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Indians To Sign Brad Peacock

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The Indians are signing right-hander Brad Peacock to a minor league contract, reports Mandy Bell of MLB.com (Twitter link). The 33-year-old spent the 2013-20 seasons with the Astros.

Peacock was quite often a valuable swing man in Houston. He started 21 of his 34 appearances with the Astros’ 2017 World Series-winning club, pitching to a 3.00 ERA/3.76 SIERA. Despite that quality performance, Peacock found himself squeezed out of a loaded rotation the following season. He was equally effective in a relief role, working to a 3.46 ERA/2.40 SIERA across 65 frames in 2018. Peacock returned to starting in 2019, where he was again productive.

Unfortunately, Peacock’s 2020 season was almost entirely derailed by injury. He only made three relief appearances due to soreness in his throwing shoulder. Ultimately, he required arthroscopic surgery last October and spent the entire offseason recuperating. Peacock returned to health in April, but his market remained quiet until he threw a showcase in front of interested teams earlier this week.

Evidently, Cleveland’s brass was impressed enough with his form to add him to the organization. The Indians have been reeling from a series of injuries to their top trio of starting pitchers. Each of Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale are on the injured list at the moment. That’s left the Indians with an unproven, generally underwhelming starting staff. At 41-31, the Indians are nevertheless only two games back of the White Sox in the American League Central. They’re trying to hang in contention while weathering the injuries to their top starters.

Given that outlook at the big league level, it seems Peacock has a good chance to pitch his way back into a big league rotation relatively quickly. (The Cleveland bullpen is in much better shape health-wise and has been the strength of the team all year). Presumably, Peacock will report to Triple-A Columbus and build up into game shape as a potential starting option for Cleveland in the coming weeks.

Orioles Designate Mickey Jannis For Assignment, Select Konner Wade

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The Orioles announced Friday that they’ve selected the contract of righty Konner Wade from Triple-A Norfolk and designated right-hander Mickey Jannis for assignment in a corresponding move. The O’s also optioned righty Dean Kremer to Norfolk and recalled lefty Alexander Wells.

Jannis was just selected to the major league roster earlier this week. The 33-year-old made his MLB debut Wednesday night against the Astros, but it didn’t go well. He worked 3 1/3 innings of mop-up relief but was tagged for seven runs on eight hits (including three homers), issuing four walks while striking out just one. It was a nightmare outing to be sure, but it also came against a Houston lineup that has been far and away the best in baseball this year. Before that tough debut, the knuckleballer earned a big league look by pitching to a 2.92 ERA in 24 2/3 innings with Norfolk. The O’s will have a week to trade him or place him on waivers.

The designation of Jannis frees up Wade to make a late-career MLB debut of his own. A 7th-round pick out of the University of Arizona in 2013, Wade has spent the past seven seasons climbing the minor league ladder. Most of that time was spent in the Rockies and Red Sox systems, but the 29-year-old signed a minor league deal with Baltimore over the winter. He’s spent the entire year in Norfolk, where he’s tossed 31 innings of 3.48 ERA ball, mostly as a multi-inning reliever. Wade has never been one to miss many bats, and that hasn’t changed this year (16.4% strikeout rate). But the righty also has a long history of quality strike-throwing, and that’s continued in 2021 (4.9% walk rate).

Kremer has spent much of the year in the O’s rotation. He’s struggled mightily, though, pitching to a 7.25 ERA with worse than average strikeout and walk numbers (20% and 10.7%, respectively) over 49 2/3 innings. That’s a disappointing follow-up to a decent four-start MLB look in 2020 for Kremer, who’s long been seen as one of the more promising pitchers in the Baltimore system.

Wells is a decently-regarded prospect in his own right. The 24-year-old doesn’t throw hard or miss bats, but he owns some of the best control in the minors. He has a 5.63 ERA across 32 Triple-A frames this season. Wells will be making his major league debut whenever he gets into a game.

