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Junior Guerra

Angels Outright Chad Wallach, Select Elvis Peguero

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The Angels announced Friday that catcher Chad Wallach went unclaimed on waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. In his place, the Halos selected righty Elvis Peguero to the roster. Meanwhile, right-hander Junior Guerra, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, has been released.

Wallach, 30, never appeared in a game with the Angels after being claimed off waivers out of the Marlins organization in August. The Angels haven’t given any indication that Wallach will elect free agency, but he’d technically be able to do so if he wishes.

A former fifth-round pick and the son of former big leaguer Tim Wallach, the younger Wallach has posted a .207/.271/.303 line in 231 plate appearances between the Reds and Miami. He’s typically operated as a backup, as last year’s 66 plate appearances marked a career-high. For now, he’s been assigned to Triple-A, where he’s a .220/.317/.392 hitter in parts of four seasons.

Peguero, 24, joined the Angels in the trade that sent Andrew Heaney to the Yankees. He made a brief MLB debut late in the season as a Covid-19 replacement player but didn’t need to be formally selected to the roster for that to happen. He’s now been permanently added to the 40-man. The hard-throwing righty soared through four minor league levels this season, pitching to a collective 3.43 ERA with a 30.1% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate.

Angels Designate Junior Guerra For Assignment

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The Angels announced they’ve designated reliever Junior Guerra for assignment. The move opens a spot on the 40-man roster for the recently-signed Noah Syndergaard.

Guerra had been eligible for arbitration. Had the Angels tendered him a contract, he’d have been in line for a salary in the $1.3MM range, in the estimation of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. Coming off a disappointing 2021 campaign, Guerra looked like a non-tender candidate. Today’s designation will indeed function as something of an early non-tender, as he’ll be eligible for minor league free agency if he passes through waivers unclaimed.

From 2016-19, Guerra had a generally solid run as a swingman with the Brewers. He’s scuffled over the past couple seasons since leaving Milwaukee, though. While Guerra posted a solid 3.04 ERA over 23 2/3 frames with the D-Backs in 2020, his peripherals were less impressive. Arizona released him after the season, and the Angels signed the veteran to a minor league deal in January.

Guerra cracked the season-opening roster and spent the entire year in Anaheim, but he didn’t fare particularly well. The 36-year-old pitched to a career-worst 6.06 ERA over 65 1/3 innings of long relief. That came with a subpar 19.9% strikeout percentage and a far too high 15% walk rate, Guerra’s third consecutive season issuing free passes to more than 10% of opposing hitters.

Roster Moves: Contreras, Lopez, Detmers, Guerra, Quintana

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Catching on some of the roster moves that took place before today’s slate of games…

  • The Cubs placed Willson Contreras on the 10-day injured list due to right hip inflammation, officially ending the veteran catcher’s season.  In corresponding moves, Alfonso Rivas was moved from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL, and catcher Tyler Payne made his MLB debut today after his contract selected from Triple-A.  One of the few veterans remaining in the wake of the Cubs’ deadline fire sale, Contreras might be either a trade candidate or an extension candidate this winter, depending on the club’s next direction.  Contreras finishes the year hitting .237/.340/.438 with 21 home runs over 483 PA.
  • The Marlins activated Pablo Lopez from the 60-day injured list, as Lopez tossed 1 2/3 innings in an abbreviated start during Miami’s 5-4 win over the Phillies today.  It marked Lopez’s first game since July 11, as a right rotator cuff strain interrupted a very impressive season for the 25-year-old.  Lopez posted a 3.03 ERA and above-average strikeout and walk rates over his first 101 innings, setting himself up for 2022 as yet another quality young arm in the Marlins rotation. To make room for Lopez’s return to the roster, Miami placed left-hander Sean Guenther on the 10-day IL and moved first baseman Jesus Aguilar to the 60-day IL.
  • The Angels called up left-hander Reid Detmers to start today’s contest with the Mariners, and also activated righty Junior Guerra from the 10-day IL.  Outfielder Taylor Ward heads to the 10-day IL with a right adductor strain while southpaw Jhonathan Diaz was optioned to Triple-A.
  • Jose Quintana cleared waivers and outrighted to the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate.  San Francisco designated Quintana for assignment earlier this week, after the veteran left-hander posted a 4.66 ERA over 9 2/3 innings with the Giants.  Quintana was claimed off waivers from the Angels at the end of August, as the Giants looked to add some lefty depth down the stretch.

