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Jesse Biddle

Mariners Designate Jesse Biddle, Select Matt Carasiti and Mike Wright

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The Mariners announced a slew of roster moves Sunday. The club has designated left-handed reliever Jesse Biddle for assignment and selected the contracts of righties Matt Carasiti and Mike Wright from Triple-A Tacoma. Seattle also moved righty Chasen Bradford to the 60-day injured list and optioned RHP Gerson Bautista to Tacoma.

Biddle didn’t last long on the Mariners’ roster, having just joined the team in a trade with the Braves on May 20. That came a few days after the Braves designated Biddle. Between the two teams this season, the 27-year-old Biddle has limped to a 7.54 ERA/5.60 FIP with 7.54 K/9 and 6.75 BB/9 in 22 2/3 innings. Lefties have managed a whopping .404 weighted on-base average against Biddle, who’s only a year removed from a highly productive debut season in Atlanta.

Carasiti, also 27, signed a minors pact with the Mariners earlier this month after the Cubs released him. His lone major league experience came in 2016 with the Rockies, with whom he threw 15 2/3 innings of 9.19 ERA/4.49 FIP ball. Carasiti has put up a far better 2.76 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 32 2/3 Triple-A frames this season.

The 29-year-old Wright’s back in Seattle a little over a month after the team designated him. Wright didn’t pitch well in 11 innings with the Mariners before that, continuing a difficult run in the majors. With the Orioles and M’s, Wright has combined for a 6.08 ERA/5.26 FIP over 253 innings.

Braves, Mariners Swap Jesse Biddle, Anthony Swarzak

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1:13pm: The Mariners are sending around $2MM to the Braves in the trade to balance out the difference in salary, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Paired with the remaining money that would’ve been allocated for Biddle’s pre-arb salary, it seems likely that the trade is effectively cash-neutral.

12:51pm: The Mariners announced that they’ve acquired left-handed reliever Jesse Biddle and right-hander Arodys Vizcaino from the Braves in exchange for right-hander Anthony Swarzak and cash. Vizcaino’s inclusion in the trade would appear to be purely a financial component of the trade, as he’s a free agent at season’s end and is not expected to pitch again in 2019 after undergoing shoulder surgery. Vizcaino is on the 60-day injured list, so there are no additional 40-man moves required by the Mariners to accommodate the addition of Biddle, who will report to the team’s Major League bullpen.

Jesse Biddle | Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Biddle, 27, gave the Braves 63 2/3 innings of 3.11 ERA ball with 9.5 K/9, 4.4 BB/9, 0.85 HR/9 and a 55.6 percent ground-ball rate in 2018, but virtually nothing has gone right for the southpaw so far in 2019. Through 15 appearances and a span of 11 2/3 frames, Biddle has served up seven earned runs (and another four unearned runs) on 18 hits and 10 walks with 11 strikeouts. His velocity has remained strong, as Biddle has averaged 94.1 mph on his fastball so far in 2019.

Because he was out-of-options and playing on a win-now club, Biddle’s fate looked largely sealed as this year’s control struggles continued from April into May. He was designated for assignment by the Braves last week. The Mariners will hope that they’re able to turn him around and get him back to his 2018 form. If they can manage to do so, they’ll control Biddle through the 2023 season. However, he’ll have to sort things out at the big league level, as his lack of minor league options means he can’t be sent down without first being passed through waivers.

For the Braves, they’d already decided to move on from Biddle and stood to watch Vizcaino leave as a free agent at the end of the year, so they’re not really giving up anything to take a cheap look at Swarzak. The 33-year-old Swarzak has struggled to a 5.27 ERA and eight walks (one intentional) in 13 2/3 innings with the Mariners, but he’s also racked up 17 strikeouts. Injuries have hampered him considerably since signing a two-year, $14MM contract with the Mets prior to the 2018 season, as he’s dealt with an oblique strain and a pair of shoulder-related injuries.

