Players can qualify for minor league free agency in a few ways. The most notable of these include: players with 3+ years of MLB service time who have been outrighted off their teams’ 40-man rosters this season, players who have been outrighted off a 40-man roster multiple times in their careers, and unsigned players not on a 40-man roster who have spent parts of at least seven seasons on a minor league roster or injured list.

Many of these players won’t officially reach free agency until the start of the offseason, but some were let go by their teams a few weeks early once the regular season concluded. Each of the following players has elected minor league free agency within the past week, according to the MLB.com and Triple-A transactions trackers:

• R.J. Alaniz (Reds)
• Albert Almora Jr. (Mets)
• Travis Bergen (Blue Jays)
• Jesse Biddle (Braves)
• A.J. Cole (Blue Jays)
• Jairo Díaz (Rockies)
• Jerad Eickhoff (Mets)
• Michael Feliz (A’s)
• Trevor Gott (Giants)
• Dany Jiménez (Blue Jays)
• JaCoby Jones (Tigers)
• Ryan Lavarnway (Indians)
• Derek Law (Twins)
• Kyle Lobstein (Brewers)
• Luis Madero (Marlins)
• José Marmolejos (Mariners)
• Shawn Morimando (Marlins)
• Taylor Motter (Red Sox)
• Joe Panik (Marlins)
• Adam Plutko (Orioles)
• Austin Pruitt (Marlins)
• Nick Ramirez (Padres)
• Roel Ramírez (Mets)
• Austin Romine (Cubs)
• Adrián Sánchez (Nationals)
• Scott Schebler (Angels)
• Chance Sisco (Mets)
• Wilfredo Tovar (Mets)
• César Valdez (Orioles)
• Hyeon-jong Yang (Rangers)

Lobstein, 32, came to Milwaukee in a minor mid-July swap that sent cash back to the Nationals, who’d designated him for assignment. The former Tigers and Pirates hurler made his return to the big leagues earlier this season with Washington after a five-year absence, but he appeared in just three games, yielding three runs in 1 1/3 innings.

With the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate, Lobstein pitched quite well, compiling a 1.69 ERA with a very strong 29.8 percent strikeout rate, a 9.5 percent walk rate and an elite 69.4 percent ground-ball rate. Things didn’t go as well with Milwaukee’s top affiliate in Nashville, however, as Lobstein has been tagged for 5.40 ERA with nine strikeouts, four walks, three hit batters and a diminished 52.1 percent grounder rate in 13 1/3 innings.

In 129 1/3 Major League innings overall, Lobstein carries a 5.22 ERA with a 13.3 percent strikeout rate, an 8.9 percent walk rate and a 49.8 percent ground-ball rate, although his improved strikeout numbers in the minors in recent years suggest he’s made some changes from earlier in his career when he was struggling as a starter in Detroit. The Brewers will have a week to place him on outright waivers or release him now that the trade deadline has passed.

Washington selected Lobstein to the roster late last month, marking his first major league action in five years. The 31-year-old made three appearances totaling 1 1/3 innings before the Nats designated him for assignment last weekend. Prior to his promotion, Lobstein had spent the year with Triple-A Rochester, where he impressively tossed 21 1/3 innings of 1.69 ERA ball, striking out a lofty 29.8% of opposing hitters against an average 9.5% walk rate.

That performance evidently intrigued the Milwaukee front office, which also has Brent Suter, Aaron Ashby, Hoby Milner and Angel Perdomo as left-handed options behind relief ace Josh Hader. Lobstein is in his final option year, so he can be shuttled between Milwaukee and Nashville for the remainder of the season if he sticks on the 40-man roster.

Milwaukee claimed Weber off waivers from the Red Sox a little more than a month ago. He’s made just one appearance with the Brewers, tossing a scoreless inning of relief against the Rockies. Weber has spent more of the year at Triple-A, pitching to a 5.02 ERA with an average 23.5% strikeout rate and a stingy 6% walk percentage over 43 frames split between Boston’s and Milwaukee’s affiliates. He’s appeared in the big leagues for five teams over the past seven seasons, compiling a 5.27 ERA/4.30 SIERA at the highest level. Milwaukee will have a week to trade Weber or place him on waivers.

The Brewers signed Robertson to a one-year, $900K deal over the offseason. The right-handed hitting utiltityman didn’t produce much in a limited look, though, hitting just .164/.303/.274 across 90 plate appearances before being designated for assignment last week. As a player with between three and five years of MLB service time, Robertson has the right to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency. Doing so would mean forfeiting the remainder of his guaranteed salary, though, so he seems likelier to report to Nashville and hope to play his way back onto the big league roster before the end of the year.

