Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Transactions

Indians Designate Hunter Wood For Assignment

By | at

The Indians announced this morning in setting their 30-man roster for Opening Day that right-hander Hunter Wood has been designated for assignment. The organization needed a 40-man space to clear way for the selection of righty Dominic Leone, infielder Mike Freeman and right-hander Cam Hill.

Wood, 26, has plenty of success with the Rays in his first season-plus at the MLB level before being traded to Cleveland alongside Christian Arroyo last summer. He posted decent numbers with the Indians following the trade and carries a career 3.32 ERA and 4.04 FIP in 86 2/3 MLB frames, so it’s a bit of a surprise to see him on the outside looking in. It’s quite possible that another club with more questionable bullpen depth will have interest in swinging a deal for Wood, who has high-end spin and above-average velocity on his four-seamer. Barring that, he could generate interest on the waiver wire.

Cleveland will have a week to either trade Wood, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him, although it’s tough to envision the latter of the three.

Rockies Option Brendan Rodgers; Peter Lambert Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

By | at

The Rockies have set their 30-man, Opening Day roster, per a club announcement. Notably, top infield prospect Brendan Rodgers did not make the cut and has been optioned to the team’s alternate site. The club also revealed that righty Peter Lambert, who has been sidelined with forearm pain, underwent Tommy John surgery and has been placed on the 45-day injured list. Placing Lambert on the 45-day IL opens a 40-man spot which was needed to accommodate the selection of non-roster players Matt Kemp, Daniel Bard and Chris Owings, which were reported last week.

That Rogers didn’t make the cut comes as something of a surprise. Shoulder surgery torpedoed his would-be debut campaign last year — he received 81 plate appearances before being injured — but the former No. 3 overall pick is still viewed as a top prospect and vital part of the Rockies’ future. While he won’t begin the year with the club, it still seems safe to expect that Rodgers will get a decent run in the big leagues this year, so long as he’s healthy. With Trevor Story entrenched at shortstop through at least 2021, Rodgers’ most immediate path to the everyday lineup is at second base.

The addition of the universal DH in 2020 should allow Colorado to play Daniel Murphy at DH more, with Ryan McMahon occupying first base, which would ostensibly clear a spot for Rodgers. For the time being, though, perhaps the preference is to get Garrett Hampson and McMahon some reps at the keystone while continuing to work Rodgers back into to MLB readiness.

The loss of Lambert not only for this season but for most or all of 2021 also stings for the club. He wasn’t expected to open the year in the Rockies’ rotation, but he was considered to be among the organization’s premier pitching prospects heading into 2019 and even made the back of some top 100 rankings at the time. Last year’s MLB debut didn’t go well to say the least — 72 runs in 89 1/3 innings — but Lambert only recently turned 23 this summer. He may be out until the 2022 season at this point, though he’s at least young enough that he has ample time to bounce back and still establish himself in the big leagues while in the midst of his prime years.

Rangers Select Gibaut, Refsnyder, Volquez

By | at

The Rangers have settled on their roster mix to begin the season. Righties Ian Gibaut and Edinson Volquez have made the team along with outfielder Rob Refsnyder. All will be selected to the 40-man roster.

A roster spot was opened when the team outrighted lefty Yohander Mendez. The club also announced that hurlers Rafael Montero and Joely Rodriguez will begin the season on the injured list.

Mariners Sign Bryan Shaw, Place Tom Murphy On Injured List

By | at

The Mariners announced this morning that they’ve signed veteran right-hander Bryan Shaw to a Major League deal. It was reported earlier this week that Shaw, who was recently released by the Rockies, was expected to sign in Seattle. He’ll go right onto the 30-man roster for the Mariners. Seattle also placed catcher Tom Murphy on the 10-day IL with a fractured metatarsal in his left foot and added catcher Joe Odom to the 60-man player pool.

Shaw, 32, was an absolute workhorse out of the Indians’ bullpen for the better part of a decade but struggled immediately upon joining the Rockies on a three-year deal prior to the 2018 season. He’s earning $9MM on that pact, but the Mariners will only be responsible for the prorated league minimum for any time he spends on the roster. The Rockies are on the hook for the rest.

