Dodgers Designate Tyson Miller For Assignment
The Dodgers announced that they have recalled right-hander Ryan Pepiot, with fellow righty Tyson Miller designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Miller is out of minor league options, so a DFA was the only way to remove him from the active roster. Los Angeles’ 40-man count drops to 39.
Miller just rejoined the Dodgers via a waiver claim over the weekend. It was his second stint with L.A., as he’d also spent a few weeks at Chavez Revine in the midsummer. The Dodgers initially acquired Miller from the Brewers in a July trade. They waived him a few weeks thereafter and lost him to the Mets. Los Angeles brought him back on a waiver claim out of New York a few days ago.
Between the two stints, Miller has pitched only twice as a Dodger — once apiece in each stay. He has logged 15 1/3 innings through 10 outings this season overall, allowing eight runs with a 10:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Miller has pitched in parts of three MLB campaigns with five different organizations and owns a 6.97 ERA in 31 frames.
The 28-year-old has also had mixed results at the Triple-A level, where he carries a 4.77 ERA in 230 1/3 innings. Miller has fanned over a quarter of opponents at the top minor league stop but has walked just over 10% of batters faced. Despite the inconsistency, he’s continued to find interest on the waiver wire in recent months.
He’ll land back on waivers in the next couple days. Miller has cleared once before, so he’d have the right to become a free agent if he’s outrighted again.
Yankees Place Harrison Bader On Waivers
The Yankees have placed center fielder Harrison Bader on waivers, reports Erik Boland of Newsday (Twitter link). As is the case with the Angels’ series of waiver placements, New York’s hope is that another team will claim the remaining salary on a player who was headed to free agency in a couple months.
To be clear, these are irrevocable waivers — either of the outright or release variety. The previous system of August waiver trades — where a team could rescind a placement if another club made a claim and the two sides didn’t work out a trade — was done away with in 2019. Whichever claiming team with the highest waiver priority as of Thursday morning will get Bader while taking on the remainder of his arbitration salary. (The waiver priority is in inverse order of the MLB standings and is not league-specific.) The Yankees won’t receive any compensation besides the salary relief. In the unlikely event that he goes unclaimed, New York could opt to keep him on the major league roster for the stretch run.
It’s probably the end of Bader’s year-plus long tenure in the Bronx. New York acquired him at last summer’s deadline in a surprising one-for-one swap that sent Jordan Montgomery to St. Louis. Both players had a season and a half of remaining arbitration control at the time, making it a rather straightforward swap of veterans among contending clubs to address positions of need.
The deal worked out better for St. Louis, as Montgomery has stayed healthy and performed at an upper mid-rotation level since leaving New York. Bader played well at times for the Yankees — headlined by his five homers in nine postseason games last October — but continued dealing with various injury concerns that have plagued him throughout his career.
Bader has landed on the injured list twice this season. He started the year on the shelf with an oblique strain and missed a few weeks with a hamstring issue. He has struggled mightily since returning on June 20, slumping to a .230/.272/.304 batting line in 55 contests. His season slash is down to .242/.279/.370 with just seven homers through 302 plate appearances.
It’s arguably the worst offensive showing of Bader’s career. While he’s never posted huge on-base numbers, this year’s mark is a personal low. It’s the 11th-lowest figure for a hitter with 300+ trips to the dish. Bader is avoiding strikeouts but very rarely walks and has hit just .274 on balls in play.
The offensive struggles are ill-timed for a player on the verge of his first trip to the open market. Yet his secondary skills are strong enough he’s likely to attract interest from another team down the stretch. Bader is a plus defensive center fielder who has again rated highly in his 655 1/3 innings there this season. He has stolen 16 bases in 18 attempts. He at least looks the part of a high-end fourth outfielder, even if other teams are reluctant to displace their starting center fielder for a player who hasn’t hit well of late.
