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Yankees Place Dustin Ackley On Release Waivers

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The Yankees have requested release waivers on infielder/outfielder Dustin Ackley, reports Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. He’s likely to clear and become a free agent, though he won’t technically do so until next week.

Ackley, 29 in February, was acquired by the Yankees in the summer of 2015 and hit well in small sample down the stretch that year. However, he hit just .148/.243/.148 in 70 plate appearances this year before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. He was projected to make $3.2MM in arbitration this offseason, and coming off another year of disappointing production and a major surgery, Ackley’s removal from the roster is hardly a surprise.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2009 draft, Ackley was considered the best college bat in his draft class that season and rated as one of the game’s top prospects before debuting in 2011. His first season in the Majors with the Mariners showed a great deal of promise, as he slashed a very strong .273/.348/.417 in 376 plate appearances while calling the pitcher-friendly Safeco Field home. However, Ackley’s offensive production unexpectedly cratered the following season, and he was never able to get back on track. He’s spent time as a second baseman, outfielder and first baseman in the Majors but has batted just .235/.296/.358 in nearly 2000 plate appearances since that impressive rookie campaign.

Indians Claim Edwin Escobar From Diamondbacks, Outright Chris Gimenez

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The Indians announced that they’ve claimed left-hander Edwin Escobar off waivers from the D-backs and outrighted catcher Chris Gimenez off the 40-man roster.

Escobar, 24, pitched 23 2/3 innings of relief for Arizona this past season and allowed 19 runs (7.23 ERA) with a 17-to-12 K/BB ratio, although three of those free passes were issued intentionally. In 286 innings at the Triple-A level, Escobar has a 4.63 ERA with 6.5 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9. The former Giants and Red Sox farmhand found himself in Arizona by way of waiver claim back in April and comes from a baseball family, as he’s the cousin of Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar, Angels righty Vicente Campos and retired right-hander Kelvim Escobar. His father, Jose, also briefly played in the Majors in the early 90s as well. Escobar is the second lefty to be claimed by Cleveland today, as the Indians also claimed Tim Cooney from St. Louis.

The well-traveled Gimenez returned to the organization that drafted him this season and nearly captured a World Series ring in the process. The 33-year-old batted a timid .216/.272/.331, but right-hander Trevor Bauer credited Gimenez’s work behind the plate a great deal for the turnaround and consistently solid results he delivered for much of the season. Gimenez figures to elect free agency and seek a new organization this winter. He’ll do so with a career .218/.297/.335 line across 776 Major League plate appearances and a 24 percent caught-stealing rate in 215 career games behind the dish.

Royals Designate Tony Cruz; Tim Collins Elects Free Agency

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The Royals have designated catcher Tony Cruz for assignment, per a club announcement. The team also says that lefty Tim Collins has elected free agency.

Meanwhile, Kansas City has added four players to its 40-man roster, filling it to capacity. Righties Andrew Edwards and Jake Junis, catcher Cam Gallagher, and first baseman Samir Duenez all had their contracts selected.

MLBTR had projected Cruz to earn $1MM in arbitration, with Collins in line for a $1.5MM salary. Instead, both will likely find their way to other organizations. Cruz, 30, saw scant action last year in the majors but hit .264/.347/.387 in his 363 plate appearances at Triple-A. Collins hasn’t appeared since 2014, as he has required consecutive Tommy John surgeries.

Blue Jays Claim Dominic Leone; Josh Thole Elects Free Agency

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The Blue Jays have claimed righty Dominic Leone off waivers from the Diamondbacks, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports on Twitter. Meanwhile, Toronto announced that catcher Josh Thole has elected free agency after clearing outright waivers.

Leone, 25, struggled through 27 MLB frames last year, posting a 6.33 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9 while allowing an unhealthy number of home runs (seven). But he was much better at Triple-A, working to a 3.34 earned run average, notching 36 strikeouts versus 11 walks, and allowing only 25 hits in his 35 innings.

As for Thole, the departure of starter R.A. Dickey spelled the end of his time in Toronto. The 30-year-old had been trusted primarily to handle the knuckle-baller behind the dish, but hit just .169/.254/.220 over 136 plate appearances.

Royals Sign Drew Butera To Two-Year Deal

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The Royals have announced a two-year deal with free agent catcher Drew Butera. He’ll receive a $3.8MM guarantee, with $1.5MM for the 2017 season and $2.3MM in 2018, according to Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter).

Butera, 33, had a career year last season in Kansas City. He only took 133 plate appearances, but produced a .285/.328/.480 batting line with four home runs. That represented rather a significant improvement over his typical output, which stood at just .185/.241/.266 entering the season.

Certainly, Kansas City won’t be banking on that kind of sustained production from the veteran. He’ll be tasked mostly with serving as a defensively capable reserve to workhorse backstop Salvador Perez.

