Orioles Select Manny Barreda
The Orioles announced they’ve selected right-hander Manny Barreda to the big league roster. Baltimore also confirmed the previously-reported recall of pitching prospect Mike Baumann, who is in line to make his major league debut. In corresponding moves, reliever Zack Burdi was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk and righty Jorge López was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right ankle sprain. To create space on the 40-man roster for Barreda, Baltimore transferred righty Hunter Harvey from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.
Barreda’s promotion is the culmination of a winding journey up the minor league ranks. He began his professional career as a 12th-round selection of the Yankees way back in 2007. Barreda spent the next seven years in the New York system, topping out at Double-A before being released. From 2015-17, Barrera sandwiched a couple of stints in the Brewers and Braves organizations between work with the Toros de Tijuana in the Mexican League. He spent the entirety of the 2018-19 seasons with Tijuana.
The fourteen-year pro made it back to affiliated ball this March when he landed a minor league deal with the Orioles. He’s spent almost the entire season with Norfolk, working 34 1/3 innings (almost exclusively in relief) of 4.19 ERA ball. Barreda has managed solid strikeout and walk numbers at the minors’ top level to earn his first big league call just more than a month away from his 33rd birthday.
López left his appearance yesterday afternoon against the Royals after sustaining the injury. Manager Brandon Hyde called it significant and said it could end López’s season (via Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball). If that proves to be the case, the 28-year-old will end the year with a 6.07 ERA/4.64 SIERA over 121 2/3 innings.
Harvey’s IL transfer is a formality. The 26-year-old has been on the IL since July 2 due to a right lat strain. With more than sixty days already logged, moving him to the longer term IL doesn’t have any effect on his eligibility to return. Harvey is on a rehab assignment with Norfolk.
Marlins Designate Ross Detwiler, Select Eddy Alvarez
The Marlins announced that left-hander Ross Detwiler has been designated for assignment. The move opens up space for Eddy Alvarez to join Miami’s roster for the first time this season, as the infielder’s contract has been selected from Triple-A Jacksonville.
After working as a low-strikeout, groundball specialist for his first 12 Major League seasons, Detwiler flipped the script in 2021 after inking a one-year deal with Miami last winter. Detwiler’s increased use of a slider has elevated his strikeout rate to 28% over 45 1/3 frames for the Marlins, exactly double the 14% strikeout rate he carried over the rest of his career. Detwiler’s grounder rate has also dropped to 39.7% (from 47% prior to 2020).
Unfortunately for Detwiler, he hasn’t had much luck this season. While he has a 3.38 SIERA and .299 xwOBA, his actual ERA (4.96) and wOBA (.328) are much less flattering. He has worked almost entirely as a relief pitcher this season while making five “starts” as an opener, and two of those outings were responsible for much of the damage to Detwiler’s ERA. If you subtract the 3 2/3 innings and 13 runs allowed over those two rough starts (July 7 against the Dodgers and July 19 against the Nationals), Detwiler has a 2.59 ERA over his remaining 41 2/3 innings of work.
Given this overall solid track record, it is a little surprising to see Detwiler hit the DFA wire, though the Marlins might simply want to give some opportunity to younger pitchers. It seems quite possible that another club (perhaps a contender looking for left-handed relief depth) will claim Detwiler away from Miami. Detwiler wouldn’t be eligible for postseason play since he would be joining a new team after August 31, though he could certainly help a team on the bubble get into the playoffs.
A waiver claim would mean absorbing the approximately $108K remaining on Detwiler’s original $850K salary for the season, but that is hardly a hefty sum to add to a payroll, unless a team is in a major luxury tax crunch. If Detwiler isn’t claimed, he has the right to reject an outright assignment from the Marlins and choose free agency.
Alvarez made his MLB debut last season, appearing in 12 games with his hometown Marlins and hitting .189/.268/.216 over 41 plate appearances. Perhaps best known for his two-sport exploits, Alvarez was an accomplished speed skater who won a silver medal as part of the U.S. 5000m relay team at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Alvarez compounded that success by winning a silver medal as a member of the American baseball team at this year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo, making him just the sixth athlete in history to capture medals in different sports at both the Winter and Summer Games.
