Mets Sign Blake Beavan To Minor League Deal
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Mets have signed right-hander Blake Beavan to a minor league contract, per the team’s transactions page at MLB.com. Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Review Journal tweets that the former Mariners/Rangers right-hander could join the team’s Triple-A club. It’s been nearly three years since Beavan’s last appearance in the Majors and nearly a decade since the Rangers selected him with the 17th overall pick in the ’07 draft. The 28-year-old Beavan is probably best known for being one of four players traded from the Rangers to the Mariners in exchange for Cliff Lee, but he never developed into a reliable big league arm. In 293 innings with Seattle from 2011-14, Beavan struggled to a 4.61 ERA with 4.2 K/9 against 1.4 BB/9. He spent the 2016 season in indy ball and was in the Mexican League this year, where he’d logged a 3.79 ERA with a 24-to-3 K/BB ratio through his first 35 2/3 innings. Beavan gives the Mets some depth to an injury-ravaged rotation mix.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/4/17
We’ll track the day’s minor moves in this post…
- The Brewers announced today that they’ve traded minor league outfielder Victor Roache to the Dodgers in exchange for cash or a player to be named later. A former first-round pick (28th overall, 2012), the now-25-year-old Roache has yet to ascend beyond the Double-A level in his minor league career. Roache has appeared with Double-A Biloxi in each of the past three seasons but mustered a timid .234/.313/.391 batting line in that time. The Georgia Southern product was off to a woeful .176/.238/.230 start through his first 80 plate appearances prior to today’s trade. Baseball America’s most recent scouting report on him (No. 24 in the Brewers’ system in the 2015-16 offseason) praised his strong power skills but also noted his lack of discipline and defensive limitations.
- Another former Brewers first-rounder, southpaw Jed Bradley, has decided to retire, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). He’d been pitching for the Orioles‘ Double-A affiliate. Tabbed with the 15th overall pick back in 2011, Bradley was touted as one of the game’s best overall pitching prospects in the year or two following the ’11 draft, but his stock tumbled considerably, in part due to injuries. The former Georgia Tech star did make his Major League debut last season, tossing seven innings for the Braves.
Earlier Moves
- The Tigers have sold the contract of righty Jake Brigham to Korea’s Nexen Heroes, per a club announcement. Brigham, 29, is a former sixth rounder who reached the majors in 2015 with the Braves. But he struggled in that stint and hasn’t been back since. Brigham had not yet appeared with the Detroit organization since signing a minors pact over the winter. Last year, he pitched in Japan, throwing 34 1/3 innings of 5.24 ERA ball with 7.1 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9.
Twins Option Kyle Gibson
The Twins announced after Thursday’s game that right-hander Kyle Gibson has been optioned to Triple-A Rochester. A corresponding 25-man move will be announced tomorrow.
On the one hand, it’s not much of a surprise that the 29-year-old Gibson has lost his rotation spot after a dismal start to the season. However, it’s also not all that common to see a player with three-plus years of service time and a $2.9MM salary optioned to Triple-A. (In that sense, the situation is similar to the demotion of Wily Peralta in Milwaukee last season.) While Minnesota could’ve experimented with Gibson in the bullpen, they’ll instead allow him to try to sort out whatever is plaguing him in the minors.
Shoulder issues torpedoed Gibson’s 2016 season with the Twins (5.07 ERA, 6.4 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 in 147 1/3 innings), but despite the fact that he’s now seemingly healthy, the former first-round pick has turned in an even worse performance in 2017. After being tagged for four runs on eight hits and three walks in four innings today, Gibson’s ERA sits at 8.20. He’s averaged just 5.5 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9, and his once-excellent ground-ball rate has dipped from roughly 54 percent to 47.4 percent.
It’s not yet clear how Minnesota will fill Gibson’s spot in the rotation. The Twins have already optioned fifth starter Adalberto Mejia to Triple-A and selected the contract of righty Nick Tepesch to assume that spot in the rotation. Candidates to fill Gibson’s spot would presumably include Tyler Duffey (though he’s thrived in a multi-inning relief role thus far), top prospect Jose Berrios (who is dominating in Triple-A but was shelled in the Majors last year) and the aforementioned Mejia.
From a service time vantage point, Gibson’s demotion will only cost him in the long run if it proves to be a lengthy stay in Triple-A. He’s projected to reach free agency upon completion of the 2019 season as things stand at present, and that would only be delayed by a year in the event that he spends 67 or more days in the minors.
