Cubs Option David Bote
The Cubs have optioned utility man David Bote to Triple-A, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times was among those to tweet. It seems that’s the roster move to make way for the return of righty Steve Cishek.
Bote, 26, has been a constant presence on the MLB roster this year since inking a surprise extension in April. He was off to a big start but cooled off considerably over June and July. After a recent hot streak, he’s sitting right near the league average offensively with a .257/.352/.429 slash over 310 plate appearances.
Given the difficulties, it’s no surprise that Bote has lost playing time over the course of the season. He has mostly appeared at third base, with Kris Bryant moving to the corner outfield on such occasions. Defensive metrics have taken a dimmer view of Bote’s work at the hot corner than they did last year, for what it’s worth.
More than anything, this move simply represents some late-August roster management — though it is also reflective of an evolving lineup pecking order. Bote will get some steady plate appearances at Triple-A before rosters expand at the outset of September, at which time he’ll surely be summoned back to the majors. No matter how things shake out down the stretch, he’s playing on a guaranteed contract through 2024 with two additional seasons of club control via option.
Braves Claim Billy Hamilton
The Braves have claimed outfielder Billy Hamilton off waivers from the Royals, per a club announcement. The Atlanta organization will be responsible for the remainder of Hamilton’s $4.25MM salary along with a $1MM buyout on a mutual option.
It’s a fairly significant price to pay, but understandable under the circumstances. The Braves have lost their two best left-handed-hitting outfield options, Nick Markakis and Ender Inciarte, to injuries that may not heal by the end of the season. Lacking the ability to strike a trade for a MLB contract, the club had limited avenues for acquiring a replacement. The
As we noted when Inciarte’s injury arose, Hamilton is in the same general sub-category of player. Both are speedy, defensive-oriented center fielders who hit from the left side. If Inciarte is something of an archetype, Hamilton is an extreme version of the class. Hamilton has been an exceedingly valuable fielder and baserunner, though he has minimal power and has rarely reached base at palatable rates.
This year, Hamilton’s bat has sunk even further. At the time of his departure from the K.C. roster, he had produced 305 plate appearances of 44 wRC+ output. He’s still valued as an excellent defender and baserunner, though there has been a bit of erosion in Hamilton’s most notable physical skill. By measure of Statcast, his sprint speed has fallen from a 99+ percentile placement in recent years to the 97.5th percentile this season.
While Hamilton hasn’t been at his best in 2019, he ought to help shore things up down the stretch. And he’s a fascinating postseason roster piece as a potential late-inning pinch runner and/or defensive replacement. That’s arguably worth a premium to a team that’s all but assured of a postseason appearance. As we discussed in profiling some August waiver claim candidates, the Braves can perhaps afford to splurge on a needed addition given that they were bailed out of the remainder of their obligations to Kevin Gausman.
Rangers Designate David Carpenter
The Rangers announced that they have designated righty David Carpenter for assignment. It’s the second time he has been bumped from the MLB roster this season.
The move coincides with the team’s decision to send fellow right-hander Adrian Sampson to the 10-day injured list due to a lower back issue. To take the open roster spots, the club has recalled first baseman/outfielder Scott Heineman and righty Phillips Valdez.
Carpenter, 34, made it back to the majors this season for the first time since 2015. And he earned his way back up after his brief initial stint. Over 34 2/3 Triple-A innings on the season, he carries a 1.82 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9. Unfortunately, Carpenter hasn’t shown up in his limited big league frames, allowing four earned runs with a 2:4 K/BB ratio in four appearances.
Rockies Claim Wes Parsons
The Rockies announced that they’ve claimed right-handed reliever Wes Parsons off waivers from the Braves, who had designated him for assignment over the weekend. In order to make room on the 40-man roster, the Rox moved Scott Oberg from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL, definitively ending his season. Oberg went on the IL over the weekend due to a blood clot.
With an immediate need for fresh arms and a longer-term interest in finding cost-efficient relief pitching, it’s no surprise that the Rox made a strike here. Parsons hasn’t quite reached his 27th birthday, has options remaining, and is still a long way from arbitration. It’s possible he’ll be given a chance to pitch his way into the team’s plans for 2020.
If he’s to take advantage of the opportunity, Parsons will need to improve upon his initial showing in Atlanta. He carried a 3.52 ERA through 15 1/3 MLB innings this year, but didn’t get there in style. With 13 walks to go with a dozen strikeouts, along with a lowly 6.9% swinging-strike rate, it was clear that Parsons wasn’t fooling MLB hitters.
That said, there’s still reason to hope for better. Parsons has a history of quality results in the upper minors; this year, at Triple-A, he worked to a 2.86 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 along with a 56.8% groundball rate. No doubt the Rox are particularly intrigued by the fact that Parsons has typically induced quite a few worm burners and limited the long ball as a minor-leaguer.
