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Reds Release Dee Strange-Gordon, Jesse Biddle

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5:59pm: The Reds have also released Biddle, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Biddle saw almost no action with the Reds last season, throwing two-thirds of an inning, but he did toss nine frames of three-run ball and post 12 strikeouts against two walks this spring.

12:19pm: The Reds announced Friday that they’ve released veteran infielder/outfielder Dee Strange-Gordon. They also reassigned lefty Jesse Biddle, lefty Brandon Finnegan and catcher Rocky Gale to minor league camp.

Strange-Gordon, 32, at one point looked to be a candidate to land the shortstop job in Cincinnati. However, over the past several weeks the club has taken a long look at returning Eugenio Suarez to that position. A strong spring showing by infield prospect Jonathan India, who has spent time at second base and third base, has made that outcome more likely.

While Strange-Gordon could’ve still been in line for a bench role, it seems the Reds prefer to go with in-house options like Kyle Farmer, Kyle Holder and perhaps Mike Freeman as utility men off the bench. That’ll send the fleet-footed Strange-Gordon back to the open market on the heels of a solid .281/.361/.313 showing in 36 spring plate appearances. Obviously, the slugging percentage is a bit problematic, but Strange-Gordon also swiped four bases without being caught and walked four times against just five strikeouts. He turned in a disappointing .200/.268/.213 showing with the 2020 Mariners, albeit in just 82 plate appearances.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/8/21

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The latest minor transactions from around the game…

  • The Giants have signed right-hander Jay Jackson to a minors contract, MLBTR has learned. Marc Delucchi was first to report that the two sides were close to a deal.  Jackson has seen some action in the majors as a member of the Padres (2015) and Brewers (2019), with whom he has combined for a 4.67 ERA alongside a 33.6 percent strikeout rate and a 12.5 percent walk rate in 34 2/3 innings. But Jackson has been big in Japan, where he has spent parts of four seasons (including 2020 with the Chiba Lotte Marines) and recorded a superb 2.16 ERA across 183 innings in Nippon Professional Baseball. Jackson returned stateside with the Reds last August, but he didn’t pitch for them in 2020.
  • The Reds have signed catcher Rocky Gale to a minor-league deal with an invitation to MLB spring training, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter). Despite having played in parts of four MLB seasons, Gale has compiled just 37 career plate appearances at the highest level. However, the 32-year-old (33 in February) has a serviceable .279/.316/.359 slash line in parts of nine Triple-A campaigns.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/27/19

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Dodgers have re-signed catcher Rocky Gale to a minor league contract, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com tweets. The 31-year-old Gale, a 24th-round pick of the Padres in 2010, has barely factored into the equation in the majors thus far. Gale has totaled a meager 37 plate appearances at the game’s highest level, including 15 with the Dodgers last season. But Gale does own plenty of experience at the Triple-A level, where he has amassed 1,784 trips to the plate. He’s a .279/.316/.359 hitter in Triple-A ball.

Dodgers Outright Rocky Gale

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The Dodgers have outrighted catcher Rocky Gale off the 40-man roster, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com tweets. The move drops the club’s 40-man roster to a total of 38 players.

Gale, 31, went 2-for-15 in a brief stint with the Dodgers earlier this season but has spent the bulk of the season in Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he’s batted .250/.303/.370 in 109 plate appearances. He’s spent the season as the primary backup to top catching prospect Will Smith in Triple-A, but the recent promotion of fellow top catching prospect Keibert Ruiz to Oklahoma City has further reduced Gale’s role on the roster.

Gale has appeared in 22 big league games between the Padres and Dodgers, though he’s received just 37 plate appearances in that time (and hit .108/.108/.189). The former ninth-round pick is a lifetime .277/.315/.359 in parts of nine Triple-A seasons.

Dodgers To Place Kenta Maeda On 10-Day Injured List

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The Dodgers will place right-hander Kenta Maeda on the 10-day IL before tomorrow’s game, according to Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).  Maeda’s placement caps off a busy day of roster-shuffling for the Dodgers, as the team also activated lefty Caleb Ferguson from the IL and sent catcher Rocky Gale and right-hander J.T. Chargois to Triple-A.  Prior to tomorrow’s game, the Dodgers will also call up utilityman Matt Beaty from Triple-A and select the contract of outfielder Kyle Garlick.

Maeda fouled a ball off his thigh in last night’s game, and the Dodgers are thusly putting him on the IL “as a precaution,” Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets.  Since the Dodgers have two off-days next week, it looks like Maeda will miss one start at the most while he recovers from what looks like a minor injury.

Los Angeles has deployed Maeda exclusively as a starting pitcher in 2019, and the righty has delivered his usual strong results.  Though nine starts and 51 1/3 innings, Maeda has a 3.51 ERA, 9.1 K/9, and 2.60 K/BB rate, numbers that are largely backed up by advanced metrics.  Maeda is inducing soft contact on 27% of his batted balls this season, the second-highest total of any qualified starter in the game.

