Orioles Promote Luis Ortiz
The Orioles announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Luis Ortiz from Triple-A Norfolk. The 22-year-old Ortiz came to Baltimore alongside infielder Jonathan Villar in the July 31 trade that sent Jonathan Schoop from the Orioles to the Brewers.
Ortiz entered the 2017 season as a consensus top 100 prospects throughout the game, but he delivered fairly pedestrian results at the Double-A level as a 21-year-old and missed a couple of weeks due to injury along the way, all of which dropped his stock a bit heading into 2018. He currently ranks seventh among Orioles farmhands per MLB.com, though, and he’s had a solid year between a return to Double-A and his first exposure to Triple-A opposition.
Ortiz posted near-identical ERAs in Double-A (3.69) and Triple-A (3.71) this season, and his walk rate between the two levels was once again nearly identical (2.3 BB/9 in Double-A, 2.4 in Triple-A). He missed more bats at the lower of those two levels (8.6 K/9 vs. 6.0) but has generally been good about keeping the ball in the park and limiting free passes. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo note in the previously mentioned scouting report that Ortiz has a fastball that’ll run up to 97 mph and at least one potentially plus secondary offering in his slider. He’ll obviously be facing his share of tough opponents in the AL East, but given the lack of certainty in the Baltimore rotation picture, Ortiz will have the opportunity to audition for a starting job in 2019 and beyond.
The O’s can control Ortiz through at least the 2024 season even if he never returns to the minors from this point forth, and he won’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2021 season at the earliest. He’ll be the second trade addition with a chance to audition for a future rotation spot already this season, joining lefty Josh Rogers in that regard. Baltimore also already has right-hander Cody Carroll in the big league bullpen and has given Villar regular looks in the infield following this summer’s fire sale.
Cubs Select Jaime Garcia
Sept. 4: The Cubs announced today that they’ve selected Garcia’s contract. He’s been added to the big league roster, with Mark Zagunis landing on the 60-day DL to make roster space. Chicago will only owe Garcia the pro-rated league minimum — about $81K through season’s end. The Blue Jays are on the hook for the remainder of his guaranteed salary.
Aug. 31: The Cubs are set to sign lefty Jaime Garcia to a minor league contract, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand had just tweeted that Garcia was “likely” to sign with the Cubs following yesterday’s release by the Blue Jays. Garcia is a client of Moye Sports Associates.
Garcia’s one-year, $10MM deal with the Jays yielded poor results — a 5.93 ERA through 74 1/3 innings — but Sherman notes that the Cubs plan to take a look at him in the bullpen. He’ll head to the Cubs’ Triple-A bullpen for a few relief appearances, and the hope appears to be that he can be used as a weapon against left-handed opponents. Through 89 plate appearances against left-handed hitters this season, Garcia allowed just a .183/.250/.388 batting line.
[Related: Chicago Cubs depth chart]
So long as the deal becomes official today, Garcia would be eligible for the Cubs’ postseason roster in the event that his transition to relief role proves beneficial. That’s clearly not a guarantee, given his disastrous results in Toronto this year, but there’s little harm for the Chicago organization in exploring the possibility. Currently, the team has Justin Wilson, Randy Rosario and Jorge De La Rosa as southpaw options in the bullpen, with Brian Duensing also working his way back from a shoulder issue.
Indians Select Brandon Barnes, Adam Rosales
The Indians announced that they’ve selected the contracts of outfielder Brandon Barnes and infielder Adam Rosales from Triple-A Columbus. To open roster space for the pair of veterans, outfielder Tyler Naquin and right-hander James Hoyt were placed on the 60-day DL. (Hoyt was first recalled from Triple-A before that move to the big league DL.)
Barnes, 32, hasn’t been in the Majors since a 2016 run with the Rockies but has enjoyed a very nice season in Triple-A, making the International League All-Star team and hitting .273/.347/.444 with 14 homers and 19 steals through 566 plate appearances.
Barnes has never hit much in the Majors but, at his best, was capable of providing significant value at all three outfield spots and on the basepaths. He’ll add another name to the Indians’ piecemeal approach to patching over an injury-ravaged outfield mix that also features Melky Cabrera, Greg Allen, Rajai Davis, Brandon Guyer and Michael Brantley (with Jason Kipnis potentially headed there as well once Josh Donaldson is healthy).
Rosales, 35, has now appeared in the Majors in each season since 2008, though he’s never topped last season’s total of 312 plate appearances. He’s a career .227/.292/.365 hitter who has played all four infield positions and both outfield corners. Like Barnes, he’s a right-handed bat, and while he’s had more success against lefties throughout his career, Rosales’ year-to-year results have been highly inconsistent. He batted .239/.313/.445 with 18 homers and roughly even platoon splits in 428 Triple-A plate appearances this season.
