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Guardians Sign Touki Toussaint, Cam Gallagher To Minor League Deals

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The Guardians announced Wednesday that they’ve signed right-hander Touki Toussaint, catcher Cam Gallagher and righty Michael Kelly to minor league contracts with invitations to Major League Spring Training. Cleveland also confirmed its previously reported signing of outfielder Roman Quinn.

Toussaint, 26, is the most recognizable and most experienced name of the bunch. A former first-round draft pick (No. 16 overall, to the D-backs in 2014) and top-100 prospect in the sport, the 6’3″ righty was traded to the Braves and, for several years, was viewed as a potentially vital piece of the team’s most recent rebuilding cycle. It was easy enough to see why. Toussaint obliterated minor league lineups in 2018, pitching to a combined 2.38 ERA in 136 1/3 innings — including a 1.43 ERA in 50 innings during his Triple-A debut.

It’s been mostly downhill since that time, however. Toussaint was solid but wild in a 29-inning MLB debut late in the ’18 season, and he was clobbered both in Triple-A and in the Majors in 2019 (as were many pitchers in the juiced ball season). He allowed 24 runs in 24 1/3 innings during the shortened 2020 season, and Toussaint hasn’t really found his footing in either of the two subsequent seasons, despite a move to the bullpen and a change of scenery that sent him from Atlanta to Anaheim.

All in all, Toussaint has a 5.34 ERA in 170 1/3 big league innings. He’s punched out a solid 23.7% of his opponents and paired that with a solid 11.1% swinging-strike rate, but he’s also walked far too many hitters (13.6%) and been homer-prone more often than not (1.37 HR/9). His Triple-A work has been better, but not markedly so; in 160 innings he carries a 4.55 ERA with a 25.7% strikeout rate and 12.6% walk rate.

Gallagher, 30, has appeared in parts of six Major League seasons — all with the Royals. He’s primarily functioned as a glove-first backup to iron man Salvador Perez, never topping more than 142 plate appearances in a single big league season. He’s tallied just 469 trips to the plate during his time in the Majors, batting .240/.302/.355 overall. Gallagher draws plus marks for his framing and has registered 11 Defensive Runs Saved in 1136 career innings behind the plate, though he’s struggled a bit with the running game (20.6% caught-stealing rate in his career).

Also 30, Kelly made his Major League debut with the Phillies in 2022 when he tossed four innings of one-run ball with a 4-to-1 K/BB ratio. The longtime Padres farmhand has a spotty track record in the upper minors but had a big year with the Astros’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2021, pitching to a combined 2.70 ERA with a with a 29.5% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate. He was hit hard with the Phillies’ Triple-A club in 2022, but part of his unsightly 5.29 ERA can be chalked up to a sky-high .375 average on balls in play. Kelly also punched out better than 29% of his opponents for a second straight year in 2022.

Both Toussaint and Kelly will vie for bullpen spots this spring, though Cleveland has a deep and talented relief corps that might be tough to crack in the earlygoing. That said, either could be a fine depth option in the event of injuries. Gallagher will be behind each of Mike Zunino, Bo Naylor and Bryan Lavastida on the depth chart, as they’re all on the 40-man roster. He joins another former Royals backup, Meibrys Viloria, as catching depth in the upper minors.

19 Players Elect Free Agency

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Players hit minor league free agency on a daily basis during the postseason, as opposed to major league free agents who hit free agency following the World Series when their contracts expire. On Thursday, MLBTR covered 15 players who elected minor league free agency, and we will continue to provide occasional updates as players continue to hit the open market, as noted on the MiLB.com transactions log.

If a player is not on their organization’s 40-man roster at the end of the season, he will hit minor league free agency as long as he has at least 3 years of MLB service time, been assigned outright more than once in his career, and/or has played in the minor leagues for parts of seven or more seasons. Everyone on today’s list is part of that group of players, and most will search for another minor league deal this offseason, though a few may manage to latch onto a major league club and secure a bench or bullpen spot entering the 2023 season.

