Minor MLB Transactions: 4/28/21
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Rangers have traded 24-year-old right-hander Leon Hunter to the American League West rival Mariners for cash considerations or a player to be named later, according to an announcement from Texas. Hunter was a 35th-round pick of the Rangers in 2019 who pitched at the rookie and Low-A levels that year. He notched a minuscule 1.38 ERA and amassed 30 strikeouts against just five walks in 25 innings during his first professional action, but with no minor league campaign in 2020, Hunter was unable to build on that quality showing last season.
- The Mets announced that they’ve claimed catcher Deivy Grullon off waivers from the Rays. New York then optioned the 25-year-old to its alternate site. Grullon, whom the Rays designated on April 24, totaled 13 major league plate appearances between the Phillies and Red Sox from 2019-20. In his Triple-A debut in 2019, Grullon batted a productive .283/.354/.496 with 21 home runs in 457 PA.
Mariners Claim Jacob Nottingham, Designate Brandon Brennan
The Mariners announced that they have claimed catcher Jacob Nottingham off waivers from the Brewers. To make room for Nottingham, the Mariners designated right-hander Brandon Brennan for assignment.
Nottingham, whom the Brewers designated last week, will now join his fourth major league organization. He entered the pro ranks as a fourth-round pick of the Astros in 2013 and has also spent time with the Athletics. The 26-year-old was a prospect of some note in his younger days, but he hasn’t gotten an extended look in the bigs. Nottingham has so far amassed 85 plate appearances, all from 2018-20, and batted a playable .203/.306/.432 with five home runs. He’s out of minor league options, so he’ll have to stick on a Seattle roster that has received bottom-of-the-barrel production from catchers Luis Torrens and Tom Murphy in 2021.
The soon-to-be 30-year-old Brennan became a Mariner in December 2018 when they took him from the Rockies in the Rule 5 Draft. Brennan appeared with the Mariners from 2019-20, during which he dealt with oblique and shoulder issues and combined for 54 2/3 innings of 4.45 ERA/4.52 SIERA pitching with a 23.6 percent strikeout rate against a 12.7 percent walk rate. He still has three minor league options left.
Pirates Outright Dustin Fowler
Center fielder Dustin Fowler cleared outright waivers after being designated for assignment last week and has been assigned to the Pirates’ alternate training site, tweets Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He’ll remain with the organization but is no longer on the team’s 40-man roster.
The Pirates acquired Fowler, from the A’s in exchange for cash back in late February. An 18th-round pick of the Yankees back in 2013, Fowler emerged as one of the game’s more highly regarded outfield prospects and was a key piece sent from New York to Oakland in 2017’s Sonny Gray trade. Fowler was injured at the time, having incurred a ruptured patellar tendon when crashing into the wall in foul ground at Chicago’s Guaranteed Rate Field in his MLB debut.
Fowler never managed to right the ship in the big leagues following that injury. He made his A’s debut in 2018 but managed only a .224/.256/.354 batting line in 203 trips to the plate. His work in Triple-A remained solid but not spectacular, and the A’s opted to move on in order to open a roster spot for their surprise signing of Trevor Rosenthal.
Fowler was a sensible roll of the dice for a Pirates club with little in the way of proven options in center field. He opened the year sharing time with fellow former top prospect Anthony Alford, but neither produced whatsoever in the first few weeks of the season. Fowler hit .171/.239/.195 with 20 strikeouts in 46 plate appearances before the Bucs designated him for assignment and turned center field over to Bryan Reynolds. Recent waiver claim and Rule 5 pick Ka’ai Tom figures to see some time out there as well now that he’s cleared intake testing and joined the club.
Fowler and Alford, who were designated for assignment one day apart, will get in some work with the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate when the season gets underway next week and hope to work their way back into the mix for big league playing time. The Bucs seem to prefer Reynolds in left field and don’t have a clear center fielder ready to take over the reins, so it’s certainly possible that either could impress to the point that they receive another look.
Brewers Designate Phil Bickford For Assignment
The Brewers have designated right-hander Phil Bickford for assignment, per a club announcement. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to right-hander Zack Godley, whose contract has been selected from the team’s alternate training site. Manager Craig Counsell indicated last night that Godley’s contract would be selected, and outfielder Corey Ray would be optioned, but the corresponding 40-man move was only revealed this morning.
Bickford, 25, was the No. 10 overall pick by the Blue Jays back in 2013. He opted to attend college rather than sign, but he was again a first-rounder once eligible, going to the Giants with the No. 18 overall selection. San Francisco traded Bickford and catching prospect to Milwaukee in exchange for lefty Will Smith back in 2016, but Bickford has yet to establish himself as a viable big league arm. He’s tossed just two innings in the Majors — one in 2020 and one in 2021 — allowing a total of six runs.
Bickford’s path to the big leagues hasn’t exactly been a straightforward one. He served a 50-game suspension after a second positive test for a drug of abuse in 2017. Upon returning, he was struck in the hand by a batted ball, fracturing both the pinkie and ring finger in his pitching hand, which required surgery to repair. Because of that suspension and surgery, Bickford totaled just 51 2/3 innings from 2017-18.
