Blue Jays Designate Donn Roach For Assignment
The Blue Jays have designated right-hander Donn Roach for assignment, the club announced. In a corresponding move, the Jays selected the contract of infielder Jonathan Diaz, who will join the team for the first game of their double-header today in Baltimore.
Roach has now been designated three times by as many different teams this season, as he was previously DFA’ed by the Cubs in July and the Reds in August. Toronto claimed the righty off waivers from Cincinnati following that last designation. The 25-year-old Roach has appeared in just one MLB game this season (with the Cubs) but has posted a 3.34 ERA, 2.04 K/BB rate and a 3.3 K/9 over 143 innings at the Triple-A level. Roach was originally a third-round pick of the Angels in the 2010 draft and he has a 5.35 ERA over 33 2/3 career innings in the majors.
This is Diaz’s second stint on the Jays roster this season, as he appeared in four games in April and May. The 30-year-old infielder hit .223/.328/.284 over 430 PA for Triple-A Buffalo this season, his 10th pro campaign. Diaz has played 32 career games at the Major League level, with Boston and Toronto in 2013-15.
Blue Jays Claim Donn Roach From Reds
The Blue Jays announced today that they have claimed right-hander Donn Roach off waivers from the Reds. Michael Saunders has been transferred to the 60-day DL to create room on the 40-man roster for Roach, who was designated for assignment by Cincinnati over the weekend. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets that Roach will head to Triple-A for the time being, though he could obviously be a candidate for a call-up when rosters expand on Sept. 1.
Roach, 25, has appeared in the Majors with the Padres and Cubs over the past two seasons, totaling 33 2/3 innings of 5.35 ERA ball with 18 strikeouts against 16 walks. Those numbers aren’t particularly impressive, of course, but Roach’s extreme ground-ball nature — he has a 65 percent ground-ball rate in those 33 2/3 innings — probably appealed to the Blue Jays, who play in a very homer-friendly park. Roach has allowed just two homers in the Majors, and in 580 minor league frames, he’s averaged 0.4 homers per nine innings.
Reds Designate Donn Roach For Assignment
The Reds have designated Donn Roach for assignment, according to Robert Bondy of MLB.com (on Twitter). The move will help create room for Collin Balester on the 40-man roster.
The Reds claimed Roach off waivers from the Cubs just a little over a month ago. The 25-year-old has made seven starts for Triple-A Louisville and hasn’t fared all that well. In that small sample size, Roach has a 6.00 ERA with 3.9 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9. Prior to that, Roach made 15 starts for the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate and posted a 2.33 ERA with 3.3 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9. Roach also has 17 big league appearances to his credit the last two years.
To keep track of Roach and everyone else in DFA limbo, check out MLBTR’s DFA Tracker.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Laffey, Correia, Reds
The latest outright assignments according to the MLB.com transactions page..
- The Rockies sent left-hander Aaron Laffey outright to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. Laffey, 30, was on the roster for just one day before being designated for assignment on July 11th. Earlier this season, Laffey pitched 47 2/3 innings in a tough pitching environment in Albuquerque, posting a 4.91 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 while splitting time between starting and relieving.
- The Reds claimed Donn Roach off waivers from the Cubs. Roach, 25, gave up four earned runs in a 3 1/3 inning appearance at the major league level for the Cubs. He threw 89 innings with a healthy 2.33 ERA for the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate, striking out 3.3 and walking 1.6 batters per nine in the process.
- The Cardinals sent shortstop Aledmys Diaz outright to Double-A Springfield. After entering the year as the organization’s 11th-rated prospect in the eyes of Baseball America, the 24-year-old Diaz has taken a step back in 2015. Prior to being designated for assignment, Diaz posted a .235/.292/.344 slash at Triple-A over 268 plate appearances on the year. Those numbers are down from a partial showing in the minors last season, when he put up a .765 OPS in 125 turns at bat at the High-A and Double-A levels.
- The Phillies outrighted Kevin Correia on July 8th, just one day after designating him for assignment. Correia, 34, spent time this spring with the Mariners and started the year in the Giants organization, ultimately opting out and signing with Philadelphia. He had solid results in his first several Triple-A starts, but scuffled to a 6.56 ERA over 23 1/3 innings with the Phillies.
- The Braves released Nick Masset shortly after designating him for assignment earlier this month. The veteran Masset, who signed with the Braves after the Marlins outrighted him in late May, posted a 4.70 ERA with 12 strikeouts, seven walks and three home runs allowed in 15 1/3 innings with Atlanta.
Cubs Designate Donn Roach
The Cubs have designated righty Donn Roach for assignment, the club announced (via Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, on Twitter). His 40-man spot was needed for the activation of Mike Olt from the DL. Olt was optioned to Triple-A.
Roach, 25, gave up four earned runs in a 3 1/3 inning appearance at the major league level. He has thrown 89 innings with a healthy 2.33 ERA at the Triple-A level on the year, striking out 3.3 and walking 1.6 batters per nine in the process.
Outrighted: Bawcom, Villalona, Roach, Watkins
Here are today’s minor moves and outright assignments from around the league…
- Mariners right-hander Logan Bawcom, who was designated for assignment last week, has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma, tweets Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. The 26-year-old posted a 4.93 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings at Triple-A in 2014.
- The Giants announced that they have outrighted first baseman Angel Villalona off the 40-man roster to clear a 40-man spot for Sergio Romo, whose two-year deal was made official earlier today. Villalona, 24, once ranked as a Top 100 prospect but struggled at Double-A this season, hitting just .227/.290/.381 with 10 homers. Villalona is a lifetime .254/.311/.422 hitter in the minor leagues and has had his share of off-field issues in addition to recent on-field struggles. As Kevin Fagan wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle in 2009, Villalona was connected to a murder investigation in his native Dominican Republic, although he was never convicted.
- Right-hander Donn Roach and infielder Logan Watkins have cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A by the Cubs, tweets Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. The pair was designated for assignment last week when the Cubs claimed Ryan Lavarnway and Shane Peterson off waivers. Roach, 24, pitched 30 1/3 innings of 4.75 ERA ball for the Padres in 2014, and the 25-year-old Watkins hit .246/.269/.338 in 68 plate appearances with the Cubs.
Cubs Claim Shane Peterson, Ryan Lavarnway
2:05pm: The Cubs announced that they have also claimed Ryan Lavarnway off waivers from the Dodgers. To make room on the 40-man roster for the pair of moves, right-handed pitcher Donn Roach and infielder Logan Watkins were designated for assignment.
The 27-year-old Lavarnway .283/.389/.370 in 257 plate appearances for Triple-A Pawtucket in 2014. He has a strong minor league track record as a hitter, with a .375 career minor league on-base percentage, and could potentially help a team in need of a right-handed bat for its bench. His stint with the Dodgers was brief and he has traveled quite a bit in the last month. Lavarnway was DFA’d by the Red Sox just prior to his cup of coffee with Los Angeles.
12:38pm: The Cubs have claimed outfielder Shane Peterson from the A’s, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).