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Justin Grimm

Athletics Sign Justin Grimm To Minor League Contract

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The A’s have signed veteran righty Justin Grimm to a minor league deal, according to Tim Hayes of The Bristol Herald Courier (Twitter link).  Grimm was eligible to sign during the lockout due to his status as a minor league free agent, as his previous minors deal with the Mariners expired at the end of the season.

Grimm posted a 4.37 ERA over 47 1/3 innings with Triple-A Tacoma last season, with a very impressive 33.6% strikeout rate but also a 9.8% walk rate and 11 home runs allowed over that small sample size.  It wasn’t enough for the Mariners to give him a call-up, and thus Grimm has now only seen MLB action in one of the last three seasons.  Grimm’s last big league exposure was a four-game stint with the Brewers in 2020 that saw him struggle to a 17.36 ERA over only 4 2/3 innings.

With some rough numbers in 2017-18, it has been some time since Grimm has been an effective member of a Major League bullpen.  Best known for his work with the Cubs, Grimm posted a 3.36 ERA and 28% strikeout rate over 171 1/3 frames from 2014-16, providing Chicago with a durable and largely effective relief arm.  After the high point of the Cubs’ 2016 World Series championship, however, Grimm began to decline, in large part due to an increase in walks and homers allowed.

There’s no risk for the Athletics in giving Grimm a look in Spring Training to see if he can recapture his old form at age 33, or if Oakland coaches can make a tweak to help the right-hander get back on track.  With the A’s perhaps still figuring out how to best manage payroll cuts without fully tearing things down, it has been a pretty quiet winter on the transactions front for Oakland, but the bullpen is an obvious area of need — Andrew Chafin, Yusmeiro Petit, Jake Diekman, and Sergio Romo are all free agents.  Given the Athletics’ budget crunch, they seem likely to target lower-cost options rather than invest heavily in relief pitching.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/7/21

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Let’s round up some minor moves from around the game…

  • The Mariners signed a trio of players to minor league deals: Justin Grimm, Brooks Pounders, and Caleb Joseph. Grimm surrendered nine earned runs in just four innings with the Brewers last season after spending 2019 in Triple-A. The 32-year-old owns a 5.14 career ERA in 360 2/3 innings since his debut with the Rangers in 2012. This will be his second go-round in Seattle: he made five appearances for the Mariners in 2019. Pounders did not make a big league appearance in 2020 after appearing for the Mets, Rockies, Angels, and Royals in the four seasons prior. Joseph is a depth catcher who spent the past two seasons with the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks after carving out significant playing time with the Orioles from 2014 to 2018.
  • The Brewers signed outfielder Mitch Longo to a minor league contract and assigned him to Double-A Biloxi. Noah Zavolas, meanwhile, was assigned to Triple-A Nashville, per the team. Zavalos posted a 2.98 ERA over 22 starts for the Brewers High-A affiliate in 2019. Longo, 26, was a 14th-round draft choice by Cleveland in 2016. He hit .248/.320/.370 across 365 plate appearances in Double-A back in 2019.
  • The Astros signed Brandon Lawson to a minor league deal and assigned him to Double-A, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). The 26-year-old right-hander was solid in 2019 with a 3.70 ERA in 129 innings for the Giants’ Double-A affiliate. He was drafted by the Rays in the 12th round of the 2016 draft when current Astros GM James Click was working in their front office.

Several Former Big Leaguers Sign With Mexican League’s Guadalajara Mariachis

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6:50pm: Bonifacio’s representatives at CAA tell MLBTR that despite the announcement from Guadalajara, Bonifacio has not signed with the club and remains a free agent.

9:14am: Outfielder Jorge Bonifacio, infielder Dawel Lugo and right-hander Justin Grimm are among the former Major Leaguers on the spring roster for the Mexican League’s Guadalajara Mariachis, the team announced this week (Twitter link). Infielders Luis Sardinas and Deven Marrero are on the roster as well, as are pitchers Jason Gurka and Daniel Corcino. All have big league experience, though only Bonifacio, Grimm and Lugo were in the big leagues last season. Five-time MLB All-Star Adrian Gonzalez is also on the roster for the Mariachis, an expansion club in 2021, as was initially reported late last month.

