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White Sox Reportedly Place Mike Clevinger On Waivers

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The White Sox have placed started Mike Clevinger on waivers, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. This is one of several moves today as players with notable salaries are being placed on waivers by clubs out of contention, trying to dump some salary by having a contending club put in a claim.

Clevinger, 32, is playing the season on a one-year, $12MM contract, though the structure of the deal leaves a decent chunk yet to be paid out. The veteran righty is earning an $8MM salary, with about $1.42MM of that yet to be paid out, but is also owed a $4MM buyout on a $12MM mutual option for the 2024 campaign. As such, there’s about $5.42MM in total guarantees remaining for any club that places a claim.

Steep as that price may be for a month of work (and potentially more during the playoffs), Clevinger would be an upgrade to the pitching staff of most contending clubs. He’s made 18 starts for the White Sox this season, tallying 97 2/3 innings of 3.32 ERA ball along the way. Clevinger’s 20.8% strikeout rate is down nearly seven percentage points from its peak, and he’s walked 9.3% of his opponents this year — right in line with his career mark.

Clevinger missed about six weeks of the summer due to inflammation in his right biceps but has done his best work of the season since being activated. In six post-IL starts, the right-hander has notched a 2.31 earned run average and 3.39 FIP while fanning opponents at a 23.7% clip against an 8.3% walk rate. Clevinger’s most recent outing saw him punch out 10 A’s hitters across seven one-run frames, and he also blanked the Cubs while posting seven strikeouts over seven innings back on Aug. 16.

The White Sox didn’t move Clevinger as part of their deadline sell-off, presumably because he only returned from the injured list just three days before the deadline itself. Given the injury uncertainty, a less-impressive pre-IL performance and the amount of money remaining on his contract, other teams were surely wary of giving up much of anything to acquire him in a trade. Today’s placement on waivers gives the South Siders the opportunity to at least shed some of the money he’s owed.

If Clevinger goes unclaimed, the Sox could still let him go in order to try to latch on with a contender between the expiration of his waiver period and the Aug. 31, 11:59pm ET deadline for postseason eligibility. In that scenario, the new team would only owe him the prorated league minimum, which would be subtracted from the Sox’ obligation to Clevinger.

Clevinger is essentially a rental player — mutual options are almost never exercised by both parties — and he’ll now be made available to all 29 other clubs, in order of reverse standings. Unlike the now-defunct revocable August trade waivers, outright waivers are not league-specific. (MLBTR has confirmed this with league sources on multiple occasions.) Waiver priority on Clevinger and all other veteran players who were waived today will be based on a worst-to-first basis, beginning with the A’s and ending with the Braves.

Yankees Place Harrison Bader On Waivers

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The Yankees have placed center fielder Harrison Bader on waivers, reports Erik Boland of Newsday (Twitter link). As is the case with the Angels’ series of waiver placements, New York’s hope is that another team will claim the remaining salary on a player who was headed to free agency in a couple months.

To be clear, these are irrevocable waivers — either of the outright or release variety. The previous system of August waiver trades — where a team could rescind a placement if another club made a claim and the two sides didn’t work out a trade — was done away with in 2019. Whichever claiming team with the highest waiver priority as of Thursday morning will get Bader while taking on the remainder of his arbitration salary. (The waiver priority is in inverse order of the MLB standings and is not league-specific.) The Yankees won’t receive any compensation besides the salary relief. In the unlikely event that he goes unclaimed, New York could opt to keep him on the major league roster for the stretch run.

It’s probably the end of Bader’s year-plus long tenure in the Bronx. New York acquired him at last summer’s deadline in a surprising one-for-one swap that sent Jordan Montgomery to St. Louis. Both players had a season and a half of remaining arbitration control at the time, making it a rather straightforward swap of veterans among contending clubs to address positions of need.

The deal worked out better for St. Louis, as Montgomery has stayed healthy and performed at an upper mid-rotation level since leaving New York. Bader played well at times for the Yankees — headlined by his five homers in nine postseason games last October — but continued dealing with various injury concerns that have plagued him throughout his career.

