Phillies Select Will Toffey
The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Will Toffey. Additionally, right-hander Bubby Rossman has been selected to the roster as a “substitute player”.
Toffey, 27, was a fourth round draft pick of the A’s in 2017. He went to the Mets at the deadline in 2018 as part of the trade that sent Jeurys Familia to Oakland. He was part of a second deal last year, going to the Giants as the return for the Mets acquiring Anthony Banda. In March of this year, he was traded yet again, going to the Phillies along with cash considerations in exchange for Luke Williams.
One year ago, FanGraphs listed him as the 28th prospect in the Mets’ system, complementing his hitting ability but noting his lack of power. They also state that he’s a solid defender with a strong arm. While he’s primarily been a third baseman in his career thus far, he’s branched out and has also seen some time at first base, second base and the outfield corners.
In 58 Triple-A games this year, he’s struck out in 30.2% of his plate appearances but also walked 14% of the time. He has three homers, nine steals and a slash line of .266/.385/.438, wRC+ of 125. As a left-handed hitter, he has the potential to platoon with some Philly infielders that hit from the right side, such as Alec Bohm, who has a subpar batting line of .273/.307/.385 this year for a 91 wRC+. Bohm has pretty drastic splits, with a 124 wRC+ against lefties for his career and 80 against righties. This year, the split is even wider, at 138 and 72. Toffey is naturally better against righties, with a .273/.404/.460 line against them this year, compared to .245/.333/.377 marks against southpaws.
Rossman, 30, was drafted by the Dodgers in 2014 but released in 2016. He bounced around to various Indy Ball teams for a few years before signing a minor league deal with the Phillies in November of last year. He’s been pitching in Double-A this season, throwing 40 2/3 innings with a 3.32 ERA, 29.1% strikeout rate, 12.1% walk rate and 43.3% ground ball rate. The Phillies have four players on the restricted list at the moment, unable to cross the border into Canada to play the Blue Jays due to not being vaccinated against COVID-19. Since Rossman has been designated a “substitute,” he will be eligible to be returned to the minors without being exposed to waivers.
Dodgers Claim Jake Reed Off Waivers From Mets
The Dodgers announced that they have claimed right-hander Jake Reed off waivers from the Mets. The Mets had designated Reed for assignment a few days ago when they claimed Sam Clay. The Dodgers have had an open spot on their 40-man roster since designating Ian Gibaut for assignment last week.
This is a return to the Dodgers for Reed, as he made his MLB debut with the club last year. After throwing 5 1/3 innings with Los Angeles, he was claimed on waivers twice in a span of about a week, first going to the Rays and then to the Mets. He’ll now complete the circle by going back to the Dodgers.
In between all of these waiver claims, he’s managed to throw 16 1/3 MLB innings with a 6.61 ERA in that small sample. He has fared much better in the minors, especially in the strikeout department, which is likely why teams keep taking fliers on him. Going back to the start of last year, he’s thrown 43 1/3 innings in the minors with a 4.98 ERA, 26.6% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. He probably deserves better than that ERA, as he has a .353 BABIP in that time, which is well above average. That’s likely why FIP placed him at 3.97 for that span.
Reed, 29, can still be optioned for the remainder of this season and another season beyond that, making him a fairly sensible depth addition for a club that had an open roster spot.
Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat announced the move shortly before the official announcement.
Brewers Select Connor Sadzeck, Option Keston Hiura
The Brewers announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of righty Connor Sadzeck from Triple-A Nashville. Infielder Keston Hiura has been optioned to Nashville to open a spot on the active roster. Milwaukee already had an open 40-man spot after designating Chi Chi Gonzalez for assignment last night.
A promising prospect with the Rangers earlier in his career, the now-30-year-old Sadzeck hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since 2019. Injuries, including Tommy John surgery early in his minor league career and a flexor mass issue back in 2019, have slowed the right-hander and kept him off the mound for significant portions of his career.
