Braves To Promote Kolby Allard
3:32pm: Manager Brian Snitker confirmed to reporters that Allard will indeed make his Major League debut Tuesday (Twitter link via Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). A corresponding 40-man move remains unclear and likely won’t be known until after tonight’s game.
1:35pm: The Braves will promote top pitching prospect Kolby Allard to make his Major League debut and start tomorrow’s game against the Marlins, reports David O’Brien of The Athletic (via Twitter). O’Brien had recently tweeted that Allard was a candidate to make his MLB debut in a spot start this week. Allard isn’t on the 40-man roster, so the Braves will need to make a corresponding move to accommodate his promotion.
Allard will become the second 20-year-old starter to make his debut for the Braves in 2018, joining fellow 2015 first-rounder Mike Soroka in that regard. Allard didn’t rank as highly on most midseason prospect rankings as he did when his stock was at its peak, but he still checks in 93rd overall per Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com, and it’s hard to argue with the results that he’s delivered this season in his first exposure to Triple-A.
Through 109 1/3 innings at that level, Allard has worked to a 2.80 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 0.49 HR/9 and a 38.8 percent ground-ball rate in 18 starts. Allard hasn’t missed bats like he did in the lower minors since reaching Double-A, and he does bring a history of back injuries to the Braves, but he’s a potential mid-rotation arm who’ll add yet another high-upside piece to a growing collection of starting options on the Braves’ 40-man roster.
Given the timing of Allard’s promotion, he’ll be controllable through at least the 2024 season for the Braves, though that could push into 2025, depending on how much time he spends at the big league level in each of the next few seasons. He wouldn’t be on track for Super Two status as things stand, though as with his path to free agency, that could change depending on how often (if at all) he’s shuttled back and forth between Triple-A Gwinnett and the Majors.
In what looks to be a very temporary move, Allard will step into a rotation that also features Mike Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb, Julio Teheran, Anibal Sanchez and Max Fried, though there’s been enough uncertainty at the back of the rotation that he could work his way into a more permanent role. The Braves have been tied to a variety of pitching upgrades as tomorrow’s non-waiver trade deadline approaches, and it remains to be seen just how their pitching staff will look following that 4pm cutoff.
That said, now that Allard is on the 40-man roster, he’ll join Fried, Luiz Gohara and several others who’ve oscillated between Gwinnett and Atlanta this season as the Braves have patched together both the bullpen and the back of their rotation. And, of course, his addition to the 40-man roster means he’ll be a lock to join the club at some point as a September call-up as well.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/29/18
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The White Sox released outfielder Jacob May on Saturday, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Now 26, May was once a well-regarded prospect with the Sox, who chose him in the the third round of the 2013 draft. May was unable to produce much with the bat as he climbed through the minor league ranks, though, and he slashed a ghastly .056/.150/.056 during a 42-plate appearance major league debut last season. He opened 2018 with Triple-A Charlotte and hit an underwhelming .255/.303/.341 with two home runs and 15 stolen bases in 342 PAs prior to his release.
- The Reds announced that left-hander Kyle Crockett was outrighted to Triple-A Louisville after clearing waivers. Cincinnati designated the 26-year-old for assignment Friday after he threw 9 1/3 innings with the club. Crockett allowed six earned runs on a whopping 16 hits in that span, but he also struck out 11 batters and issued only two walks. He’ll now return to Louisville, where he has pitched to a 4.00 ERA/3.24 FIP with 7.67 K/9 and 1.67 BB/9 in 27 innings this season.
- Like Crockett, Orioles lefty Chris Lee has been outrighted after clearing waivers, the team announced. Lee’s headed to Double-A Bowie, where he hasn’t pitched since 2016. This has been an injury-shortened season for the 25-year-old Lee, who has combined for just 14 innings between rookie ball and the Triple-A level.
Braves Acquire Brad Brach
The Braves have agreed to acquire reliever Brad Brach from the Orioles, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun tweets. In return for Brach, Baltimore received $250K in international bonus pool money, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Both teams have announced the trade.
With the Orioles in the early stages of a full-scale rebuild and Brach set to hit free agency over the winter, the 32-year-old was an obvious trade candidate for the club. The right-handed Brach drew vast trade interest as a result in recent weeks, and he’ll bring an impressive track record to Atlanta – which will pick up the balance of his $5.165MM salary.
