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Minor MLB Transactions: 2/16/22

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Major League transactions remain frozen while the lockout drags on, but minor league transactions are still allowed — and the many independent leagues throughout the country are still up and running. It’s common for former minor league and major league players alike to suit up for teams on the indie circuit, regularly using them as a catapult back into affiliated ball. Here’s a quick look at a couple former big leaguers who’ve signed on with independent teams over the past week…

  • Former White Sox outfielder Charlie Tilson has signed on with the Chicago Dogs of the American Association, per a team announcement. The 29-year-old’s last big league action came with the ChiSox in 2019, when he appeared in 54 games and batted .229/.293/.285 through 157 trips to the plate. Tilson, a 2011 second-round pick of the Cardinals, originally landed in Chicago in a trade that sent lefty reliever Zach Duke to St. Louis. It was a dream scenario for the Illinois native and childhood White Sox fan, who debuted with his hometown club just two days after the trade. Unfortunately, Tilson tore his hamstring during his MLB debut and required season-ending surgery. That’s a particularly problematic injury for a player whose speed was his top tool. Tilson, who swiped 46 bags in 134 Double-A games back in 2015, has stolen just 36 bases over his past 298 professional games since that surgery. He spent the bulk of his 2021 season with the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate, where he hit .296/.361/.404 in 232 plate appearances. Overall, he’s a .246/.311/.290 hitter in 279 Major League plate appearances.
  • Right-hander Rob Whalen signed with the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League, per the team. The former Braves and Mariners right-hander briefly retired a couple of years ago but returned to professional ball in 2020 when he signed a minor league pact with the Mets. That deal effectively went up in smoke when the Covid-19 shutdown prompted teams throughout the league to release the majority of its minor league signees due to the lack of a minor league season. Whalen pitched with the Wild Things last season as well, parlaying a strong 15 1/3-inning showing into a minor league deal with the Twins. He struggled with Minnesota’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, however, yielding 23 runs in 24 innings during his first stint in affiliated ball since 2018. Whalen has just a 5.75 ERA in 36 big league innings, but he sports a 3.73 ERA as a minor leaguer. Back in 2018, Whalen spoke with FanGraphs’ David Laurila about his battles with anxiety and depression, which prompted his brief retirement, and the importance of prioritizing mental health and seeking help when needed.

Charlie Tilson, Jake Elmore, Luis Escobar Among Pirates’ Minor League Releases

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The Pirates released 39 minor league players this week, as first reported by John Dreker of PiratesProspects.com. Outfielder Charlie Tilson, utilityman Jake Elmore, right-hander Luis Escobar and infielder Sherman Johnson stand out as players with prior big league experience.

Tilson, 27, joined the Bucs on a minor league deal this winter after spending the past four seasons in the White Sox organization. Acquired by Chicago in the 2016 swap that sent lefty Zach Duke to the Cardinals, Tilson made his MLB debut shortly after that trade. However, a torn hamstring suffered in his debut game required surgery, and he’s been plagued by a series of leg and ankle injuries ever since. In 280 Major League plate appearances, the former second-round pick carries just a .246/.310/.290 batting line. Tilson was known for his speed early in his career, but the 46 stolen bases he recorded in 134 games back in 2015 dwarf the eight bags he swiped in a combined 115 games between Triple-A and the Majors last year.

The 32-year-old Elmore has the most MLB experience of the group, having appeared in 217 games and logged 527 plate appearances. Elmore is just a .215/.292/.275 hitter in that time, but he’s demonstrated substantial versatility; in 2013, the Astros used him at every position on the diamond — including catcher and pitcher. Elmore has at least 106 innings at all four infield spots, 234 innings in the outfield (including 14 in center) and has also caught 4 1/3 innings and pitched two frames (one run allowed) in the Majors.

