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Royals Designate Kelvin Gutierrez For Assignment, Select Emmanuel Rivera

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The Royals announced Monday that they’ve designated infielder Kelvin Gutierrez for assignment and selected the contract of fellow infielder Emmanuel Rivera from Triple-A Omaha. Rivera, who’ll be making his MLB debut, is batting sixth in tonight’s lineup and manning the hot corner.

Gutierrez, 26, was acquired from the Nationals back in the 2018 trade that sent righty Kelvin Herrera from K.C. to D.C. At the time of the swap, Gutierrez was arguably the top prospect headed back to Kansas City — a potentially plus defender at third base with above-average power but questions about his hit tool. His development, unfortunately, hasn’t rounded out as hoped.

The Royals gave Gutierrez a look in each of the past three seasons, but he’s mustered only a .226/.275/.309 slash through 223 Major League plate appearances. He’s posted a .289/.364/.429 slash in 84 Triple-A games as well, although given the hitter-friendly nature of that setting, that output checks in at roughly league average, per wRC+. Gutierrez hasn’t been as strong defensively as expected at third base, either;  he’s committed a dozen errors in 490 innings at third base while logging below-average marks in Defensive Runs Saved, Ultimate Zone Rating and Outs Above Average.

That said, Gutierrez can be optioned for the remainder of the 2021 season and has been an average or better hitter at nearly every minor league stop. He’ll turn 27 two months from now, but another club in need of some depth at third base could take a mostly free look at this point. The Royals have a week to trade Gutierrez or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.

Rivera’s call to the big leagues serves as an early birthday present, as he’ll turn 25 tomorrow. He’s spent the season with Triple-A Omaha and posted a .282/.337/.593 batting line with 14 home runs, 11 doubles and a triple so far in 193 plate appearances. He doesn’t walk much (6.2 percent in 2021) but also has a seemingly manageable strikeout rate (22.3 percent).

Rivera as a mid-range prospect for the Royals heading into the 2019 season, but a forgettable .258/.297/.345 (79 wRC+) performance in Double-A caused him to fall off most organizational rankings. This is the most productive season of his career so far, however, and he’ll now get a chance to carry it over to the big league level for a Royals club that can afford him ample playing time.

Reds Designate Scott Heineman For Assignment, Select Alejo Lopez

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The Reds announced Monday morning that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Alejo Lopez and designated outfielder Scott Heineman for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster.

Heineman, 28, was 3-for-30 in a brief, 19-game look with Cincinnati this season after coming over from the Rangers via a December trade that sent young Jose Acosta to Texas. That rough showing dipped his career batting line in the big leagues to .172/.249/.325 through 173 plate appearances — all coming with either Texas or Cincinnati. Heineman has a much better track record in Triple-A, where he’s posted a hearty .302/.368/.458 slash through 699 trips to the plate.

As for the 25-year-old Lopez, he’s in the midst of a breakout campaign in the upper minors. He didn’t enter the season regarded as one of the better prospects in the Reds organization, but Lopez destroyed the Double-A Southern League with a .362/.437/.448 batting line before moving to Triple-A and upping the pace with a .358/.436/.526 slash through a nearly identical sample of plate appearances.

Lopez has had some good fortune in terms of balls in play (.404 BABIP in Double-A, .368 in Triple-A), but his output is also buoyed by what look to be exceptional bat-to-ball skills. Lopez has just 18 strikeouts against 24 walks through 229 plate appearances this season, helping to offset a lack of power. Lopez has only two home runs (both in Triple-A) and just nine long balls in 1564 plate appearances in minor league ball overall. But he’s also swatted 19 doubles in this year’s 229 trips to the plate and gone 6-for-7 in stolen base attempts.

Lopez has split his time between second base and third base this season, with the former of those two spots being his primary position throughout his minor league career. He does have some experience at shortstop and got some work in left field while playing winter ball in Mexico. He’ll give Cincinnati a switch-hitting presence to bounce around the diamond. This will be Lopez’s first call to the Majors after being a 27th-round pick by the Reds back in 2015. He’s controllable through at least the 2027 season.

Athletics Sign Homer Bailey To Minors Contract

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The A’s signed right-hander Homer Bailey to a minor league deal earlier this week and assigned the veteran to Triple-A Las Vegas.  This is Bailey’s second stint with Oakland, after first joining the organization via a trade from the Royals in July 2019 and then posting a 4.30 ERA over 13 starts and 73 1/3 innings in the green and gold.

