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Blue Jays Release Tim Mayza

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The Blue Jays have released Tim Mayza, according to the left-hander’s player page on MLB.com. He was designated for assignment last week.

This marks the end, at least for now, of Mayza’s 11-year career with Toronto. The Blue Jays selected him in the 2013 draft, and he made his MLB debut at the Rogers Centre four years later. He would go on to make 352 appearances over the next eight years, far more than any other pitcher on the team in that span; he ranks eighth all-time in appearances by a Blue Jays pitcher.

Mayza became a key player in Toronto’s bullpen in 2021, and over the next three years, he pitched 155 innings with a 2.67 ERA. The southpaw had the best season of his career just last year, pitching to a 1.52 ERA in 69 games. His underlying stats were not quite as impressive, but his 3.11 SIERA and 3.38 xERA were still good numbers, especially for a higher-leverage reliever like Mayza. Thus, his struggles in 2024 came as a major surprise.

In 24 2/3 innings over 35 games this year, Mayza gave up 24 runs (22 earned) on 36 hits and 12 walks. He managed to strike out only 16 of the 121 batters he faced. All of that added up to an 8.03 ERA, which makes him the only reliever in the league (min. 20 IP) with an ERA over 8.00. While his underlying numbers are better than his ERA, they’re still disappointing across the board. His 5.04 SIERA and 6.77 xERA both rank last among Blue Jays relievers (min. 10 IP), which is especially bad considering the Blue Jays have had one of the least effective bullpens in baseball this season. With all that in mind, the team’s decision to release Mayza is not difficult to understand – even though it would have been almost impossible to imagine at the beginning of the year.

After more than a decade with the Blue Jays, Mayza will now be able to seek employment elsewhere. At 32 years old, he could be an intriguing reclamation project for an organization that thinks it can help him regain his 2023 form.

Cubs Sign Christian Bethancourt To Minor League Deal

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Christian Bethancourt has signed a minor league contract with the Cubs, according to his transaction log on MLB.com. The journeyman catcher was released by the Marlins last week. The Cubs will be his ninth MLB organization since he made his big league debut with the Braves in 2013.

Bethancourt failed to make much of an impression over his first five MLB seasons, appearing in 161 games for the Braves and Padres between 2013-17 and slashing .222/.252/.316 with a 52 wRC+. He did not play in the majors from 2018-21, bouncing between the Brewers, Phillies, and Pirates organizations, with a brief stopover in the KBO during the 2019 campaign.

At 30 years old, Bethancourt finally returned to the major leagues in 2022, appearing in 56 games for the Athletics and playing well enough to catch the attention of the Rays ahead of the trade deadline. He continued to play well with Tampa Bay down the stretch, finishing the season with a league-average 100 wRC+ and 1.8 FanGraphs WAR.

Unfortunately, Bethancourt did not find the same success in 2023. While he made Tampa Bay’s Opening Day roster and played 102 games behind the dish, he finished the season with just a 74 wRC+. His defensive numbers took a hit as well; he caught 13 of 30 would-be base stealers in 2022 but only 13 of 57 the following year. His pitch-framing numbers also declined, according to metrics from both FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.

The Rays flipped Bethancourt to the Marlins over the offseason, and his offensive struggles have only gotten worse in 2024. He slashed .159/.198/.268 over 38 games in Miami before he was designated for assignment in mid-June. He was released shortly thereafter. Bethancourt will now join the Triple-A Iowa Cubs as he strives to get his next big league opportunity on the North Side of Chicago. The Cubs have gotten very little production from their catchers this year; the only team whose catchers have a lower OPS or wRC+ is the Marlins. Currently, Tomás Nido and Miguel Amaya are the only two backstops on Chicago’s 40-man roster. Presumably, Bethancourt is now the next catcher on the depth chart.

Nationals Select Juan Yepez

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July 5: The Nats have made it official, announcing that they have selected Yepez and transferred Gray to the 60-day IL.

