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Rangers, Ryan Tepera Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Rangers are in agreement with veteran reliever Ryan Tepera on a minor league deal, according to the transactions log at MLB.com. He’ll report to Triple-A Round Rock.

Tepera sticks in the AL West, where he’s spent the past year-plus with the Angels. The right-hander signed a two-year, $14MM free agent contract with Los Angeles coming out of the lockout. He’d had a quality run between the Chicago clubs from 2020-21. The Halos surely envisioned something approximating the 3.07 ERA he posted over 86 contests during those two seasons.

Things didn’t play out that way. Tepera didn’t find his footing in Anaheim. He pitched to a 3.61 ERA over 57 1/3 innings last season. That’s solid enough run prevention, but his strikeout rate fell from an excellent 31.9% clip between 2020-21 to a modest 20.3% last season.

His struggles carried into the first month of this season. Tepera allowed nine runs (seven earned) on 15 hits in 8 2/3 frames over ten outings. His average fastball velocity sat at 91.7 MPH, down a tick relative to last season and nearly two miles per hour below his 2020-21 level. His slider lost a similar amount of speed. The Halos designated him for assignment a month ago and released him a few days later.

Tepera is making $7MM this season. The Angels are on the hook for that money; if Texas adds him to the MLB roster, they’d owe him only the prorated portion of the $720K league minimum. There’s no financial downside for the Rangers in giving Tepera a look to see if he can more closely approximate his peak numbers in a new environment.

Texas’ bullpen has been the roster’s relative weak point. The Rangers sit at 41-25, three and a half games clear of the Astros in the AL West. The relief corps has struggled, though, ranking 24th with a 4.57 ERA.

White Sox Outright Billy Hamilton

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The White Sox have outrighted outfielder Billy Hamilton off the 40-man roster, according to the transactions log at MLB.com. Chicago hadn’t previously announced he was designated for assignment; the move drops the club’s 40-man count to 38.

Hamilton made three appearances, all as a pinch-runner, after the Sox selected his contract in early May. He strained his left hamstring a few days after being called up and landed on the 10-day injured list. Hamilton started a rehab stint with Triple-A Charlotte last week. He has well over five years of major league service, so the Sox would’ve had to carry him on the MLB roster or put him on waivers once he was ready to return.

They’ve chosen the latter course of action. The outright suggests Hamilton already went unclaimed. Players with three-plus years of service have the ability to decline an outright assignment in favor of minor league free agency. The team hasn’t announced whether he’ll do so. If he were to stay in the organization, he’d return to Charlotte, where he has a .158/.294/.228 line in 69 trips to the plate.

Hamilton has settled into a journeyman role late in his career. The speedster was an everyday player for the Reds for a half-decade but has appeared for seven different clubs (including two separate stints with the White Sox) going back to the start of the 2019 campaign. While he has a .205/.262/.288 slash in 549 MLB plate appearances over the last five years, he’s stolen 49 bases on 58 attempts during that stretch.

Dodgers Designate Adam Kolarek For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced that left-hander Adam Kolarek has been designated for assignment.  The move opens an active roster spot for Shelby Miller, who has been activated from the bereavement list.

Kolarek signed a minors contract with Los Angeles back in December, and his contract was selected to the active roster earlier this week.  While a brief stint in the majors, Kolarek did at least appear in one game, tossing 1 1/3 scoreless innings during the Dodgers’ 7-3 loss to the Phillies on June 11.

That made it seven MLB seasons for Kolarek, and his second stint in Dodger Blue could be coming to an end.  The southpaw previously pitched for L.A. during the 2019-20 seasons, posting an eye-popping 0.84 ERA over 32 total innings over the two seasons and earning a World Series ring for his part in the Dodgers’ 2020 championship run.

Traded to the A’s in February 2021, the last two seasons have been a lot rockier for Kolarek, who had a 5.74 ERA over 26 2/3 total innings in Oakland.  Kolarek elected free agency following the season, and since he has been outrighted before in his career, he can elect free agency again if he clears DFA waivers and if the Dodgers try to outright him to Triple-A.  That said, after being shuttled up and down between the majors and minors so many times in his career, Kolarek might prefer to accept an outright assignment and remain in a familiar organization rather than test the open market again.

Twins Acquire Taylor Floyd From Brewers

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The Twins have acquired minor league right-hander Taylor Floyd from the Brewers.  The move completes the late-April deal that sent Trevor Megill to Milwaukee, as Floyd will act the player to be named later that was owed to Minnesota.