Bailey was a front-of-the-rotation arm during his prime years in Cincinnati, which included no-hitters in both 2012 and 2013.  This led to a six-year, $105MM extension prior to the 2014 season that unfortunately became something of an albatross for the team, as Bailey battled multiple injuries (including a Tommy John surgery) over his remaining five years with the Reds.  However, after catching on with the Royals on a minors deal, he rebounded to post serviceable numbers over 163 1/3 combined innings with K.C. and Oakland in 2019, with a 4.57 ERA/4.60 SIERA and an above-average 7.6% walk rate.

Injuries again hampered Bailey in 2020, as biceps tendinitis limited him to only eight innings with the Twins.  The righty didn’t sign with another team during the winter, though he did make Team USA’s roster for the Olympic baseball qualifying tournament.

The 35-year-old has by far the most experience of any pitcher in the Athletics farm system, and Bailey is likely to remain on hand as a depth option should an injury or a need arise in Oakland’s rotation.  Mike Fiers was re-signed last February to fill that veteran depth role, though Fiers has been on the injured list since early May due to an elbow sprain and will out of action at least through July after receiving a PRP injection.  It’s probably safe to assume that the A’s will continue to seek out more pitching (both for the rotation and the bullpen) as the July 30 trade deadline nears.

Tigers Place Michael Fulmer On 10-Day Injured List

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The Tigers placed right-hander Michael Fulmer on the 10-day injured list due to a right cervical spine strain.  Left-hander Miguel Del Pozo was called up from Triple-A Toledo to take Fulmer’s spot on the active roster.  Despite the rather ominous-sounding official injury designation, “the normal term is his neck is bothering him,” manager A.J. Hinch told The Detroit News’ Chris McCosky and other reporters.  Fulmer felt the injury following yesterday’s outing against the Astros, which saw the righty allow three runs on two homers over an inning of work.

While the issue doesn’t sound overly serious, it does represent at least 10 fewer days for opposing scouts and front offices to gauge Fulmer’s value as a trade candidate.  The 2016 AL Rookie Of The Year has reinvented himself as a reliever coming off Tommy John surgery in 2019 and some tough results as a starter in 2020, and Fulmer has a 3.62 ERA, 29.66% strikeout rate, and 5.08% walk rate in 27 1/3 innings out of the bullpen this season.  He has also shown some quality in high-leverage situations, racking up six saves as part of Detroit’s closer committee.

With Fulmer still under control through one final arbitration year in 2022, he makes for an interesting trade chip for the Tigers to shop prior to July 30, assuming that he is able to return from the IL in good condition.  An enterprising team could acquire Fulmer as bullpen help for this season, and then perhaps consider stretching him out next spring for one last crack at starting pitching, with a return to the relief corps available as a fallback option.

The transaction also creates another opportunity for Del Pozo, who didn’t get a chance to pitch when he was briefly called up to the Tigers earlier this month.  Del Pozo signed a minor league deal with Detroit last winter, and over 13 innings with the Angels and Pirates in 2019-20, the southpaw issued 16 walks and posted a 12.46 ERA.  At Triple-A Toledo this season, however, Del Pozo has a 1.02 ERA over 17 2/3 innings, with a 35.4% strikeout rate and (perhaps most importantly) a much more palatable 9.23% walk rate.

Orioles Outright Mickey Jannis

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The Orioles announced that right-hander Mickey Jannis has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Norfolk. He’d been designated for assignment earlier in the week.

Jannis will remain in the organization as high minors depth. The 33-year-old has had a strong season with the Tides, working to a 2.92 ERA across 24 2/3 innings. His strikeout and walk rates (13% and 10%, respectively) are uninspiring, but that’s generally to be expected for a knuckleballer.

That quality Triple-A work earned Jannis the briefest of looks at the big league level earlier this week. He was selected to the roster and made his MLB debut on Wednesday. Jannis was called on for a few innings of mop-up work against the Astros, the league’s top lineup. He didn’t fare well, as Houston tagged him for seven runs on eight hits (including three homers) and four walks. At the very least, Jannis did record his first major league strikeout, punching out Yordan Álvarez.

Diamondbacks Outright Stefan Crichton

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JUNE 27: Crichton cleared waivers and has been sent outright to Reno, the D-Backs announced.

JUNE 23: The Diamondbacks announced Wednesday that they’ve designated right-handed reliever Stefan Crichton for assignment and recalled outfielder Nick Heath from Triple-A Reno in his place.

Crichton, 29, worked some high-leverage spots for the Snakes early in the season and even tallied four saves in the season’s first five weeks. In fact, Crichton is the only D-backs reliever with multiple saves this season and leads the team with nine saves dating back to Opening Day 2020.

