Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Geoff Hartlieb

Royals Sign Geoff Hartlieb To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Royals signed reliever Geoff Hartlieb to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Omaha. The move was announced by the Triple-A affiliate this evening.

Hartlieb was granted his release from a non-roster deal with the Tigers last week. He’s now on his third organization of the season. Hartlieb has made very brief appearances with the Yankees and Detroit. Opponents blasted him for eight runs in 3 1/3 MLB frames. The 31-year-old righty has had a much better season in Triple-A. He carries a 3.57 ERA with a near-28% strikeout rate in 45 1/3 innings at the top minor league level.

A former Pittsburgh draftee, Hartlieb has made 68 big league appearances. He has allowed nearly eight earned runs per nine over 82 2/3 career innings. He has a reasonable 4.18 ERA in parts of six Triple-A campaigns. Hartlieb leans most heavily on his mid 80s slider and has a 94-95 MPH fastball.

Hartlieb will head to Omaha as non-roster relief depth. He’ll try to pitch his way into a middle relief spot before the end of the year. He would return to minor league free agency at the beginning of the offseason if the Royals don’t call him up.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/9/25

By | at

Leading up to the trade deadline, dozens of moves were made. In the wake of those trades, several players were designated for assignment. Here are the results of a few recent DFAs which MLBTR hasn’t yet covered…

  • Right-hander Sean Hjelle has been sent outright to Triple-A Sacramento, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He was designated for assignment by the Giants when they traded Tyler Rogers to the Mets. Two of the players the Giants received, José Buttó and Blade Tidwell, required 40-man roster spots. The departure of Rogers opened one spot, with Hjelle DFA’d to open another. This was Hjelle’s first career outright and he has less than three years of service time, meaning he didn’t have the right to elect free agency. He will give the Giants non-roster depth and try to earn his way back to the majors. His Triple-A numbers have been good this year, having tossed 41 2/3 innings with a 2.81 ERA, 25.7% strikeout rate, 5.7% walk rate and 52.7% ground ball rate.
  • Left-hander Zach Penrod has been outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He was designated for assignment by the Dodgers when left-hander Blake Snell was reinstated from the 60-day injured list. This was his first career outright and he has less than three years of big league service time, meaning he had to accept the assignment. Penrod was just acquired from the Red Sox in a DFA trade in June and was kept on optional assignment, so he still hasn’t pitched for the Dodgers in the majors.
  • Right-hander Connor Gillispie has been outrighted to Triple-A St. Paul, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been designated for assignment by the Twins in late July when Michael Tonkin was selected. This was Gillispie’s first career outright and he has less than three years of big league service time, meaning he had to accept the assignment. He reported to the Saints but they put him on the minor league injured list a few days later. It’s unclear what his current health status is but he hasn’t pitched since July 27th.
  • Right-hander Geoff Hartlieb is back with the Tigers on a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He was designated for assignment in late July when Detroit signed Luke Jackson. Hartlieb cleared waivers and elected free agency, which was his right as a player with a previous career outright, but reunited with the Tigers on a new minor league deal. He has a 7.95 career ERA in the majors but better minor league numbers. He has tossed 41 Triple-A innings this year with a 3.29 ERA, 27.5% strikeout rate, 6% walk rate and 40.6% ground ball rate.

Photo courtesy of Eakin Howard, Imagn Images

Tigers Sign Luke Jackson, Designate Geoff Hartlieb

By | at

The Tigers have signed Luke Jackson to a one-year, Major League contract, according to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.  Jackson signed a one-year, $1.35MM deal with the Rangers last winter and Texas is still responsible for most of the remaining salary still owed to the right-hander, with Detroit covering just the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary.  Right-hander Geoff Hartlieb was designated for assignment in the corresponding moves on the 26-man and 40-man rosters.  (The transactions were first noted earlier today by MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery and other members of the Tigers beat, who noted that Jackson had a locker and Hartlieb didn’t in the Detroit clubhouse.)

The Rangers just released Jackson yesterday following a two-day DFA period, so the righty not only quickly landed a new contract, but Jackson will get the opportunity to carve a niche for himself on a Tigers team in sore need of bullpen help.  Detroit has lost 11 of its last 12 games, and the relief corps’ 7.04 ERA over that stretch has been a lead cause in what has become a major slump.  Relief pitching is a clear priority heading into the deadline, and Jackson may be one of several bullpen additions that could be coming to Motown before July 31.

