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Rangers Designate Eddie Gamboa, Select Preston Claiborne, Place Jeremy Jeffress On DL

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The Rangers have announced that righty Eddie Gamboa was designated for assignment, via executive VP of communications John Blake. His 40-man spot will go to righty Preston Claiborne, whose contract was purchased. Texas also shifted reliever Jeremy Jeffress to the 10-day DL.

Gamboa, a 32-year-old knuckleballer, cracked the majors for the first time last year with the Rays. He was traded out of DFA limbo over the winter, with the Rangers interested in adding an optionable arm to their roster.

Through 77 2/3 innings over 14 starts at Triple-A this year, Gamboa had struggled to a 6.49 ERA. He’s carrying only 5.3 K/9, down from his typical levels in the upper minors, while issuing 4.5 free passes per nine innings.

Red Sox Outright Kyle Kendrick

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The Red Sox have outrighted right-hander Kyle Kendrick off of their 40-man roster, Evan Drellich of CSNNE.com reports on Twitter. He will remain at Triple-A Pawtucket, however, suggesting he has already cleared waivers.

Kendrick, 32, was previously optioned after making two rough starts at the major league level for Boston. He consented to that move and evidently wishes to continue on with the organization despite now losing his 40-man spot. It’s not yet known what the team will do with the new roster opening.

Over 54 2/3 innings through nine starts at Triple-A, Kendrick owns a 5.93 ERA with 6.1 K/9 against 1.3 BB/9. His most recent substantial work at the MLB level came with the Rockies in 2015, when he turned in 142 1/3 frames of 6.32 ERA ball.

Cubs Option Kyle Schwarber, Place Jason Heyward On DL

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11:03am: Chicago will also place outfielder Jason Heyward on the DL with a left hand injury, Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago tweets. Outfielder Mark Zagunis and righty Dylan Floro are expected to take the open roster spots.

Zagunis, 24, has followed up on a strong 2016 campaign with a .249/.399/.474 slash through 268 plate appearances at Triple-A this year. He has drawn 48 walks against sixty strikeouts thus far. As for Floro, he’ll look to improve upon his first 6 1/3 innings with the Cubs, over which he allowed six earned runs on 13 hits.

10:59am: In a surprising move, the Cubs have decided to option young outfielder/catcher Kyle Schwarber to Triple-A, according to David Kaplan of CSN Chicago (via Twitter). The expectation is that it won’t be a lengthy assignment, but it’s still a notable decision for the defending World Series champs.

Schwarber, 24, turned in an outstanding rookie campaign in 2015 and seemed primed for more last season. Instead, he lost almost the entire regular season after a devastating knee injury. But he came back in near-miraculous fashion to join the team for the Series — turning in a .412/.500/.471 batting line in twenty trips to the plate.

Things have not gone as hoped early in 2017, however. Schwarber, who has spent the vast bulk of his time in left field, currently owns a .171/.295/.378 batting line in 261 plate appearances. Though he has cracked a dozen home runs, and is carrying strikeout and walk numbers that are virtually identical to his prior marks, Schwarber has managed only a .193 batting average on balls in play. More soft contact at the expense of hard contact likely has played a role, as has a growing flyball rate (including quite a few more infield pops), though it seems reasonable to believe there’s also some misfortune baked into the results.

The move seems designed to give Schwarber a chance to get his bat on track at Triple-A — a level he barely stopped at on his way to the majors. In his stead, the Cubs still have plenty of options. Ben Zobrist seems likely to return from the DL soon, joining Ian Happ as an option in left. Both players can also line up at second base, of course, where the Cubs can also play Javier Baez and Tommy La Stella.

Athletics Designate Stephen Vogt

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The Athletics have designated veteran catcher Stephen Vogt for assignment in the team’s latest future-oriented move, per a club announcement. Catcher Bruce Maxwell and first baseman/outfielder Matt Olson have been called up from Triple-A, with third baseman Matt Chapman hitting the DL.

[RELATED: Updated Athletics Depth Chart]

Chapman had only just been called up himself, taking over at third base with veteran Trevor Plouffe being designated and later traded to the Rays. The A’s are now calling upon two additional youthful players while making the somewhat surprising decision to part with Vogt — one of the organization’s longest-tenured players.

