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Archives for August 2024

Don Wert Passes Away

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Former All-Star third baseman Don Wert passed away at age 86, the Tigers announced this afternoon. Wert played all but 20 games of his MLB career with Detroit.

Wert signed with the Tigers at age 19 out of Pennsylvania’s Franklin & Marshall College. The right-handed hitting infielder spent five years in the minors, including two full seasons at Triple-A. He earned his first big league call in 1963 and established himself as Detroit’s starting third baseman the next year.

After playing in 148 games during his first full MLB season, Wert started all 162 contests in 1965. He hit .261 with 12 homers and more walks than strikeouts in nearly 700 plate appearances. Wert was charged with only 12 errors despite logging more than 1400 innings at the hot corner. Award voters rewarded his durability and solid all-around game with a 10th-place finish in AL MVP balloting.

Wert was a reliable and consistent presence in the Detroit infield for the remainder of the decade. He made an All-Star team in 1968, although his .200/.258/.299 slash line that year was one of his least productive showings. A June hit-by-pitch that broke his helmet and required a stint in the hospital surely contributed to his offensive downturn. Wert remained a valuable defensive player and appeared in 150 games on a Tigers team that won 103 games to claim the AL pennant.

Detroit knocked off the Cardinals in a seven-game World Series. Wert played in six of those contests. He went 2-17 but drew six walks and drove in a pair of runs. The latter RBI came with two outs in the top of the ninth in the deciding game. He singled off Bob Gibson to push Detroit’s lead to 4-0; they held on to win by a 4-1 margin.

After the 1970 season, the Tigers traded Wert to the Washington Senators as part of an eight-player deal that also shipped out two-time Cy Young winner Denny McLain. Wert spent a couple months with Washington before being released in June, ending his playing career. He retired with a .242/.314/.343 line in more than 1100 games over parts of nine seasons. Wert played nearly 9000 innings at third base, where he had a .968 fielding percentage. MLBTR sends our condolences to his family, friends and loved ones.

Dodgers Release Jason Heyward

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The Dodgers released Jason Heyward, per the MLB.com transaction log. It was very likely that Heyward would become a free agent after L.A. designated him for assignment on Thursday.

Heyward’s DFA came as a surprise even for a team that had already jettisoned deadline pickup Amed Rosario. While Heyward hasn’t had a great season, he was an above-average contributor in a platoon capacity a year ago. The veteran outfielder hit .269/.340/.473 with 15 homers in 377 plate appearances in 2023. His numbers are down this year, as he carries a .208/.289/.393 mark across 197 trips to the plate.

Most of that downturn is attributable to a career-low .224 average on balls in play. Heyward’s strikeout and walk profile is essentially the same as it was a year ago. His hard contact percentage is up more than six points relative to last season. The higher exit velocities have come with a spike in ground-balls, though, which isn’t an ideal trend for a pull hitter in his mid-30s.

Heyward is no longer a Gold Glove caliber outfielder, but he remains a solid defender in right field. Statcast has graded him at league average in 434 innings. Defensive Runs Saved has him three runs above par. Another team could view Heyward as a complementary platoon bat who can step directly onto their big league roster.

The Dodgers are on the hook for what remains of Heyward’s $9MM salary for this season. A signing team would only be responsible for the prorated portion of the $740K league minimum. It stands to reason that Heyward’s camp will look for a deal quickly now that he’s on the open market. He’d need to sign elsewhere by the end of the month (on either an MLB or minor league contract) to be eligible for the postseason with a new team.

Orioles Place Ryan Mountcastle On IL, Release Nick Avila

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The Orioles placed first baseman Ryan Mountcastle on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 23, this evening. Baltimore brought up utility infielder Livan Soto from Triple-A Norfolk in a corresponding move. The O’s also released right-hander Nick Avila, whom they’d designated for assignment last week.

