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Archives for November 2020

Yonder Alonso Announces Retirement

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First baseman Yonder Alonso announced his retirement in an Instagram post this afternoon (h/t to reporter Ben Ross). That will bring to an end a career that saw him log big league action in parts of ten seasons.

The seventh overall pick by the Reds in the 2008 draft, Alonso immediately became a top prospect, a status he’d hold each season climbing up the minor-league ladder. While he made his big league debut with the Reds, Alonso became an integral part of the Padres’ return in the Mat Latos blockbuster during the 2011-12 offseason.

Over parts of four seasons as the Friars’ regular first baseman, Alonso posted a .271/.339/.386 slash. San Diego traded him to the Athletics after the 2015 season. After a disappointing 2016 effort, Alonso went to work on revamping his swing as one of the league’s earlier adopters of an air-oriented approach. The swing change came together as hoped, with Alonso posting a .266/.365/.501 line and popping a career-best 28 home runs in 521 plate appearances that season. He was honored with an All-Star selection for his performance, which he parlayed into a two-year deal with the Indians as a free agent that offseason.

Unfortunately, Alonso’s massive gains at the plate proved to be short-lived. After an average offensive effort in 2018, Cleveland shipped Alonso to the White Sox. He struggled mightily with Chicago and the Rockies, forcing him to settle for a minor-league deal this winter. Alonso didn’t make it back to the majors this past season.

Altogether, Alonso played in 1,072 major league games and took 3,773 plate appearances at the highest level. He posted a cumulative .259/.332/.404 slash line and hit exactly 100 home runs. Alonso suited up for seven different clubs and represented Oakland during the aforementioned All-Star appearance in 2017. MLBTR wishes Alonso the best in retirement.

Mariners Add 4 Players To 40-Man Roster

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The Mariners announced that they have selected outfielder Taylor Trammell and three right-handers – Juan Then, Sam Delaplane and Wyatt Mills – to their 40-man roster.

Trammell, the most notable name in the bunch, is a former first-round pick (No. 35 to the Reds in 2016) and a top 100-caliber prospect who has been involved in two significant trades over the past couple years. He was first part of the mega-deal involving the Trevor Bauer, the Padres, Reds and Indians in 2019. San Diego then dealt Trammell to the Mariners in a seven-player swap before last August’s trade deadline. The 23-year-old now ranks as the Mariners’ No. 5 prospect at MLB.com.

Then, whom the Mariners acquired from the Yankees in a summer 2019 trade centering on Edwin Encarnacion, is MLB.com’s No. 14 Mariners prospect. Delaplane (No. 20) and Mills (No. 23) are also in their top 30. The Mariners added Delaplane with a 23rd-round pick in 2017 and picked up Mills, a Washington native, in Round 3 during the same year.

Angels Select Brandon Marsh, Chris Rodriguez

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The Angels announced Friday that they’ve selected two of their top prospects to the 40-man roster: outfielder Brandon Marsh and righty Chris Rodriguez. Both would’ve otherwise been eligible for selection in next month’s Rule 5 Draft. The Angels’ roster is now up to 38 players.

Marsh, 22, has been considered the Angels’ best prospect behind Jo Adell for some time now. The 2016 second-rounder spent the 2019 season in Double-A, where he posted a hearty .300/.383/.428 clip in an overwhelmingly pitcher-friendly setting — good for a 137 wRC+. He entered the 2020 season as a consensus Top 100 prospect and still holds that designation, ranking 30th at FanGraphs, 38th at Baseball America and 73rd at MLB.com. He draws praise for plus speed, a plus arm and plenty of range to play center field, although he obviously won’t be manning that position for the Halos. Marsh also draws good marks for raw power that he’s yet to tap into, as well as an above-average hit tool. There was never any doubt that he’d be protected from Rule 5 status.

Rodriguez’s selection to the roster is similarly unsurprising. Although the 2016 fourth-rounder has barely pitched since 2017 due to a back injury that eventually required surgery, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen writes that when healthy, Rodriguez has better stuff than any pitcher in the Angels’ farm system. He’s pitched just 77 2/3 frames since being drafted and has a lackluster 4.75 ERA to show for it, but scouting reports on Rodriguez praise him for possessing a true four-pitch mix, including a plus heater and a pair of potentially plus breaking balls, as well as the command to locate that arsenal.

D-backs Claim Rogelio Armenteros, Outright Domingo Leyba

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The Diamondbacks announced Friday that they’ve claimed righty Rogelio Armenteros off waivers from the Astros and outrighted infielder Domingo Leyba to Triple-A Reno. The D-backs’ roster is at 37 players. The Astros are down to 35.

