Rangers Claim Mike Carp Off Waivers
The Rangers have acquired Mike Carp from the Red Sox, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. The Rangers confirmed the waiver claim and also announced they transferred right-hander Alexi Ogando to the 60-day disabled list in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for Carp with a corresponding 25-man roster move coming when the outfielder/first baseman reports to the team.
After a breakout 2013 (.296/.362/.523 with nine home runs in 243 plate appearances), Carp, designated for assignment by the Red Sox Friday – less than a week after requesting a trade, has struggled mightily in 2014 with a .198/.320/.279 slash in 103 trips to the plate. But the Rangers, having lost first baseman Prince Fielder and Mitch Moreland for the season due to injury, are willing to take a flyer on the 28-year-old.
“He’s a year removed from a very good season and has been in a very limited role,” Rangers Assistant General Manager Thad Levine said (as quoted by Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). “He’s had previous success…We hope he can return to that success.“
The Rangers have been relying on J.P. Arencibia to man first base since the All-Star break, but he has hit a meager .186/.242/.389 to date. Carp looks to receive substantial playing time at first either in a platoon with Arencibia or as the full-time starter. The Rangers will also give Carp an opportunity in the outfield, according to Levine.
“We envision him getting time at first base and corner outfield, probably more left field than right,” said Levine (as quoted by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Jeff Wilson. “Like we’ve been doing with other players, we’re going to audition Mike and see if he can be part of a winning situation in 2015 and beyond and what role he’d be playing in that.“
The Rangers have control over Carp, earning $1.4MM in his first year of arbitration eligibility, through the 2016 season.
Orioles Designate Ryan Webb; Optioned To Triple-A
SUNDAY: Webb has cleared waivers and has been officially optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, tweets CSNBaltimore.com’s Rich Dubroff. To make room for Webb on the Norfolk roster, the Tides released outfielder Xavier Paul (Twitter link).
FRIDAY: The Orioles have designated right-hander Ryan Webb for assignment, the team announced. The newly-acquired Andrew Miller has taken Webb’s spot on the 25-man roster.
While technically a DFA, Webb has only been designated off Baltimore’s 25-man roster. The Orioles needed to make this procedural move in order to assign Webb to Triple-A since over three years had passed since his first Major League appearance — the O’s performed a similar transaction earlier this season with Evan Meek. Webb is still on the Orioles’ 40-man roster but is currently on optional assignment waivers.
Webb signed a two-year, $4.5MM deal with the Orioles last winter after the Marlins (surprisingly) didn’t tender him a contract for 2014. The righty has been shaky in recent weeks but has been a solid contributor overall to Baltimore’s pen, posting a 3.80 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 3.4 K/BB rate over 42 2/3 innings. Webb has held opposing batters to a .255/.301/.315 slash line and has actually performed better against left-handed batters (.555 OPS) than righty bats (.649 OPS) this year.
Edward Creech contributed to this post.
Twins Claim Jordan Schafer
The Twins have claimed outfielder Jordan Schafer off waivers from the Braves, tweets LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune. The team has confirmed the transaction and announced a corresponding 25-man roster move will be made before their next game on Tuesday. Schafer fills the open spot on the Twins’ 40-man roster.
Schafer, who was designated for assignment Friday in the wake of the Braves’ acquisition of James Russell and Emilio Bonifacio, will become Minnesota’s backup center fielder and be the seventh different player to man the position once he makes his Twins’ debut, Neal notes on Twitter. The 27-year-old can also play both corner outfield spots allowing Danny Santana to return to natural position, shortstop, according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Schafer has struggled this year for Atlanta slashing .163/.256/.213 line in 93 plate appearances, though he has stolen 15 bases.
Pirates Sign Jayson Nix
The Pirates announced that they have signed outfielder Jayson Nix. The veteran is expected to be active for today’s game against the Diamondbacks. To make room for Nix, the Bucs designated Dean Anna for assignment.
Nix signed with Tampa Bay in January as a non-roster player before being shipped to the Phillies in March for cash. The Phillies went on to outright Nix in May, allowing him to return to the Rays, who released him late last week from their Triple-A affiliate. Nix, who turns 32 later this month, was originally drafted 44th overall by the Rockies in 2001 and he’s suited up for six different franchises over his seven years in the majors.
