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Minor MLB Transactions: 12/24/16

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The latest minor league signings from around the sport, courtesy of Matt Eddy of Baseball America:

  • The Braves have inked swingman Andrew Albers, a 31-year-old left-hander who will head to his fifth organization since the Padres selected him in the 10th round of the 2008 draft. The majority of Albers’ work last year came with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate in Rochester, where he recorded a 3.69 ERA, 6.08 K/9 and 2.17 BB/9 in 21 starts and 124 1/3 innings. Albers also amassed six appearances and two starts with the Twins in 2016 and has a combined 79 big league frames to his credit between Minnesota and Toronto. The lion’s share of that action came with the Twins in 2013, when Albers started 10 games and registered a 4.05 ERA, 3.75 K/9, 1.05 BB/9 and 43.5 percent ground-ball rate across 60 innings.
  • The Diamondbacks have added outfielder Reymond Fuentes, whom the Royals released in September. Kansas City’s decision to move on from Fuentes came after he hit just .254/.325/.317 in 272 plate appearances with Triple-A Omaha in 2016. The 25-year-old was more successful last season with the Royals, albeit over just 44 PAs, with a .317/.364/.341 line.
  • The White Sox have re-signed right-hander Chris Volstad, who spent all of 2016 with their Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte. Volstad ate 176 2/3 innings last season, though he didn’t produce inspiring results (4.79 ERA, 4.28 K/9, 1.73 BB/9). The 30-year-old former Marlin and Cub was once a mainstay in the majors, having exceeded the 100-inning plateau in each season from 2009-12, but has only tossed big league 10 1/3 frames dating back to 2013.
  • Just over three months after outrighting Rafael Ynoa in September, the Rockies have brought back the utilityman. The 29-year-old Ynoa totaled 202 PAs with the Rockies from 2014-15, but he took only five trips to the plate with Colorado last season. All told, he has batted .281/.306/.372 in 207 plate appearances with the Rockies and .270/.344/.364 in nearly 4,000 minor league PAs. Along with Ynoa, Colorado picked up righty C.C. Lee. The Taiwan native pitched in Japan last season after garnering minimal major league experience from 2013-15 with the Indians. Once among Cleveland’s top prospects (BA ranked him fourth in the organization after the 2011 season), the 30-year-old owns a 4.50 ERA, 8.74 K/9, 4.24 BB/9 and 34 innings in the majors.
  • Righty Collin Balester is joining the Tigers, which represents a return to the States after a year in Korea. It’ll also be the 30-year-old Balester’s second stint in the Detroit organization, with which he accrued 18 major league innings in 2012. In 200 2/3 big league frames, including 15 2/3 with the Reds in 2015, Balester has struggled with a 5.47 ERA, 7.04 K/9, 4.08 BB/9 and 39.1 ground-ball mark.

Rockies Outright Ben Paulsen, Rafael Ynoa

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The Rockies announced last night that first baseman Ben Paulsen and utility man Rafael Ynoa have been outrighted off the 40-man roster after being designated for assignment earlier in the week. Both players have the requisite minor league service time to qualify as free agents this winter.

The 28-year-old Paulsen mashed at a .284/.329/.479 clip in 420 plate appearances from 2014-15 with the Rockies, though those numbers are inflated by Coors Field and by the fact that his left-handed bat was largely shielded from left-handed pitching. This season, he batted just .217/.258/.304 in 97 PAs with the Rox and posted a fairly pedestrian .278/.331/.434 in the hitter-friendly Triple-A Pacific Coast League.

Meanwhile, the 29-year-old Ynoa went hitless in five plate appearances with Colorado’s big league club this year. He saw quite a bit of time in the Majors last season, slashing .260/.277/.339 in 131 PAs. Ynoa has nearly 1900 innings of experience at shortstop in the minors in addition to more than 4900 innings at second base. He’s also logged time in the corner outfield and at third base in both the Majors and minors. He’s a lifetime .274/.344/.364 hitter in the minors.

Rockies Designate Ben Paulsen, Rafael Ynoa For Assignment

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The Rockies announced on Tuesday that they’ve designated first baseman Ben Paulsen and infielder Rafael Ynoa for assignment. Their 40-man roster spots will go to infielder Pat Valaika and first baseman/outfielder Jordan Patterson, whose contracts have been selected from Triple-A Albuquerque. The Rox recalled catcher Dustin Garneau and righties Eddie Butler and German Marquez from the minors as well.

Paulsen, 28, entered the 2016 season with an opportunity to emerge as a platoon partner for Mark Reynolds, having slashed .284/.329/.479 with 15 homers in 420 plate appearances between the 2014-15 seasons in Colorado. Paulsen OPSed better than .800 with the Rockies in those two seasons, but he struggled to a .202/.247/.286 in 89 plate appearances at right-handed pitching this year. His work at the Triple-A level was solid but didn’t stand out as much as it did in previous seasons, as he slashed .278/.331/.434 in 78 games at Albuquerque.

Ynoa, meanwhile, tallied just five plate appearances with the Rockies in 2016 and went hitless. He’s appeared in the Majors with the Rockies in each of the past three years, batting .281/.306/.372 over the life of 207 PAs — numbers that are roughly in line with his lifetime .280/.339/.386 slash at the Triple-A level. Neither Ynoa nor Paulsen has received much prospect fanfare over the seasons, though Paulsen did crack Baseball America’s list of Top 30 Rockies prospects prior to the 2011 and 2012 campaigns.

Patterson, meanwhile, rated as Colorado’s No. 20 prospect this winter, per BA, and is currently 18th on MLB.com’s list of top Rockies prospects. The 24-year-old hit .293/.376/.480 with 14 homers in 119 games with Albuquerque this year, and he draws praise from both BA and MLB.com for his plus raw power and strong arm. While both reports feel that he can handle an outfield corner due to his athleticism, arm and average speed, the Rockies already have four left-handed-hitting outfielders on the roster in Gerardo Parra, Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez and David Dahl. As such, Patterson could get a look at first base down the stretch as the Rox attempt to evaluate internal options in advance of the 2017 season.

The 23-year-old Valaika — the younger brother of former big league infielder Chris Valaika — has split the season between Double-A and Triple-A, batting a combined .257/.297/.425 with 14 homers, 41 doubles, four triples and 10 stolen bases. He’s seen time at shortstop, second base and third base in each of the past three minor league campaigns but has spent the bulk of his time at shortstop.

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