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Cliff Pennington

Yankees Release Cliff Pennington

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The Yankees have released veteran infielder Cliff Pennington from his minor league contract, reports Conor Foley of the Scranton Times Tribune (via Twitter).

Pennington, 34, inked a minor league pact with the Yankees back in early April shortly after Miguel Andujar and Troy Tulowitzki both landed on the injured list. He appeared in 29 games with New York’s Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, hitting .196/.306/.413 with five long balls, three doubles and a triple in 112 plate appearances. Pennington himself landed on the minor league injured list in mid May due to a hamstring strain. Foley tweeted that he was fielding grounders at shortstop earlier this week, and the Yankees formally activated him from the IL before cutting him loose.

The switch-hitting Pennington is known more for his glove than his bat. He’s a lifetime .242/.309/.339 hitter in 3142 trips to the plate over parts of 11 Major League seasons. The majority of those at-bats came with the Athletics, but he’s also spent three seasons with the D-backs, two with the Angels and partial seasons with both the Reds and Blue Jays. He has nearly 5000 Major League innings at shortstop, more than 1600 at second base and another 325 at the hot corner.

Yankees Sign Cliff Pennington

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The Yankees have announced that they’ve signed veteran infielder Cliff Pennington to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The deal was first reported by Pinstriped Prospects.

Pennington, 34, was with the Athletics in Spring Training and traveled with them to Tokyo as a non-roster player, but Oakland cut him loose at the end of March. Pennington split the 2018 season between the Reds and Rangers organizations, appearing in 16 games with Cincinnati and tallying 34 plate appearances. The rest of his season was spent between the two clubs’ top minor league affiliates. Prior to that, Pennington had been playing with the Angels on a two-year contract, primarily serving as a utility infielder.

That utility role is one that Pennington has settled into over the course of an 11-year big league career. He’s shown plenty of versatility, with nearly 5000 innings at shortstop, 1600 innings at second base, 350 at third base and some brief work in the corner outfield. In that time, he’s drawn excellent reviews for his glovework at second base and solid marks for his defense at shortstop. A switch-hitter, Pennington is a lifetime .242/.309/.339 hitter in 3142 trips to the plate.

The veteran Pennington will provide the injury-plagued Yankees with some depth all over the diamond. New York opened the season without shortstop Didi Gregorius, who is recovering from  Tommy John surgery, and has since seen both Miguel Andujar and Troy Tulowitzki land on the injured list. The former of those two injury situations is particularly troubling, as Andujar has been diagnosed with a small tear in the labrum of his right shoulder. While Andujar is currently opting for physical therapy and rehab, the possibility of surgery looms.

Athletics Release Cliff Pennington

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The Athletics have released infielder Cliff Pennington, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Pennington had been with the Athletics since signing a minor league contract with the club on Feb. 15.

This release ends Pennington’s second stint as a member of the Athletics, with whom he initially spent time after they chose him 21st overall in the 2005 draft. Pennington saw major league action with the team from 2008-12, during which he hit .249/.313/.356 with 24 home runs and 69 stolen bases over 1,954 plate appearances. Pennington has since racked up another 1,188 PAs with the Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Angels and Reds. In all, the switch-hitting 34-year-old has slashed .242/.309/.339 with 36 homers and 84 steals.

While Pennington’s offensive numbers are nothing to brag about, he has performed well defensively. Pennington has earned positive marks from Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating in extensive action at second base and shortstop, and has been a playable option at third base. Pennington’s defensive versatility wasn’t enough to keep him with Oakland this year, though, and he’ll now seek a new employer after spending the majority of last season with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate.

Athletics Sign Cliff Pennington To Minor League Deal

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The A’s announced Friday that they’ve signed infielder Cliff Pennington to a minor league contract with an invite to Major League Spring Training. With this deal, the Sosnick, Cobbe & Karon client returns to the organization that originally drafted him and the team with which he made his Major League debut in 2008.

Pennington, 34, split the 2018 season between the Reds and Rangers organizations, appearing in 16 games with Cincinnati and tallying 34 plate appearances. The rest of his season was spent between the two clubs’ top minor league affiliates. Prior to that, Pennington had been playing with the Angels on a two-year contract, primarily serving as a utility infielder.

