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• The Diamondbacks have re-signed catcher Bryan Holaday to a new minor league contract, the team announced.  The 33-year-old catcher was in camp as a non-roster invitee and was released last night. Holaday has played for the Tigers, Marlins and Orioles over a big league career that has spanned parts of nine years. He got a little bit of MLB action in Baltimore last year, picking up 33 plate appearances.

Earlier Today

• The Phillies announced they’ve released reliever Michael Ynoa. The 29-year-old pitched in six games this spring as a non-roster invitee. Ynoa hasn’t pitched in the majors since a 2016-17 stint with the White Sox. Once a top prospect, the right-hander has signed with each of the Royals, A’s and Phillies since being cut loose by Chicago but hasn’t made it back to the highest level. Ynoa has a 4.42 ERA/5.12 SIERA over 59 MLB innings.
• The Rangers have released right-hander Nick Vincent, per a team announcement. Texas has interest in bringing Vincent back to the organization on another minor-league deal, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning-News (Twitter link). The Rangers also re-signed catcher Drew Butera to a second minor-league deal in a procedural move. Both Vincent and Butera were Article XX(B) free agents- players with six years of service time who were in camp on minor league deals after finishing the 2020 season on big league rosters. As such, they’d have been entitled to respective $100K retention bonuses had Texas kept them on their original contracts without adding them to the major league roster.

Ynoa – who turned 29 in September – spent last season in the Athletics organization, though he didn’t reach the majors then. It was the second stint with the A’s for Ynoa, a once-touted prospect whom they originally sent to the White Sox in 2014 in a trade that also involved Jeff Samardzija, Marcus Semien and Chris Bassitt, among others.

Ynoa debuted in the bigs with the White Sox in 2016 and pitched to a 4.42 ERA/4.73 FIP with 8.08 K/9 and 5.95 BB/9 across 59 innings through the next season. He hasn’t taken a major league mound since then. Ynoa spent some of 2019 with the Royals at Triple-A, where he has logged a 4.70 ERA and recorded 9.4 K/9 against 5.4 BB/9 over 53 2/3 frames.

This represents a reunion of sorts for Ynoa, who started his pro career in the Oakland org and ended up being shipped to the White Sox in the Jeff Samardzija swap. Ynoa missed all of 2018 due to injury and was dropped early in 2019 by the Royals after 17 Triple-A appearances.

Ynoa has long struggled to rein in the walks — an issue that arose again last year. Through 59 MLB innings, he carries a 4.42 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 5.9 BB/9. He has thrown 16 2/3 intriguing innings in Dominican winter all action of late, racking up 28 strikeouts while allowing five earned runs on just four hits … along with a dozen free passes.

Now 27 years of age, Ynoa was at one time an uber-prospect out of the Dominican Republic who signed a then-record $4.25MM bonus with the Athletics. The 6’7″ righty landed on multiple top prospect rankings throughout his ascent to the upper minors but saw his numbers stall out as injuries mounted.

Ynoa eventually made it to the Majors with the 2016 White Sox and spent parts of the 2016-17 seasons pitching out of the bullpen there. He turned in an even 3.00 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 30 innings with the South Siders in ’16, but his 17 walks, five hit batters and four wild pitches spoke to his inability to control his arsenal. That was all the more true in ’17 when he walked 22 batters, hit five and tossed three more wild pitches in 29 innings before being cut loose.

This season, Ynoa has again demonstrated an ability to miss bats (26 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings) but a continued lack of control (14 walks, one HBP, five wild pitches). That’s the general book on him at this point, though perhaps another organization will be able to coax something we’ve yet to see out of the once highly touted right-hander.

• The Royals announced that they’ve signed right-hander Michael Ynoa to a minor league contract. There’s no mention of an invite to Major League Spring Training. Ynoa, now 27, signed a hefty $4.25MM bonus with Oakland as an amateur back in 2008. He never found his footing in the organization, though, and was traded to the White Sox alongside Jeff Samardzija in the deal that brought Marcus Semien to Oakland. Ynoa made his big league debut with the ChiSox in 2016 and pitched to a 4.42 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 5.9 BB/9 in 59 innings of work from 2016-17. He was out of affiliated ball entirely last year and is currently pitching in the Dominican Winter League, where he’s allowed just one run on four hits and four walks with 13 punchouts in 10 1/3 innings.

Earlier Moves

• The Athletics have reached a deal to bring back catcher Beau Taylor, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Thus ends a brief foray onto the open market for the 28-year-old, who was outrighted and became a minor-league free agent recently. Taylor made it up to the majors in 2018 just long enough to record his first hit, but he’s still hunting a second.Odds are he’ll head back to the Triple-A level, where he spent almost all of the 2018 season. Through 519 career plate appearances at the highest level of the minors, the former fifth-round pick has a .261/.364/.363 batting line.

