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Aaron Slegers

Rays Sign Aaron Slegers To Two-Year Minor League Deal

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The Rays have signed right-hander Aaron Slegers to a minor league contract that runs through the 2022 season.  The deal contains an invitation for Slegers to attend the team’s big league Spring Training camp.

The signing reunites Slegers and the Rays after the righty pitched for Tampa Bay during the 2019-20 seasons.  The Rays dealt Slegers to the Angels last February, and he struggled to a 6.97 ERA over 31 innings out of the Los Angeles bullpen.  The Halos outrighted Slegers off their 40-man roster earlier this week but he elected to become a free agent rather than remain in the Angels organization.

Slegers has a 5.46 ERA over 89 career MLB innings with the Twins, Rays, and Angels, but he achieved success over his two years in Tampa, with a 3.41 ERA over 29 frames (26 of those coming during the 2020 season).  Slegers’ resume includes one start and one appearance as a bulk pitcher, though he mostly worked as a multi-inning reliever over his previous stint with the Rays.

For his career, Slegers has only a 15.3% strikeout rate, as he has relied on a 51% grounder rate to deliver outs.  Home runs have been a consistent problem for Slegers apart from his 2020 season — he only allowed one homer in 26 innings last year, and 13 homers in the other 63 frames of his big league career.  The long ball was a particular issue for Slegers with the Angels, with six homers allowed in his 31 innings in an Anaheim uniform.

The two-year contract indicates that the Rays see enough in Slegers to give him a bit of added security heading into the offseason, not that there is exactly much time remaining in the 2021 campaign.  While Slegers hasn’t pitched well this year, he can’t be ruled out as a candidate for any sort of usage for the rest of this year or even into the postseason, given how flexible the Rays are with their arms.  Slegers saw action in three of Tampa Bay’s playoff games last October, with a 1.80 ERA over five total innings in the ALDS and ALCS.

Angels Outright Aaron Slegers, Select Kyle Tyler

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Aug. 29: Slegers has elected free agency, per a team announcement. He was eligible to do so because he had been previously outrighted in his career.

Aug. 28: The Angels announced that right-hander Aaron Slegers has been outrighted to Triple-A, and that righty Kyle Tyler’s contract has been selected from Triple-A.  Roster space was created last night, when right-hander Cooper Criswell was optioned back to Triple-A following his big league debut.

Tyler is now in line for his first MLB game, after three seasons in the Angels’ farm system since being a 20th-round pick in the 2018 draft.  The 2021 season saw the righty pitch beyond the high-A level for the first time, as he delivered a 3.38 ERA over 72 innings of Double-A ball and then a 5.14 ERA over 14 innings at Triple-A.  That latter statistic is perhaps a bit misleading, as Tyler was crushed for seven runs over two innings in his very first Triple-A outing, but he has allowed just one run in 12 subsequent frames of work.

Baseball America ranked Tyler 28th on their midseason list of the Angels’ top prospects, praising the “tremendous natural cut and ride” on his fastball.  This is his only plus offering, however, so Tyler’s chances at becoming a starter at the MLB level could hinge on the development of his secondary pitches.  Tyler has started 14 of his 20 games in the minors this year, so the Halos could give him a look as a regular starter, a reliever, or perhaps a combination of both roles (i.e. swingman or bulk pitcher).  Since Patrick Sandoval will miss the rest of the season, Anaheim will have some room in the rotation to audition Tyler and other younger arms in the organization.

The Angels acquired Slegers in a trade with the Rays last February, and the righty’s first season in L.A. has been a tough one.  Slegers has a 6.97 ERA over 31 relief innings, with only a 16.8% strikeout rate.  While he has a career-best 57.9% grounder rate, Slegers has also been hurt badly by the long ball, with six home runs allowed for a 23.1% home rate.  The 31 innings represents a new career high for Slegers, who tossed 58 total innings while appearing in each of the last four seasons (2017-18 with the Twins and 2019-20 with the Rays).

Angels Acquire Aaron Slegers, Designate Dillon Peters

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The Angels have acquired right-hander Aaron Slegers from the Rays for a player to be named later or cash considerations, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The Halos also designated lefty Dillon Peters for assignment, per Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times.

Slegers, a fifth-round pick of the Twins in 2013, was traded to Tampa Bay before 2019 and then had his most experience at the big league level last season. While Slegers combined for 32 innings in the majors from 2017-19, that barely outpaced the 26 frames he amassed in 2020. In all, the soft-tossing, 6-foot-10 Slegers has put up a 4.66 ERA over 58 major league frames.

