Nationals Recall Carter Kieboom, Designate Wilmer Difo
The Nationals have designated infielder Wilmer Difo for assignment and called infielder Carter Kieboom back up from their alternate training site, the team announced. The move reinstalls Kieboom as the Nats’ everyday third baseman, manager Davey Martinez told MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman and other reporters today.
Kieboom was optioned to the alternate site 10 days ago, making his stay in Fredericksburg a minimal one. The demotion raised some eyebrows at the time, though Kieboom had only hit .200/.359/.200 through his first 64 plate appearances for Washington this season. While the club may have been opting to use more experienced players than Kieboom in an attempt to turn the season around, the Nationals’ 2-10 record over their last 12 games has sunk them to last place in the NL East, and they now seem to be looking ahead to 2021.
Despite his lack of production (.535 OPS) over 107 PA at the big league level, the 23-year-old Kieboom is clearly still seen as a big part of the Nationals’ future. The 28th overall pick of the 2016 draft has posted a .287/.378/.469 slash line and 45 homers over 1462 minor league PA and has little left to prove on the farm, which is why D.C. was hoping Kieboom could slide right into an everyday role this season and at least somewhat fill the void left behind by free agent departure Anthony Rendon.
Since it seems like Kieboom will spend the rest of the season on Washington’s MLB roster, the youngster is still on pace to gain a full year of (prorated) service time, as Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post notes. Kieboom’s demotion won’t, therefore, give the Nats an extra year of control over Kieboom’s services.
Now in his 11th season in the Nationals organization, Difo has a .247/.309/.348 career slash line over 1060 Major League PA, coming off the bench to play second base, shortstop, third base, and a handful of games in the outfield. After seeing semi-regular action in both 2017 and 2018, Difo spent much of last season in the minors, and he didn’t appear on the Nats’ postseason roster. Washington agreed to a $1MM salary for Difo in 2020, which was his first year of arbitration eligibility.
Cubs Claim Ildemaro Vargas, Release Jharel Cotton
The Cubs have claimed infielder Ildemaro Vargas off waivers from the Twins, the team announced. In another move, the Cubs also announced that right-hander Jharel Cotton has been released.
Vargas was designated for assignment three days ago, as Minnesota looked to clear roster space for Josh Donaldson‘s activation from the injured list. Vargas is now on the move for the second time in a month, as the Twins only just acquired him a trade from the Diamondbacks (after another DFA) in early August.
Vargas has 45 combined plate appearances with the D’Backs and Twins this season, and has hit .255/.284/.385 over 289 career PA at the big league level, all but 24 of them in an Arizona uniform. The switch-hitting Vargas has primarily worked as a second baseman in the minors and at the big league level, but he has experience at multiple other positions (mostly shortstop and third base) and thus offers some value as a utility piece.
Since Vargas is out of options, the Cubs will have to carry him on their Major League roster lest they risk designating him again and losing him to another team’s waiver claim. Vargas will join Nico Hoerner and David Bote as Chicago’s primary backup infielders, with Jason Kipnis increasingly getting the lion’s share of regular second base playing time.
Cotton was acquired from the Athletics in an offseason trade, and the righty will now look for a new team to get his career back on track. Once a top-100 ranked prospect during his time in Oakland’s farm system, Cotton hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2017 due to Tommy John surgery. His brief big league resume consists of a 4.95 ERA over 158 1/3 innings in 2016-17, though Cotton has a solid 3.85 ERA, 3.84 K/BB rate, and 10.2 K/9 over 496 career innings at the minor league level.
Orioles Claim Carson Fulmer
The Orioles have claimed right-hander Carson Fulmer off waivers from the Pirates, the team announced. The Fulmer move was one of a series of transactions made this afternoon by the O’s, who also called up righty David Hess from their alternate training site, sent right-hander Evan Phillips to the alternate site, and added infield prospect Rylan Bannon to the 60-man player pool. This is all in addition to the most notable news of the day for the club, as breakout star Anthony Santander is headed to the injured list with a potentially season-ending injury.
Fulmer will be joining his fourth organization in less than two months, as the 26-year-old has already been a waiver claim for both the Pirates and Tigers since being originally designated for assignment by the White Sox back on July 23. Fulmer is out of options, which is why teams have been unable to just send him to their alternate training sites without another club pouncing on the right-hander on the waiver wire. Within this whirlwind of movement, Fulmer has amassed 6 2/3 innings pitched this season, all with Detroit, with a 6.75 ERA.
The eighth overall pick of the 2015 draft, Fulmer has yet to live up to expectations in the majors, with a career 6.57 ERA, 1.34 K/BB rate, and 8.0 K/9 over 101 1/3 career IP with the Tigers and White Sox. Given his prospect pedigree and relatively young age, it isn’t hard to see why the Orioles (and other clubs) have been interested in taking a look at Fulmer as a potential post-hype breakout player.
