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Phillies Claim Kevin Siegrist From Cardinals

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The Phillies have announced that they’ve claimed lefty Kevin Siegrist from the Cardinals. The Cards designated Siegrist for assignment on Thursday as they activated him from a stint he spent on the DL with forearm tendinitis. To clear space on their 40-man roster, the Phillies have transferred righty Jerad Eickhoff (hand) to the 60-day DL.

Siegrist was a key reliever for the Cardinals in 2015 and 2016, when he combined for a 2.44 ERA, 10.3 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 over 136 1/3 innings. This season, though, he’s dealt with a neck injury in addition to the forearm problem, and he’s posted a 4.98 ERA, 9.4 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9 over 34 1/3 innings. He’s also dealt with somewhat diminished velocity, with his mid-90s heater dipping more into the 92-93 MPH range.

Siegrist is, however, eligible for arbitration for two more seasons after this one and he’s making a modest $1.64MM this year. Assuming he’s able to come back healthy, the Phillies can use the rest of the season to get a read on him, then decide if they want to keep him in their bullpen as a relatively cheap addition for 2018. The Phillies, despite not contending this season, have also already shown somewhat of a willingness to take on short-term veteran bullpen upgrades, having also recently added Juan Nicasio on a waiver claim.

Michael Conforto To Have Shoulder Surgery

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Mets outfielder Michael Conforto will soon have surgery to repair his torn shoulder capsule, tweets MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. The team placed Conforto on the DL last week.

It was already fairly clear that Conforto would not be back this season. (The Mets also added Nori Aoki today in a signing that probably would have happened independent of the news that Conforto needs surgery.) What’s not known, at this point, is how Conforto’s surgery might affect the timeline for his recovery. Via DiComo, the Mets will not announce a timeline for Conforto’s return until the surgery is complete.

Prior to the injury, Conforto enjoyed a breakout year in 2017, batting .279 with a .384 OBP and an outstanding .555 slugging percentage, with 27 home runs in 109 games. The 24-year-old former top prospect obviously appears set to play a significant role in the Mets’ outfield for the foreseeable future, health permitting.

Dodgers Designate Jordan Jankowski For Assignment

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The Dodgers have announced that they’ve designated righty Jordan Jankowski for assignment. The move clears space on the 40-man roster for righty Wilmer Font, whose contract the team selected today. The Dodgers also promoted Font and righty Brock Stewart to the big leagues.

The Dodgers added Jankowski on a waiver claim from the Astros less than two weeks ago. The 28-year-old has a 5.61 ERA, 11.4 K/9 and 5.8 BB/9 in 43 1/3 innings of relief at the Triple-A level this season. He also debuted with the Astros earlier this year, giving up six runs in 4 1/3 innings.

The 27-year-old Font, meanwhile, was named the PCL Pitcher of the Year after a remarkable season for Triple-A Oklahoma City in which he posted a 3.42 ERA, 11.9 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over 134 1/3 innings. The former Rangers farmhand signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays after a stint in independent ball last season, then headed to the Dodgers on another minor-league pact last winter.

Cubs Designate Jack Leathersich For Assignment

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The Cubs have designated lefty Jack Leathersich for assignment, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat tweets. The move clears space on the team’s 40-man roster for newly acquired outfielder Leonys Martin.

The 27-year-old Leathersich has spent most of the season at Triple-A Iowa, posting a 2.84 ERA, 5.7 BB/9 and an eye-popping 14.6 K/9 over 44 1/3 innings. Those numbers, combined with the fact that Leathersich has options remaining, could win him some attention on the waiver wire. He does, however, have limited big-league experience, and he struggled in brief duty with the Cubs earlier this season. The Cubs acquired Leathersich on a waiver claim from the Mets in the 2015-16 offseason, later re-signed him to a minor-league deal, then added him to their 40-man roster last winter.

