The Waiver Wire

[SteveA]

22 minutes ago, oriolediehard said:

Didn't we have claim before Seattle?

Yes.  Guess we didn't want him.

[sportsfan8703]

61 appearances and only 54 IP. The sad reality is that we need pitchers that can eat multiple innings. Quantity over quality at the moment for us. Even with a 26 man roster. 

[Just Regular]

15 hours ago, SteveA said:

Claimed on waivers by Seattle.

I think Steve meant Margevicius, as Harper didn't hit the wire until last night.

It isn't quite a Disney movie, but he was a 30-year old rookie soft tosser who was drafted in 2011, never missed a year and relieved 300 minor league games last decade.  That 2019 is a baseball lifer's miracle, and there probably isn't much there there, but if bullpen guys need to learn their cliches....

 

[Philip]

I looked up the article about Margevicius. Pass. He wasn’t very good at all, but I do wish him well with the Mariners. I think Mike has a specific list of traits he wants to see in potential pickups.

i still don’t understand why he wasn’t/isn’t interested in Sadler but I’m happy to trust him.

[sportsfan8703]

4 hours ago, Philip said:

I looked up the article about Margevicius. Pass. He wasn’t very good at all, but I do wish him well with the Mariners. I think Mike has a specific list of traits he wants to see in potential pickups.

i still don’t understand why he wasn’t/isn’t interested in Sadler but I’m happy to trust him.

We seem to be content to give innings to the same pitchers that forced us to pick up Blach and Eshelman to get through a season. 

Edited January 25, 2020 by sportsfan8703

[Ven6]

Guess who's back on the Waiver Wire: Pat Valaika.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/01/diamondbacks-designate-pat-valaika-assignment-dfa.html

[Three Run Homer]

2 hours ago, Ven6 said:

Guess who's back on the Waiver Wire: Pat Valaika.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/01/diamondbacks-designate-pat-valaika-assignment-dfa.html

Let me hear your Pat Valaikas ringing out, come and keep your comrade warm.

[sportsfan8703]

Could be an Alberto-like situation from last year. Where we waived him and he got picked up and then we were able to bring him back. I would not be shocked if he’s back and we DFA Wynns or an arm for him. 

Keep in mind a few things that have happened since we DFAd Valaika... We’ve now talked with Beckham about a deal, we’ve added catcher depth, we’ve add a pitcher mini camp. All of those things could go into a decision to bring Valaika back and who to DFA for him. 

[wildcard]

27 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Could be an Alberto-like situation from last year. Where we waived him and he got picked up and then we were able to bring him back. I would not be shocked if he’s back and we DFA Wynns or an arm for him. 

Keep in mind a few things that have happened since we DFAd Valaika... We’ve now talked with Beckham about a deal, we’ve added catcher depth, we’ve add a pitcher mini camp. All of those things could go into a decision to bring Valaika back and who to DFA for him. 

Wynns is very vulnerable now that Holaday  and Davis has been signed to minor league contracts.   Its easier to take that risk of losing Wynns on waivers.  But I think that spot is being reserve for the starter Elias hopes to sign.

I don't know if Valaika is worth kicking a pitcher off the roster.    They swapped Valaika (27) for Urena (23) and Elias may be pretty comfort with that on the 40 man roster.    Beckham is about minor league depth IMO.

 

[7Mo]

Jose Siri maybe?

The Reds announced Monday that they’ve designated outfielder Jose Siri for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to fellow outfielder Nicholas Castellanos, whose previously reported four-year, $64MM contract has now been formally announced.

Siri, 24, was considered to be among Cincinnati’s best farmhands just two years ago. FanGraphs, in fact, ranked him near the back end of the game’s 100 best prospects (No. 93 overall) heading into the 2018 campaign. At that point, he was a 22-year-old who was fresh off an impressive .293/.341/.530 slash with 24 homers and 46 steals in the Class-A Midwest League.

Since that time, however, Siri has turned in a pair of disappointing seasons, logging a combined on-base percentage south of .300 in 2018-19 between Class-A Advanced, Double-A and Triple-A. This past season, Siri mustered a lackluster .237/.300/.357 showing through 517 plate appearances in the minors, and he’s struggled even more heavily in the Dominican Winter League (.196/.264/.411 in 125 plate appearances).

Siri has a minor league option remaining and is a plus runner who has been touted as a potentially plus defensive player, making him a reasonable bounceback target for a club that’s lacking outfield depth. The Reds will have a week to trade him, place him on outright waivers or release him.

[sportsfan8703]

2 hours ago, wildcard said:

Wynns is very vulnerable now that Holaday  and Davis has been signed to minor league contracts.   Its easier to take that risk of losing Wynns on waivers.  But I think that spot is being reserve for the starter Elias hopes to sign.

