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Players Electing Free Agency: 11/4/19

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With every team throughout MLB in roster maintenance mode now that the offseason is underway, there’s a steady stream of players being jettisoned from 40-man rosters via outright waivers. Players who’ve previously cleared waivers and been outrighted at least once before have the option to elect free agency upon clearing a second time, as does any player who has at least three years of MLB service. We’ll track today’s slate of players opting for the open market in light of previously announced outrights here…

  • First baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin elected to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment from the Brewers, per the Pacific Coast League’s transactions log. Austin, who turned 28 in September, only took 27 plate appearances in his brief tenure with the Brewers. He split the 2019 season between Minnesota, San Francisco and Milwaukee, batting a combined .188/.296/.409 with nine long balls in 179 trips to the plate. Austin possesses significant power (career .232 ISO) but has struck out in 36.9 percent of his career plate appearances — leading to glaring on-base issues. He could, however, be a useful platoon option at first base, given the right-handed hitter’s career .253/.345/.539 batting line against left-handed opponents. Austin was outrighted last week and would’ve been eligible for arbitration had he remained with the club.
  • Blue Jays lefty Buddy Boshers opted for free agency after clearing outright waivers, per the International League transactions page. Boshers, 31, pitched 20 innings out of the Toronto bullpen and logged a 4.05 ERA (4.21 FIP) with a 26-to-10 K/BB ratio. The southpaw has been solid but not overpowering against lefties in parts of four MLB seasons, holding same-handed opponents to a .247/.295/.371 batting line through 200 plate appearances. Right-handers have had an easier go against him, hitting at a .261/.335/.442 pace through 259 plate appearances.

Blue Jays Outright Brock Stewart, Buddy Boshers

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The Blue Jays have outrighted relief pitchers Brock Stewart and Buddy Boshers, per the International League transactions page. Fellow reliever Ryan Dull was also outrighted; he had been designated for assignment recently.

Stewart, 28, had spent his entire career with the Dodgers until he moved via waiver claim at the trade deadline. Utilized in a multi-inning capacity in Toronto, Stewart was tuned up for twenty earned runs (and nine homers) in 21 2/3 frames over ten appearances.

The 31-year-old Boshers took part in his fourth MLB campaign, with quite a different usage pattern. He threw twenty innings in 28 appearances, sporting a 26:10 K/BB ratio and 4.05 ERA but allowing a .257/.366/.486 batting line to opposing left-handed hitters.

As for what’s next, all three hurlers will be looking to bounce back and open a new opportunity at the game’s highest level. But where that’ll take place remains to be seen. Dull likely accrued just enough service time this year to pass three full seasons of MLB time, which would give him the right to reject the assignment, though that has not yet been officially tabulated. Boshers has the right to take to the open market since he has previously been outrighted. Stewart is in a different situation, as he cannot reject the assignment upon either of the above grounds. Neither will he qualify as a minor-league free agent. It seems, then, that he will remain in the Toronto organization unless the club decides to cut him loose.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/19/19

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We’ll use this post to track the latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Blue Jays have agreed to a minor-league deal with left-handed pitcher Buddy Boshers, tweets Scott Mitchell of TSN. Boshers, who formerly pitched in the bigs with the Angels and Twins, is the owner of a 4.59 ERA in 86 1/3 career innings. He spent last season toiling in Triple-A with the Astros and Pirates organizations, posting a 3.32 ERA. Per Mitchell, the 31-year-old has has been pitching in the Mexican League; however, he’ll now return to affiliated ball, joining the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo.

Reds Sign Buddy Boshers, Felix Jorge

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The Reds have landed some additional pitching depth, signing lefty Buddy Boshers and righty Felix Jorge to minors deals, according to Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link) and MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (Twitter link). Both receive invitations to participate on the major-league side of spring camp.

Boshers, 30, has thrown 86 1/3 total MLB frames over parts of three seasons, working to a 4.59 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. The reliever did not receive any chances last year at the game’s highest level, but did turn in strong results at Triple-A. Over 57 total innings, he worked to a 3.32 ERA while racking up 9.8 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9.

As for Jorge, who turned 25 earlier this month, he has only received a brief taste of the majors. Unlike Boshers, most of his experience has come as a starting pitcher. In his most recent full season, 2017, Jorge turned in 149 innings of 3.68 ERA ball over stints at Double-A and Triple-A. He hasn’t shown much swing-and-miss ability in the upper minors, but has long been seen as a possible future MLB talent. Jorge ended up missing all of 2018 with a triceps injury, so he’ll first need to show he’s back at full health.

Players Electing Free Agency

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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: 9/10/18

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Here are Monday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • The Pirates outrighted left-handed reliever Buddy Boshers to Triple-A Indianapolis after he cleared waivers, per John Dreker of PiratesProspects.com (Twitter link). The 30-year-old lefty split the season between the Pittsburgh and Houston organizations but didn’t reach the Majors with either team. He’s posted a solid 3.32 ERA with 9.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 0.8 HR/9 and a 48 percent ground-ball rate through 57 Triple-A frames so far in 2018, but opposing lefties hit .303/.330/.434 against him this season. Boshers spent most of 2016-17 in the Majors with the Twins, pitching to a combined 4.56 ERA and generally holding lefties in check while struggling considerably against right-handed bats.

Pirates Promote Kevin Kramer, Designate Buddy Boshers

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The Pirates announced several September call-ups today, designating lefty Buddy Boshers to create roster space. Pittsburgh selected the contract of well-regarded middle-infield prospect Kevin Kramer along with that of journeyman catcher Ryan Lavarnway.

