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Tyrell Jenkins

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/21/17

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Let’s catch up on some of the recent minor moves from around the game:

  • Righty Jumbo Diaz is a free agent after rejecting an outright assignment from the Rays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. The bulky 33-year-old had a solid 2016 campaign but scuffled upon arriving in Tampa Bay. In his thirty innings, he was touched for a 5.70 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9.
  • The Blue Jays have outrighted righty Lucas Harrell to Triple-A, per a club announcement. He’ll have the option of rejecting that assignment. Harrell, 32, turned in six solid starts at Triple-A before earning a call-up, but was knocked around in his four appearances with the Jays.
  • Right-hander Tyrell Jenkins has been released by the Padres, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Jenkins, who just turned 25, had a 14-appearance taste of the majors last year with the Braves, but struggled badly. He had generally performed quite well in the upper minors previously, but coughed up 71 earned runs on 111 hits in his 82 1/3 Triple-A frames in the Padres organization this season.
  • The Diamondbacks have inked righty David Carpenter to a minors deal, per a club announcement from the indy ball Bridgeport Bluefish. Once a quality MLB reliever, Carpenter washed out of the majors with arm issues. He posted a 1.91 ERA and racked up 45 strikeouts in his 37 2/3 innings on the year.
  • Catcher Steve Clevenger has signed with the Atlantic League’s Lancaster Barnstormers, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (Twitter link). Clevenger lost his job with the Mariners last year after a Twitter controversy. The 31-year-old will be looking to earn his way back into the affiliated ranks.
  • The Twins have added righty Michael Kohn on a minors deal, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune reports (Twitter links). He’ll continue rehabbing a rotator cuff injury that has kept him off the mound since 2015. Kohn previously turned in 115 innings of 3.52 ERA ball — but with 6.2 walks to go with his 8.7 strikeouts per nine — in parts of five seasons of MLB action.
  • Outfielder Michael Choice is heading to the KBO, as the Brewers announced they’ve sold his contract to the Nexen Heroes. Still just 27 years of age, the former top prospect was released by the Orioles after struggling early this year at Triple-A. But he has found his groove at Double-A Biloxi, slashing .272/.349/.503 over 195 plate appearances.

West Notes: Rangers, Rockies, Holland, Jenkins

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The Rangers’ open tryouts today have unearthed a number of interesting names, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes (Twitter links). Among those trying out today are three hurlers who’ve pitched in the Rangers’ system — Kameron Loe (who was a starter and reliever for the Rangers from 2004-2008 and pitched last season with the White Sox’ Triple-A affiliate), Mark Hamburger (who made five relief appearances with the 2011 Rangers) and Blake Beavan (who was the Rangers’ first-round pick in 2007 and who pitched parts of four seasons in the big leagues with the Mariners). Also appearing today are Justin Masterson (who recently pitched a showcase after appearing the Pirates’ minor-league system last year), Kyle Drabek (the former Blue Jays top prospect, who pitched briefly for the Diamondbacks in 2016) and Jose Veras (the veteran bullpen righty, who pitched last year in independent ball). Here’s more from the West divisions.

  • The Rockies’ signing of Ian Desmond tops Dave Cameron of FanGraphs’ list of the offseason’s worst transactions. This offseason’s market featured plenty of first base options, and yet the Rockies paid heavily for Desmond, who wasn’t previously a first baseman, to play first for them. The cost of signing Desmond was also more than his $70MM price tag, too, since the Rockies also gave up the 11th pick in the June draft. “I don’t know anyone who understands this move,” Cameron writes.
  • Pitching in Coors Field will be a tough assignment for new Rockies reliever Greg Holland, but the mentally tough Holland is up to the challenge, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes. Holland says one factor for him was the way the Rockies have recently added to their existing core (presumably with offseason pieces like Desmond and Mike Dunn, who both signed before he did). “I did my homework before I signed here. I know what they’ve got. I felt the pieces they added, the holes they filled to contend, that was the deciding factor for me. I wasn’t going to come to a place where I couldn’t win,” Holland says. “It’s just like we did there for three or four years in Kansas City. We grew together, learned together, and went from competing to winning.” Holland, of course, missed the 2016 season after having Tommy John surgery but still managed to land $7MM guaranteed (along with some very favorable perks if he’s able to stay healthy) from the Rockies on a one-year deal with a mutual option this offseason.
  • Padres righty Tyrell Jenkins had a chaotic offseason in which he changed teams three times in four weeks, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune notes. He first headed from the Braves to the Rangers in a small trade, then was claimed off waivers by the Reds and finally the Padres. Jenkins, for his part, seems to have handled the offseason activity with good humor. Asked about the most difficult aspect of his winter, Jenkins says, “Having to explain to Mom what’s going on. I guess she thought I had a say in what was going on. I was like, Mom, I have nothing to do with this.” Jenkins also notes that he was “trying to catch (Richie) Shaffer and (David) Rollins,” two medalists in this winter’s waiver claim Olympics. Shaffer (an infielder, and, like Jenkins, a former top prospect) headed from the Rays in a trade to the Mariners, then on waiver claims to the Phillies, then Reds, then Indians before being outrighted. Lefty reliever Rollins went from the Mariners to the Cubs to the Rangers to the Phillies to the Rangers (again) to the Cubs, all in less than six weeks, before finally being outrighted last week.

