Phillies Designate Jake Thompson
The Phillies announced this afternoon that they have designated righty Jake Thompson for assignment. His roster spot will go to the just-acquired Justin Bour.
Once a prospect of note, Thompson came to Philadelphia as part of the Cole Hamels swap. He has not yet established himself in the majors, however, despite seeing action in each of the past three seasons.
Thompson has shifted to a relief role this season after almost exclusively working as a starter previously. The former second-rounder owns a 4.87 ERA in 116 1/3 MLB innings with 6.3 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9.
Though his velocity and swinging-strike rate have trended up a bit since the move to the pen, the recent numbers don’t paint a terribly promising picture for the 24-year-old. Thompson has handed out eleven walks in 16 1/3 MLB frames this year and carries a 4.60 ERA in his 47 Triple-A frames.
Phillies Acquire Justin Bour
2:15PM: The Marlins will receive left-hander McKenzie Mills, Fancred’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). Mills was an 18th-round pick for the Nationals in the 2014 draft, and the 22-year-old has a 3.51 ERA, 2.58 K/BB rate, and an 8.5 K/9 over 89 2/3 IP for high-A Clearwater this season, with Mills starting 16 of his 20 appearances. This is the second notable trade Mills has already been part of in his young career, as he was sent to the Phillies from the Nationals last summer in the Howie Kendrick deal.
2:07PM: The minor league pitcher headed to the Marlins is an A-ball player, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. MLBPipeline.com’s Jonathan Mayo notes that the prospect wasn’t ranked as one of MLB.com’s top 30 minor leaguers in the Phillies’ system. (Both links to Twitter.)
1:09PM: The Phillies have acquired first baseman Justin Bour and cash considerations in a trade with the Marlins, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter links). Miami will receive a minor league pitcher in return. The two sides worked out a trade after Philadelphia claimed Bour on revocable waivers.
The Marlins will cover roughly half of Bour’s remaining salary for the season, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (via Twitter), which works out to around $450K of the $900K left on the $3.4MM Bour won in an arbitration case with the Phils last winter.
[Updated Phillies and Marlins depth charts at Roster Resource]
Bour has two more years of arbitration eligibility remaining, though he doesn’t necessarily have a long-term role in Philadelphia with Carlos Santana locked in at first base (at a $20MM average annual salary) at least through the 2020 season. It could be that the Phillies look to deal or maybe even non-tender Bour this winter, as Rosenthal suggests, and for now they’ll use him as a perhaps overqualified left-handed bench bat. Bour has badly struggled against southpaws this year while the switch-hitting Santana has hit only a modest .209/.362/.387 against right-handed pitching, so there is some room for a platoon situation. The Phillies’ collective 93 wRC+ against righty pitching this season ranks just 21st in baseball, so the offense can certainly benefit from some pop from the left side of the plate.
Bour drew a lot of trade attention last winter in the midst of the Marlins’ fire sale, though we didn’t hear much buzz about the first baseman until deadline day itself, when he was the subject of some late-breaking talks. Bour’s numbers were dampened by an extended slump throughout July, though he is still posting above-average (108 wRC+, 113 OPS+) offensive numbers overall, hitting .227/.347/.412 with 19 homers in 447 plate appearances.
Still, 2018 is shaping up as the weakest of Bour’s four seasons as a regular Major Leaguer, and certainly a step back from his breakout 2017 campaign. Limited to just 429 PA last year due to a variety of injuries, Bour still managed 25 homers and slash .289/.366/.536 for a 133 wRC+ and 142 OPS+, even if his overall value (2.2 fWAR) was lowered by subpar baserunning and defense.
