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Mark Kolozsvary

Red Sox, Mark Kolozsvary Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Red Sox and catcher Mark Kolozsvary have agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. It’ll be his second straight season with the Red Sox organization, as he was with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Worcester in 2024.

Kolozsvary, 29, has technically appeared in two big league seasons, though he played in only one game for the 2023 Orioles and didn’t log a plate appearance. He tallied 10 games with the 2022 Reds and came to the plate 21 times, going 4-for-20 with a homer and two doubles (.200/.238/.450).

In parts of four Triple-A seasons, Kolozsvary owns just a .176/.297/.312 batting line. He’s yet to provide much in the way of offense in his big league career, but Kolozsvary is regarded as a strong defender with quality minor league marks for framing, blocking balls in the dirt and controlling the running game. He’s thrown out 29% of runners who’ve attempted to steal against him in his minor league career.

Kolozsvary is the latest depth addition for a Red Sox club that doesn’t have much certainty behind starting catcher Connor Wong. Trade acquisitions Carlos Narvaez and Blake Sabol are both on the 40-man roster, but neither has established himself in the majors yet. Narvaez has just six big league games to his credit. Sabol is a .243/.313/.392 hitter (95 wRC+) in 382 MLB plate appearances with the Giants but has fanned in one-third of his trips to the plate and struggled defensively at catcher. Boston also brought in veteran Seby Zavala as a non-roster invitee, giving them another strong defender with a shaky track record at the plate.

Red Sox Sign Mark Kolozsvary To Minor League Deal

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The Red Sox have signed catcher Mark Kolozsvary to a minor league contract, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel reports (via X).  The deal contains an invitation to Boston’s big league Spring Training camp.

Kolozsvary’s MLB resume consists of 10 games with the Reds in 2022 and then one game (or, one half-inning as a defensive replacement) with the Orioles this past season.  The 28-year-old backstop was designated for assignment and then outrighted shortly after that lone appearance for the O’s, and Kolozsvary landed with the Twins on a minor league deal soon thereafter.

Originally a seventh-round pick for the Reds in the 2017 draft, Kolozsvary hasn’t hit much during his minor league career, and he has only a .174/.282/.301 slash line over 300 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.  However, he managed to climb the ladder and reach the majors on the strength of his all-around solid defensive game.  It’s the type of skillset that has extended many a catcher’s career, and Kolozsvary will head to Boston’s camp looking to impress either Red Sox brass or perhaps opposing scouts, if he ends up being a late cut.

The Red Sox already have Connor Wong and Reese McGuire lined up as their regular catching tandem, Roberto Perez was signed to a minor league deal earlier in December, and top prospect Kyle Teel could make his MLB debut at some point in 2024.  While perhaps somewhat of a crowded situation on paper, teams usually like to have depth in camp at the catcher position, and the Sox will be looking to both continue Teel’s development while also having an acceptable amount of emergency depth on hand at the Triple-A level.

Twins, Mark Kolozsvary Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Twins have agreed to a minor league deal with catcher Mark Kolozsvary, as first reported by Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News and SKOR North Radio (Twitter link). He’ll head to Triple-A St. Paul to serve as catching depth. He rejected an outright assignment with the Orioles in favor of free agency late last week.

Kolozsvary, 27, made his big league debut with the Reds last summer and won a Silver Medal with the United States Olympic team a year prior. He went 4-for-20 with a homer and a pair of doubles in last year’s brief MLB cup of coffee but was removed from Cincinnati’s 40-man roster following the season. The Orioles claimed him off waivers and eventually succeeded in outrighting the catcher themselves. Baltimore selected Kolozsvary back to the big league roster eight days ago, but he appeared in just one game and didn’t make a plate appearance before being designated for assignment.

In parts of six minor league seasons, Kolozsvary is a .211/.320/.339 hitter, including a tepid .172/.250/.299 slash in 96 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A in the Orioles’ system this year. He’s thwarted 31% of stolen base attempts against him in the minors, and his framing has improved throughout his career, per Baseball Prospectus’ framing runs metric. Baseball America ranked Kolozsvary 26th among Reds prospects a year ago, labeling him as a good defender, framer and blocker whose offensive skill set still needed refinement.

The Twins don’t have an immediate need for catching help on the big league roster, where Christian Vazquez and Ryan Jeffers have handled the entirety of the workload. Kolozsvary will join veteran Tony Wolters and 23-year-old Jair Camargo as catching options on the Saints’ roster in St. Paul for the time being.

Mark Kolozsvary Elects Free Agency

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Catcher Mark Kolozsvary has elected minor league free agency after being waived by the Orioles, according to an announcement from Baltimore. The O’s had designated him for assignment on Wednesday.

