Blue Jays Select Mat Latos, Designate Ty Kelly
The Blue Jays announced today that infielder Ty Kelly was designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to righty Mat Latos, whose pending call-up was reported recently.
The 28-year-old Kelly was only just acquired from the Mets through a waiver claim. He was optioned to Triple-A upon landing with the Toronto organization, and only got into two games of action before this latest roster move. Of course, he could still end up back at Buffalo if he clears waivers this time around — though Kelly would also have the opportunity to elect free agency instead.
Kelly has minimal experience in the majors, but has shown excellent contact ability and plate discipline in the upper minors. In six campaigns and over 1,500 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Kelly has compiled a .381 OBP (though he has slugged just .383) by drawing 230 walks against 237 strikeouts. He also brings some versatility to the table, with experience at second, third, and the corner outfield.
Brewers Designate Kirk Nieuwenhuis
The Brewers have designated outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis for assignment, per a club announcement. Lefty Brent Suter will come up to take his roster spot and bolster the club’s pen.
[RELATED: Updated Brewers Depth Chart]
Nieuwenhuis, 29, was off to a sluggish start in 2016. Over thirty trips to the plate thus far, he has just two hits and four walks. Nieuwenhuis was better last year, when he slashed .209/.324/.385 while appearing in 125 contests.
Parting with the left-handed-hitting Nieuwenhuis means that Milwaukee does not have a platoon option to go with center fielder Keon Broxton, who has struggled just as much in the early going. It’ll be interesting to see whether top prospect Lewis Brinson, who’s currently laying waste to Triple-A pitching, could end up getting a shot at some point in the near future.
It’s not yet known, of course, whether this will spell the end of Nieuwenhuis’s tenure in Milwaukee. If he clears waivers, he’d have the option to reject an outright assignment, though it’s also possible to imagine that he’d prefer to remain with the organization and wait for a roster spot to open.
Nationals Activate Trea Turner, Designate Grant Green
The Nationals have designated infielder Grant Green for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot was needed for shortstop Trea Turner, who’ll return from the 10-day DL.
Green was summoned recently when Stephen Drew joined Turner on the disabled list, leaving the Nats in need of another infielder. He saw only limited action, but this does mark the fifth consecutive season in which Green has cracked the majors. While opportunities have been fairly sparse, the 29-year-old hasn’t shown the ability to carry his successes at the plate in the upper minors into the majors.
As for Turner, it ended up being only a brief stop on the DL. Hamstring injuries are always concerning, especially for a player who derives so much value from his legs. But the club was evidently confident enough to bring him back rather quickly. That said, Turner isn’t in the lineup this evening and will likely be handled with care.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/20/17
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- Veteran right-hander Jim Miller has retired from playing (Twitter link). The 34-year-old, who last saw the Majors in 2015, was a reliable member of the Athletics’ bullpen back in 2012 when he tossed 48 2/3 innings with a 2.59 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9. Miller never saw much action outside of that stint, though, as he logged a total of 67 1/3 innings in the Majors with a 3.48 ERA. Miller, a veteran 13 minor league seasons, was with the Twins in Spring Training but has now decided to pursue opportunities in player development.
- The Athletics announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Cesar Valdez, who started tonight’s game for them. In order to clear a 40-man roster spot, they moved Marcus Semien, who is recovering from surgery to repair a fractured wrist, to the 60-day disabled list. Catcher Bruce Maxwell was optioned out to Triple-A to clear room on the active roster for Valdez. The 32-year-old Valdez’s appearance tonight somewhat remarkably represents his first Major League action since the 2010 campaign, when he made nine appearances (two starts) for the Diamondbacks. Valdez has just 20 Major League innings under his belt but has a 4.40 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 over the life of nearly 400 Triple-A innings in his career.
Mets Activate Jeurys Familia From Restricted List
The Mets announced on Thursday that closer Jeurys Familia has been activated from the restricted list after serving his 15-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. The team also recalled catcher Kevin Plawecki from Triple-A Las Vegas and optioned right-hander Rafael Montero and left-hander Sean Gilmartin to Vegas.
Familia, 27, will rejoin a Mets bullpen that currently ranks in the middle of the pack, league-wide, in terms of earned run average. Of course, that includes some problematic innings from Montero (seven earned runs, 6 2/3 frames), who was optioned out today upon Familia’s activation. While manager Terry Collins has said Familia will be eased back into the closer’s role, Addison Reed figures to see a few more save opportunities before Familia fully reclaims his previous role.
Familia was arrested back in early November after allegedly assaulting his wife, but the charges were dropped at his wife’s request the following month. As we saw last year in the suspensions of Aroldis Chapman and Jose Reyes, however, a lack of criminal charges is not necessarily an impediment to a suspension under the league’s still fairly new policy. Beyond his 15-game suspension (and the lost salary that accompanies that punishment — about $730K, in Familia’s case), the right-hander agreed to make a donation and speak to several rookie players on the matter. Familia also underwent extensive counseling sessions this offseason.
From a purely on-field vantage point, the return of Familia will be a boon to the Mets’ relief corps. Over the past three seasons, the hard-throwing righty has amassed 233 innings with a 2.20 ERA, 243 strikeouts and 70 unintentional walks. He led the National League with 51 saves in 2016, saved 43 games the year before and has led the Senior Circuit in games finished in each of the past two seasons (a combined 132 games).
