Giants Release Jarrett Parker
The Giants have released outfielder Jarrett Parker after he cleared waivers, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports tweets. He had been designated for assignment recently.
It’s somewhat surprising to hear that the San Francisco organization is parting with Parker entirely after deciding not to keep him in the majors. The 29-year-old has at times been seen as a potentially useful MLB asset, but it seems the club just didn’t have the space available at Triple-A and decided to allow Parker to explore other possibilities.
Parker did go down on strikes twenty times in his 48 plate appearances this spring, but also ended up posting a healthy .561 slugging percentage. He’s a .274/.368/.503 hitter at Triple-A and has hit at better than a league-average rate in his 382 career MLB plate appearances, so there’s little question that Parker will draw some interest from other organizations.
Brewers Sign Dan Jennings, Move Jimmy Nelson To 60-Day DL
FRIDAY: The deal has been announced. Milwaukee opened a 40-man spot by shifting righty Jimmy Nelson to the 60-day DL. That will mean he can’t debut until the end of May, though he was not expected back before then anyway.
First baseman/DH Ji-Man Choi — whose eye-opening spring surprisingly earned him a MLB roster spot — was optioned to create room on the active roster.
WEDNESDAY: The Brewers are in agreement with left-hander Dan Jennings, pending a physical, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). I’m told it’s a Major League pact for the veteran southpaw.
The ACES client was released by the Rays earlier this week, and Tom Haudicourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel suggested earlier tonight that the Brew Crew was pursuing an external pitching addition that could carry 25-man roster implications (Twitter links). Specifically, Haudicourt implied that Ji-Man Choi, who won a spot on the Brewers’ Opening Day roster but has an option remaining, could be sent to Triple-A early in the season once this deal is finalized.
Jennings, 31 next month, was somewhat surprisingly cut loose by the Rays earlier this week. He’d agreed to a $2.375MM salary with Tampa Bay earlier this winter, avoiding arbitration, and the Rays’ decision to cut him loose means they’ll be on the hook for about $584K of that sum (45 days’ termination pay). He’ll pocket that sum in addition to the guarantee to which he agreed on his new deal with the Brewers.
The decision to cut Jennings had been speculated upon but was nonetheless somewhat of an eye-opener, as the veteran southpaw posted a strong 3.45 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and a 59.8 percent ground-ball rate in 62 2/3 frames between the White Sox and Rays last season. Opposing lefties hit just .213/.323/.306 in 128 plate appearances against Jennings. Moreover, the Rays traded at least a somewhat notable prospect, first baseman Casey Gillaspie, in order to acquire Jennings.
He’ll now join a Brewers bullpen that saw its left-handed depth take a hit with an injury to fellow veteran Boone Logan, who looks likely to miss six or more weeks with a strained triceps muscle.. As an added bonus, Jennings enters the year just a single day shy of five years of MLB service. Because of that, the Brewers will be able to control him through the 2019 season via arbitration as opposed to just the 2018 season.
All told, Jennings will bring to the Brewers a veteran arm with a career 2.90 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and a 55.2 percent ground-ball rate to a Brewers’ bullpen that also features closer Corey Knebel and setup men Jeremy Jeffress, Josh Hader, Matt Albers and Jacob Barnes.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Braves Place Tyler Flowers On DL, Select Contract Of Miguel Socolovich
Braves catcher Tyler Flowers has been placed on the 10-day DL with a strained left oblique muscle, the team announced. No timeline for his return was given, but oblique issues tend to sideline a player for a month or more. In a pair of corresponding moves, Atlanta has selected the contract of right-hander Miguel Socolovich and transferred left-hander Jacob Lindgren to the 60-day DL. Lindgren recently underwent Tommy John surgery.
The 32-year-old backstop suffered the injury in his first at-bat of the season in yesterday’s opener. As Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted yesterday after Flowers exited the game, he’d been slowed by a groin issue in Spring Training that created enough concern for the Braves to carry three catchers to begin the season. Veteran Chris Stewart made the Braves’ roster after signing a non-guaranteed big league deal this offseason, and he’ll now likely serve as the backup to Kurt Suzuki for the foreseeable future, as Suzuki steps into the role of manager Brian Snitker’s primary catcher.
