Royals Release Drew Storen
The Royals have released right-handed reliever Drew Storen, according to Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. Storen had been with the organization since it signed him to a minor league deal in February.
The Royals assigned Storen to the Double-A level in May, which was a sizable step forward in his rehab process from the Tommy John surgery he underwent as a Red in September 2017. However, the 31-year-old Storen then gave up nine earned runs on 15 hits and five walks (with 12 strikeouts) in 10 1/3 innings, which caused the Royals to get rid of him.
Storen, best known for his stint as a Nationals reliever from 2010-15, will now seek another big league organization. Also a former Mariner and Blue Jay, Storen has pitched to a 3.45 ERA/3.44 FIP with 8.52 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 46.1 percent groundball rate in 440 1/3 innings at baseball’s highest level. Storen has also converted 99 of 123 save chances, though his days as a closer appear long gone.
Diamondbacks Sign Carlos Asuaje
The Diamondbacks have reached a minor league agreement with infielder Carlos Asuaje, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Asuaje’s now returning to a major league franchise after spending the first few months of the season in the Korea Baseball Organization. The Rangers released Asuaje last December, allowing him to sign with the KBO’s Lotte Giants, but the Korean club let the 27-year-old go on June 9. Asuaje hit .252/.356/.368 in 194 plate appearances with the Giants this season.
To this point, all of Asuaje’s major league action has come with the Padres. He debuted in San Diego in 2016 and then managed a .240/.312/.329 line (75 wRC+) with six home runs in 586 PA through last season. Asuaje picked up nearly all of his playing time at second base along the way.
Twins Place Marwin Gonzalez On IL, Select Sean Poppen
The Twins have placed utilityman Marwin Gonzalez on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain, the team announced. They also sent reliever Blake Parker to the family medical emergency list. To replace Gonzalez and Parker, the Twins recalled utility player Willians Astudillo and selected righty Sean Poppen‘s contract from Triple-A Rochester. The club also transferred lefty Adalberto Mejia to the 60-day IL.
Gonzalez was one of the Twins’ highest-profile acquisitions last winter, when they signed the ex-Astro to a two-year, $21MM guarantee. The 30-year-old didn’t make an ideal first impression with the Twins, as he owned a meager .579 OPS as recently as May 10. But the switch-hitting Gonzalez has come alive since then for the first-place club, evidenced by his .255/.323/.420 line (98 wRC+) with nine home runs across 254 plate appearances. Defensively, the versatile Gonzalez has primarily played third base this season, but he has also logged multiple appearances at first, second and in the corner outfield.
Poppen, 25, is in line to make his Twins debut three years after they chose him in the 19th round of the 2016 draft. Kiley McDaniel of FanGraphs wrote back in May 2018 that Poppen possesses “three pitches that flash above average and good control.” Poppen has gotten off to an outstanding start this year in his first Triple-A action, having posted a 1.55 ERA/3.61 FIP with 10.55 K/9 and 3.72 BB/9 over 29 innings.
Yankees Release Danny Farquhar
The Yankees have released veteran right Danny Farquhar, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (via Twitter). He had been with the organization on a minor-league deal.
Farquhar, 32, was attempting to work back towards the MLB mound after suffering a ruptured brain aneurysm last season. It’s remarkable that he was even able to make that effort, let alone progress to the point that he was assigned to the Yanks’ top affiliate.
Unfortunately, the early showing wasn’t terribly promising. Farquhar surrendered three long balls and seven earned runs over three innings in two outings at Triple-A. While he also recorded four strikeouts, the Yankees were evidently satisfied that they wouldn’t be interested in his services at the MLB level this year.
Marlins Acquire Cesar Puello
The Marlins have acquired outfielder Cesar Puello from the Angels, per a club announcement. Cash considerations are going to Los Angeles for the recently-designated Puello.
That explains the just-reported move to designate Rosell Herrera. In other news, the club placed starter Pablo Lopez on the 10-day injured list, as anticipated. Southpaw Jose Quijada will take the open roster spot for the time being. The club will ultimately still need to find a space for hurler Zac Gallen, who is slated to be promoted tomorrow.
