Mariners Agree To Deal With First Rounder Jurrangelo Cijntje
The Mariners are in agreement with first-round pick Jurrangelo Cijntje on a deal, pending a physical, reports Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. According to Kramer, the Mississippi State product will receive the full $4.8809MM slot value of the 15th pick. Seattle also reportedly agreed to an overslot deal with second-rounder Ryan Sloan last night.
Perhaps the most fascinating player in this year’s draft, Cijntje is a switch pitcher. A native of the Netherlands and one-time Little League World Series participant with Curacao, Cijntje is a natural lefty but throws much harder from the right side. Scouting reports credit him with a plus slider and mid-upper 90s velocity as a righty. Cijntje sits in the low-90s with a sweepy slider as a lefty, limiting his work there to specific matchups. He didn’t pitch left-handed against every lefty hitter and worked almost exclusively from the right side late in his draft season.
After posting an 8.10 ERA over 14 appearances as a freshman, Cijntje broke through with an excellent showing as a draft-eligible sophomore. He turned in a 3.67 earned run average through 90 2/3 innings. He fanned nearly 30% of batters faced with a solid 7.9% walk rate — a huge step forward after he’d walked more than 14% of opponents during his first college season.
Cijntje said at the draft that he hopes to continue developing from both sides. Kramer writes that the Mariners intend to give him that opportunity. There’s a good chance Cijntje surpasses former MLB reliever Pat Venditte as the most successful switch-pitcher in memory. Keith Law of the Athletic wrote before the draft that the 21-year-old had the upside of a #2 starter. FanGraphs wrote that Cijntje looks like a back-end starter as a righty in addition to his matchup work from the left side.
Law slotted Cijntje as the #15 prospect in the class, exactly matching his draft slot. Baseball America slotted him 24th, while FanGraphs put him 34th. The Mariners have had plenty of success with the college pitching demographic in recent years, snagging George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller from those ranks. Cijntje was the third pitcher off the board this season.
Cubs Acquire Jesus Tinoco From Royals
The Cubs announced this evening that they’ve acquired reliever Jesús Tinoco from the Royals for cash (X link via Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times). Tinoco had signed a minor league deal with Kansas City three weeks ago and was not on their 40-man roster. Unless tonight’s trade was spurred by some kind of upward mobility clause in that contract, the Cubs don’t need to immediately place Tinoco on their 40-man.
Tinoco made six appearances for the Royals’ top affiliate in Omaha. He fired 6 2/3 frames of three-run ball, striking out 10 while issuing one walk. Tinoco also missed plenty of bats in Triple-A with the Rangers earlier this season, fanning 30.3% of batters faced across 21 1/3 innings. His control was quite a bit spottier than he showed in his small sample with K.C., as he walked upwards of 11% of opponents with the Texas affiliate.
The 29-year-old Tinoco has appeared in parts of five MLB seasons between the Rockies, Marlins and Rangers. He tossed a career-high 36 innings of 4.75 ERA ball for Colorado as a rookie in 2019. Tinoco saw more sporadic work over the following few years, only narrowly topping the 20 inning threshold once. He spent last season in Japan, working to a 2.83 ERA despite pedestrian strikeout and walk numbers for the Seibu Lions.
Tinoco returned to the affiliated ranks on a minor league deal with the Rangers over the winter. He made nine MLB appearances with Texas earlier in the season, allowing nine runs over 10 innings. That pushes his career earned run average to 4.58 through 76 2/3 MLB innings. He has a below-average 18.1% strikeout rate with a near-14% walk percentage over that stretch.
While Tinoco hasn’t had much success against big league hitters, his recent form in Triple-A evidently intrigued Chicago. The Cubs rank 16th in the majors with a 4.01 ERA from their relief group. They’re in the top 10 in strikeout rate, but only the Rangers and White Sox have issued more free passes.
The Cubs also have six relievers — Julian Merryweather, Adbert Alzolay, Colten Brewer, Yency Almonte, Keegan Thompson and Luke Little — on the injured list. Chicago optioned Daniel Palencia to Triple-A Iowa today, opening a spot in the major league bullpen. If they decide to install Tinoco directly into the MLB staff, they’d need to create a 40-man roster space.
Notable Draft Signings: 7/15/24
The 2024 draft is still underway, as Rounds 11-20 will take place tomorrow. Almost everyone who has come off the board within the first 10 rounds will sign over the next few weeks, with one notable deal already hammered out.
