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Giants Designate Rob Brantly For Assignment

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The Giants announced this afternoon that they’ve designated catcher Rob Brantly for assignment. His spot on the roster goes to fellow backstop Chadwick Tromp, whose contract has been selected.

Brantly, 31, appeared in just one game with the Giants and went 0-for-3 before today’s DFA. He’d been thrust into an unexpectedly prominent role, teaming with Tyler Heineman to shoulder the bulk of the catching load for the Giants after Buster Posey opted out of the 2020 season. The well-traveled veteran has seen action in parts of six MLB seasons, hitting at a combined .228/.292/.330 clip in 432 plate appearances. He has a solid 28 percent caught-stealing rate from behind the dish but much less favorable number in terms of pitch framing.

In moving from Brantly to Tromp, the Giants will take a look at a younger option who has a career .275/.353/.439 slash in part of the three Triple-A seasons. The 25-year-old, Aruban-born Tromp spent his entire pro career with the Reds organization prior to 2020, but he became a minor league free agent last winter and latched on with the Giants. He’ll now get his first look at the MLB level. Joey Bart is considered to be the Giants’ future everyday catcher, but a strong showing from Tromp could put him in line to serve as a backup or part-time option down the road.

Mets Designate Tyler Bashlor For Assignment

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The Mets announced Tuesday that they’ve designated right-hander Tyler Bashlor for assignment. His roster spot will go to southpaw David Peterson, who is being selected to the 40-man roster for his MLB debut.

Bashlor, 27, has seen time in the Majors in each of the past two seasons but hasn’t yet stood out. Over 54 frames in the big leagues, the former 11th-round pick has a 5.33 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9. Bashlor averages 96 mph on his heater, but he’s an extreme fly-ball pitcher (career 31.2 percent ground-ball rate) who has averaged two home runs per nine inning pitched in the Majors.

Bashlor does have a sharp track record in Double-A and Triple-A, which, combined with his high-end fastball spin (97th percentile) and a remaining minor league option, could make him appealing to another organization in need of some bullpen depth. The Mets have a week to trade Bashlor, place him on outright waivers or release him.

Marlins Claim Mike Morin

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The Marlins have claimed righty Mike Morin from the Brewers, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports on Twitter. The Miami organization is continuing to gather big league-capable players amidst a coronavirus-driven roster reshuffling.

Morin, 29, split the 2019 campaign between Minnesota and Philadelphia, logging a combined 4.62 ERA with a 26-to-10 K/BB ratio in 50 2/3 frames. Morin punched out 95 hitters in his first 94 MLB frames from 2014-15 but has since seen his strikeout numbers plummet. He made the Brewers’ Opening Day roster but was quickly jettisoned when the Brewers welcomed southpaw Eric Lauer back from the Covid-19 injured list. Morin has had multiple effective seasons but has struggled to find consistency at the MLB level. He’ll bring 224 innings of MLB experience, a 4.65 ERA and a much better 3.60 FIP to a Marlins bullpen that is undergoing a rapid reconstruction following the team’s outbreak.

Mets To Sign Bruce Maxwell

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The Mets have agreed to a deal with catcher Bruce Maxwell, per Tim Healey of Newsday (via Twitter). He’ll report to the team’s alternative training site once he passes a physical and gets a pair of clean coronavirus tests.

Maxwell is unquestionably best known for his decision to kneel during the playing of the National Anthem when he played for the Athletics in 2017. He drew a lot of attention of all kinds at the time, which only increased the spotlight on his later arrest and subsequent plea arrangement. ESPN.com’s Howard Bryant has authored an important account of Maxwell’s situation.

The A’s dropped Maxwell in the wake of the 2018 season, in which he performed poorly on the field in addition to his off-field troubles. He has not suited up with another affiliated organization since.

Maxwell, now 29, did have a successful 2019 showing in the Mexican League. Over 487 plate appearances, he turned in an excellent .325/.407/.559 slash and hit 24 home runs.

David Peterson To Debut For Mets

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The Mets will promote well-regarded pitching prospect David Peterson to start tonight’s game, according to Tim Healey of Newsday (via Twitter). That’ll require active and 40-man roster moves to make way for Peterson.

Peterson, 24, is a former first-round selection who has shown well in a steady march up the ladder. Last year, he worked to a  4.19 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 over 116 innings at the Double-A level.

The Mets are in a bit of a pickle with their pitching staff. Corey Oswalt struggled in a spot start in the place of the injured Marcus Stroman, who’s still hopeful of a quick rebound.

Bringing up Peterson now appears to set him up to log a full year of service, if he can stick in the big leagues, based upon a pro rata conversion to the typical 172-day scale. Waiting just one more day would’ve foreclosed that possibility, but the Mets are obviously angling to win now and need the start this evening.

Athletics Release Daniel Gossett

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The Athletics have released right-hander Daniel Gossett and added fellow righty Ben Bracewell to their 60-man player pool, the club announced. Bracewell will report to the A’s alternate training site in San Jose.

