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Minor MLB Transactions: 8/25/20

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Checking in on the latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Phillies announced that they’ve outrighted reliever Deolis Guerra. The 31-year-old righty had been in limbo since the Phillies designated him for assignment last Saturday. Guerra threw 7 1/3 innings and allowed nine runs (seven earned) on 10 hits, two walks and eight strikeouts from Philly’s bullpen this season before the club booted him from its roster. In all, Guerra has combined for 103 major league frames with a few teams and put up a 4.81 ERA/4.78 FIP with 7.25 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9.

Earlier:

  • The Giants have added first baseman/outfielder Chris Shaw to their 60-man player pool, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area relays. Shaw was a 2015 first-round pick (No. 31) who spent the subsequent few seasons as one of the Giants’ top prospects, but the 26-year-old hasn’t made a mark in the big leagues yet. Across 82 plate appearances at the game’s highest level, Shaw has batted .153/.244/.222 with one home run. But Shaw did enjoy a productive 2019 between Double-A and Triple-A, where he combined for a .294/.360/.559 line and 28 homers in 492 trips to the plate.
  • The Marlins have outrighted catcher Ryan Lavarnway to their alternate site, per a team announcement. Lavarnway got off to a 4-for-11 start at the plate this year, but the Marlins designated him for assignment last week to make room for the return of starting backstop Jorge Alfaro from the injured list. The 33-year-old Lavarnway has now seen regular-season action with seven teams since his career began in 2011.
  • The Brewers announced that left-hander Aaron Ashby is now part of their player pool. Ashby, a 2018 fourth-rounder, posted a 3.50 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 126 innings between Single-A and High-A last season. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranks Ashby as the fifth-best prospect in Milwaukee’s system, writing that the 22-year-old has “nasty” stuff that could work out of the team’s rotation or bullpen down the line.
  • The Rays have outrighted southpaw Sean Gilmartin, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. This is the second time this year the Rays have outrighted Gilmartin, who will head back to their alternate site. He has thrown 4 1/3 innings of four-earned run ball this season with seven hits and four walks (five strikeouts).

Red Sox Notes: Xander, Bloom, Barnes, Holt

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A clause in Xander Bogaerts’ six-year, $120MM contract extension with the Red Sox will allow the shortstop to gain full no-trade protection once he reaches seven full years of service time.  With the 2020 season’s prorated service time calendar in mind, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal recently observed that Bogaerts will hit that seven-year threshold on September 6, leaving Rosenthal wondering whether the Sox could accelerate their rebuild by offering Bogaerts prior to the August 31 trade deadline.

Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom didn’t completely dismiss the concept of a Bogaerts trade during a recent appearance on WEEI’s Greg Hill Show (hat tip to WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford), though that was because, as Bloom noted, “philosophically, I would never want to come out and just unequivocally say somebody is untouchable.”  Even if Bogaerts isn’t officially “untouchable,” Bloom stressed that “Xander is a core player for us….I don’t think we’re doing our job if we’re not listening, but it doesn’t mean that it’s something we’re trying to do by any stretch.”

In regards to Bogaerts’ impending acquisition of no-trade rights, Bloom said “I don’t think something like that would change our approach here….I know that news has been out there but it’s not something that is at front of mind for us in terms of how we’re approaching the deadline.”

More from Fenway Park…

  • Matt Barnes could be a much likelier trade candidate for the Sox, as the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reports that Barnes was a popular target for rival teams both at last year’s deadline and in the offseason.  The Red Sox weren’t ready to move Barnes in July 2019 but could be more open to the concept now; Boston has already dealt two relievers and seem to be going into at least a mini-rebuild or reload in advance of the 2021 campaign.  Barnes might now get some save chances with Brandon Workman gone, both because Barnes is the logical next man up as closer and perhaps due to the team’s desire to showcase Barnes prior to the deadline.
  • After the Brewers designated Brock Holt for assignment earlier today, speculation immediately arose among Boston fans that the longtime fan favorite could be a fit to return to the Sox roster.  Speier threw some cold water on that speculation, however, noting that adding a veteran like Holt would run counter to the the team’s desire to get a look at younger players who could be longer-term pieces.

Brewers Designate Brock Holt For Assignment

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The Milwaukee Brewers designated Brock Holt for assignment and selected Jace Peterson from their alternate site, the team announced.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise, given that Holt signed this past offseason and the Brewers have a club option for a second year. That said, the long-time Red Sox utility man had gotten off to a horrendous start. Through 36 plate appearances, Holt was hitting just .100/.222/.100 with 9 strikeouts and without an extra-base hit. The career .269/.338/.370 hitter obviously can do better, but in a shortened season, the Brewers clearly decide they did not have time to wait for a turnaround.

