Palka signed a minor-league contract with the Mets on Sunday.
The 31-year-old outfielder is expected to report to Triple-A Syracuse as he begins his second stint in the Mets organization after spending the 2022 campaign in New York's farm system. Before he was cut loose by the Red Sox in July, Palka slashed .233/.309/.410 with 12 home runs in 314 plate appearances for Boston's Triple-A affiliate in Worcester.
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Daniel Palka: Cut by Boston
Rotowire
The Red Sox released Palka on Monday.
Palka was slashing .233/.309/.410 with 12 home runs and a 22.9 percent strikeout rate in 79 games for Triple-A Worcester. At 31 years old, Palka could be nearing the end of the road. He last appeared in the majors in 2019 with the White Sox.
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Red Sox's Daniel Palka: Reassigned to MiLB camp
Rotowire
Palka was reassigned to minor-league camp by the Red Sox on Friday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.
Palka signed a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training in February, but was a longshot to make the Opening Day roster. The outfielder will likely report to Triple-A Worcester, and he will need to be placed on the 40-man roster in order to receive a promotion to Boston.
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Red Sox's Daniel Palka: Joins Red Sox on NRI deal
Rotowire
Palka signed a minor-league contract with the Red Sox on Friday that includes an invitation to spring training, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.
Palka is attempting to claw his way back to the highest level after last appearing in the majors in 2019. His age-30 season was spent with Triple-A Syracuse in the Mets organization, where he slashed .263/.344/.506 with 26 home runs and 79 RBI in 445 plate appearances. He posted a similar slash line for the Nationals' Triple-A club in 2021.
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Mets' Daniel Palka: Signs with Mets
Rotowire
Palka signed a minor-league contract with the Mets on Wednesday.
Palka spent the entire 2021 campaign at Triple-A Rochester and slashed .256/.364/.472 with 18 homers, 61 runs, 58 RBI and five stolen bases in 106 games. It wouldn't be surprising to see him serve as a non-roster invitee this spring.
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Nationals' Daniel Palka: Joins Nationals on minors deal
Rotowire
Palka signed a minor-league contract with the Nationals on Friday.
Palka hasn't been terrible at the plate in 154 games at the highest level, but his lopsided .218/.277/.433 slash line is good for just a 90 wRC+, not nearly good enough for a corner outfielder. He spent last year with the KBO's Samsung Lions but struggled significantly, hitting just .209/.272/.367 despite the lower level of competition. He'll need to show something else in the minors if he's to earn a big-league role this season.
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Daniel Palka: Headed to KBO
Rotowire
Palka signed a one-year, $120,000 contract with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization on Wednesday, Jee-ho Yoo of Yonhap News Agency reports. The deal also includes $50,000 in incentives.
Though he wasn't included in the White Sox's 60-man player pool for 2020, Palka's rights remained under organizational control, so the Lions will pay Chicago a $100,000 buyout to secure his services. As he heads to Korea, Palka will be replacing a former White Sox organizational mate in Tyler Saladino, who was released by the Lions due to his slow recovery from a back injury. The 28-year-old Palka most notably slugged 27 home runs for the White Sox in 2018, but his 34.7 percent career strikeout rate in the majors often left him prone to deep slumps. The strikeouts should prove to be less of an issue in the KBO, where pitchers typically throw at much lower velocities than their MLB counterparts.
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White Sox's Daniel Palka: Remains in organization
Rotowire
Palka cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte on Monday, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.
Palka unsurprisingly went unclaimed after a rough 2019 campaign, in which he hit .107/.194/.179 in 93 big-league plate appearances. He'll have to sort things out in the minors if he's to earn another shot.
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White Sox's Daniel Palka: Designated for assignment
Rotowire
Palka was designated for assignment by the White Sox on Thursday.
Following a respectable season in the majors in 2018 when he played in 124 games, Palka struggled mightily in 30 major-league contests last season, hitting just .107/.194/.179 with two home runs and 35 strikeouts. He now finds himself off the 40-man roster in order to make room for Yasmani Grandal, who was signed by the White Sox on Thursday.
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White Sox's Daniel Palka: Swats first homer
Rotowire
Palka went 2-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs in Thursday's 8-0 win over Cleveland.
Palka swatted his first home runs of the season in the win. It's been a frustrating year for the outfielder, who began the season as the starting right fielder but was sent down to the minors after going 1-for-35 out of the gate. He's experiencing some measure of success over the last week, going 7-for-16 over his last five games, including two consecutive games with multiple hits. With Leury Garcia (shoulder) and Eloy Jimenez (illness) sidelined, Palka and his power bat could see action in the final three games over the weekend.
