Astros Acquire Brooks Raley From Reds
The Houston Astros acquired Brooks Raley from the Reds for a player to be named later, the Reds announced. Raley was designated for assignment on Thursday.
In a corresponding move, the Astros transferred closer Roberto Osuna to the 45-day injured list, per Mark Berman of Fox 26. Osuna is likely to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery.
Raley made four appearances for the Reds this season, giving up four earned runs in four innings. The 32-year-old appeared in the major leagues for the first time since his initial appearances with the Cubs in 2012 and 2013. The southpaw has been a reliable rotation arm in the KBO for the past five seasons, however. Raley made 30 or 31 starts in each season from 2015 to 2019 for the Lotte Giants, totalling a 48-53 record with a 4.13 ERA across 910 2/3 innings. That’s an average season of more than 182 innings per season.
The Astros have struggled to fill out their rotation after an early injury to Justin Verlander. Raley will likely jump into the Houston bullpen if he’s added to the active roster, though his ability to start or pitch multiple innings is certainly a plus for a team looking for length.
Phillies Promote Spencer Howard
August 9: Howard has officially been promoted to the Phils’ active roster. His addition comes with a couple of corresponding roster moves, as reported by Todd Zolecki of MLB.com: RHP Enyel De Los Santos was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, and left-hander Cole Irvin was optioned off the active roster to the team’s alternate training location.
August 8: Phillies pitching prospect Spencer Howard is set to make his Major League debut on Sunday. According to Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Howard has been told that he will be starting one of tomorrow’s games in the Phils’ doubleheader with the Braves. Another transaction will need to be made in order to open room for the right-hander on the 40-man roster.
Howard, a second-round pick in the 2017 draft, has looked impressive in his brief pro career, posting a 3.28 ERA, 3.80 K/BB rate, and 12.0 K/9 over 211 1/3 minor league innings. None of those innings have come at Triple-A, and Howard only tossed 30 2/3 frames at Double-A last season, due in part to some shoulder problems that limited his overall workload to 71 total innings in 2019.
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Nevertheless, there was speculation dating back to Spring Training that Howard would eventually suit up for the Phillies in 2020, even if the club was looking to manage his innings so as to not over-extend his arm. As per Lauber back in March, the shortened nature of the 2020 season will help Howard in this regard, as he could now end up pitching quite a significant portion of the schedule for a team in need of pitching depth. Due to the week of postponed games in the wake of their exposure to the Marlins’ COVID-19 outbreak, the Phillies have only played seven games, and Sunday is the first of six doubleheaders remaining on Philadelphia’s schedule.
While Howard’s lack of Triple-A experience provides a reasonable case for the Phillies in holding off on his big league promotion, it should also be noted that waiting until a couple of weeks into the season ensures the Phils an extra year of control over Howard before he gains enough service time for free agency.
Howard is a consensus choice as one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, with Keith Law, Fangraphs, Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and Baseball Prospectus all ranking him between 22nd (from Law) and 36th (BP) on their preseason lists of the sport’s best minor leaguers. A fastball that regularly sits in the mid-90’s and has gone as high as 99mph is Howard’s signature pitch, and he also has what Fangraphs describes as “three nasty secondary pitches” in a curveball, changeup, and slider, though all of these offerings are less consistent. Howard’s control is also solid, as Baseball America’s notes that his “delivery is simple and repeatable.”
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Orioles Claim Jorge Lopez
The Orioles announced today that they have claimed right-handed pitcher Jorge Lopez off waivers from the Royals. Lopez, 27, was designated for assignment by Kansas City on Friday. He’ll be added to the Baltimore 40-man roster, which is now full.
Lopez made just one appearance for the Royals this year before he was placed on the bereavement list. That preceded his departure from the Royals, who designated Lopez owing to his lack of minor-league options.
Once a highly-regarded prospect, Lopez has thus far failed to find success at the MLB level between stints with the Brewers and Royals, who acquired him as part of the return for Mike Moustakas. In 190 innings at the MLB level, Lopez has a 5.97 ERA while averaging a mediocre 7.4 K/9. Last year, he was a key part of the Royals’ staff, throwing the fifth-most innings on the team as he was deployed both as a starter and in relief.
