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Neftali Feliz

Players Recently Electing Free Agency

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As the offseason gets underway, players around baseball continue to elect minor league free agency.  While the threshold for big league free agency (six-plus years of Major League service time) is well known, there are several methods of qualifying for minor league free agency.  The most common criteria: players with 3+ years of MLB service time who have been outrighted off their teams’ 40-man rosters this season, players who have been outrighted off a 40-man roster multiple times in their career, or unsigned players not on a 40-man roster who have spent parts of at least seven seasons on a minor league roster or injured list.

Each of these players has recently hit the open market in the last few days, according to the official transactions pages for both Triple-A East and Triple-A West.

Dodgers Outright Neftali Feliz

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TODAY: Feliz cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A, according to Oklahoma City Dodgers communications director Alex Freeman (Twitter link).

SEPT. 9: The Dodgers have designated right-hander Neftali Feliz for assignment and reinstated fellow righty Tony Gonsolin from the 10-day injured list, per a team announcement. They’ve also optioned Mitch White to Triple-A and recalled right-hander Andre Jackson.

Feliz, 33, appeared in three games with the Dodgers and tossed three shutout innings, yielding just one hit without a walk and with one strikeout. His initial stay with the Dodgers will prove to be short, however, as is often the case with depth options the Dodgers summon from Triple-A. He’ll be placed on outright waivers or released in the next couple of days, though it stands to reason that the Dodgers would hope to retain him and at least attempt the outright route.

It’s been a dominant season for Feliz in the minors, as the 2010 American League Rookie of the Year has turned in a combined 2.13 ERA with a 40.1 percent strikeout rate and a 9.2 percent walk rate in 38 innings between the top affiliates for the Dodgers and the Phillies. Feliz was hit hard in a pair of appearances with the Phillies and quickly cut loose, at which point he latched on with the Dodgers. It’s possible that another club could claim Feliz, based on those dominant minor league numbers, but he’s a free agent at season’s end and would be ineligible for a new club’s postseason roster. Both of those factors should help the Dodgers’ chances of passing him through waivers.

Dodgers Select Neftali Feliz

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The Dodgers have selected the contract of right-hander Neftali Feliz and optioned southpaw Andrew Vasquez to Triple-A Oklahoma City, per a club announcement.

Feliz, 33, was with the Dodgers for a scoreless inning earlier this season but was designated for assignment and outrighted to Oklahoma City after clearing waivers. The 2010 American League Rookie of the Year made his first MLB appearance since 2017 earlier this season with the Phillies but was hit hard in three innings before being cut loose.

While he’s struggled in limited big league action this season, Feliz has been nothing short of dominant in a hitter-friendly Triple-A setting. He’s logged a combined 38 innings between the top affiliates for the Phillies and the Dodgers, pitching to an overall 2.13 ERA with a massive 40.1 percent strikeout rate, a 9.2 percent walk rate and just 25 hits allowed (albeit five home runs).

There’s no guarantee this will be anything other than another very brief look for Feliz, even with his dominance in Triple-A. The L.A. bullpen has been overpowering over the past month, collectively pitching to an MLB-best 1.99 earned run average in that time. Six different relievers — Blake Treinen, Kenley Jansen, Phil Bickford, Alex Vesia, Brusdar Graterol and Justin Bruihl — have pitched at least 10 innings with an ERA of 2.63 or better over the past month. In the past 30 days, the “worst” ERA for any Dodgers reliever who has appeared in multiple games is Joe Kelly’s 4.15. With such a strong showing from the relief corps as a whole, Feliz may have a hard time sticking around, though the expansion of rosters from 26 to 28 players helps his cause.

Dodgers Activate Julio Urias, Designate Neftali Feliz For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced they’ve activated Julio Urías from the 10-day injured list. He’ll get the ball for this evening’s game against the Padres. To open active roster space, reliever Neftalí Féliz was designated for assignment. The move also opens a spot on Los Angeles’ 40-man roster, which now sits at 39.

Urías missed the minimal ten days after landing on the IL with a left calf contusion. The IL stint only cost Urías one start and served as a brief breather for the 25-year-old, who has already worked a career-high 139 2/3 innings this season. The left-hander has been excellent, posting a 3.29 ERA with an above-average 26.4% strikeout rate and a tiny 5.3% walk percentage.

