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Tigers Designate Three Players For Assignment

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The Tigers designated infielder Eddys Leonard and relievers Ricky Vanasco and Brendan White for assignment. Their spots on the 40-man roster will go to righties Chase Lee, Tyler Mattison and Tyler Owens. Detroit kept that trio out of next month’s Rule 5 draft.

Leonard has held a spot on Detroit’s 40-man roster since they acquired him in a minor trade with the Dodgers in August 2023. The 24-year-old infielder hit .253/.320/.435 between three minor league levels this year. He hasn’t appeared in the majors. Vanasco also landed in Detroit via a small trade with Los Angeles — this one coming this past July. He pitched two scoreless innings at the major league level and has four career appearances. White, who turned 26 yesterday, pitched to a 5.03 ERA across 40 2/3 innings as a rookie in 2023. He spent most of this season on the minor league injured list.

The three players joining the roster are all upper level bullpen arms. Lee, an Alabama product, came over from the Rangers at this year’s deadline in the Andrew Chafin trade. The 26-year-old righty turned in a 2.75 ERA across 36 innings between the two organizations. He punched out 30% of batters faced with a tidy 6.8% walk rate.

Mattison, a 6’4″ pitcher out of Bryant, posted excellent strikeout numbers this year. He fanned nearly 38% of hitters en route to a 2.41 ERA across 59 2/3 innings between High-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie. While the 25-year-old was a bit more advanced than most hitters he faced, he pitched well enough that another team could’ve tried to stash him in the middle innings.

Owens, 24 in January, has been traded twice since entering pro ball as a 13th-round pick in 2021. Originally an Atlanta draftee, he went to the Rangers last offseason for outfielder J.P. Martínez. Texas dealt him to Detroit as part of the Carson Kelly deadline deal. The 5’10” hurler put up a 2.96 ERA while striking out just over a quarter of opponents in Double-A this year.

Tigers Acquire Ricky Vanasco From Dodgers

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The Tigers have acquired right-hander Ricky Vanasco from the Dodgers, per announcements from both clubs. Detroit had an open 40-man spot after trading Carson Kelly yesterday and optioned Vanasco to Triple-A Toledo. The Dodgers, who designated Vanasco for assignment recently, receive cash considerations in return.

Vanasco, now 25, was once a notable prospect for the Rangers but has had some challenges in recent years. He had Tommy John surgery in September of 2020 and missed the entire 2021 season. But Texas still believed in him enough that they didn’t want him taken in the Rule 5 draft, so Vanasco got a 40-man roster spot in November of 2021.

He returned to the mound in 2022, with some mixed results. In 92 1/3 innings on the farm, he struck out 28.9% of batters but also gave out walks at a 12.7% clip, leading to a 4.68 ERA. In 2023, he required knee surgery that forced him to miss a few months. The Rangers designated him for assignment in May and flipped him to the Dodgers.

The beginning of his tenure with the Dodgers was great, though he was outrighted off their roster not long after being acquired. He threw 30 innings in the minors last year after the deal with a 1.20 ERA, striking out 35% of opponents. He also significantly cut his walk rate to 8.1%.

Since he was outrighted off the roster last summer, he became a free agent at season’s end but the Dodgers re-signed him to a major league deal. Here in 2024, he’s spent most of the season on optional assignment but with his control issues seemingly resurfacing. In 23 1/3 Triple-A innings, he has a 3.47 ERA and 24.3% strikeout rate but a huge 18.9% walk rate.

That wildness undoubtedly played a role in nudging him off the Dodgers’ roster but the Tigers will take a shot on him. He is in his final option season, so they can keep him in Toledo to see if he can harness his stuff a little bit better. They can get a close-up look at him for now but he’ll be out of options next year. If he manages to hold onto his roster spot, he has just a few days of service time and can be kept well into the future.

Dodgers To Designate Ricky Vanasco For Assignment

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The Dodgers are going to designate right-hander Ricky Vanasco for assignment, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic on X. That move will open a 40-man roster spot for left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who will be coming off the 60-day injured list this week.

