By Anthony Franco | at
The Yankees are selecting four players to their 40-man roster, per a club announcement. Right-handers Roansy Contreras, Yoendrys Gomez and Alexander Vizcaino are being selected, as is infielder Oswald Peraza.
Contereas, Gomez, and Vizcaino have all yet to reach Double-A, but each ranks among New York’s top 20 farmhands at MLB.com. The same is true of Peraza, who hit .273/.348/.333 in Low-A in 2019. The well-regarded defensive shortstop is MLB.com’s fourth-ranked Yankee prospect.
By Steve Adams | at
The Pirates announced Friday that they’ve designated right-hander Trevor Williams and infielder/outfielder Jose Osuna for assignment. That pair of moves allows the team to select infielder Rodolfo Castro and righty Max Kranick to the 40-man roster, protecting both from the Rule 5 Draft.
Williams has been a regular in the Pittsburgh rotation over the past three seasons and enjoyed a strong 2018 campaign, pitching to a 3.11 ERA and 3.86 FIP in 170 2/3 innings. Outside of a few strong starts early in 2020, however, it’s been mostly downhill for the 28-year-old. Over the past two seasons he’s turned in a combined 5.60 ERA and 5.45 FIP in 201 innings. With a projected salary north of $3MM, the Pirates clearly weren’t interested in tendering him a contract for the 2021 season.
The Pirates surely gauged trade interest in Williams before taking the step to designate him for assignment, so it seems unlikely another club will make a move to acquire him now. It’s possible a team could place a waiver claim, but it’s every bit as likely that he’ll simply pass through waivers, at which point he has the service time needed to become a free agent. He’d make for an affordable reclamation project for teams in search of rotation help, and the fact that he still has three years of control remaining via the arbitration process only boosts his appeal if he does indeed reach the market.
Osuna, 27, enjoyed a solid season at the plate in 2019 when he hit .264/.310/.456 with 10 big flies in 285 trips to the plate, but his 82 plate appearances in 2020 resulted in a disastrous .205/.244/.397 output. It’s clear that Osuna possesses some right-handed pop, but his career .241/.280/.430 batting line also shines a light on some severe on-base deficiencies. Osuna has experience at all four corner spots, so perhaps another team will look at him as a bench possibility if he clears waivers. He was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to make a bit more than $1MM in 2021.
By Connor Byrne | at
The Diamondbacks have designated right-handers Junior Guerra and Joel Payamps for assignment. They added righty J.B. Bukauskas, Luis Frias and Matt Peacock, outfielder Stuart Fairchild and infielder Geraldo Perdomo to their 40-man roster.
The 35-year-old Guerra joined the Diamondbacks on a one-year guarantee worth $2.65MM last offseason. He wound up posting 23 2/3 innings of 3.04 ERA/4.12 FIP ball with a 50.8 percent groundball rate, but with just 7.99 K/9 against 5.7 BB/9, the Diamondbacks decided to move on from Guerra.
By Steve Adams | at
The Reds announced Friday that they’ve acquired righty Brandon Bailey from the Astros in exchange for cash. In a separate move, Cincinnati also acquired minor league right-hander Fredy Medina from Houston. Medina will serve as the player to be named later from the earlier trade that sent southpaw Brooks Raley to the Astros.
In addition to that pair of trades with Houston, the Reds announced that they’ve selected the contracts of right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez, Riley O’Brien and Jared Solomon. All are now on the 40-man roster and protected from selection in next month’s Rule 5 Draft. Cincinnati’s 40-man roster is now up to 36 players.
It’s been three years to the day since the 26-year-old Bailey was last traded, going from the Athletics to the Astros. Unfortunately for the ’Stros, that trade sent a minor league outfielder by the name of Ramon Laureano to Oakland. Houston apparently didn’t care to protect Laureano in advance of the Rule 5 Draft — a clear misstep that proved to be a godsend for one of their chief division rivals.
Bailey has clearly intrigued other clubs, however. The Orioles selected him in last year’s Rule 5 Draft, and the Astros gave him a look in the Majors this past year. Now, the Reds are keen on giving him a 40-man roster spot of their own. He’s allowed a pair of runs in 7 1/3 MLB innings and carries a 3.45 ERA with a 126-to-50 K/BB ratio in 117 1/3 innings at the Double-A level.
Medina, who turned 23 in April, is something of a long shot for the Reds, it would seem. He’s yet to play above the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and has walked 51 hitters in 74 professional innings. Considering the fact that Raley turned out to be a nice 2020 piece to the Houston ’pen and is controlled through 2021, the ’Stros have to feel good about how that deal turned out.
By Anthony Franco | at
The Orioles are designating infielder Renato Núñez for assignment, per various reporters (including Joe Trezza of MLB.com). Baltimore is also adding six players to the 40-man roster in advance of tonight’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft: infielder Rylan Bannon, outfielder Yusniel Diaz, right-handers Michael Baumann and Isaac Mattson and left-handers Zac Lowther and Alexander Wells.
Some may be surprised to see the Orioles letting go of Núñez. The 26-year-old has been an everyday player for Baltimore over the past two seasons, slugging .469 and hitting 43 home runs in 815 plate appearances. However, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored at length in previewing the Orioles’ offseason, Núñez indeed looked like a potential non-tender candidate. Núnez’s relatively low walk rates have led to a lackluster .314 on-base percentage over the past two years. He’s not well-regarded as a defender at third base, either. Overall, he’s only been worth around one win above replacement the past two seasons combined in the estimation of both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference.
