Tigers Select Brenan Hanifee, Sean Guenther
The Tigers announced they have selected the contracts of right-hander Brenan Hanifee and left-hander Sean Guenther. They also reinstated shortstop Javier Báez from the medical emergency/bereavement list. They will take the open roster spots of Jack Flaherty, Mark Canha and Andrew Chafin, who were all traded away on deadline day. Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group relayed the news about Hanifee on X prior to the official announcement. Chris McCosky of the Detroit News relayed Guenther’s selected earlier on X.
Hanifee, 26, got a brief look in the majors last year. The Tigers selected his contract in September and he tossed five innings over three appearances, allowing three earned runs. He was non-tendered at the end of the season but then re-signed with the club on a minor league deal.
This year, he has tossed 47 innings over 34 Triple-A appearances. He has allowed 5.17 earned runs per nine innings but he has likely deserved much better. His 26% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and 56.1% ground ball this year are all strong marks. If it weren’t for a .315 batting average on balls in play and 61.6% strand rate, which are both on the unlucky side, fewer runs would have crossed the plate. His 3.86 FIP is more than a run better than his ERA and perhaps a better reflection of his performance this year.
With the trades of Flaherty and Chafin, as well as recent injuries to Reese Olson, Casey Mize and Matt Manning, the Tigers could have some rope for Hanifee, especially since he’s been averaging more than an inning per appearance in Triple-A this year. He still has a full slate of options and just a few days of service time, so he could stick around on their roster for a while if the Tigers so choose.
Guenther, 28, made 14 appearances for the Marlins in 2021 with a 9.30 ERA. He underwent Tommy John surgery in April of 2022 and spent that entire season on the injured list before being claimed off waivers by the Tigers in November. He was outrighted off the roster shortly thereafter and has been with the Tigers in a non-roster capacity for almost two years now.
He has thrown 95 minor league innings in that time with a 3.69 ERA, 26.9% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate. He had a 47.1% ground ball rate at Triple-A last year and has a 55.5% rate at that level this year. Like Hanifee, he has a full slate of options but his service time clock is over the one-year mark, due to spending all of 2022 on the IL.
Orioles Designate Cristian Pache For Assignment, Option Heston Kjerstad
The Orioles announced a batch of roster moves today, activating three trade acquisitions. Outfielders Eloy Jiménez and Austin Slater as well as left-hander Trevor Rogers have now been added to the roster and the club also recalled infielder Liván Soto. One spot was opened by placing infielder Jordan Westburg on the 10-day injured list with a right hand fracture, a development that was reported yesterday. To open three more spots, they optioned left-hander Keegan Akin and outfielder Heston Kjerstad and designated outfielder Cristian Pache for assignment. Vinny Nittoli, who was designated for assignment last week, elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment.
The Orioles engineered a surprising outfield shuffle in the week leading up to the deadline. It started with a notable subtraction, as Austin Hays was sent to the Phillies, bringing back reliever Seranthony Domínguez as well as Pache. The Baltimore roster is loaded with position player talent and the outfield still looked strong without Hays, consisting of Cedric Mullins, Colton Cowser, Anthony Santander and Kjerstad. Since Pache is more of a glove-first guy, he was likely ticketed for a bench role.
But in the final moments of the deadline, the O’s also acquired Jiménez from the White Sox and Slater from the Reds. Since Slater is generally considered to be a solid defender and hits lefties very well, perhaps they figured he was an upgrade on Pache for a bench outfielder role.
That would be an understandable position to take, as Pache has struggled to make an impact from the batter’s box. He was once considered one of the top 10 prospects in all of baseball during his time in Atlanta’s system since it was believed he had the ability to be an all-around contributor. While the speed and defense have been as advertised, his hitting has been abysmal. He has hit .181/.244/.274 in his first 546 major league plate appearances. He exhausted his final option season in 2022, a year in which he hit .248/.298/.389 for a 68 wRC+ at the Triple-A level.