- The Mariners have an agreement with second-round pick Ryan Sloan on a $3MM bonus, pending a physical, reports Daniel Kramer of MLB.com (X link). Seattle drafted the high school pitcher with the 55th overall selection last night. They went well above the pick’s $1.64MM slot value to sign him away from a Wake Forest commitment. (Seattle could agree to an underslot deal with first-rounder Jurrangelo Cijntje to save some of the bonus pool space they’re committing to Sloan.) A 6’5″ right-hander from Illinois, Sloan was ranked as a back of the first round talent by each of Baseball America, FanGraphs and The Athletic’s Keith Law. All three outlets credited him with mid-upper 90s velocity, a potential plus slider and the athleticism to have a shot of sticking as a starting pitcher. The $3MM bonus falls between the slot values for the 29th and 30th selections, aligning with those publications’ rankings.
Giants, Clayton Andrews Agree To Minor League Deal
The Giants signed lefty reliever Clayton Andrews to a minor league contract, per the transaction log at MLB.com. San Francisco assigned Andrews to their Arizona complex for the time being, though he’ll presumably head to Triple-A Sacramento before long.
A former 17th-round pick by the Brewers, Andrews has five MLB appearances under his belt. The 5’6″ southpaw reached the majors with four outings for Milwaukee last season. He made a lone appearance this year for the Yankees, who acquired him from Milwaukee in February. Andrews recorded one out and surrendered a homer to Luke Raley during his only game in pinstripes. New York designated him for assignment and ran him through outright waivers when they signed Tim Hill late last month.
Andrews has cleared waivers twice this season. After the second outright, he had the ability to choose minor league free agency instead of heading back to Triple-A with the Yankees. He took that opportunity and lands with an organization that plays much closer to home. The 27-year-old went to high school in Santa Rosa and attended Long Beach State.
The Giants have been light on lefty relief depth. Taylor Rogers and Erik Miller are the only southpaws to work multiple innings out of Bob Melvin’s bullpen all year. Raymond Burgos made a one-inning cameo in his MLB debut but was quickly outrighted off the 40-man roster. San Francisco has made a couple recent additions to their 40-man in an effort to shore up the group. They acquired Alex Young from the Reds for Austin Slater and grabbed Kolton Ingram off waivers from the Cardinals.
San Francisco takes a non-roster flier on Andrews, who has shown the ability to miss bats in the minors. He punched out almost 26% of opposing hitters over 24 2/3 Triple-A frames for the Yankees. Over parts of six seasons in the minors, Andrews has fanned nearly a third of batters faced. He hasn’t managed to harness that intriguing stuff consistently. Andrews has walked more than 12% of opponents in his professional career and dished out free passes to 22 of 108 opponents (20.4%) in the Yankees’ system.
Noah Syndergaard Planning 2025 Comeback
Noah Syndergaard has not pitched professionally since he was released by the Guardians at the end of last August. He reportedly drew interest from the Padres and Pirates over the winter but ultimately remained unsigned.
With more than half the ’24 campaign in the books, it seems Syndergaard is turning his attention to next year. Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweets that the former Mets star will make a comeback effort in 2025. He’ll presumably conduct a few showcases next offseason in hopes of finding a minor league deal with a non-roster invite to Spring Training.
Syndergaard was one of the game’s most fearsome starters at his peak. His triple digit velocity hasn’t returned since he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020. Syndergaard overcame the diminished stuff to turn in a decent 3.94 ERA in 134 2/3 frames between the Angels and Phillies in 2022. Things went downhill last season, though, as he struggled for both the Dodgers and Guardians.
Over 12 starts with Los Angeles, Syndergaard turned in a 7.16 earned run average. He spent a couple months on the injured list before being flipped to Cleveland in a change of scenery swap sending Amed Rosario to Southern California. Syndergaard returned from the IL and stepped into the Cleveland rotation for the month of August. The new setting didn’t provide much of a turnaround. He allowed a 5.40 ERA over six starts for the Guardians before being cut loose.
Syndergaard closed the year with a 6.50 ERA across 88 2/3 cumulative innings. His strikeout rate fell to a personal-low 14.3% clip. An 8.2% swinging strike rate was similarly unimpressive. Syndergaard still filled up the strike zone, walking fewer than 5% of batters faced, but he did so without anything close to the stuff he wielded at his peak. His four-seam fastball and sinker each sat around 92 MPH.
His camp will hope that a year away from game action can help rebuild some of the arm speed that he has lost over the past couple seasons. Syndergaard turns 32 in August, so there’s still plenty of time for him to resume his career. There should be no shortage of teams that have scouts in attendance if he throws a couple showcases over the winter.
