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Casey Sadler

Mariners Select Matt Koch

By Anthony Franco | April 13, 2022 at 6:32pm CDT

The Mariners announced they’ve selected righty Matt Koch onto the big league roster. Veteran reliever Sergio Romo has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 12, due to shoulder inflammation. To create space on the 40-man roster, Seattle transferred Casey Sadler to the 60-day IL.

Koch is back in the majors for the first time since 2019. A former 3rd-round pick of the Mets, he was traded to the Diamondbacks in August 2015. Koch made his MLB debut the following season, the first of four straight in which he’d pick up some big league time. The majority of his work came in 2018, when Koch started 14 of his 19 outings and tossed 86 2/3 innings of 4.15 ERA ball for the Snakes.

Underlying numbers didn’t support Koch’s capable run prevention figure that season, though, and he couldn’t replicate it in nine outings as a multi-inning reliever the following year. The Louisville product allowed eight home runs in 20 2/3 innings in 2019, and Arizona outrighted him off the 40-man roster that May.

Koch spent the 2020 season with the Yakult Swallows in Japan before returning to affiliated ball last season. He worked 63 1/3 frames as a long relief option for the Indians’ top affiliate in Columbus, posting a 5.83 ERA with a subpar 18.8% strikeout rate. Cleveland never gave him an MLB look, but he signed a minors pact with the M’s this past offseason. Assigned to Triple-A Tacoma to open the year, the 31-year-old has punched out five of the six batters he faced to earn a return call to the big leagues. Koch is out of minor league option years; now that he’s back on the 40-man roster, Seattle has to keep him in the majors or designate him for assignment.

The Mariners signed Romo to a $2MM deal in March. The reliable veteran has tossed a pair of scoreless outings to start his tenure in the organization, but that’ll be put on hold while he recovers. The team didn’t provide a timetable for his return. Sadler, meanwhile, is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery last month. His eventual placement on the 60-day IL was a mere formality.

Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times first reported the move.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Casey Sadler Matt Koch Sergio Romo

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Mariners’ Casey Sadler To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

By Mark Polishuk | March 20, 2022 at 6:13pm CDT

6:13PM: Sadler will undergo shoulder surgery and miss the entire season, Servais told Ryan Divish and other reporters.

4:40PM: Mariners right-hander Casey Sadler is dealing with soreness in his throwing shoulder and is “going to be down for quite some time,” manager Scott Servais told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jesse Borek and The Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish).  Sadler is apparently taking time to decide on what his next step will be, which could be an indication that surgery is being considered to address the issue.

Seattle’s lockdown bullpen was one of the main reasons the M’s recorded a surprising 90 wins in 2021, and Sadler was a major part of that relief corps.  The righty had the lowest ERA of any pitcher in baseball with at least 40 innings pitched last season, as Sadler posted a tiny 0.67 number over 40 1/3 frames.  After being charged with an earned run in an appearance against the Athletics on July 25, Sadler then held opponents scoreless over his next 29 appearances and 28 innings, a streak that is still ongoing.

Sadler is a grounder specialist, and thus obviously benefited from a .188 BABIP after generating a 62.9% groundball rate last year.  Still, ERA predictors (3.06 SIERA, 3.25 xFIP) also liked his work, as Sadler posted a solid 25.5% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate, and his 0.22 HR/9 was also the third-lowest of any pitcher in the 40+ innings club.  Sadler has also posted excellent spin rates on his fastball and curve in each of the last three years.

A veteran of six MLB seasons, Sadler’s performance has been inconsistent, which isn’t unexpected for a pitcher who relies so heavily on grounders.  Of Sadler’s 125 2/3 innings, 86 2/3 of those frames have come in his two best seasons — last year with the Mariners, and his 2019 season when he had a 2.14 ERA over 46 1/3 combined IP with the Rays and Dodgers.

