Mets Outright Tyler Jay
Mets reliever Tyler Jay went unclaimed on waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Syracuse, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. He’ll stick in the organization without holding a 40-man roster spot.
Jay, who turns 30 today, had a brief stint on the big league team. He pitched twice, allowing only one run over four innings. That cup of coffee was the culmination of a lengthy climb through the professional ranks. The sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft by the Twins, Jay never reached the big leagues with Minnesota. Injuries, most notably a 2017 thoracic outlet procedure, stopped the Illinois product from moving past Double-A.
It looked as if Jay would never get to the majors, but he reinvigorated his career in independent ball. Jay showed enough with the Frontier League’s Joliet Slammers between 2022-23 to earn a minor league opportunity from the Mets. He made six appearances with Syracuse late last season and began this year with 5 2/3 scoreless innings there.
Despite his strong start, the Mets designated Jay for assignment when they reacquired the out-of-options Michael Tonkin on Wednesday. Jay will head to Triple-A and look to pitch his way back to the big league bullpen later this season.
D-Backs Recall Jordan Montgomery, Designate Jace Peterson
The Diamondbacks announced they’ve recalled Jordan Montgomery to make his team debut tonight against the Giants. Arizona also recalled outfielder Pavin Smith from Triple-A Reno. In corresponding moves, they placed starter Ryne Nelson on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow contusion and designated veteran infielder Jace Peterson for assignment.
Montgomery will take the ball opposite Blake Snell in the second game of their intra-division series. The southpaw officially signed with the D-Backs on Opening Day but agreed to an optional assignment to build into game shape. He started twice for Reno, allowing nine runs in 7 2/3 innings. While that’s clearly not the most impressive showing, his primary focus was building his workload. He threw 71 pitches in his start last Saturday. Montgomery’s contract stipulated that he’d be back in the majors no later than April 19, so the Snakes bring him up after a pair of rehab outings.
He joins Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly at the top half of the rotation. The D-Backs envisioned Eduardo Rodriguez holding a mid-rotation spot, but he’ll be out until at least late May because of shoulder issues. Brandon Pfaadt and Tommy Henry round out the starting five for now, as Montgomery steps into the spot which Nelson had been holding.
Nelson has allowed nine runs (eight earned) over his first 15 2/3 innings. The Oregon product has picked up 13 strikeouts and walked five. It was a slightly improved start relative to last season, when he pitched to a 5.31 ERA with a below-average 15.5% strikeout rate over 144 innings. A comebacker off the bat of Mike Yastrzemski got him in the throwing elbow last night, forcing him out of the game after two innings. It’ll cost him at least two weeks of action.
Arizona also makes a move on the position player side, almost certainly bringing an end to Peterson’s time in the desert. The D-Backs acquired him from the A’s in a deadline deal last summer. The versatile infielder was hitting .221/.313/.324 at the time. His bat slumped further after the trade, as he hit .183/.276/.258 without a home run in 41 games. Peterson didn’t play much of a role in the team’s pennant run and has gotten off to a very slow start in 2024.
The 33-year-old has collected just one hit, a single, in his first 22 at-bats. Since the D-Backs acquired him, Peterson owns a .157/.252/.217 slash line over 132 plate appearances. His recent production is a notable drop-off from the .243/.332/.376 mark which he managed for the Brewers between 2021-22.
That solid run in Milwaukee secured Peterson a two-year, $9.5MM free agent deal from Oakland. He’s making $5MM this year. The A’s agreed to pay $2MM as part of the trade, leaving the D-Backs on the hook for the remaining $3MM. That salary makes it a virtual lock he’ll go unclaimed on waivers. Peterson has more than enough service time to decline an outright assignment while retaining his entire salary, so the Snakes could simply release him within the next week. If he hits free agency, any team that signs him would pay him at the prorated $740K league minimum for whatever time he spends in the majors.
Rockies Place Kyle Freeland On Injured List With Elbow Strain
4:25pm: Freeland told the Colorado beat that the injury is unrelated to the home plate collision (X link via Patrick Lyons). There’s no timetable for his return. The southpaw went for imaging but said he doesn’t expect it’ll reveal any ligament damage.
3:20pm: The Rockies announced that left-hander Kyle Freeland has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a left elbow strain, retroactive to April 16. Right-hander Noah Davis has been recalled in a corresponding move.
Freeland, 31 next month, is having a rough start to his season, having allowed 23 earned runs in 15 2/3 innings over his first four starts. Most recently, he was the subject of attention for a non-pitching appearance he made. After Freeland had started Sunday’s game, he entered Monday’s contest as a pinch runner.
