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Archives for August 2024

Red Sox Outright Jamie Westbrook

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Red Sox infielder Jamie Westbrook passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment earlier this week and has now been assigned outright to Triple-A Worcester, reports Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe. He’ll stick with the organization but is no longer on the 40-man roster.

Westbrook signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox back in December and made his big league debut as a 29-year-old rookie earlier this season. The former D-backs draftee, who’s also spent time with the Yankees and Brewers organizations, got into 21 games and tallied 48 plate appearances. He managed just a .150/.234/.350 slash in that time, however.

Prior to his call to the majors, Westbrook was quite productive in Triple-A — as has been the case throughout his pro career. He hit .291/.381/.475 in 291 plate appearances for the WooSox (23% better than average, per wRC+), bringing his lifetime batting line in parts of six Triple-A seasons to a healthy .284/.377/.462 in more than 1700 plate appearances. He’ll now head back to Worcester and look for another shot down the stretch. If he doesn’t get one and isn’t added back to the 40-man roster before the end of the season, Westbrook will once again be able to become a minor league free agent.

Orioles Option Coby Mayo

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Top Orioles prospect Coby Mayo will see his initial taste of the majors draw to a close after just seven games and 20 plate appearances. Baltimore announced Thursday that Mayo has been optioned back to Triple-A Norfolk. Infielder Livan Soto was recalled from Norfolk in his place.

Mayo, regarded as one of the top prospects not just in Baltimore’s system but in all of baseball, was called up shortly after third baseman Jordan Westburg suffered a fractured hand when he was hit by a pitch. Expectations were high, considering his prominent placement on national prospect rankings and his gaudy .301/.375/.586 batting line through 341 Triple-A plate appearances during just his age-22 season. However, like fellow top prospect Jackson Holliday before him, Mayo stumbled out of the gate with a strikeout-laden showing and was sent back to Triple-A in fairly short order. He went just 1-for-17 with three walks and 10 strikeouts in those 20 trips to the plate.

There’s no sense in making any long-term judgment on Mayo based on a tough week in his first glimpse of the majors. Many detractors were quick to write Holliday off after similar early struggles, and he’s returned from Norfolk with a .255/.314/.596 line and five home runs in 51 plate appearances. Twenty ugly plate appearances don’t say anything about Mayo’s long-term future other than that he might yet need a bit more work in the upper minors before he gets his next big league audition.

In sending Mayo back to Norfolk, the O’s seem to be committing to Ramon Urias as the primary third baseman in Westburg’s absence — although Soto could also see some run at the hot corner. The Orioles could also retain Mayo’s prospect/rookie status for the 2025 season as well, which would put them in position to potentially land a draft pick if he finishes well enough in ’25 Rookie of the Year voting. So long as Mayo finishes with fewer than 130 at-bats and fewer than 45 days on the active roster, he’ll still be eligible for that benefit. If that were a primary concern for them, they likely wouldn’t have brought Mayo to the big leagues in the first place, but retaining that possibility is now surely seen as an ancillary benefit of today’s move.

Urias, 30, seems likeliest to garner additional playing time. He drew sensational defensive marks at third base just two seasons ago, but both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average have soured on his glovework at the position. At the plate, Urias has turned in a .236/.306/.372 slash at the plate this season, sitting about 5% worse than league-average overall (by measure of wRC+).

As for Soto, he’s hit extremely well in a small sample of 74 plate appearances, batting .358/.397/.507 dating back to 2022. It should be emphasized that his line is propped up by a gargantuan .451 average on balls in play that he won’t sustain, and Soto has a much more modest track record in Triple-A, where he’s hit .267/.364/.386 in 709 plate appearances as a utilityman.

Chasen Shreve Elects Free Agency

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Left-hander Chasen Shreve, who was recently designated for assignment by the Rockies, rejected an outright assignment and elected free agency, per the MLB.com transactions log. He’s back on the open market.

