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Adam Kolarek

Angels Release Amir Garrett, Adam Kolarek

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The Angels have released a pair of lefties that were each in the system in a non-roster capacity. Amir Garrett and Adam Kolarek have both been let go, per each player’s transactions tracker at MLB.com.

Garrett, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Giants this winter. That club decided he wasn’t going to make the Opening Day roster and released him, which freed him up to sign a minor league deal with the Angels. He was selected to the big league roster at the end of April and was in the majors for about two weeks. He tossed 5 1/3 innings in that time, racking up an impressive 11 strikeouts but also giving out five walks, leading to a 5.06 earned run average.

He was designated for assignment in the middle of May but returned to the Halos on a new minor league deal. He has tossed 33 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level this year with a 5.08 ERA, 28.5% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate. He’s been in good form lately, with a 1.59 ERA over his eight most recent appearances. In 11 1/3 innings in that stretch, he has 20 strikeouts and just four walks, all of that taking place in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Despite that strong run in recent weeks, the lefty has little utility for the Angels at this point. They are out of contention and will likely be using what’s left of the season to evaluate guys who could help in the future. That includes plenty of internal arms and they also claimed a couple of arms yesterday in Nick Robertson and Brock Burke, who are both optionable and controllable. Garrett, on the other hand, is a veteran with over six years of service time.

Perhaps those waiver claims nudged Garrett out, giving him a chance to a find a new club in the coming weeks. He has some success on his track record, mostly combining lots of strikeouts with lots of walks. In 330 2/3 big league innings to this point in his career, he has a 4.95 ERA, 26.7% strikeout rate and 13.3% walk rate.

With the trade deadline now in the past, teams are fairly limited in terms of their avenues for adding talent. Garrett can be wild but he has been an effective setup guy in the past, racking up over 20 holds with the Reds in both 2018 and 2019. His numbers this year are decent and could lead to him getting a shot somewhere else in the coming weeks. If he signs before the end of August, he’ll be postseason eligible with a new club.

Kolarek, 35, is also a veteran with a notable track record, but he’s had less success this year. The Angels signed him in the offseason to a deal worth $900K and then ran him through waivers. Since Kolarek has more than three years of service time but less than five, he could have returned to free agency but would have left that money on the table by doing so.

He accepted his assignment and has tossed 31 innings at the Triple-A level this year but with a 6.97 ERA. There’s surely some bad luck in there, as his .415 batting average on balls in play and 58.5% strand rate are both on the unfortunate side, but his rate stats aren’t amazing either. His 22% strikeout rate and 48.9% ground ball rate are close to average but his 12% walk rate is a few ticks worse than par.

His major league track record consists of 149 1/3 innings with a 3.62 ERA. His 15.9% strikeout rate in that time is low but he has only walked 6.8% of batters faced and has gotten grounders at a huge 63.9% clip. His Triple-A numbers this year haven’t taken the same shape but some club could perhaps take a shot on him, especially since the Angels are on the hook for what’s left of that salary. Any other club would only have to pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, which would be subtracted from what the Halos pay.

Angels Outright Adam Kolarek

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The Angels have outrighted left-hander Adam Kolarek off their 40-man roster, the team announced.  The move creates a 40-man roster spot for Zach Plesac, whose one-year deal with the Halos is now official.

Kolarek is a recent signing in his own right, joining the Angels on a one-year deal worth $900K back in November.  Because Kolarek has been previously outrighted in his career, he would have the right to reject this assignment and re-enter free agency, though he would also be walking away from that $900K salary.  It seems like this transaction might be something of a paper move that gives Los Angeles some roster flexibility but won’t impede Kolarek’s path to competing for a bullpen job this coming spring.

The groundball specialist has a 3.62 ERA over his 149 1/3 innings in the majors, a tenure that includes a World Series ring with the 2020 Dodgers.  Kolarek had a 3.07 ERA over 108 1/3 innings with the Rays and Dodgers from 2018-20, though some control problems have both limited his results and his time in the majors altogether, as he has posted a 4.68 ERA over 32 2/3 frames since the start of the 2021 season.  Kolarek spent that time with the Athletics, another stint with the Dodgers, and a brief four-game stretch with the Mets last season, plus some time in the Braves farm system without a big league call-up.

Angels Sign Adam Kolarek

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The Angels announced (via their X feed) that they have signed left-hander Adam Kolarek to a one-year contract worth $900K.  Kolarek elected to become a free agent after finishing the season in the Braves’ minor league system.

