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Minor MLB Transactions: 8/18/18

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Royals have selected right-hander Jake Newberry’s contract from Triple-A Omaha and optioned fellow righty Jason Adam, per a team announcement. Meanwhile, righty Blaine Boyer is now a free agent after clearing waivers, Maria Torres of the Kansas City Star tweets. The 23-year-old Newberry is in line to make his major league debut long after joining the Royals as a 37th-round pick in 2012. Newberry has dominated at both the Double-A and Triple-A levels this season, with a combined 1.63 ERA and 9.6 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 49 2/3 innings. Boyer, whom KC released Wednesday, has logged a godawful 12.05 ERA with 3.7 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 21 2/3 major league frames this year.
  • The Angels announced that righty Akeel Morris has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. The 25-year-old Morris, whom the Angels designated for assignment on Wednesday, has struggled at both the Triple-A and major league levels in 2018. He owns an ERA near 6.00 in a combined 53 2/3 innings between Salt Lake and Anaheim, with the majority of his work (39 2/3 frames) coming with the former.
  • The Braves have outrighted righty Chase Whitley to Triple-A Gwinnett, David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets. Whitley, 29, has thrown just one inning this year with the Braves. The former Yankee and Ray has recorded a 4.56 ERA/4.01 FIP with 7.25 K/9 and 2.31 BB/9 in 167 2/3 major league innings.

Royals Release Blaine Boyer, Promote Jorge Lopez

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The Royals have placed right-handed reliever Blaine Boyer on release waivers, per a club announcement. Boyer’s release will clear a spot on the roster for the promotion of right-hander Jorge Lopez.

Technically, Boyer’s release won’t be official until he clears waivers in 48 hours. Other clubs will have the opportunity to claim him off release waivers in the meantime, though that seems quite unlikely given the veteran’s struggles in 2018. Through 21 2/3 innings with Kansas City this season, the 37-year-old Boyer has posted a disastrous 12.05 ERA with more walks (13) and nearly as many home runs allowed (7) as strikeouts recorded (9). Boyer has had his share of recent success, racking up 212 2/3 innings of 3.51 ERA ball between the Padres, Twins, Brewers and Red Sox from 2014-17.

As for Lopez, he’ll join the Royals as the second piece that the team acquired in the trade sending Mike Moustakas to the Brewers. (Outfielder Brett Phillips is already on the big league roster.) The 25-year-old’s prospect star has dimmed a bit since he was considered a top 100 minor leaguer a couple of years ago, but he’ll look to turn things around in what figures to be an earnest audition on a thin Royals pitching staff. Lopez pitched almost exclusively out of the bullpen in the Brewers organization this season, but the Royals are stretching him back out and will take a look at him in the rotation. He’s slated to start tonight’s game.

Through 37 2/3 innings in Triple-A so far this season, Lopez has posted an ugly 5.26 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9. However, much of that work has come in a terrible setting for pitchers: hitter-friendly Colorado Springs. Lopez’s numbers have been more encouraging in a small sample of nine innings with Kansas City’s top affiliate. He’s also posted a 2.75 ERA with a 56.1 percent ground-ball rate in 19 2/3 big league frames with Milwaukee this season, though a lackluster 15-to-13 K/BB ratio in that time suggests that he’s had a bit of good fortune and is still in need of some refinement.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/12/18

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Athletics announced that they’ve outrighted reliever Chris Hatcher to Triple-A Nashville after he cleared waivers. The club previously designated Hatcher for assignment on Friday to make room for just-acquired reliever Fernando Rodney. The 33-year-old Hatcher’s stay in the minors won’t be a long one, it seems, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests he’ll return to Oakland in either September or sometime later this month. Since the Athletics acquired Hatcher from the Dodgers almost exactly one year ago (on Aug. 15, 2017), the right-hander has recorded 57 innings of 3.95 ERA/4.71 FIP ball with 7.58 K/9, 4.11 BB/9 and a 42.1 percent groundball rate.

Earlier updates:

  • Cubs reliever Anthony Bass has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Iowa, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic was among those to tweet. The move came after the Cubs activated Bass from the 10-day disabled list, where he had been since July 21 on account of a back muscle issue. Because he has been outrighted in the past, Bass has a right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, but there’s no indication that he’ll head back to the open market. The 30-year-old has been a good find this year for the Cubs, who signed him to a minor league deal last December, having pitched to a 2.93 ERA with 8.22 K/9, 1.76 BB/9 and a 53.3 percent groundball rate in 15 1/3 innings.
  • The Royals have reinstated reliever Blaine Boyer from the 60-day disabled list and transferred outfielder Jorge Soler to the 60-day DL, per a team announcement. But Soler – who hasn’t played since June 15 because of a left toe fracture – could still return as early as Aug. 16. Meanwhile, Boyer has struggled to a horrendous 11.76 ERA with 3.92 K/9 and 5.23 BB/9 in 20 2/3 innings this year with the Royals, who added him on a minor league pact last offseason.

