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Padres Release Michel Baez, Jorge Ona

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The Padres released right-hander Michel Baez and outfielder Jorge Ona earlier this week according to the transaction section of each player’s MLB.com player page. Neither of the two former big leaguers were still on the club’s 40-man roster and had been in the organization on minor league contracts.

Baez, 28 next month, signed with the Padres out of Cuba prior to the 2017 season and quickly impressed prospect evaluators. Prior to the 2018 season, Baez was a consensus top-50 prospect in the sport with some publications even ranking him in the top 30. While Baez was moved to the bullpen in 2019, when he made his big league debut later that year the right-hander appeared to be on track to live up to his potential with an impressive 3.03 ERA in 29 2/3 innings of work. Unfortunately, that’s not how things worked out as Baez has made just five appearances in the majors since, most recently in 2022.

While injuries, including Tommy John surgery during the 2021 season, have played a role in Baez’s fall from promising prospect to released from the Padres organization entirely, the right-hander has largely struggled at the upper levels of the minors even when he’s been healthy enough to take the mound. He’s pitched just 35 innings at the Triple-A level in his career with a brutal 8.23 ERA and more walks than strikeouts, while he owns a career 4.47 ERA in 86 2/3 innings of work at the Double-A level.

Ona, 27 next week, signed out of Cuba as part of the same class as Baez, though he didn’t receive the same fanfare as a prospect. Ona has been dogged by injuries all throughout his career, last reaching even 70 games played in a single season back in 2018. When on the field, however, Ona occasionally showed flashes of potentially including a 25-game stint at the Double-A level back in 2019 where he slashed an impressive .348/.418/.539 in 103 plate appearances.

That strong performance earned Ona a brief cup of coffee at the big league level during the shortened 2020 season, where he managed to hit .250/.400/.583 in 15 trips to the plate. Unfortunately, Ona has scarcely taken the field since then with just 422 plate appearances across all levels in the past three seasons, almost all of which have come at the Double-A level. In 2023, Ona managed to get into just 35 games and when on the field slashed a lackluster .218/.301/.391 in 123 trips to the plate.

Now on the open market for the first time in their careers, both Ona and Baez will have the opportunity to either attempt to catch on with another organization at the minor league level or else depart affiliated ball for an independent league or potential overseas opportunities. Baez’s brief flashes of success at the big league level and prospect pedigree could give him better odds of securing another role in affiliated ball than Ona, though its possible the outfielder could be of interest to a team as well if he can prove himself to be healthy enough to handle a full professional season.

Padres Reinstate Chris Paddack From Injured List

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The Padres are reinstating right-hander Chris Paddack from the COVID-19 injured list to start today’s game against the Giants, the team announced. To create 40-man roster space, outfielder Jorge Oña was transferred to the 60-day IL. Oña underwent arthroscopic elbow surgery earlier this week and is expected to be out for six to eight weeks. Reliever Nabil Crismatt was optioned to clear active roster space.

Paddack went on the Covid IL on April 30, but he’ll return after just ten days away. The 25-year-old made five starts in the season’s first month, managing a 5.40 ERA/4.03 SIERA over 23 1/3 innings. It’s been a disappointing start on the heels of a similarly pedestrian 2020 season that saw Paddack work to a 4.73 ERA/3.91 SIERA in twelve starts.

Of course, there’s still plenty of time for Paddack to right the ship. He boasts a mid-90’s fastball and quality changeup, and Paddack’s 6.7% walk rate is far better than average. He’s also not far removed from a 2018 season when he tossed 140 2/3 innings of 3.33 ERA ball and looked to be emerging as a high-end starter. Paddack will slide back into the star-studded San Diego rotation alongside Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove and Dinelson Lamet.

Health Notes: Sale, Middleton, Odor, Ona, Graterol

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Red Sox ace Chris Sale worked off a mound today for the first time in his recovery from March 2020 Tommy John surgery, Jen McCaffrey of the Athletic was among those to relay (Twitter link). There’s still no timetable for Sale’s potential return to game action, although getting on the mound obviously represents a notable step forward. At 18-13, the Red Sox are off to a strong start and could be a legitimate contender in a tough AL East. Boston’s rotation looks to be the weak point on the roster, but it’s held up fairly well so far. Sox starters have a middle-of-the-pack 4.02 ERA/4.00 SIERA over the season’s first month-plus.

