The St. Louis Cardinals have claimed first baseman/outfielder Alfonso Rivas off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels. The 27-year-old was designated for assignment last week after the club's signing of reliever Robert Stephenson became official. Rivas appeared in 48 big-league contests between the Padres and Pirates in 2023 and hit .229 with three home runs, one stolen base, and a .725 OPS across 123 trips to the plate. He also raked to the tune of a .332 average with nine HR, eight SB, and a 1.044 OPS across 58 games at Triple-A El Paso in the Padres organization. He is a career .243 hitter with seven HR, seven SB, and a .673 OPS in the big leagues with the Cubs, Padres, and Pirates.
The Los Angeles Angels have designated first baseman/outfielder Alfonso Rivas for assignment. The move was made after the Angels made the signing of reliever Robert Stephenson official on Wednesday. Unfortunately, it's been a busy offseason transaction-wise for Rivas as he was cut loose but the Pirates following the 2023 season before being picked up by the Guardians. He was then designated for assignment by Cleveland and scooped up by the Angels but will now be looking for his next organization. The 27-year-old hit .229 with three home runs and one stolen base across 123 plate appearances between the Padres and Pirates in 2023. He is a lifetime .243 hitter with seven HR and seven SB across 459 trips to the plate, also spending time with the Cubs in the 2021 and 2022 campaigns.
Guardians Claim Alfonso Rivas Off Waivers From Pirates
The Cleveland Guardians claimed first baseman/outfielder Alfonso Rivas off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday. Rivas started the 2023 season with the San Diego Padres before ending in Pittsburgh. In 48 combined games (40 with the Bucs), Rivas slashed .229/.303/.422 with three home runs, 10 doubles, a triple, 15 RBI, one stolen base and eight runs scored in 123 plate appearances. The 27-year-old left-handed swinger will compete for a roster spot in spring training before the 2024 season as a backup option to starting first baseman Josh Naylor. Rivas has a career .243 batting average with seven home runs, 43 RBI and seven stolen bases in 167 games over three years in the majors.
Pirates Acquire Jackson Wolf, Estuaro Suero, Alfonso Rivas
The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired left-handed pitcher Jackson Wolf, outfielder Estuaro Suero, and first baseman Alfonso Rivas from the San Diego Padres, according to Dennis Lin of The Athletic. These three prospects represent the return package for starter Rich Hill and first baseman Ji-Man Choi. Wolf amassed a 3.78 xFIP in the minors this season and even has one start in the majors. At Triple-A, he typically missed bats with 10.70 K/9 and 2.24 BB/9 rates but owned a mere 28.9 GB%. Suero is 17 years old and has just 82 pro games under his belt. He is slashing .216/.306/.345 and has committed five errors in the outfield this season. The final piece is Rivas, a first baseman who tore up Triple-A (154 wRC+) but has had trouble acclimating to big-league pitching (77 wRC+). The 26-year-old doesn't flash a lot of power but has shown a knack for working deep into counts.
The Chicago Cubs placed first baseman/outfielder Alfonso Rivas (finger) on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday. Outfielder Nick Martini was called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move. Rivas is dealing with a right middle finger injury. He'll have a chance to return during the team's penultimate series of the year if he only requires the minimum amount of days on the injured list. The 25-year-old rookie had been performing well at the plate in September. He had a .324/.405/.405 slash line over 37 at-bats this month. He was seeing semi-regular playing time while also being utilized as a pinch-hitter.
Alfonso Rivas III
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Cardinals
