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AL East Notes: Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles

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To some, the Rays recent trade of Rich Hill to the Mets may have seemed incongruous with their plans for contention, but this is how the Rays do business: players play for the present, front office plays for the future. GM Erik Neander suggested it was simply a matter of coming up on having too many guys for the rotation, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). He didn’t shut down the idea of upgrading the rotation, however, suggesting they weren’t in love with Hill’s output projections for this season. For now, Luis Patino and Chris Archer will soon round out the rotation, pending another deal in the coming days. Elsewhere in the AL East…

  • Red Sox southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez was removed from his start in the second inning today with what’s being reported as “migraine symptoms,” per Steve Hewitt of the Boston Herald and others (via Twitter). Rodriguez has a 5.19 ERA in 95 1/3 innings this season, though a 3.51 FIP and 21.9 percent strikeout-to-walk rate suggests his performance has been quite a bit better. He threw just 25 pitches in today’s outing.
  • The Yankees were also dealt a potential blow today as Gary Sanchez was removed from the game with back spasms. The Yankees are already without backup Kyle Higashioka, who will remain on the COVID-related injured list at least until next week, per Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). Rob Brantly would be the stand-in, should Sanchez need further days off.
  • Orioles Rule 5 pick Tyler Wells was placed on the 10-day injured list today with right wrist tendonitis, per the team. His placement was backdated to July 20th, however, and the O’s don’t expect him to be out for longer than the minimum ten days, per The Athletic’s Dan Connolly (via Twitter).

Yankees Select Three Players, Place Luke Voit On Injured List

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The Yankees announced a series of roster moves before this evening’s game against the Red Sox. New York selected the contracts of outfielder Greg Allen, catcher Rob Brantly and infielder Hoy Jun Park (previously reported). As expected, All-Star outfielder Aaron Judge, third baseman Gio Urshela and catcher Kyle Higashioka landed on the COVID-19 injured list. (Manager Aaron Boone implied this afternoon all three players had tested positive for the virus as part of its spread within the Yankees clubhouse).

Additionally, first baseman Luke Voit has been placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to July 13, with left knee inflammation. Fellow first baseman Chris Gittens was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take his active roster spot.

Allen and Brantly each have a decent amount of big league experience, although neither has played in the majors to this point in 2021. Allen, a switch-hitting outfielder, suited up for the Indians and Padres between 2017-20. He’s only managed a tepid .239/.298/.343 line across 618 MLB plate appearances, but he’s an elite runner capable of covering all three outfield spots. The 28-year-old has had a strong season with Scranton, hitting .272/.409/.369 over 128 trips to the dish, drawing 15 walks and rather remarkably reaching base via hit-by-pitch nine times.

Brantly, a lefty-hitting backstop, has appeared in parts of six major league seasons for four different clubs. He appeared in one game with the Giants last year but hasn’t accrued more than 36 MLB plate appearances in any single season since 2013. The 32-year-old has hit a stellar .270/.391/.477 with six homers in 133 plate appearances with the RailRiders this year and will be on hand as Gary Sánchez’s  backup while Higashioka is on the shelf.

As part of the 2021 health and safety protocols, players selected to the big league roster as replacements for players landing on the COVID-19 injured list can be removed from the 40-man roster without being exposed to waivers. Thus, each of Allen, Brantly and Park can be taken off the 40-man and returned to Scranton without being offered to other teams upon the returns of Judge, Urshela and Higashioka.

Voit’s IL placement is unrelated to the Yankees’ COVID-19 situation. It’s the third stint of the season for the slugging first baseman, who’s had a disappointing 2021 campaign because of health woes. The diagnosis of left knee inflammation is particularly alarming since Voit began the season on the IL after undergoing surgery to repair a meniscus tear in the area. (His second stint was due to an oblique strain). Voit will undergo a lubricating injection and is looking at potential platelet-rich plasma treatment, Boone told reporters (including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). The team didn’t provide a timetable for his return, but it seems he could be looking at another significant absence given the skipper’s comments.

That should leave first base to Gittens, who was selected to the roster during Voit’s second IL stint earlier this year. The 27-year-old didn’t perform well over his first 25 MLB plate appearances, but he’s had a downright monstrous season in Triple-A. The right-handed hitting slugger has mashed at a .359/.519/.718 clip across 104 plate appearances with the RailRiders this year.

