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Kyle Funkhouser

Rangers, Kyle Funkhouser Agree To Minor League Deal

By Nick Deeds | January 5, 2023 at 8:27am CDT

The Rangers and right-handed reliever Kyle Funkhouser are in agreement on a minor-league contract, reports Robert Murray of Fansided. The Boras Corporation client will presumably receive an invite to major league Spring Training.

Funkhouser, who is headed into his age 29 season, was an effective member of the Tigers bullpen in 2021, when he posted a 3.42 ERA (124 ERA+) in 68 1/3 innings of work. His arsenal has four pitches, including a sinker and four-seamer that both averaged 96 mph in 2021 in addition to a 87 mph slider and a rarely used changeup. Despite his impressive velocity, Funkhouser struck batters out at just a 21.1% rate in 2021.

Though his strikeout rate was below-average and his 12.8% walk rate was downright troubling, Funkhouser seemed set to reprise this role in 2022 nonetheless. This was in part due to an excellent 53.1% groundball rate that helped him settle in among the best in the game at avoiding the barrel of the bat (92nd percentile opponents’ barrel rate, per Statcast). Unfortunately, Funkhouser suffered a right shoulder strain that kept him from pitching at all in 2022. That contributed to the Tigers designating him for assignment in November, after which point Funkhouser elected free agency to search for his next opportunity.

That opportunity will come in Texas, where Funkhouser will likely compete with the likes of Josh Sborz, Taylor Hearn, John King, and Dane Dunning for a spot in the Opening Day bullpen. While Texas has a handful of quality options for the late innings, such as Jose Leclerc, Brock Burke, Jonathan Hernandez, Joe Barlow and Brett Martin, Funkhouser adds some depth to a bullpen that lost Matt Moore to free agency and Matt Bush in a deadline trade with the Brewers last July. If he doesn’t crack the Opening Day roster, he can head to Triple-A Round Rock and serve as a depth option in the event of an injury.

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Texas Rangers Transactions Kyle Funkhouser

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Tigers Non-Tender Jeimer Candelario

By Anthony Franco | November 18, 2022 at 6:59pm CDT

The Tigers are non-tendering third baseman Jeimer Candelario, reports Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press (Twitter link). He’d been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $7MM salary.

Candelario has been the Tigers primary third baseman for the past five seasons. Originally acquired from the Cubs in a 2017 trade, he was manning the hot corner at Comerica Park by the start of the following year. Candelario posted below-average numbers for his first two seasons, but the switch-hitting infielder showed some promise with a .297/.369/.503 line in 52 games during the abbreviated 2020 campaign.

It never looked likely he’d replicate quite that level of production over a full season, but Candelario backed up his numbers with another impressive year. Through 626 trips to the plate in 2021, he posted a .271/.351/.443 showing with 16 longballs and 42 doubles. That brought his two-year line to .278/.356/.458 in more than 800 plate appearances.

Candelario looked like an above-average regular at the hot corner, a productive middle-of-the-order bat with capable defensive marks. Like much of the Detroit lineup, he fell off sharply in 2022. Candelario’s .217/.272/.361 line across 124 games proved a major disappointment. He had some unfortunate batted ball marks, with a .257 average on balls in play well shy of both the .290 league figure and the career .308 BABIP which Candelario carried into the season.

A rebound in his ball in play results would go a long way towards getting things back on track, but the dip isn’t solely attributable to poor luck. Candelario’s 34.6% hard contact rate was almost five percentage points lower than his 2021 mark and down 12 points from where it sat in 2020. He saw a similar decline in his average exit velocity. He hit more ground balls and pop-ups than he had the previous two seasons, while his line drive rate sunk.

Whether to place a roughly $7MM bet on Candelario to right the ship for his final season of arbitration was a key early decision for new president of baseball operations Scott Harris. Detroit opted against doing so, and they could look for third base help this offseason as a result. The Tigers have Ryan Kreidler as an in-house option to play somewhere on the infield, with third base now standing as the clearest path to playing time. Should Detroit add depth at the hot corner in the coming months, Kreidler could push Jonathan Schoop for playing time at second base.