July 4: The Nationals are planning to promote Juan Yepez, according to Andrew Golden of The Washington Post. The first baseman signed a minor league contract with the team this past December.

Yepez signed with the Braves as an international free agent in 2014, and three years later, the Braves traded him to the Cardinals in exchange for Matt Adams. Another five years after that, Yepez made his MLB debut with St. Louis in 2022, appearing in 76 games, hitting 12 home runs, and producing a 107 wRC+. He went 2-for-5 with another long ball in the playoffs, driving in two of the three runs the Cardinals managed to score against the Phillies in the Wild Card Series.

Despite his strong first impression, Yepez failed to make the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster in 2023. He hit poorly in spring training (60 wRC+), poorly at Triple-A (82 wRC+), and poorly during a few brief stints with the big league squad throughout the season (51 wRC+). St. Louis non-tendered him after the year.

The Nationals took a chance on Yepez this past winter, signing him to a minor league deal and issuing the 26-year-old an invitation to spring training. He did not make the major league roster out of camp, but the righty batter had a much better spring this time around, slashing .382/.405/.559 and striking out only once in 37 trips to the plate. His Triple-A stats aren’t quite as impressive, but he has continued to limit his strikeouts, and his numbers are much better across the board than they were last season. He has been hot over his last 14 games, going 21-for-54 (.389) with a 1.070 OPS and 178 wRC+.

Washington optioned first baseman/designated hitter Joey Meneses to Triple-A Rochester earlier today. Meneses has struggled all season, slashing .235/.294./.310 (72 wRC+), and evidently, the goodwill he earned with the Nationals during his breakout 2022 season has finally run out. He hit poorly last season as well (96 wRC+), but his numbers this season are significantly worse. Meneses ranks among the bottom five qualified hitters in OPS and wRC+.

Presumably, Yepez will see most of his playing time at first base. The Nationals will hope he can provide some of the right-handed thump they were looking to get from Meneses. With Joey Gallo on the injured list and Harold Ramírez hitting pretty much just as poorly as Meneses, Washington doesn’t have a ton of other options at first. Yepez also played the corner outfield with the Cardinals, but he has not played the outfield this year at Triple-A. More to the point, the Nationals don’t need any help in the outfield, with Lane Thomas, James Wood, Jacob Young, and Jesse Winker on the roster.

The Nationals did not immediately replace Meneses on the active roster, so there is an open spot for Yepez on the 26-man roster. However, the team will need to make a corresponding transaction to add Yepez to the 40-man. The most straightforward move would be to transfer Josiah Gray from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL. Gray has already missed significantly more than 60 days nursing an elbow injury.

Mike Ford Signs With NPB’s Yokohama DeNA BayStars

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Mike Ford has signed with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, the team has announced. Ford was designated for assignment by the Reds earlier this season. He elected free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment to the minor leagues.

Ford, 32, signed with the Yankees as an undrafted free agent in 2013. Six years later, he made his MLB debut for the Bronx Bombers. A first baseman and designated hitter, the lefty batter made quite the impression in his rookie season, slugging 12 home runs in 50 games and putting up a .909 OPS. The following year, at 28 years old, he made his very first Opening Day roster.

Unfortunately for Ford, he struggled to replicate that early success over the rest of his tenure in pinstripes. He slashed .134/.250/.276 across 51 games in 2020 and ’21, and the Yankees designated him for assignment in June 2021. He then bounced between the Rays, Nationals, Mariners, Giants, Mariners (again), Braves, and Angels organizations before landing back with the Mariners for a third time ahead of the 2023 campaign. Four years after his breakout, Ford would put together the best season of his career. He forced his way to the majors with 13 home runs and a 1.031 OPS in 49 games at Triple-A, then hit another 16 home runs with a .798 OPS in 84 games for Seattle from June to October.

