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Phillies Place Matt Joyce, Andrew Knapp On Injured List, Call Up Matt Vierling, Rafael Marchan

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The Phillies announced a number of roster moves this afternoon. Matt Joyce has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain and Andrew Knapp has been placed on the 7-day injured list because of a concussion. In their place, the Phillies have selected the contract of outfielder Matt Vierling and recalled catcher Rafael Marchan from Triple-A.

The 36-year-old Joyce has had a limited impact this season as an extra bat off the bench. In 62 plate appearances across 36 games, Joyce has slashed .100/.258/.240. In his defense, most of that action has come in a pinch-hitting role. True to his reputation, he’s also maintained a positive approach, posting a 16.1 percent walk rate and 22.6 percent strikeout rate. He has not been helped by an .086 BABIP mark.

The 24-year-old Vierling has not yet appeared in the Majors. He is, in fact, making the jump after just three games at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He had not appeared above High-A before this season. Regardless, he ’s been on point so far this season, slashing a combined .354/.426/.616 in 115 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A.

Like Joyce, Knapp has had a tough go of it this season: -1.0 bWAR and a triple slash line of .174/.234/.221 that’s far from characteristic of what the Phillies have come to expect from their long-time backup catcher.

Marchan has had a taste of the bigs in five games of action this season. He should slide seamlessly into his role backing up J.T. Realmuto.

A’s Place Stephen Piscotty On 10-Day Injured List, Recall Skye Bolt

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The Athletics have placed Stephen Piscotty on the 10-day injured list because of a left wrist sprain, the team announced. Piscotty will see a specialist in Arizona, per MLB.com’s Martín Gallegos (via Twitter). Skye Bolt will be recalled to claim Piscotty’s roster spot.

Bolt was only recently sent down. The injury to Piscotty, however, allows Oakland to turn around and bring him right back to the active roster. Bolt had been serving as an injury replacement for the recently-returned Ramon Laureano. In nine games, Bolt went 1-for-13 at the plate with a solo homer. While his bat has yet to heat up at the Major League level, Bolt has flashed plus glovework in the outfield while making a couple of highlight reel catches. His glove has been worth one defensive run saved in a mere 36 innings of scattered playing time in centerfield.

Piscotty, generally speaking, sees semi-regular playing time in right field, splitting responsibilities with Seth Brown in a fairly straightforward platoon. The right-handed Piscotty has 75 plate appearances against southpaws this year (with a 105 wRC+) versus 66 opportunities against right-handers (with a 59 wRC+). On the whole, the veteran owns a .217/.284/.357 line with 4 home runs, a 7.8 percent walk rate and 23.4 percent strikeout rate. Piscotty’s splits haven’t always been quite so severe, but with a 127 wRC+ in his career against lefties – and just 102 wRC+ against righties – he can generally be regarded as a plus bat so long as he’s kept on the short side of a platoon.

Brown, his counterpart in right, has just 14 plate appearances against lefties versus 141 plate appearances against righties. In the, admittedly, tiny sample, Brown has managed quite well against southpaws – 132 wRC+, which can be attributed to one home run and three walks). With Piscotty out, manager Bob Melvin could give Brown an opportunity to prove himself with more volume against left-handers. More likely, however, Melvin will turn to Chad Pinder or Bolt himself, who is a switch-hitter.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/18/21

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The latest minor transactions from around the league:

  • The Blue Jays are transferring outfielder Jonathan Davis from the paternity list to the restricted list, reports Scott Mitchell of TSN (Twitter link). Players on the paternity list are allotted a maximum of 72 hours away from the team, but Davis will take an extra few days with his family. The 29-year-old isn’t expected to be out for long, but his transfer will temporarily free up a 40-man roster spot for Toronto.

Yankees Release Kyle Barraclough

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The Yankees have released reliever Kyle Barraclough from his minor league contract, per an announcement from their Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He’s now a free agent.

