Jace Peterson Elects Free Agency
Yankees infielder Jace Peterson has elected free agency after clearing waivers, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reports via Twitter. The 27-year-old Peterson was designated for assignment on Tuesday to make room for Shane Robinson, who has since been outrighted off the club’s roster.
It’s certainly been a steady fall from prospect status for Peterson, who not long ago was considered a potential second baseman of the future for a Braves club that acquired him as one of the key pieces in the second Justin Upton trade. Though he seemed to have some upside as a utility player as recently as last season, he’s only got a .234/.320/.331 career batting line. That’s likely a large part of the reason that the Braves decided to non-tender him this past winter rather than pay him a relatively meager projected salary of $1.1MM.
Peterson wasn’t given much of a chance with the Yankees, even though he collected a walk and three hits during his brief ten plate appearance tenure in the Bronx. He came up to fill in around the infield when Brandon Drury was placed on the DL, but the presence of Ronald Torreyes made him expendable. Peterson will now seek to latch on with a new club in need of a utility infielder.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/15/18
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Yankees have outrighted outfielder Shane Robinson to Triple-A Scranton, per a team announcement. Given that he has been outrighted in the past, Robinson could have refused the assignment and become a free agent. Instead, it appears he’ll remain with the Yankees, who signed him to a minor league deal in February and then designated him for assignment earlier this week. Robinson appeared in two Yankees games prior to his designation, collecting a hit and a pair of walks in five plate appearances. The 33-year-old’s a lifetime .227/.296/.297 hitter in 800 major league PAs.
Rangers Claim Renato Nunez, Move Tim Lincecum To 60-Day DL
The Rangers have claimed infielder/outfielder Renato Nunez from the Athletics and transferred right-hander Tim Lincecum from the 10-day disabled list to the 60-day DL, Texas executive vice president of communications John Blake announced.
Given that he’s out of options, the 24-year-old Nunez entered spring training in a do-or-die position, but he wasn’t able to seriously vie for a roster spot after suffering a left hamstring strain early in camp. It wouldn’t have helped his cause, anyway, that the Athletics are set at his two main positions with first baseman Matt Olson and third baseman Matt Chapman.
Nunez also has some major league experience at second base and in the outfield, though he has only collected 38 plate appearances in MLB. The majority of his time has been spent at the Triple-A level, where he has batted .241/.301/.461 in 1,110 PAs. Nunez seems unlikely to garner much playing time with his new team, which has Joey Gallo at first and Adrian Beltre at third, though second baseman Rougned Odor is on the disabled list.
Meanwhile, Texas’ pitching staff will continue to go without Lincecum, who has been dealing with blister issues since March. The Giants icon and two-time Cy Young winner, who signed a $1MM deal with the Rangers just over a month ago, could be a bullpen piece for Texas when he’s ready to take the mound again. He last pitched in the majors on Aug. 5, 2016, as a member of the Angels.
Braves Designate Luke Jackson
The Braves have designated right-hander Luke Jackson for assignment, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. His spot on the Braves’ 25-man roster will go to righty Lucas Sims, whom they recalled from Triple-A.
This is the second time since last December that the Braves have designated the 26-year-old Jackson, who rejoined their 40-man roster when they selected his contract April 4. Jackson then went on to make only two appearances, during which he combined for 1 1/3 innings and gave up two earned runs on two hits and a walk. He yielded both of those earned runs as part of the Braves’ epic collapse Saturday against the Cubs, who rallied back from a 10-2 deficit to escape with a 14-10 win.
Sims, 23, has been a well-regarded prospect at times since Atlanta chose him 21st overall in the 2012 draft. He struggled during his first major league promotion last season, though, with a 5.62 ERA/5.07 FIP across 57 2/3 innings (14 appearances, 10 starts).
Rays Outright Ryan Weber
Rays right-hander Ryan Weber has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Durham, Bill Chastain of MLB.com tweets. Weber had been in limbo since the Rays designated him for assignment Friday.
Because Weber was outrighted in the past (by Seattle in 2016), he could have refused this assignment in favor of free agency. But it seems the St. Petersburg native will stay with his hometown organization, which added him on a minor league deal in the offseason. Tampa Bay selected Weber’s contract last week, and he went on to make just one appearance – during which he yielded three runs (one earned) on one hit and one walk while only recording a single out – before losing his 40-man spot.
While Weber has only racked up 68 1/3 major league frames of 5.11 ERA ball since debuting in 2015, he has been a success in Triple-A. The 27-year-old has managed a stingy 2.16 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 across 167 innings at the minors’ highest level.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/14/18
The latest minor league moves from around baseball….
Newest Moves:
- The Rangers signed infielder Nick Noonan to a minor league deal, according to team executive VP of communication John Blake (Twitter link). Noonan has been assigned to Triple-A Round Rock. Noonan was selected 32nd overall in the 2007 draft by the Giants and has appeared in 83 Major League games (with San Francisco and San Diego) as he begins his 12th pro season. The 28-year-old has a .267/.319/.373 slash line over 4497 minor league PA, plus extensive playing time as a second baseman, third baseman, and shortstop, so he’ll provide some extra depth for a Texas club that has lost Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor to the disabled list.
Earlier Today:
- The Nationals have officially released Miguel Montero, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. The veteran catcher was designated for assignment earlier this week. He signed a minor league contract with the Nats over the offseason and ended up appearing in four games with the team, filling in as Washington dealt with some catching injuries.
