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Odrisamer Despaigne

White Sox Sign Odrisamer Despaigne

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The White Sox have signed right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne to a minor league contract, per an announcement from their Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte. Francys Romero of Las Mayores was first to report the news.

Prior to Sunday, Despaigne had spent the entire season with the Reds’ Triple-A team in Louisville, where he logged a 3.92 ERA/4.60 FIP with 8.7 K/9, 3.48 BB/9 and a 53.4 percent groundball rate in 41 1/3 innings. Despaigne’s brief Reds tenure concluded Thursday when he opted out of the minor league deal he signed over the winter.

Considering the struggles of Chicago’s pitching staff, Despaigne could make it back to the bigs this year if he shows well with Charlotte. The 32-year-old is an experienced major leaguer who has piled up a combined 349 2/3 innings, 106 appearances and 47 starts of 4.94 ERA/4.35 FIP ball in stints with the Padres, Orioles, Marlins and Angels. Despaigne struggled at the major league level in Miami and Anaheim in 2018, though, thus relegating him to the minors this season.

Odrisamer Despaigne Opts Out Of Reds Contract

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Right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne has opted out of his minor league contract with the Reds, MLBTR has learned.  Despaigne inked the deal back in January, and would’ve earned $875K in guaranteed money had he reached Cincinnati’s Major League roster.

Over eight starts and 41 1/3 innings for Triple-A Louisville this season, Despaigne had posted a 3.92 ERA, 8.7 K/9, and 2.50 K/BB rate.  Those numbers present a solid recovery from a very rough 2018 season that saw Despaigne post a 6.69 ERA over 39 frames for the Marlins and Angels, plus more shaky numbers in those two clubs’ respective farm systems.

Despaigne’s Louisville performance would surely have earned him a call-up in any other season in recent Reds history, though Cincinnati looks to finally be on track after years of pitching futility.  Both the Reds’ rotation and bullpen rank solidly within the top ten in several league-wide statistical categories, leaving less opportunity for Despaigne to crack the roster.  On the plus side, the 32-year-old probably shouldn’t have much trouble landing a contract elsewhere, given Despaigne’s good Triple-A numbers and the number of pitching-needy teams who can offer a clearer path to the Majors.

Reds, Odrisamer Despaigne Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Reds have agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne, as first reported by HalosHeaven’s Rahul Setty (Twitter link). Per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (also via Twitter), the contract comes with an $875K base salary in the event that the righty cracks the MLB roster in Cincinnati. Despaigne is represented Movement Management Group.

Despaigne, 32 in April, split the 2018 season between the Marlins and Angels, struggling to a 6.69 ERA with a 35-to-19 K/BB ratio in 39 innings of work. He finished out the 2018 campaign on the Halos’ active roster but was outrighted and elected free agency early in the offseason.

The journeyman right-hander had a strong showing as a rookie with the Padres back in 2014 and enjoyed solid results with the Marlins in ’17, but Despaigne has generally been inconsistent at the big league level. Through 349 2/3 Major League innings, the Cuban-born righty has a 4.94 ERA with 5.6 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 0.85 HR/9 and a 46.7 percent ground-ball rate.

Despaigne has experience pitching both as a starter and a reliever, and he’s logged a 4.11 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 in 225 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. He’ll serve as a depth addition for the Reds but isn’t likely to be counted on early in the season with a slew of arms on the depth chart ahead of him.

Alex Wood, Tanner Roark, Luis Castillo and Anthony DeSclafani are penciled into the first four spots in the Reds’ rotation, while the bullpen will feature right-handers Raisel Iglesias, Michael Lorenzen, Jared Hughes, David Hernandez and left-hander Amir Garrett, at the very least. The Cincinnati organization also has no shortage of 40-man options who’ll compete for those final few spots on the staff, including Tyler Mahle, Robert Stephenson, Matt Wisler, Brandon Finnegan, Wandy Peralta, Sal Romano, Cody Reed, Lucas Sims and Matthew Bowman, among others. Of that bunch, Stephenson and Wisler are out of minor league options.

Angels Outright Five Players

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Nov. 4: Despaigne has elected free agency, the Angels announced.