Catcher Elias Díaz doubled with two outs in the top of the ninth, with the Rockies tied with the Phillies at the time. Freeland ran for Díaz and went to third on a wild pitch, then later tried to score on yet another wild pitch. But as he slid into home, he collided with pitcher Jeff Hoffman, who was receiving the ball from catcher J.T. Realmuto and attempting to make a tag. Freeland was ruled out and was visibly hurt on the play, grabbing at his non-throwing shoulder (Video via MLB.com).
After the game, manager Bud Black said that Freeland was fine, per Luke Zahlmann of the Denver Gazette. Black later explained to MLB Network Radio that a stomach virus was going around the club and a couple of guys on the team were not even present at the ballpark, meaning there was essentially no position player bench to draw from, which is why Freeland was tapped for the unusual assignment.
That injury was to Freeland’s right shoulder and today’s is a strain of his left elbow. The team has not commented on today’s injury announcement, though Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post says they’re unrelated.
Whether there’s any connection to the pinch-running situation or not, it’s bad news for the Rockies either way. They have started the season 4-15 and Freeland’s injury will further thin out a pitching staff that is arguably the worst in baseball. Collectively, Colorado pitchers have a 6.01 ERA, highest in the league. The Astros are 29th at 5.24 and will likely see some stabilization now that Justin Verlander is coming off the injured list, thus bumping everyone else down a peg.
The Rockies play in a very hitter-friendly setting but it’s still been bleak. As of a few years ago, the Colorado rotation was anchored by Freeland, Antonio Senzatela and Germán Márquez, with the Rockies signing extensions with all three of those pitchers. But the latter two both required Tommy John surgery last summer, leaving Freeland as the only member of that trio left standing.
As mentioned, Freeland wasn’t out to a great start, but in a tiny sample size. Over his entire career, he has a 4.53 earned run average despite pitching half his games at Coors Field. The Rockies gave him a five-year, $64.5MM extension going into the 2022 season. To this point, it’s unclear if Freeland is facing a significant absence, but the fact that he has an elbow strain will at least lead to some worry that yet another pitcher will be going under the knife. Even if that doesn’t come to pass, the Rockies will nonetheless be proceeding without any of their core starters for the next few weeks at least.
Davis was starting in the minors so perhaps he will step in Freeland’s rotation spot for the time being alongside Cal Quantrill, Dakota Hudson, Austin Gomber and Ryan Feltner. The club will presumably provide more details about Freeland’s prognosis, either before or after tonight’s game.
Red Sox Designate Joe Jacques For Assignment
The Red Sox have designated left-hander Joe Jacques for assignment, with Chris Cotillo of MassLive among those to relay the news. His roster spot will go to Cam Booser, whose promotion was reported yesterday.
Jacques, 29, was first added to Boston’s roster last year. To this point, he has thrown 28 1/3 innings in the majors with a 5.08 earned run average. His 16.8% strikeout rate is subpar but his 7.6% walk rate is solid and his 64.8% ground ball rate is very strong.
His production in the minors has been fairly similar, though with a few more punchouts. He tossed 39 Triple-A innings last year with a 2.54 ERA, keeping the ball on the ground at a 60.4% rate. He struck out 21.6% of batters faced while walking 8%.
The Sox seemingly prefer to get a look at the fireballing, late-blooming Booser, as opposed to the soft-tossing Jacques. The latter throws his sinker, which averages just over 90 miles per hour, roughly two thirds of the time. Booser, meanwhile, can get his fastball up into the high 90s.
Boston will now have a week to trade Jacques or pass him through waivers. There’s often demand for lefty relief and Jacques still has options, meaning he wouldn’t need an active roster spot if any team were to acquire him.
Reds Claim Liván Soto From Orioles
The Reds have claimed infielder Liván Soto off waivers from the Orioles, per announcements from both clubs. The O’s had recently designated him for assignment. The Reds transferred Tejay Antone to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move and optioned Soto to Triple-A Louisville. The O’s also announced that catcher David Bañuelos, also recently designated for assignment, has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk.
Soto, 24 in June, has been riding the roster carousel all year. He began the year with the Angels but went to the Orioles via waivers in February. The Angels claimed him right back shortly thereafter but the O’s claimed him a second time last week. But when Tyler Wells suddenly developed some elbow inflammation earlier this week and the O’s didn’t have time to get a fresh arm from the minors, they added Bañuelos, who was already on hand as part of the taxi squad. But doing so required bumping Soto off his roster spot yet again.
