Mariners Select Matt Festa
The Mariners announced their Opening Day roster this afternoon, and reliever Matt Festa made the big league club. Seattle had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, so no additional move was necessary.
Festa is in line for his first MLB work in three years. He suited up with Seattle from 2018-19, tossing 30 2/3 innings of 4.70 ERA ball. The former 7th-round pick only punched out 17.7% of opponents on a below-average 9.2% swinging strike rate. Seattle outrighted Festa off their 40-man roster during the 2019-20 offseason, and he underwent Tommy John surgery not long after.
The 29-year-old returned from the surgery midway through last season, working 21 1/3 innings over 19 outings with Triple-A Tacoma. Festa posted a 2.95 ERA while striking out an excellent 36% of batters faced and only issuing walks at a 3.5% clip. After also impressing the organization in Spring Training, he’ll return to the big league club.
Seattle lost Casey Sadler for the season and will be without Ken Giles to start the year. Paul Sewald, Drew Steckenrider and Diego Castillo look as if they’ll assume the highest-leverage innings, while Festa will step into the middle innings mix. He still has a minor league option year remaining, so the M’s can bounce him between Seattle and Tacoma this season even though he’s back on the 40-man roster.
Cardinals Outright Brandon Waddell
Cardinals southpaw Brandon Waddell has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Memphis, according to the team’s transactions tracker at MLB.com. That was the corresponding move for the previously-reported selection of rookie righty Andre Pallante.
Waddell, 27, has pitched 12 2/3 innings at the big league level over the past two seasons. He’s spread that rather limited work over four teams, pitching for each of the Pirates, Twins, Orioles and Cards. Waddell has allowed nine runs on 16 hits and 11 walks with nine strikeouts. He’s also struggled in his Triple-A career, posting a 5.77 ERA in 156 innings over three seasons at the minors’ top level.
Nevertheless, that Waddell changed hands a few times last season demonstrates he was of interest to multiple clubs not long ago. The University of Virginia product was once regarded as one of the more promising arms in the Pittsburgh system, and he owns a 3.45 ERA in 274 Double-A innings. Waddell doesn’t have the requisite service time to refuse an outright assignment, so he’ll head to Memphis and try to work his way back into the major league mix.
Athletics Select Five Players, Designate Sam Selman
The A’s announced their Opening Day roster this afternoon, and five non-roster invitees were selected to make the big league club. Pitchers Justin Grimm, Dany Jiménez, Zach Jackson and Jake Lemoine were all added to the MLB roster, as was corner outfielder Billy McKinney.
Grimm, Jiménez and McKinney each have previous big league experience. All three were signed from other organizations this offseason. Grimm is up for his ninth MLB season, his first since a four-game stint with the Brewers in 2020. The right-hander had a nice showing in the middle of the last decade with the Cubs, posting a 3.36 ERA in 171 1/3 innings between 2014-16. He hasn’t found much major league success in the past five years, but he punched out an excellent 33.6% of opponents with the Mariners Triple-A affiliate last season.
Jiménez’s big league time consists of two appearances with the Giants in 2020. The righty has been of interest to the Oakland front office for some time, as they selected him in the Rule 5 draft at the end of that season. He didn’t stick on the active roster, though, and the 28-year-old spent last season at Triple-A in the Blue Jays system. Jiménez pitched to a 2.22 ERA with an incredible 39% strikeout rate there, although he also walked 13.4% of batters faced.
McKinney is a former A’s first-rounder. Traded to the Cubs before he made his MLB debut, he’s suited up with five different teams over the past four years. The left-handed hitting outfielder owns a .215/.286/.404 line in a bit more than 700 plate appearances. McKinney has flashed some power potential, but he’s punched out in 26% of his trips to the dish. The 27-year-old joins Stephen Piscotty, Seth Brown and Chad Pinder in the corner outfield mix for skipper Mark Kotsay.
