Giants Designate Drew Stubbs For Assignment
The Giants have designated outfielder Drew Stubbs for assignment and purchased the contract of outfielder Justin Ruggiano from Triple-A in a corresponding transaction, the team announced.
[Updated Giants depth chart at Roster Resource]
Stubbs was signed to a minor league deal in early April and was promoted two weeks ago, though the veteran provided only two hits and a .258 OPS in 24 plate appearances. While Stubbs posted strong numbers in a regular role for Colorado in 2014 and has a good career slash line against left-handed pitching, he has generally been a below-average hitter for his career, more known for his defense and base-running than his production at the plate.
Both Stubbs and Ruggiano are right-handed hitters with the ability to play all three outfield spots, with Ruggiano offering a bit more pop (in the form of a .258/.322/.438 career slash over 1416 PA). Once Ruggiano appears in a game for the Giants, they will be the eighth different team Ruggiano has suited up for over parts of nine seasons in the bigs.
The Giants entered the season lacking in outfield depth, a situation that has only worsened with Denard Span, Jarrett Parker, and minor league signing Melvin Upton Jr. all hitting the disabled list. Ruggiano’s outfield versatility will help the bench, though he adds another right-handed bat to a Giants roster that is already lacking in lefty-swingers.
Rays Designate Justin Marks For Assignment
The Rays have designated southpaw Justin Marks for assignment, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter links). In a corresponding move, right-hander Erasmo Ramirez has been reinstated from the paternity list.
Tampa just selected Marks’ contract on Friday, and he allowed a run in 1 1/3 innings of work during the Rays’ 8-4 loss to the Blue Jays last night. It was only the lefty’s sixth career MLB game, as Marks previously received cups of coffee with the Rays last season and with the Royals in 2014. Originally a third-round pick for the Athletics in the 2009 draft, Marks has bounced around to several different organizations and posted a 4.56 ERA over 815 2/3 IP at the minor league level.
Marks is one of four players currently in “DFA limbo,” as per the MLB Trade Rumors DFA Tracker, joining the Brewers’ Tommy Milone, the Blue Jays’ Mat Latos and the Twins’ Danny Santana.
Marlins Place Wei-Yin Chen On 10-Day DL With Tired Arm
The Marlins have placed left-hander Wei-Yin Chen on the 10-day DL with what the club is describing as a tired arm, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Tim Healey and others reported. Chen is expected to miss just one start (his scheduled outing today), as an MRI didn’t reveal anything serious. Righty Odrisamer Despaigne has been called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move in order to start today’s game.
[Updated Marlins depth chart at Roster Resource]
As Healey reported two weeks ago, Chen has been pitching through a slight UCL tear, so the uneventful MRI is certainly a good sign for both the pitcher and the team. The downside, of course, is that the Marlins are suddenly facing an even larger short-term rotation deficit, as Edinson Volquez was placed on the DL earlier this week due to a blister issue. Both Chen and Volquez aren’t expected to miss much time, though manager Don Mattingly said that rehabbing southpaw Jeff Locke will be stretched out to give Miami more rotation depth.
Chen has a 4.33 ERA, 6.7 K/9 and 2.22 K/BB rate over 27 innings for the Fish this season. The lefty is looking to rebound from an injury-shortened first season in Miami (his first year of a five-year, $80MM contract) that saw him post a 4.96 ERA over 123 1/3 innings. Chen can opt out of his contract this winter, though he’d be leaving $52MM of his guaranteed on the table, which could be a risky proposition for a pitcher already dealing with some UCL damage.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/6/17
Here are the minor moves of the day:
- Rays outfielder Shane Peterson has cleared waivers, but will still have an opportunity to decide whether to accept an outright assignment, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. He had been designated for assignment recently. The 29-year-old has hit quite well in the upper minors, and was off to a solid-enough start with Tampa Bay (.263/.317/.395), but will need to await another opportunity at Triple-A or strike out on the open market.