Anthony Swarzak | Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

In his last full, healthy season in 2017, however, Swarzak turned in 77 1/3 innings with a 2.33 ERA, 10.6 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 0.70 HR/9 and a 43.9 percent grounder rate between the White Sox and Brewers. That success is recent enough to give the Braves something to dream on as they scour what is likely an extremely thin trade market for bullpen help at this juncture of the season. Atlanta will surely be active in pursuing additional pieces over the next couple of months, but few teams are willing to sell off quality arms in mid-May — and those that are willing to do so generally place lofty asking prices on said arms given the scarce supply this time of year.

Swarzak will head to Atlanta without any sort of guarantee that he’ll be a long-term piece for the remainder of the season. The fact that the Braves unloaded the remaining $3.43MM on Vizcaino’s deal and acquired cash from the Mariners makes it likely that Seattle sent enough money to make this a cash-neutral swap. Swarzak is being paid an $8.5MM salary in 2019 and has about $6.08MM of that sum still to be paid out.

Braves Designate Jesse Biddle For Assignment

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The Braves announced that they’ve designated left-hander Jesse Biddle for assignment on Wednesday and placed center fielder Ender Inciarte on the 10-day injured list due to a lumbar strain. Biddle’s 40-man roster spot will go to top prospect Austin Riley, whose previously reported promotion has now been made official. Atlanta also recalled Touki Toussaint from Triple-A Gwinnett to round out tonight’s series of roster moves.

Biddle, 27, gave the Braves 63 2/3 innings of 3.11 ERA ball with 9.5 K/9, 4.4 BB/9, 0.85 HR/9 and a 55.6 percent ground-ball rate in 2018, but virtually nothing has gone right for the southpaw so far in 2019. Through 15 appearances and a span of 11 2/3 frames, Biddle has served up seven earned runs (and another four unearned runs) on 18 hits and 10 walks with 11 strikeouts. As I noted last week, Biddle’s struggles were compounded by the fact that he’s out of minor league options, thus preventing the Braves from merely optioning him to Gwinnett to sort things out. Given the team’s win-now status, a move of this nature felt almost inevitable.

Given last season’s success and the fact that he’s a lefty who still pumps fastballs at an average of 94.1 mph, it’s possible that another club will take a run at correcting the control issues that have torpedoes Biddle’s season. Hard-throwing lefties in their mid-20s that have had some degree of MLB success are hard to come by, after all, and if a team can straighten Biddle out he’d be controllable all the way through the 2023 season.

As for the other moves, Riley will step into left field with Ronald Acuna Jr. shifting into center field in place of Inciarte. The 22-year-old Riley had already slugged a ridiculous 15 home runs on the season and has more broadly been one of the best hitters in all of minor league baseball. He’ll likely get some work at his natural position, third base, on days when Josh Donaldson gets a breather.

Braves Designate Jerry Blevins

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The Braves have designated lefty Jerry Blevins for assignment, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. Righty Kyle Wright was already optioned down, thus creating two active roster openings that will be filled by relievers Jesse Biddle (back from the IL) and Wes Parsons (recalled from Triple-A).

Blevins opened the season in the Athletics organization, facing the unfamiliar position of earning his way onto a major league roster. He ended up being acquired by the Braves and installed in their relief unit.

Things haven’t worked out as hoped for Blevins, who has allowed four runs with four strikeouts and three walks in his 3 1/3 innings over six appearances. That’s too short a sample to draw any final conclusions, but Blevins was working at or near career-worst levels of velocity (89.1 mph average fastball), swinging strikes (8.1%), and hard contact (50.0%) in th ebrief showing.

NL Notes: Reds, Wood, Mets, Gio, Bucs, Braves

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Reds lefty Alex Wood, who’s dealt with back spasms since he arrived for Spring Training in late February, “didn’t respond well” after his latest bullpen session, reports manager David Bell (via MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon). Wood, who was acquired in an offseason trade that also sent Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp from Los Angeles to Cincinnati, will likely seek a second opinion on the creaky back, placing his eventual Reds debut in even further doubt. Thanks to stellar early-season performances from Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, and Tyler Mahle, among others, Cincy’s starting five leads the NL in nearly every rotation category, doubly impressive when given the puny dimensions of Great American Ballpark. Still, it’s a unit that should both anticipate heavy regression and yearn for the return of Wood, whose recent-year track record stands apart from each of his potential rotation mates.

