Angels Sign Andrew Bailey, Release Al Alburquerque
The Angels have signed reliever Andrew Bailey to a minor league contract and released fellow bullpen option Al Alburquerque, per a club announcement. Bailey, an Excel Sports Management client, had been on the market since the Phillies released him last Saturday.
Injuries have helped derail the right-handed Bailey’s once-promising career, but he has finally stayed healthy this year. Unfortunately, an inability to prevent runs brought an end to the 32-year-old’s short tenure in Philadelphia. In 32 1/3 innings with the Phillies, Bailey posted a 6.40 ERA, but he did log a solid 9.2 K/9 and a usable 4.18 BB/9.
A former closer with the Athletics, Bailey has thrown 259 major league innings and recorded a 3.20 ERA, 9.24 K/9 and 3.09 BB/9 as a member of four different teams. While Bailey’s results and velocity have trended in the wrong directions since the impressive beginning of his career, he could work his way into an Angels bullpen that has been among the majors’ worst this season. Further, the Halos’ two primary late-game options – fellow righties Huston Street and the lights-out Cam Bedrosian – are currently on the disabled list, as their depth chart indicates.
Alburquere barely cracked LA’s ‘pen this year, amassing only two innings. He spent the majority of his Angels stint at Triple-A Salt Lake, where he threw 23 2/3 innings and put up a 3.80 ERA, 9.89 K/9 and 4.94 BB/9. Alburquerque had a successful run in Detroit from 2011-15, during which time he posted a 3.20 ERA, 11.04 K/9, 5.00 BB/9 and 47.4 ground-ball rate across 225 frames.
Yankees Outright Chris Parmelee
The Yankees have announced that they’ve reinstated first baseman Chris Parmelee from a stint on the disabled list with a strained hamstring and outrighted him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Parmelee has been outrighted before and therefore had the right to refuse the assignment, but he’s currently listed on the Yankees’ Triple-A roster, so it appears he’s accepted it.
Parmelee signed a minor league deal with the Yankees in February and was promoted in June as one Yankees first baseman after another went down with an injury. Parmelee lasted just eight plate appearances before heading to the DL himself.
Parmelee went 4-for-14 on a rehab assignment in Scranton and has batted a respectable .255/.339/.448 at Triple-A this season, but now that he’s healthy, the Yankees have little use for him. Tyler Austin has emerged as a legitimate option at first after a great stint in Triple-A and a recent promotion, and Mark Teixeira is now healthy as well. The 28-year-old Parmelee has batted .248/.313/.405 in parts of six big-league seasons.
Angels Designate Sean Coyle For Assignment
The Angels have designated infielder/outfielder Sean Coyle for assignment, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. The move clears space on the Angels’ 40-man roster for outfielder Nick Buss, whose contract has been selected. Buss will take Shane Robinson‘s 25-man spot as Robinson hits the DL with a right hip flexor strain.
The Angels claimed Coyle from the Red Sox last month. The 24-year-old has never hit much (with a career .236/.317/.418 minor league line and a mere .159/.263/.274 performance in the high minors this season) and has never played in the Majors, although he does offer a bit of flexibility, since he can play second, third and center field.
Yankees To Promote Aaron Judge, Tyler Austin
The Yankees’ lineup against the Rays today includes both Aaron Judge (in right field and batting eighth) and Tyler Austin (at first base and batting seventh). FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweeted yesterday that Austin would be promoted. Both players will make their MLB debuts today. The moves coincide with the Yankees’ expected release of Alex Rodriguez., a move that is now official. The Yankees have also optioned righty Ben Heller and placed righty Conor Mullee (hand) on the 60-day DL.
[Related: Updated Yankees Depth Chart]
Of the two prospects, the 24-year-old Judge has the higher (and, literally, bigger) profile. A hulking (6’7, 275 pounds) slugger with huge raw power, the 2013 first-round pick has hit 19 home runs this season for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, batting .270/.366/.489 in the process. MLB.com currently rates him the No. 27 prospect in the Majors, comparing his build and raw power to Giancarlo Stanton. (Baseball America rated Judge the game’s 76th-best prospect heading into the season.) Judge ranks as the Yankees’ fourth-best prospect, behind newcomers Clint Frazier and Gleyber Torres as well as Jorge Mateo.