Kolozsvary had a quick turnaround this week. Baltimore selected him onto the big league roster on Tuesday. He played once as a defensive substitute before being cut loose. Kolozsvary had otherwise spent the year with the O’s top affiliate in Norfolk. He hit .162/.250/.265 in 20 games.

A University of Florida product, Kolozsvary has appeared in 11 MLB games between the Reds and Orioles. He’s played six seasons in the minors, including parts of three years in Triple-A. He owns a .171/.283/.290 line in 81 career contests at the top minor league level. He’ll look for minor league opportunities elsewhere.

Orioles Place Austin Voth On 15-Day IL, Designate Mark Kolozsvary, Select Reed Garrett

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The Orioles announced a trio of moves, including the selection of right-hander Reed Garrett’s contract from Triple-A Norfolk.  Garrett will take the place of righty Austin Voth, who was placed on the 15-day injured list due to right elbow discomfort.  To create space on the 40-man roster, Baltimore designated catcher Mark Kolozsvary for assignment.

Tests didn’t reveal any structural damage in Voth’s elbow, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including the Baltimore Sun’s Nathan Ruiz).  As such, Hyde said there’s a “very low” amount of concern over Voth’s elbow issue, but since the pitcher has been dealing with lingering soreness since Spring Training, a stint on the IL was deemed necessary to finally correct the problem.

Pitching through pain could explain Voth’s uninspiring numbers, as the right-hander has a 4.94 ERA and below-average walk and strikeout rates over 31 innings out of Baltimore’s bullpen.  On the positive side, Voth’s velocity hasn’t been effected, as his 93.4mph average fastball is only a touch below his 93.5mph number from last season.  It was just over a year ago that the Orioles selected Voth off waivers from the Nationals, and while the O’s used him mostly as a starter in 2022, Voth has exclusively worked as a reliever this season.

Garrett is another former National, as he posted a 6.75 ERA over 9 1/3 innings for Washington in 2022 before inking a minor league deal with the Orioles during the winter.  The 30-year-old’s only other MLB experience came in the form of 15 1/3 innings with the Tigers in 2019, but Garrett has 548 2/3 frames of minor league work under his belt, as well as two quality seasons in Japan with the Seibu Lions in 2020-21.

Over 22 2/3 innings with Norfolk, Garrett has a 1.59 ERA and a 28.4% strikeout rate, though his 10.4% walk rate is on the high side.  A huge 91.6% strand rate has also helped Garrett’s numbers, but overall, there’s certainly enough to merit the Orioles seeing what he can do at the big league level.

Kolozsvary just had his contract selected yesterday by the Orioles, and he played an inning of late-game mop-up work in Baltimore’s 11-6 win over the Blue Jays.  This represented the catcher’s 11th Major League game, after he made 10 appearances with the Reds in 2022.  Over 1146 PA and six seasons in the minors with the Cincinnati and Baltimore organizations, Kolozsvary has a .211/.320/.339 slash line.

Because he was outrighted off of the Orioles’ roster back in November, Kolozsvary can reject an outright assignment to Triple-A in favor of free agency.  Adley Rutschman and James McCann have the big league catching situation locked up, and while Rutschman’s regular DH usage means that the O’s might be in some need of an extra catcher, Anthony Bemboom is also at Triple-A as experienced depth.

Orioles Select Mark Kolozsvary, Place Ryan Mountcastle On Injured List

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The Orioles announced a last-minute move before tonight’s matchup with the Blue Jays. Catcher Mark Kolozsvary has been selected onto the big league roster while first baseman Ryan Mountcastle is headed to the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 10, due to vertigo. In order to clear a 40-man roster spot, Baltimore designated minor league righty Noah Denoyer for assignment.

Kolozsvary is in position to make his O’s debut. Baltimore claimed him off waivers from the Reds at the start of the offseason. A few weeks later, they successfully passed him through waivers to keep him in the organization. He’s made 20 appearances for their top affiliate in Norfolk, hitting .162/.250/.265 with 26 strikeouts and five walks.

The 27-year-old backstop has never been much of an offensive threat. He’s a career .171/.283/.290 hitter at the Triple-A level. His glove secured him a 10-game MLB audition with Cincinnati last season. It’ll similarly land him at least a brief look in Baltimore behind Adley Rutschman and James McCann.

