Guardians Grant Amir Garrett His Release
The Guardians announced Thursday that left-hander Amir Garrett, who’d been pitching with their Triple-A affiliate, has requested and been granted his release. He’d signed a minor league deal with Cleveland back on July 25.
Garrett, 31, opened the season with the Royals — his second season with Kansas City — and pitched 24 1/3 innings of 3.33 ERA ball during his time with the team this season. Despite that strong surface-level run prevention, Garrett’s longstanding command issues reached a career-worst point in 2023, as he walked 17.9% of his opponents during that time.
The tightrope act seemed unsustainable, and the Royals clearly felt the same, designating Garrett for assignment on July 9 and releasing him a week later when they couldn’t find a trade partner. He signed with Cleveland not long after and has allowed three runs on four hits and four walks with four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings for their Columbus club.
The hard-throwing Garrett has never possessed particularly strong command but managed to put together a nice 2018-20 run with the Reds anyhow. The southpaw pitched 137 1/3 innings during that three-year peak, logging a 3.60 ERA, 30.2% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate. Garrett’s strikeout rate has dropped with each subsequent season, however, as his walk rate has steadily climbed. He’s now logged a 5.06 ERA in his past three seasons and 117 1/3 innings.
Garrett could still latch on with a postseason hopeful that’s in search of left-handed bullpen depth down the stretch. With the trade deadline having passed, there aren’t many avenues for big league clubs to add depth at this stage of the schedule. So long as Garrett joins a new organization prior to Sept. 1, he’d be a candidate to make his way onto said club’s postseason roster — if he pitches well enough to merit such consideration, of course.
Orioles Moving Tyler Wells To Bullpen
The Orioles are taking a look at right-hander Tyler Wells out of the bullpen down in Triple-A Norfolk and could use him as a reliever down the stretch and into the postseason, tweets Jake Rill of MLB.com. Wells was optioned to Double-A last month after an alarming lapse in his command saw him walk or hit a quarter of his opponents in his first three starts following the All-Star break (nine walks, three hit batters, 48 total opponents faced).
Wells, 29 this weekend, got out to a brilliant start for the O’s in 2023, pitching to a 2.68 ERA in his first seven starts (47 innings). That success was largely built on a minuscule .145 average on balls in play and 88.2% strand rate, however, both of which are unsustainable measures for any pitcher over a larger sample. Dating back to mid-May, Wells has turned in a more pedestrian 4.59 ERA, while both his BABIP (.250) and strand rate (80.1%) in that time have begun to regress (though they’re both still a ways from league-average levels). The right-hander also lost a mile per hour off his fastball during that stretch; he averaged 93.2 mph through his first seven starts and 92.2 mph thereafter.
The 106 innings that Wells threw for the Orioles in 2022 (minors and big leagues combined) was his highest total since 2018. The former Rule 5 pick out of the Twins organization tossed just 57 innings from 2019-21, owing to injury and the canceled minor league season in 2020. Including the 9 2/3 innings he’s pitched since being optioned, Wells is up to 123 1/3 innings this season — topping the career-high 119 1/3 innings he pitched back in ’18.
Though the plan might be to manage Wells’ workload down the stretch with shorter relief appearances, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes that the organization isn’t necessarily closing the book on Wells a starter entirely. He could get a look in the rotation again next year, depending on the extent to which the O’s address the starting staff in the offseason. Baltimore will see both Kyle Gibson and trade acquisition Jack Flaherty become free agents at season’s end. Wells would join Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, Kyle Bradish, Bruce Zimmermann and DL Hall as in-house rotation options next season (though Hall has also been working in relief since returning from a stint on the minor league injured list).