Floyd was a 10th-round pick for the Brew Crew in the 2019 draft, and the Texas Tech product has spent his entire pro career in Milwaukee’s farm system.  Working exclusively as a reliever, Floyd has missed a lot of bats (30.68% strikeout rate) over his 147 1/3 innings in the minors, but his walk rate rose drastically when pitching at high-A and Double-A ball in 2022.  As Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen explains, an unusual offseason training quirk altered Floyd’s normal submarine delivery heading into the 2022 season, which probably accounted for his lack of control.

Longenhagen still ranked Floyd as the 39th-best prospect in the Brewers’ system even in the wake of that shaky 2022 campaign, and it seems like Floyd has stabilized things in 2023.  In 23 2/3 innings at high-A, Floyd has a 3.04 ERA, 34.8% strikeout rate, and a much more palatable 7.6% walk rate.  The right-hander also has a 49.1% grounder rate, continuing his career-long trend of keeping the ball on the ground roughly around half the time.

Braves, Jesus Aguilar Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Braves signed free-agent first baseman Jesus Aguilar to a minor league contract, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He was released by the A’s earlier this month.

Aguilar, who’ll turn 33 later this month, hit just .221/.281/.385 with five homers in 115 plate appearances for Oakland after signing a one-year, $3MM deal in the offseason. Oakland’s hope had been that Aguilar could recapture his 2017-21 form — .262/.338/.476, 93 homers in 1972 trips to the plate — and emerge as a summer trade candidate. That didn’t happen in the season’s first two months, however, and Oakland has turned first base over to impressive Rule 5 pick Ryan Noda on a full-time basis now.

During that 2017-21 peak, Aguilar was an All-Star (2017) and consistent power threat, topping out with a career-high 35 dingers back in 2018. At his best, Aguilar walked between 10-11% of his plate appearances and kept his strikeouts at or south of the league’s average rate. In 2023, he walked at a sub-par 7% clip and fanned in 27.5% of his plate appearances while delivering career-worst marks in average exit velocity (86.7 mph) and hard-hit rate (29.3%).

For the Braves, there’s little harm in bringing aboard a slugger with some track record on a no-risk deal. Atlanta is set at first base with Matt Olson and has gotten better play from designated hitter Marcell Ozuna of late, so there’s no pressing need on the big league roster. Aguilar can play some first base in Triple-A Gwinnett for the time being, and should the Braves incur an injury or simply want some additional right-handed thump off the bench, he could be an option in the event that he’s playing well.

Mets Release Tommy Hunter, Stephen Nogosek Elects Free Agency

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TODAY: Nogosek has elected to become a free agent after turning down the outright assignment, according to multiple reports.

JUNE 13: The Mets have sent a pair of recently-designated relievers through waivers. Veteran righty Tommy Hunter has been released, while right-hander Stephen Nogosek was sent outright to Triple-A Syracuse, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

Hunter appeared in 14 games for the Mets this season after cracking the roster out of Spring Training. He allowed just under seven earned runs per nine innings over 23 2/3 frames. Home runs were the biggest culprit, as Hunter surrendered six longballs in 106 batters faced. He had a similarly high home run rate in 22 1/3 innings last year but found more success keeping runs off the board in 2022.

While it hasn’t been a banner season for the 36-year-old, he’s been an effective middle innings arm for the bulk of his career. Hunter has consistently shown excellent control, and this season’s 4.7% walk rate remains stellar. He’s only punched out 18.9% of opponents but had a decent 23.4% strikeout percentage a season ago. He figures to land a minor league deal elsewhere now that he’s back on the open market.

Nogosek cleared waivers after a similar start to the year. The out-of-options hurler posted a 5.61 ERA across 25 2/3 frames. He’s also allowed a half-dozen homers, though Nogosek’s strikeout and walk numbers (21.2% and 11.9%, respectively) are each above Hunter’s rates.

This is the second time the Oregon product has gone unclaimed on waivers in his career. The Mets also successfully outrighted him over the 2019-20 offseason. He’d therefore have the right to decline the assignment in favor of free agency.

Rangers Announce Four Roster Moves

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The Rangers announced a quartet of roster moves, including the news that top pitching prospect Owen White has been optioned to Double-A after making his Major League debut.  Texas also activated right-hander Joe Barlow from the 15-day injured list and called up catcher Sam Huff from Triple-A, while catcher Sandy Leon was designated for assignment.

