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Sam Freeman

Royals Sign Sam Freeman To Minor League Deal

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The Royals announced this afternoon they’ve signed lefty reliever Sam Freeman to a minor league contract. The club didn’t specify whether the deal included an invitation to big league Spring Training.

Freeman has appeared in parts of nine MLB seasons. The Texas native broke in with the Cardinals in 2012 and spent the next few seasons as a situational option in St. Louis. While Freeman didn’t post particularly impressive strikeout and walk numbers, he was generally successful at inducing ground balls and keeping runs off the board. Between 2013-15, he posted a 2.74 ERA over 88 2/3 frames between the Cardinals and Rangers, racking up grounders on more than half the balls in play against him during that stretch.

The southpaw didn’t fare well in a brief look with the Brewers in 2016, but he posted a 3.34 ERA with a 55.8% grounder rate in 110 1/3 innings for the Braves between 2017-18. Freeman missed a few more bats than he had earlier in his career during that time, but he walked an alarming 12.6% of batters faced. Released by Atalanta shortly before the start of the 2019 season, he logged minimal MLB action with the Angels and Nationals over the next two years.

Freeman underwent Tommy John surgery late in the 2020 campaign, the second time in his career he’d required that procedure. That cost him all of last season, but he’ll try to work his way back to the majors in Kansas City. The 34-year-old averaged a solid 94.1 MPH on his fastball during his most recent action. He owns a 3.58 ERA over 233 2/3 career big league frames, overcoming a lofty 13.3% walk rate thanks to his success keeping the ball on the ground and avoiding the long ball.

Kansas City has stockpiled veteran bullpen depth via a few non-roster pacts in recent weeks. The Royals also added Arodys Vizcaíno and Colten Brewer on respective minors contracts earlier this month. They’re obviously barred from acquiring major league free agents during the course of the lockout, but they’re likely to target additional bullpen arms with more certainty whenever the transactions freeze comes to a close.

Javy Guerra, Sam Freeman Elect Free Agency

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The Nationals announced that relievers Javy Guerra and Sam Freeman have cleared outright waivers and elected free agency.

After signing minor league contracts with the Nationals over the winter, neither the 34-year-old Guerra nor Freeman, 33, saw a ton of action with the club. Guerra threw 15 2/3 innings of 4.02 ERA/4.53 FIP ball and posted 7.47 K/9 against 4.02 BB/9. The left-handed Freeman allowed just two hits and one run over five innings, but he also issued seven walks and then underwent Tommy John surgery in September.

Guerra will now return to free agency as the owner of a 3.73 ERA/3.99 FIP with 7.31 K/9 and 3.58 BB/9 in 296 2/3 innings. Freeman has amassed 233 2/3 major league frames and recorded a 3.58 ERA/4.01 FIP and 8.94 K/9 against 5.24 BB/9, but he’s unlikely to pitch next year in light of his procedure.

Sam Freeman Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Nationals’ reliever Sam Freeman underwent Tommy John Surgery earlier this summer, manager Dave Martinez told reporters (including Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). The southpaw has been out since August 12 with a flexor strain.

Freeman went under the knife on August 19, relays Jessica Camerato of MLB.com. Given that timeline, it’s likely he won’t be able to return to game action until 2022. Fortunately, the initial stages of the recovery have gone well, Martinez added.

It’s a devastating blow for the 33-year-old Freeman, who underwent the same procedure as a prospect back in 2010. He has seen big league action every year since 2012 but combined for just seven innings over the past two seasons. Freeman only allowed one run in seven appearances for the Nats this season, although his seven walks against six strikeouts hinted at potential forthcoming regression.

Freeman is eligible for arbitration this offseason, but he’s a slam dunk to be non-tendered. He could look to lock on with another club on a minor-league deal this winter or attempt to rehab on his own and explore a deal when he’s further along in his recovery.

Nationals Activate Will Harris, Place Sam Freeman On Injured List

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The Nationals have announced a pair of corresponding bullpen moves. Righty Will Harris, who had been sidelined with a groin injury, was activated from the injured list.

To create an active roster opening, the Nats placed southpaw Sam Freeman on the IL. He suffered a flexor mass strain in last night’s contest. Manager Dave Martinez explained that understanding the full scope of the injury will have to await further examination.

