Chi Chi Gonzalez To Start For Rockies On Tuesday
Right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez will start the Rockies’ game against the Giants on Tuesday, per Kyle Newman of the Denver Post. The Rockies will need to add Gonzalez to their 40-man roster, which does have an opening at the moment.
Gonzalez’s start will represent his first major league action since his 2015-16 run with the Rangers. Once a quality prospect, Gonzalez has pitched to a 4.54 ERA/5.06 FIP with unattractive strikeout and walk rates (4.31 K/9, 4.77 BB/9) in 77 1/3 major league innings. He underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2017, and has worked solely in the minors since returning last year.
A Ranger through last season, Gonzalez joined the Rockies on a minor league contract over the winter. The 27-year-old has since managed a below-average 5.66 ERA/5.79 FIP in 14 starts and 76 1/3 innings with the Rockies’ Triple-A club. Gonzalez has pitched in a tough environment in Albuquerque of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, though, and has put up 8.14 K/9, 3.89 BB/9 and a 53.1 percent groundball rate.
Gonzalez’s promotion will come with the playoff-contending Rockies in need of answers in their starting rotation. The club boasted one of the majors’ best staffs last year, but 2018 Cy Young contender Kyle Freeland (now in the minors) and Tyler Anderson (possibly out for the season with a knee injury) have dropped off a cliff since then. German Marquez is amid another fine season, while Jon Gray has also fared well, though Antonio Senzatela, Jeff Hoffman and the recently promoted Peter Lambert have had difficulty preventing runs. The Rockies optioned Hoffman on Sunday, creating an opportunity for Gonzalez.
Nationals To Select Fernando Rodney On Tuesday
The Nationals will add right-handed reliever Fernando Rodney to their roster before Tuesday’s game against the Marlins, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports. Rodney’s not on the Nationals’ 40-man roster, though they do have an opening after releasing fellow reliever Trevor Rosenthal on Sunday.
Rodney’s addition will be Washington’s latest attempt to repair what has been a horrible bullpen in 2019. The Rosenthal signing didn’t work, leading the team to jettison him, nor has picking up Kyle Barraclough over the winter. Barraclough has been on the IL since June 16 with a forearm issue.
Including Rosenthal and Barraclough, the Nationals have shuffled threw 17 relievers this year. The group has combined for an unsightly 6.29 ERA, which helps explain the Nationals’ 37-40 record. It’s anyone’s guess whether Rodney will be able to help the team’s cause, though there’s little risk in trying from its perspective. Washington brought in the 42-year-old on a minor league contract three weeks ago. He then allowed five runs (four earned) with 11 strikeouts and nine walks in eight innings with the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate in Fresno.
Rodney has been a solid major league reliever for most of his career, though the journeyman began so poorly this season that the low-budget Athletics paid him to go away. Oakland had to pay $3.53MM to part with Rodney, who logged a 9.42 ERA/5.55 FIP with 8.79 K/9 and 7.53 BB/9 in 14 1/3 innings. Rodney’s just a year removed from recording a 3.36 ERA/4.03 FIP with 9.79 K/9, 4.48 BB/9 and a 44.4 percent groundball rate in 64 1/3 frames, though. The Nationals, who haven’t found capable bridges to closer Sean Doolittle this year, would sign up for that type of production.
Phillies Select Fernando Salas
The Phillies announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of veteran reliever Fernando Salas. Outfielder Andrew McCutchen was moved to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster, while fellow righty Enyel De Los Santos was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to clear a spot on the active roster.
Salas, 34, opened the season pitching in the Mexican League but signed a minor league contract with the Phillies a couple of weeks ago. Salas notched a terrific 30-to-4 K/BB ratio while pitching in Mexico and has been sharp for the Phils’ Triple-A club since signing. In 6 2/3 frames with Lehigh Valley, he’s allowed one earned run on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts.
Last season, Salas spent the bulk of the year with the Diamondbacks, logging a 4.50 ERA with 6.8 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 40 innings of relief. He’s a veteran of nine big league seasons and has thrown at least 30 2/3 frames at the MLB level every year dating back to his 2010 debut with the Cardinals. In 487 innings as a Major Leaguer, Salas owns a 3.90 ERA with averages of 8.7 strikeouts, 2.8 walks and 1.03 homers allowed per nine innings pitched. He’s tallied 30 saves in his career to along with 76 holds.
