Diamondbacks Select Adrian Del Castillo
2:30pm: The Diamondbacks have officially announced these moves and others. Del Castillo has been selected and Moreno has been placed on the IL with a strained left adductor. They also reinstated left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez from the 60-day IL, a move that was reported last week. To activate Rodriguez, the club optioned right-hander Humberto Castellanos and transferred righty Bryce Jarvis to the 60-day IL. It was also reported last week that Jarvis is unlikely to return this year due to his sprained right elbow.
12:40pm: The Diamondbacks are going to place catcher Gabriel Moreno on the 10-day injured list with a groin injury, per John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM on X. Fellow backstop Adrian Del Castillo will have his contract selected to take Moreno’s place on the roster. The Snakes already had a 40-man vacancy so no further moves will be required.
Moreno came up limping during yesterday’s game while trying to run out a ground ball. He was removed from the contest with what the team described as a strained left groin. It’s still unclear how long he is expected to be out of action but it’s a rough blow for the Diamondbacks regardless. Moreno is slashing .262/.344/.385 this year for a 107 wRC+ with strong defensive grades as well. FanGraphs considers him to have been worth 2.4 wins above replacement in 86 games.
It’s the second IL stint of the year for Moreno, who also missed some time at the end of June due to a sprained left thumb. Prior to that, he had been sharing the catching duties with Tucker Barnhart, with José Herrera called up to pair with Barnhart in Moreno’s absence. Once Moreno was ready to return in early July, the club decided to keep Herrera around, with Barnhart designated for assignment and eventually released.
That left the Diamondbacks with Moreno and Herrera as the only two backstops on the 40-man roster. Now that Moreno is heading to the IL again, they need to reach into their non-roster depth, which gets Del Castillo up to the majors for the first time.
Now 24 years old, Del Castillo was selected with a competitive balance pick in 2021, going 67th overall in that year’s draft. Baseball America ranked him #29 in Arizona’s system coming into this year but he has launched himself up to #16 in their most recent update. He was #36 at FanGraphs earlier in the year.
BA considers him subpar defensively but strong at the plate, which has shown up at times during his minor league career. That’s especially true here in 2024, which is likely why he earned such a notable bump in the BA rankings. In 100 Triple-A games this year, he has 24 home runs, an 11.5% walk rate and a 16.8% strikeout rate. His .319/.403/.608 batting line translates into a 143 wRC+ even in the hitter-friendly environs of the Pacific Coast League.
If he can bring even a small portion of that production up to the big leagues with him, it will go a long way towards compensating for the loss of Moreno. Herrera has hit just .229/.308/.286 this year for a 72 wRC+ with his glovework graded as near league average. Perhaps Del Castillo can outperform him at the plate but even top prospects can struggle when first exposed to the majors. The club will also have to consider that Herrera has a head start on Del Castillo in terms of building relationships with the pitching staff.
The Snakes are currently 61-52 and essentially in a three-way tie for the National League Wild Card spots with Atlanta and San Diego. Atlanta is 60-51 and percentage points ahead of the two other clubs, who are each 61-52. The Mets are just 1.5 games back of that group and five other clubs are just behind New York. With that crowded playoff race, the importance of every game will be magnified going forward. The catching situation will likely evolve in the coming weeks, depending on how much time Moreno needs to miss and how Del Castillo performs in his first taste of the majors. Herrera is in his final option year and will be out of options in 2025.
Guardians Select Anthony Gose, Designate Xzavion Curry For Assignment
The Guardians made a few roster moves today, with Mandy Bell of MLB.com among those to relay them on X. Left-hander Anthony Gose has been selected to the roster with fellow lefty Logan Allen optioned in a corresponding move. Righty Xzavion Curry was designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot for Gose.
Gose, 33, has had one of the more remarkable career arcs among current big leaguers. Originally a second-round pick back in 2008 and a longtime top prospect as an outfielder, he was traded several times early in his career (most notably to the Astros in exchange for Roy Oswalt) while struggling to find his footing at the plate. Gose never did establish himself as the type of top-of-the-order speedster many felt he could become — though certainly not for lack of opportunity. In 1252 plate appearances between the Blue Jays and Tigers, he batted just .240/.309/.348 with a 28.2% strikeout rate.
After years of struggles in the batter’s box, Gose — a two-way star in high school who also drew draft attention as a pitcher — moved to the mound in 2017. By 2018, he’d become a full-time pitcher in the Rangers’ minor league ranks, and he landed with Cleveland on a minor league pact heading into the 2019 season. He spent several years working with the Guards’ highly regarded pitching development program, honing his mound skills and making it back to the big leagues in 2021, this time as a reliever brandishing a sizzling triple-digit heater.