While it’s disappointing to lose Freeman after he made seven scoreless appearances, the Nationals are surely glad to have Harris back in the fold. Soon to turn 36, Harris inked a sizable deal in the offseason. He has to this point taken the ball only twice in D.C.

NL East Notes: Nationals, Mets, Braves

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Nationals star Stephen Strasburg missed the beginning of the season with a nerve issue in his right hand, but it didn’t shelve him for long. The reigning World Series MVP made his season debut last Sunday, though the Orioles roughed him up for five earned runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. It turns out that Strasburg may not have been at full strength during that outing, as manager Dave Martinez revealed Wednesday (via Byron Kerr of MASNsports.com) that the 32-year-old is still dealing with tingling in his hand. “I was a little bit concerned,” admitted Martinez, who added that “we will definitely have to keep an eye on it.” Strasburg’s scheduled to face Baltimore again on Friday, at least for now.

  • Oft-injured Mets infielder Jed Lowrie will undergo injections in his ailing left knee, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets. The Mets won’t have a timeline for a potential 2020 debut for Lowrie until they see how those injections affect him. At this point, though, it’s clear the Mets can’t count on Lowrie to emerge as a late-season reinforcement. The club’s decision to sign him to a two-year, $20MM contract before 2019 has been an abject failure, as Lowrie has appeared in just nine games since.
  • The Braves aren’t expecting either second baseman Ozzie Albies or first baseman Matt Adams to return next week, manager Brian Snitker said Wednesday (via David O’Brien of The Athletic). Both players have been on the injured list since Aug. 5 (Albies for a wrist issue, Adams for a hamstring problem), though Albies is obviously the more important member of the club. After all, Albies turned in terrific seasons in 2018 and ’19 as a full-timer in the Braves’ lineup. They’ve primarily gone to Johan Camargo and Adeiny Hechavarria at the keystone in Albies’ absence.
  • Southpaw reliever Sam Freeman left the Nationals’ loss to the Mets on Wednesday with a flexor strain, Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic relays. There’s “a level of concern” over the injury, per Martinez, especially because Freeman underwent Tommy John surgery in the past. Freeman, whom the Nats signed to a minor league contract in free agency, has tossed five scoreless innings for them this year.

Nationals Select Bonifacio, Freeman, Guerra

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The Nationals have selected three veteran players to their 40-man roster in anticipation of setting an Opening Day roster, as the Talk Nats blog first reported on Twitter. Utilityman Emilio Bonifacio, lefty Sam Freeman, and righty Javy Guerra are all slated to join the 30-man active unit.

It comes as no surprise that the defending World Series champs would call upon a group of grizzled vets to help fill out the 30-man roster to open the season. Whether any of these players will stick for the long haul or carve out significant roles remains to be seen; each has struggled to hang onto a MLB roster spot of late.

Bonifacio, 35, has been around the block more than a few times, appearing with eight teams (including the Nats) over 11 MLB seasons. He hasn’t appeared in the bigs since 2017 but had a solid showing last year at Triple-A and hit well in Spring Training.

Freeman (five teams) and Guerra (six) have also bounced around quite a bit over their time in the majors. The former spent most of 2019 in the minors but was a useful contributor to the Braves in the two prior seasons. The latter threw 67 2/3 MLB innings last year, most of them in D.C., compiling a 4.66 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9.

Nationals Sign JB Shuck, Sam Freeman To Minor League Deals

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The Nationals announced a slate of minor league deals and non-roster invites to Spring Training, including previously unreported pacts with outfielder JB Shuck and left-handed reliever Sam Freeman.

Shuck, notably, is now being listed as an outfielder/left-handed pitcher. The 32-year-old journeyman began an attempt to convert to a two-way player last May after being outrighted to Triple-A by the Pirates. Shuck wound up tossing 20 innings — 19 in Triple-A and one scoreless frame in the Majors — and allowed eight runs for a combined 3.60 ERA. But while Shuck only allowed 16 hits in those 20 frames and managed to rack up 23 strikeouts, he also issued 18 walks and hit a pair of batters. Those types of control issues are fairly common for position players as they transition to the mound, and Shuck will look to improve upon them in 2020.

