Brewers Designate Eric Sogard For Assignment
The Brewers announced Thursday that they’ve reinstated Tyler Saladino from the 10-day disabled list and created a spot on the active roster by designating struggling second baseman Eric Sogard for assignment. The move leaves Milwaukee’s 40-man roster at a total of 39 players.
Sogard, 32, re-signed with the Brewers last October after turning in a quality season at the dish and in the field. The 2018 season has been a disaster for Sogard, though, as he’s batted just .134/.241/.165 through 113 trips to the plate. And while he’s known as a strong defender at second base, he’s spent more time this season at shortstop, where he hasn’t rated out as well defensively.
Sogard did bat .273/.393/.378 through 299 plate appearances last season, but his overall body of work in the Majors — a .238/.309/.314 slash in 1743 plate appearances — suggests that he’s unlikely to return to those heights. Both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating peg Sogard as a strong defender at second base and at third base, and he could continue to provide infield depth for the Crew if he ultimately clears waivers.
Indians Re-Sign Melky Cabrera
The Indians announced that they’ve re-signed outfielder Melky Cabrera to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Columbus for the time being. Cabrera is represented by the Legacy Agency.
Cabrera, 33, was with the Cleveland organization earlier this season after signing a minor league deal in late April and having his contract selected to the big league roster just a few weeks later. The veteran switch-hitter, though, didn’t get much time to ramp up in Triple-A after sitting out Spring Training, and he showed some visible signs of rust in the Majors. After hitting .286/.286/.381 through 42 plate appearances in Triple-A, he jumped to the Majors and hit .207/.242/.293 through 66 plate appearances before being designated for assignment.
Upon that original DFA, Cabrera refused an outright assignment to Columbus in favor of free agency, presumably hoping to see if another club provided a clearer path back to the Majors. Apparently, Cabrera either didn’t find an offer to his liking or saw the recent injury to Lonnie Chisenhall as a potential means of opening a door to the Majors with the Indians once again.
While the 2018 season has been a struggle for Cabrera, he posted a roughly league-average offensive season between the Royals and White Sox last season, batting a combined .285/.324/.423 with 17 homers, 30 doubles and a pair of triples through 666 plate appearances. Overall, dating back to the 2014 campaign, Cabrera has batted a combined .289/.333/.431 — good for a 110 OPS+ in that time.
Marlins Designate JB Shuck, Activate Martin Prado
2:01pm: Miami will actually activate Martin Prado at this time, per an announcement. The club also added righty Ben Meyer and placed fellow right-hander Tayron Guerrero on the 10-day DL. Presumably, Cooper will be brought back in short order.
Prado struggled badly to open the season and has dealt with significant injuries of late, so it’s hard to imagine him as a mid-season trade candidate. Still, he could conceivably turn into an August target if he performs well. The Miami organization would surely like to get out from under some of his hefty salary ($13.5MM this year and $15MM next), though most of it will surely remain on their books regardless.
12:27pm: The Marlins are set to designate outfielder JB Shuck for assignment, according to Craig Mish of Sirius XM (Twitter link). His roster spot will go to Garrett Cooper, who’ll be activated from the disabled list.
Shuck, 31, has struggled at the plate in his action this year in Miami. Through 142 plate appearances, he carries only a .192/.255/.231 batting line. He has hit a bit more in past seasons, but in the aggregate is only a 72 OPS+ hitter in 1,232 trips to the plate in the majors.
As for Cooper, 27, he’s finally ready to return after suffering a fractured wrist on a hit-by-pitch early this season. The Marlins had picked him up from the Yankees over the winter in hopes that he’d make good on the promise he showed in the 2017 season. Cooper ended up posting a .359/.423/.634 slash in 350 total plate appearances in the upper minors last year and also hit well in his first, brief stint in the big leagues.
Phillies Acquire International Bonus Space From Cardinals For Elniery Garcia
The Phillies announced today that they have acquired international bonus pool availability from the Cardinals. In exchange, lefty Elniery Garcia heads to the St. Louis organization.
While the value of the bonus availability isn’t known, it’ll obviously boost the Phils’ international spending capacity for the July 2nd signing period that just began. Having inked two qualified free agents, which cost $500K in international space apiece, the club only had $3,983,500 to work with at the outset.
On the other side of the ledger, it’s no surprise to see the Cards move some dollars. Owing to prior excess spending — no longer permitted under the new signing rules — the Cardinals are not permitted to use more than $300K on any given player in this year’s class.
As for Garcia, he has at times been viewed as a prospect of some note, even getting some organizational top-ten billing entering the 2017 campaign. But he sat out eighty games last year after testing positive for banned PED boldenone.
Since returning, the 23-year-old has not been quite as impressive. He did not thrive in the Arizona Fall League and has struggled this season in a repeat of the Double-A level. Through 42 1/3 innings in 2018, Garcia carries a 6.38 ERA with just 6.2 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9.