Bader is only likely to appeal to teams in playoff contention. He’ll still be a free agent at year’s end. Taking on what remains of his $5.2MM salary (a little under $900K) only appeals to teams with a shot at contending. The Yankees would save that amount in salary, plus the 75% tax they’re paying for exceeding the CBT for a second straight season. With New York out of playoff contention and Bader’s rough season taking him out of consideration to receive a qualifying offer, the Yankees have decided to make him available to other clubs.
Diamondbacks Outright Nabil Crismatt
The D-Backs have sent reliever Nabil Crismatt outright to Triple-A Reno, according to the transaction tracker at MLB.com. He’d been designated for assignment on Sunday when Arizona selected righty Ryan Thompson onto the big league roster.
Crismatt pitched just once for the D-Backs during a week-long stint on the major league roster. He logged two innings in extras against Cincinnati on Saturday, taking the loss after balking in the game-winning run (who’d been automatically placed on second base). Crismatt’s performance in that outing was solid overall — he struck out three of eight opponents and the run was unearned — but he likely would’ve been unavailable for a day or two after throwing 34 pitches.
With Crismatt having exhausted his minor league options, the Snakes had to keep him in the majors or put him on waivers. It’s the second time this season in which a team has outrighted him, as the Padres also passed him through the wire in June. The right-hander elected free agency at the time and will have that right again.
Crismatt has only pitched 13 innings at the major league level this season, surrendering 12 earned runs. He’s just a season removed from turning in a 2.94 ERA with a solid 23.2% strikeout rate and lofty 50.5% grounder percentage in 67 1/3 frames for San Diego. His velocity is down a couple ticks relative to last year, though, and he surrendered nearly seven earned runs per nine in 24 2/3 frames with Reno before his brief stint on the D-Backs’ roster.
Nationals Sign Junior Fernandez To Minor League Contract
The Nationals have signed reliever Junior Fernández to a minor league deal, as announced by their Triple-A affiliate. He’ll join their top farm team in Rochester.
Fernández had spent the 2023 campaign in the Blue Jays’ system. Toronto claimed the hard-throwing righty off waivers over the winter before successfully passing him through waivers in January. The 26-year-old played the year with their top affiliate in Buffalo, posting a 5.69 ERA in 42 games before being released last week.
As has been the case throughout his career, inconsistent strike-throwing was an issue for Fernández with the Bisons. He walked 11.3% of opposing hitters while striking batters out at a below-average 19.9% clip. He kept the ball on the ground at a quality 51.6% rate but saw nearly a quarter of the fly balls he did allow clear the fence.
Fernández’s arsenal is headlined by an upper-90s sinker. The pitch averaged 98.7 MPH during an MLB stint between the Cardinals and Pirates a season ago. It’s not conducive to missing as many bats as the raw velocity might suggest, but it has enabled him to run a quality 49.4% grounder percentage over 54 career MLB innings. He’s pitched in parts of four big league seasons overall, mostly with St. Louis, working to a 5.17 ERA. He owns a 4.70 mark through four years at the Triple-A level.
The Nationals will give him a change of scenery look for the stretch run. Fernández would return to the open market at the start of the offseason if Washington doesn’t call him up before year’s end. They could keep him around beyond this season if they add him to the 40-man roster, though doing so would require them to keep him in the MLB bullpen since he’s out of minor league options.
Rays Sign Chris Devenski To Major League Deal
7:12pm: Tampa Bay has announced the deal.
5:49pm: The Rays have agreed to a big league contract with reliever Chris Devenski, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). He’d apparently been released by the Angels after being designated for assignment last week. The Rays are placing him on the bereavement list, so he won’t report to the MLB club for a few days. Tampa Bay already had an open 40-man roster spot after outrighting Francisco Mejía.
Devenski signed a non-roster pact with the Halos last offseason. Los Angeles selected his contract in late April and had kept him in the MLB bullpen for the bulk of the year. The right-hander logged 33 2/3 innings over 29 appearances. His 5.08 ERA isn’t particularly eye-catching, but his underlying marks were all fairly solid.
