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Jose Briceno

Royals Sign Jose Briceno To Minor League Deal

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The Royals agreed to a minor league contract with catcher José Briceño, according to an announcement from the Atlantic League. The 29-year-old was assigned to Triple-A Omaha, where he made his team debut yesterday.

Briceño has spent more than a decade in pro ball since signing with the Rockies as an amateur out of Venezuela back in 2009. He was involved in a pair of trades as a prospect — first going from Colorado to the Braves for David Hale, then joining Andrelton Simmons in heading to the Angels for Sean Newcomb and Chris Ellis — before reaching the big leagues in 2018. Briceño picked up his most MLB experience that season, posting a .239/.299/.385 line in 128 plate appearances with the Halos.

Los Angeles released Briceño in 2019 but brought him back on a minor league deal. He appeared in two games for the big league club in 2020 but was outrighted back off the roster at the end of the season. He returned to his original organization last winter, signing a non-roster deal with Colorado. The Rox cut him loose after he scuffled to a .218/.261/.436 line in 33 games despite playing in one of pro ball’s most hitter-friendly environments in Albuquerque.

After being let go by Colorado, Briceño signed with the Atlantic League’s Lexington Legends. He mashed at a .333/.396/.680 clip there last summer, and while he’s been off to a slow start offensively this season, the Royals will add him to the organizational catching corps. Salvador Pérez and Cam Gallagher are both on the injured list, leaving MJ Melendez and Sebastian Rivero as the only two healthy backstops on the 40-man roster. That duo is in the majors, so Kansas City was in position to add some experienced upper minors depth behind the plate.

Rockies Select Chi Chi Gonzalez To 40-Man Roster

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The Rockies announced they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Chi Chi González. Reliever Scott Oberg has been placed on the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot. Oberg’s career is in jeopardy after he underwent surgery to remove blood clots from his right elbow yesterday.

González has pitched in twenty games (starting 16) for Colorado over the past two seasons. The former Ranger hasn’t performed particularly well, managing just a 5.66 ERA/5.62 FIP with worse than average strikeout and walk rates (16.8% and 11.7%, respectively). Still, the 29-year-old will give manager Bud Black a multi-inning option capable of working out of the rotation or in long relief.

Additionally, Colorado announced they’ve optioned Lucas Gilbreath and Colton Welker and reassigned a host of non-roster invitees (Greg Bird, José Briceño and Eric Stamets among them) to minor-league camp. Dereck Rodríguez and Connor Joe are the only non-roster players who remain on the major league side of Spring Training.

Rockies Sign Jose Briceno

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The Rockies are signing catcher José Briceño to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. The 28-year-old backstop has 134 major league plate appearances on his resume.

Briceño broke into pro ball with the Rockies as an international amateur back in 2009. After five years in the Colorado system, he was traded to the Braves, who shipped him to the Angels a year later. Briceño made it to the big leagues with Los Angeles in 2018, putting up a .239/.299/.385 line as a rookie. Despite that fairly respectable showing, he’s only picked up six big league plate appearances since then.

Owner of a .251/.286/.464 mark in parts of four Triple-A seasons, Briceño joins a Rockies’ catching mix that has room for improvement. Neither Tony Wolters nor Elias Díaz has offered much at the plate in recent seasons, while Dom Nuñez only has 43 career plate appearances under his belt.

Cam Bedrosian Elects Free Agency; Mets Claim Jacob Barnes From Angels

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The Angels announced that they have outrighted righty Cam Bedrosian, catcher Jose Briceno and infielder Elliot Soto to Triple-A. Bedrosian has elected free agency in lieu of accepting the assignment. The team also lost righty Jacob Barnes to the Mets via waivers and reinstated fellow RHP Justin Anderson from the 60-day injured list.

Bedrosian, whom the Angels drafted 29th overall in 2010, debuted in 2014 and has been rather successful at times, evidenced by his 3.70 ERA/3.60 FIP across 277 2/3 innings. But the 29-year-old has seen his velocity tumble from the mid-90s to the lower 90s in recent years, including a career-worst 92.3 mph in 2020. Bedrosian still managed a 2.45 ERA/2.92 FIP this season, but he only threw 14 1/3 innings and logged the worst K/9 (6.75) and groundball rate (34.1 percent) of his career. The Angels would have owed Bedrosian a projected $2.8MM to $3MM in arbitration for 2021, his last year of team control.

Barnes is the first acquisition for the Mets since new owner Steve Cohen was approved Friday. The 30-year-old was a fairly effective reliever with the Brewers from 2016-18, but his run prevention numbers have gone off the rails with the Brew Crew, Royals and Angels since then. Dating back to 2019, Barnes has pitched to a 6.75 ERA and walked 4.62 batters per nine over 50 1/3 innings. He did, however, post a 24:4 K:BB ratio and average upward of 95 mph on his fastball in 18 frames in 2020.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/31/20

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A round-up of some smaller moves with the trade deadline in the rearview mirror:

