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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.

Phillies Select Rob Brantly, Move Pat Neshek To 60-Day IL

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2:08pm: It’s possible Neshek has thrown his last pitch for the Phils. He tells reporters, including Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link) that the best-case scenario is a return in early or mid-September. (His deal includes a club option for 2020, though that seems unlikely to be exercised.)

1:04pm: The Phillies have selected the contract of catcher Rob Brantly, per a club announcement. He’ll take the active roster spot of J.T. Realmuto, who’ll take a brief step away on paternity leave.

To create a 40-man roster spot, the Phils have moved reliever Pat Neshek to the 60-day injured list. Neshek has been sidelined for several weeks with a hamstring injury. Given the placement, he won’t be eligible to return until late in August.

Brantly, who’s days from his thirtieth birthday, will get his first time in a major league uni since 2017. He’s a .230/.294/.333 hitter in 428 career plate appearances at the game’s highest level, most of which came way back in 2012-13.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/21/18

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Phillies have a host of new additions to the team’s list of MLB Spring Training participants. In addition to a few we’ve already featured here at MLBTR, the Philadelphia club has announced the signings of southpaw Jeremy Bleich, backstop Rob Brantly, righty Josh Martin, utilityman Matt McBride, and infielder Gregorio Petit. Every one of these players has seen MLB time except for Martin, who’ll be looking for his first crack at the bigs after compiling a seven-season minor-league stat line with the Indians organization that features a 3.33 ERA and 9.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.
  • Likewise, the Padres have announced a haul of camp competitors. Allen Craig will come back for another go, as will Alex Dickerson. Otherwise, southpaws Ryan Bollinger and Dietrich Enns have inked with the San Diego org, along with righty Tyler Higgins. On the position-player side, infielders Seth Mejias-Brean and Aderlin Rodriguez are joined by outfielder Jacob Scavuzzo. It’s the opposite situation from the one just discussed above, as all of the new additions excepting Enns — who’s compiled two MLB appearances — have yet to crack the majors.
  • A handful of new free agents are heading to the Rangers, too, per a club announcement. Lefty Jack Leathersich has seen action in a pair of MLB campaigns, but won’t get a camp invite. Fellow southpaw Miguel Del Pozo, righties, Ariel Hernandez and Phillips Valdez, and infielder Nolan Fontana will open their tenure in Texas on the MLB side of Spring Training. Hernandez and Fontana each have minimal experience in the bigs. Valdez worked to a 2.73 ERA in 135 upper-minors innings with the Nationals organization last year, with 6.9 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9; Del Pozo has averaged ten strikeouts per nine in his minor-league career.
  • The Red Sox have added another hurler on a minor-league pact, this time picking up righty Ryan Weber, per Michael Mayer of Metsmerizedonline.com (via Twitter). Now 28 years of age, Weber has thrown 73 2/3 innings of 5.01 ERA ball over the past four years, though the vast majority of those came in 2015 and 2016. He was rather effective last year at Triple-A in a swingman capacity, spinning 115 1/3 innings of 2.73 ERA ball with 6.5 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9.

Indians Outright Ryan Merritt, Sign Rob Brantly

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The Indians announced over the weekend that they’ve signed veteran catcher Rob Brantly to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Columbus. Left-hander Ryan Merritt, meanwhile, cleared waivers after being designated for assignment and was assigned outright to Columbus.

Merritt, 26, was designated for assignment after spending the entirety of the season on the disabled list due to a knee sprain. He’d been working through a rehab assignment, and Indians manager Terry Francona told reporters at the time of Merrit’s DFA that the lefty was healthy but showing diminished velocity. That’s particularly troubling for a pitcher who only averaged 87.3 mph on his heater when healthy in the Majors from 2016-17.

Indians fans will forever remember Merritt’s performance against the Blue Jays in the 2016 American League Championship Series, and he owns terrific overall results in limited big league experience. Merritt has a 1.71 ERA in 31 2/3 MLB innings, but he’s managed just 13 strikeouts in that time (3.7 K/9) and has been rather fortunate in that he’s never surrendered a home run in the big leagues. Merritt has a career 3.68 ERA in 315 1/3 Triple-A frames, but he struggled to a 5.88 mark in 20 2/3 innings this season. He’s out of minor league options, so any club that claimed him would’ve had to carry him on the MLB roster. Now, he’ll look to round back into form with Columbus in hopes of getting another shot in the big leagues later this season.

