Adam Engel

Mariners, Adam Engel Agree To Minor League Deal

By Anthony Franco | May 30, 2023 at 7:08pm CDT

The Mariners have signed outfielder Adam Engel to a minor league contract, tweets Triple-A broadcaster Mike Curto. He’s reporting to the M’s top affiliate in Tacoma for his organizational debut this evening. The Icon Sports Management client finds a new landing spot less than a week after being released by the Padres.

Engel only appeared in five major league games for San Diego. Signed to a one-year deal over the offseason after being non-tendered by the White Sox, he opened the season on the injured list with a strained left hamstring. Engel returned from the IL on May 5 but only logged six plate appearances over the next two weeks before the Friars cut him loose.

While his 2023 track record is limited, Engel has had a fairly lengthy run in the major leagues. He’d previously only ever played for Chicago, suiting up for the Sox between 2017-22. Aside from a small sample offensive spike between 2020-21, he’s been a lighter-hitting defensive specialist. The Louisville product is a career .224/.279/.349 hitter in over 1500 plate appearances. A right-handed hitter, Engel hasn’t produced much against pitchers of either handedness.

He’s nevertheless gotten a decent amount of MLB time because of his glove and speed. Engel has 47 career stolen bases and generally rates as a productive overall baserunner. He’s capable of playing anywhere in the outfield and has gotten strong reviews from both Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast for his center field work. The Mariners will pencil in Julio Rodríguez daily so long as he’s healthy, while Teoscar Hernández and the platoon of Jarred Kelenic and AJ Pollock are manning the corner outfield.

Neither Hernández nor Pollock has performed well this season and center field prospect Cade Marlowe has posted below-average numbers in Triple-A. The M’s also have Taylor Trammell, Cooper Hummel and utilityman Sam Haggerty on the 40-man roster. Engel adds an experienced glove-first depth option behind that group. He has over five years of MLB service, so if he’s promoted at any point, the Mariners would have to keep him in the majors or designate him for assignment.

Padres Release Adam Engel

By Darragh McDonald | May 24, 2023 at 9:30pm CDT

The Padres have released outfielder Adam Engel, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been designated for assignment on the weekend.

Engel, 31, was signed this winter to a major league deal with a $1MM guarantee, just a bit above the $720K minimum for this season. Unfortunately, he suffered a hamstring strain during Spring Training and began the season on the injured list. He returned in early May and wasn’t really given any playing time, getting six plate appearances in five games before being designated for assignment recently.

The club had some uncertainty in the outfield coming into the season, as Fernando Tatis Jr. still had 20 games remaining on his suspension from last season. However, he was back in the lineup by the time Engel came off the injured list, joining Juan Soto and Trent Grisham in the outfield. It seems the club prefers to roll with José Azocar as its fourth outfielder and will let Engel walk.

Prior to joining the Padres, Engel had spent his entire career with the White Sox, largely serving as a glove-first outfielder. His career batting line of .224/.279/.349 translates to a 71 wRC+, indicating he’s been 29% worse than league average overall. However, he’s stolen 47 bases and received positive reviews from advanced defensive metrics. In 3715 2/3 innings over 528 career games, he’s accrued 53 Outs Above Average, 20 Defensive Runs Saved and a score of 2.3 from Ultimate Zone Rating. Statcast put his sprint speed in the 92nd percentile last year.

Even if the Padres had tried to pass Engel through outright waivers, he has more than five years of major league service time, giving him the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency. Now that Engel has been released, they will remain on the hook for his salary while allowing another club to sign him for the protated league minimum for any time spent on the active roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Friars pay. He’ll now head to the open market in search of a team in need of a fleet-footed outfielder for its bench.

Padres Designate Adam Engel For Assignment

By Mark Polishuk | May 20, 2023 at 5:27pm CDT

The Padres announced that outfielder Adam Engel has been designated for assignment. The move opens up a roster spot for Jose Azocar, who has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list.

Left elbow inflammation sent Azocar to the IL (retroactively) on May 3, and he received a cortisone shot to help heal up. Azocar collected two hits for Triple-A El Paso yesterday, and that will end up being the only game of Azocar’s minor league rehab assignment before his return to the Show. Azocar has hit only .244/.262/.293 over 45 plate appearances for San Diego this season, but he’ll step back into his customary backup outfield role, displacing Engel in the process.

