Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Transactions

Yankees Place Tommy Kahnle On IL, Recall Jordan Montgomery

By | at

9:20pm: Kahnle will “likely” require Tommy John surgery, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

5:03pm: The Yankees have announced a pair of roster moves in advance of tonight’s game. Righty Tommy Kahnle was moved to the 10-day injured list with what the team termed a “right ulnar collateral ligament injury.” He’ll be replaced by southpaw Jordan Montgomery.

That’s a worrisome addition to earlier news on Kahnle, who had previously been described as suffering from forearm tightness. The reliever was slated to undergo an MRI and visit team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad.

Soon to turn 31, Kahnle had seemed primed to occupy an important role in the Yanks’ pen in 2020. After a rough 2018 showing, he bounced back last season by throwing 61 1/3 innings of 3.67 ERA ball with 12.9 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.

Montgomery is moving in precisely the other direction. The 27-year-old has been limited to eight appearances over the past two seasons owing to Tommy John surgery. He’s now hoping to regain the promising trajectory he was on before the elbow woes arose.

Kohl Stewart Opts Out Of 2020 Season

By | at

Orioles hurler Kohl Stewart has opted out of the 2020 season, the team announced. He will receive his salary and service time because he was in a heightened risk category.

As Stewart discussed in a statement, he has type 1 diabetes. He says he’s at least pausing his participation. O’s manager Brandon Hyde made clear that the team supports his decision.

This was surely a tough call for the 25-year-old. While he was once a #4 overall draft pick, Stewart washed out with the Twins and entered the season hoping for a fresh start after the O’s signed him to a minor-league deal over the offseason. He started the season on the active roster but had not yet appeared in game action.

Stewart has been added to MLBTR’s list of players that have opted out of the 2020 season.

Rangers Select Greg Bird, Jimmy Herget; Designate Ariel Jurado

By | at

The Rangers announced they’ve selected the contracts of first baseman Greg Bird and righty Jimmy Herget. To create 40-man space, the team designated righty Ariel Jurado for assignment.

Bird, 27, turned in an impressive showing upon his call-up in 2015 but has fallen flat since. He dealt with numerous injuries and couldn’t replicate his early success with the Yankees. The Texas org picked him up on a minors deal over the offseason.

As for Herget, who’s closing in on his 27th birthday, this’ll be his second look. He threw 6 1/3 innings last year with the Reds, failing to record a strikeout. In 58 1/3 Triple-A frames last year, he worked to a 2.91 ERA with 10.4 K/9 against 5.5 BB/9.

Jurado, 24, was dropped after getting quite a few looks over the past two seasons. He carries a 5.85 ERA in his 177 career innings at the game’s highest level. He hadn’t yet appeared in 2020.

Aroldis Chapman Cleared To Return To Yankees

By | at

Star closer Aroldis Chapman is headed back to the Yankees, per ESPN.com’s Marly Rivera (Twitter link). Having previously tested positive for COVID-19, he had to register a pair of negative tests.

It isn’t yet clear whether Chapman will jump right onto the active roster at this time. He hit the injured list on July 11th, so he has been out of action for a decent stretch, but perhaps he won’t require much of a ramp-up if he has been able to throw while on the sideline.

The Yanks worked out a new deal last fall with Chapman, who could’ve opted out and tested free agency. The 32-year-old is earning a pro-rated portion of a $16MM salary this year and will be due the same in each of the next two campaigns.

It’s good to hear that Chapman was able to clear the virus in short order. And it’s obviously also great news for the back of the Yankees pen. Chapman’s flamethrower of a left arm wasn’t quite as hot last year, when he averaged a mere 98.2 mph on his four-seam fastball, but he offset that by gaining confidence in his slider.

Even in his slightly less-dominant form, Chapman remained an absolute force. He threw 57 innings of 2.21 ERA ball last year, sporting a 14.1% swinging-strike rate while allowing just 0.47 homers per nine.

White Sox Promote Nick Madrigal, Designate Kelvin Herrera

By | at

The White Sox have called up second baseman Nick Madrigal, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). His promotion had been anticipated but was not yet confirmed to be imminent.

Reliever Kelvin Herrera was designated for assignment to create 40-man and active roster space. He was in the second season of a two-year, $17MM deal.

Madrigal, the fourth overall pick in the 2018 draft, will not have a chance to accrue a full season of MLB service. He will, however, be on track to ultimately qualify for arbitration after the 2022 season as a Super Two player.

It’ll certainly be fun to watch the 23-year-old in the majors. He has quite an unusual skillset, with negligible power but otherworldly contact ability and plate discipline.

