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Marlins Designate Austin Nola For Assignment

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The Marlins have designated catcher/infielder Austin Nola for assignment and placed Rule 5 right-hander Brett Graves on the 60-day disabled list, tweets MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. The Miami Herald’s Clark Spencer adds that moves clear 40-man spots for the addition of veteran catcher Bryan Holaday, infielder Yadiel Rivera and right-hander Jacob Turner, each of whom has made the Opening Day roster.

Nola, the 28-year-old brother of Philies right-hander Aaron Nola, has yet to reach the big league level after coming off the draft board as a fifth-round selection of the Marlins back in 2012. While he began his pro career playing shortstop, the elder Nola eventually gathered a fair bit of experience at second base and third base before making the even larger jump to catcher last season in the upper minors. To his credit, Nola halted 27 of 65 stolen base attempts against him (42 percent).

Versatility in the field aside, Nola simply hasn’t produced much at the plate as a pro. He’s a career .243/.330/.320 hitter in parts of six minor league seasons, including a .259/.320/.353 slash in 750 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

Notable Roster Decisions: Wednesday

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The latest noteworthy roster decisions across Major League Baseball as Opening Day draws ever closer…

  • The Brewers announced that they’ve selected the contract of Ji-Man Choi, who’ll make their Opening Day roster. (Sung Min Kim of Fangraphs and River Ave. Blues first tweeted that Choi had made the roster.) That means both Choi and the out-of-options Jesus Aguilar will make a roster which also includes first base options Eric Thames and Ryan Braun. However, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel points out (via Twitter), the composition is likely to change quickly — possibly as soon as Friday. Choi has an option remaining, Haudricourt notes. More interestingly, Haudricourt adds that the Brew Crew is pursuing an external pitching addition, and if said move goes through, then Choi could quickly be optioned to Colorado Springs to clear a 25-man roster spot. Also of particular note for the Brewers is that Wade Miley was reassigned to minor league camp and won’t be making the club.

Earlier Decisions & Moves

  • The White Sox have selected the contract of left-hander Hector Santiago, giving them a full 40-man roster, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times was among those to report on Twitter. In other moves, the club sent southpaw Carlos Rodon (left shoulder rehabilitation) and catcher Kevan Smith (left ankle sprain) to the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to March 26. Santiago will now officially begin his second major league stint as a member of the White Sox, with whom he started his career in 2011 and stayed with through 2013. Santiago was successful during that span, but his career has trended downward lately – particularly last season as a Twin – which prevented him from landing a major league contract over the winter. The minors deal the 30-year-old signed with Chicago includes a $2MM salary in the bigs, which he’s now in position to earn. Santiago’s a longtime starter, but he’ll open 2018 in the Sox’s bullpen.
  • The Dodgers have optioned outfielder Andrew Toles, as Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link). Toles’ demotion means Joc Pederson is likely to be the Dodgers’ Opening Day left fielder, DiGiovanna notes. Toles had been part of a crowded corner outfield battle during spring action alongside Pederson, Matt Kemp, Enrique Hernandez, Alex Verdugo and the just-jettisoned Trayce Thompson. The fact that Toles had options remaining – unlike the expensive, apparently immovable Kemp – probably didn’t do him any favors in his bid to make the Dodgers. The 25-year-old Toles has been successful in Los Angeles since debuting in 2016, having batted .294/.341/.483 with 2.1 fWAR n 217 plate appearances. He missed all but 31 games last season, though, after suffering a torn ACL in May.
  • Outfielders Gregor Blanco and Gorkys Hernandez will open the season with the Giants, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. The Giants signed Blanco, 34, to a minors pact back in January. Per that deal, he’ll earn a $1MM salary in the majors and have a chance at $500K in incentives in San Francisco, with which he previously played from 2012-16 and won a pair of World Series. Hernandez is out of options, so he was also in a do-or-die position this spring. The 30-year-old rose to the challenge, though he’ll surely need to improve on last season’s showing (.255/.327/.326 line with no home runs in 348 PAs) to keep his roster spot for all of 2018.
  • Outfielder Matt Szczur and righty Jordan Lyles will be part of the Padres’ Opening Day roster, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweets. The out-of-options Szczur, 28, will continue to provide outfield depth in San Diego after coming over in a trade with the Cubs last summer. Lyles, meanwhile, spent a bit of time with the Padres in 2017 and then re-signed on a major league contract in the offseason. The deal also features a club option for 2019 for Lyles, who’ll begin the year in the Friars’ bullpen. Having pitched to a 5.43 ERA/4.55 FIP across 681 combined innings (182 appearances, 107 starts) with the Astros, Rockies and Padres, Lyles hasn’t lived up to the billing he had as a prospect. He’s still just 27, however.
  • Catchers A.J. Ellis and Raffy Lopez will also be on the Padres’ roster, the team announced. Those two and starter Austin Hedges will give the Padres three backstops on their 25-man roster. Ellis, an established veteran backup, is now set to make $1.25MM after signing a minor league deal in the offseason. The 30-year-old Lopez, who brings just 83 PAs of MLB experience, also signed a minors pact over the winter.
  • The Marlins will add catcher Bryan Holaday to their 40- and 25-man rosters, per Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Holaday, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Marlins in the offseason. He’ll be one of three catchers on their season-opening roster, joining Tomas Telis (out of options) and Chad Wallach, son of bench coach Tim Wallach. It’s not an ideal setup for Miami, which won’t have standout starter J.T. Realmuto at the outset of the season. Realmuto is on the DL with a bone bruise.
  • The Twins will roster outfielder Ryan LaMarre to open the year, Phil Miller of the Star Tribune tweets. LaMarre, an offseason minor league signee of the Twins, spent last year with the Triple-A affiliates of the Angels and Athletics, combining for a meager .628 OPS. He’s a lifetime .268/.335/.388 hitter at the Triple-A level (954 PAs) who has seen very brief MLB action with the Reds, Red Sox and A’s.
  • The Tigers announced that they’ve selected infielder Niko Goodrum’s contract, which puts their 40-man roster at capacity. Goodrum, who signed a minors deal with Detroit in November, spent 2010-17 with the Minnesota organization and batted .250/.333/.379 in 2,796 minor league PAs. He saw minimal big league action with the club (18 PAs, all of which came last season).
  • The Mariners made the DL placements of Erasmo Ramirez, Ben Gamel and David Phelps official, and they also announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Casey Lawrence, who will return to the team after spending parts of the 2017 campaign on Seattle’s big league roster. The M’s also optioned infielder/outfielder Taylor Motter to Triple-A Tacoma.