Engel began the season on the IL with a hamstring injury, and didn’t make his season debut until May 7. He has appeared in only five games and gone 0-for-6 over six plate appearances, and two of his appearances came as a pinch-runner. While not exactly a lengthy audition for Engel, the Padres appear more comfortable with Azcoar as their fourth outfielder, though San Diego’s roster is a little crowded by a DH-only player in Nelson Cruz, and a mostly-DH in Matt Carpenter.

The Padres signed Engel to a one-year, $1MM deal this past winter, so they are still responsible for the roughly $700K owed to the outfielder in remaining salary unless another team claims Engel off waivers or a trade is worked out. In all likelihood, Engel will clear waivers, so a new club could pick him up at only the cost of the prorated MLB minimum salary, leaving the Padres covering the rest of that $700K. Engel has enough MLB service time that he can refuse an outright assignment from the Padres in order to return to free agency.

Engel has a respectable track record as a defensive player and baserunner, even if his career .224/.279/.349 slash line over 1546 PA (all with the White Sox before 2023) is subpar. Outfield-needy teams seem likely to check in on Engel for a no-risk minor league deal, since the Padres are footing the bill for the remainder of his 2023 contract.

Padres Notes: Rotation, Wacha, Engel

By Nick Deeds | April 16, 2023 at 8:24am CDT

Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove is expected to make his final rehab start today for the organization’s Single-A affiliate, as noted by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune. That would put Musgrove on track to return to the Padres sometime later this week, a welcome development for a club that has seen its current six-man rotation set-up lead to an overly taxed bullpen.

With only seven relievers on the roster, the club needs its starters to be able to go deeper into games and cover more innings, but that hasn’t been the case early in the season. San Diego starters have failed to complete six innings in nine of the club’s 16 games this season, with just three starts lasting into the seventh inning. The return of Musgrove, who pitched at least six innings in 22 of his 30 regular season starts last season, should help relieve some of the load off the bullpen, but the question remains as to who Musgrove will replace in the rotation.

Ken Rosenthal suggested on FOX Sports yesterday that right-hander Nick Martinez could head to the bullpen as the odd man out, while Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union Tribune suggested that it could be young left-hander Ryan Weathers who is either optioned to Triple-A or pushed to the bullpen in order to make room for Musgrove, though Sanders notes that the club’s schedule, which includes two off-days in the final week of April and five throughout the month of May, could make the current six-man rotation setup untenable in the longer term and force the club to look at moving Martinez or righty Seth Lugo to the bullpen.

Weathers, 23, struggled to a 5.49 ERA with a 5.42 FIP the past two seasons, with all of that work except for a single 3 2/3 inning spot start coming during the 2021 campaign. He’s done well so far in 2023, posting an strong 2.70 ERA in two starts (10 innings) so far this season, though he’s struck out just five batters so far and failed to record an out in the sixth inning. By contrast, Martinez has struggled in terms of run prevention, with a 5.60 ERA across three starts, but has been able to go deeper into games, failing to make it out of the fifth inning just once while recording six and seven innings in his other two appearances.

More from San Diego…

As noted by Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, Padres right-hander Michael Wacha entered the offseason hoping to return to the Red Sox, for whom he posted a 3.32 ERA in 127 1/3 innings in 2022. Cotillo notes that the Red Sox never appeared close to re-signing the 31 year-old righty, who eventually signed in San Diego on a complex four-year, $26MM deal with multiple team and player options involved. Wacha noted that Boston expressed interest in retaining him for the 2023 season, but ultimately did not get into specifics of his negotations with the club, saying that “you might have to ask [Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom] about that one.” That being said, Wacha did note the importance of San Diego’s willingness to offer a multi-year deal held in his ultimate decision to sign with the club.
As noted by Sanders, outfielder Adam Engel, who’s been sidelined to this point in the season with a hamstring injury. began a rehab assignment in Triple-A yesterday. With David Dahl having recently joined Engel on the injured list, the club’s outfield depth has been tested, with the likes of Rougned Odor and Brandon Dixon making recent starts in the outfield alongside Juan Soto and Trent Grisham. Engel’s impending return should provide some much-needed support to the Padres outfield, as should Fernando Tatis Jr., who is set to return from his suspension later this week.

