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Minor MLB Transactions: 8/8/18

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We’ll track the latest minor moves in this post:

  • The Royals have released right-hander Michael Mariot, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com tweets. The 29-year-old Mariot had been in his second stint as a member of the Royals, with whom he initially pitched from 2014-15 after they chose him in the eighth round of the 2010 draft. Mariot, who was with the Phillies from 2016-17 and the Padres earlier in 2018, threw 37 2/3 innings between the Royals’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates this year. The majority of that work came with the latter club, as Mariot recorded a 3.81 ERA with 9.85 K/9 and 2.22 BB/9 in 28 1/3 innings (18 appearances, two starts).

Earlier updates:

  • The Indians announced that they have released righty Zach McAllister, who had recently been designated for assignment. Though he cleared waivers, due in no small part to his $2.45MM salary, the 30-year-old ought to draw interest on the open market. After all, he had been quite a useful reliever for the Indians over the prior three seasons before hitting some bumps this year. McAllister is throwing strikes and getting swings and misses at the same levels as before. Though he’s giving up a fair bit of hard contact, he did that in 2017 as well. Of course, he had been outperforming ERA estimators in recent years. With a 68.5% strand rate and 1.51 homers per nine in 2018, some of the prior issues have finally shown up on the earned-run ledger. McAllister will qualify for free agency at season’s end, having already exceeded six full years of MLB service.
  • Per the MLB transactions page, the Padres have selected the contract of righty Brett Kennedy. His forthcoming promotion was reported a few days back by Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). Though he isn’t generally cited among the organization’s best prospects, the 24-year-old Kennedy turned in strong results over 16 Triple-A starts this year, pitching to a 2.72 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 along with a 52.6% groundball rate.

Quick Hits: Padres, Cano, Relievers

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Ronnie Freeman came close to his first stint on a Major League roster today, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle details how the Giants minor leaguer was on hand this weekend in case Buster Posey had to be placed on the seven-day concussion DL.  Posey left Friday’s game after taking a foul ball off his catcher’s mask, but passed his tests and returned to the lineup today as a first baseman.  This left Freeman watching the Giants play from the comforts of the clubhouse, as he wasn’t officially allowed to the join the team in the dugout since he was never selected for the roster.  Freeman, a fifth-rounder in the 2012 draft, had spent his entire pro career in the Diamondbacks’ organization before signing with the Giants last spring, and he’ll have to wait at least a bit longer before he makes his proper big league debut.

Here’s more from around the baseball world…

  • The Padres let Tyson Ross and Jordan Lyles respectively go to the Cardinals and Brewers on trade waivers earlier today, moves that San Diego general manager A.J. Preller told reporters (including The Athletic’s Dennis Lin) were made to create more room for up-and-coming pitchers on the Padres’ roster.  “From our standpoint, it’s an eye toward next year and turning the page right now to give us a head start at looking at some guys we think could be in the bigs with us next year,” Preller said.  Right-hander Trey Wingenter had his contract from Triple-A El Paso today, and rookie Brett Kennedy is slated to make his MLB debut in a start on Wednesday.  Lin’s piece names some other Padres minor leaguers that could debut between now and season’s end, with the team also taking future roster organization and 40-man protections into consideration given the glut of young talent in San Diego’s system.
  • Robinson Cano has been working out as a third baseman in his preparations to return from his PED suspension, which Mariners manager Scott Servais tells reporters (including the Tacoma News Tribune’s TJ Cotterill) is indicative of how Cano’s “just wants to help any way he can.  If that means giving Kyle [Seager] a day off at third, or helping at first base, playing a game at second base, he’s going to play wherever we need him to play.”  Cano has only played 16 games at third base in his pro career, and none since 2005 when he was in the Yankees’ minor league system.  With Dee Gordon stepping in at second base and Nelson Cruz locked into DH duties, the assumption was that Cano would mostly take time away from first baseman Ryon Healy, who has struggled to consistently hit in his first season in Seattle.  Seager, however, is actually going through a rougher season at the plate, hitting only .231/.280/.421 with 18 homers (including two today) over 447 plate appearances.
  • More position players than ever are being called on for emergency mop-up work as relief pitchers, with ESPN.com’s Buster Olney calculating that a record 39 players have made 49 appearances out of the pen this year.  With the trend showing no signs of slowing down, Olney wonders if the MLBPA should make a point of exploring the issue in the next round of collective bargaining agreement talks, given the additional risks faced by players in the unfamiliar role of pitcher.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/5/18

