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Pirates Designate Domingo Germán For Assignment

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The Pirates announced that left-hander Joey Wentz, whom they claimed off waivers earlier this week, has been added to the active roster. Right-hander Domingo Germán has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move. Prior to the official announcement, Robert Murray of FanSided relayed on X that Germán would be designated for assignment. Earlier in the day, Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review was among those to relay on X that Wentz was in the clubhouse while Germán was leaving in street clothes.

Germán, 32, has spent most of this year with Triple-A Indianapolis. He signed a minor league deal with the Bucs in the offseason, opting out of that deal in July before quickly re-signing a fresh minor league pact. His results with that club were mediocre, as he made 13 starts with a 5.29 earned run average. He struck out 21.9% of batters faced and gave out walks at a 10.3% clip.

The Pirates selected him to the big league roster just under a month ago and have been using him in a swing role. He has made seven appearances, including two starts, with a 7.84 ERA, 18% strikeout rate and 13% walk rate. He started against the Cubs yesterday but allowed six earned runs in three innings, seemingly wearing out his welcome on the Pittsburgh roster.

Germán will be placed on waivers in the coming days. Since he has had to settle for minor league deals lately and didn’t get good results when given a chance, it seems fair to expect him to go unclaimed. He has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, so he might be on the open market again shortly.

He has had some good results in his career, including pitching MLB’s 24th perfect game in June of last year, but has also has plenty of on-field and off-field issues. While with the Yankees, he was placed on administrative leave in September of 2019 and eventually received an 81-game domestic violence suspension. Last year, before that perfect game, he received a foreign substance suspension. He eventually finished the year on the restricted list while getting treatment for alcohol abuse, following a reported confrontation in which he argued with people in the Yankee clubhouse before flipping a couch.

The Other, Other NL MVP Candidate

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For much of the season Shohei Ohtani has been the presumptive National League MVP favorite. Maybe that wasn't the case on Opening Day, but an injury to teammate Mookie Betts early in the summer and an injury to D-backs star infielder Ketel Marte cleared his path. The Ohtani hype is understandable. He's been the National League's best hitter this year by many measures, pacing the Senior Circuit in slugging percentage (.613) and wRC+ (167). Ohtani is fifth in the NL in batting average, fourth in OBP, first in homers and runs scored and second in runs batted in. He's also swiped 46 bags and is a veritable lock to have a 45-45 season, with a chance at becoming MLB's first ever 50-homer, 50-steal player in a season.

Lately, there's been a push by Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor to tighten the race, however. Dating back to July 1, Lindor boasts a sensational .310/.384/.587 slash. He's in the midst of a torrid 15-game hitting streak, which he started just one game after seeing a 12-game hitting streak end. Since the beginning of July, Lindor has more than twice as many multi-hit games (22) than he does hitless games (10). Defensive metrics are a bit split on him this year, with Defensive Runs Saved curiously pegging him as average while Statcast grades him as one of the best defensive players in the entire game. Regardless, Lindor and his .274/.343/.501 batting line (plus 30 homers and 26 steals)  lead the NL in both FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference WAR.

It's not quite fair to the rest of the field to call this a pure two-horse race, though Lindor and Ohtani are certainly the favorites at the moment. Cincinnati standout Elly De La Cruz could thrust himself further into the conversation with a big finish, but many voters will be turned off by the fact that however excellent his season has been -- and it's been excellent -- it's happened as a member of a non-contending Reds club.

There's still one other viable MVP candidate who's not getting the love, and who probably won't get the love -- but absolutely should.

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Rockies Select Jaden Hill

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The Rockies announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Jaden Hill. Left-hander Evan Justice was optioned to Triple-A to open an active roster spot. Right-hander Dakota Hudson was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man.

Hill, now 24, was selected in 2021 draft. The Rockies grabbed him that year with a pick in the second round, with Hill going 44th overall. That was despite a notable injury history that was already in place. As noted by Baseball America, Hill missed a lot of time during his college years due to elbow problems and eventually required Tommy John surgery in 2021. His stock faded going into the draft but the Rockies took a chance on him.

He was able to get back onto the mound in 2022, making his professional debut with brief stints in Rookie ball and Single-A. Last year, he made 16 High-A starts and logged 43 2/3 innings with mixed results. On the positive side, he struck out 26.3% of batters faced and got grounders on 52.4% of balls in play. His 11.5% walk rate was a tad high but not disastrous, and perhaps understandable for a guy still working back from major surgery. But he allowed 11 home runs in that small sample, ballooning his ERA to 9.48. His 6.63 FIP was far better but still not a good mark.

