Braves Outright Kevin Chapman
The Braves have outrighted lefty Kevin Chapman off the 40-man roster, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman was among those to report on Twitter. He had been fighting for a pen spot after being claimed recently off waivers.
With Chapman’s departure from the roster picture, it seems that the final call comes down to out-of-options Chaz Roe and just-signed veteran David Hernandez. Atlanta could carry either or both of those righties to open the season.
Though he’s obviously seen as an intriguing talent, Chapman has long struggled with his control, having never finished a season as a pro with less than four walks per nine innings. And though he has compensated for that with a healthy strikeout rate in the upper minors, that hasn’t carried through in his 55 total MLB frames. Chapman also struggled last year at Triple-A, compiling a 4.87 ERA in 61 innings.
White Sox Outright Rymer Liriano, Giovanni Soto
The White Sox have outrighted outfielder Rymer Liriano and lefty Giovanni Soto, the team announced (via MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, on Twitter). Both players cleared waivers and were assigned to Triple-A.
With four open spots on the 40-man roster, the club has the room needed to add non-roster invitees Cody Asche, Anthony Swarzak, and Geovany Soto (not to be confused with the similarly named reliever), Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago tweets. If those three make the active roster, as expected, the organization could have another spot to play with as teams around the league tweak their own rosters.
Padres Claim Jake Esch, Designate Cesar Vargas
The Padres have claimed righty Jake Esch off waivers from the Marlins, per club announcements. San Diego has designated fellow righty Cesar Vargas for assignment to accommodate the addition.
Esch, who just turned 27, reached the majors for the first time last year. Though he didn’t have much opportunity to prove himself in only three outings, and surrendered four home runs in just 13 innings, he showed an arsenal that Pitch F/X classified as featuring six distinct pitches.
While Esch has hardly dominated in the minors, perhaps San Diego believes there’s a chance he could function as a useful starter or swingman. He has pitched in the upper minors in each of the past two seasons. In 2016, he recorded a 4.31 ERA with 6.1 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 over 142 frames, most of them coming at the Double-A level.
As for Vargas, 25, the move surely comes as a bit of a surprise. He had shown a solid K/BB rate in the upper minors over the past few seasons, mostly in relief, and earned a surprising shot at the Padres’ rotation in 2016. Vargas was bombed in his final outing before leaving with an injury that turned out to be a season-ending flexor strain. Prior to that unfortunate turn, though, he threw 32 2/3 innings of 3.34 ERA ball over six starts.
Pirates Release Jared Hughes
March 31: Hughes has cleared release waivers and is now officially a free agent, the Pirates announced on Friday.
March 29: The Pirates have requested release waivers on righty Jared Hughes, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The team has since announced the move, noting that Hughes first cleared outright waivers. Pittsburgh had previously agreed to a $2.825MM arbitration with Hughes and will remain responsible for at least a portion of that amount — roughly $695K — unless another team places a claim (which seems unlikely, considering the fact that he’s already cleared outright waivers).
Hughes, 31, has turned in stellar results over the past three seasons, working to a 2.41 ERA across 190 2/3 frames. Though he has recorded only 5.0 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in that span, he has continued to draw grounders on about three of every five balls put in play against him.
Hughes largely continued to perform last year, which he ended with a 3.03 ERA, but there were some signs of trouble. His ground-ball rate fell to 57.9 percent after sitting at over 60 percent in the preceding two years, and he allowed a career-high 0.91 homers per nine innings pitched. And while he logged the second-best average fastball velocity of his career (93.0 mph), Hughes also allowed more hard contact (30.1 percent) and drew fewer swinging strikes (9.6 percent) than ever before. His control, too, trended in the wrong direction, as his BB/9 rate rose from 2.6 in 2015 to 3.3 in 2016.
Still, it wasn’t especially surprising to see Pittsburgh agree to terms at a fairly modest sum rather than non-tendering the veteran reliever. The concerns escalated this spring, though. Over 9 1/3 innings, Hughes was knocked around for a dozen earned runs on 16 hits while recording just five strikeouts against four walks.
Steven Moya Clears Waivers
March 31: Moya went unclaimed on waivers, reports Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link), meaning he can now be sent outright to Triple-A and remain in the organization without occupying a spot on the 40-man roster. Indeed, the Tigers have announced that’s just what they’ve done.