Bannon, 24, was an eight-round pick for the Orioles in the 2017 draft. A product of Xavier University, Bannon has a .280/.375/.481 slash line and 43 home runs over 1234 career minor league plate appearances, which included 90 PA and 20 games with Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate in 2019. It remains to be seen if the O’s have Bannon in mind for a September call-up, though he will provide depth as both a second baseman and third baseman if he does make his MLB debut this year.
Anthony Santander Has Strained Oblique, Could Miss Remainder Of Season
Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander is headed to the 10-day injured list after suffering a strained oblique, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Manager Brandon Hyde said that Santander will miss “significant time” due to the injury, and with just about three weeks left in the regular season, that could mean the end of Santander’s 2020 campaign.
Santander, 25, had been in the midst of a breakout season, to the extent that one can “break out” in a 60-game season. He’s rocking a .890 OPS (which would be a career-best by a wide margin) and has been the Orioles’ most valuable player by Baseball-Reference’s version of WAR. With 11 home runs in 37 games, he’s maintained his penchant for hard contact while cutting down and strikeouts and taking more walks.
He’s done all of the above while grading out as an above-average defender in right field, painting a picture of Santander as one of the bright young stars leading the O’s on the path back to contention. Unfortunately, they’ll be without him for most—if not all—of the remainder of 2020, a season in which Baltimore has surprised many with a competitive 17-21 record.
The Orioles recalled outfielder Mason Williams to the active roster not long after he was designated for assignment and subsequently outrighted to the team’s alternate training site. He’ll serve as a depth outfielder, with DJ Stewart likely assuming the bulk of the right field duties in Baltimore. Stewart is hitless in 16 at-bats this season, though an absurd 32.1% walk rate has carried him to a .385 OBP despite those struggles. A regular outfield role in Santander’s absence should be a good opportunity for Stewart, who has played in just 71 Major League games since debuting in 2018.
Yankees Reinstate Gleyber Torres
The New York Yankees have reinstated star shortstop Gleyber Torres from the injured list, per a team release.
Torres hit the injured list on August 24th with a left hamstring strain. The move was retroactive to August 21st. It had been a slow start on the year for Torres, who was hitting just .231/.341/.295 when he went on the injured list. The 23-year-old Torres was an All-Star his first two seasons in the league while posting a combined triple slash of .275/.338/.511 with 62 home runs in 267 games.
Tyler Wade has stepped in at shortstop while Torres has been out. The 25-year-old hasn’t done much at the plate, slashing .170/.250/.264 across 60 plate appearances. Wade is a fine utility piece for New York, but he has nowhere near the upside of Torres, who will look to regain his power stroke upon returning to the field.
In a corresponding roster move, right-hander Albert Abreu was optioned to the team’s alternate training site. The 24-year-old Abreu made two appearances, surrendering 3 earned runs across 1 1/3 innings. Abreu is the Yankees’ 13th-ranked prospect per Baseball America.
Braves Recall Chad Sobotka, Option Huascar Ynoa
The Atlanta Braves optioned right-hander Huascar Ynoa to their alternate training site after yesterday’s doubleheader. Chad Sobotka has been recalled to take his place on the roster.
This could be a bit of roster management for the Braves, as Ynoa started the second game of yesterday’s doubleheader and Atlanta may simply want a fresh arm for the bullpen. On the other hand, one of the reasons they need a fresh arm is because Ynoa lasted just 2 1/3 innings while giving up 6 earned runs to a last-place Nationals team that was without their MVP Juan Soto. Ynoa has made six appearances for Atlanta this season, three of them starts, but totaling just 11 2/3 innings with a 7.71 ERA/6.39 FIP.
The Braves have faced rotation issues all season, though Max Fried has pitched like a bona fide ace, Ian Anderson is off to a strong start to his major-league career, and veteran Tommy Milone joined the corps before the trade deadline. Josh Tomlin has served as a swingman, but it remains to be seen what the Braves’ long-term plans are for the back two spots in the rotation. Atlanta has many options remaining in their player pool – Kyle Wright, Touki Toussaint, Sean Newcomb, for example – but many of these young arms have struggled to establish themselves as reliable options thus far in 2020.
Sobotka will jump into the bullpen to provide right-handed relief. The 27-year-old has yet to surrender a run in 3 innings so far this season. For his career, Sobotka owns a 4.47 ERA/4.98 FIP in 46 1/3 innings spread across the last three seasons.
Yankees Promote Clarke Schmidt
The Yankees have selected right-hander Clarke Schmidt‘s contract, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News was among those to report. They optioned righty Ben Heller in a corresponding move.
The 24-year-old Schmidt, whom the Yankees chose 16th overall in the 2017 draft, has become one of their highest-regarded prospects, owing in part to impressive minor league production. He divided last season between High-A and Double-A, combining for a 3.47 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 90 2/3 innings.
In the wake of his 2019 performance, Schmidt earned top 100 prospect rankings at The Athletic (No. 51), Baseball America (No. 64), ESPN.com (82), and MLB.com (94). Keith Law of The Athletic wrote that the former Tommy John patient has a chance to turn into a No. 3-4 starter in the majors.
