Red Sox To Purchase Contract Of Kyle Kendrick
The Red Sox will purchase the contract of righty Kyle Kendrick to start on Thursday, as Tim Britton of the Providence Journal was among those to report on Twitter. It seems the organization will open a 40-man spot by placing an injured player (likely Tyler Thornburg) to the 60-day DL.
Kendrick, 32, hasn’t seen the majors since a woeful stint with the Rockies two seasons ago. But he is the clear veteran option for the organization, which was already missing David Price from its rotation when Steven Wright went down to a knee injury.
It’s not yet clear just how long Wright will be out. But he is said to be seeing a specialist for a second opinion on the knee, as Evan Drellich of CSNNE.com tweets, which could at least hint there’s some potential consideration of a surgical option of some kind.
Though Kendrick hasn’t fared well thus far at Triple-A, with a 6.00 ERA over 27 innings, he does carry a solid-enough mix of 6.7 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9. The less-experienced alternatives — Brian Johnson and Henry Owens — have outperformed Kendrick and already have 40-man spots, but Boston evidently would prefer to see them continue refining their work in the upper minors.
Rays Activate Colby Rasmus, Designate Shane Peterson For Assignment
The Rays have activated outfielder Colby Rasmus from the disabled list and designated fellow outfielder Shane Peterson for assignment in order to clear a spot on the active roster, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).
The 30-year-old Rasmus inked a one-year, $5MM contract with Tampa Bay this offseason but sat out the first month of the year as he continued recovery from offseason core muscle and hip surgeries. The veteran is capable of handling all three outfield slots but will presumably work mostly in left field due to the presence of defensive star Kevin Kiermaier in center field. Rasmus joins an outfield mix that also includes Steven Souza, Peter Bourjos and Corey Dickerson.
Last season was a struggle for Rasmus, as he followed up a productive 2015 season (.238/.314/.475, 25 homers) with a woeful .206/.286/.355 slash and 14 home runs. Rasmus was plagued during the season by a cyst in his inner ear that had to be surgically removed — an issue that cost him more than a month of the 2016 campaign. Given that inner-ear issue and the offseason surgeries he had to address a hernia and a torn labrum in his hip, it’s perhaps not surprising that Rasmus had somewhat of a lost year at the plate in his second season in Houston.
Peterson, 29, appeared in 14 games for the Rays and hit fairly well, posting a .263/.317/.395 batting line over the life of 41 plate appearances. The former Brewers and Athletics outfielder has plenty of action at all three outfield slots and has a very strong .298/.383/.470 batting line in 418 Triple-A games (1808 plate appearances).
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/1/17
We’ll track the day’s minor moves here:
- The Mariners have acquired minor-league third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean from the Reds, per an announcement from Triple-A Louisville (via Twitter). It’s not yet known what Cincinnati will receive in return. Mejias-Brean is a 26-year-old who was taken in the eighth round of the 2012 draft out of the University of Arizona. At times, he has been considered one of the organization’s better prospects. But his star has faded in recent years as the early promise has not translated to the upper minors. Over 546 total plate appearances at Triple-A since the start of 2016, Mejias-Brean has slashed just .232/.293/.310 with six home runs.
Brewers Designate Tommy Milone For Assignment
The Brewers announced that they’ve designated left-hander Tommy Milone for assignment and selected the contract of right-hander Rob Scahill from Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Milone, 30, opened the season as the lone left-hander on the Brewers’ roster, and his departure will give Milwaukee an all-right-handed staff (h/t: MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, on Twitter). The former Nationals, Athletics and Twins hurler has been a fairly regular contributor in the Majors in each of the past five big league seasons, but Minnesota elected to outright him following the 2016 season rather than give him a raise on last year’s $4.5MM salary.
The soft-tossing Milone got quality results in the Oakland and Minnesota rotations from 2012-15, averaging 25 starts per season to go along with a 3.98 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9. However, he slipped to a 5.71 ERA last year in Minnesota and ultimately lost his rotation spot. Milone’s ERA has continued to balloon in Milwaukee, where he’s logged a 6.43 mark through his first 21 frames, though his outstanding 16-to-2 K/BB ratio lends some optimism for a turnaround.
Milone is on a very affordable one-year deal that came with a mere $1.25MM base salary. Of that modest sum, just $1.05MM remains, so he’d make for a reasonable pickup should any club with rotation injuries wish to make a claim on waivers (or a minor trade). That said, Milone’s ceiling as a back-of-the-rotation starter, his recent struggles and the remaining cash on his deal could allow him to pass through waivers. At that point, he’d have the right to refuse a minor league assignment in favor of free agency, although as a player with fewer than five years of Major League service time, doing so would mean forfeiting the remaining money on his contract. As such, if has passes through waivers unclaimed, it seems likely that he’d remain in the organization and hope to work his way back to the Major League roster.
Rockies Activate Ian Desmond, Designate Cristhian Adames
As expected, the Rockies have activated Ian Desmond from the disabled list. Desmond will make his 2017 debut in left field Sunday for the Rockies and take the roster spot of infielder Cristhian Adames, whom the team has designated for assignment.
