Yankees Select Contract Of Ryan Bollinger
The Yankees announced today that they have selected the contract of lefty Ryan Bollinger. He will be added to the active roster for tonight’s game.
A corresponding 40-man move is not necessary, as the Yankees had an open spot still available. The club still has plenty of flexibility for the time being, as several players currently on the 10-day DL could potentially be shifted to the 60-day DL should a need arise.
Bollinger will make it to the majors about nine years after he was taken in the 47th round of the 2009 draft by the Phillies. He never pitched with the Philadelphia organization, but did spend three seasons in the low minors with the White Sox beginning in 2011.
For the past three seasons, Bollinger has pitched outside of the affiliated ranks, making several indy ball stops and appearing last year in the Australian Baseball League. River Ave. Blues covered his unheralded signing, providing a video of Bollinger pitching in Germany and rightly noting: “Would be something if this guy made it, huh?” Indeed.
Since joining the Yankees organization over the offseason, Bollinger has worked as a starter in the upper minors. In 29 innings, he owns a 1.86 ERA with 6.2 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. It seems reasonable to presume that the 27-year-old will join the Yankees’ bullpen upon his arrival. It remains to be seen, though, how long he’ll hold onto his active and 40-man roster spots.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/22/18
Here are the day’s minor moves…
Latest Transactions
- The Nationals signed outfielder Jaff Decker to a minors contract, the Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes reports (via Twitter). The 30-year-old has appeared in each of the last five MLB seasons, posting a .510 OPS over 191 career plate appearances with the Padres, Pirates, Rays, and A’s. Decker signed a minor league deal with Atlanta over the winter but was released earlier this month.
- The Mets signed veteran lefty Aaron Laffey to a minor league deal, purchasing his contract from the independent Atlantic League. The Somerset Patriots, Laffey’s Atlantic League team, reported the news on Twitter. The 33-year-old worked as both a starter and reliever for six teams (including a brief stint with the Mets in 2013) over parts of eight MLB seasons, though Laffey has only 7 1/3 innings in the Show since the end of the 2013 season and none since 2015. He has bounced around the minors, including a previous stint with Somerset last season that ended when he signed a minors deal with the D’Backs.
Earlier Today
- The Reds selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Brandon Dixon from Triple-A, optioning Rosell Herrera to Triple-A in a corresponding move. Dixon, a third-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2013 draft, was one of the three youngsters (along with Jose Peraza and Scott Schebler) dealt to Cincinnati as part of the three-team trade that sent Todd Frazier to the White Sox. Neither Baseball America or MLB.com ranked Dixon among the Reds’ top 30 prospects, though he put himself on the map this season thanks to an impressive .326/.371/.527 slash line over 140 PA at Triple-A Louisville. While he has spent much of his pro career as a second and third baseman, Dixon has made multiple starts as a first baseman and corner outfielder this season, giving him added versatility on the Reds’ roster.
- The Tigers announced the purchase of left-hander Kevin Chapman‘s contract from the independent Atlantic League’s New Britain Bees. Chapman has been assigned to Triple-A. The southpaw posted a 4.09 ERA over 55 relief innings for the Astros in 2013-16, and spent last season in the Braves’ and Twins’ farm systems. The Tigers are short on left-handed relievers both in the majors and upper minors, so there seems to be an opportunity for Chapman to earn a spot back to the big leagues.
- The Nationals announced that outfielder Moises Sierra has cleared waivers and been optioned back to Triple-A. Sierra was designated for assignment earlier this week to clear roster space for the promotion of top prospect Juan Soto. Appearing in his first MLB action since 2014, Sierra hit .167/.217/.404 over 60 PA for Washington this season.
- Southpaw Jairo Labourt has been released by the Tigers, as Evan Woodberry of MLive.com covers on Twitter. Despite being a popular waiver wire target over the offseason, the 24-year-old lefty has not been in good enough form even to join an affiliate to this point. The Tigers originally acquired him in the 2015 David Price swap.
- The Pirates have released right-hander Tyler Jones, according to John Dreker of PiratesProspects.com. Jones, 28, has had some promising seasons in the upper minors, but hasn’t shown as well in the last two campaigns. Homers have been an issue for Jones thus far, as he has been tagged for a 5.40 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 over 16 2/3 innings with the Bucs’ top affiliate.
- Rangers righty David Ledbetter has decided to retire, according to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan (via Twitter). Per the report, the 26-year-old decided to hang things up as a “family decision.” A third-round pick in 2013, Ledbetter has never quite found his form in the minors. In 115 1/3 Triple-A innings, he owns a 4.99 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9.
Twins Acquire Chris Carter
7:47PM: The Angels received cash considerations for Carter, Mike Berardino tweets.
