Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Transactions

Mets Claim Robert Stock, Expected To Activate Michael Conforto Wednesday

By | at

7:20 pm: Conforto’s absence is indeed related to contact tracing protocols at Syracuse, the club announced. He has tested negative for COVID-19 and is expected to be reinstated in advance of tomorrow evening’s game against the Braves.

5:17 pm: The Mets announced they’ve claimed right-hander Robert Stock off waivers from the Cubs. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Infielder Brandon Drury was also optioned, while catcher Patrick Mazeika was recalled.

Chicago just selected Stock to the big league roster last week. Generally a reliever, he made a four-inning spot start last Wednesday that ironically came against his new team. The 31-year-old allowed five runs on six walks while only striking out three, but the Mets were evidently intrigued by their then-opponent. After the Cubs designated him for assignment last weekend, New York put in a claim.

Stock has pitched to a 4.12 ERA with very strong strikeout and walk rates (30.5% and 4.9%, respectively) in Triple-A this year. He can be optioned for the rest of this season, so he’ll offer the Mets a flexible depth piece on the pitching staff.

Notably, the Mets did not reinstate outfielder Michael Conforto from the IL today. General manager Zack Scott told reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com) earlier in the day that the All-Star outfielder would return tonight. Notably, the Syracuse Mets, where Conforto had been on a rehab assignment, have since announced they’re dealing with a COVID-19 situation. It’s not clear if Conforto not being reinstated is related in any way.

Angels’ Jose Quintana Moved To Bullpen

By | at

JUNE 22: Quintana will indeed work out of the bullpen, manager Joe Maddon tells reporters (including J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group).

JUNE 21: Left-hander Jose Quintana is back on the Angels’ active roster after being reinstated off the 10-day injured list.  Another roster moves seems to be coming for the team, as the Halos also announced that right-handers Jaime Barria and Chris Rodriguez were optioned to the minors (Barria to Triple-A and Rodriguez to Double-A) after yesterday’s game.

Quintana hit the IL on May 31 due to shoulder inflammation, continuing a tough beginning to his tenure in Anaheim.  Quintana had a 7.22 ERA over his first 33 2/3 innings of the season, though his SIERA is only 4.48 — a very low 58.6% strand rate and a whopping .400 BABIP have contributed to Quintana’s lack of bottom-line success.  On the plus side, the southpaw has a career-best 30.1% strikeout rate.

The Angels signed Quintana to a one-year, $8MM contract in free agency last winter with the expectation that the veteran would at least bring some durability and innings-eating ability to the pitching staff, yet Quintana’s return to the 26-man roster might not necessarily auger a return to the rotation.  The Halos are already working with a six-man staff, and Patrick Sandoval has pitched well as Quintana’s fill-in.  While youngster Griffin Canning has been inconsistent and Dylan Bundy has been rocked over his recent starts, it doesn’t seem like either would be displaced for Quintana, so the veteran lefty might find himself in the bullpen.

A long-relief or swingman role would allow the Angels to keep Quintana relatively stretched out for a return to the rotation if necessary, and a stint in the pen could help Quintana get on track.  Los Angeles can use all the bullpen help it can get, as the Halos relief corps ranks in the bottom third of the league in most pitching categories.

Mariners Claim Jake Hager; Evan White Seeking Second Opinion

By | at

5:34 pm: In an ominous-sounding development, White has been sent for a second opinion on his injured hip, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter link).

3:23 pm: The Mariners announced they’ve claimed infielder Jake Hager off waivers from the Brewers. First baseman Evan White has been transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list to create 40-man roster space. Milwaukee designated Hager for assignment last week.

The 28-year-old Hager was an offseason minor league signee of the Mets. He got off to an incredible start with their Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse and earned a mid-May promotion while the big league club was dealing with a rapid succession of injuries. Hager picked up his first eight MLB plate appearances and collected a hit, but New York designated him for assignment after a one-week stint. The Brewers, in whose system Hager played from 2018-19, claimed him, but he couldn’t maintain his strong minor league start with their Triple-A affiliate in Nashville. Altogether, he’s compiled a .278/.336/.500 mark at the minors’ highest level in 2021.