Lopez should be a viable depth option for an Orioles pitching staff that has actually fared pretty well this year: the Orioles staff is sporting a 3.87 FIP, good for tenth-best in baseball. Granted, the ERA figures have lagged behind thus far, and it’s not a group of world-beaters, but there are some intriguing names in Baltimore. Lopez, if he gets a crack in the Majors, could serve as a starter or reliever for Brandon Hyde.
Giants Announce Multiple Roster Moves
In addition to a trade this morning, the Giants have made a series of roster moves ahead of this afternoon’s matchup with the Dodgers (first reported by Maria Guardado of MLB.com). They’ll make a few tweaks to the pitching staff, reinstating left-hander Jarlin Garcia from the 60-day injured list and adding veteran Trevor Cahill to the taxi squad. To make room, Andrew Suarez has been optioned to the team’s alternate training site and infielder Abiatal Avelino was designated for assignment.
The Giants will rejigger their bullpen, adding Garcia, who was on the injured list with an undisclosed illness, and subtracting Suarez. Garcia, 27, will get his first shot with his new club after spending the first three years of his career with the Marlins. He emerged as a valuable lefty in Miami, notching a 4.29 ERA in 170 innings of work. He got work as both a starter and reliever, though he’s likely to settle firmly into a relief role.
Cahill, meanwhile, might be on the cusp of a promotion to the big league club, after news of Jeff Samardzija‘s placement on the injured list yesterday. He figures to be one of the foremost options to replace Samardzija in the starting rotation for the foreseeable future.
Avelino, acquired in the 2018 trade that sent Andrew McCutchen to the Yankees, will see his Giants tenure come to a swift end, having appeared in just 10 games for the MLB club. The Giants will have a week to either trade, release, or place Avelino on outright waivers. At just 25 years old, and with plenty of remaining team control, Avelino could be a worthwhile pickup for a team in search of infield depth. His offensive track record in the minors is not especially strong, but his last two seasons in the upper minors have undoubtedly been his best.
Reds Place Mike Moustakas On 10-Day Injured List
The Reds announced that infielder Mike Moustakas has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to August 6) due to a left quad bruise. Right-hander Tejay Antone has been called up to take Moustakas’ roster spot.
It’ll be the second injured list stint this year for Moustakas, who missed three games earlier this year after entering COVID-19 protocol when he reported symptoms (though he never tested positive). The 31-year-old has already missed 8 of the Reds’ first 15 contests, owing to that scare and the quad injury that has kept him out of action since Tuesday.
The Reds had hoped that Moustakas would be healthy enough to return in time for their upcoming series versus the Royals, but evidently he’ll need a bit more time to recover. Through his first seven games, Moose is batting .238/.333/.524 with two home runs. With Moustakas on the shelf, it’ll likely be a combination of Christian Colon and Kyle Farmer picking up the slack at second base. Neither Colon nor Farmer has hit especially well in limited plate appearances this year.
Antone, meanwhile, has opened some eyes in his first two outings in the Majors—one as a starter and one in relief. He’s struck out nine batters in 8 2/3 innings, allowing just two runs. Reds fans will get to see more of him in the near future, though with no need for more starters at the moment he’ll be relegated to relief duty.
Braves Add Robbie Erlin To Active Roster
TODAY: The Braves announced that Erlin has been activated onto the big league roster. Sobotka had been optioned to the minor league site but is now quickly back with the club to serve as the extra player for today’s doubleheader.
AUGUST 7: The Braves announced that they have claimed left-hander Robbie Erlin off waivers from the Pirates. In other moves, the Braves placed right-hander Chris Martin on the 10-day injured list with an esophageal constriction and recalled RHP Chad Sobotka.
The 29-year-old Erlin had been in limbo since Pittsburgh designated him Aug. 2. He threw 3 1/3 innings of two-run ball for the club before it bounced him. Erlin was a quality prospect with the Padres during his younger days, but he has only managed a 4.58 ERA across 108 appearances (38 starts) and 316 1/3 innings since he debuted in 2013. To Erlin’s credit, though, he has logged a very solid 3.57 FIP with 7.2 K/9 and 1.79 BB/9 as a major leaguer.
Erlin could step into the Braves’ bullpen, which will suddenly go without one of its most prominent options in Martin, whom the team re-signed to a two-year, $14MM contract in free agency. Martin, 34, threw four innings and allowed one earned runs on two hits and one walk (three strikeouts) before his IL placement.
