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J.P. Feyereisen

AL Roster Moves: Rays, Mariners, Tigers

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The Rays have officially added Matt Wisler to their active roster, per the team. Wisler was acquired via trade from the Giants yesterday. To make room on the active roster, southpaw Ryan Sherriff was optioned to Triple-A. The Rays continue to adeptly re-work their bullpen, adding Wisler to previous trade acquisitions J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen (though the latter is currently in Triple-A). Wisler presents a unique challenge for Tampa, as he is out of options and, therefore, must stay on the active roster, lest they expose him to waivers. In other AL roster moves…

  • The Mariners announced a slew of roster moves ahead of today’s game. Dylan Moore has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list, and Yohan Ramirez has been recalled from Triple-A. On the way out, Dillon Thomas and Donovan Walton were optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. Catcher Jacob Nottingham has also been outrighted to Triple-A.
  • Tigers infielder Jeimer Candelario has been reinstated from the bereavement list, per the team. He has been placed on the injured list as he goes through intake protocols. Candelario has been out since June 6th. He has batted .266/.336/.381 in 241 plate appearances this season.

Brewers Acquire Willy Adames In Four-Player Trade With Rays

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In a rare May swap of significance, the Rays have traded shortstop Willy Adames and righty Trevor Richards to the Brewers in exchange for right-handed relievers J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen. Both clubs have announced the move.

Willy Adames | Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The immediate speculation in the aftermath of the news naturally surrounded Wander Franco, the sport’s top overall prospect and current shortstop for the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate. The trade of Adames clearly opens a spot for Franco in the long term, but Rays general manager Erik Neander announced to reporters that it’ll be top shortstop prospect Taylor Walls who gets the call to replace Adames for now (Twitter link via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times).

For the Brewers, Adames provides a sound defensive option that they’ve lacked all season. Milwaukee cut bait on Orlando Arcia earlier this season after giving the former top prospect myriad chances in recent years. The trade of Arcia to the Braves was intended to create everyday opportunities for Luis Urias at shortstop, but the 23-year-old wasn’t able to handle the position from a defensive standpoint. Urias has already made nine errors in just 310 innings at shortstop and unsurprisingly has negative ratings in just about every defensive metric. Were Urias hitting up to his capability, perhaps the Brewers could’ve stomached the errors, but he’s managed only a .205/.317/.359 slash in 140 plate appearances.

Adames isn’t hitting much himself in 2021, but he had a huge 2020 season and a strong year in 2018 as well. He’s also a very sound defender at his position, evidenced by above-average marks in Defensive Runs Saved (12), Ultimate Zone Rating per 150 games (1.6) and Outs Above Average (3) over the past three seasons.

So far in 2021, Adames is hitting just .197/.254/.371 through 142 plate appearances, but he entered the season as a career .262/.329/.426 hitter. He also put together a hefty .259/.332/.481 slash with eight home runs last summer and slugged a career-best 20 round-trippers a year prior, in 2019. Adames is far too strikeout-prone, punching out at a 36 percent clip across the past two seasons, but he’s making hard contact and barreling the ball at career-best rates in 2021. He’ll likely continue to hit for a low average if he can’t curb those strikeout tendencies, but the uptick in high-quality contact does suggest that his offensive numbers are still likely in line to improve.

Adames entered the season with two-plus years of big league service time, so he’s a potential piece for the Brewers not just in 2021 but for several years beyond. The Brewers can control Adames all the way through the 2024 season via the arbitration process, should they see fit. He’ll be installed as their starter immediately, and if he takes well to his new settings, it’s possible the Brewers have found an answer at the position for the foreseeable future. Urias will be downgraded to a utility role, but perhaps playing more familiar positions at second base and third base will help him get his bat back on track.

Milwaukee will also add the 28-year-old Richards as part of the deal. The righty has pitched for both the Marlins and the Rays to this point in his career, working to a 4.42 ERA over the life of 305 2/3 innings. Richards looked to be in the midst of a breakout in 2019 after the Marlins traded him to Tampa Bay alongside Nick Anderson, as he logged a 1.93 ERA with a 24-to-5 K/BB ratio in 23 1/3 frames down the stretch. He’s posted a 5.52 ERA in 44 innings since that time, however.

To his credit, Richards has an immaculate minor league track record that gives continual hope of improved performance at the MLB level. Unsigned out of Drury University, Richards began his professional career with the Gateway Grizzlies of the independent Frontier League. He caught the Marlins’ attention, landing a deal with them in 2016 and going on to excel at every minor league stop. Richards has a career 2.35 ERA in 252 minor league frames, and the highest ERA he’s posted at any individual level is his 2.87 mark in Double-A. He’s worked as both a starter and reliever along the way.