It’s quite the whirlwind for Reetz, who spent just three days in Triple-A, backfilling for Tres Barrera, who was promoted to the bigs after last week’s Alex Avila injury. Reetz has yet to record his first hit at the Triple-A level, but he’s up on the Major League roster anyhow, presumably backing up Barrera. Reetz hit .233/.357/.383 in 143 plate appearances with the Double-A Senators in his first action above High-A ball.

The Nationals are already relatively short-handed in the bullpen, but the sudden rash of injuries to their catching corps forces them to expose Lobstein to waivers nonetheless. Washington lost T.J. McFarland to the Cardinals when Lobstein was added to the 40-man roster last week, and the Cardinals proceeded to snipe right-hander Justin Miller a couple days after that. Lobstein doesn’t have the track record of either McFarland or Miller, but the 31-year-old southpaw could very well find himself with a new organization by the end of the week. He was hit hard in three appearances for the Nats, his first Major League action since appearing in 34 games (17 starts) for the Tigers and Pirates from 2014 to 2016. He has a 5.06 ERA/4.39 FIP over 128 career innings.

Gomes, of course, is the headliner here. The 33-year-old Brazilian backstop has been a steady presence for the Nationals since they acquired him from the Indians prior to the 2019 season. Not only did he help steer the ship in their championship season — playing every inning of the final four games of the World Series after Kurt Suzuki was injured — but he has taken on an increased load in his age-33 season, starting 68 percent of their games behind the plate this year. In his two prior seasons in Washington, Gomes handled 57 percent of the catching workload.

He’s helped carry the load offensively as well. Gomes is slashing .266/.320/.439 with eight home runs in 231 plate appearances. That’s good for 102 wRC+, an above-average mark for any position, but well above the catchers’ average of 89 wRC+.

• The Dodgers released their list of Spring Training non-roster invites, most of which have already been detailed on MLBTR’s pages.  One previously unreported name on the list is left-hander Kyle Lobstein, who is back with L.A. on a minor league contract.  This will be Lobstein’s second stint in the organization, as he pitched for the Dodgers’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2018 before moving on to pitch for the Athletics’ Triple-A team in 2019.  Lobstein posted a 4.75 ERA, 2.06 K/BB rate, and 9.0 K/9 over 66 1/3 innings last season, with virtually identical numbers against both right-handed and left-handed batters.  The 30-year-old Lobstein posted a 5.06 ERA over his 128 career Major League innings, all with the Tigers and Pirates from 2014-16.

[Related: Miami Marlins Depth Chart]

Lobstein, 27, spent the bulk of the 2016 season in the Pirates organization and totaled 25 innings with the Bucs across 14 relief appearances, pitching to a 3.96 ERA with a 15-to-12 K/BB ratio. Prior to this past season, he’d been up and down with the Tigers, providing rotation depth in the form of 17 starts between the 2014-15 seasons. Lobstein is a quintessential soft-tosser, having averaged just 87.2 mph on his heater in the Majors. That’s led to plenty of struggles against right-handed hitters, who have clobbered him at a .305/.363/.484 pace in the Majors. However, lefties have been continually befuddled by Lobstein, hitting just .209/.295/.284 against the former second-rounder (Rays, 2008).

Thielbar, meanwhile, joins the Fish out of the independent league St. Paul Saints. The 29-year-old (30 in January) Minnesota native pitched not only on the indy ball circuit in his home state but also spent parts of three seasons in the Twins’ bullpen. Thielbar had a brilliant rookie season back in 2013 when he posted a 1.76 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 across 46 innings. An extreme fly-ball pitcher, Thielbar took a step back in 2014 (3.40 ERA, 6.6 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 in 47 2/3 innings) and had a short-lived stint with Minnesota in 2015, tossing five innings and surrendering three runs. Thielbar’s averaged just a but over 89.3 mph on his fastball in his career and had success against both righties and lefties in his fairly limited time in the Majors.

Garces, 27 in January, last appeared in the Majors with the 2015 Padres. He has a 4.60 ERA in 47 big league innings and has averaged 7.7 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9 with a 34.5 percent ground-ball rate. He spent 2016 with San Diego’s Triple-A affiliate and logged a 4.41 ERA in 114 1/3 innings, making 18 starts and 19 relief appearances.

The 28-year-old Sierra spent parts of three seasons in the Majors with the Blue Jays and White Sox, hitting .243/.296/.383 with nine homers across 489 plate appearances. He spent the 2016 campaign with Miami’s Double-A affiliate and batted a robust .336/.414/.519 in 307 plate appearances, although he was obviously facing younger, less experienced competition for the most part.

Paulino, 27, returns to the organization that originally signed him out of the Dominican Republic. He’s spent time with the Pirates and Twins organizations since departing the Marlins and is a career .242/.305/.290 hitter in parts of four seasons at Triple-A.

