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Taylor Jones

Angels Sign Taylor Jones To Minor League Deal

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The Angels have signed first baseman/outfielder Taylor Jones to a minor league contract, according to Jones’ official MLB.com profile page.  Jones entered into minor league free agency after turning down an outright assignment from the Giants back in November.

Jones (who turned 29 last month) has appeared in each of the last three MLB seasons, all with the Astros.  Of his 131 career plate appearances, 108 came in the 2021 campaign — Jones had only 22 PA in his 2020 debut season and then made just one plate appearance in a single big league game in 2022.  Jones was hampered by a back injury that kept him from game action until June of last season, and though he still had solid Triple-A numbers, Houston designated him for assignment in September and the Giants claimed Jones into their organization.

Jones has only a .234/.260/.395 slash line to show for his 131 PA in the Show, but his bat has been much more productive in Triple-A ball.  Jones has hit .279/.377/.485 with 49 home runs over 1257 PA at the Triple-A level, though with the caveat that Jones has likely gotten some benefit from playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

That PCL tenure will continue with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate, and Jones can provide the Halos with some depth at multiple positions.  Jones has played mostly first base over his career, but has also seen some time as a third baseman and a corner outfielder (primarily in left field).  Los Angeles is already pretty deep in right-handed bats and Shohei Ohtani’s presence pretty much rules out DH opportunities, though depending on how the Angels juggle their roster, Jones might find a niche as a right-handed complement to Jared Walsh, who is slated to be the regular first baseman.

Giants Claim Dom Nunez, Select Isan Diaz

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The Giants announced they’ve claimed catcher Dom Nuñez off waivers from the Rockies. San Francisco also selected infielder Isan Díaz onto their 40-man roster. The Giants announced that infielders Ford Proctor and Taylor Jones, outfielders Bryce Johnson and Austin Dean, and right-hander Zack Littell all went unclaimed on waivers.

Nuñez changes organizations for the first time in his career. The left-handed hitting backstop entered pro ball as a sixth-round draftee of Colorado back in 2013. Nuñez made his MLB debut in 2019 and has appeared in three of the last four seasons, mostly as a depth player. He has appeared in 111 big league games, tallying 347 plate appearances of .180/.280/.373 hitting. Nuñez has walked in an excellent 12.4% of his plate appearances but struck out at an untenable 34% rate in the majors.

The 27-year-old has one minor league option year remaining. If he holds his spot on the Giants 40-man roster all winter, they can freely bounce him between San Francisco and Triple-A Sacramento next season. An Elk Grove native, Nuñez has a .240/.336/.400 line in parts of eight minor league seasons. He joins Joey Bart and Austin Wynns as catchers on the 40-man roster.

Díaz is a former top prospect who went to the Marlins in the Christian Yelich trade. He hit only .185/.275/.287 over 500 trips to the plate from 2019-21. Miami outrighted the switch-hitting second baseman off the 40-man roster in March, and he cleared waivers at the time. The Giants acquired him for cash not long after and assigned him to Sacramento for the 2022 campaign.

The 26-year-old connected on 23 longballs in 83 Triple-A games this year. He posted an excellent .275/.377/.574 line with a 13% walk rate to put himself back on the radar. San Francisco didn’t call up Díaz at any point during the season, but they’ll devote him a 40-man roster spot for now to keep him from hitting minor league free agency. He still has a minor league option remaining, so he can bounce between San Francisco and Sacramento if he holds the 40-man spot over the winter.

San Francisco acquired Proctor from the Rays in August. He made his big league debut late in the season, appearing in seven games. Jones came over from the Astros on waivers in September, while Dean was claimed last offseason. Johnson is a former sixth-rounder who made his MLB debut in September, getting into 11 games.

Littell has the most experience of the group of outrighted players. The right-hander has pitched in parts of five big league seasons with the Twins and Giants. Littell was a high-leverage arm in 2021, pitching to a 2.92 ERA across 61 2/3 frames. He only managed a 5.08 ERA through 44 1/3 innings this year. Rather than tender him an arbitration contract in the $900K range, San Francisco ran him through waivers.

