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Players Recently Electing Free Agency

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We’ve seen dozens of players elect minor league free agency over the past couple weeks, and that has continued to be the case in recent days. We’ll round up a few more players who are hitting the open market here, courtesy of the Triple-A transactions trackers.

Players can qualify for minor league free agency in a few ways. The most notable of these include: players with 3+ years of MLB service time who have been outrighted off their teams’ 40-man rosters this season, players who have been outrighted off a 40-man roster multiple times in their careers, and unsigned players not on a 40-man roster who have spent parts of at least seven seasons on a minor league roster or injured list.

Each of this group of players has hit the market within the past week and not yet been covered at MLBTR:

Outrighted: Tauchman, LaMarre, Weigel

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Last Friday’s trade deadline brought about a slew of DFAs as teams made room for newly acquired big leaguers. With the trades of players who’d been on Major League contracts no longer allowed post-deadline, most of these players will hit outright waivers and be made available to all 29 other clubs. (Others may simply be released.) That’s going to lead to a series of outright assignments for those who ultimately go unclaimed on waivers.

As a reminder, players with at least three but fewer than five years of service time can reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency. However, doing so requires forfeiture of any remaining guaranteed salary. Players with five or more years of MLB service time can reject an outright assignment and retain any guaranteed salary on their deals. Players with fewer than three years of service can also reject outright assignments if they’ve been previously outrighted at any point in their career. We’ll run through the latest crop of outright assignments in this post…

  • Outfielder Mike Tauchman went unclaimed on outright waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Sacramento, the Giants announced Monday night. Tauchman crossed the three-year mark in terms of Major League service time just last week, giving him the option of rejecting the assignment should he choose. The Giants made no indication that Tauchman was rejecting, though players typically have a day or two from the time of the announcement to weigh whether to accept. Tauchman, 30, has batted just .181/.284/.283 in 191 plate appearances this season. He enjoyed a big 2019 season in the Bronx, however, and carries a generally strong track record (.309/.378/.493) in parts of five Triple-A seasons. As an outrighted player with three-plus years of service, Tauchman could become a free agent at season’s end even if he does opt to remain with the organization in Triple-A.
  • The Yankees announced late last night that outfielder Ryan LaMarre went unclaimed on waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 32-year-old LaMarre has previously been outrighted, so he’ll have the option to reject the assignment should he choose, although he’s already accepted an outright assignment from the Yankees once this summer. LaMarre went 4-for-21 with a pair of homers with the Yankees’ big league club and has batted .308/.400/.479 in 135 Triple-A plate appearances. He’s a career .232/.286/.350 hitter in the Majors and a .283/.353/.420 hitter in parts of eight Triple-A seasons. LaMarre has experience at all three outfield spots but has been deployed primarily as a left fielder with the Yankees’ Triple-A club in 2021. He can be a free agent at season’s end unless added back to the roster.
  • The Brewers announced that right-hander Patrick Weigel went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Nashville. Milwaukee picked Weigel up in the April trade that sent shortstop Orlando Arcia to the Braves. He’s allowed a pair of runs in four MLB frames this year but has struggle mightily in Nashville, where he’s posted a 6.84 ERA and walked a batter per inning (20.8 percent of his total opponents) through 25 frames. Weigel lacks the service time or prior outright assignment necessary to elect free agency, so he’ll remain with the Brewers organization in Triple-A.

Deadline Day Roster Moves

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After what was arguably the wildest trade deadline in years with dozens of deals around the league, multiple teams made follow-up roster moves. Trades end up squeezing some players off of rosters, or creating holes that need to be filled. This post will itemize the many 40-man roster moves that teams made after a dizzying array of blockbuster deals earlier in the day.

AL East

AL Central

  • Pablo Sandoval was released by the Indians. This was just hours after he was acquired in the Eddie Rosario trade. Based on his release, it’s clear that he was only included as salary offset.
  • The Tigers selected the contract of reliever Ian Krol. The left-hander is back after being designated for assignment earlier in the week.

