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Mike Morin

Twins Activate Rosario, Cron; Buxton Placed On IL; Morin Designated For Assignment

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4:35pm: The Twins announced that Byron Buxton has been placed on the 7-day concussion list and Morin has been designated for assignment. Rosario and Cron have also formally been reinstated from the IL.

4:12pm: Morin’s DFA will likely be one of the moves made to accommodate the returns of both Eddie Rosario and C.J. Cron from the injured list, Hayes tweets.

3:55pm: The Twins will designate right-hander Mike Morin for assignment today, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic (Twitter links). There’s no word on what the corresponding roster move will be, although Hayes adds that a trade doesn’t appear to be pending. The Twins already had a pair of vacancies on the 40-man roster.

Morin, 28, has given the Twins 22 2/3 innings of 3.18 ERA ball, though there’s ample reason to be skeptical of that earned run average. The former Angels/Mariners/Royals righty has only whiffed 11 hitters in that time (4.8 K/9) and has benefited from a deflated .230 average on balls put into play against him. He’s done a nice job keeping the ball on the ground (47.4 percent) and avoiding walks (just two allowed), but Morin’s results have also begun to fade as of late.

In his past 11 outings, Morin has been tagged for 10 runs (seven earned) on 13 hits and two walks in 11 1/3 innings. He’s also hit a batter in that time, and two of the 13 hits he yielded have been home runs. ERA alternatives like FIP (4.49), xFIP (4.86) and SIERA (4.62) all peg Morin as a candidate for further regression, and Statcast also feels that he’s been fortunate to generate the results he’s gotten so far (.319 xwOBA vs. his actual .277 wOBA).

Minnesota will have a week to trade Morin, release him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. He’s out of minor league options, meaning any team that picks him up either via trade or waiver claim would need to carry Morin on the MLB roster.

Twins Select Mike Morin

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The Twins announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Mike Morin and placed left-hander Adalberto Mejia on the 10-day injured list due to a calf strain. Minnesota had an open 40-man roster spot, so an additional corresponding move to accommodate Morin’s selection isn’t required.

It’s an early birthday present for Morin, who’ll turn 28 tomorrow. The former Angels, Royals and Mariners righty signed a minors pact with the Twins in the offseason and has thrown well in the early portion of the season with Triple-A Rochester, notching a 3.00 ERA with a 12-to-3 K/BB ratio in 12 innings of relief.

Morin had a terrific rookie campaign with the Angels back in 2014 when he logged a 2.90 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 0.46 HR/9 and a 43.9 percent ground-ball rate. That strong season has been far and away the best of his career to this point, as Morin has limped to a combined 5.56 ERA in 115 MLB frames since that time. He’s persistently maintained strong K/BB numbers and done a good job keeping the ball in the yard, however, and fielding-independent metrics have continually suggested that his bottom-line results should be better than they are. Morin has been plagued by a slightly elevated BABIP but more notably a 56.4 percent strand rate that is nearly 20 percent south of the league average.

Morin is out of minor league options, so the Twins won’t be able to send him back down unless they first pass him through waivers. He’ll replace Mejia, a former top prospect who has struggled perhaps more than anyone on the Twins’ staff to this point in the season. Through 11 1/3 innings, the lefty has been torched for 11 earned runs on 11 hits and nine walks with 11 strikeouts. Twins relievers, on the whole, rank 21st in the Majors with a 4.78 ERA and 4.62 xFIP (but 13th with a more palatable 4.21 FIP).

Twins To Sign Mike Morin

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The Twins have agreed to a minor-league deal with righty Mike Morin, per Brandon Warne of Zone Coverage (via Twitter). It includes an invitation to participate in MLB camp next spring, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN adds on Twitter.

Morin, 27, has compiled 174 total inning at the game’s highest level over the past four seasons, working to a cumulative 4.66 ERA. His underlying numbers suggest he has been better than the results, however.

In addition to maintaining a solid combination of 8.6 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9, with a strong 12.8% swinging-strike rate, Morin has allowed only 0.78 home runs per nine innings and has a history of drawing soft contact. ERA estimators are rather bullish, crediting Morin with a lifetime 3.32 FIP, 3.89 xFIP, and 3.42 SIERA.

Nevertheless, Morin’s MLB opportunities have dwindled over the past two seasons. He spent the bulk of 2018 working at Triple-A for the Mariners organization. In 53 2/3 frames for Tacoma, he posted a 3.86 ERA with a familiar combination of 8.7 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, and 0.5 HR/9.

