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Phillies Acquire Nick Nelson From Yankees

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The Phillies have acquired right-hander Nick Nelson and catcher Donny Sands from the Yankees in exchange for minor league first baseman T.J. Rumfield and minor league lefty Joel Valdez, per announcements from both clubs.

Nelson, 26 next month, has seen action in parts of two big league seasons with the Yankees, pitching to a combined 6.43 ERA in a small sample of 35 innings. The former fourth-rounder has whiffed 23.8% of his career opponents against a problematic 16.1% walk rate in that time. It hasn’t been an illustrious start to his career, but Nelson has averaged 96.6 mph on his heater with a solid 12.5% swinging-strike rate — and he carries a solid track record in the upper minors as well.

Outside of a brief run in Rookie  ball back in 2016, Nelson has posted at least a 26.2% strikeout rate at every level, topping out with a 4.07 ERA in 73 Triple-A frames to this point in his still relatively young career. The righty has also kept the ball on the ground at a 48% clip in the Majors while averaging just 1.03 HR/9. With a pair of minor league options remaining and extensive work both as a starter and a multi-inning reliever, Nelson can be a useful depth piece for the Phils for the next couple seasons at least — even if he doesn’t cement himself as a regular on the big league roster.

The 25-year-old Sands spent the 2021 season in Double-A and Triple-A with the Yankees, logging a combined .261/.326/.466 with 18 homers and 16 doubles. Sands also has corner infield experience — albeit mostly coming in the low minors — and he has the potential to step up as an immediate backup option to J.T. Realmuto now that Andrew Knapp is no longer with the Phils.

Rumfield, 21, was the Phillies’ 12th-round pick just this past summer, meaning he only just became eligible to be traded following the season. He was assigned to the Phils’ Class-A affiliate out of the draft, where he hit .250/.426/.263 with a double, 21 walks and 11 strikeouts in his first 107 pro plate appearances. Given his status as a recent 12th-round pick, he’s obviously not regarded among the Phillies’ best farmhands, but he’ll give the Yankees a lefty bat with some obvious plate discipline to plug into the low levels of their minor league system.

Valdez, meanwhile, has yet to advance beyond the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League. He’s posted a 2.62 ERA with a 70-to-32 K/BB ratio in 75 2/3 professional frames, albeit against considerably younger competition. Valdez pitched this last season at 21 — more than two full years older than the average competition in the DSL.

At the end of the day, the move for the Yankees boils down to parting with some depth options to open a pair of 40-man roster spots and backfilling at the low levels of the system. Both Nelson and Sands give the Phillies some present-day depth options at positions where their own organization was thinner than the Yankees.

Red Sox Select Jeter Downs, Three Others

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The Red Sox announced this evening they’ve added four players to the 40-man roster. Infielder Jeter Downs and right-handers Josh Winckowski, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford have all been added to keep them from selection in the Rule 5 draft.

Downs has been one of the game’s higher profile prospects for a while. A supplemental first-rounder of the Reds out of a Florida high school in 2017, he’s since been involved in two blockbuster trades. Downs was part of the package sent from Cincinnati to the Dodgers in December 2018 for Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp, then got traded to the Red Sox as part of the Mookie Betts deal the following winter.

Over his first few seasons, Downs offered a steady combination of bat-to-ball skills, power and second base defense. He’d projected as a potential everyday second baseman and twice ranked among the game’s top 100 overall prospects at Baseball America. But Downs struggled through an uncharacteristically poor 2021, leaving his stock a bit more uncertain. Over 405 plate appearances with Triple-A Worcester, the right-handed hitting Downs managed just a .190/.272/.333 mark with 14 home runs. Most alarming, he struck out in a massive 32.3% of his plate appearances — his first season fanning at greater than a 21% clip.

Winckowski has been involved in a pair of trades himself, both occurring last offseason. The Blue Jays sent him to the Mets as part of the Steven Matz deal, and New York flipped him to Boston in the three-team Andrew Benintendi/Khalil Lee swap not long after. A 16th-round pick by Toronto back in 2016, Winckowski has slowly climbed the minor league ladder as a starter. He split the 2021 campaign between Double-A Portland and Worcester, working to a cumulative 3.94 ERA in 112 innings with a below-average 21.3% strikeout rate but a quality 6.9% walk percentage.

