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Kristopher Negron

Mariners Place Paul Sewald On Injured List, Select Penn Murfee

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The Mariners announced that they have selected Penn Murfee from Triple-A Tacoma to join the big league club, with fellow righty Paul Sewald heading to the injured list. No designation for Sewald’s IL placement was given, but Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times relays that Sewald is going on the Covid IL. Seattle had already placed Luis Torrens and Mitch Haniger on the Covid list, who will now be joined by Sewald. Furthermore, manager Scott Servais and third base coach Manny Acta have both tested positive and will have to step away from the team, also per Divish.

Sewald pitched for the Mets from 2017 through 2020 but had a tremendous breakout campaign with the M’s last year. In 64 2/3 innings, he logged an ERA of 3.06, notching 11 saves, with an incredible 39.4% strikeout rate against a 9.1% walk rate. He’s pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings so far this year and will surely be a loss for the team’s bullpen as long as he’s out.

As for Murfee, he was a 33rd round selection of the Mariners in 2018. He split his time last year between Double-A and Triple-A, throwing 78 2/3 innings in 26 games, 14 of them starts. His 4.23 ERA and 10.2% walk rate weren’t especially impressive, but he did rack up strikeouts at an excellent 28.2% clip. He’s thrown eight scoreless innings in Triple-A so far this year. He’ll make his MLB debut as soon as he gets the call to take the hill.

On the coaching side of things, Divish relays that the plan, at least for tonight, is for first base coach Kristopher Negron to take over for Servais as acting manager. Hitting coach Tony Arnerich will take over as third base coach, with minor league coach Zach Vincej taking the first base box. Minor league coaches CJ Gillman and Dan Wilson will be in uniform in the dugout. (Twitter links)

Mariners Announce 2022 Coaching Staff

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The Mariners on Monday announced a series of departures and promotions as they set their coaching staff for the 2022 season. Manager Scott Servais was already known to be returning after agreeing to a multi-year extension on Sept. 1, but there will be some changes on his staff.

Tony Arnerich, who has spent the past two seasons as the team’s minor league field coordinator and catching coordinator, will be one of two co-hitting coaches on next year’s club. Also being promoted to the role of hitting coach and to the broader title of director of hitting strategy is Jarret DeHart, who was an assistant hitting coach in each of the past two seasons.

Seattle is also adding longtime director of player development Andy McKay to the Major League coaching staff, where he’ll be in uniform and serve as a Major League coach and senior director of baseball development. It’ll be his first year on the coaching staff but his seventh in the organization.

A more recognizable name for many fans is likely Kristopher Negron, who retired as a player just two years ago but will now be the Mariners’ first base coach. Negron worked as an assistant to McKay in 2020, his first year with the team, and won Triple-A Manager of the Year honors this past season in guiding the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate to a league championship.

Beyond this quartet, the Mariners will also welcome back pitching coach Pete Woodworth, third base coach Manny Acta, bullpen coach Trent Blank, infield coach Perry Hill and Major League field coordinator Carson Vitale.

Notably absent from the list of returnees are now-former hitting coach Tim Laker and now-former bench coach Jared Sandberg. Laker, the Mariners announced, declined an offer to return to the team in 2022, which prompted the promotions for DeHart and Arnerich. Sandberg, meanwhile, was not asked back.

Sandberg’s departure from the coaching staff leaves the Mariners without a bench coach, but it doesn’t appear that they’ll make a hire in that regard. The Mariners announced today’s staff as their finalized staff for the 2022 season and, asked specifically by MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer about the lack of a bench coach (Twitter link), president of baseball operations confirmed that the collection of coaches announced today will “provide [Servais] with a variety of voices he trusts.”

“Our mantra here is ’Doesn’t Matter, Get Better’ and our coaches embodied that in 2021,” Servais said in a statement within today’s press release. “Each and every day they assisted in helping our players improve and that hard work showed up on the field. Between the returning staff and the coaches we’ve been able to add from our player development group, every person on this staff has had a hand in helping our players succeed in their careers, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of that success in 2022.”

