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Yankees Acquire Joe Mantiply From Reds

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The Yankees have acquired left-hander Joe Mantiply from the Reds for cash considerations, per an announcement from New York. Mantiply will report to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

This is the second deal we’ve seen this week in a new MLB landscape that no longer includes an August waiver deadline. Unsurprisingly, it’s a rather minor move – one that will deliver a player who wasn’t on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster to New York’s top minors team. It’ll be the second run with the Yankees for Mantiply, who pitched in Scranton in 2017.

Now 28, Mantiply entered the pros as a 27th-round pick of the Tigers in 2013. He briefly cracked Detroit’s roster in 2016, throwing 2 2/3 innings, but that’s the extent of his big league experience. Mantiply has fared nicely in Triple-A ball, though. He has amassed 117 1/3 innings of 2.99 ERA pitching with 7.8 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 during his time at the minors’ highest level.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/8/19

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Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the game…

Latest Moves

  • The Marlins announced that infielder Yadiel Rivera cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A, after he was designated for assignment on Tuesday.  Rivera has seen action in each of the last five MLB seasons, but doesn’t have much to show for it at the plate, including a .183/.258/.217 slash line in 66 PA for Miami in 2019.

Earlier Today

  • The Reds announced that infielder Blake Trahan has been outrighted to Triple-A Louisville after clearing waivers.  Trahan was designated for assignment earlier this week.  The 25-year-old has spent much of his season at Louisville already, hitting only .230/.280/.324 over 323 plate appearances, continuing Trahan’s struggles at the plate during his five-year pro career (which included 11 games for the Reds at the big league level in 2018).
  • The Royals released 23-year-old first baseman Samir Duenez from their Triple-A club, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports (via Twitter). Duenez ranked as Kansas City’s No. 13 prospect, per Baseball America, as recently as the 2017-18 offseason. However, he’s endured a miserable season at the plate in 2019, batting a combined .199/.261/.307 in 361 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A. BA’s 2017-18 report on him tabbed him as a potential “impact power bat” with average glovework at first base and below-average speed. That outlook has clearly become more clouded with Duenez’s recent struggles, though as a 23-year-old who posted solid Double-A numbers in 2018 (when he was still rather young for the Texas League), he’ll likely find another opportunity elsewhere.

Reds, Brad Boxberger Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Reds have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran righty Brad Boxberger, tweets C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. It’s a full-circle moment for Boxberger, who was drafted by Cincinnati with the No. 43 overall pick of the 2009 draft.

Boxberger, now 31, never pitched for the Reds in the Majors before being included alongside Yasmani Grandal, Yonder Alonso and Edinson Volquez in the blockbuster deal that sent Mat Latos to Cincinnati. There’s no guarantee that Boxberger will get the opportunity to do so now, although one can easily envision him being added to the big league roster as a September call-up — if not at some point this month.

Boxberger began the season with the Royals and got out to a rocky start. The former AL saves leader — 41 with the 2015 Rays — was clobbered for a 7.30 ERA in 12 1/3 March/April innings, although he rebounded with just three runs allowed in 9 1/3 frames the following month. Even as Boxberger’s ERA dropped, however, he posted questionable K/BB numbers out of the Kansas City bullpen. He was ultimately designated for assignment on June 26 and released on July 1.

From there, Boxberger went on to sign a minor league deal with the Nats and toss 8 2/3 innings with just one run allowed for their Double-A club. However, Washington cut Boxberger loose over the weekend rather than giving him a look in the big leagues — the Nationals acquired three relievers at the trade deadline — leaving Boxberger to search for a new opportunity.

Boxberger will bring a career 3.59 ERA, 11.4 K/9, 4.7 BB/9, 1.24 HR/9 and 77 saves with him back to the Reds organization, although most of his success came with the Padres and Rays from 2012-15. Over his past 133 2/3 innings, Boxberger has a 4.44 ERA with a 160-to-79 K/BB ratio.

Reds Place Derek Dietrich On IL, Select Brian O’Grady, Designate Blake Trahan

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The Reds announced a series of moves today, driven by ongoing shoulder inflammation for infielder Derek Dietrich. He’ll head to the 10-day injured list.

To fill the opening, the Cincinnati organization selected the contract of first baseman/outfielder Brian O’Grady. That necessitated a 40-man opening, which was created by designating infielder Blake Trahan for assignment.

It isn’t known how long the Redlegs expect to go without Dietrich, who has been in a cold spell for some time now. He remains a key piece for the team, particularly after Scooter Gennett was sent packing at the deadline.

In Dietrich’s steady, O’Grady will receive his first shot at the majors. The 27-year-old has appeared in exactly 100 games this year at Triple-A, slashing .277/.351/.562 and popping 27 long balls. That’s a big power outbreak for the former eighth-round draft pick, even after accounting for the wild offensive environment in the International League.

