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Notable September Callups

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We’ll track the flurry of notable callups as roster expand on September 1.

Latest Moves

  • The Mets promoted left-hander Daniel Zamora and right-hander Tyler Bashlor from Triple-A, and also selected the contract of second baseman Sam Haggerty.  (The club posted a fun video on its Twitter account of the players receiving the news.)  A 24th-round pick for Cleveland in the 2015 draft, Haggerty came to the Mets last winter part of the trade that sent Kevin Plawecki to the Indians.  Haggerty began the year at low-A ball and worked his way up to the Show after posting a .907 OPS over 49 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

Earlier Updates

  • The Diamondbacks announced a slew of callups today. Most notably, the club has selected the contract of outfielder Abraham Almonte and recalled right-hander Jon Duplantier. Almonte, 30, has logged time as a reserve each of the past six seasons, to the tune of a career .237/.294/.367 slash (79 wRC+). Duplantier, one of the club’s top pitching prospects, has battled injury issues in recent years but offers a high-upside bullpen piece for the stretch run.
  • The Rays’ September additions include a number of notable players, with Nate Lowe headlining a group of five call-ups. He’ll be joined by Peter Fairbanks and Daniel Robertson, among others.
  • The Braves announced they’ve recalled utilityman Johan Camargo. Camargo was optioned after the club signed Adeiny Hechavarría to replace the injured Dansby Swanson at shortstop. Swanson’s back now, and Hechavarría is still on hand, so it’ll be a tough climb for Camargo, who’s mired in a dreadful season. He’s only a year removed from a productive age-24 campaign, though.
  • The Padres will select the contract of right-handed reliever David Bednar, reports Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). The 24 year-old gets a little lost among the Padres’ loaded system, but he boasts a pair of plus offerings in his fastball and curveball, opine Kiley McDaniel and Eric Lognenhagen of Fangraphs. Despite a less-than-stellar reputation for his command, Bednar has dazzled in the Texas League this season, pitching to a 2.95 ERA with elite strikeout (35.8%) and walk (7.5%) numbers.
  • The Indians announced today they have selected the contracts of Ryan Flaherty and James Hoyt. They’ve also recalled Eric Haase. Flaherty’s solid Triple-A work this year has earned him his seventh consecutive big league season, where he’ll serve as infield depth for the club down José Ramírez. Hoyt logged 72.2 innings with the Astros from 2016-2018 and offers right-handed bullpen depth, while Haase, 26, is a power-hitting catcher with contact issues.
  • The Yankees announced they have selected left-hander Tyler Lyons. The veteran reliever just signed a minor-league contract with the organization a few weeks ago and adds depth to a loaded bullpen. Right-hander David Hale was transferred to the 60-day injured list to clear 40-man space. The Bombers also recalled right-handers Ryan Dull and Chance Adams and outfielder Clint Frazier.
  • The Cardinals have selected catcher Joe Hudson, per a team announcement. The 28 year-old got into eight games last year with the Angels. He’s had a tough season offensively with Triple-A Memphis, slashing .223/.293/.411. Outfielder Lane Thomas was transferred to the 60-day injured list with a season-ending wrist injury. Anne Rogers of MLB.com tweets that veteran backstop Matt Wieters is day-to-day with a calf strain, so the club elected to bring Hudson and Andrew Knizner aboard to bolster their catching depth.
  • The Brewers announced they have selected the contract of first baseman Tyler Austin. A former Yankee, Twin and Giant, Austin has a strong minor-league track record and brings some right-handed power, but has mustered only a .220/.288/.451 line in 556 career MLB plate appearances thanks to untenable strikeout rates.
  • Top Astros prospect Kyle Tucker isn’t up yet, but he will be shortly, tweets Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Houston’s additional reinforcements will be announced tomorrow, Rome adds. The 22 year-old corner outfielder has again laid waste to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League and has nothing left to prove at the minor-league level, but opportunities have been few and far between in the Astros’ loaded lineup.
  • Just-acquired first baseman Ryan McBroom will be selected to the Royals’ active roster shortly, tweets Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. As Flanagan notes, the 27 year-old was likely to be added to the 40-man this offseason to protect him from the Rule V draft regardless, so there’s little harm in giving him his first taste of MLB action in the meantime. The former 15th-rounder has put up strong offensive numbers throughout his minor-league career, culminating in a .315/.402/.574 line in the Triple-A International League this season.

