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Minor MLB Transactions: 8/16/17

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Here are some of the latest minor moves from around the game, courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy except where otherwise noted:

  • The Mariners outrighted right-hander Christian Bergman to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, per a club announcement. Bergman, 29, had the right to opt for free agency now or at the end of the season; given that he’s now listed on Tacoma’s roster, it seems he’ll wait and consider the latter option when the time comes. Bergman, 29, has thrown 51 1/3 innings on the year for Seattle, working to a 4.91 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.
  • Outfielder Daniel Robertson will return to the Indians on a minors deal after being designated for assignment and then released, the club announced. The 31-year-old has appeared in each of the past four MLB campaigns — each time with a different team.  This year, he took 88 plate appearances for Cleveland, slashing .225/.287/.338. While it’s not clear whether Robertson will factor at the major league level again this year, the fleet-footed, high-contact 31-year-old could conceivably make for a useful bench piece once rosters expand in September.
  • The Diamondbacks have added right-handers Andury Acevedo and Louis Coleman on minors deals. Acevedo, who’ll soon turn 27, was intriguing enough to land a 40-man spot with the Cubs a few years back, but has yet to show any consistency on the mound in the upper minors. As for Coleman, who threw 48 innings of 4.69 ERA ball last year for the Dodgers, he’ll return to Arizona after briefly testing the open market. He has worked to a 2.05 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 over 57 innings this year in stints with the D-Backs’ and Reds’ top affiliates.
  • Heading to the Reds on a minors deal is slugging outfielder Adam Walker. He has bounced around via waiver claims and minor-league deals of late, seeing time in three organizations thus far in 2017. All told, he has compiled a tepid .185/.220/.410 batting line — with a dozen home runs but also 88 strikeouts against just ten walks — in his 241 plate appearances in the upper minors.
  • The White Sox released infielder Grant Green, who had previously seen brief action in the majors this year with the Nationals. On the season, Green owns an overall .232/.306/.300 slash over 245 plate appearances at the Triple-A level with those two organizations. The 29-year-old was once considered a notable possible contributor with the Athletics and Angels, but has managed only a .248/.283/.336 batting line in his 353 trips to the plate in the majors.
  • Six-year MLB veteran Collin Cowgill has been released by the Padres. Cowgill, 31, joined the organization on a minors deal over the winter, but never earned a crack at a return to the majors. He carries a .235/.297/.390 slash through 220 plate appearances
  • Finally, the Rangers have released lefty Bobby LaFromboise and righty Jaye Chapman. The former has made 27 MLB appearances and shown some intriguing numbers at times, but struggled last year at Triple-A with the Phillies and was sidelined for much of the current season. The 30-year-old Chapman, meanwhile, is looking to work back toward the majors for the first time since his lone stint back in 2012. But he was hit hard in his 36 2/3 innings at Triple-A Round Rock, with a 6.63 ERA and 6.9 K/9 against 5.2 BB/9.

Mariners Designate Christian Bergman For Assignment

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The Mariners have designated right-hander Christian Bergman for assignment, per a team announcement. Bergman’s DFA is but one of several moves from the Mariners, who have also selected the contract of southpaw Andrew Albers (as was reported by MLB.com’s Greg Johns yesterday), recalled righty Sam Gaviglio from Triple-A Tacoma and optioned right-handers Casey Lawrence and Thyago Vieira to Tacoma.

Bergman, 29, has already been outrighted off the 40-man roster once this season and had only recently had his contract re-selected. The longtime Rockies hurler has logged 51 1/3 innings for the Mariners this season, working to a 4.91 ERA with 5.8 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 38 percent ground-ball rate over the life of his two stints with Seattle.

Bergman and Albers are just two of the staggering 16 arms that the Mariners have used to start a game in 2017, Johns points out (on Twitter). That’s the most starters used by any single team in a season since the 2006 Royals, he adds, and the M’s certainly have to add to that eye-popping total (though they’d undoubtedly prefer to avoid doing so if possible).