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

  • The Diamondbacks claimed outfielder Jake Hager off waivers from the Mariners. This will be Hager’s fourth club on the season, having been previously designated for assignment by the Mets, Brewers and Mariners. Arizona also selected the contracts of infielder Drew Ellis and left-hander Miguel Aguilar.
  • The Dodgers announced that they claimed catcher Chad Wallach off waivers from the Marlins. Wallach was recently designated for assignment when Brian Anderson was reinstated from the IL.

Yankees Place Tim Locastro On Injured List, Select Ryan LaMarre

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The Yankees announced they’ve placed outfielder Tim Locastro on the 10-day injured list and selected the contract of fellow outfielder Ryan LaMarre.

The Locastro move isn’t a surprise, as he unfortunately tore his ACL last night, just a few weeks after coming over to the Bronx in a trade with the Diamondbacks. It was hoped that Locastro could shore up an outfield that had already been beset by injuries to Aaron Hicks and Clint Frazier. Sadly for both Locastro and the team, that will not be the case, as the injury will keep him out for the remainder of the season.

As for LaMarre, this is yet another swing in an up-and-down year with the club. His contract was selected back in May, though he wound up on the IL a few days later with a hamstring strain. In three games at the big league level, he couldn’t muster a hit in eight plate appearances.

After recuperating from the injury, he was then outrighted off the roster in June. At Triple-A this year, he has slashed a healthy .310/.403/.483, good enough for a wRC+ of 140. He will provide some depth behind an already-weakened outfield, competing for playing time with Brett Gardner, Greg Allen, Trey Amburgey, Tyler Wade and Hoy Jun Park.

A corresponding move will not be needed to create room on the 40-man for LaMarre because players on the COVID IL do not take up a roster spot. The Yankees’ recent outbreak of the virus led to six players being placed on the COVID IL, creating ample roster space.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/16/21

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The latest minor moves from around the league:

  • The Red Sox announced that right-hander Brandon Brennan has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Worcester. Evidently, he’s accepted the assignment, as Brennan is listed on Worcester’s active roster. Boston designated him for assignment last weekend after he made one MLB appearance, tossing three scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He has a 2.16 ERA in 8 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level this year, with eleven strikeouts and five walks.
  • The Yankees announced they’ve activated outfielder Ryan LaMarre from the injured list and passed him through outright waivers. New York selected LaMarre, whom they signed to a minor league deal over the winter, to the roster when Aaron Hicks went down in mid-May. The 32-year-old LaMarre went down with an injury himself just three days later and went on the IL. He’s been outrighted before in his career, so he has the right to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency.

Yankees Place Aaron Hicks On Injured List, Select Ryan LaMarre

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MAY 16: The Yankees officially placed Hicks on the IL, retroactive to May 13, with a left wrist sprain. LaMarre was indeed selected to the roster in a corresponding move. The 32-year-old has a .236/.286/.338 line in 246 MLB plate appearances over parts of five seasons. He signed a minor league deal with New York over the winter and was off to a .273/.333/.303 start with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Yankees already had a pair of 40-man roster vacancies, so no additional move was needed to accommodate LaMarre’s selection.

MAY 15: The Yankees will indeed place Hicks on the 10-day IL, according to Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network (Twitter link).  Ryan LaMarre will be called up to take Hicks’ spot on the active roster, as per Jack Curry of YES.

MAY 14: Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks has suffered a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist, Marly Rivera of ESPN reports. There is no word on how much time Hicks will miss. He could play this weekend, go on the injured list or undergo surgery, per Rivera. He’s on medication for the time being.

This continues a difficult start to the season for Hicks, who hasn’t been able to replicate his strong effort from 2020. The switch-hitting 31-year-old has hit just .194/.294/.333 with four home runs in 126 plate appearances, making it easily his worst production since the Yankees acquired him from the Twins before 2016. Hicks performed well enough in the Bronx from 2017-18 that the team signed him to a seven-year, $70MM extension heading into the 2019 campaign. But Hicks dealt with back and elbow problems that year, limiting him to 54 games, and had to undergo Tommy John surgery after the season.

