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Blue Jays Outright Mason McCoy

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The Blue Jays have sent infielder Mason McCoy outright to Triple-A Buffalo, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. Toronto designated him for assignment on Wednesday.

McCoy, 28, made his big league debut this year. A former sixth-round draftee of the Orioles, he spent time in the Baltimore and Seattle farm systems. The Mariners dealt him to Toronto for Trent Thornton at the end of July. The Jays selected his contract a month later. Toronto plugged McCoy into six games, mostly as a late-game defensive substitute. He batted once, striking out against José Ferrer in his lone MLB at-bat to date.

Since this is the first outright of his career, McCoy doesn’t have the ability to elect free agency. He’ll remain in the organization as non-roster depth for a few weeks but will qualify for minor league free agency this offseason if the Jays don’t add him back to the 40-man. The righty-hitting defensive specialist owns a .221/.321/.372 line in 487 Triple-A plate appearances this season.

Twins Place Royce Lewis On IL With Hamstring Strain

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The Twins announced that infielder Royce Lewis has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to September 21, due to a left hamstring strain. Outfielder/first baseman Jordan Luplow was recalled in a corresponding move.

Lewis, 24, has had a stop-and-start career to this point, flashing incredible talent in between injury absences. The former first overall pick underwent surgery for a torn ACL in his right knee last year, the second time he’s endured that awful injury, and missed the first couple of months of this season. He returned in late May and had about a month on the active roster before returning to the IL due to an oblique strain. He was activated in mid-August but is now back on the IL yet again, this time due to the hamstring issue.

Around those various injuries, the results have been excellent. He has hit .309/.372/.548 in 239 plate appearances this year for a wRC+ of 154, indicating he’s been 54% better than the league average hitter. He’s also stolen six bases and been given solid grades for his third base defense.

The Twins are 8.5 games up on the Guardians and nine games ahead of the Tigers in the Central, making them a virtual lock to win the division. Since they are cruising towards a postseason berth, it seems they are trying to rest up some of their key contributors for their eventual postseason appearance. In addition to Lewis, shortstop Carlos Correa was also placed on the injured list this week, with plantar fasciitis being the culprit in his case. Both players have enough time to be eligible to return for the playoffs, hopefully with their respective health conditions improved. Byron Buxton and Joey Gallo are also X-factors, with both players currently on rehab assignments.

As for Luplow, it was announced by the club earlier this week that he had been designated for assignment to open an active roster spot for Michael A. Taylor to be reinstated from the IL. However, MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports that Luplow wound up optioned instead. As a player with more than five years of service time, he had to consent to the option and did. It seems he hung onto his 40-man roster spot, allowing him to be recalled today.

Cardinals Select Irving Lopez

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The Cardinals announced a series of roster moves today, recalling outfielder Michael Siani and selecting the contract of infielder Irving Lopez. In corresponding moves, third baseman Nolan Arenado was placed on the 10-day injured list due to back spasms. Catcher Willson Contreras also landed on the 10-day injured list due to left wrist tendinitis, a move that was reported on yesterday. To open a 40-man roster spot for Lopez, outfielder Dylan Carlson was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

The Cards are 67-86, putting them in last place in the Central. There’s little incentive for veterans like Contreras or Arenado to play through nagging injuries at this point, so they will get an early start on the offseason by sitting out the last handful of games. It was reported last week that Carlson would require ankle surgery, making his transfer to the 60-day injured list unsurprising.

As those players rest, it will open an opportunity for Lopez to make his major league debut. The 28-year-old was a 19th-round pick of the Cards in the 2017 draft. He has split this year between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting a combined .260/.368/.420 in his 346 plate appearances with a 12.4% walk rate and 19.1% strikeout rate.

He’ll give manager Oli Marmol a multi-positional option for the final games of the schedule. He has played all four infield positions this year, as well as the outfield corners and even made an appearance on the mound.