Yankees Place Luke Voit On IL

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The Yankees announced today that they have placed first baseman Luke Voit on the 10-day injured list. He’ said to be dealing with a sports hernia.

Also hitting the IL is righty David Hale, who is said to be dealing with a lumbar spine strain. To take their roster spots, the club has recalled righty Jonathan Holder and infielder Breyvic Valera.

Core muscle issues of the sort Voit is dealing with can be quite problematic. Voit’s timeline isn’t yet clear, but a surgical procedure — which would come with a six-week rehab timeline — is on the table, according to skipper Aaron Boone. (Via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, on Twitter.)

Whether or not the club will consider a replacement piece isn’t clear. Internal options at first base include Edwin Encarnacion and Mike Ford. Encarnacion played first earlier this year in Seattle and has seen eight games there in New York, but has mostly served as a DH with the Yanks. It’s at least conceivable that uncertainty surrounding Voit could impact the Yanks’ willingness to move Clint Frazier, who’d be a candidate to serve as a DH and part-time outfielder if Encarnacion is deployed at first.

On the pitching side, losing Hale mostly just dents the depth. But the Yanks are also dealing with some rotation uncertainty. CC Sabathia is expected to be sidelined for a few weeks after a “lubrication shot” in his balky knee, James Wagner of the New York Times tweets. The club obviously has room to improve in the pitching department quite apart from those losses, but they do help add impetus to the task.

Yankees Select Contract Of David Hale

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The Yankees announced today that they have selected the contract of righty David Hale. To create roster space, the club optioned Nestor Cortes Jr. and shifted Miguel Andujar to the 60-day injured list.

Hale appeared briefly in the majors last year, including a few outings with the Yankees, who actually designated the right-hander for assignment on three different occasions in 2018. However, he split most of the season between Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Korea’s Hanwha Eagles.

To open the 2019 season, Hale moved back to the Triple-A rotation in the New York organization. He has made six starts this year, working to a 4.11 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 over 30 2/3 innings. The 2009 third-rounder has a career 4.49 ERA in 192 1/3 Major League innings and a 4.57 ERA in 403 2/3 frames at the Triple-A level.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/23/19

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We’ll use this post to catch up on some recent minor moves and track any new ones that emerge …

  • The Dodgers reportedly have a minors deal in place with veteran backstop Josh Thole. Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter), the arrangement includes a $600K potential MLB salary as well as an opt-out opportunity on July 1st. Thole has seen time in eight MLB seasons, slashing a cumulative .242/.313/.306 through 1,499 plate appearances, but hasn’t been asked up to the bigs since 2016. He plied his trade last year at Double-A with the Tigers organization.
  • Meanwhile, righty David Hale is reportedly headed to the Yankees on his own minor-league accord. The 31-year-old bounced on and off of the New York roster last season (as well as that of the Twins) and will again represent a depth piece for the Yanks. Hale’s chief appeal is his ability to function in a swing capacity, giving innings from the bullpen or if needed taking a spot start. He spent most of 2018 at Triple-A, working to a 4.20 ERA in 55 2/3 innings through 11 starts while compiling 7.1 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9.
  • The Nationals have reportedly lined up on an agreement with outfielder Tyler Goeddel, the terms of which remain unknown. He’ll be hoping for an eventual shot to return to the majors after struggling in a 92-game stint with the Phillies back in 2016. Goeddel, 26, hit just .219/.298/.329 last year in the upper minors with the Reds and Dodgers organizations.
  • Finally, the Cubs have also reportedly added a player on a minors deal, with infielder Cristhian Adames slated to join the organization. Now 27 years of age, the switch-hitter saw time over four MLB seasons with the Rockies but failed to make it back up last year. In his 498 Triple-A plate appearances with the Marlins org, Adames, put up a .269/.324/.370 batting line. Adames is capable of playing all over the infield and has primarily appeared at shortstop as a professional.

