White Sox Claim Parker Markel From A’s
The White Sox announced they’ve claimed reliever Parker Markel off waivers from the Athletics and optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte. Chicago already had a 40-man roster vacancy, so no additional move was necessary.
Oakland designated Markel for assignment this week, ending his tenure in the organization after just three big league appearances. The 31-year-old walked five batters in only three innings during that time, a continuation of some longstanding control issues. He walked an elevated 12.7% of batters faced across 19 innings with Triple-A Las Vegas prior to his call-up, and he struggled to throw strikes during his only previous MLB action back in 2019.
That said, Markel has also flashed promising swing-and-miss stuff. He’s punched out an excellent 35.4% of opponents in Triple-A this season, and he fanned batters at a nearly identical rate last year in Triple-A with the Padres. Markel averaged 95 MPH with above-average raw spin on his fastball during his brief big league look in Oakland, and his low-80s slider has promising two-plane movement.
The fastball-slider pairing has flummoxed many hitters in the upper minors, and the Sox will take a low-risk shot to add some bullpen depth. Markel still has a pair of option years remaining, so the White Sox can shuttle him between Chicago and Charlotte for each of the next two seasons if he retains his spot on the 40-man roster.
Giants Option Joey Bart To Triple-A, Acquire Austin Wynns From Phillies
12:30pm: Wynns is indeed being selected to the 40-man roster, MLBTR has learned.
11:40am: The Giants announced Wednesday that they’ve optioned catcher Joey Bart to Triple-A Sacramento. They’ve also acquired catcher Austin Wynns from the Phillies organization in exchange for lefty Michael Plassmeyer and cash, according to announcements from both teams.
Wynns wasn’t on the Phillies’ 40-man roster, and the Giants have yet to indicate that he’ll be selected to their own 40-man. Curt Casali is now the only catcher on San Francisco’s big league roster, so they’ll either need to make a move to formally select Wynns’ contract or else call up another catcher from their minor league system. Michael Papierski is the only other catcher on the Giants’ 40-man roster.
The decision to option Bart comes on the heels of some prolonged offensive struggles for the former No. 2 overall draft pick. The now-25-year-old Bart had a fast start to the season, going 6-for-18 with a pair of homers and four walks through his first six games, but he’s fallen into a dreadful slump. Over his past 30 games (24 of them starts), Bart is hitting just .111/.256/.194 with a staggering 45.3% strikeout rate.
Given the magnitude of those struggles, it’s not a huge surprise to see Bart sent down. The Giants will hope that a return trip to Sacramento can prove to be the catalyst for a turnaround. Bart has long ranked not only as one of the Giants’ best prospects but as one of the very best prospects in all of baseball, and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has been quick to voice confidence in Bart’s long-term outlook. Zaidi tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) that the Giants “still think Joey is an everyday catcher” but felt it prudent to give him “a little bit of a reset” following such a difficult stretch at the plate.
Bart entered the season with 112 days of Major League service time, meaning he needed another 60 days on the active roster or big league injured list to reach one full year of service and remain on his same arbitration (post-2024) and free agency (post-2027). He’s already accrued 62 days, so even if he were to stick in the minors for the remainder of the season, he’s still logged enough time to cross into that one-plus service bracket.
As for the 31-year-old Wynns, he’ll give the Giants an experienced backup option. Wynns, the Orioles’ 10th-round pick back in 2013, spent parts of three seasons in the big leagues with the O’s, batting a combined .216/.255/.326 in 331 plate appearances. He’s thrown out 32% of attempted base thieves in his big league career, and while his pitch-framing marks are below average, he’s been solid in terms of blocking balls in the dirt, per Baseball Prospectus.
Wynns inked a minor league contract with the Phillies over the winter and opened the season with their Triple-A affiliate in Lehigh Valley. Despite his lackluster big league numbers and a pedestrian Triple-A track record, he’s been one of the best hitters in the Triple-A International League so far, hitting at a ridiculous .365/.504/.500 clip. Wynns has hit three homers, five doubles and drawn a walk in just under 21% of his 134 plate appearances thus far. It’s not a huge sample of playing time, but it’s hard not to be impressed by any player reaching base at greater than a 50% clip in a span of 33 games.
