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Nick Vincent

Tigers Sign Nick Vincent To Minor League Deal

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The Tigers signed veteran righty Nick Vincent to a minor league deal late last week and assigned him to Triple-A Toledo. The move flew a bit under our radar, as the organization never formally announced it, but Vincent has already made a pair of scoreless appearances in his new environs.

Vincent, who turned 36 just two days ago, is a veteran of ten Major League seasons. The PSI Sports Management client opened the 2022 season with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, pitching to a lackluster 5.12 ERA but turning in a brilliant 27-to-4 K/BB ratio over his 19 1/3 innings there. Atlanta released him last month.

Perhaps due to the fact that he’s a soft-tossing righty who’s never averaged even 91 mph on his heater, Vincent has been a rather unheralded reliever throughout his career — at least relative to his overall success. The right-hander has been rocksteady throughout his big league tenure, posting a career 3.30 ERA, 24.1% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate through 411 2/3 frames dating back to his 2012 debut with the Padres. Vincent has posted a sub-4.00 ERA in eight of his ten seasons in the Majors, and the only two exceptions were consecutive 4.43 ERA campaigns in 2019-20. He’s never been a full-time closer, but Vincent does have seven big league saves in addition to 97 career holds.

The Tigers have disappointed in general this season but have one of the most effective bullpens in Major League Baseball. However, with the trade deadline under three weeks away and several relievers coming up on free agency either at this season’s end or after the 2023 campaign, that group figures to generate plenty of trade interest over the next 19 days. Detroit could use any newly created vacancies to take a look at some additional young arms, but Vincent will give them a veteran option to help stabilize things if there is indeed something of a bullpen exodus in advance of this season’s Aug. 2 trade deadline.

Braves Release Nick Vincent

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The Braves have released veteran righty Nick Vincent from their Triple-A affiliate in Gwinnett, per the transactions log at MiLB.com. The 35-year-old Vincent inked a minor league deal back on March 20.

Long one of the game’s more underappreciated relievers, Vincent has pitched at least 12 1/3 innings in the Majors every year dating back to his 2012 debut with the Padres. He’s worked to a sub-4.00 ERA in eight of those campaigns and notched identical marks of 4.43 in the other two. Overall, he sports a career 3.30 ERA with an above-average 24.1% strikeout rate and a very strong 6.2% walk rate in 411 2/3 Major League innings.

Despite that track record, Vincent has been outrighted three times in his big league career and has been relegated to minor league deals in free agency in recent years. The soft-tossing righty’s lack of velocity likely hasn’t helped his cause when it comes to appealing to modern front offices; Vincent’s heater has never averaged even 91 mph in a given big league season, and he averaged just 89.3 mph on the pitch in his 12 2/3 frames with the Twins in 2021. He’s typically offset that lack of zip on his fastball via pristine walk rates, a knack for inducing weak contact (career 87.2 mph average exit velocity, 32.2% hard-hit rate) and a better-than-average rate at keeping the ball in the yard.

Vincent’s time in Gwinnett didn’t go particularly smoothly, as he was tagged for 16 runs (albeit only 11 of them earned) in 19 2/3 innings. However, he was also dogged by a sky-high .462 batting average on balls in play, and his 30.7% strikeout rate and 4.5% walk rate were both excellent. Yesterday’s implementation of a maximum 13-man pitching staff likely doesn’t help Vincent’s cause in getting another big league look, but the majority of teams have more pronounced bullpen needs than the Braves currently do, so he ought to latch on elsewhere sooner than later.

Braves Sign Brad Brach, Nick Vincent To Minor League Deals

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The Braves have added right-handers Brad Brach and Nick Vincent on minor league deals with invitations to big league camp, per Bill Shanks of SportsRadio WXKO. (Twitter links)

Brach, 36 next month, has pitched in the past 11 MLB seasons. However, his effectiveness has dropped in recent years, as he hasn’t posted an ERA under 5.00 since 2018. In the past three years, he’s appeared in 107 games, putting up an ERA of 5.77. His 24.4% strikeout rate in that time was above average, but he paired that with an unfortunate 14.4% walk rate. Last year, he threw 30 innings for the Reds, but was released in September with an ERA of 6.30 on the campaign.

Vincent, 36 in July, has pitched in each of the past ten MLB seasons, never finishing a campaign with an ERA higher than the 4.43 he had in 2019 and 2020. Last year, in 12 2/3 innings for the Twins, he got his ERA all the way down to 0.71. However, that was a tiny sample and largely based on an unsustainable .161 batting average on balls in play, leading every advanced metric to cast doubt on that ERA.

