Minor MLB Transactions: 9/10/21
Today’s minor transactions:
- The Marlins have passed infielder Deven Marrero through waivers, according to the transactions log at MLB.com. While Marrero had the right to elect free agency, he has again accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Jacksonville, where he was in tonight’s starting lineup. It’s familiar territory for Marrero, who has been selected to the big league roster and then quickly outrighted on five separate occasions this season. The 31-year-old owns a .280/.310/.355 line in Triple-A this season but has only tallied twelve big league plate appearances.
- The Cubs signed reliever Jackson McClelland to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Iowa, according to the transactions tracker. The right-hander had previously spent his entire career in the Blue Jays’ system, topping out at Triple-A before being released in July. McClelland has posted strong numbers up through Double-A, although he’s scuffled in his first couple cracks at the minors’ top level. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wrote last March that the 27-year-old’s fastball has been clocked as high as 100 MPH in the past, so he adds some hard-throwing bullpen depth to the highest levels of the Chicago system.
Marlins Claim Taylor Williams Off Waivers From Padres
The Marlins announced they’ve claimed reliever Taylor Williams off waivers from the Padres. In a corresponding move, Miami designated infielder Deven Marrero for assignment.
Williams has pitched in the majors in each of the past five seasons. The right-hander broke in with the Brewers in 2017 and landed with the Mariners last year after three seasons with Milwaukee. San Diego acquired Williams late last season but he made just one appearance down the stretch. The 30-year-old pitched in five games with the Padres this April, working 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts and three walks. He landed on the injured list with right knee inflammation midway through the season’s first month, though, and he remained on the IL until September 1.
The Friars designated Williams just a couple days after reinstating him from the IL. He’s out of minor league option years, meaning San Diego had to expose him to waivers in order to remove him from the active roster. The Marlins stepped in to add Williams for almost no cost, but they’ll too now have to keep him in the majors of risk losing him on waivers themselves.
Over the course of his career, Williams has a 5.17 ERA in 92 1/3 innings of relief. His strikeout and walk rates (24.3% and 10.5%) are right around league average for bullpen arms, and he’s induced whiffs on a solid 12.9% of his career offerings. Those peripherals suggest Williams could yet settle in as a decent middle relief option, at the very least. If the Fish keep him on the roster, he can be controlled through 2024 via arbitration.
Miami has now designated Marrero five times this year. The Marlins have selected him to the 40-man roster whenever the club finds itself in need of additional infield depth, but he hasn’t stuck on the big league roster for long. Marrero cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Jacksonville each of the previous four times, so it seems likely he’ll stick around in the high minors yet again.
Marlins Select Deven Marrero; Brian Anderson Could Require Shoulder Surgery
5:45 pm: Anderson is evaluating his options for treatment, with surgery a possibility, reports Craig Mish of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Even if he does require some sort of operation, it remains possible he’ll be ready for the start of Spring Training next season. Anderson is not expected to return in 2021 whether or not surgery is required.
4:28 pm: The Marlins are selecting the contract of infielder Deven Marrero, the team informed reporters (including Daniel Álvarez Montes of ElExtraBase). Third baseman Brian Anderson is going on the 10-day injured with a left shoulder subluxation. To create space for Marrero on the 40-man roster, the team transferred right-hander Jorge Guzmán from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.
It’s familiar territory for Marrero, who has now been selected to the big league club on five separate occasions this season. He has been designated for assignment and passed through outright waivers shortly after each previous time, and he’s tallied just eleven MLB plate appearances altogether. The 31-year-old owns a .230/.310/.355 line over 174 plate appearances with Triple-A Jacksonville this season.
Anderson is landing on the IL with a shoulder subluxation for the second time this season. His first subluxation required a two-month recovery timeline. It has been a frustrating year for Anderson, who also missed a couple weeks with an oblique issue. The series of injuries has limited him to 264 plate appearances, in which he’s hit a league average .249/.337/.378.
