Tony Sipp Clears Waivers, Becomes Free Agent
Three days after the Nationals requested released waivers on Tony Sipp, the left-handed reliever has cleared and is now a free agent, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Washington will pay Sipp the remainder of his $1MM salary for this year and a $250K buyout for 2020.
The fact that the 36-year-old Sipp couldn’t stick in what has been a dicey Nationals bullpen looks damning. He logged a 4.71 ERA (albeit with a far more encouraging 3.55 FIP) and 7.71 K/9 against 3.86 BB/9 in 21 innings with the club this year after it signed him to a low-cost deal a couple weeks before the season.
Along with posting shoddy run prevention numbers, Sipp saw his velocity and strikeout rates tumble compared to where they were last year as an Astro. At the same time, though, Sipp limited same- and right-handed hitters to sub-.290 weighted on-base average marks as a Nat this season. Sipp’s also just a year removed from an exemplary showing in Houston, where he posted a 1.86 ERA/2.41 FIP with 9.78 K/9 and 3.03 BB/9 over 38 2/3 innings. Now, considering Sipp’s only in line to collect the league minimum on his next contract, some contender looking for an established late-game lefty may well take a flier on him in the coming weeks.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/8/19
Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the game…
Latest Moves
- The Marlins announced that infielder Yadiel Rivera cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A, after he was designated for assignment on Tuesday. Rivera has seen action in each of the last five MLB seasons, but doesn’t have much to show for it at the plate, including a .183/.258/.217 slash line in 66 PA for Miami in 2019.
Earlier Today
- The Reds announced that infielder Blake Trahan has been outrighted to Triple-A Louisville after clearing waivers. Trahan was designated for assignment earlier this week. The 25-year-old has spent much of his season at Louisville already, hitting only .230/.280/.324 over 323 plate appearances, continuing Trahan’s struggles at the plate during his five-year pro career (which included 11 games for the Reds at the big league level in 2018).
- The Royals released 23-year-old first baseman Samir Duenez from their Triple-A club, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports (via Twitter). Duenez ranked as Kansas City’s No. 13 prospect, per Baseball America, as recently as the 2017-18 offseason. However, he’s endured a miserable season at the plate in 2019, batting a combined .199/.261/.307 in 361 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A. BA’s 2017-18 report on him tabbed him as a potential “impact power bat” with average glovework at first base and below-average speed. That outlook has clearly become more clouded with Duenez’s recent struggles, though as a 23-year-old who posted solid Double-A numbers in 2018 (when he was still rather young for the Texas League), he’ll likely find another opportunity elsewhere.
Cubs Sign Chih-Wei Hu To Minors Deal
The Cubs have signed right-hander Chih-Wei Hu to a minor league contract, according to Roster Roundup. Hu had been pitching in the Indians’ farm system before being released from that minors deal in late July.
After posting a 3.52 ERA, 8.2 K/9, and 3.00 K/BB rate over 23 relief innings with the Rays in 2017-18, Hu was dealt to Cleveland last November but struggled badly with Triple-A Akron this season. Hu managed only a 7.18 ERA over 57 2/3 innings (starting nine of 18 games), thanks in large part to 18 home runs allowed. The Tribe outrighted Hu off their 40-man roster in early July, so it seemed like a change of scenery was probably inevitable.
Hu has always been an extreme fly-ball pitcher, so it could be that the changes to the baseball used in Triple-A leagues this season have turned his fly-ball issues into a potentially insurmountable problem. Still, given the solid numbers he posted in the minors prior to 2019, there’s little risk for the Cubs in seeing if they can correct Hu’s problems.
Phillies Reinstate Jay Bruce From 10-Day IL
The Phillies have activated Jay Bruce from the 10-day injured list, as per a team announcement. Outfielder Adam Haseley has been optioned to Triple-A to create space for Bruce on the 25-man roster.
A right oblique strain sent Bruce to the IL on July 17, so such a relatively short absence is good news for both Bruce and the Phils, considering how oblique injuries often sideline players for at least a month, and often longer. Now, the left-handed slugger will return to the Philadelphia lineup after already contributing a .256/.273/.564 slash line and 10 homers over 121 PA since being traded from the Mariners in June.
It remains to be seen how Bruce will be regularly deployed, since the newly-acquired Corey Dickerson will be taking over left field and obviously right fielder Bryce Harper isn’t going anywhere. Both Dickerson and Harper are left-handed, so there’s even less opportunity for Bruce to get platoon action. Rather than relegate Bruce to bench duty, however, Haseley’s demotion would seemingly indicate that Dickerson (or maybe even Harper in a pinch) could play center field against some right-handed starters, with the switch-hitting Roman Quinn playing in center when a lefty is on the mound. It doesn’t exactly make for an ideal defensive alignment, but the Phillies might see it as a necessary evil if Bruce’s bat sparks a middling offense.
Haseley, the eighth overall pick of the 2017 draft, made a respectable accounting of himself in his first taste of big league action. Haseley hit .274/.315/.452 with three homers over 89 plate appearances, while flashing some above-average glovework in the outfield.
