Yankees Could Add Lefty Bat Soon
The Yankees are considering adding a left-handed hitter and could sign Raul Ibanez, Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui within a week, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes. Adding one of the veterans would provide the Yankees with a weapon against right-handed pitching for their open DH spot.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said last week that he would like to see GM Brian Cashman add a bat before Opening Day. The skipper suggested he'd prefer a lefty hitter, someone who can complement the right-handed hitting Andruw Jones. The Yankees will explore alternatives before the July 31st trade deadline if they aren’t getting enough production from their DHs, Olney tweets.
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Outrighted To Triple-A: Scott Atchison
The latest outright assignments from around MLB...
- The Red Sox outrighted Scott Atchison to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, Maureen Mullen of CSN New England tweets. The Red Sox had designated the 35-year-old for assignment late last month. He posted a 3.26 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 30 1/3 innings for the 2011 Red Sox and logged 61 1/3 more innings at Triple-A with a 2.64 ERA, 10.6 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9.
Astros Sign Justin Ruggiano
The Astros signed free agent outfielder Justin Ruggiano to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to Spring Training, the team announced. Ruggiano elected free agency one week ago today, after the Rays designated him for assignment.
Ruggiano appeared in 46 games for the Rays last year, playing all three outfield positions. The 29-year-old posted a .248/.273/.400 line in 111 plate appearances. Ruggiano, who also played for the Rays in 2007-08, is not yet arbitration eligible. The native of Austin, Texas has a .295/.376/.486 in eight minor league seasons.
Dodgers Designate Russ Mitchell For Assignment
The Dodgers designated infielder Russ Mitchell for assignment, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. The Dodgers confirmed the move, which will presumably clear 40-man roster space for right-handed reliever Todd Coffey.
Mitchell appeared in 25 games for the 2011 Dodgers, playing first base, third base and right field. He has struggled through his first 101 MLB plate appearances, but he posted a .283/.372/.503 line in 392 Triple-A plate appearances last year and has a .784 OPS in nine minor league seasons.
Cardinals Sign Alex Cora
4:19pm: Cora would get $800K in the Major Leagues, the Associated Press reports (via ESPN.com).
12:00pm: The Cardinals agreed to a minor league deal with a spring training invite with infielder Alex Cora, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. On Saturday, MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reported a deal was close.
Cora will compete for a utility infield role, writes Goold. The 36-year-old Scott Boras client hit .224/.287/.276 in 172 plate appearances for the Nationals last year, spending most of his time in the field on the left side of the infield.
Cubs Designate Blake DeWitt For Assignment
The Cubs announced that they designated infielder Blake DeWitt for assignment. The move creates 40-man roster space for Adrian Cardenas, who the Cubs claimed from Oakland today.
DeWitt, 26, posted a .265/.305/.413 line in 243 plate appearances in 2011, playing left field, second base and third base. The 2004 first rounder owns a .260/.329/.385 career line in four seasons with the Dodgers and Cubs.
DeWitt and the Cubs had agreed to a $1.1MM salary for 2012 earlier in the offseason, avoiding arbitration. The Cubs could attempt to deal DeWitt, but if they release him, I expect they'll be responsible for one sixth of his salary (approximately $183K). He was arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason.
Cubs Claim Adrian Cardenas
The Cubs claimed Adrian Cardenas off of waivers from the Athletics, the A's announced. Oakland had designated the infielder for assignment on January 26th.
Cardenas, 24, spent the 2011 season with Oakland's Triple-A affiliate, where he posted a .314/.374/.418 line in 545 plate appearances and played left field, shortstop, second and third. In six minor league seasons, the 2006 first rounder has a .303/.368/.413 batting line. However, he is a sub-par defender, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus tweets. The A's acquired Cardenas from the Phillies in the 2008 trade that sent Joe Blanton to Philadelphia.
Rangers Sign Conor Jackson, Joe Beimel
The Rangers signed outfielder/first baseman Conor Jackson and left-handed reliever Joe Beimel to minor league contracts, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan tweets. The deals include invitations to big league Spring Training.
