Mets To Re-Sign Dilson Herrera
The Mets have reached a minor-league deal to re-sign infielder Dilson Herrera, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). Herrera had just opted out of his original minors pact with the New York club, but did not find a preferable opportunity elsewhere and elected to return.
Herrera has been off to a rousing start at the plate this year. Through 256 Triple-A plate appearances, he’s carrying a healthy .258/.355/.566 slash with 17 home runs. And it’s easy to forget that he only turned 25 in March.
Nevertheless, while he received other offers to join affiliates, Herrera was unable to command a MLB roster spot. He chose to take his chances on receiving an eventual call-up from the Mets, whose scuffling play could potentially lead to a mid-season sell-off that might create some openings.
Herrera was once seen as a future piece for the Mets, who picked him up in a 2013 swap, gave him a brief but unsuccessful MLB debut, and shipped him to Cincinnati in the middle of the 2016 season. He didn’t reach base enough in a showing last year with the Reds to lay claim to a job there, then re-joined the Mets on a minors deal.
Mariners Designate Mike Wright
The Mariners announced today that they have designated righty Mike Wright for assignment. His roster spot was needed for fellow right-hander Matt Wisler, who is active after being acquired yesterday.
Wright, 29, landed with the M’s in late April and ended up being designated and outrighted by the Seattle org. He earned another shot after an effective run at Triple-A, but was obviously seen by the team as a fringe roster piece.
In 29 1/3 innings this year, Wright carries an ugly 8.28 ERA. He has coughed up six home runs and 45 total base knocks, but does have a solid 30:12 K/BB ratio. Wright has never managed to sustain success in the majors; he’s allowing more than six earned per nine over 258 career frames.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/5/19
The latest minor moves from around the league…
- The Cardinals have released left-hander Tommy Layne from their Triple-A club, per the Pacific Coast League transactions log. Layne, 34, has previously pitched for the Padres, Yankees and Red Sox, last appearing in the big leagues with New York in 2017. He’s recorded a solid 3.61 ERA in 149 2/3 innings as a Major Leaguer and gave the Cardinals 29 innings of sub-2.00 ERA ball in the minors last season. However, Layne has been hammered for a 6.45 ERA in 37 2/3 frames this season while allowing 10.5 hits, 1.9 homers and 4.3 walks per nine innings pitched.
- Right-handers Casey Coleman and Louis Coleman (no relation) were both cut loose by the Mets, as first reflected on the International League’s transactions log. Casey Coleman, 32, started hot in Syracuse with a 3.06 ERA and 28-to-12 K/BB ratio through his first 32 innings. Since that time, he’s allowed 31 runs in 32 innings — largely on the strength of eight home runs. He’s pitched parts of four seasons in the Majors between the Cubs and Royals but never found much success. That’s less true of Louis Coleman, 33, who owns a lifetime 3.51 ERA in 177 2/3 MLB innings. Louis was in camp with the Tigers this year but didn’t win a roster spot for what would’ve been a second run in the Detroit ‘pen. He signed with the Mets in late May but surrendered nine runs on a dozen hits and eight walks with 12 strikeouts in 13 2/3 frames before being let go. Louis has a 2.49 ERA in parts of 10 Triple-A seasons to go along with his respectable big league track record, so he could certainly find a new opportunity based on that encouraging history.
Reds Place Amir Garrett On 10-Day Injured List
Prior to this afternoon’s 1-0 win over the Brewers, the Reds placed left-hander Amir Garrett on the 10-day injured list due to a left lat strain. The placement was retroactive to July 3. Outfielder Josh VanMeter was called up from Triple-A to take Garrett’s spot on the 25-man roster.
Formerly a top-100 ranked prospect in 2016 and 2017, Garrett struggled as a starting pitcher in his 2017 rookie season but has since blossomed as a reliever. Garrett has a 1.70 ERA, 13.1 K/9, 51.9% grounder rate, and 2.70 K/BB rate over 37 frames out of Cincinnati’s bullpen this season. His walk rate (4.86 BB/9) is a bit high and Garrett’s 93.5% strand rate is likely unsustainable, but he has been a very solid weapon overall out of the Reds’ pen, dominating both right-handed and left-handed hitters. Garrett’s signature pitch, a slider that he has used 58.8% of the time this season, has been virtually untouchable — batters have a .098 average and a .146 slugging percentage against Garrett’s slider.
