Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Jace Peterson

Brewers Designate Brock Holt For Assignment

By | at

The Milwaukee Brewers designated Brock Holt for assignment and selected Jace Peterson from their alternate site, the team announced.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise, given that Holt signed this past offseason and the Brewers have a club option for a second year. That said, the long-time Red Sox utility man had gotten off to a horrendous start. Through 36 plate appearances, Holt was hitting just .100/.222/.100 with 9 strikeouts and without an extra-base hit. The career .269/.338/.370 hitter obviously can do better, but in a shortened season, the Brewers clearly decide they did not have time to wait for a turnaround.

Holt signed for a $3.25MM guarantee after spending the past seven seasons with the Red Sox. The expectation was that Holt would fill in around the infield, but the Brewers aren’t short on other options – Peterson included – and Holt simply wasn’t hitting.

Peterson, 30, stands to replace Holt both on the roster and in his role. Capable of playing just about anywhere on the diamond, Peterson has bounced around, but appeared in the majors every season since 2014. The Brewers will be his fifth team, after the Padres, Braves, Orioles, and Yankees.

Brewers Sign Jace Peterson

By | at

The Brewers have inked utilityman Jace Peterson to a minors deal, per a club announcement. The contract includes an invitation to MLB Spring Training.

Peterson has never quite made good on his promise, but has still appeared in each of the past six MLB campaigns and appeared in over five hundred big league contests. He’s a .228/.314/.330 hitter at the game’s highest level.

Now 29 years of age, Peterson is in all likelihood slated to provide depth for the Milwaukee organization. But he could yet end up in an important role should a need arise — or should he prove up to the task. He did show a spark last year at Triple-A, even against the offensively elevated International League standard, by turning in 377 plate appearances of .313/.398/.512 hitting.

Position Players Recently Electing Free Agency

By | at

Since the conclusion of the regular season, a number of players have elected free agency. That right accrues to certain players who are outrighted off of a 40-man roster during or after the season — namely, those that have at least three years of MLB service and/or have previously been outrighted. Such players that accepted outright assignments during the season have the right to elect free agency instead at season’s end, provided they aren’t added back to the 40-man in the meantime.

Here are the position players that have recently taken to the open market, along with their now-former teams (via the International League and PCL transactions pages):

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/5/19

By | at

The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Orioles announced that infielder Jace Peterson and right-hander Tom Eshelman have been outrighted to Triple-A.  Both players were designated for assignment earlier this week.  Peterson had the ability to reject the assignment and become a free agent, though he opted to remain in the organization.  Peterson hit .220/.269/.330 over 108 plate appearances for the O’s this season, while Eshelman debuted in the big leagues for the first time, posting a 6.50 ERA over 36 innings (10 games, four of them starts).

Orioles Select Mason Williams, Designate Jace Peterson

By | at

The Orioles announced today that they have selected the contract of outfielder Mason Williams. To create roster space, infielder Jace Peterson was designated for assignment.

Williams was expected to come onto the active roster for the month of September, but needed to be added to the 40-man. A host of other players that already held 40-man spots are also heading for the big-league dugout: lefty Ty Blach, catcher Austin Wynns, and righties David Hess, Evan Phillips, and Chandler Shepherd.

Once a well-regarded Yankees prospect, the 28-year-old Williams got his first extended chance at the majors last year with the Reds. He produced at close to the league-average rate offensively but was outrighted at season’s end. Williams has spent the entire season to this point with the Orioles’ top affiliate, slashing .308/.371/.477 with 18 home runs in 494 plate appearances.

As for Peterson, he has struggled since the O’s summoned him to help fill out the position-player mix. The six-year MLB veteran carries a .220/.269/.330 batting line in 108 trips to the plate on the season.

Orioles Select Jace Peterson’s Contract

By | at

The Orioles have selected the contract of utilityman Jace Peterson from Triple-A, as per a team announcement.  Rio Ruiz was optioned to the minors earlier today, and no 40-man move was required since Baltimore had open space on its 40-man roster.

Signed to a minor league deal by the Orioles in the offseason, Peterson opted out of that deal on July 16, though he quickly re-signed a new minors contract just a few days later.  Now, Peterson is headed back to the big leagues, which would mark his sixth season of MLB competition.

The 29-year-old Peterson was an everyday player for Atlanta in 2015 and has spent the last three years as a bench piece for the Braves, Yankees, and Orioles.  Peterson originally joined Baltimore’s organization in April 2018 after being claimed off waivers from New York.  While Peterson has only a .228/.318/.330 slash line over 1524 plate appearances in the Show, he brings a lot of defensive versatility to the table — Peterson has started at least one game at every fielding position except catcher, playing primarily as a second baseman and also seeing significant time as a third baseman and left fielder.

Orioles Re-Sign Jace Peterson

By | at

The Orioles’ top affiliate announced today that Jace Peterson is back in the organization on a minors deal. He had recently opted out of his prior minor-league pact.

While he went searching for a better opportunity elsewhere, the 29-year-old Peterson obviously was unable to find one. He hasn’t yet received a chance to appear at the MLB level this year in Baltimore. Over 360 plate appearances this season at Triple-A, he’s slashing a productive .309/.394/.505 with nine long balls and a dozen steals.

To be sure, that offensive output needs to be viewed in the context of the incredible explosion of runs in the International League. And it must been seen against the backdrop of Peterson’s five-year MLB career, over which he carries only a .228/.318/.330 slash.