6:26PM: The Twins have acquired first baseman Chris Carter from the Angels, as reported by Steve Klauke, radio broadcaster for the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake City. Chris Carter will report to the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate in Rochester, as per Nate Rowan from the Rochester PR department (Twitter link).
Carter will provide Minnesota with some additional first base/DH depth in the upper minors while Joe Mauer is on the Major League DL with a neck strain and concussion symptoms. The Twins have Logan Morrison at first with Robbie Grossman getting the bulk of DH at-bats, though Kennys Vargas is struggling (.614 OPS though 153 PA) for Rochester.
It was just back in 2016 that Carter led the National League in homers after hitting 41 dingers for the Brewers as part of a .222/.321/.499 season for Milwaukee. That home run total inflated Carter’s potential arbitration price, however, and with the then-rebuilding Brewers wary of committing a hefty salary (MLBTR projected him to earn $8.1MM) for a player with such a one-dimensional game, Carter found himself non-tendered. He signed on with the Yankees but then badly struggled, hitting just .201/.284/.370 in 208 PA in pinstripes last season before being released.
Carter caught on with the A’s on a minor league deal last summer, and while he didn’t return to the Show, his subsequent success at Triple-A with the A’s and Angels has given some indication that he can still be a productive bat. He has 22 homers over his last 322 PA at the Triple-A level, and was hitting .255/.333/.600 over 168 PA with Salt Lake City this season.
As per the terms of Carter’s original minor league deal with the Angels, he will earn $1.75MM if he reaches the Twins’ 25-man roster at any point this season, with another $600K available in incentives. His chances of a promotion could hinge on Mauer’s health — Paul Molitor told reporters (including Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) that Mauer was making some progress, though the club will be as cautious as possible given Mauer’s history with concussions.
Mets Sign Jose Bautista
The Mets have signed Jose Bautista to a one-year, Major League contract, the team announced via Twitter. The veteran slugger has already been added to the Mets’ roster and is available for tonight’s game; Phillip Evans was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reported earlier today that the two sides were progressing towards a contract, and FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reported that an agreement had been reached. The deal will pay Bautista a Major League minimum salary, Heyman tweets.
With Yoenis Cespedes and Todd Frazier both on the DL, Bautista provides a right-handed bat capable of playing both third base and in the corner outfield. Bautista could also spell Adrian Gonzalez and Jay Bruce (both lefty swingers) at first base, to boot. The Mets’ media release about the signing (as noted by The Athletic’s Tim Britton) made particular mention of Bautista’s .913 OPS against southpaw pitching during his recent stint with the Braves, so it could be that New York will specifically deploy Bautista as a lefty masher.
Bautista only hit .143/.250/.343 overall during his brief time with Atlanta, with his success in 20 PA against lefties counterbalanced by a measly .308 OPS against right-handed pitchers. It’s hard to draw too many conclusions from such a small sample size, of course, though given that Bautista didn’t get a proper Spring Training (he only signed with the Braves in mid-April) and he is coming off a sub-replacement year with the Blue Jays in 2017, it certainly seems like the 37-year-old might best be suited for part-time duty at this stage in his career.
This is technically Bautista’s second stint in the Mets organization, as he was initially acquired by the team back on July 30, 2004 in a trade with the Royals for righty Justin Huber. On that very same day, however, Bautista was dealt as part of a three-player package to the Pirates for Kris Benson and Jeff Keppinger. One can’t really fault for the Mets for not knowing what they had at the time, as it wasn’t until 2010 that Bautista broke out as one of the game’s premier sluggers with a 54-homer season for the Blue Jays.
That was the first of six superstar-level years for Bautista in Toronto, and he was still a solidly above-average bat as recently as 2016, though he was starting to show some of the signs of the decline that led to his ruinous 2017 campaign. Since the Mets needed some right-handed hitting, though, there isn’t much risk on the team’s end in signing Bautista to the low-cost deal to see if he can recapture any of his old form, particularly if Bautista’s exposure to right-handed pitching is limited.
Diamondbacks Place Steven Souza On 10-Day DL
The Diamondbacks placed outfielder Steven Souza Jr. on the 10-day disabled list with a strained right pectoral. This is the same injury that kept Souza from making his season debut until May. Outfielder Socrates Brito has been recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move.
Souza originally suffered the injury in the last week of Spring Training, while diving for a ball in the outfield. This second DL placement would seem to confirm that the issue was still bothering Souza, as he didn’t look at all like himself at the plate, hitting just a .163/.234/.186 over his first 47 plate appearances for Arizona. While no timeline was given about the DL placement, it’s fair to assume that Souza will miss more than the 10-day minimum absence to ensure that the injury is fully behind him.