Mets Claim Chance Sisco

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The Mets have claimed catcher Chance Sisco off waivers from the Orioles, per team announcements from both clubs. The Orioles had designated him for assignment last week. The Mets moved J.D. Davis to the 60-day injured list to clear a roster spot for Sisco, who has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse for the time being.

Today’s claim brings to an end Sisco’s tenure with the Orioles, who selected him in the second round of the 2013 draft. The left-handed hitting backstop raked up through Double-A over the next few seasons, eventually earning himself a place on top prospect lists. Baseball America ranked Sisco among the back half of the league’s top 100 minor league talents entering the 2017 and 2018 campaigns, with the expectation that Sisco would cement himself as a bat-first regular behind the dish.

To this point, however, Sisco hasn’t carried that offensive promise over to the highest level. He tallied 598 major league plate appearances with Baltimore over the past five seasons, managing just a cumulative .199/.319/.339 line. He’s popped sixteen home runs and walked at a strong 10.2% clip, but Sisco has become increasingly strikeout prone as he’s climbed to the highest level. He’s gone down on strikes in 32.3% of his MLB plate appearances. Advanced defensive metrics have panned his work behind the plate, which was also a concern for some scouts as he worked his way up the ladder.

While Sisco hasn’t yet proven a valuable big leaguer, there’s little harm for the Mets in placing a claim on an obviously talented player. He’s still just 26 years old and has a decent .264/.352/.421 slash line in 805 career plate appearances at Triple-A. As mentioned, he can also be optioned for the remainder of the year, so the Mets can keep him in Syracuse as high minors’ depth if he remains on the 40-man roster all season.

Davis’ transfer to the 60-day IL is largely a procedural move. It rules him out for 60 days from the time of his initial IL placement (May 3). He’ll be eligible to return on July 1. General manager Zack Scott told reporters (including Tim Britton of the Athletic) earlier this week that Davis could embark on a minor league rehab assignment within a week or two.

Diamondbacks Claim Brett de Geus

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The D-backs announced Friday that they’ve claimed right-hander Brett de Geus off waivers from the Rangers, who’d designated him for assignment earlier in the week. The 23-year-old de Geus was the No. 2 pick in this past December’s Rule 5 Draft, going from the Dodgers to the Rangers.

It’s been a rough debut for de Geus, who has totaled 26 2/3 innings for Texas but been tagged for 25 runs in that time. He’s yielded 31 hits, including three home runs, issued 13 walks and plunked an alarming six batters. De Geus has punched out 26 hitters in those 26 2/3 frames, but a straight K/9 is a little misleading for a pitcher who has walked and hit so many batters; his 20.5 percent overall strikeout rate is well shy of the 24.6 percent league-average for a reliever.

While his MLB debut hasn’t gone particularly well, that’s not much of a surprise considering the fact that de Geus is a 23-year-old making the jump from A-ball to the Majors on the heels of a canceled 2020 minor league season. In May 2020, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen tabbed de Geus as the No. 35 prospect in a deep Dodgers system, noting that a velocity spike upon moving to the bullpen had create some optimism about his chances of emerging as a viable MLB reliever.

Back in 2019, de Geus split the season between Class-A and Class-A Advanced, posting video-game numbers along the way. He combined for 61 2/3 innings of 1.75 ERA ball with a 29.8 percent strikeout rate, a 5.4 percent walk rate and a 56.1 percent ground-ball rate. He’s maintained those impressive ground-ball tendencies in the Majors, inducing grounders at a 55.6 percent clip with Texas.

Because de Geus was a Rule 5 pick, he’ll have to stick on the Diamondbacks’ roster for the remainder of the season or else again be placed on waivers. Were he to theoretically clear waivers if the D-backs exposed him to them a second time, he’d then need to be offered back to the Dodgers organization. Given the catastrophic nature of the Diamondbacks’ 2021 season, however, it shouldn’t be too hard for them to hang onto de Geus through the remainder of the year if they indeed want to permanently secure his rights. Arizona is currently 21-56, making them the only team in Major League Baseball with a sub-.300 winning percentage.