A 28th-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2015 draft, Garlick will get his first MLB exposure after posting a 1.002 OPS over 136 PA for Triple-A Oklahoma City this season.  The 27-year-old Garlick has a .283/.341/.519 slash line through 1678 career minor league plate appearances.

Dodgers Activate Russell Martin

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The Dodgers have activated catcher Russell Martin from the 10-day injured list and optioned fellow backstop Rocky Gale to Triple-A Oklahoma City, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets.

Martin’s return should be a welcome one for Los Angeles, whose primary catcher, Austin Barnes, has seen his numbers decline significantly over the past couple weeks. Barnes sported an otherworldly 1.110 OPS when Martin hit the IL with lower back inflammation on April 10, but he’s now down to .729 in that category. Martin, meanwhile, slashed an outstanding .333/.500/.600 with five walks against three strikeouts in 22 plate appearances prior to going on the IL. The well-respected 36-year-old is in his second stint with the Dodgers, with whom he stood out from 2006-10 before rejoining the team in an offseason trade with the Blue Jays.

Gale, on the other hand, has done anything but thrive as a Dodger. The 31-year-old posted a matching and equally woeful .143/.143/.143 line in 14 trips to the plate after the Dodgers promoted him to replace Martin. Gale, who debuted with the Padres in 2015, owns an ugly .111/.111/.194 line in 36 major league PA.

Dodgers Place Russell Martin On 10-Day IL

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The Dodgers announced today that backstop Russell Martin has been placed on the 10-day injured list with lower back inflammation. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by fellow receiver Rocky Gale.

Acquired over the winter via trade, Martin has shared time behind the plate with Austin Barnes. Expectations were tempered for the 36-year-old’s second stint in Los Angeles, as he has been limited by injuries and seen his offensive numbers dip in recent seasons. But things had gone rather well to this point, with Martin off to a .333/.500/.600 start with the bat through 22 plate appearances.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/2/18

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Dodgers announced that they’ve selected the contract of catcher Rocky Gale from Triple-A Oklahoma City and moved right-hander Brock Stewart (right oblique strain) to the 60-day disabled list. Gale, whom the Dodgers signed to a minor league contract last offseason, hit .281/.305/.383 in 318 plate appearances with Okahoma City this year. The 30-year-old previously saw MLB action with the Padres in 2015 and ’17, though he only totaled a combined 20 PAs in those stints.
  • The Braves have selected infielder Ryan Flaherty from Triple-A Gwinnett and placed outfielder Michael Reed (left lower back strain) on the 60-day DL, per a team announcement. Flaherty’s back in Atlanta not long after it outrighted him Aug. 23. The veteran has struggled across 172 PAs this season as a member of the Braves, with whom he has hit .222/.298/.301.

Dodgers To Sign Rocky Gale To Minors Contract

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The Dodgers have agreed to a minor league deal with catcher Rocky Gale, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link).  The contract includes an invitation to the Dodgers’ big league Spring Training camp.  Gale was released by the Padres earlier this week after being designated for assignment to create roster space for the newly-signed Eric Hosmer.

A 24th-round pick for San Diego in the 2010 draft, Gale spent his entire pro career in the Padres organization, hitting .259/.306/.324 over 2198 minor league plate appearances.  He made brief appearances at the MLB level in both 2015 and 2017, appearing in a total of 14 Major League games.

Los Angeles already has Austin Barnes and Yasmani Grandal handling duties behind the plate on the 25-man roster, so Gale will join Shawn Zarraga and Kyle Farmer as the Dodgers’ top depth options at the minor league level.  There was some trade speculation surrounding Grandal since the veteran catcher is just a year away from free agency and Barnes emerged as a legitimate starter in 2017, though nothing seemed to develop in the way of legitimate buzz about a possible move.  It seems much more plausible that L.A. will deploy both Grandal and Barnes this season and any other catching signings are pure depth moves.

Padres To Designate Rocky Gale

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The Padres will designate catcher Rocky Gale for assignment, according to Dennis Lin of The Athletic (Twitter link). That’ll open a 40-man spot to accommodate the signing of Eric Hosmer.

Gale, who is just days from his thirtieth birthday, has seen limited MLB time in parts of two seasons. He spent the bulk of 2017 playing at Triple-A, where he slashed .278/.328/.365 over 377 plate appearances.

Despite his lack of opportunities in the majors, Gale certainly has ample experience in the upper minors. He first reached Triple-A way back in 2011 and has seen at least some action at the highest level of the minors in every ensuing season.

San Diego could still included Gale in its camp competition for the reserve catching role if he ultimately clears waivers. For now, though, veteran A.J. Ellis is likely in the lead for the job as the backup to starter Austin Hedges. The only catcher currently on the 40-man is Luis Torrens, who was kept on the active roster last year as a Rule 5 pick. Minor-league signee Rafael Lopez is also in camp along with non-roster invitees Stephen McGee and Austin Allen (neither of whom has yet appeared in the majors).

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