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Jason Martin

Angels Sign Jason Martin, Carson Fulmer To Minor League Deals

By Darragh McDonald | February 9, 2024 at 5:25pm CDT

The Angels released a list of non-roster invitees to major league Spring Training today. It included several players with previously-reported minor league deals as well as outfielder Jason Martin and right-hander Carson Fulmer. Martin is repped by Roc Nation Sports and Fulmer by Icon Sports Management.

Martin, 28, spent the 2023 season in Korea, playing for the KBO’s NC Dinos. In 118 games, he hit 17 home runs and slashed .283/.360/.455 for a 125 wRC+. He walked in 11.3% of his plate appearances while striking out at a 21.3% clip. He also stole 15 bases in 18 tries.

Prior to heading overseas, he had received limited looks in the big leagues. He got into 85 games between the Pirates and Rangers from 2019 to 2021, hitting just .206/.260/.328 in that time. His work in the minors has naturally been better, including a line of .260/.339/.472 in 328 Triple-A contests.

The Angels currently have an outfield mix that will likely see Mike Trout, Aaron Hicks and Taylor Ward in regular roles. But each of those three have battled injuries in recent seasons, with Trout last reaching 120 games in a season back in 2019. Hicks has never topped 137 and Ward has never topped 135. Mickey Moniak is on hand for some playing time and he had a nice season in 2023, hitting .280/.307/.495. But he struck out in 35% of his plate appearances and won’t be able to sustain a .397 batting average on balls in play. Jo Adell is also there but he’s also had serious strikeout concerns and is now out of options, which could squeeze him off the roster eventually. Strikeout concerns are also present for Jordyn Adams.

The Halos may need depth on the grass and they have signed Jake Marisnick and Willie Calhoun to minor league deals, now adding Martin into that mix. If Martin is able to crack the roster at any point, he is out of options.

Fulmer, 30, was with the Angels on a minor league deal for much of last year. He was briefly added to the 40-man roster in late September and then outrighted after the season. He was able to make three appearances and brought his career major league tallies to 140 2/3 innings over 77 appearances. He has a career ERA of 6.14 along with a 19% strikeout rate, 13.2% walk rate and 40.7% ground ball rate.

He spent most of last year in Triple-A, making 12 appearances, 11 of those being starts. His 41 innings of work at that level resulted in a 5.27 ERA, 17.5% strikeout rate, 14.8% walk rate and 47.6% ground ball rate.

He’ll provide the Angels with a bit of non-roster pitching depth, though he’s facing a steep climb of getting back to the big leagues. The Halos have a rotation mix of Reid Detmers, Patrick Sandoval, Tyler Anderson, Griffin Canning, José Suarez and Chase Silseth, as well as guys like Zach Plesac, Sam Bachman, Davis Daniel and Victor Mederos. If Fulmer is added to the roster at any point, he’s out of options.

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Los Angeles Angels Transactions Carson Fulmer Jason Martin

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Looking At Pirates’ Past Trades That Are Starting To Pay Off

By Darragh McDonald | April 24, 2023 at 11:59pm CDT

The Pirates are off to an excellent start to begin the 2023 season, currently sporting a record of 16-7 with a run differential of +25. It’s too early to simply assume that they are quite this good, especially since many of their games have come against teams that aren’t expected to be competitive, like the Reds and the Rockies. But after a couple of 100-loss seasons and an even worse winning percentage in the shortened 2020 season, it’s an encouraging development, even if it’s not wholly sustainable.

As with any rebuilding club, the talent on the roster has been acquired in various ways. Some were brought into the organization with high draft picks, like Ke’Bryan Hayes and Mitch Keller. There are former amateur free agents, like Rodolfo Castro and Ji Hwan Bae. There’s also some veterans on modest free agent deals, like Carlos Santana, Rich Hill and Vince Velasquez. But a sizable portion of the roster was acquired via trade, as is often the case with rebuilding clubs, who use the playbook of sending established players away for prospects.

Some of these trades have been on the minor side, bringing in role players like Connor Joe or Mark Mathias. There have also been a few trades that haven’t worked out, such as the Clay Holmes deal, but here are some that have had a significant impact on the current roster. Also, just as a quick side note before launching into this, general manager Neal Huntington was fired in October of 2019. While most of the moves listed below were completed by his successor, Ben Cherington, the credit on the first few goes to the previous regime.