When healthy, Sadzeck is a legitimately intriguing arm who boasts a triple-digit heater, impressive strikeout abilities and, as is often the case for flamethrowers like this, some problematic command issues. He’s pitched just 33 Major League innings and boasts a 2.18 ERA but a concerning 17.4% walk rate in that time. Sadzeck is currently sporting an outstanding 0.86 ERA and 30.7% strikeout rate in 28 Triple-A innings, however, and this year’s 10.5% walk rate is more manageable than several of his prior seasons.
Hiura, meanwhile, has gone from former first-round pick and potential building block to a defensively limited slugger who’s regularly optioned by the Brewers. He’s hitting .238/.354/.451 this season — solid overall production — but has also yet to rectify the alarming strikeout issues that have plagued him throughout his career. Hiura has fanned in a sky-high 43.8% of his plate appearances this season, making even that modest .238 average unsustainable. (He’s currently benefitting from a .412 BABIP.)
That said, the decision to option Hiura couldn’t have been an easy one. He’s been on a tear at the plate over his past 12 games, batting .324/.435/.595 with three long balls and a double in that time. For now, Hiura will return to Nashville and continue working to improve his bat-to-ball skills and overall plate discipline. In all likelihood, he’ll get another big league look (or multiple looks) between now and season’s end.
KBO’s Doosan Bears Sign Brandon Waddell, Release Ariel Miranda
The Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization announced this week that they’ve signed lefty Brandon Waddell for the remainder of the 2022 season (hat tip: Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency). Waddell, a client of Ballplayers Agency, will earn $230K between now and season’s end. Waddell had been pitching with the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate, but the Cards announced this morning that his contract has been sold to the Bears. Waddell will take the spot of reigning KBO MVP and former big leaguer Ariel Miranda, who has been released due to ongoing health issues in his left shoulder.
Signings of this nature are generally favorable for all parties involved. Waddell will be guaranteed a notable six-figure sum that trounces what he’d have earned by finishing out the season in Triple-A. He’d have needed to spend close to two months on the big league roster to earn that type of cash with the Cardinals, and there was no guarantee he’d be given that opportunity. The Cards, meanwhile, lose a bit of depth but receive a buyout for a player they might not have called to the Majors at all, and the Bears of course gain the rights to a pitcher who clearly intrigues them.
The 28-year-old Waddell is a former fifth-rounder of the Pirates who’s spent parts of two seasons in the big leagues, splitting his time between Pittsburgh, Minnesota and Baltimore. He’s logged just 12 2/3 total big league innings, yielding eight earned runs on 16 hits and 11 walks with nine strikeouts in that time.
Those grisly MLB numbers aside, Waddell has posted solid or better Triple- A numbers in three of his four seasons at that level. An 8.70 ERA in the juiced-ball 2019 campaign skews his overall numbers, but Waddell pitched to a 3.59 ERA in 135 1/3 innings there in 2018 and, since moving to the bullpen last year, has a 2.91 ERA with a 45-to-14 K/BB ratio in 43 1/3 innings of relief work.
The jump to the KBO will provide Waddell with some immediate earning power and also get a foot in the door for a potential second season overseas if he shows well in the second half of the 2022 KBO campaign. We’ve seen plenty of players in this mold carve out lengthy and lucrative careers pitching in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, and it’s always possible that improved production pitching in Asia will lead to an eventual big league return (as was the case with Miles Mikolas, Merrill Kelly, Chris Flexen and others in recent memory). The benefit is two-fold, as if Waddell can manage to pitch his way back into MLB consideration, he’d return as a free agent and thus be able to sign a Major League deal that is not beholden to the constraints of MLB’s arbitration system.
As for Miranda, the injuries are an obviously unfortunate development for a pitcher who, after 2022, looked like someone who could be on the cusp of an MLB return himself. The 33-year-old southpaw saw parts of Major League action in three seasons (2016-18) with the Orioles and Mariners, notching a 4.72 ERA in 223 innings along the way. He’s since had success in all three major Asian professional leagues — the KBO, Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League — with his 2021 season, in particular, generating intrigue.
