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J.B. Shuck

Nationals Sign JB Shuck, Sam Freeman To Minor League Deals

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The Nationals announced a slate of minor league deals and non-roster invites to Spring Training, including previously unreported pacts with outfielder JB Shuck and left-handed reliever Sam Freeman.

Shuck, notably, is now being listed as an outfielder/left-handed pitcher. The 32-year-old journeyman began an attempt to convert to a two-way player last May after being outrighted to Triple-A by the Pirates. Shuck wound up tossing 20 innings — 19 in Triple-A and one scoreless frame in the Majors — and allowed eight runs for a combined 3.60 ERA. But while Shuck only allowed 16 hits in those 20 frames and managed to rack up 23 strikeouts, he also issued 18 walks and hit a pair of batters. Those types of control issues are fairly common for position players as they transition to the mound, and Shuck will look to improve upon them in 2020.

Turning to his longstanding role as an outfielder, Shuck is capable of playing all three slots and has batted .243/.296/.314 in just shy of 1300 plate appearances. He’s been a solid bat in Triple-A, evidenced by a career .292/.365/.392 slash at that level. It’s a long shot that Shuck is able to successfully reinvent himself as a fourth outfielder/reliever, but if he can do so, he’ll be an increasingly valuable asset in light of today’s newly implemented changes to roster construction at the MLB level. Taking a look in Spring Training, of course, won’t cost the Nats anything.

As for the 32-year-old Freeman, he finished out the 2019 season in the Nationals organization after signing a minor league deal, but he didn’t appear in the big leagues with them. Freeman pitched only two innings in the Majors last season (both with the Angels), and he was torched in 52 2/3 frames with the Halos’ Triple-A affiliate. He tossed six shutout innings with an 11-to-1 K/BB ratio with Washington’s top affiliate, though, and is still not far removed from a 2017 season that saw him log a 2.55 ERA/3.34 FIP in 60 innings with the Braves. In 228 2/3 innings at the big league level, Freeman has a 3.62 ERA with averages of 8.9 strikeouts, 5.1 walks and 0.7 homers per nine innings pitched.

JB Shuck Trying To Become Two-Way Player

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The Pirates will attempt to convert veteran outfielder JB Shuck into a two-way player, director of player development Larry Broadway told Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic. Shuck will begin honing his pitching skills at Triple-A Indianapolis, where he has been playing since the Pirates outrighted him May 8.

The journeyman Shuck, 31, cracked Pittsburgh’s injury-plagued outfield entering the season after signing a minor league pact during the winter. However, as has been the case throughout his career, he didn’t provide much at the plate. The lefty-swinging Shuck, a lifetime .243/.296/.314 hitter in 1,289 major league plate appearances, batted .213/.339/.255 in 57 PA before the Pirates removed him from their 40-man roster.

Although Shuck’s hasn’t established himself as an offensive asset since debuting in the majors with the Astros in 2011, the Pirates aren’t abandoning hope that he’ll be able to help them down the line. Broadway explained to Biertempfel that the Pirates’ goal is for Shuck to emerge as a two-way contributor in the majors, not just the minors. Shuck’s on board with Pittsburgh’s outside-the-box thinking, telling Biertempfel he’s “all for trying it” if it’s for the betterment of his career. He also thinks “more two-way guys” could become “a new trend,” thanks in part to a rule that will enable teams to designate “two-way players” effective next year. But Shuck will first have to total 20 appearances with at least three PA as a position player (he’s at 10 right now) and 20 innings as a pitcher to become eligible for the two-way designation in 2020.

