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Pirates Select Wilmer Difo

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3:33 pm: Pittsburgh has officially selected Difo and placed González on the 10-day IL. Righty Trevor Cahill was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day IL to clear 40-man roster space for Difo. Cahill went on the IL with a left calf strain on June 12 that’ll apparently require an extended absence. He’s out for 60 days from the date of his original placement, so he won’t return until at least mid-August.

2:49 pm: The Pirates are planning to select the contract of Wilmer Difo, manager Derek Shelton told reporters (including Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Fellow utilityman Erik González is going on the 10-day injured list. A corresponding 40-man roster move to accommodate Difo’s selection is forthcoming.

Difo signed a minor league deal with Pittsburgh over the winter and earned a spot on the big league roster when Ke’Bryan Hayes landed on the injured list in early April. He wound tallying 87 plate appearances over the next couple months, hitting .244/.287/.366 while lining up at five defensive positions (including mop-up work as a pitcher). That’s right in line with the switch-hitter’s body of work as a depth option with the Nationals between 2015-20.

González has also bounced around the diamond this season, including picking up some extended run at third when Hayes was out of action. He’s not offered much at the plate, though, hitting just .232/.258/.300 over 229 trips to the dish before leaving yesterday’s game against the Brewers with right side discomfort.

Cam Bedrosian Elects Free Agency

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JULY 2: Bedrosian has cleared outright waivers and elected free agency, the A’s announced.

JUNE 29: The Athletics announced they’ve selected the contract of first baseman Frank Schwindel. To crate active and 40-man roster space, Oakland designated right-hander Cam Bedrosian for assignment. Additionally, the A’s reinstated righty J.B. Wendelken from the injured list and optioned infielder Vimael Machin to Triple-A Las Vegas.

The promotion makes for a nice birthday present for Schwindel, who turns 29 years old today. The big right-handed hitter earned the call with a monster season at Las Vegas. Schwindel, whom the A’s signed to a minor league deal over the winter, has hit .324/.369/.643 with sixteen home runs across 203 plate appearances with the Aviators. Triple-A West is a hitter’s paradise, and Vegas is especially offense-friendly. Even in that context, Schwindel’s performance was notable. His 1.013 OPS ranks twelfth among the league’s 86 hitters who have taken 100-plus trips to the dish.

Schwindel’s only other major league experience came with the 2019 Royals. He picked up 15 plate appearances over six games, collecting one hit. Schwindel has a .301/.339/.531 line in parts of four seasons at Triple-A. Matt Olson obviously has first base accounted for in Oakland, but Schwindel can back him up on occasion while seeing some time at DH and as a righty power bat off the bench.

The A’s are the second team to move on from Bedrosian this year. The 29-year-old began the season with the Reds, but he was cut loose after getting off to a horrid start. Oakland signed him to a minor league deal shortly thereafter and selected him to the big league roster last month. He appeared in nine games for the A’s, tossing as many innings and allowing just two runs (on a pair of homers) with eight strikeouts and four walks.

Bedrosian has certainly performed better in Oakland than he did in Cincinnati, but his overall numbers remain lackluster. He’s worked to a 5.52 ERA across 14 2/3 frames in 2021, striking out just 21.1% of opposing hitters while walking a lofty 14.1%. Bedrosian posted a stronger 2.45 ERA with the Angels last season, but his strikeout and walk numbers were similarly poor. He looked like a budding relief ace back in 2016, but he’d settled in as more of an average middle-innings arm from 2017-19 before his downturn over the past couple seasons.

The A’s will have a week to trade Bedrosian or place him on waivers. He’d have the right to elect free agency if he clears outright waivers, as he did when the Reds designated him for assignment back in April.

Mets Acquire Anthony Banda From Giants

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2:22 pm: The Mets have announced the trade.

2:06 pm: The Mets have agreed to a deal acquiring left-hander Anthony Banda from the Giants in exchange for minor league third baseman Will Toffey, reports Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).

Banda, 27, was once one of the game’s top pitching prospects but has battled injuries and begun to bounce around the league in journeyman fashion. He’s spent the 2021 season with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, where he’s struggled to a 6.86 ERA with a 22.2 percent strikeout rate, a 9.5 percent walk rate and a 50 percent ground-ball rate. Most of the damage done against Banda in 2021 has come in three outings (a pair of six-run drubbings and a particularly rough seven-run game).

