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Outrighted: Edwards, Stephens, Payano, St. John

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As is common early each September, Major League clubs designated a slew of players for assignment over the past few days in order to create roster space for various September call-ups. Several players have already been claimed off waivers today, but we’ll track those who’ve cleared waivers and been outrighted to a minor league affiliate here…

  • The Indians announced that right-handers Jon Edwards and Jordan Stephens went unclaimed on waivers and were both sent outright to Triple-A Columbus. The 31-year-old Edwards pitched to a strong 2.70 ERA through 16 2/3 innings with Cleveland’s big league club over the past two seasons, but he did so with a less-encouraging 15-to-10 K/BB ratio. Edwards averaged better than 11 punchouts per nine innings with the Indians’ top affiliate in Columbus this season but also issued 4.8 walks per nine frames and logged a 4.22 ERA there. The Indians claimed Stephens from the White Sox back on June 15, but he allowed 33 runs, served up nine homers and issued 14 walks in 28 2/3 innings in Columbus.
  • Rangers right-hander Pedro Payano and left-hander Locke St. John cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Nashville, per a team announcement. Payano, 24, narrowly kept his ERA south of 5.00 in 84 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this year, but the pitching-needy Rangers called upon him for a handful of appearances in spite of those struggles. He logged 22 innings in the big leagues but limped to a 5.73 ERA with nearly as many walks (15) as strikeouts (17). The 26-year-old St. John dominated through 29 2/3 innings in Double-A (1.52 ERA, 42-to-13 K/BB ratio), but he surrendered 19 runs in 19 2/3 innings in Triple-A in addition to struggling through seven MLB appearances.

Padres Select Seth Mejias-Brean

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The Padres announced prior to tonight’s game that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Seth Mejias-Brean from Triple-A El Paso. San Diego also recalled right-handers Eric Yardley and Gerardo Reyes.

It’ll be the first call to the big leagues for Mejias-Brean. The 28-year-old was originally selected by the Reds in the eighth round of the 2012 draft and also spent the 2017-18 seasons with the Mariners before inking a minor league pact with the San Diego organization this winter.

In 117 games with El Paso, Mejias-Brean turned in a strong .316/.371/.455 line with 11 home runs, 18 doubles, three triples and four stolen bases. Beyond those offensive contributions, he provided the Chihuahuas with some versatility, lining up at both shortstop and third base in a roughly even distribution. Brean hasn’t previously performed at such a lofty offensive level, but he’s a career .269/.334/.382 hitter through 1471 Triple-A plate appearances and also has ample express at first base, so he’ll give San Diego some fairly versatile bench depth in the season’s final month.

Blue Jays Designate Zack Godley, Select T.J. Zeuch

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5:00pm: Toronto announced that Godley has indeed been designated for assignment. His roster spot goes to right-hander T.J. Zeuch, whose contract has been formally selected from Triple-A Buffalo (whose likely promotion had been previously reported). Zeuch is in line to make his MLB debut tonight, following opener Wilmer Font.

Zeuch is generally considered to be among the Jays’ top 20 or so prospects. The 2016 first-rounder has had a solid season spent mostly at the Triple-A level, where he’s logged a 3.69 ERA in 78 innings of work. However, Zeuch also managed just 4.5 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 in that time. His hefty 57.1 percent grounder rate can help offset the lack of missed bats to an extent, but he’ll need to up his strikeout totals in order to find sustained success in the big leagues.

Toronto also recalled infielder Richard Urena along with outfielders Anthony Alford and Jonathan Davis.

2:59pm: The Blue Jays have designated righty Zack Godley for assignment, per MLBTR’s Steve Adams (Twitter link). Corresponding roster moves aren’t yet known, but the club has a need for space for forthcoming promotions.

Godley, 29, struggled quite a bit with the Diamondbacks before they cut him loose. He’ll have enough service time to qualify for arbitration after the season, though that won’t matter unless he’s claimed by a team with designs on tendering him a contract.

Clearly, the Jays decided against that course of action after watching Godley up close. He was able to provide 16 innings of 3.94 ERA ball in Toronto, but produced only 6.8 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 with a 43.0% groundball rate. Those numbers are well shy of the quality peripherals Godley produced in each of the past two campaigns.

Rockies Select Drew Butera, Designate Noel Cuevas

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The Rockies have selected the contract of veteran catcher Drew Butera from Triple-A and designated outfielder Noel Cuevas for assignment, per a club announcement. Colorado also recalled infielder Josh Fuentes from Triple-A.

