Dodgers Release Mat Latos
SEPTEMBER 25: The Dodgers have announced that they’ve released Latos.
SEPTEMBER 17: The Dodgers have designated righty Mat Latos for assignment, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. His 40-man spot will be used for the activation of reliever Carlos Frias from the 60-day DL.
Latos, 27, was acquired from the Marlins at the trade deadline in a complicated, three-team deal. That move also brought several other pieces to Los Angeles, with the bulk of the assets (featuring lefty Alex Wood and infielder prospect Jose Peraza) coming from the Braves.
It was certainly a calculated to risk to add Latos, who has an excellent track record but had dealt with injuries and performance issues in recent years. He had shown improved velocity and results in the run-up to the deadline, suggesting that his still-youthful arm could have some punch left down the stretch.
Needless to say, Latos did not perform to expectations for the Dodgers. He surrendered 18 earned runs over just 24 1/3 innings, though he did manage a fairly typical 18:6 strkeout-to-walk ratio.
It is hard to see any other teams having interest in the righty for the rest of the season, given his recent struggles and the fact that he wouldn’t be eligible to pitch for a new club in the postseason. But he’ll still probably draw plenty of interest as a buy-low arm when he hits free agency in a few months. Latos will hit the market in advance of his age-28 season, and organizations will no doubt recall that he averaged about 200 frames of sub-3.30 ERA pitching annually over the 2010-2013 seasons.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/24/15
Here are Thursday’s minor transactions from around the league…
- Outfielder David Lough is back with the Orioles after being outrighted earlier this season; Baltimore announced today that Lough’s contract has been selected from Triple-A Norfolk. In order to clear a 40-man roster spot, Dylan Bundy was recalled from the minors and placed on the Major League 60-day disabled list. Lough will provide the O’s with some outfield depth — Adam Jones has been hurting of late — and provide the team with another left-handed bat. Lough was a very useful platoon outfielder in 2014, his first season with the Orioles, but his offensive output evaporated in 2015. Despite seeing most of his plate appearances versus right-handed pitching, Lough’s total batting line this season was a mere .202/.243/.318 in 139 plate appearances. The 29-year-old didn’t fare much better at Triple-A, where he batted .259/.290/.310 in 14 games.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/23/2015
Here are today’s minor moves …
- The Giants are calling up veteran infielder Kevin Frandsen, reports Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area (Twitter link). As Pavlovic notes, the Giants’ position-player depth has been hit hard by injuries, so Frandsen can provide some depth for the final couple weeks of the season. He’s not on the 40-man roster and will thus require a 40-man move to accommodate his promotion.
- Giants outfielder Daniel Carbonell has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Carbonell was recently designated for assignment to free up 40-man space. It’s not terribly surprising that he cleared, as he is still in the midst of the four-year, $3.5MM deal that he signed with San Francisco as an international free agent out of Cuba. The 24-year-old advanced to Double-A this year after putting up solid-enough numbers in the lower minors, but sputtered to a .146/.173/.194 slash in 214 plate appearances there.
Indians Designate Tyler Holt For Assignment
The Indians have designated outfielder Tyler Holt for assignment, according to a club announcement. His 40-man spot was needed for catcher Adam Moore, whose contract was purchased from Triple-A.
Holt, 26, has struggled in fairly minimal major league time over the past two years. In 703 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, though, he has put up an interesting .304/.398/.382 slash line. As that would suggest, Holt doesn’t have much pop — he has just six career MiLB home runs. But he does offer some speed, and has swiped 45 bags in the highest level of the minors.
As for the 31-year-old Moore, who signed as a minor league free agent, this will represent his sixth consecutive season with at least some time on a MLB active roster. He has less than 300 plate appearances over that span, however, without much production. In his 355 trips to the plate this year at Columbus, Moore owns a .282/.328/.397 slash with six home runs.
Phillies Extend Manager Pete Mackanin
The Phillies have extended the contract of manager Pete Mackanin through next season, according to a team announcement. Philadelphia will also add a club option for the 2017 campaign.
Mackanin stepped in mid-year for the basement-dwelling Phils amidst significant organizational turmoil. When then-skipper Ryne Sandberg resigned in late June, Mackanin was given dugout duties on an interim basis. Not long thereafter, Philadelphia brought in new president Andy MacPhail and ultimately fired GM Ruben Amaro Jr.
While the general manager’s seat remains open, the Phillies apparently decided that they had seen enough positive results from Mackanin to keep him as the top uniformed personnel member. Philly is just 30-46 under Mackanin’s leadership, which isn’t much better than they were with Sandberg, but the team was never expected to contend and has also dealt with the loss of several more key veterans.
Of course, Philadelphia is less concerned with immediate results than it is with development at this stage, and Mackanin has overseen a fairly promising arrival of younger players. Having already helped to welcome key names such as Maikel Franco and Aaron Nola to the big leagues, Mackanin will be responsible for overseeing their continued maturation and the ongoing introduction of youthful talent onto the big league roster.