Bello, a former amateur signee out of the Dominican Republic, is considered one of the organization’s more promising young pitchers. BA slotted the 22-year-old fifth in the farm system this offseason, praising his three-pitch mix and calling him a potential mid-rotation starter. Bello split this past season between High-A Greenville and Portland, working to a combined 3.87 ERA in 95 1/3 innings. He punched out a stellar 32.8% of hitters along the way against a solid 7.7% walk rate. Bello seems likely to start next season at Triple-A and could plausibly be an option for the big league club at some point in 2022.

Crawford made a two-inning cameo at the major league level in September, showing a five-pitch mix led by a 93.8 MPH fastball. The righty had been selected as a COVID replacement, though, so he was removed from the 40-man roster not long after. He’ll now stake a more longstanding spot on the roster after combining for a 4.28 ERA with great strikeout and walk numbers (34.4% and 5.2%, respectively) between Portland and Worcester.

Blue Jays Claim Shaun Anderson From Padres

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The Blue Jays announced they’ve claimed right-hander Shaun Anderson off waivers from the Padres. Additionally, Toronto selected right-handers Hagen Danner and Bowden Francis, lefty Zach Logue and infielder Leo Jimenez to the 40-man roster to keep them from selection in the Rule 5 draft.

Now best known for his inclusion in a lopsided swap that sent LaMonte Wade Jr. from Minnesota to San Francisco, Anderson possesses a big slider and plenty of velocity that have piqued the interest of several clubs. Despite being torched for an 8.49 ERA in 23 2/3 innings this season, Anderson spent time with four different teams. He’s now failed to clear waivers four times in the past six months, demonstrating the quality of his raw arsenal. The 27-year-old still has a minor league option remaining, and the Jays will hope to tap into his raw talent and coax out some better results in 2022.

The 20-year-old Jimenez ranks 11th among Jays prospects at MLB.com and posted one of the more ludicrous lines fans will see, hitting .320/.523/.392 on the season. That’s not exactly a tiny sample, either; Jimenez tallied 262 plate appearances and reached base a comical 137 times. In addition to a ridiculous 20.6% walk rate, Jimenez was also plunked 25 times. He can play both middle infield positions but won’t realistically be an option until at least 2023, as he’s yet to even reach the Double-A level.

Bogh Francis and Logue rank on the back end of MLB.com’s Jays Top 30 and both posted sub-4.00 ERAs with promising strikeout rates. Francis joined the organization in the trade that sent Rowdy Tellez to the Brewers. Logue is a a former ninth-rounder who turned in an eye-opening 28.2% strikeout rate against a minuscule 5.2% walk rate.

As for Danner, he’s 2017 second-rounder who moved from catcher to the mound this season and posted a brilliant 2.02 ERA, 29.4% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate through 35 2/3 innings in High-A — his first pro experience on the mound. He’s still new to pitching, but with a debut like that, it’s understandable that Toronto had no interest in potentially losing him in the Rule 5 Draft.

A’s To Acquire Brent Honeywell From Rays

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The A’s are acquiring right-hander Brent Honeywell from the Rays, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). Tampa Bay will receive cash in return, reports Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury News (on Twitter).

It’s a notable low-cost pickup for the A’s. Honeywell, 26, was considered one of the game’s most promising pitching prospects on his way up the minor league ladder. He appeared on Baseball America’s top 100 list entering a staggering five consecutive seasons from 2016-20. That speaks both to Honeywell’s talent and the repeated injury troubles that have kept him from making a major league impact to this point.

For all his acclaim from evaluators, Honeywell’s big league resume consists of just 4 1/3 innings across three outings this past season. He spent the bulk of the season working in a swing role with Triple-A Durham, tossing 81 2/3 innings of 3.97 ERA ball but only fanning 20% of opponents. That’s a far cry from the near-30% strikeout percentages he’d run for a good chunk of his early minor league career.

Recent struggles notwithstanding, there’s little harm for Oakland in taking a flier on Honeywell. The A’s have one of the league’s thinner farm systems, giving them space on the 40-man roster. With the Rays seemingly in a perennial state of roster crunch, there was an opportunity for Oakland to squeeze an affordable, big league ready starter with pedigree out of a deeper organization.

Honeywell is out of minor league option years, so he’s a good bet to break camp with the A’s in 2022. Otherwise, Oakland would have to designate him for assignment and make him available to other clubs themselves.

Cubs Select Nelson Velazquez, Ethan Roberts

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The Cubs announced that they have selected the contracts of outfielder Nelson Velazquez and right-handed pitcher Ethan Roberts. The move protects both players against being selected by a rival team in this year’s Rule 5 draft. Chicago’s 40-man roster now has 37 spots accounted for.