Further thinning their infield depth, Detroit non-tendered utility players Harold Castro and Willi Castro. Both were eligible for arbitration for the first time and projected for salaries in the $2MM range. They each have some infield versatility and bat-to-ball skills, but neither draws many walks or hits for power. The Tigers will look elsewhere for bench depth. Detroit also non-tendered a number of players — Michael Papierski, Miguel Díaz, Kyle Funkhouser and Brendon Davis — who’d previously been designated for assignment.

Candelario, despite his down year, is one of the better free agent options available in a weak third base class. Justin Turner is the top option after being bought out by the Dodgers, while players like Evan Longoria, Jace Peterson and fellow non-tender Brian Anderson make up the next tier.

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Detroit Tigers Newsstand Transactions Brendon Davis Harold Castro Jeimer Candelario Kyle Funkhouser Michael Papierski Miguel Diaz Willi Castro

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Tigers Announce Several Roster Moves

By Darragh McDonald and Steve Adams | November 15, 2022 at 5:10pm CDT

The Tigers announced several roster moves in advance of tonight’s Rule 5 protection deadline. Five players have been added to the 40-man roster: right-handers Reese Olson and Brendan White, infielders Andre Lipcius and Wenceel Perez, as well as outfielder Parker Meadows. In corresponding moves, they designated righties Miguel Diaz and Kyle Funkhouser, catcher Michael Papierski and outfielder Brendon Davis for assignment. Lefty Sean Guenther cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Toledo.

Funkhouser, 29 in March, showed some promise in 2021 with a 3.42 ERA over 68 1/3 innings for the Tigers. Unfortunately, a shoulder strain kept him from pitching at any point in 2022. The right-hander was the No. 35 pick by the Dodgers back in 2015 but, as a player who slid after initially being a projected as top-ten or even top-five talent, returned to Louisville for his senior season. A poor year caused him to slide to the Tigers in the fourth round, and he’s now seen his pro career slowed by multiple shoulder injuries. In 85 2/3 career innings, he has a 4.20 ERA and a 12.9% walk rate.

Diaz, 28 later this month, had some success with the Padres in 2021 and pitched 3 2/3 innings of one-run ball with the Tigers in 2022. The bulk of his ’22 campaign, however, was spent in Triple-A Toledo, where he logged a 4.29 ERA with a 24.2% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate. Diaz throws fairly hard, averaging just shy of 96 mph on his heater, but his ability to miss bats has been inconsistent in the Majors, whereas his sub-par command has been a steady component of his game.

The 26-year-old Papierski has bounced around the league in 2022, spending time with the Astros, Giants, Reds and Tigers so far this calendar year. He hit .143/.228/.187 in 103 plate appearances this season, his Major League debut, and carries a .241/.361/.371 batting line in 160 games at the Triple-A level.

Davis, whom the Tigers claimed off waivers from the Angels back in May, made his big league debut in 2022 and went 2-for-10 with a walk in 11 plate appearances. The 25-year-old is a career .253/.352/.465 hitter in 721 plate appearances at the Triple-A level and has experience at shortstop, second base, third base and in both outfield corners.

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Detroit Tigers Transactions Andre Lipcius Brendan White Brendon Davis Kyle Funkhouser Michael Papierski Miguel Diaz Parker Meadows Reese Olson Sean Guenther Wenceel Perez

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Tigers’ Alex Faedo, Kyle Funkhouser Won’t Pitch Again In 2022

By Mark Polishuk | July 23, 2022 at 6:58pm CDT

The Tigers have been plagued by pitching injuries, and manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Chris McCosky of The Detroit News) that the 2022 season is over for two of the club’s hurlers.  Right-handers Alex Faedo and Kyle Funkhouser are both considering surgery — Faedo for a nagging hip problem, and Funkhouser for the shoulder strain that has kept him from pitching all season.

Faedo was one of several younger pitchers called up to help the rotation weather the injury storm, and he delivered a 5.53 ERA over his first 53 2/3 innings of Major League action.  With a 2.92 ERA over the first 37 of those frames, it looked like Faedo was making a rookie breakout before the league started to get a book on him, and also before his hip injury began to impact his performance.  The bad hip forced Faedo out of a July 4 start after only 3 2/3 innings, and he has been tagged for seven runs over his last two starts and 5 1/3 innings of action.