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/13/17

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Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

  • The Mets have selected the contract of right-hander Kevin McGowan, who will fill the open roster spot left behind after Neil Walker’s trade to the Brewers.  McGowan, 25, was a 13th-round pick for the Mets in the 2013 draft and he owns a 3.90 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 2.29 K/BB rate over 62 innings (one start in 44 appearances) at the Triple-A level this season.
  • The Astros released left-hander Ashur Tolliver, as per Paul Braverman of the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies media relations department (Twitter link).  Tolliver spent much of the season at Triple-A, where he struggled to a 7.13 ERA and 33 walks (against just 28 strikeouts) in 35 1/3 innings.  He also appeared in three games at the big league level for the Astros, posting a 3.60 ERA in five innings but also walking four batters as the control problems continued.  Houston outrighted Tolliver off its 40-man roster last month.
  • The Mariners selected the contract of righty Christian Bergman prior to yesterday’s game (Bergman got some immediate use, tossing a scoreless inning in Seattle’s 6-3 loss to the Angels.)  Right-hander Andrew Moore was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.  Bergman has a 5.32 ERA, 5.7 K/9 and 2.14 K/BB rate in 47 1/3 innings for the M’s this season, with eight of his 10 appearances coming as a starting pitcher.  He was outrighted by the Mariners just last week, though made a relatively quick return to not just 40-man status, but the big league roster.

Mariners Outright Christian Bergman

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The Mariners have outrighted right-hander Christian Bergman off of the 40-man roster, per a club announcement. That clears the way for the activation of utilityman Shawn O’Malley from the 60-day DL; he was optioned to Tacoma.

Seattle did not specify whether Bergman has cleared waivers and, if so, whether he has accepted his assignment. The 29-year-old would be eligible to choose instead to hit the open market, as he has been outrighted previously.

Over 46 1/3 innings at the major league level this year, Bergman carries a 5.44 ERA with 5.8 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9. That’s mostly in line with his prior work at the game’s highest level, all of which came with the Rockies. Though he has had more success at times in the minors, Bergman has managed only a 5.10 ERA through 72 1/3 frames this year at Tacoma.

Mariners Designate Tyler Cloyd

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The Mariners have designated Tyler Cloyd and optioned Christian Bergman, per a club announcement. Righty Andrew Moore’s contract was selected in a corresponding move.

Cloyd, 30, made only a single appearance for Seattle this year — his first since 2013. He has thrown well at Triple-A, though, carrying a 1.40 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 0.9 BB/9 through 19 1/3 innings over five starts.

While Bergman had been scheduled for an upcoming start, he’ll instead make way for the 23-year-old Moore. A second-round pick in 2015, Moore has impressed throughout his minor-league career. That has continued thus far in 2017, as he moved up to the highest level of the minors for the first time. In 82 2/3 total frames, split between Double and Triple-A, Moore owns a 2.83 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/7/17

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Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

  • The Astros have released righty Edison Frias, the Houston Chronicle’s Jake Kaplan reports (Twitter link).  The 26-year-old Frias has some respectable numbers (4.07 ERA, 7.6 K/9, 2.71 K/BB rate) over 425 career innings in Houston’s farm system, though he has been hit hard at the Triple-A level this year, with a 7.71 ERA in 23 1/3 frames.  Pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League is likely a factor, though Frias hasn’t helped himself with a 5.8 BB/9 that is more than double his career average.