It’ll be Butera’s second go-around with the Rockies, as the 36-year-old also suited up for Colorado late last season following an August trade. A well-regarded defender and game caller, Butera has managed only a .201/.258/.299 batting line in 1364 plate appearances at the MLB level. He hit .300/.389/.511 in Triple-A this season — a dramatic increase from his career production at that level — and will give manager Bud Black some depth behind the plate to help rest Tony Wolters and Dom Nunez down the stretch. Butera will be a free agent at season’s end.

Cuevas, 27, batted .233/.268/.315 in 153 plate appearances for the Rockies in 2018 but has appeared in just one MLB game so far in 2019. Cuevas hit well in Triple-A in both 2017 and 2018 but has put together a rather pedestrian .278/.358/.439 batting line (96 wRC+) in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League in 2019. He’s capable of playing all three outfield spots and does have a minor league option remaining beyond the current season.

Fuentes, 26, batted just .254/.298/.448 in Triple-A this season while striking out at a 27 percent clip. That’s a far cry from last year’s .327/.354/.517 line and 17.4 percent strikeout rate in 586 plate appearances at the same level.

Cubs Activate Willson Contreras

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Catcher Willson Contreras and left-hander Derek Holland have been activated from the 10-day injured list, the Cubs announced Tuesday. Contreras had been out since early August due to a hamstring strain, while Holland has been out since Aug. 25 owing to a wrist contusion.

Contreras will return to a different catching mix than he left, as the Cubs quickly scooped up veteran Jonathan Lucroy to help cover for Contreras’ absence. Lucroy has hit just .232/.302/.282 through 43 plate appearances since joining the Cubs, though he’s served primarily as a backup to hot-hitting Victor Caratini. In 79 plate appearances since Contreras was placed on the IL, the switch-hitting Caratini put together an impressive .271/.354/.471 output with four long balls and a pair of doubles.

Productive as Caratini may have been, Contreras should assume the lion’s share of playing time behind the dish if he’s at full health. Contreras, 27, made his second All-Star team in 2019 and has posted a .275/.365/.525 batting line through 340 plate appearances over the life of 87 games. Between him and Caratini, it seems that playing time for the veteran Lucroy could be scarce moving forward.

As for Holland, he’s allowed five runs on eight hits and three walks with eight punchouts in 9 2/3 innings with the Cubs since they picked him up from the Giants. He’ll give manager Joe Maddon another left-handed option out of the bullpen as the Cubs look to close a three-game deficit to overtake the NL Central-leading Cardinals.

Brewers Release Jeremy Jeffress

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Sept. 3: The Brewers announced that Jeffress has been released. He’s eligible to sign with any other club at this point but would not be postseason eligible in 2019. The previous 2020 option on his contract was rendered moot when he was released, so any club signing Jeffress to a new deal would control him only through the end of the current season (unless a new club option were to be tacked on).

Sept. 1: The Brewers are set to release right-hander Jeremy Jeffress, tweets Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. As Rosenthal notes, the veteran reliever is currently on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hip.

It’s the culmination of a shocking turn of events for the 31 year-old, whose 1.29 ERA last season was a key reason Milwaukee advanced within a game of the World Series. The 2019 season has been nowhere near as effective for Jeffress (or the team), who has seen his strikeout rate drop from 29.8 percent to 20.4 percent. Despite strong walk and ground-ball numbers, Jeffress simply hasn’t been overpowering enough to get an adequate number of outs this year.

Jeffress had a club option covering his 2020 services, so evidently Milwaukee wasn’t interested in bringing him back at that rate and valued the 40-man roster spot over whatever they felt he could offer were he to get healthy. It’s possible to see Jeffress latch on elsewhere if an interested team feels comfortable with his medicals, but he’ll be ineligible for anyone’s postseason roster as a post-September 1 addition. It’s certainly arguable that Jeffress would be best suited sitting out the remainder of the season and turning his attention to the offseason, where his track record still seems likely to find him a major-league contract.

Marlins Announce Series Of Roster Moves

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The Marlins announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Brian Moran and catcher Tyler Heineman from Triple-A New Orleans. In order to open space on the 40-man roster, Miami transferred Brian Anderson from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list and designated catcher Wilkin Castillo for assignment. Additionally, outfielder Magneuris Sierra was recalled from New Orleans and added to the active roster.