The 31-year-old reached arbitration eligibility for the first time this winter, and agreed to a $1.025MM salary for the 2022 season.  Unfortunately for both Sadler and the M’s, it now seems as though it will be some time before he can continue his scoreless-innings streak or perhaps even get back onto a mound.  Sadler also missed over two and a half months on the injured list last season due to shoulder inflammation, and he also had a major injury setback earlier in his career as a member of the Pirates organization, when Tommy John surgery cost Sadler the entire 2016 season.

Most of the Mariners’ 2021 bullpen is returning, though they’ll now have Ken Giles in the mix, after Giles missed all of 2021 recovering from his own Tommy John procedure.  Left-hander Ryan Buchter was also signed to a minor league deal earlier today, adding another veteran arm to the mix.

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Newsstand Seattle Mariners Casey Sadler

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Tender Deadline Signings: 11/30/21

By Steve Adams and Anthony Franco | November 30, 2021 at 8:48pm CDT

With the deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players looming tonight at 8pm ET — the MLBPA and MLB jointly agreed to move the deadline up a couple days due to the looming expiration of the collective bargaining agreement — we’ll likely see a slew of arbitration-eligible players signing one-year deals.

It’s commonplace for a large batch of players to sign deals in the hours leading up to the tender deadline. “Pre-tender” deals of this nature often fall shy of projections due to the fact that teams use the looming threat of a non-tender to enhance their leverage. Arbitration contracts at this juncture are often take-it-or-leave-it propositions, with the “leave it” end of that arrangement resulting in the player being cut loose. Given the widely expected lockout, there could be more incentive than usual for borderline non-tender candidates to take those offers rather than being cast out into free agency just hours before a transaction freeze is implemented.

As a reminder, arbitration contracts are not fully guaranteed. In a typical year, a team can cut a player on an arb contract at any point before the halfway point in Spring Training and only be responsible for 30 days’ termination pay (about one-sixth of the contract). Releasing a player in the second half of Spring Training bumps the termination pay to 45 days of his prorated salary.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for each team’s arbitration-eligible players last month, although for many of the players listed below, this isn’t so much avoiding arbitration as it is avoiding a non-tender. Here’s a look at today’s agreements…

  • The Yankees have agreed to deals with infielder Gio Urshela and right-hander Domingo German, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter links). Urshela will make $6.55MM, while German has agreed to a $1.75MM deal. Urshela has two seasons of control remaining; German is controllable for three years. Urshela is coming off a .267/.301/.419 showing while playing third base and shortstop. German tossed 98 1/3 innings of 4.58 ERA ball.
  • The Twins have signed three arbitration-eligible pitchers, per reports from Feinsand and Darren Wolfson of SKOR North (on Twitter). Right-hander Jharel Cotton signed for $700K, reliever Caleb Thielbar lands $1.3MM and reliever Tyler Duffey signs for $3.8MM. Thielbar and Duffey were both productive members of the Minnesota relief corps in 2021. Cotton was recently claimed off waivers from the Rangers.
  • The Giants have agreed to terms with outfielder Austin Slater on a $1.85MM deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter link). The 28-year-old (29 next month) appeared at all three spots on the grass while hitting .241/.320/.423 over 306 plate appearances in 2021.
  • Reliever Emilio Pagan and the Padres have agreed on a $2.3MM deal, reports Rosenthal (on Twitter). The 30-year-old worked 63 1/3 innings of 4.83 ERA/3.93 SIERA ball this past season.
  • The Diamondbacks agreed to a $2MM deal with left-hander Caleb Smith, reports Zach Buchanan of the Athletic (via Twitter). The 30-year-old posted a 4.83 ERA/4.68 SIERA across 113 2/3 innings in a swing capacity in 2021.

