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Players Entering Minor League Free Agency

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Major League free agents became eligible to sign with other teams on Thursday, but the minor league free agent market has technically been open since season’s end.  MLBTR has published several posts detailing players who had already elected to become minor free agents, but Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (multiple links) has the full account of all the minor league free agents that officially joined their big league counterparts on the open market on Thursday.

This list details only players who have played in the Major Leagues, and whose minor league free agency hasn’t already been covered on MLBTR in the last month.

Athletics: Aaron Brooks, Carlos Duran, CD Pelham, Bryan Lavastida, Nick Martini, Alejo Lopez

Braves: Ian Anderson, Davis Daniel, Enoli Paredes, Amos Willingham, Brian Moran, Jonathan Ornelas, Chandler Seagle, Matthew Batten, Conner Capel

Orioles: Jakson Reetz, Livan Soto, Thaddeus Ward

Red Sox: John Brebbia, Isaiah Campbell, Mark Kolozsvary, Chadwick Tromp, Seby Zavala, Trayce Thompson

Cubs: Yency Almonte, Zach Pop, Caleb Kilian, Austin Gomber, Forrest Wall, Billy Hamilton, Joe Ross, Tommy Romero, Antonio Santos, Tom Cosgrove, Dixon Machado, Nicky Lopez, Carlos Perez

White Sox: Elvis Peguero, Kyle Tyler, Vinny Capra, Chris Rodriguez, Caleb Freeman, Joe Perez, Owen White, Andre Lipcius

Reds: Tejay Antone, Alan Busenitz, Buck Farmer, Josh Staumont, P.J. Higgins, Eric Yang, Levi Jordan, Edwin Rios, Davis Wendzel, Evan Kravetz, Adam Plutko, Charlie Barnes, Alex Young

Guardians: Riley Pint, Tyler Naquin, Parker Mushinski

Rockies: Xzavion Curry, Sean Bouchard, Owen Miller, Karl Kauffmann,

Tigers: Kevin Newman, Brian Serven, Jordan Balazovic, Nick Margevicius, Blair Calvo

Astros: Jon Singleton, Joe Hudson, Kenedy Corona, Greg Jones, Matt Bowman, Luis Contreras, Tyler Ivey, John Rooney

Royals: John Gant, Spencer Turnbull, Bobby Dalbec, Diego Castillo, Geoff Hartlieb, Jordan Groshans, Nick Pratto, Isan Diaz, Stephen Nogosek, Nick Robertson, Joey Krehbiel, Noah Murdock, Ryan Hendrix

Angels: Shaun Anderson, Brandon Drury, Yolmer Sanchez, Ben Gamel, Evan White, Cavan Biggio, Logan Davidson, Travis Blankenhorn, Oscar Colas, Kelvin Caceres, Dakota Hudson, Chad Stevens, Angel Felipe, Jordan Holloway, Victor Gonzalez

Dodgers: Michael Grove, Luken Baker, Giovanny Gallegos, Kyle Funkhouser, Chris Okey, CJ Alexander, Zach Penrod

Marlins: Jack Winkler, Lane Ramsey

Brewers: Luis Urias, Oliver Dunn, Julian Merryweather, Daz Cameron, Drew Avans, Josh Maciejewski, Jared Oliva

Twins: Jose Miranda, Anthony Misiewicz, Jonah Bride, Thomas Hatch, Daniel Duarte, Connor Gillispie

Mets: Joey Meneses, Jose Azocar, Joe La Sorsa, Gilberto Celestino, Ty Adcock, Bryce Montes de Oca, Yacksel Rios, Oliver Ortega, Luis De Los Santos

Yankees: Kenta Maeda, Jeimer Candelario, Rob Brantly, Andrew Velazquez, Jose Rojas, Joel Kuhnel, Wilking Rodriguez

Phillies: Matt Manning, Adonis Medina, Lucas Sims, Jacob Waguespack, Phil Bickford, Rodolfo Castro, Oscar Mercado, Brewer Hicklen, Christian Arroyo, Payton Henry

Pirates: Brett Sullivan, Nick Solak, Nelson Velazquez, Beau Burrows, Ryder Ryan

Cardinals: Zach Plesac, Anthony Veneziano, Tyler Matzek, Zack Weiss, Drew Rom, Aaron Wilkerson

Padres: Eguy Rosario, Tim Locastro, Reiss Knehr, Nate Mondou

Giants: Sean Hjelle, Miguel Diaz, Max Stassi, Sam Huff, Cole Waites, Drew Ellis, Ethan Small

