Giants Designate Dan Winkler For Assignment
The Giants announced that they’ve designated right-hander Dan Winkler for assignment Thursday. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to lefty Sam Selman, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Sacramento. The Giants also placed outfielder Alex Dickerson on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique strain.
Winkler’s DFA comes less than 24 hours after the Giants acquired him in the trade that sent Mark Melancon to Atlanta. Jettisoning Winkler underscores that the move was largely one about finances for the Giants, who were stunningly able to unload the entirety of Melancon’s remaining $18.3MM on the Braves.
The 29-year-old Winkler has struggled in 2019, pitching to an ugly 4.98 ERA with a 22-to-11 K/BB ratio in 21 2/3 innings of relief this season. He’s had similar struggles in Triple-A (4.86 ERA, 20-to-18 K/BB in 16 2/3 innings) but is not far removed from a strong 2018 showing. Last season, Winkler pitched to a 3.43 earned run average (and a 2.76 FIP) with 10.3 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 0.45 HR/9 and a 38.3 percent ground-ball rate. He has minor league options remaining beyond the 2019 season, making it somewhat surprising that the Giants apparently aren’t planning to take a look at him. Winkler can’t be traded to another organization under this season’s new trade structure but can be claimed on outright waivers.
Selman will be making his MLB debut as a 28-year-old rookie after posting some jaw-dropping numbers in the minors. After tossing seven shutout innings in Double-A, he moved up to the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and turned in 40 frames of 1.35 ERA ball with 65 strikeouts (14.6 K/9) against 13 walks (2.9 BB/9). He’s benefited from a minuscule .203 BABIP and an 86 percent strand rate, but Selman’s ability to miss bats and limit walks is intriguing.
As for Dickerson, he’s not expected to miss more than 10 days with his current ailment (Twitter link via Kerry Crowley of the San Jose Mercury News). The 29-year-old has been a godsend for the Giants and helped to fuel San Francisco’s surge back into the Wild Card picture, hitting .346/.402/.664 with six homers, 10 doubles and three triples in 117 plate appearances.
That level of output isn’t likely to be maintained, as Dickerson’s .413 average on balls in play is the fourth-highest of any hitter in baseball (min. 100 PAs). He’s also battled significant injury issues throughout his career. That said, he does have an outstanding Triple-A track record (.333/.398/.541 in 892 PAs) and enjoyed some big league success with the Padres back in 2016. He’s controlled three more seasons beyond 2019, making him an intriguing find for the Giants even if (or when) his bat regresses to some extent.
Reds Select Aristides Aquino
The Reds announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Aristides Aquino from Triple-A Louisville.
Aquino, 25, made his big league debut with the Reds last season but received just one plate appearance in August. He was subsequently non-tendered in the offseason but re-signed with Cincinnati on a new minor league contract just a few days later.
Last season’s .240/.306/.448 line in Double-A was more impressive than it looks (111 wRC+), considering the pitcher-friendly environment in which he played, but Aquino’s 2019 season has been far more eye-opening. In 323 trips to the plate, he’s slashed a robust .299/.356/.636 with 28 home runs, 13 doubles, a triple and five steals. He’s played exclusively in right field this season and will give Cincinnati a right-handed-hitting replacement option for Yasiel Puig, who headed to Cleveland in Tuesday night’s three-team Trevor Bauer blockbuster.
Rangers To Designate Asdrubal Cabrera, Tim Federowicz
The Rangers will designate infielder Asdrubal Cabrera and catcher Tim Federowicz for assignment on Friday, according to multiple reporters (including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Jose Trevino will be called up to take their roster spots, as per MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, with Kiner-Falefa playing third base and Trevino sharing catching duties with Jeff Mathis.
The moves will clear roster space for two veterans who, now that the trade deadline is passed, don’t have much more utility on a Texas squad that is largely looking ahead to 2020. Neither player had much trade value anyway, as Cabrera had only hit .235/.318/.393 over 368 plate appearances this season, while Federowicz was basically a stop-gap backup catcher only acquired in June.
Cabrera signed a one-year, $3.5MM deal with the Rangers last winter, holding down third base after Adrian Beltre retired. While Texas did well on quite a few of their veteran signings, Cabrera simply didn’t produce much offensively, as his production dropped off significantly after being an above-average bat for much of the last decade. Cabrera’s 23.1% strikeout rate this season is a career worst, while his .287 xwOBA ranks in the bottom 12th percentile of all qualified batters.