Mountcastle hasn’t played since August 8 because of an illness. Teams can backdate an IL placement for a maximum of three days. The O’s have decided to give the righty-swinging infielder at least another week to sort through vertigo symptoms that have apparently been plaguing him. It has been a tough season for Mountcastle, who carries a career-worst .227/.264/.421 batting line through 261 trips to the plate. Ryan O’Hearn and Josh Lester have gotten first base looks in his absence recently.

Denoyer landed a 40-man roster spot early last offseason. The 6’5″ hurler would otherwise have been eligible for the Rule 5 draft. He’d been coming off a 2.89 ERA showing across three minor league levels and the O’s were evidently concerned another team would take a shot on him as an MLB middle reliever.

His results have backed up this season, his first full year in Norfolk. Denoyer has tallied 30 1/3 innings across 14 outings (four starts), typically working 2-3 frame stints. He’s managed a 5.04 ERA. That’s largely a reflection of a massive spike in free passes. After walking just 6.1% of opponents last season, he has walked over 15% of batters faced this year. Denoyer’s 23.3% strikeout percentage and 48.8% ground-ball rate are still solid, but the newfound control issues pushed him off the roster.

Baltimore will trade him or put him on waivers within the next week. He’s in his first of three option years, so any team that takes a shot on him could keep him in the upper minors for the foreseeable future if they’re willing to put him on the 40-man.

Orioles Outright Mark Kolozsvary

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The Orioles announced that catcher Mark Kolozsvary has been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. There wasn’t any public indication he’d been designated for assignment but the O’s apparently passed him through waivers in recent days.

Kolozsvary, 27, is the third catcher that the Orioles have outrighted this month. Cam Gallagher and Anthony Bemboom were also deprived of their spots in recent weeks, leaving Adley Rutschman as the only backstop remaining on the 40-man roster.

Kolozsvary was a seventh round draft pick of the Reds who made his MLB debut this year, getting into 10 games at the big league level while being frequently optioned to the minors. Around those options, he got into 46 minor league games and hit .163/.303/.279. He has yet to appear in an Orioles uniform since he was claimed off waivers after the conclusion of the regular season.

The is the first outright of his career and he lacks the necessary service time to have the right to reject it. That means he will stay in the organization as depth. Gallagher rejected his assignment but Bemboom accepted his, meaning Bemboom and Kolozsvary will still be around to compete for the backup catching job behind Rutschman in the spring. Though it’s possible the club makes other additions to the squad between now and then.

Orioles Designate Louis Head, Beau Sulser; Claim Aramis Garcia, Mark Kolozsvary

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The Orioles have added to their catching depth with a pair of waiver claims from the Reds, acquiring backstops Aramis Garcia and Mark Kolozsvary.  To create roster space, Baltimore has designated right-handers Louis Head and Beau Sulser for assignment.

Both Sulser and Head were themselves acquired via the waiver wire in 2022, with the former obtained from the Pirates in May and the latter from Miami in July.  Neither saw much action in an Orioles uniform, with Sulser pitching 12 2/3 MLB innings for the O’s and Head only five frames.  Those 12 2/3 innings for Sulser marked his Major League debut, as he pitched in four games with Pittsburgh before moving onto six more appearances with Baltimore.

The younger brother of former Orioles hurler Cole Sulser, Beau worked his way up to the big leagues after being a 10-round pick for the Pirates in the 2017 draft.  Though the Pirates gave the righty a long look at a starter at Triple-A in 2021, Sulser has pitched only as a reliever in his brief MLB career.  Sulser has a 4.12 ERA over 373 1/3 career innings in the minors, with an improved strikeout rate in 2022 as he made the move back to mostly relief pitching.

Head made his Major League debut in 2021, posting a 2.31 ERA over 35 innings out of the Rays’ bullpen.  Seemingly the latest product of Tampa Bay’s nonstop pitching pipeline, Head spent an unusual amount of time moving up and down that pipeline, as the Rays sent the right-hander up and down from Triple-A on 12 different occasions.  Acquired by the Marlins in an offseason trade, Head struggled to a 7.23 ERA over his 23 2/3 innings with Florida’s other team, though he seemed to right the ship with an 1.80 ERA in his brief time with the O’s.

The additions of Garcia and Kolozsvary give the Orioles six catchers on their 40-man roster — an unusually high number even for a team that didn’t have a surefire starter in Adley Rutschman.  However, Robinson Chirinos is a free agent and Cam Gallagher is a non-tender candidate, so bringing more backstops into the fold gives the O’s some flexibility in deciding who will ultimately work as Rutschman’s backup in 2023.  (Anthony Bemboom is the other catcher on the 40-man.)