Mariners Add Kristopher Negron To Player Development Staff

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The Mariners announced Tuesday that they’ve hired recently retired infielder/outfielder Kristopher Negron as an assistant to director of player development Andy McKay. In his new role, the 33-year-old Negron will assist “in all aspects of player development, including on-field instruction and mentoring minor league players on what it means to be a great teammate,” per the Mariners’ release.

“I’ve had the unique perspective of watching Kris play in high school, competing against him in junior college, and then having him be part of the Mariner family the past few years,” said McKay in a statement announcing the hiring. “During these 15 years, whether it was in high school or the Major Leagues, Kris has earned an unparalleled level of respect from his coaches, teammates, fans and members of the media. We couldn’t be more excited to bring Kris into player development where he will immediately begin to impact our people and our process both on and off the field. This is a great day for the Mariners.”

Negron played in parts of six Major League seasons, including 2018-19 stints with the Mariners. Dating back to his 2012 debut with the Reds, he’s seen time in Cincinnati, Arizona, Seattle and Los Angeles and appeared in 170 Major League games. He also played in parts of 10 Triple-A seasons (14 minor league seasons overall) and appeared at every position on the diamond outside of catcher.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/13/19

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The latest minor transactions from around baseball…

  • Utilityman Kristopher Negron has retired, as he announced on Twitter on Tuesday. A seventh-round pick of the Red Sox in 2006, the 33-year-old Negron walked away from the game after appearing in the majors in parts of six seasons from 2012-19 with the Reds, Diamondbacks, Mariners and Dodgers. He divided his final season between the Seattle and Los Angeles organizations. Overall, Negron batted .221/.291/.336 with nine home runs across a 416-plate appearance span in the majors. He was more successful at the Triple-A level, where he collected 3,291 PA and hit .256/.323/.403 with 76 homers.
  • The Padres have signed Mexican left-hander/outfielder Zayed Salinas for $800K, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs tweets. The 16-year-old Salinas offers a three-pitch mix – an 87 to 90 mph fastball, a curveball and a changeup – and ranks as FanGraphs’ top prospect from Mexico in 2019, Longenhagen notes. Salinas could turn into a “contact-oriented” center fielder if he doesn’t pan out as a pitcher, per FanGraphs’ scouting report.

Cardinals Acquire Zac Rosscup

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The Cardinals have acquired lefty Zac Rosscup from the Dodgers, per a club announcement. He had been designated for assignment recently.

Cash considerations are going to Los Angeles in return. Rosscup will begin his tenure with his new organization on optional assignment at Triple-A.

Rosscup, 31, has already appeared with three other clubs this season. He owns a 5.16 ERA in 83 2/3 career innings at the game’s highest level, averaging a healthy 12.2 K/9 but also an ugly 5.9 BB/9. The free passes have been a particular issue this season.

In other moves from the Dodgers, utilityman Kike Hernandez is going on the 10-day injured list with a sprained hand. The club optioned down righty Jaime Schultz while activating just-acquired infielder Kristopher Negron and calling up righty reliever Josh Sborz.

Dodgers Acquire Kristopher Negron

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The Dodgers have announced the acquisition of utilityman Kristopher Negron from the Mariners in exchange for minor league infielder Daniel Castro.

Originally acquired from the D’Backs last August, Negron has appeared in 27 total games for Seattle, including nine outings this season.  The 33-year-old has a career .216/.289/.328 slash line over 357 career MLB plate appearances in parts of six seasons, though his ability with the bat is much less important to the Dodgers than the versatility that Negron brings in the field.

Negron has started multiple games at every position on the diamond except pitcher and catcher over his career, making him a fit for a Dodger roster that just lost Enrique Hernandez to the injured list.  With both Hernandez and Chris Taylor injured, L.A. was in need of a short-term backup behind Corey Seager at shortstop.

Castro joined the Dodgers on a minor league contract over the offseason, and has hit .241/.304/.295 over 185 Triple-A plate appearances this year.  Castro is another player who can play all over the field, with extensive experience as a shortstop and second baseman, plus some time as a right fielder and third baseman.  He is a veteran of 98 big league games with the Braves and Rockies from 2016-18, with a .505 OPS over 286 PA in the Show.

