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13 Players Elect Free Agency

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With the World Series kicking off on Friday, we’re only a couple weeks from the opening of the offseason. It’s customary each offseason for dozens of players to hit the open market, separate from the players who reach MLB free agency at the end of the World Series based on the expiration of their contracts while having six-plus years of MLB service time.

Any player who is not on his team’s 40-man roster at season’s end but has three-plus years of MLB service, multiple career outright assignments and/or seven-plus seasons in the minor leagues has the right to elect free agency. Everyone in today’s group falls under that umbrella. The majority will take minor league deals over the winter, although one or two could find a big league deal as a bench piece or middle-inning reliever.

In recent weeks, we’ve provided periodic updates on players qualifying for minor league free agency. Here are the latest, courtesy of the MiLB.com transactions tracker.

Pitchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Outrights: Demeritte, Walker

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Updates on a couple of players that were recently designated for assignment…

  • The Braves announced that outfielder Travis Demeritte has been outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett. The 27-year-old had been designated for assignment earlier in the week. Originally drafted by the Rangers, Demeritte was traded to Atlanta in 2016 and then traded to Detroit in 2019. He made his MLB debut with the Tigers before coming back to the Braves on a waiver claim last year. Atlanta passed him through waivers in February of last year, keeping him in the minors all season, but then selecting him to the 40-man roster in November to prevent him reaching minor league free agency. He’s played 26 big league games this year, hitting .213/.260/.337, while hitting .207/.291/.357 in 38 Triple-A games. Because he had been previously outrighted in his career, Demeritte has the right to reject this assignment, though it’s not yet clear whether he’s decided to exercise that right or not.
  • Outfielder Steele Walker, who was designated for assignment by the Giants earlier this week, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Walker, 26, was originally drafted by the White Sox but was flipped to the Rangers for Nomar Mazara in 2019. Texas selected him to the roster in June but gave him the DFA treatment a couple of weeks ago. The Giants claimed him and quickly DFA’d him again, with Walker clearing waivers this time. He only got into five MLB games while with the Rangers, spending most of the season in Triple-A. In 55 games between the Round Rock Express and Sacramento River Cats, he’s hit .268/.345/.431, striking out just 17% of the time. Since this is his first career outright and he has less than three years of MLB service time, he is ineligible to reject the assignment. He’ll stick with the River Cats and serve as depth for the Giants, but without occupying a spot on the club’s 40-man roster.

Braves Claim Rylan Bannon, Designate Travis Demeritte

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The Braves announced they’ve claimed third baseman/second baseman Rylan Bannon off waivers from the Dodgers and optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett. Corner outfielder Travis Demeritte has been designated for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Bannon has been shuffled around the league in recent weeks. He’s gone from the Orioles to the Dodgers and now to Atlanta via waivers since August 8. The 26-year-old only has four big league games under his belt, but he’s long been regarded as a solid prospect and has a decent track record in the minors. He’s spent the majority of this season with the Orioles top affiliate in Norfolk, hitting .229/.347/.407 across 326 plate appearances. The right-handed hitter has connected on 11 home runs and 14 doubles while drawing walks at a robust 13.8% clip, although he’s also striking out at an elevated 26.7% rate.

This is the second of three minor league option years for Bannon, who can therefore bounce between the big leagues and Triple-A for the next season and a half. Atlanta typically has an excellent infield of Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley, with top prospect Vaughn Grissom getting the recent playing time at second base while Albies mends a broken foot. There’s not much of a path to immediate playing time for Bannon, but he’ll serve as an upper level depth option in Gwinnett.

Demeritte, 27, has appeared at the MLB level in three of the past four seasons. A former Rangers first-round pick, he spent time in the Atlanta system before being dealt to the Tigers in 2019. He made his major league debut with Detroit and spent two seasons there before returning to the Braves as a waiver claim in 2021. Atlanta passed him through outright waivers and kept him in Triple-A last year, but they selected him onto the 40-man roster at the end of the season to keep him from qualifying for minor league free agency.

He held that 40-man spot throughout the winter and has appeared in 26 big league games this season, hitting .213/.260/.337. Demeritte spent the majority of the year in Gwinnett, struggling to a .207/.291/.357 line while striking out in 34.2% of his plate appearances. Swing-and-miss has been an issue throughout his big league time as well, as Demeritte has fanned in 34.6% of his 315 trips to the plate in the majors. He owns a .216/.277/.328 career line at the highest level.

