Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Transactions

Diamondbacks Reinstate Kole Calhoun From Injured List, Designate Nick Heath

By | at

The Diamondbacks announced that outfielder Kole Calhoun has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list.  In corresponding moves, righty Taylor Widener was optioned to Triple-A and outfielder Nick Heath was designated for assignment.  As noted by The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan, Widener’s demotion is likely just an on-paper move due to the All-Star break, and he’ll be back in Arizona’s rotation when the second half begins.

Calhoun underwent hamstring surgery in late April, which followed another surgery to fix a torn meniscus during Spring Training.  After clocking only 51 plate appearances in between his two injury absences, Calhoun will now return for what could potentially be his last few weeks in an Arizona uniform.

If Calhoun can get hot at the plate and stay healthy, he’d certainly look like a decent trade chip for a D’Backs team that is open to selling.  The 33-year-old isn’t a pure rental player, as there is a $9MM club option on his services for the 2022 season that carries a $2MM buyout.  Owed an $8MM salary for 2021, Calhoun would have roughly $2.7MM remaining of that total if he was dealt on July 30, so between that and the $2MM buyout, it isn’t an unreasonable price for teams looking for a veteran outfield bat.  (The D’Backs could also include money in a trade.)

Since joining the Diamondbacks on a two-year, $16MM free agent deal in December 2019, Calhoun has hit .239/.337/.517 with 18 home runs over 279 PA.  Generally an above-average hitter over his 10 big league seasons with the Angels and D’Backs, the left-handed hitting Calhoun has pretty even splits against both right-handed and left-handed pitching.  In addition, he has played solid-to-strong defense as a right fielder, highlighted by a Gold Glove back in 2015.

This is the second time Heath has been designated for assignment this season, and when the Royals DFA’ed the outfielder back in April, the D’Backs stepped in to arrange a trade that brought Heath to the desert.  Originally a 16th-round pick for Kansas City in the 2016 draft, Heath has appeared in 20 games for the Diamondbacks, with just a .402 OPS over 39 plate appearances.

Nationals Place Yan Gomes On 10-Day Injured List, Designate Kyle Lobstein For Assignment

By | at

The Nationals waited until the last possible moment before today’s game to make a final decision on catcher Yan Gomes, who left yesterday’s game with an apparent oblique injury. They did, however, ultimately place him on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter). In corresponding moves, reliever Kyle Lobstein has been designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for catcher Jakson Reetz, who will have his contract selected as he is added to the active roster.

It’s quite the whirlwind for Reetz, who spent just three days in Triple-A, backfilling for Tres Barrera, who was promoted to the bigs after last week’s Alex Avila injury. Reetz has yet to record his first hit at the Triple-A level, but he’s up on the Major League roster anyhow, presumably backing up Barrera. Reetz hit .233/.357/.383 in 143 plate appearances with the Double-A Senators in his first action above High-A ball.

The Nationals are already relatively short-handed in the bullpen, but the sudden rash of injuries to their catching corps forces them to expose Lobstein to waivers nonetheless. Washington lost T.J. McFarland to the Cardinals when Lobstein was added to the 40-man roster last week, and the Cardinals proceeded to snipe right-hander Justin Miller a couple days after that. Lobstein doesn’t have the track record of either McFarland or Miller, but the 31-year-old southpaw could very well find himself with a new organization by the end of the week. He was hit hard in three appearances for the Nats, his first Major League action since appearing in 34 games (17 starts) for the Tigers and Pirates from 2014 to 2016. He has a 5.06 ERA/4.39 FIP over 128 career innings.

Gomes, of course, is the headliner here. The 33-year-old Brazilian backstop has been a steady presence for the Nationals since they acquired him from the Indians prior to the 2019 season. Not only did he help steer the ship in their championship season — playing every inning of the final four games of the World Series after Kurt Suzuki was injured — but he has taken on an increased load in his age-33 season, starting 68 percent of their games behind the plate this year. In his two prior seasons in Washington, Gomes handled 57 percent of the catching workload.

He’s helped carry the load offensively as well. Gomes is slashing .266/.320/.439 with eight home runs in 231 plate appearances. That’s good for 102 wRC+, an above-average mark for any position, but well above the catchers’ average of 89 wRC+.

Roster Notes: Phillies, Red Sox, Pirates

By | at

The Phillies have placed Odubel Herrera on the 10-day injured list with left ankle tendonitis, per the team. They have selected the contract of right-hander J.D. Hammer from Triple-A to take his roster spot. Herrera’s IL placement is retroactive to yesterday, July 9th. Herrera has somewhat surprisingly emerged as the Phillies’ everyday centerfielder, slashing .241/.292/.390 in 139 plate appearances. Though that amounts to just an 85 wRC+, Herrera’s glovework has earned solid marks, making him an overall positive contibutor in center to the tune of 1.4 rWAR/0.7 fWAR.