A consensus top-50 prospect leaguewide, Madrigal have to keep hitting and walking at a tremendous rate to be an above-average MLB hitter. Last year, over the three highest levels of the minors, he logged 532 plate appearances of .311/.377/.414 hitting. Though he managed only four home runs, Madrigal amazingly struck out only 16 times while drawing 44 walks.

As exciting as it is for the Sox to welcome Madrigal, bidding adieu to Herrera represents an acknowledgement of a disappointment. The 30-year-old signed his contract after recovering from a major foot procedure but just hasn’t returned to form.

As MLBTR’s Connor Byrne examined in depth recently, the once-excellent reliever has struggled mightily in Chicago. He limped to a 6.14 ERA in 51 1/3 innings in 2019 and was shelled for four earned runs over his first two outings in 2020. Worst still, his typically upper-nineties fastball velocity has drooped to about 94 mph thus far this season.

With the decision, the White Sox will owe Herrera the remainder of the pro-rated portion of his $8.5MM salary this year. They’ll also still have to pay him a $1MM buyout on a 2020 vesting/club option.

Cubs Sign Cody Allen To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Cubs announced Friday that they’ve signed right-hander Cody Allen to a minor league contract and assigned him to their alternate training site in South Bend. The team’s player pool is now up to 58.

It wasn’t that long ago that Allen, 31, was considered one of the game’s best closers. He’s struggled considerably over the past two seasons, but from 2013-17, Allen was a ninth-inning buzzsaw in Cleveland, pitching to a 2.59 ERA and 2.86 FIP with 122 saves, 11.9 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and 0.86 HR/9.

In the two years since that dominant stretch, though, Allen’s average fastball has dipped by a bit more than three miles per hour. He stumbled to a 4.70 ERA in his final year prior to free agency but was still able to land a sizable one-year deal with the Halos. Unfortunately, he was clobbered for an ERA north of 6.00 and cut loose before the season had even reached the halfway mark. Allen carries a 5.10 ERA with 109 strikeouts against an unpalatable 53 walks in his past 90 MLB frames.

Two years ago, a bullpen featuring both Allen and Craig Kimbrel would’ve been the envy of 29 other teams in the league. Both pitchers have seen rapid downturns in performance now, however. The Cubs badly need one or both former stars to figure things out, as their patchwork bullpen has already proven to be a major weakness early in 2020. Chicago relievers have already yielded 20 runs on 18 hits and a ghastly 20 walks in just 18 2/3 innings. Seven of those hits have left the yard.

Giants Outright Kean Wong, Jose Siri

By | at

The Giants announced Thursday that infielder Kean Wong and outfielder Jose Siri have cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Sacramento.

Wong was not in the Giants’ 60-man player pool, which means he’s technically still eligible to be added to the pool and selected to the big league roster this season. Siri, who was in the player pool, remains in the organization but cannot be added back to the pool — at least not with the Giants. Siri is still eligible to be traded elsewhere by virtue of beginning the season on a 40-man roster/Major League contract; that’s the same rule that allowed the Orioles to trade Hector Velazquez to the Astros yesterday even though he’d previously been removed from Baltimore’s player pool (also via outright).

Wong, the younger brother of Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong, was the Rays’ fourth-round pick back in the 2013 draft and made his MLB debut as a September call-up with Tampa Bay last year. He barely saw any big league time (seven games) but enjoyed a second consecutive quality season at the plate, hitting .307/.375/.464 slash with 10 homers, 29 doubles, six triples and six steals. Offense was elevated throughout the league in Triple-A, but Wong’s output checked in at 16 percent better than league average, as measured by wRC+. Primarily been a second baseman in his minor league career, Wong has also seen time at third base and in the outfield.

Siri, 24, spent the 2013-19 seasons in the Reds organization after signing as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic. At one point he was considered one of the Reds’ best prospects, but the shine has worn off him in recent years. Siri raked at a .293/.340/.531 clip with 24 homers and 46 stolen bases as a 21-year-old in Class-A back in 2017, but in the two seasons since that time he’s posted a disappointing .238/.297/.397 slash between Double-A and Triple-A.

Rangers To Select Greg Bird, Jimmy Herget

By | at

The Rangers will select the contracts of first baseman Greg Bird and right-hander Jimmy Herget prior to tomorrow’s game, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Texas already opened a 40-man roster spot by putting injured closer Jose Leclerc on the 45-day IL, but they’ll need to create another spot tomorrow. First baseman Ronald Guzman has already been optioned to the Rangers’ alternate training site, per the Rangers’ press release announcing Leclerc’s injury.

