Mets Designate Seth Elledge For Assignment, Select Dennis Santana
According to Tim Britton of The Athletic, the Mets have designated right-hander Seth Elledge for assignment. That clears a spot on the 40-man roster for Dennis Santana, who Tim Healey of Newsday notes has been selected to the 40-man roster and recalled from Triple-A Syracuse. Healey goes on to note that left-hander Joey Lucchesi has been optioned to Triple-A to make room for Santana on the active roster.
Elledge was a 4th round pick by the Mariners in the 2017 draft. He made his MLB debut with the Cardinals in 2020, ultimately pitching to a 4.63 ERA in 23 1/3 innings of work across two seasons before being designated for assignment in October 2021. He later signed with the Braves on a minor league deal the following March, before being added to the 40-man roster in November 2022. He did not ultimately make an appearance for the Braves, as the 26-year-old was designated for assignment in April before being claimed by the Mets.
Now that he’s been DFA’d once again, the rest of the league will have the opportunity to claim Elledge off of waivers. After that, the Mets will have the opportunity to assign Elledge outright to Triple-A, though Elledge can refuse that outright assignment, as he has been assigned outright previously in his career.
Elledge’s departure clears room on the 40-man roster for Santana, who had previously appeared in seven games for the Mets prior to being designated for assignment and sent outright to Triple-A. In those seven appearances, Santana struggled to a 7.04 ERA with a 6.03 FIP in 7 2/3 innings of work, walking five while striking out 10. Prior to his arrival in New York, Santana pitched for the Dodgers and Rangers, working to a 5.12 ERA and 4.15 FIP in 139 innings of work.
Making room for Santana on the active roster is Lucchesi, who heads to Triple-A after starting yesterday’s game against the Nationals, allowing one run over two innings before the game was suspended due to inclement weather. Lucchesi departs the Mets rotation with a 4.43 ERA through five starts (22 1/3 innings). Lucchesi is looking to rebound after missing much of the 2021 campaign and all of 2022 while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, and figures to serve as key depth going forward for a Mets rotation that has been wrought with injuries throughout the young 2023 campaign.
Mets Claim Seth Elledge From Braves
The Braves announced that right-hander Seth Elledge has been claimed off waivers by the Mets. The righty had been designated for assignment last week. The Mets also announced the move, relaying that Elledge has been optioned to the minors and that left-hander José Quintana has been transferred to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move.
Elledge, 27 next month, has a small bit of major league experience. In a strange coincidence, he tossed 11 2/3 innings for the Cardinals in 2020 and again in 2021, posting a 4.63 ERA in both years. He was outrighted after the latter of those two seasons, becoming a free agent.
He signed a minor league deal with Atlanta last year and pitched well. In 46 1/3 Triple-A innings, he had a 3.88 ERA, 33.7% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate. That latter figure was probably the most significant, as control has been an issue for him throughout his career. The only other time he had a lower walk rate at any level was the 7.1% rate he had over 15 A-ball appearances in 2017. Most of his other stints have seen him push towards or beyond double digits.
That performance wasn’t enough to get him a big league call during the season, but the club did add Elledge to their roster in November to prevent him from becoming a free agent again. Since he still had options remaining, they were likely hoping to utilize him as depth, shuttling him to the big leagues and back to the farm as needed. However, they’ve added a great number of players to their roster in the early parts of the season, with Kevin Pillar, Jesse Chavez, Ehire Adrianza, Jared Shuster, Dylan Dodd and Danny Young all getting added in recent weeks. Those moves all eventually led to Elledge getting nudged off the roster.
For the Mets, they had a roster spot that was essentially freely available. It was reported back in the middle of March that Quintana would need rib surgery that will keep him from returning until at least July. That made his transfer to the 60-day injured list an inevitable formality and allowed them to grab an intriguing player like Elledge. Their bullpen has been hit hard by injuries already this year, with Edwin Díaz, Bryce Montes de Oca and Sam Coonrod are all on the 60-day IL while Tommy Hunter and Stephen Ridings are on the 15-day version. Elledge will head to the minors for now but could be called upon whenever the big league club needs a fresh arm.