NL West Notes: Turner, Rockies, Melancon, Jenkins

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How intent was Justin Turner on re-signing with the Dodgers?  According to ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required), Turner didn’t clean out his locker at the end of the season and continued to go through his winter workouts at Dodger Stadium.  There was very little buzz on the rumor mill linking Turner to any club besides Los Angeles, and sure enough, the two sides continued their relationship when Turner inked a four-year, $64MM deal.  Here’s more from around the National League West…

  • The Rockies could still add a reliever this winter but their big transactions could already be over, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding opines (Twitter link).  Since the Ian Desmond signing, Colorado has been rumored to be exploring such moves as signing Mark Trumbo and trading an outfielder, though Harding doesn’t see either scenario happening.
  • The specifics of Mark Melancon’s $20MM signing bonus with the Giants were broken down by FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman (Twitter link) earlier this week.  The closer received $6MM on December 30 and will get another $6MM payment on January 15.  The remaining $8MM will be deferred until after Melancon’s four-year deal is up; he will be paid $1MM every January 15 from 2021 through 2028.
  • Thanks to a trade and two waiver claims, right-hander Tyrell Jenkins has been a member of four different organizations within the last month, a tumultuous stretch for any player, let alone a 24-year-old entering his second MLB season.  Jenkins spoke to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about his busy winter, including how he was already feeling some hometown pressure during his brief stint with the Rangers (Jenkins hails from Henderson, Texas) and how his latest move (being claimed by the Padres) caught Jenkins by surprise, though he’s looking forward to getting an opportunity in San Diego.

Padres Claim Tyrell Jenkins

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The Padres have claimed righty Tyrell Jenkins off waivers from the Reds, San Diego announced. Cincinnati evidently sought to slip the 24-year-old through waivers, but he’ll land on the 40-man roster of a new organization instead.

This isn’t the first time Jenkins has changed hands this winter, of course. He previously went from the Braves to the Rangers via trade before being designated by Texas and claimed by Cincinnati.

It’s obvious that plenty of teams still like Jenkins’s arm, despite his less-than-inspiring 2016 season. A sandwich-round selection in the 2010 draft, Jenkins has posted excellent run-prevention numbers in the upper minors, but lacks the peripherals to match them.

Over 129 career frames at Triple-A, Jenkins owns a 2.86 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9. Things got worse when he received a call to the majors for the first time in 2016. He worked to a 5.88 ERA, recording just 26 strikeouts while allowing 33 walks and 11 home runs over his 52 innings.

Reds Claim Richie Shaffer, Tyrell Jenkins Off Waivers

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The Reds announced on Friday that they’ve claimed infielder/outfielder Richie Shaffer off waivers from the Phillies and also claimed right-hander Tyrell Jenkins off waivers from the Rangers. Both players were recently designated for assignment by their now-former organizations.

Shaffer, 25, spent parts of the 2015-16 seasons at the Major League level with the Rays but batted a disappointing .213/.310/.410 in 142 plate appearances. The former first-round pick has been considerably more productive at the Triple-A level, where he’s slashed .243/.338/.445 with 30 homers in 188 games. Shaffer, a right-handed hitter, has experience at all four corner positions but has spent the majority of the time at first base. In his big league career, he’s actually been better against right-handed pitching than left-handers, but he doesn’t come with much of a platoon split looking back throughout his minor league career. He’ll presumably compete for a bench job with Cincinnati in Spring Training.

Jenkins, meanwhile, has moved around the league quite a bit in the past couple of years. The former Cardinals top prospect (drafted No. 50 overall in 2010) went to the Braves in the Jason Heyward/Shelby Miller deal back in 2014, and Atlanta traded him to Texas earlier this month. The Rangers, though, designated Jenkins for assignment this week and weren’t able to pass him through waivers. Jenkins draws plenty of praise for his athleticism, but he’s posted rather unsightly numbers in the Majors (5.88 ERA, 4.5 K/9, 5.7 BB/9 in 52 innings) and in questionable rate stats in Triple-A (2.86 ERA in 129 innings but with 5.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9). Jenkins won’t turn 25 until July, however, so the Reds are adding a bit of upside at minimal cost for the time being. (It seems far from a given that Jenkins will survive the offseason on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster.)

