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Damien Magnifico

Edwin Jackson, Travis Snider Among D-backs’ Minor League Releases

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The D-backs have released more than 60 minor league players over the past couple of weeks, and Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper reports several of the names that were cut loose (Twitter links). Veteran right-hander Edwin Jackson was the most experienced player to be released. Arizona also parted ways with outfielders Travis Snider and Dalton Pompey; right-handers Aaron Blair, Mauricio Cabrera, Damien Magnifico and Michael Tonkin; and lefty David Huff. All have big league experience. Each of the releases technically took place on either May 28 or May 22, per the Pacific Coast League’s transactions page.

Jackson, 36, threw a no-hitter for the Diamondbacks way back in 2010 and returned to the organization on a minor league pact this winter. He split the 2019 campaign between the Blue Jays and Tigers, posting a whopping 9.58 ERA in 67 2/3 frames. Still, Jackson is regarded as a revered clubhouse presence with experience pitching in variety of roles. As recently as 2018, he was a key part of the Athletics’ pitching staff in a season that saw them win 97 games and capture a Wild Card berth; in 92 frames for Oakland that year, Jackson worked to a 3.33 ERA (4.65 FIP) with 6.7 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9. More anecdotally, of course, Jackson famously has pitched for more teams than any other player in MLB history (14).

Snider, perhaps surprisingly to some, is still just 32. He hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since 2015, but the former No. 14 overall pick and ballyhooed top prospect turned in a terrific .294/.402/.497 slash in 93 games with the D-backs’ Triple-A club in Reno last year.

Pompey, Blair and Cabrera were all one-time top prospects themselves. Blair was a first-round pick by the D-backs and was the sometimes-forgotten third piece shipped to the Braves in the Ender Inciarte/Dansby Swanson/Shelby Miller blockbuster. Magnifico and Tonkin both have limited experience in big league bullpens, and Tonkin has had some success both in Nippon Professional Baseball and on the indie ball circuit.

Huff, 35, has spent the past four seasons pitching overseas. After starring for the LG Twins in the Korea Baseball Organization and serving as one of the better arms in the league, he spent two seasons with the Yakult Swallows in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Huff inked a minor league pact in hopes of a big league return this year but like Jackson now faces some uncertainty regarding the next steps in a lengthy career.

Angels Outright Damien Magnifico

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The Angels announced on Tuesday that right-hander Damien Magnifico has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Double-A Mobile. Magnifico remains with the organization, but the Halos now have a vacancy on their 40-man roster.

Magnifico, 26, appeared in just one game for the Angels this season and faced only three batters, none of whom put the ball in play against the righty (two walks, one strikeout). He’s faced only 18 hitters as a Major Leaguer but has spent parts of the past two seasons in Triple-A. Magnifico posted respectable results in a tough Colorado Springs environment last year as a member of the Brewers organization, but he’s been shelled for a 7.07 earned run average in 42 Triple-A frames this season. He’s averaged nearly a strikeout per inning throughout his minor league career, but Magnifico has also battled control issues (5.4 BB/9 in Triple-A).

The Brewers originally traded Magnifico to the Orioles in exchange for international bonus money, and the O’s later went on to flip him to the Angels in exchange for fellow righty Jordan Kipper. Now that he’s made it through outright waivers, he’ll remain in the Halos organization and hope to right the ship as the minor league season draws to a close.

Angels Acquire Damien Magnifico; Designate Jose Valdez For Assignment

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The Angels have acquired right-hander Damien Magnifico from the Orioles in exchange for righty Jordan Kipper.  Both teams have announced the deal, and both players have been assigned to their new clubs’ respective Triple-A affiliates.  The Angels have also designated right-hander Jose Valdez for assignment to create roster space.

Magnifico joins his third different organization in less than a month, after being dealt from Milwaukee to Baltimore for an international bonus slot on April and now this move to Los Angeles.  The O’s designated Magnifico for assignment earlier this week to create a 40-man roster spot for catcher Francisco Pena.

Magnifico was hit hard (11.37 ERA in 6 1/3 IP) in five relief outings for Triple-A Norfolk this season, and for his career, he owns a 3.82 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 1.7 K/BB rate over 346 frames in the minor leagues.  He made his MLB debut last season, appearing in three games for the Brewers.

Kipper, 24, was a ninth-round pick for the Angels in the 2014 draft.  The righty has a 4.02 ERA, 5.8 K/9 and 2.28 K/BB over 338 1/3 career innings, starting 56 of his 70 career games.  Kipper has gotten off to an especially good start this year with a 1.74 ERA over 31 innings at Double-A, though still with very modest strikeout totals.

