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Yankees Outright Carlos Espinal

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The Yankees announced Friday that righty Carlos Espinal went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The team had not previously announced that the right-hander was designated for assignment or that he’d been placed on waivers.

Espinal, 25, had his contract selected to the big league roster Monday, 24 hours prior to the trade deadline, and optioned him back to Scranton the following day. He did not get into a game for his Major League debut before being passed through waivers, and is now once again off the 40-man roster. He hasn’t been outrighted previously in his career, so rejecting the assignment in favor of free agency was not an option.

Signed as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic back in 2015, Espinal has steadily climbed through the Yankees’ minor league ranks and generally posted solid results along the way (an ugly 2021 campaign standing as a notable exception). He’s righted the ship in 2022, however, logging a combined 50 2/3 innings of bullpen work between Double-A and Triple-A while recording a sharp 2.66 ERA with a 24.3% strikeout rate and an 11.7% walk rate he’d surely like to pare back a ways.

There’s no immediate corresponding move for Espinal’s subtraction from the 40-man roster, so for now, the Yankees sit at 39 players.

Outrights: Rondon, Larsen, Perdomo

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With a slew of players designated for assignment following Tuesday’s trade deadline madness, we’ll see several players claimed off waivers in the coming days — but also several who pass through waivers unclaimed and remain with their organization. A few updates on some players who fall into the latter of those two categories….

  • Giants righty Angel Rondon went unclaimed on waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento, per a club announcement. Rondon, 24, has pitched seven scoreless big league innings with the Cardinals between 2021 and 2022, allowing just two hits but four walks with five strikeouts in that time. Encouraging as seven shutout frames may be, he’s also posted a 4.35 ERA in 51 2/3 Triple-A frames between the Giants and Cardinals organizations this season, striking out 24.3% of his opponents but also walking a whopping 16.1% of the batters he’s faced in the minors. Rondon had not been previously outrighted, so electing free agency wasn’t an option for him.
  • The Mariners announced last night that outfielder Jack Larsen went unclaimed on outright waivers and was assigned to Double-A Arkansas. The 27-year-old made his big league debut with the M’s this summer but appeared in just one game and fanned in his lone plate appearance. It’s a tough blow for any longtime minor leaguer to get such a fleeting taste of the Majors, but Larsen is a .266/.371/.444 hitter in Double-A who can play all three outfield slots, so perhaps he’ll get another look down the line — be it with the Mariners or another organization. It’s his first outright assignment, so Larsen remains under Mariners control.
  • Although the move wasn’t formally announced by the Rays, left-hander Angel Perdomo cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Durham. The 28-year-old Perdomo was back on the mound in Durham last night, where he punched out two more hitters (and walked another) in a scoreless outing. Perdomo has punched out half the hitters he’s fced in 8 1/3 minor league innings this season and 28 of the 79 he faced in the big leagues with the Brewers (35.4%). Unfortunately, as is so often the case, that prodigious bat-missing ability is accompanied by ghoulish command issues. Perdomo walked 24.1% of his big league opponents this season (plus a pair of hit-by-pitches). He’s also walked eight of 36 minor league opponents (22.2%) and plunked another. Now off the 40-man roster but sticking with the organization, he’ll work with the Rays’ development staff in hopes of refining his command to an at least passable level.

Guardians To Select Hunter Gaddis

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The Guardians will select righty Hunter Gaddis to make his major league debut tomorrow, manager Terry Francona told reporters (including Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal). Kirk McCarty has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus to clear an active roster spot, while the team will announce a corresponding 40-man roster move tomorrow.

Gaddis, 24, was Cleveland’s fifth-round pick out of Georgia State in 2019. The 6’6″ righty has posted incredible strikeout numbers virtually from the day he entered the professional ranks. He’s fanned 32.6% of opposing hitters throughout his minor league career, including a nearly identical clip between Double-A Akron and Columbus this season. The bulk of his work has come in Akron, where he’s pitched to a 4.24 ERA through 76 1/3 innings with a 32.7% strikeout rate and a decent 8.3% walk percentage. He was promoted to Triple-A a couple weeks ago and made just two starts there before earning his first big league look.

