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Minor MLB Transactions: 10/3/20

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A trio of players appear ticketed for free agency this offseason after being outrighted off clubs’ rosters yesterday, per the MLB.com transactions log:

  • Cubs’ reliever Josh Osich cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. Chicago acquired Osich from the Red Sox at this year’s trade deadline, although he only wound up pitching in four games for them down the stretch. Osich combined for a 6.38 ERA in 18.1 innings for the two teams this year, although he did rack up an impressive 24:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
  • White Sox reliever Alex McRae also passed through the wire after being designated this week. McRae spent the first six seasons of his professional career in the Pirates’ organization before joining the Sox last offseason. He tossed three scoreless innings for the South Siders this year. McRae has a 7.50 ERA/7.09 FIP in 36 career MLB innings.
  • Also passing through waivers was Rangers’ infielder Yadiel Rivera. The 28-year-old utilityman was reported to have been designated for assignment in early September, but he instead reverted to the injured list after being diagnosed with an elbow injury. Rivera wound up having surgery to repair a torn ligament in his elbow, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reported late last month, and is expected to be out for five to six months. Rivera has just a .175/.244/.217 line in 319 MLB plate appearances across six seasons.

White Sox Reinstate Leury Garcia From 45-Day IL, Designate Alex McRae

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The White Sox have reinstated utilityman Leury Garcia from the 45-day injured list and included him on their postseason roster, the team announced.  Righty Alex McRae was designated for assignment to create roster space.

Garcia hasn’t played since August 10, as a severed thumb ligament required surgery.  The 29-year-old was off to a pretty nice start, hitting .271/.317/.441 over his 63 regular season plate appearances, getting a lot of action at shortstop (due to Tim Anderson’s own IL stint) and second base (before Nick Madrigal was called up to the big leagues).  Garcia has been known more for his versatility than his switch-hitting bat over his eight MLB seasons, and his ability to play all over the diamond will make him a nice bench piece for the Sox during their postseason run.  As a member of the White Sox organization since 2013, this playoff appearance surely feels extra sweet for Garcia after seven losing seasons.

McRae only appeared in two games for Chicago this season, tossing three scoreless innings.  The right-hander signed a minor league deal with the White Sox last winter after spending his first six pro seasons in the Pirates organization.  McRae saw Major League action in both 2018 and 2019, posting a combined 8.18 ERA, 6.5 K/9, and 1.14 K/BB rate over 33 innings for Pittsburgh.

White Sox Select Jonathan Stiever

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The White Sox are selecting the contract of right-hander Jonathan Stiever, per various reporters (including MLB.com’s Scott Merkin). Right-hander Alex McRae was optioned to the club’s alternate training site, while southpaw Carlos Rodón is being transferred to the 45-day injured list to open space on the 40-man roster.

Steiver will make his MLB debut this afternoon, getting the start against the Tigers. Chicago’s 2018 fifth-round pick, he’ll make quite a leap to the highest level after topping out in the High-A Carolina League last season. That’s not been uncommon in this year without minor-league play. The former Indiana University ace has been quite good in the low minors, putting up a 3.59 ERA with 193 strikeouts (10.0 K/9) against just 36 walks (1.9 BB/9) in 173 professional innings.

Along the way, he’s caught the attention of prospect followers. Keith Law of the Athletic placed Stiever fourth among Sox farmhands preseason, lauding his plus control and well-rounded repertoire. MLB Pipeline (6th), Baseball America (8th) and Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen (8th) all agree that Stiever is among Chicago’s top ten prospects.

Rodón’s IL transfer likely isn’t as ominous as it may initially sound. He was originally placed on the 10-day injured list back on August 4 with soreness in his throwing shoulder. He’d thus be eligible to return from this latest stint on September 18. Rodón is reportedly gearing up for a mound session tomorrow and hopes to return to the active roster this season.

White Sox Announce 60-Man Additions

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The White Sox announced the addition of 16 players to their 60-man player pool Tuesday. They’ll all head to the team’s alternate camp site in Schaumberg, Ill. Today’s additions include (* = non-roster invitee):

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Outfielders

As Opening Day draws nearer, the White Sox will option additional players to their alternate camp site. There are currently 43 players in big league Summer Camp with the South Siders, and they’ll need to trim that number to 30 by the time the opener rolls around.

Today’s list of additions contains several notable names, including 2020 first-round pick Garrett Crochet, whom the Sox selected 13th overall out of the University of Tennessee. Farm director Chris Getz isn’t ruling out the possibility of Crochet making his MLB debut sometime this year, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score tweets.

