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Rule 5 Draft

Tigers Assign Gregory Soto To High-A Lakeland

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Tigers’ promising lefty Gregory Soto has been reinstated from the restricted list and assigned to High-A Lakeland, per the Tigers PR Department (via Twitter). Soto was added to the 40-man roster for protection in the Rule 5 draft back in 2017, so his reinstatement means the Tigers’ 40-man roster is now full. As Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group notes (via Twitter), the Tigers can shift Matt Moore to the 60-day IL should they need to open a spot on the 40-man.

Soto, 24, is a power lefty with considerable promise, though he has yet to pitch above High-A. He was the Tigers’ organizational Pitcher of the Year in 2017 after going 12-2 with a 2.25 ERA between Single-A and Lakeland. Last season, Soto struggled to find the strike zone with consistency. He walked 5.56 batters per nine innings en route to an 8-8 season with a 4.45 ERA before being suspended for the first 20 games of 2019.

The reason for the suspension was left unspecified at the time, though the listed infraction denotes “conduct that is materially detrimental or materially prejudicial to the best interests of Baseball,” in short, though as Woodbery pointed out, this particular case was not prompted by an arrest, domestic violence, drugs or gambling.

Upon his return, the hope would be for Soto to make significant strides towards reaching his presumptive ceiling and one day make the big league rotation, though it’s hard to overlook the fact that his profile mirrors those of many eventual relievers. For now, the Tigers are in a better position than some organizations might be to use a 40-man roster spot on a 24-year-old in High-A. Soto was listed as the Tigers’ 26th ranked prospect at the start of this season by both MLB.com and Fangraphs.

AL West Notes: Bregman, Mariners, Chirinos

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There’s no defined timetable for when Alex Bregman will return to the Astros’ lineup, though the star third baseman tells Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link) that an MRI of his ailing right hamstring didn’t reveal anything similar to the 2016 issue that cost him a few weeks of the season. For the time being, Bregman is simply considered day to day, and there’s yet to be any indication that a trip to the injured list is a particular concern for him or the team.

Here’s more from the division…

  • The Mariners’ analytics department identified the revamped changeup of right-hander Brandon Brennan as a pitch worth taking a chance on in the Rule 5 Draft, writes Greg Johns of MLB.com, and to this point the team’s investment has paid off nicely. Brennan has been unscored upon in 8 2/3 innings with a 7-to-2 K/BB ratio and a terrific 63.2 percent ground-ball rate. Brennan, who’ll turn 28 this summer, is older than most Rule 5 selections and spoke all the more appreciatively of the opportunity in his interview with Johns. Not only does he relish any big league opportunity as a 27-year-old rookie, but Brennan received the surreal experience of making his MLB debut in the same half-inning that Ichiro Suzuki was pulled from his final game to an uproarious standing ovation in his native Japan. The Mariners will have to carry Brennan all season or else expose him to waivers and, if he clears, offer him back to the White Sox for $50K. So far, he’s given Seattle no reason to do so.
  • Jake Kaplan of The Athletic takes a look at the changes Robinson Chirinos has made to his game since signing with the Astros (subscription required). Chirinos details the drills he worked on throughout Spring Training to change his setup behind the plate as well as the slight alteration to his throwing motion — made at the behest of pitching coach Brent Strom after noticing a mechanical flaw. The season is still extraordinarily young, but Chirinos has drawn slightly positive marks in pitch framing, per both Fangraphs and Baseball Prospectus, after ranking as one of the game’s worst in that regard for much of his career. He’s also halted two of the seven stolen-base attempts against him thus far after catching just 10 percent of thieves in 2018. Only time will tell if the changes yield quantifiable improvements, but that’ll be an interesting thread for both Astros and Rangers fans to follow over the course of the season.

Royals Return Chris Ellis To Cardinals

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The Royals announced Tuesday that Rule 5 pick Chris Ellis has cleared waivers and returned to the Cardinals organization. The right-hander will head to a minor league affiliate (without occupying a spot on the 40-man roster), though the Cardinals’ announcement of the move did not specify the affiliate to which Ellis is headed.

Ellis, 26, was a roster casualty when the Royals selected the contract of Homer Bailey. Though Kansas City manager Ned Yost stated that the organization tried to get as long a look as possible at Ellis, he was designated for assignment after just one scoreless outing to begin the season. Ellis was hit hard during Spring Training, though, allowing 10 runs on 16 hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts through 10 Cactus League frames.

