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Pat Venditte

Dodgers Acquire Adam McCreery, Designate Pat Venditte

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The Dodgers announced Wednesday that they’ve acquired left-hander Adam McCreery from the Braves in exchange for cash. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, switch-pitcher Pat Venditte was designated for assignment.

McCreery, who’ll turn 26 on New Year’s Eve, made his big league debut in 2018, though he appeared in just one game and tossed just one inning. He spent the bulk of the season with the Braves’ Double-A affiliate but also pitched in eight games for their Triple-A club. In all, his minor league work resulted in a 3.62 ERA with 11.7 K/9 but a troubling 6.1 BB/9 mark. McCreery has regularly topped 60 percent with his ground-ball rate and has long racked up strikeouts at an impressive level, but the control issues he battled in 2018 were nothing new for him; McCreery has averaged 5.7 walks per nine innings pitched in his career. Atlanta designated him for assignment earlier this week to open a roster spot for Brian McCann.

Venditte, 33, pitched well in 14 innings with the Dodgers in 2018, compiling a 2.57 ERA with nine strikeouts against three walks in that small sample of work. As the game’s lone ambidextrous pitcher, Venditte is somewhat of an anomaly, but he’s also been extraordinarily effective in his career against fellow lefties; same-handed opponents have posted an abysmal .186/.230/.354 slash against Venditte in a total of 122 MLB plate appearances.

Dodgers Select Daniel Corcino, Transfer Dennis Santana To 60-day DL

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The Dodgers have selected the contract of right-hander Daniel Corcino, the team announced today. To make room for him on the 40-man, they’ve transferred fellow righty Dennis Santana to the 60-day DL. The switch-pitching Pat Venditte was optioned to Triple-A to make room on the active roster.

It’s been an impressive season thus far for the 27-year-old Corcino, who’s pitched to a 1.95 ERA thus far in 37 Triple-A innings this season. Things haven’t been perfectly rosy, as his 3.54 FIP and 4.62 xFIP might indicate, but he’s struck out almost a batter an inning and has a walk rate (3.5 BB/9) and ground ball rate (41.5%) that are at least passable. He’s made six starts in Triple-A and four relief appearances.

As for Santana, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reports that his rotator cuff injury could potentially sideline him until late August. That’s noteworthy considering he’d be eligible to be activated from the 60-day DL as early as August 8th. Concurringly, manager Dave Roberts has stated that while Santana isn’t a surgery candidate, he won’t even so much as pick up a baseball for at least a few weeks (h/t Bill Shaikin of the LA Times). The righty allowed five earned runs across 3 2/3 innings in his only MLB appearance this season, but carries a solid track record of run prevention and high strikeouts in the upper minors.

Dennis Santana Diagnosed With Rotator Cuff Strain

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7:53pm: The team is now calling Santana’s injury a right rotator cuff strain, Gurnick tweets.

6:43pm: Dodgers righty Dennis Santana has been diagnosed with a torn lat, manager Dave Roberts told reports including Ken Gurnick of MLB.com (Twitter links). In related moves, relievers Pat Venditte and Adam Liberatore are joining the active roster, while Brock Stewart was optioned.

Roberts also provided updates on a few other hurlers (via Gurnick; all links to Twitter). Righty Kenta Maeda is on track for a potential return next week, while southpaw reliever Tony Cingrani has been diagnosed with a rotator cuff strain that isn’t believed to be serious. As for ace Clayton Kershaw, Roberts says his ailing back is currently symptom-free, which seems a promising note at an early stage of his recocvery.

The most important news here involves Santana, the 22-year-old who was just brought up for his first MLB action. Entering the season, there was no real indication that he’d be called upon this soon to play a role in the majors. But even as he worked to a 2.54 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in ten outings in the upper minors, the big league staff was beset by injuries.

It’s not known how long Santana will likely be sidelined. Roberts indicated that there’s further medical assessment to be done before that will be clear. But it seems reasonable to anticipate a fairly lengthy absence. Santana will accrue MLB service time while he’s on the disabled list. He’ll also occupy a 40-man spot unless and until he’s moved to the 60-day DL.

Dodgers Activate Clayton Kershaw

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The Dodgers announced that they’ve reinstated left-hander Clayton Kershaw from the disabled list and created a roster spot by optioning switch-pitcher Pat Venditte to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Kershaw, who’s been out since May 1 due to biceps tendinitis in his left arm, will start tonight’s game against the visiting Phillies.

The three-time NL Cy Young winner and five-time NL ERA leader will return to the Dodgers’ rotation just one day after right-hander Kenta Maeda landed on the disabled list with a right hip strain. It’s been an ongoing struggle for the Dodgers to keep their starting staff healthy so far this season, as Maeda is joined on the disabled list by lefties Rich Hill and Hyun-Jin Ryu. Fortunately for the Dodgers, Kershaw’s absence proved to be shorter than his DL trips for back injuries in each of the past two seasons.

