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Michael Roth

Rangers Acquire Michael Roth; Kevin Jepsen Elects Free Agency

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The Rangers have acquired lefty Michael Roth from the Cubs, according to a club announcement. He had been pitching on a minor-league deal.

In other Ranger reliever news, the club announced that righty Kevin Jepsen has elected free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment. He had been designated for assignment recently.

Roth, 28, last appeared in the majors — quite briefly — with the Rangers back in 2016. He has thrown 36 total innings at the game’s highest level. In 29 2/3 frames this season at Triple-A, Roth owns a 3.03 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 4.6 BB/9.

As for Jepsen, the 33-year-old will head onto the open market in search of another chance at returning to the majors. He had a less-than-promising showing this year in Texas, posting a 5.94 ERA with an 8:11 K/BB ratio in his 16 2/3 innings. Jepsen has had stretches of high-quality work in the majors, of course. In particular, he threw 215 1/3 innings of 2.93 ERA ball from 2012 through 2015.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/26/18

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Here are Friday’s minor moves from around the league…

  • Chris Cotillo of SB Nation has the news of yet another minors deal, this time a pact between the Twins and Andy Wilkins. The lefty-hitting first baseman has 72 plate appearances and one homer to his name at the big league level (with the White Sox and Brewers), though his career .124/.194/.224 slash line perhaps paints a better picture of his MLB performance thus far. And yet, taking into consideration the 29-year-old’s .254/.358/.474 performance with the Twin’s Double-A affiliate last year, there might still be cause for optimism surrounding his potential to provide value for Minnesota.

Earlier…

  • The Cubs have elected to bring left-hander Michael Roth to the organization on a minor-league deal, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reports (Twitter link). Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports tweets that Roth will be paid a $560K salary if he’s able to crack their big-league roster. The former ninth-round pick is entering his age-28 season; he’s made 22 total MLB appearances out of the bullpen for the Rangers and Angels, along with a single start for the latter. He owns a career ERA of 8.50, though run-prevention estimators such as xFIP (4.46) and SIERA (4.04) suggest his actual skill set isn’t quite in line with those disastrous results. Roth has also spent time at the Triple-A affiliates of the Rays, Giants and Indians.
  • The Indians announced that they’ve signed right-hander Preston Claiborne to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training. The 30-year-old Claiborne tossed two innings for the Rangers in 2017 and has a total of 73 1/3 innings of Major League work under his belt — all but last year’s two innings coming with the Yankees in 2013-14. The former 17th-round pick has a career 4.05 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and a 42.7 percent ground-ball rate. Claiborne owns a lifetime 3.09 ERA in 102 Triple-A innings, including a stellar 1.89 mark in 38 innings ith the Rangers’ affiliate last season.
  • The Rays have agreed to minor league deals with catcher Johnny Monell and righty Forrest Snow, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links). Monell, 32 in March, has 61 MLB plate appearances on his resume, most of which came with the 2015 Mets when he hit .167/.231/.208. He’s a career .278/.350/.460 hitter in part of five Triple-A seasons. Snow, 29, has never appeared in the Majors and carries a lackluster 4.84 ERA in parts of seven Triple-A campaigns. However, he’s posted sub-4.00 overall ERAs in each of the past two seasons and thrived in the Venezuelan Winter League last offseason. Snow has significantly bolstered his strikeout rate and lowered his walk rate as well over the past two seasons. Both Monell and Snow will be in Major League camp with the Rays this spring.
  • Tampa Bay also picked up right-hander Ryan Weber on a minor league pact, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. The 27-year-old has big league time with the Braves and Mariners. Weber logged a scintillating 0.85 ERA, 1.1 BB/9 and 72.5 percent ground-ball rate in 31 2/3 innings with Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate last year, though his 5.4 K/9 mark wasn’t nearly as impressive. Weber appeared in just six games (five starts) all season in 2017 thanks to a biceps strain that kept him on the disabled list for most of the year.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/19/16

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The latest minor moves from around the baseball world…

  • The Giants signed southpaw Michael Roth to a minor league deal, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Twitter link).  Roth has appeared in parts of three big league seasons with the Angels and Rangers, posting an 8.50 ERA over 36 career innings.  He spent most of 2016 pitching for the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, and he managed a strong 2.97 ERA over 145 1/3 innings, starting 23 of 28 games.
  • The Giants have also signed infielder Juniel Querecuto to a minor league deal, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports via Twitter.  The 24-year-old made his major league debut in 2016, appearing in four games with the Rays.  Since being signed out of Venezuela and beginning his pro career at age 17, Querecuto has hit .253/.311/.319 over 2112 minor league plate appearances.
  • Former Mets utilityman Eric Campbell will sign with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball, according to reports out of Japan (hat tip to ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin).  The Mets outrighted Campbell off their 40-man roster earlier this month and he elected to become a free agent.  Campbell, who turns 30 in April, has a .622 OPS over 505 career plate appearances in the bigs, all as a member of the Mets from 2014-16.  Most of Campbell’s playing time has been at third base, though he has also seen significant time at first and left field, as well as limited action as a shortstop, right fielder and second baseman.
  • The Mariners announced that outfielder Stefen Romero has been released so that he can pursue an opportunity to play in Japan.  Romero appeared in 72 games for Seattle in his 2014 rookie season but just 22 since, amassing a .195/.242/.307 career slash line over 233 plate appearances.  A 12th-round pick for the M’s in the 2010 draft, Romero showed some promise in the minors, posting an .875 OPS and an even 100 homers over 2567 minor league PA.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/17/16