Baseball America recently ranked Gaddis the #19 prospect in a strong Guardians farm system. The outlet cited his four-pitch mix, including a low-mid 90s fastball and a pair of quality secondary offerings in his slider and changeup. He’s generally shown solid control throughout his time in the minors as well, although his incredibly low ground-ball rates have led to some home run concerns.

Gaddis would’ve been eligible for the Rule 5 draft this offseason if not added to the 40-man roster. Cleveland will give him a roster spot a few months early and plug him right into the fire, starting a game against the Astros while the Guards are just a game back of the Twins in the AL Central. With Aaron Civale beginning a rehab assignment in Columbus tomorrow, it’s possible Gaddis’ initial stint consists of just a spot start. That he’s now on the 40-man firmly cements him as viable rotation depth for the big league club down the stretch though.

Nationals, Connor Sadzeck Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals are signing reliever Connor Sadzeck to a minor league contract, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (on Twitter). The right-hander elected free agency after being outrighted off the Brewers roster last week.

Sadzeck got into just two games with the Brew Crew, allowing three runs in as many innings. That marked his first major league action in three years, as he’d last suited up at the MLB level with the Mariners in 2019. Sadzeck, who also pitched for the Rangers the season before landing in Seattle, has a 2.75 ERA through 36 big league innings. That hasn’t been supported by his peripherals, through, as he’s struck out a below-average 21.8% of batters faced against a huge 16.4% walk rate.

Despite the lack of recent big league experience, Sadzeck has been flat out dominant in Triple-A this year. The 30-year-old signed a minor league deal with Milwaukee over the winter and made 24 appearances at Triple-A Nashville. He threw 28 innings of 0.96 ERA ball, fanning 30.7% of opponents with a more palatable (though slightly elevated) 10.5% walk percentage.

During his brief big league stint in Milwaukee, Sadzeck averaged 95.1 MPH on his fastball. That’s a bit below the 96-97 MPH range in which he worked during his earlier major league action, but he still brings a plenty live arm. Washington’s bullpen has a 4.23 ERA and a 12.6 point strikeout/walk rate differential on the year, each of which are bottom ten figures leaguewide. There should be an opportunity for Sadzeck to earn a spot for the stretch run if he continues to pitch well with their highest affiliate in Rochester.

Reds To Select Robert Dugger

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The Reds are planning to start right-hander Robert Dugger in tomorrow’s contest in Milwaukee, the team informed reporters (including Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer). The team will need to formally select his contract before the game, but they have a pair of vacancies on the 40-man roster.

It’ll be Dugger’s first MLB start of the season. He’s made three long relief appearances, one with the Rays and two with Cincinnati. Dugger has tallied 12 innings of six-run ball over that time, striking out 17 batters against just three walks. Despite the decent numbers in his brief looks, he’s been successively designated for assignment after each of his previous appearances. That’s in large part because he’s out of minor league option years, meaning clubs have to keep him on the big league roster or take him off the 40-man entirely every time he earns a promotion.

To this point, neither Tampa Bay nor Cincinnati has been willing to give the 27-year-old an extended look. He’s functioned as something of a 14th man on each pitching staff, coming up as needed to soak up some innings but not getting a lengthier opportunity. Since the Reds claimed him off waivers from Tampa Bay in May, he’s passed through the wire unclaimed on three separate occasions. Each time, Dugger has foregone the possibility of free agency and reported to Triple-A Louisville in hopes of pitching his way back to Cincinnati.

The Texas Tech product has started 12 of his 15 Triple-A appearances on the year, tallying 58 2/3 innings. He owns a 4.30 ERA with a modest 18.3% strikeout rate and a 9.8% walk percentage. Over parts of four big league campaigns, Dugger has a 6.97 ERA in 82 2/3 frames.

