Brewers Claim Ryan Weber
The Brewers have claimed Ryan Weber off waivers from the Red Sox, and assigned the right-hander to Triple-A. In another move, the Brewers also announced that right-hander Chad Sobotka was outrighted to Triple-A.
Weber was designated for assignment two days ago by the Red Sox, following a single appearance that saw Weber allow 11 runs to the Blue Jays in 5 2/3 innings of mop-up duty. It was an ugly end to a three-year tenure in Boston for Weber, who posted a 5.54 ERA over 89 1/3 innings with the Red Sox, starting eight of his 36 games.
Weber’s ability to work as a swingman or multi-inning reliever clearly intrigued the Brewers enough to make a claim. Weber does have only a career 5.30 ERA, and his low (15.1%) strikeout rate makes him something of an outlier on a Milwaukee pitching staff that tends to favor hurlers who miss a lot of bats. However, Weber’s 52.3% groundball rate over 163 career innings fits right into a Brewers team with a cumulative 45.6% grounder rate this season, tied for the fifth-best rate of any pitching unit in baseball.
Sobotka came to Milwaukee from Atlanta as part of the Orlando Arcia trade in early April. Sobotka has yet to see any big league action with his new club, and the right-hander has only pitched 3 2/3 innings for Triple-A Nashville due to a sinus infection. Sobotka has a 5.36 ERA/4.22 SIERA, 28.8% strikeout rate, and 14.2% walk rate over 47 career innings with the Braves from 2018-20.
Athletics Reinstate Ramon Laureano From 10-Day IL
The A’s have reinstated outfielder Ramon Laureano from the 10-day injured list, the team announced. Outfielder Skye Bolt was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.
A strained right hip sent Laureano to the IL on May 28 (retroactively), so he’ll return after missing just short of three weeks. The injury interrupted an excellent campaign for “Laser Ramon,” who was hitting .257/.332/.503 with 11 home runs over 205 plate appearances.
After an average 2020 season at the plate, this year’s performance is much closer to the numbers Laureano posted in 2018-19, increasingly his all-around value to Oakland. Laureano’s center field defense has been either around average (0 Outs Above Average, -1 Defensive Runs Saved) or better than average (+4.9 UZR/150) depending on your metric of choice, but Laureano has nonetheless been a big contributor to the Athletics’ rise to first place in the AL West.
Braves Promote Kyle Muller
The Braves announced that left-handed pitching prospect Kyle Muller has been called up to the Major League roster. Muller will take the spot of southpaw Tucker Davidson, who (as expected) was placed on the 10-day injured list due to left forearm inflammation.
Baseball Prospectus gave Muller solid rankings (60th in 2020, 62nd this year) in their last two preseason top-prospect listings, and MLB Pipeline lists Muller as the fifth-best prospect in Atlanta’s farm system. A second-round pick in the 2016 draft, Muller posted solid numbers in his first four pro seasons and pitched at the Braves’ alternate training site in 2020, though he has hit some bumps in his first stint at Triple-A this year.
Muller has a 4.60 ERA through 31 1/3 frames for Triple-A Gwinnett, with a troublingly large number of homers (six) and walks (19) that undermines his 28.9% strikeout rate. The home runs are a new issue for Muller, who gave up just 18 home runs total in his first 326 2/3 innings in Atlanta’s organization, though his control problems also began to creep up at Double-A in 2019. MLB Pipeline’s scouting report cites Muller’s command as his chief issue, though also praises the 23-year-old’s ceiling as a potential four-pitch starter. He already possesses a 65-grade fastball that sits in the high-90’s and a 55-grade curveball, and Muller has been working on improving his changeup and slider as well.
The Athletic’s David O’Brien (Twitter links) notes that Muller’s last three Triple-A outings have been very strong, which could explain why the Braves turned to Muller over Kyle Wright and Bryse Wilson, who have both have started games for the Braves this season. Muller is slated for bullpen work for now, O’Brien writes, though it remains to be seen who will start in Davidson’s place on Sunday.
