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NPB’s Seibu Lions Sign Emmanuel Ramirez

By Mark Polishuk | November 30, 2024 at 9:24am CDT

The Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball announced (X link) that they have signed right-hander Emmanuel Ramirez for the 2025 season.  Ramirez hit the open market earlier this month after he was released by the Blue Jays.

2024 marked Ramirez’s twelfth season in pro ball, and the 30-year-old’s long road to the majors finally reached its destination when he appeared in 15 games out of the Marlins’ bullpen.  Ramirez posted a 6.97 ERA in his first 20 2/3 innings of big league work, but with a much more respectable 3.83 SIERA in that small sample size, as he was hampered by an unusually low 54% strand rate.

The righty did allow three homers during his brief time in the majors, and keeping the ball in the park has been a consistent issue for Ramirez since the 2019 season when he was still a member of the Padres farm system.  Ramirez played in San Diego’s organization from 2013-19, and after the pandemic canceled the 2020 minor league season, he has since bounced around for some minor league work with the Braves, Yankees, Marlins, and Blue Jays.  The 2023 campaign saw Ramirez out of affiliated baseball altogether, as he pitched in the Mexican League.

Over 101 career Triple-A innings, Ramirez has a garish 7.22 ERA due in large part to 28 home runs allowed.  He did improve on his career record with the Marlins’ Triple-A affiliate last season, as Ramirez limited the damage to five home runs in 40 2/3 innings while posting a 3.76 ERA, 30.5% strikeout rate, and 9.6% walk rate.  This was enough for Ramirez to earn his MLB debut, but as part of the Marlins’ ever-churning roster mix, he found himself designated for assignment in September.  Toronto claimed the right-hander on waivers but Ramirez didn’t see any big league action during his brief time with the Jays.

The 30-year-old Ramirez now heads overseas for a new opportunity with the Lions, and potentially a return to starting pitching.  Ramirez has mostly worked as a reliever or swingman throughout his career, but did start 16 of his 17 games in the Mexican League, so he does have some recent rotation experience.

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Nippon Professional Baseball Transactions Emmanuel Ramirez

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NPB’s Chunichi Dragons Sign Jason Vosler

By Mark Polishuk | November 30, 2024 at 8:00am CDT

The Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball have agreed to a deal with infielder Jason Vosler for the 2025 season, according to multiple reports out of Japan.  Vosler elected minor league free agency at the end of the 2024 Major League campaign, which he spent as a member of the Mariners organization.

The majority of Vosler’s time with Seattle was spent at Triple-A Tacoma, where he hit .303/.371/.573 and 31 homers over 524 plate appearances for the Rainiers.  Despite these impressive numbers, Vosler didn’t receive much playing time at the MLB level, as he only appeared in 10 games with the Mariners (hitting a much more modest .179/.233/.286 in 30 PA) in late July and early August.  Seattle designated Vosler for assignment in September and then outrighted him off the 40-man roster.

Originally a 16th-round pick for the Cubs in the 2014 draft, Vosler broke into the big leagues with San Francisco in 2021, and his MLB resume consists of 107 total games with the Giants, Reds, and Mariners over the last four seasons.  He had a strong .265/.342/.469 slash line in 111 PA with the Giants in 2022, as the platoon-heavy team gave the left-handed hitting Vosler a lot of looks against right-handed pitching.  That burst of productivity was relatively short-lived, however, and Vosler has hit .207/.274/.395 in 288 PA against Major League pitching on the whole.

Vosler played mostly third base in his two seasons with the Giants and was largely a first baseman in his one year in Cincinnati.  He has also made a handful of appearances at both corner outfield positions and both middle infield positions, and the 2024 season saw Vosler primarily work as a first baseman and right fielder in Tacoma.

It remains to be seen where Vosler will line up for the Dragons, but his versatility gives the NPB team some flexibility in deciding how they’ll utilize the 31-year-old.  Since Vosler would’ve had to settle for another minor league contract with a North American team, the move to Japan will land him more guaranteed money and a new chapter in his 11-year pro career.

