Angels Designate Greg Mahle For Assignment
The Angels have designated lefty Greg Mahle for assignment, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The move clears space on the Angels’ 40-man roster for righty Jose Valdez, who was promoted today along with fellow righty Daniel Wright as the team placed C.J. Cron and Tyler Skaggs on the disabled list.
The 24-year-old Mahle pitched 18 1/3 innings of relief as a rookie for the 2016 Angels, posting a 5.40 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 while throwing his fastball in the 89-MPH range. He’s pitched ten innings this season for Triple-A Salt Lake.
The Angels outrighted Jose Valdez in November after he pitched 23 1/3 innings of relief with a 4.24 ERA and 8.5 K/9 but a way-too-high 6 2/3 BB/9 in 2016. He has pitched just twice for Salt Lake since April 20, so he should provide the Angels’ bullpen with a fresh arm.
Angels Place C.J. Cron On DL
The Angels have placed first baseman C.J. Cron on the disabled list with a foot injury, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Lefty starter Tyler Skaggs also appears likely to head to the DL with oblique trouble. Both players left yesterday’s game against the Rangers — Cron fouled a ball off his foot, while Skaggs told the team he felt a “pinch” in his right side (as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register explains). The Angels have promoted righties Jose Valdez and Daniel Wright, evidently to take the place of Cron and Skaggs on their active roster.
Cron was off to a poor start to his season, batting just .233/.277/.267 while showing little of the power he demonstrated while hitting 16 home runs in each of the last two years. Luis Valbuena is currently several games into a rehab assignment after beginning his season on the DL with a hamstring strain, and he appears likely to take most of the playing time at first should Cron be out for a significant duration.
Skaggs, of course, has had his fair share of injuries, undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2014 and dealing with biceps tendinitis last season. Yesterday, though, he told reporters he was not worried about his current oblique issue. “I am not very concerned,” he said, via Fletcher. “We haven’t talked about an MRI or anything. We’ll take it day to day. … This is a small bump in the road.” Of course, the existence of the 10-day DL would allow the Angels to remove Skaggs from their active roster for only a brief period of time, meaning that it would not necessarily indicate a serious problem if the Angels were to place him there. Skaggs has posted a 3.99 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 29 1/3 innings so far this season.
Athletics Outright Raul Alcantara
SATURDAY: The A’s have announced that they’ve outrighted Alcantara to Triple-A Nashville. They also reinstated infielder Joey Wendle (shoulder) from the DL and optioned him to Nashville.
TUESDAY: The Athletics announced on Tuesday that they’ve designated right-hander Raul Alcantara for assignment as part of a series of roster moves. Additionally, Oakland has placed Rajai Davis on the 10-day disabled list due to a hamstring injury. Right-hander Cesar Valdez and outfielder Ryan LaMarre have been recalled from Triple-A Nashville to fill out the 25-man roster.
Alcantara, 24, made the Athletics’ roster out of Spring Training, though that decision seemingly stemmed in part from the fact that he is out of minor league options. Alcantara struggled tremendously through three appearances (one start) to open the season, however. Through seven innings, the once well-regarded prospect has yielded 13 earned runs (15 total runs) for a sky-high 16.71 ERA. Alcantara has surrendered 10 hits, including three homers, and walked five batters against just two punchouts on the season. That ugly stat line represents a continuation of last season’s woes. In a total of 29 1/3 Major League innings, Alcantara has a 9.51 ERA with a 16-to-9 K/BB ratio and six hit batsmen.
Those struggles notwithstanding, Alcantara certainly has shown some promise in the minors. He was once well-regarded enough to be shipped from Boston to Oakland in a significant trade for then-closer Andrew Bailey, though Josh Reddick clearly proved to be the cornerstone piece of that deal for the A’s. Alcantara, though, posted a 1.18 ERA with a 32-to-3 K/BB ratio through 45 Triple-A innings as recently as last season and has a career 3.52 ERA with 6.3 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9 throughout his minor league tenure — a total of 588 1/3 innings.
Dodgers Sign Max Muncy To Minor-League Deal
The Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers have announced that their parent club has signed infielder Max Muncy, apparently to a minor-league deal. He’ll play for Oklahoma City.
The Athletics outrighted Muncy last winter. He played a handful of games with them in Spring Training, but it appears they released him at some point. He has not yet appeared in the Majors or minors in the regular season.
The 26-year-old Muncy has collected 245 big-league plate appearances with the A’s over the past two seasons, batting .195/.290/.321. He’s batted .262/.355/.407 while playing five positions (first, second, third and the outfield corners) over his career at the Triple-A level, indicating that he’s a solid depth option in the high minors, perhaps especially for a team like the Dodgers, who currently have a variety of position players on the DL.
Rays, Tigers Complete Mikie Mahtook Trade
The Rays have acquired righty Drew Smith from the Tigers, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). He represents the player to be named later from the trade that sent outfielder Mikie Mahtook to Detroit over the winter.
Smith, 23, was taken in the third round of the 2015 draft out of Dallas Baptist University. Coming into the current season, Smith rated as the Tigers organization’s 17th-best prospect, per MLB.com, owing to his solid four-seam fastball and quality curve.
Smith has risen to the High-A this year and is off to a nice start. In 11 2/3 frames over seven relief appearances, he has permitted just one earned run on four his while racking up a dozen strikeouts against four free passes. Though Smith has dealt with control issues at times and isn’t really seen as having a future in a rotation — despite the fact that he often appears for multiple innings — he seems reasonably likely to make it up to the majors in relatively short order.
