Joe Nathan To Formally Announce Retirement
Six-time All-Star Joe Nathan will formally announce his retirement in a press conference at Target Field on Friday, the Twins announced. The Twins will not only host Nathan’s press conference, they’ll honor arguably the best reliever in franchise history in a pregame ceremony prior to Friday’s game against the Royals.
Nathan, 42, broke into the Majors as a 24-year-old with the Giants in 1999, but he didn’t establish himself as a quality big league reliever until his age-28 season in San Francisco. Few would’ve predicted that he’d go on to solidify himself as one of the best relievers on the planet in the years to come, but the Twins were the beneficiary of Nathan’s late-blooming right arm. Minnesota acquired Nathan, Francisco Liriano and right-hander Boof Bonser from the Giants in exchange for the final year of A.J. Pierzynski‘s contract in a swap that would help to serve as a foundational move for a sustained run of division contenders in the final years of the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
Nathan spent eight years in a Twins uniform (though his 2010 season was lost to Tommy John surgery), during which time he posted a sensational 2.16 ERA with averages of 10.9 strikeouts and 2.6 walks per nine innings pitched. From 2004-09, in particular, Nathan dominated to the tune of a 1.87 ERA with an average of 41 saves per season. Overall, Nathan saved 260 games for the Twins from 2004-11, helping Minnesota to the postseason in 2004, 2006 and 2009 (in addition to a Game 163 playoff against the White Sox in 2008).
Following his time in Minnesota, he enjoyed two excellent seasons with the Rangers before signing one last significant contract: a two-year deal with the Tigers. Nathan struggled in his first season in Detroit, then missed nearly the entire second season of that pact due to another Tommy John surgery.
Undeterred by another UCL tear at the age of 40, Nathan rehabbed his elbow and worked his way back to the big leagues at the tail end of the 2016 season, tossing a combined 6 1/3 scoreless innings for the Cubs and the Giants. He inked a minor league deal with the Nationals this winter but wasn’t able to crack the team’s big league roster in Spring Training. After two months pitching for Washington’s Triple-A affiliate, Nathan requested his release.
Nathan’s career will officially come to a close with a 64-34 record and 377 saves. He’ll retire with a lifetime 2.87 ERA, 9.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, roughly 27 wins above replacement under his belt (per rWAR and RA9-WAR) and more than $86MM in career earnings. Twins fans will remember Nathan for his quirks on the mound, his leadership on the pitching staff and one of the most prolonged stretches of dominance of any pitcher in Twins history. Congratulations to Joe on an outstanding career.
Blue Jays Select Contract Of Brett Anderson
The Blue Jays announced on Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Brett Anderson. Right-handed reliever Leonel Campos was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo to clear a spot on the active roster for Anderson. Toronto already had an open 40-man spot, which Anderson has now filled.
As Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet writes, the match between Anderson and the Jays has been years in the making, in some regards. Former GM Alex Anthopoulos thought he’d struck a deal to acquire Anderson from the Athletics in exchange for Sergio Santos back in the 2013-14 offseason, but medical concerns torpedoed the deal at the last minute, per Nicholson-Smith.
Anderson’s arrival in Toronto this time around is under considerably different circumstances. The 29-year-old is now a veteran of four different teams and has demonstrated occasional flashes of excellence while otherwise struggling to stay healthy. Anderson gave the Dodgers 180 1/3 innings of 3.69 ERA ball back in 2015 — enough for Los Angeles to make him a qualifying offer that was then valued at $15.8MM. Anderson became one of the first players to accept the deal, hoping to pad his earning potential with a second consecutive healthy season. However, a back injury limited him to 11 1/3 innings in his second season with the Dodgers.
That injury made Anderson’s decision to accept the QO look especially wise, and it also limited him to a one-year, $3.5MM contract with the Cubs in free agency this past winter. Back issues once again hindered Anderson earlier this summer, and the Cubs eventually designated the lefty for assignment and released him on the heels of an 8.18 ERA through 22 innings. Anderson has pitched 9 2/3 innings with the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate since signing a minors pact and has allowed just one run; he’ll now hope to occupy a rotation spot down the stretch in hopes of improving his free-agent stock.
As Nicholson Smith notes above, Anderson will be the 14th person to start for the Blue Jays in a 2017 season that has been punctuated by injuries to Aaron Sanchez, J.A. Happ, Josh Donaldson, Devon Travis and Troy Tulowitzki (among many others). He’ll draw a tough first task in a Blue Jays uniform, as he’s slated to start tonight against an imposing Red Sox lineup.
Rays Designate Taylor Featherston
The Rays have designated infielder Taylor Featherston for assignment, optioned righty Chih-Wei Hu to Triple-A and activated right-hander Matt Andriese from the disabled list, tweets Bill Chastain of MLB.com.
Featherston, 27, was acquired in the middle of the year from the Phillies. He has seen limited time this year at the major league level, batting .179/.277/.359 in his 47 trips to the plate. He has continued to struggle at the plate in the upper minors, too, posting a cumulative .248/.329/.386 slash in his 280 plate appearances at Triple-A between the two organizations.