Hager still has all three minor league option years remaining, so the Mariners can send him back and forth between Seattle and Triple-A Tacoma for the next few seasons, if he sticks on their 40-man roster. He has plenty of minor league experience at all four infield positions (as well as some brief outfield time), so he’ll add some defensive versatility to the highest levels of the Seattle organization.

White has been on the IL since May 14 due to a left hip flexor strain. He won’t be able to return for 60 days from the date of that original placement, so he’s now out until at least mid-July. White recently suffered a setback during a minor league rehab assignment that pushed back his projected recovery timeline. His current timetable is unclear, but White wasn’t expected to return “anytime soon,” tweets Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.

Orioles Select Mickey Jannis

By | at

The Orioles announced they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Mickey Jannis. Fellow righty Mac Sceroler was designated for assignment to create active and 40-man roster space.

Jannis’ promotion will be welcome news to fans of a unique pitch that has fallen out of vogue in recent seasons. The 33-year-old is a knuckleballer, and he’ll become the first of that ilk to appear in the majors in 2021 if he gets into a game. According to Statcast, there have been twelve knuckleballs thrown in MLB this season, but they come with an asterisk. All twelve “knucklers” were thrown by White Sox utilityman Danny Mendick during a mop-up appearance against the Red Sox in April. (Jannis was featured in a 2019 article about the league’s declining usage of the knuckleball by Ben Lindbergh of the Ringer).

Today’s news also marks the culmination of a long personal journey for Jannis. A 44th-round pick in 2010 out of Cal State-Bakersfield, he’s pitched in parts of eight minor league seasons and four years of independent ball. He reached Triple-A in the Mets system but didn’t get to the majors with New York. Signed to a minors pact with Baltimore over the winter, Jannis earned his first big league promotion with a strong start at Triple-A Norfolk. Across 24 2/3 innings with the Tides, he’s pitched to a 2.92 ERA. As might be expected from a knuckleballer, he hasn’t missed many bats (13% strikeout rate) and has issued a fair amount of walks (10%) but he’s only given up one home run this season.

Sceroler, 26, was selected out of the Reds organization in last December’s Rule 5 draft. He’s logged his first 7 2/3 MLB innings in 2021, but they’ve not gone well. Sceroler has been tagged for fifteen runs (twelve earned) in that limited time. He’s punched out a decent eleven hitters but also issued seven walks and given up a staggering six homers.

As a Rule 5 draftee, Sceroler had to stick on the active roster (or injured list) all season if the O’s wanted to retain his contractual rights. He’ll now be exposed to waivers. If he goes unclaimed, Baltimore will have to offer him back to the Reds, who wouldn’t need to dedicate him a 40-man roster spot.

Twins Claim Beau Burrows From Tigers

By | at

The Twins announced Tuesday that they’ve claimed righty Beau Burrows off waivers from the Tigers, who’d previously designated the former first-rounder for assignment. He’ll report to Triple-A St. Paul.

Burrows, 24, was the No. 22 overall pick back in 2015 and long rated as one of the Tigers’ better prospects, but he’s struggled both in the upper minors and in his brief time with the MLB club. In 8 1/3 innings with the Tigers, he’s surrendered eight runs on 10 hits and three walks with six strikeouts. Burrows’ work in Triple-A hasn’t yielded better results, as he’s been tagged for a 5.66 ERA in 82 2/3 frames.

That said, Burrows isn’t terribly far removed from ranking as the game’s No. 77 prospect in the estimation of Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com back in 2018. He’s battled shoulder and biceps injuries over the years and was limited to just 74 innings during his last full season in 2019. But Burrows sat 94.5 mph with his fastball in his brief MLB time this year and was at 93.7 mph last year. His fastball draws average or better reviews in scouting reports, but Burrows has had trouble settling on and consistently executing his mix of secondary pitches. He’s at times used a changeup, curveball, slider and cutter, but none has settled in as a consistently above-average offering to this point.