Here in 2024, the Rockies have moved him to a relief role, with some good results. He started the year at Double-A, logging 38 1/3 innings over 34 appearances. In that time, he had a 3.52 ERA, 32.9% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate and 50% ground ball rate.

He was promoted to Triple-A and his results there have yielded another mixed bag. In seven innings over seven appearances in the Pacific Coast League, he has struck out 34.2% of batters faced and kept 52.9% of balls on the ground. But he’s also walked 15.8% of batters faced and allowed eight earned runs for a 10.29 ERA. His .500 batting average on balls in play and 57.7% strand rate didn’t help, but the free passes also clearly played a role.

The Rockies are playing out the string on another lost season and Hill was going to be Rule 5 eligible this winter anyway. They will give him his roster spot now and use some of their remaining games to get him acclimated to the majors and see how his stuff plays at the top level. BA currently lists him as the club’s #26 prospect, noting that his fastball can hit the high 90s with a slider and a changeup in the mix.

As for Hudson, he landed on the 15-day IL August 11 due to right elbow inflammation. The club hasn’t provided any updates on his status since then but it appears they don’t expect him to make a return this year, based on the transfer to the 60-day. He can be retained for 2025 via arbitration but he has a 6.17 ERA on the year and was passed through waivers in July, before being re-selected to the roster. Given his rough year and uncertain health status, the Rockies could non-tender him instead.

Mets Claim José Azocar

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The Mets announced that they have claimed outfielder José Azocar off waivers from the Padres and optioned him to Triple-A. The Friars had designated him for assignment in recent days. Right-hander Sean Reid-Foley has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open up a 40-man roster spot.

Azocar, 28, has been with on the Padres’ roster for most of the past three years, serving as a frequently-optioned speed-and-defense depth outfielder. His contract was selected in April of 2022 and he has since been put into 214 games, though only sent to the plate 397 times.

Offensively, Azocar doesn’t bring too much to the table. He has hit .243/.287/.322 in those plate appearances at the major league level, with that production translating to a 74 wRC+. It’s a fairly similar story in the minors, as he has taken 438 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level since the start of 2023 with a line of .276/.309/.402. In the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, that leads to a wRC+ of just 70.

But he can provide value elsewhere. He has just over 1,000 innings in the outfield in his major league career, playing all three slots on the grass. He is just a bit above average in the eyes of Defensive Runs Saved, coming in at +2, but Outs Above Average gives him a stronger grade of +8. OAA is particularly fond of his center field work, with a +5 mark up the middle.

Azocar is in his final option season, meaning he will have less roster flexibility next year. The Padres nudged him off their 40-man when Fernando Tatis Jr. came off the 60-day IL, but the Mets will stash him at Syracuse for the time being. They currently have an outfield mix of Brandon Nimmo, Harrison Bader, Jesse Winker, Starling Marte and Tyrone Taylor, with J.D. Martinez in the designated hitter slot.

Some of the guys in that group have notable injury histories, so Azocar can give the club some glove-first depth for the rest of the year. He has less than two years of service time and can therefore be controlled well into the future, but clinging to his roster spot will become more challenging in the long run.

As for Reid-Foley, he has spent most of this season on the IL due to right shoulder issues. He landed on the shelf on Opening Day due to a right shoulder impingement and was activated in late April. He was on the active roster for two months before going back on the IL, again due to a shoulder impingement. This transfer to the 60-day IL is a formality since he has already been out for longer than that, meaning he can be reinstated whenever he’s healthy. Earlier this week, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to return before the end of the season, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com on X.

Royals Designate Dan Altavilla For Assignment

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The Royals announced that right-hander Dan Altavilla has been designated for assignment. He had been on the 60-day injured list and was on a rehab assignment but it seems they didn’t want him to retake a spot on their 40-man roster, so he’s now in DFA limbo instead.

Altavilla, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Royals in the offseason and was selected to their roster in June. He made five appearances for the club, allowing six earned runs in 3 2/3 innings via five hits, three walks and breaking Mookie Betts’ hand.

