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Orioles Make Several Roster Moves

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The Orioles announced a flurry of moves this afternoon, including the news that infielder Domingo Leyba has been claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks and optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.  Infielder Ramon Urias and right-hander Travis Lakins have been called up from Norfolk, and righty Hunter Harvey has been activated off the 60-day injured list.

To create roster space, right-hander Shawn Armstrong and lefty Brandon Waddell were designated for assignment.  (Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reported earlier today that Waddell was being DFA’ed.)  Additionally, infielder Pat Valaika was placed on the bereavement list.

Leyba was designated for assignment just two days ago.  The 25-year-old went hitless (with two walks) in 24 plate appearances for Arizona this season, following a very respectable .807 OPS over his first 30 career big league PA in 2019.  This wide range of production comes on the heels of a solid .290/.347/.434 slash line in 2624 PA in the minors as part of the Diamondbacks’ and Tigers’ farm systems since 2013.  Leyba put up particularly big numbers with Arizona’s Triple-A team in 2018-19, though the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League environment might have played a role considering his more modest career output in previous years.

Harvey suffered a left oblique strain in mid-March, and is now set to finally make his 2021 debut.  Injuries have pretty much been the story of Harvey’s career since being selected 22nd overall in the 2013 draft, as his MLB resume consists of only 15 total innings in 2019-20.  Even that small sample size still hints at some promise, however, as Harvey’s fastball sits in the high 90’s and he has struck out 17 of his 63 batters faced.  Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told The Athletic’s Dan Connelly and other reporters that Harvey will be used in a variety of bullpen roles, with seemingly no concession made to his injury history — he’ll be deployed “like a regular piece in the bullpen,” Hyde said.

Since being claimed off waivers from the Mariners in April 2019, Armstrong has been something of a workhorse out of the Baltimore pen, appearing in 85 games and tossing 89 1/3 innings.  The results weren’t always there, however, as Armstrong had a 5.34 ERA during his stint in the orange and black.  Armstrong is out of minor league options, so the O’s had no choice but to designate him and expose him to a potential waiver claim.

Waddell was a waiver pickup himself, selected by the Orioles off of the Twins’ roster in early May.  He has pitched in only one game for the O’s and two games for Triple-A Norfolk, as Kubatko notes that Waddell was delayed by the intake process required by COVID-19 protocols.  A longtime member of the Pirates’ minor league system, Waddell has seen MLB action with the Bucs, Twins, and Orioles over the last two seasons, with a 6.48 ERA over 8 1/3 total career innings in the big leagues.

Roster Notes: Bettinger, Burdi, Lakins, Tom, Paredes

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With three doubleheaders around baseball today, we have a number of 27th men getting an opportunity today. Alec Bettinger gets the temporary call-up for the Brewers’ twin bill against the Nationals today, per the team. Bettinger has made three appearances for the Brewers this season, including one start. Elsewhere…

  • The White Sox recalled Zack Burdi to be their 27th man for a double dip against Baltimore today, per the team. Yesterday’s game in Chicago was cancelled due to inclement weather. The 26-year-old tossed three innings against the Red Sox on April 19th, allowing one earned run in his only big-league appearances of the season.
  • On Baltimore’s end, Travis Lakins has been recalled to be the extra man for the day, the team announced. Lakins has been up and down with the big league club this year, and he’ll serve as a right-handed option out of the pen for manager Brandon Hyde. He owns a 7.36 ERA in 14 2/3 innings over 16 appearances.
  • The Pirates reinstated Ka’ai Tom from the injured list today, per the team. He will serve as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader. Tom began the season as a Rule 5 draft pick on the A’s, and as a waiver claim, he maintains that designation with the Pirates. Thus, the Pirates will need to add him to the active roster tomorrow in order to keep him in the organization.
  • In non-doubleheader roster news, the Astros optioned Enoli Paredes to Triple-a today to make room for Jake Odorizzi, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Paredes struggled mightily with his command, issuing 11 walks in just 4 1/3 innings.

