Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Transactions

Pirates Sign Yoshi Tsutsugo

By | at

The Pirates will sign Yoshi Tsutsugo, according to Yuki Yamada of Sankei Sports. Tsutsugo had been designated by the Dodgers in July and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Oklahoma, but was released yesterday. The Pirates have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move of some kind.

Pittsburgh will be Tsutsugo’s third big league team this season. He started off the year with the Rays for the second season of the two-year contract he signed in December of 2019. In the first half of the deal, he put up a line of .197/.314/.395, production just slightly below average, evidenced by wRC+ of 98. However, his 2021 season got off to a miserable start, slashing .167/.244/.218 with Tampa, a wRC+ of 36 and enough for them to cut him loose, designating him for assignment in May.

The Dodgers were intrigued enough to send cash considerations to the Rays and give him a shot. Unfortunately, his stint in Hollywood wasn’t much better, as he produced a line of .120/.290/.120, a wRC+ of 38.

However, since accepted that Triple-A assignment, he has shown much better form, hitting .257/.361/.507, a wRC+ of 108 over 180 plate appearances in Oklahoma City. This bounceback appears to have intrigued the Pirates enough to give him a roster spot. There will be no financial risk for the team, as the Rays are on the hook for the majority of his remaining salary, as was agreed upon in their trade with the Dodgers.

 

Tigers Designate Buck Farmer For Assignment

By | at

The Tigers have designated right-hander Buck Farmer for assignment, according to multiple reports.  The move opens a spot on the 40-man roster for Drew Hutchison, as the right-hander’s minor league contract will be selected so he can start tomorrow’s game against the Indians.

Detroit previously designated Farmer back in May, and he cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A before his contact was again selected in June.  It’s been a rough year for Farmer, who has a 6.37 ERA over 35 1/3 innings, with an inflated 20.5% homer rate and 12.3% walk rate contributing to those struggles.  However, a clear line can be drawn between Farmer’s performance before and after his first DFA — the righty had a garish 12.66 ERA in 10 2/3 IP in April and May, but has a much more respectable 3.65 ERA in 24 2/3 IP since returning to the big league roster in June.

Given this recent good form, Farmer’s decent numbers out of the Tigers’ bullpen from 2018-20, and the number of contenders who could use relief help, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Farmer was claimed during this latest trip on the DFA waiver wire.  He also has the option of declining another outright assignment in order to test free agency.

A fifth-round pick in the 2013 draft, Farmer has spent his entire pro career in the Tigers organization, including eight big league seasons.  There have been plenty of ups and downs, though Farmer seemed to have found a niche after becoming a full-time reliever in 2018.  The 30-year-old is earning $1.85MM this season and has one more year of arbitration eligibility remaining before being eligible for free agency following the 2022 campaign.

Hutchison signed a minor league deal with the Tigers last winter, and his start will mark his first Major League game since 2018.  Perhaps best known for his early-career status as a promising starter in the Blue Jays organization, Hutchison was beset by a Tommy John surgery and never really lived up to his potential, bouncing around to several teams at the major and minor league levels, as well as some independent teams.  Hutchison has a 5.10 ERA over 460 1/3 career innings in the Show in parts of five MLB seasons, and he has a solid 3.63 ERA in 84 1/3 IP for Triple-A Toledo this year.

Brewers Sign Colin Rea To Minors Contract

By | at

The Brewers have signed right-hander Colin Rea to a minor league deal, as per MLB.com’s official transactions page.  Rea has been assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds and is likely to start tomorrow’s game, according to Sounds announcer Jeff Hem (Twitter link).

Rea had a 2.03 ERA over 40 innings for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks this season, but he left the Japanese team earlier this month in order to return to his family in the United States following the premature birth of his child (reporter Jim Allen has the details).  The righty has now caught on with the Brewers and will look to participate in a Major League season for the fourth time in his career.

After tossing 134 1/3 innings with the Padres and Marlins in 2015-16, Rea underwent a Tommy John surgery and then didn’t return to the big leagues until last season with the Cubs.  (He pitched in San Diego and Chicago farm systems in 2018-19.)  Rea’s comeback year saw him post a 5.79 ERA over 14 innings for the Cubs, before the team released him during the offseason to sign with the Hawks.

Rea has worked as a starter for much of his career, and his assignment Sunday with Nashville indicates that the Brewers will continue to keep him stretched out.  He might provide some rotation depth for a team still missing Adrian Houser and Eric Lauer to the COVID list, though the ever-creative Brewers could use Rea as a long man, piggyback starter, or perhaps a bulk pitcher at the MLB level, if not simply as a normal starter or reliever.