This season, however, Bour is hitting for less power (.184 ISO compared to .247 last year) while also striking out slightly more often and making a bit more soft contact. Bour also enjoyed a .322 BABIP in 2017 as opposed to a .267 BABIP this year, and there’s also the simple fact that opposing pitchers can focus more directly on Bour since Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna, and Christian Yelich are no longer in the Marlins’ lineup. That said, there is also some evidence that Bour could be due for an uptick in production, as evidenced by that low BABIP and a .352 xwOBA that outpaces his real-world .329 wOBA.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Orioles Designate Danny Valencia, Select Cedric Mullins
The Orioles announced today that they have designated infielder Danny Valencia for assignment. The move will make way for outfielder Cedric Mullins, whose contract was selected.
Valencia, 33, joined the Baltimore organization on a minors deal but had played a fairly significant role on the roster for much of the season. Over 282 plate appearances, he carries a .263/.316/.408 batting line — good for an exactly league average 100 OPS+ (albeit only a 93 wRC+).
Though he has mostly lined up at third base, Valencia has also spent time in right field for the O’s. He’s not generally regarded as much of a defender, and the advanced metrics have reflected that reputation this year.
It’s perhaps not out of question that a contending organization in search of a bench threat against left-handed pitching could put in a claim. As he has for much of his career, after all, Valencia has bludgeoned opposing southpaws this year. He’s also earning a palatable $1.2MM salary for the season.
As for Mullins, the diminutive 23-year-old will make his MLB debut. He has steadily ascended the ladder since joining the Orioles organization as a 13th-round pick in 2015. This season, he knocked around Double-A pitching before earning a promotion to the highest level of the minors, where he carries a .267/.332/.425 slash with five home runs and a dozen steals over 267 plate appearances.
Cubs Sign Jorge De La Rosa
The Cubs have signed left-hander Jorge De La Rosa to a Major League contract, the team announced. (MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat was among to report the news). The veteran southpaw has already been activated and is on the Cubs’ roster for today’s afternoon game with the Nationals. To create roster space, Yu Darvish was transferred to the 60-day DL and left-hander Randy Rosario was sent down to Triple-A.
De La Rosa was released by the Diamondbacks earlier this week after he posted a 4.63 ERA, 6.9 K/9, and 1.42 K/BB rate over 35 innings out of the Arizona bullpen. It was something of a feast-or-famine situation for De La Rosa this season, as he posted both a 51.9% grounder rate but also an ungainly 20% home run rate. Right-handed batters hit De La Rosa hard, to the tune of a .927 OPS, though he was quite effective against left-handed batters, limiting them to just a .220/.309/.407 slash line.
Justin Wilson is the only other left-hander in Chicago’s bullpen, and while Wilson has generally pitched well this season, he has continued to have control issues (6.2 BB/9). The 24-year-old Rosario has a 3.00 ERA over 33 frames this season, though since he had almost as many walks (19) as strikeouts (21), it makes sense that the Cubs wanted a more experienced left-handed presence, despite De La Rosa’s own struggles.
The club was known to be looking at bullpen help in the leadup to the trade deadline but came away with two right-handers (Brandon Kintzler and Jesse Chavez) rather than additional left-handed depth. Mike Montgomery has pitched well as a starter, but the Cubs could still potentially make him their primary left-handed relief option once Darvish returns from the DL, since Montgomery probably wouldn’t be in line to be used as a starter anyways in a potential playoff series.
NPB’s Orix Buffaloes Extend Andrew Albers
The Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball have signed left-hander Andrew Albers to a two-year contract extension, as per a team announcement (hat tip to The Japan Times). Reports differ on the exact dollar figures— the Japan Times indicates that Albers will earn $1.8MM per season, while The Athletic’s Robert Murray tweets that Albers will actually earn $4.5MM over the course of the contract, with another $1MM available in incentive bonuses. Albers is a client of True Gravity Baseball.
Albers, who turns 33 in October, has a 2.90 ERA, 6.5 K/9, and 4.11 K/BB rate over 108 2/3 innings in his first season in Japan’s top league. Just as he has for much of his professional career, Albers has offset his lack of strikeouts with excellent control, and this season has also seen him limit damage from the long ball (only an 0.6 HR/9).
