Twins Outright Darin Mastroianni
The Twins have outrighted Darin Mastroianni off their 40-man roster, the club announced. The outfielder was just activated off the disabled list, as he has been recovering from a left oblique strain since late May.
As Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune notes, Mastroianni now has 72 hours to accept an assignment to the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate. He could elect free agency since he has been outrighted before (in September 2014 by the Blue Jays) but as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports, Mastroianni is believed to be staying in the Twins organization.
Mastroianni signed a minor league deal with Minnesota last winter and appeared in seven games with the big club before hitting the DL. Over his career, Mastroianni has a .206/.271/.280 slash line over 317 PA and 25 steals in 29 attempts. All of his big league experience has come with the Twins and Blue Jays (in two separate stint with each team) and he has also played in the Phillies’ and Nationals’ farm systems.
Tigers Place Jordan Zimmermann On 15-Day DL With Neck Strain
The Tigers have placed right-hander Jordan Zimmermann on the 15-day DL due to a strained neck, the team announced (via Twitter). Anibal Sanchez will take Zimmermann’s next scheduled start, while Dustin Molleken has been called up from Triple-A to round out the bullpen.
[Related: updated Tigers depth chart at Roster Resources]
The DL placement was retroactive to July 1, so Zimmermann is eligible to return during Detroit’s first series after the All-Star break (an important AL Central matchup with the Royals). He will miss at least two starts due to the injury, however, landing another blow to a beleaguered Tigers rotation.
Zimmermann signed a five-year, $110MM deal with the Tigers last winter and began his stint in the Motor City in spectacular fashion. He won AL Pitcher of the Month honors for April by posting an 0.55 ERA over five starts, and while some regression was inevitable, the righty has been inconsistent in June. Zimmermann missed a start due to a minor groin injury in late May, and he has since posted a 6.43 ERA over six starts and 35 innings.
For the full season, Zimmermann has a 3.95 ERA, 3.33 K/BB rate and 5.6 K/9. He is on track to post the lowest K/9 of his career, and his average fastball velocity has dropped to a career-low 91.9 mph. That being said, the right-hander is also using his fastball much less than usual — only 52.5% of Zimmermann’s pitches have been fastballs this season, as he is throwing his slider with more regularity. ERA predictors such as xFIP (4.56) and SIERA (4.59) indicate that Zimmermann has perhaps been a bit fortunate to only have a 3.95 ERA at this point.
Sanchez lost his rotation job last month after posting a 6.67 ERA over his first 56 2/3 innings of the season. He has performed better out of the pen (a 2.84 ERA in 12 1/3 IP), and given how he is owed at least $29MM through the end of the 2017 season, the Tigers certainly hope Sanchez has regained some of his old form.
Giants Designate Mike Broadway, Activate Sergio Romo
The Giants have designated righty Mike Broadway for assignment, the club announced (h/t Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, on Twitter). His 40-man spot was needed to activate veteran reliever Sergio Romo, with righty Albert Suarez being demoted to free up an active roster spot.
[Updated Giants Depth Chart]
Broadway, 29, was one of many inexperienced arms to start the year on the San Francisco 40-man, but the team has faced multiple roster needs over the season’s first half. Over the last two years, he has thrown 22 2/3 major league frames, posting a 6.75 ERA with 6.8 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9. After averaging just over 95 mph with his heater last year, though, Broadway had lost two ticks in his brief time in the majors in 2016.
San Francisco will hope that Romo can return to being a quality set-up man after missing several months with a forearm injury. He figures to provide a much-needed boost — particularly if he can pitch anything like he did in 2015, when he ran up a 2.98 ERA that undersold his true value. Romo posted 11.2 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9 over 57 1/3 innings a season ago.
Indians Designate Joba Chamberlain, Tom Gorzelanny
The Indians have announced a host of pitching moves, with the club clearing roster space by designating righty Joba Chamberlain and lefty Tom Gorzelanny. They’ll be replaced by southpaw T.J. House and righty Mike Clevinger.