Giants Reinstate Evan Longoria From 60-Day Injured List

By | at

Evan Longoria is back with the Giants, as the team announced that the veteran third baseman has been activated off of the 60-day injured list.  The Giants also placed righty Jay Jackson on the COVID-related injured list and optioned Thairo Estrada to Triple-A, while calling up left-hander Sammy Long from Triple-A to start tonight’s game.

Longoria suffered a sprained shoulder in early June, which halted a major comeback year for the 35-year-old.  After posting a below-average 94 wRC+ from 2017-2020, Longoria exploded for a 140 wRC+, nine home runs, and a .280/.376/.516 slash line over his first 186 plate appearances of the 2021 season.  Small sample size notwithstanding, the advanced numbers backed up Longoria’s improvement, as he had a whopping 61.3% hard-hit rate (per Statcast) at the time of his injury.  There were some earlier hints of a breakout, as Longoria greatly underperformed his xwOBA in both 2019 and 2020, though his underperformance this season (.380 wOBA to a .401 xwOBA) is at least a fairer representation of how well he has been hitting.

The Giants have kept on winning in Longoria’s absence, and his return as the regular third baseman will create some shuffling around the roster.  Wilmer Flores and, most recently, Kris Bryant have been seeing action at the hot corner, and it’s safe to assume that those two and Tommy La Stella could get the odd start at third base to spell Longoria.  Bryant will be playing everyday in some capacity around the diamond and will likely see more time in the outfield with Longoria back, while Flores, La Stella, and Donovan Solano will jostle for playing time at second base.

This surplus of talent falls into the “good problem to have” category for the first-place Giants, and Estrada is going to Triple-A despite hitting .300/.371/.438 over 89 PA this season.  Estrada, however, still has minor league options remaining, which makes him the unlucky odd man out on the rather stacked San Francisco roster.

Jackson’s absence is due to vaccine side effects, according to Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).  That should mean a very brief absence for the 33-year-old, who has a 3.77 ERA and 37.5% strikeout rate over 14 1/3 relief innings this season.

Dodgers Place Julio Urias On 10-Day Injured List

By | at

The Dodgers have placed left-hander Julio Urias on the 10-day injured list due to a left calf contusion.  The open roster spot will be filled by utilityman Zach McKinstry, who has been recalled from Triple-A.

Urias was hit by a pitch in his left calf during last night’s 6-5 Dodgers win over the Mets, though the southpaw went on to pitch two more innings after sustaining the injury.  Assuming that this IL placement is only related to that incident, this could be a pretty minimal absence for Urias, who could end up missing only one start due to an August 23 off-day on the Dodgers’ schedule.  It would leave Los Angeles even more short-handed in the rotation, but the team could conceivably cover Urias’ one missed outing with a bullpen game.

Amidst all of the Dodgers’ pitching injuries, Urias (whose 25th birthday was two days ago) has been a source of stability, tossing 139 2/3 innings over 24 starts.  He has also has an above-average 26.4% strikeout rate and an outstanding 5.3% walk rate while posting a 3.29 ERA.  After playing a huge role in the Dodgers’ championship run last October, Urias looks poised to deliver more important innings for the team this postseason.

Astros Activate Yuli Gurriel, Place Kyle Tucker On Injured List

By | at

The Astros are exchanging one offensive star for another, as Yuli Gurriel was activated off the 10-day injured list today, but outfielder Kyle Tucker is now heading to the IL.  No specific reason was given for Tucker’s placement beyond health and safety protocols.

Gurriel’s IL stint retroactively began on August 3, so he is back after a minimal absence due to neck stiffness.  The 37-year-old will now resume what has been the finest of his six MLB seasons, as Gurriel is hitting .324/.388/.490 with 12 home runs over 417 plate appearances as Houston’s everyday first baseman.  Gurriel has delivered both quality contact and quantity, as he has one of the lowest strikeout rates of any player in baseball — he has almost as many walks (41) as strikeouts (45) this season.

Tucker isn’t far off Gurriel’s overall offensive production, as the outfielder has 22 homers and a .272/.334/.519 slash line over 420 plate appearances.  The non-specific nature of Tucker’s placement would hint that his absence is related to COVID-19, though it could be due to contact tracing or general symptoms rather than an actual positive test for the coronavirus.  (As a reminder, teams aren’t obligated to publicly disclose reasons why a player is on the COVID list.)  Tucker already spent a week on the COVID list in June for precautionary reasons after he displayed flu-like symptoms.

Yankees Sign Sal Romano To Minors Contract

By | at

The Yankees have signed righty Sal Romano to a minor league contract.  Conor Foley of The Scranton Times-Tribune (Twitter link) was the first to report that Romano was working out today with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate.

Romano is back with the Yankees less than three weeks after being designated for assignment by New York and then claimed off waivers by the Brewers.  Romano pitched in just one game for Milwaukee before being designated again, and he chose to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to the Brewers’ Triple-A club.