Marlins Place J.T. Realmuto, Dan Straily, J.T. Riddle On Disabled List

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TUESDAY: Realmuto and Riddle have indeed been placed on the DL, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports (Twitter links).  Realmuto has a bone bruise, though the problem doesn’t sound too serious, as Frisaro said he is just “not being rushed” to be ready for Opening Day.

SATURDAY: The Marlins have placed right-handed starter Dan Straily on the 10-day disabled list, according to a report from Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. In a separate tweet, Spencer notes that catcher J.T. Realmuto and shortstop J.T. Riddle are also likely to begin the season on the DL.

Straily was recently diagnosed with a “slight elbow strain” after experiencing some elbow inflammation.While Straily has told reporters that he doesn’t feel any pain (h/t Joe Frisaro of MLB.com), he’ll reportedly refrain from throwing for the time being. His early-season absence is terrible news for an already-thin Marlins rotation that’s now projected to feature Jose Urena as its opening day starter. Roster Resource assumes that non-roster invite Jacob Turner and Rule 5 pick Elieser Hernandez will be forced into rotation roles at the season’s outset. The Marlins recently optioned offseason acquisition Sandy Alcantara to Triple-A, but it’s fair to think he could be next in line if any of the club’s starting five struggle out of the gates or suffer an injury.

Beyond rotation implications, Straily’s elbow troubles are of serious concern to a Marlins club that held onto him amidst an offseason fire sale of its top players. With Miami clearly beginning a full-scale rebuild, Straily was considered one of the club’s top remaining trade assets. Whether or not the club had any thoughts about trading him prior to this year’s deadline, a serious injury to his elbow would figure to take that option off the table.

Speaking of injured trade candidates, Realmuto hasn’t played since suffering a back contusion on March 11th. The Marlins catcher collided with Gleyber Torres on a pickoff play in the fourth inning of a Grapefruit League game. The injury hasn’t been described as serious in any outlets, so it’s certainly feasible that the club might simply be taking a cautious path with their most valuable asset. Still, a report that he’s likely to go on the DL means that any remaining chance him being traded prior to the season has reduced to near zero.

If Realmuto does end up going on the DL, non-roster invite Bryan Holaday could be called upon to fill in alongside usual backup Tomas Telis. Chad Wallach is already on the 40-man roster after being claimed from the Reds in November, so he presents another option for the Fish.

