Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Carson Fulmer

Angels Outright Six Players

By | at

The Angels have outrighted first baseman Jared Walsh, outfielder Brett Phillips, catcher Chad Wallach, right-handers Jaime Barria and Carson Fulmer, and left-hander Jhonathan Diaz, per MLB.com’s Transactions page. It had not previously been announced that the group were designated for assignment, but each player evidently cleared waivers. Walsh, Phillips, Wallach, Barria, and Fulmer will each now have the opportunity to elect free agency and hit the open market this offseason.

Walsh, 30, is perhaps the most noteworthy of the group. A 39th-round pick by the Angels in the 2015 draft, Walsh made it to the majors in 2019 and broke out in a big way during the shortened 2020 season, slashing an incredible .293/.324/.646 with nine home runs in just 108 trips to the plate. He followed up that breakout campaign with a strong 2021 as the club’s regular first baseman. In 144 games that year, Walsh hit .277/.340/.509 with 29 homers in his first full season of big league action en route to his first career All Star appearance. Unfortunately, things went down hill for Walsh from there. The slugger has struggled with neurological issues in recent years and struggled to be an effective big leaguer as a result, slashing just .197/.258/.355 in 157 games across the past two seasons. Deep as Walsh’s struggles have been in recent years, if he can prove himself to be healthy it’s certainly feasible that a club with a need at first base could give him a look thanks to his significant success in the relatively recent past.

Phillips, 29, made his big league debut with the Brewers during the 2017 season, slashing a solid .276/.351/.448 in 98 trips to the plate for the club. That said, Phillips’s true calling card is his outfield defense, which has allowed him to appear in the majors for each of the past seven seasons of his career despite only posting a better-than-average slash line in 2021 besides his debut season. Though he’s slashed a paltry .187/.272/.347 for his career including an abysmal .152/.230/.269 line the past two seasons, Phillips has managed to bounce between the Brewers, Royals, Rays, Orioles, and Angels throughout his career and could enter free agency as a solid, glove-first depth piece for interested clubs, though it’s possible he’ll have to settle for a minor league deal.

Wallach, 31, made is MLB debut in 2017 and since then has bounced around the major and minor leagues as a depth option behind the plate, with previous major league stints in Cincinnati and Miami as well as Anaheim. 2023 was the journeyman’s first extended big league opportunity thanks to injuries to the club’s typical catching corps of Logan O’Hoppe and Max Stassi, and Wallach performed passably in the role with solid framing numbers and 70 wRC+ that placed him 49th among 69 catchers with at least 100 big league plate appearances this season. Wallach figures to once again receive interest as a potential depth piece for clubs in need of additional catching options this offseason.

Barria, 27, made his MLB debut in 2018 and has spent his entire career with the Angels to this point. His rookie season was an impressive one, as he posted a 3.41 ERA that was 23% better than league average by ERA+ in 26 starts, though his 4.58 FIP left something to be desired. Barria struggled in a swing role in 2019 before bouncing back with a 3.62 ERA and matching 3.65 FIP in 32 1/3 innings of work during the shortened 2020 season. That set off what has become a trend of Barria alternating between struggles and success every other season; while he posted excellent numbers in 2022 with a 2.61 ERA as a multi-inning reliever, he struggled in 2021 and especially the 2023 campaign, during which he posted a 5.68 ERA and 6.07 FIP across 82 1/3 innings of work. Still, given Barria’s relative youth and previous success, it seems like a reasonable bet that he’ll find interest in his services this offseason.

Fulmer, who was selected eighth overall by the White Sox in the 2015 draft, struggled to a 6.41 ERA and 5.93 FIP across 130 2/3 innings for the first six seasons of his big league career while bouncing between the White Sox, Tigers, Orioles, and Reds organizations. After a solid season at the Triple-A level for Fulmer with the Dodgers in 2022, he signed on in Anaheim and return to the big leagues late in the year. He pitched fairly well in ten innings of work, striking out six while posting a 2.70 ERA across three appearances. The 29-year-old figures to once again receive interest from clubs this offseason, though it seems likely he’ll once again be limited to minor league offers.