The latest on a few other NL franchises…

  • The Brewers and Mets were the teams most connected to Gio Gonzalez in the rumor mill before the lefty agreed to sign with Milwaukee on Thursday. Gonzalez confirmed Saturday that the Mets were indeed the other club pursuing him, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “The Mets were in there but they have such a great rotation. The Brewers met my expectations and needs,” Gonzalez said. “Either way, it was a win-win for me. Two great teams were coming at you. It came down to wants and needs with Milwaukee. I played with them last year so I had the feel for what they’re trying to do.” While Gonzalez lauded the Mets’ rotation, he nonetheless may have been an upgrade for New York. The Mets have been running out the much-maligned Jason Vargas as their fifth starter, after all, yet they only viewed Gonzalez as a marginal-at-best upgrade over him, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweeted this week. Their bearishness on Gonzalez helped pave the way for the 33-year-old to rejoin the Brewers, with whom he performed well after they acquired him from Washington last August. Now, Gonzalez will slot back into a Brewers rotation that entered Saturday with the NL’s worst ERA (5.77). His first outing of the year will come Sunday against – you guessed it – the Mets.
  • Banged-up Pirates outfielders Corey Dickerson and Lonnie Chisenhall aren’t recovering as hoped. Dickerson felt tightness in his strained right shoulder while throwing from 110 feet Saturday, and Chisenhall’s now dealing with left calf tightness that has forced the team to stop his rehab assignment, according to Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It’s a new issue this year for Chisenhall, who started the season on the IL because of a broken hand. However, it’s all the more troubling because Chisenhall – then with the Indians – missed large chunks of the previous two seasons because of calf problems in both legs.
  • The Braves have placed reliever Jesse Biddle on the IL with a right thigh bruise and right calf strain, Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes. Atlanta recalled righty Shane Carle in a corresponding move. The IL placement continues a difficult stretch for Biddle, who, as Bowman notes, has retired just 10 of the last 23 batters he gone against. The southpaw faced four batters in a loss to the Rockies on Friday and failed to retire any of them, though one reached on an error, and yielded four runs (one earned) on three hits. Biddle has still notched a solid 3.18 ERA in 11 1/3 innings this year, but he has also walked upward of seven hitters per nine and seen his swinging-strike rate plummet from 10.4 percent in 2018 to 6.8 this season.

Braves Promote Jesse Biddle, Place Jose Ramirez On 10-Day DL

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The Braves are set to promote lefty Jesse Biddle to the big-league roster, per a club announcement. He’ll replace righty reliever Jose Ramirez, who is heading to the 10-day DL after experiencing shoulder inflammation.

It’s a long-awaited call-up for Biddle, who was selected in the first round of the 2010 draft and once regarded among the game’s hundred top pre-MLB players. Injuries disrupted his progress, however, and forced him out of the rotation.

Since landing with the Braves and working back to health, Biddle has shown well in the upper minors. He turned in 49 2/3 innings of 2.90 ERA ball last year at Double-A, registering 9.6 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9. And Biddle was off to an excellent start in the highest level of the minors in 2018, allowing just three hits and no runs while running up eight strikeouts against a single walk in his 6 1/3 innings.

As for Ramirez, 28, this’ll be a much-needed reprieve after a brutal opening to his own season. He has also tossed 6 1/3 frames, all in the majors, but with much different results. Ramirez has not only coughed up a dozen earned runs, but has surrendered eight walks to go with his seven punchouts.

