Mariners Select Reggie McClain
The Mariners announced Friday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Reggie McClain. He’ll meet the team in Houston and join manager Scott Servais’ bullpen mix.
McClain, 26, was Seattle’s 13th-round draft pick back in 2016 and has posted strong numbers at three different minor league levels this season (Class-A Advanced, Double-A and Triple-A). In all, he’s tallied 72 2/3 innings of 2.23 ERA ball with 8.9 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 0.5 HR/9 and a ground-ball rate north of 57 percent.
That success corresponds with a shift from the rotation to the bullpen; McClain struggled to keep his ERA south of 5.00 in two trips through the Class-A Advanced California League in 2016-17 before breaking out as a fast riser with the move to a relief role in 2019. He’s not ranked among the club’s top prospects, but his excellent season to date will earn him a chance to carve out a spot in the Mariners’ bullpen moving forward.
Seattle’s 40-man roster is now up to a total of 38 players.
Indians Release Neil Ramirez, Trayce Thompson
Right-hander Neil Ramirez and outfielder Trayce Thompson have been granted their release from the Indians organization, per an announcement from the team’s Triple-A affiliate. Both former big leaguers are free agents and can now sign with another club.
Ramirez, 30, was with the Indians earlier this season but struggled to a 5.40 ERA and allowed five home runs in 16 2/3 innings. Ramirez notched an 18-to-9 K/BB ratio in that time and has a lengthy history of missing bats, but he’s struggled to throw strikes and command the ball within the zone throughout his career. In 171 1/3 innings as a Major Leaguer, he’s logged a 4.41 ERA with 10.8 K/9, 4.7 BB/9, 1.63 HR/9 and a 30.1 percent ground-ball rate.
Thompson, the younger brother of NBA star Klay Thompson, played 51 big league games between the White Sox and the A’s in 2018. The No. 61 overall pick by the White Sox in the 2009 draft, the now-28-year-old Thompson was a fairly well-regarded minor league talent but hasn’t found sustained success. He’s batted .206/.276/.389 in 589 MLB plate appearances and was hitting .219/.294/.482 with 24 homers, 10 doubles, three triples and eight steals in 89 Triple-A games this season. Strikeouts have increasingly become an issue for Thompson, as evidenced by this year’s 36.1 percent rate in Columbus.
Twins Acquire Brandon Barnes
The Twins have acquired outfielder Brandon Barnes from the Indians, per an announcement from the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate in Columbus. While the move will surely generate some confusion because it comes after the July 31 trade deadline, Barnes was still tradeable by virtue of the fact that he’s on a minor league deal and at no point had been on a 40-man roster this season. (We took a look at how these and other minor moves could still occur yesterday here at MLBTR.)
Cleveland didn’t specify a return, though it’s quite likely that the veteran Barnes was merely flipped to Minnesota for cash. The Twins have been looking for outfield depth in the minors — they signed Ramon Flores out of indie ball two days ago — and the Indians, conversely, have come into some newfound outfield depth. The trade of Trevor Bauer netted them both Franmil Reyes and Yasiel Puig, thus pushing Greg Allen and Jake Bauers to Triple-A Columbus and squeezing Barnes out of his everyday job there.
Barnes, 33, has posted a .271/.336/.529 batting line with 24 home runs, 25 doubles and nine steals in 420 plate appearances with Cleveland’s top affiliate in Columbus this season. He’s spent parts of six seasons at the Major League level, most recently appearing in 19 games with Cleveland just last season. Barnes is capable of playing all three outfield spots but carries an underwhelming .242/.290/.357 batting line through 1274 big league plate appearances. He’ll give the Twins some depth in Triple-A Rochester.
Mariners Sign Brian Ellington To Minors Deal
The Mariners have signed right-hander Brian Ellington to a minor league contract. The news was announced by the independent American Association (Twitter link), as Ellington had been pitching for the league’s Kansas City T-Bones since being released from a previous minor league deal with the Red Sox back in June.
Ellington tossed 102 2/3 innings out of the Marlins’ bullpen from 2015-17, though after posting some good numbers in the first two of those seasons, his ERA ballooned to 7.25 (thanks in large part to a 7.1 BB/9 and 1.4 HR/9) over 44 2/3 frames in 2017. The righty hasn’t been back in the majors since, after spending an injury-shortened season in the Diamondbacks’ farm system and then tossing 19 combined innings for Boston’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates this year.
Originally a 16th-round pick for the Marlins in 2012, Ellington’s 2017 struggles were a magnified version of the control issues he has battled for much of his career, as he has a 5.6 BB/9 over 275 1/3 career minor league innings. Those free passes come with a lot of missed bats (10.4 K/9) and some decent run prevention (3.96 ERA), though the home run problem was a new one, as Ellington has only an 0.5 HR/9 over his minor league career. Ellington could still have some upside the Mariners could yet unlock, though at worst he’ll be a depth reliever at Triple-A.
Tigers Select Travis Demeritte’s Contract
The Tigers have selected the contract of outfielder Travis Demeritte from Triple-A Toledo, as per a team announcement. Righty Eduardo Jimenez has also been called up from Toledo.
Demeritte is set for his big league debut just a day after joining the Tigers. The 24-year-old was dealt to Detroit yesterday along with southpaw Joey Wentz in the trade that sent Shane Greene to the Braves. It marked the second time in Demeritte’s young career that he was part of a late-July deadline deal, as he was also sent to Atlanta as part of a three-player swap back in 2016.
