Players Entering Minor League Free Agency
Major League free agents became eligible to sign with other teams on Thursday, but the minor league free agent market has technically been open since season’s end. MLBTR has published several posts detailing players who had already elected to become minor free agents, but Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (multiple links) has the full account of all the minor league free agents that officially joined their big league counterparts on the open market on Thursday.
This list details only players who have played in the Major Leagues, and whose minor league free agency hasn’t already been covered on MLBTR in the last month.
Athletics: Aaron Brooks, Carlos Duran, CD Pelham, Bryan Lavastida, Nick Martini, Alejo Lopez
Braves: Ian Anderson, Davis Daniel, Enoli Paredes, Amos Willingham, Brian Moran, Jonathan Ornelas, Chandler Seagle, Matthew Batten, Conner Capel
Orioles: Jakson Reetz, Livan Soto, Thaddeus Ward
Red Sox: John Brebbia, Isaiah Campbell, Mark Kolozsvary, Chadwick Tromp, Seby Zavala, Trayce Thompson
Cubs: Yency Almonte, Zach Pop, Caleb Kilian, Austin Gomber, Forrest Wall, Billy Hamilton, Joe Ross, Tommy Romero, Antonio Santos, Tom Cosgrove, Dixon Machado, Nicky Lopez, Carlos Perez
White Sox: Elvis Peguero, Kyle Tyler, Vinny Capra, Chris Rodriguez, Caleb Freeman, Joe Perez, Owen White, Andre Lipcius
Reds: Tejay Antone, Alan Busenitz, Buck Farmer, Josh Staumont, P.J. Higgins, Eric Yang, Levi Jordan, Edwin Rios, Davis Wendzel, Evan Kravetz, Adam Plutko, Charlie Barnes, Alex Young
Guardians: Riley Pint, Tyler Naquin, Parker Mushinski
Rockies: Xzavion Curry, Sean Bouchard, Owen Miller, Karl Kauffmann,
Tigers: Kevin Newman, Brian Serven, Jordan Balazovic, Nick Margevicius, Blair Calvo
Astros: Jon Singleton, Joe Hudson, Kenedy Corona, Greg Jones, Matt Bowman, Luis Contreras, Tyler Ivey, John Rooney
Royals: John Gant, Spencer Turnbull, Bobby Dalbec, Diego Castillo, Geoff Hartlieb, Jordan Groshans, Nick Pratto, Isan Diaz, Stephen Nogosek, Nick Robertson, Joey Krehbiel, Noah Murdock, Ryan Hendrix
Angels: Shaun Anderson, Brandon Drury, Yolmer Sanchez, Ben Gamel, Evan White, Cavan Biggio, Logan Davidson, Travis Blankenhorn, Oscar Colas, Kelvin Caceres, Dakota Hudson, Chad Stevens, Angel Felipe, Jordan Holloway, Victor Gonzalez
Dodgers: Michael Grove, Luken Baker, Giovanny Gallegos, Kyle Funkhouser, Chris Okey, CJ Alexander, Zach Penrod
Marlins: Jack Winkler, Lane Ramsey
Brewers: Luis Urias, Oliver Dunn, Julian Merryweather, Daz Cameron, Drew Avans, Josh Maciejewski, Jared Oliva
Twins: Jose Miranda, Anthony Misiewicz, Jonah Bride, Thomas Hatch, Daniel Duarte, Connor Gillispie
Mets: Joey Meneses, Jose Azocar, Joe La Sorsa, Gilberto Celestino, Ty Adcock, Bryce Montes de Oca, Yacksel Rios, Oliver Ortega, Luis De Los Santos
Yankees: Kenta Maeda, Jeimer Candelario, Rob Brantly, Andrew Velazquez, Jose Rojas, Joel Kuhnel, Wilking Rodriguez
Phillies: Matt Manning, Adonis Medina, Lucas Sims, Jacob Waguespack, Phil Bickford, Rodolfo Castro, Oscar Mercado, Brewer Hicklen, Christian Arroyo, Payton Henry
Pirates: Brett Sullivan, Nick Solak, Nelson Velazquez, Beau Burrows, Ryder Ryan
Cardinals: Zach Plesac, Anthony Veneziano, Tyler Matzek, Zack Weiss, Drew Rom, Aaron Wilkerson
Padres: Eguy Rosario, Tim Locastro, Reiss Knehr, Nate Mondou
Giants: Sean Hjelle, Miguel Diaz, Max Stassi, Sam Huff, Cole Waites, Drew Ellis, Ethan Small
Mariners: Michael Fulmer, Casey Lawrence, Collin Snider, Jesse Hahn, Nick Anderson, Josh Fleming, Austin Shenton, Jacob Nottingham, Beau Taylor, Cade Marlowe, Jack Lopez, Michael Mariot, Hagen Danner
Rays: Cooper Hummel, Jonathan Hernandez, Jamie Westbrook, Tres Barrera
Rangers: Omar Narvaez, Cal Quantrill, Ty Blach, Alan Trejo, Joe Barlow, Cory Abbott, Michael Plassmeyer, Alex De Goti
