Rays Designate Kevin Herget For Assignment
The Rays announced Thursday that they’ve designated righty Kevin Herget for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to infielder/outfielder Miles Mastrobuoni, whose selection to the Major League roster (covered here this morning) is now official. Catcher Rene Pinto was optioned to Triple-A Durham, as expected.
It’s the second DFA of the season for the 31-year-old Herget, although unlike his first stint on the big league roster earlier this summer, Herget actually got into a pair of games and made his MLB debut this time around. That marked the culmination of an arduous, nearly decade-long grind through both the minor leagues and the independent circuit for Herget — a 39th-round pick out of Division-III Kean University by the Cardinals back in 2013.
Herget’s pair of calls to the big leagues this season have been well-earned. In his first year with the Rays organization, he’s logged 93 2/3 innings in Durham while pitching to a sharp 2.98 ERA with a solid 24.9% strikeout rate and a pristine 3.9% walk rate. It’s by far the most success Herget has enjoyed in parts of five seasons at the Triple-A level, where he has a lifetime 4.16 ERA, 22.7% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate in 376 1/3 innings. Herget’s brief MLB experience during this most recent stint saw him yield a pair of runs on two hits and no walks with one strikeout in 2 2/3 innings.
With the trade deadline squarely in the rear-view mirror at this point in the season, the Rays’ only real choices with Herget are to place him on outright waivers or release waivers. He went unclaimed and was outrighted to Durham last time around, so Herget would have the option to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency if he passes through waivers a second time. However, with just a couple weeks left in the season, it seems likelier that he’d accept and head back to Durham — particularly since he’ll be a minor league free agent this winter anyway.
Giants Select Shelby Miller
12:23pm: The Giants formally announced that Miller has been selected from Sacramento and Waites has been optioned there in his place.
12:21pm: The Giants are selecting the contract of veteran right-hander Shelby Miller from Triple-A Sacramento prior to Thursday’s game against the Rockies. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted earlier that Miller was in the clubhouse, and Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic now adds that Miller has been informed he’ll be active for today’s game (and not simply on the taxi squad). The Giants designated outfielder Lewis Brinson for assignment yesterday, so they already have an open spot on the 40-man. Slusser adds that righty Cole Waites looks to have been optioned to Sacramento to open a spot for Miller on the active roster.
San Francisco will be the seventh Major League team for Miller, once one of the game’s brightest young arms but now a journeyman who’s found himself closing games for the Giants’ top minor league affiliate in 2022. Still just 31 years old, Miller opened the year with the Yankees’ Triple-A club but opted out of that deal early in the season and signed with the Giants in June. He’s logged a combined 2.87 ERA between the two Triple-A clubs this season, punching out 31.2% of his opponents against a 9.5% walk rate. He’s also picked up a dozen saves (eight with the Giants organization) and five holds out of the bullpen this year.
A former first-round pick who was regarded as one of the sport’s premier pitching prospects, Miller debuted with the Cardinals as a 21-year-old in 2012 and spent the two subsequent seasons as a mainstay in the St. Louis rotation. The Cards parted with Miller in a trade that sent then-star outfielder Jason Heyward from Atlanta to St. Louis, and Miller made the All-Star team in his lone season as a Brave (despite an MLB-worst 17 losses, which were the result of a dismal team surrounding him).
Despite Miller’s sterling 3.02 ERA in his first season with the Braves, Atlanta couldn’t resist when the D-backs offered up Dansby Swanson, Ender Inciarte and then-top pitching prospect Aaron Blair in return for Miller — just six months after Swanson had been drafted with the No. 1 overall pick. It’s gone down as one of the most lopsided swaps in recent memory, as Swanson has blossomed from steady everyday shortstop into one of the NL’s top all-around players in 2022. Inciarte, meanwhile, had several seasons as a strong everyday center fielder in Atlanta.
Miller, meanwhile, struggled immediately with Arizona and wound up limping through a trio of injury-plagued seasons in Phoenix. He’s since pitched in the Majors with the Rangers (2019), Cubs (2021) and Pirates (2021), but Miller has just a 7.04 ERA in 195 2/3 frames since being traded by the Braves nearly seven years ago.
