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Minor MLB Transactions: 1/13/19

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Catching up on some recent minor league moves from around the baseball world….

  • The Cubs signed catcher Francisco Arcia to a minor league deal, as originally reported by the Cubs Prospects Twitter feed.  Originally signed as a teenager by the Yankees in 2006, the 29-year-old Arcia finally cracked the big leagues last season, appearing 40 games for the Angels and hitting .204/.226/.427 with six homers over 106 plate appearances.  Arcia will provide the Cubs with some depth behind backup Victor Caratini, and Arcia could also battle for the backup role himself in Spring Training.
  • The Rays signed right-hander Luis Santos to a minors contract, Baseball America’s Matthew Eddy reports.  Santos posted a 5.15 ERA over 36 2/3 innings out of the Blue Jays’ bullpen over the last two seasons, though a big problem with the long ball (2.0 HR/9) belied some better peripherals, such as a 9.8 K/9 and a 2.86 K/BB rate.
  • Also from Eddy, the Rockies re-signed left-hander Sam Howard to a minors deal, after originally non-tendering Howard at the start of December.  Howard was a third-round pick for the Rockies in 2014, and he made his Major League debut last season, tossing four innings over four games with Colorado.  MLB.com ranks Howard as the 24th-best prospect in the Rockies’ farm system, describing him as a potential fourth starter in the big leagues “if he can improve his slider and command.”
  • The Padres signed left-hander Eric Stout to a minor league contract, according to Zone Coverage’s Brandon Warne (Twitter link).  Stout posted a 3.68 ERA, 2.63 K/BB rate, and 7.4 K/9 over 269 1/3 career innings in the Royals’ farm system, appearing as a reliever in all but five of his 153 career games.    Stout also made his MLB debut in 2018, appearing in three games for Kansas City.
  • Also from Warne, the Royals inked infielder Taylor Featherston to a minors contract.  After playing in 137 games with the Angels, Phillies, and Rays from 2015-17, Featherston didn’t see any Major League action last season, spending time in the farm systems of the Twins and Reds, plus a short stint in independent ball.  Featherston has offered more with the glove than his bat over his career, with a lot of experience at second base, third base, and shortstop, plus some time as a left field and first baseman.
  • The Giants have signed righty Keyvius Sampson to a minors deal.  Sampson makes his return to North American baseball after spending 2018 with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization, posting a 4.68 ERA over 161 2/3 IP for the Eagles and posting a league-best 195 strikeouts.  Sampson has pitched for five different MLB organizations during his 10-year pro career, though he only reached the majors for 91 2/3 innings with the Reds in 2015-16.
  • The Giants also signed second baseman Donovan Solano to a minors deal, as per the Giants Prospects Twitter feed.  Solano was a regular for the Marlins in his first three MLB seasons, though he appeared more sporadically for the Marlins and Yankees in 2015-16 and hasn’t since returned to the Show, playing for the Yankees’ and Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliates over the last two seasons.  Playing mostly as a second baseman but with some experience around the infield, Solano has a .257/.306/.331 slash line over 1168 MLB plate appearances.

Royals Release Eric Stout

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Sept. 12: Stout has cleared waivers and is now a free agent, the team announced.

Sept. 10: The Royals announced Monday that they’ve requested unconditional release waivers on left-handed reliever Eric Stout. The 25-year-old was designated for assignment last week when Kansas City claimed Ben Lively off outright waivers from the Phillies.

Stout had a brief run in the Majors with the Royals earlier this season, but he as hammered for seven runs (six earned) in 2 1/3 innings.  His struggles extended to Triple-A Omaha, where he pitched to a 4.75 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 0.82 HR/9 and a 37.8 percent grounder rate through 55 innings. Lefties have posted a .725 OPS against Stout between the Majors and Minors this season, but he held left-handed opponents to a terrible .193/.264/.301 batting line with a 22.5 percent strikeout rate and a 7.5 percent walk rate in Omaha a year ago.

The decision to release Stout stems from the fact that he was on the minor league disabled list at the time the Royals decided they needed a roster spot to claim Lively. Injured players can’t be run through outright waivers during the season, so Stout will instead be released if and when he clears release waivers. At that point, common for players in these situations to re-sign a new minor league deal, though Stout will also have the opportunity to explore the market and field interest from 29 other teams.

Royals Claim Ben Lively, Designate Eric Stout For Assignment

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The Royals have claimed right-hander Ben Lively off waivers from the Phillies, according to an announcement from both teams. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Royals have designated left-hander Eric Stout for assignment.

Lively, 26, will give the Royals yet another arm to evaluate as they stockpile potential rotation pieces for the 2019 season and beyond. The right-hander, originally acquired by the Phils in the 2014 trade that sent Marlon Byrd to the Reds, has a minor league option remaining beyond the current season, so the Royals will be able to shuttle him back and forth between Omaha and the Majors next year — in the event that Lively survives the offseason on Kansas City’s 40-man roster.

It’s been a tough season for Lively, who has missed time with a shoulder injury. He’s been hit hard to the tune of a 6.85 ERA in a tiny sample of 23 2/3 Major League innings this season, though his Triple-A work — 2.42 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 0.52 HR/9, 42.3 percent ground-ball rate in 52 innings — has been decidedly more encouraging. Lively ranked in the bottom half of the Phillies’ top 30 prospects in 2016-17, per Baseball America, drawing praise as a potential fifth starter at the big league level with average to fringe-average stuff across the board.

Lively has a 2.97 ERA in 266 2/3 career innings of Triple-A work, making him a more or less MLB-ready asset on which the Royals are taking a chance. He also turned in a 4.26 ERA with less-encouraging peripheral marks through 88 2/3 innings with the Phils last season. The move to the American League probably won’t help Lively much, though he’s going from a homer-friendly home setting, Citizens Bank Park, to a fairly cavernous one in Kauffman Stadium.

Stout, 25, was beat up for seven runs (six earned) in just 2 1/3 innings with the Royals earlier this season. Though he posted solid bottom-line numbers at Triple-A in 2017, his pedestrian K/BB numbers, low ground-ball rate and good fortune on homers allowed contributed to an FIP (4.24) and xFIP (5.26) that were markedly higher than last season’s 2.99 ERA. Through 55 Triple-A frames in 2018, he has indeed regressed, working to a 4.75 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 0.82 HR/9 and a 37.8 percent grounder rate. Lefties have posted a .725 OPS against Stout between the Majors and Minors this season, though to his credit, he held same-handed opponents to a putrid .193/.264/.301 slash with a 22.5 percent strikeout rate against a 7.5 percent walk rate in Omaha a year ago.

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