Giants Designate Daniel Carbonell For Assignment
The Giants announced that they have selected the contracts of outfielder Mac Williamson and catcher Trevor Brown from Triple-A. To clear room on the 40-man roster, Joe Panik has been transferred to the 60-day DL, and outfielder Daniel Carbonell has been designated for assignment, per Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area (Twitter link).
Carbonell, now 24 years old, signed a four-year, $3.5MM contract with the Giants last summer after defecting from Cuba. Though he performed exceptionally well last season in the low minors, he struggled in the Arizona Fall League and looked similarly overmatched in 2015, batting just .146/.173/.194 in 218 plate appearances at the Double-A level. Carbonell’s bat was said to be raw at the time of his signing, with scouts praising his glovework and speed over his bat.
Carlos Pena To Sign Contract To Retire As Member Of Rays
The Rays will sign first baseman Carlos Pena to a contract in order to allow him to retire as a member of the organization, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. The 37-year-old Dominican native has not played with any organization this year.
Though he ultimately made many stops along the way in his 14 big league seasons, Pena enjoyed his longest and most successful stint in Tampa Bay. After originally signing there as a minor league free agent, Pena put up a monster 2007 season in which he swatted 46 home runs and carried a 1.037 OPS. He inked a three-year, $24.25MM extension thereafter.
Though he never quite reached that peak again, Pena put up a .230/.360/.483 slash over his five years with the Rays, the last of which came after a one-year stop with the Cubs. He was also a significant contributor to the club’s 2008 and 2010 playoff teams, compiling a .269/.388/.522 batting line with four home runs in his 80 post-season plate appearances.
Before heading to Tampa Bay, Pena spent an extended stretch with the Tigers. Though he was an above-average hitter, he didn’t consistently produce there as he did later. Pena also made a stop in Chicago, as noted above, and had short tenures with the Rangers, Royals, Red Sox, Astros, and Athletics. He had an unsuccessful late-season run last year in Texas, and it appears as if that will represent his final work at the MLB level.
While Pena was born in the Dominican Republic, he played high school and college ball in the United States, making him draft-eligible. He was taken with the tenth pick of the 1998 draft by the Rangers and soon became one of the game’s highest-rated prospects. But Pena was dealt twice in 2002, not long after reaching the majors, first heading to Oakland and then on to Detroit (as portrayed in the Moneyball book and film).
It took some time until Pena made good on his full promise, but he certainly did that for the Rays. MLBTR offers its congratulations on an outstanding career, and wishes him the best as he moves on to other pursuits.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/16/15
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Athletics have brought up lefty Barry Zito from Triple-A, announcing today that his contract was selected. A 40-man spot was cleared by placing Jesse Chavez on the 60-day DL. The 37-year-old last threw for Oakland back in 2006, his last of seven seasons with the club. He has worked to a 3.46 ERA over 138 innings this season at Triple-A Nashville, with 5.9 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9, after sitting out the 2014 campaign and joining the A’s on a minor league deal.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/15/15
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league, each coming courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy…
- The Royals have outrighted infielder Dusty Coleman and right-hander Yohan Pino to Triple-A Omaha. Each player was designated for assignment last week as Kansas City added Joba Chamberlain and Louis Coleman to its bullpen. The 31-year-old Pino delivered 19 1/3 solid innings for the Royals this season, posting a 3.26 ERA with a 13-to-3 K/BB ratio. Coleman, 28, made his big league debut in 2015, though he went 0-for-5 in his brief stint. He batted .292/.364/.442 in 99 games between Double-A and Triple-A.
- Danny Dorn was outrighted to Triple-A by the Blue Jays, who designated him for assignment last week as well. Toronto claimed Dorn off waivers from the D-Backs, but he wasn’t long for the team’s 40-man roster, lasting just under two weeks. The 31-year-old minor league veteran got his first taste of MLB action in Arizona this season and has a nice Triple-A track record — a .280/.355/.485 batting line in 727 games at the top minor league level.
Pirates Designate Radhames Liz, Recall Vance Worley
The Pirates have designated right-hander Radhames Liz for assignment, as Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review first reported on Twitter. He’ll lose his roster spot to clear 40-man space for the return of fellow righty Vance Worley.
Liz was a surprising big-league signee this offseason, given that he’d last appeared in the majors in 2009. The 31-year-old has shown the ability to miss bats, with 10.4 K/9 on the year. But he has also struggled to keep hitters from reaching base, surrendering four and a half walks and ten hits per nine.
All told, Liz owns a 4.24 ERA in 23 1/3 innings at the major league level on the year, though he put up good results during a mid-season stint at Triple-A (much of it as a starter). Regardless whether he makes it back to the bigs this year, Liz has certainly shown enough — including a nearly 95 mph average fastball — to draw interest again this coming winter.