A second-round pick for the Giants in the 2014 draft, Garcia spent much of his career in San Francisco’s organization before being claimed by the Rangers in November 2020.  That move sparked a whirlwind of movement for the catcher, as the Oriole are now Garcia’s fifth different team within the last 23 months.  Garcia has seen MLB action in four of the last five seasons, totaling 320 plate appearances over 116 games with the Giants (2018-19), Athletics (2021) and Reds (2022).

Other than an .800 OPS in his first 65 PA with San Francisco, Garcia hasn’t shown much at the bat, hitting .216/.253/.332 for his career against big league pitching.  Injuries have played a significant role in Garcia’s career, as he missed all of 2020 recovering from hip surgery, and a finger sprain sent him to Cincinnati’s 60-day injured list last season.  Garcia is projected to earn $800K in his first offseason for arbitration eligibility, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Orioles non-tendered him prior to the deadline, depending on the team’s other plans for its catchers or its 40-man roster space.

Kolozsvary was a seventh-round pick for the Reds in 2017, and today’s waiver claim marks the first organization change of his pro career.  After hitting .215/.326/.343 in an even 1100 PA in the minors, Kolozsvary topped off his Reds tenure by making his Major League debut in 2022, appearing in 10 games.

Reds Activate Tyler Stephenson, Option Mark Kolozsvary

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The Reds have activated catcher Tyler Stephenson from the injured list. In a corresponding move, Mark Kolozsvary was optioned to Triple-A, per Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter).

Kolozsvary, 26, made just 11 plate appearances in the Majors, doubling once and striking out five times. The Reds drafted him in the seventh round of the amateur draft back in 2017. He’s made his way through the ranks of Cincinnati’s system, reaching Triple-A for the first time in 2021.

Stephenson has arguably been the Reds’ best offensive performer this season. The 25-year-old backstop was handed the full-time starting gig last winter when Tucker Barnhart was traded to Detroit. Stephenson responded by slashing .305/.361/.468 over 155 plate appearances.

Reds Activate Tyler Stephenson From Injured List

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SEPTEMBER 22: Cincinnati activated Stephenson from the injured list before this afternoon’s game against the Pirates. That indicates he did not test positive for the coronavirus. Kolozsvary was optioned back to Louisville to clear active roster space but will retain his spot on the 40-man roster. To open 40-man space for Stephenson, the Reds transferred Tejay Antone from the 10-day to the 60-day IL. Antone underwent Tommy John surgery last month.

SEPTEMBER 20: The Reds announced they’ve selected catcher Mark Kolozsvary to the big league club. Fellow backstop Tyler Stephenson has been placed on the COVID-19 injured list in a corresponding move. Players on the COVID IL don’t count against the 40-man roster, so no additional moves were necessary.

A five-year minor league veteran, Kolozsvary is now in line for his first MLB opportunity. Selected in the seventh round of the 2017 draft out of the University of Florida, he struggled offensively early in his pro career but was off to his best start this season. Koloszvary hit .233/.341/.438 over 170 plate appearances with Double-A Chattanooga, popping six home runs and drawing walks at a strong 11.8% clip. The right-handed hitter fanned in 31.2% of his trips to the plate there, but he flashed enough power and patience to make a decent offensive impact.

Kolozsvary took a hiatus from his time in the Reds’ system to join the U.S. National Team at this summer’s Tokyo Olympics. Somewhat ironically, he’s the second member of that team to get called up today, as the Indians are set to bring up outfielder-turned-reliever Anthony Gose as well. Kolozsvary went 4-21 in a brief look in international competition before returning to the Reds.

Cincinnati bumped Kolozsvary up to Triple-A Louisville last month. He hasn’t performed well in his first 53 plate appearances there, but will nevertheless get a chance to back up Tucker Barnhart while Stephenson’s unavailable. He gets that nod over Beau Taylor, a three-year big league veteran also at Louisville who’s already on the 40-man roster. Because Kolozsvary’s coming up to replace a player on the COVID IL, he can be removed from the 40-man and returned to the minors without being exposed to waivers. It could be a relatively short first stint then, but Kolozsvary would be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this offseason if he’s not on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster at that point.

It’s not clear whether Stephenson’s on the IL for a positive test or if he’s simply a close contact or feeling virus-like symptoms. One of the game’s most promising young backstops, Stephenson came up very briefly last season but has gotten his first extended big league look in 2021. He’s off to a strong start, hitting .279/.368/.420 with nine home runs over 368 plate appearances (109 wRC+). Cincinnati has fallen three games back of the division-rival Cardinals in the race for the National League’s last playoff spot, and an extended absence from Stephenson would obviously make their hopes of tracking St. Louis down over the season’s final two weeks that much more difficult.

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