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Tanner Roark Clears Waivers, Becomes Free Agent

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Right-hander Tanner Roark has cleared waivers and become a free agent, Scott Mitchell of TSN tweets. The Blue Jays designated Roark for assignment last week.

It’s no surprise that the 34-year-old Roark is heading to the open market, as there was no expectation he’d be traded or claimed because of his $12MM salary. On the heels of a solid several seasons divided among the Nationals, Reds and Athletics, Roark signed a two-year, $24MM deal with the Blue Jays going into 2020, but the move went south in a hurry for the club. Roark posted a 6.80 ERA in 47 2/3 innings last year, and despite the Jays’ injury troubles this season, he barely factored into their rotation. Roark tossed seven frames over three appearances (one start) and gave up five earned runs before the Jays cut the cord on him.

Roark boasted a respectable track record before signing with Toronto, so the likelihood is that he’ll find a different team soon. However, this trip to free agency won’t be nearly as lucrative as Roark’s previous one. He may have to settle for a minor league contract.

Indians Place Roberto Perez On IL, Select Rene Rivera, DFA Ben Gamel

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The Indians have placed catcher Roberto Perez on the 10-day injured list with a fractured right ring finger, selected the contract of fellow backstop Rene Rivera, and designated outfielder Ben Gamel for assignment, Mandy Bell of MLB.com was among those to report.

Perez suffered the injury April 13 on a crossup with reliever James Karinchak, but it has become enough of a problem for him to land on the IL three weeks later. Perhaps thanks in part to the injury, the defensively adept Perez has recorded an unproductive .131/.274/.295 line with three home runs in 73 plate appearances this year.

The Indians will now pair catcher Austin Hedges with Rivera, whom they signed to a minor league contract last month. Rivera, 37, is a journeyman who hasn’t hit much in the majors since he debuted in 2004, and he totaled a mere 24 plate appearances with the Mets from 2019-20.

Gamel was another minors signing for the Indians in the offseason, and though he made their Opening Day roster, the 28-year-old didn’t do enough to hold down a spot. He wound up going 1-for-14 with a double and six strikeouts against three walks before the Indians sent him down on April 17.

Gamel has one more minor league option left, and considering he has put up passable offensive numbers throughout his career and lined up at all three outfield positions, he could catch on someplace else via trade or waivers in the next week.

Phillies, Ruben Tejada Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran infielder Ruben Tejada, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The Primetime Sports client will presumably head to their Triple-A affiliate to open the season.

Outside of a brief, six-game resurgence with the 2019 Mets, we haven’t seen Tejada at the big league level since a rough showing with the Orioles back in 2017. He appeared in 41 games for the O’s that year and managed only a tepid .230/.293/.283 output in 124 trips to the plate.

The vast majority of Tejada’s career has come with the Mets, for whom he served as an oft-used utility infielder from his MLB debut as a 20-year-old in 2010 up through the 2015 season. Tejada logged significant action at shortstop, second base and third base in Queens and, in 2194 plate appearances as a Met, has posted a .254/.328/.322 batting line.

The Phillies currently have Jean Segura (quadriceps strain) and Ronald Torreyes (undisclosed) on the injured list, and they’re not exactly teeming with upper-level infield depth. The hope was that veteran infielder Greg Garcia could serve as this type of depth option, but he opted out of his minor league deal and was given his release earlier this week. As such, the most experienced infield pieces set to open the year in Lehigh Valley were former Red Sox prospect C.J. Chatham — whom the team released in late March but apparently re-signed, as he was announced as part of their Triple-A roster — and versatile Scott Kingery. Kingery has bounced between the Majors and the alternate site multiple times this year already as he looks to return to form after a disastrous 2020 season.

Cubs Grant Pedro Strop His Release

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Right-hander Pedro Strop has asked his release from the Cubs, who have granted the request, tweets Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. He’s still in good standing with the organization, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers adds, indicating this was an amicable parting of ways. MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets that the team remains open to bringing Strop back in the future.

Strop was away from the Cubs on a leave of absence due to personal reasons. Details surrounding that absence were not revealed, and it’s not clear at this point whether he’ll pursue an opportunity with another club. He pitched two shutout innings for the Cubs in 2021, but as of this weekend, Strop had returned to his home in the Dominican Republic.

