Tigers To Select Drew VerHagen’s Contract
The Tigers will select right-hander Drew VerHagen‘s contract prior to their doubleheader against the Yankees on Monday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com tweets. VerHagen will start the first of those games, while the team will option reliever Johnny Barbato in a corresponding move.
The 27-year-old VerHagen is headed back to Detroit’s 40- and 25-man rosters just over a month after the team outrighted him on April 27. VerHagen had thrown 10 innings of seven-run ball at that point, contributing to the 5.04 ERA he has posted across 94 2/3 innings with the Tigers since his 2014 debut.
While VerHagen hasn’t produced in the majors, the hard thrower has been downright dominant with Triple-A Toledo this season. Over six starts and 27 1/3 innings, VerHagen has pitched to a 1.32 ERA with 13.5 K/9, 2.63 BB/9 and a 48.1 percent groundball rate. Those numbers are substantially better than the production he registered last year in 97 1/3 innings at the minors’ highest level (4.90 ERA, 6.38 K/9, 3.98 BB/9, 44.5 grounder percentage).
Marlins Select Drew Rucinski, Option Jarlin Garcia
The Marlins have selected right-handed reliever Drew Rucinski‘s contract from Triple-A New Orleans, according to the team. The club optioned lefty Jarlin Garcia to New Orleans in a corresponding move.
Rucinski, whom the Marlins added on a minors deal over the winter, began the season with a 2.52 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 25 innings prior to his promotion. The 29-year-old previously saw major league action with the Angels (2014-15) and Twins (2017), combining for a 7.23 ERA in 18 2/3 frames.
Garcia ranks third among Marlins pitchers in innings (51), but they chose to demote him after he managed a 4.41 ERA, 5.65 K/9 and 3.71 BB/9 in 12 appearances and six starts. That’s not what either party had in mind when the 25-year-old Garcia no-hit the Mets over six innings on April 11 and then held the Yankees’ elite offense to one hit in five frames on April 17.
Indians Sign George Kontos
The Indians have signed reliever George Kontos to a minor league contract, according to an announcement from the team.
Kontos debuted in the majors with the Yankees in 2011 and has since pitched for the Giants and Pirates. The Bucs released the 32-year-old this week after he opened the season with 18 2/3 innings of 5.03 ERA ball. Kontos has generally been successful in the majors, however, as he carries a 3.11 ERA with 7.25 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 43.3 percent groundball rate over 350 innings. Along the way, the righty has held same-handed hitters to a a paltry .228/.270/.374 line and limited lefties to a .236/.325/.381 mark.
Kontos seemingly stands a chance of returning to the bigs in Cleveland, whose bullpen has been a disaster this year. Indians relievers rank dead last in ERA (5.92) and third from the bottom in fWAR (minus-0.6). The club has been on the lookout for established relievers as a result, and already signed Oliver Perez this weekend before adding Kontos.
Braves Outright Miguel Socolovich
The Braves have outrighted right-handed reliever Miguel Socolovich to Triple-A Gwinnett, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. His 25-man roster spot will go to left-hander Luiz Gohara, whom the Braves reinstated from the bereavement list.
Because Socolovich has been outrighted in the past (a few times since last season, in fact), he has the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency. It seems he’ll accept it, though, and remain in the Atlanta organization. The 31-year-old Socolovich joined the Braves over the winter after spending the previous three seasons with the Cardinals.
Socolovich had his moments in St. Louis, where he registered a 3.80 ERA with 7.73 K/9 and 2.58 BB/9 in 66 1/3 innings, though his performance dropped off significantly last season with an 8.68 ERA in 18 1/3 frames. His struggles have continued this year as a member of the Braves, with whom he has allowed six earned runs on eight hits and two walks (with four strikeouts) over five innings. Some of the damage came Saturday, when Socolovich took the loss against the Nationals. On the heels of that showing, he’ll head back to Gwinnett, where he has logged a 2.63 ERA, 7.88 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 24 innings this year.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/2/18
The latest minor moves from around baseball:
- The Mariners have signed left-handed reliever Daniel Schlereth to a minor league deal, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. Schlereth spent the previous few weeks with the independent Long Island Ducks, who signed him May 10. Now 32, Schlereth was once a promising prospect, evidenced in part by the fact that the Diamondbacks chose him 26th overall in the 2008 draft. He made his Arizona debut a year later, though the club then traded him (and Max Scherzer) to Detroit in the ensuing offseason as part of a blockbuster deal that also included the Yankees. Schlereth stayed with the Tigers through 2012, the last time he saw major league action. In all, he has posted a 4.35 ERA with 8.81 K/9 and 5.9 BB/9 across 93 big league innings.
Giants Outright Gregor Blanco
The Giants have outrighted outfielder Gregor Blanco to Triple-A Sacramento, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area was among those to report. Blanco accepted the assignment and will report to Sacramento on Tuesday. His roster spot in San Francisco will go to fellow veteran outfielder Hunter Pence, whom the team activated from the disabled list.
The 34-year-old Blanco could have elected free agency after clearing waivers, but he’ll remain in the Giants organization as depth. Blanco’s in his second stint with the Giants, with whom he was a successful role player at times from 2012-16 – a stretch in which they won two championships.
After spending last season with the NL West rival Diamondbacks, Blanco returned to the Giants over the winter on a minor league pact. Blanco did enough in camp to win a season-opening spot in San Francisco, but he ended up struggling to a .242/.289/.350 line in 129 plate appearances before the club removed him from its 40-man roster.
