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Mariners Release Asher Wojciechowski, Ian McKinney

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The Mariners have released right-hander Asher Wojciechowski and left-hander Ian McKinney from their minor league contracts, according to Triple-A Tacoma director of media relations Paul Braverman (Twitter link).  Both Wojciechowski and McKinney initially re-signed with Seattle in February.

Wojciechowski has pitched in parts of five MLB seasons since 2015, including a single game with the Yankees during the 2021 campaign.  After being released by New York last summer, Wojciechowski signed on with the Mariners on a minors contract but didn’t receive a call to the big leagues, and he elected free agency once the offseason began.

The righty has a 5.93 ERA over 202 career innings, in large part due to a whopping 45 home runs allowed.  A first-round pick for the Blue Jays back in 2010, the 33-year-old Wojciechowski has become a journeyman, pitching with nine different organizations at the major and minor league levels across 13 pro seasons.

McKinney is only 27 years old, but has nine seasons in the minors on his resume, pitching in the Cardinals system from 2013-18 and then joining the Mariners in 2019 following a brief stint in independent ball.  The southpaw didn’t reach the Triple-A level until 2021 but the results haven’t been good — McKinney has a 7.22 ERA, 15.86% strikeout rate, and 12.75% walk rate over 76 innings in Tacoma in 2021-22.

While neither pitcher was performing well for the Rainiers, the releases do remove two swingman/long relief options from the Mariners’ depth chart.  The M’s have gotten a lot of stability out of their rotation this year, with Marco Gonzalez, Robbie Ray, Logan Gilbert, and Chris Flexen all making their starts, and star prospect George Kirby stepping with some quality work after Matt Brash struggled over five outings.

Cardinals Place Corey Dickerson On 10-Day Injured List

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The Cardinals placed outfielder Corey Dickerson on the 10-day injured list due to a left calf strain.  Right-hander Jake Walsh was called up from Triple-A to take the open spot on the active roster, and in another move, Jake Woodford was also optioned back to Triple-A after serving as the 27th man for yesterday’s doubleheader.

Dickerson left the first game of that doubleheader in the second inning, so it isn’t surprising that he’ll now head to the IL.  The injury adds to what has been a rough season for Dickerson, as he has hit only .194/.245/.286 over 106 plate appearances since signing a one-year, $5MM free agent in March.  In a cruel twist of fate, Dickerson’s injury comes just a day after his best performance in a St. Louis uniform, as Dickerson hit his first two home runs of the season in Friday’s 14-5 win over the Cubs.

While Dickerson’s absence leaves the Cardinals more shorthanded in the outfield, Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson could be back from their own IL stints within a few days.  Brendan Donovan has also emerged as a multi-position option, and Lars Nootbaar is on hand to more specifically fill Dickerson’s role as a left-handed complement within a largely right-handed lineup.  Tommy Edman could also factor into the outfield picture when not playing shortstop, and Albert Pujols could get more DH at-bats against right-handed pitching while Dickerson is out.

Roman Quinn Elects Free Agency

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TODAY: Quinn cleared DFA waivers, and the Phillies announced that Quinn has elected to become a free agent rather accept an outright assignment to Triple-A.

JUNE 1: The Phillies announced a series of roster moves Wednesday, placing second baseman Jean Segura on the 10-day injured list due to a fractured right index finger, recalling lefty Cristopher Sanchez and infielder Nick Maton from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, and designating outfielder Roman Quinn for assignment. The team announced after last night’s game that Segura had fractured his finger.

Quinn, 29, scored the walk-off run from second base on a cringeworthy Dodgers error earlier this season, but his blistering speed hasn’t been enough to offset his general lack of production at the dish. In 40 plate appearances, he’s hitting just .162/.225/.289 with 15 punchouts (37.5%). He’s had similar struggles dating back to the 2019 season, batting a combined .200/.278/.315 through 340 plate appearances with the Phillies, who’ll now have a week to trade the former second-rounder, pass him through outright waivers or release him.

The loss of Segura is a tough one for a Phillies club that is floundering through another disappointing season. The 32-year-old veteran has been solid at the plate, hitting .275/.324/.407 with six home runs and eight stolen bases, and he’s been one of the team’s only average-or-better defenders (by measure of Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average).

