Cubs Release Shane Victorino
The Cubs have released outfielder Shane Victorino from their Triple-A roster, reports Carrie Muskat of MLB.com (via Twitter).
Victorino, 35, signed a minor league contract with Chicago in Spring Training and, as of a May 11 update from the Des Moines Register, was told that he would be evaluated within a few weeks. It would seem that the Cubs have made their decision in that time or, perhaps, that Victorino exercised an opt-out provision in his deal. The veteran batted .233/.324/.367 in nine game/34 plate appearances in his brief time with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate and is now free to pursue an opportunity with another organization.
Back in Spring Training, Victorino at least acknowledged the possibility of retirement, though he was clear at the time that his desire was to continue playing the game he holds so dear to his heart. Said Victorino to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports at the time: “I am my hardest critic, so if I feel like I am done, no one would need to make that decision for me.”
Victorino returned to switch-hitting this offseason after hitting only right-handed in 2015. He’s a career .270/.340/.425 hitter in 1299 big league games and has a pair of All-Star nods under his belt as well as four Gold Glove Awards.
Twins, Sean Burnett Agree To Minor League Deal
The Twins and left-handed reliever Sean Burnett have agreed to a minor league pact, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link). The Munsey Sports client opted out of a contract with the Braves last week. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Burnett has a June 15 opt-out date and would earn a pro-rated $1MM base salary upon making the Majors, with an opportunity to earn up to $1MM more via incentives.
The 33-year-old Burnett has already been with the Dodgers and Braves this season, working to a combined 1.38 ERA with 10 strikeouts against seven walks in 13 innings of work. He’ll hope to make a return to the Majors for the first time since 2014 under his new deal, as surgery to repair an elbow impingement in 2013 and Tommy John surgery in 2014 have slowed his career. Prior to those setbacks, Burnett was a solid reliever for the Pirates and Nationals, working to a 2.85 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 234 innings from 2009-12. Lefties have batted .228/.293/.336 against him to this point in his big league career.
The Twins’ bullpen has been an unmitigated disaster this season, with a 4.75 ERA that ranks 28th in Major League Baseball and beats out only the Rangers (5.43) and Reds (6.47). Closer Glen Perkins went down early with a shoulder injury and recently had a setback, and other left-handed options have struggled, with the exception of Fernando Abad, who has quietly been excellent since signing a minor league deal this winter. Rookie Taylor Rogers is the only other lefty in the Twins’ bullpen, though the converted starter has struggled out of the gates in his brief taste of the Majors. Burnett will join a large stable of lefty relievers at the Triple-A level that are not on the 40-man roster; the Twins currently have southpaws Ryan O’Rourke, Logan Darnell, Dan Runzler and Buddy Boshers in the Rochester ‘pen.
Mets Place Lucas Duda On DL With Stress Fracture In Back, Designate Dario Alvarez
The Mets have placed first baseman Lucas Duda on the 15-day disabled list due to a stress fracture in his lower back, tweets Marc Carig of Newsday. There’s no definitive timetable for his return, but manager Terry Collins said that it “will be awhile,” tweets MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin tweets that Collins added it’ll be “at least” four to six weeks for Duda, though that seems like a fairly optimistic timeline.
In a corresponding move, the Mets have selected the contract of infielder Ty Kelly from Triple-A Las Vegas. Carig tweets that Kelly will get some time at first base along with Eric Campbell, but the club could also try Wilmer Flores and even Michael Conforto at first base in his absence. To clear room for Kelly on the 40-man roster, the team has designated left-hander Dario Alvarez for assignment, Rubin tweets.
Duda, 30, has seen his batting average, on-base percentage and power output each take a significant hit this season, and Mets manager Terry Collins admitted over the weekend that he was “really concerned” about the status of his slugging first baseman’s back. Duda batted .249/.350/.483 and launched 57 homers from 2014-15 while providing offense that was roughly 35 percent better than that of a league-average bat (per metrics like OPS+ and wRC+), but he’s been a shade below average with the bat this season and has seen his struggles escalate rapidly over the past couple of weeks. In 13 games (11 starts) dating back to May 5, Duda is hitting .171/.292/.220. That endpoint is admittedly arbitrary in nature (Duda homered twice on May 4) but does speak to his recent struggles at the dish.
The indefinite loss of Duda is a blow to a Mets lineup that currently ranks 25th in Major League Baseball with 167 runs scored, especially considering the fact that they’ve recently seen one of their hottest hitters, Conforto, go into a lengthy slump with a significant increase in strikeouts. Travis d’Arnaud is already on the disabled list and doesn’t appear close to a return, and Curtis Granderson is hitting just .200/.297/.419 on the year. The rest of the Mets’ infield — Neil Walker, Asdrubal Cabrera, David Wright — has been productive, but Wright is currently mired in a slump of his own and comes with durability concerns due to his ongoing bout with spinal stenosis. Yoenis Cespedes has been a stabilizing force in the middle of the Mets’ lineup, hitting an incredible .298/.381/.660 with an MLB-best 14 homers and an NL-best 35 RBIs. (His .660 slugging also leads the Senior Circuit.)
