Orioles Claim Brooks Kriske From Yankees
The Orioles announced they’ve claimed reliever Brooks Kriske off waivers from the Yankees and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk. Righty Jorge López was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list to open space on the 40-man roster.
Kriske hasn’t yet found any big league success. He’s been up-and-down with New York over the past two seasons and combined for 11 1/3 innings of twenty-run ball. The righty has punched out a fine fifteen batters in that time, but he’s also issued thirteen walks and been tagged for six home runs.
As one would expect, Kriske has been much better in the minor leagues. He owns a 2.59 ERA in 48 2/3 frames in Double-A, and he’s been almost as good this season with the Yankees’ top affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Through 28 1/3 Triple-A innings, the 27-year-old has posted a 3.81 ERA with a massive 36.6% strikeout rate and 16.8% swinging strike percentage. Kriske has issued a few too many walks in the minors as well, but he’s shown more promise against high-level hitters than his major league resume might indicate.
Kriske still has one additional minor league option year remaining beyond this season. Assuming he sticks on the 40-man roster, he can be shuttled between Baltimore and Norfolk through the end of 2022. The Orioles have had arguably the league’s worst bullpen, so they’re in search of any arms who might be able to establish themselves as reliable members of the pitching staff next year. It’s no surprise the front office would take a flier on Kriske in hopes that he can translate some of his minor league success into the majors at some point.
López’s IL transfer is merely a procedural move. He was already expected to be out for the season after spraining his right ankle last week. The 28-year-old posted a 6.07 ERA across 121 2/3 innings this year.
Yankees Designate Brooks Kriske, Re-Sign Sal Romano
The Yankees announced Tuesday that they’ve re-signed Sal Romano to a Major League contract and designated right-hander Brooks Kriske for assignment to open space on the roster. Romano elected free agency over an outright assignment just yesterday but will almost immediately return to the MLB roster.
Kriske has been an up-and-down reliever for New York over the past couple seasons. This year alone, the Yankees have optioned him on seven separate occasions, recalling him six times when the need for a rested bullpen arm presented itself. Amidst the back-and-forth, Kriske has made eight appearances after pitching in his first four big league games last year. He’s yet to find any success against major league hitters, combining for 11 1/3 innings of 20-run ball to this point. Kriske has struck out fifteen batters, but he’s also issued eleven walks and served up six home runs in his rather limited time.
That said, the 27-year-old has a generally strong body of work in the minors. The USC product posted dominant numbers up through Double-A and has performed fairly well in his first taste of Triple-A this year. Over 28 1/3 innings with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Kriske has a 3.81 ERA with a massive 36.6% strikeout percentage, although throwing strikes has also been an issue at the minors’ top level. He’s doled out free passes to 12.5% of batters faced in the minors this season, and also issued walks at a similar clip in Double-A in 2019.
The Yankees will pace Kriske on waivers over the next few days, where another team could take a no-risk look to see if he can yet carry over that strong swing-and-miss stuff against big league hitters. His fastball has averaged north of 95 MPH in his MLB action, with a mid-80s split his featured secondary offering. Kriske still has one minor league option year remaining after this season, so any claiming team could continue to shuttle him between the majors and Triple-A as the Yankees recently have through the end of next season — so long as they keep him on the 40-man roster.
It has been an eventful past couple weeks for Romano. The 27-year-old signed a minor-league deal with the Yankees in mid-August (his second such arrangement of the season), then was selected to the big league roster but designated for assignment in relatively rapid succession. After clearing waivers, he very briefly hit free agency but will now step right back onto the Yankees’ active roster.
Between the Reds, Yankees and Brewers, Romano has worked 24 innings of relief at the big league level this season. He’s posted subpar numbers, but he has shown well at Triple-A and evidently continues to intrigue the New York front office. Romano is out of options, so the Yankees either have to keep him on the active roster moving forward or again risk losing him on waivers.
Yankees Move Gleyber Torres To Second Base
The Yankees will move Gleyber Torres from shortstop to second base, manager Aaron Boone announced to reporters Monday (Twitter links via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). The move is designed “to take some pressure off” Torres. Gio Urshela has the day off Monday but will get reps at shortstop down the stretch, beginning tomorrow, with DJ LeMahieu playing third base. Tyler Wade is at short today, with Torres at second.
The Torres decision comes a day after he made his 18th error of the season and his fourth in the past week at shortstop. Defensive metrics are down on Torres’ work as well. Defensive Runs Saved has him at minus-12 on the season, while Statcast’s Outs Above Average pegs him at minus-8.