Kershaw will step back into the starting mix alongside Alex Wood, rookie sensation Walker Buehler and the breakout righty Ross Stripling. While that may not be a rotation mix the Dodgers anticipated having to lean upon in 2018, the quality of that group serves as a testament to the depth that the Dodgers seem to have a knack for cultivating on a yearly basis.

While the Dodgers’ early struggles garnered plenty of national media attention, they’ve quieted the narrative that their season was on the brink of being lost by rattling off 10 wins in their past 13 contests. Los Angeles is still three games south of the .500 mark, but the collapse of the former NL West-leading Diamondbacks has opened a door for the Dodgers, who now sit 3.5 games back from the Rockies, who suddenly find themselves in first place.

A healthy Kershaw will go a long way toward continuing their recent success, though there are clearly some longer-term implications here for both Kershaw and the team. Kershaw has the ability to opt out of the remaining two years of his contract at season’s end, and he’s all but certain to do so. While the Dodgers clearly possess the financial firepower to match or top virtually any offer another team can make to Kershaw, the price of a new contract with the Dodgers or another club will be impacted in no small part by his ability to put this injury behind him and return to his status as one of the game’s elite arms.

Dodgers Select Contract Of Pat Venditte

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The Dodgers have selected the contract of ambidextrous reliever Pat Venditte from Triple-A Oklahoma City, per a team announcement. They sent right-hander Brock Stewart to OKC in a corresponding move.

Venditte earned his promotion with a stellar start this year in the minors, where he has pitched to a 1.53 ERA with 9.68 K/9, 3.06 BB/9 and a 50 percent groundball rate over 17 2/3 innings. The 32-year-old is now set for his first major league action since 2016, when he combined for 22 frames of 5.73 ERA ball between Seattle and Toronto. Venditte, who previously debuted with Oakland in 2015, has logged 50 2/3 innings in the majors and recorded a 4.97 ERA with 7.46 K/9, 4.09 BB/9 and a 36.2 percent grounder mark.

While Venditte clearly hasn’t posted great stats in the majors, the fact that he’s able to pitch from both sides makes him a standout. It’s worth noting that Venditte has been far more successful as a southpaw than as a right-hander, having held lefty-swingers to a .179/.242/.366 line and given up a .277/.380/.523 slash to righties.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/28/17

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We’ll track the day’s minor moves in this post:

  • Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Athletics have agreed a trio of minor league deals. Outfielders Anthony Garcia and Nick Martini will be in camp with the A’s next spring, as will lefty reliever Jarret Martin. The 25-year-old Garcia and 27-year-old Martini are both longtime Cardinals farmhands. Garcia has struggled in 354 Triple-A plate appearances (.232/.299/.397) but posted a solid .284/.376/.465 slash in more than 800 Double-A PAs. Oakland is known to be looking for right-handed-hitting outfielders, and Garcia gives them a depth option that matches said description. Martini swings from the left side but has a better track record in the upper levels, having slashed .299/.387/.423 in 787 PAs in Triple-A. As for the 28-year-old Martin, he parlayed a strong two seasons on the indy circuit into a look with the Giants last year and turned in a 2.04 ERA with 9.1 K/9 against a more troublesome 6.8 K/9 in 39 2/3 frames with San Francisco’s Double-A affiliate.

Earlier Updates

  • Righty Kyle Lloyd cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A by the Padres, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell reports on Twitter. He’ll remain on hand as a depth option after cracking the majors briefly last year. In 147 1/3 frames in the upper minors in 2017, Lloyd carried a 5.01 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9. Lloyd joined the San Diego organization after being selected in the 29th round of the 2013 draft.
  • The Dodgers have a minors pact with switch-pitcher Pat Venditte, as SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Venditte, 32, is a unique and perhaps under-appreciated artist who is able to create his own preferred platoon match-ups by pitching with both arms. He owns only a 4.97 ERA in his 50 2/3 MLB frames. But Venditte ran up 69 2/3 inning of 3.36 ERA ball with 8.9 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 at the Triple-A level last year with the Phillies organization.

Phillies, Mariners Swap Joey Curletta, Pat Venditte

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The Phillies have traded outfielder Joey Curletta to the Mariners for ambidextrous reliever Pat Venditte, per an announcement from Philadelphia.

This is the second trade since last August involving the 31-year-old Venditte, whom Seattle acquired from Toronto for minor league infielder Tim Lopes. A 20th-round pick of the Yankees in 2008, Venditte debuted in the majors with the Athletics in 2015 and has since logged a 4.97 ERA, 7.46 K/9, 4.09 BB/9 and 36.2 percent ground-ball rate in 50 2/3 innings. Twenty-two of those frames came last year for Venditte, who ran up a 5.73 ERA between the Blue Jays and Mariners.