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

Latest Moves

  • The Phillies announced (Twitter link) that infielder Trevor Plouffe has been outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers.  Plouffe was designated for assignment on Tuesday to create roster room for newly-acquired southpaw Aaron Loup.  After signing a minors contract with the Phils in April, Plouffe cracked the 25-man roster and appeared in seven games (12 PA) for the team.  The clear highlight of this brief stint was Plouffe’s three-run walkoff homer to end a 16-inning marathon against the Dodgers on July 24.

Earlier Today

  • The Padres have selected right-hander Trey Wingenter’s contract from Triple-A El Paso, the club announced. The 24-year-old reliever, a 17th-round pick in 2015, is now in line to make his major league debut. Wingenter, who has also garnered his first Triple-A experience this season, pitched to a 3.45 ERA/4.58 FIP with 10.76 K/9, 4.87 BB/9 and a 46.5 percent groundball rate in 44 1/3 innings prior to his promotion.
  • The Mets have signed infielder Dylan Tice and left-hander Matt Gage to minor league deals, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets. Both Tice and Gage had been playing independent ball before catching on with the Mets. The 25-year-old Tice was most recently in affiliated ball from 2015-16 with the Cardinals, who chose him in the 36th round of the 2015 draft. Gage, a 10th-round selection of the Giants in 2014, had been with the San Francisco organization until earlier this season. Also 25, Gage opened 2018 with a 3.18 ERA and 6.0 K/9 against 1.2 BB/9 in 22 2/3 innings at the Double-A level.

Brewers Claim Jordan Lyles

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The Brewers have claimed right-hander Jordan Lyles off waivers from the Padres, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. San Diego has decided to let Lyles go for no compensation, Acee adds.

The 27-year-old Lyles, a first-round pick of the Astros in 2008, has generally struggled since debuting in the majors in 2011. However, Lyles was decent this year as a member of the Padres, with whom he logged a 4.29 ERA/4.45 FIP with 7.82 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 46.7 percent groundball rate in 71 1/3 innings. He worked primarily out of San Diego’s bullpen before it said goodbye to him, totaling eight starts in 24 appearances.

Lyles will presumably begin his Brewers tenure in relief, and his presence could help a Milwaukee club whose pitching depth has recently taken multiple hits in the form of serious injuries to Brent Suter and Zach Davies. Judging by the work he has done as a reliever this year, Lyles looks capable of serving as an asset for the Brewers, who own a 65-49 record and are 2 1/2 games up on a wild-card spot. In 24 1/3 frames out of the bullpen this season, Lyles has pitched to a 3.33 ERA/3.53 FIP with 8.14 K/9 and 2.96 BB/9, and limited opposing hitters to a .200/.276/.330 line.

Should the Lyles experiment go well for the Brewers this year, they’ll have a chance to keep him in 2019 on a $3.5MM club option (or they could buy him out for $250K). In the meantime, he’s on an ultra-affordable $750K salary this season.

Cardinals Claim Tyson Ross

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The Cardinals announced that they’ve claimed right-hander Tyson Ross off waivers from the Padres. He’ll join the Cardinals on Monday.

