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Minor MLB Transactions: 1/10/18

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We’ll track the latest minor signings and other transactions here …

  • The Brewers have brought back left-hander Nick Ramirez on a minor-league deal, per a club announcement. Brewer Nation first tweeted word of the signing. He converted from first base to the mound in 2017, turning in rather impressive results. In 79 1/3 frames over 49 appearances, all but one of which came at Double-A, Ramirez ran a 1.36 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9. It obviously remains to be seen whether the former fourth-round pick can earn a shot at the majors, but it seems promising that he was able to throttle both right-handed (.214/.260/.305) and left-handed hitters (.167/.273/.240) while working in a multi-inning role.
  • First baseman/outfielder Kyle Jensen has a minors deal with the Giants, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). The 29-year-old has only seen brief MLB time but has generally produced quality numbers at Triple-A. In 1,793 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors, he carries a .266/.341/.488 batting line with 178 home runs — though also over a thousand strikeouts. Jensen had a six-game stretch last year with Japan’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, but otherwise did not appear professionally. A former 12th round draft pick of the Marlins, Jensen has also spent time in recent years with the Dodgers and Diamondbacks organizations.
  • Also signing a minor-league pact is lefty Keith Hessler, who’ll join the Rockies, according to Cotillo (Twitter link). Hessler, 28, has 34 MLB frames under his belt, over which he has allowed 21 earned runs while recording 23 strikeouts and issuing 17 walks. He has mostly plied his trade in the upper minors in recent years, though he also took an indy ball detour last season. At times, Hessler has produced solid groundball numbers and been very hard on opposing lefties, though neither really held true in his most recent showing. In 45 1/3 Triple-A frames with the Padres in 2017, Hessler carried a 4.57 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9.

Outrighted: Hessler, Vargas, Yates

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Here are the latest minor moves of note from around the game:

  • The Padres announced that lefty Keith Hessler and righty Cesar Vargas have both been outrighted after clearing waivers. Both were designated for assignment recently; the former will head to the highest level of the minors, while the latter will go to Double-A. Hessler, 28, pitched to a 3.38 ERA last year but managed just nine strikeouts against 11 walks over his 18 2/3 frames. As for the 25-year-old Vargas, he’ll need to climb back to the bigs before he’ll get a shot to pick up where he left off last year, when he carried a 3.34 ERA over his first six starts — only to suffer a season-ending injury during his seventh.
  • Righty Kirby Yates has been outrighted by the Angels, per a team announcement. The 30-year-old hasn’t managed to hold down big league job in his prior opportunities, and will need to wait for another shot at Triple-A. He threw 41 1/3 frames last year, posting a 5.23 ERA with 10.9 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9. Yates has typically performed well in the upper minors, though, and ought to provide the Halos with some depth.

Padres Place Three Rule 5 Picks On 25-Man Roster, Designate Keith Hessler

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The Padres have announced their Opening Day roster, and, in an example of unusual roster management, it includes three Rule 5 Draft picks. Those three were the first three selections in the draft — the Padres got the No. 1 pick, righty Miguel Diaz, in a trade with the Twins, and the No. 2 pick, catcher Luis Torrens, in a deal with the Reds. They also took shortstop Allen Cordoba with their own pick, the third overall selection.

Diaz headed into the Rule 5 Draft as a member of the Brewers organization, while Torrens was with the Yankees and Cordoba with the Cardinals. Obviously, the Padres have no immediate plans to clear any of the three from the roster, meaning they won’t be offered back to their previous organizations anytime soon. The three will join a young Padres 25-man that includes four other players who haven’t yet turned 24: top outfield prospect Manuel Margot, infielder Luis Sardinas, righty Luis Perdomo and lefty Jose Torres.

[Related: Updated San Diego Padres Depth Chart]

Diaz will take a spot in the bullpen. Torrens will be one of four catchers listed on the roster, along with Austin Hedges, Hector Sanchez (whose contract the Padres selected today) and Christian Bethancourt. (Bethancourt can also pitch out of the bullpen.)

The Padres have also optioned infielder Cory Spangenberg to Triple-A El Paso. The idea is for him to play every day, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets, and Spangenberg missed most of the 2016 due to a quad injury. It’s perhaps worth noting, though, that Spangenberg would have given the Padres a more experienced infield option than Cordoba, who played in the short-season Appalachian League in 2016 and posted a .179/.247/.194 line in camp. Both he and Torrens stand out as highly sub-optimal roster choices for the Padres’ immediate needs. But the team’s inclusion of three Rule 5 picks suggests the Padres are more interested in protecting potential long-term assets than winning games in 2017, which perhaps should come as no surprise — the Padres don’t project to contend this season, given the weakness in their rotation and elsewhere on their roster.

To clear space on the 40-man roster for Sanchez, the Padres designated lefty Keith Hessler for assignment. The 28-year-old pitched 18 2/3 innings of relief with San Diego after arriving from Arizona via a waiver claim, and posted a 3.38 ERA, albeit with 11 walks and just nine strikeouts. The Padres also announced that they placed lefties Christian Friedrich and Buddy Baumann, righty Carter Capps and outfielder Alex Dickerson on the 10-day disabled list.

Padres Claim Keith Hessler From Diamondbacks

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5:40pm: Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets that Hessler will report to the Padres tomorrow and serve as the club’s 26th man for Wednesday’s double-header.

4:03pm: The Padres announced today that they have claimed left-hander Keith Hessler off waivers from the Diamondbacks. Arizona had designated Hessler for assignment back on April 30 in order to clear room on the roster for lefty Zac Curtis, whose contract was selected from Triple-A.

The 27-year-old Hessler has appeared in 20 games for the D-backs over the past two seasons but struggled, yielding 14 earned runs in 15 1/3 innings. He’s struggled in similarly limited exposure to the Triple-A level as well (5.32 ERA in 22 innings), but overall he enjoyed a strong season in the minors last year, working to a combined 2.14 ERA with 9.9 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 across three levels. Lefties batted just .195/.246/.322 against Hessler between the Majors and Minors in 2015.

Diamondbacks Designate Keith Hessler, Promote Zac Curtis

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The Diamondbacks have announced that they’ve selected the contract of lefty Zac Curtis and designated fellow lefty Keith Hessler for assignment. Hessler began the season pitching out of the Double-A Mobile bullpen but was promoted last week. He pitched two scoreless innings against the Cardinals on Tuesday but gave up three runs in an inning against the Rockies yesterday. Hessler also struggled in 12 1/3 innings in the big leagues last season.

Curtis’ promotion is the more unusual of the pair of corresponding moves — it’s not often a team promotes a player to the big leagues who has a 5.23 ERA at Class A+ and no experience above that level. Beyond those superficial numbers, it’s easy to understand the Snakes’ interest in Curtis. He struck out 75 batters in 54 innings at Class A last season and has 22 punchouts against just five walks in 10 1/3 innings thus far this season, and it’s not impossible to imagine a player having big-league success despite a lack of minor-league development if he only has to face batters once per outing. Still, Curtis’ promotion stands out as yet another surprising decision for an Arizona front office that continues to march to the beat of its own drummer.

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