  • July 31, 2017: Dodgers acquire Tony Watson for Oneil Cruz and Angel German.

Watson had spent his entire career with the Pirates up until this point, having been drafted by them and making it to the majors by 2011. He had posted consistently solid results, never finishing a season with his ERA above 4.00, even coming in below 2.00 in both 2014 and 2015. In the 2017 season, he was in his final campaign of control before becoming a free agent. The Pirates made the playoffs in three straight years from 2013 to 2015 but fell below .500 in the two subsequent seasons. That made it a fairly logical move to flip an impending free agent reliever who wasn’t going to be a qualifying offer candidate.

German was a relief prospect who never amounted to much, topping out at Double-A in 2019. He reached free agency and signed a minor league deal with the Rays in 2020 but was released before pitching for them. But landing Cruz is in this deal looks like it will work out quite well for the Bucs. He’s currently on the 60-day injured list due to an ankle injury that required surgery, but he could be back around August. There are concerns about his strikeout rates and shortstop defense, but he has some of the best tools in the league, consistently featuring among the leaders in terms of exit velocities, arm strength and sprint speed. His eventual value will be determined by how much he refines the rougher edges in his game, but he clearly has incredible talent and should impact the club in some way. He’s not slated for free agency until after the 2028 campaign.

  • January 13, 2018: Astros acquire Gerrit Cole for Joe Musgrove, Michael Feliz, Colin Moran and Jason Martin

After two straight disappointing seasons, the Pirates clearly decided to lean in to their rebuild prior to 2018, making two significant trades within a few days of each other. The first one saw them deal Cole, who had two years of control remaining, to Houston. In return, they got four younger players, the most significant of whom was Musgrove. At the time of the trade, there were some questions about whether he was better suited to be a starter or a reliever. The Bucs gave him the chance to prove himself as a capable rotation member, which worked out for both parties. He posted a 4.23 ERA in 325 1/3 innings over three seasons in Pittsburgh, showing enough potential to establish his bona fides as a starter. That gave him enough trade value to get flipped to his hometown Padres, allowing the Pirates to add more young talent, which we will get to below.

  • January 15, 2018: Giants acquire Andrew McCutchen and cash for Kyle Crick, Bryan Reynolds and international bonus pool space.

As if the Cole trade wasn’t enough of a sign that the rebuild was on, the Pirates took down the Jolly Roger and waved a white flag when they traded McCutchen just two days later. He had been an iconic player for the franchise for many years, helping them return to contention after two decades of losing, earning the 2013 National League Most Valuable Player award in the process. He had signed an extension with the club going into 2012, a deal that ran through 2017 with a club option for 2018. He had fallen off from his MVP heights but the $14.5MM option price was still a bargain, so the Pirates made the easy decision to pick that up instead of paying the $1MM buyout. However, he would eventually play that season in San Francisco.

While the trade of a face-of-the-franchise player like McCutchen was undoubtedly frustrating for the fan base, it’s paying off now. Crick had some decent results at times for the Pirates but was ultimately released in 2021. The real coup of the deal is Reynolds, who has emerged as a new face-of-the-franchise player for Pittsburgh. He’s hit 79 home runs in his career and is currently sitting on a batting line of .282/.359/.484. He’s set for free agency after 2025, which has made him the constant subject of rumors, both the trade and extension variety. To date, both paths are still open, making it unclear if Reynolds will be part of the next playoff club in Pittsburgh or an extra bullet added to the bottom of this list.

  • January 27, 2020: Diamondbacks acquire Starling Marte and cash for Liover Peguero, Brennan Malone and international spending money.

The Pirates managed to sneak above .500 in 2018 but had a dismal season after that, going 69-93 in 2019, making it unsurprising that the selloff continued. Marte had previously signed an extension with the Bucs that ran through 2019 but had two affordable option years, meaning he still had a couple of years of control at the time of this trade. But with contention in that time frame seeming unlikely, he was sent to the desert.

Malone is now 22 years old and has yet to climb higher than Class-A in the minors. Injuries and the pandemic have limited him to fewer than 30 professional innings. Peguero in on the 40-man roster and made his MLB debut last year, though he got into just a single game. His prospect rank has faded in recent years, but he was still considered to be among the 10 best in the system as of the start of this season. He’s off to a slow start this year in a small sample of 11 Double-A games, so he’ll have to turn things around to stop his stock from falling further.