It hasn’t been a great year for Banda, but the same can be said of the 26-year-old Toffey, who has posted just a .178/.317/.386 batting line with a sky-high 38 percent strikeout rate in 123 Double-A plate appearances. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked him 28th among Mets farmhands heading into the season, noting that he’s a solid defender at the hot corner with a plus arm but questioning his lack of power and bat speed.

In Banda, the Mets will get a lefty with some big league experience — 51 1/3 innings, 5.96 ERA, 3.67 FIP — to help shore up their depth after a staggering number of pitching injuries have taken their toll on the organization. The Giants, meanwhile, are buying low on a prospect of a bit of note. Toffey has batted just .220 and slugged .379 in parts of three Double-A seasons, but his keen eye at the plate has produced a .354 OBP at that generally pitcher-friendly level.

Indians, Wilson Ramos Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Indians and Wilson Ramos are in agreement on a minor league contract, Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base reports (via Twitter). Presumably, the Octagon client will head to Triple-A Columbus once the deal is formally announced.

Ramos, 34, inked a one-year deal worth $2MM with the Tigers over the winter and opened the season as their primary catcher, but his production crumbled after a hot start to the year. The former All-Star homered in six of his first nine games with the Tigers, batting .281/.343/.875 through his first 37 plate appearances with the club. He wasn’t able to sustain anywhere near that level of offensive output, however, and over his next 91 plate appearances the veteran slugger managed only a .170/.198/.216 batting line.

Ramos made two trips to the injured list due to back strains during his short time with the Tigers organization. He was designated for assignment upon being reinstated from his second IL stint, and he was released five days later after clearing waivers.

For several years, Ramos was regarded as one of the better-hitting catchers in the game. His peak performance, from 2016-18, saw him post a combined .298/.343/.483 slash in 1163 plate appearances. That offensive ability helped to balance out a dwindling defensive reputation, but in recent years, the downturn in his glovework has become more glaring as his offense has also begun to deteriorate. Ramos was a roughly league-average hitter in two seasons with the Mets but began to lose playing time to the defensively superior Tomas Nido. Over the past three seasons, Ramos carries just a 16 percent caught-stealing rate, sub-par framing metrics and an overall -16 mark in Defensive Runs Saved.

Ramos’ early surge in 2021 offered a glimpse of life in his bat, and he’s only a couple years removed from a .288/.351/.416 showing as the Mets’ primary catcher. The Indians are currently relying on the defensively strong but offensively challenged combination of Austin Hedges and Rene Rivera behind the plate; Ramos brings something of the opposite skill set to their depth chart, although it’s been a couple years since we’ve seen sustained production from him at the plate. Roberto Perez, the Indians’ starter behind the dish, has been out since early May after undergoing surgery to repair a broken finger, but he’s been working through a minor league rehab assignment and could return in the coming days.

Diamondbacks Trade Tim Locastro To Yankees

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The Yankees and Diamondbacks announced an agreement on a trade sending outfielder Tim Locastro from Arizona to New York in exchange for minor league right-hander Keegan Curtis.

Tim Locastro | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Locastro, 28, is one of the fastest players in the Majors and gives the Yankees a potential outfield option, though he’s in the midst of a rough year at the plate. After slashing .290/.395/.464 in 82 plate appearances with the D-backs in 2020, Locastro is hitting just .178/.271/.220 in 133 trips to the plate so far in 2021.

Overall, the fleet-footed Locastro a career .234/.339/.324 hitter who has gone 31-for-34 in stolen base attempts. Locastro strikes out at a below-average clip but doesn’t walk as much as one might expect; rather, the source of his OBP is a penchant for getting plunked (as explored at length and in entertaining fashion in one of the many indispensable videos at Foolish Baseball). For a player with Locastro’s speed, getting to first base by any means necessary is particularly valuable, as he’s always a threat to swipe a base.

It’s not the impact move most Yankees fans would hope to see with the their first move of deadline season, but Locastro gives the club a strong glove and some needed depth. Aaron Hicks has already been lost for the season, and fellow outfielder Clint Frazier is now undergoing testing after exiting last night’s game due to dizziness. Locastro can still be optioned for the remainder of the 2021 season and is controllable through the 2024 campaign via arbitration.

For the D-backs, Locastro figures to be the first of several players traded between now and July 30. They’ve been MLB’s worst club by a wide margin and are generally expected to be willing to listen on veteran players as they look to restock the farm system.