Mountcastle departed last Thursday’s game with soreness in his left wrist. He sat out the final three games of Baltimore’s weekend series with the Astros. The O’s announced the injury as a sprain. Baltimore had a scheduled off day tonight. While it’s rare for a team to make an IL placement on an off day, there’s a three-day maximum for a retroactive IL stint. If the O’s had waited until tomorrow to put Mountcastle on the shelf, that would’ve delayed the retroactive start date to August 24.

That seems like an indication that it’s a minor issue. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s back when first eligible a week from now. Baltimore will likely turn to Ryan O’Hearn at first base with Eloy Jiménez at designated hitter in the interim. O’Hearn is having a strong season as the primary DH. Baltimore nevertheless brought in Jiménez in a surprising deadline swap. He has hit .304 in 18 games since the trade, yet it’s a fairly empty average. The former White Sox slugger has yet to hit a home run and drawn only a single walk in 57 plate appearances in an O’s uniform.

Mountcastle has been a good but not elite presence in the Baltimore lineup for the last four-plus years. He hit 33 homers in his first full season back in 2021. Since then, he has settled in as a 20-homer type bat. Mountcastle hits for good averages without taking many walks, generally resulting in slightly lower than average on-base marks. It has been more of the same in 2024. He’s hitting .265/.305/.425 with 13 longballs in 485 trips to the plate. Despite the decent overall production, he has been in a major slump of late. Mountcastle hit .225 with a .257 OBP and no homers this month.

Avila, 27, lost his spot on the 40-man roster when the Orioles called Cole Irvin back to the majors. Baltimore had claimed the 6’4″ reliever off release waivers from the Giants in June. Avila debuted with San Francisco earlier in the season, allowing 12 runs across 11 2/3 innings. He didn’t reach the big leagues with the Orioles. Avila was battling a shoulder injury at the time he was released by San Francisco. He didn’t return from the minor league injured list until the middle of August. He has not yet found his pre-injury form, giving up a staggering 10 runs while recording just four outs over three appearances with Triple-A Norfolk. Avila allowed just three earned runs per nine in 72 Triple-A frames last season.

Cubs Reportedly Place Drew Smyly On Waivers

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The Cubs have placed veteran reliever Drew Smyly on waivers, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (X link). Smyly has not been designated for assignment and can continue to play for Chicago pending resolution of the waiver process. The placement is irrevocable, however, so Smyly would land with another team in the next two days if anyone places a claim.

In situations like this, the team is hoping that the player will be claimed to offload the salary. That’d be a big ask in this case. Smyly is playing on a $10.5MM salary. There’s around $1.9MM remaining. The deal also includes a $2.5MM buyout on a $10MM mutual option for next season. A claiming team would need to assume the entirety of that sum. It amounts to nearly $4.5MM for one month plus potential playoff work of Smyly’s services.

The 35-year-old southpaw has turned in solid results in his first full season as a reliever. Smyly carries a 2.84 ERA over 50 2/3 frames. His 20.4% strikeout rate and 10.8% swinging strike percentage are pedestrian, but he has kept left-handed hitters to a .226/.293/.310 slash in 92 plate appearances.

There’s not much downside for the Cubs in gauging if a contender is willing to take on Smyly’s money to strengthen their lefty relief group. Chicago is 5.5 games out of a Wild Card spot with four teams to surpass. They’re a postseason long shot. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer confirmed last week that the team is on pace to exceed the $237MM luxury tax threshold (link via Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic). It’s not clear how far over the threshold they are, but RosterResource’s unofficial estimate of the team’s payroll has them less than $500K above the line. If they could shed what remains of Smyly’s salary, it’s possible that would suffice to get underneath the CBT mark.

If Smyly goes unclaimed, the Cubs can keep him in the bullpen for the remainder of the season. They do not need to release him or attempt to outright him to the minor leagues.

Padres, Elias Diaz Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Padres are signing catcher Elias Díaz to a minor league contract, tweets Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. Venezuelan reporter Rafael Petit was first to report (on X) that Díaz and the Padres had come to an agreement.

