Cubs Designate Luke Farrell, Rob Zastryzny
The Cubs have a pair of roster casualties today amidst their first round of September call-ups: right-hander Luke Farrell and left-hander Rob Zastryzny have been designated for assignment in order to clear room on the roster for outfielder Terrance Gore and infielder Taylor Davis, whose contracts have been selected from Triple-A Iowa.
Farrell has done more harm than good for the 2018 Cubs team; his 5.17 ERA and 5.19 FIP are nearly identical, indicating he hasn’t shown the skills required of an effective major-league pitcher. While his ability to miss bats (11.20 K/9) might disagree with that assumption to some extent, his command issues (4.60 BB/9) strengthens the case that he isn’t a useful major-league piece at this time. His biggest woes come from the fact that he’s an extreme fly-ball pitcher (30.6% ground-ball rate) who allows an excess of homers (17.5% homer-to-fly-ball ratio).
The 26-year-old Zastryzny has seen less of an extended look at the MLB level, but showed even less promise than Farrell in that small sample. He’s allowed three earned runs while walking four batters in a 5 2/3 inning sample size, and while it’s perhaps unfair to draw many conclusions from that limited opportunity, his 2018 Triple-A performance doesn’t necessarily help his cause. While the 3.86 ERA he posted in 56 innings there might seem serviceable on the surface, the 4.68 FIP and 4.52 xFIP lurking underneath paint an entirely different picture. He also walked a batter every other inning on average while with Iowa.
Blue Jays Designate Murphy Smith
The Blue Jays announced that they’ve designated right-hander Murphy Smith for assignment; that’ll make room for left-handed reliever Jose Fernandez, whose contract has been selected for the first time.
Smith, 31, made his major-league debut this season after spending parts of ten seasons in the minors. The Athletics drafted him in the 13th round all the way back in 2009, and he’s been with the Blue Jays organization since 2015. During that time, he’s slowly pushed his way up the minor-league ladder, culminating in a 3 1/3 inning audition with Toronto at the MLB level. That didn’t go well, as he allowed three runs on five hits while failing to strike out any opposing hitters.
Smith certainly isn’t any sort of strikeout artist, as he’s averaged less than six K’s per nine innings at Triple-A across the past two seasons. Rather, he typically relies on an uncanny ability to limit the home run ball. Though he’s averaged about a homer per nine innings at Triple-A, his track record at lower levels of the minors is elite in that department; with Toronto’s Double-A affiliate, he averaged less than half a home run per nine innings pitched from 2016-2017. That skill also showed brightly at every level of the minors with the Athletics.
A’s Designate Bruce Maxwell, Outright Josh Lucas/Boog Powell
The Athletics announced an avalanche of September 1st roster moves. The club has designated catcher Bruce Maxwell for assignment. Meanwhile, righty Josh Lucas and outfielder Boog Powell have cleared waivers and have been outrighted to Triple-A. Kendall Graveman was also recalled in order to be placed on the 60-day disabled list. Those four moves made room for the four contracts the A’s selected today; left-hander Dean Keikhefer, right-handers Chris Hatcher and Liam Hendriks, and catcher Beau Taylor, who will be making his first appearance in the major leagues.
Maxwell is probably the most notable player on this list, though certainly more for his non-baseball publicity than any actual merit in his gameplay. The backstop was the first baseball player to join the police brutality protests during the national anthem, a movement that had then been mainly held to NFL circles. More recently, Maxwell was arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and disorderly conduct. On the field, he owns a .240/.314/.347 batting line with five homers and a 24.3% strikeout rate.
Lucas, meanwhile, has had a wretched showing with the Athletics at the MLB level. The 27-year-old righty owns a 6.28 ERA across 14 1/3 innings with Oakland, thanks in part to a troublesome 5.65 BB/9. Even in the minors, he’s pitched to a 2.63 ERA but a much less attractive 4.17 FIP while exhibiting the same sort of walk issues. Prior to this season, Lucas had spent the entirety of his career in the Cardinals organization; he was traded to the A’s in exchange for fellow minor-league hurler Casey Meisner.