Between this subpar year and the fact that Cabrera turns 34 in November, the 13-year veteran may have a difficult time landing a Major League contract in the offseason. It could even be difficult for him to find another gig for the remainder of this season, though Cabrera has enough of a track record that he’ll certainly get a call if another team suffers an injury in the infield.
Federowicz signed a minor league contract with Cleveland in February and was then traded to the Rangers once Kiner-Falefa was placed on the injured list. The journeyman has appeared in parts of eight big league seasons, with a career .574 OPS over 439 PA.
Brewers To Promote Trent Grisham
The Brewers will call up outfielder Trent Grisham in time for tomorrow’s game against the Athletics, Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy). Earlier today, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan tweeted that the move was likely. Grisham isn’t currently on the 40-man roster, so an accommodating move will have to be made before he hits the field.
Grisham, who went by “Trent Clark” when he was drafted 15th overall in 2015, received some top-100 prospect list attention prior to the 2016 season. From 2016-2018, however, Grisham showed some decent on-base numbers but was overall lacking at the plate.
Still, the Brewers kept promoting him through the system, and Grisham finally made his big breakthrough this season. After an .875 OPS over 283 Double-A plate appearances earned him another step up the ladder, Grisham tore up Triple-A pitching to the tune of a .381/.471/.776 slash line over 158 PA. (This included a stunning game on Tuesday that included hitting for the cycle and adding a second home run for good measure.)
While playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League undoubtedly contributed to his Triple-A explosion, MLB Pipeline’s profile of Grisham cites a preseason change to his batting stance that has clearly paid major dividends. The 22-year-old is now set to make his big league debut, and between his quality baserunning, ability to play all three outfield positions, and improved bat, Grisham becomes an intriguing part-time asset for the Brewers.
Now that Jesus Aguilar has been traded to the Rays, Ryan Braun could potentially see some time at first base as a platoon partner with one of Milwaukee’s two left-handed hitting first base options (Travis Shaw and Eric Thames). This could open up some outfield playing time for Grisham, though the Brewers also have another left-handed hitting outfielder in Ben Gamel.
Dodgers To Promote Dustin May
The Dodgers will call up prized right-handed pitching prospect Dustin May in time for Friday’s game against the Padres, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reports (Twitter link).
The 21-year-old May only made his Triple-A debut on June 30, but he’ll now get his first taste of Major League competition after posting a 2.30 ERA over 27 1/3 innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City. Over his entire minor league career, May has a 3.50 ERA, 4.43 K/BB rate, and 8.8 K/9 rate in 403 2/3 innings.
A third-round pick in the 2016 draft, May emerged on multiple preseason prospect ranking lists, and his solid performance this year has only elevated his stock. Fangraphs currently ranks May as the eighth-best prospect in baseball, while ESPN.com’s Keith Law (13th), Baseball America (26th) and MLB.com (35th) were only somewhat less bullish.
May boasts a three-pitch arsenal that includes a two-seam fastball that can touch 97mph, a cutter that reaches the low-90s, and an impressive curveball. On the 20-80 scouting scale, MLB.com ranks all three pitches with at least a 60-grade, topped off with a 65-grade fastball. May throws a lot of strikes, and doesn’t allow many walks or home runs. While his 27 1/3 innings in Triple-A is a small sample size, May didn’t allow a single homer during his brief stint in the very hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
As one might expect, May’s potential has attracted a lot of attention from potential trade partners, though the Dodgers resisted all offers involving the young righty. May was reportedly heavily targeted by the Orioles last year when Baltimore and Los Angeles were in talks about Manny Machado, though the Dodgers were able to retain May while still landing Machado for a package of five other prospects. More recently, the Pirates had interest in May while discussing Felipe Vazquez deals with L.A.
With May still in the fold, he’ll now become a weapon for the Dodgers as they pursue another trip to the World Series. While the rotation hasn’t been quite as much of a revolving door for the Dodgers this season as in past years, May will slide into the fifth spot in the rotation with Rich Hill and Ross Stripling both sidelined with injuries. Julio Urias most recently served as the fifth starter, though it seems as though he’ll return to his previous role in the bullpen. Given how flexible the Dodgers are with pitcher usage, May will likely see some time as a reliever himself later in the season.
Rockies Acquire Joe Harvey
In a minor move completed prior to the trade deadline, the Rockies acquired right-hander Joe Harvey from the Yankees for minor league left-hander Alfredo Garcia, as per a Yankees media release.