If Wells acclimates well to the relief role and pitches his way back onto the big league roster, he’d be a boon for what’s already a strong relief corps — headlined by All-Stars Felix Bautista and Yennier Cano. Baltimore relievers rank sixth in the Majors with a 3.58 ERA, third with a 26.5% strikeout rate and first with just 0.82 homers per nine innings pitched. Wells pitched out of Baltimore’s bullpen in 2021, logging 57 innings of 4.11 ERA ball as a rookie. In 274 1/3 innings at the big league level — all with the O’s — he’s posted a 4.04 ERA with a roughly average 22.9% strikeout rate and an excellent 6.6% walk rate but a more troubling 1.64 homers per nine frames.
Wells needed a full 172 days of Major League service time in 2023 to reach three years of service, which he won’t get after being optioned late last month. However, assuming he’s recalled at some point between now and season’s end, he should still gain enough service to qualify as a Super Two player, making him arbitration-eligible four times rather than the standard three. This optional assignment has nevertheless likely delayed his path to free agency by a year; since he can’t reach three years of service this season, he’ll now be controllable at least through the 2027 campaign instead of after the 2026 season, as he’d been on pace for entering the year.
Guardians Outright Zack Collins
Guardians catcher Zack Collins went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Columbus, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He was designated for assignment earlier in the week, when Cleveland claimed Eric Haase off waivers from the division-rival Tigers. Collins has been outrighted in the past and will thus have the option to reject the assignment in favor of free agency.
Selected by the White Sox with the No. 10 overall pick of the 2016 draft, Collins was viewed a bat-first catching prospect with plus raw power and a keen eye at the plate. Questions about his hit tool and ability to stick behind the plate have long existed, but Collins has displayed that ability to draw free passes and put the ball in the seats in pro ball. He’s walked in 13.1% of his big league plate appearances and boasts an even heartier 17.5% walk rate in the minors. Strikeout issues have cut into his power potential, but Collins still popped 19 homers in 471 trips to the plate between High-A and Double-A in 2017 and slugged 22 long balls between Triple-A and the big leagues in 468 plate appearances back in 2019.
Collins has just 11 home runs in 465 trips to the plate at the MLB level, and that’s due largely to a huge 33.5% strikeout rate. When Collins does make contact, it’s typically scalding; Statcast credits him with an average exit velocity of 91.2 mph and a 10.6% barrel rate in his career. He’s clobbered nearly 46% of his batted balls at 95 mph or greater — he’s just swung and missed too much to capitalize on that knack for hard contact. He’s a career .188/.300/.329 hitter in the big leagues but carries a much better .252/.371/.468 slash in 1040 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
Defensively, Collins has drawn below-average grades in framing and blocking. He posted strong caught-stealing rates earlier in his minor league career but has struggled over the past two seasons — particularly under the new rules in 2023 (4-for-32). Collins has begun to log more time at first base and designated hitter in recent seasons.
Orioles Reinstate Austin Voth, Transfer Keegan Akin To 60-Day IL
The Orioles have reinstated right-hander Austin Voth from the 60-day injured list and optioned righty Mike Baumann to Triple-A Norfolk, per a team announcement. Left-hander Keegan Akin, who’s been out since late June due to a back injury, was moved from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to create 40-man space for Voth’s return.
Voth, 31, has been out since mid-June due to an elbow issue but recently wrapped up a minor league rehab assignment, pitching 11 1/3 frames of 3.97 ERA ball across three minor league levels. Prior to hitting the injured list, Voth had pitched to a 4.94 ERA in 31 innings out of the Baltimore bullpen, punching out 21.5% of his opponents against a 9.7% walk rate along the way.
The O’s claimed Voth off waivers from the Nationals on June 7, 2022, and immediately received improved results from the longtime Nats prospect. He’d allowed 21 runs in 18 2/3 innings with Washington in 2022 and posted an overall 5.70 ERA in 189 2/3 innings as a member of that organization. Voth, however, tossed 83 innings of 3.04 ERA ball down the stretch in Baltimore, making 22 appearances — 17 of them starts. Voth and the O’s agreed to a one-year, $1.85MM deal with a club option over the winter, avoiding arbitration in the process.