It’s unlikely that Conforto sees any immediate time at first base, as he lacks experience at the position, though if and when he does get a lengthier look there, the Mets could make some use of the Juan Lagares/Alejandro De Aza platoon that was expected to patrol center field before Cespedes re-signed. One name that is not in consideration is Double-A first baseman and top prospect Dominic Smith, tweets Carig. Collins says that Smith, who has just 47 games above the Class-A level under his belt, will not be coming up anytime soon. Rubin tweets that Wright, too, offered to play some first base in Duda’s absence, but Collins said a move across the diamond for the team captain is not a consideration, either.
David Aardsma Opts Out Of Blue Jays Contract
Veteran reliever David Aardsma has opted out of his minor league contract with the Blue Jays, MLBTR has learned (Twitter link). The right-hander is free to sign with any club.
Aardsma, 34, spent a considerable chunk of the 2015 campaign with the Braves, tallying 30 2/3 innings out of the team’s bullpen and posting a 4.70 ERA with 10.3 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and a 29.5 percent ground-ball rate. He inked a minor league pact with Toronto and has posted an unsightly 5.27 ERA in 13 2/3 innings with their Triple-A affiliate this season, though the bulk of the damage done against him came in one outing.
The former Mariners closer posted strong numbers at the Triple-A level from 2014-15 (though a groin injury ended his 2014 season with the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate) and has a lifetime 4.27 ERA with 340 strikeouts against 183 walks in 337 innings at the Major League level. Presumably, he’ll hope to find a similar minor league contract with another club and earn a spot on a big league roster, as he did in Atlanta last year.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/22/16
Here are today’s minor moves from around baseball:
- The Rays have promoted right-hander Tyler Sturdevant from Triple-A Durham and demoted righty Steve Geltz, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). Sturdevant, who served a 50-game PED suspension last year, is now in position to make his big league debut after accumulating outstanding numbers over 318 1/3 frames in the minors (2.74 ERA, 9.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9). Geltz gave up two earned runs in an inning of work Sunday and ran his ERA up to 6.06 in 16 1/3 innings with Tampa Bay this season.
- The Tigers have recalled right-hander Buck Farmer from Triple-A Toledo and optioned righty Drew VerHagen, per Jason Beck of MLB.com (Twitter link). Farmer has already accrued 8 1/3 impressive innings for the Tigers this season and logged a 2.16 ERA, 10.8 K/9 and 3.24 BB/9. VerHagen threw an inning for the club Sunday and allowed two earned runs, giving him a 7.11 ERA in 19 frames this year.
- The Angels have selected the contract of left-hander Lucas Luetge, who will fill Tim Lincecum‘s roster spot, tweets Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. Luetge, whom the Halos signed in November, owns a 4.35 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 in 89 major league innings.
- The Indians have recalled right-hander Austin Adams from Triple-A Columbus and sent southpaw Kyle Crockett down, according to Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). Adams was lights-out over 16 1/3 frames with the Clippers prior to today, putting up a 1.10 ERA, 9.92 K/9 and 2.76 BB/9. He hasn’t been nearly that effective at the big league level, though, with a 4.69 ERA, 6.02 K/9 and 3.12 B/9 in 40 1/3 innings. The demotion of Crockett, who has given up a whopping six earned runs on seven hits in just 3 2/3 innings this season, will leave the Indians’ bullpen without a left-handed option.
Angels Designate A.J. Achter For Assignment
The Angels have designated right-hander A.J. Achter for assignment, reports Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (Twitter link). Achter is the second reliever the Halos have designated this weekend, joining Al Alburquerque.
Achter threw 11 1/3 frames for the Angels prior to Sunday and pitched to a 4.76 ERA, posting low strikeout and walk rates (3.18 and 2.38 per nine innings, respectively) along the way. Achter, 27, previously accrued big league time as a member of the Twins, with whom he picked up a combined 24 1/3 innings the previous two seasons. In total, Achter owns a 5.05 ERA, 5.8 K/9 and 3.03 BB/9 in the majors.
Athletics Send Sonny Gray To DL, Recall Daniel Coulombe
The Athletics have placed Sonny Gray on the disabled list with a strained right trapezius, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links here). In a corresponding move, the club recalled lefty Daniel Coulombe from Triple-A Nashville.
It’s unknown how much time Gray will miss, though the Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg sat out nearly a month last year with the same injury, notes Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter). It’s also unclear if the right-hander had been pitching injured prior to landing on the DL. If that were the case, it would help to explain his precipitous decline this year. After posting ace-like numbers for the A’s in 491 innings from 2013-15, Gray has compiled a 6.19 ERA, 7.69 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 48 innings this season. In his previous start, a 3 1/3-frame showing against the Yankees on Friday, Gray surrendered four earned runs on six hits and four walks.
Gray’s velocity looks normal, as do his strikeout and ground-ball rates, but his walk, home run and hard-contact marks have notably increased in 2016.