  • January 19, 2021: In a three-team trade, the Padres acquire Joe Musgrove and the Mets acquire Joey Lucchesi while the Pirates receive David Bednar, Endy Rodriguez, Hudson Head, Drake Fellows and Omar Cruz.

As mentioned earlier, Musgrove had established himself as a viable starter, enough to reap a pile of prospects that has already worked out well for the Bucs. Bednar has become one of the better relievers in the game, currently sporting a 2.82 ERA and 31.3% strikeout rate while racking up 30 saves. The fact that he happens to be a Pittsburgh kid is just icing on the cake. He’s yet to reach arbitration and isn’t slated for free agency until the 2026-27 offseason.

There’s still plenty of time for the Bucs to get even more out of this deal as well, as the other four players are still in their system. The most notable of them is Rodríguez, who is on the 40-man roster but hasn’t made it to the majors just yet. The catcher/infielder/outfielder is a versatile player with a potent bat, making him one of the most highly-touted prospects in the sport. He’s considered to be one of the top 50 prospects in the league by each of Baseball America, FanGraphs, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, Keith Law of The Athletic and MLB Pipeline.

  • January 24, 2021: Yankees acquire Jameson Taillon for Roansy Contreras, Miguel Yajure, Maikol Escotto and Canaan Smith-Njigba.

Taillon had some good seasons working in the Pittsburgh rotation from 2016 to 2018, but Tommy John surgery wiped out most of his 2019 and all of his 2020. He was set to return to the mound in 2021 when he still had a couple of years of control remaining. Despite the injury uncertainty, the Yankees believed in Taillon enough to acquire those two seasons, sending four prospects to Pittsburgh in exchange.

Yajure is already gone from the organization and Escotto’s prospect stock has fallen off, but the other two players are still on the roster. Most evaluators project Smith-Njigba for a bench/utility role, though he’s still young, turning 24 this coming weekend. Regardless, the most significant player in this batch seems to be Contreras, as he’s already in the club’s rotation. He has a 3.84 ERA through his first 119 2/3 innings in the big leagues and isn’t slated for free agency until after 2028. If he can continue to hold his own against major league hitters, then the Pirates have a rotation building block in place for the foreseeable future.

  • July 26, 2021: Padres acquire Adam Frazier for Jack Suwinski, Tucupita Marcano and Michell Miliano.

Frazier was drafted by the Pirates and had spent his entire career with them up until this point, establishing himself as a solid utility option. His bat was roughly around league average, a useful asset for a player who could be plugged in at almost any position on the diamond. He was having a BABIP-backed spike in 2021, hitting .324/.388/.448 when the Pirates sold high, trading him away while he still had a year and a half of control remaining, getting three young players in return.

Miliano is a 23-year-old reliever who’s yet to surpass High-A, so he’s probably the least likely of this group to be a key contributor going forward. Marcano is in the big leagues but is expected to serve a bench/utility role. Suwinski, however, has the chance to be an impactful member of the club. He’s been playing all three outfield spots in the big leagues, seeming to be a passable defender at any of them. He’s also hit 24 home runs in just 122 games thus far. His 30.3% strikeout rate is certainly on the high side, but he’s also drawn walks at a healthy 12% clip. His .209/.310/.440 career batting line to this point in his career translated into a 109 wRC+, and his batted-ball data in 2023’s small sample is particularly interesting (95.2 mph average exit velocity, 56.3% hard-hit rate). He’s not slated for free agency until after the 2028 season.

  • July 22, 2022: Mets acquire Daniel Vogelbach for Colin Holderman.

Vogelbach was a known power threat, having hit 30 home runs with the Mariners in 2019, but he struggled in the next few seasons and bounced to the Blue Jays and Brewers, getting non-tendered by the latter club after the 2021 season. The Pirates signed him to a modest deal worth $1MM plus incentives, watched him get into a groove and flipped him to the Mets after a few months.

Holderman has just 35 major league appearances to this point in his career, but the results are fairly encouraging.  He has a 3.20 ERA with a 49.1% ground ball rate, helping him keep the ball in the park to such a degree that he’s yet to allow a home run. That surely won’t be able to last forever, but he’s working himself into a high-leverage role with the club, having accrued eight holds already in this young season.

