Rangers Select Contract Of Bartolo Colon; Tommy Joseph Accepts Outright Assignment
The Rangers announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of veteran right-hander Bartolo Colon and optioned fellow righty Nick Gardewine to Triple-A. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Colon, Texas moved righty Ricardo Rodriguez from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL. Additionally, Texas announced that Tommy Joseph has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Double-A Frisco.
Texas will turn to Colon, 44, to start tonight’s game in Oakland. The timeless veteran inked a minor league pact with the Rangers this offseason and delivered strong results in Spring Training, working to a 3.00 ERA with a 10-to-2 K/BB ratio in 18 innings of work. He’ll join Cole Hamels, Mike Minor, Doug Fister and Matt Moore in the Texas rotation as he looks to continue a career that, upon taking the hill tonight, will have spanned parts of 21 seasons.
Colon split the 2017 season between the Braves and the Twins, struggling badly in Atlanta before rebounding, to an extent, in Minnesota. “Big Sexy” turned in a 3.94 ERA and a 38-to-11 K/BB ratio through his first 10 starts with the Twins before fading and yielding 19 runs in his final 18 1/3 frames (over the life of five starts).
While the season, on the whole, wasn’t a good one for Colon, the popular righty is only a season removed from tossing 191 2/3 innings with a 3.43 ERA, 6.0 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 with the 2016 Mets. In fact, from 2013-16 with the A’s and Mets, Colon averaged 195 innings per season with a 3.59 ERA, twice making the All-Star team (2013 and 2016) and twice pacing his league in BB/9 (2015-16). He’s one of many veteran arms the Rangers bought low on in the offseason in hopes of catching some lightning in a bottle.
For Colon, the opportunity is not without significance. He’s spoken many times about what it would mean to him to tally another four wins and move into the all-time lead for wins by a Dominican-born pitcher, overtaking Hall of Famer Juan Marichal. Colon is also less than two months away from his 45th birthday, and if he can keep his remarkable career going to that point, he’ll fulfill a promise to his late mother in which he told her he’d pitch until age 45.
Joseph, meanwhile, has struggled to get on base in each of his two big league seasons and saw his overall offensive output decline in 2017. In total, he’s a .247/.297/.460 hitter in 880 PAs, but as an OBP-challenged slugger with significant defensive limitations, his appeal around the league was unsurprisingly somewhat limited. He’ll give Texas some depth at first base, though with Joey Gallo and Ronald Guzman ahead of him on the depth chart at first base and Shin-Soo Choo slated for regular DH work, it might take an injury or two to create a clearer opportunity for Joseph to return to the Majors.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/2/18
Here are Monday’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Red Sox picked up catcher Mike Ohlman from the Rangers in exchange for cash, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports in a comprehensive rundown of late-spring releases, trades and signings. The 27-year-old made his Major League debut with Toronto last year but collected just 13 plate appearances over the life of seven games. An 11th-round pick of the Orioles back in 2009, Ohlman has logged a respectable .758 OPS in 518 Triple-A plate appearances thus far in his minor league career. He’ll give Boston some depth behind the plate, though the Sox are largely set in that capacity with Christian Vazquez, Sandy Leon and Blake Swihart all on the 25-man roster.
- Veteran right-hander Logan Ondrusek is joining the Dodgers on a minor league contract, per Eddy. The 33-year-old didn’t pitch professionally in 2017 but does have 277 big league innings under his belt, spanning the 2010-16 seasons. Ondrusek last appeared in the Majors with the 2016 Orioles, when he allowed seven runs in a tiny sample of 6 1/3 innings. For his career, he has a 4.03 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in the Majors, though he’s posted much better numbers in Triple-A and in Japan.
- Eddy also notes that the Dodgers have cut ties with righty Jordan Jankowski. The 28-year-old got his first taste of the big league in 2017, tossing 4 1/3 frames for the Astros before landing with the Dodgers via waiver claim. Jankowski has averaged 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings in 177 1/3 Triple-A frames in his career, though he’s struggled with control since being selected in the 34th round of the 2012 draft as well.
Orioles Sign Michael Saunders
The Orioles announced that they’ve signed Michael Saunders to a minor league contract. The veteran outfielder, a client of Meister Sports Management, will head to Triple-A Norfolk to open the season. FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that Saunders’ deal comes with a $1.5MM base salary in the Majors and up to $3MM of additional incentives.
Saunders, 31, struggled through a nightmarish 2017 season with the Phillies and Blue Jays, hitting a combined .202/.356/.354 with six homers in 234 trips to the plate. That, however, came on the heels of a 2016 All-Star selection — albeit one which came as part of a highly uneven season. Saunders slashed a terrific .298/.372/.551 in the first half with the 2016 Blue Jays before cratering with a .178/.282/.357 slash following the All-Star Game.
