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Reds Designate Jason Vosler For Assignment

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The Reds announced Monday that they’ve designated infielder Jason Vosler for assignment and selected the contract of outfielder Henry Ramos from Triple-A Louisville.

Vosler signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati late in the offseason and rode a solid .263/.341/.526 spring performance to a spot on the team’s Opening Day roster. He roared out of the gates with a trio of home runs in his first 15 plate appearances, coming over a span of five games, but has since gone cold at the plate. Dating back to April 7, Vosler has taken 50 turns at the plate and turned in a .106/.160/.128 batting line with 20 strikeouts.

The 29-year-old Vosler has now seen Major League time in each of the past three seasons, including a pair of stints with the Giants. He’s logged 97 Major League games and 258 plate appearances but has a rather unsightly .210/.279/.408 slash to show for it. He’s been vastly better in Triple-A, where he’s a .272/.344/.485 hitter in 345 games.

Vosler has plenty of power, substantial experience at both infield corners, and also seen brief spells at second base, in left field and even at shortstop. He still has a minor league option remaining, so a team looking for a left-handed bat and some corner depth might be inclined to take a look via a small trade or waivers. The Reds will have a week to find a trade partner or attempt to pass him through waivers.

As for the 31-year-old Ramos, he’ll get what’s just the second look of his big league career. The older brother to Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos, Henry received a cup of coffee with the 2021 D-backs but only received 55 plate appearances, hitting .200/.255/.300 with a homer and two doubles. He also had a short stint with the Korea Baseball Organization’s KT Wiz last year, but the majority of his recent professional experience is in Triple-A. In parts of six seasons there, he’s .297/.352/.472 hitter — including a .314/.400/.486 start to his season in Louisville this year (41 plate appearances).

Each MLB Team’s Players On WBC Rosters

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The World Baseball Classic is returning this year, the first time since 2017. The quadrennial event was supposed to take place in 2021 but was scuttled by the pandemic, now returning after a six-year absence. Rosters for the tournament were announced today and those can be found at this link. Here is a breakdown of which players from each MLB team are set to take participate. Quick caveat that this list is fluid and might be changed as more information becomes available.

Without further ado…

Angels

Astros

Athletics

Blue Jays

Braves

Brewers

Cardinals

Cubs

Diamondbacks

Dodgers

Giants

Guardians

Marlins

Mariners

Mets

Nationals

Orioles

Padres

Phillies

Pirates

Rangers

Rays

Red Sox

Reds

Rockies

Royals

Tigers

Twins

White Sox

Yankees

Reds, Henry Ramos Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Reds are in agreement with outfielder Henry Ramos on a minor league contract, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). He’ll be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee to Spring Training.

Ramos has a bit of big league experience. He debuted as a September call-up for the Diamondbacks in 2021, earning the nod after a .371/.439/.582 showing at Triple-A Reno. He appeared in 18 games for the Snakes at season’s end, hitting .200/.255/.300 across 55 trips to the plate. Arizona ran him through outright waivers at the start of that offseason, and he qualified for minor league free agency.

The switch-hitting outfielder parlayed his big Triple-A showing into an opportunity in South Korea. Ramos signed with the KBO’s KT Wiz but didn’t hold his spot on the roster for long. He got out to a .250/.304/.417 start through 18 contests before fracturing a toe on his right foot. The Wiz released him to facilitate the signing of former Blue Jays outfielder Anthony Alford in May. Ramos didn’t sign anywhere else for the rest of the season but returned in the Puerto Rican winter league this offseason.

The 30-year-old will get some reps in Spring Training and seems likely to open next season at Triple-A Louisville. Ramos can cover all three outfield positions and carries a .297/.350/.471 line in a bit less than 1400 career plate appearances at the top minor league level. The Reds seem likely to open with Nick Senzel in center field, with TJ Friedl, Stuart Fairchild and rookie Michael Siani among the other options on the 40-man roster.

Anthony Alford Signs With KBO’s KT Wiz

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Last night, the KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization announced agreement on a contract with outfielder Anthony Alford. It’s a $577K deal for the Jet Sports Management client (h/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO).

