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Orioles Outright Nick Maton

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June 28: The Orioles announced that Maton went unclaimed on outright waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. He could’ve rejected the assignment in favor of free agency but will remain in Norfolk for now.

June 24: The Orioles announced Monday that they’ve designated infielder/outfielder Nick Maton for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to top outfield prospect Heston Kjerstad, whose previously reported recall from Triple-A Norfolk is now official.

Maton, 27, had his contract selected to the big league roster last week but only appeared in one game with the O’s and did not make a plate appearance. Baltimore acquired Maton from the Tigers in exchange for cash over the winter and eventually passed him through waivers. He’s spent the season in their minor league system logging four rehab games at High-A after an injury and another 41 games at the Triple-A level. Overall, he’s turned in a stout .292/.390/.481 batting line with seven homers, six doubles, a triple, a huge 13.2% walk rate and a 22.5% strikeout rate.

A seventh-round pick by the Phillies back in 2017, Maton impressed during his first two big league seasons. The younger brother of reliever Phil Maton, Nick slashed .254/.330/.434 in 216 plate appearances with the Phils in 2021-22. Philadelphia sent Maton, Matt Vierling and Donny Sands to Detroit in the trade that netted them Gregory Soto and Kody Clemens. Maton received ample playing time with the Tigers, but things didn’t pan out as hoped; he logged 293 plate appearances last season but delivered only a .173/.288/.305 batting line in that time.

Maton is out of minor league options, so the Orioles didn’t have the ability to send him back to Norfolk without first exposing him to waivers. He was previously outrighted by the O’s this year, so he’ll have the option to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency if he’s placed back on waivers and clears a second time.

That said, Maton has hit well in the upper minors this season and brings plenty of defensive versatility to the table. He’s spent time at all four infield positions and all three outfield positions in pro ball, albeit only 52 innings at first base and just seven innings in center. His versatility and success in the upper minors could lead to a team in need of a left-handed bat placing a claim or orchestrating a small trade. The O’s will have a week to complete a move involving Maton, whether it’s a trade or passing him through waivers.

Padres Sign Nabil Crismatt To Minor League Deal

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Right-hander Nabil Crismatt is headed back to the Padres organization, the pitcher himself announced via Instagram. Crismatt, who was released from a minor league deal with the Rangers earlier this week, signed a minor league contract with San Diego, reports Annie Helibrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The 29-year-old Crismatt has logged 177 innings across parts of five MLB seasons with four different teams — but the vast majority of that work (159 2/3 innings) has come as a member of the Padres. He suited up for San Diego from 2021-23 and logged a combined 3.83 ERA with a 21.1% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and six holds in that time. Crismatt made his big league debut with the 2020 Cardinals and has also pitched for the D-backs and Dodgers since leaving San Diego (in addition to this year’s Triple-A stint with Texas’ top affiliate).

The Dodgers signed Crismatt to a minor league deal over the winter and gave him seven innings of work in the big leagues early this season. He allowed a pair of runs on seven hits and no walks with six strikeouts in that L.A. cameo but was nevertheless designated for assignment and passed through waivers. He opted for free agency, signed a minor league pact with the Rangers in late May, and spent about a month with their Round Rock affiliate.

Crismatt has been tagged for a 6.46 ERA in 23 2/3 Triple-A frames between the Dodgers and Rangers this season, though he sports a much stronger K-BB profile than that mark would suggest: a 23.4% strikeout rate and tiny 3.8% walk rate. He’s been plagued by a BABIP near .400 between those two stops, which has helped to inflate his earned run average.

For now, Crismatt will head to El Paso to serve as a depth option for the Friars. But given their familiarity with the right-hander and his solid big league track record — a 3.71 ERA overall in his 177 MLB innings with solid strikeout and walk rates — it wouldn’t be a surprise if he got a look in the majors at some point in the relatively near future.

Tigers, Drew Maggi Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Tigers are signing infielder Drew Maggi to a minor league contract, as announced by the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League (X link). The 35-year-old has appeared in 29 games with Staten Island this year.

Maggi garnered some attention in baseball circles last spring. A veteran of 13 minor league seasons, he earned a long-awaited big league debut with the Pirates last April. Maggi had previously spent some time in the big leagues as a member of the Twins but wasn’t called into game action. He appeared in three contests for Pittsburgh, collecting two hits in six at-bats. The Bucs outrighted him in May and released him in July.