As for Riddle, he’s yet to play in a game this spring. Joe Frisaro of MLB.com recently reported that he was “a little sore” after ramping up throwing activity. Riddle underwent season-ending surgery last August after suffering a slap-tear in his left shoulder, but figured to be a part of the Marlins’ opening day roster. The odds of that are beginning to look grim. Reserve infield options for the club are few and far between, with non-roster invite Peter Mooney presenting the best option at present.

 

Marlins, Bryan Holaday Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Marlins are in agreement with free-agent catcher Bryan Holaday on a minor league contract, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). The Lagardere Sports client will head to camp and compete for a backup job behind J.T. Realmuto.

Miami already has three candidates to back Realmuto up on the 40-man roster in Tomas Telis, Austin Nola and Chad Wallach, so Holaday may face an uphill battle in cracking the roster. That said, he’d be a nice veteran depth piece to have in Triple-A in the event of an injury to any of the names above him.

The 30-year-old Holaday spent every season but the 2016 campaign as a member of the Tigers organization. Holaday returned to Detroit after that one-year hiatus in 2017 and posted a very solid .269/.325/.450 slash with a dozen homers in 347 plate appearances for the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate in Toledo. He also appeared in 13 big league games, though he took just 29 total plate appearances.

Holaday has seen action in parts of six big league seasons and is a career .244/.279/.343 hitter in that time. Defensively, he sports a roughly average 28 percent caught-stealing rate, though he’s improved considerably in that regard over the course of his career; his marks in recent seasons are well above the league average, though he does grade out as a somewhat below average pitch framer.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/7/17

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After a busy transactional day yesterday, let’s catch up on some of the latest minor moves:

  • Catcher Bryan Holaday and outfielder Alex Presley have elected free agency from the Tigers, Evan Woodberry of MLive.com reports on Twitter. Each of the veterans was outrighted recently, though Woodberry hints that Detroit has interest in bringing both back on minors deals. Holaday will enter the pool of catchers that are looking for opportunities to compete for reserve jobs in camp. The 32-year-old Presley should also draw attention from other organizations; he turned in 264 plate appearances of .314/.354/.416 hitting in 2017.
  • The Rockies selected the contract of outfielder Noel Cuevas, per a club announcement. Acquired from the division-rival Dodgers in the trade that sent Juan Nicasio to Los Angeles, Cuevas blossomed at Triple-A Alburquerque in 2017. Across 528 plate appearances, he posted a .312/.353/.487 slash with 15 long balls and 16 steals.
  • Two players were also added to the Yankees 40-man roster, the club announced. Outfielder Jake Cave is one of them; the one-time Rule 5 pick won’t be eligible for the draft again this year. He turned in a compelling season in the upper minors, including a robust .324/.367/.554 batting line with 15 long balls in 297 Triple-A plate appearances. Joining him is righty Nick Rumbelow, who returned from Tommy John surgery with aplomb last year. Over 40 1/3 innings, he allowed just five earned runs on 21 hits while racking up a 45:11 K/BB ratio.
  • The Indians selected the contract of Eric Haase, per the MLB.com transactions page. The 24-year-old backstop knocked around Double-A pitching to the tune of a .258/.349/.574 batting line and 26 homers through 381 plate appearances.
  • Cuban catcher Lorenzo Quintana is joining the Astros for a $200K bonus, per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). The 28-year-old is not subject to international signing restrictions. Quintana was long one of the most productive receivers in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, carrying a lifetime .310/.377/.438 batting line, but he last played there in the 2014-15 season.

Tigers Decline Anibal Sanchez’s Option, Outright Eight Players

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TODAY, 5:12pm: The Tigers have also outrighted catcher Bryan Holaday and first baseman Efren Navarro. Both are eligible to decline the assignments and instead elect free agency, though they’ll qualify for minor-league free agency in a few days regardless.

Holaday, 29, saw brief action for the Tigers this year and spent most of the season at Triple-A. He slashed .269/.325/.450 over 347 plate appearances at Toledo and will certainly land somewhere as a depth option. As for the 31-year-old Navarro, it was much the same story. He saw 557 plate appearances at Triple-A, posting a .276/.370/.395 batting line.

YESTERDAY, 9:10pm: Detroit has also placed righty Myles Jaye and lefty Kyle Ryan on outright waivers, per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free-Press (via Twitter).

