Minor MLB Transactions: 3/27/19
Some minor moves from around the game on the eve of Opening Day (for most of the league)…
- The Cardinals announced this afternoon that lefty Chasen Shreve has cleared waivers following this week’s DFA. He’s been assigned outright to Triple-A Memphis. While Shreve does have enough service time to reject the assignment, electing free agency would mean forfeiting the $900K salary to which he’d agreed earlier this winter. The 28-year-old Shreve came to the Cards as part of the now-lopsided deal that sent Luke Voit to the Yankees last summer. Over the past four seasons, Shreve has posted a solid 3.85 ERA and missed bats (10.3 K/9), but he’s also been far too prone to walks (4.7 BB/9) and home runs (1.8 HR/9) for either the Yankees or Cardinals to deem him a reliable bullpen option. Furthermore, he’s not a candidate for a more specialized role, as left-handed opponents have been even more successful against Shreve (.248/.335/.444) than right-handed opponents have been (.222/.316/.430).
- The Blue Jays reportedly agreed to acquire minor league outfielder Jordan Patterson from the Reds — a move that was prompted by injuries to Dalton Pompey and Jonathan Davis, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet explains. The 27-year-old Patterson received a bit of MLB experience with the Rockies back in 2016 but has spent the bulk of the past three seasons with Colorado’s Triple-A affiliate. The Reds inked him to a minor league pact back in December, but he never stood much of a chance of cracking the roster by the time Spring Training rolled around. Patterson hit .271/.367/.525 in Triple-A last year and owns a lifetime .282/.363/.516 slash in 1517 plate appearances at that level, making him a solid fill-in option to help round out the Jays’ Triple-A roster. Presumably, for a transaction of small magnitude, the Jays are merely sending cash to Cincinnati in return.
Minor MLB Transactions: 12/10/18
Rounding up the latest minor league deals….
- The Mariners have signed catcher Jose Lobaton to a minor league deal, as per the Mariners Minors Twitter feed. Lobaton will earn $1MM if he makes Seattle’s big league roster, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo adds, and the catcher will invited to the team’s Major League spring camp. Lobaton amassed 57 PA over 22 games with the Mets last season, his lowest total in either category since 2011. The 34-year-old veteran will head into camp to compete with David Freitas for the backup job behind newly-acquired Omar Narvaez.
- The White Sox have signed infielder Ryan Goins to a minor league contract, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweets. The deal contains an invitation to Chicago’s big league Spring Training camp, and Goins will earn at least $975K in guaranteed money if he reaches the majors. Goins has never hit much over six years with the Blue Jays and Royals, though he has flashed an excellent shortstop glove in the past and offers depth at short, second base, and third base.
- The Reds have re-signed outfielder/first baseman Jordan Patterson and catcher Juan Graterol to minor league deals, and also inked shortstop Christian Colon to a minors pact, the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale reports (Twitter link). Patterson and Graterol are back with the organization after being non-tendered last week. Colon was the fourth overall pick of the 2010 draft but hasn’t turned that potential into Major League production, with just a .252/.315/.315 slash line over 386 PA with the Royals and Marlins from 2014-17, though he did earn a World Series ring for his postseason role with the 2015 Royals. He spent 2018 in the Braves and Mets organizations at the Triple-A level, and Colon does have a decent career slash line (.289/.358/.397) over 1833 career Triple-A plate appearances.
Reds Non-Tender Juan Graterol, Jordan Patterson and Aristides Aquino
The Cincinnati Reds chose not to tender contracts to Juan Graterol, Jordan Patterson and Aristides Aquino, making them free agents. Per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com, the Reds have interest in re-signing all three to minor league deals (Twitter links).
It’s been quite the couple of weeks for outfielder/first baseman Jordan Patterson, who only recently was acquired off waivers by the Reds. Shortly before that, the Mets had claimed him off waivers from the Rockies. The 26-year-old will now have some control over his own destiny, as there is clear interest in the former fourth round pick. Patterson’s only major league playing time came in 2016 with the Rockies when he managed to knock eight hits in eighteen at bats, but he is, at this point, a relatively proven commodity in the upper minors looking for an opportunity at the next level.
Graterol, 29, is a Venezuelan catcher with 106 career big league at-bats across parts of three seasons with the Angels and Twins. Graterol has done his share of traveling in recent years as well, as he was claimed off waivers five times since November 2016. After the Angels released him last June, he signed with the Twins as a free agent, appearing in three games at the ML level before the Reds selected him off waivers in October. While exhibiting very little in the way of power, Graterol has decent contact skills, hitting a combined .299/.330/.350 last season between the Angels, Twins and Triple A.