The righty-swinging Maggi wasn’t hitting well for Pittsburgh’s Double-A team at the time of his release. That required him to head to independent ball. Maggi hit .235/.301/.343 across 113 plate appearances in the Atlantic League. He’s a .254/.355/.378 hitter over parts of six Triple-A campaigns and owns a .252/.338/.316 mark in seven years at the Double-A level.

Athletics Outright Aaron Brooks

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June 27: Brooks was outrighted again, per the transaction log at MLB.com. He has the right to elect free agency, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he reports back to Las Vegas and awaits another opportunity with the A’s.

June 25: The Athletics announced that they have recalled left-hander Jack O’Loughlin, with right-hander Aaron Brooks designated for assignment in a corresponding move. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

Brooks, 34, signed a minor league deal with the A’s in the offseason and has twice been selected to their roster. The second such selection just occurred on Sunday and Brooks went on to perform some mop-up duty for the club last night. Luis Medina started the game but was removed after recording just nine outs. Brooks then came in and covered five frames, tossing 65 pitches and letting the rest of the bullpen have a night off.

That effective yeoman’s work was likely an ironic contributor to him losing his roster spot, as he surely wasn’t going to be available for a few days. Since he’s out of options, the club had to remove him from the 40-man roster in order to get a fresh arm into the bullpen.

The A’s will now have a week to trade Brooks or pass him through waivers. The last time he lost his roster spot, earlier this month, he cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Las Vegas. It’s possible that the same scenario plays out again in the days to come. He has an earned run average of 5.06 over his five appearances in the majors this year, as well as a 4.30 ERA in ten appearances for the Aviators.

Marlins Release Christian Bethancourt

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6:50pm: Miami is releasing Bethancourt, tweets Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. He’ll head back to free agency and could look for a minor league opportunity elsewhere.

4:50pm: Marlins catcher Christian Bethancourt went unclaimed on waivers following his recent DFA and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. As a player with more than three years of big league service, he has the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency. However, Bethancourt is at 4.129 years of service, placing him 43 days shy of the five full years he’d need to elect free agency and retain the remainder of this season’s $2.05MM salary. Since he’d have to forfeit the remainder of that salary in order to elect free agency, he’ll surely accept it and report to Jacksonville.

First-year Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix was the Rays’ general manager when Tampa Bay acquired Bethancourt from the A’s, and in one of his first moves after being hired as Miami’s president of baseball ops, he brought Bethancourt to the Marlins in a cash swap with the Guardians, who’d previously claimed the catcher off waivers from the Rays.

The trade didn’t go as hoped, clearly. Bethancourt opened the season mired in a disastrous slump as the Fish received staggeringly poor production from their catching corps early on. By the time he was designated for assignment in favor of journeyman Ali Sanchez, he’d only managed to pull his batting line up to .159/.198/.268 in 88 plate appearances.

At one point, Bethancourt ranked among the game’s top catching prospects, but he’s fallen into journeyman status and at one point entirely moved on from catching in favor of outfield/infield work and even (more briefly) relief pitching. He spent the 2019 season in the KBO, didn’t play during the 2020 season, and bounced around the league in a more traditional catcher/first baseman role since 2021. That includes a 2022 season split between Oakland and Tampa Bay where he slashed a respectable .252/.283/.409 with a career-high 11 homers, but Bethancourt has been unable to replicate even that modest production since that time.

A career .292/.329/.468 hitter in parts of seven Triple-A seasons, Bethancourt will stick with the Marlins organization and provide some additional depth behind Nick Fortes and Sanchez. If either is injured and/or if Bethancourt gets his bat going in Jacksonville, he could get a look later this season. If not, he’ll be eligible for minor league free agency at season’s end, as is the case for all players with three-plus years of service who are outrighted off a 40-man roster, accept the assignment, and are not added back to the 40-man before the end of the year.

Reds Activate Noelvi Marté

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The Reds announced today that infielder Noelvi Marté has been activated from the suspended list, having now served his 80-game PED suspension. In corresponding moves, they optioned infielder Liván Soto and transferred right-hander Emilio Pagán to the 60-day injured list.

Marté, 22, had an excellent debut for the Reds last year. Long considered one of the top prospects in the league, he was called up in August of last year and hit .316/.366/.456 in his first 35 games at the major league level. That set him up to be a key part of the 2024 club but he was hit with an 80-game suspension in early March after testing positive for Boldenone.