The Twins have been hit hard by injuries so far in 2021 and had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so there’s little harm in taking what amounts to a free look at a once-promising prospect. Burrows can be optioned for the remainder of the 2021 season and also has one additional minor league option year remaining beyond the current campaign.

Rays Designate Wyatt Mathisen For Assignment

By | at

The Rays have designated infielder/outfielder Wyatt Mathisen for assignment, per a club announcement. His spot on the roster will go to top prospect Wander Franco, whose previously announced promotion to the Major Leagues has now been made official with this move.

Tampa Bay acquired Mathisen, 27, from the D-backs earlier this year in a deal that sent cash back to Arizona. He’s yet to appear in a game for the Rays but has had a productive 18-game stint with Triple-A Durham, batting .288/.344/.525 with three homers and five doubles. Mathisen has been a solid batter in parts of three Triple-A campaigns but is a .159/.298/.290 hitter in a small sample of 84 plate appearances at the MLB level — all with the D-backs.

Mathisen began his pro career as a catcher but hasn’t played there since appearing with the Pirates’ A-ball club in 2013. He’s logged time at second base and at all four corner positions in the Diamondbacks organization over the past few seasons and still has a pair of minor league options remaining. Given his Triple-A track record, defensive versatility and the fact that he has a pair of minor league options remaining, Mathisen could well appeal to another club in need of depth. The Rays will have a week to trade him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.

Rays Promote Wander Franco

By | at

June 22: The Rays have made it official. Franco’s contract has been selected from Triple-A Durham. He’s batting second in tonight’s lineup and playing third base in his Major League debut.

June 20: The Rays announced they’ll select the contract of top infield prospect Wander Franco prior to Tuesday’s game against the Red Sox. Tampa Bay has lost six straight, falling half a game behind Boston in the American League East. With a three-game series against the division leaders upcoming, the Rays have decided it’s time to bring up the league’s most heralded prospect.

Franco, 20, is seen by public prospect rankers as a transcendent talent. Baseball America has ranked him the game’s top prospect in each of the past two seasons, calling him an “exceptionally advanced” hitter with potential plus raw power and average defense at shortstop. In February, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked Franco as the only 80-grade prospect around baseball, placing him in a tier of his own among non-MLB players. Longenhagen projects him as a top-of-the-scale hitter, raving about his bat control, pitch recognition and raw power, and calls him a possible “generational talent and annual MVP contender.” Keith Law of the Athletic praised Franco’s “ridiculous hand speed,” incredible plate discipline and above-average power projection, suggesting he should immediately be able to post a high batting average and on-base percentage and could be “an MVP candidate at his peak.”

Not only does Franco check all the boxes from a visual evaluation perspective, his minor league performance has been truly incredible. Despite being young for every level at which he’s played, Franco has compiled a .333/.400/.538 line in parts of three professional seasons. He reached Triple-A Durham for the first time in 2021 and showed no signs of slowing down. Through 173 plate appearances with the Bulls, Franco has hit .323/.376/.601 with seven homers despite being the league’s youngest player. Out of 102 qualified hitters in Triple-A East, the switch-hitting Franco ranks seventeenth in on-base percentage and seventh in slugging percentage.

As one might expect for someone who draws such praise for his hit tool, Franco has very rarely gone down on strikes in the minors. His 11.6% strikeout rate in Triple-A this season is the highest of his career, and that’s still less than half the MLB average mark of 23.4%. Over the course of his minor league career, Franco has punched out in just 7.9% of his plate appearances while walking a strong 10% of the time.

