Indians Acquire Oliver Drake From Brewers
Right-hander Oliver Drake, whom the Brewers designated for assignment on Tuesday, has been traded to the Indians for cash considerations. The move was announced by Milwaukee via its Twitter account. The Indians have yet to announce a corresponding move.
On the surface, it’s not difficult to understand why the Brewers designated Drake for assignment; he sports an alarming 6.70 ERA on the season while walking a whopping 8 batters in just 12 2/3 innings on the young season. But while the walk rate is certainly a valid concern, the bloated ERA can be blamed in part on an absurd .400 batting average on balls in play against the righty. That’s been one contributing factor towards a 59.1% strand rate; league average usually sits around 70-72%, while Drake’s career average comes in just under that range at 67.7%. In short, he certainly has nobody to blame but himself for the runners he put on base via free passes, but he’s also suffered from some considerably poor fortune as far as those runners crossing the plate.
The positive signs offer some encouragement for Drake’s outlook with his new club. His 10.66 K/9 so far is a career-high mark, about a batter per nine above his career rate of 10.11. He’s also induced ground balls from 52.9% of opposing hitters this season, which sits just outside the top 25% of qualified relievers in MLB. And while Drake’s 6.70 ERA on the year is an eyesore, his 2.70 FIP is a much more palatable figure and suggests he’s likely to make some improvements in the run-prevention arena.
If he can just improve his control a bit, it’s certainly possible the Indians could end up with another surprise diamond in the rough, as they did last year with both Nick Goody and Tyler Olson. That would be a welcome sigh of relief for a club that’s feeling the pains of losing relief ace Andrew Miller to the DL; their bullpen sports an ERA north of nine in his absence and has shuffled through a small army of relievers in the past four days alone (as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian recently noted). Regardless of whether Drake can perform at a high level, it’s a low-risk move for a club in desperate need of some stability in its relief corps.
Cubs To Sign Lane Adams
The Cubs have reached agreement on a minor-league deal with outfielder Lane Adams, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). He had recently elected free agency after being removed from the Braves’ 40-man roster.
The 28-year-old Adams will provide some outfield depth to a Chicago organization that has struggled to produce runs of late. But it does not appear as if he’ll be an immediate factor at the MLB level.
Adams has been a productive hitter in limited action since landing with the Braves in advance of the 2017 season. He slashed .270/.345/.460 with six home runs in 143 plate appearances in Atlanta. That’s the most extensive MLB time the former Royals farmhand has received in his career, though clearly he did not receive much time while he was on the active roster.
Angels Select Juan Graterol
The Angels have selected the contract of catcher Juan Graterol, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports on Twitter. He had been bumped from the 40-man a month ago.
The move was necessitated by the unavailability of Martin Maldonado, who is on the bereavement list. A 40-man spot was opened by moving J.C. Ramirez to the 60-day DL, which was going to happen at some point anyway since he is down for the rest of the year.
Graterol, 29, has seen limited MLB action over the past two years. He has produced a .214/.218/.276 slash in 102 plate appearances at the game’s highest level. In parts of five seasons at Triple-A, he carries a marginal .286/.313/.346 batting line.
Diamondbacks To Sign Clay Buchholz
The Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with righty Clay Buchholz, according to Jared Carrabis of Barstool Sports (via Twitter). It’s a minors pact, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
The 33-year-old Buchholz was just released from his minor-league deal with the Royals after exercising an opt-out clause. He’ll now head to an Arizona organization that is dealing with some injury issues in the rotation.
D-Backs GM Mike Hazen is certainly well-acquainted with Buchholz from their mutual time with the Red Sox. That helps explain the connection here, though it remains unclear just what the Arizona organization plans to do with Buchholz, who is likely ready to join the MLB staff from a conditioning standpoint but may yet need to earn his way up.
In his 16 minor-league innings this year, Buchholz has limited the opposition to only two earned runs on ten hits. Of course, he has also recorded just nine strikeouts against seven strikeouts and missed almost all of the 2017 season due to injury after an inconsistent showing in the 2016 campaign.
That said, it wasn’t long ago that the Phillies were interested in adding the two-time All-Star at a $13.5MM salary in a swap with the Sox. And Buchholz, despite many ups and downs over the years, has compiled a lifetime 4.01 ERA in 1,175 career inning at the game’s highest level.
Royals Select Jason Adam
The Royals have selected the contract of righty Jason Adam, the club announced. He’ll join the active roster while sliding into the 40-man spot the team opened yesterday.