I don't know if Valaika is worth kicking a pitcher off the roster.    They swapped Valaika (27) for Urena (23) and Elias may be pretty comfort with that on the 40 man roster.    Beckham is about minor league depth IMO.

 

vs LHP

2B - Alberto

SS - Iglesias

3B - Ruiz, Urena, and Wilkerson, all were pretty bad vs LHP last year.  

Beckham and Valiaka aren't moves that are mutually exclusive.  Especially with Beckham having 30+ games left of his suspension.  With a 26 man roster, it would be nice to give a guy like Valaika those AB's.  It would probably come at the expense of OF depth.  Wilkerson would be the de facto 4th OF.  

Edited January 28, 2020 by sportsfan8703

[luismatos4prez]

Pat Valaika = Jack Reinheimer = Cord Phelps = Zach Vincej = AAA depth who should not be in anyone's ML Plans.

Stevie Wilkerson = Jace Peterson. His only asset is flexibility (and a devastating heater). He's a poor hitter and would not be claimed if he got DFAd this spring.

Signing another IF like Beckham, Y. Sanchez, Duffy, etc. would be nice since Urena has never approached league average hitting in 4 years of AA/AAA. He's young but isn't ready for ML at bats yet.

[sportsfan8703]

Denyi Reyes

Boston just DFA’d their #26 prospect according to mlb pipeline. Just turned 23. Pitched in AA last year. 

Team: Boston Red Sox ETA: 2020 Position: RHP Age: 23 DOB: 11/02/1996 Bats: R Throws: RHeight: 6' 4" Weight: 209 lb. Signed: July 2, 2014 - BOS 

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Curveball: 45 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 60 | Overall: 40

Boston spent more than $146 million on its 2014 international class, including a $72.5 million contract for Rusney Castillo and a record $31.5 million bonus (plus a matching amount in penalty tax) for Yoan Moncada. Signed with no fanfare for $90,000 out of the Dominican Republic that July, Reyes has pounded the strike zone and dominated everywhere he has gone since. The low Class A South Atlantic League named him its pitcher of the year in 2018, when he ranked second in the Minors in WHIP (0.91), fourth in ERA (1.97) and K/BB ratio (7.6) and fifth in walk rate (1.1 per nine innings).

Reyes derives his success from uncanny command, a knack for sequencing his pitches and deception. His fastball works from 88-92 mph with ordinary life, but plays better than its velocity because he uses his 6-foot-4 frame and high arm slot to create extension and downhill plane. His changeup is his most reliable secondary offering and his low-80s slider/cutter is more effective than his mid-70s curveball, which has shape but lacks power.

Reyes has supreme pitchability but his body is fairly maxed out, so he probably won't throw much harder. He has little margin for error but rarely made mistakes while averaging 0.9 walks per nine innings during his first four pro seasons. While it's hard to give him a ceiling higher than a No. 5 starter, he's intelligent, determined and gets the most out of his ability.

[Ven6]

1 minute ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Denyi Reyes

Boston just DFA’d their #26 prospect according to mlb pipeline. Just turned 23. Pitched in AA last year. 

Team: Boston Red Sox ETA: 2020 Position: RHP Age: 23 DOB: 11/02/1996 Bats: R Throws: RHeight: 6' 4" Weight: 209 lb. Signed: July 2, 2014 - BOS 

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Curveball: 45 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 60 | Overall: 40

Boston spent more than $146 million on its 2014 international class, including a $72.5 million contract for Rusney Castillo and a record $31.5 million bonus (plus a matching amount in penalty tax) for Yoan Moncada. Signed with no fanfare for $90,000 out of the Dominican Republic that July, Reyes has pounded the strike zone and dominated everywhere he has gone since. The low Class A South Atlantic League named him its pitcher of the year in 2018, when he ranked second in the Minors in WHIP (0.91), fourth in ERA (1.97) and K/BB ratio (7.6) and fifth in walk rate (1.1 per nine innings).

Reyes derives his success from uncanny command, a knack for sequencing his pitches and deception. His fastball works from 88-92 mph with ordinary life, but plays better than its velocity because he uses his 6-foot-4 frame and high arm slot to create extension and downhill plane. His changeup is his most reliable secondary offering and his low-80s slider/cutter is more effective than his mid-70s curveball, which has shape but lacks power.

Reyes has supreme pitchability but his body is fairly maxed out, so he probably won't throw much harder. He has little margin for error but rarely made mistakes while averaging 0.9 walks per nine innings during his first four pro seasons. While it's hard to give him a ceiling higher than a No. 5 starter, he's intelligent, determined and gets the most out of his ability.

You beat me to this one. I like the K/BB ratio throughout his career.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=reyes-002den&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-

[sportsfan8703]

3 minutes ago, Ven6 said:

You beat me to this one. I like the K/BB ratio throughout his career.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=reyes-002den&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-

He just adds to our depth of AA/AAA SP. Two options remaining. I like him over a lot of the reliever types on our 40 man.