Mariners Sign Brian Ellington To Minors Deal
The Mariners have signed right-hander Brian Ellington to a minor league contract. The news was announced by the independent American Association (Twitter link), as Ellington had been pitching for the league’s Kansas City T-Bones since being released from a previous minor league deal with the Red Sox back in June.
Ellington tossed 102 2/3 innings out of the Marlins’ bullpen from 2015-17, though after posting some good numbers in the first two of those seasons, his ERA ballooned to 7.25 (thanks in large part to a 7.1 BB/9 and 1.4 HR/9) over 44 2/3 frames in 2017. The righty hasn’t been back in the majors since, after spending an injury-shortened season in the Diamondbacks’ farm system and then tossing 19 combined innings for Boston’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates this year.
Originally a 16th-round pick for the Marlins in 2012, Ellington’s 2017 struggles were a magnified version of the control issues he has battled for much of his career, as he has a 5.6 BB/9 over 275 1/3 career minor league innings. Those free passes come with a lot of missed bats (10.4 K/9) and some decent run prevention (3.96 ERA), though the home run problem was a new one, as Ellington has only an 0.5 HR/9 over his minor league career. Ellington could still have some upside the Mariners could yet unlock, though at worst he’ll be a depth reliever at Triple-A.
Red Sox Release Brian Ellington
The Red Sox have released hard-throwing righty Brian Ellington from his minor league contract, per an announcement from the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket.
The 28-year-old Ellington spent parts of the 2015-17 seasons with the Marlins — during which time Aroldis Chapman was the only pitcher in baseball whose average fastball topped Ellington’s 97.9 mph. In 102 2/3 innings at the big league level, Ellington has a 4.65 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 5.6 BB/9, 0.88 HR/9 and a 34.4 percent ground-ball rate.
Ellington hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since the 2017 campaign. While he inked a minor league pact with the Diamondbacks in 2018, a biceps injury limited him to just 11 1/3 innings. This year, he’s notched a 3.32 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 19 innings between Boston’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, but he’s also issued 20 walks and hit five batters.
At his best, Ellington paired his premium velocity with a swinging-strike rate near 13 percent and an opponents’ chase rate near 33 percent. Control troubles have been a longstanding issue and have clearly hindered him this year, but Ellington does boast a career 13.6 K/9 mark in Triple-A. His next stop figures to be on another minor league pact.
Red Sox To Sign Brian Ellington
In yet another item on what has turned into Boston bullpen night here at MLBTR, the Red Sox have reportedly struck a deal with flamethrowing righty Brian Ellington. Per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter link), the 28-year-old receives a minors pact; it’s unknown whether it includes a spring invite.
Like several of the team’s other recent, low-cost pen additions, Ellington is long on tools but lacks an established track record of success at the MLB level. He owns a 4.65 ERA in 102 2/3 career frames in the majors. Ellington was dropped early in 2018 by the Marlins and didn’t last long with the Diamondbacks organization after being added on a minors deal.
Ellington has averaged a whopping 98.5 mph with his average fastball in those innings, helping him to generate an 11.4% swinging-strike rate despite infrequent use of offspeed offerings. But he has also handed out free passes like candy in the majors (5.6 per nine). Both player and team will surely enter camp hoping to find a way to harness Ellington’s arm strength.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/14/18
There are quite a few minor moves to cover, with Baseball America’s Matt Eddy releasing several weeks’ worth of transactions. We’ll use this post to cover the most notable ones that haven’t yet featured on MLBTR:
- The Angels released outfielder Ben Revere, who could perhaps be an interesting player to target for contending clubs that like the idea of adding a good defender and baserunning threat to their system. Revere, 30, hasn’t seen the majors this year after seven-straight seasons of action at the game’s highest level. He’s slashing .277/.319/.406 with a pair of steals through 166 plate appearances at Triple-A.
- Ending a relationship that never seemed to work out, the Dodgers have cut loose infielder Erisbel Arruebarrena. Now 28, the former international signee hadn’t played much in the club’s system since he was suspended in May of 2016.
