Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Casey Lawrence

Cardinals Outright Andrew Suárez, Casey Lawrence

By | at

The Cardinals announced on Thursday that pitchers Andrew Suárez and Casey Lawrence have elected free agency after being outrighted off of the 40-man roster. In addition, the team sent three more players, right-hander Kyle Leahy and infielders Irving Lopez and Juniel Querecuto, outright to Triple-A Memphis.

The moves clear five spots on the team’s 40-man roster, bringing the total down to 35. Not so coincidentally, the Cardinals currently have five players on the 60-day IL who will need spots on the 40-man following the conclusion of the World Series: Dylan Carlson, Brendan Donovan, Packy Naughton, Wilking Rodriguez, and Guillermo Zuñiga.

Suárez appeared in 13 games for St. Louis this season, pitching 27.2 innings in a long relief role. The southpaw was little more than a mop-up man, posting a 7.16 ERA and a 5.67 SIERA, while walking nearly as many batters as he struck out. He did, however, look much more comfortable at Triple-A, posting a 4.08 ERA in 64 innings with the Memphis Redbirds.

Lawrence didn’t have much more success than Suárez, pitching to a 6.59 ERA and 5.05 SIERA in 27.1 innings of long relief. Those aren’t great numbers for the 35-year-old journeyman, but on the bright side, he did a good job limiting hard contact for the second year in a row, holding opposing batters to an 88.1-mph average exit velocity and finishing with a respectable 4.39 xERA.

Leahy appeared very briefly for the Cardinals in 2023, pitching in three games, facing 15 batters, giving up four runs, and recording five outs. He was optioned in mid-July, barely two weeks after making his MLB debut. Unfortunately for the 26-year-old righty, his numbers at Triple-A weren’t much more impressive than they were in the majors; he posted a 9.74 ERA and a 6.63 FIP through the final two months of the season.

Lopez has been in the Cardinals organization since 2017, when he was taken in the 19th round of the draft. After a strong showing at Triple-A, batting .315 with a 1.001 OPS in 19 games, the 28-year-old made his MLB debut at the end of September. He went hitless in 11 at-bats but recorded his first big league RBI on a sacrifice fly in the final game of the season.

Querecuto, a utility infielder, was a mid-September call-up, appearing in nine games and splitting his time between first, second, and third base. He went 2-for-20 with a single, a double, and a walk. Having been outrighted previously in his career – back in 2016 with the Rays – Querecuto could have elected free agency instead of accepting his outright assignment, but evidently, he has decided to remain in the Cardinals organization. After bouncing around between five organizations in his professional career, it makes sense that he’s interested in sticking with the team that gave him his first shot at big league action in seven years.

Cardinals Select Casey Lawrence

By | at

The Cardinals announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Casey Lawrence. He will take the active roster spot of left-hander Steven Matz, who landed on the 15-day injured list yesterday with a lat strain. The club has had many vacancies on its 40-man roster since their deadline selloff and won’t need a corresponding move in that regard.

Lawrence, 35, began the year on a minor league deal with the Blue Jays. He made 18 starts for Triple-A Buffalo, logging 90 2/3 innings. He allowed 4.67 earned runs per nine frames in that time, struck out 20.5% of batters faced, walked 7.3% and got grounders on 45% of balls in play. He didn’t get a roster spot with the Jays and opted out of his deal in mid-July, landing a minors deal with the Cards shortly thereafter. He’s made three starts for Triple-A Memphis with a 5.40 ERA.

The righty will crack the big leagues for the first time this year. He has 44 games of MLB experience from prior seasons, most of that coming with the Jays and Mariners back in 2017 and 2018. He’s only made six appearances in the show since then, having spent 2019 with the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Overall, has a 6.80 ERA in his 96 2/3 major league innings.

The starting rotation has been a weak part of the Cardinals’ roster all year. Matz struggled badly in the early going and got moved to the bullpen. He turned things around but is now on the injured list. Adam Wainwright has an unsightly 8.78 ERA on the year. Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty were both traded prior to the deadline a couple of weeks ago.

