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Tim Beckham

Outrights: Padlo, Beckham

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A couple updates on some recent DFAs to kick off the morning…

  • Infielder Kevin Padlo cleared outright waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis, the Pirates announced Monday. He has neither a prior outright assignment nor three years of Major League service time, so he won’t have the option of rejecting the assignment. The 26-year-old corner infielder was hitless in 11 plate appearances with the Bucs this year and carries a dismal .109/.163/.152 slash in the Majors on the whole — although that’s come in a tiny sample of just 49 plate appearances. Padlo is a .251/.336/.484 hitter at the Triple-A level (836 plate appearances) and ranked among the top 25 prospects of the Rockies, Rays and Mariners over the past five offseasons, per Baseball America.
  • Twins infielder Tim Beckham went unclaimed on waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A, per the team’s transactions log at MLB.com. Beckham went just 2-for-25 in his limited time with Minnesota but has posted a comical .413/.483/.579 slash with five homers and six doubles in 143 trips to the plate with Triple-A St. Paul so far in 2022. Beckham, who carries a .247/.299/.426 slash in 1776 Major League plate appearances with four different teams, has played all four infield positions in the minors this season and also logged four games in left field with the big league club. He has more than five years of big league service, which would allow him to reject this assignment and look for another opportunity if he desires.

Twins Designate Tim Beckham For Assignment

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The Twins announced Friday that they’ve reinstated outfielder Kyle Garlick from the 10-day injured list and designated infielder Tim Beckham for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster.

Beckham, 32, inked a minor league deal with the Twins over the winter and recently had his contract selected as Minnesota deals with a deluge of injuries both in the outfield and around the infield. He appeared in a dozen games with the Twins but took just 25 plate appearances and went 2-for-25 with nine strikeouts in that time.

Beckham has had a monster season in Triple-A, hitting .413/.481/.579 in 133 plate appearances, but it was never particularly realistic to expect the journeyman to sustain anything close to that level of output in the big leagues, where he’s a .247/.299/.426 hitter in 1776 plate appearances. He’ll be placed on waivers or released within the coming days now that he’s been designated for assignment.

Garlick, 30, will give the Twins a much-needed healthy outfielder and some desperately needed help against left-handed pitching. He’s hitting .257/.319/.514 in 116 plate appearances this year and has carved out a role with the Twins based on his ability to clobber southpaws. In 172 career plate appearances against lefties, the right-handed-hitting Garlick is a .266/.314/.576 hitter.

Twins Place Max Kepler, Miguel Sano On 10-Day Injured List

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The Twins announced that outfielder Max Kepler and first baseman Miguel Sano have been placed on the 10-day injured list.  Kepler has a toe fracture, while Sano is dealing with left knee inflammation.  In corresponding moves, outfielder Mark Contreras was called up from Triple-A and the Twins selected the contract of infielder Tim Beckham from Triple-A, while Bailey Ober was moved to the 60-day IL to create a 40-man roster spot for Beckham.

Kepler hasn’t played since he was hit by a pitch on July 24, and his IL placement is retroactive to the 27th.  While he hasn’t been on the field, Kepler has been taking part in limited baseball activities and even running drills, so it is possible he might only miss the minimum 10 days if he continues to show good progress (or if the fracture doesn’t continue to limit his ability to run).

It has been a curious year for Kepler, who has hit .244/.344/.390 over 337 plate appearances, good for an above-average 113 wRC+.  However, between a wealth of excellent Statcast metrics and a .361 xwOBA, Kepler is actually underachieving compared to what he “should” be hitting based on his advanced numbers.  For the third straight season, opponents are deploying shifts against Kepler almost every time he steps to the plate, which has largely neutralized much of Kepler’s hard contact.

Still, Kepler has been a very productive player overall, between his still-solid batting numbers and his excellent right field glove.  His absence will further hamper a Minnesota outfield that has already been shorthanded by Byron Buxton’s lingering knee issues, as Buxton has been getting a lot of DH time rather than his customary spot in center field.  The left-handed hitting Contreras will fill Kepler’s role to some extent, as the Twins will now be juggling Buxton, Nick Gordon, Alex Kirilloff and reserves Contreras, Gilberto Celestino, and Kyle Garlick around the three outfield spots.

Sano was only just activated from the 60-day IL earlier this week, making it troubling that he has already been sidelined again by issues with his surgically-repaired knee.  His latest injury actually occurred when Sano was on his minor league rehab assignment, as Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park) that Sano hurt his knee while sliding in his last rehab game.  An MRI is scheduled for Sano on Monday.

