Dalton Pompey

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/9/21

By Mark Polishuk | May 9, 2021 at 11:00pm CDT

The latest minor moves from around baseball…

Latest Transactions

The Angels signed outfielder Dalton Pompey to a minor league contract, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweets. Once a top-50 prospect while coming up in the Blue Jays’ farm system, Pompey’s career was plagued by injuries, and he appeared in only 64 Major League games over parts of four seasons from 2014-18. Pompey was released from a minors contract with the Diamondbacks last summer, and he spent some time in independent baseball. Still only 28 years old, Pompey has a connection to Angels GM Perry Minasian, with Morosi noting that Minasian worked in the Jays front office during Pompey’s time in the organization.

Earlier Today

The Marlins signed infielder Deven Marrero to a minor league contract, and Marrero has reported to Triple-A Jacksonville. The 24th overall pick of the 2012 draft, Marrero’s last big league exposure came in a Miami uniform, as he played five games with the Marlins in 2019. He had reportedly signed with a Mexican League team in April but Marrero will now make his return to affiliated baseball. Marrero has hit .194/.246/.279 over 348 career MLB plate appearances with the Marlins, Diamondbacks, and Red Sox from 2015-19.

Edwin Jackson, Travis Snider Among D-backs’ Minor League Releases

By Steve Adams | June 1, 2020 at 11:00am CDT

The D-backs have released more than 60 minor league players over the past couple of weeks, and Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper reports several of the names that were cut loose (Twitter links). Veteran right-hander Edwin Jackson was the most experienced player to be released. Arizona also parted ways with outfielders Travis Snider and Dalton Pompey; right-handers Aaron Blair, Mauricio Cabrera, Damien Magnifico and Michael Tonkin; and lefty David Huff. All have big league experience. Each of the releases technically took place on either May 28 or May 22, per the Pacific Coast League’s transactions page.

Jackson, 36, threw a no-hitter for the Diamondbacks way back in 2010 and returned to the organization on a minor league pact this winter. He split the 2019 campaign between the Blue Jays and Tigers, posting a whopping 9.58 ERA in 67 2/3 frames. Still, Jackson is regarded as a revered clubhouse presence with experience pitching in variety of roles. As recently as 2018, he was a key part of the Athletics’ pitching staff in a season that saw them win 97 games and capture a Wild Card berth; in 92 frames for Oakland that year, Jackson worked to a 3.33 ERA (4.65 FIP) with 6.7 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9. More anecdotally, of course, Jackson famously has pitched for more teams than any other player in MLB history (14).

Snider, perhaps surprisingly to some, is still just 32. He hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since 2015, but the former No. 14 overall pick and ballyhooed top prospect turned in a terrific .294/.402/.497 slash in 93 games with the D-backs’ Triple-A club in Reno last year.

Pompey, Blair and Cabrera were all one-time top prospects themselves. Blair was a first-round pick by the D-backs and was the sometimes-forgotten third piece shipped to the Braves in the Ender Inciarte/Dansby Swanson/Shelby Miller blockbuster. Magnifico and Tonkin both have limited experience in big league bullpens, and Tonkin has had some success both in Nippon Professional Baseball and on the indie ball circuit.

Huff, 35, has spent the past four seasons pitching overseas. After starring for the LG Twins in the Korea Baseball Organization and serving as one of the better arms in the league, he spent two seasons with the Yakult Swallows in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Huff inked a minor league pact in hopes of a big league return this year but like Jackson now faces some uncertainty regarding the next steps in a lengthy career.

Diamondbacks, Dalton Pompey Agree To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | February 26, 2020 at 6:51pm CDT

The D-backs have agreed to a deal with outfielder Dalton Pompey, per Sportsnet’s Jamie Campbell (Twitter link). It’s surely a minor league pact for Pompey, who has acknowledged the new opportunity himself in some replies on Twitter.

Now 27 years old, Pompey was once considered to be among the game’s premier prospects. During the 2014-15 offseason, Baseball America rated him as high as 30th overall among minor leaguers, while both MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus ranked him inside the top 50. In the preceding season, Pompey had skyrocketed from Class-A Advanced to the Majors, hitting a combined .317/.392/.469 with nine homers, 22 doubles, nine triples and 43 stolen bases across his three minor league stops. Even his .231/.302/.436 output in 43 big league plate appearances were impressive, considering that he was a 21-year-old who’d never played above A-ball as of Opening Day that season.