Despite his strong performance in 2023, the Mariners designated Ford for assignment at the end of the season. He signed a minor league deal with the Reds this past February, opted out in March, re-signed a week later, and then opted out again in early May. This time, he re-signed on a major league deal, but after going 9-for-60 with a .411 OPS in 17 games, he was designated for assignment at the end of the month. Before signing with the BayStars, he had been a free agent since May 31.

AL West Notes: Tucker, Verlander, Bloss, Woo, Jung

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Astros manager Joe Espada offered a disappointing, if not entirely surprising, injury update regarding two of his biggest stars. Speaking to reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle) ahead of today’s contest in Toronto, the skipper acknowledged that neither Kyle Tucker nor Justin Verlander is likely to return from the IL before the All-Star break.

Tucker has not played since June 3 as he nurses a right shin contusion he suffered when he fouled a ball off his leg. In mid-June, Espada suggested that Tucker would likely require a minor league rehab assignment. With the All-Star break fast approaching and the outfielder yet to begin any on-field work (per Kawahara), it’s hard to imagine he makes it back before the break. The Astros would surely like to have Tucker back as soon as possible, but they have played surprisingly well in their best hitter’s absence. Making sure that he’s healthy for the stretch run is more important than rushing him back in July.

Meanwhile, Verlander has not pitched since June 9; he is dealing with neck discomfort. He is progressing well, but Espada says the future Hall of Famer has not yet gotten back to throwing off a mound. Once again, the Astros could certainly use the veteran in their injury-plagued rotation ASAP, but rushing him back would be a shortsighted move with so much season left to play.

Another point of interest concerning Verlander: As Kawahara notes, it is now extremely unlikely that his conditional $35MM player option for 2025 will be triggered. Even if the 41-year-old were to return immediately after the All-Star break and pitch once every five games for the rest of the season, he would need to average 6 1/3 innings per start to reach the necessary 140 innings pitched.

Finally, Espada also mentioned that rookie Jake Bloss will make a rehab start this weekend. Barring any setbacks, the young righty could make his next start in Houston. Bloss, 23, is generally considered one of the Astros’ better pitching prospects. He landed on the IL with shoulder discomfort on June 21, the same day that he made his MLB debut.

More injury updates from around the AL West:

  • Rangers manager Bruce Bochy offered reporters an update on Josh Jung, who has been on the IL almost all season. The All-Star third baseman fractured his wrist on a hit-by-pitch on April 1. Jung has recently been nursing a flare-up of discomfort in his injured wrist and has not swung a bat since his last rehab game on June 20 (per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com). However, he has no further structural damage. The Rangers are going to shut him down completely for another week, after which they hope he’ll be able to restart his rehab assignment (per Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today). Needless to say, this means Jung will not be ready to return to Arlington before the All-Star break.
  • In more positive news, the Mariners aren’t ready to rule out the possibility that Bryan Woo could return to their rotation ahead of the Midsummer Classic. He threw a successful bullpen session on Wednesday (per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com) and will make a rehab start this weekend. If all goes well in that outing, there’s a chance he could make his next start for Seattle. Woo, 24, has pitched exceptionally well in his sophomore season, with a 1.77 ERA in eight starts. Not all of his underlying numbers are quite as eye-catching (4.01 SIERA, 3.96 xFIP), but there’s no doubt the Mariners would like to have the young hurler back as soon as possible to see more of what he’s capable of.

Dodgers Release Jonathan Araúz

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The Dodgers have released Jonathan Araúz, according to the infielder’s player page on MLB.com. The 25-year-old spent the first three months of the season playing around the infield for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Baseball Club.

Arauz signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers last December, after electing free agency at the end of the 2023 campaign. He spent the previous season in the Mets organization, playing in 100 games for the Triple-A Syracuse Mets and 27 contests for the big league squad. However, he was outrighted at the end of the season and chose to seek a new opportunity with another team.

Signed by the Phillies as an international free agent in 2014, Arauz made his professional debut in Philadelphia’s system at just 16 years old. Not long after, he was traded to the Astros as part of the Ken Giles deal. The infielder then spent four years in Houston’s minor league system until the Red Sox took him in the Rule 5 Draft ahead of the 2020 season.