There’s no indication St. Louis gave up anything for Ross, which means the team will only take on what’s left of his $1.75MM salary (approximately $500K). Ross will presumably slot into a Cardinals rotation that has been dealing with its share of injury issues. Top starter Carlos Martinez just went on the disabled list for the third time this season on Tuesday, while both Adam Wainwright and Michael Wacha have each been out for a significant period with injuries of their own. As a result of their absences, the Cardinals’ rotation currently consists of Miles Mikolas, Jack Flaherty, Luke Weaver, John Gant and Austin Gomber. Either Gant or Gomber could exit the group in favor of Ross.

The 31-year-old Ross, whom arm injuries have weighed down as his career has progressed, had been amid a strong bounce-back season until July. That disastrous month, in which Ross posted an 8.87 ERA with matching strikeout and walk rates of 5.79 per nine over 23 1/3 innings, seemingly went a long way toward killing his trade value.

In all, Ross has logged a useful 4.45 ERA/4.55 FIP with 7.81 K/9, 3.79 BB/9 and a 43.8 percent groundball rate over 123 1/3 innings, though ineffectiveness against left-handed hitters and struggles during his second and third times through opposing batting orders have negatively affected his numbers. Ross has given up a .294/.380/.462 slash versus lefty-swingers, and he has seen his ERA rise from 2.59 while facing an order for the first time to 4.47 the second and 7.59 the third.

Despite his flaws, the Cardinals have taken a low-risk flyer on him as they continue to hold out hope of earning a postseason berth. That’ll be a tall order for 57-54 St. Louis, which is 7 1/2 games out of playoff position.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Tyson Ross, Jordan Lyles Claimed On Trade Waivers

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11:15am: One of Ross’ teammates, righty Jordan Lyles, has also been claimed, Dennis Lin of The Athletic tweets.

10:49am: An unknown team has claimed Padres right-hander Tyson Ross on revocable trade waivers, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. The Padres have 48.5 hours from the time of the claim to trade Ross to the unidentified team, pull him off waivers or allow him to go to the claiming club for no compensation.

[RELATED: How August Trades Work]

As the rules dictate, Ross first would have had to go through waivers in the Padres’ league, the NL. Given Ross’ affordability (he has approximately $500K left on his $1.75MM salary), it seems unlikely that the 31-year-old would have gotten past every other NL club without being claimed.

With the rebuilding Padres not in contention for a playoff spot, Ross looked like a strong candidate to end up on the move prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. He stayed put, though, perhaps because of a rough July in which he logged an 8.87 ERA with matching strikeout and walk rates of 5.79 per nine across 23 1/3 innings.

On the whole, Ross has offered passable production this year, having pitched to a 4.45 ERA/4.55 FIP with 7.81 K/9, 3.79 BB/9 and a 43.8 percent groundball rate over 123 1/3 frames. Given the serious arm troubles the former front-line starter dealt with in recent years, his performance this season has been more impressive than it looks on paper.

Although Ross has functioned solely as a starter through 22 appearances this year, it’s possible a playoff-contending claiming team would have interest in deploying him out of its bullpen. He does have prior experience as a reliever, after all, and may be better equipped to function in that role down the stretch. Ross has declined substantially this year when going through teams’ batting orders multiple times. His ERA jumps from 2.59 the initial time through to 4.47 on the second and a whopping 7.62 on the third. Ross has also held opposing lineups to a paltry .170/.284/.308 line when facing them for the first time.

Of course, before figuring out whether Ross will finish the season as a starter or reliever, we’ll have to see which uniform he puts on the next time he takes the hill. In what may go down as his final outing as a Padre, Ross threw five innings of three-run ball in a loss to the Cubs on Friday.

Padres Place Wil Myers On DL, Recall Franmil Reyes

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The Padres announced that they’ve placed outfielder Wil Myers on the 10-day disabled list with a “left foot contusion/bone bruise”, retroactive to yesterday. In his place, they’ve recalled fellow outfielder Franmil Reyes.

It’s been about six weeks since the club made the reverse transaction; that is to say, they activated Myers from the DL and optioned Reyes to Triple-A. Myers had been on the shelf with an oblique injury for about two months, and will now be out for a yet-to-be-determined amount of time.

