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Outright Assignments: Kuhnel, Emanuel

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Rounding up some recent outright assignments….

  • The Brewers outrighted Joel Kuhnel to Triple-A Nashville, as per the right-hander’s MLB.com profile page.  Kuhnel was designated for assignment earlier this week, and for the second time this month, he has been outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster.  The Blue Jays previously outrighted Kuhnel, and he opted for free agency and a subsequent minor league deal with Milwaukee.  It isn’t yet known if he’ll choose free agency again over accepting this outright assignment, or if Kuhnel perhaps wants some stability after already being part of three different organizations in the last two months.  A veteran of five big league seasons, Kuhnel’s 2024 resume consists of two innings in a single appearances with the Astros at the MLB level, and a 2.52 ERA over 25 Triple-A relief innings.
  • The Marlins have outrighted left-hander Kent Emanuel to Triple-A Jacksonville, according to his MLB.com profile page.  This is the fourth time Emanuel has been DFA’ed and then outrighted to the Marlins’ top affiliate in the last three months, and it seems likely that he’ll again accept his outright rather than test the free agent market.  Amidst the flurry of contract selections and outrights, Emanuel has posted a 6.75 ERA over 9 1/3 relief innings for Miami, which represents his first MLB action since 17 2/3 innings with the Astros in his 2021 debut season.  Emanuel also has a 6.60 ERA in 30 Triple-A innings this season, but despite these rough results, he’ll probably continue in his role as bullpen depth and a perpetual 26th or 27th man on the roster.

Nationals Planning To Call Up James Wood On Monday

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Nationals fan can circle Monday, July 1 as one of the most anticipated days in recent franchise history. They’re planning to promote top outfield prospect James Wood for his MLB debut when they return home for a series against the Mets that day, reports Grant Paulsen of 106.7 FM The Fan. Talk Nats recently suggested that could be a potential target date for the ballyhooed prospect’s debut, and it seems that is indeed the Nats’ plan. Washington will need to formally select Wood’s contract to get him onto the 40-man roster. The 21-year-old Wood, currently the game’s No. 3 overall prospect at Baseball America, was one of the centerpieces in the blockbuster trade sending Juan Soto from Washington to San Diego two years ago.

Wood, now 21, was selected by the Padres in the second round of the 2021 draft. Baseball America ranked him the #5 prospect in San Diego’s system going into 2022. He increased his prospect stock almost immediately, with a strong showing in 50 Single-A games that year. He hit ten home runs, stole 15 bases and drew a walk in 15.7% of his plate appearances, striking out just 17.8% of the time. His .337/.453/.601 batting line translated to a 168 wRC+.

As mentioned, Wood changed teams in the 2022 deal that sent Soto to the Padres, with the Nationals also getting CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Robert Hassell III, Jarlin Susana and Luke Voit. Wood continued at the Single-A level after that deal, slashing .293/.366/.463 for his new organization.

Going into 2023, Wood was generally considered to be one of the top 20 prospects around the league and he just kept hitting. He got into 129 games last year between High-A and Double-A, launching 26 homers and swiping 18 bags. His 31.5% strikeout rate was a bit high but he was still getting walked at a string 11.8% clip.

This year, Wood’s progression has continued with more amazing numbers, though with a slight injury hiccup. In late May, he suffered a hamstring injury and missed closed to a month, but he returned to the field and has looked no worse for wear. Through 51 Triple-A games this season, he currently sports a monster line of .346/.458/.578. That includes ten home runs, ten steals and a 17.3% walk rate. He’s also trimmed his strikeout rate to a tidy 18.2% level.

Wood is clearly ready for the next step and will try tackling major league pitching. Not all prospects find immediate success when brought up to the big leagues, so it shouldn’t be a massive surprise if he can’t keep putting up video game numbers like he has in the minors, but he has little left to prove and it’s time for the show.

For the Nationals, it’s a very interesting transition time for this promotion. They spent most of the previous decade in contention, with rosters featuring star players like Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, Trea Turner, Max Scherzer, Soto and others, winning a title in 2019. But the bottom quickly fell out after they won that World Series, which led to trades of Scherzer, Turner and Soto.

Though dealing a generational talent like Soto may have been tough for the Washington front office and its fans, it has played a huge role in what seems to be a relatively quick return to respectable baseball. Abrams’ defense is still a work in progress but he’s putting up huge offensive numbers from the shortstop position and stealing bases as well, while Gore is having himself a very nice season on the mound.