Pirates Trade Troy Stokes Jr., Jandel Gustave To Brewers

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The Pirates and Brewers have agreed to a trade sending outfielder Troy Stokes Jr. and righty Jandel Gustave from Pittsburgh to Milwaukee in exchange for 17-year-old catcher Samuel Escudero, according to a team announcement out of Milwaukee. Stokes and Gustave have both been assigned to Triple-A Nashville for the time being.

It’s a bit of an oddball trade between two division rivals, as neither Stokes nor Gustave are on the 40-man roster for the rebuilding Pirates. Stokes, 25, was originally a fourth-round pick by the Brewers back in 2014 but made his way to the Pirates via a pair of waiver claims over the past couple seasons. He made his MLB debut earlier this season with Pittsburgh, appearing in eight games and 2-for-18, but he’s since been outrighted off the 40-man roster.

Stokes hasn’t been hitting particularly well in Triple-A Indianapolis since being removed from the 40-man roster. He’s logged 29 games and 84 plate appearances with a tepid .169/.298/.310 slash, dropping his career slash at the Triple-A level to .221/.333/.372 in 465 plate appearances. He’ll give some upper-level outfield depth to a team that traded Billy McKinney to the Mets last month and currently has Lorenzo Cain on the injured list. Milwaukee also recently designated outfielder Derek Fisher for assignment, and if he ends up elsewhere that’d only further deplete their outfield depth.

For the Brewers, the acquisition of Gustave could be the greater focus. Milwaukee’s acquisition of Willy Adames from the Rays bolstered its defense and lineup, but the Brewers had to part with righties J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen in order to get that deal done. Righty Trevor Richards came to Milwaukee in that deal and has thrown well, but they’re down a reliever on their depth chart following that swap.

President of baseball ops David Stearns suggested in an interview with The Athletic’s Will Sammon this week that looking for some complementary bullpen arms might be on the to-do list as the deadline approaches. “Where we’ve struggled is finding those complementary players who can round out a pitching staff and provide consistent performance,” Stearns told Sammon.

Acquiring Gustave certainly seems to mesh with Stearns’ comments. The former Astros and Giants righty was once a prospect of some note, going with the top pick in the 2014 Rule 5 Draft. Tommy John surgery limited him to five innings with the ’Stros in 2017 and wiped out his entire 2018 campaign. He made it back to the big leagues with the Giants in 2019 and tossed 24 1/3 innings of 2.96 ERA ball, albeit with a lowly 14.1 percent strikeout rate and a 9.1 percent walk rate.

Gustave didn’t pitch in the Majors last year. Though he started the season on the Giants’ 40-man roster, he wasn’t added to their initial 60-man player pool and was designated for assignment in early August. He inked a minor league deal with Pittsburgh over the winter and has thrown well in Indianapolis, holding opponents to six runs on a dozen hits and five walks with 18 punchouts through 15 frames (3.60 ERA).

While Gustave hasn’t missed too many bats in the big leagues, he’s whiffed 29 percent of his opponents in Triple-A this season and 23 percent in parts of three career campaigns there. The right-hander carries a 3.43 ERA in 44 2/3 innings at the MLB level and a 4.39 mark in 98 1/3 innings of Triple-A work. At the very least, he gives the Brewers another depth arm with some experience should they need to tap further into the minor league reservoir.

As for the Pirates’ return, there’s not much publicly available data on the young backstop. The Brewers signed him as an amateur out of Venezuela back in January, and the Pirates have assigned him to their affiliate in the Dominican Summer League. Given that the Bucs are trading away a player who cleared waivers a month ago and a second non-roster player who was acquired on a minor league contract, getting even a far-off lottery ticket who’s just setting out on his pro career is a nice pickup.