It’s quite possible the health problems and stop-and-start nature of the season have kept him from getting into a rhythm, as that’s Anderson’s least productive output since he became a regular in 2018. Over the previous three seasons, the right-handed hitter posted a quality .266/.350/.436 line. With Miami out of contention, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Anderson is eventually shut down with an eye towards getting back to full strength in 2022.
Guzmán’s season is officially brought to a close. The hard-throwing righty landed on the IL with right elbow soreness in mid-August, so today’s transfer forecloses any chance of him making it back this year. Guzmán has been limited by injury to three big league appearances over the past couple seasons but he’s not far-removed from being viewed by public prospect evaluators as a potential impact reliever.
Marlins Select Bryan Mitchell
The Marlins are selecting right-hander Bryan Mitchell to the big league roster, relays Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Fellow righty Luis Madero, whose contract had just been selected on Tuesday, has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Additionally, infielder Deven Marrero has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Jacksonville, per the MLB.com transactions tracker. Marrero has the right to elect free agency, but he’s previously accepted multiple outright assignments this season, so it seems likely he’ll again report to the Jumbo Shrimp.
Miami signed Mitchell to a minor league contract a few weeks ago, shortly after he was granted his release from a minors deal with the Phillies. Mitchell struggled to a 6.04 ERA with the Phils’ top affiliate in Lehigh Valley, but he’s been far better in brief action in the Miami system. Since being assigned to Jacksonville, Mitchell has tossed twelve innings across five appearances, allowing four runs on ten hits with fourteen strikeouts and six walks.
That decent showing earns Mitchell his first major league call in three years. He began his career as a swing option with the Yankees, pitching with New York from 2014-17. He didn’t find a ton of bottom line success, but Mitchell posted gaudy groundball numbers and showcased plus spin rates on his curveball. That earned him a look in the Padres’ rotation to open the 2018 campaign, but he only managed a 5.42 ERA with a higher walk rate (12.8%) than strikeout rate (11.3%) over 73 innings that year. Mitchell was designated for assignment before the start of the 2019 season. He’s bounced around on a few minor league deals in the years since but hadn’t gotten back to the highest level before today.
Like Marrero, Madero has now been selected to the roster and designated for assignment four times apiece this year. He’s allowed seven runs over six innings between those big league stints. Madero has spent the bulk of the year in Jacksonville, working to a 3.07 ERA across 41 innings at the minors’ top level.
Marlins Designate Deven Marrero For Assignment
The Marlins announced they’ve designated infielder Deven Marrero for assignment. Outfielder Jesús Sánchez is being reinstated from a stint on the COVID-19 injured list in a corresponding move. Miami already had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, but Marrero is out of minor league options, meaning he had to be placed on waivers in order to be bumped from the big league club.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Marrero pass through waivers unclaimed, seeing as he’s already done so three times this season. Despite having only eleven MLB plate appearances in 2021, the 30-year-old has rather remarkably been selected and designated for assignment on four separate occasions. Each time before, he’s accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Jacksonville in lieu of free agency.
Marrero, who’s also seen big league time with the Red Sox and Diamondbacks, has gotten more extensive playing time with Jacksonville this year. The right-handed hitter has compiled a .252/.327/.397 line across 150 plate appearances with the Jumbo Shrimp.
Marlins Select Deven Marrero, Shawn Morimando
The Marlins are selecting infielder Deven Marrero and left-hander Shawn Morimando to the big league roster, relays Christina de Nicola of MLB.com (Twitter link). Second baseman Jazz Chisholm is landing on the COVID-19 injured list. Chisholm has been suffering from virus-like symptoms and stayed behind in Denver, where the Fish just wrapped up a series against the Rockies.
Both Marrero and Morminado have been yo-yoed on and off the roster this season. Miami has rather remarkably selected Marrero’s contract four times, designating him for assignment and passing him through outright waivers shortly after each of his first three calls. Most recently, Marrero was selected and DFA’d just last week — incidentally while Chisholm was on the COVID-19 IL for a day after not feeling well. The 30-year-old has only picked up seven plate appearances over his various big league stints; he’s hitting .252/.327/.397 this year with Triple-A Jacksonville.