Escobar, 24, made his big league debut last year and received 60 grades on his fastball while coming up through the minors. He averaged 95.1 mph on that heater in his 5 2/3-inning cup of coffee last year, although he also walked four batters, hit another and threw a wild pitch in that short time. Escobar’s 2019 results in Triple-A were solid, particularly considering how hitter-friendly that league was last year: 4.09 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 5.2 BB/9, 1.15 HR/9 and a 46.6 percent grounder rate. That said, it’s not exactly a huge surprise that he was cut loose; Escobar did go unclaimed on waivers back in November.

As for the 29-year-old Johnson, he’s an eight-year minor league veteran who received the briefest of looks with the Angels back in 2018, appearing in 10 games but going hitless in 11 plate appearances. He has at least 450 innings at all four infield positions and, while he’s never shown much power, has been a consistent on-base threat with fairly low strikeout rates in his minor league career.

On Pirates’ Recent Moves

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The Pirates’ GM Ben Cherington emerged from his new office this week with the first batch of transactions since he took over in Pittsburgh. The Starling Marte trade to Arizona was the headline-grabbiest of the bunch, wherein Cherington added two high-ceiling, but far-away prospects to Pittsburgh system.

A flurry of low-key pickups followed for Cherington as the Pirates bought  in bulk: Charlie Tilson, Andrew Susac, JT Riddle, Robbie Erlin and Derek Holland signed minor league deals this week. Cherington gives Erlin a decent shot of joining the bullpen, which is otherwise without a lefty except for rotation candidate Steven Brault, per The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel.

Holland, too, could end up in the bullpen, but like Brault, he’ll be given a shot at the rotation. Holland’s glory days as a Texas Ranger are long in the rearview, but his 2018 with the Giants at least gives the perception of a raised ceiling for Holland after otherwise forgettable stints with each Chicago team. It was just two seasons ago that Holland put up 171 1/3 innings with an impressive 3.57 ERA/3.87 FIP across 36 games for the Giants.

Holland’s shoe game remained on-point in 2019, but he struggled on the hill, both for the Giants and then for the Cubs. He only got 7 turns through the rotation to start the season, but 26 earned runs in 34 1/3 innings earned a demotion to the bullpen, where he stayed until the deadline trade to the Cubs. The Cubs relied on him as a lefty reliever out of the pen, but he struggled there, too, marking a 10.50 ERA in September, contributing to the Cubs’ tailspin.

Still, he’ll come into camp representing a veteran floor for the Pittsburgh rotation as Brault and Mitch Keller try to earn their spot. If the young Pirate arms aren’t ready to take the ball every five days, Holland could find himself back in a big league rotation in 2020.

Pirates Sign Charlie Tilson, Andrew Susac

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The Pirates announced minor league deals with outfielder Charlie Tilson and catcher Andrew Susac on Friday. Both players will be in Major League camp this spring, as will lefties Derek Holland and Robbie Erlin, whose previously reported minor league deals were confirmed by the team.

Tilson, 27, was once a well-regarded prospect with the Cardinals and White Sox. Known primarily for his speed, he was flipped from St. Louis to Chicago several years ago in a deal that sent Zach Duke to the Cardinals. The ChiSox hoped they’d found a top-of-the-order hitter who could provide good defense and generally serve as a nuisance to other teams on the basepaths, but Tilson unfortunately tore his hamstring in his debut game with the Sox back in 2016. Other lower half injuries, namely a stress reaction in his right foot, limited him substantially the following year.

Tilson has now appeared in 96 big league games but has never gotten back on track after that rash of injuries in 2016-17. He’s a career .246/.310/.290 hitter in the Majors, although last year’s Triple-A showing (.288/.345/.398) at least created a bit of optimism that perhaps he could still tap into some of that previous potential. Tilson swiped only eight bases between Triple-A and the Majors in 2019, however, so it appears his days as a 40-steal threat might be in the past now that those lower-half injuries have taken their toll.