Miranda racked up 173 2/3 innings of 2.33 ERA ball with the Bears last season, punching out a gaudy 31.7% of his opponents against a solid 8.8% walk rate. Last year’s 225 strikeouts were a KBO record, and Miranda parlayed that dominant showing into a $1.9MM payday that made him the second-highest paid foreign pitcher in the KBO, trailing only righty Drew Rucinski.
This year, however, Miranda made just three starts and totaled 7 2/3 innings with seven runs allowed and a staggering 18 walks, clearly demonstrating that he was never at full health. Now a free agent once again, Miranda will have options to consider, although it’s extraordinarily rare for a player to be released by a KBO club due to injury and then return to the KBO as a free agent, even with a different club. A return to NPB, the CPBL or perhaps a big league team (likely on a minor league deal) could still be options for Miranda this winter, health-permitting.
Shawn Morimando Signs With KBO’s SSG Landers
The SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization announced last night they’ve agreed to terms with left-hander Shawn Morimando on a contract (h/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO). He’ll receive a $230K salary for the final few months of the season.
Morimando, 29, has appeared in parts of two major league seasons. He debuted with Cleveland back in 2016, making a pair of appearances for the eventual American League champions. After a few years spent in the upper minors, he returned to the big leagues for a few on-and-off stints with the Marlins last year. He made four appearances and tallied 10 1/3 innings of 11-run ball. Morimando had a better showing with Triple-A Jacksonville, posting a 4.32 ERA across 89 2/3 frames.
Outrighted off Miami’s 40-man roster at the end of last season, Morimando signed on with the CTBC Brothers of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League. Through 91 1/3 innings there, he worked to a 2.56 ERA with a solid 23.1% strikeout rate and a quality 6.8% walk percentage. That earned him a look in the KBO, where he’ll presumably receive a pay bump.
In a corresponding move, the Landers released veteran starter Iván Nova. Reports emerged last week the club was looking to move on from the right-hander, who posted a 6.50 ERA across 12 outings. Morimando and the recently-signed Juan Lagares join Wilmer Font to comprise the allotted three foreign-born players on the Landers roster, while Nova heads back to the free agent market.
Injured List Transactions: Sale, Jansen, Garver
The Red Sox reinstated Chris Sale to make his season debut tonight against the Rays, as had been reported last week. The veteran southpaw missed the first few months of the year after he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his rib during Spring Training. It’s the third straight injury-impacted season for Sale, who missed all of 2020 and the bulk of 2021 recovering from Tommy John surgery. His return is a necessary welcome development for a Boston club that has five starting pitching options (Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, Garrett Whitlock and Connor Seabold) on the 15-day injured list at the moment.
Boston optioned rookie right-hander Brayan Bello to Triple-A Worcester in a corresponding active roster move. The 23-year-old, who’s one of the best pitching prospects in the organization, was promoted last week and made his first two big league starts. Bello surrendered nine runs with seven strikeouts and six walks in eight innings, however, so the club will send him back to the minors for a bit. A 40-man roster vacancy for Sale was created yesterday when catcher Kevin Plawecki landed on the COVID-19 injured list, but Boston will need to make another move in that regard once Plawecki is cleared to return.
Updates on a pair of other notable injury moves:
- The Blue Jays welcomed back catcher Danny Jansen from the 10-day injured list, installing him right into tonight’s starting lineup against the Phillies. The 27-year-old missed a month after fracturing a finger on his left hand, his second notable injury of the season. That and an April oblique strain have limited Jansen to just 19 games thus far, but he’s blasted seven home runs in limited action. In a corresponding active roster move, top prospect Gabriel Moreno was optioned back to Triple-A Buffalo. A consensus top prospect, Moreno was promoted for his MLB debut shortly after Jansen went down. The 22-year-old only collected one extra-base hit (a double) in his first 60 trips to the plate as a big leaguer, though. With Jansen back and the Jays firmly in win-now mode, they’ll turn back to the veteran while giving Moreno regular reps in Triple-A. Across 36 games with the Bisons, Moreno is hitting .324/.380/.404.