Earlier today

  • In a surprising development, the Reds announced Sunday that they’ve optioned left-hander Amir Garrett to Triple-A Louisville. Aside from one poor start on April 24, when the Brewers teed off on Garrett for nine earned runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings, the 25-year-old has pitched well enough to remain in the majors. The rookie surrendered two or fewer earned runs in his other six starts, all of which lasted at least six frames. All told, Garrett has recorded a 4.25 ERA, 7.0 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 44.7 percent ground-ball rate in 36 innings. The Reds are entering a stretch in which they will only need four starters, which will give them an opportunity to manage Garrett’s workload, tweets Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Service time considerations may have also factored into this decision, as the Reds will only need to keep Garrett in the minors for about two weeks to control him through 2023 instead of 2022. For now, right-hander Barrett Astin is up from Triple-A to take Garrett’s place on the Reds’ roster.
  • The Padres have sold corner infielder/outfielder Jamie Romak’s contract to SK Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Organization, report Sung Min Kim of River Ave Blues and Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter links). Romak, a fourth-round pick of the Braves in 2003, saw brief major league action with the Dodgers in 2014 and the Diamondbacks in 2015. For the most part, the 31-year-old has played at lower levels, including a stint in the Japan Central League. Romak has spent the majority of his career at the Triple-A level, where he has slashed an impressive .271/.340/.516 line in 1,800 plate appearances.
  • The Mariners have made a few pitching changes, selecting Christian Bergman’s contract from Triple-A Tacoma, optioning Rob Whalen to Triple-A and moving Shae Simmons to the 60-day disabled list, per an announcement from general manager Jerry Dipoto. Bergman, who signed a minor league deal with the Mariners over the winter, spent 2010-16 with the Rockies organization. The swingman debuted in the majors in 2014 and has since posted a 5.79 ERA, 5.49 K/9 against 1.89 BB/9, and a 36.7 percent ground-ball rate in 147 2/3 innings. He got off to a strong start this year with Tacoma, tossing 29 innings from the Rainiers’ rotation and logging a 2.17 ERA. Simmons has been dealing with a right forearm strain since March, which has prevented the offseason trade acquisition from taking the mound this year. The Mariners acquired Simmons, a hard-throwing reliever, from the Braves in a January deal that also included Mallex Smith and Luiz Gohara.
  • The Rangers have purchased righty Austin Bibens-Dirkx’s contract from Triple-A Round Rock and optioned lefty Dario Alvarez in a corresponding move, according to the club. The 32-year-old Bibens-Dirkx has never pitched in the majors, having spent the first 11-plus years of his career in the minors with several teams, including Seattle, which selected him in the 16th round of the 2006 draft. Bibens-Dirkx owns a lifetime 5.16 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 383 2/3 Triple-A frames.

Rockies Outright Christian Bergman, Justin Miller

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The Rockies announced today that right-handers Christian Bergman and Justin Miller have been outrighted to Triple-A Albuquerque, thereby clearing a pair of spots on their 40-man roster, which now sits at 38.

Bergman, 28, pitched part of his third season with the Rockies this season, logging 24 2/3 innings but struggling to an 8.39 ERA in that time. His peripheral stats were a bit more encouraging, though, as Bergman struck out 22 batters against just six walks with a 37.1 percent ground-ball rate. He was plagued by a .381 BABIP and by the fact that a sky-high 20 percent of his fly-balls turned into home runs, with seven long balls clearing the fence against him overall. That figure seems like an anomaly, especially considering a more standard 10 percent homer-to-fly ball rate in his two previous seasons. Overall, Bergman has a 5.79 ERA in 147 2/3 innings, though a 4.51 xFIP and 4.43 SIERA give some hope for future improvement.

The 29-year-old Miller, meanwhile, tallied an even more substantial amount of time in the Rockies’ bullpen, tossing 42 2/3 innings, though he too had difficulty, as evidenced by his 5.70 ERA. Miller, though, averaged 93.1 mph on his fastball and punched out 45 batters in his 42 2/3 innings of work, though his control (4.2 BB/9) took a step back from a solid 2015 season that saw him post a 4.05 ERA (3.22 xFIP, 2.84 SIERA) in 33 1/3 innings. The majority of Miller’s struggles came when pitching at Coors Field this season, as he posted a 7.40 ERA at home against a 4.09 ERA on the road. His overall numbers in the Majors don’t stand out, but he’s shown a knack for missing bats at both the Major League and minor league level throughout his career.

Both Bergman and Miller can elect free agency in lieu of this outright assignment, so either could be attractive to other clubs on minor league pacts. Bergman has spent most of his minor league career starting, so he could be a rotation depth piece for a club in a thin free-agent market. Miller, on the other hand, has never made a start in the Majors or minors since being selected in the 16th round of the 2008 draft by the Rangers.

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