Angels Claim Ashur Tolliver From Orioles
The Orioles have announced that they’ve lost lefty Ashur Tolliver to the Angels on a waiver claim. The O’s designated Tolliver for assignment when they acquired Kyle Lobstein last week. (Lobstein, of course, has himself already been designated for assignment and outrighted.)
The 28-year-old Tolliver made his MLB debut this season, allowing four runs, three earned, in 4 2/3 innings of relief while throwing his fastball in the 93-94 MPH range. He fared well, however, in stops at three minor league affiliates, posting a 1.94 ERA, 9.9 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 41 2/3 total innings. The Angels currently have Jose Alvarez and Cody Ege as lefties available out of their bullpen; Tolliver will give them another left-handed option.
Tigers Designate Donn Roach, Add Joe Mantiply To Roster
The Tigers have announced that they’ve designated righty Donn Roach for assignment. The move clears space on the team’s roster for lefty Joe Mantiply, whose contract the team has selected from Double-A Erie.
The Tigers claimed Roach from the Mariners last month, and he made five starts for Triple-A Toledo. Between Toledo and the Mariners’ affiliate in Tacoma, Roach has posted a 3.86 ERA, 5.4 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 over 137 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level this season. The 26-year-old has appeared in the big leagues in each of the last three seasons, including in 5 1/3 innings in the Mariners’ bullpen this season.
The 25-year-old Mantiply was a 27th-round draft pick in 2013, but he made quick work of the lower levels of the Tigers’ system and has fared well in the high minors this season, with a 2.73 ERA, 10.5 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 59 1/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A. He likely would have been a potential Rule 5 Draft selection this winter, but his addition to the Tigers’ 40-man roster protects the team from that possibility. He’ll join Justin Wilson, Kyle Ryan and Blaine Hardy as lefties in the Tigers’ bullpen.
Giants Promote Joe Nathan
The Giants have selected the contract of righty Joe Nathan, as the Mercury News’ Andrew Baggarly and others have tweeted. To clear roster space for Nathan, they’ve recalled righty Ray Black and placed him on the 60-day DL.
The Giants signed the 41-year-old Nathan to a minor league deal last month. He has pitched sparingly since 2014, making his way through three organizations while battling his way back from Tommy John surgery. He did pitch three outings with the Cubs earlier this season, and the results were modestly promising — he struck out four batters and walked two in two innings.
Nathan’s first appearance with the Giants will represent a homecoming — he played his first four big-league seasons with San Francisco, making his big-league debut all the way back in 1999. It was the Twins, though, who enjoyed much of Nathan’s big-league success, as the Giants traded him with Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser in late 2003 in a famously lopsided deal for A.J. Pierzynski. In Minnesota, Nathan became one of the game’s top closers, racking up 260 saves between 2004 and 2011 before heading to the Rangers and then the Tigers. For his career, Nathan has a 2.88 ERA, 9.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 919 innings.
Braves Outright Kyle Kubitza, Wilfredo Boscan, Madison Younginer
The Braves have outrighted infielder Kyle Kubitza and righties Wilfredo Boscan and Madison Younginer, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. The moves clear three spots on the Braves’ 40-man roster.
Atlanta claimed Kubitza from the Rangers last month, and he’s played just 17 games in the Braves’ system since then. The 26-year-old, originally a Braves draftee, has played for three organizations since 2011, posting a career .262/366/.420 minor league line. He’s had a disappointing 2016 season at the Triple-A level, with a .215/.319/.341 line over 455 plate appearances while playing primarily third base, first base and outfield.
Like Kubitza, Boscan is a recent waiver claim — the Braves snagged him from the Pirates in August. The 26-year-old made his big-league debut with the Bucs in 2016 but spent most of the season starting at the Triple-A level, with a 4.16 ERA, 5.6 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 93 innings.
The 25-year-old Younginer spent six years in the Red Sox system before joining the Braves via a minor league deal last offseason. He pitched well in the bullpen at Double-A Mississippi and threw in the mid-90s in his big-league debut this season, but posted poor results in both in the Majors and at Triple-A.
Dodgers To Promote Jose De Leon
The Dodgers are set to promote highly-rated pitching prospect Jose De Leon, according to reports from MLB.com’s Bill Shaikin (via Twitter) as well as Robert Murray and Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (Twitter links). He is expected to take the ball on Sunday.
The 24-year-old came into the year with top-fifty overall prospect billing. Though he was handled cautiously early due to some health concerns, De Leon has done nothing but boost his stock since resuming action.