The Braves have been busy bolstering their bullpen in recent days, adding Kenley Jansen, Collin McHugh and Tyler Thornburg. The additions of Brach and Vincent give the club a veteran safety net, should they require one.

Twins Outright Six Players

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The Twins have outrighted six players off their 40-man roster after they went unclaimed on waivers, as first noted on the transactions page at MLB.com. Right-handers Kyle Barraclough, Nick Vincent, Ian Gibaut and Luke Farrell were all removed from the roster, as were lefty Andrew Albers and infielder Drew Maggi.

All of the players dropped from the roster today will be eligible to become free agents. The 30-year-old Farrell spent more time in the big leagues than any of the bunch this season, tossing 24 2/3 innings with a 4.74 ERA, a 22.1 percent strikeout rate and an 11.5 percent walk rate. It was the fifth straight season with some Major League action for Farrell, although the Twins are already his fifth big league team as well. In 87 2/3 innings at the MLB level, Farrell carries a 4.93 ERA.

Vincent, 35, is the most experienced of the group, having accrued more than seven full years of Major League service time across the past 10 seasons. He held opponents to just one run in 12 2/3 innings, albeit with a tepid 19.1 percent strikeout rate, a higher-than-average 10.6 percent walk rate and a fastball that averaged just 89.3 mph. Vincent was set to become a free agent anyway, based purely on service time, so his outright is largely a formality.

The 31-year-old Barraclough worked in a setup role for the Marlins from 2015-18, logging 218 2/3 innings of 3.21 ERA ball with a hefty 29.8 percent strikeout rate but also a bloated 14.3 percent walk rate. He’s bounced around the league a good bit since that time, and in 13 frames with Minnesota this season allowed eight runs on 12 hits and eight walks with 18 strikeouts — a 5.54 ERA on the whole.

Albers, 36, returned for a third stint with the Twins and was tagged for 16 runs in 19 innings (7.58 ERA) in a late-season call back to the big leagues. He had a solid year in the rotation for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate, logging a 3.88 ERA in 102 innings. Albers had spent the three prior seasons pitching with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, logging a 4.02 ERA in 266 1/3 innings.

Gibaut, 27, only pitched 6 2/3 big league innings with the Twins. He held opponents to a pair of runs in that time but spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A St. Paul, where he posted an unsightly 6.80 ERA with a solid 26 percent strikeout rate against a 10.1 percent walk rate. He’s now seen MLB time with the Rays, Rangers and Twins but only managed a 5.40 ERA in 33 1/3 innings.

Maggi, 32, had his contract selected to the Majors late in the season, but the Twins somewhat surprisingly didn’t get the veteran minor leaguer into what would’ve been the first big league game of his career. He’s spent two seasons in their system and turned in a .252/.354/.456 batting line with a career-best 16 home runs and a dozen stolen bases while playing shortstop, second base, third base and left field in Triple-A this year.

Today’s slate of subtractions will help to open roster space for a Twins club that finished the year with eight players needing to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list. They’ll still need to open a couple more spots to accommodate a 60-day IL group that includes Kenta Maeda, Taylor Rogers, Alex Kirilloff, Cody Stashak, Devin Smeltzer, Randy Dobnak, Kyle Garlick and Lewis Thorpe.

Twins Place Andrelton Simmons On Restricted List, Select Nick Vincent

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The Twins have selected the contract of veteran righty Nick Vincent from Triple-A St. Paul and placed shortstop Andrelton Simmons on the restricted list, tweets Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Minnesota has also reinstated outfielder Brent Rooker from the paternity list and optioned lefty Andrew Albers to Triple-A.

Simmons’ placement on the restricted list is due to visa-related issues, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). He’s in the process of establishing permanent residency in the United States but would reset that process by traveling to Toronto, so he’ll miss the entire Jays series. Presumably, shortstop duties will fall to utilityman Nick Gordon in Simmons’ absence. Jorge Polanco, the Twins’ former everyday shortstop who moved to second base this year, could certainly pick up some reps there as well, if needed.

It’s been an ugly year at the plate for Simmons, who signed a one-year, $10.5MM contract with the Twins over the winter. He’s batting a career-worst .223/.285/.277 (58 wRC+) with just 15 extra-base hits (12 doubles, three homers) through 390 plate appearances. Defensive Runs Saved (10) and Outs Above Average (15) still rank him among the game’s best defensive players, but the 2021 campaign marks a third consecutive season of below-average offense for the 32-year-old.

