Minor MLB Transactions: 4/13/18
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league, all courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted…
- The Angels have added right-handed reliever Jordan Jankowski on a minor league contract. The 28-year-old got his first taste of the big league in 2017, tossing 4 1/3 frames for the Astros before landing with the Dodgers via waiver claim. Jankowski has averaged 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings in 177 1/3 Triple-A frames in his career, though he’s struggled with control since being selected in the 34th round of the 2012 draft as well.
- Former big league infielders Tyler Ladendorf and Darnell Sweeney have signed minor league pacts with the Blue Jays. Ladendorf, a former Twins second-rounder who was once traded to the A’s in exchange for Orlando Cabrera, logged 68 MLB plate appearances with Oakland from 2015-16 but hit just .123/.149/.154 in that brief time. He’s a career .258/.326/.350 hitter in Triple-A and has played second base, shortstop, third base and corner outfield as a pro. Sweeney, meanwhile, posted a .639 OPS in 98 plate appearances with the Phillies in 2015 after they acquired him from the Dodgers in the Chase Utley trade. He’s a career .258/.325/.394 hitter in Triple-A.
- The Giants released outfielder Daniel Carbonell, who they’d originally signed Carbonell to a four-year, $3.5MM contract back in 2014 after he left Cuba. Signed because of his defensive prowess and speed, Carbonell’s bat never came around, as he appeared in just two Triple-A games with the Giants after stalling out in Double-A. In 437 plate appearances at that Double-A level, the now-27-year-old Carbonell hit just .188/.227/.273.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/2/18
Here are Monday’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Red Sox picked up catcher Mike Ohlman from the Rangers in exchange for cash, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports in a comprehensive rundown of late-spring releases, trades and signings. The 27-year-old made his Major League debut with Toronto last year but collected just 13 plate appearances over the life of seven games. An 11th-round pick of the Orioles back in 2009, Ohlman has logged a respectable .758 OPS in 518 Triple-A plate appearances thus far in his minor league career. He’ll give Boston some depth behind the plate, though the Sox are largely set in that capacity with Christian Vazquez, Sandy Leon and Blake Swihart all on the 25-man roster.
- Veteran right-hander Logan Ondrusek is joining the Dodgers on a minor league contract, per Eddy. The 33-year-old didn’t pitch professionally in 2017 but does have 277 big league innings under his belt, spanning the 2010-16 seasons. Ondrusek last appeared in the Majors with the 2016 Orioles, when he allowed seven runs in a tiny sample of 6 1/3 innings. For his career, he has a 4.03 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in the Majors, though he’s posted much better numbers in Triple-A and in Japan.
- Eddy also notes that the Dodgers have cut ties with righty Jordan Jankowski. The 28-year-old got his first taste of the big league in 2017, tossing 4 1/3 frames for the Astros before landing with the Dodgers via waiver claim. Jankowski has averaged 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings in 177 1/3 Triple-A frames in his career, though he’s struggled with control since being selected in the 34th round of the 2012 draft as well.
Dodgers Designate Jordan Jankowski For Assignment
The Dodgers have announced that they’ve designated righty Jordan Jankowski for assignment. The move clears space on the 40-man roster for righty Wilmer Font, whose contract the team selected today. The Dodgers also promoted Font and righty Brock Stewart to the big leagues.
The Dodgers added Jankowski on a waiver claim from the Astros less than two weeks ago. The 28-year-old has a 5.61 ERA, 11.4 K/9 and 5.8 BB/9 in 43 1/3 innings of relief at the Triple-A level this season. He also debuted with the Astros earlier this year, giving up six runs in 4 1/3 innings.
The 27-year-old Font, meanwhile, was named the PCL Pitcher of the Year after a remarkable season for Triple-A Oklahoma City in which he posted a 3.42 ERA, 11.9 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over 134 1/3 innings. The former Rangers farmhand signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays after a stint in independent ball last season, then headed to the Dodgers on another minor-league pact last winter.
Dodgers Claim Jordan Jankowski From Astros
The Dodgers have claimed right-hander Jordan Jankowski off waivers from the Astros, per an announcement from Los Angeles. The hurler had been in limbo since the Astros designated him for assignment this past Monday.
