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Pirates Designate Canaan Smith-Njigba, Jackson Wolf, Ali Sánchez For Assignment

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The Pirates announced a series of Opening Day roster moves, selecting the contracts of right-handers Jared Jones, Ryder Ryan and Hunter Stratton. All three of those moves were previously reported. In corresponding 40-man moves, outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba, catcher Ali Sánchez and left-hander Jackson Wolf were designated for assignment.

Smith-Njigba, 25 in April, has clearly been on the margins of the roster in Pittsburgh since this is the second time he’s lost his spot in the past two months. He was designated for assignment in January and claimed off waivers by the Mariners. The Mariners put him back on waivers a couple of weeks later and the Bucs claimed him back. In between those two moves, the 60-day injured list had opened up, allowing the Bucs to put JT Brubaker there and squeeze Smith-Njigba back on, but he’s now been nudged off again.

He has hit .279/.373/.452 in Triple-A over the past two years but has a measly slash of .135/.250/.243 in his 44 major league plate appearances. Given his strong minor league work, which also includes 21 steals last year, he could attract the attention of other clubs. He also has one option year remaining, so a claiming club could keep him stashed in the minors until his services are needed.

Sánchez, 27, signed a major league deal with the club in December but the club’s catching situation has changed since then. In 2023, they largely relied on Endy Rodríguez behind the plate with Henry Davis playing right field. But Rodriguez required UCL surgery in the offseason that is going to keep him out of action for the entire 2024 campaign. This spring, the Bucs moved Davis back behind the plate and also signed Yasmani Grandal for a bit of insurance.

Davis seems to have taken well to moving back behind the plate and is now slated for the lion’s share of the work back there this year. Grandal is starting the season on the IL but the Pirates will roll with Jason Delay as the backup for now. Delay has options and can be sent to Triple-A when Grandal returns. Sánchez is out of options and wouldn’t be in the same position.

Sánchez hit a paltry .125/.263/.125  this spring, which surely didn’t help, and he has just 14 major league plate appearances on his track record. But he’s coming off a strong season in the minors, as he hit .311/.375/.492 for the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A team last year.

Wolf, 25 in April, came over to the Pirates in last year’s deal that sent Ji Man Choi and Rich Hill to the Padres, having made one career start with the Friars. He’s not an overpowering arm, with a fastball that sits in the low 90s, but has nonetheless found some decent results. Between his two clubs last year, he tossed 124 1/3 minor league innings with a 4.13 earned run average, 26.8% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate.

He came into this year as the club’s #21 prospect, per Baseball America, but has been nudged off the roster as guys like Jones, Paul Skenes and others have seemingly jumped ahead of him on the depth chart. He still has a couple of options and could intrigue clubs, especially with starting depth always being in demand.

The Bucs will have one week to find trading partners for Smith Njigba, Sanchez or Wolf or else try to pass them through waivers.

Jared Jones Makes Pirates’ Roster; Jared Triolo Likely To Be Named Second Baseman

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Top pitching prospect Jared Jones has won a spot on the Pirates’ Opening Day roster, the club announced to its beat writers this morning (X link via Alex Stumpf of MLB.com). He’ll likely slot into the team’s rotation. The Bucs will select the contracts of Jones and of right-handers Hunter Stratton and Ryder Ryan (X thread via Stumpf). Pittsburgh will place catcher Yasmani Grandal and infielder/outfielder Ji Hwan Bae on the 10-day injured list to begin the season. Relievers Colin Holderman and Carmen Mlodzinski will open the season on the 15-day IL.

Also making the roster are out-of-options pitchers Bailey Falter, Josh Fleming and Roansy Contreras, as well as outfielder Edward Olivares and righty Luis Ortiz. The Bucs will not carry non-roster invitees Brent Honeywell Jr. and Billy McKinney on the roster to begin the season. Those aren’t the only key roster decisions Pittsburgh has faced this spring; Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that manager Derek Shelton last night called it a “very safe assumption” that Jared Triolo will be the Pirates’ starting second baseman to begin the season.