While he possesses the ultra-rare capability of being able to pitch with either arm, Venditte has been far more successful as a southpaw, having held left-handed hitters to a .179/.242/.366 line. Righty-swingers have handled him, evidenced by a .277/.380/.523 line. Currently pitching for Italy in the World Baseball Classic, Venditte will join the Phillies as a non-roster player when the team is eliminated or the tournament ends, per Jayson Stark of ESPN (Twitter link).

Curletta, who turned 23 this past Monday, has also been involved in a pair of trades since last year. The Phillies acquired him from the Dodgers in September to complete the deal that featured catchers Carlos Ruiz and A.J. Ellis. The Dodgers chose Curletta in the sixth round of the 2012 draft, and he has since ascended to the Double-A level. Curletta struggled there last year, though, as he hit just .206/.280/.371 in 107 plate appearances.

Baseball America previously wrote that the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Curletta is a “physical monster” with “light-tower power” as a right-handed hitter. However, scouts have questioned whether he’ll hit in the big leagues, and BA noted that doesn’t provide any speed or defensive value. Curletta will now head to the Mariners’ minor league camp, tweets Greg Johns of MLB.com.

Blue Jays Acquire Minor Leaguer From Mariners To Complete Pat Venditte Trade

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The Blue Jays have acquired minor league infielder Tim Lopes from the Mariners to complete the early August trade that sent switch-pitcher Pat Venditte to Seattle, the teams announced.

Lopes, 22, was a sixth-round pick in the 2012 draft. He played the entire year at the Double-A level, posting a .284/.358/.355 slash line over 581 plate appearances. Though he obviously doesn’t deliver much pop, Lopes swiped 26 bags on the season. He has spent some time at shortstop, but predominantly lined up at second base during his time in the Mariners organization.

The endlessly fascinating Venditte hasn’t been terribly useful for the M’s, providing 11 1/3 innings of work but coughing up nine earned runs on 11 hits. He has struck out 11 in that span, but has also permitted five free passes. Venditte has been rather strong at Triple-A on the year, though, working to a 3.74 ERA with an excellent 13.1 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 over 43 1/3 frames.

Mariners Acquire Pat Venditte From Blue Jays

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The Mariners have announced that they’ve acquired switch-pitcher Pat Venditte from the Blue Jays for a player to be named. To clear space for him, they’ve designated righty Donn Roach for assignment. Venditte has been assigned to Triple-A Tacoma.

The 31-year-old Venditte had appeared in eight games with the Jays this season. He’d spent the bulk of the year with Triple-A Buffalo, where he posted a 4.37 ERA and 3.3 BB/9, but with a very high 13.4 K/9. He has a 4.58 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 37 1/3 career big-league innings, suggesting his highly unusual ability to pitch with either hand is more than a curiosity. He has, however, been much better as a left-handed pitcher in his brief big-league career, and that trend also existed in the minors this year. The trade for Venditte was the Mariners’ second acquisition of a reliever today, with the first being their trade for Arquimedes Caminero of the Pirates. Whereas that move seemed designed to immediately improve the big-league roster, though, it appears they’ll use Venditte primarily as depth for now.

The 26-year-old Roach has appeared in four games with Seattle in 2016, but he’s spent most of the year with Tacoma, posting a 4.75 ERA, 5.2 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 while pitching 108 innings, mostly as a starter. He has a career 5.77 ERA, 4.6 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in parts of three seasons in the big leagues, during which he’s also appeared with the Padres and Cubs.

Blue Jays Designate Matt Dominguez Off Active Roster

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TODAY: Dominguez has cleared waivers and been optioned, so he’ll stay with Toronto, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).

YESTERDAY, 2:34pm: Dominguez is only being designated off of the active roster so he can pass through optional assignment waivers, Nicholson-Smith clarifies on Twitter. That procedural step was required because he is three or more years removed from his major league debut. It’s a revocable waiver placement that is generally considered a formality, so Toronto does not appear at risk of losing Dominguez.

1:39pm: The Blue Jays have designated third baseman Matt Dominguez for assignment, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets. His roster spot will go to switch-pitching reliever Pat Venditte.

Dominguez has seen only five games of action for Toronto in two brief stints, recording no hits in 12 plate appearances on the year. He does own a useful-enough .287/.333/.419 slash over 183 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, but clearly he was on the fringes of the Jays’ plans.

It’s not clear whether the 26-year-old will ever get another full crack at regular major league action, but he’s young and skilled enough for it to remain a possibility. Dominguez has a twenty home run MLB season under his belt and is capable of playing both corner infield spots.

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