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Nippon Professional Baseball Transactions Jason Vosler

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Dodgers Extend Tommy Edman

By Nick Deeds | November 29, 2024 at 11:00pm CDT

The Dodgers and superutility man Tommy Edman have agreed to a five-year $74MM extension that runs from 2025 to 2029 and contains a club option for the 2030 season, the team has announced. The option for 2030 is worth $13MM and comes with a $3MM buyout. Edman will receive a $17MM signing bonus, and $25MM of the extension’s total value will be deferred and paid out over a span of ten years, starting five years after the deal is complete. Since Edman was already under contract for $9.5MM in 2025, the new deal is effectively a four-year extension worth $64.5MM in new money. Edman is represented by agent Jonathan Weiss.

Los Angeles was reportedly in the midst of “preliminary” discussions regarding an extension with Edman’s camp last week, and those talks have now come to fruition. It took the Dodgers only 53 regular-season games and 16 postseason games to decide that Edman was a player they wanted on the field over the long term, as the 29-year-old has already made a big impact since being acquired at the trade deadline.

The three-team, eight-player trade that brought Edman from the Cardinals and Michael Kopech from the White Sox proved to be critical to the Dodgers’ World Series title. At the time of the deal, Edman hadn’t appeared in a big league game following setbacks related to wrist surgery he underwent during the 2023 offseason. While he ultimately didn’t make his Dodgers debut until August 19, the switch-hitter made an immediate impression with the club as he seamlessly shifted between center field and shortstop down the stretch and into the postseason, all while hitting a respectable .237/.294/.417 (98 wRC+) in the regular season. In the playoffs, Edman went a level higher and hit .328/.354/.508 over 67 postseason plate appearances, and was named MVP of the NLCS.

By keeping Edman in the fold long-term, the Dodgers will retain a flexible player who can play all over the diamond and shift between the infield and outfield with minimal issues based on the needs of the club. That’s an archetype of player the club has coveted in recent years, as evidenced by their commitment to Chris Taylor and frequent deals with Enrique Hernandez. While Hernandez is currently a free agent and Taylor does not figure to be a regular fixture in the club’s lineup for 2025, Edman is joined by Mookie Betts as a player who offers the Dodgers plenty of flexibility in their lineup construction. A six-time Gold Glove winner in right field, Betts has in recent seasons begun to play an increasing amount of second base and even shortstop, and the club seemingly plans to play him on the infield dirt again in 2025.

With Betts, Gavin Lux, and Miguel Rojas poised to handle the middle infield for the Dodgers next year, that could leave Edman to patrol center field for the Dodgers on a regular basis next year. It’s a position he only picked up on a regular basis in 2023, but he’s been undeniably effective since moving there: he posted +1 Outs Above Average at the position in just 188 innings with the Dodgers this year after reaching an excellent +5 mark in 330 innings in center for the Cardinals in 2023. If he can maintain that level of defensive prowess at the position over a full season, Edman’s league average bat should make him a well above average regular overall for the Dodgers in 2025.

It’s already been a busy offseason for the Dodgers, as today’s Edman extension pairs with their blockbuster five-year deal with lefty Blake Snell earlier this week. With room to improve in the outfielder corners, holes to fill in the bullpen, and longtime franchise face Clayton Kershaw as of yet unsigned, there figures to be plenty more on president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman’s to-do list this winter. Having Edman’s plus defensive ability locked into center field for the foreseeable future could make the club even more comfortable pursuing offensive upgrades in the outfield corners. They’ve already been linked to corner bats without much defensive prowess such as Teoscar Hernandez and even Juan Soto, both of whom are rumored targets for L.A. this winter and would surely appreciate being flanked by a center fielder of Edman’s caliber.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the extension and the contract terms.  Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic (X link) had the specifics on the deferred money.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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Los Angeles Dodgers Newsstand Transactions Tommy Edman

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Braves Sign Connor Gillispie To Major League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | November 29, 2024 at 8:55pm CDT

The Braves announced that they have signed right-hander Connor Gillispie to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. They have multiple openings on their 40-man roster and won’t need to make a corresponding move. Bob Nightengale of USA Today (X link) reported the deal prior to the official announcement.

Gillispie, 27, just made his major league debut in 2024. Though he was drafted by the Orioles in 2019 and was with them through the 2023 season, the Guardians nabbed him in the minor league phase of last year’s Rule 5 draft. Cleveland selected him to the big league roster in August and he tossed eight innings for them down the stretch, allowing two earned runs. Last week, the Guardians added four players to their roster to protect them from this year’s Rule 5, with Gillispie designated for assignment to open a spot.