  • August 1, 2022: Cardinals acquire José Quintana and Chris Stratton for Johan Oviedo and Malcom Nuñez.

Quintana has a long track record of success in the majors but struggled in both 2020 and 2021, getting bumped to the bullpen in both seasons. The Pirates bought low by signing him to a one-year, $2MM deal and giving him a shot to re-establish himself as a starter. It worked, as he registered a 3.50 ERA with the Bucs, allowing them to flip him to the Cardinals for a couple of younger players. Nunez has yet to reach the majors and is struggling in Triple-A right now, but he’s still just 22 years old. Baseball America and FanGraphs both considered him the club’s #21 prospect coming into the season.

Oviedo was initially a starter with the Cards but got bumped to the bullpen last year. The Pirates are giving him another shot at rotation work with good results so far. He has a 2.78 ERA in 11 starts for Pittsburgh between last year and this year, with a 22.4% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate and 54.8% ground ball rate. Oviedo has more than doubled his curveball usage in 2023, and is throwing the pitch harder than ever before. It’s a small sample, but his swinging-strike rate is up from 11.2% to 14.6%. He’s under club control through 2027.

_____________________________________________

It’s no secret that the Pirates are a low-spending club. Looking at data from Cot’s Baseball Contracts, which goes back to the year 2000, they’ve never even made it to the middle of the pack in terms of payroll. They’ve frequently been at the very bottom of spenders and their highest relative rank was getting to 19th place way back in 2001. For the clubs that keep the purse strings that tight, it’s essential that they succeed in getting the most out of younger players who haven’t yet maximized their earning power.

Since the major league economic system artificially deflates player salaries until they get to six years of service time, it’s important for a club on the stingy side to find good young players, whether it’s those that they draft/sign or those they get from other organizations. As the Pirates appear to be on the verge of being respectable again, or perhaps have already arrived, they seem to be doing just that. As mentioned, they’ve had the occasional clunker, like the Holmes deal, but a decent chunk of the roster was built via trade. Two of their regular outfielders were acquired in trades, as was their everyday shortstop, although he’s on the shelf right now. Their dealing has also given them two of their five rotation members, some of their best relievers, a few utility players and some key prospects.

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MLBTR Originals Pittsburgh Pirates Brennan Malone Bryan Reynolds Canaan Smith-Njigba Colin Holderman Colin Moran David Bednar Endy Rodriguez Jack Suwinski Jason Martin Joe Musgrove Johan Oviedo Kyle Crick Liover Peguero Malcom Nunez Michael Feliz Miguel Yajure Oneil Cruz Roansy Contreras Tucupita Marcano

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KBO’s NC Dinos Sign Jason Martin

By Maury Ahram | December 8, 2022 at 7:30pm CDT

December 8: The club has announced the signing, as relayed by Kurtz. Martin will make a $720K salary and $180K signing bonus, with $100K in incentives also available.

December 4: The NC Dinos are working on completing a deal with outfielder Jason Martin, according to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO. This will be Martin’s first stint overseas after 10 seasons in affiliated North American baseball.

Martin, a former eight-round draft pick for the Astros, was traded to the Pirates as part of the 2018 Gerrit Cole trade that included Joe Musgrove, Michael Feliz, and Colin Moran. He made his major league debut during the 2019 season, getting into 20 games (40 plate appearances) with a weak .250/.325/.306 line, and would spend much of the season in Triple-A Indianapolis, where he hit a much more respectable .260/.312/.419 with 25 doubles.

Martin was hitless in 11 plate appearances during 2020, before he was outrighted off Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster at the end of the season. He latched on with Texas on a minor league deal, eventually joining the major league team. Once again, despite promising results in Triple-A (.248/.388/.543), Martin struggled against major league pitching, hitting .208/.248/.354 in 154 plate appearances. Martin elected free agency after the 2021 season, joining the Dodgers on a minor league contract, but did not see time with the major league club during the 2022 season. He finished the 2022 season slashing a strong .285/.374/.564 with 32 homers and 25 doubles in 129 games.

Martin, who turned 27 in September, will head abroad looking to shake the Quad-A moniker that he has cultivated over the past few seasons. He will likely earn a raise compared to his minor league salary and can explore a return to MLB if his time in South Korea proves fruitful.