• The Padres have released reliever Tom Wilhelmsen, whom they signed to a minor league contract last month. Before the Padres parted with him, Wilhelmsen tossed four innings of four-run ball during the exhibition season. Wilhelmsen was highly successful as a Mariner from 2011-15, a stretch in which he was their closer at times, but the right-hander has seen his career go off the rails since then. The 34-year-old combined for 72 2/3 innings of 5.94 ERA ball and posted 5.57 K/9 against 3.84 BB/9, with a strong 50.4 percent groundball rate, from 2016-17 as a member of the Mariners, Rangers and Diamondbacks.
• The White Sox have released righty Michael Ynoa. The 26-year-old cracked the majors with the ChiSox in each of the previous two seasons, tossing 59 innings and posting a 4.42 ERA with 8.08 K/9, 5.95 BB/9 and a 36.8 percent grounder rate. Chicago outrighted Ynoa last summer, but he went on to re-sign with the organization in the fall.

• Right-hander Michael Ynoa has re-signed with the White Sox rather than test minor league free agency.  Ynoa was outrighted off Chicago’s roster earlier this season after posting a 5.90 ERA over 29 innings.  Once a highly-touted international signing as a teenager, Ynoa has struggled with his command in both the minors and at the big league level, with a 5.9 BB/9 over 59 career innings with the White Sox in 2016-17.
• The Angels signed righty Vicente Campos to a minor league contract, as Campos will return to the organization after being released in September.  Campos posed an 8.22 ERA over 23 innings last season split between Triple-A, high A-ball and rookie ball as he worked his back from forearm surgery in September 2016.  His Major League resume consists of 5 2/3 innings with the Diamondbacks in 2016.

Latest Moves

• Right-hander Ernesto Frieri has accepted an outright assignment to the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, the team announced.  Frieri cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week.  The veteran righty signed a minor league deal with Texas a month ago and he pitched seven innings out of the Rangers bullpen, his first taste of MLB action since 2015.  Frieri issued six walks against just five strikeouts in that brief stint, continuing to display the control problems that have plagued him in recent years.  In 22 combined Triple-A innings in the Rangers and Yankees farm systems this year, Frieri has a 2.86 ERA, 10.6 K/9 and 2.89 K/BB rate.

Earlier Today

• The White Sox outrighted right-hander Michael Ynoa to Triple-A, the team announced.  Ynoa was designated for assignment on Thursday.  Ynoa has a 5.90 ERA over 29 relief innings for the Sox this season, with almost as many walks (22) as strikeouts (23).
• The Indians have released first baseman Chris Colabello from his minor league deal, the club announced.  Colabello inked his deal with the Tribe in the offseason and hit .225/.324/.333 with six homers over 296 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.  It was less than two years ago that Colabello emerged to help the Blue Jays win the 2015 AL East title, though a failed PED test in April 2016 put a sour twist on that breakout season.  After the subsequent 80-game suspension, Colabello didn’t return to the Jays’ MLB roster and he managed just a .547 OPS over 173 minor league PA last year.

Ynoa was once one of the most promising prospects ever to come out of the Dominican Republic, signing with the Athletics for a then-record $4.25MM back in 2008. He rated as the game’s No. 54 prospect the following offseason, per Baseball America, but he never delivered on that considerable potential. Elbow soreness and tendinitis wiped out his first year as a pro, and that was followed by Tommy John surgery a year later. Upon returning, he delivered mostly middling results in the Athletics’ minor league system.

Now 25 years of age, Ynoa made his MLB debut with the Sox last year, pitching to a 3.00 ERA in 30 innings but limped to a 5.90 mark through a nearly identical sample size of 29 frames with the 2017 Sox. He’s shown some ability to miss bats, but control has been an issue for Ynoa, who has a 53-to-39 K/BB ratio through his 59 Major League innings to date. He also experienced a significant dip in fastball velocity this season (though he still averaged 92.4 mph), while each of his strikeout, walk, home run and grounder rates trended in the wrong direction.

If two teams end up with matching scorecards tonight, we'll know there's some Friday the 13th spookiness at play.  Until then, however, here are some news items…

• With Jose Mijares out for at least the next four weeks, the Twins may be in need of left-handed relief help, reports MLB.com's Kelly Thesier.  The Twins were one of several teams interested in Scott Downs before the trade deadline, so it's possible Minnesota could revisit that pursuit.  
• A Mets official tells Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com that talks between the team and first-round pick Matt Harvey will "likely" last right up to Monday's deadline.  Harvey, picked seventh overall by the Mets, is represented by Scott Boras.  MLBTR's Mike Axisa profiled Harvey back in June.
• Michael Ynoa will undergo Tommy John surgery on August 24, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).  Oakland signed the 18-year-old in 2008 to a contract that featured a $4.25MM bonus, a record high for a non-Cuban international player.  Ynoa made his professional debut this seaon for the Athletics' Arizona League rookie-ball team, posting a 5.00 ERA and 11.0 K/9 ratio in three starts.
• Red Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland is making " 'remarkable' progress" in his comeback from brain surgery, reports Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
• Writing for ESPNBoston.com, Mike Andrews looks at the "age advancement" of certain prospects in Boston's minor league system.
• Nationals president Stan Kasten criticized the draft pick signing process in a chat with MASN's Ben Goessling.  "The charade, the Kabuki dance nature of all of this is just kind of silly," Kasten said.  "We can do better as an industry, and I think both sides [players and owners] recognize that."  Kasten didn't give any updates on Washington's negotiations with first overall pick Bryce Harper.
• Could Luis Rodriguez be "the next Andres Torres"?  Fangraphs' Dave Cameron looks at the infielder's breakout season for the White Sox Triple-A affiliate.

