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A’s Outright Spencer Patton

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A’s reliever Spencer Patton has been sent outright to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to the MLB.com transaction log. He went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment on Saturday.

Patton signed a minor league contract with Oakland during the second week of the season. It didn’t take long for the 35-year-old to pitch his way onto the roster. He threw 8 1/3 innings over six outings for Las Vegas, allowing four runs with a 10:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The A’s called him up during the first week of May and deployed him four times out of their bullpen before taking him off the roster two days ago.

The right-hander tallied 5 1/3 innings of relief. He surrendered a couple home runs and allowed four runs overall in that brief look. It marked the third straight season in which the SIU Edwardsville product reached the major league level. Patton pitched seven times for the Rangers last year on the heels of a 42 1/3 inning, 3.83 ERA showing for Texas back in 2021. He’s appeared in parts of six MLB seasons overall, sandwiching a four-year run in Japan.

Patton has gone unclaimed on outright waivers multiple times in his career. That gives him the right to elect minor league free agency instead of reporting back to Las Vegas if he’d prefer to look for other opportunities.

Ian Kennedy Elects Free Agency

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Reliever Ian Kennedy elected minor league free agency after going unclaimed on outright waivers, according to the transaction tracker at MLB.com. The Rangers had designated the right-hander for assignment last week.

Kennedy heads back to the open market in search of a new opportunity after a brief second stint in Texas. The 17-year MLB veteran had had some success with the Rangers during the first half of 2021 leading up to a deadline trade that sent him to Philadelphia. He returned over the winter on a minor league pact and broke camp with the club but only made 11 appearances in his second stint.

The 38-year-old surrendered ten runs in as many innings. He struck out 13 out of 46 hitters (an impressive 28.3% rate) while issuing just three walks. He earned swinging strikes on a massive 16.3% of his offerings, which would easily be the best mark of his career if he could sustain it. Opponents made a lot of quality contact when they did get the ball in play, though, contributing to Texas’ decision to move on. Kennedy also struggled with hard contact last year in Arizona, leading to a 5.36 ERA across 50 1/3 frames.

While the past season-plus has been a struggle, Kennedy has been a quality late-game reliever at times. He saved 30 games with a 3.41 ERA for the Royals back in 2019 and picked up 26 more saves while allowing 3.20 earned runs per nine during the ’21 campaign divided between Texas and the Phillies. Between that track record and this year’s small sample swinging strike numbers, Kennedy should be able to at least find minor league interest elsewhere.

Padres Select Drew Carlton

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The Padres announced this evening they’ve selected reliever Drew Carlton onto the big league club. Southpaw Ryan Weathers was optioned to Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding move. San Diego transferred lefty Drew Pomeranz from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list to clear a 40-man roster spot.

Carlton is now in line to make his team debut. The 27-year-old inked a minor league contract with San Diego over the winter. He’d previously spent his entire career with the Tigers, including a pair of stints at the MLB level between 2021-22. Carlton got into nine games over those two seasons, throwing 12 1/3 innings. He allowed six runs (four earned) with eight strikeouts and four walks.

Those were decent results for a middle reliever, though Carlton didn’t overwhelm hitters. His fastball sat in the 90-91 MPH range and he generated swinging strikes at a modest 7.8% clip. The righty allowed a 4.78 ERA in spite of a strong 27.3% strikeout rate and excellent 4.5% walk percentage through 58 1/3 Triple-A innings last season. He became a minor league free agent after being outrighted from Detroit’s 40-man roster during the summer.

Since signing with San Diego, Carlton has been lights out in Triple-A. He’s allowed only four runs (two earned) in 16 innings. The Florida State product has punched out 18 against five walks and induced grounders on half the batted balls he’s allowed. He’ll return to the majors for a third consecutive year as a result. Carlton still has two minor league options remaining, so the Friars can freely send him back to Triple-A without putting him on waivers.

Weathers has started four of six outings at the major league level this season. He’s posted a 3.42 ERA but is only striking out hitters at a 15.2% clip over 23 2/3 innings. The Padres already have a starting staff of Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Blake Snell. They’ll keep Weathers working in a starting capacity in El Paso behind that group.

