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Brewers Outright Trey Supak, Ronny Rodriguez

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Right-hander Trey Supak and infielder Ronny Rodriguez both cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Brewers earlier in the week, per a team announcement. They’ve been assigned outright to Triple-A San Antonio. Because they were outrighted to Triple-A rather than to the alternate training site, neither will remain in the club’s 60-man player pool. They’re both still controlled by the Brewers beyond 2020, however, even though they’re no longer on the 40-man roster.

The 24-year-old Supak spent most of the 2019 campaign in Double-A, where he notched a terrific 2.20 ERA ball with 6.9 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 0.44 HR/9 and a 44.8 percent grounder rate over the life of 122 2/3 innings. That performance came in a pitcher-friendly environment and wasn’t fully backed by fielding-independent metrics (3.14 FIP, 3.59 xFIP), but it was a promising showing overall. He was hit much harder in a brief stint at the Triple-A level, but Supak has yet to have much experience at that stage of the minors.

The Brewers are likely pleased that the righty went unclaimed, as he’s long been ranked as one of the better arms in a thin minor league system. Clearly, the team now feels that others within the system have surpassed him, but they’ll now be able to continue to work on his development in future seasons. Supak has a minor league option remaining beyond the current season, but that wasn’t enough for another club to place a claim at this point, apparently.

Rodriguez never got into a game with the Brewers after coming over from the Tigers via waivers this winter. The 28-year-old is a versatile utility piece with a bit of pop but overwhelming on-base issues, as can be seen in his career .221/.254/.396 batting line. Rodriguez did swat 14 big flies in 294 MLB plate appearances last year, but those on-base woes clearly limit his value.

Brewers Claim Billy McKinney; Trey Supak, Ronny Rodriguez Designated For Assignment

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The Brewers announced Monday that they’ve claimed outfielder Billy McKinney off waivers from the Blue Jays, who had designated him for assignment on Friday. He’s been optioned to the Brewers’ alternate training site. Milwaukee also added righty Justin Topa as the 29th man for their doubleheader today and reinstated right-hander Ray Black from the 45-day injured list.

In order to make room on the 40-man roster for McKinney and Black, the Brewers designated right-hander Trey Supak and infielder Ronny Rodriguez for assignment.

The 26-year-old McKinney was a first-round pick (No. 24 overall) by the Athletics back in 2013 and has since bounced around the league in a series of high-profile swaps. Oakland initially sent him to the Cubs as part of the Jeff Samardzija/Jason Hammel trade, but McKinney never made it to the big leagues in Chicago. Instead, the Cubs shipped him to the Yankees alongside Gleyber Torres in 2016’s Aroldis Chapman deadline swap. Nearly two years to the day later, the Yankees flipped McKinney to Toronto as part of their return for lefty J.A. Happ.

McKinney appeared in only two games for the Yankees and has spent the other 122 games of his big league career with the Toronto organization. He’s shown some pop, evidenced by a .209 ISO, 18 homers, 21 doubles and a triple in 407 plate appearances with the Jays, but McKinney has also been prone to strikeouts and infield flies without drawing much in the walk department.

Overall, McKinney is a .231/.291/.437 hitter with a 25.8 percent strikeout rate and a 7.3 percent walk rate in the Majors. He’s drawn average reviews for his glovework in right field and below-average marks in left. McKinney has never played center in the Majors but does have a handful of innings at first base. He’s out of minor league options after this season, so there will be increased pressure for him to make the club in 2021 — if he survives on the 40-man roster until next year’s Spring Training, that is.

The decision to designate Supak is somewhat of a surprise, given that he’s long been regarded among the organization’s better pitching prospects and put together a nice season in Double-A last year. True, the Milwaukee farm has been regarded as one of the lower-ranking systems in the game for several seasons, but Supak looked to have an opportunity to make it to the Majors this year.

Supak spent most of last year in Double-A, where he pitched 122 2/3 frames of 2.20 ERA ball with 6.9 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 0.44 HR/9 and a 44.8 percent grounder rate. It’s a very pitcher-friendly setting, and the right-hander’s fielding-independent metrics weren’t as bullish as that rudimentary ERA — 3.14 FIP, 3.59 xFIP — but it was still a promising season all around. Supak was hit hard in a brief seven-game Triple-A stint, but that was true of most pitchers, given the offensive eruption throughout Triple-A that coincided with changes to the composition of the ball itself.

