Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Transactions

Diamondbacks Sign Stephen Nogosek To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Diamondbacks have signed right-hander Stephen Nogosek to a minor league deal, reports Andrew Parker of Beyond the Monster. He will report to Triple-A Reno on Monday and his deal contains multiple opt-out opportunities.

Nogosek, 28, was designated for assignment by the Mets a week ago and cleared waivers. Since he had previously been outrighted in his career, he had the right to elect free agency. He exercised that right and headed to the open market, quickly landing with the Diamondbacks.

The righty had a solid showing last year, posting a 2.45 ERA in 22 innings. He wasn’t likely to sustain that going forward since he had a .258 batting average on balls in play and 80.4% strand rate, leading to a 4.66 FIP and 3.80 SIERA. Nonetheless, his 22.1% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate were each close to league average.

His results took a negative turn here in 2023, with his ERA jumping to 5.61 through 25 2/3 frames. That’s coincided with his walk rate climbing up to 11.9%. He had exhausted his option years, leaving the Mets little choice but to designate him for assignment in order to remove him from the active roster.

The Diamondbacks have had a middling bullpen this season, as their relievers have a collective 4.12 ERA that places them 17th out of the 30 clubs in the league. Nogosek can provide them with some non-roster depth that will be on hand in Reno for when they require a fresh arm. He’s out of options but just recently crossed the one-year service time mark, giving him plenty of future control if he can earn his way back into a roster spot.

Cardinals Acquire Richie Palacios From Guardians

By | at

The Cardinals announced that they have acquired infielder/outfielder Richie Palacios from the Guardians in exchange for cash considerations. Palacios, who was designated for assignment by the Guards on the weekend, has been optioned to Triple-A Memphis. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, outfielder Tyler O’Neill has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Palacios, 26, was originally selected by Cleveland in the third round of the 2018 draft. He’s generally been considered a bat-first utility player and hit his way up the minor league ladder. He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November of 2021 to prevent him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.

He spent last year as a frequently-optioned depth piece, getting into 54 major league contests. But in his 123 plate appearances, he hit just .232/.293/.286 for a wRC+ of 65. He continued his strong offensive work whenever in the minors, finishing the year with a line of .279/.371/.458 in Triple-A and a 121 wRC+. However, this year, he’s slumped badly while sticking in the minors. He currently sports a line of .217/.351/.318 through 269 Triple-A plate appearances on the year.

Palacios has been bounced around the field a bit in his career to get his bat into lineups. He’s played second base and left field in the majors and also the other outfield positions in the minors. But since his bat is considered his best trait, his struggles this year got him bounced from the Guards to the Cards. The Cardinals have a penchant for developing versatile position players and will now try to get the most out of Palacios. He still has options and less than a year of service time, allowing him to serve as an optionable and versatile depth piece for the foreseeable future.

As for O’Neill, he was placed on the injured list in early May due to a lower back strain. There’s been nothing to indicate he’s particularly close to a return since he’s yet to start a rehab assignment that would be required before rejoining the big league club. That makes this transaction a mere formality as the 60-day count goes from his initial IL placement, not today’s transfer. He’ll be eligible to be reinstated in early July if he makes significant progress in the next two weeks.

Mets Sign Rafael Ortega To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Mets have signed outfielder Rafael Ortega to a minor league deal, reports Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors. Ortega will report to Triple-A Syracuse.

Ortega, 32, was non-tendered by the Cubs at the end of last year and has since bounced around to various non-roster opportunities. He signed a minor league deal with the Yankees in January but requested and was granted a release when he was informed he wouldn’t make the club out of Spring Training. He quickly landed another minor league deal with the Rangers but was granted his released from that club just over a week ago. Before his release, he was hitting .226/.333/.381 through 199 plate appearances in Triple-A.

Prior to this nomadic year, Ortega had a solid two-year run with the Cubs in 2021 and 2022. He got into 221 games in those seasons and made 701 trips to the plate. He hit 18 home runs and walked at an above-average 10.6% clip. His combined .265/.344/.408 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 108, indicating he was 8% above league average. He spent most of his time in center field, where his work was graded as just a bit below average.