Susac, meanwhile, was not only a well-regarded prospect but was at various points considered to be among the game’s top 100 farmhands during his days with the Giants. His strong work early in his career in Triple-A has never really carried over to the Majors, though, and the now-29-year-old backstop (30 in March) has a career .221/.283/.373 slash in 300 big league plate appearances. He’s a career .247/.351/.431 hitter in Triple-A — numbers that are somewhat skewed by an awful 2017 season with Milwaukee’s top affiliate.

Position Players Recently Electing Free Agency

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Since the conclusion of the regular season, a number of players have elected free agency. That right accrues to certain players who are outrighted off of a 40-man roster during or after the season — namely, those that have at least three years of MLB service and/or have previously been outrighted. Such players that accepted outright assignments during the season have the right to elect free agency instead at season’s end, provided they aren’t added back to the 40-man in the meantime.

Here are the position players that have recently taken to the open market, along with their now-former teams (via the International League and PCL transactions pages):

White Sox Outright Charlie Tilson

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12:24pm: Tilson has elected free agency, James Fegan of The Athletic tweets.

8:11am: White Sox outfielder Charlie Tilson was outrighted off the team’s 40-man roster yesterday, per the transactions log at MLB.com. Tilson has previously been outrighted, so he’ll have the option to declare free agency and see what the market holds for him this winter.

The writing was likely on the wall for Tilson when he didn’t receive a September call-up despite a healthy finish to the season in Triple-A. Tilson appeared in 54 games with the ChiSox in 2019, hitting .229/.293/.285 with a homer and five doubles in 157 plate appearances, but he spent most of the year with Triple-A Charlotte, where he batted .288/.345/.398 in 257 trips to the plate.

At the time of his acquisition from the Cardinals — Chicago traded Zach Duke to St. Louis for him back in 2016 — Tilson was viewed as an elite runner and a potential top-of-the-order. But Tilson tore his hamstring in his MLB debut just days after being acquired by the White Sox and missed the rest of the season after undergoing surgery. He then missed the entire 2017 campaign with a stress reaction in his foot that kept him in a walking boot for a notable portion of the season.

Since that pair of leg injuries, Tilson, who swiped 46 bases as a 22-year-old in Double-A in 2015, has tallied just 20 steals (in 28 attempts) across 223 games between Triple-A and the Majors. And in 278 Major League plate appearances since returning, he’s mustered a tepid .244/.309/.288 slash line. He still drew above-average defensive marks in a tiny sample of work in center field this season, though those same metrics panned his work in right field (again, in a minuscule sample). If and when Tilson does become a free agent, he’ll likely land a minor league deal and compete for a roster spot in Spring Training with a club next season.

White Sox Select Charlie Tilson, Transfer Nate Jones To 60-Day IL

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The White Sox announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Charlie Tilson from Triple-A Charlotte and, in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, transferred righty Nate Jones from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Jones, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets, has a flexor pronator strain in his right forearm. Chicago also reinstated right-hander Ryan Burr from the 10-day IL. Tilson and Burr will take over the active roster spots of center fielder Adam Engel and lefty Caleb Frare, who have each been optioned to Triple-A.

Tilson was once a rather promising outfield prospect for the South Siders (and the Cardinals before them), but he suffered a torn hamstring in his MLB debut in 2016 and missed the remainder of the season. A stress reaction in Tilson’s ankle in 2017 ultimately resulted in an ankle fracture in 2017, limiting Tilson to just seven games in the Arizona Fall League. His 2018 campaign was a disappointment both in Triple-A and in more limited MLB action, and Tilson was ultimately outrighted off the 40-man roster.

This season, however, the 26-year-old is off to a blistering start in Charlotte. Through 111 trips to the plate, Tilson has raked at a .333/.396/.475 pace with a homer, seven doubles, two triples and three steals. His .410 average on balls in play is a clear indicator of some impending regression, but Tilson is walking at a career-best 10 percent clip and collecting more extra-base hits at a career-high rate as well. Given that Engel has posted a dreadful .207/.262/.316 slash in 857 big league plate appearances dating back to 2017, there’s little harm in seeing if Tilson can provide a meaningful upgrade.

