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Tigers Release Andrew Knapp, Three Others From Minor League Deals

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The Tigers have released catcher Andrew Knapp and right-hander Ashton Goudeau, according to their respective transaction trackers at MLB.com. The club also announced to reporters, including Evan Woodbery of MLive, that pitchers Miguel Del Pozo and Kervin Castro have been released with each having undergone Tommy John surgery earlier this year.

Knapp, 31, is the most experienced of the bunch, having appeared in 325 major league games since his 2017 debut. He signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in January but has been in Triple-A all year. In 70 games at that level, he hit .253/.337/.397 for a wRC+ of 84.

The Tigers have used Jake Rogers and Eric Haase behind the plate in the majors this year, with both of them staying healthy and preventing the club from reaching into its depth. Donny Sands had recently been in Double-A, helping to cover for an injury to prospect Dillon Dingler. But Dingler was recently activated, freeing Sands to return to Triple-A and handle the catching duties there alongside Michael Papierski, which seems to have made Knapp redundant.

Goudeau, 31, has 32 major league appearances on his ledger with a 5.57 ERA. He signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in the offseason but has a 7.42 ERA in 60 2/3 Triple-A innings this year, striking out 16.8% of opponents while walking 10.7%.

The Tigers announced in June that both Del Pozo and Castro underwent Tommy John surgeries, with Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic among those to relay the info at that time. They will each be out of action for the remainder of this season and much of 2024 as well. The 30-year-old Del Pozo has a 9.82 ERA in 27 major league appearances, the last of which was in 2021. The 24-year-old Castro has a 4.91 ERA in 20 big league games, with his last appearance having been in August of 2022.

Each of these players signed minor league deals with the Tigers coming into the year but will now return to the open market and look for their next opportunities. Del Pozo and Castro won’t have any short-term appeal to clubs but could perhaps try to land two-year deals that would allow them to rehab and return late in 2024. Depth catching and pitching tend to always be needed somewhere, which could help Knapp and Goudeau find jobs in the near future.

White Sox Claim Deivi Garcia

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2:34pm: The White Sox announced that they have indeed claimed Garcia off outright waivers. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. Liam Hendriks moves from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

1:27pm: The White Sox have claimed right-hander Deivi Garcia off waivers from the Yankees, reports Erik Boland of Newsday. The Yankees had designated the former top prospect for assignment earlier in the week. The teams have not yet announced the move (or, in Chicago’s case, a corresponding 40-man transaction).

Garcia, 24, was considered one of the sport’s top pitching prospects not long ago, ranking on most top-100 lists prior to both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. The right-hander blitzed through the lower minors after signing as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic, reaching the Double-A level as a 19-year-old back in 2018. He had success both in High-A and Double-A the following year before being hit hard in Triple-A, but struggling at the minors’ top level as a 20-year-old facing vastly older competition hardly stood as any kind of red flag.

The canceled 2020 minor league season could well have impacted Garcia more than many other prospects. With no minor league games in which to play, he was rushed to the big leagues as a 21-year-old, turning in a 4.98 ERA in six starts (34 1/3 innings). His 22.6% strikeout rate and 4.1% walk rate were both encouraging, but Garcia was tagged for six home runs in that debut effort and struggled to strand runners once he’d allowed them to reach.

As with his 2019 struggles as one of the youngest players at the Triple-A level, however, Garcia’s lackluster 2020 results weren’t considered particularly damning. Jumping to the big leagues as a 21-year-old with only 40 innings of Triple-A experience is hardly an easy task, and at insofar as his ability to miss bats and limit walks, he more than held his own. The next two years, however, told another story.

From 2021-22, Garcia logged only 8 1/3 big league innings. In 2021, that was at least partially due to a lack of opportunity. The ’21 Yankees received 29 or more starts from each of Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery and Jameson Taillon, with another 18 from Domingo German, 16 from Corey Kluber and 14 from Nestor Cortes. There weren’t many extra starts to go around, but Garcia’s performance didn’t necessarily merit much of a look anyway. He was torched for a 6.85 ERA in 90 2/3 innings at Triple-A that season, and his 2022 results weren’t any better; Garcia logged a combined 6.89 ERA in 64 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in ’22. He didn’t pitch in the Majors that season.