The hard-throwing Valdez was purchased from the Tigers last June, and he posted a 4.81 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and a 6.3 BB/9 over his 24 1/3 innings in an Angels uniform.  Big strikeout totals and a lack of control have been the story for Valdez over his nine-year pro career, as he has a 9.8 K/9 but an ungainly 5.2 BB/9 over his 314 1/3 IP in the minors, though he has gotten good bottom-line results in the form of a 3.21 ERA.  Los Angeles previously outrighted Valdez off its 40-man roster during the offseason, so it isn’t a sure thing that another team would be interested in taking a flier on his power arm.

Orioles Place Welington Castillo On DL, Purchase Contract Of Francisco Pena, Designate Damien Magnifico

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5:02pm: Baltimore has announced that it designated righty Damien Magnifico to open a roster spot. He had been acquired from the Brewers in mid-April. Magnifico made his MLB debut in 2016 but has struggled in limited action at Triple-A this year.

4:55pm: The Orioles will place backstop Welington Castillo on the 10-day DL after he was diagnosed with shoulder tendinitis, skipper Buck Showalter told reporters including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter links). Taking his place will be fellow receiver Francisco Pena.

Fortunately, there does not appear to be any significant structural issue underlying Castillo’s shoulder troubles. It seems there’s reason to hope that he won’t require a lengthy stint on the DL. Castillo has opened the year with a strong .314/.333/.443 batting line.

Adding Pena, meanwhile, will necessitate the opening of a 40-man roster spot. He’ll likely function as the reserve to Caleb Joseph while he’s up. Pena, 27, was outrighted over the winter. He has been productive (.290/.333/.419) in 33 plate appearances thus far at Triple-A.

Orioles Acquire Damien Magnifico, Designate Jason Garcia

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The Orioles have acquired right-hander Damien Magnifico from the Brewers in exchange for international bonus slot No. 15, the teams announced. The No. 15 international slot comes with an assigned value of $885,300, per Baseball America’s Ben Badler. To make room for Magnifico on the 40-man roster, the Orioles have designated fellow righty Jason Garcia for assignment. Magnifico, in turn, has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk by the Orioles.

In addition to possessing one of the best baseball names you’ll come across, the 25-year-old Magnifico is the owner of a career 3.98 ERA with 9.0 K/9 against 5.0 BB/9 in 63 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level. He’s logged three innings in the Majors, all with the Brewers last season, and yielded a pair of runs on two hits and three walks without a strikeout. In that brief MLB sample, however, Magnifico averaged nearly 97 mph on his heater, and he induced grounders at a hefty 62.9 percent clip last year in Triple-A.

Garcia, 24, was a Rule 5 pick by the Orioles back in 2014 and spent a good chunk of the 2015 season on the disabled list. He still saw enough time on the active roster to remain property of the Orioles without being subject to further restriction, but he didn’t make the strides the O’s were hoping for in 2016. Garcia jumped straight from A-ball in 2014 to the Majors in 2015, where he appeared in just 21 games and logged 29 2/3 innings in the Majors with a 4.25 ERA and an unsightly 22-to-17 K/BB ratio.

He’s actually yet to appear at the Triple-A level after struggling through the 2016 campaign in Double-A and opening the 2017 season there as well. In 142 career innings of Double-A work, he’s struggled to a 4.82 ERA with just 5.6 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9.

The decision for the Orioles to jettison even more of their international signing money rather than to invest the money into amateur talent acquisition is somewhat puzzling. Baseball America’s Ben Badler offered a harsh critique of the Orioles’ international efforts (or lack thereof) earlier today, noting that Baltimore spent a mere $260K on just five international prospects during the entire 2016-17 signing period, while most clubs sign 25 to 30 players.

Brewers Designate Damien Magnifico For Assignment

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The Brewers have selected the contract of right-hander David Goforth and designated right-hander Damien Magnifico for assignment in a corresponding 40-man roster move, the club announced via Twitter.

Goforth, a seventh-round pick for the Brew Crew in 2011, has a 6.11 ERA over 35 1/3 career innings with the club and a 3.95 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 1.65 K/BB rater over 481 1/3 frames in the minors.  Southpaw Brent Suter was optioned to Triple-A yesterday, so with Goforth taking his place, Milwaukee now has an all-righty bullpen.

Magnifico made his big league debut last season, notching three innings over a three-game cup of coffee with the Brewers.  The 25-year-old righty was selected in the fifth round of the 2012 draft and he has a 3.71 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 over 339 2/3 career innings in Milwaukee’s farm system.

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