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Orioles Designate Asher Wojciechowski For Assignment

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6:34pm: Zimmermann’s up, the Orioles announced.

11:44am: The Orioles have designated right-hander Asher Wojciechowski for assignment, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (via Twitter). The team announced the move shortly thereafter, adding that righties Branden Kline and Evan Phillips are up for Game 1 of today’s doubleheader. Phillips is listed as the 29th man for the day.

It seems Wojciechowski’s 40-man roster spot will go to lefty Bruce Zimmermann. Kubatko tweets that Zimmermann is with the team, and MLB.com’s Joe Trezza reported last night that Zimmermann was being considered for his MLB debut on Thursday. The Orioles have since announced Zimmerman as the “probable” starter for the second game of today’s twin bill, so a move to formally add him to he roster will be made between the two games.

Acquired from the Indians in exchange for cash last July, Wojciechowski first looked to be a depth option to make a spot start or two but instead wound up holding down a spot on the pitching staff for more than a year. The 31-year-old appeared in 27 games for the O’s — 23 of them starts — and posted a 5.51 ERA with 8.4 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 30.2 percent grounder rate through 119 2/3 innings28. Wojciechowski’s K/BB numbers and swinging-strike rate were solid, but he proved far too susceptible to the long ball, surrendering 28 dingers in that time for an average of 2.11 per nine frames.

The 25-year-old Zimmermann was a fifth-round pick of the Braves back in 2017 but was traded to his hometown Orioles a year later in the deal that sent Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day to Atlanta. He ranks as Baltimore’s No. 19 prospect on Baseball America’s midseason update and currently sits 25th on FanGraphs’ latest rankings of a much-improved Baltimore farm system. Both BA and FanGraphs list him as a potential back-of-the-rotation starter. Zimmermann sits 90-93 mph with his heater and has three secondary offerings, with his slider considered the best of the bunch.

Zimmermann split the 2019 season between Double-A and Triple-A, pitching to a combined 3.21 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 0.77 HR/9 and a 41.9 percent ground-ball rate. He’s not the highest-upside arm in the Orioles’ system — far from it — but Zimmermann still has a chance to either pitch at the back of the rotation or out of the bullpen for a good while in Baltimore. The team will control him through at least the 2026 season, though future optional assignments could push back his potential to reach free agency.

Phillies Outright Ronald Torreyes

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SEPT. 17: Torreyes cleared waivers and was outrighted to Lehigh Valley, the Phillies announced.

SEPT. 15: The Phillies have designated infielder Ronald Torreyes for assignment, per a team announcement. His roster spot will go to left-hander Garrett Cleavinger, whom they recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Torreyes lasted just a few days on the roster of the Phillies, who selected his contract Sept. 11. The 28-year-old went on to hit 1-for-7 before the Phillies designated him. Formerly a Dodger, Yankee and Twin, Torreyes has batted .277/.306/.369 with four home runs and five steals across 638 plate appearances in the majors. His .273/.314/.365 line in 1,080 PA in Triple-A doesn’t look much different.

Cleavinger, 26, could now be in line for his first major league experience. The Phillies acquired him from the Orioles for righty Jeremy Hellickson back in 2017, and Cleavinger has since shown he’s capable of producing at the Double-A level. He threw 51 2/3 innings of 3.66 ERA/2.73 FIP ball with 14.46 K/9 and 5.92 BB/9 there last year.

Mariners Outright Jimmy Yacabonis

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The Mariners have outrighted hurler Jimmy Yacabonis to their alternate training site, according to a team announcement. They previously designated the right-hander for assignment Tuesday.

Yacabonis, whom the Mariners acquired from the Padres for cash just under a month ago, threw 2 1/3 innings with the M’s before they ejected him from their roster. The 28-year-old yielded one earned run on two hits and three walks (one strikeout) during that span.

Seattle is the second major league team for which Yacabonis has pitched. He appeared in the bigs with the Orioles in each season from 2017-19 and combined for 81 innings with the O’s in the previous two years. In all, Yacabonis has logged a 5.71 ERA/6.05 FIP with 6.49 K/9 and 5.11 BB/9 in 104 innings.

Twins Outright Zack Littell

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The Twins passed right-hander Zack Littell through outright waivers and have assigned him to their alternate training site in St. Paul, tweets Dan Hayes of The Athletic. The move opens a spot on the team’s 40-man roster, which could open a spot for the return of righty Homer Bailey from the 45-day injured list or open a spot to select the contract of a non-roster player.