Armenteros, 26, didn’t pitch in 2020 owing to surgery that removed a bone spur from his right elbow. He made his big league debut with the Astros in 2019, however, and pitched to a 4.00 ERA with an 18-to-5 K/BB ratio in 18 innings (four starts). The righty has a generally sharp track record in parts of three seasons in the hitter-friendly Triple-A Pacific Coast League, having compiled a 3.73 ERA with averages of 10 strikeouts, 3.4 walks and 1.2 homers per nine innings pitched. He also has a minor league option remaining, so he’ll represent a nice depth addition for the D-backs’ staff.

Leyba, 25, came to the D-backs alongside Robbie Ray back in 2014’s three-team swap that sent Didi Gregorius to the Bronx and Shane Greene to Detroit. He made his MLB debut in 2019 and batted .280/.367/.440 in a tiny sample of 30 plate appearances, but he’s been oft-injured throughout his minor league career and has shown a glaring lack of power outside of 2019’s juiced-ball season in Triple-A. He has strong bat-to-ball skills, striking out in just 14 percent of his career plate appearances in the minors, but the fact that he went unclaimed is indicative of concerns surrounding his overall game.

White Sox Claim Emilio Vargas, Add Three Others To 40-Man Roster

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The White Sox announced Friday that they’ve claimed righty Emilio Vargas off waivers from the D-backs and selected the contracts of infielder Jake Burger, right-hander Tyler Johnson and infielder Gavin Sheets. The moves leave the ChiSox with a full 40-man roster.

Vargas, 24, wasn’t included in the D-backs’ player pool in 2020. His 2019 season was spent primarily at the Double-A level, where he worked to a 3.78 ERA and 4.20 FIP with 7.4 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 1.05 HR/9 and a 42.6 percent grounder rate in 85 2/3 innings (17 starts). He wasn’t considered to be among the Diamondbacks’ 30 best prospects at MLB.com or FanGraphs, but he’ll give the club some rotation depth at the upper levels of the system — that is, of course, assuming he makes it through the offseason on their roster, which isn’t a given.

Burger, 24, was the 11th overall pick in 2017 and has had his career to date decimated by a series of left leg/foot injuries. Burger has twice torn the Achilles tendon in his left leg, and upon returning from that issue in 2019, a heel injury wiped out his entire season. He hasn’t suited up for a game since way back in 2017, the same year he was drafted, but the third baseman was a prolific college hitter who turned in a .263/.336/.412 slash with Class-A Kannapolis after being drafted.

Both Johnson and Sheets are considered to be among the White Sox top 20 or so prospects. Johnson posted a 2.59 ERA and punched out 43 hitters in 31 1/3 innings of minor league relief work in 2019. Sheets was a second-round first baseman out of Wake Forest in 2017 who posted a .267/.345/.414 slash in an extremely pitcher-friendly Double-A setting in 2019 (122 wRC+).

Nationals Select Yasel Antuna, Joan Adon

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The Nationals announced Friday that they’ve selected the contracts of infielder Yasel Antuna and right-hander Joan Adon. Both are now on the 40-man roster and shielded from selection in next month’s Rule 5 Draft.

Antuna and Adon rank 12th and 16th among Nats farmhands at MLB.com at the moment, though Baseball America placed Antuna as high as fourth in the system. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked the 21-year-old Antuna 13th among Nats farmhands, noting that Tommy John surgery derailed his 2019 season. It’d have been aggressive for any club to select Antuna in next month’s draft, given that he’s only played 87 games above Rookie ball, but the Nats clearly feel that the switch-hitter has the potential to grow into power and emerge as a coveted prospect. Antuna spent the season in the Nats’ player pool, so they got a look at him over the course of the summer.

Adon, 22, spent the 2019 season in the Nationals’ Class-A rotation and worked to a 3.86 ERA with 7.7 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 45 percent ground-ball rate. He runs his heater up to 96 mph and repeats his delivery well, per MLB.com’s report on him, but he still has some work to do on his secondary offerings. Like Antuna, he was in the Nats’ player pool this summer, and the organization clearly liked what it saw from him there.

Braves Claim Jack Mayfield, Select Kyle Muller

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The Braves announced Friday that they’ve claimed infielder Jack Mayfield off waivers from the Astros. Lefty Kyle Muller was also selected to the 40-man roster, protecting him from the Rule 5 Draft. The moves bring Atlanta’s 40-man roster to a total of 38 players. Mayfield’s departure drops Astros’ 40-man count to 36.

Mayfield, 30, has seen time with the ’Stros in each of the past two seasons but managed only a .170/.198/.283 batting line through 112 plate appearances at the big league level. It’s obviously a tiny sample of work, however, and Mayfield’s career .268/.325/.472 slash in parts of four Triple-A seasons (1224 plate appearances) creates some more reason for optimism.

With the Astros, Mayfield  served as a right-handed-hitting backup at second base, shortstop and third base, grading well defensively at each position. He also still has minor league options remaining, so he could be a depth piece the Braves shuttle between the Majors and Triple-A Gwinnett in 2021 if he survives the offseason on the 40-man roster.

