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Braves To Select Allan Winans

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The Braves are turning to right-hander Allan Winans to start Saturday’s game in Milwaukee, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). He’s not on the 40-man roster, so Atlanta will need to formally select his contract within the next 48 hours.

Winans entered the professional ranks as a 17th-round senior sign by the Mets five years ago. He topped out at Double-A in the New York farm system in 2021. After that season, Atlanta nabbed him in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. Winans spent the bulk of last year with Double-A Mississippi and has played at Triple-A Gwinnett for all of 2023.

The Campbell product has worked 102 2/3 innings over 18 appearances for the Stripers. He’s carrying a 2.81 ERA with decent underlying marks. Winans’ 22.3% strikeout percentage is nearly average, while he’s inducing grounders at a strong 49.6% clip and pounding the strike zone. His 6.3% walk rate is fifth-lowest among the 38 International League pitchers with 60+ innings.

At the start of the season, Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin of FanGraphs noted that Winans relies on a sinking fastball and an above-average changeup. As a near 28-year-old rookie, he’s certainly not a top prospect, but his strong upper level performance was enough to overcome the very modest draft profile and get to the big leagues. Now that he’s securing a 40-man roster spot, he’s in the mix as a depth starter.

Atlanta’s 40-man roster is full. Unless the Braves anticipate Jesse Chavez missing another month, they don’t have an obvious candidate for a 60-day injured list transfer. They’ll likely have to designate someone for assignment when they bring Winans up.

Yankees Select Matt Bowman, Transfer Josh Donaldson To 60-Day Injured List

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The Yankees announced that they selected the contract of right-hander Matt Bowman yesterday and optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In order to open a spot for him on the 40-man roster, third baseman Josh Donaldson was transferred to the 60-day IL.

Bowman, 32, signed a minor league deal with the club in the offseason and has been in Triple-A all year. He’s made 30 appearances and tossed 38 1/3 innings with a 3.29 earned run average. Neither his 22% strikeout rate nor his 11% walk rate are especially strong but he’s kept the ball on the ground at a 59.6% clip. It was reported on the weekend that Bowman triggered an opt-out in his deal, giving the club 72 hours to either add him to their roster or return him to the open market. It seems they have decided on the former, though he will stay in Triple-A for now. As soon as he spends 20 days on optional assignment, he will burn that final option and be out of options in 2024.

This will be his first time on a major league roster in almost three years. It was reported in September of 2020 that Bowman, then with the Reds, would require Tommy John surgery. He was outrighted by that club shortly thereafter and the Yanks then signed him to a two-year minor league contract covering the 2021-2022 seasons. Unfortunately, he didn’t pitch in either of those seasons before rejoining the Yankees on another minor league deal for 2023. Prior to those obstacles, he had made 183 major league appearances for the Cardinals and Reds with a 4.02 ERA.

As for Donaldson, 37, he was placed on the 10-day IL on the weekend due to a calf strain. It was reported in recent days that further testing placed his strain somewhere between a Grade 2+ and Grade 3. Manager Aaron Boone said it would be “a decent amount of time” before Donaldson would be back and it seems the club has decided he’s unlikely to return until very late in the season at the earliest. He’s now officially ineligible to return until 60 days from that initial IL placement, which would be in the middle of September in a best-case scenario.

That leaves a small window for Donaldson to return late in the year but raises the possibility that his tenure with the Yankees is effectively done. That’s not guaranteed, as the club hasn’t provided any more specifics on his estimated absence, but it seems to be on the table. Acquired from the Twins in a five-player trade prior to the 2022 season, his offensive production tailed off immediately after that deal. He hit .272/.373/.514 from 2013 to 2021 but has hit just .207/.293/.385 since donning pinstripes. He also missed almost two months earlier this year due to a right hamstring strain.

He’s in the final guaranteed season of his contract, with a $16MM mutual option for 2024 that comes with a $6MM buyout if the team declines. Given his downturn in production, injury issues and the fact that he turns 38 in the winter, it seems unlikely that the Yankees would have much interest in that net $10MM price point.

Cardinals Designate Ryan Tepera For Assignment

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The Cardinals announced that they have activated outfielder Tyler O’Neill from the 60-day injured list, with right-hander Ryan Tepera designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

It’s been quite an unusual season for Tepera, who began the year with the Angels. He had parlayed his track record as an effective reliever into a two-year, $14MM deal with the Halos going into 2022. Last year was par for the course for him, as he posted a 3.61 earned run average in 59 appearances.

This year, however, he struggled through his first 10 outings, with a 7.27 ERA in those. He was released by the Angels and signed a minor league deal with the Rangers. He pitched eight scoreless Triple-A innings while striking out 37.9% of opponents, triggered an opt-out and then quickly landed a major league deal with the Cards. He tossed two innings for St. Louis, allowing two earned runs before getting bumped off the roster.

