Astros Select Lucas Spence
The Astros announced Friday that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Lucas Spence from Triple-A Sugar Land. Houston also reinstated righty Kai-Wei Teng from the 15-day injured list and placed Brice Matthews on the 10-day IL with a sprained left knee.
Spence, 23, signed with the Astros in 2024 as an undrafted free agent. He’s climbed to Triple-A in about two calendar years. The Southern Illinois University product opened the ’26 season in Double-A and hit well through 44 games and 207 plate appearances before getting bumped to Sugar Land for his first career Triple-A action. Spence has struggled through 67 plate appearances there, but his combined .258/.353/.424 slash between Houston’s top two minor league levels is still slightly above average — and, clearly, enough to get him a major league look in light of Matthews’ injury.
Houston is known to be on the lookout for a left-handed-hitting outfielder. Spence will fill that role temporarily, though the ‘Stros figure to aggressively scour the market for a more established option. In the meantime, Spence will try to prove that he can stick at the top level. He popped six homers and went 13-for-15 in stolen base attempts in the minors prior to his debut. He’s had contact issues in Triple-A, fanning in nearly one-third of his plate appearances during that tiny sample of 67 trips to the plate, but Spence only struck out at a 20.3% clip in Double-A.
As for Matthews, he’ll be sidelined for the a to-be-determined period of time. Houston hasn’t provided further details on the specifics/severity of his injury, nor has the club provided a timetable for his return. Manager Joe Espada figures to do so later today when addressing the media.
Matthews, 24, was the Astros’ top pick back in 2023 and ranked as the system’s top prospect prior to his first call to the majors last year. The infielder-turned-outfielder has been given a fair bit of playing time this season as he tries to cement himself as a piece of Houston’s future, but so far he hasn’t solved major league pitching. In 226 turns at the plate, he’s hitting just .197/.250/.332 with a huge 31.4% strikeout rate. Matthews’ move to the outfield has been smooth (6 Defensive Runs Saved, 4 Outs Above Average in only 399 innings), but he’ll obviously need to provide more offense if he’s to have a long-term role on the big league club.
Matthews had been playing center field regularly prior to this injury. With Jake Meyers recently optioned to Sugar Land amid his own struggles, Houston’s already patchwork outfield group will now include Spence, right fielder Cam Smith, recent minor league signee LaMonte Wade Jr. and journeyman/former top prospect Taylor Trammell. Spence should have a real chance to earn some playing time, at least in the short term, but subtracting Matthews’ quality defense from the outfield for the foreseeable future only heightens the Astros’ urgency to bring in some external help.
Astros To Move Cristian Javier To Bullpen
The Astros have been without Cristian Javier for the better part of three months due to a Grade 2 strain of his throwing shoulder. The right-hander will return from the injured list this week but will do so in an unfamiliar role.
Manager Joe Espada told reporters (including Brian McTaggart of MLB.com and Chandler Rome of The Athletic) that the Astros will activate Javier as a reliever. Although Espada left the door open for him to return to starting at some point, he’s not going to pitch in a swing role. The skipper said Javier will be a “typical reliever” for the time being.
Javier hasn’t come out of the bullpen since May 8, 2022. He pitched in a swing role for the ’21 season but locked himself into the rotation with excellent numbers that year and next. Houston signed him to a five-year, $64MM extension — then a record contract for a pitcher in his service class — on the heels of a 2.54 ERA showing in 2022.
That contract hasn’t gone as the team envisioned. Javier’s ERA climbed by two runs the following season, though he made 31 starts and struck out 159 batters. He underwent Tommy John surgery midway through the ’24 campaign, keeping him out until last August. Injuries have limited him to 18 big league appearances over the past two and a half seasons.
Javier is coming upon the end of his allotted 30-day minor league rehab window. He has pitched pretty well on that assignment, striking out 20 while allowing eight runs across 17 2/3 innings. His average fastball is sitting at 92.2 mph, about a half tick below his average before the shoulder injury. He built up to six innings and 85 pitches in his most recent start on Saturday.
