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Reyes Moronta

Diamondbacks Claim Reyes Moronta, Designate Jake Hager

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The D-Backs announced they’ve claimed reliever Reyes Moronta off waivers from the Dodgers. Infielder Jake Hager has been designated for assignment in a corresponding 40-man roster transaction.

Moronta’s stay in the NL West continues. The big right-hander’s most productive seasons came as a member of the Giants, the organization with which he began his career. Between 2018-19, Moronta was one of the better relievers in the game. He tossed 121 2/3 innings of 2.66 ERA ball over that stretch, striking out a strong 29.3% of opponents. He issued a few more walks than ideal, but he nevertheless held opponents to a pitiful .175/.292/.266 line over 508 plate appearances.

Unfortunately, that marked Moronta’s last extended run of action until this year. He missed the entire shortened 2020 campaign with a shoulder problem, then landed on the IL to start last season with a flexor strain in his forearm. Moronta returned late last year but the Giants designated him for assignment after just four MLB appearances. He passed unclaimed through waivers, became a minor league free agent after the season, and signed a non-roster pact with the Dodgers during the offseason.

Los Angeles selected him onto the MLB roster in May, and the 29-year-old has gotten into 22 games. Moronta had an alright run, working 23 2/3 frames with a 4.18 ERA. He fanned an above-average 27.6% of batters faced on a solid 12.7% swinging strike rate, but he also surrendered five home runs and continued to walk batters at a higher than average (albeit improved, relative to his time in San Francisco) 10.2% clip. As part of a Dodger bullpen that ranks third in the majors with a 3.05 ERA, it’s easy to see how Moronta was squeezed off the roster. He should have a clearer path to a regular role with an Arizona club that has a 4.31 reliever ERA that checks in 24th leaguewide.

Moronta is due the prorated portion of a $1.5MM salary (around $370K) for the remainder of this season. He entered the 2022 campaign with exactly four years of service time but spent the season’s first three weeks in Triple-A. That was enough that he won’t reach a full year of service this season, meaning he’ll be arbitration-eligible once more after the year. He’s also in his second minor league option year, so the Snakes can freely shuttle him between Phoenix and Triple-A Reno — although he’d earn the right to refuse any optional assignments once he reaches his fifth year of big league service, likely early in 2023.

Hager, meanwhile, re-signed with Arizona on a minor league deal over the winter after finishing the 2021 campaign in the system. The D-Backs selected the righty-hitting utilityman to the majors in May, and he’s appeared in 28 games. Over 59 plate appearances, Hager owns a .240/.345/.280 line. He’s had a longer run in Reno, hitting .230/.330/.365 through 212 trips to the plate in one of affiliated ball’s more hitter-friendly environments. He’s spent the bulk of his minor league defensive action at shortstop but has played more second and third base in the big leagues.

Arizona will place Hager on outright or release waivers within the next few days. He’s previously been outrighted in his career, so he’d have the right to refuse a minor league assignment and test free agency if he goes unclaimed.

Dodgers Reinstate Dustin May, Designate Reyes Moronta

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The Dodgers announced that right-handed pitcher Dustin May has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. In a corresponding move, fellow right-hander Reyes Moronta was designated for assignment.

May, 24, has finished his long journey back from Tommy John surgery. It was reported earlier this week that the club was planning to reinstate May to take the hill today. He will jump back into a rotation that certainly has its strengths but also has its concerns. Julio Urias, Tony Gonsolin and Tyler Anderson are all having great seasons, but Walker Buehler is done for the season. Clayton Kershaw is also on the IL, currently working his way back. Andrew Heaney is currently with the club but has only made eight starts on the year between various IL stints.

As for Moronta, 29, he had a tremendous showing with the Giants in 2018 and 2019 but has faced adversity in the subsequent seasons. Over that ’18-’19 stretch, he threw 121 2/3 innings with a 2.66 ERA and 29.3% strikeout rate. That also came with a high 13.8% walk rate, though it was still a very encouraging breakout, with Moronta racking up 27 holds in that stretch.