Infielders:

Outfielders:

Pitchers:

Outrights: Leon, Vieaux, Kelly

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We’ll kick Friday morning off with a trio of outright assignments…

  • Veteran catcher Sandy Leon cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Guardians and has been sent outright to Triple-A Columbus, per the league’s transactions page. The team did not formally announce the move, and Leon had the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency. However, he was back in the lineup with Columbus last night, so he’s clearly accepted the assignment and will remain in Triple-A for the time being (without occupying a spot on the 40-man roster). The 33-year-old switch-hitter batted .133/.381/.133 in a tiny sample of 21 plate appearances with Cleveland in his second big league stint with the organization in the past three years. He’ll remain on hand as a veteran depth option with a strong reputation for defense and receiving but just a .211/.279/.317 batting line in parts of 11 MLB seasons.
  • The Pirates announced that left-hander Cam Vieaux went unclaimed on waivers. He’s been sent outright to Triple-A Indianapolis and will remain in the organization without requiring a spot on the 40-man roster. Vieaux’s stint with the major league club was fairly brief. Selected to the majors in mid-June, the 28-year-old made five appearances over the next couple weeks. Vieaux began his big league career with three scoreless outings, but he retired only one of three batters faced on June 29. Two days later, he was called upon for mop-up work against the Brewers. Milwaukee sent 13 batters to the plate in one inning against him, plating eight runs on six hits and three walks before he made it out of the inning after a staggering 56 pitches. Pittsburgh optioned Vieaux a few days later and, after two more minor league appearances, designated him for assignment. Now that he’s cleared waivers, he’ll head back to Indianapolis in hopes of building on his 2.12 ERA through 29 2/3 innings and, more importantly, earning his way back to the big leagues.
  • Right-hander Michael Kelly cleared outright waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, per an announcement from the Phillies. The 29-year-old made his big league debut with the Phils in mid-June and has pitched four innings of one-run ball across a pair of stints with the team. However, he’s also been hit hard in Triple-A, where he’s toting a 7.33 ERA through 23 1/3 innings on the season. To his credit, Kelly has punched out 30.8% of his Triple-A opponents this season, and that bloated ERA is at least partially due to a sky-high .439 average on balls in play against him. That said, the former No. 48 overall pick (Padres, 2011) has also walked far too many hitters (11.2%) — a trait that has plagued him throughout parts of five seasons in Triple-A, where he has an 11.7% walk rate through 170 2/3 innings.

Phillies Designate James Norwood For Assignment

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The Phillies announced Monday that right-hander James Norwood has been designated for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for fellow right-hander Michael Kelly, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The Phils also reinstated catcher Rafael Marchan from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A.

Acquired from the Padres in an offseason deal that sent minor league infielder Kervin Pichardo to San Diego, Norwood has pitched 17 1/3 innings of relief out of the Philadelphia bullpen but has been tagged for 17 earned runs in that time. The damage hasn’t been confined to one or two poor outings, either, as Norwood has yielded runs in eight of his 20 appearances on the season so far. Overall, he’s yielded 24 hits (two of them homers) and nine walks while punching out 22 batters.

Norwood is out of minor league options — a large reason he was designated by the Padres in the first place — so the Phils couldn’t send him down without first designating him for assignment. They’ll have a week to try to trade him or pass him through outright waivers now. The former seventh-rounder has a decent track record in Triple-A, a fastball that averages just under 97 mph and a splitter that gets him plenty of chases and whiffs. Add in a decent track record in the upper minors, and it’s not out of the question that another bullpen-needy club would want to speculate via waiver claim or perhaps a small trade.

As for the 29-year-old Kelly, he’ll make his big league debut whenever he steps onto the mound for the first time. It’s the culmination of a 11-year baseball odyssey for the 2011 No. 48 overall pick. Originally selected by the Padres, Kelly also spent time with the Orioles, Astros and the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League before joining the Phillies as a minor league free agent this winter. He’s pitched to a lackluster 5.00 ERA in 18 innings with the IronPigs so far, but Kelly has also punched out 33.8% of his opponents in that time.

Phillies Sign Six Players To Minor League Deals

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Dec. 15: Bedrosian’s contract was actually agreed to on Dec. 1 but only formally announced by the team this week, MLBTR has learned. That explains any confusion surrounding how the deal was possible, as Bedrosian otherwise appeared ineligible to sign during the lockout by virtue of the fact that he ended the 2021 season on the Phillies’ Major League roster.

Dec. 14: The Phillies announced this evening that they’ve signed six players — all right-handed pitchers — to minor league contracts with invitations to big league Spring Training. Joining the organization are Cam Bedrosian, Andrew Bellatti, Jake Newberry, Joe Gatto, Tyler Cyr and Michael Kelly.