Contributing as a pitcher isn’t foreign to Shuck, who was a two-way player in high school and college. As an Ohio State Buckeye, Shuck amassed 223 innings of 3.87 ERA ball. The southpaw has since totaled a pair of mop-up appearances in the majors, including a scoreless, one-hit, one-walk frame in a blowout loss to the Diamondbacks earlier this season.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/8/19

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We’ll track the day’s minor moves in this post …

  • The Pirates announced that outfielder JB Shuck cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Indianapolis. He’d been designated for assignment over the weekend. Shuck, 32 next month, cracked Pittsburgh’s Opening Day roster due to a series of injuries elsewhere in the lineup but was cut loose once the Bucco outfield mix largely returned to health. He hit .213/.339/.255 in 57 plate appearances and will remain on-hand as a depth option with some MLB experience. In parts of seven MLB seasons, Shuck is a .243/.296/.314 hitter through 1289 PAs.
  • Right-hander Jay Jackson, whom the Brewers designated for assignment this weekend, cleared outright waivers and will head to Triple-A San Antonio, per an announcement from the Brewers. The 31-year-old was tagged for five runs in 2 1/3 innings in what proved a brief return to the big leagues following a successful three-year stint in Japan (2.13 ERA, 202-to-70 K/BB ratio in 182 innings). It was a short look at the MLB level, but the Brewers have been mixing and matching in the bullpen all season as they try to piece together a pitching staff that has been shuffled by injuries and ineffective performances from expected contributors. Given Jackson’s recent success in NPB, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him back in the Milwaukee bullpen later this year if he gets on a roll in San Antonio.

Earlier Moves

  • The White Sox have added infielder Ivan De Jesus Jr. on a minor-league deal, per an announcement from the Long Island Ducks. De Jesus had opened the season with the indy ball outfit but will now slide back to the affiliated ranks. The 32-year-old is a .242/.303/.327 hitter in 545 plate appearances over parts of four seasons. He’s mostly a middle infielder by trade but has seen action in the corner infield and outfield as well over the years. De Jesus will report to the Sox’ top affiliate.

Pirates Designate J.B. Shuck For Assignment

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The Pirates have designated outfielder JB Shuck for assignment, the team announced. Shuck’s 25-man roster spot will go to reliever Dovydas Neverauskas, whom the Pirates recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Despite having to settle for a minor league deal over the winter, Shuck cracked the Pirates’ injury-laden outfield to open the season. While the 31-year-old got off to a nice start, evidenced by his season-best .864 OPS on April 14, his numbers have cratered in recent weeks. Shuck did got on base at a .339 clip and walk in 14 percent of his 57 plate appearances before Pittsburgh designated him, but he hit just .213 and showed no power (zero home runs, .043 ISO, .255 slugging percentage) along the way.

Including his stint with the Pirates, the light-hitting Shuck has managed a .243/.296/.314 line in 1,289 major league PA with several teams. Shuck has been a much better Triple-A performer, on the other hand, with a .299/.373/.393 showing in 3,610 attempts.

Pirates Place Lonnie Chisenhall On Injured List, Select Contract Of Melky Cabrera

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2:33pm: Bucs trainer Todd Tomczyk told reporters, including Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic (Twitter link), that it’s “inaccurate right now” to suggest Chisenhall will miss four-to-six weeks. The issue appears to be in his finger; for the time being, he’ll be shut down for ten days before being reevaluated.

10:21am: The Pittsburgh org has now announced the rest of its roster moves, as MLB.com’s Adam Berry covers (Twitter links). Jordan Lyles will also open the season with an IL stint owing to discomfort in his right side. He’ll be joined there by fellow reliever Dovydas Neverauskas, catcher Elias Diaz, corner infielder/outfielder Jose Osuna, and Polanco.

The club will indeed add Shuck, Cabrera, and lefty Francisco Liriano to the 40-man. To create roster space, righty Edgar Santana was placed on the 60-day IL while recovering from Tommy John surgery and the team designated relievers Jake Barrett and Aaron Slegers for assignment.

10:09am: Pirates outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall has been diagnosed with a broken hand, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). He’s expected to miss four to six weeks of action to open the season. The team has also announced it’s Opening Day roster, which as expected includes veteran outfielder Melky Cabrera.

