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Javy Guerra

Nationals Claim Javy Guerra, Designate Dan Jennings

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WEDNESDAY: Jennings has elected to become a free agent, the Nationals announced.

MONDAY: The Nationals announced that they’ve claimed right-hander Javy Guerra off waivers from the Blue Jays and designated veteran lefty Dan Jennings for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Toronto had designated Guerra for assignment last week.

Guerra, 33, appeared in 11 games with the Jays to open the season and has turned in 14 innings of 3.86 ERA ball with a 15-to-5 K/BB ratio and a 27 percent ground-ball rate. It’s a solid showing, though it comes on the heels of a 5.55 ERA in 35 2/3 frames with the Marlins last season. The Nationals, however, need bullpen help perhaps more than any club in the game and will hope that Guerra can maintain his early success from Toronto and stabilize a relief corps that has been the worst in MLB in terms of ERA (6.60) and xFIP (5.15) as well as 25th in FIP (5.03).

Washington brought the 32-year-old Jennings aboard last month under similar circumstances, hoping that he could help to smooth things over. That didn’t prove to be the case, however, as he was tagged for seven runs on eight hits and seven walks with nine strikeouts in just 4 2/3 innings. A team in less dire circumstances might’ve given Jennings a bit more leash given his strong track record, but the Nats are eight games under .500 and eight games back in the NL East.

Blue Jays Select Contract Of Ryan Feierabend, DFA Javy Guerra

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The Blue Jays selected the contract of southpaw Ryan Feierabend, manager Charlie Montoyo tells reporters including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter links). Javy Guerra is the roster casualty, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of sportsnet.ca (via Twitter).

Feierabend makes for quite a story. The 33-year-old last appeared in the majors — or in the affiliated ranks — in the 2014 season. Since his debut way back in 2006, Feierabend owns a 7.15 ERA in 113 1/3 innings at the game’s highest level.

In the intervening years, Feierabend has plied his trade in Korea. In four campaigns there, he worked to a 4.21 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over 793 1/3 innings. In 16 2/3 innings this year at Triple-A Buffalo, Feierabend has allowed five earned runs on 15 hits (three of them home runs) with a 13:6 K/BB ratio.

It’s always interesting to see a pitcher make it back to the majors after a long layoff. Better still, in this case the hurler in question sports a rare left-handed knuckler.

Guerra, 33, gets the tough luck DFA after 11 outings with the Blue Jays. Per Nicholson-Smith, Guerra asked to eat innings when he sensed a roster move might be near. It’s both a savvy and gracious move on Guerra’s part, as his scoreless three-inning appearance yesterday helped save the arms of the rest of the pen while getting himself one last chunky appearance before the ax.

He pitched well for the Jays outside of a rough two-game patch versus Tampa where he was tagged for 5 runs in 1 1/3 innings. Away from the Rays, Guerra gave up just a single earned run in 9 appearances that spanned 12 2/3 innings. For his career, the former Dodger draft pick is 8-11 in 212 appearances out of the pen with 32 saves and a 3.44 ERA.

Blue Jays Select Javy Guerra, Designate Socrates Brito

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3:15pm: Buchholz is indeed headed to the IL, TSN’s Scott Mitchell tweets. The team says Buchholz has shoulder inflammation, though the righty had told Mitchell earlier that he was dealing with a minor lat issue.

3:01pm: The Blue Jays are making a series of roster moves today, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter. The club will select the contract of reliever Javy Guerra, adding him to the 40-man and active rosters. Also coming up to the big leagues is outfielder Jonathan Davis.

Outfielder Socrates Brito was designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Reliever Thomas Pannone was optioned yesterday, creating an additional active roster opening. He’s still on hand, however, in case Clay Buchholz requires a stint on the injured list. (Buchholz has been scratched from his start tonight.)

This’ll be Guerra’s second stint with the Jays this year. He was designated for assignment after working to a 5.40 ERA with 12 strikeouts and four walks in ten innings.

Davis, who is nearing his 27th birthday, struggled in his MLB debut last year but has been excellent thus far in 2019 at Triple-A. In 67 plate appearances, he’s slashing .306/.493/.633 with four home runs and a shiny mix of 16 walks against 13 strikeouts.

As for Brito, the Jays gave him a run after claiming him from the Diamondbacks early in the year. The 26-year-old has not impressed, producing a ghastly .077/.163/.128 slash and 17 strikeouts in 43 trips to the plate.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/23/19

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We’ll track Tuesday’s minor moves from around the league here…

  • The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Javy Guerra cleared waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Buffalo. He’d have had the option to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, but it seems he’ll instead remain in the organization and bide his time in the minors while he awaits another crack at the MLB level. The 33-year-old veteran pitched in nine games for Toronto before being designated for assignment last week, posting a 5.40 ERA with a 12-to-4 K/BB ratio in a total of 10 innings. Guerra had success with the Dodgers early in his career and was even their closer for much of his rookie season back in 2011, but he’s struggled in the Majors for most of the past half decade. In 223 1/3 inning as a big leaguer, he owns a 3.51 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9 and 31 saves.

