Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Sean Gilmartin

Rays Sign Sean Gilmartin To Minors Deal

By | at

The Rays have signed left-hander Sean Gilmartin to a minor league contract, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  Gilmartin’s deal contains an invitation to the Rays’ big league spring camp.

Gilmartin only pitched 2 1/3 MLB innings last season, completing his two-season tenure in Baltimore with a 4.30 ERA, 4.9 K/9, and 4.0 BB/9 over 29 1/3 total frames.  After an impressive rookie season with the Mets in 2015, Gilmartin has only tossed 50 1/3 total innings at the Major League level, pitching for New York and Baltimore while also having a brief stint in the Cardinals’ farm system.

The 28th overall pick of the 2011 amateur draft, Gilmartin has yet to make much of an impact in the Show, though he has held left-handed batters to a .251/.312/.339 slash line over the small sample size of 200 plate appearances.  The Rays can use Spring Training a chance to evaluate the 29-year-old and see if he might yet be a candidate for their bullpen, or at least be for Triple-A depth given how the Rays like to shuffle relievers up and down from the minors.

Pitchers Recently Electing Free Agency

By | at

Since the conclusion of the regular season, a number of players have elected free agency. That right accrues to certain players who are outrighted off of a 40-man roster during or after the season — namely, those that have at least three years of MLB service and/or have previously been outrighted. Such players that accepted outright assignments during the season have the right to elect free agency instead at season’s end, provided they aren’t added back to the 40-man in the meantime.

We already rounded up the position players. Now, here are the pitchers that have recently taken to the open market, along with their now-former teams (via the International League and PCL transactions pages):

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/28/19

By | at

Friday’s minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Reds have released right-hander Nick Travieso, per Doug Gray of RedsMinorLeagues.com. This ends a long Reds tenure for Travieso, who had been a member of the organization since it selected him 14th overall in the 2012 draft. As Gray explains, though, the 25-year-old Travieso’s velocity hasn’t returned to previous levels since shoulder issues kept him out of action from the end of the 2016 campaign until earlier this season. Travieso threw just three innings in rookie ball this year before the Reds said goodbye to him.
  • Orioles lefty Sean Gilmartin has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk, the team announced. The Orioles designated Gilmartin for assignment Tuesday after he gave up five earned runs in 2 1/3 innings during his lone major league start of 2019. The 29-year-old has been far better this season in Norfolk, where he has pitched to a 2.48 ERA/2.83 FIP with 9.91 K/9, 2.72 BB/9 and a 47.9 percent groundball rate in 36 1/3 innings and 17 appearances (two starts).

Orioles Claim Tayler Scott, Designate Sean Gilmartin

By | at

The Orioles have claimed right-hander Tayler Scott off waivers from the Mariners and designated left-hander Sean Gilmartin for assignment in order to open a 40-man roster spot, per a club announcement. Scott has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.

The South African-born Scott, 27, made his MLB debut with the Mariners in 2019, pitching 7 2/3 innings but yielding eight earned runs on 11 hits and six walks with seven strikeouts. Scott’s bottom-line numbers in Triple-A aren’t much more appealing — 6.43 ERA in 35 innings — but he’s posted a 57 percent grounder rate across his past two Triple-A campaigns and averages roughly 95 mph on his sinker. That, it seems, piqued the interest of the new-look Orioles front office. Because Scott only just had his contract selected for the first time in 2019, he has all three minor league option years remaining (2019 included).

Gilmartin, 29, yielded five runs on seven hits and two walks with one strikeout across 2 1/3 innings in his lone start for the O’s. The former first-round pick was once a fairly well-regarded pitching prospect but hasn’t found much MLB success outside a solid 2015 rookie season with the Mets when he was a Rule 5 pick out of the Twins organization. In 107 2/3 innings in the big leagues, Gilmartin has a 4.18 ERA with 7.1 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 (5.90 ERA in 50 1/3 frames from 2016-19). He’s struggled throughout much of his time in Triple-A as well, though he did give the Orioles’ top affiliate 36 1/3 sharp innings this year prior to his selection to the MLB roster. The O’s will have a week to trade Gilmartin or run him through outright waivers.

Orioles Designate Joey Rickard, Select Sean Gilmartin

By | at

The Orioles announced today that they have designated outfielder Joey Rickard for assignment. That creates a roster opening for the team to select the contract of lefty Sean Gilmartin.

Both of these players are former Rule 5 picks who managed to stick it out in the majors with their new teams. In each case, the initial hope faded over the long term.