Robinson Cano Elects Free Agency

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Robinson Canó is back on the open market, as the Braves announced this afternoon that he’s elected free agency after passing through outright waivers unclaimed. This was the anticipated outcome once Atlanta designated Canó for assignment in the wake of their acquisition of Ehire Adrianza on Monday.

It has been a tumultuous season for Canó, who has now been cut loose by three separate clubs. He began the year with the Mets but was released in May. The Padres signed him to a major league deal a couple weeks thereafter, but he spent less than three weeks on the roster before being released. He returned to San Diego on a minor league pact, and while he didn’t get back to Petco Park, he did play well enough in Triple-A to catch the Braves attention. Atlanta acquired him last month and immediately brought him back to the big leagues.

Canó hasn’t hit well at any of his stops, however, and his stint on each roster has been brief. Between the three clubs, the 39-year-old owns a .150/.183/.190 line with a lone home run through 104 plate appearances. That’s come on the heels of a 2021 campaign wiped out by his second career performance-enhancing drug suspension, making it unsurprising teams have had such a short leash with Canó scuffing.

The eight-time All-Star tallied a matching 104 trips to the plate with San Diego’s top minor league affiliate in El Paso. He showed far better there, posting a .333/.375/.479 line with a trio of home runs and five doubles. That output was propped up by a .403 batting average on balls in play that he wasn’t likely to sustain, but Canó at least showed decent bat-to-ball skills at the Triple-A level.

If he’s open to another minor league deal to continue playing, Canó could latch on elsewhere for the season’s stretch run. It seems unlikely another team will be willing to let him step right onto the big league roster given his dismal MLB numbers, even though doing so wouldn’t come at any real financial cost. The Mets are on the hook for what remains on Canó’s contract over the next two seasons (with the Mariners chipping in a bit of money). If the 17-year MLB veteran can make it back to the big leagues, a signing team would only pay him the prorated portion of the $700K minimum salary.

Red Sox Place Brayan Bello On Injured List, Activate Matt Barnes

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The Red Sox have placed right-hander Brayan Bello on the 15-day injured list due to a left groin strain. Boston also optioned righty Kaleb Ort to Triple-A Worcester, with recently-acquired first baseman Eric Hosmer and relievers Matt Barnes and Darwinzon Hernández taking the active roster spots. Barnes is back from the 60-day injured list. He takes the 40-man roster spot of Jackie Bradley Jr., who was released this morning.

Bello left yesterday’s outing against the Astros after suffering the groin issue. The strain is apparently significant enough to keep him out of action for at least a couple weeks, thinning Boston’s rotation depth. One of the club’s top pitching prospects, Bello has made his first five MLB appearances (three starts) this season. He’s been tagged for an 8.47 ERA through 17 innings, but he’s averaging north of 97 MPH on his heater and has induced ground-balls at a huge 65.5% clip.

The Sox have been forced to lean on Bello a bit in recent weeks, as they were concurrently without Chris Sale, Nathan Eovaldi, Rich Hill and Michael Wacha due to injury. Sale will be out for a while due to a finger fracture, but the Sox recently welcomed back Eovaldi and Hill. Wacha is set to toss a four-inning rehab start today, as Chris Cotillo of MassLive relayed yesterday (Twitter link). That suggests he’s likely to be back with the big league club relatively soon, perhaps next week.

Barnes has been out since the end of May with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. The two-month absence capped what had been an awful start to the season for the veteran righty, who has struggled since signing a two-year contract extension last July. He owns a 7.94 ERA across 17 innings on the season, striking out a personal-worst 17.3% of opponents against an untenable 14.8% walk rate. It’s possible the shoulder soreness played a role in that production, however. Manager Alex Cora figures to work Barnes back in lower-leverage situations, but he’s only a year removed from functioning as a key late-game option. Getting Barnes anywhere close to his previous level would be a key boost for a Boston team that ranks 24th in bullpen ERA (4.21).