Dodgers Claim P.J. Conlon
The Dodgers have claimed left-hander P.J. Conlon off waivers from the Mets; the club announced the move. Conlon will be assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, and left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu has been transferred to the 60-day DL in order to make room on the 40-man roster.
Conlon hasn’t exactly impressed in his first taste of big league action; he’s allowed seven earned runs in his first two big league starts spanning just 5 2/3 innings. The Mets apparently didn’t need to see much more, as they designated him for assignment on Thursday in order to clear room to add a pair of right-handers to the roster. Juan Lagares was also transferred to the 60-day disabled list at that time.
Even in Triple-A last season, Conlon pitched to a whopping 6.58 ERA in 39 2/3 innings spanning eight starts. A mid-round pick of the Mets back in 2015, Conlon rocketed up the minor league ladder to make his MLB debut while spending no more than one year at each level of the minors. It’s almost curious that the Mets gave up on Conlon without ever giving him more than ten starts above the Double-A level, particularly given his serviceable results at Double-A in 2017.
The Dodgers have some rotation issues of their own, and Conlon could provide some decent minor-league depth. After all, they just learned they’ll be without fellow lefty Clayton Kershaw for another month (though obviously Conlon wouldn’t be much of a consolation prize in that regard).
Royals Claim Rosell Herrera
The Royals have claimed utilityman Rosell Herrera off waivers from the Reds, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on Twitter. Herrera was designated for assignment yesterday in order to make room for catcher Curt Casali on the Reds’ roster. In a corresponding move, righty Nate Karns has been transferred to the 60-day DL.
Herrera was an international signing of the Rockies in July of 2009, and vaulted his way up the club’s prospect list over the next few years. At one point, a .343/.419/.515 in his age-20 minor league season earned him the number 86 spot on Baseball America’s top 100 overall prospects. He was highly regarded enough at one point to be added to the club’s roster in order to receive protection from the Rule 5 Draft.
However, after a pair of dismal seasons in High-A ball from 2014-2015, the Rockies released him and re-signed him to a new minors pact; that very same thing happened again the following season. From that point on, he never really made any headlines until being once again released by the Rockies this past offseason and subsequently re-signed by the Reds in a minor-league contract. Even the rebuilding Reds, however, didn’t consider him to be worth a roster spot after watching him strike out in five of his first 13 major league plate appearances, even after the young outfielder managed to slug .500 across nearly a hundred plate appearances at Triple-A.
It’s easy to think, though, that he could find playing time with a Royals club that seems content to look for hidden gems in the beginning stages of a rebuilding process. Herrera is capable of playing both the infield and the outfield, so he could very well earn a major league look in Kansas City with a strong minors performance over an extended stretch.
White Sox Place Matt Davidson On DL, Designate Ricardo Pinto, Select Matt Skole
June 2nd: Pinto has been outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports on Twitter.
May 28th: The White Sox have placed designated hitter/corner infielder Matt Davidson on the disabled list, designated right-hander Ricardo Pinto for assignment and selected the contract of corner infielder Matt Skole, according to Scott Merkin of MLB.com.
Back spasms have already kept Davidson out of action for nearly a week, so his DL placement is retroactive to May 25. The former well-regarded prospect had finally been enjoying a breakout season when healthy. In his age-27 campaign, Davidson has slashed .243/.368/.521 with 11 home runs in 171 plate appearances to perhaps emerge as a long-term piece for the rebuilding White Sox.
While Davidson has continued his high-strikeout ways, having fanned 32.2 percent of the time, he has also notched a personal-best 15.8 percent walk rate – up from the paltry 4.3 mark he posted in 2017. Moreover, Davidson ranks in the league’s upper echelon in exit velocity on fly balls and line drives, barrels per plate appearance and xwOBA (.419), according to Statcast.
Davidson’s injury creates room for Skole, who inked a minors deal with the White Sox in the offseason. Skole, a fifth-round pick of the Nationals in 2011, is now in position to make his major league debut at the age of 28. Once a promising prospect, Skole owns a .241/.336/.440 line in 1,168 PAs at Triple-A, including a .259/.360/.442 showing in 172 tries this season.
The addition of Skole could cost the White Sox the 24-year-old Pinto, whom they acquired from the Phillies in March. Pinto hasn’t exactly turned in great results at Triple-A Charlotte, having logged an 8.10 ERA with 8.10 K/9 and 7.2 BB/9 over 10 innings. He was far more successful last year at the minors’ highest level with the Phillies, as he recorded a 3.86 ERA, 6.82 K/9 and 2.67 BB/9 across 60 frames. Pinto even racked up 29 2/3 innings in Philly, but he struggled to a 7.89 ERA during that span.
Rangers Designate Eliezer Alvarez
June 2nd: Alvarez has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Double-A Frisco. The news was tweeted by John Blake, the Rangers’ Executive Vice President of Communications.
May 29th: The Rangers have designated infielder/outfielder Eliezer Alvarez for assignment, per a team announcement. His 40-man spot will go to righty Ricardo Rodriguez, who was activated from the 60-day DL.
Alvarez, 23, has mostly played at second base in the minors but has also shown up at short and in left field. He was playing this year at the Double-A level, where he carries a .189/.279/.283 slash through 185 plate appearances. Alvarez was acquired via trade during Spring Training.
As for the 25-year-old Rodriguez, he’s back from biceps tendinitis. He’ll look to maintain the momentum he gathered during an 11-inning rehab stint in which he allowed only one earned run. Rodriguez reached the majors briefly in 2017 after racking up a 61:10 K/BB ratio and working to a 1.34 ERA in 47 minor-league frames on the year.