Tigers Select John Schreiber
The Tigers announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander John Schreiber from Triple-A Toledo. He’ll step into the vacancy that was created when Detroit designated veteran reliever Trevor Rosenthal for assignment yesterday.
Schreiber, 25, is a Michigan native whom the Tigers selected in the 15th round back in 2016. He hasn’t drawn any rankings in the top echelon of an improved Tigers farm system, but he’s enjoyed a strong 2019 campaign all the same. In a combined 54 2/3 innings out of the bullpen between Double-A Erie (seven innings) and Triple-A Toledo (47 2/3 innings), Schreiber owns a 2.80 ERA with averages of 11.7 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and 0.82 HR/9.
Detroit’s bullpen has been in a state of flux for much of the season, as is to be expected with a rebuilding club. The deadline trade of Shane Greene to the Braves and Rosenthal’s departure only further open the door for auditions over the final two months of the 2019 season.
Royals To Select Contract Of Nick Dini
The Royals will select the contract of catcher Nick Dini and promote him to the active roster according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). A corresponding move isn’t yet known.
Dini, who just turned 26, is a former 14th-round draft pick who stands at just 5’8. He has mostly flown under the prospect radar while steadily moving up the ladder. Dini has a history of strong batting averages (.288 career), low strikeout rates (13.6%), and even a bit of speed (29 career steals).
Given a shot this year at Triple-A, Dini has made the most of his opportunities this season. Even given the Pacific Coast League’s offensive context, he has impressed offensively with a .296/.370/.565 batting line (119 wRC+). Dini has swatted 13 home runs, swiped seven bags, and turned in a strong 29:21 K/BB ratio over 213 plate appearances.
It seems that Dini will have a chance to turn into a reasonably capable offensive backstop. His defensive acumen isn’t really evident from public reports, though there is video evidence of a nice back pick last spring.
For the Royals, this is the latest move in a season-long effort to fill in for injured stalwart Salvador Perez. Having traded away Martin Maldonado, the club is cycling through much less established options. Meibrys Viloria and Cam Gallagher have been handling the position of late, but the latter recently came down with an injury that may require a stint on the injured list. The club just acquired Adam Moore, bolstering an organizational depth chart that also includes another player with MLB experience in Andrew Susac.
Ben Lively To Sign With KBO’s Samsung Lions
Right-hander Ben Lively has agreed to sign with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization, according to Naver Sports (h/t: Sung Min Kim of FanGraphs). He’ll take the roster spot of another former major league righty, Deck McGuire, whom the Lions will release.
Lively had been with the Diamondbacks, who acquired him from the Royals for cash considerations toward the end of June. As a member of those two teams’ Triple-A affiliates this season, the 27-year-old combined for 72 1/3 innings of 4.48 ERA pitching with 9.5 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9.
Lively also tossed one inning with the Royals this year, but he’s best known for his time with the Phillies – who acquired him from the Reds for outfielder Marlon Byrd in December 2014. Lively worked his way to the majors in 2017 and proceeded to post a 4.81 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 over 112 1/3 innings between then and 2018.
McGuire, now 29, entered the pros as the 11th overall pick of the Blue Jays in 2010. Despite that lofty selection, he hasn’t had much success in the majors or at the Triple-A level with multiple organizations. McGuire also had trouble in the hitter-friendly KBO, where he logged a 5.05 ERA and notched 8.0 K/9 against 5.3 BB/9 in 112 1/3 frames this season.
Royals Acquire Adam Moore From Rangers
The Royals have acquired catcher Adam Moore from the Rangers, according to Texas’ executive vice president of communications, John Blake. The Rangers received cash considerations for Moore, who will now report to Triple-A Omaha. Meanwhile, Rangers catcher Tim Federowicz has joined their Triple-A club in Nashville. The Rangers outrighted him over the weekend.
The Moore swap will go down as a rare August deal in a league that no longer features a waiver trade deadline. The teams were able to swing it because Moore’s on a minor league contract. He inked that pact with the Rangers back in mid-February.
The 35-year-old Moore has spent the season in Nashville, where he has hit .255/.363/.349 with two home runs in 124 plate appearances. Moore has combined for a more powerful line of .265/.327/.406 with 65 HRs across 2,526 career PA at the minors’ highest level. He has seen major league action in the past with several clubs – including his new team, the Royals, from 2012-13 – but hasn’t totaled more than 20 at-bats in an MLB campaign since 2010. Moore has batted .199/.239/.412 in 312 trips to the plate in the bigs.
