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Stephen Cardullo

Rockies Re-Sign Stephen Cardullo

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The Rockies have reached a new minor-league contract with outfielder/first baseman Stephen Cardullo, per a club announcement. He had been released recently, even as the sides contemplated a new contract.

The 29-year-old Cardullo is expected to miss several months with a fractured wrist. That, evidently, explains the procedural moves; Cardullo will leave the 40-man roster entirely rather than going on the 60-day DL (for reasons that remain unclear). But he’ll still be able to rehab with the organization in hopes of representing an option when he returns to health.

A long-time independent ball player, Cardullo joined the Rockies organization last year and quickly became a fairly notable part of the team’s plans. He has slashed .308/.371/.516 over 483 plate appearances at Triple-A, though he has struggled in brief action at the MLB level.

Rockies Release Stephen Cardullo

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The Rockies have released outfielder/first baseman Stephen Cardullo, as Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports (Twitter links). But the sides are already in discussions on a new minor-league deal to bring Cardullo back into the fold.

Because Cardullo is out for a few months with a broken wrist, the organization has apparently worked out an arrangement with his reps. It’s not entirely clear why he couldn’t simply have been shifted to the 60-day DL, but clearly it sounds like something is being worked out that will be acceptable for all sides regardless.

Cardullo, 29, made a stunning run to the majors last year with Colorado. He had never played above the Rookie ball level before signing with the organization after a four-year indy ball run. But he excelled at Triple-A and soon found himself playing at the game’s highest level.

Though the Rox obviously like what he brings to the table — and the production has been good at Albuquerque — Cardullo hasn’t yet delivered much in his brief time in the majors. Over 91 total plate appearances over the past two years, he owns only a .190/.253/.321 batting line.

Rockies Release Jason Motte

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April 5: The Rockies announced today that they’ve released Motte. He’s free to sign with any club and would only cost his new team the pro-rated portion of the league minimum for any time spent in the Majors, with Colorado remaining on the hook for the rest of his salary.

March 31: The Rockies have designated veteran reliever Jason Motte for assignment, the club announced. Colorado has selected the contract of infieler/outfielder Stephen Cardullo, who’ll take the open 40-man spot.

As the club fills out its roster, it evidently decided to go with Cardullo on the bench over Pat Valaika, who was optioned, and veteran minor-league signee Chris Denorfia, who was reassigned to minor-league camp. Cardullo will presumably help to fill in while Ian Desmond is sidelined.

Motte, 34, simply hasn’t performed as the team hoped when it promised him $10MM over two years over the 2015-16 offseason. The former closer missed time early with rotator cuff issues and ended the first year of that contract with a 4.94 ERA and 9.1 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 over 23 2/3 frames.

While Motte still manage to average a healthy 94 mph with his fastball in 2016, that fell below his typical levels. And things didn’t improve this spring, as he allowed eight earned runs on 14 hits over 8 2/3 innings, recording just five strikeouts against two walks along the way.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/15/16

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Here are some minor moves to start the day:

  • The Tigers added southpaw Anthony Vasquez on a minors pact, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network (via Twitter). Vasquez, 30, made seven rough starts for the Mariners back in 2011 but hasn’t returned to the majors since. He was rather effective in the upper minors last year in the Phillies organization, throwing 172 1/3 innings of 3.08 ERA ball with 6.2 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9.
  • Righty Matt Carasiti and outfielder Stephen Cardullo will each return to the Rockies on minor-league deals that include Spring Training invites, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding tweets. Both were non-tendered recently (though neither was eligible for arbitration) to clear 40-man spots. The 25-year-old Carasiti had an outstanding year at Triple-A, allowing just ten earned runs on thirty hits over 46 innings and carrying a sparkling 48:9 K/BB ratio, but was knocked around in his 19-game MLB debut. As for the 29-year-old Cardullo, who the Rox plucked from indy ball last year, a big showing at Triple-A (.308/.367/.522) earned him a surprise call to the majors. But he struggled in his 59 trips to the plate, logging a .214/.254/.411 slash with two homers.
  • The Athletics have sold the contract of righty Ryan Brasier to the NPB’s Hiroshima Carp, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Now 29, Brasier reached the majors briefly back in 2013 — and also showed nice peripherals at Triple-A that year — but ended up going under the knife for a Tommy John procedure. Last year, he worked at the highest level of the Oakland farm, throwing 60 2/3 innings of 3.56 ERA ball and posting an impressive 10.4 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9.
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