While $900K isn’t much by MLB standards, it is somewhat surprising that Kolarek landed a guaranteed deal at all given his shaky results and even a lack of overall big league playing time over the last three seasons.  That said, the Angels were thin on left-handed relief pitching, so locking in Kolarek provides one initial step over what might be a wider-scale revamp of a bullpen that struggled badly last season.

Since Opening Day 2021, Kolarek (who turns 35 in January) has thrown 32 2/3 innings over 32 appearances with the A’s, Dodgers, and Mets, with a 4.58 ERA.  Most of those struggles were contained to his 2021-22 seasons in Oakland, but even when posting better results in 2023, Kolarek still found himself as a sudden journeyman.

Kolarek signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers last winter and was designated for assignment after just a lone MLB appearance with the team in June.  He chose to remain with the organization after being outrighted off the 40-man roster, and was then dealt to the Mets at the deadline and tossed 4 2/3 innings in a New York uniform.  Another DFA soon followed, and this time Kolarek did elect free agency rather than accepting another outright assignment, and he then landed with the Braves on a minors deal without seeing any time on the Major League roster in September.

As noted, Kolarek did show flickers of a turnaround in 2023.  He didn’t allow any runs (and only two hits and walk) over his six total MLB innings last year, and he had a 3.80 ERA in 42 2/3 frames at the Triple-A level.  That minor league ERA comes with the significant red flag of a 16.13% walk rate, as the control problems that hampered Kolarek in 2021-22 continued to be a problem.

The walks have crept up on Kolarek at earlier stages of his career, yet he got things under control during his prime years of 2018-20.  The lefty posted a 3.07 ERA in 108 1/3 innings for the Rays and Dodgers during those years, highlighted a World Series ring with Los Angeles in 2020.

While his results have been inconsistent, the one constant throughout Kolarek’s career has been his ability to induce ground balls.  Since the start of the 2017 season, only five pitchers with more than 140 innings pitched have a higher grounder rate than Kolarek’s elite 63.9% total.

Braves, Adam Kolarek Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have agreed to a minor league contract with reliever Adam Kolarek, as reflected on the MLB.com transaction log. The veteran southpaw had recently elected free agency after being waived by the Mets.

Kolarek had split the 2023 campaign between the Dodgers and Mets. He has made five MLB appearances, working six scoreless innings. Kolarek has spent the bulk of the season in Triple-A, pitching 35 1/3 innings of 2.55 ERA ball. He has a roughly league average 23% strikeout rate in that time but has walked an uncharacteristic 13.5% of opposing hitters.

Now 34, Kolarek has pitched in parts of seven big league seasons. He was a quietly effective lefty specialist early in his career with the Rays and Dodgers. His performance over the past few seasons has been more mixed, as he struggled for Oakland between 2021-22 before this year’s small-sample success. The sidearmer doesn’t throw hard and has struggled mightily against right-handed hitters, but he’s held lefty swingers to a .184/.234/.250 line in his major league career.

By signing him before September 1, the Braves keep open the possibility of Kolarek factoring into their playoff picture. Players only need to be in an organization by the end of August to be eligible for the postseason. Even players who aren’t on the 40-man roster at the start of September can get onto the playoff roster via application to the league office for an exemption to replace an injured player, which happens a few times each year.

In the interim, the Braves can keep Kolarek at Triple-A Gwinnett as they evaluate their bullpen before October. A.J. Minter and Brad Hand are the two southpaws currently in Brian Snitker’s relief corps.

Adam Kolarek Elects Free Agency

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Mets left-hander Adam Kolarek rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A Syracuse after clearing waivers and elected free agency, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. Outfielder Abraham Almonte, also designated by the Mets over the weekend, went unclaimed and has been assigned outright to Syracuse as well. Like Kolarek, Almonte has the right to elect free agency, but there’s no indication yet that he’s chosen to do so.

Kolarek, 34, now stands as an interesting, last-minute depth addition for playoff hopefuls seeking to stockpile bullpen arms in advance of Friday’s postseason eligibility deadline. The sidearm southpaw has appeared in parts of seven big league seasons, logging a combined 3.62 ERA with a well below-average 15.9% strikeout rate but strong command (6.8% walk rate) and a mammoth 63.9% ground-ball rate. He’s tossed six shutout innings with a 7-to-1 K/BB ratio between the Dodgers and Mets in 2023, plus another 35 1/3 innings of 2.55 ERA ball in Triple-A (albeit with an uncharacteristic 13.5% walk rate in that time).