Daniel Vogelbach Out At Least Six Weeks

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June 25: Vogelbach will be out for “at least” six weeks, manager Craig Counsell announced to reporters Friday (Twitter link via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). The manager added that lefty Brett Anderson is expected to miss 10 to 14 days with the bone bruise in his knee that recently landed him on the IL.

June 23:  The Brewers announced Wednesday that they’ve placed first baseman Daniel Vogelbach on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain and recalled infielder Keston Hiura from Triple-A Nashville.

It’s not yet clear how long Vogelbach will be expected to miss, although manager Craig Counsell foreshadowed an absence of some note last night when calling it a “significant” strain and noting that Vogelbach would require an MRI (video link via Bally Sports Wisconsin). GM Matt Arnold tells reporters that the team is evaluating not only Vogelbach’s hamstring but also his left knee (Twitter link via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com).

Vogelbach sustained the injury on one of the more bizarre plays you’ll see this season. The slugger came up lame as he rounded third base but somehow managed to limp home to score anyway when the D-backs inexplicably failed to throw to the plate on a play where Vogelbach should’ve been out by some 30 to 40 feet.

While Vogelbach’s overall .216/.323/.386 slash isn’t particularly impressive, he’s been much better of late, swatting four homers and four doubles with an .816 OPS since the calendar flipped to June. Beyond that, Milwaukee first baseman have persistently struggled in 2021, so getting any production from the position in recent weeks has been a nice change of pace.

Hiura, who returns for a third stint with the Brewers this season, has played no small part in the team’s collective struggles at first base. The former first-round pick and top prospect slid over to first when Milwuakee inked Kolten Wong to a two-year deal this winter, but the offensive form that made him such a sensation as a rookie in 2019 has been nowhere to be seen. Hiura always seemed primed for some degree of regression, as his 2019 breakout was buoyed by a .402 average on balls in play, but few could’ve predicted struggles of this magnitude.

So far in 122 plate appearances, the 24-year-old has mustered only a .130/.217/.222 slash. His luck on balls in play has swung completely in the opposite direction of 2019, as he’s been plagued by a .220 BABIP in that small sample. However, Hiura’s anemic stat line is far from a matter of a poor fortune. He punched out at a 30.7 percent clip during his rookie campaign but has seen that number skyrocket to 39.3 percent so far in 2021, and his rate of hard-hit balls has dropped by nine percent as well. It’s perhaps encouraging that Hiura has maintained a 23.3 percent line-drive rate, but he’s hitting far more lazy flies than he did at his best — and the huge uptick in strikeouts is obviously glaring.

Hiura absolutely destroyed Triple-A pitching when he was first sent down to the minors this year, hitting at a .438/.526/.906 clip with three home runs and six doubles in 38 plate appearances. But he also punched out 13 times, and when he returned to the Majors on the heels of that strong Nashville showing, he looked more lost than ever. From May 24 through June 6, Hiura went 2-for-29 and struck out in 16 of 33 plate appearances. The Brewers demoted him back to Nashville.

Hiura has punished Triple-A pitchers in similar fashion since being sent back to Nashville a second time this year, albeit with one key difference. His .375/.490/.575 slash in his latest 11-game stint is nearly as impressive as his first Triple-A run, but this time around he’s showing considerably more discipline. Hiura has drawn nine walks in 51 plate appearances and struck out as many times in 51 plate appearances as he did in 38 plate appearances during his first minor league run this year (13).

It’s obviously a tiny sample from which to glean much, but the dip from a 34 percent strikeout rate to a 25 percent clip is encouraging, as is the increase from a 10.5 percent walk rate to a 17.6 percent mark. At the very least, it would seem to indicate that Hiura has made conscious strides to work on his plate discipline.

He’ll now have a chance to carry that potential change in approach over to the big league level. With Vogelbach on the shelf, Hiura ought to receive the bulk of the playing time at first base, securing one final audition before the Brewers make tougher calls with the trade deadline on the horizon. Ideally, a version of Hiura at least approximating his 2019 output would take the reins at first base and run with the job. But with Milwaukee first baseman combining for just a .197/.295/.343 batting line so far in 2021, it stands to reason that the Brew Crew will look outside the organization if Hiura can’t pick up the slack in his third go-around of the season with the MLB club.