Barraclough signed with the Yankees in February and has spent the entire 2021 season with the RailRiders. Over 14 innings, the righty pitched to a solid 3.21 ERA and struck out a fantastic 24 of 55 batters faced (43.6%). Barraclough doled out far too many free passes, though, issuing eleven walks (20%). Those control issues made it tough for Barraclough to crack a Yankees bullpen that has been one of the game’s best this season.

Those high-strikeout, high-walk ways are nothing new for Barraclough, who pitched in the majors for the Marlins, Nationals and Giants between 2015-19. He’s punched out a lofty 29% of opponents in his big league career while 14.1%. In each of his five MLB seasons, Barraclough struck out and walked batters at a higher than average rate.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him draw interest from teams needing bullpen help now that he’s back on the market. The 31-year-old was a quality option for much of his tenure in Miami and has demonstrated he’s still more than capable of missing high-level bats this season.

Cardinals Sign Brandon Dickson

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The Cardinals have signed right-hander Brandon Dickson to a minor league contract, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link) first reported. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Memphis.

Dickson, 36, is looking to return to the majors after nearly a decade away. He pitched 14 2/3 MLB innings for St. Louis between 2011-12 but joined the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball before the 2013 season. Dickson spent the next eight years with the Buffaloes, pitching to a 3.32 ERA across 892 1/3 innings at Japan’s highest level. He began his NPB career as a starter but worked as a closer the past few seasons, suggesting he’s likely to serve as bullpen depth for St. Louis. Last season, Dickson worked to a 3.28 ERA with a 21.1% strikeout rate and a 10.5% walk percentage.

Dickson becomes the second arm the Cards have added in recent days, as St. Louis signed veteran lefty Wade LeBlanc to a big league deal yesterday. Nevertheless, the Cardinals front office is still hunting for pitching depth, Goold writes in a separate piece. St. Louis has been in contact with rival clubs about trading for starting pitching, he notes, and they’ve been active on the free agent market. Goold reported last week that St. Louis has been in contact with free agent Shelby Miller about a potential reunion, but he added today that Miller has received offers from several teams since being released by the Cubs last month.

The Cardinals rotation looks in need of an upgrade if the 35-34 club is going to make a run in the NL Central. Jack Flaherty and Miles Mikolas are down with injuries for extended periods of time, leaving St. Louis with a current starting staff of Adam Wainwright, Kwang-hyun Kim, Johan Oviedo, John Gant and Carlos Martínez. Oviedo and Martínez have struggled this season, while Gant’s elevated 15.8% walk rate raises some doubt about his ability to keep his ERA around its current 3.50 mark.

It’s still too early in the year for many teams to abandon hope of competing, but there are a couple arms who could offer passable innings at the back of the rotation and should be available right now. The Diamondbacks have no hope of contending this season and could consider moving Merrill Kelly, who’s controllable through 2022 via a $5.5MM club option. He only has a 5.40 ERA this year but his peripherals (21.4% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate, 4.26 SIERA) are closer to average. Pittsburgh figures to be willing to trade Tyler Anderson, who has a similar combination of poor ERA (4.89) but more adequate underlying numbers (21% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk percentage, 4.33 SIERA). The Rangers and Tigers would surely listen on Mike Foltynewicz and José Ureña, respectively, although it’s not clear either is an upgrade over Martínez or Oviedo with how poorly they’ve pitched this season.

Diamondbacks Select Noe Ramirez, Designate Keury Mella

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The Diamondbacks announced they’ve selected the contract of righty reliever Noé Ramirez. To create active and 40-man roster space, fellow righty Keury Mella was designated for assignment.

Ramirez has been a member of three organizations this year. The longtime Angel was traded to the Reds as part of the Raisel Iglesias deal over the offseason. He struggled mightily in Spring Training, so Cincinnati released him before the regular season began to avoid committing to his entire $1.175MM arbitration salary. Ramirez quickly re-signed with the Angels on a minor league deal and Los Angeles added him to the big league roster in mid-May. Just five days later, the Angels designated Ramirez for assignment and passed him through waivers. He elected free agency and signed a minors pact with the D-Backs.