Since Tepera was released by the Angels, the Cardinals were only paying him the prorated league minimum, with the Halos on the hook for the remainder of his salary. The Cards will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers, though he has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency. He’ll likely wind up back on the open market, where another club can give him a shot for essentially no financial risk. With several relief pitchers likely to be traded between now and the deadline, some job opportunities might be opening up.

As for O’Neill, he’s been on the injured list since early May due to a lower back strain. He was in top form in 2021, hitting 34 home runs and stealing 15 bases while playing excellent defense, but has struggled since then. Going back to the start of 2022, he’s hit .228/.303/.380 for a wRC+ of 95. He’s played just 125 games while making trips to the IL due to a right shoulder impingement, a couple of left hamstring strains and this year’s back issues.

Despite those recent struggles, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak recently indicated the club plans on having O’Neill serve as the club’s everyday left fielder now that he’s back. With Lars Nootbaar, Jordan Walker, Tommy Edman, Alec Burleson and others in a crowded outfield mix, that’s led to speculation that Dylan Carlson could wind up traded in the coming days, something that MLBTR covered earlier today.

Pirates Release Travis Swaggerty

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The Pirates have released outfielder Travis Swaggerty, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He was already removed from their roster when he was designated for assignment earlier this week, so this won’t impact their 40-man roster count.

The release appears to be a result of Swaggerty’s frustration injury situation. Earlier this summer, he spoke to Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about how he’s been dealing with migraines since November. “It’s been crazy, and there’s been times I’ve been at the plate where it felt like I could barely see because I had a migraine or I was having that vertigo,” Swaggerty said.

Swaggerty has been placed on the minor league injured list a couple of times this year due to the issue, including on June 16. He started a rehab assignment on July 7 but played just one game and hasn’t returned to a lineup since. Players on the injured list can’t be placed on outright waivers and Swaggerty doesn’t seem to have been formally activated from the IL, leaving the Pirates little choice but to release him.

Players in this situation will often sign a new deal with the releasing club, but that’s no guarantee and Swaggerty will at least have the opportunity to peruse other offers. Prior to his setbacks this year, he was a prospect of note, having been selected in the first round of the 2018 draft with the 10th overall pick. But the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues in 2020 and Swaggerty required shoulder surgery in 2021 after just 12 games.

After missing almost two whole years, he returned to the field last year and hit .254/.348/.399 in 107 Triple-A games. That was above-average production, but just barely, translating to a 102 wRC+. He also got into five major league games but struck out in four of his nine plate appearances and recorded just one hit, a single. Now this year’s migraine issues have prevented him from building off that healthy season, as he’s played just 22 minor league games this year.

Cardinals Sign Casey Lawrence To Minor League Deal

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The Cardinals announced Thursday that they’ve signed right-hander Casey Lawrence to a minor league contract. Lawrence, a client of the Big League Management Company, opted out of a minor league deal with the Blue Jays earlier this week. The Cards have assigned him to Triple-A Memphis for the time being.

The 35-year-old Lawrence has appeared in parts of three big league seasons, pitching 96 2/3 frames but struggling to a 6.80 ERA. He has a much better track record in Triple-A, where he’s logged a 3.80 ERA in parts of eight seasons (544 1/3 innings). He also spent the 2019 season pitching overseas in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, where he recorded a 4.51 ERA in 105 2/3 innings.

Lawrence has spent the season to date with the Jays’ Triple-A club, logging a 4.67 ERA with a 20.5% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 45% ground-ball rate in 90 2/3 innings.

The Cardinals have been stockpiling experienced pitching depth over the past week. In addition to Lawrence, they’ve also added reliever Jacob Barnes on a minor league pact and signed Ryan Tepera to a big league deal, designating southpaw Genesis Cabrera for assignment in order to clear a spot for the veteran righty.

Mets Place Starling Marte On Injured List

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The Mets have informed reporters, including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, that they have placed outfielder Starling Marte on the 10-day injured list due to migraines. The corresponding move might not be known right away since the Mets are playing right now and won’t be able to make use of a new player until tomorrow’s night game. The move is retroactive to July 17.

Marte, 34, hasn’t played in a game since Sunday. He was originally in Tuesday’s lineup but was a late scratch due to this migraine situation, per Andy Martino of SNY. He’s still not in the lineup today and it seems the club has decided to give him some time to try to get past the issue. Since the move is backdated by three days, he could potentially be back in a week if he’s able to feel better.

The veteran is struggling through arguably the worst season of his career. Signed to a four-year, $78MM deal going into 2022, he continued at his established level last year. He hit 16 home runs and batted .292/.347/.468 overall for a wRC+ of 136. This year, unfortunately, he’s down to a line of .254/.308/.332 and a wRC+ of 83.