It’s a tough-luck development for the 30-year-old, who was hit by a pitch late in camp. This is hardly the way he hoped to begin an effort at a bounceback season after an injury-marred pair of seasons.

Chisenhall inked a one-year, $2.75MM deal with the Bucs over the winter. The hope was that he’d serve as the primary option in right field while Gregory Polanco is working back to full health. Instead, he’ll have to do the same before he can contribute.

To open the year, at least, Cabrera will get a run instead in the corner outfield. It seems he’ll be joined in the mix by JB Shuck, another minor-league signee who spent camp with the Pittsburgh organization, though that has yet to be announced.

Pirates Sign J.B. Shuck To Minor League Deal

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The Pirates announced Thursday evening that they’ve signed outfielder J.B. Shuck to a minor league contract with an invite to Major League Spring Training. Pittsburgh also announced its previously reported minor league deal with righty Brandon Maurer.

Shuck, 31, has bounced all over the league since being a sixth-round pick of the Astros back in 2008, spending time at the MLB level with the ’Stros, Angels, White Sox, Indians and, most recently, the Marlins. The journeyman is a lifetime .244/.294/.316 hitter with eight homers, 39 doubles, nine triples and 24 steals in 1232 Major League plate appearances. He spent the 2018 campaign in the Marlins organization and tallied 142 plate appearances at the big league level, hitting .192/.255/.231.

While he’s never found much in the way of big league success, Shuck has a solid track record in Triple-A and figures to head there if he doesn’t break camp with the Bucs. He’s a .294/.367/.388 hitter in parts of eight Triple-A campaigns (2244 PAs) and has ample experience at all three outfield positions, though he’s spent much more time in center (3097 innings) and in left (4083 innings) than in right (1580 innings).

Marlins Select Contract Of J.B. Shuck, Place Garrett Cooper On 60-Day DL

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The Marlins announced on Friday that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder J.B. Shuck from Triple-A New Orleans. To clear room on the 40-man roster, first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper has been moved from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL. Outfielder Braxton Lee was optioned to New Orleans to create a 25-man spot for the veteran Shuck.

Cooper recently landed on the disabled list when he was hit on the wrist by a pitch, and while the initial injury report out of Miami was a contusion, it seems that the injury is likely worse than that given today’s shuffle. Indeed, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets that Cooper has been diagnosed with a partially torn wrist tendon sheath.

That’s obviously unfortunate news for the 27-year-old, who had a clear path to a full-season showcase with the Fish. The rebuilding Marlins organization acquired Cooper over the winter from the Yankees and had planned to give him a shot at earning time in the corner outfield while also backing up Justin Bour at first base.

Cooper put himself on the map with a surprising minor-league breakout last year, leading to his acquisition by the Yankees and first crack at the majors. In his first 54 plate appearances at the game’s highest level, nine of which came early this season, he carries a .300/.333/.440 batting line.

The 30-year-old Shuck, meanwhile, will help fill in for at least the time being. He failed to spend any time in the majors last year, instead turning in 475 plate appearances of .259/.325/.368 hitting at Triple-A with the Twins organization. In just over a thousand trips to the plate in the majors, Shuck carries a .251/.299/.328 batting line with eight home runs.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/24/17

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Marlins have added outfielder J.B. Shuck on a minors pact, per MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. He’s among the incoming players who will compete for jobs in camp with an organization that is expected to make some big changes to its MLB roster. Shuck, 30, owns a lifetime .251/.299/.328 batting line through 1,090 career plate appearances at the game’s highest level. He failed to crack the bigs last year, though, spending the season instead at the Twins’ top affiliate. Shuck carried typically impressive plate discipline numbers (41 walks against 43 strikeouts) but hit just .259/.325/.368 with four home runs through 475 plate appearances.

Twins Sign J.B. Shuck To Minor League Deal

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The Twins have signed outfielder J.B. Shuck to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger tweets. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo first noted that the two sides were in talks.