Though Andriese functioned as a starter earlier in the year, he’ll work from the pen at least initially, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Andriese, who turns 28 today, turned in a dozen quality outings (3.54 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 3.1 BB/9) earlier this season and ought to represent a notable addition to the staff down the stretch.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/28/17
Here are Monday’s minor moves throughout the league…
- The Mariners announced that they’ve once again selected the contract of right-hander Christian Bergman from Triple-A Tacoma, with fellow righty Dan Altavilla being optioned out to open a 25-man roster spot. This marks the third time that the Mariners have added the 29-year-old Bergman to the 40-man roster in 2017 alone. The former Rockies hurler has twice been designated for assignment as well, accepting outright assignments to Tacoma in both instances. Bergman has tossed 51 1/3 innings for the Mariners this season and averaged 5.8 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 with a 38 percent ground-ball rate. The resulting 4.91 ERA (5.62 FIP, 5.18 xFIP, 4.99 SIERA) isn’t especially inspiring, but Bergman adds some length to a Mariners pitching staff that has been ravaged by injuries in 2017. As for the 24-year-old Altavilla, he tossed three innings in yesterday’s game, so he wouldn’t have been available for a couple of days anyhow.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/27/17
Sunday’s minor moves from around baseball:
- The Reds selected the contract of right-hander Tyler Mahle before Sunday’s game against the Pirates and optioned fellow righty Luke Farrell to Triple-A Louisville (updated depth chart). The 22-year-old Mahle, who made his big league debut with a start on Sunday, earned his way to the majors with a combined 2.06 ERA, 8.6 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 144 1/3 innings between the Double-A and Triple-A levels this season. Baseball America (No. 78), FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen (No. 85) and MLB.com (No. 86) each regard Mahle as one of the sport’s 100 best prospects. The 2013 seventh-round pick has a mid-rotation ceiling, per MLB.com, which notes that he’s a “command and control specialist” who brings a low-90s fastball that can touch 96 mph and average secondary offerings to the table.
Royals To Place Danny Duffy On 10-Day Disabled List
SUNDAY: Manager Ned Yost announced Sunday that Duffy has a “low grade pronator strain,” per Dodd, who notes that the Royals are hopeful he’ll only sit out one start. In a worst-case scenario, Duffy would miss three weeks (Twitter link).
SATURDAY: The Royals will place left-hander Danny Duffy on the 10-day DL due to a left elbow impingement (Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star was among those to report the news). Lefty Onelki Garcia‘s contract has been purchased from Triple-A in a corresponding roster move, with Bubba Starling going to the 60-day DL to create 40-man roster space, as per MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. Eric Skoglund, another southpaw, will fill Duffy’s spot in the rotation and start tomorrow’s game.
This is the second time Duffy has hit the disabled list this season, as the southpaw previously missed over five weeks due to an oblique strain. No timetable is yet known for Duffy’s elbow issue, though any time missed is a big setback for a Royals club that is battling for the postseason (entering today 1.5 games behind the Twins for the second wild card spot).
Duffy has a 3.78 ERA, 3.22 K/BB rate and 7.97 K/9 over 131 innings this season. While obviously Duffy and K.C. were hoping for better health in the first season of Duffy’s five-year, $65MM extension signed last January, the lefty has been worth 3.1 fWAR this year, already more than the 2.8 fWAR he generated over 179 2/3 IP in his breakout 2016 season. Duffy is achieving quality results despite losing just under two miles per hour in fastball velocity (down to 92.9mph) from 2016, though he has also thrown his fastball much less than usual while increasing usage of his slider, changeup and curveball.
Garcia signed a minor league deal with the Royals in the offseason, and he has a 4.75 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 2.09 K/BB rate over 85 1/3 Triple-A frames this season, holding left-handed hitters to a .653 OPS. Garcia’s only previous big league experience came in 2013, when he pitched in three games (1 1/3 innings) for the Dodgers.
Blue Jays Designate T.J. House
The Blue Jays announced that they have designated left-hander T.J. House for assignment and recalled right-hander Joe Biagini from Triple-A Buffalo.
Toronto only added House to its 40-man roster last week, and the 27-year-old went on to make a pair of appearances and allow one earned run on three hits and one walk, with one strikeout, in two innings before his designation. House has spent the majority of the season in Buffalo, where he has logged a 4.27 ERA, 7.16 K/9 and 4.27 BB/9 through 130 2/3 innings, after inking a minor league deal with Toronto over the winter. He also toiled in the minors for nearly all of the 2016 campaign as a member of the Indians, with whom he spent the first nine years of his professional career after going in the 16th round of the 2008 draft.
House looked like a quality major league starter in the making during his best season, 2014, when he rode a 60.9 percent ground-ball rate and elite control (1.94 BB/9) to a 3.35 ERA across 102 innings in Cleveland. Unfortunately, House hasn’t come close to posting that type of production since shoulder problems knocked him off course in 2015.