Milwaukee can’t trade Supak at this point, so he’ll now surely be run through outright waivers. He has a minor league option remaining beyond this season and a relatively strong minor league track record, so it wouldn’t all be a surprise to see another club place a claim. Perhaps of note, the club that originally drafted Supak, the Pirates, has the top waiver priority at present. (They’ve since turned over the top of their front office, however.) If Supak goes unclaimed, Milwaukee will be able to outright him to its alternate site and keep him both in the organization and in the 60-man player pool.

As for the 28-year-old Rodriguez, he never got into a game with the Brewers after coming over from the Tigers in a December waiver claim. He’s a versatile utility piece with a bit of pop but overwhelming on-base issues, as can be seen in his career .221/.254/.396 batting line. Rodriguez did swat 14 big flies in 294 MLB plate appearances last year, but he also carries a career 24.8 percent strikeout rate and has seen a dismal 18.2 percent of his fly-balls register as infield pop-ups. Thirty percent of Rodriguez’s plate appearances have resulted in either a punchout or a pop-up, and he’s walked at just a 4.6 percent pace in the Majors.

Recently Optioned Players Of Note

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In case you haven’t noticed, transactions aren’t exactly plentiful since the league shut down Spring Training. There have still been a few batches of moves in the past few days, however, with a trio of Central Division clubs sending some players to their minor league ranks.

  • The Brewers optioned corner infielder Ryon Healy to Triple-A, per the MLB.com transactions log. The 28-year-old slugger’s 2019 season with the Mariners came to an end when he underwent August hip surgery, and he opted for free agency in the winter when Seattle removed him from its 40-man roster (as was his right as a player with three-plus years of service time). Healy signed a one-year deal with the Brewers and, assuming he’s healthy, should factor into Milwaukee’s mix at both corner-infield slots and as a right-handed bench bat. He notched a .282/.313/.475 slash through 888 plate appearances with the A’s in his first two big league seasons but never matched that production in Seattle (.236/.280/.423 in 711 plate appearances). Healy was healthy enough to play in 10 spring games, but he went 4-for-23 with a walk and seven strikeouts in 24 trips to the dish, which didn’t exactly help him stand out from a crowded group of infield options. Milwaukee also optioned catcher David Freitas and infielders Mark Mathias and Ronny Rodriguez.
  • Catcher Zack Collins was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte by the White Sox. The former No. 10 overall pick out of Miami, Collins is now blocked long-term by Yasmani Grandal at catcher. James McCann’s presence on the roster eliminates the possibility of Collins serving as a backup, and the organization would surely prefer him to get everyday at-bats rather than toiling away on the bench anyhow. Collins could potentially see some increased reps at first base down the road, particularly if Jose Abreu transitions to more of a DH role in 2021 and beyond. Collins struggled with a .186/.307/.349 slash in 102 MLB plate appearances in his debut last season, also striking out at an alarming 38.2 percent clip. But he ripped Triple-A pitching apart with a .282/.403/.548 slash, 19 home runs and a massive 17 percent walk rate in 367 trips to the plate with Charlotte. Chicago also optioned fellow catcher Yermin Mercedes and right-handed reliever Jose Ruiz to Triple-A.
  • The Tigers announced this week that catcher Jake Rogers was optioned to Triple-A Toledo. That move shouldn’t come as a surprise, particularly after Detroit signed longtime Yankees backstop Austin Romine earlier this winter. The Tigers hope that Rogers can be the catcher of the future, but he floundered in 128 big league plate appearances upon debuting last year. Rogers is only 24 and only had 191 career plate appearances in Triple-A when he was summoned to the Majors last year, so there’s still plenty of hope — particularly considering the manner in which he ripped through Double-A competition last year (.302/.429/.535 — 179 wRC+). Tigers general manager Al Avila suggested this winter that Rogers needs some more seasoning in Triple-A, though, so he’ll get that while Romine and Grayson Greiner comprise the catching tandem at the MLB level.