Hammer, 26, has posted as solid 1.74 ERA in 20 2/3 innings for the Triple-A IronPigs of Lehigh Valley. He has not appeared in the Majors since 2019, when he logged 19 innings of 3.79 ERA baseball, though his peripheral numbers from that stretch suggest the baseball bounced his way more often than not. In other roster moves…

  • The Red Sox have placed Matt Andriese on the 10-day injured list with right hamstring tendinitis, selecting the contract of Austin Brice in his stead. Andriese has a 6.03 ERA as a long man this year, logging 37 1/3 innings in 26 appearances. The injury does not appear serious, but the Red Sox are taking the opportunity to make sure he’s at full strength for the second half. Brice, 29, has a 6.94 ERA in 12 appearances for the Red Sox this year.
  • The Pirates, meanwhile, have recalled Max Kranick to be the 27th man for today’s doubleheader against the Mets, the team announced. He will start the second game of the twin bill. The Scranton native will put his perfect record on the line. Kranick threw five perfect innings in his Major League debut against the Cardinals on June 27th. Kranick needed just 50 pitches to retire all 15 batters he faces, striking out three and getting the win.

Giants Recall Joey Bart, Option Logan Webb

By | at

The Giants have recalled top prospect Joey Bart and optioned starter Logan Webb to Triple-A, per MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado (via Twitter).

With Buster Posey landing on the 10-day injured list, it certainly stands to reason that Bart could have the opportunity for some playing time. Actually, however, this move appears to be at least as much about getting Webb some work in Triple-A during the All-Star break as it is about replacing Posey on the roster. Both means are likely to be short-term placements, suggests Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).

As much as fans might want to get a look at Bart, the second overall pick of the 2018 draft, this isn’t likely to be the promotion that earns him regular playing time, though he is slated to start tonight’s ballgame. Only two games remain before the All-Star break, however, and Curt Casali offers a more than suitable short-term stand-in for Posey. They also have Chadwick Tromp on the roster.

Bart, 24, has one plate appearance this season to go with 111 trips during the 2020 campaign. He has hit .231/.286/.317 for his career up till now. He’s done more than enough to prove his worth with the Sacramento River Cats this year, however, slashing .338/.400/.581 in 150 plate appearances in Triple-A.

As for Webb, the 24-year-old right-hander has spent much of the year in the rotation, making 11 starts to a 3.63 ERA/3.15 FIP over 52 innings. Webb has been somewhat on the outside of the rotation picture for much of the season, but as much as the Giants have wanted to try him out in a multi-inning relief role, injuries have kept Webb in the rotation as long he he’s been healthy. It will be more than a week until the Giants need a fifth starter again, however, so Webb will be able to get some work in over the All-Star break while with Sacramento.

In other Giants news, outfielder Mike Tauchman will begin a rehab assignment in Triple-A today, notes Guardado. Tauchman has been out since June 30th with a sprained knee.

Marlins Select Preston Guilmet, Designate Shawn Morimando For Assignment

By | at

The Marlins have designated Shawn Morimando for assignment and selected the contract of Preston Guilmet, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).

Guilmet first appeared in the Majors back in 2013 as a 25 year old for the Indians. Since then, he’s dressed for the Orioles, Rays, Brewers, Cardinals, and Blue Jays for a total 33 innings across 27 appearances. He has not, however, appeared in the Majors since 2018, and he currently owns a 9.27 ERA/6.61 FIP for his career. Now 33, Guilmet has a 3.55 ERA in 12 games for Triple-A Jacksonville this season.

Morimando, 28, was a 19th round draft pick of the Indians back in 2011. He did eventually make his Major League debut in Cleveland, but with just two appearances in 2016.

His next two appearances in the Majors came this year with the Marlins. He allowed four earned runs on seven hits and five walks while striking out five over 5 2/3 innings. The southpaw doesn’t have great numbers in Triple-A the past few seasons, though he has worked almost exclusively as a starter, so it’s possible he could find new life as a reliever somewhere. That said, it certainly means something that none of the three organizations he’s been a part of have viewed him as an asset in that capacity.

Tigers Option Matt Manning, Reinstate Derek Holland From Injured List

By | at

The Tigers optioned right-hander Matt Manning to Triple-A after last night’s ballgame, the team announced. The move makes room for Derek Holland, who will be reinstated from the 10-day injured list.

Manning has been one of the Tigers’ top prospects since he was taken ninth overall in the 2016 draft. Along with Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal, Manning figures heavily into the Tigers’ rebuilding strategy. The Tigers have long been a pitching forward organization, of course, but it’s only now that all three of their highly-touted arms have begun to arrive in Motor City. With five starts this season, Manning is the last of the three to make his Major League debut.