Pomeranz hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since undergoing flexor tendon surgery that ended his 2021 season. He’d been on a rehab assignment last month but shut things down for a couple weeks after feeling some arm discomfort. It doesn’t seem an especially concerning issue, as Pomeranz is already back out on a rehab stint with El Paso. He’ll need time to get back to complete game shape, though. His IL stint backdates to Opening Day and only officially rules him out until the final week of May. It was unlikely Pomeranz would’ve completed his rehab work before then regardless, so it’s mostly a procedural transaction.

Cubs Select Nick Burdi, Option Hayden Wesneski

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The Cubs announced a series of roster moves prior to tonight’s opener in Houston (relayed by Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune). Chicago selected reliever Nick Burdi onto the MLB roster and recalled Jeremiah Estrada from Triple-A Iowa. In corresponding moves, starter Hayden Wesneski was optioned while reliever Brad Boxberger landed on the 15-day injured list with a forearm strain. The Cubs placed Adrian Sampson on the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Burdi.

Burdi, 30, returns to the majors for the first time since 2020. A second round pick of the Twins in 2014, he preceded younger brother Zack Burdi in going from star college closer at Louisville to highly-regarded professional relief pitching prospect. Burdi never made it past Double-A in the Minnesota system thanks to injuries and strike-throwing concerns. The Pirates eventually added him (by way of trade with Philadelphia) in the 2017 Rule 5 draft.

The right-hander went on to pitch in parts of three seasons with Pittsburgh. He tallied just 12 1/3 combined innings, however, as successive Tommy John and thoracic outlet procedures mostly kept him off the mound. Burdi allowed 14 runs despite an impressive 23 strikeouts in his limited big league look and he spent all of 2021-22 on the minor league injured list.

Chicago nevertheless took a no-cost flier this offseason. They added him from the Padres — with whom he’d signed a minor league deal — in the Triple-A portion of the Rule 5 draft. He was assigned to Iowa and has pitched well in his long-awaited return to the mound. Through 10 2/3 innings, he’s allowed just four runs while punching out an excellent 19 of 49 hitters (a 38.8% clip). He’s walked five batters and hit three more but the ability to miss bats is still clearly present if he’s able to stay healthy.

Burdi racked up three years of major league service with all of his time on the IL for Pittsburgh. He still has a full slate of minor league option years remaining, so the Cubs can move him between Chicago and Iowa without exposing him to waivers. He’ll be eligible for arbitration through at least 2026 if he can carve out a lasting 40-man spot.

For now, he’ll take the bullpen spot vacated by Boxberger. The veteran right-hander has had a tough go since signing a $2.8MM free agent deal with Chicago. Through 17 appearances, he’s been tagged for a 5.52 ERA and walked just under 14% of opposing hitters. Boxberger’s average fastball velocity is down a tick from where it sat last season with the Brewers, perhaps a reflection of him pitching through some discomfort. He’ll be out of action for at least a couple weeks; the Cubs haven’t provided any specifics on his return timetable.

Wesneski is one of the top starting pitching prospects in the Chicago farm system. Acquired from the Yankees for Scott Effross at last summer’s trade deadline, he impressed over six appearances late last season. That success hasn’t yet carried over for the 25-year-old. He’s allowed a 5.03 ERA over 39 1/3 innings through eight starts. Wesneski has surrendered an untenable 10 home runs and posted a 16.7% strikeout percentage and 8.2% swinging strike rate that are each well below the league average.

It had seemed as if Wesneksi was righting the ship following a slow start to the season. He’d rattled off three straight one-run outings since April 27 before a seven-run drubbing at the hands of the Twins on Saturday. The Cubs decided to give him some time for a reset in Iowa, leaving a four-man starting staff of Marcus Stroman, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon and Drew Smyly. Chicago is off on Thursday and next Monday, allowing them to get by without a fifth starter until the end of next week. By then, Kyle Hendricks figures to be ready for his first MLB action of the season. The veteran hurler has made four rehab starts with Iowa as he works back from a strain in his shoulder that cut short his 2022 campaign.

Sampson has yet to pitch in the majors this season. The right-hander suffered a right knee injury in Triple-A and underwent surgery two weeks ago. He’ll be out until at least the middle of July as a result. The only silver lining is that he’ll paid a major league salary for time spent on the injured list now that the Cubs put him on the MLB IL to clear the 40-man roster spot.