Bader has landed on the injured list twice this season. He started the year on the shelf with an oblique strain and missed a few weeks with a hamstring issue. He has struggled mightily since returning on June 20, slumping to a .230/.272/.304 batting line in 55 contests. His season slash is down to .242/.279/.370 with just seven homers through 302 plate appearances.

It’s arguably the worst offensive showing of Bader’s career. While he’s never posted huge on-base numbers, this year’s mark is a personal low. It’s the 11th-lowest figure for a hitter with 300+ trips to the dish. Bader is avoiding strikeouts but very rarely walks and has hit just .274 on balls in play.

The offensive struggles are ill-timed for a player on the verge of his first trip to the open market. Yet his secondary skills are strong enough he’s likely to attract interest from another team down the stretch. Bader is a plus defensive center fielder who has again rated highly in his 655 1/3 innings there this season. He has stolen 16 bases in 18 attempts. He at least looks the part of a high-end fourth outfielder, even if other teams are reluctant to displace their starting center fielder for a player who hasn’t hit well of late.

Bader is only likely to appeal to teams in playoff contention. He’ll still be a free agent at year’s end. Taking on what remains of his $5.2MM salary (a little under $900K) only appeals to teams with a shot at contending. The Yankees would save that amount in salary, plus the 75% tax they’re paying for exceeding the CBT for a second straight season. With New York out of playoff contention and Bader’s rough season taking him out of consideration to receive a qualifying offer, the Yankees have decided to make him available to other clubs.

Yankees Release Josh Donaldson

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The Yankees announced that third baseman Josh Donaldson has been released. Andy Martino of SNY relays that Donaldson will be on release waivers until 1pm tomorrow, at which point he will surely go unclaimed and become a free agent. The club’s 40-man roster is now at 39.

Donaldson, 37, has had a storied career that included literal MVP upside, but his time in the Bronx has been obviously disappointing. In March of 2022, the Yanks acquired Donaldson as well as catcher Ben Rortvedt and infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa from the Twins, sending catcher Gary Sánchez and infielder Gio Urshela the other way. Donaldson still had two years and $50MM left on the four-year deal he signed with the Twins, with the Yanks taking on all that remained at that time.

The third baseman was still plenty effective in his two years as a Twin, hitting .243/.355/.474 for a wRC+ of 126 along with solid defensive grades. But his production tailed off after the trade. His first year as a Yankee saw him hit just .222/.308/.374, which translated to a wRC+ of 98, his first subpar offensive showing since 2012. His defense was still solid but his strikeout rate jumped to 27.1%, more than two points above his previous career high, apart from his cup-of-coffee debut in 2011.

Here in 2023, things have gone from bad to worse. Donaldson has spent most of the season on the injured list, first due to a right hamstring strain and then a right calf strain, only getting into 34 games so far this year. When on the field, he’s only tallied 15 hits in his 106 at-bats, leading to a .142 batting average. Bizarrely, 10 of those 15 hits were home runs, leading to a lopsided slash line of .142/.225/.434 and a wRC+ of 75.

Donaldson is currently on the 60-day injured list and had been nearing a rehab assignment of late, but it seems the club didn’t plan on adding him back to their active roster. The Yanks are 63-68 and 11 games out of a playoff spot, seemingly planning to use what’s left of their schedule to get a look at younger players, recently promoting Everson Pereira and Oswald Peraza, with Austin Wells possibly coming soon as well.

With those players set to get plenty of playing time in the coming weeks, there would be less room for Donaldson, especially since his contract is winding down. There’s a $16MM mutual option for 2024 but the Yanks were clearly planning to take the $6MM buyout instead. By nudging Donaldson off the roster now, they open a spot for someone else and keep the playing time open for younger players.

Releasing Donaldson now might also have been a courtesy to him. If he signs with a new club prior to September 1, he’ll be playoff eligible with that team. Based on his health and performance issues this year, he’ll clear waivers by tomorrow afternoon and then have a day and a half to latch on somewhere else. Once released, the Yanks will be on the hook for the remainder of his salary. Any of the 29 other clubs would be free to sign him for the prorated league minimum, with that amount subtracted from what the Yankees pay.