Sierra, 23, will rejoin the club for the first time since the 2018 season. Acquired with Sandy Alcantara in the trade that sent Marcell Ozuna to St. Louis, it was hoped that he could serve as a long-term piece in the Miami outfield mix. That didn’t look to be the case by any stretch of the imagination in 2018 when Sierra batted just .190/.222/.211 in 156 big league plate appearances with the Marlins. His 2019 season in the minors has been better but not particularly impressive; in 549 trips to the plate between Double-A and Triple-A, Sierra has batted .275/.316/.387 with seven homers, 19 doubles, nine triples and 33 stolen bases (in 44 attempts).

This will be a big month for Sierra, who’ll be out of minor league options in 2020. That’s not to say he’s at jeopardy of losing his 40-man spot if he doesn’t show well in September, but a strong final impression in 2019 would surely improve his positioning for the 2020 campaign. Conversely, if he flounders in a similar fashion to his 2018 struggles, he’ll make it difficult for the organization to bank on any contributions from him next year.

Neither Heineman nor Moran seems like a long-term piece for the Marlins, but each will get his first look at the MLB level this month. Heineman, 28, was acquired from the D-backs in exchange for cash back in June. He’s batted a combined .336/.400/.590 in the Pacific Coast League’s supercharged offensive environment but has never hit much in four prior seasons at that level (most coming with the Astros, who drafted him in the eighth round back in 2012).

Moran will turn 31 later this month and has grinded through 10 minor league seasons leading up to today’s breakthrough to the Major Leagues. It’s undoubtedly an emotional day for the former Mariners farmhand, who has pitched to a 3.15 ERA with 11.6 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 in 60 innings of relief in New Orleans this season. Moran has spent parts of five seasons in Triple-A, compiling a 3.67 ERA with 11.5 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 176 2/3 innings.

Anderson was already known to be done for the season after incurring a fractured hand last month. Miami’s best all-around player, the 26-year-old Anderson batted .261/.342/.468 with a career-high 20 home runs and 33 doubles in 520 plate appearances this year. He’s controlled all the way through the 2023 season and looks like a building block in South Florida.

Castillo, meanwhile, returned to the Majors in 2019 for the first time in a decade. He appeared in just two games but nonetheless was able to relish the bright lights of the Major Leagues after a long journey through the minors. Castillo has just 24 big league games to his credit, but the 35-year-old has played in 581 career Triple-A games, hitting .245/.283/.358 along the way.

Yankees Activate Edwin Encarnacion

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TODAY: As expected, Encarnacion has been activated.

YESTERDAY: The Yankees are set to welcome Edwin Encarnacion back to the big league roster after a month-long absence due to a fracture in his right wrist, Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune tweets. Encarnacion cleaned out his locker with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate in Scranton following today’s game and told Foley that he feels “100 percent” and is “ready to go.”

Encarnacion, 36, hit .238/.327/.497 with nine home runs an 10 doubles through 36 games and 162 plate appearances between his mid-June acquisition and his IL placement on Aug. 3. It’s a step back from the .241/.356/.531 pace he managed with the Mariners prior to the swap, but his return will nonetheless provide a boost to a Yankees lineup that continues to hit even as it deals with the absence of numerous regulars.

The Yankees recently welcomed Luke Voit back from the injured list and have been enjoying a torrid hot streak from Mike Ford, who has belted six home runs in his past 10 games. Major League rosters have expanded to 40 players this month, so the Yankees won’t need to option anyone out to accommodate Encarnacion’s return. Given the health of Voit and Ford’s recent excellence, Encarnacion could be eased back into action, as that trio is each restricted to first base/designated hitter duties only. As such, manager Aaron Boone can now play matchups as he sees fit with that trio — Ford has hit just .176/.278/.318 against lefties — and always have another dangerous bat on the bench.

Encarnacion is owed the balance of this year’s $20MM salary between now and season’s end — some of which is being paid by both the Rays (who were involved in the three-team Encarnacion trade in the winter) and the Mariners. Encarnacion’s contract comes with a $20MM club option for the 2020 season, which includes a $5MM buyout.

Pirates Select Steven Baron

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The Pirates have selected the contract of catcher Steven Baron, per a club announcement. Also heading onto the active roster are outfielder Jason Martin, righty Yacksel Rios, and infielder Cole Tucker.

While the Bucs have plans to pursue upgrades at the catching position in the long run, the club needs to stay afloat at the position for the meantime. The Pittsburgh organization recently bid adieu to veteran Francisco Cervelli, leaving a timeshare situation with Elias Diaz and Jacob Stallings.

Baron, 28, has twice previous received brief MLB stints but has managed only one hit in 16 plate appearances. He was hitting a paltry .180/.264/.248 in 149 trips to the dish this year at Triple-A. Baron is a former first-round pick of the Mariners.

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