Sano underwent his surgery in early May, and has only played in 20 games this season, posting a measly .345 OPS over 71 PA.  There was some thought that the Twins might move on from Sano entirely given that he now seems like the odd man out on the roster, yet this latest IL placement will hold off any decisions on that front.  If Monday’s MRI reveals bad news, it could mark the end of Sano’s 2022 season, and quite likely his Minnesota tenure — the Twins will very likely buy out (for $2.75MM) their $14MM club option Sano for the 2023 season.

Beckham signed a minor league deal with the Twins in February, and he might now be in line for his first taste of MLB action since 2019.  The former first overall pick didn’t play anywhere during the canceled 2020 minor league season, and spent all of 2021 in the White Sox organization with their Triple-A affiliate.  Beckham has played all over the infield and also seen some time as a left fielder in his career, so he’ll provide the Twins with some utility depth off the bench.

Twins Sign Former Top Pick Tim Beckham To Minors Deal

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The Twins have signed infielder Tim Beckham, the top overall pick in the 2008 amateur draft, to a minor-league deal, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported this morning. Darren Wolfson of Minneapolis’ KSTP News reports that the deal will pay Beckham roughly $1MM should he make the big-league roster.

Beckham signed with the Rays for a then-record $6.15MM (the Giants gave Buster Posey, drafted fifth overall the same year, $6.2MM shortly thereafter) but never quite hit his stride in the minors, posting a solid-if-unspectacular .275/.328/.389 line as a 19-year-old at Low-A Bowling Green in 2009 and a similar .256/.346/.359 line at High-A Charlotte in 2010. Near-identical numbers at Double-A Montgomery in 2011 earned him a 24-game stint at Triple-A Durham, but he hit his first major snag in 2012, when a second positive test for what MLB calls “drugs of abuse” (a set of non-performance-enhancing recreational drugs that includes marijuana) landed him a 50-game suspension.

After repeating Triple-A in 2013 (where his .276/.342/.387 batting line again effectively matched his standard minor-league output), Beckham logged eight trips to the plate across five games in the bigs after a September call-up. A torn ACL suffered during an offseason workout robbed the one-time top prospect of his 2014 season, and his production thereafter never approached the lofty expectations attached to a top overall pick. After posting a .247/.299/.421 line in 791 plate appearances across parts of four seasons in Tampa, the Rays shipped him to the Orioles for pitcher Tobias Myers at the 2017 trade deadline.

That 2017 season remains Beckham’s best, with his .278/.328/.454 overall line (including a .306/.348/.523 mark in 50 games in Baltimore) representing a clear high-water mark; his 22 homers, 62 RBIs, and 2.5 bWAR were also all career bests. In total, Beckham, who hasn’t seen the majors since logging time at five positions in 88 games with Seattle in 2019, has tallied a serviceable .249/.302/.431 triple-slash in parts of six big-league seasons. His 2019 season ended early after he tested positive for the anabolic steroid Stanozolol, earning him an 80-game suspension per the terms of MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

While it’s clear that Beckham — who’ll play at age 32 in 2022 — will never reach the ceiling many envisioned for the consensus top high school prospect in the 2008 draft, his career numbers suggest he might still be a useful big-league player, particularly given his positional versatility. The Twins are probably set at the corners between Josh Donaldson and Miguel Sano, but their middle infield remains in flux. Jorge Polanco is a certainty to man either second or shortstop — Luis Arraez could shift to an everyday role at the keystone if Polanco slots in at short — but manager Rocco Baldelli may prefer to move Arraez between second and third, particularly should the Twins look to keep Donaldson healthy through regular time at DH.

Royce Lewis (a former top pick himself, and who missed all of 2021 with his own ACL tear) remains the likely shortstop of the future in Minnesota, but he hasn’t played since 2019 and isn’t likely to see the bigs in 2022 unless he blows upper-minors competition out of the water for at least a few months. While the Twins were active at the periphery on some bigger names ahead of the lockout and will likely at least do their due diligence on Trevor Story whenever it ends, they’re much likelier to look for a short-term fix.

There’s every reason to expect Beckham to get a real shot to compete for a bench role in the Twin Cities, particularly if the club’s plan includes Arraez assuming a more regular starting role. As things stand now, he’d likely compete with Nick Gordon and perhaps prospect Austin Martin (who’s never played above Double-A but could be given a shot to compete for the starting role at short) for a utility role on the Twins bench.

Though he hasn’t seen the majors since 2019, Beckham did have his best minor-league seasons in 2021. He posted a .279/.330/.546 line in 45 games with the Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the White Sox. If Beckham doesn’t make the big-league roster, the Twins could also look to stash him at Triple-A St. Paul as injury cover.

White Sox To Select Andrew Vaughn

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Prized White Sox prospect Andrew Vaughn has made the team’s Opening Day roster. He isn’t on Chicago’s 40-man, so the team will need to select him.

