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Giants Claim Steele Walker From Rangers

By Darragh McDonald | August 7, 2022 at 2:10pm CDT

The Giants announced to reporters, including Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, that they have claimed outfielder Steele Walker off waivers from the Rangers. The Giants already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster, meaning no corresponding move will be required. Walker has been optioned to Triple-A.

Walker, 26, was a second-round draft pick of the White Sox who went to the Rangers in the Nomar Mazara trade. He was selected to the big league club for the first time this year, making his MLB debut and getting into five games.

He’s spent most of the season in Triple-A, playing 50 games there and hitting .277/.353/.435, wRC+ of 98. Those aren’t world-beating numbers, but Walker does have encouraging plate discipline and bat-to-ball numbers, having walked in 9.3% of his plate appearances with Round Rock this season while striking out just 16.3% of the time.

Pirates Claim Kevin Padlo, Release Jake Marisnick

By Darragh McDonald | August 7, 2022 at 1:55pm CDT

The Pirates announced that they claimed infielder Kevin Padlo off waivers from the Mariners and optioned him to Triple-A. In a corresponding move, outfielder Jake Marisnick has been released. The club also announced that catcher Taylor Davis has cleared waivers and been outrighted.

Padlo, 26, made his MLB debut last year with the Rays but went to the Mariners on a waiver claim. In April of this year, the Mariners designated him for assignment in April and traded him to the Giants. The Giants DFA’d him in June and the Mariners claimed him again, before he was sent into DFA limbo yet again a few days ago, now landing with the Pirates.

Amid all of that, Padlo has played 20 games at the MLB level between last year and this year, hitting a paltry .143/.211/.200. He has better numbers in the minors this season, hitting .245/.327/.455 for a wRC+ of 92. His best attribute is arguably his plate discipline, as he frequently ran up double-digit walk rates in his rise up the minor leagues. He’s only at 9.3% on the farm this year, but the Pirates will give him a shot based on that track record.

As for Marisnick, 31, the defensive specialist was signed by the Pirates in April but required thumb surgery in May, which ended up costing him about two months. He has since returned and increased his tally of games on the season to 31. His batting line for the campaign is .234/.272/.390, wRC+ of 80, roughly in line with his career numbers. The defensive metrics are still giving positive reviews for his work on the grass, meaning this move isn’t likely a reflection of his performance. Rather, the rebuilding club probably just wants to devote its playing time and roster spots for controllable players who they will audition for future roles on the team. It wouldn’t be surprising if Marisnick garnered interest from a contender who wanted his speed and defense on the bench. At last year’s trade deadline, for instance, he was traded from the Cubs to the Padres for such a role.

Angels Claim Steven Duggar, Designate Dillon Thomas

By Darragh McDonald | August 7, 2022 at 1:20pm CDT

The Angels announced that they have claimed outfielder Steven Duggar off waivers from the Rangers. In order to create a space for him on the 40-man roster, they have designated Dillon Thomas for assignment.

Duggar, 28, was a sixth-round draft pick of the Giants in 2015 who came over to the Rangers in June in exchange for Willie Calhoun. Last year was his best and lengthiest showing in the big leagues, as he got into 107 games for the Giants, hitting .257/.330/.437 for a wRC+ of 107. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to build on that here in 2022, missing over two months due to an oblique strain and not really getting into a groove when healthy. Between San Fran and Texas, he’s hit .189/.241/.245, wRC+ of 39, striking out in 48.3% of his plate appearances on the year.

Despite those poor results this season, the Angels will give him a shot and see if he can recapture anything resembling his 2021 form. The need for an outfielder arose last night, when Mickey Moniak was attempting a bunt and the ball hit his finger. After the game, interim manager Phil Nevin told reporters that the news was not good, per Sam Blum of The Athletic. Today, the club has announced that Moniak has a fractured left middle finger, relays Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. The timeline of his injury is still not known, but it was enough that the club was motivated to go out and grab Duggar. Moniak himself tells Bollinger that it’s unclear if he’s out for the season, which suggests he won’t be returning soon.