Proctor and Johnson will remain in the organization and try to play their way onto the 40-man roster. Littell, Dean and Jones will have the ability to qualify for minor league free agency.

Giants Claim Taylor Jones, Designate Jose Rojas

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The Giants have claimed first baseman/corner outfielder Taylor Jones off waivers from the Astros and optioned him to Triple-A Sacramento. Utilityman Jose Rojas has been designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Houston had designated Jones for assignment earlier this week.

Jones changes organizations for the first time in his career. A 19th-round pick of the Astros in 2016, he’s spent the past six-plus years in the Houston system. The Gonzaga product has typically played well in the minor leagues, posting particularly strong numbers in the upper levels. Through parts of three seasons in Triple-A, Jones is a .279/.377/.487 hitter. That includes a quality .263/.370/.456 showing through 322 plate appearances this year. Jones has connected on 12 home runs and drawn walks at a quality 10.9% clip while striking out at a slightly higher than average rate (24.2%).

Despite the solid work in the minors, the 28-year-old hasn’t gotten much of a look in the big leagues. He’s appeared at the highest level in each of the past three years, but he’s picked up a cumulative 131 plate appearances in sporadic playing time. Jones hasn’t played well in that limited look, managing only a .234/.260/.395 line with a trio of longballs and an alarming 27.5% strikeout percentage.

The Giants are as active as any team at scouring the waiver wire, and they’ll take a shot on Jones’ upper minors productivity. He’s in his last minor league option year, meaning San Francisco can keep him in Triple-A for the final few weeks of the season. He’ll be out of options in 2023, though. If he holds his spot on the 40-man roster all winter, he’ll have to break camp on the MLB club or again be designated for assignment.

Rojas has been part of the Giants waiver wire churn. San Francisco snagged him from the Angels less than two weeks ago, and he’s spent his limited time in the organization with Sacramento. He’s appeared in seven games on optional assignment there and now loses his spot on the 40-man without having suited up in a big league contest.

A left-handed hitter, Rojas has appeared in the bigs with the Halos in each of the past two seasons. He’s not made much of an impact against MLB pitching, carrying a .188/.245/.339 slash with six homers through 241 trips to the plate. Like Jones, Rojas has been a very good hitter at the Triple-A level. Through parts of four seasons there, he sports a .277/.343/.525 line, including a .274/.346/.569 mark this season. The 29-year-old also offers a fair bit of defensive flexibility, suiting up at each of first, second and third base and in the corner outfield.

For the second time this month, Rojas will find himself on the waiver wire. He has an additional option remaining beyond this season and won’t reach arbitration for multiple years, so it’s possible another team will add him as an upper-level depth player. If he goes unclaimed, Rojas would have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Astros Designate Taylor Jones For Assignment

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The Astros have made a series of roster moves in advance of tonight’s contest with the Tigers, tweets Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Aledmys Díaz and Blake Taylor have each been reinstated from the injured list, with Taylor and J.J. Matijevic each optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land. Taylor returns from the 60-day IL and again occupies a spot on the 40-man roster. To free the 40-man vacancy, Houston designated Taylor Jones for assignment.

Díaz missed a bit less than a month with a left groin issue. That interrupted what has been a solid season for the utilityman, who carries a .252/.303/.417 line over 274 trips. Díaz has connected on ten homers and only struck out in 16.8% of his plate appearances, displaying a solid blend of contact skills and power off the bench. He’s been a roughly league average hitter for most of his four years in Houston while offering some cover all around the infield and in the corner outfield.

His return adds to the club’s infield depth and perhaps made it easier to take Jones off the roster. Jones has played all four corner spots (primarily the infield) in the minor leagues. The former 19th-round pick has appeared at the big league level in each of the past three seasons, although he’s only taken a single plate appearance this year. Over 131 career plate appearances, he carries a .234/.260/.395 line with a trio of longballs.

