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Minor MLB Transactions: 2/15/22

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Major League free agency remains in a transactions freeze, but teams are still inking players to minor league pacts as we await a new collective bargaining agreement. Here’s a quick look at a couple former prospects of note who’ve agreed to deals in recent days…

  • The Phillies signed former Red Sox prospect and Philadelphia native Josh Ockimey to a minor league contract, as announced by Ockimey himself (on Twitter). The 26-year-old slugger was Boston’s fifth-round pick back in 2014 and consistently ranked among the organization’s top 25 prospects at Baseball America throughout his time there, peaking at No. 10 in the 2016-17 offseason. A left-handed-hitting first baseman, Ockimey posted solid numbers up through Double-A before beginning to struggle in Triple-A. He’s still drawn his walks (16.6%) and hit for power (.221 ISO) at the minors’ top level, but Ockimey’s 31.4% strikeout rate in Triple-A has contributed to a .214/.349/.435 overall slash line in 933 plate appearances there. He’ll give the Phillies some additional depth at first and at designated hitter — assuming the universal DH is implemented after the lockout, as expected.
  • Catcher Chris Betts is headed to the Dodgers on a minor league contract, per the transactions log at MLB.com. The 24-year-old was the No. 52 overall pick by the Rays back in 2015 but missed his first full season after requiring Tommy John surgery. He ranked among Tampa Bay’s top prospects at Baseball America up until the 2018 season but has struggled to stay healthy throughout his pro career. Betts appeared in a career-high 110 games with the Rays’ Class-A affiliate in ’19, hitting .210/.333/.400 in 472 plate appearances. He appeared in just 27 games and tallied only 89 plate appearances in 2021, but he’ll give the Dodgers a once well-regarded catching prospect to stash in the middle levels of their system in 2022, if healthy. Betts drew praise for his bat speed and raw power back when BA ranked him as the 2015 draft’s No. 28 overall prospect, but he’s a project for the Dodgers at this point.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/12/22

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Today’s minor league moves from around the baseball world…

  • The Rockies signed right-hander Zach Lee to a minor league deal, as per the team’s official transactions page.  The 28th overall pick of the 2010 draft, Lee was a regular on top-100 prospect lists during his time in the Dodgers farm system, but Los Angeles fans may remember Lee best as the player dealt to the Mariners for Chris Taylor in June 2016.  Lee has pitched only 12 2/3 innings at the big league level and hasn’t appeared in an MLB game since 2017, bouncing around to several different organizations on minor league contracts.  Still only 30 years old, Lee will now head to the Rockies’ camp to try and earn another trip back to the Show.

Mariners Sign Erick Mejia To Minor League Deal

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The Mariners have signed infielder/outfielder Erick Mejia to a minor league deal, per Triple-A director of media relations Paul Braverman. Mejia was never on a 40-man roster in 2021, making him eligible to sign a contract during the lockout.

Mejia got a cup of coffee with the Royals in both 2019 and 2020, getting 43 plate appearances in 17 MLB games. In that small sample, he slashed .167/.244/.222. The Royals non-tendered him and then re-signed him to a minor league deal prior to the 2021 campaign. In 55 Triple-A games, he hit .246/.317/.409.

Despite that meager offensive production, the 27-year-old Mejia surely appeals to the Mariners due to his defensive versatility, something all MLB teams value these days. He has seen time at second base, third base, shortstop and all three outfield positions, making him a fallback option should injuries damage either their infield or outfield depth.

This is Mejia’s second stint with the Mariners, as he was originally signed by the team back in June 2012 as an amateur free agent.  After spending his first three-plus pro seasons in Seattle’s organization, the M’s traded Mejia to the Dodgers for Joe Wieland in January 2016.  This wasn’t the only prominent trade of Mejia’s career, as he went to Kansas City in January 2018 as part of a three-team deal involving the Dodgers and White Sox.

Braverman also notes that the M’s have re-signed left-handed pitcher Ian McKinney, who joined Seattle’s farm system in 2019 after six seasons in the Cardinals’ organization. McKinney got off to a good start this past season, as he posted a 2.18 ERA and 37.6% strikeout rate (albeit with an 11.3% walk rate) over 33 innings over over six starts in Double-A. However, after a promotion to Triple-A, McKinney’s numbers went south, with a 6.04 ERA and 19.8% strikeout rate over 52 2/3 innings (starting 10 of 11 games).

