Padres Place Rich Hill On Waivers
The Padres have placed veteran lefty Rich Hill on waivers, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. They’ll see if another team wants to claim southpaw — and the remaining $817K on this year’s $8MM salary in the process. If Hill goes unclaimed, he can remain with the Padres. They don’t have to outright him to a minor league affiliate.
Hill, 43, was acquired from the Pirates alongside Ji Man Choi prior to the trade deadline but hasn’t performed as hoped. In seven appearances with the Friars, he’s logged a 9.27 ERA, yielding 23 runs over the life of 22 1/3 innings. He was far more serviceable in Pittsburgh, where he logged a 4.76 ERA in 119 frames over the season’s first three months. Hill isn’t missing bats like he used to, with a below-average 19.6% strikeout rate against a slightly higher-than-average 8.9% walk rate.
It hasn’t been Hill’s best season, but he’s only a year removed from starting 26 games for the Red Sox and turning in a 4.27 earned run average with a slightly improved 20.7% strikeout rate and a sharp 7% walk rate. He wouldn’t be postseason-eligible with a new team, as players are required to be in their organization prior to Sept. 1 in order to qualify for that distinction. Still, a team in need of some innings down the stretch could certainly look to Hill as a veteran stopgap. He’s also voiced a desire to continue his career into 2024 — his age-44 season — so a quick stint elsewhere in the season’s final three weeks could serve as an audition of sorts for next year.
Hill’s recent performance and remaining salary give him a good chance at passing through waivers. However, if a team were to claim him, he’d have the potential to make some anecdotal history. The Padres are the 13th team of Hill’s career, placing him one shy of Edwin Jackson‘s oddball record of 14 teams. If a new team claims Hill, he could tie Jackson’s mark and perhaps pass it this offseason, though that’s surely not of great consequence to him. (Immaculate Grid players, on the other hand, would surely welcome the record.)
In 379 career games dating all the way back to 2005, Hill has pitched 1400 1/3 innings, logging an overall 4.01 ERA with an 89-73 record, 23.9% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate. A new team and a potential offseason deal to come back for a 20th Major League season would give him a chance at topping 1500 innings and 100 wins in a career that’s been as lengthy as it has unusual.
Mariners Select Luis Torrens
The Mariners announced that they have selected the contract of catcher Luis Torrens, with fellow backstop Brian O’Keefe placed on the paternity list in a corresponding move. There was already a vacancy on their 40-man roster.
Seattle was operating with Tom Murphy as its backup to Cal Raleigh for much of the year, but Murphy landed on the injured list in August due to a thumb issue, which bumped O’Keefe into the job. It was reported earlier today that Murphy’s injury, initially reported as a displaced tendon, was actually revealed to be a fracture once the swelling subsided. He’s been shut down from baseball activities for the next 10 days and may not be able to return to the team this year.
Now with O’Keefe leaving the club for a few days, that has bumped Torrens up to the big league club. Torrens was signed to a minor league deal in August to provide some extra depth after Murphy’s injury and O’Keefe’s promotion. He’s been wearing many jerseys this season, having signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in the offseason and cracking that club’s Opening Day roster. But he was designated for assignment about a month into the season and traded to the Orioles for cash. But he got the DFA treatment again less than a week later, eventually clearing waivers before electing free agency and signing another minors deal with the Nationals. After about six weeks without getting promoted to the big leagues, he opted out of that deal, which allowed him to sign with the M’s.
Amid all of those transactions, he hit .250/.318/.300 in 22 big league plate appearances and .244/.295/.442 in 95 trips to the plate in the minors. He’s generally considered to be a bat-first catcher, which he showed with the Mariners in 2021. He hit 15 home runs in 378 plate appearances that year but his 26.2% strikeout rate has ticked up since. It climbed to 30.1% last year and 36.4% this year, leading to his nomadic trip around the league.
He’ll now get another shot at the big leagues, which may be brief, depending on what happens when O’Keefe comes back. The latter has options and could be sent down to the minors in order to preserve depth, though Torrens is out of options. It’s also possible the club keeps three catchers for the stretch run, with expanded rosters giving them a bit more roster flexibility. If Torrens hangs onto his roster spot, he can be retained via arbitration for three more seasons.
Reds Designate Chasen Shreve For Assignment
The Reds announced today that left-hander Brandon Williamson has been activated from the COVID-19 injured list, with fellow lefty Chasen Shreve designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Shreve, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in the offseason and cracked that club’s Opening Day roster. He posted a 4.79 earned run average over 47 appearances before getting released in August as that team began giving opportunities to younger players.