Diaz, meanwhile, will remain in the Angels organization as a player with less than three years service time who’s just received the first outright assignment of his career. The 27-year-old lefty made his big league debut in Anaheim back in 2021, and has posted a 4.84 ERA with a 4.83 FIP across 35 1/3 innings of work in the big leagues split across the last three seasons. Diaz sports identical 14.4% strikeout and walk rates for his big league career thanks to a brutal 2023 campaign that saw him walk seven batters in seven innings while striking out just four and posting a 10.29 ERA. He’ll remain a decent left-handed depth option for the Angels going forward.

Angels Select Carson Fulmer, Place Mike Trout On 60-Day IL

By | at

The Angels are calling up right-hander Carson Fulmer, as noted by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. He’ll take the active roster spot of lefty Tyler Anderson, who was placed on the injured list yesterday with left knee soreness. A 40-man roster spot was cleared for Fulmer by placing outfielder Mike Trout on the 60-day IL, with manager Phil Nevin confirming to reporters (including Bollinger) that the veteran star’s season is over. The club also announced that infielder Mike Moustakas has been reinstated from the 10-day IL, with first baseman C.J. Cron going on the injured list to clear space on the active roster.

Fulmer was selected eighth overall in the 2015 draft by the White Sox and made his major league debut back in 2016, though he was never able to full establish himself in the majors. He posted a 6.56 ERA across 94 2/3 innings of work between 2016 and 2019 with Chicago before making brief cameos in Detroit, Baltimore, and Cincinnati over the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In those two seasons, Fulmer combined for a 6.00 ERA and 4.59 FIP in 36 innings of work.

Fulmer didn’t pitch in the majors in 2022, instead spending the season with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City. He posted a 2.86 ERA in 56 2/3 innings at that level last year, strong enough numbers that the Angels opted to offer him a minor league deal back in May. Things didn’t go as smoothly for Fulmer this year, however, as he posted a 5.27 ERA in 41 innings of work with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake City. Nonetheless, Fulmer will get his first taste of big league action since 2021 with the Angels as they look toward what remains of their depth to help cover innings for the season’s final stretch.

The addition of Fulmer to the roster officially brings the season to an end for Trout, who appeared in just one game after landing on the injured list with a left hamate fracture in early July. It was a relative down season for Trout when he was on the field, as the superstar slashed .263/.367/.490 in 362 trips to the plate with the Angels this year. Of course, those numbers still clock in at 34% better than league average by measure of wRC+ and really only constitute a down season by Trout’s incredibly lofty standards. Trout will look toward a return to the field in 2024, where better health hopefully awaits him after averaging just 79 games a season since the start of the 2021 campaign.

Also done for the year is Cron, who slashed a decent .260/.304/.476 in 224 trips to the plate with Colorado this year but saw his performance take a nosedive following a trade to Anaheim. In 15 games with the Angels, Cron posted a brutal .200/.259/.260 slash line that was good for a wRC+ of just 42. A pending free agent this offseason, Cron will face stiff competition from players like Rhys Hoskins, Garrett Cooper and Brandon Belt who are also primarily limited to first base defensively. Cron’s placement on the IL makes way for the return of Moustakas, who similarly posted solid numbers in Colorado before suffering a downturn in performance upon heading to Anaheim. Overall, Moustakas has slashed .252/.300/.404 in 370 trips to the plate this season.

Angels, Carson Fulmer Agree To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Angels have agreed to a minor league contract with former top pitching prospect Carson Fulmer, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. The right-hander has been assigned to the organization’s Arizona Complex League affiliate for the time being, presumably as he builds up for an assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake.

Fulmer, 29, was selected by the White Sox with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2015 draft. He’d been speculated upon as a possible No. 1 overall pick prior, and while there were some concerns about his ability to stick as a starting pitcher even at the time of the draft, most expected that he was a good bet to serve as a high-end reliever even if the rotation didn’t pan out. Baseball America called him the “surest big leaguer on the board” in the spring of his draft season, and virtually every ranking of that year’s draft class had Fulmer at least within the top 50 prospects of the class — if not the top 10.