Vogt earned All-Star nods in each of the past two seasons. He was also a fan favorite and noted clubhouse leader in Oakland. But the 32-year-old was struggling early in 2017. Through 174 plate appearances, he owns a marginal .217/.287/.357 batting line with four home runs.

Despite those tepid results, it stands to reason that the left-handed hitter will draw interest from other organizations. Vogt is earning just $2,965,000 this year and has two arb-eligible seasons still to come. It seems possible, though hardly certain, that he could be claimed on waivers; more likely, perhaps, is some kind of trade.

Vogt’s difficulties at the plate are only part of the story. After all, he has been a bit unlucky to carry a .244 BABIP — though his 28.3% soft contact rate also represents a low point. But there are also questions about his defensive capabilities behind the dish; Baseball Prospectus (subscription required) continues to rate Vogt as a negative in the pitch-framing department while also grading him as below-average in controlling the running game. Vogt has also played first base and a bit of corner outfield in the past, so he does come with some defensive versatility.

Whatever happens with Vogt, the A’s seem clearly to be open for business with regards to other veteran players. First baseman Yonder Alonso, righty Sonny Gray, and infielder Jed Lowrie all seem to be clear trade candidates along with relievers Ryan Madson, Sean Doolittle, and Santiago Casilla — among other players.

While exploring deals in a market that currently features relatively few clear sellers, the A’s will begin to see what they have in some younger options. Maxwell, 26, has already tasted the majors in each of the past two years and has slashed a robust .310/.378/.516 over 312 total plate appearances at the highest level of the minors (after largely scuffling at the plate earlier in his professional career). The 23-year-old Olson has also received brief MLB time already. He has dominated the PCL pitching thus far in 2017, putting up a .271/.365/.561 batting line with 17 home runs through 249 trips to the plate on the year.

AL Notes: McCullers, Morton, Fister, Yankees, Red Sox

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Here’s the latest from around the American League:

  • The Astros have weathered the absences of several top starters, though the team is surely looking forward to welcoming them back in time to make a full rotation assessment before the trade deadline. First in line seems to be righty Lance McCullers; as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle writes, the excellent young hurler is set to return to the bump on Saturday. He has missed time with a lower back issue, but it doesn’t appear to be cause for much concern in the bigger picture.
  • Meanwhile, fellow Astros righty Charlie Morton is scheduled for a short rehab outing tonight, as Kaplan further writes. The hope is that he’ll be ready to make it back to the MLB hill before the All-Star break. Morton has been quite a pleasant surprise, despite the time missed for a lat strain. He has not only provided 57 2/3 solid innings, posting a 4.06 ERA, but has shown the promise of delivering even better results. Morton is sitting in the mid-nineties with his fastball while carrying 10.1 K/9, both of which dwarf his prior full-season marks.
  • The division-rival Angels continue to face pitching questions of their own, but decided to pass on a chance to add veteran righty Doug Fister to the active roster — instead allowing him to return to free agency by exercising his opt-out clause. Los Angeles did want to keep the veteran around, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, who tweets that GM Billy Eppler asked Fister to keep working with the organization’s Triple-A affiliate. But Fister’s camp evidently sees greater opportunity on the open market, where he could conceivably find a MLB roster spot if there’s a team that has an immediate need for pitching and believes Fister is prepared to return to the game’s highest level.
  • It still isn’t clear what the Yankees will do at the first base position for the rest of the year, but it’s an increasingly interesting question. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch looks at the latest. There’s some renewed hope that youngster Greg Bird can work back to health, as he’s set to resume baseball activities soon following a cortisone shot in his problematic ankle. But he’s a total question mark after a long layoff and distinct struggles at the plate this year. Meanwhile, manager Joe Girardi offered a tepid review of Chris Carter, who’s currently the preferred option. Prospect Tyler Austin has been productive at Triple-A, but is also whiffing at a hefty rate.  GM Brian Cashman says that he thinks the club is still best-served by relying on Carter for the time being, while offering optimism that the internal options will come through this year. Still, it’s fair to wonder whether the Yanks will end up exploring the trade market this summer.
  • It seems the Red Sox are positioned to land the top Venezuelan prospect when the new July 2nd signing period opens, Ben Badler of Baseball America writes. Catcher Daniel Flores draws rare praise for his skills behind the dish. And while there’s still some work to do with the bat, Badler says there’s still power to be tapped into for the switch-hitter. You’ll want to read the entire post for a full sense of just why Flores is seen as such a special prospect. It seems Boston could return to the international market with a bang after finishing a one-year ban on bonus pool-limited signings.