The Fish have little to lose in giving a shot to Puello, who surprised in fill-in duty for the Halos. He slashed .390/.500/.683 in fifty plate appearances after racking up a .299/.434/.507 line in his 166 trips to the plate at Triple-A. Once considered a prospect of note, Puello has received only limited MLB opportunities but carries a .844 OPS in over fifteen hundred attempts at the highest level of the minors.
Marlins To Designate Rosell Herrera
The Marlins will designate utilityman Rosell Herrera for assignment, per Craig Mish of MLB Network on Sirius XM (Twitter link). Corresponding moves aren’t yet known.
Herrera, a 26-year-old switch-hitter, has yet to make good on his former prospect promise. He’s now a .225/.286/.316 hitter through 421 career MLB plate appearances.
Red Sox Release Carson Smith
The Red Sox have released reliever Carson Smith, according to Chris Hatfield of SoxProspects.com (Twitter link). Smith had been working through a rehab program after re-signing with the organization on a minors deal.
Smith owns a shiny 2.21 career ERA over 102 MLB innings, but he hasn’t thrown even 25 of those frames since the start of the 2016 season. Elbow and shoulder woes put a halt to his promising career; he was outrighted off of the Boston 40-man at the end of the ’18 campaign.
When the Sox brought back Smith, the hope was that he’d be able to get back on track on the mound after building up to full health. Given that he has not yet been activated for competitive duties, it seems the first step is not yet completed.
Mets To Promote Walker Lockett
The Mets will call up righty Walker Lockett to take the ball in tomorrow’s contest, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter). The corresponding roster move isn’t yet known.
Lockett, 25, was passed around over the offseason after making his MLB debut in 2018 with the Padres. He was first dealt to the Indians and then on to the Mets in the swap that shipped catcher Kevin Plawecki to Cleveland.
Slowed by injury to open the year, Lockett has now spun 24 2/3 frames of 3.28 ERA ball for the Mets’ top affiliate, handing out only four walks but also recording a mere nine strikeouts. When he toes the rubber tomorrow evening at Wrigley, he’ll be looking to improve upon his initial showing last year in San Diego. Over 15 innings, Lockett coughed up 16 earned runs on 22 hits with a 12:10 K/BB ratio.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/18/19
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Rangers have released infielder Chase d’Arnaud, according to the Pacific Coast League’s transactions page. Despite playing in the hitter-friendly PCL this season, the 32-year-old d’Arnaud posted a horrid .164/.275/.316 line (47 wRC+) in 178 plate appearances with the Rangers’ Triple-A club before his release. The major league journeyman and brother of Rays catcher Travis d’Arnaud is a .222/.273/.316 hitter (59 wRC+) in 599 PA at the game’s top level.
Cubs Place Kyle Hendricks On 10-Day IL
JUNE 18: Hendricks has a shoulder impingement, Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer told Jordan Bastian of MLB.com and other reporters Tuesday. “I feel like we got ahead of it,” Hoyer said. “We’re not sure how much time he’ll miss, but we’ll try to take it slow and take the length of the season into account.”
JUNE 15: The Cubs have placed righty Kyle Hendricks on 10-Day IL with right shoulder inflammation, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Righty Rowan Wick will come up from Triple-A Iowa to take his place.
Hendricks, 29, is outpacing his peripheral marks for the fifth time in six big league season thus far in 2019. The righty’s delivered 14 starts of 3.36 ERA ball with his typical microscopic walk rate, though his grounder percentage has dropped to an easily-career-worst 41.9%.
There’s no word yet on how long the command artist will remain sidelined, or who’ll replace him in the Cubs rotation. Tyler Chatwood, the only Cub apart from the opening five of Hendricks, Jon Lester, Cole Hamels, Yu Darvish, and Jose Quintana to get a start this season, would figure to be next in line, but he’s again been shaky in ’19 after signing a 3-year, $38MM deal prior to the 2018 campaign.