The 25-year-old Powell hasn’t given the A’s much to be excited about this year, either. He had an excellent showing across 92 plate appearances with Oakland in 2017, when he batted .321/.380/.494 with a trio of homers and average center field defense, but this year has been an entirely different story. Powell’s wRC+ on the year sits at just 28, and his wOBA is an equally poor .211. That’s the result of just four hits (two for extra bases) across 25 MLB plate appearances. Overall, Fangraphs rates his 2018 performance at 0.3 wins below replacement level.
Indians Designate Evan Marshall
Amidst a flurry of September 1st moves, the Indians announced that they’ve opted to designated right-hander Evan Marshall for assignment in order to make room for fellow righty Jon Edwards, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Columbus.
Marshall, 28, was part of the Tribe’s infamous early-season bullpen shuffle as the club sorted through a host of relievers in order to find some semblance of stability in a bullpen that was then one of the worst in baseball. Of course, Marshall was more a part of the problem than he was a part of the solution for the Indians, as he allowed six earned runs in seven innings for the MLB club. He also walked a quartet of hitters during that time.
There was a reason the Cleveland organization gave him a look, though. His track record at Triple-A was nearly flawless; Marshall posted a sparkling 2.51 FIP across 24 innings with the Columbus Clippers, with an ERA that came out to less than half that figure. However, they apparently didn’t feel it would be worth the opportunity to allow him to sort things out in the majors during September, and he’ll now be available for another club to take a chance on as active roster allotments expand to 40.
Mariners Outright Christian Bergman, Designate Rob Whalen, Activate James Paxton
The Mariners have announced a flurry of roster moves amidst their September call-ups. Among the most notable transactions: lefty James Paxton has been activated from the 10-day disabled list, righty Christian Bergman has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, and righty Rob Whalen has been designated for assignment. The latter two moves were made to clear room on the roster for the contract selections of utilityman Kristopher Negron and righty Justin Grimm.
Paxton has been on the disabled list for the past two weeks after being struck in the left arm by a comebacker. While there was thankfully no structural damage to his pitching arm, the concerns were apparently heavy enough to warrant a trip to the DL. Paxton has been one of the bright spots for the Mariners this season, pitching to a respectable 3.68 ERA that actually seems unlucky when compared to his 3.12 FIP. His 2018 resume also includes 176 strikeouts in 139 1/3 innings, as well as a no-hitter against the Blue Jays on May 8th.
Bergman, 30, has made appearances in the majors during each of the past five seasons, pitching for both the Rockies and Mariners. He’s never managed to contribute a whole lot of value, though, as he’s never mustered an ERA south of 4.74 in a given season. Perhaps that’s in part due to his inability to strike batters out; Bergman’s career K/9 sits at just 5.43, while his 39.1% ground ball rate is nothing special, either.
Whalen’s spent time with the Braves organization during his career, but he’s spent the past two seasons with the Mariners. He pitched four innings in long relief against the Red Sox on June 15th, allowing just a hit, a walk, and no earned runs. He failed to strike anyone out, though, and his more extensive Triple-A track record suggests he’s obviously far more flawed than a 0.00 ERA pitcher. In 99 1/3 innings at Tacoma, Whalen’s posted a 5.16 ERA (4.03 FIP) while striking out just under a batter per inning.
Blue Jays Claim Mark Leiter Jr.
The Blue Jays and Phillies have both announced that Toronto claimed right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. off waivers from Philadelphia. Leiter Jr. had been designated for assignment earlier in the week.
Leiter Jr. got his first taste of major-league action with the Phillies last season, tossing 90 2/3 innings in The Show. His initial performance was somewhat encouraging, as he posted a 3.88 ERA with a 7.89 K/9 figure through August. That showing was largely discredited by a 4.79 FIP, though, and come September the wheels fell off entirely. During a catastrophic final month of the year, Leiter Jr. allowed 22 earned runs in 25 2/3 innings, which included eight homers hit off the right-hander.
This season has been, in some ways, even worse for the 27-year-old. While his 5.40 ERA across 12 relief appearances seems troublesome, the 7.11 FIP beneath the surface is downright dreadful. During those 16 2/3 innings, he’s also walked a whopping eight batters while allowing five home runs. All this has led to Leiter Jr. costing his team roughly half a win (per Fangraphs’ WAR formula) below that of a replacement level player.
