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Taylor Motter

Cardinals Select Taylor Motter; Option Juan Yepez, Génesis Cabrera And JoJo Romero

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The Cardinals have made several roster moves, per their transactions tracker at MLB.com. Infielder Taylor Motter has been selected to the club’s 40-man roster, while infielder/outfielder Juan Yepez and lefties Génesis Cabrera and JoJo Romero were optioned to the minors. The Cardinals already opened up a spot on their 40-man roster last week when right-hander Freddy Pacheco was lost on waivers to the Tigers, meaning a corresponding move won’t be necessary for the addition of Motter.

Motter, 33, is a veteran journeyman utility guy, who has appeared in 161 major league games scattered over five different seasons. He’s spent time with the Rays, Mariners, Twins, Rockies, Red Sox and Reds. In that time, he’s hit .191/.262/.309 for a wRC+ of 55. With Cincy last year, he got into just two major league games, spending most of his time in Triple-A. He was released in July and then latched on with Atlanta via a minor league deal. Between the two organizations, he got into 81 Triple-A games and hit .254/.357/.523, wRC+ of 129.

Though he doesn’t have much of a track record of success hitting MLB pitching, Motter certainly can provide defensive versatility, having played every position on the diamond except for center field and catcher. That seemed to give him an edge on a roster spot when shortstop Paul DeJong suffered some back tightness that is going to have him start the season on the injured list. That left the club a bit light in the middle infield behind shortstop Tommy Edman and second baseman Brendan Donovan. Nolan Gorman can play second but doesn’t really play short, so Motter will give the club a bit of extra protection.

The optioning of Yepez comes as a bit of a surprise, as he hit 12 home runs in his 76-game debut last year, leading to a .253/.296/.447 batting line and a 109 wRC+. However, unlike Motter, he’s somewhat limited defensively, as he can only play the corner positions. Since the Cards have Nolan Arenado at third and Paul Goldschmidt at first, Yepez would be limited to the designated hitter spot and some corner outfield work, where his defense was graded poorly last year. The outfield is also getting pretty crowded, with Tyler O’Neill, Lars Nootbaar and Dylan Carlson set to return and prospect Jordan Walker looking like he will make the team, though nothing had been made official there. It seems Yepez would have had a limited path to playing time in the big leagues and will instead get some regular at-bats in the minors.

The optioning of Cabrera is also somewhat surprising, given his track record. In 2021, he made 71 appearances in 2021 with a 3.73 ERA, striking out 26.0% of batters faced. His 12.2% walk rate was certainly on the high side, but it was a strong campaign nonetheless. In 2022, he dropped his walk rate to 10.3% but his strikeouts also vanished, dropping to 16.5% and leading to a 4.63 ERA. Despite that rough year last year, he was having a nice performance here in Spring Training, throwing seven innings with seven punchouts, no walks and a 2.57 ERA. But that evidently wasn’t enough to get him a nod for the Opening Day roster.

Romero, 26, came over from the Phillies in the Edmundo Sosa trade. He has a 6.25 ERA in 36 MLB innings thus far in his career. His option doesn’t come as a shock, but with him and Cabrera out of the picture, it seems possible that Zack Thompson and Packy Naughton might be the club’s lefty relief options to open the season.

As mentioned, today’s moves won’t require a corresponding move to open up a 40-man roster spot for Motter. However, if Walker is indeed going to make the team like many expect, he will need a spot in the coming days.

Cardinals Notes: Montgomery, Barrera, Knizner, Bullpen, Motter

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Cardinals left-hander Jordan Montgomery, a free agent after the season, is open to an extension that’d keep him in St. Louis but suggests to John Denton of MLB.com that he prefers not to negotiate once the regular season has commenced (Twitter thread). It’s a common stance for players to take during spring training, which is typically the most active time of the year on the extension market.