David Hale Signs With KBO’s Hanwha Eagles

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The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization announced yesterday that they’ve signed right-hander David Hale for the remainder of the season (link via South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency). Hale will earn $500K with the Eagles, per the announcement.

The 30-year-old Hale opened the season in the Yankees organization after signing a minor league contract over the winter. He made one appearance for New York after having his contract selected before being designated for assignment and claimed by the Twins, who’d also had offseason interest in him. However, the Twins, too, designated Hale after just one appearance.

Hale would ultimately clear waivers and elect free agency, only to return to the Yankees organization on a new minor league contract and largely repeat the cycle twice more. He found himself back in the Majors after Jordan Montgomery went down with Tommy John surgery, but was again designated for assignment after one long relief outing. That led to a third minor league contract with the Yanks, followed by yet another selection of his contract and, once again, a DFA after one long-relief outing.

Hale’s season is one of the stranger in recent memory; he has as many DFAs on the season as he does Major League appearances (four), but he’ll now have a more stable and more lucrative opportunity in the KBO. He’ll carry a career 4.49 ERA with 6.0 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 51.2 percent ground-ball rate through 192 1/3 big league innings with him to South Korea, where he’ll join the second-place Eagles. Hale will be replacing former Twins left-hander Jason Wheeler, who has been waived by the club, per Yonhap’s report.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/10/18

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We’ll use this post to track the day’s minor moves …

  • The Indians announced that right-hander George Kontos cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus. The veteran has enough service time to elect free agency but will instead remain with the organization in hopes of a return to Cleveland. Kontos, 33, tossed 5 1/3 innings and allowed a pair of runs in his brief run with the Indians at the big league level. He’s seen his velocity and strikeout rate fall off substantially in 2018 but has a lengthy track record as a quality reliever with the Giants and, more briefly, the Pirates spanning from 2012-17 (3.00 ERA, 7.4 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 in 324 1/3 innings).

Earlier Moves

  • The Yankees announced that righty David Hale has elected free agency after clearing outright waivers. He was recently designated by the New York organization for the third time this year. Hale will test the open market, but presumably remains a candidate to return on another minor-league pact, as he has done previously. In the aggregate, Hale has pitched to a 4.61 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in his 13 2/3 total MLB innings this year. The 30-year-old has worked as a starter at Triple-A, turning in 55 2/3 frames of 4.20 ERA ball there on the year.

Yankees Designate David Hale For Assignment, Promote Clint Frazier

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The Yankees have designated right-hander David Hale for assignment, as per a team press release.  Clint Frazier has been called up from Triple-A to take Hale’s spot on the 25-man roster.

This is the third time in less than three months that New York has DFA’ed Hale, and the Yankees in fact made this exact same transaction (designating Hale to call up Frazier) back in May.  The previous two designations led to Hale leaving the organization, once to briefly join the Twins on a waiver claim, and the other leading to Hale quickly re-signing a new minor league deal to rejoin the Yankees.

Hale has a 4.61 ERA, 1.6 K/BB rate, and 5.3 K/9 over 13 2/3 combined innings for the Twins and Yankees this season.  He tossed 5 2/3 relief innings last night in New York’s 6-2 loss to the Blue Jays, so he likely wouldn’t have been available for another outing for the next day or two.  The Yankees had also been deploying a nine-man bullpen, so they had need for an extra position player off the bench.

Frazier has a .908 OPS over 24 plate appearances this season, as he hasn’t much opportunity to crack the big league roster thanks to a concussion suffered during Spring Training and the simple fact that the Yankees are already deep in outfield options.  The top prospect has a scorching .312/.391/.577 slash line over 215 Triple-A plate appearances this season and would likely already be getting regular big-league playing time for most teams.  For New York, however, Frazier could potentially be a trade chip as the club looks to make additions at the deadline.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/1/18

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Sunday’s minor moves…

  • The Indians cleared room for Rzepczynski by releasing lefty Shawn Morimando, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com tweets. Morimando, 25, had been with the organization since it selected him in the 19th round of the 2011 draft. He ascended to Triple-A in 2016 and has since pitched to a 4.45 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 in 242 2/3 innings at the minors’ highest level. Morimando also had a 4 2/3-inning stint with the Tribe in 2016.