Mariners: Michael Fulmer, Casey Lawrence, Collin Snider, Jesse Hahn, Nick Anderson, Josh Fleming, Austin Shenton, Jacob Nottingham, Beau Taylor, Cade Marlowe, Jack Lopez, Michael Mariot, Hagen Danner

Rays: Cooper Hummel, Jonathan Hernandez, Jamie Westbrook, Tres Barrera

Rangers: Omar Narvaez, Cal Quantrill, Ty Blach, Alan Trejo, Joe Barlow, Cory Abbott, Michael Plassmeyer, Alex De Goti

Blue Jays: Eloy Jimenez, Buddy Kennedy, Joe Mantiply, Elieser Hernandez, Rene Pinto, Adam Kloffenstein

Nationals: Francisco Mejia, Juan Yepez, Joan Adon, CJ Stubbs, Parker Dunshee, Erick Mejia, Adrian Sampson, Delino DeShields

Mets Sign Oliver Ortega To Minors Contract

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The Mets have signed right-hander Oliver Ortega to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to New York’s big league spring camp, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports (X link).  Ortega was outrighted off the Astros’ 40-man roster in November, and since it wasn’t his first career outright, he chose to enter free agency.

The 28-year-old Ortega made his Major League debut in 2021, and he has a 4.03 ERA, 20.4% strikeout rate, and 10.8% walk rate over 58 career relief innings with the Angels and Twins.  After Houston claimed him off waivers from the Twins in October 2023, Ortega’s tenure as an Astro came and went without a single game played in either the majors or minors.  A pair of surgeries cost Ortega the entire 2024 season, as an initial procedure in Spring Training to remove loose bodies from his throwing elbow didn’t take, and he needed another surgery in late June to remove a bone spur from that same right elbow.

While a minor league deal doesn’t represent a huge commitment, the Mets seem satisfied enough with Ortega’s health situation to at least give him a look during Spring Training.  Ortega’s career Triple-A numbers include a 3.61 ERA, 27.7% strikeout rate and 7.42% walk rate over 72 1/3 innings, so he might be able to tap into that potential if he can improve his control against big league hitters.

José Urquidy Clears Waivers And Becomes Free Agent

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The Astros have sent right-hander José Urquidy through outright waivers and he is now a free agent, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic on X. The same is true of fellow righty Oliver Ortega, who was also outrighted and became a free agent.

Urquidy, 30 in May, has tossed 405 innings for the Astros in his career with a 3.98 earned run average, 19.6% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate. Unfortunately, he underwent Tommy John surgery in June and is therefore slated to miss most or all of the 2025 campaign.

That was going to be his final season of club control, with the Astros eligible to retain him via arbitration. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Urquidy for a $3.75MM salary next year but the Astros seemingly decided it wasn’t worth making that kind of investment for a player with such an uncertain timeline and bumped him off the roster instead. All of the other clubs seemingly agreed with none of them putting in a claim. As a player with at least three years of service time, Urquidy has the right to elect free agency instead of accepting an outright assignment.

Urquidy will now head to the open market and perhaps head to a new club for the first time. Pitchers recovering from Tommy John surgeries can sometimes find two-year deals that cover the rehab portion and also give the signing club an extra year of club control wherein the pitcher is hopefully fully healthy.

Ortega, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Twins a year ago but never got to pitch for the Astros. He underwent surgery in March to remove loose bodies from his elbow and then underwent another surgery in June to remove a bone spur. Due to those surgeries, he spent the entire season on the injured list. His current status is unclear but the Astros didn’t want to keep him on the roster going forward. As a player with a previous career outright, he had the right to elect free agency and did so.

Oliver Ortega Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery

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The Astros announced that right-hander Oliver Ortega underwent surgery yesterday to remove a bone spur in his throwing elbow. He will miss the entire 2024 season. Lorenzo Delgado of Our Esquina was among those to relay the news on X.

Ortega, 27, was claimed off waivers from the Twins in October. In March, he underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow, with the club providing a three-to-four-month recovery timeline at that point. Ortega started the season on the 15-day injured list and was transferred to the 60-day IL shortly thereafter. With this new surgery, it will go down as a completely lost season for the righty.

That’s obviously an unfortunate development for Ortega, as he was coming off an encouraging season. With the Twins in 2023, he tossed 14 2/3 innings at the major league level with a 4.30 earned run average. In 34 2/3 frames at the Triple-A level, he had a 1.82 ERA, 32.6% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate and 48.1% ground ball rate.