Dodgers Sign Stefen Romero To Minor League Contract

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The Dodgers have signed first baseman/outfielder Stefen Romero to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Romero was an intriguing prospect for the Mariners but wasn’t able to translate his minor league success to the majors. He saw action with Seattle over three seasons, from 2014 to 2016, getting 233 plate appearances in 94 games. Over that stretch, he hit .195/.242/.307.

Following the 2016 season, the Mariners released Romero to sign with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Romero took full advantage of that opportunity in Japan, slugging 96 home runs over the past five seasons, with an overall line of .264/.331/.497.

Now 33, Romero has seen his playing time in the field diminish in recent years, often slotting in as a designated hitter. The last time he played more than 50 games in the field in a given season was 2018, when he spent 66 of his 119 games on the outfield grass for the Buffaloes. It would be difficult for Romero to crack a Dodgers outfield that currently consists of Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger and AJ Pollock. Max Muncy is lined up at first base, but that was also the case in 2021 when Albert Pujols got into 85 Dodger games as a platoon/bench bat. Both Pujols and Romero are right-handed, making it possible that Romero could be tasked with filling a similar role in 2022 as Pujols did last year. It’s widely expected that the National League will implement the DH as part of the next CBA, which would increase Romero’s chances of getting a shot at joining the Dodgers.

Phillies Sign Yairo Munoz To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies have signed infield Yairo Munoz to a minor league deal, per the team’s transactions log at MLB.com. Munoz was outrighted off Boston’s 40-man roster in October and elected minor league free agency at season’s end, making him eligible to sign during the lockout.

Munoz, 27, has seen action in each of the past four MLB seasons, but with his playing time diminishing each year. After playing 108 games for the Cardinals in 2018, that went down to 88 in 2019. Munoz had shown some potential over those two seasons, slashing .273/.331/.391, with strikeout and walk rates of 21.2% and 7.3%. However, before the 2020 season, the Cardinals released Munoz when he left the team during spring training and flew home without notifying the club, reportedly dissatisfied with his lack of playing time.

He signed with the Red Sox a few weeks later and saw sporadic big league action with them over the past couple of seasons, 12 games in 2020 and five games last year. But in 88 Triple-A games last year, he hit .308/.340/.444, with a meager 4.2% walk rate but striking out in just 14.2% of his plate appearances. That amounted to a wRC+ of 109, along with 18 stolen bases to boot.

Munoz primarily lined up at third base last year, though also saw some time at second base, shortstop and all three outfield spots. For the Phillies, this is a no-risk way to improve their depth by taking a flier on a player who has some MLB experience but is still relatively young. They have some uncertainty in their infield mix, given the struggles of Alec Bohm and Didi Gregorius last year. If either player carries those struggles into the future, Munoz could be in line for another shot at the show. Along the same lines, the Phils also signed Johan Camargo to a major league deal just before the lockout began in early December.

Athletics To Sign Eric Thames To Minor League Deal

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The A’s are signing first baseman Eric Thames to a minor league contract, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). It’s a homecoming of sorts for the 35-year-old, who is a San Jose native.

Thames has appeared in the big leagues in parts of six seasons. He debuted with the Blue Jays in 2011, then split the following campaign between Toronto and the Mariners. Thames didn’t make it back to the majors in 2013, instead spending the year in Triple-A with the M’s and Orioles. Over the 2013-14 offseason, the left-handed hitter made the jump to South Korea, signing with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization.

It was a masterful pick-up by the Dinos, for whom Thames blossomed into an instant superstar. He spent three seasons with the Changwon-based club, popping 37 or more home runs with an OPS north of 1.100 in each. The KBO was a hitter-friendly league, but Thames’ production was outrageous even after putting it into context. That was particularly true in 2015, when the Pepperdine University product hit .381/.497/.790 with 47 homers and 40 stolen bases. That output at the plate was an incredible 116 points above the KBO league average, by measure of wRC+, and he was awarded the MVP that year.

After dominating in the KBO, Thames set his sights on a return to the majors. He was a high-profile target during the 2016-17 offseason, eventually landing a three-year, $16MM guarantee with the Brewers. Milwaukee got a solid return on that investment, as Thames continued to produce at an above-average level (albeit nowhere near his otherworldly KBO numbers) with the Brew Crew.