That kind of reliability has been critical for a Dodgers rotation that has dealt with its share of injuries. Most notably, Clayton Kershaw has been out since July 7 with forearm inflammation. Kershaw threw a 20-pitch bullpen session consisting of only fastballs today, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). That’s obviously progress, but Roberts later acknowledged there’s some uncertainty about whether the three-time Cy Young Award winner would have enough time to build back arm strength to shoulder a traditional starting pitcher’s workload for the remainder of the season (via Juan Toribio of MLB.com).

Urías’ return to the roster could end Féliz’s Dodger tenure after a single appearance. The former Rangers’ closer was selected to the big league roster last week and pitched for the first time on Sunday against the Mets. He tossed a scoreless inning with a strikeout but will now find himself on waivers in the coming days. Féliz has been excellent this season at the Triple-A level, combining for a 2.45 ERA with a huge 38.8% strikeout rate and an average 9.7% walk percentage between the Phillies’ and Dodgers’ top affiliates.

Dodgers’ Cole Hamels Out For Season With Shoulder Injury

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9:39 pm: Hamels felt shoulder pain during a recent simulated game, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).

9:17 pm: The Dodgers announced they’ve selected the contract of veteran reliever Neftalí Féliz. To create space on the 40-man roster, they placed left-hander Cole Hamels on the 60-day injured list. The move ends Hamels’ season before he could make an official appearance. Hamels recently suffered some form of arm injury, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link).

Additionally, Los Angeles recalled right-handed pitching prospect Andre Jackson to make his major league debut. Jackson was selected to the 40-man roster over the offseason to keep him from being taken in the Rule 5 draft, so no corresponding move was needed in that regard. To open active roster space, Darien Núñez and Edwin Uceta were optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Hamels missed almost all of last season with the Braves dealing with triceps and shoulder issues. He stayed on the free agent market for the entire offseason and the first half of the 2021 campaign before conducting a showcase in mid-July. That led to a one-year, $1MM deal with the Dodgers two weeks ago, with the hope that Hamels could build up as a late-season rotation option for Los Angeles. Unfortunately, he’s now dealing with another injury that’ll keep him from taking the mound in 2021.

There’ll surely be forthcoming updates on Hamels’ specific diagnosis and outlook. It’s not clear whether this latest issue stands to affect his readiness for the 2022 campaign. The 37-year-old will again hit free agency at the end of the season, and he’ll surely need to conduct another showcase for teams if he’s able and decides to pursue opportunities this winter.

What is clear is that Hamels’ setback will remove another potential starting pitching option for the Dodgers down the stretch. Los Angeles trails the Giants by four games in the NL West, and they were already without Clayton Kershaw, Julio Urías, Danny Duffy and Tony Gonsolin due to injury (as well as Dustin May, who underwent Tommy John surgery in May). Kershaw, notably, did play catch today for the first time since being shut down due to forearm soreness (via Juan Toribio of MLB.com), although he’s still not expected back until September.

Féliz is back in the majors for the second time this season. The former All-Star appeared in two games for the Phillies in late June, his first big league action in four years. Féliz was tagged for four runs in an inning of work with Philadelphia before being let go. The 33-year-old latched on with the Dodgers on a minor league deal shortly thereafter.

The veteran righty has spent the past six weeks at Oklahoma City, pitching his way back to the bigs with a 3.38 ERA across 18 2/3 innings. That’s a continuation of the stellar work he logged at the minors’ highest level with the Phillies’ affiliate in Lehigh Valley. Between the two organizations, Féliz has a 2.45 ERA in Triple-A with a huge 38.8% strikeout rate and an average 9.7% walk percentage.

Jackson, meanwhile, is one of the better pitching prospects in the Dodgers’ system. He fell to the twelfth round in the 2017 draft after undergoing Tommy John surgery during his final season at the University of Utah, where he spent more time as an outfielder than he did on the mound. The righty made his professional debut the following year and struggled with his control, but he had a breakout 2019 season split between two levels of A-ball.

Each of Baseball America, Keith Law of the Athletic and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs slotted Jackson among the Dodgers’ top fifteen minor leaguers either before or during the 2021 season. Evaluators praise his four-pitch mix and athleticism, with a general expectation he’ll continue to improve due to his relative lack of experience as a pitcher.

The 24-year-old has spent most of the year with Double-A Tulsa, pitching to 3.27 ERA across 63 1/3 innings. Jackson punched out a strong 29.6% of opponents while walking a career-low 7.9% of batters faced to earn his first big league call.

Dodgers, Neftali Feliz Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers have agreed to a minor league deal with veteran right-hander Neftali Feliz, as first reported by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter link). The 33-year-old was cut loose after a pair of rough outings with the Phillies last month.