He went on the IL in August last year due to a left lumbar strain and stayed there for the end of the season. The IL goes away during the offseason, so the Twins tried to run Ortega through waivers but the Astros swooped in with a claim, undoubtedly intrigued by those strong Triple-A numbers last year. Instead, the righty’s injury woes have continued and he will have spent over a year without appearing in a major or minor league game by the time this season is over.

If there’s any consolation for Ortega, it’s that he’s collecting a full year of big league pay and service time in 2024, which is not nothing for a guy who’s been up-and-down for most of his career to this point. He came into this year with one year and 19 days of service, meaning he’ll be at 2.019 at the end of the year. He will need to be reinstated from the IL in the offseason. If he hangs onto his 40-man spot into the 2025 season, he still has one option year remaining.

Astros Place Framber Valdez On Injured List

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The Astros have placed left-hander Framber Valdez on the 15-day injured list due to elbow soreness, retroactive to April 6, per Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 (X links). They also optioned right-hander Blair Henley to Triple-A Sugar Land. In corresponding moves, they recalled left-hander Parker Mushinski and selected the contract of right-hander Wander Suero. Mushinski was just optioned on Friday and hasn’t yet spent the minimum of 15 days on optional assignment, but players are allowed to return early when someone else goes on the IL. To open a spot on the 40-man roster for Suero, right-hander Oliver Ortega was transferred to the 60-day injured list, per Alexander. Henley relayed the news of his option last night, with Chandler Rome of The Athletic among those to pass it on. Rome also noted that Suero was at the ballpark earlier today and also relayed that Mushinski was on his way to join the club.

It was reported yesterday that Valdez was scratched from his start due to elbow soreness and sent to Houston to visit with team doctors. Manager Joe Espada says the plan is for him to be shut down for a few days while his inflammation subsides, per Rome. Further updates will likely follow in the coming days as the club continues to monitor his progress.

With Valdez scratched, the Astros tagged in Henley as an emergency starter in yesterday’s game against the Rangers but he allowed five earned runs while recording just one out. The Astros managed to come back and win that game 10-5 but used four relievers, getting multiple innings from three of them. Today’s moves provide the club with a couple of fresh arms for their beleaguered bullpen.

Now that Valdez is officially on the IL, the Astros will have to find another starter to join their rotation alongside Cristian Javier, Hunter Brown, J.P. France and Ronel Blanco, though Justin Verlander has begun a rehab assignment and may not be too far away. If Verlander wants to make a second rehab starts as planned, perhaps long reliever Brandon Bielak can take the ball in a few days’ time for a spot start.

Suero, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Astros in the offseason. He has 193 1/3 innings of major league experience, having pitched for the Nationals and Dodgers. He has a 4.75 earned run average in that time, striking out 25.4% of batters faced while walking 8.6%.

However, he’s a few years removed from his best results, as he had a 4.10 ERA with the Nats from 2018 to 2020 but then a 6.33 ERA in 2021. He was stuck in the minors in 2022 and then had a 7.88 ERA in eight innings for the Dodgers last year. But his recent Triple-A numbers have been better, as he had a 3.26 ERA in the Dodgers’ system last year and a 4.50 ERA through four appearances so far this year. Suero still has an option and also has less than four years of service time, meaning he can be retained beyond this season via arbitration if he holds onto a 40-man spot all year.

As for Ortega, it was reported last month that he would miss three to four months after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow, making this transfer an inevitable formality.

Oliver Ortega To Miss Three To Four Months After Undergoing Elbow Surgery

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The Astros announced to the beat, including Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle, that right-hander Oliver Ortega had surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow and will be shut down for three to four months.

Ortega, 27, was claimed off waivers from the Twins in October. He stuck on Houston’s roster all winter and made two appearances for them this spring. But manager Joe Espada announced a couple of days ago that the righty would be going to see a doctor, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. It seems the doctor determined surgery was necessary and that Ortega will be out of action for roughly half the season, at least.

The righty has 58 innings of big league experience between the Angels and Twins, with a 4.03 earned run average in that time. He has averaged between 95 and 97 miles per hour with both his four-seam fastball and his sinker but hasn’t translated that into big strikeout numbers in the majors, as he has punched out just 20.4% of major league hitters faced while walking 10.8%.

He’s generally been able to sit down more batters in the minors. He tossed 34 2/3 innings at Triple-A last year with a 1.82 ERA, 32.6% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate. He still has an option so the Astros were likely hoping for him to serve as a lively depth arm who could be summoned to the majors when needed throughout the season. Unfortunately, he will now have to sit out a decent portion of the upcoming campaign.

