Twins To Select Joe Ryan’s Contract
The Twins will select the contract of right-hander Joe Ryan when rosters expand to 28 players on Wednesday, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson reports (via Twitter). Minnesota created space on the 40-man roster last night by passing reliever Edgar Garcia through outright waivers.
Ryan and fellow righty pitching prospect Drew Strotman were acquired from the Rays in the Nelson Cruz trade last month. MLB Pipeline ranks Ryan as the sixth-best prospect in Minnesota’s farm system, saying he “has all the makings of a mid-rotation big league starter” if he can develop secondary pitches to properly support his outstanding four-seam fastball.
Ryan has a combined 3.41 ERA, 4.82% walk rate, and 36.9% strikeout rate over 66 Triple-A innings with the Rays’ and Twins’ top affiliates this season, which marks Ryan’s first taste of Triple-A ball. That impressive strikeout total has only increased over his nine innings with Triple-A St. Paul, as Ryan has an absurd 17 strikeouts during his brief time in the Twins organization. Ryan has only thrown nine innings since joining the Twins since he was busy at this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo — the righty had a 1.74 ERA over 10 1/3 innings to help the American team win a silver medal.
With the Twins fully looking ahead to 2022, pitching is a particular need for a club that dealt Jose Berrios and J.A. Happ at the trade deadline, could lose Michael Pineda to free agency, and could quite possibly be without the injured Maeda for all of next year. This leaves plenty of room for the 25-year-old Ryan to establish his case for a rotation spot over the next month. Ryan’s Major League debut could potentially come as soon as Wednesday, when the Twins host the Cubs.
Rangers Sign Chase Anderson To Minors Contract
The Rangers have inked right-hander Chase Anderson to a minor league contract, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (Twitter link). Anderson became a free agent two days ago after being released by the Phillies.
Should Anderson reach the Rangers’ active roster, Texas will owe him only the prorated portion of the minimum salary, as Philadelphia will cover the rest of the approximately $672K owed to Anderson from his guaranteed $4MM salary for the 2021 season. That makes it a pretty low-cost investment for the Rangers, who have been auditioning younger pitchers in the rotation but might need Anderson to soak up some innings.
For Anderson, he gets a chance to salvage something from what has been a very rough two-year run for the veteran righty. Since the start of the 2020 season, Anderson has a 6.94 ERA over 81 2/3 combined innings with the 2020 Blue Jays and the 2021 Phillies, with a garish 21 home runs allowed within that short sample size. Anderson was still managing to strike out a respectable number (24.7% strikeout rate) of batters during his season with Toronto, yet even that ability fell off the table this year, as Anderson had only a 16.3% strikeout rate over his 48 innings with the Phils.
Reds Acquire Delino DeShields Jr.
The Reds have acquired outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. in a trade with the Red Sox, as announced by both teams. Boston will receive cash considerations in return, and the Reds have assigned DeShields to their Triple-A affiliate.
Since DeShields wasn’t on Boston’s 40-man roster and was playing on a minor league contract, he was eligible to be dealt after the July 30 trade deadline. The Sox and Reds have each made similar deals this August — Cincinnati previously swapped Mallex Smith to the Blue Jays for cash, while Boston picked up right-hander Brad Peacock from the Indians just yesterday and added DeShields himself from the Rangers four weeks ago.
DeShields is still looking to appear in his first big league game of the 2021 season. The veteran was non-tendered by Cleveland last winter and signed back on with Texas on a minor league contract, though he didn’t receive a call-up from either the Rangers or the Red Sox. The expanded September rosters create some extra opportunity for DeShields to get a look from the Reds, especially since Jesse Winker and Nick Senzel are still on the injured list. There is also a family connection involved, as Delino DeShields Sr. is Cincinnati’s first base coach.
With Winker expected back in a couple of weeks, the Reds will have Winker and Nick Castellanos in the corner outfield, with DeShields perhaps serving as a right-handed hitting complement to Tyler Naquin and Shogo Akiyama in center field. Aristides Aquino and Max Schrock are also on Cincinnati’s roster, though they lack DeShields’ experience and speed. The latter skill could be potentially very useful for DeShields to earn pinch-running opportunities for the Reds down the stretch and potentially into the postseason.