The 31-year-old didn’t find much success with Triple-A Reno. He was tagged for eight runs on as many hits (including three homers) and five walks in nine innings, although he did strike out twelve batters in that hitter-friendly environment. Before this year’s trials, Ramirez was a solid middle reliever, pitching to a 3.76 ERA/3.91 FIP from 2019-20.

Arizona just selected Mella to the MLB roster on Tuesday. He made two disastrous appearances in San Francisco this week, allowing six runs while recording just five outs. The 27-year-old has pitched 28 2/3 MLB innings over the past five seasons, compiling a 7.22 ERA/5.10 SIERA. Mella has already passed through waivers once this year and accepted an outright assignment to Reno, although he’ll again have the option to elect free agency if he goes unclaimed on the wire.

Padres Add Daniel Camarena To Taxi Squad

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5:24 pm: Camarena will not be added to the active or 40-man rosters at this time, manager Jayce Tingler told reporters (including Lin). He’s only being added to the club’s five-man taxi squad for the moment.

3:21 pm: The Padres are planning to select the contract of left-hander Daniel Camarena, reports Dennis Lin of the Athletic (Twitter link). The 28-year-old will make his MLB debut if he gets into a game. The Padres 40-man roster is full, so they’ll need to make a corresponding move to finalize Camarena’s promotion.

Camarena hasn’t yet played in the majors, but this won’t be his first big league call-up. The Yankees selected Camarena to the MLB roster on July 6, 2019. He didn’t get into that night’s game, and New York optioned him the next day. Camarena didn’t return to the Bronx, as he suffered an injury in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre shortly thereafter and wound up released. The Padres signed him to a minor league deal entering 2020. He spent all of last season at the Friars alternate training site and remained in the organization for 2021.

Assigned to Triple-A El Paso, Camarena has made eight starts this season. Over 39 frames, he’s pitched to a 3.00 ERA that ranks fourth-lowest among the 38 Triple-A West pitchers with at least 20 innings. That hasn’t come with particularly stellar strikeout or ground ball numbers, though. Camarena has punched out just 15.2% of batters faced while inducing grounders at an average 43% clip, and he’s benefitted from a lofty 81.5% strand rate and .231 batting average on balls in play against him. To his credit, Camarena has always been a quality strike-thrower, and that’s continued this season. The southpaw has walked just 7.0% of opposing hitters with the Chihuahuas.

Brewers Activate Kolten Wong, Select Zack Godley

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The Brewers announced they’ve activated second baseman Kolten Wong from the injured list and selected right-hander Zack Godley to the MLB roster. Utilityman Pablo Reyes and righty Eric Yardley were optioned to Triple-A Nashville in corresponding moves. To create space on the 40-man roster for Godley, Milwaukee designated infielder Jake Hager for assignment.

Wong went on the 10-day IL on June 4 with an oblique strain, his second stint of the season for that issue. As with his first IL trip, the strain proved to be relatively minor, as Wong returns after just two weeks out. That’s good news for the Brewers, since the offseason signee has hit .280/.343/.441 while playing strong defense in his first season with Milwaukee.

Godley makes his second appearance on the Brewers roster. The 31-year-old signed a minor league deal in March and was called up to make a spot start on April 27. Unfortunately, Godley suffered a right index finger contusion during that game and was forced out after just three innings.

Milwaukee designated him for assignment as soon as he was healthy enough to return from the injured list, but Godley accepted an outright assignment to Nashville upon clearing waivers. He’s pitched well in six appearances with the Sounds, working to a 2.40 ERA that ranks third-lowest among 37 Triple-A East pitchers with at least 30 innings. Godley’s struck out a strong 28.6% of opposing hitters in the minors this season while walking a slightly elevated 10.1%.