The club will likely put Ortega on the 60-day injured list when they need a roster spot, but they also have several other candidates for such a move. Kendall Graveman is going to miss the entire 2024 season due to shoulder surgery while both Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis García Jr. are targeting midseason returns after they each underwent elbow surgery last year.

Astros Claim Oliver Ortega From Twins

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The Astros have claimed right-hander Oliver Ortega off waivers from the Twins, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Ortega is on the 60-day injured list.

Ortega, 27, pitched for the Angels in 2021 and 2022 but came to the Twins last offseason via a waiver claim. Between the two clubs, he has tossed 58 major league innings over 45 appearances, posting an earned run average of 4.03 in that time.

The Twins placed Ortega on the injured list in late August due to a lumbar strain and transferred him to the 60-day injured list a few days later. There’s no 60-day injured list between the World Series and Spring Training, meaning players have to be added back onto the 40-man roster. The Twins put Ortega on waivers instead but the Astros have swooped in to make a claim.

The Astros are likely intrigued by Ortega’s strong work in Triple-A this year, as he had an ERA of 1.82 in 34 2/3 innings at that level. He struck out 32.6% of batters faced, walked just 7.4% and kept the ball on the ground at a 48.1% rate. Ortega has yet to reach arbitration and has one option season remaining, allowing him to serve as a cheap depth arm with roster flexibility for the Astros.

Twins Option Bailey Ober, Select Kody Funderburk

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The Twins announced they’ve selected southpaw Kody Funderburk onto the major league roster. Minnesota optioned Bailey Ober to Triple-A St. Paul to clear an active roster spot. In order to open 40-man space, the Twins transferred Oliver Ortega to the 60-day injured list.

It’s a bit surprising to see the Twins send Ober down. The 6’9″ righty has been an effective starter over the course of the season. He owns a 3.67 ERA through 122 2/3 innings, striking out a solid 24.1% of opponents against a tidy 5.2% walk percentage. Ober now carries a 3.75 ERA with better than average strikeout and walk marks in 53 big league starts over parts of three campaigns.

That said, Ober’s performance has tailed off recently. He hasn’t topped five innings in any of his past six starts, allowing multiple runs in each. Ober was tagged for five runs in four frames by the Rangers yesterday, bringing him to a 6.75 ERA over his past 28 innings. It’s possible fatigue has played a role. Ober is up to 140 1/3 innings between Triple-A and the majors. His previous high as a professional was 108 1/3 frames during the ’21 campaign.

Optioning him allows the Twins to keep an eye on Ober’s workload down the stretch. Minnesota is six games clear of the Guardians in the AL Central, putting them in great position to secure a division title. They’re far enough behind the AL West and East leaders that a first-round bye is almost certainly not viable. The very likely outcome at this point is that Minnesota will get into the postseason as the #3 seed. Ober seems likely to be a factor in the playoffs, with the club using the intervening month to try to keep him fresh. Dallas Keuchel can step back into the rotation behind Joe Ryan, Sonny Gray, Pablo López and Kenta Maeda.

Funderburk, meanwhile, gets his first major league look. A 15th round selection from Dallas Baptist in the 2018 draft, the 6’4″ left-hander is a pure reliever. Funderburk has spent the majority of the season in St. Paul, working 52 innings over 37 appearances. He owns a 2.60 ERA and is striking out nearly 36% of batters faced at the top minor league level. Funderburk’s 10% walk rate is a little higher than ideal, but the missed bats and strong run prevention earn him a major league crack.

The Twins had been using Caleb Thielbar as the only southpaw in their bullpen. While Funderburk has posted reverse platoon splits in the minors this season — he’s stifling righties to a .184/.258/.234 line, while lefty hitters have posted a .195/.292/.254 slash — he’s been excellent against hitters of both handedness. He’ll give Rocco Baldelli a second left-handed option out of the ’pen.

Ortega’s season is almost certainly over. The righty just landed on the injured list with a left lumbar strain a few days ago. An offseason waiver claim, Ortega allowed seven runs in 14 2/3 innings with Minnesota this season.

Twins Select Oliver Ortega, Designate Kyle Garlick For Assignment

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The Twins announced today that they have selected the contract of right-hander Oliver Ortega. Fellow righty Louie Varland was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move while outfielder Kyle Garlick was designated for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Ortega, 26, pitched for the Angels in each of the past two seasons, registering a combined 3.95 ERA in 35 outings between those two campaigns. He was designated for assignment in the offseason and claimed by the Twins, though the latter club passed him through outright waivers a few weeks later.