The 25-year-old Jaye cracked the bigs for the first time, but received a rude welcome. In 12 2/3 frames, including two starts and three relief appearances, he was tagged for 17 earned runs and managed just four strikeouts against ten walks. That said, Jaye has been a steadier option in the upper minors; in 25 starts in the Detroit system in 2017, he compiled 131 2/3 innings of 3.96 ERA ball with 7.9 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.

As for Ryan, 26, he has thrown 128 MLB innings over the past four seasons and was rather effective in 2016. But he struggled badly in just eight major league appearances in the 2017 campaign. In his 45 1/3 Triple-A frames, Ryan managed only a 4.96 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9.

1:43pm: The Tigers announced that they have formally declined their $16MM club option on right-hander Anibal Sanchez, opting instead for a $5MM buyout. Additionally, the Tigers announced that right-hander Jeff Ferrell and outfielders Tyler Collins, Jim Adduci and Alex Presley have been outrighted off the 40-man roster after clearing waivers. Each can become a free agent. Detroit also added that utilityman Andrew Romine was claimed off waivers by the Mariners, as Seattle had announced.

The 33-year-old Sanchez signed a five-year, $80MM contract with the Tigers that spanned the 2013-17 seasons and turned in a sensational campaign in the first year of that deal. In 182 innings that year, Sanchez captured the American League ERA title with a mark of 2.57, averaging 10.0 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 along the way. He finished fourth in the AL Cy Young voting and was worth roughly six wins above replacement per both fWAR and rWAR. Though he was limited to 126 innings in 2014, Sanchez was again quite good, logging a 3.43 ERA with improved control but diminished strikeouts.

Since contributing about nine wins’ worth of value in those first two seasons, though, the Sanchez contract has been regrettable for the Tigers. He’s logged a total of 415 2/3 innings in that time and surrendered 262 earned runs (5.67 ERA) on the strength of 462 hits (85 homers) and 131 walks. Sanchez still shows a penchant for missing bats (8.2 K/9 over the final three years of the deal, 8.9 K/9 in 2017), but his ground-ball rate has eroded and he’s become stunningly homer prone.

Collins, 27, showed promise back in 2015 when he hit .266/.316/.417 in 207 plate appearances as a 25-year-old, but his bat has tailed off since that time. In 2016-17, he’s managed just a .213/.291/.357 line through 320 trips to the plate. He struggled enormously in Triple-A in 2016 as well, though he bounced back with a strong .288/.358/.462 slash there in 296 PAs this season.

Presley, 32, posted a very solid .314/.354/.416 with three homers and five steals through 264 PAs. A veteran of eight big league seasons, Presley hasn’t settled in as a regular with one organization but has found his way onto a 25-man roster in each of the past eight campaigns. Since 2011, he’s averaged 211 MLB plate appearances per season and batted .263/.306/.390 in the process. He shouldn’t have much trouble finding an opportunity to head to camp and compete for a roster spot in 2018.

Adduci, also 32, returned from a strong stint in the Korea Baseball Organization this year and made his way to the Tigers’ big league roster, where he batted .241/.323/.398 in 93 PAs. Adduci has just 241 big league PAs, which have resulted in a .209/.283/.302 slash.

Ferrell will turn 27 in three weeks and just wrapped up his first full season back from Tommy John surgery. He has a career 6.53 ERA in 20 2/3 big league innings but owns strong K/BB numbers in a limited sample of 65 2/3 innings in Triple-A. Ferrell has averaged better than 93 mph on his fastball in the big leagues and otherwise relies primarily on a changeup for his secondary offering.

Tigers Sign Bryan Holaday To Minors Deal

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The Tigers announced on Friday that they’ve signed catcher Bryan Holaday to a minor league contract. With the new contract, the 29-year-old Lagardere Sports client will return to the organization with which he spent the first six seasons of his pro career.

Holaday also spent the bulk of 2016 Spring Training with the Tigers, but as an out-of-options player he ultimately found himself traded to the Rangers. He’d go on to split the ’16 season between Texas and Boston, hitting a combined .231/.281/.359 in 129 plate appearances over the life of 44 games. That production bears a striking resemblance to the lifetime .245/.282/.346 batting line that Holaday has accumulated across 411 plate appearances in parts of five Major League seasons.

This past offseason, Holaday inked a minor league pact with the Phillies, but he exercised his opt-out clause earlier this week when Philadelphia elected to name young Andrew Knapp as the backup to Cameron Rupp.