Nov. 3: Despaigne has not yet cleared waivers, per his agent.  Should he do so, the 31-year-old may opt to reject the assignment and become a free agent.

Nov. 2: The Angels announced Friday that right-handers Deck McGuire, Odrisamer Despaigne and Eduardo Paredes have all cleared waivers, as have infielder Jefry Marte and catcher Francisco Arcia. All five have been assigned outright to the minor leagues.

Marte, 27, saw the most playing time of the bunch in ’18, appearing in 90 games and tallying 209 plate appearances for the Halos. He gave the Angels a fairly productive part-time bat back in 2016, but since that time the corner infielder has posted a dismal .199/.271/.346 slash. The right-handed-hitting Marte has played primarily first base in the Majors but also has more than 300 innings at the hot corner and nearly 200 innings in left field.

Despaigne, 31, was roughed up for 17 runs in 18 2/3 innings late in the year when pressed into duty for an Angels staff that was decimated by injuries. The journeyman righty has bounced around the league on a series of waiver claims and minor league deals since signing with the Padres back in ’14. In 349 2/3 innings between San Diego, Baltimore, Miami and Anaheim, Despaigne has a 4.94 ERA with a middling 5.6 K/9 mark.

The 29-year-old McGuire and 23-year-old Paredes each limped to ERAs north of 6.00 in fewer than 30 innings of work. McGuire is a former first-rounder who’s yet to pan out in the big leagues but has had some recent success in the upper minors. Paredes, though he has youth on his side, has had some control issues in the upper minors and hasn’t impressed in a pair of big league seasons.

Arcia, meanwhile, made his big league debut as a 29-year-old this season and posted a .654 OPS in 20 games. He posted a .282/.353/.393 slash at the Triple-A level this year and has a dozen minor league seasons under his belt.

Angels Acquire Odrisamer Despaigne, Designate Dayan Diaz

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The Angels have acquired righty Odrisamer Despaigne from the Marlins, Maria Guardado of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Cash considerations are headed to Miami in return.

To open a roster spot, the Halos designated fellow right-hander Dayan Diaz for assignment. With the move, the Marlins now have an open 40-man slot to work with.

Needless to say, this isn’t the sort of mid-summer trade acquisition the Angels envisioned making at the start of the season. Despaigne has mostly functioned as a gap-filling swingman since he reached the majors, so he isn’t the sort of pitcher who’d be targeted by a contender. Sitting 11.5 games out of postseason position, the Angels simply aren’t one. The move seems designed merely to relax the burden on the club’s injury-riddled pitching staff.

Despaigne has spent a bit of time working as a MLB long reliever this year, but has thrown more at Triple-A. Over 43 1/3 innings at the highest level of the minors, he hasn’t allowed a single home run but carries a 4.36 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9. In his 331 major-league frames over the past five years, Despaigne has a 4.76 ERA, though estimators suggest he has been a bit better than that (4.30 FIP; 4.61 xFIP; 4.19 SIERA).

As for Diaz, who was claimed off waivers last fall from the Astros, he opened the year on the restricted list owing to visa troubles and really never got going. Though the 29-year-old reliever briefly reached the majors in 2016 and 2017, he has only made seven appearances at the High-A level this year.

Injury Notes: Zobrist, Despaigne, Ohtani

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Ben Zobrist says he’s headed to the DL to tend to a minor back injury, via Jesse Rogers of ESPN. There doesn’t seem to be any serious concern, but Zobrist has missed the past few games due to the injury, so the Cubs appear to be proceeding with caution. They’ll be able to make the move retroactive by a few days, so it seems unlikely he’ll be out for very long. The versatile Zobrist is in the third year of a four-year, $56MM contract with Chicago. He’s certainly off to an impressive start; in 49 plate appearances so far this season, the veteran has hit .326/.408/.465 with more walks (six) than strikeouts (5). For the time being, players like Kyle Schwarber, Albert Almora Jr. and Ian Happ will likely continue to get an extra game here and there to plug the gaps created by Zobrist’s absence