The interest would obviously be limited based on the recent struggles, but he’s not too far removed from being an effective big leaguer. The MVP upside is almost a decade in the past now but, as mentioned, he performed well for the Twins as recently as 2021. If any club thinks he has more left in the tank, they could give him a shot for essentially no financial cost.

But for the Yankees, the Donaldson trade is obviously one they would like to have back. Kiner-Falefa has been a solid utility player but has been subpar at the plate and is about to become a free agent himself, while Rortvedt has been injured for much of the time since the deal. Sánchez was an impending free agent last year and Urshela had two years of control at the time, meaning they didn’t give up much, but taking on Donaldson’s contract tied up a lot of money that could have been spent elsewhere.

Donaldson will now see if there are other opportunities awaiting him, here in 2023 and beyond. He has previously expressed uncertainty about playing beyond this year, which will be a decision for the months to come, but he will first see if there’s a job for him in the short-term.

Diamondbacks Outright Nabil Crismatt

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The D-Backs have sent reliever Nabil Crismatt outright to Triple-A Reno, according to the transaction tracker at MLB.com. He’d been designated for assignment on Sunday when Arizona selected righty Ryan Thompson onto the big league roster.

Crismatt pitched just once for the D-Backs during a week-long stint on the major league roster. He logged two innings in extras against Cincinnati on Saturday, taking the loss after balking in the game-winning run (who’d been automatically placed on second base). Crismatt’s performance in that outing was solid overall — he struck out three of eight opponents and the run was unearned — but he likely would’ve been unavailable for a day or two after throwing 34 pitches.

With Crismatt having exhausted his minor league options, the Snakes had to keep him in the majors or put him on waivers. It’s the second time this season in which a team has outrighted him, as the Padres also passed him through the wire in June. The right-hander elected free agency at the time and will have that right again.

Crismatt has only pitched 13 innings at the major league level this season, surrendering 12 earned runs. He’s just a season removed from turning in a 2.94 ERA with a solid 23.2% strikeout rate and lofty 50.5% grounder percentage in 67 1/3 frames for San Diego. His velocity is down a couple ticks relative to last year, though, and he surrendered nearly seven earned runs per nine in 24 2/3 frames with Reno before his brief stint on the D-Backs’ roster.

Nationals Sign Junior Fernandez To Minor League Contract

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The Nationals have signed reliever Junior Fernández to a minor league deal, as announced by their Triple-A affiliate. He’ll join their top farm team in Rochester.

Fernández had spent the 2023 campaign in the Blue Jays’ system. Toronto claimed the hard-throwing righty off waivers over the winter before successfully passing him through waivers in January. The 26-year-old played the year with their top affiliate in Buffalo, posting a 5.69 ERA in 42 games before being released last week.

As has been the case throughout his career, inconsistent strike-throwing was an issue for Fernández with the Bisons. He walked 11.3% of opposing hitters while striking batters out at a below-average 19.9% clip. He kept the ball on the ground at a quality 51.6% rate but saw nearly a quarter of the fly balls he did allow clear the fence.

Fernández’s arsenal is headlined by an upper-90s sinker. The pitch averaged 98.7 MPH during an MLB stint between the Cardinals and Pirates a season ago. It’s not conducive to missing as many bats as the raw velocity might suggest, but it has enabled him to run a quality 49.4% grounder percentage over 54 career MLB innings. He’s pitched in parts of four big league seasons overall, mostly with St. Louis, working to a 5.17 ERA. He owns a 4.70 mark through four years at the Triple-A level.

The Nationals will give him a change of scenery look for the stretch run. Fernández would return to the open market at the start of the offseason if Washington doesn’t call him up before year’s end. They could keep him around beyond this season if they add him to the 40-man roster, though doing so would require them to keep him in the MLB bullpen since he’s out of minor league options.

Rays Sign Chris Devenski To Major League Deal

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7:12pm: Tampa Bay has announced the deal.