But he has continued to find work due to his glove. In just over 1,300 innings in the outfield, he has racked up 12 Defensive Runs Saved and 16 Outs Above Average. Oakland acquired him from Atlanta as part of the Matt Olson trade but was flipped to the Phillies at the start of last year, with the Phils mostly keeping him on the bench since he is out of options and can’t be sent down to the minors without being exposed to waivers. The O’s seemed to have some interest in a similar role for him but perhaps decided to move on when Slater became available.
With the deadline now passed, the O’s won’t have the ability to trade Pache elsewhere. He will be freely available to all 29 clubs at some point in the coming days as Baltimore will have no choice but to put him on waivers. Perhaps another team will take a flier on him based on his past prospect pedigree and the solid floor provided by his glovework. Many clubs have roster openings in the wake of the deadline and could perhaps find room for him. As mentioned, he is out of options but is still in the pre-arbitration phase of his career. If he lands a roster spot somewhere, he can be retained via arbitration for three seasons after this one.
Kjerstad getting sent down is somewhat surprising in that he’s been performing well, but it’s also not surprising since it’s not the first time. This is actually going to be his third optional assignment of the year, as he was sent down just prior to Opening Day, recalled in late April and optioned again in the middle of May before being recalled again in late June. In 81 major league plate appearances, he has struck out 29.6% of the time but also drawn walks at an 11.1% rate and hit .261/.370/.420 for a wRC+ of 125.
Despite that strong performance, the club’s stockpile of talented position players has bumped him down to Norfolk yet again. It’s perhaps a bit perplexing to see him nudged out for guys like Jiménez and Slater, but the deadline was essentially the last chance to meaningfully add talent. The O’s took that chance even though it meant bumping a guy like Kjerstad into a depth role for the time being, and those new additions are likely looking at part-time roles anyway.
Slater has a .274/.364/.433 batting line and 122 wRC+ against lefties compared to a .226/.316/.334 line and 84 wRC+ against righties. Jiménez is having a rough season overall but is hitting .304/.360/.370 against southpaws this year for a wRC+ of 109. The two of them will likely be in short-side platoon roles, Jiménez helping to shield Ryan O’Hearn from lefties while Slater protects Mullins. O’Hearn has hit .259/.286/.296 for a 67 wRC+ this year with the platoon disadvantage while Mullins is at .141/.164/.211 for a wRC+ of 3.
Rather than have Kjerstad collecting dust on the bench, the O’s will have him get some regular work for the Tides again, at least until an injury changes the calculus down the line. Even if he doesn’t carve out a role with the big league club this year, he should have a better path in 2025 as Santander is slated for free agency. Jiménez has a $16.5MM club option but the O’s will probably go for the $3MM club option instead.
Giants To Select Jerar Encarnacion
The Giants are planning to add outfielder/first baseman Jerar Encarnacion to the active roster prior to tomorrow’s series opener against the Reds, reports Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. Encarnacion is currently traveling with the team to Cincinnati, he adds. The Giants will need to formally select Encarnacion’s contract to the 40-man roster, but with multiple vacancies at the moment, they’ll only need a corresponding 26-man move to activate him.
It’s been an unusual rise to the majors for the 26-year-old Encarnacion. He briefly made his big league debut with the 2022 Marlins after spending four years ranked near the back half of their organizational top 30 prospects but hit just .182/.210/.338 in 83 plate appearances. Miami passed him through waivers unclaimed last summer, and Encarnacion became a minor league free agent at season’s end. He found minimal interest from MLB clubs and wound up signing with los Guerreros de Oaxaca in the Mexican League.
Encarnacion decimated Mexican League pitching, hitting .366/.439/.989 with an outrageous 19 home runs in just 107 trips to the plate. Even in an extreme hitter-friendly setting, that output caught the attention of big league clubs. The Giants scooped him up on a minor league deal and sent him to Triple-A Sacramento, where he’s turned in a .352/.438/.616 slash with 10 homers in 146 plate appearances. As with the Mexican League, the Triple-A Pacific Coast League is immensely hitter-friendly, but Encarnacion’s production still sits 59% better than league-average there, by measure of wRC+.
