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Blue Jays Place Russell Martin On DL, Designate Chris Coghlan & Chris Smith

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The Blue Jays have announced that they’ve placed catcher Russell Martin on the 10-day disabled list with a left oblique strain. They’ve also designated outfielder Chris Coghlan and righty Chris Smith for assignment and selected the contracts of righty Chris Rowley and catcher Mike Ohlman.

Martin left yesterday’s game due to the oblique strain. For the season, the veteran is batting .223/.354/.381 with 12 homers and 49 walks in 329 plate appearances. Rafael Lopez figures to take over at catcher in his absence, with Ohlman, who was batting .222/.343/.418 at Triple-A Buffalo, also helping out. Martin joins two other catchers, Miguel Montero and Luke Maile, on the DL.

The 32-year-old Coghlan signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays in April after the Phillies released him. He batted .200/.299/.267 in brief duty with the Blue Jays before hitting the DL with a wrist injury. He was in the midst of a rehab assignment with Class A+ Dunedin.

The 28-year-old Smith has posted a 4.26 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9 in 25 1/3 innings of relief for Buffalo this season. He made his big-league debut earlier this season, pitching five innings and allowing three runs.

The Jays signed the 26-year-old Rowley as a minor-league free agent out of West Point in 2013. After missing two years to a military assignment, he’s moved through the minors quickly, and now he’s in the midst of a strong season, posting a 2.29 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 over 106 1/3 innings split between Buffalo and Double-A New Hampshire. He’s set to start today against the Pirates and will become the first West Point graduate to pitch in the Majors, as Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith notes.

Athletics Option Franklin Barreto to Triple-A, Designate Ryan Lavarnway

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The Athletics have announced a series of roster moves, including the demotion of top prospect Franklin Barreto to Triple-A.  Catcher Ryan Lavarnway has also been designated for assignment.  The two moves create roster space for Josh Phegley (back from the paternity list) and right-hander Chris Smith, who had his contract purchased from Triple-A so he could start today’s game against the Mariners.

[Updated A’s depth chart at Roster Resource]

With Marcus Semien back from the DL, Barreto will be sent back down to the farm to get everyday playing time.  Ranked as Oakland’s top prospect and considered one of the better minor leaguers in all of baseball, the 21-year-old Barreto hit .190/261/.381 with two home runs over his first 46 career MLB plate appearances.  Barreto is likely to get a more extended look later this season, either as a September callup or if Jed Lowrie is traded at the deadline.

Lavarnway signed a minor league contract with the A’s in the offseason and has appeared in one game this season, representing his first taste of big league action since 2015.  Formerly a well-regarded prospect in Boston’s system, Lavarnway has been part of six different organizations since December 2014.  He has a strong .280/.371/.459 career slash line over 3117 Triple-A plate appearances, so Lavarnway will continue to provide the A’s (or another team) with some solid minor league depth.

Smith, 36, will become the oldest pitcher in Athletics franchise history to make his first career MLB start.  (Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle details the amusing story of how Smith got the news from his Triple-A manager.)  It has been a long journey for the veteran, originally a Red Sox draft pick in 2002 who appeared in 50 games for Boston and Milwaukee in 2008-10 before bouncing around the minors and even stepping away from the game for a year.  Smith signed a minors deal with Oakland in November 2015 and he made 13 appearances for the A’s last season.

Athletics Outright Matt McBride, Chris Smith

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The A’s announced this afternoon that they’ve outrighted catcher Matt McBride and right-hander Chris Smith off the 40-man roster. Both well-traveled minor leaguers have enough professional experience to elect free agency.

McBride, 31, appeared in 20 games with Oakland this season and totaled 44 plate appearances, during which he batted .209/.227/.279 with 10 punchouts against one walk. That marked the fourth season in which McBride spent some time at the Major League level — each of the other three came as a member of the Rockies — but the former second-round pick has been able to manage just a .201/.228/.299 slash in 202 big league plate appearances. He’s carved out an excellent career at the Triple-A level, however, where he’s batted .310/.350/.517 in parts of seven seasons. Given that production, McBride shouldn’t have trouble latching on elsewhere as a depth option.