Rangers Designate Mike Hauschild For Assignment
The Rangers have designated right-hander Mike Hauschild for assignment and selected the contract of right-hander Anthony Bass from Triple-A Round Rock, per a club announcement. Hauschild was the Rangers’ Rule 5 pick out of the Astros organization. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, the Rangers will have to offer him back to Houston for $50K.
The 27-year-old Hauschild made his big league debut for the Rangers this season, tossing eight innings but yielding an unsightly 10 earned runs on the strength of 14 hits and two walks. Of those 14 hits, five of them cleared the fence — further fueling Hauschild’s struggles. He did manage seven punchouts and a 48.3 percent ground-ball rate in his eight innings, but those modest silver linings weren’t enough to keep him on the team’s active roster.
Bass, 29, will be returning for his second stint with the Rangers. The 2008 fifth-rounder (Padres) spent the 2015 season with the Rangers, pitching to a 4.50 ERA with 6.3 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 64 innings as the team’s primary long reliever. Last season, he logged his first year in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, tossing 203 2/3 innings with a 3.65 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 as a member of the Nippon Ham Fighters.
Rangers Outright Tyler Wagner
The Rangers have outrighted right-hander Tyler Wagner to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. With the move, Texas has opened a second unclaimed spot on its 40-man roster.
Wagner, 26, was claimed off waivers last fall. He had reached the big leagues only briefly in each of the past two seasons, but had largely thrown well in the upper minors.
Thus far, however, Wagner has struggled at Triple-A Round Rock. Through 14 innings over three starts, he has allowed a dozen earned runs on 19 hits with as many walks as strikeouts (eight apiece). It seems he’ll continue to work from the rotation there.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/19/17
Here are the day’s minor moves from around baseball…
- The Rangers announced on Wednesday that they’ve signed veteran infielder Josh Wilson to a minor league contract. He’ll head to Triple-A, though it’s not clear if he’ll first make a stop in extended Spring Training. The 36-year-old Wilson is no stranger to Texas, having spent 24 games with the Rangers back in 2014. The versatile journeyman has seen Major League time with nine teams across parts of eight big league seasons, most recently appearing with the 2015 Tigers. Wilson is a career .229/.280/.319 hitter in 430 Major League contests and a lifetime .263/.324/.395 hitter in parts of 11 Triple-A seasons. Wilson spent the 2016 campaign with the independent Atlantic League’s York Revolution, appearing in 120 games and batting .255/.299/.383 with eight homers and 14 steals.
Giants Designate Tim Federowicz For Assignment
The Giants reinstated Buster Posey from the 7-day disabled list on Tuesday and designated backup catcher Tim Federowicz for assignment to clear a spot on the active roster (Twitter link via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area).
Federowicz, 29, appeared in two games for the Giants and picked up just three plate appearances while Posey was on the shelf. It seems likely that the Giants will try to pass Federowicz through waivers in the hope of keeping him in the organization as a depth option in the event of further injuries to either Posey or backup Nick Hundley. Federowicz has never hit that much in the Majors, but he’s a .304/.375/.511 hitter over the life of 304 Triple-A games and also slashed an impressive .323/.417/.625 in 21 games with the Giants this spring.
San Francisco selected Federowicz’s contract last week when Posey hit the disabled list due to concussion-like symptoms. The sequence of events may not sit especially well with Giants fans, as the quick roster shuffle cost the Giants longtime pitching prospect Clayton Blackburn, who was designated for assignment to clear a spot for Federowicz and traded to the Rangers. While Blackburn certainly isn’t a top-tier pitching prospect, and the Giants did acquire minor league infielder Frandy De La Rosa in that trade with the Rangers, Blackburn is nearly MLB-ready, meaning his loss thins out the team’s immediate pitching depth.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/18/17
Here are the latest minor moves from throughout the game, all from Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless credited otherwise…
- The Phillies announced on Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. He’ll fill the roster spot of Howie Kendrick, who has been placed on the 10-day DL with a right abdominal strain. Leiter, a 22nd-round pick by the Phillies back in 2013, is the son of former Major League pitcher Mark Leiter and the nephew of former All-Star pitcher Al Leiter. He opened the season in Triple-A Lehigh Valley — his first experience at that level — and has worked to a 3.38 ERA with 8.4 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 across 445 1/3 innings as a pro.
Earlier Moves
- The Dodgers signed righty David Hale to a minor league deal. Hale previously inked a minors contract with the Braves during the offseason but was released during Spring Training. The right-hander spent much of 2016 pitching in the Orioles’ minor league system after being claimed off waivers from the Rockies in April. A ground-ball specialist, Hale owns a 4.48 ERA, 6.0 K/9 and 1.94 K/BB rate over 178 2/3 career IP with the Rockies and Braves.
- The Marlins signed lefty Daniel Schlereth to a minors deal. Schlereth, taken by the Diamondbacks with the 26th overall pick of the 2008 draft, posted a 4.35 ERA over 93 relief IP with Arizona and Detroit from 2009-12 and hasn’t been back to the majors since, pitching for six different organizations in the last four seasons.
- The Reds released right-hander Carlos Portuondo after just one relief outing for their Double-A affiliate. Portuondo was notably acquired as part of the Brandon Phillips trade this winter, coming to the Reds along with southpaw Andrew McKirahan and $1MM in salary relief. Portuondo’s release leaves the Reds with even less to show for the former All-Star second baseman, though it was clear that the deal was a case of Cincinnati simply wanting to move on from Phillips to create room for Jose Peraza at second base.