Jackson, 27, was a third-round pick by the Blue Jays out of the University of Arkansas in 2016. The 6’4″ righty — who has worked exclusively out of the bullpen as a pro — was selected by the A’s in the minor league phase of the 2020 Rule 5 draft. He split last season between Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas, working 28 innings of 2.57 ERA ball across the two levels. The Tulsa native remarkably fanned 41.2% of opponents, albeit with an 11.4% walk rate.
Lemoine was a fourth-round pick of the Rangers in 2015 out of the University of Houston. The right-hander has also worked solely in relief as a pro, pitching his way up to Triple-A in the Texas system. Lemoine hit minor league free agency at the end of the season and signed with the A’s. He owns a 4.81 ERA with an underwhelming 18.9% strikeout percentage in that time, but Lemoine has induced grounders on over the half the balls in play against him in each of his Triple-A seasons.
To create 40-man roster space, the A’s needed to free three spots. They’ve designated southpaw Sam Selman for assignment, tweets Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. The other two spots, according to the club’s transactions tracker at MLB.com, were freed by placing pitchers Deolis Guerra and Brent Honeywell Jr. on the 60-day injured list.
Selman just landed in Oakland last month when he was claimed off waivers from the Angels. The 31-year-old southpaw has pitched with the Giants and Anaheim over the past three seasons, combining for a 4.77 ERA in 54 2/3 frames. Selman doesn’t have particularly strong strikeout, walk or ground-ball numbers, but he’s been a nightmare for left-handed hitters. Same-handed batters have just a .171/.307/.329 line in 102 plate appearances against Selman. He has a minor league option remaining.
Guerra’s and Honeywell’s absences were expected. The former recently underwent surgery after experiencing forearm tightness this spring. The latter was shut down from throwing indefinitely after suffering an olecranon stress reaction in his elbow.
Nationals Select Strange-Gordon, Franco, Arano; Place Harris, Strasburg On IL
The Nationals have finalized their Opening Day roster, announcing this morning that non-roster invitees Dee Strange-Gordon, Maikel Franco and Víctor Arano all made the big league club. Yesterday’s designation of reliever Gabe Klobosits freed up one roster spot, while the other two 40-man vacancies were created by placing Seth Romero and Will Harris on the 60-day injured list.
Strange-Gordon returns to the majors after splitting the 2021 season between three Triple-A teams. It’ll be his 11th MLB season, and his first in Washington. Strange-Gordon is a three-time stolen base king and former batting champ, but his production has dipped in recent years. He hit just .266/.293/.343 with the Mariners between 2018-20, still putting the ball in play but rarely walking or hitting for power.
Despite turning 34 next month, Strange-Gordon still brings plenty of speed and athleticism. He’ll presumably back up starting second baseman César Hernández and could also see some time in the outfield. Strange-Gordon never took well to a center field experiment with the M’s, but he rated as a plus defender at second base during his peak with the Marlins.
Franco is readying for his eighth MLB season. A top prospect during his days in the Phillies farm system, he showcased some bat-to-ball skills and power but never drew many walks and struggled defensively. Franco never emerged as the middle-of-the-order bat the Phils envisioned, and he’s spent the past couple seasons on low-salary deals with the Royals and Orioles, respectively.
The 29-year-old had a decent showing with K.C. during the shortened 2020 season, but he managed just a .210/.253/.355 line in a bit more than 400 plate appearances with Baltimore last year. He’ll get the Opening Day nod at third base, though, as the Nats are down both Carter Kieboom and Ehire Adrianza. Kieboom was placed on the 60-day injured list with a UCL sprain last month, while Adrianza landed on the 10-day IL today due to a left quad strain.
Arano, like Strange-Gordon and Franco, has spent the bulk of his career in the NL East. He worked to a 2.65 ERA in 74 2/3 innings with the Phillies between 2017-19, striking out a solid 26.3% of opponents with an impressive 7.6% walk rate. The right-hander missed almost all of the 2019 campaign because of elbow inflammation, and he spent 2020 at the alternate training site.
