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Brett Oberholtzer

Rockies To Sign Brett Oberholtzer

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The Rockies have inked a minors deal with lefty Brett Oberholtzer, Mike Ashmore of the Courier News and Home News Tribune reports. He had been slated to pitch for the indy ball Somerset Patriots.

Oberholtzer is a 28-year-old who was originally selected by the Braves in the eighth round of the 2008 draft. He was dealt to the Astros in the 2011 Michael Bourn swap and later sent on to the Phillies in 2015’s Ken Giles trade. In addition to appearing in the majors with the ’Stros and Phils, Oberholtzer has appeared briefly with the Angels.

All told, Oberholtzer carries a 4.36 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 across 324 frames at the game’s highest level. He did not crack the bigs last year, but did make 24 starts for the Blue Jays’ top affiliate, pitching to a 4.12 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.

Blue Jays Designate Brett Oberholtzer For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have designated left-hander Brett Oberholtzer for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for newly acquired outfielder Nori Aoki, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (on Twitter).

Oberholtzer had his contract selected to the Major League roster just yesterday and will lose that 40-man spot before making even a single appearance with the Blue Jays’ big league club. The 28-year-old inked a minor league pact with Toronto this winter on the heels of a down season split between the Phillies and Angels. In 94 1/3 innings with the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, Oberholtzer worked to a 4.48 ERA with 5.6 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 45 percent ground-ball rate.

From 2013-15, Oberholtzer enjoyed a solid run with the Astros, tossing 253 2/3 innings with a 3.94 ERA, 5.9 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 while working almost exclusively as a starter. He went to Philadelphia as part of the December 2015 Ken Giles trade in the hopes that he could either work as a long man out of the bullpen or perhaps offer some stability to a young rotation. However, in 26 relief appearances with the Phils, Oberholtzer was tagged for 58 hits, including 11 homers, in 50 1/3 innings. His troubles with the long ball continued after joining the Angels later that season, as he served up seven homers in just 20 frames with the Halos.

While he posted a poor 5.89 ERA on the season as a whole, Oberholtzer isn’t far removed from contributing some solid innings at the big league level and hasn’t had any issues with homers in Triple-A this year (0.48 HR/9). He’s already been outrighted in the past, so if the Blue Jays go that route, he’d have the opportunity to reject his assignment and latch on as depth piece in another organization of his choosing.

Blue Jays, Brett Oberholtzer Agree To Minors Deal

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The Blue Jays have agreed to a deal with southpaw Brett Oberholtzer, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman. Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets that it’s a minor league contract.

The 27-year-old Oberholtzer struggled mightily in 2016, though, pitching to a career-worst 5.89 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 42.3 percent ground-ball rate in 70 innings between the Philies and Angels. The former Astros southpaw found himself traded to the Phillies last winter as part of the Ken Giles blockbuster, but he struggled with both teams for which he pitched in 2016 and elected free agency after being outrighted earlier this offseason.

Oberholtzer has a 4.36 ERA to go along with 6.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 39.3 percent ground-ball rate in 324 big league innings. He doesn’t dominate lefties like so many other left-handed pitchers, so if he ends up making the club at some point in 2017, Oberholtzer is more of a swingman option than a candidate for situational work against lefties late in games.

Outrighted: Red Sox, Angels, ChiSox, Braves, Pirates, Giants

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The seventh game of the World Series rightly dominated the baseball landscape Wednesday, but there were also several outrights from around the majors. Here are those assignments:

  • The Red Sox announced that they’ve activated Josh Rutledge from the disabled list and outrighted him off the 40-man roster. The 27-year-old hit .265/.345/.388 in 56 plate appearances with the Sox this season and is a lifetime .262/.312/.397 hitter in 1088 Major League PAs. Capable of playing second base, third base and shortstop, Rutledge should find opportunities to make a club as a bench piece next spring when he inevitably elects free agency following his outright assignment.

