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Dodgers Outright Adam Kolarek

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Dodgers lefty Adam Kolarek cleared outright waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City following last week’s DFA, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. The veteran lefty had the right to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency, but he’s currently listed as active on the OKC Dodgers’ roster.

Kolarek, 34, was selected to the Majors earlier this month and appeared in just one game, retiring four of the five batters he faced (two via strikeout) and finished out that appearance without letting a run score. He’s also pitched to a tidy 2.18 ERA in 20 2/3 Triple-A frames this year, though he’s done with an unsightly 12-to-11 K/BB ratio in that time.

With that appearance, Kolarek has now seen big league action in each of the past seven seasons, suiting up for the Rays, A’s and Dodgers along the way. He carries a lifetime 3.73 ERA in 144 2/3 innings of work, and while his 15.6% strikeout rate is considerably worse than that of a league-average reliever, his 6.8% walk rate and especially his 63.8% ground-ball rate are outstanding. Kolarek, however, comes with the type of glaring platoon splits that have been magnified by MLB’s implementation of a three-batter minimum; in 335 career plate appearances, right-handed batters have posted a .311/.383/.490 batting line against Kolarek, as opposed to a putrid .190/.242/.259 slash by opposing lefties.

The Dodgers currently have four lefties in the big league bullpen (Caleb Ferguson, Alex Vesia, Victor Gonzalez, Bryan Hudson) and a fifth on the 40-man roster but down in Triple-A (Justin Bruihl). That doesn’t exactly leave the veteran Kolarek with a smooth path back to the Majors, but he’ll remain on hand as a depth option should the need arise.

Orioles To Designate Spenser Watkins For Assignment

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The Orioles have designated right-hander Spenser Watkins for assignment, Robert Murray of FanSided reports (via Twitter). Watkins has been pitching with their Triple-A Norfolk affiliate this season and has not yet pitched at the MLB level this season, though he was recalled to the big leagues over the weekend. The O’s have not yet formally announced the move, nor the corresponding 40-man and 26-man transactions that figure to accompany it.

The 30-year-old Watkins spent parts of the 2021-22 seasons on Baltimore’s big league staff, getting hit hard in his debut campaign before stepping in as a solid rotation member for much of the 2022 season. While a rough patch at the end of last season weighed down Watkins’ numbers and left him with a 4.70 ERA in 105 1/3 frames, he pitched to a 3.96 ERA through his first 17 big league starts of the 2022 campaign.

Even at his best, Watkins doesn’t miss bats or produce grounders in droves. His 13.7% strikeout rate was tied for the lowest among the 156 pitchers who tossed at least 150 innings from 2021-22. Watkins has above-average command, evidenced by a 6.9% walk rate in that stretch, and his career 38.7% grounder rate clocks in several percentage points south of league average.

It’s been an even tougher season for Watkins in Norfolk so far, where he’s pitched to a 7.27 ERA in 26 frames with nearly as many walks (17) as strikeouts (20). Murray notes that Watkins has been tinkering with a new splitter, which perhaps helps to explain the huge uptick in grounders he’s seen (55.3%), but Watkins’ 13.4% walk rate is a career-worst and his strikeout rate hasn’t seen any gains over his prior Triple-A levels.

The Orioles will have a week to trade Watkins, attempt to pass him through outright waivers, or simply release him. He’s been outrighted once in the past, so even if the O’s succeed at passing him through waivers, he’d have the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency.

Rays Re-Sign Chris Muller To Minor League Deal

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The Rays announced last week they’ve re-signed reliever Chris Muller to a minor league contract. According to the transactions log at MLB.com, he was assigned to the team’s Florida complex.

Muller is back with the only organization for which he’s ever played. The Rays took him in the 17th round of the 2017 draft. He spent six years in the minor league system and earned his initial MLB call last month. Unfortunately, the club didn’t get him into a game before designating him for assignment a couple weeks later.

Tampa Bay released Muller after his DFA. While it’d seem counterintuitive to release a player just to re-sign him within a few weeks, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times explained the decision earlier this month. According to Topkin, Muller had suffered an elbow injury before his DFA. MLB rules prohibit teams from placing an injured player on outright waivers. Once the Rays took Muller off the 40-man roster, they had to either trade him or release him.