Montgomery, 30, joined the Cardinals last summer in a deadline swap that sent center fielder Harrison Bader to the Yankees. The left-hander was excellent following the trade, working to a sharp 3.11 ERA with an improved 23.9% strikeout rate, a 5.4% walk rate and a 49.7% grounder rate that tops any mark he posted during his time in the Bronx. Montgomery missed nearly the entire 2019 season due to Tommy John surgery but has since returned and reestablished himself as a quality big league hurler. He’s made 62 starts over the past two seasons, recording a 3.65 ERA and identical 3.65 FIP in 335 2/3 innings. The Cardinals seemingly have some extra motivation to keep Montgomery, as Adam Wainwright will retire after the season while Montgomery, Miles Mikolas and Jack Flaherty are all free agents. Steven Matz is the only established starter that St. Louis controls beyond 2023.

More on the Cards…

  • The Cardinals have a two-man race to back up newly signed catcher Willson Contreras, with incumbent backup Andrew Knizner and non-roster invitee Tres Barrera jostling for the role. To this point, Knizner has received more playing time during official spring games, but he’s just 4-for-42 and has yet to connect on an extra-base hit. Barrera has just 18 plate appearances, and while he’s gone 2-for-12 in official spring contests, one of those hits was a home run and he’s also drawn six walks (making for an odd .167/.444/.500 slash line). The Cardinals haven’t made a decision yet, but manager Oli Marmol acknowledged to Denton this week that, “In this short period of time, Barrera has clearly outperformed Knizner — I can’t disagree with that.” The Cardinals will factor more than a handful of at-bats from each player into the equation, but Marmol voiced a general desire to be able to get more offense from the backup catcher position. The 28-year-old Barrera has just 162 MLB plate appearances and is a .231/.317/.315 hitter in that time. He’s a .251/.332/.388 hitter in the minors. Knizner has slashed a combined .204/.292/.288 in 553 MLB plate appearances across parts of four seasons with the Cards. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat suggests that Knizner could be a candidate to be flipped elsewhere if another club in need of a backup reaches out to the Cardinals.
  • Left-hander Anthony Misiewicz was optioned to Triple-A Memphis today, the team announced. Following that cut, the Cardinals have Genesis Cabrera, Zack Thompson, Packy Naughton, JoJo Romero and non-roster invitee Andrew Suarez as possible lefties in Marmol’s bullpen. Thompson and Suarez have been outstanding this spring, with neither allowing a run through 9 1/3 innings and eight innings, respectively. Suarez isn’t on the 40-man roster, however, which could work against him early in the season. Cabrera is the most experienced of the bunch in terms of MLB service time and is earning a $950K salary this season, but he does have a minor league option remaining — as do Thompson (two), Naughton (one) and Romero (one). Suarez would also have one minor league option year left, if selected to the roster.
  • With Paul DeJong expected to begin the season on the injured list, it’s increasingly likely that veteran utilityman Taylor Motter will win a roster spot with the Cardinals, tweets Jones. As Jones writes at greater length, Motter’s solid spring, defensive versatility and remaining minor league option make him a candidate to win a spot on the Cardinals’ bench. The Cards have given Motter a hefty 55 plate appearances in Grapefruit League play thus far, and he’s responded with a .234/.345/.426 batting line, three homers, three steals and a 13-to-8 K/BB ratio. Top prospect Masyn Winn is still in camp and has turned plenty of heads, but he just turned 21 two days ago and has yet to play a game in Triple-A. The Cards surely want him to log everyday at-bats that probably wouldn’t be present at the big league level with a crowded infield mix.

Minor League Moves: Hartlieb, Koch, Motter

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The Marlins added pitcher Geoff Hartlieb to a minor league deal, per Baseball America’s minor league transactions page. Harltlieb, 29 next week, pitched for Boston’s Triple-A affiliate in 2022, tossing 61 innings of 5.16 ERA ball. He appeared in the big leagues for the Pirates and briefly the Mets, throwing 66 1/3 innings across three seasons with a 7.46 ERA. He had a slightly below average 20.5% strikeout rate against a 14.4% walk rate.

