Athletics Outright Liam Hendriks
The Athletics announced Monday that right-hander Liam Hendriks has cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. He’s been sent outright to Triple-A Nashville. The 29-year-old Hendriks technically has enough MLB service time to reject the assignment in favor of free agency (three-plus years), but because he’s still shy of five years of service, doing so would mean forfeiting the remainder of this season’s $1.9MM salary. Assuming he accepts, he’ll be eligible to elect free agency at season’s end unless he’s first added back to the 40-man roster.
Hendriks was, at one point, a promising prospect in the Twins’ minor league system but didn’t pan out in Minnesota or in a brief stint with the Royals. The Blue Jays picked him up off waivers, and while he struggled in his first run with the Jays, he turned in a dominant 2015 season out of the Toronto bullpen. The Jays flipped him to the A’s that offseason in exchange for Jesse Chavez — and Hendriks went on to enjoy another pair of solid seasons in the Oakland ‘pen.
Prior to the 2018 season, Hendriks had turned in a three-year run with a 3.63 ERA and an outstanding 220-to-48 K/BB ratio through 193 1/3 innings between the Jays and the A’s. He missed more than a month with a strained groin earlier this year, though, and he’s posted an unsightly 7.36 ERA with 12 strikeouts against seven walks in 11 innings when healthy. Hendriks didn’t receive much of a leash when returning from the DL, and he was tagged for four runs in his final appearance before being designated. He’ll now look to rebuild his stock in Nashville with the hope of earning another look in manager Bob Melvin’s bullpen later this season.
Braves Select Michael Reed, Place Peter Moylan On DL
The Braves announced a series of roster moves Monday, selecting the contract of outfielder Michael Reed from Triple-A Gwinnett and optioning right-hander Matt Wisler to Gwinnett as well. Atlanta also placed Peter Moylan on the 10-day DL due to a right forearm strain and recalled righty Evan Phillips from Gwinnett in his place.
It’ll be the first MLB action for Reed, 25, since a brief look with the Brewers in 2015-16. He joined the Atlanta organization this past offseason and has turned plenty of heads since doing so, batting a combined .337/.460/.535 with nine homers and 21 doubles in an even 300 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A. Reed’s work in Gwinnett has been especially impressive, as he’s raked at a .369/.480/.592 pace.
While the power he’s shown is encouraging, Reed has somehow managed to maintain an unfathomable .532 BABIP through his 125 plate appearances in Gwinnett — a substantial step forward from the still-unsustainable .426 mark he displayed in 175 PAs in Double-A. Given those figures and the fact that he’s whiffed at a 29 percent clip in Triple-A this season, there’s reason to temper expectations. That said, he also presents a right-handed-hitting complement to outfielders Ender Inciarte and Nick Markakis — and one who can capably handle all three outfield spots for that matter.
Moylan, 38, was enjoying a strong season up through mid-June, but he’s been clobbered for seven earned runs on eight hits (three homers) and four walks with just two strikeouts in his past 4 2/3 innings — a span of eight appearances. The Aussie sidearmer is typically deadly against right-handed opponents, but righties have had no trouble with him in 2018, hitting .315/.405/.493 through 86 plate appearances. It’s not clear at this time how long Moylan is expected to be sidelined, though forearm strains come with a fairly ominous connotation.
In Moylan’s place, Phillips will get his first look at the big league level. While the Braves technically selected his contract for the first time in June, he was optioned back to Triple-A before ever appearing in a Major League game. He’s been superb in Gwinnett so far this season, averaging 13.5 strikeouts against 3.3 walks per nine innings pitched, en route to a 2.09 ERA through 38 2/3 frames out of the ‘pen.
Red Sox Select William Cuevas
The Red Sox announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander William Cuevas from Triple-A Pawtucket. In a pair of corresponding roster moves, right-hander Justin Haley was optioned to Pawtucket, while righty Carson Smith was moved from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL. Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston first reported that Cuevas was having his contract selected (Twitter link), while MassLive’s Chris Cotillo tweeted that Haley would be optioned out.
Cuevas, 27, will be headed to the Majors for his second stint with the Sox. He originally debuted with Boston back in 2016, tossing five innings in a trio of relief appearances, and he pitched a third of an inning in 2017 with the Tigers. In all, Cuevas’ extremely minimal big league results haven’t been pretty, as he’s been tagged for six runs on eight hits and six walks with four strikeouts in his 5 1/3 frames of work.
That said, he comes with a respectable Triple-A track record and has pitched fairly well in Pawtucket so far in 2018. Through 86 1/3 innings, all coming out of the rotation, Cuevas has a 3.65 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 and 1.04 HR/9. He’ll give the Sox some length in the bullpen after a raucous weekend series against the Yankees in which the two contenders for the AL East division title traded blowout victories. The Red Sox came out on the losing end of that series and relied heavily on Haley, who tossed 4 2/3 innings of relief between Boston’s two losses, totaling 42 pitches in each appearance.
