A.J. Pierzynski To Retire?
SUNDAY: The Braves have placed Pierzynski on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring, per a team announcement. Based on Saturday’s retirement rumblings, it’s possible he has played his last game.
SATURDAY, 10:52pm: In yet another twist, Pierzynski has left the door for retirement open, telling reporters, “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring, but if that’s it, then it was fun” (Twitter link via O’Brien).
10:37pm: False alarm: Pierzynski is not retiring, reports O’Brien (Twitter link). Starter Julio Teheran handed out cigars to celebrate the recent birth of his son.
10:03pm: Braves catcher A.J. Pierzynski has decided to retire, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). Pierzynski was hugging teammates and handing out cigars after the Braves’ win over the Mets on Saturday, per O’Brien.
The polarizing Pierzynski, 39, played for seven teams in parts of 18 major league campaigns. His final season didn’t go well, as he batted just .219/.243/.304 in 259 plate appearances, but he was a quality contributor as recently as last year. In his first of two years in Atlanta, Pierzynski slashed .300/.339/.430 over 436 trips to the plate, leading the club to re-sign him last offseason to a one-year deal with a $3MM base salary.
Before joining the Braves, Pierzynski divided an unproductive 2014 between St. Louis and Boston. He previously played for the Rangers, White Sox, Giants and Twins, and will be best remembered for his time in Chicago. During his tenure with the White Sox from 2005-12, Pierzynski helped the club to a World Series title in his first year in Chicago, caught a no-hitter from Mark Buehrle and Philip Humber‘s perfect game, played in no fewer than 128 games in each individual season, and earned his second and final career All-Star nod in 2006. That year, Pierzynski drew the ire of Cubs catcher Michael Barrett, who punched Pierzynski after a home plate collision and incited a brawl between the teams during a May matchup.
The year before he arrived in Chicago, Pierzynski spent 2004 in San Francisco, which acquired him in one of the most lopsided trades in recent memory. To land Pierzynski, the Giants sent southpaw Francisco Liriano, all-time great closer Joe Nathan and right-hander Boof Bonser to the Twins. While the Twins reaped the rewards of that return for several years, Pierzynski disappointed in San Francisco and then signed as a free agent with the White Sox.
Pierzynski, whom the Twins selected in the third round of the 1994 draft, hit .280/.318/.420 with 188 home runs in 7,813 career trips to the plate and was worth in the neighborhood of 23.0 WAR, according to both FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference – the latter of which lists his career earnings as upward of $61MM. MLBTR congratulates Pierzynski on a fine career.
Braves’ Top Prospect Ozzie Albies Suffers Fractured Elbow
12:07pm: The Braves announced that Albies has indeed suffered an olecranon fracture and has had his elbow placed in a fiberglass splint. He’s slated to undergo surgery next week and is presently expected to resume baseball activities in early January.
8:50am: Braves infield prospect Ozzie Albies suffered a fractured olecranon in his right elbow on Wednesday of this week, vice chairman John Schuerholz told the Braves Banter show on BlogTalk Radio (Twitter link). The injury will cost him not only the remainder of the minor league postseason but also the 2016 Arizona Fall League as well, depriving him of some additional development time. David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that Albies will require surgery to repair the elbow.
Albies, 19, is currently a consensus top 25 prospect, as he rates 14th, 15th, 17th and 21st on the respective midseason prospect rankings of MLB.com, ESPN’s Keith Law, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. Long developed as a shortstop prospect, the plan for Albies now appears to be for him to play second base in the Majors, where he’ll team up with Dansby Swanson to form what the Braves hope will be one of the top double-play combos in the league for years to come. Albies tore through Double-A pitching as this season, hitting an incredible .321/.391/.467 with 33 extra-base hits (22 doubles, seven triples, four homers) and 21 steals across two stints. A promotion to Triple-A proved more challenging, as Albies slashed .248/.307/.351 through 247 plate appearances before being moved back down, though it should be noted that he was the youngest player in the Double-A Southern League and the Triple-A International League.
The recovery time on the olecranon fracture wasn’t specified, though recent examples of such fractures, including Gavin Floyd and A.J. Pollock, were able to return in late August (Pollock) and September (Floyd) after fracturing their olecranon bones in March (Floyd) and early April (Pollock). That suggests that in an ideal scenario, Albies could be back up to speed come Spring Training next season, where he could well compete with Jace Peterson for the second base job. Of course, individual players recover at different paces, and one can never simply assume that a player’s rehab process will be setback-free, so there’s no firm guarantee that Albies will be ready when Spring Training kicks off.
