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Cubs Designate Erick Castillo, Tyler Payne For Assignment

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The Cubs have designated catchers Erick Castillo and Tyler Payne for assignment, as relayed by Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (Twitter link). Additionally, Johneshwy Fargas, Tyler Ladendorf and Joe Biagini — each of whom were selected to the majors as COVID-19 replacements — have been removed from the 40-man roster and returned to Triple-A Iowa.

Castillo and Payne are both longtime organizational veterans who got late-season cameos with Willson Contreras dealing with a hip issue. Both 28-year-olds got their first big league calls in the last week of the regular season, with Castillo picking up a couple of hits. Neither player was regarded as a high-level prospect and neither has a strong offensive track record in the minors. It’s not surprising they were removed from the roster rather quickly, then, although both did at least get into an MLB game.

Both Castillo and Payne will go on waivers in the coming days. Should they pass through unclaimed, they’d each have the right to elect minor league free agency as players with seven-plus seasons of minor league experience. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see either player re-sign with the Cubs on a minors pact for 2022, as they’ve each only played in the Chicago organization throughout their pro careers.

Fargas, Ladendorf and Biagini are all soon to become minor league free agents themselves. That trio was brought up at the end of the year while the Cubs dealt with coronavirus spread in the clubhouse. Players selected as COVID replacements needn’t be passed through waivers to be removed from the 40-man, although they’ll all have the requisite minor league service time to test the open market this winter anyhow.

Cubs Select Johneshwy Fargas, Tyler Ladendorf

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The Cubs are selecting outfielder Johneshwy Fargas and infielder Tyler Ladendorf to the major league roster, the team informed reporters (including Jordan Bastian of MLB.com). Outfielder Nick Martini and infielder David Bote were placed on the COVID-19 injured list in corresponding moves. Additionally, Chicago placed infielder Nico Hoerner on the 10-day IL due to right oblique tightness and recalled righty Cory Abbott to start this evening’s game.

Fargas opened this season with the Mets after signing a minor league deal last winter. He popped four extra-base hits in his first 22 MLB plate appearances but landed on the injured list after hurting his shoulder running into an outfield wall. By the time he returned, the Mets’ previously-injured outfield had returned to health and he was squeezed back off the roster. Chicago claimed him off waivers but designated him for assignment themselves just a few weeks later.

Between the two clubs, Fargas hit .277/.292/.426 over 49 trips to the dish. He’s hitting .246/.295/.395 in a bit more playing time at Triple-A. Now that he’s back on the 40-man roster, Fargas technically remains controllable for the foreseeable future. It’s possible the Cubs remove him from the roster again after this final weekend of play, though. If that were to happen, the 26-year-old would qualify for minor league free agency this offseason.

Ladendorf is back in the big leagues for the first time in five years. He picked up 68 plate appearances between 2015-16 with the A’s but hasn’t played at the highest level since. The right-handed hitter has bounced between a few Triple-A clubs and independent ball, landing with the Cubs on a minor league deal in May. Through 210 plate appearances with their top farm team in Iowa, the 33-year-old Ladendorf hit .241/.297/.424 with eight homers.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/16/19

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We’ll start the week by tracking some minor moves throughout the league…

  • The Rays released middle infielder Tyler Ladendorf from their Triple-A club over the weekend, and he quickly re-signed with the High Point Rockers of the independent Atlantic League, per an announcement from the Rockers. The 31-year-old, who would’ve been a free agent at season’s end anyhow, asked the organization for an early release, tweets Greer Smith of the High Point Enterprise. Ladendorf spent much of the season playing for the Rockers and performed well (.268/.350/.450), but he inked a minor league pact with the Tampa Bay organization in late July. He appeared in only nine games with Triple-A Durham, going 2-for-27 in that brief return to affiliated ball. Ladendorf was the Twins’ second-round pick out of Howard College back in 2008 and was flipped to the A’s a year later in the trade that brought Orlando Cabrera to Minnesota. He’s a career .255/.324/.342 hitter in parts of nine Triple-A seasons, and he also appeared in 53 big league games with Oakland in 2015-16.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/28/19

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • Former Mets outfielder Matt den Dekker announced his retirement via Instagram, as Tim Healey of Newsday reports. Now 31 years old, den Dekker enjoyed a 10-year professional career, playing in parts of six Major League seasons with the Mets, Nationals, and Tigers. He was a fifth-round selection by the Mets in 2010, and compiled a career .223/.305/.337 batting line with seven home runs. All of us at MLBTR extend our congratulations to den Dekker on his playing career and wish him the best in his future endeavors.
  • The Rays have signed infielder Tyler Ladendorf to a minor-league contract, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The 31-year-old will be sent to Triple-A Durham as infield depth—the Rays currently have four infielders on the injured list. A former second-round pick, Ladendorf last appeared in a Major League game in 2016, when he was with the Athletics. In just 68 plate appearances, he has batted .123/.149/.154.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/1/18

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • Former MLB hurler Ross Detwiler is joining the Mariners organization, per an announcement from the Atlantic League. The 32-year-old had been pitching with the York Revolution, In his nine years in the majors, Detwiler has compiled 578 innings of 4.36 ERA pitching. Detwiler isn’t the only pitcher moving from the Atlantic League to Tacoma. Righty Tyler Higgins, who was with the New Britain Bees, will be doing the same. The former Marlins farmhand has never previously pitched above the Double-A level.
  • The D-backs acquired infielder Tyler Ladendorf from the Blue Jays in exchange for cash, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports. A second-round pick of the Twins back in 2007, Ladendorf eventually reached the Majors with the A’s but hit just .123/.149/.154 in 68 plate appearances. Ladendorf appeared in just two games with the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate and went hitless in six plate appearances, but he’s a career .256/.324/.347 hitter in parts of eight Triple-A seasons.
  • The Reds acquired right-hander Tommy Bergjans from the Phillies in exchange for cash, also per Eddy. Bergjans, 25, went from the Dodgers to the Phillies in the 2016 Carlos Ruiz/A.J. Ellis trade. He struggled to a 6.57 ERA with solid control but just 7.1 K/9 and a whopping 2.37 HR/9 in 50 1/3 innings at the Double-A level last season. He’s allowed just two runs through seven innings this season but has failed to record a strikeout in that time.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/13/18