Morimando is up for the third time. He’s made two appearances, allowing four runs in just two-thirds of an inning against the Phillies on May 24 but tossing five scoreless frames against the Braves on July 9. The 28-year-old has a 4.43 ERA over 63 innings with Jacksonville this season.
Marlins Designate Deven Marrero For Assignment
AUGUST 4: Chisholm has been reinstated from the IL, suggesting he’s tested negative for the virus. Marrero was designated for assignment in a corresponding move (via McPherson).
AUGUST 3: The Marlins announced they’ve placed middle infielder Jazz Chisholm on the COVID-19 injured list. Infielder Deven Marrero has been selected to the roster to replace him.
Chisholm has been experiencing virus-like symptoms, reports Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). There’s no indication that he’s actually tested positive for the virus at this point. The 23-year-old is hitting .254/.317/.430 with eleven home runs across 307 plate appearances so far this season.
Marrero has been on and off the roster a few times, picking up seven plate appearances. He has spent most of the season with Triple-A Jacksonville, hitting .252/.327/.397 with the Jumbo Shrimp.
Deadline Day Roster Moves
After what was arguably the wildest trade deadline in years with dozens of deals around the league, multiple teams made follow-up roster moves. Trades end up squeezing some players off of rosters, or creating holes that need to be filled. This post will itemize the many 40-man roster moves that teams made after a dizzying array of blockbuster deals earlier in the day.
AL East
- The Orioles claimed Ryan Hartman off of waivers from the Astros, according to Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com. The 27-year-old lefty was recently designated for assignment when Brooks Raley was reinstated from the COVID-IL.
- The Red Sox designated outfielder Marcus Wilson for assignment. The move was needed to accommodate the acquisition of reliever Hansel Robles from the Twins.
- The Yankees announced that they designated Ryan LaMarre for assignment. The outfielder was recently selected to help the team patch some holes during their COVID outbreak.
- The Rays designated righties Sean Poppen and Jake Reed for assignment, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. This was to create roster space after the acquisition of Jordan Luplow and DJ Johnson from earlier today.
AL Central
- Pablo Sandoval was released by the Indians. This was just hours after he was acquired in the Eddie Rosario trade. Based on his release, it’s clear that he was only included as salary offset.
- The Tigers selected the contract of reliever Ian Krol. The left-hander is back after being designated for assignment earlier in the week.
AL West
- The Mariners outrighted Vinny Nittoli to Triple-A. The righty recently had his contract selected, throwing one inning before being designated for assignment.
- The Rangers announced they were selecting the contracts of right-handers Jharel Cotton and Drew Anderson. Both hurlers signed minor league deals over the winter.
NL East
- The Marlins selected the contracts of outfielders Bryan De La Cruz and Brian Miller. Both players are now in line to make their major league debuts. Miami designated infielder Deven Marrero and outfielder Corey Bird for assignment to create roster space.
- As expected, the Mets officially reinstated starter Carlos Carrasco from the 60-day injured list. The righty made his team debut this evening against the Reds.
- The Phillies designated reliever Brandon Kintzler for assignment and transferred outfielder Matt Joyce to the 60-day injured list. The moves were necessary to create roster space to accommodate Philadelphia’s three deadline acquisitions.
- The Nationals selected the contracts of Gabe Klobosits and Adrian Sanchez, according to Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post. Klobosits, a right-handed pitcher, is a 36th round draft pick from 2017. He has no major league experience. Sanchez had a couple of cups of coffee with Washington from 2017-2019 before being outrighted in 2020 and then re-signing on a minor league deal.
NL Central
- The Cubs selected the contracts of RHP Michael Rucker and utilityman Andrew Romine, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN. Rucker was picked up by the Orioles in the Rule 5 draft in 2019 but returned to the Cubs before the season started and has yet to make his major league debut. As for Romine, the 35-year-old utility man was signed by the Cubs to a minor league deal earlier this year. The Cubs also selected the contract of righty Jake Jewell prior to yesterday’s game.
