Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Orioles Claim Cam Gallagher, Designate Rico Garcia

By | at

The Orioles announced that they have claimed catcher Cam Gallagher off waivers from the Padres and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk. He was designated for assignment by the Friars on Friday. Right-handed pitcher Rico Garcia was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Gallagher, 29, was drafted by the Royals and spent most of his career backing up Salvador Perez. On deadline day this year, he was sent to the Padres for Brent Rooker but the Friars kept him in the minors until designating him for assignment. He has a career batting line of .240/.302/.355 in 171 career games, all with KC.

Defensively, he’s racked up 12 Defensive Runs Saved in that time, a fairly strong mark for what is barely over a full season of work. For context, only three MLB catchers have more than 12 DRS so far this season. His 171-game career has also resulted in a 10.2 FRM, which is the framing metric at FanGraphs. Jose Trevino is the only catcher who has posted an FRM higher than that this season.

Due to his backup role, Gallagher has never played more than 48 games in a season, so it’s hard to say whether or not he could sustain those solid defensive numbers over a lengthier stretch. He may not have to though, as the O’s are likely considering him for a backup role behind rookie catcher Adley Rutschman. It was recently reported that the O’s are looking to add a backup catcher this offseason, which makes sense as Robinson Chirinos is a free agent this winter. It’s possible that this claim gives them a chance to cross that off their to-do list early, or at least provide them with a backup plan in the event they don’t find an offseason move to their liking.

Garcia, 28, was signed by Baltimore to a minor league deal in the offseason and has logged just eight innings in the majors this year but has solid numbers in the minors. Through 41 frames on the farm the season, he has a 1.76 ERA with a 32.3% strikeout rate and 9.8% walk rate. He will still have one more option after this year and still has less than one year of MLB service time. If any team feels he can sustain those strong results from this season, they could put in a claim and retain his services at little cost.

Padres Designate Tayler Scott For Assignment, Activate Craig Stammen

By and | at

The Padres have announced a series of roster moves, with right-hander Craig Stammen reinstated from the 60-day injured list.  To create room on the active roster, righty Nabil Crismatt was optioned to Triple-A El Paso.  Right-hander Tayler Scott was designated for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

With Pierce Johnson and now Stammen coming off the 60-day IL in consecutive days, the Padres have bolstered their relief corps with a pair of solid right-handers.  For Stammen, he last pitched on July 4 before right shoulder inflammation led to an extended stint on the sidelines.

Now in his sixth season with the Padres, Stammen was delivering his usual solid work at the time of his injury.  The righty has a 3.34 ERA/3.27 SIERA over 32 1/3 innings, with a 51.5% grounder rate and an elite 3.6% walk rate.

Scott posted a 6.75 ERA over 12 innings for San Diego after his minor league deal was initially selected to the active roster in July.  This marked Scott’s first MLB action since 2019, as he has spent the last two seasons pitching in Japan for the Hiroshima Carp.  The righty has been on the 15-day IL since mid-August due to a finger laceration, so the Padres first had to activate Scott from the injured list before designating him for assignment.

Red Sox Release Hirokazu Sawamura

By | at

The Red Sox have released right-hander Hirokazu Sawamura, per Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. Sawamura asked for his release to pursue other opportunities, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.

Sawamura, 34, pitched in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for ten years before crossing the Pacific. He signed a two-year deal with the Red Sox prior to the 2021 season and had a solid debut that season. He threw 53 innings with a 3.06 ERA, 26.2% strikeout rate and 51.8% ground ball rate, though a very worrisome 13.7% walk rate.

His performance took a bit of a downward turn here in 2022, however, with his ERA jumping up to 3.73 and his strikeout rate dropping to 18.1%. He was designated for assignment in August, later clearing waivers and being outrighted to Triple-A.

Sawamura’s contract guaranteed him $3MM with a $1.2MM salary both last year and this year, as well as a $600K buyout on a club option for 2023. That club option came with $3MM base but a series of escalators based on the number of appearances Sawamura made. If the club declined their option, Sawamura would then have a player option that also had a value tied to appearances. He had already pitched enough to get the player option up to $1.9MM and would have made it an even $2MM with one more game before he was cut from the roster.

When Sawamura was outrighted, it was reported that the option was still active. However, Sawamura will collect the $1MM buyout and head to free agency instead. He only made a single appearance in Triple-A between the outright and today’s release.

Athletics Outright Brent Honeywell

By | at

The A’s announced that right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. has been outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Honeywell, 27, was drafted by the Rays in 2014 and spent years being considered one of the best prospects in the game. He cracked Baseball America’s top 100 list for five straight years from 2016 to 2020. He stayed on that list for so long both because of his talent and because repeated injuries prevented him from exhausting his prospect status.

