Blue Jays Designate Gift Ngoepe, Place Steve Pearce On DL
As part of a series of roster moves, the Blue Jays have designated infielder Gift Ngoepe for assignment, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports (Twitter links). Toronto purchased the contract of righty Luis Santos, necessitating a 40-man spot, while fellow right-hander Joe Biagini is also being called up.
One of the active roster spots needed was opened by optioning righty reliever Danny Barnes. The other came free with the club placing utilityman Steve Pearce on the 10-day with a strained oblique.
Ngoepe, 28, was acquired from the over the winter. He has long been seen as a quality defender with a questionable bat, and he has not done much to dispel that perception with a dozen strikeouts in just 19 MLB plate appearances this year.
As for Santos, he re-joined the organization on a minors deal over the winter. The 27-year-old turned in solid results in his first taste of the majors last year and has gotten results thus far in 2018 at Triple-A. Santos has thrown 9 1/3 innings over five relief appearances this year at Buffalo, allowing just two earned runs on six hits — but with a less-than-promising 8:6 K/BB ratio.
The bad news here for the Jays is that they’ll have to go without Pearce for a stretch — the anticipated duration of which is not yet known. Propensity for injury has long been the knock on the 35-year-old, who has slashed a robust .270/.333/.492 through 69 plate appearances on the season to date.
Rangers Designate Juan Centeno
The Rangers have designated catcher Juan Centeno for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot will go to just-claimed backstop Carlos Perez.
Texas had already cleared a 40-man spot when they claimed Perez, but needed a place on the active roster. The moves, taken together, create an additional opening on the 40-man.
Centeno, a 28-year-old who hits from the left side, has played at the MLB level with five different organizations over the past six years. In 353 career plate appearances at the game’s highest level, he’s a .227/.278/.331 hitter.
Royals Outright Brandon Maurer
The Royals have outrighted right-hander Brandon Maurer, per a club announcement. He’ll join the organization’s Triple-A affiliate.
Maurer, 27, looked to be an interesting buy-low piece when he was acquired last year in a multi-player swap. But things have not gone well for him since he landed in Kansas City.
Through 24 1/3 innings with the Royals, most of them coming down the stretch in 2017, Maurer owns an 8.88 ERA with 24 strikeouts and 14 free passes. He has continued to be bombed in his six Triple-A frames since being optioned earlier this season, recording an 8:1 K/BB ratio but coughing up 11 earned runs on 11 hits.
Mets To Sign Cody Asche
The Mets have struck a minor-league deal with infielder/outfielder Cody Asche, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). He’ll head to Triple-A Las Vegas.
Asche, who spent camp with the Royals, landed with the Yankees via trade at the start of April. But he was released recently by the Yanks after a brutal start to the Triple-A season. Asche put up a .169/.258/.237 slash with 21 strikeouts in 66 trips to the plate with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
A veteran of five MLB campaigns, the former Phillies third baseman and outfielder appeared only briefly in the majors last year with the White Sox. He carries a lifetime .234/.293/.376 bating line in 1,349 trips tot he plate in the majors.
Braves Claim Phil Gosselin From Reds
The Braves announced this afternoon that they’ve claimed infielder Phil Gosselin off waivers from the Reds and assigned him to Triple-A Gwinnett. Atlanta had open space on its 40-man roster, so there’s no corresponding move necessary with Gosselin’s claim.
This will mark Gosselin’s second stint with the Atlanta organization, as the Braves were the club to initially select him out of the University of Virginia in the fifth round of the 2010 draft. Gosselin went on to make his Major League debut for the Braves three years later, and in parts of three seasons with Atlanta, he slashed .282/.321/.345 through 185 trips to the plate.
Since being traded to the Braves in the deal that saw Atlanta effectively purchase pitching prospect Touki Toussaint from the D-backs by absorbing the remainder of Bronson Arroyo‘s contract, Gosselin has spent time in Arizona, Pittsburgh, Texas and Cincinnati. All told, he’s a lifetime .263/.314/.361 hitter that’ll provide the Braves with some depth at second base, shortstop and third base while playing at the Triple-A level.
