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Bruce Maxwell

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/6/21

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A couple of minor moves from around the league:

  • Marlins infielder Luis Marté has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, relays Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Marté was designated for assignment earlier this week when the club reinstated Elieser Hernández from the 60-day injured list. (Unfortunately, Hernández has subsequently gone back on the IL.) Marté officially debuted in the big leagues by appearing in one game with Miami, and he’ll now return to Triple-A, where he’s hitting .263/.279/.456 this season.
  • The Giants acquired minor league catcher Bruce Maxwell from the Mets in exchange for cash considerations, the two clubs announced. He’ll be assigned to Double-A Richmond, per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Maxwell spent parts of the 2016-18 seasons across the Bay, appearing in 127 games with the A’s and posting a .240/.314/.347 line over 412 plate appearances at the MLB level. Maxwell signed a minor league deal with the Mets over the offseason, so he won’t require a 40-man roster spot. He’d only picked up 31 plate appearances for the Mets Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse.

Mets To Sign Bruce Maxwell

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The Mets have agreed to a deal with catcher Bruce Maxwell, per Tim Healey of Newsday (via Twitter). He’ll report to the team’s alternative training site once he passes a physical and gets a pair of clean coronavirus tests.

Maxwell is unquestionably best known for his decision to kneel during the playing of the National Anthem when he played for the Athletics in 2017. He drew a lot of attention of all kinds at the time, which only increased the spotlight on his later arrest and subsequent plea arrangement. ESPN.com’s Howard Bryant has authored an important account of Maxwell’s situation.

The A’s dropped Maxwell in the wake of the 2018 season, in which he performed poorly on the field in addition to his off-field troubles. He has not suited up with another affiliated organization since.

Maxwell, now 29, did have a successful 2019 showing in the Mexican League. Over 487 plate appearances, he turned in an excellent .325/.407/.559 slash and hit 24 home runs.

Quick Hits: Maxwell, Lorenzen, Bauer, Manfred

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Former Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell is a player known more for his ideological stances than for his performance on the diamond, but that hasn’t stopped the backstop from turning a few heads while playing in Mexico this season. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser can be counted as one who has taken the time to notice Maxwell’s torrid production south of the border, as the veteran scribe profiled the catcher’s attempts to resurrect a career impacted, in part, by his decision to kneel during the national anthem in 2017 (link). The now-28-year-old Maxwell hit .325 with 25 homers in 2019 while playing for the Acereros de Monclova, a team that also featured fellow former Athletic Chris Carter. But, as Slusser points out, it’s far from clear if Maxwell’s foreign success will be enough to entice teams to overlook the “political baggage” (Slusser’s words) associated with him.

“People say you have to be stand-up citizens, but guys who are taking steroids come back and they still have jobs,” Maxwell said to Slusser in regard to his current lack of stateside of employment. “Guys who beat their wives are back like nothing happened.” While Maxwell had a few other expletive-laced thoughts on the subject of perceived double standards within the business of sport, he did also admit to some mistakes over a brief MLB career that saw him hit .240/.314/.347 (83 wRC+) over 127 games. “I accept I had an attitude,” Maxwell said, “and I could have changed it and I didn’t; I accept responsibility for that.” Maxwell, in addition to his anthem protest, also gained notoriety for a 2017 arrest for aggravated assault.

More notes from around the game, as the Nats and Cards do battle in the NLCS…

  • While any news involving Maxwell is likely to inspire some commenting forum debate, our second item comes with far less controversy. In a piece for The Cincinnati Enquirer, Bobby Nightengale profiles Reds hurler Michael Lorenzen’s offseason quest to add velo to his already-fearsome fastball (link). Notably, Lorenzen is planning to seek the tutelage of recently new teammate Trevor Bauer. “We’re talking about making my delivery more efficient where I’m actually able to throw harder with less effort,” Lorenzen said of his discussions with Bauer to this point. “That’s a real thing if you understand human anatomy and human movement. It’s a real thing. With my strength numbers and my power numbers and my movement quality, I should be throwing harder.” As Nightengale points out, Lorenzen already averaged 97.2 mph on his heater this past season en route to notching a 2.92 ERA across 83.1 innings out of the Cincy pen. If Bauer is able to replicate the success he had working with former Indians teammate Mike Clevinger–who added several ticks to his fastball under Bauer’s instruction–the Reds may find themselves with a truly terrifying late-inning option in the Orange County-bred Lorenzen.
  • Evan Drellich of The Athletic published a thoughtful and well-researched piece that touched on MLB’s so-called attendance problem, which the writer positions as a possible consequence of broader societal moves toward online–and not in-person–leisure activities (link). MLB attendance was 68,494,752 in 2019, down 1.7 percent from the 2018 season, but Drellich points to the year-over-year growth of MLB At Bat and MLB.tv as signs that the league is growing in ways that may not be evident when looking at attendance data alone. Commissioner Rob Manfred is inclined to agree with this line of thinking: “We try to think about engagement with the game,” Manfred told Drellich. “We sell different things. We sell a live product…We sell a broadcast product…We try to look broader than just attendance.” Drellich’s piece also features extensive data regarding the league’s deployment of social science polling data in their concerted effort to engage Gen Z fans–very heady stuff, for those so inclined.