Giants Trade Rob Brantly To Yankees

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The Yankees have acquired veteran catcher Rob Brantly from the Giants in exchange for cash and assigned him to their alternate training site, per a team announcement. Brantly was designated for assignment early in the season and assigned outright to the Giants’ alternate site after clearing waivers. He’s not currently on the 40-man roster but will be added to the Yankees’ 60-man player pool.

The 31-year-old Brantly appeared in just one game with the Giants and went 0-for-3 before his DFA. He’s a well-traveled veteran that has seen action in parts of six MLB seasons, hitting at a combined .228/.292/.330 clip in 432 plate appearances. Brantly has a solid 28 percent caught-stealing rate from behind the dish but less favorable number in terms of pitch framing.

Brantly will add some catching depth to a Yankees club that has seen Gary Sanchez struggle at the plate and Chris Iannetta depart for retirement. Backup Kyle Higashioka, meanwhile, is on the injured list due to an oblique strain, which prompted the Yankees to bring up veteran Erik Kratz. New York also has catchers Josh Thole, Max McDowell and Wynston Sawyer at its alternate training site at the moment.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/1/20

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It’s been a busy sports day with the NBA and NHL back in action, not to mention the many MLB games still underway. As the action rolls along, we’ll use this post to review some minor moves you may have missed…

  • Catcher Jonathan Lucroy has been assigned to the Red Sox alternate training site in Pawtucket after clearing waivers, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). He’ll stay in their 60-player pool after catching a total of two innings behind the plate for the big-league team. Lucroy, 34, has enjoyed a long and productive career, but a steep dropoff in production following his second All-Star appearance in 2016 has led to a meandering period for the veteran receiver. In addition to the Red Sox, Lucroy has dressed for the Cubs, Angels, Athletics, Rockies, and Rangers since coming to semi-stardom with the Brewers.
  • The Cubs signed pitcher Matt Dermody out of the Independent League, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (via Twitter). Everyone is in need of extra pitching depth these days it seems, though the Cubs have a particularly unsettled situation in their bullpen. Dermody is a 30-year-old southpaw who last appeared in the majors in 2017 for the Blue Jays. He made 23 appearances that season, going 2-0 with a 4.43 ERA/6.25 FIP across 22 1/3 innings. Cubs relievers have been the worst such group in the game so far this season. Prior to Saturday’s action, they pitched to a combined 9.55 ERA/9.51 FIP across 21 2/3 innings.
  • The Giants assigned catcher Rob Brantly to their alternate training site, per The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly (via Twitter). The 31-year-old catcher cleared waivers after appearing in one game for the Giants, going hitless in three at-bats. Tyler Heineman and Chadwick Tromp are the catchers that remain on San Francisco’s active roster.

Giants Designate Rob Brantly For Assignment

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The Giants announced this afternoon that they’ve designated catcher Rob Brantly for assignment. His spot on the roster goes to fellow backstop Chadwick Tromp, whose contract has been selected.

Brantly, 31, appeared in just one game with the Giants and went 0-for-3 before today’s DFA. He’d been thrust into an unexpectedly prominent role, teaming with Tyler Heineman to shoulder the bulk of the catching load for the Giants after Buster Posey opted out of the 2020 season. The well-traveled veteran has seen action in parts of six MLB seasons, hitting at a combined .228/.292/.330 clip in 432 plate appearances. He has a solid 28 percent caught-stealing rate from behind the dish but much less favorable number in terms of pitch framing.

In moving from Brantly to Tromp, the Giants will take a look at a younger option who has a career .275/.353/.439 slash in part of the three Triple-A seasons. The 25-year-old, Aruban-born Tromp spent his entire pro career with the Reds organization prior to 2020, but he became a minor league free agent last winter and latched on with the Giants. He’ll now get his first look at the MLB level. Joey Bart is considered to be the Giants’ future everyday catcher, but a strong showing from Tromp could put him in line to serve as a backup or part-time option down the road.