Vanasco, 25, has spent most of the season on optional assignment. He has only thrown two innings at the major league level this year, which were the first two innings of his big league career. He has tossed 23 1/3 innings over 24 Triple-A appearances, allowing 3.47 earned runs per nine. His 24.3% strikeout rate is strong but he has also given out free passes at a huge 18.9% rate. If it weren’t for a 78.5% strand rate, more runs would have crossed the plate, which is why his 5.51 FIP is more than two runs higher than his ERA.

Those control issues undoubtedly contributed to nudging him off the Dodgers’ roster and the club will now have a week to either trade him or pass him through waivers. Once a notable prospect in the Rangers’ system, health issues held him back in recent years. He underwent Tommy John surgery in September of 2020 and missed the entire 2021 season. Despite missing that entire campaign, the Rangers evidently were worried some other club would take him in that year’s Rule 5 draft, so they gave him a 40-man spot.

He showed some rust in his first year back from the surgery layoff, posting a 4.68 ERA in 92 1/3 minor league innings. His 28.9% strikeout rate was strong but he gave out free passes to 12.7% of batters faced. He then required knee surgery in March of last year and missed the start of that season. The Rangers designated him for assignment in May and he was flipped to the Dodgers a few days later.

His stint with his new club went very well, even though he was outrighted off the 40-man roster, as he tossed 30 innings at various levels with a 1.20 ERA and 35% strikeout rate. Perhaps most importantly, he dropped his walk rate down to 8.1%. The Dodgers re-signed him to a major league deal in November but, as mentioned, his control issues have come back this year.

Perhaps some club will be intrigued based on his former prospect status and his ability to strike out minor league hitters. He is in his final option season and can be sent down to the farm for the remainder of this year, though he will be out of options next year.

Dodgers Add Anthony Banda To Active Roster

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The Dodgers announced a series of roster moves today, highlighted by the club adding left-hander Anthony Banda to the active roster. Right-hander Landon Knack was recalled from Triple-A alongside Banda, while righties J.P. Feyereisen and Ricky Vanasco were both optioned to Triple-A. Right-hander Connor Brogdon was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room for Banda on the 40-man roster.

L.A. acquired Banda, 30, from the Guardians on Friday, but the lefty had not been on Cleveland’s 40-man roster and therefore did not require a corresponding 40-man move until he was formally added to the roster today. The lefty signed a minor league deal with Cleveland back in January and impressed over 17 innings of work at the Triple-A level, where he struck out a whopping 37.9% of batters faced en route to a 2.12 ERA in 12 appearances prior to the trade.

A tenth-round pick by the Brewers in the 2012 draft, Banda has appeared in parts of seven big league seasons since he made his debut with the Diamondbacks in 2017. In all, the lefty has collected 90 big league appearances with seven different clubs but struggled at virtually every stop along the way. His career ERA sits at 5.69 in the big leagues despite a decent 4.35 FIP, although Banda’s big strikeout numbers in the minors could change his fortunes if they manage to translate to the big league level. After all, Banda has posted a career strikeout rate of just 19.9% to this point in his career, and his minor league strikeout rate over a full season peaked at just 26.9% at Triple-A with the Rays back in 2018. Clearly, the Dodgers are intrigued enough by the possibilities of Banda’s newfound swing-and-miss to give him a shot in their bullpen.

Joining the club’s roster alongside Banda is Knack, 26. The rookie right-hander is set to make his fourth spot start at the big league level of the season today and has generally gotten strong results despite weak peripherals to this point in his big league career. In 16 innings of work in the majors this season, Knack has posted a 2.81 ERA despite a meager 16.9% strikeout rate and three home runs allowed during that time. Those shaky underlying numbers have left Knack with a 5.52 FIP, although he’s posted a decent 4.15 ERA across five starts at the Triple-A level to this point in the season.

