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Mets Sign Yacksel Ríos To Minor League Deal

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The Mets have signed right-hander Yacksel Ríos to a minor league deal, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. The righty also receives an invitation to major league Spring Training.

Ríos, 30, has 98 1/3 innings of major league experience, but scattered over six seasons. He’s pitched for the Phillies, Pirates, Mariners, Red Sox and Athletics, never topping 36 frames in any individual season. He has a combined 6.32 earned run average in his career, having struck out 20.8% of opponents while giving out walks at a 12.5% clip.

He started the year with the Braves on a minor league deal and looked in good form for a while. He tossed 25 1/3 innings for their Triple-A club with a 2.49 ERA, 30.3% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate. He was traded to the A’s in June in a cash deal and was quickly added to the major league roster, but he landed on the injured list after just three appearances. In July, he required surgery to repair an axillary branch aneurysm in his right shoulder. He was outrighted off the roster in October and elected free agency.

The major league track record isn’t especially impressive, but he’s been better in the minors. That includes a 4.12 ERA at Triple-A in 168 1/3 innings over six separate seasons. He has struck out a quarter of batters faced at that level, though he’s also given out free passes at a 12% clip. For the Mets, there’s no harm in bringing him aboard via this minor league deal to provide some non-roster depth. If selected to the roster, he is out of options but has just over three years of service time.

Athletics Outright Four Players To Triple-A

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TODAY: Neal and Rios each elected free agency rather than accept the outright assignment, as per MILB.com’s official transactions page.

OCTOBER 4: The A’s cleared some space off their 40-man roster, announcing today that right-handers Austin Pruitt, Zach Neal, and Yacksel Rios, and left-hander Richard Lovelady were all outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers.  There hadn’t been any public knowledge that the quartet had been designated for assignment, yet all four passed through the waiver wire and (for now) will remain in Oakland’s organization.

Pruitt, Neal, Rios have each have the option of electing free agency rather than accepting the assignment to Triple-A, since they’ve previously been outrighted during their careers.  Pruitt and Rios are both eligible for salary arbitration this winter and will probably be non-tendered, so they’re likely to just hit the open market now rather than wait for an official release.

Neal signed a minor league contract with the A’s in April, and posted a 6.67 ERA over 27 innings at the big league level.  This marked Neal’s first MLB action since he pitched with the Dodgers in 2018, as Neal had in the interim pitched three seasons in Japan and then with the Rockies’ Triple-A club in 2022 without receiving a call up to Colorado’s active roster.

Pruitt, Rios, and Lovelady all finished the season on the injured list.  Pruitt had seen the most action (48 1/3 innings in 38 appearances) before a right forearm strain ultimately ended his season on August 17.  It doesn’t appear as though Pruitt’s injury is a long-term issue, as he had started a throwing program and had advanced to throwing live batting practices in September.

That’s some good news for a pitcher who has already had one major injury setback in his career, as Pruitt missed all of the 2020 season and half of the 2021 season recovering from a hairline fracture in his right elbow.  Pruitt posted a 4.83 ERA over 207 MLB innings with the Rays, Astros, and Marlins from 2017-21 before catching on with the A’s on minor league deals in each of the last two seasons.  Pruitt had a 4.23 ERA in 55 1/3 frames for Oakland in 2022 and then a 2.98 ERA this past season, giving him some solid bottom-line results even if his advanced metrics (4.32 SIERA in 2022-23) indicated that he benefited from some good fortune.

The Athletics acquired Rios in a June trade with the Braves, and after the righty’s contract was selected from Triple-A, he made only three appearances before heading to the 15-day (and then shortly thereafter the 60-day) injured list.  Rios has Raynaud’s Syndrome, and was feeling numbness in two fingers caused by a reduction in blood flow to his hands.  A surgery in July removed an axillary branch aneurysm from Rios’ shoulder, which should help him ultimately heal up even if it meant the end of his 2023 season.

Rios is a veteran of six Major League seasons, with a 6.32 ERA over 98 1/3 career innings with five different teams.  He didn’t pitch in the majors in 2022 while playing in the White Sox organization, and inked a minors deal with Atlanta last winter.

Lovelady also came to the A’s from the Braves, as Oakland selected him off waivers in April.  Lovelady had a 4.63 ERA in 23 1/3 relief innings for the Athletics before being shut down after suffering a pronator strain in his throwing forearm in July.  This new injury comes in the wake of a 2021 Tommy John surgery that caused Lovelady to miss the entire 2022 season while rehabbing.  The southpaw had a 5.62 ERA in 41 2/3 innings over parts of the 2019-21 seasons with the Royals, and Kansas City traded him to the Braves a couple of weeks before Oakland’s waiver claim.