Braves Select Danny Young, Designate Seth Elledge
The Braves selected the contract of left-hander Danny Young from Triple-A, and designated right-hander Seth Elledge for assignment to open up a 40-man roster space. A spot on the 26-man active roster was already open since Atlanta optioned Jared Shuster to Triple-A after yesterday’s game.
Young made his Major League debut last season as a member of the Mariners, and then came to Atlanta on a waiver claim in August. All in all, Young’s first taste of big league action consisted of 6 1/3 total innings over three games (two with Seattle, one with Atlanta), and the Braves then DFA’ed and outrighted Young soon after they added him on waivers. Originally an eighth-round draft pick for the Blue Jays in 2015, Young has a 3.78 ERA over 309 2/3 career innings in the minors, almost entirely as a relief pitcher.
It might be another cup of coffee for Young in the Show, since Kyle Wright is projected to be activated from the 15-day injured list for a start on Tuesday. Since Wright and Max Fried are both on the IL, the Braves have turned to Shuster, Dylan Dodd, and Bryce Elder to make starts thus far in the season, with Shuster being optioned back and forth from Triple-A Gwinnett after each of his two starts. As the Braves don’t need that fifth spot in the rotation until Wright returns, they’ll add Young to give the club more bullpen depth in the interim.
The Braves selected Elledge’s contract to the 40-man roster back in November, as the righty had the option to become a minor league free agent. Elledge signed a minors deal with Atlanta in March 2022 and spent all of last season at Triple-A, delivering a 3.88 ERA and an impressive 33.7% strikeout rate over 46 1/3 innings. His past MLB experience consists of 23 1/3 total innings with the Cardinals over the 2020-21 seasons.
Braves Select Michael Tonkin, Seth Elledge
The Braves announced some roster moves today, selecting the contracts of right-handers Michael Tonkin and Seth Elledge. They also reinstated catcher Manny Piña and righty Huascar Ynoa from the injured list. The 40-man roster is now full.
Both Tonkin and Elledge signed minor league deals with the club last offseason and would have been able to elect minor league free agency today. However, it seems Atlanta was impressed enough by both of their minor league seasons that they wanted to prevent them from getting away and have given each of them spots on the 40-man roster.
Tonkin, 33 next week, got some MLB action with the Twins from 2013 to 2017 but hasn’t made it back to the big leagues since. He has a career 4.43 ERA in 146 1/3 innings from that time. In the years since, he’s bounced around quite a bit, including stints in Japan and with Indy Ball teams. In 2022, he spent the whole season with Triple-A Gwinnett, throwing 48 1/3 innings over 47 appearances. He posted a 3.17 ERA along with excellent rate stats, such as a 36.5% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate and 50% ground ball rate. He’s out of options but the club evidently thinks there’s a chance he can help the big league bullpen next year.
Elledge, 27 in May, got brief MLB stints with the Cardinals in 2020 and 2021, bizarrely throwing exactly 11 2/3 innings and posting a 4.63 ERA in each of those two campaigns. He was designated for assignment and outrighted in October of last year before joining the Braves on a minor league deal. He made 43 appearances for Gwinnett, tossing 46 1/3 innings with a 3.88 ERA. That came with an excellent strikeout rate of 33.7%. Unlike Tonkin, he does have options remaining and can serve as depth in the minor leagues next season.
As for Piña and Ynoa, those moves are formalities as there is no injured list in the offseason, meaning the club had to either reinstate those players or else cut them from the roster entirely. It was around this time last year when Atlanta signed Piña to a two-year deal. Unfortunately, he required season-ending wrist surgery in May after getting into just five games. As for Ynoa, he underwent Tommy John surgery in September and will likely miss the entire 2023 campaign. If he hangs onto his roster spot through the winter, he can spend all of next year on the 60-day IL.
Braves Sign Seth Elledge To Minor League Deal
The Cardinals announced this morning that right-hander Seth Elledge has been granted his unconditional release, and he’s quickly latched on with a new club. Elledge updated his social media profiles to reflect that he’s with the Braves organization (hat tip: Katie Woo of The Athletic), and MLBTR has confirmed that the righty indeed signed a minor league deal there.