The Astros apparently decided Javier’s stuff wasn’t sharp enough that it was worth disrupting their current rotation. They’re running a five-man group of Hunter Brown, Tatsuya Imai, Mike Burrows, Spencer Arrighetti and Peter Lambert. It’s not the most imposing staff beyond their ace, who himself just returned from a shoulder strain. Lambert has gone from offseason minor league signee to the team’s most valuable pitcher in the first half. The other three starters haven’t been great.
Burrows is the team leader in innings but has a 5.58 ERA, the third-highest mark among qualified starters. He’s tied for fifth in home runs allowed and has seen his strikeout rate drop by six percentage points relative to last season in Pittsburgh. Arrighetti opened the season in Triple-A, won the AL Pitcher of the Month award in May, then was rocked for 25 runs in as many innings in June.
Imai is averaging barely over four innings per start in his first MLB season. He reeled off two straight dominant outings to close June, combining for 21 strikeouts and one walk over 12 innings of three-run ball. Then came another clunker tonight, as Imai walked five of the 13 hitters he faced while failing to escape the second inning against the Twins. He gave up five runs in an eventual 8-3 loss and is back up to a 6.14 ERA on the season.
Houston’s bullpen struggled early but has been lights out recently. Only the Braves and Yankees had a lower bullpen ERA in June. Josh Hader, Steven Okert and Bryan King make for an excellent trio from the left side. They’re still lacking a reliable right-handed setup option with Bryan Abreu and Enyel De Los Santos scuffling. AJ Blubaugh has been on a roll and could get some shorter, higher-leverage assignments if the Astros use Javier in his long relief role.
Javier is playing on a $21MM salary and owed a matching amount for the 2027 season, the final year of his deal. That’s obviously not an ideal investment for a pitcher who can’t currently crack this Houston rotation. MLBTR’s payroll estimates (courtesy of contributor Ethan Hullihen) have the Astros’ luxury tax number at roughly $246MM, a couple million dollars above the base threshold. Javier’s backloaded contract comes with a more modest $12.8MM luxury tax hit for Houston but would recalculate at the $21MM annual value for an acquiring team if he’s traded.
The Astros are unlikely to find a taker for Javier’s entire salary given the recent injury history, but it’s possible another team willing to slot him into the rotation will inquire with the Houston front office about trade scenarios. They could agree to pay down a few million dollars — particularly if another team doesn’t have luxury tax concerns and is only worried about the salary — to create some flexibility against the CBT to address other needs (e.g. outfield or catcher).
Houston also plans to move right-hander Kai-Wei Teng back to the bullpen once he’s healthy, Espada said. Teng just landed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 28, with a right knee strain. Houston had optioned him to Triple-A over the weekend but evidently learned that he suffered an injury while on the MLB roster. He’ll therefore go on the injured list but isn’t expected to miss much time and will transition back to the bullpen after that.
Teng began the season in the bullpen. He built up as a starter in May and found some early success, but he was knocked around for nearly eight earned runs per nine in June. Teng spent most of last year pitching long relief in Triple-A for the Giants. His 64 big league innings this season are easily a career high.
Astros Recall Miguel Ullola For MLB Debut
TODAY: The Astros announced Ullola’s promotion prior to today’s game, and Teng was optioned to Triple-A.
JUNE 27: Right-hander Miguel Ullola is getting his first look in the majors. The Astros are recalling the pitching prospect for his big-league debut, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic.
Ullola was added to the 40-man roster in November to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, so no move is needed there. A 26-man roster change will be required, and Rome adds that right-hander Kai-Wei Teng is likely involved. Teng failed to make it out of the fourth inning against the Tigers today. He was charged with four earned runs on eight hits. The righty is one of just a few Houston arms with minor league options remaining (and the realistic possibility of being demoted).
After bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen, Ullola was moved to a full-time relief role earlier this season. Persistent control issues led the Astros to make that decision. Ullola has posted a walk rate above 13% at every minor league stop, including a 16.4% mark at Triple-A this year. He hasn’t curtailed the free passes since moving to the bullpen, walking six in 10 innings.
The 24-year-old Ullola has shown considerable strikeout ability at each level with an expansive five-pitch arsenal. He’s punched out minor league opponents at a 30% clip across 47 2/3 innings this year. Ullola sits in the mid-90s with the fastball, which he’s thrown about half the time with Sugar Land. He’s only used the changeup on 5.7% of his offerings, but he’s thrown the slider, cutter, and curveball at least 10% of the time.
Unsurprisingly, Ullola has trimmed his arsenal since moving to the bullpen. He’s leaned on the four-seamer, which has averaged 96 mph since the role change. Ullola has mixed in the slider and cutter, while largely ditching the curveball and changeup.
If Teng does get sent down, the Astros are likely headed back to a traditional five-man rotation. After Mike Burrows was briefly bumped to the bullpen, he returned to the rotation, which meant Houston briefly transitioned to a six-man look. Part of the shuffling had to do with reincorporating ace Hunter Brown, who returned in mid-June after missing more than two months with a shoulder injury. Teng showed flashes in a multi-faceted role, particularly in terms of strikeouts, but struggled with efficiency after becoming a starter.
Photo courtesy of Reinhold Matay, Imagn Images
Giants Trade Kai-Wei Teng To Astros
8:12pm: The teams announced the deal, which also sends an undisclosed amount of international bonus money to the Giants.
7:51pm: The Giants and Astros are in agreement on a trade that’ll send swingman Kai-Wei Teng to the Astros for catching prospect Jancel Villarroel, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. San Francisco needed to create a 40-man roster spot in order to finalize their two-year deal with Harrison Bader. It appears a Teng trade will be that corresponding move. Houston designated J.P. France for assignment to open a roster spot.
Teng, a Taiwanese-born righty, has made 12 MLB appearances over the past two seasons. They haven’t gone well, as he has been tagged for 7.30 earned runs per nine across 40 2/3 innings. Teng has managed a solid 23.7% strikeout rate but has been plagued by a lack of command. He has walked nearly 13% of opponents and plunked eight more (4.1%). That’s far too many free passes around which to work even with decent swing-and-miss stuff.
The 27-year-old has shown a similar approach in the minors, though he’s coming off a much better season in Triple-A. He worked mostly in a relief role and managed a 3.63 ERA behind a fantastic 37.1% strikeout percentage across 57 innings. Teng trimmed his walk rate to 9.2% at the level last season, but he has walked at least 10% of opponents at every other stop since he was in Low-A.
Teng throws five pitches and sits in the 93 MPH range with his four-seam fastball and sinker. A mid-80s sweeper is his preferred secondary pitch and got good results in a small sample of big league work. Teng has a couple minor league options remaining and can work as rotation depth or in long relief. The Astros evidently preferred his higher swing-and-miss ceiling to France after the latter has battled shoulder issues for a couple seasons.
San Francisco has a deeper rotation mix than Houston does. Teng, whom they non-tendered after the ’24 season before re-signing to a minor league deal, was a candidate to again be designated for assignment. It’s a nice bit of business to acquire a prospect for a pure depth arm. Villorroel, a 5’8″ backstop out of Venezuela, ranked as Houston’s 20th-best prospect at Baseball America. That comes with a caveat that the Astros’ system is as thin as any in the league.
The 20-year-old Villarroel is coming off a solid .259/.351/.388 line with eight homers in 100 games in A-ball. He walked at a 10.4% rate while striking out roughly 18% of the time. He also stole 20 bases in 27 attempts, though he’s unlikely to be a huge threat on the bases as he climbs the minor league ladder. Baseball America credits him with advanced pure hitting ability and plus arm strength, though his strike zone discipline and finer defensive skills are works in progress. He’s a development flier who appears to project as a future backup.