Dodgers Select Steven Souza, Designate Nate Jones
The Dodgers have selected the contract of outfielder Steven Souza Jr., and designated right-hander Nate Jones for assignment in the corresponding roster move.
Souza signed a minor league deal with Los Angeles in late March, a week after the Astros released him from another minors contract. The 32-year-old has displayed plenty of pop at Triple-A Oklahoma City, batting .279/.444/.603 with six home runs in 90 plate appearances for the Dodgers’ top farm team.
Best known for three solid years with the Rays from 2015-17, Souza has battled several injuries throughout his career, most notably a major knee injury that kept him out of action for the entire 2019 season. He returned to play 11 games with the Cubs in 2020 before being released in September. Souza will now move into a bench role for the World Series champions, as the Dodgers are in need of some outfield depth with Cody Bellinger on the 10-day injured list.
Jones was another minor league signing for the Dodgers back in May, after the Braves cut him loose after 12 appearances and 10 1/3 innings. Jones overcame some major control and homer issues to post a 3.48 ERA in his brief time in Atlanta, but the bottom fell out in L.A. as Jones posted an 8.31 ERA in 8 2/3 innings in Dodger Blue. Over 19 total innings in 2021, Jones has already surrendered seven homers, underlining a home run problem that has become increasingly dire over his last four seasons.
Since the start of the 2020 season, Jones has a 5.97 ERA and 12 home runs allowed in 37 2/3 total innings with the Dodgers, Braves, and Reds. Once a borderline elite setup man during his heyday with the White Sox, Jones was hampered by numerous injuries, and he has tossed only 89 2/3 total innings over the last five seasons.
Padres Option Ryan Weathers To Triple-A
11:37AM: The Padres have announced the move, with right-hander James Norwood called up to take Weathers’ spot on the active roster. San Diego acquired Norwood from the Cubs in an April trade, and Norwood is now set to make his first appearance of the 2021 season and make his Padres debut.
10:42AM: The Padres are sending left-hander Ryan Weathers to Triple-A, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee. Weathers will be stretched out again as a regular starter in the minors, though his next call-up to the big leagues could be to fill a hole in either the rotation or the bullpen.
The news represents a change of course from just two days ago, when the Padres initially planned to move Weathers to the bullpen. The rookie had been deployed as both a starter and reliever this season, stepping into the rotation due to injuries to Adrian Morejon and Dinelson Lamet. However, Lamet’s return from the injured list temporarily gave San Diego a six-man rotation, which the team saw as a way of keeping its starters fresh.
Now, as Acee writes, “Lamet appearing to have reached a point where he can effectively go five or more innings allowed the Padres to prioritize Weathers’ development, as they feel their second-ranked pitching prospect is better served for the long term getting consistent work as a starter.”
It creates a bit of an interesting present vs. future situation for the Padres front office. While nothing would stop the team from quickly calling Weathers back up to the active roster if necessary, the argument could be made that Weathers is most useful right now as a reliever in the majors, given how San Diego’s bullpen has been shaky over the last month. The leaky relief corps has been one of the reasons the Padres are only 4-12 in their last 16 games, and the team now sits five games out of first place in the NL West.
With the Giants and Dodgers not showing any signs of slowing down, it leaves the Padres with little margin for error for reaching the postseason, so having Weathers on hand to secure even one or two extra wins could make a huge difference in what might be a tight NL wild card race. Weathers is still only 21 years old, so it wouldn’t be difficult for the team to stretch him out next spring with an eye towards resuming his career path as a starting pitcher.
That said, being a starter could also ultimately be how Weathers best contributes to the 2021 team, in the event of another rotation injury. Having Weathers ready to go at Triple-A could be a necessity for the Padres, given their lack of healthy and experienced starting depth in the minors. Though Weathers has all of 47 1/3 MLB innings to his name, that still makes him the Padres’ top “sixth starter” candidate waiting in the wings.