Over his 86 1/3 Triple-A frames thus far, the youngster has compiled a 2.61 ERA with 11.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 while allowing only 61 base hits. The dominant showing represents the culmination of a remarkable developmental path.
A 24th-round draft pick out of Southern University and A&M College, De Leon did not start his professional career with any fanfare. And he didn’t really make it onto the prospect map until 2014. As Baseball America explained last winter, the righty has enhanced his athleticism, improved his mechanics, and honed his pitches significantly since the Dodgers added him to their system.
The BA scouting report notes that De Leon is able to spot his low-to-mid-nineties heater. He pairs that with a quality change and useful curve. MLB.com, which currently ranks De Leon the sixth-best right-handed pitching prospect in baseball, also crediting him with having worked hard to improve over the years.
Now, the Dodgers will test De Leon at the highest level of the game, beginning with an outing against the Padres. He’ll join fellow prized young talent Jose Urias on the MLB staff, and could end up playing an important role as the club seeks to hold off the Giants in the NL West.
While the delayed start to the year may not have been optimal in all regards, it does seem to mean that De Leon won’t have many restrictions down the stretch. He reached 114 1/3 innings last year, so he ought to be able to take the ball every fifth day and/or work into the postseason without any concern that he is being over-extended.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/2/16
We’ll use this post to keep tabs on any notable minor moves today:
- The Blue Jays recently inked outfielder Quintin Berry to a minor league deal, the team’s Triple-A affiliate announced. With the move, the 31-year-old will be available to reprise his now-familiar role as a late-season baserunning option, this time in Toronto. As Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca was among those to tweet, Berry was actually added on the 31st of August, so he could conceivably be utilized in the post-season. He hasn’t seen more than nine plate appearances in a season since his run with the Tigers in 2012, and hit only .270/.348/.325 in his 395 plate appearances at Triple-A this year for the Angels, but has nevertheless received MLB action in each of the last three Septembers due to his baserunning prowess. Back in 2013, Berry entered three postseason contests for the Red Sox — one in each round — and swiped a bag each time without stepping up to the plate.
- Outfielder Collin Cowgill has accepted an outright assignment with the Indians after clearing waivers, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports on Twitter. Designated for assignment yesterday, the 30-year-old will remain an option for Cleveland, particularly with rosters now expanded. He saw minimal time at the big league level this year, and struggled at Triple-A, but could still provide the club with a solid outfield glove and additional righty bench bat down the stretch — if the team deems it worthwhile to free up a 40-man spot. Over his 759 career plate appearances in the majors, Cowgill owns a .234/.297/.329 slash line with a dozen home runs and 14 steals.
Red Sox Designate William Cuevas
The Red Sox have designated righty William Cuevas for assignment, per a club announcement. His 40-man spot was needed as the club purchased the contracts of lefty Robby Scott and top infield prospect Yoan Moncada.
Cuevas, 25, received a brief major league promotion earlier this year, allowing six walks in the five frames he pitched. He has spent the bulk of the year at Triple-A, where he carries a 4.19 ERA over 131 frames. Trouble is, Cuevas wasn’t able to maintain the strikeout rate he had shown in prior years, as he K’ed just 5.8 batters per nine in that span.
The 27-year-old Scott gets his first major league nod after turning in 78 innings of 2.54 ERA pitching with 8.4 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 at the Triple-A level. He’ll be joined by Moncada, who is considered by some to be the top prospect in the game. (Read more on Moncada’s promotion here.)
Blue Jays Designate Matt Dominguez For Assignment
The Blue Jays have designated third baseman Matt Dominguez for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for left-hander Matt Dermody, the team announced this afternoon. Dermody’s agency, KVA Sports, first tweeted word of his promotion yesterday.
Dominguez, now 27 years of age, once looked like a potential everyday third baseman for the Astros when he showed significant pop and quality defense at third base from 2012-13, but he’s always struggled with on-base percentage and hasn’t performed well in the Majors or minors over the past three seasons. Dominguez hit just .215/.256/.330 in an everyday role with the 2014 Astros and didn’t play in the Majors last season, spending most of the year with Milwaukee’s Triple-A affiliate. He received 12 plate appearances with Toronto this season but has again spent much of the year in Triple-A, where he’s batted .272/.317/.427 with 18 home runs.