Giants Select Joel Peguero
The Giants announced a series of roster moves today, recalling outfielder Luis Matos and selecting right-hander Joel Peguero. In corresponding active roster moves, they have optioned outfielder Grant McCray and right-hander Kai-Wei Teng. Left-hander Erik Miller has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot.
Peguero, 28, makes it to the majors for the first time. It was a long journey. He originally signed with the Rays as an international amateur way back in 2016. Even then he was a bit on the old side, as most international amateurs sign when first eligible at 16 and have verbal deals well before that. That was Peguero’s age-19 season.
In the following decade, he spent many years with the Rays but eventually moved around to the Rockies, Nationals and Tigers without getting a major league call. He signed a minor league deal with the Giants coming into 2025.
He has thrown 42 1/3 Triple-A innings this year with a 5.10 earned run average. That’s obviously not a great number but it’s come in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and Peguero has a .353 batting average on balls in play and 68.3% strand rate this year, both unfortunate numbers. He is averaging close to 100 miles per hour on his two fastballs while also throwing a cutter, slider and changeup around 90 mph. That arsenal has helped him strike out 24.1% of batters faced, though also with a 12% walk rate.
The Giants have fallen to 6.5 games back of a playoff spot, so they are surely leaning towards decisions that prioritize the future over this year. They sold at the deadline and can now use the remainder of the season to get looks at some other players. They can throw Peguero out there in front of big league hitters and see how they handle his fiery stuff. If he can get outs, perhaps he can earn a role on next year’s club.
Sending Teng down to the minors opens a job in the rotation. Manager Bob Melvin tells reporters, including Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle, that Carson Whisenhunt will be coming up to start tomorrow’s game. However, Landen Roupp is also going on the injured list. It was reported yesterday that Roupp has a left knee sprain and is going on the IL.
Justin Verlander is starting today’s game, with Logan Webb and Robbie Ray scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. The Giants are off on Monday, so it’s theoretically possible that they go back to Verlander on Tuesday. They will need another starter at some point, however, as Tuesday’s game will be the first of nine in a row. Carson Seymour and Tristan Beck are currently working long relief roles and one of them could make a spot start, though the club also has a number of pitchers on optional assignment who could be recalled.
As for Miller, he landed on the 15-day IL in early July due to a mild sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow. He started a rehab assignment this month but the club informed reporters this week that a recent MRI showed more inflammation and that he’ll be shut down for another two weeks. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those who relayed that update.
Miller’s 60-day count is retroactive to his initial IL placement, so he’ll be eligible for reinstatement in early September. However, based on the most recent information, it seems like he’ll just be finishing his shutdown period at that time. Even if he’s declared healthy at that point, he would likely need a bit of time to ramp up and go on another rehab assignment.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
Giants Select Kai-Wei Teng; Randy Rodriguez Named Closer After Doval Trade
The Giants announced they’ve selected right-hander Kai-Wei Teng onto the MLB roster. Reliever José Buttó, acquired from the Mets in the Tyler Rogers deal, has reported to the team and will be active tonight. San Francisco also recalled outfielder Grant McCray. Those three players replace Rogers, Camilo Doval and Mike Yastrzemski.
Teng is up for the first time this season. The Taiwanese pitcher made four relief appearances last year. San Francisco non-tendered him but brought him back on a minor league contract. He has been at Triple-A Sacramento all season. Teng has logged 54 innings across 25 appearances, mostly out of the bullpen, and turned in a 3.67 earned run average. He has recorded a monster 38% strikeout rate against a serviceable if slightly higher than average 9.3% walk rate.
