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Braves Add Johan Camargo To NLCS Roster

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The Braves have added infielder Johan Camargo to the NLCS roster, the team announced.  Camargo will replace Adam Duvall, who suffered an oblique injury in yesterday’s Game 1.  While Duvall’s injury would likely have sidelined him anyway, his removal from the NLCS roster means he is officially ineligible to play in the World Series should the Braves advance.

Camargo has mostly played in the infield during his four-year career, though he does have a handful of appearances as a corner outfielder.  Atlanta isn’t really hurting for outfield depth given the presence of Ronald Acuna, Marcell Ozuna, Nick Markakis, Cristian Pache and utilityman Charlie Culberson on the roster, plus third baseman Austin Riley can play left field in a pinch.  With Camargo now adding to the infield depth, the Braves could be more apt to go to Culberson or Riley as a late-game sub.

Moreso than defensive concerns, replacing Duvall with Camargo is a significant hit to Atlanta’s lineup.  Duvall hit .237/.301/.532 with 16 homers over 209 PA this season, while Camargo hasn’t hit well in either of the last two seasons.  That said, the Braves have plenty of other bats to theoretically pick up the offensive slack, while it should be noted that Duvall had only a .443 OPS in 21 plate appearances during this postseason.

Javy Guerra, Sam Freeman Elect Free Agency

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The Nationals announced that relievers Javy Guerra and Sam Freeman have cleared outright waivers and elected free agency.

After signing minor league contracts with the Nationals over the winter, neither the 34-year-old Guerra nor Freeman, 33, saw a ton of action with the club. Guerra threw 15 2/3 innings of 4.02 ERA/4.53 FIP ball and posted 7.47 K/9 against 4.02 BB/9. The left-handed Freeman allowed just two hits and one run over five innings, but he also issued seven walks and then underwent Tommy John surgery in September.

Guerra will now return to free agency as the owner of a 3.73 ERA/3.99 FIP with 7.31 K/9 and 3.58 BB/9 in 296 2/3 innings. Freeman has amassed 233 2/3 major league frames and recorded a 3.58 ERA/4.01 FIP and 8.94 K/9 against 5.24 BB/9, but he’s unlikely to pitch next year in light of his procedure.

Dodgers Announce NLCS Roster

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The Dodgers have made a couple of changes to their 28-man roster ahead of the NLCS, per the team. Let’s check it out:

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

The most notable changes here include dropping Terrance Gore and Gavin Lux from the roster. Gore’s role is limited to pinch-running, but he had not been used in the first two rounds of the postseason. Lux, meanwhile, is one of the organization’s most talented young players. He played a key role in last year’s playoffs, when he started three games of the NLDS against the Nationals. He had just one at-bat this postseason, however, after slashing .175/.246/.349 across 69 plate appearances in the regular season.

Lux himself had been a replacement for Rios, who missed the ALDS due to a hamstring injury. He is apparently healthy enough to return to the roster.

The other addition is Wood, who becomes the 15th member of the pitching staff. It will be surprising to see Wood start a game, except perhaps in an opener capacity. At the very least, he should be able to provide length out of the bullpen. Wood’s best years have come with the Dodgers, but he’s struggled to get himself on track the last two seasons. He made two starts and nine total appearances for the Dodgers this year, going 0-1 with a 6.39 ERA/5.01 FIP across 12 2/3 innings.

Rays Reinstate Jose Alvarado From Injured List, Designate Oliver Drake

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The Rays have added left-hander Jose Alvarado to their roster for the ALCS, activating the southpaw from the 45-day injured list, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter link).  To create roster space, right-hander Oliver Drake was designated for assignment.

Alvarado last pitched on August 14, as inflammation in his throwing shoulder ended up sidelining the lefty for much of the season.  Alvarado only pitched nine innings over nine games for Tampa Bay, posting a 6.00 ERA and recording 13 strikeouts against six walks.  It marked the second straight abbreviated year for Alvarado, who was limited to 30 innings in 2019 due to injuries and an absence for family reasons.

Clearly, however, the Rays feel comfortable that Alvarado is now ready and able to contribute in their quest for the American League pennant.  When healthy in 2018, Alvarado was a dominant force in Tampa’s bullpen, posting a 2.39 ERA, 11.3 K/9, and 2.76 K/BB rate over 64 innings.  Alvarado dominated both right-handed and left-handed batters that season, but he has some far more drastic splits in 2019-20.  Though the idea of a lefty specialist has been somewhat mitigated by the new three-batter rule, the Rays could perhaps try as best they can to position Alvarado against only left-handed bats.