The Nats came into this season clearly still in rebuild mode but they haven’t fallen completely out of the playoff picture in the weak National League race. Their 38-42 record is clearly subpar but they are only three games back of a Wild Card spot at the moment.

If Wood is able to succeed in the majors right away, that would obviously be a boost for their chances of hanging around that playoff race. Wood has experience at all three outfield spots but has been in left field since coming back from his injury, perhaps suggesting that is where the Nats plan to slot him in. Jesse Winker has been playing that spot and is having a nice season, but he’s not considered a strong defender and may be moved into a designated hitter role. Eddie Rosario has been serving as the DH for most of this month but is hitting just .181/.226/.330 for the year. If he’s going to be the one relinquishing the most playing time to Wood, it will be a low bar to clear for Wood in providing the Nats with an immediate upgrade.

Whether the Nats can be a surprise contender this year or not, Wood is still lined up to be a big part of a new core that has been gradually forming in Washington. As mentioned, Abrams and Gore are having good seasons. Jacob Young hasn’t hit much yet but has a strong floor in center field thanks to his speed and defense. Young and controllable pitchers like Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz have shown encouraging signs to various degrees. Cade Cavalli will be back in that mix after he finishes rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. And Wood won’t be the last exciting prospect promotion, with Dylan Crews, Brady House and others on the way.

The trade deadline is on July 30, just over a month away, so the club can take that time to decide if they want to try for something this year or just focus on putting the pieces together for the future. Either way, there’s plenty to like in the long-term view. In addition to the talent, the onerous Patrick Corbin contract is set to expire at the end of this season. That will leave the future payroll relatively clean, Keibert Ruiz and Strasburg the only notable deals on the books. The Ruiz deal has a fairly low average annual value while Strasburg’s deal was renegotiated to defer some money as part of his retirement. In short, the club has plenty of ability to build around their budding core going forward.

For Wood, he won’t be able to earn a full year of service time this year. Top prospects called up midseason can earn a full service year by finishing in the top two of Rookie of the Year voting, but that will be essentially impossible for him at this point. Even if he crushes the ball for the next three months, he won’t be able to catch guys like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Paul Skenes, Joey Ortiz and the other rookies that have already had plenty of time to pull ahead.

He also won’t have enough time to get to Super Two status after 2026, based on where previous cutoffs have been. The earliest he could qualify for arbitration is after 2027 and his earliest free agency would be after 2030. Future optional assignments could push those timelines back but that won’t be a concern if he keeps mashing the way he has been on the farm.

Orioles Sign Niko Goodrum, Burch Smith To Minor League Deals

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The Orioles announced the signing of utility player Niko Goodrum and reliever Burch Smith to minor league contracts. Both players hit free agency last week — Goodrum after clearing outright waivers by the Pirates, Smith upon being released by the Marlins.

Goodrum is on his fifth organization of the season. He has bounced between the Twins, Rays, Angels and Pirates going back to Spring Training. The switch-hitter has appeared in 13 big league contests split between Tampa Bay and Los Angeles. He’s hitting .103/.188/.103 with 10 strikeouts and three walks. Goodrum has logged 75 Triple-A plate appearances with a far superior .270/.387/.444 slash. He has drawn 11 walks with three home runs in that limited sample.

The 32-year-old Goodrum has appeared in parts of seven MLB campaigns. He’s a career .224/.297/.383 hitter over nearly 1600 big league plate appearances. Goodrum played a portion of the 2023 season in Korea, turning in a .295/.373/.387 batting line in 201 trips to the plate. He provides a depth option at virtually every position outside of catcher and center field.

Smith, 34, pitched 29 2/3 innings with the Marlins this year. The right-hander was in camp with the Rays on a non-roster contract before leveraging an upward mobility clause into an MLB look in Miami. Smith pitched in mostly low-leverage situations out of Skip Schumaker’s bullpen. He turned in a 4.25 earned run average behind a solid 47% grounder percentage. He didn’t miss many bats, though, striking out 17% of batters faced with a meager 8.6% swinging strike rate.