Making room for Banda and Knack on the roster are Feyereisen and Vanasco, both of whom are headed to Triple-A after brief stints in the Dodgers bullpen. Vanasco ultimately appeared in just one game for L.A. before being optioned, though he impressed with two perfect frames and recorded a strikeout in his big league debut. As for Feyereisen, the 31-year-old’s return from shoulder surgery has been an uneven one, as he’s allowed a 6.00 ERA and 4.81 FIP across nine appearances thanks in part to an elevated 13.2% walk rate. He’ll head to Triple-A in hopes of sorting things out and returning to the big league bullpen later this year. As for Brogdon, the righty has been out since mid-April after being placed on the injured list due to plantar fasciitis shortly after being acquired from the Phillies and has no clear timetable for return.

Dodgers Place Max Muncy On Injured List, Option James Outman

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The Dodgers made a series of roster moves today, activating outfielder Jason Heyward from the injured list while recalling outfielder Miguel Vargas and right-hander Ricky Vanasco. To open roster spots for that group, they placed third baseman Max Muncy on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain and optioned outfielder James Outman and left-hander Nick Ramirez.

Prior to the official announcement, Francys Romero reported on X that Vargas would be called up. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic was among those to relay on X that Outman no longer had a locker with the club.

While oblique strains typically lead to absences of multiple weeks, the Dodgers don’t seem especially concerned. Manager Dave Roberts told the team’s beat (including Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic) that it’s a mild strain. The club is hopeful he’ll only require a minimal stint. Muncy is out to his typical start to the season: drawing plenty of walks and hitting for power to compensate for a low batting average. Through 167 plate appearances, he has a .223/.323/.475 line with nine homers.

Muncy has gotten the start at third base for 36 of L.A.’s 46 games. Enrique Hernández is in the lineup tonight against Cincinnati right-hander Frankie Montas. Roberts told reporters that Hernández and Miguel Rojas will take the third base work while Muncy is out.

Heyward draws back into the lineup after missing six weeks with a back issue. The veteran should be in the lineup in right field against right-handed pitching. That bumps rookie Andy Pages from right field to center field, while Teoscar Hernández will be in one of the corners on an everyday basis. The Dodgers shield Heyward from left-handed pitching. Roberts said one of Vargas or Chris Taylor will be in left field against southpaws, pushing Hernández to right and Heyward to the bench.

The outfield shuffling sends Outman to the minors for the first time since 2022. The 27-year-old finished third in NL Rookie of the Year balloting last season, hitting 23 homers with a .248/.353/.437 slash line. His offensive production has plummeted this season. Outman has been one of the least productive hitters in MLB, turning in a .147/.250/.266 mark. He has fanned in more than 32% of his plate appearances and hasn’t made the same level of power impact he did last season.

Outman will try to get on track at Triple-A Oklahoma City to put himself back on the radar for an MLB call. He’ll need to do so quickly to stay on pace to reach free agency after the 2028 season. Outman entered the season with one year and six days of MLB service. A service year is tallied at 172 days, so he needs to spend at least 166 days on the MLB roster to surpass the two-year threshold in 2024. If he spends more than a couple weeks in Triple-A, he’ll fall short of that mark.

Dodgers To Recall Ricky Vanasco, Landon Knack For MLB Debuts

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The Dodgers are planning to recall right-handers Ricky Vanasco and Landon Knack from Triple-A Oklahoma City this week, reports Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic. Should either pitcher get into a game, they’d be making their respective major league debuts.

Knack and Vanasco are both on the 40-man roster, so the Dodgers would only need to make corresponding active roster moves to bring them up. Knack has actually accrued a few days of major league service, as he was in the L.A. bullpen for their season-opening set against the Padres in Seoul. He didn’t get into a game and was optioned before the team’s domestic opener.

An East Tennessee State product, Knack was a second-round senior sign in 2020. He has worked as a starter throughout his minor league career, turning in a solid 3.44 ERA over 243 professional innings. That includes a stellar 2.51 mark over 22 appearances between Double-A Tulsa and OKC last season. Knack has taken the ball three times in Triple-A this year, posting a 16:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio while allowing seven runs through 15 2/3 frames. Baseball America ranked him the #11 prospect in the system this winter, pointing to a future as a back-of-the-rotation starter.