It would have been hard to imagine Littell clearing waivers a year ago this time and still registers as a bit of a surprise that no team placed a claim. The 24-year-old allowed seven runs through 6 1/3 frames in 2020 but also gave the Twins 37 innings of 2.68 ERA ball in 2019. That included a dominant stretch beginning with his June recall from Triple-A, wherein Littell rattled off 30 2/3 innings with just three runs allowed (0.88 ERA) and a 27-to-8 K/BB ratio. Littell’s velocity remained consistent with its career levels, as he averaged 94.1 mph on his heater in this year’s small sample of work.

Littell remains in the Twins’ 60-man player pool, so he can still be summoned later this season should a need arise, and he’ll still be under the organization’s control beyond the current season.

Brewers Outright Trey Supak, Ronny Rodriguez

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Right-hander Trey Supak and infielder Ronny Rodriguez both cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Brewers earlier in the week, per a team announcement. They’ve been assigned outright to Triple-A San Antonio. Because they were outrighted to Triple-A rather than to the alternate training site, neither will remain in the club’s 60-man player pool. They’re both still controlled by the Brewers beyond 2020, however, even though they’re no longer on the 40-man roster.

The 24-year-old Supak spent most of the 2019 campaign in Double-A, where he notched a terrific 2.20 ERA ball with 6.9 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 0.44 HR/9 and a 44.8 percent grounder rate over the life of 122 2/3 innings. That performance came in a pitcher-friendly environment and wasn’t fully backed by fielding-independent metrics (3.14 FIP, 3.59 xFIP), but it was a promising showing overall. He was hit much harder in a brief stint at the Triple-A level, but Supak has yet to have much experience at that stage of the minors.

The Brewers are likely pleased that the righty went unclaimed, as he’s long been ranked as one of the better arms in a thin minor league system. Clearly, the team now feels that others within the system have surpassed him, but they’ll now be able to continue to work on his development in future seasons. Supak has a minor league option remaining beyond the current season, but that wasn’t enough for another club to place a claim at this point, apparently.

Rodriguez never got into a game with the Brewers after coming over from the Tigers via waivers this winter. The 28-year-old is a versatile utility piece with a bit of pop but overwhelming on-base issues, as can be seen in his career .221/.254/.396 batting line. Rodriguez did swat 14 big flies in 294 MLB plate appearances last year, but those on-base woes clearly limit his value.

Yankees Transfer James Paxton To 45-Day IL, Select Wynston Sawyer

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The Yankees have moved left-hander James Paxton to the 45-day injured list and selected catcher Wynston Sawyer, per a team announcement. Sawyer will join the Yankees’ alternate site.

This ends the regular season for Paxton, who has been on the 10-day injured list with a flexor strain since Aug. 20. While the Yankees appear likely to make the playoffs, Paxton won’t be available then from the outset.

Paxton turned in another effective (albeit injury-shortened) campaign in 2019, the former Mariner’s first in New York, and the Yankees were counting on more solid production from him this season. Instead, the 31-year-old totaled 20 1/3 innings of 6.64 ERA ball and saw his average fastball velocity drop from around 95 mph to 92.1. Even if the 31-year-old Paxton pitches again during the fall, he figures to head into free agency in an unfavorable position in a couple months.

Sawyer, previously with the Orioles, Dodgers and Twins organizations, signed a minor league contract with the Yankees in February. He topped out in Triple-A ball from 2018-19, during which he amassed 254 plate appearances and batted .277/.370/.405.

Cardinals Designate Rob Kaminsky Amid Flurry Of Roster Moves

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The Cardinals announced a series of roster moves Wednesday, perhaps most notably designating left-hander Rob Kaminsky for assignment. The Cards also reinstated Johan Oviedo from the Covid-19 injured list and recalled both infielder Max Schrock and righty Junior Fernandez from the alternate training site. Right-hander Nabil Crismatt and outfielder Lane Thomas were optioned to the alternate site in a pair of corresponding moves, while outfielder Justin Williams is up from the alternate site as the 29th man for today’s doubleheader.

Kaminsky, a former first-round pick of the Cardinals (28th overall in 2013) made his Major League debut as a 26-year-old this season. He didn’t take the most direct route, as he was traded to the Indians for Brandon Moss several years ago, eventually released in Cleveland and returned to the Cards on a minor league deal. The rocky journey likely only made his return to the organization and 2020 MLB debut that much sweeter for Kaminsky, but it appears his time in the big leagues will be short-lived — at least in this go-around.