Tigers To Activate Jordy Mercer From Injured List On Monday

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Jordy Mercer is on his back to the Tigers’ lineup, as the club announced that the veteran shortstop will be activated from the 10-day injured list before tomorrow’s game.  In a corresponding move, the Tigers have sent infielder Ronny Rodriguez down to Triple-A.

After signing a one-year, $5.25MM deal last winter, Mercer’s first half of the 2019 season has essentially been a total wash.  He has appeared in only 19 games and posted 69 plate appearances (with a meager .593 OPS) due to two separate IL stints with right quad problems, and hasn’t appeared in a Major League game since May 7.  Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire described Mercer’s issue as “an acute-on-chronic” strain a month ago, and Mercer’s rehab process was subsequently halted.

After appearing in seven rehab games for Triple-A Toledo over the last week, Mercer has been deemed ready to return.  Given the seemingly chronic nature of his injury, the Tigers could choose to take it easy with the shortstop in the short term or even over the remainder of the season to prevent further injury.

Niko Goodrum has seen the bulk of the work as Detroit’s shortstop over the last month, and should now move back into his usual super-utility role all over the Tigers’ lineup.

Tigers’ Harrison Has Partial Hamstring Tear; Mercer’s Rehab Assignment Halted

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The Tigers’ offseason pickups of Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer (in addition to reuniting the longtime Pirates’ middle-infield tandem) were supposed to help stabilize the middle infield and perhaps give the team a pair of affordable summer trade chips. To this point, though, that hasn’t been the case. Neither infielder has been productive, and now both are faced with notable absences.

Harrison hit the injured list with a hamstring strain yesterday, and Chris McCosky of the Detroit News now reports that the 31-year-old has a partial tear and is could be out anywhere from four to six weeks (Twitter link). Surgery hasn’t been ruled out, but it’s not considered likely at this time. Harrison, who signed a one-year deal worth $2MM this offseason, has batted just .176/.219/.265 with a homer and four steals through 146 plate appearances.

Mercer, meanwhile, has already been out since early May, but his prognosis took a turn for the worst today. Per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter links), Mercer’s minor league rehab assignment has been halted due to what manager Ron Gardenhire termed an acute-on-chronic strain in his right quadriceps. He’s receiving a second opinion, after which point his timeline for a return will become more clear. Mercer has been limited to 19 games this year and managed a tepid .206/.275/.317 slash in 69 plate appearances.

With the injuries, players like Ronny Rodriguez, Niko Goodrum, Gordon Beckham and Dawel Lugo have seen increased opportunities in the infield (Lugo solely at third base, but he’s played second in the past). Unfortunately for the organization, the most productive of that bunch has been the journeyman Beckham, who isn’t a long-term piece in Detroit.

Rodriguez roared out of the gates to a blistering start upon his initial promotion, but his lack of contact has proved glaring, and he’s now hitting .231/.262/.504 in 130 plate appearances. The power has been impressive, but a .262 OBP is tough to overlook. Goodrum was a nice surprise in a super utility role last season and still makes plenty of hard contact (46.8 percent, per Statcast), but he’s hitting .207/.300/.345 in 200 trips to the plate. Lugo has batted .226/.265/.323 in a much smaller sample of 34 plate appearances.

The Tigers can continue to hope for production out of the current options on the roster — Lugo, in particular, has had only a minimal look after a solid showing in Triple-A — but the longer the unit’s struggles continue, the more there’ll be questions about looking to other prospects. Willi Castro, ranked seventh among Detroit farmhands at MLB.com and at Fangraphs (plus ninth at Baseball America), is tearing through Triple-A pitching at a .349/.426/.527 pace. He’s played only 48 games at that level and has benefited from a BABIP north of .400, so there’s some reason to be skeptical, but it’s easy to envision him getting a look at some point this summer. Further down the line, Isaac Paredes is widely regarded as the organization’s best position prospect, and he’s hitting .276/.356/.350 as a 20-year-old in Double-A. He won’t be as near-term an option as Castro, however.

Tigers Designate Dixon Machado For Assignment

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The Tigers announced a series of roster moves, including the news that infielder Dixon Machado has been designated for assignment.  The 40-man roster spot will be filled by right-hander Victor Alcantara, whose contract will be selected from Triple-A before tomorrow’s game.  Right-hander Warwick Saupold has also been optioned to Triple-A, with infielder Ronny Rodriguez headed up to the big league club.