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Earlier Deals

  • First baseman Rowdy Tellez agreed to a $1.94MM deal with the Brewers, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Acquired in a midseason trade with Toronto, Tellez impressed with a .272/.333/.481 batting line and seven homers in 174 plate appearances. He’s controlled through 2024.
  • The Yankees and lefty Lucas Luetge agreed to a $905K salary for the 2022 season, per Rosenthal. The 34-year-old returned to the Majors for the first time since 2015 and shined with a 2.74 ERA in 72 1/3 innings of relief. New York can control him through the 2024 season.
  • The Orioles signed lefty Paul Fry to an $850K deal for the 2022 season, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Fry looked like he’d be an in-demand trade candidate well into the summer, but the O’s hung onto him and watched his results crumble after the deadline passed. He finished with a 6.08 ERA on the season but pitched effectively through July. Between thats strong start, a big 28% strikeout rate and an affordable salary, it’s only sensible for Baltimore to hang onto him.
  • Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman agreed to terms with the team on a 2022 contract, tweets Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He’ll be paid $1.95MM, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic adds. A Gold Glove finalist in 2021, Newman hit just .226/.265/.309 but was one of the best defensive players at any position. He’s controlled another three seasons.
  • The Rays and Ji-Man Choi agreed to a $3.2MM salary for the 2022 campaign, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The 30-year-old swatted 11 homers in 305 plate appearances and offset a low batting average with a huge 14.8% walk rate. Overall, Choi hit .229/.348/.411. He’s controllable through 2023.
  • The Rockies agreed to a one-year, $1.025MM deal with righty Tyler Kinley, tweets Thomas Harding of MLB.com. The 30-year-old has a 4.88 ERA in 94 innings over the past two seasons, including a 4.73 mark in 70 1/3 frames this past season. Kinley’s big swinging-strike rates and 96 mph fastball velocity suggest he could improve upon this year’s 23.1% strikeout rate.
  • The Orioles are in agreement on a $1.5MM deal with starter Jorge Lopez. The 28-year-old is coming off a tough showing, having worked to a 6.07 ERA over 121 2/3 innings. Lopez induced a fair amount of ground-balls and ate up plenty of innings, though, and he’ll now get another chance to compete for a spot in a wide-open Baltimore rotation. He remains controllable through 2024.
  • The Mariners have agreed on a $1.025MM deal with reliever Casey Sadler, per Murray. The 31-year-old led all pitchers (minimum 40 innings) with a 0.67 ERA over 40 1/3 frames this past season. Along the way, he racked up ground-balls on a massive 62.9% of balls in play against him. He’s controllable through 2024.
  • The Brewers announced they’ve come to terms with reliever Jandel Gustave. The hard-throwing righty worked 18 1/3 innings of 3.44 ERA/4.35 SIERA ball across 14 appearances this past season. He remains controllable through 2024. Gustave’s deal is a split contract that pays him $675K while he’s in the majors, according to Robert Murray of FanSided (on Twitter).
  • The Diamondbacks have agreed to a $1.25MM deal with reliever Noe Ramirez, reports Zach Buchanan of the Athletic (Twitter link). The 31-year-old (32 next month) is entering his penultimate season of club control. The vertex righty had a quietly solid season in the desert, working to an even 3.00 ERA across 36 innings, albeit with less impressive strikeout and walk numbers.
  • The Padres have come to terms with relievers Austin Adams and Tim Hill, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter link). Adams will make $925K; Hill is in line for a $1.325MM salary. Both pitchers have an additional two seasons of arbitration control remaining. Adams overcame a staggering amount of hits-by-pitch and walks to post a 4.10 ERA over 52 2/3 innings, striking out 31.5% of opponents. Hill racked up grounders at a 60.6% clip en route to a 3.62 ERA.
  • The Giants have reached a $1.725MM deal with reliever Jarlin Garcia, per Rosenthal. The southpaw pitched to a sterling 2.62 ERA over 68 2/3 frames in 2021 with solid strikeout and walk numbers. He’s controllable through 2023.
  • The A’s and righty Deolis Guerra agreed to a one-year deal worth $815K, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Guerra, 32, posted a 4.11 ERA in a career-high 65 2/3 innings with the A’s in 2021. He’ll give them an affordable arm for the coming season but doesn’t come with a lengthy track record of big league success.