During his Orioles tenure, which began in 2014, Brach pitched to a 2.99 ERA/3.51 FIP with 9.42 K/9, 3.65 BB/9 and a 42.1 percent groundball rate over 327 2/3 innings. He hasn’t been quite that effective through 39 frames this season, however, with a 4.85 ERA/4.01 FIP and 8.77 K/9 against 4.38 BB/9, though he has logged a career-best 46.5 grounder percentage. Brach has also continued to bring respectable heat while posting an above-average swinging-strike percentage (12.7).
The Braves, who have surprised this season during a playoff-contending campaign, will benefit from Brach’s presence if he’s able to channel his past success. Even though the Braves are 55-47 and sit just 1 1/2 games behind the NL East-leading Phillies and one back of a wild-card spot, their bullpen hasn’t been a strength this season. Their relievers entered Sunday 19th in the majors in ERA and 16th in fWAR, in part because closer Arodys Vizcaino has missed time on account of shoulder issues. As a result, the Braves have been aggressively seeking to upgrade their relief corps leading up to the July 31 non-waiver deadline. Brach’s the second notable bullpen pickup the team has made this week, in fact, joining just-acquired southpaw Jonny Venters. The Braves also landed Venters for $250K in international money.
Thanks to former general manager John Coppolella’s misdeeds, the Braves are unable to spend beyond $300K on any international prospect this year. Therefore, the money’s not difficult for them to part with if it means bolstering their playoff chances for this season. On the other side, the Orioles haven’t participated in the international market in recent years, largely because of ownership, but they’re committed to changing that as they rebuild. The money the Orioles acquired Sunday may help them sign Cuban outfield prospect Victor Victor Mesa, per Emily Waldon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Brach follows shortstop Manny Machado (Dodgers) and fellow reliever Zach Britton (Yankees) as the third proven veteran to exit the Orioles via trade this month. The team’s likely not done, either, as other established members of its roster have come up in trade rumors. Center fielder Adam Jones is part of that group, though he may deviate from Brach, Machado and Britton in finishing the season in Baltimore.
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White Sox Acquire Caleb Frare From Yankees
The Yankees have sent left-handed reliever Caleb Frare to the White Sox in exchange for $1.5MM in international bonus pool money, Jack Curry of the YES Network tweets.
This is the second time this weekend the Yankees have landed international money in a trade, as they acquired $1MM from the Cardinals in a three-player deal on Saturday. Expectations are that the Yankees, who entered this year’s international period with the standard bonus pool of $4,983,500, will spend some of their newfound cash on Cuban pitching prospect Osiel Rodriguez.
New York will now say goodbye to Frare, whom it selected in the 11th round of the 2012 draft. The 25-year-old did not rank among the Yankees’ top 30 prospects at MLB.com prior to the trade, though he did dominate at the Double-A level this season. Frare recently earned a promotion to Triple-A Scranton, where he only threw one inning, after opening 2018 with a .62 ERA/2.24 FIP and 11.75 K/9 against 3.09 BB/9 across 43 2/3 Double-A frames. Earlier this season, Frare’s manager at Trenton, Jay Bell, told Randy Miller of NJ.com that “he’s starting to figure it out,” thanks in part to a fastball that sits in the 93-94 mph range. Frare will report to Triple-A Charlotte with his new organization, the White Sox announced.
Yankees Acquire Luke Voit From Cardinals
11:48pm: New York received $1MM in international money in the swap, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com tweets. Sanchez echoes Badler in noting that the Yankees will likely use that money to sign Rodriguez, whom they’re expected to land for $1.1MM.
10:09pm: The Yankees have acquired first baseman Luke Voit and international signing bonus pool money from the Cardinals for relievers Chasen Shreve and Giovanny Gallegos, per an announcement from New York.
The 27-year-old Voit joins Tyler Austin as the second right-handed-hitting first baseman at the Triple-A level for the Yankees. Voit, who has a minor league option remaining, has racked up 137 major league plate appearances since 2017 (just 13 this year) and batted .240/.307/.432 with five home runs. He has been far better as a member of Triple-A Memphis this year, with which he has hit .299/.391/.500 with nine homers in 271 PAs. It’s unclear whether Voit will get a big league shot immediately with the Yankees, though they could arguably use some offensive help after losing superstar slugger Aaron Judge to the disabled list Friday.
