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Diamondbacks Claim Seby Zavala, Designate Buddy Kennedy

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The Diamondbacks announced that have claimed catcher Seby Zavala off waivers from the White Sox. The backstop was designated for assignment by the Sox earlier this week. Infielder Buddy Kennedy was designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reported on the Zavala claim prior to the official announcement.

Zavala, 30, served as the backup to Yasmani Grandal for most of this season. His defensive grades have largely been strong in his career and this year has been no exception. His seven Defensive Runs Saved puts him in the top 10 among catchers around the league this year, with most of the others around him having done so with more playing time. He’s also considered to be above-average in terms of pitch framing.

The problem this year has been at the plate, not behind it. Zavala has struck out in 38.7% of his plate appearances and walked at just a 5.7% clip this year. His .155/.207/.304 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of just 34. Among hitters with at least 170 plate appearances this year, only Austin Hedges and Brenton Doyle have worse production by measure of wRC+. Zavala spent about a month on the injured list after suffering an oblique strain in early August but the Sox designated him for assignment when he was done rehabbing instead of adding him back to the roster.

Recent struggles notwithstanding, it’s understandable why the Diamondbacks would be interested. Zavala’s glovework gives him a decent floor and his bat has been better in the past. As recently as last year, he hit .270/.347/.382 for a wRC+ of 111. His 31.2% strikeout rate was still on the high side but he also walked in 9.3% of his plate appearances.

Arizona will bring him aboard and add him to their catching mix. Zavala is out of options and will need to continually justify his active roster spot, but he can be controlled for four more seasons after this one if he does so. Gabriel Moreno is having a solid season and should continue to get the bulk of the playing time, with Zavala sliding into the backup role. Carson Kelly had that gig for a while but was released last month and signed with the Tigers. José Herrera has been in the backup role since then but he is optionable and has subpar numbers both offensively and defensively this year.

Kennedy, 24, was hitting .318/.447/.480 in Triple-A when the Diamondbacks selected his contract last month. He then hit just .167/.310/.208 in the majors and got optioned back down to Reno last week. The club will put him on waivers in the coming days. He’s still optionable and has less than a year of service time, which could appeal to other clubs around the league. But Arizona was able to pass him through outright waivers in November of last year and could do so again. If that were to happen, he would have the right to elect free agency since it would be his second career outright.

A’s Designate Spencer Patton For Assignment, Select Easton Lucas

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The Athletics announced today that they have reinstated right-hander Mason Miller from the injured list, selected left-hander Easton Lucas and recalled right-hander Devin Sweet from Triple-A Las Vegas. In corresponding moves, left-hander Sam Long and right-hander Zach Neal were optioned to Triple-A and righty Spencer Patton was designated for assignment.

Patton, 35, signed a minor league deal with the club in April and has twice now been selected for short stints with the big league club. He got into four games in May before being designated for assignment. He cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment, which allowed him to return a few weeks ago, having made another eight appearances since then. Between those two stints, he has a 5.11 earned run average in 12 1/3 innings, striking out just 12.7% of hitters while walking 10.9%.

The A’s will place him on waivers in the coming days. It’s possible the same sequence of events plays out as earlier in the season, with Patton going unclaimed. He will again have the right to elect free agency at that time. In 113 career games in the majors dating back to 2014, he has a 5.11 ERA. He also spent 2017 to 2020 in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball with a 3.68 ERA in that league.

Lucas, 26, gets selected to a big league roster for the first time and will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. Selected by the Marlins in 14th round of the 2019 draft, he was traded to the Orioles that December for infielder Jonathan Villar. He was then involved in another swap, going to the A’s a few months back as the return in the deal that sent right-hander Shintaro Fujinami to Baltimore.

Between the two organizations, he’s tossed 46 2/3 innings this year at Double-A and Triple-A. He has a combined 3.86 ERA, along with a 25.8% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate. He will join Sean Newcomb and Francisco Pérez as the club’s left-handed relievers for the time being and try to earn his way into the club’s plans for next year.