Padres To Select Jose Espada

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September 22: The Padres have now made it official, announcing they have selected Espada’s contract. Righty Nick Hernandez was optioned to open an active roster spot while Hill was transferred to the 60-day to open a 40-man spot.

September 21: The Padres will promote right-hander Jose Espada to the majors, according to an announcement from the American Association’s Milwaukee Milkmen. The pitcher confirmed the news in a Spanish-language interview with Antolín Ríos of El Nuevo Día. The Padres have a full 40-man roster but a number of players (e.g. Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove and Tim Hill) who are out for the season and can be transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Espada, 26, gets to the majors more than eight years after entering the professional ranks. The Blue Jays selected him in the fifth round of the 2015 draft out of an academy in Puerto Rico. The 6’0″ hurler would spend four-plus seasons in the Toronto system without getting past Low-A. He went to the Red Sox in the minor league Rule 5 draft, topping out at High-A in two years there.

After qualifying for minor league free agency, Espada signed with the Milkmen. He made eight starts in the independent ranks before getting back to affiliated ball on a minor league pact with the Padres. Espada tossed 40 innings of 4.05 ERA ball in High-A down the stretch last season and held his spot with San Diego into 2023.

Espada has divided this year between Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso. Working mostly as a long reliever, he has put together a sub-3.00 ERA showing at both spots in a breakout season. Between the two affiliates, he’s allowing 2.81 earned runs per nine across 83 1/3 frames. Espada has punched out an excellent 31.4% of opposing hitters against a lofty 12.6% walk percentage.

Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wrote in July that Espada can miss bats with both his curveball and changeup but has below-average fastball velocity. After a winding road between three organizations and indie ball, he’ll get his first look on a big league staff. Espada can work multiple innings out of the bullpen for manager Bob Melvin.

Phillies To Promote Orion Kerkering

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The Phillies are going to promote right-hander Orion Kerkering, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Kerkering isn’t on the 40-man roster, so the club will need to make a corresponding move of some kind to open a spot for him.

Kerkering, 22, was a fifth-round selection of the Phils just last year. He got to make a brief professional debut after that draft, making one appearance in the Complex League and five in Single-A. He came into this year ranked as the #25 prospect in the system by Baseball America and #19 by FanGraphs. Both outlets highlighted his fastball and slider, with BA noting that Kerkering’s move to the bullpen in college could see him rise quickly, narrow his focus to those two strong offerings.

Here in 2023, he has torpedoed through four levels already, going through Single-A, High-A, Double-A, Triple-A and will now add the majors to that list. He has combined for 53 2/3 innings over those stops with a 1.51 earned run average, 38% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate. He won’t be able to sustain the 92.3% strand rate he’s had so far this year but even his 2.36 FIP points to great results even with some regression.

The Phillies are currently sporting a record of 84-69. They’re nowhere close to Atlanta in the East but currently possess the top Wild Card spot in the National League, three games up on the second-place Diamondbacks and five up on the Cubs and Marlins. That makes them a virtual lock to return to the playoffs this year.

They will plug Kerkering into their bullpen mix and see how he fares against bit league hitters in the final games of the regular season schedule. If his results are anywhere near his performance in the minors, he could push for a spot on the postseason roster. Players that are in an organization but not on the 40-man can be eligible for the postseason as an injury substitute via a petition to the league, even if they are added after September 1.

Rays Place Luke Raley On Injured List, Designate Trevor Kelley For Assignment

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The Rays announced Friday that they’ve placed slugger Luke Raley on the 10-day injured list with a cervical strain and designated right-handed reliever Trevor Kelley for assignment. That pair of moves paves the way for top prospect Junior Caminero to be formally selected to the 40-man roster and called up for his Major League debut — a move first reported to be in the works last night. Caminero’s call to the big leagues is now official, and he should make his debut tonight.

Raley, 29, has just one plate appearance since Sept. 15 due to ongoing discomfort stemming from this injury. His placement on the IL is retroactive to Sept. 21, so he’ll be eligible to return on the final day of the regular season. The hope is surely that the additional downtime will allow him to heal up for the postseason.