Athletics’ Drew Rucinski, Yacksel Rios Require Season-Ending Surgery

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Athletics right-handers Drew Rucinski and Yacksel Rios will see their 2023 seasons draw to a close early due to injury, per MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos (Twitter links). Rios underwent surgery yesterday to repair an axillary branch aneurysm in his right shoulder. Rucinski will require back surgery to address what was described by the team in late June to be a degenerative condition. Both players are on the 60-day injured list already.

Rucinski, 34, had hoped to establish himself in the big leagues this season after starring in the Korea Baseball Organization for the past several years. The journeyman righty had just 54 big league innings under his belt prior to this season, all coming between 2014-18. He didn’t pitch particularly well in that time (5.33 ERA) but spent the 2019-22 seasons with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization, pitching to a combined 3.06 ERA in 732 2/3 innings of work. The right-hander displayed remarkable consistency overseas, with his ERA sitting between 2.97 and 3.17 in all four of his KBO campaigns.

When his latest contract with the Dinos expired after the 2022 campaign, Rucinski set his sights on a return to North American ball. The A’s, hoping to find similar success to the D-backs (Merrill Kelly) and Mariners (Chris Flexen) in their own KBO dealings, signed Rucinski to a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $3MM.

Clearly, things haven’t gone as hoped. Rucinski pitched just 18 innings for Oakland, missing time first with a stomach illness, then with a knee sprain and now this current back injury. He was perhaps never at 100 percent, as the righty was tagged for 18 runs on 27 hits and 14 walks with just six strikeouts in his 18 frames for the A’s. His contract has a $5MM option for the 2024 season, though that’ll surely be bought out.

Rios, acquired in a cash deal with the Braves last month after he triggered an upward mobility clause in his contract, pitched in just three games for the A’s. In a total of 1 2/3 frames, he yielded seven runs on three hits and six walks. It was a substantial downturn from the excellent 2.49 ERA, 30.3% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate the hard-throwing Rios had posted in Triple-A with the Braves.

Rios has seen time in parts of six big league seasons, pitching to a combined 6.32 ERA in 98 1/3 frames. He throws hard, misses bats and has had decent results in Triple-A (4.12 ERA in six seasons), so he should get another look as a depth option somewhere in the offseason. For now, he’ll accrue Major League service time and salary on the 60-day IL. That’ll take him over three years of MLB service, making him eligible for arbitration this winter. He’ll be a non-tender candidate for the A’s following the season.

A’s Announce Series Of Roster Moves

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The A’s made a number of transactions before tonight’s series opener with the White Sox. Oakland activated reliever Kirby Snead from the 60-day injured list while recalling Rico Garcia and Jordan Diaz from Triple-A Las Vegas.

Right-handers James Kaprielian and Yacksel Ríos are headed to the 15-day IL, while infielder Jonah Bride was optioned to Vegas. To clear space on the 40-man roster for Snead’s return, the A’s transferred Mason Miller from the 15-day to the 60-day IL.

Snead is back in Mark Kotsay’s bullpen for the first time this year. He strained his throwing shoulder in Spring Training. One of four players acquired from the Blue Jays in the Matt Chapman deal, Snead tossed 44 2/3 innings of 5.84 ERA ball during his first season in Oakland. He has allowed four runs in five innings in Triple-A on a rehab stint.

Kaprielian has a shoulder strain of his own, Kotsay told reporters (including Martín Gallegos of MLB.com). Ríos is battling Raynaud’s syndrome, a condition in which blood flow to a person’s hand can be diminished, thereby leading to numbness. The return timetable on both pitchers is unclear.

Miller has already missed just under two months with a sprain of the UCL in his throwing elbow. That makes his transfer a formality, though his long-term prognosis is still up in the air. Kotsay said Miller will soon go for follow-up examination (via Gallegos). The hard-throwing rookie has been throwing off flat ground for a few weeks and will continue his throwing program pending that evaluation.

In other injury news, catcher Manny Piña has reported to Low-A Stockton for a rehab stint, according to his transaction log at MLB.com. Acquired from the Braves to offset salary in the Sean Murphy deal, Piña has missed the entire season with a left wrist issue. He underwent surgery on the same wrist last May and hasn’t played an MLB game in 14 months.

Athletics Select Yacksel Ríos

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The Athletics announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Yacksel Ríos. Fellow righty Chad Smith was optioned in a corresponding move. To open a spot for Rios on the 40-man roster, righty Drew Rucinski was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Ríos, who turns 30 next week, signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in the offseason but was just acquired by the A’s on the weekend. It was reported at that time that he had a provision in his contract whereby Atlanta had to add him to their roster or else give the other clubs in the league the opportunity to do so, making this selection an expected development.