Wynns obviously can’t be expected to sustain that pace, but there’s little else he can do to earn himself a big league promotion. That probably wasn’t going to happen in Philadelphia, where J.T. Realmuto is entrenched as the main catcher, but Wynns has a more clear path to playing time with the Giants, even if Casali is likely to function as the starter moving forward.
In exchange for Wynns, the Phillies will pick up the 25-year-old Plassmeyer — a 2018 fourth-rounder (Mariners) who went to the Rays as part of the Mike Zunino trade and has since gone to the Giants in return for righty Matt Wisler. Plassmeyer opened the 2022 season with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate and has been hit hard, logging a 7.38 ERA in through 46 1/3 innings. He’s been extremely homer-prone this year in that hitter-friendly setting (2.91 HR/9) and has quite uncharacteristically walked 11.3% of his opponents.
Prior to the 2022 season, Plassmeyer looked the part of an upper-minors strike thrower who could be on the cusp of a look in the big leagues. Kevin Goldstein and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs listed him near the back of their Top 39 prospects in the Giants’ system this winter, noting that the 6’2″ southpaw has an average changeup and breaking ball to go along with outstanding command. The lack of a true plus offering and a pedestrian 89-91 mph fastball give Plassmeyer a back-of-the-rotation outlook, but if the Phils can get his once-plus command back on track, he could be a depth option in the near future.
Padres Sign Kyle Martin To Minor League Deal
The Padres have signed first baseman Kyle Martin to a minor league contract, as first announced by Martin’s now-former team, los Guerreros de Oaxaca of the Mexican League (Twitter link). Martin, a client of True Gravity Sports, will head to their Triple-A affiliate in El Paso.
A fourth-round pick of the Phillies back in 2015, Martin was cut loose by the Phils following the 2018 season and spent the 2019-21 seasons with the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the independent American Association. He’s since gone on a tear in Mexico, first hitting .261/.387/.572 with 17 home runs in winter ball before now posting a gaudy .364/.480/.884 batting line during the regular season. The left-handed-hitting 29-year-old has belted 18 home runs and nine doubles in just 152 plate appearances with los Guerreros, all while walking at a 17.1% clip against a 21.7% strikeout rate. The Mexican League is an extremely hitter-friendly setting, but Martin nevertheless leads the league in homers, slugging percentage and OPS.
Martin has played first base exclusively in Mexico, but he does have limited corner outfield experience, mostly coming with the Phillies’ Double-A affiliate back in 2018. Baseball America listed Martin 30th among Phillies prospects in 2016, touting his plus raw power as his most appealing tool. He hit .226/.303/.401 in parts of four seasons in the Phillies organization but didn’t advance beyond the Double-A level.
Lack of upper-minors experience notwithstanding, Martin has crushed Mexican League pitching and found similar success during his three years with Winnipeg (.284/.370/.561, 61 homers in 1032 plate appearances). It’s an intriguing power profile for the Padres to add the upper levels of their system, and one would imagine that if Martin is able to continue at anywhere near this pace in his return to affiliated ball, he’ll put himself on the radar for a potential Major League debut with San Diego.
First baseman Eric Hosmer has turned in some of his best work since signing with the Padres so far in 2022 (.289/.349/.406), but his bat has been fading after a blistering first month of the season. Luke Voit, meanwhile, hasn’t produced as hoped as the primary designated hitter to this point (.227/.325/.371). Wil Myers has struggled mightily as the team’s primary right fielder and recently landed on the injured list, and the Padres haven’t received much production from bench bats like Matt Beaty (also on the injured list) and Jose Azocar (though Azocar has at least been roughly league-average in 77 plate appearances). Former Rangers prospect Nomar Mazara is now getting a look in right field after a big start in Triple-A. There’s enough uncertainty in the Padres’ first base/corner outfield/designated hitter mix that it’s not a surprise to see them take a no-risk look at the top slugger in Mexico.
