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Minor MLB Transactions: 12/14/22

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Teams have been quite active over the past couple of weeks and a few minor league deals slipped through the cracks. Here’s a quick roundup.

  • The Giants signed infielder Donovan Walton to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Walton, 29 in May, began 2022 with the Mariners but was traded to the Giants in May. He spent the year as a frequently-optioned depth piece for the Giants, getting into 25 MLB games and hitting .158/.179/.303, wRC+ of 31. In the minors this year, he hit .248/.353/.403, wRC+ of 94. He was non-tendered at the end of the season but has now re-joined the organization in a non-roster capacity. He has some experience at all four infield positions and left field, giving the club a versatile depth option. If he makes it back onto the 40-man, he’s now out of options and will have to stick on the active roster or else be designated for assignment.
  • The Braves signed catcher Joe Hudson to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Hudson, 32 in May, has 18 games of MLB experience stretched across three seasons from 2018 to 2020. He spent 2022 in the Rays’ system, getting into 49 games for the Triple-A Durham Bulls. He hit .226/.345/.489 in that time for a wRC+ of 119. The Braves recently acquired Sean Murphy to be their primary catcher, but sent William Contreras and Manny Piña packing as part of the deal. The club does still have Chadwick Tromp and the oft-injured Travis d’Arnaud but Hudson will give them a depth option with major league experience.
  • The Twins signed first baseman Tyler White to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. White, 32, played for the Astros from 2016 to 2019, and a brief stint with the Dodgers, but played in Korea in 2020. He came back to North America for the past two years but has been stuck in Triple-A. Though he generally hits well, his defense is essentially limited to first base at this point, aside from brief stints at third. With the Blue Jays’ system in 2021, he hit .292/.424/.476 for a wRC+ of 141. He split 2022 between the Triple-A teams of the Braves and Brewers, hitting .230/.357/.412, 108 wRC+.
  • The Marlins signed infielder Alex De Goti to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. De Goti, 28, has spent his entire career with the Astros thus far, getting into two big league games in 2021. He spent all of 2022 in Triple-A, hitting .253/.352/.377 for a wRC+ of 87. He’s played every position on the diamond in his minor league career except for catcher, even taking the mound for the occasional mop-up stint. He should serve as a versatile depth piece for the Fish.
  • The Nationals have signed right-hander Ronald Herrera to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Herrera, 28 in May, has three innings of MLB experience, which came as a 22-year-old back in 2017 with the Yankees. He spent most of 2022 with the Double-A affiliate of the Nats, making 24 starts and throwing 129 innings. He posted a 4.40 ERA in that time with a 21.4% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 39.8% ground ball rate. The Nats had the worst rotation ERA in the majors in 2022, coming in at 5.97. They’ve signed Trevor Williams to help out but there’s a still a good chance they might have to rely on some depth options throughout the year.
  • The Angels signed right-hander Nash Walters to a minor league contract, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Walters, 26 in May, spent his entire career in the Brewers’ organization until getting sent to the Angels in a September 2022 trade. He made his major league debut with the Halos on the last day of the season, facing three batters, retiring one while surrendering one hit and one walk. His minor league work for 2022 amounted to 53 2/3 innings with a 4.70 ERA, 30.2% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate. He was non-tendered at the end of the year but has returned to the organization without taking up a spot on the 40-man.
  • The Mariners signed right-hander Jose Rodriguez to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Rodriguez, 27, tossed 21 1/3 innings with the Angels over 2019 and 2020, posting a 2.53 ERA in that time. That number looks impressive but came with an unsustainable 100% strand rate and .226 batting average on balls in play. His 14.1% strikeout rate and 13% walk rate suggest he was lucky to allow so few earned runs. He spent 2022 in the Mets’ system, tossing 76 1/3 innings in Triple-A with a 4.95 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate, 10.9% walk rate and 42.2% ground ball rate. If he’s able to crack Seattle’s 40-man roster, he still has two option years remaining and can be moved between the majors and minors with regularity.

Nationals, Taylor Gushue Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have signed catcher Taylor Gushue to a minor league contract, according to the team’s transactions log at MLB.com. The 28-year-old elected minor league free agency after being outrighted off the Cubs 40-man roster at the end of last season.

It’s something of a homecoming for Gushue, who has spent the majority of his career in the Washington organization. Originally selected by the Pirates in the 2014 draft, he was traded to the Nats late during the 2016 campaign for Christopher Bostick. Gushue spent the next few seasons as an upper-level depth piece in the Washington organization. He reached Triple-A late in 2018, then spent the entire 2019 campaign at the minors’ top level. With no minor league season in 2020, Gushue spent the year at the alternate training site before electing minor league free agency.

