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Phillies Sign Ryan McKenna To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies have signed Ryan McKenna to a minor league contract, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic. The outfielder was recently released by the Giants, who claimed him off of waivers from the Orioles in May. He will report to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

McKenna, 27, made his MLB debut with the Orioles in 2021, six years after the team selected him in the fourth round of the 2015 draft. Across 284 games and 508 plate appearances with Baltimore from 2021-23, McKenna slashed .221/.299/.318 with a 75 wRC+. While his bat was underwhelming, he stole eight bases on nine attempts thanks to well-above-average sprint speed. He also provided 7 OAA with his glove while spending time at all three outfield positions. Ultimately, however, he could never secure a full-time position with the big league club, and the Orioles shuttled him back and forth between Baltimore and Triple-A Norfolk several times each year.

Out of options in 2024, McKenna was designated for assignment on Opening Day and sent outright back to the Norfolk Tides. The Orioles selected his contract less than a month later, but despite his impressive performance in a brief stint with the club (3-for-8 with two home runs), he was DFA’d again in mid-May. The Giants claimed him off of waivers, but his cup of coffee with San Francisco wasn’t nearly as productive; McKenna went o-for-6 over four games before the Giants, too, designated him for assignment. This time, however, he passed through waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A. Unfortunately, things continued to go downhill for McKenna after that. He missed some time with an injury, and when he was healthy, he hit just .227/.308/.348 with a 62 wRC+ for the Sacramento River Cats. He played his last game in the organization on August 1.

McKenna will provide the Phillies with a bit of additional outfield depth at Triple-A. His ability to play all three outfield positions could make him an asset on the bench in case of an injury.

Reds Outright Eric Yang

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The Reds have sent Eric Yang outright to Triple-A Louisville, according to his transaction log on MLB.com. The team selected his contract last Monday, and the catcher made his MLB debut two days later. He was optioned back to Triple-A on Friday and, evidently, removed from the 40-man roster at some point between then and today. There was no prior indication he had been designated for assignment. Yang does not have the right to reject an outright assignment, so he will remain with Louisville.

Now 26, Yang joined the Reds organization at 21 when the club selected him in the seventh round of the 2019 draft. The UC Santa Barbara alum quickly made a strong impression, batting .290 with an 11.0% walk rate and a 135 wRC+ across 51 games of Rookie ball during his first professional season. He was not a highly-regarded prospect across the industry, but Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked him among his top 30 Reds prospects in 2020. That same year, Keith Law of The Athletic included Yang among the “others of note” below his top 20 Reds prospects, describing him as “a solid catch-and-throw guy who rarely struck out in college.”

Following the canceled minor league season in 2020, Yang began to rise up the ranks in the Reds organization. He played for the High-A Dayton Dragons in 2021, and since then, he has bounced back and forth between the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts and Triple-A Louisville Bats. According to Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Yang developed a reputation in the system as a catcher who builds great relationships with his pitchers. However, he failed to make much of an impression with the bat at any of those three levels, producing a .613 OPS and 76 wRC+ across 192 minor league games from 2021-24.

Nonetheless, Yang earned his first call to the show last week as a roster replacement for veteran backstop Austin Wynns, who suffered a teres major tear in his right shoulder. Wynns himself was only on the MLB roster as a replacement for Luke Maile, who landed on the IL earlier in July with a herniated disc in his back. Thus, the Reds optioned Yang back to Triple-A when they reinstated Maile on Friday. Presumably, they decided they did not need to carry four catchers on the 40-man roster, so they must have designated Yang for assignment shortly thereafter.

Yang made it into one game during his brief stint with the Reds, pinch-hitting for Tyler Stephenson in the ninth inning of a blowout loss to the Cubs on July 31. He struck out swinging against Cubs righty Porter Hodge.

White Sox Promote Ky Bush For MLB Debut

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August 5: The White Sox made it official today, selected Bush’s contract. They also reinstated right-hander Dominic Leone from the 60-day injured list. Right-hander Prelander Berroa and left-hander Sammy Peralta were optioned in corresponding moves. The 40-man roster is now full.