Kaminsky tossed 4 2/3 innings of relief for the Cards this year, allowing two earned runs on three hits and a pair of walks with three strikeouts and a 60 percent ground-ball rate. The Cards can’t explore trades involving him at this point, so if they hope to keep Kaminsky in the organization, they’ll have to count on him clearing outright waivers. Kaminsky wouldn’t be postseason-eligible if another club claimed him, but he can be controlled through at least the 2026 season if a team was impressed by his big league work in a limited sample this year.

Phillies To Promote Mickey Moniak

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The Phillies are set to call up former No. 1 overall draft pick Mickey Moniak, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia (Twitter link). It’ll be the Major League debut for the 22-year-old outfielder.

Moniak wasn’t initially included in the Phillies’ 60-man player pool to begin the shortened season, but he was added shortly before the trade deadline. Now, with Kyle Garlick sustaining an apparent oblique injury, Moniak join the club for his first taste of the Majors. He spent the 2019 season in Double-A, where he posted a .252/.303/.439 batting line. Those numbers don’t immediately stand out, but in the pitcher-friendly Eastern League, that was actually 15 percent better than the league average (115 wRC+). Moniak connected on 11 home runs and piled up extra-base hits, adding 28 doubles and 13 triples to his ledger. He also swiped 15 bases in 18 tries.

Solid 2019 output notwithstanding, it’s also fair to say that Moniak’s career to date hasn’t quite gone as the Phillies would’ve hoped when taking him with the top overall pick. That’s not to say that he’s not a legitimate prospect — he ranks ninth among Phillies prospects at FanGraphs, 12th at Baseball America and 13th at MLB.com — but fair or not, the expectations for any top overall pick are understandably sky-high.

Moniak may not rank within the game’s top 100 prospects or even within his own club’s top 10 on some lists, but he’ll now be afforded the opportunity to prove his doubters wrong and establish himself as a piece of the Phillies’ future. He’ll join an outfield mix that features Bryce Harper, Adam Haseley, Roman Quinn, Andrew McCutchen ad Phil Gosselin, giving the clubs another left-handed bat capable of playing any of the three outfield spots.

As it stands, the Phillies will be able to control Moniak through at least the 2026 season, although that timeline could be altered depending on future optional assignments. The Phillies will need to make a move to select Moniak’s contract, as he’s not currently on the team’s 40-man roster.

Royals Outright Matt Reynolds

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Infielder Matt Reynolds, whom the Royals designated for assignment over the weekend, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Omaha, per a team announcement. That he was outrighted to Triple-A and not to the alternate training site is an important distinction, as it indicates that he’s been removed from the team’s player pool, thus rendering him ineligible to return to the Royals in 2020.

The 29-year-old Reynolds appeared in three games with the Royals this season after signing a minor league pact over the winter. The former Mets and Nationals infielder was hitless in 11 trips to the plate in his first taste of big league action since the 2018 season in Washington.

Reynolds, a career .212/.282/.323 hitter, has never seen more than 130 plate appearances in a Major League season but carries a solid track record at the Triple-A level, where he’s batted .286/.361/.441 in parts of six seasons (2038 plate appearances). That includes a .295/.401/.521 showing last year. The 2012 second-rounder has appeared at every position on the diamond other than catcher, even pitching two minor league innings, over the course of his professional career. His outright by the Royals likely puts an end to his 2020 season, but his Triple-A track record and defensive versatility should create opportunities for him to sign a minor league deal with a new club in need of infield depth this offseason.

Phillies Sign Jonathan Lucroy, Greg Bird

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The Phillies have signed catcher Jonathan Lucroy and first baseman Greg Bird to minor league contracts, Matt Gelb of The Athletic tweets. The two will report to the team’s alternate site, and because they’re joining the 60-man player pool on the day of the Sept. 15 postseason eligibility deadline, they will be eligible for playoff rosters if the Phillies make it.

The Phillies are banged up at catcher and first base, so this is a late effort by the club to add depth as the posteason nears. Philadelphia’s 24-23 and on track for a playoff spot, though starting catcher J.T. Realmuto hasn’t played since Sept. 12 because of hip problems, and first baseman Rhys Hoskins went to the IL on Monday as a result of a left UCL injury.

Lucroy, like Realmuto is now, was one of the majors’ best catchers in his heyday. However, the former Brewers standout has fallen on hard times offensively and defensively with a few teams over the past couple years. The Red Sox released Lucroy on Tuesday, which came after he totaled one plate appearance with the club this season.

Bird was a high-profile prospect with the Yankees not too long ago, and he made an encouraging debut in 2015, but a series of injuries have helped derail his career since then. Bird was previously with the Rangers, who designated him for assignment in August. The 27-year-old could now reunite with Joe Girardi, who managed the Yankees at the beginning of Bird’s career and is now the Phillies’ skipper.

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