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Christian Colon

Mets To Sign Christian Colon, Ezequiel Carrera

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The Mets have agreed to minor-league deals with infielder Christian Colon and outfielder Ezequiel Carrera, according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). Colon’s signing has been acknowledged on the team’s transactions page.

Both Colon and Carrera were released recently by the Braves. Neither will likely be seen as an immediate MLB asset, but both could certainly push toward the top of the team’s depth chart. With a variety of injuries currently weighing on the Mets’ roster, these veterans will fill in the ranks at Triple-A and increase the overall depth on hand.

The 29-year-old Colon has rarely shown much with the bat, with a .252/.315/.315 slash over his 386 MLB plate appearances. And he has limped to a .204/.278/.204 slash in his first 55 plate appearances this year at Triple-A. But he’s regarded as a quality defender and has been graded that way by defensive metrics.

As for Carrera, 30, he was a useful player for the Blue Jays in recent years, including a .266/.340/.382 slash with 14 home runs and 17 steals over 635 plate appearances. He was cut loose by the Toronto organization despite agreeing to an arb salary for the current campaign. It was tough to see a path for Carrera to reach the majors with the Braves, though, particularly after he ran up a terribly .146/.228/.220 batting line in 93 plate appearances at Gwinnett.

Braves Release Christian Colon

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The Braves released infielder Christian Colon from their Triple-A affiliate in Gwinnett recently, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. The former Royals and Marlins infielder will return to the open market in search of a new opportunity with another organization.

Colon, 29, was the fourth overall pick in the 2010 draft and has spent parts of the past four seasons in the Majors — most recently logging 57 plate appearances with the Marlins in 2017. Despite being selected out of college (Cal State Fullerton, to be specific), Colon took awhile to reach the Majors but turned in solid numbers in his first couple of seasons upon arriving. In 168 plate appearances from 2014-15, he slashed .303/.361/.382.

However, Colon’s lack of power became more glaring a year later when his fortune on balls in play took a turn for the worst and his strikeout rate escalated from just 12.5 percent to 19.3 percent. From 2016-17, he posted an ugly .213/.279/.264 batting line in 218 PAs between the Royals and Marlins.

Colon got off to a disappointing .204/.278/.204 start with Gwinnett, though that came in a tiny sample of just 55 plate appearances. His overall body of work in parts of seven seasons at the Triple-A level is considerably more encouraging, as he’s batted .287/.350/.384 in 1520 plate appearances. That track record, in addition to his experience at second base, shortstop and third base, should allow him to land with another club in need of some infield depth in the upper minors.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/6/17

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We’ll track today’s minor moves in this post …

  • The Braves have agreed to a minor-league pact with infielder Christian Colon, according to Robert Murray of Fan Rag. Assuming it is finalized and made official, Colon will presumably join the competition for a utility role in camp. The 28-year-old has not hit much at all in his two most recent MLB seasons, with the Royals and Marlins, but did slash .303/.361/.382 in his first 168 MLB plate appearances and owns a .290/.352/.391 batting line in his 1,465 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level. Colon has also graded solidly in the infield, where he has appeared at short, second, and third. Atlanta was in need of depth after non-tendering both Jace Peterson and Danny Santana, though the club does still have some notable, youthful middle-infield options on hand in Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies, and Johan Camargo.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/27/17

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We’ll track the day’s minor moves in this post:

  • The Marlins have outrighted infielder Christian Colon to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, per a club announcement. The 28-year-old Colon was a waiver claim from the Royals just over a month ago but struggled at the plate in his brief time with Miami. Through 38 plate appearances, the former No. 4 overall draft pick batted just .152/.243/.182 with a double and seven strikeouts. He’ll provide the team with some infield depth.
  • Right-hander Alex Wimmers has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Rochester from the Twins, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The former first-rounder has moved to the bullpen in recent seasons and had some success in Triple-A but not much in the Majors. He threw 7 1/3 inning with Minnesota this year and walked more batters (nine) than he struck out (eight). He does have a more respectable a 3.72 ERA with 8.6 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9 in 67 2/3 career innings at Triple-A, though.
  • The Rays have selected the contract of left-hander Adam Kolarek, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links). Center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, who is out with a hip fracture, was moved from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL to clear a spot on the 40-man for Kolarek, who will be making his MLB debut. The 28-year-old Kolarek, a longtime Mets farmhand, is in his second season with the Rays organization and has excelled with a 1.36 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a ludicrous 77 percent ground-ball rate through 33 frames with Triple-A Durham this year. Kolarek is no stranger to gaudy ground-ball rates, as he induced worm burners at a 68.7 percent clip in 41 1/3 innings with Durham in 2016 as well.
  • According to a club announcement, the Rockies selected the contract of outfielder Mike Tauchman from Triple-A Albuquerque and moved David Dahl to the 60-day disabled list to create a roster spot. The former 10th-rounder is enjoying a strong season, hitting .313/.377/.529 with 10 homers and 11 steals through 298 plate appearances, albeit in a very hitter-friendly setting. Tauchman, 26, isn’t considered to be one of the Rockies’ best prospects, though Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen did mention him briefly in looking at the Rockies’ farm prior to the year, noting that he possesses good contact skills and is an above-average defender that lacks power.

Marlins Designate Christian Colon For Assignment

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The Marlins announced on Friday that they’ve reinstated third baseman Martin Prado from the disabled list and designated infielder Christian Colon for assignment to clear a spot on the active roster.

Colon, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Royals a bit more than a month ago but struggled at the plate in his relatively brief time with Miami. Through 38 plate appearances, the former No. 4 overall draft pick batted just .152/.243/.182 with a double and seven strikeouts.

Though he’ll always be remembered fondly in Kansas City for some postseason heroics — including a 12th-inning, game-tying single against the A’s in 2014 and a 12th-inning, go-ahead RBI single against the Mets in the 2015 World Series — Colon’s bat simply hasn’t panned out in the Majors as hoped. Through 386 big league plate appearances, he’s a .252/.315/.315 hitter. He does have a bit of defensive versatility, having played second base, third base and shortstop, and his Triple-A numbers are solid (.288/.349/.393), so it’s possible that another club scoops him up as a depth option.

Marlins Designate Mike Aviles, Shake Up Pitching Staff

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The Marlins have announced a host of roster moves, with the club designating infielder Mike Aviles for assignment to open a 40-man and active roster spot. He’ll be replaced by fellow infielder Christian Colon, who was claimed yesterday.

Righties Brian Ellington and Odrisamer Despaigne are coming up for Miami, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweeted last night. Veteran reliever Junichi Tazawa will hit the 10-day DL with what the team is calling “rib cartilage inflammation,” while starter Tom Koehler was optioned as expected.

The 36-year-old Aviles was only up briefly for the Fish, appearing in two games after a one-game stop at Triple-A. It seems reasonably likely that he’ll end up clearing waivers and heading back to the upper minors for a full ramp-up. He played in the World Baseball Classic, but did not sign until Miami came calling a week and a half ago as infield injuries mounted.

Times are tough for Miami, which has dropped to the NL East basement with a 14-24 record. The club has lost multiple key infielders and made several changes to an ineffective and injury-laden pitching staff. Colon will hopefully represent a patch for the infield, while Ellington will slot in the pen and Despaigne will offer a swingman option.

Meanwhile, lefty Wei-Yin Chen is said to have received relatively positive news following a recent MRI, per MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (via Twitter). He’s still going to “need more time,” though, before he’s able to work back to the hill. Chen is currently on the DL with arm fatigue; it now seems he’ll miss a fair bit more time than had initially been expected.