Zack Godley Elects Free Agency

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Veteran right-hander Zack Godley went unclaimed on waivers and has elected free agency in lieu of an outright assignment, as first indicated on the Triple-A transaction log at MLB.com. The Brewers designated Godley for assignment earlier in the week.

Godley, 31, inked a minor league deal with Milwaukee earlier in the year and was twice selected to the big league roster. The right-hander sustained a finger injury in his first outing and landed on the injured list for just under two weeks — after which the Brewers designated him for assignment. Godley accepted an outright to Triple-A after that first DFA, but he’ll now head out in search of a new opportunity after once again being selected to the MLB roster only to be designated for assignment following a single appearance.

Godley certainly hasn’t been effective in his 3 1/3 innings with the Brewers this season, surrendering five earned runs, but he’s been sharp with their Triple-A affiliate. He’s thrown 30 innings down in Nashville and logged a 2.40 ERA with a strong 28.6 percent strikeout rate, a 10.1 percent walk rate and a 44.4 percent ground-ball rate.

At one point, Godley was a solid member of the D-backs’ staff, pitching to a 4.41 ERA with a 23.3 percent strikeout rate in 444 2/3 innings from 2015-18. That stretch featured the right-hander’s best season: a 2017 campaign in which he tossed 155 innings of 3.37 ERA ball. However, Godley took a step back in 2018 (4.74 ERA in 178 1/3 frames) and struggled even more in 2019 (6.39 ERA) before being cut loose by Arizona. He finished out the 2019 campaign with a decent stretch in the Blue Jays’ bullpen, but his hopes for a rebound in 2020 were largely dashed by a forearm strain that limited him to 28 2/3 innings with the Red Sox.

All told, Godley has a 4.92 ERA in 568 1/3 innings at the big league level and a 2.78 mark in 90 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball. At his best, he’s looked like a capable big league starter, but it’s been a few years since he’s displayed that form. He didn’t get much of a chance to do so in Milwaukee, but his track record and the widespread need for pitching depth around the league ought to earn him another look elsewhere.

Nate Jones Elects Free Agency

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Right-hander Nate Jones, who was designated for assignment by the Dodgers last week, has elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment, as first reflected on the Triple-A transactions log at MLB.com.

Jones, 35, has spent time with the Braves and the Dodgers this season but has yet to recapture the form that made him one of the game’s better setup men at his peak. He pitched to a 3.48 ERA in Atlanta but also yielded an untenable 10 walks in 10 1/3 innings before being cut loose. In L.A., Jones cleaned up the walks but surrendered four homers in 8 2/3 frames. Overall, he’s pitched to a 5.69  ERA with 14 punchouts against 12 walks in 19 innings this year.

From 2012-19, Jones logged a tidy 3.12 ERA with a hearty 26.5 percent strikeout rate against a 9.2 percent walk rate. That 26.5 percent strikeout clip is above average even by today’s standards, but Jones struck out nearly 30 percent of his opponents from 2013-17 at a time when the overall league strikeout rate was much lower than it is at present. Health issues plagued him throughout his time with the White Sox, but when he was healthy enough to take the mound, Jones was generally a high-end reliever.

Jones’ sinker still has plenty of life, averaging 95.6 mph according to Statcast, and his slider generated a 39.6 percent whiff rate. That’s down a bit from his peak, when the sinker sat around 98 mph and the slider induced whiffs at better than a 50 percent clip, but Jones is still throwing hard and still capable of generating swings and misses at a healthy clip. Between that and his generally strong track record, there should be interest from other clubs on a minor league pact.