Reds Acquire Lorenzo Cedrola From Red Sox For International Bonus Pool Space
The Red Sox have traded minor league outfielder Lorenzo Cedrola to the Reds in exchange for international bonus pool space, both teams announced. Neither announcement revealed the size of the pool allotment changing hands, though international bonus allotments must be traded in increments of $250K.
For the Reds, it’s not a surprise to see them trading away some pool space. The Cincinnati organization is still in the maximum penalty bracket from the previous collective bargaining agreement, meaning they can’t sign any single international amateur for a bonus of greater than $300K. Boston is under no such exemption and will use the additional funds to bolster their haul on the 2018-19 international signing market, which opened today and will run through June 15, 2019.
Cedrola, 20, signed with the Red Sox in February 2015 out of Venezuela and has since risen to the Class-A South Atlantic League, where he’s currently repeating the level. He’s hitting .318/.350/427 through 229 plate appearances in his second run through that level, and while he hasn’t homered, he’s hit 17 doubles and three triples along the way. Cedrola has minimal power but has swiped 65 bases (in 91 tries) through 262 minor league games.
Baseball America rated Cedrola as the Red Sox’ No. 24 prospect in the 2016-17 offseason, calling him an “excellent athlete and plus runner” while also noting his physical limitations and lack of home run power. Cedrola rarely walks but has strong contact skills — career 4.3 percent walk rate and 11.9 percent strikeout rate — and BA notes that with his speed and average arm, he has the profile of at least a reserve outfielder.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/1/18
Sunday’s minor moves…
- The Indians cleared room for Rzepczynski by releasing lefty Shawn Morimando, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com tweets. Morimando, 25, had been with the organization since it selected him in the 19th round of the 2011 draft. He ascended to Triple-A in 2016 and has since pitched to a 4.45 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 in 242 2/3 innings at the minors’ highest level. Morimando also had a 4 2/3-inning stint with the Tribe in 2016.
Earlier moves:
- The Indians have selected the contract of left-handed reliever Marc Rzepczynski from Triple-A Columbus, per a team announcement. The club will need to create 40-man room for Rzepczynski, whom it signed to a minor league deal two weeks ago. “Scrabble” had been with the Mariners, who released him after he pitched to a 9.38 ERA with 13 hits allowed, nine walks and 10 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings this season. In doing so, Seattle cut the cord on a player it signed to a two-year, $11MM deal entering 2017. Now, Rzepczynski’s set for his second stint in Cleveland, where he previously pitched from 2013-15. The 32-year-old, a veteran of seven major league teams, owns a 3.92 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 4.25 BB/9 and an impressive 59.7 percent groundball rate in 432 career innings. He has also held southpaw swingers to a weak .222/.295/.303 line in the bigs.
- The Yankees announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander David Hale from Triple-A. The 30-year-old has yo-yoed between the Yankees and their top affiliate in Scranton this season, and he has also had a stint with the Twins. Hale has combined for just eight innings between New York and Minnesota in 2018, but he has amassed 55 frames in Scranton and pitched to a 4.20 ERA with 7.11 K/9 and 2.75 BB/9.
- The Orioles announced that they’ve outrighted infielder Corban Joseph to Double-A Bowie. The club designated Joseph for assignment this week after he saw limited action in Baltimore, collecting just 10 plate appearances. The 29-year-old Joseph has spent most of this season with Bowie, where he has hit .332/.398/.534 in 281 PAs.
Padres Designate Matt Szczur
The Padres have designated outfielder Matt Szczur for assignment, per a team announcement. Additionally, San Diego reinstated infielder Allen Cordoba from the 60-day disabled list and optioned him to Single-A, and recalled infielder Carlos Asuaje from Triple-A.
The 28-year-old Szczur’s in his second season with the Padres, who acquired him in a trade with the Cubs in 2017. Szczur has struggled over 84 plate appearances this year in San Diego, where he has hit .187/.265/.267. Overall, the right-handed hitter’s a .231/.312/.355 in 667 major league PAs.
The Padres plucked Cordoba from the Cardinals in the December 2016 Rule 5 draft. Cordoba managed to hang with the Padres despite slashing just .208/.282/.297 in 227 PAs last season, his age-22 campaign. He has totaled just 49 PAs this year – all at the Single-A level – on account of a concussion.
Dioner Navarro Plans To Sign With Long Island Ducks
Free-agent catcher Dioner Navarro plans to resume his career as a member of the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Navarro will return to the field toward the end of July, Topkin adds.
The 34-year-old Navarro last played in 2016, having taken the past year and a half off to help his wife through “significant health issues,” Topkin writes. In his most recent action, the switch-hitting Navarro batted .207/.265/.322 in 334 plate appearances divided between the Blue Jays and White Sox.
