Twins Sign Nick Wittgren To Minor League Contract
The Twins signed veteran reliever Nick Wittgren to a minor league deal. The contract was announced by their Double-A team in Wichita, where the righty will begin his time in the organization.
That Wittgren is headed to Double-A suggests he’s not on the radar for an MLB call in the near future. He has plenty of big league experience, though, having tallied 329 1/3 innings over eight seasons. The 32-year-old righty was in the majors as recently as last year, throwing 29 innings of 4.97 ERA ball for the Royals. It was the third straight season in which his ERA hovered around 5.00.
Going back to the start of 2021, Wittgren carries a 5.24 earned run average in 120 1/3 frames. He was a solid middle relief option for Miami and Cleveland in the three preceding seasons, though. Between 2018-20, he fanned nearly a quarter of batters faced while working to a 2.97 ERA in 112 appearances. Wittgren’s strikeout rate has plummeted in the last couple years, but he throws plenty of strikes and hasn’t required an injured list stay since 2018.
The bullpen has been a strength despite Minnesota’s pedestrian 11-13 start. Their relievers entered play Friday ranked fourth in MLB with a 2.60 ERA. Twins relievers have punched out 30% of opposing hitters, the highest rate in the majors. The group should only improve in the coming weeks as they welcome back two high-leverage arms from injury. Star closer Jhoan Duran (oblique strain) and offseason pickup Justin Topa (knee tendinitis) have been on the IL all season. They’re each on minor league rehab stints and could return before the end of the month.
Red Sox, Sal Romano Agree To Minor League Deal
The Red Sox have agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Sal Romano, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He’ll head to Triple-A Worcester.
Romano, 30, hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since the 2021 season but joins the Red Sox with 275 1/3 frames of MLB experience to his credit. He had a nice debut campaign with the Reds back in 2017, making 16 starts and pitching to a respectable 4.45 ERA in 87 innings that year. The 6’5″, 250-pound righty fanned 19% of his opponents against a somewhat elevated 9.4% walk rate and also kept the ball on the ground at a 50.4% clip. It was hardly a dominant debut, but Romano looked the part of a potential back-end starter whose ground-ball tendencies would be beneficial in one of the game’s most homer-friendly stadiums.
His sophomore campaign in 2018, however, didn’t go as hoped. The big righty soaked up 145 2/3 innings in 25 starts and 14 relief appearances but stumbled to a 5.31 earned run average. His walk rate improved to 8.2%, but that was accompanied by a dip in strikeout rate (16.3%), ground-ball rate (45.5%) and sinker velocity (95.7 mph in 2017, 94.3 mph in 2018). Romano moved to the ‘pen in 2019 but struggled even more. He only threw 1 1/3 innings during the shortened 2020 season despite not hitting the injured list, and the Reds cut him loose after 14 appearances in ’21. He had brief stints with the Yankees and Brewers that season but didn’t stick in either setting for all that long.
Since that 2021 season, Romano has pitched sparingly. He didn’t pitch at all in 2022 and made just two appearances in the Venezuelan Winter League in the ’22-’23 offseason. He spent last year with Gastonia Honey Hunters of the independent Atlantic League, pitching to a 4.91 ERA in 84 frames.
Though Romano doesn’t have a great big league track record and hasn’t pitched in affiliated ball in nearly three years, he’ll join up with a Red Sox organization that is severely lacking rotation depth at the moment. Eighty percent of the team’s projected Opening Day rotation is on the injured list, with Lucas Giolito done for the season (internal brace surgery). Garrett Whitlock (oblique strain), Brayan Bello (lat discomfort) and Nick Pivetta (flexor strain) are all on the shelf, as is depth starter Chris Murphy — who required Tommy John surgery earlier this year.
With that slate of injuries, the Sox are going with Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck, Cooper Criswell, Chase Anderson and Josh Winckowski in the rotation. Depth options beyond that quintet include Naoyuki Uwasawa, Vladimir Gutierrez and non-roster righty Jason Alexander. Romano may not have much big league success, but he does carry a 3.87 ERA in parts of three Triple-A seasons. He’ll give the Sox some extra depth while they navigate a rough patch for the rotation.