Here’s some other minor league signings from around the sport:

  • Matt Koch has landed a deal with the Rockies for 2023. The 32-year-old pitched a handful of innings for the Mariners in 2022, but spent most of the year at Triple-A, tossing 38 1/3 innings of 3.05 ERA ball. He spent four seasons in Arizona, throwing 129 2/3 innings of 5.00 ERA ball across 16 starts and 20 relief appearances. He doesn’t walk many batters, but doesn’t strikeout many either, averaging just five per nine innings across his big league career.
  • The Braves re-signed Brooks Wilson and Alan Rangel to minor league deals. Wilson, 26, largely worked as a reliever at Double-A, tossing 44 innings with a 2.45 ERA while striking out 14.9 batters per nine innings. He made a handful of appearances at Triple-A, and should start the year there in 2023. Rangel, 25, made 26 starts at Double-A, working to a 5.81 ERA across 114 2/3 innings.
  • The White Sox brought back 30-year-old outfielder Mark Payton. He appeared in just eight games in the big leagues this year, tallying three hits in 25 plate appearances. He had a strong season at Triple-A, hitting .293/.369/.539 with 25 home runs. He’s yet to translate that to the majors though, and has a lifetime .164/.261/.180 line in 40 games for the Reds and White Sox since his 2020 debut.
  • Daniel Duarte re-signed with the Reds for 2023. Celebrating his 26th birthday tomorrow, Duarte spent most of the season on the injured list, but appeared in three games for the Reds in 2022, giving up three runs in 2 2/3 innings. At Triple-A, he worked to a 9.39 ERA across 7 2/3 innings.
  • The Athletics added right-handed pitcher Jasseel De La Cruz to a minor league pact. The 25-year-old was signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Braves, and came up through their system as a solid pitching prospect. He struggled with injury in 2022, tossing just 26 1/3 innings in total, with 12 1/3 of those coming at Triple-A. There, he had an 8.03 ERA across seven appearances.
  • The Padres brought back Mexican pitcher Efrain Contreras on a minor league deal. The 22-year-old made 17 starts at High-A in 2022, working to a 5.74 ERA across 53 1/3 innings. While those numbers don’t look promising, he has averaged 10.2 strikeouts and 2.8 walks per nine innings across three seasons in the minor leagues.
  • Utilityman Taylor Motter has joined the Cardinals for the upcoming season. Motter, 32, has appeared in the big leagues for six different teams since 2016, hitting a combined .191/.262/.309 with ten home runs. He’s appeared at every defensive position outside of catcher and center field, but primarily handles the middle-infield spots. He made a handful of appearances for the Reds in 2022, but spent most of the year at Triple-A where he slashed .254/.357/.523 with 20 home runs for the Reds’ and Braves’ affiliates.
  • Puerto Rican shortstop Shawn Ross and the Pirates agreed to a minor league contract for the 2023 season. Ross, 22, played for Grand Junction in Independent ball in 2022, hitting 280/.408/.614 with 24 home runs.

Cardinals Sign Óscar Mercado, Four Others To Minor League Deals

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The Cardinals announced that they have signed five players to minor league deals: outfielder Óscar Mercado, infielders Taylor Motter and Juniel Querecuto, left-hander Kenny Hernandez and right-hander Logan Sawyer.

Mercado, 28 next month, is the most notable of the bunch. This signing returns him to the organization where he began his professional career, as the Cardinals drafted him in the second round back in 2013. He was traded to Cleveland in 2018 and then seemed to have an incredible breakout season in 2019. He got into 115 games that year, hitting 15 home runs and producing a batting line of .269/.318/.443. Because that was the “juiced ball” season, that production was actually just barely below league average according to his 98 wRC+. However, he also stole 15 bases and provided quality center field defense, allowing him to produce 2.2 fWAR on the year.

Since he was only 24 at the time, it seemed fair to think that even better things would be ahead for Mercado and he could be a foundational piece in Cleveland. Unfortunately, hit bat has wilted in the subsequent seasons. Since the end of 2019, Mercado has hit just .200/.258/.330 for a wRC+ of 62. After burning his option years, the Guardians designated him for assignment in 2022. He was claimed by the Phillies but then designated again after just a single game. The Guardians then claimed him and brought him back, but designated him a second time shortly thereafter.

After finally clearing waivers, Mercado ended up getting into 49 Triple-A games and fared much better, hitting .281/.363/.449. That amounted to a wRC+ of 117, indicating he was 17% above league average. He also stole nine bases in that short amount of time, indicating that the baserunning part of his game is still present, though he was also caught four times.

