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Rays Outright Erasmo Ramirez

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Rays right-hander Erasmo Ramírez cleared waivers after being designated for assignment on Wednesday. While the veteran had more than enough service time to test free agency, Tampa Bay announced that he accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Durham.

Ramírez seems comfortable with the organization. He played for the Rays between 2015-17 and returned on a minor league deal after being released by the Nationals last summer. Ramírez got to the majors for 15 appearances last season and inked another non-roster contract over the winter. Tampa Bay selected him to the MLB team in April.

The 34-year-old pitched 11 times over the last few weeks. He allowed 10 runs (eight earned) in 16 relief innings. While his 4.50 ERA was reasonable, he managed only a 9:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio and gave up four home runs. Ramírez allowed 6.41 earned runs per nine over 60 1/3 innings a year ago. His most recent MLB success came in 2022, when he provided the Nats 86 1/3 frames of 2.92 ERA ball.

Shortly after Ramíez’s DFA, skipper Kevin Cash lauded the veteran’s professionalism and willingness to handle multiple innings (link via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). The Rays clearly value him as a depth arm and could call upon him again at some point during the season when they need a long relief option.

Tigers Notes: Maeda, Manning, Hopkins, Garko

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Kenta Maeda made his return to the Tigers rotation this evening. Detroit reinstated the veteran right-hander from the 15-day injured list, optioning Matt Manning to Triple-A Toledo in a corresponding move. Maeda took the ball against the Blue Jays, working five scoreless innings.

Maeda was down for the minimal two weeks after battling an illness. Signed to a two-year free agent deal last offseason, he has struggled to a 5.80 ERA over his first eight starts. His 15.8% strikeout rate is well down from the 27.3% mark he managed during his final season with the Twins. He has also surrendered nine homers over 35 2/3 innings, a lofty 2.27 longballs per nine. Most of the damage has been concentrated over three bad starts. Maeda has given up at least six runs in a trio of outings and no more than three runs in his other five starts.

Despite Maeda’s inconsistency, Detroit has gotten generally solid rotation work. Tarik Skubal, Reese Olson and Jack Flaherty have been anywhere from solid to excellent. Casey Mize has a more pedestrian 4.57 ERA through nine outings. Manning has been the clear #6 option on the depth chart, starting five games around a trio of stints in the minors. He has only managed a 4.88 ERA over five MLB appearances but has a 3.79 mark with a huge 31.6% strikeout rate in 19 Triple-A innings.

While Maeda’s return is the bigger injury news for the Tigers, they did lose a couple depth players this week. The team informed reporters (including Evan Woodbery of MLive) that minor league reliever Blair Calvo and outfielder TJ Hopkins are out for the season. Both players recently underwent surgery to repair labrum tears in their right shoulders.

Calvo and Hopkins each made their big league debuts in 2023, though both players have subsequently been outrighted from the 40-man roster. Calvo made one MLB appearance for the Rockies and had only pitched twice for Detroit’s Double-A affiliate. Hopkins, whom the Tigers claimed off waivers from the Giants in February, appeared in 25 big league contests for the Reds last year. He’d been hitting .190/.326/.329 in Double-A.

The Tigers also announced some off-field news this afternoon. Detroit promoted Ryan Garko from vice president of player development to assistant general manager. The former big league first baseman has worked with the Tigers’ farm system since he was hired in September 2021. He joins Sam Menzin, Jay Sartori and Rob Metzler as assistant GMs. They’re behind baseball operations president Scott Harris and first-year general manager Jeff Greenberg in the front office hierarchy.

Mariners Option Luis Urias

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The Mariners announced this evening that they’ve optioned infielder Luis Urías to Triple-A Tacoma. Seattle recalled rookie outfielder Jonatan Clase to take the open roster spot.

It’s a little surprising to see Urías optioned out entirely. The righty-hitting infielder has played regularly at third base this month. Urías hasn’t hit, though, slumping to a .152/.264/.316 line in 91 plate appearances on the season. Seattle welcomed J.P. Crawford back from the injured list earlier in the week, while Jorge Polanco has played two of the past three games after missing some time with a sore hamstring.

Crawford and Polanco should draw into middle infield on most days. Manager Scott Servais told reporters that Josh Rojas and Dylan Moore will platoon at third base (X link via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). Rojas, a left-handed hitter, opened the season at the hot corner but moved to second base while Polanco was out. He’s out to a .286/.354/.421 line through 41 games, a solid rebound after his underwhelming 2023 season.

Moore has arguably been even more impressive. The righty-hitting utilityman handled shortstop while Crawford was injured and has hit .248/.359/.504 over 145 plate appearances. Moore has connected on six homers, including three in his last eight games, and is drawing walks at a lofty 12.4% clip.