There’s not a significant 2018 impact here for the 43-69 Padres, regardless of how long Myers is out. But it’s certainly a moral blow to a team that when 5-20 in July and hasn’t been able to find its footing in a tough NL West division that also features the Dodgers, Rockies, Diamondbacks and Giants. The silver lining is that a bone bruise probably won’t have a serious long-term impact on Myers’ ability to take the field, despite the fact that he’s got somewhat of an injury history.

For the time being it would seem as though Reyes will directly replace Myers in the outfield, with some combination of Travis Jankowski, Manuel Margot and Hunter Renfroe set to complete the picture. Reyes, for his part, has struggled to a .221/.270/.423 batting line in a small major-league sample so far, though he does come with a prolific power track record in Triple-A.

Deadline Day Bullpen Rumors: Padres, Diekman, Halos

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It’s a buyers’ market for bullpen help with just over two hours until the non-waiver trade deadline, as there’s a significant supply of arms thought to be available on the market. Here’s some of the latest chatter as contenders look to bolster their relief corps:

  • The Cubs had scouts on hand to watch the Padres — likely relievers Kirby Yates and Craig Stammen — last night, tweets Dennis Lin of The Athletic. Chicago was tied to Brad Ziegler recently but didn’t land the submariner, as he instead went to the D-backs recently. Lin’s colleague, Ken Rosenthal, tweets that the A’s also have interest in Stammen. Rosenthal also tweeted earlier today that the Pirates watched Yates before acquiring Keone Kela. The addition of Kela could take them out of that market, of course, but the Pirates could speculatively still be in the market for another arm. Both relievers are controlled beyond the 2018 season.
  • The Rangers have accelerated their efforts to move lefty reliever Jake Diekman, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Texas has already moved Cole Hamels, Jesse Chavez and Kela in the days leading up to the deadline, and Diekman represents perhaps the top remaining trade chip they have — certainly the top remaining rental, especially with Adrian Beltre unlikely to approve a deal. Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweeted recently that the Phillies have checked in on Diekman.
  • USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Angels are drawing “serious interest” in lefty Jose Alvarez and Blake Parker, though as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register pointed out earlier today, it’d be tough for the Halos to part with either controllable reliever (Twitter links). The Angels hope for better health and a return to contention in 2019, and each of Alvarez, Parker and Cam Bedrosian could factor prominently into those plans. Fletcher notes that perhaps the organization would be more apt to move one of those relievers if it meant landing a nar-MLB commodity at a thin position such as catcher.

Pirates Moving Closer Deal For Chris Archer

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Rays righty Chris Archer has seemingly been in trade rumors for years; is this the day he finally gets dealt?  Here’s the latest…

 Earlier Updates

  • As this morning’s prior updates indicated, it seems that Archer is drawing the keenest interest from National League organizations. If he’s dealt, he’ll likely be changing leagues, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. He tabs the Braves, Brewers, and Pirates as the likeliest organizations to work something out. Meanwhile, Jim Bowden of The Athletic tweets that the Dodgers are also in the picture.
  • The Pirates appear to be heavily involved in Archer’s market, at least as of last night, according to Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). Though the Bucs at one point appeared likely to function as a seller, they have rushed back into a competitive position and struck a deal last night to improve their late-inning relief unit. Of course, that swap and any others that might come to fruition will likely be for affordable, controllable assets. In that regard, Archer certainly makes for a potential fit.
  • Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets that the Padres’ pursuit of Archer has “lost momentum.” That’s a notable development, given that San Diego has been perhaps the most prominently linked team to the Rays righty over the past few days. While the Friars obviously aren’t contending in 2018, the team has its sights set on contending in 2019 and beyond, and adding Archer right now could have been a forward-looking move that would’ve helped to alleviate the 40-man roster crunch San Diego will inevitably face when setting its 40-man roster prior to the Rule 5 Draft this offseason.
  • Meanwhile, Jim Bowden of The Athletic tweets that the Braves and Brewers are still in pursuit of Archer. Bowden lists some of the other organizations that have been in contact of late, though it’s not clear which remain firmly engaged on the popular right-hander. The Atlanta and Milwaukee organizations have been connected to controllable starting pitching for quite some time, of course, so it’s no surprise to see them lurking on Archer. Whether the trade deadline will provide sufficient impetus for either team to finally complete talks on a quality rotation piece remains to be seen.