There’s little denying, however, that he’s been impressive in a bullpen role with the top affiliates for the Yankees and Giants in 2022. Whether that leads to an eventual early-30s renaissance for Miller remains to be seen, but this is the healthiest and most effective he’s been in years. And with his 32nd birthday not yet having taken place, there’s still plenty of time for the once-vaunted righty to be reborn as a quality big league reliever. Both Miller and the Giants surely hope that today’s promotion can be the first step toward just such an outcome. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end, and a strong couple weeks to close out the season could make him an interesting, low-cost target for clubs over the winter.
Rockies Promote Ezequiel Tovar, Place Brendan Rodgers on Injured List
Sep. 22: The Rockies have officially announced Tovar’s promotion. In a corresponding move, infielder Brendan Rodgers will be placed on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain, retroactive to September 19. With only 13 games left in Colorado’s schedule, Rodgers may be sidelined for the rest of 2022.
Sep. 21: The Rockies are going to promote shortstop prospect Ezequiel Tovar, according to Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. Tovar is already on the club’s 40-man roster, though the Rockies will need to open a spot for him on the active roster.
Tovar, 21, signed with the Rockies as an international amateur in 2017. He was certainly a notable signing at the time, agreeing to a bonus of $800K, the highest given out by the club that year. But the youngster has increased his stock tremendously in recent years.
Through the end of the 2019 season, he had shown some decent plate discipline but little power. He hit only two long balls over 118 games in rookie ball and A-ball in 2018 and 2019. However, as Baseball America notes in their scouting report on Tovar, he bulked up during the pandemic shutdown in 2020 and has been on a meteoric rise up prospect lists ever since. He began this year in Double-A and played 66 games for the Hartford Yard Goats. In that time, he hit 13 home runs, stole 17 bases and hit .318/.386/.545 for a wRC+ of 153. He was recently promoted to Triple-A but only got into four games before being launched up to the big time.
Tovar already had a strong reputation for his speed, bat-to-ball skills and shortstop defense, which means the development of his power at the plate has the potential to turn him into an all-around superstar. Based on his tremendous breakout, he’s shot up to the #13 slot on Baseball America’s list of top prospects in the league, #28 at MLB Pipeline, #36 at FanGraphs, #25 on Keith Law’s list at The Athletic and #40 at ESPN.
For the Rockies, they have a legitimate opening at shortstop for the first time in a long time. Troy Tulowitzki manned the position from 2006 until his trade in 2015. That was followed by the Trevor Story era, which lasted until he reached free agency just under a year ago. This year, the club signed Jose Iglesias to take over, but only on a one-year deal. He’s been on the IL the past few weeks, with utility player Alan Trejo taking over. Tovar will have the last few weeks of the season to show the Colorado brass how he handles the big leagues, with the possibility of cementing himself as the shortstop of the future. Though the club is well out of contention at this point of the season, the chance to see what Tovar can bring to the table will give Colorado fans something to watch as the season winds down.
If Tovar can indeed earn himself a permanent spot with the big league club, there could be some domino effects. There’s not enough time remaining in the season for Tovar to get to 130 at-bats, meaning he will hang onto rookie/prospect status into the offseason. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, players with less than 60 days of service who appear among two preseason Top 100 lists at Baseball America, ESPN or MLB Pipeline can net their team a bonus amateur draft choice based on their early-career finishes in awards voting, so long as their club carries them on the MLB roster for a full service year. If Tovar can get himself a Rookie of the Year award or some MVP votes during his first couple of full seasons, he could net the club an extra draft pick.
Rays To Select Miles Mastrobuoni
The Rays appear set to select the contract of infielder/outfielder Miles Mastrobuoni and option catcher Rene Pinto to Triple-A Durham. Former big league outfielder Denard Span, now a special assistant with the Rays’ baseball operations department, tweeted that Mastrobuoni has been informed he’s going to the big leagues. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported that Pinto was likely to be sent back down to Durham. The Rays still need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move.
