Rangers Activate Shin-Soo Choo From Injured List
The Rangers have activated outfielder/DH Shin-Soo Choo from the 10-day injured list, and the veteran slugger will be in the lineup for what might be his last game in a Texas uniform. To create roster space for Choo, infielder Sherten Apostel was placed on the 10-day IL with lower back tightness.
A right hand has kept Choo out of action since September 7, and the 38-year-old has a .229/.317/.394 slash line over 126 PA for Texas this season. While Choo has said that he wants to keep playing in 2021, today’s game could serve as something of a final bow on his seven seasons with the Rangers. Choo signed a seven-year, $130MM free agent contract during the 2013-14 offseason that ultimately didn’t provide the return Texas was looking for in such a big investment.
Choo has hit a decent but unspectacular .260/.363/.428 over 3479 PA for the Rangers, good for an 109 OPS+ and 111 wRC+. This production was rather offset, however, by subpar defense in the corner outfield, and Choo spent quite a bit of time as a designated hitter. All told, Choo has generated 8.8 fWAR as a Ranger.
It remains to be seen if a player of Choo’s age and somewhat limited skillset will be able to catch on with another team in 2021, but his left-handed bat is still quite potent against right-handed pitching. Choo has consistently mashed righties over his career, and even in this down year still has a .766 OPS in 88 PA against right-handers.
Tigers Place Willi Castro On Injured List
9:52AM: Castro has been officially placed on the IL, the Tigers announced, and infielder Sergio Alcantara has been added to the active roster.
8:26AM: Tigers shortstop Willi Castro left Saturday’s game in the second inning due to right shoulder soreness, and manager Lloyd McClendon told The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen and other reporters that Castro will be placed on the 10-day injured list. The placement will allow the Tigers to add a healthy player to the roster for today’s final game of the regular season schedule (barring more potential action on Monday, depending on what happens with the Cardinals’ playoff situation).
Castro seemed to tweak his shoulder during a swing, though he finished his plate appearance and even delivered an RBI single for what ended up being the winning run in a 4-3 Tigers victory over the Royals. Castro was replaced by a pinch-runner after his hit, bringing a premature end to an outstanding rookie season. After posting only a .624 OPS over 110 PA in 2019, Castro exploded to hit .349/.381/.550 with six homers over 140 plate appearances this season.
A .448 BABIP is undoubtedly a big contributor to Castro’s production, and his Statcast numbers reveal some mediocre hard-hit ball and exit velocity totals. That said, Castro’s 9.6% barrel rate is above-average (64th percentile) and his .365 xwOBA is respectably close to his .387 wOBA. There’s plenty here for the Tigers to like about the 23-year-old, who came to the Motor City in the trade deadline swap with the Indians in 2018 that saw Leonys Martin head to Cleveland.
Castro seems to have earned himself a place in Detroit’s infield mix going forward, though it remains to be seen if he’ll stick at shortstop given a lackluster (-3.3 UZR/150, -7 Defensive Runs Saved) defensive showing over 212 1/3 innings at the position this season. Niko Goodrum delivered much better glovework when playing shortstop, so the Tigers could opt to try Castro out at second or third base in 2021. Conversely, Castro could get a longer look at shortstop to see if his defense can improve with more seasoning, and the Tigers could move Goodrum back into his old superutility role.
Angels Place Luis Rengifo On 10-Day Injured List
Prior to tonight’s game, the Angels announced that infielder Luis Rengifo had been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain. Righty Jaime Barria was also optioned to the team’s alternate training site, while the two open roster spots were filled by infielder Jahmai Jones and right-hander Luke Bard, both called up from the alternate site.
It’s been an altogether tough year for Rengifo, who hit only .156/.269/.200 over 106 PA and also had another IL stint due to hamstring problems at the start of the season. Rengifo didn’t do much with quite a bit of regular playing time this year, as he was needed at second base since Tommy La Stella often played at first base and Andrelton Simmons‘ injury meant David Fletcher moved over to shortstop.
This performance came after Rengifo was on the verge of being traded back in February, as the Angels walked away at the last moment from a deal that would have sent Rengifo to the Dodgers as part of a trade package for Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling to Anaheim. While Rengifo is only 23 and has less than two years of MLB service time to his name, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see his name again surface in trade talks this winter.
Jones is back in the big leagues after a one-game cup of coffee earlier this season that saw him make his MLB debut as a pinch-runner but not actually take the field or receive an at-bat. (Jones was in the Angels’ starting lineup and doubled in his first plate appearance tonight, however.) A second-round pick for the Angels in the 2015 draft, Jones was a consensus top-100 prospect as recently as the 2017-18 offseason, though a pair of unimpressive years at Double-A lowered his stock. The 23-year-old Jones has a career .258/.338/.386 slash line over 2159 PA in the minors, and has mostly played second base over the last two years but has plenty of experience in the outfield.