That stint in Miami was Smith’s first big league action in three years. He also had a brief stay in Korea last season but only made one start before suffering a shoulder injury. His velocity returned this season, as he averaged a solid 94.4 MPH on his four-seam fastball. He’ll head to Triple-A Norfolk and try to pitch his way into a middle relief role at Camden Yards.

Pirates, Jake Lamb Agree To New Minor League Deal

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The Pirates brought infielder Jake Lamb back on a new minor league contract after granting him his release when he triggered an opt-out clause last week, reports Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He’s headed back to Triple-A Indianapolis, where he spent the first two-plus months of the season.

Lamb, 33, has had a nice season in Indianapolis this year. The 2017 All-Star has appeared in 55 games and taken 234 turns at the plate, posting a .289/.380/.418 slash with four home runs, 13 doubles, a 12% walk rate and an 18.4% strikeout rate. It’s a fairly quick return to the same organization, though that’s not uncommon for veterans in this situation. New minor league deals in these scenarios can often include a larger salary in Triple-A, additional opt-out dates and/or upward mobility clauses that weren’t present in the prior pact from which the player opted out.

A veteran of 10 big league seasons, mostly with the D-backs, Lamb was a former top prospect who broke out as Arizona’s everyday third baseman back in 2016-17, slugging 59 home runs during that two-year peak. Shoulder troubles arose for the 2012 sixth-rounder, however, and he eventually underwent surgery to repair his rotator cuff in 2018. He’s since had calf and hamstring injuries in addition to some lingering issues with that surgically repaired shoulder.

Prior to the surgery, Lamb carried a career .247/.332/.448 batting line in his career — including a heftier .248/.345/.498 output during that 2016-17 run. He’s since bounced from around the league, spending time with the A’s, White Sox, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Mariners, Angels and Yankees organizations in addition to this year’s Triple-A stint with the Bucs. In 223 big league games post-surgery, he’s a .199/.306/.363 hitter.

The Pirates stuck with first baseman Rowdy Tellez through an awful April and May stretch, and they’ve been rewarded with a much-improved .362/.413/.552 slash this month (albeit in only 63 plate appearances). That’s likely extended Tellez’s leash, but if he reverts to his early-season struggles and/or incurs an injury, it’s feasible that the Pirates could turn to Lamb and give him a look in the majors. He’s played first base almost exclusively in Indy this year — five games in right field being the only other defensive work he’s logged — so it’ll likely take a change in Pittsburgh’s first base/DH mix to get Lamb a major league opportunity.

Giants Place Thairo Estrada, Wilmer Flores On Injured List

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The Giants announced this evening that they’ve placed infielders Thairo Estrada and Wilmer Flores on the 10-day injured list. Estrada was sent to the shelf with a left wrist sprain and the latter was shelved with knee tendonitis. In corresponding moves, the club has called up infielder Tyler Fitzgerald and activated first baseman Lamonte Wade Jr. from the 10-day injured list.

It’s been a difficult year at the plate for both Estrada and Flores, both of whom have posted below-average offensive numbers after being among the club’s most productive players last year. On the heels of a 3.6 fWAR season where he posted fantastic defensive metrics and a 101 wRC+, Estrada has hit just .231/.264/.376 in 311 trips to the plate this year despite nearly identical peripheral numbers to his 2023 campaign. While his .259 batting average on balls in play may initially appear to be a clear indication that positive regression could be on the way for the 28-year-old, it’s worth noting that the infielder’s .279 wOBA actually outpaces his expected figure of .270.

As for Flores, the 32-year-old was coming off a fantastic 2023 campaign in a semi-regular role with the club last year where he slashed .284/.355/.509 (136 wRC+) in 454 trips to the plate while splitting time between first, second, and third base as well as the DH slot. Flores has found himself in a similar role to this point in the Giants’ season, albeit one that has seen him play first base almost exclusively while Wade was on the shelf. Flores’s plate discipline numbers are still excellent, as he’s walked at an 8.8% clip while striking out just 13.2% of the time, but he’s seemingly completely lost his power stroke. After crushing 23 home runs last year, he’s hit just four in 227 trips to the plate this season as his barrel rate has dipped from 7.8% to just 5.7% this year.

It’s not currently clear how long either player figures to be out of action, but the stays on the shelf should offer both veterans the opportunity to reset ahead of the second half, where both they and the Giants will surely be hoping for better results. Wade’s activation from the IL makes him a fairly clean replacement for Flores at first base, although it’s somewhat trickier for the club to replace Estrada.