Since then, shoulder surgery kept him from appearing in the 2020 season before a flexor strain limited him to just four innings last year. He was outrighted by the Giants and elected free agency, signing with the Dodgers on a minor league with a $1.5MM guarantee if he made the active roster.

Moronta did indeed crack the roster, getting selected towards the end of April. Since then, he’s thrown 23 2/3 innings for the Dodgers, though he hasn’t quite returned to his previous form. Through 23 2/3 innings, he has a 4.18 ERA. He’s still getting strikeouts at a healthy 27.6% clip, but is also still giving out walks at a 10.2% rate. The key difference might be the long ball, however, as Moronta has allow five this season after only allowing eight over that two-year stretch with the Giants.

Despite that increase in homers, Moronta could find plenty of interest on the waiver wire, given that he still has the ability to set down batters on strikes. He’s still owed roughly $370K for the remainder of the season, not a huge sum by MLB standards. He could also be retained into the future for any team that believed in him. He came into this year with exactly four years of MLB service time but wasn’t called up until a few weeks into the season. That means he could be retained via arbitration for another two seasons by any club that wanted to give him a shot. Since the trade deadline has now passed, the Dodgers will have no choice but to put him on outright waivers or release waivers in the coming days.

Dodgers Place Mookie Betts On 10-Day Injured List, Activate Andrew Heaney

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As expected, the Dodgers have placed Mookie Betts on the 10-day injured list and recalled Zach McKinstry. They also activated starter Andrew Heaney, optioning Reyes Moronta.

Betts excellence has become almost commonplace, as he’s again putting together a season that should merit MVP consideration if he’s able to return healthy. The former MVP is hitting .273/.349/.535 for a 148 wRC+. Combining that batting line with his excellent defense and baserunning, Betts has already accrued 3.3 wins above replacement on the year, in the estimation of FanGraphs.

As much as it hurts to lose Betts, Heaney is a big return for the Dodgers. Los Angeles is eager to see what exactly they have in Heaney, who made two scoreless starts at the outset of this season before going on the injured list. The former Angel is coming off a disastrous season, of course, in which he logged an overall 5.83 ERA/4.85 FIP with the Angels and Yankees. He became basically unplayable while in pinstripes, but looks to bounce back in Dodger blue.

Moronta, 29, losing his spot on the big league club for now. Moronta has been consistently good in the Majors, though is mostly limited samples. He has made eight appearances this season with an even 2.00 ERA and 2.47 FIP. It’s likely that he will return to the bigs at some point this season.

Dodgers Select Shane Greene, Transfer Victor Gonzalez To 60-Day IL

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The Dodgers announced a series of roster moves today, one of them being the recall of Michael Grove, which was reported yesterday. Shane Greene will also be joining the team, though he wasn’t previously on the 40-man roster. To make room on the active roster, Reyes Moronta and Garrett Cleavinger have been optioned. For Greene’s spot on the 40-man, Victor Gonzalez was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

This will be the ninth MLB season for Greene, once he gets into a game. His career has been a bit of a rollercoaster, as he’s often oscillated between good and bad seasons. After posting ERAs north of 5.00 with the Tigers in 2015 and 2016, he turned things around in 2017. Across 67 2/3 innings that year, he had a 2.66 ERA, 25.8% strikeout rate and 12% walk rate. It was a 180-degree turn the next year, as his ERA shot up above 5.00 again in 2018. The next two years, he was good again, with ERAs of 2.30 and 2.60 in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Last year, the wheel of fortune spun him around again, as his ERA went up to 7.23.

That 7.23 ERA is a bit misleading, however, as Greene didn’t sign with the Braves until May and struggled to get into a groove after missing Spring Training. He had an 8.47 ERA with Atlanta before being released in August and latching on with the Dodgers. He put up a much more palatable 4.05 ERA in Los Angeles to finish the year, though in a small sample of just 6 2/3 innings. The club brought him back into the organization on a minor league deal in March. He has a 5.87 ERA in Triple-A so far this year, though the club evidently isn’t scared off by those results in a small sample of 7 2/3 innings.