Arauz appeared in the majors every year from 2020-23, first with the Red Sox and then the Orioles and Mets. He has played a total of 95 MLB games, slashing .184/.253/.308 across 262 PA. He has never graded out as a particularly effective fielder or baserunner either, but he provides value with his versatility; he can hold his own at second base, third base, and shortstop. The Dodgers, who appreciate positional flexibility, had some questions about their infield picture entering the season, so Arauz made good sense as a minor league depth signing. However, he has hit especially poorly at Triple-A, slashing .227/.286/.324 with a 51 wRC+. With several other infielders playing significantly better for Oklahoma City, Arauz became the odd man out.

Arauz is now free to search for his next professional opportunity. Not yet 26 years old, he should be able to find another club in need of a versatile infielder with big league experience.

Twins Sign Matt Bowman To Minor League Deal

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The Twins have signed relief pitcher Matt Bowman to a minor league contract, according to his player page on MLB.com. The deal includes an opt-out in early August (per Darren Wolfson of SKOR North). The right-hander has been assigned to the Triple-A St. Paul Saints.

Bowman began the 2024 season with the Twins, with whom he signed a minor league deal in January. Although he did not make Minnesota’s Opening Day roster, the team selected his contract in mid-April. He made five appearances for the Twins, giving up two earned runs in seven 2/3 innings of work before he was designated for assignment at the end of the month.

The Twins traded Bowman to the Diamondbacks for cash considerations, and the journeyman made four appearances for Arizona (6 ER, 6 2/3 IP) before he was designated for assignment once more. The 33-year-old elected free agency and found his next opportunity with the Mariners, signing a minor league contract with Seattle. He made just one appearance for the M’s, giving up a home run and a walk and recording two outs, before he was DFA’d yet again. After electing free agency, Bowman signed a new minor league deal with the Mariners in mid-June, but the deal contained an opt-out clause – one which he chose to exercise earlier this week. Presumably, the reliever decided he had a better chance to get back to the majors with a different organization.

Thus, Bowman returned to the place where his 2024 campaign began. The Twins have had one of the better bullpens in the American League this season, but they currently have four relievers on the 60-day IL. They only have two right-handed relievers on the 40-man roster who aren’t in the majors (Josh Winder and Ronny Henriquez), neither of whom has anywhere close to as much big league relief experience as Bowman. With that in mind, it’s easy to see why both sides were interested in a reunion.

Bowman began his professional career with the Mets in 2012 and made his MLB debut as a Rule 5 Draft pick with the Cardinals in 2016. He has also spent time with the Reds and Yankees. The righty made 183 appearances from 2016-19, pitching to a 4.02 ERA and 3.86 SIERA. Unfortunately, he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020 and did not make his way back to the majors until September 2023, when he made four appearances for the Yankees. In other words, while he has plenty of experience, it has been several years since he enjoyed any prolonged big league success. His MLB numbers over the past two years are uninspiring (19 IP, 13 K, 9 BB, 4 HR, 6.16 ERA), but his minor league stats (74 2/3 IP, 3.62 ERA, 4.24 FIP) are significantly more promising.

Mets Release Trayce Thompson

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The Mets have released outfielder Trayce Thompson, according to his transaction log on MLB.com. He signed a minor league contract with the club this past offseason.

A second-round pick in the 2009 draft, Thompson made his MLB debut with the White Sox in 2015. He has since spent time with the Dodgers, Yankees, Athletics, Guardians, Diamondbacks, Cubs, Padres, Tigers, and Mets organizations, including two separate stints with the Dodgers and three with the White Sox.