Bruce Maxwell Signs With Mexican League Club

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Former Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell has agreed to a contract with a team in the Mexican League, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets further tweets that Maxwell will be joining los Acereros de Monclova.

Maxwell, 28, became the first (and only) player in Major League Baseball to kneel during the National Anthem back in 2017. Already one of the game’s most polarizing players because of that protest, Maxwell came under considerably greater scrutiny in the 2017-18 offseason when he was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (eventually resulting in a plea agreement). Oakland outrighted Maxwell following the 2018 campaign, at which point he became a free agent. Perhaps unsurprisingly, between those issues and Maxwell’s lack of on-field productivity — he’s a career .240/.314/.347 hitter in 412 MLB plate appearances — he was unable to latch on with a big league organization this winter.

Maxwell is facing a long road back to the Major Leagues, but it seems that he’ll look to utilize this latest opportunity as a means of showcasing for MLB organizations in hopes of landing a minor league opportunity to return to affiliated ball.

Quick Hits: Maxwell, Nats, Marwin, Twins, Herrera, Cubs, DeRosa

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Free-agent catcher Bruce Maxwell hasn’t found a team since the Athletics outrighted him in September, and it doesn’t appear that’s going to change in the near future, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle explains. While Maxwell was arrested on a gun charge in 2017 and later pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, he’s unemployed for a different reason, a major league executive told Slusser at the Winter Meetings.

“It’s the kneeling thing that might keep him from getting another job, not the arrest. Owners aren’t going to want to deal with that whole anthem issue,” the executive said of Maxwell, who in 2017 became the first and only major leaguer to kneel for the national anthem in protest of racial injustice.

Conversely, another source contended to Slusser that Maxwell’s not comparable to former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who began kneeling for the national anthem in 2016. Despite a respectable on-field career and a clean off-field record, Kaepernick, 31, has been out of the NFL for two seasons. “This is not a Colin Kaepernick situation,” said the source. “This is if Colin Kaepernick had knelt for the anthem and also been arrested for a gun crime.”

Aside from Maxwell’s arrest, there are concerns over a 2017 incident in an Alabama restaurant, per Slusser, who also notes that the 27-year-old showed up overweight to spring training last season. Both Maxwell’s conditioning issues and a poor spring performance helped ruin his once-decent chance of becoming the A’s starting catcher in 2018. He ended up having a miserable season at the Triple-A level, and has since fired agent Matt Sosnick. As Slusser details, Sosnick reached out to every team multiple times trying to score a minor league deal for Maxwell, but no one bit. Slusser’s piece is worth checking out for Sosnick’s quotes on his ex-client.

More from around the majors…

  • The Nationals have shown reported interest in free-agent infielder Josh Harrison, though they “seem to prefer” Marwin Gonzalez to him, Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post writes. Most (if not all) teams would take Gonzalez over Harrison, which is why the former figures to rake in an especially lucrative payday this offseason. Nevertheless, this is the first connection of the offseason between the Nationals and Gonzalez, who can play up to six positions but could be their solution at second base. He’d also give the Nationals yet another Scott Boras client.
  • The Twins have interest in free-agent reliever Kelvin Herrera, La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune reports. The club knows Herrera well from his days with division-rival Kansas City, where he pitched from 2011 until the Royals traded him to Washington last June. The hard-throwing 28-year-old didn’t perform well with the Nats, though, and then saw his season end in late August on account of a torn Lisfranc ligament in his left foot. However, Herrera’s progressing in his recovery from that injury.
  • With bench coach Brandon Hyde seemingly on his way out of the organization, the Cubs have begun seeking a replacement. It doesn’t appear the job will go to beloved ex-Cub David Ross, who’s content working as both a special assistant to their front office and an ESPN analyst, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score suggests. The team has contacted former major league infielder/outfielder and current MLB Network analyst Mark DeRosa to gauge his interest in the job, according to Levine. If there’s not a match between the Cubs and DeRosa – who declined to interview for the Rangers’ managerial post after the season – Dodgers special advisor Raul Ibanez and two of the Cubs’ minor league skippers (Buddy Bailey and Mark Johnson) could be candidates, Levine posits.

