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Seth Beer, Mark Mathias Sign With Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks

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Former big leaguers Seth Beer and Mark Mathias signed with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League this week. The team announced both signings.

Beer, 28, was a first-round pick by the 2018 Astros who wound up being one of four players traded to the D-backs in the last-minute deadline blockbuster that brought Zack Greinke to Houston in 2019. The first baseman/designated hitter appeared in parts of two seasons with Arizona, hitting a combined .208/.294/.292 in a small sample of 136 plate appearances from 2021-22.

Though Beer hasn’t found much success in the big leagues, he’s a fairly accomplished hitter in Triple-A, where he’s slashed .262/.365/.463 with 40 homers across 1093 plate appearances in parts of four seasons. He’s walked at an above-average 9.3% clip there and has kept his strikeouts to a manageable 18.8% rate. The lefty-swinging slugger spent the 2024 season in the Pirates system, where he hit .277/.354/.431 in a combined 99 games between Double-A and Triple-A.

Mathias, 30, has a good bit more major league service time under his belt — more than two years’ worth — but much of it has been spent on the injured list. He’s suited up for the Brewers, Pirates, Rangers and Giants in a utility capacity, hitting a combined .246/.317/.391 in 199 plate appearances spread over 73 games. Injuries have been a major detriment to the former third-round pick’s career. He’s undergone two shoulder surgeries: one in college and another in 2021 to repair a torn labrum. That second procedure cost him the entire 2021 season.

As with Beer, Mathias has a strong Triple-A track record but more modest big league numbers in scattershot playing time. He’s a .288/.383/.454 hitter in three Triple-A campaigns, during which he’s tallied 919 plate appearances. Mathias has walked in an impressive 12.8% of his Triple-A plate appearances against a 21.5% strikeout rate. He’s spent the bulk of his pro career at second base but has more than 1000 innings of work at third base in 200-plus innings at shortstop and in the outfield corners.

Reds, Mark Mathias Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Reds have agreed to a minor league deal with infielder/outfielder Mark Mathias, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He’ll presumably head to big league camp this spring. Mathias is repped by Apex Baseball.

The 29-year-old Mathias split the 2023 season between the Mariners, Pirates and Giants organizations, reaching the big leagues with the latter two of that trio. In a small sample of 72 trips to the plate, Mathias batted .226/.333/.258. He’s a career .246/.317/.391 hitter with six home runs and seven stolen bases in a total of 199 big league plate appearances. Mathias has walked at a healthy 9.5% clip in that time against a higher-than-average 26.1% strikeout rate.

Mathias hasn’t had much big league experience, but he’s a lifetime .288/.383/.454 hitter in parts of three Triple-A seasons totaling 919 plate appearances. He’s logged more than 3000 career innings at second base and more than 1000 frames at third base, with additional cameos at shortstop, first base and the outfield corners.

Cincinnati is already loaded with infield options, with Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Noelvi Marte, Jonathan India and Christian Encarnacion-Strand all in the mix. Jack of all trades Spencer Steer can play virtually any infield or corner outfield spot as well, though he may be ticketed for left field to begin the upcoming season. TJ Friedl and Will Benson are slated to handle center field and right field, respectively, and the Reds also have former top prospect Jose Barrero and outfielder/DH Jake Fraley in the mix for playing time.

Mathias doesn’t have a clear path to a prominent role with the team, but he provides some defensive versatility with a decent track record at the plate both in Triple-A and in the big leagues.

Giants Outright Mark Mathias

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The Giants have sent Mark Mathias outright to Triple-A, according to his player page on MLB.com. Having been outrighted previously in his career, he is eligible to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, and at this point in the year, it’s hard to see why he wouldn’t do so. There was no previous announcement that Mathias had been designated for assignment or placed on outright waivers. He was on the 60-day injured list for the final six weeks of the season, so the move doesn’t free up a 40-man roster spot for San Francisco.

The 29-year-old spent the first three months of the year with the Pirates, bouncing back and forth between the majors and Triple-A. He was designated for assignment in late June and scooped up by the Mariners in early July, who stashed him at Triple-A for a month before trading him to the Giants at the deadline, along with AJ Pollock. Mathias played just five games for San Francisco, after which the utility player landed on the IL with a right shoulder strain. He would not play for the remainder of the season.

Overall, Mathias hit .226 with a .591 OPS in 27 games with the Pirates and Giants. In other words, he was unable to rediscover the success from his brief stint with the Rangers last season, when he hit five home runs in 24 games down the stretch, driving in 16 and posting an impressive 159 wRC+. Nevertheless, his strong performance at Triple-A for a second consecutive season (.813 OPS in 51 games) should earn him a minor league contract with a new club this winter, barring another setback with his shoulder.