Shreve, 34, only pitched one inning with the Rockies. He retired all three hitters he faced on a trio of grounders. It was just one inning, but that frame now gives Shreve a stretch of 11 consecutive seasons pitching in the big leagues in some capacity. Though he hasn’t gotten much of a look in the majors this year, Shreve has been pitching well in Triple-A. He’s spent time in the Yankees’ and Rangers’ systems as well, totaling 34 1/3 innings with a 2.62 earned run average, 26.7% strikeout rate, 9.2% walk rate and 41.5% ground-ball rate.

Of course, Shreve has a lengthy big league track record and has been effective more often than not in the majors. He’s tallied 357 MLB frames dating back to 2014 and pitched to a career 3.96 ERA that’s supported by a 3.87 SIERA. Shreve’s career strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates (25.2%, 10.8% and 41.9%, respectively) more or less closely mirror the marks he’s demonstrated in Triple-A this season. He pitched just two innings with the 2019 Cardinals and had a tough 26-inning run with the 2022 Mets (6.49 ERA) but has otherwise been a serviceable middle-innings arm who can capably be relied upon to hold opponents to around four runs for every nine innings pitched.

Shreve is hardly an elite arm, but he’s an experienced lefty who’s pitched in a variety of roles and could help a contending club down the stretch. Any team that signs him would be able to carry him on the postseason roster so long as he’s in the organization prior to Sept. 1. The Mets, Cubs and Mariners are among the teams who currently have only one southpaw in their big league bullpen, although Shreve could certainly latch on with an organization that has more left-handed bullpen depth than that.

White Sox Planning More Consistent Roles For Dominic Fletcher, Miguel Vargas

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The White Sox have gutted their roster over the past season as their rebuild has gone into full swing, but they’ll aim for some more consistency down the stretch in 2024. Outfielder Dominic Fletcher and infielder/outfielder Miguel Vargas will have more solidified roles down the stretch. James Fegan of Sox Machine tweeted recently that interim manager Grady Sizemore wants to give Vargas a consistent role (something he’s previously not had with the Dodgers), so he’ll play primarily at third base. Sizemore also said he plans to deploy Fletcher in a near-everyday role after he’s been heavily platooned prior to this point (X link via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times).

Fletcher, 26, came to the Sox in an offseason deal that sent pitching prospect Cristian Mena to the Diamondbacks. His plus contact skills and solid glovework seemingly give him a high floor in the outfield corners, but Fletcher floundered through 66 plate appearances in the White Sox’ first 23 games and found himself quickly optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. He returned in mid-May, collected one hit in 18 plate appearances, and then hit the injured list with a shoulder strain.

The Sox sent Fletcher on a rehab assignment and optioned him afterward. He hit well in his last run with Triple-A Charlotte, was recalled to the big leagues the evening prior to the trade deadline, and now stands to log an everyday role down the stretch. He’s making the most of it in his tiny sample thus far; after hitting .283/.345/.377 in 53 Triple-A trips to the plate following his rehab stint, he’s tallied 27 plate appearances in the big leagues and gone 9-for-26 with a double, a walk and only three strikeouts. It’s a minuscule set of games, of course, but it’s still the most encouraging run Fletcher has had since landing in Chicago.

“I love Dom’s game,” Sizemore told the Sox beat (via Van Schouwen). “He’s a good all-around player, especially the defense.”

Fletcher hasn’t shown that yet with the South Siders, but he did slash .301/.350/.441 in 102 plate appearances with the Diamondbacks in 2023’s MLB debut. He’s also a lifetime .293/.376/.462 hitter in 889 turns at the plate in Triple-A, where he’s fanned in a lower-than-average 18.6% of his plate appearances and drawn walks at a stout 10.6% rate.

Fletcher has also drawn strong defensive marks in limited time. He’s played only 487 innings in the outfield in his big league career but been credited with plus marks in Defensive Runs Saved (7) and Outs Above Average (3). When looking at only his corner work (200 innings), both DRS (5) and OAA (5) feel he’s been even stronger. Again, it’s not a big sample, but scouting reports on Fletcher have been bullish on his glove for some time now. Prior to the season, Baseball America called him a potential plus defender at all three positions, noting that his “great reads and above-average routes … and above-average arm strength” all help to offset his roughly average speed.

