Riley Greene, Jasson Dominguez Added As 27th Men For Little League Classic
The Yankees and Tigers square off in Williamsport tonight for the Little League Classic, and due to the special nature of the game, both clubs are allowed to add a 27th player to their active rosters. The two teams have each addressed this extra roster spot in a particularly noteworthy way, as the Yankees called up star prospect Jasson Dominguez from Triple-A and the Tigers activated outfielder Riley Greene from the 10-day injured list.
While Dominguez is in tonight’s starting lineup, it looks like it’ll just be a cup of coffee in the majors for the 21-year-old, as Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) that Dominguez will be returned to Triple-A after the game. Obviously plans could change in the event of an injury, but for now, it looks like the Yankees are just utilizing the right-hitting Dominguez to spell lefty-swinging Alex Verdugo in left field since southpaw Tarik Skubal is starting for Detroit.
Tonight will mark Dominguez’s first MLB game since last September, when he hit .258/.303/.677 with four homers in his first 33 plate appearances in the big leagues. However, just as “the Martian” appeared to be living up to the hype, he had to undergo Tommy John surgery, which kept him on the shelf until he returned for a rehab assignment in single-A ball in mid-May. Dominguez quickly moved back up the ladder to Triple-A but then suffered an oblique strain in June that kept him out of action for another six weeks.
Dominguez is hitting .298/.365/.477 with seven homers over his 167 combined PA at three levels of the Yankees’ farm system this season, so while he isn’t dominating minor league pitching, his numbers are still quite solid (especially for a player battling so many injuries). Under normal circumstances, he would likely be in the majors already if it wasn’t for the crowded nature of New York’s outfield picture. Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Verdugo are the starting outfield trio, and Giancarlo Stanton has the DH spot on lockdown, leaving little room for Dominguez to find regular playing time.
GM Brian Cashman stated last week that “There’s currently no lane for us to bring him [up]. It’s nice to know he’s there. He’s just knocking rust off and waiting for his opportunity if it comes.” Tonight’s one-game cameo doesn’t really counter Cashman’s statement, as the team would surely prefer to see Dominguez continue his development with regular reps in Triple-A rather than only sporadic playing time in New York. It is worth noting that Verdugo has been in a deep slump for over three months now, so as we continue down the stretch to the postseason, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Dominguez promoted to take the lion’s share of work in left field.
Greene last played on July 25, as a right hamstring strain has kept the outfielder sidelined for the better part of a month. The Tigers don’t need to make a corresponding roster move today because of the 27th man rule, but some kind of roster adjustment will need to be made before Detroit’s next game, on Tuesday against the Cubs.
Now in his third Major League season, Greene has continued to take strides as a budding star for the Tigers, hitting .264/.357/.485 with 17 home runs over 427 PA. Between this production at the plate and some excellent glovework as Detroit’s primary left fielder, Greene has already generated 2.8 fWAR, and his success was acknowledged with his first All-Star nod. While the Tigers haven’t yet turned the corner in their rebuild process, Greene certainly looks like a cornerstone player within the club’s future plans.
Tigers Designate Gio Urshela, Easton Lucas For Assignment
TODAY: The Tigers announced today that Urshela has cleared outright waivers and has been placed on release waivers. In the likely event that Urshela clears release waivers, he’ll become a free agent and be eligible to sign with any of the league’s clubs for a pro-rated portion of the big league minimum.
August 16: The Tigers announced today that they have selected the contracts of infielders Jace Jung and Trey Sweeney, moves that were reported yesterday. In corresponding moves, outfielder Akil Baddoo was optioned to Triple-A Toledo and infielder Gio Urshela was designated for assignment. To open another 40-man spot, left-hander Easton Lucas was designated for assignment. Robert Murray of FanSided reported the Urshela move on X prior to the official announcement.
Urshela, 32, reached free agency for the first time after the 2023 season. He had a solid four-year run in the big leagues from 2019 to 2022 but then had an injury-marred 2023 campaign. He got into 62 games with the Angels, hitting just two home runs before a pelvic fracture wiped out the second half of his season.
