Minor MLB Transactions: 8/22/21

The latest minor moves from around baseball…

• Cesar Valdez has cleared outright waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk, per an Orioles team announcement. The righty had been designated for assignment on Friday. After signing a minor league deal in the offseason, the 36-year-old earned his way back into the majors for a second consecutive season. Valdez even served as the Orioles’ closer for a time, racking up eight saves. However, he wasn’t able to maintain his hot start to the year. His 2.50 ERA through 18 innings was then complemented with an ERA of 7.90 over his next 27 1/3. In total, he has a season ERA of 5.76 over 45 1/3 innings. He’ll now get some work in at the Triple-A level and try to make his way back to the bigs again.
• Phillies right-hander Mauricio Llovera has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, per a team announcement. The 25-year-old had been designated for assignment on Friday. This will allow the Phillies to stash an arm in the minors that has shown enough promise to be considered a prospect of note in recent years. (FanGraphs had him as high as the 11th best prospect in the Philadelphia system, prior to the 2019 and 2020 seasons.) Llovera has struggled in the majors so far, but in a very small sample size of just 7 2/3 innings between 2020 and 2021. At Triple-A this season, he has an ERA of 4.60 over 29 1/3 innings.