It’s a tough blow for the Braves, who enjoyed a career year from Flowers in 2017. Long regarded as a quality defensive catcher, Flowers took his offensive game to new heights last season when he slashed .281/.378/.445 with a dozen homers in 370 trips to the plate. That marked a continuation of the improvements he showed in his first season of a two-year deal (plus a 2018 option) with the Braves, as Flowers has followed up seven underwhelming offensive campaigns with the White Sox to hit .276/.368/.433 for the Braves — the team that originally selected him in both the 2004 and 2005 drafts.
With Flowers on the shelf, Atlanta will look to Suzuki to build upon on his own career year from 2017. The 34-year-old Suzuki hit .283/.351/.536 with a career-best 19 homers last year in 309 PAs for the Braves. Rather than test the open market, Suzuki instead agreed to a one-year, $3.5MM extension with Atlanta late last September.
Socolovich, 31, has spent the past three seasons in the Cardinals organization, totaling 66 1/3 innings of relief work and posting a 3.80 ERA with 7.7 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 44.1 percent ground-ball rate. Socolovich has averaged just 90.6 mph on his heater in that time but has gotten by thanks to a knack for limiting hard contact (27.8 percent hard-hit rate, 16.4 percent line-drive rate) and inducing pop-ups (14.4 percent infield-fly rate).
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/30/18
Here are Friday’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Orioles released southpaws David Holmberg and Hunter Cervenka, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. The 28-year-old Cervenka appeared in five games with the Marlins last season and has struggled to the tune of a 4.69 ERA in 48 big league innings between Atlanta and Miami. He’s long shown the ability to miss bats in the minors but has also had an ongoing battle with his control. Holmberg, meanwhile, tossed 57 2/3 frames for the ChiSox in 2017, working to a 4.68 earned run average with averages of 5.2 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9. The former second-rounder hasn’t had much big league success but has been serviceable in 299 2/3 Triple-A innings (4.23 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 2.9 BB/9).
Cubs Claim Cory Mazzoni
The Cubs have claimed righty Cory Mazzoni off waivers from the Dodgers, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). That’s a reversal of a recent transaction in which the 28-year-old went from Chicago to Los Angeles.
Mazzoni has had no success in minimal MLB opportunities and was knocked around this spring. He’s also not far removed from a significant shoulder surgery that limited him to just two appearances in 2016 and 38 1/3 total innings last year. Evidently, though, these large-budget contenders have identified something about the former second-round draft pick.
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/29/18
We’ll use this post to catch up on some recent minor moves …
- Veteran catcher Derek Norris and right-hander Enrique Burgos were released by the Tigers yesterday, tweets Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. Both had previously been reassigned to minor league camp after being informed that they wouldn’t crack the Opening Day roster. Norris went 7-for-17 with a homer in camp for Detroit, while Burgos was tagged for six runs in 4 2/3 innings with the big league team. Both will look to latch on elsewhere and work their way back to the majors.
- In a minor swap for an unknown return, the Phillies acquired Dean Anna from the White Sox, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link). The 31-year will give the Phils some infield depth, though they will surely hope not to have a need for it at the MLB level. Anna has scant MLB experience but has been playing at Triple-A since 2013. Most recently, he posted a .285/.364/.376 slash at the highest level of the minors with the Royals in 2017.
- The Pirates have released a group of minor-leaguers, John Dreker of Pirates Prospects reports (subscription link). The most prominent among them are outfielder Barrett Barnes and hurlers Cody Dickson and John Stilson. Barnes was the former 45th overall pick but did not stand out in brief action at the Triple-A level last year. Dickson is a former fourth-rounder who topped out at Triple-A last year, while Stilson has never yet received an MLB opportunity despite compiling a 2.75 ERA in 131 Triple-A innings.