While his defensive versatility still holds appeal, Peterson never seemed terribly likely to catch a MLB job at this stage of the season. But he could end up getting a shot with the O’s, depending upon how their trade plans and roster needs develop. And it’s also possible that Peterson could end up being traded in August if an organization comes up with a sudden need for depth. Since he’s not playing on a MLB contract, the new trade deadline rules wouldn’t prevent him from being swapped — unless the Orioles put him on their MLB roster, that is.

Jace Peterson Opts Out Of Orioles Contract

By | at

Infielder/outfielder Jace Peterson has been granted his release from the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate, per an announcement from the team. David Hall of the Virginian Pilot tweets that Peterson had an opt-out provision in his contract that he triggered yesterday.

Peterson, 29, spent the vast majority of the 2018 season in Baltimore but turned in a disappointing .195/.308/.325 through 235 plate appearances while seeing time at second base, shortstop, third base and both corner outfield spots. He re-upped with the O’s on a minor league contract this winter and has enjoyed a productive year thus far in Norfolk, where he’s batted .309/.394/.505 with nine home runs, 24 doubles, five triples and a dozen stolen bases in 86 games.

The versatile Peterson has appeared at all four infield positions and all three outfield positions in the big leagues. Through parts of five big league seasons, he’s tallied 1524 plate appearances through 479 games while hitting .228/.318/.330.

Orioles Sign Jace Peterson, Three Others

By | at

1:15pm: Baltimore has announced the signing of Peterson as well as those of three other players. Infielders Christopher Bostick and Zach Vincej will join the utility competition, with righty Jeffeson Medina also coming to the organization on a minors pact.

Bostick and Vincej have each briefly cracked the majors in each of the past two seasons and could certainly challenge Peterson and others for a job (or a spot on the depth chart). Medina, meanwhile, has yet to play past the High-A level but has turned in an intriguing showing thus far (one earned run in 14 innings) in the Venezuelan Winter League.

9:17am: The Orioles have reached a deal to bring back infielder Jace Peterson, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). It’s a minor-league deal, the other terms of which are not known. He had elected free agency after being outrighted by the O’s at the end of the 2018 campaign.

Peterson, 28, has historically lined up mostly at second base. But he has expanded his repertoire in recent seasons, logging significant innings in the corner outfield and at third base while briefly stepping in at both shortstop and first.

Unfortunately, the results at the plate haven’t really changed. Peterson ended his 2018 campaign with 246 plate appearances of 78 OPS+ hitting, an exact match for the rate of production — 22% below the league mean — he has maintained through 1,524 trips to the dish over his five-year career.

The O’s surely don’t yet have a clear idea of how their reserve unit will shape up, and the picture will no doubt change as opportunities arise over the offseason. That said, Peterson figures to have a strong chance at earning a job in camp.

Orioles Outright Four Players

By | at

The Orioles announced Thursday that they have outrighted four players off the 40-man roster. Left-hander Sean Gilmartin and right-hander Gabriel Ynoa, along with infielders Corban Joseph and Jace Peterson, will be outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. While Gilmartin and Peterson have elected free agency, the club has agreed to terms with Joseph and Ynoa on minor league contracts for the 2019 season. The move leaves the Orioles with 36 players on their 40-man roster.

The 30-year-old Joseph will remain with the Orioles for 2019. In 2018, he appeared in the majors for the first time since 2013, when he broke in with the Yankees. Though he played in 14 games with the Orioles in 2018, he spent the majority of the year in Double-A, where he tallied a .312/.381/.497 slash line and hit 17 homers. In his time in the big leagues, Joseph went 4-for-18.

Ynoa, who was acquired by the Orioles prior to the 2017 season after debuting with the Mets in 2016, was the other player to sign a minor league contract with the O’s. Coming off a solid 2017 campaign in which he started four games for Baltimore, the 25-year-old Ynoa was expected to compete for a spot in the starting rotation out of spring training. However, because of a bout with shin splints and rotator cuff inflammation, he was unable to play for the Orioles in 2018. Ynoa was limited to just two Double-A starts in a brief rehab assignment, before he missed the remainder of the season. He figures to be a depth option for the Orioles in 2019.

Gilmartin, 28, signed with the Orioles in July after he was released by the Cardinals. In 12 appearances with Baltimore, he posted a solid 3.00 ERA, though his peripherals lagged behind his results. Originally a first-round pick of the Braves in 2011, Gilmartin began his major-league career with the Mets in 2015 as a Rule 5 pick and enjoyed encouraging results, striking out 54 batters in 57  1/3 innings. However, Gilmartin has struggled since that strong rookie season, being designated for assignment by the Mets and later released by the Cardinals. Still, as a controllable left-handed arm with the capability to start, he should find somewhere to play in 2019.

After beginning the 2018 season with the Yankees, Peterson was claimed off waivers by the Orioles in April. He played all over the diamond for the team, appearing in 93 games for the O’s. Although he finished the season with just a .195 batting average and unspectacular power numbers, he posted an above-average walk rate, drawing 31 bases on balls in 246 plate appearances. Additionally, Peterson stole 13 bases for the O’s, while being caught just twice on the basepaths. With 4.003 years of major-league service time, Peterson can still be controlled by a team for two more seasons. Though he hasn’t lived up to his prospect pedigree, Peterson’s defensive versatility, on-base skills, and platoon splits still make him a useful depth option for a team.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top