Feliz, the 2010 AL Rookie of the Year, has seen his once-promising career largely derailed by injuries, although he made a return to the Majors after a nearly four-year absence last month in Philadelphia. He’d dominated in Triple-A, earning that promotion to the bigs, but Feliz was immediately dropped into some high-leverage situations and surrendered the lead in both instances. The Phillies, trying for a second straight season to overcome a series of staggering bullpen struggles, designated Feliz for assignment as part of their ongoing reliever carousel.

It’s been years since we’ve seen Feliz at his best, although his recent work isn’t without its positive indicators. The right-hander’s fastball isn’t averaging 97.5 mph like it did when he was a rookie, but an average four-seam velo of 95.7 mph in his limited work with the Phils is nevertheless quite strong. Add in a 1.26 ERA and a 23-to-6 K/BB ratio in 14 1/3 frames with Triple-A Lehigh Valley earlier this year, and at the very least, Feliz seems well worth a no-risk look.

Bullpen help figures to be one area that the Dodgers will address in the three-plus weeks leading up to the deadline, but bringing Feliz into the mix right now gives them an upside lottery ticket to evaluate down the stretch.

Neftali Feliz Elects Free Agency

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JULY 3: Feliz has cleared waivers and elected free agency, the Phils announced.

JULY 1: The Phillies announced that they’ve designated right-hander Neftali Feliz for assignment and reinstated righty Brandon Kintzler from the injured list. It marks an abrupt end to Feliz’s tenure with the Phils after a four-year absence from the Majors.

Feliz looked razor-sharp in Triple-A this season, posting a 1.26 ERA and a 23-to-6 K/BB ratio in just 14 2/3 innings of work, but the bullpen-desperate Phils gave him a quick hook after his first two outings produced dismal results. Feliz faced just nine batters between his two outings, allowing six of them to reach on four hits (one homer), a walk and a hit batsmen.

Manager Joe Girardi called on Feliz with a man abord to protect a two-run lead in his Phillies debut, but he responded with a walk, a strikeout, a hit batter and a go-ahead grand slam off the bat of Nick Castellanos. Feliz again came in with a pair on and a one-run lead in his second appearance, but he surrendered a game-tying single and go-ahead double before picking up a strikeout to escape the jam.

It’s up for debate whether Feliz should’ve been immediately dropped into high-leverage spots after such a long absence from the spotlight of a Major League mound, but it’s certainly understandable that Girardi would want to try a different approach after such pronounced struggles from the Philadelphia relief corps of late. Turning to Feliz on a pair of occasions didn’t pan out, but that’s been largely true of the remainder of the bullpen as well.

The Phillies will now have a week to trade Feliz, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him. There’s a chance, based on his pedigree and strong output with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, that another club might take a look. Feliz, after all, was the 2010 American Rookie of the Year and spent a few seasons as one of the game’s premier relievers before injuries derailed his career. Even if he goes unclaimed, he has the service time to reject an outright assignment and could land with another club as a free agent on a new minor league deal.

Feliz struggled mightily in his short time with Philadelphia, but the same has been true of Kintzler thus far in his first year with the Phils as well. The former Twins and Marlins closer has pitched 18 innings but been clobbered for 17 runs on a stunning 31 hits (five homers) and four walks. Kintzler’s 59.4 percent grounder rate is excellent, as is typical for him, but he’s been plagued by a .406 average on balls in play and been uncharacteristically susceptible to the long ball so far. In the offseason, the Phillies signed him to a minor league deal that came with a $3MM base salary, which he locked in upon winning a roster spot in Spring Training.

Phillies Designate David Hale, Select Neftali Feliz

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JUNE 26: David Hale has cleared waivers and elected free agency, per the Phillies. Hale is now free to explore an opportunity with any organization.

JUNE 25: The Phillies announced Friday that they’ve designated right-hander David Hale for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for fellow righty Neftali Feliz, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Philadelphia also placed righty Sam Coonrod on the 10-day injured list due to tendinitis in his right forearm, recalled infielder Nick Maton to fill that roster spot and tabbed righty Enyel De Los Santos as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader.

It’s the first big league action for the now-33-year-old Feliz since 2017. The 2010 American League Rookie of the Year’s career was derailed by arm troubles that began with Tommy John surgery in 2012. That surgery wiped out nearly all of his 2013 campaign, and although Feliz returned with a 1.99 ERA in 2014, his velocity was diminished and his strikeout rate plummeted. Feliz struggled through a dismal 2015 season split between the Rangers and Tigers before enjoying a nice rebound effort with the Pirates in 2016. That bounceback effort, however, was truncated by an arm issue that ended his season in early September.

