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White Sox Select Carlos Pérez

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The White Sox announced they have selected the contract of catcher Carlos Pérez. Fellow backstop Yasmani Grandal has been placed on the 10-day injured list on the heels of last night’s injury, which created room for Pérez on the active roster. Grandal’s injury has been described as a left knee strain. To open a spot on the 40-man, right-hander Kyle Crick has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Pérez, not to be confused with the Carlos Pérez who is catching in the Rockies’ system, is a 25-year-old who has been in the White Sox organization for his entire career so far. He made his professional debut in rookie ball back in 2014 and has been working his way up the minor league ladder since. He has never been a highly-touted prospect, though he has frequently been an honorable mention on FanGraphs’ lists of top White Sox farmhands, with those reports noting his bat-to-ball skills and strong arm but lack of power.

This year, he’s played 91 games in Triple-A, trying his best to get rid of that lack-of-power reputation. He’s hit 17 home runs on the year after only hitting 20 total long balls in his seven previous minor league seasons. He’s also struck out in just 8.2% of his plate appearances, which is barely one third of the 22.3% MLB average. That’s led to a batting line of .257/.319/.446, wRC+ of 101, a hair above league average.

Pérez will make his MLB debut as soon as he gets into a game. It’s possible that he sticks around for a bit, joining Seby Zavala as the club’s catching tandem. Those two and Grandal are the only three catchers currently on the White Sox 40-man roster.

As for Crick, this won’t affect his timeline since he’s already been on the injured list for over 60 days. It was June 15 when he was first placed on the IL due to elbow inflammation, with no indications he’s close to returning.

Dodgers Release Pedro Baez

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The Dodgers have released Pedro Baez, according to the right-hander’s MLB.com profile page.  Baez made his return to the organization when he signed a minor league contract in May.

Baez appeared in three games with the Astros before being released in late April, but didn’t return to the mound until July, when he pitched with the Dodgers’ Arizona Complex League affiliate.  Moving to Triple-A Oklahoma City at the end of July, Baez struggled to a 14.29 ERA over 5 2/3 innings in OKC, with much of that damage coming in his final outing.  Just yesterday, Baez allowed five runs without recording a single out against the Sugar Land Skeeters.

From 2014-20, Baez was a very dependable member of the Los Angeles bullpen, posting a 3.03 ERA over 356 innings with the Dodgers and helping the team capture the World Series in 2020.  However, Baez’s strikeout rate and fastball velocity both started to decline during that 2020 season, but that didn’t stop Houston from inking the right-hander to a two-year deal worth a guaranteed $12.5MM.

That deal ended up being a bust for the Astros, as Baez threw only 6 2/3 innings in a Houston uniform before being released in April.  Shoulder problems kept Baez on the sidelines for the majority of the 2021 season, and given his near-total lack of results over the last two years, there is certainly a fear that Baez may no longer be effective as a big league pitcher (or perhaps even as a Triple-A pitcher) at age 34.

The Dodgers would’ve only owed Baez the prorated portion of the Major League minimum salary if he’d reached their active roster, so with this release, the Dodgers cost themselves nothing by seeing if a familiar face could regain his old form.  The Astros are responsible for what remains of Baez’s $5.5MM salary for the 2022 season, and that figure will only lessen by a prorated minimum salary if another team should sign Baez and add him to the MLB roster.

Astros Select David Hensley, Designate Jonathan Bermudez

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6:00PM: Houston officially announced the selection of Hensley’s contract.  In corresponding moves, first baseman J.J. Matijevic was optioned to Triple-A and left-hander Jonathan Bermudez was designated for assignment.

Bermudez was a 23rd-round pick for the Astros in the 2018 draft.  The lefty reached Triple-A for the first time in 2021, but has badly struggled at the top minor league level this season, posting an 8.96 ERA over 67 1/3 innings, allowing 16 home runs.

2:30PM: The Astros are calling up utility player David Hensley, reports Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Hensley is not currently on Houston’s 40-man roster, meaning a corresponding move of some kind will be required to open a spot for him.