It’ll be the first call to the big leagues for Mastrobuoni, whom the Rays selected with their 14th-round pick back in 2016. The now-26-year-old Mastrobuoni has never garnered much prospect fanfare despite consistently producing at an above-average level in the minors. Baseball America ranked him 20th among Tampa Bay farmhands on their midseason update of the Rays’ system — the first time he’s ever appeared among their top 30 prospects there. FanGraphs listed him 37th among Rays prospects back in March.
The increased attention on the lefty-swinging utilityman is understandable, given his output in recent seasons. Mastrobuoni split the 2021 season between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting at a combined .298/.376/.424 clip in 434 plate appearances. This year in Triple-A, he’s continued to hit for average and draw walks at a high clip but has also lowered his strikeout rate and displayed previously unseen power. In 573 plate appearances, Mastrobuoni has slashed .300/.377/.469 with more home runs (16) than he’d hit in his entire career prior to the 2022 season (13). He’s also turned in a career-high 32 doubles and swiped a career-best 23 stolen bases (in 26 attempts).
As with so many players who come up through the Rays’ system, Mastrobuoni is accustomed to playing multiple positions. He’s logged 463 innings at second base this season but also seen action in right field (201 innings), left field (147 innings), center field (123 innings), at shortstop (96 innings) and at third base (17 innings). That defensive versatility isn’t a newfound trait, either; Mastrobuoni has at least 42 career games at all six of those positions, though second base has been his most frequent spot on the diamond.
Now that he’s on the 40-man roster, Mastrobuoni can serve as a flexible depth piece in Tampa Bay for the foreseeable future. He’ll be under club control through at least the 2028 season and will be optionable for the next three years.
Rangers Sign Kevin Plawecki
The Rangers have now officially signed catcher Kevin Plawecki, a move that was hinted at in recent reporting. The club announced the move, along with Nick Solak heading to the 60-day injured list with a right foot fracture in a corresponding move. The Solak move is a mere formality, as it was previously reported that he suffered a season-ending foot fracture.
Plawecki, 31, spent the past three seasons with the Red Sox, performing quite well in the first two. Over 2020 and 2021, while backing up Christian Vazquez, Plawecki hit .305/.364/.414 for a wRC+ of 112, or 12% above league average. He wasn’t able to sustain it here in 2022, however, dropping to a batting line of .217/.287/.287, 61 wRC+.
With the Red Sox out of the playoff race and Plawecki approaching free agency, they decided to give more playing time to controllable catchers like Reese McGuire and Connor Wong. That led to Plawecki getting designated for assignment, a move that apparently rankled the Boston clubhouse. Nathan Eovaldi and Rich Hill spoke on the record about Plawecki’s popularity on the club as a veteran leader, which is something it seems the Rangers are interested in.
Levi Weaver of The Athletic relays that he spoke to interim manager Tony Beasley about the move, with Beasley highlighting Plawecki’s reputation as a clubhouse guy and outlining how his presence would allow the club more flexibility in deploying its two other catchers, Jonah Heim and Sam Huff, down the stretch.
Mariners Select Luis Torrens, Designate Jake Lamb
The Mariners announced a series of roster moves today, recalling outfielder Jarred Kelenic and selecting the contract of catcher Luis Torrens. In corresponding moves, outfielder Taylor Trammell was optioned to Triple-A while infielder/outfielder Jake Lamb was designated for assignment.
Torrens, 26, had a strong season for Seattle last year but struggled to carry that forward into 2022. He was hitting .214/.262/.252 in August, producing a wRC+ of just 53. For a catcher with a bat-first reputation, that was clearly not cutting it, leading the club to designate him for assignment. Torrens cleared waivers and was outrighted but will now return to the club just over a month later to get another crack at things. The M’s already have a couple of catchers in Curt Casali and Cal Raleigh, though Raleigh has missed a few games this week due to thumb soreness. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times also adds that Casali is expected to go on paternity leave soon, compounding the need for some extra depth behind the plate.
