Minor MLB Transactions: 3/24/18
The latest minor moves from across baseball…
- The Reds have acquired right-hander Robinson Leyer from the White Sox, per Jon Heyman of FanRag. It’s not yet known what the ChiSox will receive for the 25-year-old Leyer, who debuted with their organization in 2012. Leyer spent a large portion of the previous two seasons at the Double-A level, including all of 2017, when he posted a 3.55 ERA with 9.57 K/9, 5.09 BB/9 and a 37.3 percent groundball rate in 58 1/3 innings.
Earlier updates:
- The Red Sox have acquired catcher Mike Ohlman from the Rangers for cash considerations, TR Sullivan of MLB.com tweets. A 2009 draft pick of the Orioles (11th round), Ohlman made his major league debut with the Blue Jays last year, though he only collected 13 plate appearances, before signing a minors pact with the Rangers in the offseason. The 27-year-old has done most of his recent work at the Triple-A level, where he has batted .240/.334/.424 in 518 PAs. It seems unlikely he’ll be a factor in Boston, whose catcher contingent features just-extended starter Christian Vazquez and backups Sandy Leon and Blake Swihart.
- The Pirates have placed outfielder Bryce Brentz on outright waivers, Liz Bloom of the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette reports. Pittsburgh acquired the 29-year-old Brentz from Boston back in February, but the out-of-options slugger was then unable to earn a spot with his new organization during the spring. Brentz raked in the minors last year, where he tortured Triple-A pitchers with a .271/.334/.529 line (138 wRC+) and 31 home runs in 494 PAs. However, Brentz hasn’t been nearly that successful in the majors since the BoSox used a first-round pick on him in 2010, having hit .287/.311/.379 with just one HR in 90 trips to the plate.
Blue Jays Sign Michael Ohlman, Jarrett Grube To Minors Deals
The Blue Jays announced on Monday that they’ve signed catcher Michael Ohlman and right-hander Jarrett Grube to minor league contracts and invited the pair to Major League Spring Training.
[Related: Updated Toronto Blue Jays Depth Chart]
Ohlman, 26 next month, has spent his career in the minor league systems of the Orioles and Cardinals. The former 11th-rounder reached Triple-A for the first time last season and turned in a strong performance for the Cardinals’ affiliate in Memphis, hitting .280/.333/.464 with six homers, nine doubles and a couple of triples in 186 plate appearances over the life of 54 games. Ohlman split the year between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting a combined .287/.344/.434. He’s thrown out 26 percent of runners and been about average in terms of framing pitches in the minors (per Baseball Prospectus). Baseball America rated him 30th among Cardinals farmhands last winter and wrote that while he’s large for a catcher at 6’5″, he’s improved enough behind the dish to profile as a backup if he can tap into his above-average raw power. The Jays don’t have a set answer at backup catcher next year, with A.J. Jimenez the current favorite to land that gig. Ohlman will be in the mix to compete for that role in Spring Training, though the Jays could add a more experienced option to back up Russell Martin as the winter progresses.
Grube, who turned 35 this month, has had a 13-year pro career but has reached the Majors in just one season, when he appeared in a single game for the 2014 Angels. Selected by the Rockies in the 10th round of the 2004 draft, Grube has also pitched in the minors for the Mariners and Indians in addition to a pair of indy ball stints with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League. Grube’s overall numbers at the Triple-A level don’t immediately stand out, but he posted an excellent 2.26 ERA in 79 2/3 innings with Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate in 2015 and a 3.92 ERA in 119 1/3 innings between the Triple-A affiliates for the Indians and Mariners last season. He typically averages just under eight strikeouts per nine innings and a bit less than three walks per nine and has totaled more than 1200 innings as a professional.