Muller, 23, was a second-round pick by Atlanta back in 2016. He’s long ranked among the organization’s more promising arms and has impressed with a 3.12 ERA and nearly a strikeout per frame in 140 2/3 Double-A innings. However, he’s also been critiqued for sub-par command, and that flaw was apparent in 2019 when he walked 68 batters, plunked another seven and rattled off 16 wild pitches in 111 2/3 frames.

Mets Sign Sam McWilliams To Major League Contract

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The Mets announced Friday that they’ve signed right-hander Sam McWilliams to a one-year, Major League contract. The 25-year-old has yet to make his MLB debut and spent the 2020 season in the Rays’ 60-man player pool. The contract comes with a $750K salary, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, which is considerably north of the league minimum — an unusually high commitment for a minor league free agent on a Major League deal. McWilliams is represented by Brian Grieper of Paragon Sports International.

An eighth-round pick by the Phillies back in 2014, McWilliams was traded to the D-backs a year after being selected in the deal that brought righty Jeremy Hellickson to Philadelphia. Arizona then shipped him to Tampa Bay alongside southpaw Colin Poche to complete their acquisition of Steven Souza Jr. in 2018.

The 6’7″ McWilliams has just 44 innings of Triple-A work under his belt, and they didn’t go particularly well (8.18 ERA), but he fared well prior to reaching the top minor league level. In a total of 535 innings since being drafted, he owns a 3.85 ERA with 7.0 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and 1.4 HR/9. He’ll step into one of the three vacancies the Mets had on their 40-man roster, bringing their total to 37 players.

A’s Add Three To 40-Man Roster, Announce Several Minor League Signings

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The Athletics announced Friday that they’ve selected the contracts of right-handers Miguel Romero and Wandisson Charles, as well as outfielder Greg Deichmann. Oakland also announced minor league deals and non-roster invites to Spring Training for 11 players. Right-handers Domingo Acevedo, Cristian Alvarado, Argenis Angulo, Matt Blackham, Ben Bracewell, Montana DuRapau, Brian Schlitter and Trey Supak will all be in camp with the A’s next year, as will infielders Pete Kozma, Frank Schwindel and Jacob Wilson.

Each of Romero, Charles and Deichmann was in Oakland’s 60-man player pool for the truncated 2020 regular season, but none of the three made his big league debut this year. Both Deichmann (No. 13) and Romero (No. 25) currently rank among the Athletics’ Top 30 prospects at MLB.com.

Deichmann was a second-round pick out of LSU in 2017 and has struggled at the plate in the minors due to wrist injuries, but he erupted with nine homers, two doubles and a triple in just 95 Arizona Fall League plate appearances in 2019. Romero, 26, averaged 10 K/9 and kept his ERA south of 4.00 in an outrageously hitter-friendly Triple-A setting in 2019 — a far more difficult task than one might expect at first glance. Just 28 of the 143 Triple-A pitchers with at least 70 innings managed a sub-4.00 mark thanks to the introduction of what was widely believed to be a juiced ball in an already hitter-friendly setting.

Among the non-roster invitees, Kozma jumps out at the most recognizable name. The former Cardinals shortstop has long been touted as a defensive wizard but has never been able to provide much in the way of offense to accompany his proficiency with the leather. DuRapau’s agents announced his signing last week, as we previously covered. The 34-year-old Schlitter is a well-traveled journeyman who logged 9 2/3 frames with the A’s in ’19. Supak was once a well-regarded prospect with both the Brewers and Pirates but will look for a fresh start with the Oakland org. Schwindel, a right-handed-hitting first baseman, got a very small cup of coffee with the 2019 Royals.

Royals’ Chance Adams Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Royals right-hander Chance Adams underwent Tommy John surgery last month, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports (via Twitter). The organization never announced the surgery, but the procedure will wipe out Adams’ entire 2021 season. As Flanagan points out, that could be a key factor today as the Royals look to set their 40-man roster in advance of tonight’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft. Adams could be outrighted off the 40-man roster to open an additional spot for the Royals, whose 40-man roster currently contains 39 players.

Adams, 26, is among the many cautionary tales for top pitching prospects. The 2015 fifth-rounder entered the 2018 season as a consensus Top 100 prospect in the game but struggled through a lackluster Triple-A showing and was hit hard in a brief MLB debut that year. It was a similar story in 2019, and last winter he was designated for assignment then traded to the Royals when the Yankees inked Gerrit Cole to his record-setting contract.

Adams made it to the big leagues with Kansas City in 2020 but was again hit hard in a limited showing. In all, he’s pitched 41 2/3 frames at the MLB level and logged a grisly 8.42 ERA with a 33-to-15 K/BB ratio and a woeful 11 home runs allowed. Even Adams’ last few turns through the Triple-A level haven’t been particularly impressive; in 2018-19 he worked to a combined 4.72 ERA in nearly 200 innings with the Yankees’ affiliate in Scranton.

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