Mets Sign Nori Aoki

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The Mets have signed veteran outfielder Nori Aoki, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets. The Blue Jays released Aoki earlier this week, making him eligible to sign with any team for a prorated portion of the league minimum salary.

The 35-year-old Aoki has produced a respectable .274/.319/.402 line over 258 plate appearances with the Astros and Jays this season, but has now changed teams twice, first heading from Houston to Toronto in the Francisco Liriano deal (likely in part to balance salaries in that trade) and now going from Toronto to New York. He has little power, with just five home runs this season, but he retains some of his established ability to make contact and still rates as approximately an average defender in a corner.

Aoki will aid a Mets team that’s short in the outfield following the departures of Jay Bruce and Curtis Granderson last month, as well as significant injuries to Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto. Aoki is eligible for salary arbitration in the offseason, but he would likely be in line to receive a salary above the $5.5MM he’s getting this season, so he appears to be a non-tender candidate.

Reactions To The Justin Verlander Deal

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Here’s a collection of reactions to the Tigers’ headline-grabbing trade of Justin Verlander to the Astros earlier this week.

  • After the Tigers and Astros agreed on a deal, Verlander initially refused to waive his no-trade rights, Jon Morosi of MLB.com writes. Verlander wasn’t opposed to joining the Astros, but first he wanted to see if he could go to the Cubs, since he and fiancée Kate Upton like the city of Chicago. (Verlander was also interested in the Dodgers, although they weren’t actively involved in talks.) When it turned out the Tigers felt the Cubs weren’t offering enough value in a potential deal, Verlander signed off on the trade that would send him to the Astros.
  • Bob Nightengale of USA Today has further details on discussions between Verlander and the Tigers that resulted in Verlander’s departure from Detroit. The Tigers ultimately told Verlander it would be “the Astros or nobody,” as Nightengale describes it. Verlander, who had some concerns about Houston as it dealt with Hurricane Harvey, spoke to Astros owner Jim Crane. “I told him, ’This town is going to be fine. It’s going to take time. You will be received great here. We’ve got a good team, a good manager, a good front office. There won’t be any problems here,'” says Crane.
  • The Tigers’ decision to trade Verlander and Justin Upton was an “obvious rebuild move,” says Tigers GM Al Avila (via MLB.com’s Jason Beck). “We’re going to have a rough month of September, and next year may not be all that pretty, either,” says Avila. “But at some point in the near future, we expect this to turn around, that some of these prospects will be coming up and making a difference. And within a reasonable time then, we should be ready to go.”
  • The trade shows the Astros will treat their coming playoff run as a “crusade” for their beleaguered city, Ken Rosenthal writes for the Athletic. The team already has a franchise-record payroll of around $130MM this season, and that figure could go higher next year. But the Astros are pushing to make it to the World Series, and Rosenthal writes that while a baseball trade hardly makes up for what’s currently a disastrous situation in Houston, it could perhaps be a “ray of sunshine” in an extremely dark time.
  • Franklin Perez now ranks as the Tigers’ second-best prospect behind fellow righty Matt Manning, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen opines in a review of the prospects in the swap. Longenhagen describes Perez as a polished teenager who has the potential to dominate, although he’ll have to increase his stamina to carry a big-league starter’s workload. He calls Daz Cameron a “fringe-to-average hitter with fringe game power” and a borderline future big-league starting outfielder.

Central Notes: Ausmus, Candelario, Kennedy, Russell

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Tigers manager Brad Ausmus’ contract expires after the season, and as the club rebuilds, his future is unclear, Evan Woodbery of the MLive Media Group writes. “I can’t say that’s out of the question,” GM Al Avila said when asked about the possibility Ausmus would return for 2018. “I haven’t talked to him about it at this point. At some point we’ll sit down when we have some time and things settle down and we’ll see where that goes.” Ausmus himself declined to say anything too specific about the situation, though he did note that he thinks “there’s a lot of upside to young players because of the enthusiasm and energy and will to learn.” Last year, Ausmus expressed frustration about his uncertain future, only to have the Tigers pick up his option. Now there are no more options remaining on his deal, and the franchise appears to be heading in a different direction. He’s compiled a 308-310 record in most of four seasons in Detroit. Here’s more from the Central divisions.