Marlins Select Tyler Kinley, Peter O’Brien
The Marlins announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contracts of right-hander Tyler Kinley and first baseman/outfielder Peter O’Brien from Triple-A New Orleans. Veteran infielder Martin Prado and first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper were each transferred to the 60-day DL in order to clear space on the 40-man roster.
This promotion will mark the Marlins debut for Kinley, whom the Marlins selected in the 16th round of the 2013 draft, but it won’t be his big league debut. Kinley, 27, was selected by the Twins in last December’s Rule 5 Draft and broke camp in Minnesota, though he lasted just 3 1/3 innings before being cut loose. The righty has big-time velocity, averaging 96 mph on his heater and reaching triple digits at times, but as is so often the case, control has been an issue for him. Kinley averaged five walks per nine innings pitched in New Orleans this season, though a 12.6 K/9 mark helped him to mitigate some of the damage.
In 3 1/3 innings with the Twins this season, Kinley was clobbered for nine runs on nine hits and four walks with four strikeouts. In his 40 Triple-A frames, though, he posted a much better 2.93 ERA despite his struggles to locate the ball effectively.
O’Brien, meanwhile, came to the Marlins from the Dodgers (in exchange for cash) back in a minor June swap. He wasn’t hitting his weight with the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate (.150/.241/.390), but he’s righted the ship with the Miami organization. In 174 PAs with the Marlins’ Double-A affiliate, O’Brien hit .215/.345/.514, and he’s currently hitting .277/.385/.598 through 135 Triple-A PAs in his new organization. O’Brien still strikes out far too much, but he’s dropped his strikeout rate from a ghastly 39.3 percent in the Dodgers organization to 28.9 percent since the trade.
This won’t be O’Brien’s first look in the Majors. Back in 2014, the D-backs actually traded Prado to the Yankees in order to acquire O’Brien, betting on his considerable raw power in spite of some pronounced defensive question marks. The uncertainty surrounding O’Brien’s glovework — he was a catcher at the time of that trade — proved valid, as he’s since spent time at first base and in the outfield corners. He’s yet to produce in the Majors and has struggled in the upper minors in recent seasons as well, but his run with Miami has been his most encouraging showing at any level since his 2015 season with Arizona’s top minor league affiliate.
Beyond those moves, the Marlins also announced that both Jarlin Garcia and Elieser Hernandez were activated from the 10-day disabled list. Additionally, infielder/outfielder Christopher Bostick was recalled from New Orleans, though each of that trio was already on the 40-man roster.
Padres To Promote Francisco Mejia
The Padres are set to promote top prospect Francisco Mejia from Triple-A El Paso, per Dennis Lin of The Athletic (Twitter link). MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell adds that while Mejia could eventually be shifted back and forth between catching and the outfield, he’s been catching in El Paso this season and will be used as a catcher in the month of September with the Padres.
Mejia, 22, was the lone prospect traded from Cleveland to San Diego in the July deal that sent both Brad Hand and Adam Cimber to the Indians. He’s long rated as one of the game’s top overall prospects and entered the 2018 campaign as a consensus top 20 all-around minor leaguer. While he had a solid but unspectacular run with the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate this season, he’s exploded for a .328/.364/.582 slash with seven homes, eight doubles and a triple in just 132 PAs with the Padres’ top affiliate since the trade.
The arrival of Mejia in San Diego will give the Padres a pair of catchers who were highly touted as prospects, though certainly Austin Hedges‘ bat remains a work in progress. Hedges has improve upon last year’s overall production but is still hitting just .239/.292/.422 through 271 trips to the plate in 2018. Hedges is regarded as a premier defender behind the dish, though, even if his 22 percent caught-stealing rate is uncharacteristically low in 2018. The 26-year-old ranks as one of the game’s better pitch framers and sits 10th among MLB catchers in Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average this season, even in spite of his unusual throwing troubles.
The San Diego front office likely views the presence of both Hedges and Mejia as a good problem to have. Neither will be expensive in 2019. Mejia, of course, will be a pre-arbitration player while Hedges will receive a small but notable bump in pay as a Super Two player in arbitration. It’s possible that the pair could shoulder the bulk of the Padres’ work behind the plate for years to come, with Hedges serving as a glove-first option with power but middling OBP skills, while Mejia provides a bat-first option with a terrific arm but a lesser all-around defensive reputation.