Feliz latched on with the Brewers on a one-year deal for the 2017 campaign but was hit hard in 27 frames with Milwaukee before being cut loose. The Royals signed him for the remainder of the year and got slightly better results. Feliz signed with the D-backs on a minor league deal that winter, but he was unable to make the team in Spring Training and cut loose at the end of camp. He followed a similar path with the Mariners in 2019.

From 2018-20, Feliz’s only work on the mound came in the Dominican Winter League. His showing there in the 2020-21 season — 3.07 ERA, 22-to-6 K/BB ratio in 14 2/3 innings — was enough for the Phillies to take notice and bring him in on a minor league pact. And his work thus far in Triple-A has certainly been impressive enough to merit a return to the Majors for the first time in nearly four years. Through 14 1/3 frames with Lehigh Valley, Feliz has yielded just a pair of earned runs on eight hits and six walks. He’s punched out 23 of the 58 batters he’s faced so far in Triple-A (39.6 percent).

Turning to the 33-year-old Hale, he never quite found his footing this season. He game the Phils 11 solid frames down the stretch last year, but Hale has surrendered at least one earned run in 10 of his 17 appearances this year and pitched to a 6.41 ERA through 26 2/3 innings of work.

Hale was a viable long relief/spot start option from 2018-20 — mostly with the Yankees, who signed him to a staggering five minor league deals in that time — as he tallied 68 1/3 innings with a 3.56 ERA. Hale has never missed many bats, but he’s generally shown good command and kept the ball on the ground at an above-average clip.

Coonrod, 28, got out to a brilliant start this season but hit a rough patch beginning in mid-May. He’s been tagged for 11 runs over his past nine innings, so it’s perhaps not entirely surprising to see that there’s some degree of an arm issue. Even with that slump, he’s still sporting a respectable 4.18 ERA with a 24.8 percent strikeout rate and an 8.3 percent walk rate.

The 24-year-old Maton returns after a brief stretch in Triple-A. He began his rookie season on an absolute tear in the big leagues, slashing .313/.337/.458 through his first 86 trips to the plate. However, Maton fell into a woeful 0-for-21 slump and lost playing time over the next few weeks, ultimately leading the Phils to send him down for some additional work. He’d never played above the Double-A level prior to the 2021 season.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/19/20

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The latest minor league moves from around baseball…

  • The Phillies have signed right-hander Neftali Feliz to a minor league contract, according to reporter Silfredo Melo (hat tip to Hector Gomez of Deportivo Z 101).  The deal contains an invitation to Philadelphia’s big league Spring Training camp.  A veteran of nine MLB seasons and the winner of the 2010 Rookie Of The Year Award, Feliz hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2017, as he spent 2018 with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A team and a minors deal with the Mariners in April 2019 didn’t materialize into any playing time in Seattle’s farm system.  Multiple injuries hampered Feliz’s very promising career, but there’s no risk for the bullpen-needy Phillies in seeing if Feliz (who is still only 32) has anything left in the tank.  This is the second time that Phils president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has acquired Feliz — the righty is one of Dombrowski’s first signings in Philadelphia and he was one of the executive’s last signings in Detroit, as the Tigers signed Feliz less than a month before Dombrowski and the club parted ways in August 2015.

Mariners Reportedly Agree To Deal With Neftali Feliz

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The Mariners have struck a minor-league accord with right-hander Neftali Feliz, according to multiple reports. Dominican journalist Hector Gomez appears to have had the news first, via Twitter.

If indeed the deal is completed, the Seattle organization will add another veteran depth piece. Odds are that Feliz would be asked to open at Triple-A Tacoma, though he may first head to extended spring training to build up arm strength.

Feliz debuted way back in 2009 but is still just thirty years of age. He didn’t appear in the majors last year, the first such season since his arrival on the scene with the Rangers.

Though he once possessed one of the game’s most intriguing arms — and indeed won the 2010 Rookie of the Year Award — Feliz was sidetracked by injuries after trying to move back from the bullpen into the rotation. His has been a journeyman’s experience since wrapping up his time in Texas.

Feliz was able to rack up 53 2/3 innings of 3.52 ERA ball in 2016, running 10.2 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 but also allowing ten long balls. The dinger issues arose again in the ensuing season, with nine balls leaving the yard in his 46 frames with the Brewers and Royals. Feliz finished with a 5.48 ERA and took a minors deal with the D-Backs. He made a dozen starts and 25 relief appearances but managed only a 4.81 ERA with a middling 75:54 K/BB ratio.

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