Giants Promote Kyle Harrison

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August 22: The Giants have now made this official, selecting Harrison and reinstating righty Ryan Walker from the paternity list. To open active roster spots, right-hander Sean Hjelle and outfielder Heliot Ramos were optioned. To open a 40-man spot for Harrison, infielder Mark Mathias was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Mathias was placed on the injured list a week ago due to a right shoulder strain. He’ll now be ineligible to return until 60 days from August 14, which rules him out until the middle of October. Barring a lengthy postseason run by the Giants, it seems his season is over.

August 20, 3:58 pm: Giants manager Gabe Kapler confirmed to reporters, including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, that Harrison was poised to be promoted. He’ll start the Giants’ game against the Phillies in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

10:14 am: The Giants are calling up top pitching prospect Kyle Harrison, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (via X).  Earlier today, the Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly wrote that San Francisco was “strongly considering” promoting Harrison during an upcoming series with the Phillies, and Murray says that Harrison is being aimed to start Tuesday’s game.  San Francisco will need to make another transaction before then to create a 40-man roster spot for the left-hander.

The promotion makes for a nice late birthday gift for Harrison, who turned 22 on August 12.  It is quite possible that the southpaw would have already made his MLB debut if it wasn’t for a hamstring strain that put him on the injured list for almost all of July, but after pitching in three Triple-A games since his return from the minor league IL, Harrison has been deemed ready for his first taste of the Show.

It doesn’t seem as though Harrison will be taking on a full-fledged starter role, as Baggarly notes that Harrison might work in more of a piggyback capacity on Tuesday, perhaps not throwing more than 3-4 innings.  Harrison has had a limited workload for much of the minor league season, as he has topped the 80-pitch threshold only three times and has only once thrown as many as five innings in a single outing.

With this in mind, Harrison looks to become the latest member of a patchwork Giants rotation that has recently featured only two regular starters.  Beyond Logan Webb and Alex Cobb, a group led by Jakob Junis, Alex Wood, Sean Manaea, and Ross Stripling have made limited starts, piggyback outings, or have worked as bulk pitchers behind an opener.  This collection took a hit yesterday when Stripling was placed on the 15-day IL due to a back strain, and Sean Hjelle was recalled from Triple-A to work as a long reliever or bulk pitcher.

It’s not an ideal situation for a team fighting for a wild card berth, so there will be a bit of a bigger spotlight than usual on Harrison as he becomes a big leaguer.  However, Harrison has dealt with plenty of hype as his prospect stock has risen over the last few years, since being selected by the Giants in the third round of the 2020 draft.  In recent midseason updates to their prospect rankings, MLB Pipeline listed Harrison as the 20th-best prospect in the sport, while Baseball America slotted him 35th on their latest listing.

There’s no secret about Harrison’s biggest weak point, as he has a hefty 16.3% walk rate over 67 2/3 innings with Triple-A Sacramento this year.  This shaky control (and pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League) has contributed to Harrison’s 4.52 ERA, though he also has a tremendous 35.6% strikeout rate.

Both Pipeline and BA give Harrison a 70-grade for his fastball and a 60-grade for his slider, and he also has a good changeup that is still improving.  Two plus pitches and the possibility of a third has created plenty of buzz about Harrison as a possible front-of-the-rotation starter, though the big question is naturally whether or not Harrison can improve his control and command.  As Pipeline’s scouting report puts it, Harrison is “still learning to harness his enhanced stuff, though his ability to miss bats in the strike zone with all three of his offerings means that he doesn’t need to locate them with precision.”

However the Giants opt to manage Harrison’s workload among the rest of the pitchers, it seems likely that the club will limit him to less than 50 innings in the regular season, so he can retain his rookie eligibility for 2024.  As per the rules of the Prospect Promotion Incentive, the Giants can receive a bonus pick in the 2025 draft if Harrison earns a full year of MLB service time in 2024, and he either wins the NL Rookie of the Year award or has a top-three finish in NL Cy Young voting during any of his pre-arbitration seasons.  Harrison must be ranked as a top-100 prospect by at least two of MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, or ESPN.com in their pre-2024 lists to fully qualify as a PPI-eligible player, thought that seems like a foregone conclusion.