Ichiro Suzuki Moves To Front Office Role, Will Not Continue Playing In 2018
The Mariners announced today that future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki has is moving to a front office role where he’ll serve as a special assistant to the chairman, effective immediately. While the Mariners’ release does not formally declare that Ichiro is retiring, the new role precludes him from returning to the active roster in 2018, per the team. The Mariners have selected the contract of right-handed reliever Erik Goeddel from Triple-A Tacoma to take Ichiro’s spot on the 40-man and 25-man rosters.
“We want to make sure we capture all of the value that Ichiro brings to this team off the field,” Marines general manager Jerry Dipoto said in a press release announcing the news. “This new role is a way to accomplish that. While it will evolve over time, the key is that Ichiro’s presence in our clubhouse and with our players and staff improves our opportunity to win games. That is our number-one priority and Ichiro’s number-one priority.”
The plan for the current season appears to be that Ichiro will remain with the MLB club, but will not be on the roster. As MLB.com’s Greg Johns explains things (in a tweet), Ichiro will “continue doing everything he’s doing now (taking BP, mentoring, working with teammates, advising, etc.),” but won’t be utilized in a playing capacity. But that’s not to say the arrangement will continue in that precise form past the current season.
Dipoto goes on to add that the Mariners hope to retain Ichiro in some capacity into the 2019 season and beyond, noting that the remainder of the current season will “inform the team and Ichiro on his best fit” with the organization moving forward. However, Ichiro’s agent, John Boggs, tells Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that his client is not yet retiring as a player (Twitter link).
“He is not retiring,” says Boggs. “He’s taking on a different role for 2018, and 2019 has yet to evolve.” Asked by Rosenthal if Ichiro could potentially return to make an appearance next year, when the Mariners and A’s will kick off the 2019 season in Tokyo, Boggs replied: “There is always that possibility. … The future has yet to be determined.”
Though Ichiro clearly remains open to continuing his playing career, it nonetheless seems possible that this could mark the end of the road for one of the game’s most beloved figures. The 44-year-old debuted with the Mariners back in 2001 and promptly won both Rookie of the Year and MVP honors, kickstarting what will unequivocally go down as one of the greatest careers of this generation or any other. In parts of 18 Major League seasons, Ichiro batted .311/.355/.402 with a whopping 3,089 hits, including 362 doubles, 96 triples and 117 home runs. He went 509-for-626 in career stolen-base attempts (81.3 percent success), scored 1420 runs and 780 RBIs despite roughly 80 percent of his MLB plate appearances coming out of the leadoff spot.
That, of course, only covers Ichiro’s career in North America. Prior to coming to the United States, Ichiro had already achieved legendary status in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, where he debuted as an 18-year-old and went on to spend nine seasons starring for the Orix Blue Wave. Ichiro batted .353/.421/.522 in 4098 NPB plate appearances, tallying 1278 hits in establishing himself as one of the most gifted players on the planet and a generational talent that is nearly peerless.
Ichiro’s accolades are virtually limitless. Before even coming to Major League Baseball, he’d racked up seven NPB All-Star appearances, three Pacific League MVP Awards, seven Pacific League batting titles and seven Gold Glove Awards. His achievements in MLB closely mirror that mountain of hardware, as in addition to Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in 2001, Ichiro made 10 MLB All-Star Games, won 10 Gold Gloves, collected three Silver Slugger Awards and won a pair of American League batting titles as well.
