Reds Outright Dayan Diaz
The Reds have outrighted righty Dayan Diaz, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. The move clears space on the Reds’ roster for Cody Reed, who will pitch today against the Astros.
[Related: Updated Cincinnati Reds Depth Chart]
The Reds signed the 27-year-old Diaz to a minor league contract in November after a nine-year minor league career that’s included stops in the Astros, Cubs and Red Sox organizations. The Reds have twice promoted him to patch their badly struggling bullpen, but he hasn’t offered much help, allowing seven earned runs and seven walks in 6 2/3 innings. He’s fared somewhat better for Triple-A Louisville, with a 3.66 ERA, 5.5 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 19 2/3 innings.
Angels Activate Andrelton Simmons, Outright Brendan Ryan
SATURDAY: Ryan has cleared waivers, and the Angels have outrighted him to Triple-A Salt Lake, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets.
WEDNESDAY: The Angels have activated shortstop Andrelton Simmons after a long layoff for a thumb injury, as MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports on Twitter. To create a roster spot, the club designated infielder Brendan Ryan for assignment.
[RELATED: Updated Los Angeles Angels Depth Chart]
Simmons had been out since early May after tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his thumb, which required surgery. It’s certainly positive news that he was able to return earlier than had been expected.
The Halos need Simmons’s glove at short, but even more than that will need him to pick up the pace at the plate upon his return. Over his 118 plate appearances earlier in the year, Simmons posted a weak .219/.246/.281 batting line and managed only a single long ball.
As for Ryan, this is his second trip through DFA limbo with Los Angeles this year. He was added as depth with Simmons and then Cliff Pennington injured. The 34-year-old managed only one hit in 14 plate appearances, though he’ll continue to have a niche role in this or another organization due to his well-respected glove.
Angels Designate Todd Cunningham For Assignment
The Angels have designated outfielder Todd Cunningham for assignment, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. The move clears space on the Angels’ active and 40-man rosters for Tim Lincecum, who’s set to start against the Athletics today.
The 27-year-old Cunningham had played in five games for the Angels. He’s spent most of the season so far with Triple-A Salt Lake, posting a solid .299/.401/.382 line and playing all three outfield positions. Despite demonstrating good on-base ability in the minors, though, he lacks home-run power and has struggled in brief stints in the big leagues, batting just .208/.263/.255 in 114 career Major League plate appearances, mostly accumulated with the Braves in 2015.
Cardinals Sign Dakota Hudson
The Cardinals have announced that they’ve signed righty Dakota Hudson, the 34th overall pick in the draft. According to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter), Hudson will receive $2MM, a bit more than the pool value of the 34th pick, which is $1.878MM. That figure still leaves the Cardinals with surplus pool space with which to sign remaining picks, since another Cards first-rounder, outfielder Dylan Carlson, signed for about $560K less than his pool value.
Hudson, a 6’5 junior from Mississippi State, was ranked the No. 15 prospect in the draft by MLB.com, which notes that he sits 93-95 MPH with his fastball (although he can touch 97) and throws a terrific slider/cutter. He also has a curveball and changeup, giving him a four-pitch mix. This season, he posted a 2.55 ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 113 innings. He also excelled last summer in the wood-bat Cape Cod League.
The Cardinals received the 34th overall pick as compensation for the departure of Jason Heyward. Hudson was the team’s third 2016 draft pick, after shortstop Delvin Perez (No. 23 overall) and Carlson (No. 33). All three have now agreed to terms.
Dodgers Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Will Smith
The Dodgers have agreed to a $1.775MM bonus with 32nd overall pick Will Smith, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. That falls below the slot value of $1,940,700.
Los Angeles added this pick when Zack Greinke signed with the Diamondbacks after declining a qualifying offer. That provided an opportunity to add the Louisville catcher as well as to pad the organization’s bonus pool, with some savings to apply to other selections.
Smith rated as high as 59th on the pre-draft rankings of evaluators, with ESPN.com’s Keith Law giving him that placement. Smith delivers impeccable zone awareness and contact ability, but doesn’t wield a big stick. But he draws high grades for his work behind the dish and also has good wheels.
Others weren’t as impressed with that package, though. Baseball America ranked him 74th, with MLB.com dropping him out of the top 100 of its list at No. 110. Those outlets seem less wowed by Smith’s overall defensive package.
The Dodgers already locked up top pick Gavin Lux for pennies over his slot value, but went over the allocation for third-rounder Dustin May. Their top unsigned draft pick is Vandy right-hander Jordan Sheffield, who went 36th overall.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/17/2016
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The White Sox outrighted first baseman/outfielder Jerry Sands after he cleared waivers, Collen Kane of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Recently designated, Sands will provide some depth for Chicago at Triple-A — assuming, at least, that he accepts the assignment. (He has previously been outrighted, so could instead elect free agency.) The 28-year-old has seen sporadic MLB time over the past several seasons. In 58 plate appearances with the White Sox this year, he scuffled to a .236/.276/.291 batting line.