Rangers Acquire Paolo Espino, Designate Tanner Scheppers
The Rangers have acquired right-hander Paolo Espino from the Brewers for cash considerations and designated fellow righty Tanner Scheppers for assignment, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. Espino will report to Triple-A with his new organization.
The Brewers designated Espino on Wednesday after the 30-year-old had a difficult 17 2/3-inning major league debut with the club this season. Across six appearances and two starts, Espino logged a 6.11 ERA with 6.62 K/9 against 4.08 BB/9. He has been better this year at Triple-A (4.52 ERA, 8.68 K/9, 1.67 BB/9 in 75 2/3 frames) and has generally fared well at that level since ascending to it in 2010. He’s now in his fourth organization since the Indians chose him in the 10th round of the 2006 draft.
Scheppers, also 30, is certainly the more proven major leaguer of the two, but his career has gone off the rails thanks in part to a spate of injuries over the past several seasons. At his best, the 2009 first-round pick was a key member of the Rangers’ bullpen in 2013, after which Texas attempted to turn him into a starter. The hard-throwing Scheppers took the ball for the Rangers to open the 2014 season, but he only totaled four starts in eight appearances that year and posted a 9.00 ERA in 23 innings. He hasn’t worked extensively in the majors since recording a 5.63 ERA and a 5.4 BB/9 in 38 1/3 relief innings in 2015. Scheppers’ struggles have continued this season with Triple-A Round Rock, where he has registered a 5.05 ERA despite passable strikeout and walk numbers (6.8 K/9 and 2.72 BB/9) through 46 1/3 frames.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/26/17
Here are the latest minor moves from around the game, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…
- The Reds outrighted right-hander Nefi Ogando to Triple-A, according to Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). Ogando has been limited to just 5 1/3 minor league innings this season due to a hand injury, and then a shoulder injury suffered while rehabbing his hand. The hard-throwing Ogando has a 3.86 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 1.69 K/BB rate over 373 1/3 career innings in the farm systems for four different teams (Reds, Marlins, Phillies, Red Sox) in his eight-year pro career. Ogando has also had a couple of brief stints at the big league level with Miami and Philadelphia over the last two seasons.
- The White Sox purchased the contract of catcher Rob Brantly from Triple-A, in a corresponding move to the 10-day DL placement of outfielder Nicky Delmonico. Brantly has spent the entire season with the Triple-A affiliates of the White Sox and Reds, coming to Chicago’s organization in late June after being released by Cincy. He’ll be looking for his first taste of MLB action since 2015, when he appeared in 14 games in a previous stint with the White Sox.
Earlier Today
- The Rays outrighted Trevor Plouffe to Triple-A after the third baseman cleared waivers, the team announced. Plouffe was designated for assignment earlier this week. Acquired by the Rays from the Athletics in June, Plouffe hasn’t produced much in either uniform in 2017, hitting a combined .204/.274/.325 over 281 PA. One would think Plouffe will be a candidate to rejoin the Rays when rosters expand in September, though a new space will have to be found on their 40-man roster.
- The Reds selected the contract of catcher Chad Wallach from Triple-A Louisville prior to yesterday’s game. The move was made to replace Stuart Turner, who went on the paternity list. Even if it may be a brief stint as Cincy’s backup catcher, it still represents the first big league callup for Wallach, a fifth-round pick for Miami in the 2013 draft and the owner of a .259/.350/.387 slash line over 1477 plate appearances in the minors. Wallach, the son of longtime Expos/Dodgers third baseman and current Marlins bench coach Tim Wallach, joined the Reds in December 2014 along with Anthony DeSclafani in the trade that sent Mat Latos to Miami.
Indians Select Craig Breslow’s Contract, Designate Diego Moreno
The Indians have selected the contract of veteran left-hander Craig Breslow from Triple-A Columbus, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports (via Twitter). In corresponding moves, lefty Ryan Merritt was optioned to Triple-A and right-hander Diego Moreno was designated for assignment.
Breslow signed a minor league deal with the Tribe earlier this month after being released by the Twins at the end of July. Breslow posted a 5.23 ERA, 1.5 K/BB and 5.2 K/9 over 31 innings for Minnesota, though those unimpressive overall numbers mask some glaring splits. Right-handed hitters accounted for much of the damage against Breslow this season, while he held left-handed hitters to just a .200/.279/.257 slash line (over 44 PA).
With Andrew Miller on the DL, Breslow adds some veteran depth to a Cleveland bullpen that only has one other left-hander (Tyler Olson, who is yet to allow a run over 10 innings pitched this season). Miller isn’t expected to be out of action long, and when he returns after the September 1 roster expansion, so the Tribe will have their multi-inning threat as well as two southpaws in Breslow and Olson who can handle more specific situations against lefty bats late in games.
Moreno was claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay last month and he has since made six appearances for Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate. Moreno has a 2.97 ERA, 9.3 K/9 and 3.7 K/BB rate over 424 2/3 career innings over ten years in the minors, as well as a 5.06 ERA over two brief stints in the big leagues (10 1/3 IP with the Yankees in 2015 and 5 2/3 IP with the Rays this season).