Padres Designate Buddy Baumann For Assignment, Select Contract Of Eric Lauer
The Padres announced this afternoon that they’ve designated left-hander Buddy Baumann for assignment in order to open roster space for southpaw Eric Lauer, who’ll start for San Diego in his MLB debut tonight. Additionally, first baseman Eric Hosmer has been placed on the family medical leave list.
Baumann, 30, gave the Padres 27 1/3 innings of quality relief from 2016-17, averaging 10.2 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 with a 2.96 earned run average. But he was hit hard in his lone outing this season, retiring just one of the six men he faced and yielding five runs (two earned) on a pair of hits and a pair of walks (in addition to an error committed behind him). Baumann’s big league experience is limited to the past three years, but he has a strong track record in Triple-A: a 3.15 ERA with 9.3 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and 0.7 HR/9 in 257 1/3 innings there.
As for Lauer, the 22-year-old former first-rounder (25th overall, 2016) becomes the latest potential core piece for the Padres to reach the Major Leagues. He’s considered among the top 15 farmhands in a stacked Padres system, ranking 12th at MLB.com and Baseball America and eighth per both ESPN’s Keith Law and Baseball Prospectus. Lauer has made three starts in Triple-A this year and turned in a 3.00 ERA with a 19-to-6 K/BB ratio and a 40.9 percent ground-ball rate. Scouting reports on him vary, of course, but the general consensus on the southpaw is that while he lacks a true out pitch, he has a fairly high floor and is a near-MLB-ready fourth or fifth starter.
As the Padres have demonstrated with Joey Lucchesi thus far in the young season, they’re not afraid to make an aggressive promotion and give a young arm the opportunity to claim a spot in the long-term rotation picture if performance dictates. With Luis Perdomo recently being optioned after an ugly start to the season, Lauer should have the opportunity to claim a spot alongside Lucchesi, Clayton Richard, Bryan Mitchell and Tyson Ross.
Reds Designate Kevin Quackenbush For Assignment
The Reds announced on Tuesday that they’ve designated right-hander Kevin Quackenbush for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to fellow righty Kevin Shackelford, who has been reinstated from the 10-day disabled list.
Quackenbush, 29, was tagged for 11 runs on 13 hits and six walks with seven strikeouts in nine innings out of the Cincinnati bullpen this winter. He’d been in camp with the Reds on a minor league deal and made the club out of Spring Training, but his stay in Cincinnati looks like it’ll ultimately prove to be brief.
Prior to the 2018 season, the entirety of Quackenbush’s MLB experience had come with the Padres. He was excellent in his debut season as a 25-year-old back in 2014 (2.48 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, 0.3 HR/9) and pitched to a respectable 3.50 ERA in his first three big league seasons. Quackenbush struggled through a disastrous 2017 season, however, yielding five homers and issuing 16 walks in just 26 1/3 innings, en route to a 7.86 ERA.
Rockies Select Contract Of Brooks Pounders, Designate Zach Jemiola
The Rockies announced on Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Brooks Pounders from Triple-A and cleared a spot on the 40-man roster by designating fellow righty Zach Jemiola for assignment. Right-hander Scott Oberg was optioned to Triple-A to open a spot for Pounders on the 25-man roster.
Pounders, 27, has appeared in the Majors in each of the past two seasons, totaling 23 innings between the Royals (2016) and Angels (2017) but struggling to a 9.78 ERA in that time. The 6’5″, 265-pound righty has posted solid K/BB numbers, punching out 25 batters against eight free passes (one intentional), but he’s been far too homer prone in that time as well. In those 23 big league frames, he’s surrendered a whopping 10 home runs.
However, Pounders has consistently thrived at the Triple-A level, where he’s pitched 141 2/3 innings of relief with a 2.99 ERA, similar K/BB numbers and a much more palatable 0.7 HR/9 rate. He’d notched a 3.60 ERA with nine strikeouts against four walks to begin the 2018 season in Albuquerque.
Jemiola, 24, was a ninth-round pick of the Rockies back in 2012 but found himself protected from the Rule 5 Draft after turning in a pair of solid seasons in A-ball and Double-A, respectively, in 2015 and 2016. Jemiola faltered with a 6.48 ERA in 93 innings last season, however, and a solid showing in the Arizona Fall League (2.74 ERA, 19 strikeouts, nine walks in 23 innings) ultimately wasn’t enough to save his spot on the 40-man roster when the Rox found themselves in need of a fresh arm at the big league level.
Mariners Release Josh Smith, Matt Hague; Assign Jayson Werth To Triple-A
The Mariners have made a few transactions at their top affiliate, per Tacoma Rainiers announcer Mike Curto (via Twitter). Righty Josh Smith and infielder Matt Hague have both been released from the Triple-A roster, which now features outfielder Jayson Werth and just-acquired lefty Roenis Elias.
Seattle had inked both Smith and Hague to minors deals, but evidently felt the roster spots were better utilized on other assets. One of those is Werth, a 15-year MLB veteran who will be playing in his age-39 season. He has been working out at extended Spring Training but could now push toward the MLB roster if he shows well at Tacoma.
Smith, 30, compiled a 14:2 K/BB ratio in his 10 1/3 innings early this season, though he also allowed seven earned runs on 17 hits. In parts of three seasons in the majors, he carries a 5.30 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 127 1/3 innings. The 32-year-old Hague, meanwhile, is a right-handed hitter who primarily has lined up at first base as a professional. He was slashing an eyebrow-raising .226/.419/.264 through 74 plate appearances, with an unusual mix of only two extra base hits but 19 walks against just nine strikeouts.