That proves largely immaterial, since the 27-year-old agreed to return to the organization after hitting free agency. He’ll go to the complex to build back into game shape and presumably will head back to Triple-A Durham at some point. Muller had tossed 20 innings for the Bulls earlier this year, posting a 4.95 ERA with a solid 24.2% strikeout rate but a lofty 12.2% walk percentage.

Jose Iglesias Opts Out Of Contract With Padres

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Veteran infielder José Iglesias has opted out of his minor league deal with the Padres, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter link). Assuming San Diego doesn’t add him to the MLB roster, he’ll return to free agency.

It’s familiar territory for Iglesias. He followed a similar path with the Marlins a few months ago, opting out after signing a minor league pact in Spring Training. He caught on with the Padres, triggered an opt-out a month later, then re-signed on a new minor league deal with San Diego.

Iglesias is still searching for his first MLB call of the year. He got to the highest level in 11 of the 12 seasons between 2011-22. Iglesias carved out a lengthy career as a regular thanks to excellent shortstop defense and a high-contact bat that allowed him to run strong batting averages. His public defensive marks have dropped over the past two seasons, though, contributing to his struggles to find an MLB look thus far in 2023.

To his credit, the 33-year-old had a nice offensive showing in Triple-A. He appeared in 28 games for San Diego’s highest affiliate in El Paso and hit .317/.356/.537 with four home runs over 135 trips to the plate. The power is probably inflated by the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League setting — Iglesias hit only three homers in 467 plate appearances for the Rockies last season — but he has continued to put the ball in play at a high rate. He went down on strikes in only 16.3% of his trips with El Paso.

Iglesias has played almost exclusively shortstop at the big league level, logging over 8000 career innings there. He spent most of his time there in Triple-A but logged a few starts at both second and third base as well. He’s no longer the defender he was at his peak, but he can cover any infield position and still hits for a high enough average he should at least find another minor league deal elsewhere.

Reds Place Hunter Greene On Injured List, Designate Kevin Herget

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The Reds have officially reinstated Joey Votto from the 60-day injured list, as was reported earlier this afternoon. Starter Hunter Greene was placed on the 15-day IL, retroactive to June 18, due to right hip pain. To clear a 40-man roster spot for Votto, Cincinnati designated righty Kevin Herget for assignment.

Greene has been battling hip discomfort for a few weeks. Cincinnati skipped one of his starts earlier in the month to give him extra rest. This’ll be his first IL stint of the season, as the pain returned during Saturday’s start against the Astros.

There’s no indication the Reds are overly concerned. As C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic notes (on Twitter), the Reds’ scheduled off day on Thursday means they won’t need a fifth starter until next Tuesday. By that point, right-hander Graham Ashcraft would be eligible to return from his own IL stint. Cincinnati skipper David Bell recently said the club anticipates Ashcraft being ready to come off the IL when first eligible (via MLB.com injury tracker).

Still, the Reds will have to navigate a couple weeks without arguably their best starter. Cincinnati has already been without Nick Lodolo for a while, and he’s not likely to return until August. The Reds’ young position player core has carried them to an eight-game win streak and within half a game of the lead in the NL Central. A temporary rotation of Ashcraft, Andrew Abbott, Ben Lively, Brandon Williamson and Luke Weaver is well below-average for a club battling for a playoff spot, though.

Herget has been working in long relief this season. He’s tallied 22 innings across 13 appearances, pitching to a 5.73 ERA while striking out only 11.5% of batters faced. Herget has thrown plenty of strikes but hasn’t missed many bats and has given up a lot of hard contact.

After a three-outing debut season with the Rays last year, Herget has gotten a career-high MLB workload in Cincinnati. He’ll likely land on waivers within the next week. The 32-year-old has cleared outright waivers before in his career, so he’d have the ability to test minor league free agency if he goes unclaimed.

Pirates Designate Eli Villalobos, Select Henry Davis

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The Pirates announced they have selected the contract of catcher/outfielder Henry Davis, a move that was reported yesterday. To make room for Davis on the active roster, infielder Mark Mathias was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, reliever Eli Villalobos was designated for assignment.