Mariners Release Ariel Miranda To Pursue Opportunity In Japan
The Mariners have released lefty Ariel Miranda, as reflected on the MLB.com transactions page. The move was made to enable Miranda to pursue an opportunity with an organization in Japan, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports on Twitter.
While the 29-year-old Miranda spent all of 2017 in the Seattle rotation, he managed only a 5.12 ERA in 160 frames on the year. He has taken just one start in the bigs thus far in 2018 and obviously was not viewed by the club as an essential depth piece.
For most of the present season, Miranda has worked at Triple-A. Through 45 1/3 innings, he carries a 3.97 ERA with forty strikeouts and 24 walks — numbers that largely reflect his limited prior work in the upper minors.
Miranda originally joined the Orioles organization out of his native Cuba. He was sent to the M’s in the 2016 deadline deal that delivered Wade Miley to Baltimore.
Tigers Designate Dixon Machado For Assignment
The Tigers announced a series of roster moves, including the news that infielder Dixon Machado has been designated for assignment. The 40-man roster spot will be filled by right-hander Victor Alcantara, whose contract will be selected from Triple-A before tomorrow’s game. Right-hander Warwick Saupold has also been optioned to Triple-A, with infielder Ronny Rodriguez headed up to the big league club.
Machado began the season as Detroit’s everyday second baseman, as the rebuilding team sought to give the 26-year-old a long look at the position with Ian Kinsler dealt to the Angels. He produced passable defensive grades but the bigger issue was Machado’s lack of hitting, as he managed only a .206/.263/.290 slash line and one home run over 233 plate appearances. The bat has never really been Machado’s calling card (he had just a .640 career OPS over 3329 PA in the minors), though the Tigers couldn’t ignore such a dire performance for much longer, especially with Niko Goodrum increasingly taking over regular duty at second base.
If the out-of-options Machado isn’t claimed or traded during his DFA period, he could still leave the organization as a free agent, as MLive.com’s Evan Woodbury tweets. Machado was outrighted off the roster back in 2013, so he would have the option of choosing free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A.
Alcantara will join the Tigers’ Major League roster for the first time this season. The 25-year-old righty made his big league debut in 2017, posting an 8.59 ERA over 7 1/3 relief innings out of Detroit’s bullpen. He was outrighted off the 40-man in the offseason, though regained some stature within the organization with a 2.68 ERA, 8.4 K/9, and a 7.33 K/BB rate over 47 innings at Triple-A Toledo this season.
Indians Agree To Terms With 35th Overall Pick Ethan Hankins
TODAY: Hankins’ bonus is worth $2,246,022, as per Fancred’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).
MONDAY: The Indians have struck agreement with supplemental first-round pick Ethan Hankins, the right-hander told Ian Frazer of the Forsyth County News (via Twitter) after the Indians Prospective Twitter account tweeted that a deal was in place. The bonus value remains unknown.
Hankins went to Cleveland with the 35th overall pick, which came with a $2,016,400 slot value. Some uncertainty as to his status had arisen of late, with the Vandy commit moving to prepare for potential junior college matriculation. Instead of taking either of those routes, he’ll turn professional if the deal is finalized following a physical.
While the agreement is a significant one for the Indians, the team still has some work to do. First-round pick Noah Naylor remains unsigned, as does fifth-rounder Steven Kwan.
Hankins drew a range of grades from draft pundits. The Georgia high-schooler stood at 18th on the Baseball America board but was graded at #40 by Fangraphs. All agree that Hankins looked like a top-of-the-draft talent last summer, with varying levels of concern over his more recent showing following a shoulder injury.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/4/18
Here are the latest minor league moves from around baseball…
- The Red Sox signed outfielder Kyle Wren to a minor league deal, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reports (Twitter link). Wren is the son of Frank Wren, the former Orioles and Braves general manager and the current Red Sox senior VP of player personnel. The younger Wren was an eighth-round pick for Atlanta in the 2013 draft (when his father was still the GM) and was dealt to the Brewers after the 2014 season. The 27-year-old Wren has posted solid numbers over his pro career, hitting .295/.364/.384 over 2546 PA in the minors, though the Brewers still released him last week.
- In other Boston minor league news, the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox announced (via Twitter) that outfielder Ramon Flores has been released. The Sox acquired Flores from the Diamondbacks back in March, and he struggled to a .215/.299/.308 slash line over 223 PA for the PawSox this season. These numbers are a far cry from Flores’ previously-solid career performance at the Triple-A level, and even counting this year, he still owns an .802 career OPS over 1402 PA at the highest minor league level. A longtime member of the Yankees’ farm system, Flores has appeared in 119 games in the majors with the Angels, Brewers, and Yankees, with the large majority (104 games and 289 PA) coming with Milwaukee in 2016.