Twins Designate Juan Minaya For Assignment
The Twins designated right-hander Juan Minaya for assignment following last night’s game against the Yankees, tweets Dan Hayes of The Athletic. They’ll bring up a fresh arm for the bullpen today.
Minaya, 31, has spent the 2021-22 seasons with Minnesota. This marks his second DFA with the Twins, who also non-tendered him over the winter but ultimately re-signed him to a minor league deal. He accepted an outright assignment with the Twins a year ago to the date after clearing waivers, and the Twins will have a week to either trade him or attempt to pass him through waivers once more. As was the case last year, he’ll have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.
Minaya returned from his first DFA and outright in 2021 to solidify a spot in the Minnesota bullpen over the final few months. In 40 innings last year, the right-hander pitched to an excellent 2.48 ERA with an above-average 25.7% strikeout rate and a very strong 53% ground-ball rate. Those numbers were somewhat offset by an ugly 12% walk rate, but Minaya looked the part of a solid enough middle reliever.
The Twins still moved on via non-tender, or at least it seemed that way at the time. However, despite last year’s strong showing, Minaya didn’t find a big league offer following the lockout and returned to the Twins on another minor league pact. The Twins selected him to the big league roster late last month despite a rocky showing in Triple-A St. Paul (6.06 ERA, 16 strikeouts, eight walks in 16 1/3 innings), and those struggles have continued in the big leagues. He’s yielded six runs on six hits and five walks with seven strikeouts through 6 1/3 frames — and done so while averaging 94 mph on a fastball that sat at 95.3 mph in 2021.
Minaya is out of minor league options, so any team interested in picking him up would need to carry him on its big league roster. In parts of six MLB seasons (four with the White Sox and two with the Twins), he’s totaled 174 2/3 innings and pitched to a 3.76 ERA with a 25.1% strikeout rate, an 11.9% walk rate and a 39.1% ground-ball rate.
Injury Notes: Strasburg, Adrianza, Cobb, Mills
The Nationals will welcome back Stephen Strasburg for his season debut on Thursday, manager Dave Martinez told reporters (including Jessica Camerato of MLB.com). The three-time All-Star is back after making a trio of minor league rehab starts, and Thursday’s outing will be his first MLB appearance in a bit more than a calendar year. Strasburg last took a big league mound at Atlanta’s Truist Park on June 1, 2021, an appearance he left with neck irritation. A little less than two months later, he underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, and he missed the first couple months of this season continuing his rehab from that procedure.
The 2019 World Series MVP has made just seven MLB starts since signing a seven-year, $245MM contract the offseason after the Nationals’ World Series title. Strasburg is making $35MM annually through 2026, an investment that looks regrettable in light of his recent health woes. The Nats are desperate for rotation help, though, and they’d welcome anything close to Strasburg’s pre-2020 form. Each of Patrick Corbin, Joan Adon, Josiah Gray and Erick Fedde has an ERA of 4.71 or higher thus far.
Strasburg makes his season debut a couple days after infielder Ehire Adrianza, who was reinstated from the 60-day injured list before today’s game. The Nats already had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, and Lucius Fox was optioned out in a corresponding move. Adrianza signed a $1.5MM deal over the winter but suffered a Spring Training quad strain that cost him the first couple months of the season. The switch-hitting utiltiyman had a .247/.327/.401 showing as a part-time player for the Braves last year.
The latest on some other injury situations around the game:
- The Giants placed starter Alex Cobb on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 4, with a neck strain. San Francisco recalled Sam Long to take the veteran righty’s spot on the active roster. It doesn’t seem the organization’s particularly concerned about Cobb’s status, as manager Gabe Kapler told reporters the team is hopeful he can return when first eligible for next weekend’s series in Pittsburgh (via Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic). Signed to a two-year, $20MM guarantee over the offseason, Cobb has had a strange first season in the Bay Area. He owns career-best marks in both strikeout percentage (28.7%) and ground-ball rate (65.4%), but he’s nevertheless posted a 5.73 ERA through his first eight starts.