Over the past two seasons in Colorado, Shaw has been hammered for a 5.61 ERA as his HR/9 rate more than doubled from his Cleveland days. It might be easy to assume that’s attributable to Coors Field and Denver’s altitude, but Shaw wasn’t demonstrably better on the road as a Rockie than he was at home; in fact, he pitched much better at Coors Field in 2019 than he did away from Colorado.

That said, prior to his ugly tenure with the Rox, Shaw was a prominent setup man who’d rattled off a a 3.13 ERA and 3.52 FIP in 446 1/3 MLB frames between the D-backs and Indians. With a track record like that and plenty of uncertainty in the Seattle ’pen, it’s not hard to see why Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto felt it worth taking a look. Shaw could have some high-leverage work early in the year even, particularly with Austin Adams opening the year on the injured list.

As for Murphy, it’s a tough blow for the former Rockies top prospect who enjoyed a breakout with the Mariners in 2019. He’d been expected to begin the year as the team’s starting catcher — his first-ever Opening Day as a primary backstop — but that role will now go to Austin Nola. The converted infielder turned heads in the upper minors with the Marlins after his position change and eventually broke through in the big leagues last year with a .269/.342/.454 showing in 79 games as a 29-year-old rookie.

Brewers Select Mike Morin, Set Opening Day Roster

By | at

The Brewers on Thursday announced their 30-man roster for Opening Day. Within they revealed that they’ve selected righty Mike Morin the Major League roster. He joins previously announced non-roster invitees Logan Morrison and Justin Grimm in making the club. The Brewers will also bring up righty J.P. Feyereisen to make his MLB debut, though he was already on the 40-man roster.

The 29-year-old Morin is no stranger to the Midwest, having been born in Minnesota, raised in St. Louis and previously pitched for both the Twins and Royals. He 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’ll bring 224 innings of MLB experience, a 4.65 ERA and a much better 3.60 FIP to a deep Milwaukee bullpen.

Cubs Select Phegley & Brothers, Designate Robel Garcia; Zaguns Opts Out

By | at

The Cubs have settled upon their roster to open the 2020 campaign. Catcher Josh Phegley and reliever Rex Brothers both made the cut, so they’ll be added to the 40-man roster.

To clear room, the Cubs announced several 40-man departures. Utilitymen Robel Garcia and Daniel Descalso are both off of the list; the former was designated for assignment and the latter was placed on the 45-day injured list. Also moving off of the MLB roster was outfielder Mark Zagunis, who opted out of the 2020 season.

Orioles Select Pat Valaika, Place John Means On Injured List

By | at

The Orioles have selected the contract of infielder Pat Valaika, per a club announcement. He’ll join the 40-man and active rosters to open the season. Baltimore also placed lefty John Means on the injured list alongside righties Hunter Harvey and Dillon Tate.

A career .214/.256/.400 hitter who has shown plenty of pop from the right side of the dish, Valaika has experience at each of second base, shortstop and third base. However, he’s also punched out in nearly 29 percent of his trips to the plate in the big leagues, which has contributed significantly to his inability to reach base at a passable rate. Valaika does have a minor league option remaining and a career .275/.315/.498 slash 695 Triple-A plate appearances, making him a reasonable depth option for the rebuilding Orioles to carry on the roster even if he doesn’t break camp with the club this spring.

Means, last year’s AL Rookie of the Year runner-up, would’ve been Baltimore’s Opening Day starter but has been slowed recently by some arm fatigue. The organization has downplayed its severity and noted that Means had a similar issue last year that caused him to miss only one start. For the time being, there’s no indication that they expect the absence to be lengthy, but it’s nonetheless a tough blow to the young lefty, who enjoyed an out-of-the-blue breakout last season and was surely honored by the Opening Day nod. That start will go to journeyman left-hander Tommy Milone instead.

