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Austin Brice

Twins Sign Austin Brice To Minor League Deal

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The Twins picked up some pitching depth in the upper minors yesterday, as the club signed right-hander Austin Brice to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com’s transaction tracker, which also notes that Brice has been assigned to Triple-A St. Paul.

Brice, 31 in June, made his major league debut in 2016 as a member of the Marlins. He ultimately would pitch just 14 innings with the club before being sent to Cincinnati as part of the deal that sent Luis Castillo to Cincinnati. He would pitch out of the Reds’ bullpen for the next two season, posting a 5.40 ERA in 70 innings of work before a series of waiver claims throughout the 2018-19 offseason took him back to Miami, where he posted his best season to date with a 3.43 ERA in 44 2/3 innings of work.

Since then, Brice was traded to the Red Sox, with whom he struggled to a 6.21 ERA across parts of two seasons, and signed a minor league deal with the Pirates ahead of the 2022 season, though he made just four appearances with the club. Overall, Brice has a 5.12 ERA in 168 2/3 innings of work throughout his career with a 21.8% strikeout rate and a 9% walk rate. Home runs have primarily been Brice’s issue during his time in the majors, as the journeyman reliever has allowed a concerning 17.6% of all career fly balls to leave the yard.

Those issues with the long ball led him to settle for a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks this offseason, though his brief tenure as a member of the organization saw him allow twelve runs (eight earned) over just three innings of work. Now, Brice has caught on with the Twins, with whom he’ll act as pitching depth in the upper levels of the minor leagues alongside the likes of Patrick Murphy and Oliver Ortega.

Diamondbacks Sign Austin Brice To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks added a bit of minor league pitching depth over the weekend, signing right-hander Austin Brice to a minor league deal, per an official announcement. The deal comes with an invite to big league spring training.

A ninth round pick in 2010 by the Marlins, Brice has spent parts of seven big league seasons across four teams. He struggled initially with Miami after coming up in 2016 and was sent to the Reds as part of the Dan Strailly trade (that also got the Reds Luis Castillo). He tossed 70 innings across two seasons in Cincinnati, pitching to a 5.40 ERA while displaying slightly below league-average strikeout rates.

He bounced around on waivers a bit prior to the 2019 season, but ultimately landed back with the Marlins and turned in his best big league season. That year, Brice pitched 44 2/3 innings of 3.43 ERA ball, striking out 23.1% of batters against a 9.1% walk rate. The Marlins traded him to the Red Sox before the 2020 season, but he’d struggle in Boston, turning in a 6.21 ERA across 33 1/3 innings of work over two seasons.

He spent the past season with the Pirates, mostly pitching at Triple-A where he had a 5.56 ERA in 37 2/3 innings. He did spent some brief time in the big leagues, tossing 6 2/3 innings of relief for the Pirates.

All told, Brice owns a 5.12 ERA across 168 2/3 major league innings. His career strikeout rate of 21.8% is a fraction under the major league average, while his career walk rate of 9% is slightly over it. Brice has a two-pitch mix, combining a low-90s fastball with a low-80s slider. The 30-year-old will provide some valuable minor league pitching depth for Arizona, though given the volume of relief pitching teams often require over the course of a season, there’s every chance he’s back in the big leagues again at some point in 2023.

34 Players Become Free Agents

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The Wild Card round of the 2022 postseason begins today, but for the majority of teams and players, the offseason is now underway. With that will come plenty of roster formalities, including veteran players who’ve been outrighted off their respective teams’ rosters reaching minor league free agency. This week, there have been 34 such instances throughout the league, per the transactions log at MiLB.com.

None of these are a surprise, to be clear. Any player who is not on his team’s 40-man roster at season’s end but has three-plus years of Major League service time, multiple career outright assignments and/or seven-plus seasons in the minors has the right to elect free agency. Everyone in today’s group of players falls under that umbrella. The majority of the group will likely find minor league deals over the winter, although a few of the players in question could potentially find a big league deal as a bench piece or middle-inning reliever.

There will be several more waves of players of this ilk, and we’ll make note of them in bunches over the coming weeks as we await the launch of Major League free agency, when all unsigned players with at least six years of Major League service time will reach the open market. For now, here’s the first of what will likely be several waves of newly minted minor league free agents:

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Pitchers

Pirates Designate Austin Brice For Assignment

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The Pirates have made a series of roster moves prior to tonight’s game, with right-hander Roansy Contreras being recalled to the active roster and catcher Tyler Heineman being reinstated from the injured list. To make room for those two, catcher Jose Godoy has been optioned while right-hander Austin Brice has been designated for assignment.