He continues to garner interest based on his speed and defensive versatility. He has racked up a decent number of steals in the minors while playing the three infield positions to the left of first base, as well as a very brief stint in the outfield.
Offensively, he’s hit .375/.414/.531 in his major league career, though in a tiny sample of 71 plate appearances. His larger body of work in the minors hasn’t been as impressive, as he’s hit .246/.340/.355 for a wRC+ of 86 in 1,505 plate appearances since the start of 2021. Nonetheless, the defense and speed are attractive, especially since he has two options and doesn’t require an active roster spot.
The Reds came into this year with a surplus of infield talent, so much so that Spencer Steer and Jonathan India were seemingly ticketed for either outfield work or multi-positional roles. However, Noelvi Marté was given an 80-game PED suspension and then Matt McLain required shoulder surgery, subtracting two of their planned everyday options. The club acquired Santiago Espinal for a bit of extra infield depth and now Soto can give them a bit more.
The Reds effectively had a roster spot to burn since Antone required season-ending surgery last week. That made him destined to be transferred to the 60-day IL at some point, which has now come to pass and allowed the club to add Soto to the system.
As for Bañuelos, as mentioned, he was hastily added to the O’s roster when they had an open spot and he was already with the club. They put him into the game late, allowing him to make his major league debut when he hit for Colton Cowser and flied out. Bañuelos described it as “one of the coolest moments of my life,” though the O’s designated him for assignment the next day. Now that he’s cleared waivers, he will return to his previous role, providing the O’s with non-roster depth in the catching position.
White Sox Sign Cody Sedlock To Minor League Deal
The White Sox have signed right-hander Cody Sedlock to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He’s been assigned to the Complex League for now but will presumably move up to a higher affiliate after ramping up.
Sedlock, 29 in June, has a tiny amount of major league experience, more like a sip of coffee than a cup of coffee. He appeared in one game for the Orioles in 2022, tossing three innings. He allowed five earned runs that day while issuing one walk and striking out three opponents. After that one outing, he was outrighted off the roster and traded to the Tigers. He become a free agent at season’s end and didn’t sign anywhere for the 2023 season.
Prior to that major league debut and gap year, the righty was a notable prospect for the Orioles. Selected 27th overall in 2016, he was considered the #2 prospect in that club’s system by Baseball America in 2017. However, injuries have largely gotten in the way since then, something that Keith Law of The Athletic attributes to a heavy workload during Sedlock’s college years.
The righty tossed 101 1/3 innings for Illinois in his draft year and then another 27 frames at Low-A after being selected, but he hasn’t been able to reach 100 innings pitched in any season since then. Along the way, he had forearm and shoulder injuries and also required surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. He has a combined 4.46 earned run average in the 422 minor league innings that he’s thrown over the years, striking out 21.6% of batters while walking 10.7%.
It’s hard to know what to expect from Sedlock at this point. There will likely be some rust after sitting out all of last year but it’s also possible the rest allowed his body to recover in some way. For the Sox, there’s little harm in taking a flier on a former first-rounder to see what happens.
If Sedlock looks good after getting into game shape, he’ll give the staff some non-roster depth. The Sox have recently traded away most of the best pitchers as part of their ongoing rebuild and are likely to make make even more trades this summer since they are currently the worst team in the league at 3-15. If Sedlock gets into good form in the next few months, there could be a path for him to get back to the big leagues.
Braves Select Luke Williams
The Braves announced that they have selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Luke Williams, with outfielder Forrest Wall optioned in a corresponding move. The club had an open spot on the 40-man roster.
Williams, 27, is a versatile player who has bounced around the league in recent years. He was drafted by the Phillies and made his debut with that club in 2021. But in 2022, he went to the Giants, Marlins and Dodgers via small trades or waiver claims. The Dodgers non-tendered him after that season and re-signed him to a minor league deal. He made their roster during the 2023 campaign but then went to Atlanta via waivers. For a second straight year, he was non-tendered and then re-signed a minor league deal with the club that cut him.
While collecting all those jerseys, he also found time to play all four infield positions and all three outfield slots. He even threw one inning on the mound for the Dodgers last year. His 263 major league plate appearances have led to a batting line of .225/.281/.295, wRC+ of 60. That’s obviously subpar offense but he’s also stolen 17 bases in 23 tries and provides the aforementioned defensive versatility.