The switch-hitting Pompey had another productive season in the upper minors in 2015 but struggled in 103 MLB plate appearances. Still, the sky appeared to be the limit for the 22-year-old, who was heralded as a plus defender with a high-end hit tool and blazing speed that made him a threat on the basepaths and anytime he put the ball in play.

Sadly, Pompey’s career has been waylaid by injuries — most notably a series of concussions. He barely played in either 2017 or 2019 due to concussions troubles, and a wrist injury limited him to 57 games in 2018. In total, over the past four seasons, Pompey has been able to suit up for just 188 games between the big leagues and the minors — an average of only 47 contests per year. By the time the 2019 season rolled around, he’d exhausted all of his minor league options; the Blue Jays were forced to designate him for assignment in July, at which point he went unclaimed on waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A. Pompey became a free agent at season’s end.

It’s been six years since Pompey debuted in the Majors, which makes it seem like he’s older than he is, but he won’t even turn 28 until next December. He has plenty of hurdles to clear before he can be considered as an option to resurface in the Majors, and the D-backs have a deep outfield mix that’s controllable for the foreseeable future. David Peralta signed a three-year extension earlier this winter, while the Snakes acquired the final two seasons of Starling Marte’s contract in a trade with the Pirates, and free agent Kole Calhoun signed a two-year deal with a third-year option. Standout second baseman/center fielder Ketel Marte is also signed long-term, while backup outfielder Tim Locastro can be controlled another five years.

Still, the D-backs will give Pompey a proving ground to attempt to demonstrate that his injury troubles are behind him. And with a strong, healthy showing in camp and/or in the upper minors, he could position himself as one of the first lines of defense in the event of an injury at the MLB level.

Dalton Pompey Clears Waivers, Sent Outright To Triple-A

By Jeff Todd | July 30, 2019 at 5:45pm CDT

July 30: Pompey cleared waivers and will remain in the organization after being outrighted to Triple-A, the Blue Jays announced.

July 23: The Blue Jays have designated outfielder Dalton Pompey for assignment, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Pompey’s injury rehab was up, forcing the club to make a call on the out-of-options player.

Pompey, 26, has endured a series of rough injuries in recent seasons and ended up on the shelf again this year for a concussion. He has slashed .244/.327/.311 in 14 games worth of rehab work.

This isn’t how the Toronto organization expected things to turn out after watching the Canadian native launch into top-prospect status. He was particularly impressive in 2014, when he briefly debuted in the majors and seemed primed to become the Jays’ long-term center fielder.

Pompey wasn’t able to secure a big-league job in 2015 and had showed inconsistencies thereafter in the upper minors. The club remained hopeful that he’d rediscover his form, but Pompey has been significantly limited by a series of increasingly worrisome concussions.

Entering camp this year for a rebuilding Toronto outfit, Pompey was in a make-or-break situation with no options remaining and little in the way of recent MLB experience. He ended up suffering an unlucky head injury in the locker room, forcing him to the sidelines.

Now, Pompey will be available to any other organization in the league, though a claiming team will need to put him on both its active and 40-man roster. If Pompey clears waivers, he’d remain with the Jays but would still be in line for minor-league free agency at season’s end.

Blue Jays Notes: Hudson, Red Sox, Sogard, Pompey

By Mark Polishuk | July 22, 2019 at 12:09am CDT

Daniel Hudson’s strong season is drawing trade attention from the Red Sox and multiple other teams, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi reports (Twitter link). The Blue Jays signed Hudson to a one-year, $1.5MM contract over the offseason, and the 32-year-old is on pace to deliver his best season as a relief pitcher, with a 2.72 ERA, 8.8 K/9, and 2.00 K/BB rate over 43 innings. The Red Sox are known to be looking at the high end of the bullpen market, though it isn’t surprising that they would also be seeking out pitchers like Hudson, who wouldn’t cost nearly as much in the way of prospects.

