#waivers

#waivers

The Angels have sent first baseman/outfielder Niko Kavadas outright to Triple-A Salt Lake, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. Kavadas, 26, was acquired from the Red Sox as part of the July 2024 trade which sent Luis García to Boston. The Halos added Kavadas to their 40-man roster a few weeks later.

His numbers on the season look good until you check under the hood. He has thrown 29 innings with a 2.48 earned run average. However, his 17.5% strikeout rate and 12.5% walk rate are both subpar figures. His 51.3% ground ball rate is pretty good but he has largely benefitted from a .197 batting average on balls in play and 89.5% strand rate.

Multiple reports have indicated that the Atlanta Braves have claimed right-handed pitcher Alexis Días off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Díaz, 28, was the closer for the Cincinnati Reds from 2022 to 2024 collecting 75 saves over those three seasons. An All-Star in 2023, he finished fifth in the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2022. Díaz struggled with a high walk rate during his time with the Reds, who traded him to the Dodgers in May.

That's because the Braves pulled off a bit of a shocker by claiming SS Ha-Seong Kim (김하성) from the Tampa Bay Rays off of waivers. In fact, it wasn't even widely known that Kim was on waivers to begin with and I'd imagine that it was actually a pretty quick process that once it happened and the Braves had the chance to claim him, Braves President/GM Alex Anthopoulos jumped on the opportunity and brought him in.

D-Backs catcher José Herrera went unclaimed on waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Reno, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Arizona designated him for assignment when Gabriel Moreno returned from the injured list last week. Herrera has played parts of four seasons as a light-hitting backup. He's worked behind Moreno for the past three of those. The switch-hitting Herrera has tallied 204 plate appearances this season. He has slashed .187/.285/.259 with a pair of home runs. He has hit a trio of homers among his 562 career trips to the dish.

The Orioles have claimed left-hander Josh Walker off waivers from the Phillies, according to announcements from both clubs. The O's have optioned the southpaw to Triple-A Norfolk. They already had a 40-man vacancy from outrighting outfielder Jordyn Adams a few days ago, so no corresponding move was required. The Phils designated Walker for assignment earlier this week. More to come.

The Toronto Blue Jays made some drastic moves to upgrade their pitching staff at the trade deadline by adding former CY Young winner Shane Bieber and solid relievers Louis Varland and Seranthony Domínguez. It helped expand the Blue Jays' pitching depth by pushing everyone back a rung or two. But you can never have enough pitching depth, ever, and the Miami Marlins recently placed Cal Quantrill on outright waivers. Should the Blue Jays take a flyer on one of Canada's very own?

I feel the council's policy is a money-making scheme rather than a genuine bid to crack down on illegal parking. The logic behind it does not make sense.