cards will fill the open rotation slot, but there are options at Triple-A. Austin Gomber has been throwing quite well and could make for a sensible choice, though he needs to clear a few health hurdles first. Alex Reyes has been tough to square up but is also giving out too many walks; he’ll surely be called back to the majors at some point, but may spend a bit more time working out the kinks at the highest level of the minors.

Carlos Gomez Hires MVP Sports Group

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Veteran outfielder Carlos Gomez has hired MVP Sports Group to represent him, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). Gomez had been with the Boras Corporation, which negotiated his extension with the Brewers and various ensuing free agent contracts.

Gomez, 33, has been a fixture in the majors since 2008, his first full season in the bigs. He debuted the year prior with the Mets, but ended up being shipped to the Twins in a major swap that altered the fates of both franchises. Gomez did not fully hit his stride until years later, when he broke out with the Brewers and enjoyed a brief spell as one of the game’s most productive outfielders.

Now, Gomez is back in New York. He inked a minors deal with the Mets over the winter and recently joined the MLB roster when an opportunity opened due to injuries. He’s playing well out of the gates, with three base knocks (including one well-timed home run) and three walks in twenty plate appearances.

There’s no reason to think that Gomez will ever revisit his days as a star center fielder. But he was a quality all-around MLB roster piece as recently as 2017, when he slashed .255/.340/.462 with the Rangers. If he can bounce back from a rough ’18 campaign and carve out a place on the Mets roster, Gomez could again be seen as a solid outfield target when he returns to the open market this coming winter.

As always, you can keep up to date on representation matches with MLBTR’s Agency Database.

Diamondbacks Place David Peralta On 10-Day IL

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The Diamondbacks have placed outfielder David Peralta on the 10-day injured list, per a club announcement. He’s said to be dealing with inflammation in his right AC joint.

Coming onto the MLB roster to fill in is outfielder Tim Locastro. He’ll join Kevin Cron, whose previously reported promotion is now official. To create an additional roster spot, the club optioned righty Jimmie Sherfy.

The 31-year-old Peralta has followed up on his strong 2018 showing with an excellent .309/.357/.524 slash in 2017 plate appearances this year. He has also been dealing with some shoulder problems of late. Evidently, the issue progressed to the point that it was decided he needed to take at least a brief respite.

Mets Sign Matt Kemp

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6:07pm: The deal has been announced. Kemp is headed to the club’s spring facility at Port St. Lucie.

4:16pm: The Mets have agreed to a minors pact with veteran outfielder Matt Kemp, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). Terms of the deal aren’t known; it’s pending a physical. Kemp opened the season with the Reds but was released recently.

It’s rather surprising to see the 34-year-old land in New York, though a spate of injuries has challenged the organization’s depth situation. Veterans Carlos Gomez and Rajai Davis had been camped at Triple-A to begin the year but were brought up to the majors to help fill in.

Kemp got off to a brutal start in Cincinnati, slashing just .200/.210/.283 with one home run (and just a single walk) in 62 plate appearances. He’s not much of a defender at this point of his career, so he needs to hit a fair bit to be a useful roster piece.

There’s certainly an argument to be made that Kemp would fit best on an American League team. For the Mets, though, this move is mostly about filling in the upper-minors outfield mix. It is still possible they’ll end up finding cause to bring Kemp up. Though he’s obviously no longer the star he was earlier in his career, Kemp did turn in a strong .290/.338/.481 slash in 506 plate appearances last year.

Athletics Place Khris Davis On 10-Day IL

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This move had been expected, but it still took some time. The Athletics announced today that slugger Khris Davis is going to the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 22nd.

In the announcement, the club cited a “left hip/oblique contusion.” It still isn’t known just how long Davis will be down, but the hope remains it won’t be an exceedingly long absence.

In his stead, outfielder Skye Bolt will join the active roster. The 25-year-old came up briefly earlier this year. He has been turning in big numbers at Triple-A, with a .311/.379/.571 slash and six home runs through 132 plate appearances.

Twins Designate Austin Adams, Recall Zack Littell

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The Twins announced today that they have designated right-hander Austin Adams for assignment. His roster spot will go to fellow righty Zack Littell, who was recalled.

Adams, 32, only got into a pair of games for the Twins. Unfortunately, he was knocked around yesterday. Beyond the difficult outing, the fact that Adams threw 43 pitches likely sealed his fate.

The 23-year-old Littell makes his way up for the first time this year after getting a few looks in 2018. He carries a 4.19 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 43 Triple-A innings.

Brewers Reinstate, Option Jimmy Nelson

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In something of a surprise move, the Brewers announced today that they have reinstated Jimmy Nelson from the injured list and optioned him to Triple-A. He is finally back to health after a long layoff but won’t come straight up to the majors.