That’s obviously not great offensive output, but Jones has a solid track record in the minors. The 6’7″ righty has hit .279/.377/.487 in parts of four seasons at Triple-A. That includes a useful .263/.370/.456 mark across 322 plate appearances with Sugar Land this season, with the Gonzaga product demonstrating a decent combination of plate discipline and power. Those numbers are also a bit deflated by some struggles early on while Jones was making his return from a back injury that landed him on the IL to start the season. He’s been hitting very well for the Space Cowboys going back to the start of August.

Nevertheless, the Astros will have to place him on waivers in the next few days. The 28-year-old is in his final minor league option year, so any team that claims him could stash him in Triple-A for the rest of this season but would have to carry him on next year’s Opening Day roster or again make him available to other teams.

As for Taylor, he’s been out since early June with left elbow discomfort. The southpaw has spent the past month on a rehab assignment, using up the allotted 30-day window for injured pitchers to build back into game shape. Houston will keep him in the minors on optional assignment but had to bring him back off the 60-day IL now that he’s healthy. The 27-year-old worked to a solid 3.94 ERA through 16 innings before the injury, but a 12% strikeout rate paired with a 13.3% walk percentage was rather alarming.

Astros Place Josh James On 60-Day Injured List

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The Astros have reinstated first baseman/corner outfielder Taylor Jones from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Sugar Land, per Mark Berman of Fox 26 (via Twitter). To make room on the 40-man roster, the club recalled reliever Josh James and placed him on the major league 60-day injured list.

Jones has yet to play in the majors this season, as he began the year on the IL with a lower back injury. That kept him out for a few months, but he began a minor league rehab assignment on June 3. Position players are allotted up to 20 days on a rehab stint, so the time came for the Astros to reinstate him. He’s struggled over 14 rehab games with Sugar Land, however, and the club will keep him with the Space Cowboys on optional assignment.

The 28-year-old Jones saw some big league action in Houston during both the 2020-21 seasons. He’s tallied 130 plate appearances at the highest level, compiling a .236/.262/.398 line with a trio of home runs. The Gonzaga product has a more impressive .279/.373/.487 mark across parts of four Triple-A seasons. Assuming he spends 20+ days on optional assignment this season, he’ll exhaust his final option year.

James is dealing with a right lat strain. He hasn’t pitched in eight days and will now be ruled out for at least another two months. The right-hander broke into the big leagues late in the 2018 season, impressing with a 2.35 ERA in 23 innings while averaging over 97 MPH on his fastball. He struck out 37.6% of opponents over a career-high 61 1/3 frames the following year, but he paired that swing-and-miss stuff with home run troubles and wobbly control en route to a 4.70 ERA.

Issues with his left hip cost James much of the 2020-21 seasons, and he struggled during his limited looks on the mound. He’s spent the entire 2022 campaign with Sugar Land, posting a 7.59 ERA through 21 1/3 innings. His strikeout rate has plummeted to 20.6% in the minors, while he’s walked almost 16% of opponents. He won’t be back until mid-August at the earliest, and it’s possible his time in the organization could be nearing its end.

James is making $800K this season after avoiding arbitration over the winter. While he’ll accrue service time during his IL stint, he’s already spent enough time in the minors he won’t eclipse four-plus service years this season. Theoretically, he’s controllable through 2025, although he’ll probably be a non-tender candidate next offseason considering his minor league performance and renewed injury concerns.

Astros Place Jose Altuve On Injured List, Select J.J. Matijevic

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The Astros announced today that Jose Altuve has been placed on the injured list with a left hamstring strain. J.J. Matijevic had his contract selected to take Altuve’s place on the active roster. To make space on the 40-man, Taylor Jones was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day IL.

Altuve had been removed from Monday’s game with the hamstring issue and then sat out yesterday’s game. Although it appeared that Altuve might just miss a few games, it now appears the club will give him a stint on the IL to get healed up. He’s off to a slow start this year, hitting just .167/.268/.250 in his first 41 plate appearances.

