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Donn Roach

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/30/18

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Rounding up some minor moves from around baseball…

  • The White Sox have signed right-hander Donn Roach to a minor league deal, as per the Mariners Minors Twitter account.  Roach posted a 5.77 ERA over 39 innings with the Padres, Cubs, and Mariners from 2014-16, though he has also spent time with six other MLB organizations and with the KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization.  The White Sox previously signed Roach to a minors deal last offseason, and he pitched well for Triple-A Charlotte (2.65 ERA over 95 innings, starting 15 of 16 games) before being released in July to sign with Japan’s Orix Buffaloes.

White Sox Grant Donn Roach His Release To Pursue Opportunity In Japan

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Right-hander Donn Roach has been granted his release by the White Sox in order to pursue an opportunity in Japan, the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte announced. The move comes after Roach was named the club’s minor league pitcher of the month for June and after he’d been selected to the International League All-Star team.

There’s no official word as to which club will be signing Roach, though multiple reports out of Japan have suggested that the Orix Buffaloes have been showing interest in the 28-year-old right-hander. Roach becomes the second player to be released from a Triple-A club in order to pursue a job in Japan, joining now-former Mariners lefty Ariel Miranda.

Roach hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2016 with Seattle and has just a 5.77 ERA with 20 strikeouts and 18 walks in 39 innings as a big leaguer. But he’s notched a much better 3.68 ERA in 453 innings at the Triple-A level, albeit with a pedestrian 4.8 K/9 mark against 2.2 BB/9. Roach also spent the 2017 season pitching for the KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization, posting a 4.69 ERA through 165 innings of work.

That led Roach to the White Sox organization, where he’s turned in a terrific season to date. Through 95 innings, he’s logged a 2.65 ERA with 5.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.28 HR/9 and a 56 percent ground-ball rate, with all but one of his 16 appearances coming out of the rotation. While the ChiSox aren’t exactly enjoying quality results from their rotation in the Majors, it also seems unlikely that Roach would’ve been a long-term answer for them at the big league level — especially given his lack of missed bats. This arrangement will allow Roach to earn more than he’d been earning in the States (and possibly set him up for a raise in a second season in Japan) while providing the Sox with some financial compensation for granting Roach his release.

Donn Roach Signs With KBO’s KT Wiz

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The KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization announced on Monday that they’ve signed right-hander Donn Roach to a one-year deal that will pay him $850K (via Jee-ho Yoo of Yonhap News).

Roach, 26, has bounced all over the league in the past two seasons, spending time on the 40-man roster with the Padres, Cubs, Reds, Blue Jays, Mariners, Tigers and Athletics. He finished up the 2016 campaign with Oakland but was outrighted off the 40-man roster following the season and became a free agent.

Roach pitched just 5 1/3 innings in the Majors this year and 3 1/3 innings in the Majors in 2015 despite all of that activity on the transaction front. In total, he has 39 Major League innings under his belt and a 5.77 ERA with 4.6 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9. However, Roach has logged an enormous 67.1 percent ground-ball rate in his limited big league time, and that massive number is typical for the righty, who routinely racks up grounders at an elite clip in the minors as well. Though Roach has a 3.95 ERA in 357 2/3 innings at Triple-A and has averaged just 4.5 K/9, his control (2.3 BB/9) and ground-ball rate (61.6 percent) have been excellent at that level. Those two traits have made him appealing enough to appear on seven 40-man rosters since Opening Day 2014 despite a pedestrian strikeout rate and almost certainly played into his interest from Korea as well.

A’s Outright Eric Sogard, Fernando Rodriguez, Four Others

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TODAY: Rodriguez, Landendorf, Roach, Lambo, McBride and Smith have all declared free agency, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Twitter link).  Sogard also elected to become a free agent on Saturday.

THURSDAY: The Athletics announced this afternoon that they’ve outrighted second baseman Eric Sogard, infielder Tyler Ladendorf, first baseman Andrew Lambo and right-handers Fernando Rodriguez, Donn Roach and J.B. Wendelken to Triple-A Nashville, thereby removing those six players from their 40-man roster. That makes eight players that Oakland has shed from its 40-man roster in the past 24 hours, as the team also outrighted Matt McBride and Chris Smith yesterday.

Sogard is the most notable name of the bunch, though he missed the entire 2016 season due to knee surgery. Prior to that, the 30-year-old Sogard saw semi-regular time with the A’s from 2013-15, and he’s spent parts of five years on the Oakland roster dating back to 2011. The outright could spell the end of his time in Oakland, as Sogard has the Major League service time required to elect free agency. The 30-year-old batted just .247/.294/.304 in 401 plate appearances last season and has slashed a mere .247/.305/.315 from 2013-15. He did, however, draw positive grades for his baserunning, per Fangraphs, and both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating peg him as a plus defender at second base. Sogard is also capable of filling in at shortstop and third base as needed, so he could make for a nice utility target for clubs seeking low-cost defensive upgrades this winter.