He was later non-tendered and became a free agent without being exposed to waivers, with Atlanta quickly offering him a roster spot to get him off the market. The brief major league debut wasn’t much to go on, so Atlanta has presumably been enticed by his minor league work. Gillispie tossed 113 1/3 Triple-A innings in a swing role this year, making 15 starts and 12 relief appearances. He allowed 4.05 earned runs per nine innings, striking out 25% of opponents against a 10.1% walk rate while surrendering 22 home runs.

That’s roughly similar to the work he did in the Orioles’ system. From 2021 to 2023, he tossed 292 2/3 innings in the minors, starting 50 of his 73 appearances. He had a 4.15 ERA, 23.8% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate in that time while allowing 48 long balls.

Perhaps Atlanta will try to move Gillispie to the bullpen on a more permanent basis, as he posted a 4.68 ERA as a starter this year but a 2.63 mark in relief. However it plays out, Gillispie still has options and just a few days of service time, meaning he can theoretically be cheaply retained well into the future if he continues to hang on to his roster spot. Atlanta’s pitching staff just lost Max Fried, Charlie Morton, A.J. Minter, Jesse Chavez and John Brebbia to free agency, while Joe Jiménez recently underwent knee surgery and could miss the entire 2025 season.

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Atlanta Braves Transactions Connor Gillispie

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Braves, José Devers Agree To Minor League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | November 29, 2024 at 6:55pm CDT

The Braves and infielder José Devers have agreed to a minor league deal, per Aram Leighton of Just Baseball (X link) and confirmed by MLBTR. The Rep 1 Baseball client will receive an invite to major league spring training.

Devers, 25 next week, was once a notable prospect but hasn’t been able to live up to that hype just yet. An international signing of the Yankees, he was traded to the Marlins as part of the December 2017 trade that brought Giancarlo Stanton to the Bronx. The cousin of Rafael Devers, José went on to garner attention to due his athletic defense and strong contact abilities. Baseball America ranked him as one of the top 15 prospects in Miami’s system in four straight years from 2019 to 2022.

He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in December of 2020 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft, but a significant shoulder issue detailed much of his next two seasons. He only played 33 games between the majors and minors in 2021 and underwent surgery in August of that year to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. The recovery lingered into the next season as he only played 60 minor league games in 2022. He cleared waivers and was outrighted off Miami’s roster at the end of the 2022 season.

He was stuck in Triple-A in 2023 but had a decent campaign there, striking out in just 14.8% of his plate appearances while slashing .276/.352/.421 for a 108 wRC+. But in 2024, he spent a bit of time on the minor league injured list and only got into 54 Triple-A games, hitting .239/.304/.362 for a 74 wRC+. He was briefly added to the club’s major league roster as they were playing out a lost season. He has a line of .244/.300/.311 in just 50 major league plate appearances thus far. He wasn’t on the 40-man at season’s end and was able to elect free agency.

For Atlanta, there’s little risk in a minor league deal. Devers has played all four infield positions, primarily up the middle. The club has Ozzie Albies cemented at second base but Orlando Arcia is on shakier ground at shortstop. Nick Allen, Luke Williams and Nacho Alvarez Jr. are on the roster but Devers gives them a bit of non-roster depth.

Devers’ prospect stock has faded of late but he’s still relatively young and has been hurt for many of his recent challenges. If he can stay healthy and get back on track, he still has an option year and barely a year of service time, meaning he can theoretically be cheaply retained well into the future if he can nab a roster spot.

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Atlanta Braves Transactions Jose Devers

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Tigers Sign Ricky Vanasco To Minor League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | November 29, 2024 at 1:28pm CDT

TODAY: Per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, Vanasco’s minor league deal comes with an invite to big league spring training as well as a $925K salary when in the majors.

11/28: The Tigers have signed right-hander Ricky Vanasco to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The Full Circle Sports Management client has been assigned to Triple-A Toledo for now but will presumably receive an invite to major league spring training.

Vanasco, 26, finished the 2024 season with the Tigers. They acquired him from the Dodgers in a July cash deal and largely kept him in the minors on optional assignment, only giving him two major league appearances. Detroit then non-tendered him last week, sending him to free agency without exposing him to waivers, which allowed them to bring him back via this deal.

The righty now has just four major league appearances under his belt, two of those coming with the Dodgers prior to the two he made with the Tigers. That’s obviously not a large enough sample to draw any conclusions from, but there are other reasons why the Tigers are interested.