The injury isn’t considered to be too serious, as Garrett told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon and other reporters that it was only a case of “regular soreness,” perhaps due to throwing more fastballs than usual in Tuesday’s outing. Between Friday’s off-day on the Reds schedule and the All-Star break, Garrett might end up missing only five games if he requires only the minimum 10-day IL stint.
As Shelton notes, however, the Reds still have a short-term issue in a lack of left-handed relievers in the pen with Garrett and Wandy Peralta both on the IL. Alex Wood and Cody Reed are the only other southpaws on the 40-man roster, and they are both working their way back from their own injuries. With Cincinnati increasingly looking like they’ll stay close enough in the NL Central race to be deadline buyers, one would think the team will target left-handed relief help even if Garrett is back in pretty short order.
MLB Draft Signings: 7/4/19
We’ll use this post to track the latest noteworthy draft signings. Click here for the full list of slot values and draft pool bonuses, and you can find prospect rankings and scouting reports from Baseball America’s Top 500, Fangraphs’ Top 200, MLB.com’s Top 200, and the Top 50 of ESPN.com’s Keith Law …
- The Rangers signed sixth-rounder Cody Bradford to a significantly over-slot deal, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports (via Twitter). Bradford, a fourth-year junior out of Baylor, signed for a $700K bonus that far surpasses the $284.2K recommended price for the 175th overall pick. Bradford’s stock dropped after undergoing surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, as Callis noted that the left-hander (the Big 12’s Pitcher Of The Year in 2018) was seen as a second-round pick prior to his injury. Even after the TOS surgery, Bradford was still ranked as the 165th-best draft prospect on MLB.com’s list.
Rangers Release Shelby Miller
TODAY: The Rangers have placed Miller on unconditional release waivers, as per executive VP of communications John Blake (Twitter link). This might not necessarily be the end of Miller’s time with the organization, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan (via Twitter) reports “there has been some talking” between the two sides about Miller re-signing on a minor league deal and then pitching as a reliever at Triple-A.
MONDAY: The Rangers have designated righty Shelby Miller for assignment, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram was among those to cover on Twitter. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by recently claimed southpaw Jesse Biddle.
It’s understandable that the Texas organization finally ran out of patience with Miller, who signed a $2MM deal over the winter. Inked in hopes that he’d bounce back after a series of injury-ravaged campaigns, the former All-Star never gained traction in his new home.
Yanked from the rotation after eight messy starts, Miller has been hit nearly as hard in 14 2/3 innings as a reliever. All told, he carries a brutal 8.59 ERA with 30 strikeouts and 29 walks through 44 frames on the year.
Miller is throwing as hard as ever, with his average fastball sitting just under 95 mph, but that’s about the only promising aspect of his showing this year. He has induced opposing hitters to chase out of the zone just 21.2% of the time and carries a meager 7.5% swinging-strike rate.
By cutting the cord now, the Rangers will avoid paying roster and innings-pitched bonuses beyond those already accrued (a total of $400K for spending over ninety days on the active roster). That contractual factor likely didn’t play much of a role in the team’s decision, as it’d have been happy to pay up had Miller been producing at a worthwhile level.
Phillies Place Juan Nicasio On 10-Day Injured List
The Phillies announced that right-hander Juan Nicasio has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left groin strain. Southpaw Austin Davis has been called up from Triple-A to take Nicasio’s spot on the 25-man roster.
Acquired as part of the blockbuster trade with the Mariners that also brought Jean Segura and James Pazos to Philadelphia, Nicasio came to his new team looking to rebound from a 6.00 ERA (albeit with some very impressive peripheral numbers) over 42 innings in 2018. The results haven’t been quite been there this season either, as Nicasio has a 5.24 ERA, 8.1 K/9, and 2.07 K/BB rate over 34 1/3 frames.
