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Reds Select R.J. Alaniz, Designate Nick Williams

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The Reds have selected the contract of right-hander R.J. Alaniz, the team announced.  Outfielder Nick Williams was designated for assignment to create a 40-man roster spot for Alaniz, while an active roster spot was opened when righty Jose De Leon was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right groin strain.

Alaniz was claimed off the Mariners’ roster in May 2019 and hasn’t yet appeared in the big leagues this season.  Alaniz made his MLB debut last year, posting a 9.19 ERA over 15 2/3 combined innings for Seattle and Cincinnati.  An undrafted free agent who signed with the Astros back in 2009, Alaniz has a 4.26 ERA, 2.19 K/BB rate, and 7.3 K/9 over 712 career innings in the minors, pitching in the farm systems of five different organizations.

De Leon’s IL placement will likely end his season after six innings with the Reds and an 18.00 ERA.  De Leon was frequently shuttled between the Reds’ active roster and the taxi squad this year, and while this could explain why the righty never found his rhythm, De Leon exhibited some ungainly control problems, with 11 walks over his six innings of work.  Formerly a top prospect during his time in the Dodgers’ and Rays’ organizations, De Leon is still clearly trying to get himself sorted after the Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for all of the 2018 season.

Williams is also a former top prospect, and his appearance on the DFA wire could quite possibly lead to a change of scenery.  Cincinnati claimed Williams from the Phillies exactly one month ago, though the outfielder hasn’t yet seen any Major League action in a Reds uniform.  Despite a solid .269/.330/.446 slash line over 791 PA with the Phillies in 2017-18, Williams didn’t see much playing time last year and eventually became an expendable part in Philadelphia.  It wouldn’t be surprising if a playoff contender tried to claim Williams in order to add outfield depth, or even a team looking ahead to 2021 could put in a claim to give Williams a look on their roster.

Tigers Call Up Eric Haase, Option Grayson Greiner

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The Tigers have made a change to their catching ranks, optioning Grayson Greiner to their alternate training site and calling up Eric Haase.  Acquired from the Indians back in January, Haase is line to see his first action of the 2020 season.

Greiner has hit .118/.182/.333 over 55 plate appearances this season, continuing the offensive struggles that also plagued him over his first two MLB seasons (.577 OPS in 340 PA in 2018-19).  With starter Austin Romine also scuffling, the Tigers opted to bring Haase into the picture as the backup, though Haase also isn’t known for his work at the plate.

Haase has only 34 career MLB plate appearances to his name, and a .094/.147/.188 slash line to show for his brief time in the Show.  In the minors, however, Haase has shown more pop, batting .243/.316/.477 with 130 home runs over 2833 career PA in Cleveland’s farm system.

The other notable aspect of the transaction is that Haase is getting the call rather than Jake Rogers, who has long been tabbed as Detroit’s catcher of the future.  Rogers hasn’t seen any time at the Major League level this season after making his debut in 2019 and hitting only .125/.222/.259 over 128 PA.  Tigers GM Al Avila recently implied that Rogers was unlikely to be called up again this season, so while Haase’s promotion isn’t necessarily a surprise, it does continue to raise questions about whether or not the Tigers still view Rogers as a long-term answer.

Braves Sign Pablo Sandoval

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The Braves have signed third baseman/first baseman Pablo Sandoval to a minor league contract, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Sandoval will head to their alternate site.

It didn’t take long for Sandoval to find a new team, as the Giants placed him on release waivers Sept. 10. To say the least, the two-time All-Star has gone through an up-and-down career. He was hugely important to the Giants from 2008-14, a span in which they won three World Series titles, but floundered after signing a five-year, $95MM contract with the Red Sox before 2015.

Sandoval didn’t get through his whole contract with Boston, which released him in 2017. He returned to San Francisco thereafter and turned back into a useful bench piece last season, but his year was cut short because of Tommy John surgery. The Giants re-signed Sandoval in January, but the 34-year-old switch-hitter could only muster a .220/.278/.268 line with one home run in 90 plate appearances this season before they cut the cord on him.

Sandoval will now join an organization whose third basemen rank dead last in the majors in fWAR (minus-0.4). Austin Riley and Johan Camargo, the NL East-leading Braves’ only third base choices so far, have combined for a .220/.272/.396 line through 294 plate appearances. The Braves optioned Camargo to their alternate training site on Sept. 9.