- The Phillies have released a pair of former big leaguers: infielder Danny Espinosa and outfielder Adron Chambers. Espinosa’s always fickle bat has not yet recovered from a 2017 nosedive. In 240 Triple-A plate appearances with three organizations this year, he owns a .295/.239/.312 slash. Chambers, meanwhile, hasn’t seen the majors since 2013 and last played affiliated ball in 2015, but came back from an indy stint to produce a .278/.328/.437 batting line in 138 Triple-A plate appearances.
- A host of players received their walking papers from the Diamondbacks. Righty Brian Ellington is among them; the flamethrower struggled badly with his command in limited minor-league action. Southpaw Anthony Vasquez was also released after after 85 2/3 innings of 5.04 ERA ball in the upper minors. The club also dropped several outfielders. Cesar Puello (.317/.426/.454) and Dan Robertson (.263/.361/.407) are both former big leaguers who were getting on base at Reno, but will now seek other opportunities.
- The Giants released two notable players in righty Chris Heston and backstop Ryan Hanigan. Heston, 30, only made nine appearances in the minors this year owing to injury. Hanigan, who’s closing in on his 38th birthday, is still looking to crack the majors for the 12th-straight season but did not help his cause with a .175/.254/.193 batting line in 63 plate appearances at Triple-A.
- The Cubs parted with Ryan Webb after he made just 11 appearances at the Rookie ball level. It is not immediately clear why the 32-year-old did not get a shot in the upper minors, or what’s next for him In eight seasons of MLB pitching, from 2009 through 2016, Webb owns a 3.43 ERA through 393 1/3 innings.
- A variety of other former major-league relief pitchers were also on the move. Among them: The White Sox signed once-promising Braves reliever Mauricio Cabrera. Righty Dallas Beeler was released by the Royals. A trio of former MLB lefties are back in free agency after being cut free: Elvis Araujo (Orioles); Paco Rodriguez (Twins); and Dario Alvarez (Mariners).
- Meanwhile, the Mariners parted with outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis and the Nationals did the same with Alejandro De Aza. One-time Rule 5 pick Taylor Featherston landed with the Reds.
Diamondbacks Agree To Minor League Deal With Brian Ellington
The D-backs are in agreement on a minor league contract with right-hander Brian Ellington, reports Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (Twitter link). The MVP Sports client was released by the Marlins earlier this month. Buchanan notes that he’s working his way back from a biceps injury and, as such, as not yet been assigned to a minor league affiliate with the Snakes.
Ellington, 27, is one of the hardest-throwing relievers in baseball, having averaged a blistering 98.1 mph on his heater in 77 2/3 innings from 2016-17 with Miami. Control has been a longstanding issue for the former 16th-round pick, however, as he’s walked 64 batters, hit 10 more and uncorked eight wild pitches in 102 2/3 innings at the big league level.
Early in his career, Ellington’s strikeout rate didn’t match up with what one might expect from a pitcher with that type of velocity, though his ability to miss bats has trended upward over the past couple of seasons. Last year, he averaged 9.7 K/9 in 44 2/3 innings to go along with a hearty 12.6 percent swinging-strike rate, but he also averaged 7.1 walks per nine innings pitched.
About three quarters of Ellington’s offerings are fastballs, with only occasional deviations from the heater for a curveball and an even more seldom-used changeup. Last year’s uptick in strikeouts was accompanied by a massive spike in walk rate and a significant dip in his chase rate, but if Ellington (once healthy) can cut his walks back to 2016 levels (4.4 BB/9) and maintain any of the gains he made in terms of missed bats, he’d seemingly be a nice bullpen piece. That’s easier said than done, of course, and the immediate focus for both team and player will be more on his health than anything else.
Marlins Release Brian Ellington
The Marlins have released right-hander Brian Ellington, as the MLB.com transactions page reflects. He had been designated for assignment recently after missing time in camp due to biceps tendinitis.
Ellington, 27, has a blistering fastball and increasingly showed an ability to miss some bats over his three years in the majors. But he also allowed more hard contact, home runs, and walks in 2017 than he had in the prior two campaigns.
Though he maintained a 2.64 ERA through his first 58 MLB innings, that all hit the skids last year. In his 44 2/3 frames in 2017, Ellington worked to a 7.25 ERA with 9.7 K/9 but also 7.1 BB/9 while allowing seven home runs.