The righty then landed on the 15-day injured list due to a right oblique strain, later getting transferred to the 60-day IL. He started a rehab August 6 and was coming up to the end of his 30-day maximum rehab window. Since he’s out of options, the club was going to have to add him back onto both the 40-man and active rosters, but they decided to cut him loose instead.

Since it is the post-deadline part of the schedule, Altavilla will be placed on waivers in the coming days. If he were to pass through unclaimed, he would have the right to elect free agency, both due to having a previous career outright and at least three years of service time.

His recent major league stint with the Royals adds a small amount of data to his career stats. He now has 119 2/3 innings pitched with a 4.36 ERA in seven different seasons. His 26% strikeout rate is quite strong but his 12.2% walk rate is definitely on the high side. Most of that came from 2016 to 2021 as he didn’t pitch in the majors in either 2022 or 2023, missing most of that time due to Tommy John surgery.

Blue Jays Claim Emmanuel Ramírez, Designate José Cuas

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The Blue Jays have claimed right-hander Emmanuel Ramírez off waivers from the Marlins, per announcements from both clubs. The Fish had designated him for assignment earlier this week. The Jays announced that Ramírez has been optioned to Triple-A Buffalo and that fellow righty José Cuas has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Ramírez, 30, made his big league debut with the Marlins this season but pitched to a rough 6.97 ERA in 20 2/3 innings out of the Miami bullpen. He’s been considerably better with their Triple-A affiliate in Jacksonville, recording a 3.76 ERA, 30.5% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate in 40 2/3 frames. He posted similar numbers in a 2023 season split between the Yankees’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates.

Ramírez has averaged 93.9 mph on his four-seamer and paired that with a splitter and lesser-used slider to round out a three-pitch repertoire. He has a full slate of minor league options remaining, despite his age, so he could be a flexible depth arm for the Jays next season if they opt to keep him on the 40-man roster. For now, he’ll get an audition in the final three-plus weeks of regular-season play.

Cuas, also 30, was a waiver claim out of the Cubs organization earlier in the summer. He wound up pitching only three MLB innings with the Jays and allowing three runs. The rest of his time in the organization came in Triple-A Buffalo, where he was roughed up for a dozen runs in 15 2/3 innings of work.

From 2022-23, Cuas was a solid, if command-challenged reliever who notched a 3.84 ERA in 103 innings between the Royals and Cubs. Kansas City traded him to Chicago in a ’23 deadline swap that sent designated hitter/outfielder Nelson Velázquez back to the Royals. Cuas posted good results down the stretch with the Cubs despite a high walk rate, but the glut of free passes caught up to him this season. He’s walked at least 12% of his opponents in all three of his big league seasons and also plunked an alarming 3.2% of the batters he’s faced. In 17 1/3 innings this year, Cuas has a 7.71 ERA.

Cuas will now head to waivers, where all 29 other clubs will have the chance to claim him. He has a minor league option remaining beyond the current season and has demonstrated an ability to miss bats in bunches in spite of pedestrian velocity, thanks largely to a sweeper that generates huge whiff rates.

Phillies To Promote Seth Johnson

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The Phillies are planning to call up right-hander Seth Johnson to start Sunday’s game against the Marlins, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. It’ll be the big league debut for the 25-year-old righty, whom Philadelphia acquired from the Orioles in exchange for left-hander Gregory Soto prior to the trade deadline. Johnson is already on the 40-man roster, so the Phils will only need to clear space on the active roster to accommodate his promotion.

Selected with the No. 40 overall pick by the Rays in 2019, Johnson has now been dealt twice before making his major league debut. Tampa Bay sent him to the Orioles as part of the three-team deal that brought Jose Siri to the Rays and sent Trey Mancini from the O’s to the Astros.

It’s been a long and injury-paved road to the majors for Johnson. He made nine starts in the summer following his draft season, didn’t pitch in 2020 due to the canceled minor league season, and was limited to 93 innings by an elbow issue in 2021. That elbow injury flared up in 2022 after just seven appearances, requiring Tommy John surgery that shut Johnson down until late in the 2023 campaign.

