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Grayson Greiner

Diamondbacks Activate Jose Herrera

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MAY 24: Herrera has been reinstated from the injured list. Greiner, who’d apparently been selected as a designated COVID substitute, has been returned to Reno and removed from the 40-man roster.

MAY 19: The D-Backs have selected catcher Grayson Greiner onto the major league roster. Fellow backstop José Herrera has been placed on the COVID-19 injured list in a corresponding move.

Greiner signed a minor league deal with the Snakes during Spring Training. That marked his first experience outside the Tigers’ organization, as he’d spent seven-plus seasons with Detroit since they nabbed him in the third round of the 2014 draft. Greiner tallied 477 big league plate appearances between 2018-21, hitting .201/.274/.309 with nine home runs.

The righty-hitting backstop has spent this season with Triple-A Reno. He’s mashed at a .351/.429/.514 clip through ten games, and he’s now in line for his first MLB action of the season. The Diamondbacks are without Carson Kelly because of an oblique strain, leaving Daulton Varsho as the primary backstop.

Herrera had been Varsho’s backup, but he’ll be out for an indeterminate amount of time. Arizona has also lost Kyle Nelson, Cooper Hummel and Nick Ahmed to the virus list in recent days. Herrera, 25, is hitting .125/.222/.150 through his first 18 MLB games.

Diamondbacks Sign Grayson Greiner To Minor League Deal

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The D-backs have signed catcher Grayson Greiner to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training, per an announcement from their Triple-A affiliate.

Greiner, 29, was a third-round pick of the Tigers in 2014 and has spent his entire career in that organization up until now. Listed at a towering 6’6″ and 238 pounds, Greiner has seen some big league time in each of the past four seasons but has yet to produce at the MLB level. In 477 trips to the plate, he’s a .201/.274/.309 hitter with a solid 8.8% walk rate but a lofty 32.1% strikeout rate.

Greiner has spent parts of four seasons in Triple-A, where he’s logged solid framing marks and thrown out a third of runners who’ve attempted to steal against him. He’s a .233/.314/.347 hitter through 388 plate appearances of Triple-A ball.

With Carson Kelly set to serve as the regular catcher in Arizona and another pair of options — center fielder/catcher Daulton Varsho and prospect Jose Herrera — on the 40-man roster, Greiner doesn’t have much of an immediate path to playing time. He joins veterans Juan Centeno and Juan Graterol as non-roster invitees to D-backs camp.

Grayson Greiner Clears Waivers, Elects Free Agency

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The Tigers announced Monday that catcher Grayson Greiner went unclaimed on outright waivers and has declined an outright assignment in favor of free agency. Greiner had the right to do so, as a player with more than three years of Major League service time.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected a modest raise to $800K for Greiner, but the Tigers have ample depth at catcher and effectively non-tendered Greiner with today’s move. Detroit already acquired Tucker Barnhart to serve as their starting catcher on day one of the offseason, and the Tigers also have Jake Rogers and Eric Haase on the roster — to say nothing of 2020 second-rounder Dillon Dingler, who clobbered Class-A pitching in 2021 before struggling upon a promotion to Double-A.

Greiner, 29, was the Tigers’ third-round pick back in 2014 but hasn’t hit much in parts of four big league seasons. From 2018-21, Greiner received 477 Major League plate appearances but posted just a .201/.274/.309 batting line with a 32.1% strikeout rate. He’s been a bit better in Triple-A, where he’s a .233/.314/.347 hitter in 388 plate appearances. Behind the plate, Greiner has been a bit below average, but passable, in terms of framing and also boasts a strong 31% caught-stealing rate in his career. He’ll likely get some opportunities to join a club as upper-level depth with a fair bit of MLB experience.

Detroit’s 40-man roster is now at 38 players.

Central Notes: Indians, Fillmyer, Cardinals, Pike, Elledge, Tigers, Greiner

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It’s Memorial Day, which means a full slate of day baseball. While we await the start of the action, let’s round up some news and notes from around the game…

  • The Indians have purchased the contract of Heath Fillmyer from the Lancaster Barnstormers, per the Atlantic League club. Fillmyer has been assigned to Triple-A. The 27-year-old right-hander last appeared in the Majors in 2019 withe the Royals. He owns a 5.07 ERA/5.31 FIP over 104 2/3 innings between 2018-19.
  • The Cardinals have called up Seth Elledge from Memphis, per MLB.com’s Jeff Jones (via Twitter). The move comes as a response to Kodi Whitley being placed on the 10-day injured list because of mild back spasms. St. Louis also signed southpaw Tyler Pike to a minor league contract, according to their transactions log on MLB.com.
  • Tigers catcher Grayson Greiner is putting his rehab assignment on hold for now after experiencing some hamstring discomfort, per Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group (via Twitter). He’s been on the injured list since May 12th. The 28-year-old backstop owns a .237/.256/.342 line in 39 plate appearances on the year.