He landed with the Reds on a minors deal and was one of many pitchers recently ushered to the majors as the club dealt with a COVID outbreak. Over the past couple of weeks, five pitchers and one position player have been placed on the COVID IL, necessitating frequent roster moves as the club tried to continually bring in fresh arms. Shreve pitched 3 1/3 innings for Cincinnati since being added to the roster, allowing one earned run in that time. But as the affected players have been returning to the roster of late, Shreve has now been nudged out.
With the trade deadline long gone, the Reds will place Shreve on waivers in the coming days. If he were to pass through unclaimed, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. However, since it’s after September 1, he would not have postseason eligibility with any new club he joins. The Reds are within two games of the final Wild Card spot in the National League, so perhaps that gives Shreve incentive to stick around and hope for a shot at postseason play.
It’s also possible that he garners attention on waivers, based on his track record. His combined 4.63 ERA on the year isn’t especially impressive but his 23.3% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate are both solid. He has a career ERA of 3.97 over 367 career appearances. The Tigers are on the hook for what’s left of his salary, meaning a claiming club would only have to pay him the prorated version of the league minimum for any time spent on the roster.
Yankees Claim Luke Weaver From Mariners
The Yankees have claimed right-hander Luke Weaver off waivers from the Mariners, per announcements from both clubs. Weaver had recently been designated for assignment by the M’s. Lefty Nestor Cortes was transferred to the 60-day injured list in order to open up a spot on the Yankees’ 40-man roster.
Weaver, 30, began the year with the Reds, signing with them in the offseason on a one-year contract worth $2MM. Although he had shown some encouraging signs working as a reliever in 2022, the Reds tried moving him back to a starting role this year, which didn’t work out. He tooks the ball 21 times for the Reds but posted a 6.87 earned run average in 97 innings, getting released in August.
The Mariners decided to take a shot on Weaver, signing him to their roster. That was a no-risk move from a financial perspective, since the Reds remained on the hook for what remained of his salary. He made five appearances for Seattle, four of them out of the bullpen. But he posted an ERA of 6.08 in that small sample and was designated for assignment on the weekend.
Despite his poor results this year, it’s understandable why the Yankees would grab him. The Reds are still on the hook for the bulk of what remains of his contract, meaning that the Yanks will only have to pay the prorated version of the $720K league minimum for any time spent on the roster. That amount will be subtracted from what the Reds pay.
The Yankees have been battling poor health on their pitching staff all year, a problem that has gotten worse of late. Each of Ian Hamilton, Keynan Middleton, Jonathan Loáisiga, Albert Abreu and Luis Severino have landed on the injured list in just the past two weeks, further thinning out a staff that was already fairly snakebit. The club now has a total of 11 pitchers on the injured list.
At this time of year, adding new players is a challenge since the trade deadline has already passed. But by claiming Weaver off waivers, the Yankees get a fresh arm for their banged-up pitching staff at essentially no cost.
Weaver’s career has been up and down but he has shown flashes of potential at times. He posted an ERA of 2.94 in 2019, though injuries limited him to just 12 starts that year and he’s been less effective in subsequent years. Working primarily as a reliever last year didn’t look great on the surface level, with a 6.56 ERA in 35 2/3 innings, though poor luck may have been involved. His batting average on balls in play was .429 while his strand rate was 58.6%, leading to a 2.69 FIP and 3.64 SIERA.
Weaver will be a free agent again at season’s end, but donning the pinstripes will possibly give him a chance to finish the season strong, while the Yankees can use him to help patch together their pitching staff and limp to the end of a lost year.
As for Cortes, he’s been dealing with a rotator cuff strain and manager Aaron Boone admitted last month that he likely wouldn’t be back this year. This move makes it official, as he now won’t be eligible to return until 60 days from his August 8 IL placement, which would push into October. He’ll finish the year with a 4.97 ERA, only able to make 12 starts due to multiple injuries.
Yankees Select Zach McAllister
The Yankees announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of veteran righty Zach McAllister from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and placed right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his right elbow. Anthony Rizzo was transferred to the 60-day injured list to create space for McAllister on the 40-man roster. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported shortly before the team’s official announcement that McAllister was slated to be called up to the big leagues.
It’s the 35-year-old McAllister’s first big league stint since the 2018 season. Originally selected by the Yankees in the the third round of the 2006 draft, it’ll also be McAllister’s debut appearance with the organization that started his big league career. The Yankees traded McAllister to Cleveland in a 2010 swap that brought outfielder Austin Kearns back to the Bronx. He went onto become a solid arm both in the rotation and the bullpen, but McAllister’s peak proved brief.
From 2012-13, McAllister started 46 games and pitched 259 2/3 innings for the since-renamed Indians, logging a 3.99 ERA along the way. He struggled in 15 starts the following season but found new life after a move to the bullpen. From 2015-17, he was a key member of Terry Francona’s relief corps, compiling 183 1/3 frames of 2.99 ERA ball.