Mets Place Andres Gimenez On 10-Day IL, Select Ryan Cordell
Andres Gimenez‘s 2020 season is over, as the Mets placed the shortstop on the 10-day injured list due to right oblique tightness. Outfielder Ryan Cordell‘s contract has been selected and he will take Gimenez’s spot on the active roster, with right-hander Robert Gsellman being moved to the 60-day IL to free up a 40-man roster spot for Cordell.
The Mets raised some eyebrows by adding Gimenez to their Opening Day roster, as the top prospect had hit only .257/.317/.380 over 632 plate appearances at the Double-A level and has never appeared in Triple-A, let alone the majors. That said, Gimenez made a solid accounting for himself in his first big league season, batting .265/.336/.402 (104 OPS+, 106 wRC+) over 131 PA for New York with three home runs. Gimenez also displayed some skill on the basepaths in going 8-for-9 on stolen base attempts, and wielded a steady glove at shortstop while also getting some action in at second and third base.
The left-handed hitting Gimenez ended up more or less platooning with the right-handed hitting Amed Rosario at shortstop, though in the wake of a tough season for Rosario, it’s possible Gimenez may have the inside track to a regular starting job in 2021. This isn’t to say that the Mets would move on from Rosario, who is still only 24 years old and was an even higher-touted prospect than Gimenez, plus Rosario himself posted solid numbers over the full 2019 season. Gimenez’s earlier-than-expected emergence gives (likely) incoming Mets front office boss Sandy Alderson some quality depth to work with as he figures out the team’s infield plans for next season.
Cordell signed a minor league deal with the Mets in June and was previously selected to the roster early in the season, though was designated for assignment and then outrighted after four games. Cordell’s 2020 resume consists of just four plate appearances, this coming after a 2019 season with the White Sox that saw the outfielder hit .221/.290/.355 over 247 PA.
Giants Place Jeff Samardzija On Release Waivers
The Giants have designated Jeff Samardzija for assignment and placed him on release waivers, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). This officially ends the righty’s 2020 season, as we’ve long since passed the September 15 deadline for players to be eligible for an acquiring team’s postseason roster.
Of course, if Shark has his way, this won’t mark an end to his MLB tenure. The 35-year-old (36 in January) made clear last night he fully intends on continuing his career. He’ll hit the open market on the heels of disastrous 2020 season, though. Samardzija missed a month with a shoulder impingement and was limited to four starts overall. Those didn’t go well, as he was tagged for 19 runs on 21 hits (including seven homers) with only six strikeouts in 16.2 innings. The 29-29 Giants are up one game on the Brewers and Phillies for the National League’s final postseason spot. They’d evidently concluded that, even if they sew up a berth, Samardzija’s lackluster performance foreclosed him as an option for their playoff roster.
The move brings to an end Samardzija’s five-year tenure in San Francisco. The Giants inked him to a five-year, $90MM contract entering the 2016 season. At the time, the former Cubs, Athletics and White Sox hurler was coming off three consecutive 200-inning seasons. Then-executive vice president Brian Sabean and then-GM Bobby Evans surely envisioned Samardzija soaking up innings in the middle of the club’s rotation.
Over the first two seasons of the deal, that’s what he did. Samardzija combined for 411 innings of 4.12 ERA/3.73 FIP ball between 2016-17. He scuffled in 2018 before rebounding with a decent effort last year, running up 181.1 innings of 3.52 ERA ball (albeit with uninspiring peripherals). Unfortunately, the wheels fell off in the final season of the deal.
All told, Samardzija threw 653.2 innings over 110 starts as a Giant. He logged a 4.24 ERA/4.22 FIP with strikeout (20.3%) and walk (6.1%) rates a bit lower than league average. Samardzija was worth around seven wins above replacement over the course of the deal, in the estimate of both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference. That’s a bit of an underwhelming return on investment for the organization, but the deal was far from disastrous. Samardzija’s production in San Francisco was worth around $54.6MM in the estimate of FanGraphs’ dollars per WAR metric, to say nothing of any intangible value the well-traveled veteran brought in the clubhouse.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/26/20
Rounding up the latest minor moves:
- The Yankees announced last night that left-hander Tyler Lyons has been outrighted to the alternate training site. Rookie right-hander Miguel Yajure was recalled in his place. New York just selected Lyons to its roster earlier this week. The veteran got into one game, allowing four runs (all earned) on three hits and a walk in 1.2 innings against the Blue Jays on Wednesday. That marked an eighth straight season of MLB action for Lyons, who has a career 4.30 ERA/4.06 FIP in 162 appearances. Because Lyons was sent to the alternate site, he is eligible to return to the Yankees this season.