  • The Rockies and Daniel Bard came to terms on a $4.4MM salary for the 2022 campaign, tweets Rosenthal. Bard’s Rockies resurgence after seven years away from the Majors was a remarkable story. The team opted not to trade him at the deadline, and he struggled immensely with a 6.65 ERA thereafter (ballooning his season-long ERA to 5.21). The Rockies view Bard as an important piece in 2022, however, evidenced both by the lack of trade and the $4.4MM commitment despite a shaky finish.
  • Right-hander Ryan Brasier agreed to a $1.4MM salary with the Red Sox for the upcoming season, tweets Robert Murray of FanSided. The 2021 season was a nightmare for Brasier, who suffered a broken finger in Spring Training, strained a calf muscle while rehabbing that injury and then was hospitalized after being struck in the head by a comeback liner while working back from the calf issue. The 34-year-old made it back to the mound in September and pitched to a 1.50 ERA in 12 frames.
  • Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander has agreed to a one-year deal worth $3.15MM, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The 27-year-old was a bright spot in the 2020 Baltimore lineup but saw his OBP dip back under .300 in a down year at the plate in 2021. Santander still popped 18 homers and 24 doubles. He’s controllable for another three years, and the O’s will hope for a rebound from this year’s .241/.286/.433 slash.
  • The Braves signed outfielder Guillermo Heredia to a one-year deal worth $1MM, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Heredia, 32 in January, played a larger role than expected in 2021 given the general tumult in the Atlanta outfield. His .220/.311/.354 batting line isn’t much to look at, but he was a solid hand against lefties (.258/.330/.427) and is a capable defender at all three outfield slots.
  • The Brewers announced that infielder/outfielder Jace Peterson signed a one-year contract. The 31-year-old was arbitration-eligible for the final time after hitting .247/.348/.368 through 302 plate appearances. Peterson split his time between second base, third base, first base and the outfield with Milwaukee in 2021, and that versatility likely tickets him for a utility role again in 2022.
  • Phillies reliever Seranthony Dominguez signed a one-year deal worth $725K today, tweets Rosenthal. That represents a rare pay cut in arbitration — albeit only by $3,000 — which is understandable after Dominguez missed nearly the entire season while recovering from 2020 Tommy John surgery. He made it back to the mound for one inning in the season’s final game, and Dominguez should be counted on to play a large role in the relief corps next season. In 83 2/3 MLB innings, Dominguez has a 3.23 ERA and a huge 30.3% strikeout rate against a 9.9% walk rate. He saved 16 games for the Phils as a rookie in 2018.
  • Right-hander John Brebbia and the Giants agreed to a one-year deal worth $837,500, Rosenthal tweets. The 31-year-old signed an $800K deal with San Francisco last winter after being non-tendered by St. Louis on the heels of Tommy John surgery. Brebbia returned to throw 18 1/3 innings in 2021 but was tattooed for a 5.89 ERA in that brief time. That said, his 22-to-4 K/BB ratio was excellent, and Brebbia held a 3.14 ERA and 3.39 FIP through 175 career innings in three seasons with the Cards. Given that track record and strong K-BB%, it’s not surprising that the Giants would want to take another look.
  • Zach Buchanan of The Athletic tweets that the Diamondbacks avoided arbitration with reliever J.B. Wendelken, signing him to a one-year deal worth $835K. The 28-year-old Wendelken was somewhat surprisingly designated for assignment in Oakland this summer despite a solid track record, and the D-backs pounced on him with the top waiver priority in the game. Wendelken posted a 4.33 ERA in 43 2/3 innings this season but carries a more impressive 3.05 ERA and 3.42 FIP with a 24% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate over his past 118 big league frames.
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Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Colorado Rockies Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins New York Yankees Oakland Athletics Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Anthony Santander Austin Adams Austin Slater Caleb Thielbar Casey Sadler Daniel Bard Deolis Guerra Domingo German Emilio Pagan Giovanny Urshela Guillermo Heredia J.B. Wendelken Jace Peterson Jandel Gustave Jarlin Garcia Jharel Cotton Ji-Man Choi John Brebbia Jorge Lopez Kevin Newman Lucas Luetge Noe Ramirez Paul Fry Rowdy Tellez Ryan Brasier Seranthony Dominguez Tim Hill Tyler Duffey Tyler Kinley