That was naturally going to impact his individual market but he also had the misfortune of being a part of one of the frostier offseasons in recent memory. Even big-name free agents lingered on the open market well into the new year. Many players below the superstar level ended up settling for very modest deals in the early parts of 2024. Guys like Michael A. Taylor, Enrique Hernández, Adam Duvall, Randal Grichuk and others settled for one-year deals of less than $5MM.
The Tigers were able to nab Urshela for a guarantee of just $1.5MM on a one-year deal. Though his 2023 season wasn’t great, they were likely excited to get a solid veteran at such a low price point. As mentioned, Urshela had a strong four-year run prior to 2023, spending time with the Yankees and Twins. In that stretch, he hit 54 home runs in 435 games and slashed .290/.336/.463 for a wRC+ of 118.
He spent most of that time at third base and generally had the reputation of a strong defender. Bizarrely, Outs Above Average hates him and gave him a grade of -17 in that 2019-22 period, but Defensive Runs Saved gave him a solid grade of +5.
If the Tigers got anything close to that kind of performance for their modest investment, it would have been a steal. Unfortunately, Urshela has not been able to bounce back as hoped. He has been in 92 games for Detroit this year with five home runs and a modest batting line of .243/.286/.333. That translates to a 73 wRC+, indicating he’s been 27% below league average at the plate this year.
Detroit is 7.5 games back of a playoff spot, which isn’t a totally hopeless position, but they are clearly focused on the future at this point. Prior to the deadline, they traded away Jack Flaherty, Carson Kelly, Andrew Chafin and Mark Canha. They are going to use the remainder of the schedule to get Jung and Sweeney exposed to major league pitching, which will nudge Urshela out of their plans.
Since the trade deadline has come and gone, they will have no choice but to place Urshela on waivers in the coming days. He has about $345K of his salary still to be paid out, meaning a claiming team wouldn’t be taking on huge amounts of money by grabbing him. However, given his performance both last year and this year, it’s possible that he passes through unclaimed. He has been hot of late, with a .265/.342/.412 batting line and 108 wRC+ in August, but that’s a sample of just 38 plate appearances amid a rough two-year stretch.
If he passes through unclaimed, he has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment while keeping that salary in place. If he ends up a free agent, the Tigers would be on the hook for that money. Any other club could sign him for the prorated league minimum, which would be subtracted from what the Tigers pay.
Lucas, 27, was just claimed off waivers from the Athletics in May. Since that claim, he has made three appearances for the Tigers with two earned runs allowed, two strikeouts and two walks. Combined with his time with the A’s, he now has 13 2/3 major league innings pitched with a 9.22 earned run average.
His minor league work this year has been far more interesting. Between the two organizations, he has thrown 49 Triple-A innings with a 3.31 ERA. The 11.2% walk rate is on the high side but he’s countered that with a 25.2% strikeout rate.
Lucas still has a full slate of options and less than a year of service time. For any club intrigued by his Triple-A numbers this year, he could be a long-term depth piece. Like Urshela, he will have to be placed on waivers in the coming days since the trade deadline has passed. Lucas has a previous career outright, which would give him the right to elect free agency if he eventually passes through waivers unclaimed.
Angels Designate Jose Cisnero For Assignment
The Angels announced this afternoon that they’ve designated right-hander Jose Cisnero for assignment. The move opens up an active roster spot for right-hander Victor Mederos, who was recalled to the majors in a corresponding move. The club also announced that infielder Luis Guillorme, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, has been released.
Cisnero, 35, made his big league debut back in 2013 with the Astros and struggled over parts of two seasons in Houston, with a 4.66 ERA in 48 1/3 innings of work. That would be the journeyman’s only big league action for several years, as the right-hander bounced around various minor league affiliates and independent leagues from 2015 to 2018 before landing with the Tigers in 2019. The then-30-year-old righty impressed in 40 innings of work at the Triple-A level with a 2.70 ERA and a 27.7% strikeout rate, earning him another crack at the big leagues.
