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Reds Outright Ben Lively

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Right-handed pitcher Ben Lively has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A, the Reds announced on Wednesday. He does not have the necessary service time to reject the outright assignment immediately, but he will have the opportunity to elect minor league free agency following the conclusion of the World Series.

Lively is the sixth player the Reds have outrighted this offseason, following Vladimir Gutierrez, Alan Busenitz, Justin Dunn, Brett Kennedy, and Connor Overton. However, he is the most noteworthy of the outright decisions, having played a significant role for the major league club in 2023. The 31-year-old ranked sixth on the team with 88 2/3 innings pitched. Appearing in his first MLB season since 2019, Lively pitched in 19 games (12 starts), posting a poor 5.38 ERA but a more respectable 4.33 SIERA.

After three seasons in the KBO, Lively returned to MLB in 2022 on a minor-league deal with the Reds – the team that first drafted him back in 2014. He spent the season at Triple-A and re-upped with Cincinnati the following winter. Finally, in mid-May 2023, more than four years since he last threw a pitch in the majors, Lively had his contract selected by the big league team. Unfortunately, a couple of stints on the injured list interrupted his comeback season, and as evidenced by his inflated ERA, the righty never quite found his groove.

While his 2023 stat line isn’t overly impressive, Lively proved he can still eat innings at the major league level. On top of that, a few of his underlying metrics (3.16 K/BB, 4.42 xFIP) suggest he might be capable of a little more. Thus, he should have some suitors this winter, although he may have to settle for another minor league deal.

Orioles Sign Nate Webb To Two-Year Minor League Deal

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The Orioles have inked right-hander Nate Webb to a two-year minor league contract, per Robert Murray of FanSided. The deal reportedly includes an invite to Spring Training.

A 34th-round pick by the Royals back in 2016, Webb last pitched competitively in 2022, struggling to a 9.99 ERA in 33 1/3 innings split primarily between the Double-A and Triple-A levels with a worrisome 15.2% walk rate against a strikeout rate of 21.9%. Webb fared better in the Arizona Fall League that offseason, striking out six across 5 2/3 scoreless innings of work.

Webb was non-tendered by the Royals in November but signed on with the Pirates on a minor league deal shortly thereafter. Unfortunately for Webb, his entire 2023 campaign was wiped out after he underwent Tommy John surgery during Spring Training. Prior to his difficult 2022 season and subsequent surgery, he made his full-season pro debut in 2021 and had a solid season with a 3.94 ERA in 59 1/3 innings of work between the Single-A and High-A levels. He sported strong peripherals that year, including a 37.7% strikeout rate and a walk rate of just 8.9%.

Looking ahead, Webb will have the chance to prove his health with the Orioles this spring and headed into the season. When he’s healthy, the 26-year-old figures give the Orioles a depth option for their bullpen at the Triple-A level next season. Righties Joey Krehbiel and Mike Baumann and lefty Nick Vespi make up the club’s relief depth currently on the 40-man roster.

Mariners Outright Brian O’Keefe

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TODAY: Brian O’Keefe has cleared waivers, the Mariners announced. The 30-year-old backstop has been sent outright to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. While he does not have the necessary service time to reject an outright assignment, O’Keefe will have the chance to elect minor league free agency this offseason.

OCTOBER 13: The Mariners announced that they have designated catcher Brian O’Keefe for assignment. His roster spot will go to right-hander Kaleb Ort, who was previously-reported to have been claimed off waivers from the Red Sox.

O’Keefe, 30, signed a minor league deal with the club in the offseason and was selected to the roster in August when Tom Murphy landed on the injured list with a thumb sprain. He got into just eight games before heading to the paternity list and was optioned to the minors when he returned. In 91 Triple-A games this year, he hit .238/.328/.504, which translated to a wRC+ of 93 in the potent offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League.

The M’s will now put him on waivers in the coming days. He still has options and just a limited amount of service time, which could appeal to any club looking for catching depth. If he were to clear, he wouldn’t have the right to reject an outright assignment right away but would qualify for minor league free agency five days after the World Series.