Franco is the most talented of a trio of very highly-regarded infield prospects in the Rays system (alongside Taylor Walls and Vidal Bruján). That glut of high minors talent no doubt played a role in Tampa Bay’s decision to trade shortstop Willy Adames to the Brewers for relievers J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen last month. Walls got his first big league call in the immediate aftermath of that deal. He’s played quite well, hitting .237/.356/.355 over his first 90 MLB plate appearances while playing strong defense at shortstop.

Walls is generally regarded as a superior defender to Franco, so it remains to be seen precisely how manager Kevin Cash will deploy a talented infield mix that also includes Brandon Lowe, Joey Wendle, Yandy Díaz and Ji-Man Choi. Regardless of whether the Rays immediately install Franco as the primary shortstop or bounce him around the diamond (he’s seen some action at both second and third base in Durham this year in case he’s needed to play a multi-positional role), it’s safe to assume he’ll be in the lineup on a more-or-less everyday basis in some capacity.

Franco is not yet on the 40-man roster, so the Rays will need to make another move to formally accommodate the selection of his contract. We’re well past the point on the calendar at which a newly-promoted player can accumulate a full year of MLB service. Even if Franco sticks in the majors from here on out, the Rays will thus be able to control him through the end of the 2027 season.

He also seems highly unlikely to crack the Super Two threshold for early arbitration eligibility during the 2023-24 offseason. Franco will earn somewhere in the neighborhood of 105 days of MLB service this year if he remains on the big league roster. That’d put him at approximately 2.105 years at the end of the 2023 campaign. In recent seasons, the Super Two cutoff has come in at 2.115 years of service or above. In all likelihood, Franco won’t reach arbitration eligibility until the conclusion of the 2024 season.

Rays fans will be thrilled to get their first look at a player they no doubt hope will become the face of the franchise. Franco has as good a chance as anyone in the minors of emerging as a true superstar over the coming seasons, and the organization believes him capable of making an immediate impact in the 2021 pennant race. The game has seen an influx of fantastic young talents in recent years. By all accounts, Franco has a reasonable shot to become the next member of that group.

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link) first reported Franco’s impending call-up.

Cardinals Select Lars Nootbaar, Designate Bernardo Flores Jr.

By | at

The Cardinals announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Lars Nootbaar from Triple-A Memphis and optioned outfielder Lane Thomas to Triple-A in his place. Left-hander Bernardo Flores Jr. was designated for assignment in order to create a 40-man roster spot for Nootbaar, who’ll be making his MLB debut when he first takes the field.

Nootbaar, 23, was the Cardinals’ eighth-round pick in 2018. He didn’t enter the season ranked among the organization’s top 30 prospects at Baseball America, MLB.com or FanGraphs, but the USC product’s monster season in Memphis has overshadowed that lack of fanfare.

Nootbaar has been an average or better hitter at every minor league stop prior to 2021 but has absolutely erupted with the RedBirds, slashing at a .329/.430/.557 clip. That output has come in just a 22-game sample, given a brief stay on the injured list, but for a Cardinals club that has yet again seen lackluster production in the outfield, the allure is understandable.

Cardinals outfielders are tied for 24th in the Majors with a 95 wRC+, as only Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson have provided the club with above-average offensive production. St. Louis outfielders, as a group, rank 23rd in baseball with a .232 average, 24th with a .307 on-base percentage and 20th with a .401 slugging percentage (thanks primarily to O’Neill’s 15 round-trippers). Thomas, optioned out today to create 26-man roster space for Nootbaar’s promotion, has been one of the primary reasons for the group’s poor overall rankings, batting just .104/.259/.125 in a small sample of 58 plate appearances.

Flores, 25, was an April waiver claim out of the White Sox organization and appeared in just one big league game before today’s DFA. He faced three batters back in a May 5 loss to the Mets but was unable to retire any of them, issuing a pair of walks and a base hit. Flores had a nice run through the Double-A level as a member of the White Sox’ farm system, but he’s been roughed up for a 5.74 ERA with sub-par strikeout and walk rates while pitching for the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate (17.6 percent and 12.2 percent, respectively).