As Mercado showed in 2019, even with offense around league average, he can be a valuable player due to contributions from his glove and his wheels. If the Cardinals can coax that out of him, they can control him cheaply for years to come since Mercado has yet to reach arbitration eligibility. He’ll have to earn his way onto the roster first, of course, but the Cards’ outfield looks much less settled than it did a year ago. Harrison Bader was traded to the Yankees, Tyler O’Neill was injured for much of 2022 and Dylan Carlson’s bat took a step back relative to the year before. That means the door’s open for Mercado to enter the club’s plans on the grass, next to O’Neill, Carlson and Lars Nootbaar.

As for the rest of the signings, Motter is the only one with more than four games of MLB experience. The journeyman infielder was in the big leagues from 2016 to 2018 and then the past two seasons, with a trip to the KBO in between. In terms of his time in MLB, he’s gotten into 161 games split between the Rays, Mariners, Twins, Rockies, Red Sox and Reds. He hasn’t hit much in that stretch but has enough versatility to have played every defensive position except for catcher and center field.

Braves Sign Taylor Motter To Minor League Deal

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In a move that slipped past MLBTR’s radar at the time, the Braves signed Taylor Motter to a minor league contract last week. The utilityman had been released from a minor league pact with the Reds in mid-July, according to his transactions log at MLB.com.

Motter, 32, has been assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett with Atlanta. He’s spent the bulk of the year with the Reds top affiliate in Louisville, hitting .250/.340/.462 with eight home runs in 39 games. He walked at a strong 12.4% clip there while striking out at a roughly league average rate. Motter briefly earned a call to the majors as a virus substitute when the Reds played a series in Toronto, appearing in two games and collecting a hit in six at-bats.

That marked the fifth year in which the righty-swinging Motter has picked up some MLB time. He’s tallied 446 career plate appearances, hitting .191/.262/.309 with ten longballs and 13 stolen bases. The Coastal Carolina product has a quality .264/.354/.479 line in parts of six Triple-A campaigns. Between his upper minors success and ability to play everywhere on the diamond other than catcher and center field, Motter has played his way to the majors with six different teams.

The Braves have one of the game’s top infields, with Matt Olson, Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley all having strong seasons. Ozzie Albies has missed an extended stretch after fracturing his foot but is expected back either late this month or in early September. The Braves have relied on Orlando Arcia at the keystone in Albies’ absence, and they acquired Ehire Adrianza in a minor trade with the division-rival Nationals to fortify the bench depth. Motter adds some upper-level experience without occupying a spot on the 40-man roster.

Reds Select Aristides Aquino, Albert Almora

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It’s been a whirlwind day of transactions for the Reds, who earlier today returned the trio of Aristides Aquino, Graham Ashcraft and Taylor Motter to Triple-A Louisville when they reinstated a handful of players from the restricted list following their series in Toronto. Aquino, however, has now been formally selected to the 40-man roster, per a team announcement, as has outfielder Albert Almora Jr. The Reds will place righty Connor Overton on the 60-day injured list to open one roster spot and will move infielder Donovan Solano from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to create a second one. Cincinnati also activated Nick Senzel from the injured list and optioned fellow outfielder TJ Friedl to Triple-A Louisville to open an active roster spot.

It’s been a busy day at Great American Ball Park, to say the least. The Reds found out that Overton, who’s made four strong starts for them after signing a minor league contract over the offseason, will be shut down for the next six to eight weeks due to a stress reaction in his back (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon). That period of six to eight weeks is not a total timetable for Overton’s return but rather the time he’ll go without picking up a ball. In all likelihood, he’ll need several more weeks to build up his arm strength once that shutdown period is over.

Based on that newly provided timeline for Overton, it seems as though Overton is due for a months-long absence. He’d tossed 24 2/3 innings of 1.82 ERA ball to begin his time with the Reds, and while his .208 BABIP and minuscule 11.1% strikeout rate pointed to some likely regression, his absence will nonetheless further thin out an already injury-depleted rotation mix. Trade acquisitions Mike Minor and Justin Dunn have yet to pitch for the Reds thanks to shoulder troubles, and a lower back strain has shelved top prospect Nick Lodolo just a few starts into his MLB debut campaign.