  • After dealing Justin Verlander and Justin Upton this week, the Tigers will continue to get younger, promoting third baseman Jeimer Candelario and righty Myles Jaye today, as Woodbery notes. The 23-year-old Candelario, who the Tigers acquired in July in the deal that sent Alex Avila and Justin Wilson to Chicago, has batted .265/.343/.484 at the Triple-A level this year. He ranks fourth in MLB.com’s list of the Tigers’ top prospects. With Nick Castellanos transitioning to the outfield, there is (or could eventually be) space open for Canedelario at third base. Jaye, 25, has posted a 3.96 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 131 2/3 innings in the rotations of Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo. The Tigers added him in a March 2016 trade that sent Bryan Holaday to Texas.
  • Cubs shortstop Addison Russell hasn’t played in a game since Aug. 2 due to an ongoing case of plantar fasciitis, and manager Joe Maddon informed the media that he’ll be out for another three weeks after aggravating the injury during a rehab assignment (link via MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat). An MRI confirmed the setback. With Russell on the shelf for another three weeks, the Cubs will continue to lean on Javier Baez as their primary shortstop, though Chicago also selected the contract of versatile utilityman Mike Freeman yesterday. Freeman isn’t likely to see many starts, but he gives Maddon some depth at the position and some insurance in the event of an injury to Baez. Here’s more from the Central divisions.
  • Royals right-hander Ian Kennedy offered a candid assessment of his opt-out clause when speaking with Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. “It would be pretty stupid if I did,” said Kennedy when asked about the possibility of exercising that clause. “You don’t go to the free-agent market pitching how I’ve been. No one is going to want that.” Set to turn 33 in December, Kennedy started the season with a strong April and has had some patches of success in 2017. However, he’s been shelled for 36 runs in his past 36 1/3 innings, allowing 49 hits (nine homers) and 17 walks against 30 strikeouts in that time. His current 5.47 ERA would be the worst full-season mark of his career and all but eliminates the possibility of forgoing the remaining three years and $43MM on his contract. Royals fans will want to check out Dodd’s column in full, as it’s packed with candid quotes from Kennedy and additional insight from manager Ned Yost.

MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Kershaw, Pedroia, September Call-Ups

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM (different format for 9/1)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Click to see all the A.L. transactions and future anticipated moves …

Read more

Submit Your Questions For MLBTR’s Mailbag

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In the most recent edition of the MLBTR Mailbag, I fielded questions on Mike Moustakas and Carlos Gonzalez as they head into free agency, the Blue Jays’ outfield, and Yoan Moncada’s early struggles at the plate.

If you have a question pertaining to August trades, 2017-18 free agency or any other topic we’d typically cover here on MLBTR, send us an email: mlbtrmailbag@gmail.com.

This time around, we’re also pleased to offer a bonus Mailbag that will be hosted by Twins right-hander Trevor May, who has been writing for MLBTR as part of our Player’s Perspective series while he works through his rehab from Tommy John surgery. (His most recent post for us was published earlier this morning.) Trevor suggested that he’d like to do a Mailbag with MLBTR readers, and we naturally obliged. You can submit questions for the Trevor May Mailbag at a separate email: trevormayofficial@gmail.com.

We’ll run both Mailbags next week, and also remember that you’re always welcome to get our take on topics of your choosing in the three weekly chats hosted at MLBTR (Tuesdays at 2pm CT with me, Wednesdays at 6:30pm CT with Jason Martinez and Thursdays at 2pm CT with Jeff Todd).