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Mariners Designate Rafael Montero For Assignment

By Steve Adams | July 23, 2021 at 5:17pm CDT

The Mariners announced Friday that they’ve designated right-hander Rafael Montero for assignment. His spot on the active and 40-man rosters will go to righty Casey Sadler, who has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

Acquired from the Rangers in an offseason trade that sent a pair of 18-year-old prospects — righty Jose Corniell and infielder Andres Mesa — to the Rangers, Montero opened the season as the closer in Seattle. He struggled early in the year and eventually relinquished that ninth-inning job to breakout righty Kendall Graveman.

Montero never found much consistency, even in a setup capacity, but his results dating back to the end of June have just become too much for the club to overlook. Montero has not only been scored upon in seven of his past eight appearances — he’s given up multiple runs in each of those seven outings. Since June 25, he’s pitched to a whopping 13.09 ERA in 11 innings — surrendering 16 runs on 25 hits and four walks with 11 punchouts in that time. That brutal stretch has ballooned his season ERA all the way to 7.27.

As rough as the 2021 season has been for Montero, the former Mets farmhand was quite good in his two seasons with Texas. He signed with the Rangers while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and eventually made his debut partway through the 2019 season, slowly earning the team’s trust in higher-leverage spots. By the 2020 season he was the primary closer in Arlington, leading the club with eight saves. Montero’s two years in Texas produced a 3.09 ERA with a strong 28.6 percent strikeout rate against just a 5.9 percent walk rate.

Things clearly didn’t work out in Seattle, and the Mariners will now have a week to trade Montero, place him on outright waivers or simply release him. He’s on a $2.25MM salary, making it highly unlikely that a team would either trade for him or claim him on waivers if placed there. And, even if Montero goes unclaimed, he reached five years of Major League service time in 2021, giving him the right to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency — without forfeiting the remaining guarantee on his deal.

As such, it seems quite likely that today will spell the end of Montero’s time with the organization. If he does either receive his release or reject an outright assignment, he’ll hit the open market in search of a change of scenery and fresh opportunity. Given how well Montero pitched in 2019-20, other clubs would surely have interest on what would essentially be a free look.

As for the 31-year-old Sadler, he’ll return to the Mariners and look to build on what was a strong start to his time with the club. Seattle plucked him off waivers out of the Cubs organization in 2020, and he’s proceeded to give them 21 innings of 3.00 ERA relief work dating back to the time of that claim. Sadler has fanned exactly a quarter of the 88 batters he’s faced as a Mariner and kept the ball on the ground at a roughly 44 percent clip as well.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Casey Sadler Rafael Montero

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Mariners Place Erik Swanson On Injured List

By Anthony Franco | May 30, 2021 at 8:32am CDT

Before last night’s game against the Rangers, the Mariners announced they were placing right-hander Erik Swanson on the 10-day injured list due to a right groin strain. Reliever Will Vest was reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list to replace Swanson on the active roster. To create 40-man roster space for Vest’s return, righty Casey Sadler was transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL.

Swanson, who was acquired from the Yankees as part of the 2018 James Paxton deal, has gotten off to a nice start for Seattle this year. He’s pitched in nine games (including two brief starts) and combined for thirteen innings of one-run ball, striking out fourteen while issuing six walks. He won’t continue to strand every baserunner that reaches against him (the only run allowed came on a Joey Gallo homer) or benefit from a .115 opponents’ batting average on balls in play. However, Swanson has generated swings and misses on a strong 13% of his offerings and was once a decently-regarded prospect, so he looks like a solid middle innings option once he returns to health.

Vest went on the COVID IL alongside a few other Seattle relievers on May 21. He’s pitched 21 1/3 innings of 4.22 ERA/4.93 SIERA ball this season. As a Rule 5 draftee, Vest must remain on the Mariners active roster all year if Seattle wishes to keep his contractual rights long-term.