In Segura’s absence, the Phils can turn to Maton or utilityman Johan Camargo, with struggling prospect Bryson Stott taking increased reps at shortstop. Maton had a hot start in his MLB debut last year but saw his bat wilt en route to a .256/.323/.385 output over 131 big league plate appearances. He’s hitting .241/.360/.462 so far in Triple-A this year. Camargo similarly had a strong start in 2022 but has faded of late; he’s now hitting .248/.318/.350 on the season.

Braves Claim Kramer Robertson From Cardinals

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The Braves announced that they have claimed infielder Kramer Robertson off waivers from the Cardinals and optioned him to Triple-A. To make room on the 40-man roster, outfielder Eddie Rosario was transferred to the 60-day IL.

A fourth round selection of the Cards in the 2017 draft, Robertson worked his way up to the bigs mostly by taking walks, as well as stealing a few bases. This year, in 38 Triple-A games, he’s walked in 19.3% of his plate appearances, producing a slash line of .220/.398/.371, 120 wRC+, along with 12 steals. He was able to make his MLB debut with the Cards but got into just two games, getting only a single plate appearance, which resulted in an RBI groundout.

Robertson’s played second, third and short at Triple-A this year, meaning he’ll provide some infield depth for the Braves. The club has Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley as their regulars and Orlando Arcia as the primary bench infielder. Robertson will likely be jockeying with Joe Dunand, himself a recent waiver claim, to be the next call-up whenever the need arises.

As for Rosario, it was announced in late April that he was undergoing a laser procedure to deal with “blurred vision and swelling in the right retina.” The expected recovery timeline for that procedure was listed as 8-12 weeks, which would likely mean Rosario won’t be returning before July. With today’s transfer, he won’t be eligible to return until 60 days from the initial IL placement, which would be late June. Though he recently started hitting in a cage, per Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he’s not on pace to return in the next few weeks, making today’s transaction a mere formality.

Diamondbacks Claim Cole Tucker From Pirates, Designate Jacob Webb

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The Diamondbacks have claimed Cole Tucker off waivers from the Pirates, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The club later announced the claim, with right-hander Jacob Webb being designated for assignment to create a spot for Tucker on the 40-man roster. Tucker has been optioned to Triple-A.

This will be a homecoming for Tucker, as he was born in Phoenix, played high school ball at Mountain Pointe High there, and committed to the University of Arizona before being selected by the Pirates in the first round of the 2014 draft.

Despite being a former first round selection, Tucker has struggled to cement himself in the big leagues so far. In 154 career games, he’s hit just .211/259/.314 for a wRC+ of 53. Though the club initially hoped that he could be their shortstop of the future, his tepid performance at the plate pushed them into moving him around the diamond in the hopes of creating a super utility player. As such, Tucker’s seen time at each infield position, as well as appearances in center and right field.

With the Diamondbacks, they likely intend to use Tucker to help with his original shortstop position. Nick Ahmed has been on the COVID IL for a couple of weeks and is still trying to get answers about the shoulder issues that have been plaguing him for years. With Ahmed out, the club has given the bulk of their shortstop starts to Geraldo Perdomo, who is taking walks but adding no power, producing a slash line of .215/.338/.277, 82 wRC+.

Tucker, 25, is in his final option year, meaning the D-Backs can give him regular playing time in Reno and see if he can get into a groove at the plate and earn his way onto the big league roster, though he’ll be out of options next year and will need to hold onto a spot on the active roster or else be sent into DFA limbo again.

As for Webb, he pitched for the Braves in each of the previous three seasons but was designated for assignment in April, landing in Arizona on a waiver claim. He had dealt with his share of injuries but provided good results when healthy. In 76 2/3 career innings in the big leagues, he has a 2.47 ERA, 21.9% strikeout rate, 9.6% walk rate and 38.7% ground ball rate. He’s logged just 5 1/3 Triple-A innings so far this year. He is in his final option year, meaning any team lacking in depth could be interested in picking him up and stashing him in Triple-A. Arizona will have a week to trade him or put him on waivers.

Angels Place Taylor Ward On IL, Recall Jo Adell

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The Angels have announced that outfielder Taylor Ward has been placed on the 10-day IL, categorizing his injury as a mild right hamstring strain. The move is retroactive to June 4. Fellow outfielder Jo Adell has been recalled to take his place on the roster.

Ward was one of the most pleasant surprises of the first few weeks of the season. Through May 2o, he was hitting an astounding .370/.481/.713 for a wRC+ of 242. Since then, however, a couple of injuries have slowed him down. He collided with the outfield wall while making a catch in the club’s game on May 20, causing some pain in his neck and shoulder. He eventually returned to action, but this hamstring issue flared up. Between the two maladies, he’s only been able to make 27 plate appearances over the past two weeks, hitting .167/.259/.333 in that time.