The Braves will place Demeritte on outright or release waivers within the next few days. Having previously been outrighted in his career, he’d have the right to elect free agency if he goes unclaimed.

Braves Promote Michael Harris II

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The Braves have selected the contract of top outfield prospect Michael Harris II, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.  Harris will be taking the place of outfielder Travis Demeritte, who was optioned to Triple-A after last night’s game.

It’s an aggressive and somewhat surprising promotion on the Braves’ part, as the 21-year-old Harris has yet to play even in Triple-A ball.  However, Harris could be seen as a center field upgrade immediately, as Adam Duvall has hit only .191/.263/.274 over 175 plate appearances.  At the very least, the switch-hitting Harris will be sharing time with the right-handed hitting Duvall, though it seems likely that the Braves wouldn’t have called Harris up if they weren’t planning on playing the youngster every day.

Atlanta’s outfield has largely struggled all season, with the notable exception of Ronald Acuna Jr. since his return from the injured list.  However, Acuna has missed time with a quad strain over the last few days, and while Acuna was able to pinch-hit last night, the Braves figure to be cautious with their superstar until he is closer to 100 percent.

This provides an opportunity for Harris to give the outfield mix a shot in the arm, and it represents the latest step in what has been a rather quick rise to prominence.  A local product born in DeKalb, Georgia, Harris was a third-round pick for the Braves in the 2019 draft, and he had only an okay rookie season before sitting out in 2020 due to the canceled minor league season.

Upon returning to the field, Harris suddenly blossomed, hitting .294/.362/.436 over 420 PA for the Braves’ High-A affiliate, and also hitting seven homers and stealing 27 bases out of 31 chances.  This breakout put him on the radar of prospect evaluators, with Baseball America listing Harris as the 46th-best prospect in baseball in their preseason rankings (Baseball Prospectus ranked him 58th, The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked him 61st, and MLB Pipeline ranked him 65st).

Defensively, Harris has played mostly as a center fielder, and received plus grades for his glovework and his throwing arm.  (The latter is no surprise, as Harris was also a highly-touted pitcher in high school.)  As per Pipeline’s scouting report, Harris was voted the best defensive outfielder in the High-A East league by rival managers.

At the plate, Harris hit exclusively as a left-handed batter in 2021 before returning to switch-hitting this season in Double-A.  Harris has been prone to chasing pitches, but improved on that problem as the 2021 season went on, cutting back on his strikeouts while improving his on-base numbers.  While Harris has posted big BABIP numbers over the last two seasons, those totals speak to both some good fortune and his plus speed, which allows him to beat out grounders.

Harris hit .305/.372/.506 with five homers and 11 steals (in 14 chances) over 196 PA at the Double-A level, leaving no doubt that his 2021 performance was for real.  It was enough to convince Atlanta that Harris is ready for The Show, and yet as always with prospects, it shouldn’t be assumed that Harris will immediately play well in his first taste of the majors.

It could be that the Braves might eventually send Harris down to Triple-A if he struggles, which would halt his MLB service clock.  If Harris does stay up, he likely won’t bank enough service time to make him a Super Two candidate (and thus earn a fourth year of arbitration eligibility).  Players like Seiya Suzuki and MacKenzie Gore have an early lead in the race to be NL Rookie Of The Year, though there’s plenty of time for Harris to make a late charge, which would benefit both Harris and the Braves via the new Prospect Promotion Incentive plan.

Braves Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Braves announced a series of roster transactions, including the news that Josh Tomlin’s 2022 club option has been declined.  Left-hander Grant Dayton has been released, and outfielder Terrance Gore has been outrighted to Triple-A.  Joining the 40-man roster are outfielder Travis Demeritte and right-hander Alan Rangel, whose contracts were selected from Triple-A.  Ronald Acuna Jr. and Mike Soroka were also reinstated from the 60-day injured list as procedural moves.

Tomlin has spent the last three years with Atlanta, signing a pair of minor league contracts for the 2019 and 2020 seasons and then inking a one-year Major League deal last winter that paid him $1.25MM in guaranteed salary.  That money took the form of a $1MM salary for the season and then a $250K buyout of the team’s $1.25MM club option for the 2022 campaign.  The Braves therefore had a $1MM decision to make on Tomlin, and opted to not bring Tomlin back after a rough season for the 37-year-old.