MLB.com’s Mark Bowman notes that Albies suffered the injury while taking a swing during a Double-A playoff game (brief video included in that link) and has been examined at Dr. James’ Andrews clinic. The team will wait until its own medical staff can make a full evaluation of Albies before issuing a formal announcement and any further details on Albies’ injury.
NL Notes: Fernandez, Albies, Peralta, Peraza
The Marlins picked up a decisive win in last night’s game, but Miami has nonetheless dropped eight of its past 10 games to fall five games out of an NL Wild Card spot. With the team’s playoff hopes dwindling, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes that the Fish are prepared to shut down Jose Fernandez if they slip further out of contention. Miami has hoped to cap Fernandez’s innings around 180, though a postseason berth may have added some extra frames to that limit. Instead, with the young ace already at 160 1/3 innings, skipper Don Mattingly conceded that shutting Fernandez down is “absolutely” a consideration if the team’s losing continues. “We’ll look at that as it goes,” said Mattingly. “Obviously, we’ve been paying attention to his innings all along.”
More from the NL East…
- Braves prospect Ozzie Albies is going to miss the rest of the season after suffering a still-unspecified elbow injury, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. It isn’t believed he suffered any ligament damage from the fouled-off pitch that struck him, but a fracture is still possible. Of greater concern, the 19-year-old likely won’t be able to play in the Arizona Fall League, which had perhaps been one of his final hurdles before reaching the majors. It’s still plenty possible that he’ll play a big role on the varsity squad next year, of course, but the presumption may now be that Albies will open the 2017 season in the minors.
- The recent work of Wily Peralta may have him back in the Brewers‘ 2017 rotation plans, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy writes. He’ll earn a modest raise on his $2.8MM arbitration salary, but that now looks again to be quite a reasonable price tag. Despite a brutal start, Peralta has turned in a 3.35 ERA over his last six outings.
- It is time for the Reds to clear room for Jose Peraza in the daily lineup, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer opines. Peraza has impressed of late with the bat, and manager Bryan Price says that “it’s just a matter of finding his best spot and where he best serves the team.” Rosecrans discusses the defensive possibilities, now and in 2017, for the speedy youngster.
Coppolella: Braves “Exploring The Possibility” Of Signing Tim Tebow
SEPT. 6: Braves general manager John Coppolella confirmed to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman that his team is indeed interested in Tebow.“There’s no risk,” said the GM. “If it doesn’t work, we’ll be honest with Tim early, and we can move on. If it does work, it’s great for the Braves and it’s great for baseball.”
Coppolella said that his interest is based on feedback from two of the team’s top scouts, Brian Bridges and Roy Clark, who attended Tebow’s workout. “They want to see Tim more in the spirit of ‘Leave no stone unturned,’ and they liked what they saw,” said Coppolella. “They thought he has the upside potential to help us. That is why we’re exploring the possibility of bringing him into the Braves organization.”
SEPT. 3: The Braves have “definite interest” in quarterback-turned-outfielder Tim Tebow and are considering signing him to a minor league deal, ESPN’s Pedro Gomez reports. The Braves spoke to Tebow on a one-on-one basis after his workout Tuesday, along with four other teams.
[Related: Pro Football Rumors]
The former Denver Bronco, New York Jet and Florida Gator stole headlines last month with the news that he was trying his hand at baseball and had quietly been working out with former MLB catcher Chad Moeller. Representatives from every big league team except the Cubs and Athletics saw Tebow’s workout in Los Angeles on Tuesday. The 29-year-old’s baseball skills received mixed reviews — he won praise for his raw power, but one scout told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale that Tebow looked like “an actor trying to portray a baseball player.”
Whether or not the Braves sign Tebow, he would appear to be a project. He has, obviously, dedicated most of the past decade to playing football, and however impressive his power might be, there would likely be a significant learning period before he could hit for power against high-level pitching.
Braves Outright Kyle Kubitza, Wilfredo Boscan, Madison Younginer
The Braves have outrighted infielder Kyle Kubitza and righties Wilfredo Boscan and Madison Younginer, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. The moves clear three spots on the Braves’ 40-man roster.
Atlanta claimed Kubitza from the Rangers last month, and he’s played just 17 games in the Braves’ system since then. The 26-year-old, originally a Braves draftee, has played for three organizations since 2011, posting a career .262/366/.420 minor league line. He’s had a disappointing 2016 season at the Triple-A level, with a .215/.319/.341 line over 455 plate appearances while playing primarily third base, first base and outfield.