Orioles Option Travis Lakins, Recall Brandon Waddell

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The Orioles optioned right-hander Travis Lakins to Triple-A on Sunday, recalling Brandon Waddell to take his roster spot, per Rich Dubroff of Baltimorebaseball.com.

Lakins seemed to have made himself an indispensable piece of Baltimore’s bullpen in 2020 with a 2.81 ERA over 25 2/3 innings. The former Boston reliever has been less stellar this season through 16 appearances covering 14 2/3 innings. The 26-year-old owns a 7.36 ERA/6.42 FIP and 41.9 percent groundball rate. He’s neither striking out many hitters (17.9 percent strikeout rate) nor limiting free passes enough (16.4 percent walk rate).

Waddell was only recently claimed from the Minnesota Twins. A former starter in the minors, Waddell saw a jump in his strikeout rate as he began transitioning into a relief role during the 2019 season. The 26-year-old southpaw has just 7 1/3 innings of Major League experience split between the Twins this season and the Pirates in 2020.

Red Sox Acquire Jhonny Pereda From Cubs To Complete Travis Lakins Trade

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The Red Sox announced Monday that they’ve acquired minor league catcher Jhonny Pereda from the Cubs as the player to be named later in the January trade that sent righty Travis Lakins from Boston to Chicago. Lakins, oddly enough, is no longer even in the Cubs organization; he was claimed off waivers by the Orioles just 10 days after the Cubs acquired him. Pereda is not on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move isn’t necessary for the Sox.

Pereda, 24 next month, had a rough year in Double-A this past season, slashing .241/.336/.305 with just two home runs and 16 doubles in 398 plate appearances. Pereda caught a third of the runners who attempted to steal against him and won a minor league Gold Glove Award, but he also turned in poor framing metrics, per Baseball Prospectus. Baseball America ranked Pereda as the Cubs’ No. 26 prospect last offseason, before the poor 2019 showing, calling him a potential backup catcher with a bit of offensive upside due to his on-base skills (while also pointing out an utter dearth of power).

Regardless of how Pereda turns out, things unfolded in a sub-optimal manner for the Cubs, who presumably hoped that they’d be able to pass Lakins through waivers and retain him without committing a 40-man roster spot to the righty. That didn’t prove to be the case, however, as the Orioles (who hold the No. 2 waiver priority) quickly nabbed him and have continued to carry him on the 40-man roster.

Orioles Claim Travis Lakins, Designate Stevie Wilkerson

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The Orioles announced Friday that they’ve claimed righty Travis Lakins off waivers from the Cubs. Infielder/outfielder Stevie Wilkerson was designated for assignment in a corresponding roster move.

Lakins, 25, was designated for assignment by the Red Sox earlier this winter and subsequently traded to Chicago for cash. Although he’d consistently ranked in the No. 15-25 range of a thin Boston farm system, the Ohio State product has yet to put together a particularly strong showing in the Majors or in the upper minors. Lakins made his big league debut this past season, yielding a 3.86 ERA with a lackluster 18-to-10 K/BB ratio in 23 2/3 innings for Boston. His work in Triple-A has been rather similar, as he’s compiled a 3.82 ERA with 8.4 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and slightly below-average grounder rates in parts of two seasons there. Lakins worked as a starter earlier in his career but has pitched primarily out of the bullpen the past couple of seasons.

Wilkerson, 28, is a career .219/.279/.365 hitter in 410 plate appearances — most of which came this past season in Baltimore. He’s spent time at all three outfield positions with the O’s in addition to second base and third base, although he’s most likely remembered by many for his absurd home run robbery against Jackie Bradley Jr. at Fenway Park this past season (video link). He also holds the distinction of being the first position player to earn a save, which he did when pitching the 16th inning of a marathon win over the Angels on July 25 of this past season.

The switch-hitting Wilkerson hasn’t spent much time in Triple-A but has had some success there, hitting .294/.340/.478 through 153 trips to the plate. Wilkerson has generally been a versatile defender with respectable batting average/on-base percentage marks but limited power in the minors; since being drafted out of Clemson in the eighth round back in 2014, he’s hit .268/.342/.371 in six minor league seasons.