Peters, who – like Slegers – is 28 years old, was with the Marlins and Angels from 2018-20. He recorded a 5.83 ERA/5.22 SIERA then with a 16.7 percent strikeout rate and a 9.9 percent walk rate in 132 2/3 innings between the clubs

Rays Add Brett Phillips, Ryan Sherriff To World Series Roster

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The Rays have set their roster for their upcoming World Series showdown with the National League Champion Dodgers. They’ll carry mostly the same group of players that toppled the Astros in a riveting seven-game American League Championship Series, with a few notable changes. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that outfielder Brett Phillips and left-handed reliever Ryan Sherriff have both been added to the roster, taking the spots of right-hander Aaron Slegers and lefty Jose Alvarado.

Here’s how the roster breaks down:

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Unlike the Division Series and League Championship Series, the World Series has a pair of off-days built into the schedule, which likely contributed heavily to Tampa Bay’s decision to carry an extra position player in the final round of play. In Phillips, they’ll add a rocket-armed and fleet-footed reserve outfielder who can provide some speed off the bench and a defensive upgrade late in games. Phillips tallied just 59 plate appearances in 2020 between the Royals and Rays, hitting .196/.305/.392. He was six-for-seven in stolen bases, however, and has developed a penchant for making highlight-reel throws from the outfield with an arm that regularly drew 70 grades and even a few 80 grades on scouting reports.

The 30-year-old Sherriff returned from a lengthy absence due to Tommy John surgery to give the Rays 9 2/3 shutout frames during the regular season. He has a limited Major League track record, having pitched a bit for the Cardinals previously. Sherriff only struck out two hitters in those 9 2/3 innings, but he also recorded a hefty 56.7 percent ground-ball rate. In all, he has a 2.73 ERA with a 20-to-8 K/BB ratio and a 60.4 percent grounder rate in 29 2/3 Major League innings.

Alvarado was added to the ALCS roster after sitting out the Wild Card and ALDS rounds. He’d been sidelined by a shoulder issue since mid-August prior to that point, and he’ll now be swapped out for Sherriff, it seems. Alvarado tossed 1 2/3 scoreless frames against the Astros but did walk three of the five batters he faced in his second appearance. Slegers has allowed just one run in five innings to this point in the postseason after giving the Rays 26 frames of 3.46 ERA/3.04 FIP ball during the regular season.

Rays Place Jose Alvarado On 10-Day Injured List

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AUG. 18: Alvarado visited a doctor in New York on Monday, and the Rays will shut him down from throwing for 10 to 14 days, manager Kevin Cash announced (Twitter links via Juan Toribio of MLB.com and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). Alvarado appears to have a lat strain, per Cash.

AUG. 15: The Rays have placed southpaw Jose Alvarado on the 10-day injured list due to shoulder inflammation.  Right-hander Aaron Slegers was called up to take Alvarado’s place in Tampa’s bullpen.

Alvarado has a 6.00 ERA over nine innings for the Rays this season, with much of that damage stemming from a tough outing (four earned runs in two-thirds of an inning) last night against the Blue Jays.  Alvarado also recorded two walks and two strikeouts during that brief appearance, upping his season numbers to a 6.0 BB/9 and a 13.0 K/9.

A return to the IL is troublesome for Alvarado considering he already missed quite a bit of time during the 2019 season.  Alvarado was limited to 30 innings pitched due to an oblique injury, elbow soreness, and also attending to a family medical situation for almost a month.  It’s fair to say these issues contributed to Alvarado’s career-high 4.80 ERA in 2019, as he has previously delivered much better results during the 2017-18 campaigns — a 2.79 ERA over 93 2/3 frames out of the Rays’ pen, with a 10.5 K/9, and 2.87 K/BB rate.

Rays Place Andrew Kittredge On 45-Day IL, Select Aaron Slegers

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The Rays have placed right-hander Andrew Kittredge on the 45-day injured list with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament, per a club announcement. They’ve selected the contract of righty Aaron Slegers to replace him on the roster.

It’s another blow to a Tampa Bay bullpen that has already lost southpaw Colin Poche to Tommy John surgery. There’s no definitive word yet that Kittredge will face the same fate, but a sprain, by nature, indicates stretching/tearing of the ligament tissue. At the very least, it’s a season-ending injury for the 30-year-old right-hander.

Kittredge had started the season well, holding opponents to a pair of runs on eight hits and two walks in eight innings of relief. Dating back to Opening Day 2019, Kittredge has given the Rays 57 2/3 frames of 3.90 ERA ball with an even better 3.48 FIP. That said, there were some red flags in 2020. After averaging better than 10 strikeouts per nine frames last year, Kittredge managed just three whiffs in his eight innings. His average heater had dropped from 95 mph to 94 mph, and Kittredge’s seven percent swinging-strike rate was less than half last year’s mark of 15.9 percent.

