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Christian Colon

Blue Jays Sign Christian Colon

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The Blue Jays have signed veteran infielder Christian Colon, per an announcement from the Kansas City Monarchs of the independent American Association — the team for which Colon had been slated to begin his 2021 season. Presumably, it’s a minor league pact for Colon, giving the Jays some additional infield depth with the expected start of the Triple-A season looming in early May.

“We as an organization are extremely happy that Christian Colon is getting this opportunity with the Toronto Blue Jays,” said Monarchs manager Joe Calfapietra in a statement announcing the news. “We are very excited for the possibilities of Christian playing again in Kansas City but even more excited that he is getting this chance. We all wish him the very best.”

Now 31 years old (32 in May), Colon was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2010 draft and a member of the Royals’ 2014-15 World Series rosters. Colon had only one at-bat during that victorious 2015 World Series, but to call it a big one would be an understatement; he delivered a pinch-hit, go-ahead single during the 12th inning of the decisive Game 5.

Overall, Colon’s time with the Royals didn’t align with the expectations that naturally come with such a lofty draft status. He spent parts of four years in the Majors with Kansas City, batting .269/.323/.329 in 348 plate appearances while playing multiple infield positions. He’s since bounced to the Marlins, Braves, Mets and Reds organizations, though of that quartet, he only appeared in the big leagues with Miami and Cincinnati. Most recently, he appeared in 19 games for the Reds from 2019-20, going 6-for-29 with a double, a stolen base, a walk and three strikeouts.

Colon is a career .249/.312/.310 hitter in 418 Major League plate appearances and a .292/.361/.408 batter in parts of eight seasons at the Triple-A level (2415 plate appearances). He’s spent the bulk of his career in the middle infield, with more than 3000 pro innings at both shortstop and second base. Colon also has more than 1600 innings of work at third base under his belt in addition to a handful of appearances at first base and in left field.

Reds Select Tyler Thornburg, Outright Christian Colon

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AUG. 17: The Reds outrighted Colon to their alternate site Monday after he cleared waivers, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. Colon will remain in the organization.

AUG. 14: The Reds announced that they’ve selected the contract of righty Tyler Thornburg. Infielder Christian Colon was designated for assignment to create roster space.

This’ll be Thornburg’s first MLB action since wrapping up a disappointing and injury-riddled tenure with the Red Sox. The 31-year-old was a highly productive reliever with the Brewers before running into difficulties in Boston.

Colon saw sporadic action with the Reds this year, as has been typical over his six seasons in the majors. All told, he owns a .249/.312/.310 slash in 418 plate appearances at the game’s highest level.

Reds Finalize Opening Day Roster

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The Reds announced this morning that they’ve filled the final two spots on their 30-man roster by selecting the contracts of infielders Christian Colon and Matt Davidson. In order to make room on the 40-man roster, right-hander Justin Shafer and left-hander Josh D. Smith were designated for assignment.

Colon, 31, returns for a second season with the Cincinnati organization. The former No. 4 overall draft pick (Royals, 2010) spent the bulk of the 2019 season with the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate in Louisville, hitting .300/.372/.443. He joined the big league club late in the year but only tallied eight plate appearances. Colon has played second base, third base and shortstop in the Majors, but he’s never justified that lofty draft status. In 150 big league games, he’s a .256/.321/.318 hitter.

The 29-year-old Davidson was a top pick himself in 2009 (No. 35 to the White Sox) and long rated as one of MLB’s top 100 prospects. Strikeout issues have long plagued the slugger, however, and in parts of four big league seasons he’s a .226/.295/.435 hitter with 49 home runs and a 34.5 percent strikeout rate. Davidson, who hit .264/.339/.527 with the Rangers’ Triple-A club in 2019, was at one point experimenting with a role as a two-way player. However, he’s only tossed three professional innings, and the Reds listed him as a pure infielder.

Both Colon and Davidson will give the Reds some infield depth off the bench, but they’ll likely take a back seat to Josh VanMeter and perhaps Kyle Farmer in that regard.