Turning to his longstanding role as an outfielder, Shuck is capable of playing all three slots and has batted .243/.296/.314 in just shy of 1300 plate appearances. He’s been a solid bat in Triple-A, evidenced by a career .292/.365/.392 slash at that level. It’s a long shot that Shuck is able to successfully reinvent himself as a fourth outfielder/reliever, but if he can do so, he’ll be an increasingly valuable asset in light of today’s newly implemented changes to roster construction at the MLB level. Taking a look in Spring Training, of course, won’t cost the Nats anything.

As for the 32-year-old Freeman, he finished out the 2019 season in the Nationals organization after signing a minor league deal, but he didn’t appear in the big leagues with them. Freeman pitched only two innings in the Majors last season (both with the Angels), and he was torched in 52 2/3 frames with the Halos’ Triple-A affiliate. He tossed six shutout innings with an 11-to-1 K/BB ratio with Washington’s top affiliate, though, and is still not far removed from a 2017 season that saw him log a 2.55 ERA/3.34 FIP in 60 innings with the Braves. In 228 2/3 innings at the big league level, Freeman has a 3.62 ERA with averages of 8.9 strikeouts, 5.1 walks and 0.7 homers per nine innings pitched.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/21/19

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Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Nationals have agreed to a minor-league deal with left-handed pitcher Sam Freeman, according to Mark Zuckerman of MASN. He’ll report to Triple-A Fresno. Though he was a mainstay in Braves bullpens over the last two years, he has only appeared in one big league game in 2019. He could very well get a chance to boost that number with the Washington organization, which has sorely lacked a lefty out-getter this season. In 35 games with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate, he has a 7.01 ERA over 52 2/3 innings.
  • After the Giants designated him for assignment, Rule 5 selection Travis Bergen has cleared waivers and will return to his former organization, the Blue Jays. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Buffalo as he makes his return to the team that drafted him in 2015. Bergen, a left-handed reliever, got into 21 games for the Giants this year and compiled a 5.49 ERA in his first taste of the big leagues. Between two levels of the minors in 2018, he posted a 0.95 ERA while striking out 74 batters in 56 2/3 innings.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/29/19

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Here’s the day’s lone minor MLB roster move of note:

  • The Angels have outrighted lefty Sam Freeman, per the team’s transactions page. It is not yet known whether the 31-year-old will accept or reject the assignment to Triple-A; he has the service time to make his own election. Freeman made just one appearance after being selected recently to the MLB roster. He continued to dish out a worrying number of walks, as he had in his initial action at Triple-A. Freeman has always battled with the free passes, though that issue hasn’t prevented him from throwing 228 2/3 innings of 3.62 ERA ball at the game’s highest level.

Angels Select Matt Ramsey, Designate Sam Freeman

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The Angels announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Matt Ramsey from Triple-A Salt Lake and designated veteran left-hander Sam Freeman for assignment in order to open spot on the 25-man and 40-man roster.

It’ll be the MLB debut for Ramsey, 29, who is in his first year in the Angels’ system. The journeyman minor league hurler spent the 2018 campaign in the Astros organization, where he pitched to a 2.04 ERA with a 63-to-16 K/BB ratio in 53 innings of relief between Triple-A (47 innings) and a quick stint with Houston’s Rookie-level affiliate (six innings). He’s off to a shaky start in Salt Lake, having allowed seven runs (three earned) on 11 hits and four walks with nine strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings of relief.

Freeman, 31, just made his Angels debut last night, allowing a run on three hits and two walks in two innings of relief. He spent the 2017-18 seasons in the Braves’ bullpen, pitching to a combined 3.34 ERA in 110 1/3 innings. Freeman’s numbers deteriorated across the board in 2018, however, and Atlanta cut him loose during Spring Training. He latched on with the Halos on a minor league deal and posted a 3.00 ERA in nine Triple-A innings, though his 7-to-6 K/BB ratio wasn’t particularly encouraging.

If Freeman clears waivers, he has enough service time to elect free agency, so it’s possible that today’s DFA could spell the end of his time with the organization after just a few weeks.

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