Outrighted: Bruce Maxwell, Osmer Morales

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Here are today’s outright assignments, which come in the wake of a wide slate of 40-man roster moves at the outset of September…

  • Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville, the team announced via press release. Maxwell, 27, has been a lightning rod for criticism following his decision last season to take a knee during the National Anthem and his offseason arrest for aggravated assault. Though Athletics brass gave Maxwell a public vote of confidence as his court proceedings were ongoing, the Oakland organization ultimately bumped Maxwell down the depth chart by signing Jonathan Lucroy. On the field, Maxwell has struggled through a terrible season, hitting .182/.207/.309 in a small sample of 58 Major League plate appearances and just .219/.300/.281 through 200 PAs at the Triple-A level.
  • The Angels announced that right-hander Osmer Morales cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. Morales, 25, received an extremely brief call to the Majors, appearing in just one game, facing two batters, and recording one out. He’ll head back to the minors and hope for a lengthier audition in the future. The righty had solid numbers in 50 1/3 innings in Triple-A last season but was rocked for a 6.44 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 5.0 BB/9 and 1.4 HR/9 in 102 innings with Salt Lake this season.

A’s Designate Bruce Maxwell, Outright Josh Lucas/Boog Powell

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The Athletics announced an avalanche of September 1st roster moves. The club has designated catcher Bruce Maxwell for assignment. Meanwhile, righty Josh Lucas and outfielder Boog Powell have cleared waivers and have been outrighted to Triple-A. Kendall Graveman was also recalled in order to be placed on the 60-day disabled list. Those four moves made room for the four contracts the A’s selected today; left-hander Dean Keikhefer, right-handers Chris Hatcher and Liam Hendriks, and catcher Beau Taylor, who will be making his first appearance in the major leagues.

Maxwell is probably the most notable player on this list, though certainly more for his non-baseball publicity than any actual merit in his gameplay. The backstop was the first baseball player to join the police brutality protests during the national anthem, a movement that had then been mainly held to NFL circles. More recently, Maxwell was arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and disorderly conduct. On the field, he owns a .240/.314/.347 batting line with five homers and a 24.3% strikeout rate.

Lucas, meanwhile, has had a wretched showing with the Athletics at the MLB level. The 27-year-old righty owns a 6.28 ERA across 14 1/3 innings with Oakland, thanks in part to a troublesome 5.65 BB/9. Even in the minors, he’s pitched to a 2.63 ERA but a much less attractive 4.17 FIP while exhibiting the same sort of walk issues. Prior to this season, Lucas had spent the entirety of his career in the Cardinals organization; he was traded to the A’s in exchange for fellow minor-league hurler Casey Meisner.

The 25-year-old Powell hasn’t given the A’s much to be excited about this year, either. He had an excellent showing across 92 plate appearances with Oakland in 2017, when he batted .321/.380/.494 with a trio of homers and average center field defense, but this year has been an entirely different story. Powell’s wRC+ on the year sits at just 28, and his wOBA is an equally poor .211. That’s the result of just four hits (two for extra bases) across 25 MLB plate appearances. Overall, Fangraphs rates his 2018 performance at 0.3 wins below replacement level.

A’s Option Maxwell, Activate Blackburn, Move Powell To 60-Day DL

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The Athletics announced a series of roster moves Thursday, activating righty Paul Blackburn from the 60-day DL and transferring outfielder Boog Powell from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL in his place. To make room on the active roster for Blackburn, who’ll start tonight’s game, Oakland optioned catcher Bruce Maxwell to Triple-A Nashville.

Maxwell became a controversial figure last season as the first (and still only) MLB player to take a knee during the National Anthem, but he received quite a bit more negative attention months later when he was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. (He reached a plea agreement in mid-April.) While the Athletics front office publicly voiced support for Maxwell as a player, the team also went out and signed Jonathan Lucroy to a one-year deal, supplanting Maxwell as the starter.

Thus far, that looks to have been a wise move. Maxwell didn’t hit much in two previous seasons with the A’s, and he’s off to a dismal .182/.207/.309 start to the season, albeit in a small sample of just 58 plate appearances. Lucroy, meanwhile, has posted a solid .263/.320/.359 slash, though that respectable production is still light years away from his peak form. He’ll continue to handle the bulk of the catching duties, and it seems that Josh Phegley will now serve as his primary backup for the time being.

Blackburn, meanwhile, has yet to pitch in the Majors this season due to a forearm strain suffered in Spring Training. Now healthy, he’ll look to step up in an injury-plagued Athletics rotation that has lost Jharel Cotton for the season and currently has Andrew Triggs, Daniel Gossett and Brett Anderson on the MLB disabled list.