A pair of additional injury notes elsewhere in MLB…

  • The Marlins officially placed 31-year-old righty Odrisamer Despaigne on the DL last night (along with fellow reliever Chris O’Grady), as we noted in our daily roster roundup. The reason was a strained forearm, which is always a concerning injury when it comes to pitchers. According to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, Despaigne had the following to say about his injury: “I first felt it tight when I was warming up in the bullpen. I tried to keep going with it. When the game started, it’s when I started to feel the pain.” For the Marlins, it’s yet another development that thins out an already-shaky pitching staff.
  • Two-way Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani appears to be making progress in regards to his blister issues. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets that Ohtani feels his blister is “recovering”, and that he’s on schedule to make a start on Tuesday in Houston. Fletcher also notes that Ohtani worked with pitching coach Charlie Nagy in a bullpen session, and came away with some things he can use (presumably to prevent a re-aggravation of the injury).

Marlins Designate Mike Aviles, Shake Up Pitching Staff

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The Marlins have announced a host of roster moves, with the club designating infielder Mike Aviles for assignment to open a 40-man and active roster spot. He’ll be replaced by fellow infielder Christian Colon, who was claimed yesterday.

Righties Brian Ellington and Odrisamer Despaigne are coming up for Miami, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweeted last night. Veteran reliever Junichi Tazawa will hit the 10-day DL with what the team is calling “rib cartilage inflammation,” while starter Tom Koehler was optioned as expected.

The 36-year-old Aviles was only up briefly for the Fish, appearing in two games after a one-game stop at Triple-A. It seems reasonably likely that he’ll end up clearing waivers and heading back to the upper minors for a full ramp-up. He played in the World Baseball Classic, but did not sign until Miami came calling a week and a half ago as infield injuries mounted.

Times are tough for Miami, which has dropped to the NL East basement with a 14-24 record. The club has lost multiple key infielders and made several changes to an ineffective and injury-laden pitching staff. Colon will hopefully represent a patch for the infield, while Ellington will slot in the pen and Despaigne will offer a swingman option.

Meanwhile, lefty Wei-Yin Chen is said to have received relatively positive news following a recent MRI, per MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (via Twitter). He’s still going to “need more time,” though, before he’s able to work back to the hill. Chen is currently on the DL with arm fatigue; it now seems he’ll miss a fair bit more time than had initially been expected.

Given the issues in the rotation, the organization is considering moving righty David Phelps out of the bullpen, Frisaro further tweets. Phelps thrived in both roles last year. While he’s carrying only a 4.05 ERA in twenty relief innings thus far in 2017, he has sustained most of the strides he made last year in his peripherals. Thus far, Phelps has maintained 9.9 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9, with an 8.1% swinging-strike rate that lags last year’s mark (9.8%) but handily tops his career average (6.6%).

Marlins Claim Odrisamer Despaigne From Orioles

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The Marlins have claimed right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne off waivers from the Orioles, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (via Twitter). Baltimore designated the spot starter/long reliever for assignment last week and placed him on waivers on Tuesday.

Despaigne, 29, appeared in 16 games and totaled 27 1/3 innings for the Orioles this season after coming over from the Padres in an offseason trade. The Cuban-born righty initially signed with San Diego for a $1MM signing bonus and delivered a solid rookie campaign, posting a 3.36 ERA with 6.1 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 52.1 percent ground-ball rate in 16 starts (96 1/3 innings). Since that time, though, it’s been a struggle for Despaigne at the big league level, as he logged a 5.80 ERA in 125 2/3 innings last season in addition to his 2016 struggles.

Despaigne doesn’t possess premium stuff but instead relies on a number of offerings, including a four-seam fastball, a cut fastball, a sinker, a slider, a curveball and a changeup, per PITCHf/x data available at Fangraphs. He did average a career-best 92.8 mph on his heater when working exclusively in relief this season, so perhaps additional exposure in that setting could yield better results. He’ll provide Miami with some rotation and bullpen depth over the final couple weeks of the season but won’t be postseason eligible in the event that Miami stages a comeback and secures a Wild Card spot.

With fewer than two years of big league service time, Despaigne won’t be eligible for arbitration following the season. As such, he’ll remain controllable through the 2021 campaign.