Yankees Designate Shane Robinson
The Yankees have designated outfielder Shane Robinson for assignment, per a report from YES Network’s Jack Curry. Presumably, the move was made to clear room on the roster for the recently-acquired Adeiny Hechavarria.
Somewhat of an unspectacular journeyman, Robinson has played a part-time outfielder role for the Cardinals, Twins, Angels and Yankees throughout the course of his ten-year MLB career. Overall, he’s been worth about half a win above replacement across 849 plate appearances at the game’s highest level; that performance includes a .221/.288/.292 batting line with seven home runs and 19 stolen bases.
The 33-year-old has managed a pathetic wRC+ of just 16 across the 2018 season, but his decent performance on the basepaths and good fielding measures have kept his fWAR rating at about replacement level. He’s also been tough to strike out, whiffing at just an 11.1% clip on the year. Robinson was drafted by the Cardinals back in 2006 and is currently playing on an MLB minimum contract.
Reds Release Zack Weiss
The Reds have released right-hander Zack Weiss in order to clear room on the 40-man roster for shortstop Blake Trahan, whose September call-up was reported earlier today.
Weiss, 26, has never known any organization other than the Reds. The organization drafted him in the sixth round all the way back in 2013, and he’s come up through their system as a reliever. His only major-league appearance, however, was an unmitigated disaster. On April 12th, Weiss faced the Cardinals and allowed four earned runs on a pair of walks and a pair of homers without recording a single out.
Even in the minors, Weiss has exhibited extreme control issues. At Triple-A this season, he walked 15 batters in just 11 1/3 innings pitched en route to a 12.27 BB/9, while also allowing 11 earned runs in that span. There’s at least some cause for intrigue surrounding the righty, though, as he managed 11.89 K/9 across 28 Double-A innings last year. His ERA in that span came out to a respectable 2.89, and if Weiss can harness some of that ability at the major-league level, he’d certainly be a useful arm to a major-league club.
Phillies Designate Jesmuel Valentin
The Phillies have designated infielder Jesmuel Valdin for assignment, per a club announcement. The move was made in order to clear room for Pedro Florimon, who was activated from the 60-day disabled list.
Valentin, originally drafted by the Dodgers, has been with the Phillies organization since 2014. He’s played both second and third base in the minor leagues, and earned his first taste of MLB action this season after batting .240/.346/.341 at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. That batting line came with a pair of homers and a trio of steals.
His debut hasn’t gone well. Valentin has struck out at a 27.0% clip across 89 major-league plate appearances and mustered only a .177/.258/.304 line. Fangraphs doesn’t care much for him defensively, either, as evidenced by his -1.7 rating in that area of gameplay. With little value in the field and a 52 wRC+ during his first MLB showing, Valentin will enter the waiver wire and be available to be claimed by any rival club.
Yankees Activate Gary Sanchez
The Yankees have activated catcher Gary Sanchez from the disabled list. While it’s commonplace for clubs to activate players from the 10-day disabled list on September 1st even if they aren’t entirely ready (due to roster expansion), he’s also in today’s starting lineup against the Tigers.
Groin injuries have limited the young Sanchez to just 279 plate appearances on the year. The first occurrence of this injury came on June 25th, when the 25-year-old hit the disabled list with a grade one strain. Though he was activated on July 19th, he succumbed to the injury again just five days later after a game in which he seemed unable to hustle down the first base line much to the consternation of the Bombers’ fan base.
Even while on the field, Sanchez certainly hasn’t shown his best work so far this year. While his 14 homers have certainly been a positive, a .188 batting average and .283 on-base certainly aren’t what the Yankees had imagined seeing from him after a .278/.345/.531 sophomore season in 2017.
To be fair, though, a shockingly low .194 BABIP has suppressed his offensive performance considerably, and that seems unlikely to continue to such an extreme. Additionally, his .303 wOBA is a far cry from the .361 xwOBA accredited to him by Statcast for his contact quality and launch angle. The Yankees will surely be hoping his luck will turn around as they prepare for a postseason berth that seems likely to begin with a one-game Wild Card playoff.