Nationals Claim Mike Ford
The Nationals announced Monday that they’ve claimed first baseman Mike Ford off waivers from the Rays and opened a spot on the 40-man roster by transferring right-hander Joe Ross from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. Tampa Bay had designated Ford for assignment over the weekend.
Ford, 29, had a big showing with the Yankees as a rookie in 2019 when he batted .259/.350/.559 with a dozen home runs in 163 plate appearances. He’s had a near-identical sample of 156 plate appearances since that time, however, and managed just a .134/.250/.276 batting line in the big leagues. The Yankees moved on from Ford back in June when they designated him for assignment, and while the Rays acquired him shortly thereafter, he never got called to the big leagues with Tampa Bay.
Instead, Ford has spent his time with the Rays rediscovering his swing in Triple-A Durham. He’d gone just 2-for-24 with eight strikeouts in 29 plate appearances with the Yankees’ top minor league affiliate this year, but Ford righted the ship (to an extent) with a .243/.346/.529 batting line in 162 Triple-A plate appearances in the Rays organization.
Ford will now join a Nationals club that went through a broad-reaching sell off prior to the trade deadline — a housecleaning effort that could lead to him getting some opportunities down the stretch. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Rochester for the time being, but Ford has another five years of club control remaining so they could take a look at him as a longer-term option at first base (or, if it comes to the National League, designated hitter). Josh Bell has been Washington’s primary first baseman this season but recently made an outfield appearance, which could allow the Nats a path to getting a look at both players at the plate.
As for Ross, the move to the 60-day IL comes as little surprise. The Nats recently announced that the righty was found to have an ulnar collateral ligament injury earlier this month, but he won’t require surgical repair. Still, given the nature of his injury and the remaining time on the calendar, it never looked likely that he’d make it back to the mound in 2021.
Rangers Place Three On Covid-19 List
The Rangers have placed infielder Brock Holt and right-handers Drew Anderson and Mike Foltynewicz on the Covid-19-related injured list, per a club announcement. Lefty Wes Benjamin and first baseman Curtis Terry are up from the taxi squad to fill spots on the active roster, but the Rangers will play today’s game with a 25-man active roster. Texas has also scratched catcher Jonah Heim due to Covid protocols and will start Jose Trevino behind the dish instead, per an additional announcement. Heim has not yet been placed on the Covid-related injured list.
Today’s placements come just days after Charlie Culberson was placed on the Covid IL. They’ll leave the Rangers with a rather short-handed bench and likely result in some additional roster machinations in the days to come. However, while the Rangers are down a pair of third basemen — Holt and Culberson — Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets that a promotion of top third base prospect Josh Jung is “not in the plans” for the team. Yonny Hernandez and Andy Ibanez will split time at the hot corner while Holt and Culberson are away from the team.
The Rangers now have four open spots on the 40-man roster and will be able to promote players from Triple-A — even those not on the 40-man roster — as replacements without needing to subsequently pass them through waivers in order to return them to Round Rock once Holt, Anderson, Foltynewicz and Culberson make their returns.
Brewers Activate Adrian Houser
The Brewers announced they’ve reinstated starter Adrian Houser from the COVID-19 injured list. He’s starting this afternoon’s game against the Nationals. Additionally, Milwaukee recalled left-hander Aaron Ashby and optioned right-handers Miguel Sánchez and Eric Yardley to Triple-A Nashville. To create 40-man roster space, Milwaukee transferred first baseman Daniel Vogelbach from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.
Houser has been a reliable member of the rotation this season. The 28-year-old has a 3.55 ERA over 104 innings despite worse than average strikeout and walk rates (18.1% and 10.9%, respectively). That’s largely thanks to a massive 60.5% ground-ball rate that handily leads all MLB pitchers with 100+ innings this season. Houser hasn’t pitched in two weeks since a positive coronavirus test, so it’s not clear how deep into today’s start he’ll be capable of working. The recalling of Ashby, who’s can go multiple innings himself, could enable manager Craig Counsell to run a tandem-start setup against Washington.
Vogelbach’s transfer is entirely a procedural move. The left-handed hitting slugger has been out since June 23 due to a left hamstring strain, so his sixty-day minimum stint is already completed. Vogelbach began a rehab assignment with Nashville this week, so he should be back in the big leagues in relatively short order.