Giants Select Rico Garcia, Darin Ruf, Rob Brantly, Tyler Heineman

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The Giants have announced their Opening Day roster, which includes several players who’ll need to be added to the 40-man. Reliever Rico Garcia and first baseman Darin Ruf will join catchers Rob Brantly and Tyler Heineman on the 30-man active unit.

Those moves necessitated some departures. Outfielder Jose Siri and infielder Kean Wong were each designated for assignment, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets.

Garcia will enter his first season with the Giants, who claimed him off waivers from the division-rival Rockies last November. He entered the pro ranks as a 30th-round pick of the Rockies in 2016 and has generally posted good results in the minors, though he struggled during his Triple-A and major league debuts last season. The 26-year-old put up a woeful 6.90 ERA/6.47 FIP with 7.48 K/9 and 4.11 BB/9 in 61 1/3 innings at the minors’ top level. In six frames with the Rockies, he allowed seven earned runs on nine hits and five walks (with two strikeouts).

Ruf, meanwhile, joined the Giants in July on a minors pact after thriving in the Korea Baseball Organization from 2017-19. Ruf does have previous MLB experience as a member of the Phillies, with whom he batted .240/.314/.433 in 833 plate appearances from 2012-16. The 33-year-old will now get a chance to pick up at-bats in San Francisco, whose starting first baseman, Brandon Belt, will open the season on the injured list because of a heel issue.

The 31-year-old Brantly, another minor league pickup, has never hit much in MLB stints with the Marlins, White Sox and Phillies, but he’ll could get quite a bit of playing time at catcher for the Buster Posey-less Giants. The same goes for Heineman, whose first 12 major league PA came last season as a member of the Marlins. The former eighth-rounder (Astros, 2012) was excellent in Triple-A last year, when he slashed .341/.397/.622 with 10 homers in 182 PA.

Siri and Wong were both waiver claims in recent months, and they’re now in limbo once again. Siri’s a former Reds farmhand who owns a .264/.313/.447 line with 68 homers and 155 steals in 2,438 minor league PA. Wong combined for 18 trips to the plate with the Angels and Rays last year, but the vast majority of the 2013 fourth-rounder’s experience has come in the minors. He has amassed 1,425 PA in Triple-A and batted .286/.350/.413.

The Giants’ Options For Replacing Buster Posey

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The Giants are in true limbo behind the plate. Organizationally, they have one of the better catching situations in all of baseball. On the one hand, they have a tried-and-true franchise legend still under contract in Buster Posey. Not only was he the backbone of three, count ’em, three World Series titles, but he’s a class act and a fan favorite. In his prime, he was the platonic ideal of a franchise catcher. Admittedly, he is on the decline. Last season was the first since 2011 that the then-32-year-old didn’t make the All-Star team. He’s gone from a 130-start powerhouse behind the plate to more of a true timeshare 100-start guy. He also fell below 100 wRC+ for the first time in his career (save for his 7-game stint as a 22-year-old in 2009). And more to the point, he opted out of the 2020 season to care for his newly adopted twin baby girls. Again: class act.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Giants are blessed with two of the top catching prospects in all of baseball. Joey Bart, the #2 overall pick from the 2018 draft is ranked by Baseball America as the second best catching prospect in all of baseball. Then, with the 13th pick in this year’s draft, they snagged the top NCAA catcher available in Patrick Bailey.

So, yes, big picture, the Giants have an enviable catching corps. But they need to field the position for 2020, and that’s where things get a little sticky. Bailey, 21, has zero chance of jumping straight to the majors from college. He needs time in pro ball to develop. Bart is closer, but all indications are that the Giants want to give him more time, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. He’s close, appearing in 22 games at Double-A last year and raking to the tune of .316/.368/.544. But a talent like Bart is worth the wait, and though he might be ready at some point this season, the Giants aren’t likely to contend. They don’t want to punt the first part of his career in sub-optimal conditions.

Enter Russell Martin? Schulman put forth Martin’s name as a possibility, noting that Justin Turner lobbied for the veteran to return to the Dodgers recently. Even in a part-time capacity, the well-respected Martin would certainly make some sense. The 37-year-old backstop proved he still had a role on a ML club last season with the league-leading Dodgers. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said that the Giants will have to evaluate their internal and external options, and if nothing else, they’re likely going to need someone else in camp just to catch the pitchers on hand.

