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Orioles Sign Brady Rodgers, Taylor Davis

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The Orioles announced Thursday that they’ve signed right-hander Brady Rodgers and catcher Taylor Davis to minor league contracts. Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register first reported that Davis had landed a deal with the O’s (Twitter link).

That Rodgers would land in Baltimore isn’t a huge surprise, given that he was long ranked as one of the Astros’ more promising pitching prospects during now-Orioles GM Mike Elias’ stint in the Houston front office. Injuries, however, have significantly slowed the righty’s career. He appeared poised to step into the big leagues for a full-time audition in 2017 after pitching to a 2.86 ERA in 132 innings of Triple-A ball in 2016. Instead, he underwent Tommy John surgery that May and was sidelined for more than a year.

Since going under the knife nearly three years ago, Rodgers has been limited to 116 2/3 innings between the big leagues and the minors. He’s been clobbered for 23 runs in 13 2/3 innings in the Majors but does possess a career 3.67 ERA with 7.1 K/9, 1.9 BB/9 and 0.8 HR/9 in 365 Triple-A frames. Rodgers generated strong ground-ball marks earlier in his career but has been more of a fly-ball pitcher since returning from surgery. The Astros selected Rodgers in the third round of the 2012 draft when Elias was a key figure in their scouting department — he ascended to scouting director the following year — and the Orioles have a clear need for pitching depth.

As for Davis, he’s a longtime Cubs farmhand with a bit of MLB experience. The 30-year-old backstop is signing on for his first season outside the Cubs organization after compiling a .277/.350/.385 clash through 1595 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Davis has also logged 39 plate appearances in 20 MLB games, hitting at a .222/.256/.333 clip in that tiny sample.

In addition to his time as a catcher, Davis has logged more than 1000 innings at first base in his career and 292 frames across the diamond at the hot corner. He has a career 25 percent caught-stealing rate as a catcher and a track record of very strong framing numbers in the upper minors, per Baseball Prospectus. Beyond his solid play in Triple-A, Davis is perhaps best known for the myriad GIFs that were born of his penchant for locking eyes with the television cameras at any and all opportunities during Iowa Cubs games, dating back to the 2016 season.

Cubs Outright Taylor Davis

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Cubs catcher Taylor Davis, who was designated for assignment over the weekend, cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Iowa, per the MLB.com transactions log.

Davis, 29, has been up and down with the Cubs over the past three seasons, appearing in just 20 games and putting together a .222/.256/.333 slash with a homer and a double in 39 trips to the plate. He also made one lone appearance on the mound in 2019, entering an 11-2 blowout and allowing three straight singles against the A’s before pulling an improbable Houdini act and escaping the jam unscathed.

A .277/.350/.386 hitter across parts of five Triple-A seasons, Taylor is known as a difficult player to strike out (12.5 percent) with a penchant for drawing plenty of walks (9.9 percent). Davis has thwarted exactly one quarter of the stolen-base attempts against him in his minor league career (60 of 240) and has posted well-above-average framing numbers in Triple-A over the past few seasons.

Cubs Place Willson Contreras On IL

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The Cubs announced today they’ve placed catcher Willson Contreras on the 10-day injured list, as expected. Taylor Davis has been recalled from Triple-A Iowa to take his spot on the 25-man roster.

Contreras came up hobbling in yesterday’s game and was diagnosed with a hamstring strain. The team decided it needn’t wait until receiving the results of tomorrow’s MRI to shut him down. It’s dreadful timing for the first-place Cubs, who lead the NL Central by a mere half-game and just traded away catcher Martín Maldonado. Contreras has been one of the Cubs’ best players, slashing .275/.365/.525 over 340 plate appearances.

In his absence, the club will turn to Víctor Caratini, who has hit well himself in limited time and might be a superior defender to Contreras but can’t match the latter’s offensive track record. Caratini’s no doubt a better reserve backstop than what most teams can run out, but it’s never good news to lose a top five player at one’s position.

Behind Caratini will be Davis, a 29 year-old who’s seen sporadic big league action the past three seasons. Davis has never shown much punch with the bat, and his .250/.358/.350 line in Triple-A in 2019 is fairly underwhelming, considering the high-powered offensive environment he’s played in.