Adames, a member of the Rockies organization since 2008, first appeared in the majors in 2014 and has since hit just .206/.283/.278 in 343 career plate appearances. The majority of his work (256 PAs) came last year, when he batted .218/.304/.302. The 25-year-old collected another 14 big league PAs this month and failed to record a hit, also striking out six times and walking only once.
Giants Designate Neil Ramirez For Assignment
The Giants have designated reliever Neil Ramirez for assignment and selected the contract of fellow reliever Bryan Morris from Triple-A, according to a club announcement.
Ramirez inked a minor league deal with the Giants over the winter and then made the team’s Opening Day bullpen. Things didn’t go well for the 27-year-old, though, as he threw 10 1/3 innings with the Giants this month and allowed 15 earned runs on 16 hits. However, Ramirez did post a lofty strikeout total (18) while limiting walks (four). His issues preventing runs this season have stemmed from a somewhat high home run-to-fly ball ratio (13.3 percent). The long ball was an even bigger problem last year for Ramirez, who spent time with the Cubs, Twins and Brewers and allowed homers on 21.1 percent of fly balls, leading to a 6.00 ERA across 24 innings.
In 57 2/3 frames with the Cubs from 2014-15, Ramirez only surrendered HRs at a 4.3 percent clip. Thanks in part to that stinginess, and a 10.61 K/9 and 3.59 BB/9, he recorded a 1.87 ERA during those two seasons. Ramirez has long had difficulty generating ground balls, however, as the 2007 first-round pick has done so just 28.3 percent of the time in 92 career big league innings.
Like Ramirez, the 30-year-old Morris signed a minors pact with the Giants during the offseason. Although he has registered below-average strikeout and walk rates per nine (6.4 and 3.77), the former Pirate and Marlin owns an impressive 2.80 ERA in 280 innings. He has helped his cause with a 58.6 percent grounder rate.
Rangers Claim Pete Kozma From Yankees
The Rangers have claimed infielder Pete Kozma off waivers from the Yankees, per an announcement from New York. Texas will make a corresponding move to create room for Kozma when he reports, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
The 29-year-old Kozma had been in limbo since the Yankees designated him for assignment Friday, which came when the team activated shortstop Didi Gregorius from the disabled list. Kozma appeared in 11 games this month for the Yankees, though he only collected 10 plate appearances. The ex-Cardinal didn’t play in the majors at all last season, instead spending the year with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate. Kozma hit a non-threatening .222/.288/.293 in 693 plate appearances with St. Louis from 2011-15, but he did provide quality work at shortstop with 11 Defensive Runs Saved and a 9.9 Ultimate Zone Rating in 1,432 innings at the position.
For Texas, the addition of Kozma could lead to a minor league demotion for former star prospect Jurickson Profar, Grant suggests (on Twitter). In 15 games this year, most of which have come in left field, Profar has posted a .135/.289/.135 line across 46 PAs. He hasn’t appeared in a game since April 25.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/30/17
Sunday’s minor moves:
- Pirates catcher John Bormann is going from Single-A to the majors. The Pirates have selected Bormann’s contract and optioned outfielder Danny Ortiz to Triple-A, per a team announcement. Bormann, whom the Bucs chose in Round 24 of the 2015 draft, has hit just .232/.282/.310 in 328 low-minors plate appearances since joining the Pittsburgh organization. His promotion might be an indicator of health troubles with starting catcher Francisco Cervelli, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests (on Twitter). It’s unclear what could be wrong with Cervelli – although he’s off Sunday, he caught the Pirates’ previous five games and has appeared in 22 of 23 contests this season. Cervelli previously missed a large chunk of 2016 with a broken hamate bone in his left hand.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/29/17
Saturday’s minor moves:
- The Giants’ Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento has released left-hander Ricky Romero, who first joined the organization in 2015. Romero combined for just 30 2/3 innings with the Giants at two minor league levels, including 14 2/3 frames of 6.75 ERA pitching with Sacramento this season. The 32-year-old had been a highly effective starter with the Blue Jays from 2009-11, a 613-inning span in which he logged a 3.60 ERA, 7.24 K/9, 3.54 BB/9 and a 54.6 percent ground-ball rate. That output led the Jays to give Romero a five-year, $30.1MM contract in 2011, but his performance fell off drastically the next season and he has thrown just 7 1/3 major league frames since. Romero underwent elbow surgery in 2012, perhaps contributing to his on-field woes, and Toronto released him in 2015.
Giants Place Brandon Crawford On 10-Day DL
The Giants have announced that they’ve reinstated shortstop Brandon Crawford from the bereavement list and placed him on the 10-day disabled list with a right groin strain, retroactive to Wednesday.
Crawford left Tuesday’s game due to the groin strain, which he experienced while running the bases. The team then recalled fellow infielder Kelby Tomlinson to take his place on the active roster. Rookie Christian Arroyo has started in Crawford’s place.
Crawford had already been scheduled to leave the club on Wednesday to attend a family funeral, so he has effectively served three of the ten days required for a stint on the DL. There has been no official word on the severity of his injury, although he would, obviously, be able to return quickly if it turned out to be minor.
Crawford was batting .263/.284/.434 in the early going. He has been one of the Giants’ top players in each of the last two seasons, posting a combined fWAR of 10.3 in 2015 and 2016 while batting .273/.335/.431 with outstanding defense.