Jones, 22, was the Pirates’ second-round pick back in 2020 and entered spring training ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects at each of Baseball America (No. 74), MLB.com (No. 62), The Athletic (No. 39), FanGraphs (No. 62) and ESPN (No. 53).

Those rankings come on the heels of a strong 2023 season split between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis, wherein Jones logged a combined 126 1/3 innings of 3.85 ERA ball with a 27.6% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate. The right-hander’s dominant spring showing surely didn’t hurt his chances of making the Opening Day roster; Jones pitched 16 1/3 innings without an earned run during Grapefruit League play, yielding just nine hits against eight walks with 15 punchouts.

The Athletic’s Keith Law writes that Jones has made huge gains with both his heater and his slider since being drafted and now has the potential for three plus pitches. The former two-way standout is an excellent athlete and, as noted by Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin at FanGraphs, has also improved his strike-throwing as he’s shifted his focus solely to pitching. Scouting reports on Jones generally agree that there’d mid-rotation potential, and further improvements to any of his command, curveball or changeup could further boost his upside.

Jones tossed 122 2/3 innings in 2022 and 126 1/3 innings last season. That should set the stage for a decent uptick in his workload this season. The Bucs might still be cautious with him on a start-by-start basis, particularly early in the year, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if a healthy Jones approached or exceeded 150 frames this year. Since he’s a consensus top-100 prospect who’s making the Opening Day roster, his performance this season will particularly important for the Bucs. If Jones wins Rookie of the Year this season or finishes top three in National League Cy Young voting, he could net the Pirates an extra pick in the 2025 draft under the 2022-26 CBA’s newly implemented prospect promotion incentives.

Triolo, 26, made his big league debut in 2023 and spent the bulk of his time at third base, filling in for an injured Ke’Bryan Hayes. That’s Triolo’s natural position, but Hayes is one of MLB’s best defensive players at any position, so Triolo will slide over to second base in what could be his first full big league season. The writing for him winning the second base job was on the wall after the Bucs optioned Liover Peguero and Nick Gonzales — particularly with Bae also banged up (and now headed to the injured list).

In 209 plate appearances last season, Triolo batted .298/.388/.398 — production that was buoyed by an enormous .440 average on balls in play and came in  spite of a grisly 30.1% strikeout rate. The punchouts and good fortune on balls in play have both continued this spring. Triolo has taken 45 plate appearances and batted .325/.400/.525 — excellent surface-level numbers that are propped up by a more suspect .458 BABIP. Couple that with a 31.1% strikeout rate, and his production looks similar to his 2023 output — though this year’s pair of homers in his limited spring playing time is a good sign, as Triolo hit just three long balls in last year’s 209 trips to the plate.

Triolo is a strong defender who draws plenty of walks, which should help set a decent floor for him, but he’ll need to cut down on the strikeouts and/or significantly improve his quality of contact (86.6 mph average exit velocity; 32.8% hard-hit rate) if he’s to sustain much in the way of success at the plate in the majors. Strikeouts were an issue in his first taste of Triple-A work last year (26.5%) but weren’t a problem for him in the lower and mid-minor league levels, so perhaps he’ll drop that rate over a larger sample as he gains more experience. If nothing else, a plus defender at multiple positions with a keen eye at the plate has the makings of a useful utility option, but Triolo will get the opportunity to show he can be more than that right out of the gate in 2024.

The 27-year-old Stratton made his MLB debut with the Bucs in 2023 and pitched 12 innings with three runs on nine hits and three walks. He fanned 10 of his 47 opponents (21.3%) and kept the ball on the ground at a hearty 51.5% rate. He was non-tendered in November but returned on a minors deal two months later. Stratton will now get a second big league look after firing seven shutout frames with a 7-to-2 K/BB ratio this spring.

Ryan, 29 in May, pitched a scoreless frame with the Mariners in 2023. That represents the entirety of his MLB experience. He’s fanned 28.6% of his opponents in 7 2/3 innings for Pittsburgh this spring and done so with a staggering 73.7% ground-ball rate. Ryan has pitched to a sub-4.00 ERA with a strikeout rate north of 24% in each of the past two Triple-A seasons (one with the Mariners and one with the Rangers). The Pirates will give him his first real look in the majors to see if he can carry any of that success over to the game’s top level.