The transfer of Gonzalez doesn’t come as a shock, as he underwent arthroscopic debridement surgery on his pitching elbow recently. The 60-day clock starts from his initial placement in April, meaning he won’t be eligible to return until early June. Though the club hopes he can return at some point this season, it doesn’t seem like it will be any time soon.

Dodgers Select Reyes Moronta, Designate Darien Nunez, Place David Price On COVID-IL

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6:36PM: Price tested positive for COVID-19, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times).  Price is showing symptoms but is vaccinated, and Roberts doesn’t expect anyone else on the team to hit the COVID-IL due to infection or close-contact situations.

3:05PM: McKinstry has now been quickly recalled from his Triple-A assignment since David Price has been placed on the injured list. No specific reason was given for Price’s placement.

2:43PM: The Dodgers made a few roster moves prior to today’s game, according to their transactions tracker at MLB.com. Right-handed pitcher Reyes Moronta had his contract selected. To make room on the active roster, utility player Zach McKinstry was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. To clear a spot for Moronta on the 40-man roster, left-hander Darien Nunez was designated for assignment.

Moronta seemed to emerge as an elite bullpen weapon for the Giants in 2018 and ’19. Over those two seasons, the righty threw 121 2/3 innings with a 2.66 ERA. His 13.8% walk rate was certainly concerning, but he paired that with a 29.3% strikeout rate. Unfortunately, shoulder surgery caused him to miss the entirety of the shortened 2020 campaign. Last year, a flexor strain limited him to four innings in the majors and 18 innings in Triple-A.

The Giants outrighted him at the end of the season, with Moronta electing free agency. He signed a minors deal with the Dodgers that would guarantee him $1.5MM if he cracked the roster. With his selection today, the 29-year-old has now secured himself that salary. As of today, Moronta has exactly four years of MLB service time, as well as still being able to be optioned to the minors. If he can hold onto his 40-man roster spot through the remainder of the season, the Dodgers could opt to keep him around via arbitration. In six Triple-A innings so far this year, he has an ERA of 1.50, with 10 strikeouts but 4 walks.

As for Nunez, it was announced yesterday that he will need to undergo Tommy John surgery. Nunez was in the minors at the time, meaning that the Dodgers could have merely placed him on the minor league injured list. However, in that scenario, he would continue to occupy a spot on the 40-man roster. The club also had the option of placing Nunez on the major league injured list. Doing so would have opened up a roster spot, but also would have meant Nunez would earn an MLB salary and service time over the remainder of the year.

The Dodgers have instead decided to designate him for assignment. Injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers, meaning Nunez will have to be placed on release waivers. A team could theoretically claim him if they were willing to give him the service time and MLB pay that the Dodgers opted against. A similar situation occurred last year when the White Sox designated Luis Gonzalez for assignment, who was claimed by the Giants, with the latter club placing him on the MLB injured list. However, that situation happened in mid-August with just about six weeks remaining in the season. Since Nunez is undergoing Tommy John surgery, he won’t be back for at least a year and probably longer, which likely reduces the chances of him following in Gonzalez’s footsteps.

Jake Lamb, Kevin Pillar Will Open Season In Triple-A With Dodgers

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The Dodgers reassigned several non-roster invitees to minor league camp today, including Jake Lamb, Kevin Pillar, Tony Wolters, Shane Greene, Reyes Moronta, Tomas Telis, Stefen Romero and Eddy Alvarez.

While many minor league deals for veterans contain out clauses if they don’t make the roster, Lamb will remain with the Dodgers, per MLB.com’s Juan Toribio (Twitter link). His minor league deal does have out clauses in both May and July, Toribio adds. Similarly, The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya tweets that Pillar passed on his first opt-out opportunity (April 2) but has other opt-out chances later in the deal.

