Minor MLB Transactions: 9/16/21

The latest minor moves from around baseball….

• The Athletics announced that Burch Smith has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A, after clearing waivers.  Smith was designated for assignment two days ago, and while he could have elected free agency (as a player who has been previously outrighted in his career), the 31-year-old will remain in the Oakland organization.  Smith has a 5.40 ERA over 43 1/3 relief innings this season, as while Smith has cut down on the home runs and walks that plagued him earlier in his career, he is missing far fewer bats than usual in 2021.  Smith has only a 14.9% strikeout rate this season, after posting a 23.1% strikeout rate over his first 147 2/3 innings in the majors.
• The Nationals announced that infielder Adrian Sanchez cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A.  Like Smith, Sanchez also could have declined the assignment since he was previously outrighted, as the Nats cut him from their 40-man last October.  Sanchez was DFA’ed earlier his week after hitting .257/.316/.314 over 38 plate appearances for Washington, all since being added to the active roster following the trade deadline.  Though he just turned 31 last month, Sanchez is already in his 14th season in the Nationals organization, appearing in 106 Major League games since the start of the 2017 season.