As for the 25-year-old Trahan, who received a cup of coffee last year, the bat just hasn’t come around. He’s carrying an ugly .230/.280/.324 line in 323 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors. The 2015 third-rounder has failed to produce at a league-average rate in the upper minors in prior seasons.

Reds Claim Kevin Gausman

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1:00pm: The teams have announced the move. Atlanta also announced that Mike Foltynewicz is up from Triple-A Gwinnett, so he’ll take Gausman’s spot in the rotation.

12:25pm: The Reds have claimed right-hander Kevin Gausman off outright waivers from the Braves, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). That’s not to be mistaken with the now-defunct revocable August trade waivers, to be clear. The claim means that Gausman is now a member of the Reds, who by claiming him are agreeing to take on the remainder of the right-hander’s $9.35MM salary — a sum of about $2.815MM between now and season’s end.

Cincinnati is obviously banking on a return to form following a change of scenery, as Gausman is mired in the worst season of his big league career. The former No. 4 overall draft pick (Orioles, 2012) joined Atlanta last season in a deadline trade that saw Atlanta take on the remainder of Darren O’Day’s salary while also shipping out international bonus allotments and minor leaguers Brett Cumberland, JC Encarnacion, Bruce Zimmermann and Evan Phillips.

Gausman performed admirably down the stretch in 2018 and was a big part of the Braves’ rotation (2.87 ERA in 59 2/3 innings), but he’s been among the league’s least effective pitchers in 2019. Through 80 innings, he’s pitched to a 6.19 earned run average with 9.6 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 1.35 HR/9 and a career-low 37 percent ground-ball rate.

There’s little denying that Gausman has had his share of poor fortune in 2019. His .345 average on balls in play is well north of both his career mark (.313) and the league average (.299), and his 59.3 percent strand rate appears fluky and due for some positive regression toward his lifetime mark of 74.1 percent. Fielding-independent metrics peg him as a candidate for considerable improvement (4.20 FIP, 4.40 SIERA, 4.47 xFIP).

Gausman’s average fastball velocity (93.8 mph) is down from its 95 mph peak, however, and he’s allowing line drives at a career-worst 24.7 percent clip. Opposing hitters are barreling up Gausman’s offerings at a higher rate than ever before, per Statcast, and the increased number of hard-hit balls in the air has come back to bite him.

The Reds don’t appear to have an immediate need for starting pitching, with Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer, Sonny Gray, Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood all in the rotation at the moment. It’s possible that Cincinnati could utilize Gausman out of the bullpen or deploy a six-man rotation to keep their arms fresh down the stretch.

The move could very well have been made with an eye toward 2020 as well — as was the case with their acquisition of Bauer. Gausman is controllable via arbitration for the third and final time this winter, although at present he looks like a potential non-tender candidate. Still, perhaps a strong showing to the season will convince the Cincinnati front office that Gausman is deserving of the $10MM+ salary he’d command in arbitration this offseason. If he is able to return to form, Gausman would slot in fourth behind the formidable trio of Bauer, Castillo and Gray.

Reds Sign Tim Collins To Minors Contract

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The Reds have signed left-hander Tim Collins to a minor league deal, as first listed on MLB.com’s official transactions page.  Collins made his debut for Triple-A Dayton this afternoon.

Collins has only 8 2/3 MLB innings (with a 3.12 ERA) to his name this season, as he has been shuttling between the Cubs’ 25-man roster and their Triple-A affiliate.  The veteran southpaw was designated for assignment last week, and he chose to become a free agent in search of a new opportunity rather than accept an outright assignment to Chicago’s farm system.

Amir Garrett and Wandy Peralta are the only left-handed relievers on Cincinnati’s Major League roster, and Collins’ addition gives the Reds some depth once Garrett begins serving the suspension issued for his role in the recent brawl between the Reds and Pirates.  While Garrett is appealing that suspension and could possibly get it reduced from eight games, he will very likely still miss some time, and Collins’ presence at Triple-A gives the Reds a veteran option who will be ready to go once Garrett sits.

Collins has a 3.60 ERA, 9.1 K/9, and 1.80 K/BB rate over 242 1/3 innings in a big league career that began in 2011, though also didn’t see any MLB action from 2015-17 due to a long recovery from two Tommy John surgeries.

Suspensions Issued After Pirates/Reds Brawl

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Tuesday’s enormous brawl between the Pirates and the Reds has, unsurprisingly, led to multiple suspensions on both teams.  Major League Baseball announced a total of 32 games’ worth of suspensions for six players, as well as a six-game suspension for Reds manager David Bell and a two-game ban for Pirates manager Clint Hurdle.  All six players will appeal their penalties, while Bell and Hurdle will begin serving their bans immediately.

Here is the full list of suspensions issued…

Fines were also issued to all six players.  Joey Votto, Philip Ervin, and Trevor Williams also received fines, as did players on both teams who participated in the fracas despite being on the injured list.