Mariners Designate Mac Williamson For Assignment

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The Mariners announced Tuesday that outfielder Mac Williamson has been designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to utilityman Kristopher Negron, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Tacoma. Seattle also recalled right-hander Erik Swanson from Tacoma to fill a vacant spot on its active roster.

Williamson, 28, was once viewed as a potential long-term option with the Giants but has yet to replicate his solid Triple-A production at the MLB level. Seattle gave him a slightly longer look than San Francisco did in 2019, but his results with both clubs were poor. In a combined 144 trips to the plate this year, Williamson has slashed an underwhelming .156/.250/.258 while striking out at a 30.6 percent pace. He does have some pop in his bat, evidenced by a lifetime .266/.344/.488 line in parts of five Triple-A seasons.

Williamson is out of minor league options, so any club that acquires him would have to carry him on its MLB roster. The Mariners will have a week to trade him, release him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. If they go the latter route and he clears, Williamson could still elect free agency due to the fact that he’s already been outrighted off a 40-man roster once in his career.

Mariners Outright Kris Negron

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The Mariners have outrighted utilityman Kristopher Negron after he cleared waivers, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter).

That leaves the team with a 40-man roster opening. Veteran outfield Ichiro Suzuki will ultimately need a roster spot to play in the club’s season-opening series in Japan.

As Divish notes, today’s decision clears the way for Dylan Moore to make the team as a bench piece. He had been battling with Negron for the honors.

Negron, acquired in late August, has taken only 334 career plate appearances in the majors. The 33-year-old has torn up Triple-A pitching over the past two seasons, however.

September Call-Ups: 9/1/18

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A few call-ups were announced yesterday, but we’re likely to see far more prospect promotions and even contract selections take place today as rosters expand. We’ll use this post to keep track of those moves…

  • The Marlins selected the contract of righty starter Jeff Brigham today; he’ll be among those playing in the majors for the first time ever. Brigham’s solid 3.44 ERA in Triple-A this season is muddied a bit by his 4.45 FIP, but he’s maintained solid ratios. Brigham’s 8.25 K/9 and brilliant 2.24 BB/9 give him a solid 3.69 K/BB ratio that probably looks quite nice to a Marlins club that’s hurting for serviceable major league starters. Miami has also recalled right-handers Sandy Alcantara and Nick Wittgren along with catcher Chad Wallach.
  • The Athletics selected several contracts today, including that of catching prospect Beau Taylor. The lefty-hitting backstop has never played in the majors, but he’s done well for himself at the Triple-A level this season by drawing walks in 14% of his plate appearances while hitting .248. He’s even chipped in a pair of stolen bases. The biggest knock on Taylor is his lack of power; the 28-year-old owns a sub-.100 ISO and has never hit more than eight homers in a given season. Other contracts selected by the Astros today include those of lefty Dean Kiekhefer and righties Chris Hatcher and Liam Hendriks. The A’s recalled lefty Daniel Coulombe and shortstop Franklin Barreto as well.  
  • The Indians selected the contract of right-hander Jon Edwards today, who hasn’t pitched in the major leagues since 2015. The 30-year-old Edwards has done well for himself in the Tribe’s minor league system in 2018, though, racking up 56 strikeouts in just 39 1/3 innings while pitching to a 3.64 ERA. Though he’s exhibited extreme control issues in the past, his 2.70 BB/9 in 30 innings with Triple-A Columbus suggests there’s a possibility he’s put those problems behind him. The Tribe promoted catcher Eric Haase to the majors alongside him.