Elledge, 25, was a fourth-round pick by the Mariners back in 2017 and found himself in the Cardinals organization by way of a 2019 trade that sent reliever Sam Tuivailala from St. Louis to Seattle. Elledge made his big league debut with the Cards in 2020 and wound up pitching exactly 11 2/3 innings for St. Louis with an identical 4.63 ERA in each of the past two seasons. He’s fanned 24% of the 52 big leaguers he’s faced and averaged 93.9 mph on his heater, but Elledge also walked seven hitters (14.4% walk rate) and hit another in his brief MLB looks. The Cardinals outrighted Elledge off the 40-man roster following the 2021 season.
Above-average strikeout rates and sub-par walk rates have been a hallmark of Elledge’s time both in the big leagues and in the minors. He carries a 3.93 ERA, 30.6% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate in parts of four pro seasons, but he’s had some particularly pronounced struggles in Triple-A (5.66 ERA, 13% walk rate in 70 frames). Command issues notwithstanding, Elledge regularly ranked in the middle tiers of the Cardinals’ prospects. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen listed him 17th among St. Louis farmhands heading into 2021, praising Elledge’s mid-90s sinker and plus slider while noting that he has a tendency to lose command of the latter.
Elledge isn’t on the 40-man roster with the Braves, but he has a pair of minor league options remaining, so if he’s selected to the big league club at some point, he’ll provide Atlanta with some bullpen flexibility over the remainder of the season. He also doesn’t have a full year of MLB service time under his belt yet, so he’s technically controllable through 2027 — though a lot needs to go right before that’s even a factor to consider.
Minor MLB Transactions: 10/10/21
Catching up on minor league moves from around baseball….
- The Cardinals outrighted Seth Elledge to Triple-A Memphis after the righty cleared waivers. Elledge was designated for assignment prior to the Cards’ appearance in the NL wild card game. The right-hander has pitched exactly 11 2/3 innings for St. Louis in each of the last two seasons, and also posted identical 4.63 ERAs in both campaigns. Originally acquired by the Mariners for Sam Tuivailala in July 2018, Elledge has some solid numbers at the lower levels of the minors but has struggled in two seasons at Triple-A, with a 5.66 ERA over 70 innings for Memphis.
Cardinals Designate Seth Elledge, Select Juan Yepez
The Cardinals have made a roster move in advance of tonight’s wild card game with the Dodgers, designating right-hander Seth Elledge for assignment. The transaction opens up a 40-man space for the Cards to select the contract of first baseman Juan Yepez from Triple-A.
It is quite the opportunity for the 23-year-old Yepez, who has never played in a MLB game but could now get his first taste of the big leagues in the October spotlight. While it’s safe to assume Yepez might be the proverbial last man on the 26-man depth chart for tonight’s game, the fact that the Cards are giving this spot is a sign of confidence in what Yepez could provide as a potential x-factor.
Acquired from the Braves in the Matt Adams trade in 2017, Yepez’s bat didn’t really start to heat up until 2019, when he jumped from A-ball to Double-A in his age-21 season. After not playing in 2020 due to the canceled minor league season, Yepez suddenly exploded this year, batting a combined .286/.383/.586 with 27 home runs over 434 combined plate appearances for Double-A Springfield (77 PA) and Triple-A Memphis (357 PA). Yepez’s slash lines were almost identical at each level.
This breakout was enough to merit a #27 ranking on MLB Pipeline’s list of Cardinals prospects. Pipeline’s scouting report cites Yepez’s “high exit velocities” and gap power, plus an increased maturity at the plate and an ability to make swing changes. Yepez has mostly played first base in his career, but could also fill in at third base or a corner outfield slot in a pinch.
Elledge made his MLB debut in 2020, and pitching in each of the last two seasons, the righty has a 4.63 ERA over 23 1/3 career innings out of the St. Louis bullpen. A high 13.5% walk rate has been Elledge’s biggest issue, and he has shown similar control issues over 70 innings at the Triple-A level.