Richards is in his final minor league option year, so the Rays can shuttle him back and forth between Triple-A and Milwaukee as much as they like for the duration of the season. He’ll need to stick on the MLB roster next spring, however, when he’ll have exhausted all of his minor league options.

It was surely a difficult trade for the Rays to make. Manager Kevin Cash told Topkin and others that the trade will be felt in the clubhouse, where Adames was beloved and had emerged as a leader. The GM called it a “tear-jerking” move to make, but with the looming presence of Franco, Walls and top middle-infield prospect Vidal Brujan, an eventual trade involving Adames has felt nearly inevitable.

Fans were surely hoping the trade would push Franco to the big leagues, but Walls is a highly touted farmhand in his own right, ranking as the game’s No. 107 prospect over at FanGraphs. He’s considered one of the better defensive prospects in the game at his position, and he’s posted strong offensive numbers at every stop since 2018. His bat has exploded to new heights so far in 2021, as he’s come out of the gates with a blistering .327/.468/.490 slash with a pair of homers and a couple steals through his first 62 plate appearances. Franco understandably gets more attention, but Walls and Brujan have the potential to be vital cogs in the Tampa Bay infield themselves.

Turning to the Rays’ return in this trade, they’ll add a pair of arms to help a banged-up relief corps. Feyereisen is headed straight to the MLB bullpen, Neander revealed, while Rasmussen is ticketed for Triple-A Durham.

J.P. Feyereisen | Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

There was no way the Rays were going to send the 28-year-old Feyereisen to the minors after the start he’s had in 2021. Through 19 1/3 innings, the righty has pitched to a 3.26 ERA with a 26 percent strikeout rate and a 47.7 percent ground-ball rate.

Walks have been an issue, as Feyereisen has yielded a free pass to 14.3 percent of opponents so far, but his 16.9 percent swinging-strike rate is among the best in the game. Feyereisen’s 59.6 percent opponents’ contact rate is the third-lowest in MLB, trailing only his now-former teammate Josh Hader and surprising Pirates setup man Sam Howard.

Feyereisen sits 93.7 mph with his heater and throws the pitch at a 41 percent clip, pairing that heater with a slider (38 percent) and changeup (21 percent). It’s been an effective mix for the 28-year-old rookie, whom the Rays can now control through at least the 2026 campaign. This marks the second notable trade of Feyereisen’s career, as he was traded from the Indians (alongside Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield and Ben Heller) to the Yankees in 2016’s Andrew Miller deal. New York eventually traded him to Milwaukee for additional international bonus pool space. Feyereisen has a pair of minor league options remaining.

Rasmussen, 25, has pitched 32 1/3 innings for the Brewers since Opening Day 2020, posting a sizable 31.1 percent strikeout rate but a troubling 14.2 percent walk rate that nearly mirrors Feyereisen’s mark. A sixth-round pick by the Brewers in 2018, he ranked as their No. 6 prospect at FanGraphs and No. 14 at Baseball America. He’s already had two Tommy John surgeries, despite his relative youth, but Rasmussen boasts a 97 mph heater and was excellent in the minors when healthy in 2019.

While Feyereisen has two minor league options left, Rasmussen has all three, making him a particularly flexible piece for the Rays in the coming years. Of course, the hope is that he’ll pitch his way into a role where he needn’t be returned to the minors at all. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen notes that Rasmussen has just that type of ceiling — the potential to become a high-leverage option late in games. The pair of surgeries naturally raises injury concern levels, but Rasmussen has the makings of a quality reliever if he can avoid further elbow troubles.

Overall, it’s a notable swap on many levels. It’s rare not only to see a trade of this magnitude in May, but also to see a trade in which two contending clubs are dealing big leaguers from positions of depth to help the other address an immediate, pressing need. The Brewers, after middling results from both Arcia and Urias, surely hope to have found a shortstop for years to come. The Rays, meanwhile, have seen several key relievers go down with injuries, leaving them with a relief corps that has been solid but not as dominant as hoped. The trade clears a path for the Rays to take a look at Walls now, and it puts an even more defined clock on the countdown to Franco’s MLB emergence.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported that an Adames trade was in the works (Twitter links). MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand first reported that Adames had been traded to Milwaukee. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported the other three players in the deal (Twitter links).

Brewers Select Mike Morin, Set Opening Day Roster

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The Brewers on Thursday announced their 30-man roster for Opening Day. Within they revealed that they’ve selected righty Mike Morin the Major League roster. He joins previously announced non-roster invitees Logan Morrison and Justin Grimm in making the club. The Brewers will also bring up righty J.P. Feyereisen to make his MLB debut, though he was already on the 40-man roster.

