Orioles Recall Hunter Harvey
The Orioles recalled right-hander Hunter Harvey, the team’s PR department announced. This comes after Tom Eshelman was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk last night.
Harvey, 24, is a former top prospect whose ascent was slowed by a number of injuries. When he enters a game, it will be a major league debut for Harvey, though it’s not his first call-up. Harvey spent three games with the big league club without making an appearance in April 2018, baltimorebaseball.com’s Rich Dubroff reminds us (via Twitter).
The 6’3″ North Carolina native has been a starter for most of his career, including for 11 turns in Double-A this season, where he went 2-5 with a 5.19 ERA/5.57 FIP/3.52 xFIP over 59 innings. Upon a promotion to Norfolk, Harvey moved to the bullpen. In 16 2/3 innings over 12 relief outings, he struck out 22 while walking just 5 batters en route to a 4.32 ERA/3.62 FIP. Fangraphs gives him a 40 FV while ranking him the Orioles 22nd best prospect before the start of the season. MLB.com currently pegs him as the organization’s 15th best prospect.
Eshelman, 25, has been an active traveler this season. He started the year in Reading with the Phillies Double-A affiliate. A month after being promoted to Lehigh Valley, the Phillies traded Eshelman to the Orioles in June. Eshelman made his debut in a spot start against the Rays on July 1. After giving up two runs over five in the 3-6 loss, he was optioned back to Triple-A until a call-up two weeks later.
In total, Eshelman made four starts and six relief appearances for Brandon Hyde’s club. He went 1-2 with a 6.50 ERA/7.33 FIP in 36 innings of work.
Outrighted: Yacabonis, Mantiply, Lail
Let’s catch up on a few announcements regarding players who have been outrighted after clearing waivers …
- The Orioles announced that righty Jimmy Yacabonis is destined for Triple-A after clearing. He had struggled in a 41-inning showcase this year, managing only a 5.40 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 5.3 BB/9. Yacabonis has produced similar numbers in parts of two prior seasons in the majors.
- A pair of hurlers are heading to the Yankees’ top affiliate via outright assignment. Southpaw Joe Mantiply struggled in his lone outing with the Yanks after being acquired from the Reds. That was his first time in the bigs since a brief 2016 debut. Righty Brady Lail also lost his 40-man spot after a single MLB appearance. He has worked to a 2.79 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 over 42 minor-league frames this year.
White Sox Outright AJ Reed
The White Sox have outrighted first baseman AJ Reed, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin tweets. That leaves the club with two 40-man roster openings.
A former second-round pick, Reed was once considered a premium prospect with the Astros. But his bat has failed to translate in limited opportunities at the major-league level.
Reed had already been optioned off of the active roster to Triple-A, where he’ll continue after today’s transaction. Claimed from the Houston organization earlier this summer, the 26-year-old struggled badly in 14 games with the Sox and has continued to rack up strikeouts at Charlotte.
Mets Select Paul Sewald, Designate Tim Peterson
As they continue to cycle through right-handed relief arms, the Mets have made a few tweaks to the makeup of their bullpen and roster. The club announced that it has selected the contract of Paul Sewald. To create 40-man space, Tim Peterson was designated for assignment, while an active roster spot was freed by optioning Drew Gagnon.
The 29-year-old Sewald has now regained the 40-man roster spot he lost earlier this season. He hasn’t found much success in the majors, with a 5.18 ERA over 128 2/3 career innings, but has managed a bit better than a strikeout per nine at the game’s highest level. Sewald has matched his career MLB strikeout rate (9.2 K/9) this year at Triple-A, combining that with 2.6 BB/9 to produce a 3.35 ERA over 51 innings.
Peterson, 28, was similarly useful in his 46 2/3 innings with the club’s top affiliate, working to a 3.09 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. But he has struggled in limited MLB work, allowing 5.91 earned per nine in 35 frames over the past two seasons.
Athletics Designate Dustin Garneau, Activate Josh Phegley
Change is afoot behind the dish for the Athletics. The club announced today that it has designated Dustin Garneau for assignment, clearing the way for the return of Josh Phegley from the injured list.
Garneau, who recently turned 32, had a nice run in seven games with the A’s. But he was obviously seen mostly as a roster patch for the Oakland org, which is now going back to its preexisting arrangement. In parts of five seasons in the majors, Garneau carries a .207/.290/.343 batting line over 381 plate appearances.
Braves Designate Wes Parsons
The Braves announced that they have designated righty Wes Parsons for assignment. His roster spot was needed for the club’s previously reported signing of Adeiny Hechavarria, which is now official.
Parsons, 26, converted to a full-time relief role this season and has had success at limiting earned runs. But that only tells a limited portion of the story.
In limited MLB action, Parsons has had trouble limiting walks (7.6 per nine), getting swings and misses (6.9% swinging-strike rate), and generating grounders (as he always has in the minors). That’s a recipe for disaster, which explains why the Braves haven’t used him more in the bigs despite a 3.52 ERA in 15 1/3 innings this year.
Marlins Designate Deven Marrero, Activate Neil Walker
The Marlins announced today that they have designated infielder Deven Marrero for assignment. His roster spot will go to fellow infielder Neil Walker, who was activated from the injured list.