Cardinals Sign Wade LeBlanc
The Cardinals announced the signing of left-hander Wade LeBlanc. The deal is apparently a Major League contract, as LeBlanc will move directly onto the Cards’ active roster. In corresponding moves, right-hander Seth Elledge was optioned to Triple-A, and infielder Max Moroff was moved from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL.
LeBlanc is now lined up to pitch for the ninth different team of his 13-season MLB career. LeBlanc was also briefly a member of the Brewers and Rangers organizations within the last two months, signing minor league contracts with both clubs but not receiving a promotion to the majors.
This transactional carousel began after the Orioles outrighted LeBlanc in April, and the veteran southpaw decided to become a free agent. The move ended a tough two-year stint for LeBlanc in Baltimore that saw him post an 8.38 ERA over 29 innings, with LeBlanc starting seven of his 12 total appearances in the black-and-orange.
St. Louis manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat and The Athletic’s Katie Woo) that the Cardinals will mostly use LeBlanc as a relief pitcher. While LeBlanc’s recent results don’t exactly indicate a quick fix for a struggling Cards bullpen, he can at least provide the team with some depth as a long man, and perhaps even as a spot starter in the event of more injuries within the rotation. LeBlanc’s splits against left-handed batters have still been generally good, so a more situational usage — within the boundaries of the three-batter rule — might be the more optimal way to deploy the southpaw at this stage of his career.
“He’s got versatility. He’s not overly splitty, throws strikes to both righties and lefties. But he’s built up, he’s got some length,” Shildt said.
Central Notes: Indians, Fillmyer, Cardinals, Pike, Elledge, Tigers, Greiner
It’s Memorial Day, which means a full slate of day baseball. While we await the start of the action, let’s round up some news and notes from around the game…
- The Indians have purchased the contract of Heath Fillmyer from the Lancaster Barnstormers, per the Atlantic League club. Fillmyer has been assigned to Triple-A. The 27-year-old right-hander last appeared in the Majors in 2019 withe the Royals. He owns a 5.07 ERA/5.31 FIP over 104 2/3 innings between 2018-19.
- The Cardinals have called up Seth Elledge from Memphis, per MLB.com’s Jeff Jones (via Twitter). The move comes as a response to Kodi Whitley being placed on the 10-day injured list because of mild back spasms. St. Louis also signed southpaw Tyler Pike to a minor league contract, according to their transactions log on MLB.com.
- Tigers catcher Grayson Greiner is putting his rehab assignment on hold for now after experiencing some hamstring discomfort, per Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group (via Twitter). He’s been on the injured list since May 12th. The 28-year-old backstop owns a .237/.256/.342 line in 39 plate appearances on the year.
Cardinals Activate Miles Mikolas From Injured List
The Cardinals have activated Miles Mikolas off the 10-day injured list, and the right-hander will start against the Cubs tonight. Righty Seth Elledge was sent to Triple-A to open up a 26-man roster spot for Mikolas.
October 11, 2019 marked the last time Mikolas appeared in a big league game, as he allowed one run over six innings in Game 1 of the 2019 NLCS. Flexor tendon surgery caused Mikolas to miss the entire 2020 season, and then shoulder problems delayed his return until today.
This isn’t the first time Mikolas’ Major League career has been interrupted, as he headed to Japan following the 2014 season and revived his stock with three outstanding seasons with the Yomiuri Giants. After signing a two-year, $15.5MM deal with the Cardinals in the 2017-18 offseason, Mikolas took that new form back into MLB, finishing sixth in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2018.
That success led to another contract with St. Louis, as Mikolas signed a four-year extension worth $68MM. Since that extension started with the 2020 season, however, Mikolas has yet to throw even a single pitch since that new deal kicked in, making it a questionable investment to date for the Cards’ front office. Still, there is plenty of time for Mikolas to still deliver, and his return should further bolster the Cardinals’ pitching staff.
Jack Flaherty, Kwang Hyun Kim, and John Gant have all been very solid for the Cards this season, while Carlos Martinez and Adam Wainwright have been a little more inconsistent. St. Louis plans to use a six-man rotation for the time being, unless plans change due to other injuries.