Given the difficulty in finding capable center fielders who can also hold their own at the plate, that was a valuable performance. Ortega earned a combined 2.2 wins above replacement from FanGraphs over those seasons and 2.3 from Baseball Reference. Nonetheless, the Cubs decided to cut him loose rather than pay a projected arbitration salary of $1.7MM for 2023.

The Mets have a regular outfield of Brandon Nimmo, Mark Canha and Starling Marte, with Tommy Pham also in the mix. The recent injury to Pete Alonso has seen Canha spent a bit of time at first base, however, thrusting Pham into a more regular role. The designated hitter slot is also fairly up for grabs thanks to the struggles of Daniel Vogelbach, who is hitting .203/.343/.297 for the year. He hasn’t appeared in a game in over a week and Mike Puma of the New York Post recently relayed that Vogelbach is getting a mental break as the club tries to figure out how to get him back on track.

Given those factors, perhaps there’s a path for Ortega to earn his way into a reserve outfield role with the club. If he is able to get onto the roster, he is out of options but could be retained for future seasons since he currently has under three years of major league service time.

Johan Camargo Opts Out Of Deal With Royals

By | at

Infielder Johan Camargo has been released by the Royals, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. MLBTR has learned that he triggered an opt-out in his deal. The Octagon client is now on the open market and free to sign with any club.

Camargo, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Royals this winter. He began the year on the minor league injured list but joined Triple-A Omaha in mid-May. That’s limited him to just 68 plate appearances in 15 games so far this year, but he has made the most of those. He has walked and struck out 11 times each for a strong 16.2% rate in both categories while hitting four home runs in that brief spell. His .298/.412/.544 batting line amounts to a 140 wRC+, indicating he’s been 40% better than league average in that time.

That’s a small sample of Triple-A work, but it’s understandable that Camargo would want to use that platform to survey the open market if the Royals weren’t willing to call him up. He also has plenty of major league work on his résumé, though generally as a light-hitting utility player. He’s hit .255/.313/.410 over the past six major league seasons with Atlanta and Philadelphia, which translates to a wRC+ of 90. He’s done so while spending time at all four infield positions as well as the outfield corners. He’s also a switch-hitter, which adds to his versatility.

Given his track record and strong start this year, he could have earned himself a promotion into a big league bench job. The Royals have a regular infield mix consisting of Bobby Witt Jr., Michael Massey, Maikel Garcia, Nicky Lopez and Nick Pratto, with Matt Duffy currently serving as the veteran utility guy off the bench. Duffy has a strong .312/.365/.403 line on the year and the club will seemingly stick with him instead of turning to Camargo.

That will allow Camargo the chance to look for opportunities elsewhere. Plenty of clubs around the league are dealing with significant injuries and they could be intrigued by a versatile player who’s been hot of late. If he is able to get himself back onto a 40-man roster, he is out of options but he could be retained via arbitration for 2024 since he won’t be able to get to six years of service time this year.

KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes Release Eric Jokisch, Sign Ian McKinney

By | at

The Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization have released right-hander Eric Jokisch and signed left-hander Ian McKinney, per Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net (Twitter links). Kurtz adds that Jokisch was diagnosed with a partial tear in left abductor muscle and was set to miss six weeks. KBO teams are only allowed three roster spots for non-Korean players, so they have decided to quickly make this switch instead of waiting for Jokisch to recover.

Jokisch, 33, pitched 14 1/3 innings for the Cubs in 2014, which is the full extent of his major league experience. He has a far lengthier track record in the KBO, as this is the fifth season in which he’s pitched for the Heroes. He’s made 130 starts dating back to the 2019 season, with a 2.85 ERA in 773 1/3 innings. His strikeout rate has been in the 17-21% range for most of those seasons but he’s succeeded by reliably getting ground balls on over two thirds of balls in play.

That success has repeatedly led to him and the Heroes continuing their relationship, though it will now be severed by this injury, as the club will use the roster spot to add McKinney. The left-hander, now 28, was a fifth-round selection of the Cardinals in 2013. He was released in 2018 after topping out at Double-A. He later signed with the Mariners and made it as far as Triple-A in that organization but never made it to the majors.

In addition to that affiliated work, he’s also pitched for independent clubs, including this year. He’s made eight starts for the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the Atlantic League here in 2023, posting a 4.24 ERA in 46 2/3 innings, striking out 53 opponents while walking 11.

