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Giants Release Tyson Ross, Nick Vincent

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The Giants have released former MLB hurlers Tyson Ross and Nick Vincent, KNBR’s Mark Sanchez reports on Twitter. Also cut loose was utilityman Jamie Westbrook.

Ross and Vincent are each 33-year-old righties who had inked minor-league deals in the offseason. The former is best known for his days in the Padres rotation. The latter, a reliever, was also once an effective hurler in San Diego as well as with the Mariners.

Though he struggled in limited big league action last year, and has never recovered from serious shoulder injuries, Ross has a lifetime 4.04 ERA in ten MLB campaigns. He didn’t have much hope of cracking the starting staff, but was perhaps a multi-inning relief candidate. Ross struggled in his three outings in camp before the pandemic paused the action.

As for Vincent, he struggled with the long ball during a stint with the Giants last year. But he turned in a strong 14-inning run to end the season — 1.93 ERA with 17:4 K/BB — with a Phillies team that was managed by new Giants skipper Gabe Kapler. Vincent had coughed up three homers and seven earned runs in four Spring Training frames.

Westbrook has yet to appear in the majors, having reached minor league free agency after seven seasons in the Diamondbacks system. He turned in 514 plate appearances of .281/.358/.451 hitting in the upper minors last year, but obviously didn’t show enough in camp for the Giants to keep him in their 60-man player pool.

Rangers Will Not Include Brian Flynn In 60-Man Player Pool

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The Rangers on Friday advised left-hander Brian Flynn that he will not land a spot on Texas’ 60-man player pool, MLBTR has learned. The former Royals southpaw had been in Spring Training on a minor league deal.

Flynn, 30, spent the 2016-19 seasons in Kansas City, working to a combined 3.76 ERA with 6.3 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 0.66 HR/9 and a 49.4 percent ground-ball rate in 162 2/3 frames. He’s primarily worked as a reliever throughout his big league career, although he’s made six starts between the Royals and his earlier seasons in Miami.

The 2019 season was particularly rough for Flynn, as a UCL sprain early in the year limited him to 29 1/3 innings. He struggled to a 5.22 ERA upon returning from that injury, turning in a 22-to-17 K/BB ratio and a 42.4 percent grounder rate that was a ways off the 52 percent mark at which he’d sat during his best seasons.

Back during the initial version of Spring Training, Flynn had allowed one run on two hits and four walks with eight strikeouts in six innings of work.

*The original version of this post indicated that Flynn had been released. MLBTR has since learned that he will not be released from his contract but will not be part of the club’s 60-man player pool.

Braves Place Jeremy Walker On 45-Day Injured List

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The Braves announced Friday that they’ve placed right-hander Jeremy Walker on the newly created 45-day injured list due to a right shoulder impingement. The issue initially arose in the original Spring Training, David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets. The 45-day IL took the place of the 60-day IL given the shortened nature of the 2020 season, so shelving Walker in this manner opens a 40-man spot for Atlanta.

Walker, 25, made his big league debut with the Braves in 2019. In 9 1/3 frames, he allowed a pair of runs on nine hits and four walks with six punchouts. Prior to that, the 2016 fifth-rounder had split the season between Double-A and Triple-A, where he compiled a combined 2.88 ERA with a sterling 82-to-11 K/BB ratio in 81 1/3 innings.

The Braves previously had a full 40-man roster, and while this could free them up to make a move now that MLB’s transactions freeze has been lifted — be it a signing, trade or waiver claim — they also had several non-roster veterans in camp who seemed likely to be added to the 40-man roster. Felix Hernandez, Charlie Culberson and Josh Tomlin were all non-roster invitees, and each of the three appeared to have a solid chance at making the club even before Opening Day rosters were set to expand to 30 players.

Amateur Draft Signings: 6/25/20

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A look at the latest post-Round 1 signings from this year’s draft class…