[Related: Updated Indians Depth Chart]
Chamberlain, 30, had been generating results for Cleveland after signing a $1MM deal in the offseason. He owns a 2.25 ERA over twenty frames, with 8.1 K/9 against 5.0 BB/9 and a 52.9% groundball rate. The veteran is still working with an average fastball of over 93 mph, and ought to draw some interest — particularly given the cheap salary.
Things hadn’t gone quite as well for the 33-year-old Gorzelanny, who was tagged for seven earned runs in just three innings of work over seven appearances. He had been useful at the Triple-A level, though, putting up 18 2/3 innings of 3.38 ERA pitching with 9.2 K/9 against 5.3 BB/9.
Brewers Agree To $1.2MM Deal With 11th Rounder Chad McClanahan
The Brewers have struck a $1.2MM deal with 11th-round draft pick Chad McClanahan, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports on Twitter. That’s quite an unusually high payday for a player selected outside of the draft’s first ten rounds.
It’s rather notable that Milwaukee was able to free up enough cash to draw the third baseman away from a reportedly strong commitment to Arizona State University. MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy recently crunched the numbers, explaining that the club could just barely afford to pay McClanahan that amount — which is what he was reportedly asking for heading in.
The Brewers had kicked off their draft with a bit of a surprise, landing Louisville outfielder Corey Ray with the fifth overall pick after he had been in contention for an even higher selection. The club had just enough left to make its latest move, which will require it to go over its pool by 5% — just enough not to sacrifice future draft picks. There’ll be a tax on the overage, but obviously the strategic value of draft bonus space is far more important than the actual costs involved.
For their trouble, Milwaukee will land a player who rated just outside the pre-draft top-100 lists of MLB.com and Baseball America. McClanahan is a big-framed, left-handed hitting corner infielder with a projectable power bat. There seems to be a split of opinion as to whether he can stay at third, but the Brew Crew obviously feel that the upside potential in the bat is worth the risk.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/4/16
Here are the day’s minor moves, all courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted:
- The Diamondbacks have released righty Kyle Drabek. The former first-rounder, now 28, received a single appearance this year for Arizona. He owns a tough 6.68 ERA with 5.4 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9 in his 68 2/3 Triple-A innings thus far in 2016.
- The Pirates have outrighted right-hander Jorge Rondon to Triple-A, per an announcement from the team’s affiliate at Indianapolis. Rondon had been designated for assignment recently. He has a 2.72 ERA over his rather extensive time at Triple-A, but has yet to show much in his brief time at the major league level.
- Outfielder Tony Campana is headed to the White Sox on a minor league deal after being released by the Nationals, per Eddy. Campana, 30, has seen MLB time in parts of four seasons, none since 2014. He owns a meager .215/.289/.230 slash in 158 Triple-A plate appearances on the year.
- The Padres released righty Johnny Hellweg, Eddy adds. The towering righty had an unsuccessful trial run in the majors back in 2013. He had struggled with his command and been hit quite hard this year in the minors for the Padres.
- After being designated recently, catcher Hector Sanchez has been outrighted by the Padres. The 26-year-old will head back to Triple-A, which is where he has spent most of his time in recent years. Sanchez does have 663 major league plate appearances over the last six seasons, with a .240/.276/.348 lifetime batting line.
- The Mariners have released Efren Navarro, a 30-year-old first baseman. Navarro was off to a .243/.316/.362 slash in his 301 plate appearances this year at Triple-A, well off of his usual productivity at the highest level of the minors.
- The recently-designated Andrew Bellatti has been outrighted by the Rays. Despite providing 23 1/3 innings of 2.31 ERA pitching last year at the major league level, the right-hander has not cracked the majors this year and had struggled in limited action at Triple-A.
- The Nationals have released infielder Scott Sizemore, also via Eddy. The 31-year-old was off to a rough start, hitting just .205/.353/.323 over his 243 plate appearances on the year. He hasn’t cracked the majors since 2014.