Ultimately, while the 2018 season may not have been as productive as either team or player would’ve hoped, it’s still all too fitting that Ichiro received an opportunity to once again don a Mariners jersey and to receive a hero’s welcome upon being introduced at Safeco Field on Opening Day. And whether Ichiro plays another game in MLB or NPB again — he did have interest from multiple Japanese clubs this offseason — he’s already ensured that Hall of Fame enshrinement awaits him on two different continents.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
D-backs To Select Kris Medlen’s Contract
The Diamondbacks announced Thursday that right-hander Kris Medlen will start for the club tomorrow against the Astros. Arizona stopped short of formally announcing that Medlen’s contract has been selected, though they’ll need to make that move after today’s game and, with it, also make a corresponding 40-man roster move. That could be accomplished simply by transferring Taijuan Walker from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL in the wake of Walker’s season-ending Tommy John surgery.
[Related: Arizona Diamondbacks depth chart]
In addition to Walker’s season-ending injury, Arizona recently lost southpaw Robbie Ray to the disabled list for the foreseeable future due to a strained oblique muscle. With that pair out of the picture for now, the Snakes will rely on Zack Greinke, Patrick Corbin, Zack Godley and Matt Koch to complement the newly promoted Medlen in their rotation.
Once a rising star in the Braves’ rotation, it’s been a half decade since Medlen was an effective big league starter. The 32-year-old Medlen logged a 2.75 ERA in 445 innings with Atlanta from 2010-13, missing the bulk of the 2011 season in middle of that stretch while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He looked to have bounced back with strong 2012-13 performances, but Medlen again sustained a torn UCL prior to the 2014 season and was again forced to the sidelines for more than a year.
The Royals attempted to buy low on the talented righty following that injury, but Medlen managed just a 5.12 ERA in 82 2/3 innings over the life of a two-year deal in Kansas City. He spent the 2017 season back in the Braves organization but didn’t end up appearing at the Major League level.
Medlen has struggled through 18 innings with the D-backs’ top affiliate in 2018, pitching to a 6.00 ERA, albeit with a more encouraging 18-to-8 K/BB ratio in that time. At this point, it’d be a stretch to expect him to ever return to the promising form he showed prior to his second ligament surgery, though it’s certainly plausible that he could yet be a serviceable source of innings at the MLB level. Given that Ray should return from his injury at some point in June, it seems likely that Medlen and Koch will soon be vying for a single spot in Arizona’s mix of starters. Shelby Miller, too, is on the mend from Tommy John surgery, however, and could eventually pair with Ray to push both Koch and Medlen out of the starting picture at the big league level.
Marlins Release Johnny Giavotella
The Marlins have released second baseman Johnny Giavotella from their Triple-A club, the infielder himself revealed yesterday (Twitter link). The 30-year-old Giavotella will now explore opportunities in free agency as he looks to latch on with another organization.
Giavotella opened the 2018 season on the minor league disabled list with a hip issue — he had arthroscopic surgery on his right hip last August — but was activated mid-April and appeared in 10 games before being cut loose. He hit .214/.389/.250 with a stolen base in that brief sample of work with the Marlins’ New Orleans affiliate. Miami activated shortstop JT Riddle from the 10-day DL yesterday and optioned him to Triple-A, adding an important name to the mix for middle infield playing time in New Orleans and likely cutting into some of Giavotella’s opportunity.
Giavotella received just 10 big league plate appearances in 2017, all coming with the Orioles, but he enjoyed a highly productive season with Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate, hitting .306/.368/.441 with five homers, 22 doubles, four triples and four steals in 379 plate appearances. He was also a regular in the Angels’ big league lineup not long ago, totaling 869 PAs and hitting a combined .267/.305/.375 with the Halos from 2015-16.
In all, while Giavotella has struggled to get on base in the Majors (career .294 OBP in 1344 PAs), he’s a lifetime .312/.381/.446 hitter in parts of seven Triple-A campaigns — a track record that should provide him ample opportunity to latch on with a club in need of some depth second base.
Jordan Montgomery Out Six To Eight Weeks With Flexor Strain
4:20pm: Montgomery has been diagnosed with a flexor strain in his left arm and is expected to be out anywhere from six to eight weeks, manager Aaron Boone tells WFAN’s Mike Francesca (via WFAN’s Sweeny Murti, on Twitter). Montgomery will be shut down from throwing entirely for the next two to three weeks.