Honeywell required Tommy John surgery in early 2018, which wiped out that entire season. In June of 2019, he fractured a bone in his right elbow while working his way back to the mound, making it two straight lost seasons. In May of 2020, while the pandemic had put the season on pause, he underwent a decompression procedure on his right ulnar nerve. That eventually made it three consecutive campaigns without Honeywell taking the mound in an official game of any kind.

In 2021, he finally was healthy enough to pitch, making his MLB debut for the Rays. They only let him throw 4 1/3 innings at the big league level, however, leaving him in Triple-A most of the year. He threw 81 2/3 frames there with a 3.97 ERA, 20% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate.

Those weren’t eye-popping numbers, though it probably would have been unrealistic for Honeywell to just jump to ace-like results after three lost seasons. The A’s acquired him from the Rays in November, hoping that another healthy year could perhaps allow Honeywell to rediscover some of the form that made him such a hot prospect in previous years. Unfortunately, he was dealt another injury setback, diagnosed with an olecranon stress reaction in his elbow in March. That landed him on the 60-day IL to start the year, where he’s been until today. The club didn’t announce that Honeywell had been designated for assignment but they evidently passed him through waivers in recent days.

Since he was on the 60-day IL, Honeywell wasn’t occupying a spot on the 40-man roster. He was about to, however, as he began a rehab assignment August 16. Rehab assignments for pitchers come with a 30-day maximum, meaning Honeywell was nearing his activation point. Instead, the A’s put him on waivers and passed him through. This is his first career outright and he has less than three years of MLB service time. He will stick with the A’s without retaking a spot on the roster. In 11 2/3 innings as part of his rehab, he logged an ERA of 8.49, though likely somewhat marred by a .405 BABIP. He’s struck out 19.3% of batters and walked 7% in that small sample.

Twins To Place Chris Archer On IL, Select Jharel Cotton

By | at

The Twins are placing right-hander Chris Archer on the 15-day injured list due to a pectoral injury, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. Fellow righty Jharel Cotton will have his contract selected to take Archer’s place on the active roster. The club already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster.

Archer, 33, started yesterday’s game but was removed after two innings and 40 pitches due to this pec issue. Park relays that Archer is confident he can return after the 15-day minimum, though it’s still a noteworthy development for the club. With just over three weeks remaining in the season, even a minimum stay on the IL will keep Archer out of action until there’s only about a week remaining.

With Tyler Mahle also landing on the IL about a week ago, the club’s rotation has taken a couple of blows at a crucial time of the year. The Twins are 3 1/2 games behind the Guardians in the AL Central race, with the White Sox in between. Minnesota will be trying to play catch-up in the home stretch with a diminished pitching staff. Josh Winder was recalled today and will take a spot in the rotation next to Dylan Bundy, Sonny Gray and Joe Ryan. That four-man crew will need reinforcements as the club has an off-day on Monday before embarking on a stretch of 14 games in 13 days, with a doubleheader on September 17.

Archer is taking on a significant workload for the first time since 2019, as he missed the 2020 season entirely and only logged 19 1/3 innings last year. Through 102 2/3 frames this season, he has a 4.56 ERA, though his 19.2% strikeout rate and 11% walk rate are both career worsts. He’s likely returning to free agency this winter, as his deal with the Twins has a mutual option for 2023, with those rarely being executed by both sides.

Cotton, 30, has already been designated for assignment by the Twins three times this year, each time accepting an outright assignment to St. Paul and getting selected back to the roster later. He’s pitched well when called upon, registering a 2.83 ERA in 35 big league innings on the year. A .182 BABIP and 89.7% strand rate are likely putting a little shine on that, however, with advanced metrics like FIP and xFIP pushing over 5.00.

A’s Designate Domingo Tapia, Select Collin Wiles

By | at

The Athletics announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Collin Wiles. Fellow right-hander Domingo Tapia was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Tapia, 31, came to the A’s on a waiver claim in April and has been shuttled back and forth between Triple-A and the big leagues all year. In 27 2/3 innings for the Las Vegas Aviators, he has a 1.95 ERA, 21.8% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 51.9% ground ball rate. However, he hasn’t been able to bring that kind of performance up to the show with him, registering an ERA of 8.47 in 17 MLB innings, along with a 13.3% strikeout rate and ghastly 15.6% walk rate.

He’ll be placed on outright waivers or release waivers in the coming days, since the trade deadline has passed. He’s never previously been outrighted and has less than three years of MLB service time, meaning he wouldn’t have the ability to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Wiles, 28, was originally drafted by the Rangers, getting selected 53rd overall in 2012. He worked his way up the minor league ladder but never got the call to the big leagues, reaching free agency after 2021. He signed a minor league deal with the A’s and has spent his entire season in Triple-A so far. In 143 1/3 innings over 26 starts for Las Vegas, he has a 5.40 ERA. His 17% strikeout rate isn’t great but he’s only walking 4.3% of batters faced. Since he’s been working as a starter in the minors, he’ll give the A’s a bullpen option who should be capable or working multiple innings. He’ll be making his MLB debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Rangers Designate Kohei Arihara, Select Tyson Miller

By and | at

The Texas Rangers announced that right-hander Kohei Arihara has been designated for assignment. The move opens up a roster spot for reliever Tyson Miller who has been selected to the roster.