Kolarek struggled with the A’s in 2021-22 (5.74 ERA in 26 2/3 innings) but has had success at every other stop in his big league career, including with the Rays, Dodgers (two stints) and Mets. He’s not a hard thrower (as is the case with most sidearmers), but he’s held opponents to an ugly 87.2 mph exit velocity in his career and allowed less than a third of the batted balls against him at 95 mph or more — both strong marks. He’ll presumably draw some interest on a minor league deal from a playoff hopeful, and with rosters set to expand to 28 players on Friday, a return path to the big leagues could be all the more realistic.

As for the 34-year-old Almonte, he went 1-for-15 with eight punchouts in 16 plate appearances with the Mets. The journeyman outfielder has suited up for eight teams in parts of 11 seasons at the MLB level. He’s typically been a reserve outfielder, never topping 258 plate appearances in a season, and is a career .233/.300/.371 batter in 1379 plate appearances. Almonte is a lifetime .287/.388/.493 hitter in parts of nine Triple-A seasons, including a .228/.331/.564 slash in 118 plate appearances with Syracuse this season.

Mets Designate Adam Kolarek, Abraham Almonte For Assignment

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The Mets announced four roster moves today, including the news that outfielder Abraham Almonte and reliever Adam Kolarek have been designated for assignment.  The transactions create roster space for Mark Vientos and Jeff Brigham, as Vientos was activated from the 10-day injured list and Brigham was called up from Triple-A Syracuse.

Almonte and Kolarek are no strangers to the DFA process, as this is the second time that each player has been designated this season — Kolarek by the Dodgers in June, and Almonte by the Mets just two weeks ago.  In both cases, the players cleared waivers and were outrighted off the 40-man roster, and both chose to accept the outright assignment rather than test free agency.  Should either of the duo clear waivers this time around, either Almonte or Kolarek could again opt for free agency or decide to head to Syracuse.

Kolarek has only been with the Mets for less than a month, after the Dodgers traded the southpaw and right-hander Phil Bickford to New York in what was essentially a roster-clearing move for Los Angeles at the deadline.  The Mets selected Kolarek’s contract last week and he has made four appearances without allowing a run.  In fact, Kolarek has a perfect 0.00 ERA for the 2023 season to date, though only over six total innings with L.A. and New York.

Almonte signed a minor league deal with the Mets during the offseason and made his 2023 debut earlier this month.  The veteran outfielder has one hit over 16 plate appearances, playing as a late-game defensive sub and pinch-hitter.  The Mets brought Almonte up for depth purposes, as their outfield ranks have been thinned by trades and injuries.

Mets Designate Dennis Santana, Select Adam Kolarek

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The Mets announced four roster moves prior to tonight’s game with the Cardinals, including the news that right-hander Dennis Santana has been designated for assignment.  The roster spot was needed to make room for left-hander Adam Kolarek, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Syracuse.  New York also optioned Joey Lucchesi to Triple-A and called up Vinny Nittoli.

This marks the third time that Santana has been designated this season, and on both prior occasions, he cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Syracuse.  It would therefore seem likely that Santana might again choose to remain in the Mets organization, though he might more willing to decline an outright and choose free agency (as is his right, because he has been outrighted previously) at this point in the season, now that the trade deadline has passed.  A team in more urgent need of pitching might be interested in Santana and give him a clearer path to the majors, if he might no longer be in the Mets’ plans for the remainder of 2023.

Santana can’t be cleanly sent to Syracuse because he is out of minor league options, which already led to two waiver claims for the veteran righty during Spring Training.  The Twins claimed Santana off waivers from the Braves, and the Mets then claimed him away from Minnesota — between these moves and the fact that Santana was traded from Texas to Atlanta last November, his decisions to accept the outright assignments might also stem from a desire to just enjoy some stability after this carousel of transactions.

Santana hasn’t been particularly effective in his brief stints in New York this season, with a 5.91 ERA over nine appearances and 10 2/3 innings.  Small sample size notwithstanding, the numbers aren’t too different from the 5.12 ERA Santana posted over his 139 career innings with the Dodgers and Rangers from 2018-22.  The 27-year-old Santana also hasn’t pitched well at Triple-A, with a 4.91 ERA over 33 frames with Syracuse this season.

Kolarek signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers over the offseason, and L.A. briefly selected that contract to the active roster in June, resulting in one game and 1 1/3 innings of work for the left-hander during his Dodgers tenure.  Los Angeles traded Kolarek to the Mets just prior to the trade deadline, and the southpaw now looks to get at least a bit of a longer look in New York’s bullpen.  Best known for his time with the Rays and with the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series championship team, Kolarek had a 3.32 ERA over 116 2/3 innings from 2017-20 but then endured a pair of rough seasons pitching with the Athletics.