Hudson’s performance comes with some red flags, however, as ERA predictors (4.46 FIP, 5.51 xFIP, 4.67 SIERA) hint that Hudson is due for some major regression, and he is allowing a lot of hard contact — 40% of Hudson’s balls in play are hard-hit. On the plus side, Hudson’s fastball velocity and spin rate both rank in the 89th percentile or better of all qualified pitchers, so a lot of that hard contact is going for naught (or is being converted into relatively harmless fly balls, as his 47.5% fly ball rate is well above his 39.2% career average).

Here’s more out of Toronto….

In another tweet from Morosi, Eric Sogard is getting some looks from teams in search of a utilityman, especially clubs turned off by the Royals’ “crazy” asking price on Whit Merrifield. Sogard is another unheralded offseason signing who has become a big contributor for the Jays, with a .305/.369/.491 slash line (128 wRC+) and 10 homers over 304 plate appearances. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd recently explored how Sogard’s unexpected power surge has been something of a mirage, though Sogard’s solid contact skills and defensive versatility make him an asset even if his bat cools off. He has worked mostly as a second baseman this year, though also with time at third base, shortstop, and both corner outfield positions.
The Blue Jays are facing a decision about Dalton Pompey, Sportsnet.ca’s Arden Zwelling writes, as Pompey’s 20-day injury rehab assignment is up on Monday. Since Pompey is out of options, the Jays have to either call the outfielder up to the majors, or designate him for assignment. It isn’t out of the question that Pompey could come through DFA limbo without being claimed, Zwelling notes, as other teams might also not want to spend a 25-man roster spot on his services. Once a consensus top-50 prospect prior to the 2015 season, Pompey has fallen off the radar after several injury-plagued years, including multiple concussions. He only returned to action in early July after suffering another concussion during Spring Training.

Latest On Blue Jays’ Injuries And Roster Plans

By Jeff Todd and Steve Adams | March 21, 2019 at 10:46pm CDT

There are suddenly quite a few moving parts when it comes to the Blue Jays’ roster situation. As Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reports, ongoing developments continue to create uncertainty even as camp draws to a close.

Blue Jays skipper Charlie Montoyo revealed today that neither Ryan Tepera nor John Axford will be an option to start the season (Twitter link via Davidi). Teperea will open on the injured list due to inflammation in his right elbow. Axford, meanwhile, is not yet on the 40-man roster and likely won’t be for quite some time, as he’s been diagnosed with a stress reaction in the olecranon bone of his right elbow.

The Jays haven’t provided a timeline for either to return to health, though the loss of Tepera is particularly tough for Toronto. The 31-year-old righty has been a stable presence in the Jays’ bullpen since late in the 2016 season and has a 3.53 ERA with 9.4 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in 160 2/3 innings over the past three seasons. He’d been expected to serve as a setup man this season.

Those injuries would have opened the door wide for veteran Bud Norris, who surprisingly was forced to settle for a minor league deal with the Jays midway through camp. Unfortunately, as Davidi reports, Norris was a late scratch from his scheduled outing.

There’s no indication at this point that he’s dealing with anything more than a typical spring blip, but that doesn’t mean it’s not deflating to see another issue arise at this stage of camp. As Davidi puts it: “given the other injuries and the fact that Norris had an opt-out that expired at midnight Thursday, there was certainly a New Orleans Is Sinking kind of feel to the day.”

Of all the recent developments in Dunedin, the strangest was the latest concussion scare for outfielder Dalton Pompey. As Davidi explains, Pompey was somehow struck in the head by one or more bats that had been store in his locker. Given his worrying history of head injuries, Pompey was scratched and scheduled for further evaluation.

It’s anyone’s guess at this point how his roster situation will be resolved, with this health issue potentially representing a wild card. Pompey has profiled as a trade or DFA candidate, but could perhaps get one more re-start in the organization if he requires a stretch on the injured list.