Blue Jays: Eloy Jimenez, Buddy Kennedy, Joe Mantiply, Elieser Hernandez, Rene Pinto, Adam Kloffenstein
Nationals: Francisco Mejia, Juan Yepez, Joan Adon, CJ Stubbs, Parker Dunshee, Erick Mejia, Adrian Sampson, Delino DeShields
Athletics Sign CD Pelham To Minor League Deal
The Athletics have agreed to a minor league contract with left-hander CD Pelham, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The deal for the Pro Edge Sports Management client includes an invitation to big league spring training.
Pelham is a minor league journeyman who has spent time in the Rangers, Cubs, Padres, and Angels organizations over the past 10 years. Texas drafted the southpaw 978th overall in 2015. A little more than three years later, he made his MLB debut in Arlington, suiting up for the Rangers in 10 games down the stretch of the 2018 season. Over 7 2/3 innings, he gave up six earned runs on 12 hits, striking out seven but walking four. Unfortunately, Pelham struggled badly in the minors the following year, putting up an 11.97 ERA and 7.86 FIP in 42 games between Double and Triple-A. Suffice it to say, he did not make his way back to the majors with Texas. Instead, he found himself designated for assignment after the season.
The Cubs claimed Pelham off of waivers in November 2019. Yet, due to the canceled 2020 season and an injury that cost him the 2021 campaign, he did not appear in a game with the Cubs organization until May 2022. He was solid but unspectacular that year at Double and Triple-A, posting a 4.35 ERA and 4.73 FIP in 41 1/3 innings of work. After electing free agency, Pelham latched on with the Padres for 2023, but an injury and an inconsistent performance left him with a final line of 14 1/3 IP and a 7.53 ERA across a handful of stops in San Diego’s farm system.
Pelham opened the 2024 campaign in the Mexican League, pitching well enough for the Leones de Yucatán (1.04 ERA in 17 1/3 IP) to land a minor league deal with the Angels mid-season. Yet, despite his pitching to a 1.80 ERA and 3.75 FIP over 10 games in the Angels system, he was released at the end of July.
The southpaw returned to Mexico this offseason to pitch in the Pacific Winter League. He has thrived with the Tomateros de Culiacan (2.25 ERA in 28 IP), and evidently, the A’s liked what they saw. It’s still a long shot that Pelham will make it back to the majors in 2025, but the Athletics’ lack of pitching depth gives him a chance to return to a major league mound for the first time since 2018.
Angels Sign CD Pelham To Minor League Deal
The Angels have signed left-hander CD Pelham to a minor league deal, as announced by the Mexican League’s Leones de Yucatan on Friday. Pelham is represented by Pro Edge Sports Management.
The 29-year-old joined the Rangers organization after being selected in the 33rd round of the 2015 draft and eventually worked his way through the club’s minor league system to make his big league debut back in 2018. That brief cup of coffee in the majors didn’t go well, as Pelham struggled to a 7.04 ERA in 7 2/3 innings of work across ten appearances with seven strikeouts and four walks. Pelham remained with the Rangers on the 40-man roster throughout the 2019 season but was ultimately designated for assignment that offseason.
The lefty was eventually claimed off waivers by the Cubs before being assigned outright to the minors later in the 2019-20 offseason. Injuries and the cancelled minor league season in 2020 kept him from making his debut in a Cubs uniform until May of 2022, and the lefty pitched to a decent 4.35 ERA in 41 1/3 innings of work between the Double- and Triple-A levels that year. Pelham hit minor league free agency after the 2022 season and signed with the Padres on a minor league deal, though he ended up pitching just 14 1/3 total innings of the club last year.