The 26-year-old Teng has never had any issues missing bats in the minors. He has been held back by well below-average control, however. This year’s walk rate is his best since he was in rookie ball. He issued free passes at a 12% clip (with an uncharacteristically low 17.3% strikeout rate) en route to an 8.60 ERA at the Triple-A level a season ago. His performance this year has been far better.
Teng is expected to start tomorrow’s game against the Mets, according to Justice delos Santos of the Mercury News. He’d started four of his past five minor league appearances and has gotten up to 5 2/3 innings. He could take on a reasonable workload, but it’s nevertheless an indictment of the San Francisco rotation that they need to turn to a pitcher who has spent the bulk of the year in the Triple-A bullpen. They recently lost Landen Roupp to elbow inflammation and demoted struggling fifth starter Hayden Birdsong to Triple-A. The state of the rotation is a big reason the Giants pivoted late to trading away three notable players. They’ve fallen below .500 and are six games back in the Wild Card race.
Doval had operated as San Francisco’s closer for most of the season. As expected, Melvin has tabbed Randy Rodríguez as the team’s closer with Doval and Rogers now out of the picture (relayed by Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle). The 25-year-old righty has had a breakout season, earning a deserved All-Star nod with a 1.20 ERA while striking out 36% of opponents across 45 innings. He has recorded 13 holds and one save — the only one of his career — while blowing two leads. He’s under team control for another five seasons and will not reach arbitration until the 2026-27 offseason.
Giants Re-Sign Ethan Small, Kai-Wei Teng To Minor League Deals
The Giants brought back pitchers Ethan Small and Kai-Wei Teng on minor league contracts last month (h/t to Baseball America’s Matt Eddy). San Francisco had dropped both players from the 40-man roster at the non-tender deadline.
Neither player had been eligible for arbitration. The non-tender deadline allowed the Giants to cut them both loose before circling back with minor league offers. They’ll keep both in the organization without carrying them on the 40-man roster.
Small, a former Milwaukee first-round pick, landed with the Giants in a DFA trade in February. The 27-year-old southpaw spent most of the season on the injured list. He didn’t pitch in the big leagues with San Francisco. Small was limited to 13 minor league innings over three levels. His major league résumé consists of four MLB appearances in Milwaukee between 2022-23. During his most recent healthy year in the minors, he turned in a 3.18 ERA through 51 Triple-A frames two seasons ago.
Teng, 26, made his first four MLB appearances this year. He allowed 12 runs over 11 innings. The Taiwanese righty had a terrible ’24 season in Triple-A as well. Teng allowed nearly a run per inning across 75 1/3 frames. The 6’4″ righty posted strong strikeout and ground-ball numbers in the low minors but has struggled with his command throughout his career.
National League Non-Tenders: 11/22/24
The deadline to tender a contract to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7pm CT. Here’s a rundown of the players on National League teams that have been non-tendered today. This post will be updated as more decisions are revealed. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for all players eligible for arbitration last month. All players who are non-tendered before this evening’s deadline go directly into free agency, where they’re eligible to sign with any of MLB’s 30 clubs.
Onto the transactions…
- The Braves non-tendered outfielder Ramón Laureano, left-hander Ray Kerr, as well as right-handers Griffin Canning, Huascar Ynoa and Royber Salinas, which you can read more about here.
- The Brewers parted ways with lefty reliever Hoby Milner, who’d been projected at $2.7MM for his final arbitration season. The typically reliable southpaw was tagged for a 4.73 ERA in 64 2/3 innings this year.
- The Cardinals have non-tendered right-hander Adam Kloffenstein, per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat (Bluesky link). The righty only just made his major league debut in 2024 and was not yet arb-eligible. He immediately becomes a free agent without being exposed to waivers.
- The Cubs have non-tendered infielder Nick Madrigal, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN (X link). Madrigal has hit .251/.304/.312 for a 76 wRC+ over the last three seasons with the Cubs and was projected for a $1.9MM salary next year. Chicago also announced they non-tendered outfielder Mike Tauchman, which comes as a bit of a surprise after he reached base at a .357 clip this year. Patrick Wisdom, Adbert Alzolay, Brennen Davis and Trey Wingenter — all of whom were designated for assignment earlier this week — were also dropped.
