Catching up on some minor league moves from around baseball…
- The Astros have signed righty Michael Kelly to a minor league pact, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Kelly was the 48th overall pick of the Padres in the 2011 draft, but he hasn’t made it to the bigs thus far. Along with the Padres, the 28-year-old appeared in the minors with the Orioles through 2018, recording a 5.35 ERA over 607 2/3 innings. Kelly’s most recent professional action came in 2019 with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League.
Earlier updates:
- The Dodgers signed right-handers Kevin Quackenbush, Austin Bibens-Dirkx, and Aaron Wilkerson to minor league contracts earlier this month, and all are on the roster for the team’s Triple-A affiliate. Quackenbush is the most experienced of the trio, with 207 2/3 MLB innings with the Padres and Reds from 2014-18, and the 32-year-old is back in the Dodgers organization after previously pitching for Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2019. Bibens-Dirkx was a member of several organizations before catching on with the Rangers in 2016 and posting a 5.27 ERA over 114 1/3 innings from 2017-18. Wilkerson appeared in parts of three Major League seasons with the Brewers from 2017-19, posting a 6.88 ERA over 35 1/3 frames of work.
- The Indians signed right-hander Matt Koch to a minor league deal back in April. Koch pitched for the Yakult Swallows in 2020, posting a 7.88 ERA over 16 innings with the Japanese club. Formerly a member of the Diamondbacks, Koch pitched 86 2/3 of his 125 1/3 career Major League innings in 2018, when he had a 4.15 ERA/4.85 ERA while starting 14 of his 19 games for Arizona. For his overall career, Koch has a 4.88 ERA at the big league level.
I’m glad the Dodgers are doing something about the bullpen. They need something other then a bunch of rookies who can’t live under pressure yet
Never know, one of these journeymen might help. But who would have thought a few weeks ago that we’d be talking Bibens-Dirkx and Quackenbush as strategic pick-ups for LA in early May?
You have to wonder if MLB shouldn’t start thinking about canceling the middle game of any upcoming standard 3-game series just to head off some of these injuries. I love baseball, but trotting out these AA and AAA teams is getting ridiculous. Some of the injuries to the true stars of the game could be harmful to the sport and it could be jeopardizing careers unnecessarily across the board.
No.
Mlb should have eased back players this year after their start stop start shortened season last year.
Should have shot for 100 games or something.
How would shortening the season affect injuries at the beginning of the season?
More time to prepare for the upcoming season.
100 games you give them time to prepare for “spring training” and games starting later in the year instead of regularly scheduled like any other year.
Injuries aren’t funny.
Perhaps not, but your reasoning is.
Ok how some of these guys to learn how to pitch and not just throw. Maybe they do stuff in the off-season. Before you all get mad at me back in the 80s and before most players had to work and nor be idle in the off time. They pitched more innings and got hurt less
It’s funny to suggest the mlb should pushed back report dates, Spring training, and the start of the season in 2021 and reduced total games played after an awkward year in 2020?
Cancel games due to injury? What world do you live in? That’s the breaks, it’s called depth, every team deal with injury why the f*** should the league cancel a Dodger game due to lack of available players? Come on bro. The stupidest idea I have ever heard. Sure pitch that to the owners, lets cancel games and revenue cause we have a few injury lmao wow!!
@em650r
I’m surprised the Dodgers didn’t try to sign Shane Greene, 1.5 million is a steal even if you get 3.5ERA and 3.7FIP out of him.
MLB should have the Rosters at 30 players not 26 to give some people a day off. Yes last year was a short season and this year it’s back to normal and guys bodies are getting injured and some players look tired out there and it’s not even summer time.
I don’t understand this perspective – and I don’t mean this as a personal criticism. Major leaguers have played 162-game seasons for several decades. Last year was a shorter season, in some ways a chance to rest up. I don’t see how going back to their usual routine would be the cause of all these injuries.
Some pitchers have said they’re better off throwing everyday.
Maybe the short season, sandwiched by periods without gyms, was enough to atrophy the body and muscle memory a little.
I’m only guessing though.
2020 threw a wrench in a lot of things for the players.
Start spring training
Stop all team training cause covid
Restart after long delay
Less games played
Less rest days
No all star break rest period for players
Season ended in November instead of October.
Normality for these players was thrown out the window in 2020.
May take a year or two till things are back to normal.