Bedrosian is the best-known of the group. He emerged as a high-leverage arm early in his career with the Angels, a stint highlighted by a brilliant 2016 campaign in which he pitched to a 1.12 ERA across 40 1/3 innings. Bedrosian remained in Anaheim through the end of 2020, but his formerly strong strikeout rate has dropped in recent seasons. That has come in conjunction with a downturn in fastball velocity from the 95-96 MPH range to around 92-93 over the past couple years.

The 2021 season was a struggle for Bedrosian, who split the year between the Reds, A’s and Phils. He combined to work 25 innings over 26 outings, posting a 5.04 ERA/5.27 SIERA. Bedrosian’s 19.8% strikeout percentage was a few points below the league average, while his 14.7% walk rate was a career-high. Still, the 30-year-old made a strong enough impression during a late-season run in Philadelphia to get another opportunity to crack the big league bullpen out of Spring Training. (As an interesting historical footnote, Bedrosian’s father Steve Bedrosian won the 1987 NL Cy Young Award in Philadelphia after saving a league-best 40 games).

Bellatti has appeared in two MLB seasons, six years apart. After working 23 1/3 innings of relief with the Rays in 2015, Bellatti bounced around between various high minors and independent clubs without getting a return opportunity in the majors. His long-awaited break came this past July, when he cracked the Marlins’ MLB roster.

The 30-year-old bounced on and off the Miami roster a few times down the stretch, averaging 94.3 MPH on his heater over a three-game cameo. He spent the bulk of the season with their top affiliate in Jacksonville, where he posted an impressive 1.52 ERA over 29 2/3 frames. Bellatti punched out a lofty 33% of opponents at the minors’ top level while walking a decent 8.7% of batters faced. He was outrighted off the 40-man roster and elected minor league free agency at the end of the season.

Newberry is the other of the Phils’ newcomers with MLB experience. The 27-year-old has suited up with the Royals in each of the past four campaigns. He’s tallied 70 2/3 cumulative innings over 65 relief outings, pitching to a 4.84 ERA with worse than average strikeout and walk numbers (21.9% and 12.7%, respectively). Newberry, who became a minor league free agent at season’s end after being outrighted off the Kansas City roster, has a 4.06 ERA in parts of four Triple-A seasons.

None of Gatto, Cyr nor Kelly has pitched in the big leagues, although Gatto and Kelly have been a part of clubs’ 40-man rosters in the past. Gatto, 26, split the 2021 season between the Rangers’ top two affiliates. He posted a 3.32 ERA with solid strikeout and walk rates (29.2% and 8.1%, respectively) but never got a big league look in Texas. Cyr, 28, has spent his entire career in the Giants’ system, topping out at Triple-A, where he owns a 4.66 ERA. Kelly, 29, has pitched in the Padres, Orioles and Astros systems. He has a 4.76 ERA over four seasons at the minors’ highest level.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/10/21

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Catching up on some minor league moves from around baseball…

  • The Astros have signed righty Michael Kelly to a minor league pact, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Kelly was the 48th overall pick of the Padres in the 2011 draft, but he hasn’t made it to the bigs thus far. Along with the Padres, the 28-year-old appeared in the minors with the Orioles through 2018, recording a 5.35 ERA over 607 2/3 innings. Kelly’s most recent professional action came in 2019 with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League.

Earlier updates:

  • The Dodgers signed right-handers Kevin Quackenbush, Austin Bibens-Dirkx, and Aaron Wilkerson to minor league contracts earlier this month, and all are on the roster for the team’s Triple-A affiliate.  Quackenbush is the most experienced of the trio, with 207 2/3 MLB innings with the Padres and Reds from 2014-18, and the 32-year-old is back in the Dodgers organization after previously pitching for Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2019.  Bibens-Dirkx was a member of several organizations before catching on with the Rangers in 2016 and posting a 5.27 ERA over 114 1/3 innings from 2017-18.  Wilkerson appeared in parts of three Major League seasons with the Brewers from 2017-19, posting a 6.88 ERA over 35 1/3 frames of work.
  • The Indians signed right-hander Matt Koch to a minor league deal back in April.  Koch pitched for the Yakult Swallows in 2020, posting a 7.88 ERA over 16 innings with the Japanese club.  Formerly a member of the Diamondbacks, Koch pitched 86 2/3 of his 125 1/3 career Major League innings in 2018, when he had a 4.15 ERA/4.85 ERA while starting 14 of his 19 games for Arizona.  For his overall career, Koch has a 4.88 ERA at the big league level.

