Blue Jays Sign Christian Colon
The Blue Jays have signed veteran infielder Christian Colon, per an announcement from the Kansas City Monarchs of the independent American Association — the team for which Colon had been slated to begin his 2021 season. Presumably, it’s a minor league pact for Colon, giving the Jays some additional infield depth with the expected start of the Triple-A season looming in early May.
“We as an organization are extremely happy that Christian Colon is getting this opportunity with the Toronto Blue Jays,” said Monarchs manager Joe Calfapietra in a statement announcing the news. “We are very excited for the possibilities of Christian playing again in Kansas City but even more excited that he is getting this chance. We all wish him the very best.”
Now 31 years old (32 in May), Colon was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2010 draft and a member of the Royals’ 2014-15 World Series rosters. Colon had only one at-bat during that victorious 2015 World Series, but to call it a big one would be an understatement; he delivered a pinch-hit, go-ahead single during the 12th inning of the decisive Game 5.
Overall, Colon’s time with the Royals didn’t align with the expectations that naturally come with such a lofty draft status. He spent parts of four years in the Majors with Kansas City, batting .269/.323/.329 in 348 plate appearances while playing multiple infield positions. He’s since bounced to the Marlins, Braves, Mets and Reds organizations, though of that quartet, he only appeared in the big leagues with Miami and Cincinnati. Most recently, he appeared in 19 games for the Reds from 2019-20, going 6-for-29 with a double, a stolen base, a walk and three strikeouts.
Colon is a career .249/.312/.310 hitter in 418 Major League plate appearances and a .292/.361/.408 batter in parts of eight seasons at the Triple-A level (2415 plate appearances). He’s spent the bulk of his career in the middle infield, with more than 3000 pro innings at both shortstop and second base. Colon also has more than 1600 innings of work at third base under his belt in addition to a handful of appearances at first base and in left field.
Astros To Activate Jose Altuve, Place Jake Odorizzi On 10-Day IL
5:43pm: Houston has also optioned infielder Abraham Toro and moved righty reliever Pedro Baez from the 10-day IL to the 60-day version, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic tweets. Baez inked a two-year, $12.5MM contract in free agency, but he hasn’t made his Astros debut yet. He began the season on the COVID-19 list, and then the Astros moved him to the 10-day IL on April 10 because of shoulder soreness.
3:13pm: The Astros will activate second baseman Jose Altuve from the COVID-19 list and place right-hander Jake Odorizzi on the 10-day injured list, Mark Berman of Fox 26 was among those to report. The team has also recalled righty Peter Solomon.
Altuve hasn’t played since April 13 on account of a positive COVID test. Before that, the former AL MVP got off to a strong .318/.380/.455 start over 50 plate appearances. The Altuve-less Astros primarily turned to Aledmys Diaz at the keystone during Altuve’s absence, and he performed well as a fill-in, evidenced by his .245/.327/.388 line through 55 trips to the plate.
Odorizzi is dealing with a right pronator muscle strain that forced him to exit his start against the Angels on Saturday after he threw just five pitches. Signed to a two-year, $23MM contract before the season, Odorizzi has been the weakest link in the Astros’ rotation thus far, having yielded nine earned runs on nine hits (including three homers) with 11 strikeouts against three walks in eight innings. The Astros expect Odorizzi to miss two starts.
Cubs Place Austin Romine On 10-Day IL, Select Tony Wolters
The Cubs have placed catcher Austin Romine on the 10-day injured list with a left wrist sprain and selected the contract of fellow backstop Tony Wolters, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com was among those to report. The team also moved right-hander Jonathan Holder to the 60-day IL because of a shoulder issue.
This is the second IL stint of 2021 for Romine, an ex-Yankee and Tiger who joined the Cubs on a $1.5MM guarantee in free agency to replace departed backup catcher Victor Caratini. Romine has collected just nine plate appearances and one hit in a reserve role behind Willson Contreras.
Wolters also inked a major league pact with the Cubs heading into the season, after he opted out of a minors contract with the Pirates. The former Rockie appeared in three games with the Cubs earlier this season, but they outrighted him when Romine returned from his prior IL trip. Wolters is a well-regarded defender, though he has only mustered a .237/.323/.318 line with seven home runs in 1,237 plate appearances in MLB.