It’s been largely the same in 2023. A move to the bullpen in Triple-A hasn’t been much help, evidenced by a 5.67 ERA and sky-high 14.6% walk rate in 48 innings. Garcia allowed just one run in 5 2/3 big league frames earlier in the year, but he did so with more walks issued (four) than strikeouts (three). Command has emerged as a major problem for the right-hander, who’s doled out a free pass to 14.2% of his opponents en route to a 6.52 ERA in 214 career innings at Triple-A.

There were always some concerns about the manner in which Garcia would be able to handle a starter’s workload. Listed at 5’9″ and 165 pounds, he’s considerably slighter in frame than the overwhelming majority of big league starters. Garcia indeed has spent time on the injured list in each of the past three seasons, and his fastball velocity has fluctuated accordingly. He averaged 95.1 mph this year in a pair of relief outings — a notable bump from the 92.1 mph he averaged as a starter in the Majors from 2020-21.

Whether the White Sox plan to use Garcia as a starter or reliever isn’t clear at this point, but he’s spent the bulk of the ’23 season coming out of the Scranton bullpen. For a Chicago team that’s already waved the white flag on the 2023 season, there’s plenty of sense in scooping up a former top prospect and seeing if a change of scenery can do him any good. Garcia is in his final minor league option year, meaning he can be sent to Triple-A for the remainder of the current season without needing to go through waivers. However, he’ll be out of options next spring, so the Sox will need to either keep him on the Opening Day roster or designate him for assignment themselves — if he’s even able to stick on the 40-man roster that long.

The White Sox currently have baseball’s fourth-worst record, which gave them waiver priority over all but three teams. Each of the A’s, Royals and Rockies apparently passed on placing a claim on Garcia. The Rays were among the other teams to place a claim on Garcia today, tweets Boland, though Tampa Bay has the third-best record in MLB (and thus the third-lowest waiver priority).

Astros Outright Bligh Madris

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Aug. 10: Madris went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Sugar Land, tweets Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle.

Aug. 8: The Astros announced that outfielder Bligh Madris has been designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to Jon Singleton, whose selection was reported yesterday.

Madris, 27, has been bounced on and off the Houston rosters this year, both the active and 40-man versions. Acquired from the Tigers in an offseason cash deal, he didn’t make the Astros out of Spring Training and was designated for assignment on Opening Day. He cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A, sticking in the organization. He was added back to the club’s roster in June but was put into just 12 games in a span of over one month before being optioned a couple of weeks ago.

Between his stint with the Astros this year and the Pirates last year, he’s hit just .173/.248/.252 in 153 major league plate appearances. He’s generally fared much better in the minors, including a line of .243/.357/.442 in Triple-A this year. Though in the offensively-charged environment of the Pacific Coast League, that amounts to a wRC+ of just 92.

With the trade deadline now in the past, the Astros will have no choice but to place Madris on outright waivers or release waivers. Since he was previously outrighted, he would have the right to reject a second such assignment in favor of electing free agency. Though this year hasn’t been amazing, he hit .297/.366/.510 in the minors last year and still has a couple of option years, including this one, as well as less than a year of service time. He could potentially be a long-term depth piece for any club willing to give him a 40-man roster spot.

White Sox Release Stephen Piscotty

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The Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, released Stephen Piscotty on Wednesday, per the transaction log on MiLB.com. The 32-year-old outfielder is now a free agent.

Piscotty agreed to a minor league contract with the Giants in February, receiving an invitation to spring training. Despite a strong showing in the Cactus League (.810 OPS in ten games), he was reassigned to Triple-A Sacramento toward the end of the spring. He requested his release before Opening Day, a request the organization granted. The veteran signed another minor league deal with the White Sox a few weeks later and was assigned to Triple-A Charlotte. Unfortunately, he didn’t exactly light up the International League, batting .232 with a .720 OPS in 51 games before his release.