5:49pm: The Rays have agreed to a big league contract with reliever Chris Devenski, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). He’d apparently been released by the Angels after being designated for assignment last week. The Rays are placing him on the bereavement list, so he won’t report to the MLB club for a few days. Tampa Bay already had an open 40-man roster spot after outrighting Francisco Mejía.

Devenski signed a non-roster pact with the Halos last offseason. Los Angeles selected his contract in late April and had kept him in the MLB bullpen for the bulk of the year. The right-hander logged 33 2/3 innings over 29 appearances. His 5.08 ERA isn’t particularly eye-catching, but his underlying marks were all fairly solid.

The changeup specialist has struck out a league average 23.6% of batters faced while picking up whiffs on 11.9% of his offerings. He has kept his walks to a modest 6.4% clip and kept the ball on the ground at a 46.3% rate. Devenski’s fastball has sat north of 94 MPH, while he’s handling hitters from both sides of the plate. The primary driver in his middling ERA is a 61.8% strand rate that is well below the league mark.

Tampa Bay feels comfortable enough with Devenski’s peripherals to install him into the middle innings. He can’t be optioned to the minor leagues, so he’ll be in the MLB bullpen once he’s ready to join the club. There’s no financial risk, as the Rays will only pay him the prorated portion of the $720K league minimum for the stretch run before he returns to free agency at year’s end. Devenski will be eligible for postseason play since he’s in the organization before September 1, though he’s not a lock to secure a spot on the Rays’ playoff rosters.

Mets Reportedly Place Carlos Carrasco On Waivers

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The Mets have placed Carlos Carrasco on waivers, as reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The right-hander is one of several players to go on waivers today, as teams out of the postseason picture attempt to shed payroll. If another team claims Carrasco, they will be responsible for the prorated portion of his $14MM salary. He is set to become a free agent after the season.

Following a resurgent 2022 campaign, Carrasco has struggled in 2023. In 20 starts, he is averaging less than five innings per game, while pitching to a 6.80 ERA and 5.17 SIERA. The 36-year-old has run into particular trouble since the All-Star break, with a 10.24 ERA in his last eight starts. Given his rough performance, it seems unlikely that any team will be willing to take on his remaining salary, but it’s possible a contending club in need of rotation depth will take a chance on the veteran. He is only one year removed from a season in which he made 29 starts with a 3.97 ERA.

Revocable waivers no longer exist, so these are either outright or release waivers. If Carrasco goes unclaimed, there’s a chance he could become a free agent either way. As a 14-year MLB veteran, he has more than enough service time under his belt to reject an outright assignment without sacrificing any salary. Thus, this could mark the end of his time with the Mets. He has been with the organization for three seasons, having come over from Cleveland in 2021 as part of the trade that brought Francisco Lindor to New York. In 61 starts, he has pitched to a disappointing 5.21 ERA but a much more respectable 4.25 SIERA.

With a payroll far north of the highest competitive balance tax threshold, the Mets aren’t making this move with the luxury tax in mind. Still, given the tens of millions of dollars the team is paying to players no longer on the roster (including Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Robinson Cano), it’s understandable that Steve Cohen and Billy Eppler are looking for a little payroll relief.

New York has several arms available to take over for Carrasco in the rotation if need be, including right-handers José Butto and Denyi Reyes and left-hander Joey Lucchesi. All three are on the 40-man roster and have made at least two starts this season for the big league club. Lucchesi seems to be the most likely candidate; in six starts for the Mets, he has a 2.54 ERA in 28 innings pitched.

Reds Designate Tony Santillan For Assignment

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The Reds announced Tuesday that right-hander Tony Santillan has been designated for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to utilityman Alejo Lopez, who has had his contract selected from Triple-A Louisville. Outfielder Michael Siani was optioned to Louisville to clear active roster space.

A second-round pick back in 2015, the now-26-year-old Santillan ranked among the Reds’ top farmhands for several years before making his big league debut in 2021. He looked to be a potential mainstay in the bullpen after pitching 43 1/3 innings of 2.91 ERA ball with a hefty 29.5% strikeout rate. Santillan’s 11.1% walk rate was in clear need of improvement, but it was nonetheless an impressive debut campaign for a prospect whom the Reds viewed as a potentially notable part of their future.