Other health situations around the league:

  • This morning, the Mariners announced they’ve placed reliever Keynan Middleton on the 10-day injured list with a right biceps strain. Fellow righty Wyatt Mills was recalled in his place. Middleton, 27, has tossed 11 2/3 innings of five-run ball in the early going, striking out nine against six walks. Middleton, who underwent a Tommy John surgery in May 2018, spent the 2017-20 seasons with the division-rival Angels.
  • The Yankees placed infielder Rougned Odor on the 10-day injured list this afternoon. He’s dealing with a left knee sprain. Right-hander Albert Abreu was recalled to take his place on the active roster. Odor, acquired from the Rangers at the beginning of the regular season, hasn’t offered a whole lot offensively in the early going. He’s hitting just .164/.271/.361 over his first 70 plate appearances with New York. To his credit, Odor has massively improved upon his strikeout and walk rates from recent seasons though.
  • Padres outfielder Jorge Oña underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow yesterday, Dennis Lin of the Athletic was among those to pass along (Twitter link). He’s expected to be out of action for six to eight weeks. Oña, 24, made a very brief MLB debut last season, tallying 15 plate appearances over five games. Other than that limited major league time, Oña only has 103 trips to the plate above the low minors (in Double-A in 2019), so he likely would’ve started the year at Triple-A El Paso even if he’d been healthy.
  • Dodgers reliever Brusdar Graterol, placed on the injured list last week because of forearm tightness, was known to be headed for an MRI. Fortunately, testing showed no structural damage, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). That’s especially welcome news since the flamethrowing Graterol underwent a Tommy John procedure back in 2016. There’s still no indication when he might return to game action.

Padres Recall Jorge Ona

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The Padres announced that they’ve called up outfield prospect Jorge Ona. They optioned righty Luis Patino to their alternate training site in a corresponding move. Ona will debut as the Padres’ designated hitter against Colorado on Monday, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.

As Cassavell notes, the hope is that Ona will give the Padres more power from the right side of the plate. They were counting on high-end prospect Luis Campusano, whom they promoted Friday, to provide that. However, Campusano went on the injured list on Sunday after three at-bats (and a home run) because of a left wrist sprain.

Unlike Campusano, Ona is not a top 100 caliber prospect, though the Cuba native did join the club for a pricey $7MM bonus in 2016. Ona was obviously regarded as an international gem at the time, but he hasn’t quite lived up to the hype yet. Still, four years after signing, he remains a promising part of the Padres’ loaded farm system, ranking as one of their top 30 prospects at MLB.com (No. 24), FanGraphs (30) and Baseball America (30). The 23-year-old was dominant last season in Double-A, where he slashed .348/.417/.539 in 102 plate appearances, but Ona saw his campaign come to an end in July when he underwent right shoulder surgery.

Player Pool Additions: Phillies, Brewers, Padres, Orioles

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We’ll track the latest additions to teams’ 60-man player pools in this post…