A return to the mound in a bullpen role in 2019 proved quite fruitful, when Bickford notched a 2.48 ERA and a whopping 41.1 percent strikeout rate in Class-A Advanced, but the lack of minor league games in 2020 and so far in 2021 hasn’t done any favors for his development. All in all, he sports a 2.98 ERA in 226 2/3 frames, but Bickford will also turn 26 this summer and hasn’t pitched above High-A with the exception of those two MLB innings.
The Brewers will have a week to trade Bickford or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. Given his former pedigree, a solid minor league track record and a pair of minor league options remaining, it’s possible that another club will look at him as an intriguing project.
Indians Designate Oliver Perez For Assignment
The Indians have designated veteran lefty Oliver Perez for assignment in order to open a roster spot for righty Nick Wittgren, who has been reinstated from the paternity list, manager Terry Francona announced to reporters this morning (Twitter link via Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal).
It’s a bit of a surprising move, as Perez has pitched well for Cleveland dating back to 2018 and has yet to surrender a run in 3 2/3 innings this season. Francona, however, acknowledged that he’s had a difficult time finding opportunities to deploy Perez — perhaps a nod to the three-batter minimum rule that was implemented in 2020 and is rather limiting for lefty relievers of Perez’s nature. Perez has faced just six lefties in 2021, as opposed to a dozen right-handed batters. He’s done just fine against those right-handers, but as with most lefty relievers, Perez has a rather substantial platoon split over the course of his career.
Career platoon splits notwithstanding, Perez has reinvented himself after washing out as a starting pitcher back in 2010. The 39-year-old has a 3.42 ERA in 350 relief innings dating back to 2012, and he’s been particularly effective in Cleveland after a lackluster two-year run in Washington from 2016-17. In 94 2/3 frames with the Indians, Perez has pitched to a 2.57 ERA (3.22 SIERA) with a strong 28.5 percent strikeout rate against a similarly impressive 6.8 percent walk rate. Lefties have posted a pitiful .203/.254/.297 line through 197 plate appearances against him in that time, but Perez has also held righties to a relatively tepid .220/.306/.341 slash through 186 plate appearances.
Given that recent track record and an affordable base salary of $1.25MM, it’s quite possible that Perez will draw interest from another club — be it via a minor trade or a waiver claim. Were he to go unclaimed on waivers, he’d be eligible to reject any outright assignment in favor of free agency. In that scenario, a new club would only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the MLB roster, with Cleveland on the hook for the remainder of the contract.
Yankees Trade Mike Tauchman To Giants For Wandy Peralta
The Yankees have traded outfielder Mike Tauchman to the Giants for left-handed reliever Wandy Peralta, Jack Curry of the YES Network reports. New York will also receive a player to be named later, the team announced.
This deal sends the 30-year-old Tauchman back to the National League West, where the former 10th-round pick played with the Rockies from 2017-18. Tauchman was unable to establish himself in Colorado, which traded him to the Yankees for lefty Phillip Diehl shortly before the 2019 season.
At first, the Tauchman pickup looked like a steal for the Yankees, as he appeared in 87 games as a reserve in his initial year with the team and slashed a terrific .277/.361/.504 with 13 home runs, six steals and 2.6 fWAR over 296 plate appearances. Tauchman blended that offensive performance with great work among all three outfield positions, combining for 19 Defensive Runs Saved in the grass.
While the 2019 version of Tauchman was a gem, his production and playing time have significantly dwindled since then. Tauchman did appear in 43 games and total 111 PA last season, but he failed to hit a homer, batted a below-average .242/.342/.305 and essentially broke even in the field with zero DRS and a minus-2.2 Ultimate Zone Rating. Meanwhile, fellow Yankees outfielders Aaron Judge, Clint Frazier, Aaron Hicks and Brett Gardner each recorded far superior production, which helped lead Tauchman to fall out of favor.
With Judge, Frazier, Hicks and Gardner returning, Tauchman became an afterthought for the Yankees this year. So far, he has picked up a meager 16 trips to the plate and batted .214/.267/.286 without a homer. Now, the out-of-options Tauchman will provide versatile depth in a Giants outfield that has used Mike Yastrzemski (though he’s currently dealing with a mild oblique issue), Austin Slater, Alex Dickerson, Mauricio Dubon and Darin Ruf, among others, this season. Tauchman won’t reach arbitration for the first time until the upcoming winter, so he could be a multiyear piece for the Giants if he performs to their liking this season.
Peralta, 29, started his career in 2016 with the Reds, who lost him on waivers to the Giants late in the 2019 campaign. Despite 95-96 mph fastball velocity and a career 50.4 percent groundball rate, Peralta has typically had trouble keeping runs off the board. Through 192 2/3 innings, including 8 1/3 this season, Peralta has recorded a 4.72 ERA/4.58 SIERA with unspectacular strikeout and walk percentages of 18.5 and 10.8, respectively.