Brad Brach Elects Free Agency
Veteran reliever Brad Brach has cleared outright waivers and elected free agency, Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star reports. The Royals designated Brach for assignment on Saturday.
Brach had a short stay on the Royals’ roster, as the team designated him just one day after selecting his contract. The 35-year-old right-hander joined the Royals on a minor league contract over the winter, which came after the Mets designated him.
Brach has seen major league action with five teams since he debuted with the Padres in 2011, and he has enjoyed a solid career. Through 522 2/3 innings, Brach has registered a 3.39 ERA/3.78 SIERA with a 25.1 percent strikeout rate and an 11.1 percent walk rate. Unfortunately, though, Brach’s production has gone downhill dating back to 2019. Between the Cubs and Mets over the previous two seasons, he tossed 66 2/3 frames of 5.66 ERA ball (with a more palatable 4.91 SIERA) and logged a 24.7 percent strikeout rate against a 15.0 percent walk rate. While Brach has normally averaged around 94 mph on his fastball, that number dipped to a personal-worst 90.4 last year.
Brewers Select Pablo Reyes
The Brewers have selected the contract of utility player Pablo Reyes and optioned outfielder Corey Ray, the team announced.
A member of the Pittsburgh organization from 2012-20, Reyes joined the Brewers on a minor league deal this past winter. An 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs wiped out Reyes’ 2020 season, but he did see major league action in each of the previous two campaigns. The 27-year-old made an impressive debut over 63 plate appearances in 2018, but his production plummeted across a much larger sample size (157 PA) the next season. Overall, Reyes has batted .229/.295/.368 with five home runs in 220 trips to the plate at the game’s highest level.
Defensively, Reyes has played both middle infield positions, third base and all three outfield spots in the majors. Even if Reyes doesn’t hit well, he’ll at least give the Brewers a defensively versatile option off their bench.
Cubs Select Trevor Megill
The Cubs have selected the contract of right-hander Trevor Megill, placed righty Rowan Wick on the 60-day injured list and optioned RHP Jason Adam, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.
Megill, 27, entered the professional ranks as a seventh-round pick of the Padres in 2015, but they lost him to the Cubs during the 2019 Rule 5 Draft. Thanks in part to the lack of a minor league season, the 6-foor-8 Megill didn’t pitch a year ago, though he did log solid production among High-A, Double-A and Triple-A in 2019. That year, Megill tossed 60 2/3 innings of 3.86 ERA ball and averaged 10 strikeouts against 1.9 walks per nine. Megill added a 4.32 ERA with 12 strikeouts and two walks in 8 1/3 innings this past spring.
Wick was one of the Cubs’ most effective relievers from 2019-20, during which he combined for a 2.66 ERA with a 25.7 percent strikeout rate, a 10.3 percent walk rate and a 48.1 percent groundball rate over 50 1/3 frames. An intercostal strain has prevented Wick from taking the mound this year.
Rangers Select Hyeon-Jong Yang, Option Leody Tavares
The Rangers have selected the contract of left-hander Hyeon-Jong Yang, the team announced. In corresponding moves, Leody Taveras was optioned to the alternate training site, while infielder Ronald Guzman (who underwent season-ending knee surgery on Friday) was moved to the 60-day injured list.
After signing a minor league contract with Texas during the offseason, the 33-year-old Yang will now get his first crack at the major leagues, and also lock in a $1.3MM guarantee for reaching the Rangers’ active roster. Beginning his career with the Kia Tigers in 2007, Yang has posted a 3.83 ERA and 19.77% strikeout rate over 1986 career innings in KBO action.
2020 wasn’t one of his finer seasons, as Yang had a 4.70 ERA over 172 1/3 frames and a spike in his walk rate. However, at the cost of $1.3MM and a minors deal, the Rangers felt it was worth seeing what Yang could do in North American baseball, even if he can just eat some innings at the back of the rotation. Yang has tossed at least 171 1/3 innings in each of the last seven seasons, and durability was only part of his appeal, as that seven-year stretch also included two league ERA titles, the KBO MVP Award in 2017, and a championship ring with the Tigers that same year as Yang won Korean Series MVP honors.