Smith, 35, has also seen big league work in parts of four seasons. The 2002 fourth-rounder (Red Sox) totaled 24 2/3 innings with the A’s this year and turned in a very strong 2.92 ERA with 29 strikeouts and a 45.6 percent ground-ball rate, but he also walked 13 in that time (4.7 BB/9) and averaged just 87.6 mph on his fastball. Like McBride, Smith has a pretty lengthy track record of success in Triple-A, having logged a 3.68 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 509 innings across parts of nine seasons at that level.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/7/16

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Here are today’s minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Athletics selected the contract of righty Chris Smith from Triple-A Nashville, the team announced.  Catcher Josh Phegley was transferred from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL to create a 40-man roster spot, while a spot on Oakland’s 25-man roster opened up thanks to Sonny Gray’s DL stint.  Smith pitched in relief for the A’s today, which marked his first appearance in a Major League game since 2010.  Smith posted a 5.19 ERA over 67 2/3 innings with the Red Sox and Brewers from 2008-10, and has since pitched in independent ball and also spent time in the Mariners’ and Padres’ minor league systems.
  • The Dodgers purchased the contract of outfielder Rob Segedin today, optioning Chris Taylor to Triple-A and shifting Trayce Thompson to the 60-day DL in corresponding moves to create roster space.  Segedin was a third-round pick of the Yankees in the 2010 draft, and he spent his entire career in New York’s system before joining the Dodgers organization this season, slashing .280/.357/.442 over 2331 minor league PA.  Segedin has made an immediate impact in his big league debut tonight, already with two hits and four RBI against Red Sox ace David Price.

Injury Notes: Gray, Rasmus, Peralta

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The latest injury news from around the majors:

  • The Athletics’ Sonny Gray is headed to the disabled list for the second time in 2016, this time because of a right forearm strain, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to report (on Twitter). Gray’s roster spot will go to fellow righty Chris Smith, who has spent the season with Triple-A Nashville (updated depth chart). This latest injury continues a season to forget for the A’s – who have set a franchise record with 25 DL uses (Twitter link via Slusser) – and Gray, who posted a solid start (five innings, five hits and two earned runs allowed) against the Cubs on Saturday. Unfortunately, though, he had to depart after 72 pitches because of forearm discomfort. Gray previously hit the DL in May with a strained right trapezius and has compiled a shockingly ineffective 5.74 ERA in 116 innings this season. A significant home run spike is largely behind Gray’s bloated ERA. Entering the year, he had logged back-to-back full seasons of ace-like production for Oakland.
  • The Diamondbacks have placed outfielder David Peralta on the DL with right wrist inflammation and recalled Socrates Brito from Triple-A Reno, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (updated depth chart). This is the third DL stint of the year for Peralta, and two have come as a result of right wrist troubles. Perhaps thanks in part to his injury problems, Peralta has hit an underwhelming .251/.295/.433 with four home runs in 183 plate appearances this year. He was an integral part of the D-backs’ offense from 2014-15, slashing an outstanding .301/.351/.492 with 25 homers in 865 PAs.
  • The Astros have sent outfielder Colby Rasmus to the DL because of a cyst in his right ear and recalled Tony Kemp from Triple-A Fresno, per Angel Verdejo Jr. of the Houston Chronicle (updated depth chart). Rasmus, who has tumbled backward since a sizzling start and is currently amid a 3-for-66 slump since July 2, has batted a woeful .211/.286/.352 with 12 home runs in 368 plate appearances. He hit a much better .238/.314/.475 with 28 HRs across 485 trips to the dish last year, leading the Astros to extend him a $15.8MM qualifying offer in the offseason. Rasmus accepted that offer, but it’s fair to say Houston won’t tender him another QO (if they’re still around in the next collective bargaining agreement) during the upcoming winter.

Brewers Outright Chris Smith

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The Brewers have sent Chris Smith outright to Triple-A Nashville, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The move clears a spot on the roster for Todd Coffey, who is returning from a stint on the disabled list.

After Smith recorded an impressive 1.71 ERA and 12.4 K/9 in 23 appearances as Nashville's closer, he was called up when the Brewers parted ways with Jeff Suppan. The 29-year-old appeared in just three games for Milwaukee, allowing a pair of runs in 3.1 IP.

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