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Nationals Sign First-Round Pick Seaver King

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The Nationals announced that they have signed Seaver King, who they selected with the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft. Jim Callis of MLB.com relays on X that the signing bonus is $5.15MM, a bit below the $5.95MM slot value for his pick.

King, 21, got into 60 games for Wake Forest this year, lining up at the three infield positions to the left of first base as well as center field. He hit 16 home runs in that time and slashed .308/.377/.577. He also stole 11 bases in 12 tries.

Based on his ability to contribute in multiple ways, he was one of the top ranked players coming into the draft. Each of Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and Keith Law of The Athletic ranked him 17th. ESPN put him slightly higher at 16th while FanGraphs was the most bullish by putting him 11th.

The outlets generally commend him for doing damage and putting up impressive exit velocities, though with some concern for his lack of discipline and propensity for chasing bad pitches, which leads to some weaker contact and few walks. Defensively, he’s considered a bit raw at his multiple positions but is expected to be carried by his athleticism in the short term and become more polished in time. FanGraphs sees a ceiling of an everyday shortstop but admits a multi-positional role is probably more likely.

The Nationals are at an interesting time in their rebuild, as they flirted with contention this year but have recently pivoted to selling, with Hunter Harvey flipped to the Royals. But they are starting to form a nucleus of controllable players at the big league level, with CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, James Wood and others up at the big league level.

Still down in the minors are notable prospects such as Dylan Crews, Brady House and more. King will join Crews and House in the minors, with his future defensive home and his role with the big league club still to be determined.

Yankees Sign Thomas Pannone To Minor League Deal

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Left-hander Thomas Pannone has signed a minor league deal with the Yankees and has been assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had previously been with the Cubs on a minor league deal but was released earlier this week.

Pannone, 30, was working out of the rotation for Triple-A Iowa prior to his release and was putting up decent numbers, so it’s possible that he triggered some kind of opt-opt. After signing a minor league deal with the Cubs in the winter, he logged 90 2/3 innings over 19 starts with a 4.37 earned run average, 22% strikeout rate, 8.1% walk rate and 42% ground ball rate. The run-scoring environment in the International League has been pretty strong this year, with pitchers in the IL having a combined 4.90 ERA. Pannone’s 4.37 mark is 12th out of 29 qualified pitchers in that league.

The Yanks have a strong rotation at the major league level right now but their depth has taken a few hits. Though Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Nestor Cortes, Marcus Stroman and Luis Gil have the five big league spots, guys like Clarke Schmidt, JT Brubaker, Cody Poteet and Clayton Beeter are all injured. Schmidt went on the injured list in late May due to a lat strain and still hasn’t begun a rehab assignment. Poteet landed on the IL about a month ago due to a right triceps strain and he hasn’t started a rehab assignment yet either. Brubaker was rehabbing from last year’s Tommy John surgery but was recently shut down with an oblique strain. Beeter has some kind of shoulder issue and might be done for the season, per Greg Joyce of the New York Post on X.

Since Pannone has been in decent form this year, the Yanks will bring him aboard to replace some of that missing depth. He has 118 2/3 innings of major league experience with the Blue Jays and Brewers with a 5.46 ERA in that time. He also spent parts of 2022 and 2023 in Korea, tossing 165 innings for the KBO’s Kia Tigers with a 3.49 ERA. If Pannone is added to New York’s roster at any point, he is out of options.

Dodgers Reinstate Joe Kelly, Outright Jose Hernandez

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July 19: The Dodgers announced today that Joe Kelly has been reinstated from the injured list to take the 40-man spot of Hernandez. Michael Petersen was optioned to make an active roster spot for Kelly. Their 40-man is now full again so they will have to open another spot when Ryan is officially promoted.

July 18: The Dodgers passed lefty Jose Hernandez through outright waivers and assigned him to their Rookie-level affiliate in the Arizona Complex League, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Hernandez had already been pitching in the ACL, building up after a layoff between the time L.A. acquired him from Pittsburgh and he began pitching with an affiliate. The move opens up a spot on the 40-man roster, which is presumably earmarked for top pitching prospect River Ryan, who’s slated to make his big league debut this weekend.