Braves Release Robbie Erlin

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The Braves announced this afternoon that they’ve released left-hander Robbie Erlin, who’d been designated for assignment over the weekend. The veteran southpaw is now free to sign with any club.

Erlin, 29, opened the season with the Pirates but was designated for assignment and picked up off waivers by the Braves shortly thereafter. The longtime Padres hurler made a pair of solid starts for the Braves early in his tenure, tossing eight innings and holding opponents to a combined two runs, but he’s been hammered over his five most recent outings. Overall, he’s put together an ugly 8.49 ERA with Atlanta and an 8.10 mark on the season as a whole.

Rough 2020 results aside, Erlin isn’t far removed from a solid 2018 campaign in San Diego. He tossed 109 frames that year between a dozen starts and 27 relief outings, working to an overall 4.21 ERA and 3.31 FIP with averages of 7.27 strikeouts, 0.99 walks and 0.99 homers per nine innings pitched. Prior to his poor results from 2019-20, Erlin had compiled a lifetime 4.40 ERA and 3.58 FIP in 257 2/3 MLB frames.

It’s impossible to simply ignore his recent results, but perhaps a club with some other ideas for his pitch selection might have ideas about how to help him return to form. Erlin did scrap his once-effective sinker entirely in 2020, gravitating more toward four-seamers and curveballs than ever before.

Neil Walker Elects Free Agency

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The Phillies announced that veteran infielder Neil Walker, whom they designated for assignment last Friday, has elected free agency after clearing waivers. Philadelphia also reinstated Scott Kingery from the injured list and optioned lefty Ranger Suarez to the alternate training site.

Walker, 35, struggled to a .231/.244/.308 slash through 18 games and 41 plate appearances prior to being designated on Friday. The Phils opted to swap him out for fellow infielder Ronald Torreyes, who gives them an option at shortstop — a position not in Walker’s repertoire — and to provide better overall glovework at other spots around the infield.

Although Walker wasn’t particularly sharp with the Phillies, he notched a solid .261/.344/.395 batting line with the Marlins just last year. He was also a consistently productive hitter from 2010-17, slashing a combined .273/.342/.439 in 4294 plate appearances between the Pirates, Mets and Brewers. He’ll be eligible to sign with any club for the duration of the season should he choose. If he does latch on with a new club by tomorrow, he’d still be eligible for his new club’s postseason roster.

Brewers Claim Billy McKinney; Trey Supak, Ronny Rodriguez Designated For Assignment

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The Brewers announced Monday that they’ve claimed outfielder Billy McKinney off waivers from the Blue Jays, who had designated him for assignment on Friday. He’s been optioned to the Brewers’ alternate training site. Milwaukee also added righty Justin Topa as the 29th man for their doubleheader today and reinstated right-hander Ray Black from the 45-day injured list.

In order to make room on the 40-man roster for McKinney and Black, the Brewers designated right-hander Trey Supak and infielder Ronny Rodriguez for assignment.

The 26-year-old McKinney was a first-round pick (No. 24 overall) by the Athletics back in 2013 and has since bounced around the league in a series of high-profile swaps. Oakland initially sent him to the Cubs as part of the Jeff Samardzija/Jason Hammel trade, but McKinney never made it to the big leagues in Chicago. Instead, the Cubs shipped him to the Yankees alongside Gleyber Torres in 2016’s Aroldis Chapman deadline swap. Nearly two years to the day later, the Yankees flipped McKinney to Toronto as part of their return for lefty J.A. Happ.

McKinney appeared in only two games for the Yankees and has spent the other 122 games of his big league career with the Toronto organization. He’s shown some pop, evidenced by a .209 ISO, 18 homers, 21 doubles and a triple in 407 plate appearances with the Jays, but McKinney has also been prone to strikeouts and infield flies without drawing much in the walk department.

Overall, McKinney is a .231/.291/.437 hitter with a 25.8 percent strikeout rate and a 7.3 percent walk rate in the Majors. He’s drawn average reviews for his glovework in right field and below-average marks in left. McKinney has never played center in the Majors but does have a handful of innings at first base. He’s out of minor league options after this season, so there will be increased pressure for him to make the club in 2021 — if he survives on the 40-man roster until next year’s Spring Training, that is.