This makes it four uniform changes in less than three months for Romano, who began the season with the Reds before declining another outright assignment to catch on with the Yankees on his previous minor league deal.  Romano is out of minor league options, so he could face yet another round of DFA limbo should New York recall him to the big leagues and then again cut ties to make roster space for another player.

Amidst all the movement, Romano has a 5.63 ERA over 24 total innings in 2021 (one with the Brewers, 2 1/3 IP with the Yankees, and 20 2/3 with the Reds).  A veteran of five Major League seasons, Romano has a 5.18 ERA over 274 1/3 career innings, all with Cincinnati prior to 2021.

Marlins Designate Shawn Morimando, Place Zach Pop On 10-Day Injured List

By | at

The Marlins have designated left-hander Shawn Morimando for assignment and placed righty Zach Pop on the 10-day injured list.  Right-hander Jorge Guzman and left-hander Sean Guenther were called up from Triple-A to take the two spots on the active roster.  (MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola was among those to report the moves.)

Pop has been sidelined with soreness in the middle finger of his throwing hand, interrupting a very respectable rookie season for the 24-year-old.  Over his first 43 1/3 innings in the majors, Pop has a 4.36 ERA/4.05 SIERA, plus a 58.1% grounder rate that has continued his reputation from the minors as a groundball specialist.  The Marlins landed Pop via the Rule 5 Draft (acquiring the right-hander from the Diamondbacks after Arizona drafted him out of the Orioles’ organization), and Pop has certainly pitched well enough to remain on the MLB roster for the entire season, so Miami will retain his rights going forward.

This is the second time the Marlins have DFA’ed Morimando this season, with the first designation resulting in an outright assignment to Triple-A for the southpaw.  After making his big league debut with Cleveland in 2016, Morimando didn’t receive another MLB opportunity until this season, when he posted a 9.58 ERA over 10 1/3 innings for the Marlins.

Cubs Place Adbert Alzolay On 10-Day Injured List

By | at

The Cubs have placed right-hander Adbert Alzolay on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain.  Righty Trevor Megill was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

Alzolay left his start last night in the second inning due to the injury, adding to a disastrous inning for the Cubs that saw the Marlins score 11 runs en route to a 14-10 victory.  Alzolay was charged with six of those runs over his 1 1/3 innings of work, his worst performance in what has been an inconsistent season for the 26-year-old.  Alzolay has a 5.16 ERA over 106 1/3 frames in 2021, as above-average walk and strikeouts rates haven’t been enough to counter a lot of hard contact from opposing batters against Alzolay’s offerings.

After posting a 2.95 ERA over a small sample size of 21 1/3 innings last season, Alzolay was seen as a candidate to step forward and establish himself as a regular member of Chicago’s rotation.  Given how the Cubs have dealt much of their veteran pitching beyond Kyle Hendricks, Alzolay is still a candidate for the 2022 staff almost by default.  Once he returns from the IL, Alzolay will get the rest of this season to make his case heading into Spring Training and ahead of whatever pitching additions the Cubs could make this winter.

Nationals Claim Patrick Murphy Off Waivers From Blue Jays, Release Rene Rivera

By | at

The Nationals have claimed Patrick Murphy off waivers from the Blue Jays, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. Murphy was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays earlier in the week. Additionally, the club has released Rene Rivera, per Jessica Camerato of MLB.com.

Murphy worked as a starter in the minors through the 2019 season. At Double-A that year, he logged 84 innings with an ERA of 4.71. In 2020, with the minor league season wiped out, he was only able to get actual game action in the big leagues, pitching six innings out of Toronto’s bullpen, allowing one earned run on six hits and two walks.

A consistent issue with Murphy has been injuries, which continued this year. He was placed on the 60-day IL back in February and began a rehab assignment in late May. Since that time, he bounced between the majors and minors, being optioned three times. He’s dominated Triple-A hitters in 14 2/3 scoreless innings, with a strikeout rate of 29.3%. Though that also came with a concerning walk rate of 13.8%. At the big league level, he has a 4.82 ERA, but in a small sample size of just 9 1/3 innings. The 26-year-old is in his last option year, meaning Washington can keep him in the minors for the remainder of the season. But once the 2022 season begins, they would have to either keep him in the majors or designate him for assignment again.

As for Rivera, this brings a very short Nationals tenure to an end. The 38-year-old journeyman catcher was released by Cleveland just over a month ago and signed on with Washington in mid-July. He was able to appear in just four games with the Nats. Between the two clubs, his slash line for the season is .232/.293/.362. He will now be free to sign with other clubs. However, Washington had placed him on the IL just last week with an elbow contusion. The severity of that injury could determine the level of interest from other teams.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top