His offense has naturally been better in the minors. Going back to the start of 2022, he has hit .267/.356/.435 for a wRC+ of 97. That’s still a bit below average but it’s not bad for a guy who can swipe a bag from time to time while also wearing multiple different gloves. The combination is clearly appealing to teams, based on how many of them have acquired him in the past few years.
Atlanta recently lost Ozzie Albies to the injured list due to a broken toe, so their needs on the infield are a little higher than in the outfield. They have Luis Guillorme and David Fletcher on hand to cover second base but Williams can give them some extra cover there, while also potentially moving to the outfield.
Wall has been with the club all year but has barely played, as he’s been put into two games as a late substitution, only taking one plate appearance. The club has Ronald Acuña Jr., Michael Harris II, Jarred Kelenic and Adam Duvall taking regular playing time on the grass, with Marcell Ozuna as the designated hitter.
Rather than have Wall sit on the bench, it seems the club will send him to Triple-A for regular playing time down there. Williams can take over as the occasional pinch runner or defensive replacement while also giving the club a bit more infield depth. Williams still has an option so the club can decide to send him back down to the minors later without being exposed to waivers.
Red Sox Acquire Vladimir Gutierrez
The Red Sox announced Thursday evening that they’ve acquired right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez from the Brewers in exchange for cash and optioned him to Triple-A Worcester. Milwaukee designated Gutierrez for assignment earlier in the week. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, Boston transferred injured shortstop Trevor Story from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. Story underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last week. The Sox also announced that lefty Joe Jacques was optioned to Worcester following today’s game.
The 28-year-old Gutierrez originally signed with the Reds on a hefty $4.75MM bonus (plus a 100% tax on that bonus) in 2016 after defecting from his native Cuba. He profiled as one of Cincinnati’s top pitching prospects for a few years before making his MLB debut in 2021. The 6’1″, 205-pound righty pitched 150 2/3 innings for the Reds from 2021-22, turning in a 5.44 ERA with a 17.3% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate that were both worse than league-average.
Despite those struggles, Gutierrez would likely have received a longer look with the Reds — had he remained healthy. His elbow had other ideas, as a torn ulnar collateral ligament in ’22 led to Tommy John surgery. Gutierrez returned to the mound to toss a handful of minor league innings last September but didn’t get back to the big leagues. He was removed from Cincinnati’s 40-man roster and became a free agent following the season. After a few showcases for big league scouts, he signed a minor league deal with the Marlins.
It’s been a whirlwind three weeks for Gutierrez, who was selected to the Marlins’ 40-man roster and pitched four innings of long relief to help spare their taxed bullpen. That four-inning appearance meant he’d be unavailable for several days, so the Fish designated him for assignment to clear space for another fresh arm in the ‘pen. Miami surely hoped to be able to pass Gutierrez through waivers and keep him as a depth option, but the Brewers scooped him up off waivers on April 5. He was rocked for seven runs in 4 2/3 innings in his lone Triple-A start with Milwaukee, who designated Gutierrez themselves in order to bring fellow righty Tobias Myers up to the MLB roster.
Now with his third team in a span of three weeks, Gutierrez will hope to get into a groove in Worcester and pitch his way into a big league opportunity. The Red Sox lost Lucas Giolito for the season before Opening Day, and they’ve more recently placed Garrett Whitlock (oblique strain) and Nick Pivetta (flexor strain) on the injured list. That leaves the Sox with a rotation including Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck and Cooper Criswell. Veteran Chase Anderson is on hand as a long man in the ‘pen and could move into the rotation following Whitlock’s IL placement just yesterday. Gutierrez joins lefty Brandon Walter and righty Naoyuki Uwasawa as a rotation depth option on the 40-man roster.
Rangers Sign Shaun Anderson, Collin Wiles To Minor League Deals
The Rangers have signed righties Shaun Anderson and Collin Wiles to minor league pacts, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Both pitchers have been assigned to Triple-A Round Rock.
This will mark the 29-year-old Anderson’s second stint in the Rangers organization. Texas claimed him off waivers from the Twins in 2021, but he lasted less than a month in the organization before being designated for assignment and claimed by the Orioles.
A former third-round pick by the Red Sox, Anderson has pitched in parts of four big league seasons, totaling 135 2/3 frames with an unsightly 5.84 ERA. Fielding-independent marks like FIP and SIERA are only a bit more favorable, at 5.00 and 5.24, respectively. The 6’6″ Anderson doesn’t throw especially hard (career 93 mph average fastball) but has excellent extension and tantalizing spin rates that have at times resulted in plus swinging-strike rates. He hasn’t been consistent enough at inducing whiffs, however, as evidenced by a career 17.1% strikeout rate. He’s walked 9.9% of his opponents in the big leagues.