As one would expect for a right-handed batter, Moore is better against lefty pitching. He has absolutely destroyed southpaws this season (.289/.391/.632 in 46 plate appearances), though he’s more than holding his own against righties as well. Moore has a .343 on-base percentage and is slugging .446 in 99 plate appearances without the platoon advantage, albeit with a modest .229 average.

Moore can also play second base and the corner outfield, so he should play fairly regularly even against right-handed pitching. He’ll likely be at third against opposing southpaws in place of Rojas, who is a career .253/.330/.346 hitter left-on-left. Urías, meanwhile, will get everyday reps in the Pacific Coast League as he tries to get on track. It’s the second straight year in which he has been optioned. The Brewers sent him down for 26 games midway through last season.

Urías entered 2024 with four years and 98 days of MLB service. He needs around three more weeks of major league time to cross the five-year threshold this season. In either case, that might wind up being immaterial. Urías is playing this season on a $5MM salary and would be in line for a modest raise next year if he’s tendered an arbitration contract.

He’d need a significant turnaround over the next few months or he’ll be an easy non-tender call for the Seattle front office. He’d already seemed like a non-tender candidate last offseason when he was with the Red Sox, but the M’s sent reliever Isaiah Campbell to Boston to give Urías a shot at a bounceback. It hasn’t transpired thus far.

Rockies Select John Curtiss, Matt Carasiti

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The Rockies made a pair of bullpen moves before tonight’s matchup with the Phillies. Colorado selected righties John Curtiss and Matt Carasiti onto the MLB roster. In corresponding moves, they optioned right-hander Peter Lambert to Triple-A Albuquerque and designated Matt Koch for assignment. To open the second necessary 40-man roster spot, the Rox transferred Kyle Freeland to the 60-day injured list.

Colorado played consecutive extra-inning games against the A’s on Wednesday and Thursday. The Rox won the former in 12 innings but dropped yesterday’s 11-inning contest in disappointing fashion. The bullpen blew leads in the ninth, tenth and eleventh frames — surrendering five runs in the final inning to get walked off after scoring four in the top half.

Koch and Lambert were the last two arms out of Bud Black’s relief corps yesterday. Koch didn’t record an out, allowing hits to Max Schuemann and Abraham Toro before serving up a game-tying homer to JJ Bleday. Lambert managed two outs before walking Tyler Soderstrom with the bases loaded to end the game. That likely took both players out of the picture for tonight and ultimately squeezed them each off the MLB roster.

The 33-year-old Koch signed an offseason minor league deal and was just selected to the big league roster over the weekend. Yesterday’s outing was his second of the season. The righty worked to a 5.12 ERA over 38 2/3 innings for Colorado a year ago. The Rox will likely put him on waivers in the next few days.

Curtiss, 31, inked a minor league deal in January. He has been hit hard for a 6.75 ERA over 21 1/3 innings with the Isotopes. The 6’5″ righty had solid results with the Rays and Marlins between 2020-21 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He returned to the majors with the Mets a year ago, allowing 4.58 earned runs per nine with a modest 19.8% strikeout rate through 30 appearances. Curtiss is out of options, so the Rox would need to designate him for assignment if they don’t keep him in the MLB bullpen.

Carasiti still has one option remaining, so the Rockies could move him between Denver and Albuquerque. He’s in his second season in the organization and threw 24 1/3 MLB frames a year ago. Carasiti turned in a 6.29 ERA with nearly as many walks as strikeouts in the majors. He has been tagged for 5.91 ERA in the Pacific Coast League this year, but he’s punching out nearly 27% of opposing hitters at that level.

Freeland’s 60-day minimum is retroactive to his original IL placement on April 16. The veteran left-hander suffered an elbow strain after four starts. He’s throwing off a mound but hasn’t begun a rehab assignment. Freeland can pitch in the minors before his 60 days are up; he’ll be eligible for a return to MLB action in the second week of June.

Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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MLBTR’s Anthony Franco held a live chat today, exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Anthony took questions on Danny Jansen's free agent value, the Brewers' rotation, the Guardians' surprising success, top White Sox prospect Colson Montgomery, Yankees rookie Luis Gil, José Abreu, the Nationals' first base situation and plenty more.

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Mariners Acquire Mike Baumann

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May 23: Baumann reported to the Mariners’ roster today. The team announced that right-hander Cody Bolton has been optioned to Triple-A Tacoma to open a spot on the 26-man roster.