The changeup specialist has struck out a league average 23.6% of batters faced while picking up whiffs on 11.9% of his offerings. He has kept his walks to a modest 6.4% clip and kept the ball on the ground at a 46.3% rate. Devenski’s fastball has sat north of 94 MPH, while he’s handling hitters from both sides of the plate. The primary driver in his middling ERA is a 61.8% strand rate that is well below the league mark.
Tampa Bay feels comfortable enough with Devenski’s peripherals to install him into the middle innings. He can’t be optioned to the minor leagues, so he’ll be in the MLB bullpen once he’s ready to join the club. There’s no financial risk, as the Rays will only pay him the prorated portion of the $720K league minimum for the stretch run before he returns to free agency at year’s end. Devenski will be eligible for postseason play since he’s in the organization before September 1, though he’s not a lock to secure a spot on the Rays’ playoff rosters.
Guardians Designate Daniel Norris For Assignment
The Guardians designated reliever Daniel Norris for assignment this afternoon, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. The move created an active roster spot for the recall of Hunter Gaddis from Triple-A. Cleveland’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.
Norris spent a day on the MLB roster this time around. Cleveland selected his contract yesterday, his third separate stint of the season. Norris was pressed into long relief when the Twins knocked Xzavion Curry from the game early. The southpaw pitched two innings, allowing four runs on a pair of homers.
The 30-year-old has allowed 11 runs (eight earned) in 12 2/3 innings with Cleveland. He has a 5.60 ERA in 53 Triple-A frames on the season. It seems likely Norris will again clear waivers and could explore free agency, as he did a couple weeks ago before re-signing with the Guards on a new minor league pact.
Giants Reinstate Mitch Haniger, Designate Bryce Johnson
The Giants announced they’ve reinstated Mitch Haniger from the 60-day injured list. Heliot Ramos was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move. To clear space on the 40-man roster, San Francisco designated outfielder Bryce Johnson for assignment.
Haniger returns two and a half months after breaking his arm. An errant Jack Flaherty pitch resulted in a right forearm fracture that required surgery. It was another unfortunate break for Haniger, whose career has been littered with stops and starts (often on account of rather fluky injuries of that nature). He’d also begun the season on the shelf after suffering a Spring Training oblique strain. He has appeared in 40 games to this point in his first year as a Giant, hitting .230/.281/.372 over 160 plate appearances.
Slow start notwithstanding, his return is welcome for a San Francisco offense that has struggled of late. Haniger had been an above-average hitter throughout his time with the Mariners. He steps right into a tight race for a Wild Card spot, with SF half a game back of Arizona for the National League’s last spot. Haniger is hitting cleanup tonight and playing left field against Cincinnati southpaw Brandon Williamson.
Johnson, 27, will go on waivers in the next couple days. The switch-hitting outfielder has played in 41 games for the Giants over the last two seasons, hitting .148/.209/.213 through 67 plate appearances. He’s a good athlete and regarded as a quality defender who can cover all three positions on the grass, however.
The Sam Houston State product has hit .284/.360/.471 with 14 stolen bases in 50 Triple-A contests this year. He’s midway through his second minor league option season, so any claiming team could keep him in the minors for the foreseeable future. Johnson went unclaimed on waivers at the start of last offseason, so he’d have the right to test free agency if he clears again.
Tony Gonsolin To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
The Dodgers announced that Tony Gonsolin will undergo Tommy John surgery. The procedure will be performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Friday.
Gonsolin was already known to be out for the remainder of the 2023 season. The club had announced his injury as forearm inflammation when first placing him on the IL last week. They transferred him to the 60-day IL yesterday to close the book on this year.