He’s been putting up good numbers in Triple-A so far this year, posting a 2.42 ERA through 22 1/3 innings. He’s struck out 31.8% of opponents while walking just 8% and getting grounders on 36% of balls in play. That strong work has got him back to the big leagues again, where he’ll provide a fresh arm for the Minnesota bullpen. He also has a couple of option years remaining, giving the club a bit of roster flexibility.

Varland has been working out of the club’s rotation, posting a 5.30 ERA over 10 starts. His option today seems to point towards the imminent return of Kenta Maeda, who has been on a rehab assignment of late. He had a rough start to the year, with an ERA of 9.00 through four starts before landing on the injured list with a triceps strain. He’ll hope to get in a better groove going forward, jumping into the rotation next to Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Pablo López and Bailey Ober.

As for Garlick, he has had some success in the past, primarily as a right-handed platoon specialist. He’s hit .240/.288/.510 against southpaws in his major league career, good enough for a 115 wRC+. However, he hasn’t been hitting in the majors or the minors this year. He’s hit just .210/.308/.427 in 143 Triple-A appearances for the season, including a dismal .160/.263/.300 against lefties. Those struggles surely contributed to nudging him off the roster.

The Twins will now have a week to trade Garlick or pass him through waivers. He has a previous career outright and over three years of service time, which means he could reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency. However, since he has less than five years of service time, he would have to forfeit the remainder of his $750K salary in order to do so. That’s just barely over the $720K minimum for a major league player but it’s surely much better than what he would get in Triple-A, where the minimum salary is just $35.8K.

For any clubs weighing a claim, Garlick is in his final option year, meaning he could be kept in the minors as depth for the rest of the year. He isn’t hitting much here in 2023 but has had some past success that could appeal to another club that has some question marks in its outfield.

Twins Outright Kyle Garlick, Oliver Ortega

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Twins outfielder Kyle Garlick and reliever Oliver Ortega each went unclaimed on waivers, according to an announcement from the club’s communications director Dustin Morse (Twitter link). Both players have been outrighted to Triple-A St. Paul and will receive non-roster invitations to MLB Spring Training.

Garlick was designated for assignment last Wednesday as the corresponding move to accommodate Carlos Correa’s return. It’s the second outright of his career, which would’ve given him the right to test minor league free agency. The club announcement that he’ll be in big league camp suggests he’s instead chosen to accept the assignment.

That’s not too surprising a call, as the righty-hitting outfielder had signed a $750K contract to avoid arbitration earlier in the offseason. That’s barely above the MLB minimum salary but quite likely locked in more money than he’d have received if he landed a minor league contract with another organization. Refusing the outright assignment to test free agency would’ve required Garlick to relinquish that agreed-upon salary, so he’ll instead try to work his way back onto the roster in Spring Training or during the regular season.

Garlick, 31 next week, is a platoon outfielder. He’s played for the Dodgers, Phillies and Twins over parts of four big league campaigns, the last two of which have been spent in Minnesota. He’s connected on 13 home runs while slugging .538 through 186 MLB plate appearances against left-handed pitching, with that power more than offsetting a modest .301 on-base percentage. Productive as he’s been with the platoon advantage, the California native owns just a .203/.258/.324 line in 159 trips against right-handed pitching.

Ortega has never pitched for the Twins. He just landed with the organization two weeks ago via waiver claim from the Angels. Minnesota DFA him a few days thereafter upon acquiring A.J. Alexy from the Nationals, and they succeeded in running him through waivers. Ortega has never before been outrighted and has less than three years of big league service time, meaning he did not have the ability to test free agency.

The right-hander has appeared at the MLB level in each of the past two seasons with the Halos. Ortega has thrown 43 1/3 innings over 35 career appearances, pitching to a 3.95 ERA. He’s paired that with a modest 19.8% strikeout rate and elevated 10.7% walk percentage, although he’s racked up grounders on nearly 56% of batted balls.

Ortega has also logged 37 2/3 Triple-A innings over the last couple years. He’s only managed a 5.37 ERA at the top minor league level, while his 24% strikeout rate is better than that of his MLB work. Ortega averages roughly 96 MPH on his fastball and still has a pair of option years remaining. If he reclaims his spot on the 40-man roster at any point during the season, the Twins can freely move him between Minneapolis and St. Paul as a depth reliever.

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