It seems that Nelson wasn’t deemed quite ready for the MLB rotation. It could be that the team also prefers to option him to maintain roster flexibility, though it’s tough to imagine they’d hold him down if he looked to be in top form. Nelson allowed ten earned in 19 rehab frames at Triple-A, posting a 22:9 K/BB ratio.

There had been some suggestion that Nelson could be brought back in a relief capacity if the club decided not to plug him in as a starter. Instead, he’ll keep working at the club’s top affiliate — presumably as a starter, though that’s not yet clear.

It’s surely a tough pill to swallow for the soon-to-be-30-year-old pitcher, who was closing in on a return to the big leagues after missing all of 2018 following labrum surgery. Before his injury, he had turned in a breakout 2017 effort, with 175 1/3 innings of 3.49 ERA ball on the back of 10.2 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.

Nelson entered the present season with 4.107 years of MLB service and has accrued 57 days this year while working back. That leaves him shy of topping five full years of service, which occurs at 172 days, though he’ll pass that bar rather quickly if and when he is called up.

That’s not to suggest that the Brewers are acting with service-time motivations. The club spent $3.7MM last year and this year to retain the rights to Nelson and would surely prefer to see that investment turn into MLB results.

Marlins Designate Isaac Galloway For Assignment

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The Marlins announced today that outfielder Isaac Galloway has been designate for assignment. That creates 40-man space for the addition of Bryan Holaday, who is coming onto the roster as Chad Wallach hits the injured list with a concussion.

Galloway, 29, is a career-long Marlin who finally got his first chance at the majors last year. He performed well enough, but still ended up being bumped from the 40-man just before the start of camp. When he was brought back up to the majors earlier this year, things didn’t go quite so well.

In 54 plate appearances in the majors in 2019, Galloway carries an ugly .167/.167/.185 slash without a single walk. He has also drawn just two free passes while racking up 31 strikeouts in 70 plate appearances at Triple-A, though he has delivered strong power output (five home runs, .515 SLG) at the highest level of the minors.

Mariners Release Tyler Danish

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The Mariners have released right-hander Tyler Danish from his minor league contract, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports (via Twitter). He’d been in his first year with the organization.

Danish, 24, was the White Sox’ second-round pick back in the 2013 draft and was long considered to be one of the more promising arms in Chicago’s system. However, his results as a starter continually deteriorated as he rose through the minors, and the White Sox eventually moved him into a bullpen role last year. Danish found some success as a reliever, pitching to a 3.01 ERA with 6.7 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 0.75 HR/9 and a 50.2 percent grounder rate in 71 1/3 innings last season.

Solid bottom-line results notwithstanding, the Sox outrighted Danish off the 40-man roster late in the 2018 campaign, and he elected free agency following the season. The Mariners added him on a minor league deal in January, hoping that he’d be able to build on last year’s success, but the season has been catastrophic for Danish. In 15 2/3 innings, he’s surrendered 44 hits and walked nine batters en route to a 21.26 ERA. Danish wasn’t placed on the injured list at any point, so it seems as though he’s healthy. While his early struggles are surely cause for some degree of alarm, he’s still only a few months removed from a solid showing in Triple-A and could land another minor league deal elsewhere in search of a fresh start.

Marlins To Select Bryan Holaday

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2:08pm: Mish tweets that Wallach has been diagnosed with a concussion, which prompted Holaday’s return to the club. A 40-man roster move will still need to be made.

2:01pm: The Marlins will select the contract of veteran catcher Bryan Holaday prior to this weekend’s series against the Nationals, Craig Mish of SiriusXM reports (via Twitter). Miami has a full 40-man roster and will thus need to make a corresponding move.

There’s no known injury issue with either Jorge Alfaro or Chad Wallach at the moment, and Alfaro has already been listed in today’s lineup for the Marlins. Wallach has been reasonably productive in a limited sample, so it seems unlikely that he’d be optioned out in favor of a veteran like Holaday. In all likelihood, an injury or perhaps a trip to the bereavement list could be the reasoning behind the move, but the Miami organization has yet to make a formal announcement.

Holaday, 31, is no stranger to the Marlins organization, having appeared in 61 games for the Fish last season. He hit just .205/.261/.258 through 166 plate appearances in his time as a Marlin but has had a better showing so far in Triple-A: .247/.385/.387 with more walks (17) than strikeouts (12) in 118 plate appearances. Holaday has never been much of a threat at the plate, evidenced by a lifetime .234/.274/.320 slash in the Majors, but he’s a veteran of seven MLB campaigns who has a career 32 percent caught-stealing rate.

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