There’s been talk of moving Torres off shortstop for some time now, but that chatter has picked up considerably since the beginning of the 2020 campaign. Torres made nine errors in just 320 innings at shortstop last season with poor defensive ratings as well. However, the Yankees stuck with him at the position and instead focused their offseason efforts on retaining LeMahieu and finding affordable arms to round out the pitching staff without exceeding the luxury tax.
Torres’ defensive struggles this season had already fueled speculation that the Yankees will be players in the offseason market for shortstop help. Today’s announcement from Boone would seem to cement that likelihood, as the Yankees don’t have an immediate heir-apparent who is knocking down the door to the big leagues. Anthony Volpe has broken out with an enormous season in the minors, but he’s still just 20 years old and has yet to reach Double-A. He could be an option by 2023 or 2024, assuming good health and continued production.
Urshela has limited experience at shortstop and is regarded as a solid defender at third base, but he’s not likely to step up as a long-term option there. He’ll turn 30 next month, making him older than a number of the free-agent shortstops set to hit the market this winter, and his offense has taken a step back in 2021 as well.
Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Carlos Correa, Trevor Story and Javier Baez are all slated to reach free agency this winter, and it’s certainly feasible that some names will pop up on the trade market as well. The Yankees have about $130MM committed to next year’s payroll, per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez, and an absolutely enormous arbitration class — headlined by Aaron Judge. Each of Gary Sanchez, Jameson Taillon, Joey Gallo, Chad Green, Urshela, Jordan Montgomery, Wandy Peralta, Luke Voit, Torres, Clint Frazier, Domingo German, Miguel Andujar, Clay Holmes, Jonathan Loaisiga, Lucas Luetge and Wade will be arb-eligible as well.
There will be some non-tenders and trades of players in that group, inevitably, which will lower the cost of that sizable class. The Yankees also managed to duck under the luxury tax in 2021, so they won’t be facing any penalties in 2022 — although with the CBA expiring, we can’t know precisely what the next iteration of the competitive balance tax will even look like. Regardless, it’s hard to envision a scenario where they slide Torres back to shortstop in 2022. It seems quite likely the Yankees will factor prominently into the offseason shortstop market, exploring high-end free agent options, short-term stopgaps for Volpe and creative alternatives on the trade market.
For the time being, the Yanks will hope that the new defensive alignment helps to turn the tides after a dismal 2-8 showing in their past 10 games. They’re currently one game back of the Red Sox and the scorching-hot Blue Jays, who are in a tie in the Wild Card standings. Both the Mariners and the A’s are just two games behind the Yankees.
Sal Romano Elects Free Agency
Sal Romano has rejected an outright assignment in favor of free agency, the Yankees announced. New York designated the right-hander for assignment last week and passed him through outright waivers not long after.
The move concludes Romano’s second stint in the Yankees’ organization. He signed a minor league deal with New York in May and was selected to the big league club a couple months later. The Yankees placed on waivers after just two games, where he was claimed by the Brewers. His stint in Milwaukee lasted only a week, though, and he elected free agency after being designated for assignment to re-sign with the Yankees on another minors deal. Romano was selected back to the roster, made just one big league appearance, and was again outrighted and will hit the open market.
It has been a whirlwind of a season for Romano, who opened the year with the Reds. He struggled over fourteen appearances with Cincinnati, working to a 5.23 ERA in 20 2/3 innings with underwhelming peripherals. The Reds designated him for assignment a few weeks into the season, leading to his active past few months on the MLBTR pages. Before this year, Romano had been a career-long Red, joining the organization as a 23rd-round pick in the 2011 draft.
Romano broke into the majors as a starter, tossing 218 1/3 innings of 5.07 ERA ball out of the rotation over his first couple seasons. He’s worked exclusively out of the bullpen in the three years since but has struggled even more in shorter stints. Over 56 2/3 career frames of relief, the 27-year-old owns a 5.72 ERA with a below-average 16.8% strikeout rate.
Nevertheless, Romano has continued to intrigue teams with his mid-90s sinker — as his bounce around the league indicates. Romano also showed quite well with the Yankees’ top affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he tossed 30 1/3 frames of 3.56 ERA ball and racked up grounders at a massive 59.1% clip. That showing should attract interest elsewhere, although Romano won’t be eligible for postseason play since he’s hitting free agency after August 31.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/13/21
Some minor moves from around the league that were announced Monday…
- The Royals announced this morning that they’ve reinstated right-hander Ronald Bolanos from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Omaha. Kansas City had a pair of open spots on the 40-man roster already, so a corresponding transaction was not required. A forearm strain has limited Bolanos, who turned 25 last month, to just 40 1/3 innings between the big leagues and the minors combined in 2021. He came to the Royals alongside Franchy Cordero in the 2020 trade that sent left-hander Tim Hill to the Padres but hasn’t yet gotten much of a look. Bolanos served up 17 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings on a minor league rehab assignment, so it’s not too surprising that the Royals want him to get some more work in the minors. Bolanos still has a minor league option remaining beyond the current season.