Brewers Select Thyago Vieira

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The Brewers announced that they have selected right-hander Thyago Vieira from Triple-A Nashville, with left-hander Clayton Andrews optioned in a corresponding move. They already had a vacancy on the 40-man roster.

Vieira, 30, got some limited major league action from 2017 to 2019, tossing 25 2/3 innings with a 7.36 earned run average for the Mariners and White Sox. His fastball averaged in the high 90s and he flashed some big strikeout numbers at times but also battled control issues.

He signed with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball prior to 2020 and spent three years with that club. He posted a 3.61 ERA over 92 appearances for them, striking out 26.2% of batters faced but walking 13.2% of them. The Brewers signed him to a minor league deal coming into this season and he has been with Triple-A Nashville for the year. He tossed 37 2/3 innings at that level with a 3.35 ERA, striking out 31.7% of opponents while limiting his walks to a 9.3% clip.

Based on his solid season of work at Nashville, the Brewers will give him his first shot at the big leagues since 2019 and see if he can carry over his results. If he does, he will give the club a boost for the playoff race, with the Brewers currently holding a lead of 2.5 games over the Cubs.

Cubs Designate Shane Greene For Assignment

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The Cubs have announced to reporters, including Bruce Levine of 670 The Score, that right-hander Shane Greene has been designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to left-hander Luke Little, who was reported earlier to be coming up.

It’s a quick turnaround for Greene, 34, who was just selected to the roster a week ago. He pitched one scoreless inning on Sunday but will now relinquish his roster spot to Little as the club looks to strengthen its left-handed relief corps.

Prior to coming up to the big leagues, Greene was stretched out in the minors, an interesting development since he has primarily been a reliever for most of his big league career. He tossed 16 2/3 innings over five Triple-A starts, going as long as five innings in his penultimate outing there. He had a 2.21 earned run average in those, striking out 27.9% of hitters while walking 10.5%.

The Cubs will place him on waivers in the coming days. He’s made 344 career appearances at the major league level, with inconsistent results. He finished three separate seasons with an ERA at 2.67 or below but saw that shoot up to 7.23 in 2021. He was only able to make two appearances last year and one so far this year. He’ll see if any club is willing to give him a roster spot in the coming days, though he won’t be postseason eligible for that club since it’s after the September 1 cutoff.

Andrew McCutchen Suffers Partial Achilles Tear, Done For Season

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The Pirates announced to reporters, including Justice delos Santos of MLB.com, that outfielder/designated hitter Andrew McCutchen is going on the 10-day injured list due to a partial tear in his left Achilles tendon. McCutchen will be in a walking boot for the next six weeks, meaning his season is done with less than four weeks now remaining on the schedule. The club later officially announced McCutchen’s IL placement with infielder Jared Triolo recalled in a corresponding move.

McCutchen, 36, returned to the Pirates this season on a one-year, $5MM deal. He had spent his prime with the Bucs but eventually bounced to the Giants, Yankees, Phillies and Brewers as the Pirates underwent a rebuild and gave most of the playing time to younger players. But he was able to don the black and gold again this year, serving as a veteran presence for a young team on the rise.

That’s not to say that his position on the roster was merely ceremonial, as he’s actually been the club’s best hitter this year. He’s drawn walks in 15.9% of his plate appearances and hit 12 home runs. His .256/.378/.397 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 115, indicating he’s been 15% better than the league average hitter this year, the highest mark on the club among those with at least 10 plate appearances.

The Bucs are well out of contention at this point but it’s nonetheless a tough pill to swallow, given his popularity among the fans and around baseball in general. He’s also currently sitting on 299 home runs, meaning he won’t have a chance to cross that milestone this year.

Although that’s surely frustrating, it seems possible he’ll have a chance to hit that marker next year. He has continually been open about his desire to return to the Pirates next year and reiterated that stance today, via delos Santos. He seems to have a good relationship with the franchise, making it fair to expect the two sides to reunite on another deal for 2024. The injury creates some cloudiness about his status, but if the six weeks in the walking boot get him back to health, he should be in line to have a fairly normal offseason and Spring Training.

Defensively, McCutchen was primarily a designated hitter this year, only heading to the outfield for 64 2/3 innings. Though the club might want to give some playing time to younger players, they could surely find some at-bats for their best offensive contributor this year, especially considering his iconic status in Pittsburgh.