The 29-year-old Brantly, meanwhile, was recently released from the Braves organization after a disastrous run with their Triple-A affiliate. In 201 plate appearances, Brantley slashed just .218/.254/.293. However, he had an excellent year between the Triple-A affiliates for the Reds and White Sox in 2017 and even hit .290/.389/.516 in 36 big league plate appearances with the White Sox.

Cleveland understandably needed some catching depth at the Triple-A level after dealing prized catching prospect Francisco Mejia to the Padres in last Thursday’s Brad Hand/Adam Cimber trade, and Brantly will give them an experienced option behind the plate. He’s a career .230/.294/.333 hitter in 428 MLB plate appearances and a .257/.295/.379 hitter in parts of seven Triple-A seasons.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/16/18

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We’ll track Monday’s minor moves from around the game here…

  • The Braves’ Triple-A affiliate announced yesterday that veteran catcher Rob Brantly has been released, with prospect Alex Jackson moving up from Double-A Mississippi to Triple-A Gwinnett in his place. Brantly, 29, has had an ugly season in Triple-A this year, hitting at just a .218/.254/.293 clip through 201 plate appearances. He had an excellent year between the Triple-A affiliates for the Reds and White Sox last season and even hit .290/.389/.516 in 36 big league plate appearances with the White Sox, but that success hasn’t carried over to the 2018 campaign. Jackson hasn’t exactly had a productive season, either, as he’s posted a woeful .200/.282/.329 and struck out in 31 percent of his 252 plate appearances.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/22/17

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As teams and agents look to wrap up their business before the holiday season, there’s no shortage of minor league deals being wrapped up. Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • Backstop Rob Brantly is in agreement on a minors deal with the Braves, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). The 28-year-old won’t have a shot at a MLB roster spot out of camp, barring an injury to Tyler Flowers or Kurt Suzuki, but he could be the first line of depth behind that duo. Brantly has received only brief MLB action over the past several seasons. He spent most of the 2017 campaign at Triple-A with the Reds and White Sox organizations, where he posted a solid .293/.352/.443 slash in 321 plate appearances.
  • Also agreeing to a minor-league pact is righty Pedro Beato, who Heyman tweets will remain with the Phillies. Beato, 31, returned to the majors in 2017 with the Phils for the first time since 2014. He only received a single appearance, though. In 55 2/3 innings at Lehigh Valley, Beato posted a 2.75 ERA — his third-straight season with excellent results at the highest level of the minors. Of course, Beato also averaged a less-than-dominant 6.8 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9, with his success coming in no small part due to some batted ball fortune (.233 BABIP, 5.2% HR/FB rate) that he likely would not carry with him to the majors.