The 2024 campaign has been the first full, healthy season Johnson has had since being drafted five years ago. He’s looked sharp, pitching to a combined 2.33 earned run average between the Double-A and Triple-A levels. That includes an excellent 1.52 ERA in 23 2/3 innings since being traded from Baltimore to Philadelphia. Johnson had strict workload restrictions early in the season with the O’s, rarely pitching more than four innings in a start. The Phils have slowly taken off the training wheels, so to speak, allowing him to pitch five innings, five innings and six innings across his past three Triple-A appearances. Johnson’s pitch count has climbed as high as 98 in that time, and he’s allowed only one run in that run of three starts.

Baseball America currently ranks Johnson seventh among Phillies farmhands, while FanGraphs lists him eighth and MLB.com tabs him 15th. He’s viewed as a potential mid-rotation starter — one with a heater sitting around 95 mph and a potentially plus slider, with less-impressive but still-developing offerings in his curveball and changeup.

The Phillies’ rotation has at times been as deep as any unit in the game this season. The fifth spot has been an exception since right-hander Spencer Turnbull incurred a lat strain that sent him to the 60-day IL, however. Veteran Taijuan Walker has spent time on the injured list and struggled through the worst season of his career when healthy enough to take the mound. Philly recently dropped him to the bullpen, and they’ll turn to a young arm in his place after optioning another in-house option, right-hander Tyler Phillips, on the heels of his own recent struggles.

The top four spots in the Phils’ rotation are set both this year and next, with each of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez locked into spots. Turnbull is a free agent at season’s end. Walker is signed for another two years, but with Johnson, Phillips and prospects Andrew Painter and Mick Abel among the starting candidates working their way toward the majors, Walker’s long-term outlook has become rather muddled.

A’s Designate Janson Junk For Assignment

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The A’s have designated right-hander Janson Junk for assignment and recalled left-hander Brady Basso from Triple-A Las Vegas, the team announced Thursday.

Junk was claimed off waivers just six days ago. He made his first and only appearance for Oakland last night in a nightmare outing wherein he faced eight batters and allowed them all to reach base (six hits, two walks). Junk was charged with seven earned runs and did not record an out.

Disastrous as that outing was, Junk has been quite effective in Triple-A this season and had a nice year at that level with the Brewers in 2023. He’s pitched 50 innings with a 3.60 earned run average for the Triple-A affiliates of the Brewers and Astros this season, and last year the now-28-year-old righty logged 140 innings with a 4.18 ERA, 15.8% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate for Milwaukee’s top affiliate in Nashville. Junk’s calamitous outing with the A’s sent his career ERA in 40 major league innings careening from 5.18 to 6.75. He’s been far better in Triple-A, with 266 innings of 4.26 ERA ball and consistently strong walk rates.

Basso, 26, made his big league debut earlier this season and tossed 3 1/3 innings. The former 16th-round pick breezed through six Double-A starts this year (2.84 ERA, 30.5 K%, 2.9 BB%) and has now appeared in 16 Triple-A games (12 starts). In 67 2/3 innings in Vegas, he’s logged a 5.19 ERA while fanning 26.4% of his opponents against a 7.5% walk rate.

Twins Place Max Kepler On Injured List, Select DaShawn Keirsey Jr.

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The Twins have placed right fielder Max Kepler on the 10-day injured list with patellar tendinitis in his left knee and selected the contract of outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. from Triple-A St. Paul, per a team announcement. Left-hander Kody Funderburk was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Keirsey, who’ll be making his MLB debut when he first gets into a game.

Kepler, 31, came out of the All-Star break on a tear, hitting .316/.357/.468 in 84 plate appearances and boosting his season line to .271/.320/.412 in the process. Coupled with his strong defense in right field, he looked to be on his way to another solid all-around season. He’s since fallen into a dreadful swoon at the plate, however, tallying just one hit in his past 17 plate appearances and batting only .116/.156/.140 in his last 45 turns at the dish. He’s been in and out of the lineup while trying to play through discomfort in his problematic knee, but after sitting out the past four contests, he’ll now head to the injured list and hope some down time will get him back to full strength.

It’s an ill-timed injury for Kepler, both in the team sense — the Twins are a very likely Wild Card club but still hoping to chase down the division-leading Guardians — and in a personal sense. He’s in the final season of an extension signed prior to the 2019 season. That deal guaranteed him $35MM over five seasons and grew to a six-year, $44MM deal when the Twins picked up a 2024 option on him after a strong 2023 season. He’s now on the cusp of reaching free agency for the first time. Kepler had already seen his output take a step back from last year’s .260/.332/.484 slash (124 wRC+) and 24 homers, but after this recent lull at the plate his season-long batting line has wilted to a sub-par .253/.302/.380.