Nationals Designate Javy Guerra For Assignment
The Nationals are activating right-hander Austin Voth from the COVID-19 injured list, manager Dave Martinez told reporters (including Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). Reliever Javy Guerra has been designated for assignment to open space on the active roster.
Washington has a vacancy on the 40-man roster, but Guerra couldn’t be optioned to the minors. Bumping him from the big league club required exposing him to waivers, and the veteran right-hander hasn’t shown well over six appearances this year. Guerra has been tagged for thirteen runs on twelve hits (including three homers) with three walks and four strikeouts over six innings. He now seems likely to wind up on the free agent market in the coming days. Guerra has enough major league service time to reject an outright assignment if he passes through waivers unclaimed.
Guerra has appeared in the big leagues in each of the past eleven seasons, logging time with the Nats in the last two-plus years. The 35-year-old has bounced around the league after breaking in as the Dodgers’ closer a decade ago and should find interest elsewhere via minor league deals.
Voth has been out of action for a little more than three weeks. He landed on the COVID-19 IL alongside Trea Turner, Daniel Hudson and Alex Avila in late July. Turner and Hudson have since been traded and activated to their new clubs’ rosters, while Avila remains on Washington’s injured list. Voth has worked almost exclusively in relief this season, posting a 4.81 ERA over 43 innings.
Rays Place Nelson Cruz On COVID-19 Injured List
The Rays have placed designated hitter Nelson Cruz on the COVID-19 injured list, the team announced. Right-hander Chris Mazza has been recalled from Triple-A Durham to take his active roster spot.
The team hasn’t announced whether Cruz tested positive for the virus or has simply been experiencing symptoms. Cruz was originally penciled into today’s starting lineup against the White Sox. Brett Phillips has been plugged into the lineup in his place, taking right field while bumping Austin Meadows to Cruz’s customary DH position.
Cruz is only hitting .198/.257/.448 over 96 plate appearances since being acquired by Tampa Bay in late July. He mashed at a .294/.370/.537 clip with the Twins before the trade. The Rays currently hold a four-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East race.
Mariners Sign Matt Andriese To Major League Deal
The Mariners announced they’ve signed right-hander Matt Andriese to a major league contract. Robert Dugger has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Andriese signed a one-year deal with the Red Sox over the offseason. He’d spent the entire season as a multi-inning relief option in Boston, tossing 37 1/3 frames over 26 appearances. Andriese started the season well, pitching to a 1.42 ERA with an impressive 11:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 12 2/3 April innings. Things went south pretty shortly after the calendar flipped to May, though, and Andrise allowed at least one run in seven of his eight appearances leading up to an injured list placement on July 10.
After missing more than six weeks with right hamstring tendinitis, Andriese is seemingly near or ready for a return. He made three rehab appearances with the Sox’s top affiliate in Worcester between August 8 and 14 but was designated for assignment on Tuesday. Boston released him thereafter, but he’s found a new home in relatively short order.
Overall, Andriese pitched to a 6.03 ERA with the Red Sox. His 21.5% strikeout rate is a few points below the league average (24.3%) for relievers, as is his 8.8% swinging strike rate (11.7% league average). Andriese is a better strike-thrower than most bullpen arms, though, and he’s walked just 6.2% of opponents this season. His numbers in Boston were marred by opponents’ .407 batting average on balls in play, and the Mariners will see if more batted balls finding defenders’ gloves can allow Andriese to yet settle in as a decent long relief option for manager Scott Servais.
Dugger will find himself on waivers in the coming days. The right-hander began his career as a Mariners draftee but was shipped to the Marlins in the 2017 Dee Strange-Gordon deal. He reached the big leagues with Miami in 2019 and spent the following season there before Seattle claimed him off waivers this past offseason. The Mariners passed him through outright waivers not long after but re-selected him to the roster in April.
Over the past three years, Dugger has worked 70 2/3 innings of 7.39 ERA ball at the big league level. He’s only punched out 14.4% of opposing hitters in the majors and has been tagged for a 7.30 ERA this year with Triple-A Tacoma. Needless to say, he’s had a rough go of things in 2021, but Dugger posted fantastic numbers up through Double-A and appeared at the back half of Miami’s top 30 prospects lists at Baseball America between 2018-20. Because he’s already been outrighted in his career, Dugger would have the right to elect free agency if he again clears waivers.