May 22: The Orioles and Mariners announced a trade late Wednesday evening. Seattle acquired reliever Mike Baumann and catcher Michael Pérez in exchange for younger catcher Blake Hunt, whom the O’s have optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Baltimore had designated Baumann for assignment over the weekend. Hunt and Baumann will each occupy spots on their new teams’ 40-man rosters. Pérez was on a minor league contract and will not assume a 40-man spot. Seattle’s roster is at capacity, while the O’s count is up to 39.

Baumann changes teams for the first time in his career. Baltimore drafted the right-hander in the third round back in 2017. A starting pitcher for most of his minor league tenure, he kicked to the bullpen in 2022. Baumann has turned in solid results over the past couple seasons. He tossed a career-high 64 2/3 innings of 3.76 ERA ball last season and has allowed 3.44 earned runs per nine through 17 appearances this year.

While Baumann’s run prevention marks have been good, his strikeout and walk profile is middling. He had a league average 22.3% strikeout percentage with a lofty 12.1% walk rate in 2023. His strikeout rate is down to 19.5% over 18 1/3 innings this season, while his 11% walk percentage remains higher than average. Baumann’s 9.9% swinging strike rate is a couple points below the league mark for relievers.

That certainly contributed to Baltimore’s decision to DFA him, but the more immediate driver was a lack of roster flexibility. Baumann is out of options, so the O’s couldn’t send him to the minors. He was one of six Baltimore relievers who can’t be optioned, and two who can be sent down (Yennier Cano and Keegan Akin) have been far too valuable to take out of the MLB bullpen.

Seattle has four out-of-options relievers of their own, but they can send down one of Eduard Bazardo or Cody Bolton to plug Baumann into the bullpen. Despite lacking huge swing-and-miss tallies, he should deepen their middle relief group. The Jacksonville product has induced ground-balls at a solid 46.4% clip. He averages north of 96 MPH on his fastball and mixes in a knuckle-curve and slider with regularity. Baumann has between one and two years of major league service. He’s controllable for four seasons beyond the current campaign and won’t be eligible for arbitration until the 2025-26 offseason.

The Mariners liked Baumann enough to part with Hunt, who is a more intriguing player than teams typically land for someone they’d designated for assignment. A former second-round pick of the Padres, he went to the Rays as part of the Blake Snell blockbuster. Hunt topped out at Triple-A in the Tampa Bay farm system. Despite a .256/.331/.484 showing in 2023, the Rays decided not to add him to their 40-man roster last fall. Rather than watch him depart for nothing in minor league free agency, Tampa Bay flipped him to Seattle for recent draftee Tatem Levins.

Seattle added Hunt to the 40-man to keep him in the organization. The 25-year-old has spent the season in Triple-A Tacoma, where he’s out to an excellent .293/.372/.533 start in 86 plate appearances. Hunt has already connected on four homers while striking out in only 11.6% of his trips to the plate. He slots in behind Adley Rutschman and James McCann on the organizational depth chart. There’s a chance Hunt makes his MLB debut at some point this year. Even if he spends the rest of the season in Norfolk, he could compete for next year’s backup catching job if the Orioles let McCann depart in free agency.

Pérez is a 31-year-old journeyman who signed a minor league deal with Baltimore over the offseason. He’s hitting .221/.294/.325 over 21 games in Norfolk. Pérez has appeared in parts of six MLB campaigns and owns a .179/.248/.306 slash at the highest level. Including him in the deal allows Seattle to send an experienced, glove-first veteran to Tacoma after Hunt’s departure. He’s behind Cal Raleigh and Seby Zavala on the organizational depth chart.

Brad Keller Elects Free Agency

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Right-hander Brad Keller has elected free agency after going unclaimed on outright waivers, tweets Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. The White Sox had designated him for assignment on Sunday.

Keller signed a minor league pact with Chicago about halfway into Spring Training. He made three starts for their Triple-A team before being called up in late April. He started two of five appearances at the major league level, pitching to a 4.86 ERA through 16 2/3 innings. Three of Keller’s first four outings were solid, but he gave up four homers in as many innings against the Yankees on Saturday. The Sox decided to go in a different direction, eventually recalling rookie right-hander Nick Nastrini to take the rotation spot.

The 28-year-old Keller has pitched in parts of seven major league seasons. All of that time has been spent in the AL Central. The Royals plucked him out of the Arizona farm system as a Rule 5 pick back in 2017. Keller turned out to be one of the better Rule 5 selections in recent history. He posted a 3.08 ERA as a rookie and turned in 28 starts of 4.19 ERA ball during his second season. His results have fallen off following a strong showing in the abbreviated 2020 season.

Keller allowed more than five earned runs per nine in both 2021 and ’22. He was carrying a 4.57 mark with 14 more walks than strikeouts through 45 1/3 innings last year when he was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. Kansas City let him walk in free agency last winter.

