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Minor MLB Transactions: 2/12/22

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Today’s minor league moves from around the baseball world…

  • The Rockies signed right-hander Zach Lee to a minor league deal, as per the team’s official transactions page.  The 28th overall pick of the 2010 draft, Lee was a regular on top-100 prospect lists during his time in the Dodgers farm system, but Los Angeles fans may remember Lee best as the player dealt to the Mariners for Chris Taylor in June 2016.  Lee has pitched only 12 2/3 innings at the big league level and hasn’t appeared in an MLB game since 2017, bouncing around to several different organizations on minor league contracts.  Still only 30 years old, Lee will now head to the Rockies’ camp to try and earn another trip back to the Show.

Remembering A Dodgers Heist

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As a versatile defender and a capable offensive player, Chris Taylor has been one of many eminently useful members of the Dodgers’ roster since 2017. But Taylor’s career did not begin in ideal fashion. A fifth-round pick of the Mariners in 2012, Taylor peaked as Baseball America’s ninth-ranked M’s prospect in 2014, and though he reached the majors for the first time that year, it took him a few years to come into his own.

Taylor showed off almost zero pop early in his big league career, evidenced by his one home run and .076 isolated power number across 318 plate appearances through 2016. Taylor had plenty of high moments in the Mariners’ minor league system, where he hit .314/.401/.455 in 1,856 PA, but could only muster a measly line of .240/296/.296 (71 wRC+) in the majors. Consequently, general manager Jerry Dipoto – who did not draft Taylor – gave him up in June 2016, sending him to the Dodgers for right-hander Zach Lee.

At the time of the Seattle-LA deal, MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk wrote, “Given Taylor’s impressive minor league numbers, it’s not out of the question that he could unlock some of that hitting prowess in the bigs.”

Mark couldn’t have been more right. Taylor saw little time with the Dodgers in his first year with the organization (just 62 PA), but he became a regular for the club the next season and has been an integral part of the perennial contenders’ roster since then. Going back to 2017, Taylor has slashed .268/.340/.468 (116 wRC+) with 50 homers and 9.6 fWAR, all while making relatively minimal salaries. Taylor’s still under affordable control through 2021, so as someone who can hit and play just about every position (he has lined up at second, third, short and all three outfield spots in LA), it should be a no-brainer for the Dodgers to keep him in the fold for at least the next couple years.

While the Dodgers struck gold on Taylor, the Mariners got nothing out of this swap. Lee entered the pro ranks as the 28th overall pick of the Dodgers in 2010, deciding to try for a baseball career instead of playing football at LSU. Signing the former quarterback cost the Dodgers a franchise-record bonus of $5.25MM, and Lee lived up to the hype for a little while. He was among Baseball America’s top 100 prospects three times (2011, ’12 and ’14), but Lee had an up-and-down minor league run as a Dodger and made just one appearance with the big club. In a 15-2 loss to the Mets in July 2015, Lee yielded seven earned runs on 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings. That was the only time he took the mound as a Dodger.

So what has become of Lee since the Mariners acquired him? Well, he had a fleeting run in the Seattle org, which lost him on waivers to San Diego in December 2016. Lee has since been with three other franchises – the Rays, Mets and Athletics (the A’s signed him to a minors pact this past offseason). He’s still just 28, and as a former high-end prospect, it may be too soon to give up on Lee. However, as the owner of a 5.41 ERA over 625 1/3 innings in Triple-A ball, it seems unlikely he’ll amount to much in the majors. Considering how Lee’s pro career has gone thus far, the Dodgers have to be thrilled with the return they got for him.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

A’s Announce Various Minor-League Signings

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The A’s announced a spate of minor-league signings this afternoon, some of which were previously reported by Susan Slusser and Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. On the pitching side, the club brought aboard left-hander Lucas Luetge and right-handers Ian Gardeck, Zach Lee, and Brian Schlitter. They confirmed the earlier-reported signing of Jaime Schultz. Oakland also added depth on the position player side, signing catcher Carlos Pérez, and infielders Eric Campbell, Nate Orf and Ryan Goins. All nine players will receive an invitation to MLB camp in spring training.