Rays Designate David Hess For Assignment
The Rays announced they’ve designated right-hander David Hess for assignment. The move clears space on the active and 40-man rosters for Chris Archer, who has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list as expected.
It’s a quick turnaround for Hess, who was just selected to the roster yesterday. He didn’t make an appearance in Tampa Bay’s 8-4 win over the White Sox and will now find himself on waivers. It could be a very brief second tenure in the organization for Hess, who signed a minor league deal on Thursday.
Hess began the year with Tampa Bay on a different minor league pact. He pitched very well for Triple-A Durham, working to a 2.81 ERA across 32 innings. Along the way, the 28-year-old punched out a strong 28.9% of opponents while posting a minuscule 3.9% walk rate. That caught the attention of the Marlins, who acquired him in early July and immediately added him to the big league club. Hess posted an even 8.00 ERA over 18 innings with the Fish before being designated for assignment.
Hess cleared waivers last week, so there would seem to be a good chance he’ll do so again. He has the right to elect free agency if he passes through unclaimed, which he did after being outrighted by Miami.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/21/21
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- Blue Jays right-hander Rafael Dolis cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo, according Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports (via Twitter). Toronto designated Dolis for assignment earlier this week. Dolis was prepped to be a prime setup arm for the Jays this year, but he’s been slowed by both injuries — a calf injury and a middle finger strain — and a major lack of control. Walks have been a consistent problem for Dolis, though his 17.3% walk rate this season topped even the 13.4% career mark he carried into the 2021 campaign. Due in large part to these free passes, Dolis had a 5.63 ERA over 32 innings for the Jays this season.
Rangers Sign Buck Farmer To Minor League Contract
The Rangers announced that right-hander Buck Farmer has been signed to a minor league deal. Farmer will report to Triple-A Round Rock.
After being released by the Tigers earlier this week, Farmer will move on to the second organization of his nine-year professional career. Farmer was a fifth-round pick for Detroit in the 2013 draft and he made his big league debut the very next season, beginning an eight-season run in the Tigers’ bullpen (with a few appearances as a starting pitcher). While Farmer’s career 5.33 ERA over 320 2/3 innings isn’t impressive, it isn’t entirely indicative of a player who has been at times been a very valuable multi-inning workhorse out of the pen.
The 2021 season itself reflects Farmer’s inconsistency. He posted a 12.66 ERA over his first 10 2/3 innings, resulting in the Tigers designing the right-hander for assignment. Farmer cleared waivers and was called back up to the active roster in June, then posting a 3.65 ERA over his next 24 2/3 frames.
Farmer is controlled through the 2022 season, and the Rangers are only responsible for a prorated league minimum salary for Farmer in 2021 if he reaches their MLB roster — Detroit is paying the rest of what remains of Farmer’s $1.85MM salary for the 2021 campaign. There isn’t much risk on the Rangers’ part in taking a look at what Farmer has to offer, as the team looks ahead to putting some potential pieces together for its 2022 team.
Rays Designate Mike Ford For Assignment
The Rays designated first baseman Mike Ford for assignment. The move opened up a 40-man roster spot for righty David Hess, whose contract was selected earlier today.
Tampa Bay acquired Ford in a trade with the Yankees back in June, and Ford could now potentially move on (via trade or waiver claim) without ever appearing in a big league game in a Rays uniform. Ford has done his part to attract attention, hitting .243/.346/.529 with 11 home runs over 162 PA with the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate. He also played a few games at third base, adding some defensive versatility to his resume after spending the large majority of his career as a first base-only type.
Ford broke into the majors in impressive fashion in 2019, hitting .259/.350/.559 with 12 homers over his first 163 PA in the Show. Since the start of the 2020 season, however, Ford has only a .526 OPS over 156 PA at the MLB level, all with New York.
Between Ford’s strong minor league numbers, his left-handed power potential, and the fact that he is controlled through the 2025 season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see another team take a flier on a waiver claim. The Blue Jays could be a speculative team to watch, as they reportedly had interest in Ford before the Yankees moved him to Tampa.