Earlier Updates

  • The Angels have outrighted left-hander Brett Oberholtzer to Triple-A Salt Lake. The club previously designated Oberholtzer for assignment Oct. 28, which came after he logged a career-worst 5.89 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 42.3 percent ground-ball rate in 70 innings between the Phillies and Angels this year. Overall, Oberholtzer has posted a 4.36 ERA, 6.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 39.3 percent ground-ball rate in 324 major league innings.
  • The White Sox have outrighted outfielder J.B. Shuck to Triple-A Charlotte. Shuck has over 1,000 major league plate appearances to his name, and 406 of those have come with the White Sox since last season. In 241 PAs this year, Shuck batted a woeful .205/.248/.299.
  • The Braves have outrighted right-handers Casey Kelly and Brandon Cunniff to Triple-A Gwinnett. Kelly placed anywhere from 24th to 76th in Baseball America’s prospect rankings from 2009-12, but injury- and performance-related issues have beset the former Red Sox and Padres farmhand. Notably, Kelly went from Boston to San Diego in 2010 in a deal involving then-Padres prospect and current Cubs superstar Anthony Rizzo. That trade brought first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox. The Padres then sent Kelly to the Braves last offseason for catcher/pitcher/outfielder Christian Bethancourt. The 27-year-old Kelly subsequently amassed 21 2/3 frames of 5.82 ERA pitching with matching strikeout and walk rates (2.91 over nine innings) this season. Cunniff has logged 52 big league innings – all with the Braves since last season – and recorded a 4.50 ERA, 9.17 K/9 and 5.37 BB/9.
  • The Pirates have outrighted infielder Pedro Florimon, catcher Jacob Stallings and southpaw Zach Phillips to Triple-A Indianapolis. The most notable member of the group is Florimon, a defensive specialist who has collected a combined 752 major league plate appearances with the Orioles, Twins and Pirates. Only 50 of those PAs have come with Pittsburgh since he joined the organization via waivers prior to the 2015 season. Stallings, whom the Pirates chose in the seventh round of the 2012 draft, took his first 15 major league trips to the plate this year. Phillips also got some work with the Bucs this season, impressing over 6 2/3 innings (two earned runs, six strikeouts, one walk). The 30-year-old previously racked up 15 2/3 total frames with the Orioles and Marlins.
  • The Giants have outrighted catcher Tony Sanchez to Triple-A Sacramento. Sanchez has accumulated just 155 major league PAs since Pittsburgh drafted him fourth overall in 2009. He divided 2016 between the Triple-A affiliates of the Blue Jays and Giants and combined for an ugly .201/.298/.317 line across 228 PAs.

Angels Claim Abel De Los Santos, Designate Brett Oberholtzer

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The Angels announced today that they’ve claimed right-hander Abel De Los Santos off outright waivers from the Reds and designated left-hander Brett Oberholtzer for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Cincinnati originally claimed the 23-year-old De Los Santos from the Nationals this past July, and the right-hander tossed 5 2/3 innings for the Reds in the final month of the season. That marked the second season which De Los Santos received a brief cup of coffee in the Majors, as he also pitched 1 2/3 innings with the Nationals in 2015. While De Los Santos has solid numbers at the minor league level, he’s been roughed up for eight runs on nine hits and five walks in his 7 1/3 big league innings. De Los Santos tossed 20 1/3 innings in Triple-A this season and logged a 3.54 ERA with a 26-to-13 K/BB ratio, and he has a lifetime 3.03 ERA in Double-A as well. He’ll give the Halos a depth option in a bullpen that faces some uncertainty heading into 2017.

As for Oberholtzer, his removal from the 40-man roster subtracts a rotation option for the Angels. The 27-year-old struggled mightily in 2016, though, pitching to a career-worst 5.89 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 42.3 percent ground-ball rate in 70 innings between the Philies and Angels. The former Astros southpaw found himself traded to the Phillies last winter as part of the Ken Giles blockbuster, but wound up with the Angels following a waiver claim. Ultimately, his tenure in both Philadelphia and Anaheim proved to be brief.

In 324 innings as a Major Leaguer, Oberholtzer has a 4.36 ERA to go along with 6.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 39.3 percent ground-ball rate. If he clears waives, he can look for a new organization on the free agent market this winter.

Angels Place Cam Bedrosian On DL, Claim Brett Oberholtzer From Phillies

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The Angels announced several roster moves this afternoon, including the placement of right-hander Cam Bedrosian on the 15-day disabled list due to flexor tendinitis in the middle finger on his right hand. Additionally, the Angels have claimed left-hander Brett Oberholtzer off waivers from the Phillies and selected the contract of fellow righty A.J. Achter. Oberholtzer will join the Major League club but will not do so today, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.

The injury to Bedrosian means that the Angels will now have both closer Huston Street and Bedrosian, their top setup man and interim closer, on the disabled list at the same time. Those injuries and the trade of setup man Joe Smith to the Cubs creates some uncertainty at the back of manager Mike Scioscia’s bullpen. Right-hander Deolis Guerra has had the most impressive season thus far of any of the team’s remaining relievers, but righty Fernando Salas tops him in terms of experience. Bedrosian’s loss is a notable one for the Halos, as he’s quietly delivered one of the best seasons of any reliever in baseball. The 24-year-old has posted a brilliant 1.12 ERA with 11.4 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 49.5 percent ground-ball rate in 40 1/3 innings in his breakout campaign.