Yankees Place Gleyber Torres On 10-Day DL
The Yankees have placed rookie phenom Gleyber Torres on the 10-day DL due to a right hip strain. The injury caused Torres to be removed in the fourth inning of today’s game with the Braves, though Torres also didn’t play yesterday due to hip soreness. It isn’t clear when Torres will be back in action, though the Yankees described the injury as “mild” (hat tip to Newsday’s David Lennon). A corresponding move wasn’t immediately announced, and likely won’t be known until before to the Yankees’ next game, which is on Friday against Toronto.
Torres has been nothing less than spectacular in his rookie season, living up to his top prospect billing with a .294/.350/.555 slash line and 15 home runs over his first 241 Major League plate appearances. He has immediately become New York’s everyday second baseman and thus his absence will create a significant hole in the lineup, though the club has several notable second base options on hand to fill the void.
Manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including The Athletic’s Marc Carig) that Neil Walker is the likeliest candidate to play the keystone while Torres is out, plus the Yankees also have Brandon Drury on the bench and Ronald Torreyes and Tyler Wade at Triple-A.
Dodgers Acquire Dylan Floro, Zach Neal From Reds; Designate Daniel Corcino
The Dodgers have acquired right-handers Dylan Floro and Zach Neal from the Reds, as per a team press release. Los Angeles will also receive some international bonus pool space from Cincinnati in the trade, and right-hander Daniel Corcino has been designated for assignment to create a 40-man roster spot. The Reds will receive minor league right-handers Aneurys Zabala and James Marinan in the trade.
After signing a minor league deal with Cincy over the winter, Floro emerged as a solid bullpen piece for the Reds, posting a 2.72 ERA, 2.25 K/BB rate, and a 6.7 K/9 over 36 1/3 innings this season. While he doesn’t miss many bats, Floro has consistently been able to keep the ball on the ground over his seven-year pro career, including a 56.8% grounder rate in 2018. He has also done a good job of limiting contact, as his .282 xwOBA is notably lower than his .307 wOBA.
Floro’s skillset makes him a logical fit in a Dodgers bullpen that has had some issues keeping the ball in the park, as the L.A. relief corps ranks in the bottom half of all bullpens in HR/9. Dodgers relievers generally rank around the middle of the pack in most categories, and the team was known to have been looking around (particularly at the Marlins) for some bullpen help to bolster a unit that has been thinned by injuries. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Dodgers weren’t done with their relief shopping prior to the deadline, as while Floro has been effective this year, he isn’t a proven commodity with only 61 career Major League innings under his belt.
This is actually the second time Floro has been in the Dodgers’ system, as the club selected him off waivers from the Cubs last summer before letting him go as a free agent after the season. Neal is another former Dodger, who was dealt to the Reds back in April as part of a three-player trade. The 29-year-old Neal saw lot of action (70 innings) right out of the gate in his 2016 rookie season as a member of the A’s, though he has since tossed just 15 2/3 big league frames. He’ll likely continue to pitch in Triple-A, potentially replacing Corcino as minor league relief and swingman depth if Corcino is lost on DFA waivers.
Corcino tossed four innings for L.A. this season, which marked his first bit of MLB action since 18 2/3 innings for the Reds back in 2014. The 27-year-old has a 4.06 ERA, 8.2 K/9, and 2.05 K/BB rate over 838 1/3 minor league innings in the farm systems of the Reds, Cubs, and Dodgers.
This is the Reds’ second trade of international bonus pool space in the last three days. Cincinnati can’t spend more than $300K on any single international prospect in this year’s July 2 class due to past overages (under the old int’l signing rules), and with a large pool of $6,025,400 to work with, it isn’t surprising that the Reds have unloaded some of that cash to the Red Sox and now the Dodgers to obtain some other young talent. It isn’t known how much Cincy is sending to Los Angeles, though international pool funds can only be dealt in $250K increments.
Marinan is the most notable prospect name in the trade, with MLB.com ranking him 21st amongst Dodgers farmhands (Baseball America had Marinan 24th in their preseason ranking of Los Angeles’ top 30 minor leaguers). A fourth-round pick in the 2017 draft, Marinan is still just 19 years old, and he has a 1.95 ERA over 27 2/3 innings at the rookie ball level, albeit with a troubling 5.9 BB/9. MLB.com’s scouting report lists the young righty at 6’5″ and 220 pounds, and describes him as possessing a fastball in the 92-96mph range, a slider, and “an upper-70s curveball that features good depth when he stays on top of it.”
Zabala is another young arm joining the Reds’ farm system, a 21-year-old signed out of the Dominican Republic who is in his fifth season of pro ball. Zabala has worked exclusively as a reliever since 2015, and he has a career 5.05 ERA, 7.5 K/9, and 1.26 K/BB over 164 innings.