Cubs Select Patrick Wisdom
The Cubs have selected infielder Patrick Wisdom, optioned first baseman/outfielder Jose Martinez and placed right-hander Manuel Rodriguez on the 45-day injured list, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic was among those to report.
Wisdom could now see his first action with the Cubs, who signed him to a minor league contract Aug. 23. He began his career as a member of the rival Cardinals, who chose him in the first round of the 2012 draft, but only amassed 58 plate appearances with the Redbirds (all in 2018) before they traded him to the Rangers. Wisdom totaled another 28 PA with Texas last season, but he collected far more strikeouts (15) than hits (four), and the Rangers outrighted him last winter.
All told, the 29-year-old Wisdom has batted .224/.306/.408 with four home runs in 86 trips to the plate as a major leaguer. As someone who has primarily lined up at third base in the bigs, he’ll give the Cubs a bit of extra depth as they await the return of Kris Bryant, who hasn’t played since Monday because of an oblique injury.
Mariners Claim Ian Hamilton
The Mariners have claimed right-hander Ian Hamilton off waivers from the White Sox, per an announcement from Seattle. The White Sox designated Hamilton for assignment Sept. 18.
Thanks in part to shoulder problems, the 25-year-old Hamilton – who attended high school and college in Washington state – hasn’t taken the mound since Aug. 11. So far this season, he has thrown four innings of two-run ball with five walks against four strikeouts. In all, between this season and his debut in 2018, Hamilton has tossed 12 frames, given up seven runs (six earned), and totaled nine strikeouts against seven walks. The former 11th-round pick (2016) didn’t pitch at all in the majors last season on account of shoulder and jaw injuries.
While his MLB career hasn’t gone that well so far, there’s little harm in taking a chance on Hamilton from the Mariners’ perspective. After all, Hamilton remains a promising flamethrower who was dominant at the Triple-A level as recently as 2018. That year, Hamilton put up a 1.71 ERA/2.76 FIP and notched 9.57 K/9, 1.37 BB/9 and a 46.8 percent groundball rate in 26 1/3 innings.
Twins Designate Homer Bailey
The Twins announced that they have designated right-hander Homer Bailey for assignment and selected fellow righty Edwar Colina.
This is a surprising outcome for Bailey, a former Red who revived his career between Kansas City and Oakland last year. The Twins, fresh off an AL Central title, then signed Bailey to a one-year, $7MM guarantee last offseason. Minnesota only got two starts and eight innings from Bailey this year, though.
Bailey, 34, landed on the injured list with biceps tendinitis after his first start of the season July 28, and he returned from nearly a two-month absence on Tuesday. Bailey threw three innings of one-run ball in that game – a win over the Tigers – but it wasn’t enough to save his job with the playoff-bound Twins, who count Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, Rich Hill and Michael Pineda as their top four starters.
Colina, meanwhile, is a hard-throwing 23-year-old who ranks among the Twins’ 20 best prospects at MLB.com (No. 16) and FanGraphs (No. 16). MLB.com writes that while Colina has a chance to turn into a major league starter, “an impact reliever” role may also be in his future. Colina divided last year among High-A, Double-A and Triple-A, where he combined for a 2.96 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 over 97 1/3 innings.
Reds Release Nate Jones
The Reds have released right-handed reliever Nate Jones, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com was among those to report. The Reds previously designated Jones for assignment on Tuesday.
Jones, a native of nearby Kentucky, joined the Reds on a minor league contract in the offseason and wound up throwing 18 2/3 innings out of their bullpen this year. While the 34-year-old managed excellent strikeout and walk rates (11.09 K/9, 2.89 BB/9), averaged just under 96 mph on his fastball and posted a personal-best 15.3 percent swinging-strike rate, he was nonetheless victimized for a 6.27 ERA/5.49 FIP. A career-worst .400 batting average on balls in play helped cause Jones’ issues, though it’s worth noting he had a miserable 2020 from a Statcast perspective, including ranking in the league’s bottom one percentile in average exit velocity against.
Of course, it wasn’t that long ago Jones a key part of the White Sox’s bullpen. At his best, he tossed 70 2/3 innings of 2.29 ERA/2.93 FIP ball with 10.19 K/9 and 1.91 BB/9 in 2016, but a series of injuries have helped derail him since then. Jones, in fact, has only combined for a matching 70 2/3 frames over four seasons since his career campaign.