Pelham has spent the 2024 season to this point pitching for the Leones in the Mexican League, and he’s achieved impressive results in that time. In 17 1/3 innings of work so far this year, Pelham has struck out 26.1% of batters faced while posting an excellent 1.04 ERA in 17 relief appearances. If he can translate that production into affiliated ball with the Angels, it’s feasible the southpaw could return to the big leagues with the club at some point this year. The relief corps in Anaheim has posted an AL-worst 4.89 ERA to this point in the season, better than only the Rockies among all MLB clubs. Jose Suarez, Matt Moore, and Kenny Rosenberg are the club’s relief options from the left side already on the 40-man roster.
Minor MLB Transactions: Pelham, Shore
A pair of NL West teams recently added some pitching depth via minor league deal:
- The Padres agreed to a non-roster pact with southpaw CD Pelham, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The 28-year-old adds some bullpen depth to open the season with Triple-A El Paso. Pelham has ten big league games under his belt, all of which came as a member of the 2018 Rangers. He threw 7 2/3 innings that year, allowing six runs on 12 hits. The South Carolina native has a 5.31 ERA over parts of six minor league campaigns. Pelham spent last season in the Cubs organization, splitting the year between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Iowa. Over 41 1/3 combined frames, he worked to a 4.31 ERA with a 23.6% strikeout percentage and a lofty 14.4% walk rate.
- The Giants have added right-hander Logan Shore on a non-roster deal, per the MLB.com transactions log. A University of Florida product, Shore went to the A’s in the second round of the 2016 draft. He was dealt to Detroit as one of two players returned in the 2018 Mike Fiers trade. Shore has spent the past few seasons at the upper levels of the Tigers system but never earned an MLB call. He spent all of last year with Triple-A Toledo, working more out of the bullpen than the rotation for the first time in his career. The 28-year-old struggled to a 5.68 ERA through 52 1/3 frames, striking out a below-average 15.9% of batters faced against a 9.8% walk rate.
Cubs Outright CD Pelham
The Cubs have outrighted southpaw CD Pelham after he cleared waivers, the team announced and MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian was among those to tweet. That gives the Chicago an open 40-man spot to work with.
Pelham, who’ll turn 25 in February, was acquired through a waiver claim earlier in the offseason. Now, the Cubs have successfully stashed him in the ranks of the non-roster invitees.
The Cubs hope to help Pelham rediscover his form after a brutal 2019 season. He had earned his way up for a brief MLB debut in 2018, skipping over Triple-A entirely. But Pelham struggled badly in the upper minors in the just-completed campaign, coughing up a whopping 43 earned runs in 32 1/3 innings while carrying an ugly 37:40 K/BB ratio.
Those numbers obviously aren’t the ones that the Cubs were focused on when they targeted Pelham. He’s a 6’6 lefty who pumps upper-nineties heat and has a history of strong strikeout numbers in the minors. If the Cubs can help him refine his command and secondary slider, there may be some real upside.
Rangers Designate Taylor Guerrieri, CD Pelham
The Rangers have designated right-hander Taylor Guerrieri and left-hander CD Pelham for assignment, per an announcement from the team’s executive vice president of communications, John Blake.
Guerrieri entered the pro ranks as a first-rounder of the Rays in 2011, and he remained a high-end prospect for a little while after that. However, Guerrieri – also a former Blue Jay – could now be on his way to his fourth organization at the age of 26. While Guerrieri did pitch to a 3.47 ERA/3.33 FIP with 9.66 K/9 and 3.72 BB/9 in 36 1/3 innings as a member of the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate in 2019, he logged a bloated 5.81 ERA/5.38 FIP and 9.23 K/9 against 7.52 BB/9 across 26 1/3 frames at the MLB level.
Pelham, 24, first joined the Rangers as a 33rd-round pick in 2015. He made a brief debut in the majors in 2018, though he threw all 32 1/3 of his innings between Double-A and Triple-A ball this year. The hard-throwing Pelham recorded an unsightly 11.97 ERA with more walks (40) than strikeouts (37) during that span.