- Right-hander Sal Romano went unclaimed on waivers after he was designated for assignment, the Yankees announced Monday. He’s been sent outright to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and is no longer on the 40-man roster. The 27-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Yanks back in May and has been added to the big league roster and removed thrice now. He’s pitched in three games and totaled three innings with one run allowed on five hits, a walk and four strikeouts. Romano has logged a 3.56 ERA in 30 1/3 innings with the team’s Triple-A affiliate as well. He hasn’t had much big league success since his rookie season back in 2017 (4.45 ERA in 87 innings/16 starts with Cincinnati), but he’s been a solid depth add for the Yankees thus far.
Clint Frazier Won’t Return In 2021
Clint Frazier has been on the injured list since the end of June, and Yankees skipper Aaron Boone revealed to reporters last night that the 27-year-old outfielder won’t make it back to the team this season (Twitter link via Sports Illustrated’s Max Goodman).
It’s been a brutal season for Frazier, who looked like a breakout candidate from 2019-20 when he posted a combined .267/.347/.497 batting line with 20 homers, 20 doubles and a triple in 465 plate appearances. He appeared in just 66 games this season and tallied 218 plate appearances with a woeful .186/.317/.317 output in that time.
More concerning than his bottom-line performance, however, have been the health issues that have plagued him. Frazier has been on the injured list with blurred vision, dizziness and other vertigo-like symptoms that remain unresolved. Those are troubling on their own but particularly alarming for a player who missed significant time in 2018 with a concussion. Frazier looked to be on the upswing in mid-August when he set out on a minor league rehab assignment and went 4-for-10 in his first three games. However, he pulled himself from that assignment prior to the fourth game, Boone noted at the time, because he was “not quite feeling where he needed to.” He hasn’t played at any level since.
“He’s seen so many specialists, trying to get answers,” Boone said of Frazier last night. “…Right now we just want him to get to a point where he’s well and able to get back to playing full bore.”
The player’s health and general well-being are clearly the primary concerns in an injury situation with this much uncertainty. The Yankees will face some kind of decision on Frazier this offseason, as he’ll be arbitration-eligible for the second time as a Super Two player after taking home a $2.1MM salary in 2021.
Any decisions of that nature will be informed by whatever doctors are able to glean regarding his health over the next couple of months. The Yankees control Frazier for three more years beyond the current season, and he even has a minor league option year remaining, so if he is indeed able to get back on track, he could yet have a role with the club in the future. For now, the focus remains on determining the source of the ongoing issues and then, hopefully, getting Frazier to the point where he’s able to take the field again.
Yankees Recall Clarke Schmidt, Option Andrew Velazquez
The Yankees have recalled right-handed pitcher Clarke Schmidt to start tonight’s game against the Mets, according to a team announcement. Swapping places with him is infielder Andrew Velazquez, who has been optioned to Triple-A.
Schmidt is, at least temporarily, taking the rotation spot of Gerrit Cole, who left his start on Tuesday after 70 pitches over 3 2/3 innings because of tightness in his left hamstring, per Lindsey Adler of The Athletic. However, Cole himself said he’s good to go for this coming Tuesday, per Adler. That’s surely good news for the Yankees, who are suddenly out of playoff position. With the Blue Jays winning this afternoon, the Yanks are going into tonight’s contest a half game behind the Jays, as well as the Red Sox, in the Wild Card race. A healthy Cole is potentially a huge difference-maker in a race that tight. Overall, it’s yet another excellent season for the Yankees’ ace, as he has an ERA of 2.78 over 158 2/3 innings so far this year. He’s provided 5.2 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, better than every pitcher in the AL, and trailing just Corbin Burnes and Zack Wheeler overall.
For Schmidt, this will be his first major league action of the season. He began the year on the injured list and only started a rehab assignment towards the end of July. Since then, he’s logged 27 1/3 innings across four different levels of the minors, with an ERA of 2.96, a strikeout rate of 29.3% and walk rate of 6.9%. His only MLB experience thus far was a small sample of 6 1/3 innings in 2020, where he had an ERA of 7.11.
Velazquez was originally selected by the Yankees August 9th, when the club was dealing with a vast COVID-19 outbreak that saw multiple players test positive and miss time. The infielder became something of a fan favourite in that time, at least partially because of his Bronx roots. However, he didn’t provide enough offense to hold onto a roster spot, hitting .234/.246/.375 with a tiny walk rate of 1.5% and hefty strikeout rate of 32.3%. However, this is over a small sample of just 65 plate appearances. He’s fared much better in 277 Triple-A plate appearances this year, slashing .283/.367/.471.