Matijevic, 26, will make his MLB debut as soon as he gets into a game. Selected by the Astros 75th overall in the 2017 draft, Matijevic was recently ranked the #39 prospect in the organization by Baseball America. Their report praised the power in his bat but noted that he needed to improve his first base defense. He’s off to a torrid start at the plate this year, hitting four home runs in his first 11 games and slashing .310/.420/.714. While primarily a first baseman, he’s also seen significant time in left field.

Jones was placed on the 10-day IL a couple of weeks ago with a lower back injury, though it now appears it’s serious enough to keep him on the shelf until at least June.

Astros Select Ronel Blanco, Designate Tyler Ivey For Assignment

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The Astros set their Opening Day roster Thursday, announcing that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Ronel Blanco and designated righty Tyler Ivey for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Houston also placed Lance McCullers Jr. (forearm strain), Jake Meyers (recovering from shoulder surgery) and Taylor Jones (lower back injury) on the 10-day injured list.

Once he appears in a game, Blanco will make his MLB debut at the age of 28.  He spent all of last year at Triple-A, punching out 31.7% of hitters while walking 8.9% with a 40.4% groundball rate.  According to Chandler Rome of Baseball America, Blanco would have been a “virtual lock” to be selected in the Rule 5 draft, had that event not been canceled.  Rome notes that Blanco, who was signed out of the Dominican Republic six years ago for $5,000, surprisingly beat out several pitchers with MLB experience to make the Astros’ opening day bullpen.  Houston’s 10-man crew also includes Ryan Pressly, Ryne Stanek, Hector Neris, Phil Maton, Blake Taylor, Pedro Baez, Rafael Montero, Bryan Abreu, and Cristian Javier.

Ivey, 26 next month, made his MLB debut with the Astros last May in a spot start against the Rangers.  A few weeks afterward, his season ended due to a nerve issue in his elbow.  At that time, Ivey admitted in an illuminating story by Rome for the Houston Chronicle that he’d been pitching through pain since 2019, concealing it from the team to maintain his shot at reaching the Majors.  The injury turned out to be thoracic outlet syndrome, which the righty dealt with via rehab rather than surgery.

The Astros had optioned Ivey to Triple-A on March 24th.  Baseball America assigned Ivey a 50 grade as a prospect, explaining that he’s “a potential middle-to-back-of-the-rotation starter candidate if he can stay healthy.”  Having ranked as the Astros’ seventh-best prospect, it seems likely Ivey will be claimed off waivers by another organization.

Astros Designate Robel Garcia For Assignment

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The Astros are designating infielder Robel García for assignment, relays Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Reliever Rafael Montero was also transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list. The moves create a pair of vacancies on the 40-man roster needed to reinstate Taylor Jones and Andre Scrubb from the injured list (Jones from the COVID-19 IL, Scrubb from the 60-day version). Both Jones and Scrubb were optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land.

García has had one of the crazier career arcs of any player over the past few seasons. He spent a few years at the lowest levels of the Indians system but was released having topped out in Low-A. The Cubs spotted García playing professional ball in Italy a few years later and signed him to a minor league deal going into the 2019 season.

Assigned to Double-A, García mashed over the season’s first month before being bumped up to the minors’ top level. He popped 21 home runs in just 296 Triple-A plate appearances to earn his first big league call that July. The switch-hitting infielder hit another five homers in 80 trips to the plate at the big league level, but he also struck out 35 times.

Chicago designated García for assignment last July, and he spent the campaign at the Reds’ alternate training site after Cincinnati claimed him off waivers. He briefly landed with the Mets and Angels via waiver claim over the offseason and stuck with Houston after the Astros claimed him in February. He’s taken 117 plate appearances at the major league level this season, struggling to a .151/.216/.208 line with a huge 35.9% strikeout rate. The utilityman has had similar swing-and-miss issues in Triple-A, hitting .189/.321/.422 in 109 trips to the plate.

The Astros will now place García on outright or release waivers. His combination of power and ability to cover any position on the dirt has attracted the interest of a few teams around the league, although his continued strikeout problems have kept him from producing much to date at the big league level. García still has a minor league option year remaining after this season, so it’s possible a team could claim him and keep him in the system as high minors infield depth.