Angels Select Jhonathan Diaz, Reinstate Jose Marte

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The Angels have selected the contract of southpaw Jhonathan Diaz and added him to the active roster to start tonight’s ballgame, the team announced. Diaz, 25, will be making his Major League debut.

The Angels also reinstated righty Jose Marte from the injured list. Marte, 25, made just one appearance this season, and in fact, for his career thus far, tossing two scoreless innings against Cleveland on August 20. He was originally signed by the Giants and sent to the Angels this season as part of the Tony Watson deal.

In terms of departures, veteran Junior Guerra was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain and Elvis Peguero was returned to Triple-A. Guerra has soaked up his share of innings for the halos this season, though he’s struggled to the tune of a 6.06 ERA/4.74 FIP over those 65 1/3 innings. Peguero made just three appearances with the club totaling 2 1/3 innings.

Angels Select Junior Guerra, Option Brandon Marsh

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The Angels selected the contract of 36-year-old Junior Guerra today, the team announced. By adding him to their 40-man roster, their roster is now full. This likely means that Guerra will make the opening day roster.

Manager Joe Maddon has a reputation for his outside-the-box thinking, but he can be fairly traditional in the way he leans on veteran contributors out of the bullpen. He knows Guerra well, having both made the NL Central home from 2016 to 2019. Guerra spent those seasons with the Brewers, for whom he moved back and forth from the rotation to the pen before finally becoming a full-time pen arm in 2019. He made 25 appearances covering 23 2/3 innings for the Diamondbacks last year with a 3.04 ERA/4.12 FIP and better-than-usual 50.8 percent groundball rate. Some of the underlying metrics don’t love Guerra’s work, as he finished with a below-average 20.4 percent strikeout rate and well-below-average 14.6 percent walk rate.

The Angels also optioned outfielder Brandon Marsh to the minors. The 23-year-old is a promising outfield prospect, but he has yet to play above Double-A, and he has dealt with a minor arm injury this spring. Furthermore, the Angels don’t have a ton of room to spare in the outfield with veterans Mike Trout, Justin Upton, and Dexter Fowler populating the roster and top prospect Jo Adell knocking on the door. Juan Lagares also remains in contention for a roster spot, while Jared Walsh or David Fletcher could see time in the outfield if need be.

Angels To Sign Junior Guerra To Minor-League Deal

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The Angels are signing right-hander Junior Guerra to a minor-league contract, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). Presumably, the deal will include an invitation to MLB spring training.

After four seasons as a highly-utilized swingman in Milwaukee, Guerra signed with the Diamondbacks before the 2020 season. He pitched 23.2 innings of 3.04 ERA ball with Arizona, but his underlying numbers suggest he was rather fortunate to manage that level of run prevention. Guerra struck out just 20.4% of opposing hitters, significantly below the league average mark (24.1%) for relievers. He also walked a career-high 14.6% of batters faced, the thirteenth-highest rate among the 323 pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched last year. Wary of those mediocre peripherals, Arizona released Guerra rather than pay him an arbitration salary projected in the $2.8MM range.

There’s no harm for the Angels in bringing Guerra in on a non-roster deal to bolster the pitching depth. To his credit, the 36-year-old did induce plenty of ground balls last season. He also has ample experience working multiple innings out of the pen (and starting, although he’s exclusively been a reliever the past two seasons). Over his big league career, Guerra owns a 3.77 ERA/4.55 SIERA.

Diamondbacks Release Junior Guerra

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The Diamondbacks announced Wednesday that they’ve released right-hander Junior Guerra, who’d previously been designated for assignment last Friday.

Guerra, who’ll turn 36 in January, notched a tidy 3.04 ERA in 23 innings this past season, although his 21-to-15 K/BB ratio and 5.03 SIERA tell another story. The righty was a frequent contributor for the Brewers both out of the bullpen and the rotation prior to signing in Arizona. From 2016-19, he pitched to a combined 3.78 ERA in 416 2/3 frames with Milwaukee.