Harvey, 27, was a 19th-round pick for the Yankees in the 2014 draft. The righty has worked as a reliever in 118 of his 124 professional games, while posting some impressive numbers — a 1.96 ERA, 10.3 K/9, and 2.98 K/BB rate over 170 innings in the minors. This performance, in particular some good numbers at Triple-A over the last two years, earned Harvey his first Major League promotion, and he delivered a 4.50 ERA over 10 relief innings for New York this season.
Despite these solid results, Harvey was something of an expendable piece on the Yankees’ depth chart, and opted to move him for a younger arm with perhaps more long-term upside. Garcia, who just celebrated his 20th birthday on July 22, has a 4.85 ERA, 8.6 K/9, and 2.58 K/BB rate over 200 1/3 minor league innings, none above the A-ball level. Originally signed for a $1MM bonus at the start of the 2016-17 international signing period, Garcia has worked as a starter in 38 of his 42 games in the Rockies’ farm system.
40-Man Moves: 7/31/19
This has been a trade-filled day across Major League Basbeall, leaving plenty of smaller moves somewhat unnoticed. Here’s a look at the DFAs, contract selections and other 40-man transactions that came along with today’s action…
- The Blue Jays have claimed right-hander Brock Stewart off waivers from the Dodgers, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Once a well-regarded prospect, the 27-year-old Stewart has only managed a 5.46 ERA/5.71 FIP in 84 innings since he debuted in the majors in 2016. Stewart has also experienced a nightmarish 2019 at the Triple-A level, where he has mustered a 7.34 ERA/7.22 FIP with 7.93 K/9 and 4.74 BB/9 in 76 innings.
- The Nationals announced that they’ve designated righties Javy Guerra and Michael Blazek for assignment. The 33-year-old Guerra has divided the season between Washington and Toronto, combining for a 4.50 ERA/3.86 FIP with 7.36 K/9 and 3.07 BB/9 across 44 innings. Blazek, 30, threw just five innings for the Nationals before his designation. Prior to his addition to the Nats’ roster, Blazek recorded a 5.54 ERA/4.91 FIP with 9.69 K/9 and 3.46 BB/9 in 26 Triple-A innings.
- The Athletics have designated righty Andrew Triggs and outrighted fellow righty Brian Schlitter to Triple-A Las Vegas, the club announced. The 30-year-old Triggs was a promising piece for the Athletics a couple seasons ago, but health issues – including September 2018 thoracic outlet syndrome surgery – have prevented him from making an impact of late. He hasn’t pitched in the majors at all this season. Schlitter, meanwhile, lost his briefly held 40-man spot with the A’s when they designated him Monday.
- The Indians have designated infielder Eric Stamets, who opened the season as their starting shortstop on account of Francisco Lindor‘s calf strain. Stamets, 27, struggled to a hideous .049/.149/.073 line in 48 plate appearances while filling in for the great Lindor. He has been better – albeit far from spectacular – at the Triple-A level, where he has hit .232/.313/.378 with six HRs and 12 steals in 262 PA this season.
- The Brewers have designated left-hander Donnie Hart, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets. The 28-year-old has thrown 6 2/3 scoreless innings with the Brew Crew this season, though he has totaled more walks (four) than strikeouts (three). Hart has enjoyed a relatively productive campaign at the Triple-A level, where he has posted a 4.10 ERA/4.28 FIP with 7.23 K/9, 3.13 BB/9 and a 55.4 percent groundball rate in 37 1/3 innings.
- The Mariners have selected righty Zac Grotz from Double-A Arkansas, the team announced. The 26-year-old Grotz, whom the Mariners signed to a minor league deal in the offseason, has registered a strong 2.51 ERA/2.74 FIP with 10.83 K/9, 1.73 BB/9 and a 57.9 percent groundball rate in 57 1/3 Double-A innings in 2019.
- The Cubs have designated righty Oscar De La Cruz, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic relays. The 24-year-old De La Cruz entered the season as the Cubs’ 15th-ranked prospect, per FanGraphs, and has since pitched to a 3.89 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 81 innings divided between the High-A and Double-A levels.
- The Diamondbacks have designated righty Joey Krehbiel, who had a brief MLB debut with the club last season. The 26-year-old has stumbled to an 8.25 ERA/7.25 FIP and notched 8.6 K/9 against 7.05 BB/9 in 52 1/3 Triple-A innings in 2019.