Selected 30th overall by the Rangers in the 2013 draft, Demeritte has been an inconsistent offensive player over his career, though he had his share of decent numbers. This includes a great stretch at Triple-A Gwinnett this season, as Demeritte posted a .286/.387/.558 slash line and 20 homers over 399 plate appearances. While never a premium prospect, Demeritte is interesting enough to merit a look from a Tigers club that is open to all possibilities (particularly in the outfield) as it continues a rebuild. Demeritte began his career playing all over the infield, though he has almost exclusively been a corner outfielder over the last two years.
Blue Jays Activate Trent Thornton From 10-Day IL, Select Jason Adam’s Contract
The Blue Jays officially added newly-acquired outfielder Derek Fisher to the roster, while also activating right-hander Trent Thornton from the injured list. Thornton is scheduled to start tonight’s game against the Orioles. Right-hander Jason Adam also had his contract selected from Triple-A.
It was a brief IL stay for Thornton, whose placement with inflammation in his throwing elbow was retroactive to July 21. Acquired from the Astros for Aledmys Diaz last winter, Thornton has shown some flashes of promise within an inconsistent season, posting a 5.45 ERA, 9.1 K/9, and 2.22 K/BB rate over 99 innings in Toronto’s rotation. He’ll continue to receive a long look at the Jays figure out their future pitching plans now that Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez have both been dealt.
Adam was acquired in a minor deal with the Royals in March, though injuries have limited to just 13 1/3 total innings in the minors this season. The righty has a 4.24 ERA, 2.87 K/BB rate, and 7.8 K/9 rate over 579 1/3 career frames in the minor leagues, working almost exclusively as a relief pitcher in the last three seasons. Adam made his MLB debut last season, tossing 32 1/3 innings for Kansas City while posting a 6.12 ERA, as he allowed a whopping nine homers over his brief stint in a Royal uniform.
Indians Option Jake Bauers, Greg Allen To Triple-A
The Indians have optioned first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers and outfielder to Greg Allen, the club announced. The moves create 25-man roster space for Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes, the Tribe’s two new outfield acquisitions from their blockbuster three-team trade Tuesday with the Padres and Reds.
It’s been a tough first season in Cleveland for Bauers, as the left-handed bat has managed just a .233/.308/.379 slash line over 383 plate appearances for the Tribe. Acquired along with Carlos Santana in another big three-team swap (with the Mariners and Rays last December), Bauers had top-100 prospect buzz surrounding him in Tampa Bay, and the Tribe were hopeful of a breakout. While Bauers is still only 23 and could certainly still emerge in the future, his lack of production this year was undoubtedly a factor in the pennant-hungry Indians’ need to acquire such notable hitting upgrades in Puig and Reyes.
With Bauers and Allen in the minors, Puig will slide into everyday work in right field while Reyes will likely spend much of his time at DH. The Tribe have Jordan Luplow and utilityman Mike Freeman as backup outfield options on the bench, making Allen expendable.
Brewers Designate Jacob Barnes For Assignment
The Brewers announced a series of roster moves today, including the selection of outfield prospect Trent Grisham‘s contract from Triple-A. In addition to Grisham making his Major League debut, right-hander Jacob Barnes was designated to assignment to create a 40-man roster spot. (Righty Taylor Williams and utilityman Tyler Saladino were also optioned to Triple-A.)
After posting some solid numbers out of Milwaukee’s pen in 2017-18, Barnes has struggled this year, resulting in a series of shuttles between Triple-A and the majors. The 29-year-old has a 6.86 ERA, 10.1 K/9, and 2.00 K/BB rate over 19 2/3 innings for the Brew Crew this season, with increases in his walk and homer rate both influencing that ungainly ERA.
Tim Collins Elects Free Agency
Veteran lefty Tim Collins elected free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment from the Cubs, according to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League’s transactions page. Chicago designated Collins, 29, for assignment over the weekend.
Collins appeared in nine games across multiple stints with the Cubs in 2019, allowing a total of three runs on nine hits and three walks with four punchouts. He’s whiffed 37 hitters in 27 Triple-A innings this season but has also issued 16 walks (three intentional) and surrendered seven home runs there.
Collins was a big piece of the Kansas City bullpen from 2011-14 but missed two full seasons due to multiple Tommy John surgeries. He’s totaled 31 1/3 big league innings between the Nationals and Cubs since returning from that pair of operations, posting a 25-to-15 K/BB ratio but has yielded a .237/.328/.492 batting line to opposing left-handers.
Still, as an experienced left-hander with a knack for missing bats, Collins should have little difficulty latching on with a different club — likely a contender. The elimination of August trade waivers will make adding depth via other avenues (e.g. outright waiver claims, free agency) of increased importance.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/1/19
We’ll track Thursday’s minor moves from around the league here…
- The Twins signed outfielder Ramon Flores and righty Jonathan Cheshire to minor league deals, per an announcement from the Somerset Patriots of the independent Atlantic League. Flores, who was assigned to Triple-A Rochester, has spent parts of three seasons in the big leagues but has played with the Patriots in each of the past two seasons. His 2019 output was particularly impressive, as he batted .311/.395/.467 with nearly as many walks (43) as strikeouts (49). The 27-year-old last appeared in the Majors when he got a brief three-game run with the Angels in 2017, but his most significant stint came with the 2016 Brewers. That season, the Venezuelan-born Flores hit .205/.294/.261 in 289 plate appearances while appearing at all three outfield positions. He’s yet to find Major League success, but Flores is a career .281/.373/.429 hitter in more than 1400 Triple-A plate appearances. As for Cheshire, he’s never been in the Majors but notched an impressive 19-to-3 K/BB ratio and a 0.55 ERA in 16 1/3 innings with the Patriots. Cheshire, 24, was cut loose by the Blue Jays earlier this year and has been assigned to Double-A Pensacola with the Twins.