Although he’s primarily been a corner outfielder in his career, the hulking 6’4″, 250-pound Encarnacion does have more than 600 innings of experience at first base. That includes five games in the past week for the Giants. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets that the Giants have been getting him some fresh reps there in advance of an expected call to the majors.
Encarnacion will add a right-handed bat with clear plus power to the Giants’ first base and corner outfield mix. San Francisco presently has Wilmer Flores on the injured list (and struggling to produce even when healthy), while fellow righty-swinging corner bat David Villar is hitting .257/.270/.457 with a 35% strikeout rate. That’s a sample of only 37 plate appearances, but Villar also hit just .142/.236/.315 in 140 MLB plate appearances last season.
Encarnacion himself has had considerable strikeout issues in the past, so he’s hardly a sure thing to hit in the majors this time around. He fanned in a staggering 38.8% of his Triple-A plate appearances with the Marlins just last season, though he also walked enough (15.1%) and hit for enough power (26 homers, .224 ISO) to salvage a .228/.347/.452 batting line in Jacksonville. He’s cut his strikeout rate to 24% with the River Cats this season and is still drawing walks in 12.3% of his trips to the plate. Those encouraging trends, coupled with the gargantuan production he’s displayed in Mexico and Sacramento, make Encarnacion a more interesting post-deadline call-up than a garden variety change-of-scenery prospect.
Orioles Sign First-Rounder Vance Honeycutt
The Orioles announced Thursday morning that they’ve signed first-round pick Vance Honeycutt. The UNC outfielder, selected with the No. 22 overall pick, was the last remaining unsigned first-round pick after ECU righty Trey Yesavage — the No. 20 overall selection — agreed to terms with the Blue Jays less than an hour ago. Honeycutt will take home a $4MM bonus, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com, which sits a bit north of his $3.802MM slot value.
Honeycutt, 21, played three seasons for the Tar Heels and batted a combined .293/.412/.638 during his NCAA career — including a massive .318/.410/.714 batting line and 28 home runs during his junior season. Those 28 round-trippers tied him with No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana for seventh in all of Division-I baseball.
The 6’3″, 205-pound Honeycutt has clear raw power, and in spite of his gaudy batting line it’s his defensive acumen for which he draws the most praise. He’s a two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year who scouts believe can stick in center field while showing plus range and a plus arm. Eye-catching as his 28 homers and hefty slash stats were throughout his career, Honeycutt has regularly punched out at a high rate, including during his junior season when he went down on strikes in 27.5% of his plate appearances. He still drew walks at a strong 11.9% clip, but the frequent punchouts have created a relatively wide range of opinions.
Baseball America, for instance, ranked him as the draft’s No. 13 prospect. Other outlets weren’t all so bullish. MLB.com listed him 22nd. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ranked him 25th. Keith Law of The Athletic tabbed him as the No. 41 prospect, and FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked him 42nd. That still makes him one of the consensus top position players in the draft and a clear Day 1 talent, but Honeycutt’s shaky contact skills create a broad range of offensive outcomes, even as his power, speed and defensive aptitude give him a reasonable floor. Callis and colleague Jonathan Mayo perhaps put it best in their scouting writeup for MLB.com: “How much Honeycutt hits will determine if he becomes Drew Stubbs or better than that.”
Blue Jays, First-Rounder Trey Yesavage Agree To Deal
The Blue Jays are in agreement with first-round pick Trey Yesavage on a $4.1775MM bonus, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The East Carolina righty was one of just two unsigned first-rounders left on the board with the deadline to sign 2024 draftees looming at 5pm ET today. His bonus checks in slightly north of the No. 20 selection’s $4.07MM slot value.
Yesavage, who turned 21 earlier this week, went from a reliever with 4.50 ERA and pronounced command troubles as a freshman at ECU to obliterating opposing lineups in his sophomore and junior seasons. He pitched 93 innings this past season, logging a minuscule 2.03 ERA with a 40.4% strikeout rate against an 8.9% walk rate. Listed at 6’4″ and 225 pounds, he sports a prototypical starter’s frame and was considered one of the top pitching prospects in this year’s draft class.