  • The Phillies added lefty Jeff Singer to their pool, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (via Twitter). The 26-year-old signed with the Phils as an undrafted free agent in 2016 and has steadily risen through their system, reaching the Double-A level in 2019. Last year, Singer tossed 61 2/3 frames with a 74-to-22 K/BB ratio, a 2.34 ERA and a 2.77 FIP. Singer isn’t considered to be among the club’s top-ranked prospects but will get some developmental reps in Allentown and could conceivably even be an option later this month, given his success in the upper minors.
  • The Brewers announced three new additions to their player pool: infielder Gabe Holt, outfielder Carlos Rodriguez and righty Bowden Francis. Their 60-man group is up to 59 players. Holt, 22, was a seventh-round pick out of Texas Tech in 2019 and hasn’t played above Rookie ball, so his addition is purely developmental. That’s also true of Rodriguez, a 2017 international signee out of Venezuela who is considered among to be the organization’s top 20 prospects. Francis, meanwhile, was a 2017 seventh-rounder and split the 2019 season between Class-A Advanced and Double-A. In a combined 142 2/3 innings, Francis pitched to a 3.97 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. Francis seems like a viable candidate to debut over the final three-plus weeks of the 2020 season, as he’ll need to be added to the 40-man roster to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft this winter anyhow.
  • Righty Justin Lange and catcher Blake Hunt have been added to the Padres’ player pool, tweets Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Sanders adds that outfielder Jorge Ona was also quietly added to the pool “some time” ago. The 18-year-old Lange was taken with the No. 34 overall pick in this year’s draft, but as a high school draftee, he obviously won’t be considered for an MLB look this month. Hunt, 21, was the Padres’ second-rounder in ’17 and hit .255/.331/.381 in 376 Class-A plate appearances last year. The 23-year-old Ona was a high-profile signing out of Cuba. He was sidelined for much of the 2019 season but put together a huge .348/.417/.539 slash through 103 plate appearances in a pitcher-friendly Double-A environment last year. He’s already on the 40-man roster after having his contract selected last November.
  • The Orioles announced that lefty Zac Lowther has been added to their player pool in Bowie. Lowther, 24, was the Orioles’ second-rounder in 2017 and posted a 2.55 ERA with 9.4 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, 0.49 HR/9 and a 40.1 percent ground-ball rate in 148 innings. He’s generally considered to be among the Orioles’ 15 best prospects.

Padres Designate Nick Martini

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The Padres have designated outfielder Nick Martini for assignment, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweets. The club selected the contract of outfielder Jorge Ona from Double-A Amarillo in a corresponding move.

Martini joined the Padres off waivers from the Athletics at the end of August, but the 29-year-old then struggled over 96 plate appearances, hitting .244/.344/.317 with no home runs. He logged just 13 PA with the A’s this past season before they moved on from him, though Martini was a respectable member of their offense in 2018. The lefty slashed .296/.397/.414 across 179 trips to the plate, but he only hit one HR then.

Ona, now 22, came to the Pads as a hyped prospect out of Cuba in July 2016. The club signed Ona for $7MM, and he’s now coming off a short season in which he starred in his first taste of the Double-A level. Ona racked up 103 plate appearances and batted .348/.417/.539 with five homers, though the right shoulder surgery he underwent in July limited his campaign.

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

Padres, Cuban Outfielder Jorge Ona Agree To $7MM Bonus

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The Padres and 19-year-old Cuban outfielder Jorge Ona, who was recently declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, have agreed to a $7MM signing bonus, reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). The Padres have long been considered the favorites to sign Ona, who will add yet another high-profile name to San Diego’s bounty of top-tier international talent in the 2016-17 international signing class.

Ona rated as the No. 8 international prospect on this year’s class, per Sanchez’s rankings at MLB.com. Sanchez wrote in his free scouting report that scouts are impressed by Ona’s ability to hit to all fields and his emerging power, noting that his batting practice sessions are a “sight to behold.” Baseball America’s Ben Badler wrote back in February that San Diego was the favorite to sign Ona. Per Badler, the right-handed hitter has a compact swing with good bat speed, plus power and an above-average arm that makes him best suited for right field. Badler didn’t rank Ona on his Top 50 list of international free agents for the 2016-17 signing class, as Ona wasn’t a free agent when the signing period began on July 2. He did, however, praise Ona a great deal when profiling the top players that had yet to leave Cuba last April — Ona left the island later that summer — noting that Ona had “all the attributes to be a star right fielder.” While he’s a ways from the Majors, Badler’s February report suggested that Ona could join a Class-A affiliate if he signed this season.