As for the newly selected outfielders, neither is a stranger to the Reds’ outfield. That’s particularly true of Aquino, who set the baseball world ablaze when he ripped 14 home runs in August 2019 after being summoned to the Majors. Since that jaw-dropping debut month, however, Aquino has batted just .177/.264/.361 with a 36.2% strikeout rate in 407 plate appearances.

Almora, meanwhile, has logged nine games for the Reds already this season (primarily as a Covid substitute) and hit well n 29 plate appearances: .296/.321/.370. A longtime division rival with the Cubs, he’s a lifetime .266/.303/.388 hitter in the Majors. That includes a solid 2016-17 run to begin his career, however. Dating back to Opening Day 2018, Almora owns a more tepid .253/.291/.361 output.

Reds Return Aquino, Ashcraft, Motter To Minors

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MAY 23: As expected, Cincinnati announced this morning that Mahle, Almora, Kuhnel and Drury have been reinstated from the restricted list before tonight’s series opener with the Cubs. Aquino, Aschraft and Motter have been returned to the minors and are no longer on the 40-man roster.

MAY 20: The Reds announced a host of roster moves before their series against the Blue Jays. First baseman Joey Votto has been reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list. Outfielder Aristides Aquino, righty Graham Ashcraft and utilityman Taylor Motter have all been selected to the majors as designated COVID “substitutes.”

Cincinnati placed four players — Tyler Mahle, Albert Almora Jr., Joel Kuhnel and Brandon Drury — on the restricted list. That’s standard procedure for players who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 playing on teams that are headed to Toronto. The Canadian government prohibits unvaccinated players from entering the country, so that quartet will be unavailable for this weekend’s series.

Votto returns after missing more than two weeks because of virus concerns. The six-time All-Star began experiencing COVID symptoms during the first week of May, and he wound up missing enough time the organization sent him on a brief minor league rehab assignment. After a pair of appearances with Triple-A Louisville, the Toronto native returns for a set against his hometown club. He’ll look to right the ship offensively after the time off; Votto has opened the season in a dreadful .122/.278/.135 slump through 22 games.

Aquino, Motter and Ashcraft all occupy temporary spots on the roster. That the club specified they were COVID substitutes suggests it’s likely to be a brief stint for all three. Players whose contracts are selected with that designation can be removed from the 40-man roster and returned to the minors without passing through waivers as the team returns to full strength. In the Reds’ case, that’ll be after this series, so each of Aquino, Motter and Ashcraft is probably only up for three days.

The righty-hitting Aquino opened the year in the majors but got out to an awful start. He was outrighted off the roster earlier this month, but he’s tattooed Triple-A pitching (.314/.405/.743 with four homers) through ten games. Motter signed a minor league deal last month. The righty-hitting utilityman is hitting .245/.344/.566 with Louisville and offers some multi-positional depth in Drury’s place.

While this figures to be a brief stint for Ashcraft, the 24-year-old will probably play a notable role on the roster before too long. A sixth-round pick out of UAB in 2019, the 6’2″ hurler has quickly developed into one of the better arms in the farm system. Ashcraft split last season between High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga, posting an even 3.00 ERA across 111 innings. He’s spent this year with Louisville, working to a 1.65 ERA over seven starts, albeit without great strikeout or walk numbers.

Baseball America recently ranked Ashcraft the #12 prospect in the Cincinnati organization, praising a mid-90s cut fastball that serves as his primary offering. Both BA and FanGraphs — which slotted him #17 in the system — suggest that Ashcraft’s below-average changeup and inconsistent control point to a long-term bullpen future, but he’s remained a starter to this point as a pro. Ashcraft will have to be added to the 40-man roster next offseason to keep him from selection in the Rule 5 draft, and potential trades by the last-place Reds could open an extended opportunity for him later this summer.

Cincinnati also announced that shortstop José Barrero will begin a rehab assignment with the Bats. The club’s anticipated regular shortstop, he hasn’t played this season after suffering a hamate injury during Spring Training. Position players can spend up to 20 days on rehab assignments, suggesting Barrero’s set to make his 2022 debut within the next three weeks assuming all goes well in the minors.