The right-hander ultimately spent the next five seasons pitching for the Tigers as a solid, reliable middle relief option. He posted a 3.89 ERA (114 ERA+) with a 4.09 FIP overall, and was particularly impressive from 2020-22 when he pitched to a 2.94 ERA with a 3.65 FIP in 116 1/3 innings of work. Unfortunately, the wheels started to come off for Cisnero last year when he posted a 5.31 ERA with a 4.60 FIP in 63 appearances for the Tigers. Those struggles came in spite of strong strikeout (26.2%) and walk (9.4%) rates that solidly outperformed not only his career numbers, but the numbers he had posted while pitching so effectively for the club in previous years. With strong peripherals, including a 3.73 SIERA and a 4.20 xFIP, suggesting better days ahead, the Angels took a one-year flier on Cisnero’s services this past offseason.
Unfortunately, that experiment did not pay off. Cisnero’s 2024 campaign has been nothing short of brutal as he’s been lit up to a 6.89 ERA with a 6.24 FIP thanks primarily to the fact that he’s allowed four home runs in just 15 2/3 innings of work. The right-hander was sidelined for three months by a bout of shoulder inflammation and made his return to the mound just yesterday, but surrendered two runs (one earned) in 1 2/3 innings of work that saw him allow a hit, a walk, and hit a batter while striking out just one of the eight opponents he faced. That was evidently enough for the Angels to decide to pull the plug on the right-hander, who will now be available for any club in the league to claim off waivers if they so choose.
Taking Cisnero’s place on the Halos’ active roster is Mederos, who has not yet pitched in the majors this year. The right-hander struggled in a brief cup of coffee in the majors last year with a 9.00 ERA in three appearances and hasn’t fared much better in 21 starts split between the High-A and Double-A levels this year, with a 6.56 ERA and a 16.7% strikeout rate in 94 2/3 innings of work. As for Guillorme, the veteran of seven MLB seasons posted a .231/.302/.298 slash line in 50 games for the Angels this year after being acquired from the Braves in an early-season trade. He’ll turn to the free agent market in search of greener pastures, and it’s not hard to imagine a team in need of infield depth having interest in the 29-year-old’s services given his strong defensive reputation and left-handed bat.
Reds Claim Amed Rosario Off Waivers From Dodgers
The Reds have claimed infielder Amed Rosario off waivers from the Dodgers, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The move was subsequently announced by both clubs. Cincinnati had a vacant spot on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding move was necessary to claim Rosario although one will be necessary to make room for him on the active roster once he’s activated.
Rosario, 28, was designated for assignment by the Dodgers last week to make room for Mookie Betts when the latter returned from the injured list. The utilityman is now on to his third team of the season. The versatile hitter began the season with the Rays after signing a one-year deal with the club this past offseason but was dealt to the Dodgers ahead of the trade deadline last month to provide the club with positional depth amid injuries to Betts, Max Muncy, Chris Taylor, and the newly-acquired Tommy Edman that had left the club scrambling for infield depth.
Despite the Dodgers’ decision to part ways with Rosario, however, he’s been an above average offensive contributor overall this year. In 287 trips to the plate this year between Tampa and Los Angeles, Rosario has slashed a solid .305/.331/.415 (114 wRC+) this year while splitting time between second base, shortstop, third base, and right field. For the Reds, Rosario could offer an alternative to Noelvi Marte at the hot corner, as Marte has struggled badly with a .181/.217/.292 slash line in 40 games since returning from an 81-game PED suspension earlier this year. That said, Rosario’s versatility could also allow him to act as a right-handed complement to the club’s lefty outfield bats like Jake Fraley and Will Benson or perhaps even spell Jonathan India and Elly De La Cruz up the middle as necessary.