The 18th overall pick of the 2017 draft, Faedo was himself making a comeback from injury, as a forearm strain in 2020 resulted in Tommy John surgery at the end of that year that sidelined him for all of 2021.  Unfortunately, he’ll now face another significant absence even if he ultimately decides against hip surgery, and if he does opt to go under the knife, the rehab process could impact Faedo’s readiness for Spring Training or Opening Day 2023.

Funkhouser is also facing an uncertain timeline, as a shoulder surgery could potentially threaten his entire 2023 campaign, depending on the severity of his injury and the specific nature of the procedure.  He was initially set back by lat soreness during Spring Training, and will now miss a chance to follow up on a promising 2021 season.

Making his big league debut in 2020, Funkhouser posted a 7.27 ERA over his first 17 1/3 frames in the Show, but he had decidedly better results last year.  Despite a mediocre 12.8% walk rate and a below-average 21.1% strikeout rate, Funkhouser rode a 53.2% grounder rate and a lot of soft contact to a 3.42 ERA over 68 1/3 innings.  The Tigers frequently used Funkhouser for more than one inning, and he also made two “starts” (in opener fashion) in bullpen games.

Faedo and Funkhouser join Casey Mize (Tommy John surgery) as the Detroit pitchers whose injuries were season-ending, but the large majority of the pitching staff has spent time on the injured list with some type of issue.  Just in today’s game, Michael Pineda had to leave early due to right tricep tightness, creating another possible hole in the rotation.  Righty Rony Garcia was expected to be activated from the 15-day IL in time to start tomorrow’s game.

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Detroit Tigers Alex Faedo Kyle Funkhouser Michael Pineda Rony Garcia

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AL Central Notes: Kwan, Tigers, Funkhouser, Manning, Mize, Kirilloff

By Mark Polishuk | April 24, 2022 at 4:43pm CDT

The Guardians suffered a 10-2 defeat to the Yankees and also lost outfielder Steven Kwan to right hamstring tightness in the third inning.  Kwan started the game in left field and made his first two plate appearances before being replaced in the field in the bottom of the third.  Guardians manager Terry Francona told MLB.com’s Joe Trezza and other reporters that it was a “preventative” removal for Kwan, and that the outfielder is day-to-day.

Making his MLB debut on Opening Day, Kwan has been one of the season’s early stories, hitting a whopping .341/.456/.500 over his first 57 plate appearances.  Quite a bit of that production came in Kwan’s first five games, yet there is still plenty of hope that the rookie can stick as Cleveland’s everyday left fielder.  Depending on his hamstring’s status, however, Kwan might soon be making his first trip to the big league IL.  Kwan missed almost seven weeks of the 2021 Triple-A season while dealing with a strain of that same right hamstring.

More injury updates from around the AL Central…

  • Kyle Funkhouser has yet to pitch this season due to a right shoulder strain, and the Tigers moved him yesterday from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL.  “We’re trying to resolve the symptoms before we can progress more aggressively,” Hinch said.  “The timeline made it virtually impossible for him to be back prior to the 60 days,” manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including The Detroit News’ Chris McCosky).  Hinch also noted that Funkhouser is speaking with doctors about whether or not surgery could be required, so the reliever could be facing a much longer absence than just the minimum 60 days.
  • In other Tigers news, Hinch said that Casey Mize will be resuming his throwing program today at the team’s spring training facility in Lakeland.  Mize was placed on the 10-day IL on April 15 with a sprained MCL, though there were already early indications that the former first overall pick wouldn’t be out of action for too long, and that he has escaped a more serious injury.  Matt Manning is also headed to Lakeland but won’t yet begin throwing, as his right shoulder was still feeling some discomfort when Manning threw off flat ground yesterday.  Despite this update, Hinch said Manning didn’t have “a setback.  It’s nothing we are overly concerned about.  It’s just a slower ramp to playing catch before we get him back on the mound.”
  • Twins outfielder Alex Kirilloff is slated to begin a Triple-A rehab assignment on Tuesday, according to multiple reporters (including Betsy Helfand of The St. Paul Pioneer Press).  Right wrist inflammation sent Kirilloff to the injured list on April 13, so between the injury absence and a dismal 1-for-17 start to the season, Kirilloff will be looking for a reset once he returns to Minnesota’s lineup.  Most importantly, Kirilloff and the Twins hope that this is the end of his wrist problems, as the former top prospect also underwent ligament surgery last year.
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Cleveland Guardians Detroit Tigers Minnesota Twins Notes Alex Kirilloff Casey Mize Kyle Funkhouser Matt Manning Steven Kwan