While that diminished production might make it seem like not such a big loss for the Mets, there are reasons to expect that he might have rounded into his previous form eventually. His 39.9% hard hit rate this year is actually much higher than last year’s 33.9% clip. His 88.4 mph average exit velocity is his highest since 2019. His .309 batting average in balls in play is well south of his .342 career mark and just 7% of his fly balls are leaving the yard. That’s well below his career 13.5% rate and the 12.4% league average. Even without a bounceback at the plate, Marte remains a threat on the basepaths, having already swiped 24 bags this year.

At this point, there’s nothing to suggest Marte is slated for an extended absence, but the timing is notable. The Mets have been floundering for much of the year and are currently 45-50, seven games back of a Wild Card spot. There’s now less than two weeks until the August 1 trade deadline as the Mets try to figure out which kind of moves they want to make. Owner Steve Cohen recently talked about how it would be “silly” to make additions if they stayed well out of contention.

For at least the next week or so, the club will proceed without Marte. Brandon Nimmo is a fixture in center and figures to be flanked by some combination of Mark Canha, Tommy Pham and DJ Stewart, though the upcoming corresponding move could also put someone else in the mix. Jeff McNeil is the regular second baseman but also plays some outfield on occasion. Both Pham and Canha are impending free agents and speculative trade candidates, with Canah reportedly drawing interest from other clubs.

Padres Designate Jose Castillo For Assignment

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The Padres have designated left-hander Jose Castillo for assignment and optioned righty Matt Waldron to Triple-A El Paso, per a team announcement. That pair of moves clears roster space for righty Robert Suarez, who has been formally reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

Castillo, 27, posted a strong 3.23 ERA through his first 39 big league innings back in 2018-19 but has since seen that promising debut derailed by injury. His 2019 season was cut short by a torn ligament in his hand, and he missed the 2020 season due to a lat strain. Castillo’s 2021 campaign and much of his 2022 season were then wiped out by Tommy John surgery. He’s pitched just two total MLB frames dating back to 2019.

While Castillo posted solid numbers in the upper minors last year as he returned from that deluge of injuries, he’s struggled immensely in 2023. His lone MLB appearance saw him yield four runs in one-third of an inning, and he’s been tagged for a 9.82 ERA in 18 1/3 frames of Triple-A ball.

Castillo is in his final option season and will be arbitration-eligible this winter. The Padres will have a week to trade him, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him. If another team picks him up, he can be optioned for the remainder of the season but would need to be carried on the active MLB roster beginning next season. That said, if he can get back on track with a new club, he’d have an additional two seasons of club control remaining.

Suarez, 32, fanned 32% of his opponents and notched a 2.27 ERA as a 31-year-old rookie in San Diego last season after a years-long run of excellence in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. The Friars re-signed to a five-year, $46MM deal with an opt-out clause early last offseason, but he’s yet to pitch this season due to an elbow issue. He’ll give San Diego a high-quality arm to slot into the late innings as the Padres try to salvage an immensely disappointing start to their 2023 season.

Orioles Acquire Shintaro Fujinami From A’s

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The Orioles added an upside play to their bullpen, acquiring Shintaro Fujinami from the A’s. Minor league reliever Easton Lucas is going back to Oakland in a one-for-one swap. Baltimore designated infielder Josh Lester for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot.

Fujinami signed a one-year, $3.25MM free agent contract over the winter. The A’s took a flier on his upside despite an inconsistent decade-long run in Japan. The 6’6″ righty brought high-octane stuff but a spotty performance track record and wobbly control to the big leagues.

A cursory glance at Fujinami’s season line would suggest the experiment didn’t pay off. He concluded his A’s tenure with an 8.57 ERA through 49 1/3 innings. No other pitcher with 40+ frames has allowed more than eight earned runs per nine.

That ghastly season line is skewed by an incredibly poor first couple months. Initially penciled into the starting rotation, Fujinami was tagged for a 14.26 ERA across seven starts. The A’s understandably kicked him mostly to relief work by late April.

Fujinami’s 5.40 ERA over 31 2/3 relief innings isn’t eye-catching itself. That’s also skewed by some growing pains early on. The 29-year-old has worked scoreless outings in 15 of his last 20 appearances. Since May 27 — an admittedly arbitrary endpoint — Fujinami owns a 3.32 ERA in 21 2/3 frames. He’s striking hitters out at a quality 25.6% clip against a modest 7% walk rate in that time.

There’s risk in placing too much emphasis on a player’s recent trajectory compared to their overall body of work, of course. It’s perhaps easier to buy into Fujinami’s stronger results of late given the quality of his arsenal. Working in shorter stints has pushed the average velocity on his four-seam fastball from an already strong 97 MPH to the 99-100 MPH range. He’s also leaned more heavily on a 93-94 MPH split while scaling back on his mid-80s cutter.