White threw two relief innings in yesterday’s 7-3 loss to the Angels, essentially piggybacking off of the 4 1/3 innings thrown by starter Cody Bradford.  Since Jon Gray was a late scratch due to a blister problem, the Rangers had a bit of a scramble to fill innings, including a quick recall of Bradford (who was working on three days’ rest since his last Triple-A outing).

With three runs allowed in those two innings, it wasn’t exactly the most auspicious debut for White, who was charged with the loss.  Still, with one cup of coffee in the bigs now on his resume, White will return to Double-A and continue to prepare for what the Rangers hope will be a much longer and more productive stint in the majors down the road.  A consensus top-100 prospect, White has yet to reach Triple-A ball, but figures to get the promotion to Round Rock in the relatively near future.

As one top prospect heads back to the minors, another makes his return to the majors as Huff will again be part of the Rangers’ active roster.  Huff has appeared in 59 games since the start of the 2020 season (including five this season), but Jonah Heim has seemingly eclipsed him as the Rangers’ catcher of the future.  Today’s move indicates that Texas will stick with three catchers on the roster, as Heim figures to get most of the work behind the plate and Huff and Mitch Garver will either work in a backup capacity or Garver will continue to get DH at-bats.  Garver only recently returned from a two-month stint on the IL due to a left knee sprain, so with Garver being eased back into catching duty, the Rangers wanted the flexibility of an extra catcher.

Leon’s minor league contract was selected to the MLB roster when Garver was hurt, and while Leon has never been much known for his bat, he produced only a .146/.186/.195 slash line over 44 plate appearances.  If the veteran backstop clears DFA waivers, he has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, if Leon prefers to join a team whose catching depth chart is a little less crowded.  Known as a defensive specialist and expert game-caller, Leon could garner some interest on the DFA wire given how teams are constantly on the lookout for catching help.

Barlow was placed on the 15-day IL on May 29 due to kidney stones.  The right-hander posted a 2.81 ERA over 64 relief innings for Texas in 2021-22, but blister problems brought an early end to his 2022 season, and Barlow then struggled in Spring Training this year.  After starting the season at Triple-A, Barlow had only appeared in five games for the Rangers before hitting the IL.

Pirates Select Osvaldo Bido

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TODAY: The Pirates officially announced the move, with Canaan Smith-Njigba optioned to Triple-A as the corresponding move.

JUNE 13: The Pirates are calling up right-hander Osvaldo Bido to start tomorrow’s game against the Cubs, tweets Justice delos Santos of MLB.com. Pittsburgh will formally select his contract before the game. They have a trio of vacancies on the 40-man roster, so they’ll only need to make a corresponding active roster transaction.

Bido, 27, gets a big league call for the first time. The 6’3″ hurler entered the professional ranks in 2017, signing out of the Dominican Republic at age 21. That’s far older than the typical international amateur and has contributed to a lack of prospect attention, but Bido has pitched his way up over six-plus seasons.

He’s spent the past two years with Triple-A Indianapolis. Bido posted a 4.53 ERA over 111 1/3 innings last season. He carries a 4.55 mark across 55 1/3 frames this year, starting 10 of 12 outings. He has a solid 23.5% strikeout percentage but has walked a little under 11% of opponents. He had fairly similar strikeout and walk marks in 2022.

The Bucs kicked off a stretch of 13 consecutive game days with tonight’s loss to the Cubs. They’ll need a five-man rotation for the next couple weeks, which could give Bido a chance to make multiple appearances. General manager Ben Cherington said over the weekend that righty Roansy Contreras was moving to relief (relayed by Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Paired with season-ending surgery for Vince Velasquez, the Pirates are looking for some stability alongside Mitch Keller, Rich Hill, Luis Ortiz and Johan Oviedo.

Orioles Place Austin Voth On 15-Day IL, Designate Mark Kolozsvary, Select Reed Garrett

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The Orioles announced a trio of moves, including the selection of right-hander Reed Garrett’s contract from Triple-A Norfolk.  Garrett will take the place of righty Austin Voth, who was placed on the 15-day injured list due to right elbow discomfort.  To create space on the 40-man roster, Baltimore designated catcher Mark Kolozsvary for assignment.