Vanasco did not appear among L.A.’s top 30 prospects. However, the Dodgers liked him enough to sign him to a major league deal this offseason. That came a few months after L.A. had run him through outright waivers but within two weeks of his qualifying for minor league free agency for the first time.

The 25-year-old is a former Ranger draftee who once ranked among the better prospects in the Texas farm system. Control issues pushed him to the bullpen last season, but Vanasco has shown swing-and-miss stuff. He posted a 2.78 ERA with a near-32% strikeout percentage over 32 1/3 minor league frames last season. Vanasco has fanned eight hitters in four innings of Triple-A work this year, although he’s also walked six.

Dodgers Re-Sign Ricky Vanasco To Major League Deal

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2:18 pm: Vanasco will make a salary of $900K in 2024, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group.

11:43 am: The Dodgers announced Thursday that they’ve re-signed right-hander Ricky Vanasco to a one-year, major league contract. He’d previously been outrighted and elected minor league free agency, but he’ll now return to the organization and secure a spot on the 40-man roster for the winter. Los Angeles now has 39 players on its 40-man roster.

The 25-year-old Vanasco has spent the vast majority of his career in the Rangers organization, but the Dodgers acquired him on June 1 after Texas had designated the former 15th-round pick for assignment. Once regarded as one of the more promising pitchers in the Rangers system, his career has been slowed by repeated health troubles. Vanasco posted an outstanding 1.81 ERA in 11 starts back in 2019 but didn’t pitch in 2020 due to the canceled minor league season, underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021 and spent significant time on the minor league injured list in 2023 as well.

When healthy, however, Vanasco pitched quite well in the Dodgers’ system. In fact, after being removed from the team’s 40-man roster, Vanasco logged 28 innings betweeen Double-A and Triple-A while pitching to a pristine 0.64 ERA with a 42-to-10 K/BB ratio (36.5% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate). That showing was apparently enough for the Dodgers to offer up a big league deal in order to keep him in the system.

Although he has not yet made his big league debut, Vanasco spent the past two seasons on the 40-man roster in Texas and Los Angeles, which required him to be optioned at the end of spring training. As such, he’s exhausted two option years already. He still has an option remaining, and given his minor league injury history it’s possible he could eventually qualify for a fourth option year. For now, he’ll head to spring training healthy and perhaps on the verge of finally making his big league debut.

Dodgers Outright Ricky Vanasco

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Dodgers right-hander Ricky Vanasco cleared outright waivers and has been assigned to Double-A Tulsa, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. The log technically indicates that he was outrighted to Triple-A, but Vanasco is listed as active on the team’s Tulsa roster rather than their OKC roster. Whichever affiliate Vanasco lands with, the broader takeaway is that he’ll remain in the organization following his recent DFA but no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster.

Vanasco, 24, has spent the vast majority of his career in the Rangers organization, but the Dodgers acquired him on June 1 after Texas had designated the former 15th-round pick for assignment. Once regarded as one of the more promising pitchers in the Rangers system, his career has been slowed by repeated health troubles. Vanasco posted an outstanding 1.81 ERA in 11 starts back in 2019 but didn’t pitch in 2020 due to the canceled minor league season, underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021 and has spent the majority of the 2023 campaign on the shelf as well.

So far in 2023, Vanasco has tossed just 4 1/3 innings, yielding six hits and four walks while also plunking a pair of hitters. All 12 of the batters he’s allowed have come around to score, although only eight have been earned runs. The 2022 season was the lone campaign in which he’s been healthy; he pitched 92 1/3 innings of 4.68 ERA ball with a hefty 28.9% strikeout rate but also a concerning 12.7% walk rate.

Vanasco has yet to pitch at the Triple-A level, and it seems he’ll head back to Double-A Tulsa and continue building up there. The Dodgers have had one of the game’s better pitching pipelines in recent years, and they’ll hope to add Vanasco as another success story for their player development group.