• The Nationals have outrighted outfielder Matt den Dekker to Triple-A Syracuse, the club announced. Washington designated den Dekker for assignment Friday. The 29-year-old has not fared well this season in either Syracuse or D.C., having hit .208/.290/.319 in 407 Triple-A plate appearances and .176/.282/.294 in 39 major league PAs. Den Dekker is only a year removed from providing useful depth at the big league level, though, as he batted .253/.315/.485 in 110 trips to the plate and saw time at all three outfield positions. The latter has once again been the case this season.
• The Diamondbacks have announced that they’ve selected the contract of 1B/OF Kyle Jensen from Triple-A Reno. The 28-year-old Jensen signed as a minor league free agent last winter and has had a strong season with Reno, batting .289/.350/.546 with 30 homers in 555 plate appearances. Jensen, who has previously played in the Marlins and Dodgers systems, has 178 home runs in eight career minor league seasons but has never appeared in the big leagues.
• The Orioles have announced that they’ve outrighted lefty Kyle Lobstein to Triple-A Norfolk. The O’s traded lefty Zach Phillips to the Pirates for Lobstein earlier this week after the Bucs designated Lobstein for assignment. The Orioles then quickly designated Lobstein themselves before he could make an appearance for them. The 27-year-old has a 5.06 ERA, 5.2 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in parts of three seasons with the Tigers and Pirates, during which he’s served as both a starter and reliever.

Stubbs, 31, will give Baltimore a right-handed-hitting reserve that can play all three outfield spots and brings some speed and a bit of power to the table. Stubbs is a career .244/.314/.396 hitter and has handled lefties pretty well throughout his career, slashing .275/.349/.449 when holding the platoon advantage.

As for Lobstein, while it’s certainly not common to see a player designated for assignment just hours after he was originally acquired, he can technically be eligible for the club’s postseason roster if he clears waivers and remains in the organization, as he was acquired prior to Sept. 1 himself. The 27-year-old soft-tosser spent the season with Pittsburgh and pitched to a 3.96 ERA with a 15-to-12 K/BB ratio and a 50 percent ground-ball rate in 25 innings. While his sample of work against opposing lefties was an admittedly small 29 plate appearances, Lobstein yielded a laughable .083/.241/.083 slash line to same-handed opponents this season and has held lefties to a .209/.295/.284 slash line in part of three big league seasons.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that Baltimore had claimed Stubbs (Twitter link).

Lobstein, 27, was designated by the Bucs after providing 25 middling frames on the year. His 3.96 ERA was serviceable, but with just 15 strikeouts against a dozen walks there were signs of trouble. On the other hand, Lobstein was as good against same-handed hitters as he was susceptible to those who carried the platoon split. While the O’s will surely hesitate to let him face any righty bats, he may well prove useful as a pure LOOGY with rosters expanded in September.

Having already placed Lobstein in DFA limbo, the Pirates had little leverage. But they’ll add a non-40-man southpaw in Phillips who can provide an option if a need arises. The 29-year-old owns a 4.45 ERA with 12.5 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9 over 60 2/3 Triple-A frames on the year.

Adding to the price for Lobstein is the possible loss of Tolliver — who may yet remain in the organization if he clears waivers. The 28-year-old reached the majors briefly for the first time this year, and has shown some promise in the upper minors in recent years. His walk rate has been unsteady, but Tolliver has struck out more than a batter per inning in each of the last three seasons on the farm.

Lobstein, 27, was acquired by Pittsburgh in an offseason trade with the Tigers and wound up tossing 25 innings out of manager Clint Hurdle’s bullpen this season. The soft-tosser worked to a 3.96 ERA with a 15-to-12 K/BB ratio and a 50 percent ground-ball rate while holding opposing lefties to a comedic .083/.241/.083 slash line in an admittedly small sample of 29 plate appearances. Right-handed batters, consequently, tattooed Lobstein at a .324/.400/.507 clip in 81 PAs. In 128 career innings at the big league level, Lobstein has a 5.06 ERA with 5.2 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 49.8 percent ground-ball rate.

As for Marte, the 28-year-old will be making his big league debut if he gets into a game with the Bucs. The longtime Giants farmhand has pitched to a 3.67 earned run average in 73 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level this season and owns a lifetime 3.39 ERA in 790 2/3 minor league innings.

[Related: Updated Pirates depth chart via Roster Resource]

Partch signed a minor league deal with Pittsburgh last winter and had a brief cup of coffee in a Pirates uniform, appearing in one game and allowing three runs to the Cubs without retiring an out over three batters faced.  Partch has tossed 30 1/3 MLB innings since 2013 and he has a 4.60 ERA over 855 minor league frames (mostly in Cincinnati’s farm system) in a pro career that began in 2007.

Kuhl, a ninth-rounder in the 2013 draft, makes his big league debut tonight after rather quietly developing into one of the Pirates’ better pitching prospects.  The 23-year-old right-hander has 2.79 ERA and 2.79 K/BB rate over 438 innings in the Bucs’ system, not missing many bats (a 6.0 K/9) but generating a lot of ground balls.  MLB.com ranked Kuhl as the 16th-best prospect in the Pirates’ system while Baseball America ranked him 22nd.