- The Brewers announced that they designated RHP Patrick Weigel for assignment. Weigel was acquired as part of the Orlando Arcia trade with Atlanta back in April.
NL West
- The Diamondbacks claimed outfielder Jake Hager off waivers from the Mariners. This will be Hager’s fourth club on the season, having been previously designated for assignment by the Mets, Brewers and Mariners. Arizona also selected the contracts of infielder Drew Ellis and left-hander Miguel Aguilar.
- The Dodgers announced that they claimed catcher Chad Wallach off waivers from the Marlins. Wallach was recently designated for assignment when Brian Anderson was reinstated from the IL.
Marlins Select Deven Marrero, Designate Andrew Bellatti
The Marlins have designated right-hander Andrew Bellatti as part of a series of roster moves, per a team announcement. Miami also placed infielder/outfielder Jon Berti on the 7-day concussion IL, selected the contract of infielder Deven Marrero and recalled catcher Chad Wallach from Triple-A.
Bellatti, 29, pitched in two games with the Fish and wound up yielding five earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings of work. That marked his first Major League appearance since a 2015 cup of coffee with the Rays, during which time he’d pitched to a 2.31 ERA with some more dubious peripheral marks. He might’ve gotten another look at some point in 2016 even in spite of a low strikeout rate and lofty walk rate, but shoulder troubles derailed much of his season. He pitched a total of just 14 innings that year and was eventually designated for assignment.
From there, Bellatti bounced to the Orioles on a minor league deal but was again derailed by injury. He never pitched for an O’s affiliate and had to parlay a stint with the then-independent Sugar Land Skeeters into another minor league look with the Yankees. He joined the Marlins on a minor league deal back on June 1 and quickly ascended to the Majors once he posted a 2.03 ERA and 16-to-5 K/BB ratio in 13 1/3 innings. The Marlins will have a week to trade Bellatti, pass him through outright waivers or release him.
As for the other moves announced today, the loss of Berti will strip the club of some speed and defensive versatility for the time being. The 31-year-old’s bat has taken a nosedive in 2021 — .210/.311/.313 after hitting .269/.362/.388 in 2019-20 — but Berti’s jack-of-all-trades skill set has still surely been appreciated by skipper Don Mattingly. He’s played every position on the diamond other than catcher and first base so far in 2021.
Marrero, a 2012 first-round pick of the Red Sox, will return for a third stint with the Marlins. He’s played in six games with the Fish since 2019 and gone 0-for-8 in that very minimal opportunity. Marrero is known as a solid defensive infielder, but his bat never developed as hope. He’s a .193/.244/.276 hitter in 351 MLB plate appearances and a .233/.291/.338 hitter in parts of seven Triple-A campaigns.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/22/21
The latest minor moves from around baseball:
- The Diamondbacks announced that utilityman Ildemaro Vargas has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Reno. The 29-year-old has bounced around the league a bit in recent seasons, suiting up for Arizona, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and the Cubs. Through 55 MLB plate appearances in 2021, Vargas has hit just .137/.200/.176. As a player who has previously been outrighted in his career, Vargas has the right to elect free agency.
- Marlins infielder Deven Marrero has apparently cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment, as he was in tonight’s lineup with Triple-A Jacksonville. Miami designated Marrero for assignment over the weekend. The former Red Sox utilityman only appeared in one MLB game with the Marlins before being removed from the 40-man roster, going hitless in three plate appearances.
- The Phillies have signed utilityman Jake Elmore to a minor league contract, notes Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. He has been assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 34-year-old has appeared in parts of six MLB seasons, most recently with the 2019 Pirates. Elmore has a .215/.292/.275 mark in 527 major league plate appearances.
- The Athletics recently released right-hander Tanner Anderson, Hilburn-Trenkle relays. Also a former Pirate, Anderson pitched in the big leagues between 2018-19. The 28-year-old has worked to a 6.15 ERA/4.88 SIERA over 33 2/3 MLB frames. He’d managed a 3.60 ERA in 15 innings with Triple-A Las Vegas this year, but Anderson only struck out three batters in that time while walking twelve.