Cardinals Make Several Roster Moves
The Cardinals have made four call-ups from their alternate training site, as left-hander Rob Kaminsky, first baseman John Nogowski, and right-handers Ryan Meisinger and Seth Elledge are all joining the active roster. They will take the roster spots left open by infielder Max Schrock and righties Daniel Ponce de Leon and Junior Fernandez, who are all headed to the alternate site. In addition, left-hander Ricardo Sanchez has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to pain in his throwing elbow.
Ponce de Leon, Fernandez, Sanchez, and even Schrock (in mop-up duty) pitched in last night’s 14-2 loss to the Indians. Ponce de Leon started and lasted only two-thirds of an inning, allowing four runs on four walks and two hits.
This demotion won’t last long, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Ponce De Leon will be back as the 29th man for next weekend’s doubleheader against the Cubs. As for Ponce De Leon’s normal starting spot, however, Johan Oviedo will now take a regular turn in the rotation. Oviedo has made two starts already for the Cards this season, looking solid in posting a 3.60 ERA over 10 innings.
Sanchez’s ominous-sounding injury continues what has already been a difficult year for the 23-year-old, as he missed two weeks in July recovering from a COVID-19 diagnosis. The southpaw did make his big league debut this season, posting a 6.75 ERA over 5 1/3 IP (three games).
Cardinals Select Ryan Meisinger
The Cardinals announced that they’ve selected right-hander Ryan Meisinger‘s contract and optioned first baseman John Nogowski to their alternate site. Nogowski will remain part of their taxi squad.
An 11th-round pick of the Orioles in 2015, Meisinger made his major league debut with the club in 2018 and threw 21 innings of 6.43 ERA/6.30 FIP ball. He was much more successful that year in Triple-A ball, where he notched a matching 2.28 ERA/FIP and posted 11.71 K/9 against 3.26 BB/9. However, the Orioles lost Meisinger on waivers to the Cardinals during the ensuing offseason.
While Meisinger didn’t appear in the majors in his first year as a Cardinal, he did log a 3.09 ERA/4.20 FIP with 10.8 K/9 and 2.57 BB/9 across 35 frames with their Triple-A affiliate. He could get now get his first MLB chance with the organization, which is playing a doubleheader Monday against the Cubs as it seeks to make up games lost because of a coronavirus outbreak.
Minor MLB Transactions: 1/4/19
Rounding up some minor league moves from around baseball…
Latest Transactions
- The Dodgers signed outfielder Cameron Perkins to a minor league deal with an invitation to their big league spring camp, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reports (Twitter link). A sixth-round pick for the Phillies in 2012, Perkins made his big league debut in 2017, posting a .510 OPS over 97 plate appearances for Philadelphia. The Mariners claimed him off waivers last winter and he spent last season in Seattle’s farm system. Perkins has hit .278/.332/.418 over exactly 2800 minor league PA and played all three outfield positions, plus some time at both corner infield slots.
Earlier Today
- The Cardinals have outrighted Ryan Meisinger to Triple-A after the right-hander cleared waivers, the team announced (Twitter link). Meisinger will stay in the organization after being designated for assignment in December to make room on the Cards’ roster for Andrew Miller. The 24-year-old Meisinger made his big league debut last season, posting a 6.43 ERA over 21 innings for the Orioles, and St. Louis claimed him off waivers from the O’s last month.
- The Red Sox have signed right-hander Josh Smith and catcher Oscar Hernandez to minor league deals. the team announced. Both players are among the list of names receiving invitations to Boston’s Major League Spring Training camp. Smith tossed 127 1/3 innings for the Reds and Athletics from 2015-17 but didn’t appear in the majors last season, spending the year at the Triple-A affiliates of the Red Sox and Mariners. Hernandez also spent 2018 with Boston’s Triple-A club in Pawtucket, though his season was marred by a 50-game suspension due to a second positive test for a drug of abuse. Hernandez has a career .251/.329/.424 slash line over 1947 minor league plate appearances, and he appeared in 22 MLB games with the Diamondbacks in 2015-16.
- The Pirates also announced some non-roster invitees to their big league Spring Training camp today, including the addition of right-hander Roberto Gomez on a minor league deal. (John Dreker of PiratesProspects.com had the news on Gomez back in November.) The 29-year-old Gomez has 14 2/3 career MLB innings to his name, all with the Giants over the last two seasons. Over 550 career minor league frames, Gomez has a 3.68 ERA, 6.3 K/9, 2.16 K/BB rate, starting 92 of his 147 career games but seeing increasing usage as a reliever over the last two seasons.
Cardinals Designate Ryan Meisinger For Assignment
The Cardinals announced Friday that they’ve designated right-hander Ryan Meisinger for assignment. His roster spot will go to left-hander Andrew Miller, whose two-year pact with the Cards has now been formally announced.
St. Louis claimed Meisinger off waivers from the Orioles just last week. The righty made his big league debut with Baltimore this past season, pitching to a disappointing 6.43 ERA with a 21-to-10 K/BB ratio in 21 innings out of the Orioles’ bullpen. Meisinger did, however, enjoy a strong year between Double-A and Triple-A, where he pitched to a 3.13 ERA with averages of 10.8 strikeouts and 2.9 walks per nine innings pitched through 46 frames. Meisinger’s 91.1 mph average fastball velocity in the Majors this season checked in well south of the league average, though he still managed a solid 11.4 percent swinging-strike rate in that time.
Cardinals Claim Ryan Meisinger
The Cardinals have claimed righty reliever Ryan Meisinger off waivers from the Orioles, the Baltimore club announced.
Meisinger, 24, cracked the bigs last year for the first time and surrendered six long balls in 21 innings. Still, he has turned in some intriguing numbers at times in the minors. Last year, for instance, he worked to a 3.13 ERA in 46 innings in the upper minors, with 10.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.
Orioles To Select Ryan Meisinger, Paul Fry
The Orioles will select the contracts of right-hander Ryan Meisinger and left-hander Paul Fry on Friday, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). Baltimore has a full 40-man roster, so the O’s will need to make a pair of corresponding moves to accommodate the pair of new additions.
Meisinger, 24, was the Orioles’ 11th-round pick back in 2015. After a solid season in Double-A last year (3.00 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 in 63 innings), he opened the 2018 season for a second stint there but moved up to Triple-A in relatively short order. He’s been lights out in Norfolk since that promotion, tossing 22 innings with a 30-to-5 K/BB ratio and a 2.05 ERA. He wasn’t considered to be among the organization’s top tier of prospects heading into the season, though he’s certainly elevated his stock with a terrific showing so far in Triple-A.
For the 25-year-old Fry, this’ll be his second call to the Majors, though he’s still looking for his first MLB appearance. Baltimore recalled him last April, but he never got into a game in the two days he spent in the Majors. He was outrighted off the 40-man roster later that season.
Like Meisinger, Fry has pitched well between Double-A and Triple-A this season. In a combined 42 1/3 innings of relief, he’s worked to a 3.19 ERA with 12.1 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9. Fry posted a 68.6 percent ground-ball rate in 19 innings of Double-A ball and has a 51.7 percent grounder rate in 23 1/3 innings in Triple-A. He’s allowed just four home runs on the season, and lefties have logged an awful .194/.286/.323 slash against him so far in 2018.