DeShields is 21-for-24 in stolen base attempts at the Triple-A level this season, and he has hit .252/.385/.366 over a combined 381 plate appearances with the Rangers and Red Sox affiliates. While DeShields is best known for his fielding and baserunning, his offense has been much of a mixed bag, as he has hit only .246/.326/.340 over 2056 career PA in the majors.
Giants Sign Wyatt Mathisen To Minor League Contract
The Giants signed infielder Wyatt Mathisen to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com’s official transactions page. Mathisen was in the lineup last night for Triple-A Sacramento, going 2-for-4 with a double in his organizational debut.
The Mariners released Mathisen on Friday, so it wasn’t a long stint in free agency. The Giants represent Mathisen’s fourth team within the last four months, as he began the season with the Diamondbacks and was subsequently moved to the Rays and Mariners in trades. The 27-year-old’s only big league playing time this year came in Arizona, as he had only a .445 OPS over 51 plate appearances. Originally a second-round pick for the Pirates in the 2012 draft, Mathisen made his MLB debut last season, hitting .222/.364/.444 over 33 PA with the D’backs.
Mathisen has strong numbers (.251/.359/.474 with 37 homers in 824 PA) at the Triple-A level over his career, and given the Giants’ penchant for unlocking potential in less-heralded players, it can’t be ruled out that some of this production could translate over to the majors. Mathisen also adds to San Francisco’s multi-positional depth, as he has played mostly third base but also has some experience at first and second base in recent years.
Nationals Release Rogelio Armenteros
The Nationals have released right-hander Rogelio Armenteros, The Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty reports (Twitter link). The 27-year-old will be free to explore opportunities with other clubs.
Washington claimed Armenteros off waivers from the Diamondbacks last December, but he never appeared in a big league game with the Nats. He began the season with Triple-A Rochester, and was outrighted off the 40-man roster after being designated for assignment in June. Armenteros landed on the minor league injured list not long after, and he made one rehab appearance with the Nats’ complex league affiliate last weekend before being released.
While Armenteros’ tenure with the Nationals didn’t go as hoped, he’s not far removed from a generally well-regarded arm. Baseball America slotted Armenteros among the top thirty prospects in the Astros’ system in each season from 2017-20, thanks to his plus changeup and strike-throwing acumen. Armenteros has a 1.94 ERA over 83 2/3 innings at the Double-A level and has a decent 4.04 mark in 300 2/3 career innings at Triple-A. His big league experience consists of 18 innings with Houston in 2019, as he pitched to an even 4.00 ERA with solid strikeout (24%) and walk (6.7%) rates.
Giants Claim Jose Quintana
The Giants have claimed veteran left-hander Jose Quintana off waivers from the Angels, per a team announcement from the Halos. The Giants themselves yet to announce the claim or a corresponding move, although they have an open 40-man roster spot after designating Tyler Chatwood for assignment this weekend.
Quintana, 32, signed a one-year, $8MM contract with the Angels over the winter in hopes of bouncing back from 2020’s injury-ruined season. However, the left-hander labored through just 10 starts before being ousted from the rotation and dropped to the bullpen. Fourteen of his past 15 games have come in relief, and the one spot start he made since that initial demotion went quite poorly. He’s still owed about $1.5MM between now and season’s end, and by claiming him on waivers, the Giants are assuming the remainder of that commitment.
In a total of 53 1/3 innings this season, Quintana has pitched to a 6.75 ERA with a career-worst 11.4 percent walk rate, but his secondary numbers paint a brighter picture. He’s sporting a 3.90 SIERA and career-best marks in strikeout percentage (28.7), swinging-strike rate (11.9 percent) and opponents’ chase rate (32.6 percent). His 45.6 percent ground-ball mark, meanwhile, is his best since back in 2015 with the White Sox.
Quintana has been rocked in the majority of his starts this season, but he holds a 3.93 ERA, a 28.6 percent strikeout rate and a tiny 3.9 percent walk rate in 18 1/3 frames as a reliever. It’s obviously a very small sample, but the vastly improved control he’s shown when working in relief perhaps encouraged the Giants to take a flier on a veteran arm who was at one point one of the most consistently solid starters in Major League Baseball.
