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Juan Graterol

Diamondbacks Designate Juan Graterol

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The Diamondbacks have designated catcher Juan Graterol for assignment, per a team announcement. His roster spot will go to just-signed backstop Chris Iannetta, whose signing was also announced.

Graterol was just claimed off waivers from the Reds in a move that cost Peter O’Brien his roster spot. The 27-year-old has bounced around quite a bit already this winter.

Last year was Graterol’s first in the majors, though he appeared in just nine games with the Angels. Playing at Triple-A for most of the year, he slashed .300/.340/.370 with just two home runs — but also only 27 strikeouts — in 246 plate appearances.

Though he makes lots of contact, Graterol has rarely been very productive with the bat in hand. But he’s regarded as a solid presence behind the dish. The Venezuelan native has gunned down would-be base stealers in 38% of their attempts and draws average pitch-framing ratings.

Diamondbacks Claim Juan Graterol, Designate Peter O’Brien For Assignment

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The D-backs announced today that they’ve claimed catcher Juan Graterol off waivers from the Reds and designated catcher-turned-outfielder Peter O’Brien for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Graterol, 27, made his MLB debut and logged 15 plate appearances with the Angels this past season. The former Royals farmhand spent the 2015 season in the Yankees organization before inking a minors pact with the Halos last winter. He’s a career .274/.306/.338 hitter in parts of three seasons (95 games) at the Triple-A level and has halted stolen base attempts at a very strong 38 percent clip in the minors. Baseball Prospectus gives him average pitch-framing grades in the minors as well. He’s made his way from the Angels to the Reds to the Diamondbacks on the offseason waiver wire thus far and will give the new Arizona front office a seemingly solid defensive depth option behind the dish.

O’Brien, meanwhile, has drawn his fair share of attention over the years due to his gaudy power numbers in Triple-A. Now 26 years old, he’s compiled a career .270/.315/.530 batting line in Triple-A stints with the D-backs and Yankees — New York sent him to Arizona in the 2014 Martin Prado trade — and hit 35 homers in Triple-A as recently as 2015. However, while O’Brien began his career as a catcher, few scouts gave him much of a chance to stay behind the plate due to defensive concerns. Many scouting reports have suggested that O’Brien lacks any real position on the defensive spectrum, and he’s struggled in his brief taste of the Major Leagues to date (.176/.228/.446 with six homers but 32 strikeouts in 79 plate appearances). His pop could make him alluring to another organization, but questions surrounding his defense may limit the interest.

Reds Claim Juan Graterol, Gabriel Guerrero Off Waivers

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The Reds have claimed catcher Juan Graterol off waivers from the Angels and claimed outfielder Gabriel Guerrero off waivers from the Diamondbacks, the team announced today. In order to clear room on the 40-man roster, the Reds have designated right-hander Keyvius Sampson and catcher Ramon Cabrera for assignment.

The 22-year-old Guerrero is the nephew of former Major League superstar Vladimir Guerrero and long rated as one of the top prospects in the Mariners’ system before being traded to Arizona in last year’s Mark Trumbo/Welington Castillo trade. Guerrero posted strong numbers as recently as 2014 in Class-A Advanced — .307/.347/.467 with 18 homers and 18 steals in 530 plate appearances — but his production has plummeted upon reaching the upper levels of the minors. He hit just .223/.258/.346 between his two organizations’ Double-A affiliates in 2015 and struggled similarly this year, hitting .234/.281/.383 between Double-A and Triple-A.

Graterol, 27, made his Major League debut and tallied 15 PAs with the Halos this past season. The former Royals farmhand spent the 2015 season in the Yankees organization before inking a minors pact with the Halos last offseason. He’s a career .274/.306/.338 hitter in parts of three seasons (95 games) at the Triple-A level and has halted stolen base attempts at a very strong 38 percent clip in the minors. Baseball Prospectus gives him average pitch-framing grades in the minors as well.

Sampson, 25, pitched 39 1/3 innings with the Reds this year across 18 games — two starts, 16 relief appearances — and logged a 4.35 ERA with 9.6 K/9 against 6.2 BB/9. Control has long been an issue for Sampson, who has walked 53 men, hit two batters and also rattled off seven wild pitches in his 91 2/3 big league innings. The former Padres farmhand pitched well in the minors up through Double-A but began to struggle at Triple-A (5.18 ERA in 231 innings) and clearly hasn’t fared much better in the Majors, where he owns a collective 5.60 ERA.

Cabrera, meanwhile, made his big league debut with the Reds in 2015 and played in a career-high 61 games for Cincinnati this season. The 27-year-old received 185 plate appearances due largely to the season-ending injury sustained by Devin Mesoraco and batted .246/.279/.357 with three homers and 10 doubles. He’s a lifetime .274/.327/.343 hitter at the Triple-A level and could end up elsewhere on waivers, though he’s never excelled at throwing out runners (23 percent in the minors) and draws routinely negative framing marks. From that standpoint, it’s not difficult to see why the Reds felt that Graterol was a superior option to function as the third catcher on their 40-man roster, behind Mesoraco and Tucker Barnhart.

Angels Claim Nolan Fontana, Designate Juan Graterol

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The Angels announced today that they’ve claimed infielder Nolan Fontana off waivers from the Astros and designated catcher Juan Graterol for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Fontana, 25, long rated as one of Houston’s top prospects but has seen his stock decline steadily in recent seasons. Baseball America rated him 29th among Astros farmhands last winter, and by midseason, he’d fallen off MLB.com’s top 30 Astros prospects entirely. The former second-round pick batted a combined .203/.282/.273 in 451 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A this year. While the ’Stros once hoped that he could eventually man an up-the-middle infield spot, BA noted last winter that his ceiling now looked to be a utility infielder who draws plenty of walks but has bottom-of-the-scale power. BA did note that Fontana is a reliable defender at second base, even if he lacks the range or arm to handle shortstop on a regular basis. Fontana did hit .241/.369/.357 in a full season at Triple-A in 2015, so he does at least have a history of somewhat better performance at that level.

Graterol, 27, made his Major League debut and tallied 15 PAs with the Halos this past season. The former Royals farmhand spent the 2015 season in the Yankees organization before inking a minors pact with the Halos last offseason. He’s a career .274/.306/.338 hitter in parts of three seasons (95 games) at the Triple-A level.

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