Díaz has been a free agent since he was released by the Rockies on August 16. He reportedly declined to pursue an opportunity with the Giants because San Francisco wasn’t willing to guarantee he’d remain on the MLB roster after starter Patrick Bailey returned from injury. Díaz won’t immediately jump onto the big league club with San Diego, though a minor league deal now is arguably preferable to a brief major league stint in San Francisco with the possibility of being released in September.

The timing of the signing makes no financial difference for the veteran catcher. Díaz is still guaranteed the entirety of his $6MM salary from Colorado. If San Diego calls him up at any point, they’d pay him the prorated $740K league minimum (which would drop off the Rockies’ books). Díaz has more than six years of MLB service and will return to free agency at the end of the season regardless. His primary goal with this deal is finding a potential path to a playoff roster.

San Diego is eight games ahead of the Giants in the standings, so they’re obviously much more likely to make the postseason. A player only needs to be in an organization — not on the 40-man roster — by the start of September to be eligible for the playoffs. MLB can and frequently does grant permission for players on minor league deals to participate in the postseason as substitutes for injured players. Díaz would be eligible for postseason play with the Friars even if they don’t add him to the MLB roster within the next five days. Had he signed with San Francisco and been released in early September as the corresponding move for Bailey’s return, that would’ve officially precluded him from participating in the postseason.

The Padres have three catchers on the 40-man roster: Luis Campusano, Kyle Higashioka and Brett Sullivan. Aside from Campusano’s two-week injured list stint shortly before the All-Star Break, he and Higashioka have handled the catching work. Higashioka came over from the Yankees as an ancillary piece in the Juan Soto return. The Padres expected him to back up Campusano, but he has actually been the far more productive player. Higashioka has drilled a career-high 15 home runs in 204 plate appearances. While he’s not getting on base consistently, the power and steady defensive work have made him one of the more productive backup catchers in the league.

Campusano, by contrast, has a subpar .231/.274/.373 batting line and well below-average marks for his glovework. He still has an option remaining, so the Padres could send him down without putting him on waivers. It’s also possible they carry three catchers once active rosters expand to 28 in September.

Díaz was hitting .270/.315/.378 through 327 plate appearances before Colorado released him to get their first look at prospect Drew Romo. Much of that production was driven by an elevated batting average on balls in play at Coors Field. Díaz has solid contact skills and hit 14 homers as recently as last season (not including the All-Star Game homer that earned him the game’s MVP honors). He does a strong job controlling the running game and has improved his pitch framing grades this year.

Phillies Place José Alvarado On Restricted List

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The Phillies announced that left-hander José Alvarado has been placed on the restricted list to attend to a personal matter. Right-hander Michael Mercado has been recalled to take his active roster spot. Players on the restricted list don’t take up a spot on the 40-man roster, so the Phillies’ count drops to 39 for the time being.

The club hasn’t provided any information about Alvarado’s personal situation or how long he might away from the team. That will make his status a complete mystery until more information comes to light.

Alvarado has been an erratic but occasionally effective reliever in his career. He has walked 12.9% of batters he has faced but also struck out 29.6% of them. That wildness has led to oscillating results in terms of run prevention. He had a 2.39 ERA in 2018 but that number jumped up in the next three seasons, finishing between 4.20 and 6.00. He got down to 3.18 in 2022 and just 1.74 last year, but has bounced back up to 4.30 here in 2024.

For however long Alvarado is out of the picture, the Phillies will be down to Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks as their bullpen lefties. Kolby Allard and Tyler Gilbert are also on the 40-man roster but currently on optional assignment. The club could use their open roster spot to claim someone off waivers or promote someone already in the system, but Alvarado will need to be added back to the roster whenever he returns to the club.

Alvarado won’t collect pay or service time while on the restricted list. He and the Phillies agreed to an extension in February of 2023 which runs through 2025. Per that deal, his salary is $9MM this year. Each day he’s away will save the Phils about $48K, plus taxes. Per RosterResource, their current competitive balance tax number is $262MM. They are a third-time payor, meaning they pay a 50% tax on spending over the $237MM base threshold and a 62% rate on spending over the second line of $257MM. Subtracting Alvarado’s salary will also lead to about $30K in daily tax savings.