[Updated D’Backs depth chart at Roster Resource]
After a breakout 2017 season (.239/.351/.459 with 30 homers over 617 PA) for Tampa Bay, Souza was traded to the D’Backs as part of the three-team deal with the Rays and Yankees that also saw Brandon Drury go to New York and pitching prospect Anthony Banda head to Tampa. Souza was expected to be Arizona’s everyday right fielder and at least somewhat fill the offensive gap left behind by the departed J.D. Martinez, though his injury has essentially kept him from getting out of the blocks thus far in the 2018 campaign.
Injuries to Souza, A.J. Pollock, and Jake Lamb have contributed to a lack of offensive firepower for the D’Backs, not to mention protracted slumps from Paul Goldschmidt and Alex Avila. Arizona ranks at or near the bottom of the league in runs, batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS, and the hitting drought has started to catch up with the team, as the Snakes have lost 11 of their last 12 games. Remarkably, however, the D’Backs are still hanging onto first place in the NL West.
Brito will get his first taste of the big leagues since 2016, as the 25-year-old missed a good chunk of last year recovering from finger surgery. Brito has only a .612 OPS over 131 PA with the Diamondbacks in 2015-16, though he isn’t far removed from being a pretty well-regarded prospect in Arizona’s farm system. He can play all three outfield positions, and has been hitting well at Triple-A Reno, with a .323/.365/.437 slash line over 170 PA this season.
Rays To Promote Willy Adames
The Rays are slated to promote infield prospect Willy Adames, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (Twitter link). He’ll make his MLB debut at 22 years of age.
Adames has long been billed as a high-end prospect, though he was relatively unknown when he was shipped to Tampa Bay as a key piece in the 2014 David Price swap. At the time, he was an intriguing 18-year-old. Since, his profile has risen steadily.
Entering each of the past two campaigns, Adames was generally ranked by prospect hounds among the twenty-five or so best pre-MLB players leaguewide. In response, he has delivered an impressive forty-game stretch at the highest level of the minors. Thus far in 2018, Adames has compiled a .311/.387/.466 slash line with four home runs in 173 plate appearances for Durham.
Of course, Adames had already shown that he could produce at Triple-A. And that output falls in line with what Adames has done in prior seasons. He has long been a consistently quality producer at the plate, with good average, a solid walk rate, and manageable strikeout numbers. While he has yet to break out in the power department, evaluators generally expect there could be some added pop in the tank.
There’s good reason, then, to think that Adames is ready to contribute right out of the gates. He’s considered a polished defender at shortstop with quality makeup, so the expectation will surely be that he’ll be able to step into the everyday lineup if that’s what’s asked.
The Rays’ plans, though, aren’t yet clear. With Adeiny Hechavarria on the 10-day DL, Adames could receive regular time at shortstop, with the team reassessing its options once Hechavarria returns. On the other hand, the youngster may also just be up for a brief visit; after all, his active roster spot is coming from the placement of Joey Wendle on the paternity list, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets and the team has since confirmed.
Twins Designate Phil Hughes
TODAY: Outfielder Ryan LaMarre is coming back up for the Twins, Dan Hayes of The Athletic tweets.
YESTERDAY: The Twins have designated righty Phil Hughes, per a club announcement (as Phil Miller of the Star Tribune was among those to tweet). Manager Paul Molitor says the organization has not asked whether Hughes would waive his right to reject a minor-league assignment, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports on Twitter.
It seems, then, as if this is the beginning of the end of Hughes’s tenure in Minnesota. The club will have seven days to find a taker via trade. Otherwise, Hughes will go on the waiver wire. He’s sure to clear, given his contract, though he would not need to accept an assignment to Triple-A in order to keep the money he’s guaranteed.
The Twins still owe Hughes the balance of a $13.2MM salary this year and another $13.2MM for the 2019 season. That’s what’s left of the five-year extension he signed in December of 2014, which overwrote the rest of the three-year deal that Hughes signed with Minnesota as a free agent in the prior winter.
Students of hot stove history will recall that sequence rather well. Hughes had seemed likely to sign a make-good deal after a disappointing end to his tenure with the Yankees in 2013. But he went with a $24MM guarantee over a trio of campaigns with Minnesota, then made good on the contract in year one by spinning 209 2/3 innings of 3.52 ERA ball, with an unbelievable 186:16 K/BB ratio.
Unfortunately, the second pact — which boosted Hughes’s overall compensation while expanding the team’s control — just never worked out. He turned in 155 1/3 innings of 4.40 ERA pitching in 2015, but since has managed only a 5.99 ERA in 124 2/3 frames.
Health has been a major factor in recent seasons. Hughes requried two significant procedures to address thoracic outlet procedure, ending both his 2016 and 2017 seasons. He also dealt with knee and biceps injuries.