Like Kubitza, Boscan is a recent waiver claim — the Braves snagged him from the Pirates in August. The 26-year-old made his big-league debut with the Bucs in 2016 but spent most of the season starting at the Triple-A level, with a 4.16 ERA, 5.6 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 93 innings.
The 25-year-old Younginer spent six years in the Red Sox system before joining the Braves via a minor league deal last offseason. He pitched well in the bullpen at Double-A Mississippi and threw in the mid-90s in his big-league debut this season, but posted poor results in both in the Majors and at Triple-A.
Heyman’s Latest: Dodgers, McCann, Napoli, Ichiro, Colon, Price
The Dodgers intend to pursue reunions with at least four prominent free agents, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. Excellent third baseman Justin Turner, relief ace Kenley Jansen, late-breaking lefty Rich Hill, and veteran second baseman Chase Utley would all hold interest to Los Angeles, per the report, though age considerations and the presence of internal alternatives could limit the club’s willingness to top the market for those players. The 28-year-old Jansen may be the highest priority among this group, Heyman suggests. While the Dodgers haven’t exactly broken the bank on relief arms under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, it seems Jansen could warrant an exception given his unbelievable performance level. All said, Heyman suggests it would be surprising if L.A. doesn’t bring back at least two of those four players.
Here are some more of Heyman’s latest notes, from his weekly column:
- The Braves and Yankees have tabled any talks pertaining to catcher Brian McCann until the offseason, which may not bode well for New York’s chances to trade him to Atlanta. Heyman writes that the Braves have interest in Matt Wieters, Jason Castro and top free agent catcher Wilson Ramos, whom they’d love to snatch away from the division-rival Nationals. Atlanta is willing to pay half of the remaining $34MM McCann is owed from 2017-18. They’re also looking to add a rotation piece for 2017 and beyond, if not two, as a number of their top-ranked minor league arms are still a ways off from the Majors (which, of course, could make them appealing trade chips in an offseason where the free agent market is devoid of talented starters).
- Mike Napoli, who is enjoying a rebound season at the plate with the Indians, has said he’d like to remain in Cleveland, though the two sides aren’t engaged in talks. Napoli’s defense and baserunning have torpedoed his WAR totals, but he’s batted a well-above-average .259/.345/.494 with 29 home runs in his first season with Cleveland. His bat should draw plenty of interest this winter despite the fact that he’ll turn 35 on Halloween.
- Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki hopes to play again in 2017 and would like to stay in Miami, per the report. With his club option valued at only $2MM, that may be a fairly easy pick-up for the organization. Playing in his age-42 season in 2016, Ichiro has compiled a useful .294/.365/.366 batting line over 296 plate appearances, continues to rate as an average or better fielder and overall baserunner, and has even cracked double-digit stolen bases for the 16th-straight season.
- Another aging veteran who intends to continue his career, says Heyman, is Mets righty Bartolo Colon. It’s not yet clear how his market will develop — we don’t know what level of interest New York will have, or whether the 43-year-old will be looking for multiple years — but there certainly ought to be ample interest given that Colon has provided 158 2/3 innings of 3.35 ERA pitching thus far in 2016. Even if the peripherals don’t quite line up with those bottom-line results, he’ll be among the more durable and effective pitchers available on a forthcoming seller’s market for starters.
- There’s no sense that the Reds are interested in making a change at manager, Heyman says. Skipper Bryan Price‘s contract does expire after the year, but with some positive signs in the second half — excluding a current four-game skid, at least — it seems he could be retained.
Players That Have Cleared Revocable Waivers
The first three two and a half weeks of August yielded only a few minor trades, featuring pickups by the Mariners (Arquimedes Caminero and Pat Venditte), a swap of veteran infielders (Erick Aybar and Mike Aviles) and the Marlins adding some left-handed depth to their ‘pen (Hunter Cervenka). Since that time, several names have changed hands, though, including Carlos Ruiz, A.J. Ellis, Dioner Navarro, Jeff Francoeur, Daniel Nava, Marc Rzepczynski and Erick Aybar. A trade sending veteran outfielder Coco Crisp to the Indians should be announced on Wednesday as well.