Rockies To Sign Brett Oberholtzer
The Rockies have inked a minors deal with lefty Brett Oberholtzer, Mike Ashmore of the Courier News and Home News Tribune reports. He had been slated to pitch for the indy ball Somerset Patriots.
Oberholtzer is a 28-year-old who was originally selected by the Braves in the eighth round of the 2008 draft. He was dealt to the Astros in the 2011 Michael Bourn swap and later sent on to the Phillies in 2015’s Ken Giles trade. In addition to appearing in the majors with the ‘Stros and Phils, Oberholtzer has appeared briefly with the Angels.
All told, Oberholtzer carries a 4.36 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 across 324 frames at the game’s highest level. He did not crack the bigs last year, but did make 24 starts for the Blue Jays’ top affiliate, pitching to a 4.12 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.
Orioles Claim Jace Peterson
The Orioles have claimed infielder Jace Peterson off waivers from the Yankees, per a club announcement. A 40-man roster spot was opened by moving righty Gabriel Ynoa to the 60-day DL.
Peterson, who’s nearing his 28th birthday, has played very little this year while bouncing on and off of the Yankees’ roster. In need of an additional utility infield option, the O’s took advantage of Peterson’s waiver wire availability to nab him.
In parts of five seasons in the majors, Peterson is a .234/.319/.331 hitter with 15 home runs and 22 steals. That won’t generate much excitement for a player who is primarily a second baseman. But the former Padres and Braves prospect is capable of playing all over the field; he even lined up briefly in short and center in recent campaigns.
Braves Designate Miguel Socolovich, Promote Max Fried
The Braves have designated righty Miguel Socolovich for assignment, per a club announcement. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by southpaw Max Fried.
Socolovich came up for a pair of appearances, allowing three earned runs in three innings. The 31-year-old carries a 4.41 ERA in his 85 2/3 career frames at the MLB level.
Fried, meanwhile, likely features more prominently in the team’s long-term plans. The former top prospect cracked the majors last year and gave the Braves 26 innings of 3.81 ERA pitching. But he had only just ascended to the upper minors in 2017 and opened the current season back at Triple-A.
Thus far in the current campaign, Fried has allowed only three earned in 15 2/3 innings over his three starts, with 16 strikeouts and seven walks. The free passes continue to be a bit of a concern, as he has steadily given up more than four per nine innings since joining the professional ranks.
It’s unclear at this point whether Fried will get a chance to join the Atlanta rotation, but it seems likely he’ll open in a long relief role. Notably, since he’s already on the 40-man, the move leaves the Braves with an opening that could be filled in the near future by the just-signed Jose Bautista.
Phillies To Sign Trevor Plouffe
TODAY: Plouffe could earn at a $1.5MM annual rate in the majors on the contract, which also includes some opt-out chances, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter).
YESTERDAY: The Phillies have struck a minor-league deal with veteran third baseman Trevor Plouffe, according to Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter). (H/t to Eric English, who first tweeted the connection.)
Details are sparse beyond the fact that it is a minors arrangement. Plouffe spent the spring in camp with the Rangers but ultimately asked for his release after failing to crack the MLB roster.
The 31-year-old Plouffe returned to the open market in search of an opportunity to earn his way back to the majors. He has at times been a solid regular at the hot corner, and carries a .242/.304/.410 slash with more than a hundred long balls in over three thousand MLB plate appearances in eight seasons. Now, though, Plouffe is coming off of a brutal 2017 season in which he hit just .2198/.272/.318 over 313 trips to the plate.
It seems likely that Plouffe will mostly be viewed as a depth piece for the Phils. The club already has Maikel Franco lined up at third base and does not appear to have a clear use for a corner infield reserve on the major-league roster as things stand.
Reds Release Barrett Astin
The Reds announced that they have released right-hander Barrett Astin. He had been outrighted off of the 40-man roster last fall.
The 26-year-old Astin is a former third-round pick who landed in Cincinnati as the player to be named later in the 2014 swap that sent Jonathan Broxton to the Brewers. Astin cracked the majors last year, but issued seven walks while recording only two strikeouts in his eight innings of action.
Though he had a promising season at Double-A in 2016, Astin has largely struggled at the highest level of the minors. He carries a 5.91 ERA in 56 1/3 total innings for Triple-A Louisville and has surrendered over a dozen base hits per regulation game along with 7.8 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9.
Yankees Acquire A.J. Cole, Designate David Hale
The Yankees have acquired righty A.J. Cole from the Nationals, per club announcements. Cash considerations will go to the Washington organization in return. To clear a roster spot, the Yankees designated fellow right-hander David Hale for assignment.
Cole, 26, had recently been designated by the Nats after a poor start to the current season. Originally a fourth-round pick, he was a part of two notable trades swung by the organization, first going to the Athletics in the Gio Gonzalez swap and then returning to D.C. (along with Blake Treinen and Ian Krol) in the three-team arrangement in which the Nationals sent Michael Morse to the Mariners and the A’s picked up John Jaso.
Entering the season, the Nationals planned to utilize Cole as their fifth starter. But he struggled in two turns through the rotation, leading the club to bump him to the pen in favor of Jeremy Hellickson. Cole ultimately made two relief appearances but failed to show signs of improvement. In his 10 1/3 innings on the season, he has allowed 15 earned runs and six home runs while compiling ten strikeouts against six walks.
Cole is out of options, so he’ll go directly onto the Yankees’ MLB roster, where he could work as a longman from the bullpen. He’ll replace Hale, who threw two scoreless innings tonight for the Yanks but had opened the year at Triple-A. In his three starts there, he worked to a 5.52 ERA with a 10:2 K/BB ratio in 14 2/3 innings. He has not seen the majors since 2016; in parts of four seasons in the bigs, Hale owns a 4.48 ERA over 178 2/3 frames.