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Athletics Claim Miguel Andujar From Pirates

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The Athletics announced that they have claimed infielder/outfielder Miguel Andujar off waivers from the Pirates and selected outfielder Lazaro Armenteros. The A’s also outrighted left-handers Anthony Kay and Easton Lucas, as well as right-handers Tayler Scott and Chad Smith to Triple-A Las Vegas. The move on Armenteros was reported last week.

Andujar, 29 in March, had a tremendous season with the Yankees in 2018, finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting to Shohei Ohtani. But since then, he hasn’t been given an extended stretch of playing time in the big leagues. Shoulder surgery put him out of action for much of 2019 and Gio Urshela stole the third base job in the Bronx while he was gone. Since then, he has generally crushed in the minors but struggled when given brief looks in the majors.

2023 continued that pattern, with Andujar in the Pirates organization. He was up in the majors for a couple of weeks from late April to mid-May but hit just .161/.212/.387. But his Triple-A season was far stronger, as he hit .338/.404/.536 at that level. He got back to the big leagues as a September call-up and was able to post an excellent line .302/.351/.528 in the final month of the season.

Given that encouraging finish, the Bucs could have held onto Andujar but he was projected for an arbitration salary of $2.2MM and is out of options. He was also limited to playing first base and the outfield corners in 2023, both in the majors and in the minors. The Pirates decided to move on but the A’s have come in to claim him.

The latter club has traded away their most established big leaguers in recent years, which perhaps makes Oakland the ideal landing spot for Andujar. He will be competing for playing time in the first base/corner outfield/designated hitter mix with Ryan Noda, Seth Brown, Brent Rooker, JJ Bleday and others. If he is finally able to click in the majors again, he can be retained for another season via arbitration, though the A’s would likely trade him in that scenario.

Kay, 28, was just claimed off waivers a couple of weeks ago. He has a 5.59 ERA in 85 1/3 career innings at the major league level. He tossed 40 2/3 innings in the minors this year, between the Mets and Cubs, with a 3.76 ERA in that time.

Lucas, 26, just came of the A’s in the deadline deal that sent Shintaro Fujinami to the O’s. He was added to the roster in early September and made his major league debut, allowing six earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. He tossed 46 2/3 frames in the minors for the year across different levels and organizations, with a 3.86 ERA across those clubs.

Scott, 31, was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox in July. He had a 5.60 ERA in the majors in 2023, splitting time between three different clubs. Between three different Triple-A clubs, he logged 38 1/3 innings with a 1.64 ERA.

Smith, 28, was acquired from the Rockies in the last offseason. He went on to throw 13 2/3 innings for the A’s in 2023 with a 6.59 ERA. His 34 2/3 innings in Triple-A didn’t go any better, with a 7.53 ERA in that time.

Pirates Decline Club Option On Jarlin Garcia

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The Pirates announced this evening that the club had declined its club option for the 2024 season on left-hander Jarlin Garcia. While Garcia’s option was worth just $3.25MM, the 30-year-old lefty did not pitch in 2023 after being shut down during Spring Training thanks to a nerve issue in his biceps, making the decision to decline the option fairly unsurprising.

Garcia made his big debut with the Marlins back in 2017. Though he struggled to a 4.81 ERA and 5.41 FIP across 119 1/3 innings of work his first two seasons in the majors, Garcia enjoyed a breakout season for Miami back in 2019 with a 3.02 ERA (144 ERA+) and 3.77 FIP across 50 2/3 innings of work. Despite that strong season, the Marlins exposed him to waivers during the 2019-20 offseason the Garcia was claimed by San Francisco.

Garcia continued to improve upon joining the Giants, recording a sensational 0.49 ERA in 18 1/3 innings of work during the shortened 2020 campaign before following that up with a 2.62 ERA and 3.77 FIP over 68 2/3 innings of work in 2021. Unfortunately, Garcia’s results took a turn for the worse in 2022, with a 3.74 ERA and 4.27 FIP across 65 innings of work. While that was still quality production for a middle reliever, the Giants opted to non-tender Garcia last offseason, leading him to sign with the Pirates. Ultimately, he’ll depart Pittsburgh without throwing a pitch for the big league club and return to the open market.