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Tigers Promote Beau Brieske

By Anthony Franco | April 23, 2022 at 3:40pm CDT

TODAY: The Tigers officially selected Brieske’s contract in between games of today’s doubleheader with Colorado.  Right-hander Angel De Jesus was optioned to Triple-A, and righty Kyle Funkhouser was moved to the 60-day IL to create 40-man roster space.

APRIL 21: The Tigers announced this afternoon that right-hander Beau Brieske will start Saturday’s game against the Rockies. The 24-year-old will be making his major league debut. Brieske is not on the 40-man roster, so Detroit will need to make another move in that regard to formally accommodate the selection of his contract.

Brieske signed for just $75K as a 27th-round pick out of Division II Colorado State-Pueblo in 2019. The Arizona native overcame that lack of draft pedigree to reach the big leagues less than three years later, a testament to his strong work in the minors. Brieske pitched well in 11 relief appearances during his post-draft summer. He didn’t appear in 2020 because of the canceled minor league season, but he traversed a pair of levels last year.

Assigned to High-A Lakeland to open the season, Brieske pitched to a 3.45 ERA with a stellar 30.2% strikeout rate over 13 starts. That earned him an August bump to Double-A Erie, where he posted a 2.66 mark in eight outings. Brieske’s strikeout rate fell to an average 23.3%, but he walked 6% of opponents or fewer at both levels.

That strong performance was paired with a better arsenal that caught the attention of prospect evaluators. Naming him the #18 prospect in the organization this past winter, Baseball America wrote that Brieske had pushed his fastball into the 92-95 MPH range with good life at the top of the strike zone. BA praised his average or better slider and changeup and above-average command and suggested he’d blossomed into a legitimate starting pitching prospect. Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein at FanGraphs largely echoed that sentiment in their write-up of the Tigers’ farm in January, slotting him #10 in the system.

Brieske opened this season with Triple-A Toledo, where he’s allowed five runs in ten innings over his first two starts. Despite his lack of experience at the minors’ highest level, the Tigers will add him to an MLB rotation that has lost Casey Mize and Matt Manning to the injured list in recent days. Manning, in particular, is expected back in fairly short order, at which point Brieske might wind up optioned back to the minors. Whether his initial call is a lengthy one, Brieske’s addition to the 40-man solidifies him as a near-term depth option for the Detroit rotation.

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Detroit Tigers Transactions Angel De Jesus Beau Brieske Kyle Funkhouser

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Tigers Announce Several Transactions, Finalize Opening Day Roster

By Steve Adams | April 6, 2022 at 11:33am CDT

The Tigers announced a landslide of roster moves Wednesday as they set their Opening Day roster. Most notable among them is the formal selection of top prospect Spencer Torkelson’s contract. It was already known that Torkelson, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2020 draft and a consensus top-five prospect in all of baseball, would make the Opening Day roster, but his promotion to the big leagues is now official.

Detroit also selected the contracts of right-handers Drew Hutchison, Jacob Barnes and Will Vest. In a series of corresponding 40-man roster moves, Detroit designated left-hander Miguel Del Pozo for assignment and placed catcher Jake Rogers (recovering from Tommy John surgery), Spencer Turnbull (recovering from Tommy John surgery) and Jose Cisnero (strained right shoulder) on the 60-day injured list.

The Tigers also announced an additional series of placements on the 10-day injured list: lefty Andrew Chafin (groin strain), outfielder Derek Hill (hamstring strain) and righty Kyle Funkhouser (shoulder strain) are all beginning the season on the 10-day IL. Top outfield prospect Riley Greene is being placed on the minor league injured list after fracturing his foot late in Spring Training. The Tigers also announced that righty Elvin Rodriguez made the roster over infielder Willi Castro, and the team has assigned veteran right-handers Chase Anderson (Triple-A) and Wily Peralta (Class-A Advanced) to minor league affiliates to begin the year.

