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Minor MLB Transactions: 2/13/17

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Here are the latest minor moves from around the game:

  • Outfielder Jerry Sands has signed on with the indy ball Somerset Patriots, per a club announcement. While plenty of former big leaguers land in the independent leagues — with a fair number making it back — it’s quite a surprise to see Sands take that route at this stage of his career. The 29-year-old Sands has seen action in five MLB campaigns, including last year with the White Sox, compiling a pedestrian .238/.303/.367 batting line in less than 500 total plate appearances. But he has handled lefties at a productive .285/.335/.477 clip in the majors and has been rather productive during his six seasons of action at Triple-A (.266/.351/.478). Sands did fall well shy of that mark during his time at the highest level of the minors in 2016, though, which may explain why he failed to attract a strong enough opportunity to land with an affiliated club.
  • The Rangers have announced the signing of Adam Loewen to a minor-league deal, which includes an invitation to MLB camp. Loewen, 32, switched from pitching to hitting and then back again. He appeared briefly in the majors in each of the last two seasons, with the Phillies and then the Diamondbacks, though the results were rather forgettable. Loewen did post a 3.91 ERA over forty relief appearances at Triple-A in 2016, though he averaged 6.1 walks to go with 10.6 strikeouts per nine.
  • Also joining the Rangers on a minors pact is fellow southpaw Bobby LaFromboise, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter). He won’t receive an invite, though, so he’ll have to earn his way into the MLB picture with a strong showing. LaFromboise, 30, has appeared in parts of three MLB seasons, compiling a 3.63 ERA with 23 strikeouts against just five walks in his 22 1/3 total innings. Despite entering camp last year with a shot at making the Phillies’ roster, LaFromboise fell apart early at Triple-A and was released over the summer. Over his 16 2/3 innings, the lefty allowed 11 earned runs (and 17 total runs) on 29 hits over 16 2/3 innings, striking out just eight batters while allowing nine free passes. That stat line was uncharacteristic for a pitcher who had typically performed quite well in the upper minors, but perhaps the long layoff will afford him a chance to return to form.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/17/2016

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The White Sox outrighted first baseman/outfielder Jerry Sands after he cleared waivers, Collen Kane of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Recently designated, Sands will provide some depth for Chicago at Triple-A — assuming, at least, that he accepts the assignment. (He has previously been outrighted, so could instead elect free agency.) The 28-year-old has seen sporadic MLB time over the past several seasons. In 58 plate appearances with the White Sox this year, he scuffled to a .236/.276/.291 batting line.
  • Likewise, the Blue Jays outrighted their own recent designee, southpaw Scott Diamond, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). The 29-year-old only saw one game with the big club in his first MLB action since 2013.  He had been pitching well at Triple-A, carrying a 3.16 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 over 12 starts.
  • The Red Sox have signed first baseman Cody Decker, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). Decker is still looking for his first major league hit after a brief stint last year with the Padres — he did, at least, record an RBI — but he’s got little to prove as a Triple-A hitter. In nearly 1,500 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors, the 29-year-old owns a .255/.333/.501 batting line with 74 home runs.
  • Recently released by the Cubs, righty Alex Sanabia is now set to join Mexico’s Tijuana Toros, Cotillo tweets. Sanabia has seen 138 2/3 innings of MLB action, all with the Marlins and none coming since 2013. Sanabia had allowed 39 earned runs in 55 1/3 innings at Triple-A for the Cubs on the year.

White Sox Designate Jerry Sands For Assignment

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The White Sox have designated first baseman/outfielder Jerry Sands for assignment, per a club announcement. The DFA of Sands clears a spot on the 25-man roster for James Shields to be officially added. Beyond that, the Sox have also optioned outfielder Jason Coats to Triple-A Charlotte and reinstated Melky Cabrera from the family emergency leave list.

Sands, 28, has batted .236/.276/.291 through 58 plate appearances with the ChiSox this season and has struggled versus left-handed pitching despite a strong track record when holding the platoon advantage. The right-handed slugger owns a lifetime .285/.335/.477 line against southpaws but has just a .522 OPS this season, albeit in a limited sample of 20 plate appearances. With the exception of the 2013 season, Sands has spent time in the Majors each year dating back to 2011. He’s a career .238/.306/.367 hitter in 464 trips to the plate at the Major League level and has been a thorn in the side of Triple-A pitchers, against whom he’s mashed at a .268/.357/.492 clip over the life of 439 games.

Sands is no stranger to DFA limbo, as this is the fourth time he’s been designated for assignment since the beginning of the 2015 season. (Cleveland designated him on three occasions before he was ultimately claimed off waivers by the Sox.) Chicago will have 10 days to trade, outright or release Sands, though even if he clears outright waivers, he’d have the option of rejecting the assignment in favor of free agency, as is the right of any player that has been previously outrighted.

White Sox Claim Jerry Sands

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The White Sox have claimed outfielder Jerry Sands off waivers from the Indians, Chicago announced.

The 28-year-old failed to seize an opportunity with Cleveland last year, slashing just .236/.286/.390 in 133 plate appearances on the year. But he has dominated upper-minors pitching and showed legitimate pop with a .268/.357/.492 slash over parts of five seasons at the Triple-A level.

Indians Acquire Dan Otero, Designate Jerry Sands

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The Indians have acquired righty Dan Otero from the Phillies for cash considerations, Philadelphia announced. Outfielder/first baseman Jerry Sands was designated for assignment to clear roster space, the Indians announced.

Otero was claimed off waivers from the Athletics earlier in the winter. But he was designated for assignment when the Phillies needed 40-man spots to facilitate the incoming players in the Ken Giles trade.