Taking Kepler’s place on the active roster will be the 27-year-old Keirsey. The Twins selected him with their fourth-round pick back in 2018. He’s old to be considered a true “prospect” and was passed over in last year’s Rule 5 Draft even after hitting a combined .294/.366/.455 between Double-A and Triple-A in 2023. The Twins are surely glad to have been able to hang onto him, as Keirsey now climbs to the majors after an impressive season that’s seen him produce a .292/.364/.477 slash in St. Paul. He’s connected on 14 home runs and swiped 36 bags in 43 attempts.

In scouting reports over the years, Keirsey has drawn praise for plus speed and athleticism. He’s seen as a viable center fielder and plus option in the corners. Scouts have questioned his hit tool, particularly after he fanned in 30% of his High-A plate appearances in 2021, but he’s trimmed that mark down to a more passable 23% in each of the past three seasons (22.8% in 2024).

If nothing else, Keirsey has the makings of a quality fourth outfielder who can be optioned back and forth between St. Paul and Minneapolis over the next few years, but he’s now had back-to-back productive seasons in the upper minors and could be something of a late-bloomer. He’ll add to a growing stock of lefty-hitting Twins outfielders on the 40-man roster. Even with Kepler set to hit free agency, the Twins have Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach, Alex Kirilloff and top prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez all on the 40-man roster, to say nothing of center fielder Byron Buxton and infielder/outfielder Austin Martin, who hit from the other side of the plate.

Rays Designate Alex Jackson For Assignment

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The Rays announced Thursday morning that they’ve designated catcher Alex Jackson for assignment and selected the contract of left-hander Mason Montgomery from Triple-A Durham. Tampa Bay also optioned lefty Tyler Alexander to Durham and recalled infielder Austin Shenton.

Tampa Bay has stuck with the 28-year-old Jackson all season, giving him 158 turns at the plate as the team’s backup catcher despite a .122/.201/.237 batting line and sky-high 34.2% strikeout rate. Jackson has played strong defense, but that lack of productivity in the batter’s box has now reached its tipping point, as Tampa Bay seems poised to turn his role over to recently promoted Logan Driscoll, who’s enjoyed a strong year in Durham and will now pair with defensive standout Ben Rortvedt to comprise the Rays’ catching corps.

Jackson was taken by the Mariners with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2014 draft and for years ranked as a top prospect thanks to huge raw power and one of the most impressive high school performances in recent memory. He was in play as a possible No. 1 overall pick during his draft season and viewed as a potential middle-of-the-order hitter. The M’s were bullish enough on his bat and athleticism to move him to right field immediately in pro ball, in hopes of fast-tracking his path to the big leagues.

Instead, Jackson’s hit tool never came around to match his power. He’s bounced around the league in a series of small-scale trades and minor league contracts but never cemented himself as a consistent big leaguer. In parts of five MLB seasons, Jackson has taken 340 plate appearances and batted .132/.224/.232 with a staggering 41.8% strikeout rate.

As he’s moved back behind the plate and continued to hone his defensive skills in the minors, Jackson has become a quality defender at catcher. However, his persistent strikeout troubles extend even to the Triple-A level (29.3%). He’ll now head to waivers and be made available to the other 29 clubs. If he clears, he’ll have the opportunity to elect free agency, as is the case with all players who’ve been previously outrighted in their career.

Montgomery, 24, was the Rays’ sixth-round pick in 2021 and ranked as one of the system’s top arms for the past few seasons. He’s had a dismal year in the Triple-A rotation and is currently sitting on a 6.26 ERA in spite of a sharp 26.1% strikeout rate and an only slightly higher-than-average 8.9% walk rate. Home runs have been Montgomery’s downfall, as he’s yielded an average of 1.95 long balls per nine innings pitched.

That said, there’s reason to perhaps look at Montgomery in a more favorable light. Beyond the intriguing K-BB profile, Montgomery moved to the bullpen on a full-time basis in early August and has been borderline untouchable since. He’s fired 9 2/3 shutout innings since moving to short relief, yielding just five hits and five walks while punching out a mammoth 20 of the 38 hitters he’s faced in his new role. He’ll give the Rays a fresh arm for now but also has the potential to develop into a long-term relief weapon for manager Kevin Cash.

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