Tomlin posted a 6.57 ERA over 49 1/3 relief innings last year, and was the victim of some bad luck — an ungainly .358 BABIP and a .346 xwOBA was well below his .377 wOBA.  That said, even his xwOBA was only in the 15th percentile of all pitchers, and Tomlin allowed more than his usual amount of hard contact.  With a very low strikeout rate and whiff rate, this lack of missed bats caught up to Tomlin in a big way.  On the plus side, Tomlin still delivered his usual excellent walk rate and spin rates on both his fastball and his curve.

Though a neck strain sidelined Tomlin for much of September, he likely wouldn’t have made the Braves’ postseason roster anyway.  The declined option doesn’t necessarily spell the end of his tenure with the club, as Atlanta could look to retain Tomlin via another minor league deal and see if the veteran has anything left in the tank during Spring Training.

Dayton has also been with Atlanta over the last three seasons, and was projected to earn $1.2MM this winter in his final year of arbitration eligibility.  The release allows the southpaw to get an early jump on a new job in free agency, rather than wait a few more weeks until the non-tender deadline (and the Braves also free up a roster spot in advance of the 40-man deadline on November 19).

Dayton pitched only 13 innings in 2021, as a shoulder injury kept him on the injured list for much of the last four months of the season.  Injuries have plagued Dayton for the last four years, as he missed all of 2018 recovering from Tommy John surgery and he missed a big piece of the 2019 season due to a fractured toe.  The southpaw was pretty effective when he was able to pitch in 2019-20, though this year had a 6.23 ERA over his 13 frames.

Gore was signed to a minor league deal last winter and didn’t see any action for the Braves during the regular season, but was on the team’s roster for both the NLDS and the World Series.  Gore appeared in one game during the playoffs, pinch-running and being left stranded at first base in the Braves’ 3-0 win over the Brewers in Game 2 of the NLDS.  If he wishes, the 30-year-old Gore can decline the outright assignment and look for another contract elsewhere, and contenders might be interested in signing Gore for karma purposes alone.  The veteran pinch-running specialist has been a part of the last two World Series championship teams, and has three Series rings in total over his career, despite appearing in only 102 regular-season games from 2014-20.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/21/21

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The latest minor moves from around the game:

  • The Braves announced that outfielder Travis Demeritte has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Gwinnett. The move opens a 40-man roster spot, which figures to go to infielder Jake Lamb once his one-year deal is finalized. This is Demeritte’s second stint the Braves, as Atlanta traded Demeritte to the Tigers in 2019 but brought him back via waivers last week. The 26-year-old will remain in the Atlanta organization as non-roster depth. Over 219 plate appearances in Detroit the past two seasons, Demeritte hit just .217/.284/.323 with three home runs.
  • The Padres announced they have signed catcher Wynston Sawyer to a minor-league contract with an invitation to big league spring training. A former eighth-round pick of the Orioles, Sawyer has also spent time in the minors with the Dodgers and Twins. The 29-year-old hasn’t gotten any MLB action, but he did earn a spot on the Yankees’ 40-man roster at the end of last season. Sawyer has generally been productive in the high minors, compiling a .263/.328/.421 line in three seasons at Double-A and hitting .277/.370/.405 at the Triple-A level. San Diego currently has Austin Nola, Víctor Caratini and top prospect Luis Campusano on the 40-man roster at the position.

Braves Claim Travis Demeritte From Tigers

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The Braves have claimed infielder/outfielder Travis Demeritte off waivers from the Tigers, per announcements from both teams. Atlanta released right-hander Jeremy Walker in a corresponding move.

Demeritte was the 30th overall pick of the Rangers in 2013, but they traded him to the Braves in 2016 for pitchers Lucas Harrell and Dario Alvarez. Demeritte stayed with the Braves until they sent him to the Tigers at the 2019 trade deadline in a deal for reliever Shane Greene. He combined for 219 plate appearances as a Tiger from 2019-20 and batted .217/.264/.323 with three home runs. The Tigers designated the 26-year-old Demeritte for assignment last week. Despite his woes in the bigs, Demeritte’s a .286/.387/.558 hitter in 399 PA in Triple-A with two minor league options remaining, so he could have a legitimate second act with the Braves.

Walker, 25, was a fifth-rounder of the Braves in 2016 who worked his way to the majors in 2019, when he tossed 9 1/3 innings and surrendered just two earned runs on nine hits and four walks (with six strikeouts). Walker impressed at the Double-A and Triple-A levels before then, but he didn’t pitch at all last year because of shoulder problems.