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league, all courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted…

  • The Angels have added right-handed reliever Jordan Jankowski on a minor league contract. The 28-year-old got his first taste of the big league in 2017, tossing 4 1/3 frames for the Astros before landing with the Dodgers via waiver claim. Jankowski has averaged 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings in 177 1/3 Triple-A frames in his career, though he’s struggled with control since being selected in the 34th round of the 2012 draft as well.
  • Former big league infielders Tyler Ladendorf and Darnell Sweeney have signed minor league pacts with the Blue Jays. Ladendorf, a former Twins second-rounder who was once traded to the A’s in exchange for Orlando Cabrera, logged 68 MLB plate appearances with Oakland from 2015-16 but hit just .123/.149/.154 in that brief time. He’s a career .258/.326/.350 hitter in Triple-A and has played second base, shortstop, third base and corner outfield as a pro. Sweeney, meanwhile, posted a .639 OPS in 98 plate appearances with the Phillies in 2015 after they acquired him from the Dodgers in the Chase Utley trade. He’s a career .258/.325/.394 hitter in Triple-A.
  • The Giants released outfielder Daniel Carbonell, who they’d originally signed Carbonell to a four-year, $3.5MM contract back in 2014 after he left Cuba. Signed because of his defensive prowess and speed, Carbonell’s bat never came around, as he appeared in just two Triple-A games with the Giants after stalling out in Double-A. In 437 plate appearances at that Double-A level, the now-27-year-old Carbonell hit just .188/.227/.273.

A’s Outright Eric Sogard, Fernando Rodriguez, Four Others

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TODAY: Rodriguez, Landendorf, Roach, Lambo, McBride and Smith have all declared free agency, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Twitter link).  Sogard also elected to become a free agent on Saturday.

THURSDAY: The Athletics announced this afternoon that they’ve outrighted second baseman Eric Sogard, infielder Tyler Ladendorf, first baseman Andrew Lambo and right-handers Fernando Rodriguez, Donn Roach and J.B. Wendelken to Triple-A Nashville, thereby removing those six players from their 40-man roster. That makes eight players that Oakland has shed from its 40-man roster in the past 24 hours, as the team also outrighted Matt McBride and Chris Smith yesterday.

Sogard is the most notable name of the bunch, though he missed the entire 2016 season due to knee surgery. Prior to that, the 30-year-old Sogard saw semi-regular time with the A’s from 2013-15, and he’s spent parts of five years on the Oakland roster dating back to 2011. The outright could spell the end of his time in Oakland, as Sogard has the Major League service time required to elect free agency. The 30-year-old batted just .247/.294/.304 in 401 plate appearances last season and has slashed a mere .247/.305/.315 from 2013-15. He did, however, draw positive grades for his baserunning, per Fangraphs, and both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating peg him as a plus defender at second base. Sogard is also capable of filling in at shortstop and third base as needed, so he could make for a nice utility target for clubs seeking low-cost defensive upgrades this winter.

Rodriguez, 32, underwent shoulder surgery last month but logged 40 2/3 serviceable innings out of the Oakland bullpen in 2016. Since joining the A’s in 2014, he’s pitched to a solid 3.74 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9. Like Sogard, Rodriguez has the requisite service time to elect free agency following his outright assignment, and depending on his progress from shoulder surgery could be a nice buy-low target for teams looking for veteran ’pen depth.

Wendelken, 23, has been weighing Tommy John surgery and recently sought a second opinion on his right elbow. Given the current injury he’s facing, it’s not a surprise that he cleared waivers. The A’s will be able to retain his rights and clear a 40-man roster spot by outrighting him, and he can rehab from any surgery that he may ultimately undergo next season without accruing MLB service time. Oakland picked up Wendelken in last winter’s trade that sent Brett Lawrie to Chicago, and he showed a penchant for missing bats in Triple-A (4.11 ERA, 12.7 K/9, 5.1 BB/9 in 46 innings) before struggling in a small sample of MLB games.

Roach, 28, has been traded once and claimed on waivers five time since being drafted by the Angels in 2010. His extreme ground-ball tendencies and strong control have continually piqued the interest of Major League clubs despite the fact that he’s a soft-tossing righty who has averaged fewer than five strikeouts per nine innings in Triple-A. Roach has been outrighted in the past and figures to elect free agency in search of a minor league deal this winter.

Ladendorf, 28, collected just four hits in 50 plate appearances with the A’s this season and has played sparingly over the past two seasons at the Major League level. Originally a second-round draft pick of the Twins, Ladendorf was traded to Oakland back in 2009 in exchange for Orlando Cabrera and is a career .261/.327/.349 hitter at the Triple-A level, where he’s played shortstop, second base, third base and outfield.

Lambo, 28, picked up just one plate appearance with the A’s in 2016 and is a career .189/.230/.295 batter at the Major League level. The former top prospect saw his 2016 campaign come to an end in mid-June after the A’s announced that he’d undergone surgery to treat testicular cancer. The announcement from the A’s was made on Twitter and, as such, doesn’t come with a timeline for Lambo’s recovery, but hopefully he is progressing well and can ultimately make a return to baseball.

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