Originally a 10th-round pick for the Padres in the 2008 draft, Albers has mixed stints in Japan, Korea, and the independent leagues along with 120 2/3 Major League innings for the Twins, Blue Jays, and Mariners. He posted solid numbers (3.51 ERA, 8.1 K/9, and 3.7 K/BB rate over 41 IP, starting six of nine appearances) for Seattle in 2017, before heading oversea to sign with the Buffaloes last offseason.
A’s Acquire Fernando Rodney
In a stunning move seemingly out of nowhere, the Athletics announced that they’ve acquired right-hander Fernando Rodney from the Twins in exchange for minor league righty Dakota Chalmers. Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports that the A’s will assume all of Rodney’s remaining salary (around 1.3MM).
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the transaction came as the result of a waiver claim by the Athletics, meaning Rodney never cleared revocable trade waivers. The 42-year-old was certainly a logical August trade candidate, as MLBTR’s own Connor Byrne noted this past Saturday; more recently, the Twins’ closer appeared near the top of our Top 20 August Trade Candidates, checking in at number seven. He’s a reasonably affordable option for the surging yet cost-conscious A’s.
[RELATED: How August Trades Work]
Rodney has long been an effective MLB reliever, and has served mainly as a closer across the past decade. His 325 career saves rank 17th all-time among relievers, and although he’s certainly shown some fluctuation in performance over the course of his lifetime, his 3.09 ERA at present would be his best in a full season since 2014 with the Mariners. The veteran has managed to strike out more than ten batters per nine innings in five of the past six campaigns and owns a solid if unspectacular 3.70 ERA (3.73 FIP) over the course of his 16-year MLB career.
For the A’s, it’s the latest move to bolster an already-spectacular relief corps. Headed into the second half of July, the club already boasted three relievers with a Win Probability Added of 1.00 or higher (Blake Treinen, Lou Trivino and Yusmeiro Petit). Since then, they’ve added Jeurys Familia in a trade with the Mets, claimed Shawn Kelley off waivers from the Nationals, and plucked Mike Fiers from the paws of the Tigers. Rodney serves as the club’s fourth major bullpen addition over the course of the past month, fortifying an already-terrifying group.
That’s excellent work on the part of the club’s front office, as it’ll help mask the club’s uninspiring rotation. Sean Manaea‘s currently the club’s only starter with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title, in no small part due to the wreckage of torn UCLs suffered by rotation candidates this season. Daniel Gossett, Kendall Graveman, Jharel Cotton and top prospect A.J. Puk are all done for the season after requiring Tommy John surgery, leaving the club with a starting group of ragtag veterans that includes Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson and Edwin Jackson, each of whom has outperformed expectations. With an eye on October, it seems as though the Athletics are likely to use starters for short outings in the postseason and rely on a deep bullpen to handle the remainder of the workload.
Perhaps one of the more surprising elements of this deal is the fact that Rodney went unclaimed by the Indians, who had waiver priority over the Athletics and one of the worst bullpens in baseball. With three strong lefties in their pen and no viable right-handed options beyond Adam Cimber and struggling closer Cody Allen, Rodney would have provided a strong upgrade to the Cleveland bullpen. Likewise, the Mariners (who’re in close competition with them for a wild card spot) also passed on Rodney, allowing him to be claimed by a division rival rather than using him to patch their own relief corps.
The inclusion of Chalmers is a fascinating element of this deal, as the 21-year-old right hander has yet to accrue any significant professional resume following his selection by the A’s as the 97th overall pick in the 2015 draft. He didn’t rank among the club’s top 30 prospects in MLB Pipeline’s latest rankings, but Fangraphs considered him to within that group, ranking him 23rd in the A’s farm system. Chalmers had to step away from baseball late in 2017 for personal reasons, and Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen mentioned that he’s struggled with his control since returning. Though his velocity sits in the low-to-mid-90’s, there’s some skepticism that he’ll ever develop the command necessary to work multiple innings. He won’t pitch for the remainder of 2018 after undergoing Tommy John surgery earlier this season.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/9/18
This post will house the minor MLB transactions of the day:
- The Rangers announced that southpaw Brandon Mann has been outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers. He was designated for assignment recently. This year, Mann became one of the older rookies you’ll ever encounter when he reached the majors for the first time at 34. He earned his way up after carrying a 2.70 ERA through 43 1/3 frames at Round Rock, though he managed only 7.7 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in that span. In 7 1/3 big-league innings, Mann allowed five earned runs on four hits while recording two strikeouts against four walks.