Rickard, 28, has slashed just .203/.304/.347 in his 135 plate appearances on the season and hasn’t fared much better over the scope of his MLB career. As for Gilmartin, he has bounced around and failed to find steady work in the majors since a strong rookie year. He has pitched to a 2.48 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 36 1/3 Triple-A frames in 2019.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/3/18

By | at

In this post we will track the minor moves from around the MLB today…

  • Right-handed pitcher Pierce Johnson is now a minor league free agent after clearing waivers, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Pierce was a first-rounder for the Cubs back in 2012 and appeared regularly on their organizations’ list of top prospects. He spent last season shuttling between the San Francisco Giants and their Triple-A club. With the big league club, the 27-year-old appeared in 37 games, pitching to a 5.56 ERA, with a not-too-promising 7.4 K/9 to 4.53 BB/9. His numbers in Triple-A were much more heartening: 17 games, 3.57 ERA, 11.91 K/9, 3.97 BB/9. If he can figure out a way to translate those minor-league strikeout numbers to the big leagues, he could certainly develop into a useful bullpen piece.
  • The Baltimore Orioles re-signed left-handed pitcher Sean Gilmartin, per John Meoli of the Baltimore Sun. This after being outrighted by the Orioles two days ago. The 28-year-old lefty appeared in 12 games for the Orioles last season after spending the previous three with the New York Mets. Despite the low number of appearances, Gilmartin soaked up a number of innings for the Orioles, throwing 27 innings with a 3.00 ERA. He also spent time with the Orioles and Cardinals Triple-A affiliates in 2018. Gilmartin returns to the Baltimore organization on a minor league deal. Unfortunately, his peripheral metrics don’t rate so highly as that sparkling ERA: 5.39 xFIP, 5.00 K/9, 3.67 BB/9. For his major league career, he has appeared in 78 games with a 3.84 ERA (4.43 xFIP) for the Mets and Orioles.

Orioles Outright Four Players

By | at

The Orioles announced Thursday that they have outrighted four players off the 40-man roster. Left-hander Sean Gilmartin and right-hander Gabriel Ynoa, along with infielders Corban Joseph and Jace Peterson, will be outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. While Gilmartin and Peterson have elected free agency, the club has agreed to terms with Joseph and Ynoa on minor league contracts for the 2019 season. The move leaves the Orioles with 36 players on their 40-man roster.

The 30-year-old Joseph will remain with the Orioles for 2019. In 2018, he appeared in the majors for the first time since 2013, when he broke in with the Yankees. Though he played in 14 games with the Orioles in 2018, he spent the majority of the year in Double-A, where he tallied a .312/.381/.497 slash line and hit 17 homers. In his time in the big leagues, Joseph went 4-for-18.

Ynoa, who was acquired by the Orioles prior to the 2017 season after debuting with the Mets in 2016, was the other player to sign a minor league contract with the O’s. Coming off a solid 2017 campaign in which he started four games for Baltimore, the 25-year-old Ynoa was expected to compete for a spot in the starting rotation out of spring training. However, because of a bout with shin splints and rotator cuff inflammation, he was unable to play for the Orioles in 2018. Ynoa was limited to just two Double-A starts in a brief rehab assignment, before he missed the remainder of the season. He figures to be a depth option for the Orioles in 2019.

Gilmartin, 28, signed with the Orioles in July after he was released by the Cardinals. In 12 appearances with Baltimore, he posted a solid 3.00 ERA, though his peripherals lagged behind his results. Originally a first-round pick of the Braves in 2011, Gilmartin began his major-league career with the Mets in 2015 as a Rule 5 pick and enjoyed encouraging results, striking out 54 batters in 57  1/3 innings. However, Gilmartin has struggled since that strong rookie season, being designated for assignment by the Mets and later released by the Cardinals. Still, as a controllable left-handed arm with the capability to start, he should find somewhere to play in 2019.

After beginning the 2018 season with the Yankees, Peterson was claimed off waivers by the Orioles in April. He played all over the diamond for the team, appearing in 93 games for the O’s. Although he finished the season with just a .195 batting average and unspectacular power numbers, he posted an above-average walk rate, drawing 31 bases on balls in 246 plate appearances. Additionally, Peterson stole 13 bases for the O’s, while being caught just twice on the basepaths. With 4.003 years of major-league service time, Peterson can still be controlled by a team for two more seasons. Though he hasn’t lived up to his prospect pedigree, Peterson’s defensive versatility, on-base skills, and platoon splits still make him a useful depth option for a team.