Vanasco was drafted by the Rangers back in 2017 and put up some good numbers in the lower levels of the minors. Baseball America ranked him that club’s #12 prospect going into 2020. Unfortunately, he required Tommy John surgery in September of that year and missed the entire 2021 season. Still, the Rangers didn’t want him to be left exposed in the Rule 5 draft, so they added him to their 40-man roster in November of 2021.

Recovered from his surgery, he was back on the mound in 2022. He made 23 starts that year between High-A and Double-A, throwing 92 1/3 innings with a 4.68 earned run average. His 28.9% strikeout rate was strong but he also gave out walks at a 12.7% clip. In 2023, knee surgery forced him to miss a few months but he had some encouraging results while switching to a relief role. He tossed 32 1/3 innings that year with a 2.78 ERA, 31.9% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate, getting acquired by the Dodgers midway through that year.

In 2024, as mentioned, he made four major league appearances between the Dodgers and Tigers. Most of his time was spent in Triple-A, where he logged 40 1/3 innings with a 2.45 ERA. His 26.4% strikeout rate was good but the 16.5% walk rate very much on the high side.

The lack of control could make Vanasco a bit of a project for the Tigers, but there’s no real risk on a minor league deal and there could be long-term benefits if it works out. Vanasco is out of options but has less than a year of service time and is still relatively young. That means he could be cheaply retained for years into the future if things click for him and he gets a roster spot.

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Detroit Tigers Transactions Ricky Vanasco

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William Cuevas Re-Signs With KT Wiz

By Leo Morgenstern | November 29, 2024 at 11:18am CDT

Right-handed pitcher William Cuevas is coming back for another year with the KT Wiz of the KBO.  His contract, announced by the team and relayed over X by Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net and Jiheon Pae, is worth $1.5MM in US dollars. The 2025 season will be the righty’s seventh with the club.

Cuevas, now 34, originally signed with the Red Sox as an 18-year-old international free agent in 2009. He would eventually bounce from the Red Sox, to the Tigers, to the Marlins, and back to the Red Sox, appearing in big league games for Boston and Detroit. He pitched to an 8.06 ERA and 4.92 SIERA in 22 1/3 MLB innings.

After the 2018 season, the Red Sox released Cuevas so he could pursue an opportunity in the KBO. From 2019-22, he pitched for the Wiz on a series of one-year contracts. However, he was released early in the 2022 season after suffering an elbow injury. Fortunately for Cuevas, the issue proved not to be too serious. He was able to make an appearance for the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League later that year.

Cuevas returned to affiliated ball the following season, signing a minor league contract with the Dodgers in April 2023. He pitched 44 innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City, striking out 43, walking 20, and giving up 13 home runs, resulting in a 6.14 ERA and 7.47 FIP. On June 8, the Dodgers released Cuevas, allowing him to re-sign with the Wiz the next day. While his performance at Triple-A wasn’t exactly impressive, he clearly did enough to prove to his former club that his elbow was back to full strength. Indeed, he put up a 2.60 ERA and 2.79 FIP in 114 1/3 IP over the remainder of the KBO season.

Fresh off his successful 2023 campaign, Cuevas earned another contract from the Wiz. He didn’t look nearly as sharp in 2024 as he did the year before, producing a 4.10 ERA and 4.39 FIP. Still, he was durable and reliable, giving the team 31 starts and 173 1/3 IP. Only two KBO pitchers threw more innings this past season, and only one made more starts. Thus, it comes as little surprise that the Wiz have welcomed Cuevas back once again for 2025.

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Korea Baseball Organization Transactions William Cuevas

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Cubs To Sign Brooks Kriske

By Leo Morgenstern | November 29, 2024 at 10:17am CDT

Right-handed pitcher Brooks Kriske has agreed to a contract with the Cubs, the 30-year-old announced himself on his Instagram and X accounts. It is presumably a minor league deal, although the team has not yet confirmed the move and further details have not been revealed.

After growing up a Cubs fan, Kriske was selected by the Yankees in the 2016 draft. Although he was never a top prospect, the righty made an impressive comeback from early-career Tommy John surgery and quickly rose through the ranks of the minor leagues. In August 2018, he was still pitching at Low-A after losing so much development time to injury. Yet, by July 2020, he was pitching for the big league club. Heading into the 2021 season, he earned a spot on the Yankees prospect lists at both FanGraphs (no. 34) and Baseball America (no. 28).