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White Sox's Daniel Palka: Sits again Saturday
Rotowire
Palka remains on the bench Saturday against the Angels.
Palka started two games in a row after returning to the big leagues Tuesday but has since sat for three straight. He's gone 0-for-9 with five strikeouts this month, though that's not all that much worse than the 1-for-45 line with 18 strikeouts he managed earlier in the season. Ryan Cordell will start in right field Saturday.
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White Sox's Daniel Palka: Out of Friday's lineup
Rotowire
Palka is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Angels.
Palka started two straight contests after being promoted from Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday, but he's now on the bench for the second straight game. The 27-year-old is 0-for-8 with four strikeouts since his return.
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White Sox's Daniel Palka: Hitless in another start
Rotowire
Palka started in right field for a second straight game and went 0-for-4 in Wednesday's 8-6 loss to the Indians.
A year removed from leading the White Sox with 27 home runs, Palka's nightmare of a season continued unabated. His hitless night leaves him 1-for-53 (.019) with the White Sox in 2019. According to Stats by STATS, the only other player in the live-ball era with one hit or fewer in his first 50 at-bats of a season was Mike Garbark of the Yankees, who was 1-for-50 in 1945. For what it's worth, Palka was productive at Triple-A Charlotte, posting a .901 OPS with 27 home runs in 106 games.
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White Sox's Daniel Palka: Hitless in return
Rotowire
Palka went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Tuesday's 6-5 win over the Indians.
Palka was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte earlier in the day and immediately put to work in right field, an unsettled position all season, and particularly so since Jon Jay (hip) was lost for the balance of the campaign. Palka is just 1-for-49 with a 35.7 K% in three separate stints for the White Sox this season. Chicago's outfield from here on out will consist of Eloy Jimenez, Leury Garcia and any one of a group that includes Palka, Adam Engel, Ryan Cordell or Ryan Goins.
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White Sox's Daniel Palka: Back in big leagues
Rotowire
Palka was recalled by the White Sox on Tuesday and will bat seventh as the right fielder against Cleveland.
Palka appeared in just 17 games for the White Sox earlier in the season, struggling to a very poor .022/.154/.022 slash line. He was productive during his time with Charlotte, hitting .263/.374/.527.
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White Sox's Daniel Palka: Sent to Triple-A
Rotowire
Palka was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte following Sunday's game against the Cubs, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
Palka has struggled mightily at the dish during his time in the big leagues this season, collecting just one base knock in 45 at-bats (17 games), so this move isn't all that surprising. He'll get some time in the minor leagues to figure out his swing. The White Sox have yet to announce a corresponding move.
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White Sox's Daniel Palka: Pinch hits Sunday
Rotowire
Palka went 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Twins.
Since rejoining the White Sox from Triple-A Charlotte on Friday, Palka has started one of three games. Despite the power potential his bat provides, he's not going to be handed the everyday job as designated hitter until he can demonstrate consistency at the dish. Palka is hitless in five plate appearances since his return to the majors and 1-for-40 (.025) overall. Jose Rondon and Zack Collins have also served as the DH since Palka's return. None of the three have hit like they deserve to be the primary DH.
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White Sox's Daniel Palka: Hitless in return to majors
Rotowire
Palka served as the designated hitter Friday and went 0-for-4 in a 6-4 win over the Twins.
Palka was called up from Triple-A Charlotte on Friday as a replacement for Yonder Alonso, who was designated for assignment. Palka had one hit in 35 at-bats with the White Sox before getting demoted earlier this season, but he didn't let that discourage him in the minors. He had a .917 OPS with 16 home runs and 42 RBI over 60 games for the Knights. Palka, who led the White Sox in homers last season, is expected to serve as the primary designated hitter.
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White Sox's Daniel Palka: Rejoining White Sox
Rotowire
Palka is being called up from Triple-A Charlotte on Friday, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.
Palka had a horrid start to the season in the majors with a .219 OPS in 42 plate appearances, but he looked significantly better at Triple-A with a .922 OPS and 38:61 BB:K in 262 plate appearances. The 27-year-old could immediately see regular action at designated hitter and first base with Yonder Alonso no longer on the roster.
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White Sox's Daniel Palka: On fire at Charlotte
Rotowire
Palka was named the International League Player of the Week for the period of May 13-20, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. He went 9-for-20 with three home runs in six games for Triple-A Charlotte.
Palka is destroying International League pitching during the month of May, slashing .364/.493/.818 with eight homers and 16 RBI over 15 games. He bears no resemblance to the man who went 1-for-35 with 15 strikeouts in Chicago before being demoted.