As for Thomas, this is the third time he’s gone gently into DFA limbo in recent months. He signed a minor league deal with the Angels in the offseason, getting selected to the roster in June. After just a few days with the Angels, he was designated for assignment and was claimed by the Astros. After just over a week in Houston’s system, he was designated again, returning to the Angels on another waiver claim and today getting DFA’d for a third time. He’s only played eight MLB games and made 14 plate appearances amid all those transactions. He’s fared well in 73 Triple-A games, however, split between the Angels’ and Astros’ orgs. His line on the year is .294/.389/.500, wRC+ of 123.

Nationals Claim Alex Call From Guardians

By Darragh McDonald | August 7, 2022 at 12:55pm CDT

Outfielder Alex Call has been claimed off waivers by the Nationals from the Guardians, per announcements from both clubs. Call had been designated for assignment by the Guards on Friday. He has been optioned by the Nationals to Triple-A. The Nats had an open 40-man roster spot, meaning no corresponding move will be necessary.

A third round draft pick of the White Sox, Call switched organizations in the trade that sent Yonder Alonso from Cleveland to Chicago. He was selected to the big league club and made his MLB debut in July. Though he drew four walks in 16 plate appearances, he didn’t impress much otherwise in his small sample. He currently has a line of .167/.375/.167 in his brief MLB career. In 71 Triple-A games this year, he has an excellent .280/.418/.494 line for a wRC+ of 146, with almost equal walk and strikeout rates of 16.1% and 16.4%, respectively.

Of course, the Nationals made huge headlines in recent weeks with the lead-up to the Juan Soto deadline trade, arguably the most significant transaction in history. By giving up on a generational talent that they could have kept around through the 2024 season, they’ve clearly waved a white flag on near-term competitiveness. As such, it makes sense that they would be interested in taking fliers on controllable players such as Call. He will head to Rochester as outfield depth and try to work his way up to a big league club that currently has Victor Robles, Lane Thomas, Yadiel Hernandez and Josh Palacios as part of the regular outfield mix.

Cubs Release Andrelton Simmons

By James Hicks | August 7, 2022 at 12:35pm CDT

Aug. 7: Simmons has been granted his unconditional release, per Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.

Aug. 6: The Cubs designated shortstop Andrelton Simmons for assignment today, the club announced. The move came shortly after he was activated from the 10-day IL. He had been out since mid-July with a right shoulder strain.

Simmons never really got off the ground in Chicago after signing a one-year, $4MM deal with the Cubs in the offseason. He struggled with shoulder soreness from the jump and had logged only 85 plate appearances on the season. In that small sample, he logged a meager .173/.244/.187 batting line and notched only a single extra-base hit. In his absence, Nico Hoerner has handled most of the innings at shortstop, logging a 107 wRC+ while playing solid defense, rendering the veteran surplus to requirements for a non-contending team.

While Simmons has been spoken of as one of the best defensive shortstops in the game since his 2012 debut, his offensive production — he sports a career 86 wRC+ — has fallen off a cliff since leaving the Angels after the 2020 season. In roughly a full season of action (536 PAs), he’s produced at a .216/.277/.261 clip, good for a wRC+ of only 51.

Still, provided his shoulder doesn’t prove an ongoing issue, Simmons could still catch on with a contender as a high-end defensive option, though likely not until after he’s cleared waivers. He’s won four gold gloves and finished second (to Carlos Correa) in the Fielding Bible’s 2021 defensive rankings. In fact, since 2013, he’s finished lower than third only once and won the award for six consecutive seasons (2013-2018). Advanced metrics back up Simmons’ continued defensive value; per Fangraphs, Simmons has accumulated 19 DRS (defensive runs saved) between 2021 and 2022 and a prodigious 201 for his career.

In parts of 11 seasons with the Braves, Angels, Twins, and Cubs, Simmons owns a career .263/.312/.366 triple-slash. Though he’ll enter 2023 at 33 years old, Simba will likely draw at least some interest in the offseason should he wish to continue playing, if perhaps as a non-roster invitee. Regardless of where his career goes from here, though, his glovework will remain the stuff of legend in Atlanta and Orange County.