Notable September Call-Ups

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September 1 marks the date on which regular-season rosters expand from 25 to 40 in Major League Baseball. While the merit of that rule and its impact on games are a source of debate — MLB games tend to increase considerably in length in September as managers can more freely make pitching changes with deeper bullpens — the fact remains that there could be more than 100 players promoted to the big leagues today as the first wave of call-ups arrives.

Many September call-ups are players that have experience already under their belt. Journeyman big leaguers with exceptionally specific roles (e.g. pinch-running and defensive specialists) become a luxury that teams can now afford, and many teams will bring up a third catcher or additional bullpen arms for depth, even if a long-term MLB role isn’t likely for said players.

Some promotions, though, are more notable than others. Big league teams will often use the month of September to get a look at their top organizational prospects, and in some instances September can provide a potential audition for former stars seeking to reestablish themselves. (The Orioles, for instance, were reported last night to be bringing slugger Pedro Alvarez up from Triple-A for the season’s final month.)

All that said, here are some of this year’s more notable September promotions (we’ll update throughout the day as more moves are announced)…

  • Four new youngsters are joining the Cardinals, the team announced. Outfielder Harrison Bader and infielder Alex Mejia were already on the 40-man, but the team has also gone ahead and added righty Sandy Alcantara and backstop Alberto Rosario. Alcantara is an interesting pitcher to keep an eye on, as he reputedly comes with a big arm and could contribute from the bullpen — though he’s still ironing things out as a starter after spending the year pitching to a 4.31 ERA at Double-A.
  • The Indians announced that they’ve recalled top catching prospect Francisco Mejia from Double-A Akron and selected the contract of outfielder Greg Allen from Akron, thus adding him to the 40-man roster. The 21-year-old Mejia is commonly regarded as one of the top 25 prospects in all of Major League Baseball and was reportedly the would-be centerpiece to the Jonathan Lucroy trade that Lucroy vetoed in 2016. Allen, too, was set to be a part of that trade but has instead remained in the Indians organization and will now join Mejia in donning a big league jersey for the first time this month.
  • Right-hander Fernando Salas will return to the Angels, who announced last night that his contract has been selected from Triple-A Salt Lake. Salas spent parts of three seasons as a useful bullpen arm for the Angels before a trade to the Mets last August. While he dominated for New York down the stretch, Salas was torched for a 6.00 ERA this year after re-signing with the Mets. He tossed three scoreless innings in Salt Lake City and will hope for a strong finish to bolster offseason interest.
  • The Blue Jays, too, will be getting another look at an old friend. Outfielder Michael Saunders is joining the Jays as a September call-up, tweets MLB.com’s Greg Johns. While Saunders is merely looking to show well in his return to the Majors after struggling badly with the Phillies earlier this season, another outfielder is looking to carve out a long-term role in Toronto; trade acquisition Teoscar Hernandez is also on his way to the Majors, per Johns. The 24-year-old Hernandez was acquired in the Francisco Liriano swap and has posted a combined .265/.351/.490 batting line in 456 Triple-A plate appearances this season.
  • The Mets are promoting right-handers Jacob Rhame and Jamie Callahan, tweets MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. While neither reliever is considered to be among the game’s best prospects — they rank 23rd and 30th, respectively, on MLB.com’s list of the Mets’ top 30 prospects — both were recently acquired on the trade market. Rhame came to the Mets from the Dodgers as the return for Curtis Granderson, while Callahan arrived in Queens by way of the Addison Reed trade with the Red Sox. Both will be looking to make a strong impression as they seek to secure a long-term spot in the Mets’ bullpen.
  • The Tigers are getting their first look at left-handed reliever Jairo Labourt, per a team announcement. The 23-year-old was acquired alongside Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd in exchange fo David Price back in 2015. He’s turned in an excellent 2.17 ERA across three minor league levels this season and averaged better than 10 strikeouts per nine innings, albeit with some shaky control (4.5 BB/9).

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