If Schmidt’s able to provide mid-rotation type of production immediately, it would be a boost to the playoff-contending Yankees, whose starting staff hasn’t lived up to expectations in 2020. Gerrit Cole hasn’t given the club the elite production it anticipated when it signed him to a nine-year, $324MM contract last winter; James Paxton has dealt with injuries and struggled when healthy; and J.A. Happ and Jordan Montgomery have fallen flat. The Yankees’ best starter has been Masahiro Tanaka, who has logged a 3.38 ERA/3.85 FIP over 26 2/3 innings.
Padres Promote Luis Campusano
The Padres announced that they have promoted young catcher Luis Campusano to the majors. He’ll serve as their designated hitter against the Athletics on Friday, Dennis Lin of The Athletic tweets. In other moves, San Diego transferred left-hander Jose Castillo to the 45-day injured list and placed righty Luis Perdomo on the 10-day IL with forearm discomfort.
The 21-year-old Campusano is one of many standout youngsters in the San Diego organization. Thanks in part to a consistently elite farm system, the Padres have finally begun to realize their vast potential this season. The club has stormed to a 23-16 record, good for the No. 1 wild-card spot in the National League, as it seeks to break a 13-year playoff drought.
While the Padres have been a pleasant surprise as a whole, they’ve received little production from their catchers, who rank toward the bottom of the majors in offense. As a result, general manager A.J. Preller has made a few notable changes to the position in recent days. Leading up to Monday’s trade deadline, the Padres shipped out the light-hitting Austin Hedges and acquired both Jason Castro and Austin Nola. So, it’s unclear how much time Campusano will receive behind the plate in 2020 (or at DH, for that matter, as the Padres also landed Mitch Moreland during an aggressive deadline), though the right-handed swinger at least looks capable of serving as a long-term weapon for the team.
A second-round pick of the Padres in 2017, Campusano reached High-A for the first time a season ago and slashed .325/.396/.509 with 15 home runs and nearly as many walks (52) as strikeouts (57). Since then, the likes of ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (No. 33), FanGraphs (40), Keith Law of The Athletic (42), MLB.com (52) and Baseball America (85) have all ranked Campusano among the game’s 100 best prospects. McDaniel, the most bullish of the bunch, wrote that Campusano “has a plus arm” behind the plate and “plus contact skills” as a hitter, though he could trade some contact for more power as he progresses.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mets Select Erasmo Ramirez
The Mets have selected right-hander Erasmo Ramirez‘s contract, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets. The team opened 40-man space for Ramirez when it designated outfielder Billy Hamilton for assignment.
The 30-year-old Ramirez, whom the Mets signed to a minor league contract in June, could now be in line to appear in the majors for the ninth consecutive season. Going back to 2012, the former Ray, Mariner and Red Sox has recorded a passable 4.40 ERA/4.58 FIP with 6.98 K/9 and 2.56 BB/9 in 640 2/3 innings and 193 appearances (92 starts), but his stock has fallen over the past couple years. Ramirez struggled to a 6.50 ERA/6.69 FIP across 45 2/3 frames with Seattle in 2018 and only totaled three innings with Boston last season.
Now that he’s coming back to the majors, it’s unclear whether Ramirez will fill a starting or bullpen role for the Mets, whose rotation, despite impressive peripherals, owns the majors’ seventh-worst ERA (5.25). Only Jacob deGrom, David Peterson and Seth Lugo (who has made a pair of short starts since leaving the bullpen) have done well to prevent runs for the club’s starting staff this year. Rick Porcello, Michael Wacha, Robert Gsellman and the currently injured Steven Matz have had immense difficulty keeping runs off the board, on the other hand.
Cubs To Sign Pedro Strop
Free-agent reliever Pedro Strop is returning to the Cubs, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports. The right-hander will go to their alternate training site.
This will be the second stint on the North Side for the 35-year-old Strop, who was a valuable part of Chicago’s bullpen from 2013-19. He accumulated 373 innings of 2.90 ERA/3.19 FIP pitching with 10.25 K/9, 3.55 BB/9 and a 53.2 percent groundball rate during that span, though Strop’s effectiveness waned last year during his final season of team control. He was unable to secure a multiyear contract in free agency as a result, instead signing a one-year, $1.825MM with NL Central rival Cincinnati.
The Strop-Reds union didn’t go well for either party, as he battled groin issues and only threw 2 1/3 innings with the club before it designated him for assignment Aug. 26. While Strop allowed just one earned run (three total) as a Red, he issued a whopping six walks and saw his average fastball, formerly in the 95-96 range, drop below 92. He’ll now try to work his way back to the majors with the Cubs, who lead their division by 3 1/2 games despite having received uninspiring production from their bullpen. The Cubs have, however, worked to upgrade their relief corps in recent days, as they landed Josh Osich and the currently injured Andrew Chafin at the trade deadline before reuniting with Strop.