From 2013-18, Quintana pitched at least 174 innings and made at least 32 starts per season. His ERA along the way was a rock-solid 3.58 — a number that was largely supported by metrics such as FIP (3.56) and SIERA (3.85). Quintana was a consummate source of reliable, above-average innings throughout that span and an often-overlooked name in All-Star and awards voting. Despite his consistency, he made just one All-Star appearance and only garnered Cy Young votes on one occasion: a 10th-place finish in 2016.
A return to his peak form probably shouldn’t be expected, but Quintana will give the Giants another lefty who is stretched out enough to at least throw a couple of innings per relief stint. And if he can maintain the output that he’s posted as a reliever to this point in the season — or perhaps improve upon it — he’ll be a fine addition to the team’s relief corps down the stretch. By claiming Quintana prior to Sept. 1, the Giants have ensured that he’ll be eligible for their postseason roster. He’s not a lock to be included, of course, but we’ve seen the Giants help turn around the careers of many pitchers to date and Quintana could surface as yet another data point on that growing list.
Yankees Acquire Pitching Prospect Jason Parker From Reds To Complete Cessa/Wilson Trade
The Yankees announced they have acquired right-handed pitching prospect Jason Parker from the Reds. He is the player to be named later in last month’s trade that sent relievers Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson to Cincinnati.
Parker was Cincinnati’s 16th-round pick in 2019 out of North Carolina State University. He’s made his affiliated ball debut this season, working to a 4.05 ERA across 80 innings as a starter in Low-A. The 23-year-old has struck out a strong 27% of opposing hitters against an average 9.8% walk rate, albeit against generally younger competition. Parker was not ranked among the Reds’ top prospects at FanGraphs or Baseball America.
While the Yankees will add Parker as a flier to the lower levels of the organization, the bigger driver of the deal for New York at the time was creating immediate roster and payroll space to accommodate future deadline acquisitions. The Yankees would go on to add Joey Gallo, Joely Rodríguez, Anthony Rizzo and Andrew Heaney over the next few days. By including Cessa, the Yankees were able to incentivize the Reds to take on a little less than half of Wilson’s remaining salary, as well as his $2.3MM player option for next season. That was of particular import given the Yankees’ apparent insistence on narrowly ducking below the first luxury tax threshold.
For the Reds, picking up Cessa and Wilson (as well as Mychal Givens in a later deal with the Rockies) was part of a broader effort to remake a struggling bullpen. As a whole, the relief corps has continued to struggle in recent weeks, but Cessa and Wilson have both been stabilizing forces at the back end. Cessa has allowed four runs over 10 1/3 frames since the trade, while Wilson has worked 9 2/3 innings of two-run ball.
Rangers Promote A. J. Alexy
The Rangers announced they’ve recalled right-hander A.J. Alexy to start this evening’s game against the Rockies. It’ll be the 23-year-old’s major league debut. Alexy was already added to the 40-man roster last offseason to keep him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.
An eleventh-round pick of the Dodgers out of a Pennsylvania high school in 2016, Alexy spent the first year of his career in the Los Angeles system. The Dodgers included him as part of a three-player package to land Yu Darvish at the 2017 trade deadline. Alexy pitched very well at Low-A the following season, but he missed much of 2019 to injury and obviously couldn’t log any minor league action last year.
Despite missing almost two full seasons, Alexy hasn’t shown much sign of rust this year. He’s split the 2021 campaign between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock, pitching to a 1.66 ERA over 65 innings. Along the way, Alexy has struck out a whopping 29.8% of batters faced, although he’s partially offset that by issuing walks at a lofty 10.6% clip.
Alexy has been an inconsistent strike-thrower throughout his career. Both Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs and Baseball America suggest he’s likely to wind up in a bullpen role someday because of those control issues. Nevertheless, both outlets slotted him among the back half of the Rangers’ top 30 prospects thanks to the quality of his arsenal. Each of FanGraphs and BA suggest Alexy has a pair of plus offerings: a mid-high 90s fastball and a sharp 12-6 curveball, in addition to a passable changeup that serves as his third pitch.