Of those players, only Gardeck doesn’t have some MLB experience. The former Giants’ farmhand tossed 18.2 relief innings with a 2.41 ERA last season for Tampa Bay’s AA affiliate in Montgomery. Campbell and Schlitter spent last season in the A’s organization, with Schlitter pitching in six MLB games for Oakland.

Except for Schlitter, only Goins reached the game’s highest level in 2019, his seventh straight year logging MLB action. The former Blue Jay took 163 plate appearances for the White Sox and slashed .250/.333/.347. That tops the .230/.279/.335 (65 wRC+) line the infielder has accumulated over his career. He, Campbell, and Orf, a former Brewers’ prospect, could all vie for a utility role this spring.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/18/18

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Here are Tuesday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • The Mets have signed right-hander Zach Lee to a minor league contract, as first reported by MetsMerized’s Michael Mayer (on Twitter). The once-vaunted pitching prospect was involved in one of the more lopsided swaps in recent memory, going from Los Angeles to Seattle in a straight-up deal for Chris Taylor. Lee, now 26, spent the 2018 season in the Rays’ system, where he split the year between Double-A and Triple-A and posted a 3.65 ERA with 6.6 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 in 145 2/3 innings. However, as has been the case throughout his career, he was terrific in Double-A (career 3.22 ERA in 282 1/3 innings) but clobbered in Triple-A (5.20 ERA in 550 2/3 innings).
  • Corner infielder D.J. Peterson has been granted his release by the Reds to pursue other opportunities, tweets C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. Peterson, the 12th overall pick in the 2013 draft (by the Mariners), was once considered to be among the game’s elite prospects. Multiple outlets considered him to be among the game’s top 100 prospects in 2014-15, but his bat stalled in the upper minors. Peterson hit .249/.318/.418 in parts of three Triple-A seasons and posted a similarly pedestrian .262/.315/.431 slash in parts of four seasons in Triple-A. It’s not clear what’s lined up next for him, though as a corner bat with some pop, he could draw interest overseas.
  • The Pirates have agreed to a minor league contract with catcher Steven Baron, per John Dreker of PiratesProspects.com. Baron, who just turned 28, has gone 1-for-16 in a minuscule sample of six big league games. He’s a career .252/.309/.331 hitter in parts of four Triple-A seasons, though, and has thrown out 43 percent of would-be base thieves in his minor league career. He’s also drawn consistently excellent marks for his pitch-framing abilities and above-average marks in terms of pitch blocking, per Baseball Prospectus.
  • The Brewers announced that they’ve signed right-hander Chris Dula to a minor league contract. The 26-year-old hasn’t pitched in affiliated ball since 2016, when he was with the Rangers, but has spent the past couple of seasons on the indy circuit and gained some notoriety for a fastball that reaches 102 mph. As one might expect, control issues are a significant factor with Dula, but the Brewers will take him on as a project, presumably in the lower to middle levels of their minor league system, in hopes of harnessing his premium velocity.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/23/17

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Here are some of the latest minor moves from around the game, as reported by Baseball America’s Matt Eddy, unless otherwise noted:

  • The Tigers announced tonight that they’ve optioned lefty Chad Bell to Triple-A Toledo and will select the contract of right-hander Zac Reininger prior to Thursday’s contest. The 24-year-old Reininger was Detroit’s eight-round pick back in 2013 and has had a strong season across three minor league levels in 2017, rising from Class-A Advanced to Triple-A. In 63 2/3 total innings, Reininger has posted a 2.54 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9. His ground-ball rate was a strong 53.4 percent in 28 Class-A frames but has fallen to the 39 percent range in the upper minors.