While Rosario’s numbers are solid enough to warrant playing time as a regular, he’s been particularly effective against left-handed pitching both throughout his career and this season. In 110 trips to the plate against southpaws this year, Rosario has posted a fantastic 134 wRC+ compared to roughly league average numbers against right-handed pitching. It’s a similar story for his career, as Rosario is a career 122 wRC+ hitter against lefties but has posted just an 85 wRC+ against same-handed pitching. Of course, it’s worth noting that the Reds already have Stuart Fairchild (122 wRC+ against southpaws this year) available as a lefty-mashing outfield option, which could give the club more incentive to instead utilize Rosario as a regular on the infield in place of Marte.
As for the Dodgers, the return of Mookie Betts and the impending returns of both Tommy Edman and Max Muncy leave them flush with quality infield options, even as they face some level of uncertainty regarding the status of first baseman Freddie Freeman. The Reds have agreed to take on the infielder’s remaining salary by claiming Rosario, but that’s unlikely to have a significant impact on either club. After all, Rosario is only due around $350K for the remainder of the 2024 campaign. That relative minor sum is practically a rounding error in a big league team’s budget, and neither the low-budget Reds nor the big-spending Dodgers are close enough to a luxury tax threshold for that figure to have a significant impact.
Dodgers Designate Brent Honeywell Jr. For Assignment
The Dodgers announced this morning that they’ve designated right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. for assignment. The move clears space for right-hander Ben Casparius, whose promotion was reported yesterday, on both the 40-man and active rosters.
It’s the second time this year Honeywell, 29, has been DFA’d despite solid results at the big league level. The right-hander began the year with the Pirates on a minor league deal and posted fairly middling results at the Triple-A level with the club but has looked good ever since he was selected to the majors early last month. He pitched just 3 1/3 innings before being cut loose by Pittsburgh, though he was promptly claimed by the Dodgers and continued to post strong numbers in ten appearances with L.A. over the past month. Altogether, Honeywell has compiled a sterling 2.28 ERA in 23 2/3 innings of work across twelve appearances this year.
Impressive as those surface-level numbers are, it’s worth noting that Honeywell’s peripherals suggest regression could be on the way. The righty’s strikeout rate is just 13.8% in the majors this year, and while that’s been paired with a strong 6.4% walk rate that lack of strikeouts leads to a lot of traffic on the bases. Honeywell has kept the scoring to a minimum to this point thanks to a very inflated 89.6% strand rate, but the righty’s 4.74 FIP, 5.28 xERA, and and 4.67 SIERA all suggest that things could get ugly for the righty if his sequencing begins to normalize.
With that being said, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest the right-hander could be a worthwhile contributor to a big league pitching staff. A second-round pick by the Rays back in 2014, Honeywell spent half a decade as a consensus top-100 prospect in the sport, even reaching consensus top-15 status prior to the 2018 season after pitching to an excellent 3.49 ERA in 26 starts split between the Double- and Triple-A levels the year prior. Unfortunately for Honeywell, he did not pitch from 2018 to 2020 due to injuries, and he hasn’t looked quite the same ever since that three-year layoff.
After an ill-fated big league debut with the Rays back in 2021, Honeywell struggled badly in the minors until he received an extended opportunity in the Padres bullpen last year that saw him hold his own with a 4.05 ERA in 46 2/3 innings of work while striking 20.6% of batters faced, a far more respectable clip than he’s posted this year despite his impressive results. Given his prospect pedigree, strong results this year, and performance as a solid middle relief arm for the Padres last year, it’s easy to imagine a team having enough interest to claim him off waivers in the coming days. Should Honeywell clear waivers, the Dodgers will have the opportunity to assign him outright to the minor leagues, though he’d be able to reject that assignment in favor of free agency if he so desired.
Diamondbacks Outright Humberto Castellanos
The Diamondbacks have assigned right-hander Humberto Castellanos outright to Triple-A Reno, according to the transactions log on his MLB.com profile page. Castellanos was designated for assignment by the club last week to clear roster space for the return of right-hander Merrill Kelly.