Adam, 26, was a 5th-round selection of the Royals in the 2010 draft. The local product ended up being dealt away, though, before dealing with a long run of arm troubles. (ESPN.com’s Keith Law documents them concisely on Twitter; Maria Guardado of the Kansas City Star has the full story of Adam’s path to the majors.)
All of that is in the rearview mirror, though, at least for the time being. Adam has been a revelation in the upper minors early in the 2018 season, allowing just two earned runs on seven hits in 18 frames over ten appearances. His stuff has seemingly played up in a relief role, with 26 strikeouts against six walks.
Blue Jays Designate Luis Santos, Select Jake Petricka
The roster turnover is continuing for the Blue Jays, who announced another round of moves today. Only two directly implicate control rights, though: righty Luis Santos was designated for assignment, with fellow reliever Jake Petricka taking his place on the 40-man and active rosters.
Additionally, the Toronto organization turned over two other active roster spots. Outfielder Dalton Pompey and infielder Richard Urena are heading up, with righties Joe Biagini and Carlos Ramirez optioned back to Triple-A along with outfielder Dwight Smith Jr.
The 27-year-old Santos had given the Jays some useful innings late last year and re-joined the organization as a depth piece for the 2018 season. In his lone MLB outing this year, he was bombed last night for six earned runs on five hits and three walks. It would not be surprising if he ends up back at Buffalo.
As for Petricka, he’ll be getting a look as a bounceback candidate after signing a minors deal with the Jays over the winter. His contract includes a $1.3MM base salary and up to $500K in incentive pay. Petricka was once a useful member of the White Sox’ bullpen but has dealt with injuries and diminished effectiveness of late when healthy. The initial returns in 2018 have been promising, as Petricka has (as usual) generated a huge number of groundballs while allowing only a single earned run in eight innings over five outings.
Indians Designate Jeff Beliveau, Gio Urshela; Select Alexi Ogando
The Indians have made some roster tweaks today, per a club announcement, with right-hander Alexi Ogando joining the active roster after his contract was selected. Meanwhile, southpaw Jeff Beliveau and third baseman Gio Urshela were designated for assignment (the latter upon his activation from the DL).
Ogando, 34, makes his return to the majors after spending the 2017 season with Korea’s Hanwha Eagles. He worked as a starter in the KBO after three campaigns functioning exclusively from the pen, and has remained in the rotation since joining the Cleveland organization on a minors deal.
In four starts this year at Triple-A, Ogando has compiled 18 2/3 innings of 2.89 ERA ball with 6.8 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9. The debate over his role with the Indians won’t be as strident as it was back when he was a quality young pitcher for the Rangers, but it seems Ogando could either move into a traditional relief role or be utilized as a swingman.
Things have not gone well thus far for Beliveau, who had earned a promotion with a compelling showing to open the year at Columbus. In 3 1/3 innings since moving to the majors, he has allowed four earned runs on five hits and four walks while recording only a pair of strikeouts.
The decision to place Urshela in DFA limbo is somewhat more interesting, as he has been considered a part of the team’s MLB depth in recent seasons. That said, it’s hardly surprising that the Indians lost patience. While Urshela is regarded as a quality fielder, he has not produced at the plate in limited MLB action. In his 42 rehab plate appearances this season at Triple-A, though, Urshela turned in a useful .324/.405/.432 bating line.
Braves Select Jose Bautista’s Contract, Option Preston Tucker
1:38pm: The Braves have now announced that Bautista’s contract has been select. Outfielder Preston Tucker was optioned to Triple-A to open a spot on the active roster for Bautista.
After a blistering start to the season, Tucker’s bat has unsurprisingly come back down to Earth in recent weeks. He’s posted a .218/.246/.364 slash over his past 57 plate appearances with the Braves.
9:32am: David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets that the Braves are adding Bautista to the MLB roster today.
9:24am: The Braves are expected to add Jose Bautista to their lineup tonight, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com (via Twitter). Atlanta will need to formally select the contract of Bautista, who signed a minor league deal with the Braves last month. Atlanta announced in April that the longtime Blue Jays star will play third base in their organization. The Braves currently have three openings on the 40-man roster, so they’ll only need to make a corresponding 25-man roster move to add Bautista.