Rodriguez, 32, underwent shoulder surgery last month but logged 40 2/3 serviceable innings out of the Oakland bullpen in 2016. Since joining the A’s in 2014, he’s pitched to a solid 3.74 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9. Like Sogard, Rodriguez has the requisite service time to elect free agency following his outright assignment, and depending on his progress from shoulder surgery could be a nice buy-low target for teams looking for veteran ’pen depth.

Wendelken, 23, has been weighing Tommy John surgery and recently sought a second opinion on his right elbow. Given the current injury he’s facing, it’s not a surprise that he cleared waivers. The A’s will be able to retain his rights and clear a 40-man roster spot by outrighting him, and he can rehab from any surgery that he may ultimately undergo next season without accruing MLB service time. Oakland picked up Wendelken in last winter’s trade that sent Brett Lawrie to Chicago, and he showed a penchant for missing bats in Triple-A (4.11 ERA, 12.7 K/9, 5.1 BB/9 in 46 innings) before struggling in a small sample of MLB games.

Roach, 28, has been traded once and claimed on waivers five time since being drafted by the Angels in 2010. His extreme ground-ball tendencies and strong control have continually piqued the interest of Major League clubs despite the fact that he’s a soft-tossing righty who has averaged fewer than five strikeouts per nine innings in Triple-A. Roach has been outrighted in the past and figures to elect free agency in search of a minor league deal this winter.

Ladendorf, 28, collected just four hits in 50 plate appearances with the A’s this season and has played sparingly over the past two seasons at the Major League level. Originally a second-round draft pick of the Twins, Ladendorf was traded to Oakland back in 2009 in exchange for Orlando Cabrera and is a career .261/.327/.349 hitter at the Triple-A level, where he’s played shortstop, second base, third base and outfield.

Lambo, 28, picked up just one plate appearance with the A’s in 2016 and is a career .189/.230/.295 batter at the Major League level. The former top prospect saw his 2016 campaign come to an end in mid-June after the A’s announced that he’d undergone surgery to treat testicular cancer. The announcement from the A’s was made on Twitter and, as such, doesn’t come with a timeline for Lambo’s recovery, but hopefully he is progressing well and can ultimately make a return to baseball.

Athletics Claim Donn Roach From Tigers

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The Tigers announced this afternoon that right-hander Donn Roach, whom they had designated for assignment over the weekend, has been claimed off waivers by the Athletics.

Roach, 26, has a 5.77 ERA with 20 strikeouts against 18 walks in 39 career innings at the Major League level, but his massive ground-ball tendencies continue to intrigue teams enough to land on 40-man rosters. Roach posted a 3.03 ERA in his Triple-A run with the Tigers, fanning 21 batters against just five walks in 29 innings of work. He’s posted a gaudy 67.1 percent ground-ball rate in his big league career and has a 59 percent ground-ball rate in Triple-A this year. He’ll add some depth to the Athletics’ Triple-A team on the eve of the playoffs, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter), who points out that recent promotions have depleted the Athletics’ Triple-A roster.

Roach has bounced all over the league in the past two years, spending time on the 40-man roster with the Padres, Cubs, Blue Jays, Reds, Mariners, Tigers and now Athletics.

Tigers Designate Donn Roach, Add Joe Mantiply To Roster

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The Tigers have announced that they’ve designated righty Donn Roach for assignment. The move clears space on the team’s roster for lefty Joe Mantiply, whose contract the team has selected from Double-A Erie.

The Tigers claimed Roach from the Mariners last month, and he made five starts for Triple-A Toledo. Between Toledo and the Mariners’ affiliate in Tacoma, Roach has posted a 3.86 ERA, 5.4 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 over 137 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level this season. The 26-year-old has appeared in the big leagues in each of the last three seasons, including in 5 1/3 innings in the Mariners’ bullpen this season.

The 25-year-old Mantiply was a 27th-round draft pick in 2013, but he made quick work of the lower levels of the Tigers’ system and has fared well in the high minors this season, with a 2.73 ERA, 10.5 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 59 1/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A. He likely would have been a potential Rule 5 Draft selection this winter, but his addition to the Tigers’ 40-man roster protects the team from that possibility. He’ll join Justin Wilson, Kyle Ryan and Blaine Hardy as lefties in the Tigers’ bullpen.

Tigers Claim Donn Roach, Designate Jeff Ferrell

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The Tigers announced today that they’ve claimed right-hander Donn Roach off waivers from the Mariners and designated fellow right-hander Jeff Ferrell for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Roach, who was designated for assignment by the Mariners on Aug. 4, has been optioned to Triple-A, per the Tigers’ announcement.

In 39 career innings at the Major League level, Roach has a 5.77 ERA with 20 strikeouts against 18 walks. While those numbers aren’t especially enticing, Roach intrigues a great many teams, as he’s been on the 40-man roster of the Padres, Cubs, Blue Jays, Reds, Mariners and now Tigers in the past two years. He’s never missed many bats, but Roach is a ground-ball specialist (67.1 percent in the Majors) and did see an intriguing spike in his average fastball velocity in his brief eight-inning sample with Seattle this year; after averaging 88-89 mph in prior seasons, Roach’s heater averaged 92.6 mph in 2016.