Suffice it to say, things haven’t gone according to expectations. While Fulmer breezed through High-A in 2015 following his selection, he struggled with command in Double-A in his first full season. He nevertheless reached he big leagues just over a year after being drafted, but he was hit hard in the South Siders’ bullpen that summer, allowing 11 runs in 11 2/3 innings before being sent down for some more seasons in Triple-A.

Fulmer made 15 starts and another 21 relief appearances for the ChiSox over the next three seasons but struggled in both roles, pitching to a 6.29 ERA with 57 walks against 73 strikeouts in a total of 83 innings, exhausting all of his minor league option years along the way and leaving the win-now White Sox with little choice but to designate him for assignment in advance of the 2020 season.

Including the Angels, Fulmer has now bounced to seven teams since that DFA. He posted a 6.00 ERA between the Tigers, Orioles and Reds from 2020-21 and spent the 2022 season with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate. Fulmer had a decent showing in Triple-A last year, logging a 2.86 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League but still posting an ugly 14.5% walk rate in 56 2/3 frames. He signed a minor league deal with the Mariners just prior to 2023 spring training, but Seattle cut him loose at the end of camp. He’ll now land elsewhere in the AL West, as the Angels continue to cast a wide net and take looks at veteran arms in hopes of stabilizing their top-heavy bullpen.

Mariners Sign Carson Fulmer To Minor League Contract

By | at

The Mariners have signed Carson Fulmer to a minor league pact, according to the right-hander’s MLB.com profile page.  Fulmer has been assigned to Triple-A Tacoma.

After pitching 130 2/3 innings and appearing in every season from 2016-21, Fulmer didn’t see any big league action in 2022.  The Dodgers acquired Fulmer on a waiver claim last winter and briefly selected him to their active roster at the end of April, but Fulmer was designated for assignment a few days later without appearing in a game.  Los Angeles then outrighted Fulmer to Triple-A, where he spent the rest of the season before electing minor league free agency in October.

The year at Triple-A had mixed results, as while Fulmer had a 2.86 ERA over 56 2/3 innings for Oklahoma City, his 25.6% strikeout rate was only decent, and his 14.5% walk rate was well below average.  A .230 BABIP seems to have greatly aided Fulmer in limiting damage, which could partially be why the Dodgers didn’t give him another call-up despite that quality ERA.

The White Sox selected Fulmer with the eighth overall pick of the 2015 draft, and he made his MLB debut just a year later.  However, the righty didn’t live up to high expectations, posting a 6.56 ERA over 94 2/3 innings with Chicago before being designated for assignment in July 2020.  This move sparked a flurry of transactions for the out-of-options Fulmer, who went to the Tigers, Pirates, Orioles, again to the Pirates, then to the Reds on a series of waiver claims in a span of under eight months.  Cincinnati’s claim in March 2021 ended the carousel to some extent, as Fulmer spent the entire 2021 season in the Reds organization, though he struggled to a 6.66 ERA over 25 2/3 MLB innings.

19 Players Elect Free Agency

By | at

Players hit minor league free agency on a daily basis during the postseason, as opposed to major league free agents who hit free agency following the World Series when their contracts expire. On Thursday, MLBTR covered 15 players who elected minor league free agency, and we will continue to provide occasional updates as players continue to hit the open market, as noted on the MiLB.com transactions log.

If a player is not on their organization’s 40-man roster at the end of the season, he will hit minor league free agency as long as he has at least 3 years of MLB service time, been assigned outright more than once in his career, and/or has played in the minor leagues for parts of seven or more seasons. Everyone on today’s list is part of that group of players, and most will search for another minor league deal this offseason, though a few may manage to latch onto a major league club and secure a bench or bullpen spot entering the 2023 season.

Infielders:

Outfielders:

Pitchers:

Outrights: Gutierrez, Fulmer, Guerra

By and | at

A trio of players recently designated for assignment have cleared outright waivers.