These late-breaking developments have had quite an impact on the Blue Jays’ final roster plans. As Davidi explains, the club now may have some gaps to fill, particularly if it decides to give up on Rule 5 pick Elvis Luciano. That may also bring some opportunity, though, as the Jays could have some unexpected roster flexibility to work with as players shake loose from other organizations in advance of Opening Day.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Bleier, Gurriel, Rays

By Steve Adams | January 31, 2019 at 9:16am CDT

The Red Sox have been surprisingly silent on the bullpen market this winter despite the fact that Joe Kelly has left for the Dodgers and Craig Kimbrel remains unsigned — seemingly likely to land with another organization as well, based on comments from Boston president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes (subscription required), however, that the Sox are confident in a number of internal options. Recent draftees Travis Lakins (sixth round, 2015) and Durbin Feltman (third round, 2018) could both emerge at the MLB level in 2019, while many in the Red Sox’ analytics department are intrigued by trade pickup Colten Brewer (whom the Sox tried to acquire last summer as well, Olney notes). Tyler Thornburg represents a notable bounceback option, as well. It’s nonetheless jarring to see the Sox take a passive approach to rounding out the ’pen on the heels of a World Series championship. Perhaps there’s yet another move in store with several relievers still available (MLBTR Free Agent Tracker link), but it seems likely that the Boston ’pen will have to prove its share of naysayers wrong in 2019.

Here’s more from the division…

Orioles southpaw Richard Bleier tells Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com that he believes he’ll be ready to roll for the start of the 2019 season. That’s great news for the O’s, as Bleier had been a revelatory hurler before suffering a major injury to his lat. Already 31 years of age, Bleier certainly qualifies as a late bloomer. He’s also an outlier, having now made it through 119 MLB innings with a sub-2.00 ERA despite averaging just 4.1 strikeouts per nine. A big 63.3% groundball rate and low 1.6 BB/9 walk rate go a long way toward explaining the results. Before he can get back to disproving those who question the sustainability of that success, Bleier will need to show he’s back to full health. For the O’s, it would help quite a bit if he can do so. After all, Bleier could be quite a nice trade asset this summer or in the winter to come, especially since he’s still shy of reaching arbitration eligibility.
The Blue Jays’ signing of Freddy Galvis this week was tied to the club’s uncertainty about the glovework of Lourdes Gurriel Jr., writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. As Davidi explores at length, the Jays are wary of poor infield defense at a time when they’re developing numerous young pitchers and when rotation holdovers Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez are heavy ground-ball pitchers. Gurriel has more offensive upside than Galvis but could be squeezed for playing time with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Brandon Drury and Devon Travis all still factoring into the infield mix. There have been suggestions that Gurriel could land in the outfield eventually, but as Davidi outlines, that already crowded mix is further muddied with the now-out-of-options Dalton Pompey surprisingly still on the roster. It’s a comprehensive look at a crowded roster, though surely injuries and Spring Training roster moves could eventually impact how things play out. It’s also worth noting that Gurriel still has a minor league option remaining.
Juan Toribio of MLB.com tackles a number of questions on the Rays’ roster in his latest Inbox column, highlighting several battles for Opening Day roster spots while also writing that the Rays look unlikely to add another free-agent reliever this offseason. That, he notes, could open the door for Triple-A standout Colin Poche to crack the big league roster either out of camp or early in the season. The Rays, as Toribio notes, are rife with infield depth both on the 25-man roster and in the upper minors but are also cognizant that their projected group of 2019 infielders is lacking experience. So while players such as Christian Arroyo and Kean Wong don’t have clear paths to the Majors at the moment, Tampa Bay is likely to hang onto its depth. Arroyo, once a top prospect with the Giants and the key player received in last winter’s Evan Longoria trade, struggled through a lost season in 2018 and still has a minor league option remaining.

AL East Notes: Blue Jays, Harvey, Nunez, Chapman

By Steve Adams | September 19, 2018 at 10:18pm CDT

With the season winding down, Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling writes that both right-hander Marco Estrada and outfielder Dalton Pompey are likely nearing the end of their time with the Blue Jays. Estrada, 35, is a free agent at season’s end, and the Toronto organization has rotation locks in Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman and Ryan Borucki lined up for next season, with several other younger options on hand in the organization as well. As for Pompey, Zwelling notes that he’ll be out of options in 2019 and no longer fits into a crowded outfield picture in Toronto, suggesting that the 25-year-old will either be traded to another organization or simply designated for assignment as the Jays look to protect prospects in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.