That said, it isn’t yet clear if the Rangers will use Yang in the rotation or if he’ll be deployed in their injury-riddled bullpen. Texas already has several left-handers among their current relief options, though Yang could be used in a long relief or swingman role to get him accustomed to MLB hitters.
Taveras made his own Major League debut in 2020 and posted some respectable numbers over 134 plate appearances, but he hasn’t hit at all this season, with only an .087/.160/.087 slash line in 50 PA. Taveras’ demotion should fully clear the way for more playing time for Adolis Garcia in center field.
Phillies Activate Jose Alvarado, Matt Moore; Select Odubel Herrera
The Phillies have activated left-handers Jose Alvarado and Matt Moore from the injured list and selected the contract of center fielder Odubel Herrera, per a club announcement. The team optioned lefty Bailey Falter, righty Spencer Howard and outfielder Mickey Moniak in corresponding moves.
The Phillies went the past week without Alvarado and Moore, whom they placed on the COVID list along with infielder Ronald Torreyes on April 19. None of those players tested positive for the virus.
The most noteworthy move here is the return of Herrera, a 29-year-old who last appeared in the majors in 2019. Herrera was a standout with the Phillies earlier in his career, leading the team to sign him to a five-year, $30.5MM extension heading into the 2017 season. Two years later, though, Major League Baseball issued an 85-game suspension to Herrera for a violation of the MLB-MLBPA joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy. The Phillies outrighted Herrera in January 2020, and he was off their 40-man roster until today.
Philadelphia’s hope is that Herrera will provide a spark in center, which has been a problem position for the club this season. The Phillies have divided playing time among Moniak, Adam Haseley and Roman Quinn, though their production has been horrid. They’ve hit a combined .114/.213/.177, which pales in comparison to Herrera’s lifetime .276/.333/.423 mark through 2,492 plate appearances.
Twins Reinstate Andrelton Simmons From COVID List
Andrelton Simmons is back in the Twins lineup, as the team reinstated the shortstop off of the COVID-19 injured list. Infielder Nick Gordon was optioned in the corresponding move, and Gordon will remain on the Twins’ taxi squad.
Simmons tested positive for the coronavirus on April 14, and had “very mild” symptoms, according to manager Rocco Baldelli. Fortunately, Simmons has been able to return in relatively short order, and will now look to continue what had been a red-hot start to the season. After signing a one-year, $10.5MM free agent deal in the offseason, Simmons began his Minnesota tenure by hitting .355/.474/.452 over his first 38 plate appearances. While that level of production isn’t likely to continue, an above-average hitting performance from Simmons (akin to his numbers in 2017-18 with the Angels) paired with his usual stellar glovework would make him a major addition for the Twins.
Gordon was called up from the alternate training site on Friday, but he is still looking to make his official MLB debut after not getting into any games over the weekend. It was Gordon’s first Major League call-up since being selected with the fifth overall pick of the 2014 draft.
Orioles Select Jay Flaa’s Contract
The Orioles have selected the contract of right-hander Jay Flaa, the team announced. The Orioles already had an opening on their 40-man roster, and room was created on the 26-man active roster when left-hander Zac Lowther was optioned to the alternate training site.
A sixth-round pick out of North Dakota State in the 2015 draft, Flaa has a 3.41 ERA and 26.75% strikeout rate over 258 2/3 minor league innings. Working as a reliever in all but three of his 165 professional games, Flaa has been able to miss some bats but he has also had some control issues, posting a below-average 11.25% walk rate. As the Orioles continue to explore and audition multiple pitchers during their rebuild, Flaa will get a chance in the team’s bullpen, and is on track to make his Major League debut at age 28.
Lowther made his own debut just yesterday, tossing an inning of scoreless relief in Baltimore’s 8-1 victory over the Athletics. Lowther will now head back to the alternate site after his cup of coffee in the bigs, as the southpaw was only called up prior to Sunday’s game.