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Minor MLB Transactions: 4/23/23

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A few minor transactions around the baseball world have occurred recently:

  • Per his profile on MLB.com, right-hander Trevor Hildenberger has been released by the Giants. Hildenberger, who signed a minor league deal with the Giants back in December, last appeared in the majors in 2021 with the Mets. In that two appearance stint he allowed four runs on three hits and three walks in 2 1/3 innings while notching four strikeouts. Prior to his stint with the Mets, Hildenberger had been part of the Twins bullpen from 2017-2019 after the club selected him in the 22nd round of the 2014 draft. As a member of the Twins, Hildenberger pitched to a 5.35 ERA with a 4.08 FIP in 131 1/3 innings of work. In the minors, Hildenberger sports a career 4.43 ERA in 85 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level.
  • The Dodgers recently released right-hander Rubby De La Rosa according to Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. De La Rosa, 34, has amassed 421 1/3 innings in the big leagues across seven seasons, but hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2017. With a 4.49 ERA (91 ERA+) and 4.55 FIP in the big leagues, De La Rosa headed to Japan to pitch for the Yoimuri Giants from 2019-2022 before signing a minors deal with the Dodgers back in February. With a 2.53 ERA in 124 1/3 innings of work out of the bullpen in Japan, it’s certainly possible another club could be interested in giving De La Rosa a shot on a minors deal.
  • The Mariners recently signed left-hander Rob Kaminsky and right-hander Braden Shipley to minor league deals, per Hilburn-Trenkle. Kaminsky has five career games in the big leagues under his belt, all of which came during the 2020 season with the Cardinals. The lefty pitched to a solid 1.93 ERA over 4 2/3 innings of work, though he has amassed just 41 2/3 innings of work in the minor leagues since. Shipley, meanwhile, has 100 career innings in the big leagues across the 2016-2018 seasons with the Diamondbacks, though he struggled to a 5.49 ERA over those 26 games (14 starts). A former first-round draft pick, Shipley returns to the Mariners after pitching for their Double-A affiliate last season, with a 3.79 ERA in 54 2/3 innings of work.

Pirates Select Drew Maggi

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The Pirates announced today that they have selected the contract of infielder Drew Maggi following the placement of outfielder Bryan Reynolds on the bereavement list. To clear space on the 40-man roster, first baseman Ji Man Choi was transferred to the 60-day IL.

Reynolds has been off to a hot start this season, slashing .294/.319/.553 (125 wRC+) in 22 games this season amid rumors of extension negotiations that have spilled into the season. All that will be put on hold, of course, while Reynolds is away from the team. Players on the bereavement list can miss a minimum of three games and a maximum of seven games, meaning Reynolds can return at the earliest against the Dodgers on April 27 and at the latest against the Rays on May 2.

Choi’s transfer to the 60-day IL comes as little surprise after the Pirates announced that the first baseman would miss about two months with a strained Achilles tendon. Choi, 32 in May, struggled to open his Pirates career prior to the injury, slashing just .125/.125/.344 (16 wRC+) in nine games with 15 strikeouts in just 32 plate appearances. Prior to this season, Choi has long been a solid, consistent bat at the big league level, with a career 114 wRC+ and a 120 wRC+ as a member of the Rays from 2018-2022. Choi was acquired from the Rays by the Pirates ahead of the non-tender deadline this past November in exchange for right-hander Jack Hartman.

Maggi, 34 next month, is a journeyman who has yet to make his major league debut. Drafted by the Pirates in the fifteenth round of the 2010 draft, Maggi has since played in thirteen seasons in the minors for six different organizations, with a .254/.355/.378 slash line in 494 games at the Triple-A level. Maggi has experience at all four infield spots, both outfield corners, and has even pitched two innings during his minor league career. That Maggi is now set to get a big league opportunity after over a decade in the minors is certainly a heartwarming moment, and the Pirates shared a video of him receiving the news this morning.

Guardians Select Logan Allen

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According to Zack Meisel of The Athletic, the Guardians have selected the contract of left-hander Logan Allen, who will start this afternoon’s game against the Marlins. To make room on the active roster, infielder Tyler Freeman was optioned to Triple-A, while catching prospect Bryan Lavastida was designated for assignment to make room for Allen on the 40-man roster.