Javier Báez To Undergo Season-Ending Hip Surgery

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The Tigers announced a series of roster moves today, including the selection of right-hander Ty Madden, which was reported yesterday. The club also recalled right-hander Mason Englert from Triple-A Toledo. To open active roster spots for those two, the club placed right-hander Will Vest on the paternity list and optioned left-hander Bryan Sammons to Toledo. To open a 40-man spot for Madden, infielder Javier Báez was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Manager A.J. Hinch informed reports that Báez will undergo right hip surgery and is done for the year. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press was among those to relay the news on X.

Báez was placed on the 10-day injured list a few days ago, with what the Tigers described as lumbar spine and hip inflammation. It’s possible the issue has been bothering him for a while, as he also missed close to a month earlier this year due to lumbar spine inflammation. He previously told Petzold that he has dealt with lower back discomfort throughout his time with the Tigers.

Perhaps the back/hip issues provide some kind of explanation for his precipitous drop-off in terms of performance since coming to Detroit. Through the end of 2021, he had a career batting line of .264/.307/.477 for a wRC+ of 104. When combined with his strong shortstop defense and baserunning, he had produced 21.6 wins above replacement in the eyes of FanGraphs.

The Tigers signed him to a six-year, $140MM deal going into 2022 but he has hit just .221/.262/.347 over the life of that deal for a wRC+ of 69. That includes an atrocious .184/.221/.294 line and 41 wRC+ this year. Among players with at least 250 plate appearances this season, only Brandon Drury has a lower wRC+. Báez has also had less impressive numbers on defense in recent years and his contract is considered one of the worst in the sport at the moment.

Ideally, the surgery will address the issue and allow Báez to put this miserable stretch behind him, but there’s no guarantee that will come to pass. He’s now 31 years old, turning 32 in the offseason. That means the rest of the contract will see him trying to battle against the standard effects of time, in addition to overcoming this back/hip problem.

Even if he doesn’t get all the way back to his pre-Tigers form, there’s a lot of room for improvement over his current results, which the Tigers would happily take. They are pivoting to a young crop of position players, giving lots of playing time to infielders Colt Keith, Jace Jung and Trey Sweeney. The Tigers likely view that group as a more significant part of their next competitive window than Báez, but even if he could become a solid utility/bench player, that would likely be viewed as a nice consolation relative to how rough things have gone over the past three seasons. His deal will still have $73MM and three years remaining after the conclusion of the 2024 season.

Marlins Designate Forrest Wall, Tristan Gray For Assignment

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The Marlins announced today that outfielder Griffin Conine has been selected to the roster, a move that was reported yesterday. The club also added right-hander Mike Baumann, recently claimed off waivers, to the active roster. To open spots for those two, they club optioned right-hander Brett de Geus and placed infielder Xavier Edwards on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 24, with mild back extensor soreness. Outfielder Forrest Wall has been designated for assignment to open up a 40-man spot. The club didn’t announce a corresponding 40-man move when Baumann was claimed but it appears to be Tristan Gray, as his transactions tracker at MLB.com lists him as designated for assignment.

Wall, 28, was claimed off waivers from Atlanta a month ago. He’s mostly been kept on optional assignment in that time, only taking three plate appearances with the Marlins. Combined with his brief time with Atlanta, he has a strong line of .311/.380/.422 but in a small sample of 50 trips to the plate at the major league level.

He’s had a much larger sample of playing time in the minors, but with less impressive numbers. From 2021 to the present, he’s appeared in 352 minor league contests with a .269/.355/.383 line and a 94 wRC+.

But beyond the bat, he can provide value with his legs. In that aforementioned 352-game stretch of minor league games, he has swiped 155 bags while being caught 29 times. His brief major league career has also involved nine steals in 13 tries.