The 29-year-old Morin is no stranger to the Midwest, having been born in Minnesota, raised in St. Louis and previously pitched for both the Twins and Royals. He split the 2019 campaign between Minnesota and Philadelphia, logging a combined 4.62 ERA with a 26-to-10 K/BB ratio in 50 2/3 frames. Morin punched out 95 hitters in his first 94 MLB frames from 2014-15 but has since seen his strikeout numbers plummet. He’ll bring 224 innings of MLB experience, a 4.65 ERA and a much better 3.60 FIP to a deep Milwaukee bullpen.

Brewers Option Five Players

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The Brewers have answered the last call for optional assignments, sending down a handful of players to their top affiliates. Jim Goulart of Brewerfan.net tweeted the news.

Catcher Jacob Nottingham is on his way down, indicating he’s not expected to crack an eventual Opening Day roster. Soon to turn 25, Nottingham has seen brief MLB action in each of the past two seasons but faced an uphill battle to earn a job with Omar Narvaez and Manny Pina locked in behind the plate.

Also sent out on options were four hurlers: southpaw Angel Perdomo and righties Bobby Wahl, Eric Yardley, and J.P. Feyereisen. Only Perdomo has ever actually appeared in regular-season action with a Milwaukee affiliate. He worked to a 4.28 ERA with a hefty 13.9 K/9 but equally voluminous 6.0 BB/9 in 69 1/3 upper-minors innings last year.

Yardley received his first ten MLB appearances last year with the Padres. The Brewers claimed him off waivers in the offseason. Wahl also has seen the majors, receiving brief looks with the A’s and Mets. He came to Milwaukee in the Keon Broxton swap but ended up missing the 2019 season due to a torn ACL. As for Feyereisen, he landed with the Brewers in a rare September swap with the Yankees, who obviously didn’t expect to have room for him on the 40-man roster in advance of the 2019 Rule 5 draft.

Players Added To 40-Man Roster: National League

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We’re going to see a whole lot of players added to 40-man rosters in advance of tonight’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. We will use this post to track those contract selections from National League teams that are not otherwise covered on the site.

NL West

  • The Dodgers announced that they’ve selected the contracts of right-hander Mitchell White, infielder/outfielder Zach McKinstry and outfielder DJ Peters. Both White and Peters are considered to be among the club’s top 15 prospects. McKinstry isn’t generally ranked inside L.A.’s top 30, but the 24-year-old had a big season between Double-A and Triple-A in 2019 while appearing at six defensive positions (shortstop, second base, third base and all three outfield slots).
  • The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve selected the contracts of right-handers Taylor Widener and Riley Smith as well as the contracts of infielders Andy Young and Wyatt Mathisen. Widener, 24, was one of the organization’s best pitching prospects coming into the season but was blown up for an eye-popping 8.10 ERA in 100 innings. He’s only a year removed from 137 1/3 innings of 2.75 ERA ball and an 11.5 K/9 mark in Double-A, however. Smith, 24, was sharp in Double-A before struggling in Triple-A — like many pitching prospects throughout the league (and with the D-backs in particular). Young, acquired in the Paul Goldschmidt trade last winter, hit 29 homers while playing three infield positions between Double-A and Triple-A. Mathisen, 26 in December, hit .283/.403/.601 in 345 Triple-A plate appearances.
  • The Giants, surprisingly, did not add anyone to their 40-man roster prior to tonight’s deadline.
  • The Rockies selected the contracts of infielder Tyler Nevin, left-hander Ben Bowden and right-handers Ashton Goudeau and Antonio Santos (Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post first reported the news on Twitter). Those four moves will fill the team’s 40-man roster. Of the four, Bowden and Nevin draw the most fanfare. Nevin, the No. 38 pick in the 2015 draft and son of former MLB slugger Phil Nevin, posted deceptively solid numbers in an extremely pitcher-friendly Double-A environment in 2019 (.251/.345/.399 — good for a 122 wRC+). Bowden, a second-round pick in ’16, posted gaudy strikeout numbers but struggled in Triple-A after dominating in Double-A in 2019.
  • The Padres selected outfielder Jorge Ona’s contract and designated outfielder Nick Martini for assignment, as outlined here.