Beyond the 50-inning threshold, pitchers also have to have less than 46 days on a Major League roster to retain rookie eligibility.  That date on the 2023 league calendar passed last week, so it isn’t surprising that Harrison and other notable prospects like the Reds’ Noelvi Marte, the Cardinals’ Masyn Winn, and the Angels’ Nolan Schanuel have all been called up within the last few days alone.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Giants Acquire AJ Pollock, Mark Mathias From Mariners

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The Giants announced they’ve acquired outfielder AJ Pollock, utility player Mark Mathias and cash considerations from the Mariners. Seattle receives a player to be named later or cash in return. San Francisco optioned Mathias to Triple-A, placed Mike Yastrzemski on the 10-day injured list, and transferred right-hander John Brebbia to the 60-day injured list in corresponding moves.

Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweeted this afternoon that San Francisco was among the teams looking for right-handed hitting. They add a pair of righty bats in this trade, although neither is necessarily a surefire offensive upgrade.

Mathias, whom the Mariners acquired off waivers from the Pirates earlier this month, departs the organization without ever joining the big league roster. The 28 year old offers experience all around the diamond, though he has primarily played second and third base throughout his career. Initially drafted by Cleveland in the third round of the 2015 draft, Mathias has bounced around the league since making his big league debut with Milwaukee in 2020, with stints in Pittsburgh and Texas over the past calendar year.

In 68 career games at the big league level, Mathias’s .249/.323/.402 slash line is good for a slightly above average wRC+ of 104, though that overall line is primarily carried by an excellent 24-game stretch with the Rangers where he slashed a whopping .277/.365/.554 in 74 trips to the plate. While the journeyman has yet to stick in the big leagues for a significant period of time, that hot stretch in Texas and a career slash line of .289/.383/.458 at the Triple-A level indicate Mathias has the potential to be a useful big league utility piece.

The veteran Pollock, 35, has struggled considerably to this point in the season, slashing a brutal .173/.225/.323 in 138 plate appearances. He’ll provide the Giants with outfield depth as they look to weather injuries to Mitch Haniger and Yastrzemski, the latter of whom is expected to miss a couple weeks with a left hamstring strain.

Pollock had mashed left-handed pitching as recently as a season ago. He provides an outfield rotation option and experienced clubhouse presence alongside the presumptive starting group of Michael Conforto, Luis Matos, and Austin Slater, at least while Yastrzemski gets healthy.

The Mariners continue to move some short-term players following this afternoon’s trade of closer Paul Sewald to Arizona. The player to be named headed back to Seattle figures to be a relatively minor piece. Of greater import is that San Francisco might be taking on some of Pollock’s $7MM salary. The precise amount of the cash being sent from Seattle to the Giants remains unreported. Pollock is owed around $2.33MM through season’s end, at which point he’ll be a free agent.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Giants were finalizing a deal for Pollock and Mathias. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reported the M’s could receive a player to be named later.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Mariners Claim Mark Mathias From Pirates

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The Mariners claimed infielder Mark Mathias off waivers from the Pirates today, per a club announcement. Mathias had previously been designated for assignment by Pittsburgh in order to make room for recently-acquired right-hander Andre Jackson on the 40-man roster. A corresponding move wasn’t necessary, as the club’s 40-man roster had an empty spot after the club designated Chris Flexen for assignment last week.

Mathias, 28, was a third-round pick by Cleveland in the 2015 draft. He made his major league debut with the Brewers during the shortened 2020 campaign, appearing in 16 games while playing first base, second base, and all three outfield spots. He spent the entire 2021 season on the shelf with a torn labrum before being traded to the Rangers at the 2022 Trade Deadline in the deal that sent right-hander Matt Bush to Milwuakee.

Mathias hit well in 24 games with the Rangers, slashing .277/.365/.554 in 74 plate appearances while splitting time between the infield and outfield corners. Prior to the 2023 campaign, Mathias was designated for assignment to make room for left-hander Will Smith on the Rangers’ 40-man roster. He was shipped to the Pirates shortly thereafter, where he slashed .231/.355/.269 in 24 games while primarily playing second base prior to his DFA.

Going forward, Mathias figures to join the likes of Sam Haggerty, Taylor Trammell, and Cooper Hummell as depth options in Triple-A behind the big league bench of AJ Pollock, Dylan Moore, Jose Caballero, and Tom Murphy.

Pirates Acquire Andre Jackson

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The Pirates and Dodgers have worked out a trade that will send right-hander Andre Jackson to Pittsburgh, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (via Twitter).  The Pirates have announced the trade, adding that Jackson has been optioned to Triple-A and that the Dodgers are getting cash considerations in return.  Mark Mathias has been designated for assignment to open up space on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster.

The Dodgers designated Jackson for assignment earlier this week to open up a 40-man roster spot for Ryan Brasier.  He’ll now change organizations for the first time in a pro career that began when the Dodgers selected Jackson in the 12th round of the 2017 draft.  The righty has appeared in each of the last three Major League seasons, with a total of 39 innings on his resume.