- The Rockies have outrighted infielder Cristhian Adames after he cleared waivers, the team announced. Also a DFA casualty, Adames will take up residence at Albuquerque. The 25-year-old saw 121 games of action last year for Colorado, but was used minimally in the early going of the current season, failing to record a hit in 14 plate appearances.
- The Blue Jays have acquired catcher Pat Cantwell from the Rangers, per announcements from both teams. A player to be named or cash will head to Texas in return. The 27-year-old, a third-round pick in the 2012 draft, was off to a rough start this year at Triple-A. He has managed only a .226/.296/.265 batting line in 286 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors.
- After his recent release from the Orioles, outfielder Michael Choice has signed on with the Brewers on a minors deal, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). Once the tenth overall pick of the draft, Choice has bounced around in recent years. Choice was struggling badly at Triple-A with the O’s, with just a single hit in 32 plate appearances. He’ll report to Double-A with his new organization.
Eric Gagne Signs With Long Island Ducks
Former All-Star closer Eric Gagne, who has been on the comeback trail since participating in the WBC over the offseason, has signed on with the indy ball Long Island Ducks, the team announced. Gagne reportedly drew some interest from MLB organizations, but ultimately wasn’t able to find a minors deal.
Gagne, 41, will look to use his stint with the Ducks as a platform to returning to affiliated ball. He has seen brief Canadian indy ball action in the past two seasons, though this seems to represent a more concerted effort at making it back to the majors.
It would obviously represent a surprise if the former closer is able to accomplish his apparent goal, though certainly plenty of players have engineered similarly unexpected comeback tales. Gagne last pitched in the bigs in 2008, and you have to go back to 2004 to find a fully healthy and effective season. His career ultimately unraveled as he struggled to stay healthy after Tommy John surgery in 2005, all while embroiled in PED-related controversy. (He later admitted using HGH, alleging that he was far from alone among his peers.)
At his peak, though, Gagne was a rare force from the back of the Dodgers’ pen. After moving out of the rotation for good in 2002, he engineered a three-year run in which he compiled 247 innings of 1.79 ERA ball with 13.3 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9. He racked up 152 saves in that span and took home the National League Cy Young Award in 2003 — his best-ever campaign.
Mariners Option Mike Zunino, Recall Tuffy Gosewisch
The Mariners have sent catcher Mike Zunino down to Triple-A on optional assignment, the club announced (h/t Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, on Twitter). He’ll be replaced on the active roster by Tuffy Gosewisch, who’ll pair with veteran Carlos Ruiz behind the dish.
It’s no doubt disappointing for both player and team that he’s heading back down. There was plenty of renewed optimism for him after a resurgent late-2016 run in which he slashed .207/.318/.470 and hit a dozen home runs in 192 plate appearances.
Of course, at that point the former third-overall draft pick was already returning from a demotion. His power numbers and abilities behind the dish haven’t been enough to make up for a big problem with strikeouts. Through 80 plate appearances in 2017, the power has also dissipated. Zunino has gone down on strikes in 37.5% of his plate appearances and is hitting just .167/.250/.236 on the year.
The 33-year-old Gosewisch was acquired over the winter in order to provide depth. His track record in the majors — .199/.237/.286 through 416 plate appearances — doesn’t give much reason to think he’ll provide a major offensive boost. But perhaps he’ll be able to put up somewhat more palatable numbers while Zunino again looks to iron things out at Triple-A.
Twins Designate Danny Santana
The Twins have designated infielder/outfielder Danny Santana for assignment, as Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com was among those to report on Twitter. His roster spot was needed with utilityman Ehire Adrianza and righty Drew Rucinski headed onto the active roster. (The former was on the DL; the latter had his contract selected.)
Santana, 26, broke into the league with a stunning 2014 season in which he slashed .319/.353/.472 with seven home runs and twenty steals. But he also went down on strikes 98 times while drawing 19 walks, portending some difficulty maintaining that level of production.