From 2021-22, Gose pitched 27 2/3 innings with a 3.90 ERA, 31.9% strikeout rate and 13.8% walk rate. Command was still an issue, but Gose averaged 97.6 mph on his four-seamer, frequently topped 100mph and posted a tantalizing 15.1% swinging-strike rate in his new role. Unfortunately, he’s also become acclimated with one of the most grueling aspects of life as a pitcher: rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Gose suffered a torn UCL in 2022, had surgery, and inked a two-year minor league contract to return to the Guardians that winter.
Gose missed the entire 2023 season while recovering from surgery. He’s been healthy in 2024 though, logging 38 1/3 frames with a 3.29 ERA in Columbus. Command is still an issue for him, evidenced by a sky-high 14.3% walk rate, but Gose is also still missing bats in droves; he’s fanned 34.2% of his opponents and registered an eye-popping 17.8% swinging-strike rate. With Sam Hentges currently on the injured list, Gose will give manager Stephen Vogt a second southpaw option alongside Tim Herrin in what has been the best bullpen in Major League Baseball this year.
As for Curry, he was a 2019 seventh-rounder who pitched his way up the organization’s prospect rankings and made his way to the big leagues in 2022. While he was never touted as one of the best pitching prospects in the sport, he did climb to No. 22 within Cleveland’s system as recently as last year, per Baseball America.
However, the results in the majors haven’t been there for Curry, who recently turned 26. He’s pitched 129 MLB frames and been tagged for a 4.53 ERA overall — including an ugly 5.84 mark in 24 2/3 innings this season. He’s displayed good command (7.3% walk rate) but struggled to miss bats (15.2% strikeout rate) against more advanced hitters, which was part of the concern with how he’d fare in the big leagues. Curry’s fastball generally sits 92-93 mph, and opponents have feasted on his curveball (.321/.355/.607). He’s also struggled in Triple-A (5.59 ERA in parts of two seasons) but posted strong run-prevention and K-BB numbers up through the Double-A level.
With the trade deadline having passed, the Guardians have no choice but to place Curry on waivers or release him. He’s in the second of three minor league option years, so a club in need of some optionable depth on the starting staff or in a long relief role could place a claim and hope that a change of scenery brings out a new gear. Granted, few organizations have better track records of optimizing pitcher performance than Cleveland, so perhaps it’s not reasonable to expect another team to unlock a new tier of performance. But there’s also little to no cost in rolling the dice, particularly for one of the many deadline sellers that saw several spots on the 40-man roster open up when trading veterans for young prospects.
Reds Sign Tucker Barnhart To Minor League Deal
The Reds have signed catcher Tucker Barnhart to a minor league deal, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post on X. Barnhart was released by the Diamondbacks almost a month ago. He will presumably report to Triple-A Louisville at some point in the coming days, though he may also report elsewhere for a tuneup after having a few weeks off.
Barnhart, now 33, returns to the organization that he has spent most of his career with. He was drafted by the Reds in 2009 and played in the big leagues with them from 2014 to 2021. He got into 744 big league contests in that time, hitting .248/.324/.371 for a wRC+ of 82. He generally received strong grades for his blocking and work with the running game. His framing grades were poor early in his career but improved significantly starting in 2019.
Since leaving Cincinnati, his offense has fallen off from what was already a fairly low baseline. He was traded to the Tigers going into 2022 and hit .221/.287/.267 that year for a 61 wRC+. Despite that lackluster performance at the plate, the Cubs signed him to a two-year deal with a $6.5MM guarantee going into 2023. He hit .202/.285/.257 with the Cubs for a wRC+ of 53 and was released by August. He joined the Diamondbacks this year, with the Cubs still on the hook for the second year of his deal, but slashed .173/.287/.210 for a 51 wRC+ and got released last month.
All told, Barnhart has hit .208/.286/.255 in 527 plate appearances since the start of 2022 but his defensive work continues to get decent grades. There’s no real cost to the Reds, as the Cubs are still paying him for the latter portions of that two-year deal, so the Reds would only have to pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum salary for any time he eventually spends on their roster.
The club has Tyler Stephenson and Luke Maile as their catching duo at the moment but lost a bit of depth recently. Austin Wynns has been the club’s third catcher for much of the year and he was recently up with the Reds while Maile was on the IL, but then Wynns himself hit the IL with a lat strain. Eric Yang was briefly added to the roster to cover for Wynns but then Maile came off the IL and Yang was outrighted.