Some of this damage has only recently been inflicted, and could potentially have been related to his injury — Nicasio has allowed six earned runs over his last two outings, totaling only two-thirds of an inning. Nicasio’s advanced metrics are again outperforming his real-world ERA, though his walks are up and his strikeout rate is down from his 2018 numbers.
The Phillies have been hit hard with reliever injuries this season, with Nicasio joining Seranthony Dominguez, David Robertson, Jerad Eickhoff, and Pat Neshek on the injured list. It isn’t known how much time Nicasio will miss, though the Phillies were already likely to be targeting bullpen upgrades at the deadline anyway given the middling numbers posted by their undermanned relief corps this season.
Twins Outright Andrew Vasquez Off 40-Man Roster
The Twins have outrighted southpaw Andrew Vasquez off their 40-man roster, according to multiple reporters (including Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press). Vasquez has been outrighted to Triple-A, where he has already been pitching for much of the season.
Vasquez made his MLB debut last September, appearing in nine games for Minnesota and posting a 5.40 ERA over five innings of work. He has only made one big league appearance in 2019, a very rough outing against the Mets on April 10 that saw Vasquez allow three earned runs without recording an out. The 25-year-old has also been dealing with injury, spending two separate stints on the Triple-A injured list this year due to shoulder problems.
Yankees Release Logan Morrison
TODAY: Morrison has been released, Sherman tweets.
TUESDAY: Veteran first baseman Logan Morrison, who had a July 1 opt-out date in his minor league contract with the Yankees, has requested his unconditional release, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (Twitter link).
The Yankees placed Luke Voit on the injured list due to an abdominal strain earlier today but turned to Mike Ford, who was already on the 40-man roster, to replace him. After being passed over, Morrison’s camp apparently prefers to seek out a new opportunity.
Morrison, 31, had his 2018 campaign ruined by a hip injury that ultimately required surgery, but his outstanding Triple-A numbers suggest that he’s plenty recovered. In 164 plate appearances, LoMo raked at a .289/.341/.658 clip with 15 home runs and 11 doubles. He struck out just 26 times (15.9 percent) in that span as well. Unfortunately, those gaudy numbers only made him the second-most productive first base option in the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate; Ford has posted a whopping .318/.426/.650 slash in a larger number of plate appearances (263) and didn’t require a corresponding 40-man move like Morrison would have.
While last season’s poor numbers with the Twins are still fresh in everyone’s mind, they seem quite likely attributable to the labrum tear through which Morrison attempted to play. His last healthy campaign came with the Rays in 2017, when he hit .246/.353/.516 with a career-high 38 long balls. Given his production in Scranton, Morrison should have little difficulty finding another organization — likely one with a clearer path back to some Major League at-bats.
Mariners Acquire Matt Wisler
The Mariners have acquired right-hander Matt Wisler from the Padres in exchange for cash, the teams announced. Seattle had an opening on its 40-man roster, so a corresponding DFA or 60-day IL placement isn’t necessary. Wisler was designated for assignment by San Diego last week.
Wisler, 26, was once one of the game’s premier pitching prospects but has yet to find his footing at the MLB level. He’s shifted to a full-time relief role for the first time in 2019, and while the bottom-line numbers aren’t great — 5.28 ERA, five homers allowed in 29 innings — there’s also reason for optimism. Wisler is striking out a career-best 26.4 percent of opponents (10.6 K/9) thanks to a career-high 15.6 percent swinging-strike rate and 35.1 percent opponents’ chase rate. He’s also been plagued by a bloated .363 average on balls in play despite substantial drops in his opponents’ hard-hit rate and average exit velocity.
Opponents have batted .291/.344/.479 against Wisler in 2019 — good for a .349 weighted on-base average. But based on the quality of contact allowed and his enhanced strikeout tendencies, Statcast projects a more palatable .252 expected batting average, .394 expected slugging percentage and .314 weighted on-base average. Whether he’s able to turn things around in his new environs remains to be seen, but he’ll give the Mariners yet another fresh arm to trot out into an ever-changing bullpen mix. Wisler is out of minor league options, so he’ll have to improve at the MLB level or else once again be designated for assignment before he can potentially be sent to Triple-A.