That utility role is one that Pennington has settled into over the course of an 11-year big league career. He’s shown plenty of versatility, with nearly 5000 innings at shortstop, 1600 innings at second base, 350 at third base and some brief work in the corner outfield. In that time, he’s drawn excellent reviews for his glovework at second base and solid marks for his defense at shortstop as well. A switch-hitter, Pennington is a lifetime .242/.309/.339 hitter in 3142 trips to the plate.

Rangers Sign Cliff Pennington

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The Rangers have signed infielder Cliff Pennington to a minor-league deal, per a club announcement. He’ll report to Triple-A Round Rock to begin his tenure with the organization.

Pennington had opened the season with the Reds organization, but was optioned and then outrighted off of the 40-man roster after initially making the team out of camp. He was released earlier today to pursue other opportunities, which turned out to be a brief stay on the open market.

While he has rarely been much of a hitter, Pennington is amply experienced in the middle infield. He could help the Rangers weather the absences of Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre, which have left the club relying upon a slate of light-hitting players — Jurickson Profar, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Hanser Alberto — on the left side of the infield.

Reds Release Cliff Pennington

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The Reds have released infielder Cliff Pennington at his request, per C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic (via Twitter). He had recently been outrighted off of the 40-man roster.

Pennington, 34, has been a fixture in the majors since he debuted back in 2008, though he has not been a regular since wrapping up his time with the A’s after the 2012 campaign. In recent seasons, he has functioned as a utilityman with the Diamondbacks, Angels, and (briefly) Blue Jays.

Over the years, Pennington has compiled ample experience at short and second, while also lining up a fair bit at third base and seeing limited action in left field and at first base. (And, yes, he has also taken the mound.) Despite a marginal .242/.309/.339 career batting line, Pennington has rarely struggled to find work due to his respected glove.

Last winter, though, it proved impossible for Pennington to land a MLB job. He won a spot on the Cincinnati roster to open the year, but managed only four singles and five walks (with 13 strikeouts) in his 34 plate appearances. Now, he’ll head back onto the open market in hopes of finding another organization that can offer a path back to the big leagues.

NL Notes: Bruce, Kang, Stratton, Panik, Gohara, Pennington

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Mets outfielder Jay Bruce has been taking ground balls at first base, James Wagner of the New York Times reports. Wagner adds that the Mets may consider playing him there in order to open up room for Brandon Nimmo to receive everyday playing time again. First base incumbent Adrian Gonzalez has struggled mightily thus far, with just a .203/.300/.320 batting line on the season. It’s still only April, but in light of his struggles last year with the Dodgers, Gonzalez’s leash might be fairly short. That’s particularly true since Nimmo reached base in half of his 38 MLB plate appearances this season. It’s fair to think that the Mets are looking hard for ways to lock Nimmo into an everyday role.

Other news out of the NL…

  • Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang won’t receive any discipline from MLB, nor will the team dole out any punishment, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter. Kang was denied a U.S. visa for all of last year due to multiple DUI-related arrests. He’s finally able to return to the Pirates as of Thursday.
  • Today, the Giants reinstated Chris Stratton from the paternity list, optioning outfielder Austin Slater to Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move. Within hours, however, the club reversed its reported stance on Mac Williamson’s status, placing him on the seven-day concussion DL. The move allowed the Giants to recall Slater, who’s directly replacing Williamson. Stratton sports an impressive 2.32 ERA and 2.69 FIP across five starts this season, though the fact that he hasn’t allowed any homers despite a 37.8% hard contact rate suggests he might have been a bit lucky in that regard. Stratton will take his scheduled turn through the rotation today against the Dodgers.
  • In other Giants news, second baseman Joe Panik has been placed on the disabled list with a sprained left thumb. The club correspondingly purchased the contract of second baseman/outfielder Alen Hanson, who leads the Triple-A Pacific Coast League with a .403 batting average. The club moved Mark Melancon to the 60-day DL in order to clear room on the 40-man roster for Hanson.
  • The Braves have reinstated left-hander Luiz Gohara from the disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Gohara suffered a sprained ankle during a spring training outing, and had exhausted the maximum amount of time allotted for rehab starts. He’ll likely make a couple more starts in the minors before returning to help the Braves at the major league level. Gohara had figured to be a prominent part of Atlanta’s rotation before the season began.
  • The Reds announced that infielder Cliff Pennington has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Louisville. Pennington, who signed a minors deal in the offseason, made the club out of spring training camp as a bench player. However, he’s struck out in nearly 40 percent of his plate appearances thus far and has yet to sock an extra-base hit.