Hager spent the 2018-19 seasons in the Milwaukee system but signed with the Mets in 2020 as a minor league free agent. He got off to a torrid start with their Triple-A team in Syracuse this season, hitting .405/.436/.703 with three homers in 39 plate appearances. With the Mets reeling from a series of injuries last month, the 28-year-old very briefly cracked the major league roster, collecting one hit in eight at-bats. The Brewers claimed Hager off waivers shortly after and optioned him to Triple-A, but he hasn’t been able to build off his strong start at that level. Hager has hit just .211/.288/.394 across 80 trips to the plate with the Sounds. The Brewers will have a week to trade him or place him on outright waivers.

Additionally, Milwaukee announced that veteran infielder Logan Forsythe has been released from his minor league contract. The 34-year-old signed last month but only picked up 29 plate appearances in Nashville, partially due to a two-plus week absence to represent the United States in Olympic qualifiers. He’s now a free agent.

Royals Select Anthony Swarzak

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The Royals announced they’ve selected the contract of reliever Anthony Swarzak. Righty Ronald Bolaños was transferred to the 60-day injured list to create 40-man roster space.

Swarzak, 35, pitched in six games earlier this year with the Diamondbacks. He allowed five runs over 4 2/3 innings, striking out four while walking just one. Arizona cut Swarzak loose at the end of April, and he latched on with the Royals not long thereafter on a minor league deal. He got off to a fantastic start with Triple-A Omaha, punching out 14 of 33 batters faced (42.4%) while not issuing a walk. He allowed three runs (two earned) in 9 1/3 frames as a Storm Chaser before earning his way back to the big leagues.

Bolaños went on the IL earlier this week with a forearm strain. It’s not yet clear if that’ll require surgical repair, but he’s now out until at least mid-August. The 24-year-old was off to a strong start to the year, striking out ten while issuing just a pair of walks over 6 1/3 relief innings.

Nationals Reinstate Starlin Castro, Outright Rogelio Armenteros

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The Nationals announced they’ve reinstated infielder Starlin Castro from the restricted list. Also returning to the active roster is right-hander Austin Voth, who’s been on the 10-day injured list due to a broken nose. Reliever Ryne Harper was optioned to Triple-A Rochester, while outfielder Andrew Stevenson has been placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to June 17, with an oblique strain. Additionally, righty Rogelio Armenteros, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Rochester.

Castro went on the restricted list earlier this week to attend a personal matter. He’ll return after a three-day absence. Castro, who has started 62 of the Nationals 65 games this season at third base, will return to his customary role at the hot corner. He’ll look to right the ship after a brutal start to the campaign. The 31-year-old has hit just .239/.287/.312 over 254 plate appearances, a far cry from his generally average offensive output the three seasons prior. Castro, who is in the final season of a two-year, $12MM contract with the fourth-place Nats, could be a potential trade candidate before the July 30 deadline, although he’ll need to substantially pick up his performance at the plate to attract much interest.

Voth returns after a minimal IL stint, a fortunate development given the scariness of his injury. The 28-year-old was struck in the face by a Vince Velasquez pitch during his first start of the season. Voth, who has otherwise spent the entire year working out of the bullpen, has pitched to a solid 2.73 ERA/3.70 SIERA in 29 2/3 innings.

The Nationals will keep Armenteros in the organization without devoting him a 40-man roster spot. Washington claimed the 26-year-old off waivers from the Diamondbacks last winter. Once a decently regarded prospect in the Houston system, Armenteros made his MLB debut with the Astros in 2019. He tossed 18 innings of 4.00 ERA/4.08 SIERA ball that year but missed last season with bone spurs in his elbow. The righty has spent all of 2021 in Rochester, struggling over seven starts. Through 29 1/3 Triple-A frames, Armenteros has managed just a 5.83 ERA while walking an uncharacteristically high 14.2% of opposing hitters. He’ll stick around with the Red Wings and look to pitch his way back onto the 40-man roster at some point this year.

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