As it turned out, Santana has fallen flat offensively ever since. It was much the same this year, as his playing time dwindled. All told, Santana has posted an anemic .225/.258/.310 batting line since the start of 2015. And though he has played up the middle in the infield and outfield, Santana hasn’t rated well at shortstop or in center.
Yankees Acquire Yoiber Marquina To Complete Nick Goody Trade
The Yankees have acquired righty Yoiber Marquina from the Indians, the clubs have announced. His transfer completes the offseason trade that sent righty Nick Goody to Cleveland.
Marquina, 21, has yet to appear this season and just underwent Tommy John surgery, as the Yankees announced in their press release. But he showed promise last year at the Class A level, throwing 31 1/3 innings of 3.16 ERA ball with 12.4 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9. Marquina is still developing after moving to the mound from behind the dish, as Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs has written, but he seems to be a reasonably intriguing arm — so long as the health issues can be overcome.
That seemingly represents a relatively strong return for a player who had been designated for assignment, as was the case for Goody — suggesting there may have been interest from other teams at the time. But Cleveland is faring rather well in the deal thus far. Goody, who has long shown plenty of swing-and-miss ability in the upper minors and even the majors, has been sensational in the early going. Through nine innings over six appearances, he has allowed no earned runs and just five total baserunners while recording nine strikeouts.
Blue Jays Designate Mat Latos, Claim Cesar Valdez
The Blue Jays have claimed Cesar Valdez off waivers from the Athletics, the clubs announced. He’ll open his tenure at Triple-A Buffalo on optional assignment. Toronto has designated righty Mat Latos to clear a 40-man spot.
Valdez, 32, made it back to the big leagues with the A’s after a long layoff. While he was hit hard in 9 1/3 frames — his first since way back in 2010 — the veteran evidently showed enough to catch Toronto’s eye. Valdez did make an interesting showing last year at Triple-A with the Astros, spinning 180 innings of 3.25 ERA ball with 7.0 K/9 against just 1.0 BB/9.
He’ll take over the 40-man spot that had been held by Latos, who was also occupying a spot in the MLB rotation. With Neil Ramirez heading onto the active roster after he, too, was claimed, there was a need to open space there as well.
Latos, who’s still just 29 years of age, made three starts for the Jays. But he lasted only 15 innings and gave up 11 earned runs on 19 hits — five of them homers — while compiling ten strikeouts against eight walks. On the positive side, Latos was sitting at 91.9 mph with his fastball, up a tick from last year, and had produced an 11.0% whiff rate in the short sample.
Diamondbacks To Select Contract Of Gregor Blanco
The Diamondbacks will select the contract of veteran outfielder and longtime division rival Gregor Blanco prior to tonight’s game, reports Tommy Stokke of FanRag Sports (Twitter link). Arizona’s 40-man roster is full, so a corresponding move will need to be made. (Injured right-hander Shelby Miller has already been moved to the 60-day DL, so they’ll need to look elsewhere to free up a spot.)
The 33-year-old Blanco inked a minor league deal with the D-backs this offseason and may have had a shot at cracking the Opening Day roster were it not for an oblique issue that slowed him late in Spring Training. He’s been rehabbing that injury thus far in 2017 and has hit quite well in six games with the Diamondbacks’ Class-A Advanced and Triple-A affiliates (nine hits, four stolen bases and a 6-to-3 K/BB ratio through 26 plate appearances).
Blanco, of course, is a known commodity in the NL West after having spent the 2012-16 seasons wearing a Giants uniform. In 649 career games with San Francisco (2054 plate appearances), he’s posted .259/.338/.360 batting line while seeing time all over the outfield. A reserve role in Arizona seems likely for Blanco, as each of Yasmany Tomas, A.J. Pollock and David Peralta is healthy at the moment (with the exception of a recent bout with the flu for Peralta).