Pirates, Ryder Ryan Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Pirates agreed to a minor league contract with reliever Ryder Ryan, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (X link). He’ll be in MLB camp as a non-roster invitee.

Ryan made his major league debut last season. He pitched once for the Mariners, turning in a scoreless inning with two strikeouts and a walk against Baltimore. The North Carolina product otherwise spent his year with the M’s Triple-A club in Tacoma. He had a nice showing for the Rainiers, working to a 3.76 ERA across 55 innings. The righty punched out just under a quarter of his opponents against a slightly high 9.6% walk rate.

The 28-year-old has appeared in parts of three Triple-A campaigns, allowing 4.24 earned runs per nine in 159 1/3 frames. While Ryan has very little major league experience, he has been of interest to a few teams as a depth arm. Originally drafted by Cleveland, he was dealt to the Mets for Jay Bruce in 2017 and flipped to Seattle in 2020 as the player to be named later in a Todd Frazier deal.

Seattle outrighted Ryan from the 40-man roster last month. He became a minor league free agent, setting the stage for him to join a fourth organization of his career. The Bucs had a middling relief group, finishing 19th with a 4.22 ERA and 14th with a 23.7% strikeout percentage.

Mariners Outright Ryder Ryan

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The Mariners announced this afternoon that right-handed reliever Ryder Ryan has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A. There had been no previous indication that Ryan was on waivers. The move puts him in line to become a minor league free agent.

Ryan was drafted by the Guardians twice, first out of high school in 2014, and again in 2016 after his sophomore year at the University of North Carolina. He signed with Cleveland the second time around and made his professional debut that summer. After a year in the Guardians system, the righty packed his bags for New York, heading to the Mets in return for veteran slugger Jay Bruce. He rose through the ranks with his new organization, reaching Double-A in 2019. 

In 2020, Ryan was traded once again, this time to the Rangers in exchange for Todd Frazier. He spent the next two seasons at Triple-A Round Rock, pitching to a 4.49 ERA in 85 appearances out of the bullpen. After the 2022 campaign, Ryan signed a minor league deal with the Mariners, with whom he finally earned his first taste of major league action. He was selected to the 40-man roster in August, and at 28 years old, he made his big league debut, pitching a single scoreless inning against the Orioles. The righty was optioned shortly after that.

Ryan will be eligible to elect minor league free agency, although it’s certainly possible he’ll return to the Mariners organization in 2024. Under the provisions of his last contract, he opted out of his first deal with the Mariners in June, only to re-sign with the team two days later. Two months after that, it was Seattle that gave him his first chance to pitch in the show.

Mariners Claim Ryan Jensen, Release Matt Festa

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August 9: The Mariners announced that Festa has indeed cleared waivers and become a free agent.

August 8, 9:56pm: Festa’s transaction log at MLB.com indicates he has been placed on release waivers, as required. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll be a free agent later in the week.

3:20pm: The Mariners announced a series of transactions today, claiming right-hander Ryan Jensen off waivers from the Cubs and recalling righty Ryder Ryan from Triple-A. Jensen will report to Triple-A Tacoma. Righty Bryan Woo was placed on the 15-day injured list with right forearm inflammation, retroactive to August 5, while righty Matt Festa was designated for assignment in corresponding moves.

Jensen, 25, was a first-round pick of the Cubs, getting selected 27th overall in 2019. He quickly became considered one of the top 10 prospects in the club’s system though his stock has fallen since then thanks to some mediocre results.

After the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues in 2020, Jensen split 2021 between High-A and Double-A with a 4.16 ERA. Last year, he made 17 Double-A starts with a 4.25 ERA, striking out 23.2% of batters faced while walking 15.1% of them. Nonetheless, the Cubs still had enough belief in him to give him a 40-man roster spot in November, to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.

Here in 2023, things haven’t gone much better. He made six Double-A starts at the beginning of the year but had a 5.31 ERA in those. In early May, he was moved to the bullpen and has since been promoted to Triple-A, but he has a combined 6.06 ERA in 32 2/3 innings since that time. He has struck out 26.2% of opponents since that bullpen move but given free passes at a 17.7% rate.