Set to turn 36 next month, Strop has spent parts of 13 years in the Majors — eight of them with the Cubs. He came to the organization alongside Jake Arrieta in the franchise-altering deal that sent Scott Feldman to the Oriole and went on to become one of the team’s most vital relivers, pitching to a sub-3.00 ERA in his first six seasons in Chicago. Strop has tallied 375 innings in relief for the Cubs over the years and logged a 2.88 ERA while more than 28 percent of his opponents. He’s also been nails in the playoffs, logging a career 1.86 ERA in 19 1/3 postseason frames.

All told, Strop carries a lifetime 3.20 ERA through 505 2/3 big league innings split between the Cubs, Orioles, Rangers and Reds. If he indeed decides to explore other opportunities, there will no doubt be interest in him given his lengthy track record.

A’s Acquire Skye Bolt

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The Athletics announced Wednesday that they’ve acquired outfielder Skye Bolt from the Giants in exchange for cash. Bolt is a former A’s draft pick who spent his entire career with the organization until being designated for assignment back on April 1 and subsequently claimed by the Giants. His time on the other side of the Bay lasted only a month, as he was designated for assignment by the Giants as well last week. He’ll now come full circle back to his original organization, where he’s been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas.

The 27-year-old Bolt only appeared in two games with the Giants and struck out in his lone plate appearance with the team. He’s played in seven big league games dating back to 2019 but tallied only a dozen trips to the plate, going 1-for-11 with a walk and four punchouts.

Bolt spent the 2020 season in the Athletics’ 60-man player pool but never got the call from their alternate site to the big leagues. His last full season came in 2019 when he appeared in 89 games with Las Vegas, slashing .269/.350/.459 in 347 plate appearances. The 2015 fourth-rounder has never been considered one of the organization’s very top prospects, but his ability to play all three outfield spots and a knack for drawing walks (10.8 percent in the minors) has landed him in the middle tier of some A’s Top 30 lists. Overall, Bolt is a career .249/.335/.426 hitter in parts of five minor league seasons.

White Sox Sign Brian Goodwin

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May 5: The White Sox confirmed the deal, and assistant GM Chris Getz tells The Athletic’s James Fegan and other reporters that Goodwin will report to Triple-A in the near future (Twitter link).

May 4, 1:54pm: Goodwin will earn a $1MM salary if the White Sox add him to their 40-man roster, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.

1:21pm: The White Sox have agreed to a minor league contract with free-agent outfielder Brian Goodwin, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (via Twitter). It’s a natural fit for a White Sox club that just learned it’ll be without center fielder Luis Robert for the next three to four months. Goodwin is represented by MVP Sports.

The 30-year-old Goodwin had an opt-out clause in a minor league deal with the Pirates and hit the market yesterday. He’s certainly not a star, but with the exception of a disastrous 20-game stint with the Reds in 2020, which consisted of a mere 55 plate appearances, he’s been a solid hitter in the Majors. Goodwin slashed .258/.327/.469 in 166 games with the Angels from 2019-20, and he’s a career .250/.317/.455 hitter in 1124 Major League plate appearances. His sudden return to the market made this a fairly straightforward fit for a White Sox club that has lost both Robert and Eloy Jimenez for the bulk of the season — if not the entirety of it — due to injury.

The White Sox have also been without another outfielder, Adam Engel, who has yet to play this year because of a strained right hamstring. General manager Rick Hahn announced yesterday that Engel suffered a setback that will prevent him from starting a minor league rehab assignment for three weeks (Twitter link via Scott Merkin of MLB.com). Hahn later suggested the White Sox would look to the trade route for outfielders, and while that still may be the case, they’re turning to the open market in this instance. For now, their primary outfielders are Andrew Vaughn, Leury Garcia and Adam Eaton.

Notably, there’s already familiarity between Hahn and Goodwin, whom the White Sox chose in the 17th round of the 2009 draft. Goodwin decided not to sign with the White Sox, though, instead electing to attend the University of North Carolina. It was a wise move by Goodwin, who boosted his stock enough for the Nationals to draft him 34th overall in 2011. Ten years later, he’s headed to the Chicago organization.

Mariners, Ryan Dull Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Mariners have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran reliever Ryan Dull, tweets FanSided’s Robert Murray. He’ll presumably head to their Triple-A affiliate to join their bullpen.

Dull, 31, debuted with the A’s back in 2015 and had a huge 2016 season, delivering 74 1/3 innings of 2.42 ERA ball (3.33 SIERA) with what was then a well-above-average 25.2 percent strikeout rate and an excellent 5.2 percent walk rate. He’s never replicated that success, but Dull managed solid K/BB numbers and respectable fielding-independent marks in 2017-18.