McAllister again got out to a rough start to begin the 2018 season and this time found himself cut loose by the only big league club he’d ever known. He briefly signed with his longtime division-rival Tigers late in that 2018 season but pitched just 3 1/3 innings while allowing eight runs. He hasn’t pitched in the Majors since.
Since that brief stint in Detroit, McAllister has quickly reached journeyman status. He’s inked minor league deals with the Dodgers (twice), Rangers, Phillies, Cardinals and Diamondbacks but never climbed back to the Majors with any of them. That hasn’t stopped him from continuing his efforts to grind his way back to the show, and he’ll finally get that opportunity after a half decade in the minors — with the team that originally drafted him 17 years ago.
Plenty has gone wrong for the Yankees’ this year, but McAllister’s promotion was well-earned even when setting aside Loaisiga’s unfortunate injury. Since signing with the Yankees earlier this summer, he’s pitched 16 2/3 innings with the RailRiders, recording a pristine 1.62 ERA with a 20-to-4 K/BB ratio (33.3% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate). He’ll be a free agent again at season’s end and won’t be pitching for a postseason contender, but that won’t make the return to the Majors any less sweet for him after a lengthy, half-decade odyssey around the minor league circuit.
Reds Outright Kevin Herget
Reds right-hander Kevin Herget was not claimed on waivers after being designated for assignment and has been outrighted to Triple-A Louisville, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. As a player who’s been outrighted in the past, he’ll have the option to reject the assignment in favor of free agency if he chooses.
Herget made his big league debut as a 31-year-old rookie with the Rays last year and has logged 24 1/3 big league innings with Cincinnati in 2023. In all, Herget has tossed 31 1/3 innings in the big leagues and logged a 5.74 ERA with a tepid 12.6% strikeout rate but excellent 4.4% walk rate.
Herget enjoyed a fantastic year with the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate in 2022, logging 97 1/3 innings of 2.95 ERA ball with a 24.4% strikeout rate against a 3.9% walk rate. He hasn’t been able to sustain that pace in Louisville, recording a 5.01 earned run average in a smaller sample of 41 1/3 innings. Overall, Herget has pitched in parts of six minor league seasons and notched a respectable 4.23 ERA with a 22.5% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate.
Even if Herget accepts the assignment to Triple-A, he’ll be eligible for minor league free agency again at season’s end (barring a selection back to the 40-man roster in Cincinnati, of course). He’d surely draw interest as a depth option on a minor league contract, given his work in Triple-A and broader 3.55 ERA in parts of ten minor league campaigns.
Orioles Activate John Means
The Orioles announced Tuesday that they’ve activated left-hander John Means from the 60-day injured list and optioned right-hander Joey Krehbiel to Triple-A Norfolk. Baltimore already had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, so optioning Krehbiel is the only move needed to reinstate Means. The 30-year-old Means is slated to start tonight’s game for the O’s — his first appearance on a big league mound since April 13, 2022. He’s spent the past 17 months rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
A great deal has changed for the O’s since Means last took the mound. He was caught by Anthony Bemboom during his most recent start, as then-prospect Adley Rutschman had yet to make his big league debut. Rougned Odor, Ramon Urias and Jorge Mateo rounded out the infield after first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, as the Orioles awaited the rise of prospects like Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg. When Means’ last game with the O’s concluded, Baltimore sat at 1-5 on the young 2022 campaign and was hoping to avoid a seventh straight losing season.
Fast forward to present day, and the Orioles have become the class of the American League, boasting the junior circuit’s best record and leading the Rays by three games in the American League East. Rutschman and Henderson have not only debuted but broken out as star-caliber, cornerstone players. Top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez has shaken off a rough start to his big league career, pitching to a 2.95 ERA in 10 starts since being return to the big leagues in mid-July.
Means will step into the rotation alongside Rodriguez and fellow breakout righty Kyle Bradish, who’s pitched to a 3.03 ERA (3.40 FIP, 3.83 SIERA) in 145 2/3 innings. Right-hander Dean Kremer and veteran Kyle Gibson have both made 29 starts apiece as well, though Gibson has struggled of late.
A healthy Means would be a major boost to the Orioles’ rotation, particularly with Bradish, Rodriguez, Kremer and Tyler Wells — who’s been optioned to Triple-A and moved to the bullpen — all establishing new career-high workloads this season. The O’s will probably be somewhat cautious with Means as he continues to distance himself from that surgery, but he’s already built up to 86 pitches in a minor league rehab assignment that saw him post a 3.74 ERA over 21 2/3 innings.