Athletics To Promote A.J. Puk
The Athletics will promote left-hander A.J. Puk from Triple-A Las Vegas prior to tomorrow’s game, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports (via Twitter). Puk, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2016 draft, will need to have his contract formally selected. Oakland has an opening on its 40-man roster to accommodate him.
Puk, 24, is considered by virtually every major prospect outlet to be among the game’s top 50 prospects. He’s viewed as a potential key piece to the Athletics’ rotation down the road, but he’s been working primarily in relief this season as he works back from 2018 Tommy John surgery. The towering 6’7″ southpaw has a lackluster 4.97 ERA in 25 1/3 minor league innings this season, but he’s also punched out 38 hitters against 10 walks in that time.
Fangraphs currently rates Puk as baseball’s No. 21 prospect, putting a 65 grade on his fastball, a 60 on his slider and giving him the potential for two more average or better offerings in his changeup and curveball. MLB.com lists Puk 43rd among MLB prospects and dropped a 70 grade on his heater with a 65 on his slider. Puk, who paced all minor league starters with 13.2 K/9 in his last full season back in 2017, is touted as a potential No. 2 starter at the Major League level. He’ll likely get the opportunity to make good on those bullish forecasts in 2020, alongside the likes of Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas and perhaps fellow ballyhooed left-hander Jesus Luzardo, but for now he’ll step into Bob Melvin’s bullpen and look to help shut things down in the late innings.
Oakland has three left-handers in the ‘pen at the moment, with Jake Diekman, Wei-Chung Wang and Ryan Buchter all giving Melvin southpaw options. All three of those southpaws have had issues with commanding the strike zone, though, and none can match Puk’s overall ceiling as a game-changing relief weapon. Taking a broader look, Oakland has seen closer Blake Treinen follow up a dominant 2018 campaign with a dismal 2019 showing. Fellow righty Lou Trivino has taken similar steps backward, leaving the A’s with a bullpen that’s been weaker than they anticipated.
By promoting Puk now, the A’s will be positioning themselves to control him through 2025 season, although future optional assignments to the minors could yet impact that timeline. If he’s in the big leagues from Tuesday through season’s end, he’ll accrue 41 days of big league service, though, meaning in order to push his path to free agency back until the 2026-27 offseason, the A’s would need to keep him in Triple-A for nearly two months next season. In other words, this appears quite likely to be a chance for Puk to cement himself as a big leaguer and leave the minor leagues behind. If he is indeed in the Majors for good, he wouldn’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2022 season.
Diamondbacks Sign Michael Tonkin
The Diamondbacks have signed right-hander Michael Tonkin out of the independent Atlantic League, per an announcement Long Island Ducks GM Michael Pfaff (Twitter link). He’ll head to Triple-A Reno for now,
Tonkin, 29, allowed just one earned run with a 31-to-9 K/BB ratio in 26 2/3 innings with the Ducks prior to signing with the D-backs. The 6’7″ righty went to Spring Training with the Rangers organization and latched on with the Brewers late in Spring Training after he didn’t make the cut in Texas. Tonkin headed to Triple-A San Antonio with the Brewers and posted a 4.26 ERA with 14 strikeouts and nine walks in 12 2/3 innings before being cut loose a second time.
Though he hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2017, Tonkin does have experience in parts of five different MLB campaigns — all coming with the Twins from 2013-17. Once a relatively well-regarded bullpen prospect in Minnesota’s system, Tonkin pitched 146 1/3 innings for the Twins in that five-year span, compiling a 4.43 ERA with 9.2 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 1.54 HR/9 and a 39.9 percent ground-ball rate. Tonkin generated more grounders as he rose through the Twins’ ranks, but he favored his four-seamer over his sinker/two-seam fastball in the Majors. He averaged 94 mph on that four-seamer and 83.4 mph on a slider, his primary secondary offering.
Tonkin has been too homer-prone at the big league level to find consistent success, but he has a career 2.55 ERA with 10.6 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in 173 Triple-A innings. He’ll give the Diamondbacks some additional pitching depth with Yoshihisa Hirano and Robbie Ray on the big league injured list and righties Greg Holland, Zack Godley and Ben Lively no longer in the organization.
Angels Select Miguel Del Pozo’s Contract, Option Jose Suarez To Triple-A
Prior to Sunday’s game, the Angels selected the contract of left-hander Miguel Del Pozo from Triple-A. Fellow left-hander Jose Suarez was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move. Del Pozo didn’t pitch in the Angels’ 9-2 victory over the White Sox, so he is still looking for his first official Major League appearance.
Originally signed as an 18-year-old prospect by the Marlins in 2010, Del Pozo spent his entire pro career in Miami’s organization until last offseason, when he was outrighted off the team’s 40-man roster and he chose to become a free agent. After signing a minors contract with the Rangers, Del Pozo was dealt to Los Angeles earlier this month in a post-deadline trade (allowed since Del Pozo wasn’t on a Major League contract).
