A’s Release Gabe Klobosits
June 14: The A’s have released Klobosits, per their transactions log at MLB.com.
June 8: The Athletics announced Wednesday that they’ve designated right-hander Gabe Klobosits for assignment and optioned righty Domingo Tapia to Triple-A Las Vegas. That pair of moves creates space for lefty Jared Koenig, whose contract has been formally selected. A’s skipper Mark Kotsay announced earlier this week that Koenig would be selected from Triple-A to start today’s game.
Acquired on a waiver claim from the Nationals back on April 11, Klobosits has spent the entire season with Las Vegas, where he’s posted an unsightly 7.59 ERA in 10 2/3 frames. The towering 6’8″ righty fanned nearly a quarter of his opponents but also issued a walk to 11.8% of the batters he faced.
Klobosits made his MLB debut with the Nats in 2021, pitching to a 5.56 ERA in a small sample of 11 1/3 innings. He averaged 94.8 mph on his heater during that time and induced chases on pitches outside the strike zone at a gaudy 35.6% clip. The former 36th-round pick also posted a 1.64 ERA with a 28.9% strikeout rate against a respectable 8.8% walk rate in a combined 38 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A last year, so despite his struggles in a brief stint with the A’s, he’s had some success in the upper minors.
Notably, Klobosits does not appear on the minor league injured list but also hasn’t pitched in a game for the Aviators since mid-May. The reason for that layoff isn’t clear. Regardless, the A’s will have a week to trade Klobosits, attempt to pass him through outright waivers (assuming he is in good health; injured players cannot be outrighted) or release him.
Tigers Designate Jacob Barnes For Assignment
The Tigers announced they’ve designated reliever Jacob Barnes for assignment and optioned outfielder Derek Hill to Triple-A Toledo. The moves open a pair of 26-man roster spots for right-hander Drew Hutchison and lefty Tyler Alexander, who will be added to the active roster tomorrow. Hutchison is being selected from Toledo, while Alexander will be reinstated from the 15-day injured list. Detroit’s 40-man roster count remains at 38.
Barnes signed a minor league deal over the offseason and broke camp with the club. The seven-year MLB veteran made 22 appearances for skipper A.J. Hinch, working primarily in lower-leverage situations. Barnes struggled to a 6.10 ERA through 20 2/3 innings, and of greater concern, saw his swing-and-miss propensity fall precipitously. He has generated swinging strikes on only 7.7% of his offerings, and his 11.2% strikeout rate is the fourth-lowest mark among the 160 relievers with 20+ innings pitched.
That’s a surprising development, as Barnes has typically posted solid strikeout and whiff numbers throughout his career. The velocity and spin on both his fastball and cutter are virtually unchanged relative to last season, but he’s simply not getting the kind of swing-and-miss to which he’s been accustomed. Barnes is out of minor league option years, so the Tigers had to designate him for assignment if they weren’t prepared to continue giving him opportunities to sort things out at the major league level.
Detroit will now have a week to trade the 32-year-old or place him on waivers. Given his rough start to the year, Barnes will probably land on the waiver wire. Even if he passes through unclaimed, he’d have the right to refuse a minor league assignment while still collecting the remainder of his $1.13MM salary by virtue of having surpassed five years of MLB service this season.
Hutchison returns to the big leagues for the second time in 2022. He made ten appearances earlier in the year after cracking the Opening Day roster, but Detroit designated him for assignment last month. Hutchison reached free agency after clearing waivers but re-signed on a minor league deal and worked his way back after five strong outings with the Mud Hens. The veteran has allowed only three runs in 9 2/3 innings with Toledo, punching out 13 batters with three walks.
A starting pitcher early in his career, the 31-year-old Hutchison has worked primarily in relief of late. That includes all of his early-season work in Detroit, where he tossed 15 2/3 innings of nine-run ball. Hutchison punched out 15 batters and issued 12 walks over that stretch, but he’s capable of shouldering multiple frames out of the bullpen and will presumably step into Barnes’ middle relief role.