Beyond just the brawl that began when Garrett rushed from the mound to go after the Pirates’ dugout, the suspensions cover a wide range of incidents during the game.  Kela received the harshest punishment both “for his role in instigating the bench-clearing incident,” as per the league’s official release, and for throwing at Derek Dietrich’s head in the seventh inning.

There has been no love lost between the Pirates and Reds this season, as reflected in Hurdle’s suspension.  The Pittsburgh skipper was cited for not only “his Club’s conduct during the incident,” but also for “multiple intentional pitches thrown at Dietrich this season.”  Hurdle still received less punishment than Bell, whose six-game suspension was “for returning to the field following his ejection; escalating the incident with his aggressive actions; his Club’s intentional pitch at [Starling] Marte; and his numerous ejections this season.”

Reds Select Aristides Aquino

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The Reds announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Aristides Aquino from Triple-A Louisville.

Aquino, 25, made his big league debut with the Reds last season but received just one plate appearance in August. He was subsequently non-tendered in the offseason but re-signed with Cincinnati on a new minor league contract just a few days later.

Last season’s .240/.306/.448 line in Double-A was more impressive than it looks (111 wRC+), considering the pitcher-friendly environment in which he played, but Aquino’s 2019 season has been far more eye-opening. In 323 trips to the plate, he’s slashed a robust .299/.356/.636 with 28 home runs, 13 doubles, a triple and five steals. He’s played exclusively in right field this season and will give Cincinnati a right-handed-hitting replacement option for Yasiel Puig, who headed to Cleveland in Tuesday night’s three-team Trevor Bauer blockbuster.

Giants To Acquire Scooter Gennett

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The Giants have acquired second baseman Scooter Gennett from the Reds, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. The Reds will get cash considerations in return, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

It’s a win-now move by the Giants, who have charged back into NL wild-card contention over the past several weeks. The 29-year-old Gennett, who’s earning a $9.775MM salary, isn’t under control past this season. He has missed almost all of 2019 because of a groin injury, and in the 72 plate appearances Gennett has taken, the lefty has managed a meager .217/.236/.261 line without a home run.

While this season has been a nightmare for Gennett, he was unexpectedly one of the majors’ best second basemen over the previous two years. After the Reds acquired him from the Brewers via waivers entering 2017, he proceeded to slash .303/.351/.508 with 50 home runs and 6.7 fWAR in 1,135 plate appearances through last season. That type of production would be ideal for the Giants, who have seen No. 1 second baseman Joe Panik struggle to a .231/.305/.312 line with three homers in 375 trips to the plate this year.

Athletics Acquire Tanner Roark

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The Athletics have struck a deal to acquire righty Tanner Roark plus cash from the Reds, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). Outfielder Jameson Hannah is headed to Cincinnati in return, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).  Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes that the Reds will pick up $2.1MM of Roark’s remaining salary, which looks to be a bit more than $3MM.  The trade is now official.  As is commonplace, Roark learned of the trade in an Arby’s parking lot.

Roark is earning $10MM this year before hitting free agency at season’s end. He was a clear trade candidate for a Cincinnati organization that is largely looking ahead to the 2020 campaign. The club’s recent acquisition of Trevor Bauer, combined with the recent return of Alex Wood, left a bit of a rotation overload even with Tyler Mahle hitting the injured list.

The Athletics have scrambled all season long to keep their own rotation afloat. Anticipated arrivals of a variety of injured, younger hurlers just haven’t happened yet. With the club competing hard for a Wild Card slot — if not a late dash for the division — there was a clear need for more starters, even after the prior acquisition of Homer Bailey (who has struggled in Oakland).

Roark, who’s closing in on his 33rd birthday, has taken a step back after a strong opening to the season. He’s now sitting on a 4.24 ERA through 110 1/3 innings on the year, with 8.8 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 1.14 HR/9, and 36.7% groundball rate in 110 1/3 innings.  Roark, a 25th round pick by the Rangers in 2008, joined the Nationals in 2010 as part of the Cristian Guzman trade.  He greatly exceeded expectations with the Nationals, logging 935 innings of 3.59 ball across six seasons.  2016 was a particular high point, as Roark finished 10th in the NL Cy Young voting.  The Reds picked him up in a December trade.

Soon to turn 22, Hannah was a second-round pick in the 2018 draft. He has been playing at the High-A level, where he carries a .284/.341/.381 batting line in 414 plate appearances. It seems his power will need to come around a bit, but he’s regarded as possessing a quality hit tool with an advanced approach.  Prior to the season, Baseball America considered Hannah a 50 grade prospect, citing a “sweet left-handed swing paired with plus athleticism and double-plus speed.”  BA sees Hannah as a strong defensive center fielder and likely big leaguer, making him a nice score for two months of Roark.  It appears the Reds were able to pick up most of the tab on Roark’s salary and extract a better prospect as a result.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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