Holt signed for a $3.25MM guarantee after spending the past seven seasons with the Red Sox. The expectation was that Holt would fill in around the infield, but the Brewers aren’t short on other options – Peterson included – and Holt simply wasn’t hitting.

Peterson, 30, stands to replace Holt both on the roster and in his role. Capable of playing just about anywhere on the diamond, Peterson has bounced around, but appeared in the majors every season since 2014. The Brewers will be his fifth team, after the Padres, Braves, Orioles, and Yankees.

60-Man Player Pool Additions: D-backs, Rangers, Brewers

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The latest 60-man player pool moves from around the league, all via team announcements…

  • Outfielder Kristian Robinson is now in the Diamondbacks’ pool (not the one at Chase Field just yet). The club signed the Bahamian for a $2.5MM bonus in 2017, and he’s now the Diamondbacks’ No. 1-ranked prospect at MLB.com, which also ranks him 47th overall in the sport. MLB.com calls the 19-year-old “a physical specimen” who could develop into a “revered” slugger in the majors. Robinson divided last year between low-A and Single-A, slashing .282/.368/.514 with 14 home runs in 291 plate appearances.
  • The Rangers have added second baseman Justin Foscue, their first-round pick this year, to their pool. The 21-year-old Foscue joined the Rangers as the 14th overall choice after an outstanding run at Mississippi State. Texas locked him up for a below-slot bonus ($3.25MM) in late June.
  • Catcher Payton Henry is now at the alternate training site of the Brewers, who used a sixth-round pick on him in 2016. The 23-year-old Henry, who hit .242/.315/.395 with 14 home runs in 482 plate appearances at Single-A last season, possesses “considerable raw power” and has made enough progress behind the plate to stick as a catcher, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs writes.

IL Placements: P. Baez, Knebel, Swanson, Wieters

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There were several 10-day injured list placements around the majors Thursday afternoon. Here’s a rundown…

  • The Dodgers placed reliever Pedro Baez on the IL with a right groin strain and recalled righty Josh Sborz. Baez was in the midst of yet another quality season before the wheels came off in his three most recent appearances, in which he allowed a combined four earned runs on three hits (including two homers) in 2 2/3 innings. In all, he has pitched to a 3.97 ERA/5.35 FIP with 6.35 K/9 and 3.97 BB/9 over 11 1/3 frames.
  • Brewers reliever Corey Knebel went down with a strained left hamstring. The team recalled infielder/outfielder Mark Mathias to take Knebel’s roster spot. 2020 has been a rough go for Knebel, a former star closer who has slumped in his first action since undergoing Tommy John surgery in March 2019. The 28-year-old, who has allowed at least one earned run in five of nine appearances, owns a 9.45 ERA with 9.45 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 across 6 2/3 innings.
  • The Mariners sent righty Erik Swanson to the shelf with an ominous-sounding injury – a forearm strain. Despite averaging almost 96 mph on his fastball and totaling seven strikeouts against one walk, Swanson has allowed nine earned runs on seven hits and three HRs in 5 1/3 innings.
  • The Cardinals put catcher Matt Wieters on the IL when they activated starting backstop Yadier Molina. Wieters is dealing with a left toe contusion. Andrew Knizner will back up Molina in place of Wieters, who has gone without a hit in 13 plate appearances on the year.

Pitching Notes: Morton, Farmer, Burnes, Matz, Smith

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Some pitching notes from around baseball:

  • Rays’ right-hander Charlie Morton came out of a twenty-pitch bullpen session feeling well, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He’s seemingly on track to return next weekend, Topkin adds. The 36-year-old was placed on the 10-day injured list earlier this week with shoulder inflammation, which could partially explain Morton’s two mile per hour drop in fastball velocity from 2019 to 2020.
  • Like Morton, Tigers’ right-hander Buck Farmer looks on track to return from an IL stint in short order. Manager Ron Gardenhire confirmed to reporters (including Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group) that the important set-up man could return from a groin injury by the middle of next week. Farmer’s swing-and-miss rate is down a bit from his strong 2019 effort, but he’s nevertheless held opponents to two runs over his first 6.2 relief innings this year.
  • Corbin Burnes will get the start for the Brewers on Tuesday, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Jounral Sentinel. He’ll take the place of Eric Lauer, who was optioned this week amidst a rough start to the season. Working primarily in a multi-inning relief capacity, the hard-throwing Burnes has racked up 24 strikeouts in 16 innings this season, although he’s also issued an alarming 11 walks.
  • Mets’ manager Luis Rojas was noncommital when asked if Steven Matz would remain in the team’s rotation, notes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (Twitter link). The southpaw allowed six runs in 4.1 innings in last night’s loss to the Phillies, continuing a disastrous start to his 2020 season. He’s coughed up 23 earned runs in as many innings, thanks almost entirely to an untenable nine home runs. On the other hand, Matz’s velocity has held in its customary 94-95 MPH range, and he’s run a solid 23:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Of course, New York is rather thin on potential starting pitching replacements if they elect to remove Matz from the rotation.
  • As expected, the A’s have placed reliever Burch Smith on the 10-day injured list, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Smith was diagnosed with a forearm strain yesterday. Fellow right-hander James Kaprielian has been recalled to replace him on the active roster. Smith has tossed twelve very strong relief innings for Oakland this season. Kaprielian, meanwhile, will get another chance to make his MLB debut. The former first-rounder got his first MLB call August 4, but he was optioned down two days later without having gotten into a game.

Logan Morrison Elects Free Agency

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The Brewers announced Friday that first baseman Logan Morrison cleared waivers, rejected an outright assignment and elected free agency. Milwaukee designated Morrison for assignment Aug. 10.

Morrison was an offseason minor league signing for the Brewers, who took a low-risk chance on him after a pair of rough, abbreviated seasons divided between the Twins and Phillies. The 32-year-old didn’t give the Brewers the results they were looking for this season, as he walked to the plate 28 times and only mustered a line of .120/.214/.280 (35 wRC+) with one home run.

While Morrison isn’t that far removed from a terrific 2017 Rays season in which he slashed .246/.353/.516 (131 wRC+) with 38 homers in 601 plate appearances, the 32-year-old has typically been an unspectacular contributor relative to his position. Since debuting with the Marlins in 2010, Morrison has batted .238/.323/.425 (105 wRC+) with 140 homers in 3,779 trips to the plate. That’s certainly a much better career than most MLB players could realistically hope for, but based on his recent output, it seems unlikely Morrison will reemerge as an impact player in the bigs if another organization gives him a chance.

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.

Brewers Reinstate Luis Urias, Designate Logan Morrison

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The Brewers have reinstated infielder Luis Urias from the injured list. He had been sidelined due to a COVID-19 diagnosis.

To open roster space, the Milwaukee organization has designated veteran first baseman Logan Morrison for assignment. He could conceivably remain with the team if he clears waivers and the club wants to keep him in the 60-man player pool.

Urias came to the Brew Crew along with Eric Lauer in the swap that sent Trent Grisham and Zach Davies to the Padres. The Friars have received strong initial production on their side of the deal, though it’s obviously far too soon to declare a winner.

Through about a half-season of total MLB play, Urias has struggled to a .221/.318/.331 batting line with six home runs. But the former top-100 prospect has ripped up Triple-A pitching for a cumulative .305/.403/.511 output over 887 plate appearances.

Morrison, soon to turn 33, has seen his MLB opportunities wane in recent seasons. He struggled in 28 plate appearances early this season in Milwaukee. In his eleven major league campaigns, LoMo has launched 140 long balls and produced a .238/.323/.425 slash.

60-Man Pool Additions: Orioles, Brewers

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Here are the latest additions to 60-man player pools from around the majors:

  • Joining the Orioles’ 60-man player pool are righty Kyle Bradish, outfielder Ryan McKenna, and southpaw Bruce Zimmermann. Bradish, a fourth-round pick of the 2018 draft, had a solid year at the High-A level in 2019 and came to the Baltimore organization in the Dylan Bundy swap. The latter two will each be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this fall if they’re not added to the 40-man roster beforehand. McKenna had a tough season last year at Double-A, where slashed just .232/.321/.365 in 567 plate appearances. The 25-year-old Zimmermann topped out at Triple-A in 2019, scuffling in seven starts. But he earned his way there with 101 1/3 impressive frames at Bowie, over which he carried a 2.58 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.
  • The Brewers have brought outfielder Hedbert Perez and righty Justin Topa into their alternate training site, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports on Twitter. It’s a rather interesting duo. The former only just turned 17 years of age and is obviously still a long ways away from the majors. The organization obviously sees quite a lot of potential. Topa is already 29 but sits in the upper nineties with his fastball, so this’ll be an opportunity for the Milwaukee organization to see if he could ultimately be an option at the MLB level. Last year, Topa worked to a cumulative 3.38 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over forty frames split between the High-A and Double-A levels.
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