Jokisch will now be free to pursue other opportunities, though he may have to rehab from his injury first. His success in Korea led to some interest from MLB clubs prior to the 2021 season, though he ultimately stayed with the Heroes.

Dodgers To Select Emmet Sheehan

By | at

The Dodgers are going to select right-hander Emmet Sheehan to their roster, reports Juan Toribio of MLB.com. He will start tonight’s game, making his major league debut. The club has an opening on their 40-man roster from designating Adam Kolarek for assignment earlier this week but will need a corresponding move to get Sheehan onto the active roster.

Sheehan, 23, was selected by the Dodgers in the sixth round of the 2021 draft and made a brief professional debut at the lower levels of their farm system in the subsequent months. Last year, he spent most of it at High-A and was able to reach Double-A by the end of the year. He tossed 68 innings on the year with a 2.91 ERA, striking out an excellent 38% of opponents though with an 11.1% walk rate that was on the high side. He then went to the Arizona Fall League and added another 20 1/3 frames with a 3.54 ERA in six starts.

Coming into this season, he was generally considered to be just outside the club’s top tier of prospects. Many outlets had roughly five to eight Dodgers on their top 100 lists, with Sheehan just a bit behind that group. Baseball America ranked him #13 in the system, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs at #17 and Keith Law of The Athletic at #14.

Here in 2023, Sheehan has returned to Double-A and has been getting great results. He has an ERA of 1.86 in 53 1/3 innings so far, with a massive strikeout rate of 41.7%. His 10.9% walk rate is still a bit on the high side and he won’t be able to maintain a .211 batting average on balls in play or 91.1% strand rate, but his numbers would surely be impressive even with a bit of regression.

The Dodgers are now going to have Sheehan leapfrog over Triple-A and into the majors. That’s partially a testament to his impressive work but it’s also related to some challenges they have faced with the big league staff. Walker Buehler had Tommy John surgery last year and won’t be an option until late in the season, even in a best-case scenario. Dustin May was able to make nine starts this year but departed the last of those and was diagnosed with a flexor pronator strain. He’s on the 60-day injured list and ineligible to return until mid-July. Julio Urías has been on the IL since mid-May due to a hamstring strain and was supposed to come back this week but suffered a setback and will likely require a rehab assignment now. Noah Syndergaard went on the shelf just over a week ago due to a blister.

Amid all of those injuries to their established starters, the club has been forced to turn to their prospect depth. Ryan Pepiot was going to open the season in the rotation but he himself got injured at the end of Spring Training as he strained his oblique and isn’t expected back until the All-Star break. Michael Grove and Bobby Miller have been pushed into the rotation next to incumbents Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin. Miller’s ERA is a miniscule 0.78 but Grove’s is way up at 8.10.

Despite all those challenges, the Dodgers are managing to stay afloat. Their 39-30 record places them second in the National League West and they are currently holding the top Wild Card spot in the league. Whether this is just a spot start for Sheehan or he sticks around for longer will likely be determined by a few different factors. His own performance will surely be one of them, as will the continued results of Grove and Miller, along with the health situations of the guys on the injured list.

Blue Jays Release Anthony Bass

By | at

Reliever Anthony Bass has cleared waivers and been granted his unconditional release from the Blue Jays, tweets Mitch Bannon of Sports Illustrated. Toronto designated Bass for assignment last Friday.

Bass was initially acquired from the Marlins at last summer’s deadline, heading alongside Zach Pop for infield prospect Jordan Groshans. He pitched well down the stretch, leading the Jays to exercise a $3MM option to bring him back for 2023.

The veteran right-hander struggled in mostly low-leverage situations this year. He allowed a 4.95 ERA through 20 innings. Bass’ average fastball speed sat in the same 95 MPH range as last season, but his swinging strike percentage and strikeout rate each dropped a few points. The free passes also went in the wrong direction, as his walk rate jumped from 7.3% to 10.2%.

Bass’ on-field performance is only part of the story. Last month, he shared an Instagram video (which he later deleted) that called for a boycott of corporations that had supported the LGBTQ community. That video had called those businesses’ support of LGBTQ individuals “evil” and “demonic” (as chronicled by Keegan Matheson of MLB.com). Bass subsequently conceded that posting the video was a “distraction” but reaffirmed he “(stands) by (his) personal beliefs.” The reliever apologized to general manager Ross Atkins, manager John Schneider and the Blue Jays’ clubhouse for, as Atkins put it, “creating any harm and for hurting others.”