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Korea Baseball Organization Transactions Jason Martin

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Dodgers Sign Jason Martin, Beau Burrows

By Anthony Franco | November 23, 2021 at 9:38pm CDT

The Dodgers recently reached agreements with outfielder Jason Martin and right-hander Beau Burrows. Martin’s deal was reported by Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America; Burrows announced his own agreement with Los Angeles on Twitter this evening. Presumably, both contracts are minor league pacts that contain Spring Training invitations.

Martin has appeared in the majors in each of the past three seasons. Part of the Pirates’ four-player return from the Astros in the 2018 Gerrit Cole trade, he only tallied 51 trips to the plate in Pittsburgh over his first two seasons. Martin’s most extensive big league time came this past season when he logged 154 plate appearances with the Rangers. The 26-year-old hit just .208/.248/.354 with six homers in that time, though, and Texas outrighted him off the 40-man roster at the end of the season.

Over parts of three Triple-A campaigns, the Southern California native owns a .243/.315/.412 slash line. Martin has spent the bulk of his minor league time in center field, but the Rangers mostly deployed him in left field at the big league level. A left-handed hitter, Martin will likely try to compete for fourth or fifth outfield duty next spring.

Burrows is a former first-round pick of the Tigers. He made his big league debut with Detroit last year and split the 2021 campaign between the Tigers and division-rival Twins. Burrows’ big league experience consists of just 17 2/3 innings of 10.70 ERA ball, and he’s allowed eight long balls with eleven strikeouts and walks apiece.

The 25-year-old hasn’t fared especially well in Triple-A either, but he’s not far removed from being one of the more well-regarded arms coming up through the Tigers’ organization. He’s pitched reasonably well as a starter up through Double-A and could be viewed as either rotation or bullpen depth for Los Angeles.

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Los Angeles Dodgers Transactions Beau Burrows Jason Martin

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Three Rangers Elect Free Agency

By TC Zencka | October 9, 2021 at 2:02pm CDT

Mike Foltynewicz, Hunter Wood, and outfielder Jason Martin have elected free agency, per the Rangers. The trio will now hit the open market.

Foltynewicz is the biggest name of the three, though it’s been some time since the right-hander seemingly broke out with Atlanta back in 2018. In his first and only season with the Rangers, Folty was given some leash, making 24 starts and adding four bullpen appearances for a total 139 innings. Folty pitched to a 5.44 ERA/6.02 FIP with a below-average 16.6 percent strikeout rate, though solid 6.1 percent walk rate.

Wood, formerly of the Rays and Indians, made just five appearances with the Rangers, tossing five innings and giving up a pair of earned runs. For his career, the swingman owns a 3.34 ERA/4.09 FIP across 91 2/3 innings.

Martin’s primary claim to fame comes via his inclusion in the trade that sent Gerrit Cole from the Pirates to the Astros. After appearing in the Majors with the Pirates in 2019 and 2020, he was granted free agency, signing with the Rangers. The 26-year-old saw the most playing time of his career in his lone season in Texas, slashing .208/.248/.354 across 154 plate appearances.

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Texas Rangers Transactions Hunter Wood Jason Martin Mike Foltynewicz

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Rangers Select Jason Martin

By Steve Adams | May 26, 2021 at 1:40pm CDT

The Rangers announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Jason Martin from Triple-A Round Rock. He’ll take the active roster spot of David Dahl, who is headed to the 10-day injured list with a left rib cage contusion. Righty Kohei Arihara, who is slated to undergo shoulder surgery, was transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Martin, 25, is out to a fast start in Triple-A after inking a minor league deal with Texas over the winter. The former Pirates farmhand is hitting .302/.413/.755 with seven home runs and three doubles through his first 63 trips to the plate — a far cry from the lackluster Triple-A output he produced in a pair of seasons with the Pirates’ top affiliate in Indianapolis.

Pittsburgh gave Martin brief MLB looks in both 2019 and 2020, but he hit only .200/.294/.244 in 51 plate appearances. This will be his first opportunity in the Majors with any other organization. The 2013 eighth-rounder was originally drafted by the Astros but flipped to Pittsburgh as part of the Gerrit Cole trade. The Pirates placed him on waivers at the end of the 2020 season, and he opted for free agency after going unclaimed.