Roster Notes: Twins, Rockies, Orioles, Yankees
The Twins are likely to be without Taylor Rogers and Randy Dobnak for the rest of the season, per MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park (via Twitter). Rogers has missed most of the second half after spraining a finger at the end of July. Before the injury, Rogers was again effective for the Twinkies, appearing 40 times and posting a 3.35 ERA with nine saves and eight holds, though he does have four blown saves as well. Dobnak has essentially been a non-contributor. He went on the injured list with a finger sprain on June 21, and he struggled to open the year.
Let’s check on a couple of roster moves made early on Saturday…
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- The Rockies have reinstated Robert Stephenson from the paternity list and optioned Ben Bowden to Triple-A, per the team. The 26-year-old Bowden has a 6.56 ERA/4.84 FIP in 35 2/3 innings. Stephenson has been a productive member of the Rockies’ bullpen, tossing 38 1/3 innings with a 3.76 ERA/4.02 FIP.
- The Orioles have recalled Dean Kremer from Triple-A, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). Kremer joins the club as their 29th man for today’s twin bill against the Blue Jays. Kremer will make his 13th start of the season and look to improve upon a 7.25 ERA/6.52 FIP.
- The Yankees outrighted Jonathan Davis to Triple-A today, per the team. Davis has been an extra man in the Yankees outfield, appearing in just 12 games after being claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays.
Yankees Designate Sal Romano For Assignment
The Yankees announced they’ve designated Sal Romano for assignment. The move creates active and 40-man roster space for Michael King, who has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list.
It was a very brief stay in the majors for Romano, whose contract was just selected yesterday. The right-hander allowed a run on two hits while recording two outs in last night’s loss to the Blue Jays before being bumped from the roster. It’s the fourth time Romano has been designated for assignment this year, as he’s also been waived by the Reds, Yankees previously, and Brewers. Between the three clubs, the 27-year-old owns a 5.84 ERA in 24 2/3 innings, with below-average strikeout (14%) and ground-ball (40.2%) rates but a fine 8.8% walk percentage.
The Yankees will now place Romano on waivers in the next few days. He’s out of minor league option years, so any team that claims him would have to keep him on the active roster or else place him on waivers themselves. If he passes through unclaimed, Romano would have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.
King hasn’t pitched since July 8 because of a right middle finger contusion. The 26-year-old has been solid in a swing role for the Yankees this season, working to a 3.72 ERA with decent strikeout and walk numbers over fourteen appearances (including six starts).
Zack Britton Undergoes Reconstructive Elbow Surgery
Yankees reliever Zack Britton underwent a reconstructive procedure to repair the UCL in his throwing elbow, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Erik Boland of Newsday). The surgery will sideline him for at least a significant chunk of the 2022 season, although Boone wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Britton making it back at some point next year.
It’s disappointing and somewhat surprising news. Britton was known to be undergoing elbow surgery, but the southpaw downplayed the possibility of there being significant structural damage at the time of that announcement. Instead, the belief had been that doctors only needed to remove bone chips from the joint. Evidently, there was a more significant issue involved than originally expected.
Britton wasn’t going to return this season in either event, but the presence of ligament damage requires a lengthier recovery timeline than loose bone chips alone would have. While the Yankees hadn’t provided a specific timetable on Britton’s return from the bone chip procedure, it seemed from the outside that he stood some chance of being ready for Opening Day next season. That’s obviously no longer the case, and it’s now in question when he’ll make it onto the mound in 2022.
New York hasn’t yet announced a target date in Britton’s recovery, although the procedure he underwent is similar to a full Tommy John surgery. Those typically require twelve to fourteen month rehab periods, which would seemingly threaten his entire 2022 season. At the very least, he’s not expected back until well after next year’s All-Star Break.
The Yankees had been counting on Britton to be a high-leverage relief option. The longtime Orioles closer adapted extremely well to the Bronx after heading over in a 2018 trade, posting a 2.14 ERA over 105 1/3 innings through the end of 2020. That continued elite performance inspired the Yankees to exercise Britton’s $14MM club option covering the 2022 season last winter. (Had they declined the option, Britton would have had the right to elect free agency last offseason).
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem they’ll get much return on that investment because of Britton’s elbow issues. He missed the first couple months of this season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to correct bone chips. He returned to the diamond in mid-June but was up-and-down over 22 appearances before landing back on the IL with his current injury. He’s now in line to miss at least the majority of next season before reaching free agency at the end of that year.