Tigers Acquire Nick Tepesch From Blue Jays
The Tigers have acquired right-hander Nick Tepesch from the Blue Jays for cash considerations, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports on Twitter. Tepesch will head to Double-A Erie with his new organization, Woodbery adds.
Tepesch, now 29, is best known for his run with the Rangers from 2013-14. He turned in 42 appearances (39 starts) and 219 innings of 4.56 ERA/4.66 FIP pitching in that span, notching a career-best 126 frames in 2014. Tepesch walked just 2.92 hitters per nine in his Texas tenure, but he only managed a 5.42 K/9 along the way, thus limiting his effectiveness.
Since his time with the Rangers ended in 2016, Tepesch has been a member of a few other organizations, but he hasn’t seen significant big league action over the past couple years. Tepesch has spent this year exclusively in the minors, combining for 89 1/3 innings with the Blue Jays’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates. He struggled at both levels with Toronto, especially as a member of its Triple-A team in Buffalo, where he put up a lofty 7.90 ERA with 4.39 K/9 and 2.85 BB/9 in 41 frames.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/8/18
We’ll track the latest minor moves in this post:
- The Royals have released right-hander Michael Mariot, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com tweets. The 29-year-old Mariot had been in his second stint as a member of the Royals, with whom he initially pitched from 2014-15 after they chose him in the eighth round of the 2010 draft. Mariot, who was with the Phillies from 2016-17 and the Padres earlier in 2018, threw 37 2/3 innings between the Royals’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates this year. The majority of that work came with the latter club, as Mariot recorded a 3.81 ERA with 9.85 K/9 and 2.22 BB/9 in 28 1/3 innings (18 appearances, two starts).
Earlier updates:
- The Indians announced that they have released righty Zach McAllister, who had recently been designated for assignment. Though he cleared waivers, due in no small part to his $2.45MM salary, the 30-year-old ought to draw interest on the open market. After all, he had been quite a useful reliever for the Indians over the prior three seasons before hitting some bumps this year. McAllister is throwing strikes and getting swings and misses at the same levels as before. Though he’s giving up a fair bit of hard contact, he did that in 2017 as well. Of course, he had been outperforming ERA estimators in recent years. With a 68.5% strand rate and 1.51 homers per nine in 2018, some of the prior issues have finally shown up on the earned-run ledger. McAllister will qualify for free agency at season’s end, having already exceeded six full years of MLB service.
- Per the MLB transactions page, the Padres have selected the contract of righty Brett Kennedy. His forthcoming promotion was reported a few days back by Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). Though he isn’t generally cited among the organization’s best prospects, the 24-year-old Kennedy turned in strong results over 16 Triple-A starts this year, pitching to a 2.72 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 along with a 52.6% groundball rate.
Braves Outright Jason Hursh
The Braves announced today that they have outrighted righty Jason Hursh. He has already cleared waivers and been assigned to Double-A, leaving two openings on the club’s 40-man roster.
Hursh, 26, came to the club with the 31st pick of the 2013 draft. He opened his first full season in the minors at the Double-A level, but was bumped into a relief role in the ensuing campaign and has worked in that capacity since.
Though he briefly reached the majors in 2016 and 2017, Hursh has mostly plied his trade in the upper minors over the past several seasons. This year, he carries a 3.97 ERA in 56 2/3 innings, with 8.3 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9.