Thompson, now 33, had the best year of his career with the Dodgers in 2022. He joined the team in mid-June (after short stints with the Padres and Tigers) and stuck on the active roster for the rest of the season. Over 74 games with L.A. that year, he slashed .268/.364/.537 with 14 doubles and 13 home runs. He also played well in the field, putting up a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage and 4 Outs Above Average (OAA) in 496 2/3 defensive innings. After his impressive performance, Thompson made the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster in 2023 but struggled to replicate his success from the year prior. He spent almost all of June and July on the IL with a strained oblique, and the Dodgers traded him back to the White Sox at the deadline as part of a package for Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly. Thompson struggled even more over the rest of the year in Chicago, and the White Sox outrighted him after the season. He elected free agency shortly afterward.

The Mets came calling this past winter, and Thompson agreed to a minor league deal with his tenth organization in December. Although he received an invitation to spring training and produced an .891 OPS in 12 Grapefruit League games, he failed to earn a spot on New York’s Opening Day roster. He hit reasonably well in 62 games for the Triple-A Syracuse Mets, hitting 16 home runs and posting an .800 OPS in 253 plate appearances. However, the International League has a high standard for offense, as evidenced by the fact that Thompson’s .800 OPS translates to a below-average 95 wRC+. The Mets recently needed to promote an outfielder when Starling Marte went on the IL, but it was Ben Gamel – another veteran who signed a minor league deal with the club this offseason – who got the call.

Thompson is now eligible to seek his next opportunity and perhaps join his eleventh MLB organization.

The Opener: Graceffo, Harper, Schwarber, Wade

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With July just around the corner, here are three things to keep an eye on around baseball today:

1. Graceffo to join Cardinals’ bullpen:

The Cardinals are expected to promote Gordon Graceffo ahead of this evening’s matchup with the Reds. Although he has been a starter in the minors, the right-hander will be available out of the bullpen tonight. St. Louis can free up a spot for Graceffo on the 40-man roster by transferring Steven Matz to the 60-day IL. However, the team will need to make an additional corresponding move to open a spot on the active roster.

Graceffo, 24, is widely considered one of the better pitching prospects in the organization. He has made 14 starts this year for the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds, pitching to a 3.84 ERA with a 21.4% strikeout rate and an 8.9% walk rate. While his Triple-A numbers don’t jump off the page, they represent an improvement from his stats with the Redbirds last season; in 21 games (18 starts) at Triple-A in 2023, Graceffo posted a 4.92 ERA with a 20.9% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate.

2. Injury updates coming on Harper, Schwarber:

On the same day they lost Spencer Turnbull for the next six to eight weeks, the Phillies had two more injury scares, this time to a pair of their best hitters. Bryce Harper, who was recently named the starting first baseman for the NL All-Star team, limped his way back to the dugout after hurting his left hamstring on the final play of yesterday’s game against the Marlins. According to Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Harper felt his hamstring “grab” as he ran to first base. He mentioned that he is unsure how worried he should be about the extent of the injury because he has never experienced this particular issue before.

Meanwhile, leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber exited Thursday’s game early with what the team called “left groin tightness” (per Coffey). Schwarber is in the midst of another strong season with Philadelphia in his first year as a full-time DH, with 17 home runs and an .820 OPS. Coffey noted that the Phillies will provide updates on both sluggers today, perhaps during manager Rob Thomson’s media availability this afternoon at approximately 2:25 pm CT.

3. Giants to activate Wade:

Giants manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic) that first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. is set to rejoin the team today. That means he’ll be eligible for tonight’s contest against the Dodgers at Oracle Park. Presumably, he will slot back into the heart of the order against rookie right-hander Landon Knack. Wade rarely plays against left-handed pitchers, but he has been San Francisco’s most productive bat against right-handed pitching this season.

Indeed, Wade was one of the hottest hitters in MLB over the first two months of the 2024 campaign, slashing .333/.470/.426 (166 wRC+) across 52 games. However, he has been out since late May with a left hamstring strain. The Giants, who have gone 11-16 since Wade landed on the IL, will surely be pleased to have him back in the lineup. San Francisco will need to make a corresponding move to put Wade back on the active roster.