Now, it seems unlikely he’ll be a factor again until 2025. A Tommy John procedure typically comes with a recovery time pushing or exceeding 14 months. Perhaps he’d be able to make a return late next season, but the safer bet is that he’ll spend the entire ’24 campaign on the 60-day injured list.
Arm injuries have been an unfortunately recurring theme for Gonsolin during his five-year big league career. He lost a couple months early in 2021 with shoulder inflammation. He posted a 3.23 ERA in 15 starts that year and was healthy for the first part of 2022. Gonsolin turned in an All-Star first half and worked to a sparkling 2.14 ERA through 130 1/3 innings. A forearm strain sent him to the IL in late August.
Gonsolin returned at the end of September and made a start in L.A.’s playoff series loss to the Padres. His 2023 debut was delayed by an unrelated ankle sprain, though he returned in late April. The 29-year-old worked 103 innings across 20 outings, struggling to his first below-average season. He allowed just under five earned runs per nine while striking hitters out at a career-low 18.9% clip while his average fastball speed dipped from 93.1 MPH to 92.4 MPH. Things spiraled from late June onward, as Gonsolin allowed four-plus runs in eight of his 11 outings before being placed on the IL.
The Dodgers have now lost a pair of their expected top five starters to forearm surgeries. Dustin May underwent a flexor tendon procedure in early July. The Dodgers indicated May could be back midway through the ’24 season.
Los Angeles was certain to address their rotation next offseason even if May and Gonsolin had been healthy. Clayton Kershaw is an impending free agent, and while the Dodgers would surely have interest in re-signing him, the three-time Cy Young winner will first need to decide whether he wants to suit up for a 17th season. Julio Urías will be one of the top starters in next winter’s free agent class, while the Dodgers will have to make a net $17MM decision on an option for Lance Lynn.
The Dodgers could welcome Walker Buehler back in short stints next month and transition him back to the rotation for ’24. Rookie Bobby Miller has pitched well enough to stake a claim to a spot. That leaves as many as three jobs still to be sorted out between free agency, trade and some combination of Ryan Pepiot, Emmet Sheehan, Gavin Stone, Michael Grove and perhaps a prospect like Nick Frasso or Landon Knack. The pitching pipeline is strong enough they won’t be short on options, but they’ll obviously need to fortify the starting staff with additional certainty.
Gonsolin signed a two-year deal to cover his first couple arbitration seasons in January. He’s guaranteed a $3.4MM base salary for next year. That deal contained up to $3MM in start-based incentives which he won’t be able to trigger even if he makes a late-season return. Even beyond the lengthy rehab process, the absence will be fairly costly for the right-hander. He’ll remain eligible for arbitration through the 2026 campaign.
Twins Notes: Correa, Lewis, Julien, Wallner, Buxton
Carlos Correa was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis and a muscle strain in his left foot back in late May. The Twins shortstop has played through the issue, avoiding the injured list all season.
It hasn’t been a banner year for the two-time All-Star, whose .226/.309/.398 line through 511 plate appearances is among the worst of his career. It’s not hard to connect the dots, as Correa has spoken about playing through continued discomfort on a few occasions.
Correa expanded on the injury in a recent chat with Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. The 28-year-old called it the most painful issue through which he’s played in his career. Correa rather candidly told Rosenthal he “probably would have sat out more time to let it heal” were he an impending free agent but indicated he feels the team needs him to remain as a steadying presence on the active roster — even if his production is below his typical level.
Skipper Rocco Baldelli has pencilled Correa in at shortstop for 117 of Minnesota’s 132 games. He’s logged over 1000 innings, rating as a marginally above-average defender by measure of Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast’s Outs Above Average. Public metrics have loved Correa’s glove in previous seasons, none more so than in 2021 when he rated anywhere nine and 20 runs above average by measure of OAA and DRS en route to a Platinum Glove award. It stands to reason the foot injury is also playing a role in limiting his mobility on that side of the ball, as Correa’s sprint speed is at a personal-low level.