Brewers Designate Jake McGee For Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | August 7, 2022 at 10:55am CDT

The Brewers announced that right-hander Jason Alexander has been recalled from Triple-A, with lefty Jake McGee being designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

McGee, 36, is a veteran in his 13th MLB season. The Giants signed him to a two-year deal prior to the 2021 campaign, which looked like a masterstroke at the halfway point of the contract. The Giants won 107 games last year, thanks in no small part to McGee. The southpaw threw 59 2/3 innings last year with a 2.72 ERA, 24.3% strikeout rate, 4.2% walk rate and 35.9% ground ball rate, racking up 31 saves and eight holds in the process.

However, things have swung completely the other way around here in 2022, with McGee struggling immensely. In 21 1/3 innings with San Fran, he registered a 7.17 ERA, along with greatly diminished 11.5% strikeout rate and 29.1% ground ball rate. Based on that unfortunate downturn, the Giants released him, with McGee then landing with the Brewers about a week later.

For Milwaukee, things haven’t gotten much better. McGee has a 6.35 ERA since getting his new jersey and is still only getting strikeouts at a 16% clip. That’s a small sample size, but it largely matches what McGee was doing prior to joining the Brew Crew.

The Brewers’ bullpen has been in the spotlight lately, after the club traded away Josh Hader despite leading the NL Central. Since then, the club has gone 1-4, with the bullpen giving away late leads in some of those games, and now sit one game back in both the Central and the Wild Card race. It seems they felt the need to shake things up, with McGee getting cut loose despite a brief audition.

Despite his poor season, he could still get a shot elsewhere, given his track record and the fact that many teams are deficient in terms of left-handed relief. He’s making $2.5MM this year but the Giants are on the hook for most of that, with any team that signs him only having to pay the prorated league minimum. Since the trade deadline is now passed, the Brewers will have to put him on outright waivers or release waivers in the coming days.

Guardians Designate Franmil Reyes For Assignment

By James Hicks | August 6, 2022 at 11:36pm CDT

The Guardians have designated DH/outfielder Franmil Reyes for assignment, reports Zack Meisel of The Athletic. Though his 2022 numbers have fallen well below his career marks, the move still comes as something of a surprise given Reyes’ age (2022 is his age-26 season) and his prodigious raw power. He had been optioned to Triple-A Columbus earlier this week. Jake Jewell has been selected onto the roster in his place.

Since debuting with the Padres in 2018, Reyes has been one of the more consistent home run threats in the game despite playing his home games at San Diego’s Petco Park (the most pitcher-friendly stadium in the majors) and Progressive Field (comparatively neutral but still pitcher-friendly), going deep in 5.6% of his career plate appearances (the league-wide average over the same span is 3.3%). That number has fallen to 3.2% in 2022, however, while his strikeout rate has ballooned to 37.1% (against a career 30.7% mark) and his walk rate has fallen to 5% (8.4% career).

These unfortunate trends translated into a meager .213/.254/.350 triple-slash, a far cry from his career .253/.314/.478 batting line — particularly in the power department. The Guardians, who entered play on Saturday two games behind the Twins in the AL Central and a game behind the Rays for the final wild card spot, will likely continue to rotate Josh Naylor and Owen Miller between first base and Reyes’ erstwhile DH spot.

Given his very real power potential — and the passing of the trade deadline — there could be some very real interest in Reyes from contending teams, perhaps even before he’s cleared waivers. Any team claiming the slugger would owe him a pro-rated portion of his $4.55MM 2022 salary, while he’d be owed only a pro-rated portion of the minimum salary thereafter. Reyes actually has two years of team control remaining, though he’ll be in line for at least a modest raise should a team choose to tender him a contract.

Matt Dermody To Sign With KBO League’s NC Dinos

By Mark Polishuk | August 6, 2022 at 7:53pm CDT

Cubs left-hander Matt Dermody has agreed to sign with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization, according to Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors (Twitter link). While Dermody was signed with the Cubs, it isn’t uncommon for teams to release players for opportunities overseas if that player isn’t in the team’s long-term plans.