None of Hutchison, Vest or Barnes has an extensive track record of big league success, but they’ve all logged MLB action in the past and will give Detroit some bullpen depth early in the season, particularly while Cisnero sits out at least the first two months of the season mending a shoulder injury. That absence is perhaps the most surprising revelation in today’s sequence of moves. Cisnero was behind schedule to start camp and felt some discomfort in his most recent outing, but prior to today’s announcement there was no indication he’d require such a lengthy absence. It’s a notable loss for the Tigers, given the 32-year-old’s 3.45 ERA, 24 holds and four saves over the past two seasons.

Chafin, who signed a two-year, $13MM contract with an opt-out after the 2022 season will hope for a minimal absence. There’s been no indication from the club that he’s expected to require a long stay on the IL, but he’s been trending toward a 10-day placement since originally experiencing pain at the end of March. Hill has also been ailing since the final day of March, so his move to the IL doesn’t rate as much of a surprise.

As for the 29-year-old Del Pozo, he lasted the offseason on Detroit’s 40-man roster after allowing two runs on eight hits and no walks with four punchouts during a brief Detroit debut late in the 2021 campaign. He’s allowed a total of 20 runs in 18 1/3 Major League innings, however, and didn’t help his cause this spring when he appeared in two games and was tagged for a combined five runs in just one inning of work. Detroit will have a week to trade him or try to pass him through outright waivers.

Veterans Anderson and Peralta will give the Tigers some pitching depth in the minors to begin the season. Anderson joined the club on a minor league deal in mid-March and allowed three earned runs on nine hits and a walk with a pair of strikeouts in five innings during camp. He’s struggled substantially in the Majors across the past two seasons but from 2014-19 was a solid back-of-the-rotation arm, logging a combined 3.94 ERA in 857 innings between the D-backs and Brewers.

Peralta seems even likelier to be added to the big league roster, despite his assignment to a Class-A affiliate. The right-hander had a strong showing in Detroit last year after signing a minor league pact, pitching to a 3.07 ERA across 18 appearances (17 starts) — a total of 93 2/3 innings. But Peralta was slow to get to camp, owing to visa issues, and he’ll remain at the Tigers’ Lakeland facility, where their High-A team plays, as he builds up toward game readiness. Peralta didn’t make it to Tigers camp until this past weekend and didn’t have time to get into an official spring game, but once he’s built up he’ll be an option to join the club’s rotation or pitch in a long-relief role.

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Detroit Tigers Transactions Andrew Chafin Chase Anderson Derek Hill Drew Hutchison Elvin Rodriguez Jacob Barnes Jake Rogers Jose Cisnero Kyle Funkhouser Miguel Del Pozo Riley Greene Spencer Torkelson Spencer Turnbull Will Vest Willi Castro Wily Peralta

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Injury Notes: Urias, Rortvedt, Funkhouser

By Darragh McDonald | March 19, 2022 at 8:01pm CDT

Luis Urias was removed from today’s Spring Training game after suffering a quad injury while running the bases. Brewers manager Craig Counsell told Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters that the extent of the injury won’t be known until tomorrow. If Urias needs to miss any amount of time, it would certainly be a blow to the Brewers, as Urias’ excellent breakout campaign (.249/.345/.445 with an 111 wRC+) put him in line to be the club’s everyday third baseman this year.

The Brewers succeeded last year despite a mediocre offense, getting tremendous results from their pitching staff. They’ve made efforts to bolster the lineup this offseason, adding Hunter Renfroe, Andrew McCutchen and Mike Brosseau. If Urias has to miss any time, Brosseau and Jace Peterson are the most likely to step up and man the hot corner.