August 4: The White Sox will select the contract of left-hander Ky Bush prior to their next game on Tuesday, the Chicago Sun-Times’ Daryl Van Schouwen reports (via X).  Bush will get the start against the A’s in his Major League debut.  No 40-man roster move is required, as the Sox have space available after all their moves at the trade deadline.

A second-round pick in the 2021 draft, Bush was part of a unique Angels draft class that saw the team use all 20 of its selections on pitchers.  He pitched at the Double-A level in 2022-23 and at the start of the 2024 season, with both a lat strain and a trade to Chicago interrupting his progress last season.  Bush and Edgar Quero were the prospects sent from the Angels to the White Sox in the July 2023 deal that brought Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez to Los Angeles.

Bush settled in with his new organization this season, delivering a 2.12 ERA over 80 2/3 Double-A innings.  This earned him his first taste of Triple-A action, though he has a 6.16 ERA in 19 innings and four appearances in Charlotte.  For the season as a whole, Bush’s ERA is 2.89 over 99 2/3 frames, with a 10.45% walk rate, and 23.4% strikeout rate.

Baseball America ranked Bush sixth on its midseason ranking of the White Sox prospect pool, noting that the 24-year-old has “”No. 4 starter potential” and an arsenal of “solid pure stuff.”  To that latter point, BA’s scouting reports puts a 50 grade on all four of Bush’s pitches, though his slider is considered his best offering.

It isn’t the standout resume that would immediately land a pitcher a ticket to the big leagues, but the 24-year-old Bush will get a chance to show what he can do against MLB competition.  The rebuilding White Sox will be giving plenty of playing time to young players down the stretch, so a good showing could certainly earn Bush more looks in the rotation.  If the pressure of making his debut in the Show wasn’t enough, Bush will also be trying to help the White Sox end a 20-game losing streak that is nearing record levels.

Marlins Claim Brett de Geus

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The Marlins have claimed right-hander Brett de Geus off waivers from the Mariners and optioned him to Triple-A Jacksonville, per announcements from both big league clubs. Seattle had designated him for assignment last week when they claimed righty Jonathan Hernández off waivers from the Rangers. The Fish opened a 40-man roster spot earlier today when infielder/outfielder Nick Gordon was designated for assignment to open an active roster spot for Derek Hill, another waiver claimee.

de Geus, 26, signed a minor league deal with the Mariners in the offseason and was selected to their roster in the second week of April. He spent most of the season on optional assignment, only making four appearances for the big league club.

He also pitched for the Rangers and Diamondbacks in 2021 and the combination of those different MLB stints now gives him 53 1/3 big league innings with a 7.26 ERA. His 17.1% strikeout rate is subpar but his 9.9% walk rate is passable while his 51.4% ground ball rate is strong.

That’s generally been the recipe with de Geus. He has 32 Triple-A appearances this year with a 15% strikeout rate, 7% walk rate and 56.6% ground ball rate. The 6.60 ERA at that level this year isn’t pretty but a .365 batting average on balls in play and 59.4% strand rate have surely helped pushed some extra runs across the plate. He spent most of last year with the Double-A affiliate of the Royals, tossing 35 1/3 innings with a 2.80 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate, 5.6% walk rate and 56.4% ground ball rate.

The Marlins have undergone a massive roster shakeup in the past two weeks. They traded away A.J. Puk, Jazz Chisholm Jr. Trevor Rogers, Tanner Scott, Bryan Hoeing, Bryan De La Cruz, Huascar Brazobán, Josh Bell and JT Chargois prior to the deadline. They brought back numerous prospects in those deals and also had open roster spots to claim Forrest Wall, David Hensley, Jesús Tinoco, Cristian Pache, John McMillon, Hill and de Geus off waivers.

de Geus will provide the Marlins with some depth in the minors who could be called upon whenever they need a ground ball specialist or just a fresh arm in general. He can still be optioned for the rest of this season and two additional campaigns. He also has just over one year of service time, meaning he could theoretically stick on the roster for a long time if he continues to justify his spot.

Marlins Designate Nick Gordon For Assignment

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The Marlins are designating utilityman Nick Gordon for assignment, reports Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. Miami picked up Gordon in an offseason trade sending reliever Steven Okert to the Twins. He’s out of minor league options and thus wasn’t eligible to be sent down without first passing through waivers — which is where he’ll head now that he’s been DFA’ed and the trade deadline has passed. Miami has since announced the trade and formally added weekend waiver claim Derek Hill to its active roster.

