Orioles Claim Shawn Armstrong
4:41pm: Per a team release, the Orioles have optioned right-handed pitcher Luis Ortiz to Triple-A Norfolk to make room for Armstrong on the active roster.
1:37pm: The Orioles have claimed right-handed pitcher Shawn Armstrong off waivers from the Mariners, per Greg Johns of MLB.com. Armstrong had been designated for assignment after the Mariners promoted Justus Sheffield. Armstrong will replace catcher Jesus Sucre on the 40-man roster. Sucre was recently designated for assignment by the Orioles. Roch Kubatko of MASN adds that Armstrong, who is out of minor league options, will be placed on Baltimore’s active roster.
For the Orioles, the addition of Armstrong essentially represents a swap for pitcher Mike Wright, who was recently designated for assignment and subsequently acquired by the Mariners in a minor trade.
Though he has struggled mightily early in 2019, Armstrong’s career numbers resemble those of a serviceable relief pitcher. He has appeared in 57 career games, striking out 56 batters in 61 2/3 innings and posting a 3.65 ERA. However, he has never appeared in more than 21 games in any season since breaking into the Major Leagues with the Indians in 2015. Walks have at times been an issue for the right-hander, having walked three batters in 3 2/3 innings this season. The 28-year-old joins an Orioles bullpen that has had great difficulty suppressing the long ball early this season. Though the O’s have given plenty of pitchers opportunities to claim a bullpen role, few have been able to provide steady production. Baltimore will look for Armstrong to solidify himself as a relief option for the rebuilding club.
Diamondbacks Designate Matt Koch
The Diamondbacks have designated right-hander Matt Koch for assignment and recalled righty Jon Duplantier from Triple-A Reno, the team announced.
Koch has been with the Diamondbacks since they acquired him from the Mets in a 2015 trade centering on Addison Reed, but the former has since struggled in the majors. Dating back to his 2016 debut, Koch owns a 4.88 ERA/5.99 FIP with 4.95 K/9, 2.23 BB/9 and a 42.2 percent groundball rate in 125 1/3 innings (36 appearances, 16 starts). Koch got off to a brutal start over 20 frames this year prior to his designation, as he logged a 9.15 ERA with 3.92 K/9, which offset an impressive walk rate (1.74).
The 28-year-old Koch has also fallen flat at the Triple-A level, where he carries a 5.79 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 146 innings. And he’s out of minor league options, which further takes away appeal.
Braves Acquire Jerry Blevins
The Braves have acquired left-handed reliever Jerry Blevins from the Athletics, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Oakland announced that it will receive cash or a player to be named later in return. Atlanta subsequently selected Blevins’ contract, optioned Wes Parsons to Triple-A Gwinnett and transferred reliever Arodys Vizcaino to the 60-day injured list.
An Athletic earlier in his career, Blevins never made it back to Oakland this year after returning to the organization on a minor league contract in the offseason. The 35-year-old instead tossed 10 2/3 innings of 1.69 ERA ball with 13.5 K/9 and 3.38 BB/9 with the A’s Triple-A affiliate.
Blevins had to settle for a role in the minors after a trying 2018 as a member of the Mets, with whom he posted a 4.85 ERA, 8.65 K/9 against 4.64 BB/9, and a measly 21.8 percent groundball rate. Difficulty retiring same-handed hitters played into Blevins’ struggles last year, a season in which he declined sharply after a largely impressive run with the A’s, Nationals and Mets. From 2016-17, his first two full seasons in New York, the soft-tossing Blevins managed a stingy 2.87 ERA with 11.97 K/9, 3.86 BB/9 and a 43.3 percent grounder mark across 91 innings. He was tough on both left- and right-handed hitters in the first of those two seasons, though the latter teed off on him in 2017.
Blevins will now join an Atlanta bullpen which is in dire straits, having limped to the majors’ eighth-highest ERA (4.74) with its worst walk rate (5.87 per nine) and second-worst fWAR (minus-0.7) this season. In the Braves’ estimation, the fact that lefties Jonny Venters and Jesse Biddle are on the injured list and fellow southpaw A.J. Minter has been awful helped create a need for Blevins.
Orioles Designate Jesus Sucre, Place Alex Cobb On IL
As part of a series of roster moves, the Orioles have designated catcher Jesus Sucre for assignment and placed right-hander Alex Cobb (lumbar strain) on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Saturday. The team also recalled Sucre’s replacement, catcher Austin Wynns, as well as righties Branden Kline and Luis Ortiz from Triple-A Norfolk, and optioned righty Jimmy Yacabonis.