Twins Select David Festa

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June 27: The Twins have now formally announced the selection of Festa’s contract. He’ll make his debut today in Arizona. Right-hander Ronny Henriquez was optioned to St. Paul in a corresponding move.

June 26: The Twins are planning to select the contract of right-handed pitching prospect David Festa, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune. KSTP’s Darren Wolfson first reported that Festa had been scratched as today’s starter in St. Paul, likely setting the stage for a debut tomorrow.

The 24-year-old Festa will indeed be called up ahead of Thursday’s series finale against the Diamondbacks in Arizona. Minnesota has an open spot on the 40-man roster, although the team will still need to make a corresponding move to add him to the 26-man roster. He will take over for a recently injured Chris Paddack in the Twins’ rotation. Most public outlets, including Baseball America, FanGraphs, and MLB Pipeline, agree that Festa is one of the Twins’ top two pitching prospects, with both MLB Pipeline (No. 99) and FanGraphs (no. 93) including the young right-hander among their top 100 prospects. He represented the Twins in the 2023 Futures Game.

The lanky 6’6″ Festa was a 13th-round pick by Minnesota out of Seton Hall back in 2021. He’s added considerable velocity to a heater that now sits around 95 mph and reaches the upper 90s since being drafted. He pairs that offering with a mid- to upper-80s slider that can get whiffs against righties and a changeup that helps him keep lefties at bay.

Scouting reports from each of BA, FanGraphs and MLB.com credit each of those three pitches as above-average, with the heater drawing a plus (60) from the latter. Though Festa started the season with some uncharacteristic walk troubles — he issued a free pass to 20% of his opponents over his first four Triple-A starts this season — he’s since reined in the walks and is credited with average or better command from scouts.

In 59 2/3 innings this season, Festa is sitting on a solid 3.77 earned run average that aligns quite closely with his 3.92 FIP. He’s punched out an excellent 35.1% of his opponents, and though his 9.7% walk rate is higher than average, Festa has made significant strides in that regard since his rocky start to the season. Over his past 10 outings, he’s only walked 6.7% of his opponents (while striking out an even loftier 37.3% of them).

The Twins view Festa as a potential key piece of their rotation for years to come, and they’ll get their first look at him tomorrow against the D-backs. While Paddack’s absence creates a short-term opening in the rotation, there’s not a clear vacancy once he returns from his bout of shoulder fatigue. Manager Rocco Baldelli indicated that the Twins plan to keep Paddack in a starting role when he’s reinstated, although given that this is Paddack’s first full season back from a second career Tommy John surgery (and that he’s already eclipsed his combined 2022-23 workload), an eventual move to a relief role later in the season seems plausible.

At that point, Festa could step into a more permanent spot in the rotation, at least for the remainder of the current season. All five of the Twins’ current starters — Paddack, Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and Simeon Woods Richardson — are signed/controlled through 2025 at the very least. Add in right-handers Louie Varland and Zebby Matthews (the Twins’ other top pitching prospect who ranks No. 99 at BA presently and boasts a combined 1.56 ERA and 76-to-3 K/BB ratio between High-A and Double-A this season), and the Twins have a budding and enviable stock of starting pitching depth on their hands.

That falls under the “good problem to have” umbrella, of course, and positions the team to withstand injuries or trade from a position of strength at next month’s deadline or in the coming offseason. Paddack will be a free agent following the 2025 season, but aside from that, the Twins’ entire collection of big league or near-MLB-ready starters is signed/controllable through at least 2027.

Turning back to Festa specifically, he won’t receive a full year of big league service in 2024, meaning he’ll still be controllable for at least six more seasons — all the way through 2030. He’s also being called up late enough in the year that even if he sticks on the roster, he won’t pick up enough time to reach Super Two status. At the earliest, he should be arbitration-eligible following the 2027 season, although future optional assignments could push back his timeline to both arbitration and free agency.

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