The most proven major leaguer in this swap is Shreve, whom the Yankees deemed redundant after adding fellow lefty Zach Britton to an already loaded bullpen earlier this week. Shreve, 28, saw extensive action with the Yankees in each season from 2015-18 and combined for a 3.88 ERA/4.89 FIP with 10.42 K/9, 4.56 BB/9 and a 43.7 percent groundball rate over 173 2/3 innings. He has posted similar numbers through 38 frames this year, with a 4.26 ERA/4.98 FIP, 10.89 K/9, 4.26 BB/9 and a 46.7 percent grounder rate.
The long ball has haunted Shreve this season, as he has allowed homers on 23.5 percent on fly balls, and has given up an unappealing .240/.356/.551 line to left-handed hitters. Nevertheless, the Cardinals seem to be banking on a turnaround from the out-of-options Shreve as they radically reconstruct their bullpen. The additions of Shreve and Gallegos are the latest moves to make over a relief unit that said goodbye to relievers Greg Holland, Sam Tuivailala and Tyler Lyons on Friday. Shreve could be a multiyear solution for the Cards, who will be able to control him via arbitration through 2021. He’s making a meager $825K this season.
Gallegos, 26, still has a pair of options left. The right-hander has amassed 30 1/3 major league innings since 2017 (including 10 this season) and recorded a 4.75 ERA/3.98 FIP with 9.49 K/9, 2.37 BB/9 and a 36.5 percent grounder percentage. Most of Gallegos’ year has been spent at Triple-A Scranton, where he has accumulated 27 2/3 frames and registered a 3.90 ERA/1.68 FIP with tremendous strikeout and walk rates (13.34 K/9, 2.28 BB/9).
Along with saying goodbye to Voit to reel in both Shreve and Gallegos, the Redbirds dealt an undisclosed amount of international bonus pool money. That’s likely not a big deal to St. Louis, which is barred from spending more than $300K on any individual prospect, whereas the Yankees could use their added cash to sign high-end Cuban pitching prospect Osiel Rodriguez and/or fellow countryman Carlos Verdecia, a shortstop, Ben Badler of Baseball America notes on Twitter.
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Minor MLB Transactions: 7/28/18
Saturday’s minor moves…
- Rays catcher Adam Moore has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Durham after clearing waivers, according to Bill Chastain of MLB.com. Moore, whom the Rays designated for assignment Wednesday, has only totaled six major league appearances this season. The 34-year-old has been more active at the Triple-A level, with 158 PAs, but has batted just .215/.259/.309.
Rockies To Sign Matt Holliday To Minor-League Deal
The Rockies have reached an agreement with Matt Holliday on a minor-league pact. Thomas Harding of MLB.com was first to report that a deal was a “distinct possibility”, while Jon Heyman of Fancred later tweeted that Holliday was going to sign the deal.
The 38-year-old veteran certainly has had a storied career, first coming up with the Rockies (and making it the World Series with them in 2007), and also playing with the Cardinals during some of their best seasons in recent memory. All told, the outfielder owns a .299/.378/.511 batting line across 14 major league seasons.
It’d be unreasonable to expect any semblance of that production this season, of course, and in fact it remains to be seen whether or not the veteran has anything left in the tank. He’s a particularly curious fit in the National League, where his outfield defense will be exposed since the Rockies won’t have the luxury of deploying him as a DH. Then again, it’s entirely possible that he’ll simply be used mostly as an extra right-handed bat off the bench.
Although his 2017 season with the Yankees was unspectacular, his .231/.316/.432 slash to go along with 19 homers in 427 plate appearances netted him a 98 wRC+, or just a tick below league average. If he’s able to replicate that alone, he could certainly be a useful weapon. But the most interesting element of his recent performance is a .267/.366/.477 slash against southpaws. That could make him a great asset in pinch-hit situations late in games, or even a viable starter against the many intimidating left-handers in division-rival rotations.
Despite interesting upside in this or a similar role, Holliday went unsigned throughout the entire offseason (though clearly he wasn’t the only casualty of a slow winter). He told reporters at the end of spring training that he still intended to continue his player career if an opportunity came up, and MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted at the time that it would almost assuredly come in the form of a minor-league deal and some reps at Triple-A, if at all. Holliday will presumably head to Albuquerque for the time being, and be recalled when and if he can get into game shape.