Cubs To Select Luke Little

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The Cubs are promoting left-hander Luke Little to the majors, reports Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register. Little isn’t on the 40-man roster but the Cubs already have a vacancy there. A corresponding move will be required to get him onto the active roster.

It’s a belated birthday present for Little, who turned 23 years old just a week ago. The ironically-named Little, listed at 6’8″ and 220 pounds, was selected by the Cubs in the fourth round of the 2020 draft. He made an 11-inning professional debut in the Complex League in 2021 before getting a larger body of work after that.

He split 2022 between Single-A and High-A, tossing 65 2/3 innings with a 2.47 earned run average. His 13.3% walk rate was on the high side but he paired that with a huge 35.4% strikeout rate. This year, he’s gone from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A with a combined 2.12 ERA in 63 2/3 frames. He’s still giving out walks at a high clip of 15.1% but is punching out 37.6% of batters faced.

Those strong results have gotten the attention of prospect evaluators, with Baseball America currently ranking him #19 in the Cubs’ system, highlighting his fastball velocity. He’ll now get a chance to try his hand at getting major league hitters out and will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

The club hasn’t had much of a left-handed presence in its bullpen this year. Brandon Hughes made 17 appearances earlier in the season but has been out of action for a few months dealing with a knee injury. Anthony Kay has an ERA of 6.35 in his 13 contests and is currently on optional assignment. That leaves Drew Smyly, who struggled in the rotation and got bumped to the bullpen, as the club’s only southpaw reliever at the moment.

Bringing Little up to the big leagues will give them another option in that department as they enter the final few weeks of the playoff race. Their 75-64 record puts them 2.5 games back of the Brewers in the Central and in possession of the second National League Wild Card spot.

Pirates Outright Cal Mitchell

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The Pirates sent outfielder Cal Mitchell outright to Triple-A Indianapolis this afternoon, tweets Justice delos Santos of MLB.com. He cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week.

Mitchell and Yohan Ramirez were each DFA last Friday. Ramirez was claimed by the White Sox this afternoon. Mitchell went unclaimed and will stick in the organization. Since this is his first career outright and he has under three years of major league service, he doesn’t have the ability to decline the assignment.

A second round pick in 2017, Mitchell attracted some prospect attention throughout his time in Pittsburgh’s system. He performed reasonably well through Double-A before raking at a .339/.391/.547 clip in 63 Triple-A contests a year ago. That earned him a major league look in late May, but Mitchell didn’t found much success against big league pitching.

Over 232 trips to the dish, the lefty-swinging outfielder put up a .226/.286/.349 line. As a result, Mitchell has spent almost all of 2023 in Indianapolis. He hasn’t recaptured last year’s success at that level. He’s hitting .264/.338/.426 while striking out at a lofty 29.3% clip through 300 plate appearances. That eventually squeezed him off the roster.

Mitchell will try to work his way back onto the 40-man over the last month of the season. He’d qualify for minor league free agency at the beginning of the offseason if the Bucs don’t reselect his contract.

Austin Voth Accepts Outright Assignment With Orioles

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The Orioles announced that right-hander Austin Voth cleared outright waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. He’ll stick in the organization as depth but without occupying a spot on the 40-man roster.

Voth, now 31, was designated for assignment over the weekend when the O’s claimed reliever Jorge López off waivers from the Marlins. Voth had spent the year working in the O’s bullpen, though he also spent over two months on the injured list due to right elbow discomfort. When healthy enough to take the mound, he posted a 5.19 earned run average over 34 2/3 innings, along with a 21.3% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 33.6% ground ball rate. Since he’s out of options, those tepid results got him nudged off both the active and 40-man rosters.

He originally came to the O’s via a waiver claim from the Nationals last year and showed encouraging results at first. He had a brutal 10.13 ERA for the Nats that year but then righted the ship with a 3.04 ERA with Baltimore after the claim. The Orioles were encouraged enough to tender him an arbitration contract for 2023, agreeing to a salary of $1.85MM and a $2.45MM club option for 2024.