- Alec Mills made his season debut this evening, as the Cubs reinstated him from the 60-day injured list before tonight’s matchup against the Orioles. Chicago had a temporary extra 40-man roster spot after placing reliever Chris Martin on the restricted list over the weekend. Martin has been on bereavement leave for more than the allotted seven days, and he won’t count against the 40-man roster for any additional time he needs to spend away from the team. Mills tossed 119 innings for the Cubs last season, working to a 5.07 ERA while starting 20 of his 32 appearances. The 30-year-old doesn’t throw hard or miss many bats, but he fills up the strike zone and induced grounders on a bit more than half of batted balls last year. He missed the first two months of the season with a lower back strain.
Outrighted: Menez, Hall, Blanco
We’ll track some recent DFAs who’ve cleared waivers here (and update with any others throughout the day)…
Latest updates
- Royals outfielder Dairon Blanco cleared waivers and was outrighted back to Triple-A Omaha. It’s the first career outright for the 29-year-old, so he doesn’t have the right to refuse the assignment. Blanco appeared in five games with the big league club after being selected to the majors last month, when Kansas City lost starting center fielder Michael A. Taylor to the COVID-19 injured list. Taylor returned last Friday and the Royals designated Blanco for assignment. He’ll return to the Storm Chasers, with whom he has a .263/.381/.442 line through 31 games this year, and try to play his way back to the majors.
Earlier news
- Lefty Conner Menez went unclaimed on outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Iowa, according to the Cubs. The 27-year-old southpaw pitched just one inning upon being called to the Majors last month but has a solid track record in parts of three seasons with the Giants. A former 14th-round pick, Menez sports a 3.95 ERA and 24.9% strikeout rate in the big leagues, though he’s also walked nearly 11% of his opponents and has been quite homer-prone (1.66 HR/9). In parts of four Triple-A seasons, he carries a 4.96 ERA and has walked 12% of his opponents, both of which surely contributed to him clearing waivers. Menez has yet to allow a homer in 17 1/3 Triple-A frames this year, however, while pitching to a 2.08 ERA with a 28.3% strikeout rate. If he continues producing anywhere near that level, he could find himself with another big league opportunity in Chicago.
- Brewers catcher Alex Hall cleared waivers and has been assigned outright to the team’s Class-A Advanced affiliate, as indicated on their transactions log at MLB.com. The 22-year-old Hall signed out of Australia as an amateur back in 2017 and has spent the bulk of his Brewers tenure in the lower levels of the team’s system. Hall was selected to the big leagues in emergency fashion when catcher Omar Narvaez was scratched from the Brewers’ lineup following a positive Covid-19 test. Backup Victor Caratini got the start that day, but the Brewers didn’t have time to summon Alex Jackson or another catcher from their Triple-A club in Nashville. The proximity of their High-A club — located in Appleton, Wisc. — wound up getting Hall his first few days of big league service time. He’ll head back to that level, where he has a .275/.333/.451 slash in 15 games, and continue working toward a more permanent addition to the 40-man roster.
Phillies Select Scott Kingery
The Phillies announced this afternoon they’ve selected infielder Scott Kingery back onto the major league roster. Utilityman Johan Camargo has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 6, due to a right knee strain in a corresponding move. Philadelphia already had an opening on the 40-man roster.
Kingery returns to the majors for the first time since being outrighted off the 40-man last June. The designation for assignment and subsequent outright was the culmination of a few seasons of struggles. Kingery hit at a league average level (.258/.315/.474) during the offensively-charged 2019 campaign, but he’s otherwise struggled mightily at the plate as a big leaguer. He’d posted well below-average numbers as a rookie in 2018, and he’s hit .144/.204/.250 in 143 trips to the plate since his sophomore campaign.
That’s certainly not how the Phillies had envisioned his career progressing. A former second-round pick, Kingery tore through the minor leagues over his first couple seasons of pro ball. Baseball America ranked the University of Arizona product as the game’s #31 prospect in advance of his rookie year, and the Philadelphia front office signed him to a six-year, $24MM guarantee a couple weeks before his major league debut. That investment hasn’t panned out as hoped, but the 28-year-old will get another opportunity to try to solve big league arms.