Clearly, that comes as a significant hit to the rotation. For the time being, righty Domingo German is slated to take the hill in what would’ve been Montgomery’s place this coming weekend, though the team will surely consider other options in the long run as well.
Notably, top prospect Chance Adams has gotten off to a dismal start to his Triple-A campaign in 2018, though southpaw Justus Sheffield has thrown quite well in Double-A. Both rank among the game’s best pitching prospects, though the 25-year-old German has handled himself quite well through his first 14 1/3 innings with the Yankees this season.
2:31pm: The Yankees have announced a series of roster moves driven largely by the decision to place lefty Jordan Montgomery on the 10-day DL. He is dealing with an elbow strain, per the club.
Righty David Hale, who recently re-signed with the organization, will join the active roster after his contract was purchased. To create a 40-man spot, the Yanks bumped outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury to the 60-day DL. Meanwhile, outfield prospect Clint Frazier has been activated from the concussion DL and optioned to Triple-A.
The real question here involves the health of Montgomery, who is a key rotation piece. There’s not much more clarity on that question now than there was yesterday, when he left his start early owing to the elbow problem. The 25-year-old is carrying a 3.62 ERA over 27 1/3 innings on the year but has seen his K/BB numbers dip along with his average fastball velocity as compared with his 2017 debut effort.
As for Ellsbury, the move to the 60-day DL is largely procedural. He’s already been on the shelf for more than half of that time, and the transfer to the lengthier of the two disabled lists is unlikely to impact his return date, as the 60-day term is tied to his original DL placement rather than today’s move. He’ll be eligible to return to the active roster in late May, though there’s no clearly defined timetable to suggest exactly when he may be activated.
Rangers Claim Carlos Perez From Braves
The Rangers announced that they’ve claimed catcher Carlos Perez off waivers from the Braves. Texas has opened a 40-man roster spot by transferring injured shortstop Elvis Andrus from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL. That move seemingly carries little impact on Andrus’ timetable for a return from an elbow fracture, as he was widely expected to miss around eight weeks with the injury anyhow. As Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets, Andrus can be activated on June 11.
Texas didn’t immediately reveal a corresponding 25-man roster move, as executive VP of communications John Blake indicated that said move will be announced tomorrow. However, it seems unlikely that the Rangers would carry three catchers on the big league roster, and Perez is out of minor league options, so it’s fair to speculate that current backup catcher Juan Centeno‘s spot could be in jeopardy. It’s also possible, of course, that one of Centeno or Robinson Chirinos is dealing with a yet-undisclosed injury and could land on the disabled list, thus prompting the Texas organization to pick up some additional depth behind the dish.
Perez, 27, was traded from the Angels to the Braves on March 31 in the wake of an injury to Atlanta catcher Tyler Flowers. He appeared in eight games with the Braves but went just 3-for-21 with a walk and six strikeouts in 22 trips to the plate. That lack of production mirrors Perez’s meager output from a near-identical sample of 21 plate appearances in 2017 with the Halos. Overall, he’s hit just .122/.163/.195 over the past two seasons and .221/.264/.325 in a total of 617 big league plate appearances.
Of course, Perez’s calling card is his glovework behind the dish. The Venezuelan-born backstop has successfully halted 38 percent of stolen-base attempts against him at the big league level and has drawn generally positive marks for both his pitch-framing and pitch-blocking skills, per Baseball Prospectus.
It’s been an ugly start to the season for the season for the 28-year-old Centeno, which only makes it easier to speculate on his potential dismissal. He’s posted a tepid .147/.171/.176 slash in 35 plate appearances as the backup to Chirinos, and while he’s yet to have an opponent attempt a steal against him, Centeno has just a 13 percent caught-stealing rate as a Major League catcher.