The right-hander’s results have tanked as of late, however, leading to a 6.04 ERA that surely prompted Wednesday’s DFA. Crichton has totaled only 11 innings over his past 15 appearances, during which time he’s been tagged for 10 earned runs on 16 hits (two homers) with more walks (six) than strikeouts (five).

From 2019-20, Crichton was a solid member of the D-backs’ relief corps, tallying 56 1/3 innings of 3.04 ERA ball with a 50.3 percent grounder rate, a 24.1 percent strikeout rate and a 7.3 percent walk rate. His velocity, strikeout rate and walk rate have all gone in the wrong direction for two consecutive seasons, however. This year’s middling 13.9 percent clip is barely half what it was back in 2019 when he notched a career-best 26.8 percent mark.

The Diamondbacks will have a week to trade Crichton or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. This year’s struggles and velocity dip, paired with the fact that he’s out of minor league options, might temper optimism among other clubs, however.

MRI Reveals No UCL Damage For Reds’ Tejay Antone

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JUNE 27: In encouraging news, Antone told reporters (including Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer and C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic) that an MRI revealed no damage to his UCL. The righty suggested he’s targeting a return immediately after the All-Star break, although he’ll be shut down from throwing for the moment.

JUNE 26: The Reds announced that right-hander Tejay Antone has been placed on the 10-day IL due to a right forearm strain.  Left-hander Cionel Perez was recalled from Triple-A Louisville in the corresponding move.

Antone only just returned earlier this week from an 11-day stint on the injured list due to inflammation in that same forearm.  It certainly isn’t a good sign that the righty is so quickly headed back to the IL with what looks like an even more serious forearm issue, especially since Antone already has a Tommy John surgery in his health history.  It certainly looks like Antone will miss more than just a minimal amount of time with his latest injury, as the Reds will want to be as cautious as possible in avoiding any more serious damage.

In part because of that earlier TJ procedure that wiped out his 2017 season, Antone didn’t make his Major League debut until 2020, but he has made up for lost time with some impressive numbers.  Over 69 innings in the big leagues, Antone has a 2.22 ERA/3.32 SIERA, 32.5% strikeout rate, and 48% grounder rate.  While a .194 BABIP has helped minimize the damage from all those ground balls, Antone also isn’t allowing much hard contact.

There was some speculation in Spring Training that Antone could win a rotation job, though a minor hip injury scuttled that idea and placed him in the Reds’ bullpen.  It ended up working out for the best, given that Antone has been more or less the only consistent arm in a very shaky Cincinnati relief corps.  Even with Antone’ s 1.60 ERA over 33 2/3 relief innings this season, the Reds bullpen ranks last in the majors in ERA.  Assuming Antone misses a noteworthy amount of time recovering from this forearm strain, it will put even more pressure on the Reds’ front office to land some bullpen help before the July 30 trade deadline.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/27/21

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The latest minor moves around the league:

  • Right-hander Joe Harvey has elected free agency after clearing outright waivers, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. The 29-year-old reliever was designated for assignment by the Rockies earlier in the week. He hasn’t pitched in an MLB game this season, but he combined for 21 1/3 innings of 4.22 ERA/5.25 SIERA ball with Colorado and the Yankees between 2019-20.
  • Outfielder Mason Williams has also elected free agency after clearing waivers earlier this week, per his MLB.com transactions log. The 29-year-old garnered brief time with the Mets this season, appearing in 17 games while the big league team was dealing with a series of outfield injuries. Williams has reached the big leagues in each of the past seven seasons- logging time with both New York clubs, the Reds and the Orioles along the way- but he’s only tallied a total of 289 MLB plate appearances. The left-handed hitter owns a .265/.308/.366 line with four home runs at the highest level.

Tigers Option Isaac Paredes, Keep Zack Short On Active Roster

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After splitting today’s doubleheader with the Astros, the Tigers announced that they are keeping 27th man Zack Short on the active roster and optioning Isaac Paredes to Triple-A. Paredes, 22, was given an opportunity to fill in for Niko Goodrum when the latter was placed on the injured list.

With a 17.1 percent walk rate and 14.3 percent strikeout rate in a small sample of 35 plate appearances, Paredes has shown a solid, contact-first approach. The bottom line results haven’t been there yet, however, as he slashed .143/.286/.321 in that time. His .130 BABIP suggests some poor luck, and his batted ball numbers (such as exit velocity, hard-hit percentage, and barrel rate) are a touch below average. Paredes will head back to the minors with hopes of producing more solid contact in regular playing time at Toledo.

Short, 26, is having a stellar season at the plate, both in Triple-A (.132 wRC+ in 124 plate appearances) and with the parent club (143 wRC+ in 16 plate appearances). The former Cubs’ farmhand can play all over the infield while filling Paredes’ role as a right-handed complement to switch-hitting infielders Jeimer Candelario and Willi Castro. Short may not have the long-term promise that Paredes does, but he has impressed in short-run samples this season, earning himself an opportunity.