It’s a little surprising to see the Pirates turn to a DFA as the corresponding move for Davis’ call-up. Starter Vince Velasquez could’ve been transferred to the 60-day injured list to clear a 40-man spot after the revelation he’ll miss the remainder of the season (and a good chunk of next year) due to elbow surgery. The Pirates will hold off on a seemingly inevitable IL transfer for Velasquez and take Villalobos off the roster for now.

Pittsburgh nabbed Villalobos off waivers from the Marlins a couple months ago. The right-hander has spent his entire Bucs’ tenure on optional assignment to Indianapolis. He hasn’t performed particularly well, allowing 11 runs (eight earned) in 17 1/3 innings. Villalobos has walked 15 against just 16 strikeouts.

Combined with the six runs he allowed in 4 2/3 Triple-A frames before Miami put him on waivers, he has a cumulative 5.73 ERA with 22 free passes and 23 punchouts in 22 innings at the top minor league level this year. It’s obviously not how he wanted to follow up on a strong 2022 campaign, in which he pitched to a 2.86 ERA in the upper levels of the Miami system to secure an offseason spot on the Marlins’ 40-man roster.

Villalobos, who turns 26 next week, has not yet gotten his first MLB call. He’ll likely be put on waivers within the next seven days.

Diamondbacks Option Josh Rojas, Recall Alek Thomas

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The Diamondbacks announced that they have recalled outfielder Alek Thomas from Triple-A Reno, with infielder Josh Rojas optioned to Reno in a corresponding move.

Rojas, 29 next week, had seemingly established himself as a solid everyday player over the past few years. In 2021, he got into 139 games for the Diamondbacks, hitting 11 home runs and walking in 10.5% of his plate appearances. His .264/.341/.411 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 102, indicating he was 2% above league average. He also stole nine bases and bounced around the field, playing the three infield positions to the left of first base as well as the outfield corners. FanGraphs considered him to be worth 1.8 wins above replacement on the year.

He seemed to take a step forward last year, getting into another 125 games and cutting his strikeout rate from 24.9% to 19.2%. He hit .269/.349/.391 for a wRC+ of 108 and swiped 23 bags. He didn’t play any shortstop or outfield but still moved between second and third base. FanGraphs gave him a tally of 2.7 fWAR for that campaign.

However, Rojas hasn’t been able to take another step forward or even maintain that kind of performance. Here in 2023, his walk rate has dropped to 8.6% as his strikeout rate has ticked back up to 23.3%. He’s yet to hit a home run and his overall line of .235/.301/.306 amounts to a wRC+ of just 66. Due to that tepid production, he’ll find himself optioned down to the minors for the first time since 2020.

Those struggles have coincided with a breakout campaign for Emmanuel Rivera. Acquired from the Royals at last year’s deadline, Rivera began this season in the minors but was called up in late April. He’s since hit .325/.354/.423 in 130 plate appearances for a 111 wRC+. He has just one home run and has only walked at a 4.6% clip but he’s striking out in just 15.4% of his trips to the plate. He’s seemingly supplanted Rojas at the hot corner for now and will get some rope to prove himself with regular playing time.

Rojas finished 2022 with two years and 152 days of service time, qualifying for arbitration as a Super Two player. He and the club went to a hearing, with the Diamondbacks ultimately emerging victorious, leaving Rojas making a salary of $2.575MM instead of the $2.9MM figure he was seeking. He’s already gone over the three-year mark here this season and will be eligible for arbitration again this winter, though it’s fair to wonder if the club will want to give him another pay bump on the heels of such a disappointing season. He still has a few months to turn things around but will have to get back into a good groove in Reno first.

The Diamondbacks have made the jump from development mode into competing this year, currently sporting a record of 43-29 and sitting atop the National League West. They’ve shown little hesitation in optioning struggling players this year, including Rojas, Brandon Pfaadt and Thomas. It was just about a month ago that Thomas was sent down after hitting just .195/.252/.327 in the majors through mid-May. However, he’s since been on a tear in Reno, hitting .348/.409/.518 after his demotion and earning himself another shot in the big leagues.

Red Sox To Sign Kyle Barraclough To Minor League Deal

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The Red Sox are signing right-hander Kyle Barraclough to a minor league deal, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. He will report to Triple-A Worcester.