Lamb, 31, began the year with the Dodgers but was traded to Seattle just prior to the deadline. He hit .239/.338/.433 for a wRC+ of 120 in Los Angeles but hasn’t been able to carry that up the coast with him. He’s hit just .167/.265/.300 since joining the Mariners, producing a wRC+ of 70. Due to that tepid showing, he’ll relinquish his roster spot to Torrens.
Of course, outside the 40-man roster implications, today’s moves also carry intrigue for Seattle given that they are swapping out a pair of young outfielders. Kelenic, 23, arrived with much fanfare in May of 2021 as one of the top prospects in the sport, but struggled in his first taste of MLB action. He’s been bounced on and off the club’s major league roster ever since but always scuffling in the bigs. Through 133 major league games so far, he has a batting line of .167/.246/.329 for a wRC+ of 63. He’s been on a heater in Triple-A this year, however, showcasing why he’s always been considered such an exciting young player. In 86 games for Tacoma this season, he’s hit 18 long balls and stolen nine bases, creating a batting line of .295/.365/.557 for a wRC+ of 123. Of course, he’s often hit well but then struggled after a major league promotion, but he’ll now get another chance to break that cycle.
The Mariners have been scuffling a bit lately but are still in good position to break their 21-year postseason drought. They are holding onto the final AL Wild Card spot at the moment, five games ahead of the Orioles with just two weeks left on the schedule. If Kelenic brings his hot bat up to the majors, he could both give the club a boost down the stretch and earn himself a spot on the playoff roster.
Guardians Designate Ernie Clement, Select Will Brennan
The Guardians announced a series of roster moves prior to today’s game, recalling infielder Gabriel Arias and selecting outfielder Will Brennan. In corresponding moves, outfielder Richie Palacios was optioned while infielder Ernie Clement was designated for assignment.
Clement, 26, was first added to Cleveland’s 40-man roster in November of 2020, prior to that year’s Rule 5 draft. Since that time, he’s bounced between the majors and the minors, not hitting much in either case. In 104 MLB games between last year and this year, he has a career batting line of .214/.273/.274. That production amounts to a wRC+ of 55, or 45% below league average. In 21 games in Triple-A this year, it hasn’t been much better, with Clement hitting .238/.291/.428, wRC+ of 89.
Clement’s best tool is arguably his ability to avoid punchouts. He’s only gone down on strikes in 14.9% of his plate appearances in the big leagues this year, well below the 22.3% league average. That hasn’t translated into strong results just yet, but that could give him a floor to build on as he looks to create more meaningful contact. He also brings defensive versatility to the table, having played all four infield positions, as well as left field and even mop-up duty on the mound. He can still be optioned for the remainder of this year and one more season after this, meaning a team interested in his skills could grab him off waivers and stash him in the minors. Since the trade deadline has passed, the Guardians will have no choice but to put him on outright or release waivers in the coming days.
Taking his spot on the 40-man roster is the 24-year-old Brennan. He was an eighth-round selection of Cleveland in 2019 and has never really been a top prospect, but just keeps hitting everywhere he goes. This year, he’s split his time between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting .315/.373/.482 for a wRC+ of 128. He’s also struck out in just 11.6% of his plate appearances. Based on his strong season, he jumped onto Baseball America’s list of top Cleveland farmhands for the first time at their midseason update, currently sitting in the #17 spot. The Guards will give him a shot to see if his incredible bat-to-ball skills can play at the major league level. He’ll jump into an outfield mix next to Myles Straw, Oscar Gonzalez, Steven Kwan and Will Benson for the final playoff push and perhaps try to earn a spot on the postseason roster. The Guardians are currently atop the AL Central with a five-game lead over the White Sox and just two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Reds Select Michael Siani
The Reds announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Michael Siani. The club already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster. Nick Senzel, who was already reported to be done for the season, will head to the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move to get Siani onto the active roster.
Siani, 23, was selected by the Reds in the fourth round of the 2018 draft. He immediately jumped into rookie ball that year and onto Baseball America’s list of top Cincinnati farmhands. Since that time, Siani has worked his way up the minor league ladder without hitting much but earning tremendous plaudits for his defense. BA’s report from the start of this year highlights Siani’s excellent glove work and says he’s best center fielder the Reds have had since Billy Hamilton.