21 Players Elect Free Agency

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With the offseason quickly approaching, a number of players elect minor league free agency on a regular basis. Separate from MLB free agents, who reach free agency five days after the World Series by accumulating six years of service time in the big leagues, eligible minor league players can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season comes to a close. Each of these players were outrighted off of their organization’s 40-man roster at some point during the season and either have been outrighted previously in their career or have the service time necessary to reach free agency since they were not added back to their former club’s rosters. For these players, reaching free agency is the expected outcome, and there will surely be more in the coming weeks. Here at MLBTR, we’ll provide occasional updates as players continue to elect minor league free agency.

Here is the next batch, courtesy of the transaction tracker at MiLB.com:

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Pitchers

Angels Outright Six Players

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The Angels have outrighted first baseman Jared Walsh, outfielder Brett Phillips, catcher Chad Wallach, right-handers Jaime Barria and Carson Fulmer, and left-hander Jhonathan Diaz, per MLB.com’s Transactions page. It had not previously been announced that the group were designated for assignment, but each player evidently cleared waivers. Walsh, Phillips, Wallach, Barria, and Fulmer will each now have the opportunity to elect free agency and hit the open market this offseason.

Walsh, 30, is perhaps the most noteworthy of the group. A 39th-round pick by the Angels in the 2015 draft, Walsh made it to the majors in 2019 and broke out in a big way during the shortened 2020 season, slashing an incredible .293/.324/.646 with nine home runs in just 108 trips to the plate. He followed up that breakout campaign with a strong 2021 as the club’s regular first baseman. In 144 games that year, Walsh hit .277/.340/.509 with 29 homers in his first full season of big league action en route to his first career All Star appearance. Unfortunately, things went down hill for Walsh from there. The slugger has struggled with neurological issues in recent years and struggled to be an effective big leaguer as a result, slashing just .197/.258/.355 in 157 games across the past two seasons. Deep as Walsh’s struggles have been in recent years, if he can prove himself to be healthy it’s certainly feasible that a club with a need at first base could give him a look thanks to his significant success in the relatively recent past.

Phillips, 29, made his big league debut with the Brewers during the 2017 season, slashing a solid .276/.351/.448 in 98 trips to the plate for the club. That said, Phillips’s true calling card is his outfield defense, which has allowed him to appear in the majors for each of the past seven seasons of his career despite only posting a better-than-average slash line in 2021 besides his debut season. Though he’s slashed a paltry .187/.272/.347 for his career including an abysmal .152/.230/.269 line the past two seasons, Phillips has managed to bounce between the Brewers, Royals, Rays, Orioles, and Angels throughout his career and could enter free agency as a solid, glove-first depth piece for interested clubs, though it’s possible he’ll have to settle for a minor league deal.

Wallach, 31, made is MLB debut in 2017 and since then has bounced around the major and minor leagues as a depth option behind the plate, with previous major league stints in Cincinnati and Miami as well as Anaheim. 2023 was the journeyman’s first extended big league opportunity thanks to injuries to the club’s typical catching corps of Logan O’Hoppe and Max Stassi, and Wallach performed passably in the role with solid framing numbers and 70 wRC+ that placed him 49th among 69 catchers with at least 100 big league plate appearances this season. Wallach figures to once again receive interest as a potential depth piece for clubs in need of additional catching options this offseason.

Barria, 27, made his MLB debut in 2018 and has spent his entire career with the Angels to this point. His rookie season was an impressive one, as he posted a 3.41 ERA that was 23% better than league average by ERA+ in 26 starts, though his 4.58 FIP left something to be desired. Barria struggled in a swing role in 2019 before bouncing back with a 3.62 ERA and matching 3.65 FIP in 32 1/3 innings of work during the shortened 2020 season. That set off what has become a trend of Barria alternating between struggles and success every other season; while he posted excellent numbers in 2022 with a 2.61 ERA as a multi-inning reliever, he struggled in 2021 and especially the 2023 campaign, during which he posted a 5.68 ERA and 6.07 FIP across 82 1/3 innings of work. Still, given Barria’s relative youth and previous success, it seems like a reasonable bet that he’ll find interest in his services this offseason.

Fulmer, who was selected eighth overall by the White Sox in the 2015 draft, struggled to a 6.41 ERA and 5.93 FIP across 130 2/3 innings for the first six seasons of his big league career while bouncing between the White Sox, Tigers, Orioles, and Reds organizations. After a solid season at the Triple-A level for Fulmer with the Dodgers in 2022, he signed on in Anaheim and return to the big leagues late in the year. He pitched fairly well in ten innings of work, striking out six while posting a 2.70 ERA across three appearances. The 29-year-old figures to once again receive interest from clubs this offseason, though it seems likely he’ll once again be limited to minor league offers.