Marlins Designate Brian Ellington, Select Severino Gonzalez
The Marlins have designated right-handed reliever Brian Ellington for assignment and selected the contract of fellow righty Severino Gonzalez, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.
The flamethrowing Ellington logged significant innings with the Marlins from 2015-17 (a combined 102 2/3) and adeptly prevented runs over his first two years, during which he compiled a 2.64 ERA. That figure came with less enticing peripherals, though, and Ellington crashed to earth last season. The 27-year-old recorded a 7.25 ERA/5.80 FIP with 9.67 K/9, 7.05 BB/9 and a 35.4 percent groundball rate across 44 2/3 innings. He then dealt with biceps tendinitis during spring training, leading the Marlins to send him to Triple-A to open 2018.
Now 25, Gonzalez was once a well-regarded prospect with the Phillies, who dealt him to the Marlins in a small trade over the winter. Gonzalez spent the 2017 season in the minors (mostly Double-A) and posted a 4.82 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 80 1/3 innings. He worked out of the Phillies’ bullpen from 2015-16 and yielded a 6.68 ERA across 66 frames, though he did manage strong strikeout and walk rates (8.45 K/9, 1.91 BB/9).
Injury Notes: Gregerson, Marlins, Mets, Pomeranz, Dickerson
Presumptive Cardinals closer Luke Gregerson is dealing with a strained oblique, writes Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. While such injuries can often take upwards of a month to heal, it seems that Gregerson’s could be more minor, with manager Mike Matheny referring to it only as a “little setback” that “doesn’t seem very bad.” That said, doctors haven’t placed a timeframe on Gregerson’s return to action, either. The 33-year-old Gregerson (34 in May) has pitched just once this spring, and it’s currently unclear when he’ll get back on the mound for his next appearance.
A few more health situations from around the league that are worth monitoring…
- Marlins right-hander Brett Graves is also dealing with an oblique issue of undetermined severity, writes MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. He’ll be shut down from throwing “for at least a few more days” as the team further evaluates. Graves’ status is of particular note given that he’s with the Marlins after being selected out of the Athletics organization in the Rule 5 Draft. While the rebuilding Marlins are clearly in a better position than most to carry a Rule 5 pick for a whole season, even a short absence would truncate the team’s ability to evaluate him first-hand this spring. Graves, 25, pitched to a 4.47 ERA between Class-A Advanced and Double-A last season, logging 56 1/3 innings with 9.1 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9. He’s allowed five runs on four hits and four walks with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings this spring. Frisaro also notes that righty Brian Ellington won’t throw for a few days due to tendinitis in his right biceps. Ellington is vying for a big league bullpen job after whiffing 48 hitters in 44 2/3 MLB frames last year. Those strikeouts, however, came with a sky-high 7.25 ERA.
- Amed Rosario apparently overcompensated for his ailing knee to the point where he developed some tightness in his hamstring and groin, writes Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. None of the issues facing Rosario seem especially serious, as Mets manager Mickey Callaway suggested that the Rosario’s absence from the lineup for the past few days “probably” won’t jeopardize his Opening Day readiness. That said, Callaway did note that it’s at least somewhat of a concern that Rosario is missing some “valuable reps and playing time.” Ackert also notes that Jacob deGrom is set to make his first spring start on Sunday. That may not be soon enough to be ready for Opening Day, but it seems likely to have him on track to start one of the team’s early regular-season games.
- The Red Sox were able to breathe a sigh of relief this week as Drew Pomeranz was cleared to restart a throwing program after a brief scare with a mild flexor strain, writes the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham. Manager Alex Cora didn’t want to proclaim that Pomeranz would be ready to go for the beginning of the season just yet, though Abraham notes that his current schedule should allow him to be healthy enough to take the ball for Boston’s fourth or fifth game of the year, barring any setbacks.
- Padres outfielder Alex Dickerson, who was diagnosed with a sprained UCL recently, could be looking at Tommy John surgery to repair his throwing elbow, tweets Dennis Lin of The Athletic. Dickerson, who missed all of the 2017 season due to back surgery, is still considering a non-surgical rehab program as well, however.