White Sox Designate Bailey Horn For Assignment
The White Sox announced a series of roster moves, many of which were previously reported. Outfielders Rafael Ortega and Tommy Pham have been selected to the roster. Two more outfielders were removed, as Kevin Pillar has been designated for assignment and Dominic Fletcher has been optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. To open one more spot on the 40-man, left-handed pitcher Bailey Horn was also designated for assignment.
Horn, 26, was just acquired from the Cubs in February. The latter club was looking to open a 40-man spot for Cody Bellinger and flipped Horn across town for minor league right-hander Matt Thompson. That sent Horn back to his original organization, as he was drafted by the Sox but traded to the Cubs in 2021 for Ryan Tepera.
The southpaw has long shown big strikeout potential but also a concerning lack of command, trends that have continued into 2024. He has thrown 10 1/3 innings at Triple-A Charlotte so far this year, striking out 15 opponents but also giving out 10 walks. Four home runs allowed have also led to 13 runs crossing the plate, leading to an 11.32 earned run average.
Those poor results have bumped him off the 40-man and the Sox will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. Despite the rough start to his season, he could perhaps garner interest based on his previous work. Over 2022 and 2023, he tossed 113 2/3 innings between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A. He had a 3.56 ERA in that time, striking out 30.5% of batters faced but also issuing walks at a 13.3% rate.
The Cubs only just added him to their 40-man in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft, meaning he has a full slate of options. If any club felt they had a way to harness the control going forward, they could acquire Horn and stash him in the minors for years to come.
Mets Designate Zack Short For Assignment
The Mets announced that outfielder J.D. Martinez has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse, with infielder Zack Short designated for assignment as the corresponding move.
Martinez, 36, signed a one-year deal with the club last month. That deal came about very late in the offseason, not being made official until March 23, when Spring Training was effectively done. Players with at least five years of service time cannot be optioned to the minors without their consent, but Martinez agreed to be sent down since he missed the spring and needed to get some at-bats.
His return should bolster the Mets lineup, as he is a .287/.350/.524 hitter in his career and is coming off a strong season with the Dodgers. He seemed to be selling out for power last year, as his 31.1% strikeout rate was a career high by four points, but he also hit 33 home runs and slashed .271/.321/.572. Manager Carlos Mendoza indicated earlier this week that the club was planning to activate Martinez today, which was now come to fruition.
Martinez was already on the 40-man roster but the Mets had limited options in terms of getting him onto the active roster. The only optionable position players currently on the squad are Brett Baty and DJ Stewart. Baty has been the club’s everyday third baseman this year while Stewart has been great at the plate. Going back to his time with the club last year, he’s hit 14 home runs in 240 plate appearances. He has struck out at a hefty 28.7% clip but also drawn walks 10.4% of the time.
That left the Mets having to cut someone who is out of options and they decided on Short. The infielder, who turns 29 next month, was claimed off waivers from the Tigers in November. He took 12 plate appearances with the Mets this year and produced a line of just .111/.273/.111 in that time.
He spent the past three years with the Tigers and has a career batting line of .172/.266/.304 in 462 plate appearances. He’s been better in Triple-A, having slashed .226/.361/.397 since the start of 2021 while drawing walks in 16.2% of his appearances at that level. Since he’s played all three outfield spots and the three infield positions to the left of first base, he could be a solid utility piece if his major league offense were a bit more like his minor league work.
The Mets will have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. In his absence, Joey Wendle will be the backup infielder, with a regular alignment of Baty, Francisco Lindor, Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso on the dirt.
White Sox To Select Rafael Ortega, Option Dominic Fletcher
In addition to their previously reported promotion of Tommy Pham and DFA of Kevin Pillar, the White Sox will select the contract of veteran outfielder Rafael Ortega and option fellow outfielder Dominic Fletcher to Triple-A Charlotte, reports Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. They’ll need a second 40-man move to open a spot for Ortega.
The 32-year-old Ortega has appeared in parts of seven big league seasons between the Rockies, Angels, Braves, Marlins, Cubs and Mets, hitting .247/.324/.352 in 1284 plate appearances. That includes a strong 2021-22 showing with the crosstown Cubs, wherein he played a semi-regular role and hit .265/.344/.408 with 18 homers, 24 steals, a 10.6% walk rate and a 20.5% strikeout rate in 701 plate appearances. He appeared in 47 games for the Mets last season and batted .219/.341/.272.