The 27-year-old Dahl sustained his injury in yesterday’s game when he crashed into the right field wall as he tracked a Jared Walsh fly-ball that eventually left the yard. Formerly one of the Rockies’ top prospects — one of the top prospects in all of baseball, for that matter — Dahl’s career has been ravaged by injuries that led Colorado to non-tender him this winter rather than pay him a raise in arbitration. The Rangers took a chance on a $2.7MM deal for the former No. 10 overall pick, but he’s floundered thus far with his new team, hitting just .208/.242/.340 through 154 plate appearances.

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Texas Rangers Transactions David Dahl Jason Martin Kohei Arihara

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Rangers Sign Jharel Cotton, Jason Martin To Minor League Deals

By Connor Byrne | December 14, 2020 at 4:23pm CDT

The Rangers announced that they have signed right-hander Jharel Cotton, outfielder Jason Martin and righty Edubray Ramos (previously reported) to minor league contracts. All three deals come with invitations to spring training.

The 28-year-old Cotton was a top 100 prospect during his younger days, and he posted encouraging numbers (2.15 ERA/3.76 FIP) during his 29 1/3-major league debut with the Athletics in 2016. Cotton was then a regular in the A’s rotation the next season, in which he totaled 129 1/3 frames on 24 starts, but he could only muster a 5.58 ERA with a similar 5.68 FIP that year. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since then, owing largely to the Tommy John surgery he underwent in March 2018. Cotton tried to work his way back in 2019, but hamstring injuries helped prevent that from happening. Oakland then sent Cotton to the Cubs in a minor trade, though Chicago released him in September.

Martin entered the pros as a 2013 eighth-round pick of the Astros, who traded him to the Pirates five years later as part of the teams’ Gerrit Cole swap. But Martin didn’t produce much in two Triple-A seasons as a Pirate, and he slumped to a .200/.294/.244 line in the majors over a small sample of plate appearances (51) from 2019-20. The Pirates outrighted the 25-year-old after the season.

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Texas Rangers Transactions Jason Martin Jharel Cotton

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Minor MLB Transactions: 10/30/20

By Anthony Franco | October 30, 2020 at 9:49pm CDT

Rounding up some minor moves around the game:

  • Royals left-hander Mike Montgomery and right-hander Kevin McCarthy cleared outright waivers and have elected free agency, reports Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com (Twitter link). Montgomery, 31, was limited to 5.1 innings in 2020 due to a lat injury, derailing his chance of cementing himself in the Kansas City rotation. McCarthy was an oft-used bullpen piece in 2019 but only got into five games last season. Additionally, Kansas City claimed righty Carlos Sanabria off waivers from the Astros, per Flanagan (Twitter link). The 23-year-old reliever performed well in the high minors in 2019 and made his MLB debut in this year.
  • The Twins claimed right-hander Ian Gibaut off waivers from the Rangers, per an announcement from Texas. The 26-year-old pitched to just a 6.57 ERA in 12.1 innings this year but was once a well-regarded relief prospect. He comes with one option year remaining. Fellow Texas righty Luke Farrell cleared outright waivers.
  • The Twins also claimed left-hander Brandon Waddell off waivers from the Pirates, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com (Twitter link). Additionally, Pirates’ catchers John Ryan Murphy and Luke Maile, utilityman Kevin Kramer, right-hander Yacksel Rios and outfielder Jason Martin all cleared outright waivers, per an announcement from Pittsburgh.
  • The Mets claimed right-hander Nick Tropeano off waivers from the Pirates, per an announcement from Pittsburgh. The 30-year-old pitched in seven games with a 1.15 ERA for the Pirates in 2020. He’s projected for a salary just under $1MM in arbitration.
  • The Nationals announced they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Steven Fuentes. The 23-year-old pitched to a 2.69 ERA/2.24 FIP in 63.2 Double-A innings in 2019 and would’ve been eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter. Baseball America ranks Fuentes the #27 prospect in the Washington system.
  • The Cubs announced that they have claimed infielder Max Schrock via waivers from the rival Cardinals. Chicago also outrighted lefty Rex Brothers to Triple-A Iowa. Schrock picked up just 17 plate appearances for St. Louis in 2020 and collected three hits (two singles and a homer). Brothers, 32, threw only 3.1 innings with the Cubs and allowed three earned runs.
  • Speaking of the Cardinals, they announced outright assignments for righty Nabil Crismatt and lefty Ricardo Sanchez. Crismatt was successful for the Cardinals in 2020, notching 8.1 frames of three-run ball with eight strikeouts and one walk. Sanchez had some difficulty across 5.1 innings, though, as he gave up four earned runs and issued five walks.
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Chicago Cubs Houston Astros Kansas City Royals Minnesota Twins New York Mets Pittsburgh Pirates St. Louis Cardinals Transactions Washington Nationals Brandon Waddell Carlos Sanabria Ian Gibaut J.R. Murphy Jason Martin Kevin Kramer Kevin McCarthy Luke Maile Max Schrock Mike Montgomery Nabil Crismatt Nick Tropeano Rex Brothers Ricardo Sanchez Yacksel Rios

