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Robbie Erlin

13 Players Elect Free Agency

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With the World Series kicking off on Friday, we’re only a couple weeks from the opening of the offseason. It’s customary each offseason for dozens of players to hit the open market, separate from the players who reach MLB free agency at the end of the World Series based on the expiration of their contracts while having six-plus years of MLB service time.

Any player who is not on his team’s 40-man roster at season’s end but has three-plus years of MLB service, multiple career outright assignments and/or seven-plus seasons in the minor leagues has the right to elect free agency. Everyone in today’s group falls under that umbrella. The majority will take minor league deals over the winter, although one or two could find a big league deal as a bench piece or middle-inning reliever.

In recent weeks, we’ve provided periodic updates on players qualifying for minor league free agency. Here are the latest, courtesy of the MiLB.com transactions tracker.

Pitchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Dodgers Designate Robbie Erlin For Assignment

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The Dodgers designated lefty Robbie Erlin for assignment, according to an announcement from the team.  The move accompanies the club’s selection of Ryan Pepiot’s contract.

Erlin, 31, spent 2021 with the Nippon Ham Fighters of NPB.  He inked a minor league deal with the Dodgers in February, and returned to a 40-man roster when his contract was selected Saturday, allowing him to serve as the 27th man in a doubleheader against the Cubs.  In his first big league action in nearly 20 months, Erlin posted a scoreless mop-up inning Sunday and then gave up a pair of runs to put a game in Pittsburgh further out of reach on Monday.

Considered one of the 35 best prospects in the game when the Rangers sent him to San Diego in the Mike Adams deal at the 2011 trade deadline, Erlin underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2016.  The Padres bounced him from their 40-man in October 2019, and then he moved to the Pirates and Braves before heading overseas.

In that classic MLB circle of life, Erlin has surrendered his Dodgers 40-man roster spot to Pepiot, who ranked 90th on Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list.  Pepiot, a 24-year-old righty, is a 55-grade prospect with what BA describes as a “devastating” changeup but “below average control.”  Pepiot hasn’t yet solved the control issue in his 68 Triple-A innings, but the Dodgers needed a starter for this afternoon’s game in Pittsburgh.

Dodgers Select Robbie Erlin

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The Dodgers are planning to select left-hander Robbie Erlin onto the big league roster, the team informed reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). They won’t need to make a corresponding move. Erlin will serve as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader against the Cubs, and they already have a pair of vacancies on the 40-man roster.

Erlin is back in the big leagues for the first time since 2020. A former division rival, the 2009 third-round pick spent the 2013-19 seasons as a swing option for the Padres. A quality strike-thrower, he didn’t miss many bats but he rarely handed out free passes or served up home runs. Erlin posted a cumulative 4.57 ERA in that time, but he missed most of 2016 and all of the 2017 season because of Tommy John surgery.

Upon returning, Erlin assumed more of a multi-inning relief role. He started 12 of 39 outings in 2018 and worked 55 1/3 frames over 37 appearances the following season. He split the shortened 2020 campaign between the Pirates and Braves, struggling to an 8.10 ERA in 26 2/3 innings over nine games.

Last year, Erlin joined the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan. He tossed 38 innings of 3.32 ERA ball before returning stateside on a minor league deal with the Dodgers. The 31-year-old has started three of his five outings with Triple-A Oklahoma City, allowing 15 runs in 21 2/3 frames with 20 strikeouts and nine walks.

Presumably, Erlin will take on a long relief role in L.A., given the strength of the Dodgers’ starting staff. The bullpen has also been excellent in the early going, posting a 2.65 ERA that ranks third-lowest in MLB. However, Los Angeles lost star reliever Blake Treinen to the injured list a couple weeks ago, and his recovery from shoulder soreness isn’t going as hoped. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) the righty is headed for an MRI early next week as he continues to deal with discomfort.

Dodgers, Robbie Erlin Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers have signed veteran left-hander Robbie Erlin to a minor league contract, per Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. Erlin, a client of Apex Baseball, will presumably head to big league camp once it opens and give L.A. some depth both in the rotation and in the bullpen.