Alexander, meanwhile, returns after a six-week absence. The southpaw started four times in April but suffered an elbow sprain that has kept him on the shelf since then. Originally targeted for a swing role, he’ll likely head right back into the rotation for a club that lost Casey Mize to a Tommy John procedure and has seen Matt Manning and Michael Pineda shelved due to long-term injury issues. Detroit will also be without Eduardo Rodríguez indefinitely as he attends to personal matters.
Reds Activate Jonathan India, Mike Moustakas
The Reds reinstated infielders Jonathan India and Mike Moustakas from the injured list and recalled southpaw Reiver Sanmartin before tonight’s game against the Diamondbacks. Corner outfielder Aristides Aquino is headed to the 10-day injured list due to a left calf strain, while infielders Colin Moran and Alejo López have been optioned to Triple-A Louisville.
India has been on the IL for the past six weeks due to a right hamstring issue. He’s been limited to just 11 games thus far, one of myriad reasons the Reds have a disappointing 21-39 record. The reigning National League Rookie of the Year, India is coming off an excellent .269/.376/.459 showing through 631 plate appearances. India had been targeting a return for the upcoming weekend series against the Brewers, but it seems he’s progressed a bit better than anticipated.
Moustakas, meanwhile, spent a week on the COVID-19 injured list. He also missed some time in April because of a biceps strain, but he’s played fairly regularly when healthy. The left-handed hitter is amidst a second straight underwhelming campaign, owner of a .200/.314/.308 slash with three home runs across 153 trips to the dish. India’s return could cut into the reps for Moustakas, as Brandon Drury figures to see more time at the hot corner with India manning the keystone.
While Moustakas was on the virus list, he hadn’t occupied a spot on the 40-man roster. Now that he’s been reinstated, the club needed to create a 40-man vacancy. They’ve done so by transferring outfielder Jake Fraley from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list, officially ruling him out through at least the end of June.
Fraley, acquired from the Mariners as part of the Jesse Winker deal in Spring Training, went on the IL on May 1 with right knee inflammation. He headed out on a minor league rehab assignment late last month but was shut down while battling a toe issue (via Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer). The left-handed hitting Fraley has been limited to 15 games with his new club thus far, hitting just .116/.208/.233.
Pirates Select Jason Delay, Recall Canaan Smith-Njigba
The Pirates announced they’ve selected catcher Jason Delay onto the major league roster, with reliever Duane Underwood Jr. landing on the COVID-19 injured list in a corresponding move. Pittsburgh also recalled outfield prospect Canaan Smith-Njigba and infielder Hoy Park, optioning outfielder Travis Swaggerty and reliever Aaron Fletcher to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Delay, 27, was a fourth-round senior sign out of Vanderbilt back in 2017. He has spent the past six years in the minor leagues, reaching Triple-A for the first time last season. Delay is a career .230/.302/.332 hitter in a bit more than 800 professional plate appearances. He’ll add some depth beyond the primary catching tandem of Tyler Heineman and Michael Pérez.
Smith-Njigba is also up for his first big league look. Pittsburgh added the Dallas native to their 40-man roster to keep him from being taken in the Rule 5 draft, but he’s spent the entire season thus far in Indianapolis. A former 4th-round pick of the Yankees, Smith-Njigba went to the Bucs as part of the January 2021 trade that landed Jameson Taillon in the Bronx. Baseball America has slotted him near the back of the Pirates top 30 prospects in each of the past two years, writing that his combination of bat-to-ball skills and raw power could give him a chance to carve out a role in a corner outfield rotation.
Through 218 plate appearances in Triple-A, Smith-Njigba is hitting .277/.387/.408. He’s walked in a robust 15.1% of his plate appearances against an average 23.9% strikeout rate. The left-handed hitter has only one home run with Indianapolis, but he nevertheless did enough to convince the front office he merited a major league look. He’ll take the active roster spot of Swaggerty, a former first-rounder and another notable prospect who was promoted for the first time on June 4. The South Alabama product appeared in five games, collecting a hit in nine at-bats before being sent down.