Earlier…

  • The Mariners have selected the contract of Justin Grimm among their September moves, whom they signed to a minor league contract on July 25th. Grimm’s been plagued by shoulder and back issues all season and struggled to a cataclysmic 13.50 ERA in 12 2/3 innings for the Royals earlier this season, which led to his release early on in the summer. With the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate, though, he’s put up a pristine 1.64 ERA and an even more impressive 13.91 K/9 mark. In addition to Grimm, Seattle also selected the contract of Kristopher Negron, and recalled right-handers Chasen Bradford and Ryan Cook, lefty James Pazos, catcher David Freitas.
  • The Nationals have selected the contract of right-hander Austen Williams, who’ll be getting his first MLB cup of coffee this September. He’s been quite impressive in the upper minors this season, including a 0.55 ERA in 16 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. That’s backed up by excellent peripherals, including 20 strikeouts against just four walks. Williams had pitched exclusively as a starter until this season, and it appears a transition to a relief role has catapulted him to a status as an incredibly intriguing talent. The Nats also recalled catcher Pedro Severino to fill in while Wieters is dealing with a hip/groin injury (per Jamal Collier of MLB.com).
  • The White Sox promoted Caleb Frare to get his first taste of the bigs; as James Fegan of The Athletic points out, he needed to be added to the 40-man roster in order to be protected from the coming winter’s Rule 5 Draft. They’ve good reason to do so, as the lefty reliever has thrived with the organization ever since being acquired from the Yankees a month ago in exchange for $1.5MM in international bonus pool funds. He’s put up fantastic numbers in 12 2/3 innings at Triple-A Charlotte, including a 0.71 ERA and 13.50 K/9. Aaron Bummer will join him as the other White Sox player to receive a September promotion so far.
  • The Royals have selected the contract of catcher Meibrys Viloria to account for the hole left by Drew Butera, who was traded to the Rockies yesterday. Fascinatingly, Kansas City decided to promote the 21-year-old Columbia native even though he’s never played above the High-A level. He’s done just fine there, though, batting .260/.342/.360 in 407 plate appearances over the course of 2018. Viriola is expected to maje his MLB debut as early as this week while mainstay catcher Salvador Perez deals with a sprained thumb.
  • After a short stay in the minors, righty reliever Ray Black is back up with the Giants. He’s had a poor showing in the majors so far, allowing ten earned runs in 15 1/3 innings. He did manage to strike out 22 batters in that span, though, and owns a 2.11 FIP in 25 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season. His blistering 16.13 K/9 at that level perhaps speaks to his potential even more.
  • The Cardinals recalled catcher Carson Kelly today, who’s widely considered to be the club’s catcher of the future once Yadier Molina’s contract is complete. However, he’s yet to prove his worth at the major-league level, as evidenced by his .150/.216/.187 batting line across 118 MLB plate appearances. The Redbirds have also called up lefty Tyler Webb and righty Daniel Poncedeleon.
  • The Phillies have opted to recall outfielder Aaron Altherr, who’d largely been a fixture in the club’s major-league outfield for the past two seasons prior to a late-July demotion. While his 13.3% walk rate so far this season was downright fantastic, that was about the only aspect of Altherr’s performance to be happy about; he was striking out at a 32.7% clip while hitting just .171 and slugging just .305. Philadelphia also added outfielder Dylan Cozens and righty reliever Yacksel Rios to their active roster.
  • The Yankees are set to give right-hander Stephen Tarpley his first taste of major-league action after selecting his contract earlier today. Tarpley is quite an interesting arm-he’s been utilized as a multi-inning reliever at two levels of the minors this year, and to great effect. Most recently, he’s pitched to a 2.65 ERA and 10.06 K/9 across 17 appearances spanning 34 innings at Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre. Infielder Tyler Wade and right-hander Luis Cessa will also join the MLB club as rosters expand.
  • The Mets will give righty Eric Hanhold his first taste of major-league action, MLBTR has learned. Acquired in the 2017 trade that sent Neil Walker to the Brewers, Hanhold has apparently been quite unlucky to own his 7.11 ERA at Triple-A this season. Rather, his 3.43 FIP in 19 innings at that level produces some level of optimism that he can serve as a quality reliever in the majors. A .429 BABIP and 2.86 K/BB ratio further strengthen that case.
  • The Reds are set to give shortstop prospect Blake Trahan a September call-up, as C. Trent Rosencrans of The Athletic was among those to tweet. Trahan came to the Reds by way of the club’s third-round draft pick back in 2015. He did not rank amongst MLB Pipeline’s top 30 Reds prospects in the publication’s most recent rankings, though Fangraphs ranks him 24th in that regard thanks to a 55 speed tool and a 60-grade arm. He’s also likely to be a league-average shortstop. That’s about all there is to like about Trahan at present, as he’s only hit .245/.327/.302 at the minors’ highest level.
  • The Reds have also recalled Lucas Sims, who arrived in Cincinnati just prior to the non-waiver trade deadline as part of the package in exchange for sending Adam Duvall to Atlanta. Sims owns a 5.96 ERA and 7.15 K/9 in a Braves uniform, but his minors track record indicates he might have better days yet to come; the righty has managed to strike out at least ten batters per nine innings at every level of the minors post-Rookie ball, and has a sub-4.00 MiLB ERA in each of the past two seasons.
  • The Twins will promote right-hander Zach Littell, according to Darren Wolfson of KSTP. Littell has but 3 1/3 innings of MLB experience, during which time he allowed seven earned runs with one strikeout en route to a demotion. His 3.57 ERA at Triple-A this season is far more palatable, albeit unspectacular.
  • The Twins also announced that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Andrew Vasquez, who’ll be receiving his first cup of coffee after pitching to a sub-1.50 ERA out of minor-league bullpens across the past three seasons combined. They’ve also selected catcher Chris Gimenez in addition to recalling outfielder Johnny Field and right-hander Tyler Duffey.
  • The Red Sox have officially recalled five players, including first base/outfield type Sam Travis. After serving as a somewhat serviceable piece in 2017 (.263/.325/.342 batting line), Travis has struggled in limited major-league action this year to the tune of a 45 wRC+ and -0.1 fWAR. Boston has also promoted left-handers Bobby Poyner and Robby Scott, as well as right-hander William Cuevas and infielder Tzu-Wei Lin.
  • The Tigers have recalled right-hander Sandy Baez from Double-A Erie, per a club announcement. Baez made his major-league debut back on June 4th, entering the game in relief during a double-header. He didn’t allow any runs in 4 1/3 innings, though he did walk three batters in that appearance. Aside from that, Baez has never pitched above Double-A, and owns a troublesome 5.64 ERA there on the 2018 season, in part due to command issues.

