Red Sox Select Mike Shawaryn’s Contract, Place Hector Velazquez On 10-Day IL
The Red Sox announced a pair of roster moves Thursday, including the placement of right-hander Hector Velazquez on the 10-day injured list due to a lower back strain. Taking Velazquez’s place is fellow right-hander Mike Shawaryn, who will reach the Major Leagues for the first time after having his contract selected from Triple-A Pawtucket. No 40-man move was required, as Boston had an extra roster spot available.
Velazquez posted good bottom-line results as a swingman in 2018, with a 3.18 ERA over 85 innings (39 relief appearances, eight starts). ERA predictors took a much dimmer view of Velazquez’s performance, however, as a 4.15 FIP, 4.63 xFIP and 4.51 SIERA reflected a modest 5.61 K/9. While Velazquez struck out more batters this season, his walk rate rose and grounder rate diminished, resulting in a 5.97 ERA over 34 2/3 innings, with seven of his 18 appearances coming as a starting pitcher.
Shawaryn will provide the Sox with some extra rotation depth with Nathan Eovaldi still on the IL and Ryan Weber filling in as the fifth starter. Given the uncertainty in Boston’s bullpen, there’s certainly room for opportunity for Shawryn to stick in the big leagues if he performs well.
A fifth-round pick out of the University of Maryland in the 2016 draft, Shawaryn has started 67 of his 68 games as a professional, posting a 3.60 ERA, 9.3 K/9, and 3.05 K/BB rate over 355 1/3 innings. Shawaryn is credited with a 60-grade slider by MLB.com, which lists the 24-year-old as the 12th-best prospect in Boston’s farm system. As per the site’s scouting report, Shawaryn “has a high floor, appearing to be a good bet to at least become a multi-inning reliever who could live off his slider.”
Padres Release Sammy Solis
The Padres have released left-handed reliever Sammy Solis from his minor league contract, according to Roster Roundup (Twitter link). He’d signed with the Friars on a minor league back in early March after being released by the Nationals.
Solis, 30, has enjoyed a solid season in Triple-A El Paso to date, putting up a 3.57 ERA through 22 2/3 innings in that hitter-friendly setting. Solis has punched out 28 hitters against eight walks in that time and, despite a tiny 21.4 percent ground-ball rate, has held opponents to three home runs.
The past couple of seasons in D.C. were ugly ones for Solis, who most recently turned in a dismal 6.41 ERA in 39 1/3 frames for the Nats in 2018. Even in that down year, though, Solis averaged 10.1 K/9 with a solid 12.9 percent swinging-strike rate, and a 31.7 percent chase rate on pitches outside the strike zone. He’s averaged 94 mph on his heater at the big league level, and his track record in Triple-A aligns closely with what he’s done this season. Solis has been a bit more effective against righties than lefties in his career at the big league level, and that has emphatically been the case thus far in a small sample of innings with El Paso. At his best in 2015-16, he found success against hitters from both sides of the dish.
He’s a long ways from earning a trip back through the arbitration process, but if Solis does return to the Majors and find enough success that a new team wants to keep him into the offseason, he’d be controllable for multiple seasons. At present, Solis would be controlled through 2021 via arbitration, but by mid June there wouldn’t be enough time left in the season for him to reach four full years of MLB service, which would push a team’s control over him back another year.
Cubs To Sign Carlos Gonzalez
The Cubs have agreed to a minor-league deal with veteran outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, per ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers (via Twitter). He’ll report to Triple-A, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.
After wrapping up his lengthy tenure with the Rockies in less than inspiring fashion last year, Gonzalez hit the open market in search of a bounceback opportunity. He ultimately got one in Cleveland, but wasn’t able to take advantage.
Long a star slugger, the 33-year-old just didn’t hit with the Indians. He delivered a .210/.282/.276 slash in 117 plate appearances before finally receiving the boot from a team that’s desperately in need of outfield production.
The situation isn’t quite the same in Chicago, which helps explain the potential match here. With loads of uncertainty surrounding Ben Zobrist, there’s a roster spot to play with. The Cubs could add Gonzalez as another piece of a mix-and-match outfield group, perhaps swapping him in for the just-added Jim Adduci.
Gonzalez has a history of laying waste to right-handed pitching. He has slashed .298/.364/.535 for his career. Even after being adjusted for park effects, that’s good for a 126 wRC+. If he’s to make a comeback and reestablish himself at the game’s highest level, it’s likely going to be jump-started by finding his groove against righties. He’ll also have to stop hammering the ball into the ground, which he did at a 58.3% rate with the Indians.