Arihara, 30, joined the Rangers after the 2020 season on a 2-year, $6.2MM contract, with an additional $1.24MM spent on his posting fee to the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He posted a poor 6.86 ERA in 40 2/3 innings during the 2021 season and followed it up with a weaker 9.90 ERA in 20 innings this season. He fared better in the minors, logging a 4.88 ERA in 72 innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League this year. That’s come with a 20.4% strikeout rate, 5.8% walk rate and 52.8% ground ball rate.

With the trade deadline now passed, the Rangers will have no choice but to put him on outright waivers or release waivers. Since he was outrighted earlier this year, he’ll have the right to refuse another outright assignment and elect free agency. If he signs a new contract with another team, that club will only have to pay him the prorated league minimum salary. The Rangers would be on the hook for the remainder of his salary.

Miller, 27, makes his return to the show after he was briefly up with the team earlier this year as a COVID replacement, pitching three innings over two games. Since he was a COVID replacement, he was able to be removed from the roster without being placed on waivers. The rest of his season has been spent at Triple-A, throwing 83 2/3 innings with a 4.73 ERA. He has a strong 29.5% strikeout rate but a worrisome 10.4% walk rate. Since he’s been largely working as a starter, he’ll give Texas an option in the bullpen for a multi-inning outing.

Drew Pomeranz Likely Done For 2022 Season

By | at

San Diego Padres reliever Drew Pomeranz’s 2022 season will almost certainly go down as a lost season, with Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (article link) reporting that the southpaw is continuing to experience discomfort in his left elbow. Acee adds that while a recent MRI shows no new structural damage, Padres manager Bob Melvin is pessimistic regarding the lefty’s chance of successfully rehabbing and making his 2022 debut.

Since signing a four-year, $34 million contract with the Padres prior to the 2020 season, Pomeranz has been a steady fixture in the bullpen, posting a sub-2 ERA with a handful of saves over 44 1/3 innings during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. However, Pomeranz underwent flexor tendon surgery in August 2021, finishing the season with a 1.75 ERA in 27 appearances, and was expected to return to the mound late this season. Nevertheless, continued soreness during rehab has led to stalled progress.

This is not the first time Pomeranz has lost most of a season to injury. He pitched only 74 innings (11 starts) in 2018 with bicep and forearm injuries. Additionally, in 2016 when the Padres traded Pomeranz to the Red Sox, Padres General Manager A.J. Preller was suspended 30 days for the improper handling of players’ medical files.

As for the Padres, they are currently in the thick of the NL Wild Card race with a 77-63 record – half a game behind the Phillies and three games ahead of the Brewers. Their bullpen has been solid, ranking 13th in ERA with a collective 3.80 and 12th in WHIP with a collective 1.23. The team attempted to address their slightly above-average bullpen at the trade deadline, in a more under-the-radar move compared to the Juan Soto trade, with the swap of Taylor Rogers and Dinelson Lamet for three-time National League Relief Pitcher of the Year Josh Hader. However, Hader has floundered since arriving in San Diego, with the usually dominant reliever posting a 13.50 ERA and 2.423 WHIP in 8 2/3 innings after the trade, resulting in the removal from his traditional closing role.

Nevertheless, the Padres still have control of Pomeranz for one more season. If he has a healthy and productive Spring Training, it would not be surprising to see Preller extend the southpaw with the Padres farm system considerably thinned out in recent years.

Phillies Expected To Target Xander Bogaerts In Free Agency

By | at

Though there’s plenty left to be decided in the Phillies’ 2022 season, it’s never too early to speculate about what the club might have in store for the winter or for the 2023 campaign.  To this end, Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe writes that “the Phillies will be eager suitors” for Xander Bogaerts, provided that Bogaerts (as expected) opts out of his contract with the Red Sox.

Reports already surfaced in June that Philadelphia would be targeting the shortstop position this winter, with the Phils looking to make a splash in a free agent class that is expected to include the likes of Bogaerts, Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson, and Carlos Correa.  Bogaerts and Correa are seen as virtual locks to exercise opt-out clauses, and Turner and Swanson are both scheduled to hit the open market (though Swanson and the Braves are exploring an extension).