- Last night, the Rangers transferred catcher/designated hitter Mitch Garver from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list. That’s not a surprise, as he’ll miss the rest of the season after undergoing season-ending surgery to repair the injured flexor tendon in his forearm. The move freed a spot on Texas’ 40-man roster, which Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News suggests (on Twitter) is likely to go to reliever Jonathan Hernández. The right-hander hasn’t pitched in the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2021, but he’s been on a rehab stint at Triple-A Round Rock for the past month and a half. Grant notes that his allotted rehab window wraps up tomorrow, meaning he’ll have to be reinstated from the 60-day IL or shut down from his rehab entirely. The former seems likelier, as manager Chris Woodward suggested Hernández should be back with the big league club soon.
Padres Select Esteury Ruiz
6:00pm: The Padres have announced the selection of Ruiz. To create space on the active roster, Rooker was optioned. To make room on the 40-man roster, Robert Suarez was transferred to the 60-day IL. Suarez will now be ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which was June 7. That means he can rejoin the club August 6.
5:25pm: Padres manager Bob Melvin has announced to reporters, including AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, that outfielder Esteury Ruiz is in tonight’s lineup. Ruiz wasn’t on the club’s full 40-man prior to today, meaning a corresponding move of some kind will be required.
Ruiz, 23, began his career in the Royals organization but came to the Padres in the 2017 trade that sent Trevor Cahill and a couple of other pitchers to Kansas City. Since then, he’s gotten the attention of prospect evaluators, appearing on Baseball America’s list of top Padre farmhands in 2018 and 2019. He slid off that list in subsequent years, but he’s forced his way back on with an outstanding showing here in 2022, coming in at #13 on the most recent update. The most recent list at FanGraphs placed him at #25.
Both outlets note that Ruiz has long tantalized with his power-speed combo, but that mounting strikeouts dampened the enthusiasm as he rose through the minor league ranks. In 2018, he struck out 28.6% of the time in A-ball, which he followed up with a 26.6% rate in High-A in 2019.
However, he’s overhauled his approach at the plate in recent years with very encouraging results. Last year, at Double-A, he got his strikeouts down to a much more tenable 20.7%. This year, between Double-A and Triple-A, he’s made further strides, getting his rate down to 17.4%. That’s helped him produce an incredible .333/.467/.560 line on the year for a 167 wRC+. He’s also already racked up 60 stolen bases on the year in just 77 games.
Though he was an infielder in his earlier years, the Padres have been gradually transitioning him to more outfield work, with his last infield appearance coming back in 2019. The Friars have been looking for answers on the grass all season long, with injuries and underperformance hurting their outfield corps. Wil Myers, Jurickson Profar and Matt Beaty are all currently on the injured list. Nomar Mazara has fared well in one spot, but Trent Grisham has slumped this year to a wRC+ of 81. The club has also leaned on depth options like Jose Azocar and Brent Rooker without anyone taking a strong hold on a job. Now they will turn to Ruiz and see if he can translate any of his eye-popping minor league numbers up to the big leagues.
Phillies Announce Several Roster Moves
The Phillies have announced several roster moves ahead of tonight’s series opener in Toronto. Since unvaccinated players aren’t eligible to cross the Canada-U.S. border, each new home series for the Blue Jays leads to a handful of players on the opposing team landing on the restricted list instead of making the trip. In the case of the Phils, they have four players not with the team up north. Catcher J.T. Realmuto, infielder Alec Bohm, right-handers Kyle Gibson and Aaron Nola have all been placed on the restricted list. To fill two of those roster spots, catcher Rafael Marchan has been recalled, while right-hander Nick Duron has had his contract selected. Both Marchan and Duron were identified as “substitute players,” meaning they can be returned to the minors without being exposed to waivers.
Duron, 26, will make his MLB debut as soon as he gets into a game. Originally a 31st round pick of Boston in 2015, he spent a few years in the system of the Red Sox and then the Mariners. The Phillies signed him to a minor league deal in the offseason and sent him to Triple-A.
Through 28 innings with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Duron has a 2.57 ERA, 30.3% strikeout rate and 42.6% ground ball rate. However, he also has a concerning 12.3% walk rate, something that has been a theme for his in recent years. The last time he posted a walk rate lower than 10.6% was back in 2018. Still, the strikeouts are helping limit the damage enough to earn a big league look. It’s likely to be just temporary, however, with Duron likely to be removed from the roster once the Phillies get back from Toronto.
