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Players Electing Free Agency

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Quite a few players will hit the open market this fall, and they’ll do so by way of varying mechanisms. The end of the regular season triggered a recent wave of free agents, consisting of a certain subset of players — namely, those who were outrighted from 40-man rosters during the season and accepted minor-league assignments at that time despite having the right to elect free agency. Players in that situation are entitled instead to hit the open market at season’s end, if they were not added back to the 40-man roster in the meantime.

As conveyed by Matt Eddy of Baseball America, who also covers quite a few other minor moves, these players have now elected free agency:

Athletics: RHP Raul Alcantara, LHP Danny Coulombe

Blue Jays: RHP Mike Hauschild, INF/OF Darnell Sweeney

Braves: LHP Rex Brothers, RHP Miguel Socolovich

Cardinals: LHP Tyler Lyons

Indians: RHP Evan Marshall, RHP Alexi Ogando

Mariners: RHP Christian Bergman, LHP Ross Detwiler, RHP Mike Morin, INF Zach Vincej

Marlins: OF JB Shuck

Mets: RHP Chris Beck, OF Bryce Brentz, RHP Scott Copeland, OF Matt den Dekker, INF Ty Kelly

Nationals: LHP Tommy Milone, OF Moises Sierra, RHP Carlos Torres

Orioles: RHP Jhan Marinez, INF Luis Sardinas

Padres: OF Matt Szczur

Phillies: INF Trevor Plouffe

Pirates: LHP Buddy Boshers, RHP Casey Sadler, RHP A.J. Schugel

Rangers: C Juan Centeno, LHP Anthony Gose, RHP Drew Hutchison, INF Tommy Joseph, RHP Chris Rowley

Rays: INF Brandon Snyder, RHP Ryan Weber

Reds: C Tim Federowicz, RHP Kevin Quackenbush

Tigers: INF Dixon Machado, RHP Jacob Turner

White Sox: RHP Tyler Danish

Mets Designate Ty Kelly

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The Mets have designated utilityman Ty Kelly for assignment, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets. Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported on Twitter that Kelly would be sent out, though it was not yet clear by what method.

That move will allow the team to bring up Phillip Evans, who needed a 40-man and active roster spot. It’s not yet clear what the corresponding move will be for the Mets’ other anticipated move today. The club is reportedly set to bring up infielder Jeff McNeil for the first time.

Kelly, 30, brings plenty of versatility to the table but has not yet provided any offense at the big league level. He’s capable of handling second base, third base and the outfield corners but has compiled just a .203/.288/.323 slash through 188 trips to the plate at the big league level. He’s been more successful in Triple-A, hitting .274/.377/.396 in more than 1900 PAs.

Mets Place Todd Frazier On DL Amid Series Of Roster Moves

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The Mets announced a series of roster moves today, most notably placing third baseman Todd Frazier on the disabled list due to a left rib cage strain. Additionally, the Mets recalled left-hander P.J. Conlon and right-hander Ty Kelly from Triple-A Las Vegas and optioned righty Chris Flexen to Vegas. Right-hander Jacob Rhame is also up with the team as the 26th man for today’s twin bill, and Tim Britton of The Athletic further reports that right-hander Drew Gagnon will have his contract selected tomorrow and start Tuesday night’s game.

It’s the second DL stint of the season for Frazier, 32, who previously missed nearly a month due to a hamstring strain. It’s not clear just how long he’ll miss at present, but the injury certainly won’t do any favors for Frazier’s already limited trade stock. Through 260 plate appearances on the season, Frazier is hitting .217/.300/.385 with 10 homers. As James Wagner of the New York Times points out (via Twitter), Frazier’s second trip to the DL in 2018 comes after a previous seven-year run in which he avoided the DL entirely.

Frazier has played solid defense at third base, per both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating, but Frazier’s walk rate has dropped from 14.4 percent in 2017 to 10.4 percent in 2018, leading to sub-par OBP contributions despite his still-strong power output (.239 ISO). He’s in the first season of a two-year, $17MM contract with the Mets.

The 28-year-old Gagnon will be making his MLB debut when he takes the mound for the Mets on Tuesday. The longtime Brewers farmhand is in his first season with the Mets organization and has pitched to a 4.40 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 with a ground-ball rate just shy of 50 percent. Gagnon’s K/BB numbers and ground-ball tendencies are encouraging, but he’s been plagued by the long ball — perhaps not entirely surprising given the hitter-friendly nature of both the Pacific Coast League in general and his home environment.