Shafer, meanwhile, has been designated for assignment by his second team in eight months. The Blue Jays designated him last November after a shaky showing in his first 48 MLB frames. Shafer turned in a solid 3.75 ERA in that span, but he also walked 32 batters and plunked another two in that time. His 5.52 FIP paints a much less favorable picture. Shafer has excelled in both Double-A and Triple-A, and he still has a pair of minor league option remaining — all of which likely appealed to the Reds when they acquired him (for cash) shortly after his original DFA. Cincinnati will have a week to trade Shafer, release him, or try to pass him through outright waivers.

Smith, 30, made his MLB debut last season but struggled to a 6.39 ERA in 12 2/3 innings between Cleveland and Miami. He’s worked 164 frames across four Triple-A seasons and carries a 3.02 ERA, 9.9 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in that time. The Reds claimed him off waivers from the Marlins this past offseason.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/4/20

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Baseball America has posted its traditional roundup of minor moves dating to the start of the offseason. We’ve already covered quite a few of the transactions over the past several weeks, but there are several additions on minor-league pacts that have to this point eluded detection …

  • The Braves have signed left-handed pitcher Chris Nunn to a minor-league deal that includes an invite to spring training, according to Robert Murray. Nunn, originally a 2012 draftee of the Padres, has yet to see Major League action since his professional debut, making stops in Independent leagues along the way. Now 28 years old, he’s played in the upper minors with the Astros and Dodgers organizations in the last two years. Last year, in 50 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A, Nunn struck out 66 batters while walking 24. After posting a 1.33 ERA in Double-A, his numbers ballooned at the next level, though he largely maintained his bat-missing prowess.
  • The Padres signed outfielder Abraham Almonte. The 30-year-old switch-hitter saw action in 17 MLB games for the division-rival Diamonbacks in 2019. He was quite productive with the Snakes’ Triple-A affiliate in Reno last season, slashing .270/.382/.558. That dwarfs his prior MLB performance, though. In 1,138 plate appearances over the past six seasons, the center field-capable Almonte has compiled a .239/.298/.373 line (81 wRC+).
  • The Reds re-signed infielder Christian Colón and added catcher Francisco Peña to the organization. Colón, most known for his top five draft status and World Series heroics with the Royals, logged eight MLB plate appearances in Cincinnati last season. That rewarded a solid .300/.372/.443 line in extended action with Triple-A Louisville, although Colón was unsurprisingly bumped from the 40-man roster at season’s end. Peña tallied 202 uninspiring MLB plate appearances with the Royals, Orioles and Cardinals from 2014-18. He’s shown decent pop for a catcher at Triple-A, though; in parts of six seasons at the minors’ highest level, he has compiled a .259/.301/.469 line.
  • The Dodgers re-signed right-hander Justin De Fratus. The former Phillie has spent the last two seasons in the L.A. organization, but he hasn’t seen the majors since 2015. While all 191 of De Fratus’ MLB appearances have come out of the bullpen, he’s primarily been a starting pitcher in the minors in recent years, albeit with uninspiring results. The Dodgers also added hard-throwing lefty reliever Reymin Guduan. Guduan is still just 27 and had little trouble racking up strikeouts in the Astros’ organization, both in the high minors and at the MLB level. He’s always issued a few too many walks, though. Perhaps more concerning, Houston released Guduan in September after a team-imposed suspension for an undisclosed disciplinary issue.
  • The Rockies re-signed righty reliever Wes Parsons. The 27-year-old was claimed off waivers midseason from the Braves, but a dreadful MLB showing cost him his 40-man roster spot. Parsons logged a cumulative 5.45 ERA with more walks (29) than strikeouts (26) in 34.2 innings. Colorado also signed outfielder Michael Choice. The former top prospect, now 30, hasn’t logged significant MLB action since 2014. He’s spent the past two seasons in the Mexican League, but a strong 2019 effort there earned him another look in affiliated ball.
  • The Braves signed veteran infielder Pete Kozma. The longtime Cardinal has just a .215/.278/.291 career line (54 wRC+) in parts of seven MLB seasons. He hasn’t done much at the dish in the minors, either, but he’s a well-regarded defender around the infield.
  • The Angels signed former Cubs’ prospect Arismendy Alcántara. Alcántara hasn’t played at the highest level since 2017, and his career .189/.235/.315 line (49 wRC+) reflects the plate discipline woes that have done him in. He’s still just 28 years old, though, and his 2019 return to affiliated ball following a year in the Mexican League went well. The utilityman was productive across two minor-league levels in the Mets’ organization last season and showed better discipline than he has in his MLB career.
  • The Mets added former White Sox outfielder Ryan Cordell. Twice traded as a prospect, the 27-year-old fell flat in his first extended MLB look in 2019, with just a .221/.290/.355 line (73 wRC+). He’s capable of logging some time in center field, though, and he put together a decent minor-league resume between myriad injuries.
  • Finally, the Yankees brought aboard utilityman Rosell Herrera. Herrera logged fair MLB time with the Reds, Royals and Marlins the past two seasons. His resultant .225/.286/.316 slash (63 wRC+) won’t turn any heads, but Herrera has an 82nd percentile sprint speed, per Statcast, and has logged time at six different positions (short, second, third, and all three outfield spots) as a big leaguer.