Orioles Claim Louis Head From Marlins, Designate Kirk McCarty
4:30pm: The Orioles have announced the claim and that Head has been optioned to Triple-A. To make room on the 40-man roster, they have designated lefty Kirk McCarty for assignment. McCarty had just been claimed off waivers from the Guardians last week and thrown four innings for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides before heading back into DFA limbo. The O’s will have one week to trade him, pass him through waivers or release him.
1:20pm: The Orioles have claimed right-hander Louis Head off waivers from the Marlins, according to Mark Feinsand and Christina De Nicola of MLB.com.
Head, 32, made his major league debut with the Rays last year, throwing 35 innings with a 2.31 ERA, 23.9% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate and 31.1% ground ball rate. There was likely some good fortune keeping that ERA down, as Head allowed a .216 batting average on balls in play, well below last year’s .290 league average.
In the offseason, the Rays flipped him to the Marlins for a player to be named later, which was eventually revealed to be Josh Roberson. Here in 2022, the Marlins surely didn’t get what they were hoping for out of Head. Through 23 2/3 innings, he has an unfortunate 7.23 ERA, with a 20.7% strikeout rate, 9.9% walk rate and 26.4% ground ball rate, all of those numbers being worse than league average. He was placed on the IL on June 23 with an impingement in his non-throwing shoulder. He began a rehab assignment three days ago but won’t return to the Marlins, heading to the Baltimore organization instead.
The move is a little curious, as Head still has options. When he finished his rehab assignment, he could have simply been sent to Triple-A as depth, but the Marlins evidently wanted to move on instead. Injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, only release waivers. Although there had not been any public indication he’d been designated for assignment, it appears the Marlins put him on release waivers recently, with the Orioles putting in a claim.
Baltimore has a full 40-man roster at the moment, meaning a corresponding move of some kind will be required to accommodate Head’s addition.
Athletics Claim David McKay, Designate Jake Lemoine
The Athletics announced that they have claimed right-hander David McKay off waivers from the Rays. Fellow righty Jake Lemoine has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move. McKay had been designated for assignment by the Rays a few days ago when they acquired Christian Bethancourt from the A’s.
McKay, 27, underwent hip surgery in April of 2021 and missed that entire season. He signed a minor league deal with the Rays prior to this year, but was traded to the Yankees for cash considerations before the season began. He made the Yankees 40-man roster but was recalled and optioned to Triple-A three times, only getting two big league innings in the process. He was designated for assignment in June and sent back to the Rays, with cash considerations once again changing hands. He threw another two big leagues innings for the Rays, before being optioned to Triple-A and then being designated in recent days.
He fared quite well for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the Yankees’ Triple-A team, throwing 21 2/3 innings with a 2.91 ERA, 29.5% strikeout rate, though with subpar walk rate and ground ball rates of 12.5% and 33.3%, respectively. He was less effective for the Durham Bulls, the Triple-A team of the Rays, though in a small sample of just four innings.
Generally speaking, the strikeouts and the walks have been the recipe for McKay, with teams continually intrigued enough by the Ks to give him chances and hope the control improves. For the A’s, their 29-59 record is the worst in baseball, making them perhaps the most logical team to take a shot on a flawed player and hope that he finds a new gear. This is McKay’s last option year, meaning he will have to stick with the big league club next year as long as he holds onto his roster spot.
As for Lemoine, 28, he was signed to a minor league deal in the offseason and cracked Oakland’s Opening Day roster. He has struggled in the majors with a 7.71 ERA, though in a small sample of 16 1/3 innings. He’s fared much better in Triple-A, between last year with the Rangers and this year with the A’s. Since the start of 2021, he has thrown 64 Triple-A frames with a 2.67 ERA, 19.1% strikeout rate, with ground ball rates around 60% in each season. He still has all three of his options, which could appeal to team’s looking for bullpen depth. The A’s will have a week to trade him, pass him through waivers or release him.