Mets Acquire Phil Bickford, Adam Kolarek From Dodgers

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The Mets acquired pitchers Phil Bickford and Adam Kolarek from the Dodgers, tweets Robert Murray of FanSided.  The Dodgers will receive cash as compensation, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Bickford, a 28-year-old righty, was designated for assignment on Saturday to clear a spot for the newly-acquired Joe Kelly.  Bickford made the Dodgers’ Opening Day bullpen this year, but hit the IL in June with lower back tightness.  All of his key stats moved in the wrong direction this year, with his strikeout rate dropping to 25.3%, his walk rate spiking to 13.7%, and his groundball rate dropping to 29.5%.  That’s led to a 5.14 ERA, which is up from 4.72 last year.  At his best for the Dodgers in 2021, Bickford was able to punch out nearly 30% of batters and walk fewer than 10%.

Kolarek, a 34-year-old southpaw, signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers last December.  Despite some shaky work at Triple-A, the Dodgers selected his contract in mid-June, which resulted in his lone big league appearance so far this year.  After that, Kolarek cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A.  He has 144 2/3 big league innings to his name, also logging time with the Rays and A’s.

The pair of arms represent a couple of depth pieces for the Mets, who recently shipped out relievers Dominic Leone and David Robertson as well as future Hall of Famers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.  Despite plans to take a step back for at least the 2024 season, the Mets held on to veteran relievers Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley.

Dodgers Outright Adam Kolarek

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Dodgers lefty Adam Kolarek cleared outright waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City following last week’s DFA, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. The veteran lefty had the right to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency, but he’s currently listed as active on the OKC Dodgers’ roster.

Kolarek, 34, was selected to the Majors earlier this month and appeared in just one game, retiring four of the five batters he faced (two via strikeout) and finished out that appearance without letting a run score. He’s also pitched to a tidy 2.18 ERA in 20 2/3 Triple-A frames this year, though he’s done with an unsightly 12-to-11 K/BB ratio in that time.

With that appearance, Kolarek has now seen big league action in each of the past seven seasons, suiting up for the Rays, A’s and Dodgers along the way. He carries a lifetime 3.73 ERA in 144 2/3 innings of work, and while his 15.6% strikeout rate is considerably worse than that of a league-average reliever, his 6.8% walk rate and especially his 63.8% ground-ball rate are outstanding. Kolarek, however, comes with the type of glaring platoon splits that have been magnified by MLB’s implementation of a three-batter minimum; in 335 career plate appearances, right-handed batters have posted a .311/.383/.490 batting line against Kolarek, as opposed to a putrid .190/.242/.259 slash by opposing lefties.

The Dodgers currently have four lefties in the big league bullpen (Caleb Ferguson, Alex Vesia, Victor Gonzalez, Bryan Hudson) and a fifth on the 40-man roster but down in Triple-A (Justin Bruihl). That doesn’t exactly leave the veteran Kolarek with a smooth path back to the Majors, but he’ll remain on hand as a depth option should the need arise.

Dodgers Designate Adam Kolarek For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced that left-hander Adam Kolarek has been designated for assignment.  The move opens an active roster spot for Shelby Miller, who has been activated from the bereavement list.

Kolarek signed a minors contract with Los Angeles back in December, and his contract was selected to the active roster earlier this week.  While a brief stint in the majors, Kolarek did at least appear in one game, tossing 1 1/3 scoreless innings during the Dodgers’ 7-3 loss to the Phillies on June 11.

That made it seven MLB seasons for Kolarek, and his second stint in Dodger Blue could be coming to an end.  The southpaw previously pitched for L.A. during the 2019-20 seasons, posting an eye-popping 0.84 ERA over 32 total innings over the two seasons and earning a World Series ring for his part in the Dodgers’ 2020 championship run.

Traded to the A’s in February 2021, the last two seasons have been a lot rockier for Kolarek, who had a 5.74 ERA over 26 2/3 total innings in Oakland.  Kolarek elected free agency following the season, and since he has been outrighted before in his career, he can elect free agency again if he clears DFA waivers and if the Dodgers try to outright him to Triple-A.  That said, after being shuttled up and down between the majors and minors so many times in his career, Kolarek might prefer to accept an outright assignment and remain in a familiar organization rather than test the open market again.

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