Rangers Claim David Rollins, Designate Tyrell Jenkins

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The Rangers have announced that they’ve claimed lefty David Rollins off waivers from the Phillies. In a corresponding move, they’ve designated righty Tyrell Jenkins for assignment.

The Phillies designated Rollins for assignment last week. His claim by the Rangers marks the fourth such time he’s been claimed in a little over a month. The Cubs claimed him from the Mariners in November, only to lose him on a claim to the Rangers four days later. The Phillies claimed Rollins from the Rangers early this month, and now the Rangers are claiming him for a second time.

Rollins spent most of the 2016 season with Triple-A Tacoma, posting a 3.77 ERA, 6.4 and a strong 1.2 BB/9 in 45 1/3 innings of relief. The former Rule 5 pick has struggled in parts of two big-league seasons with the Mariners. He turns 27 today.

The Rangers only acquired Jenkins earlier this month, getting him along with lefty Brady Feigl from the Braves in exchange for hard-throwing righty Luke Jackson. Jenkins was once a well-regarded prospect in the Cardinals system before going to the Braves in the Jason Heyward deal. Since then, though, Jenkins has posted unimpressive peripheral numbers in both the minors and Majors, culminating in a 5.88 ERA, 4.5 K/9, 5.7 BB/9 and an awful 11 home runs in 52 innings in his big-league debut last season. Jenkins is still just 24 and has never been used much as a reliever, so another team could see upside in him, either as a starting option or out of the bullpen.

Rangers Acquire Tyrell Jenkins, Brady Feigl From Braves For Luke Jackson

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6:59pm: Texas has announced the deal.

6:11pm: The Rangers and Braves have agreed to a trade that will send lefty Brady Feigl and righty Tyrell Jenkins to the Rangers, according to reports from Tommy Stokke of Fan Rag (via Twitter) and Keith Law of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Righty Luke Jackson is heading to Atlanta, Law adds on Twitter.

Tyrell Jenkins

It seems fair to characterize this as something of a change-of-scenery swap involving two similarly situated young righties. The 25-year-old Jackson and 24-year-old Jenkins each drew a fair amount of attention as prospects and reached the majors only recently. In both cases, limited exposure to the big leagues has led to questions as to whether (and in what role) they can stick.

Taken with the 45th overall selection in the 2010 draft, Jackson brings a big arm to the table but hasn’t yet found his bearings at the game’s highest level. Over 18 MLB innings in the last two years, he has allowed 17 earned runs on 27 hits and ten walks, while retiring just nine batters via strikeout.

Though he has shown swing-and-miss stuff at all levels of the minors, and delivers a mid-to-upper-nineties fastball, Jackson has also long struggled with control. He has walked 4.6 batters per nine in his minor-league career, and a full-time shift to the pen hasn’t really helped much. In his 46 1/3 innings at Double-A and Triple-A last year, Jackson issued 32 free passes, though he also racked up 59 strikeouts.

For Jenkins, who joined the Atlanta organization as a part of the Jason Heyward-Shelby Miller swap, the results have been good in the upper minors over the last two years. But that has come in spite of a lack of strikeouts and uninspiring peripherals. Last year, for instance, he struck out 5.9 and walked 3.8 batters per nine over 83 2/3 Triple-A innings. He did end with a 2.47 ERA, though, in large part because he limited opposing hitters to just three home runs.

The dinger suppression did not continue when Jenkins hit the majors. He was touched for 11 long balls in his first 52 MLB frames. Over eight starts and six relief appearances in 2016, Jenkins worked to a 5.88 ERA while allowing 33 walks and striking out only 26 hitters.

There’s another piece being chipped in by the Braves, in the form of the 25-year-old Feigl. An undrafted product of Mount Saint Mary’s University, Feigl has been limited to 72 1/3 professional innings — mostly in the lower minors — as he fought through Tommy John surgery. He has shown well when healthy, though, posting a 2.74 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL Notes: Turner, Giants OF, Mets 3B, Peralta, Wong, Jenkins

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Nationals infielder Trea Turner had an impressive season debut today, but the plan is for him to return to Triple-A once Ryan Zimmerman is back from paternity leave, manager Dusty Baker told reporters including MLB.com’s Jamal Collier (Twitter link). That’s not to say that he won’t play a more significant role later in the year, of course. Danny Espinosa and Stephen Drew have been solid defensively but have combined for an anemic 65 wRC+ on the year.