Tigers Designate Travis Demeritte

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The Tigers announced that they have designated outfielder Travis Demeritte for assignment. His 40-man roster spot will go to second baseman Jonathan Schoop, whom the team agreed to re-sign Friday.

Demeritte was a first-round pick (No. 3o) of the Rangers in 2013 who became a member of the Braves organization in 2016. The Braves wound up trading Demeritte to the Tigers in a 2019 deal centering on reliever Shane Greene, though Demeritte never made much of a mark in the Motor City. Between 2019-20, Demeritte batted just .217/.284/.323 with three home runs in 219 plate appearances.

Despite his issues in the bigs, Demeritte may appeal to other teams. Still just 26 years old, Demeritte has slashed .286/.387/.558 in 399 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level. He also has two minor league options remaining.

Tigers Select Travis Demeritte’s Contract

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The Tigers have selected the contract of outfielder Travis Demeritte from Triple-A Toledo, as per a team announcement.  Righty Eduardo Jimenez has also been called up from Toledo.

Demeritte is set for his big league debut just a day after joining the Tigers.  The 24-year-old was dealt to Detroit yesterday along with southpaw Joey Wentz in the trade that sent Shane Greene to the Braves.  It marked the second time in Demeritte’s young career that he was part of a late-July deadline deal, as he was also sent to Atlanta as part of a three-player swap back in 2016.

Selected 30th overall by the Rangers in the 2013 draft, Demeritte has been an inconsistent offensive player over his career, though he had his share of decent numbers.  This includes a great stretch at Triple-A Gwinnett this season, as Demeritte posted a .286/.387/.558 slash line and 20 homers over 399 plate appearances.  While never a premium prospect, Demeritte is interesting enough to merit a look from a Tigers club that is open to all possibilities (particularly in the outfield) as it continues a rebuild.  Demeritte began his career playing all over the infield, though he has almost exclusively been a corner outfielder over the last two years.

Braves Acquire Shane Greene

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The Braves have acquired right-handed closer Shane Greene from the Tigers for left-hander Joey Wentz and outfielder Travis Demeritte, per an announcement from Atlanta.

Greene has posted excellent results this year, but as a reliever with waning control on a rebuilding team, he has looked like an obvious trade candidate throughout the campaign. The 30-year-old’s on a $4MM salary this season and comes with arbitration eligibility for another winter.

Through 38 innings in 2019, Greene has pitched to a measly 1.18 ERA, but that surely won’t hold. His 3.70 FIP, 3.80 xFIP and 3.45 SIERA are all a good distance away, while there’s also a sizable gap between the weighted on-base average Greene has allowed (.221) and his xwOBA (.282). But that’s not to say Greene can’t be a significant asset going forward. He still owns an excellent 10.18 K/9 against 2.84 BB/9, an easily above-average 53.8 percent groundball rate and a solid 14.3 percent infield fly rate.

Greene, who has 22 saves on 25 attempts this season, may take over as the Braves’ closer immediately. Luke Jackson has been serving in the role, though he has blown seven saves on 24 tries. Plus, while Jackson has done good work for most of the year, he has endured an awful stretch in which he has yielded seven earned runs in six appearances dating back to July 12. With Jackson struggling and the NL East-leading Braves lacking an abundance of dependable relievers aside from him, they’ve now reeled in Greene, former Rangers righty Chris Martin and ex-Giants righty Mark Melancon since Tuesday evening.

Wentz, 21, joined the Braves as a sixth-round pick in 2016. He entered the season as the Braves’ 11th-ranked prospect, according to FanGraphs’ Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen, who noted at the time injuries and inconsistency have held Wentz back. He has gotten his first taste of Double-A action this season and put up a 4.72 ERA/4.36 FIP with 8.74 K/9 and 3.93 BB/9 over 103 innings.

The 24-year-old Demeritte did not rank among FanGraphs’ top Braves prospects entering the season, but they noted then he possesses “easy plus power and is passable at multiple positions defensively.” Demeritte has since slashed an outstanding .286/.357/.558 with 20 home runs in 399 plate appearances in his Triple-A debut. A first-round pick (No. 30) of the Rangers in 2013, Demeritte became a Brave via trade in 2016. He’s now on the move again.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported a trade was close. Buster Olney of ESPN reported the Braves had acquired Greene. Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweeted Wentz’s involvement. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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