Harvey, once one of MLB’s top prospects, has seen his career decimated by injury but has worked his way back into Baltimore’s bullpen mix after several lost seasons. He could very well be in the team’s closer mix at some point this year or next, assuming he’s healthy. Tate, too, is another former high-end prospect and was a top-five overall draft pick that simply hasn’t developed as hoped. The Orioles are his third club — he went from the Rangers to the Yankees in the Carlos Beltran swap and then the Yankees to the O’s in the Zack Britton trade. At this point, the hope is that Tate, like Harvey, can emerge as a late-inning bullpen piece.

Dodgers Select Terrance Gore, Option Dustin May

By | at

The Dodgers have made a few final roster decisions in advance of their opening contest, as reflected on their transactions page (h/t Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times, on Twitter). Speedy outfielder Terrance Gore has been selected to the 40-man roster, while young righty Dustin May was optioned to the team’s alternative training site.

It’s easy to see the merits of carrying a speed demon like Gore with expanded rosters early in the season. The 29-year-old has never hit much at any level, but he’s among the fastest players in recent MLB memory. Gore’s pinch-running prowess was on full display with the 2014-15 Royals World Series clubs, and he’ll give the Dodgers some additional range in the outfield should they wish to use him in that capacity as well. Gore seems like the type of player who may eventually be set to alternate camp when the roster is trimmed to 28 and eventually 26 players, but he’ll give the club a unique weapon off the bench early in the year.

As for May, he’ll head to alternate camp to continue getting some work in while the Dodgers rely on a more experienced starting staff that features Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Alex Wood, Ross Stripling and Julio Urias. There are some obvious potential service time benefits to sending May down to begin the year, but given that he already accrued more than a third of a season of service last year, that might not be the sole motivation. He’d need to spend several weeks in the minors to fall shy of a full year and extend the club’s control over him.

May, 22, is considered one of the game’s premier prospects and turned in a 3.63 ERA with a 32-to-5 K/BB ratio in 34 2/3 frames as a rookie in 2019. He maintains that rookie status into 2020.

Athletics Designate Daniel Gossett For Assignment

By | at

The Athletics have announced their Opening Day, 30-man roster, revealing a series of transactions in the process. Oakland has designated right-hander Daniel Gossett for assignment in order to make room on the 40-man roster for fellow righty Daniel Mengden, who has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. The A’s also formally placed southpaw A.J. Puk on the 10-day IL and optioned catcher Jonah Heim to their alternate site. Puk has been recently hampered by shoulder troubles, and it was reported two days back that he’d miss at least a couple of weeks.

Gossett, 27, hasn’t pitched since 2018 thanks to Tommy John surgery. He was limited to 24 1/3 innings that year and has yet to enjoy much in the way of success at the MLB level. Be that as it may, though, he has a nice track record in the upper minors, including a career 2.87 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 128 1/3 innings in a very hitter-friendly Triple-A Pacific Coast League.

Gossett was a second-round pick back in 2014 and breezed through the minors before running into rough waters at the MLB level. Given that background and the fact that he still has a minor league option remaining, it’s certainly possible that a starter-hungry club will want to speculate on the right-hander. Oakland will have a week to trade Gossett, place him on outright waivers or release him.

Rays To Select Contract Of Ryan Thompson

By | at

11:03am: Southpaw Aaron Loup will also be selected to the 40-man and added to the Opening Day roster, the club has announced. He had been in camp on a minor-league deal.

8:09am: The Rays have decided to carry sidearmer Ryan Thompson on the Opening Day roster, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. He’ll be selected to the 40-man roster today.

It’ll certainly be interesting to see whether Thompson can carve out a MLB career after an impressive showing during this year’s two training periods. The former minor-league Rule 5er will finally get his first shot after first reaching the upper minors in 2016.

Thompson, 28, is said to deliver a low-nineties heater from an unusually low angle. It’s “pretty, pretty nasty” stuff, according to skipper Kevin Cash. Topkin goes on to discuss the final remaining roster calls facing the Rays, who’ll have to make formal decisions today.

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