Castellanos, 26, made his big league debut with the Astros back in 2020 but struggled in 10 2/3 innings of work during the shortened season with a 6.75 ERA and 5.35 FIP. Despite those struggles, the Dbacks were interested enough in the righty to claim him off waivers from Houston the following winter, and while the 23-year-old didn’t make the club’s Opening Day roster in 2021 he found his way to Arizona later that season in a swing role. He’d remain in that flexible role with the club over the next two years, shuttling not only between the major and minor leagues but also between the bullpen and the rotation.
Overall, Castellanos’s results left much to be desired in 2021 and ’22 as he pitched to a combined 5.30 ERA and 4.91 FIP in 90 innings of work. It’s worth noting, however, that the right-hander’s numbers were much better out of the bullpen as he posted a 3.68 ERA while striking out 22.2% of batters faced. That may have portended the ability to act as a solid pure reliever, although any hope of finding out more about that possibility was temporarily scuttled by Castellanos undergoing Tommy John surgery late in the 2022 season. Castellanos was outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster while rehabbing but returned to the club on a minor league deal.
The right-hander returned to action as a starter at the minor league level earlier this year but was brought up to the majors to act as a multi-inning reliever when he eventually got the call back to the bigs in June. That first taste of big league action in nearly two years did not go well, as he was lit up for five runs in 2 1/3 innings of work before promptly being sent back down to the minors. He returned to the big leagues last month and looked a lot better as he scattered just six hits and two walks across eight innings of work split between six relief appearances (good for a 1.13 ERA and 2.80 FIP), but that small-sample success wasn’t enough to convince Arizona to keep him on their 40-man roster, perhaps due in part to his lackluster 18.2% strikeout rate even in that otherwise-impressive stretch.
Now back in the minors with Arizona, Castellanos figures to act as a non-roster depth option for the club down the stretch. The right-hander’s pitch counts have stayed fairly low during his most recent stint in the minor leagues and he’s seemingly benefited from that change, with a 2.08 ERA in 13 innings of work across three starts. If Castellanos continues to find success in shorter bursts at the minor league level, it’s feasible to imagine him getting another look in the majors as a reliever at some point in the future, whether that be with Arizona later this year or after he returns to free agency this winter.
Cardinals Notes: Matz, Lynn, Siani
Veteran lefty Steven Matz has missed most of the 2024 season due to back issues, including a setback in his rehab back in June as he was building up his pitch toward a return to the big leagues. Fortunately for the Cardinals, however, it appears the southpaw is once again nearing a return.
As noted by MLB.com’s John Denton, manager Oli Marmol told reporters yesterday afternoon that Matz, who had pitched four scoreless frames on 76 pitches the night prior, was nearing a return to the big leagues. Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch added that the Cardinals currently plan to have Matz return to St. Louis to be evaluated by the team’s medical staff before they decide whether or not he should return to the big league staff immediately, though (per Denton) Marmol indicated that the veteran is likely to make one more rehab start before returning to the majors.
The 33-year-old could provide some relief for a rotation that has struggled somewhat this season, with only Sonny Gray providing consistently above-average performances. Gray has posted decent results with excellent peripherals as the club’s top starter, with a 3.93 ERA (109 ERA+) and a 3.14 FIP in 22 starts this year. Andre Pallante has been another bright spot, impressing in 13 starts this year with a 3.75 ERA and nearly-matching 3.76 FIP since entering a rotation role in late May despite a lackluster 18.8% strikeout rate in those contests.
Looking beyond that duo, however, the results have left much to be desired. Miles Mikolas has posted a 5.41 ERA that’s 21% worse than league average by ERA+ and is the worst figure he’s posted in a season since returning to stateside ball in 2018 following a stint in Japan, while Lance Lynn had struggled to a 4.78 ERA with a 4.66 FIP in his last ten starts before going on the injured list with right knee inflammation at the end of July. St. Louis had spent much of this season leaning on Kyle Gibson for back-of-the-rotation consistency and attempted to fortify their rotation by adding Erick Fedde at the trade deadline, but the pair have posted ERAs of 6.11 and 5.63 respectively since the calendar flipped to August.