Reds Outright Four Players

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The Reds announced Monday that infielder/outfielder Derek Dietrich, infielder Christian Colon, right-hander Jackson Stephens and right-hander Keury Mella all went unclaimed on waivers and were set outright to Triple Louisville.

Dietrich, 30, is the most notable name of the group and will surely reject the assignment to once again become a free agent. The former Marlin parlayed a minor league deal in Cincinnati this offseason into an Opening Day roster spot and went on one of the more memorable power surges in recent memory midway through the year. Dietrich launched a dozen homers over a span of just 68 plate appearances in May and carried a 1.000 OPS into June. However, he fell into a slump that was perhaps even more remarkable than that home-run binge; in his final 71 plate appearances, he hit just .071/.257/.179.

Mella, 26, was acquired from the Giants alongside Adam Duvall in the 2015 trade that shipped righty Mike Leake to the Giants. He was considered to be among the more promising pitching prospects in Cincinnati in the couple of years following that trade but has seen his stock dip considerably. The righty yielded 15 runs in 17 Major League innings across parts of three seasons, posting an uninspiring 13-to-12 K/BB ratio during those stints. At the time of his acquisition, Mella was averaging better than a strikeout per inning against older competition in Class-A Advanced, but in parts of three Triple-A seasons he has a 4.59 ERA with 6.4 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 in 172 2/3 innings.

The 25-year-old Stephens had a big year with Double-A Pensacola back in 2016 but has limped to an ERA north of 5.00 in three trips through Triple-A Louisville while struggling to a 4.83 ERA through multiple MLB auditions. He spent the 2019 season in Triple-A, where he logged a 5.14 ERA with an 80-to-37 K/BB ratio in 84 innings, mostly as a reliever.

Colon, once the fourth overall pick in the draft and a top prospect with the Royals, appeared in just eight games with the Reds and made eight plate appearances. He’s a career .256/.321/.218 hitter in the Majors and batted .300/.372/.443 in Triple-A with the Reds this past season.

Reds Select Contract Of Christian Colon

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The Reds have selected the contract of infielder Christian Colon, the club announced and C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic was among those to cover on Twitter. Colon, the fourth overall pick of the 2010 draft, will join the active roster for the final two weeks of the season.

It has been a few years since Colon has seen the majors. The 30-year-old carries a .252/.315/.315 batting line in 386 total plate appearances, all compiled between 2014 and 2017 with the Royals and Marlins.

Odds are, the Reds will put the 40-man roster to another use once the season was over. But Colon will help fill in for the time being. And he certainly earned the call-up with a strong showing this year at Triple-A Louisville.

Through 582 plate appearances this year at the highest level of the minors, Colon slashed .300/.372/.443 with ten long balls and 24 steals along with a 58:57 K/BB ratio. That’s good for a 110 wRC+. He was also an above-average hitter at Triple-A last year and has always graded well in the field, so perhaps there’s still a chance for a bit of a late-career renaissance for the former top Kansas City farmhand.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/10/18

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Rounding up the latest minor league deals….