Some other injury notes from around the league as Spring Training games get underway…

  • The Yankees’ newly-acquired catcher Ben Rortvedt has been sidelined by an oblique injury, per Dan Martin of the New York Post. Rortvedt was just acquired as part of the big trade with the Twins, coming over with Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa in exchange for Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela. As a left-handed bat, Rortvedt was expected to play in a platoon capacity alongside right-handed batter Kyle Higashioka. The club doesn’t have another catcher on their 40-man roster. If Rortvedt’s injury proves significant, they may have to look for outside additions, or else rely on depth options like Rob Brantly or David Freitas.
  • Tigers reliever Kyle Funkhouser has lat soreness in his right side and may not be ready for Opening Day, reports Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. Funkhouser emerged as a valuable member of Detroit’s relief corps last year, throwing 68 1/3 innings with a 3.42 ERA. His 21.1% strikeout rate and 12.8% walk rate were both subpar, but he did log a strong 53.2% ground ball rate. “It just hasn’t resolved itself,” Tigers’ manager A.J. Hinch said of the injury. “He hasn’t been throwing any bullpens or live batting practice. That’s a concern with the shorter spring. I don’t anticipate that he’ll be ready for the season. Three weeks from yesterday we open up. That’s not much time on a regular schedule, let along when you have a bump in the road like this.”
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Detroit Tigers Milwaukee Brewers New York Yankees Ben Rortvedt Kyle Funkhouser Luis Urias

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Tigers Select Dario Agrazal, Jordy Mercer

By Steve Adams | July 23, 2020 at 8:33am CDT

The Tigers have announced that righty Dario Agrazal and infielder Jordy Mercer have made the Opening Day roster. Their contracts were selected to the 40-man roster. Former top picks Kyle Funkhouser and Beau Burrows both made the roster as well.

Agrazal, 25, was acquired from the Pirates back in November and later outrighted off the 40-man roster. The righty pitched 73 1/3 innings with the Pirates in 2019 but struggled to a 4.91 ERA with 5.0 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 1.84 HR/9 and a 39.9 percent grounder rate. Agrazal doesn’t miss many bats, even in the minors, but he’s averaged well under two walks per nine innings pitched in parts of seven minors league seasons and typically registers a ground-ball rate north of 50 percent. He’s only totaled 64 innings in Triple-A, but he owns a career 3.62 ERA with 5.8 K/9 against 1.3 BB/9 in 608 2/3 total minor league frames.

The veteran Mercer, meanwhile, will return for a second season in Detroit. He spent the ’19 season with the Tigers after signing a one-year deal but was plagued by quadriceps injuries for much of the season, spending multiple stints on the injured list. The signing looked regrettable at the season’s halfway point, but Mercer returned in early July and closed out the year with a sharp .292/.323/.479 slash line to salvage what was looking to be a lost year. The 33-year-old — 34 next month — is a career .257/.316/.388 hitter in parts of eight MLB seasons.

Both Funkhouser and Burrows were at one point first-round picks. Detroit selected Burrows with the No. 22 selection back in 2015, and Funkhouser was a supplemental first-round pick by the Dodgers just 13 spots later in that same draft. Funkhouser, however, didn’t sign and slid to the Tigers in the fourth round a year later. Both showed promise in 2017-18 before ugly 2019 seasons dropped their stock, but they’ll both get their first look in the big leagues to begin the 2020 campaign.

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Detroit Tigers Transactions Beau Burrows Dario Agrazal Jordy Mercer Kyle Funkhouser

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Players Added To 40-Man Roster: American League

By Jeff Todd | November 20, 2019 at 6:34pm CDT

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 American League teams that are not otherwise covered on the site.

AL West:

  • The Athletics made just one addition to the 40-man roster, righty Daulton Jefferies, which resulted in the DFA of righty Jharel Cotton (more on that move here).
  • The Rangers will add at least four players to their 40-man, per MLB.com’s TR Sullivan (via Twitter). Infielder Sherten Apostel, outfielder Leody Taveras, and hurlers Demarcus Evans and Tyler Phillips are all reportedly set to get a slot. Taveras is the most exciting name of this bunch; by the reckoning of some observers, he’s one of the club’s best prospects. Apostel came over in the Keone Kela trade. The two pitchers are upper-minors arms who could contribute in 2020.
  • There’s 40-man movement elsewhere in Texas as well. Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle tweets that the Astros have tacked on four players: Taylor Jones, Cristian Javier, Enoli Paredes, and Nivaldo Rodriguez. The last of those is the one that came from the farthest reaches of the prospect map (half a season of High-A ball); clearly, the ’Stros see him as an up-and-comer and were worried other teams would as well. Jones had a strong season at Triple-A and could fight for a bench spot. Javier and Paredes could be in the MLB bullpen mix after running up the farm ladder with high strikeout rates in 2019.
  • The Angels have selected second baseman/outfielder Jahmai Jones and lefty Hector Yan, according to the club. Both players (Jones – No. 6; Yan – No. 17) rank among the Angels’ top 20 prospects at MLB.com. The 22-year-old Jones is a 2015 second-rounder who spent the past two seasons at the Double-A level, where he hit .234/.308/.324 in 544 plate appearances in 2019. Yan, a 20-year-old native of the Dominican Republic, rose to Single-A ball this past season and notched a 3.39 ERA/3.17 FIP with a whopping 12.22 K/9 against 4.29 BB/9 over 109 innings.