Since making his Major League debut with the Tigers in 2014, Lobstein has had a fairly significant role with the club, totaling 103 innings across 20 appearances, 17 of which came out of the rotation. His results haven’t been great — a 5.33 ERA, 5.2 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 — but he has capably soaked up innings as the Detroit rotation battled through injuries. He’s struggled due to an inability to miss bats, as evidenced by the low strikeout rate and the fact that he’s yielded 113 hits in those 103 innings.

While there are certainly some unimpressive elements there, Lobstein could be effective in a different role. He’s displayed the ability to throw multiple innings as a reliever, and lefties have batted just .234/.307/.321 against him over the course of his relatively brief career. The Pirates (and perhaps other clubs, as well) may have been drawn to that trait and been intrigued by Lobstein’s 3.19 FIP and 3.41 xFIP against left-handed pitching, believing him capable of working as a relief option. His 49.7 percent ground-ball rate undoubtedly piqued Pittsburgh’s interest as well, as the Bucs have shown an affinity for pitchers that can keep the ball on the ground. And, his superior Triple-A numbers — 4.08 ERA, 7.8 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 in 236 innings — may simply have made him an appealing depth option for the Pirates, especially when weighed against the minimal cost of acquisition.

Lobstein will land in what appears to be a favorable situation. The Pirates have had a good bit of success in elevating the stock of newly acquired pitchers in recent seasons, and the club’s aggressive infield shifting will mesh nicely with his ground-ball tendencies should Lobstein log significant time in the Majors in 2016 and beyond. He’s totaled just over one year of Major League service time, so the Pirates could conceivably control him through the 2020 season if he establishes himself as a consistent Major Leaguer in some capacity.

Lobstein, who turned 26 late in the 2015 season, has had a fairly significant role with the Tigers over the past two seasons, totaling 103 innings across 20 appearances, 17 of which came out of the rotation. His results haven’t been great — a 5.33 ERA, 5.2 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 — but he has capably soaked up innings as the Detroit rotation battled through injuries. He’s struggled due to an inability to miss bats, as evidenced by the low strikeout rate and the fact that he’s yielded 113 hits in those 103 innings.

Nonetheless, there’s reason to believe that Lobstein could be effective in a different role. He’s shown the ability to work multiple innings, which would have value in the bullpen, and he’s held left-handed batters to a paltry .234/.307/.321 batting line to this point in his Major League career. Lobstein has a 3.19 FIP and 3.41 xFIP against same-handed batter, so some clubs could potentially look at him as a bullpen piece. Lobstein also has a 4.08 ERA in 236 innings at Triple-A, where he’s averaged 7.8 strikeouts and 2.9 walks per nine innings pitched, so he’s also a nice enough depth piece for the Tigers (or another club) if he ultimately clears waivers and finds himself outrighted to Detroit’s Triple-A affiliate in Toledo.

Lobstein, a 23-year-old southpaw, was chosen by the Mets from the Rays with the tenth pick in December's Rule 5 draft, and immediately traded to the Tigers for cash considerations.  After evaluating him over a dozen spring innings, it seems the Tigers didn't want to stash him all year in their big league bullpen but did find him worth retaining.  Last year in Double-A, Lobstein posted a 4.06 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 4.3 BB/9, and 0.75 HR/9 in 27 starts.  Baseball America ranked him 19th among Tigers prospects, noting "the craftiness to pitch in the Majors."

Casali, 24, hit .270/.365/.427 in 385 plate appearances across A and High-A ball last year.  BA wrote that he "profiles as a solid backup catcher at the Major League level."

• Martin also says the Yankees' current catchers, Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart, are well-equipped to replace him, particularly on defense. "Both those guys can catch," Martin says. "I learned some stuff from Stewart last year just on how quick he is, first of all. Just throwing the ball to second base, and how quick his hands are. His game calling is really good. His receiving’s really good. So defensively, both those guys have got a lot of upside."
• Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has to figure out what to do with the team's two players from the Rule 5 Draft, pitcher Kyle Lobstein and second baseman Jeff Kobernus, MLB.com's Jason Beck writes. It might be possible for Dombrowski to work out a trade with the Rays to keep Lobstein and send him to the minor leagues, Beck suggests, but swinging a deal with the Nationals to keep Kobernus will be more difficult.
• The Dodgers have signed four international players, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports. Three of those players, shortstop Dennis Santana, shortstop Carlos Aquino and left-handed pitcher Cesar Romero, are from the Dominican Republic. The fourth, Dashenko Ricardo, is from Curacao and played catcher for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic. Ricardo had previously played in the Orioles and Giants organizations. The Giants released him in January.