It’s unclear how much success Judge will have right away, as his minor league numbers, while certainly fine overall, haven’t always been overwhelming. His strikeout tendencies (he had 144 whiffs last season and 98 so far this year) might be an area upon which he could improve. His potential tape-measure home runs, however, could make for any number of exciting highlights, and he won’t to hit like a superstar to improve upon current right fielder Aaron Hicks, who has batted just .198/.259/.314 this season.
The 24-year-old Austin has spent parts of seven seasons in the Yankees’ farm system, but has come on strong this season, batting .294/.392/.524 overall, including .323/.415/.637 with 13 home runs in 234 plate appearances for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He can play all four corner spots, although he’s spent most of this season at first base, where he’ll presumably take plate appearances from Mark Teixeira, who’s set to retire at the end of the season. If Judge and/or Austin stick in the big leagues, they’ll each be eligible for arbitration following the 2019 season and free agency following the 2022 campaign.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Twins Designate Andrew Albers
The Twins have designated lefty Andrew Albers for assignment, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press was among those to tweet. His replacement has yet to be determined, but Minnesota is in need of fresh arms, necessitating the move.
Albers, 30, had only just returned to the majors and only received one appearance. It was a useful one, though, as he contributed six bullpen-saving innings in relief, allowing 11 hits and three earned runs but also striking out five batters against one walk.
The opportunities have been scarce for Albers, who only has 68 2/3 MLB frames on his ledger, with most of those coming in a 2013 run with the Twins. He opened the current season in independent ball, but has mostly pitched at Triple-A Rochester as a starter. Over his 112 2/3 frames there, Albers owns a 3.51 ERA with 5.8 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9.
Angels Claim Cody Ege
The Angels have claimed southpaw Cody Ege off waivers from the Marlins, per an announcement from Los Angeles. Right-hander Nick Tropeano was moved to the 60-day DL to create a 40-man opening.
Ege, 25, will head to Triple-A Salt Lake City to begin his tenure in the Los Angeles organization. He has spent most of the year at that level with Miami, compiling a 4.50 ERA over 44 frames with 7.2 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9.
That obviously isn’t a terribly promising pitching line, though Ege did earn a brief MLB promotion. He was also much better in the upper minors last year — good enough, in fact, to be a part of an under-the-radar deadline trade that has turned out to be more important than it initially seemed.
Ege was dealt along with Tomas Telis in the deal that sent Sam Dyson to the Rangers. That swap has certainly had an impact on both organizations, as Texas has utilized Dyson as its closer while the Fish have been forced to hunt for extra arms at the back of their pen.
Rockies Place Mark Reynolds On DL, Designate Gonzalez Germen
The Rockies have placed first baseman Mark Reynolds on the 15-day DL, according to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (via Twitter). That move had been expected after Reynolds was diagnosed with a hamate bone injury, though the severity of the injury remains to be seen.
[Related: Updated Rockies Depth Chart]
First baseman/outfielder Ben Paulsen has been called up to replace Reynolds on the active roster. Colorado has also designated righty Gonzalez Germen, whose roster spot will go to righty Matt Carasiti.
It seems likely that Reynolds will be lost for much of the rest of the season, as Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweets that the veteran slugger has suffered a break to the hamate bone. That’s a fairly common malady, but one that typically requires four to six weeks off after surgery.
The 28-year-old Germen has bounced around quite a bit in recent years, but managed to accumulated 73 1/3 innings for Colorado over the last two years. But he owns only a 4.66 ERA in that span, with 7.0 K/9 and a troubling 5.6 BB/9 on his ledger.
It’s the first trip to the majors for Carasiti, a 25-year-old reliever who owns a 1.96 ERA over 46 innings (mostly at the Double-A level) on the year. He has struck out 9.4 and walked 1.8 batters per nine over that span of quality work, and had recently earned a promotion to the highest level minors. Carasiti had allowed only two hits in seven frames at Triple-A, leading to his bump up to the majors.