A former Dodgers and Twins farmhand, Raley has had a late-blooming breakout during his age-29 campaign with the Rays. In 118 games and 406 plate appearances, the lefty-swinging outfielder/first baseman touts a .249/.333/.490 batting line with 19 home runs, 23 doubles, three triples and 14 steals. His 6.9% walk rate is below the league average, and his 31.4% strikeout rate is about eight percentage points above it. Raley has also been largely shielded from left-handed pitching, though he’s held his own in the 43 plate appearances he’s received.

Limited as the skill set may be, there’s no denying that Raley has been a huge contributor for Tampa Bay this season. A Rays club that entered the year looking quite right-handed was in need of just such a breakout, and he’s provided a sorely needed left-handed bat who’s emerged as a potent threat against opposing righties. In 363 plate appearances with the platoon advantage, Raley has turned in a .247/.337/.497 batting line with 17 of his 19 longballs. He’ll finish out the year with one-plus season of big league service under his belt, so the Rays can control him for another five years via arbitration if they choose — and he won’t even be arb-eligible until after the 2025 campaign.

Kelley, 31 next month, signed a minor league deal with Tampa Bay over the winter but was added to the 40-man roster as soon as the Rays were eligible to create roster space via a 60-day IL placement for an injured player. He’s appeared in 10 games and pitched 15 1/3 innings this season but struggled to a 5.87 earned run average in that small sample. Kelley has pitched in the Majors in each of the past four seasons now, also spending time with the Red Sox, Brewers and Phillies. In 50 2/3 big league innings, he’s recorded a 6.75 ERA with a 19.1% strikeout rate and 8.9% walk rate.

Although his 2023 struggles extend to Triple-A — 5.23 ERA in 32 2/3 frames — Kelley entered the year with an outstanding track record at the top minor league level. From 2019-22, he turned in a 1.81 ERA, 25.7% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate in 164 1/3 innings at the level. Even with this year’s shaky results in Durham, Kelley carries a lifetime 2.38 ERA in 197 innings of Triple-A work.

The Rays will have no recourse but to either place Kelley on outright waivers or unconditional release waivers. He’ll be out of minor league options in 2024, but a team in need of some controllable bullpen depth could place a claim if they’re willing to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Rays Promote Junior Caminero

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Sept. 22: Caminero’s promotion to the Majors has now been formally announced by the Rays. Outfielder Luke Raley was placed on the 10-day IL, opening an active roster spot, and righty Trevor Kelley was designated for assignment to make space on the 40-man roster. (You can read up on those corresponding moves here.)

Sept. 21: The Rays are calling up top infield prospect Junior Caminero, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. They’ll need to select him onto the 40-man roster, which is at capacity.

Caminero, who turned 20 years old in July, becomes the youngest player in the majors. He makes the jump directly from Double-A Montgomery, where he has spent the bulk of the 2023 campaign. Caminero began the year in High-A and was bumped to Montgomery at the end of May.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Caminero signed with Cleveland during the 2019-20 international signing period. He was playing in the Dominican Summer League when the Rays acquired him in a trade that has the potential to go down as one of the more lopsided in recent history. At the deadline for teams to set their 40-man rosters in advance of the 2021 Rule 5 draft, Cleveland sent Caminero to Tampa Bay for right-hander Tobias Myers.

Myers posted a 6.00 ERA in 14 Triple-A starts and was lost on waivers without getting to the majors. Caminero has broken through as one of the sport’s most talented young players. He reached full-season ball last season before this year’s true emergence as a top-tier prospect.

Caminero raked at a .356/.409/.685 clip in 36 High-A contests. He has barely slowed down since moving to Double-A, shredding older competition en route to a .309/.373/.548 line. The right-handed hitter has popped 31 home runs, 18 doubles and six triples over 510 cumulative trips to the dish. He has kept his strikeout rate to a lower than average 19.6%, including a meager 17.1% mark in Double-A.