Blue Jays Designate Javy Guerra For Assignment

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The Blue Jays announced Thursday that they’ve designated right-hander Javy Guerra for assignment in order to open a spot on the active roster for righty Ryan Tepera, who has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list.

Guerra, 33, appeared in 10 games for Toronto early in the season but was tagged for six runs on nine hits, four walks and a hit batter. He did manage 12 strikeouts in his brief stint with the Jays, although a well-below-average 6.7 percent swinging-strike rate and 25.7 percent opponents’ chase rate suggest he wouldn’t be likely to maintain that strikeout rate. In 223 1/3 innings at the MLB level dating back to 2011, Guerra has a 3.51 ERA with 7.4 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9 and a 44.5 percent ground-ball rate, but he hasn’t had much success at the MLB level since 2014.

The well-traveled Guerra is hardly a stranger to the DFA process; this is the sixth time in his career he’s been designated for assignment. The Jays will have a week to trade him or run him through outright waivers, with the latter of those two outcomes seeming the more likely route. If Guerra clears, he’d be able to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency.

In Tepera, the Blue Jays will be getting one of their top late-inning arms back after a three-week absence due to what looks to have been a minor elbow injury. Dating back to the 2016 season, Tepera has turned in 160 2/3 frames of 3.53 ERA ball with 9.4 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. He’s earning $1.525MM as a first-time arbitration player in 2019. Assuming Tepera can demonstrate that he’s fully healthy over the next couple of months, he’ll likely be an oft-asked-about trade candidate for a rebuilding Jays club this summer.

Blue Jays Select Javy Guerra, Promote Rowdy Tellez

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The Blue Jays have announced their Opening Day roster. Reliever Javy Guerra will make the club, meaning his contract was selected to the 40-man roster.

In other roster news, first baseman Rowdy Tellez received a promotion for his second stint in the majors. He’ll take the place of Kendrys Morales, who was dealt to Oakland yesterday.

Guerra, 33, has spent parts of eight seasons in the big leagues, most recently in 2017-18 with the Marlins. He has a career 3.42 ERA with averages of 7.2 strikeouts, 4.0 walks and 0.6 home runs allowed per nine innings pitched. The 2018 season was an ugly one for the former Dodgers closer (5.55 ERA in 35 2/3 innings), but he had a solid partial season with the Fish in 2017. Guerra also allowed just one run in 10 1/3 spring innings, notching a 10-to-4 K/BB ratio along the way.

Tellez, 24, mashed five spring homers and hit .280/.308/.600 in 52 plate appearances. That output came on the heels of an intriguing MLB debut in which Tellez batted .314/.329/.614 with four homers and nine doubles in just 73 plate appearances in 2018. Tellez hasn’t had anywhere near that type of success in Triple-A, but scouting reports have long touted his above-average power. He’s also fanned at a 17.7 percent clip in Triple-A — a lower rate than one might expect for a first baseman whose primary asset is his power.

Roster Decisions: Braves, Jays, Tigers, Twins

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With Opening Day nearly upon us, here are a few of the notable roster decisions from around the game …

  • Right-hander Wes Parsons and non-roster invitees Matt Joyce and Josh Tomlin have made the Braves’ Opening Day roster, the team announced to reporters today (Twitter link via Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Meanwhile, as The Athletic’s David O’Brien writes, Bryse Wilson and Kyle Wright will be a part of Atlanta’s rotation to begin the season. That makes for quite an interesting and unexpected collection of roster pieces. The club is waiting to finalize its roster completely while evaluating external options.
  • Right-hander Trent Thornton, whom the Blue Jays acquired in exchange for Aledmys Diaz this winter, will be Toronto’s fourth starter to open the season, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet tweets. Fellow righty Sam Gaviglio will open the year as a long man in the bullpen. In other decisions for the Jays, also via Davidi, the club has decided to keep Rule 5 righty Elvis Luciano despite some rocky moments this spring. Southpaw Thomas Pannone and infielder Richard Urena are also heading north, with the team’s final roster spot still up for grabs. It may go to Bud Norris if he’s ready, says Davidi, with the team also pondering Javy Guerra while eyeing outside possibilities.
  • The Tigers have informed righty Spencer Turnbull that he’ll be in the rotation to begin the season, as Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports. He took that job over lefty Daniel Norris, who’ll open the year in the bullpen. Norris will work in a long capacity, with the goal being to keep him stretched out in case a starting spot comes open. Turnbull, 26, earned the nod with an excellent spring showing: 15 frames of 1.80 ERA pitching with 15 strikeouts and just a pair of walks. The former second-round pick reached the big leagues briefly last year, but spent most of his ’18 season at Double-A. He pitched to a 4.47 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 98 2/3 innings over 19 starts at the penultimate level of the minors.
  • In one of the better stories of Spring Training, Ryne Harper has made the Twins’ Opening Day roster, as manager Rocco Baldelli recently announced (Twitter link via Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press). Harper, who turns thirty today, enjoyed a terrific spring with the Twins and will now have the opportunity to pitch in his first big league game after grinding through eight minor league seasons. The call to the big leagues for Harper is surely sweetened by the fact that he’s come as close to making his big league debut as possible in the past; the Mariners selected Harper’s contract back in 2017 but optioned him back to Triple-A before he ever appeared in a game. He was outrighted before ever being summoned back to the big leagues.