Given the issues in the rotation, the organization is considering moving righty David Phelps out of the bullpen, Frisaro further tweets. Phelps thrived in both roles last year. While he’s carrying only a 4.05 ERA in twenty relief innings thus far in 2017, he has sustained most of the strides he made last year in his peripherals. Thus far, Phelps has maintained 9.9 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9, with an 8.1% swinging-strike rate that lags last year’s mark (9.8%) but handily tops his career average (6.6%).

Marlins Claim Christian Colon, Designate Steve Lombardozzi

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The Marlins have claimed infielder Christian Colon off waivers from the Royals, per a club announcement. Miami designated fellow infielder Steve Lombardozzi to create roster space.

[Related: Updated Miami Marlins depth chart]

Colon, who just turned 28, had played a limited role thus far for Kansas City in 2017 and was designated for assignment recently. He carried a .263/.323/.329 batting line over 348 plate appearances in his four seasons with the Royals. While that fell far shy of expectations when Colon was taken with the fourth overall pick of the 2010 draft, he did end up playing a notable role in the organization’s 2014-15 postseason runs.

The Marlins have scrambled to find infield help over the past several weeks amidst a wave of injuries. Colon will now take the place of Lombardozzi, who was hitless in eight plate appearances. He has appeared in just 34 MLB games since the start of the 2014 season, but had been a regular contributor for the Nationals before that. Lombardozzi opened the current season at Triple-A New Orleans, where he slashed .250/.289/.317 over 129 plate appearances. He seems likely to clear outright waivers and return to New Orleans, though due the fact that he’s been outrighted earlier in his career, he’d also have the ability to reject that assignment and elect free agency

Royals Designate Christian Colon, Peter O’Brien For Assignment

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The Royals announced on Wednesday that they’ve selected the contracts of right-handers Seth Maness (as Derrick Goold first reported earlier this morning) and Al Alburquerque from Triple-A Omaha. In order to clear spots on the 40-man roster, Kansas City designated infielder Christian Colon and minor league outfielder Peter O’Brien for assignment. Additionally, righty Jake Junis was optioned to Omaha.

Kansas City was obviously looking to get some fresh arms into the bullpen, and they’ve chosen two veterans who are looking to get their careers back on track. Maness has been a steady contributor but was non-tendered after undergoing a primary repair procedure (a Tommy John alternative) last year. Alburquerque has plenty of MLB experience, too, though he only received two major league frames last year.

Colon, 27, was the fourth overall pick in the 2010 draft but never lived up to that billing. He looked to have potentially carved out a spot on the Royals’ roster back in 2015 when he slashed .290/.356/.336 through 119 plate appearances as a rookie, but he followed that performance up with a lackluster .231/.294/.293 in a larger sample of 154 PAs last year. Thus far in 2017, Colon had played sparingly, logging 19 PAs and hitting and going 3-for-17 at the plate.

The 26-year-old O’Brien drew plenty of attention in Spring Training after clubbing seven homers and posting a 1.112 OPS, but the slugger’s production wilted in Omaha, where he got off to an unsightly .162/.235/.276 start through 115 plate appearances. The former catcher has long intrigued fans and MLB clubs with his considerable power, but strikeouts and a lack of defensive contributions have limited O’Brien’s opportunities. He did receive 79 MLB plate appearances with the D-backs in 2015-16, though he turned in a .176/.228/.446 batting line and punched out 32 times.

Roster Notes: Brewers, Mets, Royals, Red Sox, Rangers

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The Brewers are down to 24 players after demoting relievers Tyler Cravy and Rob Scahill on Saturday, but general manager David Stearns declined to address whether he’ll add a player from outside the organization, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Both Cravy and Scahill are unhappy that they didn’t earn the 25th spot, per Haudricourt, with Cravy claiming he could seek “a 9 to 5 job where I get treated like a human, at this point.” Continued the 27-year-old: “It would just be nice to have the honesty straight up front instead of, ‘Hey, you’re competing for a job,’ then literally out-compete everyone and be told, ‘Sorry, we have other plans.’ “It says a lot about the integrity, or lack thereof, of the guys running the show, but what are you going to do?”