One day after Atkins and Bass met with the media, Toronto took him off the 40-man roster. The GM said the move was primarily “a baseball decision” but conceded the “distraction was a small part of it and something that we had to factor in” (link via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet).

After clearing waivers, Bass is now free to explore opportunities elsewhere. The Jays will be on the hook for the remainder of the $3MM salary. Any team that signs him would only owe him the prorated portion of the $720K league minimum for whatever time he spends on their big league roster.

Mariners Trade Kean Wong To White Sox

By | at

The White Sox have acquired minor league infielder Kean Wong from the Mariners. Mike Curto, broadcaster for Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate with Tacoma, tweeted the news. He’ll presumably join the Sox’s top minor league team in Charlotte. Wong had not been on the 40-man roster, so he’ll add some non-roster upper level depth for the White Sox.

Wong signed a minor league deal with the Mariners over the offseason, joining his older brother in the organization. Kolten Wong has struggled at the big league level, but Kean Wong has had a nice showing in Triple-A. He appeared in 33 games for Tacoma, hitting .315/.422/.500 with four home runs in 109 trips to the plate. The lefty swinger has walked in a stellar 14.7% of his plate appearances while keeping his strikeout rate to a modest 17.4% clip.

That’s quite a bit better than the 28-year-old’s minor league work last season. Wong spent 2022 in the Angels’ system, posting a .262/.342/.332 line with a 10.8% walk percentage and 22.1% strikeout rate over 128 Triple-A contests. He hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2021, when he suited up a career-high 32 times for the Halos. Wong has 39 MLB games overall, hitting .167/.188/.218 in that limited look.

Like his brother, Kean Wong is primarily a second baseman. Seattle has gotten strong work out of José Caballero at the keystone. The rookie has a .245/.397/.367 showing over his first 45 big league contests, enough to leapfrog Kolten Wong and Dylan Moore on the depth chart.

The White Sox have gotten nothing from the second base position. Elvis Andrus, Romy González, Lenyn Sosa and the since-released Hanser Alberto have combined for a league-worst .167/.212/.278 showing there. An injury to third baseman Yoán Moncada led Chicago to promote utilityman Zach Remillard this afternoon. The Wong acquisition allows them to backfill some Triple-A infield depth.

Wong will be joined in Charlotte by veteran outfielder Billy Hamilton. The White Sox outrighted Hamilton off the 40-man roster yesterday. Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times relays (on Twitter) that Hamilton accepted the assignment instead of testing minor league free agency. The speedster has a .158/.294/.228 line in 69 trips to the plate for the Knights this season. He appeared in three MLB games with the ChiSox as a pinch-runner last month.

Rockies Select Jorge Alfaro, Designate Blair Calvo For Assignment

By | at

The Rockies announced today that they have selected the contract of catcher Jorge Alfaro. Fellow backstop Brian Serven was optioned in a corresponding move. In order to open a spot for Alfaro on the 40-man, right-hander Blair Calvo was designated for assignment.

Alfaro, 30, makes it back to the big leagues for the first time this year. He has appeared in each of the past seven major league seasons but had to settle for a minor league deal with the Red Sox this winter. He was crushing for their Triple-A team, hitting .320/.366/.520 through 191 plate appearances, but the Sox never called him up. Alfaro triggered an opt-out in his contract and the club released him rather than giving him a roster spot.

He then signed another minor league deal, landing with the Rockies just five days ago. He played three games for their Triple-A club and hit .357/.357/.571 in that brief sample before getting called up. That kind of production would be welcome on any club, but it’s no guarantee Alfaro can provide it. He has often hit well in the minors, which has led to many big league opportunities over the years, as the Phillies, Marlins, Padres and now Rockies have all had him on their respective rosters at various points. But in 478 career games in the majors, he’s hit just .256/.305/.396 for a wRC+ of 89.

Alfaro has generally been considered a bat-first catcher and has tallied a cumulative -17 Defensive Runs Saved thus far in his career. Teams could surely tolerate a bit of that if Alfaro were producing with the bat, but he’s hasn’t been able to manage that quite yet.