Tests didn’t reveal any structural damage in Voth’s elbow, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including the Baltimore Sun’s Nathan Ruiz).  As such, Hyde said there’s a “very low” amount of concern over Voth’s elbow issue, but since the pitcher has been dealing with lingering soreness since Spring Training, a stint on the IL was deemed necessary to finally correct the problem.

Pitching through pain could explain Voth’s uninspiring numbers, as the right-hander has a 4.94 ERA and below-average walk and strikeout rates over 31 innings out of Baltimore’s bullpen.  On the positive side, Voth’s velocity hasn’t been effected, as his 93.4mph average fastball is only a touch below his 93.5mph number from last season.  It was just over a year ago that the Orioles selected Voth off waivers from the Nationals, and while the O’s used him mostly as a starter in 2022, Voth has exclusively worked as a reliever this season.

Garrett is another former National, as he posted a 6.75 ERA over 9 1/3 innings for Washington in 2022 before inking a minor league deal with the Orioles during the winter.  The 30-year-old’s only other MLB experience came in the form of 15 1/3 innings with the Tigers in 2019, but Garrett has 548 2/3 frames of minor league work under his belt, as well as two quality seasons in Japan with the Seibu Lions in 2020-21.

Over 22 2/3 innings with Norfolk, Garrett has a 1.59 ERA and a 28.4% strikeout rate, though his 10.4% walk rate is on the high side.  A huge 91.6% strand rate has also helped Garrett’s numbers, but overall, there’s certainly enough to merit the Orioles seeing what he can do at the big league level.

Kolozsvary just had his contract selected yesterday by the Orioles, and he played an inning of late-game mop-up work in Baltimore’s 11-6 win over the Blue Jays.  This represented the catcher’s 11th Major League game, after he made 10 appearances with the Reds in 2022.  Over 1146 PA and six seasons in the minors with the Cincinnati and Baltimore organizations, Kolozsvary has a .211/.320/.339 slash line.

Because he was outrighted off of the Orioles’ roster back in November, Kolozsvary can reject an outright assignment to Triple-A in favor of free agency.  Adley Rutschman and James McCann have the big league catching situation locked up, and while Rutschman’s regular DH usage means that the O’s might be in some need of an extra catcher, Anthony Bemboom is also at Triple-A as experienced depth.

Brewers Option Eric Lauer To Triple-A

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The Brewers activated Eric Lauer from the 15-day injured list yesterday, but optioned the left-hander to Triple-A Nashville rather than return him to the Major League roster.  Between injury and inconsistency, Lauer’s 2023 season has been a rough ride, and Brewers GM Matt Arnold told reporters (including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) the team felt the Triple-A move was necessary since “we want to get him right, to be healthy and be a contributor.”

Lauer has been out of action since May 22 due to an impingement in his right shoulder.  Though his throwing arm remained fine, Lauer told MLB.com and other reporters that his right shoulder problem still impacted his delivery, which could explain his shaky results this season.  Over 42 2/3 innings, Lauer had only a 5.48 ERA, 21.9% strikeout rate, and 10.7% walk rate, as well as high hard-contact rates.  The southpaw’s 13.5% barrel rate ranks near the bottom of the league, and all of these barrels have resulted in Lauer’s career-worst 20.6% home run rate.

Not a particularly hard thrower to begin with, Lauer had a big velocity drop, going from a 93.4mph average fastball in 2022 to a 90.9mph heater this season.  However, he said that recent bullpen sessions have brought some velo back, adding roughly 3-5mph to his fastball.  The results haven’t been there for Lauer over a pair of minor league rehab starts, but he’ll now get a fuller stretch in Nashville to get himself more fully back on track.

Lauer pitched well for Milwaukee over the last two seasons, moving into the rotation on a full-time basis in 2021 and delivering a 3.47 ERA over 277 1/3 innings in 2021-22.  His quality results and flexibility to work as a swingman if needed has been a valuable part of the Brew Crew’s pitching depth, yet that depth has been pretty severely tested this season by a number of injuries.  Fortunately for the Brewers, Wade Miley is projected to return from the IL this weekend, perhaps giving the team a bit of breathing room to send Lauer to Triple-A.

Heading into the 2023 season, Lauer has four full seasons and 33 days (or, 4.033) of Major League service time.  That total has now increased to 4.110 since Opening Day, so unless Lauer’s stint in Triple-A lasts quite a bit longer than expected, he shouldn’t be in jeopardy of not amassing the six full years of MLB service time required for free agency.  Lauer is currently slated to hit the open market following the 2024 season.

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