The 27-year-old Arano spent last season in the Braves organization, where he landed via waivers. Despite posting a 2.50 ERA in 36 frames with Triple-A Gwinnett, he never got a big league call and was outrighted off the 40-man roster. Arano’s typically steady production made him a solid minor league signee for a Washington team with a thin bullpen, and he’ll earn his first MLB look in three years.
Harris was expected to be a noteworthy part of that bullpen, but he’s been hit hard by injuries of late. The veteran righty missed most of last season after undergoing thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in May. He recently underwent a clean-up procedure to remove scar tissue and won’t throw for three to four weeks, tweets Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. Harris won’t return to an MLB mound until at least early June.
Romero is dealing with a left calf strain, per the team. The former first-round pick has only three MLB appearances to his name — all in 2020 — but he’ll accrue big league service and pay while on the IL. Romero posted a 5.31 ERA in six Double-A appearances last season but struck out a fantastic 37% of opponents.
Washington also placed Stephen Strasburg on the 10-day injured list. That had been an inevitability for some time, as Strasburg has been dealing with lingering effects of a 2021 TOS surgery of his own. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said on 106.7 The Fan this week that Strasburg could return by the start of May but didn’t want to specify a timeline at this point (h/t to Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington).
Marlins Select Shawn Armstrong
The Marlins announced this morning that reliever Shawn Armstrong has made the Opening Day roster. Miami cleared a 40-man roster spot with yesterday’s trade of Alex Jackson to the Brewers. The Fish also placed reliever Dylan Floro and infielder Jose Devers on the 10-day injured list and recalled outfielder Bryan De La Cruz from Triple-A Jacksonville.
Armstrong, 31, has pitched in the big leagues in each of the past seven seasons. He owns a career 4.63 ERA in 167 innings, striking out and walking batters at roughly average respective clips. Last year, the right-hander split the season between the Orioles and Rays and posted a 6.75 ERA in spite of a capable 26.7% strikeout rate. Outrighted off the Tampa Bay roster at the end of the year, he latched on with Miami on a minor league contract.
Home runs were a real issue for Armstrong, as he served up ten longballs in just 36 innings. The Miami front office is certainly hopeful that’ll even out in a more pitcher-friendly home environment. He’s out of minor league option years, so the Marlins will have to carry Armstrong on the active roster moving forward or else make him available to other teams.
Rays Claim Ralph Garza, Select Chris Mazza
The Rays have claimed reliever Ralph Garza off waivers from the Red Sox, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. They’ve also selected reliever Chris Mazza onto the Opening Day roster. To create 40-man roster space, Brendan McKay and Pete Fairbanks have been placed on the 60-day injured list.
Boston claimed Garza off waivers themselves a couple weeks ago, but their subsequent attempt to pass him through waivers came up empty. The 28-year-old made his big league debut last season, splitting the year between the Astros and Twins. He tossed 30 1/3 innings over 27 outings, pitching to a 3.56 ERA despite slightly worse than average strikeout and walk rates (22.8% and 11%, respectively).
Garza still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, and the Rays have already sent him to Triple-A Durham. He’ll serve as a depth option for a bullpen that now includes Mazza. The 32-year-old pitched in 14 games for Tampa Bay last season, posting a 4.61 ERA. He only punched out 18.8% of opponents, but he dished out walks at just a 6.3% clip. The Rays outrighted Mazza but brought him back on a minor league deal this winter, and he’ll again crack the big league roster.
McKay has been plagued by injuries for the past few years. He’s made just seven minor league appearances since 2019, as he required shoulder surgery in 2020 and suffered a forearm strain last year. McKay underwent thoracic outlet surgery last November. That wasn’t expected to affect his readiness for this season, but he’s apparently not recovered and will be out of action until at least early June again. Fairbanks has a partially torn lat and might not pitch until after the All-Star Break.
Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reported Mazza’s forthcoming promotion this morning.