Marrero, who is closing in on his 29th birthday, was brought up recently to fill out the Miami roster. He has seen action in parts of five MLB campaigns but has never shown the spark with the bat that was anticipated when he was chosen in the first round of the 2012 draft.
Cubs Activate Kintzler, Russell; Option Almora, Norwood
The Cubs announced today that they have activated reliever Brandon Kintzler from the injured list and recalled infielder Addison Russell. In corresponding moves, outfielder Albert Almora and reliever James Norwood were optioned. (Via Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune; Twitter links.)
It’s good news for the Chicago organization that Kintzler is already prepared to return from a pectoral injury. He looked like a financial weight around the team’s neck heading into the offseason, but has turned out to be a key steadying presence in the relief corps. He has thrown 46 1/3 innings of 2.33 ERA ball this year.
Russell is back after struggling in his return to the majors earlier this year. Since his demotion, Russell has been on a bit of a hot streak, even by the standards of the contemporary offensive haven of Triple-A. In 63 plate appearances over 15 games, he’s slashing .333/.413/.647.
Meanwhile, the decision to drop Almora comes after a long run of offensive difficulty. He’s slashing just .243/.275/.396 this year. His glovework has trended down as well, at least in the eyes of UZR and DRS, leaving him as a sub-replacement-level overall performer on the season. Almora has already crossed the line to 3+ years of MLB service, so he’ll be eligible for arbitration at season’s end. He’ll need to get to work on his offensive game if he’s to regain his standing with the organization.
Royals Designate Billy Hamilton
The Royals have designated outfielder Billy Hamilton for assignment. His active roster spot will go to Brett Phillips, who was recalled from Triple-A.
Hamilton has long seemed a candidate to change uniforms — ever since he was signed over the offseason, in fact. The rebuilding Kansas City organization inked him for a guaranteed $5.25MM (including a $1MM buyout on a 2020 mutual option) after the Reds non-tendered Hamilton to send him onto the open market.
The 28-year-old Hamilton has never delivered much with the bat, but he’s finding new lows in 2019. Through 305 plate appearances, he’s slashing a meager .211/.275/.269. It’s hard to carry any player on the roster with that kind of offensive output, which is worse than half the league-average hitter (44 wRC+).
Baserunning and defense have long allowed Hamilton to make up for his shortcomings at the plate. But Hamilton isn’t running as often or as well when he does get aboard. The renowned base-stealer has only taken 18 bags, while being cut down five times. Statcast identifies a relatively small but still notable reduction in his sprint speed; Fangraphs’ BsR measure identifies him as a very good but not uniquely exceptional overall baserunner. Defensive metrics do remain quite positive, which remains a strong feather in Hamilton’s cap.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Hamilton. The contract is rather steep for a player that won’t likely feature as more than a 4th or 5th outfielder for a contender. But it’s also fascinating to contemplate what the speedster could do down the stretch and on a postseason roster. If some team decides it really wants to have him, and doesn’t want to risk Hamilton choosing another organization, it’s certainly possible we’ll see a claim.
Meanwhile, the move will open the door for the Royals to get their first look at Phillips in the majors this year. He is still swinging and missing quite a bit this season at Triple-A, as he has since landing with the Milwaukee organization, but he has ramped his walk rate up to 17.4% while delivering good power numbers (.264 ISO, .505 SLG).
Braves To Sign Hechavarria; Option Camargo, Duvall
The Braves are slated to make a few notable roster tweaks, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (via Twitter). The club will ink shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, who was recently released by the Mets, as had been suggested earlier today.
Also joining the active roster will be righty Bryse Wilson. To create roster space, the organization has optioned utilityman Johan Camargo and outfielder Adam Duvall.
The addition of Hechavarria is filled with interesting angles. For one thing, he had until just recently played for the division-rival Mets, who cut him loose when they had the opportunity to add Joe Panik. New York will continue to cover any further guarantees under Hechavarria’s contract, less a pro-rated portion of the league minimum for the time he spends in the majors in Atlanta.
It also marks the end of the Braves’ patience with Camargo, whose season-long struggles with the bat and more recent travails with the glove have finally reached a breaking point. His roster spot was said to be safe, but the club obviously decided upon a change when the opportunity arose to add Hechavarria after he cleared release waivers.
Hechavarria will now pair with Charlie Culberson to line up at shortstop for the foreseeable future. That pairing is keeping the seat warm for the injured Dansby Swanson, whose timetable remains unknown.
There’s also intrigue surrounding Duvall, who has received scant MLB opportunity this year despite a $2,875,000 salary. His presence on the 40-man roster seemed fortuitous when the club needed to replace Nick Markakis and Austin Riley — all the more so when Duvall socked five long balls in his first six games back in the bigs. But the good times didn’t last. Over his past 48 plate appearances, Duvall has just five hits (one for extra bases) with 18 strikeouts.
It’s all but certain that some additional near-term roster maneuvering will take place in Atlanta. Right now, the team is rolling with only three bench pieces, which is likely only temporary. And there’s a distinct imbalance in the outfield, which currently features three left-handed hitters (Ender Inciarte, Matt Joyce, Rafael Ortega) alongside everyday superstar Ronald Acuna. Perhaps Culberson will see some action in left field when an opposing southpaw takes the hill, with Hechavarria handling short, but it’d be optimal to have a committed right-handed-hitting outfield piece.