Bonifacio, now 27, looked like a potential option for the Royals in right field back in 2017 when he slugged 17 homers in 113 games as a 24-year-old rookie. He batted .255/.320/.432 that season and was in line for a lengthier audition in 2018 before being hit with an 80-game PED suspension during Spring Training that year. Bonifacio struggled through 270 plate appearances upon returning and was out of the Royals organization a year later. He played in 30 games with the Tigers last season but managed just a .221/.277/.326 slash in 94 trips to the plate.

Grimm was an oft-used and generally successful member of the Cubs’ bullpen from 2014-16, working to a collective 3.36 ERA with a hearty 28 percent strikeout rate against a 10.5 percent walk rate through 171 1/3 innings in that time. He struggled considerably in 2017, however (5.53 ERA in 55 1/3 frames), and has yet to regain his form at the game’s top level. Now 32 years old, Grimm is certainly young enough to make another big league run if he can right the ship pitching with Guadalajara.

Lugo, meanwhile, was the headliner of the prospect package the D-backs sent to the Tigers in exchange for J.D. Martinez back in 2017. The now-26-year-old infielder appeared in the big leagues each season from 2018-20 but didn’t provide much reason for optimism, slashing just .236/.270/.358 in 400 plate appearances.

The 30-year-old Marrero was a first-round pick by the Red Sox in 2012, and while he’s a strong defender he’s never hit much in 163 big league games. Sardinas, 27, was a top prospect back in 2013-14 but hit .224/.274/.292 in 500 big league plate appearances from 2014-18. Gurka and Corcino both briefly reached the Majors between 2014-18, though they have only 40 2/3 total innings combined between them. Corcino does have a 3.97 ERA in his limited time, but he walked nearly as many hitters (13) as he struck out (16) in 22 2/3 innings.

Brewers Release Justin Grimm, Select Phil Bickford

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The Brewers have released reliever Justin Grimm, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. The club also announced that it has selected right-hander Phil Bickford, placed infielder Jedd Gyorko on the bereavement list, optioned righty Trey Supak and recalled outfielder Tyrone Taylor.

Milwaukee was the fifth major league team for Grimm, who has logged a 5.14 ERA/4.20 FIP with 9.16 K/9 and 3.94 BB/9 across a lifetime 360 2/3 innings. He only racked up 4 2/3 frames as a member of the Brewers, with whom he surrendered nine earned runs on nine hits and four walks (six strikeouts). The Brewers designated Grimm for assignment Aug. 28.

Bickford, 25, entered the pros as the 18th overall pick of the Giants in 2018 and eventually became a top 50 prospect, though he hasn’t pitched above the Single-A level yet. But Bickford has been rather effective in the minors, including when he posted a 2.48 ERA/2.03 FIP with 14.6 K/9 and 3.03 BB/9 over 32 2/3 frames last season.

Brewers Designate Justin Grimm; Manny Pina To Undergo Knee Surgery

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5:32pm: Not so fast on Pina, who says he’ll require at least four weeks to recover from surgery and is hoping he’ll return if the Brewers make the playoffs (via Haudricourt).

4:21pm: Pina will undergo season-ending surgery, manager Craig Counsell told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters.

3:31pm: The Brewers announced that they’ve designated right-hander Justin Grimm for assignment and placed catcher Manny Pina on the 10-day injured list due to a torn meniscus in his right knee. Pina sustained the injury on a pickoff play last night, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. Catcher Jacob Nottingham has been recalled from the alternate training site to replace Pina on the active roster.

Grimm, 32, has appeared in four games for the Brewers this year but surrendered multiple runs in three of those appearances. He’s been tagged for nine runs on nine hits (four homers) and four walks with six punchouts in 4 2/3 frames. Although he was once a quality relief option with the division-rival Cubs — 3.36 ERA and 3.20 FIP in 171 innings from 2014-16 — Grimm has seen his results decline precipitously since that stretch. He’s logged 77 1/3 innings in the Majors over the past four seasons and struggled to an alarming 7.33 ERA.