Brewers Sign Darin Ruf, Place Luke Voit On IL

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The Brewers announced they have signed first baseman/outfielder Darin Ruf to a one-year contract. Right-hander Brandon Woodruff was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster while first baseman Luke Voit was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained neck to get Ruf onto the active roster. Additionally, the club optioned righty Colin Rea and recalled fellow righty Trevor Megill.

Ruf, 36, has had some success as a lefty-mashing specialist in his career, though he’s been struggling a bit over the past year. After a successful stint in the KBO League from 2017 to 2019, he returned to North America by signing with the Giants prior to 2020. In that shortened season and the subsequent campaign, he hit .272/.381/.519 in 412 plate appearances for a 142 wRC+, including a .275/.390/.579 line and 156 wRC+ against southpaws.

Last year, his overall line dipped to .216/.328/.373, which led to a passable 104 wRC+ but that was obviously not as strong as his previous work. After a trade to the Mets, his production cratered, as he mustered a paltry .152/.216/.197 line the rest of the way. The Mets held onto him through the winter but designated him for assignment at the end of Spring Training. Ruf then returned to the Giants and hit a solid .261/.370/.348 in a tiny sample of nine games before landing on the injured list due to wrist inflammation. He was later reinstated from the IL and designated for assignment when the club selected shortstop prospect Casey Schmitt.

Ruf cleared waivers and elected free agency. Since the Mets initially released him, they are still on the hook for the majority of Ruf’s salary, which is $3MM this year along with a $250K buyout on a 2024 option. The Brewers will only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time Ruf spends on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Mets pay. That makes it a fairly low-risk move, at least from a financial perspective, as the Brewers see if Ruf can get back to the excellent form he showed a few years ago.

He will effectively be replacing Voit on the roster as the club’s right-handed hitting first baseman/designated hitter. Voit was signed to a one-year, $2MM deal for this season but has slumped to a .221/.284/.265 showing so far this year for a wRC+ of just 55. Once one of the most potent power hitters in the league, he led the league in homers in the shortened 2020 season before various injuries seemed to slow him down. He hit an average-ish .230/.314/.412 for a wRC+ of 105 over 2021 and 2022 while bouncing from the Yankees to the Padres and Nationals, going on the injured list for an oblique strain and ongoing knee problems. The Brewers gave him a shot this year but he hasn’t been able to capitalize on it just yet and he might have to battle Ruf for his roster spot whenever his neck strain subsides.

As for Woodruff, his transfer to the 60-day IL doesn’t come as a surprise. He was diagnosed with a Grade 2 subscapular strain in his right shoulder in April and isn’t expected back until late June. He’ll now be ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement of April 8, which would be early June. Since he wasn’t expected to return until after that point anyway, this transfer was an inevitable formality.

Rockies Select Fernando Abad, Place C.J. Cron On IL

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The Rockies announced they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Fernando Abad and recalled infielder/outfielder Michael Toglia from Triple-A Albuquerque. In corresponding moves, first baseman C.J. Cron was placed on the 10-day injured list while right-hander Nick Mears was placed on the 15-day IL, retroactive to May 12, due to a left oblique strain. There was already a vacancy on the club’s 40-man roster for Abad, meaning no corresponding move will be necessary in that regard.

Abad gets back to the big leagues for the first time in two years. The veteran southpaw signed a minor league deal over the winter after spending 2022 in Triple-A with the Mariners. He went to Albuquerque and has performed exceptionally well in one of affiliated ball’s toughest parks for pitchers. Abad has thrown 16 innings of three-run ball, fanning 20 hitters while walking just a pair.

Now 37, Abad has pitched in parts of 10 big league campaigns. He carries a 3.77 ERA over 348 1/3 innings, striking out a below-average 19.6% of opposing hitters but keeping his walks to a reasonable 8.3% clip. He joins Brent Suter and Brad Hand as veteran left-handed options for manager Bud Black in relief.

Black told reporters yesterday the struggling Cron was likely to hit the IL with back spasms. Toglia comes up for the first time this season to at least factor into the first base mix. The former first round pick is hitting .257/.364/.493 over 37 games with the Isotopes. He had a tough go in his first major league action last season, putting up a .216/.275/.378 line over 120 trips to the plate.

Rangers Select Cody Bradford

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May 15: The Rangers have made it official, announcing the selection of Bradford’s contract today. In a corresponding move, righty Yerry Rodríguez was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock.