Baseball America rated Ferrell, 25, as the Tigers’ No. 21 prospect this past offseason on the heels of a 2.58 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 38 1/3 innings. However, injuries have limited him to just 7 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level this year and 11 1/3 innings overall. He hasn’t pitched in a game since mid-May.

Mariners Acquire Pat Venditte From Blue Jays

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The Mariners have announced that they’ve acquired switch-pitcher Pat Venditte from the Blue Jays for a player to be named. To clear space for him, they’ve designated righty Donn Roach for assignment. Venditte has been assigned to Triple-A Tacoma.

The 31-year-old Venditte had appeared in eight games with the Jays this season. He’d spent the bulk of the year with Triple-A Buffalo, where he posted a 4.37 ERA and 3.3 BB/9, but with a very high 13.4 K/9. He has a 4.58 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 37 1/3 career big-league innings, suggesting his highly unusual ability to pitch with either hand is more than a curiosity. He has, however, been much better as a left-handed pitcher in his brief big-league career, and that trend also existed in the minors this year. The trade for Venditte was the Mariners’ second acquisition of a reliever today, with the first being their trade for Arquimedes Caminero of the Pirates. Whereas that move seemed designed to immediately improve the big-league roster, though, it appears they’ll use Venditte primarily as depth for now.

The 26-year-old Roach has appeared in four games with Seattle in 2016, but he’s spent most of the year with Tacoma, posting a 4.75 ERA, 5.2 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 while pitching 108 innings, mostly as a starter. He has a career 5.77 ERA, 4.6 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in parts of three seasons in the big leagues, during which he’s also appeared with the Padres and Cubs.

Mariners Place Steve Cishek On DL With Hip Labrum Tear

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5:38pm: Cishek says that it’s actually only a small tear that won’t require surgery, so he may be back after the 15-day minimum, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets.

4:58pm: The Mariners announced a series of roster moves today that will shake up the team’s pitching mix. In particular, just-deposed closer Steve Cishek has been placed on the DL with a left hip labrum tear.

Just acquired lefty Ariel Miranda and righty Blake Parker are joining the major league roster. Righty Donn Roach was optioned to open one active roster spot, with Mayckol Guaipe released to free up a slot on the 40-man.

[Related: Updated Mariners Depth Chart]

Cishek signed with Seattle for two years and $10MM over the winter. He has been solid, posting a 3.40 ERA with 11.7 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in his 47 2/3 innings, though he recently lost the closer’s gig after some shaky outings. Cishek did manage to trigger a $500K bonus by recording over 35 games finished before that point, though he’ll miss out on a chance to earn yet more cash through that portion of his contract.

It’s not yet clear what kind of outlook there is for Cishek’s injury, but it certainly sounds like a season-ending type of injury (though it’s not yet clear if surgery is required). Pitchers who have had the ailment in recent years include Tim Lincecum and Michael Pineda; Dan Wade of the Hardball Times provides ample detail on the subject. Seattle will certainly hope that Cishek isn’t out that long, particularly since he’s still under contract for another campaign.

The 25-year-old Guaipe has thrown 34 frames for the big league team over the last two years, but the results haven’t been great. He owns a 5.29 ERA in that span, allowing 42 hits and 17 walks while recording 27 strikeouts. Guaipe has shown well in the upper minors, though, with a 2.87 ERA and 7.1 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 over 59 2/3 Triple-A frames since the start of 2015.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/8/15

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With all the big moves and rumors from the Winter Meetings grabbing the headlines, here are a few lower-tier transactions from around the baseball world…

  • The Red Sox announced that right-hander Roman Mendez has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A.  Mendez was designated for assignment last week to make room for outfielder Chris Young on Boston’s roster.  Mendez made three appearances for the Sox after being claimed from the Rangers in September.  The righty owns a 94mph fastball and has a 3.09 ERA in 46 2/3 career Major League innings, though that ERA is belied by some very unfavorable peripheral numbers, particularly in his 2014 stint with Texas.
  • The Pirates announced some minor league signings, all on contracts that contain Spring Training invites: infielder Cole Figueroa, outfielder Danny Ortiz, left-hander Robert Zarate and right-handers Wilfredo Boscan and Deolis Guerra.
  • The Mariners signed righty Donn Roach to a minor league contract, the Tacoma News Tribune’s Bob Dutton reports (Twitter link).  The deal contains an invitation to the Mariners’ big league Spring Training camp.  Roach has a 5.35 ERA in 33 2/3 career innings and appeared in just one MLB game in 2015.  Roach, who turns 26 later this week, pitched for three organizations (the Blue Jays, Cubs and Reds) last season.
  • The Phillies announced that southpaw Joely Rodriguez has been outrighted to Triple-A.  Rodriguez, acquired from Pittsburgh in exchange for Antonio Bastardo last winter, posted a 6.12 ERA, 5.1 K/9 and 1.3 K/BB rate over 129 1/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A in 2015.
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