Allen, 24, is the Guardians’ eighth best prospect according to MLB Pipeline. His promotion is no surprise, as the Guardians had already announced their plans to start the lefty today earlier this week. A second round pick by the Guardians in the 2020 draft, Allen sports plus control to go with velocity in the low to mid 90s on his fastball, a slider, and a changeup that’s considered to be his best pitch. After posting a 3.33 ERA in 73 innings of work at the Double-A level last season, Allen earned a promotion to Triple-A, though the young lefty struggled badly in 59 2/3 innings at the level, posting a 6.49 ERA while walking 10.7% of batters faced and striking out just 27%.

Those numbers have all improved drastically in the early going this season, however, as Allen has allowed two earned runs in three starts (14 1/3 innings) in his return to Triple-A this season. That showing has earned Allen his first big league opportunity, though with an off-day on Thursday allowing the Guardians to go back to a four starters for the next turn through the rotation, it’s possible this is merely a spot start for the youngster.

Freeman, 24 next month, heads to Triple-A in Allen’s place. He had been called up earlier in the week and appeared in just two games during his short stint with the big league club, though he did well in his eight plate appearances, recording a single, a double, and a walk without striking out. Freeman got a slightly longer cup of coffee in the big leagues last season, though that was less successful, as he slashed just .247/.314/.286 (76 wRC+) in 86 plate appearances. He’ll now head to Triple-A to serve as infield depth alongside Brayan Rocchio.

Lavastida, 24, ranked as one of the Guardians’ top 30 prospects as recently as last season, per MLB Pipeline. Unfortunately, he has endured multiple seasons of offensive woes in the upper levels of the minors at this point. Since his promotion to Double-A in 2021, Lavastida has slashed just .225/.300/.357 in 86 games at the level, while his Triple-A slash line of .217/.307/.368 in 46 games is hardly better. The Guardians now have seven days to trade, waive, or release Lavastida. As an upper-level catcher with options remaining, he figures to be an attractive option to clubs on the waiver wire, who may hope a change of scenery could help him rediscover the offensive success that he had in the lower levels of the minors.

Rays Activate Zach Eflin, DFA Hector Perez

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According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays have activated right-hander Zach Eflin from the 15-day IL to start this afternoon’s game against the White Sox. In a corresponding move, the club has designated right-hander Hector Perez for assignment.

Eflin’s return will help fortify a Rays rotation currently wracked with injuries. In addition to Tyler Glasnow having yet to make his debut this season thanks to an oblique strain, breakout left-hander Jeffrey Springs saw his season end last week when it was announced he is set to undergo Tommy John surgery. Eflin, who signed a three-year, $40MM deal to join the Rays over the offseason, had a 3.27 ERA and 2.63 FIP in two starts before being placed on the 15-day injured list due to back tightness. The ailment clearly proved to be minor, as Eflin is returning after a backdated minimum stay on the IL.

That’s good news for the Rays, who now have another reliable arm in the rotation alongside Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, and prospect Taj Bradley. With Bradley and Rasmussen set to pitch the next two days, the Rays will need another starter on Wednesday, though it’s possible they could turn to a bullpen game led by lefty Josh Fleming, who opened the season in the rotation but has since been bumped to the bullpen after struggling in his first start of the season.

As for Perez, the 26-year-old right-hander was selected just yesterday and did not end up making an appearance during his stint on the roster. Perez has made just one appearance in his big league career, a 1 2/3 inning outing with the Blue Jays in 2020 during which he surrendered two runs on three hits and three walks. Perez has long struggled with his control, as evidenced by his career 14.4% walk rate. Those control problems have likely contributed to his struggles to return to a major league mound over the past three seasons. The Rays will now have seven days to trade, waive, or release Perez.

Twins Recall Bailey Ober

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The Twins have recalled right-hander Bailey Ober to start this afternoon’s game against the Nationals, per a team announcement. To make room for Ober on the active roster, right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson has been optioned to Triple-A.

