Nationals To Re-Sign Aaron Barrett
The Nationals have re-signed righty Aaron Barrett to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training, Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic reports (Twitter thread). The club has also re-signed infielders Adrian Sanchez and Brandon Snyder to minor league deals with camp invites.
Of the three, only Barrett logged time at the Major League level for the Nats in 2020. The 32-year-old righty (33 in January) looked to be emerging as a mainstay in the D.C. bullpen from 2014-15 before a torn UCL required Tommy John surgery. He fractured his elbow near the completion of that rehab stint, further derailing his return.
The Nats captured Double-A skipper Matthew LeCroy informing Barrett of his return to the Majors on video in 2019. That, coupled with Barrett becoming overwhelmed with emotion following his first big league appearance after close to a half decade of rehab, served as one of many feel-good stories in a magical campaign for the Nats.
Barrett has pitched just four innings in the Majors since that 2019 return, and he’ll now look for another opportunity to carve out a larger role in the Nationals’ relief corps. He’s been tagged for six runs in those four innings, but Barrett carried a 3.47 ERA with 10.8 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in 70 frames prior to running into his injury troubles.
Turning to the 30-year-old Sanchez, he spent parts of the 2017-19 seasons with the Nats, serving primarily as a utility infield piece. He’s appeared in a total of 90 big league games, all with the Nats, and posted a .263/.280/.331 batting line in 166 trips to the plate.
Snyder, 34 in a few weeks, spent the 2019 season with the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate and returned on another minor league deal last winter. He hasn’t gotten to the Majors with the Nats and has only appeared in two MLB games since the conclusion of the 2016 season. A former first-round pick, Snyder has seen MLB action in parts of six seasons, during which time he’s batted .240/.276/.455 with nine homers, five doubles and a triple in 211 plate appearances. The corner infielder/outfielder belted 31 home runs for the Nats’ Triple-A club during that 2019 stint and has a career .773 OPS in parts of 10 seasons at that level.
Minor MLB Transactions: 1/8/19
We’ll track the day’s minor moves with this post …
- The Nationals are in agreement on a minor league contract with corner infielder/outfielder Brandon Snyder, tweets Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. The 32-year-old journeyman went 1-for-6 in a brief cup of coffee with the Rays this past season and is a career .240/.276/.455 hitter with nine homers, 14 doubles and a triple in 211 Major League plate appearances. Since debuting with the Orioles back in 2010, the former No. 13 overall pick has played first base, third base and both outfield corners at the MLB level.
Earlier Moves
- Righty Rob Wooten is returning to the Reds on a minor-league deal, he announced. Brandon Warne of Zone Coverage first tweeted the news. Wooten will be back for a third season in the Cincinnati org, though he hasn’t yet appeared at the MLB level since a three-season run with the Brewers. Wooten has only thrown 40 2/3 minor-league innings over the past two seasons while battling injuries.
- Likewise, right-hander Aaron Northcraft has confirmed that he’s going to the Mariners on a minor-league arrangement. The 28-year-old is seeking to make a comeback after turning in a solid showing in the Venezuelan Winter League. He has allowed just three earned runs over 17 2/3 innings while compiling 17 strikeouts against nine walks. The former tenth-round pick never made it to the bigs in his first effort but will try to jump start his career this spring. He was previously shipped to the Padres along with Justin Upton in the 2014 blockbuster with the Braves.
- The Indians have added southpaw Hector Hernandez on a minors pact, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Soon to turn 28, Hernandez is another former tenth-round draft choice who hasn’t yet appeared at the MLB level. Indeed, he only briefly touched Triple-A before dropping out of affiliated ball following the 2016 season. Still, it seems he caught someone’s eye with his winter efforts in his native Puerto Rico.