The White Sox could have gained an extra year of service time by keeping Vaughn down for the first few weeks of the season, but executive vice president Ken Williams said last week that wouldn’t be a motivating factor in their decision. The team was true to its word. If Vaughn doesn’t return to the minors, he’ll be controllable through 2026 and eligible for arbitration after 2023, though the White Sox could certainly extend him before then, as they’ve done on multiple occasions in recent years with offensive building blocks such as Yoan Moncada, Tim Anderson, Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert.

General manager Rick Hahn stated Tuesday (via James Fegan of The Athletic), “Having Andrew around will be a positive for this offense.” The White Sox expect Vaughn to factor in at designated hitter, first base and left field, according to Hahn.

It became easier to envision Vaughn making Chicago’s season-opening roster when the club received the devastating news of Jimenez’s ruptured pectoral tendon last week. Jimenez underwent surgery Tuesday and remains likely to miss at least five to six months, Hahn said. The hope is that Vaughn will help fill Jimenez’s enormous offensive void.

Now 22 years old, Vaughn is a former University of California standout whom the White Sox drafted third overall in 2019 and then signed to a $7.2MM-plus bonus. Vaughn hasn’t gotten above High-A ball since then, but he has held his own in the minors, having slashed .278/.384/.449 in 245 plate appearances. He has also looked ready for prime time this spring with a .279/.375/.459 line and six extra-base hits (three doubles, two home runs and a triple) in 61 at-bats.

Along with Vaughn’s addition, the White Sox made a handful of other roster moves Tuesday. They optioned infielder Danny Mendick to their alternate site and reassigned fellow infielders Tim Beckham, Zach Remillard and Matt Reynolds, outfielder Nick Williams, and right-hander Ryan Burr. The club also made the previously reported release of catcher Jonathan Lucroy official.

White Sox, Tim Beckham Agree To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox have agreed to a minor league contract with infielder Tim Beckham, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). The Wasserman client will receive a $1.35MM base salary in 2021 if he makes the roster.

Technically teams are still in the period of exclusive negotiations with their own free agents, but Beckham was unsigned for the 2020 season and thus free to negotiate with any club. He was hit with an 80-game PED suspension back in Aug. 2019. He’s already served a portion of that ban but will presumably still need to serve the remainder before he’s eligible to suit up for a big league club.

Beckham was the No. 1 overall pick of the Rays in the 2008 draft, and while he has had his moments since then,it has largely been a disappointing career. Now 30 years old, Beckham has combined for a .249/.302/.431 with 63 home runs and 31 stolen bases over 1,751 trips to the plate with the Rays, Orioles and Mariners. During his most recent action, he batted a similar .237/.293/.461 and smacked 15 HRs across 328 PA.

Defensively, Beckham has seen plenty of action all over the infield and even some in the corner outfield. So, if he does make the White Sox, Beckham could serve as insurance behind the likes of Yoan Moncada, Tim Anderson, Nick Madrigal and Eloy Jimenez.

No Deal Between Padres & Tim Beckham

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9:17am: Halt the presses on this one: Heyman now tweets that he mixed up his Beckhams. The Friars were already known to have a deal with infielder Gordon Beckham.

8:32am: The Padres have signed shortstop Tim Beckham, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). It’s a minor-league arrangement.

Though Beckham can compete in camp for a spot in the pecking order in the San Diego system, he won’t be a candidate to head north on the active roster. He’ll first need to finish serving an 80-game PED suspension.

Beckham would first be eligible to appear with the Pads about a month into the season, but it stands to reason he’ll be ticketed for Triple-A to begin his time with the organization. There isn’t an immediate opening for a roster spot now anyway, though the situation could be quite a bit different come May.

If things go well, Beckham could give the Friars an alternative or complement to second baseman Jurickson Profar. The club also features utility options Ty France and Greg Garcia.

The 30-year-old Beckham has had quite the roller-coaster of a career. He’ll never reach the promise that some foresaw when he was selected with the first overall pick of the 2008 draft. Beckham has had his moments over the years, with stretches of useful and even high-quality play in the majors, but has not yet found consistency.

All told, Beckham owns a .249/.302/.431 lifetime slash line through 1,751 plate appearances — roughly league-average output. He’s probably not quite an average fielder at shortstop and doesn’t run the bases particularly well, but there’s ample reason to believe he’s good enough for a platoon or reserve infield job of some kind in the majors.

Orioles Interested In Tim Beckham

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This has been a quiet winter for the rebuilding Orioles, but they’re now showing interest in a familiar free agent. They’ve discussed a minor league contract for infielder Tim Beckham, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

There’s history between Baltimore and Beckham, a former No. 1 overall pick of the Rays who played with the Orioles from 2017-18. Beckham was successful in the first of those seasons in Baltimore, stumbled during the latter and then signed a major league contract worth $1.75MM with the Mariners last winter. That deal didn’t work out great for either side, however.