As for Oberholtzer, the 27-year-old went from Houston to Philadelphia in last December’s Ken Giles blockbuster, but he was unable to find his footing as a member of the Phils. In 50 1/3 innings this year, Oberholtzer limped to a 4.83 ERA with 6.8 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and a 44.8 percent ground-ball rate. He hasn’t factored into a big league rotation much recently, but Oberholtzer does has 42 Major League starts under his belt. That could be key for an Angels organization that is thin on rotation depth with Andrew Heaney, Nick Tropeano and likely Garrett Richards all slated to miss the 2017 season (or most of it) due to Tommy John surgery. While Oberholtzer certainly isn’t an overpowering arm, he has a 4.09 career ERA in 304 big league innings.

Achter, 27, has a 3.98 ERA in 20 1/3 innings out of the Angels’ bullpen this season but has fanned just nine batters in that time. He has plenty of Triple-A success under his belt though: a 2.90 ERA with a 164-to-64 K/BB ratio in 183 innings. The Halos have designated Achter for assignment and outrighted him twice already this season.

Phillies Designate Brett Oberholtzer, Release Andrew Bailey

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The Phillies have announced that they’ve designated lefty Brett Oberholtzer for assignment, a move that clears roster space for top prospect Jake Thompson, who will start today. The team also announced that it has requested release waivers on righty Andrew Bailey, who was designated for assignment earlier this week.

[Related: Philadelphia Phillies Depth Chart]

The Phillies acquired the 27-year-old Oberholtzer last offseason when they sent Ken Giles to Houston. Oberholtzer has spent the season pitching in a long-relief role in Philadelphia, posting a 4.83 ERA, 6.8 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 50 1/3 innings. He doesn’t have great velocity or an outstanding breaking pitch, so his upside appears to be limited, even though he’s left-handed and is capable of starting or relieving. He has a 4.09 ERA, 6.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in parts of four big-league seasons.

Bailey’s 2016 season has been his first full, healthy campaign in years, but it hasn’t gone well, as he posted a 6.40 ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 32 1/3 innings. The 32-year-old former Athletics closer has pitched parts of seven big-league seasons, spending time with the Red Sox and Yankees in addition to the A’s and Phillies.

NL East Notes: Nationals, Belisle, Phillies, Hunter, Francouer

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Over the years, we’ve heard much about the Cardinals Way – an organization-wide process credited with developing several untouted prospects into major league regulars. More recently, the Pirates Way of developing pitchers has been mentioned more and more frequently. The Nationals have developed their own Way, writes Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. Janes goes into the details of a system that depends on consistency from the minor league coaching staff. Catchers are a lynchpin in helping pitchers to develop. Coordinators rove between the affiliates as pseudo-quality control officials. The details provide an interesting glimpse under the hood of the Nationals minor league system.

Here’s more from the NL East:

  • Nationals reliever Matt Belisle may decide to opt out of his contract tomorrow afternoon, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Belisle inked a minor league contract with the Nationals earlier in the winter. His opt out day is tomorrow. To this point, he’s allowed three runs in five and one-third innings. Washington does appear to have a full bullpen in place without Belisle, making it hard to see a spot for him on the 40-man roster. Belisle himself is unsure if he’ll exercise the opt out. His best years came in Colorado from 2011 through 2013.
  • The Phillies still have two or three unclaimed spots in their bullpen, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Manager Pete Mackanin said the club may add an arm via trade or waivers. There’s also “a good possibility” the team will roll with three left-handed relievers. Dailer Hinojosa, Jeanmar Gomez, David Hernandez, and Brett Oberholtzer are the four guys with relative secure jobs. Salisbury believes veteran Edward Mujica is likely to make the team too, while Andrew Bailey has fallen off in recent outings. Rule 5 pick Daniel Stumpf may be at an advantage if the organization wants to keep him. He would be one of the lefties. Salisbury has a full account of the 12 relievers still in the mix.
  • Injuries to the Phillies outfield could open an opportunity for minor league journeyman Cedric Hunter, writes Salisbury. The 28-year-old received five plate appearances from the Padres in 2011. The rest of his career has been spent in the minors. Hunter hit .283/.331/.420 in 515 Triple-A plate appearances with the Braves last season. He also hit 12 home runs with 11 stolen bases. Mackanin is impressed with Hunter’s work in camp, saying “he’s looked good all spring. He’s squared the ball up as well as anyone all spring and he’s shown a good arm. I like him a lot.” The lefty could make for a useful platoon option with Rule 5 pick Tyler Goeddel.
  • Updating a report from yesterday, Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur is likely competing with Emilio Bonifacio and Michael Bourn for one of two spots, writes Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Bowman suggests the club is set to either trade or release Nick Swisher, but their plans for Bonifacio and Bourn are less certain. Last season, Francouer drew praise from Phillies players and coaches for his role as a mentor. The Braves are in a similar rebuild, adding value to mentor-type veterans.