The journeyman began his career with the Cardinals, who selected him in the first round of the 2012 draft using one of the compensation picks they received for losing Albert Pujols. Piscotty made his big league debut in 2015, slashing .305/.359/.494 in 63 games and even earning a down-ballot Rookie of the Year vote. He was promising enough in his first two seasons to earn a six-year, $33.75 million extension that would keep him under contract until 2022 (with a club option for 2023). However, he struggled at the plate in his third season, and the Cardinals would trade him to the Athletics the following winter.

Piscotty bounced back in his first season with the A’s, hitting a career-high 27 home runs to go along with an .821 OPS. However, his bounceback was shortlived; his 2019 season was plagued by injuries, and his offensive numbers plummeted again. His struggles only intensified in 2020 and 2021; his strikeout rate soared, his power disappeared, and injuries continued to take their toll on his body. In 117 games from 2020-21, he posted a 28.1% strikeout rate, a 6.1% walk rate, and a .133 isolated power, good for a .632 OPS. The 2022 campaign was more of the same, and the Athletics eventually released Piscotty in August. He has not played a game in the majors since.

The Reds took a shot at Piscotty that summer, signing him to a minor league contract and assigning him to Triple-A Louisville. He spent the rest of the year with the Louisville Bats, electing free agency after the season.

Now a free agent once again, Piscotty is available for clubs that might need outfield depth at Triple-A. He’s no longer the hitter he was during his peak from 2015-18, but still just 32 years old, a team might be interested in taking him on as a fixer-upper project.

KBO’s Samsung Lions To Sign Taylor Widener

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The Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization have agreed to a deal with right-hander Taylor Widener, reports Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News (Twitter link). Righty Albert Suarez is being released in a corresponding move.

Widener has spent the ’23 campaign in South Korea. The former Diamondback signed an offseason deal with the NC Dinos. He started 11 games, working to a 4.52 ERA over 61 2/3 frames. Widener had a decent 22% strikeout rate against a slightly elevated 8.9% walk percentage.

While his production was serviceable, it wasn’t enough for the Dinos to commit one of their two allotted roster spots to foreign-born pitchers. They released him last week and signed left-hander Tanner Tully out of the Yankees’ organization. According to Yoo, Widener’s contract will be made official on Friday, as KBO rules require a player to wait a week upon being waived before signing with another team.

It’s not common to see foreign players immediately catch on with a different KBO team after being released. Widener is healthy, though, so the Lions will swap him in for Suarez. The Venezuelan-born hurler (and older brother of Padres reliever Robert Suarez) recently suffered a calf injury and is expected to be out around a month, tweets Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.

Suarez, a 33-year-old righty who pitched in the majors with the Giants from 2016-17, spent a year and a half with the Lions. He had an excellent 2.49 ERA showing through 173 2/3 innings a season ago and carried a 3.92 ERA over 19 starts this year. Unfortunately, the injury cut that productive run short.

Guardians Outright Chris Vallimont

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The Guardians have sent pitcher Chris Vallimont outright to Triple-A Columbus, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. He was designated for assignment on Monday when Cleveland claimed Ramón Laureano from Oakland.

Vallimont hasn’t thrown a big league pitch with the Guardians. His sole major league experience came last month as a member of the Orioles, when he recorded two outs in a scoreless appearance against the Yankees. Baltimore designated him for assignment shortly thereafter and sold his contract to Cleveland.

The 26-year-old righty has spent parts of five seasons in the minors. Split between four organizations — Minnesota, Miami, Baltimore and Cleveland — he owns a 4.97 ERA in 422 1/3 minor league frames. That includes a 5.65 mark between the O’s and Guardians’ Triple-A clubs in 2023. Vallimont has a serviceable 22.7% strikeout rate over that stretch, but a 12.7% walk rate is suggestive of strike-throwing concerns that have been present for much of his career.

