2:10 pm: The Angels announced that Wallach has elected free agency.
1:05 pm: The latest outright assignments from around baseball…
- The Angels outrighted catcher Chad Wallach to Triple-A, as per the club’s MLB.com transactions page. It isn’t known if he’ll accept the assignment or not, but since this isn’t the first time Wallach has been outrighted, he can opt to reject the Angels’ assignment in favor of free agency. Wallach was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers in August 2021, and he played in 12 games with Anaheim this season when Max Stassi and Kurt Suzuki were on the injured list. Best known for his time with the Marlins, Wallach has appeared in parts of the last six MLB seasons, and has a reputation as a solid defensive catcher and game-caller. At the plate, Wallach has hit .198/.265/.296 over 271 PA and 90 games in the majors.
- The Mariners announced that Drew Ellis was outrighted off their 40-man roster, and the infielder was assigned to Triple-A after clearing waivers. This is first time Ellis has been outrighted, and since he also lacks the prerequisite MLB service time or seven seasons in the minors, he cannot elect free agency. The 26-year-old came to Seattle via waiver claim off the Diamondbacks roster in June, though he only appeared in a single MLB game in a Mariners uniform. Making his Major League debut with the D’Backs in 2021, Ellis has played in 35 games in the Show, with a .482 OPS over an even 100 plate appearances. Arizona selected Ellis in the second round of the 2017 draft, and his minor league numbers improved after a promotion to Triple-A in 2021, but his production declined again this past season. Ellis brings some infield depth with his experience at first, second, and third base during his minor league career.
Hey Mark, I have a question. Is it possible to see players such as Ellis who are outrighted but can’t elect minor league free agency be released during the offseason? Noticed a lot of players like this such as Ryan Weiss, Paul Campbell, Drew Ellis, Kodi Whitley, and Kramer Robertson.
It’s not especially common, but the player can ask the organization for his release if he feels so inclined. Usually, the players who are outrighted at the end of the season are eligible for minor league free agency anyways.
Guys like Drew Ellis come and go.
He may be back to the Show with the Mariners someday, but don’t hold your breath.
I never heard of any of these guys.
Not relevant to this news, but do suspended players (Tatis, Bauer) count against the 40 man roster after the World Series/40 man roster cuts?
I’m confident they are not. Injured players are moved from the IR to the roster, though.
Not surprised at Wallach. He’s looking at another minors deal this off season so he might was well pick which organization he feels gives him the best shot at a big league deal.
I watch every Halo game and I don’t know who these people are. Shame on me I guess.
Wallach has elected free agency. That’s smart, because for the first time in forever the Angels have a depth of catchers in their system.