Minor MLB Transactions: 5/15/21
The latest minor league moves from around baseball…
- The Pirates outrighted Hunter Owen to Triple-A, the team announced. The outfielder was designated for assignment earlier this week. A 25th-round pick for the Pirates in the 2016 draft, Owen made his MLB debut this season, and is still looking for his first hit after five plate appearances over three games.
- Right-hander Luis Madero cleared waivers and accepted his outright assignment to the Marlins‘ Triple-A affiliate. The Marlins designated Madero for assignment earlier this week, and he had the option of becoming a free agent since he had previously been outrighted during his career, back in February 2020 when he was a member of the Giants. After signing a minor league contract with Miami in the offseason, Madero made his MLB debut by pitching three innings over two appearances this season.
Brewers Select Hoby Milner, Option Eric Lauer
The Brewers have selected the contract of left-hander Hoby Milner, the team announced. Milner will take the place of Eric Lauer on the active roster, as Lauer was optioned to Triple-A.
The move could essentially just be a way for Milwaukee to get a fresh arm in the bullpen, as Lauer threw 55 pitches over three innings in yesterday’s 6-3 loss to the Braves. Lauer’s future also won’t be in the bullpen, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy notes that the team plans to stretch Lauer out as a starter since the Brew Crew will be adopting a six-man rotation for the upcoming stretch of the schedule.
Lauer has already made two starts for Milwaukee this season, to go along with two relief appearances. The southpaw has a very solid 2.81 ERA/3.23 SIERA over 16 innings this season, as well as an above-average 24.6% strikeout rate and an outstanding 3.1% walk rate. On the down side, Lauer has allowed five home runs over those 16 innings.
Milner signed a minors contract with the Brewers last winter and now looks to get some action in his fifth MLB season. The lefty has a 4.53 ERA over 55 2/3 career innings with the Phillies, Rays, and Angels, with most of that experience coming in the form of 31 1/3 frames for Philadelphia in his 2017 rookie season. Milner has struggled since that first year, despite doing a good job of limiting hard contact.
Rangers Select Hunter Wood, Designate Jack Kruger
The Rangers announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Hunter Wood and designated catcher Jack Kruger for assignment. They also optioned lefty Wes Benjamin to Triple-A Round Rock.
Wood is now in line for his first major league action since 2019. The Rangers signed Wood to a minor league contract last offseason after he spent 2020 with the Cleveland organization, though he didn’t appear in the bigs. The 27-year-old has pitched to a solid 3.32 ERA/4.22 SIERA with a 21.6 percent strikeout rate and an 8.0 percent walk rate in 86 2/3 innings between the Rays and Indians.
Kruger joined the Rangers as a waiver claim from the Angels on May 9, but he’s back in limbo in less than a week. He didn’t even take an at-bat with the Rangers before they designated him. As a minor leaguer, the 26-year-old has topped out in Double-A ball, where he has hit .262/.309/.354 in 560 plate appearances.
Cubs Activate Ian Happ, Designate Ildemaro Vargas
The Cubs have activated outfielder Ian Happ from the 10-day injured list and designated infielder Ildemaro Vargas for assignment, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.
Happ is returning after spending the minimum amount of time on the IL with a rib contusion. Before that, Happ got off to an uncharacteristically slow start with the bat, evidenced by a .167/.307/.250 line with two home runs in 109 plate appearances. Happ’s strikeout, groundball and fly ball rates have all trended in the wrong direction, which helps explain his poor production, though he has dealt with some bad fortune. The 26-year-old’s .245 batting average on balls in play is easily a career low, and he’s well above average in such Statcast categories as hard-hit percentage and average exit velocity.
This is the second time since the end of March that the Cubs have designated Vargas, who has appeared in nine of their games and taken 24 trips to the plate this season. The 29-year-old has batted .143/.250/.238 with no home runs.
Twins To Place Jake Cave On 60-Day IL, Select Rob Refsnyder
The Twins will place outfielder Jake Cave on the 60-day injured list with a fracture in his back and select the contract of infielder/outfielder Rob Refsnyder, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
The 60-day placement means Cave won’t return until at least the middle of July, which is a blow to the Twins’ outfield depth. Cave has played all three outfield positions this year and has totaled the team’s second-most appearances in center field after starter Byron Buxton, who is on the injured list with a strained hip. Fellow outfielder Alex Kirilloff, meanwhile, has been out of commission for almost all of May with a sprained wrist, and Kyle Garlick is playing through a groin injury.
While Cave has offered defensive flexibility, his offensive production has left much to be desired dating back to last season. He was a valuable offensive contributor for the Twins from 2018-19, during which he combined for a .262/.329/.466 line with 21 home runs in 537 plate appearances. But Cave had trouble at the plate last year and has put up a career-worst .167/.239/.262 line with one long ball and 35 strikeouts in 93 PA this season.
Cave’s injury will lead to another major league opportunity for the 30-year-old Refsnyder, whom the Twins signed a minor league contract in the offseason after he appeared in 15 games with the Rangers in 2020. Refsnyder has only hit .217/.305/.297 with four home runs in 457 major league PA.
Mets Select Jake Hager, Designate Trevor Hildenberger
The Mets have selected the contract of infielder Jake Hager and designated right-handed reliever Trevor Hildenberger for assignment, according to Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News. The team also optioned outfielder Khalil Lee to Triple-A Syracuse.