Players Electing Free Agency
Quite a few players will hit the open market this fall, and they’ll do so by way of varying mechanisms. The end of the regular season triggered a recent wave of free agents, consisting of a certain subset of players — namely, those who were outrighted from 40-man rosters during the season and accepted minor-league assignments at that time despite having the right to elect free agency. Players in that situation are entitled instead to hit the open market at season’s end, if they were not added back to the 40-man roster in the meantime.
As conveyed by Matt Eddy of Baseball America, who also covers quite a few other minor moves, these players have now elected free agency:
Athletics: RHP Raul Alcantara, LHP Danny Coulombe
Blue Jays: RHP Mike Hauschild, INF/OF Darnell Sweeney
Braves: LHP Rex Brothers, RHP Miguel Socolovich
Cardinals: LHP Tyler Lyons
Indians: RHP Evan Marshall, RHP Alexi Ogando
Mariners: RHP Christian Bergman, LHP Ross Detwiler, RHP Mike Morin, INF Zach Vincej
Marlins: OF JB Shuck
Mets: RHP Chris Beck, OF Bryce Brentz, RHP Scott Copeland, OF Matt den Dekker, INF Ty Kelly
Nationals: LHP Tommy Milone, OF Moises Sierra, RHP Carlos Torres
Orioles: RHP Jhan Marinez, INF Luis Sardinas
Padres: OF Matt Szczur
Phillies: INF Trevor Plouffe
Pirates: LHP Buddy Boshers, RHP Casey Sadler, RHP A.J. Schugel
Rangers: C Juan Centeno, LHP Anthony Gose, RHP Drew Hutchison, INF Tommy Joseph, RHP Chris Rowley
Rays: INF Brandon Snyder, RHP Ryan Weber
Reds: C Tim Federowicz, RHP Kevin Quackenbush
Tigers: INF Dixon Machado, RHP Jacob Turner
White Sox: RHP Tyler Danish
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/21/18
The latest minor moves from around baseball:
- Outfielder Ryan Kalish has retired, Peter Gammons tweets. Kalish, who played the final game of his career on Friday with New Britain of the independent Atlantic League, is stepping away because of knee issues, per Gammons. Now 30, Kalish was once a promising prospect with the Red Sox, who grabbed him in the ninth round of the 2006 draft. Injuries were problematic throughout Kalish’s career, though, which helps to explain why he only amassed 422 major league plate appearances with the BoSox and Cubs between 2010-16. Kalish was a .245/.297/.349 hitter with four homers and 16 stolen bases in the majors.
- The Indians have acquired utility player Jon Berti from the Blue Jays for cash considerations, according to announcements from both teams. Berti will join Triple-A Columbus with Cleveland, which will be his second organization since Toronto chose him in the 18th round of the 2011 draft. The 28-year-old Berti ascended to Triple-A in 2015 and has since hit .212/.282/.314 in 433 PAs at the minors’ highest level.
- The Rays outrighted outfielder Brandon Snyder to Triple-A Durham after he cleared waivers, the team announced. Snyder, whom the Rays designated Friday, could decline the assignment because he has been outrighted in the past. He totaled six PAs with the Rays before they cut him from their 40-man roster, giving him 211 since he debuted with Baltimore in 2011. Snyder has batted .240/.276/.455 with nine long balls in the bigs.
Rays Designate Brandon Snyder For Assignment
The Rays have designated infielder Brandon Snyder for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for fellow infielder Brad Miller, who is returning from the disabled list (Twitter link via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times).
Snyder, 28, went 1-for-6 with a double in a pair of games for Tampa Bay after having his contract selected earlier this week. That marked the 31-year-old’s first action at the Major League level since 2016, when he made 47 plate appearances for the rebuilding Braves. The former Orioles prospect was the 13th overall pick back in the 2005 draft but has yet to tally even 70 plate appearances in a single big league season. He’s a career .242/.279/.459 hitter with nine homers in just 205 big league plate appearances and a .259/.326/.426 hitter in 2353 Triple-A plate appearances.