Unfortunately, the big leagues have never been kind to Kriske. Over parts of two seasons in the Bronx, he gave up 20 runs (19 earned) in 11 1/3 innings, good for a 15.09 ERA. He allowed six home runs and walked more than 20% of the batters he faced. He also threw seven wild pitches – four of which came in the same inning. Following a particularly poor outing in September 2021, Kriske was optioned to Triple-A and designated for assignment a few days later.

The Orioles must have liked what they saw when Kriske held them scoreless and hitless across two appearances in 2020, striking out four of the eight batters he faced. They scooped him up off of waivers, and he pitched in four more games down the stretch. Yet, his results weren’t much better than they were in New York. While Kriske didn’t walk any batters, he gave up five runs on two homers in 3 1/3 innings of work. By the end of the 2021 campaign, he had a career 14.40 ERA, 5.11 SIERA, and -0.8 FanGraphs WAR.

Baltimore released Kriske that fall, allowing him to sign with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of NPB. A relatively successful season in Japan (21 IP, 2.57 ERA, 11.1 K/9) earned him a minor league deal with the Royals in December 2022. However, Kriske struggled upon his return to affiliated ball. He pitched to a 5.52 ERA and 4.29 FIP over 29 1/3 innings at Triple-A Omaha. His 4.05 ERA over 6 2/3 MLB innings represented an improvement, but his 16% walk rate and 5.30 SIERA showed a pitcher who was still struggling to retire major league batters. Partway through the 2023 season, he was granted his release to pursue another opportunity in Japan, this time with the Saitama Seibu Lions.

Once again, Kriske looked much sharper overseas, putting up a 1.93 ERA in 14 innings with the Lions over the remainder of the 2023 campaign. He decided to come back stateside last winter, inking a minor league pact with the Reds. However, despite a strong performance in spring training (6 IP, 3.00 ERA, 8 K, 1 BB) and solid numbers at Triple-A Louisville (49 1/3 IP, 3.10 ERA, 36.7 K%, 4.06 FIP), he never got the chance to pitch for Cincinnati at the big league level. The Reds selected him to their 40-man roster in June (presumably to prevent him from exercising an opt-out clause in his contract) but never actually called him up. They DFA’d him two months later.

For the second time in three years, the Orioles claimed Kriske off of waivers, and he finished out the 2024 campaign in the O’s organization. Across eight appearances at Triple-A Norfolk, he pitched to a 5.00 ERA and 6.79 FIP in nine innings of work. He elected free agency at the end of the season.

Although he struggled late in the year with the Norfolk Tides, Kriske still finished his age-30 season with respectable Triple-A numbers: a 3.39 ERA and 4.48 FIP over 58 1/3 innings. He struck out 34.2% of his opponents. Free passes continue to be a problem for the righty – he walked 14.8% of hitters this past season – but a high walk rate is tolerable as long as he can maintain such a high strikeout rate and keep home runs at a manageable level. He’ll provide depth for the Cubs in the minor leagues, and the fewer batters he walks, the better his chances of getting back to the big leagues in 2025.

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Chicago Cubs Transactions Brooks Kriske

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Matt Davidson Re-Signs With KBO’s NC Dinos

By Nick Deeds | November 28, 2024 at 10:25pm CDT

The NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization are re-signing infielder Matt Davidson to a $1.5MM deal with a club option for 2026 valued at $1.7MM (h/t Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News).

Davidson, 34, first signed with the Dinos back in January. Once a first-round pick in the 2009 draft by the Diamondbacks and a regular on top-100 prospect lists in the early 2010s, Davidson has appeared in parts of six big league seasons but has never quite been successful in establishing himself in the majors. He played just 31 games total at the big league level for Arizona. While he hit a decent .237/.333/.434 in that time, he was shipped to Chicago in the deal that brought Addison Reed to the Diamondbacks the following offseason.

After arriving in Chicago, Davidson was relegated to the minor leagues in the first few years of his time with the organization, where he hit quite well; the slugger is a career .253/.335/.479 hitter at the Triple-A level and demonstrated 20-homer power for the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte. He received semi-regular playing time with the White Sox from 2017 to 2018 and hit a respectable .224/.291/.435 with 46 home runs during that time, though he also struck out at an untenable 35.1% clip. Since the end of the 2018 season, Davidson has appeared in just 33 games at the big league level. Most recently, he hit .167/.167/.292 in an eight-game stint with the Athletics in 2022.