- With Montero now gone, the Nationals added some minor league catching depth by inking Tuffy Gosewisch to a minors deal, as per the team’s MLB.com transactions page. Gosewisch was released by the Mariners in early April after re-signing with the organization on a new minor league deal over the offseason. Gosewisch appeared in just 11 big league games with Seattle last season, but received 369 PA as a backup catcher with the D’Backs from 2014-16.
Orioles Place Jonathan Schoop On 10-Day DL, Recall Alex Cobb
3:42PM: Schoop’s injury is a Grade 1 strain, manager Buck Showalter told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other reporters, which is the least-serious type of oblique strain.
11:07AM: The Orioles announced that second baseman Jonathan Schoop has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a right oblique strain. In a corresponding move, Alex Cobb was recalled from Double-A to take Schoop’s place on the roster, and Cobb will start this afternoon’s game in Boston.
Schoop suffered the injury last night during a swinging strikeout, and was removed from the game in the seventh inning. He underwent an MRI this morning, and the results were apparently such that the Orioles felt it necessary for Schoop to take some time off to recover. The severity of his oblique strain isn’t known, though since similar injuries have generally resulted in players missing at least a couple of weeks of action, the O’s could be without the slugger until the start of May.
Tim Beckham is Baltimore’s starting second baseman today, with Danny Valencia stepping in to take Beckham’s usual spot at third base. Engelb Vielma was added to the 25-man roster a few days ago for further infield depth, so the O’s could get by with Valencia and Vielma filling in for Schoop on a short-term basis. Ruben Tejada and Luis Sardinas are veteran infield options both on the farm, while top prospect Ryan Mountcastle is himself on the minor league DL recovering from a fractured right hand.
Over the long term, of course, Schoop’s absence is a big loss for an Orioles lineup that has had a lot of problems generating offense. Schoop himself has contributed to these struggles, posting just a .230/.266/.344 slash line and one home run over his first 65 plate appearances of this young season, though he is coming off a breakout 2017 campaign that saw him hit 32 homers and finish 12 in AL MVP voting. The O’s have been hit hard by the injury bug this year, with Schoop joining Mark Trumbo, Zach Britton, and Colby Rasmus on the DL.
Some type of roster move was expected today so the Orioles could create room for Cobb, as the right-hander will make his first start in the black-and-orange. Cobb didn’t officially sign his four-year, $57MM deal until March 21, so he needed some extra preparation time in the minors to fully get ready for the season.
Pirates Claim Enny Romero From Nationals
The Pirates have claimed left-hander Enny Romero off waivers from the Nationals, as per a Pittsburgh media release. Romero will claim an open spot on the Bucs’ 40-man roster, and the release stated that he’ll join the Major League roster once a corresponding move is made.
Washington designated Romero for assignment last week in the wake of a tough start to the season that saw the lefty allow three runs over two innings pitched. Romero was something of the victim of a roster crunch, as the Nats chose to subtract from their eight-man bullpen to add extra bench depth in the form of utilityman Matt Reynolds. In 2017, Romero posted a 3.56 ERA, 10.5 K/9, and a 2.83 K/BB rate over 55 2/3 IP for the Nationals.
Romero will join closer Felipe Vazquez as the only other left-handed reliever on the Pirates’ 25-man roster, with Steven Brault (in the rotation) and Josh Smoker (at Triple-A) representing the only other southpaws on Pittsburgh’s 40-man. Romero isn’t an ideal candidate, however, to provide balance to the Pirates bullpen since he has been a reverse-splits pitcher over his 138 career innings. Left-handed batters have a healthy .317/.398/.467 slash line against him while right-handed batters have hit just .232/.317/.371.
Padres Claim Tyler Webb
The Padres announced that they have claimed southpaw Tyler Webb off waivers from the Brewers. Webb will report to Triple-A, while Dinelson Lamet (who is slated for Tommy John surgery) will be shifted to the 60-day DL to create a 40-man roster spot.
Milwaukee designated Webb for assignment last week, and the 27-year-old will now join his third different organization in less than a year. Webb was selected by the Yankees in the 10th round of the 2013 draft, and he made his MLB debut in the pinstripes last season before being traded to the Brewers last July for Garrett Cooper. Webb ended up tossing eight innings for New York and Milwaukee in his first taste of Major League action, and he’ll join Buddy Baumann as San Diego’s top minor league choices for a left-handed bullpen arm. Southpaw relievers Kyle McGrath and Robbie Erlin currently have places on the 25-man roster, as well as closer Brad Hand.
Webb has worked primarily as a reliever throughout his pro career, only making five starts in 156 career minor league appearances. Over 264 2/3 frames in the minors, Webb has a 3.64 ERA, 11.2 K/9, and a 4.45 K/BB ratio.
Orioles Return Rule 5 Pick Nestor Cortes To Yankees
The Orioles have returned Rule 5 selection Nestor Cortes to the Yankees, per a club announcement. The southpaw was designated for assignment recently.
Cortes took a spot on the Opening Day roster but coughed up four runs on ten hits and four walks in his 4 2/3 innings to begin the season. That led the O’s to part with the second of their three Rule 5 picks this season. Only righty Pedro Araujo remains among this year’s picks.
The Yanks will pay $50K to their division rivals to take back the rights to Cortes, who will not need to be added to the 40-man roster. He will try to pick back up where he left off in an impressive 2017 season, when he spent most of the season in the upper minors and ended with a 2.06 ERA over 104 2/3 total innings.