AL Notes: Rays, Miller, Allen, Orioles

By | at

The Rays’ reputation for creative thinking is somewhat making the team a victim of its own success in 2018, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  The Rays have already lost two members of their coaching staff to managerial jobs (Charlie Montoyo with the Blue Jays and Rocco Baldelli with the Twins), while senior VP Chaim Bloom was a finalist for the Mets’ GM job and has been mentioned as a possible candidate to run the Giants’ baseball operations department.  For now, Tampa has two coaching vacancies to fill, though the responsibilities of Baldelli’s old infield coordinator role could be altered, as that job was specifically tailored for Baldelli’s skillset.  Topkin wouldn’t be surprised to see at least one new coach from outside the organization hired, though the Rays do have a long track record of promoting from within the organization.

Some more from around the American League….

  • Neither Andrew Miller or Cody Allen had a season to remember in 2018, though could those disappointing years actually make it more likely that one of the two relievers returns to the Indians bullpen in 2019?  Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer explores the possibility as part of a reader mailbag, with the caveat that “this is a buyer beware situation even on a one-year deal.”  Miller was hampered by multiple injuries en route to a 4.24 ERA over 34 innings for the Tribe last season, while Allen simply lacked consistency, posting a career-high 4.70 ERA over 67 frames.  The prevailing wisdom had been that Cleveland wouldn’t be able to afford to re-sign either pitcher in free agency, though if either Miller or Allen was willing to take a one-year pillow contract (with an eye towards pitching better and then looking for a multi-year contract in the 2019-20 offseason), it’s possible the Tribe could be open to that type of short-term expenditure.  The price tag will be an issue, of course, as Cleveland already has over $135MM in projected payroll for next season and still must address other needs this winter.
  • The Orioles are parting ways with several members of the organization, as The Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli and Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com were among those to report the changes.  Triple-A manager Ron Johnson, director of Dominican baseball operations Nelson Norman, East Coast scouting supervisor Kirk Fredriksson, special assistant Matt Haas, and area scout Dana Duquette didn’t have their contracts renewed for 2019.  Senior advisor Joe McIlvaine and special assignment scout Wayne Britton also won’t be returning next season, Kubatko reports.
  • In another piece from Kubatko, he speculates that left-hander Sean Gilmartin and outfielder John Andreoli could be candidates to be outrighted as the Orioles clear roster space in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.  (Kubatko already reported that Jace Peterson has been told by the team that he’ll be placed on outright waivers.)  Gilmartin posted a 3.00 ERA over 27 relief innings for Baltimore after signing a minor league deal last summer, and Kubatko speculates that the O’s could try re-signing Gilmartin after the Rule 5 Draft since the southpaw has potential as a multi-inning reliever.  The 28-year-old Andreoli made his Major League debut last season, posting a .546 OPS over 67 PA with the Mariners and Orioles.

Orioles To Select Contract Of Sean Gilmartin

By | at

The Orioles will select the contract of lefty Sean Gilmartin in advance of today’s game, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com was among those to report on Twitter. Fellow southpaw Donnie Hart was optioned out to make space on the active roster, the club has announced.

Gilmartin, 28, turned in a strong season with the Mets as a Rule 5 pick back in 2015. But the former Braves first-rounder fell off thereafter, allowing 19 earned runs in his next 21 innings in New York over the following two seasons.

This season, Gilmartin has appeared as both a starter and reliever in the Cardinals and Orioles systems. He’s sporting a cumulative 4.30 ERA in 60 2/3 innings at the highest level of the minors, with 6.7 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9, though the numbers have been better since he arrived in the Baltimore organization, though it’s hard to read too much into that brief sample.

Orioles Sign Sean Gilmartin

By | at

The Orioles have signed lefty Sean Gilmartin, David Hall of the Virginian-Pilot reports on Twitter. He is joining the club’s top affiliate tonight.

Gilmartin last saw the majors early last year with the Mets, struggling in two outings after a rough 2016 effort. Of course, Gilmartin had a strong rookie campaign in 2015, when he threw 57 1/3 innings of 2.67 ERA ball as a Rule 5 pick.

After landing with the Cardinals, Gilmartin lost his 40-man spot. He had spent the current season at Triple-A Memphis before recently being released. In 46 1/3 innings over 24 outings, including six starts, he worked to a 4.66 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top