A veteran of seven big league seasons, Erlin spent the 2021 season pitching with the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan, where he appeared in 11 games and worked to a 3.32 ERA over the life of 38 innings. He whiffed 20.5% of his opponents there and posted a strong 6.8% walk rate in his brief time overseas, but he’ll now look to get back to the big leagues as a member of a former division rival.

Erlin, 31, spent the first six seasons of his big league career as a member of the Padres. Initially a third-round pick by the Rangers in 2009, he landed in San Diego by way of a trade for reliever Mike Adams, going on to ultimately appear in 106 games for the Friars from 2013-19. Thirty-eight of those appearances came out of the rotation, so he could be stretched out as starting depth for the Dodgers if they so choose. Alternatively, Erlin is no stranger to working in multi-inning relief stints, as evidenced by the 123 1/3 frames he’s racked up in 72 career bullpen outings.

Erlin produced a 4.57 ERA, a 19.1% strikeout rate and a terrific 4.7% walk rate in his 313 frames with the Padres, but his most recent action came with the Pirates and Braves in 2020. Things didn’t go particularly well in either stop for the southpaw that summer, however, as he was tagged for a combined 24 runs in 26 2/3 innings. Erlin did post a solid 25-to-7 K/BB ratio in that time, continuing his career-long trends of below-average strikeout rates but excellent walk rates. Erlin posted MLB’s lowest walk rate back in 2018 and has long had solid spin on his four-seamer and an above-average spin rate on his curveball.

Robbie Erlin To Sign With Nippon Ham Fighters

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Left-hander Robbie Erlin has agreed to a one-year contract with the Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan’s Pacific League, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

This will be the first overseas baseball experience for the 30-year-old Erlin, a third-round pick in 2009 and a well-regarded prospect in the past. Unfortunately, though, Erlin hasn’t been able to establish himself in the majors, where he owns a 4.85 ERA (and a much more respectable 3.79 FIP) across 339 2/3 innings with three different teams.

At his best, Erlin gave the Padres 109 innings and 39 appearances (12 starts) of 4.21 ERA/3.31 FIP pitching with 7.27 K/9 and a minuscule 0.99 BB/9 in 2018. His numbers went downhill during the previous two seasons, though, especially this past year. Between Pittsburgh and Atlanta, the soft-tossing Erlin recorded a dismal 8.10 ERA/6.23 FIP across 26 2/3 innings, though he did post 8.44 strikeouts per nine against 2.36 walks. The Braves released him in the middle of September.

Braves Release Robbie Erlin

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The Braves announced this afternoon that they’ve released left-hander Robbie Erlin, who’d been designated for assignment over the weekend. The veteran southpaw is now free to sign with any club.

Erlin, 29, opened the season with the Pirates but was designated for assignment and picked up off waivers by the Braves shortly thereafter. The longtime Padres hurler made a pair of solid starts for the Braves early in his tenure, tossing eight innings and holding opponents to a combined two runs, but he’s been hammered over his five most recent outings. Overall, he’s put together an ugly 8.49 ERA with Atlanta and an 8.10 mark on the season as a whole.

Rough 2020 results aside, Erlin isn’t far removed from a solid 2018 campaign in San Diego. He tossed 109 frames that year between a dozen starts and 27 relief outings, working to an overall 4.21 ERA and 3.31 FIP with averages of 7.27 strikeouts, 0.99 walks and 0.99 homers per nine innings pitched. Prior to his poor results from 2019-20, Erlin had compiled a lifetime 4.40 ERA and 3.58 FIP in 257 2/3 MLB frames.

It’s impossible to simply ignore his recent results, but perhaps a club with some other ideas for his pitch selection might have ideas about how to help him return to form. Erlin did scrap his once-effective sinker entirely in 2020, gravitating more toward four-seamers and curveballs than ever before.

Braves Designate Robbie Erlin, Recall Sean Newcomb

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The Atlanta Braves have designated starter Robbie Erlin for assignment, per the team. Sean Newcomb has been added to the active roster to take his place.

Erlin’s tenure in Atlanta was short, in the grand scheme of things. He made 7 appearances, 5 starts, for a 8.49 ERA/6.75 FIP while allowing 8 home runs over 23 1/3 innings. The Braves have been desperate for rotation help, claiming Erlin off waivers from the Pirates on August 7th.