NL East Notes: Nats, Clippard, Inciarte, Albers, Giles

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The Nationals would like to add a left-handed bat that can play second base, and Kelly Johnson is one possibility for them, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Per Rosenthal, the Nats plan to open next season with Danny Espinosa at shortstop while Trea Turner continues to develop. Once Turner is ready, Johnson (or another lefty batter) could slide over to second base and platoon with Espinosa, who is a stronger batter from the right side of the dish.

A few more notes from the division…

  • The Mets haven’t ruled out bringing back Tyler Clippard, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, though the Twins, Blue Jays and Dodgers are among the clubs also in the market for setup help, he notes. Crasnick wonders if Clippard’s high workload is causing clubs to shy away, though one exec said of the durable right-hander (Twitter link): “Considering the terrible contracts being given to relievers, he’ll get his money. He’s too good not to.”
  • Crasnick also notes that the Braves have received steady interest in Ender Inciarte since acquiring him (links to Twitter). Atlanta is willing to listen on anyone but Freddie Freeman, but the club’s plan is to keep Inciarte in the organization and use him as a leadoff hitter and center fielder for the foreseeable future.
  • The Mets are expected to show interest in free-agent right-hander Matt Albers as they look to upgrade the bullpen, reports ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin. Albers, 32, missed half of last season with a broken finger in his hand but didn’t allow a run across the final two months of the season. He’s been a Mets target in the past, Rubin notes.
  • Phillies GM Matt Klentak told reporters, including MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, that the Ken Giles trade was an opportunity that was “too good to pass up.” Klentak maintains that he never wanted to trade Giles, but adding a slew of starting pitching candidates, headlined by Mark Appel and Vincent Velasquez, improves the club’s outlook in both the short and long term. Klentak also discussed the importance of the depth that veterans Charlie Morton and Jeremy Hellickson give to the club and called Brett Oberholtzer (also acquired in the Giles deal) a “stabilizer.” As Zolecki notes, Oberholtzer is out of minor league options, so he’s well-positioned to make the rotation in 2016.

Astros To Acquire Ken Giles

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SATURDAY 12:06pm: The Phillies have announced the trade. However, several components have changed. The Phillies will receive Velasquez, Oberholtzer, Eshelman, Mark Appel, and Harold Arauz. Derek Fisher, who was originally rumored to be headed to Philadelphia, is not part of the trade. The Astros will also receive infielder Jonathan Arauz from the Phillies. Although both are Panamanian prospects, the Arauz’s are not related.

Appel, the number one pick in the 2013 draft, has experienced mixed success in the minors. The 24-year-old reached Triple-A and posted a 4.48 ERA with 8.03 K/9 and 3.69 BB/9. MLB.com ranked Appel as the Astro’s second best prospect between 2015 draft picks Alex Bregman and Daz Cameron. He’s also ranked 43rd overall. His fastball velocity has been inconsistent in the minors, ranging from the low-90s to 98 mph. He also throws a slider and a changeup.

Harold Arauz, 20, pitched in Low-A last season with a 5.75 ERA, 9.06 K/9, and 3.14 BB/9 in 51 innings. Per Baseball America’s Ben Badler, Arauz leans heavily on a low-90s cutter. Badler also commented on Jonathan Arauz. The newly acquired Astro was ranked the 20th best prospect in the Gulf Coast League. The 17-year-old middle infielder was also considered the best Panamanian prospect in the 2014 international market.

In a related move, the Phillies have designated reliever Dan Otero to make room for Velasquez and Oberholtzer on the 40-man roster, tweets Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.

THURSDAY 12:13am: The final player in the deal will be righty Thomas Eshelman, who will head from the Astros to the Phillies, the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich tweets. The 21-year-old Eshelman, a second-round pick this past June out of Cal State Fullerton, pitched just 10 1/3 innings in the Astros organization. Before the draft, MLB.com characterized him as a polished pitcher who could move through the minors quickly but might end up as a back-of-the-rotation type of starter. At the time of the trade, he ranked as the Astros’ 13th-best prospect.