Velazquez was a 5th-round pick for the Cubs back in 2017, and the book on him at the time was that he possessed above average tools across the board outside of a raw hit tool. That projection has largely held true in the young outfielder’s professional career, as he has posted a cumulative .259 batting average with more strikeouts (377) than games played (316). The 22-year-old’s selection though comes as little surprise on the heels of his strongest season yet, producing a .270/.333/.496 slash across two levels this past season, with the bulk of that production coming in his first look against Double-A pitching. Velazquez has further upped his stock with a tremendous .366/.467/.693 Fall League showing, even if the strikeouts remain an issue.

Roberts, a right-hander out of Tennessee Technological University, has taken his 4th round pedigree and steadily climbed through the minors with the Cubs. A reliever, the 24-year-old has ridden the strength of a cut fastball and plus command to generally strong run prevention numbers and strikeout totals. His Double-A performance this year was outstanding, yielding a 1.97 ERA and 45 strikeouts across 32 innings. Though a promotion to Triple-A didn’t go quite as well (4.50 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 22 innings), Roberts could be a near-term option for his Major League club.

Twins Designate Willians Astudillo, Charlie Barnes For Assignment

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The Twins are designating utilityman Willians Astudillo and left-hander Charlie Barnes for assignment, the club announced. Additionally, left-hander Devin Smeltzer and outfielder Kyle Garlick have cleared outright waivers. Minnesota added six prospects to the 40-man roster in advance of tonight’s deadline for Rule 5 draft protection: Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, Blayne Enlow, Cole Sands, Chris Vallimont and Josh Winder.

Minnesota also announced that they’ve agreed to terms on a deal with outfielder Jake Cave on a major league contract. He’ll make $800K, reports Darren Wolfson of SKOR North (Twitter link). Cave had been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $1.1MM salary via arbitration. It’s not uncommon to see players on the non-tender bubble (as Cave appeared to be) agree to salaries for a bit lower than projected in advance of the non-tender deadline, however.

Amidst this large flurry of Twins transactions it’s the one jettisoning Astudillo that may grab the most attention. While the 30-year old didn’t quite get it done at the plate this past season, producing a .236/.259/.375 slash, his Twins tenure has often left fans looking past his offensive contributions. Dating back to his 2018 debut with the Twins, Astudillo has lined up at every position except for shortstop, providing adequate defense and pitching as admirably as one can expect in mop-up duty (including a 2.25 ERA in four 2021 innings). The multi-talented Astudillo is now all but certainly headed for free agency, though a reunion with the Twins later in the offseason isn’t yet out of the question.

Barnes, 26, is a soft-tossing lefty and former fourth-rounder who made his big league debut out of necessity to help soak up some innings in an injury-ruined season for the Twins’ rotation. He was clobbered for a 5.92 ERA while striking out just 20 of the 175 batters he faced. The Twins now have a week to trade Barnes or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.

Also gone from the roster are Smeltzer, a former Dodger prospect who came to the Twins in the Brian Dozier trade, and Garlick, an offseason waiver claim last winter who played a platoon role in Minnesota early this season. Smeltzer logged a 3.86 ERA through 49 innings during the 2019 season, his debut campaign, but has battled injuries and seen his performance dip in the two years since. He missed nearly the entire 2021 season due to elbow troubles.

Garlick, meanwhile, hit .232/.280/.465 with five homers and eight doubles in just 107 plate appearances. He hit 10 extra-base hits (four homers, six doubles) in just 63 plate appearances against lefties but spent the majority of the season on the injured list himself.

Most of the Twins’ additions are wholly unsurprising. Lewis was the No. 1 overall pick in 2017 and, despite missing the season due to an ACL tear, was never going to be exposed to the Ryle 5 Draft. Miranda was the Twins’ minor league player of the year and posted video-game numbers in the minors, hitting his way into Top 100 consideration. Winder has battled injuries but might be Minnesota’s top pitching prospect based on stuff alone. Enlow was an overslot third-rounder who has had his own injury troubles but is still held in high regard. Sands and Vallimont both rank among the Twins’ more promising arms themselves, even though Vallimont had a down year in 2021. The former Marlins righty, acquired in the trade that brought Sergio Romo to Minnesota and sent first baseman Lewin Diaz to Miami, is a potential fourth/fifth starter who’s reasonably close to MLB readiness.