Rangers Trade Yonny Hernandez To Diamondbacks
The Rangers have set their Opening Day roster, announcing a series of transactions that includes the trade of infielder Yonny Hernandez to the Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league outfielder Jeferson Espinal. Arizona has designated right-hander Humberto Mejia for assignment in a corresponding roster move.
Texas also designated infielder Sherten Apostel for assignment and selected the contracts of veterans Matt Bush, Charlie Culberson and Greg Holland. Right-hander Garrett Richards, meanwhile, has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a blister issue, while righty Jose Leclerc has been placed on the 60-day IL as he continues recovering from last March’s Tommy John surgery.
Hernandez, 24 next month, made his big league debut with Texas last year and batted .217/.315/.252 in 166 trips to the plate. His work in Triple-A, where he slashed .250/.424/.323 in 261 plate appearances, was far better. Hernandez walked at a gaudy 20.3% clip in Triple-A last season and has a penchant for drawing free passes and making contact, albeit rarely with any real power. He’s walked in more than 15% of his professional plate appearances and also possesses plenty of speed, evidenced by 23 steals in the minors and another 11 in the big leagues last season.
Hernandez has experience all over the infield and has all three minor league option years remaining, so he’ll give the D-backs some flexibility and versatility not only in 2022 but for the foreseeable future. He can be controlled for at least the next six seasons, and possibly more, depending on how much big league time he accrues while he has those options remaining.
Espinal, 19, batted a combined .259/.340/.357 between Rookie ball and Low-A last season, with the vast majority of his production coming at the lower of those two levels. Eric Longenhagen and Brendan Gawlowski wrote at FanGraphs back in January that Espinal has 70 speed on the 20-80 scale but a long swing and serious questions about his overall hitting profile. Espinal did swipe 16 bases in 19 tries last season, but he’ll have a ways to go before the Rangers can even hope to have him as a viable option in the outfield.
Apostel, 23, went 2-for-20 in his big league debut back in 2020 and didn’t appear in the Majors last season. He’s primarily a third baseman but has experience at first base as well. Apostel posted a lackluster .235/.321/.416 across three levels last season, topping out with a sub-par showing in Triple-A Round Rock. The Rangers will have a week to trade Apostel, place him on outright waivers or release him.
As for the D-backs, they’re in the same boat with regard to the 25-year-old Mejia. He’s tallied 32 1/3 big league innings but struggled to a 6.68 ERA in that time, and last year’s work in the minors was not decidedly more encouraging. In 103 2/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A, Mejia pitched to a combined 5.12 ERA with a 22.1% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate. Another club in need of some pitching depth might take a look in a small trade or via waivers, but Mejia has not yet found too much success above A-ball.
Red Sox Select Travis Shaw, Hansel Robles; Designate Eduard Bazardo, Ralph Garza Jr. For Assignment
The Red Sox announced a flurry of moves this morning, selecting the contracts of a pair of veterans — 32-year-old infielder Travis Shaw and 31-year-old reliever Hansel Robles — and designating right-handers Eduard Bazardo and Ralph Garza Jr. for assignment. They also optioned righty Tyler Danish to Triple-A Worcester and placed left-hander Josh Taylor on the 10-day IL with a lower back strain.
Both Shaw and Robles spent the end of last season on the Red Sox’s roster. The former arrived via waiver claim from the Brewers, returning to the place where he spent the first two years of his big league career. Shaw was a productive power bat for the Brew Crew between 2017-18, combining for 63 home runs. He hasn’t hit well lately, posting below-average numbers in each of the past three seasons as his strikeout rate has jumped. In 250 plate appearances last season, he hit .200/.286/.373 (although he did do well in a very tiny sample upon landing in Boston).
Robles locks in a $2.25MM base salary by making the Opening Day roster. Acquired from the Twins at the trade deadline, he settled into the mid-late innings down the stretch for Alex Cora. Robles had an ERA pushing 5.00 in Minnesota, but he managed a capable 3.60 mark in 25 innings with the Sox. Robles averages nearly 97 MPH on his heater and punched out a slightly above-average 25.6% of batters faced, albeit with spotty control.