Gordon, 28, has primarily played left field for the Fish this season but has also logged 16 games in center and another six at second base. The former No. 5 overall pick has swatted eight homers — one shy of his career-high — but carries a generally tepid .227/.258/.369 batting line in 275 plate appearances. This season’s 24.4% strikeout rate is higher than the 22.7% mark he carried into the season and miles above the 11.8% mark he showed in 93 plate appearances with Minnesota during the 2023 season.

Originally drafted as a shortstop, Gordon never saw much run at the position by the time he reached the majors in 2021. The Twins only gave him 155 innings there from ’21-’23, and the Marlins haven’t played him there for even one inning. Minnesota broke Gordon in primarily as a center fielder and second baseman, giving him ample reps at the former spot during IL stints for oft-injured center fielder Byron Buxton.

Though Gordon hasn’t lived up to that draft billing, back in 2022 he looked to have carved out a nice role as a heavily used bench/utility piece for manager Rocco Baldelli in Minnesota. He hit .272/.316/.427 (111 wRC+) with nine homers, 28 doubles, four triples and six steals in 443 plate appearances — all while splitting his time between center field, left field and the three non-first-base infield spots. Gordon got out to an awful start in 2023, however, and compounded that sluggish beginning of the year with a major injury when he fractured his tibia upon fouling a ball into his leg. That proved to be a season-ender, and he’s not yet returned to form following the offseason trade that shipped him to Miami.

The Marlins gave Gordon a decent look in the outfield but are turning things over to a younger contingent following their deadline dealings. They acquired corner outfielder Kyle Stowers from the Orioles in their trade of Trevor Rogers, and Stowers will likely step into Gordon’s slot as the primary left fielder. (Infield prospect Connor Norby, acquired alongside Stowers, could also get a look in left field if the Marlins don’t view the bat-first Norby as a long-term option at second base.) Post-deadline waiver claims of center fielders Hill and Cristian Pache further squeezed Gordon out of the picture, it seems.

Both Pache and Hill are now on the active roster. Gordon will be placed on outright waivers or released in the coming days. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment to the minors if he clears, but doing so would mean forfeiting the remainder of this season’s $900K salary, so he’ll very likely head to Jacksonville if he’s not claimed by another club.

Padres, Austin Davis Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Padres are re-signing lefty Austin Davis on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of Fansided. The KHG Sports client was designated for assignment after the trade deadline and elected free agency over the weekend. He’ll presumably head back to Triple-A El Paso on this new deal and continue to serve as depth for the Friars.

Davis, 31, appeared in seven games with the Padres after having his contract selected to the big league roster in late June. He yielded seven runs in seven innings, though four of those runs came home in one regrettable outing against the D-backs on July 7. Davis has spent the bulk of the season in El Paso, where he’s been sharp: 29 innings, 3.10 ERA, 29.8% strikeout rate, 12.9% walk rate, 47.7% ground-ball rate, no home runs allowed. Certainly, the Padres and Davis would prefer a lower walk rate, and it’s not realistic to expect any pitcher to keep up such a lengthy stretch avoiding home runs. That said, Davis’ blend of strikeouts and grounders has been quite strong in Triple-A this year.

This brief run with the Padres was Davis’ first big league action since 2022. He’s now pitched in parts off six big league seasons. A 5.77 ERA over the life of 151 1/3 innings isn’t going to stand out (at least not for the right reasons), but Davis has continually shown an ability to miss bats, keep the ball in the yard at a respectable clip, and avoid hard contact. He’s fanned 23.7% of his career opponents, held batters to 1.18 HR/9 and yielded an average 87 mph exit velocity with just a 33.5% hard-hit rate in his MLB career.

San Diego’s aggressive deadline added Tanner Scott, Jason Adam and Bryan Hoeing to what was already a deep and talented big league bullpen. Scott joins Adrian Morejon and Yuki Matsui as lefties in Mike Shildt’s bullpen, giving the Friars’ skipper a trio of southpaw options in the majors (to say nothing of the currently injured Wandy Peralta). Davis will add an experienced lefty to the El Paso roster, one who could be among the first in line for a call should the Padres need another lefty or simply a fresh arm at some point.