The Cardinals will have a week to trade Flores or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, they’ll be able to keep him in the organization without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to him.

Angels Sign Brian Johnson

By | at

Left-hander Brian Johnson, who had been pitching for the Milwaukee Milkmen of the independent American Association, has signed a minor league pact with the Angels, per an announcement from the Milkmen (Twitter link).

Johnson, now 30 years old, was the No. 31 overall draft pick by the Red Sox back in 2012 and rated as one of the organization’s top pitching prospects over the next six years. The lefty dealt with shoulder, hip and elbow injuries throughout his time with the Sox, however, which combined to limit his effectiveness. He was a serviceable option with the Red Sox from 2017-18 before struggling in 2019 and ultimately going unclaimed on waivers. Boston released him in 2020, after the left-hander pitched to a 4.74 ERA in parts of four seasons at the MLB level (171 innings).

Johnson made just two appearance for the Milkmen this season, during which time he hurled five shutout innings with seven hits, no walks and eight strikeouts. He’ll presumably head to the Angels’ Salt Lake affiliate in Triple-A — a level at which he’s pitched to a 3.21 ERA with a 20.2 percent strikeout rate and a 9.0 percent walk rate over the life of 278 innings.

The Angels have had far better health in the organization in 2021 than they have in recent years. Reliever Luke Bard is currently the only pitcher on the Major League injured list for the Halos, but many of their veteran arms have struggled. Jose Quintana (7.22) and Dylan Bundy (6.68) have career-worst ERA marks, while Griffin Canning (5.07), Andrew Heaney (4.45) and Alex Cobb (4.41) have more passable but still-underwhelming results. Cobb, in particular, has had some poor luck in terms of balls in play and stranding runners, though his 21.2 K-BB% and 60.6 percent grounder rate are both excellent.

Johnson adds yet another experienced left-handed arm to an Angels organization that is deep in southpaw options. In addition to Quintana and Heaney, the club currently has Patrick Sandoval, Tony Watson, Alex Claudio and Jose Suarez on the MLB roster. Dillon Peters and Jose Quijada are both on the 40-man roster but currently in Triple-A, while Thomas Pannone and Packy Naughton give the Halos another pair of non-roster options down in Salt Lake.

Brewers Designate Zack Godley For Assignment

By | at

The Brewers announced Monday that they’ve designated right-hander Zack Godley for assignment in order to create a spot on the roster for fellow right-hander Jake Cousins, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Nashville.

The veteran Godley has had a pair of stints with the Brewers this season but struggled in each — most recently yielding three runs in just a third of an inning at Coors Field. Godley’s production with Nashville in between MLB appearances was quite strong, as he pitched to a 2.40 ERA with a 34-to-12 K/BB ratio through 30 innings spent mostly as a starter.

Godley posted 333 1/3 innings of 4.10 ERA ball for the D-backs in 2017-18 but hasn’t managed to replicate those numbers since that time. He was hit hard to begin the 2019 season in Arizona, and while he rebounded with a solid showing out of the Jays’ bullpen late that year, his 2020 season was cut short by a season-ending flexor strain that likely contributed to last year’s poor results (8.16 ERA in 28 2/3 frames). It remains to be seen whether another club will take a chance on Godley via a small trade or a waiver claim, but the Brewers will surely be happy to hang onto the veteran pitching depth if he sticks with the organization.

As for the 26-year-old Cousins, he’ll be making his MLB debut the first time he takes the mound. The University of Pennsylvania product was a 20th-round pick by the Nats back in 2017 who landed with the Brewers in 2019 after being cut loose. He’s also spent time with a pair of independent clubs: the Frontier League’s Schaumburg Boomers and the American Association’s Chicago Dogs. Cousins has split the 2021 season between the Brewers’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, where he’s pitched to a combined 2.55 ERA in 17 2/3 innings, with a huge 41.1 percent strikeout rate against a 6.8 percent walk rate.

Show all

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

hide arrows scroll to top