The 25-year-old Curtis, while not regarded as one of the Yankees’ top prospects, does give the Snakes an interesting arm to add to the upper levels of their system. Since being selected in the 22nd round of the 2018 draft, Curtis has tallied 65 2/3 innings out of the bullpen and pitched to a 3.29 ERA across three levels in the Yankees’ minor league ranks. He’s currently at the Double-A level, where he’s posted a 3.94 ERA while punching out 27 of the 69 batters he’s faced (39.1 percent) against seven walks (10.1 percent).

Lindsey Adler of The Athletic (Twitter link) first reported the terms of the agreement.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/1/21

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Today’s minor moves from around the game:

  • The Reds announced that outfielder Scott Heineman has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Louisville. He’ll remain in the organization as non-roster depth. Cincinnati acquired Heineman from the Rangers over the winter, but he struggled in a brief look at the major league level before they designated him for assignment this week. The 28-year-old has a .172/.249/.325 line across 173 career MLB plate appearances, but he owns a much stronger .302/.368/.458 mark in parts of three Triple-A seasons.
  • The Yankees announced they’ve acquired outfield prospect Aldenis Sanchez from the Rays. The move completes the teams’ June 17 trade that sent first baseman Mike Ford to Tampa Bay. Sanchez, 22, joined the Rays out of the Dominican Republic during the 2016-17 international signing period. He has yet to make it beyond rookie ball. Sanchez never appeared on a Rays system ranking at Baseball America; in March 2020, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs called the right-handed hitter a “speedy (prospect) with some contact skills.”

Cardinals Release Tyler Heineman

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The Cardinals announced they’ve released catcher Tyler Heineman from the minor league deal he signed over the winter. (St. Louis also confirmed their previously-reported agreement with left-hander T.J. McFarland). Heineman’s contract allowed him to elect free agency if a major league opportunity opened up elsewhere, notes Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat (Twitter link). It’s not yet clear if that was the impetus for his release.

Heineman only picked up 77 plate appearances with Triple-A Memphis this season, hitting .254/.325/.313 without any home runs. The 30-year-old has typically been more productive at the minors’ highest level, evidenced by his career .284/.351/.422 line over parts of six Triple-A seasons.

That generally solid minor league work has earned Heineman brief looks in the big leagues in each of the past two years. He suited up for the 2019 Marlins and 2020 Giants, totaling 62 plate appearances.

Twins Designate Matt Shoemaker For Assignment

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The Twins announced this morning that they’ve designated veteran right-hander Matt Shoemaker for assignment and selected the contract of righty Derek Law from Triple-A St. Paul in a corresponding move.

Shoemaker, 34, tossed a quality start in his Twins debut earlier this year, but it’s been all downhill from there for the most part. The former Angels and Blue Jays righty has been shelled for 53 earned runs in his past 54 1/3 innings and is sitting on an overall 8.06 ERA and 5.38 SIERA with just a 14.1 percent strikeout rate against a 9.5 percent walk rate. The Twins may have had some hope after a move to the bullpen produced moderately better results, but Shoemaker served up eight runs in 2 2/3 frames of mop-up work in last night’s loss.

Signed to a one-year, $2MM deal late in the offseason, Shoemaker was viewed as the likely fifth starter to open the season and a necessary depth addition in a season where workloads were expected to be monitored leaguewide. But his struggles, paired with those of fellow veteran J.A. Happ and fellow back-of-the-rotation option Randy Dobnak, have helped to dig the Twins into a sizable hole. Many of the organization’s top pitching prospects have been hit by injuries in 2021 as well, which pushed the team to continue trying to coax something out of Shoemaker rather than make a move earlier in the year.

The Twins will have a week to trade Shoemaker, pass him through outright waivers or release him. Given his struggles, it’s not reasonable to expect another club having interest in a trade or waiver claim. In all likelihood, today’s DFA will lead to a release. However, given his track record prior to the 2020 season, it’s possible another organization will take a no-risk look at the veteran righty on a minor league deal in hopes that a change of scenery can right the ship. Shoemaker has had myriad injury issues in his career, but he had a nice run with the Halos earlier in his career and, prior to signing in Minnesota, had pitched to a 4.12 ERA in his most recent 166 MLB frames.

As for the 30-year-old Law, he’ll return for a second Twins stint in 2021 in hopes of better results than he produced in his first go-around. Law appeared in five games for the Twins already, yielding six runs on 11 hits and six walks with nine strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. He’s been a bit better in Triple-A, where he has a 4.61 ERA and 12-to-4 K/BB ratio in 13 2/3 innings. It could be another quick stint for Law, as the Twins called him up in part to get a fresh arm in the ’pen, but he’ll at least have another opportunity to show he can stick on the roster.