The 30-year-old scuffled to a 6.75 ERA in 46 2/3 innings last year after posting outstanding run prevention numbers in each of the prior two campaigns. But there were some indications of bad luck, and Cleveland will see if the soft-tossing, needle-threading Otero can return to his standing as an understated but high-performing reliever.

As for Sands, 28, the 2015 season represented his most extended major league look since his rookie year of 2011. The slugger hit only .236/.286/.390 in his 133 plate appearances, though he continued to compile impressive numbers in the upper minors.

Minor Moves: Santos, Solano, Sands, Hester

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.

  • Reliever Sergio Santos has cleared waivers and will elect free agency, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The Dodgers designated Santos for late last month after the former White Sox closer struck out 15 batters and walked seven while allowing seven runs in 13 1/3 innings this season.
  • The Marlins have announced that they’ve outrighted catcher Jhonatan Solano to Triple-A New Orleans. The designated him for assignment yesterday. The 29-year-old has a career .184/.222/.301 line in 108 career plate appearances with the Nationals and Marlins, hitting a somewhat better .241/.286/.346 in about two seasons’ worth of plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
  • The Indians have announced that outfielder Jerry Sands has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus. Last week, the Indians designated Sands for assignment for the second time this season. The 27-year-old Sands has hit 9-for-27 with a home run and two doubles for the Indians this year. Perhaps more representative is his .257/.385/.473 at Triple-A, a line consistent with the strong minor-league performances he’s posted throughout much of his career.
  • The Phillies have released catcher John Hester, MLBTR’s Steve Adams tweets, noting that Hester had surgery on his meniscus this spring but is now healthy. The 31-year-old has played in ten minor-league games this season. He spent 2014 with Triple-A Salt Lake in the Angels organization, batting .261/.338/.411. He has a career .216/.294/.351 line in 232 big-league plate appearances spread over four seasons with the Diamondbacks and Angels.

Indians Designate Jerry Sands For Assignment

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The Indians announced (via Twitter) that they have designated Jerry Sands for assignment.  In a related move, Carlos Santana has been reinstated from the paternity list.

Today’s move marks the second time this year that Sands has been DFA’d by Cleveland. Sands’ first assignment came roughly one month ago when Sands was bumped in favor of right-hander Ryan Webb. Sands wound up getting outrighted and accepting his assignment rather than going elsewhere.

Sands has not received much opportunity at the big league level since a solid run at age 23 with the Dodgers when he slashed .253/.338/.389 in 227 plate appearance.  This year, he hit quite well in a limited sample size of 27 big league PAs while also performing well at Triple-A.  In 91 plate appearances for Columbus, Sans hit .257/.385/.473 with four homers.

As MLBTR’s DFA Tracker shows, Jerry Sands now joins Thomas Field, Grady Sizemore, Marc Krauss, Sergio Santos, Eric Stults, Alejandro de Aza, and Radhames Liz in DFA limbo.

Minor Moves: Baker, Ortiz, Tolleson, Bello, Sands

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The day’s minor moves will be tracked right here:

  • The Dodgers have outrighted Scott Baker to Triple-A Oklahoma City following his DFA, tweets J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group. The 33-year-old Baker was designated on Sunday following a pair of starts in which he allowed seven runs in 11 innings of work with an 8-to-3 K/BB ratio. The former Twin has yet to establish himself as a credible mid-rotation starter, as he was in Minnesota from 2007-11, after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2012.
  • Left-hander Joseph Ortiz has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Iowa after being designated for assignment by the Cubs over the weekend, MLBTR has learned (Twitter link). The 24-year-old Ortiz enjoyed a solid season with the Rangers in 2013 at just 22 years of age, working to a 4.23 ERA with 27 strikeouts against eight unintentional walks in 44 2/3 innings. Ortiz was involved in a freak accident prior to the 2014 season when was struck by a motorcyclist while walking down the street in his native Venezuela. The resulting fractures in his left foot cost him much of the 2014 season. Ortiz was claimed off waivers by the Cubs this winter and has a 3.38 ERA in 10 2/3 Triple-A innings, though he’s struck out just one hitter despite a career K/9 of 8.6 in the Minors.
  • Steven Tolleson has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A by the Blue Jays, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca tweets. The infielder could find himself back on the active roster in short order, per Davidi, as the club is currently lacking a reserve middle infielder after today’s roster moves.
  • The Padres have purchased the rights to catcher Yenier Bello from the independent league’s Joplin Blasters, according to Mark Schremmer of the Joplin Globe (via Twitter). Bello, 30, was released by the Braves just one year after signing out of Cuba. It seems rather likely that he will be looked upon as an organizational depth piece by the San Diego organization.
  • The Indians announced that outfielder Jerry Sands has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A. Sands could have declined the assignment and shopped his early-season .348/.400/.435 batting line on the open market, but apparently felt his best opportunity remained with the Cleveland organization.

Minor Moves: Cody Ross, Jerry Sands

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Here are Sunday’s minor moves from around MLB:

Indians Designate Jerry Sands

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The Indians have designated outfielder Jerry Sands for assignment, the club announced. Righty Ryan Webb had his contract purchased as Cleveland looks for solutions to its pitching difficulties.

Sands, 27, has taken 25 trips to the plate this year and produced eight base hits and two walks, good for a short-sample .400 on-base percentage. He has not received much opportunity at the big league level since a solid-enough run at age 23 with the Dodgers (.253/.338/.389 in 227 plate appearances). But in parts of five seasons at the Triple-A level, Sands has slashed a useful .264/.346/.483.

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