Hernandez, 26, was a Dodgers signee out of the Dominican Republic back in 2016. He spent seven years in the system before being selected by the Pirates in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft. Pittsburgh carried Hernandez in their bullpen all season in 2023, letting him work 50 2/3 low-leverage innings while pitching to a 4.97 ERA with a 27.8% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate.

By rostering him all season, the Pirates gained the right to option Hernandez in subsequent seasons. However, the lefty pitched just 5 1/3 innings over seven MLB appearances this season and was hit hard with the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis, yielding a dozen runs in 15 1/3 innings while working with diminished velocity. The Bucs designated him for assignment in June and wound up trading him back to the Dodgers in exchange for cash.

The Dodgers can now keep Hernandez in their system as a depth option without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to him. He’s had a tough 2024 season, but last year’s K-BB profile in the majors was interesting; those strikeout and walk rates were near-identical matches for his marks in his most recent full minor league season with the Dodgers back in 2022, when he posted respective 27.8% and 10% strikeout and walk rates in 59 2/3 innings between High-A and Double-A. Hernandez yielded just a 3.32 ERA that season and induced grounders at a solid 43.8% clip. This year’s velocity dip is concerning, but there’s still reason to think he could eventually emerge as a viable bullpen option somewhere down the road.

White Sox Outright Danny Mendick

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July 19: Mendick cleared waivers and is headed to Triple-A Charlotte, with Fegan among those to relay the news on X.

July 17: The White Sox announced that they have signed infielder Nick Senzel, a move that was reported last night. To make room for Senzel, they designated infielder Danny Mendick for assignment. They also optioned infielder Lenyn Sosa, leaving a roster spot open. James Fegan of Sox Machine suggests on X that Yoán Moncada could take that spot, though that’s not confirmed as of now.

Mendick, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Sox and was added to the club’s roster in late April. He has appeared in 47 games for the Sox, stepping to the plate 141 times. Unfortunately, he has hit just .197/.243/.318 this year. He has struck out in 24.8% of his plate appearances while walking at a 4.3% clip, with both of those being subpar.

This is his sixth straight major league season, with most of his offensive output being fairly uninspiring. He had a nice flash of brilliance in 2022, slashing .289/.343/.443, but that season was cut short when he suffered a torn ACL after 31 games. Overall, he has a .232/.286/.346 batting line and 76 wRC+ in 656 career plate appearances.

He has now been nudged of Chicago’s roster and they will have some time to try to work out the next steps, whether that’s a trade or trying to pass Mendick. DFA limbo can last as long as a week but the waiver process takes 48 hours, so any possibility of a trade will have to be explored in the next five days. Though with Mendick’s performance this year, interest is likely to be muted anyhow.

He can at least provide clubs with defensive versatility. He has played second and third base this year and also has some work at shortstop and in the outfield on his track record. He hasn’t been much of a base-stealer in his career but has swiped six bags without being caught this season. Mendick has an option and can therefore be kept in the minors if any club gives him a 40-man roster spot. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, he will have the right to elect free agency, both because he has a previous career outright and because he has more than three years of service time.

Rockies Agree To Terms With No. 3 Overall Pick Charlie Condon

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The Rockies and outfielder Charlie Condon, the third overall pick from the 2024 draft, have agreed to a $9.25MM signing bonus. That matches Chase Burns, who signed with the Reds earlier this week, for the largest signing bonus in MLB history and slightly above the $9.07MM slot value for the #3 pick. Both Condon and Burns are represented by Vayner Sports. Jeff Passan relayed the details of the agreement on X.

Condon, now 21, is coming off an absurd two-year run with Georgia. He hit 25 home runs in 56 games for them last year and slashed .386/.484/.800. Here in 2024, he took things to another level with 37 homers in 60 games and a batting line of .433/.556/1.009.

In addition to the power, Condon’s bat-to-ball abilities are also considered strong. He struck out 86 times over his two seasons with Georgia, a rate of 15.4%. He also drew 90 walks in that time, a rate of 16.1%.

He’s not considered a standout defender but has some versatility, having played the infield corners and all three outfield slots this year. His ultimate defensive home seems up in the air, with some suggesting he’s likelier to end up as a corner outfielder while other suggests third base is most likely.