Anderson opened the 2023 season with the KBO’s Kia Tigers and pitched reasonably well, tossing 79 innings with a 3.76 ERA, 19% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 61.7% ground-ball rate. That run preceded a Triple-A look with the Phillies, where he pitched to a 4.85 ERA in 52 innings with diminished strikeout and grounder rates. In a total of 249 Triple-A innings, Anderson has a 3.90 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate.
Wiles, also 29, reached the majors with the A’s in 2022 but has just 9 2/3 innings of big league experience. He allowed five earned runs on 11 hits and two walks with nine punchouts in that brief cup of coffee. This minor league deal marks a return to the organization that originally selected him with the No. 53 overall pick of the 2012 draft. Wiles was in the Rangers’ system from 2012-21 before departing as a minor league free agent and signing with Oakland. He racked up 143 1/3 innings in their Triple-A rotation and made four relief appearances in the majors.
Wiles doesn’t have standout run-prevention numbers (career 4.57 ERA) or strikeout rates (17%) in parts of 10 minor league seasons. He sports plus command though, as evidenced by a career 5.3% walk rate that’s actually improved as he’s climbed the minor league ladder (4.8% walk rate in both Double-A and Triple-A). Wiles signed the Brewers on a minor league deal in the 2022-23 offseason but wound up requiring shoulder surgery and didn’t pitch in 2023.
Both right-handers will give the Rangers some bullpen depth at a time when Brock Burke, Josh Sborz and Jonathan Hernandez are all on the injured list.
Red Sox To Select Cam Booser
Left-hander Cam Booser is joining the Red Sox in Pittsburgh tomorrow, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. The lefty will be added to the club’s 40-man roster, per Andrew Parker of Beyond the Monster, who adds that lefty Joe Jacques will be optioned to open a spot on the active roster. The Sox will also need to open a 40-man roster spot but could do so easily by transferring Trevor Story to the 60-day injured list, since he will miss the rest of the year due to shoulder surgery.
Booser will crack a major league roster for the first time at an usually old age, as his 32nd birthday is just a few weeks away. It’s a testament to his determination that he will make it to the show after all these years, as he made his minor league debut over a decade ago, playing Rookie ball in the Twins’ system in 2013. After a few years in the minors, he topped out at High-A in 2017, not pitching in any official capacity for the next few years.
He resurfaced with the Chicago Dogs, an indy ball team, in 2021. He tossed 23 1/3 innings with a 1.93 earned run average for the Dogs that year and showed enough promise to get a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks for 2022. He tossed 25 innings in Double-A but struggled with a 6.48 ERA and got released. He then joined the Lancaster Barnstormers, another indy ball club, and tossed 11 2/3 innings with a 4.63 ERA.
He was able to secure himself a minor league contract with the Red Sox for 2023 and made 48 Triple-A appearances last year. He had a 4.99 ERA in his 57 2/3 innings, striking out 26.7% of batters faced while walking 9.7%. He received an invite to major league camp in 2024 and seemed to impress manager Álex Cora, as the skipper mentioned him to reporters last month, highlighting his high-90s fastball and ability to throw offspeed pitches in the zone.
It was around that same time during Spring Training that Ian Browne of MLB.com profiled the lefty. Booser apparently retired at the end of the 2017 season following several injuries, a marijuana suspension and “self-admitted attitude problems.” He then turned his attention to a carpentry career but stumbled back onto the mound by doing lessons with kids and rediscovering his past form.
“After the kiddos would leave, I would stay in the dark and throw into a net by myself for a couple of months. And through that process, I found out that my arm felt better than it ever had with that time off. One day, I got on the mound and my fastball was pretty good, 97-98 [mph]. So we figured, ‘Let’s give it a shot.’ I met with a trainer back home the next day and went out there to [independent] ball in 2021, and it’s been a great journey ever since.”
Booser didn’t break camp with the Sox but reported to Triple-A and has thrown 6 2/3 innings over four appearances this year, allowing two earned runs while striking out 15 opponents against just one walk. Though he obviously didn’t take the traditional path, Booser has found his way to the big leagues in amazingly unique fashion. The Sox have Brennan Bernardino and Joely Rodríguez in their bullpen but Booser will give them a third southpaw option.