As for Pina, it’s a tough blow for the Brewers and the 33-year-old backstop alike. He’s out to a .231/.333/.410 slash to begin the season — solid production for any catcher, let alone a backup — but will now likely miss the remainder of the year. Even speedy recoveries from a meniscus tear can take a month, and for a catcher, any knee issue carries additional difficulty. Pina has been the Brewers’ backup catcher dating back to 2017, providing solid glovework and respectable OBP skills and pop for a reserve catcher. Since 2017, he’s a .257/.317/.411 hitter.

Nottingham has gotten brief looks in each of the past two seasons — nine games apiece — and will now step in as the primary backup to Omar Narvaez. He’s a .231/.355/.385 hitter in 31 MLB plate appearances and a .250/.326/.421 hitter in 528 PAs at the Triple-A level.

Brewers Announce Series Of Roster Moves

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The Brewers made a host of moves Thursday, perhaps most notably optioning lefty Eric Lauer to their alternate training site. Milwaukee also placed righty Justin Grimm on the 10-day injured list due to a laceration on his right index finger. In a pair of corresponding moves, lefty Angel Perdomo was recalled from the alternate site and righty Drew Rasmussen’s contract was selected to the MLB roster. In order to open space on the 40-man roster for Rasmussen, the Brewers transferred right-hander Ray Black from the 10-day IL to the 45-day IL.

Lauer, 25, was acquired along with Luis Urias in the trade that sent Zach Davies and Trent Grisham to the Padres back in November. He was a constant presence in the Padres’ rotation from 2018-19, but he’s gotten out to a tough start in his first few appearances as a Brewer. Lauer has made a pair of starts and one relief appearance thus far but yielded 13 runs in 9 1/3 frames. Lauer’s 2 2/3-inning relief appearance could hardly have gone better — he whiffed six hitters in a scoreless effort — but he’s been hit hard by the Reds and Twins in two subsequent starts.

The 26-year-old Perdomo has a strong minor league track record but ran into a roadblock in last year’s supercharged offensive atmosphere in Triple-A (5.17 ERA in 54 frames). Despite the bloated ERA, though, Perdomo still punched out 86 hitters in those 54 innings of work. He’ll give skipper Craig Counsell a fourth lefty out of the ’pen, joining Josh Hader, Brent Suter and Alex Claudio. His first appearance in a game will mark his Major League debut.

Rasmussen is also slated to make his first MLB showing. The 25-year-old averaged 11.6 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 while working to a 3.15 ERA through 74 1/3 innings across three minor league levels last year. That marked the lone season of professional experience for the 2018 sixth-rounder, who’ll now jump directly from Double-A to the big leagues after impressing the club both in Summer Camp and at the alternate training site.

As for Black, it seems as though he’s now in danger of another season-ending injury. The flamethrowing righty brings triple-digit heat and outrageous minor league strikeout numbers, but he’s simply been unable to stay healthy enough to establish himself in the Majors. Black went on the injured list due to a rotator cuff strain to begin the season, and today’s move to the 45-day IL suggests that the club doesn’t expect him back anytime soon.

Justin Grimm, Logan Morrison To Make Brewers’ Opening Day Roster

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6:01PM: Right-hander Justin Grimm has also been told he will make Milwaukee’s roster, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets.  Grimm signed a minors contract last December, and will thus also require a 40-man roster spot before being officially selected.

Grimm posted solid numbers over 180 1/3 innings out of the Cubs bullpen from 2013-16, including a 4.10 ERA over 52 2/3 frames for Chicago’s 2016 World Series championship club.  Since that memorable year, however, Grimm has struggled, and he didn’t pitch in the big leagues at all in 2019.

11:00AM: The Brewers plan to add Logan Morrison to the Opening Day roster, reports Robert Murray (Twitter link). He’ll need to be added to the 40-man roster. Morrison signed a minor-league deal with the club in January.

The 32-year-old has impressed both in the spring and into summer training camp since arriving as a non-roster invitee. He did hit 3 home runs in 33 Spring Training plate appearances, though it would be rash to draw conclusions from such a small showing. Of course, Craig Counsell and the Brewers have seen more good signs to warrant including him as part of their Opening Day 30.