Though it’s a bit surprising to see Butera land a two-year guarantee, we’ve seen a variety of utility infielders score multi-year pacts at similarly modest salaries in the recent past. Given the state of catching around the game, it was certainly an opportune time for him to turn in a useful season at the plate.

Rangers Claim Tyler Wagner, Outright Adrian Sampson

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The Rangers have claimed righty Tyler Wagner off waivers from the Diamondbacks, per a club announcement. Texas outrighted righty Adrian Sampson and also added first bagger Ronald Guzman to its 40-man, leaving the club’s roster at 38 players.

The 25-year-old Wagner has worked at the major league level in each of the past two seasons, and has generally posted strong results in the minors as a starter. He only saw limited duty last year, though, presumably due to some injury (though that’s not apparent from public reports). Wagner went to Arizona from the Brewers as part of the Jean Segura deal.

Sampson, 25, was claimed from the Mariners about two weeks back. He’s coming off of elbow surgery that figures to limit him in the early going in 2017. As for the 22-year-old Guzman, he’ll likely be ticketed for a lengthier stint at Triple-A after reaching that level late in 2016. He struggled there in just 25 games, but posted strong results (.288/.348/.477) over 416 plate appearances on the year at Double-A.

Phillies Designate David Buchanan, Jimmy Cordero; Add 11 To 40-Man

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The Phillies announced today that they have designated righties David Buchanan and Jimmy Cordero for assignment. Their departure clears the way for a whopping eleven players to be added to the team’s 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft.

Here’s the full list of players who’ll rise to the Phillies’ MLB roster:

That’s a rather notable volume of 40-man turnover, and represents one of the more dramatic indications of the team’s commitment to developing from within. Philadelphia now has a full 40-man, which will make it tough to add more major league assets this winter without dealing off of the MLB roster or exposing some of these (or other) players to waivers.

Buchanan and Cordero were two early roster casualties as the club cleared the way to protect youthful assets. The 27-year-old Buchanan put up a solid 3.98 ERA in 167 1/3 innings last year at Triple-A, and recorded good results in the majors 2014 before a rough 15-start stint there in 2015, so he could draw outside interest. Cordero, 25, has yet to reach the majors. He failed to repeat a promising 2015 season, which led to his addition to the 40-man last winter.

Marlins Claim Elvis Araujo

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The Marlins have claimed southpaw Elvis Araujo off waivers from the Phillies, the teams announced. He’ll stay in the division but change sides, bringing plenty of cheap control with him to Miami.

Araujo, 25, is a towering lefty with a low-nineties heater to go with a slider and infrequently-used change. He has averaged better than a strikeout per inning in his 62 major league frames, but has also walked 5.2 batters per nine in that span. He was more effective in 2015 than 2016, but still largely dominated at Triple-A upon being demoted.

Miami has always taken chances on powerful relievers, even with shaky control, and this seems to be an interesting opportunity for the club. The Fish were looking for southpaw relievers with only one (Hunter Cervenka) currently penciled into the pen.

Brewers Claim Adam Walker

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The Brewers have claimed Adam Walker off waivers from the Twins, according to Phil Miller of the Star Tribune (via Twitter). The 25-year-old, who is a Milwaukee native, was a third-round draft pick back in 2012.

Walker has long shown impressive power in the minors, with 124 total home runs in his five professional seasons. But he has yet to earn a trip up to the majors due to questions surrounding the rest of his game.

At the plate, Walker racks up an enormous number of strikeouts. At Triple-A last year, he managed a .243/.305/.479 slash and 27 bombs. But he also went down on strikes 202 times in 532 plate appearances, making for a cringe-worthy 38.0% K rate.

It’ll be interesting to see what kind of opportunity Walker will receive with the Brewers. He’s bound to draw comparisons to current first baseman Chris Carter, who has a similar profile. Indeed, with Carter’s arbitration price tag projected to rise to $8.1MM due to his voluminous home run output, it’s possible that the club could ship him out and instead go with the younger, cheaper Walker — though he has played only in the outfield as a professional. Carrying both on the MLB roster, or stashing Walker at Triple-A, are also certainly plausible outcomes as well.

Indians Claim Tim Cooney

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The Indians have claimed lefty Tim Cooney from the Cardinals, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. He apparently lost his roster spot as St. Louis makes some hard decisions on younger, Rule 5-eligible players.

Cooney, 25, showed a lot of promise in 2015. Not only did he debut with six solid major league starts; he also posted a strong 2.74 ERA over 88 2/3 Triple-A innings. It seemed reasonable to expect that he’d play a major role in the Cards’ rotation mix this year and beyond.

Instead, shoulder troubles prevented Cooney from pitching at all in 2016. And his health remains in question this winter, with the Cardinals suggesting he could be limited even at the start of Spring Training. But Cooney would be quite a nice asset if he can get past the bum wing, and the Indians apparently see enough of a possibility to put in a claim.

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