Without him, the Giants are looking at Chadwick Tromp, Tyler Heineman, and Rob Brantly as the top options from their player pool. Combined, they have 464 big-league plate appearances (429 from Brantly, 11 from Heineman). Brantly, 30, is by far the most experienced of the three, but he hasn’t seen substantive time in the majors since 2017. For the rebuilding Giants, they’re probably most concerned with their ability to handle pitchers and less concerned with contributions at the plate – which is the best argument in favor of pursuing a vet like Martin.

There are catchers out there they could acquire via trade, but with 60-man player pools, catchers fill a very particular need, and player movement has never been more complicated than it is now. Still, they could engage the Rockies’ for Elias Diaz or the Rangers for Blake Swihart, Tim Federowicz, or Nick Ciuffo. Those are just options from teams in their regional pool because, again: player movement is not simple anymore. For those reasons, Martin probable represents the best outside option.

The Giants support Posey in his decision, and they’re going to continue to work with Bart and Bailey to get them ready for their big-league debuts. Maybe Bart will find a way in intrasquad play to prove himself ready. Or maybe one of Tromp, Heineman, or Brantly will seize the opportunity. What we know for sure, the Giants have 60 games ahead in the 2020 season, and they’re going to need a catcher for every one of them.

Giants Sign Rob Brantly To Minor League Deal

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The Giants announced Tuesday that they’ve signed catcher Rob Brantly to a minor league deal and invited him to Major League Spring Training. San Francisco also confirmed its previously reported minor league deals with righty Tyson Ross and left-hander Jerry Blevins.

Brantly, 30, has appeared in parts of five big league seasons, including the briefest of stints with the Phillies in 2019, when he appeared in one game and tallied one plate appearance. He’s a career .229/.294/.332 hitter in 127 games and 429 plate appearances at the MLB level. Brantly struggled through a dismal 2018 season in Triple-A but bounced back with a .314/.404/.464 showing with Philadelphia’s top affiliate in 2019. Overall, he’s a .264/.310/.388 hitter in parts of eight Triple-A campaigns.

Last season, Brantly threw out 35 percent of runners who attempted to steal against him in the minors — up from his career mark of 32 percent. He has a lifetime 27 percent caught-stealing rate in the Majors. Framing statistics at Baseball Prospectus have him hovering at slightly below average over the past few seasons combined.

The Giants will head into 2020 with Buster Posey and Aramis Garcia likely to shoulder the workload behind the plate, with Brantly and fellow offseason signee Tyler Heineman presumably in line to handle catching duties in Triple-A. Of course, the Giants have Joey Bart, the No. 2 overall pick in 2018 and one of the top prospects in all of baseball, working his way up the minor league ladder. He’ll be in big league camp as well this spring and surely draw on the experience of Posey and others, but he’s only played 22 games above Class-A Advanced, so he’s likely destined for Double-A to begin the 2020 season.

Position Players Recently Electing Free Agency

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Since the conclusion of the regular season, a number of players have elected free agency. That right accrues to certain players who are outrighted off of a 40-man roster during or after the season — namely, those that have at least three years of MLB service and/or have previously been outrighted. Such players that accepted outright assignments during the season have the right to elect free agency instead at season’s end, provided they aren’t added back to the 40-man in the meantime.

Here are the position players that have recently taken to the open market, along with their now-former teams (via the International League and PCL transactions pages):

Phillies Designate Rob Brantly For Assignment

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The Phillies have designated catcher Rob Brantly for assignment among a series of roster moves, the team reports.

Brantly’s contract was selected yesterday by Philly, presumably to hold down the weekend fort with catcher J.T. Realmuto away on paternity leave. In 182 plate appearances for AAA-Lehigh Valley in ’19, the former Tiger and Marlin farmhand has turned in one of his best seasons yet. The lefty’s walked more than he’s struck out so far in the International League, posting a stellar .306/.401/.452 line for the club.

He’ll likely go unclaimed on waivers, but the offensive gestation period for a catcher can be lengthy, and it’s possible Brantly has now positioned himself as a legitimate MLB backup option. In 429 career plate appearances with the White Sox and Marlins, Brantly’s paired a .229/.294/.332 (72 wRC+) slash with unseemly defensive metrics behind the plate.

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