Miles Mikolas has been the only solid pillar of the group this year, as he has a serviceable 4.27 ERA in 26 starts. The rest of the rotation currently consists of Wainwright and then players that have bounced to the bullpen and/or minors throughout the year in Dakota Hudson, Matthew Liberatore and Zack Thompson. Liberatore tossed eight shutty in his last outing but has a 5.72 ERA on the year overall. Hudson has a passable 4.31 ERA on the year but with just three of his outings being starts, and his 6.00 ERA in Triple-A is worrisome. Thompson is somewhat similar with a 3.96 ERA in the bigs, but in just one start and 16 relief appearances, while his Triple-A ERA is 8.65 this year.

Lawrence could make some starts down the stretch or perhaps serve in a multi-inning relief role behind someone in that group. There’s enough uncertainty that the Cards figure to need some innings one way or another as they look to get through a lost season.

Cardinals Sign Casey Lawrence To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Cardinals announced Thursday that they’ve signed right-hander Casey Lawrence to a minor league contract. Lawrence, a client of the Big League Management Company, opted out of a minor league deal with the Blue Jays earlier this week. The Cards have assigned him to Triple-A Memphis for the time being.

The 35-year-old Lawrence has appeared in parts of three big league seasons, pitching 96 2/3 frames but struggling to a 6.80 ERA. He has a much better track record in Triple-A, where he’s logged a 3.80 ERA in parts of eight seasons (544 1/3 innings). He also spent the 2019 season pitching overseas in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, where he recorded a 4.51 ERA in 105 2/3 innings.

Lawrence has spent the season to date with the Jays’ Triple-A club, logging a 4.67 ERA with a 20.5% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 45% ground-ball rate in 90 2/3 innings.

The Cardinals have been stockpiling experienced pitching depth over the past week. In addition to Lawrence, they’ve also added reliever Jacob Barnes on a minor league pact and signed Ryan Tepera to a big league deal, designating southpaw Genesis Cabrera for assignment in order to clear a spot for the veteran righty.

Casey Lawrence Opts Out Of Minors Deal With Blue Jays

By | at

Right-hander Casey Lawrence was released by the Blue Jays recently, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Lawrence triggered an opt-out in his deal, reports Eric Treuden of Jays Journal, which led to him returning to the open market. Treuden adds that the righty is already working on a new deal, with the Cardinals and Yankees seeming to be in the mix.

Lawrence, 35, signed a minor league deal with the Jays in the offseason and has been pitching for their Triple-A rotation this year. He’s thrown 90 2/3 innings over 18 starts with a 4.67 earned run average in that time. He’s punched out 20.5% of opponents while walking 7.3% and has kept the ball on the ground at a 45% clip.

The Jays have been solid in the rotation this year from a health perspective, with each of Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt and Yusei Kikuchi having made at least 19 starts this year. Alek Manoah was optioned to the minors for about a month after struggling badly at the start of the season but the club largely used bullpen games to cover for his absence. Lawrence never got the call during that time and seems to have less chance now that Manoah has retaken his spot in the rotation. Also,  Hyun Jin Ryu is in the midst of a rehab assignment and should be able to return from last year’s Tommy John surgery in the next few weeks.

Given those factors, and the Jays possibly looking for more starting pitching at the deadline, it’s fairly logical for Lawrence to look for opportunities elsewhere. The aforementioned Cardinals, in particular, make sense as a landing spot for him. They have plenty of rotation uncertainty as it is and seem likely to trade impending free agents Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty prior to the trade deadline, meaning they will likely need veterans to soak up some innings later in the year.

Lawrence has just 96 2/3 innings of major league experience with a 6.80 ERA but he’s pitched in 112 Triple-A games across eight different seasons, posting a combined 3.80 ERA in those. The Yankees have a decent rotation at the major league level but their optionable depth starters haven’t been doing exceptionally well. Jhony Brito has a 6.39 ERA in Triple-A this year while Randy Vásquez is at 5.11, perhaps leading the club to desire a consistent depth arm like Lawrence.

Blue Jays Re-Sign Casey Lawrence To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Blue Jays have signed right-hander Casey Lawrence to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He will presumably receive an invitation to major league Spring Training.