Despite his tepid results in the big leagues thus far, it’s not surprising that the Rockies are willing to give him a shot. He’s been hitting very well in the minors this year and is a former top 100 prospect. They already have a couple of catchers on the roster in Elias Díaz and Austin Wynns but have been going with a three-catcher setup of late. Serven was recalled a couple of days ago as Díaz was dealing with a minor injury. Díaz sat out Sunday’s game but returned to the lineup for the next three contests.

Díaz is having a solid season, hitting .295/.351/.457 for a 105 wRC+ and is unlikely to be usurped as long as he stays healthy. Perhaps Alfaro will factor into the designated hitter mix, where the club doesn’t really have an everyday option now that Charlie Blackmon is on the injured list. Since he’s been gone, Díaz, Randal Grichuk and Jurickson Profar have each been given starts as the DH. If both Díaz and Alfaro were in the lineup, they would still have Wynns on hand as a safety net in the event of an injury.

The club will surely be hoping that Alfaro can give a boost to their lineup but he could also wind up as a summer trade chip if this is the year he finally puts it together in the majors. The Rockies have one of the worst records in the National League at 29-41 and could find themselves in position to sell. Since Alfaro is scheduled for free agency again this winter, he would be a logical candidate for such a move.

In order to take a shot on Alfaro, the Rockies are risking losing Calvo. Now 27 years old, he was drafted by the club in the 23rd round in 2019. Last year, he tossed 35 relief innings in Double-A with a 3.09 ERA, 32.2% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate and 57.6% ground ball rate. The club added him to the roster in November to prevent him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.

Unfortunately, his results haven’t been as strong this year, though he did throw one scoreless inning in his major league debut. The rest of the year has been spent at Triple-A, where he has a 7.43 ERA through 23 innings. There’s probably a bit of bad luck in there, as he has a .413 batting average on balls in play and 55.3% strand rate. His peripherals have gone in the wrong direction compared to last year, though not by too much, as he’s struck out 28.3% of opponents while walking 8.8% and getting grounders on 47.6% of balls in play.

Though his 5.02 FIP is much nicer than this ERA, he’s nonetheless lost his roster spot. The Rockies will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. In the event that he clears, he would not have the right to elect free agency since he has neither a previous career outright nor three years of service time.

White Sox Place Yoán Moncada On IL, Select Zach Remillard

By | at

3:05pm: The White Sox have now officially announced these moves.

2:40pm: The White Sox are going to place third baseman Yoán Moncada on the injured list, reports Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. Infielder Zach Remillard will have his contract selected to take Moncada’s place on the active roster. Remillard isn’t currently on the 40-man but the club has a couple of vacancies there and won’t need to make another corresponding move.

Moncada sat out yesterday’s game due to an ongoing back issue that has been bothering him this year, caused by a protruding disc touching a nerve. He already missed close to a month of this season, landing on the IL in mid-April and returning in mid-May. He was hitting .308/.325/.564 through his first nine games but has slashed just .202/.262/.293 since returning from that IL stint. Now that he’s going back on the shelf, it seems fair to wonder if it’s continued bothering him for the past month.

At this point, it’s unclear how long he’ll be out or what the next steps will be, but it’s likely that Jake Burger will take over at the hot corner. He was able to take advantage of extra playing time at third when Moncada first when on the IL and is now hitting .250/.299/.600 for the year. He’s striking out in 31.6% of his plate appearances but has 15 home runs in 50 games. Since Moncada came off the injured list, he’s been spending some time as the designated hitter and even got some brief looks at first and second base. But with Andrew Vaughn the primary option at first and Elvis Andrus at second, the newly-opened third base spot is a more natural fit for him.

The Sox will give themselves an extra bench option by selecting Remillard, with the 29-year-old now finding himself on a major league roster for the first time. A 10th round pick of the Sox back in 2016, he has been climbing the rungs of the minor league ladder since then. He reached free agency after 2022 but re-signed with the Sox on a minor league deal. He was first promoted to Triple-A in May of 2021 and has played 272 games at that level. His 1,047 plate appearances there have resulted in a .244/.340/.376 batting line. He also stole 42 bases in that time while playing all seven of the non-battery positions in the field, which should allow him to serve as a versatile bench piece for the Sox. He’ll be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top