As for Jones, the injury is the latest in a long line of maladies for the talented 33-year-old. There’s little debating that a healthy version of Jones is a potential wipeout reliever; in his past 141 2/3 innings in the Majors, he’s pitched to a 2.67 ERA and averaged ten and a half strikeouts per nine innings pitched while averaging nearly 97 mph on his fastball. Unfortunately for both Jones and the White Sox, those 141 2/3 innings have been scattered across five seasons, 2019 included, because of arm troubles. Most notably, he missed the 2014 season due to Tommy John surgery and then underwent surgery to re-position the ulnar nerve in his right arm in 2017. There’s no clear timetable for his return right now, but he was placed on the 10-day IL on April 28, meaning he’ll be sidelined for at least 60 days from that point forth.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/17/19

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We’ll track the latest minor moves throughout the league here…

  • Outfielder Charlie Tilson cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the White Sox and has been sent outright to Triple-A Charlotte, the team announced to reporters (Twitter link via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Sun Times). Chicago will now be able to hang onto the 26-year-old speedster without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to him. Tilson suffered a torn hamstring in his MLB debut with the South Siders back in ’16 and saw his 2017 season wiped out by a stress reaction in his ankle. He returned to hit .264 with a solid .331 OBP in 121 plate appearances with the White Sox last season but slugged just .292. Lack of power isn’t new for Tilson, who has batted .266/.321/.356 in just shy of 700 Triple-A plate appearances. Tilson now finds himself a ways down the depth chart in Chicago and will need a strong showing in 2019 to move back up the organizational ladder (or to pique the interest of another team).

White Sox Designate Charlie Tilson For Assignment

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The White Sox announced Thursday that they’ve designated outfielder Charlie Tilson for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to recently signed Jon Jay, whose one-year, $4MM contract with the South Siders is now official.

Chicago acquired Tilson, now 26 years of age, from the Cardinals back in 2016 in a straight-up swap for reliever Zach Duke. Tilson quickly emerged in the Majors with the Sox and was viewed as a potential long-term option in the outfield, but the speedster suffered a torn hamstring in his MLB debut that largely derailed his opportunity in his new organization. He was further set back by a stress reaction in his ankle last season but eventually returned to the field, logging a sub-par .264/.331/.292 slash in 121 plate appearances.

A career .266/.321/.356 hitter in parts of two Triple-A seasons, Tilson does have a minor league option remaining, making it possible that teams with outfield needs (specifically in center) could take a look either in a minor trade or via the waiver wire. If Tilson does clear waivers, he can be sent outright to Triple-A Charlotte and attempt to work his way back into the big league picture for the Sox.

White Sox Select Contract Of Alfredo Gonzalez

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The White Sox have announced a trio of roster moves following the official suspension of Welington Castillo. To account for the opening behind the plate, the club has selected the contract of backstop Alfredo Gonzalez.

Additionally, the Chicago organization announced that infielder Leury Garcia is going onto the 10-day DL with a knee sprain. Taking his spot on the active roster is outfielder Charlie Tilson.

The 25-year-old Gonzalez will get his first shot at the majors after nine seasons of minor-league action. Presumably, he’s viewed as a trusted option behind the dish, as he has not really distinguished himself with the bat. Gonzalez posted a .607 OPS last year at Double-A and is off to a .169/.279/.191 slash with 33 strikeouts in his 105 plate appearances this season for Triple-A Charlotte.

Meanwhile, this’ll represent a notable return to the majors for Tilson, who suffered a significant injury during his debut game in 2016. A series of health problems ended up keeping him out for all of the ensuing season. Tilson has been back in action thus far in 2018, though he has managed only a .248/.288/.298 slash in his 173 Triple-A plate appearances on the year.

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