Outrights: Mets, Marlins, Pirates
A few outrights from Wednesday…
- Mets outfielder Rajai Davis has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Syracuse, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets. The 38-year-old Davis, whom the Mets designated for assignment Sunday, had the option of declaring free agency instead of remaining with the organization. But Davis will head back to Syracuse, his home for nearly the entire season thus far.
- The Marlins have outrighted outfielder Isaac Galloway to Triple-A New Orleans, per the MLB.com transactions page. The club designated Galloway last Friday. The 29-year-old has been outrighted in the past, meaning he has the right to elect free agency this time. It appears Galloway will remain in the organization, though. Galloway logged 54 plate appearances with this year’s Marlins before they cut him, limping to a .167/.167/.185 line with no home runs, no walks and 17 strikeouts. Galloway also hasn’t produced much this season in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, where he has hit .227/.261/.515 (78 wRC+) in 70 trips to the plate.
- The Pirates have sent infielder Jake Elmore outright to Triple-A Indianapolis (also via MLB.com). He, like Galloway, has been outrighted in the past. Elmore has been terrific this year in Indianapolis, having slashed .380/.444/.546 in 124 attempts, but wasn’t able to carry that success to Pittsburgh. The 31-year-old managed one hit and no walks in 20 PA before the Pirates designated him Sunday.
Royals Release Michael Ynoa
The Royals released right-hander Michael Ynoa from his minor league contract, per MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (Twitter link). He’d signed with Kansas City last November in hopes of rejuvenating his career after not pitching in 2018.
Now 27 years of age, Ynoa was at one time an uber-prospect out of the Dominican Republic who signed a then-record $4.25MM bonus with the Athletics. The 6’7″ righty landed on multiple top prospect rankings throughout his ascent to the upper minors but saw his numbers stall out as injuries mounted.
Ynoa eventually made it to the Majors with the 2016 White Sox and spent parts of the 2016-17 seasons pitching out of the bullpen there. He turned in an even 3.00 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 30 innings with the South Siders in ’16, but his 17 walks, five hit batters and four wild pitches spoke to his inability to control his arsenal. That was all the more true in ’17 when he walked 22 batters, hit five and tossed three more wild pitches in 29 innings before being cut loose.
This season, Ynoa has again demonstrated an ability to miss bats (26 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings) but a continued lack of control (14 walks, one HBP, five wild pitches). That’s the general book on him at this point, though perhaps another organization will be able to coax something we’ve yet to see out of the once highly touted right-hander.
Nationals Sign Jonny Venters
The Nationals announced that they’ve signed veteran left-hander Jonny Venters to a minor league contract and assigned him to Double-A Harrisburg. The 2018 National League Comeback Player of the Year was released by the Braves earlier this month.
Venters, 34, returned from three Tommy John surgeries and a five-year MLB absence in 2018 to give the Braves 34 1/3 innings of 3.67 ERA ball. The southpaw averaged 7.1 K/9, 4.2 BB/9 and 0.26 HR/9 to go along with a superlative 69.1 percent ground-ball rate in that terrific comeback effort. Unfortunately, the 2019 season wasn’t kind to him. Venters appeared in just nine games with the Braves, pitching a total of 4 2/3 innings but surrendering nine earned runs (plus another four unearned runs). He faced 31 batters and allowed more to reach than he retired (nine hits, eight walks).
On the plus side for Venters, his velocity held up (93.3 mph average fastball), but that’s only a small silver lining on an otherwise tough stretch of games. For the Nationals, though, there’s little to lose in terms of giving him a look. The Washington bullpen has been an unmitigated disaster beyond Sean Doolittle, and even he’s begun to slip a bit recently — perhaps due to an elevated workload. Nationals relievers have the worst ERA in baseball by more than a run (7.14), and they rank 28th in FIP (5.27), 29th in xFIP (5.13) and 24th in SIERA (4.38).
Minor MLB Transactions: Reds, Orioles
A couple minor moves from around baseball…
- The Reds have released outfielder Zeek White, according to Doug Gray of RedsMinorLeagues.com and RedlegNation.com. White had been with the Reds since they acquired him (and a right-hander named Luis Castillo) in a package for righty Dan Straily in January 2017. Two years before that, the Marlins used a third-round pick (No. 85) on White. Although he was a fairly high pick in his draft class, the 22-year-old White hasn’t been able to work his way past the Single-A level.