Getz also spoke about another recent White Sox first-round pick in Zack Burdi, whom they took 26th in 2016, saying (via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times): ’We hope to build off how he finished major league camp. It’s the best we’ve seen him in a while. His last couple outings were very encouraging. It’s a special arm.”

Significant injuries have prevented the hard-throwing Burdi from realizing his potential or even reaching the bigs since the White Sox drafted him. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017, barely pitched the following year as a result, and then succumbed to a ligament tear in his patella last season. Burdi’s still a well-regarded relief prospect, though, and may have a chance to factor into Chicago’s bullpen this season.

Pirates Exercise Options Over Archer, Marte; Outright Four Players

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The Pirates announced a series of roster moves today. In addition to exercising club options over Chris Archer and Starling Marte — moves that were all but a given — the club has outrighted four players. James Marvel, Alex McRae, Yefry Ramirez and Wei-Chung Wang were all dropped from the Pittsburgh 40-man roster.

The Pirates don’t have a general manager at the moment — assistant GM Kevan Graves is filling that role on an interim basis — though it was still undoubtedly easy for their front office to pick up Archer and Marte at their 2020 tabs. Archer has been surprisingly below average since the Pirates acquired him from the Rays in a July 2018 trade that’s looking like one of the most regrettable deals in Pittsburgh history. Nevertheless, as someone who’s due an affordable $9MM in 2020, it’s worth keeping Archer around and hoping for a bounce-back season or trying to shop him during the winter.

Marte, who’s owed $11.5MM next year, looks like an even more obvious trade candidate than Archer. The 31-year-old Marte’s fresh off yet another strong campaign, one in which he totaled at least 3.0 fWAR for the sixth time since his first full season since he debuted in 2013. However, Marte’s down to his last two years of team control, so if the Pirates don’t expect to push for contention during that span, putting him on the block may make sense. That’s all the more true when considering the lack of appealing center field alternatives on the free-agent market.

Of the players the Pirates outrighted, Wang worked the largest slate of innings in 2019. While he only tossed four frames for the Buccos, the 27-year-old logged another 27 innings with Oakland prior to landing in Pittsburgh. On the season overall, Wang posted a solid 3.77 ERA, though he did so with a grisly 18-to-14 K/BB ratio in those 31 innings of relief. He held lefties to a lowly .220/.298/.280 batting line through 57 plate appearances but was tagged for an .823 OPS by righties. Wang, McRae and Ramirez will all have the option to elect free agency.

Pirates To Recall Mitch Keller

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Mitch Keller will be recalled from Triple-A to start tomorrow’s game against the Braves, MLB.com’s Adam Berry tweets. The Pirates also announced that they’ve recalled Dovydas Neverauskas from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned Alex McRae in his place, giving them a fresh arm in the bullpen.

Tomorrow will be the second big league start for Keller, long lauded as one of the game’s premier pitching prospects. The 23-year-old was promoted for his MLB debut against the Reds in late May and struggled through a shaky outing that saw him yield six runs in four innings. Since that time, he’s gone back to Indy and allowed two runs on four hits and five walks with 18 strikeouts in 11 innings of work — including 12 consecutive outs recorded via strikeout in his most recent outing.

Earlier this week, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington indicated that while Keller was an option to start Wednesday, the team would also look outside the organization. The Pirates, as Huntington explained, do not want to continually shuttle Keller back and forth between the Majors and Triple-A. Rather, the organizational preference is that when Keller comes back up, he simply remains at the MLB level. That’s far from a declaration that this is a permanent call to the big leagues for Keller, but it stands to reason that he’ll have the opportunity to prove that he is worthy of an extended look. Throwing well against a tough Braves lineup on the road in their hitter-friendly park tomorrow would be one such way to make an impression.

The Pirates’ rotation has significantly underperformed so far in 2019, with Chris Archer taking a notable step back and both Jameson Taillon and Trevor Williams missing extended periods on the injured list. Keller is the type of high-upside arm who could provide a boost to a Pittsburgh club that still hopes to contend despite a recent slide in the standings. Huntington has previously spoken about a desire to upgrade the team’s bullpen, and earlier this morning, it was reported that the team could look to trade Corey Dickerson given the team’s glut of productive outfielders. Suffice it to say, there are plenty of moving parts in Pittsburgh, and the next several weeks will prove pivotal in determining the team’s direction at the trade deadline.