Nationals Activate Jonathan Papelbon, Option Michael Taylor
The Nationals have activated injured closer Jonathan Papelbon, per a team announcement. In something of a surprise move, the club optioned outfielder Michael Taylor to create roster space.
[Related: Updated Nationals Depth Chart]
While the move isn’t an atypical mid-season transaction, it does carry some added trade deadline implications for the division-leading Nats. For one thing, Papelbon had shown some concerning trends on the year; for another, the organization has not received the production it would like out of the center field position.
Looking first at the pen, Papelbon has continued to get useful results, as he owns a 3.28 ERA on the year. But he hasn’t finished the year with an earned run average over three since way back in 2010, and the underlying numbers suggest a bigger problem. In particular, Papelbon is striking out less than seven per nine on a career-low 9.5% swinging strike rate and is averaging just 90.7 mph on his four-seamer.
Adding a quality reliever seems like a no-brainer for the Nationals regardless of how Papelbon shows upon his return from an intercostal strain. But his performance could help dictate just how desperate the team feels to improve. The pen has been good on the whole, and Shawn Kelley is far from the worst fill-in closer, but a team with World Series aspirations will surely want some more room for error.
Meanwhile, the demotion of Taylor comes as he continues to produce uneven results at the plate. While he was more productive in June after a dreadful start, he hasn’t seen much playing time in the last week and hasn’t been hitting when he has been in the lineup. With Ben Revere showing some signs of life, it seems that Taylor will be tasked with working on his game in a regular role at the Triple-A level.
Adding a reliever for an outfielder leaves the Nats’ roster out of balance, so this could well be a temporary move. Looking at the club’s current depth chart, dropping a reliever would likely mean parting with Matt Belisle — who has been rather effective — or sending struggling young fireballer Felipe Rivero to join Taylor in looking to get on track at Triple-A.
If and when the club dips into its system for another position player, top prospect Trea Turner could conceivably get the call. The middle infielder has now played four games at center for Syracuse, so he could potentially join Revere there while playing a super-utility role of some kind. Super Two status is no longer a concern in Turner’s case, so team need and player development are probably the only real considerations.
It’s worth noting that there are some potential player control issues here, but they don’t involve Turner. Entering the year, Taylor had 1.037 days of service, and he has picked up another 90 days thus far in 2016. That leaves him 45 days shy of reaching a second full season of service, so an extended stay in the minors could well leave the club with an added season of future control.
Trevor Plouffe To 15-Day DL With “Cracked Rib”
10:28am: Minnesota skipper Paul Molitor says he’s expecting Plouffe to miss something on the order of three or four weeks, Bollinger tweets. That would seem likely to take him off the trade table, though an August deal could be possible given his reasonably steep salary.
9:32am: Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe has been placed on the 15-day DL with a “cracked rib,” MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger reports on Twitter. Slugger Kennys Vargas will return to the majors to take his place on the active roster.
[Related: Updated Twins Depth Chart]
Plouffe had been dealing with some rib soreness, with some concern that a DL stint may be required. While it’s a bit difficult to assess the severity of the injury at this point in time, it seems that it could be more significant than had been hoped.
Minnesota has resisted trading Plouffe in the past, but it seemed that this summer might present an opportunity to make a move — particularly with Miguel Sano failing to take to right field after shifting off of the hot corner. Now, though, he may not be a viable candidate to move in the coming weeks.
Despite taking him out of immediate trade contention, the injury could actually help pave the way for an eventual deal, at least in theory. Sano ought to have a chance to cement himself at third, which would seemingly make Plouffe extraneous. Of course, that had seemed to be a reasonable line of thinking last winter, too.