Hensley, 26, has never been a highly-touted prospect, having been selected by the Astros in the 26th round of the 2018 draft. However, he has increased his stock immensely in the past two seasons. Last year, he played 105 games at Double-A, slashing .293/.369/.439, production that amounted to a wRC+ of 118, or 18% better than league average. This year, he’s taken another step forward, slashing .298/.420/.478 in 104 Triple-A games. He’s increased his walk rate to an incredible 17.2% after being at 10.3% last year.

Beyond his work at the plate, Hensley also brings defensive versatility, having played all four infield positions this year, in addition to a brief showing in left field. There’s also the speed element, as he stole 11 bags last year and 20 already this season. All told, he should bring a well-rounded game up to Houston. Baseball America recently ranked him the #11 prospect in the team’s system, which was the first time he cracked one of their top 30 lists.

The Astros placed Aledmys Diaz on the injured list earlier this week, which left Mauricio Dubon as the club’s primary utility player. However, Dubon appeared to injure himself during last night’s game, crashing into the outfield wall while attempting to make a catch. It’s unclear if Dubon will require a stint on the injured list, but it seems the club will add Hensley to the roster for support either way.

Mets Select Rob Zastryzny

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The Mets made a few roster moves in between games of their doubleheader with the Phillies, as left-hander Rob Zastryzny’s contract has been selected from Triple-A Syracuse.  In other transactions, left-hander Sam Clay was optioned to Triple-A, while recently-designated right-hander R.J. Alvarez was outrighted to Syracuse after clearing waivers.

Zastryzny pitched 34 2/3 innings for the Cubs over parts of the 2016-18 seasons, and has since bounced around with three other MLB organizations (Dodgers, Orioles, Marlins) and the independent Long Island Ducks before joining the Mets back in May.  The 30-year-old has made a solid accounting of himself in Syracuse, with a 3.61 ERA, 28.4% strikeout rate, and 9.1% walk rate in 47 1/3 Triple-A innings, starting six of his 26 games.

While the Mets’ bullpen has been good overall, left-handed batters have found some success against the team, in part due to New York’s lack of southpaw relievers.  Joely Rodriguez has been the only left-handed constant in the relief corps all season, so if Zastryzny is able to even come close to his Syracuse numbers, he could earn himself a longer look in his return to the big leagues.

Marlins To Place Braxton Garrett On Injured List, Select Bryan Hoeing

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Braxton Garrett was scheduled to start the Marlins’ game against the Dodgers tonight, but instead, the left-hander has been scratched and will be placed on the 15-day injured list, according to Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).  According to Garrett’s MLB.com profile page, he is suffering from a right oblique strain, and his IL placement is backdated to August 17.

The Marlins have selected the contract of right-hander Bryan Hoeing from Triple-A Jacksonville, and Hoeing will make his big league debut filling in for Garrett in a spot start.  To create room on the 40-man roster, right-hander Anthony Bender — who will undergo Tommy John surgery — has been moved to the 60-day injured list.

Garrett already missed a month of the Triple-A season due to a shoulder injury, and he’ll now face a possible early end to his 2022 season unless his oblique issue is a mild strain.  The quick IL placement might not necessarily be a sign of how severe the injury could be, as even minor oblique problems usually require at least a minimal IL stint, and the Marlins had to create roster space on short notice to add Hoeing to the club.

This is Garrett’s third MLB season, as he was up for a two-game cup of coffee in 2020 and then pitched in eight games (34 innings) in 2021 while being frequently shuttled back and forth from the minors.  Since being called up in early June, this has been Garrett’s most extended stretch in the Show, and he has delivered a 3.67 ERA and an above-average walk (5.9%) and strikeout (24.5%) rate over 13 starts and 68 2/3 innings.

Selected seventh overall in the 2016 draft, Garrett’s early potential was hampered by a Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2018 season.  The left-hander then became a little overlooked amidst the many other up-and-coming arms in Miami’s farm system, though Garrett has kept himself with some solid numbers at Triple-A and now a good performance this season.  While injuries have thinned the Marlins’ pitching depth to some extent, Garrett has at least put himself in the conversation for a rotation spot in 2023, and he could yet add to his case if he is able to return from his oblique injury this year.