Siani has spent most of this season in Double-A, hitting 12 home runs in 121 games and slashing .252/.351/.404. That production with the bat was enough for a 102 wRC+, or 2% above league average. He provided excellent value with his wheels, though, stealing 49 bases in that time. He got promoted to Triple-A recently and played eight games there, adding another two long balls and swiping three more bags.
With Senzel’s injury, there’s an opening for Siani to get some work in the final two weeks of the season. With the Reds well out of contention, they can give him a shot at roaming big league outfields and facing big league pitching before the offseason arrives.
Rays Select Dusten Knight, Place Jalen Beeks On IL
The Rays announced a series of roster moves prior to today’s game, selecting the contract of right-hander Dusten Knight. He will take the active roster spot of left-hander Jalen Beeks, who has been placed on the 15-day IL due to lower leg tightness, retroactive to September 18. To create room on the 40-man roster, right-hander Nick Anderson was recalled and placed on the 60-day IL due to plantar fasciitis.
The loss of Beeks will be a notable one for the Rays, as the southpaw has somewhat quietly been having an excellent season. After missing all of 2021 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Beeks has thrown 61 innings here in 2022 with a 2.80 ERA, 28% strikeout rate, 8.8% walk rate and 45.8% ground ball rate. This is the second time he’s landed on the IL this year due to his leg and this one will keep him out of action until the final days of the regular season, at least.
Knight, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Rays in the offseason and has bounced on and off the roster since then. This is the third time the club has selected his contract, with the previous two instances resulting in him being designated for assignment before clearing waivers and being outrighted. He’s thrown eight innings in the big leagues with a 4.50 ERA but had a more substantial showing in Triple-A. He’s thrown 54 1/3 innings for the Bulls with a 3.48 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate and 48.5% ground ball rate, but an unfortunate 13.7% walk rate.
The move for Anderson is a formality, as it had already been reported that he would miss the remainder of the season. By placing him on the 60-day IL, the Rays have freed up a roster spot for Knight but will now pay Anderson a major league salary for the final two weeks of the season, with Anderson also earning service time for that stretch.
Braves Outright Jay Jackson
In an unsurprising move, Atlanta Braves’ relief pitcher Jay Jackson has passed through waivers unclaimed, as reported in MLB’s Transactions Log. Jackson was not on the active roster prior to his DFA, but was on the Braves’ 40-man while with Gwinnett. An early offseason addition for the defending champs, the 34-year-old Jackson was DFA’d by the San Francisco Giants and traded to the Braves. However, his start to the 2022 season was delayed by a right lat strain that forced him to the injured list. Once active, he was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett where he posted a 1.53 ERA in 17 2/3 innings with 20 strikeouts with a strong 29.4 K% and 4.4 BB%. Jackson finally made his season debut on August 29th, pitching one-third of an inning before following that up by pitching another inning on August 31st. In total, he pitched 1 1/3 innings, giving up one hit and striking out a single batter.
Jackson has bounced around in his career prior to his latest DFA, having been a part of 7 Major League organizations in his 15-year career. Most recently, he spent the 2021 season with the Giants, pitching to a 3.74 ERA in 21 2/3 innings with a high 31.3 K%. Nevertheless, Jackson walked a fair share of batters posting a 13.3% BB%. Prior to his stint with the Giants, Jackson was with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Japan’s NPB from 2016-2018, coming back to the majors in 2019 with the Milwaukee Brewers, before returning to NPB with the Chiba Lotte Marines briefly in 2020.
As noted in a previous MLBTR article, Jackson was owed the balance of a $1.5MM major league salary, is not playoff-eligible for a new team, and is a free agent after the season. By remaining in Triple-A he will receive the rest of his salary and be a depth option for the Braves. Regardless he will be a free agent after this season and will likely garner plenty of minor league interest, having had a strong showing in Gwinnett, with the Giants in 2021, and in NPB.