Royals Claim Enny Romero

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The Royals announced that they’ve claimed left-hander Enny Romero off waivers from the Pirates. Right-hander Blaine Boyer was transferred from the 10-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Romero.

The 27-year-old Romero opened the season with the Nationals but was designated for assignment after just two innings of work. The Pirates plucked him off waivers but tried to designate him a second time just weeks later, but it turned out that Romero had an impingement in his left shoulder that resulted in him being placed on the disabled list. Upon sufficiently rehabbing the injury, Romero was activated and subsequently designated for assignment.

Romero was among the harder-throwing lefty relievers in the league for the Nationals last season but saw his average fastball velocity drop from 98 mph in 2017 to 95.1 mph in 2018. That, granted, came in a small sample of six innings, but Romero’s velocity was never at this low of a point throughout the 2017 season. To this point in the year, he’s yielded five runs on a dozen hits and four walks with seven strikeouts in six innings.

The 2017 season was a solid one for Romero, however, as he worked to a 3.56 ERA with 10.5 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, 1.13 HR/9 and a 39 percent ground-ball rate through 55 2/3 innings of relief. In 142 career innings at the MLB level, Romero has a 4.69 ERA with plenty of missed bats (9.7 K/9) but far too many walks (4.6 BB/9). Unlike many lefty relievers, Romero has been more effective against right-handed batters (.240/.325/.379) than he has against left-handed batters (.312/.392/.463).

Romero entered the season with just over two years of Major League service time, so if he can turn things around in Kansas City, he’ll be a controllable bullpen piece for the Royals through the 2021 season. He’d be eligible for arbitration this winter. Romero is out of minor league options, however, so he’ll need to hold down a spot on the big league roster or else clear waivers before he can be sent to Triple-A.

AL Notes: Dozier, Rays, Tucker, Lincecum, Royals

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Extension talks between the Twins and Brian Dozier are “dead,” reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, who notes that the slugging second baseman has no intention of discussing a long-term deal during the season and will hit the open market next offseason (Twitter link). That much has looked apparent for much of the spring, as Dozier has reportedly been disheartened by Minnesota’s lack of engagement in extension negotiations despite a vocal desire on his behalf to remain in the Twin Cities for the long haul. A lack of an extension, of course, doesn’t mean Dozier’s days in Minnesota are numbered; he’ll assuredly receive a qualifying offer if he has a characteristically strong season in 2018, and the Twins will likely keep up with his market in free agency next winter. It seems probable that Dozier will remain with the Twins for the bulk of the season, as the AL Central features three rebuilding clubs — the Royals, Tigers and White Sox — and looks to be largely a two-horse race between Cleveland and Minnesota even before the season begins in earnest.

More from the American League…

  • The Rays were already planning on a four-man rotation with a somewhat regular “bullpen day” before getting news of Nate Eovaldi’s need for surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that they’ll now deploy an even more radical strategy. Tampa Bay will lean on Chris Archer, Blake Snell and Jake Faria as its top three starters, and there’s no current plan to replace Eovaldi with another starter. The Rays’ early reaction, per Topkin, is to stick to their plan and see how things go; there are enough off-days early in the year that they can get by with only one required bullpen day for the first several turns through the rotation. It’s tough to imagine that they won’t eventually need to put Matt Andriese back in the rotation or turn to youngsters like Ryan Yarbrough or Yonny Chirinos, however. Tampa Bay’s depth is being tested to extreme levels, as they’ve lost both Brent Honeywell and Jose De Leon to Tommy John surgery after already having traded Jake Odorizzi to the Twins.
  • Jake Kaplan of The Athletic tweets that Astros top prospect Kyle Tucker will open the season in Triple-A despite possessing only a half season’s worth of experience at the Double-A level. The former No. 5 overall draft pick looks to be on the fast track to the big leagues, having slashed .265/.325/.512 in 72 Double-A games as a 20-year-old last year in addition to a robust .409/.438/.818 slash in 48 spring plate appearances with the ’Stros this year. Tucker entered the year as a consensus top 20 overall prospect and is considered to be a key long-term cog for an already youthful Astros organization.
  • Tim Lincecum has been slowed by a blister on his middle finger but will play catch tomorrow, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The two-time NL Cy Young winner, hoping for a career renaissance in the Rangers’ bullpen, didn’t pitch in a game this spring and believes that May 1 is a realistic target for his Texas debut. It’s been a half-decade since “The Freak” was a substantial big league contributor, but this, of course, will be his first season as a full-time reliever — a role that could lead to greater success for the former ace.
  • With Salvador Perez sidelined for four to six weeks due to an MCL tear, Cam Gallagher will pair with veteran Drew Butera to comprise the Royals’ primary catching tandem, writes MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. But the Royals won’t announce their Opening Day roster until tomorrow morning as they make the final deliberations regarding their bullpen. Non-roster invitee Blaine Boyer looks to have a spot locked up behind Kelvin Herrera, Brandon Maurer, Justin Grimm and Rule 5 pick Brad Keller, per Flanagan, who also notes that Ryan Goins will likely make the team as a utility infielder. With Goins and Boyer both in camp as non-roster players, the Royals will need to clear at least a pair of 40-man roster spots, though further moves could certainly be made.