California Notes: Walsh, Padres, Dahl, Engel, Cruz, Morejon, Pomeranz, A’s, Blackburn, Rucinski

By Mark Polishuk | April 9, 2023 at 10:09am CDT

Jared Walsh has yet to suit up for the Angels this season, as he has been on the 10-day injured list recovering from insomnia and recurring headaches. Manager Phil Nevin provided media (including MLB.com and J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group) with an update on Walsh’s condition, saying that “He’s doing okay. He feels like he’s making a lot of progress, getting some clarity on what’s going on.” The recovery process has included a two-week stint with a specialist in Utah, which has limited Walsh’s baseball-related training activity mostly to weekends with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake City.

Owing to the unpredictable nature of his problem, there isn’t yet a timeline for Walsh’s return, as Nevin noted that the first baseman will need some level of a rehab assignment or a ramp-up period before he gets onto the field. Walsh was already making a comeback from an injury-hampered 2022 season, as he struggled to a .215/.264/.374 slash line in 454 plate appearances before undergoing surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in September.

Padres Injury Notes: Engel, Soto, Nola, Bogaerts, Musgrove

By Mark Polishuk | March 25, 2023 at 2:50pm CDT

Adam Engel suffered a hamstring injury during Thursday’s Cactus League game, putting his availability for the Padres’ Opening Day roster in severe jeopardy. “Hamstrings can be a little bit [tricky] so we’ll see how he progresses, but…I think it’d be tough for him to make another game here in Spring Training,” Padres manager Bob Melvin told reporters, including Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Engel’s progress was already slowed by a calf strain earlier in camp, and the outfielder has played in only six Spring Training games. Between this lack of ramp-up period and the time it’ll take for Engel to recover from his current hamstring issue, a stint on the 10-day injured list certainly looks probable for Engel at the beginning of the season.

The Padres signed Engel to a one-year deal this winter with an eye towards using the veteran as a fourth outfielder, given Engel’s strong track record as a defender. With Fernando Tatis Jr. still having to serve 20 games left on his PED suspension, Engel was tapped for a good amount of playing time in April, but it is now possible Tatis might get back onto the field before Engel does, depending on the severity of the hamstring issue.

In better news for San Diego’s outfield, Juan Soto might be able to avoid the IL in the wake of the mild oblique strain that sidelined him last weekend. The Padres have naturally been very careful with Soto, but he was making some light throws in the outfield and taking dry swings yesterday, in a positive step this early in his recovery process from any kind of oblique problem.

With some cautious optimism about Soto and now some doubt over Engel, it still seems as though the Padres will have at least one outfield job available on the Opening Day roster. Jose Azocar and Brandon Dixon are the internal choices, and perhaps more than one of David Dahl, Tim Lopes, and Rougned Odor could have their minor league contracts selected to the roster. To help his chances of making the team, Odor recently saw some action in left field, despite never playing in the outfield before during his pro career.

Like Soto, Austin Nola might also be in the Opening Day lineup despite an ominous late-spring setback, as Nola was hit in the face by a Michael Fulmer pitch on Sunday and suffered a fractured nose and three stitches. While that diagnosis isn’t exactly good, Nola was “so glad it’s what it is and not the eyes, a concussion or any of that stuff,” he told MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. The catcher might now even get back into game action before Spring Training is over, as Nola caught Seth Lugo’s bullpen session yesterday.

Xander Bogaerts received a cortisone shot in his left wrist, and isn’t expected to play again until Sunday. As Melvin told Sanders and company, “there’s no concern, [Bogaerts] has one of these a spring,” due to periodic soreness in his wrist. The prized signing of San Diego’s offseason, Bogaerts is in no danger of missing his first Opening Day in a Padres uniform.

One player guaranteed to miss some time is Joe Musgrove, who suffered an unfortunate fluke injury in late February when a weight-room accident resulted in a broken left big toe. The Padres ace’s recovery timeline has become more clear as he has been rehabbing the injury, and Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes (via Twitter) that Musgrove will hit another important checkpoint when he pitches in a minor league spring game on Monday.

The right-hander will miss relatively little time, as Acee notes that Musgrove is being tentatively scheduled to make his season debut on either April 11 or April 16. However, the Padres still face a rotation crunch with Musgrove sidelined and Yu Darvish still properly ramping up after his usual spring routine was interrupted by the World Baseball Classic. As a result, San Diego might deploy a six-man rotation to help manage arms during an unusually busy early schedule — the Padres play games on 24 of the first 25 days of the new season. Blake Snell, Nick Martinez, Michael Wacha, Jay Groome, Lugo, and Darvish would comprise the rotation until Musgrove’s return could shuffle things up.