Sucre made the Orioles’ season-opening roster after signing a minor league deal with the rebuilding team in the offseason, though the light-hitting 30-year-old’s production has fallen short even by his standards. Sucre batted a meager .210/.269/.242 with no home runs in 67 plate appearances prior to his designation. Defensively, while Sucre has always been adept at throwing out runners and has caught 4 of 8 would-be base thieves in 2019, he has been a bottom-of-the-barrel framer this season and has given up an AL-worst three passed balls.
As with Sucre, this season has been tough sledding for Cobb, who has struggled to live up to the four-year, $57MM commitment Baltimore’s prior regime made in him entering 2018. Not only has Cobb pitched to a dreadful 10.95 ERA/11.81 FIP and yielded an eye-popping nine home runs in a three-start, 12 1/3-inning span this season, but this is the second time a lumbar strain has sent him to the IL. The injury previously shelved the 31-year-old for two weeks.
Mets Designate Travis d’Arnaud
The Mets have designated catcher Travis d’Arnaud for assignment, per a team announcement. His 25-man roster spot will go to fellow catcher Tomas Nido, whom the Mets recalled from Triple-A Syracuse.
This decision figures to conclude what has largely been a disappointing New York tenure for d’Arnaud, a Met since they acquired him in a 2013 blockbuster with the Blue Jays. Then among baseball’s elite prospects, d’Arnaud was one of the key pieces of the Mets’ return for knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, who also netted them right-hander Noah Syndergaard. Unlike Syndergaard, though, d’Arnaud hasn’t blossomed into a high-end major leaguer.
While d’Arnaud impressed early as a Met, combining for 6.1 fWAR and a .252/.317/.442 line with 25 home runs in 689 plate appearances from 2014-15, his numbers have fallen off since then. Dating back to 2016, d’Arnaud has slashed .239/.292/.381 with 21 HRs and 2.6 fWAR in 693 PA, thanks in part to a slew of injuries. The 30-year-old has missed at least 50 games in each of his seasons, including all but four contests in a 2018 campaign that was ruined by Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.
On the heels of that procedure, the Mets and rookie general manager Brodie Van Wagenen turned elsewhere for a starting catcher this past offseason. The club signed Wilson Ramos to a two-year, $19MM contract, which could have made d’Arnaud expendable on a team that also had Nido and the since-traded Kevin Plawecki at the time. The Mets kept d’Arnaud around at a now-guaranteed $3.515MM salary in his final year of arbitration eligibility, though, but decided to cut him after he opened the season with just two hits (both singles) in 25 plate appearances.
The Mets will owe d’Arnaud approximately $2.955MM if someone doesn’t take him off their hands, Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes, though it’s possible a trade will come together if his potential tantalizes a club. After all, d’Arnaud was reasonably productive during his previous season, 2017, and has earned solid marks behind the plate during his career.
Blue Jays Sign Ben Revere
The Blue Jays have signed outfielder Ben Revere to a minor league contract, per Scott Mitchell of TSN. Revere will report to extended spring training by the end of the month.
This is the second stint in the Toronto organization for Revere, who first joined them in a trade with the Phillies in July 2015. At that point, Revere was a roughly league-average hitter who was among the majors’ top stolen base threats. Revere’s career has gone downhill since then, though, evidenced by his horrific .217/.260/.300 line with 14 steals in 375 plate appearances dating back to 2016.
Now 30, Revere hasn’t appeared in the majors since he was with the Angels in 2017, when he totaled 308 PA and slashed .275/.308/.344 with 21 steals. Revere’s a lifetime .284/.319/.343 hitter with 211 steals in 262 attempts since he debuted with the Twins in 2010. He was last with the Rangers, who signed him to a minors pact Feb. 17 but released him just over a month later.
Pirates Place Chris Archer On 10-Day IL
Per Mark Feinsand of mlb.com, the Pirates have placed righty Chris Archer on the 10-Day IL with right thumb inflammation. Righty Michael Feliz has been recalled to take his place.
Archer, 30, is off to his typical enigmatic start this season, striking out batters at an elite rate but ultimately failing to prevent runs at an ace-level pace. Concerning also are a slight uptick in walks – to a career-worst 4.00 per nine thus far – and a 32% grounder rate that’s dipped well below his career average. Archer’s average fastball velocity has also dropped nearly two miles an hour, to a career-low 93.4 MPH, though his swinging strike percentage has remained mostly stable.
Acquired in a controversial midseason trade last season that sent Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow, and prospect Shane Baz to Tampa Bay, Archer has long been the rare starting pitcher – along with perhaps Jon Gray of the Rockies – whose ace-level peripherals consistently lag behind their actual run prevention. Pittsburgh obviously bet heavily on the trend coming to an end, but thus far the profile looks like more of the same.