Lawrence, 35, was also signed to a minor league deal by the Jays for some pitching depth in 2022. He eventually had his contract selected and threw 18 innings over six appearances but posted a 7.50 ERA in that time. He spent most of the year in Triple-A, where things went much better. Over 23 starts and 126 innings for the Bisons, he had a 2.79 ERA with a 21.9% strikeout rate, 3.5% walk rate and 43.5% ground ball rate. He was outrighted off the roster in November but is now back in the organization without taking up a roster spot.

For the Jays, their rotation currently projects to feature Kevin Gausman, Alek Manoah, Chris Bassitt and José Berríos in the first four spots, with Yusei Kikuchi and Mitch White candidates for the fifth. By adding Lawrence on a minor league pact, they’ve added another depth option to join Nate Pearson, Thomas Hatch, Yosver Zulueta and Bowden Francis.

Lawrence is now out of options and can no longer be easily shuffled between the majors and minors if he makes his way back onto the 40-man. He has just over one year of service time, meaning that he could be retained cheaply for the foreseeable future if earns and continues to hang onto a roster spot.

Mets Claim Tayler Saucedo From Blue Jays

By | at

The Mets have claimed reliever Tayler Saucedo off waivers from the Blue Jays, according to announcements from both teams. Toronto also announced that righty Casey Lawrence went unclaimed on waivers and was outrighted off the 40-man roster.

Saucedo has pitched in the big leagues in each of the last two seasons. He made 29 appearances in 2021 but only got into four big league games this year. In 28 1/3 combined innings, the southpaw has posted a 5.40 ERA. He’s only punched out 15.3% of opposing hitters, but he’s racked up ground balls at an incredible 58.7% clip. Saucedo has also held left-handed batters to a meager .182/.280/.295 line in 50 plate appearances, giving him an opportunity to carve out a role as a left-on-left specialist.

He had a much different profile with Triple-A Buffalo this year, only inducing grounders at a 40.5% clip but punching out 34.1% of batters faced. The Tennessee Wesleyan product has a 3.77 ERA in 93 career innings at the Triple-A level. He still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, meaning he can move back and forth between Queens and Triple-A Syracuse over the next couple seasons if he holds his 40-man roster spot. The Mets relied primarily on Joely Rodríguez as their left-handed bullpen arm this year, but he’s now a free agent. Adding further lefty depth figures to be a priority for general manager Billy Eppler and his staff.

Lawrence returned to the majors this season for the first time since 2018. The swingman soaked up 18 innings across six relief appearances, putting up a 7.50 ERA with a 13.9% strikeout rate. The 35-year-old had a strong 2.79 mark across 126 innings with Buffalo. He’s previously been outrighted, so he’s likely to decline the outright assignment in favor of minor league free agency.

Every Team’s Initial September Call-Ups

By and | at

Each season as the calendar flips to September, we see a flurry of transactions around Major League Baseball. Active roster sizes jump from 26 to 28 for the season’s final month, with teams permitted to bring up no more than one additional pitcher. We’ve already covered a host of transactions with 40-man roster implications throughout the day at MLBTR. Here’s a full round-up of teams’ initial September roster moves.

American League West

Houston Astros:

Los Angeles Angels:

Oakland Athletics

Seattle Mariners

  • Reinstated LHP Matthew Boyd from 60-day injured list
  • Recalled OF Taylor Trammell from Triple-A Tacoma
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Texas Rangers

  • Selected contract of RHP Jesus Tinoco from Triple-A Round Rock
  • Recalled OF Nick Solak from Triple-A Round Rock
  • Corresponding move: Transferred RHP Josh Sborz to 60-day injured list

American League Central

Chicago White Sox

  • Recalled OF Adam Haseley from Triple-A Charlotte
  • Recalled RHP Matt Foster from Triple-A Charlotte
  • Corresponding move: None required

Cleveland Guardians

Detroit Tigers

Kansas City Royals

  • Selected contract of RHP Daniel Mengden from Triple-A Omaha
  • Recalled OF Nate Eaton from Triple-A Omaha
  • Corresponding move: None required