Earlier Updates

  • The Nationals agreed to terms with right-hander Jeff Ames, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). Ames, 26, was the 42nd overall pick in the 2011 draft but has yet to crack the majors. He reached Triple-A for the first time in 2017, working to a 3.98 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in 63 1/3 innings.
  • The Orioles announced minor league pacts with lefties Jayson Aquino and Andrew Faulkner, right-hander Tim Melville and first baseman Aderlin Rodriguez. Aquino, Faulkner and Rodriguez will be returning to the organization, while Melville will be joining the team for the first time. The 25-year-old Aquino has tossed 15 2/3 innings with the O’s over the past two seasons but struggled to a 6.32 ERA in that time. He does have a 4.02 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in parts of two Triple-A seasons. Faulkner, 25, logged a 2.79 ERA in 38 1/3 Triple-A innings with 8.1 K/9 last season but also averaged 5.6 walks per nine innings. Rodriguez, meanwhile, hit .279/.341/.471 with 22 homers in Double-A this past season, albeit at the age of 25 (older than much of the competition he was facing). The 28-year-old Melville has just 14 2/3 MLB innings on his resume and has been hit hard in that time. However, he also logged a 2.95 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 in 12 starts (13 total appearances) with the Triple-A affiliates for the Twins and Padres last year.
  • The Brewers announced that they’ve signed right-hander Radhames Liz to a minor league contract. Liz, a hard-throwing 34-year-old, has seen more time in the Korea Baseball Organization and Nippon Professional Baseball than in the Majors in recent years. He didn’t pitch in 2017 but has allowed just two runs in 35 1/3 innings during the Dominican Winter League this offseason. He’ll compete for a bullpen spot in Spring Training.
  • Infielder Josh Rutledge has agreed to a minor league deal (and, presumably, a Spring Training invite) with the Giants, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. Rutledge has spent the past three seasons in the Red Sox organization and picked up 118 PAs with Boston this past season. He’s batted just .252/.319/.313 in 259 plate appearances across those three seasons but has played second base, shortstop and third base in the Majors (plus a brief 13-inning cameo at first base).
  • Right-hander Anthony Bass announced (on Twitter) that he’s latched on with the Cubs. Assuming it’s a minor league pact — the Cubs themselves have yet to announce the signing — he’ll head to Spring Training and vie for a job in the ’pen. Bass was hit hard in 5 2/3 frames with the Rangers last year — his first MLB action since 2015 after spending the 2016 campaign pitching in Japan. Bass had a 4.14 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 75 1/3 Triple-A innings with Texas last year and has experience both as a starter and a reliever.
  • Outfielder Shane Peterson has landed with the Padres on a minor league pact, as per the team’s Triple-A broadcaster, Tim Hagerty (on Twitter). A career .254/.319/.359 hitter in 322 MLB plate appearances, Peterson brings an excellent .296/.374/.474 career Triple-A slash to the Padres organization. He’ll turn 30 in February and can handle any outfield spot

White Sox Outright Five Players

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The White Sox announced Wednesday that they’ve outrighted catcher Rob Brantly, outfielder Rymer Liriano, left-hander David Holmberg and righties Chris Volstad and Brad Goldberg off the 40-man roster, dropping their 40-man count to 33 in the process. Brantly, Liriano, Holmberg and Volstad will all become free agents, while Goldberg (who lacks the service time of the other players) will stick with the ChiSox as a non-roster player.

Both Brantly and Holmberg were in their second stints with the White Sox organization. Brantly appeared in 14 games with the Pale Hose in both 2015 and 2017. spending a year as a member of the Reds organization in the interim. He’s a career .230/.294/.333 hitter in parts of four big league seasons.

Holmberg, meanwhile, was a second-round pick by the ChiSox back in 2009 but was traded to the D-backs along with Daniel Hudson in exchange for Edwin Jackson before ever appearing in Chicago. He tossed 57 2/3 innings for them this year after returning on a minor league deal, though, working to a 4.67 ERA. That was the most significant experience the 25-year-old has had in the Majors to date. Holmberg has struggled in 119 2/3 big league innings, pitching to a 5.49 ERA with more walks (69) than strikeouts (66).

Liriano, once a top prospect in the Padres organization, came to the Sox via waivers but put up uninspiring numbers between both Triple-A and the Majors. Even with a paltry .740 OPS in 500 Triple-A plate appearances this season, the 26-year-old is a lifetime .286/.365/.453 hitter in parts of three Triple-A campaigns.

Volstad’s return to the Majors was somewhat remarkable, as the 31-year-old entered the year with just 10 1/3 MLB innings under his belt dating back to the 2012 season. He didn’t perform especially well in either Triple-A Charlotte or in 19 1/3 innings with the Sox, but he could aim for a similar minor league opportunity this winter.