Kingery, who is making $6.25MM this season under the terms of the aforementioned extension, has gotten off to a rough start with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Through 16 games, he’s hitting .185/.297/.296 while striking out in 34.4% of his plate appearances. That kind of swing-and-miss has been an unexpected issue for Kingery since 2018, as he’s never developed into the potential plus hitter some prospect evaluators anticipated. He’ll step into a second base mix that lost Jean Segura for a few months to finger surgery and has seen Nick Maton and Camargo hit the IL in recent days.
Camargo, signed to a one-year deal over the winter, has seen more playing time than envisioned because of Segura’s injury and Bryson Stott’s struggles. He got off to a nice start but had slumped of late, and he lands on the IL owner of a modest .246/.310/.338 line. Stott and Didi Gregorius figure to assume the bulk of the playing time up the middle, with Kingery on hand as a depth option.
Braves Acquire Jacob Webb From Diamondbacks
Right-hander Jacob Webb is back with the Braves, who announced on Tuesday that they’ve reacquired Webb from the D-backs in exchange for cash. Arizona had designated Webb for assignment over the weekend. The Braves placed righty Collin McHugh on the injured list in a corresponding move. An injury designation was not announced, nor was a corresponding 40-man roster move. That suggests that McHugh has been placed on the Covid-related injured list.
Atlanta designated Webb for assignment during the first week of the season, and the D-backs, who had the No. 1 waiver priority at the time, quickly scooped him up. Webb hasn’t appeared in the big leagues yet this season and has spent most of the minor league season on the injured list, though he returned to the mound late last month. He’s been jumped for six runs in 5 1/3 innings so far on the season, but the 28-year-old righty has fanned seven of 26 opponents (26.9%) and recently turned in consecutive scoreless outings (one inning apiece).
Webb has spent parts of three seasons in the Majors with the Braves, pitching to a pristine 2.47 ERA in 76 2/3 frames overall. His 21.9% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate are both worse than the league average, though, and fielding-independent metrics suggest that number is due to regress. Be that as it may, Webb is an optionable 28-year-old who averages 94.5 mph on his heater and has a knack for inducing weak contact (career 88.1 mph exit velocity and 31.8% hard-hit rate). It’s not hard to see why the D-backs were interested once he hit waivers, nor is it difficult to see why Atlanta would work out a deal to bring him back once a bullpen need arose.
The Braves haven’t announced whether McHugh tested positive or is on the Covid list for other reasons, though David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets that McHugh indeed tested positive. MLB’s 2022 health regulations stipulate a 10-day absence, though a pair of negative PCR tests and approval from a trio of medical professionals (team doctor, league-appointed doctor, MLBPA-appointed doctor) can override that 10-day requirement.
In 23 2/3 innings with the Braves, McHugh has notched a solid 3.42 ERA with a strong 26.3% strikeout rate and an excellent 5.3% walk rate. He signed a two-year, $10MM contract with the Braves over the winter, and Atlanta holds a third-year option over McHugh as well.
Athletics Designate Parker Markel For Assignment, Select Matt Davidson
The A’s announced Tuesday that they’ve reinstated Stephen Vogt from the injured list, selected the contract of infielder Matt Davidson from Triple-A Las Vegas and designated right-handed reliever Parker Markel for assignment. Oakland also optioned infielder Sheldon Neuse to Las Vegas.
Davidson, 31, saw some big league time with the D-backs earlier this season but rejected an outright assignment following a DFA and inked a minor league pact with the A’s. He’s appeared in just 21 Triple-A games and tallied 88 plate appearances but already has seven home runs in Las Vegas. Davidson was mashing with the D-backs’ Triple-A affiliate in Reno, too, and he’s posted an overall .306/.389/.711 batting line with 15 long balls in only 139 Triple-A plate appearances so far this season.