The decision to designate Supak is somewhat of a surprise, given that he’s long been regarded among the organization’s better pitching prospects and put together a nice season in Double-A last year. True, the Milwaukee farm has been regarded as one of the lower-ranking systems in the game for several seasons, but Supak looked to have an opportunity to make it to the Majors this year.

Supak spent most of last year in Double-A, where he pitched 122 2/3 frames of 2.20 ERA ball with 6.9 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 0.44 HR/9 and a 44.8 percent grounder rate. It’s a very pitcher-friendly setting, and the right-hander’s fielding-independent metrics weren’t as bullish as that rudimentary ERA — 3.14 FIP, 3.59 xFIP — but it was still a promising season all around. Supak was hit hard in a brief seven-game Triple-A stint, but that was true of most pitchers, given the offensive eruption throughout Triple-A that coincided with changes to the composition of the ball itself.

Milwaukee can’t trade Supak at this point, so he’ll now surely be run through outright waivers. He has a minor league option remaining beyond this season and a relatively strong minor league track record, so it wouldn’t all be a surprise to see another club place a claim. Perhaps of note, the club that originally drafted Supak, the Pirates, has the top waiver priority at present. (They’ve since turned over the top of their front office, however.) If Supak goes unclaimed, Milwaukee will be able to outright him to its alternate site and keep him both in the organization and in the 60-man player pool.

As for the 28-year-old Rodriguez, he never got into a game with the Brewers after coming over from the Tigers in a December waiver claim. He’s 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 he also carries a career 24.8 percent strikeout rate and has seen a dismal 18.2 percent of his fly-balls register as infield pop-ups. Thirty percent of Rodriguez’s plate appearances have resulted in either a punchout or a pop-up, and he’s walked at just a 4.6 percent pace in the Majors.

Athletics Sign Jake Lamb

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Sept. 14: The Athletics announced that they’ve signed Lamb to a Major League contract after he’d become a free agent (i.e. cleared release waivers). Lefty A.J. Puk, who is slated to undergo shoulder surgery, was moved to the 45-day injured list to open a roster spot. Oakland also placed Frankie Montas on the paternity list and added righty James Kaprielian as the 29th man for today’s doubleheader.

Sept. 13: The A’s are set to sign corner infielder Jake Lamb, as first reported last night by Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury News (Twitter link). The Diamondbacks designated Lamb for assignment on Thursday.

Jake Lamb | Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

The left-handed hitter isn’t officially eligible to sign until Monday, Rubin adds; presumably, he’s still on release waivers, although it’s a lock he’ll clear them since any team that claims him would absorb what remains of Lamb’s prorated $5.515MM contract. By waiting until he clears waivers, the A’s will leave the Arizona organization on the hook for all but the prorated portion of the league minimum salary. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle points out (on Twitter), Lamb’s deal should be finalized before Tuesday’s deadline for players to be eligible for a new team’s playoff roster.

Lamb came up as a third baseman, but he saw an increasing amount of time at first base in his final couple seasons in the desert. The A’s have Matt Olson locked in at first, so Lamb’s path to playing time in Oakland is surely back at the hot corner. The A’s just found out yesterday that star third baseman Matt Chapman was lost for the season. With Chapman out, Rule V pick Vimael Machin and veteran utilityman Chad Pinder have taken most of the third base work over the past week. Neither Machin nor Pinder has hit well this season, though, so the A’s are adding another bat to the mix. Additionally, Pinder also seems ticketed for the injured list after getting scratched from yesterday’s lineup with a hamstring strain.

Of course, that Lamb was designated for assignment this week speaks to his own recent struggles. While he once looked like a building block for the Arizona organization, the 29-year-old has never returned to form after a 2018 shoulder injury that eventually required surgery. Over the past three seasons, Lamb has combined for a paltry .199/.307/.330 line (73 wRC+) in 514 plate appearances. He’s continued to draw his fair share of walks, but the power he showed from 2016-17, when he combined for 59 home runs, has evaporated. Lamb has just 12 long balls over the past three seasons. He was off to the worst start of his career before the Diamondbacks moved on, hitting .116/.240/.140 in 50 plate appearances.