Lamb had a huge Spring Training, going 9-for-27 with a pair of homers and three doubles, but his bid to make the roster as a corner bat off the bench will come up a bit short, at least initially. Los Angeles is going with a short three-man bench to begin the season, deferring to a slate of 16 pitchers at least early on in the wake of an abbreviated Spring Training.

Pillar, meanwhile, signed a bit later and had just two hits in 18 plate appearances, albeit one of them being a home run. He, in particular, seems like a candidate to eventually get a look as a bench option for the Dodgers, who don’t look as though they’ll carry a traditional fourth outfielder alongside backup catcher Austin Barnes, utility infielder Hanser Alberto and infielder/outfielder Edwin Rios. The recent trade of AJ Pollock thinned out the outfield mix in L.A., likely leaving Rios and infielder Gavin Lux as the backup options to Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger and Chris Taylor across the outfield.

It’s not yet clear whether all of the players who were reassigned today will stick with the team and head to the minors, though it’s common this time of year to see veterans on non-roster deals return to the open market or, in some instances, be traded to another club that has a more clear opening for their services.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/12/22

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Catching up on some of the minor league signings on a busy day of transactions…

Latest Moves

  • The Reds are releasing Alfredo Rodriguez, according to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (via Twitter).  Rodriguez was a highly-regarded member of the 2016-17 international signing class, and Cincinnati paid a hefty $7MM bonus to land the Cuban infielder.  However, Rodriguez never produced much in the Reds’ farm system, hitting .260/.310/.321 with eight home runs over 1758 career minor league plate appearances.

Earlier Today

  • The Tigers signed righty Miguel Diaz to a minor league deal, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter).  Diaz will be invited to the club’s MLB Spring Training camp, and he’ll earn $800K if he makes Detroit’s big league roster.  A Rule 5 Draft acquisition out of the Brewers’ farm system in 2016, Diaz posted a 6.62 ERA over 66 2/3 innings with San Diego from 2017-19 before knee surgery put him on the shelf for much of the 2019 campaign.  Returning to the Show in 2021, Diaz had a much more respectable 3.64 ERA over 42 relief innings for the Padres last season, but had trouble limiting home runs and walks.  This led the Padres outright Diaz following the season, and he elected free agency.
  • The Dodgers have signed right-hander Reyes Moronta to a minor league deal and invited him to their big league Spring Training camp, MLB.com’s Juan Toribio reports.  Moronta will lock in a $1.5MM salary if he makes Los Angeles’ active roster, adds ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.  A shoulder surgery sidelined Moronta for the entire 2020 season and he made only four appearances this past year for the Giants before a flexor strain sent to the injured list and then the minors for the bulk of the 2021 campaign.  San Francisco outrighted him off its 40-man roster after the season and Moronta opted to test free agency, and the 29-year-old will now get a chance to revive his career wit the Giants’ chief NL West rival.  Before injuries curtailed his production, Moronta had a very solid 2.66 ERA and 29.8% strikeout rate over 128 1/3 relief innings for the Giants in 2016-18, albeit with a 13.6% walk rate.
  • The Marlins signed righty Jimmy Yacabonis to a minor league deal, as per young reporter Hayes Mish (off a tip from his father, Craig Mish of The Miami Herald).  Yacabonis spent 2021 with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma, marking the first season since 2016 that he hadn’t seen any big league action.  Over 104 career MLB innings with the Orioles and Mariners, Yacabonis has a 5.71 ERA.

Players Recently Electing Free Agency

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As the offseason gets underway, players around baseball continue to elect minor league free agency.  While the threshold for big league free agency (six-plus years of Major League service time) is well known, there are several methods of qualifying for minor league free agency.  The most common criteria: 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 career, or 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.

Each of these players has recently hit the open market in the last few days, according to the official transactions pages for both Triple-A East and Triple-A West.

Giants Outright Reyes Moronta

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The Giants announced Tuesday that right-hander Reyes Moronta has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Sacramento. He’s no longer on the 40-man roster.