Rangers Designate Steven Duggar, Steele Walker For Assignment

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The Rangers have designated outfielders Steven Duggar and Steele Walker for assignment, per a club announcement. The moves clears space on the 40-man roster for Cole Ragans and Bubba Thompson, whose promotions have each been previously reported. To open space on the active roster, Texas placed outfielder Kole Calhoun on the 10-day injured list and reliever Dennis Santana on the 15-day IL.

Duggar spent a bit more than a month on the Texas roster. Acquired from the Giants in late June in a one-for-one swap with Willie Calhoun, the lefty-hitting outfielder appeared in only eight MLB games with the Rangers. He collected three hits (all singles), with 12 strikeouts and two walks in 19 plate appearances. Duggar spent 11 contests with Triple-A Round Rock, hitting .184/.360/.316.

The 28-year-old hasn’t played much this season, as he lost a good chunk of the year to a severe oblique strain. He’s combined for just 20 big league games between San Francisco and Texas, an unfortunate follow-up to a 2021 season that saw him log a career-high body of work. Duggar appeared in 107 games and picked up 297 trips to the plate last year, hitting .257/.330/.437 with eight home runs and seven stolen bases. Paired with strong center field defense, that made him a valuable contributor to the 107-win Giants club, but he struck out at a near-30% clip along the way.

Swing-and-miss has been an issue for Duggar throughout his career, as he’s fanned in 30.2% of his 824 trips to the dish at the big league level. He’s a career .240/.296/.373 hitter. That’s obviously underwhelming production, but Duggar’s only making a hair above the league minimum salary and is a strong defender at all three spots on the grass. That could draw him some attention from rival clubs, who’ll have an opportunity to add him for minimal cost in the next few days. With the trade deadline passed, Texas has no choice but to place Duggar on waivers. If another team were to claim him, they could stash him in Triple-A for the remainder of this season — his final minor league option year.

Walker was acquired from the White Sox while he was a prospect over the 2019-20 offseason, heading over in the trade that sent Nomar Mazara to Chicago’s South Side. The former second-round pick has spent the bulk of his time in the organization in the upper minors, although he did earn a cup of coffee at the big league level in June. Walker was selected onto the MLB roster and appeared in five games, collecting one hit (a home run off Cal Quantrill) through 16 plate appearances.

The 26-year-old has otherwise spent the year in Round Rock, hitting .277/.353/.435 in 215 trips to the plate. He’s connected on seven homers and is only striking out at a 16.3% rate there while splitting his time between the corner outfield spots. Like Duggar, Walker will hit the waiver wire in the next few days. He’s only in his first option year, so a claiming team could keep him in the upper minors for the foreseeable future if willing to give him a 40-man roster spot.

Kole Calhoun, signed to a $5.2MM over the offseason, has struggled during his time in Arlington. The veteran corner outfielder has hit 11 longballs but is hitting only .211 with a .269 on-base percentage. He’s now dealing with right heel irritation and will miss at least a week and a half. Calhoun’s contract contains a $5.5MM club option for next season, but the Rangers figure to give additional reps to younger players like the newly-promoted Thompson down the stretch before declining Calhoun’s option.

Santana has a left ankle sprain, so he’ll miss a couple weeks at minimum. The hard-throwing righty owns a 5.09 ERA through 40 2/3 innings on the season, but he’s inducing ground-balls at a strong 51.6% clip.

Royals Select Nate Eaton

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The Royals have selected Nate Eaton onto the big league roster, per a club announcement. Maikel García was optioned to Triple-A Omaha to open an active roster spot, while the team transferred outfielder Edward Olivares from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list to create a spot on the 40-man roster.