Worley, 27, had a bounce-back season last year for the Bucs. While he hasn’t been quite as good in 2015, at least in terms of bottom-line results, he’s been effective enough at the big league level with a 3.78 ERA over 69 innings. And he has been been quite effective against Triple-A hitters since being outrighted this summer.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/14/15
Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…
- The Padres announced several roster moves, including the selection of right-hander Jay Jackson and infielder Cody Decker‘s contracts from Triple-A. Right-hander Casey Kelly and southpaw Robbie Erlin were also recalled from Triple-A, while Yonder Alonso was placed on the 60-day DL with a lower back strain. Jackson and Decker are both reaching the bigs for the first time after long pro careers. Jackson was a ninth-round pick for the Cubs in the 2008 draft and cracked Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list (at #98) prior to the 2010 season. The righty has a 4.31 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 2.63 K/BB rate over 857 2/3 IP in the minors with the Cubs, Marlins, Pirates, Brewers and Padres. Decker, a 22nd-round pick in 2009, has 154 homers and a .265/.348/.524 slash line over 2929 career PA in San Diego’s farm system.
- The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Chase d’Arnaud from Triple-A. In a corresponding move, second baseman Cesar Hernandez was placed on the 60-day disabled list with a dislocated left thumb. D’Arnaud joined the Phillies on a minor league deal last winter and has hit .268/.317/.354 over 540 PA for Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season, playing mostly third and short over his 120 games. D’Arnaud (the older brother of Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud) debuted in the Show by playing in 48 games for the Pirates in 2011 but has only appeared in 16 MLB contests since, and hasn’t recorded an official plate appearance since 2012.
- The Astros have selected the contract of infielder Matt Duffy from Triple-A. Duffy fills the 40-man roster spot left by Scott Feldman, who was moved to the 60-day DL due to his season-ending shoulder injury. Not to be confused with the Giants infielder of the same name, this Matt Duffy was Houston’s 20th-round pick in the 2011 draft and is reaching the majors for the first time in five pro seasons. Duffy hit .294/.366/.484 with 30 homers and 104 RBI in 557 Triple-A plate appearances this year and was named the Pacific Coast League’s MVP.
Blue Jays Acquire Darwin Barney
2:53pm: The Blue Jays will send Double-A catcher Jack Murphy to the Dodgers to complete the trade, Bill Plunkett of the Orange Country Register tweets. Murphy, 27, has spent the year in Double-A New Hampshire. He owns a slash line of .220/.309/.315 through 328 plate appearances this year.
9:05am: The Blue Jays announced that they have acquired Darwin Barney from the Dodgers in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. As a post-August 31st acquisition, Barney will not be eligible for postseason play.
Barney, 29, appeared in two games for the Dodgers this season and spent the rest of the season in Triple-A. At Oklahoma City, Barney slashed .277/.325/.354 with four homers and seven steals across 96 games. For his career, Barney has a .245/293/.336 major league batting line in parts of six seasons with the Cubs and Dodgers.
Of course, the 2012 National League Gold Glove Award winner has more of a reputation for his defensive work than his hitting. For his career, Barney owns a strong 12.9 UZR/150 rating at the second base position. He also has 149 2/3 innings experience at shortstop, where he has graded out with a 40.0 UZR/150, albeit in a very limited sample size.
Barney will join the Blue Jays in New York for today’s contest against the Yankees.
Blue Jays Designate Scott Copeland For Assignment
The Blue Jays have designed Scott Copeland for assignment, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet tweets. The move will create room for the newly acquired Darwin Barney on the team’s 40-man roster.
Copeland, 27, made three starts and two relief appearances with the Blue Jays this season. The right-hander spent the bulk of the season in Triple-A Buffalo, where he pitched to a strong 3.17 ERA with 4.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9. The Blue Jays now have ten days to trade, release, or outright Copeland.
As MLBTR’s DFA Tracker shows, Copeland is now one of three players left in DFA limbo along with Cesar Cabral (Orioles) and Danny Dorn (Blue Jays).
Red Sox Claim Roman Mendez From Rangers
The Red Sox have claimed righty Roman Mendez off waivers from the Rangers, Boston announced (h/t to Tim Britton of the Providence Journal, on Twitter). A 40-man spot was cleared by placing Koji Uehara on the 60-day DL.
Mendez, 25, was designated by Texas earlier this month as part of the team’s September call-up plan. While he was able to put up 33 innings of 2.18 ERA pitching in his MLB debut last year, that success was not supported by the peripherals and he was knocked around in his brief big league action in 2015.
Now, Mendez will head back to Boston, which originally shipped him to Texas as part of the return for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Mendez has put up better strikeout-to-walk numbers in the minors , including 8.5 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 over 67 Triple-A innings, and the Red Sox will hope that he can make the final step in his development and become a big league contributor.
Athletics Acquire Daniel Coulombe
The Athletics have acquired lefty Daniel Coulombe from the Dodgers, Los Angeles announced. Cash considerations will make up the return for the recently-designated pitcher.
Coulombe’s speedy ascent through the LA system hit something of snag this year, even as he earned his second consecutive five-appearance big league cameo. After having maintained double-digit strikeout rates over his first three seasons as a professional, Coulombe retired just 8.9 per nine via strikeout (against 5.2 BB/9) in his 41 1/3 Triple-A frames.
Of course, Coulombe had never before faced hitting at the highest level of the minors, as he skipped that level entirely when he earned his first big league promotion late in 2014. Oakland will take a chance on harnessing that previously-demonstrated swing-and-miss upside.