  • The Orioles announced that third baseman Kelvin Gutiérrez passed through the wire unclaimed and has been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. Having never previously been outrighted and owning less than three years of MLB service time, Gutiérrez doesn’t have the right to refuse a minor league assignment. He’ll join the Tides and try to play his way back to the big leagues, where he’s seen some action in each of the last four years. The majority of that time came in 2021, when he combined for a .232/.292/.316 showing in just under 300 plate appearances with the Royals and O’s. The 27-year-old logged only sporadic action in each of his other three seasons, including 12 games with Baltimore this year.
  • Dodgers reliever Carson Fulmer has cleared waivers, according to the club’s transactions tracker at MLB.com. Selected to the majors last weekend, he stayed on the active roster for just two days and didn’t make an appearance before losing his spot. The 28-year-old is coming off a 6.66 ERA in 25 2/3 innings with the Reds last season, a continuation of big league struggles for the former eighth overall pick. The Dodgers were intrigued enough by Fulmer to take a no-risk flier in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft over the offseason. Assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, he has allowed only four runs in 11 2/3 innings with 12 strikeouts but eight walks. Fulmer has previously been outrighted, meaning he had the right to refuse the assignment; he is again listed on OKC’s active roster, however.
  • Rays reliever Javy Guerra has passed through waivers unclaimed, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. A recent convert from shortstop to pitching, Guerra has very little mileage on his arm, including just 24 1/4 innings in the minors. He’s logged 33 frames at the big league level over the past four seasons, with an 8.45 ERA. Lack of results notwithstanding, he’s just 26 years old and is playing catch-up. If he can learn to harness his triple-digit velocity into better results, he could earn himself another shot at the bigs.

Dodgers Designate Carson Fulmer For Assignment

By | at

The Dodgers have designated reliever Carson Fulmer for assignment, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times was among those to relay. Utilityman Zach McKinstry was also optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City to comply with the reduction in active roster sizes from 28 to 26.

Fulmer’s stay in the majors lasted just two days, as Los Angeles selected him when Mitch White hit the COVID-19 injured list on Saturday. He didn’t wind up making an appearance, and his time in the organization could now be coming to its end. While L.A. didn’t need to clear 40-man roster space, Fulmer was out of minor league option years. The only way to take him off the big league club was to remove him from the 40-man entirely.

Los Angeles acquired Fulmer in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft, which took place during the lockout. The Dodgers selected him out of the Reds organization after Cincinnati had passed him through outright waivers last May. He opened the 2022 campaign with Oklahoma City and tossed 11 2/3 innings over eight appearances. The righty allowed four runs (three earned) and struck out 12 batters but issued eight walks.

The eighth overall pick in the 2015 draft by the White Sox, Fulmer appeared in the majors every year from 2016-21. He has 130 2/3 MLB innings under his belt, although he’s managed just a 6.41 ERA with a subpar 19.2% strikeout rate and a lofty 13.4% walk percentage. The Dodgers will presumably place him on waivers in the coming days; Fulmer would have the right to refuse a minor league assignment if he clears after having been outrighted in the past.

Dodgers Select Carson Fulmer, Place Mitch White On COVID-IL

By | at

The Dodgers have some roster moves prior to tonight’s game, including the selection of Carson Fulmer’s minor league contract.  Los Angeles also called up utilityman Zach McKinstry from Triple-A.  In corresponding moves, right-hander Mitch White was placed on the COVID-related injury list, and righty Andre Jackson was sent down to Triple-A.

Assuming he makes an appearance for the Dodgers, Fulmer will pitch for his fifth different team in the last four seasons.  All told, Fulmer has a 6.41 ERA over 130 2/3 career big league innings from 2016-21, pitching most recently with the Reds last season.  Cincinnati claimed Fulmer off waivers from the Pirates during Spring Training, and the righty had a 6.66 ERA in 25 2/3 frames of work before the Reds outrighted him off their 40-man roster in May.

The eighth overall pick of the 2015 draft, Fulmer has yet to live up to the promise of his high selection, struggling in both the majors and at Triple-A.  Fulmer has looked generally good with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate this year, posting a 2.31 ERA with a 25% strikeout rate over 11 2/3 relief innings.  However, Fulmer also has a 16.7% walk rate, continuing to display the control problems that have plagued much of his pro career.