It’s a bit of a surprising move on a number of levels. San Francisco didn’t formally designate Moronta for assignment, so there was no public indication prior to this announcement that he’d been placed on waivers and made available to the other 29 teams. Beyond that, Moronta once looked like a future high-leverage option for the Giants, though he’s seen several miles drop off his fastball since returning from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder late in the 2019 season.

From 2017-19, Moronta pitched 128 1/3 innings out of the Giants’ bullpen, working to a 2.66 ERA with a strong 29.8 percent strikeout rate. His 13.6 percent walk rate was well north of the league average and a clear area for potential improvement, but Moronta’s average fastball velocity of 97.1 mph and that lofty strikeout rate were obvious sources of intrigue for what he could become with better command of his pitches. President of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi even suggested last season during Moronta’s recovery that he had closer potential.

That surgery indeed wiped out all of Moronta’s 2020 season, and he missed  a good portion of the current campaign rehab with a flexor strain. He didn’t require surgery this time around, but Moronta was only activated from the 60-day injured list late last month. He hasn’t pitched particularly well since coming off the IL, either, working to a 7.98 ERA with more walks (18) than strikeouts (13) through 14 2/3 frames of Triple-A ball.

The decision to remove Moronta from the 40-man roster could very well spell the end of his time with the organization. Players with more than three years of MLB service who are outrighted off the 40-man roster during the season can become free agents at the end of the year. It’s technically possible that the Giants could add Moronta back to the 40-man between now and that point, but if that were in the plans, they probably wouldn’t have placed him on waivers in the first place.

In 132 1/3 innings at the big league level, Moronta has a 2.65 ERA and 3.44 FIP with a 29.5 percent strikeout rate and a 13.3 percent walk rate.

Giants Place Anthony DeSclafani, Evan Longoria On IL

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The Giants have placed Anthony DeSclafani and Evan Longoria on the IL, per a team announcement. Longoria is going on the COVID IL because of vaccine side effects, per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. DeSclafani’s placement, retroactive to August 19th, is due to right ankle inflammation. The two roster spots will be taken by lefty Sammy Long and righty Jay Jackson. Additionally, Reyes Moronta was activated from his rehab assignment and optioned to Triple-A.

For Longoria, he should be able to return in a day or two, once he feels better. (The COVID IL has no minimum stay.) The loss of DeSclafani, however, is the more worrisome news for the Giants as he has been a solid member of the rotation this season. After a down year with Cincinnati in 2020, San Fran scooped him up for a one-year, $6MM deal, getting tremendous value for that outlay. Desclafani’s tally of 132 2/3 innings is second only to Kevin Gausman on the club this year. His ERA of 3.26 over that span is the 14th-best mark in all of MLB. He’s recently hit a bit of a snag, however, going on the IL for the second time this month. He endured a minimum stay starting August 4th because of shoulder fatigue and will now go back on the shelf because of this ankle inflammation.

It’s unclear how long the hurler is expected to be sidelined, but even another minimum stay will be impactful. After an off-day on Monday, the Giants will enter a stretch of playing 16 days in a row. They are also without Johnny Cueto, who recently went on the IL himself, whittling the rotation down to Gausman, Logan Webb and Alex Wood. This all comes as the Dodgers have crept up on the Giants in the standings, narrowing the gap to 1 1/2 games going into today’s action.

Sammy Long will likely slot into the rotation at some point during the next few weeks. He’s just recently been getting stretched out after his own IL stint but was able to throw five innings in his most recent Triple-A start. In eight games at the MLB level this year, four starts, he’s absorbed 28 1/3 innings with an elevated ERA of 5.72, but more a more palatable 3.84 xERA, 3.96 SIERA and 3.63 FIP.

Cueto is eligible to return at any point now, though it’s unclear if that’s expected. Without him, the club may have to turn to its depth, though that also just took a hit with Tyler Beede being placed on the 60-day IL just a few days ago. The Giant signed Matt Shoemaker to a minor league deal a few weeks back, though he’s having a nightmare season. Released by the Twins after posting an ERA north of 8.00, his time in the Giants’ org hasn’t improved things. In a small sample of three appearances with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, his ERA is 9.45.

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