Astros Select Jeremy Pena, Three Others

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The Astros announced they’ve selected infielders Jeremy Peña and Joe Perez, right-hander Shawn Dubin and left-hander Jonathan Bermudez to the 40-man roster. Infielder Freudis Nova has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Sugar Land, while Houston lost southpaw Kent Emanuel on waivers to Philadelphia. Houston’s 40-man roster is full, so they’ll need to make another move once their re-signing of Justin Verlander becomes official.

Peña is the most notable of the group, as he’s regarded by both FanGraphs and Baseball America as one of the top two prospects in the Houston system. Originally a third-round pick out of the University of Maine in 2018, Peña has handily outperformed that draft status as a professional. Always regarded as a high-end defensive infielder, the right-handed hitter has offered quite a bit more than expected at the plate over the past few seasons. He’s been an above-average hitter at every minor league stop by measure of wRC+.

While Peña’s still regarded as a glove-first prospect, his plate discipline and passable raw power should give him a chance to be an everyday shortstop in the future. The 23-year-old missed most of this past season recovering from wrist surgery but returned late in the year to hit .287/.346/.598 with ten homers over 133 plate appearances with Sugar Land. That came with an elevated 26.3% strikeout rate, and the Houston front office may want to give him a little more time at the minors’ top level before he makes his big league debut.

Still, Peña was a lock to be protected from the Rule 5, and it seems he’ll be in the majors before too long. With Carlos Correa potentially departing in free agency, the Astros have to weigh how confident they are in Peña’s ability to assume a key role on a contending club in 2022. The front office’s confidence in the talented youngster could well impact how hard they try to retain or replace Correa this offseason.

Perez was a second-round pick out of a Florida high school in 2017. Primarily a third baseman, he draws praise for his power and arm strength but has some questions about his bat-to-ball skills. The 22-year-old mashed over 109 plate appearances with High-A Asheville this year. He hit at an average .267/.322/.420 clip with eight homers and a 26.1% strikeout rate over 307 plate appearances upon a promotion to Double-A Corpus Christi. BA placed the right-handed hitter sixth in the Astros’ system midseason.

Dubin, 26, was a 13th-rounder in 2018 out of Georgetown College in Kentucky. The right-hander has posted strong numbers in a swing capacity over his pro career, topping out at Sugar Land this past season. BA credits him with a low-mid 90s fastball and plus slider, in addition to a fringe-average curveball and changeup. BA suggests he has a chance to stick as a starter, while FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote that he’s likelier to end up in relief. Either way, Dubin’s bat-missing abilities should get him a major league look relatively soon. He punched out 35.4% of opponents against a 9.7% walk rate in 49 2/3 Triple-A innings this year, working to a 3.44 ERA in the process.

Bermudez, meanwhile, was a 23rd-rounder out of Southeastern University in that same 2018 draft. The 26-year-old southpaw has never appeared on an organizational ranking at FanGraphs or BA, but he’s the owner of a strong minor league resume. He split the 2021 campaign between the minors’ top two levels, working to a 3.24 ERA over 111 innings. Bermudez punched out a lofty 31.9% of batters faced while walking just 7.4%, setting himself up for a potential big league debut in 2022.

Nova was formerly one of the top prospects in the organization as well. He’s struggled with underperformance and injuries in recent seasons, and he underwent surgery to repair an ACL tear in September. The 21-year-old will remain in the organization and hope to work his way back onto the 40-man roster once he’s healthy.

Cardinals Select Three Players

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The Cardinals announced this afternoon they’ve added three players — right-handers Jake Walsh and Freddy Pacheco and utilityman Brendan Donovan — to the 40-man roster. The moves keep all three players from being taken in the Rule 5 draft. The club’s 40-man roster now sits at 36.

Walsh was the Cardinals’ 16th-round pick in 2017 out of a Florida junior college. The 26-year-old spent some time as a starter early in his pro career but worked exclusively out of the bullpen in 2021. Injuries limited Walsh to 17 appearances between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis this year, but he combined for a 2.86 ERA across 22 frames at the minors’ top two levels. Walsh, whom Baseball America credits with a 95-97 MPH fastball, punched out a whopping 38.6% of batters faced. He could be a big league bullpen option in 2022.

Pacheco, 23, is also strictly a reliever. A former amateur signee out of Venezuela, Pacheco traversed three levels of the minors this past season, topping out in Triple-A. Overall, he combined for a 3.67 ERA and struck out an incredible 44% of opponents. Pacheco’s 13.4% walk percentage is alarming, but that swing-and-miss capability makes him an intriguing bullpen flier. BA ranked the 5’11” righty the #29 prospect in the organization midseason, lauding his fastball’s ability to get whiffs at the top of the strike zone.