Machado began the season as Detroit’s everyday second baseman, as the rebuilding team sought to give the 26-year-old a long look at the position with Ian Kinsler dealt to the Angels.  He produced passable defensive grades but the bigger issue was Machado’s lack of hitting, as he managed only a .206/.263/.290 slash line and one home run over 233 plate appearances.  The bat has never really been Machado’s calling card (he had just a .640 career OPS over 3329 PA in the minors), though the Tigers couldn’t ignore such a dire performance for much longer, especially with Niko Goodrum increasingly taking over regular duty at second base.

If the out-of-options Machado isn’t claimed or traded during his DFA period, he could still leave the organization as a free agent, as MLive.com’s Evan Woodbury tweets.  Machado was outrighted off the roster back in 2013, so he would have the option of choosing free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A.

Alcantara will join the Tigers’ Major League roster for the first time this season.  The 25-year-old righty made his big league debut in 2017, posting an 8.59 ERA over 7 1/3 relief innings out of Detroit’s bullpen.  He was outrighted off the 40-man in the offseason, though regained some stature within the organization with a 2.68 ERA, 8.4 K/9, and a 7.33 K/BB rate over 47 innings at Triple-A Toledo this season.

Tigers Select Ronny Rodriguez

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The Tigers announced after Wednesday evening’s game that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Ronny Rodriguez from Triple-A Toledo and optioned catcher Grayson Greiner back to Triple-A in his place. The move gives the Tigers a full 40-man roster.

It’ll be the first call to the Majors for the 26-year-old Rodriguez, who signed a minor league deal with Detroit this offseason after previously spending his entire professional career with the Indians organization. The versatile Rodriguez posted a sound .291/.324/.454 slash in 483 plate appearances with Triple-A Columbus last year in his final season with the Cleveland organization, and he’s off to an even better start in his new environs, batting .302/.327/.484 with six homers, 13 doubles, a pair of triples and eight stolen bases (albeit in 13 attempts).

Rodriguez has been primarily a shortstop and third baseman this season with the MudHens, but he’ll bring at least 585 innings of experience at all four infield positions to the Tigers’ roster. He’s also spent more than 300 innings in the outfield over the past three seasons, including 139 innings of work in center field. The right-handed hitter won’t walk much but also hasn’t had much of an issue with strikeouts during his time in Triple-A.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/21/17

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We’ll cover the day’s minor moves in this post:

  • The Cubs have re-signed catcher Taylor Davis, MLBTR has learned. The 28-year-old was non-tendered after a season in which he received his first MLB call-up, staying long enough to pick up his first few base knocks but not to put down a meaningful track record. Davis strode to the Triple-A plate 406 times in 2017, producing a .297/.357/.429 batting line with six home runs. Notably, he continued to exhibit strong plate discipline and contact ability, striking out just 45 times while drawing 37 walks.

Earlier Updates

  • Indians have agreed to a deal with right-hander Lisalverto Bonilla, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). The 27-year-old struggled badly in his ten MLB appearances last year with the Reds, working to a 8.10 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 while serving up eight long balls in 36 2/3 innings. He did generate a useful 11.8% swinging-strike rate, though, and has typically drawn a fair number of grounders in the minors.
  • The Nationals reached a minor-league pact with righty Chris Smith, MLBTR’s Steve Adams tweets. He gets an invitation to participate on the majors side of camp next spring. Smith, 29, got a brief taste of the majors last year with the Blue Jays, showing a 93.9 mph average four-seamer. He spent most of the year at Triple-A, where he worked to a 5.40 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9, but Smith has recorded much higher strikeout rates in the upper minors in the past.
  • Lefty Hunter Cervenka was outrighted to Triple-A by the Marlins after clearing waivers. He had been removed from the 40-man roster recently as the organization continues to tweak its mix of MLB assets. Cervenka spent most of 2017 at the Triple-A level, where he pitched to a 4.58 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 5.9 BB/9. That hefty walk rate has long been a problem for Cervenka, who’ll soon turn 28.
  • The Tigers announced a series of minors signings today. Lefty Will Lamb, infielder Ronny Rodriguez, and outfielders Jason Krizan and Kenny Wilson are all joining the Detroit organization, with Krizan and Rodriguez also taking spring invites. Lamb, 27, has struggled to a 6.06 ERA in 120 1/3 career Triple-A frames, but owns a 2.28 ERA in 90 2/3 innings at the penultimate level of the minors. The 25-year-old Rodriguez brings some infield versatility and pop to the table; he hit .291/.324/.454 with 17 home runs in 483 plate appearances last year at the Indians’ top affiliate. Krizan, 28, will return for his eighth year in the Detroit system; in 2017, he hit .281/.351/.417 in 480 upper-minors plate appearances. Wilson, who’ll soon turn 28 as well, is a speed-and-defense type who has not yet hit enough to earn his way into the big leagues.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/16/17