Drake suffered a right flexor tendon strain during the ALDS that led to his removal from the active roster, and he could now be left off Tampa’s roster entirely depending on his trip through DFA limbo.  Drake posted a 5.73 ERA, 1.17 K/BB rate, and 5.7 K/9 over 11 innings this season, and since he is eligible for his second trip through arbitration this winter, the designation could be the Rays’ way of getting a planned non-tender out of the way early.  In 2019, Drake was a very effective reliever for the Rays, with a 3.21 ERA, 11.3 K/9, 52.3% grounder rate, and 3.68 K/BB rate over 56 innings.

Roenis Elías, Paolo Espino, Aaron Barrett Elect Free Agency

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Roenis Elias, Paolo Espino, and Aaron Barrett have elected free agency. All three were outrighted by the Washington Nationals earlier this week, clearing waivers.

Barrett in particular holds a semi-significant role in organizational lore, as the 6’3″ right-hander came back Tommy John surgery only to suffer a horrendous arm injury while rehabbing in a simulated game. Barrett’s second injury has become an almost-boogeyman within the organization, as those present still talk about (as Dan Kolko does here) the sound of that second injury. Nevertheless, Barrett rehabbed a second time, returned to the big leagues in 2019, and won a ring.

The 32-year-old’s five big-league appearances over the last two seasons were largely symbolic, rewards for a high-character player whose tale of perseverance served as a point of pride for many within the organization. All of which is not to take away from his ability on the mound. Barrett was a successful cog in the bullpen from 2014 to 2015 before sustaining those arm injuries. Even after his return, he posted solid numbers in Double-A  in 2019, posting a 2.75 ERA across 50 games.

Elías’ tenure in DC was also marked by injuries, but with a less uplifting finish. In a last minute deal, the Nats picked up Elías and Hunter Strickland from the Mariners at the deadline in 2019. He appeared in just 4 games after straining his hamstring. During a rare plate appearance, Elías initially strained his hamstring on an ill-advised sprint down the first base line while pitching in a game in Arizona. He missed the rest of the season, while a left flexor strain would keep him out of action in 2020. Prior to his injuries, Elías used his high-spin approach to save 14 games for the Mariners in 2019. He’ll be an interesting low-cost option for some team to take a flyer on this offseason.

The 33-year-old Espino made just two appearances for the Nats (one start) totaling 6 innings in 2020. It was the right-hander’s first big-league action since 2017 when he appeared for both the Brewers and Rangers.

Nationals Outright 4 Players

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The Nationals announced that infielder Adrian Sanchez and three right-handers – Aaron Barrett, Austen Williams and Paolo Espino – have cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Fresno. Meanwhile, the club has reinstated catcher Tres Barrera from the restricted list. Washington now has 37 players on its 40-man roster.

The 30-year-old Sanchez saw time in each season from 2017-19, but he only managed a .263/.280/.331 line and failed to hit a home run during that 166-plate appearance span.

Barrett was a solid part of the Nationals’ bullpen from 2014-15, but injuries (including Tommy John surgery) have limited him to four innings since then. He threw just 1 2/3 frames for the Nats this year. Williams didn’t factor in for the disappointing Washington club in 2020, while Espino totaled six innings of three-run ball.

Barrera, meantime, is back on the 40-man roster after receiving an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs in July. The 26-year-old, who spent most of 2019 in Double-A but did have a brief debut with the Nats, denied ever “knowingly” taking a banned substance.

Joe Biagini Elects Free Agency

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Right-hander Joe Biagini has rejected an outright assignment from the Astros in favor of free agency, the team announced to reporters (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan). He was designated for assignment late last month.

The move was all but a foregone conclusion after Biagini cleared waivers. Players with three-plus years of service time have the right to become free agents at the end of a season in which they’ve been outrighted off the 40-man roster, and there’s no reason for Biagini not to explore his opportunities under that setting. Virtually every three-plus service player who is outrighted goes this route unless they have a guaranteed contract they’d forfeit by taking free agency. That wasn’t the case with Biagini, who played out the 2020 season on a one-year deal after avoiding arbitration last winter.