Doug Fister Opts Out Of Angels Contract

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3:29pm: Fister did indeed exercise his opt-out, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. He’ll be on release waivers for the next 48 hours and will then have the opportunity to sign on with another team once he clears. While Fister could technically be claimed off release waivers, any team doing so would have to be comfortable paying him at the pro-rated $1.75MM salary he agreed to with Anaheim, and other clubs may prefer to aim for a lower rate once he clears.

2:40pm: The Angels have released veteran righty Doug Fister from his minor-league deal, per a club announcement. Today was the date for his opt-out opportunity, so it appears likely that the Halos elected not to add him to the MLB roster and instead granted a request that he be returned to the open market.

Fister, 33, had a promising first outing at Triple-A, but his two more recent starts haven’t been as successful. In total, he has a 4.02 ERA with 10 strikeouts and five walks through 15 2/3 innings against minor league opponents.

That showing evidently wasn’t enough to motivate the Angels to clear a roster and rotation spot for Fister. At this point, perhaps, there wasn’t much upside to such a move. It’s now been three years since the right-hander was an above-average contributor in a big league rotation, and his fastball velocity has taken a notable dip in recent years. Last year, Fister was able to make 32 starts last year for the first time since 2013, but wasn’t very effective (4.64 ERA, 5.7 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 45.3 percent ground-ball rate) with the division-rival Astros.

Of course, that’s not to say that he won’t draw interest. There were reportedly five clubs that at least kicked the tires on Fister last time around — the D-backs, Mets, Giants and Blue Jays were all linked to him as well last time in free agency — and there are plenty of clubs that could use depth options in the rotation. While it’s possible that a pitching-needy team (e.g. Twins, Orioles) agrees to plug Fister directly into the rotation, the majority of interested parties figure to be eyeing arrangements similar to the one from which Fister just opted out in Anaheim.

Freddie Freeman: “Mindset” Is To Move To Third Base

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Braves star Freddie Freeman says that his “mindset is to return as a third baseman,” as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports (links to Twitter). With Matt Adams emerging as a productive offensive player at first in his absence, Freeman appears serious about attempting a move across the diamond even while completing his recovery from a wrist fracture.

Freeman played the hot corner in high school, but the eight-year MLB veteran has lined up exclusively at first base as a professional. Needless to say, this apparent attempt to move back to third in the middle of the season represents quite a surprising turn of events. Freeman says he himself proposed the idea to the team, so obviously he’s on board; it remains unknown just what the organization would need to see to allow him to line up there.

When Freeman went down with his wrist injury, it seemed clear he’d leave behind a significant hole in the lineup. After all, he was carrying a .341/.461/.748 batting line that dwarfed even his typically excellent levels of output. But the Braves were able to add Matt Adams for a song, and he has stepped in with a .296/.349/.635 line over his 29 games in Atlanta. (Whether he can maintain anything like that kind of output, of course, is an open question.)

Adams’s success has created a bit of a quandary for the Braves as Freeman moves toward a return. The new addition didn’t fare well in his own brief attempt at a position change (to the corner outfield), but also may not receive huge trade interest at the deadline due to questionable demand for a player of his skillset.

Particularly since Adams comes with one more year of arb control, then, the Braves clearly have some motivation to find a way to field both players. Whether Freeman is able to show enough capacity at the position — presumably, in a minor-league rehab assignment — even to earn the chance to play it in the majors is yet to be seen. That’ll be known soon enough, though, as it now seems he’s on track to return right around the All-Star break.

Mariners Designate Tyler Cloyd

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The Mariners have designated Tyler Cloyd and optioned Christian Bergman, per a club announcement. Righty Andrew Moore’s contract was selected in a corresponding move.

Cloyd, 30, made only a single appearance for Seattle this year — his first since 2013. He has thrown well at Triple-A, though, carrying a 1.40 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 0.9 BB/9 through 19 1/3 innings over five starts.