Each of MLB.com (No. 11), Baseball America (No. 11), The Athletic (No. 13), ESPN (No. 14) and FanGraphs (No. 19) ranked Yesavage among the top 20 talents in this summer’s draft. He draws praise for a fastball that sits comfortably in the 93-95mph range and tops out at 98mph when he needs it. Yesavage’s secondary offerings are headlined by a splitter and a slider, the former giving him a clear weapon against lefties and the latter giving him a second breaking pitch to show righties.
Yesavage underwent a frightening medical scare late in the season when he was hospitalized with a partially collapsed lung. (ECU coach Cliff Godwin posted a video detailing the situation at the time.) The Athletic’s Melissa Lockard spoke with Yesavage after the draft and wrote that the lung issue was “most likely caused by an accident during a dry needling session.” right-hander remarkably was cleared to return to the mound just a couple weeks later and made his final start of the season opposite eventual No. 2 overall pick Chase Burns and Wake Forest.
The Opener: Diamond Sports, Draft Signing Deadline, Santos, Rengifo
As the calendar flips to August, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Diamond Sports Group/Comcast deal goes into effect:
As noted by ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez earlier this week, Diamond Sports Group reached a carriage deal with Comcast that is set to go into effect today. The deal applies to each of Diamond’s regional sports networks, meaning that Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Guardians, Marlins, Rangers, Rays, Reds, Royals, Tigers, and Twins games will be available on the Xfinity Ultimate TV package starting today. Comcast stopped carrying Diamond networks back in May amid negotiations between the sides. Going forward, Diamond networks will be carried as part of a more expensive subscription tier. Per Gonzalez, existing Xfinity customers who upgrade their package by August 30 will receive the upgrade free of charge for three months, meaning baseball fans can watch their team’s games for no extra charge though the end of the season.
2. Deadline to sign 2024 draftees:
The deadline to sign players selected in this year’s draft looms today at 5pm ET. The overwhelming majority of 2024 draftees have already signed with their new clubs, but there’s still a handful of names who’ve yet to put pen to paper. A pair of first-rounders remain unsigned at this moment: East Carolina righty Trey Yesavage, whom the Blue Jays selected at No. 20 overall, and North Carolina outfielder Vance Honeycutt, whom the Orioles selected two picks later.
Jim Callis of MLB.com runs through the remaining players from the top 10 rounds who’ve not yet signed, noting that prep lefty Tyler Bell (taken by the Rays 66th overall), prep shortstop Chris Levonas (No. 67 to the Brewers), Texas A&M lefty Ryan Prager (No. 81, Angels) and Houston righty Jaxon Jelkin (No. 263, Mets) have all yet to sign and are not expected to do so. Callis’ piece also looks at the tough signs in rounds 11-20 who could be pursued late deals with the money that likely will not be spent on those picks in the top 10 rounds.
3. Gregory Santos to undergo MRI:
Just six appearances into his Mariners career, right-hander Gregory Santos exited yesterday’s game against the Red Sox due to injury. Manager Scott Servais told reporters (including Daniel Kramer of MLB.com) following the game that Santos was dealing with a biceps injury and will undergo an MRI today following the club’s return to Seattle. Acquired from the White Sox in a trade this offseason, Santos’ debut with his new club was delayed until last month due to a lat strain. He finally returned to the mound in early July but hasn’t looked quite like himself, posting a 6.75 ERA in 5 1/3 innings of work while striking out just 20.8% of batters faced. Now, it appears he may be at risk of returning to the IL. The acquisition of Yimi Garcia had already pushed Santos out of the role of primary set-up man for closer Andres Munoz, but his absence could afford arms like Collin Snider and Tayler Saucedo additional late-inning opportunities.