Barraclough, 33, has plenty of big league experience on his résumé, often pairing excellent strikeout stuff with control issues. From 2015 to 2017, he made 166 appearances for the Marlins, walking 14.5% of batters faced but punching out 31.7%. Despite the free passes, he was able to register an ERA of 2.87 in that stretch while recording one save and 57 holds.

From there, his results took a bad turn when home run troubles were added into the mix. From 2018 through 2022, his strikeout rate dipped to 25.1%, still above league average but below his own previous results. His 13.2% walk rate was a slight improvement for him but still very high. Meanwhile, 21 home runs in 111 1/3 innings pushed his ERA to 4.69 in that stretch. That pushed him into journeyman mode as he bounced from the Marlins to the Nationals, Giants, Twins and Angels.

This year, Barraclough has been pitching for the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League. He’s seemingly been quite flexible about his usage, tossing 18 innings over seven appearances, starting two games but finishing three others. He’s allowed just two earned runs so far, leading to an ERA of 1.00 on the year. He has 17 strikeouts, four walks and has hit one batter. His last appearance was on Wednesday when he tossed 83 pitches over five innings, allowing one run on three hits and two walks while punching out three.

It’s unclear if the Sox want Barraclough to continue his recent move to the rotation or go back to his customary relief role, but they have challenges in both departments. In the rotation, both Nick Pivetta and Corey Kluber struggled enough to get bumped to the bullpen and Chris Sale and Tanner Houck have landed on the injured list. The relief corps currently has each of Richard Bleier, Zack Kelly, Joely Rodríguez, John Schreiber and Wyatt Mills on the IL.

However he’s deployed, Barraclough will give the club some non-roster depth as he tries to earn his way back to the big leagues. If he makes it there, he actually has an option year remaining, allowing him to provide the club with some roster flexibility. He could also be theoretically retained for 2024 via arbitration since he won’t be able to reach six years of service time here in 2023.

Mets Select Grant Hartwig

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The Mets announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Grant Hartwig, with fellow righty John Curtiss optioned in a corresponding move. The club already had vacancies on their 40-man roster and won’t need to make another move in that regard.

Hartwig, 25, doesn’t have the typical baseball trajectory. Tim Healey of Newsday did a profile on the right-hander back in the spring, detailing his unusual storyline. In the summer of 2021, Hartwig had just graduated from Miami University of Ohio, receiving a degree in microbiology. He was then preparing to go to medical school when the Mets called him up and offered him a contract as an undrafted free agent.

He would toss 11 2/3 innings in the lower levels of the minors that year but truly put himself on the map in 2022. He shot from Single-A to High-A then Double-A and Triple-A last year, eventually posting a 1.75 ERA in 56 2/3 innings. His 10.3% walk rate was a tad high but he struck out 35.5% of batters faced. He’s been back in Triple-A this year, posting a serviceable 4.21 ERA over 25 2/3 relief innings, striking out 29.7% of opponents while walking 12.7%.

Now just two years after getting that fateful phone call from the Mets, Hartwig is set to make his major league debut, giving the Mets a fresh arm in their bullpen. Since this is his first time cracking a major league roster, he has a full slate of options and can give the club some roster flexibility going forward.

Rockies Select Connor Kaiser

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The Rockies announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Connor Kaiser. He will take the active roster spot of infielder Ezequiel Tovar, who has been placed on the paternity list. The club already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster.

Kaiser, 26, was a third-round selection of the Pirates in the 2018 draft. He rose through the ranks with that club but topped out at Triple-A and was released in 2022. He then signed a minor league deal with the Padres but qualified for minor league free agency at the end of last season.

The Rockies scooped him up on a minor league deal this winter and he’s been playing for their Triple-A club this year. He’s made 205 trips to the plate in 50 games, walking in 13.2% of those. His .278/.376/.506 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 108, indicating he’s been 8% above league average. He’s also stolen six bases on the year while playing primarily at shortstop but also a bit at third base. He hasn’t played second base this year but has in the past.

He will provide the Rockies with a versatile bench piece, at least as long as Tovar is gone. Stints on the paternity list can be between one and three days, meaning it’s possible this will be a cup of coffee for Kaiser, who has a full slate of options.

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