- The Twins have released former first-round pick Levi Michael, according to LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (via Twitter). Michael, 27, was taken with the 30th overall pick in the 2011 draft out of the University of North Carolina. A middle infielder who has also tried some time in center more recently, Michael has just never really turned the corner. For an organization rich in young infielders, he evidently was not worth keeping around. Michael did briefly reach the Triple-A level last year after a decent bounceback showing in Double-A, where he slashed .264/.362/.380.
- Among the other players set free of late was former MLB catcher Johnny Monell, who was released by the Rays, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). Monell, who recently turned 32, had returned to affiliated ball after a one-year tour with Korea’s KT Wiz. He has seen only limited time in the majors but does sport an appealing .278/.350/.460 lifetime batting line at Triple-A.
Giants Place Mark Melancon On Disabled List, Select Gregor Blanco
2:55pm: Melancon spoke to reporters about his injury today and described the pain he’s feeling as similar to the pain he felt last season when a pronator strain limited him to 30 innings (Twitter link via Kerry Crowley of the San Jose Mercury News). More troubling is the fact that the right-hander revealed he cannot throw from more than 30 feet without experiencing pain.
Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets that Melancon said he felt pain all spring when pitching, but the discomfort increased substantially when he attempted to pitch on consecutive days. He’ll see a specialist when the Giants are in Los Angeles.
11:11am: The Giants announced that they’ve placed Mark Melancon on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to March 26, with a flexor strain in his right elbow. San Francisco also placed Rule 5 pick Julian Fernandez on the 60-day DL to open the season, clearing a 40-man spot to select the contract of outfielder Gregor Blanco, who’ll officially return for another stint with the Giants. With Melancon on the shelf, the Giants will likely look to Sam Dyson and Hunter Strickland as potential ninth-inning options.
It’s not yet clear how long Melancon will be sidelined, though he missed a significant portion of the 2017 season — his first with the Giants after signing a then-record four-year, $62MM contract — due to a pronator strain in his right forearm. Melancon posted a 4.50 ERA in just 30 innings with the Giants last season, though his peripheral numbers were considerably better, and fielding-independent metrics were far more bullish than his more rudimentary ERA (3.22 FIP, 3.24 SIERA).
Blanco, 34, was a mainstay with the Giants from 2012-16 before jumping to the D-backs last offseason. He impressed with a .303/.405/.576 slash in 43 plate appearances this spring, but he’s struggled to a .234/.323/.333 batting line across the past two big league campaigns. He’ll give manager Bruce Bochy some depth across the board in the outfield and a potential left-handed complement to Austin Jackson, Hunter Pence and/or Andrew McCutchen when needed.
Blanco’s addition to the roster means the Giants prospect Steven Duggar will open the season in the minors, though the organization hopes that Duggar will force his way into the mix later this season and hold down a long-term spot in the outfield.
White Sox Outright Jose Ruiz
The White Sox announced that right-hander Jose Ruiz has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Class-A Winston-Salem. The move drops Chicago’s 40-man roster to a total of 39 players.
The ChiSox picked up Ruiz, 23, off waivers from the Padres back in December after San Diego designated the converted catcher for assignment. Ruiz somewhat surprisingly made the sizable leap from Class-A Advanced to the Majors in 2017 season, though he only threw a single inning with the Padres’ big league club. He tossed a career-high 49 2/3 innings in 2017 with the Padres’ Class-A Advanced affiliate, struggling to a 5.98 ERA but also 8.2 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9.
Ruiz averaged better than 95 mph on his heater in his lone MLB inning, though he obviously has a ways to go in terms of honing his control and further gaining experience on the mound before he emerges as a viable big league bullpen option.
Red Sox Select Contracts Of Bobby Poyner, Marcus Walden
The Red Sox announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contracts of left-handed reliever Bobby Poyner and right-handed reliever Marcus Walden. In order to clear a necessary 40-man roster slot, Boston placed infielder Marco Hernandez on the 60-day DL as he recovers from a surgical revision of last year’s shoulder operation. Boston also placed Austin Maddox, Dustin Pedroia and Tyler Thornburg on the 10-day disabled list.