Padres Place Adrian Morejon On 10-Day IL, Reinstate Jose Castillo
The Padres announced that young left-hander Adrian Morejon has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a shoulder impingement. Southpaw Jose Castillo has been reinstated from the 60-day IL to take Morejon’s spot on the active roster.
It’s been a rough beginning to Morejon’s big league career, as he has been tagged for a 10.13 ERA over his eight innings of work (five outings) since making his Major League debut back on July 21. There were a couple of silver linings to Morejon’s first taste of the Show, as he averaged 96.4mph on his fastball and recorded nine strikeouts over his eight frames. MLB.com and Baseball America ranked Morejon within the top 50 of their midseason prospects rankings, making him one of the many intriguing youngsters coming out of the loaded San Diego farm system.
Castillo didn’t have nearly the same prospect pedigree when he made his Major League debut for the Padres last season, though the southpaw had much better early results. He posted a 3.29 ERA, 4.33 K/BB, and 12.2 K/9 over 38 1/3 relief innings for San Diego in 2018, though a flexor strain has kept him on the sidelines for all of 2019.
Mets Sign Brad Brach
The Mets have signed right-hander Brad Brach, as per the team’s Twitter feed. Brandon Nimmo was shifted to the 60-day injured list to create a 40-man roster spot, while left-hander Donnie Hart was optioned to Triple-A to create space on New York’s active roster.
After being released earlier this week by the Cubs, the Mets are hopeful that a change of scenery can turn around what has been easily the roughest full season of Brach’s career. The righty has a 6.13 ERA, 10.2 K/9, and 1.61 K/BB rate over 39 2/3 innings this season, with an ungainly 6.4 BB/9 and a career-high 37.4% hard-hit ball rate standing out as the biggest issues. That said, Brach was perhaps a touch unlucky to post that big ERA, as his .375 BABIP and ERA predictors (4.13 FIP, 4.88 xFIP, 4.93 SIERA) could hint.
It’s worth noting that Brach also didn’t pitch well last season with the Orioles before a midseason trade to the Braves got him back on track, as Brach had a 1.52 ERA over 23 2/3 frames for Atlanta. Overall, Brach has spent much of the decade as a solid-to-excellent relief arm for the Padres, Orioles, and Braves, posting a 3.05 ERA, 2.43 K/BB rate, and 9.4 K/9 over 449 innings from 2012-18.
Anything close to that performance would be a big help to a New York bullpen that has largely struggled this season, apart from a superlative year from Seth Lugo and some good work from southpaw Justin Wilson over his 21 innings with the club. Edwin Diaz is ostensibly still the closer, though Lugo could potentially get more save opportunities down the stretch, so Brach could possibly step right into a setup role.
The Mets will only be paying Brach a prorated minimum salary for the remainder of the season, as the Cubs are covering the rest of the salary owed to Brach under the terms of his rather bonus-heavy one-year contract. The deal also contains a dual option for 2020 — the Mets can either pay Brach $5MM or buy him out for $100K. If the latter option occurs, Brach can enact a player option worth $1.35MM.
Though Brodie Van Wagenen has only been the Mets’ general manager for less than a year, the club had interest in Brach prior to the 2018 season, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. A Brach-for-Matt Harvey deal was discussed between the Mets and Orioles, which creates an interesting what-if scenario for fans.
Blue Jays Claim Zack Godley
TODAY: The Jays officially added Godley to the active roster, optioning right-hander Brock Stewart to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
YESTERDAY: The Blue Jays have claimed righty Zack Godley off waivers from the Diamondbacks, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). Toronto will owe Godley the remainder of his $609K salary.
It’s easy to see why the Jays took a shot on the 29-year-old Godley. In need of some additional arms to finish out the season, there’s no harm in giving him an opportunity. And the club could tender Godley a contract for 2020 if he manages to bounce back.
Make no mistake, though: it has been a rough campaign to this point for Godley. His strikeout rate has plummeted to just 6.9 K/9 after sitting at better than a batter-per-inning in the prior two seasons. Godley is giving up more homers than he had in those immediately preceding campaigns as well. The result: a 6.39 ERA over 76 innings.
A mid-season move to a multi-inning relief role did help, as Godley’s velocity turned up a bit. He held opposing hitters to a .218/.297/.414 batting line and posted an improved 28:13 K/BB ratio. But he was also tagged for seven long balls and a 4.62 ERA in his 37 relief frames.
Godley is just two years removed from an excellent 2017 campaign and also posted reasonably promising peripherals last year. But he’ll have to figure some things out if he’s to get back on an upward trajectory. Rediscovering some of the lost velo would help. He’s generating swinging-strikes at a significantly lower rate than he did in his ’17 effort (10.1% vs. 13.3%), with the difference residing almost entirely in the fact that hitters have made way more contact on pitches out of the zone. His groundball rate has sagged from 55.3% at its peak to to just 43.0% this year.