Latest On Jazz Chisholm’s Market
Jazz Chisholm Jr. stands as one of the top position players available in what could be a relatively light market for bats. Trade chatter regarding Chisholm has picked up over the past week. The Marlins only added fuel by moving him back to second base over the weekend, seemingly an effort to demonstrate his defensive versatility for potential trade partners with two weeks until the deadline.
A middle infielder by trade, Chisholm moved to center field in 2023 in deference to Luis Arraez. Defensive metrics have been mixed on Chisholm’s outfield performance. Defensive Runs Saved has him as a well below-average center fielder, while Statcast has him as a neutral to solid outfielder. Both metrics were fonder of his early work at second base than they’ve been on his center field defense.
Even a couple weeks of reps back at second base could raise teams’ confidence that Chisholm could play there down the stretch. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman wrote last week that the Yankees have considered Chisholm, presumably as an infield fit. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported yesterday that the Royals — a team openly seeking a player who can bounce between the infield and outfield — have shown interest in Chisholm. Nightengale suggests the Mariners, another club that hasn’t made any secret of its desire to upgrade the offense, is also in the mix.
While there should be a broad range of teams interested in a player with Chisholm’s defensive flexibility, Nightengale indicates the Phillies are not showing much interest in their division rival. (The Athletic’s Jim Bowden had loosely linked Chisholm, among various other players, to Philadelphia last week.) The Phils are set in the middle infield with Trea Turner and Bryson Stott. They’re looking for outfield help, although that could take the form of a right-handed platoon bat rather than an everyday player.
Chisholm, a left-handed hitter, wouldn’t address Philadelphia’s desire for more balance in the outfield. He’d be a clear offensive improvement as an everyday center fielder on Johan Rojas. Rojas is a gifted defender, though, and the Phils might not feel that Chisholm’s a marked enough overall upgrade to beat the offers put forth by other teams that are more desperate for hitting.
The 26-year-old Chisholm is having a second straight solid but not incredible season. He goes into the All-Star Break with a roughly average .249/.321/.407 slash line. Chisholm has hit 12 homers and stolen 18 bases (although he’s been thrown out eight times). That’s similar to last year’s .250/.304/.457 showing. An average hitter with the ability to cover multiple up-the-middle positions is certainly a valuable player, yet Chisholm hasn’t developed into the franchise building block he seemed during an All-Star first half in 2022.
Injuries have been a factor. Most notably, a stress fracture in Chisholm’s back cut short that potential breakout year in ’22. Toe and oblique issues limited him to 97 games a year ago. He has avoided the injured list thus far in 2024. The injury history has kept him from accumulating the kind of counting stats that’d result in significant arbitration earnings. Chisholm is playing on a very affordable $2.625MM salary and won’t reach free agency until the 2026-27 offseason.
Drew Smith Undergoes UCL Reconstruction Surgery
July 13: The Mets announced today that Smith underwent right elbow UCL reconstruction with internal brace augmentation yesterday. That leaves him set to miss not only the remainder of the 2024 season, but could also cost him the entire 2025 campaign as well.
July 8: Mets reliever Drew Smith will undergo season-ending elbow surgery on Friday, he tells Tim Healey of Newsday. The righty is still unsure whether he’ll need a complete Tommy John surgery or the slightly less significant internal brace procedure. It’s not uncommon for the surgeon to make that decision during the operation based on the extent of the ligament damage.
Smith landed on the injured list with an elbow sprain a few weeks ago. He admitted in late June that an initial evaluation determined that surgery was likely necessary. Smith went for a second opinion thereafter but evidently will not be able to avoid going under the knife. Even in the best case scenario where he “only” needs the internal brace procedure, he’s likely to miss around a calendar year. A full UCL reconstruction could cost him the entire 2025 season.
Smith has spent his whole major league career with the Mets. Initially drafted by the Rays in 2015, he was dealt to New York as a prospect for first baseman Lucas Duda. Smith made his MLB debut the following year. He pitched in 27 games as a rookie before undergoing Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2019 campaign and limited him during the shortened year.
Over the past three and a half seasons, Smith has been a solid contributor in the middle to later innings. He turned in a 2.40 ERA through 41 1/3 innings in 2021. His ERA ticked up over the next couple seasons, but he missed more bats and logged a few more innings along the way. The 30-year-old righty had been out to a strong start this season, posting a 3.06 ERA with a 29.1% strikeout rate (narrowly the highest of his career) across 17 2/3 frames.
Smith is an impending free agent, so this could represent a tough end to his stint in Queens. It’s a particularly unfortunate time for what’ll be the second significant elbow procedure of his career. Smith’s early-season performance looked as if it’d position him for a strong two-year deal. The surgery could limit him to a slightly backloaded two-year offer at a much lower base salary, especially if he’ll need to miss all of next season.