  • The Mariners have signed second-round outfielder Zach DeLoach and fifth-round right-hander Taylor Dollard, the team announced. DeLoach, the 43rd overall pick, will make full slot value of $1,729,800, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports. The ex-Texas A&M outfielder ranked as MLB.com’s 79th-best pre-draft prospect. Dollard, the 137th choice, also signed for slot value ($406K), Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com tweets. The former Cal Poly hurler was MLB.com’s No. 184 prospect entering the draft.
  • The Rays have signed second-rounder Ian Seymour, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The former Virginia Tech left-hander reached a deal worth $1,243,600, full slot value for his pick (No. 57), according to Robert Murray. Keith Law of The Athletic rated Seymour as the No. 94 prospect available heading into the draft, writing that he has a “very funky” delivery and could have a chance to amount to something more than a back-end starter if he improves one of his three pitches (fastball, changeup, breaking ball).
  • The Cardinals announced that they’ve reached an agreement with Arkansas high school right-hander Tink Hence, the 63rd overall pick. Financial details are unknown, but the recommended slot value checks in at $1,076,300. The Cardinals acquired the Competitive Balance Round B selection they used on Hence in a noteworthy trade with the Rays in January. Hence entered the draft as the 123rd-ranked prospect available at Baseball America. He committed to the University of Arkansas before the draft.
  • The Reds have inked fourth-rounder Mackenzie Wainwright, Callis tweets. The 113th overall pick signed for his full slot value, $512,400. While shin issues have hampered Wright, Callis observes that the Ohio high schooler outfielder and Ohio State recruit possesses “projectable power” and a “solid arm.”

Yankees Sign First-Rounder Austin Wells

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The Yankees have signed 28th overall pick Austin Wells, he announced on Twitter. The catcher agreed to a $2.5MM bonus, Jack Curry of the YES Network reports. That just about matches the $2,493,900 recommended slot value of his selection.

The Yankees have long been after Wells, whom they drafted in the 35th round in 2018. But Wells elected to attend the University of Arizona, where he upped his stock by slashing .357/.476/.560 with seven home runs in 351 plate appearances. As a result, the 20-year-old went into this month’s draft ranking in the vicinity of where the Yankees took him, as Baseball America rated Wells 21st among available prospects, MLB.com placed him 27th, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel put him at 36, FanGraphs had him 40th, and he checked in at 44 on the list of Keith Law of The Athletic.

As his numbers with the Wildcats show, Wells thrived as a hitter in college, and MLB.com writes he “has power to all fields, with good timing and a simple setup at the plate.” There are questions over whether Wells will make it as a catcher in the pros, but his bat and athleticism could make him a viable first baseman or corner outfielder if he doesn’t stick at his current spot. MLB.com likens Wells to the Cubs’ Kyle Schwarber, an ex-catcher who has become a slugging outfielder in the majors.

Diamondbacks Sign First-Round Pick Bryce Jarvis

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The Diamondbacks have signed their top draft pick, 18th overall selection Bryce Jarvis, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. The right-hander agreed to a bonus worth $2.65MM, which comes in well under the recommended slot value of $3.48MM.

Jarvis, the son of former major league righty Kevin Jarvis, was a 37th-round pick of the Yankees a year ago, but he opted against signing. That proved to be a wise decision by the former Duke Blue Devil, who logged a a 2.81 ERA with 12.0 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 150 1/3 innings at the school. Notably, he and Mets righty Marcus Stroman are the only first-rounders Duke has produced to this point.

Jarvis entered the draft as a top 25 prospect according to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (No. 21), FanGraphs (No. 23), The Athletic’s Keith Law (No. 24), and MLB.com (No. 25). McDaniel wrote that Jarvis has taken a major step forward of late, owing to increased arm speed and an improved breaking ball. Along with the breaker, the 22-year-old’s repertoire includes a mid-90s fastball and a quality changeup.

Mets Sign First-Rounder Pete Crow-Armstrong

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The Mets have signed first-round pick Pete Crow-Armstrong, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com tweets. He’ll earn the full slot value of his selection, No. 19, with a $3,359,000 bonus.

The 18-year-old Crow-Armstrong, an outfielder from Los Angeles, committed to Ohio State prior to the draft. He entered the proceedings as a top 25 prospect according to Keith Law of The Athletic (No. 10), Baseball America (No. 17), ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (No. 18), MLB.com (No. 20) and FanGraphs (No. 25). Law, the biggest fan of Crow-Armstrong among the bunch, praised his all-around game, especially his defense in center field, writing, “The defensive and positional value give him a higher floor than most teenagers in the class have, and the possibility for a 60 bat with 50 power gives him a star ceiling.”

The Crow-Armstrong deal leaves the Mets with just one unsigned draft pick, second-rounder J.T. Ginn, whose selection (No. 52) comes with a recommended value of $1,403,000. The Mets still have about $2.6MM left in their draft pool, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, so it seems they’re in good position to sign Ginn.

Tigers Release Alex Wilson

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The Tigers announced Thursday that they’ve granted right-hander Alex Wilson his release. He’d been in Spring Training as a non-roster invitee to camp prior to the league’s shutdown.