- The Diamondbacks non-tendered lefty reliever Brandon Hughes, per a club announcement. The 28-year-old southpaw allowed 16 runs over 17 2/3 big league innings this year. He wasn’t eligible for arbitration but would’ve occupied a 40-man roster spot if offered a contract.
- The Dodgers are non-tendering right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. and left-hander Zach Logue, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times (X link). Both pitchers are still in their pre-arbitration years, so this was more about the Dodgers sending them to free agency without exposing them to waivers, as opposed to cost cutting. Perhaps the club will look to re-sign them on minor league deals.
- The Giants only made two non-tenders, parting with lefty Ethan Small and righty Kai-Wei Teng. Teng had been designated for assignment earlier in the week. Small, who was in his pre-arbitration years, spent the season in the minors or on the injured list.
- The Marlins had zero non-tenders. They offered contracts to everyone on the 40-man roster.
- The Mets dropped a trio of players from the 40-man roster: relievers Grant Hartwig and Alex Young and outfield prospect Alex Ramirez. Young was the only member of that group who’d been eligible for arbitration. The southpaw pitched well in a depth role, but the Mets didn’t want to keep him around at a $1.4MM projection. Hartwig made four appearances this year, while the 21-year-old Ramirez (a former top prospect) had a .210/.291/.299 showing in Double-A.
- The Nationals announced that they have non-tendered right-hander Kyle Finnegan and Tanner Rainey, which you can read more about here.
- The Padres dropped four players from the roster: righties Luis Patino and Logan Gillaspie, outfielder Bryce Johnson and infielder Mason McCoy. Patino, who underwent Tommy John surgery last summer, was the only member of the group who’d been eligible for arbitration. The other three cuts are simply about roster maintenance. The Padres could try to bring anyone from that group back on minor league deals.
- The Phillies will not be tendering a contract to outfielder Austin Hays, which MLBTR covered earlier today.
- The Pirates are expected to non-tender first baseman/outfielder Connor Joe and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, per Alex Stumpf of MLB.com (Bluesky link). They are also non-tendering right-hander Hunter Stratton, per Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (X link). Joe was projected for a salary of $3.2MM next year and De La Cruz $4MM. Stratton had not yet qualified for arbitration. Joe has been around league average at the plate in his career but doing more damage against lefties. De La Cruz has hit .253/.297/.407 in his career for a wRC+ of 90. Startton had a 3.58 ERA this year but his season was ended by knee surgery, giving him an uncertain path forward.
- The Reds have non-tendered right-hander Ian Gibaut, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Bluesky link). The righty was projected for a salary of $800K. He spent the vast majority of 2024 on the injured list due to arm trouble and only made two appearances on the season.
- The Rockies moved on from starter Cal Quantrill and second baseman Brendan Rodgers, which MLBTR covered here.
Giants Designate Kai-Wei Teng For Assignment
The Giants announced that they have selected right-handers Carson Seymour and Carson Ragsdale to their 40-man roster, protecting them from being available in the Rule 5 draft. They had one roster vacancy but opened another by designating righty Kai-Wei Teng for assignment.
Teng, 25, signed with the Twins as an international amateur out of Taiwan prior to the 2018 season. He was traded for the Giants the following year in the deal that shipped right-hander Sam Dyson to Minnesota at that year’s trade deadline. Teng slowly climbed the minor league ladder with the Giants, though he did so with generally middling results at each level along the way. Back in March, the righty made his big league debut just after Opening Day. He ultimately made just four multi-inning relief appearances in the majors, however, and struggled badly with a 9.82 ERA in 11 innings of work. Command was the right-hander’s primary issue, as he actually recorded more walks (eight) than strikeouts (seven) during his brief stay on the big league roster.
