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Nick Tropeano

Dan Winkler, Nick Tropeano Opt Out Of Deals With Rangers

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Right-handers Dan Winkler and Nick Tropeano have opted out of their respective minor league contracts with the Rangers, reports Levi Weaver of the Athletic (Twitter link). Texas opted against selecting either onto the 40-man roster, so they’ll return to the open market.

Winkler signed his non-roster pact shortly after the lockout was lifted in March. The 32-year-old had pitched in the majors each season from 2015-21, including a 47-game stint with the Cubs last year. Winkler had a strong run of success early in his career with the Braves, but he’s struggled of late as he’s increasingly battled control concerns. Last season, he had a 5.22 ERA for the North Siders, walking 15.8% of opponents.

He has spent this season with the Rangers’ top affiliate in Round Rock, making 16 appearances. Over 18 innings, he has a 3.50 ERA with an excellent 32.1% strikeout rate. He’s partially offset that with a much too high 16% walk percentage, however, and those strike-throwing shortcomings were enough the Rangers decided to let Winkler test free agency rather than get a look in the MLB bullpen.

It’s been a fairly similar story for Tropeano, who signed his deal in January. A starting pitcher with the Astros and Angels early in his career, he’s worked out of the bullpen for the Angels, Pirates and Mets over the past few seasons. Tropeano had a nice seven-game run with Pittsburgh during the abbreviated 2020 campaign, but he only got five MLB appearances last year.

Working in long relief for Round Rock, the 31-year-old tallied 20 2/3 frames across 12 outings. He had a 3.05 ERA, but that was obscured by underwhelming peripherals. Tropeano doled out free passes to nearly a fifth of the batters he faced while striking out a league average 23.6% of opponents. The former fifth-round pick will try to iron out his control woes in a new environment.

Rangers Sign Nick Tropeano To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers announced this evening they’ve signed Nick Tropeano to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league Spring Training. The right-hander elected minor league free agency at the end of the season after an August minors deal with the Dodgers didn’t result in a big league opportunity.

While Tropeano didn’t suit up in the majors with L.A., he did log some time at the highest level with both the Giants and Mets earlier in the season. He allowed just three runs in eight innings but only punched out two batters in that time. That marked a step back from Tropeano’s quality work in a small sample the year before, when he fanned 28.8% of batters faced and generated swinging strikes at a very strong 14.9% clip across 15 frames with the Pirates.

Tropeano has appeared in seven of the past eight MLB seasons. A starter with the Astros and Angels earlier in his career, he’s come out of the bullpen for 14 of his 15 big league outings since the start of 2019. Tropeano has continued to start a fair number of his minor league appearances, though, so he could serve in either capacity as a depth option with Texas next season. He worked 46 1/3 innings over 17 Triple-A outings (nine starts) last season, posting a 3.69 ERA with a decent 24.4% strikeout percentage but an elevated 11.5% walk rate.

Texas also announced a minor league deal with third baseman Josh Sale. The left-handed hitter was a first-round draftee of the Rays back in 2010, and he ranked among Baseball America’s top 100 overall prospects entering the following season. Sale never made it past the High-A level in the Tampa Bay farm system, as he was released in 2014 after hitting only .238/.332/.381 in the low minors.

Out of professional baseball for the next seven years, Sale returned with the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the independent Atlantic League last season. Now 30 years old, he popped 34 home runs over 498 plate appearances and hit .284/.394/.593 with Gastonia, impressing the Rangers enough to earn a new opportunity in affiliated ball.

Dodgers, Nick Tropeano Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers have agreed to a deal with veteran right-hander Nick Tropeano, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Tropeano, a client of the Bledsoe Agency, rejected an outright assignment from the Mets in favor of free agency earlier in the week. It’s a minor league deal between the two parties, MLBTR has learned.