Diamondbacks Designate Greg Holland, Reinstate Blake Swihart
4:30pm: Arizona has announced Holland’s DFA and reinstated Blake Swihart from the 60-day injured list, thus filling his spot on the 25-man and 40-man rosters.
10:07am: The Diamondbacks will designate veteran reliever Greg Holland for assignment, according to Robert Murray of The Athletic (via Twitter). Holland cannot be traded out of DFA limbo but can be claimed by a rival organization.
It’s somewhat difficult, but not impossible, to imagine another club stepping into the shoes of the Holland contract. He’s due the remainder of a $3.25MM guarantee and is also in line to pick up some added bonuses. Having already finished 27 games over forty appearances, Holland is already owed an additional $650K by the Snakes. He can still earn another $100K upon throwing in his 45th and 50th games along with $200K apiece if he reaches 55 and 60. There are also additional potential earnings for further games finished — not that a contender would be likely to utilize Holland in the ninth inning.
If he clears waivers, the 33-year-old Holland will either be released or have the right to elect free agency by virtue of his service time. Regardless, the D-Backs would remain on the hook for all that’s still owed to Holland — except for a pro-rated portion of the league-minimum salary for any time the veteran spends pitching for another team.
Holland seemed to be humming along nicely through June, at which point he had secured a dozen saves and thrown 27 innings of 2.33 ERA ball. As we explained when the struggles began, there were plenty of warning signs of good old-fashioned regression but no particular indications that Holland would completely fall apart.
The situation has simply not improved since. Over his 8 2/3 frames of work since the calendar flipped to July, Holland has dished out eleven free passes to go with nine strikeouts. Opposing batters have plated eleven earned runs. And though he posted a run of five consecutive saves in the midst of that stretch, Holland was removed from the ninth after a pair of brutal late-July appearances against the Marlins.
Even as the results have suffered, Holland has seen his velocity embark upon a steady downturn — with a corresponding decline in the swings and misses against his four-seamer. That fact will surely weigh heavily in the minds of organization’s considering a move for the once-great closer, who has had some stretches of good work in recent years while struggling to maintain consistency.
Cubs Sign Jonathan Lucroy
4:23pm: The Cubs announced the signing. Davis has been optioned to Triple-A to open a roster spot, and Lucroy will join the team tomorrow.
2:25pm: The Cubs are set to sign catcher Jonathan Lucroy following his release by the Angels, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter). Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier this week that Chicago had interest in Lucroy after he’d been designated for assignment by the Halos.
The Cubs dealt away Martin Maldonado prior to the trade deadline but suddenly found themselves with a unexpected need for help behind the plate when Willson Contreras went down with a hamstring injury that is expected to cost him four weeks of action. Lucroy will step in and share catching duties with Victor Caratini in Contreras’ absence.
Lucroy, now 33, was a thorn in the side of the Cubs and their fanbase for when he was one of the best all-around catchers and a two-time All-Star for the division-rival Brewers. Those days are a distant memory at this point, however, as Lucroy has seen both his bat and his defensive skills erode in recent seasons. Dating back to 2017, he’s authored a well below-average .250/.317/.353 batting line despite spending ample time in hitter-friendly settings in Colorado and Texas (78 OPS+).
Defensively speaking, Lucroy was among the game’s best at preventing steals in 2016 (39 percent), but he’s been league average in the three subsequent seasons. His once-elite framing numbers now check in below the league average, and Baseball Prospectus rates Lucroy as the game’s weakest pitch blocker.
It’s not a terribly appealing profile, especially relative to Lucroy’s peak years, but he’s an experienced backstop who can at the very least be considered an upgrade over current backup Taylor Davis. Caratini was also spiked in the hand in last night’s game, though he didn’t come out of the game and the Cubs have given no reason to be concerned about a trip to the injured list for the young switch-hitter.
Lucroy will only cost the Cubs the prorated portion of the league minimum — about $158K between now and season’s end. The Angels will be spared that sum but remain on the hook for the remaining $797K or so of Lucroy’s $3.35MM base salary this season. Lucroy will be a free agent once again this offseason.
Tigers Designate Trevor Rosenthal For Assignment
The Tigers announced following today’s game that they’ve designated right-hander Trevor Rosenthal for assignment and optioned righty Eduardo Paredes to Triple-A Toledo. They’ll make a pair of corresponding moves before tomorrow’s game.