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Minor MLB Transactions: 6/22/17

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Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • Right-hander Tyler Cloyd has been outrighted to Triple-A by the Mariners after clearing waivers, per a club announcement. The former Phillies farmhand made his return to the Majors for the first time since 2013 this season, though he made just one appearance with Seattle before being designated for assignment. Cloyd, 30, spent the 2015 season in Korea and has pitched well in Triple-A and indy ball since returning stateside. Through 19 1/3 innings with Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate this year, he allowed just three earned runs on 12 hits and two walks with 16 strikeouts.
  • Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets that Padres right-hander Zach Lee cleared waivers and has been sent outright to Triple-A El Paso. The 25-year-old Lee allowed five runs in eight innings for the Padres this year, and he’s tallied more walks than strikeouts in both the Majors and minors in 2017. While Lee was once regarded as one of the game’s best pitching prospects, he’s never excelled in the upper minors or in the Majors. The former Dodgers prospect owns a 4.94 ERA across 435 1/3 career innings in Triple-A.
  • Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that the Rays have signed right-hander Mike Broadway to a minor league contract and will assign him to Double-A Montgomery. Broadway was released by the Nationals earlier this season after serving up 20 earned runs in 17 1/3 innings with their Triple-A club. The 30-year-old did carry a 2.96 ERA in 127 2/3 career Triple-A innings into the 2017 season, however, and he’s shown a knack for missing bats and limiting walks throughout his minor league tenure. He has brief big league experience as well, though he’s managed just a 6.75 ERA through 22 2/3 innings in a small sample of games with the Giants.

Padres Claim Dillon Overton, Designate Zach Lee

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The Padres announced on Monday that they’ve claimed left-hander Dillon Overton off waivers from the Mariners and designated right-hander Zach Lee for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Overton has been optioned to Triple-A El Paso, per the Padres.

The 25-year-old Overton was a second-round pick by the Athletics back in 2013 and was traded to Seattle in the offseason. The Mariners, however, designated Overton for assignment this past weekend after a rough start to his 2017 season; through 18 1/3 innings at the big league level, Overton logged a 6.31 ERA with just eight strikeouts, albeit against a mere two walks. His minor league output has been worse, as he’s been rocked for a 9.33 ERA through 27 innings with Triple-A Tacoma.

However, Overton is just a few months removed from wrapping up a strong 2016 season in which he posted a 3.29 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 36.1 percent ground-ball rate through 125 2/3 innings (20 starts) for Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate. And with a pair of minor league options remaining, he’s a reasonable add for a Padres team that is thin on pitching depth and brought in most of its current rotation via free agency this past winter.

Lee, also 25, has allowed five runs in eight innings for the Padres this year while tallying more walks (eight) than strikeouts (six). Once regarded as one of baseball’s very best prospects while in the Dodgers’ minor league ranks, Lee’s career has never taken off as many scouts and prospect analysts had envisioned. He’s posted a 5.32 ERA with 15 walks and 14 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season and has compiled a 4.94 ERA across 435 1/3 career innings in Triple-A.

Padres Claim Zach Lee

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The Padres have claimed righty Zach Lee off waivers from the Mariners, Seattle announced. He had recently been designated for assignment.

Once considered a top-100 prospect leaguewide, Lee’s star has waned in recent years. He was acquired last year from the Dodgers in the deal that sent infielder Chris Taylor to Los Angeles. Lee was originally taken in the back end of the first round of the 2010 draft, back when current San Diego front office man Logan White was running the Dodgers’ drafts, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune notes on Twitter.

[RELATED: Updated Padres Depth Chart]

Still just 25, Lee briefly reached the majors in 2015. But he fell well shy of earning a return in the ensuing campaign. Over his 148 Triple-A innings in 2016, Lee scuffled to a 6.14 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9. Lee was torched for 193 hits in that span, including 22 long balls, but it seems that the Pads have reason to believe they can get him back on track.

 

Mariners Make Handful Of Roster Moves

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In addition to confirming the signing of left-hander Marc Rzepczynski, the Mariners have inked right-hander Casey Fien to a major league contract, per a team announcement. To make room for those bullpen additions, Seattle has designated southpaw Dean Kiekhefer and righty Zach Lee for assignment.