May 14: The Rangers announced that Cody Bradford will have his contract selected from Triple-A on Monday, as Bradford is slated to start Texas’ game against the Braves.  The 25-year-old left-hander will be making his Major League debut.  Texas will have to make a corresponding move for the 26-man active roster, but there’s already space on the 40-man after Ian Kennedy was designated for assignment earlier this week.

It might end up being just a cup of coffee in the Show for Bradford, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News notes that the Rangers are using him as a spot starter to give the rotation an extra day of rest.  The Rangers are 10 games into a stretch of 13 games in 13 consecutive days, and the rotation is already a little short-handed with Dane Dunning taking the place of the injured Jacob deGrom.  Dunning has pitched well in his first two starts but hasn’t thrown more than 72 pitches, so he’ll a bit of a breather before taking the mound again on Tuesday.

This opens the door for Bradford to make his first big league appearance in front of his local fans, as Bradford’s hometown of Aledo, Texas is about 40 minutes west of Globe Life Field.  Bradford also stayed close to home in playing his college ball at Baylor, and the Rangers made him a sixth-round pick in the 2019 draft.  Between thoracic outlet surgery and the canceled 2020 minor league season, Bradford didn’t make his pro debut until 2021.

Perhaps due to this layoff, the southpaw was rather inconsistent at high-A and Double-A in 2021 and 2022, though he limited walks and had respectable strikeout numbers.  This season has been a big surge in bottom-line results, as Bradford has a tiny 0.91 ERA over seven starts and 39 2/3 innings at Triple-A Round Rock.  A .206 BABIP and a huge 92.5% strand rate indicate a lot of good luck in that minuscule ERA, but Bradford has also allowed only one home run, which is a positive step after surrendering 18 long balls over 118 2/3 frames last year.

Baseball America ranks Bradford 22nd amongst Rangers prospects, while MLB Pipeline ranks him 26th.  His 60-grade changeup is considered to be his best pitch, while his 55-grade fastball has good movement despite an average velocity in the low 90s.  Bradford started using a cutter last season that is showing good results as both a third offering, and as a way to better disguise a slider that has been mostly ineffective, as per BA’s scouting report.

Angels Recall Livan Soto, Place Anthony Rendon On IL

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May 15: The Angels announced a series of roster moves today, including the recall of Soto and the reinstatement of catcher Chad Wallach from the injured list. In corresponding moves, Rendon was placed on the 10-day IL due to a left groin strain, retroactive to May 14, while catcher Chris Okey was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake.

May 14: The Angels will be calling up infielder Livan Soto from Double-A to the majors, according to Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extra Base (Twitter link).  Soto began the season at Triple-A, but was shifted down to Double-A Rocket City about a month ago.

The hitting hasn’t been there for Soto this season, as he has hit only .177/.349/.226 over 129 combined plate appearances at the two minor league levels, with only slightly improved numbers at Double-A.  This lack of production makes the two-level promotion a little unusual, but the Angels also promoted Soto to the majors in 2022 without any Triple-A experience, and he posted an impressive .996 OPS over 59 PA after making his Major League debut.

Soto has drawn far more praise for his glove than his bat during his six minor league seasons, as scouts consider him a big-league caliber defender at shortstop.  He has also played a good deal of second base in the minors and a handful of games at third base, so Soto will provide the Halos with some utility infield depth.

Some extra infield help is perhaps a sign that Anthony Rendon might require a trip to the injured list.  Rendon left Saturday’s game due to left groin tightness, and Angels manager Phil Nevin told reporters (including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger) today that Rendon was going to miss a couple of games while being evaluated.

It could be that the testing has revealed an injury that requires some time off for Rendon, or since the Angels don’t have an off-day until May 25, the team might be making a precautionary IL placement just to fully heal Rendon up, and to not leave the roster short-handed.  Conversely, Rendon might be avoiding the IL and another player might end up being optioned or designated for assignment to make room for Soto.

Braves Claim Dereck Rodríguez, Transfer Kyle Wright To 60-Day IL

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The Braves announced that they have claimed right-hander Dereck Rodríguez off waivers from the Twins and optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett. Fellow righty Kyle Wright was transferred to the 60-day injured list in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Rotation depth has suddenly become a serious issue for the Atlanta club. Both Max Fried and Kyle Wright have landed on the injured list recently, with the former battling a forearm strain and the latter a lingering shoulder issue. The reported plan for Fried is for him to be shut down long enough that he will then have to effectively rebuild from scratch, suggesting a potential absence of a couple of months. Last week, Wright said he is expecting to be out of action even longer than Fried, so it’s not a shock to see him land on the 60-day injured list today. He’ll now be ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which was on May 4, ruling him out officially until early July.