Brewers Acquire Mike Moustakas
The Brewers have lined up with the Royals on a deal that will bring third baseman Mike Moustakas to Milwaukee, as MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan first reported (via Twitter). Outfielder Brett Phillips and righty Jorge Lopez are going to Kansas City in return.
This appears to be a fascinating agreement for a variety of reasons, beginning with the fact that it’s the official farewell between Moustakas and the Royals, who surprisingly reunited last winter. It seems the Brewers will be rolling the dice on Travis Shaw‘s ability to play second base, as the long-time third-bagger will apparently make way for his new teammate. For the Royals, meanwhile, the focus of this swap is on acquiring MLB options rather than far-off, higher-ceiling talent.
It’s a notable acquisition price for the Brewers to pay, but also a palatable one for a club that had other plans at these positions. After watching Manny Machado, Eduardo Escobar, and Asdrubal Cabrera head elsewhere, the club pivoted to the veteran Moustakas and got something done without giving up prized future pieces.
That said, the fit seems awfully curious; indeed, we expressed some skepticism of that match when it was first suggested. The Milwaukee organization clearly believes that Shaw is capable of playing second base, but he has never yet done so in a professional baseball contest. It certainly helps that the club can still call upon a variety of other infielders to slot in at second when the situation calls for it.
Of course, slotting Moustakas’s bat into a lineup promises to vastly increase the offensive output over the run of marginal bats that left the Brewers with one of the least-productive second base units in the game. He has seen his numbers dwindle over the course of the year, but still owns a .249/.309/.468 batting line that’s good for a 107 wRC+ and falls mostly in line with his typical output at the plate.
Otherwise, Moustakas is grading out as a solid defender and poor baserunner on the year, leaving him as a quality regular. But he’s most effective against right-handed pitching, albeit not by a huge margin, so perhaps skipper Craig Counsell can extract added some added value both by means of seeking platoon advantages and remaining mindful of situational priorities.
It appears that the Brewers will take over Moustakas’s contract, which promised him just $5.5MM this year with a $1MM buyout in a 2019 mutual option. There’s no particular reason to think that the option will be seen as anything more than a formality in this coming offseason, so the Milwaukee organization likely views this as a pure rental situation.
As they send Moustakas on his way, the Royals will receive an interesting return of two young players who already have some MLB experience. Neither is currently billed as highly as they have been in the past. And both will continue to occupy 40-man spots, meaning they’ll be part of the roster picture at the major-league level from the outset.
Phillips still rated as the Brewers’ sixth-best prospect on the latest Baseball America board, though MLB.com wasn’t quite as bullish in rating him tenth. The 24-year-old still has intriguing tools, though he has also struggled to a .240/.331/.411 slash in 299 plate appearances this year at Triple-A. He’ll join the recently acquired Brian Goodwin in giving the Royals organization a group of outfielders that suddenly seems much more interesting.
Lopez, meanwhile, has fallen even farther from grace. Once a consensus top-100 prospect, the 25-year-old has run into some problems of late. He pitched to a 4.25 ERA in 103 2/3 Double-A frames in 2017, but posted much more promising peripherals that supported a 3.21 FIP an 3.13 xFIP. Unfortunately, there’s not much cause for optimism in his 2018 output. Lopez has a 2.75 ERA in 19 2/3 MLB innings, but he also carries a 15:13 K/BB ratio. In 28 2/3 Triple-A frames, he’s working to a 5.65 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Astros To Acquire Ryan Pressly
The Astros have officially struck a deal to acquire reliever Ryan Pressly from the Twins, as Ken Rosenthal and Robert Murray of The Athletic first reported (Twitter links). Prospects Jorge Alcala and Gilberto Celestino are going to Minnesota in the deal, as first mentioned by Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter).
Pressly, 29, has taken a big step forward this year after showing solid peripherals — but generating only a 4.70 ERA — in his 61 1/3 innings last year. Through 47 2/3 innings in the present campaign, the right-hander is sporting a 3.40 ERA with an eye-opening 13.0 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9.
Better still, Pressly is earning just $1.6MM this year with another season of arbitration eligibility left to go. While the ‘Stros were likely not overly concerned with cost, they obviously valued the additional season of control and surely were not unaware of the fact that it’ll come at a manageable price tag.