NL West Notes: Rockies, Conforto, Padres

By Steve Adams | March 3, 2023 at 10:54am CDT

As the Rockies brace for potentially unwelcome news on both second baseman Brendan Rodgers and lefty Lucas Gilbreath, they’re perhaps already giving fans a preview of one contingency plan. With Rodgers out indefinitely and possibly facing season-ending surgery, Colorado is deploying third baseman Ryan McMahon at second base today and giving former top prospect Elehuris Montero the start at third base. This is obviously just one permutation that the lineup could take if Rodgers is indeed lost for the season, as there are alternate options at both third base (Kris Bryant, Nolan Jones) and at second base (Alan Trejo). Non-roster invitee Harold Castro can play both spots (though defensive metrics view his glovework at both positions in a negative light). Rodgers was going for a second opinion on his shoulder yesterday after reportedly receiving an initial recommendation of surgery. The Rox should have further updates on his status before long.

Padres Sign Adam Engel To Major League Deal

By Anthony Franco | January 6, 2023 at 7:37pm CDT

The Padres announced they’ve signed outfielder Adam Engel to a one-year, major league contract. The additions of Engel and righty Brent Honeywell bring San Diego’s 40-man roster to full capacity. Engel is a client of Icon Sports Management.

Engel hit the open market at the end of the 2022 season. The White Sox non-tendered him rather than bring him back via arbitration on a contract projected around $2.3MM. That ended a near decade-long run in the Chicago organization, which had selected Engel in the 18th round of the 2013 draft.

The University of Louisville product more than made good on that modest draft status. He’d play parts of six big league campaigns for the ChiSox, mostly in a reserve capacity. Engel played in the majors each season from 2017-22, with his speed and defensive acumen getting him consistent opportunities even as his production at the plate was inconsistent.

In just over 1500 MLB plate appearances, Engel is a .225/.280/.350 career hitter. He posted well below-average offensive numbers for his first three campaigns but put up quality marks in limited action between 2020-21. The shortened schedule in the former season and a pair of injured list stints in the latter kept him to 233 plate appearances over that two-year stretch. Engel hit .270/.335/.488 in that limited look, connecting on 10 home runs and 14 doubles.

That led to some optimism he might have taken a step forward with the bat. Engel didn’t sustain those gains in 2022, however. He hit .224/.269/.310 through 260 trips to the plate last season. Engel managed just two homers with a modest 4.2% walk percentage and an elevated 29.2% strikeout rate. On the heels of that rough showing, the White Sox moved on despite a generally shallow outfield.

The Padres will nevertheless bring him aboard as a defensive option off the bench. The 31-year-old has played nearly 3700 outfield innings as a big leaguer, with the vast majority of that work coming in center field. Public metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast’s Outs Above Average consistently peg him as a plus with the glove. DRS has credited Engel as 21 runs above average for his career, including three runs above par through 649 2/3 innings last season. Statcast has been even more bullish, rating him at +47 runs overall and +3 runs last year.

He’s also a quality baserunner, as the excellent speed that has made such a gifted outfielder plays on the bases. He’s stolen 47 bases in 64 career attempts, including a solid 12-16 success rate last year. His right-handed bat offers manager Bob Melvin a chance to shield incumbent center fielder Trent Grisham from tough southpaws on occasion, although neither Engel nor Grisham have shown marked platoon splits over the course of their careers.

Engel has over five years of major league service, meaning he’ll head back to free agency next offseason. That body of work also gives him the right to refuse any outright or optional assignments to the minor leagues. That suggests he has a strong chance of breaking camp with the Friars in a fourth/fifth outfield capacity.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

American League Non-Tenders: 11/18/22

By Darragh McDonald | November 18, 2022 at 7:30pm CDT

The deadline to tender contract to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7:00pm Central. Here’s a rundown of the players on American League teams that have been non-tendered today. This post will be updated as more decisions are revealed.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for all arb-eligible players last month. Onto the transactions…