But the bat is the real standout tool and that’s why he was considered one of the top players available in this year’s draft. Baseball America, ESPN and Keith Law of The Athletic all had him in the top spot. MLB Pipeline had him second behind Travis Bazzana, who was selected first overall by the Guardians. The report from FanGraphs is slightly more bearish, putting Condon fourth and expressing some worry that his uppercut swing will leave him vulnerable at the top of the zone, especially once he climbs to higher levels and eventually the majors.

While Condon’s power potential is exciting in a vacuum, the idea of him playing his home games at Coors Field is even more enticing. The Rockies have Ryan McMahon at third base, with his contract running through 2027. In the outfielder, Brenton Doyle seems to be emerging as a core piece in center, something that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently explored.

For Condon’s other possible positions, things get murky. Kris Bryant is under contract through 2028 but has hardly been able to stay on the field since coming to Colorado, even though the Rockies moved him to first base to try to lighten the wear and tear on him. Charlie Blackmon is 38 years old and on a one-year deal. Nolan Jones seemed to breakout last year but has stalled here in 2024.

The picture will undoubtedly change in time but the Rockies will surely be hoping for Condon to be a part of their roster in the future. His defense might require a bit of experimentation but perhaps his bat can vault him towards the majors quickly.

Nationals Reinstate Jose A. Ferrer

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The Nationals announced that left-hander Jose A. Ferrer has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Righty Amos Willingham was optioned to Triple-A to open an active roster spot. The Nats had two 40-man vacancies due to releasing infielder Nick Senzel and trading right Hunter Harvey to the Royals, so their count now climbs from 38 to 39.

Ferrer, 24, suffered a left lat strain during Spring Training and has spent the entire campaign on the IL until now. That has prevented him from building off last year’s major league debut. He tossed 34 innings for the Nats in 2023 with a 5.04 earned run average. His 17.6% strikeout rate was subpar but his 9.2% walk rate was around average. He got ground balls at a strong clip of 57.8% but also allowed four home runs, a rate of 18.2% per fly ball.

Advanced metrics thought he was a bit unlucky to have his ERA that high. Perhaps due to a relatively high .333 batting average on balls in play, his FIP was 4.55. SIERA, which normalizes home run rates, was even more bullish at 4.16.

Ferrer now slots into the club’s bullpen, giving them a second lefty alongside Robert Garcia. There should be plenty of opportunities for Washington relievers in the final few months of the season. They already traded Harvey and could potentially also flip Kyle Finnegan, Dylan Floro, Derek Law or Jacob Barnes by season’s end, as no one in that group is controllable beyond 2025.

That could give Ferrer a bit of runway to make up for lost time. He still has a couple of options and came into 2024 with less than a year of service, so he could be a long-term piece for the Nats if he performs well enough to continue holding a roster spot. He’s always been a ground ball guy in the minors but also with more punchouts than he showed in the majors last year. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has a 27% strikeout rate on the farm.

Reds Designate Edwin Ríos For Assignment

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The Reds announced today that outfielder Stuart Fairchild has been activated from the 10-day injured list with infielder Edwin Ríos designated for assignment as the corresponding move. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

Ríos, 30, was just added to the roster a couple of weeks ago. He received 10 plate appearances in five games but recorded just one walk and one hit, a single, while striking out four times. That’s a fairly meaningless sample size but he may have been squeezed out by forces beyond his control. In addition to Fairchild’s return from the IL, Jake Fraley has returned from a stint on the family medical emergency list and the club acquired Austin Slater from the Giants. On top of that, Rece Hinds has slashed an absurd .423/.464/1.192 in his first seven major league games.

The Reds gave Ríos a couple of starts at first base and a few pinch-hitting opportunities but it would have been hard to get into the lineup with those developments in the outfield. Spencer Steer had been playing some left field but might now be pushed to spending more time at first base, splitting that spot and designated hitter with Jeimer Candelario as the outfield is manned by Fraley, Fairchild, Slater, Hinds and Will Benson. Candelario can also play third but the club has Noelvi Marté getting regular run there.

Since Ríos is out of options, the Reds had to cut him from the 40-man roster entirely to squeeze him off the active roster. Prior to getting called up, Ríos got into 50 Triple-A games with some success. He hit 11 home runs and was drawing walks at an 11.8% clip, though he was also striking out 11.8% of the time. His .243/.340/.486 batting line translated to a 108 wRC+.