Braves Claim Kyle Kubitza, Designate Manny Banuelos For Assignment
The Braves have claimed third baseman Kyle Kubitza off waivers from the Rangers, according to an announcement from Rangers VP of communications John Blake. Texas had designated the 26-year-old infielder for assignment earlier this week. The Braves, too, announced the move, adding that left-hander Manny Banuelos has been designated for assignment.
[Related: Updated Atlanta Braves Depth Chart]
Kubitza is a known commodity for the Braves, who selected him in the third round of the 2011 draft. The Texas State product ranked among the Braves’ top 30 prospects from 2011-14, per Baseball America, but he was traded to the Angels in January of 2015 in exchange for minor league lefty Ricardo Sanchez and minor league right-hander Nate Hyatt. Kubitza’s stock tumbled with the Halos, however, and he ultimately landed with Texas after Anaheim designated him for assignment. In 928 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Kubitza is a .249/.342/.399 hitter. He’s walked in a strong 11.8 percent of his plate appearances at that level but has also struck out at a 25 percent clip. He has drawn praise in the past for a strong throwing arm and soft hands at third base.
Banuelos, 25, made his big league debut with Atlanta last season. The once-vaunted Yankees prospect managed just a 5.13 ERA in his 26 1/3 innings at the big league level, though, and the 2016 season has been a considerable struggle for him. He’s battled elbow issues this season and is currently on the disabled list with Double-A Mississippi. Banuelos has a collective 5.33 ERA in 50 2/3 innings across three minor league levels this season, and he walked more batters (22) than he struck out (21) in 30 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level.
Mariners Designate Daniel Robertson For Assignment
The Mariners announced today that they have designated outfielder Daniel Robertson for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for right-hander Joe Wieland, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Tacoma. Wieland will start tonight’s game for Seattle.
[Related: Updated Seattle Mariners Depth Chart]
The 30-year-old Robertson made 21 plate appearances for the Mariners this season and batted .263/.300/316. He’s had limited experience across the past three seasons between Seattle, Anaheim and Texas, compiling a .273/.322/.325 batting line in 298 trips to the plate. The Mariners claimed Robertson off waivers from the Angels this past winter — the second time that GM Jerry Dipoto has claimed Robertson (he also did so when he was the Angels’ GM). Robertson, who is capable of playing all three outfield positions, batted .281/.341/.418 with 14 doubles, seven triples, six homers and 10 steals with Triple-A Tacoma this season.
Wieland, also acquired this offseason (from the Dodgers), started the season terribly and found himself outrighted off the 40-man roster. However, after posting a 17.31 ERA through his first 13 innings, he’s rebounded with a 3.67 ERA and an 83-to-23 K/BB ratio in 90 2/3 innings across his past 17 starts. Wieland looked like a potential rotation option for the Padres when he came up as a 22-year-old back in 2012 but underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2013 season. Since that time he’s been traded from San Diego to Los Angeles (in the Matt Kemp blockbuster) and struggled to stick in the big leagues. Now 26 years of age, Wieland has a 5.85 ERA in 47 2/3 Major League innings, though his recent work in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League is certainly more encouraging.
Phillies Claim Patrick Schuster From Athletics
The Phillies announced today that they have claimed left-hander Patrick Schuster off waivers from the Athletics and optioned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Oakland had designated the 25-year-old Schuster for assignment earlier in the week.
Schuster made his big league debut with the A’s this season but surrendered eight runs on nine hits and six walks in 6 2/3 innings. While those numbers aren’t much to look at, Schuster has dominated at the Triple-A level this year, posting a brilliant 1.16 ERA with 39 strikeouts, 12 walks and a 44.44 percent ground-ball rate in 38 2/3 innings. Schuster was at one time the first pick of the Rule 5 Draft (2013) and has an overall solid minor league track record. He’ll give the Phillies a depth option in the bullpen and could get a chance to prove that he can be a long-term piece in their bullpen with a September call-up this season, as he remains on the 40-man roster (which is now at 40 players) after being optioned to the minors.