Diaz, meanwhile, will remain in the Angels organization as a player with less than three years service time who’s just received the first outright assignment of his career. The 27-year-old lefty made his big league debut in Anaheim back in 2021, and has posted a 4.84 ERA with a 4.83 FIP across 35 1/3 innings of work in the big leagues split across the last three seasons. Diaz sports identical 14.4% strikeout and walk rates for his big league career thanks to a brutal 2023 campaign that saw him walk seven batters in seven innings while striking out just four and posting a 10.29 ERA. He’ll remain a decent left-handed depth option for the Angels going forward.

Zach Plesac Files For Free Agency

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Right-hander Zach Plesac recently filed for free agency, according to his player profile on MLB.com. Plesac, 28, struggled to a 7.59 ERA and 4.47 FIP across five starts with the Guardians this season before being designated for assignment back in June. His struggles continued at the Triple-A level after he accepted an outright assignment, with the righty posting a 6.08 ERA in 19 appearances for the club’s affiliate in Columbus.

Plesac made his major league debut in 2019 and had the look of a solid mid-rotation starter, with a 3.81 ERA (126 ERA+) across 21 starts in his rookie season, though his 4.94 FIP and lackluster 18.4% strikeout rate both left much to be desired. During the shortened 2020 season, Plesac took a significant leap forward, with an incredible 2.28 ERA that was 96% better than league average by measure of ERA+ and a strong 3.39 FIP. In the shortened season, Plesac’s peripherals caught up to his performance as he struck out 27.7% of batters faced while walking just 2.9%.

Headed into the 2021 campaign, Plesac looked like he’d be a stalwart of Cleveland’s rotation for years to come. That did not come to pass, however, as Plesac reverted to his previous, low-strikeout rate form in 2021 and beyond. Unlike 2019, however, his results fell back down to Earth alongside his peripherals, leaving him with a 4.49 ERA (90 ERA+) and a 4.59 FIP across 274 1/3 innings between 2021 and 2022. During that time, he struck out a measly 17.2% of batters faced, the fifth-worst punchout rate among starters with at least 250 innings pitched between the two seasons.

Now that Plesac has elected free agency, he’ll be able to look for the chance to continue his career with any of the 30 big league clubs. Given his brutal results both in the majors and at Triple-A this year, it’s hard to imagine him finding anything better than a minor league offer with a contender. That said, it’s at least feasible that a team without hope of contending next season could offer Plesac a spot in the Opening Day rotation given the upside he flashed early in his career, his relative youth, and the fact that he could be controlled beyond the 2024 campaign.

If such an offer doesn’t materialize, Plesac could be one of the more interesting depth starters to be had on a minors pact this winter. After all, even his considerably diminished performance in 2021 and 2022 was just below league average for a starting pitcher, and even a contending club could do far worse than Plesac if looking for a stopgap option to cover for a midseason rotation injury. Further adding to his value on the open market is the fact that Plesac has minor league options remaining, meaning an interested club could shuttle him from the majors to Triple-A throughout next season without exposing him to waivers.

Minor MLB Transactions: 10/13/23

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The latest minor moves from around the sport…

  • The Angels have re-signed catcher Tyler Payne to a new minor league deal, according to Ari Alexander of KPRC TV in Houston (X link).  Payne first joined the Halos organization last June, hitting .313/.369/.472 over 157 plate appearances with Double-A Rocket City.  Prior to signing with the Angels, Payne (who turns 31 later this month) had spent his entire pro career in the Cubs’ farm system since Chicago made him a 30th-round selection in the 2015 draft.  That stint with the Cubs culminated in Payne’s lone Major League game, back in 2021.

Rockies Outright Austin Wynns, Harold Castro, Matt Carasiti

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The Rockies announced that catcher Austin Wynns, infielder/outfielder Harold Castro and right-hander Matt Carasiti have been outrighted off the major league roster. Their 40-man roster is now at 37 with five players on the 60-day injured list who will soon need spots, though the impending free agencies of Brent Suter, Chase Anderson and Chris Flexen will open three more.