Given the way the 2023 season has played out, the O’s might not be keen on picking up that $2.45MM club option. Even if the team declines, however, Voth would remain under club control as an arbitration-eligible player. The O’s could decline that $2.45MM salary and still try to work out a deal with Voth at a lower rate — somewhere between this year’s salary and that would-be club option price. Of course, Baltimore could also consider non-tendering Voth and moving on entirely. His performance down the stretch will go a long way in determining that outcome.
Akin, 28, finds himself in a relatively similar situation. The southpaw had a strong 2022 season with the O’s, compiling 81 2/3 innings with a 3.20 ERA, 23.4% strikeout rate, 6.1% walk rate, 49.3% grounder rate and 1.10 HR/9. He’s had a rough go of it in ’23, however, pitching to a 6.85 ERA in 23 2/3 innings. Akin has actually slightly improved his strikeout rate, maintained his walk rate and cut back on the home runs he’s yielded. However, his grounder rate has also tanked, and opponents are clobbering his pitches (90.7 mph average exit velocity) after struggling to make hard contact in 2022 (87.8 mph). A .434 average on balls in play is surely due for some regression, but the uptick in hard contact and a line-drive rate that’s jumped from 18.1% to 28.6% underlines the fact that Akin’s struggles can’t be chalked up to poor luck alone.
Like Voth, Akin will be eligible for arbitration this winter. He’s going through that process for the first time, so he’ll be looking for his first raise of note over the league minimum. Akin’s success out of the ‘pen in 2022 could well be enough to convince the Orioles to tender him despite this year’s poor results, but it’s not a lock they’ll choose to do so. Akin has already been out since late June, so the move to the 60-day IL is largely procedural. He’s already missed nearly 60 days, so this move won’t materially alter his path to a return. Akin began a minor league rehab assignment in late July but had a setback after two appearances and has yet to get back into a game.
Athletics Select Sean Newcomb
The A’s have selected the contract of left-hander Sean Newcomb, the team announced. Fellow lefty Hogan Harris was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas in his place, while left-hander Richard Lovelady was moved from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Oakland just acquired Newcomb from the Giants yesterday in a trade sending minor league outfielder Trenton Brooks back to San Francisco.
[Related: How to acquire players after the trade deadline]
As noted at the time of the trade yesterday, it seemed quite likely Newcomb would be in line for a look at the big league level with the A’s sooner than later. He’d be a free agent at season’s end if not added to the 40-man roster, so there was little sense in making a trade to acquire him if the plan wasn’t to see if he could contribute for them. He has 4.073 years of big league service, so he won’t have enough time remaining this season to get to five years. As such, if Newcomb can pitch well enough to hold a 40-man spot, the A’s would control him for an additional two seasons beyond the current year.
The 30-year-old Newcomb has pitched to a 3.16 ERA and fanned 30.5% of his opponents through 31 1/3 Triple-A frames this season, though his longstanding command issues have persisted as well (15.3% walk rate). Traditionally more of a fly-ball pitcher, Newcomb is sporting a huge 59.4% ground-ball rate in Triple-A this season.
In 406 big league innings, Newcomb has a 4.52 ERA, though he’s now nearly five years removed from the majority of his MLB success. The headline prospect acquired by the Braves in the trade that sent Andrelton Simmons to Anaheim, Newcomb posted a combined 3.87 ERA and 23% strikeout rate in his first 332 1/3 Major League innings. He looked to have cemented his status on the Braves’ pitching staff at that point, but Newcomb was blasted for 17 runs in 13 2/3 innings over four starts in the shortened 2020 season and has yet to recover. Dating back to 2020, he has a 7.45 ERA in 73 2/3 frames at the big league level.
The A’s, on the lookout for pitching help they can control beyond the current season, will see whether Newcomb’s new ground-ball approach can lead to better results in the big leagues. He’ll still need to improve his command, but Newcomb’s blend of missed bats and grounders is at least somewhat intriguing.