Of course, Matz is hardly a sure bet to provide quality innings out of the rotation himself. The lefty’s Cardinals tenure has been a bumpy one, as he posted a 5.25 ERA in 48 innings during his first season with the club and followed that up with a 5.72 ERA in his first ten starts last year. Those struggles ultimately left him demoted to the bullpen last summer, though he managed to pitch his way back into a rotation role down the stretch and posted excellent numbers (a 1.84 ERA and a 31.2% strikeout rate) in seven starts after being reinstated as a starter. That strong finish last year left plenty of reason for optimism regarding Matz entering this year, but in six starts before being sidelined back in May he struggled badly with a 6.18 ERA.
While some of those difficulties can surely be attributed to the small sample size and an inflated .362 BABIP posted by Matz’s opponents this year, that Matz struck out just 13.7% of batters prior to going on the shelf is cause for at least some concern. If Matz looks good upon his return, it’s easy to imagine him sticking in the club’s rotation mix for the rest of the season, although it’s also possible he’ll find himself back in the bullpen at some point.
Lynn’s impending return, which could potentially come even more quickly than that of Matz, also figures to play a role in the Cardinals’ rotation decisions. The veteran right-hander has been sidelined for nearly three weeks by knee inflammation but is slowly approaching a return to action, with Marmol telling reporters (including Worthy) that Matz is expected to throw a live bullpen session early this week. That’s a notable step forward for the 37-year-old, particularly because Marmol left the door open (as noted by MLB.com’s Injury Tracker) for the righty to return to action later in the week without a rehab assignment if his upcoming session goes well.
With both Lynn and Matz seemingly nearing returns to action, the Cardinals figure to have an excess of rotation options from which they can decide how best to line up for the stretch run as they look to push their way back into postseason contention after going just 4-10 so far in the month of August. In addition to the pitching reinforcements the club expects to get, Denton notes that the club’s run prevention apparatus could be getting a lift in center field in the near future as standout defender Michael Siani has already resumed swinging a bat after being sidelined by an oblique strain just two weeks ago. Siani recently received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his abdomen to aid his return to action, which could come before the end of the month if he continues to progress quickly.
Mets Activate Starling Marte, Designate Ben Gamel For Assignment
The Mets have activated veteran outfielder Starling Marte from the 10-day injured list, according to a team announcement. To make room for Marte on the active roster, the club has designated outfielder Ben Gamel for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster now stands at 39.
Marte, 35, is a two-time All-Star and veteran of 13 MLB seasons who first joined the Mets back in 2022. The outfielder’s time in New York got off to a strong start in his first season with the club when he slashed an excellent .292/.347/.468 (134 wRC+) in 505 trips to the plate. That earned him his second career All-Star appearance and even some down-ballot MVP votes, but the good times did not continue until his sophomore season with the Mets as he was plagued by injury woes and struggled to perform even in the 86 games where he was healthy enough to take the field with a lackluster 76 wRC+ thanks in large part to career-worst power numbers.
It was hard to know what to expect from Marte entering the 2024 season after battling groin, migraine, and neck issues the previous year. In terms of results on the field, Marte’s performance has been a clear success as he’s slashed a solid .278/.328/.416 (113 wRC+) while chipping in 12 stolen bases in 66 games. The downside, of course, is that Marte has been limited to just 66 games due to a bone bruise in his knee that sidelined him for nearly two months. Now that he’s once again active, Marte figures to work into a crowded outfield mix that currently features Brandon Nimmo and Jesse Winker in the outfield corners with Harrison Bader in center while Jeff McNeil also vies for occasional starts.
It’s not yet clear just how frequently Marte will start going forward given the strong performances of Bader and Winker this year, although it’s worth noting that Winker has slumped somewhat in 14 games since being dealt to New York by the Nationals. It’s possible that the Mets will use Marte as their usual starter in right field while allowing Winker to mix in to keep the oft-injured veteran fresh, perhaps also kicking Nimmo to center on occasion to get Winker into the lineup more often. At the very least, Marte appears to be a strong bet to make regular starts against lefty pitchers given the fact that Winker and Bader both sport lackluster numbers against southpaws.