When healthy, Saunders has demonstrated an ability to play all three outfield slots as well as average or better power. The speed he once possessed has largely fallen by the wayside in recent years, perhaps not surprisingly in the wake of a 2015 operation to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee — an injury that continued to plague him throughout the 2015 campaign.
At present, Saunders is probably best suited for corner outfield duties, though Colby Rasmus made Baltimore’s Opening Day roster as a left-handed-hitting corner bat with a similar skill set, meaning Saunders will likely have to wait for an opportunity in Baltimore. As Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com observes (Twitter link), Saunders will join a crowded Norfolk outfield mix which already includes lefties Alex Presley, Jaycob Brugman and D.J. Stewart (to say nothing of top outfield prospect Austin Hays, who’ll be receiving everyday at-bats there).
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/1/18
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Tigers announced that left-hander Ryan Carpenter will be assigned back to Triple-A Toledo. Carpenter was called up as the 26th man for today’s double-header with the Pirates, and he made his Major League debut in the nightcap, starting the game and lasting three innings. A seventh-round pick for the Rays in the 2011 draft, Carpenter has a 4.37 ERA, 7.7 K/9, and 3.36 K/BB rate over 760 1/3 innings (128 of his 115 games as a starter) in the Tampa Bay and Colorado farm systems.
Earlier Today:
- The Red Sox have released outfielder Steve Selsky, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. Selsky was a member of the Cincinnati organization from 2011-16 before joining Boston last season. The 28-year-old spent nearly all of 2017 with Triple-A Pawtucket, where he hit .215/.270/.360 with 11 home runs in 322 plate appearances. Selsky also appeared in eight of Boston’s games, though he only picked up nine PAs in that span.
- The Pirates have parted with outfielder Clark Eagan, according to John Dreker of Pirates Prospects (subscription required). Eagan, 23, had been with the Pirates since they selected him in the ninth round of the 2016 draft. He spent that year at the Low-A level before moving up to Single-A in 2017. In all, Eagan batted .265/.316/.385 across 604 trips to the plate with the organization.
Dodgers Acquire Breyvic Valera
The Dodgers have acquired infielder Breyvic Valera from the Cardinals for minor league outfielder Johan Mieses, according to an announcement from St. Louis.
The 26-year-old Valera spent a bit of time in limbo after the Cardinals designated him for assignment on Wednesday. He’s now set to join his second major league organization since signing with the Redbirds as a Venezuelan prospect in 2010. Valera saw minimal time in St. Louis (11 plate appearances, all of which came last season), but he climbed to the Triple-A level in 2016 and impressed there through last season. The switch-hitting Valera owns a .323/.386/.438 line in 727 PAs at the minors’ highest level, and with a pair of options remaining, he should serve as Triple-A depth with the Dodgers.
Mieses, 22, signed with the Dodgers out of the Dominican Republic prior to the 2013 campaign. He then had some success at the minors’ lowest levels through last season, when he batted .353/.411/.707 in 129 PAs in high-A ball. But Mieses struggled mightily in his first Double-A action – .160/.246/.347 in 329 plate trips – and did not rank among the Dodgers’ top 30 prospects at MLB.com. Mieses will begin his Cards tenure at the Single-A level, they announced.
Marlins Designate Brian Ellington, Select Severino Gonzalez
The Marlins have designated right-handed reliever Brian Ellington for assignment and selected the contract of fellow righty Severino Gonzalez, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.
The flamethrowing Ellington logged significant innings with the Marlins from 2015-17 (a combined 102 2/3) and adeptly prevented runs over his first two years, during which he compiled a 2.64 ERA. That figure came with less enticing peripherals, though, and Ellington crashed to earth last season. The 27-year-old recorded a 7.25 ERA/5.80 FIP with 9.67 K/9, 7.05 BB/9 and a 35.4 percent groundball rate across 44 2/3 innings. He then dealt with biceps tendinitis during spring training, leading the Marlins to send him to Triple-A to open 2018.
Now 25, Gonzalez was once a well-regarded prospect with the Phillies, who dealt him to the Marlins in a small trade over the winter. Gonzalez spent the 2017 season in the minors (mostly Double-A) and posted a 4.82 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 80 1/3 innings. He worked out of the Phillies’ bullpen from 2015-16 and yielded a 6.68 ERA across 66 frames, though he did manage strong strikeout and walk rates (8.45 K/9, 1.91 BB/9).
Braves, Angels Swap Ryan Schimpf, Carlos Perez
The Angels have acquired infielder Ryan Schimpf from the Braves for catcher Carlos Perez, according to an announcement from Los Angeles. Schimpf will head to Triple-A, per the Angels.