Wilson, 33, had a successful stint with the Tigers from 2015-18 when he racked up 264 2/3 innings of relief and pitched to a 3.20 ERA/3.87 FIP with 5.9 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 46.4 percent ground-ball rate. He opened the 2019 season with the Brewers and struggled greatly, though, allowing more than a run per inning in 11 1/3 frames before being cut loose.

Back in May, Wilson spoke to Chris McCosky of the Detroit News about the uncertainty he was feeling as a veteran non-roster player in limbo. Wilson, who was working on reinventing himself as a side-armer, said at the the time he hoped expanded rosters and the organization’s familiarity with him would position him well for a bullpen job. Today’s announcement makes clear that the rebuilding Tigers didn’t feel that to be the case. With myriad younger options available, the Tigers could simply use expanded rosters as a means of evaluating less-experienced options who could be part of the club’s long-term outlook.

While MLB’s transactions freeze won’t lift until tomorrow, it’s worth clarifying that said freeze only applies to the Major League roster. We’ve seen teams throughout the game cut a number of minor leaguers and non-roster invitees over the past month, and Wilson becomes the latest in that long line of names.

However, by granting Wilson his release now, the Tigers will give him a bit of extra time to gauge interest from other clubs in hopes of finding a new club with which he can spend a rebooted Spring Training. Teams are required to submit to the league a 60-name list of players who can participate in their restarted training camps by Sunday, although those lists aren’t concrete and are subject to change pending transactions.

Amateur Draft Signings: 6/24/20

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Several more draft picks from the second through fifth rounds have agreed to deals with their first-ever major league organizations. Here are the latest updates…

  • The Cardinals announced the signing of second-round pick Masyn Winn on Wednesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch relays. Winn will earn $2.1MM, which is above the $1,338,500 recommended slot value of his pick (No. 54), per Jim Callis of MLB.com. Winn, a Texas high school shortstop/right-hander who committed to Arkansas before the draft, is a legitimate prospect on both ends, according to Callis.
  • The Red Sox have reached a deal on a $1.75MM bonus with third-round choice Blaze Jordan, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. It’s a well-above-slot pact for Jordan, a high school third baseman from Mississippi whose pick (89) came with a recommended value of $667,900.
  • The Rangers have inked a pair of picks, third-rounder Tekoah Roby and fifth-rounder Thomas Saggese, TR Sullivan of MLB.com tweets. Roby, a high school righty from Florida who went 86th overall, signed for $775K (recommended slot value: $699,700). Despite coming off the board much later at 145, Saggese received $800K – easily above the $375,200 slot. Saggese is a high school shortstop from California.
  • The Rockies announced the signings of third-round left-hander Sam Weatherly (Clemson) and fifth-round shortstop Jack Blomgren (Michigan). Financial details aren’t yet known in either case. Weatherly’s pick (81) came with a slot value of $755,300, while Blomgren’s (140) was assessed at $394,300.
  • Mets fifth-rounder Eric Orze landed a deal for just $20K, Callis reports. His pick, No. 150, was worth a much more lucrative $357,100. As Callis notes, it’s easy to root for Orze, who has overcome cancer twice. On the mound, the righty from the University of New Orleans offers “an above-average, 92-95 mph fastball, an average slider and an above-average splitter,” Baseball America writes.

Padres Sign 34th, 45th Overall Draft Picks

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The Padres have signed supplemental first-round pick Justin Lange and second-rounder Owen Caissie, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets (links: 1, 2). Lange will earn $2MM, while Caissie agreed to a bonus worth $1,200,004.

As the 34th overall pick, Lange’s selection came with a recommended value of $2,148,100. The Texas-based high school right-hander and Dallas Baptist recruit’s stock rose over the past year, thanks in part to a fastball that has skyrocketed to the 95 to 100 mph range. According to Baseball America, which ranked him as the 50th-best player in this year’s draft class, “Lange has all of the foundational pieces to be an impact pitcher at the next level.” That said, there are concerns about his command and his slider, per BA.

Caissie – the 45th choice – also signed for below slot, as his pick came with a recommended value of $1,650,200. The Canadian high school outfielder, who committed to Michigan before the draft, brings “super-projectable power,” above-average running and a big arm to the table, per Callis. BA only ranked Caissie as the 180th overall player before the draft, though MLB.com was much more bullish in placing him 75th.

With the Padres having secured Lange, Caissie and three other picks, they’re down to one unsigned selection – third-round righty Cole Wilcox. Money shouldn’t stand in the way a deal, though, as Wilcox’s pick (No. 80) carries a slot value of $767,800 and, as Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune points out, the Padres can still spend up to $3.3MM more.

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