That has been just one of several notable absences for the Reds this year. Matt McLain, TJ Friedl and Christian Encarnacion-Strand have all missed significant time due to injury, with several pitchers having spent time on the IL as well. Those health problems and Marté’s suspension have left the club fairly hamstrung so far on the season.

Those issues have contributed to a fairly lackluster performance from the club, as the Reds are currently 37-43. That leaves them only 4.5 games out of a playoff spot in the fairly weak National League Wild Card race, but many expected better results this year after the club seemed to be overflowing with young talent towards the end of last year.

The return of Marté could perhaps give them a boost, though for what it’s worth, he hasn’t been in good form after his layoff. He began a rehab assignment a couple of weeks ago and hit .151/.151/.170 in 15 Triple-A games. That’s a small sample size and perhaps some rust is expected after missing time, but the Reds will obviously hope for better than that going forward.

The Reds still have McLain, Friedl and Encarnacion-Strand on the injured list while Jake Fraley and Jeimer Candelario are each dealing with minor ailments. Despite Marté’s poor form during his rehab, he might get some runway to get in a good place with so many other players ailing. He was primarily playing third base during his rehab, which has been Candelario’s home for much of this season. Santiago Espinal has been covering that spot lately but is hitting just .203/.253/.297 on the year. Even when Candelario is healthy again, he is capable of moving over to first base, while regular first baseman Spencer Steer could perhaps move into the corner outfield mix.

As for Pagán, he landed on the 15-day injured list June 9 due to a right lat strain. This transfer suggests the Reds don’t expect him back until early August in a best-case scenario. He signed a two-year, $16MM deal in the offseason, with the chance to opt out after one year. He has a mediocre 4.43 earned run average on the year and seemingly won’t have a ton of time to improve that number after this IL stint. The Reds could look to improve their bullpen prior to the trade deadline, but their aggressiveness in that department will depend on how the club plays over the next month.

Guardians, Matthew Boyd Agree To Major League Deal

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The Guardians and left-hander Matthew Boyd have agreed to a deal, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post on X. It’s a major league deal for the Boras Corporation client, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com on X. The Guardians will need to open a roster spot whenever the deal, which is pending a physical, becomes official.

Matthew BoydBoyd, 33, has had some good results in his career but he has been on and off the mound in recent years due to various health issues. He required flexor tendon surgery in September of 2021 and missed most of the following season, making ten relief appearances for the Mariners in September of 2022. He made 15 starts with the Tigers last year before requiring Tommy John surgery at the end of June.

Due to those injuries and the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Boyd has been limited to 223 1/3 innings since the end of the 2019 season. His results have been fairly inconsistent in that time, which is probably not surprising given the many interruptions. His earned run average is an even 5.00 in that period, with strikeout and walk rates around league average.

Prior to this recent health odyssey, he was a solid contributor at the back end of the Detroit rotation for many years. From 2016 to 2019, he logged 588 frames over 109 appearances. In that stretch, he had a 4.67 ERA, 23.4% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. His best performance was arguably back in 2019, when he struck out 30.2% of batters faced and gave out walks at just a 6.3% clip over 32 starts. His 4.56 ERA that year doesn’t look especially strong, but he allowed 39 home runs during what is now known as the “juiced ball” season, so his 3.61 SIERA might be more reflective of how he performed that year.

It’s now been almost exactly a year since Boyd underwent his Tommy John procedure. He is healthy enough to get on the mound, as he threw for clubs earlier this month, but he’ll presumably need some time to fully ramp up. Though he’s signing a major league deal, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he agreed to be optioned to some minor league affiliate for a few weeks, effectively a delayed Spring Training.

The Guardians have been surprising in many ways this year. The rotation has often been a strength for the club but has been a clear weakness this year. Shane Bieber required Tommy John surgery earlier in the season and is done for the year. Gavin Williams has been on the IL all year so far. Tanner Bibee has been good but the rest of the group has been flimsy behind him. Each of Triston McKenzie, Logan Allen and Carlos Carrasco have an ERA above 4.65. Ben Lively’s ERA is down at 3.03 but with a modest 21.4% strikeout rate and fortunate strand rate of 87.3%.