Minnesota Twins

  • Added LHP Austin Davis (previously claimed off waivers from Red Sox) to active roster
  • Selected contract of OF Billy Hamilton from Triple-A St. Paul
  • Corresponding move: Transferred OF Trevor Larnach to 60-day injured list

American League East

Baltimore Orioles

  • Selected contract of 1B Jesus Aguilar from Triple-A Norfolk
  • Recalled LHP DL Hall from Triple-A Norfolk
  • Corresponding move: Designated INF Richie Martin for assignment

Boston Red Sox

New York Yankees

  • Recalled SS Oswald Peraza from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
  • Activated INF Marwin Gonzalez from paternity list
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Tampa Bay Rays

  • Reinstated RHP Matt Wisler from the 15-day injured list
  • Recalled INF Jonathan Aranda from Triple-A Durham
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Toronto Blue Jays

  • Recalled RHP Casey Lawrence from Triple-A Buffalo
  • Added OF Bradley Zimmer (claimed off waivers from Phillies this week) to active roster
  • Corresponding moves: None required

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks

Colorado Rockies

  • Recalled INF Alan Trejo from Triple-A Albuquerque
  • Recalled RHP Chad Smith from Triple-A Albuquerque
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Los Angeles Dodgers

  • Reinstated LHP Clayton Kershaw from 15-day injured list
  • Recalled 3B Miguel Vargas from Triple-A Oklahoma City
  • Corresponding moves: None required

San Diego Padres

  • Recalled INF Matt Beaty from Triple-A El Paso
  • Recalled RHP Reiss Knehr from Triple-A El Paso
  • Corresponding moves: None required

San Francisco Giants

National League Central

Chicago Cubs

  • Selected contract of RHP Jeremiah Estrada from Triple-A Iowa
  • Recalled INF David Bote from Triple-A Iowa
  • Corresponding move: Transferred Wade Miley from 15-day injured list to 60-day injured list

Cincinnati Reds

Milwaukee Brewers

  • Recalled RHP Luis Perdomo from Triple-A Nashville
  • Recalled OF Esteury Ruiz from Triple-A Nashville
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Pittsburgh Pirates

  • Recalled RHP Johan Oviedo from Triple-A Indianapolis
  • Recalled OF Calvin Mitchell from Triple-A Indianapolis
  • Corresponding moves: None required

St. Louis Cardinals

  • Selected contract of OF Ben DeLuzio from Triple-A Memphis
  • Recalled RHP James Naile from Triple-A Memphis
  • Corresponding moves: None required

National League East

Atlanta Braves

  • Reinstated IF Orlando Arcia from 10-day injured list
  • Added recently-claimed RHP Jesse Chavez to active roster
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Miami Marlins*

New York Mets

Philadelphia Phillies

  • Selected contract of RHP Vinny Nittoli from Triple-A Lehigh Valley
  • Recalled C Donny Sands from Triple-A Lehigh Valley
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Washington Nationals

  • Recalled C Tres Barrera from Triple-A Rochester
  • Recalled RHP Mason Thompson from Triple-A Rochester
  • Corresponding moves: None required

*Marlins moves reported by Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link)

Blue Jays To Promote Max Castillo, Option Casey Lawrence

By | at

The Blue Jays will promote right-handed pitching prospect Max Castillo today, optioning right-hander Casey Lawrence, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com (via Twitter). The Blue Jays will need to add Castillo to the 40-man roster, but they have an open spot after outrighting Bowden Francis yesterday.

Castillo will make his Major League debut whenever he first gets in a game. Signed out of Venezuela, the 23-year-old has been with the Blue Jays since the 2016 season. He made it to Triple-A for the first time this season, posting a 0.66 ERA in 27 1/3 innings. This came after putting up a 3.10 ERA over six starts (29 innings) in Double-A. Despite the gaudy numbers, Castillo wasn’t on MLB.com’s, Baseball America’s, or Fangraphs’ list of Blue Jays top 30 prospects. He profiles as a reliever, despite mostly starting games throughout his minor league career.

Lawrence, 34, made just three appearances for the Blue Jays in his first bit of big-league action since 2018 with the Mariners. For his career, he owns a 6.38 ERA/5.10 FIP over 86 career innings with the Jays and Mariners, dating back to his debut in 2017.