Orioles To Promote Pitching Prospect Mike Baumann
The Orioles are promoting right-hander Mike Baumann to the big leagues, The Baltimore Sun’s Nathan Ruiz reports (Twitter link). Baumann turns 26 later this week, and his first appearance with the Orioles will mark his Major League debut.
A third-round pick out of Jacksonville University in the 2017 draft, Baumann pitched at the Triple-A level for the first time this season, posting a 2.00 ERA over 27 innings with a 24.1% strikeout rate and 12% walk rate. Baumann started all six of his Triple-A games and has worked almost exclusively as a starter during his pro career, so it seems likely that he’ll be given a look in Baltimore’s rotation given how the Orioles have been increasingly desperate for extra arms.
Baumann’s work in Triple-A salvaged what had been a bit of a troubling season, as the righty missed some time with an elbow injury that also led to a shutdown last September and then posted a 4.89 ERA over 38 2/3 innings of Double-A ball. He allowed six homers during that brief time in Double-A, which was more or less the first time the long ball has really been an issue for Baumann in the minors. Subtracting this year’s Double-A numbers and Baumann had given up only 16 home runs over his other 329 innings in Baltimore’s farm system.
Baseball America and MLB Pipeline each rank Baumann within the top ten Orioles prospects, with BA placing him ninth and Pipeline putting him right at the #10 spot. Baumann’s slider and fastball each receive 60-grades from Pipeline’s scouting report, with the heater able to hit the 98-99mph threshold but usually sitting around 94 or 95mph. These two pitches would seem to make “his floor that of an impact reliever,” according to Pipeline, and if Baumann can get something out of his more average curveball or changeup, he can develop as a Major League starter.
Tigers Select Drew Hutchison’s Contract
The Tigers have selected the contract of right-hander Drew Hutchison from Triple-A Toledo, and also called up right-hander Bryan Garcia. The two hurlers will take the places of righties Joe Jimenez (placed on the COVID-related injury list) and Drew Carlton (optioned to Triple-A yesterday).
This will be Hutchison’s second appearance on Detroit’s big league roster this season, as the 31-year-old was previous designated for assignment and then outrighted to Toledo last month. Hutchison’s previous stint saw him make two starts, the first a rough outing against the Indians on August 15 that saw Hutchison allow six runs (but only two earned) in 1 2/3 innings. The righty fared much better in his second start, as he allowed one unearned run on four hits in 4 1/3 innings against the Blue Jays on August 22.
The result was a 3.00 ERA over six total innings, which served as Hutchison’s first MLB action since the 2018 campaign. At the Triple-A level this season, Hutchison has a 3.77 ERA, 23.5% strikeout rate, and a 10.8% walk rate over 88 1/3 innings for Toledo, starting all 19 of his appearances.
Since the Tigers are already working with a six-man rotation, Hutchison might be deployed out of the bullpen for now. However, as Detroit’s younger starters approach innings limits, Hutchison could be called upon for spot-start duty, or perhaps piggyback outings.
Reds Sign Tommy Milone, Release Ender Inciarte
Catching up on a pair of minor league moves from late August, the Reds signed left-hander Tommy Milone to a minor league deal and released outfielder Ender Inciarte. According to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (Twitter link), Inciarte opted out of the minors contract he signed with the Reds in early August.
Milone has already pitched twice for Triple-A Louisville as the veteran looks to work his way back to the majors. Milone made it an 11th MLB campaign when he suited up for the Blue Jays earlier this season, tossing 14 innings and posting a 6.43 ERA. Shoulder inflammation then resulted in a trip to the 60-day injured list, and Toronto released Milone last month after he began a rehab assignment.
Should Milone appear in a big league game with the Reds, it will mark the 10th different team of a journeyman career for the 34-year-old. Working mostly as a starter over his career, Milone offers Cincinnati some depth as a potential fill-in starter or perhaps as a long reliever out of the bullpen. It has been some time since Milone has been a truly effective hurler, as he has been plagued by the home run ball. Since the start of the 2016 season, Milone has a 5.83 ERA over 308 2/3 innings, with an 18.4% home run rate over that stretch.