Pirates Select Alex McRae, Transfer Corey Dickerson To 60-Day IL

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The Pirates announced that they’ve selected right-hander Alex McRae’s contract from Triple-A Indianapolis. To make 40-man room for McRae, Pittsburgh transferred outfielder Corey Dickerson from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL. The club also optioned reliever Dovydas Neverauskas.

McRae, a 10th-round pick of the Pirates in 2014, debuted in the majors last year with a 6 1/3-inning showing. He struggled during that small sample size, though, and the team outrighted him off its 40-man in December. The 26-year-old McRae also hasn’t been all that effective in Indianapolis, where he has logged a 4.89 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 165 2/3 innings since 2018.

Dickerson went to the 10-day IL on April 4 because of a right posterior shoulder strain. Considering he has already missed almost two months, Monday’s transaction shouldn’t affect Dickerson’s timetable. He just embarked on a rehab assignment May 24.

Pirates List Of Spring Non-Roster Invitees

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The Pirates released a list of non-roster invitees who have been invited to big league camp this spring, per a team announcement. The most notable name on the list belongs to third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, who ranks second on Baseball America’s list (subscription required) of Pirates top prospects.

Hayes, 22 in January, will likely spend 2019 in Triple A after slashing .293/.375/.444 with Double A Altoona last season, also earning Pittsburgh’s Minor League Player-Of-The-Year honors. Hayes has yet to see his power show up in game, but he’s otherwise marched steadily through the Pittsburgh system since being drafted 32nd overall in the 2015 draft.

Other notables include infielder Will Craig, Altoona’s MVP last season, outfielder Bryan Reynolds, a highly-regarded prospect in his own right who hit .302/.381/.438 in Double A last season, and right-handed starter Tyler Eppler, who tied for Pittsburgh’s minor-league lead in wins while going 13-6 with a 3.59 ERA over 153 innings for Triple A Indianapolis. It also happens to be his birthday, so Happy Birthday and congrats to Tyler, who turned 26 today.

The full list of those receiving the NRI includes Elvis Escobar, Geoff Hartlieb, Alex McRae, Eduardo Vera, Brandon Waddell, Blake Weiman, Jason Delay, Christian Kelley, and Arden Pabst.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/1/18

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Keeping track of the latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • Royals right-hander Burch Smith cleared waivers and has been outrighted to the minor leagues, per mlb.com’s transaction page.  The 28-year-old Smith was a once-promising prospect in the Padres system but has been beset by a string of injuries since.  From 2014′-17, the righty made just 13 appearances, all at the minor league level.  In 78 IP last season, the low-slot Smith allowed 15 HR and walked over 4.5 men per nine, though his average fastball velocity had increased nearly a mile and a half per hour since his last MLB stint in 2013 with San Diego.
  • Righty Mark Leiter of the Blue Jays has also been outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers, per Mike Wilner of SportsNet 590 The Fan. The 27-year-old Leiter is the son of the former 11-year big leaguer of the same name, and bested long odds as a 22nd round pick to reach the majors in 2017 with Philadelphia. In parts of two major league seasons with Philly and Toronto, Leiter has been a veritable gopher-ball machine, allowing nearly two homers per nine in 114 total IP, to go along with shaky command and an average strikeout rate.
  • Pirates righty Alex McRae, too, was outrighted to the minors after clearing waivers. McRae, 25, had embarked on a steady ascent through the Pirate farm until last year’s six-inning cameo at the MLB level. The 6’2, 220 lb starter, despite a mediocre strikeout rate, does an excellent job limiting free passes and big fly, and should again find a major league opportunity at some point in the future.

Pirates Designate Alex McRae For Assignment

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The Pirates announced that they’ve designated right-hander Alex McRae for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall, whose previously reported one-year deal has now been formally announced.

McRae, 25, made his MLB debut with the Bucs in 2018, allowing four runs with five strikeouts and five walks in 6 1/3 innings of relief. The former 10th-round pick (2014) spent the bulk of the season in the rotation for the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate, where he logged a 4.77 ERA with 8.0 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9. McRae’s sinker sat at 92.4 mph during his brief MLB audition, and he’s used the pitch to generate average or better ground-ball tendencies throughout his minor league career.

While he hasn’t found success in Triple-A or the Majors yet, McRae did post a 3.61 ERA with 5.4 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 0.54 HR/9 and a 49.1 percent ground-ball rate in 149 2/3 innings with Pittsburgh’s Double-A affiliate in 2017.

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