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Shane Carle

Mariners Release Shane Carle

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The Mariners have released right-hander Shane Carle from his minor league contract, as was first indicated on the Triple-A Transactions log at MLB.com. He’s once again a free agent and can sign with any club.

Carle’s stay with the M’s proved quite brief, as he signed there not even two weeks ago. He tossed a pair of shutout frames for the organization’s Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma before being sent back out to the market. That came on the heels of a nice run with the Reds’ top affiliate in Louisville, where Carle held opponents to six runs in 15 2/3 frames. All told, the 29-year-old has pitched to a 3.06 ERA in 17 2/3 innings while striking out 19.7 percent of his opponents against a 6.6 percent walk rate.

It’s been a couple years since we’ve seen Carle in the Majors. He was a solid member of the Atlanta bullpen in 2018, tossing 63 1/3 innings with a 2.86 earned run average, although there was reason to be skeptical of that number. Carle’s 16.6 percent strikeout rate and 10.4 percent walk rate were both markedly worse than the league average, and he benefited from a low homer-to-flyball rate (4.2 percent) as well as some good fortune on balls in play (.258). Carle generally limited hard contact well in ’18, but it’s difficult to maintain that level of run prevention with sub-par strikeout and walk percentages — particularly in the absence of an elite ground-ball rate.

Carle’s 2019 season represented a notable step back, as he yielded 10 runs in 9 1/3 MLB frames while also pitching to a 5.62 ERA through 40 innings of Triple-A ball between the Braves and Rangers organizations. That shaky showing in 2019 notwithstanding, Carle has pitched well enough with a pair of Triple-A affiliates in 2021 that he could well draw interest from a third organization looking to stockpile some depth.

Mariners Sign Shane Carle

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The Mariners have signed reliever Shane Carle to a minor league contract, per Mike Curto, broadcaster for Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma. The 29-year-old has been assigned to the Rainiers.

Carle signed a minors pact with the Reds in February. He spent the entire season with Cincinnati’s top farm team in Louisville, working to a 3.45 ERA with decent strikeout and walk rates (21.7% and 7.2%, respectively). Despite the solid performance, Cincinnati released Carle earlier this week rather than add him to the big league roster.

The right-hander appeared in the majors with the Rockies and Braves between 2017-19. The overwhelming majority of his playing time came with Atlanta in 2018, when Carle worked to a 2.86 ERA over 63 frames. His peripherals never supported that run prevention level, though. Carle only struck out 16.6% of batters faced that year while walking an average 10.4% of opponents, contributing to a less inspiring 4.59 SIERA.

Carle got off to a bad start the following season, allowing ten runs on eleven hits and nine walks while striking out six. The Braves designated him for assignment after just six appearances, and he didn’t return to the majors after being acquired by the Rangers. Nevertheless, there’s no harm for the Mariners in brining him aboard as high minors depth, particularly given his solid numbers with Louisville this year.

Reds Sign Shane Carle To Minor League Deal

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The Reds announced this morning that they’ve signed right-hander Shane Carle to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training.

Carle last appeared in the big leagues with the Braves in 2019. The 29-year-old righty enjoyed strong results out of the Atlanta bullpen in 2018 when he notched a 2.86 ERA in 63 1/3 frames, but that impressive mark appeared unlikely to be sustained for a number of reasons. Carle punched out just 16.6  percent of opponents that year, against a 10.4 percent walk rate that was north of the league average. He also benefited from a .258 average on balls in play and a home-run rate so low it’d have been nearly impossible to repeat. Carle’s 4.59 SIERA told a much different story than that bottom-line ERA.

Regression was swift in 2019, as Carle allowed more home runs (three) in 9 1/3 innings than he did throughout the entire 2018 season. He was tagged for 10 runs in those 9 1/3 frames while walking more hitters than he struck out. Carle’s Triple-A work wasn’t much better (5.13 ERA), and he eventually was bounced from Atlanta’s 40-man roster, landing with the Rangers, where his Triple-A struggles continued.