Oakland designated Gossett for assignment last week after a couple of years of struggles in the majors and then a pair of injury-ruined seasons. Now 27 years old, the former second-round pick (2014) recorded a 5.91 ERA/5.67 FIP with 6.54 K/9 and 3.03 BB/9 in 115 1/3 innings and 23 starts as an Athletic from 2017-18 before undergoing Tommy John surgery in the latter of those seasons. He hasn’t taken a major league mound since June 3, 2018, though potential selling points for other clubs include a 2.87 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 128 1/3 Triple-A frames and one more minor league option.

Bracewell, 29, hasn’t gotten an opportunity to pitch in the majors yet, having been a career-long A’s minor leaguer since debuting as a professional in 2014. He spent parts of the previous three seasons in Triple-A ball and has done a respectable job at the minors’ top level, where he has pitched to a 3.88 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 174 innings.

Braves Designate Mike Foltynewicz For Assignment

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The Braves have decided to designate righty Mike Foltynewicz for assignment, manager Brian Snitker told reporters including MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (via Twitter). He’ll be replaced by reliever Chad Sobotka on the active roster.

This certainly rates as an early-season stunner. The 28-year-old Foltynewicz has had his ups and downs in Atlanta, to be sure. He was an All-Star just two seasons ago before experiencing enough difficulty last year that the Braves demoted him to the minors in late June. However, Foltynewicz rebounded when the Braves recalled him in early August, and they’re now committed to paying him a pro-rated portion of his $6,425,000 salary this season — unless another team makes a claim — and will be giving up another season of arbitration control.

Foltynewicz certainly didn’t look himself in his season debut today, coughing up six earned runs and three long balls while lasting just 3 1/3 innings in a blowout loss to the Rays. More importantly, he demonstrated a collapse in velocity that has been a concern during the pre-season ramp up.

“His stuff hasn’t been there,” Snitker told David O’Brien of The Athletic and other reporters in regards to Foltynewicz, who has averaged better than 95 mph on his fastball since he debuted with the Astros in 2014 but is now struggling to hit 90.

It seems as if the Braves have simply seen enough to determine that Folty won’t find another gear in 2020. No doubt the club will now count upon another team to take over the salary obligations — if not also to kick in something of value in return. Despite his current issues, Foltynewicz’s age and track record of production suggest any number of teams could take a chance on him. To this point, he has thrown 682 2/3 innings of matching 4.27 ERA/FIP ball with 8.6 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 at baseball’s highest level.

Atlanta, meanwhile, continues to deal with unexpected changes in its rotation. Perhaps in an ideal situation, Foltynewicz would have made up one-fifth of the back-to-back NL East champions’ starting staff alongside Mike Soroka, Max Fried, Cole Hamels and Felix Hernandez. Now, though, the only ones standing are Soroka and Fried – before the Foltynewicz DFA, Hamels went on the 45-day injured list because of a triceps issue and Hernandez opted out of the campaign as a result of coronavirus concerns.

Without Folty, Hamels and Hernandez, the Braves are down to Sean Newcomb and Kyle Wright as complements to Soroka and Fried. And while the likes of Jhoulys Chacin and Josh Tomlin carry plenty of experience as starters, Snitker said the Braves could use an opener instead of a traditional rotation option for the time being.

Pirates Activate Gregory Polanco

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The Pirates have activated outfielder Gregory Polanco from the injured list. To create space, the team optioned Jason Martin to the team’s alternate training site.

Polanco had been sidelined by COVID-19. Thankfully, it seems he has recovered and is back to full health.

The Bucs will be glad to see the outfielder back in action. He has looked at times like a potential star but struggled quite a bit while battling injuries in 2019. Polanco is owed $11MM next year with successive club options thereafter.

Marlins Claim Josh Smith From Reds

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The Marlins have claimed a second hurler from the Reds, per a team announcement. Southpaw Josh D. Smith will also go to Miami via waiver claim, joining Justin Shafer.

Smith, 30, appeared briefly last year with the Marlins and Indians. He’s now the second hurler by the same name in the Miami organization.

This is one of several roster moves the Marlins are working through. The club is in the midst of an extremely worrying COVID-19 outbreak, with at least 11 players sidelined after positive tests.

White Sox Place Reynaldo Lopez On IL; Select Ryan Goins & Designate Cheslor Cuthbert

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The White Sox announced that they have placed righty Reynaldo Lopez on the injured list with a shoulder strain. His timeline is not yet known. Fellow righty Ian Hamilton will take the active roster opening.

The South Siders have also made a switch in the infield. They’ve selected the contract of Ryan Goins and designated Cheslor Cuthbert for assignment.

Lopez was bludgeoned for four earned runs in less than an inning of work in his 2020 debut. He had been hoping for a full and healthy campaign to rebound from a rough ’19 effort and set the stage for his first trip through arbitration.

Fortunately for the Chicago organization, the team’s top backup plan is still in place. Veteran southpaw Gio Gonzalez will step into the rotation opening.

Goins was just added to the White Sox mix after being released by the Athletics. The 32-year-old is a proficient defender but only a .230/.279/.335 career hitter.

Cuthbert, 27, had only received one plate appearance in the early going. He caught on with the White Sox after wrapping up a six-season run with the Royals, over which he turned in a .250/.300/.378 batting line.

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