White Sox Release Joe Barlow
The White Sox released reliever Joe Barlow from his minor league contract, tweets James Fegan of Sox Machine. The right-hander had been pitching at Triple-A Charlotte.
Barlow has spent most of the year on the injured list. He wasn’t able to make his Triple-A debut until June 5. Barlow took the ball 12 times for Charlotte over the past five weeks. He was hit hard, serving up 14 runs across 11 2/3 innings. While he struck out 14 opponents, he also walked eight and was tagged for five home runs. That wasn’t going to get him a look even in a Chicago bullpen that has been one of the league’s worst.
While he hasn’t pitched in the majors this season, the 28-year-old Barlow logged big league time with the Rangers in each of the previous three years. He operated as Texas’ closer for a stretch between 2021-22 and combined for a 2.81 earned run average over 66 appearances during those two seasons. Barlow’s strikeout and walk rates were never as impressive as his ERA, yet it’s still a bit surprising how quickly his numbers trended down. He only made 13 appearances for Bruce Bochy last year and was designated for assignment after the Rangers brought in pitching help at the deadline. The Royals claimed Barlow but kept him in Triple-A and eventually waived him themselves.
Barlow hit minor league free agency last winter coming off a 5.52 ERA over 44 Triple-A frames. He’ll look for another minor league opportunity now that he’s back on the market.
Guardians Release Wes Parsons
The Guardians released righty Wes Parsons, according to the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Cleveland had a week to trade him or run him through waivers after they designated for assignment last Friday. That came as the corresponding 40-man roster move when Cleveland landed Spencer Howard in a minor trade with the Giants.
Parsons landed in Cleveland via DFA trade himself. The Blue Jays had taken him off their roster a couple weeks into the season before flipping him to the Guardians for international signing bonus space. Cleveland made a few such moves to try to stockpile rotation and/or long relief depth. Parsons didn’t wind up playing much of a role, as he pitched just twice in April. The 31-year-old tallied four scoreless innings with five strikeouts.
Cleveland otherwise kept Parsons on optional assignment to Triple-A Columbus. He tossed 25 2/3 innings across 12 appearances, five of which he started. Parsons turned in a 4.21 ERA while striking out an excellent 29.3% of opponents. Yet he also walked an untenable 17.1% of batters faced, the second straight season in which he’s struggled to throw strikes at the Triple-A level. Parsons has been on the temporarily inactive list for around a month and last pitched with Columbus on June 12.
Padres Activate Xander Bogaerts
The Padres reinstated Xander Bogaerts from the 10-day injured list for tonight’s series opener against the Braves. San Diego also recalled Sean Reynolds for his MLB debut, a move that was first reported this afternoon. In corresponding moves, the Padres placed reliever Wandy Peralta on the 15-day IL (retroactive to July 10) with an adductor strain and optioned catcher Brett Sullivan.
Getting Bogaerts back is the most notable of tonight’s slate of moves. He has been out since late May after breaking his left shoulder. There was initially some thought that the four-time All-Star could be out of action into August. He made a fairly quick recovery, getting back to the big leagues in around seven weeks. Bogaerts made two rehab appearances in Low-A and appeared in four contests with Triple-A El Paso.
Skipper Mike Shildt penciled Bogaerts back in at second base and in the fifth spot in the batting order. The Padres will hope for much better production than he managed over the first six weeks of the season. Bogaerts was out to a .219/.265/.316 start in an even 200 plate appearances. That’d easily be the worst year of his career if he kept on that pace, but he’s only a year removed from a robust .285/.350/.440 showing.
After the Bogaerts injury, Jake Cronenworth slid over to second base. He’s back at first base tonight and figures to spend most of his time there moving forward. That’ll bump Luis Arraez back to designated hitter on most nights and chip into the playing time available to Donovan Solano. That’s not any reflection on his performance. Since the Friars selected Solano’s minor league deal on May 5, he’s hitting .286/.345/.398 through 177 plate appearances. The Colombia native has been an average or better hitter on a rate basis over the past six seasons with the Giants, Reds, Twins and Padres.
As for Peralta, he’ll miss at least the next couple weeks. The recipient of a surprising four-year guarantee last offseason, he owns a 4.50 ERA over 41 appearances. Peralta has a customarily strong 53.2% grounder percentage but has run into trouble when opponents managed to elevate the ball. He’s giving up home runs at a lofty 1.59 clip per nine innings.