Law posted a 2.55 ERA in 55 innings as a rookie with the Giants back in 2016 but has never replicated that success. In 117 2/3 frames since that time, he’s been tagged for a 5.43 ERA with a passable 22.2 percent strikeout rate but an untenable 12.3 percent walk rate.

Astros Place Jose Urquidy On 10-Day Injured List

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11:07PM: Urquidy’s MRI revealed “the same results from the last time…some tightness with some inflammation,” the hurler told The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome and other reporters.  This left Urquidy hopeful of another relatively short IL visit: “I think I’m going to be ready in not a long time.”

5:52PM: The Astros announced a set of roster moves today, including the placement of right-hander Jose Urquidy on the 10-day injured list due to right shoulder discomfort.  Left-hander Ryan Hartman’s contract was selected from Triple-A, with 40-man roster space cleared by a corresponding move of right-hander Francis Martes being designated for assignment.  In addition, Garrett Stubbs has been called up from Triple-A while catcher Martin Maldonado is going to the bereavement list.

The shoulder issue caused Urquidy to leave last night’s start after just 1 1/3 innings, leaving the Astros ill-prepared for an impromptu bullpen game, and the result was a 13-3 loss to the Orioles.  It was an unfortunate turn of events for Urquidy, who has quietly been one of baseball’s better pitchers over the last two months, with a 2.62 ERA over his nine starts and 55 innings prior to last night’s brief outing.

Urquidy missed two weeks in May due to a similar shoulder injury, though Astros manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart) that this new bout of soreness was in a different area of Urquidy’s throwing shoulder.  Urquidy was scheduled to undergo an MRI today.

The Astros had been using a six-man rotation, so they might not need a replacement at all if they’re comfortable working their starters on regular rest.  If not, Cristian Javier was used as a starter earlier this season and could be stretched out again or perhaps used in a piggyback capacity with another pitcher.

Perhaps another alternative is Hartman, who has a 3.98 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate, and 7.6% walk rate over nine starts and 40 2/3 innings at Triple-A Sugar Land this season.  A ninth-round pick for the Astros in the 2016 draft, Hartman posted some good numbers in his rise up Houston’s minor league ladder before struggling in his first exposure to Triple-A hitters in 2019.  The lefty has performed better this year at Triple-A, though his issues with the home run ball have persisted, as Hartman has allowed 35 homers in 156 1/3 total frames at Triple-A.

Martes had a 10.80 ERA over 8 1/3 innings at Sugar Land this season.  Martes was recently activated from the restricted list in the wake of his 162-game suspension for PED usage, issued in February 2020.  This was Martes’ second PED suspension, and he also underwent Tommy John surgery in August 2018.  Between the Astros’ minor league system and the Dominican Winter League, Martes has pitched only 21 2/3 innings since the start of the 2019 season.  Martes was a highly-regarded prospect before his injury and suspension issues, but it seems as if Houston is ready to move on from the 25-year-old.

Padres Place Blake Snell On 10-Day Injured List

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The Padres have placed left-hander Blake Snell on the 10-day injured list due to illness.  Right-hander Miguel Diaz has been called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

Snell was scratched from last night’s start due to his illness, though it is fair to guess that he might not miss more than the minimum 10 days.  There aren’t any coronavirus concerns, as Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune notes that Snell tested negative for COVID-19 and is also fully vaccinated.

While perhaps not a long-term absence for Snell, his IL placement catches the Padres at a particularly inopportune time, as Dinelson Lamet is also on the injured list.  Ryan Weathers is already lined up to start tomorrow, but another starter will be required since San Diego doesn’t have an off-day until the All-Star break.  Diaz is one possibility since he has already been stretched out for multi-inning relief work and has already made two “starts” (in something of a piggyback capacity) this season.  The Padres could rely on bullpen games or piggyback outings to get by until Snell is healthy.

In his first season in San Diego, Snell has struggled to a 5.29 ERA over 66 1/3 innings, though he is coming off five shutout innings of the Dodgers in his most recent start.  Snell’s 4.12 SIERA is more palatable and he has a .329 BABIP, but he also has a career-worst 13.2% walk rate and 41.5% hard-hit ball percentage.

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