The Phillies have the equivalent of a full MLB bullpen on the injured list, but the team announced some encouraging news with regard to its bevy of injured relievers today. Per Scott Lauber of Philly.com (Twitter link), right-hander Tommy Hunter will throw 20-25 pitches in a rehab appearance at Double-A tomorrow, while David Robertson is playing catch today and could throw a bullpen session Wednesday.
White Sox Designate Odrisamer Despaigne, Activate Jon Jay
The White Sox announced Monday that they’ve activated outfielder Jon Jay from the 60-day injured list for his season debut and designated right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne for assignment in order to open a roster spot.
Jay, 34, was signed to a one-year deal worth $4MM in the offseason — perhaps in part as an unsuccessful enticement to close friend Manny Machado, whom the Sox recruited heavily — but has yet to play in 2019 due to a hip injury. Jay hit .358/.382/.396 in 13 games with Triple-A Charlotte while rehabbing and batted a combined .268/.330/.347 through 586 combined plate appearances with the Royals and D-backs in 2018.
The veteran Jay is capable of manning all three outfield spots, and while he’s lacking in power, he has a knack for putting the ball in play at a high rate (career 16.5 percent strikeout rate). A lifetime .285/.352/.378 hitter, he’ll join an outfield mix that currently contains Eloy Jimenez, Leury Garcia, Charlie Tilson and Ryan Cordell.
Despaigne, 32, was tattooed for 14 runs on 24 hits and seven walks with seven strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings for the South Siders. The Cuban-born righty has appeared in the big leagues in each of the past six seasons but hasn’t found success outside of his 2014 rookie season in San Diego and a solid run with the Marlins in 2017. Overall, he has a career 5.11 ERA with 224 strikeouts against 130 walks in 363 MLB innings.
Marlins Return Riley Ferrell To Astros
11:02am: MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart tweets that the Astros have assigned Ferrell to Double-A Corpus Christi.
10:37am: Right-hander Riley Ferrell has cleared outright waivers and been returned to the Astros, tweets Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Ferrell, whom the Marlins selected out of the Houston organization in last December’s Rule 5 Draft, was placed on waivers by Miami late last week. He is not required to be placed on the 40-man roster now that he’s back with his original organization.
Ferrell, 25, pitched reasonably well for the Marlins in Spring Training, yielding a pair of runs on five hits and five walks with 10 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. While the walks were obviously unwelcome, Ferrell did look to have a chance to crack the big league roster. Instead, a case of biceps tendinitis landed him on the injured list and has prevented him from pitching in the Majors at all in 2019.
Ferrell did start a rehab assignment in mid May but had that assignment halted after just four appearances. He rebooted his rehab efforts on June 12 and tossed 4 2/3 shutout innings (no hits, one walk, two strikeouts) before the Marlins cut bait. Ferrell averaged nearly 12 punchouts per nine innings in a combined 51 1/3 frames with the Astros’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2018 but also logged an ugly 5.9 BB/9 mark in the process. Through a total of 10 1/3 rehab innings in 2019, he issued six walks and hit a batter.
MLB Draft Signings: 6/23/19
Here’s a look at the latest noteworthy draft signings, with the newest moves at the top of the post. 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….
- Gunnar Henderson, the first pick of the second round (42nd overall), has decided to sign with the Orioles and will officially do so in a few days’ time, Maria Martin of WSFA 12 News reports (Twitter link). Contract terms aren’t known, though the 42nd overall pick has a recommended slot price of $1,771,100 and Baltimore’s offer might well have exceeded that number to get Henderson to break his commitment to Auburn. Henderson was ranked by MLB.com as the 27th-best prospect of the class, with BA (30th), Fangraphs (40th) and Keith Law (42nd) also giving high grades to the Alabama high schooler. Henderson is praised for his hitting potential and some scouts feel he can remain at shortstop, though there is some thought that a move to third base is inevitable.
Mariners Designate Jesse Biddle, Select Matt Carasiti and Mike Wright
The Mariners announced a slew of roster moves Sunday. The club has designated left-handed reliever Jesse Biddle for assignment and selected the contracts of righties Matt Carasiti and Mike Wright from Triple-A Tacoma. Seattle also moved righty Chasen Bradford to the 60-day injured list and optioned RHP Gerson Bautista to Tacoma.