Newcomb made his debut as a starter for the Braves in 2017, but by 2019 he made himself into a valuable piece of the Braves’ bullpen. He posted a 3.16 ERA/4.24 FIP across 68 1/3 innings in 51 appearances and 4 starts in 2019. When the bottom fell out from the Braves’ rotation plans in 2020, Newcomb stepped in and made four starts to disastrous results: 11.20 ERA/7.51 FIP while walking 4 per nine innings and striking out 6.6 per nine. Despite the currently-thin rotation, the Braves plan on returning Newcomb to the bullpen, per The Athletic’s David O’Brien (via Twitter).

The Braves might see some reinforcements in the rotation shortly with Cole Hamels expected to make his Braves’ debut on Wednesday, per O’Brien (via Twitter). Huascar Ynoa, Bryse Wilson, and Newcomb can provide multi-inning efforts from the bullpen, while Josh Tomlin, Ian Anderson, Kyle Wright and Hamels take turns in the rotation. Max Fried can be activated from the injured list as early as Wednesday to join the rotation, but the Braves have not updated his health status yet.

Braves Add Robbie Erlin To Active Roster

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TODAY: The Braves announced that Erlin has been activated onto the big league roster.  Sobotka had been optioned to the minor league site but is now quickly back with the club to serve as the extra player for today’s doubleheader.

AUGUST 7: The Braves announced that they have claimed left-hander Robbie Erlin off waivers from the Pirates. In other moves, the Braves placed right-hander Chris Martin on the 10-day injured list with an esophageal constriction and recalled RHP Chad Sobotka.

The 29-year-old Erlin had been in limbo since Pittsburgh designated him Aug. 2. He threw 3 1/3 innings of two-run ball for the club before it bounced him.  Erlin was a quality prospect with the Padres during his younger days, but he has only managed a 4.58 ERA across 108 appearances (38 starts) and 316 1/3 innings since he debuted in 2013. To Erlin’s credit, though, he has logged a very solid 3.57 FIP with 7.2 K/9 and 1.79 BB/9 as a major leaguer.

Erlin could step into the Braves’ bullpen, which will suddenly go without one of its most prominent options in Martin, whom the team re-signed to a two-year, $14MM contract in free agency. Martin, 34, threw four innings and allowed one earned runs on two hits and one walk (three strikeouts) before his IL placement.

Pirates Acquire Tyler Bashlor From Mets

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The Pirates have acquired right-handed pitcher Tyler Bashlor from the Mets in exchange for cash considerations, reports Tim Healey of Newsday. The Pirates have designated LHP Robbie Erlin for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Bashlor, 27, tossed 54 relief innings for the Mets between 2018-19. They were generally uninspiring, as he managed just a 5.33 ERA/6.18 FIP in that span. However, Bashlor averaged a strong 95.6 MPH on his four-seam fastball last season with top-of-the-scale spin. The Bucs will take a low-cost flier to see if they can translate those promising traits into a few more whiffs.

Erlin, meanwhile, managed only two relief appearances in Pittsburgh after breaking camp with the club. The Pirates will have a week to trade, release or outright the former Padre starter.

Pirates Select Contracts Of Robbie Erlin, John Ryan Murphy

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The Pirates have selected the contracts of lefty Robbie Erlin and catcher John Ryan Murphy, per the team’s transactions page. Both had been assigned to the alternate training site but will now join the 40-man roster.

These moves were obviously made with an eye to structuring the Bucs’ Opening Day roster. With thirty roster spots to fill, the rebuilding club has quite a lot of openings to tinker with. These two players — both of whom are 29 years of age, were selected in the early rounds of the 2009 draft, and debuted in 2013 — are among the beneficiaries.

There was an especially clear need behind the dish in Pittsburgh. Murphy has never fully established himself as a MLB-caliber hitter, with a cumulative .219/.265/.357 slash line over 674 total plate appearances. But he’s trusted to handle backstop duties, having appeared with four different organizations over the past seven seasons.

Like most teams, the Pirates are likely to dedicate much of their added roster availability to pitching. Erlin will join a number of other arms hoping for their names to be called in on the bullpen phone. He could end up functioning as a situational lefty and/or long reliever. The 29-year-old carries a 4.57 ERA in 313 total MLB innings, all with the Padres.

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