Bautista, of course, was primarily a third baseman before breaking out with the Jays and settling in as their right fielder for the better part of a decade. He’s played just 38 innings at the position in the four years prior to signing with Atlanta, however, all of which came last year in Toronto. Bautista hasn’t seen even semi-regular action at the hot corner since 2011, and even then he logged just 205 innings at the position in that entire season.
The 37-year-old slugger has gotten off to a solid start with Atlanta’s top affiliate, hitting .250/.386/.361 with a homer, a double and six walks against eight strikeouts through 44 plate appearances. As Bowman notes, the home run and double came within the past few days, as Bautista’s bat has begun to heat up a bit as he’s shaken off some of the rust after sitting out Spring Training entirely.
Bautista will be looking to rebound from a dreary 2017 season in which he hit just .203/.308/.366. While Bautista still slugged 23 homers and walked at an above-average 12.2 percent clip, his strikeout rate jumped to a career-worst 24.8 percent as his contact rate plummeted from 80.2 percent to 73.3 percent. The biggest flaw for Bautista was a sudden inability to hit fastballs; a career .246/.374/.519 hitter against four-seamers, Bautista flailed ineffectively at four-seam fastballs in 2017, hitting just .198/.294/.365 against them.
Tigers To Select Blaine Hardy’s Contract
The Tigers are set to select the contract of left-hander Blaine Hardy from Triple-A Toledo prior to tonight’s game, reports Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). Detroit outrighted the 31-year-old southpaw late in Spring Training, but his absence from the 40-man roster will only last for about a total of six weeks, it seems.
Hardy, a regular in the Detroit relief corps over the past four seasons, notched an even 3.00 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 126 innings out of the Detroit ‘pen from 2014-16 before stumbling in 2017. Last year proved to be the most difficult season of his career, as Hardy limped to a 5.94 ERA and served up seven homers in just 33 1/3 innings of work.
Over the winter, there was talk of Hardy hoping for an opportunity to stretch out as a starter, and the Tigers have granted him that wish at the minor league level. Hardy’s first three appearances of the season were in short relief, but he’s since been stretched out over the course of four starts. The results are actually quite intriguing.
Hardy went 3 1/3 innings in his first outing, jumped to five innings in his second start, six in his third and seven in his fourth and final start before being brought back to the Majors. More impressive, however, is the fact that he’s allowed just two earned runs over the life of those four starts and has averaged well north of a strikeout per inning. Hardy has a sparkling 0.84 ERA and a 25-to-4 K/BB ratio in 21 1/3 innings out of the Triple-A rotation, highlighted by a seven-inning, five-hit gem in which he allowed just one run and racked up 10 strikeouts without issuing a walk.
It’s a tiny sample, to be sure, but for a lefty specialist who struggled to a near-6.00 ERA in his most recent run at the big league level, the results are somewhat astounding. At present, Detroit is running Michael Fulmer, Francisco Liriano, Matthew Boyd, Mike Fiers and Jordan Zimmermann out in the rotation, but Hardy brings a definite level of intrigue to a largely uninspiring mix of arms. There’s little reason not to give him a look in the Majors to see if he can sustain any of his surprising success at the Triple-A level — especially for a rebuilding team whose already paper-thin pitching depth took a notable hit with the news that Daniel Norris will be out for up to 12 weeks.
Athletics Release Simon Castro
The Athletics have released right-hander Simon Castro from their Triple-A club, per the Pacific Coast League’s transactions page. The 30-year-old turned in a solid year with the Oakland organization in 2017 but had gotten off to a rough start in 2018.
Originally signed by the Padres as an 18-year-old, Castro was flipped to the White Sox as the centerpiece in 2011’s Carlos Quentin trade. At the time, he ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects, but ultimately he didn’t establish himself with either organization. After being cut loose by the Sox, he spent two years with the Rockies before landing with the A’s on a minor league deal prior to the 2017 season.
Castro logged a career-high 38 innings with the A’s in the Majors last year, pitching to a 4.38 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 32.7 percent ground-ball rate in that time. He posted gaudy strikeout totals with Oakland’s top affiliate in Nashville as well, continuing a recent trend at the Triple-A level. While Castro has limited big league experience, his past three Triple-A campaigns (2015-17) saw him work 148 1/3 innings of 3.52 ERA ball with 11.8 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and 0.85 HR/9.
This season, he’s whiffed 12 hitters in 8 1/3 innings but also issued six walks and yielded seven earned runs. Castro has a fairly lengthy track record of missing bats in the upper minors and only turned 30 last month, so he’s likely to catch on as a depth piece elsewhere.