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Ryan Lavarnway

Outrighted: Torres, Lavarnway

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A couple of noteworthy outrights from Tuesday…

  • Right-hander Carlos Torres has rejected an outright assignment from the Twins and returned to free agency, Dan Hayes of The Athletic tweets. The Twins designated Torres for assignment last weekend just over a month after signing him to a minor league contract. The 36-year-old Torres didn’t make it to Minnesota’s roster, instead logging a 4.15 ERA/4.10 FIP with 8.31 K/9 and 4.15 BB/9 in 17 1/3 innings with its Triple-A affiliate in Rochester. The nomadic 36-year-old previously pitched for the Padres’ and Tigers’ Triple-A teams this season. He also totaled six innings with Detroit.
  • Reds catcher Ryan Lavarnway has been sent outright to Triple-A Louisville after clearing waivers, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Lavarnway could have chosen free agency, but he’ll remain in the organization. The 31-year-old joined the Reds on July 18 after the Yankees released him, but the Reds designated Lavarnway over the weekend. He totaled 19 plate appearances with the Reds before then and slashed a productive .278/.316/.722 with two home runs. However, Lavarnway struggled with the Yanks’ top affiliate in a much larger sample of work.

Reds Activate Alex Wood, Designate Ryan Lavarnway

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The Reds have activated left-hander Alex Wood from the injured list and designated catcher Ryan Lavarnway for assignment, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets.

As expected, the 28-year-old Wood will finally make his Reds debut against the Rockies on Sunday. He joined the Reds in the offseason as part of a radical makeover of their rotation. In addition to Wood, whom the Reds acquired from the Dodgers, they brought in fellow starters Sonny Gray and Tanner Roark via trades. Gray and Roark have performed well, which has helped lead to a vastly improved Cincy staff, but back problems have prevented Wood from pitching this year. The pending free agent will now try to rebuild some of his stock as he gears up for a potential trip to the open market in a few months.

Lavarnway, 31, just signed with the Reds on July 18 after the Yankees released him. Cincinnati added Lavarnway to help cover for catchers Curt Casali and Kyle Farmer, who went on the IL that day, but the team activated Farmer on Sunday.

Once a top prospect with the Red Sox, Lavarnway has struggled considerably over 445 major league plate appearances with several teams since he debuted in 2011. He did mash in a small sample size with the Reds before they designated him, though, as Lavarnway hit .278/.316/.722 with two home runs in 19 plate appearances. However, Lavarnway batted an uninspiring .213/.333/.315 with three HRs in 129 PA with the Yankees’ highest minor league affiliate before they let him go.

Reds Sign Ryan Lavarnway, Designate Jesus Reyes

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The Reds have signed catcher Ryan Lavarnway to a one-year, Major League contract, as per a team announcement (Twitter link).  Lavarnway’s signing was one of a flurry of moves from Cincinnati, as the club also designated right-hander Jesus Reyes for assignment and placed righty David Hernandez and catchers Curt Casali and Kyle Farmer on the injured list.  Taking their places on the roster are Lavarnway, and Triple-A callups Lucas Sims and Josh VanMeter.

Farmer is headed to the seven-day version of the IL due to a concussion, while Casali is on the 10-day IL (retroactive to Tuesday) due to a right knee sprain.  With starting catcher Tucker Barnhart also injured, the Reds were left in sudden need for help behind the plate, opening the door for Lavarnway to land a guaranteed deal almost immediately after he was released from his minors contract with the Yankees.

Lavarnway has recorded some big league playing time in each of the last two seasons, appearing in six games each with the A’s in 2017 and Pirates in 2018.  Best known as a former top prospect in the Red Sox system, the 31-year-old Lavarnway has a .208/.268/.326 slash line over 426 career plate appearances in the majors.  He’ll join Juan Graterol as the Reds’ makeshift catching duo until some reinforcements come off the injured list.

Reyes made his MLB debut in 2018, posting a 3.18 ERA over 5 2/3 relief innings.  Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2014, the 26-year-old has a 3.65 ERA, 7.2 K/9, and 1.88 K/BB rate over 406 2/3 career innings in the minors, though Reyes has struggled badly at Triple-A this season.