It seemed quite possible given his control troubles in 2020 and what is expected to be a flooded market for low-cost relievers, however, that Guerra could be cut loose. The D-backs carried a $3.5MM club option on Guerra but instead opted for a $100K buyout. They still retained his rights via arbitration — Guerra has four years, 155 days of MLB service — and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a possible $2.8MM salary for Guerra via that process. Arizona deemed a raise on last year’s $2.55MM salary too steep, however, and Guerra will now be able to explore the market in search of an opportunity with all 30 clubs.

Diamondbacks Designate Junior Guerra

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The Diamondbacks have designated right-handers Junior Guerra and Joel Payamps for assignment. They added righty J.B. Bukauskas, Luis Frias and Matt Peacock, outfielder Stuart Fairchild and infielder Geraldo Perdomo to their 40-man roster.

The 35-year-old Guerra joined the Diamondbacks on a one-year guarantee worth $2.65MM last offseason. He wound up posting 23 2/3 innings of 3.04 ERA/4.12 FIP ball with a 50.8 percent groundball rate, but with just 7.99 K/9 against 5.7 BB/9, the Diamondbacks decided to move on from Guerra.

D-backs Decline Options On Mike Leake, Hector Rondon, Junior Guerra

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The Diamondbacks are declining their 2021 options over right-handers Mike Leake, Hector Rondon and Junior Guerra, general manager Mike Hazen announced to reporters (Twitter link via Steve Gilbert of MLB.com). Leake’s five-year, $80MM contract (originally signed with the Cardinals) carried an $18MM club option with a $5MM buyout. Rondon’s one-year, $3MM deal included a $4MM club option that will instead be bought out for $500K. Guerra’s $3.5MM club option is being bought out for $100K, but he’ll remain under club control via arbitration.

Leake, who’ll turn 33 in a couple weeks, didn’t pitch in 2020 after becoming the first of several veterans to opt out of the season due to health and safety concerns. He made 10 starts for the D-backs in 2019 after coming over from the Mariners via trade, pitching to a 4.35 ERA with a 27-to-8 K/BB ratio in 60 innings.

Leake’s five-year deal didn’t at all go how the Cardinals envisioned — they ate a sizable portion of the deal to facilitate a trade to Seattle just a year and a half into the contract — but he was rather solid from 2017-19 under the deal. Leake made 94 starts in that time and logged a collective 4.19 ERA through 568 2/3 frames. He’s never been one to miss many bats, but Leake typically has excellent control and ranked sixth among all MLB pitchers in games started from 2011-19.

Rondon, once the Cubs closer, enjoyed a solid 2018-19 run with the Astros before scuffling through a disastrous 2020 season in Arizona. He tallied 20 innings of work but was clobbered for a 7.65 ERA in what will go down as his lone season with the team. In those 20 frames, Rondon yielded 17 earned runs on 25 hits (six homers) 11 walks with 23 strikeouts. He still has a career 3.49 ERA and 3.63 FIP even in spite of this year’s woeful results, so he should be able to get another look somewhere in 2021, his age-33 season — though it’d likely have to come on a non-guaranteed deal.

Guerra, who’ll turn 36 in January, notched a tidy 3.04 ERA in 23 innings this past season, although his 21-to-15 K/BB ratio and 5.03 SIERA tell another story. Guerra was a frequent contributor for the Brewers prior to signing in Arizona, as he pitched to a combined 3.78 ERA in 416 2/3 frames with Milwaukee from 2016-19. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a possible $2.8MM salary for Guerra via arbitration, and if the D-backs feel similarly, it’s not a surprise that they opted not to pay the full freight of his 2021 option.

Junior Guerra Changes Representation

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Diamondbacks reliever Junior Guerra is changing representation, per Robert Murray (Twitter link). He’ll now be represented by MVP Sports Group.

Guerra, 35, signed a one-year contract with Arizona last offseason worth a guaranteed $2.65MM. That deal comes with a $3.5MM club option for 2021. It’ll be an interesting decision for GM Mike Hazen and the rest of the D-Backs front office. The veteran righty worked to a strong 3.04 ERA in 23.2 innings this season, but that was driven by an unsustainably low opponents’ BABIP (.250) and HR/FB rate (7.1%). Guerra’s 21:15 strikeout-to-walk ratio hints at potential regression. If Arizona decides to exercise the option, they’ll control him through 2022 via arbitration.

The change has been updated in our Agency Database.  If you see any notable errors or omissions within the database, please let us know via e-mail: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

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