Blue Jays Select Casey Lawrence, Designate Gosuke Katoh

By | at

The Blue Jays have selected the contract of right-hander Casey Lawrence and designated infielder Gosuke Katoh for assignment.  In another corresponding move, left-hander Andrew Vasquez was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo.

Lawrence is now on the verge of his first appearance in The Show since the 2018 season.  The righty posted a 6.64 ERA over 78 2/3 innings with the Blue Jays and Mariners in 2017-18, and after being let go by the Mariners following that 2018 campaign, Lawrence pitched in Japan in 2019 and inked a minors deal with the Twins prior to the 2020 season, but ended up not pitching at all due to the canceled minor league season.

Lawrence returned to the Jays on another minors deal in 2021 and he has posted some solid numbers with Triple-A Buffalo as a starter and reliever for the last two seasons.  He’ll most likely work out of Toronto’s bullpen as a long man, though he could provide some extra depth behind Ross Stripling and Yusei Kikuchi.  Normally a swingman, Stripling has been filling in for the injured Hyun Jin Ryu, while Kikuchi has been inconsistent thus far in the 2022 season.

A longtime member of the Yankees farm system, Katoh bounced around to the Marlins, Padres, and Blue Jays on minor league contracts over the last three seasons before finally getting his first MLB opportunity this season with Toronto.  Katoh had only one hit over 11 PA but he also walked three times and scored two runs while playing some first base and second base.

Blue Jays Sign Seven Players To Minor League Deals

By and | at

The Blue Jays announced Monday that they’ve signed the following seven players to minor league deals: right-handers David Phelps, Jose De Leon and Casey Lawrence; outfielders Mallex Smith and Nathan Lukes; left-hander Matt Gage; and catcher Kellin Deglan. Phelps will earn a $1.75MM salary if he makes the club, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.

Phelps, 35, seemed on his way to an interesting year for the Blue Jays in 2021 until surgery for a lat strain ended his season in May.  Phelps hasn’t pitched 35 innings in a season since 2017, but he has bat-missing ability once fully recovered from surgery.  Phelps’ best year was 2016, when he posted a 2.28 ERA in 86 2/3 innings for the Marlins.

De Leon, 29, was once considered one of the 30 best prospects in all of baseball as a member of the Dodgers organization.  He was dealt to the Rays for Logan Forsythe in January 2017, beginning a four-year period in which he pitched only 12 2/3 innings in the Majors in large part due to March 2018 Tommy John surgery.  The Reds traded for De Leon in November 2019.  Though he made the Reds’ Opening Day rotation this year, De Leon was quickly bumped to the bullpen and was released by July.  The Red Sox picked him up on a minor league deal in August, but he made only two appearances for the club’s Florida Complex League team.

Lawrence, 34, worked 78 2/3 big league innings in 2017-18 for the Blue Jays and Mariners, posting a 6.64 ERA.  He spent 2019 with the Hiroshima Carp, and then landed a minor league deal with the Twins prior to the 2020 season.  He soaked up 86 innings for the Jays’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in ’21.

Smith, 28, led all of MLB with 46 steals for the Mariners in 2019.  He ranked 23rd in MLB that year in sprint speed, but was unable to recapture the magic of his career-best 2018 season with the Rays.  In that campaign, Smith posted a 118 wRC+ and 3.5 WAR.  After ’18, the Rays traded Smith and Jake Fraley to the Mariners for Mike Zunino, Guillermo Heredia and Michael Plassmeyer.  Smith was booted from the Mariners’ 40-man roster in September 2020, subsequently landing minor league deals with the Mets, Reds, and Blue Jays that have yet to lead to a return to the Majors.

Lukes, Gage, and Deglan do not have Major League experience.  Lukes, a 27-year-old outfielder, posted a 115 wRC+ for the Rays’ Triple-A club this year.  Deglan is a 29-year-old catcher who toiled for the Yankees’ and Blue Jays’ Triple-A clubs in ’21.  Gage, 28, is a lefty reliever who posted a 5.57 ERA for the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A team this season.  He recently found his way to the Venados de Mazatlan in the Mexican Pacific Winter League.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top