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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: 7/5/17

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We’ll track the latest notable minor moves in this post:

  • Rays reliever Danny Farquhar has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Durham, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Farquhar had been in DFA limbo since June 28. Before that, he opened the year with 35 reasonably effective innings in Tampa Bay, where he recorded a 4.11 ERA, 8.5 K/9 against 5.7 BB/9, and a 44.4 percent ground-ball rate.
  • The Yankees have released left-handed reliever Tommy Layne, tweets Conor Foley of the Times-Tribune. New York designated Layne on June 10, after which it outrighted him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Layne was solid over 6 2/3 innings at Triple-A, as he yielded two earned runs on four hits and two walks. He hasn’t fared well at the major league level this year, though, with a 7.62 ERA, 6.23 K/9 and 5.54 BB/9 over 13 frames.
  • The Blue Jays have traded infielder Jonathan Diaz to the Yankees, Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo announced (on Twitter). This will be the second stint with the Yankees organization for the 32-year-old Diaz, who was in Scranton last season. The majority of Diaz’s professional career has been spent with the Toronto organization, which selected him in the 12th round of the 2006 draft, though his initial major league action came with the Red Sox in 2013. He then returned to the Jays and cracked their roster for brief periods in both 2014 and ’15. In all, Diaz has collected 65 major league PAs and batted .145/.242/.164. He owns a .226/.341/.291 line in 2,314 PAs at Triple-A.

Earlier update:

  • Rangers righty Preston Claiborne accepted an outright assignment after clearing waivers, per a club announcement. He was designated recently following a single appearance out of the Texas pen. That was Claiborne’s first MLB action since 2014; he missed all of the ensuing season with a rotator cuff injury. Claiborne, 29, showed well at the Double-A level last year with the Giants and opened the 2017 season at the Rangers’ top affiliate. Over 26 1/3 Triple-A innings, he owns a 1.37 ERA with 10.6 /9 against 3.8 BB/9. He’ll look to maintain that productivity upon his return while waiting for a new opportunity to open at the major league level.

Rangers Acquire Jason Grilli

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The Rangers acquired veteran righty Jason Grilli and cash considerations from the Blue Jays in exchange for minor league outfielder Eduard Pinto, according to a Rangers media release.  In corresponding moves, right-hander Preston Claiborne was designated for assignment, righty Tanner Scheppers was optioned to Triple-A and right-hander Tony Barnette was activated from the disabled list.

All of these moves will address a Texas bullpen that ranks near the bottom of the league in most categories, and is particularly in flux after the demotion of closer Matt Bush.  It may be unlikely to expect Grilli to factor into the Rangers’ closer-by-committee situation given the veteran’s rough start to the 2017 season.  The 40-year-old has a 6.97 ERA over 20 2/3 IP, and despite some decent peripherals (10.02 K/9, 2.56 K/BB rate), Grilli has simply been unable to keep the ball in the park, surrendering a whopping nine home runs in his brief time on the mound this year.

It’s worth noting that Grilli also pitched poorly at the beginning of the 2016 season, though he improved greatly after being dealt to the Blue Jays in May 2016 and was a key cog in Toronto’s run to the postseason.  The Rangers are obviously hoping for a similar uptick in performance from a change in scenery for Grilli, who is making his second stint in the organization (he pitched in 30 games for Texas in 2009).

Grilli was still owed roughly $1.4MM for the rest of 2017, so the money Toronto is sending along in the deal likely makes up a good chunk of that remaining salary.  In exchange, the Jays add a 22-year-old outfielder in Pinto who has a .309/.367/.390 slash line over 1683 career PA in six pro seasons.  Pinto played 22 games at Double-A last season, his highest level achieved, and this year has a .311/.358/.446 slash line over 191 PA at high A-ball.

Claiborne had his contract purchased by the Rangers two weeks ago and he appeared in one game for the team, which marked Claiborne’s first taste of MLB action since 2014.  The right-hander missed all of 2015 due to a shoulder injury and spent 2016 pitching in the Giants’ minor league system.

Rangers Designate Eddie Gamboa, Select Preston Claiborne, Place Jeremy Jeffress On DL

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The Rangers have announced that righty Eddie Gamboa was designated for assignment, via executive VP of communications John Blake. His 40-man spot will go to righty Preston Claiborne, whose contract was purchased. Texas also shifted reliever Jeremy Jeffress to the 10-day DL.

Gamboa, a 32-year-old knuckleballer, cracked the majors for the first time last year with the Rays. He was traded out of DFA limbo over the winter, with the Rangers interested in adding an optionable arm to their roster.