Blackburn delivered mixed results for the A’s in 10 starts last season. On the one hand, he posted a very strong 3.22 ERA with a terrific 56.3 percent ground-ball rate and just 2.45 walks per nine innings pitched in 58 2/3 innings. On the other hand, he missed fewer bats than any pitcher in MLB, averaging just 3.38 strikeouts per nine innings pitched and turning in a 5.8 percent swinging-strike rate. Fielding independent pitching metrics all felt his true talent level was more than a run higher, with SIERA most bearishly pegging him at 5.15.

As for Powell, he’s been out since early April with a sprained right knee. He’s already missed nearly two full months of action and has yet to go out on a minor league rehab assignment, so today’s transfer is purely a procedural move to open a 40-man spot for Blackburn. Powell has already spent 60 days on the DL anyhow, and the move to the lengthier DL doesn’t reset his eligibility for activation.

Athletics Designate Dustin Garneau For Assignment

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The Athletics announced on Monday that they’ve designated catcher Dustin Garneau for assignment. His roster spot will go to fellow catcher Bruce Maxwell, who has been reinstated from the restricted list. Josh Phegley was optioned to Triple-A Nashville to open an active roster spot for Maxwell’s return.

Maxwell had been on the restricted list over the weekend due to the fact that his ongoing legal issues prevented him from traveling out of the country for the Athletics’ series in Toronto. In essence, however, Garneau’s DFA is largely a corresponding move for yesterday’s waiver claim of reliever Carlos Ramirez (also from Toronto). Had the Jays been playing in another location, they’d likely have designated Garneau to facilitate the claim anyhow in more direct fashion.

[Related: Oakland Athletics depth chart]

The 30-year-old Garneau has had a rough start to the season in Nashville, batting just .206/.253/.338 over the life of 75 plate appearances. That’s a departure from an otherwise strong (albeit Pacific Coast League-aided) track record in Triple-A for the former Rockies farmhand, as Garneau boasts a career .263/.331/.499 slash line at the minors’ top level. In the Majors, however, he’s mustered a meager .192/.264/.320 batting line in 277 trips to the plate. The A’s will now have seven days to trade Garneau or place him on either outright or release waivers.

With Maxwell back on the roster, he’ll continue to serve as the primary backup to starter Jonathan Lucroy. Phegley will head back to Triple-A, where he’s hitting .224/.320/.412 in 100 plate appearances. He’d be next in line in the event of another absence for either of the Athletics’ current top two catchers.

AL West Notes: Cano, Middleton, A’s, Maxwell, Astros

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The Mariners “indicated” that they wouldn’t be looking for an external candidate to replace Robinson Cano at second base, the Tacoma News Tribune’s TJ Cotterill writes.  This would leave Seattle with internal options like Andrew Romine, Taylor Motter, and Gordon Beckham at the keystone, since center fielder Dee Gordon doesn’t appear to be under consideration for a move back to his former position.  In my view, the Mariners could re-assess their plans once they have a clearer idea of how much time Cano will miss, as we’re still just hours removed from the star second baseman suffering a fracture in his hand after being hit by a pitch in today’s game.

More rumblings from around the AL West…

  • Angels right-hander Keynan Middleton left today’s game after 12 pitches due to what the club termed as elbow discomfort.  Middleton will undergo an MRI tomorrow.  Today’s outing was Middleton’s third appearance since returning from a 10-day DL stint for inflammation in that same elbow.  The 24-year-old closer has posted good results when healthy (2.04 ERA and an 8.25 K/9 in 17 2/3 IP), and in his absence, Blake Parker and Jim Johnson figure to get the bulk of save opportunities for the Halos.  Be sure to follow @CloserNews (MLBTR’s affiliate Twitter site) for all the latest details on the ninth-inning situation for all 30 teams around baseball.
  • Because Bruce Maxwell hasn’t yet been sentenced following his plea agreement for a change of disorderly conduct, Canadian immigration laws will prevent Maxwell from joining the Athletics during their upcoming four-game series in Toronto, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.  Maxwell will have to be demoted at some point before Thursday’s series opener if the A’s are to have a backup behind Jonathan Lucroy.  Slusser suggests that prospect Beau Taylor (off to a hot start at Triple-A) could be considered even though he isn’t on the 40-man roster, though Josh Phegley could also be called up if Oakland didn’t want to make another transaction to clear room for Taylor.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow admitted that “Obviously, you have to think about potentially doing something” to address some struggling hitters on Houston’s roster, though Luhnow tells Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle that he still has faith in the “proven track records” of veterans like Evan Gattis or Jake Marisnick.  In regards to Marisnick, for instance, Luhnow mentioned that his excellent defense makes him an important figure for the team.  This gives Marisnick more value than another internal option like top prospect J.D. Davis, who is tearing up Triple-A pitching but is limited to just left field.
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