Mejia does already have a slight bit of MLB experience under his belt, having logged 12 games with the Indians from 2017-18 (just one this year). He’s totaled just over a month of big league service time and will finish out the season with roughly 60 days of big league service. That’ll keep him from reaching Super Two status in arbitration if he’s in the big leagues to stay. Currently, he projects to reach arbitration eligibility following the 2021 season, and he’d reach the open market as a free agent following the 2024 season. Further time spent in the minors could yet push that trajectory back, but it appears that he’ll be given the opportunity to prove that he’s learned all he has to learn at the minor league level.
Blue Jays Select Jonathan Davis, Designate Mike Hauschild
The Blue Jays announced today that they have selected the contract of outfielder Jonathan Davis. In a corresponding move, righty Mike Hauschild was designated for assignment.
In other promotions, the club has called up outfielder Dwight Smith Jr., infielder Richard Urena, and first baseman Rowdy Tellez. All were already on the 40-man roster, so no further moves were needed.
Davis, a 15th-round pick in the 2013 draft, will get his first promotion after turning in mixed results in the upper minors. Though he had an impress showing at Double-A, Davis has only managed a .249/.308/.389 slash in his 202 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors. He did, however, turn in his third-straight minor-league season with at least ten home runs and twenty steals.
As for the 28-year-old Hauschild, he has seen limited MLB action over the past two seasons. At Triple-A this year, with the Houston and Toronto organizations, he has worked to a cumulative 4.90 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 over 119 1/3 innings.
Nationals Outright Tommy Milone, Promote Victor Robles, Activate Joe Ross
The Nationals announced today that they have outrighted lefty Tommy Milone after activating him from the 10-day disabled list. That move opened a roster spot for the team’s promotion of righty Kyle McGowin, as had been expected.
In addition to McGowin, the Nats will call up outfielder Victor Robles, infielder Adrian Sanchez, and righty Austin Voth. Notably, too, the organization has activated righties Joe Ross and Erick Fedde from the DL.
It’s not terribly surprising to learn that Milone’s roster spot was put to use in another way. The 31-year-old returned to the organization with which he got his start, but functioned as a depth piece. He ended up throwing 26 1/3 innings of 5.81 ERA ball, with 23 strikeouts and only a single walk, in the majors. Milone will have the right to elect free agency now or at season’s end.
While it’s obviously quite common to see a few younger players filter up to the majors at this point in the season, the Nats have some fairly notable names moving onto the MLB roster. In particular, Robles is returning after missing a big chunk of the season due to injury. He could be an important part of the outfield picture next year.
Of arguably greater importance, as concerns the organization’s offseason plans, is the return of Ross and Fedde. The former underwent Tommy John surgery last July, while the latter had been sidelined by shoulder problems. It’s clear the Nats will be looking for starters over the coming winter, but the showing of this pair could help dictate how many and what level of arms are pursued.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
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Pirates Promote Kevin Kramer, Designate Buddy Boshers
The Pirates announced several September call-ups today, designating lefty Buddy Boshers to create roster space. Pittsburgh selected the contract of well-regarded middle-infield prospect Kevin Kramer along with that of journeyman catcher Ryan Lavarnway.
Also heading up to the majors are a series of players who already possessed 40-man roster spots. Righties Tanner Anderson, Michael Feliz, and Clay Holmes will all join the organization for the stretch run, as will outfielder Jordan Luplow.
Kramer will join Kevin Newman, another talented young infielder seen as part of the future, on the MLB roster. Chosen in the second round of the 2015 draft, Kramer is viewed as a solid all-around player. Certainly, he has impressed in the upper minors in the past two seasons, turning in identical 141 wRC+ figures in an injury-shortened 2017 at Double-A and in a full campaign this year at Triple-A.
In his 527 plate appearances with Indianapolis in 2018, Kramer owns a .311/.365/.492 slash with 15 home runs and 13 steals. He has spent some time at shortstop in the minors, but the bulk of his innings of come at second base and that’s where he’s expected to play in the big leagues.
As for Boshers, the 30-year-old southpaw has seen time in three MLB seasons but didn’t make it up in 2018. He has worked to a 3.32 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in his 57 frames at Triple-A, with time spent at both the Bucs’ and Astros’ top affiliates.
White Sox Select Jose Ruiz, Outright Matt Skole
The White Sox announced today that they have selected the contract of righty Jose Ruiz. To open a 40-man spot, the club outrighted infielder Matt Skole to Triple-A.
The move on Ruiz is one that the team announced yesterday, so it comes as no surprise. Of course, the exciting news for him was overshadowed by the team’s decision not to promote top-rated prospect Eloy Jimenez.
As for Skole, 29, he received his first MLB call-up and performed well in four games. But the corner infielder didn’t hit all that much at Triple-A, turning in a .237/.336/.404 slash in five hundred trips to the plate at Charlotte.