It’s unclear who’ll be Archer’s replacement in the Pittsburgh rotation – the team’s depth in the area is frighteningly thin – but the injury seems relatively minor, the club has a couple off-days upcoming, and the rest of the unit – spearheaded by Archer’s statistical inverse in Trevor Williams – has so far been brilliant.
Brewers Designate Jake Petricka For Assignment
Per a club release, the Brewers have designated righty Jake Petricka for assignment amidst a series of minor roster moves.
Petricka, 30, appeared in six early-season games for the club this season, posting a 3.38 ERA/4.61 FIP/6.04 xFIP in eight IP. The seven-year MLB vet hasn’t had much success of any kind during stints with the White Sox, Blue Jays, and now Milwaukee, but has consistently been afforded opportunities due to his preternatural grounder-inducing ability.
Petricka ranks 6th among all active relievers with at least 200 IP since 2013 with a 59.1 grounder rate, and should present an attractive end-of-roster option for a bandbox-housed team. He seemed an ideal fit for a Brewer pen already possessing of an elite back-end, though the club apparently felt his shoddy command and declining velocity wasn’t likely to rectify itself anytime soon.
The vaunted Milwaukee ‘pen, stripped early on of key pieces Corey Knebel – out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery late last month – and Jeremy Jeffress, has struggled at the season’s outset. Offseason pickups Alex Claudio and Alex Wilson have each been shaky, and even the barely-mortal Josh Hader has proven vulnerable to the longball. Craig Kimbrel still waits, though perhaps not in the wings for the cash-strapped Crew.
Braves Activate Mike Foltynewicz, Option Bryse Wilson
Per a team announcement, Braves righty Mike Foltynewicz will be activated from the IL in time to make his first start of the season tonight against Colorado. Right-hander Bryse Wilson will head back to AAA-Gwinnett.
The hard-throwing Foltynewicz, 27, whose 96.4 MPH average fastball velocity was tops among all NL starters last season, was sidelined at the end of spring with a balky right elbow. Atlanta’ll hope his return quenches what’s been a parched Brave rotation in the early going – the club’s starters have thus far posted the NL’s highest walk rate, at 4.08 men per nine, with an ugly 4.50 xFIP that collectively ranks second-to-last in the Senior Circuit.
With shaky command from rookies Wilson, 21, Kyle Wright, and Touki Toussaint, plus the all-over-the-place nature of the recently demoted Sean Newcomb, Atlanta may need to move rotation help to the top of its mid-season shopping list.
Brewers Sign Gio Gonzalez
APRIL 27: The Brewers have announced the signing, adding that they’ll make a corresponding move later today.
APRIL 24: The Brewers have agreed to a deal with lefty Gio Gonzalez, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). He’ll earn $2MM for his work the rest of the season with up to $2MM more in available incentives.
The incentives package reflects changes in modern pitching usage. It’s a points-based system, as Jon Heyman of MLB Network first tweeted. Gonzalez can earn two points every time he makes an appearance of three or more innings and one point for all other appearances. He’ll receive $333,333 upon accumulating his 25th, 30th, 35th, and 40th points and then $333,334 with his 45th and 50th, Robert Murray of The Athletic explains on Twitter.
Gonzalez, who recently moved to CAA Baseball, triggered an opt-out clause in the minor-league deal he signed late in camp with the Yankees. When the New York club declined to add him to its MLB roster, Gonzalez returned to the open market. While his new contract won’t come with the same amount of upside that was available in the prior one, it will put him back in the majors and provide some guaranteed earnings.
Gonzalez should be ready to step right into the Brewers’ rotation. He worked 15 innings over three starts with the Yankees organization, allowing ten earned runs but posting a solid 19:6 K/BB ratio. The Brew Crew obviously liked what it saw well enough to commit some resources to adding Gonzalez to its staff.
It’s a nice move at this stage of the season for the Brewers, who’ve had several rotation issues crop up early. Gonzalez is assuredly not the pitcher he once was at 33 years of age, but has still been capable of solid mound work in recent years. He’s also one of the game’s most durable starters. While he’s not exactly known for his inning-to-inning steadiness, Gonzalez is a good bet to make his scheduled starts and eat up some frames.
Gonzalez has taken the ball 283 times since the start of the 2010 season, a track record bettered by only a few other starters. Over seven seasons with the Nationals, Gonzalez turned in over twelve hundred innings of 3.62 ERA pitching with 8.7 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9. His best seasons came earlier in his tenure, though he did slip in one final gem of a year in 2018 — overcoming the underwhelming peripherals that suggested some good fortune and regression in the ensuing season.
While he did indeed take a step back in 2018, Gonzalez was still capable of 171 frames of 4.21 ERA ball. He was particularly effective in his final five outings, which came with Milwaukee, turning in 25 1/3 innings over which he allowed just six earned runs on 14 base hits with a 22:10 K/BB ratio.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.