Dodgers Activate Daniel Hudson, Designate Ricky Vanasco

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The Dodgers reinstated reliever Daniel Hudson from the 60-day injured list, optioning righty Nick Robertson to Triple-A Oklahoma City. To create space on the 40-man roster, Los Angeles designated minor league pitcher Ricky Vanasco for assignment.

Hudson is back in the big leagues almost a year to the day after tearing the ACL in his left knee. The veteran righty was off to an incredible start last season, posting a 2.22 ERA while striking out almost 31% of opponents in 25 outings. His year was cut short when he stumbled attempting to field a dribbler back to the mound.

The Dodgers retained Hudson in September, guaranteeing him $6.5MM while tacking on a $7.3MM club option for the 2024 campaign. There was some hope he’d be ready for the start of the season, but he was delayed by residual knee soreness in Spring Training. He made five rookie ball appearances before reporting to Oklahoma City for three outings on a rehab stint, striking out five in 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Whenever he next takes the ball, he’ll be appearing in the majors for a 14th season.

Vanasco has been in the organization for a month. L.A. acquired him from the Rangers on June 1. He only made one Double-A appearance with his new club before being DFA. The 24-year-old spent the bulk of last year in High-A with Texas, posting a 4.48 ERA through 84 1/3 frames. The Dodgers will trade him or put him on waivers within the next week.

Dodgers Acquire Ricky Vanasco From Rangers

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The Rangers have traded pitching prospect Ricky Vanasco to the Dodgers for minor league left-hander Luis Valdez, both teams announced. Los Angeles designated reliever Zack Burdi for assignment to free a spot on the 40-man roster.

Vanasco, 24, has yet to reach the majors. An overslot 15th round draftee out of high school six years ago, the 6’3″ hurler developed into one of the more interesting arms in the Texas farm system. Baseball America ranked him between 12th and 21st on the Rangers’ prospect list each season between 2020-22. He impressed evaluators with a mid-90s fastball and above-average to plus breaking pitch but faced questions about his command and third offering.

The Florida native had his career interrupted by both the canceled 2020 minor league season and a subsequent Tommy John surgery. He lost all of ’21 rehabbing but returned to make 23 starts in High-A last year. Vanasco posted a 4.68 ERA over 92 1/3 innings, striking out a quality 28.9% of opposing hitters but with an alarming 12.7% walk rate.

Vanasco was set to start this year in Double-A. A Spring Training knee injury required surgery and cost him the first two months of the season. He made it back in late May and started two games there. They haven’t gone as planned, as he’s failed to get out of the second inning in either appearance. He allowed ten runs (six earned) with four walks and two strikeouts over 2 1/3 combined frames before losing his 40-man position earlier this week.

The Dodgers will take a flier on Vanasco’s arsenal to see if he can hone in his command. He’s in his second of three minor league option years, so they can keep him in the minors for the foreseeable future if he holds his 40-man spot.

Los Angeles sends a 19-year-old southpaw the other way. Valdez signed with the Dodgers as an amateur out of Mexico two years ago. He’s logged 17 2/3 innings with Low-A Rancho Cucamonga this year, posting a 3.12 ERA with a 28.9% strikeout rate while walking nearly 17% of opponents.

Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs slotted him 29th among Dodger prospects over the offseason, praising a potential plus changeup but noting that his velocity presently sits in the upper-80s. He won’t be eligible for the Rule 5 draft until after the 2024 campaign.

Burdi gets squeezed off the roster within a week of being claimed from the Rays. He didn’t pitch in an MLB game for the Dodgers, making just one appearance in Triple-A. He’s pitched three times for Tampa Bay this season, allowing six runs in four innings. A former first round draftee, Burdi throws in the mid-90s and has paired high minor league strikeout tallies with lofty walk rates.

The Dodgers will have a week to trade him or put him on waivers. Burdi has gone unclaimed on waivers in his career before, so he’d have the right to elect minor league free agency if he clears the wire this time around.

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