Reds Activate Eugenio Suarez, Select Rosell Herrera

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The Reds announced a series of transactions today spurred by the return of third baseman Eugenio Suarez from the DL. Cincinnati has also selected the contract of utilityman Rosell Herrera and optioned outfielder Phil Ervin and infielder Cliff Pennington to open active roster space.

Suarez had been rehabbing a fractured thumb that put him on the shelf after just eight games of action. He’ll look to pick up where he left off after opening the season on a .296/.424/.630 tear after signing a long-term extension over the winter.

Also coming to the MLB roster is Herrera, a 25-year-old switch-hitter who once rated as a significant prospect with the Rockies. He’ll get his first shot at the majors after joining the Reds organization on a minors deal last fall. Herrera was off to a strong start at Triple-A, posting a .311/.373/.607 slash in 68 plate appearances.

Ervin and Pennington will head down to Louisville while holding onto their 40-man spots for the time being. The former has been viewed as a quality prospect in the past but will need to wait for another opportunity after struggling with his brief chance this year. As for Pennington, who limped out of the gates after being added to the roster out of camp, it’s not immediately clear whether he has accepted the assignment. An 11-year MLB veteran, he’d have the right instead to choose free agency.

Reds Place Anthony DeSclafani On 60-Day DL, Select Contract Of Cliff Pennington

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The Reds announced a slew of moves Thursday in setting their Opening Day roster, including the placement of right-hander Anthony DeSclafani on the 60-day DL due to a left oblique strain. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to Cliff Pennington, whose contract has been selected.

Additionally, the Reds placed left-hander Brandon Finnegan and righties David Hernandez, Michael Lorenzen and Kevin Shackelford on the 10-day disabled list. Meanwhile, closer Raisel Iglesias will open the year on the paternity list. The Reds have recalled lefty Cody Reed and righty Jackson Stephens from Triple-A.

The oblique issue is the latest in a long series of injuries that has kept DeSclafani off a big league mound since the 2016 season. An oblique issue in 2016 and a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in 2017 have combined to limit the talented young righty to just 123 1/3 innings since the beginning of the 2016 season. When healthy, of course, DeSclafani has looked every bit the part of a quality young long-term piece; in 308 innings with the Reds in 2015-16, DeSclafani worked to a 3.74 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 over the life of 51 starts.

The 33-year-old Pennington spent the past two seasons with the Angels, where he batted a combined .232/.287/.320 through 405 plate appearances. Offense has never been a calling card for Pennington, a switch-hitter with a career .243/.310/.341 hitter through 3108 plate appearances, spanning 10 seasons. But, he’s a versatile defender capable of providing average or better glovework at shortstop, second base and third base, which makes him a nice utility option to have on hand — particularly for a Reds team that has yet to see Jose Peraza establish himself as a big leaguer.

Article XX(B) Free Agents Update: Saturday

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Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement contains a provision that allows certain free agents who are signed to minor league contracts to receive a $100K retention bonus if they are not on the team’s 25-man roster or the Major League disabled list five days prior to the season.

Free agents who qualify for this distinction are those who have at least six years of Major League service time and had a Major League contract expire at the end of the previous season, but signed a minor league deal ten or more days prior to Opening Day.

The deadline for teams to decide on these players is today at 11am central time. By the deadline, teams with these players in camp need to decide whether to:

  1. Add the player to their 25-man roster or Major League disabled list (or agree to do so in writing).
  2. Pay the player a $100K retention bonus to keep him in the organization beyond the deadline and send him to the minors.
  3. Grant the player his outright release from the minor league contract so that he may pursue opportunities with other teams.

We’ll use this post to keep track of the Article XX(B) free agents whose respective teams have elected option one or two; in other words, players who won’t be released for the time being. The most recent updates are on top.

  • Miguel Montero has been informed that he’ll make the Nationals as the club’s backup catcher, according to Jamal Collier of MLB.com. He’ll earn a $1.3MM base salary, as outlined in the details of the pact he signed with the club on February 1st. Montero beat out young backstop Pedro Severino in a camp battle for the role.

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