Bogaerts’ talent makes him a natural target for any team that wants a big upgrade at shortstop, and the Phillies are perhaps an even more logical fit due to the past ties between Bogaerts and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.  After all, Dombrowski was Boston’s president of baseball operations when Bogaerts signed his current contract — a six-year, $120MM extension that included an opt-out clause following the current season.  Bogaerts would be leaving three years and $60MM on the table to opt out, but is no doubt he’d easily top that number on the open market.

Of course, shortstop is not quite the problem position it was for the Phillies at the start of the season.  After a very slow start in his rookie year, Bryson Stott has started to acclimate to the Show, hitting .305/.349/.488 with five home runs over his last 175 plate appearances.  However, Stott has mostly split his time between second base and shortstop, with defensive metrics (albeit in a sample size of not even one full season) indicating that his glove plays better at second base.  While Bogaerts’ own glovework at shortstop has been a question mark for years, he is currently enjoying the best defensive season of his career, with positive grades from the Outs Above Average, Defensive Runs Saved, and UZR/150 metrics.

If the Phillies were to sign Bogaerts and move Stott to second base, that leaves Jean Segura as the odd man out.  The Phils hold a $17MM club option ($1MM buyout) on Segura for the 2023 season, and Segura is posting his typical level of offensive production, though he has only 301 plate appearances due to a fractured finger.  Another option would be to retain Segura, and Stott and Segura at second and third base with Bogaerts as the new shortstop.  This would displace the defensive-challenged Alec Bohm from third base, and Bohm could perhaps be tried at first base, and Rhys Hoskins — who is a free agent after 2023 — could become a trade chip.

There are lots of ways the Phillies could approach things this winter, and payroll will also be a factor in a pursuit of Bogaerts or any other top-flight shortstop.  A lot of salary (Segura, Didi Gregorius, Noah Syndergaard, Zach Eflin, Corey Knebel, Kyle Gibson, Brad Hand, Jeurys Familia) could come off the books in the form of pending free agents and declined club options, but that also leaves a lot of roster holes to be filled.  As per Roster Resource, the Phils are slated to pay the luxury tax in 2022, and thus they’d have to pay a higher penalty in draft pick compensation for signing a qualifying-offer free agent (i.e. Bogaerts).

NL Injury Notes: Madrigal, Wisdom, Dominguez, Eflin, Wheeler, Bryant

By | at

The Cubs placed second baseman Nick Madrigal on the 10-day injured list due to a right groin strain, and activated Patrick Wisdom (left ring finger sprain) from the 10-day IL to fill the open roster spot.  Madrigal suffered the injury in yesterday’s game, and given the lack of time remaining in the season, it isn’t out of the question that Madrigal might be shut down entirely.  This is the second groin injury (the first strain was to Madrigal’s left groin) and third injury overall for the second baseman in 2022, after a back problem cost him three weeks in May.

Overall, Madrigal has played in only 59 games this season, only slightly topping the 54 games he played during a 2021 campaign that was shortened by hamstring surgery.  While Madrigal is still eyed as the Cubs’ second baseman of the future, this health history is already concerning, and it’s fair to say that his injuries were certainly a factor in his .249/.305/.282 slash line in 228 PA this season.  With the Cubs out of contention, their eyes are on 2023, and aren’t likely to push Madrigal back onto the field unless his current groin issue ends up being pretty minor.

Updates on other injury situations from around the National League…

  • Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson updated reporters (including MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki) on several injured Philadelphia players, including two pitchers ready to return to the mound.  Seranthony Dominguez will be activated prior to tomorrow’s game against the Nationals, after missing a little over three weeks due to right triceps tendinitis.  Zach Eflin will be activated from the 60-day IL prior to Tuesday’s game, with Eflin possibly working as an opener as he embarks on a new role as a relief pitcher.  Eflin has been out since late June due to knee problems, and with less time to ramp up for a starter’s workload, Philadelphia will instead use Eflin out of the bullpen.  Zack Wheeler (forearm tendinitis) won’t be back until at least September 20, but Wheeler threw 15 pitches off a mound today, and Thomson said Wheeler will throw a proper bullpen session on Monday or Tuesday.
  • Kris Bryant hasn’t played since July 31 due to plantar fasciitis, and Rockies manager Bud Black wasn’t sure if the slugger would be able to return before the season is over.  “There is time but I don’t know if it’s going to happen…He hasn’t had a bat in his hand for a while, but he’s feeling much better,” Black told reporters, including The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders.  Bryant has been able to play catch and lift weights now that he is no longer in a walking boot, though it remains to be seen when (or if) he’d be able to take part in fuller baseball activities.  Between the platar fasciitis and two separate IL stints due to back injuries, Bryant’s first year with the Rockies has essentially been a lost season, with only 42 games played.  The one bright spot is that Bryant at least hit well when he was able to play, contributing a .306/.376/.475 slash line and five homers in 181 plate appearances.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top