AL Roster Decisions: Sunday

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The latest from around the American League on players facing cuts, or earning Opening Day roster spots…

  • The Orioles all but finalized their 25-man roster today, re-assigning left-handers Joely Rodriguez and Josh Edgin to Triple-A while sending Luis Sardinas, Alex Presley, and Cedric Mullins to minor league camp.  (Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun was one of several reporters with the details.)  While not officially announced, it seems as though Rule 5 draft pick Nestor Cortes Jr. has made the team based on these moves.  Rodriguez’s minor league deal with the O’s contains an opt-out clause sometime this summer, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports, and Rodriguez may have already attracted some attention after an impressive performance in camp.  Rodriguez has an 0.87 ERA over 10 1/3 Spring Training innings, with just one walk against six strikeouts.
  • It “seems likely” that veteran righty Blaine Boyer will make the Royals roster, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets.  Boyer signed a minor league deal with K.C. in February in the wake of a 2017 that saw him post a 4.35 ERA, 2.36 K/BB rate and 7.2 K/9 over 41 1/3 innings out of the Red Sox bullpen.  In making the Royals’ Major League roster, Flanagan reports that Boyer will earn $1MM in salary, plus another $250K available in incentives.
  • The Rays have informed southpaw Jonny Venters that he won’t make the team, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter link).  Venters has already said he’ll accept a Triple-A assignment and is likely to remain in the organization unless another team offers him a job in their big league bullpen.  That scenario seems improbable, however, as Venters hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2012 due to three Tommy John surgeries, though he hasn’t yet given up his hopes for what would be an incredible comeback.

Royals Sign Blaine Boyer To Minor League Deal

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The Royals announced Wednesday that they’ve signed veteran right-hander Blaine Boyer to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. The Moye Sports client will vie for a bullpen spot in Kansas City.

Boyer, 36, had walked away from baseball for nearly three full seasons before making a 2014 comeback with the Padres and reestablishing himself as a solid big league arm. Since returning to the bigs, he’s pitched for the Padres, Twins, Brewers and Red Sox on a series of minor league deals — making the roster in each instance and ultimately performing well at each stop along the way. Over the past four seasons, he’s pitched to a combined 3.51 ERA with 5.1 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9 and a 44.7 percent ground-ball rate.

Despite the quality bottom-line results, Boyer has attracted minor league offers only in each season since his return. The lack of strikeouts may contribute to that relatively tepid level of interest, though it’s also worth noting that Boyer has compensated for the lack of whiffs by limiting hard contact against him. Only 28 of the 299 pitchers that have logged 200+ innings since 2014 have turned in a lower hard-contact rate than Boyer’s 26.2 percent, per Fangraphs.

With the Royals, Boyer will compete for a spot in a new-look relief corps. Right-hander Joakim Soria and left-handers Scott Alexander and Ryan Buchter have already been traded away by the Royals this winter, and it stands to reason that GM Dayton Moore and his staff will continue entertaining offers on higher-priced members of the bullpen such as Kelvin Herrera and Brandon Maurer.

AL East Notes: Brach, Red Sox, Rays, Archer, Stroman

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Orioles right-hander Brad Brach may be receiving more trade interest than closer Zach Britton, as there is “heavy traffic on” Brach’s services, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports.  Brach would come at a lower prospect cost than Britton, hence the larger degree of interest.  Both pitchers have one year of arbitration eligibility left, with Brach ($3.05MM this season) on pace for a much lower salary than Britton ($11.4MM) even though Brach has pitched very well as Baltimore’s interim closer while Britton has spent much of the year on the DL.  Brach already drew a lot of looks in the offseason and may be even more popular now that teams know they can potentially use him as a closer as well as a setup man.