Red Sox Place David Price On 10-Day Injured List
The Red Sox announced that left-hander David Price has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left wrist injury. The placement is retroactive to August 5. Price received a cortisone shot after an MRI revealed a TFCC cyst within his wrist. Righty Hector Velazquez has been called up from Triple-A Pawtucket to take Price’s spot on Boston’s roster.
This will be Price’s second IL stint of the year, following a relatively minor two-week absence in May to recover from left elbow tendinitis. This current injury also doesn’t seem overtly serious, though losing Price for any amount of time is another blow to a Red Sox team that is falling further and further back in the AL wild card race.
It’s been a decent, if somewhat unlucky, season for Price, as he has a 4.36 ERA that advanced metrics (3.64 FIP, 3.67 xFIP, 3.81 SIERA) suggest should be lower, plus his .310 xwOBA is slightly outperforming his .324 wOBA. Price’s 10.77 K/9 is the highest of his career, though he has also posted career highs in hard-hit ball rate (37.2%) and home run rate (15%).
Price hasn’t pitched well since the All-Star break, as he has a whopping 10.59 ERA over his last four starts (17 innings). The southpaw’s struggles have contributed to the overall desultory recent performance of Boston’s starting pitching, as Red Sox started have a combined 6.24 ERA over the last 30 days, the third-worst mark of any club in baseball over that timeframe. Velazquez will try and fill Price’s shoes in the rotation, though the swingman has also had a rough go of it in 2019, with a 5.67 ERA over 46 innings this season.
Twins Select Randy Dobnak
TODAY: The Twins officially announced the move.
YESTERDAY: The Twins will select the contract of right-hander Randy Dobnak from Triple-A Rochester on Thursday, Darren Wolfson of SKOR North 1500 first reported (Twitter link). Minnesota already optioned righty Kohl Stewart to Rochester following today’s game. The Twins already have a 40-man roster spot open following last month’s bullpen purge that saw the team DFA Adalberto Mejia, Mike Morin, Matt Magill and Blake Parker in less than two weeks’ time.
Dobnak, 24, hasn’t exactly taken a conventional path to the Majors. Undrafted out of Division-II Alderson-Broaddus College in West Virginia, Dobnak’s first professional outing came with the Utica Unicorns of the independent United Shore League in June 2017. He signed with the Twins less than two months later and began his career in affiliated ball with the Twins’ Rookie-level affiliate in the Appalachian League. Dobnak posted strong numbers there against younger, teenaged competition and enjoyed a solid, if unspectacular 2018 campaign in Class-A Cedar Rapids.
In 2019, Dobnak opened the season in the Class-A Advanced Florida State League but was promoted to Double-A before the calendar flipped to May. By early June, he’d been promoted for his first taste of Triple-A ball. Dobnak hasn’t posted an ERA higher than 2018’s 3.14 mark in the Midwest League at any stop in the minors; in fact, his next-highest ERA at any level is 2.57. Through 125 innings across three minor league levels in 2019, Dobnak has pitched to a minuscule 2.02 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 0.43 HR/9 and a 59 percent ground-ball rate.
That meteoric rise was enough to land a player who once looked like little more than organizational filler in the No. 30 spot on Baseball America’s midseason update to the Twins’ top prospects, and all he’s done since the publication of that list is toss another 26 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on 12 hits and five walks with 21 strikeouts. While Dobnak still shouldn’t be mistaken for any kind of elite pitching prospect, his ascent from undrafted indie ball player to Major Leaguer in just north of two calendar years is nevertheless remarkable. The Twins currently have Michael Pineda on the injured list, so it’s possible that Dobnak will get a start. If not, he’ll add some length to a Twins bullpen that has been a frequent source of headaches for fans and the organization alike in recent months.
Angels Claim Adalberto Mejia (Again)
The Angels announced Thursday that they’ve claimed lefty Adalberto Mejia off waivers from the Cardinals. It’s the second time this season that the Halos have claimed Mejia, whom they lost to the Cardinals on waivers in late July after designating him for assignment themselves. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Halos requested unconditional release waivers on catcher Jose Briceno.
A former top 100 prospect who profiled as a fourth starter, Mejia never established himself with the Twins and has now bounced from Minnesota to Anaheim to St. Louis and back to Anaheim this season. He’s posted a 7.54 ERA in 22 2/3 innings, though he’s only a season removed from solid numbers as a starter with Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate a season ago. Mejia is out of minor league options, so the Angels will have to keep him on the big league roster or else expose him to waivers for what would be the fourth time this season.
Mejia was designated by the Angels at the conclusion of a 16-inning marathon game that depleted their ‘pen, and the club was perhaps reluctant to make that move. They’ll now get a second look at the big lefty as they evaluate whether he can be a potential piece of the pitching staff moving forward — be it in the ‘pen or in the rotation. He has experience in both arenas.
As for Briceno, the 26-year-old has spent the season in Triple-A Salt Lake, where he’s managed a tepid .215/.262/.405 slash in 84 plate appearances. He’s shown a bit of pop in limited Triple-A action over the past couple seasons but has a sub-.300 OBP at every level above Class-A ball in his career.