For the Twins, getting Gibson back on track would be a critical boost to what has been a surprisingly strong season thus far. Minnesota currently has a 14-12 record and a +12 run differential that ranks eighth among Major League teams. If Gibson were to return to the form he showed in 2015, when he tossed 194 2/3 innings of 3.84 ERA ball (with 6.7 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 53.4 percent ground-ball rate), it’d go a long way toward solidifying the rotation. And even if the team were to begin trending in the other direction, a healthy and effective Gibson could certainly draw some interest at the non-waiver trade deadline for teams looking to round out the back of their rotations.
Blue Jays Claim Neil Ramirez
The Blue Jays have claimed righty Neil Ramirez off waivers from the Giants, per a club announcement. San Francisco had recently designated him for assignment.
Ramirez, who’ll soon turn 28, was knocked around in his 10 1/3 innings on the year with the Giants, coughing up 15 earned runs. But he retired 18 batters via strikeout while only issuing four free passes. Optimists can also point to Ramirez’s current .500 BABIP and 33.0% strand rate — both of which are unlikely to continue at such extremes.
Toronto will plug Ramirez onto the active roster, as he’s out of options. The club will hope the luck can turn for the righty, who has struggled with injury in recent years but has at times been quite impressive. Thus far in 2017, he has shown an increase in average fastball velocity (to 92.8 mph) and swinging-strike rate (12.6%) as against his 2016 numbers.
Athletics Place Sean Doolittle On 10-Day DL, Designate Cesar Valdez
7:45pm: A’s manager Bob Melvin suggested to reporters that Doolittle could be facing an extended absence (link via MLB.com’s Jane Lee).
“We’ve seen this over the course of the last couple of years, that when this pops up, we need to be careful with him,” said Melvin. “I don’t know this is going to be a quick thing. This is a tough loss for us. … Obviously we have our fingers crossed, but my guess is we’re going to be conservative with him.”
2:38pm: The Athletics have announced a series of roster moves involving their bullpen. Lefty Sean Doolittle has been placed on the 10-day DL with what the team is describing as a shoulder strain, while righty Cesar Valdez was designated for assignment.
Oakland will promote two righties to take the open roster spots. Bobby Wahl and Josh Smith are each headed to the majors for the first time this year — and the first time ever in Wahl’s case. The 25-year-old Wahl (Oakland’s No. 18 prospect, per MLB.com) will bring an upper-90s heater that occasionally reaches triple digits to the Oakland ‘pen. Wahl has a history of missing bats at a lofty rate but has struggled to limit walks. Smith, meanwhile, has a career 5.46 ERA in 92 1/3 innings with the Reds but was sporting an outrageous 21-to-3 K/BB ratio through 13 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season.
[Related: Oakland Athletics Depth Chart]
It’s rough news for Doolittle, who has dealt with frequent arm issues in recent seasons but had been in fine form thus far. The 32-year-old has allowed three earned runs on five hits and a single walk through his 7 2/3 frames, while retiring 11 batters via strikeout. Doolittle had been in at least a partial share of the team’s closing duties in Oakland, but it seems likely now that fellow veteran Santiago Casilla will handle the vast majority of ninth-inning duties with Doolittle on the shelf.
Injuries are nothing new for Doolittle, who has generally been excellent when healthy but has had durability issues since inking a five-year, $10.5MM extension with Oakland that spans the 2014-18 seasons. The former infielder is earning a reasonable $2.6MM salary in 2017, and he’s guaranteed $4.35MM in 2018 as well (plus a $500K buyout of a $6MM option for 2019). Since signing that deal, Doolittle has had four separate DL stints for shoulder troubles (including this latest trip).
As for the 32-year-old Valdez, he returned to the Majors this season for the first time since the 2010 campaign — a fairly remarkable layoff from which to return. Valdez appeared in four games with the A’s, including one start, but was tagged for 10 runs on 14 hits and four walks with just five strikeouts in a total of 9 1/3 innings. It seems likely that he’ll be able to clear waivers and remain with the organization as a depth option for later in the season.
Rockies Select Contract Of Ryan Hanigan, Activate Mike Dunn From DL
The Rockies announced that they’ve selected the contract of veteran backstop Ryan Hanigan, giving the club an additional option behind the plate with starting catcher Tony Wolters on the disabled list due to a concussion sustained in yesterday’s game. A 40-man roster move was not necessary, as the Rockies were only carrying 39 players on the 40-man prior to today’s moves. Colorado also announced that lefty Mike Dunn has been activated from the DL, with right-hander Carlos Estevez being optioned to Triple-A to clear a 25-man roster spot.