Eaton is up for the second time this season, although this promotion should be more lasting than his previous stint. The 25-year-old was called up as one of a swath of virus substitutes during the Royals road series in Toronto. He collected two hits (including his first MLB home run) in 12 at-bats. As a designated substitute, he was returned to the minors without occupying a 40-man roster spot at the end of the series.

This time, Eaton’s promotion involves the more typical contract selection. He’d now have to pass through waivers for Kansas City to remove him from the 40-man, although it’s likely the retooling club will give him a decent leash for the stretch run. The former 21st-rounder is having a breakout year in the upper minors. He started the season relatively slowly, hitting .271/.331/.400 through 37 games at Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He nevertheless received a bump to Triple-A Omaha at the end of May, and he’s taken to the minors highest level well. Through 209 plate appearances there, Eaton is hitting .303/.373/.524 with nine home runs and stolen bases apiece.

Eaton would’ve been eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter, and Kansas City will give him a 40-man spot a couple months early to get a look at him down the stretch. He’s played primarily third base and right field in the minors, with brief stints in left and center field. That bit of defensive flexibility should give manager Mike Matheny a few possibilities to get his bat into the lineup.

Olivares just landed on the IL a few weeks ago with a left quad strain. It’s evidently a severe injury, as the Royals rather quickly ruled him out for a couple months. He’ll be eligible to return 60 days from the time of his original placement on July 22, but even a best-case scenario would see him log around more weeks of action this year. The righty-hitting outfielder has had a nice showing in 36 games this season, hitting .303/.358/.434 with a trio of longballs.

Cubs Select Sean Newcomb, Matt Dermody

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4:09pm: The Cubs have officially selected Newcomb’s contract heading into Game 2. Infielder David Bote was optioned to Triple-A Iowa to clear the necessary active roster spot.

11:22am: Prior to today’s doubleheader against the Cardinals, the Cubs announced some roster shuffling to reporters, including Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago. Left-hander Matt Dermody has had his contract selected and will serve as the club’s “27th man” during the twin bill. Fellow lefty Sean Newcomb will also have his contract selected to start the second game. Neither player was on the 40-man roster coming into today, though the trade deadline moves left the Cubs at 37, meaning no corresponding moves will be required. However, a spot on the active roster will need to be created for Newcomb between games.

Newcomb, 29, was once a highly-touted prospect with Atlanta and pitched well for them over the 2017-2019 stretch. In that time, he threw 332 1/3 innings with a 3.87 ERA, 23% strikeout rate, 11.6% walk rate and 44.7% ground ball rate. However, he had a miserable 2020 then was moved to the bullpen in 2021 but hasn’t really recaptured his previous form since. Atlanta designated him for assignment in April and then flipped him to the Cubs, who were surely hoping for a bounceback.

He didn’t last very long with the Cubs, getting designated for assignment and then outrighted after clearing waivers. Since then, he’s been pitching well in the minors and getting stretched out in the process. He’s thrown 24 Triple-A innings with a 3.38 ERA, 30.7% strikeout rate and 44.9% ground ball rate, though with a scary 17.8% walk rate. His outings have gradually increased as the season has gone on, logging four innings in each of his past two appearances.

It’s possible that this is just a spot start for Newcomb to help cover the doubleheader. He’s out of options and can’t be sent back down to the minors afterwards. Though if he hangs onto a roster spot, he can be retained beyond this campaign via arbitration.

Dermody, 32, has 29 games of MLB experience under his belt, most of those coming with the Blue Jays in 2017. Since then, he has just a single big league appearance, which came with the Cubs back in 2020. He spent last year with the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball before returning to sign a minor league deal with the Cubs in January. Though primarily a reliever for most of his career, the Cubs have been giving him some length in the minors this year. He’s made 13 starts and seven relief appearances in Triple-A on the season, logging 79 1/3 innings with a 3.74 ERA, 20.3% strikeout rate, 5.2% walk rate and 51.2% ground ball rate. Unlike Newcomb, he does have options and could be sent back down to serve as depth in Triple-A.

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