In all, Carle has a 3.89 ERA in the Majors thanks to that 2018 season, but the rest of his numbers aren’t nearly as encouraging. He’s also been tagged for a 5.49 ERA in 221 1/3 innings of Triple-A ball, but the Reds will likely try out a new plan of attack to help him maximize his strengths. Carle did average better than 95 mph on his heater in 2018, he gets ground-balls at an average clip, and opponents have put up pitiful numbers in plate appearances ending with his slider (.203/.260/.319) and curveball (.108/.175/.216).

Rangers Outright Shane Carle

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On Sunday the Rangers announced that right-handed pitcher Shane Carle has been assigned outright to Triple-A Nashville. He had been designated for assignment on Friday.

Carle, 27, will remain in the Texas organization, though he’ll no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster. Since he was acquired from the Braves, he has pitched out of the Triple-A bullpen and has yet to appear in a Major League game for the Rangers.

After a 2018 season in which Carle posted a 2.86 ERA for Atlanta, he fell out of the organization’s good graces after he regressed to a 9.64 mark in six games this year. During his career year in 2018, Carle was an interesting case, tallying relatively few strikeouts (6.1 K/9) compared to high walk totals. His 1.59 K:BB ratio alone may have been interpreted as a red flag that his sub-3.00 ERA wouldn’t hold up in the long run. However, his value came from an extreme groundball tendency that greatly limited home runs, as he allowed just two round-trippers in 63 innings of work. Despite the unspectacular strikeout and walk numbers, that ability to keep the ball in the yard contributed to a 3.54 FIP. While still a notch below his ERA, that’s a solid mark that is usually enough to hold a spot in a Major League bullpen.

This season, though, Carle’s carrying skill vanished entirely while his shortcomings were exaggerated. In just six games of work with the Braves, Carle surrendered more home runs (3) than the entire season prior. While his strikeouts remained essentially unchanged, his walks ballooned to untenable levels, conceding nine bases on balls in 9 1/3 innings. That was enough to earn him a demotion to the minors, though his performance didn’t quite return to ideal levels.

Rangers Designate Shane Carle

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The Rangers have designated righty Shane Carle for assignment, per a club announcement. His 40-man spot will go to fellow right-hander Luke Farrell, who was activated from the 60-day injured list.

Farrell is also heading onto the active roster for the Texas organization. He’ll take the place of southpaw Locke St. John, who was optioned down.

Carle was picked up from the Braves in late July after being designated by the Atlanta club. He has not appeared in the majors since. Though he turned in excellent results in 2018, the performance was driven by home run (0.29 per nine) and BABIP (.258) suppression that never seemed terribly likely to continue.

This year, Carle struggled mightily in six outings for the Braves before he was sent packing. He hasn’t been much better this year at Triple-A, where he carries a 5.62 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 over forty total innings.

Rangers Acquire Shane Carle, Designate Kyle Dowdy

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The Rangers have acquired right-hander Shane Carle from the Braves for cash considerations, per an announcement from John Blake, Texas’ executive vice president of communications.  Carle has been optioned to Triple-A Nashville.  To make room for Carle, the Rangers activated righty Kyle Dowdy from the 10-day IL and designated him for assignment.

Carle was DFA’ed by the Braves yesterday after posting a 9.64 ERA over just 9 1/3 innings of work this season.  Carle emerged as a workhorse with a 63-inning performance out of Atlanta’s bullpen in 2018, though his performance began to fade even down the stretch last year, despite an overall 2.86 ERA.  While strikeouts have never been a huge aspect of Carle’s game, he has missed more bats than usual at Triple-A Gwinnett this season, with an 8.4 K/9 rate over 33 1/3 frames.  Those extra K’s haven’t helped Carle avoid a 5.13 ERA for Gwinnett, however.

A change of scenery could be just what Carle needs, as he does boast some very good velocity (94.7 mph average fastball over his 76 1/3 IP in the big leagues) and a 4.14 ERA over 562 2/3 innings in the minors.  He’s a fairly low-cost acquisition for Texas, and an arm that could provide more immediate MLB upside than Dowdy.

