Rays' Cooper Hummel: Signs minor-league deal with Tampa
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Hummel and the Rays agreed on a minor-league contract Sunday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
Hummel elected free agency after being designated for assignment by the Astros earlier this week, but he has quickly found another opportunity with Tampa Bay. The outfielder will likely report to Triple-A Durham, and it's possible that he could earn a promotion to the major-league roster later this year. Hummel has played in 37 games between the Orioles and Astros this year, producing a disappointing .170 average with three home runs, seven RBI, 10 runs scored and a stolen base over 88 at-bats.
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Cooper Hummel: Hits open market
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Hummel cleared waivers and elected free agency Friday, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
Houston dropped Hummel from the 40-man roster earlier this week, and he'll become a free agent rather than report to Triple-A Sugar Land. The outfielder has played 37 MLB games between the Orioles and Astros this season with a .571 OPS in 105 plate appearances.
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Astros' Cooper Hummel: Dropped from 40-man roster
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The Astros designated Hummel for assignment Monday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
With Houston needing to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Cristian Javier (elbow) to return from the 60-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start Monday versus Boston, Hummel ended up being the casualty. The 30-year-old had been seeing steady playing time in the corner outfield coming out of the All-Star break, but his opportunities dried up once the Astros added Jesus Sanchez, Carlos Correa and Ramon Urias ahead of the trade deadline. Over 104 plate appearances on the season with Houston, Hummel slashed .172/.301/.276 with three home runs, one stolen base, seven RBI and 10 runs.
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Astros' Cooper Hummel: Losing out on at-bats
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Hummel is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox.
Hummel started five of six games last week, but his run of playing time has come to an end after Houston acquired Carlos Correa and Jesus Sanchez at the trade deadline and activated Jeremy Pena from the injured list Friday. Hummel is batting just .154 since the All-Star break and now finds himself on the bench for the fifth time in six contests.
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Astros' Cooper Hummel: Rare offensive contribution
Rotowire
Hummel went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run Wednesday against the Nationals.
Hummel has started seven of 13 games since the All-Star break, four of which have come against lefties. He's struggled mightily at the plate since joining the Astros on June 14, with the homer marking only his third extra-base hit across 86 at-bats. Hummel has also hit .174 with a 28.2 percent strikeout rate in that span.
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Astros' Cooper Hummel: Handling part-time role
Rotowire
Hummel will start in left field and bat seventh in Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks.
Though he'll be included in the lineup Wednesday while Jose Altuve gets a breather for a day game after a night game, Hummel has faded into more of a part-time role in recent weeks. He's picking up his fourth start in nine games while the likes of Chas McCormick and Taylor Trammell have been prioritized ahead of him in the outfield.
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Astros' Cooper Hummel: Picking up fifth straight start
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Hummel will start in left field and bat seventh in Thursday's game against the Rockies, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
With all of Yordan Alvarez (hand), Pedro Leon (knee), Chas McCormick (oblique), Zach Dezenzo (hand) and Jacob Melton (ankle) stuck on the injured list, Hummel has been able to emerge as a fixture in the Houston outfield of late. He'll pick up his fifth consecutive start in left field Wednesday and his ninth start in the last 10 games overall. Since the Astros called him up from Triple-A Sugar Land on June 14, Hummel has hit .242 with two home runs, three RBI and two additional runs over 15 games.
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Astros' Cooper Hummel: Pops second homer
Rotowire
Hummel went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 1-0 win over the Phillies.
Humel accounted for the only run of the game when he slugged his second home run of the season in the eighth inning. Upon getting called up from Triple-A Sugar Land on June 14, Hummel saw scant playing time initially, but he's now picked up three starts in left field in the last four contests. Hummel has gone 3-for-9 in that span, though he's had difficulty making consistent contact and has a 43.5 percent strikeout rate across only 23 plate appearances this season.
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Astros' Cooper Hummel: Homers for first hit of season
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Hummel went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 13-3 win over the Athletics.
Hummel has found minimal playing time in the majors so far this season after bouncing between the Astros, Yankees and Orioles over the first two months of the campaign. He's back with the Astros again while they deal with a handful of outfield injuries, but he continues to work in a part-time role, as both Jose Altuve and Mauricio Dubon are also in contention for time in left field while Jacob Melton (ankle) is out. Hummel's seventh-inning homer was his first hit this season, and he's 1-for-9 with six strikeouts over four contests between Baltimore and Houston at the major-league level.
