In case you haven’t noticed, transactions aren’t exactly plentiful since the league shut down Spring Training. There have still been a few batches of moves in the past few days, however, with a trio of Central Division clubs sending some players to their minor league ranks.
- The Brewers optioned corner infielder Ryon Healy to Triple-A, per the MLB.com transactions log. The 28-year-old slugger’s 2019 season with the Mariners came to an end when he underwent August hip surgery, and he opted for free agency in the winter when Seattle removed him from its 40-man roster (as was his right as a player with three-plus years of service time). Healy signed a one-year deal with the Brewers and, assuming he’s healthy, should factor into Milwaukee’s mix at both corner-infield slots and as a right-handed bench bat. He notched a .282/.313/.475 slash through 888 plate appearances with the A’s in his first two big league seasons but never matched that production in Seattle (.236/.280/.423 in 711 plate appearances). Healy was healthy enough to play in 10 spring games, but he went 4-for-23 with a walk and seven strikeouts in 24 trips to the dish, which didn’t exactly help him stand out from a crowded group of infield options. Milwaukee also optioned catcher David Freitas and infielders Mark Mathias and Ronny Rodriguez.
- Catcher Zack Collins was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte by the White Sox. The former No. 10 overall pick out of Miami, Collins is now blocked long-term by Yasmani Grandal at catcher. James McCann’s presence on the roster eliminates the possibility of Collins serving as a backup, and the organization would surely prefer him to get everyday at-bats rather than toiling away on the bench anyhow. Collins could potentially see some increased reps at first base down the road, particularly if Jose Abreu transitions to more of a DH role in 2021 and beyond. Collins struggled with a .186/.307/.349 slash in 102 MLB plate appearances in his debut last season, also striking out at an alarming 38.2 percent clip. But he ripped Triple-A pitching apart with a .282/.403/.548 slash, 19 home runs and a massive 17 percent walk rate in 367 trips to the plate with Charlotte. Chicago also optioned fellow catcher Yermin Mercedes and right-handed reliever Jose Ruiz to Triple-A.
- The Tigers announced this week that catcher Jake Rogers was optioned to Triple-A Toledo. That move shouldn’t come as a surprise, particularly after Detroit signed longtime Yankees backstop Austin Romine earlier this winter. The Tigers hope that Rogers can be the catcher of the future, but he floundered in 128 big league plate appearances upon debuting last year. Rogers is only 24 and only had 191 career plate appearances in Triple-A when he was summoned to the Majors last year, so there’s still plenty of hope — particularly considering the manner in which he ripped through Double-A competition last year (.302/.429/.535 — 179 wRC+). Tigers general manager Al Avila suggested this winter that Rogers needs some more seasoning in Triple-A, though, so he’ll get that while Romine and Grayson Greiner comprise the catching tandem at the MLB level.
amazing that the Sox dedicated 5 40 man spots to players who only play catcher. i mean i know all are pretty solid, but seems a bit wastefull in a way.
Zavala is not long for the 40-man roster. Probably waiting for better chance to sneak him through waivers.
There are plenty of teams looking for catching. They can make a deal with at least 2 of them
id feel like if that was in the works it woudlve already happened though
Waiting until after rosters are mostly set, and people start making final cuts. They may see someone they like in cut downs. Or they may need to add a guy to 40-man on minor league deal. In any case, I think it’s a matter of when, not if.
If McCann plays well this year; do the Sox realistically try to extend him and use Collins as trade bait for a RP/SP or do they flip the script and try to trade McCann to allow Collins to be Grandal’s backup? I think the latter due to cost constraints.
I really don’t think the White Sox see Collins as a catcher. Most likely going to be moved to a 1B/DH role to compliment Abreu until Vaughn replaces him (or they sign a Veteran). If he manages to fix some of his contact woes he should hit enough for the position.
Going back to AAA gives him one last chance to prove he can catch before they pull the plug on that experiment.
To answer your question, if they are competing, they will probably keep all 3. If they aren’t, McCann could be on the move, but neither McCann nor Collins at this point would bring back a pitcher of note. Might get a projectable high A arm or a dependable middle reliever at best..
McCannon didn’t have good defensive stats; i don’t think he gets extended. IMO
Just trade McCann for pitching already , maybe a package for archer
@1738hotlinebling
Why would they do that? Archer isn’t a good pitcher. Plus, they don’t need a SP right now. They need to find out if Kopech, Cease, and Lopez can stick in the rotation long term. The last thing they need to do is block one of them with a turd pitcher.
Archer ugh!
perhaps the biggest travesty of all in this delay is that we will have wait longer to see the new Brewers uniforms in regular season action.
You spelt Padres wrong
they’re too brown for me to be honest, but its a solid change of pace at least
Padres Pinstripes are Da Bomb!
You haven’t seen them in action yet.
The delay in the regular season has one small benefit. while it’s not intrusively large, the Nike swoosh on the shirt is so unneeded. I truly don’t believe old owners like papa Steinbrenner or Hawley would have let it happen. Charlie O though would have agreed to picture off his mule on the back instead of numbers if he thought merchandise sales would have increased.
People really still complaining about the Nike patch? It’s a small logo, makes do difference if it’s there or not
No one should be being optioned during this period. All roster moves should be frozen. I’m guessing this means some players lose out on protections/pay by these decisions.
40-man roster players I believe still get the same benefits/pay/etc. right now. So optioning them wouldn’t change anything
there are only supposed to be 26 men on the ML roster to start the season anyway, so these moves will have to happen eventually.
Agreed…..smells funny to me.
I wouldn’t mind the Royals picking up Dean , he’s a hard player same with Sosa
Graynor doesnt have the backup spot locked yet. Haase has looked good in camp.
Haase has done well. But Rogers looked better than all of them. Rogers also has better mlb stats than haase has in career.
I’d rather they send Collins down than to let him rot on the bench all year. By sending both Collins and Mercedes down, you can squash any rumors of McCann getting traded (not that it matters right now with the season being shut down for at least a couple months).