Yankees Add Dan Jennings To Triple-A Roster, Release Ryan Lavarnway

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The Yankees somewhat quietly signed veteran lefty Dan Jennings to a minor league contract earlier this month — there was no formal announcement from the big league club — and they’ve now bumped him up to the Triple-A level after a pair of outings with Class-A Tampa, per Donnie Collins of the Scranton Times-Tribune (Twitter link). Catcher Ryan Lavarnway was released from the Yankees’ Triple-A club to make room on the roster.

Jennings, 32, scuffled through a nightmarish stint with the Nationals earlier this season. In eight appearances, he allowed eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits and seven walks in just 4 2/3 innings. Jennings did whiff nine hitters in that brief stint, but the Nats didn’t see enough to keep Jennings around in their floundering bullpen. He was designated for assignment and elected free agency after clearing waivers.

Things have gone better in Jennings’ two outings in High-A as he’s ramped back up after a near two-month layoff between outings. He’s pitched a combined five innings and allowed one run on three hits and no walks with six strikeouts. And it’s worth noting that unlike many reclamation projects who sign minor league deals, Jennings isn’t far removed from big league success at all. Just last season, Jennings pitched to a 3,22 ERA with 6.3 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 0.84 HR/9 and a 56.1 percent ground-ball rate in 64 1/3 innings with the Brewers. Left-handed batters posted a terrible .226/.266/.304 batting line against him.

The Yankees’ bullpen is obviously a rather strong unit, but the clubs lacks a second setup lefty beyond Zack Britton. Closer Aroldis Chapman, of course, throws from the left side but is typically reserved for save opportunities. New York currently has Nestor Cortes Jr. in a long relief role, but he’s been shuttled back and forth between the Bronx and Scranton so far in 2019. Jennings will give the team a potential option to be that second lefty, and his move up to Triple-A seemingly makes him a near-term option, should a need arise.

As for Lavarnway, the former Red Sox/Braves/A’s/Pirates/Orioles backstop will return to the open market after hitting .213/.333/.315 with three home runs in 129 trips to the plate with the RailRiders. The 31-year-old is a career .208/.268/.326 hitter in 426 MLB plate appearances and a .272/.364/.424 batter in nearly 2,000 Triple-A plate appearances.

Yankees To Sign Ryan Lavarnway

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The Yankees have agreed to a minors pact with backstop Ryan Lavarnway, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (via Twitter). Further details are not yet known.

Lavarnway, 31, has seen action in seven MLB campaigns — including four with the division-rival Red Sox. Since his tenure in Boston wrapped up in disappointing fashion, the one-time top prospect has functioned as a journeyman depth piece.

That may not have been what was once hoped for, but Lavarnway has remained in demand from organizations that want a steady presence on hand in the upper minors. He only saw brief MLB action last year with the Pirates, but turned in a strong offensive season (.288/.375/.485 in 303 plate appearances) for their top affiliate.

Ryan Lavarnway Clears Waivers, Elects Free Agency

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Pirates catcher Ryan Lavarnway has elected free agency after clearing outright waivers, reports MLB.com’s Adam Berry (Twitter link). The 31-year-old veteran spent the 2018 season with Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis and received a call to the Majors in September, going 4-for-6 with a double in pinch-hitting duties down the stretch.

Once a well-regarded prospect with the Red Sox, Lavarnway has bounced around the league over the past few seasons, seeing occasional time in the Majors but spending considerably more time in Triple-A. He’s a career .208/.268/.326 hitter in 426 MLB plate appearances and a .276/.366/.431 hitter in 1865 PAs at the Triple-A level. He figures to have interest as a depth option in minor league free agency this winter and will likely get an invite to come to Spring Training with a team in 2019.

Pirates Promote Kevin Kramer, Designate Buddy Boshers

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The Pirates announced several September call-ups today, designating lefty Buddy Boshers to create roster space. Pittsburgh selected the contract of well-regarded middle-infield prospect Kevin Kramer along with that of journeyman catcher Ryan Lavarnway.

Also heading up to the majors are a series of players who already possessed 40-man roster spots. Righties Tanner Anderson, Michael Feliz, and Clay Holmes will all join the organization for the stretch run, as will outfielder Jordan Luplow.

Kramer will join Kevin Newman, another talented young infielder seen as part of the future, on the MLB roster. Chosen in the second round of the 2015 draft, Kramer is viewed as a solid all-around player. Certainly, he has impressed in the upper minors in the past two seasons, turning in identical 141 wRC+ figures in an injury-shortened 2017 at Double-A and in a full campaign this year at Triple-A.