Perhaps the Twins’ place in the standings will enable them to sprinkle in a few more rest days. Minnesotas optioned starter Bailey Ober to Triple-A this evening in a move that seems largely motivated by a desire to keep an eye on his personal-high innings total. After beating the Guardians tonight, the Twins hold a seven-game margin in the AL Central. While the division isn’t quite sewn up, it’s possible they’ll be in position to ease off a lot of their regulars by the second half of September to keep players fresh headed into the postseason.
While the weakness of the division is a big reason for Minnesota’s comfortable place in the standings, the Twins have also simply played well of late. They’re 24-17 in the second half and have matched their season high by pulling six games above .500 at 69-63. As Aaron Gleeman writes for The Athletic, the Twins’ strong rookie core has played a big role in that success.
Minnesota has received well above-average play from each of Royce Lewis, Edouard Julien and Matt Wallner. None of that trio began the season on the active roster. Lewis started on the injured list rehabbing from a second straight year with a torn ACL. Julien and Wallner opened the year in Triple-A. They’re now all healthy and playing regular roles thanks to their strong performances.
Lewis has secured the third base job, which had been up for grabs after José Miranda struggled early on. The former first overall pick is up to a .317/.366/.521 line through 153 plate appearances after tonight’s game, in which he hit a grand slam off Cleveland righty Xzavion Curry. Lewis had connected on a grand slam in yesterday’s extra-inning win over Texas as well, becoming the first player in franchise history to hit one in consecutive contests.
Julien is working as the primary designated hitter. The lefty-hitting infielder had manned second base while Jorge Polanco was on the shelf. While he struggled defensively, he’s been an excellent offensive player, putting together a .285/.378/.478 line in 292 trips to the plate. Wallner, meanwhile, has grabbed the left field corner opposite Max Kepler with 10 homers, six doubles and a triple through 156 plate appearances. That has pushed the struggling Joey Gallo into a platoon center field role alongside Michael A. Taylor.
Minnesota could soon welcome Byron Buxton back into the outfield rotation. The Twins had limited the Gold Glove winner to designated hitter early in the season in an effort to keep him healthy. Buxton nevertheless landed on the injured list with a hamstring strain a few weeks ago, but he doesn’t seem far off a return. He went through an on-field workout today and could soon head on a minor league rehab stint, tweets Darren Wolfson of SKOR North. The Twins are expected to give Buxton center field reps on that assignment as they evaluate his readiness to handle defensive work for the final few weeks.
Mets Sign Daniel Palka To Minor League Deal
The Mets signed first baseman/corner outfielder Daniel Palka to a minor league contract yesterday, according to an announcement from their Triple-A club in Syracuse. He’ll join their top affiliate there.
Palka, 31, is familiar with the New York organization. He spent the 2022 campaign in Syracuse on a minor league pact, hitting .263/.344/.506 with 26 longballs over 109 games. The Mets never gave him a big league look. He returned to minor league free agency last offseason and caught on with the Red Sox on a non-roster pact.
Through 314 plate appearances with the Sox’s top affiliate in Worcester, Palka hit .233/.309/.410 with 12 home runs. Boston released him towards the end of July. A month later, the left-handed hitter makes his return to Syracuse. He’ll have a little over a month to try to play his way onto the big league roster.
Palka’s only MLB experience to date came with the 2018-19 White Sox. He appeared in 154 games over those two seasons, roughly one full campaign’s worth of work. He blasted 29 home runs and slugged .433, but he struck out in nearly 35% of his trips. His .218 average and .277 on-base percentage reflected his trouble consistently putting the ball in play.
That hasn’t been as big a problem at the Triple-A level. Palka’s strikeout rates there have hovered between 21-24%, roughly league average rates, over the past three seasons. Yet he didn’t hit for his typical level of power in Worcester, as his .410 slugging mark there is the lowest he’s posted in any of his seven Triple-A campaigns.