Jackson posted a 4.11 ERA and 53.8% grounder rate over 35 innings with Texas this season.  That excellent grounder rate, some decent batted-ball luck (.272 BABIP), and an above-average 7.5% barrel rate helped Jackson limit the damage despite strikeout (15.8%) and walk (12.5%) rates that ranked near the bottom of the league.  Control has long been an issue for Jackson, but the lack of whiffs is a surprise, as he had a 27.1 K% over 289 2/3 innings during the 2018-24 seasons.  His overall effectiveness has tended to hinge on the success of his slider, and Jackson’s primary offering has only a -1 in Statcast’s Pitch Value metric this season.

While Jackson hasn’t looked very sharp, groundball specialists tend to have an even wider range of variance than most relievers.  It was just in 2023 that Jackson had a 2.97 ERA in 33 1/3 innings for the Giants, and his 1.98 ERA over 63 2/3 innings for the 2021 Braves played a key role in Atlanta’s path to the World Series.  At the cost of essentially nothing, there’s little risk for the Tigers in taking a flier on Jackson to see if a change of scenery can help him get on track.

Hartlieb signed a minor league deal with Detroit two weeks ago, and he had a 9.00 ERA over two appearances and two innings with the Tigers at the MLB level when his contract was selected two days ago.  A frequent visitor to DFA limbo, Hartlieb has been designated three times just within the last month — today’s move off the Tigers’ roster, and two previous instances when pitching with the Yankees.

Hartlieb declined outright assignments after clearing waivers in each of those two earlier DFAs and elected free agency, which is his right as a player who has been previously outrighted in his career.  Chances are he’ll elect free agency again, and perhaps either re-sign with the Tigers on another minors deal or look elsewhere for another landing spot.  Since Hartlieb is out of minor league options, he might well face more DFAs unless he can pitch consistently well enough to pitch in a big league bullpen.

Hartlieb has an ungainly 21.60 ERA in 3 1/3 total innings with New York and Detroit this season, boosting his career ERA to 7.95 over 82 2/3 innings with six different Major League clubs.  His 3.13 ERA over 37 1/3 Triple-A innings this year is much more palatable, and it could get Hartlieb another look from a team as at least minor league depth.

Tigers Designate Carlos Hernández For Assignment, Select Geoff Hartlieb

By | at

The Tigers announced that they have selected the contact of right-hander Geoff Hartlieb. Fellow righty Carlos Hernández has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Members of the Detroit beat, including Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, noticed earlier today that Hernández didn’t have a locker in the clubhouse.

Hernández, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Phillies just over a month ago. He got into 11 games for the Tigers but allowed 12 earned runs in 10 2/3 innings. There was surely some small sample weirdness in there. His .412 batting average on balls in play and 35% strand rate were both far to the unfortunate side. He didn’t help himself by walking 11.3% of batters faced but his 24.5% strikeout rate was solid.

Ultimately, it’s not a lot to go on, but the Tigers decided to make a change. Hernández pitched in each of the past two games and may not have been available tonight, so they’ve swapped him out for a fresh arm.

He’s likely to end up on waivers again in the next few days. He has shown promise at times in his career but has been inconsistent. He averages in the upper-90s with his fastball and sinker while also featuring a splitter, slider and knuckle curve. He posted a 25.7% strikeout rate with the Royals in 2023 but that dropped to 20.9% last year and is at 20.5% here in 2025. Though as mentioned, his strikeout rate spiked a bit with Detroit more recently.

Kansas City burned his final option year in 2024 and put him on waivers just ahead of Opening Day this year. The Phils grabbed him but he posted a 5.26 ERA before getting put back on waivers in June, which is when the Tigers grabbed him.

Though his 6.69 ERA on the year isn’t attractive, teams might be attracted by the stuff. He’s making a modest $1.16MM this year and can be retained via arbitration for another two seasons after this one. Perhaps a club selling bullpen pieces ahead of the deadline might grab him for the stretch run, though he’s out of options and can’t be easily sent to the minors.

Hartlieb, 31, just signed a minor league deal with the Tigers less than two weeks ago. He has made two appearances for the Yankees this year but allowed three earned runs in each of them. He currently has a 40.50 ERA in 1 1/3 innings. Around those appearances, he’s been pretty good in Triple-A this year. He has 37 1/3 innings pitched at that level with a 3.13 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate, 6.6% walk rate and 42.1% ground ball rate.

Like Hernández, Hartlieb is out of options and likely has a tenuous hold on a roster spot. But for now, he’ll give them a fresh arm for a key four-game series against the Blue Jays which kicks off tonight. Those two clubs and the Astros are leading the three American League divisions and are currently neck-and-neck for the league lead. The Jays and Astros are both 60-42 with the Tigers half a game back at 60-43.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

Tigers Sign Geoff Hartlieb To Minor League Contract

By | at

The Tigers signed Geoff Hartlieb to a minors contract and assigned the right-hander to Triple-A Toledo, as per Hartlieb’s MLB.com profile page.  Hartlieb made his debut for Toledo today, tossing 1 1/3 relief innings and picking up the win in the Mud Hens’ 6-1 victory over Omaha (the Royals’ Triple-A club).