As for Miller, he’ll return after spending nearly two weeks on the shelf with a groin strain. The 28-year-old enjoyed a 30-homer campaign back in 2016 but followed that power surge with the worst offensive campaign of his career. He’s off to a .222/.300/.370 start through 30 plate appearances as he looks to rebound from last year’s down season.
Rays Select Contract Of Brandon Snyder, Place Matt Duffy On DL
The Rays have selected the contract of infielder Brandon Snyder and placed third baseman Matt Duffy on the 10-day disabled list, tweets MLB.com’s Bill Chastain. Kevin Kiermaier, who is undergoing thumb surgery and figures to miss upwards of three months, was moved to the 60-day disabled list to open a 40-man spot for Snyder.
Duffy exited yesterday’s game with discomfort in his hamstring. The infielder told reporters that the injury isn’t serious, and it seems as if he expects to return after a minimal stay on the disabled list (Twitter link via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times). Snyder and Daniel Robertson could pick up the bulk of the at-bats at the hot corner in his absence.
Snyder, 31, will get the call to the big leagues over some potential longer-term options for the Rays — most notably Christian Arroyo, whom the team acquired in the offseason Evan Longoria trade with the Giants. Arroyo hasn’t exactly come out of the gates and forced his way into big league consideration, posting just a .499 OPS through the season’s first few games.
Snyder will be stepping onto a big league field for the first time since 2016, when he made 47 plate appearances for the rebuilding Braves. The former Orioles prospect was the 13th overall pick back in the 2005 draft but has yet to tally even 70 plate appearances in a single big league season. He’s a career .242/.279/.459 hitter with nine homers in just 205 big league plate appearances and a .259/.326/.426 hitter in 2353 Triple-A plate appearances.
Minor MLB Transactions: 12/14/17
Here are the latest minor moves, with newer signings at the top of the post…
Latest Transactions
- The Royals officially announced the minor league signings of both Broadway and third baseman/outfielder Cody Asche via their official Twitter feed. Asche has a .234/.293/.376 slash line over 1349 career PA from 2013-17, as he has yet to break out after years as a well-regarded prospect in the Phillies’ system. Asche spent 2017 with the White Sox, where he posted a big .887 OPS over 347 Triple-A plate appearances and also appeared in 19 games with the big league club.
Earlier Today
- The Rays announced their list of 13 players invited to their MLB spring camp on minor league deals (Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times has the breakdown). Some of the signings have been reported on MLBTR already, though the list also includes such notable former big leaguers as Jonny Venters, Brandon Snyder, and Colton Murray. Venters is back for his third year in Tampa’s minor league system, as the former Braves All-Star is trying to make an extraordinary comeback from four Tommy John surgeries, three of which have come since 2013.
- The Marlins signed infielder Cristhian Adames to a minor league contract, Antonio Puesan of Magnus Media reports (Twitter link). The deal contains an invitation to Miami’s Spring Training camp. All ten of Adames’ pro seasons have come in the Rockies organization, including 166 games at the Major League level over the last four seasons. Adames actually appeared in 121 games for Colorado in 2016, though largely in a backup infield role. Still just 26, Adames has a .279/.344/.384 slash line over 3314 career minor league plate appearances and a .561 OPS over his 343 PA in the bigs.
- The Royals signed right-hander Mike Broadway to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invitation, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (via Twitter). Originally a fourth-round pick for the Braves in the 2005 draft, Broadway reached the big leagues a decade later, posting a 6.75 ERA over 22 2/3 relief innings for the Giants in 2015-16. The righty spent last season in the Nationals and Rays farm systems.
Nationals Sign Four To Minor League Deals
9:07am: In addition to Snyder, Washington has signed left-hander Braulio Lara, right-hander Derek Eitel and infielder Corban Joseph to minor league pacts with spring training invitations, per a team announcement. The only member of the trio with major league experience is Joseph, who collected seven PAs with the Yankees in 2013.