Quick Hits: Girardi, Naquin, Feldman, Biddle, Free Agents

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Here’s the latest from around the big leagues as we move into the new week…

  • Joe Girardi is entering his last year under contract with the Yankees, though the manager tells FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal that he isn’t worrying about his future.  Girardi said he’ll continue to manage as long as his family still wants him to remain in the job.  The Yankees usually wait until a season is over to evaluate managers (and general managers, as Brian Cashman is also in the last year of his deal), though Hank Steinbrenner recently gave Girardi a vote of confidence.  Cashman praised Girardi’s ability to work with young players, which could bode well for him remaining to oversee an increasingly-youthful New York roster.  “There has never been a question about his ability to manage. The only time (managers lose their jobs) is if they wind up having missteps with their roster in terms of leadership, and they might not be the right voice anymore,” Cashman said.  “You get a sense of that from your players.  It happened toward the end with [Joe] Torre.  It hasn’t happened at this stage with [Girardi].”
  • Indians outfielder Tyler Naquin left Sunday’s game after fouling a ball off his right foot.  The injury is officially being called a bruise for now, according to MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and other reporters.  Naquin underwent x-rays after the game and the results will be revealed on Monday.  The former first-rounder made a big impact for the Tribe in his rookie season, batting .296/.372/.514 with 14 homers over 365 PA.  Naquin was slated for the majority of playing time in center field for Cleveland this season, with right-handed batters Brandon Guyer, Abraham Almonte and Austin Jackson all competing for a backup or even a platoon role spelling Naquin against left-handed pitching.
  • Scott Feldman’s history as a starter, reliever and swingman makes him a valuable asset for the Reds, who are in a very fluid situation with their young pitching staff, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes.  Feldman looks like he’ll at least begin the season in the rotation, though that could change once Homer Bailey returns from the DL or if the Reds want to take a longer look at one of their young arms.  Feldman is comfortable in his role, though he admits that still having to prove his value as a starting pitcher “definitely makes you play with a little bit of a chip on your shoulder.”
  • Former Phillies first-rounder Jesse Biddle is looking to revive his career with the Braves, though he tells Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he has no hard feelings towards his old club for trading him to the Pirates in February 2016.  Once a fixture of top-100 prospect lists, Biddle ran into some struggles as he reached the upper minors, and his career was halted entirely when he underwent Tommy John surgery in October 2015.  Atlanta claimed Biddle off waivers from Pittsburgh last March and the southpaw was finally back on the mound on Saturday, facing (ironically) the Phils in Spring Training action.
  • Looking ahead to the 2018-19 free agent class, Joel Sherman of the New York Post updates his list of the top 10 free agents slated to hit the open market during that potentially historically-good winter.  Manny Machado tops the list, followed by Bryce Harper, Clayton Kershaw (who has an opt-out in his Dodgers contract), Josh Donaldson and Zach Britton rounding out the top five.

Braves Claim Jesse Biddle From Pirates

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The Braves have claimed lefty Jesse Biddle, MLB.com’s Adam Berry tweets. The Pirates had designated Biddle for assignment last week. It was originally reported that the Pirates had released Biddle with the intention of re-signing him to a minor-league deal, but perhaps they had simply placed him on release waivers, which would have allowed the Braves to claim him.

Biddle will miss the 2016 season after having Tommy John surgery. The Pirates acquired him from Philadelphia earlier this offseason. He struggled the last two seasons in the high minors, but was once one of the Phillies’ top prospects. MLB.com ranked him the No. 53 prospect in baseball after the 2013 season, when he posted a 3.64 ERA with 10.0 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 in 138 1/3 innings as a 21-year-old at Double-A Reading.

Pirates Release Jesse Biddle

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The Pirates have released left-hander Jesse Biddle, who was designated for assignment upon the team’s signing of third baseman David Freese. The MLB.com Transaction page first noted Biddle’s release, though Tim Williams of PiratesProspects.com wrote this morning that he spoke to GM Neal Huntington, who said he hopes to re-sign Biddle to a minor league deal despite vacating his 40-man spot.