Tropeano, 30, will give the Dodgers some depth both in the rotation and the bullpen. The right-hander is no stranger to Southern California, having spent parts of five seasons in the Angels organization earlier in his career. Tropeano tallied 195 2/3 frames for the Halos from 2015-19, missing a season-plus in the middle due to Tommy John surgery but generally faring well when healthy (4.51 ERA, 4.48 SIERA, 21.5 strikeout percentage, 9.3 percent walk rate).

Since leaving the Halos organization, Tropeano has bounced between several teams without a lengthy look at the MLB level, but he’s pitched quite well in limited action both in 2020 and 2021. In 23 2/3 innings split between the Pirates, Giants and Mets across the past two seasons, Tropeano has logged a 1.52 ERA with an even 21 percent strikeout rate and a seven percent walk rate. He’s also pitched to a 2.18 ERA in 20 2/3 Triple-A frames between the top affiliates for the Giants and Mets so far in 2021.

Tropeano has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen in his brief Pittsburgh, San Francisco and New York stints dating back to 2020, but he’s had several multi-inning outings along the way. His final big league appearance for the Mets was a two-inning effort that saw him tally 37 pitches, and he’s since had a pair of three-inning relief outings in Triple-A for the Mets, topping out at 54 pitches. Tropeano has made 39 big league starts to go along with 15 relief appearances, so he could certainly be stretched out as a fifth starter candidate or at least a long relief option for the Dodgers in short order.

The Dodgers aren’t expecting Clayton Kershaw back until September now, and their recent pickups of Cole Hamels (one-year deal) and Danny Duffy (trade) were both made knowing that neither would be an option in the short term. Hamels needs to build up arm strength after sitting out the season to date, while Duffy was acquired midway through a stint on the injured list due to a forearm strain. He’s expected back mid-month. Tropeano gives the Dodgers a more immediate option to plug into the staff at a time when Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin are on the injured list and Trevor Bauer is on administrative leave.

Nick Tropeano Elects Free Agency

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Nick Tropeano has elected free agency after being passed through outright waivers by the Mets, according to the MLB.com transactions tracker. New York designated the 30-year-old for assignment last Friday to clear roster space to accommodate their deadline day acquisitions.

As a player who had previously been outrighted in his career, Tropeano had the right to elect free agency while retaining the remainder of his $1.1MM salary for this season. He’s now free to explore opportunities around the league.

Tropeano saw a bit of big league time with the Giants and Mets this season, tossing eight innings of three-run ball. He only struck out two batters in that tiny sample of work, but the right-hander showed far better bat-missing ability in some time with the Pirates last year. Over 15 2/3 frames with Pittsburgh, Tropeano pitched to a 1.15 ERA with a strong 28.8% strikeout rate and 14.9% swinging strike rate.

Given his decent performance over the past couple seasons, Tropeano should have little trouble finding another opportunity on the open market. While he broke in as a starting pitcher with the Astros and Angels, Tropeano has worked exclusively in relief over the past two years, managing a cumulative 1.52 ERA/3.52 FIP over 23 2/3 innings.

Mets Claim Nick Tropeano Off Waivers From Giants

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The Mets announced they’ve claimed right-hander Nick Tropeano off waivers from the Giants. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Reliever Tommy Hunter was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list to open 40-man roster space. The Giants designated Tropeano for assignment last week.

This marks the second time in nine months the Mets have snagged Tropeano off the waiver wire. New York claimed him from the Pirates after the conclusion of last season. Ultimately, they decided not to carry him over the winter, non-tendering him a little more than a month later. Tropeano then signed a minor league deal with the Giants and was selected to the major league roster on May 21.

The 30-year-old wound up appearing in four games with San Francisco, tossing six innings of relief. He only allowed one earned run in that time, but Tropeano also managed just a pair of strikeouts. While he didn’t punch many batters in his limited work in San Francisco, he flashed some bat-missing ability with Pittsburgh last season. Tropeano struck out a strong 28.8% of opposing hitters in 15 2/3 innings with the Pirates, allowing just a pair of runs in that time. He generated swings and misses on a strong 14.9% of his offerings in 2020, and that bat-missing ability and recent run of strong run prevention clearly holds some appeal to the Mets front office.

