Minor MLB Transactions: 8/24/15
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Cubs have signed outfielder Quintin Berry to a minor league deal, Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com reports on Twitter. Berry, 30, has seen minimal MLB time since being a regular contributor to the 2012 Tigers. He’s put up a .266/.337/.369 slash over just 341 total plate appearances in the majors. But Berry has swiped 25 bases in that span, and his live legs carried him into action in two consecutive World Series. Over 426 turns at bat this year at the Triple-A level with the Red Sox organization, Berry racked up 35 steals but slashed just .228/.329/.287.
Diamondbacks Designate Danny Dorn
The Diamondbacks have designated outfielder Danny Dorn for assignment, Zach Buchanan of the AZCentral.com reports on Twitter. His 40-man spot was needed for the activation of Jhoulys Chacin.
Dorn, 31, reached the majors for the first time this year, but managed just five hits (one for extra bases) in his 32 turns at bat. But he does have an extensive track record of solid production in the upper minors, and has raked to the tune of a .386/.444/.618 slash in his 305 Triple-A plate appearances this season.
Rangers Sign Drew Stubbs To Minors Deal
The Rangers have announced the signing of outfielder Drew Stubbs to a minor league contract. Stubbs was recently released by the Rockies.
Stubbs, 30, was optioned to Triple-A after a miserable start to the season, but has turned it on since being recalled. All told, he owns a .216/.286/.431 slash — well below league-average once park factors are accounted for. That represents a disappointment both for him and the team, which tendered him a contract after Stubbs put up a strong .289.339/.482 slash line last year.
For the lefty-heavy Rangers, Stubbs could provide a useful option down the stretch. He’s actually been better against right-handed pitching this year, but carries a wide platoon split over his career (.670 OPS against righties, .811 versus lefties). Having spent most of his career in center field, Stubbs also represents a nice glove to have in the fold.
Colorado will remain on the hook for the rest of the cash owed this year to Stubbs, who avoided arbitration with a $5.83MM deal. If he does make it to the Rangers’ big league roster, though, the Rockies will get a small offset equivalent to the pro-rated portion of the league minimum salary.
Sabathia Possibly Done For Season; Yankees Re-Sign Capuano
The Yankees will place left-hander CC Sabathia on the disabled list due to a right knee injury, and manager Joe Girardi told reporters, including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter link) that “it’s a possibility” that Sabathia will not pitch again in 2015. As a result of the injury, the Yankees have re-signed Chris Capuano, who had briefly elected free agency, according to a team announcement.
The 35-year-old Sabathia exited yesterday’s contest due to knee pain after just 2 2/3 innings. If his season is indeed finished, he will end the year with a 5.27 ERA with 7.4 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in 138 1/3 innings. It would also mark the second straight year in which a right knee injury ended Sabathia’s season early. He has one more guaranteed season remaining on his contract and will earn $25MM in 2016, but his 2017 vesting option for the same amount will become guaranteed if Sabathia’s left shoulder remains healthy in 2016. The only ways for the option not to vest are if Sabathia ends the season on the DL due to a shoulder injury, if he spends 45 or more days on the DL due to a shoulder injury or if he makes six or more relief appearances due to a shoulder injury.
For the Yankees, it further depletes the team’s rotation depth, although as Jack Curry of the YES Network noted earlier today (on Twitter) that Michael Pineda threw a bullpen session today and is slated to return to the rotation on Wednesday vs. Houston. Pineda, then, would join Masahiro Tanaka, Ivan Nova, Nathan Eovaldi and Luis Severino in the rotation, with Capuano (and perhaps eventually Bryan Mitchell) serving as depth options.
Capuano, who turned 37 earlier this week, has pitched 33 innings for the Yankees in 2015 but struggled to a 6.55 ERA. He’s averaged 8.5 K/9 but also yielded 4.4 BB/9, hit three batters and served up five homers. Capuano has, somewhat incredibly, been designated for assignment and outrighted three times in the past month. As the Yankees announced, he technically rejected his most recent outright in order to sign a new Major League contract and expedite his return to the big league roster.
Diamondbacks Release Gerald Laird
AUG: 24: The Diamondbacks have released Laird, per the club’s transactions page at MLB.com.
AUG. 20: The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve reinstated catcher Gerald Laird from the 60-day disabled list and designated him for assignment.
As Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic points out (Twitter link), the move allows Laird the opportunity to latch on with another club where he’ll have a better opportunity for playing time prior to the end of the season. Laird opened the season with the D-Backs, but since his injury earlier this year, Arizona has added catcher Welington Castillo and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, lessening the need for Laird’s presence on the roster.
The veteran Laird has a lifetime .243/.305/.353 batting line in 2734 plate appearances but came to the plate only twice in 2015 before landing on the disabled list due to a back injury.
Orioles Designate Nolan Reimold For Assignment
In a series of roster moves, the Orioles announced that they’ve designated outfielder Nolan Reimold for assignment and reinstated infielder/outfielder Steve Pearce from the disabled list. Though getting Pearce back deepens the club, the Orioles took another injury hit in his place, as the team announced that J.J. Hardy has landed on the DL with a groin strain. Right-hander Jorge Rondon has been recalled in his place to give the O’s some extra bullpen depth.