Reds Sign Taylor Motter To Minor League Deal

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The Reds have signed infielder Taylor Motter to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Motter has been assigned to the Louisville Bats, the club’s Triple-A team.

Motter, 32, played in 143 total games over the 2016-2018 seasons, spending time with the Rays, Mariners and Twins. He brought some speed and defensive versatility, swiping 13 bags in that stretch while lining up defensively at every position on the diamond except for catcher and center field. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to provide much with the bat, hitting just .191/.263/.312 in that stretch, a 57 wRC+.

In 2019, he lingered in the minors and then went to the KBO in 2020. Last year, he bounced around and got into 16 MLB games, split between the Rockies and Red Sox, producing a similar batting line to his previous numbers. However, he fared quite well in Triple-A last year. In 82 games, he hit .313/.436/.668 for a 167 wRC+. If he could carry any of that up to the big leagues with him this year, the Reds would surely be very grateful.

Cincy has been hit hard by injuries in the early part of the season, particularly on the infield. Mike Moustakas, Jose Barrero, Jonathan India, Donovan Solano and Max Schrock are all currently on the injured list. Motter will spend some time in Triple-A and try to earn his way into the club’s plans.

Players Recently Electing Free Agency

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With the regular season over, a series of players are closing in on free agency. The highest-profile will be available as major league free agents, those with six-plus years of MLB service time not under contract with a team. But there will be dozens of players in the coming weeks who qualify for minor league free agency and more quietly reach the open market as well.

Players can qualify for minor league free agency in a few ways. The most notable of these include: players with 3+ years of MLB service time who have been outrighted off their teams’ 40-man rosters this season, players who have been outrighted off a 40-man roster multiple times in their careers, and unsigned players not on a 40-man roster who have spent parts of at least seven seasons on a minor league roster or injured list.

Many of these players won’t officially reach free agency until the start of the offseason, but some were let go by their teams a few weeks early once the regular season concluded. Each of the following players has elected minor league free agency within the past week, according to the MLB.com and Triple-A transactions trackers:

Red Sox Outright Taylor Motter

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Sept. 10: Motter was not claimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Worcester, the Red Sox announced Friday

Sept. 7: The Red Sox announced a series of roster moves before this evening’s game against the Rays. Utilitymen Kiké Hernández and Danny Santana were both reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list. To open active roster space, outfielder Franchy Cordero was optioned to Triple-A Worcester while infielder Taylor Motter was designated for assignment.

Hernández was the first player on the Red Sox to test positive amidst the recent viral spread that has affected a sizable chunk of the roster. He’s also the first player to return from that group, and he’ll take his customary place atop the lineup this evening. Signed over the offseason to a two-year deal, Hernández has put together one of the better seasons of his career in his first year in Boston. The 30-year-old owns a .258/.346/.465 line over 483 plate appearances.

Motter was claimed off waivers from the Rockies last Thursday to bolster the infield depth with Hernández, Santana, Xander Bogaerts and Yairo Muñoz all on the COVID IL. He’ll lose his roster spot after just three games with a couple of the original options returning. While internal players selected as COVID replacements can be bumped from the active and 40-man rosters without being made available to other teams, those acquired from outside the organization (like Motter) still need to stick on the 40-man or be exposed to waivers.

While Motter hasn’t gotten much of a big league look this season, he posted fantastic numbers with the Rockies’ top affiliate in Albuquerque. Over 265 plate appearances with the Isotopes, Motter hit .335/.460/.759 with 24 home runs and matching strikeout and walk rates (18.5%). That strong showing — coupled with his positional versatility — could pique the interest of another club once he lands on waivers.

While the Red Sox have begun to get some players back from the COVID IL, it wasn’t unanimously positive news on that front. Starting pitcher Nick Pivetta, who landed on the IL last Sunday, has tested positive for the virus, manager Alex Cora revealed to reporters (including Alex Speier of the Boston Globe). The positive test will keep another key player for Boston out of action for at least the next week-plus. The Red Sox enter play tonight holding a three-game advantage over the Blue Jays and Mariners in the American League Wild Card race.

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