Ortega inked a minor league deal with the Sox over the winter and has gotten out to a .241/.378/.431 slash in Charlotte. He’s homered three times, swiped six bags and drawn a walk in 18.7% of his plate appearances on the young season. He’s a left-handed hitter who can handle all three outfield spots.
Fletcher, 26, was acquired in an offseason swap that sent pitching prospect Cristian Mena to the Diamondbacks. The hope for the Sox was that he’d give them an MLB-ready outfielder with solid defensive skills who could build on an impressive rookie showing with the ’23 D-backs. Fletcher hit .301/.350/.441 with a pair of homers, five doubles and a triple in his first 102 MLB place appearances with the Snakes last season. He didn’t walk much (6.9%) but also posted a 21.6% strikeout rate that was lower than average.
Unfortunately, Fletcher hasn’t been able to sustain that pace or anything close to it following his change of scenery. He’s appeared in 20 games and taken 66 turns at the dish, hitting just .203/.277/.271. Though last year’s strikeout rate was solid, he’s fanned in more than 30% of his plate appearances on the young season. He’ll head down to Triple-A just one day after older brother David Fletcher was sent to Triple-A by the Braves (albeit David via outright assignment rather than optional assignment).
The younger Fletcher brother already has a strong track record in the upper minors, which lends some hope that he can right the ship in a lower-pressure setting. If he’s able to get back on track, the current state of the White Sox’ roster should rather easily afford him another opportunity to prove that he can stick at the big league level. The White Sox can control the former No. 75 overall draft pick for six full seasons, and Fletcher has a minor league option remaining beyond the current year as well.
White Sox To Select Tommy Pham, Designate Kevin Pillar For Assignment
The White Sox are set to select the contract of veteran outfielder Tommy Pham, reports Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. Fellow outfielder Kevin Pillar will be designated for assignment as the corresponding move, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. Pham had an out clause in his minor league contract that he could exercise if not added to the roster heading into this weekend. He’ll earn a prorated $3MM salary on his deal with the South Siders.
Pham, 36, only got into four games with the White Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte but handled himself well, going 5-for-17 with a double, two steals, one walk and just three strikeouts in 18 total plate appearances. The veteran corner outfielder is coming off a season where he slashed a combined .256/.328/.446 with 16 homers, 27 doubles, three triples and 22 stolen bases in 481 plate appearances between the Mets and Diamondbacks. If he can come anywhere close to that level of production, he’d immediately become one of the most productive bats in a punchless White Sox lineup that ranks dead last in Major League Baseball in runs scored, home runs, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
Given the White Sox’ disastrous start to the season, Pham seems likely to be afforded fairly regular playing time. Left fielder Andrew Benintendi is out to an astonishingly bad .165/.202/.188 start through his first 89 plate appearances and could see his playing time take a hit. That’s particularly true given that right fielder Gavin Sheets has been the team’s best offensive player at .246/.361/.464. Sheets came up as a first baseman though, so it’s also feasible that he could see some extra reps there, considering Andrew Vaughn‘s own woeful .170/.255/.216 output on the season. Designated hitter Eloy Jimenez has a grim .200/.280/.333 line in 50 plate appearances, but he’s been swinging the bat well over the past week.
Pillar, 35, also signed a minor league pact with a $3MM base salary. He made the big league roster out of camp but — like the majority of Chicago’s offense — has sputtered to begin the season. He’s only received 32 plate appearances but has turned in a tepid .160/.290/.360 batting line with a homer and two doubles in that time. With Pillar and Pham both being right-handed hitters, their simultaneous presence on the roster apparently was deemed redundant.
Once one of the game’s premier defensive center fielders, Pillar has settled into a bench role in recent seasons. He spent the 2023 campaign with the Braves, hitting for decent power but struggling to get on base — evidenced by his .228/.248/.416 slash and nine round-trippers in 206 plate appearances. That’s right in line with Pillar’s overall production over the past four seasons; he’s a .224/.265/.408 hitter in 598 turns at the plate during that span.
The White Sox will have a week to trade Pillar, pass him through outright waivers or release him. A release is most common for veterans in situations like this one. That’d put Pillar back on the open market and allow him to field interest from the other 29 teams around the league.