Ober, 27, has yet to pitch in the majors this season but impressed in 11 starts last year, pitching to a 3.21 ERA (120 ERA+) with a 2.92 FIP in 56 innings of work. Ober struck out 22.5% of batters faced while walking a microscopic 4.8%, though not all of his success appears that sustainable; just 4.8% of Ober’s fly balls last season left the yard for home runs in spite of a 11.7% barrel rate. More fly balls leaving the yard could be a significant issue for Ober, for whom fly balls made up 51.2% of his total balls in play in the majors last year.

Following Kenta Maeda’s return from Tommy John surgery and the club’s acquisition of Pablo Lopez from the Marlins, Ober ultimately found himself pushed out of the rotation to open the season. He’s seen great success in Triple-A to start the year, however, with a 2.55 ERA and 2.71 FIP in 17 2/3 innings of work so far in 2023. That performance, combined with the need for a spot starter in today’s game, led to Ober’s first call to the majors this season, which should give the Twins additional time to determine if Maeda will require a stint on the 15-day injured list after being hit with a line drive in Thursday’s game against the Red Sox. Should Maeda require a trip to the IL, Ober figures to slot into the big league rotation for longer than today’s spot start.

Woods Richardson, meanwhile, heads back to Triple-A after making just one appearance, a 4 2/3 inning relief outing yesterday during which the 22-year-old righty surrendered five runs on seven hits and three walks. The youngster is considered the club’s 8th best prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, and was viewed as a top 100 prospect in the sport as recently as 2021. Despite his prospect pedigree, it seems unlikely the youngster will factor into Minnesota’s rotation plans this season, given the club’s considerable depth at the position. For now he will head back to Triple-A, where he’s posted a 3.30 ERA in 43 2/3 career innings, and wait for his next big league opportunity.

Latest On The Red Sox Rotation

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Rotation plans for the Red Sox in the near term have come into focus recently, as manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MassLive’s Chris Cotillo) that right-hander Tanner Houck is likely to start the club’s game against the Orioles on Wednesday, though that could change if he’s needed out of the bullpen before then.

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as reports ahead of the activation of righty Brayan Bello from the 15-day IL last week indicated that the club could go with a six-man rotation at least through the off-day on this coming Thursday before transitioning to a five-man rotation that would likely leave Houck as the odd man out. Still, Cotillo goes on to note that the club does have other options: righty Nick Pivetta could be moved to the bullpen instead, or Bello, who was shelled for five runs in 2 2/3 innings of work in his first start coming off the IL, could be demoted to Triple-A.

Of the six members of the Red Sox rotation, Houck has actually been the best starter this season in terms of performance. In 21 innings of work, Houck has posted a solid 4.29 ERA, 11% better than league average by measure of ERA+, and a nearly matching 4.26 FIP. His strikeout (25.5%) and walk (9.3%) rates are largely in line with his career norms, as is his BABIP (.283). The most significant change from previous seasons for Houck in the early going this year is his groundball rate. Houck entered the season with a career groundball rate of 49.3%, but in his four starts this season, that figure has jumped all the way up to 58.9%, good for sixth in the majors among players with at least 20 IP.

While Houck’s start this season is encouraging, Cotillo notes that his success in a multi-inning relief role last year, when he posted a 2.70 ERA in 43 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, makes him a natural choice for the move. Meanwhile, Smith notes that Pivetta has resisted suggestions he could be ticketed for the bullpen after some early season struggles. Pivetta has yet to finish the sixth inning this season in a start and has posted a 4.58 ERA over 19 2/3 innings this season in spite of a deflated .275 BABIP that helps to explain his more worrisome 5.19 FIP.

Even in the event that Houck is ultimately sent to the bullpen, Boston brass will have to make another tough decision when lefty James Paxton returns from the IL, which he could do fairly soon. Paxton, Cotillo notes, has never appeared out of the bullpen in his career and struggled badly out of the bullpen in a rehab stint this season, allowing seven runs in less than an inning of work. With Paxton an unlikely bullpen candidate, the Red Sox are likely to once again be left to decide between a six-man rotation and bumping either Pivetta or Bello from the group when the veteran lefty is ready to be activated.

Pirates Extend Contract Of Manager Derek Shelton

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The Pirates have extended the contract of manager Derek Shelton, reports Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic. The terms of the deal are not yet known.