While Garcia has certainly found success as a quality left-handed option out of the bullpen throughout his career, it’s hard to imagine a club guaranteeing Garcia a particularly significant sum for what will be his age-31 campaign in 2024 after he missed the entire 2023 campaign season due to injury. That’s especially true given Garcia’s low strikeout totals throughout his career. While Garcia has managed to get results by keeping the ball on the ground at a 41.8% clip throughout his career, he sports a career strikeout rate of just 19.6%, including a 20.7% rate when he last took the mound during a 2022 season.

In addition to the news regarding Garcia, more details have become available regarding the club’s decision to waive left-hander Angel Perdomo earlier this week. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette relays that the 29-year-old lefty underwent Tommy John surgery last month. After first breaking into the big leagues with the Brewers back in 2020, Perdomo resurfaced with the Pirates this season and impressed out of the club’s bullpen, with a 3.72 ERA and 3.01 FIP in 30 appearances before his season came to an end in August due to elbow discomfort. That discomfort clearly ended up being more serious than initially though, given Perdomo underwent surgery two months later that figures to see him miss at least the majority of the 2024 campaign.

Report: MLB Grants Yariel Rodriguez Free Agency

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Right-handed pitcher Yariel Rodriguez has officially been declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, reports Francys Romero (X link). He is now free to sign with an MLB team.

Rodriguez became one of the more intriguing options on the pitching market when he was granted a release from his contract with NPB’s Chunichi Dragons a month ago. He has been conducting showcases for MLB clubs in the few weeks since but was barred from officially signing with a major league team until today. There’s nothing to suggest he’ll sign imminently, of course, but this removes the procedural hurdle he still needed to clear.

A native of Cuba, Rodriguez turns 27 in March. That’s atypically young for a free agent pitcher. He worked out of the bullpen over parts of three seasons with the Dragons. Rodriguez had a dominating showing in 2022, when he pitched to a 1.15 ERA with a 27.5% strikeout rate over 54 2/3 innings. He worked as a starter for his home country during the World Baseball Classic. Once that event concluded, Rodriguez decided not to report back to the Dragons. He sat out the remainder of the 2023 season — the team placed him on the restricted list — before his camp secured his release.

MLB teams figure to have differing evaluations on Rodriguez’s viability as a starter. He’s an intriguing arm with promising stuff and success at the second-highest level of professional baseball in the world. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported last month that the Rays were among 15 teams with scouts in attendance for one of Rodriguez’s recent workouts in the Dominican Republic. This afternoon, Romero listed (on X) 10 clubs that had shown interest in the hurler: the Astros, Yankees, Rangers, Pirates, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Phillies, White Sox, Mets and Giants.

Pirates Place Miguel Andujar, Angel Perdomo On Waivers

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The Pirates have placed outfielder Miguel Andújar and reliever Angel Perdomo on outright waivers, reports Alex Stumpf of DK Pittsburgh Sports. They join righty Yerry De Los Santos as Pittsburgh players known to be on the waiver wire. Both Andújar and Perdomo will become free agents if they aren’t claimed.

Pittsburgh ran Andújar through waivers twice this past season. The former Rookie of the Year runner-up got into 30 big league contests, hitting .250/.300/.476 with four home runs across 90 plate appearances. He had a very strong offensive showing at Triple-A Indianapolis, running a .338/.404/.536 line while connecting on 16 home runs in 103 games. Andújar walked at a strong 10.1% clip and struck out only 11.8% of the time.

The 28-year-old hasn’t found much major league success since his excellent 2018 debut with the Yankees, however. Paired with questions about his defensive profile, he has fallen into a depth role. With a projected $2.2MM arbitration salary, he looked a very likely non-tender.

Perdomo, a 6’8″ southpaw, made 30 appearances for the Bucs this year. He posted a 3.72 ERA with a massive 37.6% strikeout rate across 29 innings. Perdomo looked as if he’d stake a claim to a spot in the Pittsburgh bullpen before landing on the injured list with season-ending elbow discomfort in August.

Pirates Place Yerry De Los Santos On Outright Waivers

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The Pirates have placed reliever Yerry De Los Santos on outright waivers, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (X link). That will drop Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster count to 36.

De los Santos, 26 in December, has spent his entire career with the Bucs. He signed with Pittsburgh out of the Dominican Republic in 2015. The right-hander reached the majors seven years later. He has tossed around 25 MLB innings in each of the past two campaigns, including 24 1/3 frames this past season. De Los Santos posted a solid 3.33 ERA but had mediocre strikeout and walk numbers. He punched out 17.3% of batters faced while walking 12.5%.