While Navarro struggled in 2016, the journeyman has combined for a better career line (.250/.309/.370) across 3,551 plate appearances with eight teams, and he has thrown out a respectable 28 percent of would-be base stealers as a defender. In his best offensive season, 2013, Navarro slashed a terrific .300/.365/.492 with a personal-high 13 home runs in 266 PAs with the Cubs. Navarro also has an All-Star nod under his belt, as he earned a place on the American League team in 2008 – a year in which he hit .295/.349/.407 in 470 PAs and caught 38 percent of attempted base stealers as a member of the pennant-winning Rays.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/30/18
The latest minor moves from around baseball:
- The Nationals opened up a spot on their 40-man roster Saturday by transferring first baseman Ryan Zimmerman from the 10-day disabled list to the 60-day DL. The club made the move to create 40-man room for catcher prospect Raudy Read, whom it reinstated from the restricted list after he served an 80-game suspension. Zimmerman has already been on the DL for nearly two months (since May 10) on account of a strained right oblique, though there’s hope he’ll return in the near future, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. He’ll be eligible to rejoin the Nats on July 9.
- The Angels have acquired catcher Joe Hudson from the Reds for cash, per an announcement from Cincinnati. Hudson had been with the Reds since they chose him in the sixth round of the 2012 draft. Now 27, Hudson has seen his first Triple-A action this year and hit .235/.339/.294 in 60 plate appearances.
Rockies Option Jon Gray To Triple-A
The Rockies optioned right-hander Jon Gray to Triple-A Albuquerque today, as noted as MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (Twitter link) and other reporters. Outfielder Raimel Tapia was promoted in the corresponding move.
Though Gray has struggled this season, the demotion still counts as a surprise on a number of levels. Formerly one of the game’s top prospects, Gray posted solid numbers in 2016 and then took another positive step with an even better performance (3.67 ERA, 9.1 K/9, 3.73 K/BB) over 110 1/3 innings in an injury-shortened 2017.
The hope in Colorado was that Gray would further establish himself as the front-of-the-rotation arm that the franchise has long sought after, though instead, Gray ran into some rough waters. Over 92 innings, Gray leads the league in both hits and earned runs allowed, to go along with an ugly 5.77 ERA. He is allowing more hard contact (34.4%) than in either of the past two seasons, while his home run rate is a career-high 15.5%. One can’t blame Coors Field for Gray’s issue, as his home and road ERAs are basically identical.
These numbers notwithstanding, there is a lot more evidence that Gray’s 5.77 ERA is the product of terrible luck. Looking at his ERA predictors (3.07 FIP, 2.77 xFIP, 3.14 SIERA), one would think that Gray was enjoying a breakout season. He owns a 11.6 K/9 and a 4.1 K/BB rate, and while his hard contact percentage is up, the quality of that contact translates to only a .301 xwOBA. His xOBA is .342, however, and Gray has been similarly snake-bitten by a whopping .386 BABIP as well as a low 63.1% strand rate.
The Rockies are hoping Gray will be back sometime in July, as MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi tweets that the “team views this as a reset” in the midst of what surely must be a frustrating stretch for the 26-year-old. Antonio Senzatela and Jeff Hoffman are the likeliest Triple-A candidates to fill Gray’s place in the short term, with rookies Sam Howard and Harrison Musgrave also longer shot options.
Darren O’Day To Undergo Season-Ending Hamstring Surgery
TODAY: O’Day will undergo season-ending surgery on his hamstring, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link) was among those to report. The projected recovery time is six months, so O’Day should be ready to go for Spring Training.
YESTERDAY: The Orioles have placed reliever Darren O’Day on the 60-day disabled list and designated infielder Corban Joseph for assignment, per a club announcement. O’Day had previously been placed on the 10-day DL with a left hamstring injury.
Those moves cleared two needed 40-man roster spots to facilitate a pair of promotions. To create active roster space, the O’s optioned pitchers Jimmy Yacabonis and Yefry Ramirez.
Needless to say, it’s hardly promising to see O’Day heading to the 60-day DL so soon after being diagnosed with a strained hammy. Clearly, it’s not a minor injury. Indeed, a second opinion has already confirmed that initial impression, per Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com (via Twitter).
O’Day is still weighing (and perhaps leaning toward) surgery, Connolly notes. If that’s necessary, it is likely he won’t return this year. Even if the prognosis turns out to be slightly more promising, the veteran reliever no longer seems like a plausible trade candidate.
In theory, O’Day could return in very late August. His contract would certainly clear waivers, facilitating a deal. And we have seen deadline deals worked out for injured players in some prior cases (see, e.g., here). But with $9MM still to go in 2019, in addition to the remainder of this season’s $9MM salary, it’s all but impossible to imagine something coming together unless the contract is simply utilized to offset other salary being swapped.
It’s yet more unfortunate news for an Orioles organization that is saddled with multiple undesirable contracts. O’Day had pitched quite well this year when healthy, with a 3.60 ERA and impressive combination of 12.2 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9 over his twenty innings, leaving some hope that the club could at least save some money and perhaps get a bit of talent back in return.
As for the 29-year-old Joseph, today’s move wraps up his second brief turn in the majors. He had performed quite well at Double-A prior to his promotion, slashing .332/.398/.534 in 281 plate appearances.