 

Mets Release Adrian Gonzalez

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The Mets announced several roster moves after tonight’s win over the Yankees, including the news that first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has been released.  On Tuesday, prior to the team’s next game, catcher Jose Lobaton will be designated for assignment.  The two open roster spots will be filled by Dominic Smith and Ty Kelly, as the Mets will recall Smith and select Kelly’s contract.

Gonzalez found himself a free agent this winter after the Braves acquired him as part of a payroll-shifting trade with the Dodgers and then almost immediately released the veteran first baseman.  With the Braves covering virtually all of Gonzalez’s 2018 salary, the Mets inked him to a minimum-salary contract to see if they could find a bargain if Gonzalez regained any of his old form.

After a hot start in his first few games, however, Gonzalez settled into being a below-average bat and has most recently been caught in a deep slump, with just a .550 OPS over his last 43 plate appearances coming into tonight’s game.  He’ll conclude his Mets tenure with a .237/.299/.373 slash line and six homers over 187 PA, with the bulk of his at-bats coming against right-handed pitching.

“A-Gon” began to show some signs of decline in 2016 (though still posting a 111 wRC+) and then cratered in 2017, as a severe back injury limited him to just 71 games and he hit only .242/.287/.355 over 252 PA.  Gonzalez has looked generally healthy during his time with the Mets, though at age 36 and showing little sign of his old hitting prowess, one has to wonder if this could mark the end of Gonzalez’s otherwise outstanding 15-year career in the big leagues.

Ranked as one of baseball’s top-100 prospects coming into last season, Smith’s star dimmed after a mediocre start to his MLB career, as he hit just .198/.262/.395 and struck out a whopping 49 times over 183 PA last season.  Mets GM Sandy Alderson was rather bluntly critical about Smith’s first stint in the big leagues, and the team’s acquisitions of Gonzalez and Jay Bruce in the offseason indicated that the team felt Smith needed more seasoning before being given another crack at regular first base duty.

The first base picture at Citi Field is still rather unclear, as both Smith and Bruce are left-handed bats and thus not an ideal platoon mix.  The right-handed hitting Jose Bautista is also on the roster, and utilityman Wilmer Flores is on the DL.  Brandon Nimmo’s emergence as an everyday player has helped the Mets withstand the loss of the injured Yoenis Cespedes, though it could lead to a bit of a roster logjam at the first base and corner outfield spots once Flores and Cespedes return (though the latter may not be back for a while yet).

Further complicating matters is the fact that Asdrubal Cabrera left tonight’s game with a hamstring issue, which could explain why utilityman Kelly is headed for another stint with the Mets.  Rookie Luis Guillorme and struggling veteran Jose Reyes also provide infield depth on the roster, and if Cabrera does require some DL time, it could give Reyes some more opportunity to turn around his disastrous season.

Lobaton signed a minors deal over the winter to provide catching depth that quite immediately became necessary as Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki were both sidelined with injuries.  With Plawecki back and Devin Mesoraco establishing himself as a regular, Lobaton became the odd man out.  This is the second time in under a month that Lobaton will enter DFA limbo, so he could very well clear waivers again and return to Triple-A.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/23/18

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We’ll track the day’s minor moves in this post:

  • Outfielder Jacob May was outrighted by the White Sox after clearing waivers, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports. Likewise, Angels lefty Nate Smith is headed for Triple-A via outright. Both were designated for assignment recently.
  • Infielder Ty Kelly is returning to the Mets, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). The 29-year-old first reached the bigs in New York and also spent time in the majors last year with the Phillies. He has hit well at times in the upper minors but has yet to translate that to the majors in limited opportunities.
  • The Tigers have purchased the contract of lefty Caleb Thielbar from the St. Paul Saints, per an announcement from the indy ball club. Soon to turn 31, Thielbar hasn’t seen the majors since 2015. In 98 2/3 total innings at the game’s highest level, though, he has pitched to a 2.74 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9. He was released by the Marlins just before the start of the 2017 season after competing for a job in camp.
  • Righty Carlos Frias is re-joining the Indians on a minors pact, the club announced. The 28-year-old, who has not seen substantial MLB time since 2015, stumbled to an 8.05 ERA with an ugly 21:22 K/BB ratio at Triple-A last year with the Cleveland organization.
  • The Angels have re-signed lefty John Lamb, Cotillo tweets. Once a well-regarded prospect, the 27-year-old saw his career derailed by back issues. He did throw 139 innings at Triple-A last year with the Halos organization, though he managed only a 5.44 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9.
  • Reliever Bryan Harper has re-joined the Nationals on a minor-league deal with a spring invite, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports on Twitter. Bryce’s older brother has never been seen as a major asset, but he’s an accomplished minor-league reliever. He missed all of 2017 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but has allowed less than three earned runs per nine in over a hundred frames in the upper minors.
  • Outfielder Matt Lipka is joining the Giants organization on a minor-league deal, Cotillo also tweets. A first-round pick in the 2010 draft, Lipka has not yet shown that he can hand the bat in the upper minors. He posted a .754 OPS in 370 plate appearances last year at the High-A level, but limped to a .160/.216/.223 slash over his 102 trips to the plate at Double-A.