- The Orioles have signed Cuban infielder Yorkislandy Alvarez, Francys Romero of Las Mayores tweets. Alvarez, who’s now 20, left the under-18 Cuban team in Montreal in 2017 and later moved on to Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, per Romero. Other than that, there is little to no information available on him.
Rajai Davis Clears Waivers
May 28: Davis went unclaimed on waivers, per Matt Ehalt of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). He’d have the option to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency if he chooses.
May 26: The Mets have designated outfielder Rajai Davis for assignment, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets. His 25-man roster spot will go to outfielder Michael Conforto, who’s back after a stint on the seven-day concussion injured list.
This marks a quick and unceremonious end to Davis’ time on the Mets’ 40-man roster, though they’re hopeful he’ll stay in the organization, per DiComo. New York selected Davis from Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday, and the 38-year-old went on to belt a three-run home run in his first plate appearance with the team that night – a 6-1 win over the Nationals. Davis totaled another six trips to the plate in his ensuing three appearances, collecting one hit.
Davis’ bat has never been his main selling point, as he has largely mustered below-average offense across several stops since his major league career began in 2006. But Davis has often been an asset as a defender and especially as a base runner, having picked up 415 stolen bases in the majors. Despite his age, Davis has continued to show off his speed at Syracuse this season with 14 steals, and he’s only a year removed from swiping 21 bags with the Indians.
While it’s unfortunate for Davis that he’s entering DFA limbo, swapping him for Conforto is a massive upgrade for the Mets. Conforto batted a tremendous .271/.406/.521 (150 wRC+) with nine HRs in 180 PA before going on the IL. It proved to be a short absence for the 26-year-old Conforto, whose return is especially important to a Mets team that has recently lost notable offensive pieces Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo and Robinson Cano to injuries.
Tigers Sign Frank Schwindel To Minor League Deal
The Tigers have signed first baseman Frank Schwindel to a minor league contract, as first reported by Roster Roundup (Twitter link).
Schwindel, 26, is no stranger to the American League Central, having spent the first six full seasons of his career in the Royals organization. Schwindel actually broke camp with the Royals in 2019 and made his Major League debut in March, but he was given just 15 plate appearances over the course of six games before being optioned back to Triple-A and ultimately designated for assignment.
A career .293/.330/.499 hitter in 1038 Triple-A plate appearances, Schwindel is fresh off a 24-homer campaign in Omaha last season. He’ll give the Tigers some depth at what has been a weak point in the organization. There’s no immediate need at the big league level with Miguel Cabrera and John Hicks holding down the position, but Schwindel will presumably head to Triple-A Toledo and receive fairly regular playing time. In the event of an injury to one of Cabrera or Hicks, he could resurface with his former division rivals. Alternatively, given that the Tigers don’t have an established designated hitter anymore following Victor Martinez‘s retirement, Schwindel could earn a look in that role if he impresses in Toledo.
Angels Place Zack Cozart On IL, Select Cesar Puello
The Angels have placed infielder Zack Cozart on the 10-day injured list due to a left shoulder inflammation and selected the contract of outfielder Cesar Puello from Triple-A Salt Lake. Outfielder Michael Hermosillo is being transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported a few minutes prior that those moves would be happening (Twitter links). As Fletcher points out, it’s the same left shoulder on which Cozart had season-ending surgery just under one year ago.
Cozart, 33, is in the midst of a second consecutive disappointing season with the Halos, hitting just .124/.178/.144 through 107 plate appearances. He hit just .219/.296/.362 through 58 games with the Angels last season. That’s nowhere near the .297/.385/.548 line he posted in his final year with the Reds, which directly preceded the three-year, $38MM contract he inked with the Angels. No timeline on Cozart’s injury was provided by the Angels, and his placement on the IL is retroactive to yesterday.
Puello, 28, is enjoying a big season in Salt Lake, where he’s slashed .299/.434/.507 with seven long balls, seven doubles and a pair of steals through 166 plate appearances. The former Mets prospect has just 39 plate appearances in the Majors, which was split between the Angels and Rays back in 2017. Puello is a career .295/.394/.450 hitter in 1563 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
The Angels also announced that they’ve optioned right-hander Taylor Cole to Salt Lake in order to open a spot on the active roster for Nick Tropeano, who’ll make his season debut tonight when he follows opener Cam Bedrosian.