The Rangers have almost no certainty in their starting rotation at the moment. Each of Spencer Howard, Dane Dunning and Mike Foltynewicz are on the COVID-19 injured list, forcing Texas to turn to a series of rookies in their place. Alexy becomes the third Rangers starter to make his MLB debut within the past week, joining Jake Latz and Glenn Otto. Amidst a larger-scale retooling effort, Texas figures to give continued chances to younger players over the season’s final five weeks as they look ahead to 2022.
Latz, however, has been returned to Round Rock after one appearance. Because he was selected as a COVID replacement, he needn’t be exposed to waivers to be removed from the 40-man roster. Latz will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter if he’s not re-selected to the big league roster before November.
Red Sox Place Matt Barnes On COVID-19 Injured List
6:36 pm: Barnes has tested positive for the virus, reports Ian Browne of MLB.com (Twitter link).
5:59 pm: Boston has placed Pérez and Barnes on the injured list, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe was among those to relay. In corresponding moves, righty Phillips Valdéz has been recalled from Triple-A Worcester while Boston selected righty Raynel Espinal to the big league roster.
Espinal will make his major league debut whenever he first gets into a game. A longtime Yankees farmhand, Espinal signed a minor league deal with Boston over the winter and has spent the entire season with Worcester. He’s been a reliable and generally productive member of the starting rotation there, pitching to a 3.74 ERA across 91 1/3 innings with league average strikeout and walk rates (23.9% and 9.7%, respectively). Because Espinal was selected to replace a player who landed on the COVID IL, he can be removed from the 40-man roster without being exposed to waivers whenever one of the players on the COVID list is ready to return.
5:52 pm: The Red Sox are placing closer Matt Barnes on the COVID-19 injured list, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). He becomes the fourth Boston player to land on the IL for virus-related reasons in recent days, as each of Kiké Hernández, Christian Arroyo and Martín Pérez tested positive. It isn’t yet clear whether Barnes has also tested positive.
Barnes has had a productive season on the whole, tossing 49 2/3 innings of 3.81 ERA/2.34 SIERA ball. He was absolutely lights-out early in the year, though, but has run into some uncharacteristic struggles in recent weeks. Dating back to the All-Star Break, Barnes has been tagged for a 7.71 ERA over sixteen appearances, allowing a .283/.383/.543 opponents’ slash line.
With Barnes out, Boston figures to lean more heavily on Adam Ottavino, Garrett Whitlock and Josh Taylor in high-leverage situations. With a little less than five weeks to play in the regular season, Boston currently holds a two and a half game advantage over the A’s for the American League’s final playoff spot. They’re beginning a four-game series with the Rays tonight, followed by sets against the Indians, Rays again, and White Sox through next Sunday.
Yankees Activate Corey Kluber, Transfer Zack Britton To 60-Day Injured List
AUGUST 30, 6:22 pm: Britton is likely to undergo a procedure to remove bone chips from his elbow, reports Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (Twitter link).
AUGUST 30, 6:10 pm: Kluber has officially been reinstated from the 60-day IL, the team announced. Right-hander Albert Abreu was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last night to open an active roster spot. To create space on the 40-man roster, New York transferred reliever Zack Britton from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.
Britton just landed on the 10-day IL on August 23. Today’s transfer rules him out for sixty days from that date — in all likelihood marking an end to his season. That’s a disappointing but not entirely surprising development, as Britton has been dealing with an elbow sprain that might require surgical repair.
AUGUST 26: The Yankees are planning to activate Corey Kluber in time to start Monday’s game. Luis Severino has also been cleared to begin throwing again, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com (Twitter links).
Getting Kluber back for the stretch run would be a significant boon for a Yankees team that’s definitively trending upward. There will be a ripple effect in the rotation, however. For the short term, Andrew Heaney will likely piggyback with Kluber’s start, adds The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler. The pairing should benefit both hurlers as Kluber works himself up to full speed and Heaney attempts to re-calibrate after a difficult start to his Yankee career.
Kluber has been out since May 26th, but he posted a solid 10 starts prior to going down — most notably, of course, the no-hitter he threw against his former team, the Rangers, on May 19th. Kluber would start just one more game after that effort in Texas, however.
Hoch provided an update on another injured Yankee: Gleyber Torres will look to begin a rehab assignment shortly. The hope is that he could be ready to re-join the team at the start of their home stand on September 3rd.