Cubs Acquire Jake Wong From Reds
The Cubs acquired minor league right-hander Jake Wong from the Reds late last week, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. He is not on the 40-man roster. The 27-year-old made his organizational debut with Double-A Tennessee.
Wong entered the professional ranks as a third-round pick of the Giants in 2018. Cincinnati acquired him as the player to be named later in an offseason trade that sent Rule 5 pick Blake Sabol to San Francisco. The Reds called Wong up for one appearance at the end of June. He allowed three runs in as many innings working in relief against the Orioles. Cincinnati outrighted him off the 40-man roster not long after.
The Grand Canyon product struggled in the upper levels of the minors with Cincinnati. Wong pitched to a 5.17 ERA over 47 Double-A frames. He had a particularly tough time in Triple-A, where he allowed more than a run per inning while walking more hitters (18.1%) than he struck out (12.8%). That’s a season he’ll obviously look to put behind him. Wong had better numbers in High-A while a member of the San Francisco organization back in 2022, turning in a 4.52 ERA while punching out more than a quarter of opposing hitters.
Reds Select Alec Mills, Outright Jake Wong
TODAY: Wong was outrighted to Triple-A Louisville after clearing waivers.
JUNE 27: The Reds announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Alec Mills, with fellow righty Jake Wong designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Mills, 31, spent 2018 to 2022 with the Cubs. He once seemed like he had a shot at establishing himself as a solid back-end starter. In 2020, he made 11 starts with a 4.48 ERA and even tossed a no-hitter that year. Unfortunately, he dealt with back issues in the next two years, leading to a 5.66 combined ERA in 2021 and 2022 before undergoing back surgery as last year’s campaign was winding down.
He was outrighted by the Cubs in November and became a free agent. He signed with the Reds in the middle of May and has since tossed 11 innings over four appearances with a 4.09 ERA on the year thus far. He’s struck out just 11.1% of opponents but walked only 6.7%.
The Reds have been stretched in the pitching department in recent days, leading to a daily scramble for fresh arms. They had Thursday off last week but then allowed at least seven runs in each of their four games from Friday to Monday. Their starting pitcher wasn’t able to go longer than four innings in any of them, leading to heavy usage of the bullpen. They have another off-day this Thursday but still have two more games to get through, prompting them to bring up Mills as a potential multi-inning option.
As for Wong, he was the club’s fresh arm just yesterday. He was able to make his major league debut in last night’s contest, tossing three innings while allowing three earned runs on six hits and three walks. Prior to getting called up, he tossed 34 1/3 innings in the minors with a 7.60 ERA. The Reds will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers.
Reds Select Jake Wong, Designate Randy Wynne
The Reds announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Jake Wong and recalled righty Eduardo Salazar from Triple-A Louisville. In corresponding moves, righty Levi Stoudt was optioned to Louisville while righty Randy Wynne was designated for assignment.
Wong, 26, was drafted by the Giants and spent his entire career there prior to this season. In December, the Reds took catcher/outfielder Blake Sabol from the Pirates in the Rule 5 draft and flipped him to the Giants for cash or a player to be named later. About a week later, the Reds announced that Wong would be the PTBNL from that Sabol deal.
The right-hander had pitched in the lower levels of the Giants’ system in 2018 and 2019 but then missed two entire seasons. The minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic in 2020 and then Wong spent all of 2021 on the injured list. Last year, he tossed 97 2/3 innings at High-A over 25 appearances, including 17 starts, with a 4.52 ERA. His 10.3% walk rate was a bit high but he struck out 25.3% of opponents and got ground balls at a 53.3% clip.
This year, the Reds have essentially moved Wong to full-time relief work, as his only start was 2 2/3 innings. On the whole, he’s tossed 34 1/3 innings over 17 appearances split between Double-A and Triple-A, but has struggled in his first taste of the upper levels of the farm. He has a 7.60 ERA this year between those two stops, striking out 22.6% of opponents but walking 13%.
Despite the poor results so far this year, the Reds have called him up since they need fresh arms. In their three-game set against Atlanta over the weekend, they allowed 24 runs and none of their starters lasted longer than four innings, leaving relief corps to absorb 16 2/3 frames over that series. They now have a three-game series in Baltimore before their next off-day and have called up Wong and Salazar to help them push through.
In order to get those arms onto the roster, the Reds have bumped Wynne off of it. He himself was added as a fresh arm just yesterday and made his major league debut. He tossed 2 1/3 innings, allowing three hits, a walk and one earned run without registering a strikeout. Despite that respectable showing in his first big league game, he’s quickly been bounced due to the club’s overtaxed pitching corps.
The Reds will now have a week to trade Wynne or pass him through waivers. Prior to getting called up, he tossed 31 2/3 innings in Triple-A this year with a 5.12 ERA, 12.9% strikeout rate, 5% walk rate and 31.8% ground ball rate.