Players Electing Free Agency

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Quite a few players will hit the open market this fall, and they’ll do so by way of varying mechanisms. The end of the regular season triggered a recent wave of free agents, consisting of a certain subset of players — namely, those who were outrighted from 40-man rosters during the season and accepted minor-league assignments at that time despite having the right to elect free agency. Players in that situation are entitled instead to hit the open market at season’s end, if they were not added back to the 40-man roster in the meantime.

As conveyed by Matt Eddy of Baseball America, who also covers quite a few other minor moves, these players have now elected free agency:

Athletics: RHP Raul Alcantara, LHP Danny Coulombe

Blue Jays: RHP Mike Hauschild, INF/OF Darnell Sweeney

Braves: LHP Rex Brothers, RHP Miguel Socolovich

Cardinals: LHP Tyler Lyons

Indians: RHP Evan Marshall, RHP Alexi Ogando

Mariners: RHP Christian Bergman, LHP Ross Detwiler, RHP Mike Morin, INF Zach Vincej

Marlins: OF JB Shuck

Mets: RHP Chris Beck, OF Bryce Brentz, RHP Scott Copeland, OF Matt den Dekker, INF Ty Kelly

Nationals: LHP Tommy Milone, OF Moises Sierra, RHP Carlos Torres

Orioles: RHP Jhan Marinez, INF Luis Sardinas

Padres: OF Matt Szczur

Phillies: INF Trevor Plouffe

Pirates: LHP Buddy Boshers, RHP Casey Sadler, RHP A.J. Schugel

Rangers: C Juan Centeno, LHP Anthony Gose, RHP Drew Hutchison, INF Tommy Joseph, RHP Chris Rowley

Rays: INF Brandon Snyder, RHP Ryan Weber

Reds: C Tim Federowicz, RHP Kevin Quackenbush

Tigers: INF Dixon Machado, RHP Jacob Turner

White Sox: RHP Tyler Danish

Mariners Outright Mike Morin

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The Mariners announced today that they have outrighted reliever Mike Morin. That move helped clear the way for two promotions, with first baseman Dan Vogelbach and outfielder John Andreoli joining the active roster.

This is the second time Morin has been bumped from the Seattle 40-man roster this season. The 27-year-old righty has recorded six strikeouts against one walk in his four MLB innings this year but has also allowed three earned runs on six hits.

Morin turned in a strong rookie showing back in 2014 with the Angels. (The Halos organization drafted him and promoted him to the majors while their front office was run by current Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto.) Since then, however, Morin has struggled to find success despite generally sporting promising peripherals. Over his career, Morin carries a 4.66 ERA but a 3.32 FIP, 3.89 xFIP, and 3.42 SIERA.

Mariners Place James Paxton On DL, Select Mike Morin

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The Mariners announced today that they’ve placed lefty James Paxton on the 10-day DL due to lower back inflammation and selected the contract of righty Mike Morin from Triple-A Tacoma. The Mariners also optioned Gordon Beckham and Nick Rumbelow to Triple-A, recalling righties Christian Bergman and Casey Lawrence to fill those roster spots.

Luckily for the M’s, the Paxton injury isn’t serious. GM Jerry Dipoto told Joel Sherman of the New York Post earlier today, even, that the plan is to utilize the All-Star break to get Paxton some extra rest after back discomfort forced him from last night’s game in the first inning (Twitter link). He’s scheduled to start the Mariners’ fourth game of the second half, so it seems this is somewhat of a procedural move to get some additional fresh arms in the ’pen.

Morin, 27, saw two games of action earlier in the season with Seattle before being outrighted off of the 40-man. He has spent the bulk of the season at Triple-A, where he owns a 3.60 ERA over 35 frames with an appealing blend of 9.3 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9. Over 172 career innings in the bigs, Morin carries a 4.60 ERA.

Mariners Outright Mike Morin

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Mariners right-hander Mike Morin has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma, the club’s PR department has announced. Morin had been designated for assignment by Seattle on Thursday.

Morin’s been an above-average reliever throughout the course of his career in terms of FIP (3.35 lifetime mar), but he’s one of those pitchers whose ERA doesn’t line up with the type of contact he induces. Morin owns a 4.60 career ERA despite excellent command of the strike zone and a strikeout rate of nearly a batter per inning. August Fagerstrom of Fangraphs once described him as having baseball’s “silliest change-up” due to the extreme velocity differential between that pitch and his fastball.

Morin’s removal from the roster is somewhat puzzling considering he’s performed strongly between the majors and minors this year (as MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted when the Mariners designated him for assignment). Perhaps the Mariners (along with all 29 other MLB clubs) were still dismayed by the 7.20 ERA he posted across 20 innings last season. Regardless, they’ll retain him within the organization and likely see him contribute again at some point this season.