Originally a third-round pick of the Angels back in 2014, Ellis went to the Braves alongside Sean Newcomb in the Andrelton Simmons blockbuster before making his way to the Cardinals in the trade that sent Jaime Garcia to Atlanta. He was torched in his first two brief exposures to the Triple-A level but had a solid season there in 2018 when he pitched to a 3.76 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in 79 innings of work. He’ll likely head back to Triple-A Memphis to continue working toward a spot with the Cards at the MLB level.

Rangers Claim Kyle Dowdy From Mets

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The Rangers announced that they’ve claimed right-hander Kyle Dowdy off waivers from the Mets, bringing their 40-man roster count to a total of 38 players. Dowdy was New York’s selection in the 2018 Rule 5 Draft, meaning he’ll need to stick on Texas’ big league roster or else be exposed to waivers for a second time. If he clears, he’d need to be offered back to the organization from which he was originally selected: the Indians.

Dowdy, 26, posted unsightly results in a combined 124 innings between Double-A and Triple-A last year: a 5.15 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9. However, as Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser examined in depth earlier this spring, Dowdy caught the attention of scouts last season after an enormous velocity jump. Once regarded as a “pitchability” right-hander, with a fastball in the upper 80s and low 90s, Dowdy began working out on a weighted-ball program and altered his arm angle during the 2017-18 offseason. A fastball that previously topped out at 94 mph began sitting in the 94-96 range and even scraped 99 mph on radar guns.

The results weren’t there last season in the minors, and it was a similar tale for Dowdy this spring (seven runs on 15 hits and seven walks with seven strikeouts through 11 1/3 innings), but the rebuilding Rangers will at least take a look at the sudden hard-thrower in hopes of refining his newfound velocity.

Diamondbacks Return Rule 5 Pick Nick Green To Yankees

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The Diamondbacks will return Rule 5 selection Nick Green to the Yankees, per a Yankees team announcement (Twitter link). After clearing waivers, Green, who turns 24 tomorrow, will rejoin his former club, having fallen short of the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day roster.

Green’s problems in spring training stemmed from a lack of control, as he walked 11 batters in 13 1/3 innings. Green was chosen by the D-Backs in the Rule 5 Draft after a successful season at High-A, in which he posted a 3.28 ERA in 115 1/3 innings. Green will now return to the Yankees organization, though the team is not required to place him on its 40-man roster.

Rangers Return Rule 5 Pick Jordan Romano To Blue Jays

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The Rangers have returned Rule 5 selection Jordan Romano to the Blue Jays after the right-hander cleared waivers, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Having been placed on waivers Thursday, the 25-year-old Romano was offered to his previous club today and will rejoin the Blue Jays after failing to make the Rangers’ Opening Day roster.

Despite a respectable 3.86 spring training ERA, Romano has posted an unimpressive 6:5 K:BB ratio in 9 1/3 spring innings with the Rangers. Romano had been selected in December’s Rule 5 Draft after a solid 2018 season at the Double-A level, in which he posted a 4.13 ERA while striking out 125 batters in 137 1/3 innings. Upon returning to the Blue Jays, Romano will not be required to be placed on the 40-man roster.

Giants Return Rule 5 Pick Drew Ferguson To Astros

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The Giants have returned Rule 5 pick Drew Ferguson to the Astros after the outfielder cleared waivers, Maria Guardado of MLB.com tweets. Ferguson was designated for assignment yesterday when the Giants acquired another pick in this past year’s Rule 5 Draft, Connor Joe, from the Reds.

Ferguson, 26, struggled in big league camp with San Francisco this spring, hitting just .111/.294/.111 over the life of 34 plate appearances. He enjoyed a strong, albeit somewhat shortened season in Triple-A this past year prior to being taken in the Rule 5, hitting .305/.436/.429 with 46 walks against just 61 strikeouts in 292 plate appearances. He’ll return to the Astros now and won’t be required to be placed on the 40-man roster.

Giants Acquire Connor Joe, Designate Drew Ferguson

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The Giants have acquired utilityman Connor Joe from the Reds, per a club announcement. Righty Jordan Johnson and cash considerations are headed to Cincinnati in return. To open a 40-man roster spot, the Giants designated outfielder Drew Ferguson for assignment.

Both Joe and Ferguson were selected in last December’s Rule 5 draft. The former went to the Reds from the Dodgers, while the latter came from the Astros organization. Ferguson would be offered back to Houston if he clears waivers, but every other team in baseball will have a chance to step into his Rule 5 rights.