Rays Ask For Final Offers On Chris Archer

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12:15pm: The Dodgers are also still “in play,” Jim Bowden of The Athletic tweets.

6:09pm: Despite some prior indications to the contrary, the Yankees remain involved in Archer’s market, per Andy Martino of SNY.tv (via Twitter). There are five additional clubs still involved as well, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reports: the Padres, Braves, Brewers, and two unnamed organizations.

5:24pm: The Rays have asked interested teams to make their best and final offers for right-hander Chris Archer, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Bay has been in touch with roughly a dozen teams about Archer and could spend tonight and tomorrow morning reviewing those offers before ultimately making a call on whether to deal Archer.

It should be noted that it’s far from a certainty that Archer is dealt at all. There’s a mix in the tone of reports surrounding the possibility of an Archer trade that is likely reflective of the lack of an industry consensus on whether he’ll actually be traded. For instance, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that there’s a stronger sense than ever before that Archer will finally move, as the Rays are cognizant that he’s approaching his 30th birthday and this may be their final chance to get an enormous haul for him.

On the flipside, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale spoke to one executive familiar with the market who took an “I’ll believe it when I see it” approach (Twitter link). ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, meanwhile, spoke to an exec who said he still feels Tampa Bay will need to be “overwhelmed” and, despite years of rumors, still “[doesn’t] see it happening.”

The full slate of teams who have submitted (or plan on submitting) an offer for Archer isn’t yet known. Over the weekend, the Braves, Dodgers, Yankees and Cardinals were all connected rather prominently to Archer, though Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweeted today that the Yankees are viewed as an “unlikely” fit for Archer. Sherman added earlier today that the Pirates have jumped into the mix as well, while the Brewers and the Athletics have both at least touched base.

The Padres, meanwhile, have been rumored to be the most aggressive pursuing Archer, envisioning him as a rotation fixture in 2019 and beyond as San Diego emerges from its rebuild and aims to contend. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan wrote today that San Diego has been “especially engaged” in the Archer market, though he notes that the Friars have not yet been willing to meet Tampa Bay’s lofty asking price. Topkin wrote yesterday that a young catcher and controllable power-hitting outfielder would be “a good start” to a package from the Rays’ vantage point, though Tampa Bay will obviously be seeking numerous young pieces in return for three-plus years of the right-hander.

Archer, 29, obviously remains a popular trade target despite a month-long stint on the disabled list and some bottom-line results that haven’t lined up with his peripheral stats in recent seasons. That’s once again the case in 2018, as Archer is sitting on a 4.31 ERA despite possessing a 3.62 FIP and xFIP as well as a 3.75 SIERA. He’s averaged a strong 9.6 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 with Tampa Bay this season and has made moderate gains in terms of swinging-strike rate (13.6 percent) and chase rate (32.3 percent). Archer is allowing just one homer per nine innings after struggling with the long ball in recent seasons, and he’s also boosted his ground-ball rate nearly three percent, from 42.0 up to 44.7.

Of course, the big draw with Archer is the affordability of his contract. He’s owed $2.o8MM through the end of the current season and is guaranteed just $7.5MM in 2019 before the Rays (or an acquiring team) have club options valued at $9MM and $11MM for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In all, Archer can be controlled through 2021 for as little as $29.58MM, and in the event of a significant injury, he can be cut loose after 2019 and owed only a total of $11.33MM through the end of 2019.

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