Mariners Designate Mike Morin

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The Mariners have designated reliever Mike Morin for assignment, per a club announcement. The club also optioned out first baseman Dan Vogelbach while adding righties Nick Rumbelow and Rob Whalen to the active roster.

Morin, 27, had appeared twice this year for the M’s at the MLB level but spent most of his time in the Seattle organization at Triple-A. Over 25 total frames, he allowed nine earned runs and carried a strong 28:6 K/BB ratio.

Over parts of five seasons in the majors, Morin has worked to a 4.60 ERA over 172 innings. Claimed off waivers over the winter, he was removed from the 40-man late in camp and then added back just a few days ago. Given his prior outright, Morin can refuse an assignment to Triple-A if he clears waivers.

Mariners Place Nicasio, Altavilla On Disabled List, Select Morin

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SUNDAY: Altavilla has a Grade 1 flexor mass strain in his right forearm, manager Scott Servais told Greg Johns of MLB.com and other reporters Sunday. He’ll “be down a little while” as a result, Servais added (Twitter link).

FRIDAY: The Mariners announced Friday that they’ve placed right-handers Juan Nicasio and Dan Altavilla on the disabled list, recalled first baseman Dan Vogelbach from Triple-A Tacoma and selected the contract of right-hander Mike Morin. Nicasio is dealing with right knee effusion, while Altavilla’s injury is more troubling: a sprained right ulnar collateral ligament.

It’s another hit to the Seattle bullpen depth, which serves to underscore the importance of their early acquisition of Alex Colome in last month’s swap with the Rays. Nicasio and Altavilla will join David Phelps (Tommy John surgery), Nick Vincent (strained groin) and Erasmo Ramirez (strained Teres major) on the shelf for the time being. Seattle also recently just bit the bullet on an ill-fated two-year deal for left-hander Marc Rzepczynski, cutting the veteran southpaw loose and eating the remainder of this year’s $5.5MM salary in the process.

There’s no indication that Nicasio’s injury is especially serious, though the Mariners neglected to disclose a timeline on either newly injured hurler. An “effusion,” though, refers to swelling and a build-up of fluid around the knee joint. For Altavilla, the perils of any UCL injury are well known, and while the categorization of a sprain is better than news of a full or significant tear, a “sprain,” by definition, would indicate that there’s at least a minor degree of tearing/stretching in that ligament.

Altavilla has given the Mariners 20 2/3 innings of 2.61 ERA ball with a 23-to-15 K/BB ratio, while Nicasio has been mostly solid but had a pair of meltdowns that skew his numbers (two outings of four runs allowed). He’s sporting an ugly 5.34 ERA but a 2.56 FIP and a brilliant 37-to-2 K/BB ratio in 28 2/3 frames this year.

Seattle will turn to the 27-year-old Morin in an attempt to patch the latest bullpen holes. The right-hander debuted with the Angels in 2014 and turned in a brilliant rookie season (2.90 ERA, 8.2 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 43.9 percent grounder rate in 59 innings), but he’s struggled in the Majors ever since. Seattle plucked him off waivers from the Royals back in December and later outrighted him to Tacoma. He’s been quite good there to open the season, logging a 3.24 ERA with 28 punchouts against six walks while allowing just one homer in 25 innings of work. The addition of Morin gives the Mariners a full 40-man roster.

Vogelbach, meanwhile, returns to the Mariners for another look at big league pitching. He’s struggled in limited looks at MLB opponents but has crushed Triple-A pitching at a .304/.445/.643 clip through 146 plate appearances so far in 2018.

Mariners Outright Mike Morin

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The Mariners have outrighted right-hander Mike Morin, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). Evidently, he has already cleared waivers and been removed from the 40-man roster, leaving the organization with two openings.

It does not seem that Seattle has imminent plans to fill those cleared roster spots, Perhaps the club felt this was an opportune time to put Morin through waivers. Regardless, the M’s will now have some additional flexibility to pursue MLB upgrades or interesting projects as teams make roster moves late in camp.

Morin, 26, has a lifetime 4.61 ERA in 170 MLB innings. He has managed a solid combination of 8.5 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9, with a strong 12.9% swinging-strike rate, during his time in the big leagues. The results just weren’t there last year, however, leaving Morin to spend much of the year at Triple-A. Morin also showed reduced fastball velocity when he was in the big leagues in 2017.

The M’s still felt Morin was worth a chance, claiming him from the Royals in December. Clearly, though, the team hasn’t seen enough to think he’ll earn an active roster spot. Morin has been knocked around this spring, coughing up seven earned runs on nine hits over 4 1/3 frames.

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