Minor MLB Transactions: 6/11/16

Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.

• The Dodgers have released outfielder Jose Tabata, MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets. Tabata was hitting .240/.340/.333 for Triple-A Oklahoma City. Acquired last year for Michael Morse in an exchange of bad contracts, Tabata never played in the big leagues for the Dodgers. The former top Yankees and Pirates prospect is still owed the remainder of his $4.5MM 2016 salary from the long-term deal he signed with the Pirates in 2011, plus a $250K buyout on his 2017 option.
• The Rangers have acquired righty reliever Justin De Fratus from the Mariners, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan tweets. The deal completes last month’s Patrick Kivlehan trade, tweets MLB.com’s Greg Johns. The 28-year-old De Fratus was pitching for Triple-A Tacoma, where he’d posted a 3.21 ERA, 5.8 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 28 innings. He has a 4.08 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in five big-league seasons, all of them spent with the Phillies.
• Veteran outfielder Will Venable is now a free agent after opting out of his minor league deal with the Phillies, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. Venable has had a disappointing season thus far for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, batting .205/.304/.307 in 149 plate appearances. He hit .244/.320/.350 with the Padres and Rangers in 2015, then was released by the Indians near the end of Spring Training before being picked up by Philadelphia.
• The Athletics have announced that they’ve selected the contract of righty Daniel Mengden, who will start today against the Reds. Mengden, an Astros draftee who headed to Oakland in the Scott Kazmir trade last July, had compiled a 1.19 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 68 1/3 innings this season split between Double-A and Triple-A. MLB.com rates Mengden as the Athletics’ 14th-best prospect, noting his “old-timey delivery and exaggerated windup,” which creates deception but also could ultimately result in a move to the bullpen. To clear space for Mengden on the 40-man roster, the Athletics transferred Mark Canha (hip) to the 60-day DL.