Tigers Select Eric Haase, Place Franklin Perez On Release Waivers

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The Tigers announced a series of roster moves Wednesday, placing catcher Grayson Greiner on the 10-day IL with a strained left hamstring, selecting the contract of catcher Eric Haase in his place and placing right-hander Franklin Perez on unconditional release waivers.

The Perez move comes just one day after the Tigers announced that he’s in for a lengthy absence due to surgery on his continually problematic right shoulder. It sounds callous, but teams aren’t able to place injured players on outright waivers, so the only means of removing Perez from the 40-man were to release him or call him up to place him on the Major League 60-day IL, where he’d accrue MLB service time and a big league salary. While another club could claim Perez, or he could sign elsewhere in the likely event that he clears, it’s also fairly common to see players in these circumstances quickly re-sign on minor league deals.

Perez was the top-ranked prospect the Tigers received in return for Justin Verlander back in 2017, but injuries and last year’s canceled minor league season have limited him to just 27 innings with the organization. Perez missed three months back in 2018 due to a strained lat, and he’s since battled shoulder tendinitis and a shoulder strain and has yet to even reach the Double-A level. Last year’s canceled minor league season obviously contributed to his lack of innings, but the injury troubles have tanked Perez’s prospect status. Baseball America rated him as the No. 35 overall prospect in baseball heading into the 2018 season, but he was listed just 28th in the Tigers organization even before the news of this surgery.

As for the catchers in question, Haase’s call to the roster was necessitated both by Greiner’s injury and by the fact that starting catcher Wilson Ramos is currently on the IL due to a back injury. Haase will serve as the backup to 26-year-old Jake Rogers, who was coincidentally one of the other two players the Tigers received in exchange for Verlander. (Outfield prospect Daz Cameron is the third.)

Haase, 28, has appeared in each of the past three big league seasons, spending time with the Indians in 2018-19 and with the Tigers in 2020. He’s struggled mightily, hitting just .122/.170/.184, albeit in a minimal sample of 53 plate appearances. Haase has played parts of four seasons in Triple-A, slashing .234/.306/.479 with 49 homers in 906 plate appearances.

AL Health Notes: Rosenthal, Mariners, Long, Greiner

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Athletics reliever Trevor Rosenthal is dealing with a slight groin strain, manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including Martín Gallegos of MLB.com and Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). The team believes it’s a minor issue, Melvin says, but there’s no current timetable for when Rosenthal will resume throwing. It isn’t clear if Rosenthal will have to start the season on the injured list but that would seem to be a possibility with Opening Day just over three weeks away. The 30-year-old was the A’s top free agent acquisition after rebounding with a 1.90 ERA/2.31 SIERA over 23.2 innings with the Royals and Padres in 2020.

Other health notes from the American League:

  • Mariners second baseman Shed Long Jr. has inflammation in his right shin, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). Long underwent tibia surgery last September but the area continues to cause him problems. At the moment, it seems the organization is hopeful that a bit of rest can improve the situation. The upcoming season looks to be a critical one for Long, who failed to cement himself as Seattle’s second baseman of the future during a disappointing 2020.
  • Catcher Grayson Greiner suffered a broken nose in yesterday’s Spring Training game and will miss a week of action, the Tigers announced. The news comes as a bit of a relief, as Greiner went down after being struck in the face by a 94 MPH fastball in a scary incident. Assuming his recovery goes as expected, it seems the 28-year-old should be ready for Opening Day. Greiner’s in competition with Jake Rogers and non-roster invitees Eric Haase and Dustin Garneau for the backup job behind Wilson Ramos.

AL Notes: White Sox, Angels, Ward, Tigers, Greiner

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The White Sox probably won’t make any more additions before Opening Day, general manager Rick Hahn told Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. While Hahn cautioned the front office would never foreclose the possibility of another pickup, it seems they’re content with the group of players already in the organization. “We still have conversations outside to see if there’s a move that makes sense, but the far more likely result is the 26 we break with are from the group that’s in camp,” Hahn said.