This will be Vincent’s second stint with the Twins this season. The 35-year-old was sharp in his prior look, holding opponents to one run on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts through 4 1/3 frames of relief. He’s spent the bulk of the season with the Triple-A affiliates for the Twins and Rangers, pitching to a combined 4.40 ERA with 28.4 percent strikeout rate and a 6.6 percent walk rate.

Vincent has appeared in the big leagues in each of the past ten seasons. He’s been a consistent and seemingly underappreciated option over the years, logging a lifetime 3.37 ERA with a 24.2 percent strikeout rate and a 6.1 percent walk rate. He’s posted a sub-4.00 ERA in eight of his ten MLB seasons (this year’s small sample included) and recorded identical 4.43 marks in the other two campaigns.

Twins Designate Nick Vincent For Assignment

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The Twins announced Wednesday morning that they’ve designated veteran right-hander Nick Vincent for assignment. The move opens a spot on the active roster for left-hander Lewis Thorpe, who has been recalled from Triple-A St. Paul to start today’s game.

Vincent, 35, appeared in just two games for Minnesota but pitched quite well, holding opponents to a run on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts in that limited action. Prior to his selection to Minnesota’s big league roster, he split the 2021 season with the Triple-A affiliates of the Twins and Rangers, pitching to a combined 4.19 ERA with very strong strikeout and walk rates of 29.3 percent and 7.6 percent, respectively.

Minnesota was the sixth big league organization for which the increasingly well-traveled Vincent has pitched. The soft-tossing righty continues to bounce around the league despite enjoying fairly consistent success. He’s never posted a single-season ERA higher than last year’s 4.43 mark, and he’s posted strong strikeout-to-walk numbers throughout his career. Vincent averaged just 88.8 mph on his fastball in his brief time with the Twins, although that’s not exactly a new or notable decline in his velocity. He’s never averaged even 91 mph on his heater in a given season and hasn’t cracked a 90 mph average since 2017 — but he’s nevertheless had success along the way.

A fly-ball pitcher who averages around 89 mph on his heater is something of an oddball in today’s velocity-driven game, however, so Vincent will now head to either outright waivers or release waivers in the coming days, giving the other 29 clubs around the league a chance to pick him up. In 403 1/3 career innings, he carries a 3.37 ERA with a 24.2 percent strikeout rate and a 6.1 percent walk rate.

Thorpe, 25, has seen action in parts of three seasons with the Twins. The Australian southpaw was once a highly touted prospect within the system but has had his career slowed by injuries, most notably Tommy John surgery. He’s tossed 14 innings of 3.86 ERA ball in Minnesota this season but did so with career-low velocity and a perilously low 8.6 percent strikeout rate. Thorpe missed a good chunk of the minor league season on the injured list due to a shoulder strain and only recently returned to the team’s Triple-A club. He’s tossed a 8 1/3 innings since that return, allowing a pair of runs on six hits and a walk with six strikeouts while stretching back out to 65 pitches in his most recent outing.

Twins Select Nick Vincent

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The Twins announced they’ve selected the contract of veteran reliever Nick Vincent. Righty Beau Burrows has been optioned to Triple-A St. Paul to create active roster space. To clear a 40-man roster spot, the club transferred outfielder Alex Kirilloff from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Vincent is now in line to pitch in the big leagues for the tenth consecutive season. The right-hander has been a generally solid middle innings option, pitching to an ERA below 4.00 in each of his first seven campaigns. Vincent has a matching 4.43 mark in each of the past two seasons, with his strikeout rate falling to a career-worst 18.5% during his time with the Marlins in 2020.

Those declining peripherals limited Vincent to a minor league deal with the Rangers over the offseason. He was released in late June and caught on with Minnesota on a minors pact the following day. Vincent has thus far spent the campaign split between the two clubs’ top affiliates, pitching to a 4.19 ERA but seeing a significant bounceback in his swing-and-miss capabilities. The 35-year-old has punched out a strong 29.3% of opposing hitters in the minors to earn his way back to the big leagues. He’ll reach free agency again at the end of the season.

Kirilloff was already expected to be out for the rest of the year after undergoing right wrist surgery in late July. His IL transfer is a simple formality, and the expectation remains that he’ll be ready for Spring Training in 2022.