Sadler went on the IL on May 1 with an impingement in his throwing shoulder. Yesterday’s transfer means he can’t return for at least 60 days from the date of his initial IL placement, so he’ll be out through the end of June at a minimum.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Casey Sadler Erik Swanson Will Vest

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Mariners Place Casey Sadler On Injured List, Recall Erik Swanson

By TC Zencka | May 2, 2021 at 4:52pm CDT

The Mariners announced today that they have recalled Erik Swanson from their alternate site for his second stint of the year with the big-league club. Swanson takes Casey Sadler’s roster spot, who heads to the injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Sadler’s placement is retroactive to May 1st.

Sadler has been an asset for the M’s this season, picking up three holds while allowing just two earned runs in 11 innings of work. Though he’s not exactly a household name and he doesn’t boast the high velocity of many of his peers, Sadler has shown some promise as a middle reliever over the years. He owns a career 3.64 ERA in 96 1/3 innings spread out over six seasons dating back to 2014 with the Pirates, Rays, Dodgers, Cubs, and Mariners.

Swanson, 27, came to the Mariners from the Yankees as part of the James Paxton trade. He has one scoreless two-inning appearance this season, making 2021 the third consecutive season that he has appeared in the Majors with the Mariners. For his career, Swanson has a 6.38 ERA/6.06 FIP over 67 2/3 innings across 37 games (including eight starts).

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Mariners Activate Casey Sadler, Place Sam Haggerty On IL

By TC Zencka | September 7, 2020 at 12:11pm CDT

The Mariners have added Casey Sadler to their active roster. Sadler was claimed off waivers from the Cubs a couple of days ago. In a corresponding move, Sam Haggerty has been placed on the 10-day IL, per a team release.

Sadler has bounced around in his professional career, suiting up for the Pirates, Rays, Dodgers, and Cubs prior to the Mariners. Last season was the busiest of his career: he made 33 appearances between the Rays and Dodgers with a 2.14 ERA/4.39 FIP across 46 1/3 innings. He was less effective for the Cubs this year as he struggled to find the plate (7.7 BB/9). He came out of the Cubs’ pen 10 times this year, finishing with a 5.79 ERA/6.58 FIP before being placed on waivers.

Haggerty was another waiver claim made by the Mariners this past January. The Mariners snagged the utlity man from the Mets, who had in turn acquired him from the Indians along with Walker Lockett for catcher Kevin Plawecki.

The 26-year-old Haggerty can play all over the field, but he mostly settled into left field for the Mariners this season. The switch-hitter held his own with a triple slash of .260/.315/.400 over 54 plate appearances, racking up 0.4 rWAR. The Mariners are flush with multi-positional athletes who can take the at-bats that otherwise would have gone to Haggerty. Dylan Moore will see time in left as could Dee Strange-Gordon or Shed Long Jr., who appeared in 16 games in left last season, though he has yet to play there this year.

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Mariners Claim Casey Sadler

By Mark Polishuk | September 5, 2020 at 8:07pm CDT

The Mariners claimed right-hander Casey Sadler off waivers from the Cubs, according to an M’s press release.  Chicago designated Sadler for assignment earlier this week.

Sadler had an impressive (if, according to advanced metrics, deceptive) 2.14 ERA over 46 1/3 combined innings with the Rays and Dodgers in 2019, and the Cubs acquired him in an January trade hoping the righty could emulate that performance.  Instead, Sadler struggled with a 5.79 ERA over 9 1/3 innings for the North Siders, walking eight batters over that limited span of action.

Appearing in parts of five MLB seasons with the Cubs, Rays, Dodgers, and Pirates, Sadler has a career 3.82 ERA, 1.83 K/BB rate, 51.5% grounder rate, and 6.6 K/9 in 75 1/3 Major League innings.  Originally a 25th-round pick for Pittsburgh in the 2010 draft, Sadler’s grounder-heavy approach has led to success at the minor league level, with a 3.43 ERA over 757 1/3 career frames on the farm.

Since Sadler is out of options, the Mariners won’t be able to send him to their alternate training site without exposing him against to the DFA wire.  Given how the M’s are already looking ahead to 2021, there isn’t any harm in giving Sadler some innings to see if he could factor into next season’s plans, even if the 30-year-old isn’t a long-term piece.