Giants Release Ryan McKenna

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The Giants released outfielder Ryan McKenna, who’d been with their Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. He’s now a free agent.

McKenna joined San Francisco on a waiver claim earlier this season, coming over from the Orioles — the only organization he’d previously known. Baltimore selected McKenna with its fourth-round pick (No. 133 overall) back in 2015. He’s appeared in parts of four big league seasons, tallying 523 plate appearances with a disappointing .221/.298/.323 slash in that time. The Giants passed him through waivers late in May.

On the whole McKenna has better production in parts of four Triple-A seasons, but much of his production there came several years ago. The righty-swinging outfielder ripped Triple-A opposition apart in his first run there back in 2021, hitting .307/.423/.683 with 11 homers in only 123 plate appearances. He followed that with a strong 2022 showing in only 38 plate appearances there but spent most of the ’22 campaign as a bench player in the big leagues. He’s posted below-average numbers in Triple-A over the past two seasons as he’s frequently shuttled between the minors and the majors. Overall, McKenna is a career .253/.348/.510 hitter in 80 games at the top minor league level.

Now 27 years old, McKenna can play all three outfield spots. He’s drawn solid ratings across the board but graded out particularly well in left field. The elite speed he showed as a rookie has slipped a bit, but even though he’s no longer sitting near the top of the MLB scale, McKenna slots into the 74th percentile of runners in the big leagues, per Statcast, averaging 28.1 feet per second. He’s also displayed above-average arm strength in each of his big league seasons.

That profile should get McKenna a look elsewhere, albeit on a minor league deal. He’s out of minor league options, so if he’s added back to a new club’s 40-man roster at any point, he’d need to pass through waivers before he’d be eligible to be sent down.

Angels Re-Sign Adam Cimber To Minor League Deal

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Less than two weeks after the Angels released Adam Cimber, the two sides have reunited on a minor league contract, according to the righty’s MLB.com profile page.  Los Angeles signed Cimber to a one-year, $1.65MM free agent deal last winter, but was designated for assignment and then released in July while he was still on the 15-day injured list recovering from right shoulder inflammation.

It seems as though there might’ve been a handshake agreement on that initial DFA and release, as it freed up a 40-man roster spot for the Angels and came at no financial cost to Cimber since the team was still on the hook for the remainder of his 2024 salary.  Cimber has enough MLB service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, so after some time to explore his options on the open market, he has now circled back to Anaheim.  On this new minor league deal, Cimber could continue to rehab or just return right to game action at Triple-A Salt Lake in something of an unofficial minor league rehab assignment.

Shoulder injuries have both limited Cimber’s participation in the last two MLB seasons, and impacted his performance to the tune of a 7.20 ERA over 45 innings in 50 appearances since Opening Day 2023.  Cimber’s 149 appearances led all big league pitchers over the 2021-22 seasons, so it could be that this heavy workload finally caught up to the veteran right-hander.  The Blue Jays non-tendered Cimber last offseason and the Angels inked him to that $1.65MM deal that has yet to yield many dividends.

These two rough seasons have come on the heels of five solid years of performance in 2018-22, as Cimber had a 3.20 ERA in 278 2/3 innings with San Diego, Cleveland, Miami, and Toronto.  If he can get healthy, return to the majors, and get back to anything like his old form, Cimber might have an outside shot at another low-cost guaranteed big league deal this winter.

Rockies Sign Chasen Shreve To Minors Contract

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The Rockies have signed Chasen Shreve to a minor league contract, as per the left-hander’s MLB.com profile page.  Shreve was released from his previous minors deal with the Yankees just last Thursday, and he has now quickly landed with the ninth different big league organization of his 15-year pro career.

Shreve has seen action with seven of those teams at the Major League level, with 174 2/3 of his 356 career big league innings coming in two earlier stints with the Yankees.  Minors deals with the Rangers and Yankees in 2024 didn’t lead to any time in the majors for the 34-year-old, so Shreve will look to crack the Rockies’ roster and officially appear in a game to lock in what would be an 11th MLB campaign.