March 29, 2:29pm: Moya is actually on outright waivers, not release waivers, Stark clarifies on Twitter. Regardless, he’s departing the 40-man roster and can be taken by another organization. If he does clear waivers, though, Detroit would be able to retain control.
2:20pm: The Tigers have placed outfielder Steven Moya on release waivers, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark (via Twitter). The move provides some clarity to the organization’s outfield situation and also clears a 40-man spot.
Moya, who’s still just 25, entered the season without any options remaining, so it was a make-or-break spring. The former organizational top prospect failed to impress, however, hitting just .192/.208/.288.
Long considered a risky prospect, showing big power but a suspect on-base approach as he climbed the ladder, Moya has seen his star fade of late. He has failed to show much at all in his brief time in the majors, slashing .250/.293/.452 with fifty strikeouts and just eight walks in 133 total plate appearances.
Moya did post a .500 slugging percentage in his 100 trips to the MLB plate last year, so there’s plenty of reason to believe the power will play at the game’s highest level. And he lowered his strikeout rate to 22.5% in his 426 Triple-A plate appearances in 2016, though he also walked just 3.5% of the time and managed only a .310 OBP.
Red Sox Outright Bryce Brentz
The Red Sox announced that outfielder Bryce Brentz has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Pawtucket, thus clearing a spot on the team’s 40-man roster. Brentz was out of options, making this the only way for the Red Sox to be able to send him to the minors.
The 28-year-old Brentz saw the most sizable chunk of Major League time in his career in 2016, logging 64 plate appearances with Boston and hitting .279/.313/.377 with a homer and three doubles. The former No. 36 overall pick (2010) once rated as one of the more promising farmhands in the Red Sox’ system, but his production stalled upon reaching the Triple-A level. In parts of five seasons with Pawtucket, Brentz is a .247/.309/.431 hitter in 1096 plate appearances — including a .250/.278/.402 slash there last season.
Daniel Stumpf Clears Waivers
March 31: Stumpf has cleared waivers, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports (via Twitter). The club announced he has been offered back to Kansas City, though as noted he could also elect free agency.
March 30: The Tigers have placed lefty Daniel Stumpf on waivers, the pitcher himself told reporters including Evan Woodberry of MLive.com (via Twitter). He was taken in the Rule 5 draft last winter from the Royals.
Because Stumpf was previously taken in the Rule 5 draft and returned to K.C. — last summer, he was shipped back from the Phillies — he’s in something of a unique situation, as Woodberry notes. If he clears waivers, Stumpf would have the right to reject an assignment with the Royals and instead take free agency.
Stumpf, now 26, only made a few MLB appearances last year because he first served a PED suspension. He was assigned to Double-A by the Royals, where he worked to a 2.11 ERA with 11.0 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9 — thus setting up his latest Rule 5 adventure. He failed to follow up on that this spring, though, allowing four earned runs on five hits and five walks while striking out eight opposing hitters in 8 2/3 frames.
Mariners, Gordon Beckham Agree To Minors Deal
The Mariners have agreed to a minor league contract with free-agent infielder Gordon Beckham, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Beckham, who was released by the Giants last week, is represented by CAA Baseball.
The 30-year-old Beckham has struggled considerably at the plate over the past three big league seasons, hitting a collective .218/.278/.344 in 999 plate appearances between the White Sox, Braves and Giants. He inked a minor league deal to return to San Francisco this offseason, but his fortunes didn’t turn in Spring Training, as he slashed a lackluster .194/.268/.250 in camp with the Giants. That level of output placed him firmly behind fellow veteran Aaron Hill (who took a $100K retention bonus to stay in San Francisco) and offseason signee Jae-gyun Hwang, who is also in camp on a minors deal.
Seattle figures to send Beckham to Triple-A Tacoma, where he can serve as an insurance policy at a number of positions and could eventually surface as a bench option. The Mariners’ infield is set with Kyle Seager at third base, Jean Segura at shortstop and Robinson Cano at second base, Danny Valencia at first base and Taylor Motter on the bench as a super utility option. But, Beckham could conceivably bounce around the infield should injuries arise at the Major League level.