Some more from the American League:

  • Taylor Ward started at catcher in the Angels’ spring training contest this afternoon, notes Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. A catcher at Fresno State, Ward moved to third base after the 2017 minor league season. He has also gotten time at the three other corner positions but hadn’t worked behind the plate since initially moving off catcher. It doesn’t seem Ward will get much playing time there in the regular season, Bollinger writes, but simply having the ability to pick up a few innings in emergency situations could help his case to win a utility role out of camp. Max Stassi, Kurt Suzuki and Anthony Bemboom are the current backstops on the Angels’ 40-man roster.
  • Tigers catcher Grayson Greiner was hit in the face by a pitch in this afternoon’s spring training contest, Jason Beck of MLB.com was among those to relay. There is no current diagnosis on his status, but Greiner was able to walk off the field under his own power, as Keegan Matheson of MLB.com noted. Greiner is in competition with Jake Rogers and non-roster invitees Eric Haase and Dustin Garneau for the backup job behind Wilson Ramos.

Tigers Call Up Eric Haase, Option Grayson Greiner

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The Tigers have made a change to their catching ranks, optioning Grayson Greiner to their alternate training site and calling up Eric Haase.  Acquired from the Indians back in January, Haase is line to see his first action of the 2020 season.

Greiner has hit .118/.182/.333 over 55 plate appearances this season, continuing the offensive struggles that also plagued him over his first two MLB seasons (.577 OPS in 340 PA in 2018-19).  With starter Austin Romine also scuffling, the Tigers opted to bring Haase into the picture as the backup, though Haase also isn’t known for his work at the plate.

Haase has only 34 career MLB plate appearances to his name, and a .094/.147/.188 slash line to show for his brief time in the Show.  In the minors, however, Haase has shown more pop, batting .243/.316/.477 with 130 home runs over 2833 career PA in Cleveland’s farm system.

The other notable aspect of the transaction is that Haase is getting the call rather than Jake Rogers, who has long been tabbed as Detroit’s catcher of the future.  Rogers hasn’t seen any time at the Major League level this season after making his debut in 2019 and hitting only .125/.222/.259 over 128 PA.  Tigers GM Al Avila recently implied that Rogers was unlikely to be called up again this season, so while Haase’s promotion isn’t necessarily a surprise, it does continue to raise questions about whether or not the Tigers still view Rogers as a long-term answer.

Christin Stewart Among Slew Of Tigers Call-Ups

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Several new faces will be joining the Tigers on a flight to Kansas City this evening, as MLive’s Evan Woodbery was among those to report that outfielder Christin Stewart, third baseman Jeimer Candelario, pitcher Tyler Alexander, catcher Grayson Greiner, pitcher Zac Reininger, and pitcher Daniel Stumpf will be called up to the big club in short order (Twitter link).

It would be an exercise in tedium to review the records of each player joining the Detroit dugout this week, so individual focus will instead be paid to Stewart, a player that prior to the season ranked as the team’s sixth-best prospect according to Fangraphs. Cited as being in possession of raw power and a solid batting eye, the Tennessee alum has been nonetheless seen as a work in progress, at best, on the outfield grass.

The 25-year-old was handed a substantial crack at playing time for the rebuilding Tigers this season but failed to make an impact in 327 at-bats. His .239/.321/.393 output was disappointing considering the outfielder’s solid output with Triple-A Toledo in 2018, a campaign that saw Stewart hitting .264/.364/.480 (138 wRC+) in 522 at-bats with the Mud Hens. He has been with Toledo for the entirety of this August following his demotion at the end of July.

Tigers Select Drew VerHagen

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The Tigers announced that they’ve optioned lefty Daniel Stumpf to Triple-A Toledo following today’s game and will select the contract of righty Drew VerHagen to start tomorrow’s contest. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, Detroit transferred catcher Grayson Greiner to the 60-day injured list.

VerHagen is no stranger to the Tigers. The 28-year-old was their fourth-round selection back in 2012 and spent the 2014-16 seasons being optioned back and forth between Toledo and Detroit as a depth piece. He’s been designated for assignment twice in the past couple of years but remained with the club after clearing waivers on each instance. He’ll now rejoin the club for the first time since last being outrighted in early May.

Earlier this season, VerHagen was clobbered for 10 runs in just six innings of work, but he’s posted much better results in his return to Triple-A. Through 53 frames with the Mud Hens, he’s worked to a 4.42 ERA with 8.7 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 0.85 HR/9 and a 40.4 percent ground-ball rate. His return to the Tigers could be short-lived, as Detroit’s rotation and bullpen are both in constant states of flux this season while their rebuild trudges on. Then again, with the Tigers likely to deal at least one arm (Shane Greene) and possibly some others (Matthew Boyd, Joe Jimenez, Buck Farmer) in the next week, it’s possible that there’s room for VerHagen to stick around beyond tomorrow’s spot start.

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