Originally a member of the Indians’ farm system, Dowdy was selected by the Mets in the Rule 5 Draft and then claimed off waivers by the Rangers during Spring Training.  Dowdy had a 7.25 ERA over his first 22 1/3 innings in the majors before going on the injured list in early June with an elbow impingement.  If Dowdy clears DFA waivers, the Rangers will have to offer him back to Cleveland.

Braves Designate Shane Carle For Assignment

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The Braves announced Wednesday that they’ve designated right-hander Shane Carle for assignment in order to open a 40-man roster spot for righty Jeremy Walker, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Gwinnett. Right-hander Wes Parsons was optioned to Gwinnett to clear a spot on the 25-man roster.

Carle, 28 next month, is only months season removed from a 2018 season that saw him finish the year with a 2.86 ERA in 63 innings of work, although he looked quite unlikely to repeat that production moving forward. Carle averaged just 6.1 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 last season, surviving in large part due to a deflated .258 average on balls in play and excellent fortune in terms of home runs allowed (0.29 HR/9, 4.2% HR/FB).

Carle’s end-of-season numbers were buoyed by a particularly hot start to the season; however, after posting a 0.69 ERA in his first 26 innings, the righty came down to Earth with a 4.38 ERA and an unpalatable 24-to-21 K/BB ratio in his final 37 innings of work.

This season has been a particularly ugly one for Carle. In 9 1/3 big league innings he’s allowed 10 runs, walked nine batters and hit three more while striking out just six. His Triple-A results haven’t been much more encouraging, as he’s limped to a 5.13 ERA with 8.4 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 46 percent ground-ball rate. To Carle’s credit, he’s had the BABIP pendulum swing the other direction against him with Gwinnett, as he’s seen hitters bat .356 on balls put into play against him. He’s still limiting homers (0.54 HR/9) in amid talk of juiced balls in one of the most hitter-friendly seasons the International League has ever seen.

Carle has an option remaining beyond the 2019 season, so a club in need of some bullpen help could certainly take a look at him as middle relief depth. The Braves will spend the next week trying to trade him but could also try to pass him throughout outright waivers (although last season’s success and the remaining option make him a decent bet to be claimed).

As for Walker, 24, he carved up Double-A opponents this season before a brief 11-inning stopover in Gwinnett. The 2016 fifth-round pick is now slated to make his MLB debut on the heels of 69 2/3 innings of 2.84 ERA ball and a 71-to-8 K/BB ratio between Double-A and Triple-A.

East Notes: G. Sanchez, Pedroia, Mets, Alonso, Braves

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Catcher Gary Sanchez may be in line to rejoin the Yankees on Sept. 3, when they start what could be a crucial series in Oakland, per George A. King III of the New York Post. Sanchez, out since July 24 with a groin injury, began a rehab assignment at the rookie level Saturday and will eventually progress to Triple-A before returning to the majors. This has been a surprisingly rough year for Sanchez, a star from 2016-17 who has endured two DL stints and slashed a disappointing .188/.283/.416 in 279 plate appearances. Nevertheless, Sanchez’s return will be a welcome one for New York, which has seen backup catcher Austin Romine plummet to earth offensively after a terrific first half of the season.

Here’s more from the East Coast:

  • Left knee problems have limited Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia to 13 PAs this season and shelved him since May 31, though there is optimism he’ll return in 2018, according to manager Alex Cora (via Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald). “We don’t have anything set as far as timetables, but we’re feeling good with the progress,” Cora said of Pedroia, adding that the 35-year-old will “contribute here in the dugout” even if he’s unable to play again this season. The Pedroia-less Red Sox haven’t gotten much production from any of their second base options this year, evidenced in part by their minus-0.2 fWAR at the position, though the team has still managed easily the majors’ best record (90-40).
  • The Mets may promote one of their top prospects, first baseman Peter Alonso, when rosters expand next month, manager Mickey Callaway told Brian Heyman of MLB.com and other reporters on Saturday. The 23-year-old Alonso, whom Baseball America, MLB.com and FanGraphs regard as a top-75 prospect, has slashed .243/.345/.545 with 17 home runs in the hitter-friendly environs of Triple-A Las Vegas this season. In the process, Alonso has overtaken the struggling Dominic Smith as the Mets’ best first base prospect. Smith earned his first promotion last August, when multiple outlets viewed him as a top-50 prospect, but his stock has plunged since then. The Mets, despite being well out of contention, demoted him to Las Vegas on Friday in order to give veteran outfielder Jay Bruce an extended look at first.
  • The NL East-leading Braves expect to get closer Arodys Vizcaino and fellow relievers Shane Carle, Brandon McCarthy and Peter Moylan back by mid-September, perhaps “much sooner” in some cases, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. The two most effective members of that group this season have been Vizcaino and Carle, though both have battled shoulder issues. McCarthy has been on the shelf since June 24 because of knee troubles, meanwhile, and he’ll be pitching the final innings of his career when he does come back. The 34-year-old announced earlier this month that he’s going to retire at season’s end.