Although Hicks has had a rough go this year, any extended absence would be a significant blow to New York’s outfield depth. Hicks has played the vast majority of the team’s games this year in center field, starting at the position in 30 of 37 contests. The Yankees’ next option has been Brett Gardner, who has also posted uncharacteristically poor numbers this season, and the club took from its center depth when it traded Mike Tauchman to the Giants for reliever Wandy Peralta in late April.

Yankees Sign Derek Dietrich, Nick Goody

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The Yankees announced their full slate of non-roster invitees to Spring Training on Wednesday, and while the bulk of them have already been reported over the course of the offseason, there are a few new attendees among the bunch. Infielder/outfielder Derek Dietrich, right-handers Nick Goody and Luis Garcia, outfielder Ryan LaMarre and southpaw Lucas Luetge are will all be in camp as non-roster players with the Yanks.

Dietrich, 31, has gravitated toward a three-true-outcomes skill set over the past couple of seasons as his power, strikeout rate and walk rate have all spiked. Since being cut loose by the Marlins after the 2018 campaign, he’s spent time with the Reds and Rangers, batting a combined .189/.332/.462 with 24 home runs, a 9.7 percent walk rate and a 25 percent strikeout rate. Dietrich has experience at first base, second base, third base and in left field, and his increasingly powerful left-handed swing would be a good fit at Yankee Stadium if he were to crack the MLB roster at some point.

Goody, 29, was a Rangers teammate of Dietrich’s in 2020 but struggled in his lone season with Texas. The former Indians setup man served up 11 runs in 11 innings last year but had strong showings in Cleveland both in 2019 and in 2017. Yankees fans quite likely recall Goody from his prospect days and his 2015-16 big league debut as a Yankee. His best season came with the 2017 Indians when he tossed 54 2/3 innings of 2.80 ERA ball with a huge 32.6 percent punchout rate and a respectable nine percent strikeout rate, though his ’19 season was also sound: 40 2/3 innings, 3.54 ERA, 28.9 K%, 12.7 BB%. His 2018 season was shortened by elbow troubles, and last year’s struggles came in a season marred by back spasms.

Garcia, 34, makes a trifecta of 2020 Rangers joining the Yankees organization. He’s spent parts of eight seasons in the big leagues, mostly with the Phillies, but was knocked around for seven runs on 10 hits and nine walks with 11 strikeouts in 8 1/3 frames as a Ranger last year. Garcia was excellent with the 2017 Phillies but hasn’t had much success since — just a 5.26 ERA in 116 1/3 frames. He still averaged 97.2 mph on his four-seamer in 2020, however.

The 2020 season was the first that LaMarre, 32, didn’t log some big league time since 2014. He’s been an up-and-down fourth outfield type with the Reds, Red Sox, A’s, Twins and White Sox since making his MLB debut with Cincinnati in ’15, hitting .236/.286/.338 in 246 plate appearances along the way. LaMarre is a right-handed hitter who can play all three outfield spots and who carries a .281/.349/.415 career batting line in parts of seven Triple-A seasons.

Luetge, 34 in March, pitched in the Majors with the Mariners from 2012-15 but hasn’t been in the big leagues since. He’s bounced around the Triple-A clubs of the Orioles, Reds, Angels and D-backs in the meantime and owns a 4.22 ERA and 24 percent strikeout rate at that level. In 89 MLB innings he has a 4.35 ERA with pedestrian K/BB numbers but an above-average 47.7 percent grounder rate.

The Yankees also confirmed previously reported minor league agreements with several former big leaguers, including righties Kyle Barraclough, Jhoulys Chacin, Adam Warren and Asher Wojciechowski; lefties Nestor Cortes Jr. and Tyler Lyons; outfielders Socrates Brito and Jay Bruce; catchers Rob Brantly and Robinson Chirinos; and infielder Andrew Velazquez.