Donovan was a 7th-rounder in 2018 out of South Alabama. The left-handed hitter has posted above-average numbers all the way up the minor league ladder while playing all over the diamond (with the bulk of that time at second and third base). Donovan hasn’t hit for a ton of power, but he’s drawn plenty of walks while rarely striking out over the course of his career. Like Pacheco, he rose from High-A to Triple-A this year, posting a cumulative .304/.399/.455 line over 459 plate appearances. BA ranked Donovan fifteenth in the St. Louis system midseason. He could be a bat-first utility option for the big league club as soon as next season.

Phillies Claim Kent Emanuel From Astros, Select Three Players

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The Phillies announced Friday that they’ve claimed lefty Kent Emanuel off waivers from the Astros and selected the contracts of three minor leaguers: infielder Luis Garcia, outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz and righty James McArthur. The Phils now have 36 players on their 40-man roster, and all of today’s additions are protected from the Rule 5 Draft.

Emanuel, 29, is a 2013 third-rounder who’d pitched to a 2.55 ERA with a 13-to-4K / BB ratio through his first 17 2/3 MLB innings. However, I have underwent a primary repair surgery on his left elbow back in June and missed the remainder of the season. Based on past primary repair cases, Emanuel could be reacy early in the 2022 season. That Emanuel’s debut campaign came at age 28 is in part due to the fact that a previous Tommy John surgery wiped out a good chunk of his 2015-16 campaigns.

Emanuel has also missed time with an 80-game PED suspension, though he’s among the growing number of players to raise issue following a positive test of trace amounts of DHCMT (seven picograms, in his case). The Wall Street Journal’s Jared Diamond explored  the issue at length last year, and Emanuel himself posted an 11-minute video  on Instagram  discussing his bewilderment over the positive test. Many fans will be skeptical of any player claiming innocence following a positive PED test, but it’s certainly worth reading Diamond’s column and watching Emanuel’s video for those who didn’t track the story at the time.

Garcia, 21, ranked on the back end of Baseball America’s Top 100 list in the 2018-19 offseason but saw his stock crater after he posted a .516 OPS in 2019. After a lost minor league season in 2020, the switch-hitter bounced back to some extent in 2021, slashing .243/.353/.414 across two Class-A levels.

Ortiz was a headlining international signing by the Phillies back in 2015, landing a $4MM bonus on the strength of his plus raw power. Now 23 years of age, Ortiz slugged 19 long balls in just 303 plate appearances with Class-A Advanced before scuffling mightily in a tiny sample of 88 Double-A plate appearances. The Phils, not wanting to lose a slugger who’s received 70 grades on his raw power (on the 20-80 scale), will dedicate a 40-man spot to keep him.

McArthur, a 2018 12th-rounder, spent most of the season in Double-A, where he pitched to a 4.48 ERA with a 24.4% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 48.3% ground-ball rate. FanGraphs gives him a chance at three above-average pitches but feels there’s a good bit of work left to be done in terms of his command. With 78 innings of respectable Double-A work under his belt, McArthur could be in the mix for a big league look at some point in 2022, should injuries necessitate a dip into the upper levels of the farm system.

Orioles Claim Lucius Fox From Royals

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The Orioles announced Friday that they’ve claimed infielder Lucius Fox off waivers from the Royals. The waiver claim gives Baltimore 33 filled spots on the 40-man roster.

Fox, 24, was a big-time international signing by the Giants out of the Bahamas back in the 2015-16 international signing period. Signed to a $6MM bonus, Fox was viewed as a gifted up-the-middle defender with a promising hit tool but a lack of power. San Francisco clearly wasn’t the only club enamored of his skill set, as he’s been included in a couple of notable trades — going from San Francisco to Tampa Bay in the Evan Longoria swap and from the Rays to the Royals in exchange for Brett Phillips.

To this point in his career, Fox has gotten on base at a respectable clip but has indeed demonstrated a lack of power. In five minor league seasons, he’s posted a .244/.339/.332 batting line — never topping five home runs or 20 doubles in a given season. Scouting reports on Fox, including this one from FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen, note that he has plus speed and strong defensive tools but is still inconsistent with the glove. Fox’s prospect star has dimmer in recent year, and he now comes to the Orioles as the next in a growing line of former-top-prospect waiver claims (e.g. Jorge Mateo, Jahmai Jones).

Fox still has an option remaining, so if he can’t win a piece of what should be a wide-open shortstop competition in Spring Training, he can still be sent to Triple-A Norfolk without needing to first pass through waivers.

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