Victor Caratini Out 4-6 Weeks With Hamate Fracture

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April 12: The Cubs have placed Caratini on the 10-day injured list due to what has indeed been revealed to be a fractured left hamate bone. Catcher Taylor Davis has been recalled from Triple-A Iowa in his place. Caratini will undergo surgery Monday and miss four to six weeks of action with the injury, per Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago / 670 The Score (Twitter link).

April 11: Cubs catcher Victor Caratini will undergo a CT scan tomorrow on his left hand, the club told reports including Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter links) after tonight’s game. With x-rays revealing a possible hamate fracture, the fear is that Caratini could hit the shelf for a stretch.

Caratini evidently suffered the injury tin the midst of what turned out to be a productive plate appearance. But it may turn out to be his last until the month of June. Hamate breaks typically come with an absence of about a month or two.

Fortunately, it’s also quite a common injury for hitters that doesn’t generally result in any kind of long-term problems. But some believe that there’s a power depletion for some time upon a player’s return. And the Cubs will hardly be thrilled to go without Caratini for a reasonably lengthy stretch, even if there is good reason to think he’ll still return to full speed by mid-season.

Though he hasn’t received much action as the reserve to Willson Contreras, Caratini has been off to a strong start. Through 17 plate appearances on the year, he has 8 hits (four for extra bases) and 3 walks against just four strikeouts.

While the Cubs pursued at least one veteran backstop over the offseason, they ended up deciding to rely upon Contreras and Caratini. There’s not much in the way of established depth behind them, with Taylor Davis the only other option on the 40-man. Beyond Davis, Francisco Arcia is the only other backstop in the organization with MLB experience.

Cubs Designate Luke Farrell, Rob Zastryzny

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The Cubs have a pair of roster casualties today amidst their first round of September call-ups: right-hander Luke Farrell and left-hander Rob Zastryzny have been designated for assignment in order to clear room on the roster for outfielder Terrance Gore and infielder Taylor Davis, whose contracts have been selected from Triple-A Iowa.

Farrell has done more harm than good for the 2018 Cubs team; his 5.17 ERA and 5.19 FIP are nearly identical, indicating he hasn’t shown the skills required of an effective major-league pitcher. While his ability to miss bats (11.20 K/9) might disagree with that assumption to some extent, his command issues (4.60 BB/9) strengthens the case that he isn’t a useful major-league piece at this time. His biggest woes come from the fact that he’s an extreme fly-ball pitcher (30.6% ground-ball rate) who allows an excess of homers (17.5% homer-to-fly-ball ratio).

The 26-year-old Zastryzny has seen less of an extended look at the MLB level, but showed even less promise than Farrell in that small sample. He’s allowed three earned runs while walking four batters in a 5 2/3 inning sample size, and while it’s perhaps unfair to draw many conclusions from that limited opportunity, his 2018 Triple-A performance doesn’t necessarily help his cause. While the 3.86 ERA he posted in 56 innings there might seem serviceable on the surface, the 4.68 FIP and 4.52 xFIP lurking underneath paint an entirely different picture. He also walked a batter every other inning on average while with Iowa.

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.

2017 Non-Tenders

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The deadline to tender 2018 contracts to players is tonight at 8pm EST. We’ll keep track of the day’s non-tenders in this post (all referenced arbitration projections courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) …