  • The Mariners have signed catcher Jose Lobaton to a minor league deal, as per the Mariners Minors Twitter feed.  Lobaton will earn $1MM if he makes Seattle’s big league roster, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo adds, and the catcher will invited to the team’s Major League spring camp.  Lobaton amassed 57 PA over 22 games with the Mets last season, his lowest total in either category since 2011.  The 34-year-old veteran will head into camp to compete with David Freitas for the backup job behind newly-acquired Omar Narvaez.
  • The White Sox have signed infielder Ryan Goins to a minor league contract, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweets.  The deal contains an invitation to Chicago’s big league Spring Training camp, and Goins will earn at least $975K in guaranteed money if he reaches the majors.  Goins has never hit much over six years with the Blue Jays and Royals, though he has flashed an excellent shortstop glove in the past and offers depth at short, second base, and third base.
  • The Reds have re-signed outfielder/first baseman Jordan Patterson and catcher Juan Graterol to minor league deals, and also inked shortstop Christian Colon to a minors pact, the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale reports (Twitter link).  Patterson and Graterol are back with the organization after being non-tendered last week.  Colon was the fourth overall pick of the 2010 draft but hasn’t turned that potential into Major League production, with just a .252/.315/.315 slash line over 386 PA with the Royals and Marlins from 2014-17, though he did earn a World Series ring for his postseason role with the 2015 Royals.  He spent 2018 in the Braves and Mets organizations at the Triple-A level, and Colon does have a decent career slash line (.289/.358/.397) over 1833 career Triple-A plate appearances.

Mets To Sign Christian Colon, Ezequiel Carrera

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The Mets have agreed to minor-league deals with infielder Christian Colon and outfielder Ezequiel Carrera, according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). Colon’s signing has been acknowledged on the team’s transactions page.

Both Colon and Carrera were released recently by the Braves. Neither will likely be seen as an immediate MLB asset, but both could certainly push toward the top of the team’s depth chart. With a variety of injuries currently weighing on the Mets’ roster, these veterans will fill in the ranks at Triple-A and increase the overall depth on hand.

The 29-year-old Colon has rarely shown much with the bat, with a .252/.315/.315 slash over his 386 MLB plate appearances. And he has limped to a .204/.278/.204 slash in his first 55 plate appearances this year at Triple-A. But he’s regarded as a quality defender and has been graded that way by defensive metrics.

As for Carrera, 30, he was a useful player for the Blue Jays in recent years, including a .266/.340/.382 slash with 14 home runs and 17 steals over 635 plate appearances. He was cut loose by the Toronto organization despite agreeing to an arb salary for the current campaign. It was tough to see a path for Carrera to reach the majors with the Braves, though, particularly after he ran up a terribly .146/.228/.220 batting line in 93 plate appearances at Gwinnett.

Braves Release Christian Colon

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The Braves released infielder Christian Colon from their Triple-A affiliate in Gwinnett recently, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. The former Royals and Marlins infielder will return to the open market in search of a new opportunity with another organization.

Colon, 29, was the fourth overall pick in the 2010 draft and has spent parts of the past four seasons in the Majors — most recently logging 57 plate appearances with the Marlins in 2017. Despite being selected out of college (Cal State Fullerton, to be specific), Colon took awhile to reach the Majors but turned in solid numbers in his first couple of seasons upon arriving. In 168 plate appearances from 2014-15, he slashed .303/.361/.382.

However, Colon’s lack of power became more glaring a year later when his fortune on balls in play took a turn for the worst and his strikeout rate escalated from just 12.5 percent to 19.3 percent. From 2016-17, he posted an ugly .213/.279/.264 batting line in 218 PAs between the Royals and Marlins.

Colon got off to a disappointing .204/.278/.204 start with Gwinnett, though that came in a tiny sample of just 55 plate appearances. His overall body of work in parts of seven seasons at the Triple-A level is considerably more encouraging, as he’s batted .287/.350/.384 in 1520 plate appearances. That track record, in addition to his experience at second base, shortstop and third base, should allow him to land with another club in need of some infield depth in the upper minors.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/6/17

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We’ll track today’s minor moves in this post …

  • The Braves have agreed to a minor-league pact with infielder Christian Colon, according to Robert Murray of Fan Rag. Assuming it is finalized and made official, Colon will presumably join the competition for a utility role in camp. The 28-year-old has not hit much at all in his two most recent MLB seasons, with the Royals and Marlins, but did slash .303/.361/.382 in his first 168 MLB plate appearances and owns a .290/.352/.391 batting line in his 1,465 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level. Colon has also graded solidly in the infield, where he has appeared at short, second, and third. Atlanta was in need of depth after non-tendering both Jace Peterson and Danny Santana, though the club does still have some notable, youthful middle-infield options on hand in Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies, and Johan Camargo.
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