Last offseason, the switch-hitting backstop inked a minors pact with the Cubs. He spent most of the season with their top affiliate in Iowa but got his first big league call in June. He went hitless in four plate appearances and was placed on waivers not long after, spending the remainder of the season with Iowa after passing through unclaimed. Gushue only has that cup of coffee at the MLB level, but he’s a .269/.326/.449 hitter over parts of three Triple-A campaigns.

The Nationals also inked right-hander Ronald Herrera to a minors pact, according to the transactions tracker. Now 26 years old, Herrera made a pair of MLB appearances with the Yankees in 2017 but hasn’t returned to the highest level since. He spent part of last season in the independent Frontier League and has struggled mightily in a limited look at Triple-A. The Venezuela native has decent numbers as a starter up through Double-A, where he’s worked to a 3.87 ERA with a below-average 19.8% strikeout rate but a stingy 5.9% walk percentage over parts of four seasons.

Rangers Claim Jack Reinheimer; Outright Eddie Butler, Ronald Herrera

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Nov. 22: Butler has rejected his outright assignment and will instead enter free agency, according to Gerry Fraley of SportsDay. Acquired as part of the return for Cole Hamels, Butler’s departure leaves the Rangers with just two players from the Hamels trade still under team control.

Nov. 20: The Rangers announced Tuesday that they’ve claimed infielder Jack Reinheimer off waivers from the Cubs and also outrighted Eddie Butler and Ronald Herrera to Triple-A Nashville after the pair of righties cleared waivers.

Reinheimer, 26, has just 40 big league plate appearances under his belt, most of which came with the Mets in 2018. He’s batted just .143/.250/.143 in the Majors but can play all over the infield. He’s spent parts of three seasons in Triple-A, hitting .278/.343/.371 in 1376 PAs — rather timid production given the hitter-friendly nature of the Pacific Coast League. Reinheimer does have a minor league option remaining, so he can give Texas some infield depth next season.

Butler, 28 in March, was knocked around for a 5.62 ERA in 49 2/3 innings between the Cubs and Rangers in 2018. Texas acquired him as a secondary piece in the trade that sent Cole Hamels to Chicago, but the one-time premium prospect didn’t fare well in his limited time in the big leagues with the Rangers. Butler, the 46th overall pick by the Rockies in 2012, has a career 5.80 ERA in 263 2/3 innings.

Herrera, 23, was traded from the Yankees to the Rangers one year ago to the day in a move intended to create some roster flexibility in New York with the Nov. 20 deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft looming. He didn’t pitch in 2018, though, after experiencing shoulder troubles in Spring Training and ultimately requiring surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right arm.

Rangers Notes: Choo, Andrus, Herrera

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The latest from Arlington…

  • Shin-Soo Choo has been hitting well and could gain some trade buzz at the deadline, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes.  The biggest obstacle, of course, is the approximately $55MM owed to Choo through the 2020 season, though the veteran outfielder has a .267/.375/.450 slash line and 11 homers through 296 PA this season.  While Choo hasn’t been a superstar since inking his seven-year, $130MM deal with Texas, he has generally been a productive bat for the Rangers, hitting .260/.361/.425 during his four-plus years with the club.  He does turn 36 next month, however, and doesn’t bring defensive value in either corner outfielder position.  One would think Texas would have to eat a significant portion of Choo’s contract to make a deal happen.
  • Also from Wilson’s piece, he argues that Elvis Andrus may be best served by not opting out of his contract after the season.  Andrus is owed $58MM through the 2022 season (plus a $15MM club option for 2023), so he’d be leaving a significant guarantee on the table if he opted out to join a potentially-uncertain free agent market.  It could be difficult for Andrus to top that number on the open market, as he turns 30 in August and he has missed almost all of this season due to a fractured elbow.  Wilson also notes that Andrus has a “disdain for the cold,” which could eliminate several big-market northern cities from his potential list of suitors.  Andrus also has an opt-out clause following the 2019 season, so it makes sense for him to stick with the Rangers for another year and then re-evaluate his options after what would hopefully be a healthier and productive 2019 campaign.
  • Ronald Herrera is likely headed for surgery to repair a flexor tendon in his throwing elbow, Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News reports.  The surgery will officially end Herrera’s season, though he hasn’t pitched at all after suffering a shoulder problem during Spring Training; Fraley notes that the elbow issue emerged while Herrera was rehabbing his shoulder in the hopes of a midseason return.  Acquired in a trade from the Yankees last November, Herrera has a 3.60 ERA, 3.16 K/BB rate, and 6.9 K/9 over 627 2/3 career minor league innings in the New York, San Diego, and Oakland farm systems, with 112 of his 120 career games coming as a starting pitcher.  Herrera made his MLB debut last season, tossing three innings for the Yankees.