He has 89 games of major league experience from 2017 to 2021, posting an ERA of 5.77 in that time. He’s had to settle for minor league deals in each of the past two offseasons, however. He linked up with the White Sox for 2022 but never got called up, tossing 33 Triple-A innings with a 4.91 ERA. He’s been much stronger this year with a 2.49 ERA in 25 1/3 innings, striking out 30.3% of batters while walking 8.1%.

The A’s have had quite a poor bullpen this season, as their relievers have a collective 5.58 ERA that’s easily the worst in the majors. They’ll give Ríos a shot based on his hot start and see if he can take any of that to Oakland with him. He’s out of options but could be kept around for future seasons if he sticks on the roster all year long. In that scenario, he would cross just over the three-year service time marker and qualify for arbitration.

As for Rucinski, he was placed on the injured list just over a month ago due to a stomach illness but then subsequently was diagnosed with a low-grade MCL sprain in his right knee. Just over a week ago, manager Mark Kotsay told MLB.com that there would be a shutdown period of two to three weeks. He’ll now be officially ineligible to return until mid-July, 60 days from his initial IL placement. Since he’s still at least a week away from throwing and then will require a ramp-up period, that makes this move fairly procedural.

A’s Acquire Yacksel Rios

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6:56 PM: As noted by Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a clause in Rios’s pact with the Braves required the club to add him to the active roster by tomorrow or else trade him to a team willing to do the same. Given this, it seems all but certain that the A’s will select Rios to the roster ahead of their next game, which will occur Tuesday against the Guardians.

6:43 PM: The Athletics have acquired right-hander Yacksel Rios from the Braves in exchange for cash considerations, per an announcement by Oakland. Rios signed with the Braves on a minor league deal back in January.

A 12th round pick by the Phillies in the 2011 draft, Rios made his MLB debut with the club in 2017, pitching to a league average 4.41 ERA in 16 1/3 innings of work. He’s suited up for the Pirates, Mariners, and Red Sox in addition to the Phillies since then, with his most recent big league work coming with Boston in 2021, where the right-hander threw to a solid 3.70 ERA (128 ERA+) in 24 1/3 innings of work, though his 4.90 FIP indicates that strong run prevention may not have been fully earned. Overall, Rios has a career 5.77 ERA in 96 2/3 big league innings of work. During his big league career, Rios’s biggest issue has been his control, as he sports a career walk rate of 11.5% that spiked has high as 14% during the 2021 season.

While Rios, who celebrates his 30th birthday later this month, has a fairly lengthy track record of mediocrity at the big league level, a dominant start to the 2023 season at the Triple-A level with the Braves has seemingly caught Oakland’s attention. Across 24 2/3 innings with the Braves’ affiliate in Gwinnett, Rios has dominated to a 1.46 ERA with a 31.9% strikeout rate and a far more manageable walk rate of 8.5%. If the journeyman reliever can keep anything approaching that pace with the A’s, it’s possible the club has an intriguing bullpen piece on their hands.

As of now, there’s no word as to whether or not Oakland intends to promote Rios to the majors. That said, given the club’s bullpen sports an MLB-worst ERA of 5.61, it would be of little surprise to see the A’s try to use Rios to give a boost to their relief corps, which currently sports Trevor May, Lucas Erceg, and Sam Moll in the late innings.

Braves Sign Yacksel Rios To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have added right-hander Yacksel Rios on a minor league deal, according to his agent Gavin Kahn of Enter Sports Management. The deal includes an invite to big league spring training.

Rios, 29, spent the past year at Triple-A with the White Sox, but failed to make a big league appearance. At the top level of the minors he tossed 33 innings of 4.91 ERA ball, combining a 24.2% strikeout clip to an 18.4% walk rate.

Originally drafted in the 12the round in 2011 by the Phillies, Rios made his big league debut in 2017 and has seen a decent amount of time in the majors since, appearing in games for the Phillies, Pirates, Mariners and Red Sox. Over that time he’s compiled a 5.77 ERA over 96 2/3 innings. The control issues that plagued him in 2022 have generally been an issue throughout his career, and his 11.5% walk rate in the bigs is well above the league average of 8.6%. He’s generally fared better in the strikeout department, owning a career 21% punch-out clip, just a tick below the league average.

Rios throws a 97mph fastball, and combines that with a slider and splitter. He’ll join the Braves and provide them with a bit of relief pitching depth heading into the new season.

White Sox Sign Yacksel Rios To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox have signed right-handed reliever Yacksel Rios to a minor league deal, according to the transaction tracker at MLB.com. The ongoing lockout and transaction freeze doesn’t prevent teams and players from agreeing to minor league contracts.

Rios was selected by the Phillies in the 12th round of the of the 2011 draft and made his major league debut with the Phils in 2017. After two-plus seasons in Philly, he was claimed on waivers by the Pirates in 2019 but was outrighted after the 2020 season. 2021 saw Rios sign a minor league deal with the Rays, get traded to Seattle, selected to the big leagues, then traded to Boston.