Evidently, Baltimore decided Núñez’s on-base and defensive deficiencies outweighed the power potential he brings, particularly as he enters arbitration for the first time. Núñez is projected for a salary in the $2.1MM – $3.9MM range this offseason, and the Orioles were clearly prepared to non-tender him prior to the December 2 deadline. With that settled, there’s little reason to keep Núñez on the 40-man roster beyond today’s Rule 5 protection deadline.
It’s still possible the O’s find a trade partner involving Núñez in the coming days. He does have some appeal as a potential 1B/DH option and hit better in 2020 than he had in 2019. If another team were to acquire Núñez, they could control him through arbitration for the next four seasons.
By Steve Adams and Anthony Franco | at
The Rays have designated outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Brian O’Grady for assignment, per a club announcement. The moves help to clear a path for the addition of infielder Taylor Walls, outfielder Josh Lowe and righty Drew Strotman to be selected to the 40-man roster.
Renfroe, 28, was Tampa Bay’s primary right fielder this season and a relatively high-profile addition via trade last winter. However, the former Padres slugger hit just .156/.252/.393 this season and was projected to earn more than $3.5MM in arbitration, making him an obvious non-tender candidate for the low-payroll Rays. There’s little reason not to free up a 40-man spot early if Tampa Bay were planning to let Renfroe go in a few weeks anyhow.
Miserable 2020 season aside, Renfroe’s not far removed from being a solid performer with the Padres. He has long run high strikeout rates and hasn’t drawn many walks, contributing to generally low on-base percentages. But Renfroe slugged 85 homers between 2017-19 and has typically rated as a strong defender in the corner outfield. That may not be enough for another team to acquire Renfroe via trade or waivers, but some teams figure to look into bringing him in despite his difficult most recent season. Renfroe is controllable through 2023 via arbitration, so any acquiring club would have the luxury of keeping him around for a while should he figure things out offensively.
O’Grady, also 28, was acquired in a trade with the Reds last offseason. The first baseman/corner outfielder only picked up five plate appearances in 2020 but has a robust track record at the plate in the minors.
By Anthony Franco | at
The Twins are adding three players- right-handers Jordan Balazovic and Bailey Ober and catcher Ben Rortvedt– to the 40-man roster, per a team announcement.
Balazovic, 22, is one of the more well-regarded pitching prospects in the sport, generally finding himself on the back half of top 100 lists. He was a slam dunk to be protected on the heels of a great 2019 season in High-A. Ober draws plaudits for his plus command; the former twelfth-rounder has excellent numbers up through Double-A. Rortvedt is a former second-round pick out of a Wisconsin high school who has seemingly turned a corner the past couple seasons in the minors.
By Connor Byrne | at
The Rockies announced that they have designated right-handers Jesus Tinoco and Ashton Goudeau for assignment. They selected the contracts of infielder-outfilder Bret Boswell, left-hander Lucas Gilbreath and Helcris Olivarez, and infielder Colton Welker in corresponding moves.
The 25-year-old Tinoco was part of the return the Rockies received from the Blue Jays for shortstop Troy Tulowitzki in 2015. Tinoco debuted in the majors in 2019 and has since pitched to a respectable 4.03 ERA, though that has come with a woeful 7.19 FIP and 6.85 K/9 against 5.84 BB/9 over 44 2/3 innings.
Of the players the Rockies selected, Welker (No. 7) and Olivarez (No. 15) rank among their top prospects at MLB.com.
By Steve Adams | at
The Blue Jays announced Friday that they’ve selected the contracts of catchers Riley Adams and Gabriel Moreno, right-hander Ty Tice, outfielder Josh Palacios and infielder Otto Lopez. All five are now protected from being selected in next month’s Rule 5 Draft. Toronto’s 40-man roster is now full.
Adams, 23, adds another catching option to a roster already well stocked at that position. He topped out with a solid Double-A showing in 2019 and ostensibly isn’t too far from MLB readiness. The 20-year-old Moreno, on the other hand, hasn’t played above A-ball, although he hit quite well there in ’19.
Tice, 25, logged a 2.34 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A in ’19 and racked up better than 11 K/9 but did so while walking nearly six per nine frames. Palacios plays all three outfield spots and is an OBP-over-power option who has seen some time in Double-A. Lopez, 22, hasn’t advanced beyond A-ball. He hit well there in 2019 and has experience at both middle infield spots and both corner outfield positions.
By Anthony Franco | at
The Rangers are adding three players to their 40-man roster in advance of tonight’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. Right-handers Yerry Rodriguez and A.J. Alexy and catcher David Garcia are being selected, per the team’s executive vice president of communications John Blake (Twitter link). Texas’ 40-man roster now sits at 38 players.
It’s not particularly surprising any of the trio wound up being protected. Rodriguez rates as the Rangers’ second-best farmhand (96th overall) in the estimation of FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen, who writes that the 23-year-old has three above-average to plus pitches and advanced command. Rodriguez has topped out at Low-A ball in 2019, where he tossed 73.2 innings of 2.08 ERA ball with a stellar combination of 10.38 K/9 and 2.57 BB/9.
Alexy was acquired from the Dodgers as part of the 2017 Yu Darvish trade. The 22-year-old has racked up massive strikeout numbers in the low minors, although he’s also been plagued by lofty walk rates. Garcia, meanwhile, was a well-regarded amateur signee out of Venezuela. The 20-year-old backstop put up a .277/.351/.435 line in short-season ball in 2019.
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