Injury Updates: Gregorius, Plesac, Smith, Yajure, Duran

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Didi Gregorius resumed his Triple-A rehab assignment tonight, after halting the assignment on June 10 after just two games.  Gregorius hasn’t played a big league game since May 12 due to a right elbow impingement and a condition known as pseudogout, which might have led to the setback in his rehab.  However, Gregorius now looks to be on track, and if all things go well, could be on pace to rejoin the Phillies before the end of June.  Now in his second season in Philadelphia, Gregorius was off to a slow start with a .229/.266/.364 slash line in his first 128 plate appearances.

More on other sidelined players from around the majors…

  • Indians right-hander Zach Plesac has been on the 10-day injured list for almost a month due to a non-displaced fracture in his right thumb, but he took another step forward in his recovery process today.  Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer was among those to report that Plesac was set to throw a 40-pitch bullpen session today, with 20 pitches each on flat ground and off a mound.  This is Plesac’s second bullpen session in seven days’ time, so if he emerges in good condition, a rehab assignment might not be too far away.
  • Veteran reliever Joe Smith is also on tap for a bullpen session, with Smith telling reporters (including Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle) that he plans to run through his entire arsenal of pitches when throwing tomorrow.  Elbow soreness sent the Astros righty to the IL on June 9, and he could just need the one bullpen before beginning a minor league rehab assignment.
  • The Pirates shifted right-hander Miguel Yajure from the seven-day minor league IL to the 60-day IL.  Yajure was first sidelined with right elbow/forearm soreness on June 1, and today’s transaction is “just more of a paper move” that “has nothing to do with how he’s progressing or what he’s doing,” manager Derek Shelton told reporters (including Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).  Yajure only just began throwing, and it appears as though he wasn’t going to be back within 60 days from his initial IL placement anyway — as Mackey notes, the Bucs don’t gain a 40-man roster spot with the move, since Yajure was in the minor leagues when first placed on the injured list.  One of the four players acquired from the Yankees in the Jameson Taillon trade back in January, Yajure has a 2.76 ERA over 16 1/3 MLB innings over the last two seasons.
  • Twins right-handed pitching prospect Jhoan Duran was shut down three days ago due to an elbow strain, though the team announced (hat tip to MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park) that surgery wasn’t recommended.  The shutdown will continue for the next 5-6 weeks as Duran’s elbow will continue to be monitored, and there is hope that he can then rehab in time to pitch again before the 2021 season is cover.  Currently ranked as the 80th-best prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, Duran made his Triple-A debut this year but has struggled, posting a 5.06 ERA with 13 walks in 16 innings (though with a 29.33% strikeout rate).

Mets Purchase Vance Worley’s Contract

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The Mets have purchased the contract of right-hander Vance Worley from the independent Kane County Cougars, as announced yesterday via the Cougars’ official Twitter feed.  Worley will report to the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse.

This is Worley’s second stint in the Mets organization, as he signed a minor league deal with the team back in April 2018.  He didn’t see any big league action, however, and ended up being released just two months later after elbow problems limited him to just 16 2/3 innings of work with the Mets’ Triple-A team.  That represented Worley’s last bit of on-field action until his work with Kane County this year, as a deal with the independent Somerset Patriots in 2020 fell through after the pandemic canceled the Patriots’ season.

Worley posted a 4.09 ERA/4.23 SIERA over 667 career innings with five different teams from 2010-17.  The 33-year-old is probably best remembered for his career-opening three-year stint with the Phillies, which included a third-place finish in NL Rookie Of The Year voting in 2011.  Never a hard thrower or a big strikeout pitcher, Worley nevertheless lasted eight years in the majors by keeping batters off-balance with a four-pitch (and occasionally even a five-pitch) arsenal.

With the Mets currently shorthanded by a number of pitching injuries, there’s little harm for the club in picking up a veteran arm for some extra depth.  It remains to be seen if Worley will actually get a call back to the Show, as it is possible Marcus Stroman’s recent hip issue won’t be serious enough to merit an IL trip or even a missed start.

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