Like Mize and Skubal, Manning’s early results have been relatively underwhelming. The 23-year-old has a 6.95 ERA/5.36 FIP through 22 innings with a solid 7.9 percent walk rate, but subpar 8.9 percent strikeout rate. It’s early to judge Manning, of course, and he put forth arguably his best effort yet on Friday night against the Twins, tossing five innings and yielding two earned runs on two hits and three walks while striking out three. The move makes sense at this juncture, however, as the Tigers won’t need a fifth starter for the foreseeable future with the All-Star break beginning Monday.

Thus far, Manning has presented a relatively diverse arsenal, fronted by 93.3 mph four-seamer, thrown 62.0 percent of the time. He compliments the heater primarily with a change-up to lefties and a slider to righties, occasionally mixing in a change-of-pace, looping curveball, clocking in at 78.3 mph.

The slider-forward approach is one that we’ve seen many Tigers’ hurlers take this season, with Mize and Skubal also showing increased reliance on the slider, as noted here and here by Timothy Jackson of Baseball Prospectus. Ace Spencer Turnbull, too, had increased his slider usage from 20.9 percent to 24.5 percent this year prior to being injured.

A flyball-heavy approach has left Manning somewhat prone to the long ball this season, especially in Triple-A  where he was tagged with a 27.5 percent home-run-to-fly-ball rate. While that number is astronomically high and sure to regress to the mean somewhat, he was tagged for three more home runs in the Majors, amounting to a 3.0 percent home run rate – right around the league-average rate.

As for the 34-year-old Holland, he will rejoin the Tigers bullpen. The veteran southpaw has 14 appearances on the season totaling 15 innings of work with a unsightly 9.60 ERA. ERA indicators — 4.01 SIERA, 4.04 FIP — are far more complimentary of Holland’s contribution, however. The difference could be due to a .426 BABIP that’s well above both the league-wide average of .297 and his own career average mark of .299.

Holland has been a touch wild, with an 11.5 percent walk rate, despite a career best 74.4 percent first pitch strike percentage. To his credit, as he’s gotten ahead in counts, Holland has struck out 25.6 percent of batters, a strong mark just above the league average for relievers.

Holland has been on the injured list since June 10th with shoulder inflammation. It was his second stint on the IL so far this season. Formerly of the Rangers, White Sox, Cubs, Giants and Pirates, the journeyman joined the Tigers on a minor league deal this offseason and made the team out of spring training.

Indians Acquire Damon Casetta-Stubbs From Mariners To Complete Jake Bauers Trade

By | at

The Indians have acquired right-handed pitching prospect Damon Casetta-Stubbs from the Mariners, the two teams announced. The move completes the clubs’ June 10 deal that sent first baseman Jake Bauers to Seattle for a player to be named later.

Casetta-Stubbs was Seattle’s 11th-round draft pick in 2018 out of a Washington high school, signing for an overslot $325K bonus. He has spent the past three years in the low minors, topping out at High-A in 2019 but pitching in Low-A to this point in 2021. While he’s only managed a 6.42 ERA in 40 2/3 innings this year, the 21-year-old has struck out a lofty 31.2% of opposing hitters, far and away a career-best mark. Casetta-Stubbs has issued way too many walks (14.5%), but he’s also keeping the ball on the ground at stellar 56.2% clip.

The uptick in strikeouts doesn’t seem to be a coincidence. In mid-May, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wrote that Casetta-Stubbs had improved his velocity from sitting in the low-90s to working in the 93-95 MPH range consistently. Longenhagen slotted Casetta-Stubbs as the #25 prospect in the Mariners system, suggesting he’s likely to wind up as a solid reliever at his peak based on his combination of quality stuff and subpar control. He’ll need to be added to the 40-man roster or made available in the Rule 5 draft after the 2022 season.

Bauers, meanwhile, has continued to struggle in Seattle after a poor start to the year with Cleveland. The left-handed hitter has taken 91 plate appearances as a Mariner, hitting .241/.290/.299 with a single home run.

Nationals To Sign Derek Dietrich To Minor League Deal

By | at

6:45 pm: It’s a minor league contract, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter link). He’ll report to Triple-A Rochester.

3:19 pm: The Nationals are signing veteran utilityman Derek Dietrich, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). Robert Murray of FanSided previously reported the sides were closing in on an agreement.

Dietrich signed a minor league deal with the Yankees over the offseason and spent most of the year with their top affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He took 215 trips to the plate with the RailRiders and hit .215/.413/.393 with five home runs. Dietrich’s deal contained an opt-out clause, which he triggered last week upon not being added to the major league roster.