Hoeing now gets an unexpected opportunity to make his Major League debut in his third season of pro ball.  A seventh-round pick for the Marlins in the 2019 draft, Hoeing has a 4.55 ERA over 253 1/3 innings in the minors, including a 5.44 ERA over 84 1/3 frames of work for Triple-A Jacksonville this season.  The groundball specialist could very well be headed back to the minors after tonight’s emergency outing, yet Hoeing will get a chance to test himself against the elite competition of the Dodgers lineup.

Jakson Reetz Elects Free Agency

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TODAY: Reetz cleared waivers and elected to become a free agent, as McCalvy reports that Reetz declined an outright assignment to the Brewers’ Triple-A team.  Because Reetz has been outrighted before in his career, he had the right to decline any further outright assignments in favor of a return to the open market.

AUGUST 18: The Brewers have reinstated right-hander J.C. Mejia from the restricted list and opened a spot on the roster by designating catcher Jakson Reetz for assignment, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.

Reetz, 26, was signed by the Brewers to a minor league deal in the offseason. Despite having cracked the majors with the Nationals last year, he was sent to the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers to begin this season. He tore the cover off the ball there, hitting 22 homers in just 64 games, getting bumped up to Triple-A in July.

He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in early August but optioned to Triple-A. McCalvy relays that this was because Reetz had an opt-out date in his contract. Reetz has long been considered a glove-first catcher but had that tremendous outburst in Double-A this season, which was tempting enough for the Brewers to give him a roster spot for a time. However, he wasn’t able to sustain that after a bump to Triple-A, as he’s hit just .212/.254/.424 since joining Nashville, which amounts to a 73 wRC+.

Based on that diminished offensive output, Reetz has lost his roster spot to Mejia, who was acquired from the Guardians in March. He was hit with an 80-game suspension in May due to a positive PED test but now returns to the roster after serving his sentence. Prior to the suspension, he was shelled to the tune of six earned runs in 2 1/3 MLB innings, though fared much better in the minors. In 14 1/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A, he’s registered an ERA of just 0.63. He’s been optioned to Nashville and will serve as depth for the time being.

With Reetz off the roster, the club is in a precarious position behind the plate, at least for now. They now only have two healthy catchers on the 40-man roster in Victor Caratini and Mario Feliciano. They also have Omar Narvaez, who is on the injured list, and Alex Jackson, who is on the minor league injured list. Narvaez began a rehab assignment on Tuesday and should be back in the mix shortly.

Padres Designate Nomar Mazara For Assignment

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The Padres announced that outfielder Nomar Mazara has been designated for assignment.  In the corresponding move, outfielder Jose Azocar was called up from Triple-A.

Mazara signed a minor league deal with San Diego during the offseason, reuniting the former top Rangers prospect with Padres president of baseball operations (and former Rangers front office member) A.J. Preller.  The Padres selected Mazara’s contract in early June, and he has hit .264/.316/.352 with two home runs over 171 plate appearances.

Brought up to add some left-handed depth to San Diego’s bench, Mazara has actually performed better (.777 OPS) in 25 PA against left-handed pitching than over 146 PA against right-handed pitching (.649 OPS).  The additions of Juan Soto and Josh Bell added a lot of extra balance to the Padres lineup and made Mazara a little redundant, especially considering that the Padres also have the left-handed hitting Trent Grisham and the switch-hitting Jurickson Profar in their first-choice outfield.

While Mazara’s numbers aren’t anything spectacular, they still represent an improvement over his last two seasons, when he hit .219/.285/.309 over 330 combined PA with the White Sox and Tigers in 2020-21.  This could be enough for Mazara to perhaps get a look on the DFA wire from a team in need of outfield depth, or another executive (like Preller) could have memories of Mazara’s potential as a highly-touted minor leaguer.

Twins Place Tyler Mahle On 15-Day Injured List

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The Twins have placed right-hander Tyler Mahle on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to August 18) due to right shoulder inflammation.  Southpaw Devin Smeltzer has been called up to take Mahle’s spot on the active roster.

The IL placement isn’t a big surprise, after Mahle left Wednesday’s game after only 2 1/3 innings, and the Twins already announced that Mahle’s next turn in the rotation would be skipped.  On the brighter side, an MRI didn’t reveal any structural damage, and Mahle also told reporters (including Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) yesterday that he was feeling better and was able to left weights two days removed from his early exit.