The Pirates claimed Anna, 27, off waivers from the Yankees in July after he was DFA’d. He hasn’t set the world on fire this season but he’s only a year removed from being a Pacific Coast League All-Star and leading the PCL in batting average while producing a .331/.410/.482 line in 132 games for the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate
Rockies Designate Pedro Hernandez
The Rockies have designated pitcher Pedro Hernandez for assignment, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post (via Twitter). Hernandez, a 25-year-old lefty, received only one start for Colorado.
Hernandez spent most of the year pitching at Triple-A, working 85 innings and compiling a 6.14 ERA. Last year, with the Twins, he tossed 56 2/3 frames of 6.83 ERA ball.
Reds Claim Jake Elmore, Designate Nick Christiani
The Reds have claimed infielder Jake Elmore off waivers from the Athletics, as Jane Lee of MLB.com reports on Twitter. In a corresponding move, the team has announced that it designated righty Nick Christiani for assignment.
Elmore, 27, had been playing in Triple-A after being added in a trade over the offseason. He has some past big league experience, however, with 209 total plate appearances. Over 211 trips to bat this year at Triple-A, he owns a .282/.374/.365 line.
Christiani, also 27, has not been successful in a 13-inning tryout this year, allowing eight earned runs and striking out only eight batters against six walks. He moved quickly to Triple-A after being drafted in the 13th round in 2009, and has put up solid enough results there (until this season, at least; he carries a 7.71 ERA).
Angels Designate David Carpenter
The Angels have designated righty David Carpenter for assignment, the club announced. The move clears roster space for the just-claimed Ryan Wheeler.
Carpenter is a 26-year-old reliever who saw just one relief appearance this season. He had a more extended tryout back in 2012, but 39 2/3 innings of 4.76 ERA ball were not enough to hold down a permanent spot in the Halos’ pen. Through 48 innings at Triple-A this year, Carpenter has a 2.28 ERA with 8.6 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9.
Angels Claim Ryan Wheeler From Rockies
The Angels have claimed first baseman/third baseman Ryan Wheeler off waivers from the Rockies, Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com reports on Twitter.
Wheeler, 26, has seen limited MLB action in each of the last three years. His cumulative line, over 225 plate appearances, stands at .223/.280/.335. Though he’s put up big numbers in the upper minors in years past, Wheeler is slashing just .243/.293/.343 despite playing half his games in hitter-friendly Colorado Springs.
Mariners Outright Blake Beavan
The Mariners have outrighted righty Blake Beavan to Triple-A, reports Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN (via Twitter). Beavan had to pass through waivers to clear off a 40-man spot for James Paxton.
A former first-round pick of the Rangers, Beavan has never quite reached his potential at the big league level. He made just one start this year, and owns a career 4.61 ERA through 293 innings. Beavan will look to get himself back on track at Triple-A, and Seattle will have a few more months to decide whether to add him back to the 40-man at the end of the year.
Rosenthal On Cardinals, Miller, Price, Beane
Here are some notes from FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal as he looks back on an incredibly busy Deadline Day…
- Several Cardinals players were unhappy that Allen Craig and Joe Kelly were traded away, which didn’t necessarily surprise St. Louis GM John Mozeliak. “We’ve had a tight clubhouse for many years, a lot of homegrown players who have been together a long time….When you have a young team, sometimes you don’t see these types of trades happening while you’re competing,” Mozeliak told Rosenthal. “It caught some people off-guard. But time will heal all wounds.” Rosenthal wonders if this trade and the recent signing of “notorious irritant” A.J. Pierzynski could’ve been made in order to shake up a clubhouse that had “perhaps grown too comfortable.”
- The Brewers and Tigers were the other finalists for Andrew Miller‘s services before the Red Sox decided to trade the southpaw to the Orioles. Boston received inquiries from between 10-12 teams about Miller’s services. Jon Morosi, Rosenthal’s FOX Sports colleague, reported yesterday that Detroit was close to a deal for Miller about 2.5 hours before the trade with Baltimore was finalized.
- Some pundits have argued that the Rays should’ve gotten more from the Tigers and Mariners in the David Price trade, but Rosenthal is withholding judgement given how difficult the circumstances were for Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman. The return could’ve been even less had Friedman waited until the offseason to move his ace.
- In a tweet, Rosenthal notes that the Athletics decided against pursuing a Price trade in part because GM Billy Beane was worried that it would be tough to deal the southpaw this winter. Price could earn up to $20MM on his 2015 contract in his last year of arbitration eligibility, so as good as the left-hander is, the salary and only the one year of control would limit Price’s trade value.