Garza has already been claimed off waivers by the division-rival Rays. Bazardo seems likely to follow him to the waiver wire. The 26-year-old made his big league debut last season, tossing three innings over two relief appearances. The Venezuela native averaged nearly 95 MPH on his heater, but he was tagged for an 8.74 ERA in 11 Triple-A appearances. He owns a strong minor league track record up through Double-A and still has a pair of minor league options remaining.
White Sox Designate Micker Adolfo For Assignment, Outright Seby Zavala To Triple-A
The White Sox made a series of procedural moves this morning in advance of tomorrow’s opener in Detroit, including designating outfielder Micker Adolfo for assignment and outrighting catcher Seby Zavala to Charlotte. The Southsiders will open the season with Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Andrew Vaughn, and the recently acquired AJ Pollock in the outfield, with Adam Engel in reserve. Reese McGuire will open the season as Yasmani Grandal‘s deputy behind the plate.
The team also announced a series of other moves this morning, including placing several players on the 10-day IL: right-handers Ryan Burr, Joe Kelly, and Lance Lynn; lefty Garrett Crochet; third baseman Yoan Moncada; and DH Yermin Mercedes. Moncada, who has a grade-1 oblique strain, is expected back within a few weeks, while Crochet will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the 2022 season, but timetables have not yet been established for others. Lynn in particular was expected to play a major role in anchoring the rotation as the Sox look to repeat in the AL Central, but he’s expected to miss at least the first month and a half of the season as he recovers from knee surgery.
Adolfo, 25, was ranked as the 18th best prospect in the White Sox organization recently, with a 45 scouting grade. It’s the eighth year BA has ranked Adolfo as a top-25 White Sox prospect; he’s been in the organization since signing for $1.6MM out of the Dominican Republic as a 16-year-old back in 2013. He still boasts plus-plus raw power, but with a hefty strikeout rate north of 30%. Adolfo has a plus-plus arm as well, even with Tommy John surgery part of his lengthy injury history. Given that Adolfo is out of minor league options, a club will have to keep him in the Majors if they want to avoid exposing him to waivers again.
Zavala, apparently, passed through waivers unclaimed and has been bumped off the 40-man roster. He caught 19% of Chicago’s innings behind the plate in 2021, but they’ve got McGuire backing up Grandal. The Sox will have to re-add Zavala to the MLB roster should the need for him arise in the Majors again. The 28-year-old Zavala hasn’t posted a wRC+ above 89 at any level since Double-A in 2018. Three years ago, Baseball America described him as “a borderline average defender who blocks well but needs to do better at smothering balls in the dirt,” describing his throwing arm as “average.”
In the case of Moncada’s oblique strain, “the White Sox say the injury is much worse than they thought,” according to Alex Shapiro of NBC Sports Chicago. It seems Moncada will be out for a few weeks rather than the expected few days, so Jake Burger snags the Opening Day start at the hot corner tomorrow at Comerica Park.
Padres Select C.J. Abrams, Jose Azocar; Kyle Tyler Designated For Assignment
The Padres set their Opening Day roster Thursday, announcing that top prospect C.J. Abrams and outfielder Jose Azocar have been selected to the Major League roster. The Padres placed Fernando Tatis Jr. on the 60-day injured list and designated right-hander Kyle Tyler for assignment in a pair of corresponding 40-man moves.
Abrams is a consensus top prospect, ranked among the sport’s 15 most talented minor leaguers by each of Baseball America, The Athletic, FanGraphs, ESPN and MLB Pipeline. Kiley McDaniel at ESPN is the most bullish of the group, slotting Abrams fourth among the sport’s prospects. Reports praise his top-of-the-scale speed and athleticism and excellent hit tool, although evaluators also suggest Abrams has a chance to hit for average or better power at peak.