West Notes: Alvarez, Fulmer, Dodgers, Pint, Rockies, Perez, Astros

By | at

Right-hander Yadier Alvarez is in camp with the Dodgers, tweets Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register. Alvarez was once a highly-touted prospect, with the Dodgers giving him a $16MM signing bonus in 2015 and Baseball America ranking him as the 26th prospect across the league in 2017. Despite being selected to the team’s 40-man roster prior to the 2019 season, there were concerns with his lack of control. In 2018, he pitched 48 1/3 innings at Double-A with an excellent 30% strikeout rate but a ghastly 20% walk rate.

In 2019, injuries limited him to just 3 2/3 Double-A innings and he was designated for assignment in March of 2020, eventually clearing waivers and being outrighted to the minors. Of course, the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues that year and Alvarez was only able to throw 3 2/3 Arizona Complex League innings in 2021. Despite all of those ups and downs, Alvarez is still relatively young, turning 26 on Tuesday. One silver lining of losing his roster spot two years ago is that he is not affected by the ongoing lockout, giving him a chance to show the Dodgers’ brass that he still has something to offer.

Another hurler looking for a bounceback with the Dodgers is Carson Fulmer, whom the club selected from the Reds in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft in December. Originally selected 8th overall by the White Sox in the 2015 draft, Fulmer also cracked Baseball America’s Top 100, coming in at #70 in 2016. However, he has struggled to establish himself in the majors, putting up a walk rate above 10% in each of the past six seasons. After bouncing around the waiver wire multiple times in recent years, he eventually cleared waivers in May of 2021. Plunkett spoke to the 28-year-old, who credits his former Vanderbilt teammate Walker Buehler with his current opportunity. “I think that he had chirped at the front office a little bit and tried to get me over here,” Fulmer joked. “He was excited (when the Dodgers acquired Fulmer). At the end of the day, he knows what I’m capable of. He just wanted me to be in the right place, the right situation.” Much like Alvarez, the loss of his roster spot gives Fulmer the benefit of participating in Spring Training and the upcoming minor league season, despite the lockout.

More news from teams in the west…

  • Much like Alvarez and Fulmer, Riley Pint was a highly-touted youngster who dealt with control issues. Selected by the Rockies with the fourth overall pick in the 2016 draft, Pint eventually cracked Baseball America’s Top 100 list at #46 in 2017. But from that point on, his stock continued dropping due to the aforementioned control problems. In 2021, he pitched 10 2/3 innings at High-A with an incredible 34.7% strikeout rate but and inflated 20.4% walk rate. That’s a small sample, of course, but largely indicative of his body of work in the minors. Pint retired in June of last year but has now un-retired, as reported by Thomas Harding of MLB.com. “Everybody is on his own time frame. I always love seeing the kid,” says Rockies player development director Chris Forbes “He’s a fantastic kid. I’m glad to see him back.” Pint just turned 24 in November, meaning there’s plenty of time for him to rebuild his stock in the game if he can get back on track and improve his control.
  • The ongoing lockout carries negative consequences for every player in the union, but among those with the potential to be most affected are those who have earned 40-man roster spots but were likely to spend this year in the minors. With Spring Training and the regular season both now delayed, they are losing crucial development time, along with losing access to team trainers and development staff. Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle spoke to some Astros’ prospects who were recently added to the team’s roster but were then locked out almost immediately after. This includes a surreal story of an absent-minded coach texting infielder Joe Perez, looking for a status update, with Perez having to politely remind the team employee that he’s not allowed to respond. “It’s definitely been something extraordinary,” Perez said.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/24/21

By | at

The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Reds announced that right-hander Carson Fulmer has been outrighted to Triple-A Louisville.  Fulmer cleared waivers after being designated for assignment on Saturday.  It marks a rare trip through DFA limbo for Fulmer that didn’t result in a change of address, as the righty has been claimed off waivers five times since July 2020.  The Reds were the fifth team to claim Fulmer, and he has a 6.66 ERA over 25 2/3 relief innings for Cincinnati this season.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top