Marlins Designate Aneurys Zabala For Assignment
The Marlins have designated reliever Aneurys Zabala for assignment, tweets Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. The move clears roster space for first baseman Garrett Cooper, who has been reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list.
It’s the reversal of a transaction from just a couple days ago, as Zabala was selected when Cooper hit the IL on Saturday. That the latter’s absence was so brief implies his stay away from the club was merely related to virus-like symptoms. Cooper, who is hitting an excellent .315/.389/.473 on the season, figures to reassume a middle-of-the-order role. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored this afternoon, the right-handed hitter has quietly emerged as one of the game’s more productive bats in recent seasons.
Zabala loses his roster spot after making one MLB appearance, which was his big league debut. The 25-year-old had spent time in the farm systems of the Mariners, Dodgers, Reds and Phillies before finally getting his first crack against major league hitters. Zabala recorded two outs, including a strikeout of Kyle Tucker, during yesterday’s loss to the Astros. The 6’3″ hurler averaged a blistering 99.5 MPH on his fastball during that look, according to Statcast.
The Marlins will presumably try to run Zabala through waivers in the next few days. Assuming he goes unclaimed, he’ll likely return to Triple-A Jacksonville on outright assignment. He’s allowed ten runs with 13 walks and 11 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings with the Jumbo Shrimp this season.
Royals Select Daniel Mengden
The Royals announced they’ve selected right-hander Daniel Mengden onto the major league roster. In a corresponding move, reliever Joel Payamps has been placed on the COVID-19 injured list.
Mengden is now in position to make his first MLB appearance in two years. The Texas A&M product pitched in the majors with the A’s each season from 2016-20, starting 48 of his 60 outings. Not a particularly hard thrower, Mengden rarely missed many bats but looked like a viable back-of-the-rotation arm at times based on the strength of his control. He posted a 3.80 ERA through 158 2/3 innings from 2017-18, and while the A’s pitcher-friendly home ballpark and excellent team defenses no doubt aided him, Mengden walked a meager 5.4% of batters faced during that stretch.
By 2019, however, Mengden began to struggle with his control. Oakland outrighted him off the roster in 2020, and he signed on with the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization last winter. He proved a solid pickup, tossing 120 frames of 3.60 ERA ball with a 20.7% strikeout rate and a 7% walk percentage for the Gwangju-based club. Mengden returned to the United States this past offseason, inking a minors pact with Kansas City in March.
The 29-year-old has spent the entirety of the 2022 campaign with Triple-A Omaha. He’s worked almost exclusively as a starter, opening 11 of his 12 outings. Mengden has a 5.47 ERA across 52 2/3 frames for the Storm Chasers, posting worse than average strikeout and walk numbers (21.3% and 12.6%, respectively) while struggling with home runs. Nevertheless, Kansas City will give him another crack in the majors, presumably as a multi-inning relief option for skipper Mike Matheny.
Tigers Place Eduardo Rodriguez On Restricted List
The Tigers announced this afternoon that starting pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez is going on the restricted list. The club released a brief statement from general manager Al Avila accompanying the announcement, which reads: “Eduardo Rodríguez has informed the Club that due to personal matters he will not rejoin the team at this time. As a result, Eduardo has been placed on the restricted list until further notice.”
The team hasn’t provided any further details, nor is there any public timetable for his return. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch addressed the matter with reporters (including Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press) shortly after the announcement, stating “The restricted list part is the relationship with the player and the organization. I knew he wasn’t going to make his start, and he wasn’t going to pitch in the minor leagues or the major leagues at this time. This was inevitable.” Hinch added he was “looking forward to (Rodríguez’s) return, whenever that is” and would “continue to support him.”
Rodríguez signed a five-year, $77MM guarantee this past offseason. That marked the first aggressive strike of an active winter for Avila and his front office, with the southpaw brought in from the Red Sox to hopefully anchor a strong starting staff. Injuries have dashed those hopes, however, as the club has lost Casey Mize to Tommy John surgery and been without Matt Manning for an extended period of time because of shoulder and biceps issues. Back-end starters Tyler Alexander and Michael Pineda have also missed time, as has Rodríguez himself.