Despite those rotation struggles, the club is 51-27, the best record in the American League. They will probably be on the lookout for rotation upgrades prior to the July 30 deadline but there will be plenty of competition. There are few clear sellers at the moment thanks to some wide-open Wild Card spots and the few clubs that are clearly out of it have been getting hit hard by injuries. The Angels just lost Patrick Sandoval to season-ending surgery while the Marlins have each of Sandy Alcántara, Jesús Luzardo, Ryan Weathers, Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett and Eury Pérez all on the IL. Getting a pitcher from the White Sox would likely be a challenge since they share a division with the Guardians.

Given those question marks, it’s sensible for them to take a dice roll on Boyd. Financial details of the agreement haven’t yet been reported but it’s likely a fairly modest guarantee after he’s missed so much time lately. The Guardians will have roughly a month to get a look at him and see if he can help bolster their current group. They also have Williams currently on a rehab assignment, potentially giving them two rotation reinforcements in the coming weeks. How they decide to attack the deadline a month from now will likely be determined by developments in the coming weeks.

Cubs Place Javier Assad On Injured List

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The Cubs made some roster moves today, with Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune among those to relay them on X. As was previously reported, the Cubs signed right-hander Vinny Nittoli. To open a spot for him on the active roster, fellow righty Javier Assad has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a right forearm extensor strain. Righty Yency Almonte was transferred to the 60-day IL to give Nittoli a 40-man spot. Assad’s move is retroactive to June 24, per Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times on X.

At this point, it’s unclear how severe Assad’s injury is or how long the club expects him to be out of action, but it’ll be a blow for them regardless. Assad has made 16 starts for the club so far this year, allowing 3.04 earned runs per nine innings. There’s probably a bit of good luck in that number, as Assad’s 83.3% strand rate and .276 batting average on balls in play are both on the fortunate side. His 4.16 FIP and 4.22 SIERA suggest he would have trouble maintaining that kind of run prevention going forward.

Regardless, it’s still less than ideal for the Cubs to lose yet another arm to the injured list. They recently had Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks land on the IL, which forced Kyle Hendricks back into a rotation role, after he struggled earlier in the year and got kicked to the bullpen. The bullpen has also been undercut by injuries, with Almonte, Adbert Alzolay, Julian Merryweather and Mark Leiter Jr. all on the shelf.

Around all of those injuries, the club has been falling in the standings. They were 18-12 at the end of April but have gone 19-32 since, putting them at 37-44 at the moment. That’s still just five games back of a playoff spot in the weak National League Wild Card standings, but they’re currently the worst team in the NL apart from the Marlins and Rockies. That gives them a slim margin for error with the deadline just over a month away and losing a solid rotation member like Assad for even just a few weeks doesn’t help.

Without Assad, the rotation consists of Hendricks, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon and Shota Imanaga. They will need to come up with a fifth starter soon and also play seven games in six days just before the All-Star break, thanks to a July 13 double-header in St. Louis. Hayden Wesneski made a spot start yesterday, tossing four innings, and could perhaps get the ball again in the coming days. Drew Smyly has plenty of starting experience but has been in a relief role this year. Top pitching prospect Cade Horton is shut down with a subscapularis strain and unavailable at the moment. Thomas Pannone, Dan Straily and Kyle McGowin are in the system on minor league deals and stretched out in the minors, though none of that trio currently has a roster spot.

As for Almonte, he’s been on the injured list since May 8 due to a shoulder strain. This transfer means he can’t be reinstated until 60 days from that date, which would be July 7. He wasn’t going to be ready before then anyhow. A few days ago, manager Craig Counsell told reporters that Almonte would be getting a second opinion after hitting a wall in his recovery attempts. “We’re just not progressing,” Counsell said, per Montemurro on X. “We have to find out whether medically there’s something we have to address or we have to take a different path on the rehab.”

Clayton Andrews Elects Free Agency

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Yankees left-hander Clayton Andrews rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in favor of free agency, the team announced. Andrews wasn’t claimed off waivers following his recent DFA. As a player who’s been previously outrighted earlier in his career (back in April by the Yankees), he had the right to decline a minor league assignment. He’ll now explore other opportunities around the league (though a new minor league deal with New York is certainly possible).

The 27-year-old Andrews appeared in one game with the Yankees this season and allowed three runs in just one-third of an inning. He’s been tagged for an unsightly 10 earned runs in a total of 3 2/3 MLB frames over the past two seasons between the Yankees and Brewers — his only big league work to date.

Andrews’ 2024 struggles extend beyond that brief time on the big league roster. He’s tossed 24 2/3 innings in Triple-A and been tagged for a 5.84 ERA with nearly as many walks (20.4%) as strikeouts (25.9%). That said, he pitched 57 innings of 2.53 ERA ball with a hearty 31.1% strikeout rate for the Brewers’ Triple-A club in Nashville as recently as last season.

