Jace Peterson Opts Out Of Orioles Contract
Infielder/outfielder Jace Peterson has been granted his release from the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate, per an announcement from the team. David Hall of the Virginian Pilot tweets that Peterson had an opt-out provision in his contract that he triggered yesterday.
Peterson, 29, spent the vast majority of the 2018 season in Baltimore but turned in a disappointing .195/.308/.325 through 235 plate appearances while seeing time at second base, shortstop, third base and both corner outfield spots. He re-upped with the O’s on a minor league contract this winter and has enjoyed a productive year thus far in Norfolk, where he’s batted .309/.394/.505 with nine home runs, 24 doubles, five triples and a dozen stolen bases in 86 games.
The versatile Peterson has appeared at all four infield positions and all three outfield positions in the big leagues. Through parts of five big league seasons, he’s tallied 1524 plate appearances through 479 games while hitting .228/.318/.330.
Twins Activate Rosario, Cron; Buxton Placed On IL; Morin Designated For Assignment
4:35pm: The Twins announced that Byron Buxton has been placed on the 7-day concussion list and Morin has been designated for assignment. Rosario and Cron have also formally been reinstated from the IL.
4:12pm: Morin’s DFA will likely be one of the moves made to accommodate the returns of both Eddie Rosario and C.J. Cron from the injured list, Hayes tweets.
3:55pm: The Twins will designate right-hander Mike Morin for assignment today, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic (Twitter links). There’s no word on what the corresponding roster move will be, although Hayes adds that a trade doesn’t appear to be pending. The Twins already had a pair of vacancies on the 40-man roster.
Morin, 28, has given the Twins 22 2/3 innings of 3.18 ERA ball, though there’s ample reason to be skeptical of that earned run average. The former Angels/Mariners/Royals righty has only whiffed 11 hitters in that time (4.8 K/9) and has benefited from a deflated .230 average on balls put into play against him. He’s done a nice job keeping the ball on the ground (47.4 percent) and avoiding walks (just two allowed), but Morin’s results have also begun to fade as of late.
In his past 11 outings, Morin has been tagged for 10 runs (seven earned) on 13 hits and two walks in 11 1/3 innings. He’s also hit a batter in that time, and two of the 13 hits he yielded have been home runs. ERA alternatives like FIP (4.49), xFIP (4.86) and SIERA (4.62) all peg Morin as a candidate for further regression, and Statcast also feels that he’s been fortunate to generate the results he’s gotten so far (.319 xwOBA vs. his actual .277 wOBA).
Minnesota will have a week to trade Morin, release him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. He’s out of minor league options, meaning any team that picks him up either via trade or waiver claim would need to carry Morin on the MLB roster.
Rangers Activate Hunter Pence, Option Willie Calhoun, Select Taylor Guerrieri
The Rangers announced this afternoon that they’ve activated Hunter Pence from the injured list and optioned outfielder Willie Calhoun to Triple-A Nashville to open a spot on the roster. Texas has also selected the contract of right-hander Taylor Guerrieri and placed left-hander Jesse Biddle on the injured list due to shoulder fatigue.
As Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News relays (via Twitter), Calhoun was rather blindsided by the move. “I’m speechless,” Calhoun said after learning of his demotion. “I’ve helped the team win. If me playing every day at Nashville helps team win, then I guess I have to play every day in Nashville.”
Calhoun has indeed been a generally productive bat with Texas, hitting .277/.313/.489 with five big flies in 99 plate appearances. At the same time, he’s struggled mightily to get on base in his latest stint with the team. Since being summoned from Nashville on June 17, Calhoun has homered three times and smacked four doubles in 75 PAs, but he’s also batted just .225/.267/.408 on the whole. He’s walked more than he’s punched out so far in Nashville in 2019, so perhaps a quick trip back down to the minors can help him to bring some of that approach to the MLB level.