As for Vargas, his time with the Sox has gotten out to a rough start after being acquired in the Erick Fedde/Michael Kopech deal. Recently fired skipper Pedro Grifol has played him at third base, designated hitter and in left field, but Sizemore seems keen to keep him at the hot corner moving forward. Still just 24 and only a season removed from ranking among the sport’s top 40 overall prospects, Vargas has batted .116/.240/.209 in 50 plate appearances. He’s at least shown good strike zone recognition, drawing seven walks (14%) and chasing only 19.8% of pitches off the plate — way shy of the 28.5% league average. Earlier this season, it didn’t take a much longer slump than this for the Sox to option Fletcher earlier, but it seems they’re understandably intent on giving Vargas some more time to work through his big league struggles.

After all, there’s little left for Vargas to prove in the minors. He’s a .297/.412/.512 hitter in 997 Triple-A plate appearances, including a huge .290/.440/.556 batting line there in 2024. The White Sox already know Vargas can clobber upper-minors pitching, and the focus will now shift on coaxing improvements from the talented youngster at the MLB level. With the Dodgers, they bounced Vargas from third base, to second base, to first base, to left field in an effort to get his touted minor league bat into a veteran-laden lineup where Vargas was largely blocked from a regular role. He’ll have a much clearer runway to playing time at Guaranteed Rate Field — and at his natural position, no less.

There’s minimal competition for either player at the moment. In the outfield, Fletcher has been lining up in right field alongside center fielder Luis Robert Jr. and left fielder Andrew Benintendi. Oscar Colas hasn’t hit well in Triple-A or the majors this season. Corey Julks hasn’t hit much in the majors, either. Zach DeLoach, acquired from the Mariners in the Gregory Santos deal, has roughly league-average numbers in Triple-A.

It’s a similar story for Vargas at third base. Former top prospect Nick Senzel hasn’t hit with the Nationals or White Sox this season and will likely be non-tendered in the offseason. Lenyn Sosa has seen some time at third base but is a utility player in a best-case scenario. Bryan Ramos, who entered the season as one of Chicago’s top prospects, has taken a huge step back in 2024 after a breakout 2023 season in Double-A. With a strong finish, both Fletcher and Vargas could essentially stake their claim to regular jobs on what should be a largely wide-open White Sox roster in 2025.

Carl Edwards Jr. Elects Free Agency

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Veteran right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. rejected an outright assignment from the Padres following his recent DFA and instead elected free agency, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. He can now sign with any club.

Edwards returned to the Padres on a minor league deal earlier this summer — his second career stint with the organization. The 32-year-old (33 next month) made only one appearance with San Diego this time around, however, and allowed all three runners he faced to reach base (two walks, one hit). He wound up being lifted from the game and bailed out when teammate Yuki Matsui induced a grounder to escape the bases-loaded jam created by Edwards.

Though his lone MLB look wasn’t sharp, Edwards has had a decent year in Triple-A. He’s split the season between the top affiliates for the Cubs and Padres, pitching to a 3.30 ERA with a 22.2% strikeout rate but a grisly 14.3% walk rate. He’s worked both out of the bullpen and, more recently, out of the Padres’ Triple-A rotation, so he’s stretched out for multiple innings.

Prior to this season, the well-traveled Edwards spent the 2022-23 seasons with the Nationals and pitched well out of manager Davey Martinez’s bullpen. In 93 2/3 innings, he tallied a 3.07 ERA — albeit with shaky rate stats (20% strikeout rate, 10.6% walk rate). A stress fracture in Edwards’ right shoulder ended his 2023 campaign prematurely and limited him to a minor league deal this past offseason. That deal came with the Cubs, but Edwards triggered a June opt-out in that contract after he hadn’t been added to the big league roster and signed a minor league deal with the Padres.