D-Backs Sign Chris Ellis To Minor League Deal
The Diamondbacks have signed right-hander Chris Ellis to a minor league contract. The deal was announced by the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks, with whom Ellis had been slated to pitch. Ellis is one of two players signed from the Ducks today, as veteran righty Dan Straily landed with the Cubs on a minor league deal.
Ellis, 31, is a former third-round draftee who has appeared in parts of three big league campaigns. Originally selected by the Angels out of Ole Miss, he was dealt to the Braves alongside Sean Newcomb in the Andrelton Simmons trade. Atlanta subsequently moved him to the Cardinals as part of a package for Jaime García, but Ellis peaked at Triple-A in the St. Louis system.
He made his big league debut with a lone appearance for the Royals in 2019. It’d take two more years for him to get a somewhat longer look, as he logged 29 1/3 frames between the Rays and Orioles. Ellis turned in a 2.15 ERA but had a below-average 19.6% strikeout rate and an elevated 11.6% walk percentage. He started two games for the O’s the following year, allowing five runs over 4 1/3 innings. He promptly underwent season-ending shoulder surgery and was outrighted off the roster at the end of that season.
Ellis sat out the entire 2023 campaign. He’s apparently healthy enough to get back on the mound and figures to join Triple-A Reno as non-roster rotation depth. The Diamondbacks have taken a few hits to their rotation in recent weeks. Eduardo Rodriguez will be out at least into late May because of a Spring Training lat injury. Ryne Nelson was knocked out for at least a few weeks by a comebacker. The biggest hit came earlier this week, as Merrill Kelly looks to be in for a lengthy absence due to a shoulder strain. That pushed Tommy Henry and Slade Cecconi into the starting five behind Zac Gallen, Jordan Montgomery and Brandon Pfaadt.
Braves Outright David Fletcher
6:09pm: Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (on X) that Fletcher’s deal contains an advance consent form that allows Atlanta to send him to the minors. Even though he has surpassed the five-year service threshold, he would forfeit what remains of his salary if he elects free agency. He’ll therefore report to Gwinnett and try to play his way back to the majors.
1:50pm: The Braves announced Thursday that veteran infielder David Fletcher went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A. Fletcher entered the season with 4.168 years of service time, meaning he needed only four days to reach the five-year mark. He accomplished that during his eight-day stretch on the 40-man roster, meaning he now has the five years of service needed to reject an outright assignment and retain his salary. He’s being paid a guaranteed $6MM this season and is still owed $6.5MM in 2025 and at least a $1.5MM buyout on a 2026 club option.
Fletcher, 29, appeared in five games with the Braves and tallied nine plate appearances, going 2-for-8 with a pair of singles. His subtraction from the 40-man roster likely signals the looming return of second baseman Ozzie Albies, who’s been on the injured list with a fractured toe but is expected to return to the active roster for this weekend’s series.
Fletcher came to the Braves amid a series of convoluted offseason trades that saw them effectively purchase Jarred Kelenic from the Mariners. Atlanta took on the underwater contracts of both Evan White and Marco Gonzales to get Kelenic, sending back righty Jackson Kowar (on whom they’d taken a flier in a trade with the Royals) and former second-round pick Cole Phillips, who’s yet to pitch since being drafted due to injury. Gonzales was traded to the Pirates, with the Braves absorbing three quarters of his $12MM salary. White was traded to the Halos for Fletcher and Max Stassi (on an underwater contract himself) in another financially-motivated swap; Stassi was then quickly flipped to the White Sox for a player to be named later. Atlanta covered all but the league minimum on Stassi’s remaining salary (a net of about $6.26MM for the Braves).
After all that, it’s possible Fletcher will now simply move on. The Braves initially appeared set to use the versatile, defensive-minded veteran as their primary utility infielder. However, Atlanta wound up instead signing Luis Guillorme to fill that role later in the offseason. Guillorme will now slide back into a bench role after filling in for Albies at second base, leaving Fletcher without a clear path to playing time. If he does reject the assignment, other teams in need of infield help could take a look at Fletcher and would only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster. That sum would be subtracted from what the Braves owe him.
Fletcher signed a five-year, $26MM extension with the Angels on the heels of a .298/.356/.395 showing from 2019-20 — a productive stretch at the plate during which he fanned at a tiny 10.1% clip and played superb defense between three infield spots (second base, third base, shortstop). He’s since floundered at the dish, however, batting just .259/.295/.326 in 999 plate appearances. Fletcher’s bat-to-ball skills have actually improved (8.6% strikeout rate), but his quality of contact has plummeted and rendered him an unimpactful player in the batter’s box.