Before diving into the names, a few items bear repeating. The majority of Major League players will be placed on trade waivers this month, with most instances going unreported. There are undoubtedly players (quite a few of them, most likely) who have already cleared waivers but have not been reported to have done so. Players can be traded into September, as well, but only those traded on or before Aug. 31 will be eligible for the postseason with their new teams, so there’s some urgency for contending clubs to complete deals by month’s end. And, of course, for those who aren’t familiar with the inner-workings of waiver trades, MLBTR published a full explanation of how August trades work earlier this month. Onto the known names…
- Ryan Braun (link): Although Braun has slashed an excellent .315/.377/.551 with 24 homers and 14 steals through 454 plate appearances this season, his pricey contract enabled him to slip through waivers. Braun, 32, is owed $76MM through 2021, and any team acquiring him would likely need Milwaukee to pick up a sizable chunk of his contract, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. That doesn’t seem to bode well for the possibility of a trade this month.
- Ervin Santana (link): Santana, 33, is due $13.5MM per year through 2018, which makes him a fairly expensive investment, but he’s in the midst of another fine season. The righty has been among the few bright spots for the last-place Twins, having recorded a 3.54 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 2.38 BB/9 in 147 1/3 innings. Given that he cleared waivers, the Twins might have to eat some of Santana’s contract if they wish to move him for a decent return. However, Minnesota reportedly needed to be “overwhelmed” to deal Santana in July, and it’s doubtful their bullish opinion of him has changed since then.
- Ryan Howard (link): It seems as if any possibility of a Howard trade has gone out the window with his time with the Phillies drawing to an increasingly pleasant end. But he does still deliver more pure power than most hitters — albeit almost exclusively against righties — with 19 long balls in less than half a season worth of plate appearances.
- Matt Wieters (link): Not only is Wieters expensive ($15.8MM salary this year), but he’s also underperforming both offensively and defensively. Thus, with fellow backstops Kurt Suzuki and Brian McCann having already cleared waivers, it’s no surprise that Wieters did, too. Regardless of his struggles, Wieters is the starting catcher for a playoff contender with no better in-house option in place, making a trade involving the impending free agent all the more unlikely.
- Scott Kazmir (link): Kazmir is owed $16MM in each of the next two seasons, but he has the ability to opt out of his deal after this year. Kazmir’s run prevention (4.41 ERA) has been a letdown in 132 2/3 innings this season, although he has recorded an outstanding K/9 (9.02) to go with a 3.32 BB/9 and a superb 15.2 percent infield fly rate. The positives weren’t enough for anyone to claim Kazmir, though, and it’s doubtful the injury-riddled Dodgers will move out a healthy starter in the middle of a playoff race.
- James Shields (link): The right-hander was previously a high-end option that every team would’ve loved to slot into its rotation. At 34, he’s now pitching like a DFA candidate. The White Sox, who acquired Shields from the Padres earlier this year, owe him $10MM per season through 2018. Thanks largely to a plummeting strikeout rate and a propensity for allowing HRs, Shields has run up a 7.62 ERA in 69 2/3 innings with Chicago. Overall, he has a 5.98 ERA in 137 frames this year. While Shields is on track for a 10th straight 30-start season, there’s no point in trading for someone who isn’t at least keeping his team in games every fifth day.
- Nick Markakis (link): The negatives seem to outweigh the positives with Markakis, who’s on a $10.5MM salary through 2018 and doesn’t bring the offensive value to the table that he used to. Since leaving Baltimore for Atlanta last year, the right fielder has hit .285/.360/.384 with a mere 12 HRs in 1,200-plus plate trips. The average and on-base percentage are clearly pluses. Fact is, though, a corner outfielder who has little power, doesn’t grade well defensively and isn’t all that cheap isn’t too appealing.
- Mitch Moreland (link): Moreland is amid his third straight 20-homer season and isn’t overly expensive ($5.7MM salary) in the last year of his contract, so it wouldn’t have been shocking had someone claimed him. Instead, the lifetime .251/.316/.481 hitter got through waivers and looks likely to remain with World Series-contending Texas for the rest of the season.
- Matt Kemp (link): Once an MVP-level player, the 31-year-old Kemp has fallen off thanks to defensive issues and a decline at the plate. As a roughly league-average hitter on a $21.5MM salary through 2019, he was fully expected to go unclaimed had the Braves placed him on waivers. They did, and that’s exactly what happened. Atlanta’s on the hook for $18MM per year of Kemp’s money for the duration of his contract. The Padres, his previous team, make up the difference. For any deal to happen, the Braves would likely have to eat a hefty portion of that cash.