Just how things will shake out at the back of the Houston pen remains to be seen. For now, usual closer Ken Giles remains at Triple-A. Despite his increasingly interesting output, Pressly has not recorded any saves this year and only has eight holds. It seems likely, then, that Hector Rondon will remain the top option in the ninth, barring another move or a return to grace for Giles.
Despite his relative lack of late-inning experience, Pressly will represent another weapon for a relief unit that’s already among the best in baseball. Long noted for his impressive spin rate, Pressly has finally put it all together. This year, he’s sporting a dominant 17.9% swinging-strike rate while mixing a slider and curve off of his 96+ mph four-seamer. Much of the bump in the swing-and-miss has come from his slider, though the contact rate on that pitch has trended up over the course of the season.
While the Twins didn’t need to move Pressly, it seems the market interest was enough to force the club’s hand. Whether or not other non-rental assets will be parted with remains to be seen. Clearly, after previously moving Eduardo Escobar, there’ll be more moves to come. Infielder Brian Dozier and relievers Fernando Rodney and Zach Duke seem likeliest to end up on other rosters.
The team has picked up some interesting new assets to go with the youthful pieces added in the deal it completed earlier today. Alcala, who turns 23 tomorrow, is a pure flamethrower who’s still working to refine his secondary offerings. He has turned in 79 1/3 innings of 3.29 ERA ball with 9.3 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 this year, splitting his time between High-A and Double-A, and graded as Houston’s tenth-best prospect on MLB.com’s most recent list. Celestino checked in at #15 on that ranking and was recently noted by Baseball America as the Astros’ top defensive outfield prospect. The 19-year-old has hit quite well this year at the low-A level, posting a .317/.383/.476 slash with four home runs.
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Phillies Acquire Asdrubal Cabrera
The Phillies have officially agreed to acquire infielder Asdrubal Cabrera from the Mets, as first reported by Andy Martino of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Righty Franklyn Kilome is heading to New York in return, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter).
It’ll certainly be interesting to see how the Phils decide to utilize Cabrera. The veteran has mostly played second base this year, grading quite poorly in the field, but that’s not likely where he’ll play in Philadelphia. It seems possible that Cabrera will slot in mostly at third base and shortstop. He played the latter position for much of his career and split his time between all three of those infield spots in 2017.
Having tried and failed to land Manny Machado, the Phillies seem to have settled on a strategy of mixing and matching on the left side of the infield. To this point, they have primarily utilized Maikel Franco and Scott Kingery, but the rehabbing J.P. Crawford will also ultimately factor in again as well. The current roster also includes infield reserves Jesmuel Valentin and Trevor Plouffe, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see one of those players moved off the active roster to make way for Cabrera.
Regardless of what patch of dirt Cabrera occupies, it is clear that the Phils will gladly put his bat in the lineup. Though Franco has turned it on of late, Kingery and Crawford have produced little offensively. As for Cabrera, he has been a solid offensive performer throughout his dozen seasons in the majors. But he has never been better than in New York. Since inking a two-year deal with an option (picked up last winter), Cabrera carries a .279/.339/.464 slash with 55 home runs.
The switch-hitting Cabrera destroyed opposing righties in 2018, posting a .285/.345/.535 slash. He hasn’t been as productive when facing southpaws this year, but had greater success against them in the prior campaign. For his career, Cabrera has very neutral splits, so there’s good reason to think he can succeed regardless of which side of the box he’s in.
For the Mets, there was no reason not to cash in the last two months of control over Cabrera, who’s earning a manageable $8.25MM salary this year. The New York organization is well out of the postseason hunt and had already begun moving expiring contracts for the second-straight summer.
In exchange for Cabrera, the Mets will add an intriguing hurler who still needs to iron some things out to make an impact in the big leagues. Kilome’s raw arsenal is impressive, led by an upper-nineties heater, and he’s said to be regarded as a hard worker. Even while ranking Kilome the tenth-best prospect in the Phillies system, though, MLB.com noted that “his command has been inconsistent.”
Thus far in 2018, the 23-year-old owns a 4.24 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 over 102 Double-A innings. Perhaps he’s not far from being ready for an opportunity in a major-league pen, but it seems doubtful he’ll receive a shot in the rotation until he has completed some further development. Kilome is already on the 40-man roster, which will increase the pressures to make him of use at the MLB level.
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