Marlins Designate Luis Madero, Select Deven Marrero
The Marlins have selected the contract of infielder Deven Marrero from Triple-A, and Marrero will be the starting third baseman for Miami’s game with the Cardinals this afternoon. To create roster space, the Marlins designed righty Luis Madero for assignment, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald tweets.
Marrero is set for his first MLB game since August 13, 2019, also as a member of the Marlins. After being let go by the Fish following the 2019 season, Marrero didn’t sign a contract for 2020 and was seemingly lined up to join a Mexican League team in April before rejoining the Marlins on a new minor league deal in May.
Selected 24th overall by the Red Sox in the 2012 draft, Marrero will get another crack at the big leagues after hitting .194/.246/.279 over 348 career plate appearances with Boston, Arizona, and Miami. Marrero has played at third base, second base, and shortstop at the MLB level, and he’ll give the Marlins some extra depth with Jose Devers and Brian Anderson both on the injured list. Isan Diaz and Jon Berti figure to get the bulk of time at second and third base, with Marrero now perhaps in line for utility infield duty.
Madero is headed back to Triple-A after just two days on Miami’s roster, without any more game action. The righty made his Major League debut in May, posting a 15.00 ERA over three innings in two appearances. This is the second time Madero has been DFA’ed this season, as the Marlins designated him shortly after that second outing. Assuming he clears DFA waivers, Madero has the right to reject an outright assignment and become a free agent, if he so chooses.
Diamondbacks Select Contract Of Keury Mella
Righty reliever Keury Mella is returning to the Diamondbacks’ 40-man roster, according to The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan. The club transferred Seth Frankoff to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man spot, while Taylor Clarke hit the 10-day IL to create an active roster opening. Incredibly, the D’Backs are vying for their first road win since April 25th tonight in San Francisco.
Mella, 27, has logged 27 career innings for the Reds and Diamondbacks. In his 11 appearances at Triple-A Reno this year, he punched out 24.4% of batters and walked 9.0%. Mella averaged 95.2 miles per hour last year in the bigs, a bit above the average ’21 reliever figure of 93.8. Two years ago as a Reds farmhand, Mella was considered to be a 45-grade prospect by Baseball America. The Reds had acquired Mella and Adam Duvall from the Giants in the 2015 trade deadline trade of Mike Leake. At the time, Mella was thought to have a plus fastball without a “true offspeed weapon.” Mella was deemed expendable back in February, as Arizona designated him for assignment and he passed through waivers unclaimed.
As you might expect from the worst team in baseball, the Diamondbacks’ bullpen has been pretty bad, with a 4.64 ERA. But still better than three other NL teams! Mella joins a D’Backs bullpen consisting of Stefan Crichton, Joakim Soria, Kevin Ginkel, Ryan Buchter, Humberto Castellanos, Joe Mantiply, Riley Smith, and possibly Corbin Martin at present. Clarke joins relievers J.B. Bukauskas, Tyler Clippard, Chris Devenski on the IL, with Devenski done for the season due to Tommy John surgery.
Pirates Acquire Taylor Davis
The Orioles acquired minor league outfielder Jose Berroa from the Pirates for catcher Taylor Davis, reported Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com among others.
Davis, 31, picked up 20 games of big league experience with the Cubs from 2017-19. He signed a minor league deal with the Orioles in January 2020, and played in 12 games for the Norfolk Tides this year. Davis may not have made much of a big league impact yet, but he did garner fame for “shooting icy stares at the Iowa Cubs’ cameras,” as SI’s Dan Gartland put it in 2017. Davis will now make the trip to the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate. The Indianapolis Indians open a six-game set against the Memphis Redbirds tonight.
Berroa, 19, did not fall within FanGraphs’ top 51 Pirates prospects back in February. He played 56 games in the Dominican Summer League in 2019 and will be assigned to the Orioles’ Florida Complex team in Sarasota. He was a July 2 signing out of the Dominican Republic back in 2018.