- More on the Diamondbacks, who have transferred utilityman Blake Swihart to the 60-day injured list. Swihart has been on the IL with an oblique injury since the start of June, so this is just a procedural move on the D-backs’ part.
Twins Release Cody Allen
The Twins have released reliever Cody Allen, according to Triple-A Rochester broadcaster Nate Rowan.
Allen joined the Twins on a minor league contract in late June, though he didn’t acquit himself particularly well at the Triple-A level. The 30-year-old only allowed three earned runs on seven hits in eight innings, but his 7:5 strikeout:walk ratio didn’t inspire much confidence. That came after an awful showing with the Angels for Allen, whom they signed to an $8.5MM guarantee last offseason. The Angels released Allen, a former star Indians closer, last month after he notched 23 innings of 6.26 ERA/8.40 FIP ball with 11.35 K/9, 7.83 BB/9, a shockingly low 19.7 percent groundball rate and a bloated 20.9 percent home run-to-fly ball rate.
Back when Allen signed with the Twins, a path to the majors looked realistic. However, the World Series hopeful Twins made a couple of notable bullpen trades in recent days, further blocking Allen’s path back to the bigs. The club acquired Sergio Romo from the Marlins last Saturday and Sam Dyson from the Giants on Wednesday.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/31/19
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Braves have signed outfielder Lane Adams to a minor-league contract, according to Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It won’t be the 29-year-old’s first rodeo with the Braves; he played in 111 games with the club from 2017-2018, posting an overall .818 OPS in that span. His calling card is speed, having stolen 11 bases in his Major League career while not being caught once. There’s swing-and-miss in his game, though: playing in Triple-A with the Phillies’ affiliate, he’s struck out 103 times in 306 plate appearances. As Burns notes, general manager Alex Anthopoulos cited Adams as a player who could appear with the big-league team come September.
- In one of the day’s lesser trades, the Rockies acquired minor-leaguer Jimmy Herron from the Cubs in exchange for international bonus pool money, per an official Rockies announcement. Herron, a 23-year-old outfielder, was a third-round draft choice by the Cubs last season. He’s played his first full professional season with the Cubs’ High-A affiliate, appearing in 92 games. He’s managed a .220/.320/.336 slash line while stealing 19 bases. MLB Pipeline ranks Herron outside of Cubs’ top 30 prospects.
Astros Acquire Zack Greinke
In a last-minute trade deadline stunner, the Astros announced that they’ve acquired right-hander Zack Greinke from the Diamondbacks in exchange for right-handers Corbin Martin and J.B. Bukauskas, first baseman Seth Beer and infielder Joshua Rojas. Martin (who is recovering from Tommy John surgery), Bukauskas and Beer are arguably Houston’s three best non-Kyle Tucker and non-Forrest Whitley prospects.
The buzzer-beating trade transforms an already-imposing Astros one-two rotation punch to a genuine postseason powerhouse. The 2019 Greinke trade harkens back to 2017’s acquisition of Justin Verlander for the Astros, and Greinke will now join Verlander and Gerrit Cole as the most formidable 1-2-3 combination in the American League (if not all of baseball).
Greinke is earning $31.5MM in 2019 and is still owed another $10.5MM of that salary between now and season’s end. He’s also under contract in both 2020 and 2021, with a $32MM salary owed to him in each season. Beyond that, he still has multiple payouts on his prorated signing bonus coming his way — $3MM in 2020 and 2021 — and receives a $2MM signing bonus by virtue of being traded. A third of his salary in 2019-21 is deferred and will be paid out in annual payment of $12.5MM from 2022-26, thus reducing at least some of the immediate financial implications for Houston. The Astros are reportedly “only” on the hook for about $53MM of the money that is still owed to Greinke.
Greinke’s six-year, $206.5MM contract with the Diamondbacks, signed in the 2015-16 offseason, set a then-record for the largest average annual salary ever promised to a player. And while the first season of that deal looked to be an ominous step backward from the former Cy Young winner’s Hall of Fame trajectory, he’s righted the ship and then some in the ensuing two and a half seasons.
Dating back to 2017, Greinke has racked up 551 innings of 3.12 ERA ball with 8.9 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 1.1 HR/9 and a ground-ball rate near 45 percent. He’s been particularly effective in 2019 despite the league-wide home run boom, spinning 141 frames of 2.87 ERA ball with a 0.89 HR/9 average that is actually his lowest since 2015. Greinke was shelled for seven runs in his first start of the season, but over his past 21 outings he has a 2.49 ERA and a 2.77 FIP, underscoring that even with his 36th birthday looming in October, he’s still a bona fide top-of-the-rotation pitcher.