- Likewise, the Blue Jays outrighted their own recent designee, southpaw Scott Diamond, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). The 29-year-old only saw one game with the big club in his first MLB action since 2013. He had been pitching well at Triple-A, carrying a 3.16 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 over 12 starts.
- The Red Sox have signed first baseman Cody Decker, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). Decker is still looking for his first major league hit after a brief stint last year with the Padres — he did, at least, record an RBI — but he’s got little to prove as a Triple-A hitter. In nearly 1,500 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors, the 29-year-old owns a .255/.333/.501 batting line with 74 home runs.
- Recently released by the Cubs, righty Alex Sanabia is now set to join Mexico’s Tijuana Toros, Cotillo tweets. Sanabia has seen 138 2/3 innings of MLB action, all with the Marlins and none coming since 2013. Sanabia had allowed 39 earned runs in 55 1/3 innings at Triple-A for the Cubs on the year.
White Sox Agree To Terms With Zack Burdi
The White Sox have agreed to terms with their second selection from the amateur draft, Louisville righty Zack Burdi, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). Taken with the 26th overall pick, Burdi will receive the full slot value of $2,128,500.
Burdi was a flamethrowing closer for the University of Louisville, much like his older brother, Twins prospect Nick Burdi. In addition to an upper-90s fastball, he delivers what Baseball America calls a plus change and a slider that has shown promise. BA rated him 21st among draft-eligible prospects, based in part on the idea that he could potentially be developed as a starter.
Other outlets were less optimistic on the idea of Burdi moving into a rotation long-term. ESPN.com put him in the 37th slot, while MLB.com rated him 41st. Even if he’s not a starter, Chicago will no doubt like the idea of plugging a potentially fast-moving, high-leverage arm into its system.
Rays Sign First-Rounder Josh Lowe
The Rays have signed first-round draft selection Josh Lowe, with the team set to announce the deal tonight. MLB.com’s Bill Chastain first reported a deal was imminent yesterday on Twitter.
It’s an under-slot signing, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link), though details on the bonus remain unreported. The Georgia high school third baseman was taken 13th overall, a pick which came with a $3,098,900 slot value.
Baseball America and MLB.com each rated Lowe as the 17th-best draft-eligible prospect, while ESPN.com placed him 26th. He is highly regarded for his athleticism and baseball bloodlines, and features two-way talent. Tampa Bay will try him out as a hitter first, given Lowe’s big-time pop, good wheels, and big arm at the hot corner. His bat needs refining, as is often the case, and some wonder if he’ll be quick enough to stay at third, with a possible shift to right field possibly making sense down the line.
Tampa Bay has also agreed to terms with Ryan Boldt, its second-round pick and the 53rd overall player taken, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter). Boldt’s $1MM bonus will fall $195,500 shy of the slot allocation, so the club will save some additional money there, as it did with 90th overall pick Austin Franklin as well as its last two selections from the top ten rounds (college seniors Peter Bayer and Spencer Jones). Among the organization’s top choices yet to sign are comp B selection Jake Fraley (an LSU outfielder) and fifth-rounder Easton McGee (a high-school righty).
Orioles Sign First-Rounder Cody Sedlock
The Orioles have announced the signing of first-round draft pick Cody Sedlock. He’ll receive an at-slot bonus of $2,097,200, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link).
Baltimore took Sedlock out of the University of Illinois with the 27th overall pick. There was a fairly wide range of opinion on his value, with MLB.com ranking him closest (26th) to where he ended up. The MLB.com team was impressed with his “heavy sinker” and three usable secondary pitches.
ESPN.com’s Keith Law was even a bigger fan, placing Sedlock in the 17th slot on his board on the basis of what he credits as “three above average pitches.” Baseball America’s prospect gurus, however, were much more bearish. They rated him 42nd, citing concern with over-use by the Illini coaching staff.
Baltimore still has some work to do with its draft class. Both of its next two picks, lefty Keegan Akin (54th) and righty Matthias Dietz (69th) have yet to sign.
Blue Jays Sign First-Rounder T.J. Zeuch
The Blue Jays have agreed to a $2.175MM bonus with first-round pick T.J. Zeuch, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports on Twitter. Toronto will save $110,100 against the slot value of the 21st pick.
A towering righty out of the University of Pittsburgh, Zeuch drew mixed reviews from prospect evaluators. ESPN.com’s Keith Law rated him 38th, explaining that the collegiate junior’s secondary pitches aren’t as exciting as his body, mechanics, and velocity.
Other analysts were more optimistic. Baseball America was particularly high on him, ranking him 20th on its draft board, citing the same considerations but attributing more value to the solid building blocks. MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis placed him 28th.
In announcing the deal, Toronto noted that it has also locked up most of its other top selections. JB Woodman (57th overall), Bo Bichette (66th), Joshua Palacios (132nd), and Cavan Biggio (162nd) are among the new Jays prospects under contract.