The Tigers will send Holaday to Triple-A Toledo to start the season, as they’ll go with James McCann and Alex Avila as their primary catching tandem to open the season. Holaday, though, will give them a familiar face to serve as a depth option in the event of an injury to either McCann or Avila.

Phillies Release Bryan Holaday, Ryan Hanigan

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Veteran catcher Bryan Holaday has exercised the opt-out clause in his minor-league deal with the Phillies, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. The Phillies told Holaday he wouldn’t make the team’s Opening Day roster. The Phillies have also released veteran catcher Ryan Hanigan, tweets MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. It therefore appears Andrew Knapp has made the team as the backup catcher to Cameron Rupp, as Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.

The Phillies signed Holaday and Hanigan over the winter to provide veteran competition for youngsters Knapp and perhaps Jorge Alfaro. Holaday, though, played somewhat sparingly this spring, receiving just 24 at-bats even though he out-hit Knapp in a small sample. Hanigan hit even better and played even less. Of course, a catcher’s job is about far more than hitting, particularly over just a handful of games, and Knapp (the primary catcher at Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year) appeared to be the favorite for the job heading into camp.

The 29-year-old Holaday has appeared in parts of five big-league seasons, batting .245/.282/.346. He played for the Rangers and Red Sox last year. Hanigan, a ten-year veteran, also played for the Red Sox in 2016.

Quick Hits: Bautista, Revere, Holaday, Smith

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Jose Bautista has been speculatively linked to the Rays as a possible free agent target, though if Tampa Bay does make a move, MLB.com’s Bill Chastain notes that it might not come until late in the offseason.  The Rays have past used the tactic of coming in late with an offer to a veteran free agent (i.e. Asdrubal Cabrera, Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon) who is running short on options, so the Rays can land the player at a price that fits their limited budget.  Bautista’s market is still pretty unclear as we approach Christmas, with the first-round draft pick attached to him via the qualifying offer seemingly acting as a deterrent to many clubs.  The Rays’ top pick is protected so they would only have to surrender their competitive-balance round selection to sign Bautista — maybe an acceptable risk for a Tampa club that wants to compete in 2017, Chastain notes.

Here’s some more from around baseball…

  • Ben Revere could sign as soon as tomorrow, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports (Twitter links).  The mystery team isn’t the Orioles, Kubatko notes, though the O’s like the outfielder and checked in on him more than once this offseason.  Revere is hoping to bounce back after an injury-marred and mediocre 2016 season that saw him get non-tendered by the Nationals earlier this month.
  • Catcher Bryan Holaday can earn $850K in the majors under his new minor-league pact with the Phillies, Crasnick recently tweeted.  That lands just shy of MLBTR’s $900K arbitration projection for the 29-year-old, though of course he’ll need to earn a roster spot to get it.  Holaday seems to have a solid shot at taking over reserve duties behind presumptive Philadelphia starter Cameron Rupp, though he may need to hold off some younger challengers (and any additional veterans who may be added) in camp.
  • Former Padres and Tigers GM Randy Smith has been hired by the Nippon-Ham Fighters’ front office, according to a Kyodo News report.  Smith will be a senior advisor to Fighters general manager Hiroshi Yoshimura (a former member of Detroit’s front office when Smith ran the club) and the Fighters’ Major League scouting director.

Phillies Sign Bryan Holaday

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The Phillies have added backstop Bryan Holaday on a minor-league deal with a MLB Spring Training invitation, per a club announcement, as had been reported over the weekend. The 29-year-old was non-tendered earlier in the winter by the Red Sox after being projected by MLBTR to earn $900K in arbitration.

[RELATED: Updated Phillies Depth Chart]

Holaday will reunite with fellow former Boston player Clay Buchholz in camp for the Phils, with both officially joining the organization today. Of course, the catcher will cost the team quite a bit less than did the pitcher, who is earning $13.5MM for the 2017 season.

Last year with the Rangers and Red Sox, Holaday hit .231/.281/.359 and contributed two home runs over 129 trips to the plate. Clearly, it’s his defensive work rather than his bat which earned him time in the majors in each of the last five seasons. Holaday never hit much in the minors, and owns a meager .245/.282/.346 career MLB line in 411 plate appearances.

While the Phils have several young catchers in the upper ranks of their farm system, it could be that the organization prefers to utilize a veteran as the primary reserve behind presumptive starter Cameron Rupp. While additional competition could be brought in later in the winter, Holaday seems to have a solid chance at making the big league club as things stand.

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