Teams seeking rotation depth could offer Keller a minor league deal. While his recent production hasn’t been great, he’s still adept at keeping the ball on the ground. He racked up grounders at a 56.1% clip during his brief run with the Sox. He has only had one season where opponents got the ball in the air more than half the time they put it in play against him.

John Means Being Evaluated For Elbow Soreness

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Orioles starter John Means left this afternoon’s appearance against the Cardinals after three innings. Postgame, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that the left-hander had experienced elbow discomfort (link via Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner). The team was sending Means for further evaluation to determine the severity of a possible injury.

Means was working with diminished stuff. According to Brooks Baseball, his fastball averaged a season-low 88.8 MPH. He has been in the 90-92 range in every other start. Means’ heater topped out at 90.3 MPH today, his lowest maximum velocity of the season.

It’s discouraging news for a pitcher who has battled repeated arm issues over the last couple years. Means was generally durable between 2019-21, his first three full MLB campaigns. He suffered an elbow sprain just two starts into his 2022 season. Means underwent Tommy John surgery not long after, keeping him out of MLB action for nearly 18 months. Baltimore reinstated the former All-Star in the middle of September. Means had a solid four-start run — a 2.66 ERA over 23 2/3 innings — but felt renewed elbow soreness in October.

Baltimore left him off their playoff roster and slow-played his offseason. Means opened the 2024 season on the injured list as a result. He missed the season’s first month. Hyde plugged Means back into the rotation on May 1. He has again been quite effective, turning in a 2.61 ERA with 16 strikeouts and only two walks (both of which came in today’s outing) through 20 innings.

The team will know more about a potential timetable for Means’ return in the coming days. It would appear that another trip to the injured list is a possibility, though the bigger question is whether there’s any kind of structural issue.

If Means goes to the IL, Cole Irvin should draw back into the rotation. The left-hander has been available out of the bullpen for the past few days. (He tossed 3 1/3 innings behind Means today.) Irvin spent most of the year in the starting staff but was briefly pushed to relief once Grayson Rodriguez returned from the injured list last week. Rodriguez slots in behind Corbin Burnes and alongside Kyle Bradish and Dean Kremer as Baltimore’s currently healthy starters.

Angels Re-Sign Amir Garrett To Minor League Contract

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Amir Garrett is returning to the Angels on a minor league deal, tweets Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. The veteran reliever will head back to Triple-A Salt Lake, the place where he opened the 2024 season.

Garrett first signed with the Halos after being released by the Giants in Spring Training. He threw 7 1/3 innings in Salt Lake, striking out 10 while issuing four walks. Opponents only managed three hits and two runs over those eight appearances. The Angels called Garrett to the big leagues at the end of April. He had a tougher go in six MLB outings, surrendering three runs on four hits and five walks through 5 1/3 frames. After Garrett gave up a tie-breaking home run to Alec Burleson in a loss to the Cardinals last week, the Angels designated him for assignment.

The 32-year-old cleared waivers and declined an outright assignment in favor of free agency. It didn’t take long for him to circle back on a new deal with the Angels. That’s not uncommon for veterans who go unclaimed on outright waivers. Reliever Jackson Stephens re-signed with the Braves this afternoon days after electing free agency, for example.

Garrett has high-octane stuff and has missed plenty of bats throughout his seven-plus seasons in the majors. Sky-high walk rates tend to be the tradeoff, though, as he has handed out free passes to more than 15% of opponents in each season since 2021. Garrett will again team with Adam Kolarek as experienced non-roster lefties in Triple-A. Matt Moore and José Suarez are the two southpaws currently in Ron Washington’s bullpen. Kenny Rosenberg has pitched in a swing capacity over the last couple seasons. He’s on the 40-man roster and on optional assignment to Salt Lake, where he has been working out of the rotation.

The Reds’ Surprisingly Tepid Offense

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The Reds went into the year with plenty of optimism. Their young core had surprisingly threatened for a playoff berth and finished above .500 in 2023. The front office followed up by committing more than $100MM -- including nearly $62MM in 2024 salaries alone -- on the free agent market. Cincinnati was a trendy choice to take what looked like a wide open NL Central (and would've been my pick to win the division before a couple key Spring Training injuries).

While it's too soon to write them off entirely, the Reds haven't come close to the heightened expectations through the season's first two months. They're eight games below .500 and above only the Marlins and Rockies in the National League. A lineup loaded with talented young hitters should drive this team to success. Thanks to a combination of injury and a handful of key players underperforming, they've instead had one of the worst offenses in the majors.

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