With Gray down, the A’s now have a franchise-record 13 players on the DL. The A’s haven’t announced how they’ll set their rotation in Gray’s absence, but the vacant spot won’t go to Coulombe, who’s a reliever. Couolombe has logged 22 1/3 big league innings, including one with the A’s this year, and put up a 6.04 ERA, 6.85 K/9 and 5.24 BB/9.
Mariners Place Ketel Marte On DL, Recall Chris Taylor
The Mariners have placed shortstop Ketel Marte on the disabled list and recalled Chris Taylor from Triple-A Tacoma to take his place, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (on Twitter).
Marte sprained his left thumb during the Mariners’ game against the Reds on Saturday and had to leave early, though X-rays came back negative. The switch-hitting Marte, 22, is in the midst of his second straight season serving as a capable option at short for the Mariners. In 167 plate appearances this year, Marte has hit .276/.307/.378 with five steals on seven attempts. During his first major league action last season, Marte batted .283/.351/.402 in 247 trips to the plate and swiped eight bags on 12 tries. All told, Marte has already been worth 2.2 fWAR in just 97 career games.
The 25-year-old Taylor has compiled a .294/.374/.464 line in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League this year after faring similarly well with Tacoma last season, but his big league career hasn’t been nearly as successful. Taylor, formerly a well-regarded prospect, has amassed 253 PAs with the Mariners and slashed an uninspiring .239/.296/.296.
Reds Make Several Roster Moves
The Reds have selected the contracts of three Triple-A right-handers — Dayan Diaz, A.J. Morris and Josh Smith — and transferred both starter Anthony DeSclafani and outfielder Yorman Rodriguez to the 60-day disabled list, per a club announcement.
DeSclafani, the closest thing to a household name the group offers, has missed the entire season so far with an oblique issue. The 26-year-old had a positive bullpen session earlier this week, however, and could make his way back to the team’s injury-plagued, subpar rotation sometime soon. DeSclafani was solid last year, his first full big league season, in totaling 184 2/3 innings of 4.05 ERA/3.67 FIP/3.97 xFIP pitching.
Rodriguez (hamstring) has also been out for all of 2016, but the out-of-options 23-year-old was expected to push for a roster spot with the Reds during the spring. Rodriguez signed with the Reds as a 16-year-old in 2008 for $2.5MM, then a record bonus for Venezuelan amateurs. In 2,546 minor league plate appearances, Rodriguez has hit .261/.314/.399 with 50 home runs. He got his first (and only) taste of the majors in 2014, collecting 29 PAs in 11 games.
The Reds are the fourth organization for the 27-year-old Diaz, who hasn’t yet pitched in the majors. Diaz has posted mostly sterling numbers across 10 minor league seasons, however, with a 2.04 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 344 innings.
Like Diaz, Morris also looks poised to make his big league debut. The 29-year-old was a fourth-round pick of the Nationals in 2009 and also spent time with the Cubs and Pirates organizations before joining the Reds this season. He has worked as both a starter and reliever in the minors, amassing 472 1/3 innings of 3.22 ERA ball to accompany a 7.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.
Smith, finally, tossed 32 2/3 innings in nine appearances (seven starts) with the Reds in 2015 and put up a nice K/9 (8.27), but he offset that with control problems (5.79 BB/9) and an unpalatable 6.89 ERA. Smith has fared better at Triple-A this year, compiling a 3.86 ERA, 7.29 K/9 and 2.79 BB/9 in 42 innings (eight starts).
Kevin Kiermaier Suffers Fractures In Left Hand
SUNDAY: The Rays have officially placed Kiermaier on the 15-day disabled list and called up Mahtook, per a team announcement.
SATURDAY, 7:37pm: The Rays will indeed promote Mahtook to take Kiermaier’s place, tweets Topkin.
5:34pm: Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier suffered two fractures in the metacarpal bones in his left hand Saturday, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Kiermaier will see a specialist Monday regarding the injury, which occurred on a fifth-inning diving attempt in Detroit and caused him to leave the game. It won’t be known how much time Kiermaier will miss until he’s checked out, but it’s fair to expect a several-week absence for the 26-year-old.
The loss of Kiermaier, among the elite defenders in baseball, will be a significant one for the Rays. Since bursting on the scene in 2014, Kiermaier has quietly established himself as one of the league’s top all-around players. In addition to his defensive prowess, the lefty-swinging Kiermaier has acquitted himself well offensively, having hit .260/.306/.435 with 25 home runs in 1,034 plate appearances over the past two-plus seasons. His base-running ability has further buoyed his value during that time, as he has racked up 29 stolen bases. Six of those steals have come this year for Kiermaier, who has provided an above-average offensive line of .236/.307/.447 in 137 trips to the plate.
In Kiermaier’s absence, the Rays are primed to call up Mikie Mahtook, according to Topkin (Twitter link). After putting up excellent numbers in his major league debut last season (.295/.351/.619 with nine homers in 115 PAs), Mahtook has continued thriving at the Triple-A level this year. In 87 PAs, the 26-year-old has batted .316/.402/.474.