Cubs Release Derek Dietrich
The Cubs announced that utilityman Derek Dietrich has been released so that Dietrich can explore a Major League opportunity with another club. (MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian was among those to report the news.)
Dietrich signed a minor league deal with Chicago just prior to the July opener, and only three days after the Reds released him from another minors contract. Dietrich didn’t receive a call-up to the Cubs’ active roster, and it’s fair to assume that he wasn’t in the team’s plans in the near future, which led to their granting his request for a release. With Dietrich’s track record of multi-positional versatility and a career 107 OPS+, any number of teams could have their eye on him for regular big league duty.
Dietrich spent his first six seasons with the Marlins before playing with the Reds in a somewhat unusual 2019 season. He hit a career-best 19 homers and posted a career-best .462 slugging percentage over 306 plate appearances, though he batted only .187. Much of Dietrich’s 2019 production was built around an incredible 68-PA stretch in May, as Dietrich exploded to hit .293/.397/.931 and 12 home runs.
Twins Select Cory Gearrin’s Contract
The Twins have selected the contract of right-hander Cory Gearrin, the club announced. Right-hander Sean Poppen has been optioned to create room for Gearrin.
Gearrin inked a minor league deal with Minnesota back in February and will now make the prorated portion of a $1MM guaranteed salary for reaching the active roster. The 34-year-old doesn’t boast the big fastball deployed by most relievers, though Gearrin has been a consistently solid bullpen arm over his eight Major League seasons, with a career 3.64 ERA, 2.19 K/BB rate, and 8.4 K/9 over 302 innings. He wasn’t too far off those averages over 55 1/3 innings with the Mariners and Yankees in 2019, delivering a combined 4.07 ERA, 1.88 K/BB, and 7.6 K/9.
Giants Acquire Luis Basabe
The Giants and White Sox have completed a trade, with outfielder Luis Basabe heading to San Francisco in exchange for cash considerations. Right-hander Jordan Humphreys was placed on the restricted list to make room for Basabe on the Giants’ roster. (Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Humphreys is dealing with a family matter.)
The White Sox designated Basabe for assignment earlier this week, ending an injury-plagued three-year run for the outfielder in Chicago’s farm system. Basabe was acquired from the Red Sox as part of the trade package in the Chris Sale blockbuster, though he sandwiched a very impressive (and healthy) 2018 campaign in between injury-shortened 2017 and 2019 seasons.
It was enough for Chicago to make Basabe expendable, though the Venezuelan prospect was once a well-regarded international prospect and is still a couple of weeks shy of turning 24 years old. There’s certainly no harm for the Giants in spending a few dollars to acquire Basabe’s services and see if he can unlock some higher potential in a new environment.
MLB Pipeline has already ranked Basabe as the 18th-best prospect in San Francisco’s farm system, with a scouting report noting that he “has the tools to be a worthwhile fourth outfielder,” even if his hitting is still a question mark. Basabe has batted .248/.345/.392 across 2570 PA in the minors (none above the Double-A level), and he has shown a lot of swing-and-miss in his approach at the plate.
White Sox Designate Drew Anderson
The White Sox designated righty Drew Anderson for assignment, as per a team announcement. Jose Ruiz, another right-hander, has been called up from the alternate training site to take Anderson’s roster spot.
Anderson signed a minor league deal with Chicago during the offseason and only had his contract selected prior to Saturday’s game. Unfortunately for Anderson, his 2020 debut was a nightmare — two home runs and six total earned runs allowed over 1 1/3 innings against the Indians. It will make for a pretty ignominious White Sox tenure if Anderson is claimed or released, though he could also simply be outrighted back to the minor league camp if he passes through the DFA period. The 26-year-old appeared in parts of the 2017-19 seasons with the Phillies, posting a 7.71 ERA over 21 innings.
Ruiz has had a similarly brief three-year tenure in the majors, though 40 of his 45 1/3 career innings from 2017-19 came last season with the White Sox. Ruiz posted a 5.63 ERA, 1.46 K/BB rate, and 7.9 K/9 over those 40 frames. Pitching exclusively as a reliever over 135 career minor league innings with the Padres and White Sox, the hard-throwing Ruiz has a 3.67 ERA, 10.1 K/9, and 2.48 K/BB rate.