Peralta still has a minor league option remaining, though he’ll only be eligible for arbitration one more time. For now, Peralta will give the New York organization a third southpaw relief option behind closer Aroldis Chapman and Lucas Luetge. The Yankees have had to go this season without key lefty setup man Zack Britton, who’s on the mend from arthroscopic elbow surgery and probably won’t return until the summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Brewers To Select Zack Godley
The Brewers will select right-hander Zack Godley‘s contract prior to their game against the Marlins on Wednesday, manager Craig Counsell told Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters. Godley is not on the Brewers’ 40-man roster, which is full, so they will have to clear a spot before he makes the start in Miami.
Godley, whom the Brewers signed to a minor league contract last month, will earn at an $800K rate now that he’s back in the majors. The 31-year-old will also temporarily take over in the Brewers’ rotation for left-hander Brett Anderson, who’s on the 10-day injured list with a strained hamstring.
Godley brings a fair amount of experience in teams’ rotations, having started in 88 of 136 appearances since he debuted with the Diamondbacks in 2015. He put together impressive numbers during his best season, 2017, when he threw 155 innings of 3.37 ERA/3.67 SIERA ball with a 55.3 percent groundball rate. Godley has not approached that type of success since then, however, and is now coming off an especially difficult two-year stretch divided among the D-backs, Blue Jays and Red Sox.
Last season in Boston, opposing offenses lit up Godley for 42 hits and nine home runs in 28 2/3 innings, which helped lead to a career-worst 8.16 ERA. Godley, who averaged just under 90 mph on his fastball, also registered a personal-low grounder rate (40.8) and a below-average strikeout percentage (19.6).
Giants Outright Trevor Gott
Giants right-hander Trevor Gott has cleared waivers and been outrighted to the team’s alternate site, Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group tweets. Gott had been in limbo since the Giants designated him for assignment last Tuesday.
This is the second time since February the Giants have outrighted Gott, whom they relied on somewhat heavily as recently as 2019. That season, his first as a Giant, Gott threw 52 2/3 innings of 4.44 ERA/3.73 SIERA ball with a 26.6 percent strikeout rate and a 7.9 percent walk rate.
Gott was unable to build on his 2019 success last season, when he dealt with elbow troubles and tossed just 11 2/3 frames. While the 28-year-old did average an imposing 95.5 mph on his fastball, opposing offenses still smacked him around for 13 earned runs on 13 hits (including seven homers) and eight walks.
Royals Sign Mike Shawaryn To Minor League Deal
The Royals have signed right-hander Mike Shawaryn to a minor league contract, per a team announcement. He’ll presumably head to Triple-A once their season begins next week.
Shawaryn, 26, ranked among the top prospects in the Red Sox’ system from 2017-19 but was hit hard when he finally cracked the big leagues in ’19. Through 20 1/3 frames, he was tagged for 22 runs on the strength of 26 hits (five homers), 13 walks and five hit batsmen. Shawaryn did strike out 29 of the 103 batters he faced (28.2 percent), but the control problems and susceptibility to home runs were an obvious concern.
Shawaryn didn’t pitch in the big leagues last season, but he spent most of the year as part of the Red Sox’ 60-man player pool at their alternate training site. Boston designated Shawaryn for assignment in late August, however, and removed him from the player pool after outrighting him. He was cut loose by the Sox over the weekend, per his transaction log at MLB.com.
Prior to that rough big league debut, Shawaryn had a mostly solid track record in the minors. He’d pitched to a mid-3.00s ERA at Class-A, Class-A Advanced and Double-A, and while he was hit harder in Triple-A, the results were still respectable, particularly given the offensive explosion at that level in ’19. All in all, he has a 3.79 ERA, a 24.5 percent strikeout rate and an 8.7 percent walk rate in 389 1/3 minor league innings. In their 2019 scouting report, Baseball America called Shawaryn a “physical strike-thrower” who could become a “solid medium-leverage reliever” or a back-of-the-rotation starter depending on the development of his changeup.
Mariners Claim Jack Mayfield
The Mariners announced Tuesday that they’ve claimed infielder Jack Mayfield off waivers from the Angels and optioned him to their alternate site. Shed Long was transferred to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding roster move.
The slick-fielding Mayfield now joins his third American League West club. He was signed and developed by the Astros but found his way to the Angels via some offseason waiver maneuverings — briefly stopping in Atlanta but not making it to a Spring Training game before being waived a second time. He’ll give the Mariners some extra infield depth, which is needed in part due to Long’s lingering injury.
Mayfield, 30, appeared in a pair of games with the Angels but was hitless in three trips to the plate. He’s a career .165/.193/.275 hitter in the Majors, but that unsightly batting line comes in a sample of just 115 plate appearances, so it’s hard to glean too much from it. Mayfield carries a much more palatable .268/.325/.475 output in parts of four Triple-A seasons, and he’s regarded as a solid defender who can handle shortstop, second base or third base as needed. He still has a minor league option remaining beyond this year, so he can be an up-and-down depth option for the Seattle infield if he performs well enough to stick on the 40-man roster.