With Wynns hurt, Stephenson and Maile are the only two healthy catchers on the 40-man. Barnhart will join Yang and P.J. Higgins as non-roster depth options who could be called upon if either Stephenson or Maile need to miss time again.
Giants Select Jakson Reetz
The Giants made a few roster moves today, relayed on X by Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle. They have recalled right-hander Hayden Birdsong and selected the contract of catcher Jakson Reetz. In corresponding moves, catcher Curt Casali has been placed on the paternity list while right-hander Spencer Bivens has been optioned to Double-A Richmond. The club already had a couple of 40-man vacancies after the flurry of deadline transactions and their count now climbs to 39.
Reetz, 28, will be in his second stint with the Giants this season. San Francisco selected him to the 40-man roster back in May. He went just 1-for-12 in a brief five-game stint, though his lone hit in that run was a big fly. The Giants designated Reetz for assignment and passed him through waivers later in the month when opening a roster spot for veteran lefty Drew Pomeranz.
Between his brief look with the Giants and an even shorter look with the 2022 Nats (two plate appearances), Reetz has just 14 trips to the plate under his belt in the majors. He’s hitting .250/.362/.428 with Triple-A Sacramento this season and carries a career .240/.336/.467 line in parts of four seasons at the top minor league level. With Casali only headed to the paternity list — a three-day maximum — it could be a brief stay in the majors for Reetz. However, he’s in the second of three minor league option years, so he could simply be optioned rather than designated for assignment whenever Casali returns. That’d at least keep him on the 40-man roster.
Birdsong, 22, will come back to the majors after an impressive debut earlier this season. He’s made six MLB starts and posted a 2.97 ERA in 30 1/3 frames, fanning a huge 30.2% of his opponents against an 11.9% walk rate that’ll need to improve if he’s to sustain his small-sample success. The 2022 sixth-rounder is one of the organization’s more promising pitching prospects and has carved up Double-A this season in addition to yielding five runs in nine Triple-A innings (two starts). With Jordan Hicks now in the bullpen and Alex Cobb traded to Cleveland, Birdsong should have a runway to establish himself as the fifth starter behind Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Kyle Harrison and the resurgent Blake Snell in the Giants’ rotation.
Yankees Release Duane Underwood Jr.
The Yankees released right-hander Duane Underwood Jr., who’d been pitching for their Triple-A affiliate after signing a minor league deal in the offseason, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. He’s a free agent who can now sign with any club.
Underwood’s release comes despite generally solid results in Scranton. He’s pitched 38 2/3 innings for the RailRiders, logging a 3.26 ERA with a 23.4% strikeout rate that’s slightly north of the big league average. The Yankees never game him a look in the big leagues this season, likely due in part to an unpalatable 14% walk rate that portends some regression in that otherwise sharp earned run average.
A second-round pick by the Cubs back in 2012, the now 30-year-old Underwood has three-plus years of big league service that have been accrued over parts of six seasons split evenly between the Cubs and Pirates. Underwood found some decent success with Pittsburgh from 2021-22 and even worked his way into a leverage role with the ’22 Bucs. Over those two seasons, he tallied 130 innings of 4.36 ERA ball with a 21.1% strikeout rate, 9% walk rate, 45.7% ground-ball rate, one save and a dozen holds. He was arguably miscast as a setup man, but Underwood looked the part of a perfectly serviceable middle reliever at the very least.
The 2023 season marked a notable step back for the right-hander, however. Underwood pitched just 24 1/3 frames in the big leagues and was roughed up for a 5.18 ERA with glaring declines in his strikeout and walk rates. His average sinker fell from 95.3 mph in ’22 to 93.6 mph in ’23, and Underwood posted a career-low 14% strikeout rate against a career-worst 11% walk rate. Pittsburgh passed him through waivers last June. He became a minor league free agent at season’s end and signed with the Yankees.
On the whole, Underwood has 190 2/3 innings of 4.63 ERA ball under his belt in the majors. He’s set down 21.5% of his opponents on strikes and issued free passes at a 9% clip — both numbers right in line with the results he delivered for the 2021-22 Pirates. He’s worked mostly in short relief with the Yankees organization, although Underwood does have eight appearances in which he’s recorded between four and six outs over the past couple months. He could be an option for a team seeking some depth in the form of an experienced arm that’s comfortable working more than an inning per appearance.