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The latest minor moves from around baseball:

  • The Rockies have signed utilityman Shawn O’Malley to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league camp, Bob Dutton of Baseball America reports on Twitter. The switch-hitting, 29-year-old O’Malley has collected 305 major league plate appearances since debuting in 2014, batting a combined .231/.315/.317 with the Angels and Mariners and playing all over the diamond (every outfield spot, second base, shortstop and third). An appendectomy and arthroscopic shoulder surgery helped keep O’Malley out of the majors last year and limit him to 120 PAs between Seattle’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates.
  • Utilityman Ronny Rodriguez announced on Instagram that he’s joining the Tigers on a minor league deal (h/t: Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). Rodriguez had spent his entire pro career with the division-rival Indians since signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2010. He never cracked the majors with the Tribe, though, instead topping out at Triple-A. The 25-year-old played at the minors’ highest level from 2016-17 and hit a respectable .274/.308/.427 in 971 PAs. Rodriguez has seen action at every position but pitcher, catcher and left field during his minor league career, as Woodbery notes.
  • The Brewers announced the re-signing of 24-year-old right-hander Angel Ventura to a minors pact. Ventura, whom the Brewers signed out of the Dominican in 2011, owns a 3.96 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 across 534 minor league innings with the organization (130 appearances, 67 starts)

AL Notes: Red Sox, Blue Jays, Athletics, Indians

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A few notes from the American League:

  • The cost for the Red Sox to purchase right-hander Hector Velazquez from the Mexican League last week was just $30K, reports Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Velazquez’s pact with the Red Sox includes escalators based on consecutive days he spends on Boston’s roster, and one general manager told Drellich it’s the first such deal he has seen. Red Sox front office members Allard Baird, Jared Banner, Marcus Cuellar and Edgar Perez were all involved in the signing, per Drellich. Velazquez is familiar with Cuellar, notes Drellich, which helped the Sox beat out other teams (including the Yankees) for his services.
  • Blue Jays first base prospect Rowdy Tellez is “knocking at the door” of the big league roster, manager John Gibbons said Saturday (via Paul Hagen of MLB.com). Continued Gibbons: “You just watch him more and more. There’s something there. Something special there.” Since going in the 30th round of the 2013 draft, Tellez has raked in the minors, including at the Double-A level last season. The 21-year-old slashed .297/.387/.530 with 23 home runs and 63 walks against 92 strikeouts. Now Baseball America’s 95th-ranked prospect, Tellez is likely to start the year with Triple-A Buffalo, relays Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.
  • Righty Daniel Gossett made a surprise start for the Athletics on Sunday, leading Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle to wonder if he could be in the mix for the last spot in the team’s rotation. Manager Bob Melvin isn’t ruling it out. “He impressed everybody in the organization last year, so in talking about that fifth starter, who knows?” said Melvin. Gossett, 24, checks in at No. 8 on BA’s list of A’s prospects after pitching at all three levels last year. The 2014 second-round pick spent most of his time at Double-A, where he posted a 2.49 ERA, 9.00 K/9 and 2.39 BB/9 in 94 innings.
  • Non-roster invitee Ronny Rodriguez has emerged as a serious candidate to earn a role as a utility infielder with the Indians, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Rodriguez, who’s competing against Michael Martinez and Erik Gonzalez (a potential trade chip), has won the favor of manager Terry Francona. “He’s got a lot of sock in his bat,” said the skipper. “He can play other positions. He’s really interesting. I don’t think you hold it against a guy, because he maybe spent more time in the Minor Leagues. Some guys figure it out later in life. He’s got all the tools.”
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