[RELATED: Updated Mariners Roster]

Fien became eligible for free agency shortly after the Dodgers outrighted him off their 40-man roster in mid-September. In a combined 39 1/3 innings with them and the Twins last season, Fien recorded a 5.49 ERA, 8.01 K/9, 2.29 BB/9 and 33.9 percent ground-ball rate. Fien was much more successful at preventing runs over the previous four years, as he logged a 3.54 ERA, 7.93 K/9, 1.57 BB/9 and 33.6 grounder rate in 223 2/3 frames with the Twins from 2012-15. Home runs weren’t a serious problem then for Fien, but the 33-year-old allowed 13 this past season en route to a bloated ERA.

Fien has a minor league option remaining, but if he earns a place on the Mariners’ roster, he’ll make $1.1MM, according to Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (Twitter link). He’ll vie to join a relief group that, at least for now, also includes righty setup men in the injured Steve Cishek, Nick Vincent, Evan Scribner, Dan Altavilla and Arquimedes Caminero.

Kiekhefer originally joined the Mariners less than a month ago as a waiver claim from the Cardinals. A 38th-round pick in the 2010 draft, Kiekhefer cracked the major leagues for the first time in 2016 and registered a 5.32 ERA, 5.73 K/9, 2.86 BB/9 and 47.3 percent ground-ball mark in 22 innings with St. Louis.

Lee, a former high-end prospect with the Dodgers, became a Mariner when they acquired him for infielder Chris Taylor last June. The 25-year-old Lee, who went in the first round of the 2010 draft, debuted in the big leagues with 4 2/3 frames as a member of the Dodgers in 2015. He spent last season at the Triple-A level and combined for 148 innings – 74 1/3 of which came with the Mariners’ affiliate in Tacoma. Lee struggled to a 7.39 ERA with the Rainiers, though his strikeout and walk rates per nine (6.05 and 2.91) weren’t nearly as ugly.

Dodgers Acquire Chris Taylor From Mariners For Zach Lee

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The Dodgers and Mariners announced a trade that will send infielder Chris Taylor to Los Angeles in exchange for righty Zach Lee.

Taylor, 25, has appeared in just three games at the MLB level this season but played in 84 games for the Mariners in 2014-15, hitting .239/.296/.296 over 253 plate appearances.  Taylor received quite a bit of playing time at shortstop due to Brad Miller’s struggles and injuries, though obviously he didn’t enough himself to gain a roster foothold before Ketel Marte took over the position.  A fifth-rounder in the 2012 draft, Taylor swung a powerful bat in the minors, hitting .314/.401/.455 over 1856 PA in the Seattle farm system.

The vast majority of Taylor’s Major League experience has come at short, though he has seen a significant amount of time at second in the minors, as well as a handful of games at third.  He can provide the Dodgers with some versatile infield depth at either the major or minor league level, though the team already has Enrique Hernandez and Howie Kendrick as multi-position assets on the roster.  Given Taylor’s impressive minor league numbers, it’s not out of the question that he could unlock some of that hitting prowess in the bigs.

Lee was a staple of top-100 prospect rankings after the Dodgers picked him 28th overall in the 2010 draft, agreeing to a $5.25MM bonus to choose baseball over playing football at LSU.  Over the years, Lee has often been mentioned as potential trade chip L.A. could use in many possible deals for big-name players, though his prospect stock dimmed after a rough 2014 season at Triple-A Albuquerque (in the notoriously hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League).  He rebounded with a good 2015 that saw him cut down on his homers and walks, though the long ball problems returned with a force this year.  Lee posted a 4.89 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 3.8 K/BB in 73 2/3 Triple-A innings with 11 homers allowed.

The 2016 Baseball America Prospect Handbook dropped Lee to 15th in their ranking of the Dodgers’ top 30 prospects prior to this season, describing his stuff as “fringy to average across the board” and describing him as a potential back-end starter.  The Mariners are optioning Lee to Triple-A, though he could get to the bigs since Seattle is struggling with a number of injuries in both the rotation and bullpen.  Given how Taylor was an expendable piece for the M’s, Lee is a pretty good return for Seattle if he emerges as a post-hype prospect.

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