Despite his long stretch in the minors, Del Pozo didn’t even pitch at the Triple-A level until this season. The 26-year-old lefty has a 4.28 ERA, 10.4 K/9, and 2.53 K/BB rate over 332 minor league innings, working out of the bullpen for 191 of his 207 career games. Del Pozo will join Adalberto Mejia as the only left-handers in the Halos’ righty-heavy pen.
Suarez’s first taste of Major League action wasn’t a smooth one, as the rookie southpaw posted a 6.75 ERA over 53 1/3 innings, starting 11 of his 12 games. While Suarez managed an 8.9 K/9 and a respectable 2.41 K/BB rate, he was bedeviled by home runs, as Suarez allowed 16 big flies in his brief time in the Los Angeles rotation.
Fangraphs (79th) and Baseball America (97th) each ranked Suarez within their list of the game’s top 100 prospects at the time of his promotion in late May, so his rocky start was something of a letdown for an Angels team that is starved for pitching. Still, Suarez is only 21 years old and only in his fifth season in pro ball. His issues may have also stemmed not from inexperience, but from a tendency to tip pitches, manager Brad Ausmus told media (including Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times).
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/18/19
The latest minor moves from around the game…
- The Marlins outrighted Deven Marrero to Triple-A after the infielder cleared waivers, the team announced. Marrero was designated for assignment on Friday. Formerly a highly-touted prospect during his days in Boston’s farm system, Marrero didn’t produce much at the plate in limited Major League action (343 PA) with the Red Sox and Diamondbacks from 2015-18. He inked a minor league contract with Miami last winter, and he has hit .249/.324/.420 over 380 PA for Triple-A New Orleans while also appeared in five big league games for the Marlins.
Ender Inciarte Placed On Injured List
Following a string of earlier reports regarding the hamstring injury sustained by Braves outfielder Ender Inciarte yesterday, the team has officially placed him on the 10-day injured list. Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution shares that Inciarte is expected to be out 4-6 weeks after an MRI scan revealed a strain of the Grade 2 variety (link). Outfielder Adam Duvall has been recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to take Inciarte’s place on the active roster.
2019 has been a hard-luck season for Inciarte so far: it was just four weeks ago that the defensively gifted outfielder was activated after missing 55 games with an injury to the lumbar region in his torso. Since that activation, Inciarte had rebounded with a .293 batting average and 15 RBI in 90 plate appearances. Though his contact-and-defense profile has never been a glamorous one, Inciarte’s absence is sure to cause frustration for a Braves team already thoroughly bitten by injury bugs.
While the Braves hold a 4.5 game lead on their NL East counterparts, the team has had a hard time keeping key players on the field in recent weeks. After injuries to Nick Markakis and Austin Riley, Inciarte’s month-plus departure will reduce Atlanta’s grass patrol to Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Joyce, Charlie Culberson, Rafael Ortega, and the just-promoted Duvall–a rather thin crew after the talented sophomore from Venezuela.
Braves fans may have hoped that an Inciarte injury would, at least on the bright side, result in the promotion of one of Cristian Pache or Drew Waters, but Atlanta will turn instead to the veteran Duvall as a depth fill-in. After being acquired from the Reds last year, the Braves tendered a $2.875MM salary to the battle-tested slugger this offseason. He’s spent the majority of 2019 in Triple-A but has been a roughly league-average hitter when called upon in 19 MLB games this year (.250/.297/.500 slash line and 99 wRC+). Inciarte’s injury will also precipitate a temporary move back to center field for Acuna Jr., per Burns’ report.
Red Sox Place Chris Sale On 10-Day IL With Elbow Inflammation
6:37 pm: Ryan Brasier has been called up from Triple-A Pawtucket to fill Sale’s spot on the active roster, according to a report from the Boston Herald’s Steve Hewitt (link).
4:52 pm: It appears the issue may indeed be more serious than initially believed. Per President of Baseball Ops Dave Dombrowski (h/t to Bill Koch of the Providence Journal) the injury is “brand new” and the team will seek a second opinion from renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews. No timetable has been set for Sale’s return.
4:34 pm: The Red Sox have placed lefty Chris Sale on the 10-Day IL with left elbow inflammation, the team reports.
The 30-year-old Sale’s performance has been much-maligned this season, though apart from his participation in the league-wide gopher-ball parade, his dominant stuff seems very well intact. Sale’s still setting down a league-best 13.32 per nine, walking a minuscule 2.26/9, and getting grounders at a league-average rate. His FIP is a full run lower than his 4.40 ERA, while his 2.94 xFIP (a metric that accounts for his career-worst 19.5% HR/FB) ranks second in the AL to Gerrit Cole.
In short, it’s still all there for Sale, provided the left-hander isn’t dealing with a more serious injury to his left elbow than initially believed. The Red Sox have fallen six and a half games behind Tampa in the team’s quest for a second wild card spot, so perhaps it’d be prudent to give the seven-time all-star all the rest he needs.