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Astros' Cooper Hummel: Officially called up
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Houston selected Hummel's contract from Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Hummel is set for his second stint with the Astros -- he went 0-for-8 with the team over six games last year -- after being signed to a minor-league contract June 7. The outfielder logged one plate appearance with the Orioles earlier this season and has played in 16 contests between the Triple-A clubs of Baltimore and Houston. To make room for Hummel on the 40-man roster, the Astros transferred pitcher Spencer Arrighetti (thumb) to the 60-day IL. The club also placed outfielder Jacob Melton on the 10-day IL, optioned utility man Shay Whitcomb to the minors and selected the contract of infielder Luis Guillorme from Triple-A.
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Astros' Cooper Hummel: Headed up to Houston
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The Astros are expected to call up Hummel from Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Houston signed Hummel to a minor-league contract last Saturday after he was DFA'd by Baltimore on June 2. The veteran outfielder logged just one plate appearance with the Orioles this season but has played well since joining Sugar Land, posting a 1.041 OPS with two home runs, two triples and seven RBI over six games. It's not yet clear what the corresponding roster move will be for Hummel's expected call-up.
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Cooper Hummel: Elects free agency
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Hummel elected free agency Thursday, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
Hummel has bounced on and off both the Yankees' and Orioles' roster this season, but he was most recently designated for assignment Monday by Baltimore. He should land with a new club and could serve as an occasional bench bat in the majors.
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Orioles' Cooper Hummel: Gets deal with Baltimore
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Hummel signed a one-year contract with the Orioles on Sunday, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.
Before opting out of his minor-league deal with the Yankees a few days earlier, Hummel had seen action in 10 games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, slashing .258/.415/.290 with no home runs and a stolen base over 41 plate appearances. The switch-hitting Hummel will immediately head to the big leagues with his new organization and could emerge as a short-side platoon player for the Orioles at either designated hitter on in a corner outfield spot.
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Cooper Hummel: Elects free agency
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Hummel elected free agency Thursday, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
Hummel cleared waivers after being removed from the Astros' 40-man roster, but because he's been outrighted before he had the ability to refuse another outright assignment, free agency was an option. The 30-year-old offers unique positional versatility in that he can play the outfield, first base and also catcher.
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Astros' Cooper Hummel: Optioned to Triple-A
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The Astros optioned Hummel to Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 in Houston reports.
Hummel was in the majors for nearly three weeks but hardly played, receiving just one start and eight plate appearances, going hitless. Grae Kessinger will assume his spot on the bench.
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Astros' Cooper Hummel: Outrighted to Triple-A
Rotowire
Hummel was outrighted to Triple-A Sugar Land by the Astros on Monday after clearing waivers.
Hummel is no longer on the 40-man roster after being designated for assignment last week, but he'll remain in the organization. The 29-year-old will operate in a utility role with Sugar Land.
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Astros' Cooper Hummel: Moves off 40-man roster
Rotowire
Houston designated Hummel for assignment Wednesday.
The move frees up a spot on the 40-man roster for right-hander Spencer Arrighetti, who is scheduled to start Wednesday's game in Kansas City. Hummel was claimed off waivers last week and now could be on the move again.
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Astros' Cooper Hummel: Claimed by Houston
Rotowire
The Astros claimed Hummel off waivers from the Giants on Thursday, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
The versatile Hummel is capable of catching and also playing the corner outfield spots. He has collected a .551 OPS over 76 games in parts of two seasons in the majors. Hummel has a minor-league option remaining, so Houston should report to Triple-A Sugar Land rather than stick around at the big-league level.
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Giants' Cooper Hummel: Acquired by Giants
Rotowire
The Giants acquired Hummel from the Mets on Tuesday in exchange for cash considerations, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.
Hummel was designated for assignment by New York on Friday, but he'll remain on a 40-man roster as he moves across the country join the Giants. Hummel slashed .262/.409/.433 across 455 plate appearances with the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate last season, and he'll likely begin 2024 with Triple-A Sacramento.
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Mariners' Cooper Hummel: Trending toward Opening Day spot
Rotowire
Hummel, who went 2-for-3 with a double and a solo home run in a Cactus League win over the Brewers on Monday, is projected to make the Opening Day roster by Daniel Kramer of MLB.com.
Kramer fleshed out his position-by-position Opening Day roster prognosis Friday, and Hummel, who can fill in at catcher and the corner outfield spots, added to this terrific spring Monday with a multi-hit effort that pushed his Cactus League average to .333 and his homer tally to four. The 28-year-old, who logged the first 201 plate appearances of his big-league career last season with the Diamondbacks after spending six-plus seasons in the minors, has been a constant presence on the basepaths all spring, and Kramer notes Hummel's defensive versatility would give the Mariners more flexibility with the workloads of the top backstop duo of Cal Raleigh and Tom Murphy.