Wynns, 32, began his career with the Orioles but went into journeyman mode this year. He went through three fifths of the National League West in 2023, bouncing from the Giants to the Dodgers and then the Rockies. Between those three clubs, he got into 51 games and hit .208/.268/.277 with positive defensive grades.

He could have been retained via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a salary of $1MM, but it seems the Rockies didn’t plan to tender him a contract. Since Wynns was outrighted, that means he passed through waivers unclaimed. Players with more than three years of service time or a previous career outright have the right to reject a further outright assignment in favor of electing free agency, with Wynns qualifying on both counts.

Castro, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Rockies and cracked the Opening Day roster. He got into 99 games this year in a utility role, playing all three outfield spots and the three infield positions to the left of first base. Unfortunately, he didn’t offer much at the plate, hitting just .252/.275/.314 for a wRC+ of 43. Given that production, it’s unsurprising the club moved on instead of opting for a projected $1.8MM arbitration salary. He has over three years of service time and a previous career outright, giving him the right to elect free agency.

Carasiti, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Rockies and was selected to the roster in May. He made 16 appearances at the big league level with a 6.49 earned run average, striking out just 14.5% of opponents while walking 10%. He doesn’t have three years of service but does have a previous career outright, meaning he also has the right to elect free agency.

Mariners Claim Kaleb Ort From Red Sox

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The Mariners have claimed right-hander Kaleb Ort off waivers from the Red Sox, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. It was reported earlier this week that Ort had been placed on outright waivers. The M’s will need to make a corresponding move to make room for Ort on their 40-man roster.

Ort, 31, tossed 23 innings for the Red Sox this year with a 6.26 earned run average. His 22.4% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate were both fairly close to average, but he allowed six home runs in that time. He landed on the injured list in July due to right elbow inflammation and never returned. The Sox were going to have to reinstate him from the 60-day injured list soon since it doesn’t exist between the World Series and Spring Training, but they decided instead to put him on waivers.

It seems the Mariners are intrigued enough to take a chance, despite the ERA. Ort has generally fared better in the minors, including a 3.09 ERA in his 131 Triple-A innings. The Mariners will see if they can help him have better results at the major league level, perhaps with their pitcher-friendly ballpark helping minimize the home run issue. The righty also has an option year remaining and has yet to reach arbitration.

Athletics Outright James Kaprielian, Sam Long, Carlos Pérez

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The Athletics outrighted three players, according to the transaction tracker at MiLB.com. Right-hander James Kaprielian, left-hander Sam Long and catcher Carlos Pérez have all been sent outright to Triple-A Las Vegas. It wasn’t previously reported that these players were removed from the roster, so this opens up three spots on the Oakland 40-man.

Kaprielian, 29, had a frustrating season in 2023. He was able to toss 253 1/3 innings over 2021 and 2022 with a solid 4.16 earned run average but required shoulder surgery in December and never really got on track after that. The early results were poor and he wound up being used as a frequently-optioned depth arm throughout the first half. He then landed on the injured list in June due to a shoulder strain and required yet another surgery in August. He finished the year with a 6.34 earned run average in 61 innings.

The righty is just shy of three years of major league service time but was set to qualify for arbitration as a Super Two player this winter. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a salary of $1.5MM but it seems the A’s weren’t planning to tender him a contract. Any of the 29 other teams could have stepped up and claimed him off waivers but it seems they all passed, based on this outright. This is his first career outright and he is just shy of three years of major league service time, meaning he technically can’t reject this outright assignment immediately. But he will qualify for minor league free agency on the fifth day after the World Series, as a player with parts of seven seasons in the minors.

Long, 28, was acquired from the Giants in a cash deal in April. He tossed 45 innings for the A’s this year with a 5.60 ERA, 16.1% strikeout rate, 10.6% walk rate and 42.7% ground ball rate. This is his first career outright and he has less than three years of service time, meaning he doesn’t have the right to reject this assignment right now. But like Kaprielian, he’ll qualify for minor league free agency in a few weeks.

Pérez, 33 this month, signed a minor league deal with the A’s in March and quickly cracked the roster. He got into 68 games this year, his first major league action since 2018, hitting .226/.293/.357 with subpar defensive metrics. He was eligible for arbitration with a projected $1.2MM salary but the A’s and the other clubs in the league passed on the chance to tender him a contract. He has over three years of service time, which gives him the right to elect free agency right away if he so wishes.

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