Biagini, 30, was a solid reliever for much of his time with the Blue Jays but immediately struggled upon being traded to Houston alongside Aaron Sanchez in the 2019 trade that brought Derek Fisher to Toronto. Biagini served up a dozen runs in just 14 2/3 innings down the stretch in 2019, and he was clobbered for 10 runs in just four outings this year. Overall, he logged a 10.74 ERA in 19 frames as an Astro.

That (clearly) wasn’t what the ’Stros had in mind when acquiring a righty who, through 50 innings in 2019 at the time of the trade, had pitched to a 3.78 ERA with a 50-to-17 K/BB ratio. Beyond those rudimentary numbers, Biagini boasted elite spin rate on his breaking ball as well as career-high swinging-strike and opponents’ chase rates at the time of the trade. There was plenty for the Astros to dream on, but their high hopes for Biagini simply never came together.

Biagini will hit what is expected to be a tepid free-agent market and likely need to prove himself to a new club on a minor league deal. He carries a 5.07 ERA in 328 big league innings, although that mark is weighed down a bit by an unsuccessful attempt by the Blue Jays to work him into the rotation (6.08 career ERA as a starter). Prior to being traded to Houston, Biagini carried a 4.04 ERA in just over 200 inning of relief. Biagini has four-plus years of service, so if he latches on with a new club and rights the ship, he’d be controllable through the 2022 season via arbitration.

Abraham Almonte Elects Free Agency

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Outfielder Abraham Almonte has elected to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment from the Padres.  Almonte was designated for assignment two days ago to create space for rookie southpaw Ryan Weathers to join San Diego’s NLDS roster.

Signed to a minor league contract in the offseason, Almonte ended up appearing in seven games for the Padres, collecting a hit and two walks over 13 plate appearances as he was shuttled between the MLB roster and the alternate training site.

The 31-year-old will now head into the open market looking to catch on with another team, after playing for six different organizations during his 15 total seasons in pro baseball.  Almonte has appeared in each of the last eight Major League seasons, with a career .237/.298/.370 slash line, 18 homers, and 25 steals (from 33 chances) over 1151 plate appearances.  Almonte is known less for his switch-hitting bat and more for his ability to play all three outfield positions, which could make him attractive on another minors contract for a team looking for outfield depth in 2021.

International Signings: 10/7/20

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A couple of notable international signings:

  • The Pirates announced they have signed 19-year-old pitcher Po-Yu Chen. The Taiwanese righty will receive a $1.25MM signing bonus, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). Chen has evidently been on the organization’s radar for quite some time, with GM Ben Cherington noting the club has scouted him extensively over the past three years (via Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic). Notably, the Bucs’ only trade at this summer’s trade deadline netted them additional international pool space, as outfielder Jarrod Dyson was dealt to the White Sox for $243,300 in bonus availability.
  • The Rangers signed 17-year-old outfielder Alejandro Osuna out of Mexico, per Baseball America’s Ben Badler (via Twitter). As Badler notes, Osuna is the brother of Astros’ reliever Roberto Osuna. Alejandro Osuna also has a twin brother, Pedro Osuna, who also plays outfield, but bats and throws right-handed, unlike Alejandro, who bats and throws lefty.

Hanwha Eagles Release Chad Bell

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The KBO League’s Hanwha Eagles have placed left-hander Chad Bell on release waivers, according to Jeeho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency.  Bell has spent the last two seasons pitching in South Korea, re-signing with the Eagles last November for a one-year, $900K contract.

Bell earned that new deal after a strong 2019 season that saw him post a 3.50 ERA, 2.13 K/BB rate, and 6.8 K/9 over 177 1/3 innings (29 starts).  Bell had never pitched more than 142 1/3 innings in any of his previous nine pro seasons, and it’s possible that the additional workload last year could have led to his injury-plagued 2020 campaign.  Forearm, shoulder, and elbow problems limited Bell’s effectiveness and eventually brought a premature end to his season after 77 innings and a 5.96 ERA.

Originally a 14th-round pick for the Rangers back in the 2009 draft, Bell spent eight seasons in the Texas, Atlanta, and Detroit farm systems before heading for the KBO following the 2018 season.  The southpaw’s Major League resume consists of 69 2/3 innings with the Tigers in 2017-18, with Bell posting a 7.11 ERA, 1.94 K/BB, and 8.3 K/9.

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