The 29-year-old Shuck collected 241 plate appearances with the White Sox in 2016 but batted a mere .205/.248/.299. He also graded out poorly on defense and finished the season with -1.7 fWAR, finishing ahead of only three other position players throughout the big leagues.

Shuck does, however, carry a lifetime .300/.375/.386 line in parts of six seasons at Triple-A, and he has logged time at all three outfield positions. He could provide good depth for an organization that currently features a mix of young outfielders that includes Eddie Rosario, Byron Buxton, and Max Kepler along with Danny Santana and Robbie Grossman.

Outrighted: Red Sox, Angels, ChiSox, Braves, Pirates, Giants

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The seventh game of the World Series rightly dominated the baseball landscape Wednesday, but there were also several outrights from around the majors. Here are those assignments:

  • The Red Sox announced that they’ve activated Josh Rutledge from the disabled list and outrighted him off the 40-man roster. The 27-year-old hit .265/.345/.388 in 56 plate appearances with the Sox this season and is a lifetime .262/.312/.397 hitter in 1088 Major League PAs. Capable of playing second base, third base and shortstop, Rutledge should find opportunities to make a club as a bench piece next spring when he inevitably elects free agency following his outright assignment.

Earlier Updates

  • The Angels have outrighted left-hander Brett Oberholtzer to Triple-A Salt Lake. The club previously designated Oberholtzer for assignment Oct. 28, which came after he logged a career-worst 5.89 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 42.3 percent ground-ball rate in 70 innings between the Phillies and Angels this year. Overall, Oberholtzer has posted a 4.36 ERA, 6.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 39.3 percent ground-ball rate in 324 major league innings.
  • The White Sox have outrighted outfielder J.B. Shuck to Triple-A Charlotte. Shuck has over 1,000 major league plate appearances to his name, and 406 of those have come with the White Sox since last season. In 241 PAs this year, Shuck batted a woeful .205/.248/.299.
  • The Braves have outrighted right-handers Casey Kelly and Brandon Cunniff to Triple-A Gwinnett. Kelly placed anywhere from 24th to 76th in Baseball America’s prospect rankings from 2009-12, but injury- and performance-related issues have beset the former Red Sox and Padres farmhand. Notably, Kelly went from Boston to San Diego in 2010 in a deal involving then-Padres prospect and current Cubs superstar Anthony Rizzo. That trade brought first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox. The Padres then sent Kelly to the Braves last offseason for catcher/pitcher/outfielder Christian Bethancourt. The 27-year-old Kelly subsequently amassed 21 2/3 frames of 5.82 ERA pitching with matching strikeout and walk rates (2.91 over nine innings) this season. Cunniff has logged 52 big league innings – all with the Braves since last season – and recorded a 4.50 ERA, 9.17 K/9 and 5.37 BB/9.
  • The Pirates have outrighted infielder Pedro Florimon, catcher Jacob Stallings and southpaw Zach Phillips to Triple-A Indianapolis. The most notable member of the group is Florimon, a defensive specialist who has collected a combined 752 major league plate appearances with the Orioles, Twins and Pirates. Only 50 of those PAs have come with Pittsburgh since he joined the organization via waivers prior to the 2015 season. Stallings, whom the Pirates chose in the seventh round of the 2012 draft, took his first 15 major league trips to the plate this year. Phillips also got some work with the Bucs this season, impressing over 6 2/3 innings (two earned runs, six strikeouts, one walk). The 30-year-old previously racked up 15 2/3 total frames with the Orioles and Marlins.
  • The Giants have outrighted catcher Tony Sanchez to Triple-A Sacramento. Sanchez has accumulated just 155 major league PAs since Pittsburgh drafted him fourth overall in 2009. He divided 2016 between the Triple-A affiliates of the Blue Jays and Giants and combined for an ugly .201/.298/.317 line across 228 PAs.
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