Bird inked a minor league deal with Texas over the winter. The longtime Yankees prospect at one point looked like the first baseman of the future in the Bronx, when he debuted at 22 and slashed .261/.343/.529 slash with 11 homers through just 46 games back in 2015. Unfortunately for Bird, he missed the entire 2016 campaign after shoulder surgery and has been hobbled by injuries since. Lingering ankle issues required another surgery for the slugger, and his 2019 campaign was torpedoed by plantar fasciitis. With the emergence of Luke Voit, the Yankees cut Bird loose rather than tender him a contract this winter.

Now 27, Bird joins the Rangers’ roster as a lifetime .211/.301/.424 hitter. He’s not expected to serve as the everyday first baseman — that role is handled by veteran Todd Frazier — but Bird will be mixed in there and at designated hitter on occasion. In the meantime, Guzman, a former top prospect himself, will get some time to work things out at alternate camp.

As for Herget, he’ll be getting his second look in the Majors after debuting with the Reds a year ago. He only tossed 6 1/3 frames with Cincinnati and allowed three runs in that time. The 2015 sixth-round pick carries a career 3.12 ERA with better than a strikeout per frame in 150 2/3 Triple-A innings, but he’s also averaged four walks per nine in that time.

Dodgers Designate Terrance Gore For Assignment

By | at

The Dodgers announced Thursday that they’ve designated outfielder Terrance Gore for assignment and recalled lefty Victor Gonzalez from their alternate training site.

Gore, 29, appeared in a pair of games with the Dodgers but didn’t get an at-bat, as he entered those contests as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement. That’s how things have gone in the bigs for much of Gore’s career. His blistering speed has made him a frequent pinch-running and defensive specialist, but he has just 77 plate appearances in parts of seven MLB seasons, including 2020. The Royals gave Gore a career-high 58 plate appearances last year, and he posted a solid .275/.362/.353 slash in that small sample. However, Gore carries a .213/.307/.269 slash in 492 Triple-A plate appearances.

The 24-year-old Gonzalez will be making his MLB debut when he first gets into a game. He soared through three minor league levels last season, pitching to a combined 2.31 ERA with averages of 9.3 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and 0.7 HR/9 through 89 2/3 frames along the way. Gonzalez regularly generates strong ground-ball rates and is considered to be among the Dodgers’ top 30 or so best prospects. He worked more in relief than in the bullpen last season, and although the Dodgers have had multiple injuries pop up in their rotation, it seems the ’pen is where Gonzalez will begin.

Manager Dave Roberts announced to reporters today that right-hander Tony Gonsolin will get the starting nod tomorrow (Twitter link via J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group), so he’ll need to be recalled from the alternate training site tomorrow.

Diamondbacks Promote Daulton Varsho

By | at

4:38pm: The D-backs have formally announced the moves. Varsho’s contract has been selected, and Cron has been optioned to Salt River Fields.

1:50pm: The Diamondbacks are set to promote top catching prospect Daulton Varsho to the big leagues, as James Fox of FutureSox.com first reported (via Twitter). Varsho isn’t on the 40-man roster, so his contract will need to be formally selected. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 tweets that first baseman/designated hitter Kevin Cron is being optioned to alternate camp in a corresponding move.

Daulton Varsho

Varsho, 24, entered the season widely considered to be among the game’s 100 best prospects. A second-round pick back in 2017, Varsho spent last season in Double-A, where he hit .301/.378/.520 with 18 home runs and 21 steals. Varsho ranked as the game’s No. 29 prospect on Keith Law’s preseason rankings at The Athletic and checked in at No. 34 on Kiley McDaniel’s list at ESPN.com. Baseball America (56), FanGraphs (61) and MLB.com (75) all rank him among the game’s best young talents as well. His father, Gary, spent part of eight seasons in the Majors from 1988-95, seeing time with the Cubs, Pirates, Reds and Phillies.

While the younger Varsho is a catcher first and foremost, he’s capable of playing all over the diamond. McDaniel calls him a passable defender at first base, second base, in the outfield corners and even in center field, citing his plus speed and athleticism. That ability to bounce all over the field would seem particularly valuable for a D-backs club that has demonstrated a fondness for carrying three catchers for several years now. Varsho can still serve as a backup for starter Carson Kelly and veteran Stephen Vogt behind the dish. Unlike most third catchers, though, he can get worked into the lineup on a fairly regular basis by spelling others on the diamond.

Even though we’re just a week into the season, enough time has passed that the D-backs have gained an additional year of control over Varsho by keeping him down this long. (Service time, like salary, is prorated this year.) As such, Arizona can control Varsho all the way through the 2026 season. He’d still be on track to be a surefire Super Two player and reach arbitration four times, but that’s typically of lesser concern for most organizations than delaying free agency entirely. Of course, those timelines could still change if Varsho is ultimately sent back down to alternate camp (or optioned to the minors in subsequent seasons).

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top