Once a top prospect in the Rangers’ system who went from Texas to the Cubs as part of a prospect package for starter Matt Garza, Edwards has now pitched in parts of 10 big league seasons. He’s logged a total of 280 innings spread across six clubs, with the bulk of his work coming for the Cubs and Nats. Edwards carries a 3.54 ERA with a hearty 28.1% strikeout rate and bloated 12.7% walk rate in the majors.

Athletics Outright Kyle Muller

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Aug. 15: The A’s announced that Muller went unclaimed on waivers. He’s been assigned outright to Triple-A Las Vegas and will remain with the organization but no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster.

Aug. 13: The Athletics announced that Joe Boyle has been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas. He will start tonight’s game against the Mets, per Martín Gallegos of MLB.com on X. In a corresponding move, left-hander Kyle Muller has been designated for assignment.

Muller, 26, was one of five players that the A’s received in December of 2022 in the three-team trade that sent catcher Sean Murphy to Atlanta, William Contreras to the Brewers and various other moving pieces. Muller had been considered one of Atlanta’s best prospects in the years leading up to that deal but had struggled to establish himself at the big league level and had just one option remaining.

The A’s gave him a decent amount of runway to take a major league job last year but Muller wasn’t able to capitalize on the opportunity. Through May 22, he had made 10 starts at the big league level but allowed 42 earned runs in 47 innings, leading to an 8.04 ERA. The A’s then optioned him to the minors, recalling him for one spot start in early July, but otherwise keeping him in Triple-A until mid-August.

The results on the farm weren’t much better, as he had a 7.26 ERA in his 13 Triple-A starts. He was recalled and worked as a swingman for the final few weeks of the big league season, tossing 25 innings with a 7.20 ERA in that time.

That left him out of options coming into 2024 and the A’s have kept in the bullpen for a long relief role. He missed just over a month on the IL due to left shoulder tendinitis but has logged 42 2/3 innings over 18 outings this year with a 4.22 ERA. That’s obviously an improvement over his results from last year and his 5.1% walk rate is quite strong, but there aren’t many positive metrics apart from that. His 19.7% strikeout rate is still subpar and his Statcast page is mostly blue, with not much to inspire confidence in terms of velocity, whiffs, avoiding barrels, etc.

Keeping him on the roster was going to be a long-term issue due to his out-of-options status and he hasn’t shown enough promise for the club’s decision makers to keep him around. With the trade deadline now passed, the A’s will have to put him on waivers in the coming days.

He has not yet qualified for arbitration and has five years of club control beyond this one, so perhaps some club will be intrigued by his past prospect pedigree, but they would be faced with the same roster restrictions that the A’s were. As recently as 2022, he was able to make 23 Triple-A starts with a 3.41 ERA, 29.3% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate and 45.9% ground ball rate, but the results have been far less impressive since then. He does not have a previous career outright nor does he have three years of service time, meaning he would stick with the A’s as non-roster depth if he were to pass through waivers unclaimed.

As for Boyle, it’s unclear if this is just a spot start or if he’s going to get a longer rotation audition. The A’s already had five starters in JP Sears, Ross Stripling, Mitch Spence, Joey Estes and Osvaldo Bido. Perhaps they could run a six-man rotation for a while or send someone down to Triple-A. It’s also possible that they put Stripling on waivers or move him to the bullpen. He’s a 34-year-old impending free agent and the club is out of contention, so they might prefer to give starts to younger guys that are in consideration for roles on next year’s club.

Boyle has a 7.16 ERA in the majors this year and a mark of 5.63 in Triple-A, but his work on the farm has been better of late. Back on June 28, he was demolished in his start against Sacramento, allowing eight earned runs while only recording four outs. Since that pounding, he has thrown 26 2/3 innings with a 2.36 ERA and a massive 51.5% strikeout rate, though a high walk rate of 12.9%.

The Opener: Soler, Greene, Leone

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Here are a few things we’ll be watching around Major League Baseball today:

1. Another Braves outfielder exits with hamstring trouble:

On the same day that Braves center fielder Michael Harris II returned from a two-month stay on the IL with a hamstring strain, left fielder Jorge Soler exited due to hamstring soreness after running out a ground ball in the top of the fourth.