It was just two days ago that Hartlieb entered free agency, as he chose to test the market rather than an accept an outright assignment to the Yankees’ Triple-A club.  Hartlieb has been DFA’ed and outrighted several times over the years, and thus has the right to decline any further outrights in favor of free agency.  Just since the start of July, Hartlieb was twice designated for assignment by New York — his first trip to free agency saw him quickly re-sign with the Yankees, but this latest venture now sees Hartlieb land in Detroit.

The 30-year-old Hartlieb has pitched in parts of six Major League seasons, though with only 80 2/3 career innings in the Show.  The first 57 1/3 of those frames came with the Pirates in 2019-20, and Hartlieb has since bounced around for sporadic duty with the Mets, Marlins, and Rockies in addition to his time in the Bronx.  Hartlieb has a 7.92 ERA, 20.3% strikeout rate, and a very high 14.9% walk rate against big league hitters.

His Triple-A numbers are considerably better, as Hartlieb took a 4.17 career ERA in Triple-A ball into today’s outing against Omaha.  This solid production in the minors has consistently gotten Hartlieb looks from clubs in need of relief depth, and the Tigers are the latest team to bring the right-hander aboard.  Hartlieb is out of minor league options, which limits his flexibility if he gets called back up to the majors, and likely means he’ll face future trips to DFA limbo.

Geoff Hartlieb Elects Free Agency

By | at

Reliever Geoff Hartlieb has gone unclaimed on outright waivers and elected free agency, the Yankees announced. New York designated him for assignment on Wednesday when they promoted pitching prospect Cam Schlittler.

Hartlieb has gone through this cycle twice in as many weeks. The Yanks selected his contract in late June and outrighted him a few days later. Hartlieb elected free agency, re-signed on a major league deal, then was DFA again after three days. He has gotten into two games and been hit hard in each. The journeyman righty has allowed six runs on five hits and four walks while retiring just four of 13 batters faced.

While MLB hitters have teed off on Hartlieb this year, he has had a nice run with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He carries a 3.34 ERA with a 26% strikeout rate against a 6.9% walk percentage. Hartlieb has a 4.17 ERA over parts of six seasons at the top minor league level. He has given up nearly eight earned runs per nine across 80 2/3 career major league frames. Most of that time came in a Pittsburgh uniform. Hartlieb has played for five clubs overall.

The Yankees could try to bring Hartlieb back on a minor league contract. He’s out of options, so they needed to run him through waivers to take him off the MLB roster. The lack of options limits his flexibility, but his production in Scranton should get him attention as a depth option.

Yankees Designate Geoff Hartlieb For Assignment

By | at

The Yankees announced Wednesday that they’ve designated right-handed reliever Geoff Hartlieb for assignment. His spot on the 40-man and 26-man rosters will go to pitching prospect Cam Schlittler, whose previously reported promotion is now official. Schlittler’s contract has been selected from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and he’ll make his major league debut when he starts today’s game against the Mariners.

Hartlieb, 31, has appeared in two games for the Yankees this season. He’s allowed three runs in both, resulting in a grisly 40.50 ERA through 1 1/3 innings. He’s been very good in a larger sample of 35 Triple-A frames, working to a 3.34 ERA with a sharp 26.2% strikeout rate and strong 6.9% walk rate. Hartlieb has a solid overall track record in Triple-A, but he’s struggled badly in parts of six big league seasons between the Pirates, Mets, Marlins, Rockies and now Yankees. In 80 2/3 MLB frames, he carries a 7.92 earned run average.

The Yankees have five days to trade Hartlieb or place him on waivers (a 48-hour process) in order to resolve his DFA within the maximum allotted window of one week. This is his second DFA of the season in the Bronx — the Yankees also designated him following his first appearance — and he accepted an outright assignment after clearing waivers the last time. There’s a good chance this time will play out similarly, though Hartlieb will have the right to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency if he goes unclaimed.

Yankees Sign Geoff Hartlieb To Major League Deal

By | at

The Yankees announced this morning that they’ve signed right-hander Geoff Hartlieb to a major league deal and selected him to the roster. Left-hander Jayvien Sandridge has been optioned to Triple-A to make room for Hartlieb on the active roster.

Hartlieb, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees during the offseason and made his lone big league appearance of the season this past week against the Blue Jays. He was lit up for three runs on two hits and three walks while striking out three in one inning of work and was promptly designated for assignment. He ultimately cleared waivers and elected free agency but is now back in the majors with New York on a fresh MLB contract.