Baltimore will hope the simplified pitch mix and continued experience against big league hitters allows Fujinami to maintain his form of the past six weeks. He’ll add a power arm to the middle innings of an already excellent relief corps. Baltimore’s bullpen entered play Wednesday ranked eighth in the majors with a 3.79 ERA. They’re fourth with a 26.1% strikeout percentage.

It’s a little more top-heavy than the typical bullpen, though. Félix Bautista and Yennier Cano have been fantastic at the back end, while veteran Danny Coulombe has excelled as the top southpaw. Bryan Baker and Mike Baumann have been generally effective, but both have issued a few too many walks. Fujinami is far from a control artist himself, but he provides skipper Brandon Hyde with another option to bridge the gap to Cano and Bautista.

The addition is solely about 2023. Fujinami will be a free agent again at season’s end. Even though he’ll only have one year of major league service, players signing out of Asian professional leagues are almost always granted the ability to return to the open market once their MLB contract plays out. Baltimore will take on the approximate $1.3MM in salary still owed to the righty through the end of the season.

Oakland offloads a small amount of cash and brings in an upper level relief option. Lucas is a 6’4″ southpaw who was selected by the Marlins in the 14th round of the 2019 draft. Miami traded him to Baltimore over the 2019-20 offseason for veteran infielder Jonathan Villar.

The 26-year-old is amidst a strong season in the upper minors. He’s split his time almost evenly between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. Over 29 2/3 combined frames, he owns a 2.73 ERA with an excellent 31.9% strikeout percentage and tolerable 9.5% walk rate. He’s holding left-handed hitters to a .200/.265/.378 batting line.

Lucas will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft if he’s not added to the 40-man roster at the end of the season. Considering his upper minors success and Oakland’s MLB-worst 5.72 bullpen ERA, he’ll probably get a big league look at some point in the coming weeks.

It’s the first of what is likely to be multiple moves for both clubs. The A’s have already stripped the roster most of the way down, but players like Paul Blackburn, Tony Kemp and Seth Brown could still find themselves on the move. Baltimore has pulled ahead of the Rays (on a percentage point basis) in the AL East and figures to look for rotation upgrades over the next two weeks.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported Fujinami was being dealt to the Orioles and that Lucas was the return. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle and Martín Gallegos of MLB.com had previously observed that Fujinami was saying goodbye to his Oakland teammates.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Red Sox Outright Jake Faria

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The Red Sox sent right-hander Jake Faria through outright waivers, the club informed reporters (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive). Boston had designated him for assignment on Monday.

Faria had a very brief stay on the MLB roster. He pitched just once, allowing five runs in two innings as a mop-up reliever. That marked his first big league outing in two years. Faria has otherwise spent the season with Boston’s top affiliate in Worcester. He’s started nine of 19 appearances there, allowing a 6.47 ERA over 55 2/3 innings. Faria has a below-average 17.5% strikeout percentage while walking 13.3% of opponents.

The 29-year-old has struggled at the top minor league level over the past few seasons. He posted a 7.48 ERA in 12 outings with the Twins’ Triple-A team a year ago. In parts of seven campaigns there, he carries a 4.79 ERA. He’s logged MLB action in five different years, working to a 4.87 ERA through 205 innings.

Faria has been outrighted on multiple occasions in his career. He can therefore decline a minor league assignment in favor of free agency. He chose to stick with Worcester after being outrighted in mid-April, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he does the same this time around.

Cardinals Sign Jacob Barnes To Minor League Contract

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The Cardinals have signed righty Jacob Barnes to a minor league deal. He made his organizational debut with Triple-A Memphis this evening, tossing 1 2/3 innings of middle relief.

Barnes is on his third minor league deal of the season. He signed with the Rangers and made 13 appearances for Texas’ top affiliate. Barnes posted a 2.21 ERA in 20 1/3 innings but didn’t have particularly strong strikeout and walk numbers. The Rangers released him in late May and he caught on with the Phillies a week later.

The 33-year-old spent around six weeks in the Philadelphia system. He allowed 11 runs (seven earned) in 13 innings before being released last week. Between the two clubs, he owns a 2.97 ERA in 33 1/3 Triple-A frames. Barnes has a below-average 19.3% strikeout rate against a roughly average 9.3% walk percentage.

Barnes has yet to reach the majors this season but got to the highest level each year between 2016-22. He had a solid three-year run in Milwaukee to start his career. Going back to the start of 2019, Barnes owns a 6.37 ERA in 102 big league outings across seven teams.

St. Louis signed veteran righty Ryan Tepera to a big league contract a few days back. Barnes won’t get an immediate roster spot as Tepera did, but the Cards could clear some bullpen space over the next couple weeks. Jordan Hicks and Chris Stratton are each impending free agents on a team turning its attention towards 2024. They appear likely to be moved by August 1.

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