As for Dermody, the 26-year-old forced his way into the Jays’ plans this season with a strong showing across three minor league levels. Opening the season as a 25-year-old at Class-A Advanced, he’d certainly have been considered a long shot to make his way onto the big league scene, but Dermody has posted a 1.82 ERA and a 47-to-8 K/BB ratio in 54 1/3 innings this season. He’s held both lefties and righties to a sub-.290 OBP, though his strong work against lefties looks considerably more sustainable, as he’s whiffed 34 percent of them (13 percent strikeout rate against righties). Pitching for a team that has had difficulty finding consistent left-handed relief work, Dermody could conceivably find himself on the postseason roster, as Brett Cecil is currently the only other lefty reliever in manager John Gibbons’ bullpen.
As a reminder, readers can head over to Roster Resource for a full list of transactions thus far since Sept. 1 roster expansion.
Nats Select Contracts Of Latos, Burnett; Den Dekker Designated For Assignment
The Nationals announced that they’ve designated outfielder Matt den Dekker for assignment as part of a series of roster moves. Den Dekker’s 40-man spot will go to left-handed reliever Sean Burnett, and the team has also selected the contract of right-hander Mat Latos, with righty Joe Ross moving to the 60-day DL to clear room. Washington has also recalled Pedro Severino, Brian Goodwin, Matt Grace, Rafael Martin and Trevor Gott from Triple-A Syracuse.
Latos, 28, opened the season with the White Sox and pitched brilliantly in April before his production cratered in the May and June. After posting a 0.74 ERA through four starts (which came in spite of a 13-to-7 K/BB ratio in 24 1/3 innings and was propped up by a .167 BABIP), Latos went on to yield 29 earned runs over his next 36 innings before being released by the South Siders. He hasn’t pitched in the Majors since, though he’s thrown well in the Nationals’ minor league system, tallying a 1.06 ERA in 17 innings with Triple-A Syracuse. However, he’s still not missing bats even at Triple-A, punching out just 10 hitters against seven walks in those 17 innings. Latos figures to head to the bullpen initially, though he could get some spot starts in September with Stephen Strasburg and Ross currently on the DL.
Burnett, 34 in two weeks, will return to the Majors for the first time since 2014, though he only tossed two-third of an inning in that injury-shortened season. The veteran southpaw has thrown just 10 1/3 innings at the Major League level in total since he last donned a Nationals uniform back in 2012. Burnett’s career has been slowed by elbow injuries and Tommy John surgery, but he’s pitched well across four Triple-A stops this season (Dodgers, Braves, Twins, Nationals). In 47 1/3 innings at that level, Burnett has a 2.28 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9. Opposing lefties have batted just .213/.246/.279 against him in 65 chances this season, so he could be used in left-on-left matchups, which could prove vital to a team that has lacked quality left-handed relief.
Den Dekker, 29, had a solid season as a reserve outfielder for the Nats in 2015 when he batted .253/.315/.485 with five homers in 110 plate appearances, but he mustered just a .176/.282/.294 line in 19 games/39 plate appearances this season. Most of his 2016 campaign has been spent in Syracuse, where he’s hit .208/.290/.319. His overall numbers both in the Majors and minors are considerably better than his 2016 production (or lack thereof), and den Dekker is capable of playing all three outfield positions, so he could latch on elsewhere as a bench piece. If not, he should hold appeal to clubs on a minor league pact as a free agent this winter.
As a reminder, readers can head over to Roster Resource for a full list of transactions thus far since Sept. 1 roster expansion.
Reds Designate Kyle Waldrop For Assignment
The Reds announced today that they have designated outfielder Kyle Waldrop for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for left-hander Wandy Peralta, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Louisville. Cincinnati also recalled left-hander Cody Reed and righties Robert Stephenson and Keyvius Sampson from Louisville.
Waldrop, 24 (and not to be confused with the former Twins pitcher of the same name), rated as one of Cincinnati’s top 30 prospects from 2011-15, per Baseball America, but he’s struggled through a poor season at Louisville, hitting just .254/.302/.365. The corner outfielder has yet to display the power in Triple-A that he did at Class-A Advanced and Double-A. A former 12th-round pick, Waldrop has tallied 24 plate appearances at the big league level across the past two seasons, collecting five hits (one double), a walk and six strikeouts.
The 25-year-old Peralta, meanwhile, has not frequented Reds prospect rankings but enjoyed a solid season working primarily out of the bullpen. In 75 2/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A, the Dominican hurler has pitched to a 2.50 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a huge 58.8 percent ground-ball rate. Over the past two seasons, left-handers have actually handled Peralta considerably better than right-handed batters, though he carried a more traditional platoon split earlier in his minor league career.
As a reminder, readers can head over to Roster Resource for a full list of transactions thus far since Sept. 1 roster expansion.