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Pirates Place Kevin Newman On Injured List, Recall Jason Martin

By TC Zencka | September 20, 2020 at 1:19pm CDT

The Pittsburgh Pirates have placed infielder Kevin Newman on the 10-day injured list after being hit by a pitch in last night’s ballgame. Jason Martin has been recalled to take his roster spot, the team announced.

Unfortunately, any injury at this point of the season is likely to be a season-ender. Newman suffered a contusion to the peroneal nerve of his left knee, per the team. The 27-year-old has split his time between both middle infield spots while struggling to make much progress at the dish. The righty owns a .224/.281/.276 triple slash across 172 plate appearances. Registering just a 54 wRC+ certainly classifies as a disappointment after hitting the 110 wRC+ mark last season while slashing .308/.353/.446 with 12 home runs. Newman is making hard contact a little more often than last season, though barrelling just one ball on the year. A year-over-year drop in batting average on balls in play from .333 to .250 certainly makes a difference, as does a diminished power output (ISO down from .138 to .051).

Martin won’t take over directly for Newman, but he could see time in left field as Adam Frazier moves into the infield. Jose Osuna and JT Riddle could also come off the bench to take more regular at-bats.

The 25-year-old Martin is 0 for 9 with a pair of walks over a few starts in centerfield this season. Martin came to the Pirates as part of the return for Gerrit Cole back in 2018, but he has yet to carve out a regular spot in the Pirates’ outfield rotation. He spent all of 2019 in Triple-A, but a .259/.312/.419 line wasn’t enough to secure regular playing time in a shortened 2020 season.

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Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions Jason Martin Kevin Newman

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Pirates Promote Ke’Bryan Hayes

By Connor Byrne | September 1, 2020 at 3:55pm CDT

TODAY: The Pirates have officially called Hayes up, and also promoted recent waiver claim Anthony Alford to the active roster.  Southpaw Brandon Waddell and outfielder Jason Martin were optioned to the club’s alternate training site in corresponding moves.

AUGUST 31: The Pirates will promote top third base prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes before their game against the Cubs on Tuesday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Hayes’ promotion was slowed thanks in part to a positive coronavirus test in July.

Now 23 years old, Hayes was a 2015 first-round pick (No. 32) who has established himself as a high-end major league prospect since the Pirates drafted him. In fact, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN (No. 26), FanGraphs (30), MLB.com (45), Keith Law of The Athletic (46) and Baseball America (59) recently placed Hayes among the game’s 60 best farmhands. McDaniel wrote that Hayes, the son of ex-major leaguer Charlie Hayes, possesses “plus speed, a plus arm and a potential 70 glove,” and if he proves to be a capable offensive player in the majors, the package could make him a star.

So far, Hayes has not necessarily thrived against minor league pitching. He owns a .752 OPS in the minors, and in his most recent showing at the lower levels in 2019, he batted .265/.336/.415 (92 wRC+) with 10 home runs and 12 stolen bases across 480 Triple-A plate appearances. Still, his promotion makes for a rare bit of excitement in a Pittsburgh season that has largely been devoid of it.

The Pirates are a major league-worst 10-21 and have received below-average production from the third base tandem of Erik Gonzalez and JT Riddle, two players who probably won’t be part of the solution over the long haul. Hayes, on the other hand, has a chance to emerge as a franchise cornerstone for years to come. Because the Pirates are waiting until Sept. 1 to call him up, he’ll miss out on Super Two status and won’t be on track to reach free agency until after 2026.

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Newsstand Pittsburgh Pirates Top Prospect Promotions Transactions Anthony Alford Brandon Waddell Jason Martin Ke'Bryan Hayes

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