Exiting the roster to make room for Marte is Gamel, a 32-year-old outfielder who has now played in parts of nine big league seasons. Initially a tenth-round pick by the Yankees back in 2010, Gamel made his big league debut with the club in 2016 but lasted just six games before being dealt to Seattle. He posted a roughly league average .264/.334/.392 slash line in four seasons as a regular with the Mariners and Brewers from 2017 to 2020 and has subsequently offered similarly average production at the plate while bouncing between Cleveland, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Queens.
He’s stepped up to the plate just 30 times with the Mets at the big league level this year, posting a .217/.400/.261 in that minimal playing time but paired it with an excellent .314/.423/.539 line at the Triple-A level. With the trade deadline in the rear view mirror, Gamel figures to be placed on waivers in the coming days, where any team will have the opportunity to claim the outfielder and bring him into the fold. If he clears waivers, he’ll have the opportunity to elect free agency and return to the open market in search of an opportunity elsewhere, though it’s also possible he could remain with the Mets as non-roster depth.
Pirates Re-Sign Josh Walker To Minor League Deal
The Pirates re-signed left-hander Josh Walker to a minor league deal earlier this week, as noted by Alex Stumpf of MLB.com. Walker was dealt from the Mets to the Pirates at the trade deadline last month but was designated for assignment shortly thereafter. Walker suffered an undisclosed injury shortly after joining the Pirates and, as a result, could not be placed on outright waivers when Pittsburgh designated him for assignment. As such, the club evidently instead released Walker before re-signing him to a minor league deal to clear his spot on the 40-man roster while still retaining him in the organization.
Walker, 29, was picked by the Mets in the 37th round of the 2017 draft. The lefty struggled to stay on the field early in his professional career with just 29 total affiliated appearances from 2017 to 2019, most of which came in relief. Following the cancelled minor league season in 2020, Walker returned to action as a starting pitcher in the minors and rapidly climbed the minor league level but hit a bit of a wall at Triple-A, where he struggled to a 5.19 ERA with a strikeout rate of just 15.8% in nine starts.
Those difficulties as a starter in the upper levels of the minors combined with an injury-marred 2022 season led Walker to move back into a relief role in 2023. He put together a dominant performance at Triple-A that year, posting a sparkling 1.84 ERA in 29 1/3 innings while striking out a fantastic 33.3% of batters faced. That excellent work in the minors was enough to earn Walker his first big league call-up at the age of 28 last year, but the lefty struggled in the majors as he allowed eleven runs, nine of them earned, and walked an elevated 12.5% of batters faced in ten big league innings last year. 2024 was more of the same during his time in the Mets organization, as he struck out 31% of batters faced with a strong 2.84 ERA but walked 10.9% of opponents with a lackluster ERA of 5.10.
Walker seemed likely to get another look in the majors with the Pirates at some point this year but his aforementioned injury seems to have derailed things for him, at least for the time being. With few details available regarding Walker’s injury and his timetable for return it’s unclear when or if he’ll pitch again this season, but with less than a year of service time in the big leagues and one minor league option remaining it’s easy to imagine the lefty being an interesting longer-term piece given his recent success at Triple-A.
Details On The Dodgers’ And Phillies’ Pursuit Of Garrett Crochet
The July 30 trade deadline came and went without a Garrett Crochet deal, even though several teams reportedly had interest in the White Sox southpaw. The Dodgers and Phillies were two of the clubs involved in Crochet’s market, and while The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the two NL contenders made “attractive” offers to the Sox, the bidding only went so far.
Beginning with the Phillies, they weren’t willing to include Andrew Painter, who remains a top-34 prospect in the view of both Baseball America (20th) and MLB Pipeline (34th) even though he hasn’t pitched since September 2022. A UCL sprain sidelined Painter during Spring Training 2023 and he underwent a Tommy John surgery in July 2023, putting the highly-touted righty on pace to be ready for the start of the 2025 campaign.