Ona is the second high-profile Cuban talent to be declared a free agent after the July 2 market opened and quickly sign with the Padres. San Diego already added 17-year-old left-hander Adrian Morejon for a reported bonus of $11MM, and the club also shelled out more than $12MM in signings on July 2 when the signing period kicked off. All told, they appear to have spent $30MM+ on international free agents to this point, proving reports that they planned to shatter their allotted bonus pool to be accurate. They’ll pay a 100 percent luxury tax on any amount that exceeds their $3.348MM pool, meaning Ona’s signing effectively cost the club $14MM. The cumulative sum of their spending on international free agents is already near or in excess of $60MM and could continue to grow between now and the close of the 2016-17 signing period on June 15 of next year.

Cuban Prospect Jorge Ona Declared Free Agent

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Cuban outfield prospect Jorge Ona has been declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). He’s now free to sign with any club, though the international bonus pool restrictions will apply.

Ona, 19, has long been expected to land with the Padres, and Sanchez suggests that’s still the case. At one point, it had seemed that he might be cleared to sign in the previous July 2 period, which would have opened up his market, but the league waited to act on his case for still-unknown reasons.

San Diego has already flown well past its international bonus allocation. That means that any amount that the club promises Ona — assuming they do get him — would require an equivalent payout in overage charges to the league. The Pads are already lined up for a two-year ban on $300K+ signings after this year’s class wraps up.

It remains to be seen, though, whether there’s any added competition for a player who is a bit closer to the majors than are typical July 2 prospects. And there’s upside aplenty: Ben Badler of Baseball America has suggested that Ona “has all the attributes to be a star right fielder,” describing a quick bat with power projection to go with good athleticism and a strong arm.

 

International Notes: Otani, Padres, Ona, Morejon, Lazarito, Cards

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22-year-old righty Shohei Otani, a standout in Japan’s NPB, has been drawing plenty of attention lately as his Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters train in Arizona. It’s not hard to see why, as the power righty is coming off of a season in which he put up a 2.24 ERA over 160 2/3 innings, with 11.0 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9. Otani, who is also a productive hitter, says he’s always dreamed of playing in the majors, as MLB.com’s Barry Bloom writes. But it’s not yet clear when that chance will arise. As Eric Longenhagen explains for ESPN.com, his current team has little incentive to post him now, given that it is capped at $20MM regardless of when it does so. But he does add that some believe the Fighters would allow him to depart if a request was made. If and when that occurs, you can expect a bidding frenzy unlike many others. As Ben Badler of Baseball America puts it on Twitter, he rates Otani higher than any pitching prospects currently in MLB organizations.

Here’s more from the broader baseball world:

  • The Padres are expected to make some noise on the international market, as Badler writes and Longenhagen also covers in the above-linked piece. San Diego appears to be the favorite to land two high-end Cuban talents: 19-year-old outfielder Jorge Ona and young southpaw Adrian Morejon. (The Cubs had been seen as having an edge on the latter, per Badler, but now seem to have made way for the Pads.) Per the report, the club is also primed to add a few significant July 2 prospects from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
  • GM A.J. Preller has long been known for his international attention and acumen, and it seems that he’s now putting that background to work as his organization looks to rebuild a lightly-regarded farm system. Indeed, the team appears to be giving quite a bit of attention to yet another young Cuban player, Lazaro “Lazarito” Armenteros, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune details. Like the Braves, San Diego would need to convince him to wait until the next July 2 period to avoid incurring penalties (for exceeding this year’s international spending caps) that would foul up other significant moves.
  • We’ve heard previously that the Friars are among the clubs expected to bust their budgets in the coming July 2 signing season, and the Cardinals appear set to join them, Badler reports (building upon a recent report that St. Louis was looking to be aggressive). He notes that there’s some interplay with the possibility that the organization could be penalized relating to the Astros computer breach scandal, which might cost draft picks (or, conceivably, international money). Two names to watch for St. Louis, per Badler, are top Venezuelan outfielder Victor Garcia and 17-year-old Cuban center fielder Jonatan Machado.
  • The recent MLB international prospect showcase had players from eight countries in attendance, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez writes, and there’s hope for further expansion in the future. Athletics GM David Forst says that the process of evaluating young international players has changed dramatically in recent years, with events like this featuring actual game action (rather than just workouts) providing a chance “to see these kids play in games against their peers and similar competition.”
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