Here’s more from the National League:

  • With the news that Hunter Pence will miss two months or more, the Giants are facing some uncertainty in the corner outfield. While the organization sees some “attractive options externally,” GM Bobby Evans tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter), it has no intentions of plunking down a high price for a temporary fill-in (let alone a long-term piece).
  • The Mets’ plans at third base appear to be somewhat up in the air with David Wright out of action. Per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, via Twitter, the club will “explore” the market for trade candidates, but is also glad to give Wilmer Flores the majority of the time at present. New York could find some options via trade, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams explained earlier today, but it’s fair to wonder whether any of the presently-available players would represent an upgrade over Flores.
  • Cadinals GM John Mozeliak says that Jhonny Peralta will take over primary duties at third base when he returns in the coming days, Luke Schnake of 101ESPN reports. The club will keep breakout rookie Aledmys Diaz at short while shifting veteran Matt Carpenter to second. That raises yet more questions about the struggling Kolten Wong. While Mozeliak wouldn’t say whether he could be optioned to Triple-A, he did note that “overall this game is about performance” while adding that “everything has to be on the table when considering how to improve.”
  • Braves right-handed pitching prospect Tyrell Jenkins will move to the bullpen at Triple-A Gwinnett, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Manager Brian Snitker says the decision was made to “get him a different look,” not out of any displeasure with his work in the rotation. Jenkins, who came to Atlanta along with Shelby Miller in exchange for Jason Heyward and Jordan Walden, has worked to a 2.97 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 over 57 2/3 innings on the year.

Braves Notes: Gonzalez, Norris, Inciarte, Smith

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While the Braves were never expected to be a contender in 2016, the club’s 5-17 start is nonetheless a disappointment to a front office that expected to see some improvement over last year’s 67 wins, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. “We’re obviously disappointed in the way this season has gone,” GM John Coppolella tells Rosenthal. “We’re not going to make excuses. We know we need to play better.” Notably, Rosenthal writes that it’s “difficult to imagine” manager Fredi Gonzalez surviving the club’s upcoming eight-game road trip, though he notes that it’s unlikely that any other manager could extract positive results from the current roster, especially with Ender Inciarte on the shelf and Freddie Freeman struggling so greatly. Were Gonzalez to be dismissed, Rosenthal lists first base coach Terry Pendleton and bullpen coach Eddie Perez as candidates to replace him on an interim basis. The Braves extended Gonzalez and the rest of the coaching staff through the end of the 2016 season last July.

More out of Atlanta…

  • Right-hander Bud Norris could be dropped from the rotation before his next start, writes David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. While Norris was solid in his first start of the season, he’s lasted a combined 15 2/3 innings over four subsequent turns, pitching to a 10.91 ERA in that span. O’Brien writes that manager Fredi Gonzalez was noncommittal when asked if Norris would take the hill upon his next scheduled trip.  “We’re still hashing through that and talking though that kind of stuff to see what’s best for him, and what’s best for us,” said Gonzalez of Norris, who inked a one-year, $2.5MM deal this winter. “But I think the No. 1 priority is to get him fixed.” O’Brien adds that right-hander Mike Foltynewicz could be recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to step into the starting five in place of Norris. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, meanwhile, also lists right-hander Tyrell Jenkins as an option, noting that he’d be on just one extra day of rest were he to start in Norris’ place as opposed to the three extra days that Foltynewicz would require to align with that scheduling (links to Twitter). Both Bowman and O’Brien have tweeted that Norris is available out of the bullpen today, so it seems that his time in the rotation could indeed be over, for now.
  • The Braves are expecting Inciarte to return to the active roster no later than next week’s homestand and possibly as early as their series against the Mets in New York next week, tweets O’Brien. Inciarte has played in only three games for Atlanta this season due to a strained left hamstring.
  • Recently recalled outfield prospect Mallex Smith chatted with David Laurila of Fangraphs about his experience finding out that he was promoted to the Major Leagues and balancing the excitement with the recognition that a good deal of work remains. Smith notes that he grew up primarily playing football, as very few in his area played baseball as a child, and he also discusses his biggest strengths on the field. It’s been speculated that Smith could return to the minors when Inciarte is healthy, though as Bowman wrote last weekend, Gonzalez would like to see Smith remain with the big league club. The 22-year-old hasn’t hit much to date, though, batting just .188/.278/.292 in 54 plate appearances since being recalled to fill Inciarte’s spot on the roster.
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