He hit 31 homers and posted an overall .247/.359/.518 line over 551 plate appearances in his return season. That’d be his most productive year in Milwaukee, although his combined .236/.331/.495 line between 2018-19 still checked in 12 points above average (112 wRC+). Thames increasingly struggled with strikeouts, but he also drew plenty of walks and proved a consistent power threat.

After his contract with the Brewers expired, Thames inked a one-year guarantee with the Nationals that also included a 2021 club option. He stumbled to a .203/.300/.317 mark during the shortened season, and Washington bought him out. Thames made the jump back to Asia — this time to Japan — last winter, signing with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. Unfortunately, he ruptured an Achilles in his first game with the Giants and missed the rest of the season.

Thames now returns to affiliated ball, hoping to earn his way back into the majors. Presumably, he’ll get a chance to report to MLB Spring Training and compete for a spot on an A’s roster that could find itself in flux. Matt Olson is a potential trade candidate, as Oakland is reportedly looking to cut payroll after the lockout. Even if Olson sticks around, Thames could work his way into the designated hitter or corner outfield mix. Mitch Moreland and Jed Lowrie took the bulk of DH playing time last season, but they’re each free agents. Seth Brown and Chad Pinder could be in consideration for DH at-bats, but they look likely to platoon in left field to replace Mark Canha at the moment.

White Sox, Raudy Read Agree To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox have agreed to a minor deal with catcher Raudy Read, as first reported by Antonio Puesan (Twitter link). He’s represented by Octagon.

Read, 28, spent five seasons ranked among the Nationals’ top 30 prospects over at Baseball America. He reached the Majors both in 2017 and 2019 but received very brief auditions, going 4-for-22 and only drawing three starts behind the dish. The 2017 Nats had Matt Wieters locked in as their primary catcher, with Jose Lobaton backing him up. Read served an 80-game PED suspension in 2018, and by 2019 the Nats had moved onto Yan Gomes and Kurt Suzuki as their veteran tandem behind the plate.

There’s no immediate path to playing time in Chicago, where Yasmani Grandal is installed as the starter behind the plate. The backup situation is a bit more fluid, with less-established names like Seby Zavala and Zack Collins currently in the mix. Yermin Mercedes caught 18 games for the ChiSox’ Triple-A affiliate last year as well, though he was used more frequently at first base and at designated hitter.

Read ought to get plenty of reps behind the dish in the upper minors with the South Siders. He’s spent parts of three seasons in Triple-A and owns a .275/.313/.523 batting line with 26 home runs, 24 doubles and three triples through 466 plate appearances at that level. He’s also halted 36% of stolen-base attempts in his pro career,  and BA noted in its 2019 report that he’d made strides in terms of his footwork and receiving over the years.

Mariners, Asher Wojciechowski Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Mariners have agreed to bring righty Asher Wojciechowski back to the organization on a minor league contract, per their official transactions log. The journeyman starter signed on with the M’s on a minor league deal back in July but didn’t get a call to the big leagues. He subsequently became a minor league free agent at season’s end, thus allowing him to sign a minor league deal this offseason.

Wojciechowski, 33, has seen action in parts of five big league seasons, including in each of the past three. He appeared in just one game with the 2021 Yankees, allowing a pair of runs over four innings in a spot start, but was a fairly consistent presence with the Orioles in 2019-20. Baltimore originally acquired Wojciechowski from Cleveland in a cash deal back in 2019, and it looked as though he might simply make a spot start or two at the time of the swap.

Instead, Wojciechowski pitched well enough to quickly grab a spot in a patchwork O’s rotation. He worked to a 3.60 ERA in his first 30 innings, providing the Orioles plenty of reason to give him some leash from there on. Overall, while Wojciechowski didn’t exactly dominate, he gave an Orioles roster that was desperate for pitching a total of 82 1/3 innings of 4.92 ERA ball from July 2 through season’s end.

That proved enough for the O’s to keep Wojciechowski on the 40-man roster all winter, and he headed into the shortened 2020 season with a rotation spot. He continued to hold his own through the first four starts of the 2020 season, but after a swift decline — 19 runs over his next 18 1/3 frames — Wojciechowski was designated for assignment and passed through outright waivers.