Even though Beckham got off to a strong start in a Mariners uniform, his production and playing time dipped as the season progressed. The 29-year-old wound up posting a .237/.293/.461 line with 15 home runs in 328 plate appearances before MLB issued him an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs in early August.

Beckham has already served a sizable portion of his ban, but that wasn’t enough to prevent the Mariners from non-tendering him earlier this offseason. The suspension has also likely stopped him from landing a guaranteed deal this offseason. If he does head back to Baltimore, though, Beckham could eventually grab an infield role on a last-place team that’s projected to start Jose Iglesias at shortstop, Hanser Alberto at second base and Rio Ruiz at third.

Mariners Non-Tender Domingo Santana, Tim Beckham

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The Mariners have non-tendered outfielder Domingo Santana and infielder Tim Beckham, per a club announcement. Both players are now free agents.

These moves open a pair of roster spots for the M’s to work with. It’ll also save a bit of salary space. The former projected to earn $4.4MM in his second-to-last season of team control, while the latter might have commanded $3.0MM in what would have been a walk year.

It rates as something of a surprise to see Santana cut loose. He has had his ups and downs over the years but generally turns in solid offensive output. The situation with Beckham is more one of disappointment. He had been playing well in Seattle before a performance-enhancing drug suspension cut short his 2019 campaign.

Santana could potentially be a candidate to be claimed, though obviously the M’s were unable to achieve a trade return. He was off to a big start with the bat in 2019 before running into elbow problems that drove his numbers down and ended up costing him a big chunk of time.

Still just 27 years of age, Santana owns a .259/.343/.453 career batting line. He was right at that level last year as well. Unfortunately, Santana has never quite found his footing in the field. He graded terribly last year.

Beckham isn’t ever going to be the kind of player that was hoped when he went first overall in the 2008 draft. But he has settled in as a generally useful middle infielder with a league-average bat. He might well have been worth the projected arb value but for the PED suspension.

AL Notes: Yankees, O’s, R. Nunez, Mariners, Felix

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Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres left the team’s game Tuesday with a potential injury, per George A. King III of the New York Post. It’s the second time since Sunday that Torres had to exit with a possible ailment, as he departed the club’s game that night with what manager Aaron Boone called “a core issue.” Torres was subsequently cleared of a sports hernia – which teammate Luke Voit is dealing with – and was in the Yankees’ starting lineup Monday and Tuesday. The team’s now once again left to hold its breath that Torres will be fine. The Yankees, to their credit, have withstood one significant injury after another this year en route to an AL-best 73-39 record. Their success has come thanks in no small part to the 22-year-old Torres, who has slashed .281/.347/.505 with 23 home runs in 439 plate appearances. [UPDATE: Torres left with “core pain,” Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record was among those to report. He’ll return to New York to undergo more tests, Erik Boland of Newsday tweets.]

As for Voit, it’s still unknown whether he’ll undergo surgery, though an answer could come in the next week, Boone suggested Tuesday (via Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News). With time running out in the season, it’s possible Voit won’t be able to return until the playoffs – and perhaps not at all – if he does go under the knife, as Ackert points out.

Here’s the latest on two other American League teams:

  • Orioles designated hitter/corner infielder Renato Nunez drew some interest prior to the trade deadline, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes. The Orioles wound up keeping Nunez, a May 2018 waiver claim who has taken advantage of regular playing time this year to hit .246/.313/.486 with 25 home runs in 434 plate appearances. Nunez, 25, won’t be eligible for arbitration until after next season.
  • Mariners infielder Tim Beckham received an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs Tuesday, but his time on their roster might have been on the verge of ending even before then. Although he still has a year of arbitration eligibility remaining, Beckham was a candidate for a designation for assignment, according to the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish. The Mariners could have cut Beckham to make room for outfield prospect Jake Fraley sometime soon, Divish reports. However, Fraley is dealing with a quad injury at the moment. The Mariners will need to add Fraley to their 40-man roster if they do promote him, but they have four openings right now. The club acquired Fraley from the Rays in last offseason’s Mallex Smith/Mike Zunino trade.
  • Sticking with the Mariners, injured outfielder Mitch Haniger and starter Felix Hernandez are progressing in their recoveries, Greg Johns of MLB.com explains. Haniger, out since June 7 with a ruptured testicle, is closing in on a rehab assignment, manager Scott Servais said Tuesday. And Hernandez, whom right shoulder problems have kept from the majors since May 11, will make a second rehab start Thursday. The 33-year-old King Felix may be able to return in late August, Johns notes, which could give the pending free agent and Mariners legend a chance to say goodbye to the franchise and its fans.
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