- Joakim Soria (link): The 32-year-old Soria has become increasingly homer prone and displaying some concerning control issues in 2016, so it’s not surprising that no team risked claiming the remaining $19.72MM that he is owed through the completion of the 2018 season. Soria’s 92.8 mph average fastball is actually a career-high, and his strikeouts and ground-ball rate both remain sound, so perhaps he could be moved if Kansas City were to eat some of the remainder on that deal.
- Eric O’Flaherty (link): Once a powerhouse out of the Braves’ bullpen, O’Flaherty’s second stint with Atlanta hasn’t gone nearly as well. He’s never fully regained his form after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2013, and his ERA in 2016 rested just shy of 7.00 when word of his clearing waivers broke. His $1.75MM salary wouldn’t be prohibitive were he pitching well, but even opposing lefties have roughed up O’Flaherty this season, and he’s been positively obliterated by right-handed opponents.
- Kurt Suzuki (link): The Twins’ catcher was reported to have cleared waivers just yesterday. Unlike a number of players that clear waivers in the month of August, Suzuki is relatively affordable, making it something of a surprise that no teams placed a claim on him. While he’s not regarded as a highly skilled defensive backstop, he’s hitting .281/.321/.431, which is quite a step up from the league-average catcher (.242/.311/.380). He doesn’t walk much, but he’s also very tough to strike out (12.9%), and he was owed just $1.54MM through season’s end when he reportedly cleared on Aug. 16.
- Brian McCann (link): It’s no surprise that McCann cleared waivers, as he’s owed a hefty $34MM beyond the 2016 campaign. McCann’s offensive production has wilted a bit in recent weeks, and while his .232/.333/.404 batting line and 15 homers are still solid marks for a catcher, it’s tough to imagine the Yankees moving him without absorbing a fair amount of the money that remains on his contract. Also standing in the way of a potential deal is the fact that teams looking for catching help beyond this year have a fair number of choices on the upcoming free agent market.
One final note: outfielder Jeff Francoeur (link) and catcher Carlos Ruiz (link) were both reported to have cleared waivers as well, but each has already been traded to a new team, with Francoeur going to the Marlins and Ruiz going to the Dodgers.
Injury Notes: Vizcaino, Kershaw, Cole, Marlins
The Braves announced today that right-hander Arodys Vizcaino has been placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to Aug. 24) due to inflammation in his right shoulder. The 25-year-old Vizcaino spent the majority of the season as Atlanta’s closer and was an oft-speculated-upon trade target in advance of the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, but Vizcaino suffered an oblique strain in mid-July, which shelved him through Aug. 18 and removed the plausibility of a trade. Jim Johnson has taken over the ninth inning in his stead and handled the role fantastically, but Johnson is a free agent at season’s end, so Vizcaino will have the opportunity to reclaim the ninth inning next season. Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters, including Mark Bowman of MLB.com, that he believes Vizcaino will be able to be activated when he is first eligible on Sept. 9.
A few more notable injury situations from around the league…
- Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw pitched two innings in a simulated game today and is likely headed for a minor league rehab assignment before rejoining the big league team, writes Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times. “I think it will take a little bit of time to build him up in a way for him to be strong through September and hopefully October, as well,” said president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. The hope is that he’ll only require a single rehab outing before returning to the big league club, which could put him in line for an early September date. McCullough also notes that Brandon McCarthy, Brett Anderson and Scott Kazmir all pitched simulated games as well, and Kazmir is the closest to returning. Kazmir threw five innings today and, unlike his injured peers, may not require a minor league rehab stint.
- Renowned surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache examined Gerrit Cole‘s balky right elbow and found no ligament damage, bone spurs or bone chips, writes Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Pirates ace had only inflammation in his elbow and is expected to return to the team before the regular season is over. Pirates athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk told Biertempfel that the direct source of Cole’s elbow discomfort isn’t known, though the possibility exists that an early-season rib injury led to some altered mechanics that brought about the pain. “I would say it’s tough to say that they’re not related,” said Cole of the rib injury, the triceps strain he suffered in June and the current elbow inflammation. “We do the same motion every time. Anytime that something causes you to alter that kind of thing, you run the risk of paying the price somewhere else.”
- Marlins lefty Adam Conley has been cleared by doctors to resume throwing and played catch Tuesday for the first time since going on the disabled list, per MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. Barring any further setbacks in his recovery from tendinitis in his left middle finger, he could return to the Miami rotation in three weeks, Frisaro adds. Furthermore, he writes, lefty Wei-Yin Chen is progressing through a throwing program as he rehabs an elbow strain and is also a possibility for a late-September return. Getting either southpaw back would be a boon to a Marlins rotation that is trying to keep the team afloat in the Wild Card hunt. Miami dropped its fourth straight game today but is still a very manageable 3.5 games back from the second Wild Card spot in the National League.