Overall, Wojciechowski has 202 innings at the big league level, albeit with an unsightly 5.93 ERA to show for it. He’s fanned a respectable 21.9% of his opponents and posted a better-than-average 7.9% walk rate, but Wojciechowski is also an extreme fly-ball pitcher who’s shown a proclivity for surrendering the long ball. Most of his big time in the Majors has been spent in homer-friendly home parks — Houston, Cincinnati, Baltimore, the Bronx — so if he makes it to Seattle, perhaps T-Mobile Park could help to slightly reduce that problem. Still, with an average of 2.0 homers per nine innings pitched, Wojciechowski’s struggles go beyond the dimensions of his home parks.

As things stand, Wojciechowski is a pure depth option for the M’s. Seattle inked reigning Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to lead its staff in 2022 and beyond. He’ll be followed by stalwart southpaw Marco Gonzales, promising sophomore Logan Gilbert and righty Chris Flexen — a KBO reclamation project that has turned into a resound success for the M’s. Former top prospects Justus Sheffield and Justin Dunn could factor into the mix as well, but the general expectation is that the Mariners will add another veteran to round out the rotation in the days and weeks coming out of the lockout.

Wojciechowski isn’t likely to emerge as an option unless the Mariners incur several injuries, but as far as depth options go, a well-traveled veteran with a 4.33 ERA in 664 2/3 Triple-A innings is a solid one to have on hand.

Nationals, Taylor Gushue Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have signed catcher Taylor Gushue to a minor league contract, according to the team’s transactions log at MLB.com. The 28-year-old elected minor league free agency after being outrighted off the Cubs 40-man roster at the end of last season.

It’s something of a homecoming for Gushue, who has spent the majority of his career in the Washington organization. Originally selected by the Pirates in the 2014 draft, he was traded to the Nats late during the 2016 campaign for Christopher Bostick. Gushue spent the next few seasons as an upper-level depth piece in the Washington organization. He reached Triple-A late in 2018, then spent the entire 2019 campaign at the minors’ top level. With no minor league season in 2020, Gushue spent the year at the alternate training site before electing minor league free agency.

Last offseason, the switch-hitting backstop inked a minors pact with the Cubs. He spent most of the season with their top affiliate in Iowa but got his first big league call in June. He went hitless in four plate appearances and was placed on waivers not long after, spending the remainder of the season with Iowa after passing through unclaimed. Gushue only has that cup of coffee at the MLB level, but he’s a .269/.326/.449 hitter over parts of three Triple-A campaigns.

The Nationals also inked right-hander Ronald Herrera to a minors pact, according to the transactions tracker. Now 26 years old, Herrera made a pair of MLB appearances with the Yankees in 2017 but hasn’t returned to the highest level since. He spent part of last season in the independent Frontier League and has struggled mightily in a limited look at Triple-A. The Venezuela native has decent numbers as a starter up through Double-A, where he’s worked to a 3.87 ERA with a below-average 19.8% strikeout rate but a stingy 5.9% walk percentage over parts of four seasons.

Giants, Cody Carroll Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Giants have signed reliever Cody Carroll to a minor league contract, according to the team’s transactions log at MLB.com. The right-hander elected minor league free agency at the end of last season after an August minors deal with the Marlins didn’t result in a big league look.

Carroll didn’t pitch in the majors last season. He did log some action at the game’s highest level in both 2018 and 2020, though, combining for 19 innings of relief across 18 appearances with the Orioles. He’s yet to find MLB success, posting a 13.24 ERA while opposing hitters have put up a .353/.467/.624 line against him.

Yet Carroll has performed well on his way up the ladder, with a 3.71 ERA over parts of two Triple-A seasons his highest mark at any minor league level. The Southern Mississippi product has also punched out an impressive 29.2% of batters faced across 70 1/3 Triple-A innings, albeit with an elevated 11.4% walk rate.

The Giants will take a no-risk flier on Carroll, who’d been regarded as a fairly promising relief prospect during his time in the Yankees farm system. His fastball has sat in the 95-96 MPH range during his brief big league time, and Baseball America credited him with a plus slider entering the 2018 season. Baltimore was intrigued enough by his arsenal and strong minor league numbers to include him in that year’s Zack Britton trade, but his stock dipped quickly due to his poor big league production and a back surgery that wiped out almost all of his 2019 season.

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