Phillies Sign Brock Stassi
The Phillies have signed first baseman Brock Stassi to a minor league contract, per an announcement from the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. Stassi had played in thirteen games with the Ducks before earning his way back into the affiliated ranks. He’ll be assigned to Double-A Reading.
Stassi (the older brother of Angels catcher Max Stassi) is most well known for his previous stint with the Phillies. The former 33rd-round pick and six-year minor league veteran broke camp with the Phils in 2017 and picked up fairly regular playing time over the season’s first month. Stassi didn’t produce much in that limited time, hitting just .167/.278/.295 with a pair of homers over ninety plate appearances.
Philadelphia outrighted Stassi off the roster near the end of that season. He’s hooked on with the Giants and Twins in recent years but hasn’t made it back to the big leagues. The 31-year-old has a .264/.364/.403 line in parts of four seasons at Triple-A, and he’s compiled a similar .271/.356/.404 mark at Double-A.
Nationals Place Max Scherzer On Injured List
The Nationals announced they’re placing ace Max Scherzer on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 12, due to groin inflammation. Reliever Justin Miller has been selected to the roster to replace him. To clear space for Miller on the 40-man roster, Washington designated righty Rogelio Armenteros for assignment.
Scherzer was forced out of his start on Friday night in the first inning with the groin issue. He downplayed the injury after his start, but he’ll apparently still need some time on the IL to recover. The team didn’t announce an initial timetable for his return.
The 36-year-old Scherzer has been his usual incredible self this season. Through 77 1/3 innings, he’s worked to a pristine 2.21 ERA/2.67 SIERA, striking out a stellar 36% of opposing hitters while walking only 5.2%. Even a minimal IL stint is a tough blow to the 28-35 Nats, who sit in fourth place in the National League East. After wrapping up a series with the Pirates tomorrow, Washington will kick off a run of eleven consecutive games against divisional foes (including five meetings with the division-leading Mets).
If Washington doesn’t get back on track, Scherzer’s name figures to surface in plenty of trade speculation in the coming weeks. He’s slated to hit free agency at the end of the season, and there’d be plenty of demand from contenders for one of the top pitchers in the game. There’s no indication today’s IL stint will last long enough to jeopardize his potential trade candidacy, although it’s still unclear if the team would make him available. Moving star players midseason hasn’t traditionally been the Nationals style, but there’s a case they should listen to offers on Scherzer if they don’t close the division gap in the coming weeks. Having previously received a qualifying offer in his career (back in 2014 from the Tigers), Scherzer is ineligible to be tagged with a QO this winter. Thus, the Nationals could stand to lose him for no compensation if they don’t move him this summer.
Miller makes his way back to Washington for the first time in two years. The righty looked to have broken out with a strong 2018 season in the Nats bullpen, when he tossed 52 1/3 frames of 3.61 ERA/3.34 SIERA ball. A pair of IL stints the following season knocked him off course, though, and his strikeout rate plummeted from 27.9% in 2018 to 16.9% in 2019. The Nationals outrighted him off the 40-man roster that season.
The 34-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays over the 2019-20 offseason. He wound up traded to the Reds but didn’t make it onto either club’s 40-man roster. Miller elected minor league free agency and re-signed with the Nationals this March. He’s been nothing short of dominant this year with Triple-A Rochester. Over 16 1/3 innings, Miller’s allowed just a single earned run, striking out 29 of the 62 batters he’s faced (46.8%) while walking just four.
Like Miller, Armenteros has spent the entire season at Triple-A. He’s been far less successful, though, pitching to a 5.83 ERA with an average 23.1% strikeout rate but an elevated 14.2% walk percentage. Washington will now have a week to trade or waive the 26-year-old, whom they claimed from the Diamondbacks last December. Armenteros was once a decently regarded prospect in the Astros system and still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a rival club that needs rotation depth acquire him in a small transaction.