Aquino, 24, is a big-armed outfielder with good pop. Despite realizing some of his in-game power potential in Double A this season (.447 SLG), Aquino struggled to make consistent contact (25.2 K%). Still young, he has the potential to carve out a major league role for himself if he can refine his approach, but he will need to improve his pitch recognition in order to harness his raw power and make it as a right fielder in the bigs.
With the non-tendering of center fielder Billy Hamilton, the Reds 40-man roster is now down to 36.
Reds Claim Jordan Patterson
The Reds have claimed outfielder/first baseman Jordan Patterson from the Mets, per a club announcement. He was only recently claimed by the New York organization from the Rockies.
Clearly, the Mets had hoped to stash Patterson off of their 40-man roster. Instead, he’ll hang on to a MLB placement — for the time being, at least. He does not appear to be particularly clean fit on a Reds roster that already has plenty of options at his positions to face right-handed pitching, but it’s still possible he’ll enter camp with a shot at earning a job.
Regardless, it seems reasonable to expect that the Patterson will get a shot at some point in his age-27 season. He has little left to prove at the plate in the upper minors, after all, having slashed .282/.363/.516 over three campaigns at Triple-A — an impressive track record even though he was hitting at altitude.
Mets Claim Jordan Patterson From Rockies
The Mets announced Monday that they’ve claimed outfielder/first baseman Jordan Patterson off waivers from the Rockies. The Mets’ 40-man roster is now at 39 players.
Patterson, 27, hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2016 but has enjoyed plenty of success in Triple-A to this point in his career. In parts of three seasons, the left-handed-hitting Patterson is a .282/.363/.516 hitter with Triple-A Albuquerque, though Mets fans should be plenty familiar with the caveat that the Pacific Coast League is an immensely hitter-friendly environment. Defensively, Patterson has nearly 3200 innings in right field, more than 2000 innings at first base and more than 300 innings in left field.
Rockies Designate Jordan Patterson
The Rockies have designated outfielder/first baseman Jordan Patterson for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot was needed to make way for the club’s addition of several players who would have been eligible for the Rule 5 draft.
Patterson, 26, made it up to the majors for a brief debut in 2016, but evidently wasn’t in the club’s long-term plans. He had spent the past three seasons at the Triple-A level, where has steadily turned in good numbers. The former fourth-round pick carries a cumulative .282/.363/.516 slash in 1,517 plate appearances at the Rockies’ top affiliate.
Rockies Designate Ben Paulsen, Rafael Ynoa For Assignment
The Rockies announced on Tuesday that they’ve designated first baseman Ben Paulsen and infielder Rafael Ynoa for assignment. Their 40-man roster spots will go to infielder Pat Valaika and first baseman/outfielder Jordan Patterson, whose contracts have been selected from Triple-A Albuquerque. The Rox recalled catcher Dustin Garneau and righties Eddie Butler and German Marquez from the minors as well.
Paulsen, 28, entered the 2016 season with an opportunity to emerge as a platoon partner for Mark Reynolds, having slashed .284/.329/.479 with 15 homers in 420 plate appearances between the 2014-15 seasons in Colorado. Paulsen OPSed better than .800 with the Rockies in those two seasons, but he struggled to a .202/.247/.286 in 89 plate appearances at right-handed pitching this year. His work at the Triple-A level was solid but didn’t stand out as much as it did in previous seasons, as he slashed .278/.331/.434 in 78 games at Albuquerque.
Ynoa, meanwhile, tallied just five plate appearances with the Rockies in 2016 and went hitless. He’s appeared in the Majors with the Rockies in each of the past three years, batting .281/.306/.372 over the life of 207 PAs — numbers that are roughly in line with his lifetime .280/.339/.386 slash at the Triple-A level. Neither Ynoa nor Paulsen has received much prospect fanfare over the seasons, though Paulsen did crack Baseball America’s list of Top 30 Rockies prospects prior to the 2011 and 2012 campaigns.
Patterson, meanwhile, rated as Colorado’s No. 20 prospect this winter, per BA, and is currently 18th on MLB.com’s list of top Rockies prospects. The 24-year-old hit .293/.376/.480 with 14 homers in 119 games with Albuquerque this year, and he draws praise from both BA and MLB.com for his plus raw power and strong arm. While both reports feel that he can handle an outfield corner due to his athleticism, arm and average speed, the Rockies already have four left-handed-hitting outfielders on the roster in Gerardo Parra, Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez and David Dahl. As such, Patterson could get a look at first base down the stretch as the Rox attempt to evaluate internal options in advance of the 2017 season.
The 23-year-old Valaika — the younger brother of former big league infielder Chris Valaika — has split the season between Double-A and Triple-A, batting a combined .257/.297/.425 with 14 homers, 41 doubles, four triples and 10 stolen bases. He’s seen time at shortstop, second base and third base in each of the past three minor league campaigns but has spent the bulk of his time at shortstop.