AL Notes: Gomes, Pearce, Despaigne, Judge, Sale, Medlen

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The Indians expect to welcome back catcher Yan Gomes on Friday, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports on Twitter. Gomes had been sidelined with a separated shoulder that was considered a threat to end his campaign, but it seems he’ll have a chance to come back online in advance of a likely postseason berth. That’s welcome news for Cleveland, which has struggled to find production from the catching position. Of course, Gomes himself has scuffled to a .165/.198/.313 batting line, but the club can at least hope he’ll return to providing quality glovework while hopefully swinging out of his malaise.

Here’s more from the American League:

  • Orioles utility slugger Steve Pearce is set to visit Dr. David Altchek tomorrow for his arm injury, Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports. Pearce’s elbow/forearm issues have failed to abate, leaving the club unsure of his status as the postseason push intensifies. The 33-year-old has managed only 70 trips to the plate since he was picked up at the trade deadline, with his production trailing off with the injury.
  • Meanwhile, the Orioles have placed righty Odrisamer Despaigne on waivers, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter links). Given that Despaigne was designated on the fifth, Kubatko suggests that the O’s were trying to work out a deal before settling for the wire. The 29-year-old carries a 5.60 ERA over his 27 1/3 innings on the year, with 5.6 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9, so he doesn’t figure to hold much appeal at present.
  • The Yankees have ordered an MRI for outfielder Aaron Judge after he came down with an oblique injury, Jack Curry of YES Network reports (Twitter links). It remains to be seen whether the 24-year-old will be able to make it back to finish out his late-season promotion. He has struggled thus far in the majors, with 41 strikeouts in 93 plate appearances, and New York will surely hope to get him as much work as possible to assess his readiness to contribute in 2017.
  • White Sox ace Chris Sale has already seen his name tossed around quite a bit in trade talks, and he figures to be an intriguing trade candidate this winter, but he tells Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago that he hopes to stay in Chicago. “I don’t worry about that stuff,” Sale said. “That will shake out on its own. I wear this uniform with a lot of pride. I hope I can continue to do that.” Of course, the South Siders will not part with the star southpaw lightly, if at all. The 27-year-old has turned in another strong campaign, putting up a 3.03 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 over 201 2/3 innings.
  • Righty Kris Medlen hopes to return to the Royals in 2017, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports on Twitter. The former standout hurler struggled badly in limited action this year, and hasn’t pitched since May owing to shoulder issues. That makes it an easy decision for the team to pay him a $1MM buyout rather than picking up his $10MM option, but something else could be worked out if Kansas City sees cause for optimism. “I feel like I’m not done yet with this team,” said Medlen. “I feel like I owe them something.”

Orioles Designate Odrisamer Despaigne For Assignment

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The Orioles announced today that they’ve designated right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for lefty reliever Brian Duensing, who has been activated from the 60-day disabled list.

[Related: Updated Baltimore Orioles Depth Chart]

The 29-year-old Despaigne was acquired in an offseason trade that sent Class-A righty Jean Cosme to the Padres. Despaigne totaled just 27 1/3 innings for the Orioles at the big league level, pitching to a 5.60 ERA with 5.6 K/9, 4.9 BB/9 and a 38.2 percent ground-ball rate. His work at the Triple-A level was considerably better, as the Cuban-born righty tossed 88 1/3 innings with 3.87 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. In total, Despaigne has a 4.84 ERA in 249 1/3 innings between the Orioles and Padres as a Major Leaguer.

Duensing, 33, hasn’t pitched since June 19 due to inflammation in his left elbow. The longtime Twin signed a minors pact with the O’s earlier this season and pitched just 6 2/3 innings before going down with his elbow ailment. Duensing will give manager Buck Showalter four lefties to choose from in his bullpen, as he’ll join brilliant closer Zach Britton, rookie Donnie Hart and Jayson Aquino in the relief corps. The former third-round pick carries a significant platoon split in his career, so he’s best deployed as a situational lefty. He’s held same-handed opponents to a .238/.289/.329 slash in 935 career plate appearances.

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