Earlier moves:

  • The Indians have selected the contract of left-handed reliever Marc Rzepczynski from Triple-A Columbus, per a team announcement. The club will need to create 40-man room for Rzepczynski, whom it signed to a minor league deal two weeks ago. “Scrabble” had been with the Mariners, who released him after he pitched to a 9.38 ERA with 13 hits allowed, nine walks and 10 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings this season. In doing so, Seattle cut the cord on a player it signed to a two-year, $11MM deal entering 2017. Now, Rzepczynski’s set for his second stint in Cleveland, where he previously pitched from 2013-15. The 32-year-old, a veteran of seven major league teams, owns a 3.92 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 4.25 BB/9 and an impressive 59.7 percent groundball rate in 432 career innings. He has also held southpaw swingers to a weak .222/.295/.303 line in the bigs.
  • The Yankees announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander David Hale from Triple-A. The 30-year-old has yo-yoed between the Yankees and their top affiliate in Scranton this season, and he has also had a stint with the Twins. Hale has combined for just eight innings between New York and Minnesota in 2018, but he has amassed 55 frames in Scranton and pitched to a 4.20 ERA with 7.11 K/9 and 2.75 BB/9.
  • The Orioles announced that they’ve outrighted infielder Corban Joseph to Double-A Bowie. The club designated Joseph for assignment this week after he saw limited action in Baltimore, collecting just 10 plate appearances. The 29-year-old Joseph has spent most of this season with Bowie, where he has hit .332/.398/.534 in 281 PAs.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/19/18

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The latest minor moves from around baseball:

  • The Yankees have brought back right-hander David Hale on a minor league contract, according to a team announcement. Hale, who will report to Triple-A, has now signed three separate minors deals with the club since January. He saw action with the Yankees under each of his previous two accords and combined for five innings of two-run ball. Between inking those pacts, the Twins claimed Hale off waivers from New York on April 26. Hale made just one appearance as a Twin, with whom he threw three frames of four-run ball, before they designated him for assignment. The Yankees have also designated Hale this season (twice, in fact), the latest occurrence coming earlier this week. The 30-year-old then elected free agency, where he sat on the market for a day before returning to the Yanks. Hale owns a 4.58 ERA during his 186 2/3-inning major league tenure.
  • Brewers righty Josh Pennington has retired, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. The 22-year-old made the decision after suffering a shoulder injury, per Rosiak. Pennington, a 29th-round pick of the Red Sox in 2014, joined the Brewers in December 2016 as part of a trade that featured more prominent names in Travis Shaw, Tyler Thornburg and Mauricio Dubon. He opened 2018 at the Single-A level, concluding his career with a pair of scoreless innings.
  • More from Rosiak, who reports that the Brewers have released infielder Javier Betancourt. He also came to the Brewers in a trade – a 2015 swap in which they sent reliever Francisco Rodriguez to Detroit. Betancourt was a promising prospect at the time, but he struggled to produce from 2016-17 as a member of the Brewers’ Double-A affiliate, with whom he hit .233/.286/.344 in 744 plate appearances. The 23-year-old then suffered a gunshot wound to the arm in his native Venezuela last November, but fortunately, he avoided any life-threatening injuries.

David Hale Elects Free Agency

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Righty David Hale has elected free agency after clearing outright waivers, the Yankees announced today. He had recently been designated for assignment.

Roster churn is nothing new for Hale, who has had multiple stints in New York and one with the Twins this year, in addition to the time he has spent at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 30-year-old has allowed 15 earned runs in his 22 2/3 innings at all stops on the year.

This is the most extensive action that Hale has seen at the game’s highest level since the 2015 season. All told, he carries a 4.58 ERA with 6.1 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 over 186 2/3 MLB innings.

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