The 29-year-old southpaw has been out of action since May 22, when he landed on the injured list due to a ribcage strain. He’d begun a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo last week and seemed on track to rejoin the rotation in fairly short order, but he’ll be away from the team as he attends to his personal concerns.
Players on the restricted list are not paid, so Rodríguez will forfeit his salary for whatever time he spends away from the team. He also won’t count against the club’s 40-man roster.
White Sox Place Yasmani Grandal On Injured List, Activate Lance Lynn
The White Sox announced they’ve placed catcher Yasmani Grandal on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 12, due to lower back spasms. Coming off the IL to take his active roster spot is starter Lance Lynn, who is in line to make his season debut. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Lynn — who had been on the 60-day IL — the club has placed reliever Ryan Burr on release waivers.
Grandal missed yesterday’s game against the Rangers because of a left hamstring issue, but the back spasms diagnosis comes as a surprise. Chicago selected Seby Zavala to the MLB roster yesterday as insurance, and he figures to back up Reese McGuire for as long as Grandal is out. The two-time All-Star will be eligible to return by the middle of next week, but the team has yet to provide any sort of timetable for his recovery.
Even prior to the injury, the 2022 campaign has been a nightmare for Grandal. Typically one of the game’s best offensive catchers, the 33-year-old has had a very rough first couple months of the season. Over 201 plate appearances, he’s hitting .185/.294/.237 with just a pair of home runs. Grandal is still drawing walks at an excellent 13.4% clip, but he’s collected only five extra-base hits all year as his batted ball quality has plummeted. It’s a rather shocking downturn for a player who hit .240/.420/.520 in 93 games last season, and the IL stint will perhaps afford Grandal an opportunity for a mental reset as he searches for his previous form.
McGuire, acquired from the Blue Jays just before Opening Day, hasn’t made much of an offensive impact either. He’s hitting .235/.280/.286 in 110 trips to the plate in a Chicago uniform, a step back from the .253/.310/.343 mark he posted in Toronto last year. A left-handed hitter, he’ll pair with the righty-swinging Zavala to form the catching tandem for manager Tony La Russa for now.
Lynn is listed as the probate starter for tonight’s game against the Tigers. La Russa suggested yesterday he’d likely be activated on Tuesday, but he’ll take the ball for the first time a day earlier than anticipated. The 35-year-old righty has been out all season after undergoing right knee surgery in April, but he’s now ready to get back on the hill. That should be a notable boost for a Chicago team that owns a disappointing 27-31 record, as Lynn has been one of the game’s most effective arms over the past couple years. He tossed 157 innings of 2.69 ERA ball last season, earning a two-year contract extension in the process.
Burr, meanwhile, could be seeing his time in the organization come to a close. A Diamondbacks draftee, he was acquired by the ChiSox as a minor leaguer in 2017 and reached the bigs a season later. He’s suited up at the MLB level in each of the past four years, making 66 appearances. The righty has a 4.08 ERA across 75 innings, including an excellent 2.45 mark through 36 2/3 frames a season ago. However, he’s posted a mediocre 20.6% strikeout rate and an elevated 12.2% walk percentage during his MLB tenure.
It seems the primary impetus for Burr’s release, however, is a health issue. The 28-year-old has been on the minor league injured list for the past couple weeks with an undisclosed injury. Players on the MiLB IL still count against a team’s 40-man roster, but injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers. To take Burr off the 40-man roster, Chicago either had to release him or recall him and place him on the MLB 60-day IL. The latter course of action would’ve required paying him a major league salary, however, and the Sox have decided they’d rather expose him to waivers.
While Burr hasn’t missed many bats at the MLB level, he’s induced grounders on more than half the balls in play against him and averaged around 95 MPH on his fastball. That could intrigue another team enough to grab him and stash him on their 40-man roster or major league injured list. If Burr clears waivers, he’d be a free agent.