It had not been publicly reported that the Cubs removed Jensen from their roster, but they evidently tried to quietly sneak him through waivers with the M’s swooping in to snap him up. They will presumably try to get him to rein in his recent control issues and get him back on a good track.

In order to grab Jensen, the M’s are risking losing Festa, who has now been removed from the roster. He has 89 major league appearances from 2019 to the present season, posting a 4.32 ERA in those. He struck out 29.2% of batters faced last year but also allowed 10 home runs and finished the year with a 4.17 ERA.

Here in 2023, he’s spent most of the season in Triple-A, with a 0.53 ERA in 34 innings. That’s come with a .114 batting average on balls in play and 91.9% strand rate, both of which are unsustainable. His 21.9% strikeout rate and 12.5% walk rate are both subpar, leading to a 4.81 FIP at that level.

According to his transactions tracker at MLB.com, he was placed on the minor league injured list last week. Since injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers and the trade deadline has passed, Festa should be released in the coming days. He’ll be out of options next year but has less than two years of service time, meaning he could be controlled for five future seasons by a club that gives him a roster spot.

Ryan, 28, was just added to the club’s 40-man roster last week. Despite getting that roster spot, they kept him in the minors initially though he will now get a chance to make his major league debut. He’s thrown 40 2/3 innings in Triple-A this year with a 3.54 ERA, 23.3% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 46% ground ball rate.

As for Woo, the severity of his injury isn’t known, but this sheds some light on the earlier report that the M’s are promoting pitching prospect Emerson Hancock. It had been speculated by some that the club could potentially use a six-man rotation for a while, but now it seems a more straightforward situation where Hancock will step in for Woo.

Mariners Add Ryder Ryan To 40-Man Roster

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The Mariners announced they’ve selected reliever Ryder Ryan onto the 40-man roster. He was immediately optioned to Triple-A Tacoma, so he’ll have to wait a little longer for his first MLB call. Seattle had an opening on the 40-man after designating Kolten Wong for assignment on Tuesday.

Ryan, 28, has spent seven years in the minors. Originally a 30th-round draft choice by Cleveland in 2016, he’s been traded twice. The right-hander went to the Mets at the ’17 deadline in the Jay Bruce deal and to the Rangers over the 2020-21 offseason as the player to be named later in the Todd Frazier swap. Ryan spent two years in Triple-A with Texas but never cracked the big league club and became a minor league free agent last winter.

The North Carolina product signed a minor league pact with Seattle. He’s spent the season in Tacoma, working to a 3.72 ERA through 38 2/3 innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Ryan has solid if unspectacular peripherals — a 23% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk percentage and 48.4% grounder rate.

It’s unclear what spurred the M’s to select his contract without immediately bringing him to the MLB roster. Speculatively, it’s possible his minor league deal had contained an opt-out provision that required them to do so or allow him to head back to free agency. In any case, getting added to the 40-man gives him a good chance at securing a big league look down the stretch.

Rangers Acquire Ryder Ryan From Mets As PTBNL From Todd Frazier Swap

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The Rangers announced Friday that they’ve acquired minor league right-hander Ryder Ryan from the Mets as the player to be named later from the Aug. 31 trade that sent Todd Frazier to New York.

Ryan, 25, was a 30th-round pick back in 2016 who landed with the Mets in the 2017 Jay Bruce trade. He pitched at the Double-A level with the Mets in both 2018 and 2019, working to a combined 3.51 ERA with 8.9 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and 0.82 HR/9 in 77 innings — primarily as a reliever. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked Ryan 24th among Mets farmhands prior to the 2019 season, calling him a potential middle reliever with a consistently average or better breaking ball.

Ryan doesn’t factor prominently into any current ranking of the Mets’ top farmhands, but the Frazier swap still didn’t work out as the now-former front office regime hoped. The veteran Frazier struggled in his return to Queens, hitting .224/.255/.388 in just 51 plate appearances. His 2021 club option was bought out at season’s end, making him a free agent.

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