4. Luis Rengifo dealing with “flare-up” in wrist:
Angels infielder Luis Rengifo spent three weeks last month on the IL due to inflammation in his right wrist, and Anaheim manager Ron Washington told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) yesterday that the injury hasn’t entirely gone away as Rengifo suffered a “flare-up” of the same injury. The club plans to re-evaluate Rengifo today before deciding on next steps, but an absence would be the latest in a long and frustrating line of injury news for the Halos. Rengifo has only been back in action for eight games. Since then, Mike Trout‘s short-lived rehab assignment has been halted amid a setback in his return from meniscus surgery, and Anthony Rendon returned to the injured list due to back inflammation. If Rengifo also misses additional time, the Angels will likely use Luis Guillorme and Michael Stefanic at the hot corner alongside Brandon Drury at second base, and Zach Neto at shortstop.
Jordan Westburg Suffers Fractured Hand
Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg suffered a fractured right hand when he was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning today, O’s skipper Brandon Hyde announced following the game (X link via Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun). There’s no immediate timetable for his return. Hyde said he hopes Westburg will be able to return before the end of the regular season, but that’s not a certainty for now.
The loss of Westburg, 25, is a gut-punch for the Orioles. The former No. 30 overall pick (2020) has produced a .269/.317/.497 batting line this season with 18 homers, 25 doubles, five triples, six steals and quality glovework as Baltimore’s primary third baseman. Westburg has hit from the moment the season began and hasn’t at any point gone into a lengthy slump. He’ll head to the 10-day injured list tomorrow, though the O’s could move him to the 60-day IL if they need a roster spot and if they expect the injury to sideline him for the remainder of the regular season.
Fortunately for the O’s, they’re exceptionally deep in infield talent — even after yesterday’s trade of Connor Norby to the Marlins (in return for lefty Trevor Rogers). Baltimore called top prospect Jackson Holliday back to the majors today — he hit a grand slam for his first big league homer — and fellow top prospect Coby Mayo and his powerful bat are looming in Triple-A Norfolk. Holliday could see time at either third base or second base, though the latter feels more likely. If the O’s don’t want to turn to Mayo just yet, utilityman Ramon Urias at least provides surehanded defense at the hot corner and a roughly league-average bat to slot into the bottom of the order.
That said, all eyes figure to turn to Mayo until the O’s decide on their course of action. The 22-year-old slugger was selected just 73 picks after Westburg back in 2020 and has clobbered Triple-A pitching so far in 2024. Mayo touts a .293/.366/.578 batting line with 20 homers and doubles alike, in addition to a pair of triples. His walk rate has dipped from 15.7% in 267 Triple-A plate appearances last year to 9.7% in 331 plate appearances this season, but that’s still a strong mark, particularly when coupled with what many scouting reports feel is 70-grade raw power.
Alternatives down in Norfolk include the just-optioned Terrin Vavra and just-acquired Livan Soto, both of whom have experience at third base. Neither would be expected to come anywhere close to Westburg’s production, but both could hold down a utility role if the Orioles want Mayo to continue developing. If it is indeed time for Mayo to make his big league debut, Baltimore will need to make a move to get him on the 40-man roster.
KBO’s NC Dinos Sign Eric Jokisch, Release Daniel Castano
The NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization announced yesterday that they’ve signed left-hander Eric Jokisch to a $100K deal for the rest of the season. The news was relayed (on X) by Dan Kurtz of MyKBO, who tweeted earlier this week that the Dinos were waiving southpaw Daniel Castano to facilitate a deal for another foreign player.
KBO teams can have a maximum of two non-Korean pitchers on their roster. The Dinos signed former Red Sox left-hander Kyle Hart over the offseason. He’s having a very nice season, working to a 2.47 ERA through 124 innings. Castano had a more pedestrian 4.35 mark in 111 2/3 frames. He struck out 18.7% of opponents against a tidy 5.3% walk percentage.
Castano is a former 19th round pick by the Cardinals who went to the Marlins in the Marcell Ozuna/Sandy Alcantara/Zac Gallen trade. He’d go on to make 24 appearances over parts of four seasons in Miami, working mostly as a depth starter. Castano turned in a 4.47 ERA in 88 2/3 big league innings. He made the jump to Korea last offseason, not long after being waived by Miami in September.