The 36-year-old Hanigan struggled to the worst season of his career with the Red Sox in 2016, hitting just .171/.230/.238 in 113 plate appearances while missing time with neck and ankle injuries. The longtime Reds backstop inked a minors deal with the Phillies this offseason but latched on with the Rockies after he didn’t make Philadelphia roster in Spring Training.
Thus far in 2017, Hanigan has hit well in the admittedly hitter-friendly environs of Colorado’s Triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque. Through his first 13 games and 50 plate appearances, Hanigan is batting .282/.360/.359 with three doubles.
Dunn’s return will be a boon to the Rockies’ relief corps, as he’d gotten off to a terrific start with his new club in the first season of a three-year, $19MM contract. Dunn has yielded just one run on five hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings.
Mariners Outright Casey Fien
WEDNESDAY: The Mariners have announced that they’ve outrighted Fien to Triple-A Tacoma.
TUESDAY: The Mariners have designated righty Casey Fien for assignment, per a team announcement. Seattle has also placed infielder Shawn O’Malley on the 60-day DL to clear another 40-man spot.
These moves were designed to open the door to two new members of the big league bullpen. The M’s purchased the contracts of righties Jean Machi and Emilio Pagan. First baseman Dan Vogelbach was optioned to open another active roster spot.
Fien was already outrighted off of the 40-man roster earlier in the year, accepting an assignment at Triple-A (in part, perhaps, in order to keep his salary under the MLB deal he signed over the winter). Unfortunately, he had another poor outing upon returning to the majors and now carries a 15.00 ERA through six innings on the year.
The 35-year-old Machi has not pitched in the majors since 2015. But he has thrown eight spotless innings thus far at Tacoma. Pagan, 25, is set for his MLB debut. The former tenth rounder has worked to a 3.27 ERA over his 11 frames at Triple-A this year, allowing just five hits while racking up 18 strikeouts against seven walks.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/3/17
We’ll keep tabs on the day’s minor moves in this post …
- The Blue Jays announced that they have released catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. He had been designated for assignment recently. Saltalamacchia opened the year as the team’s reserve catcher, but never got it going offensively. The high-power, high-K switch-hitter did more of the latter, going down on strikeouts 16 times while recording only a single base hit over 26 trips to the plate. Saltalamacchia also struggled last year, though he did hit a dozen long balls in just 292 plate appearances.
- Angels lefty Greg Mahle was outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers, per a club announcement. The 24-year-old was working at Salt Lake already, but gave up his 40-man spot when the team had a need for more pitching at the MLB level. Mahle reached the bigs last year, but struggled to a 5.40 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9 in his 18 1/3 innings.
Pirates Outright John Bormann
The Pirates have outrighted catcher John Bormann, per a club announcement (h/t John Dreker of PiratesProspects.com). That leaves Pittsburgh with a pair of open 40-man spots.
Bormann, 24, received his first MLB call-up recently when the organization had a sudden need for a backstop. He did get a single plate appearance, though he struck out. Of course, Bormann wasn’t expected to see the majors anywhere near so soon as this. He has only just reached the High-A level and had struggled there in the early going.
Pittsburgh already moved earlier this week to install a more viable replacement, recalling Elias Diaz. The club is carrying three catchers while waiting for Francisco Cervelli to return to health.
Noah Syndergaard Could Miss 3 Months, Headed For 2nd Opinion
The initial news on the torn lat of Mets ace Noah Syndergaard is not terribly promising. As Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports on Twitter, “initial conservative estimates” place his expected absence at about three months.
Syndergaard, the hulking righty who has emerged as one of the game’s top starters, left his most recent outing with the injury. It wasn’t clear at the time just how long he’d be down, but it seems that the initial look from the doctors suggests a lengthy absence. Syndergaard is headed to visit Dr. Neal ElAttrache to obtain a secon opinion, per Sherman.
That’s devastating news for a Mets organization that is already scuffling through a poor start while dealing with other injuries. In particular, Steven Matz and Seth Lugo are already missing from the starting staff, making it even harder to cover for the loss of Syndergaard.
Of course, there’s really no replacing a pitcher like Syndergaard, who seemed on track to replicate his outstanding 2016 season. Before his disastrous final outing, when he left after 1 1/3 ineffective innings, Syndergaard had allowed just five earned runs over 26 frames while racking up thirty strikeouts without issuing a single walk.
That Syndergaard took the ball at all on Sunday has already turned into a sub-drama. He had been dealing with a biceps issue but declined to undergo an MRI. Whether that would’ve prevented the injury isn’t really clear, but the focus has remained on the handling of the situation by the righty and the organization.