Rosenthal’s brief stint with the Tigers went a bit better than his ugly tenure with the Nationals, but a 22.74 ERA and 15 walks in 6 1/3 innings is the lowest of low bars to clear. With the Tigers, Rosenthal yielded seven runs and issued 11 walks against 12 strikeouts. He also hit a batter and uncorked four wild pitches, further exemplifying the disappearance of his ability to locate the ball in his first season back from 2017 Tommy John surgery.
With the Tigers, Rosenthal improved his swinging-strike rate and maintained an outstanding 98 mph average fastball velocity. However, his lack of ability to throw strikes on anything resembling a consistent basis handily outweighed his marginal improvements in Detroit. He’s only allowed 11 hits in his 15 1/3 innings this season and hasn’t surrendered a home run, but Rosenthal’s 2019 season is catastrophic on any level. He’ll surely clear waivers and become a free agent again, at which point he’ll be free to sign on with another organization in hopes of another run at righting the ship.
Orioles Release Nate Karns, Outright Jose Rondon
The Orioles announced Wednesday that they’ve released right-hander Nate Karns and outrighted infielder Jose Rondon to Triple-A Norfolk. Both players cleared waivers; Karns, however, has the requisite service time to elect free agency.
Karns will head back to free agency after missing the bulk of the 2019 season due to forearm issues. He’d made it back to the mound prior to his DFA, pitching in three rehab appearances between July 12 and July 23. The 31-year-old Karns tossed 5 1/3 innings with the O’s and yielded only one unearned run early in the season, but he was tagged for 10 runs in 10 1/3 innings of work across two rehab stints this season (the first of which was halted after a late-April setback). Injuries, most notably thoracic outlet surgery, have largely wiped out the past four seasons for Karns, making 2015’s 147 innings of 3.67 ERA ball for the Rays feel like a distant memory.
Rondon, 25, received just one plate appearance with the O’s after being claimed off waivers out of the White Sox organization. He’d previously batted .197/.265/.282 in Chicago before being designated for assignment. Rondon is a versatile infield defender but hasn’t received strong grades for his small sample of innings at shortstop. He’s a lifetime .264/.300/.463 in 508 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
Blue Jays Designate David Paulino For Assignment
The Blue Jays announced that they’ve designated right-hander David Paulino for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to right-hander Zack Godley, who has been claimed off outright waivers from the Diamondbacks (as previously reported by Nick Piecoro).
Paulino, 25, was once considered to be among baseball’s 100 best prospects but has seen his star dim in recent seasons — beginning with an 80-game PED suspension issued back in July 2017. Since that half-season ban, Paulino has also undergone surgery to remove bone spurs from his pitching elbow and generally performed at diminished levels. Toronto acquired him alongside Ken Giles in the 2018 trade that sent Roberto Osuna to Houston.
Paulino pitched 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball with the Jays late in the 2018 season but has been limited to 28 2/3 innings in Triple-A Buffalo in 2019. He’s currently on the minor league injured list, meaning that Toronto’s only course of action with Paulino will be to release him. Clubs can no longer trade players who’ve been on 40-man rosters under the league’s new August trade restrictions, and teams are also unable to pass injured players through outright waivers. Another club could claim Paulino off release waivers, and he’ll have the opportunity to sign with a new organization if he clears. However, it’s also fairly common in these situations for the released player to sign a new minor league deal with his former club.
Jonathan Lucroy Clears Release Waivers
Aug. 7: Lucroy has cleared release waivers, the Angels announced. He’s now a free agent and can sign with any team for the prorated league minimum.
Aug. 5: The Angels announced today that they have requested release waivers on veteran backstop Jonathan Lucroy. He had been designated for assignment recently.
Any team can place a claim on the veteran backstop, stepping into his contract rights if awarded. The order of priority is based upon inverse record, without reference to league.
Lucroy, 33, is guaranteed $3.35MM this season, so it’s far from certainly any team will choose to take on the remainder of what’s owed. But that’s the surest way to gain control over a player during the month of August. If Lucroy clears waivers, interested orgs will be competing for his services based upon opportunity and any other considerations he values (location, for instance).
While Lucroy struggled badly at the plate with the Halos, sporting an ugly .242/.310/.371 batting line, he remains a trustworthy veteran receiver. For a team that needs depth, an improved backup situation, or a temporary replacement, there may not be a better option.