White Sox Release Billy Hamilton
The White Sox have released veteran outfielder Billy Hamilton, as indicated on the transaction log at MiLB.com. He’s now a free agent.
Hamilton hasn’t played since July, spending the past several weeks on the injured list. The Sox never made an announcement on the status of his injury, though a source tells MLBTR that Hamilton was shelved due to discomfort in his right shoulder and cleared to resume playing this past Sunday. However, the Sox are opting to move on rather than bringing him back to the roster in Triple-A Charlotte or in the big leagues.
Parting ways with Hamilton now ought to give him time to latch on with a postseason hopeful that could look to use him as a defensive replacement and/or pinch-runner late in games. It’s common for playoff contenders to carry specialists of that nature, particularly in September, when rosters expand from 26 to 28 players. At the very least, he’d make a sensible depth option to carry in the upper minors, in the event of any injuries on the big league roster.
The 32-year-old Hamilton is, of course, one of the game’s fastest players and most dynamic defenders. He’s never been a great hitter, but his bat has fallen off even further since his early-career days with Cincinnati: .205/.262/.288 in 549 MLB plate appearances since 2019. However, Hamilton boasts elite marks of 73 Defensive Runs Saved and 58 Outs Above Average in 6766 career innings in center field. He’s also been successful in 326 of his 398 career stolen base attempts — an 81.9% success rate. He’s become more efficient as his career has progressed, succeeding in 84.4% of his 58 attempts dating back to 2019 and 90% of his 30 attempts since 2020. Statcast pegged Hamilton in the 97th percentile of MLB hitters in terms of average sprint speed in 2021 and in the 91st percentile a year ago.
Hamilton has logged just 25 plate appearances over the past two seasons, collecting only one hit in that span. His most recent season with playing time of note saw him bat .220/.242/.378 in 135 plate appearances with the 2021 White Sox. He was hitting .147/.261/.253 in 89 trips to the plate with Triple-A Charlotte this season prior to his placement on the injured list and subsequent release.
White Sox Designate Brent Honeywell For Assignment
The White Sox announced Wednesday that they’ve designated right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. for assignment and optioned infielder Zach Remillard to Triple-A Charlotte. Their roster spots will go to righty Edgar Navarro and lefty Sammy Peralta, who’ve both been recalled from Charlotte.
Honeywell, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Padres on Aug. 5 after being designated for assignment in the aftermath of an active deadline in San Diego. He’s since appeared in four games with the Sox, tallying 5 2/3 innings but allowing seven runs on nine hits and three walks with three strikeouts. The former top prospect is out of minor league options, so the Sox opted to designate him for assignment rather than continue to hold out hope for better results.
Once regarded as one of baseball’s most promising minor leaguers, Honeywell has seen his career derailed by a staggering four elbow surgeries — all coming before he turned 28 years old. The former Rays second-rounder was eventually traded to the A’s, for whom he never pitched, before being non-tendered this past offseason. The Padres signed Honeywell to a big league deal in hopes of capitalizing on his once lofty prospect status.
To some extent, the move panned out. Honeywell pitched 46 2/3 innings for the Friars and logged a respectable, if unspectacular 4.05 ERA. That number came in spite of sub-par strikeout and walk rates of 20.6% and 9.8%, however, and Honeywell also served up an average of 1.54 homers per nine innings in San Diego. Fielding-independent metrics cast a less-favorable light on his performance (5.24 FIP, 4.35 SIERA). Things clearly haven’t gone any better in Chicago, and with the trade deadline behind us, Honeywell will be placed on outright waivers or release waivers in the near future.
Honeywell didn’t pitch at all from 2018-20, tossed 86 innings in 2021 and pitched just 20 1/3 innings during the 2022 season. Between the 28 innings he tossed in winter ball over the offseason and the 52 1/3 frames he’s thrown this year, he’s already well north of last year’s workload and approaching the volume he hit in 2021. Honeywell’s career-high innings pitched came back in 2017, when he tossed 136 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in the Rays system.