Alongside the massive numbers, Caminero has impressed scouts with his physical tools. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel named him the sport’s #5 prospect last month; he also checks in fifth on the updated ranking at Baseball America. Those reports credit him with plus or better power potential, with McDaniel noting that he has a chance to be a 40-homer hitter at peak. ESPN suggests his plate approach can be a little aggressive — he’s walking at an average 8.2% clip in the minors — but there’s general agreement that Caminero could be an impact offensive player.

It’s nevertheless a bold move for the Rays to call upon him in the midst of a pennant race. He’ll obviously face a massive escalation in the quality of pitcher he’ll face down the stretch. Tampa Bay has already secured a playoff spot but has little margin for error if they’re to track down the Orioles for the AL East title and top seed in the American League. They’re a game and a half back of Baltimore after they beat the Angels and the O’s dropped their matchup with Cleveland.

Caminero has mostly split his time between third base and shortstop in the minors. Scouting reports suggest he’s likely to settle in at third base as he fills out physically. Isaac Paredes and Curtis Mead are splitting the hot corner, while defensive specialist Taylor Walls is at shortstop. Walls has a dismal .170/.267/.226 batting line in the second half, so the Rays could give some reps there to Caminero if they’re in search of an offensive boost. Luke Raley is also day-to-day with a left arm issue that recently required an MRI, freeing up some designated hitter at-bats (either for Caminero directly or for Paredes if the Rays wanted to plug Caminero in at third base).

The Rays will be able to carry Caminero on the playoff roster if they decide he’s ready for October action. While he wasn’t on the 40-man roster at the start of September, he was in the organization. Teams can (and often do) petition the league for a player who wasn’t on the 40-man at the beginning of the month to get onto a postseason roster as an injury substitute.

Caminero will be paid at the MLB minimum rate and collect a couple weeks of service time. He won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2029 season and won’t qualify for arbitration until the 2026-27 offseason at the earliest. Future assignments back to the minor leagues could push that timeline further. Caminero will remain a rookie headed into 2024, leaving open the possibility of netting the club an extra draft choice via the Prospect Promotion Incentive if they carry him for a full service year.

Yankees Recall Yoendrys Gómez For MLB Debut

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The Yankees announced that they have placed left-hander Wandy Peralta on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to September 19, with a left triceps strain. In a corresponding move, they recalled right-hander Yoendrys Gómez, who will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Peralta, 32, has been a quietly effective reliever over the past few years. Dating back to the start of the 2020 campaign, he has an earned run average of 3.01 over 200 appearances. That includes a 2.83 ERA in 63 appearances for the Yankees this year, along with a 22.5% strikeout rate, 13.2% walk rate and 57.4% ground ball rate.

He hasn’t appeared in a game in over a week due to the triceps issue. Manager Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com this week that the issue is considered “pretty minor,” but he’ll now land on the injured list regardless. Perhaps with the Yankees playing out the string on a lost season, they decided it best not to risk making the issue worse. Regardless of the severity, Peralta’s season is now done just based on the time left on the schedule.

Peralta is a free agent this winter and should be able to market himself well based on his aforementioned strong results in recent years. Ending the season on the injured list isn’t ideal, but there’s nothing at this point to suggest it will significantly impact his market or his 2024 season.

As for Gómez, the 23-year-old gets to the big leagues for the first time. Signed as an amateur out of Venezuela in 2016, he has been driving through the minors since then, but with his share of speed bumps. His work in the lower levels had impressed the club enough to get him a 40-man spot in November of 2020, to keep him out of that year’s Rule 5 draft. But he would only throw 23 2/3 innings of Single-A ball in 2021 due to a combination of a shoulder injury, contracting COVID-19 and then Tommy John surgery.

In the second half of 2022, he was able to throw 47 innings across three levels, finishing at Double-A with a combined 2.49 ERA in that time. This year, he’s made 19 Double-A starts with a 3.58 ERA and a strong 28.5% strikeout rate, but a concerning 13.5% walk rate. He’s been on Baseball America’s list of top 30 Yankee prospects since 2019, peaking at #8 going into 2021 but dropping to the back end due to recent hiccups.