Here’s more from the division…

Orioles prospect Hunter Harvey has suffered yet another setback in his return from elbow troubles, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The O’s had planned to send Harvey, a former Top 10 overall draft pick and once a consensus top 100 prospect, to the Arizona Fall League following the season. Those plans have been scrapped, and Harvey will cease throwing in the instructional league as well. The 23-year-old righty has already had Tommy John surgery in his young professional career, and he’s also battled shoulder troubles this year as well. There’s little doubting Harvey’s raw talent, but at this point, he’s thrown just 176 1/3 innings in parts of five professional seasons due to his inability to stay healthy. The 2018 season accounted for 32 1/3 of those frames, during which Harvey limped to a 5.57 ERA with a 30-to-9 K/BB ratio.
Red Sox infielder Eduardo Nunez exited tonight’s game due to soreness in his right knee, tweets Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. It’s the latest in a long series of knee injuries that have hampered the versatile infielder dating back to last season. Nunez recently acknowledged that he’s played through discomfort for much of the season, posting a woeful .264/.288/.378 slash through 494 plate appearances along the way. Manager Alex Cora doesn’t believe Nunez’s injury to be serious, but he’ll be out of the lineup tomorrow at the very least. Nunez’s 400th plate appearance boosted the value of his 2019 player option from $4MM to $5MM (per WEEI’s Rob Bradford), and his ongoing knee issues create a possibility that he’ll simply opt to return at that rate for the 2019 season.
The Yankees activated Aroldis Chapman from the 10-day disabled list earlier today, but Dan Martin of the New York Post writes that he’ll be eased back into the closer’s role as the Yanks try to be mindful of the knee issues that have slowed him in 2018. “We want to get him back in the mix,” said manager Aaron Boone. “…and in a regular role sooner than later, but we also want to make sure we are using him in big spots here down the stretch so he is firing on all cylinders as we head into October.” With Chapman, Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez all back from the disabled list, the Yankees are more or less at full strength, but they’re still likely to need to get through an upstart Athletics club the Wild Card game in order to orchestrate a return to the American League Division Series.

AL East Notes: Orioles, Steinbrenner, Boone, Nunez, Blue Jays

By Steve Adams | September 14, 2018 at 9:41am CDT

Beyond the obvious rebuild with which they’re faced, the Orioles have numerous behind-the-scenes questions to answer this offseason, writes Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link). Longtime owner Peter Angelos has ceded day-to-day operations of the club to sons John and Louis, but the league is still unclear who the new “control” person of the team is at this point. The O’s will also have to make a determination on whether to retain longtime general manager Dan Duquette and/or manager Buck Showalter, as each will see his contract expire at season’s end. Beyond that, the ongoing MASN television rights fee battle with the Nationals will likely have an arbitration hearing in front of a panel of fellow MLB owners in November.

Quick Hits: Undrafted Free Agents, Urshela, Aledmys

By Kyle Downing | May 12, 2018 at 2:29pm CDT

J.J. Cooper of Baseball America recently answered a question from a Twitter fan about undrafted free agents in MLB. It turns out that there were eight undrafted free agents on MLB rosters at the start of the year, and all eight of them were right-handed pitchers. Unlike football, where there are plenty of UDFA success stories, it’s exceedingly rare for a UDFA to produce significantly at the MLB level. Some outliers include Matt Shoemaker, Miguel Gonzalez, Darren O’Day and Kirby Yates. Of the UDFA’s currently in the majors on opening day, Tigers reliever Joe Jimenez (23 years old) and Rays pitcher Andrew Kittredge (28) are the only players below the age of 30. There are a few more fun facts in Cooper’s piece, making it well worth a full read.

Other items of note as the Tigers and Mariners prepare for a remarkably cold double-header…

The Blue Jays announced earlier today that they’ve activated infielder Gio Urshela and optioned outfielder Dalton Pompey to Triple-A Buffalo. Urshela, 26, was recently acquired for cash (or a player to be named later) after the Indians designated him for assignment earlier this month; he’d been on the DL since the start of the season. While acclaimed as somewhat of a defensive wizard, Urshela carries an anemic bat and has posted a wRC+ of just 57 throughout the course of his major-league career.
In other Blue Jays news, shortstop Aledmys Diaz has begun throwing, says Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca. He’s expected to begin hitting later this week. Diaz left last Sunday’s game after spraining his ankle, but it doesn’t appear as though the injury will keep him sidelined for much longer than the ten-day minimum at this point. Diaz was acquired from the Cardinals this offseason in exchange for outfielder J.B. Woodman; the shortstop has hit .216/.273/.431 so far with his new club.

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