In his 527 plate appearances with Indianapolis in 2018, Kramer owns a .311/.365/.492 slash with 15 home runs and 13 steals. He has spent some time at shortstop in the minors, but the bulk of his innings of come at second base and that’s where he’s expected to play in the big leagues.

As for Boshers, the 30-year-old southpaw has seen time in three MLB seasons but didn’t make it up in 2018. He has worked to a 3.32 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in his 57 frames at Triple-A, with time spent at both the Bucs’ and Astros’ top affiliates.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/22/18

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Here are Monday’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The D-backs are in agreement with right-hander Michael Blazek on a minor league contract, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. Blazek, 29 in March, has spent his career to date with the Cardinals and Brewers, most recently pitching 8 1/3 innings for Milwaukee last season. He looked like an interesting, controllable bullpen option for the Brewers as recently as 2015, when he tossed 55 2/3 innings with 7.6 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9. Since then, however, he’s struggled to a 6.12 ERA in 50 MLB innings, as his his walk rate has spiked to 5.0 BB/9 and his HR/9 rate has soared from 0.5 to 2.3. Blazek has a 3.91 ERA in parts of six Triple-A seasons.

Earlier Moves

  • The Pirates announced a slate of non-roster invitees to Spring Training today, including catcher Ryan Lavarnway, whose minor league deals had not been previously reported. Lavarnway, 30, has appeared in parts of six big league seasons with the Red Sox, Orioles, Braves and Athletics. He spent the 2017 campaign in the Oakland organization, though he appeared in just six games at the Major League level. Lavarnway is a career .201/.262/.318 hitter through 420 MLB plate appearances, but he’s logged a much more palatable .274/.365/.421 slash in parts of seven seasons at the Triple-A level. Francisco Cervelli, Elias Diaz and Jacob Stallings are all ahead of Lavarnway on the 40-man roster, so he’ll likely head to the minors to begin the year if he sticks with the Pirates through all of Spring Training.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/8/17

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

  • The Athletics announced that catcher Ryan Lavarnway has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Nashville after being designated for assignment. The 30-year-old veteran has showed nicely in a tiny sample of 13 PAs with Oakland this season and has also posted a solid .262/.346/.385 slash through 255 PAs with the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Nashville. He’s been outrighted on multiple occasions in the past, giving him the option to reject the assignment in favor of free agency if he chooses. Lavarnway, though, has already accepted one outright from the A’s earlier this season.
  • Right-hander Ricardo Rodriguez’s contract has been formally selected by the Rangers, per a team announcement. He’ll fill the 25-man roster spot of Keone Kela, who hit the DL today due to shoulder soreness. Soon to turn 25, Rodriguez will be making his MLB debut when he first takes the mound for the Rangers, who signed him as an international free agent out of Venezuela back in 2010. Rodriguez missed the 2016 season after Tommy John surgery but has returned strong in 2017. As Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper wrote back in late June, Rodriguez blitzed through a span of 15 perfect innings out of the bullpen earlier this year, prompting Texas to move him from Class-A Advanced to Double-A. Through 47 innings this year, Rodriguez has a ridiculous 1.34 ERA with 11.7 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9 (albeit against much younger competition least back in Class-A).
  • Veteran right-hander Javy Guerra is back in the Majors, as the Marlins announced that they’ve selected his contract to fill the spot of lefty Chris O’Grady, who is going on the DL due to a strained oblique. Guerra hasn’t been especially impressive in Triple-A this year (4.99 ERA, 7.6 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 in 48 2/3 innings), but he’ll provide some depth for a Miami pitching staff that has been depleted by trades (David Phelps, AJ Ramos) and injuries.

Athletics Designate Ryan Lavarnway For Assignment

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The Athletics have added the Dustin Garneau to their active roster and designated fellow catcher Ryan Lavarnway for assignment, Joe Stiglich of NBC Sports California tweets. The A’s claimed Garneau from the Rockies yesterday.

The A’s signed Lavarnway to a minor-league deal last offseason and have now added him to their roster and designated him twice. He’s spent the bulk of the year at Triple-A Nashville and has hit .262/.346/.385, also collecting a handful of plate appearances in the big leagues. The well traveled 29-year-old played for several years in the Red Sox organization before playing in the Orioles, Braves and Blue Jays organizations in the past two seasons. He has a career .369 OBP at the Triple-A level.

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