According to David O’Brien of The Athletic, manager Brian Snitker described the injury as “tightness” rather than a more worrisome strain, while Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes that Snitker “didn’t sound too concerned.” However, Soler’s own post-game comments seemed a little more ominous. When asked if he was worried about a stint on the IL, the outfielder told reporters, “To be honest, I don’t know” (per Toscano). Ultimately, no one will know the severity of Soler’s injury until he gets an MRI, which he is set to undergo today (per Toscano). That said, the Braves wouldn’t be sending him for a scan if they didn’t have any concerns. After all, it was only a few days ago that Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. downplayed the severity of an injury, only for an MRI to reveal a left elbow sprain and land him on the 10-day IL.

Soler has four home runs, 11 RBI, and a .978 OPS in 13 games since joining the Braves ahead of the trade deadline. His hot hitting has been reminiscent of the last time he came to Atlanta in a midseason trade; he hit 14 home runs with an .882 OPS down the stretch in 2021, before helping the Braves to a World Series title and winning World Series MVP honors.

2. Riley Greene to begin rehab assignment:

In more hamstring-related injury news, Tigers All-Star outfielder Riley Greene will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo today. He is working his way back from a hamstring strain he suffered in late July (per the Tigers, via Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic). The Tigers are hoping to have him back before the end of the month (per Chris McCosky of The Detroit News).

The 23-year-old enjoyed a tremendous first half with Detroit, slashing .272/.364/.503 with 17 home runs and 50 RBI through the All-Star break. He’ll look to pick up where he left off over the final weeks of the season. Meanwhile, the Tigers will be pleased to have their star hitter back in the lineup, even as they continue to slip further out of contention in the AL Wild Card race. They have gone 7-10 since Greene last took the field.

3. Dominic Leone exits with elbow soreness:

White Sox reliever Dominic Leone exited yesterday’s game with right elbow soreness, the team told reporters (including James Fegan of Sox Machine). He is set to undergo further testing today, after which the team will presumably provide an update on his status. As Fegan points out, Leone has already missed significant time with elbow trouble this season. Previously, he missed the end of the 2022 campaign with inflammation in his pitching elbow. The 32-year-old journeyman has a 6.63 ERA and 5.09 SIERA in 19 innings of work in 2024.

MLBTR Podcast: The White Sox Fire Their Manager, Víctor Robles Extended, And The Marlins’ Front Office

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

We had some technical difficulties during this recording, so the audio is of a lower quality than usual. Apologies for that, but the source has been discovered and everything will be back to normal next week. This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Will Camilo Doval pitch again this season (or ever) for the Giants? (25:10)
  • What ever happened to Archie Bradley this season? (29:20)
  • Well, if your offense stops failing you, let the pitching failures take the spotlight! As a Braves fan, I am feeling quite trampled after all the high expectations that this season came with. Should I forget any postseason hopes? (31:00)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Astros Sign Glenn Otto To Minor League Contract

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The Astros signed right-hander Glenn Otto to a minor league deal, the team informed reporters (X link via Chandler Rome of the Athletic). Otto is going on the Triple-A injured list but could serve as rotation or long relief depth later in the year.

Otto is a Rice product whom the Yankees selected in the fifth round of the 2017 draft. New York packaged him in the Joey Gallo trade with the Rangers. Otto debuted with Texas in 2021 and held a rotation spot for the bulk of the following season. He started 27 games during his first full year, pitching to a 4.64 ERA through 135 2/3 innings. A Spring Training shoulder strain cost him a good chunk of 2023. Otto made six appearances, all in relief, and gave up 12 runs over 10 2/3 frames.