Yankees Claim Michael Tonkin, Designate McKinley Moore
The Yankees announced that they have claimed right-hander Michael Tonkin off waivers from the Mets. He had been designated for assignment by the Mets earlier this week. To open a roster spot for Tonkin, right-hander McKinley Moore was designated for assignment.
Tonkin, 34, has been getting passed around the league so far this year. He was non-tendered by Atlanta at the end of last season and then signed a major league deal with the Mets. Shortly after the season started, he was designated for assignment and went to the Twins on a cash deal but then returned to the Mets on waivers. Now he’s on the move yet again and will join the Yankees.
Amid all those transactions, he has managed to throw nine innings on the year. He’s allowed six earned runs for a flat earned run average of 6.00, which obviously isn’t too impressive, but the peripherals are solid. He has struck out 23.9% of batters faced while walking 8.7% of them and keeping 44.4% of balls in play on the ground, with all of those rate stats coming in fairly close to league averages.
With Atlanta last year, he tossed 80 innings over 45 appearances. He had a 4.28 ERA in that time, as well as a 23.1% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 38.3% ground ball rate. He’s clearly an attractive enough bullpen arm that teams keep grabbing him but he’s also out of options and keeps getting squeezed.
Since he’s out of options, the Yankees will need to make room for him on the active roster whenever he reports to the team. Of their bullpen arms, Ian Hamilton, Ron Marinaccio and Cody Morris all have options and could be sent down. Hamilton isn’t likely the one to be packing his bag since he’s entered a high-leverage role for the Yankees. He had two saves and five holds last year and has already added four more holds this year.
To get Tonkin onto the 40-man, the Yankees have bumped off Moore. He’s only been with the Yanks a short time, having been claimed off waivers from the Phillies in February. He has made two appearances for the Triple-A club but walked six of the nine batters he faced.
That continues a pattern of control problems for the righty. He walked 23.8% of batters faced in his major league debut last year. In his 20 1/3 innings of minor league work in 2023, he struck out 40.7% of batters faced but also gave free passes to 24.2% of them.
The Yankees will now have one week to trade McKinley or pass him through waivers. The control problems will obviously be a concern to other teams but Moore’s also struck out 32.6% of batters faced throughout his entire minor league career. He averaged 97.2 miles per hour on his fastball during his MLB debut last year while also throwing a sweeper and a changeup. He still has a couple of options and could perhaps appeal to a club looking for a long-term project.
Cubs, Dan Straily Agree To Minor League Deal
The Cubs have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran right-hander Dan Straily, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald. Straily had recently signed on with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League, but he’ll change course and instead return to affiliated ball on a non-guaranteed pact with one of his former clubs. The agreement between the two parties is still pending a physical.
The 35-year-old Straily has spent the past four season with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball organization, although he also had a brief run with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A club in 2022. His time in the KBO produced a 3.29 ERA in 503 innings, as Straily whiffed 23.4% of his opponents against an 8.4% walk rate. His 2023 season wasn’t his best, however; he posted a 4.37 ERA over the first half of the season before being cut loose.
Prior to that stretch of overseas success, Straily pitched eight seasons in the big leagues, splitting his time between the A’s, Marlins, Reds, Cubs, Orioles and Astros. He had a fair bit of success, albeit in inconsistent fashion. From 2016-17, Straily posted a 4.01 ERA with a 21.3% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate in 373 innings between Miami and Cincinnati. Overall, he has a lifetime 4.56 ERA in 803 1/3 big league frames.
The Cubs already have a fair bit of pitching depth, but they also have Justin Steele, Kyle Hendricks and Drew Smyly — who’s been working in a relief capacity this season — on the injured list. At the moment, the rotation includes Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon (who just returned from the IL himself), Javier Assad and Jordan Wicks. Ben Brown and Luke Little have also started games this season. Straily becomes the second notable veteran starter to join the Cubs organization on a minor league deal in recent weeks. Right-hander Julio Teheran also inked a minors pact with the Cubs after being cut loose by the Mets and is currently in the Triple-A rotation in Des Moines.