The 27-year-old Slegers has pitched 32 big league innings between the Twins and Rays, working to a combined 5.63 ERA with a sub-par 15-to-8 K/BB ratio from 2017-19. But the towering 6’10” righty had some strong Triple-A seasons with Minnesota and has a generally strong minor league track record. His history as a starting pitcher should allow him to fill a multi-inning bullpen role for the Rays.

Rays Sign Chris Herrmann

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The Rays announced today that they have signed catcher Chris Herrmann. His agreement on a minors pact was previously reported by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter).

A trio of other players have also joined on with minors deals that include invitations to MLB Spring Training. Outfielder Ryan LaMarre and hurlers Aaron Slegers and D.J. Snelten will each be in camp.

Herrmann joins Kevan Smith as incoming backstops who’ll compete for spots on the depth chart. It’s possible the club could carry a third catcher on its active roster, given the presence of a 26th man, but otherwise Herrmann and Smith will face an uphill battle to unseat Michael Perez as the backup to Mike Zunino.

There’s some built-in advantage here for Herrmann: he’s a left-handed hitter (as is Perez) and has experience in the outfield, increasing his utility. The 32-year-old has also shown well at times with the bat, though he’s only a .205/.282/.344 hitter through nearly a thousand MLB plate appearances.

LaMarre will provide some outfield depth. The 31-year-old hasn’t seen much big league action. He carries a .281/.349/.415 batting line in 1,513 trips to the plate over parts of seven Triple-A seasons.

Both of the pitchers are 27 years of age. The right-handed Slegers spent last year with the Tampa Bay organization, making one MLB appearance and throwing 112 1/3 innings of 5.05 ERA ball at Triple-A. Snelten, a southpaw, worked in the indy ball ranks in 2019. Over twenty starts for the Chicago Dogs, he carried a 3.12 ERA with 112 strikeouts and 43 walks in 118 1/3 innings.

Pitchers Recently Electing Free Agency

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Since the conclusion of the regular season, a number of players have elected free agency. That right accrues to certain players who are outrighted off of a 40-man roster during or after the season — namely, those that have at least three years of MLB service and/or have previously been outrighted. Such players that accepted outright assignments during the season have the right to elect free agency instead at season’s end, provided they aren’t added back to the 40-man in the meantime.

We already rounded up the position players. Now, here are the pitchers that have recently taken to the open market, along with their now-former teams (via the International League and PCL transactions pages):

Rays Designate Aaron Slegers For Assignment

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The Rays announced that they’ve designated right-hander Aaron Slegers for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to right-hander Cole Sulser, whose previously reported selection to the MLB roster is official.

Sleger, who stands at a towering 6’10”, pitched just three innings for the Rays this season and spent the rest of the year in Triple-A Durham. The former Twins farmhand totaled 112 1/3 innings there, pitching to a 5.05 ERA with 6.4 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 1.76 HR/9 and a 41.5 percent ground-ball rate. While those results are unsightly, that’s been the case for the majority of Triple-A pitchers in 2019, as the adoption of the Major League ball has led to an explosion of home runs in the International League and Pacific Coast League alike.

Prior to the 2019 season, the 26-year-old Slegers carried a much more respectable 3.54 ERA through 233 innings at the Triple-A level. Slegers’ strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates in seasons past have been roughly in line with this year’s rates, but he’s never endured anywhere near this level of home run issues in the past. Slegers has a minor league option year remaining beyond 2019, so it’s possible that another club in need of some pitching depth will take a look at the big righty.

Rays Select Aaron Slegers’ Contract

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The Rays have selected the contract of right-hander Aaron Slegers from the Triple-A Durham Bulls, as per a team announcement.  Righty Hoby Milner has been optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move, and Tampa Bay already had open space on its 40-man roster.

Slegers was acquired from the Pirates in late March, and the 6’10” right-hander has had his share of struggles for Durham this season, with a 5.49 ERA, 6.2 K/9, 2.72 K/BB rate, and 20 home runs allowed over 98 1/3 innings.  Slegers has started 13 of his 24 games, though he has pitched somewhat better out of the bullpen (4.75 ERA in 36 IP) than the rotation (5.92 ERA).

It could be that Slegers will only receive a cup of coffee with the Rays, given how the team so often shuttles pitchers back and forth between Triple-A and the majors to get fresh arms into the mix.  Milner, for instance, had his contract selected on Monday, he tossed two innings in Tuesday’s 7-4 loss to the Mariners, and is now already headed back to Durham.

Assuming Slegers gets into a game in due course, it will mark his third straight season of MLB action.  Originally a fifth-round pick for the Twins in the 2013 draft, Slegers posted a 5.90 ERA over 29 innings for Minnesota in 2017-18.

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