Rangers Notes: Free Agency, Pitching Health, Profar

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Though some have wondered whether the Rangers could make a late play for one of the remaining free agents, GM Jon Daniels said today that isn’t in the cards, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Texas could surely stand to add another pitcher, with both Alex Cobb and Greg Holland seeming to make sense to varying degrees, but Daniels made clear he does not anticipate any significant new acquisitions.

More from Texas:

  • Pitching health is always a big factor and will be of particular importance for a Rangers club that is in need of strong performances from all around the staff. Martin Perez is nearing his return to competitive pitching, which seems to bode well for his availability fairly early on in the upcoming campaign. But there are some other depth hits that are already apparent. Clayton Blackburn has been diagnosed with a UCL sprain. It seems he’s going to try to rest up and resume throwing, suggesting it’s not an extensive tear, though he won’t even attempt to begin ramping back up for another four to six weeks and could yet become a candidate for surgery. Meanwhile, veteran Jon Niese is dealing with a sub scapularis muscle strain that seems to pose some uncertainties to his future and Ronald Herrera will miss at least half the season owing to labrum inflammation.
  • There was one positive development on the pitching front, at least. Late-inning reliever Keone Kela was able to get back on the bump after a week-and-a-half layoff, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes. It seems as if there are still some kinks left to be ironed out, but that Kela could get back on track to be ready for Opening Day. That said, manager Jeff Banister noted that the organization will need to see how his balky shoulder responds to the outing over the next several days.
  • In one non-pitching note, Daniels also made clear that the plan is for Jurickson Profar to make the active roster and function as the team’s reserve infielder. It’s not difficult to imagine the former top prospect carving out a fairly significant role if he plays well, even if the presumptive regulars around the diamond are healthy and productive. After all, there’ll be a need to spread around some rest and the switch-hitting Profar could contribute in a number of different ways. It had seemed likely that Profar would be dealt at the outset of the offseason, but the out-of-options 25-year-old will get one more chance to stick in the majors in Texas.

Players Added To The 40-Man Roster

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As detailed earlier this morning at MLBTR, the deadline for Major League clubs to add players to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from next month’s Rule 5 Draft is tonight. Because of that, there will be literally dozens of moves between now and 8pm ET as teams make final determinations on who to protect and who to risk losing in next month’s Rule 5 draft. This process will lead to smaller-scale trades, waiver claims and DFAs, but for some clubs the only necessary moves will simply be to select the contracts of the prospects they wish to place on the 40-man roster. We’ll track those such moves in this post…

Click to check in on other teams that have selected players to their 40-man rosters …

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Rangers Acquire Ronald Herrera From Yankees

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The Rangers are set to acquire right-hander Ronald Herrera from the Yankees, reports MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (on Twitter). The two teams announced the trade shortly thereafter, revealing that lefty Reiver Sanmartin is going to the Yankees in return. Herrera was on the Yankees’ 40-man roster and will thus be added to the Rangers’ 40-man roster as well.

The Yankees entered the day with just three open 40-man spots and several players worthy of 40-man consideration, while the Rangers had a whopping 10 spots on their 40-man roster they can fill before tonight’s deadline to set rosters in advance of the Rule 5 Draft. Shipping Herrera to the Rangers vacates one of those spots and paves way for another player to be protected to the Rule 5 Draft.

The 22-year-old Herrera was initially signed by the A’s back in 2011 but went to the Padres as part of the trade that sent Kyle Blanks to Oakland in 2014. More recently, the Padres traded him to the Yankees in exchange for Jose Pirela. The 22-year-old Herrera cruised through three minor league levels this season, pitching to a 1.91 ERA with 6.8 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9 in 75 1/3 innings (14 starts).

[Related: Updated Texas Rangers and New York Yankees depth charts]

Herrera made his big league debut with the Yanks but tossed just three innings, allowing two runs with three strikeouts against one walk. Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen tweets that Herrera is a potential back-of-the-rotation arm, featuring a low 90s heater with an above-average changeup and fringier breaking pitches. For a Rangers club in dire need of rotation options, he’s a welcome addition.

As for Sanmartin, the Colombian-born 21-year-old spent the 2017 season in A-ball and tossed 66 innings with a 2.41 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 1.2 BB/9 in 66 frames. Sanmartin made 11 starts in addition to three relief appearances. Longenhagen tweets that he sits in the upper 80s with his fastball and has an average changeup and slider, pegging Sanmartin as a reliever or a fifth/sixth starter. Sanmartin signed with the Rangers as a 19-year-old in 2015, so he still has another year before he needs to be considered for the 40-man roster.

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