The Rangers designated Otto for assignment coming out of the trade deadline. The Padres grabbed him off waivers and kept him on the 40-man roster over the winter. His ’24 campaign has unfortunately played out much the same way as last year. Otto strained the teres major muscle in his shoulder and started the season on the IL. He made eight Triple-A appearances before going back on the IL on July 21. For the second straight year, he was pushed off a 40-man roster at the deadline. The Friars cut him loose as the corresponding move for their acquisition of reliever Jason Adam from Tampa Bay.

Injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers, so the Padres released Otto after the DFA. He’s evidently not fully recovered but nevertheless finds a landing spot with his hometown organization. Houston has been light on experienced non-roster rotation depth all season. Even if Otto’s recent shoulder woes limit him to a relief role this year, he could be a multi-inning bullpen piece.

Rockies Place Elias Diaz On Waivers

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The Rockies placed veteran catcher Elias Díaz on waivers this afternoon, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. The process will be resolved on Friday. Díaz is eligible to play while he’s on waivers, though that’s immaterial with Colorado having an off day tomorrow.

It’s possible but by no means guaranteed that this marks the end of his four-plus year stint in Denver. Waivers are irrevocable, so the Rockies cannot retract the placement if another team makes a claim. If he goes unclaimed, the Rox could simply retain him on the MLB roster for the last six weeks of the season.

Colorado reportedly expressed openness to moving Díaz before the trade deadline. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman wrote at the time that the Rox weren’t planning to explore another extension with the impending free agent. Since the Rox are out of playoff contention, there was little reason for them not to try to get some kind of young talent in return. Rosenthal writes that the Rockies didn’t find any team with significant interest in a trade, though, and Colorado ultimately held him past the deadline.

There’s no longer any chance for the Rockies to get anything in return for Díaz. MLB did away with the old August revocable waiver trade system back in 2019. Any player who has been on a 40-man roster during the season cannot be traded after the deadline. The only benefit to Colorado in placing Díaz on waivers is possible cost savings.

The 33-year-old catcher is playing this year on a $6MM salary. There’ll be a little over $1.4MM to be paid out between Friday and the end of the season. A claiming team would take that entire sum off Colorado’s books. Teams cannot negotiate with the Rockies to pay down a portion of the remaining money. A waiver acquisition is an all or nothing move. Díaz would be eligible for postseason play if another club put in a claim since he’d be in their organization before the start of September.

Díaz had the best season of his career in 2023. He connected on 14 homers with a .267/.316/.409 slash line over a career-high 526 plate appearances. Díaz popped another home run in the All-Star Game and collected the Midsummer Classic’s MVP award. His offensive production has taken a step back this season, as he’s hitting .270/.315/.378 over 84 contests. That’s still reasonable production for a #2 catcher, and Díaz has had a strong year defensively. He has cut down nearly 28% of stolen base attempts and has slightly above-average pitch framing grades from Statcast.

Clubs tend to be reluctant to acquire catchers midseason — Danny Jansen and Carson Kelly were the only backstops traded at the deadline — because of the challenge of quickly learning a new pitching staff’s strengths and weaknesses. Still, Díaz’s production this season would be an upgrade on what some teams have gotten out of their backup options.

Waiver priority is inverse order of the standings without regard to American or National League. The White Sox have the top priority, followed by the Marlins. Neither team is going to put in a claim, since there’s no incentive for them to take on the salary of an impending free agent.

The Cubs, who are 5.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot in the NL, are relying on a catching tandem of Miguel Amaya and Christian Bethancourt. Public estimates have them right on the border of the luxury tax threshold, though, and it’s hard to believe they’d claim Díaz for a very long shot playoff push if doing so moved them past that line. The Rays have fallen 6.5 back of a Wild Card spot and might not consider a claim worthwhile. The Mariners, Padres and Diamondbacks are a little further down the waiver order but could be potential fits.

A claim would allow Díaz to participate in a playoff race while shaving a bit of money from Colorado’s books. It’d presumably set the stage for the Rox to take their first look at prospect Drew Romo, whom they view as the catcher of the future. They’ll need to add Romo to the 40-man roster to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft by next offseason. The 35th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Romo is hitting .297/.339/.499 this year with Triple-A Albuquerque.

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