Tigers Sign Bryan Holaday To Minors Deal
The Tigers announced on Friday that they’ve signed catcher Bryan Holaday to a minor league contract. With the new contract, the 29-year-old Lagardere Sports client will return to the organization with which he spent the first six seasons of his pro career.
Holaday also spent the bulk of 2016 Spring Training with the Tigers, but as an out-of-options player he ultimately found himself traded to the Rangers. He’d go on to split the ’16 season between Texas and Boston, hitting a combined .231/.281/.359 in 129 plate appearances over the life of 44 games. That production bears a striking resemblance to the lifetime .245/.282/.346 batting line that Holaday has accumulated across 411 plate appearances in parts of five Major League seasons.
This past offseason, Holaday inked a minor league pact with the Phillies, but he exercised his opt-out clause earlier this week when Philadelphia elected to name young Andrew Knapp as the backup to Cameron Rupp.
The Tigers will send Holaday to Triple-A Toledo to start the season, as they’ll go with James McCann and Alex Avila as their primary catching tandem to open the season. Holaday, though, will give them a familiar face to serve as a depth option in the event of an injury to either McCann or Avila.
Added To The 40-Man Roster: Hoover, Diaz, Martinez, Nava, Stassi, Stammen
We’ll use this post to track any notable 40-man roster additions that crop up as teams settle upon their Opening Day rosters:
- The D-backs announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-handed reliever J.J. Hoover. He’ll fill the 40-man spot that was vacated earlier today when Christian Walker was sent outright to Triple-A. Hoover, 29, inked a minor league deal with the Snakes this offseason after spending parts of the past five seasons — the entirety of his Major League career — with the Reds. Hoover opened the 2016 season as Cincinnati’s closer but quickly lost that job and experienced a rapid decline that ultimately led to his outright off the 40-man roster. As recently as 2015, however, the righty tossed 64 1/3 innings of 2.94 ERA ball with 7.3 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9. Hoover will walk his fair share of batters (career 4.2 BB/9 rate), but he’s also punched out 240 hitters in 242 1/3 Major League frames. As a rather extreme fly-ball pitcher, he may find Chase Field more problematic than some pitchers, though he’s no stranger to homer-friendly parks, thanks to his time in Cincinnati.
Earlier Moves
- The Indians are set to select the contracts of infielders Yandy Diaz and Michael Martinez, per a club announcement. Diaz, 25, enjoyed a strong season split between Cleveland’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, hitting .318/.408/.446 with nine homers and 11 stolen bases. The third baseman/second baseman/outfielder was terrific in Spring Training, hitting .429/.529/.667 with a pair of homers and four doubles during Cactus League play. The 34-year-old Martinez, no stranger to the Indians organization after spending 59 games and the postseason with Cleveland last year, had a similarly strong Spring Training. The veteran utility man batted .357/.379/.536 in 21 spring contests. In parts of six big league seasons, Martinez is a .197/.241/.266 hitter.
- The final two spots on the Phillies‘ bench have been won by the well-traveled Daniel Nava and veteran minor leaguer Brock Stassi, per Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link). Nava hit .362/.455/.489 this spring and can serve as a backup to corner outfielders Michael Saunders and Howie Kendrick in the Phillies’ new-look outfield. He also has some experience at first base and could serve as a left-handed complement to Tommy Joseph at times, though the same could be said of the 27-year-old Stassi. A veteran of six minor league seasons and the older brother of Astros backstop Max Stassi, Brock Stasi was emotional in discussing what will be his MLB debut (Twitter video link via Philly Voice’s Ryan Lawrence). A former 33rd-round selection, Stassi reached Triple-A for the first time last season and hit .267/.369/.437 before posting an outstanding .333/.397/.702 batting line and six homers this spring.
- Righty Craig Stammen is back in the majors after being selected to the Padres‘ 40-man, per a team announcement. The 33-year-old had long been a steady reliever for the Nationals before he required flexor tendon surgery early in the 2015 season. He didn’t earn a return last year after joining the Indians on a minors deal, but did show he was healthy in throwing 27 1/3 innings of 3.62 ERA ball. Stammen turned things up a notch this spring, allowing just a single earned run on nine hits and five walks over 11 2/3 innings, recording a dozen strikeouts along the way.