A 2019 season split between the A’s, Yankees and Blue Jays, however, was an utter disaster for the righty. Dull tallied just 12 2/3 innings in the Majors that year and was slammed for 19 runs (18 earned) on 25 hits (including five homers) and seven walks with 15 strikeouts.

Dull hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since that time. He’d signed back with the Jays on a minor league deal last winter but wasn’t part of their 60-man player pool when play resumed last summer. Dull inked a deal with the Winnipeg Goldeneyes of the independent American Association back in January, but he’ll now return to affiliated ball just a couple of weeks before the American Association was set to commence its season.

Mariners relievers have been excellent this season, pitching to a collective 2.55 ERA that ranks third in the Majors, while their 3.62 FIP is good for sixth-best among MLB clubs. There won’t be an immediate spot for Dull, but he’ll give the club an experienced depth option as the organization looks to manage workloads on a generally young pitching staff after last year’s shortened schedule.

Marlins Moves: Zastryzny, Bender

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The Marlins purchased the contract of left-hander Rob Zastryzny from the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League on Tuesday. The Ducks announced the move, adding that Zastryzny will report to the Marlins’ extended spring training site. The Marlins also selected the contract of righty Anthony Bender, as Craig Mish of SportsGrid first reported.

The 29-year-old Zastryzny joined the Ducks back in March, but he exited before ever throwing a pitch for the team. Prior to signing with the Ducks, the former second-round pick (2013) appeared in the bigs from 2016-18 with the Cubs, who drafted him. He also had stints with the Dodgers and Orioles, though he didn’t make it to the majors with either of those organizations.

During his time in Chicago, the soft-tossing Zastryzny logged 34 2/3 innings and posted a 4.41 ERA with a 51.5 percent groundball rate, a 20.1 percent strikeout rate and a 10.4 percent walk rate. Zastryzny was tough on lefties as a Cub, holding them to a pitiful .154/.313/.154 line, but righties teed off on him for a .330/.387/.468 mark. In his most recent professional action, the 2019 campaign, Zastryzny racked up 113 frames between the Dodgers’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates. He managed a 5.58 ERA with 104 strikeouts against 38 walks that year.

As for the 26-year-old Bender, he saw action in the minors with the Royals and Brewers from 2016-19. While Bender notched a rock-solid 3.30 ERA in that 239 2/3-inning stretch, he only threw 5 2/3 frames above the High-A level. Bender spent last season with the Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association, and then Miami took a flyer on him on a minors contract over the winter.

After joining the Marlins, Bender held his own in spring training with 8 1/3 scoreless innings, flashing a 97 mph sinker and a high-spin slider, as Ely Sussman of Fish Stripes points out. Thanks to Bender’s intriguing repertoire, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranks him as the Marlins’ 32nd-best prospect and writes that he could turn into one of their regular middle relievers as early as this season.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/4/21

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The latest minor moves from around baseball:

  • Reds left-hander Phillip Diehl cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. The Reds added Diehl as a waiver claim from the Rockies on April 14, but the Cincinnati native didn’t appear in a game with his hometown team before they designated him for assignment last weekend. The 26-year-old’s only big league experience so far came from 2019-20 as a member of the Rockies, with whom he pitched a total of 13 1/3 innings and yielded 13 earned runs on 17 hits. Diehl also struggled in Triple-A during the offensively charged 2019 minor league season, but he has registered dominant numbers at the lower levels of the minors. He amassed 40 Double-A innings from 2018-19 and put up a minuscule 0.90 ERA with 41 strikeouts, 14 walks and just 23 hits allowed.

Pirates Place Gregory Polanco On IL, Select Hunter Owen

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The Pirates have placed outfielder Gregory Polanco on the injured list and selected outfielder/infielder Hunter Owen, the team announced. The club didn’t give a reason for Polanco’s IL placement.

Polanco entered this season hoping to bounce back from two straight unproductive years, but it hasn’t happened yet. Dating back to 2019, Polanco has batted an unsightly .197/.263/.369 over 431 trips to the plate, including 90 PA of .200/.289/.350 hitting this season. Phillip Evans could handle most of the work in right field during Polanco’s absence.

This is the first big league promotion for Owen, a 25th-round pick in 2016 who worked his way to the Triple-A level in 2019. Owen struggled during his debut there, but he has performed well in the minors overall. The 27-year-old owns a .266/.341/.473 line with 55 home runs in 1,425 PA.

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