Here’s more from the AL East…

  • The Red Sox have placed two relievers on the 10-day DL in as many days, with Joe Kelly sidelined with a left hamstring strain yesterday and veteran righty Blaine Boyer announced this morning as suffering from a right elbow strain.  The hard-throwing Kelly has a 1.49 ERA over 36 1/3 relief innings for the Sox this season, with peripheral stats indicating some good fortune (.228 BABIP, 88.1% strand rate) to go along with Kelly’s 54.9% grounder rate.  Boyer, meanwhile, has a 3.00 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 3.33 K/BB rate over 24 innings after signing a minor league deal with Boston in April.  The Red Sox were already rumored to be looking for relief help at the deadline, and it’s likely that the search will intensify after losing two bullpen arms.
  • The Rays asked the Marlins about relief pitching when the two sides were negotiating the Adeiny Hechavarria trade last month, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  With the Rays looking for bullpen help and Miami seemingly open to moving any veteran player, it seems that the two sides are likely to re-open talks as we approach the deadline.
  • Also from Topkin, he reports that one team (not necessarily the Marlins) asked the Rays for both Brent Honeywell and Willy Adames in exploratory discussions about relievers.  Needless to say, it would be a big surprise if either top prospect was actually dealt, though it gives an example of the high price tag that teams are placing on top-shelf relief pitching at the deadline.
  • The Cubs checked in on Chris Archer and Marcus Stroman during their wide-ranging search for young and controllable pitching, Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com writes.  Archer has long been linked to Chicago in trade rumors, though the most recent talks unsurprisingly went nowhere since the Rays want to keep their ace to make a playoff run.  As for Stroman, the Blue Jays informed the Cubs that the 26-year-old righty would cost Chicago a player from its big league roster.  As MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently observed in his “Taking Inventory” analysis on the Jays, Stroman probably isn’t a likely trade candidate unless Toronto decides to embark on a total rebuild.  The Cubs, of course, acquired Jose Quintana earlier this week and are reportedly still on the lookout to add another controllable arm to their rotation.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/28/17

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Sunday’s minor moves from around baseball:

  • The Red Sox have selected the contract of right-handed reliever Blaine Boyer from Triple-A and optioned left-hander Brian Johnson, per a team announcement. Boyer joined the Red Sox on a minor league contract in the latter half of April and has since thrown 14 1/3 innings with Pawtucket, where he has allowed five earned runs on 12 hits and seven walks (with 12 strikeouts). Boston is the eighth major league destination for the 35-year-old Boyer, who has recently generated quality results at baseball’s highest level despite having issues missing bats. As a member of the Padres, Twins and Brewers from 2014-16, the soft contact specialist logged a 3.31 ERA in 171 1/3 frames and helped offset a subpar K/9 (4.63) with an above-average BB/9 (2.31) and a respectable ground-ball percentage (47.1).
  • The Mariners announced Sunday that they’ve selected righty reliever Ryne Harper’s contract from Triple-A and optioned fellow righty Robert Whalen. The 28-year-old Harper could be in line to throw his first major league pitch after working in the minors since the Braves chose him in the 37th round of the 2011 draft. Atlanta sent Harper to Seattle in 2015 in exchange for reliever Jose Ramirez, and the former has been quite effective with the Mariners organization since the trade. Harper posted a 2.51 ERA, 12.57 K/9, 3.31 BB/9 and a 53.3 percent ground-ball rate in 68 Double-A innings last year. He has also been productive this year in his first taste of Triple-A action, having registered a 1.89 ERA, 11.37 K/9, 4.26 BB/9 and a 39.5 percent grounder rate in 19 frames.

Red Sox Sign Blaine Boyer To Minors Contract

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The Red Sox have signed veteran right-hander Blaine Boyer to a minor league deal, as per the official Twitter feed of the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox.  Boyer is represented by Moye Sports Associates.

Should Boyer make it to Boston’s MLB roster, the Red Sox will be the eighth team Boyer has suited up with, and 2017 will mark his 11th season as a big leaguer.  The 35-year-old signed a minors deal with the Braves earlier this winter but was released during Spring Training.

Boyer posted a 3.95 ERA, 3.5 K/9 and 1.53 K/BB rate over 66 innings out of the Brewers bullpen last season.  The soft-contact and ground-ball specialist (Boyer has a 51.9% career grounder rate) has long been able to generate good results despite a lack of strikeouts, as Travis Sawchik observed in a piece for Fangraphs last January.  Since making a comeback to the majors three years ago, Boyer has a 3.31 ERA over 171 1/3 innings for the Brewers, Twins and Padres, despite only amassing 88 strikeouts in that stretch.

A grounder-heavy arsenal would seem like a good fit at Fenway Park, and Boyer gives the Sox some extra relief depth.  The Red Sox have three notable relievers (Tyler Thornburg, Roenis Elias and Carson Smith) on the disabled list.

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