That said, Calhoun also seems like a casualty of a roster that simply has too many outfielders at the moment. Delino DeShields Jr. is hitting .326/.377/.442 since his own recall from Triple-A. Joey Gallo (.266/.406/.626) has been sensational all season long. Pence (.294/.363/.608) and fellow veteran Shin-Soo Choo (.291/.389/.508) are both highly productive veterans. Nomar Mazara may not have lived up to his considerable prospect billing yet, but he’s outhit Calhoun over the past couple of months nonetheless (.276/.327/.454 in his past 40 games).
Calhoun seems likely to return in the event of an injury or trade elsewhere in the outfield, and it’s at least possible that the organization takes this demotion as an opportunity to continue getting him some work in the infield. Texas has reportedly been working Calhoun out at second base and even third base of late, and if that experiment continues into game settings in the minors, it’d only enhance his versatility at the MLB level. Calhoun does have extensive experience as a second baseman in the minors, but he was moved to the outfield due to defensive concerns.
As for Guerrieri, the former first-round pick (Rays, 2011) and top prospect will get his first shot with the Rangers after notching a 3.47 ERA, 9.7 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 36 1/3 innings with the team’s Nashville affiliate. He did throw 9 2/3 frames with the Blue Jays in his first big league action last year, allowing five runs on nine hits and four walks with eight strikeouts.
Blue Jays Designate Edwin Jackson For Assignment
The Blue Jays have recalled righty Jacob Waguespack from Triple-A Buffalo and designated veteran righty Edwin Jackson to clear a spot on the roster, per a team announcement.
Jackson, 35, is baseball’s consummate journeyman, having appeared with an MLB-record 14 teams since debuting as a 19-year-old with the Dodgers back in 2003. His stop in Toronto broke Octavio Dotel’s record of 13 clubs, but his time pitching in a Jays uniform produced the worst results of his career. Through 28 1/3 frames, Jackson has been tattooed for an 11.12 ERA; he’s been charged with 35 earned runs on a staggering 49 hits (12 home runs) and 13 walks with 19 strikeouts in that time.
The Jays will have a week to act on Jackson, and while he can be traded to another club, it seems likelier that he’ll either be passed through waivers or released. If he does return to the open market, Jackson will all but certainly need to take a minor league deal and earn his way back onto a big league roster — perhaps with the 15th team of his MLB career.
Mariners Designate Mac Williamson For Assignment
The Mariners announced Tuesday that outfielder Mac Williamson has been designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to utilityman Kristopher Negron, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Tacoma. Seattle also recalled right-hander Erik Swanson from Tacoma to fill a vacant spot on its active roster.
Williamson, 28, was once viewed as a potential long-term option with the Giants but has yet to replicate his solid Triple-A production at the MLB level. Seattle gave him a slightly longer look than San Francisco did in 2019, but his results with both clubs were poor. In a combined 144 trips to the plate this year, Williamson has slashed an underwhelming .156/.250/.258 while striking out at a 30.6 percent pace. He does have some pop in his bat, evidenced by a lifetime .266/.344/.488 line in parts of five Triple-A seasons.
Williamson is out of minor league options, so any club that acquires him would have to carry him on its MLB roster. The Mariners will have a week to trade him, release him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. If they go the latter route and he clears, Williamson could still elect free agency due to the fact that he’s already been outrighted off a 40-man roster once in his career.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read a transcript of this week’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
Red Sox Option Ryan Brasier
The Red Sox announced Tuesday that they’ve optioned struggling right-handed reliever Ryan Brasier to Triple-A Pawtucket. Southpaw Darwinzon Hernandez is up from Pawtucket in his place.
Brasier’s demotion is the latest in a series of suboptimal outcomes for a Boston relief corps that the front office neglected to address in the offseason. Brasier and fellow righty Matt Barnes opened the season expected to share closing duties, but neither has performed up to expectations. Brasier’s last couple of weeks have been particularly rough, as he’s allowed runs in four of his past seven outings — including four runs in two-thirds of an inning last night. In all, he’s sitting on a 4.24 ERA with 8.0 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 1.56 HR/9 and a 28.8 percent ground-ball rate. ERA alternatives like FIP (4.72) and xFIP (5.40) paint an even uglier picture than Brasier’s lackluster ERA.