While Cravy isn’t sure if he’s willing “to play for guys who treat you like this,” Stearns seemed to chalk the right-hander’s comments up to frustration. “Tyler, in particular, went through this last year,” said Stearns. “He made the trip with us (to play Class AA) Biloxi and was sent out at Biloxi. Dealing with this two years in a row is not a pleasant experience. We’re sensitive to that.”

More of the latest roster news:

  • Mets righty Seth Lugo will begin the season on the 10-day disabled list with a tired arm, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Lugo doesn’t have any structural damage, relays DiComo, who notes that Rafael Montero will claim a spot in the bullpen for as long as he’s out. Lugo spent most of the spring vying for one of the two vacancies in the Mets’ rotation, but the team chose Robert Gsellman and Zack Wheeler over him Thursday.
  • The Royals have optioned infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield to Triple-A, meaning Christian Colon has won a bench job in Kansas City. Merrifield was easily the better of the two last season, having hit .283/.323/.392 to Colon’s .231/.294/.293, but the latter is out of options and could have ended up with another organization had KC demoted him.
  • With Josh Rutledge on the shelf because of a hamstring injury, the Red Sox have tabbed first baseman/outfielder Steve Selsky for a reserve job. As a right-handed hitter, Selsky is a better fit for the role than the lefty-swinging Marco Hernandez, whom the Red Sox optioned to Triple-A. Selsky, a January waiver claim from the Reds, is likely to platoon at first with the left-handed Mitch Moreland, as Hanley Ramirez (shoulder) still isn’t healthy enough to play the field.
  • Righty Mike Hauschild has made the Rangers’ Opening Day roster, according to TR Sullivan of MLB.com. The Rangers took Hauschild from the AL West rival Astros in December’s Rule 5 draft. The 27-year-old is now in line to make his major league debut, having spent the previous five years in the minors after going to Houston in Round 33 of the 2012 amateur draft. He worked exclusively as a starter at Triple-A over the past two seasons and posted a 3.33 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 227 1/3 innings.

Royals Roster Notes: Moylan, Mondesi, Soler, Gore

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A number of Royals moves on Monday moved the team closer to setting their 25-man roster for the start of the season, as Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star and other reporters have noted. Here’s the breakdown of where the Royals’ roster stands:

  • First, the team optioned lefty Scott Alexander and outfielders Billy Burns and Peter O’Brien to Triple-A Omaha and assigned catcher Zane Evans, infielder Humberto Arteaga and relievers Yender Caramo, Eric Stout, Al Alburquerque and Malcom Culver to minor-league camp. The moves left veteran righty Peter Moylan as the Royals’ clear choice for the last spot in their bullpen. (Another veteran, Seth Maness, remains in camp, but he is recovering from injury and will not be ready for Opening Day.) Moylan’s minor-league deal with the Royals contains an opt-out clause tomorrow, so the team seems likely to place him on their 40-man roster shortly. Moylan allowed just one run in eight Spring Training innings, striking out six and walking one.
  • Royals manager Ned Yost also announced that Raul Mondesi would serve as the team’s starting second baseman, beating Whit Merrifield, Christian Colon and Cheslor Cuthbert. Cuthbert will make the team, while Merrifield and Colon are still competing for a bench job. The 21-year-old Mondesi was the surprise winner of the job after batting just .185/.231/.281 in 149 plate appearances in his rookie season in 2016, but he was previously a top prospect and had a very strong spring, batting .378/.391/.623.
  • Finally, Jorge Soler, who had been projected to start in right field, suffered a strained oblique this weekend and appears likely to begin the season on the disabled list. It’s only a grade I strain, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets, and Soler may be able to begin resuming baseball activities in a week, so perhaps he can avoid a lengthy absence. That means Paulo Orlando will likely begin the season as the team’s right fielder, with Brandon Moss also occasionally helping at the position. Terrance Gore, who the Royals value for his speed and defensive ability, now seems likely to occupy a bench spot with Soler on the shelf.
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