While Jackson had a 2.11 ERA over 21 1/3 innings in 2021-22, things haven’t gone as smoothly this year, as Jackson had a 6.62 ERA in 17 2/3 frames of work.  The long ball has been Jackson’s biggest nemesis, as after giving up just one home run in 2021-22, he has already allowed five homers this season.  It isn’t exactly a new problem for the right-hander, as he has trouble keeping the ball in the park over his three seasons at Triple-A (in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League).

Between the homers and an inflated 14.77% walk rate, Jackson has a 5.21 ERA in 129 2/3 career innings at the Triple-A level, with a 22.07% strikeout rate.  It isn’t the most promising set of numbers, yet as a pitcher capable of working as a traditional starter or long reliever, Jackson has some interesting value as at least a depth arm, particularly to a pitching-needy team like Pittsburgh.

With multiple relievers on the injured list, the Pirates will likely explore Jackson as a reliever first and foremost, or possibly as a bulk pitcher behind an opener if the Bucs get creative with their rotation.  Tomorrow’s off-day is the Pirates’ last free day until the All-Star break, and coming off a stretch of 13 games in 13 days, the Pirates might be looking for spot-start possibilities.

Pittsburgh acquired Mathias in a trade with the Rangers in March, and the utilityman has been shuttled back and forth several times between the majors and Triple-A.  Mathias has hit .231/.355/.269 over 62 plate appearances, playing mostly as a second baseman with a pair of other appearances in right field.  2023 is Mathias’ third Major League season, after he previously appeared in 16 games with the Brewers in 2020 and a combined 30 games with Milwaukee and Texas in 2022.  In between, Mathias spent the 2021 campaign recovering from shoulder surgery.

If Mathias clears waivers, he has the right to reject a possible outright assignment to Triple-A Indianapolis.  Because Mathias has been outrighted before in his career, he has the option of turning down another outright from the Bucs and instead can become a free agent.

Pirates Designate Eli Villalobos, Select Henry Davis

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The Pirates announced they have selected the contract of catcher/outfielder Henry Davis, a move that was reported yesterday. To make room for Davis on the active roster, infielder Mark Mathias was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, reliever Eli Villalobos was designated for assignment.

It’s a little surprising to see the Pirates turn to a DFA as the corresponding move for Davis’ call-up. Starter Vince Velasquez could’ve been transferred to the 60-day injured list to clear a 40-man spot after the revelation he’ll miss the remainder of the season (and a good chunk of next year) due to elbow surgery. The Pirates will hold off on a seemingly inevitable IL transfer for Velasquez and take Villalobos off the roster for now.

Pittsburgh nabbed Villalobos off waivers from the Marlins a couple months ago. The right-hander has spent his entire Bucs’ tenure on optional assignment to Indianapolis. He hasn’t performed particularly well, allowing 11 runs (eight earned) in 17 1/3 innings. Villalobos has walked 15 against just 16 strikeouts.

Combined with the six runs he allowed in 4 2/3 Triple-A frames before Miami put him on waivers, he has a cumulative 5.73 ERA with 22 free passes and 23 punchouts in 22 innings at the top minor league level this year. It’s obviously not how he wanted to follow up on a strong 2022 campaign, in which he pitched to a 2.86 ERA in the upper levels of the Miami system to secure an offseason spot on the Marlins’ 40-man roster.

Villalobos, who turns 26 next week, has not yet gotten his first MLB call. He’ll likely be put on waivers within the next seven days.

Rays Acquire Robert Stephenson From Pirates

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1:05pm: The Pirates have now announced the deal and that Williams has been assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Infielder Mark Mathias has been recalled to take Stephenson’s spot on the active roster.

12:20pm: The Rays have acquired right-hander Robert Stephenson from the Pirates, reports Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic. Minor league shortstop Alika Williams is heading the other way.

Stephenson, 30, came up as a starting pitcher for the Reds but has been converted to relief work over the past few years. The initial results of the bullpen move were positive, as he posted a 3.76 ERA over 57 appearances in 2019. Things took a downturn in the shortened 2020 season, however, with his ERA shooting up to 9.26 in 10 appearances that year. Prior to 2021, the Reds flipped him to the Rockies in exchange for Jeff Hoffman.

He then bounced back with a solid season in Denver, putting up a 3.13 ERA in 2021. He struggled again in 2022, running up a 6.04 ERA through August before he was designated for assignment and landed with the Pirates. He was able to finish on a high note with a 3.38 ERA in ten appearances for the Bucs down the stretch.