Instead, the Pirates believe that Sano's talent and the market for his services place his value closer to the $2-3MM given to elite prospects other than Inoa. The Pirates remains "intensely interested" in Sano, who can sign with whoever he chooses on July 2nd.

• Chat today, 2pm CST.
• RotoAuthority sums up the stats you should target in each category for your fantasy league.
• The Braves released pitcher Anthony Lerew, according to Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
• Rany Jazayerli says the Royals will be better just by subtracting Ross Gload, Tony Pena Jr., and Joey Gathright.  Here’s my Offseason In Review for the club, if you’re interested.
• A’s manager Bob Geren "chuckled and said no" when asked if Bobby Crosby is being showcased at third base for the Yankees, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Crosby is learning third in part because Eric Chavez is injured again.
• Speaking of Crosby, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune wonders if the Cubs could work out a deal involving reliever Luis Vizcaino.  Despite the $4MM owed to Vizcaino, he’s not a lock for the Cubs’ bullpen.  We learned last week that the Cubs do not appear interested in Crosby.
• Slusser also has an article about young A’s pitcher Michael Ynoa, who believes he can be in the Majors in two years at age 19.
• Andruw Jones apologized to Dodgers fans in this Bill Plaschke article.
• Talking to Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel sees Jayson Werth missing no more than 15-20 games this year.  Geoff Jenkins, with $8MM left on his contract, looks like the odd man out.

• Daniels thought the Rangers had a great chance to sign Michael Inoa, as ownership made a budget exception to pursue him.
• Daniels doesn’t seem inclined to trade his top pitching prospects for a young big league starter.  He still has certain targets though.
• A contract extension for Josh Hamilton will probably be explored during the first three months of 2009.
• Daniels knows what he wants to do with Milton Bradley, but wouldn’t reveal it.
• He expects to exercise Hank Blalock’s $6.2MM option for ’09.
• Daniels sees a "good possibility" of making a trade involving one of his four young catchers, but adds that it depends on the market.  Daniels wouldn’t be opposed to trading both Gerald Laird and Jarrod Saltalamacchia in separate deals.  He also admitted that the Red Sox inquired about catching. 
• Daniels will attempt to improve the bullpen via free agency this winter.

• Pablo Ozuna…designated for assignment again.  Additionally, the Phillies cut Andy Tracy.  The 34 year-old hit .288/.377/.516 in Triple A this year. 
• Eddie Bajek added AL infielders to his Elias rankings.  Orlando Cabrera and Edgar Renteria are Type As, while Mark Ellis and Mark Grudzielanek are Type Bs.  Cabrera could net the Sox some picks.
• The Phillies would like to bring Jamie Moyer back next year, but so far they’ve only had informal talks.  Earlier this month Moyer spoke of an obligation with the Phillies, but he is not under contract for ’09.  The Phillies have also had informal talks with Pat Burrell, who’s said he wants to stay.
• Richard Griffin discusses A.J. Burnett quite a bit in his mailbag, suggesting this is the pitcher’s best season because of his career-high win total.
• Athletics Nation talks to A’s owner Lewis Wolff about the Michael Inoa signing.
• Omar Minaya’s job is secure.
• Aaron Harang has suggestions for the Reds to make their ballpark more pitcher-friendly.
• Tom Glavine is feeling good after somewhat minor elbow surgery, but isn’t sure about playing in ’09.  Ken Rosenthal wrote recently that Glavine wants to pitch next year.
• Grant at McCovey Chronicles gives his take on pitch counts.

• Cork Gaines takes a look at the Rays most likely to be traded.
• According to Ken Davidoff, the Rockies have been scouting Yankees pitching prospect Humberto Sanchez.  He’d be a more reasonable return for Brian Fuentes.
• Erik Bedard’s MRI came out clean, but it’s still hard to see him in a big league game before August.
• Dan Haren used to follow every trade rumor on the Internet, but Justin Duchscherer doesn’t monitor the hot stove buzz.
• Shane Victorino is aware of the rumors, but wants to stay in Philly.
• With Emilio Bonifacio gone, Scott Bordow thinks the D’Backs should try to sign Orlando Hudson.  Bordow would only offer $8MM a year though.
• Paul Hoynes looks at the Indians’ areas of need for the offseason.
• Peter Abraham doesn’t expect the Yankees to pursue a catcher.
• Melissa Segura of SI.com writes about Michael Inoa’s buscon.
• Patrick Newman profiles Kenshin Kawakami, who should be quite popular this winter.
• Buster Olney expects Jason Varitek to feel a ripple effect from Jorge Posada’s injury.  His sources expect the Red Sox to offer Varitek one or two years at $6-8MM per.
• MLB.com is looking for a fan to guest host their show The Dish.