Tigers Reinstate, Option Spencer Turnbull
The Tigers reinstated right-hander Spencer Turnbull from the 60-day injured list Wednesday but optioned him to Triple-A Toledo rather than add him to the active roster. He’d been out since early May with a neck injury.
Turnbull, 31 next month, tossed a no-hitter for the Tigers back in 2021 and looked to be in the midst of a breakout season before a torn ulnar collateral ligament necessitated Tommy John surgery. He missed the entire 2022 season while recovering and made just seven starts earlier this season before incurring the neck issue that’s sidelined him for more than three months. He wasn’t effective when on the mound earlier this year, pitching to a 7.26 ERA with diminished sinker velocity — 93.9 mph on average, compared to 95.1 mph pre-surgery — in just 33 1/3 innings of work. Turnbull’s 16.6% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate and 48.5% grounder rate were all considerably worse than the marks he posted in nine starts prior to 2021’s elbow injury.
Things haven’t gone particularly well for the right-hander on his minor league rehab assignment in recent weeks. Since returning to a mound in late July, he’s logged a 6.75 ERA in 21 1/3 innings — albeit with more encouraging strikeout and walk rates of 24.1% and 7.3%, respectively. Still, Turnbull gave up at least two runs in five of his six minor league outings despite averaging less than 3 2/3 innings per appearance. He’ll try to get back on track in Toledo between now and season’s end.
The timing of the optional assignment is critical, as well. Turnbull is six days away from reaching five years of Major League service time — the point at which a player gains the right to refuse an optional assignment to the minor leagues. The Tigers could have conceivably given Turnbull one big league start to see how he fared before making a decision on whether to option him, but even making two starts in the Majors would’ve resulted in him gaining the ability to decline when the team tried to option him. That service time is also worth keeping an eye on for club control purposes; if Turnbull gains even six more days of MLB service this year, he’ll be eligible for free agency following the 2024 season. If he remains in Triple-A, he’d be controllable through the 2025 campaign.
Of course, that assumes Turnbull remains in the team’s plans. He’ll be owed a small raise on this year’s $1.8MM salary in arbitration over the winter, and given the manner in which the season has played out, it can’t be considered a lock that he’ll be tendered a contract. He’d be a low-cost risk for a team in need of pitching depth, so it’d be sensible enough to just commit the $2MM or so to see if he can return to form, but Turnbull was drafted and developed by the preceding front office regime. Time will tell how the new group feels it’s best to proceed.
From 2019-21, Turnbull made 50 starts for Detroit, pitching to a 4.13 ERA with a 21.9% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate, 50.3% ground-ball rate and 0.64 HR/9 in 255 frames. He looked to be taking his game to new heights in 2021, pitching 50 innings with a 2.88 ERA, 21.9% strikeout rate, 6% walk rate and 57.2% grounder rate prior to his injury. With Turnbull in Toledo for the time being, the Tigers will rely on Eduardo Rodriguez, Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning, Reese Olson and Alex Faedo in the starting rotation.
Mets To Select Sean Reid-Foley
Right-hander Sean Reid-Foley is on his way to join the Mets from Triple-A Syracuse, as first reported by Mike Mayer of Metsmerized. He’s not on the 40-man roster, so New York will need to open a spot on the 40-man roster to formally select his contract.
The 27-year-old Reid-Foley is 15 months removed from last year’s Tommy John surgery and has pitched 22 innings of 4.09 ERA ball across three minor league levels as he’s worked back into game shape. That includes a less palatable 4.96 ERA in 16 1/3 Triple-A frames, though the former top prospect has a 3.95 ERA and 42.5% strikeout rate over his past 14 Triple-A appearances (23 strikeouts, 54 batters faced).