Poyner, 25, pitched to a superb 1.49 ERA with 12.5 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 60 1/3 innings split between High-A and Double-A in 2017, and he impressed Red Sox brass perhaps even more this spring. In 10 1/3 Grapefruit League frames, Poyner allowed just one run on four hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. He’ll break camp with the team as its top left-handed relief option despite the fact that he’s never appeared in a Triple-A game — let alone a Major League contest.
Walden, 29, will also be making his big league debut the first time he steps onto a Major League mound. He’s been on the 40-man roster with the Blue Jays (his original organization) and the Athletics, but he’s topped out at Triple-A to this point. In parts of three seasons at that level, Walden has a 4.30 ERA with 6.4 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9, but like Poyner, he turned in a dominant spring effort. In 14 frames, Walden yielded just one earned run on six hits and four walks with 16 strikeouts.
Orioles Designate Four Players, Set Opening Day Roster
The Orioles set their Opening Day roster Thursday, announcing that they’ve designated right-handers Alec Asher, Stefan Crichton, Michael Kelly and Jesus Liranzo for assignment. Their 40-man spots will go to Pedro Alvarez, Colby Rasmus, Craig Gentry and Danny Valencia. Mark Trumbo and Gabriel Ynoa, meanwhile, will open the season on the 10-day DL. Right-hander Alex Cobb will open the year in Double-A as he ramps up after signing late in Spring Training.
Asher, 26, appeared in 24 games for the O’s last season, including six starts, totaling 60 innings of work with a 47-to-23 K/BB. While Asher showed that he can work out of both the rotation or bullpen in multi-inning stints, he struggled to a 5.25 ERA and yielded 10 homers in last year’s 60 frames with the O’s. Asher does sport a quality 3.75 ERA in 170 1/3 innings of Triple-A work, where he’s averaged 6.4 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9. He has also has a minor league option remaining, so he could make sense for a team in need of some rotation depth.
Crichton, also 26, debuted with the Orioles last year, though he tossed just 12 1/3 innings in the Majors. In that brief sample, he yielded 11 runs on a whopping 26 hits and four walks with eight strikeouts and a 46 percent ground-ball rate. The former 23rd-rounder did average better than 94 mph on his heater in the bigs, though, and he logged a strong 3.02 ERA with 9.4 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and 0.38 HR/9 in 47 2/3 Triple-A innings. He has a pair of minor league options remaining.
The 25-year-old Kelly has never appeared in the big leagues, but he nonetheless scored a Major League contract from the O’s this past offseason on the heels of a strong Double-A showing with the Padres’ San Antonio affiliate in 2017. The former No. 48 overall pick worked to a 2.89 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 with a 44.2 percent ground-ball rate in 89 Double-A innings before being roughed up in his second go-around at the Triple-A level (albeit in an extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League setting).
Liranzo, 23, also comes without big league experience, but Baseball America ranked him 19th among Orioles farmhands this offseason. Liranzo isn’t lacking for velocity and has the upside of a quality bullpen piece, but he’s struggled with control throughout his pro career, including last season when he averaged six walks per nine innings pitched and posted an unsightly 4.85 ERA in 65 Double-A innings with the Orioles’ Bowie affiliate.
Each of Alvarez, Gentry and Valencia have been with the Orioles before. Alvarez’s stay with the team could be directly tied to Trumbo’s rehab, as each projects primarily as a DH. A brief experiment with Alvarez as an outfielder didn’t prove fruitful for the O’s last season, and they’re largely set at the infield corners as well. Gentry can back up at all three outfield spots and provide some speed off the bench, while Valencia provides a right-handed complement to Chris Davis as well as some insurance at third base and in the outfield corners.
As for Rasmus, it seems likely that he’ll receive fairly regular reps in right field after signing a minor league contract this winter. He showed well in a limited sample with the Rays last season before incurring an injury and ultimately stepping away from the game to be with his young family midway through the ’17 season.