DL Placements: Fried, Carle, Albers

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A trio of pitchers have hit the disabled list this afternoon… here are the details.

  • The Braves have placed Max Fried on the DL with a left groin strain, the club announced. It’s a notable loss for a pennant-chasing Atlanta club, as Fried’s been excellent in four starts (nine total appearances) so far this season. Despite walking a whopping 16 batters in just 26 2/3 innings, Fried’s managed to post a tidy 3.38 ERA thanks in part to 34 strikeouts and a 50.8% ground ball rate. He’s benefitted from an 80.5% strand rate, but his whopping 23.1% HR/FB rate suggests a bit of bad luck in that department. Fried’s injury suggest that Atlanta will likely return to a traditional five-man rotation for the time being, utilizing Julio Teheran, Mike Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb, Anibal Sanchez and the newly-acquired Kevin Gausman.
  • Simultaneously, the Braves have lost a valuable righty reliever to the DL in the form of Shane Carle (shoulder inflammation). Carle’s been fantastic out of the bullpen this season, posting a 2.53 ERA across 53 1/3 innings. The righty’s been used for four or more outs a whopping 14 times in 2018, so the club will surely miss his ability to eat late innings for the time being. In the absence of Fried and Carle, the Braves have recalled lefty Adam McCreery and righty Wes Parsons from Triple-A Gwinett.
  • The Brewers have unsurprisingly added righty reliever Matt Albers to their disabled list, owing to a left hamstring issue. It’s been clear that something isn’t right with the 35-year-old veteran, as he’s allowed a cataclysmic 18 earned runs across his past eight appearances spanning 5 1/3 innings dating back to the start of June. In the season’s first two months, though, Albers had allowed just three earned runs across 25 innings; the club will hope to get him right in time for him to make an impact out of their ’pen down the stretch. Recently-acquired right-hander Jordan Lyles will take Albers’ place on the active roster for the time being.

Braves Acquire Shane Carle

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The Braves announced that they’ve acquired right-hander Shane Carle from the Pirates in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Pittsburgh had designated the 26-year-old Carle for assignment over the weekend in order to clear space on the roster for the players acquired from Houston in the Gerrit Cole trade.

Carle made his Major League debut with the Rockies in 2017, tossing four innings and surrendering three runs on six hits and no walks with four strikeouts. It’s not a lengthy sample, to be sure, but Carle’s fastball averaged a healthy 93.6 mph in that short time. The 2013 10th-round pick (by the Pirates) spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A in Colorado, where he struggled to a 5.37 ERA in a hitter-friendly setting. Carle averaged 7.3 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 with a 43.9 percent ground-ball rate in Albuquerque — his second go-around at that level.

Though the Pirates were the team to initially draft Carle, this is the second time they’ll trade him away to another organization. Pittsburgh traded him to Colorado in exchange for righty Rob Scahill about 18 months after he was drafted, only to pluck him back off waivers earlier this winter when the Rockies cut him loose. Carle has a pair of minor league options remaining, so the Braves can send him to Triple-A this spring without needing to expose him to waivers. Atlanta already had an open spot on its 40-man roster, so no corresponding move was necessary in order to accommodate Carle. The Braves’ 40-man roster is now at capacity.

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