Reimold has spent most of his career either alternating frequently between Triple-A and the Majors or between the active roster and the disabled list. Although he has more than five years of big league service under his belt, Reimold has played in just 354 games at the Major League level. He’s shown on multiple stints in the past that he has the raw talent to be a productive big leaguer, but he’s now 31 years old with a history of neck problems as well as spinal fusion surgery under his belt.
Reimold batted .227/.306/.340 in 108 plate appearances this year and has .214/.276/.361 in 326 PAs dating back to 2013. He’s spent nearly all of his career with the Orioles, although he did briefly appear with the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks in 2014 before returning to Baltimore on a minor league deal this winter.
Braves Recall Christian Bethancourt, Designate David Aardsma
The Braves announced a series of roster moves today, most notably recalling young catcher Christian Bethancourt from Triple-A Gwinnett and designating veteran reliever David Aardsma for assignment. Outfielder Eury Perez has also been optioned to Triple-A, with righty Sugar Ray Marimon being recalled to join the bullpen.
Originally signed to a minor league deal with the Dodgers, the 33-year-old Aardsma excelled at the Triple-A level and opted out of his contract with L.A. in May, quickly latching on with the Braves. Aardsma was added to the big league bullpen in relatively short order, and he’s totaled 30 2/3 innings of relief with Atlanta this year.
Though he’s missed quite a few bats (10.3 K/9 and a career-best 14.8 percent swinging-strike rate), Aardsma has also been more homer-prone than usual, surrendering six long balls in his time with the Braves. Paired with a 4.1 BB/9 rate, he’s posted a 4.70 ERA this season. He’s already cleared revocable waivers, so the Braves will have the ability to try to trade him for a nominal return if there are teams intrigued by Aardsma’s strikeout capabilities. xFIP and SIERA, which both normalize his abnormally high homer-to-flyball rate, peg him a 4.13 and 3.44, respectively, giving some hope for improved performance.
As for Bethancourt, the 23-year-old was looked at as Atlanta’s catcher of the future not long ago and may still be, though reports earlier this year tied the Braves to young catchers. Bethancourt batted just .198/.221/.287 in 104 PAs earlier this year and has batted just .223/.248/.279 in 222 big league PAs. However, he was hitting .327/.359/.480 at Triple-A this season and is lauded by scouts for his defensive prowess, including a throwing arm which many grade as an 80 on the 20-80 scouting scale.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/23/15
Today’s minor moves, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…
- The Rockies selected the contract of right-hander Simon Castro, the team announced. Castro and call-up Jairo Diaz take the roster spots of Justin Miller (demoted) and Rafael Betancourt (designated for assignment). Castro made Baseball America’s top 60 prospects list prior to both the 2010 and 2011 seasons, though his stock fell thanks to some rough minor league campaigns. The righty has a 3.79 ERA, 11.7 K/9 and 3.7 K/BB rate over 57 relief innings for Colorado’s Triple-A club this season.
- Orioles outfielder David Lough has been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (on Twitter). It was reported on Sunday morning that one team had interest in dealing for the recently DFA’d player, but it appears the O’s and that unnamed club were unable to work out a deal.
- As per the MLB Trade Rumors DFA Tracker, Lough’s outright leaves eight players (Betancourt, Emilio Bonifacio, Chris Capuano, Conor Gillaspie, Gerald Laird, Chris Rearick, Donn Roach and Fernando Rodney) awaiting their next assignment.
Rockies Designate Rafael Betancourt For Assignment
Rockies skipper Walt Weiss says Rafael Betancourt has been designated for assignment, Thomas Harding of MLB.com tweets. The Rockies manager also wondered aloud if Betancourt could be picked up by another team in the next ten days.
Weiss went on to call Betancourt a “warrior” and he said that his conversation with the veteran right-hander was tough (link). Weiss said that he admired the way Betancourt came back from Tommy John surgery and gave him a tip of the cap for his Rockies career.
In 45 games for the Rockies this season, Betancourt has struggled, pitching to a 6.18 ERA, although his 9.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 rates are not that far off from his career numbers. Betancourt was a fixture in the Rockies’ bullpen for many years, finishing out 136 games over parts of six seasons. In his 12 total MLB seasons with the Indians and Colorado, Betancourt owns a 3.36 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9.
To follow the status of Betancourt and other players in DFA limbo, check out MLBTR’s DFA Tracker.
Reds Designate Donn Roach For Assignment
The Reds have designated Donn Roach for assignment, according to Robert Bondy of MLB.com (on Twitter). The move will help create room for Collin Balester on the 40-man roster.
The Reds claimed Roach off waivers from the Cubs just a little over a month ago. The 25-year-old has made seven starts for Triple-A Louisville and hasn’t fared all that well. In that small sample size, Roach has a 6.00 ERA with 3.9 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9. Prior to that, Roach made 15 starts for the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate and posted a 2.33 ERA with 3.3 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9. Roach also has 17 big league appearances to his credit the last two years.
To keep track of Roach and everyone else in DFA limbo, check out MLBTR’s DFA Tracker.