WEDNESDAY 7:52pm: MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki tweets that a fourth player is headed to the Phillies in the deal as well.

7:38pm: The Astros and Phillies are in agreement on a trade that will send right-hander Vincent Velasquez, lefty Brett Oberholtzer and another prospect to Philadelphia in exchange for young closer Ken Giles, reports Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter link). Outfielder Derek Fisher will also head to Philadelphia in the deal, Berman clarifies (on Twitter). The trade is pending medical reviews. CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury first broke news that the two sides were nearing an agreement, and he added details along with ESPN’s Jayson Stark as they emerged.

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Giles, who turned 25 in late September, took over as closer in Philadelphia following the trade of Jonathan Papelbon and continued to display the dominance he’s exhibited since breaking into the Majors upon being moved to a more prominent role. In 115 2/3 career innings, the former seventh-round pick has a masterful 1.56 ERA with 11.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 44.6 percent ground-ball rate. Giles’ fastball has averaged just a shade under 97 mph in the Majors (96.8), so he’ll satisfy Houston GM Jeff Luhnow’s previously stated interest in adding a hard-throwing arm that the back end of the Astros’ bullpen had been missing.

By adding Giles, the Astros will deepen their bullpen considerably. Luke Gregerson, who performed well as the club’s primary closer in 2015, will return to the setup capacity in which he thrived for much of his career. He’ll be joined there by side-arming Pat Neshek, the quietly excellent Will Harris and Josh Fields in 2016. Houston will still need to address its dearth of left-handed relief options, however, as its two primary southpaws — Tony Sipp and Oliver Perez — both departed as free agents. Perez has since signed with the Nationals, though a reunion with Sipp remains a possibility, as he’s still a free agent and there has reportedly been mutual interest between the parties.

Houston will control Giles through at least the 2020 season if all goes well. With one year, 113 days of Major League service time, Giles will fall shy of Super Two designation and thus will not be arbitration eligible until the 2017-18 offseason. He’ll earn scarcely more than the league minimum in each of the next two seasons (barring an extension), providing Houston with financial flexibility to address needs elsewhere on the roster.

The centerpiece of the deal for the Astros is Velasquez — a 23-year-old righty who entered the 2015 season as a consensus Top 100 prospect and made his big league debut after performing exceptionally well at the Double-A level. Velasquez logged a 1.91 with a 45-to-13 K/BB ratio in 33 innings at Double-A in addition to posting a 4.37 ERA in 55 2/3 innings at the Major League level where he struck out 58 and walked 21. He’ll immediately be in the mix for a rotation spot with the Phillies, though it’s possible that Philadelphia may want to get Velasquez some time at Triple-A, where he has yet to throw so much as a single inning.

While Velasquez may need some additional development before slotting into the Phillies’ rotation on a full-time basis, Oberholtzer should be able to step into the starting five from day one. The 26-year-old has been up and down with the Astros over the past three seasons but has totaled 45 appearances (42 starts) and recorded a solid, if unspectacular 3.94 ERA with 5.9 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 38.5 percent ground-ball rate. That ground-ball rate, though, isn’t fully representative of Oberholtzer’s new skill set, as he began using a cutter in 2015 that upped his rate to 48.8 percent in his sample of 34 2/3 big league innings. He’ll give the Phillies an option at the back of their rotation that can be controlled for up to five years — the same as Giles — if he’s able to consistently perform in the Majors.

Fisher, meanwhile, was the 37th overall pick in the 2014 Draft and rated as the No. 8 prospect in a deep Houston farm system, per MLB.com. The Virginia product, whom Baseball America ranked 13th among Houston farmhands entering the season, is said in their scouting report to be a toolsy outfielder with plus-plus raw power that has yet to fully manifest. He draws praise for his bat speed and above-average running, though BA noted that he has a below-average arm and has questionable route-running, so left field is probably his ultimate home.

Still just 21 years old, Fisher split the season between Class-A and Class-A Advanced, hitting .275/.364/.483 with 22 homers and 31 stolen bases before going on to bat .254/.397/.424 in 17 games in the Arizona Fall League. He’s at least a full season away from the Majors and possibly two, but Fisher gives the Phillies a potential everyday outfielder down the line if he can keep hitting the way he did in 2015. MLB.com calls him a potential “impact hitter,” even if he isn’t believed to have a future as a strong defender.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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