  • The Giants non-tendered righty Albert Suarez, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Suarez, 28, was not yet eligible for arbitration.
  • Righty Tom Koehler and infielder Ryan Goins are heading to the open market after being non-tendered by the Blue Jays, per a team announcement.
  • The Rays announced that lefty Xavier Cedeno has been non-tendered, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
  • The Cubs non-tendered catcher Taylor Davis, per a team announcement. He was not yet eligible for arbitration.
  • Four Rangers players have not been tendered contracts, per a club announcement. Righties Chi Chi Gonzalez, A.J. Griffin, and Nick Martinez have been cut loose along with infielder Hanser Alberto. Griffin ($3.0MM projection) and Martinez ($2.0MM) were both noted as non-tender candidates by MLBTR. The other two players were not yet eligible for arbitration. Gonzalez was a former first-round pick who had struggled of late and underwent Tommy John surgery in July.
  • The Diamondbacks have also non-tendered lefty T.J. McFarland, who had projected at a $1.0MM salary.
  • The Reds non-tendered lefty Kyle Crockett, a pre-arb lefty who was only recently claimed on waivers, per a club announcement.
  • Per a club announcement, the Brewers have non-tendered veteran righty Jared Hughes. He will end up being the only 40-man player not to receive a contract from Milwaukee. Hughes had projected at a $2.2MM arbitration value. The 32-year-old is a master at inducing grounders and has turned in repeatedly excellent results. He also averaged a career-best 93.9 mph on his sinker in 2017.
  • The Mariners have non-tendered lefty Drew Smyly and righty Shae Simmons, per a club announcement. While the former was expected, due to Smyly’s Tommy John surgery, the latter rates as something of a surprise given his cheap $700K projection. Of course, it’s possible the club is not optimistic of his chances of bouncing back from arm troubles.
  • The White Sox will not tender a contract to reliever Jake Petricka, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). He had projected to take home $1.1MM in his second trip through the arb process. Also non-tendered, per a club announcement, were righties Zach Putnam and Al Alburquerque as well as infielder Alan Hanson.
  • It seems that righty Bruce Rondon will wind up his tenure with the Tigers, as the organization is set to non-tender him, per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free-Press (via Twitter). Rondon was long viewed as a potential late-inning arm for the Tigers, but had some notable run-ins with the organization, struggled with control, and never consistently produced at the MLB level. Though he projected to earn just $1.2MM, Rondon will be allowed to find a new organization. He will turn 26 later this month.
  • The Diamondbacks will non-tender righty J.J. Hoover, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). Hoover projected at just $1.6MM, but Arizona is watching every penny as it seeks to return to the postseason with a tight payroll situation. The 30-year-old turned in 41 1/3 innings of 3.92 ERA ball in 2017 with 11.8 K/9 but also 5.7 BB/9 on the year.
  • The Royals announced that they have non-tendered outfielder Terrance Gore. Though Gore was not eligible for arbitration, teams occasionally utilize today’s deadline to prune their 40-man rosters. Gore had quite an interesting run with Kansas City, scarcely playing at all during the regular season and then appearing as a speed-and-defense asset in the team’s two storied postseason runs. Now, though the fleet-footed 26-year-old is out of options. With an upper minors OPS that hovers just over .600, Gore just was not going to break camp with the club. It seems reasonable to think there’s a chance he’ll return to the organization on a minors deal, though Gore will also have a shot at exploring the broader market.

Cubs To Designate Jacob Hannemann, Select Contract Of Taylor Davis

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The Cubs are set to select the contract of catcher Taylor Davis and will designate minor league outfielder Jacob Hannemann for assignment to clear a roster spot, MLBTR has learned. Baseball America’s John Manuel first tweeted that Davis was going to be selected to the big league roster.

The 27-year-old Davis has gained some notoriety for his penchant for staring down television cameras at every opportunity (video link via Twitter), but he’s also had a fine season with Triple-A Iowa. In 406 plate appearances, he’s slashed .297/.357/.429 with six homers, 27 doubles and a triple to his credit thus far. Davis also has more than 800 innings of experience at first base and more than 200 innings at the hot corner over the past few years in the minors, so he can give the Cubs some versatility off the bench with expanded September rosters in place.

Hannemann, 26, has split the 2017 season between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa, hitting considerably better at the more advanced of those two levels. Through 322 PAs with Iowa, Hannemann has slashed .265/.324/.404, though his rough stretch in Tennessee drags his cumulative batting line down to a less palatable .240/.312/.372. Baseball America rated Hannemann as Chicago’s No. 23 prospect this past offseason, writing that he has 70-grade speed and is the “best athlete in the Cubs system.” However, he also has a fringy arm in the outfield, per their report, and has never demonstrated that much power in the minors.

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