The bullpen will receive a boost when Nathan Eovaldi returns from the injured list later this month and assumes closing duties. Boston re-signed its postseason hero on a hefty four-year, $68MM contract with the idea that he’d serve as a key rotation piece, but he’s been out since late April due to elbow surgery and will now return in a bullpen role. The Red Sox already acquired Andrew Cashner to step into Eovaldi’s rotation spot alongside Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello and Eduardo Rodriguez, but additional bullpen help will surely be on president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s radar in the 15 days leading up to the July 31 trade deadline.
Rays Designate Anthony Bemboom For Assignment
The Rays have reinstated catcher Anthony Bemboom from the 60-day injured list and designated him for assignment, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).
Bemboom, 29, made his MLB debut earlier this season after grinding through seven years in the minors. Unfortunately, in the same game that saw Bemboom collect his first two MLB hits, he also sustained a knee injury that sidelined him for two-plus months. Because he’d been on the 60-day IL, the Rays would’ve had to designate someone else for assignment in order to bring Bemboom back into the mix; instead, they opted to designate Bemboom himself now that he is apparently recovered from injury.
It’s a tough series of events for Bemboom, although if there’s a silver lining, it’s that he received MLB pay and service time while on the injured list. Tampa Bay will have a week to trade Bemboom, a career .250/.341/.381 hitter in Triple-A, or pass him through outright waivers. If he clears waivers, he can be retained without requiring a 40-man roster spot.
Mariners Activate Sam Tuivailala From 60-Day Injured List
The Mariners announced Monday that they’ve reinstated right-hander Sam Tuivailala from the 60-day injured list, thus filling one of the two vacancies on their 40-man roster. Tuivailala will join the MLB bullpen as righties Parker Markel and David McKay are optioned to Triple-A Tacoma, per the club. An additional move to fill the 25th spot on the active roster will be announced tomorrow when the M’s return from today’s off day.
It was less than a year ago that the Cardinals traded Tuivailala to Seattle in exchange for minor league righty Seth Elledge as part of a dramatic midseason roster shakeup. The Mariners were surely pleased to acquire four and a half seasons of a reliever who appeared to have established himself as a solid middle reliever, but Tuivailala suffered a torn Achilles tendon just weeks after being traded and hasn’t pitched in the Majors since.
The now-26-year-old Tuivailala allowed just one run in 5 1/3 innings with Seattle prior to his injury. In 79 1/3 innings from 2017-18, the 2010 third-round pick worked to a 2.95 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 0.8 HR/9 and a 49 percet ground-ball rate. For a team with baseball’s fourth-worst ERA (5.06), the return of a potential long-term option like Tuivailala will be a welcome sight.
Tigers Select Trevor Rosenthal
The Tigers announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Trevor Rosenthal from Triple-A Toledo. The former Cardinals closer signed a minor league pact with Detroit after being released by the Nationals in late June. Detroit’s 40-man roster is now full.
Rosenthal, 29, slogged through a catastrophic few months in the Nationals organization prior to being cut loose. In his return to the Majors following Tommy John surgery in late 2017, he turned in a stunning 22.74 ERA with nearly as many walks issued (15) as outs recorded (19). Rosenthal allowed 16 runs on eight hits and those 15 walks in just 6 1/3 innings pitched. He struck out five batters but also hit three and lost the handle on five wild pitches.
While one would think that Rosenthal’s promotion to the big leagues is a sign that his bout with the yips has improved, that curiously doesn’t appear to be the case. In 5 1/3 innings with Detroit’s affiliate in Toledo, he’s allowed six runs on eight hits and six walks. Rosenthal has punched out nine hitters, which is a mildly encouraging development, but he’s also plunked another hitter and thrown yet another wild pitch.
In spite of those ugly results, he’ll get another look in the Majors as he hopes to salvage his season before another offseason trip through free agency. For the Tigers, it’s a free look at a once-dominant reliever, but given the team’s rebuild and the extent of Rosenthal’s struggles, it seems likely that he’ll be on a short leash. If there’s no indication of legitimate improvement, there’s little reason for the Tigers to give those innings to someone who likely won’t be with the organization in 2020.