Teng was optioned back to the minors in mid-April, but unfortunately did not see his numbers improve when he headed to Triple-A. He split his time at the level between the club’s rotation and bullpen, with 13 starts and ten relief appearances. Things did not go well for Teng, however, as he was torched to the tune of a 8.60 ERA across 75 1/3 innings of work. He struck out just 17% of opponents at the level this year while walking 12.3%, leaving him with a strikeout-to-walk ratio that would be untenable for any pitcher. Given Teng’s deep struggles, it’s not necessarily a surprise that the Giants decided to part ways with the righty. San Francisco will now have one week to attempt to trade the righty or place him on waivers, where he would be available for any of the league’s 29 other clubs to claim.
Teng’s departure makes room on the 40-man roster for the additions of Seymour and Ragsdale. Ragsdale, 26, is a starting pitcher who missed the majority of the 2022 and ’23 seasons due to injury but returned strong in 2024. The right-hander began the season with his first taste of upper-minors action at the Double-A level and excelled, pitching to a 3.49 ERA in 67 innings of work across 14 starts. He struck out an excellent 33.1% of opponents faced, though he was held back somewhat by an elevated 11.5% walk rate. Even so, that was more than enough to earn Ragsdale a mid-season call-up to Triple-A. Unfortunately, Triple-A was not quite as forgiving for the right-hander as Double-A. He struggled in 13 appearances (12 starts) at the level with a 5.03 ERA in 53 2/3 innings of work. His walk rate largely held steady at 11%, but his strikeout rate dipped to just 24.1% at the highest level of the minors.
Seymour, meanwhile, won’t turn 26 until next month. The right-hander was acquired by the Giants in the deal that sent Darin Ruf to the Mets and actually struggled through something of a down season at Triple-A this year, as he surrendered a 4.82 ERA in 134 1/3 innings of work. He struck out 22.1% of opponents while walking 10.1%. Prior to his struggles this year, however, Seymour had pitched to strong results in back-to-back seasons. In a 2022 season split between the Mets and Giants organizations, Seymour posted a 3.08 ERA in 111 innings between the Single-A and High-A levels while striking out 29.3% of opponents. The righty posted slightly diminished but still solid numbers in his first full season with the Giants last year at Double-A, as he pitched to a 3.99 ERA in 112 2/3 innings of work with a 24.4% strikeout rate.
Giants Recall Kai-Wei Teng For Major League Debut
The Giants announced a series of roster moves today, with outfielder Luis Matos and right-hander Kai-Wai Teng recalled from Triple-A Sacramento. Teng will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. In corresponding moves, outfielder Mike Yastrzemski has been placed on the paternity list while right-hander Luke Jackson goes on the 15-day injured list with a lower back strain. Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase had reported earlier that Matos would be taking Yastrzemski’s place on the roster. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle first relayed that Teng was at the ballpark tonight.
Jackson departed last night’s game with an apparent back issue. He didn’t seem terribly concerned with the severity but the club evidently feels he will need at least a couple of weeks to get back on the mound.
His injury will pave the way for Teng to be called up to the big leagues for the first time. The 25-year-old was signed by the Twins as an international amateur out of Taiwan. He came to the Giants in the 2019 deadline deal that sent Sam Dyson to Minnesota.
He has climbed the rungs of the minor league ladder since then, showcasing strikeout stuff but also control issues. He split last year between Double-A and Triple-A, making 28 starts and one relief appearance, tossing 126 1/3 innings. He struck out 29.8% of batters faced but also gave out free passes at a 12.4% clip, leading to a combined earned run average of 4.42.
He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He didn’t make the Opening Day roster but Jackson’s injury will allow him to come up just after. He’ll likely be in a long relief role out of the bullpen. The club is currently operating with 14 positions players and just 12 pitchers, meaning that eating multiple innings from the bullpen will be valuable for the club.