Moving to the outfield, the Tigers have another roster decision coming soon, writes Evan Woodbery of Mlive.com. With Derek Hill and Victor Reyes close to returning from the injured list, the Tigers will have a surplus of outfielders. The most obvious move would be to activate Hill and option Reyes back to Triple-A, but Woodbery wonders whether Detroit might find this the right time to cut ties with Nomar Mazara.

Though still just 26, Mazara is seemingly running out of chances to prove himself a Major League hitter. After struggling through the shortened season with the White Sox, Mazara has put up similar production this year. Slashing .201/.273/.317 through 154 plate appearances, Mazara doesn’t have any trade value, and on a one-year, $1.75MM contract, he can be cut loose without significant financial consequence.

If the Tigers don’t see Mazara as a part of their future, there’s certainly some logic to allocating his playing time elsewhere. The Tigers can pull from a pool of outfielders that includes Robbie Grossman, Akil Baddoo, Daz Cameron, Hill, Reyes, JaCoby Jones, Christin Stewart, Jacob Robson. Infielders Castro and Goodrum (when he returns from the injured list) are also capable of playing the outfield.

Phillies Designate David Hale, Select Neftali Feliz

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JUNE 26: David Hale has cleared waivers and elected free agency, per the Phillies. Hale is now free to explore an opportunity with any organization.

JUNE 25: The Phillies announced Friday that they’ve designated right-hander David Hale for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for fellow righty Neftali Feliz, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Philadelphia also placed righty Sam Coonrod on the 10-day injured list due to tendinitis in his right forearm, recalled infielder Nick Maton to fill that roster spot and tabbed righty Enyel De Los Santos as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader.

It’s the first big league action for the now-33-year-old Feliz since 2017. The 2010 American League Rookie of the Year’s career was derailed by arm troubles that began with Tommy John surgery in 2012. That surgery wiped out nearly all of his 2013 campaign, and although Feliz returned with a 1.99 ERA in 2014, his velocity was diminished and his strikeout rate plummeted. Feliz struggled through a dismal 2015 season split between the Rangers and Tigers before enjoying a nice rebound effort with the Pirates in 2016. That bounceback effort, however, was truncated by an arm issue that ended his season in early September.

Feliz latched on with the Brewers on a one-year deal for the 2017 campaign but was hit hard in 27 frames with Milwaukee before being cut loose. The Royals signed him for the remainder of the year and got slightly better results. Feliz signed with the D-backs on a minor league deal that winter, but he was unable to make the team in Spring Training and cut loose at the end of camp. He followed a similar path with the Mariners in 2019.

From 2018-20, Feliz’s only work on the mound came in the Dominican Winter League. His showing there in the 2020-21 season — 3.07 ERA, 22-to-6 K/BB ratio in 14 2/3 innings — was enough for the Phillies to take notice and bring him in on a minor league pact. And his work thus far in Triple-A has certainly been impressive enough to merit a return to the Majors for the first time in nearly four years. Through 14 1/3 frames with Lehigh Valley, Feliz has yielded just a pair of earned runs on eight hits and six walks. He’s punched out 23 of the 58 batters he’s faced so far in Triple-A (39.6 percent).

Turning to the 33-year-old Hale, he never quite found his footing this season. He game the Phils 11 solid frames down the stretch last year, but Hale has surrendered at least one earned run in 10 of his 17 appearances this year and pitched to a 6.41 ERA through 26 2/3 innings of work.

Hale was a viable long relief/spot start option from 2018-20 — mostly with the Yankees, who signed him to a staggering five minor league deals in that time — as he tallied 68 1/3 innings with a 3.56 ERA. Hale has never missed many bats, but he’s generally shown good command and kept the ball on the ground at an above-average clip.

Coonrod, 28, got out to a brilliant start this season but hit a rough patch beginning in mid-May. He’s been tagged for 11 runs over his past nine innings, so it’s perhaps not entirely surprising to see that there’s some degree of an arm issue. Even with that slump, he’s still sporting a respectable 4.18 ERA with a 24.8 percent strikeout rate and an 8.3 percent walk rate.

The 24-year-old Maton returns after a brief stretch in Triple-A. He began his rookie season on an absolute tear in the big leagues, slashing .313/.337/.458 through his first 86 trips to the plate. However, Maton fell into a woeful 0-for-21 slump and lost playing time over the next few weeks, ultimately leading the Phils to send him down for some additional work. He’d never played above the Double-A level prior to the 2021 season.

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