Through 77 2/3 innings over 14 starts at Triple-A this year, Gamboa had struggled to a 6.49 ERA. He’s carrying only 5.3 K/9, down from his typical levels in the upper minors, while issuing 4.5 free passes per nine innings.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/16/16

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

  • The Astros have released lefty Edwar Cabrera, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports. He cracked the majors briefly back in 2012, and has consistently posted solid earned run averages throughout his minor league career, but was struggling at Triple-A in 2016. Over 11 1/3 frames, exclusively as a reliever, Cabrera has allowed ten earned runs and racked up a dozen walks to go with his 13 strikeouts.
  • Southpaw Dustin Richardson was cut loose by the Dodgers, also via Eddy. He had permitted six earned in 8 1/3 frames, with a 12:6 K/BB ratio. Richardson saw 29 total MLB appearances in 2009-10 with the Red Sox.
  • Among the Padres’ moves, per Eddy, the organization has released righty Greg Reynolds, who was the second overall selection of the 2006 draft. He struggled in three brief cracks at the big leagues, and was hit hard in his five starts this year at Triple-A, allowing twenty earned runs while recording just five strikeouts. Meanwhile, fellow right-hander Cory Mazzoni was re-signed to a minor league deal after being released, and was then shifted to the 60-day DL while he works his way back from shoulder surgery. The 26-year-old, a former second-round pick, briefly reached the majors last year.
  • The Giants added righty Preston Claiborne on a minor league deal, Eddy further notes. Claiborne, 28, has provided the Yankees with some useful innings, but hasn’t pitched competitively since 2014. He’s battled shoulder issues and was cut loose by the Marlins this spring.
  • The Angels have outrighted first baseman/Rule 5 pick Ji-Man Choi to Triple-A Salt Lake after he cleared waivers, and he accepted the assignment, tweets Adam Chodzko of the Angels’ media relations department. (Having been previously outrighted, Choi could have refused and elected free agency.) Choi, 24, saw just 24 plate appearances with the Halos this season and went 1-for-18, though he did draw six walks as well. That he cleared waivers means that all 29 other clubs, including the Orioles (from whom he was selected in last December’s Rule 5 Draft), passed on the opportunity to add him. With Trey Mancini and Christian Walker, two of the Orioles’ more highly regarded prospects, each present on the Triple-A Norfolk roster, it seems that Baltimore felt comfortable with its first base depth. Choi had only just signed a minors deal with the Orioles a couple of weeks prior to being taken in the Rule 5, so his history with the organization wasn’t particularly lengthy. He’ll now hope to build on his career .280/.379/.401 batting line at the Triple-A level and work his way back onto the Angels’ Major League roster.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/24/16

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Here are some minor moves from around baseball over the last week…

  • The White Sox signed righty Chris Volstad to a minor league contract, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports.  The move comes less than two weeks after Volstad was released from his previous minors deal with the Braves.  Volstad was an innings-eating rotation arm for the Marlins and Cubs from 2009-12 but he’s pitched just 10 1/3 big league frames since then, bouncing between five different MLB clubs and a stint in the Korea Baseball Organization.
  • The Marlins released righty Preston Claiborne, as per the team’s official MLB.com transactions page.  Miami took Claiborne off waivers from the Yankees last winter but he missed the entire season with a shoulder injury.  Claiborne posted a 3.79 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 2.42 K/BB rate over 71 1/3 innings out of the Yankees bullpen in 2013-14.
  • The Reds released southpaw Jonathan Sanchez, as per the team’s Twitter feed.  Sanchez was a staple in the Giants rotation from 2008-10, tossing a no-hitter in 2009 and helping the team win the World Series in 2010.  He had control problems even at his peak, however, and he posted an 8.73 ERA, 63 walks and 60 strikeouts over 78 1/3 innings in 2012-13, which was his last taste of MLB action.

Marlins Outright Five Players

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Here are the day’s outright assignments:

  • The Marlins have announced that five players were outrighted off of the 40-man roster. Preston Claiborne, Erik Cordier, Chris Narveson, Chris Reed, and Donovan Solano each lost their slots. With three 60-man DL placements, Miami says it has five open roster 40-man positions as things stand. Claiborne missed the entire season with a shoulder injury. Cordier, a 29-year-old righty, was strong at Triple-A. but allowed eight earned and posted a 7-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 12 1/3 innings of work in the majors. The 33-year-old Narveson marked his most extensive big league usage since 2011, but posted only a 4.45 ERA in 30 1/3 frames. Reed, meanwhile, made just two big league appearances after coming from the Dodgers in a minor mid-season swap. He scuffled at the Triple-A level in his first season of exclusive bullpen work. Solano is a 27-year-old utility infielder. He had seen extensive action in each of the three prior campaigns, but earned only 94 plate appearances this year. All told, he owns a .257/.307/.328 slash in his big league career.

Marlins Claim Preston Claiborne From Yankees

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The Marlins have claimed righty Preston Claiborne off waivers from the Yankees, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports on Twitter. Miami now is without an available spot on its 40-man roster.

Claiborne, 26, has logged 71 1/3 innings for the Yankees over the past two seasons, most of them coming in 2013. In the aggregate, he owns a 3.79 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 over his big league work.

Yankees Designate Preston Claiborne For Assignment

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The Yankees have designated Preston Claiborne for assignment, according to ESPNNewYork.com’s Andrew Marchand (on Twitter).

Claiborne, 26, has made 62 relief appearances for the Yankees over the last two seasons, pitching to a 3.79 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.  In parts of three seasons at the Triple-A level, Claiborne owns a 3.80 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9.

You can keep track of Claiborne’s status using MLBTR’s DFA Tracker.

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