Twins Sign Nick Vincent To Minor League Deal

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The Twins have signed veteran right-hander Nick Vincent to a minor league contract, as first indicated on the transactions log at MLB.com. He’ll report to Triple-A St. Paul, MLBTR has confirmed.

Vincent, a client of PSI Sports Management, was released from a minor league deal with the Rangers just yesterday. The nine-year MLB veteran has long been a steady, late-inning presence but settled for a non-guaranteed pact this winter despite a mostly solid effort in 2020. The 34-year-old logged a 4.43 ERA out of the Marlins’ bullpen last year but saw his strikeout rate drop to a career-low 18.5 percent in the process. He’s opened the 2021 campaign with 15 1/3 innings of 4.11 ERA ball in Triple-A Round Rock, striking out 29.7 percent of opponents against a 9.5 percent walk rate.

It’s been a couple years since Vincent was at his absolute best. He logged identical 4.43 ERAs in 2019-20. However, in the seven seasons prior, he pitched to a combined 3.17 ERA and 3.27 SIERA with a 24.6 percent strikeout rate and a strong 6.1 percent walk rate. He’s never been an overpowering arm, living in the 89-91 mph range with his four-seamer, but he’s still managed about a strikeout per inning in his career to go along with plenty of weak pop-ups.

Minnesota is off today after a two-game set against the Reds that proved taxing on its bullpen despite its brevity. The Twins and Reds went 12 innings Monday night, and Minnesota used five relievers in a back-and-forth loss to Cincinnati yesterday. Vincent won’t be an immediate option barring a quick selection to the MLB roster, but he could get a look before long if he shows well with the Saints.

Relief pitching has been an issue for the Twins all season. Minnesota relievers rank 24th in the Majors with a 4.77 ERA and 25th with a 4.52 FIP. They’re 15th with a 24.4 percent strikeout rate and 12th with a 9.4 percent walk rate. It’s been a generally underwhelming unit, and the Twins have struggled to find reliable arms to round out the final few spots in the mix. Vincent joins fellow veteran Kyle Barraclough as a recent signee who’ll hope to get a look at Target Field before too long.

Rangers Release Nick Vincent

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The Rangers announced they’ve released veteran reliever Nick Vincent from his minor league contract. He’s now a free agent.

Vincent signed with Texas in March. He has gone on to make fifteen appearances at Triple-A Round Rock, tossing 15 1/3 innings of 4.11 ERA ball with a strong 29.7% strikeout rate and a slightly elevated 9.5% walk rate. Despite that decent performance, Texas has elected to cut Vincent loose rather than give him a major league look.

The 34-year-old righty shouldn’t have a hard time finding another opportunity elsewhere. He saw big league action in each season from 2012-20 and has typically been a steady, reliable option in the middle innings. Vincent has a career 3.38 ERA at the big league level, but he’s pitched to a 4.43 mark in each of the past two seasons.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/28/21

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The latest minor moves around the league…

Latest

  • The A’s announced a pair of roster moves, optioning Vimael Machin and Seth Brown to Triple-A. That means Rule 5 selection Ka’ai Tom is likely to make the roster as a reserve outfielder, notes Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. Tom didn’t get a full spring because of an oblique injury, but he apparently showed enough for the A’s to keep him on the active roster. He’ll need to stay there for the entire season or else be returned to the Indians. Machin spent some of last season standing in for Matt Chapman at third before Jake Lamb arrived, but a relatively punchless .206/.296/.238 across 71 plate appearances likely returns the difficult-to-strikeout left-handed hitter to an emergency fill-in role. Brown, 28, contributed 0.7 fWAR in a highly-productive 26-game sample in 2019, but he logged only five plate appearances across seven games in 2020.

Earlier Updates

  • The Rangers released Nick Vincent yesterday, but today they announced that he will stay with the organization on a minor league contract. We’ll see this pattern with a number of players between now and opening day. The 34-year-old Vincent has seen action in every season going back to 2012 when he debuted with the Padres. He has appeared in 405 games over his nine-year career with exactly matching 3.38 ERA/FIP marks while suiting up for the Pads, Mariners, Giants, Phillies, and Marlins.
  • 16-year-old Cuban outfielder Luis Mario Piño has agreed to sign with the Cardinals for $767K, per ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (Twitter links). Pino had multiple offers both for this signing period and next, but he ultimately has decided to join the Cardinals’ 2021-22 class of international signees. The White Sox, A’s, and Red Sox were among the teams who were said to be interested in Pino.
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