As is so often the case, however, injuries have intervened and radically altered the equation. Ankle surgery, a stress fracture in his back and a knee strain have combined to limit the righty to just 23 big league innings since that debut. He’s posted a 5.09 ERA during that time, fanning just 19.3% of his opponents against an alarming 14.9% walk rate. Santillan has just 3 1/3 MLB frames under his belt this season and has otherwise spent the year in Louisville, where he’s been clobbered for a 9.26 ERA in 23 1/3 frames with nearly as many walks (22) as strikeouts (28).

Santillan still throws hard, averaging 96.1 mph on his heater over the past two seasons. He’s posted a solid 11.6% swinging-strike rate in his MLB career and clearly has had shown promise at times, but he’ll be out of minor league options next season and the Reds likely wouldn’t have gone through the entire offseason dedicating a 40-man spot to him anyhow. They’ll have no choice but to place Santillan on waivers now, and any team that claims him can keep him in the minors for the remainder of the year. He’d have to break camp on that team’s Opening Day roster next year or else again be designated for assignment, however.

As for the 27-year-old Lopez, he’ll join the Reds for a third straight season. He’s hit for a solid but empty .262 average in 179 career plate appearances, getting on base at a below-average .307 clip with just a .321 slugging percentage. He has big league experience at second base, third base and in the outfield corners. He’ll give the Reds a contact-oriented bench bat who’s fanned in just 14.6% of his career plate appearances but also walked at a well below-average 5% clip.

Guardians Designate Daniel Norris For Assignment

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The Guardians designated reliever Daniel Norris for assignment this afternoon, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. The move created an active roster spot for the recall of Hunter Gaddis from Triple-A. Cleveland’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

Norris spent a day on the MLB roster this time around. Cleveland selected his contract yesterday, his third separate stint of the season. Norris was pressed into long relief when the Twins knocked Xzavion Curry from the game early. The southpaw pitched two innings, allowing four runs on a pair of homers.

The 30-year-old has allowed 11 runs (eight earned) in 12 2/3 innings with Cleveland. He has a 5.60 ERA in 53 Triple-A frames on the season. It seems likely Norris will again clear waivers and could explore free agency, as he did a couple weeks ago before re-signing with the Guards on a new minor league pact.

Giants Reinstate Mitch Haniger, Designate Bryce Johnson

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The Giants announced they’ve reinstated Mitch Haniger from the 60-day injured list. Heliot Ramos was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move. To clear space on the 40-man roster, San Francisco designated outfielder Bryce Johnson for assignment.

Haniger returns two and a half months after breaking his arm. An errant Jack Flaherty pitch resulted in a right forearm fracture that required surgery. It was another unfortunate break for Haniger, whose career has been littered with stops and starts (often on account of rather fluky injuries of that nature). He’d also begun the season on the shelf after suffering a Spring Training oblique strain. He has appeared in 40 games to this point in his first year as a Giant, hitting .230/.281/.372 over 160 plate appearances.

Slow start notwithstanding, his return is welcome for a San Francisco offense that has struggled of late. Haniger had been an above-average hitter throughout his time with the Mariners. He steps right into a tight race for a Wild Card spot, with SF half a game back of Arizona for the National League’s last spot. Haniger is hitting cleanup tonight and playing left field against Cincinnati southpaw Brandon Williamson.

Johnson, 27, will go on waivers in the next couple days. The switch-hitting outfielder has played in 41 games for the Giants over the last two seasons, hitting .148/.209/.213 through 67 plate appearances. He’s a good athlete and regarded as a quality defender who can cover all three positions on the grass, however.

The Sam Houston State product has hit .284/.360/.471 with 14 stolen bases in 50 Triple-A contests this year. He’s midway through his second minor league option season, so any claiming team could keep him in the minors for the foreseeable future. Johnson went unclaimed on waivers at the start of last offseason, so he’d have the right to test free agency if he clears again.

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