Despite all the challenges he has faced, Gómez has persisted and will now get a brief look in the majors as this season winds down. He should be able to provide Boone with a multi-inning relief option as the club gets through the final week-plus of their schedule.

Gómez is in his final option season and will be out of options next year. Clubs are sometimes granted a fourth option if a player misses significant time due to injury, which could apply to Gómez based on his surgery, but that’s purely speculative.

Braves Place Max Fried On 15-Day Injured List

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The Braves announced Friday that ace Max Fried has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a blister on his left index finger. Righty Darius Vines has been recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to take his spot on the roster.

Fried’s placement on the injured list will cause some brief panic for Braves fans, but the 15-day term will expire before the National League Division Series kicks off. As such, the injury isn’t likely to impact his postseason availability. Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets that Fried suggested his regular season might be over last night after the blister issue flared back up, but his playoff status isn’t likely to be in jeopardy.

The IL stint will give Fried a couple weeks of rest before he takes the mound again — likely in the first or second game of the Division Series. Atlanta has long since clinched a postseason berth, and as the NL’s top seed, they’ll have a bye for the Wild Card round of play. Their commanding lead in the National League will give them the luxury of skipping a couple starts for Fried and also recalling a fresh arm (Vines) to keep the pitching staff fully stocked.

Fried’s 2023 season has been shortened by a hamstring strain, a forearm strain and now this blister issue. He’ll finish out the year at just 77 2/3 innings, though he’s been characteristically excellent when on the mound. In 14 starts, he’s pitched to a pristine 2.55 ERA with a 25.7% strikeout rate, 5.8% walk rate, 57.7% ground-ball rate and 0.81 HR/9. Dating back to 2020, Fried boasts a 2.66 ERA in 484 2/3 big league innings.

Assuming the blister issue heals as expected, Fried will step into a playoff rotation alongside veteran Charlie Morton and sophomore hurler Spencer Strider — baseball’s strikeout leader. Righty Bryce Elder would be next in line, although he’s at a career-high workload already and has struggled after a brilliant three-month run to begin the season. Since July 9, Elder has pitched to a 5.40 ERA in 68 1/3 frames.

While Fried’s absence won’t impact the Braves’ playoff position, his placement on the IL could still impact the postseason picture as a whole. The Cubs are in a tight race with the Marlins and Reds for the final National League Wild Card spot — the three teams are separated by just a half game — and Chicago would’ve drawn Fried at some point during next week’s penultimate series of the season in Atlanta. Much to the chagrin of Reds and Marlins fans, the Cubs will now dodge that bullet.

Royals Outright Matt Beaty

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The Royals have sent Matt Beaty outright to Triple-A Omaha, according to the transaction tracker at MLB.com. The left-handed hitter was designated for assignment on Tuesday.

Beaty appeared in 26 games after re-signing with K.C. on a minor league pact in June. He’d also signed with the Royals in Spring Training before being traded to the Giants on Opening Day. San Francisco immediately called him up but only played him four times before waiving him. After going unclaimed, Beaty chose free agency and circled back to Kansas City.

In 67 trips to the plate, Beaty hit .232/.358/.304. He walked six times with 12 strikeouts but only had four extra-base hits, all of which were doubles. Beaty is best suited for first base or a corner outfield position, putting extra pressure on his bat.

The former 12th-round draftee posted above-average offensive numbers in a part-time role with the Dodgers from 2019-21. He hit .262/.333/.425 in 240 contests. Los Angeles nevertheless DFA him before the start of the 2022 campaign. Beaty hasn’t hit well in scattered looks over the two seasons since then. He’s a .173/.271/.240 hitter in 119 big league plate appearances since the Dodgers dealt him.

Beaty has the right to again test free agency. He’d be a minor league free agent at the beginning of the offseason anyhow unless the Royals add him back to the roster.

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