Henderson Alvarez, Kevin Siegrist To Elect Free Agency

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The Phillies announced today that right-hander Henderson Alvarez, left-hander Kevin Siegrist and infielder/outfielder Ty Kelly have cleared outright waivers and intend to elect free agency. Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer first reported that Kelly would elect free agency after clearing waivers.

It’s not terribly surprising to see the trio return to the open market after helping to round out the roster for a rebuilding Phillies organization in 2017. All three could have been kept — the former two via arbitration — but the Phils decided to keep the 40-man roster spots (and funds) open for other opportunities.

Though Alvarez made only three appearances  in the majors, they were his first since early in 2015. He held opposing hitters to seven earned runs in 14 2/3 frames, but allowed 11 walks while recording just six strikeouts. Alvarez also worked only in the 91 to 92 mph range with his fastball, well off his peak, though he’s sure to get a look with some organization in Spring Training. Once a productive starter with the Marlins, Alvarez is still just 27 years of age.

Siegrist, 28, was claimed by the Phillies after being cut loose by the Cardinals and seemingly was a candidate to be tendered a contract. Upon landing in Philadelphia, he threw five frames, recording seven strikeouts against two walks while allowing two earned runs. Siegrist likely would not have commanded much more than his $1.6MM salary from 2017, and would have come with another year of arbitration control, but evidently he didn’t show enough to convince the Phillies’ front office.

As for Kelly, he still hasn’t shown much indication that he’ll do enough damage offensively to be more than a utility player in the majors. The 29-year-old now carries a .211/.297/.340 slash through 176 MLB plate appearances. He has been fairly productive over six seasons at Triple-A, earning a .382 on-base percentage by walking nearly as often as he strikes out (233 of the former and 237 of the latter through 1,612 plate appearances), though his power has lagged (.385 slugging percentage) at the highest level of the minors.

NL Notes: D-backs, Mets, Phillies, Nats

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The Diamondbacks could be in for bad news regarding right-hander Shelby Miller, who, as Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com tweets, exited his start Sunday with forearm tightness. Arizona is scheduling an MRI for Miller, who lasted four-plus innings and allowed three earned runs in a loss to the Dodgers. Manager Torey Lovullo is trying to be optimistic, notes Bloom, but Steve Gilbert of MLB.com observes (on Twitter) that the situation is “not good.” Forearm tightness often portends Tommy John surgery, which would be the biggest setback yet in Miller’s rocky tenure with the Diamondbacks. The club’s previous regime drew seemingly endless criticism for sending a Dansby Swanson– and Ender Inciarte-led package to the Braves for Miller two winters ago. General manager Dave Stewart and senior vice president of baseball operations De Jon Watson lost their jobs last fall after Miller struggled through a 2016 to forget, pitching to a 6.15 ERA in 101 major league innings and enduring a demotion to the minor leagues. Thanks in part to improved velocity, though, Miller has fared respectably this year with a 4.09 ERA and 3.29 FIP in 22 frames.