The 13th overall pick of the 2021 draft Painter has only pitched 109 2/3 pro innings, including 28 1/3 innings at the Double-A level. He could start 2025 back at Double-A if the Phillies want to relatively ease him back into action after his long layoff, though if all goes well, Painter could move up the ladder pretty quickly and become an option for Philadelphia’s big league staff before the end of next season. Since Painter is still just 21 years old, it is understandable why even a win-now team with a pretty crowded pitching staff would be wary about moving a top prospect with front-of-the-rotation potential.
Rather than make a big splash of a Crochet trade, Philadelphia instead made a more modest set of moves prior to the deadline. The Phillies’ discussions with the White Sox about Crochet might’ve spun off into the trade that brought Tanner Banks to Philadelphia, and the Fightins’ deadline adds also includes the likes of Carlos Estevez and Austin Hays.
Chicago’s talks with Los Angeles were still ongoing in the last hour before the deadline, before the Dodgers apparently pivoted and instead landed Jack Flaherty from the Tigers. Since Flaherty is a free agent after the season and his trade market may have been impacted by some injury concerns, naturally the Tigers’ ask for the right-hander was much lower than what the White Sox were seeking for Crochet, who is arbitration-controlled through the 2026 season.
Top catching prospect Dalton Rushing wasn’t included in the Dodgers’ offers for Crochet, but River Ryan was, though Rosenthal notes that “the White Sox had concerns about [Ryan’s] health.” Chicago’s focus was on the shoulder problem that cost Ryan the first two months of the minor league season, but Ryan has since been sidelined by a Tommy John surgery that will likely keep him out of action for the entirety of the 2025 campaign.
The Dodgers had such a need for pitching that Ryan got a bit of a fast track to the majors following his shoulder injury, as Ryan amassed only 24 1/3 innings in the minors (16 1/3 at the Triple-A level) this season before he was called up for his MLB debut. To this end, moving a big league-ready starter for Crochet probably wasn’t an ideal scenario for an L.A. team that basically needs all the arms it can get at this point, yet the Dodgers were obviously going to have to give up a lot to pry Crochet away from the White Sox.
Rushing’s name has been involved in trade speculation even before Will Smith signed his big contract extension with Los Angeles in March. Smith’s status as the Dodgers’ catcher of the foreseeable future could make either Rushing or fellow catching prospect Diego Cartaya expendable, yet it could be that L.A. didn’t want to move Rushing before experimenting with him at another position. Rushing has been playing only left field since his promotion to Triple-A earlier this month, and he has kept up the hot hitting even while adapting to a new position and facing a higher caliber of pitching, so it isn’t out of the question that Rushing could make his Major League debut before 2024 is over.
In another note about the Crochet trade talks, Rosenthal writes that “the White Sox also entertained offers in which they would have received lesser [prospect] packages but gained salary relief.” These particular discussions reportedly involved Andrew Benintendi, so in this scenario, an unknown team would’ve eaten all or most of Benintendi’s remaining contract as a sweetener to obtain Crochet. Rosenthal didn’t specify which teams made such offers, though the Dodgers and Phillies both seem less likely candidates, as adding Benintendi’s contract would’ve come at an even heftier cost for two teams deep into luxury tax territory.
On the one hand, Benintendi’s five-year, $75MM contract is already looking like a misfire less than two seasons in, so packaging him along with Crochet might be Chicago’s only reasonable method of getting Benintendi off the books. That being said, Crochet is also the team’s best trade asset, and moving him for a prospect package of maximum value is a clear way for the Sox to bring more talent into the organization. Diluting that return just to save some money wouldn’t seem all that prudent, especially since the White Sox reduced payroll in other deadline deals. Benintendi is owed $47.5MM over the 2025-27 seasons, but the Sox have just under $41MM committed to their entire 2025 payroll, as per RosterResource.