While Tropeano has only worked in relief at the major league level the past two seasons, he could serve as either rotation or bullpen depth for New York. He was a decent back-of-the-rotation arm for the Astros and Angels earlier in his career, and he’d started all three of his appearances with the Giants Triple-A affiliate this season (albeit without ever working into the sixth inning).

By claiming Tropeano, the Mets assume the remaining balance of his $1.1MM contract. He remains under team control via arbitration through 2022, so he could be a multi-year piece for New York if he performs well enough for the club to tender him a contract. Tropeano is in his final minor league option year, so he can be shuttled back and forth between Queens and Syracuse for the rest of this season if he sticks on the 40-man roster.

Hunter was placed on the IL on May 19 with the rather nebulous diagnosis of lower back pain. It’s not precisely clear when the team expects him to return this season, but he’ll now be out of action until at least late July. He has made four scoreless appearances in 2021.

Giants Designate Nick Tropeano, Reinstate Scott Kazmir

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The Giants announced Friday that they’ve designated right-hander Nick Tropeano for assignment. The move opens a spot on the roster for lefty Scott Kazmir to be reinstated from the restricted list. The 37-year-old Kazmir recently left the team to attend to a personal matter.

Tropeano, 30, has appeared in four games with the Giants and tossed six innings, holding opponents to just a run on four hits and two walks. He’s punched out two hitters as well. The former Angels righty was at one point a prospect of fair note, ranking well within both the Houston and Anaheim farm systems. He’s dealt with some injuries, most notably Tommy John surgery, but at his best Tropeano has looked the part of a respectable fourth or fifth starter. From 2014-18, he pitched to a 4.15 ERA with a 21 percent strikeout rate and a 9.4 percent walk rate in 203 2/3 innings.

San Francisco will have a week to either trade Tropeano, place him on outright waivers or release him. He has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency should he go unclaimed, at which point he’d be able to seek new opportunities with another club — perhaps one with a more pressing pitching need. Then again, the Giants frequently shuffle their pitching mix, which could give Tropeano another opportunity before long if he opts to stick around.

As for Kazmir, he returned to the big leagues last month after a nearly half-decade absence from a Major League mound. The now-37-year-old veteran figures to continue to work out of the bullpen as he looks to channel Rich Hill and reestablish himself as a credible big league hurler. He got off to a nice start, holding the Dodgers to a run in four sharp innings during his Giants debut. Los Angeles got some revenge in their next meeting, however, tagging Kazmir for a pair of runs in an inning of work.

Giants’ Latest Roster Moves

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The Giants made a number of roster moves on Tuesday, provided here by Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter). On the pitching front, San Francisco purchased Dominic Leone’s contract from Triple-A and optioned righty Nick Tropeano. The recently-acquired Sam Delaplane was also moved to the 60-day injured list.

The well-traveled Leone has a 4.09 career ERA over 253 career innings for the Mariners, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Cardinals, and Indians, for whom he pitched in 2020. Tropeano, 30, pitched well in four appearances, giving up just one earned run in six innings. He threw two scoreless against the Angels on Monday, so his demotion could simply be about getting a fresh arm in the bullpen.

The Giants also made a change behind the plate, placing Curt Casali on the 10-day injured list with a left wrist sprain. He’s not expected to be out for more than the 10-game minimum, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Those hoping to see top prospect Joey Bart will be disappointed, however. It’s reasonable to assume that the short-term nature of the injury does not warrant disrupting Bart’s development.

Instead, Chadwick Tromp has been recalled to serve as Buster Posey’s backup behind the plate for the next 10 days. The 26-year-old backstop debuted last season, posting a 65 wRC+ in 64 plate appearances.

Lastly, Crowley adds that Evan Longoria’s injury appears to be a mild intercostal strain, and he’ll avoid a stint on the injured list. Longoria is enjoying a resurgent season at the plate this year with a 139 wRC+ and 1.5 fWAR through 178 plate appearances.