The Bucs are off to a hot start to the season, sitting at 14-7 entering play Saturday, good for second place in the NL Central as they look to emerge from a lengthy rebuild. The 52-year-old skipper has overseen plenty of lean years in Pittsburgh, and so his career managerial record of 156-249 with the Pirates is not necessarily a reflection on his management.

It’s always challenging to assess the performance of a manager when the team is deep in a rebuild and focused more on the prospects in its minor league system than the big league roster. As such, the back-to-back 100-loss seasons Shelton oversaw likely wouldn’t have been much different with another manager at the helm. Evidently, the franchise is comfortable with the direction they’re in with Shelton at the helm.  While 21 games is a small sample size, the Pirates were more aggressive than the past in free agency this winter and it won’t hurt that Shelton’s team is getting results. Here’s what GM Ben Cherington had to say to The Athletic last year on Shelton:

“I love working with Shelty and this staff. They work their tails off every day and care so much about getting this right. I’m so confident at the level of effort this staff puts in and I’m looking forward to this group benefiting from the fruits of their labor. I think they will as our roster matures and gets stronger.”

Shelton was hired by the Pirates after a tumultuous 2019 season which saw the team lose 93 games, deal with clubhouse problems and ultimately dismiss general manager Neal Huntington and manager Clint Hurdle. Cherington and Shelton were brought in to oversee bringing the club back to relevance, and while the past three seasons have been a difficult watch, it does appear that the team is close to turning a corner.

Prior to joining the Pirates, Shelton had served as the Twins’ bench coach. He had interviewed for a number of other managerial openings, but the Pirates were the first to hand him the top job.

Twins Notes: Maeda, Ober, Kirilloff, Buxton

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X-rays were negative on Kenta Maeda’s left ankle after the Twins starter was hit by Jarren Duran line drive on Thursday, though it isn’t yet clear if Maeda will still require a stint on the 15-day injured list.  The team is planning to push back Maeda’s next turn in the rotation, and reporters (including MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park) were told that more on Maeda’s condition will be known after he gets through a light throwing session today, and then a bullpen session on Monday.

Bailey Ober is being called up on Sunday for a spot start in Minnesota’s game with the Nationals, thus pushing back the rest of the Twins rotation and providing a bit more time for Maeda to recover.  If Maeda is able to pitch, he’d take the mound at some point during the Twins’ four-game series with the Royals from April 27-30.

Maeda missed all of the 2022 season due to Tommy John surgery, and the results have been somewhat mixed in his first three starts back in action.  Beyond the obvious negative of the ankle bruise, Maeda has been allowing a lot of hard contact, his 23.1% strikeout rate is barely above the league average, and his fastball velocity has dropped to 89.9 mph from his previous career average of 91.2mph (though velo has never been a big part of Maeda’s arsenal).  On the plus side, he has a 4.15 ERA over 13 innings, with an elite-level chase rate and walk rate — the right-hander has issued just one walk to date this season.

In other injury news, Alex Kirilloff has yet to play this season, as the former star prospect opened the season on the 10-day IL while still recovering from his season-ending wrist surgery last August.  Kirilloff is nearing the end of his 20-day minor league rehab assignment, but The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman reports that some team officials feel Kirilloff won’t immediately join the Twins’ big league roster once activated from the IL, as he instead could be optioned to Triple-A.

Kirilloff has played in only seven minor league games during his rehab assignment, and didn’t see any game action during Spring Training.  As a result, the Twins might feel he simply needs more time to fully ramp up to face MLB pitching, even though Kirilloff has been hitting very well during his limited minor league at-bats.  The returns of Jorge Polanco and Joey Gallo from the IL have helped bolster the Twins’ lineup, and in Gallo’s case specifically, he has been playing first base — ostensibly Kirilloff’s position when he eventually gets back to the Show.  Since Minnesota has no glaring need in the lineup and naturally the team wants to be cautious with Kirilloff given his history of wrist problems, it could mean a more extended stint at Triple-A.

Speaking of injury histories, Byron Buxton has thankfully remained off the injured list thus far in 2023, which could be in part due to the Twins’ deployment of the outfielder has a full-time DH.  Buxton has yet to play in the field this season, and manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including John Shipley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) that he didn’t know when or necessarily even if Buxton would be back in the outfield.  “I am enjoying the fact that I get to write his name in the lineup virtually every day right now.  And at this point, I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize that, because I think that’s the most important thing,” Baldelli said.