8:38am: The Nationals have signed free agent utilityman Brandon Snyder to a minor league contract, according to Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. The deal contains an invitation to big league camp, where Snyder will have a chance to compete for a roster spot on next year’s Nats.
Snyder, who played high school baseball in Northern Virginia, landed on the open market when the Braves outrighted him in mid-October. He was successful last season with Atlanta in a 47-plate appearance sample, though, posting an unusual batting line of .239/.255/.652 with four home runs. In a combined 205 career major league PAs with the Orioles – who chose him in the first round of the 2005 draft – Rangers, Red Sox and Braves, Snyder has slashed .242/.279/.459 with nine long balls. Snyder has seen far more action at the Triple-A level, where he has batted an uninspiring .259/.319/.411 in 1,837 trips to the plate.
The right-handed Snyder, who will turn 30 on Wednesday, could catch on with a Nationals team that currently has an unsettled bench, as Zuckerman notes. Most of Snyder’s major league time has come in the corner infield, though the Nats are set at third base as long as Anthony Rendon stays healthy. First base is perhaps a different story, however, as both Ryan Zimmerman and Clint Robinson are coming off dreadful seasons.
Braves Outright De La Cruz, Lalli, Snyder
The Braves have outrighted reliever Joel De La Cruz, catcher Blake Lalli and first baseman Brandon Snyder off their 40-man roster, according to Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Each of the three can and very likely will become minor league free agents this offseason.
Signed to a minor league pact this offseason, the 27-year-old De La Cruz made his big league debut with Atlanta in 2016 and wound up tossing a fairly substantial 62 2/3 innings for the Braves across nine starts and 13 relief appearances. In that time, De La Cruz worked to a 4.88 ERA with 5.3 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 43.1 percent ground-ball rate. The longtime Yankees farmhand, who has also spent time in the Brewers and Nationals organizations, averaged 91.3 mph on a sinker he threw for just over half of his offerings, per PITCHf/x data, also working in a slider and a changeup. Neither De La Cruz’s Major League nor minor league numbers stand out, but his 4.15 ERA in parts of three seasons (184 1/3 innings) at the Triple-A level is an identical match with his career 4.15 ERA across five minor league levels, so he can function as a serviceable depth piece in a club’s Triple-A rotation or bullpen.
The 33-year-old Lalli, meanwhile, returned to the Majors for the first time since 2013 and picked up 13 plate appearances with a pair of hits. He’s seen parts of three seasons in the Majors, though he has just 53 plate appearances and a .305 OPS in that time. He’s fared considerably better at Triple-A, where he’s a lifetime .265/.316/.376 hitter.
And Snyder, 29, tallied 47 PAs this season and hit .239/.255/.652 — one of the stranger batting lines you’ll come across anytime soon. The 29-year-old collected 11 hits but just one single, as he belted four homers to go along with five doubles and a triple in his brief stint, bumping his career batting line to .242/.279/.459. Clearly, as evidenced by the .217 ISO (slugging percentage minus batting average) that he’s posted in the Majors, there’s some pop in Snyder’s bat, though he’s never been able to carve out a prolonged role in the bigs. Formerly selected with the 13th overall pick by the Orioles in 2005, Snyder is a career .274/.336/.437 hitter in the minors, including a .259/.319/.411 slash in parts of seven Triple-A seasons.
Braves Designate Brandon Snyder For Assignment
The Braves have designated infielder/outfielder Brandon Snyder for assignment, reports David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). Right-hander Madison Younginer will come up from Triple-A Gwinnett to take Snyder’s place on the Braves’ roster.
Snyder, 29, garnered 34 plate appearances for the Braves prior to Sunday and hit .182/.206/.515 with two home runs. He previously saw action with the Orioles, who selected him 13th overall in the 2005 draft, Rangers and Red Sox. Snyder has collected 192 big league PAs and slashed .232/.272/.420 with seven long balls. Across 12 minor league seasons and 3,902 PAs, he owns a .273/.336/.436 line.