Brett Wisely and Nick Ahmed had been acting as a platoon tandem at shortstop while Estrada manned the keystone on a daily basis, but with Fitzgerald entering the mix it’s less clear how that playing time will shake out. The 26-year-old has hit a respectable .273/.333/.409 in 28 games with the Giants to this point in the year, but he has just 106 total plate appearances under his belt since making his big league debut last season. It appears likely that Ahmed could see an uptick in playing time at shortstop as Wisely takes some starts at second base, while Fitzgerald could mix in at both positions in addition to the outfield and first base in a utility role.

Tonight’s news isn’t entirely bleak for the Giants, as they’ll surely be excited to return Wade to the starting lineup. The 30-year-old has been on the shelf since late May due to a hamstring strain but was among the very best hitters in all of baseball this year at the time of his injury. He’ll return to the starting lineup with a fantastic .333/.470/.426 slash line (166 wRC+) that makes up for the relative lack of power with an eye-popping 19.9% walk rate. If Wade manages to play at anything close to that level going forward this season, he’ll surely provide a major shot in the arm for a Giants offense that has ranked just 20th in the majors with a 97 wRC+ since Wade was placed on the shelf.

Astros Outright Blair Henley

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The Astros outrighted right-hander Blair Henley to Triple-A Sugar Land this afternoon, as noted by The Athletic’s Chandler Rome on X. The 27-year-old rookie does not have the requisite service time or previous outright on his resume necessary to reject the assignment, meaning he’ll return to the minor leagues to act as non-roster depth for Houston going forward.

Henley was drafted by the Astros in the seventh-round of the 2019 draft but had his development thrown off course early in his professional tenure. He made just one appearance in an Astros uniform in 2019 before the minor league season was cancelled in 2020, and he returned in 2021 to make just five appearances before undergoing Tommy John surgery. The rehab process after going under the knife caused him to miss not only the remainder of the 2021 campaign but all of 2022, and Henley entered the 2023 season as a 26-year-old in Double-A with just six professional games under his belt.

The righty’s results left something to be desired in that first wire-to-wire professional season, as he surrendered a 5.06 ERA in 106 2/3 innings spread across 25 appearances, including 17 starts. Henley’s 22.3% strikeout rate was decent enough, but an 11.1% walk rate left something to be desired even as he generated groundballs at a strong 51.2% clip. There was some unfortunate luck (including a strand rate of just 64.4%) baked into Henley’s results at Double-A, however, and his 4.48 FIP painted a much more encouraging picture of his performance headed into 2024.

Those solid peripheral numbers were enough to earn Henley a promotion to Triple-A entering this season, and the right-hander showed improvement in terms of results through 13 starts at the level. In 60 innings of work, Henley pitched to a 4.50 ERA that essentially matched his peripherals from the previous season. Unfortunately, a look under the hood at Henley’s performance suggests that he had actually regressed by just about every measure. His groundball rate dipped to 48% and his strikeout rate dropped to just 19.2% while his walk rate ballooned up to an unsightly 13.2%. Perhaps most concerning was his struggles with the long ball, as he allowed nearly a quarter (24.4%) of his fly balls to leave the yard for home runs during his first stay in Sugar Land.

Despite those worrisome peripherals, the Astros were undeterred from calling the right-hander up to the big leagues back in April, both because his Triple-A debut had gone relatively well (he struck out six and allowed three runs in five innings of work) but also because the club was without both Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez in the rotation at the time. Those rotation woes have only gotten worse since then, as the Astros are currently relying on a four-man rotation of Valdez, Ronel Blanco, Hunter Brown, and Spencer Arrighetti with the rest of their rotation depth currently on the shelf.

Even that dire rotation situation wasn’t enough for the Astros to give Henley another spot start in the majors after a brutal debut, however. That spot start in early April saw Henley surrender five runs on four hits, three walks, and a hit batsman while recording just one out and failing to record a strikeout. That leaves Henley with a career 135.00 ERA and 39.16 FIP at the big league level. Both of those figures would surely come down if the rookie were to get another opportunity in the majors, but it appears that Henley will have to right the ship at the Triple-A level before Houston gives him another look at the highest level.