Astros Release Jon Singleton
The Astros have released first baseman Jon Singleton, the team announced (h/t Mark Berman of FOX 26, via Twitter). He is currently serving a 100-game suspension for his third positive test for a drug of abuse.
Singleton had previously been outrighted off of the Houston 40-man roster. Once one of the team’s top prospects, he is best known at this point for failing to pan out in the majors after signing an extension just in advance of his initial elevation to the majors.
At the time that contract was entered, it drew quite a lot of criticism. Many were concerned that Singleton — at the time, one of several high-end prospects vying to become core members of a pre-breakout Astros team — had given the team too much upside for a $10MM guarantee. But the deal has clearly turned out to the advantage of a player that received a fairly minimal signing bonus as an amateur and has accrued limited MLB time since — a possibility we pointed out in a full analysis at the time.
Singleton is earning $2MM this year, the final guaranteed season in the contract. He’s still owed $1MM in total buyouts for the next three years, as well. The deal gave the Astros successive options at $2.5MM, $5MM, and $13MM that obviously will not be exercised.
Singleton’s only lengthy MLB action came in his first season with the ‘Stros. He picked up a few more in the 2015 season, but has not been back since. Through 420 plate appearances at the game’s highest level, he carries a meager .171/.290/.331 slash line with 14 home runs and 151 strikeouts against sixty walks.
Despite his struggles in the majors, Singleton remains an interesting hitter who could get a look elsewhere — at least, that is, if other organizations are willing to deal with his mounting problems with testing positive for drugs of abuse. Though he has always swung and missed a fair bit, Singleton has solid power and a phenomenal eye. Last year, for instance, he popped 18 home runs and drew 107 walks in his 500 Double-A plate appearances.
White Sox Sign Michael Saunders To Minor League Deal
Veteran outfielder Michael Saunders has signed a minor league contract with the White Sox, according to an announcement from the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte. He’s on the active roster for today’s game. Saunders, who recently opted out of a minor league pact with the Orioles, is represented by Meister Sports Management.
Saunders, 31, had a tough time with Baltimore’s top affiliate, logging a paltry .161/.291/.253 batting line with a homer, three doubles, a triple and two steals in 103 plate appearances. He struck out 23 times while playing with Norfolk though did still show a decent recognition of the strike zone, drawing 16 walks as well.
It’s been a steep decline for Saunders, a 2016 All-Star with the Blue Jays. The Canadian-born outfielder wore down in the second half of that season and endured similar struggles with the 2017 Phillies after signing a one-year deal as a free agent.
Saunders was a top prospect with the Mariners and, in addition to his terrific first half in 2016 showed strong potential in Seattle on multiple occasions. Injuries, however, have been an ongoing issue throughout his career. Most recently, he missed the majority of the 2015 season after suffering a torn meniscus in Spring Training that required surgery. Saunders has also dealt with shoulder injuries and missed time due to an oblique issue in the Majors as well. He’ll look to get back on track with a White Sox club that recently saw Nicky Delmonico land on the disabled list and is also without right fielder Avisail Garcia, which could eventually lead to some opportunities at the MLB level if he performs well with the Knights.
Rangers Designate Kevin Jepsen For Assignment
The Rangers announced on Monday that righty Kevin Jepsen has been designated for assignment. His spot on the active roster will go to fellow right-handed reliever Matt Bush, who has been recalled from Triple-A. Additionally, the Rangers announced that infielder/outfielder Drew Robinson has been activated from the disabled list and optioned to Triple-A.
Jepsen, 33, broke camp with the Rangers after coming to Spring Training on a minor league contract. While he got off to a strong start to his season, yielding just two runs through his first 10 2/3 frames, his early output never appeared all that sustainable. Jepsen survived a 6-to-4 K/BB ratio and just a six percent swinging-strike rate through those 10 2/3 frames due largely to a .207 BABIP and an elevated strand rate. Over his past 10 appearances, he’s been tagged for nine earned runs on the strength of four homers allowed in just six innings.
In all, Jepsen’s abbreviated run with the Rangers wraps up with a 5.94 ERA and more walks (11) than strikeouts (eight) in 16 2/3 innings of work. It’s possible, of course, that he accepts an outright assignment to Triple-A upon clearing waivers and returns to the organization at some point later in 2018 to try to improve upon those numbers. But, given his level of service time, he can also reject an outright assignment and return to the open market in search of a new opportunity.
As for Bush, he’ll be looking to get back on track after surrendering nine walks through his first 11 2/3 innings of the season. The righty served as the closer in Texas at times in 2017 and has been a generally useful reliever in Texas dating back to his debut in 2016. He totaled nine innings with Round Rock after being optioned to Triple-A, yielding just two runs on nine hits with a 14-to-4 K/BB ratio.