Since Voth has over three years of major league service time, he had the right to reject this outright assignment and elect free agency. However, since he has less than five years of service, exercising that right would mean forfeiting the remainder of his salary. He has understandably decided to accept the assignment and keep that money coming over the next few weeks. He’ll be eligible for minor league free agency if not added back to the roster by season’s end.

Astros Place Ryne Stanek On Injured List, Outright Rylan Bannon

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The Astros announced that reliever Ryne Stanek has landed on the 15-day injured list due to a right ankle sprain. Parker Mushinski is up from Triple-A Sugar Land to take his spot on the active roster. Additionally, infielder Rylan Bannon has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Sugar Land after being designated for assignment over the weekend.

Stanek was injured in the ninth inning of yesterday’s blowout win in Arlington. The right-hander covered first base on a Leody Taveras grounder to the right side (video provided by Talkin’ Baseball). Stanek hit the bag awkwardly while receiving the throw from José Abreu. He went down in pain and was eventually taken off the field on a cart.

Given that alarming scene, it’s arguably a relief to hear the preliminary diagnosis as a strain. The veteran hurler isn’t finished going through tests, though. Chandler Rome of the Athletic tweets that Stanek is en route back to Houston for further imaging. Those results will obviously determine the recovery timetable.

Stanek has worked to a 4.07 ERA over 48 2/3 innings this year. He’s striking out a roughly average 23.8% of opposing hitters against a lofty 10.2% walk percentage. That’s below the level he showed over his first two seasons in Houston. Stanek was rather quietly an integral part of excellent Astros’ bullpens in 2021-22, combining for a 2.41 ERA while punching out 28.2% of batters faced.

While this hasn’t been his best season, the hard-throwing hurler still seems likely to secure a spot on the Houston playoff roster if the team qualifies and he’s able to get back on the mound. He’s a couple months from his first trip to the open market.

Bannon, meanwhile, was DFA when Houston claimed Bennett Sousa off waivers. The 27-year-old infielder has only played in two big league games for the Astros after being claimed over the offseason. He has spent the bulk of the season with Sugar Land, putting together a .230/.346/.433 line with 15 home runs over 350 plate appearances in a hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League setting.

It’s the first career outright for Bannon, who had been claimed off waivers the first four times he landed on the wire. With less than three years of major league service, he doesn’t have the right to decline the assignment. He’ll remain in Triple-A for the remainder of the season but would qualify for minor league free agency at the beginning of the offseason unless the Astros add him back to the 40-man roster.

Ari Alexander of KPRC2 first reported Mushinski’s recall and Stanek’s ankle sprain.

Rockies Select Cole Tucker, Designate Coco Montes For Assignment

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The Rockies announced that they have selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Cole Tucker, with first baseman/outfielder Michael Toglia optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque in a corresponding move. To open a spot for Tucker on the 40-man, infielder Coco Montes was designated for assignment.

Tucker, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Rockies in the offseason. He was added to the big league roster last month but was designated for assignment just one week later, having taken just eight plate appearances over three games. He was outrighted to Albuquerque after clearing waivers and could have rejected that assignment based on having a previous career outright, but accepted and is now back with the big league club.

Around that brief stint in the majors, he’s taken 321 trips to the plate in 70 Triple-A games. He walked in 15.3% of those, leading to a batting line of .280/.391/.407 and 101 wRC+. Once a highly-touted prospect with the Pirates, he’s hit just .214/.263/.316 in 477 major league plate appearances thus far. At the very least, he should provide the Rox with defensive versatility, having played each infield and outfield position in his career. He can be controlled for four more seasons beyond this one but is out of options.

Montes, 26, hit .321/.401/.560 through his first 59 Triple-A games this year and got selected to the big league roster in June. But he then hit just .184/.244/.316 in his first 41 plate appearances at the major league level and has now been bounced from the roster.

Since the trade deadline has passed, the Rockies will place Montes on waivers in the coming days. His first taste of the majors didn’t go well but he’s generally produced solid numbers in the minors and spent significant time at the three infield positions to the left of first base. He will still have two option years beyond this one and has less than a year of service time.

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