A former third-round pick of the Blue Jays, Alford blossomed into one of the sport’s top outfield prospects in pro ball. The Mississippi native drew plaudits from evaluators for his combination of power and athleticism, and he posted excellent numbers during his time in the low minors. Alford appeared among Baseball America’s top 100 prospects each year from 2016-18 and reached the big leagues in 2017, but he never carved out a permanent role.

Injuries played a significant part in that, as Alford has spent time on the injured list in each of the past six years. A 2017 hamate fracture in his left hand and a fractured right elbow in 2020 have proven the most significant maladies, but he has also had IL stints for hamstring and back issues. When healthy, he’s struggled to make contact against higher-level arms.

Alford has tallied 240 MLB plate appearances between the Jays and Pirates, hitting .209/.275/.368 with a 37.9% strikeout rate. He has popped eight home runs and swiped 11 bases in that limited time, flashing the kind of power-speed impact that had garnered attention. Yet his swing-and-miss concerns have led the Pirates to outright him off their 40-man roster in each of the past two seasons.

Following his most recent outright, Alford elected free agency and signed a minor league deal with the Guardians. He appeared in eight games with their top affiliate in Columbus but has been granted his release to pursue the opportunity with the Wiz. He’ll presumably lock in a loftier salary for the remainder of the season than he’d been receiving in Columbus. Still just 27 years old (28 in July), Alford would no doubt draw interest from affiliated teams down the line if he stays healthy and performs well.

The defending KBO champions, the Wiz have started this season just 20-25. They’ve now signed a pair of former major leaguers during the season in an effort to change their fortunes, adding Alford a week after landing left-hander Wes Benjamin.

KBO teams are limited to carrying three foreign-born players on their roster, so the Wiz released former Diamondbacks outfielder Henry Ramos in a corresponding move. Ramos, who played in 18 games with Arizona last season, hit .250/.304/.417 across 80 plate appearances with the Wiz. Kurtz notes that he hasn’t played since late April after fracturing a toe on his right foot.

Recapping The KBO League’s International Player Signings

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With the lockout slowing MLB-related transactions to a crawl of minor league deals, transactions involving Korean Baseball Organization teams have taken more of a spotlight on MLBTR’s pages since the start of December.  These moves have included the signings of several names familiar to North American baseball fans, as the KBO League’s clubs have looked to address their allocated three roster spots for non-Korean players.  International-born players can only sign contracts worth a maximum of $1MM in total salary, and players new to the KBO League can sign only one-year pacts.

Though the Doosan Bears have one signing that still isn’t yet official, the other 29 slots have been filled.  It is still possible this list could be adjusted in the coming weeks due to a number of factors — injuries, players returning to North America (for personal reasons or a deal with an MLB team), issues related to the pandemic, or teams just changing their minds after seeing the players in training camp.  Here is the rundown of this winter’s international signings for the 10 KBO League franchises….

Doosan Bears
Jose Miguel Fernandez (deal not yet finalized), Ariel Miranda, Robert Stock

NC Dinos
Nick Martini, Wes Parsons, Drew Rucinski

Hanwha Eagles
Ryan Carpenter, Nick Kingham, Mike Tauchman

Lotte Giants
Charlie Barnes, DJ Peters, Glenn Sparkman

Kiwoom Heroes
Tyler Eppler, Eric Jokisch, Yasiel Puig

SSG Landers
Kevin Cron, Wilmer Font, Ivan Nova

Samsung Lions
David Buchanan, Jose Pirela, Albert Suarez

Kia Tigers
Socrates Brito, Sean Nolin, Ronnie Williams

LG Twins
Casey Kelly, Adam Plutko, Rio Ruiz

KT Wiz
William Cuevas, Odrisamer Despaigne, Henry Ramos

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/01/21

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Some recent minor moves from around baseball:

  • The Rockies have signed right-handed reliever J.D. Hammer to a minor league deal, according to Thomas Harding of MLB.com. In 23 2/3 innings at Triple-A this year in the Phillies’ organization, Hammer managed an ERA of 3.80 with a hefty 34.3% strikeout rate but also an elevated walk rate of 12.4%. At the big league level, he logged 20 innings with an ERA of 4.95, 23.4% strikeout rate and 11.7% walk rate. The Phils outrighted the 27-year-old at the end of the season and he elected free agency.
  • The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve returned infielder Jake Hager to the organization on a minor league deal. Hager started 2021 in the Mets organization and then was designated for assignment and claimed on waivers three times, bouncing to the Brewers, Mariners and Diamondbacks. Arizona then outrighted him in September. The 28-year-old didn’t hit much in the big leagues this year, but in a tiny sample of 30 plate appearances over 14 games. He played 82 Triple-A games in 2021 between those four organizations, hitting .240/.311/.461.
  • The Giants have agreed to a minor league deal with right-handed reliever Trevor Hildenberger, according to the MLB.com transactions tracker. Hildenberger logged 2 1/3 MLB innings for the Mets this year before being claimed and outrighted by the Giants. In 23 Triple-A innings for Sacramento River Cats, the 30-year-old put up an ERA of 4.70 with a strikeout rate of 22.5% and walk rate of 12.7%.
  • The Nationals have signed infielder Richard Urena to a minor league deal, per the MLB.com transactions tracker. The 25-year-old has played in 91 big league games in his career but hasn’t cracked the majors since 2019. In 2021, he played 92 Triple-A games in the Blue Jays’ system, hitting .272/.310/.438.
  • Outfielder Henry Ramos is joining the KT Wiz of the KBO, as relayed by Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net. The 29-year-old had an unbelievable Triple-A season in 2021, slashing .371/.439/.582 over 294 plate appearances. He was selected by the Diamondbacks in September and got into 18 games, hitting .200/.255/.300 over 55 plate appearances. He was outrighted by the DBacks in October.

Diamondbacks Outright Three Players

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The offseason roster shuffle has begun in the desert.  The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve outrighted reliever Brandyn Sittinger, outfielder Henry Ramos and infielder Ildemaro Vargas to Triple-A Reno.  The moves leave the club with 37 players on their 40-man roster.

Sending those three down comes as no surprise, given the players’ performances so far. Sittinger joined the D-backs on a minor league deal prior to the 2020 season, and saw his first big league action last month.  He tossed 4 2/3 innings over five appearances, posting an unsightly 13.03 FIP.

Arizona signed the 29-year-old Ramos to a minor league deal on May 19 of this year.  He spent most of the season at Triple-A, and was called up September 5.  In 18 games he accumulated 55 plate appearances but only posted a meager 48 wRC+.

The well-traveled Vargas appeared in the big leagues each of the last five seasons, mostly with the Diamondbacks. He also played briefly for the Twins and Cubs last year.  In 381 total plate appearances at the MLB level, he’s put up -1.2 fWAR.

Diamondbacks Select Henry Ramos

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The Diamondbacks have selected the contract of outfielder Henry Ramos, per a team announcement. Fellow outfielder Stuart Fairchild was optioned to make room on the active roster. The 40-man roster already had a vacancy, meaning a corresponding move will not be necessary there.

As soon as Ramos gets into a game, he will make his major league debut. It’s been a long journey for the 29-year-old, who was originally selected by the Red Sox way back in the fifth round of the 2010 draft. He hasn’t made much noise since then, with his only appearance on a team top 30 at Baseball America coming back in 2015, when he ranked #29 on Boston’s list. He climbed to Triple-A in the Boston system in 2016 before reaching free agency after that season. Since then, he has spent time in the minors with the Dodgers and Giants, before signing on with the Diamondbacks this year.

Ramos earned his way to this promotion by absolutely mashing in Triple-A this season. In 294 plate appearances over 75 games, Ramos has slashed .371/.439/.582, good enough for a wRC+ of 153. For a Diamondbacks team that is nowhere near contention, they can use some of their remaining season to see if he can transfer any of that production to the big leagues.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/2/2020

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The latest minor league moves from around baseball…

  • The Rangers announced the signing of outfielder Henry Ramos to a minors contract with an invitation to the club’s MLB Spring Training camp.  Originally a fifth-round pick for the Red Sox in the 2010 draft, Ramos spent his first seven pro seasons in Boston’s farm system before playing in the Dodgers’ organization in 2017-18 and then last season with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate.  The switch-hitting Ramos (who turns 28 in April) has a .275/.332/.418 slash line over 3323 career plate appearances in the minor leagues, with the bulk of his playing time coming in right field and center field.

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