Some caveats to that production apply, of course. The Pacific Coast League is a notoriously hitter-friendly setting, with Vegas in particular tending to inflate offense. Davidson has had his share of Triple-A success in the past as well — albeit not to this extent — with 146 home runs logged through 703 games at that level. He’s a .248/.320/.470 hitter in Triple-A but hasn’t quite carried that over in parts of six seasons in the Majors, where he’s a .222/.292/.433 hitter. He could still give the A’s more offense than they’ve gotten out of Neuse, a fellow right-handed-hitting infielder who has managed a tepid .228/.291/.305 output in a career-high 182 Major League plate appearances so far.
Markel, also 31, inked a minor league deal with the A’s over the winter and parlayed a 1.89 ERA in 19 Triple-A frames into his first big league action since 2019. The former Mariners and Pirates righty has a long track record of missing bats at a high level but also battling command issues, and both of those have been true in the Majors and in Triple-A this season. Markel fanned 35.4% of his opponents while pitching for Las Vegas but also walked hitters at a 12.7% clip. He fired three scoreless innings in the Majors with the A’s and picked up three strikeouts … but he also issued a walk to five of the 13 hitters he faced.
Even though he averages better than 95 mph on his heater and has a 3.09 ERA and 30% strikeout rate in 177 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level, Markel has only ever logged 25 innings in the Majors. There’s no sugarcoating his ugly 14.1% walk rate in Triple-A, but the bat-missing ability and velocity are somewhat intriguing all the same.
Oakland will have a week to trade Markel, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him. He’s been outrighted once before — by the Angels in 2020 — so even if he goes unclaimed on waivers, he’d have the option of rejecting an outright assignment in favor of free agency.
Zack Godley, Jairo Diaz, Nick Goody Sign With Atlantic League Teams
Right-handers Zack Godley and Jairo Diaz have signed with the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the Atlantic League, per the league’s transactions log. That log also indicates that right-hander Nick Goody latched on with the Long Island Ducks yesterday. All three veteran righties have extensive Major League experience.
Godley, 32, has logged big league time in each of the past seven seasons — albeit just 3 1/3 frames with Milwaukee this past season. A solid mid-rotation arm for the D-backs in 2017-18 (4.10 ERA in 333 1/3 innings), Godley has struggled and dealt with injuries in recent years, most notably a flexor strain that ruined his 2020 season.
Since losing his grip on a rotation spot in Arizona, he’s pitched to a 6.75 ERA in 124 big league innings (2019-21). He posted solid minor league numbers with the Brewers’ top affiliate last year but was rocked for 20 earned runs with a 29-to-19 K/BB ratio in 22 1/3 innings with the Reds’ Triple-A club to begin the current season.
Diaz, 31, has three-plus years of big league service and 107 1/3 frames at the MLB level. He worked in some high-leverage roles as recently as 2019 with the Rockies, but Diaz had a notable velocity drop (97.2 mph to 95.3 mph) in 2020 and limped to a 7.65 ERA in 20 frames with Colorado. He remained with the club in 2021 but pitched only 9 1/3 minor league innings due to injury. Diaz briefly inked a minor league deal with the Mariners earlier this year, as reported by the New York Post’s Jon Heyman at the time, but he didn’t end up throwing a pitch with a Mariners affiliate.
The 30-year-old Goody totaled 152 2/3 innings of work from 2015-20, enjoying his best years in Cleveland (2017, 2019). At his best, Goody was punching out about 30% of his opponents with a walk rate that was only slightly higher than the league average, but an elbow strain and a back injury slowed him in 2018-19. Goody was claimed off waivers by the 2020 Rangers but served up 11 runs in 11 innings with Texas that summer before being cut loose.
Goody split the 2021 season between the Triple-A affiliates for the Yankees — the organization that originally drafted him — and Nationals. He missed plenty of bats (29.6% strikeout rate) and posted a decent 9.0% walk rate, but Goody surrendered too many home runs (1.5 HR/9) and posted a pedestrian 4.53 ERA between those two stops. He’s spent the early postion of the 2022 season with los Acereros de Monclava of the Mexican League.
All three of Godley, Goody and Diaz have enough recent MLB experience that with some success on the indie circuit, they could jump back into affiliated ball as depth options in the season’s second half.