Biddle didn’t last long on the Mariners’ roster, having just joined the team in a trade with the Braves on May 20. That came a few days after the Braves designated Biddle. Between the two teams this season, the 27-year-old Biddle has limped to a 7.54 ERA/5.60 FIP with 7.54 K/9 and 6.75 BB/9 in 22 2/3 innings. Lefties have managed a whopping .404 weighted on-base average against Biddle, who’s only a year removed from a highly productive debut season in Atlanta.
Carasiti, also 27, signed a minors pact with the Mariners earlier this month after the Cubs released him. His lone major league experience came in 2016 with the Rockies, with whom he threw 15 2/3 innings of 9.19 ERA/4.49 FIP ball. Carasiti has put up a far better 2.76 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 32 2/3 Triple-A frames this season.
The 29-year-old Wright’s back in Seattle a little over a month after the team designated him. Wright didn’t pitch well in 11 innings with the Mariners before that, continuing a difficult run in the majors. With the Orioles and M’s, Wright has combined for a 6.08 ERA/5.26 FIP over 253 innings.
Athletics Select Brian Schlitter
The Athletics have selected the contract of right-hander Brian Schlitter from Triple-A Las Vegas, the team announced. He’ll take the 25-man spot of closer Blake Treinen, whom the A’s placed on the injured list Saturday, and give the club a full 40-man roster.
This will be Schlitter’s first time in the majors since 2015, when he threw 7 1/3 innings with the Cubs. Schlitter saw action with the Cubs in two other seasons (2010 and ’14), and combined for a 5.40 ERA/4.26 FIP with 5.27 K/9, 3.27 BB/9 and an excellent 56.5 percent groundball rate in 71 2/3 frames with the club. He hasn’t pitched in the majors for anyone else.
Now 33, Schlitter spent 2018 with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate before he joined the A’s on a minor league deal in the offseason. Despite pitching the first couple months of this season in an environment that’s unkind to hurlers, he managed playable results over 34 2/3 innings before his call-up. Schlitter has posted a 3.89 ERA/4.54 FIP with 7.01 K/9, 1.3 BB/9 and a tremendous 67.9 percent grounder mark in Vegas.
Orioles Outright Dan Straily
The Orioles announced that right-hander Dan Straily has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. The club designated Straily on June 20.
There were unsurprisingly no takers via the waiver wire for Straily, who has struggled mightily since inking a major league deal worth $575K with Baltimore in early April. The 30-year-old Straily pitched to a 9.82 ERA/9.30 FIP with 6.23 K/9 and 4.15 BB/9 across 47 2/3 innings before the Orioles booted him from their roster. The club first tried switching Straily from its starting staff to its bullpen last month, but neither role has worked for him this season.
Straily’s fall from grace comes after a few useful seasons as a starter in the National League. He was effective in 2016 with the Reds, who brilliantly flipped him to the Marlins during the ensuing offseason in a trade that delivered Luis Castillo to Cincinnati. Straily then turned in a pair of decent seasons in Miami before the team released him prior to the current campaign.
Cubs Activate Tony Barnette
The Cubs have activated right-handed reliever Tony Barnette from the 60-day injured list and optioned righty Rowan Wick to Triple-A Iowa, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score tweets. Barnette’s reinstatement gives the Cubs a full 40-man roster.
The 35-year-old Barnette is in line for his first major league action since last July 3, when he pitched for the Rangers. Barnette had been down with shoulder issues since then. But that didn’t deter the Cubs from signing Barnette to a low-risk contract in the offseason. He’s on a $750K salary this year and could return to the team in 2020 on a $3MM club option.
Barnette had an up-and-down tenure with the Rangers, pitching well in two seasons (2016 and ’18) but poorly in the other (’17). In all, he recorded a quality 3.50 ERA/3.56 FIP with 8.25 k/9, 2.69 BB/9 and a 45.1 percent groundball rate during his 144-inning Texas career. That’s the extent of Barnette’s major league experience, as the former 10th-round pick (Diamondbacks, 2006) spent several years pitching in the minors and in Japan.
Barnette will now work for a contender in Chicago, whose bullpen ranks sixth in the majors in ERA, 10th in FIP and 18th in K/BB ratio. The Cubs’ two innings leaders – Steve Cishek and Brandon Kintzler – have posted fine results, but aside from them and Kyle Ryan, they haven’t gotten impressive production from any of their regular relievers.