Mariners Outright Christian Bergman, Designate Rob Whalen, Activate James Paxton

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The Mariners have announced a flurry of roster moves amidst their September call-ups. Among the most notable transactions: lefty James Paxton has been activated from the 10-day disabled list, righty Christian Bergman has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, and righty Rob Whalen has been designated for assignment. The latter two moves were made to clear room on the roster for the contract selections of utilityman Kristopher Negron and righty Justin Grimm.

Paxton has been on the disabled list for the past two weeks after being struck in the left arm by a comebacker. While there was thankfully no structural damage to his pitching arm, the concerns were apparently heavy enough to warrant a trip to the DL. Paxton has been one of the bright spots for the Mariners this season, pitching to a respectable 3.68 ERA that actually seems unlucky when compared to his 3.12 FIP. His 2018 resume also includes 176 strikeouts in 139 1/3 innings, as well as a no-hitter against the Blue Jays on May 8th.

Bergman, 30, has made appearances in the majors during each of the past five seasons, pitching for both the Rockies and Mariners. He’s never managed to contribute a whole lot of value, though, as he’s never mustered an ERA south of 4.74 in a given season. Perhaps that’s in part due to his inability to strike batters out; Bergman’s career K/9 sits at just 5.43, while his 39.1% ground ball rate is nothing special, either.

Whalen’s spent time with the Braves organization during his career, but he’s spent the past two seasons with the Mariners. He pitched four innings in long relief against the Red Sox on June 15th, allowing just a hit, a walk, and no earned runs. He failed to strike anyone out, though, and his more extensive Triple-A track record suggests he’s obviously far more flawed than a 0.00 ERA pitcher. In 99 1/3 innings at Tacoma, Whalen’s posted a 5.16 ERA (4.03 FIP) while striking out just under a batter per inning.

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