East Notes: Red Sox, Marlins, Albies, Snitker, McCann, Verrett
Recent struggles in the Red Sox bullpen look ominously familiar to president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, writes ESPN Boston’s Scott Lauber. As Lauber notes, a faulty bullpen was a frequent Achilles heel for Dombrowski’s Tigers teams that made the postseason (or came close to doing so), and the relief corps is the weak link for Boston right now. The July acquisitions of Brad Ziegler and Fernando Abad haven’t been enough to solidify the staff (Abad has struggled quite a bit), leaving manager John Farrell with a great deal of uncertainty in the late innings. A return for Koji Uehara (more on that here), a successful transition to the bullpen for Clay Buchholz or Joe Kelly, and a last-minute add from outside the organization are three possible saving graces, Lauber writes, noting that Kelly in particular has excelled out of the bullpen at Triple-A Pawtucket.
More from the AL East…
- The Marlins are finally making good, to some extent, on the hopes and expectations that they carried into the 2015 season, and Patrick Dubuque of Baseball Prospectus breaks down the roster moves that set the stage for an interesting 2016 campaign. While most pundits were down on the organization’s dealings, many haven’t turned out as badly as feared. In the meantime, the club has received highly unexpected results from many players — some negative, but many quite positive (albeit questionably sustainable). Dubuque remains bearish on the Miami organization; you’ll want to give his piece a full read to gather the details.
- MLB.com’s Mark Bowman fielded some relevant questions from Braves fans. Among other items, he notes that the club now seems somewhat unlikely to promote infielder Ozzie Albies to join prospective double-play mate Dansby Swanson in the majors this year — even though he still has a chance at playing a major role in 2017. Speaking of next year, Bowman says it wouldn’t be surprising at this point if interim skipper Brian Snitker is retained, though the team has several other internal and external candidates it may wish to consider.
- The Braves‘ interest in bringing back Brian McCann will likely be revived in the offseason, Bowman further writes. He no longer looks like a terribly plausible trade candidate right now, and Atlanta may wish to explore the free agent market first. Improving the situation behind the plate and bolstering the rotation remain the club’s two major offseason goals, he adds. The team may also look at a third baseman, he suggests.
- The Mets are likely to bring righty Logan Verrett back to the majors today, ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin reports. While fellow right-hander Rafael Montero delivered some useful frames yesterday, he’ll need regular rest and isn’t expected to command a rotation spot anyway, so the club will use the opportunity to add a fresh arm to the mix. Verrett, 26, has turned in 25 2/3 quality frames as a reliever, but has struggled to a 6.45 ERA over a dozen starts on the year.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/29/16
Here are the day’s minor moves, all courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (except where otherwise noted):
- The Braves have released backstop George Kottaras, who’ll re-enter the open market not long after he left it to join the Atlanta organization. Kottaras, 33, has only been at Triple-A Gwinnett for about six weeks, but his .196/.328/.294 batting line over 61 plate appearances wasn’t enough to warrant a lengthier stint. The veteran has seen action in seven major league campaigns, posting a useful .215/.326/.411 overall slash in 858 trips to the plate, but he hasn’t seen substantial time at the game’s highest level since 2013.
- Outfielder Chris Dickerson has signed on with the Orioles on a minor league deal after sitting out the entire season to date. As Dan Connolly of Baltimore Baseball reports, the O’s seem to be looking for another possible major league piece from an unlikely place with this signing. Dickerson, 34, is still working back from shoulder surgery and hasn’t seen the majors since 2014. But he was hitting well before his injury last year, and VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette suggested that he could move into a “fifth outfielder” role at the major league level.
- The Cubs have cut ties with left-handed reliever C.J. Riefenhauser, per Badler. The 26-year-oldhad briefly reached the majors in each of the last two years. But he was having trouble at the Triple-A level with the Chicago organization, compiling a 4.55 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 5.9 BB/9 over 27 2/3 innings.
- Left-hander Jason Gurka has been released by the Rockies. He was bombed in brief stints at the majors in each of the last two seasons. But the results were much more promising at Triple-A, where Gurka had a solid campaign in 2015 and was largely lights out this year. In his 21 1/3 innings, he racked up 31 strikeouts against just six walks and permitted only four earned runs.