AL Central:

  • The Twins have selected the contracts of righties Jhoan Duran and Dakota Chalmers, outfielders Gilberto Celestino and Luke Raley, and infielder/outfielder Travis Blankenhorn, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com tweets. Three of those players – Duran (No. 9), Celestino (No. 20) and Blankenhorn (No. 23) – rank among the Twins’ top 25 prospects at MLB.com.
  • Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports that the Tigers have selected the contracts of infielder Isaac Paredes; outfielders Daz Cameron and Derek Hill; and right-handers Beau Burrows, Kyle Funkhouser and Anthony Castro. Each of Paredes, Cameron, Burrows, Funkhouser and Castro are ranked inside the organization’s Top 20 prospects at MLB.com, while Hill checks in at 28th. Cameron, Hill, Burrows and Funkhouser were all top 50 picks in the MLB Draft at one point.
  • Kansas City’s slate of additions was accompanied by four DFAs, as detailed here. The Royals added lefty Foster Griffin, right-hander Carlos Hernandez, shortstop Jeison Guzman and outfielder Nick Heath to the 40-man roster this afternoon.
  • Seven players were added to the White Sox’ 40-man roster today, per a club announcement: catcher Yermin Mercedes, outfielder Blake Rutherford, left-hander Bernardo Flores Jr. and right-handers Zack Burdi, Dane Dunning, Matt Foster and Jimmy Lambert. Burdi and Dunning, in particular, are well-regarded pitching prospects on the mend from Tommy John surgery. Rutherford, a former first-round pick, was a key trade acquisition who was protected despite a lackluster season in Double-A and in the Arizona Fall League.

AL East:

  • Infielder Santiago Espinal and righty Thomas Hatch were the Blue Jays’ pair of roster additions on Wednesday. Toronto jettisoned Tim Mayza and Justin Shafer from the 40-man roster in a pair of corresponding moves, as explored at greater length here.
  • The Orioles announced that they’ve selected the contracts of left-hander Keegan Akin, right-hander Dean Kremer, infielder/outfielder Ryan Mountcastle and outfielder Ryan McKenna. Mountcastle, a former first-rounder, has long been considered among the organization’s most promising minor leaguers. Akin posted a down year in Triple-A in 2019 but has generally been successful and is viewed as a near-MLB ready arm.
  • The Red Sox have added infielders C.J. Chatham and Bobby Dalbec, outfielder Marcus Wilson, and lefties Kyle Hart and Yoan Aybar to their 40-man, the team announced.The most hyped farmhand there is Dalbec, whom MLB.com ranks as the Red Sox’s second-best prospect. The 24-year-old reached the Triple-A level for the first time in 2019 after obliterating Double-A pitching, and he posted a .257/.301/.478 line with seven home runs and 29 strikeouts against just five walks over 123 trips to the plate.
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Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers Houston Astros Los Angeles Angels Minnesota Twins Texas Rangers Transactions Beau Burrows Bernardo Flores Jr. Blake Rutherford Bobby Dalbec C.J. Chatham Cristian Javier Dakota Chalmers Dane Dunning Daz Cameron Dean Kremer Demarcus Evans Derek Hill Enoli Paredes Gilberto Celestino Hector Yan Isaac Paredes Jahmai Jones Jhona Duran Jimmy Lambert Keegan Akin Kyle Funkhouser Kyle Hart Leody Taveras Luke Raley Marcus Wilson Matt Foster Nivaldo Rodriguez Ryan McKenna Ryan Mountcastle Sherten Apostel Taylor Jones Travis Blankenhorn Tyler Phillips Yermin Mercedes Yoan Aybar Zack Burdi

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