Over 25 innings with Triple-A Indianapolis this year, De Los Santos pitched to a 6.12 ERA with a 21.7% strikeout rate. He kept the ball on the ground at a strong 51.8% clip. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, he has the requisite minor league service time to become a free agent.

Brewers Claim Vinny Capra From Pirates

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The Brewers have claimed infielder Vinny Capra off waivers from the Pirates, according to an announcement from Pittsburgh.

Capra, 27, was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 20th round back in 2018 out of the University of Richmond, where he played shortstop for the Spiders.  Though never a top prospect, Capra got the call to make his MLB debut with the Jays in late April of last year.  He picked up only seven plate appearances for Toronto, but was able to log his first big league hit with a single off Brooks Raley.

Capra had middle finger tendon surgery in October 2022, after which the Jays non-tendered him.  He’d managed a 114 wRC+ at Triple-A that year, playing shortstop, third base, and left field.  Capra re-signed with the Jays on a minor league deal, but was traded to the Pirates in late April of this year for catcher Tyler Heineman.  After more solid work at Triple-A, the Pirates selected Capra’s contract on trade deadline day.  He moved up and down and picked up only 21 plate appearances, including his first big league double off the Royals’ Angel Zerpa.

Milwaukee is not a bad place to land for an aspiring utility infielder.  They currently project to have Brice Turang at second base, Willy Adames at shortstop, and Andruw Monasterio at third base.  Only Adames’ role seems secure, except that the Brewers may consider trading him given a projected $12.4MM arbitration salary.  The Brewers do have Owen Miller and Abraham Toro also on the 40-man roster as infield depth, plus third base prospect Tyler Black close to making his big league debut.

Considering the claim of Capra, the re-signing of Colin Rea, the declining of options for Andrew Chafin and Justin Wilson, and Wade Miley’s pending free agency, the Brewers currently have 34 players on their 40-man roster.  That could drop further if the Brewers choose to non-tender Toro, Rowdy Tellez, or Brandon Woodruff by the non-tender deadline about two weeks from now.

Mariners Acquire Cody Bolton From Pirates

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The Pirates have traded reliever Cody Bolton to the Mariners for cash considerations, according to an announcement from Pittsburgh.

Bolton, 25, was drafted in the sixth round in 2017 out of Tracy High School in California.  By the end of the 2019 season, Bolton had made his way to Double-A as a starter.

However, the 2020 minor league season was wiped out by COVID-19, and Bolton missed all of 2021 due to knee surgery.  Fortunately, Bolton recovered and made his MLB debut for the Pirates on April 29th on the road against the Nationals.  He spent the season moving up and down from Triple-A.  Bolton pitched fairly well at Triple-A, but only managed a 6.33 ERA, 20.6 K%, and 14.0 BB% in the Majors across 21 1/3 innings.

Though still in contention, the Mariners traded closer Paul Sewald to the Diamondbacks at the deadline this year due to the strength of their bullpen.  Their projected bullpen for 2024 is currently anchored by Andres Munoz, Matt Brash, Justin Topa, and Gabe Speier.  Bolton will vie for a spot with that group and hope some of the team’s success with less than household names carries over to him.

Guardians Claim Alfonso Rivas From Pirates

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The Guardians announced they’ve claimed first baseman Alfonso Rivas off waivers from the Pirates.

Rivas, 27, was drafted by the A’s in the fourth round out of the University of Arizona back in 2018.  Oakland later sent him to the Cubs for Tony Kemp in January 2020.  Rivas got a fair bit of run on the 2022 Cubs, leading them in defensive innings at first base that year.  He managed just an 83 wRC+ at the plate, prompting the Cubs to designate him for assignment last December and release him in January.

Rivas then hooked on with the Padres on a minor league deal, and he managed to rake in 260 Triple-A plate appearances to the tune of a 156 wRC+.  That earned him a call back to the bigs in June, and then a trade to the Pirates at the deadline in the Rich Hill/Ji Man Choi deal.  With the Bucs having shipped out first basemen Choi and Carlos Santana, Rivas got into 40 games for the Pirates in the season’s final two months as the strong side of a platoon.  His Triple-A success failed to translate, as Rivas posted a 97 wRC+ with a 27.4% strikeout rate.

The Guardians are set with Josh Naylor as their starting first baseman in 2024.  Naylor and Rivas both bat left-handed, not that Naylor needs a platoon partner anyway.  Rivas did see a little bit of time at the outfield corners last year at Triple-A.  He could also push his way into the Guardians’ DH mix with a strong start to the season, if he’s able to hang on to his 40-man roster spot all winter.  The Guardians appear to have 39 players on their 40-man roster, once free agents Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, and Kole Calhoun are removed and Rivas is added.