Prior to playing for the Yankees, Hartlieb had played in five MLB seasons across four organizations. He got his start with the Pirates in 2019 and struggled to a 9.00 ERA in 35 innings during his debut season but settled in and provided some solid middle relief help for Pittsburgh during the shortened 2020 campaign with a 3.63 ERA in 22 1/3 frames. Since then he’s made only sparing MLB appearances, with an ugly 8.59 ERA in 22 innings of work between 2021 and 2024 for the Pirates, Mets, Marlins, and Rockies.

Going forward, Hartlieb figures to offer the Yankees another depth option capable of going multiple innings. That could be a useful stopgap addition as they try to sort out a pitching staff that recent lost Clarke Schmidt to what will likely end up being season-ending Tommy John surgery. Schmidt’s injury leaves the Yankees very short on starting depth with Ryan Yarbrough, Gerrit Cole, and Luis Gil all already on the shelf. That could leave the Yankees relying on bullpen games every fifth day for the time being unless they’re willing to dedicate a rotation spot to right-hander Allan Winans. As for Sandridge, the lefty recently made his MLB debut and two runs on two walks, a hit batsman, and a homer while recording two strikeouts in 2/3 of an inning. He’ll head back to Triple-A and serve as optionable lefty depth for the Yankees going forward.

Yankees Sign Joel Kuhnel To Minors Deal

By | at

The Yankees announced today that right-hander Geoff Hartlieb elected free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. Because he has been previously outrighted in his career, he has the right to reject all future outright assignments. The Yankees also added an arm, signing right-hander Joel Kuhnel to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He was with the Phillies on a minor league deal but was released yesterday.

Hartlieb, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Yanks in the offseason. He was selected to the roster on Monday and designated for assignment on Wednesday. In between, he tossed one inning against the Blue Jays on Tuesday, allowing three earned runs on two hits and three walks while striking out three. He is out of options so the Yankees effectively had to designate him for assignment in order to remove him from active roster while making space for a fresh arm.

That was a rough outing but he was in good form in the minors prior to getting called up. He tossed 35 innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with a 3.34 earned run average, 26.2% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and 41.3% ground ball rate.

He also has some previous big league work on his résumé, though it’s not especially sparkling, as he has a 7.62 ERA in 80 1/3 innings. His 48% ground ball rate is strong but his 20.3% strikeout rate and 14.9% walk rate are both subpar figures, particularly the latter. He’ll head to the open market and see what kind of opportunities are out there for him.

Kuhnel, 30, may have triggered an opt-out provision in his deal with the Phils because he has been putting up good numbers this year. In 32 1/3 innings for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, he had a 3.62 ERA. His 20.6% strikeout rate was a bit below average but his 3.1% walk rate was tiny and he got ground balls on a huge 66.3% of balls in play.

That’s generally been Kuhnel’s recipe. In 93 2/3 big league innings in his career, he has only struck out 18.7% of batters faced but has limited walks to a 5.9% pace and gotten opponents to pound the ball into the ground at a 52% clip. That’s led to a 5.86 ERA but his .311 batting average on balls in play and 63.8% strand rate are both on the unfortunate side. His 4.46 FIP and 3.77 SIERA paint him in a more favorable light.

The Yankees love groundballers and, as the old saying goes, there’s no such thing as a bad minor league deal. Kuhnel has been assigned to the RailRiders and will try to work his way onto the big league roster.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Yankees Designate Geoff Hartlieb For Assignment

By | at

The Yankees announced that right-hander Clayton Beeter has been recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Fellow righty Geoff Hartlieb has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

The 31-year-old Hartlieb only joined the Yankees yesterday. He pitched one inning, was tagged for three runs in that lone appearance, and will now give way to a fresh arm. It’s not how Hartlieb envisioned his call-up in the Bronx going, particularly not after such a strong performance in Triple-A. He pitched 35 innings for the Yankees’ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre affiliate and logged a 3.34 ERA with a 26.2% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate. That success came with some tweaks to his pitch usage, as the Yankees have had Hartlieb throw his slider at the highest rate of his career so far in 2025.

Hartlieb won’t get the chance to rebound from that rough outing — at least not with the Yankees’ big league club. He’ll be traded or placed on waivers within the next five days. He’s been outrighted in the past, so if he goes unclaimed, he could reject an outright assignment to the minors and instead choose free agency.

The Yankees were Hartlieb’s fifth big league club. He’s also pitched with the Pirates, Mets, Rockies and Marlins. The right-hander has logged only 80 1/3 innings in the majors and been tagged for an unsightly 7.62 ERA. Hartlieb carries a much more presentable 4.17 ERA in 261 Triple-A innings.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top