The Braves released Inciarte in late July, ending a six-year run in Atlanta that included the highs of a 2016 All-Star nod and three Gold Gloves, plus the lows of an offensive swoon. Inciarte’s defense declined and his already below-average bat completely cratered, resulting in only a .200/.267/.277 slash line in 220 plate appearances since the start of the 2020 season. Inciarte is in the final guaranteed season of the five-year, $30.525MM extension he signed with Atlanta back in December 2016, so any team that signs Inciarte and adds him to their active roster for the remainder of the season will only owe him the prorated portion of a minimum salary (with the Braves footing the rest of the money owed).
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/7/21
The latest minor league moves from around the baseball world…
- The Twins outrighted Derek Law to Triple-A, after the right-hander cleared waivers. Law was designated for assignment earlier this week, and this is the second time he has been outrighted — Law had the option of choosing free agency after this second outright, though he opted to remain in the Minnesota organization. Law has a 4.20 ERA over 15 innings this season, spending much of the year at Triple-A St. Paul and also spending over a month on the injured list due to a right shoulder impingement. Best known for his three seasons in the Giants bullpen from 2016-18, Law is in his first season with the Twins after signing a minor league deal last winter.
COVID Notes: 9/7/21
The latest on coronavirus-related situations around baseball…
- The Tigers placed right-hander Joe Jimenez on the COVID-related injury list yesterday due to a positive test. First base coach George Lombard also tested positive, while pitching coach Chris Fetter, quality control coach Josh Paul and bullpen catcher Jeremy Carroll are away from the team due to contact tracing procedures. Jimenez and Lombard were fully vaccinated but are both experiencing symptoms, manager A.J. Hinch told The Detroit News’ Chris McCosky and other reporters. Jimenez has struggled to a 6.15 ERA over 41 innings out of the Tigers bullpen this season, largely due to control problems. After posting an 8.3% walk rate over his first four MLB seasons, Jimenez’s total has ballooned to 16.7% this season.
Braves Extend Charlie Morton
The Braves announced Monday that they’ve signed right-hander Charlie Morton to a one-year contract worth $20MM. (The Braves are one of the few teams who formally disclose the terms of their player contracts themselves.) The Jet Sports client also has a $20MM club option for the 2023 season that does not have a buyout.
Morton had somewhat of a slow start in his return to the Braves organization, pitching to a 5.08 ERA through his first eight starts of the season. He’s been lights-out ever since, however, working to a combined 2.95 ERA with a terrific 29.9 percent strikeout rate and a strong 7.4 percent walk rate over his past 20 starts — a total of 119 innings pitched. Overall, Morton has a 3.47 ERA in 158 frames with the Braves thus far in 2021.
This is the second go-around in Atlanta for Morton, whom the Braves selected with their third-round pick nearly two decades ago in 2002. He made his big league debut as a Brave in 2008 but was traded to the Pirates in the June 2009 swap that brought outfielder Nate McLouth to Atlanta. Morton would settle in as a mid-rotation starter in Pittsburgh, but a velocity spike in a very brief four-game stint with the Phillies — he missed the rest of the year with a torn hamstring — set the stage for him to land in Houston. With the Astros, Morton maintained that velocity bump and leaned more heavily into his four-seamer and curveball, at the expense of his sinker.
Morton broke out as one of the game’s best starters with the Astros, parlaying a brilliant two-year stint there into a two-year, $30MM contract with the Rays. He’d finish third in American League Cy Young voting and play a major role in the Rays’ postseason bid that year before some arm trouble brought about a slow start in 2020. Morton righted the ship in the season’s final couple weeks, however, and looked to be back to his dominant ways for much of the Rays’ 2020 run to the World Series.
Morton was a coveted free agent this offseason but had a small selection of teams he was willing to consider. Playing with the Rays afforded him the opportunity to live in his Bradenton, Fla. home, and Morton was reportedly very intent on remaining in the southeast to be near his family. His one-year deal with the Braves underscored that preference, as does today’s decision to forgo the open market entirely in favor of another one-year pact in a setting where he’s obviously quite comfortable.
With this deal in place, the Braves have now extended a pair of veterans in advance of free agency. Catcher Travis d’Arnaud inked a two-year, $16MM contract a couple weeks back, giving the club some stability behind the dish (as well as a potential bridge to William Contreras and/or Shea Langeliers).