For his part, Buxton admitted that “I wouldn’t say comfortable” about the arrangement, saying that being a DH is “still a job that’s not normal for me.  It’s still something I’m figuring out.”  However, Buxton also said that “as long as I’m playing, that don’t faze me.”  Buxton has been solid if unspectacular at the plate thus far, hitting .243/.316/.443 with three homers over 79 plate appearances, translating to a 113 wRC+.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/22/23

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Catching up on some minor league moves from around baseball, with a tip of the cap to Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America….

  • The Yankees released catcher Nick Ciuffo earlier this month, according to Ciuffo’s MLB.com’s profile page.  Ciuffo signed a minor league deal in March but didn’t see any game action in New York’s farm system.  Ciuffo has played in three of the last five MLB seasons, last appearing with the Orioles in 2021 and amassing 21 total games in the big leagues (19 with Tampa Bay).  The Rays selected Ciuffo with the 21st overall pick of the 2013 draft, but he has posted only a .248/.294/.348 slash line over 2053 career plate appearances in the minors.
  • The Marlins acquired left-hander Sean Nolin from the Twins earlier this month, and Nolin made his debut with Triple-A Jacksonville last Wednesday.  Nolin signed a minor league deal with Minnesota in February, after spending the 2022 season in the Korea Baseball Organization.  Nolin pitched with the Blue Jays and A’s from 2013-15, and then with the Nationals in 2021, spending time bouncing around the minors, the independent leagues, the KBO League and in Japan with NPB amidst his brief stints in the majors.  The 33-year-old Nolin has a 5.74 ERA over his 58 career innings in the big leagues.
  • Sticking with the Marlins and their Triple-A affiliate, Jacksonville announced earlier this week that right-hander Enrique Burgos had been released.  Burgos signed a minors contract in the offseason but struggled to a 16.20 ERA over 3 1/3 innings with Jacksonville.  Burgos’ MLB resume consists of 68 1/3 innings with the Diamondbacks in 2015-16, and he has since mostly pitched in the Mexican League and in the independent Atlantic League, as well as regular appearances in winter ball.

Cardinals Plan To Activate Paul DeJong From 10-Day IL On Sunday

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The Cardinals are aiming to activate infielder Paul DeJong from the 10-day injured list on Sunday, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).  A corresponding move will be determined by the team prior to its game with the Mariners.

A bad back sidelined DeJong about a week before the start of the regular season, and he began the campaign on the IL.  The missed time in Spring Training meant that DeJong had a fairly lengthy minor league rehab assignment, as he played a combined 12 games at the A-ball and Triple-A levels, totaling a .302/.388/.512 slash line over 49 plate appearances.  Yesterday, DeJong went 3-for-4 with a homer and six RBI with Triple-A Memphis.

Now recovered from his back problems, DeJong will enter the seventh and most pivotal season of his MLB tenure.  This is the final guaranteed season of DeJong’s six-year, $26MM deal — he is owed $9MM this season, and the Cardinals seem very likely to then buy out DeJong (for $1MM) rather than exercise their $12.5MM club option on his services for 2024.  After an All-Star performance in 2019, DeJong has hit only .196/.280/.351 with 28 homers over 813 PA since the start of the 2020 season.

In that time, DeJong’s shortstop defense has remained very good, but Tommy Edman has taken over the everyday shortstop job thanks to equal or better glovework and a more consistent performance at the plate.  With this in mind, it is hard to see exactly how much playing time DeJong might get at shortstop or second base, with Edman now entrenched at short and Nolan Gorman and utilityman Brendan Donovan splitting time at the keystone.  The DH spot doesn’t offer much relief, as the Cards are also trying to find at-bats for their outfield surplus.

It could be that St. Louis just uses DeJong as a bench player, perhaps supplanting Taylor Motter (who seems like the most obvious candidate to be optioned to Triple-A as DeJong’s replacement).  In theory, the Cards might try to give DeJong some playing time to showcase him for any sort of trade, yet that doesn’t seem likely unless the Cardinals were to eat basically all of the infielder’s remaining salary, which the club was hesitant to do last winter.

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