Hager was the 32nd overall pick of the Rays back in 2011, but he hasn’t played in the majors to this point. The 28-year-old has seen action in Triple-A ball in five seasons, including this one, and batted .243/.291/.373 with 22 home runs in 1,112 plate appearances at that level. He got off to a sizzling start in the minors this year en route to a promotion, slashing .405/.436/.703 with three home runs in 39 PA as a member of the Syracuse club.
Hildenberger, 30, joined the Mets in the offseason on a minor league contract. They promoted the former Twin in early April, but opposing offenses scored four runs off him on on three hits and three walks over 2 1/3 innings and two appearances. That continued a difficult run in the majors for Hildenberger, who has pitched to a 5.52 ERA in 133 2/3 frames. The Mets will have a week to trade, release or pass him through waivers.
Angels Acquire Hunter Strickland
The Rays have traded right-handed reliever Hunter Strickland to the Angels, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Tampa Bay will receive cash considerations or a player to be named later in return, per an announcement from the Angels.
The 32-year-old Strickland joined the Rays on a minor league contract over the winter, and he wound up holding his own during his short stint with the club after it promoted him in early April. Strickland bounced back from a rough two years divided among the Mariners, Nationals and Mets to log a meager 1.69 ERA (with a less spectacular 3.76 SIERA) across 16 innings and post a 24.2 percent strikeout rate against a 9.1 percent walk rate as a Ray.
Strickland will now return to California, where he spent the first five years of his career in San Francisco. Over 226 frames as a Giant from 2014-18, Strickland recorded a 2.91 ERA/3.80 SIERA with a 22.6 percent strikeout rate and an 8.4 percent walk rate. Production along those lines (or the type of numbers he put up as a Ray) would be welcome for the Angels, whose bullpen has struggled mightily during their 16-21 start. Angels relievers own both the majors’ fourth-worst ERA (5.32) and K-BB percentage (10.7).
Braves Sign Jonathan Lucroy
The Braves have signed catcher Jonathan Lucroy to a minor league contract, according to David O’Brien and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Lucroy will report to Triple-A Gwinnett.
The 34-year-old Lucroy had been looking for a team since the Nationals designated him for assignment April 12, though he was choosy in selecting a club. Lucroy reportedly turned down multiple minor league offers in hopes of scoring a guaranteed deal, but that was a tough sell when considering how the former star’s career has gone since his 2010-16 heyday with the Brewers and Rangers.
Lucroy spent parts of 2017-19 with five different teams – the Rangers, Rockies, Athletics, Angels and Cubs – but didn’t experience much success outside of Colorado during that span. He combined to hit .248/.315/.350 with 18 home runs and minus-0.1 fWAR across 1,263 plate appearances in those three seasons, and his once-ballyhooed pitch-framing ability eroded at the same time. As a result, he has appeared in just six games since last year (one with the Red Sox and five with the Nationals).
Lucroy will now lend some depth to a Braves team in need of it behind the plate. Starter Travis d’Arnaud underwent surgery on a torn thumb ligament earlier this month and won’t return until at least July. Likewise, Alex Jackson has been out all month with a strained hamstring. And Tyler Flowers, whom the Braves re-signed to a minors pact May 6, decided to retire Friday. Atlanta is now down to William Contreras and Jeff Mathis as its top two options at the big league level.
Angels Activate Anthony Rendon, Designate Jon Jay
The Angels have activated third baseman Anthony Rendon from the 10-day injured list and designated outfielder Jon Jay for assignment, the team announced.
The Angels are welcoming back Rendon from his second IL stint of the young season. He went on the shelf on April 12 with a left groin strain and landed back on it May 5 with a left knee contusion. When Rendon has been well to play, he has continued to offer high-end production, having slashed .276/.348/.466 (131 wRC+) with three home runs in 66 plate appearances. The Angels used Phil Gosselin and Jose Rojas at the hot corner during Rendon’s most recent trip to the IL.
Jay has yo-yoed on and off the Angels’ 40-man roster this year, as this is already the second time the club has designated him since the middle of April. The 36-year-old has gone 5-for-14 with all singles this season.
Padres Place Drew Pomeranz On 10-Day IL, Select Ivan Castillo
The Padres have placed reliever Drew Pomeranz on the 10-day injured list with a left shoulder impingement and selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Ivan Castillo, Dennis Lin of The Athletic tweets.
This adds to a long history of injuries for Pomeranz, who spent time on the IL in 2020 – his first season of a four-year, $34MM contract – with a shoulder strain. Pomeranz more recently dealt with left forearm tightness during the spring, but he was ready to go when Opening Day arrived. Since then, he has continued to serve as an integral part of the Padres’ bullpen with a 1.98 ERA/2.98 SIERA and a strong 35.7 percent strikeout rate against a less impressive 12.5 percent walk rate over 13 2/3 frames. Additionally, Pomeranz ranks second on the team in holds (five), which will make him even more difficult to replace.
The injury to Pomeranz opens the door for the 25-year-old Castillo, who’s set for his big league debut. Castillo has already made his Triple-A debut this year and slashed an excellent .444/.516/.519 with two stolen bases across 31 plate appearances. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked the 5-foot-9 switch-hitter 34th in the Padres’ deep farm system earlier this week and wrote that “[h]e has fantastic feel for contact.” The question is whether that will transfer to the majors.