The blend of left-handed power, strong walk and hit-by-pitch rates, and high strikeout totals he showed at Triple-A has become typical in recent seasons. Between 2019-20, Dietrich tallied 381 MLB plate appearances and posted a .189/.332/.462 line with 24 homers.

It’s unconventional production, but Dietrich generally offers solid results on the whole. By measure of wRC+, he’s been an above-average hitter in every year since his 2013 rookie campaign, with the free bases and power enough to compensate for the very low batting averages. Dietrich’s also shown some defensive flexibility, appearing at each of first, second and third base and in the corner outfield over the course of his career. Advanced defensive metrics have never been fond of his work at any position, but he’s at least been versatile enough for teams to find ways to plug his bat into the lineup.

The Nationals depth has been challenged in recent weeks. Primary utility infielder Jordy Mercer landed on the injured list with a quad strain last week. More notably, slugging outfielder Kyle Schwarber suffered an apparently significant hamstring injury that seems likely to require an extended absence. The Nats have relied on Josh Harrison in left field in recent days, pressing Alcides Escobar into action at second base. That has left the Nats without a true backup infielder — excluding Ryan Zimmerman, who’s limited to first base at this point in his career.

Padres Place Blake Snell, Drew Pomeranz On Injured List

By | at

5:43 pm: Fortunately, it seems Pomeranz’s IL stint is more precautionary than a sign of long-term concern. Manager Jayce Tingler told reporters (including Dennis Lin of the Athletic) the team hoped he’d return when first eligible on July 17.

5:07 pm: The Padres announced they’ve placed left-hander Blake Snell on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to July 6, due to gastroentiritis. Fellow lefty Drew Pomeranz has gone on the 10-day IL, retroactive to July 7, with inflammation in his throwing forearm. Right-hander Miguel Díaz was recalled from Triple-A El Paso, while righty Reiss Knehr (previously reported) was officially selected to the big league roster to start tonight’s game in Snell’s place. To create a 40-man roster spot for Knear, righty Aaron Northcraft has been designated for assignment.

Snell has been bothered by the stomach illness for the past week-plus. He originally landed on the IL on June 30, but returned to pitch four innings last Sunday. Snell still hasn’t fully recovered, though, and he was unable to start tonight’s game. He’ll be eligible to return for next weekend’s series against the Nationals; with the All-Star Break coming up, it’s possible he’ll only miss tonight’s start.

Pomeranz’s injury sounds a bit more concerning, since any issues with a pitcher’s forearm figure to cause some alarm. There’s no indication at this point the southpaw is facing any sort of extended absence, but it’s another issue in a season that hasn’t been kind to Pomeranz from a health perspective. He dealt with forearm tightness in Spring Training and missed about six weeks between May and June with shoulder and lat troubles. That has kept the star reliever to 17 innings this year, in which he’s worked to a 1.59 ERA with a strong 31.4% strikeout rate and an elevated 12.9% walk percentage.

The Padres selected Northcraft in late April, setting up the right-hander to make his MLB debut at age 30. He’s only allowed two runs over his first eight big league innings, but he’s issued eight walks while striking out just five. Northcraft hasn’t had much success at Triple-A El Paso, working to an 8.10 ERA across 13 1/3 frames. He has, however, induced grounders on more than half the balls in play against him at both the Triple-A and MLB levels.

The Padres will have a week to trade Northcraft or expose him to waivers. If another team acquires him, he can be freely optioned for the remainder of this season.

Padres Select Reiss Knehr

By | at

The Padres announced they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Reiss Knehr. He’ll get the start tonight against the Rockies in his major league debut.

Knehr wasn’t a high-profile amateur, falling to the 20th round in the 2018 draft coming out of Fordham University. He has significantly upped his stock during his brief time in pro ball, though, now projecting as one of the more promising pitching prospects in the San Diego organization. Entering the season, each of Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs, Keith Law of the Athletic and Baseball America slotted Knehr among the top twenty prospects in a still-strong farm system. Those evaluators credit him with a low-mid 90s fastball and promising changeup and slider. There’s still some question whether Knehr’s command is sharp enough to allow him to function as a starting pitcher long-term, but all three outlets suggest he should be a valuable part of a pitching staff in some capacity.

The 24-year-old has spent the entire season with the Padres’ Double-A affiliate in San Antonio. He’s tossed 55 1/3 innings over eleven starts, working to a 3.90 ERA. Knehr’s 20.4% strikeout rate is down from the lofty 27.9% mark he managed in High-A in 2019, while his 9.8% walk percentage is right around average. Knehr has generally induced ground balls at a solid clip in the minors and has surrendered just four home runs this year.

@mlbhawk was first with the news of Knehr’s promotion.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top