It doesn’t seem Ward is in line for an extended absence, as manager Joe Maddon tells reporters, including Sam Blum of The Athletic, that they’re hoping he’ll miss “minimal time.” While he’s out, Adell will step in and take another shot at finding success in the big leagues. Over the past few seasons, Adell has tantalized with excellent production in the minors but hasn’t yet been able to get into a groove at the MLB level. In 92 games over the past three seasons, his career batting line is .207/.249/.351, 63 wRC+.

Much like Ward, the Angels jumped out to a hot start but have been slowed recently. They are currently mired in a 10-game losing streak that has dropped their record to 27-27. Despite that awful slump, they’re still in possession of the final Wild Card playoff spot in the American League, though four teams are within a game and a half of them.

Reds Place Vladimir Gutierrez On IL With Forearm Soreness

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The Reds announced today that right-handed pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to right forearm soreness, retroactive to June 4. Fellow righty Jared Solomon has been recalled in a corresponding move.

Gutierrez was a high-profile international signing with the Reds giving him a $4.75MM bonus in September 2016. He made his MLB debut last year and posted serviceable results, making 22 starts with a 4.74 ERA. However, the underlying numbers weren’t as exciting, as he posted a strikeout rate of 17.7%, walk rate of 9.3% and ground ball rate of 43.4%. Unfortunately, things got worse this year, as he currently has an ERA of 7.61 through 36 2/3 innings, with a 16.2% strikeout rate, 13.4% walk rate and 33.6% ground ball rate.

After eight starts, he was bumped from the rotation and made two relief appearances before today’s IL placement. Luis Castillo and Mike Minor both spent time on the IL to start the year but are healthy now, joining Tyler Mahle as the veterans in the rotation. With rookies Hunter Greene and Graham Ashcraft putting up better results than Gutierrez, it seems he’ll have to fight his way back into the mix once he’s healthy again.

The club hasn’t provided any timeline about his recovery process, though it’s always worrisome when a pitcher has an injury to their throwing arm. He’ll join Justin Dunn, Nick Lodolo and Connor Overton as starting candidates currently on the injured list. The Reds are 18-34, the worst record in the National League and better than just the Royals across the majors. With Minor, Castillo and Mahle all candidates to be moved at this year’s trade deadline, that could open up opportunities for whichever starters prove themselves worthy of a late-season audition.

KBO’s LG Twins Sign Robel Garcia

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June 5: Kurtz relays that the Twins have announced a deal with Garcia for $180K.

June 4, 8:38PM: The KBO League’s LG Twins are in talks with Garcia about a contract, according to a Naver Sports report (hat tip to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net).

5:08PM: The Cubs have released utilityman Robel Garcia, according to MiLB.com’s official transactions page.  Garcia “is expected to pursue a career overseas,” Tommy Birch of The Des Moines Register reports, so today’s move could be a precursor to Garcia quickly announcing a deal with a non-MLB team.

Garcia made his Major League debut with the Cubs in 2019 and hit a respectable .208/.275/.500 with five home runs over his first 80 plate appearances.  This trip to the big leagues was the culmination of a rather unusual path for Garcia, who was out of affiliated baseball entirely from 2014-16 and then played two seasons in Italy before resurfacing in the Cubs’ minor league system.

From there, Garcia became a popular waiver claim candidate, as he was a member of five different organizations (Cubs, Reds, Mets, Angels, Astros) between July 2020 and February 2021.  After finally landing in Houston, Garcia hit .151/.216/.208 over 117 PA in the Show last season.

This year, Garcia had been on fire with Triple-A Iowa, batting .295/.394/.619 with 12 home runs in 165 PA.  However, as Birch observes, Garcia was seen as an expendable piece given the crowded state of Chicago’s infield.  Even with some injuries recently surfacing within the infield picture, the writing seemed on the wall for Garcia when he wasn’t called up for even a cup of coffee in the majors to fill any of those vacancies.  The 29-year-old Garcia will now look, for the second time, to revive his career with a stint in an international league.

Pirates To Promote Travis Swaggerty

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8:50PM: Infielder Rodolfo Castro will be optioned to Triple-A to make space for Swaggerty on the 26-man roster, Mackey reports (Twitter link).