Red Sox Trade Travis Lakins To Cubs, Outright Bobby Poyner

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The Red Sox traded right-hander Travis Lakins to the Cubs in exchange for a player to be named later or cash, both teams announced Tuesday afternoon. The Sox added that left-hander Bobby Poyner went unclaimed on outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Pawtucket. Both teams now have full 40-man rosters.

Lakins, 25, was designated for assignment last week. Although he’d consistently ranked in the No. 15-25 range of a thin Boston farm system, the Ohio State product has yet to put together a particularly strong showing in the Majors or in the upper minors. Lakins made his big league debut this past season, yielding a 3.86 ERA with a lackluster 18-to-10 K/BB ratio in 23 2/3 innings for Boston. His work in Triple-A has been rather similar, as he’s compiled a 3.82 ERA with 8.4 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and slightly below-average grounder rates in parts of two seasons there.

Scouting reports on Lakins praise his curveball as a potential above-average offering, and he did average 93.8 mph on his heater in his brief MLB work. Clearly, the new Chaim Bloom-led front office isn’t enthralled with the right-hander, but the Cubs and their ongoing quest to stockpile ’pen depth without actually adding to the payroll in a meaningful way saw enough upside to take a flier.

Poyner, meanwhile, limped to a 6.94 ERA in just 11 2/3 innings last year. He posted solid numbers for the BoSox in his debut campaign (2018) and has averaged nearly 10 punchouts per nine innings pitched over the life of his minor league career. Having gone unclaimed, Poyner will remain in the organization without requiring a 40-man roster spot, so the Sox could take another look at him down the line in 2020.

Red Sox Designate Travis Lakins

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The Red Sox have designated right-hander Travis Lakins for assignment, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com tweets. His designation clears roster space for newly acquired southpaw Matt Hall.

This could bring an end to a Boston tenure that began when the team chose Lakins in the sixth round of the 2015 draft. Injuries have been a problem since then for Lakins, once a solid Red Sox prospect who suffered elbow fractures in both the 2016 and ’17 seasons. But Lakins persevered through those issues to make his major league debut last season, when he posted a solid 3.86 ERA/3.64 FIP with a strong 47.2 percent groundball rate across 16 appearances (three starts) and 23 1/3 innings. Lakins didn’t put up particularly impressive strikeout or walk rates, though, as he fanned just under seven batters per nine while recording a 3.86 BB/9.

Lakins spent the majority of last season as a member of Triple-A Pawtucket, with which he struggled to prevent runs after a successful (albeit brief) debut at the minors’ highest level in the previous campaign. The 25-year-old pitched to a 4.60 ERA/4.58 FIP with 8.4 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 over 45 Triple-A frames in 2019.

Red Sox Place Mitch Moreland On IL, Change Bullpen Mix

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The Red Sox announced a series of roster moves today. First baseman Mitch Moreland is headed to the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain, helping to free up roster space for some tweaks to the team’s bullpen mix.

Lefty Josh Taylor will be promoted for his first taste of the majors. He had already been added to the 40-man roster last fall to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. The Sox also sent down Travis Lakins after his tough outing last night, recalling fellow right-hander Colten Brewer.

Moreland had been down for a few days already, though his absence had been attributed to a knee contusion. He has also dealt with minor back issues in the recent past. Rather than pushing him to return, the Sox will allow the left-handed-hitting first bagger some time to recuperate.

Thus far at Triple-A, Taylor carries a 2.91 ERA with 29 strikeouts and nine walks. The 26-year-old gives the Sox a much-needed southpaw presence in their relief unit. As we discussed earlier this morning, the Boston pen has struggled to retire opposing lefty hitters. Taylor has actually struggled quite a bit against lefty hitters this year in the highest level of the minors, surrendering a cumulative .286/.364/.500 batting line, though he has carried more typical platoon splits in prior seasons.

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