Ideally, Mahle will be able to return when first eligible to be activated off the 15-day IL.  Of course, losing the righty for any amount of time is a tough beat for a Minnesota club that is battling for both the AL Central lead or at least a wild card berth.  Mahle was supposed to be a big part of this postseason push, acquired from the Reds in a major deal at the trade deadline — thus far, Mahle has a strong 2.51 ERA over his first 14 1/3 innings in a Twins uniform.

Smeltzer could be the likeliest candidate to fill Mahle’s rotation spot, assuming that the Twins pick one single pitcher to cover those starts.  The advanced metrics aren’t fans of Smeltzer’s work this season, but the left-hander has managed to outperform those peripherals and post a 4.02 ERA over 12 starts and 62 2/3 frames.  If not Smeltzer, the Twins could also turn to Aaron Sanchez or Cole Sands, or possibly a combination of these pitchers in a piggyback situation.

Athletics Claim Joel Payamps

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The A’s announced that they have claimed right-hander Joel Payamps off waivers from the Royals, who designated him for assignment earlier this week. To create room on the 40-man roster, fellow righty Paul Blackburn was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Payamps, 28, has appeared in the big leagues in each of the past four seasons, spending time with the Diamondbacks, Blue Jays and Royals. With KC this year, he’s logged 42 2/3 innings out of the bullpen with a 3.16 ERA. His 17.6% strikeout rate is a few ticks below league average, but his 53.3% ground ball rate is a few points above.

For the rebuilding A’s, they will take a shot on Payamps, which makes sense for a couple of reasons. His low-strikeout, pitch-to-contact profile could be a good match for the spacious confines of the Coliseum. He’s also yet to reach arbitration, having come into this season with just over a year of service time. If he sticks with the low-spending A’s as a valuable bullpen piece, they can keep him around cheaply for years to come.

As for Blackburn, it was reported earlier this week that he’s been shut down for the remainder of the season. That means today’s transfer is a mere formality.

Dodgers Reinstate Dustin May, Designate Reyes Moronta

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The Dodgers announced that right-handed pitcher Dustin May has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. In a corresponding move, fellow right-hander Reyes Moronta was designated for assignment.

May, 24, has finished his long journey back from Tommy John surgery. It was reported earlier this week that the club was planning to reinstate May to take the hill today. He will jump back into a rotation that certainly has its strengths but also has its concerns. Julio Urias, Tony Gonsolin and Tyler Anderson are all having great seasons, but Walker Buehler is done for the season. Clayton Kershaw is also on the IL, currently working his way back. Andrew Heaney is currently with the club but has only made eight starts on the year between various IL stints.

As for Moronta, 29, he had a tremendous showing with the Giants in 2018 and 2019 but has faced adversity in the subsequent seasons. Over that ’18-’19 stretch, he threw 121 2/3 innings with a 2.66 ERA and 29.3% strikeout rate. That also came with a high 13.8% walk rate, though it was still a very encouraging breakout, with Moronta racking up 27 holds in that stretch.

Since then, shoulder surgery kept him from appearing in the 2020 season before a flexor strain limited him to just four innings last year. He was outrighted by the Giants and elected free agency, signing with the Dodgers on a minor league with a $1.5MM guarantee if he made the active roster.

Moronta did indeed crack the roster, getting selected towards the end of April. Since then, he’s thrown 23 2/3 innings for the Dodgers, though he hasn’t quite returned to his previous form. Through 23 2/3 innings, he has a 4.18 ERA. He’s still getting strikeouts at a healthy 27.6% clip, but is also still giving out walks at a 10.2% rate. The key difference might be the long ball, however, as Moronta has allow five this season after only allowing eight over that two-year stretch with the Giants.

Despite that increase in homers, Moronta could find plenty of interest on the waiver wire, given that he still has the ability to set down batters on strikes. He’s still owed roughly $370K for the remainder of the season, not a huge sum by MLB standards. He could also be retained into the future for any team that believed in him. He came into this year with exactly four years of MLB service time but wasn’t called up until a few weeks into the season. That means he could be retained via arbitration for another two seasons by any club that wanted to give him a shot. Since the trade deadline has now passed, the Dodgers will have no choice but to put him on outright waivers or release waivers in the coming days.

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