Dermody is no stranger to pitching outside of affiliated baseball, as he pitched the independent Sugar Land Skeeters in 2020 and then in Japan with the Seibu Lions in 2021. (In between, he also made a few appearances in Dominican Winter League ball.) Returning to the MLB ladder on a minor league deal with the Cubs in January, Dermody made one appearance on the big league roster. Just this past Thursday, Dermody was the 27th man for the Cubs’ doubleheader against the Cardinals, and he tossed an inning in the second game.

That cup of coffee marked Dermody’s fourth appearance in a Major League season, with 27 1/3 total big league frames pitched — to a 5.60 ERA — since the start of the 2016 campaign. The southpaw had some decent numbers at Triple-A Iowa this year, with a 3.74 ERA, 51.2% grounder rate, and 5.2% walk rate over 79 1/3 innings (starting 13 of 20 games).

Mariners Reinstate Mitch Haniger From 60-Day IL

By Mark Polishuk | August 6, 2022 at 7:23pm CDT

In between games of today’s doubleheader with the Angels, the Mariners reinstated outfielder Mitch Haniger from the 60-day injured list. Abraham Toro was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.

Haniger has played in just nine games this year, due to both a two-week stint on the COVID-related IL to begin the season, and then this extended trip on the 60-day IL because of a Grade 2 high ankle sprain. Tonight’s game will mark just the second time Haniger has been able to take the field since April 15. 2022 has been another injury-plagued year for Haniger, who missed over half of the 2019 season and the entire 2020 season due to a ruptured testicle.

Haniger had emerged as a productive bat for the Mariners in 2017-18, and was named to the AL All-Star team in 2018. Returning from his long layoff last year, Haniger basically picked up right where he left off, hitting .253/.318/.485 with 39 home runs over 691 plate appearances and 157 games in 2021.

A healthy and in-form Haniger is an enormous boost to the Mariners’ chances of finally returning to the postseason for the first time 2001. It’s probably safe to assume that he’ll get a few extra DH days to ease back into the lineup, but Haniger’s return as the regular right fielder will move Adam Frazier back into full-time second base work. Julio Rodriguez is still recovering from a wrist injury, but a Seattle outfield featuring Rodriguez and Haniger is a much more daunting challenge for opposing pitchers.

With a little less than two months remaining in the regular season, Haniger will get at least some kind of a platform to post some numbers and add to his market as a free agent this winter. Between his injury history and his age (Haniger will be 32 on Opening Day), the outfielder will need a big finish to give himself a shot at a lucrative multi-year contract. With the qualifying offer now back in play for all free agents, Haniger could be an intriguing candidate to receive and perhaps accept a QO, presuming the Mariners are willing to make what would be a $18MM-$19MM investment in Haniger on a one-year deal.

AL Central Notes: Guardians, Hosmer, Kepler, Brieske

By Mark Polishuk | August 6, 2022 at 5:30pm CDT

It was a quiet trade deadline for the Guardians, as Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that the club “at times…felt they were close” to landing Sean Murphy from the Athletics, yet no deal was completed. Murphy was known to be a trade target for the Guards, though another somewhat surprising name was at least briefly on their radar, as Hoynes reports that Cleveland and San Diego had some talks about first baseman Eric Hosmer. However, those discussions didn’t get far, as the Guardians are one of the 10 teams on Hosmer’s no-trade list. Hosmer also used his no-trade protection to scuttle his involvement in the Padres’ blockbuster deal with the Nationals for Juan Soto, so the Padres instead moved Hosmer to the Red Sox.

San Diego dealt Hosmer and two prospects to Boston for lefty pitching prospect Jay Groome, and the Padres also covering basically all of the $44MM remaining on Hosmer’s deal (which runs through the 2025 season). It’s fair to guess that the Guardians might have had interest in something similar, with Hosmer joining Josh Naylor and Owen Miller as part of the first base/DH mix. Hosmer might have been viewed by the Guards as just a one-season fill-in now that the team is seemingly willing to part ways with Franmil Reyes, but with the Padres footing the bill, Cleveland could have kept Hosmer around as a veteran complement to their younger players.

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