Houston acquired Montero alongside Kendall Graveman as part of a deadline deal with the Mariners. Montero had underperformed in Seattle and was included in the deal largely to offset salary. He performed well over his first four appearances with the Astros, tossing six innings of one-run ball. Unfortunately, right shoulder discomfort landed him on the IL just a couple weeks after the trade.

Today’s transfer rules Montero out for sixty days from August 10, the date of his initial IL placement. It’s theoretically possible he could make it back for a postseason run, but it seems more likely he won’t return this season. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the fourth and final time of his career this offseason. If tendered a contract, he’d be in line for a slight raise on this season’s $2.25MM salary.

Scrubb returns for the first time since mid-July, when he landed on the IL with a shoulder strain. The 26-year-old has worked 19 2/3 frames of 5.03 ERA ball, striking out a decent 24.4% of batters faced but issuing walks at an alarming 16.3% clip. Jones, meanwhile, is back after missing a couple weeks upon testing positive for the coronavirus. He’s hitting .245/.269/.402 across 108 plate appearances.

Astros Place Zack Greinke On COVID-19 Injured List

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The Astros are placing starter Zack Greinke and corner infielder Taylor Jones on the COVID-19 injured list, Mark Berman of Fox 26 was among those to pass along. Righty Josh James and infielder Robel García have been recalled in corresponding moves.

It isn’t yet clear whether either of Greinke or Jones has actually tested positive for the virus. Players can land on the COVID list for feeling viral symptoms or for exposure. However, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle) that Greinke won’t make his next scheduled start. Greinke last pitched on Sunday, when he was tagged for six runs in four innings against the Rangers. That brought his season line to a 3.66 ERA/4.55 SIERA across 159 2/3 innings.

That rotation spot could be filled by José Urquidy. The righty has been on a minor league rehab assignment for around two weeks. Urquidy, who has a 3.38 ERA in 77 1/3 innings, hasn’t pitched since June 29 because of shoulder discomfort.

Astros Place Yordan Alvarez On 45-Day Injured List

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August 23: Alvarez was transferred to the 45-day injured list today, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Right-hander Chase DeJong had his contract selected for the 40-man roster, while Humberto Castellanos was optioned.

August 18: The Astros announced that DH Yordan Alvarez has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to August 16) due to right knee discomfort.  Infielder Taylor Jones has been called up from Houston’s alternate training site to take Alvarez’s roster spot.

Alvarez has appeared in only two games for the Astros this season, as he missed all of Summer Camp for undisclosed reasons and thus needed a few weeks to ramp up before joining the active roster.  Even once playing and even while homering and singling over his nine plate appearances, Alvarez was hampered by his knees, as he was a late scratch from Sunday’s lineup.  An MRI was negative, as Alvarez’s issues may simply be chronic.

“I asked [Alvarez] when did he start having these problems, and he said back in Double-A,” manager Dusty Baker told MLB.com’s Alyson Footer and other reporters yesterday.  “Most of the time when you have knee problems, they don’t subside very quickly. And when they do, they have a history of coming back.”

The Astros were only planning to use Alvarez only as a DH this season, and it seems possible that the 23-year-old might already be ticketed for DH-only duty at this early stage in his career if his knee problems prevent him from taking the field at first base or in left field.  That certainly puts a limitation on Alvarez’s overall value, though he has already shown a lot of talent at the plate — a whopping .313/.412/.655 slash line and 27 homers over 369 PA in 2019 earned Alvarez the American League’s Rookie Of The Year award.

Pitching injuries have been the story of the Astros’ season thus far, though the club is now missing two of its top bats with Alvarez and Michael Brantley both on the IL.  Jones, a 19th-round pick in the 2016 draft, may be more suited for bench depth than a regular role, though he did hit .291/.388/.501 over 531 Triple-A plate appearances in 2019 (albeit in the most hitter-friendly Triple-A season in history).  Jones made his big league debut earlier this season, appearing in one game for the Astros.

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