Injuries likely played a part in this deal for both teams. The Angels sent second baseman Ian Kinsler to the disabled list on Saturday, while Braves catcher Tyler Flowers was already on the DL with an oblique strain. Flowers’ backup, Kurt Suzuki, took a pitch off the hand during an at-bat on Friday, though he won’t need a DL stint, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports. Nevertheless, that injury scare was all the more reason for the Braves to add depth in the wake of Flowers’ loss.
Schimpf, 29, lasted less than a month with the Braves, who acquired him from the Rays on March 5. He’s best known for a solid 2016 campaign in San Diego, where he batted .217/.336/.533 (130 wRC+) with 20 home runs in 330 plate appearances. Schimpf’s success that year (his rookie season) came thanks in part to both a 64.9 percent fly ball rate and a 12.7 percent walk rate. At the same time, Schimpf struck out in nearly 32 percent of PAs. His swing-and-miss tendencies carried into 2017, when he fanned 35.5 percent of the time and saw his overall production plummet. Across 197 PAs, Schimpf hit .158/.284/.424 (88 wRC+) with 14 HRs, but he continued to rack up fly balls (63.9 percent) and walks (13.7 percent).
The 27-year-old Perez lost his spot on the Angels when they designated him for assignment earlier this week to make room for Shohei Ohtani‘s promotion. Perez amassed upward of 280 PAs with the Angels in both the 2015 and ’16 campaigns, but the addition of Martin Maldonado last year helped limit him to just 21 big league trips to the plate. Over 595 PAs with the Angels, Perez batted .224/.267/.332 (64 wRC+). On the defensive side, Perez threw out an impressive 38 percent of would-be base stealers (far above the 30 percent league average) during his Angels tenure, though he did draw minus pitch-framing marks from 2015-16. With no options remaining, Perez will have to go through waivers if the Braves attempt to demote him to the minors.
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/31/18
We’ll use this post to keep track of some minor moves from around MLB…
- The Phillies have released right-hander Shane Watson, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. Watson had been with the organization since it used a supplemental first-round pick (No. 40 overall) on him in 2012. Injuries, a Type 1 diabetes diagnosis and a 50-game suspension for a non-PED drug policy violation beset Watson during his Phillies tenure, however. He climbed to the Double-A level for the first time in 2017 and posted a 4.10 ERA/5.60 FIP with 4.86 K/9 and 4.32 BB/9 across 83 1/3 innings.
Earlier moves:
- The Dodgers have signed catcher Cael Brockmeyer to a minor-league contract, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reports on Twitter. Brockmeyer was released by the Cubs earlier this week; he’ll report to the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate. Brockmeyer hit .179/.256/.308 last season with Chicago’s Double-A affiliate with a 27% strikeout rate, but still received a promotion to Triple-A late in the season. Hoornstra adds that the team released minors catcher Shawn Zarraga in a related move.
- The Reds have released infielder Darnell Sweeney, tweets C. Trent Rosencrans of The Athletic. Sweeney had been in spring training camp as a non-roster invite; he hit .287/.355/.420 across 363 plate appearances last season for the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate, though his .347 BABIP suggests that at least a bit of good fortune was involved in that batting line.
Blue Jays Outright Sam Moll
Left-hander Sam Moll cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A, the Blue Jays’ PR account has announced. Moll was designated for assignment earlier this week when the club selected the contracts of John Axford and Tyler Clippard.
Moll worked his way through the 40-man rosters of the Athletics, Pirates, Mariners and Blue Jays this offseason, but less than a week into the season he’ll be forced to settle for a Triple-A salary. The southpaw allowed eight earned runs in just 6 2/3 innings last season in his first taste of major league action.
Still, there’s some semblance of upside for the 26-year-old Moll, who managed a 3.64 ERA between the Triple-A affiliates of the A’s and Rockies last season. He’s long been effective at inducing ground balls, and topped 70% for his ground ball rate last year at Triple-A.
Braves Designate Akeel Morris
The Braves have designated right-hander Akeel Morris for assignment. Morris’ 40-man spot will go to Josh Ravin, whose contract the club has purchased from Triple-A Gwinnett. Left-hander Rex Brothers has been optioned to make room for Ravin at the big-league level.
Morris, 25, made his big league debut with the Mets in 2015, but didn’t appear again in the majors until last July. He struck out nine hitters and allowed just one earned run across 7 1/3 innings for the Braves during his second stint, though he did walk four hitters. Even in Triple-A last season, the righty only managed a 32% ground ball rate and sported a 4.44 BB/9 mark.
Similarly, the right-handed Ravin walked nine hitters in just 16 2/3 innings with the Dodgers last season, and ended the campaign with a bloated 6.48. He did, however, manage to strike out 10.62 batters per nine innings. That’s where the 33-year-old’s upside lies; he had a whopping 14.01 K/9 across 35 1/3 Triple-A innings last season.