Pittsburgh initially acquired Biddle from the Phillies in exchange for right-hander Yoervis Medina. Biddle, a former first-round pick and top 100 prospect will miss the entire 2016 campaign due to Tommy John surgery. His walk rate increased notably upon reaching the Double-A level, though, and while he was considerably younger than his average competition in that first exposure in 2013, his overall numbers took a dive when he repeated the level in 2014. Biddle’s most recent season saw him pitch to a combined 4.95 ERA between his third Double-A stint and his first work at the Triple-A level, and news of his Tommy John surgery broke shortly after the 2015 season ended. Though he’s hit some adversity in recent seasons, Biddle won’t turn 25 until next October, so youth remains on his side as he seeks to get back on a professional mound and eventually crack a big league roster.

Pirates Sign David Freese, Designate Jesse Biddle

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The Pirates have signed third baseman David Freese to a one-year deal, per a club announcement. The CAA client will earn $3MM on a straight guarantee without any available incentives, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports on Twitter. Pittsburgh also announced that it has designated southpaw Jesse Biddle for assignment to create roster space.

IJul 20, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels third baseman David Freese (6) runs towards first after hitting a home run against the Boston Red Sox during the fourth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Freese, who’ll turn 33 at the end of April, has settled in as a steady but unspectacular performer at the hot corner. After some strong offensive years earlier in his career with the Cardinals, he’s generally posted slightly above-average results. All told, Freese slashed a sturdy .258/.322/.401 with 24 home runs in 981 plate appearances over his two years with the Angels, who reportedly considered a qualifying offer this winter but ultimately allowed Freese to leave uninhibited. Though his line-drive and hard-contact rates both fell last year, with his walk rate continuing to trickle downward, Freese did still manage to significantly increase his ISO in 2015 as against his prior year’s work.

Much the same holds on the defensive side of the equation, as Freese has generally graded out as roughly average with the glove before and since a one-year downturn (2013, his final year in St. Louis). He is a poor overall baserunner and has had his share of injury troubles, though it’s hard to blame him for missing time recently after being struck by pitches.

It took some time for his market to thaw, but Freese will presumably step right into Pittsburgh’s Opening Day lineup. Though the team has Jung Ho Kang and Josh Harrison under contract as options at second and third, Kang has only just reached the point of straight-line running after suffering a serious leg injury last year. Indications were that Kang may be available within a month or so of the season’s start, but Pittsburgh obviously decided there was enough uncertainty to make another addition.

Even when Kang does make it back, it’s not hard to see the value of bringing in the respected veteran. It’s expected that Freese will eventually form the right-handed side of a first base platoon with John Jaso, Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. He’ll also deepen the overall infield unit. Harrison took a step back in 2015, as did shortstop Jordy Mercer, and the other options on hand (glove-first shortstop Pedro Florimon, prospect Alen Hanson, utilityman Sean Rodriguez) all come with their share of questions and uncertainties.

Nevertheless, the move comes as a bit of a surprise, though MLBTR’s Steve Adams did name the Bucs as one of only six teams that made much sense as a destination for Freese as of mid-February. It is a bit unclear what Pittsburgh will do with Rodriguez and, especially, Michael Morse with Freese now under contract. The former is owed $2.5MM this year after re-signing, while the latter is largely a free-roll after he was swapped for another bad contract (Jose Tabata) last summer. Those two could still conceivably see time in the outfield, but there probably won’t be many plate appearances available there. Adding Freese also seemingly tamps down the likelihood of an early promotion for first base prospect Josh Bell.

Freese isn’t the most exciting player, but his ultimate contract still comes as a shock. Indeed, he’ll earn less than other recent players to sign, including fellow third baseman Juan Uribe, former Pirates first bagger Pedro Alvarez, and center fielder Austin Jackson.

As for Biddle, who was acquired in a DFA limbo swap earlier in the winter, Pittsburgh may be hoping tha the can clear waivers at this stage of the offseason. The one-time top prospect will be returning from Tommy John surgery and has had serious control problems, but remains an interesting project for whatever organization ends up with his rights.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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