“The Phillies are pleased that Pete has accepted the position of manager for the 2016 season,” MacPhail said in a statement. “We believe that Pete is the best fit for the role. Since assuming the interim manager position in June, Pete has developed an excellent rapport with our players and has also connected well with the media and our fans. Equally as important is his eagerness to take on the challenge of rebuilding the team and further developing our players. We look forward to his contributions.”
Mackanin is a veteran baseball man, but this will be his first non-interim managerial stint. He has previously spent time as a stop-gap skipper for the Pirates and Reds. Before his more recent turn as the Phillies’ third base coach, Mackanin was the team’s bench coach over 2009-12.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Twins Promote Max Kepler
The Twins announced this evening that first baseman/outfielder Max Kepler will be called up to the big leagues for the first time. The 22-year-old just completed a strong season in which he was named the Southern League’s player of the year.
Kepler, 22, made huge strides upon moving up to the Double-A level for the first time. He owns an impressive .322/.416/.531 slash over 482 plate appearances and has also contributed nine long balls and 18 steals.
The move doesn’t mean much for Kepler’s service time or roster situation. He can only pick up about two weeks of action, of course, and was already on the 40-man. Odds are quite good that Kepler will still open the 2015 season in the upper minors, though he certainly seems to have moved up his timeline — as this call-up would suggest.
MLB.com recently moved Kepler into its top-100 prospect list, rating him 99th. That outlet still doesn’t expect him to be a regular contributor until 2017, noting that he’s shown strides but still requires polish.
One of the key factors that slowed Kepler’s ascent, of course, was the fact that he came to the Minnesota organization from Germany. As with many European ballplayers, Kepler has had a lengthy adjustment period. That results from a variety of factors — a broad and interesting subject that European baseball expert Josh Chetwynd and I discussed on a recent edition of the MLBTR Podcast.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/21/2015
Here are the day’s minor moves …
- The Pirates have selected the contract of outfielder Keon Broxton, according to a club release and as reported previously by Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh cleared a 40-man spot by placing injured infielder Jung Ho Kang on the 60-day DL. Broxton, 25, could see action as a pinch runner down the stretch; he’s swiped 150 bags over seven minor league seasons. He’s also enjoyed another solid season at the plate this year, following up on a good 2014 with a composite .273/.357/.438 line over 571 plate appearances split between the Double-A and Triple-A levels. Once a well-regarded Diamondbacks prospect, Broxton lost his 40-man spot there and ended up in Pittsburgh in a minor trade. He’s bumped his stock back up since. By adding him to the 40-man now, the Bucs are now set up to protect Broxton in this winter’s Rule 5 draft.
Cardinals Designate Xavier Scruggs For Assignment
The Cardinals have designated first baseman Xavier Scruggs for assignment, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). The move will clear room on the 40-man roster for catcher Travis Tartamella.
Scruggs, who’ll turn 28 in a few days, has seen minimal big league time in each of the last two seasons. He hasn’t done much damage in that minuscule sample, but does own a solid .264/.357/.456 slash at the Triple-A level since the start of 2014.
As for Tartamella, 27, he has carried rather anemic batting lines throughout his minor league career. But his glovework is held in high regard, and he’ll represent another depth option behind the dish with Yadier Molina set to miss some time.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/20/15
Here are today’s minor moves from around baseball, with the latest transactions at the top of the post…
- The Athletics purchased the contract of catcher Bryan Anderson from Triple-A Nashville, creating 40-man roster space by shifting Kendall Graveman to the 60-day DL. This will be Anderson’s first stint on an MLB roster this season, providing some catching depth as Stephen Vogt and Josh Phegley are both battling injuries. Anderson has appeared in 36 career big league games since 2010 (with the Cardinals, White Sox and A’s) and has a .202/.273/.288 line over 322 PA at Triple-A this season.
Braves Outright Jake Brigham, Michael Kohn
Earlier this week, the Braves outrighted righties Jake Brigham and Michael Kohn. Neither of the two had been among the team’s September call-ups.
After signing a minor-league deal with the Braves last November, the 27-year-old Brigham made his big-league debut in 2015 and struggled, allowing 16 runs in 16 2/3 innings. He spent a larger portion of the season with Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett and fared better, however, combining for a 3.46 ERA, 6.8 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 91 innings in the minors. In June, he also took a perfect game into the ninth inning with Mississippi.
The 29-year-old Kohn pitched six outings with the Braves early in the year but suffered a shoulder strain in May and missed much of the rest of the season before briefly returning to minor-league action this month. The reliever has struggled with his control in a big-league career that spans parts of five seasons, posting a 3.52 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 6.2 BB/9 in 115 career innings.