The acquisition of Greinke is all the more vital for the Astros when glancing at their future outlook. Cole is slated to become a free agent at season’s end, as are left-hander Wade Miley and right-hander Collin McHugh. That’s three rotation options all departing, and with Martin undergoing Tommy John surgery and Whitley struggling, the most big-league-ready of Houston’s farmhands suddenly looked less certain to be 2020 contributors. (Whitley certainly still could be, of course.) The organization hopes to have Lance McCullers Jr. back from Tommy John surgery next season, but an immediate return to form is far from a sure thing.
Now, with Greinke and fellow controllable acquisition Aaron Sanchez joining the team, the Astros have a pair of new arms to team with Verlander and whichever internal options are up to the task. (Sanchez, alternatively, could also work out of the bullpen.) Landing Greinke lessens the organization’s urgency to pay top dollar for Cole on the open market as well; Cole himself seems likely to pursue a $200MM+ contract in free agency and seems a good bet to secure $150MM+ even if he doesn’t quite reach that level of rarefied air.
Turning to the Diamondbacks, who entered deadline day with a .500 record and an insurmountable division deficit, the move is the next step toward ushering in a new era of baseball. The D-backs traded face of the franchise Paul Goldschmidt this offseason, landing promising young players Carson Kelly and Luke Weaver as the key pieces in that deal. Now, third-year GM Mike Hazen and his staff have shipped out the team’s ace and cleared a substantial amount of payroll, acquiring a pair of pitchers who entered the season regarded as top 100 prospects in all of baseball: Martin and Bukauskas.
Martin won’t be a factor until late 2020 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but he’s viewed as a potential midrotation arm with an above-average fastball and an above-average, potentially plus slider. He averaged 95.3 mph on his heater in his brief MLB time this season and posted a 3.13 ERA with nearly 11 punchouts per nine innings pitched in 37 1/3 Triple-A frames before undergoing surgery.
Because his injury and the subsequent operation came about when he was pitching in Triple-A, Martin is on the minor league injured list and not accruing MLB service time. That’s key for Arizona because it means they quite likely won’t need to have him on the MLB roster or injured list until late 2020, which would theoretically make him controllable through the 2026 season. If the D-backs decide they need a roster spot and promote him to the MLB 60-day IL, that timeline would be subject to change.
Bukauskas, 22,was the 15th overall pick in the 2017 draft and has spent the 2019 season in Double-A. While his 5.25 ERA isn’t particularly impressive, he’s averaged 10.3 K/9 with a solid 47.1 percent ground-ball rate against older, more advanced competition at that level. Over at Fangraphs, Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen gave Bukauskas the potential for three 60-or-better offerings (on the 20-80 scale) but indicated in their preseason report that durability concerns — he has some back issues stemming from a previous car accident — and command could limit his workload and realization of his considerable ceiling.
Beer, beyond the superlative fun that can be had with his name, is the other big get for the Diamondbacks. Houston’s pick at No. 28 overall in 2018, Beer receives 65 to 70 grades on his raw power in scouting reports and makes more contact than one might expect from a prototypical slugger. He’s ripped through Double-A pitching in 2019, hitting at a .299/.407/.543 clip with 16 home runs and nine doubles. He’s also walked at an 8.6 percent clip against a 20.7 percent strikeout rate. Beer has bottom-of-the-scale speed but could be a bat-first option for Arizona at first base (or at designated hitter if it’s ever implemented in the National League — a possibility that continues to be a point of discussion).
Rojas is 25 years old and isn’t regarded as a top prospect, but he’s played all four infield slots and both outfield corners while tearing the cover off the ball in Double-A and Triple-A this season. He’s a potential near-term option for the D-backs who hit .322/.405/.561 in 195 Double-A plate appearances before graduating to Triple-A and raking at a comparable .310/.402/.586 clip. Rojas has a combined 20 home runs and 32 stolen bases this season. He may never have graced top prospect rankings in the past, but at a certain point that level of performance in the upper minors is difficult to overlook. At the very least, he’s an interesting fourth piece who could emerge as a utility option for the Snakes in the not-too-distant future.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter) that Greinke was going to Houston. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, ESPN’s Jeff Passan and the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reported various elements of the return (all Twitter links). Rosenthal and MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert added financial details (Twitter links).