Those injuries have cast a spotlight on the club’s starting mix, which is down to three primary members in Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton and Bryce Elder. The club has some depth starters on its 40-man roster that it could call upon, but it doesn’t seem like Michael Soroka will be up in the immediate future. He’s still looking to get into a consistent rhythm after hardly pitching since 2019 due to various injuries, including a pair of Achilles ruptures. Mark Bowman of MLB.com recently spoke to manager Brian Snitker about Soroka, though it doesn’t seem as though the club is going to let the recent injuries to Fried and Wright alter their approach to Soroka’s return to action. Other options on the roster include Dylan Dodd and Jared Shuster, though neither fared especially well in their brief major league looks earlier this year. Ian Anderson won’t be an option for the rest of the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery last month.

All of those question marks give the club a significant challenge in navigating the next couple of months, which is surely what led to the claim of Rodríguez. The right-hander who turns 31 next month had a solid debut season with the Giants in 2018 but has struggled since. That first season in the bigs saw him post an ERA of 2.81 in 118 1/3 innings, but his ERA jumped to 5.64 in the following season. He’s only been able to scratch out sporadic major league outings since then, appearing in five games since the start of 2020.

He’s spent the past couple of seasons bouncing on and off the Twins’ roster. He was twice selected to join the club in 2022, once in April and once in September, making one appearance before getting quickly designated for assignment in each case. He returned to the organization on another minor league deal this winter and was added to the 40-man a couple of weeks ago. He pitched two thirds of an inning on Friday before getting optioned back to Triple-A. It wasn’t publicly reported that he was designated for assignment but the Twins evidently tried to pass him through waivers in recent days, which led to today’s claim.

Prior to getting called up to the big leagues this year, he had made seven appearances for the St. Paul Saints, tossing 19 1/3 innings with a 4.66 ERA while striking out 23.5% of batters faced against an 11.8% walk rate. In 94 2/3 innings at Triple-A last year, he had a 4.75 ERA, 22.7% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate. He’ll head to Gwinnett and will presumably be competing with the likes of Dodd and Shuster for roles in the majors over the coming months. The big league club is still in first place in the National League East but have lost four in a row and seem less of a lock in that division than they did a week ago.

Reds Place TJ Friedl On IL With Oblique Strain

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The Reds announced a series of roster moves today, including the selection of prospect Matt McLain, which was reported on yesterday. To make room for McLain on the active roster, outfielder TJ Friedl was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left oblique strain, retroactive to May 12. To open a spot for McLain on the 40-man roster, first baseman Joey Votto was transferred to the 60-day IL. Additionally, left-hander Brandon Williamson is with the club on the taxi squad.

Friedl recently underwent an MRI which revealed only mild damage, though manager David Bell said on the weekend that the club would take 48 hours to decide on whether or not an IL trip was needed. It seems that they have decided on the cautious approach and will give Friedl a bit of a breather. Since the move is backdated, he can return in a week if the issue does indeed prove to be minor.

The loss of Friedl is rough for the Reds, as he’s been having a great season so far. He’s hitting .306/.351/.468 for a wRC+ of 117 while stealing four bases and getting good grades for his glovework, leading to a tally of 1.2 wins above replacement from FanGraphs after just 37 games. He’ll now hit the shelf but his absence will create an opening for McLain, one of the club’s many interesting infield prospects.

Votto’s move to the 60-day injured list isn’t a shock as he’s still trying to get healthy in the wake of last year’s rotator cuff and bicep surgery. He started a rehab assignment earlier this year but halted that in the middle of April and has yet to resume playing in official games. Since the 60-day count goes from his initial IL placement at the end of March, he’s now ineligible to return until late May, which didn’t seem to be on the table anyway.

As for Williamson, he’s one of the club’s top pitching prospects and could potentially be making his major league debut this week. The Reds have a couple of rotation vacancies after recently designating Luis Cessa for assignment and placing Nick Lodolo on the injured list. Perhaps Williamson will be slotted into one of those openings, though that has yet to be made official. He’s already on the 40-man roster but would require a corresponding move to get onto the active roster.

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