  • The Mariners announced they’ve transferred left-hander Nestor Cortes to the 45-day injured list with a left elbow impingement. He’d been placed on the 10-day IL August 15. The former Yankee long reliever was bombed in his five appearances for Seattle this season, surrendering 14 runs (13 earned) on six home runs with eight strikeouts and six walks in 7.2 innings. The move clears a space on Seattle’s 40-man roster.
  • The Angels announced they’ve selected the contract of catcher José Briceño. The 27-year-old saw action in 46 games for Los Angeles back in 2018, hitting .239/.299/.385 in 128 plate appearances. Briceño will step into the #2 catching role behind Anthony Bemboom. The Angels traded starting backstop Jason Castro to the Padres yesterday.
  • The Brewers have selected the contract of right-hander Justin Topa, the team announced. The 29-year-old will be making his MLB debut whenever he first gets into a game. Milwaukee signed Topa out of independent ball after the 2018 season, and he went on to put up a 2.63 ERA in 24 innings in Double-A in 2019. He’ll step into the bullpen void left by today’s trade of David Phelps to the Phillies.
  • The Red Sox announced they have selected the contracts of three players: infielder Yairo Muñoz, left-hander Mike Kickham and right-hander Robinson Leyer. Muñoz, 25, signed with Boston on a minor-league deal after a bizarre end to his time with the Cardinals. Kickham, 31, hasn’t pitched in the majors since tossing 30.1 innings with the 2013-14 Giants. Leyer, 27, has yet to make his major league debut. He has a 4.01 ERA in parts of five Double-A seasons.

Angels Release Jose Briceno

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According to a morning announcement from the PR Department of the Angels, 26-year-old catcher Jose Briceno has been released from the organization following his waiver clearance. After a 46-game big league debut with the Anaheim-based club in 2018, Briceno had been stationed with the Salt Lake Bees of the Pacific Coast League for the entirety of 2019. This move comes in conjunction with the reinstatement of Andrew Heaney from the injured list, and the send-down of pitcher Jaime Barria.

Given the constant demand for passable catching options at the game’s highest level, it would not be a shock to see Briceno latch on with a big league club looking for battery depth–that is, of course, if only Briceno can prove he’s healthy. As it is, the Venezuelan-born catcher has been sidelined for the majority of the Triple-A season with shoulder issues, following a 2018 campaign in which he logged a respectable 91 wRC+ as a member of the Angels.

Angels Claim Adalberto Mejia (Again)

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The Angels announced Thursday that they’ve claimed lefty Adalberto Mejia off waivers from the Cardinals. It’s the second time this season that the Halos have claimed Mejia, whom they lost to the Cardinals on waivers in late July after designating him for assignment themselves. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Halos requested unconditional release waivers on catcher Jose Briceno.

A former top 100 prospect who profiled as a fourth starter, Mejia never established himself with the Twins and has now bounced from Minnesota to Anaheim to St. Louis and back to Anaheim this season. He’s posted a 7.54 ERA in 22 2/3 innings, though he’s only a season removed from solid numbers as a starter with Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate a season ago. Mejia is out of minor league options, so the Angels will have to keep him on the big league roster or else expose him to waivers for what would be the fourth time this season.

Mejia was designated by the Angels at the conclusion of a 16-inning marathon game that depleted their ’pen, and the club was perhaps reluctant to make that move. They’ll now get a second look at the big lefty as they evaluate whether he can be a potential piece of the pitching staff moving forward — be it in the ’pen or in the rotation. He has experience in both arenas.

As for Briceno, the 26-year-old has spent the season in Triple-A Salt Lake, where he’s managed a tepid .215/.262/.405 slash in 84 plate appearances. He’s shown a bit of pop in limited Triple-A action over the past couple seasons but has a sub-.300 OBP at every level above Class-A ball in his career.

Angels Designate Akeel Morris For Assignment

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The Angels announced that they’ve reinstated catcher Rene Rivera from the 60-day DL and opened a 40-man roster spot by designating right-hander Akeel Morris for assignment. The Halos optioned catcher Jose Briceno to Triple-A to open room on the 25-man roster.

It’s been a tough season for the 25-year-old Morris both in the Majors and in Triple-A. The former Mets and Braves prospect has been tagged for nine runs on 18 hits and eight walks with seven strikeouts in 14 big league innings this season. His 5.79 ERA in the Majors is actually better than the 5.90 mark he’s posted with Triple-A Salt Lake this season, though Morris has punched out 40 hitters in 39 2/3 innings in Triple-A. He’s still been too prone to walks in the minors, however, which has been a persistent issue for him throughout his professional career.

The Halos will have a week to trade Morris or try to pass him through outright waivers, which would allow them to keep him in the organization without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to the righty. Morris will be out of minor league options in 2019, though, which might make other clubs with interest in the right-hander more reluctant to take a chance on him.

Angels Select Jose Briceno

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1:55pm: Rivera’s going to the DL with knee inflammation, per Fletcher, who adds that the Angels have transferred reliever Keynan Middleton to the 60-day DL to open up a 40-man spot for Briceno. Middleton’s set to undergo Tommy John surgery.

1:15pm: The Angels have selected catcher Jose Briceno from Triple-A, Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group was among those to report. With the Angels’ 40-man roster already at capacity, they’ll need to make a corresponding move to create room for Briceno.

Briceno is now in his third season with the Angels organization, which acquired him from the Braves in the teams’ 2015 trade centering on Andrelton Simmons and Sean Newcomb. The 25-year-old Briceno hasn’t posed a significant offensive threat in the minors since then, evidenced in part by his .261/.272/.500 line (88 wRC+) in 92 plate appearances in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League this season. The Venezuela native does carry some defensive promise, however, as FanGraphs prospect expert Kiley McDaniel wrote back in 2014 that Briceno’s “athleticism and tools are there to stick behind the plate and the arm is plus.” Moreover, Kyle Glaser of Baseball America adds that Briceno has “showed himself to be a superb defender” since joining the Halos.

It’s unclear at the moment what Briceno’s promotion means for the rest of the Angels’ roster. They already look to be in good shape behind the plate, where Martin Maldonado and Rene Rivera have opened the season with a .255/.328/.389 line (101 wRC+) in 175 PAs. Although, Maldonado’s normally excellent defense has taken steps backward this year, per Baseball Prospectus.

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