Reid-Foley has pitched in parts of five big league seasons, all of them coming with either the Blue Jays or the Mets. In 102 1/3 innings at the MLB level, the former second-round pick (2017) has posted a 4.66 ERA with a solid 23.6% strikeout rate but a bloated 13.7% walk rate. He’s split his time relatively evenly between the bullpen and the rotation, carrying very similar marks in ERA, strikeout rate, walk rate, ground-ball rate and home run rate, regardless of role. Like most pitchers, he’s thrown harder out of the bullpen; last year’s career-high 96 mph average on his fastball in relief was 2.4 mph north of the 93.6 mph he averaged in 2017-18 when working primarily as a starter.
The Mets’ bullpen has been a revolving door since the trade deadline. While veterans Adam Ottavino, Brooks Raley, Drew Smith and Trevor Gott have been constants, but they’ve used a stunning 17 relievers since the trade deadline. The Mets have cycled through journeymen such as Jimmy Yacabonis, Dennis Santana, Tyson Miller, Vinny Nittoli and Adam Kolarek (among others) while trying to patch things together on a thinned out pitching staff. Reid-Foley will become the latest entrant into that relief corps carousel. He’s out of minor league options, so he’ll have to either stick in the bullpen or else quickly be designated for assignment to make way for the next arm.
The Mets haven’t had a starter complete five innings since Kodai Senga tossed seven frames on Saturday. Their bullpen has covered 11 2/3 innings in the past three games alone, so it’s not exactly a surprise to see them bringing in a fresh arm.
Red Sox Promote Wilyer Abreu, Place Jarren Duran On Injured List
3:35pm: The Red Sox have now made these moves official, recalling Abreu and placing Duran on the injured list. They also reinstated right-hander Tanner Houck from the IL and optioned lefty Chris Murphy.
10:37am: The Red Sox are planning to promote outfield prospect Wilyer Abreu for his Major League debut, as first reported by Augusto Cardenas. Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe hears the same, reporting that Abreu will be called up to replace Jarren Duran, who’s headed to the injured list following this weekend’s toe injury.
Abreu, 24, was one of two prospects acquired in the trade sending catcher Christian Vazquez from Boston to Houston last summer. The Venezuelan-born outfielder has posted impressive numbers in Triple-A Worcester this season, slashing .274/.391/.539 with 22 homers, 11 doubles, a triple and eight stolen bases (in nine tries). Abreu has walked in an immense 16.3% of his plate appearances while striking out at a manageable 20.1% clip.
FanGraphs and MLB.com both currently rank Abreu 17th among Boston farmhands, while Baseball America tabs him 22nd. The 2023 season has seen a pronounced step forward in terms of power production for Abreu, despite garnering only average ratings on his power in most scouting reports. He’s done that while reducing his strikeout rate by six percentage points over last year’s levels, too, which creates some optimism that he could perhaps elevate his status over the generally projected fourth outfielder.
Abreu is regarded as a disciplined hitter at the plate who can be too selective at times. He runs well enough to handle all three outfield spots but posts impressive stolen-base totals more due to his baserunning acumen than standout raw speed. Abreu has spent more time in the corners than in center this year, but he has more than 1200 career innings in center and could certainly step in at the position for Duran.
As for the 26-year-old Duran, he suffered a toe injury when scaling the wall on a Gleyber Torres home run. He was slated to undergo an MRI to evaluate the extent of the injury, and it seems there was enough concern to at least require a 10-day absence.
The injury puts a halt to a breakout season for the former top prospect. Duran has appeared in 102 games for the Sox, slashing .295/.346/.482 with eight homers, 34 doubles, a pair of triples and 24 steals (in 26 tries). He’s dropped his strikeout rate for the third straight year, now sitting at 24.9% — still higher than average but nowhere close to the alarming 30.7% clip he posted in 2021-22. In doing so, he looks to have seized a long-term spot in the Boston outfield; even with some expected regression in his .381 average on balls in play, Duran’s plus speed, average power and penchant for making hard contact should allow him to remain an above-average offensive contributor. The Sox can control him for five more years beyond the current season.