White Sox Select Juan Minaya, Move Jon Jay To 60-Day IL
The White Sox have selected right-handed reliever Juan Minaya from Triple-A Charlotte and transferred outfielder Jon Jay to the 60-day injured list, James Fegan of The Athletic tweets.
Minaya has returned to Chicago’s 40-man roster less than two months after the team outrighted him to the minors. The 28-year-old has struggled to a 5.51 ERA/5.99 FIP in 16 1/3 innings in Charlotte since then, but that didn’t stop the White Sox from bringing him back to their unspectacular bullpen. White Sox relievers rank toward the bottom of the majors in strikeouts, whereas Minaya specializes in fanning opposing hitters. Minaya has struck out 12.67 hitters per nine in the minors this year, and he put up 10.28 K/9 (against 4.83 BB/9) with the White Sox from 2016-18. He also pitched to a passable 3.93 ERA/4.04 FIP during that 100 2/3-inning span.
Jay, meanwhile, still hasn’t suited up for the Sox since they signed the contact-hitting veteran to a a one-year, $4MM guarantee over the winter. The 34-year-old went on the 10-day IL on March 26 with a hip issue, and his move to the 60-day version means he won’t come back until at least late May. There’s no timetable for his return, though, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, who reports Jay is headed to extended spring training to rehab.
Tigers Designate Drew VerHagen For Assignment
SUNDAY: Detroit has recalled righty Eduardo Jimenez from Toledo to replace VerHagen on its 25-man roster.
SATURDAY: The Tigers have designated right-hander Drew VerHagen for assignment, Jason Beck of MLB.com was among those to report. Detroit has since announced the move, adding that it will make a corresponding transaction Sunday.
The 28-year-old VerHagen has spent his entire pro career with the Tigers, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2012 draft. But VerHagen’s Tigers tenure may have ended Saturday in a 15-3 humiliation against Kansas City, which throttled him for six earned runs on five hits and three walks in just an inning of work. Even before that disastrous outing, VerHagen began the season in rough fashion. He has now allowed 10 ER on 10 hits and 10 walks, with seven strikeouts, in six frames.
Although VerHagen throws fairly hard and has induced groundballs at a 54.2 percent clip in 146 major league innings, he entered Saturday with an unimpressive 4.87 ERA/4.80 FIP and 6.9 K/9 against 3.64 BB/9 as a Tiger. While VerHagen has almost exclusively pitched as a reliever in Detroit, he has worked mostly as a starter with its Triple-A affiliate in Toledo. VerHagen has been solid in 64 appearances and 44 starts there, having pitched to a 3.89 ERA with familiar strikeout and walk rates (6.9 K/9, 3.0 BB/9) across 268 2/3 frames.
Indians Designate Max Moroff
The Indians have designated infielder Max Moroff for assignment, Zack Meisel of The Athletic was among those to report. The team also recalled righty Cody Anderson from Triple-A Columbus.
A Pirate from 2016-18, Moroff joined the Tribe last November in a five-player trade that also netted the Indians outfielder Jordan Luplow. While Luplow has performed well with the organization thus far, the 25-year-old Moroff has fallen flat, leading to his designation. The Indians hoped Moroff would help cover for injured middle infielders Francisco Lindor and Jason Kipnis at the beginning of the season, but he instead provided minimal production during their absences. Now, with Lindor and Kipnis back in the fold, the Indians are moving on from Moroff after he opened 2019 with a woeful .125/.176/.250 line and 16 strikeouts in 35 plate appearances.
The switch-hitting Moroff has never been any kind of offensive threat in the majors, where he has batted .183/.277/.319 in 244 PA, though he has slashed an effective .233/.363/.399 in 1,045 Triple-A attempts. Moroff’s also a capable defender at both middle infield positions. However, the fact that he’s out of minor league options works against him.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/4/19
Here are the latest minor transactions from around baseball:
- The White Sox have signed left-hander Justin Nicolino to a minor league contract, according to Roster Roundup. The 27-year-old Nicolino’s back to work just a few days after the Twins released him. He opened the season with Minnesota’s top minors affiliate and struggled over 19 1/3 innings (four appearances, three starts), notching a 5.12 ERA with 6.05 K/9 and 3.72 BB/9. Major league success has largely eluded Nicolino, once a quality prospect whom Toronto selected in the second round of the 2010 draft. Since then, the strikeout-challenged Nicolino has posted a 4.65 ERA with 3.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 201 1/3 big league innings – all of which came with the Marlins from 2015-17. He has managed somewhat better production across 432 2/3 Triple-A frames, though, with a 4.01 ERA and 5.4 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9.
Pirates Designate J.B. Shuck For Assignment
The Pirates have designated outfielder JB Shuck for assignment, the team announced. Shuck’s 25-man roster spot will go to reliever Dovydas Neverauskas, whom the Pirates recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Despite having to settle for a minor league deal over the winter, Shuck cracked the Pirates’ injury-laden outfield to open the season. While the 31-year-old got off to a nice start, evidenced by his season-best .864 OPS on April 14, his numbers have cratered in recent weeks. Shuck did got on base at a .339 clip and walk in 14 percent of his 57 plate appearances before Pittsburgh designated him, but he hit just .213 and showed no power (zero home runs, .043 ISO, .255 slugging percentage) along the way.
Including his stint with the Pirates, the light-hitting Shuck has managed a .243/.296/.314 line in 1,289 major league PA with several teams. Shuck has been a much better Triple-A performer, on the other hand, with a .299/.373/.393 showing in 3,610 attempts.
Reds Option Scott Schebler
Per a team release, the Reds have optioned OF Scott Schebler to Triple-A Louisville.