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Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Rangers outrighted left-hander Michael Roth to Triple-A after he accepted the assignment, club executive VP of communications John Blake tweets.  Roth was designated for assignment earlier this week.  The southpaw appeared in just one game for the Rangers this season (allowing six ER over 3 2/3 relief innings) while posting a 2.97 ERA, 2.24 K/BB rate and 5.8 K/9 over 145 1/3 innings at Triple-A, with 23 of his 28 outings coming as a starter.
  • The Braves selected the contracts of utilityman Emilio Bonifacio and third baseman Rio Ruiz from Triple-A Gwinnett, the team announced.  Catcher A.J. Pierzynski and righty Rob Whalen were shifted to the 60-day DL in corresponding moves to create roster space.  Bonifacio was outrighted off Atlanta’s 40-man roster earlier this summer, and the veteran has appeared in just 15 games for the Braves in 2016.  Ruiz, 22, is getting his first taste of the majors after hitting .271/.355/.400 with 10 homers and 24 doubles over 533 Triple-A plate appearances this season.  MLB.com ranked Ruiz as the 15th-best prospect in the Braves’ system.

Rangers Activate Colby Lewis, Designate Michael Roth

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The Rangers have activated right-hander Colby Lewis from the 60-day disabled list and designated left-hander Michael Roth in a corresponding move, according to the team’s executive vice president of communications, John Blake.

Lewis, out since late June with a lat strain, was highly effective for the Rangers during the season’s first two-plus months. The 37-year-old registered a 3.21 ERA, 5.6 K/9 and 1.74 BB/9 in 98 innings for a club that had been without ace Yu Darvish for a significant portion of time. Lewis, who will start Sunday against the Angels, will now join Darvish and Cole Hamels atop the Rangers’ rotation as the team moves toward clinching the American League West. At 85-58, Texas holds a 9 1/2-game lead in its division and owns the best record in the AL.

Roth, 26, has spent the vast majority of this year as a member of the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, Round Rock, with which he logged an impressive 2.97 ERA over 145 1/3 innings. He has thrown 3 2/3 frames with Texas this year, giving him a career 38 major league innings with the Rangers, Angels and Indians. The 2012 ninth-round pick has recorded an 8.50 ERA, 7.25 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 over that limited sample size.

Indians Rescind Claim Of Deolis Guerra; Michael Roth Accepts Outright

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AUG. 7: The Indians announced that they have rescinded the waiver claim on Guerra after discovering a pre-existing left knee injury. He will remain property of the Pirates. Additionally, Cleveland announced that Roth has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A.

AUG. 5: The Indians announced that they have claimed right-hander Deolis Guerra off waivers from the Pirates and designated lefty Michael Roth for assignment.

Guerra, a one-time Top 100 prospect whose name may sound familiar, was one of four pieces sent from the Mets to the Twins in the 2008 Johan Santana blockbuster (he ranked as the game’s No. 35 prospect at the time, per Baseball America). The Venezuelan righty’s development stalled, however, and he spent seven seasons in the Twins’ minor league system before becoming a minor league free agent this winter and subsequently signing with the Pirates.

The now-26-year-old Guerra dominated with the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate, pitching to a 1.23 ERA with a 37-to-8 K/BB ratio in 36 2/3 innings before having his contract selected and making his big league debut. Guerra was terrific in his first seven outings, allowing just three runs with a 13-to-2 K/BB ratio in 13 innings, but he was torched in his final three appearances before being designated for assignment. In that brutal stretch, he was tagged for nine earned runs on 11 hits (three homers) in just 3 2/3 innings.

Roth, 25, hadn’t appeared in the Majors with Cleveland this season and had a 4.15 ERA with 5.5 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 115 innings with the team’s Triple-A affiliate. A former ninth-round pick by the Angels, Roth was quick to the Majors, debuting in 2013 after being selected in the 2012 draft. His inexperience showed in the Majors, though, as he posted a 7.79 ERA in 32 1/3 innings from 2013-14. His work at Triple-A this season, in fact, is his first experience at that level. He’d previously jumped from Rookie ball to Double-A to the Majors.

Indians Sign Michael Roth, Release Tyler Cloyd

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The Indians announced a series of minor pitching transactions on Twitter. Left-hander Michael Roth has been inked to a minor league deal with a spring invite, while righty Tyler Cloyd has been released to afford him an opportunity to pitch in Korea.

Roth is a 24-year-old who has thrown mostly in relief at the major league level while working as a starter in the minors. The University of South Carolina grad has been hit around in the bigs, but worked to a solid 2.62 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 140 2/3 innings as a starter at Double-A. Roth refused an outright assignment with the Angels after being designated for assignment back in November.

The 27-year-old Cloyd, meanwhile, worked at Triple-A last year with the Indians organization, pitching to a 3.89 ERA over 166 2/3 frames with 6.4 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9. He had served as a spot starter for Cleveland at the MLB level over the prior two years, compiling a 5.98 ERA over 93 1/3 total innings.

Minor Moves: Roth, Marte, Williams, Asencio

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…

  • Angels director of communications Eric Kay announced today that the team has outrighted catcher Jackson Williams and outfielder Alfredo Marte to Triple-A after the duo cleared waivers. Left-hander Michael Roth, meanwhile, also cleared waivers and elected to test the free agent waters rather than accept an assignment to Triple-A. Roth had success as a starter at Double-A last season and could look to latch on with an organization that is thin on rotation depth or has a clearer path to a role in the big league bullpen. All three players were designated for assignment last Thursday as the Halos set their roster before the Rule 5 Draft.
  • The Padres announced today that outfielder Yeison Asencio has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A El Paso. The 25-year-old was designated for assignment last week despite having posted fairly strong numbers between Double-A and Triple-A in 2014.
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