For Brice, 30, this is the second time this year he’s been given a brief stay on the Pirates’ roster. Signed to a minor league deal in the offseason, he had his contract selected in late June and was designated in early July. After clearing waivers and accepting an outright assignment, he was selected back to the roster last week but has again lost his spot rather quickly. In between those transactions, he’s managed to throw 6 2/3 innings for the Bucs with a 4.05 ERA.

In 34 2/3 Triple-A frames for the year, Brice has a 4.41 ERA with a 27.2% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and 47.8% ground ball rate. Despite those strong peripherals, the ERA is being inflated by the long ball, with Brice having allowed six in that time, a 19.4% HR/FB rate.

Brice will now be placed on waivers in the coming days, since the passing of the trade deadline eliminates the chance of any deal being made. If he clears waivers, he will be eligible to reject an outright assignment, though he forewent that right the last time he passed through waivers in July.

Pirates Select Austin Brice

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The Pirates announced they’ve selected right-hander Austin Brice onto the major league roster. Pittsburgh placed righty Yerry De Los Santos on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move.

Brice is back for a second stint with the Bucs. He made two appearances, tossing 3 2/3 innings of two-run ball, before being designated for assignment. Brice passed unclaimed through waivers and accepted an assignment back to Triple-A Indianapolis, where he’s logged the majority of the season. The 30-year-old owns a 4.41 ERA through 34 2/3 innings of relief there, fanning batters at a quality 27.2% clip against a solid 8.6% walk rate. Brice has also induced ground-balls at an above-average clip in the minors to earn his way back.

A former ninth-round pick, Brice has gotten to the majors in each of the last seven years. He’s pitched for the Marlins on two separate occasions, along with stints as a Red, Red Sox and Pirate. In 165 2/3 career innings, he owns a 5.16 ERA with slightly worse than average strikeout and walk rates. Brice is out of minor league option years, meaning he’ll have to stick on the active roster or again be designated for assignment.

De Los Santos, 24, made his major league debut this season. He’s come out of the bullpen 26 times, posting a 4.91 ERA but showing more interesting peripherals. He’s averaged north of 95 MPH on his fastball, induced grounders at a very strong 52.8% clip and posted a league average strikeout rate (albeit without many whiffs on a per-pitch basis). That’ll unfortunately be his entire body of work for 2022, as he’s dealing with a lat strain in his throwing shoulder. With less than 60 days remaining on the regular season schedule, De Los Santos’ season is over.

Pirates Outright Austin Brice

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July 11: Brice has cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis, per Justice delos Santos of MLB.com. It’s unclear if Brice has accepted the assignment or elected free agency.

July 6: The Pirates have designated right-hander Austin Brice for assignment and optioned lefty Cam Vieaux to Triple-A Indianapolis, per a team announcement. That pair of moves creates space for right-hander Yerry De Los Santos to return from the Covid-related injured list and for newly acquired southpaw Manny Banuelos to be added to the active roster.

Brice spent a couple weeks in the majors, having been selected to the roster in late June. Signed to a minor league deal over the winter, the 30-year-old earned a brief look with a strong showing in Indianapolis. Across 26 2/3 innings, Brice posted a solid 3.04 ERA while striking out a lofty 27.2% of opposing hitters and inducing grounders on more than half the batted balls he allowed. Since adding him to the MLB staff, Pittsburgh has deployed him on only two occasions for low-leverage relief work.

While a limited look, that did mark Brice’s seventh consecutive year stepping onto a major league mound. He’s also played for the Marlins (a pair of separate stints), Reds and Red Sox. He’s typically racked up grounders at a solid clip and sports a fastball in the mid-90s, but he’s generally had issues keeping runs off the board at the highest level. Brice has allowed fewer than four earned runs per nine innings just once in a season, and he owns a 5.16 ERA through 165 2/3 career MLB innings.

The Pirates will presumably try to send Brice through waivers over the coming days. His quality Triple-A numbers may earn him a look from another team, but he is out of minor league option years. That means any team that claims him would have to keep him on their active roster or designate him for assignment themselves. Brice cleared outright waivers twice last season with Boston, meaning he’ll have the right to refuse an assignment back to Indianapolis in favor of minor league free agency if he goes unclaimed again.

Pirates Designate Jerad Eickhoff For Assignment

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The Pirates announced they’ve selected reliever Austin Brice onto the MLB roster. Righty Jerad Eickhoff has been designated for assignment to open active and 40-man roster space.