Latest Transactions

The Mariners announced that they have non-tendered three players: catchers Brian O’Keefe and Luis Torrens, as well as righty Luke Weaver. Weaver was just claimed off waivers from the Royals a few weeks ago but will now become a free agent.
The White Sox announced three non-tenders: outfielders Adam Engel and Mark Payton, as well as infielder Danny Mendick. Engel is generally considered a strong defensive outfielder but he struggled at the plate in 2022. Mendick played all over the diamond while hitting .289/.343/.443 for a wRC+ of 125.
The Guardians announced they have non-tendered lefty Anthony Gose and catcher Luke Maile. Gose was designated for assignment earlier in the week. Maile got into 76 games hit at a below-average level with roughly average defensive marks.
The Angels announced four non-tenders: lefties Jhonathan Diaz and Rob Zastryzny, as well as righties Touki Toussaint and Nash Walters. The latter three names were designated for assignment a few days ago.
The Rays have non-tendered Ryan Yarbrough, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Tampa designated him for assignment earlier in the week.
The Blue Jays announced that they have non-tendered outfielders Raimel Tapia and Bradley Zimmer, as well as infielder Vinny Capra. The two former names were designated for assignment a few days ago.

Earlier Moves

The Athletics announced that they did not tender contracts to three players: right-hander Deolis Guerra, left-hander Jared Koenig and infielder David MacKinnon. Guerra is the most seasoned of the trio, having made his MLB debut back in 2015 and made 136 appearances. Unfortunately, he required Tommy John surgery in April, missing the entire 2022 campaign and possibly some of 2023 as well.
The Red Sox are non-tendering outfielder/first-baseman Franchy Cordero, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Cordero appeared in 84 games for the Red Sox this past season, but hit just .219/.300/.397 with eight home runs while grading out very poorly on defense. The Sox have also non-tendered infielder Yu Chang, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. The versatile infielder began the year with the Guardians but subsequently went to the Pirates in a trade, then went to the Rays and Red Sox on waiver claims. Across those four teams, he hit .208/.289/.315 for a wRC+ of 78.
The Astros will part ways with reliever Josh James, as Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports they’re expected to non-tender him tonight. He spent the entire 2022 campaign in the minors, and underwent flexor tendon surgery in October and is without a timetable to return.
The Rangers announced that right-hander Nick Snyder has not been tendered a contract. He only has 4 2/3 innings of MLB experience over the past couple of seasons. He spent most of 2022 in Triple-A, posting a 4.97 ERA over 38 innings, though with a 30.9% strikeout rate.
The Royals opted to non-tender lefty Jake Brentz and right-hander Nate Webb, the team announced. That’s no surprise, as both players were designated for assignment earlier this week. They lost their 40-man roster spots as a result, but the non-tender means Kansas City won’t need to run them through waivers before sending them directly to free agency. Anne Rogers of MLB.com tweets that Kansas City is tendering contracts to the rest of their arbitration class, including Brad Keller and Amir Garrett — each of whom seemed to have a small chance of being cut loose after tough seasons.

White Sox Reinstate Liam Hendriks, Adam Engel From Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | July 4, 2022 at 3:21pm CDT

The White Sox welcomed two regulars back from the injured list today, as closer Liam Hendriks was reinstated from the 15-day IL and outfielder Adam Engel was reinstated from the 10-day IL. Right-hander Jimmy Lambert and outfielder Adam Haseley were optioned to Triple-A to create space on the active roster.

Hendriks returns in relatively short order, having been placed on the 15-day IL only back on June 14. The right-hander was sidelined with an ominous-sounding flexor strain in his right forearm, though the initial indication was that the injury wasn’t overly serious. As it turned out, Hendriks even returned just a bit before the three-week estimate given by White Sox GM Rick Hahn at the time of the IL placement. Engel is also back after a pretty minimal IL stint, having been placed on the 10-day due to a right hamstring strain on June 23.

It has been another strong season for Hendriks, who has 16 saves and a 2.81 ERA over his first 25 2/3 innings of the 2022 campaign. Hendriks’ 34.6% strikeout rate is one of the best in the league, which has become the norm for the reliever for the last four seasons. However, there is a minor red flag in Hendriks’ walk rate, which is only slightly above the league average.

After an injury-plagued 2021 season, Engel has returned to hit .240/.297/.349 over 158 plate appearances this year, while also displaying his customary strong glovework in the outfield. Mostly playing as a right fielder in 2022, Engel will return to his usual fourth outfielder role when everyone is healthy, but the Sox could opt to use Engel and Gavin Sheets in a platoon with Eloy Jimenez still on the IL.

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