San Diego originally selected Abrams with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft out of a Georgia high school. He hasn’t had much professional game experience. Abrams spent the second half of his first pro season in rookie ball, with a late cameo at Low-A. The pandemic wiped out the 2020 minor league season, and the Friars pushed him to Double-A Amarillo to start the 2021 season.
Abrams handled the aggressive assignment well, hitting .296/.363/.420 with a pair of home runs and 13 stolen bases over 183 plate appearances. He showcased his advanced bat-to-ball skills with a 19.7% strikeout rate that was a few points below the league average, in spite of the fact that he was younger than virtually every arm he faced. Unfortunately, Abrams was deprived of a second half of reps after he fractured his left tibia and sprained his MCL in an on-field collision in early July.
There’s no doubt some risk for the Pads in pushing Abrams straight to the big leagues. He’s played all of 44 games above Rookie ball because of the pandemic and last season’s injury, none of that time at Triple-A. Yet there’s little question he has electric physical abilities, and the San Diego front office evidently feels he’s at least capable of keeping his head above water in the early going while continuing to develop into a core long-term piece.
Abrams has played the middle infield exclusively during his minor league tenure. Evaluators have been divided on his ability to stick at shortstop long-term, but the general consensus is that he’d be a solid defender at second base. Given his elite speed, Abrams could probably be a plus defender in the outfield as well, and he’s gotten some work on the grass this spring. He’ll presumably need more than a few weeks to become completely comfortable reading fly balls off the bat, but there’s little doubt he’s athletic enough to develop into a long-term outfield option.
It remains to be seen how first-year skipper Bob Melvin will deploy the 21-year-old in the early going. He figures to see some action at each of shortstop, second base and in the outfield. Jake Cronenworth has second base accounted for, but Tatis’ injury had thrust Ha-Seong Kim into the primary shortstop job. A well-regarded signee out of South Korea, Kim struggled during his rookie season in MLB. Melvin can give regular shortstop run to either of Abrams or Kim, and the Pads are set to rely on some combination of Jurickson Profar, Brent Rooker and Matt Beaty in left field.
The Padres aren’t wedded to keeping Abrams on the big league roster from here on out, as he’ll have all three minor league option years remaining. Yet San Diego wouldn’t have carried him out of camp if they didn’t feel he was ready for the challenge, and they’d certainly love if Abrams is in the big leagues to stay. If that’s the case, he’d be controllable through 2027 and wouldn’t reach arbitration eligibility until after the 2024 campaign. Future optional assignments, if needed, might push those trajectories back.
As a consensus top prospect, Abrams qualifies for the so-called Prospect Promotion Incentive in the new collective bargaining agreement. Based on his finishes in Rookie of the Year and MVP voting over his first three MLB seasons, the Padres could stand to collect some extra draft choices if he excels.
Azocar isn’t anywhere near the caliber of prospect Abrams is, but he’ll likewise be making his big league debut whenever he gets into a game. Signed by the Tigers as an amateur free agent from Venezuela in 2012, he spent eight seasons in the Detroit farm system and played his way to Double-A. After reaching minor league free agency, he landed with the Padres on a minors deal last winter.
The 25-year-old split last season between Amarillo and Triple-A El Paso. Over 544 plate appearances, he hit .281/.341/.438 with nine homers and 32 steals. Azocar has never hit more than 10 homers in a minor league season and has well below-average power, but evaluators have long credited him as a plus runner and solid defensive outfielder. He can play all three outfield spots and gives the team a true fourth outfield type behind Trent Grisham in center field.
Tyler just landed with San Diego on waivers a couple weeks ago. The righty has bounced from the Angels to the Red Sox to the Padres on the wire over the past month, and he figures to land back on waivers in the next few days. He made his big league debut last season, tossing 12 1/3 relief innings over five appearances with six strikeouts and walks apiece. Tyler still has all three options remaining.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.