Schebler, 28, was recalled from Louisville in June 0f 2016 and had returned for just a single rehab assignment since. In north of 1,240 plate appearances over that span, the lefty’d put together a solid .248/.323/.457 (103 wRC+) line for the Reds with adequate defense at all three outfield spots. Even after the offseason acquisitions of Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig, and the eventual promotion of IF/OF Nick Senzel, Schebler figured to be in line for at least semi-regular playing time across the grass.
Despite a career-best 14.7% walk rate, though, the slugging lefty – who bashed 30 homers for Cincy in 2017 – was off to the worst start of his career, slashing .123/.253/.222 over the season’s first 95 plate appearances. A comically low .154 BABIP may be to blame, but his hard-hit rate had cratered to a career-worst 27.8%, and Schebler was striking out more than ever before.
He’ll try to right the ship with the Bats of Triple-A Louisville, but even a turnaround won’t guarantee a return to regular at-bats – Senzel will look to lock down center, Jesse Winker has again been solid in left, and the club has every intention of sending Puig out to right field on a daily basis.
Pirates Place Jameson Taillon On 10-Day IL, Select Tyler Lyons
3:03 pm: Per Nubyjas Wilborn of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Taillon will not throw for “at least” four weeks, with the injury apparently far more severe than originally believed. Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic tweets that Taillon’s MRI showed no UCL damage, though the righty will seek a second opinion next week to confirm.
1:55pm: Per a team release, the Pirates have placed righty Jameson Taillon on the 10-Day IL with a flexor strain in his right elbow and selected the contract of lefty Tyler Lyons from AAA-Indianapolis, among other roster moves.
It’s a concerning injury for Taillon, 27, who joins rotation mate Chris Archer on the injured list for a rotation-thin Pirate club. A 2014 Tommy John knocked the former 2nd overall pick out of action for two full seasons, though he’s been mostly healthy since. The 6’5 righty was off to his usual strong start this year, posting a a solid 88 FIP-/91 xFIP- (numbers right in line with his career figures and season projection) in seven starts for Pittsburgh.
It’s unclear who’ll step in to the vacant slots in the Pittsburgh rotation, though righty Nick Kingham and lefty Steven Brault appear to have the inside tracks. Top prospect Mitch Keller, who’d struggled early with command but has been dominant in his previous two Triple-A outings, is also a candidate.
Lyons, 31, spent six years with St. Louis before inking a minor league deal with Pittsburgh this offseason. His strikeout rate has jumped to over ten per nine in the last two seasons since a full-time move to the bullpen, but the lefty was hit hard in ’18 despite predominant left-on-left usage.
Mariners Acquire Austin Adams From Nationals
Per a team release, the Mariners have acquired righty Austin Adams from the Nationals for lefty Nick Wells and cash considerations.
Adams, 28 tomorrow, was designated for assignment earlier in the week by Washington. He’s spent much of the last three seasons with the team’s AAA affiliate (now in Fresno), where his sky-high strikeout rates (13.88 per nine in ’17, 15.15 per nine in ’18) ranked among the league’s best. His walk rate, too, was relatively low for an extreme bat-misser, so it’s a bit odd the reliever-starved Nationals couldn’t afford to give him a longer look.
Wells, 23, is repeating High-A Modesto as a 23-year-old. He didn’t rank among the team’s top 30 prospects at Baseball America’s last update.
Reds Release Matt Kemp
Per a team release, the Reds have released outfielder Matt Kemp, who’d been nursing a broken rib on the 10-Day IL.
Kemp, 34, was off to a dreadful .200/.210/.283 start in 62 plate appearances after an offensive rebound in 2018. Acquired in December from Los Angeles with Alex Wood and Yasiel Puig, the three-time all-star figured to be the chief platoon option for either Jesse Winker or Scott Schebler in left field, with occasional spot starts against righties mixed in. The team’s promotion of Nick Senzel, coupled with the slow offensive start across the board, has ostensibly kindled an urgent spark within the win-now organization.
Playing in the last year of an 8-year, $160MM extension signed prior to the 2012 season, a contract that’s seen Kemp shipped across the country, back, and back again, the 2011 NL MVP runner-up has mostly disappointed in his stops after a 2015 trade to San Diego. The move, one of the most lopsided of the decade, sent the then-30-year-old, along with the bulk of his behemoth salary, south to San Diego in exchange for four discounted years of Yasmani Grandal and eventual big-leaguer Zach Eflin. Warning signs were already flashing – Kemp’s defense in the few years prior had been horrific, and the slugger had already been dealing with nagging injuries to his ankle and shoulder.
He predictably cratered in San Diego, who quickly severed ties in a bad-contract swap with Atlanta for the rights to Cuban Hector Olivera, an infielder who’d never suit up for the team. Kemp didn’t fare much better in Georgia – another salary swap after ’17 sent him back to Los Angeles, where he made what may well be his final encore performance, slashing an excellent .290/.338/.481 (122 wRC+) in 506 plate appearances for LA.
The 34-year-old will almost certainly catch on with another club – Cleveland, again, may be among his most impassioned suitors – but a couple more months like this, and the 13-year-vet’s career could be in serious jeopardy.
Nationals Place Juan Soto On 10-Day IL
Per a team release, the Nationals have placed OF Juan Soto on the 10-Day IL with back spasms. Outfielder Andrew Stevenson was recalled to take his place.
Though the injury isn’t said to be serious, it’s a tough blow for a Nats lineup already down Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner, and Ryan Zimmerman.
Soto, 20, set the league ablaze last season, rocketing in two months from Low-A to the big leagues, where he posted an astounding .292/.406/.517 mark with the league’s third-highest walk rate, arguably the best ever season from a teenage bat. The lefty was off to a slower start this year, though his 15.2% walk rate still ranked among the league’s best.