This is the second time Vallimont has cleared waivers in his career. Baltimore outrighted him over the offseason before re-selecting his contract and then designating him again. Players with multiple career outrights have the right to test minor league free agency. It’s not clear whether Vallimont will do so or stick with Columbus and try to pitch his way back onto the MLB roster before season’s end.

Diamondbacks Sign Aaron Sanchez To Minor League Deal

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The D-Backs signed veteran right-hander Aaron Sanchez to a minor league deal, according to an announcement from their Triple-A club in Reno. He’s making his organizational debut with the Aces tonight.

Sanchez was released by the Twins a few weeks ago. The 31-year-old had spent the year with Minnesota’s top minor league club, working 73 innings over 18 appearances. Sanchez struggled to a 5.30 ERA with a modest 16.8% strikeout percentage and a massive 15.6% walk rate. That unsurprisingly wasn’t enough to crack a Minnesota rotation that has been one of the best in the majors.

While this year’s results are poor, Sanchez managed a solid 3.75 ERA in 13 Triple-A starts a season ago. He couldn’t carry that over in a few stints in Minnesota, where he surrendered a 6.60 ERA over 60 MLB frames. Sanchez has been up-and-down as a depth option for a few teams in recent seasons, settling in as a journeyman since winning the AL ERA title with the Blue Jays back in 2016. Sanchez’s velocity is down from those halcyon days due to intervening injuries, but he’s an experienced depth option who still induces a decent number of grounders.

Arizona has been in a free fall over the past six weeks. After leading the NL West for a good chunk of the first half, they’re 8-23 since the start of July. An ongoing seven-game losing streak has dropped them to 57-57, the first time they’ve been .500 since April 7.

An unsettled rotation behind Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly has been a big reason for that. Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson haven’t pitched well, while Zach Davies and Tommy Henry are on the injured list. With the deadline past, minor league deals of this ilk are the club’s clearest way to add rotation depth. Despite their dismal recent run, the D-Backs are still just two games back of the final National League Wild Card spot.

Tigers Outright Zach Logue

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The Tigers announced that left-hander Zach Logue, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Toledo. He has the right to reject that assignment and elect free agency, though it’s not yet clear if he’s chosen to do so or not.

Logue, 27, first came to the Tigers in the offseason when they claimed him off waivers from the A’s. Detroit then put him back on waivers in the following days, with Logue passing through, thus sticking in the organization without occupying a roster spot.

He got his roster spot back in late June and made three long relief appearances for the big league club, tossing a combined 11 innings in those with nine earned runs allowed. The results haven’t been much better in Triple-A, as he’s tossed 63 2/3 innings at that level this year with a 6.22 ERA. There might be a bit of bad luck in there when looking at his .344 batting average on balls in play and 69% strand rate, but his 20.7% strikeout rate, 11.2% walk rate and 39.1% ground ball rate are all subpar.

Since this is his second outright, he’ll have the ability to reject this assignment and elect free agency. All 29 teams just passed on the chance to grab him for free, so it’s possible his market is limited and he might just stay with the Tigers. Though if he were to opt for the open market, he could have some agency in choosing his employer and the organization he thinks is the best fit. Even if he were to accept, he would reach minor league free agency at the end of the season if not added back onto the roster.

Rangers Expected To Select J.P. Martínez

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The Rangers are expected to add outfielder J.P. Martínez to their 40-man roster ahead of Friday’s game, per reporter Francys Romero as well as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Martínez isn’t currently on the club’s 40-man roster, which is full, meaning he will require a corresponding move to be added. The club has an off-day tomorrow.