NL Central

  • The Cardinals announced the additions of Jake Woodford, Elehuris Montero and Alvaro Seijas while designating righty Dominic Leone for assignment (as detailed here at greater length).
  • Outfielder Corey Ray and right-hander J.P. Feyereisen will head onto the Brewers 40-man, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter). It’s not yet known if the team will make further roster additions, but it would have five additional spots to work with to do so. Ray was the fifth overall pick in the 2016 draft but is coming off of a rough season. Feyereisen, who was added in a quiet September swap, will have a chance to challenge for MLB relief opportunities. Milwaukee also added infielder Mark Mathias to the 40-man roster after acquiring him in a trade with the Indians tonight.
  • The Cubs announced that they’ve added catcher Miguel Amaya, infielder Zack Short and right-handers Tyson Miller and Manuel Rodriguez to the 40-man roster. Amaya is the most highly regarded of the bunch, ranking second among Chicago farmhands and drawing some top 100 consideration at MLB.com.
  • Four additions to the 40-man were announced by the Reds, who have selected the contracts of catcher Tyler Stephenson and right-handers Tony Santillan, Ryan Hendrix and Tejay Antone. All four rank within the club’s top 30 at MLB.com, headlined by Santillan at No. 4 and ranging all the way to Antone at No. 30. Santillan thrived in a brief Double-A debut in 2018 but struggled there in a larger 2019 sample (4.84 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 4.8 BB/9 in 102 1/3 innings). He’s still just 22, though, and is regarded as a potential big league starter. Stephenson is a former first-round pick who hit well in a highly pitcher-friendly Double-A setting (.285/.372/.410; 130 wRC+). Hendrix posted big strikeout numbers as a reliever in 2019, while Antone displayed sharp ground-ball skills as a starter and reached Triple-A for the first time.
  • The Pirates added prospects Ke’Bryan Hayes, Oneil Cruz, Will Craig, Blake Cederlind and Cody Ponce to the 40-man roster while also designating four pitchers for assignment (as explored in greater length here). Lefty Williams Jerez and right-handers Dario Agrazal, Montana DuRapau and Luis Escobar were cut loose.

NL East

Yankees Trade J.P. Feyereisen To Brewers

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The Brewers have acquired minor league right-hander J.P. Feyereisen from the Yankees in exchange for minor league infielder Brenny Escanio and international bonus pool space, per announcements from both clubs. Both Feyereisen, 26, and Escanio, 16, were eligible to be traded by virtue of the fact that neither has been on a 40-man roster at any point in 2019.

New York originally acquired Feyereisen alongside Clint Frazier and Justus Sheffield in the the trade that sent left-hander Andrew Miller to Cleveland back in 2016. The 2014 16th-round pick needs to be added to the 40-man roster this winter, lest he be eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft, and this trade likely signifies that the Yankees didn’t feel they had room to do so.

That’s not for any lack of performance on the part of Feyereisen; to the contrary, in fact, he’s had a terrific season with the Yankees’ top affiliate in Scranton. Through 61 1/3 innings, the righty has pitched to a 2.49 ERA with 13.8 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, 0.88 HR/9 and a 36.7 percent ground-ball rate. That’s Feyereisen’s third tour in Triple-A, but he’s yet to receive a call to the bigs despite owning a collective 3.12 ERA and 195-to-76 K/BB ratio in 164 2/3 frames at that level.

The Yankees have prided themselves on ludicrously deep bullpens in recent seasons, and that depth hasn’t made it any easier for Feyereisen (and other potentially deserving arms) to crack the Major League roster. He’ll have a clearer path to the Majors in Milwaukee, though it’s not clear if the Brewers plan to bring him to the Majors. Even if the Brewers do promote him, the fact that the Feyereisen acquisition didn’t occur until September would render him ineligible for postseason play, should Milwaukee qualify.

The amount of bonus money acquired by the Yankees wasn’t specified, though international allotments must be traded in blocks of at least $250K. The international funds acquired here were the primary get for the Yanks, as Escanio was a relatively low-profile signing just two months ago on July 2 when this year’s international signing period kicked off. The Yankees spent the vast majority of their international pool to sign top outfield prospect Jasson Dominguez, and their lack of additional funds acquired to this point ultimately cost them the opportunity to sign another well-regarded outfield prospect: Jhon Diaz.

While it was reported on July 2 that Diaz had agreed to a roughly $1MM bonus with the Yankees, the organization needed to acquire additional pool allocations in order to make that agreement a reality. Just last week, though, Diaz signed with the Rays for a similar amount. With the Yankees having dedicated roughly $5MM of their $5.398MM pool to Dominguez, today’s deal will help them to further explore the market for remaining talent.

Indians Acquire Andrew Miller

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The Indians have dramatically fortified their bullpen as they look to further pad their lead on the American League Central, announcing on Sunday morning the acquisition of left-hander Andrew Miller from the Yankees in exchange for outfield prospect Clint Frazier, minor league left-hander Justus Sheffield and minor league right-handers Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen.