Having Morton and d’Arnaud locked up for 2022 gives the Braves a total of $77MM committed to six players next season, although the status of Marcell Ozuna and his $16MM salary remain to be determined. The Braves also have option buyouts to pay to Joc Pederson, Adam Duvall, Josh Tomlin and the already-released Ender Inciarte.
The Braves opened the 2021 season with a payroll of $131MM, so there’s plenty of room for them to further add to that $77MM in guarantees this coming winter. Presumably, some of those funds are earmarked for what the team and its fanbase hope will be a long-term extension for franchise cornerstone Freddie Freeman. That they’ve been able to secure new deals with d’Arnaud and Morton shows the Braves are more than comfortable having these discussions not only in-season but in the midst of a playoff race, so perhaps they’ll yet aim to strike up a new deal with Freeman before he ever formally reaches the market.
For now, the certainty with Morton means they’ll be able to count on the return of a veteran who has blossomed into one of the game’s most steadily productive arms late in his career. Morton can be penciled into the 2022 rotation alongside lefty Max Fried, right-hander Ian Anderson and, hopefully, oft-injured righty Mike Soroka. Still just 24 years old, Soroka broke out as one of the game’s most talented young starters in 2019 but has only pitched 13 2/3 innings since that time after tearing his Achilles tendon on two occasions. Soroka isn’t expected to be ready for the beginning of the 2022 campaign, however, so it stands to reason that the Braves could look for some additional rotation help this winter even with Morton now locked into a return.
Blue Jays Outright A.J. Cole
The Blue Jays announced this afternoon they’ve passed reliever A.J. Cole through waivers and assigned him outright to Triple-A Buffalo. Cole has previously been outrighted in his career, so he’ll have the right to elect free agency.
Cole logged 23 1/3 innings for the Jays last season, posting a 3.09 ERA but shakier peripherals. He was non-tendered over the winter but returned to the organization on a minor league deal. Selected to the big league roster in early May, Cole worked eight innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts and just one walk. He landed on the 10-day injured list with neck tightness in early June, then suffered a left oblique strain that caused him to be shifted to the 60-day IL.
Nearing a return from those injuries, Cole began a minor league rehab assignment on August 11. Pitchers are allotted thirty days on rehab, and with Cole’s window dwindling, the Jays had to decide whether to bring him back. Rather than reinstall Cole to the active and 40-man rosters, Toronto elected to place him on waivers.
Cole has also appeared with the Nationals, Yankees and Indians over parts of seven big league seasons. Overall, the 29-year-old owns a 4.51 ERA/4.25 SIERA in 205 1/3 innings. Even if Cole accepts this outright assignment, he’d qualify for minor league free agency this winter if the Jays don’t add him back to the 40-man roster by the end of the season.
Dodgers Select Neftali Feliz
The Dodgers have selected the contract of right-hander Neftali Feliz and optioned southpaw Andrew Vasquez to Triple-A Oklahoma City, per a club announcement.
Feliz, 33, was with the Dodgers for a scoreless inning earlier this season but was designated for assignment and outrighted to Oklahoma City after clearing waivers. The 2010 American League Rookie of the Year made his first MLB appearance since 2017 earlier this season with the Phillies but was hit hard in three innings before being cut loose.
While he’s struggled in limited big league action this season, Feliz has been nothing short of dominant in a hitter-friendly Triple-A setting. He’s logged a combined 38 innings between the top affiliates for the Phillies and the Dodgers, pitching to an overall 2.13 ERA with a massive 40.1 percent strikeout rate, a 9.2 percent walk rate and just 25 hits allowed (albeit five home runs).
There’s no guarantee this will be anything other than another very brief look for Feliz, even with his dominance in Triple-A. The L.A. bullpen has been overpowering over the past month, collectively pitching to an MLB-best 1.99 earned run average in that time. Six different relievers — Blake Treinen, Kenley Jansen, Phil Bickford, Alex Vesia, Brusdar Graterol and Justin Bruihl — have pitched at least 10 innings with an ERA of 2.63 or better over the past month. In the past 30 days, the “worst” ERA for any Dodgers reliever who has appeared in multiple games is Joe Kelly‘s 4.15. With such a strong showing from the relief corps as a whole, Feliz may have a hard time sticking around, though the expansion of rosters from 26 to 28 players helps his cause.