For such a journeyman’s resume, Shreve has some solid results in the form of a career 3.97 ERA, 25.3% strikeout rate, and 10.8% walk rate.  His most recent two seasons have been quite shaky, however, as Shreve had a 6.49 ERA in 26 1/3 frames with the Mets in 2022 and then a 4.63 ERA in 44 2/3 combined innings with the Tigers and Reds last year.  A combined 3.64 SIERA over the 2022-23 seasons perhaps paints a better view of Shreve’s performance, as an uncharacteristically high homer rate in 2022 particularly hurt his numbers.

Shreve has looked sharp in his time at Triple-A this year, posting a 1.89 ERA in 33 1/3 total innings for the Rangers’ and Yankees’ top affiliates.  His ability to pitch that well in the Pacific Coast League (with Triple-A Sugar Land) provides some hope that he can keep it up in another hitter-friendly environment in Albuquerque.  It might not be long before Shreve is back in the majors, as the Rockies’ woeful bullpen needs all the help it can get, and the club doesn’t have a single left-hander in its relief corps.

Cardinals To Place Michael Siani On Injured List, Recall Victor Scott II

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2:14pm: The Cardinals have officially announced Scott’s recall and Siani’s placement on the 10-day IL due to a right oblique strain. A timetable for Siani’s return has not yet been made clear, though Woo suggests it sounds as though his injury is “significant.”

1:13pm: The Cardinals are recalling center fielder Victor Scott II ahead of today’s series finale against the Cubs, according to a report from The Athletic’s Katie Woo this morning. Woo suggests that Scott will take the place of center fielder Michael Siani on the active roster as he heads to the 10-day injured list due to an oblique issue that cropped up during yesterday’s game.

It’s an unfortunate turn of events for Siani, 25, as he was in the midst of establishing himself as long-term option for the club in center when he exited yesterday’s game due to tightness on his right side and was sent for an MRI as noted by MLB.com’s John Denton yesterday. The results of that MRI are not yet clear, though the center fielder evidently will require at least a ten day stint on the shelf to recover. Yesterday’s shortened performance ended a fantastic hot stretch for Siani that dated all the way back to June 24. In his previous 31 appearances entering yesterday’s game, the center fielder had slashed a phenomenal .354/.391/.415, though that stretch of offensive success came with an eye-popping .492 BABIP that was clearly unsustainable.

Still, Siani’s growth as a hitter has been impressive considering the fact that he entered the month of May with a ghastly .128/.244/.179 slash line. His improved play since then has brought his wRC+ up to 79, a figure that’s still well below average but is enough to make him a viable regular in conjunction with his elite defense in center field and a strong 14-for-17 track record on the basepaths. Siani’s +15 Outs Above Average ranks second among all center fielders behind Jacob Young and fourth among all MLB players this year, while his +10 Defensive Runs Saved ties him with defensive phenoms Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael A. Taylor for sixth among all outfielders.

Taking Siani’s place on the Cardinals’ active roster is Scott, a fellow glove-first center fielder who bats from the left side. Scott made his big league debut earlier this year as the club’s surprising choice for Opening Day center fielder but struggled badly in the role with a brutal .085/.138/.136 slash line (-22 wRC+) in 21 games before he was ultimately optioned back down to Triple-A. Scott’s struggles have continued in the minors as he’s hit just .219/.302/.319 in 74 games at the highest level of the minors this year despite an impressive strikeout rate of just 14.3%.

It’s not currently clear if Scott will take over for Siani as a regular fixture in center field or will instead be used as a defensive replacement off the bench. After all, the club could utilize either Lars Nootbaar or Tommy Pham in center field and both players would be a significant offensive improvement over Scott at the position. Such a set up would likely leave Brendan Donovan to move from second base into an outfield corner to open the keystone up for Nolan Gorman, who has struggled to a .199/.272/.408 slash line (91 wRC+) in 99 games with the club this year. It’s also possible that Scott’s call-up to the majors could indicate that Siani’s injury isn’t likely to require a major absence, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggested yesterday that a lengthier absence for Siani could lead the Cardinals to try and work a right-handed bat such as Luken Baker or even former top prospect Jordan Walker into their predominantly left-handed bench mix.

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