Blue Jays Sign Javy Guerra To Minors Deal

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The Blue Jays have signed right-hander Javy Guerra to a minor league contract and invited him to their big league Spring Training camp, as per a team announcement.  MetsMerized’s Michael Mayer (Twitter link) first had the news of the signing earlier this month.

Guerra, 33, posted a 5.55 ERA, 7.6 K/9, and 2.50 K/BB rate over 35 2/3 innings out of the Marlins’ bullpen last season.  That marked Guerra’s highest innings total in four seasons, as injuries, a 50-game suspension for a drug of abuse, and just simple ineffectiveness at both the MLB and Triple-A levels kept Guerra from re-establishing himself as a solid reliever.  He did manage a 3.00 ERA over 21 frames with Miami in 2017, albeit with uninspiring peripherals.

It has been some time since Guerra has delivered quality results for a big league bullpen, though he was an effective arm for the Dodgers in 2011-12 and for the White Sox in 2014.  With 213 1/3 MLB innings under his belt, he’ll also be one of the more experienced arms vying to win a job in Toronto’s bullpen.

Marlins Outright Six Players

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The Marlins announced Friday that right-handers Tyler Cloyd, James Needy and Javy Guerra, left-hander Chris O’Grady, infielder Christopher Bostick and outfielder Rafael Ortega have all been outrighted off the 40-man roster after clearing waivers (O’Grady was first reinstated from the 60-day DL).

Cloyd, 31, allowed 17 runs in 17 2/3 innings for the Fish in his largest slate of big league work since the 2013 campaign with the Phillies. The 32-year-old Guerra (33 on Halloween) was unable to repeat the success he had with the 2017 Marlins, as he was clobbered for a 5.55 ERA in 35 2/3 innings (albeit with a more encouraging 30-to-12 K/BB ratio). O’Grady pitched just seven innings in his second season with the Fish and has a 4.73 ERA with 38 strikeouts against 22 walks in 40 Major League innings. Needy, meanwhile, did not pitch in 2018 after a solid 2017 campaign and also missed the 2016 season due to injury.

As for the position players, the 25-year-old Bostick was acquired from the Pirates for cash in August but saw just 16 plate appearances in the Majors. He’s a .256/.360/.326 hitter in a tiny sample of 50 plate appearances as a big leaguer and a .275/.337/.391 hitter in 1189 Triple-A plate appearances. Ortega, 27, logged 143 plate appearances with the Marlins this season and batted .233/.287/.271. Like Bostick, he has limited MLB experience but a solid track record in Triple-A (.299/.368/.423).

Marlins Select Javy Guerra

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The Marlins announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Javy Guerra from Triple-A New Orleans. In a series of corresponding moves, the Fish transferred left-hander Caleb Smith to the 60-day DL and placed righty Drew Rucinski on the 10-day DL due to a right groin strain. Additionally, J.T. Realmuto is headed out on paternity leave and has been replaced by Chad Wallach, who was recalled from New Orleans.

Guerra, 32, has rattled off 16 2/3 shutout innings with a 24-to-3 K/BB ratio and a 58.1 percent ground-ball rate in a dozen relief appearances with New Orleans so far in 2018. Once the Dodgers closer for a brief period, back in 2011, Guerra totaled just eight MLB innings from 2015-16 before returning a 21-inning stint with the Marlins in the second half last season.

Through 177 2/3 big league innings, Guerra has a strong 2.99 ERA, albeit with just 7.1 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9 and a 45.1 percent ground-ball rate. Though he has generally had solid numbers in the Majors, Guerra’s career has been slowed by myriad injuries (elbow, shoulder, knee, oblique), and he also served a 50-game suspension in 2015 (for a drug of abuse — not a performance-enhancing substance).

Smith’s season was already known to be over after the promising young lefty was diagnosed with a Grade 3 lat strain that required surgical repair. Realmuto, meanwhile, can remain on paternity leave for up to three days before returning to the team.

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