Cubs Release Steven Souza Jr.

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The Cubs announced that they have released outfielders Steven Souza Jr. and Ryan LaMarre and right-hander Juan Gamez. They also outrighted left-hander Matt Dermody, recalled righty Adbert Alzolay, optioned righty Colin Rea and added RHP Joe Wieland to their 60-man player pool.

Souza was a 30-home run hitter with the Rays in 2017, but he dealt with major injury problems as a Diamondback over the next two years. Souza was still able to land a guaranteed $1MM from the Cubs in free agency last offseason, but the move didn’t pay off at all for the club. He took 31 trips to the plate and batted .148/.258/.333 with one homer and 15 strikeouts before the Cubs designated him for assignment Sept. 5.

LaMarre previously garnered MLB experience with a few teams, most recently the Twins, but only owns a .623 OPS at the level. The Cubs signed him to a minor league contract in July, though he saw no action with the team before it released him.

Dermody, whom the Cubs signed to a minors pact Aug. 6, threw 25 1/3 frames with the Blue Jays from 2016-17 and returned to the bigs with a scoreless inning for the Cubs on Sept. 6 in his sole appearance of the season.

Cubs Sign Ryan LaMarre

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The Cubs announced Friday that they’ve signed outfielder Ryan LaMarre to a minor league deal. Chicago also confirmed its previously reported minor league deal with infielder Derek Dietrich and added 2020 draftee Burl Carraway to its 60-man player pool. All three players will head to the team’s alternate training site in South Bend.

LaMarre, 31, has spent time in the Majors in each of the past five seasons, most recently with the Twins in 2018-19. The 2010 second-rounder, who is a career .236/.286/.338 hitter in 246 trips to the plate, had recently opted out of a minor league deal with the Rays. He’s capable of playing all three outfield positions and carries a solid .281/.349/.415 batting line in parts of seven seasons at the Triple-A level.

Carraway, selected in the second round out of Dallas Baptist University, is seen as a pure bullpen prospect with a powerful fastball/curve combination. He misses bats with ease but also has struggled with his control. He was widely regarded as a top-100 prospect in this year’s draft and could rise to the Majors quickly — although a 2020 debut would nevertheless register as a surprise.

LaMarre, Herrmann Exercise Opt-Out Clauses In Rays Contracts

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8:44PM: Ryan LaMarre has also been released after exercising his own opt-out clause, Topkin reports (Twitter link).  The outfielder has hit .236/.286/.338 over 246 PA in five Major League seasons, with the bulk (180 PA) of that playing time coming with the Twins and White Sox in 2018.  LaMarre inked a minors deal with Tampa after being let go by Minnesota last fall.

5:54PM: Catcher Chris Herrmann has requested his release from the Rays after enacting the opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the club, the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin reports (Twitter link).  Herrmann signed the club back in January.

Mike Zunino is slated to be the Rays’ starting catcher, with Michael Perez in line for backup duty and Kevan Smith and Ronaldo Hernandez also part of the 60-man player pool.  It is clear that Herrmann didn’t like his chances of moving up the depth chart, and will now seek out a better opportunity elsewhere.  Speculatively, the Pirates and Giants stand out as obvious potential landing spots — the Bucs just lost Luke Maile to a season-ending finger injury, while Buster Posey’s decision to sit out the 2020 season has left San Francisco without a starting catcher.

Though Herrmann has at times flashed some hitting potential over his eight MLB seasons, he has been a below-average offensive producer overall, with a career .205/.282/.344 slash line and 25 home runs over 992 career plate appearances.  The bulk of that playing time came with the Twins and Diamondbacks from 2012-17, though Herrmann hit well in 87 PA with the Mariners in 2018 before suffering through an injury-plagued 2019 campaign in Oakland.  Herrmann’s ability to play first base and both corner outfield spots gives him more of a versatile resume than your average backup catcher, which could help his chances of catching on with a new team.

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