Royals Outright Jake Brentz

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The Royals announced that left-hander Jake Brentz has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He has the right to reject that assignment and elect free agency, but doing so would mean forfeiting what is left of his $1.05MM salary, so he’ll likely stick with the club as non-roster depth.

Brentz, now 29, had a strong major league debut in 2021. He made 72 appearances for the Royals that year, allowing 3.66 earned runs per nine innings over his 64 frames. His 13.3% walk rate was a bit concerning but he struck out 27.3% of batters faced and kept 49% of balls in play on the ground. He earned a couple of saves and 15 holds that year.

However, it’s been a rough go since then. After just eight appearances in 2022, he found himself on the injured list and eventually underwent Tommy John surgery in July. The Royals non-tendered him at the end of that year but then brought him back on a two-year deal to cover the 2023 and 2024 seasons, knowing that the first of those two years would mostly be about rehab and recovery for the southpaw.

He started a rehab assignment in August of last year but unfortunately suffered a lat strain after just three appearances. This year, he suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain in mid-March, slowing him down yet again.

Since getting back on the hill, he’s tossed 17 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. While staying healthy is something of a victory after so many setbacks, the results have not been worth celebrating. He has a 12.71 ERA so far this year, striking out 15 batters but giving out 30 walks. On top of that, he’s also hit nine batters and thrown a couple of wild pitches. Given that wildness, it’s perhaps unsurprising that other clubs weren’t itching to claim him off waivers.

Players with more than three years of service time can reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, but they need five years of service in order to do so while retaining what remains of their salary. Since Brentz has more than three but less than five, he’ll probably stick with the Royals as opposed to walking away from roughly half a million dollars.

He can focus on shaking off the rust for the next few months and try to earn his way back onto the roster. If not, he’ll qualify for free agency at season’s end, as is the case for all players with more than three years of service who accept outright assignments but aren’t added back to the roster by the end of a given season.

Keoni Cavaco To Transition To Pitching, Signs Minor League Deal With Astros

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The Astros have signed Keoni Cavaco to a minor league deal, reports Kenny Van Doren of MLB Pipeline on X. Cavaco was released by the Twins earlier this month, as relayed by JJ Cooper of Baseball America on X. Per Darren Wolfson of SKOR North on X, the youngster is attempting a transition to pitching and the Astros were one of two teams who requested the move to the mound.

Going into the 2019 draft, Baseball America ranked Cavaco #31 among the available players that year. Their report at that time, when Cavaco had just turned 18, highlighted his immense natural tools. He had shown huge power and speed, as well as having strong third base defense with a plus arm for the hot corner. The biggest question mark was his hitting ability, as some swing-and-miss concerns were already present at the high school level.

That one area of concern wasn’t enough to tamp down the general level of excitement. FanGraphs was even more bullish than BA, putting Cavaco at #22 in the draft. The Twins selected him with the 13th overall pick and signed him to bonus of $4.05MM, $192K below slot value for that pick.

But that high-risk, high-reward play from the Twins has led to no reward at all, as those concerns about his hit tool proved to be prescient. He stepped to the plate 1,110 times while in the Twins’ system but hit just .212/.267/.335. He struck out in 36.8% of his plate appearances and walked only 6.3% of the time. He never advanced higher than the High-A level before being released.

Prior to being let go, he did make three appearances on the mound this year. He tossed two scoreless innings at the High-A level, with two strikeouts and no walks. Even as a high schooler, his arm at third base was considered to be strong, so he will try to use that to improve his job prospects going forward.

For the Astros, there’s little harm in signing a minor league deal and seeing what happens. There’s never been any doubt about Cavaco’s athletic gifts, so perhaps he can forge a path towards the big leagues on the mound instead of at the plate. Though he was drafted five years ago, he is only 23 years old and still has time to shift gears.

Cubs Select Jorge López

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The Cubs made some roster moves today, with Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic among those to relay them on X, swapping in two right-handed relievers for two others. They have recalled Ethan Roberts and selected Jorge López to the roster. In corresponding moves, Keegan Thompson has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a right rib fracture while Vinny Nittoli has been designated for assignment.

López, 31, had a high-profile departure from the Mets earlier this year, which was thoroughly documented at the time. He then landed with the Cubs on a minor league deal a couple of weeks ago. He reported to the club’s Complex League affiliate and allowed three runs in one inning there, but then moved to Triple-A Iowa and had better results there with three scoreless appearances over the past week.