Dodgers Activate Brusdar Graterol, Place Blake Treinen On IL
Today: Following last night’s game, Roberts told Ardaya that Treinen felt a problem in his hip after his appearance on Sunday against the Athletics. It likely isn’t serious, however, and Treinen could return to the team as soon as his minimum 15 days on the IL are up.
August 5: The Dodgers activated right-handed pitcher Brusdar Graterol from the 60-day injured list ahead of tonight’s game against the Phillies, the team announced. To make room on the active roster, the club placed fellow right-handed reliever Blake Treinen on the 15-day IL with left hip discomfort. The Dodgers already had an open spot for Graterol on their 40-man roster.
Graterol and Treinen both wound up on the IL in spring training, but while Treinen returned to the field in May, Graterol has been out all year. His injury was initially described as hip tightness and inflammation in his throwing shoulder, but seemingly, the shoulder issue was the bigger problem. He started throwing off a mound again in early April, but the Dodgers shut down his throwing program a few weeks later because his arm wasn’t bouncing back as well as they might have hoped. After that, the team seems to have decided to take things particularly slow with the young flamethrower. Graterol started throwing bullpen sessions in mid-June and began his minor league rehab assignment in mid-July. After eight rehab appearances, he is back in Dodgers blue for the first time this season.
After coming over from the Twins in 2020 as part of the package for Kenta Maeda, Graterol slowly became a key player in the Dodgers’ bullpen. He was an especially important piece for manager Dave Roberts from 2022-23, pitching to a 2.08 ERA and 3.06 SIERA in 114 games. Often serving as a set-up man for closers Craig Kimbrel and Evan Phillips, he led the team with 29 holds and ranked second among Dodgers relievers in Win Probability Added over those two years. Across his four seasons with the Dodgers, he has also made 21 appearances in the playoffs, pitching to a 1.71 ERA and 2.52 FIP.
Still just 25 years old, Graterol is making $2.7MM this season in his first year of arbitration eligibility. He is set to reach free agency following the 2026 campaign.
Treinen, 36, had been enjoying a triumphant comeback campaign after missing most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons with a shoulder injury. In 34 appearances, the righty has pitched to a 2.67 ERA and a 2.81 SIERA. His fastball velocity is down about three miles per hour, but his 30.6% strikeout rate is the highest it’s been since his All-Star season in 2018. That has a lot to do with his slider, which has been one of the best whiff-inducing pitches in baseball this season. Thus, Roberts has given Treinen the ball in plenty of high-leverage spots; no Dodgers pitcher has a higher average leverage index when entering games in 2024 (per FanGraphs).
It is unclear how serious Treinen’s injury is or how much time he will miss. However, if Graterol picks up where he left off in 2023, the Dodgers will have no trouble replacing Treinen’s production at the back end of the bullpen. What’s more, right-hander Michael Grove is also nearing his return from the injured list, which will give L.A. another right-handed option for the bullpen.
Rangers Sign Chase Anderson To Minor League Deal
The Rangers have signed Chase Anderson to a minor league contract, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He was released by the Red Sox earlier this month.
Anderson, 36, signed a minor league deal with the Pirates during the 2023-24 offseason. He was released shortly before Opening Day, and not long after, he signed a major league deal with the Red Sox worth $1.25MM guaranteed. Primarily a starter throughout his career, the veteran right-hander joined Boston’s bullpen as a multi-inning arm. Over 27 games, he tossed 52 innings, pitching to a 4.85 ERA and 4.92 SIERA. Despite his move to a full-time bullpen role, his velocity was not meaningfully higher on any of his pitches, and his 15.6% strikeout rate was the lowest of his career. Ultimately, Anderson was a serviceable mop-up arm but not much more for the Red Sox. As they bolstered their bullpen at the trade deadline, they no longer had room for him on the roster.
Over 11 MLB seasons, Anderson has suited up for eight different clubs: the Diamondbacks, Brewers, Blue Jays, Phillies, Reds, Rays, Rockies, and Red Sox. He has also spent time with the Rangers, Tigers, and Pirates organizations, although he did not pitch for their big league clubs. If his second stint with Texas is more successful than the first, the Rangers will become the ninth team he has played for in his big league career.
As for the Rangers, there’s no such thing as too much pitching, and this team could surely use some veteran bullpen depth. Aside from those on the active roster, Texas does not have many healthy relievers in the organization with significant big league experience and any amount of recent big league success. If the Rangers select Anderson’s contract, they will only owe him a prorated portion of the minimum salary for however long he remains on the roster. The Red Sox are still responsible for the rest of his guaranteed 2024 salary.
Phillies Sign Ryan McKenna To Minor League Deal
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
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
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.