That’s clearly an enticing quality but the tepid offense hasn’t been enough for him to earn much playing time and he’s now been squeezed off a roster again. With the trade deadline now in the rear-view mirror, the Marlins will have to place him on waivers in the coming days. If any club is looking for some wheels for their bench or in a depth role, Wall still has a full slate of options and less than a year of service time. He doesn’t have a previous career outright nor three years of service time, so he wouldn’t have the right to elect free agency if he passes through waivers unclaimed.

Gray, 28, was signed by the Marlins to a minor league deal in the offseason and was selected to the roster in May. He has only received seven plate appearances in the majors this year, spending most of his time on optional assignment in Triple-A. He’s hit 17 home runs in 100 games at that level but the offensive environment is strong in the International League this year and his .245/.318/.459 line only translates to a wRC+ of 97.

That increases the sample size of Gray being a bit below average at Triple-A. From 2021 to the present, he has 431 games at that level with a .236/.305/.470 batting line and 95 wRC+. He does bring defensive versatility to the table, having played all four infield positions, but the lack of offense has limited him to 12 major league plate appearances to this point in his career.

Like Wall, Gray will be on waivers in the coming days. He also has a full slate of options and less than a year of service time, so he could provide a claiming club with many years of club control. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he could elect free agency by virtue of having a previous career outright.

Yankees Claim Duke Ellis

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The Yankees announced that they have claimed outfielder Duke Ellis off waivers from the Mariners. The latter club designated him for assignment in recent days. To open a 40-man spot, right-hander Ian Hamilton was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Ellis, 26, is known for his standout speed. The White Sox briefly called him up earlier this year and he stole four bases in four tries. In 273 minor league games, he has stolen 134 bases while only being caught 18 times.

His work at the plate hasn’t as impressive. He has hit .238/.325/.339 in his minor league career, production which translates to an 85 wRC+, indicating he’s been 15% below league average. Still, the idea of having a speedy outfielder on the bench has been enough for Ellis to garner plenty of interest. After his brief look with the White Sox earlier this year, he has gone to the Mets, the Mariners and now the Yankees via waiver claims.

Finding a roster spot for such a specific skill set can be tricky but it’s possible that the Yankees will find room for Ellis as rosters expand next week, or perhaps in the playoffs where extra off-days lead to a club requiring fewer pitchers. A speedster such as Ellis could be a difference maker in a close game, particularly in the era of the free runner in extra innings. Ellis has a full slate of options and just a few days of service time.

Pirates Designate Jake Woodford For Assignment

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The Pirates announced that they have placed catcher Joey Bart on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain and recalled catcher Henry Davis, a swap that was reported yesterday. They also reinstated infielder Nick Gonzales from the injured list and designated right-hander Jake Woodford for assignment. Robert Murray of FanSided reported on X that Woodford was being designated for assignment prior to the official announcement. Prior to that, it was noted by members of the Pittsburgh beat that Woodford was clearing out his locker. Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review was among those to pass that along on X.

Woodford, 27, was selected to the club’s roster at the end of July. He has since tossed 22 innings for the Bucs over six appearances, allowing 6.95 earned runs per nine. When combined with his time with the White Sox earlier this year, Woodford has an 8.01 ERA on the season.

It’s the second straight rough campaign for Woodford, who had previously posted some decent results with the Cardinals. Over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he tossed 116 innings for that club with a 3.26 ERA. His 15.4% strikeout rate in that time wasn’t special but he limited walks to a 7.5% clip and got grounders on 45.8% of balls in play. But his ERA jumped to 6.23 last year, which led the Cards to non-tender him, and his ERA has crept even higher here in 2024.

With the trade deadline in the rear-view mirror, the Pirates will have to place Woodford on waivers. Based on his struggles, the interest is likely to be minimal, meaning he should be a free agent in the coming days. When the White Sox designated him for assignment earlier this year, he passed through waivers unclaimed and then elected free agency, a right he had based on having at least three years of major league service time.

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