Giants Activate Wilmer Flores, Logan Webb From 10-Day IL

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The Giants activated infielder Wilmer Flores and right-hander Logan Webb from the 10-day injured list.  Both players are slated to return to action tonight, as Webb is scheduled to start tonight’s game with the Dodgers and Flores is in the lineup as the starting first baseman.  Righty Nick Tropeano and infielder Jason Vosler were optioned to Triple-A to create roster space.

Both Flores and Webb will end up missing the minimum 10 days due to what (thankfully) appears to have been minor injuries.  Flores hit the IL due to a right hamstring strain, while Webb was sidelined with a right shoulder strain.

Flores’ return comes at a particularly opportune time for the Giants, as first basemen Brandon Belt and Darin Ruf are both on the 10-day IL themselves.  The club can now at least tread water at the position with an experienced first baseman like Flores, plus Austin Slater and LaMonte Wade Jr. can also fill in at first base in a pinch.  Flores is off to something of a slow start this year, with a .219/.308/.343 slash line over 120 plate appearances that is well off his .277/.323/.469 mark from 2016-20.

San Francisco has gotten strong results from its starting pitchers this year, Webb included.  The right-hander has a 4.09 ERA/3.50 SIERA over 44 innings, with a strong 58.7% grounder rate and a strikeout rate (25%) that is slightly above the league average.

Giants Designate Trevor Hildenberger For Assignment

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The Giants announced Friday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Nick Tropeano from Triple-A and opened a spot on the 40-man roster by designating righty Trevor Hildenberger for assignment. Right-hander Camilo Doval was optioned to Sacramento to open a spot on the 26-man roster.

Hildenberger, 30, spent just a few days in the Giants’ system, as he was only claimed earlier this week. He didn’t throw a pitch for them, however, and now appears likely to head back to waivers for the second time in as many weeks. The Mets designated him last week after he yielded four runs in 2 1/3 innings for them.

It’s been a remarkably swift downfall for Hildenberger, who looked to have broken out with an outstanding rookie campaign with the 2016 Twins. That season, the sidearming righty tossed 42 innings of 3.21 ERA ball with a 25.9 percent strikeout rate and a minuscule 3.5 percent walk rate. But Hildenberger was hit hard in 73 innings for the Twins the following season, and by the time the 2019-20 offseason rolled around, Minnesota non-tendered him.

Tropeano will be in the mix to start a game this weekend in place of the injured Logan Webb, who landed on the 10-day IL a couple days back due to a shoulder strain. It’s not expected to be a lengthy absence for Webb, so if Tropeano indeed gets the call, it’d likely be a spot start. The 30-year-old Tropeano started 35 games for the Angels from 2015-19, missing a season due to injury along the way. He tossed 15 strong innings for the Pirates in 2020 and has a generally solid track record at the Major League level. Through 233 big league innings, Tropeano carries a 4.29 ERA, a 21.2 percent strikeout rate and a nine percent walk rate.

Giants Sign Nick Tropeano

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9:02pm: The Giants have announced the move, Maria Guardado of MLB.com was among those to report.

8:17pm: It’s a minor league deal that features a $1.1MM base salary, and it could end up around $2MM if Tropeano reaches the incentives included, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

8:03pm: The Giants are signing free-agent right-hander Nick Tropeano, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com tweets. Details of the contract are unknown as of now.

Tropeano began his career with the Astros in 2014 and then went to the division-rival Angels in a trade before 2015, though he dealt with several injuries in his time with the Halos. As an Angel, Tropeano logged a 4.51 ERA/4.48 SIERA in 195 2/3 innings, most of which came as a starter.

Tropeano, 30, joined the Pirates before last season and held his own as a reliever, recording a 1.15 ERA/3.32 SIERA with his best-ever strikeout and walk percentages (28.8 and 6.1, respectively) in 15 2/3 innings and seven appearances. But the Pirates let Tropeano go on waivers in October to the Mets, who later non-tendered him. He’s not eligible to become a free agent again until after 2022, so whether as a starter or reliever, Tropeano could help the Giants for more than one season if he’s able to carry over his 2020 success going forward.

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