7:25PM: The Pirates are calling up outfielder Travis Swaggerty, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.  Swaggerty will officially join the active roster prior to tomorrow’s game, and is likely in line to make his Major League debut.  No 40-man move is required, as Swaggerty was already added to Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster back in November.

The 10th overall pick of the 2018 draft, Swaggerty received some top-100 attention from Baseball Prospectus and MLB Pipeline in advance of the 2019 season.  However, his stock dropped after only an okay year at high-A ball in 2019, no minor league baseball at all in 2020 due to the canceled season, and then a 2021 that was cut short after only 12 games due to shoulder surgery.

Starting the 2022 campaign again at Triple-A Indianapolis, Swaggerty has performed well to date, hitting .280/.362/.439 over 150 plate appearances, with four home runs.  This promising start could help answer lingering doubts about Swaggerty’s bat, as both MLB Pipeline (who rank Swaggerty 13th in Pittsburgh’s farm system) and Baseball America (25th) cite the 24-year-old’s lack of any real track record at the plate.  Swaggerty was showing some improvement due to some adjustments at the plate even as late as the 2019 campaign, but BA’s scouting report considers him “an open question” due to what was essentially two lost seasons.

Swaggerty’s hitting may determine whether or not he can become a regular at the MLB level, but he could stick around as a fourth outfielder based on plus glovework alone.  Bryan Reynolds’ presence would seem to block Swaggerty from the center field job in Pittsburgh, though since Swaggerty has a strong throwing arm, he could also be deployed as a right fielder.  Swaggerty joins Jack Suwinski, Tucupita Marcano, and Calvin Mitchell as left-handed hitting young outfielders on the Pirates roster, though it would seem plausible that any of these players could be optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move for Swaggerty’s promotion.

With plenty of veterans (including outfielders Ben Gamel and Jake Marisnick) on the injured list, the Pirates have had to dip in their farm system numerous times already in the first two months of the season.  Given that the Bucs are still in the midst of a rebuild, it is quite possible that Swaggerty or any of these other youngsters would’ve gotten the call at some point anyway, and this opportunity gives Swaggerty a chance to establish himself as a building block.

Mariners Acquire Ryan Borucki, Designate Mike Ford

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The Mariners have announced a trade with the Blue Jays that will see left-hander Ryan Borucki head to Seattle in exchange for corner infielder Tyler Keenan.  The M’s have also designated infielder Mike Ford for assignment to create 40-man roster space for Borucki.

The Jays designated Borucki for assignment on Tuesday, and today’s trade officially ends the southpaw’s lengthy stay in the Toronto organization.  Borucki was a 15th-round pick for the Blue Jays back in 2012, and made an impressive debut by posting a 3.87 ERA over 97 2/3 innings and 17 starts in his 2018 rookie season.  However, elbow problems (which required a bone spur surgery) hampered him for much of the next two years, and the Jays turned Borucki into a reliever for the 2020 campaign.

This transition seemed promising, as Borucki had a 2.70 ERA and 28.8% strikeout rate in 16 2/3 frames in the shortened season, though a 16.4% walk rate was a big red flag.  Beyond the injuries, walks and home runs were Borucki’s biggest problems over his last 53 1/3 Major League innings, which saw him post a 5.57 ERA since the start of the 2019 season.

Since Borucki is out of minor league options, the Blue Jays had to pursue the DFA route in order to remove him from their 40-man roster, and the Mariners jumped in to arrange a trade.  Roenis Elias and Anthony Misiewicz are the only left-handers in the Seattle bullpen and neither southpaw is having a particularly strong year, so while Borucki himself hasn’t done well (9.95 ERA in 6 1/3 IP) over limited action in 2022, the M’s are hoping that a change of scenery could help the 28-year-old get on track.

Ford has appeared in 15 games with the Mariners this season, hitting .179./378/.214 over 37 plate appearances and working mostly as a DH and pinch-hitter.  The M’s signed Ford to a minor league deal in March, and this is already the third time that Ford has been designated in less than six weeks’ time.  After Seattle initially DFA’ed him in late April, the Giants acquired Ford in a trade, only for the Mariners to re-acquire Ford a couple of weeks later when San Francisco themselves sent Ford to the DFA wire.

Keenan was a fourth-round pick for the Mariners out of the University of Mississippi during the 2020 draft.  The 23-year-old has spent both of his pro seasons at the high-A level, hitting .212/.317/.367 with nine home runs over 376 total plate appearances.  Keenan has played both corner infield spots, with the bulk of his time coming as a third baseman.

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