MillerInsta

[Related: Updated Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees Depth Charts]

Miller, 31, has been one of baseball’s most dominant relievers for the third year in a row, but the 2016 season has been arguably his best. He’s pitched to a lights-out 1.39 ERA with a 77-t0-7 K/BB ratio and a 52.9 percent ground-ball rate in 45 1/3 innings. He’s earning $9MM this season and in each of the next two to come — a highly reasonable price for a pitcher that has shown his level of dominance late in games. That he’s controllable for another two campaigns beyond 2016 undoubtedly made this deal more palatable for the Indians, who have a deep enough farm system to make this move without gutting their entire pipeline of prospects. However, the price that looks to have been paid is unequivocally steep, as Frazier is widely regarded as one of the top 25 or so best prospects in the game, and Sheffield has worked his way onto a number of top 100 rankings as well.

While future iterations of the Indians may suffer down the line if Frazier and Sheffield reach their ceilings, Cleveland holds a 4.5 game lead over the American League Central division and has definitively announced itself to be in win-now mode. Cleveland reportedly had an agreement in place with the Brewers to acquire Jonathan Lucroy, but that move was blown up when Lucroy exercised his no-trade clause to nix the deal. Whether or not the Indians can pull off another major acquisition, they have filled one clear need on their roster with a top-of-the-market upgrade as they push to capture their first World Series title since 1948.

The Yankees, meanwhile, have seemingly become reluctant deadline sellers, now trading two-thirds of what was one of the most dominant late-inning trios Major League history. Dellin Betances will step into the ninth inning for the Yankees, who have parlayed their investments in Miller and Chapman into a slew of intriguing prospects. The Yankees’ farm system is now teeming with top-tier talent, positioning them well for the future either by allowing them to develop a number of core young players or put together a package for controllable, impact talent at the Major League level.

Frazier, 21, is one of the game’s most highly touted outfield prospects and draws rave reviews for his exceptional bat speed. He was recently promoted to Triple-A after hitting .276/.356/.469 with 13 homers and 13 steals in 391 plate appearances against much older competition at Double-A Akron. He rated 21st on Baseball America’s midseason list of the game’s top 100 prospects, 24th on MLB.com’s same version of that list, 26th on Baseball Prospectus’ midseason top 50 and 34th on Keith Law’s midseason top 50 at ESPN.com. He’s playing center field right now, but he may have to eventually move to a corner spot, where his bat will still play. Frazier draws positive reviews for his plus raw power and improving plate discipline. His walk and strikeout rates have improved significantly since his debut in pro ball, and given the fact that he’s already in Triple-A, he could be an option for the Yankees as soon as next season if his development doesn’t stall at the top minor league level.

Sheffield, 20, is currently holding his own against much older competition in the Class-A Advanced Carolina League. He’s worked to a 3.59 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 with a 45 percent ground-ball rate in 19 starts this season, spanning a total of 95 1/3 innings. Cleveland selected Sheffield with the 31st overall pick in the 2014 draft, and he currently rates 69th on BA’s midseason top 100 and 95th on MLB.com’s version of the list. Sheffield’s fastball has some sink to it and sits in the 92-93 mph range, occasionally reaching as high as 96 mph, per MLB.com. He’s a bit undersized at 5’10”, but most scouting reports on Sheffield peg him as a potential mid-rotation starter with a potentially plus curveball and a developing changeup.

Both Heller and Feyereisen could help the Yankees’ bullpen in the near future, tweets MLB.com’s Jim Callis. Heller rated as the Indians’ No. 30 prospect, per Callis and colleague Jonathan Mayo, He’s currently pitching at Triple-A after posting a dazzling 0.55 ERA with 12.7 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 16 1/3 Double-A innings to open the season. The 24-year-old Heller has had continued success since moving up a level,  logging a 2.49 ERA with a 25-to-7 K/BB ratio in 25 1/3 innings. Heller’s fastball sits in the upper 90s and can touch 100 mph, and his slider draws above-average reviews from Callis and Mayo. The 23-year-old Feyereisen is currently pitching in Double-A, where he’s compiled a 2.23 ERA with a 56-to-20 K/BB ratio in 40 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. Though he’s averaged 4.5 walks per nine innings this season, control hasn’t been a major issue for him in past seasons.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that Miller had been traded to Cleveland (Twitter link). ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that Frazier, Sheffield and two others were in the deal (links to Twitter). FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported the inclusion of Heller and Feyereisen (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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