With a deal coming together at this late stage of camp, it seems likely that Joe has the inside track on a job in San Francisco — perhaps bumping out veteran Pablo Sandoval. New president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi is amply familiar with the former Dodger farmhand, having just come over from the L.A. organization. If Joe can make and stay on the MLB roster all year, his rights would move permanently.

Joe, 26, is a former first-round pick who had largely struggled until a breakout 2018 season. In 435 plate appearances in the upper minors, he turned in a robust .299/.408/.527 slash with a career-high 17 home runs and sixty walks to go with 88 strikeouts.

Ferguson is also 26 years of age. The former 19th-rounder put himself on the map with some strong offensive showings, including a .305/.436/.429 run in 292 Triple-A plate appearances last year. But he has struggled since in short stints in the Arizona Fall League, Puerto Rican Winter League, and Cactus League.

On the Cincinnati end of this swap, Johnson will give the organization another upper-minors arm to work with. He earned a call-up to the highest level of the minors after 15 solid starts at Double-A last year, but struggled thereafter. In 58 frames over 11 outings at Triple-A, Johnson managed only a 4.66 ERA with 37 strikeouts against 33 walks.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/14/18

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Here are Friday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • The Yankees announced today that they’ve acquired outfielder Tyler Hill from the Tigers in exchange for cash. Detroit had selected Hill out of the Red Sox organization in the Triple-A phase of yesterday’s Rule 5 Draft. Set to turn 23 in March, Hill spent last season with Boston’s Class-A Advanced affiliate in Salem, where he hit .254/.348/.312 through 498 plate appearances. Hill has just 14 homers in 351 professional games, but he’s swiped 93 bases in that time — highlighted by a 42-steal campaign in 2017.
  • In another trade involving the minor league phase of yesterday’s Rule 5 Draft, the Pirates acquired righty Cristofer Melendez from the Padres, who had selected him out of the White Sox organization. The 21-year-old Melendez spun a terrific 1.54 ERA through 70 1/3 innings last season, though he did so as a 20-year-old pitching against vastly younger and less-experienced competition in the Dominican Summer League. He averaged 11.9 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 to go along with a 50.3 percent grounder rate.

2018 Rule 5 Draft Results

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The Rule 5 draft begins at 12 p.m ET as this year’s Winter Meetings in Las Vegas, Nevada draw to a close. Those unfamiliar with how the draft works can check out MLBTR’s full primer on the event here, but the short version is that teams with open 40-man roster spots can select players with four to five years of pro experience from other organizations if said player hasn’t been protected on the 40-man roster. Players who signed at 18 years of age or younger but have five years of experience can be selected, as can players signed at 19 or older who have four years of experience. Each selection costs $100K, but it’s not mandatory for teams to make picks. Clubs must carry chosen players on their active rosters (or the major league disabled list) throughout the entire 2016 season. Doing otherwise would expose them to waivers, and they’d then be offered back to their original club. Teams can also work out trades with the original organization to keep the selected player in the organization but send him to the minors.

The Rule 5 order is based on the reverse order of last season’s standings. You can find Baseball America’s preview of the festivities right here. Here are this year’s results:

First Round

1. Orioles — Richie Martin, INF (Athletics)

2. Royals — Sam McWilliams, RHP (Rays)

3. White Sox — Jordan Romano, RHP (Blue Jays); acquired by Rangers

4. Marlins — Riley Ferrell, RHP (Astros)

5. Tigers — Reed Garrett, RHP (Rangers)

6. Padres — full 40-man

7. Reds — Connor Joe, INF/OF (Dodgers)

8. Rangers — Chris Ellis, RHP (Cardinals); acquired by Royals

9. Giants — Travis Bergen, LHP (Blue Jays)

10. Blue Jays — Elvis Luciano, RHP (Royals)

11. Mets — Kyle Dowdy, RHP (Indians)

12. Twins — full 40-man

13. Phillies — Drew Jackson, INF (Dodgers); acquired by Orioles for international draft bonus capacity

14. Angels — pass

15. Diamondbacks — Nick Green, RHP (Yankees)

16. Nationals — pass

17. Pirates — pass

18. Cardinals — full 40-man

19. Mariners — Brandon Brennan, RHP (Rockies)

20. Braves — pass

21. Rays — full 40-man

22. Rockies — pass

23. Indians — pass

24. Dodgers — full 40-man

25. Cubs — pass

26. Brewers — pass

27. Athletics — pass

28. Yankees — full 40-man

29. Astros — pass

30. Red Sox — pass

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