Eickhoff, 31, appeared in just one game for the Pirates and was torched for 10 runs in 4 1/3 innings against the Cubs this week. Remarkably, that’s the second consecutive big league appearance in which Eickhoff has been tagged for 10 earned runs; he also yielded 10 runs (in 3 1/3 frames) to the Braves in his final outing of the year with the Mets last season.

Those two outings have combined to help balloon Eickhoff’s career ERA to 4.50 and mark the continuation of a recent decline in Eickhoff’s overall performance. While he was a solid rotation option with the Phillies from 2015-17, pitching to a 3.87 ERA over 376 1/3 innings during that time, Eickhoff has totaled just 87 2/3 Major League innings from 2018-22 and pitched to a collective 7.19 ERA along the way. The Pirates will have a week to trade Eickhoff, release him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency if he chooses.

Brice, meanwhile, will join the big league bullpen on the heels of a sharp 3.04 ERA through 26 2/3 innings in Triple-A Indianapolis. He’s posted strong strikeout and ground-ball rates in Indy (27.2% and 50.7%, respectively), but has also issued a walk to 11 of the 114 batters he’s faced (9.6%) and plunked another three. Brice is a veteran of parts of six Major League seasons — the best of which came with the 2019 Marlins (44 2/3 innings, 3.43 ERA). Overall, he carries a lifetime 5.17 ERA in 162 big league innings.

Pirates Sign Austin Brice To Minor League Deal

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The Pirates have signed right-handed pitcher Austin Brice to a minor league contract, according to Alex Stumpf of DK Pittsburgh Sports. It’s a continuation of Pittsburgh’s busy week adding depth to their pitching staff, as they claimed pitcher Adonis Medina earlier today and re-signed Chase De Jong to a minor league accord yesterday.

The 29-year-old Brice is coming off a season split between Boston’s Triple-A and big league teams, his second straight year with the Red Sox. While he made a solid impression in the minors, posting a 3.27 ERA and 34 strikeouts across 33 innings, that wasn’t the case at the Major League level. The out-of-options Brice was shuttled back and forth between Boston’s top two teams throughout the season and was left with a 6.59 ERA in just north of 13 innings for the Red Sox.

While Brice didn’t find a ton of success with Boston, he’s not far removed from a strong 2019 showing out of the Miami bullpen. Through 44 innings that season the Marlins draftee pitched to a solid 3.43 ERA, though several of his peripherals hinted that his ERA figure was a bit lucky. Furthermore, Brice has proven himself plenty adept at getting minor league hitters out, with a career 2.92 ERA at the Triple-A level that looks a lot rosier than his 5.17 ERA across six Major League seasons.

All told, it’s a low risk signing for the Pirates, as is typically the case with minor league pacts. Should Brice and his 80th percentile curveball carry his minor league success over to the big leagues Pittsburgh will have quite the nice pickup on their hands.

Players Recently Electing Free Agency

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As the offseason gets underway, players around baseball continue to elect minor league free agency.  While the threshold for big league free agency (six-plus years of Major League service time) is well known, there are several methods of qualifying for minor league free agency.  The most common criteria: players with 3+ years of MLB service time who have been outrighted off their teams’ 40-man rosters this season, players who have been outrighted off a 40-man roster multiple times in their career, or unsigned players not on a 40-man roster who have spent parts of at least seven seasons on a minor league roster or injured list.

Each of these players has recently hit the open market in the last few days, according to the official transactions pages for both Triple-A East and Triple-A West.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/17/2021

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The latest minor league moves from around the sport…

  • The Red Sox outrighted Austin Brice to Triple-A Worcester after the reliever cleared waivers.  Brice was designated for assignment yesterday to create roster room for Jarren Duran’s promotion to the big leagues.  Since this is the second time Brice has been outrighted off Boston’s 40-man roster this season, he had the option of opting for free agency, but the right-hander has apparently decided to remain with the Red Sox.  Over two seasons with the Sox, Brice has a 6.21 ERA over 33 1/3 innings.
  • The Red Sox have acquired right-hander Victor Santos from the Phillies, both teams announced.  The move officially completes the January trade that saw infielder C.J. Chatham dealt to Philadelphia way back in January.  Santos will report to Boston’s Double-A affiliate, and will change organizations less than a week after celebrating his 21st birthday.  The righty has looked good over 41 combined innings at high-A and Double-A ball this season, posting a 2.20 ERA and 24.24% strikeout rate while working exclusively as a starter in four Double-A outings.
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