Lamb will be a free agent at season’s end, so he’s a short-term stopgap for the A’s. Oakland has a 40-man roster spot available already, and further space can be cleared by placing Chapman on the 45-day injured list.

Reds Activate Nick Senzel, Transfer Tyler Thornburg To 45-Day IL

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The Reds announced Monday that center fielder Nick Senzel has been activated from the injured list, with right-hander Tyler Thornburg moving from the 10-day injured list to the 45-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot. Senzel, who’ll technically return as the 29th man for today’s doubleheader, has been out since Aug. 19. He’s starting the first game of today’s twin bill in center.

Senzel, 25, was the No. 2 overall pick back in 2016 and was out to a .244/.327/.489 start through 14 games and 53 plate appearances in 2020. He hit .256/.315/.427 with a dozen homers and 14 steals as a rookie last year. He’ll add another option to an outfield mix that has seen seen Jesse Winker break out as one of the league’s more productive hitters. Nick Castellanos, meanwhile, has faded after a blistering start to the season, while rookie Shogo Akiyama has gone the opposite route — heating up in September after a slow start to his big league career.

The 31-year-old Thornburg went on the 10-day injured list late last week due to an elbow sprain — the latest in a mounting series ailments for the talented but oft-injured righty. Thornburg allowed three runs and punched out 10 hitters in seven innings with the Reds this year before the latest issue popped up.

Thornburg looked to be a breakout bullpen piece for the Brewers back in 2016 when he tossed 67 frames of 2.15 ERA ball with a 90-to-25 K/BB ratio, but he’s been derailed by injuries since being traded to the Red Sox in the Travis Shaw deal that winter. He battled shoulder troubles in early 2017 before undergoing thoracic outlet surgery that summer — a procedure that kept him out until July 2018. Thornburg returned to Boston in 2019 but was sidelined by a hip impingement for much of the season as well. Details on his current injury are still sparse, but the move to the 45-day IL formally brings his 2020 season to a close. He crossed six years of big league service in 2020, so he’ll be a free agent this winter.

Phillies Select Rafael Marchan

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The Phillies announced they’ve selected the contract of catcher Rafael Marchan before the second game of today’s doubleheader with the Marlins. Right-hander Connor Brogdon was optioned to the alternate training site, while southpaw José Álvarez has been transferred to the 45-day injured list to open space on the 40-man roster.

Marchan currently ranks seventh among Phils’ farmhands at Baseball America. He’s drawn plaudits for his advanced receiving and game calling skills behind the plate. The 21-year-old has demonstrated strong bat-to-ball skills in the low minors, never striking out at greater than an 11.7% clip at any stop.

In the short-term, he’s likely on hand as injury insurance. J.T. Realmuto left last night’s game with hip discomfort and didn’t play in the first game today. Andrew Knapp will get the nod behind the plate in both sides of the twin bill.

Álvarez has been on the 10-day injured list since August 21 after taking a comebacker off the groin. At last check, he was hoping to return in the playoffs if the Phils qualify; there’s no indication those plans have changed.

Reds Place Sonny Gray On Injured List

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The Reds have placed right-hander Sonny Gray on the 10-day injured list with a right mid-back strain, the team announced. Sal Romano has been selected to the roster in his stead. The IL placement is retroactive to Friday.

Gray has continued to shine in his second season in Cincinnati. Through 45.2 innings in nine starts, the right-hander has put up a 3.94 ERA/2.93 FIP with a career-best 30.6% strikeout rate. His 5.8 fWAR since the start of 2019 ranks thirteenth league-wide, a turnaround from a pair of down seasons with the Yankees. The Reds didn’t announce a timetable for his return, but there’s obviously not much time remaining for Gray to make it back in 2020. With just fifteen days left in the season, it’s possible this brings his campaign to an end. It’s certainly another blow to the 20-26 Reds’ faint hopes of mounting a playoff run.

The Reds waived the hard-throwing Romano over the winter, and he’ll now be making his first appearance on the MLB roster this season. Originally a starting pitcher, Romano moved to the Cincinnati bullpen full-time in 2019, where he put up a 7.71 ERA in 16.1 innings.

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