Cubs Designate Sean Newcomb For Assignment
The Cubs announced Monday that left-hander Sean Newcomb has been designated for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to fellow southpaw Eric Stout, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Iowa. Stout will be making his first big league appearance since 2018 if he gets into a game.
Chicago acquired Newcomb from the Braves in April, sending veteran righty Jesse Chavez back to Atlanta in the process. It was a buy-low bounceback flier for the North Siders, but the move didn’t pan out. Newcomb could make just three appearances before spraining his left ankle and missing three weeks. He returned to the active roster yesterday, but the Yankees teed off on him for five runs on six hits in just one inning of work. In the wake of that rough outing, the Cubs have decided to move on, joining the Braves in designating him for assignment this season.
It’s been a few seasons of struggles for Newcomb, who was also hit hard over three outings with Atlanta in April. He posted just a 4.73 ERA through 32 1/3 frames last year, largely negating a quality 28.7% strikeout rate by walking an unacceptable 18% of batters faced. The former first-round pick had been hit hard during four starts in the shortened 2020 season as well, so he hasn’t found a sustained run of MLB success since 2019.
Nevertheless, Newcomb caught the attention of the Cubs based on his early-career form. He threw 68 1/3 innings of 3.16 ERA ball three years ago, showing much better control and inducing grounders on nearly half the batted balls he allowed. While his strike-throwing has become particularly erratic in recent years, Newcomb continues to throw in the mid-90s and drew praise from prospect evaluators for his breaking stuff.
Newcomb is out of minor league option years, so the Cubs had to either keep him in the majors or take him off the 40-man roster. Now that they’ve chosen the latter course of action, they’ll have a week to deal him again or try to run him through waivers. Newcomb is making $900K this season, certainly not an exorbitant sum but a bit more than the league minimum salary.
Stout is a Chicago-area native who’s in line for his first MLB action in four years. His previous experience at the highest level consists of just three games with the 2018 Royals. A Butler University product, he’s spent parts of five seasons in Triple-A. Stout owns a modest 4.93 ERA over that time, but he’s sporting a 3.94 mark in 29 2/3 frames with Iowa this year.
This has been an atypical season for Stout, who was a pitch-to-contact control artist for much of his early professional career. Over the past couple seasons, though, he’s seen a dramatic spike in both his strikeouts and walks. Those trends have reached new heights this year, as he’s fanned an incredible 36.6% of batters faced in Iowa but also doled out free passes at a nearly 17% clip. That’s something of a similar profile to Newcomb, but Stout still has a pair of options remaining and can move on and off the active roster.
Twins Select Elliot Soto
The Twins announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Elliot Soto from Triple-A St. Paul. Right-hander Cole Sands was optioned to St. Paul to make room on the active roster, while righty Cody Stashak was transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Stashak underwent season-ending shoulder surgery recently.
Soto, a 32-year-old journeyman, made his big league debut with the Angels in 2020 and went 2-for-6 in a brief three-game cup of coffee. Originally a 15th-round pick by the Cubs back in 2010, he’s seen action with the Cubs, Marlins, Rockies, Angels, Dodgers and now Twins over a 12-year minor league career. He was never a top-ranked prospect with any of those teams, although Baseball America at one point rated him as the best defensive infielder in the Cubs’ system.
Thus far in 2022, Soto has appeared in 41 games with the Saints and posted a .213/.327/.331 batting line. He’s a career .262/.341/.371 hitter in 1680 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. The Twins recently lost Royce Lewis for the season when he re-tore the ACL in his surgically repaired knee, and a seemingly minor hamstring issue for Nick Gordon have thinned things out a bit further. Gordon exited Saturday’s game against the Rays early and didn’t start Sunday, though he entered the game in the eighth inning.
Even if Gordon is available to start, Minnesota had been playing with a short bench and a 14-man pitching staff prior to optioning Sands, so Soto will give manager Rocco Baldelli a bit more flexibility.