Here in 2023, he began the season on the injured list due to elbow inflammation but was able to return in the middle of April.  He’s since made 18 appearances but has a 5.14 ERA in those. He’s still getting punchouts at a similar rate but his control seems to have fallen off this year. He struck out 26.8% of opponents from 2019 to 2022 and walked 7.9% but those figures are 27.9% and 13.1% this year.

That’s a small sample size but Stephenson has shown himself to be fairly inconsistent in his career, with notable swings in his effectiveness. Nonetheless, the Rays will take a shot on helping him harness his stuff. Given their track record of helping flawed pitchers get the best of their arsenals, it wouldn’t be a total shock to see Stephenson get back on track in Tampa.

Despite their reputation for producing an endless stream of quality relievers, they have had some bullpen struggles this year. They have five relievers currently on the injured list, which is putting a strain on their depth. The relief group as a whole has a collective 4.32 ERA on the season, a mark that places them 22nd out of the 30 clubs in the league. They have been looking in various places for reinforcements, including calling up several arms from their own system as well signing Jake Diekman after he was released by the White Sox. Now they will add Stephenson as well to see if he can be part of the solution as they try to hold onto the top spot in the cutthroat AL East. He will just be a short-term piece, however, since he’s slated for free agency this winter.

As for Williams, 24, he was the 38th overall selection in the 2020 draft. He has generally been considered one of Tampa’s top 30 prospects in the past few years, with his speed and defense standing out as his best qualities. The key question has been whether or not his bat would allow him to complement those skills. So far, the results there have been somewhat tepid. He hit .267/.312/.375 in 2021 across three different levels, producing a wRC+ of 86. Last year, he got his line up to .249/.353/.377 for a wRC+ of 104, spending most of his time in High-A. He’s been in Double-A this year, hitting .237/.314/.417 for a wRC+ of 101.

Williams isn’t a star prospect but he comes with a solid floor given his athletic abilities. Any offensive development would be a nice bonus for the Bucs, not a bad outcome for a struggling reliever that they grabbed off waivers less than a year ago.

Rangers Trade Mark Mathias To Pirates

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March 11: The Rangers announced they’re getting right-hander Ricky DeVito from the Pirates as the player to be named later. DeVito, 24, was acquired from Atlanta in the Richard Rodriguez deal, and worked to a 5.40 ERA across 70 innings at High-A last season (six starts, 29 relief appearances).

March 8: The Rangers announced Wednesday that they’ve traded infielder/outfielder Mark Mathias to the Pirates in exchange for a player to be named later. Texas designated Mathias for assignment over the weekend in order to open a 40-man roster spot for newly signed reliever Will Smith. The Pirates announced that righty Max Kranick, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Mathias, 28, comes to the Pirates with a minor league option and five years of team control remaining. He’s seen action in part of two big league seasons — 2020 with the Brewers and 2022 with Milwaukee and Texas. He’s logged just 127 plate appearances in that time but carries a solid .256/.307/.462 batting line (114 wRC+) with six homers, six doubles, a 7.1% walk rate and a more troubling 29.1% strikeout rate.

Mathias lost the entire 2021 season to a torn labrum that required shoulder surgery. It was the second shoulder surgery for Mathias, who also had a procedure performed back in his college days. He returned to post a huge .318/.421/.518 batting line in 50 Triple-A games with the Brewers in 2022. Milwaukee also carried him on the big league roster for six games, but Mathias was traded to Texas prior to the deadline in the deal that sent righty Matt Bush to the Brewers.

The versatile Mathias could crack the Pirates’ Opening Day roster in a bench role, though his remaining minor league option means he’s not a lock to do so. Still, he’s played all four infield positions and all three outfield spots in his professional career, albeit with just one lone inning in center field with the Brewers in 2020. He’s moved around the diamond consistently in the Majors, with no more than 51 innings played at any single position (despite a total of 292 defensive innings under his belt).

While he’s never been regarded as a plus defender at any position, Mathias can play pretty much anywhere. He doesn’t have huge power, but he’s a career .286/.377/.466 hitter in 715 Triple-A plate appearances and has stacked up 21 homers, 41 doubles, three triples and 26 steals (in 31 attempts) in 173 total games at that level.

Second base has been Mathias’ most frequent position in the minors, and that happens to be the Pirates’ least-settled spot in the lineup, so he’s a particularly sensible add for Pittsburgh at a low cost of acquisition. He’ll compete with Rodolfo Castro, Ji Hwan Bae and Nick Gonzales for playing time there throughout the remainder of camp.

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