With Justin Smoak in the fold and slotted in as the regular first baseman, Morrison doesn’t figure into the Brewers’ everyday starting lineup, though he’ll be the first off the bench if Smoak needs a day off. Ryan Braun is in line to get the lion’s share of at-bats at DH, but with Braun’s status for Opening Day questionable due to soreness, Morrison could see an expanded role early in the season.

The last two seasons have been unequivocally disappointing for Morrison, who’s not far removed from a 38-homer showing with the Rays in 2017. Since then, he’s bounced between a few teams, making stops with the Twins, Yankees, and Phillies, but he hasn’t caught on anywhere. Last year, he appeared in just 29 games for the Phils and posted a dismal .663 OPS. He posted solid numbers at the Triple-A level, hitting .308/.369/.640, but the Major League production has not been there. Of course, the Brewers will look to unlock a version of Morrison closer to his 2017 self, and if that happens, he could be a real bargain-bin find for the Brew Crew.

Brewers Sign Justin Grimm

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The Brewers have signed right-hander Justin Grimm to a minor league contract, as per the club’s Twitter account.  Grimm’s deal contains an invitation to the Brewers’ big league Spring Training camp.

Grimm bounced between the Indians, Dodgers, and Reds last season without appearing in the majors for any of the three teams, breaking a string of seven consecutive seasons of MLB action for the 31-year-old.  Grimm pitched in 21 games (17 1/3 innings) for the Royals and Mariners in 2018, posting an ungainly 10.38 ERA while issuing 14 walks against only 11 strikeouts.

Best known for his days in the Cubs bullpen, Grimm had a 3.82 ERA over 235 2/3 innings for Chicago from 2013-17, including a 1.99 ERA in 2015.  His performance tailed off in 2017, however, and between his 2018 struggles and even a lack of success at the Triple-A level in 2019, Grimm will need a big spring to win himself a job on Milwaukee’s Opening Day roster.

Reds Acquire Justin Grimm

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The Reds have acquired right-handed reliever Justin Grimm from the Dodgers, according to Doug Gray of RedsMinorLeagues.com. The Dodgers received cash considerations in return, per Andersen Pickard of SB Nation.

Grimm never pitched in the majors for the Dodgers, who signed him to a minor league contract in late March. To this point, the 30-year-old has spent the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City and pitched to a bloated 5.66 ERA despite 12.2 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 over 41 1/3 innings.

At his best, Grimm was a solid piece of the Cubs’ bullpen from 2013-16, during which he posted a 3.29 ERA/3.17 FIP with 10.48 K/9, 3.94 BB/9 and a 45.2 percent groundball rate in 180 1/3 innings. That came after Grimm struggled in 2012 with the Rangers, though, and he fell off in 2017 with the Cubs before enduring a rough 2018 divided between the Royals and Mariners. Adding up all of Grimm’s major league work, he has notched a 4.98 ERA/4.07 FIP with 9.13 K/9, 3.89 BB/9 and a grounder percentage of 43.8 in 356 frames.

Dodgers Sign Justin Grimm To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers have signed right-hander Justin Grimm to a minor league contract, tweets J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. The signing comes after Grimm decided to opt out of his previous deal with the Indians.

Grimm, 30, will join the Dodgers hoping to return to his Cubs form after a dreadful 2018 season. Between the Royals and Mariners, Grimm pitched to the tune of a 10.38 ERA last season, after which he was only able to land a minor league contract with the Indians this winter. After having failed to break camp with Cleveland, though, Grimm opted out of that deal.

For the Dodgers, Grimm represents a buy-low option that could provide valuable payoff if the veteran is able to return to the 2015 version of himself. His best season, Grimm contributed a 1.99 ERA to a contending team, posting a robust 12.1 K/9 in 49 2/3 innings of work with the Cubs. The Dodgers will look for the right-hander to bounce back with a change of scenery.

It remains unclear whether Grimm will crack the Dodgers Opening Day roster. The team boasts a deep bullpen that is lush with arguably more reliable options, though the presence of Grimm can’t hurt the team, should it find a need for him during the season. Curiously, Hoornstra adds in a tweet that Grimm will be in the mix to open the season as the club’s long reliever. Since joining the Cubs, though, Grimm has not been known as a multi-inning reliever, and he has not started a game since 2013.

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