The Reds will have a week to trade Ríos or pass him through waivers. Since the waiver process takes 48 hours, that leaves five days for them to explore any trade interest. Players with more than three years of service time or a previous career outright have the right to reject outright assignments in favor of free agency, with Ríos qualifying on both counts.

Prior to this stint with the Reds, he had played with the Dodgers and Cubs. This is his sixth straight season getting MLB time but he’s never been able to stick around for more than 32 games in any individual year. Overall, he has 335 plate appearances over 135 games with 21 home runs and a batting line of .202/.290/.455 for a wRC+ of 100.

Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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MLBTR’s Anthony Franco held a live chat today, exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers! Anthony took questions on draft pick trading, whether the Royals could deal from their MLB team for help in other areas, the asking price on Garrett Crochet, Ivan Herrera's value, the Yankees' closing situation, the A's middle infield, where the first Juan Soto trade ranks among the biggest in MLB history, and much more.

 

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Royals Re-Sign Austin Cox To Minor League Deal

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The Royals have re-signed left-hander Austin Cox to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had opted out of a minors deal with the club last week but the two sides have circled back on a fresh pact and he’ll return to Triple-A Omaha.

Cox, 27, tossed 35 2/3 minor league innings with a 3.28 earned run average prior to opting out. His 23.7% strikeout rate was quite strong but he also walked 13.2% of batters faced. Were it not for an 87.2% strand rate, some more runs would have crossed the plate, which is partly why his his 5.43 FIP was more than two runs higher than his ERA.

He went out to the open market to see what opportunities were available to him but wound up back where he started. Such a sequence of events isn’t unusual, as teams and players in these situations often re-negotiate new terms, sometimes adding another opt-out into the new deal.

Regardless of the details of the new pact, Cox will again provide the Royals with some left-handed depth in a non-roster capacity. He tossed 35 2/3 innings for them at the major league level last year with a 4.54 ERA. His 22.1% strikeout rate was close to average but he gave out free passes at an 11.4% clip.

His season came to an unfortunate end in September when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while attempting to cover first base on a ground ball. He underwent surgery and was non-tendered at season’s end before reuniting with the club on his aforementioned minor league deal. The club currently has four lefties in its big league bullpen in Ángel Zerpa, Kris Bubic, Will Smith and Sam Long, with Walter Pennington also on the 40-man roster.

Cubs Select Jesus Tinoco

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The Cubs have selected the contract of recently acquired righty Jesus Tinoco, tweets Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. He’ll join their big league bullpen to start the season’s second half. Lefty Jordan Wicks, already out more than a month with an oblique strain, is being transferred from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injures list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Wicks will now be out until mid-August at the earliest.

Chicago acquired Tinoco from the Royals in exchange for cash earlier in the week. Presumably, given how quickly he’s been added to the big league roster, the right-hander had some form of opt-out or upward mobility clause in his contract that led to the swap.

Tinoco, 29, pitched 10 innings for the Rangers earlier this season and allowed nine runs before being designated for assignment. He rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A in favor of free agency, signed with the Royals a few days later, and now will find himself back in the majors with the Cubs less than a month after he became a free agent.

This year’s run with the Rangers obviously didn’t go how he’d hoped, but Tinoco tossed 20 2/3 innings of 2.18 ERA ball for Texas back in 2022 and has pitched to a 4.58 earned run average in 76 2/3 innings across parts of five seasons. He averages better than 96 mph on his fastball but doesn’t miss bats at a particularly high level; he’s fanned 18.1% of his big league opponents against an untenable 13.9% walk rate. He’s had a solid showing in 28 Triple-A innings this season, however, posting a 3.86 ERA with a huge 31.9% strikeout rate against a more manageable (but still higher than average) 9.5% walk rate.

The Cubs’ bullpen has been problematic for much of the 2024 season. They’re a middle-of-the-pack group in terms of ERA but have regularly faltered in high-leverage situations, due in no small part to possessing the third-highest walk rate in the majors, at 10.8%. Tinoco will give them a fresh arm, though his own history of command troubles doesn’t inspire much confidence that he’ll help the group cut down on its walk issues. If the Cubs plan to add to the roster between now and the July 30 trade deadline — they’re currently 3.5 games out of a Wild Card spot in the NL — bullpen help will likely be a focus.

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