Martínez, now 27, left Cuba in November of 2017 in the hopes of signing with a major league club. Despite being just 21 years old at that time, he already had five seasons of experience under his belt in the Cuban National Series, hitting .333/.470/.498 in the last of those five years. Once he was given clearance to sign, he was frequently connected to the Rangers, who officially announced his signing in April of 2018. The club had saved some international bonus pool space to make a run at Shohei Ohtani, but used some of it on Martínez when Ohtani signed with the Angels.

The Cuban outfielder was a prospect of note in his first few years in the affiliated ranks, though his stock dipped as his results in the minors were more solid than outstanding and he was generally older than those he was playing with. But he seems to have put himself back on the map with a strong showing in this year. In 67 Triple-A games, he’s hit 12 home runs and walked in 15.3% of his plate appearances. Even in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, his .312/.427/.565 batting line amounts to a 139 wRC+, or 39% above average. He’s also stolen 33 bases in in 37 attempts at that level.

It’s unclear how the Rangers will deploy Martínez, but he’s capable of playing any of the three outfield slots. The recent injury of Josh Jung likely means Ezequiel Durán will be spending more time there and less in the outfield. That leaves the club with Adolis García, Leody Taveras, Travis Jankowski and Robbie Grossman in their outfield mix.

García is having an outstanding season but the other three have less of a firm grip on playing time. Taveras had a strong first half but has hit just .231/.252/.368 since the start of July. Jankowski is having a nice season overall but has a long track record of subpar offense and has slumped to a line of .045/.250/.091 in his last 28 plate appearances. Grossman’s hitting .228/.312/.386 for the season.

If Martínez can carry any of his strong results up to the majors with him, it should provide a boost to the Rangers as they look to fend off the Astros and hold onto their lead in the American League West.

Red Sox Release Richard Bleier

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The Red Sox announced that left-hander Richard Bleier, who was designated for assignment on Monday, has been released.

Bleier, 36, came over to the Sox in the offseason deal that sent Matt Barnes to the Marlins. That transaction hasn’t worked out especially well for either side, as Barnes allowed 5.48 earned runs per nine innings before undergoing hip surgery in July that he seems unlikely to return from this season. Bleier, meanwhile, made 27 appearances for Boston this year with a 5.28 ERA and has now been cut from the roster.

The southpaw had signed a contract extension while with the Marlins prior to the 2022 season, a pact that followed his 2.95 ERA over 68 appearances the year prior. The two-year, $6MM deal covered 2022, which was supposed to be his final arbitration season, as well as 2023 and came with a club option for 2024. He was paid $2.25MM last year, is earning $3.5MM this year with the 2024 option valued at $3.75MM with a $250K buyout.

Bleier went on to have a solid 3.55 ERA last year before this year’s disappointing results. There’s still over $1MM left to be paid out on that deal, as well as the buyout on the option. The combination of that money and his struggles this year meant that no club was going to claim him on waivers and take on that contract. But he has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment while retaining the money, so the Sox have simply skipped the formalities and sent him to the open market. They will still be on the hook for the remainder of the contract.

He’ll now be free to sign with any club, who would only be responsible for paying him the prorated league minimum, with that amount subtracted from what the Sox pay. Despite his 2023 numbers, he will likely still garner interest. He had a 3.09 ERA over 144 appearances in the 2020-2022 period and his peripherals this year aren’t drastically different. His 55.2% ground ball rate in this season is shy of his 60.5% rate in the previous three years, but not by much. His 3.8% walk rate is right in line with the 3.9% mark from the preceding seasons. His 12.1% strikeout rate is certainly low, but even in the more successful 2020-2022 period he was only at 16.9%.

Bleier’s inflated ERA this year is likely due to a couple of factors. His 65.8% strand rate is shy of his own career rate and league average, pushing some more runs across. On a related note, his 17.9% rate of fly balls leaving the yard is a career high. He has a 4.25 SIERA on the year that’s over a full run better than his ERA and closer to his career marks.

Now that the trade deadline has passed, teams have few options for adding talent and depth to their systems. Since Bleier has a track record of success and comes with virtually no financial cost, he’s likely to latch on somewhere.

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