The 27-year-old Mahtook, meanwhile, has struggled to a .179/.281/.321 batting line in 32 plate appearances for the Tigers. But he has generally put up good numbers in his time at Triple-A and showed well in his 2015 debut with Tampa Bay. If he can move towards a league-average batting line, Mahtook could be quite a useful player, as he is regarded as a quality up-the-middle defender.
Blue Jays Designate Jarrod Saltalamacchia
2:51pm: Toronto has announced that Saltalamacchia was designated for assignment to make way for Maile.
2:38pm: The Blue Jays have decided to make a move to swap out reserve backstops, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. The precise move isn’t yet clear, but Jarrod Saltalamacchia will be removed from the roster to make room for Luke Maile.
Saltalamacchia, who’ll soon turn 32, had struggled badly early this year. He made the club after joining on a minor-league deal, but had recorded just one hit and one walk over his first 26 plate appearances — with a dreadful 16 strikeouts on his ledger. Saltalamacchia was also struggling to control the running game, as Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith notes on Twitter.
As for Maile, he only just joined the organization in a waiver claim. The Jays’ front office suggested it was high on the 26-year-old, so it’s not particularly surprising to see him earn an opportunity. Though he hasn’t hit much in his brief time in the majors — or in his time at Triple-A since arriving from the Rays — Maile is valued for his glove.
Yankees Designate Pete Kozma, Activate Didi Gregorius
The Yankees announced on Friday that they’ve activated shortstop Didi Gregorius from the disabled list and designated infielder Pete Kozma for assignment to clear a spot on the 25-man roster.
The 27-year-old Gregorius has missed the entire season to date due to a strained right shoulder. Kozma was added to the Yankees’ roster to serve as a backup to Ronald Torreyes, who has been filling in at short, though Torreyes will now presumably slide into that utility role that Kozma had held. In 11 plate appearances with the Yanks, Kozma collected one hit and a walk. Well regarded for his defense at shortstop, Kozma is a career .221/.286/.290 hitter in 699 plate appearances — the vast majority of which came with the Cardinals from 2011-15.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/27/17
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- First baseman/left fielder Chris Marrero has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Sacramento by the Giants, the team announced earlier today. Marrero, 28, broke camp as part of a left-field platoon with Jarrett Parker but struggled to a .132/.171/.211 batting line through 41 plate appearances. The former first-round pick (Nationals, 2006) had a strong year with the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in 2016 and delivered a huge performance in Spring Training. That output clearly didn’t carry over into the regular season, but given the uncertainty surrounding the Giants’ left field mix at present, Marrero could resurface later in the year if he performs well in Sacramento. The Giants noted that Marrero will be joining their Sacramento affiliate tomorrow.
- The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander T.J. McFarland and moved Shelby Miller to the 60-day disabled list to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Miller, as he announced earlier this afternoon, is dealing with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament and a flexor strain. McFarland, 27, logged a 2.76 ERA in 58 2/3 frames with the 2014 Orioles but has struggled in 65 innings since that time, working to a 5.68 ERA with 4.6 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9. When at his best, McFarland held opposing lefties to a combined .246/.309/.330 batting line in a total of 194 plate appearances between the 2014-15 campaigns.
Cardinals Outright Anthony Garcia
Cardinals outfielder Anthony Garcia has cleared waivers and been outrighted off the 40-man roster, per the club’s transactions page at MLB.com. It doesn’t appear as if there will be an immediate corresponding move, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Garcia’s outright was more about keeping an open roster spot on the 40-man for the future than for accommodating a new addition.
The 25-year-old Garcia hit .280/.317/.473 in 31 games following a promotion from Double-A Springfield to Triple-A Memphis in 2016, which was apparently enough to secure his spot on the 40-man roster over the course of the offseason. However, a .162/.225/.270 start through his first 40 plate appearances of the 2017 campaign likely contributed to his departure from the 40-man roster.
While Garcia played some center field and even did some catching early in his career after being selected in the 18th round of the 2009 draft, he’s been almost exclusively a corner outfielder in each of the past two seasons (with the exception being one lone appearance at first base in 2015).
Marlins Claim Joe Gunkel
The Marlins have announced the claim of righty Joe Gunkel off waivers from the Dodgers. He has been optioned to Double-A Jacksonville, where he’ll serve as a near-MLB-ready depth option for the Fish.
Gunkel, 25, has bounced from the Red Sox to the Orioles to the Dodgers over the past 18 months before today’s arrival in the Marlins organization. Though he’s yet to crack a Major League roster and hasn’t generated considerable prospect fanfare — he topped out as the No. 20 prospect in a weak Orioles farm system this past offseason, per Baseball America — it’s not hard to see why he’s held appeal to so many clubs.
A former 18th-round pick, Gunkel has displayed pristine control throughout his minor league career, averaging just 1.5 walks per nine innings pitched over the life of 439 1/3 frames. And, as recently as 2015, thre righty posted a combined 2.68 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9 in 144 2/3 innings between Class-A Advanced and Double-A.
In 2016, Gunkel’s ERA took a step backward (4.02), but he turned in a career-high 161 innings between Double-A and Triple-A while still showing off a staunch aversion to free passes (1.2 BB/9). Gunkel averaged 6.1 K/9 and induced grounders at a roughly 41 percent clip between those two levels. Gunkel has three minor league options remaining, meaning that he can be shuttled back and forth between the minors and Majors without first needing to clear waivers from now through the end of the 2019 campaign (if he ultimately sticks with one organization).