A 34th-round pick of the Astros in 2012, Jankowski made his major league debut earlier this year and fared poorly across 4 1/3 innings, surrendering six earned runs on seven hits and two walks, with five strikeouts. Jankowski hasn’t produced great results in 40 1/3 Triple-A frames this season, either, with a 5.13 ERA, 5.13 BB/9 and a 36.8 percent ground-ball rate. The 28-year-old has averaged nearly 12 strikeouts per nine at that level this season, however, adding to his impressive bat-missing history in the minors. In 174 1/3 lifetime Triple-A innings, Jankowski has fanned exactly 12 hitters per nine, against 4.5 BB/9, and posted a 3.87 ERA.
Jankowski, who has three minor league options remaining, will report to the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City.
Astros Place Brian McCann On DL, Designate Jordan Jankowski
The Astros have placed catcher Brian McCann on the 10-day DL and designated righty Jordan Jankowski for assignment, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports (Twitter links). Jankowski will lose his 40-man spot to allow the club to select the contract of Max Stassi, who is needed to fill in for McCann.
It isn’t yet known what kind of absence McCann is facing, though it doesn’t sound like there’s too much cause for concern. The veteran backstop is said to be dealing with right knee soreness. Given Houston’s commanding position in the AL West standings, some down time for McCann won’t likely hurt.
In McCann’s steady, the 26-year-old Stassi will get his first MLB time in 2017. He has appeared very briefly in each of the four prior campaigns; while it seemed he’d get a longer look in 2016, that failed to come about due to an injury and Stassi ended up losing his 40-man spot.
Thus far in 2017, Stassi has turned around what had been a lengthy offensive malaise. Through 287 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors, he’s slashing .266/.383/.473 with a dozen home runs and greatly improved plate discipline (13.2% walk rate against a 23.3% strikeout rate).
Jankowski will not control his fate. He’ll either end up with another organization (via trade or claim), land back at Triple-A Fresno after being outrighted (without right of refusal), or be set onto the open market (if the ‘Stros don’t wish to keep him).
Thus far in 2017, the 28-year-old Jankowski has failed to carry a sub-4.00 ERA for the first time as a professional. Through 40 1/3 innings at Triple-A, he owns a 5.13 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9. Jankowski did earn his first MLB call-up, though he was knocked around in 4 1/3 innings, and could intrigue other organizations with his history of big strikeout numbers.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/22/17
Here are Monday’s minor moves from around the league…
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that right-hander Carlos Frias has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus after clearing waivers (Twitter link). The Indians designated the longtime Dodgers reliever for assignment over the weekend. Frias, 27, has a 4.50 ERA with 5.9 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 53.7 percent ground-ball rate in 114 Major League innings spread across parts of three seasons. He’s struggled in Triple-A this year, however, surrendering 17 earned runs on 20 hits and nine walks with eight strikeouts in 17 innings.
Earlier Moves
- The Astros will select the contract of right-hander Jordan Jankowski from Triple-A Fresno today, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (Twitter link). He’s not on the 40-man roster, meaning the team will need to make another move to accommodate him. Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports that Jankowski will replace lefty Ashur Tolliver on the active roster, though Tolliver has minor league options remaining, so he needn’t be designated for assignment and can rather be optioned. Houston selected Jankowski in the 34th round of the 2008 draft, but he elected to attend college at Catawba College, in Salirbury, N.C. Four years later, the Astros again selected Jankowski — once again in the 34th round. The 28-year-old owns a pristine 1.42 ERA with a 22-to-9 K/BB ratio in 19 innings this season in Triple-A.
Astros Designate Andrew Aplin For Assignment
The Astros announced that they’ve designated outfielder Andrew Aplin for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for right-hander Jordan Jankowski, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Fresno.
The 26-year-old Aplin was a fifth-round pick of the Astros back in 2012, and while he reached Triple-A for the first time as a 23-year-old in 2014, his career has stalled somewhat at that level. Aplin has now spent parts of four seasons there, hitting a combined .245/.341/.329 with eight homers and 47 steals through 249 games (953 plate appearances). That includes a .250/.375/.345 batting line in 2017 — his age-26 campaign.
Jankowski, 28, was drafted by the Astros out of high school in 2008 and out of college in 2012 — both in the 34th round. He’s worked to an excellent 1.42 ERA with a 22-to-9 K/BB ratio in 19 innings this season in Triple-A and has a lifetime 3.24 ERA with 11.9 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9 in 153 innings at that level.