Also heading up to the majors are a series of players who already possessed 40-man roster spots. Righties Tanner Anderson, Michael Feliz, and Clay Holmes will all join the organization for the stretch run, as will outfielder Jordan Luplow.

Kramer will join Kevin Newman, another talented young infielder seen as part of the future, on the MLB roster. Chosen in the second round of the 2015 draft, Kramer is viewed as a solid all-around player. Certainly, he has impressed in the upper minors in the past two seasons, turning in identical 141 wRC+ figures in an injury-shortened 2017 at Double-A and in a full campaign this year at Triple-A.

In his 527 plate appearances with Indianapolis in 2018, Kramer owns a .311/.365/.492 slash with 15 home runs and 13 steals. He has spent some time at shortstop in the minors, but the bulk of his innings of come at second base and that’s where he’s expected to play in the big leagues.

As for Boshers, the 30-year-old southpaw has seen time in three MLB seasons but didn’t make it up in 2018. He has worked to a 3.32 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in his 57 frames at Triple-A, with time spent at both the Bucs’ and Astros’ top affiliates.

Pirates Claim Buddy Boshers, Designate Chris Bostick

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The Pirates have claimed lefty reliever Buddy Boshers off waivers from the Astros. Paul Braverman (Communications Personnnel for the Fresno Grizzlies) originally announced the move, and the Astros have since confirmed.

Boshers, who has exactly 100 major league appearances to his name since his debut in 2013, has been stuck with the club’s Triple-A affiliate all season. There, he’s struck out an impressive 9.71 batters per nine innings against just 2.65 walks per nine across 41 appearances. The performance result is a 3.18 ERA (with a more ordinary 3.84 FIP), though that doesn’t entirely describe his value. Boshers has actually pitched 51 innings across those 41 appearances, implying he’s been relied upon to get more than three outs on several occasions.

The Pirates will be Boshers’ third team already this season. Though he began the year with the Twins, they barely waited half a month into 2018 before designating him for assignment (in order to make room for offseason signee Addison Reed). Though the Astros claimed him and used a 40-man roster spot to house him throughout the entire season, they evidently decided that he was either expendable or deserved a major-league opportunity elsewhere. Boshers has certainly proved that he warrants at least a chance to prove himself at the major league level once again.

Bostick, 25, made his major league debut only last season, when he collected eight hits and four walks in 32 plate appearances  while being hit by a pitch en route to a .406 OBP. Evidently the Pirates didn’t feel as though he’d be a useful piece this season, as they’ve given him just two major league at-bats in 2018 despite a respectable .295/.351/.436 batting line across 327 PA at the Triple-A level. Capable of playing second base and the outfield, it seems likely that the 5’10” right-handed hitter will latch on with another major league club following his placement on the waiver wire.

Astros Claim Buddy Boshers

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The Astros have claimed left-handed reliever Buddy Boshers off waivers from the Twins, per a team announcement from Houston. Boshers was designated for assignment by the Twins in order to clear a roster spot for Addison Reed. Boshers pushes Houston’s 40-man roster up to a count of 39.

Set to turn 30 in May, Boshers parlayed a minor league deal with the Twins in the 2015-16 offseason into 71 innings of work and more than a year of service at the big league level. In parts of his two seasons with Minnesota, the southpaw turned in a 4.56 ERA. Boshers impressed with an 8.2 K/9 rate against 2.2 BB/9, but he’s also been somewhat homer-prone (1.3 HR/9). He’s also been clobbered by right-handed opponents in that time; while Boshers limited lefties to a lowly .231/.262/.345 batting line through 122 plate appearances, righties knocked him around at a .268/.330/.485 clip in 183 PAs.

He’ll add some much-needed depth to the Astros from the left side, as Tony Sipp currently projects to be the only southpaw in Houston’s big league bullpen. Boshers has a minor league option remaining, so the Astros can freely send him to the minors even if he doesn’t break camp with the club. Other options on the 40-man include outfielder-turned-pitcher Anthony Gose (a Rule 5 pick) and Reymin Guduan.

Certainly, there’s room for the Astros to further strengthen this area either on the trade or free-agent market before Opening Day. Tony Watson is the top lefty reliever remaining on the free-agent market, and he’s joined by the likes of Jorge De La Rosa, Fernando Abad, Xavier Cedeno and Kevin Siegrist (among others), as can be seen in MLBTR’s Free Agent Tracker.

Twins Designate Buddy Boshers For Assignment

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The Twins announced that they’ve designated left-handed reliever Buddy Boshers for assignment. His roster spot will go to right-hander Addison Reed, whose previously reported two-year, $16.75MM contract has been announced by the team.

Boshers, 30 in May, parlayed a minor league deal with the Twins in the 2015-16 offseason into 71 innings of work and more than a year of service at the big league level. In parts of his two seasons with Minnesota, the southpaw turned in a 4.56 ERA. Boshers impressed with an 8.2 K/9 rate against 2.2 BB/9, but he’s also been somewhat homer-prone (1.3 HR/9). He’s also been clobbered by right-handed opponents in that time; while Boshers limited lefties to a lowly .231/.262/.345 batting line through 122 plate appearances, righties knocked him around at a .268/.330/.485 clip in 183 PAs.

Boshers does have a minor league option remaining and has had his share of success against left-handed opponents, so it’s possible that he latches on elsewhere as a potential lefty specialist. If not, he’ll return to a Twins organization where he’s now behind Taylor Rogers, offseason signee Zach Duke and young Gabriel Moya on the depth chart for left-handed relievers.

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