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Chicago Cubs Seattle Mariners Transactions Casey Sadler

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Cubs Activate Kris Bryant, Steven Souza Jr.

By Mark Polishuk | September 1, 2020 at 3:06pm CDT

The Cubs have activated Kris Bryant and Steven Souza Jr. off the 10-day injured list amidst a flurry of roster moves this afternoon.  To make room for Bryant, Souza, and their trade deadline acquisitions, the Cubs also placed right-hander Tyler Chatwood on the 10-day IL with a right forearm strain, optioned outfielder Albert Almora to their alternate training site, and designated righty Casey Sadler for assignment.

Bryant hasn’t played since August 17, as he suffered a sprained left ring finger (the official cause for his IL stint) and a wrist injury while trying to make a diving catch five days prior.  This was the latest in rather a long list of minor health problems for Bryant this season, as he had also previously dealt with some stomach issues as well as back and elbow soreness.  Given all of these problems, it probably isn’t surprising that Bryant hasn’t been himself at the plate, hitting only .177/.271/.323 over his first 70 plate appearances.

The Cubs are in first place in the NL Central even without much of a contribution from Bryant, and they’re also hoping to finally get some kind of extended look at Souza, as injuries (a right hamstring strain) and his part-timer status have limited him to just 24 PA this season.  Injuries have plagued Souza throughout his career, most notably a major knee operation that sidelined him for the entire 2019 season.  The right-handed hitting Souza and new acquisition Cameron Maybin are likely to get some playing time when a left-handed starter is on the mound, spelling the lefty-swinging Kyle Schwarber and Jason Heyward in the outfield.

Chatwood’s placement is retroactive to August 31, and he left his start on the previous day in the third inning due to elbow discomfort.  While any forearm problem will be closely monitored, the Cubs do have some expectation that Chatwood will be back before the end of the season, though manager David Ross described Chatwood’s situation as “a long wait-and-see” in a chat with reporters (including Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune) today.  The righty has a 5.30 ERA over five starts and 18 2/3 innings for Chicago this season.

Sadler appeared in 10 games for the Cubs in 2020, posting a 5.79 ERA and almost matching his walk total (8) with his strikeout total (9) over 9 1/3 innings of work.  The 30-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Dodgers over the winter, and hasn’t been able to replicate in Chicago what he achieved over 46 1/3 innings with Los Angeles and Tampa Bay in 2019 — a 2.14 ERA, 6.0 K/9, and only a 2.5 BB/9, though advanced metrics were less impressed by Sadler’s overall performance.

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Chicago Cubs Transactions Albert Almora Casey Sadler Kris Bryant Steven Souza Tyler Chatwood

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Cubs Acquire Casey Sadler

By Anthony Franco | January 17, 2020 at 2:35pm CDT

The Cubs have acquired right-hander Casey Sadler from the Dodgers, per team announcements. Minor league infielder Clayton Daniel is headed back to L.A. Sadler lost his spot on the Dodgers’ 40-man when the club signed Alex Wood. The Cubs’ 40-man roster now sits at 39.

Sadler, 29, pitched to a stellar 2.14 ERA in 46.1 innings between the Rays and Dodgers in 2019. As might be expected, his peripherals hardly supported that level of run prevention. A below-average 9.1% swinging strike rate and 16% strikeout rate contributed to a 4.38 FIP. To Sadler’s credit, he did limit walks and features elite spin on his fastball and curveball. Perhaps he’ll be able to overcome some likely regression in his BABIP allowed and strand rate if he can better actualize his raw stuff in Chicago. Sadler’s out of options, so he’ll have to stick on the Cubs’ active roster or else again be traded or exposed to waivers.

Daniel, 24, has reached Double-A, albeit briefly. In 501 professional plate appearances, mostly in the low minors, the Jacksonville State product has compiled a .290/.367/.379 line with nearly as many walks (52) as strikeouts (53). The former 31st-rounder has logged starts at second, short, and third base, with much of that work coming in the middle infield.

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Chicago Cubs Los Angeles Dodgers Transactions Casey Sadler Clayton Daniel

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