Andrews has a 3.66 ERA in 91 career Triple-A innings and an overall 3.49 earned run average in parts of six minor league seasons since being selected in the 17th round by the Brewers back in 2018. Walks have always been an issue for the undersized (5’6″) lefty, but Andrews has fanned 29% of his Triple-A opponents and nearly one-third of his total minor league opponents since being drafted.

Twins Select David Festa

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June 27: The Twins have now formally announced the selection of Festa’s contract. He’ll make his debut today in Arizona. Right-hander Ronny Henriquez was optioned to St. Paul in a corresponding move.

June 26: The Twins are planning to select the contract of right-handed pitching prospect David Festa, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune. KSTP’s Darren Wolfson first reported that Festa had been scratched as today’s starter in St. Paul, likely setting the stage for a debut tomorrow.

The 24-year-old Festa will indeed be called up ahead of Thursday’s series finale against the Diamondbacks in Arizona. Minnesota has an open spot on the 40-man roster, although the team will still need to make a corresponding move to add him to the 26-man roster. He will take over for a recently injured Chris Paddack in the Twins’ rotation. Most public outlets, including Baseball America, FanGraphs, and MLB Pipeline, agree that Festa is one of the Twins’ top two pitching prospects, with both MLB Pipeline (No. 99) and FanGraphs (no. 93) including the young right-hander among their top 100 prospects. He represented the Twins in the 2023 Futures Game.

The lanky 6’6″ Festa was a 13th-round pick by Minnesota out of Seton Hall back in 2021. He’s added considerable velocity to a heater that now sits around 95 mph and reaches the upper 90s since being drafted. He pairs that offering with a mid- to upper-80s slider that can get whiffs against righties and a changeup that helps him keep lefties at bay.

Scouting reports from each of BA, FanGraphs and MLB.com credit each of those three pitches as above-average, with the heater drawing a plus (60) from the latter. Though Festa started the season with some uncharacteristic walk troubles — he issued a free pass to 20% of his opponents over his first four Triple-A starts this season — he’s since reined in the walks and is credited with average or better command from scouts.

In 59 2/3 innings this season, Festa is sitting on a solid 3.77 earned run average that aligns quite closely with his 3.92 FIP. He’s punched out an excellent 35.1% of his opponents, and though his 9.7% walk rate is higher than average, Festa has made significant strides in that regard since his rocky start to the season. Over his past 10 outings, he’s only walked 6.7% of his opponents (while striking out an even loftier 37.3% of them).

The Twins view Festa as a potential key piece of their rotation for years to come, and they’ll get their first look at him tomorrow against the D-backs. While Paddack’s absence creates a short-term opening in the rotation, there’s not a clear vacancy once he returns from his bout of shoulder fatigue. Manager Rocco Baldelli indicated that the Twins plan to keep Paddack in a starting role when he’s reinstated, although given that this is Paddack’s first full season back from a second career Tommy John surgery (and that he’s already eclipsed his combined 2022-23 workload), an eventual move to a relief role later in the season seems plausible.

At that point, Festa could step into a more permanent spot in the rotation, at least for the remainder of the current season. All five of the Twins’ current starters — Paddack, Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and Simeon Woods Richardson — are signed/controlled through 2025 at the very least. Add in right-handers Louie Varland and Zebby Matthews (the Twins’ other top pitching prospect who ranks No. 99 at BA presently and boasts a combined 1.56 ERA and 76-to-3 K/BB ratio between High-A and Double-A this season), and the Twins have a budding and enviable stock of starting pitching depth on their hands.

That falls under the “good problem to have” umbrella, of course, and positions the team to withstand injuries or trade from a position of strength at next month’s deadline or in the coming offseason. Paddack will be a free agent following the 2025 season, but aside from that, the Twins’ entire collection of big league or near-MLB-ready starters is signed/controllable through at least 2027.

Turning back to Festa specifically, he won’t receive a full year of big league service in 2024, meaning he’ll still be controllable for at least six more seasons — all the way through 2030. He’s also being called up late enough in the year that even if he sticks on the roster, he won’t pick up enough time to reach Super Two status. At the earliest, he should be arbitration-eligible following the 2027 season, although future optional assignments could push back his timeline to both arbitration and free agency.

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