Dodgers Claim Alec Asher, Designate Zach Neal

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The Dodgers have claimed righty Alec Asher off waivers from the Orioles, per a club announcement. Fellow right-hander Michael Kelly, who was also recently designated for assignment, has cleared waivers and been outrighted by the O’s. To clear a 40-man spot for Asher, the Dodgers have designated righty Zach Neal.

Asher and Kelly were each late-spring roster casualties for the O’s. The former is a 26-year-old swingman who has not yet found much success in the majors. In his 170 1/3 innings at Triple-A, though, he owns a useful 3.75 RA with 6.4 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9. Obviously, the Dodgers see something they like.

As for the 29-year-old Neal, he recently had his contract selected and appeared in one inning at the MLB level. The former Athletics hurler had joined the Dodgers on a minors pact. In his 85 2/3 lifetime innings at the game’s highest level, Neal owns a 4.94 ERA with an unusual mix of 3.9 K/9 and 0.7 BB/9.

Orioles Designate Four Players, Set Opening Day Roster

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The Orioles set their Opening Day roster Thursday, announcing that they’ve designated right-handers Alec Asher, Stefan Crichton, Michael Kelly and Jesus Liranzo for assignment. Their 40-man spots will go to Pedro Alvarez, Colby Rasmus, Craig Gentry and Danny Valencia. Mark Trumbo and Gabriel Ynoa, meanwhile, will open the season on the 10-day DL. Right-hander Alex Cobb will open the year in Double-A as he ramps up after signing late in Spring Training.

Asher, 26, appeared in 24 games for the O’s last season, including six starts, totaling 60 innings of work with a 47-to-23 K/BB. While Asher showed that he can work out of both the rotation or bullpen in multi-inning stints, he struggled to a 5.25 ERA and yielded 10 homers in last year’s 60 frames with the O’s. Asher does sport a quality 3.75 ERA in 170 1/3 innings of Triple-A work, where he’s averaged 6.4 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9. He has also has a minor league option remaining, so he could make sense for a team in need of some rotation depth.

Crichton, also 26, debuted with the Orioles last year, though he tossed just 12 1/3 innings in the Majors. In that brief sample, he yielded 11 runs on a whopping 26 hits and four walks with eight strikeouts and a 46 percent ground-ball rate. The former 23rd-rounder did average better than 94 mph on his heater in the bigs, though, and he logged a strong 3.02 ERA with 9.4 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and 0.38 HR/9 in 47 2/3 Triple-A innings. He has a pair of minor league options remaining.

The 25-year-old Kelly has never appeared in the big leagues, but he nonetheless scored a Major League contract from the O’s this past offseason on the heels of a strong Double-A showing with the Padres’ San Antonio affiliate in 2017. The former No. 48 overall pick worked to a 2.89 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 with a 44.2 percent ground-ball rate in 89 Double-A innings before being roughed up in his second go-around at the Triple-A level (albeit in an extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League setting).

Liranzo, 23, also comes without big league experience, but Baseball America ranked him 19th among Orioles farmhands this offseason. Liranzo isn’t lacking for velocity and has the upside of a quality bullpen piece, but he’s struggled with control throughout his pro career, including last season when he averaged six walks per nine innings pitched and posted an unsightly 4.85 ERA in 65 Double-A innings with the Orioles’ Bowie affiliate.

Each of Alvarez, Gentry and Valencia have been with the Orioles before. Alvarez’s stay with the team could be directly tied to Trumbo’s rehab, as each projects primarily as a DH. A brief experiment with Alvarez as an outfielder didn’t prove fruitful for the O’s last season, and they’re largely set at the infield corners as well. Gentry can back up at all three outfield spots and provide some speed off the bench, while Valencia provides a right-handed complement to Chris Davis as well as some insurance at third base and in the outfield corners.

As for Rasmus, it seems likely that he’ll receive fairly regular reps in right field after signing a minor league contract this winter. He showed well in a limited sample with the Rays last season before incurring an injury and ultimately stepping away from the game to be with his young family midway through the ’17 season.

Orioles Sign Righty Michael Kelly To MLB Roster

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The Orioles have agreed to a 40-man deal with righty Michael Kelly, president of baseball operations Dan Duquette told reporters including MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli (via Twitter). He became a minor-league free agent at the end of the season.

Kelly, 25, reached the Triple-A level in each of the past two years in the Padres organization. He has struggled rather notably there, though he has had some success at Double-A. In 15 starts at the penultimate level of the minors in 2017, Kelly ran a 2.98 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 over 84 2/3 innings.

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