2023 saw Davidson head overseas to try his hand at playing baseball in Asia, though he initially did not head to the KBO. First, he went to Japan to play for Nippon Professional Baseball’s Hiroshima Carp. He hit a middling .224/.288/.452 overall in 117 games for the Carp. While he slugged 21 homers, his high strikeout rates and lackluster on-base percentage led the club to part ways with him. That led him to the Dinos, and his first season in Korea could’ve hardly gone better. While serving as his club’s primary first baseman, Davidson slashed an excellent .306/.370/.633 in 131 games. He slugged a KBO-leading 46 homers, and his 1.003 OPS ranked third in the league.

That dominant performance clearly got the Dinos’ attention, and they were quick to lock him up for the next two seasons after his power helped to keep the team somewhat competitive during a disappointing 61-81 season. While Davidson’s deal guaranteed him just $700K last winter, this year he’s been guaranteed more than double that figure and could earn more than $3MM total over the life of the contract if the option for next year is picked up. Given Davidson’s age, it’s unclear whether attempting a comeback in the majors could be in the cards for him when his contract with the Dinos ends, though if he continues hitting as he did last year he could follow in the footsteps of Eric Thames and look to revive his stateside career after years of posting otherworldly numbers in KBO play.

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Korea Baseball Organization Transactions Matt Davidson

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Braves Re-Sign Ray Kerr, Royber Salinas To Minor League Deals

By Nick Deeds | November 28, 2024 at 5:57pm CDT

The Braves have re-signed left-hander Ray Kerr and Royber Salinas to minor league deals, according to the transaction trackers on the pair’s profile pages at MLB.com. According to that same source, the Braves have brought left-hander Kolton Ingram into the organization on a minor league deal.

Kerr and Salinas were both non-tendered by the Braves prior to last week’s deadline, but the duo will now return to the organization as non-roster depth. Kerr began his big league career with the Padres and posted solid numbers for San Diego in 2023, with a 4.33 ERA and 4.18 FIP in 27 innings that saw him strike out an excellent 30.3% of opponents. That relatively small sample of success was enough to convince the Braves to trade for him last winter, and the club took on the final year of Matt Carpenter’s underwater contract with San Diego in order to facilitate the deal. Unfortunately, Kerr struggled to a 5.64 ERA in 10 early season appearances before undergoing Tommy John surgery back in June. Now that he’s back with Atlanta, he’ll be able to rehab with the organization as he eyes a possible second-half comeback in 2025.

As for Salinas, he only joined the Braves organization earlier this month after being claimed off waivers from the A’s. It’s not Salinas’s first stint in the organization, however, as he actually signed out of Venezuela with Atlanta as an international amateur. After spending the first years of his pro career with the Braves, Salinas was traded to the A’s as part of the Sean Murphy deal prior to the 2023 season. The right-hander’s two year sojourn to Oakland saw him struggle to establish himself in the upper minors. After struggling to a 5.48 ERA in his first taste of Double-A action last year, he saw improved results (including a 3.68 ERA) in a repeat of the level this year but was torched to the tune of seven runs in 6 1/3 Triple-A frames. Looking ahead to 2025, Salinas figures to serve as non-roster depth for the club’s bullpen, which currently stands to be without A.J. Minter after the lefty hit free agency earlier this month and Joe Jimenez after the right-hander underwent surgery that will cause him to miss at least the majority of the 2025 campaign.

That role of non-roster depth also figures to apply to Ingram, who spent the 2024 season shuffling between four different organizations at the Triple-A level. In 51 2/3 innings of work at the level across the affiliates of the Giants, Mets, Rangers, and Cardinals, Ingram posted a solid 3.66 ERA while striking out 23.7% of opponents. The southpaw received his only big league exposure in 2023 as a member of the Angels. While he had impressed with a 2.95 ERA at the Double- and Triple-A levels that year, he was shelled to the tune of an 8.44 ERA in 5 1/3 frames during his first cup of coffee in the majors. Now more than a year removed from that frustrating debut, Ingram figures to look for an opportunity to break back into the big leagues with Atlanta next season.

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Atlanta Braves Transactions Kolton Ingram Ray Kerr Royber Salinas

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