Goldberg, 27, was the White Sox’ 10th-round pick back in 2013 and debuted in the Majors this year with unsightly results. In 12 innings he was shelled for 11 runs on 14 hits and 14 walks with just three strikeouts. He did post a 3.35 ERA with a much more palatable 47-to-22 K/BB ratio in 40 1/3 Triple-A frames, however.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/26/17

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Here are the latest minor moves from around the game, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

  • The Reds outrighted right-hander Nefi Ogando to Triple-A, according to Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link).  Ogando has been limited to just 5 1/3 minor league innings this season due to a hand injury, and then a shoulder injury suffered while rehabbing his hand.  The hard-throwing Ogando has a 3.86 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 1.69 K/BB rate over 373 1/3 career innings in the farm systems for four different teams (Reds, Marlins, Phillies, Red Sox) in his eight-year pro career.  Ogando has also had a couple of brief stints at the big league level with Miami and Philadelphia over the last two seasons.
  • The White Sox purchased the contract of catcher Rob Brantly from Triple-A, in a corresponding move to the 10-day DL placement of outfielder Nicky Delmonico.  Brantly has spent the entire season with the Triple-A affiliates of the White Sox and Reds, coming to Chicago’s organization in late June after being released by Cincy.  He’ll be looking for his first taste of MLB action since 2015, when he appeared in 14 games in a previous stint with the White Sox.

Earlier Today

  • The Rays outrighted Trevor Plouffe to Triple-A after the third baseman cleared waivers, the team announced.  Plouffe was designated for assignment earlier this week.  Acquired by the Rays from the Athletics in June, Plouffe hasn’t produced much in either uniform in 2017, hitting a combined .204/.274/.325 over 281 PA.  One would think Plouffe will be a candidate to rejoin the Rays when rosters expand in September, though a new space will have to be found on their 40-man roster.
  • The Reds selected the contract of catcher Chad Wallach from Triple-A Louisville prior to yesterday’s game.  The move was made to replace Stuart Turner, who went on the paternity list.  Even if it may be a brief stint as Cincy’s backup catcher, it still represents the first big league callup for Wallach, a fifth-round pick for Miami in the 2013 draft and the owner of a .259/.350/.387 slash line over 1477 plate appearances in the minors.  Wallach, the son of longtime Expos/Dodgers third baseman and current Marlins bench coach Tim Wallach, joined the Reds in December 2014 along with Anthony DeSclafani in the trade that sent Mat Latos to Miami.

NL Notes: Mets, Reds, Giants, Dodgers

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Mets right-hander Matt Harvey continued to allay concerns regarding his early spring velocity dip on Sunday. For the second straight outing, Harvey’s fastball sat in the 92 to 94 mph range and topped out at 97 mph, per Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. “I couldn’t be happier than where I am now and ready to start the season,” Harvey said after throwing six innings against the Braves and allowing two runs on five hits (via MetsBlog). Harvey’s progress is obviously a positive development for the Mets, who found out Sunday that they could begin the season without the injured Steven Matz. If they do, either Seth Lugo or Zack Wheeler will open the year as their fifth starter. The club has already decided that Robert Gsellman will get a rotation spot, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).

More from the National League:

  • Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco will likely begin the season on the disabled list as he works his way back from the left shoulder and right hip surgeries he underwent last year, writes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Consequently, the team is “leaning toward” retaining fellow backstop Stuart Turner, whom it took from the Twins in the Rule 5 draft, per Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). Turner would join Tucker Barnhart to comprise the Reds’ top two catchers, and they’d try to pass the out-of-options Rob Brantly through waivers.
  • Despite his $20MM salary, Giants righty Matt Cain isn’t a shoo-in to win the last spot in their rotation, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). The 30-year-old combined for a 5.70 ERA over 150 innings in the previous two seasons, and he has pitched to an even uglier 8.10 ERA in 20 spring frames. Southpaw Ty Blach will take the role if Cain doesn’t. Blach, 26, debuted in the majors last season and gave up a mere two earned runs on eight hits in 17 innings.
  • Dodgers reliever Pedro Baez, who has been dealing with a right hand contusion this spring, will probably start the season on the disabled list, tweets Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. Baez is the Dodgers’ top righty setup man, having tossed a career-high 74 innings and logged a 3.04 ERA and 10.09 K/9 against 2.68 BB/9 last season. Sergio Romo figures to serve as the main right-handed bridge to closer Kenley Jansen until Baez returns.

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