Plouffe is owed $7.25MM this year and can be controlled for another campaign via arbitration, which had made him a worthwhile target for teams looking to plug a gap now and in 2017. He has typically presented as a solid all-around player with twenty homer pop, but this year has been a struggle. Plouffe owns a .252/.283/.399 bating line with seven home runs over 231 plate appearances for the season.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/3/16
Here are Sunday’s minor transactions from around baseball:
- The Brewers selected the contract of third baseman Will Middlebrooks from Triple-A Colorado Springs, the club announced. To create roster space, Milwaukee also optioned outfielder Keon Broxton to Triple-A while Chris Capuano was moved to the 60-day DL. Middlebrooks signed a minor league deal with the Brew Crew last winter after being non-tendered by the Padres. The former highly-touted prospect made a strong debut as a rookie with the Red Sox in 2012 but has hit just .213/.258/.363 in 878 PA with Boston and San Diego over the last three seasons. Middlebrooks has a solid .816 OPS at Triple-A this season, though Colorado Springs and the PCL as a whole are very hitter-friendly environments.
- The Braves selected the contract of outfielder/third baseman Ronnier Mustelier, the club announced. This will be Mustelier’s first taste of the big leagues in a 13-year pro career that began with seven seasons in Cuba’s Serie Nacional. Since defecting from Cuba, Mustelier has played in the Yankees’ minor league system and in the Mexican League. Over 1382 career plate appearances in the New York and Atlanta farm systems, Mustelier has a .303/.356/.440 slash line and 26 homers.
- The Marlins selected the contract of outfielder Yefri Perez. The 25-year-old Perez has been in the Marlins’ system since 2009, slashing .256/.310/.312 over 2209 PA. It’s worth noting that both the Braves and Marlins didn’t need to make corresponding moves, as the teams were allowed an extra 26th man on the roster for tonight’s special game played in front of the troops at Fort Bragg.
- The Orioles selected the contract of southpaw Ariel Miranda prior to today’s game, and the Cuban lefty made his Major League debut in a relief outing. Miranda, 27, is a seven-year veteran of the Serie Nacional who signed a minor league deal with the O’s in May 2015. He made a rather quick rise through Baltimore’s system, posting a 3.84 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 2.86 K/BB rate 147 2/3 innings. In corresponding moves, Tyler Wilson was optioned to Triple-A and Brian Duensing was moved to the 60-day DL.
- The Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo has released right-hander Roberto Hernandez, per a club announcement. Hernandez entered the season having logged major league action in 10 straight campaigns, though that streak looks to be in jeopardy. In his latest big league stint, the 35-year-old posted a 4.36 ERA with 4.5 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 84 2/3 innings as a member of the Astros last season. With a 4.42 ERA, 6.06 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 in 71 1/3 innings, the unspectacular numbers Hernandez put up in Buffalo are fairly similar to his Houston statistics.
Dodgers Release Ian Thomas, Outright Two
The Dodgers have made a trio of roster moves, releasing left-hander Ian Thomas and outrighting righties Yaisel Sierra and Layne Somsen off the 40-man roster, reports Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (Twitter link).
[RELATED: Updated Dodgers depth chart]
Thomas, whom the Dodgers designated for assignment Thursday, originally joined the team via trade with the Braves last summer. He logged a combined 23 1/3 innings with the two clubs in 2015 and posted a 3.86 ERA with 23 strikeouts against 11 walks. Thomas racked up quality numbers early this season for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate — 1.42 ERA, 22 strikeouts and five walks in 19 innings — but has been on the minor league disabled list since mid-May because of tendinitis in his left shoulder.
The Dodgers claimed Somsen off waivers from the Yankees on June 22 and subsequently designated him Friday. Somsen’s only major league action came earlier this season as a member of the Reds, with whom he threw 2 1/3 innings and gave up five earned runs. The 27-year-old has been far better this season in the minors, where he has put up a 1.44 ERA with 10.4 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9 across 25 Triple-A frames.
Los Angeles signed Sierra – a Cuba native – to a deal worth upward of $30MM in February, making him easily the most interesting name in this group. The move hasn’t gone according to plan, though, as the 25-year-old has disappointed at the High-A level this season. In 49 innings, Sierra has run up a 4.69 ERA with 6.05 K/9 against 3.70 BB/9.