Jokisch is also a former big leaguer, though he’s been far more established in Korea. His major league work consists of four appearances for the Cubs a decade ago. The Northwestern product subsequently kicked off a very successful KBO run in which he turned in a 2.85 earned run average over five seasons as a member of the Kiwoom Heroes. His tenure with the Heroes came to an unfortunate end last summer when he suffered a muscle tear in his leg that led the team to release him. (Injured players would still count against a KBO team’s foreign player limit.) The 35-year-old gets a new opportunity to resume his career.
In one other bit of KBO news — or more accurately, lack thereof — reporter Daniel Kim tweets that July 31 was the Korean league’s trade deadline. There were zero trades made.
Notable Draft Signings: 7/31/24
Konnor Griffin and Braden Montgomery inked significant draft deals in recent days, both of which were covered this morning at MLBTR. Pre-draft rankings and scouting reports are provided by Keith Law of the Athletic, Baseball America, FanGraphs and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. A few other $2MM+ signings from this week:
- The Twins signed Kaelen Culpepper at $3.9344MM, reports Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline (X link). The Kansas State infielder gets full slot value for the 21st pick. Culpepper generally ranked a bit below where he was selected on pre-draft prognostications. Evaluators credit him with a well-rounded offensive skillset and the tools to potentially stick at shortstop, though there’s some trepidation about his propensity to chase pitches outside the strike zone. The right-handed hitter put up a .328/.419/.574 slash with 11 homers and 17 stolen bases in his final season with the Wildcats. Trey Yesavage (Blue Jays) and Vance Honeycutt (Orioles) are the remaining unsigned first-round picks headed into tomorrow evening’s deadline.
- The Pirates went above slot to ink second-rounder Wyatt Sanford away from a commitment to Texas A&M. Callis reports (on X) that the high school agreed to a $2.5MM bonus that’s above the approximate $1.98MM value for the 47th pick. FanGraphs writes that Sanford could be the best defensive player in the high school class, while Law calls him a potential plus gloveman at shortstop. He’ll need to fill out a 6’1″ frame to provide much punch offensively, but his glove had him as fringe first-round talent in the eyes of most evaluators.
Jeter Downs Signs With NPB’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Catching up on some news that was set aside during the trade deadline frenzy, the Yankees announced yesterday that infielder Jeter Downs was released and signed with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
Downs, 26, wasn’t a Yankee for very long. He was claimed off waivers from the Nationals in December, with the Yankees then passing him through waivers unclaimed in January. He didn’t have the right to elect free agency at that time and has been in the Yankees’ system in a non-roster capacity since then.
He has been having a decent year at Triple-A. In 69 games for Scranton Wilkes-Barre, he hit 10 home runs and slashed .264/.360/.498 for a wRC+ of 117. He also stole 15 bases while bouncing between second base, third base and shortstop.
Despite those decent numbers, he never got called up to the majors even though the Yankees have had plenty of infield challenges. Players like Gleyber Torres, DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera have had disappointing seasons so far and Jon Berti has been on the injured list for most of the year. But the club never felt compelled to call upon Downs and eventually acquired Jazz Chisholm from the Marlins and plugged him onto their roster. Since he was fairly blocked from getting any playing time in the Bronx, he will instead go overseas to see if this opportunity will work out for him.
Downs was once a top 100 prospect during his time in the Dodgers’ system, before being traded to the Red Sox in the now-infamous 2020 deal that sent Mookie Betts and David Price to Los Angeles. He struggled to live up to the hype in the subsequent seasons, hitting .200/.309/.365 in the minors over the 2021-23 campaigns. He was only given brief looks in the majors, producing a line of .182/.260/.273 in 50 plate appearances. He went from the Red Sox to the Nationals on waivers in December of 2022 but then the Yankees got him off waivers a year later, as mentioned.
If he fares well in Japan, he could intrigue teams based his past. He hit .267/.359/.458 in the minors from 2017 to 2019, though mostly at the lower levels, with only 12 games above High-A in that time. But he has the former prospect pedigree and was performing well in Triple-A this year. A nice run with the Hawks could perhaps lead the way to a return to the majors down the line, especially since he’s still only 26 years old.