While Bergman had been scheduled for an upcoming start, he’ll instead make way for the 23-year-old Moore. A second-round pick in 2015, Moore has impressed throughout his minor-league career. That has continued thus far in 2017, as he moved up to the highest level of the minors for the first time. In 82 2/3 total frames, split between Double and Triple-A, Moore owns a 2.83 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9.

Central Notes: Castillo, Bailey, Cards, Duffy, Tigers

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The Reds will promote young righty Luis Castillo to make his MLB debut on Friday, as C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Skipper Bryan Price cited the 24-year-old’s strike-throwing ability as a prime motivation for his call-up over a few other hurlers who are working at the team’s Triple-A affiliate. Castillo, who came over in the offseason deal that sent Dan Straily to the Marlins, has impressed thus far at Double-A. Through 80 1/3 innings over 14 starts, he owns a 2.58 ERA with a healthy 9.1 K/9 to go with just 1.5 BB/9.

Here are some more notes from Cinci and the game’s central divisions:

  • In other Reds pitching news, veteran righty Homer Bailey is set to make his season debut on Saturday, Rosecrans notes, so long as a pen session today goes well. Bailey, 31, has turned in three strong rehab outings at Triple-A, allowing just two earned runs on 11 hits through 16 2/3 innings while sporting a 17:3 K/BB ratio. The Reds will hope that can carry over into the majors, as Bailey remains an important player for the organization this year and into the future. He’s owed $19MM in 2017 and another $49MM over the next two campaigns (including a buyout on a 2020 mutual option). Bailey is working back from surgery for bone spurs in his elbow, the most recent of several procedures, and hasn’t turned in a full season’s work since way back in 2013.
  • The Cardinals, meanwhile, ought to be preparing to sell at the deadline this summer, Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch argues. Ticket sales remain strong despite the club’s scuffles, he notes, but that doesn’t mean 2017 contention is terribly realistic for a club that sits five games under .500. (It is fair to note, though, that the Cards are still just four back in a mediocre NL Central.) As for potential chips, Ortiz suggests that pending free agent starter Lance Lynn ought to be made available, along with relievers Trevor Rosenthal and Seung-Hwan Oh.
  • The Royals are seeing some progress from southpaw Danny Duffy, as Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reports on Twitter. Duffy, 28, seems to be one more pen session away from embarking upon a rehab stint, though manager Ned Yost suggested he’ll likely require three minor-league starts before returning to the majors. When he’s finally able to return from his oblique strain, Duffy figures to represent quite an impactful addition for a K.C. team that has pushed back toward contention even without its top hurler.
  • As the Tigers struggle to stay afloat in the AL Central, the club is dealing yet again with bullpen woes, as Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes. Skipper Brad Ausmus suggested that he isn’t terribly confident in the bulk of the club’s relievers, which isn’t terribly surprising to hear given the numbers. Shane Greene may have eclipsed Alex Wilson as the team’s primary setup option, it seems, but as Fenech notes the Tigers still are struggling to hand off to closer Justin Wilson. While youngster Joe Jimenez is throwing again at Triple-A, Detroit is understandably taking things slowly with him, leaving few clear options for a club that sits six games under .500 entering today’s action.

Diamondbacks Sign First-Rounder Pavin Smith

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The Diamondbacks have agreed to an at-slot deal with first-round pick Pavin Smith, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports on Twitter. The team has announced the signing. Smith, taken seventh overall, will receive a $5,016,300 bonus.

That payday falls just a bit shy of the $5.1MM bonus locked up earlier today by Smith’s former University of Virginia teammate, Adam Haseley, who was taken just one pick later in the draft. Both are seen as advanced hitters.

Smith is expected to remain at first base as a professional, which obviously puts more pressure on his bat. But he carries an extremely polished approach with him to Arizona. In 2017, Smith swatted 13 home runs while going down on strikes just a dozen times.

The major question, perhaps, is just how much power can be expected. Smith is not viewed as possessing significant raw power, though it seems he may be able to maximize his strength with his outstanding contact abilities. He is expected to be a quality defender at first.

Taking in the total package, MLB.com ranked Smith eighth on its draft board, though other pundits weren’t quite as impressed. On other prominent lists, he placed 12th (ESPN.com’s Keith Law), 15th (Baseball America), and 20th (Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen).

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