The righty was an elite reliever for a time in 2022 but has been less impressive over the past two years or so. In 44 appearances with the Orioles in 2022, he had a 1.68 earned run average, 27.6% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 60% ground ball rate. But he was traded to the Twins at that year’s deadline and has since bounced to the Marlins, back to the O’s, the Mets and now the Cubs. Since that trade almost two years ago, he has a 5.08 ERA, 18% strikeout rate, 9.8% walk rate and 48% ground ball rate.

There’s little risk for the Cubs in giving him a shot, as the Mets are on the hook for the bulk of his $2MM salary. The Cubs will only have to pay the prorated version of the $740K minimum for whatever time López spends on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Mets pay. But it’s the latest in a series of moves that has seen the Cubs rotate various castoffs from other clubs through their bullpen as they struggle to develop or sign quality relievers, something that MLBTR’s Steve Adams looked at earlier today for Front Office subscribers. The club’s relievers have a collective 4.45 ERA on the year, better than just seven other clubs, part of the reason why they are 38-44 and at the back of the pack in the Wild Card race.

Another pitcher in this carousel is Nittoli. He was designated for assignment by the Athletics a week ago and elected free agency after clearing waivers. He landed a big league deal with the Cubs yesterday but has now been bounced off without making an appearance for them. He’ll now be in DFA limbo yet again and could perhaps end up back in free agency, since that’s how things played out just a few days ago.

He has pitched in the four most recent MLB seasons but has just 14 2/3 innings pitched in the big leagues with a 3.07 ERA in that time. In 159 Triple-A innings since the start of 2021, he has a 4.19 ERA, 29.8% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate.

As for Thompson, it’s unclear how serious his injury is or how much time he’s expected to miss. He has a 3.50 ERA in 18 innings for the Cubs this year, striking out 33.8% of batters faced but also giving out walks at a 13% clip.

Padres Select Austin Davis

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3:30pm: The Padres have made it official, announcing they have selected Davis to the roster. Left-hander Tom Cosgrove was placed on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation to open an active roster spot. To get Davis onto the 40-man, right-hander Joe Musgrove was transferred to the 60-day IL. Musgrove has a bone spur in his right elbow and has been on the IL since May 29. He’s now ineligible to return until 60 days from that date, which would be late July. He still hasn’t begun a rehab assignment and will need a few weeks to build up once he does.

11:29am: The Padres are planning to call up left-hander Austin Davis prior to tonight’s series opener against the Red Sox, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. They’ll need to formally select his contract from Triple-A El Paso and open a spot on the 40-man roster, though that can be accomplished in rather straightforward fashion by transferring Xander Bogaerts (who’s out with a fracture in his shoulder) from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL.

The 31-year-old Davis hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2022 but has appeared in parts of five MLB seasons. He’s posted a lackluster 5.61 earned run average in that time while showing an ability to miss bats (25% strikeout rate)  but also some troubles with walks (11%) and home runs (1.25 HR/9).

Though he doesn’t have much of a big league track record, Davis has been sharp in El Paso this season. The journeyman southpaw has a 3.10 ERA in 29 frames and has been outstanding since a shaky start to the year. Over his past 23 1/3 innings, Davis boasts a 1.93 ERA with 32 punchouts and 13 walks. That’s still too many free passes, of course. It’s perhaps worth noting that four of those walks were intentional, but that’s offset by the fact that he’s also plunked four hitters along the way.

Davis’ effectively wild tenure with the Padres’ Triple-A club marks a stark turnaround from a disastrous Triple-A run with the Astros a year ago, when he walked 34 batters and allowed 32 runs in just 25 1/3 innings. Even with that career-worst performance skewing his track record, Davis sports a 4.19 ERA, 29% strikeout rate and 13.6% walk rate in parts of five Triple-A campaigns.

If Davis can carry this season’s success over to the majors and carve out a longer-term spot on the roster, he’d be controllable for three seasons beyond the current campaign, though he has quite a ways to go before that’s a real consideration. The left-hander is out of minor league options, so he’ll have to stick on the roster or else be designated for assignment before he can be sent back down to the minors. Even if he were to clear waivers in such a scenario, he’d have the right to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency by virtue of the fact that he’s been outrighted previously in his career.

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