Padres Claim Tucupita Marcano From Pirates

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The Padres announced they’ve claimed middle infielder Tucupita Marcano off waivers from the Pirates. San Diego also announced that catcher Chandler Seagle and reliever Drew Carlton cleared waivers and were outrighted from the 40-man roster.

Marcano, 24, returns to his original organization. He signed with the Padres as an amateur out of Venezuela in 2016. The left-handed hitter developed into a mid-level prospect and made his MLB debut with San Diego in 2021. Marcano appeared in 25 games before being dealt to Pittsburgh as part of the return for second baseman Adam Frazier.

The Bucs have gotten Marcano into 124 games over the past two seasons. He hasn’t made much of an impact, hitting .221/.267/.334 in 397 trips to the plate. Marcano has demonstrated strong contact skills but without a ton of power, connecting on only five home runs. He hasn’t taken many walks either, leading to the middling offensive numbers.

Marcano’s tenure with the Pirates came to an unceremonious end in August, ironically against the Padres. While running the bases, he tore the ACL in his right knee in an attempt to avoid a tag at third base. That required season-ending surgery. Given the general recovery timeline for ACL injuries, it seems likely he’ll begin next year on the injured list.

Should the Friars keep Marcano on the 40-man roster all winter, he’ll offer multi-positional depth. Marcano can play either middle infield spot, although public defensive marks suggest he’s better suited for second base. He has some corner outfield experience as well. Marcano has one minor league option remaining and is still at least a season away from arbitration eligibility.

The other two players are unsurprising cuts as San Diego clears 40-man space to open the offseason. Carlton, a 28-year-old righty, pitched to a 4.35 ERA in 20 2/3 innings after signing an offseason minor league deal. He briefly appeared at the MLB level with the Tigers between 2021-22 and turned in a 3.00 ERA in 15 Triple-A appearances. His season was unfortunately cut short by elbow inflammation, which sent him to the injured list on July 1.

Seagle is a former 30th-round draftee who received a big league call in the season’s final weekend. He got one at-bat after combining for a .209/.261/.296 line between the top two levels of the minor leagues. Both he and Carlton will be eligible for minor league free agency.

NL Notes: Giants, Schumaker, Kelly

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The Giants recently signed veteran skipper Bob Melvin to a three-year deal, filling their managerial vacancy ahead of what could be a busy offseason. However, if they had not been able to woo Melvin, they likely would have hired either Mariners bullpen coach Stephen Vogt or Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza (per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle). The only other candidates to receive an interview were Giants coaches Alyssa Nakken, Kai Correa, and Mark Hallberg, although the team also expressed interest in Red Sox player information coach Jason Varitek, Angels third base coach Bill Haselman, and Rangers special assistant Nick Hundley.

Mendoza’s candidacy comes as something of a surprise; he is seen as a possible contender for the Guardians managerial opening, but he had not previously been linked to the Giants.

After four years as a player in the Yankees farm system, Mendoza moved into a minor league coaching role in 2009. Over the next nine seasons, he took on various coaching roles at various levels before he was promoted to the big league staff ahead of the 2018 campaign. He spent two years as the infield coach and has been Aaron Boone’s bench coach since 2020.

More coaching and managerial news from around the Senior Circuit…

  • Jon Heyman of the New York Post identifies Marlins manager Skip Schumaker as a potential target for the Padres – the team loved him during his tenure as a coach in San Diego – although it doesn’t seem likely that the Marlins will give him permission to interview with another club. The 2024 season will be the last guaranteed year on the skipper’s contract, but Miami has a club option for the 2025 campaign. Still, Heyman suggests the rookie manager might already be looking to move on; he is reportedly upset with the way the team pushed former GM Kim Ng out of her role. Ng hired Schumaker last October, and presumably, he planned on working with her for more than a single season.
  • Heyman also brings up Pirates bench coach Don Kelly, dubbing the former utility player a “future manager” – although he doesn’t link him to any specific teams. In fact, Kelly isn’t planning to throw his hat in the ring for any of the managerial openings around the league. Following the recent passing of his father-in-law Tom Walker, he would prefer to remain close to family in Pittsburgh, where he has spent the past four seasons working under manager Derek Shelton.
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