More from the National League:

  • With an .095/.186/.127 batting line in 70 plate appearances, Mets infielder Jose Reyes has been among the majors’ worst players this year. Nevertheless, the Mets aren’t considering releasing the 33-year-old, according to Newsday’s Marc Carig, who casts doubt on the possibility of the team cutting him even if his performance doesn’t improve soon. Reyes makes a minimum salary and is a speedy switch-hitter who can play shortstop, all of which are facts that work in his favor, Carig writes. While the Mets have an elite shortstop prospect in Amed Rosario, who has slashed .355/.382/.353 in 55 PAs this season, a promotion for him isn’t imminent, sources told Carig. The Mets don’t want to rush either the 21-year-old Rosario or first base prospect Dominic Smith (also 21) to the majors.
  • Phillies left fielder Howie Kendrick’s previously reported abdominal strain is actually an oblique strain, one that’s likely to keep him out until “sometime in the early to mid part of May,” GM Matt Klentak informed Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice. With Kendrick unavailable for a while, Klentak acquired infielder/outfielder Ty Kelly from the Blue Jays on Saturday. It turns out the Klentak-led Phillies had Kelly on their radar in the past. “Kelly is a guy who was on waivers twice in the last few months, and both times that he was passing through waivers we were intrigued by him and would have liked to have placed a claim but our roster was in a position where he couldn’t do it,” Klentak said. “But now with the ability to transfer (Clay) Buchholz to the (60-day DL) and free up a spot, we were able to acquire him.” Aaron Altherr, not Kelly, will see the majority of time in left while Kendrick’s out, Lawrence notes.
  • The Nationals will place righty Stephen Strasburg on the paternity leave list Monday, meaning he’ll miss his scheduled start Tuesday in Colorado, reports Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. Washington is likely to recall Jacob Turner to fill Strasburg’s void for a start, while the latter will return in time to take the mound either Friday or Saturday.

Phillies Acquire Ty Kelly From Blue Jays

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The Phillies have announced that they’ve acquired IF/OF Ty Kelly from the Blue Jays for cash considerations. To clear space on their 40-man roster, they’ve placed Clay Buchholz (who will miss the next four to six months after having flexor tendon surgery) on the 60-day DL.

The Jays designated Kelly for assignment yesterday when they added Mat Latos to their roster. Kelly had only been in the Blue Jays organization for two weeks, with the Jays claiming him from the Mets earlier this month.

Kelly is 28 and has just 72 big-league plate appearances to his name, but it’s not hard to see why he continues to draw interest on the waiver wire — he has nearly as many minor-league walks as strikeouts and a career .381 minor-league OBP, and he played every position but pitcher and catcher for the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate last year. (He spends most of his time at second and third and in left, however.) The Phillies’ immediate plans for him aren’t yet clear, though it’s worth noting that left fielder Howie Kendrick’s recent abdominal strain might have been a factor in their pursuit of Kelly.

Blue Jays Select Mat Latos, Designate Ty Kelly

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The Blue Jays announced today that infielder Ty Kelly was designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to righty Mat Latos, whose pending call-up was reported recently.

The 28-year-old Kelly was only just acquired from the Mets through a waiver claim. He was optioned to Triple-A upon landing with the Toronto organization, and only got into two games of action before this latest roster move. Of course, he could still end up back at Buffalo if he clears waivers this time around — though Kelly would also have the opportunity to elect free agency instead.

Kelly has minimal experience in the majors, but has shown excellent contact ability and plate discipline in the upper minors. In six campaigns and over 1,500 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Kelly has compiled a .381 OBP (though he has slugged just .383) by drawing 230 walks against 237 strikeouts. He also brings some versatility to the table, with experience at second, third, and the corner outfield.

Blue Jays Claim Ty Kelly From Mets

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The Blue Jays announced that they’ve claimed infielder Ty Kelly off waivers from the Mets. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the Jays transferred injured Rule 5 pick Glenn Sparkman from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL.

Kelly, 28, made his MLB debut with New York last year and batted .241/.352/.345 in 71 plate appearances. A former 13th-round pick by the Orioles (2009), Kelly has spent most of his minor league career playing second base and third base, though he does have more than 1000 innings of experience in left field as well. The switch-hitter has a lifetime .275/.382/.383 batting line in 397 games and 1586 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

The minor league veteran will serve as a depth option for the Blue Jays, who needn’t carry him on the Major League roster immediately, as he does have a minor league option remaining. Toronto second baseman Devon Travis has a history of injuries, and third baseman Josh Donaldson left Sunday’s game with a minor hamstring issue, though he’s already expressed confidence that he’ll be able to play in tomorrow’s game. Kelly nonetheless gives the Jays a bit of insurance against any significant injury around the infield and potentially in the corner outfield as well.

As for Sparkman, the 24-year-old suffered a broken thumb back in Spring Training during pitchers’ fielding practice and seemingly won’t be ready to get back on the mound before the onset of summer.

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