Overall, Rios has 96 2/3 career innings in the big leagues over the past five seasons, with a 5.77 ERA, 21% strikeout rate and 11.5% walk rate, all of which are a bit worse than league average. He finished 2021 on a fairly positive note, as he had an ERA of 3.70 with the Red Sox over 24 1/3 innings. However, his strikeout and walk rates still held close to his career marks, coming in at 21.4% and 14.3% during that stretch. That coincided with .169 BABIP for Rios during his time with Boston, suggesting that the low ERA likely wasn’t sustainable, and the Red Sox designated him for assignment in September.

Rios, 28, will add some depth for a White Sox bullpen that features a number of high-profile righties, headlined by Liam Hendriks, Craig Kimbrel and recent addition Kendall Graveman.

Red Sox Designate Geoff Hartlieb, Yacksel Rios For Assignment

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The Red Sox announced they’ve designated relievers Geoff Hartlieb and Yacksel Rios for assignment. The moves create space on the 40-man roster for Jarren Duran and Jonathan Araúz, both of whom have reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list and optioned to Triple-A Worcester.

Boston claimed Hartlieb off waivers from the Mets a few weeks ago, right as the bullpen was being hit hard by the virus spread throughout the clubhouse. Added for depth, he was immediately optioned to Worcester and didn’t wind up making an appearance with the Red Sox before losing his spot on the 40-man roster.

Hartlieb will find himself on waivers for the third time this season. The 27-year-old began the year with the Pirates, with whom he’d spent the first five years of his pro career. Pittsburgh waived Hartlieb in July, where the Mets claimed him. He’s worked nine innings of eleven-run ball between the two clubs, striking out nine but issuing eleven walks and hitting three batters. In 66 1/3 innings over parts of three MLB seasons, the right-hander owns a 7.46 ERA with a below-average 20.5% strikeout rate and an elevated 14.9% walk percentage.

In spite of those big league struggles, Hartlieb hasn’t yet made it through waivers unclaimed. He’s induced ground-balls on exactly half the balls in play in the majors, a quality rate. He also owns a far more impressive 3.06 ERA in 64 1/3 Triple-A innings, fanning 27.8% of opponents with a more manageable 10.9% walk rate. Hartlieb throws a mid-90s sinker and has gotten decent swing-and-miss numbers on his slider, and he can still be optioned through the end of the 2022 season. It’s not out of the question he lands with another club on waivers.

Rios has been a part of three organizations this year as well. The right-hander signed a minor league deal with the Rays and got off a sterling start with their top affiliate in Durham. He couldn’t crack the loaded Tampa Bay bullpen, but the Mariners acquired him in early June and almost immediately selected him to the majors. His time in Seattle was short-lived, as he was designated for assignment less than a week later and traded to Boston.

Between the M’s and Red Sox, Rios has tossed 27 1/3 innings of 4.28 ERA ball. That’s come with similarly poor peripherals as Hartlieb’s, but Rios has missed plenty of bats in Triple-A. The 28-year-old has a 1.45 ERA in the minors with a 32.9% strikeout percentage. As with Hartlieb, it’s possible another team takes a flier based on that Triple-A dominance, although Rios is in his final option year. Any team that claims him would need to keep him on the active roster next season or expose him to waivers themselves. Rios has previously been outrighted in his career, so he’d have the right to elect free agency if he passes through unclaimed.

Red Sox Activate Chris Sale

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The Red Sox have reinstated Chris Sale from the 60-day injured list, the team has announced. A spot on the 40-man roster was opened by Marwin Gonzalez being designated for assignment yesterday. Additionally, Christian Vazquez was reinstated from the bereavement list. To make room for Sale and Vazquez, Yacksel Rios and Connor Wong have been optioned to Triple-A.

This officially ends the star lefty’s journey of over two years away from big league mounds, having last pitched August 13th of 2019. At that time, he was shut down with elbow inflammation and eventually underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2020.

Prior to this absence, he had been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball for almost a decade. For the eight seasons from 2012 to 2019, he pitched 1,535 1/3 innings with an ERA of 3.05 with 1,896 strikeouts. The 42.8 fWAR he accumulated during that time was third among all pitchers in baseball, behind only Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw.

If Sale is even half as good as that elite level, he’ll provide a huge boost to a Red Sox rotation that has been floundering of late. Martin Perez and Garrett Richards have been moved to the bullpen because of their recent struggles, leaving the club with a three-man rotation of Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta and Eduardo Rodriguez. (Tanner Houck was recalled to start on Thursday but then optioned to Triple-A the next day.) The club has gone on a cold streak of late, surrendering the AL East lead to the Rays, but still holding onto the second AL Wild Card spot, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees.

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