Prior to his injury, Means was a 2019 All-Star and AL Rookie of the Year runner-up. The lefty posted a 3.60 ERA in 155 frames during that rookie campaign, and from 2019-22 he tallied 353 1/3 innings of 3.72 ERA ball. He struck out a slightly below-average 21.2% of his opponents but also posted a terrific 5.1% walk rate and excelled at limiting hard contact (87.8 mph average exit velocity, 34.5% hard-hit rate). Anything resembling that form would immediately make him one of the Orioles’ three best starters, though expectations should probably be tempered in the early stages of any pitcher’s return from a major surgery.
While mending from that April 2022 procedure, Means has continued to accrue Major League service time. He’s playing out the second season of a two-year, $5.95MM deal that covered the entirety of his rehab. He’ll be eligible for one final raise via arbitration this winter before reaching free agency in the 2024-25 offseason.
Ben Gamel Elects Free Agency
Padres outfielder Ben Gamel rejected an outright assignment in favor of free agency after clearing waivers, per his transaction log at MLB.com. He’s now able to sign with any club, though he wouldn’t be postseason-eligible with a new team and would be a free agent again once the season wraps up, given his six-plus years of service time.
Gamel, 31, appeared in just six games with the Padres before being designated for assignment. He went 3-for-15 with a double in that tiny sample but has posted a combined .286/.402/.498 line in 332 plate appearances between the Triple-A affiliates for the Rays and Padres in 2023.
His brief big league action this year marked the eighth season in which the veteran Gamel has seen time in the Majors. He’s previously suited up for the Mariners, Pirates, Brewers, Guardians and Yankees as well, logging a career .252/.332/.384 slash with 40 homers, 108 doubles, 15 triples and 21 stolen bases in 2221 plate appearances. Gamel is light on power but also boasts a keen eye at the plate (career 10.1% walk rate). He’s played all three outfield positions and (much more briefly) first base, though the bulk of his time in the Majors has been spent as a left fielder.
If he doesn’t sign somewhere between now and season’s end, Gamel will likely draw interest in minor league free agency over the winter, as he did last offseason before ultimately signing a minor league pact with the Rays. The left-handed-hitting Gamel has minimal platoon splits in the big leagues and is a career .302/.377/.460 hitter in 1644 Triple-A plate appearances, so he’s a nice depth option to have on hand, at the very least.
Diamondbacks Release Nick Ahmed
The D-Backs released Nick Ahmed over the weekend, tweets Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic. He’s officially a free agent.
There was never any doubt the veteran shortstop would hit the open market after Arizona designated him for assignment last Wednesday. Players in DFA limbo have to go on waivers after the trade deadline. Ahmed has well more than the five years of major league service necessary to decline a minor league assignment while retaining his entire salary. With around $1.4MM in remaining guarantees on his $10MM salary at the time of the DFA, no other club was going to put in a claim.
The 33-year-old infielder becomes a free agent for the first time in his career. He’d signed a $32.5MM extension with the D-Backs going into the 2020 campaign, which would’ve been his platform year. The defensive stalwart hit .230/.285/.351 in 954 plate appearances over the course of that deal. That includes a .212/.257/.303 slash this season.
Ahmed has been healthy this season after losing most of last year to shoulder surgery. He’s still a quality defensive shortstop. The D-Backs turned to 21-year-old top prospect Jordan Lawlar to try to add some spark to the lineup, though, pushing Ahmed off the roster a few weeks before his contract was set to expire.
The 10-year veteran will surely at least find minor league interest based on the strength of his glove — although that might not materialize until the winter. Now that the calendar has turned to September, he’d be ineligible for postseason play elsewhere. As a result, he could elect to sit out the final few weeks of this season and look for a new landing spot during the upcoming offseason.
Angels Reinstate Jose Suarez From Injured List
The Angels have activated starter José Suarez from the 60-day injured list, per a club announcement. Gerardo Reyes was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding transaction. The move brings the 40-man roster to capacity.
Suarez is back for the first time since early May. The 25-year-old southpaw has battled shoulder discomfort for the past few months. Even prior to the IL stint, he was having a disastrous start to the year. Suarez was tagged for a 9.62 ERA over six outings, striking out only 17.1% of opponents while walking over 12% of batters faced. It’s certainly not what the Angels had envisioned from a pitcher who allowed fewer than four earned runs per nine in each of the preceding two seasons.
From 2021-22, Suarez turned in 207 1/3 innings of 3.86 ERA ball. He posted nearly average strikeout and walk marks and generally looked the part of a stable #4/5 starter. The Angels were counting on the likes of Suarez, Patrick Sandoval and Reid Detmers to form a strong enough rotation to supplement their top-heavy lineup.
Obviously, the team’s hopes of competing have evaporated. There’s little benefit for the Angels in getting Suarez back for this season, but he’ll be able to make a few appearances going into the winter. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time and is controllable via that process through the 2026 campaign.