Jackson posted a .244/.310/.341 line in 390 plate appearances with the Athletics and Red Sox in 2011. The 29-year-old SFX client played all four corner positions last year. Jackson, a right-handed hitter, owns a .283/.381/.436 career line against left-handed pitching, so he could spell left-handed hitters such as Mitch Moreland, Josh Hamilton and David Murphy if he makes the MLB roster.
Beimel, 34, posted a 5.33 ERA with 6.0 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 41.2% ground ball rate in 25 1/3 innings in 2011. The Pirates signed the Joe Sroba client to a minor league deal last January and released him in August. The Rangers don't have much in the way of experienced left-handed relief after losing Darren Oliver and Mike Gonzalez via free agency.
Nationals Sign Mark Teahen
The Nationals announced today they've signed infielder/outfielder Mark Teahen to a minor league deal. They also announced their deal with outfielder Rick Ankiel.
Teahen, 30, hit .200/.273/.300 in 177 plate appearances for the White Sox last year, appearing at the infield and outfield corners. The Blue Jays took Teahen and his contract from the White Sox last summer to facilitate their temporary acquisition of Edwin Jackson. The Jays ended up releasing Teahen last month. He's represented by CAA Sports.
The Nationals will also have Andres Blanco, Jarrett Hoffpauir, Chad Tracy, Mike Cameron, Brett Carroll, Jason Michaels, and Xavier Paul in camp competing for part-time roles on the big league club.
Mariners Sign Shawn Camp
The Mariners signed reliever Shawn Camp to a Major League deal, tweets Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle. The Mariners announced the signings of Camp and Hong-Chih Kuo, noting they've designated catcher Chris Gimenez and outfielder Mike Wilson to open spots on the 40-man roster for the new relievers.
Camp, 36, posted a 4.21 ERA, 4.3 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 0.41 HR/9, and 53.5% groundball rate in 66 1/3 innings for the Blue Jays last year. His agent Dave Meier did well in scoring a Major League deal this late in the offseason. Camp was a Type B free agent this winter, but the Blue Jays did not offer arbitration and will not receive draft pick compensation. The Mariners have added to their bullpen on the cheap this winter with Camp, Kuo, George Sherrill, and Aaron Heilman.
Gimenez, 29, was non-tendered in December but then quickly re-signed to a big league deal. Wilson, 28, hit .331/.418/.555 with 16 home runs in 388 plate appearances in his third pass at the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
Duquette On Guthrie, Bullpen, Manny
With starter Jeremy Guthrie entering his contract year, Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette felt compelled to send him to the Rockies for pitchers Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom, who can both be controlled for 2013. Duquette praised the strikeout-to-walk ratios of his new additions. Other notes from Duquette's conference call today:
- Duquette feels Hammel essentially replaces Guthrie's innings in the rotation, and Lindstrom represents a power arm at the back of the Orioles' bullpen. By the way, for the latest bullpen depth charts check out RotoAuthority, and for breaking news about stoppers follow @closernews on Twitter.
- Duquette didn't care to speculate on whether the Orioles would have retained Guthrie had he settled a month ago on a figure closer to the team's $7.25MM submission. He did note that he didn't think that salary was possible unless they won a hearing. Upon the trade Guthrie ended up settling below the midpoint, at $8.2MM.
- "We didn't have any offers of young prospects for Jeremy," Duquette told reporters.
- The Orioles top exec wouldn't comment on the Rangers' Koji Uehara, but he did say, "We would still like to strengthen our bullpen between now and Spring Training."
- Duquette admitted he's had exploratory talks with Manny Ramirez's agent and the Orioles have seen him work out, but added, "We are still considering the composition of this club, and some of the challenges of integrating a player like Manny into our ballclub and market."
Mariners Sign Hong-Chih Kuo
The Mariners signed lefty reliever Hong-Chih Kuo to a one-year, Major League contract, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times. Kuo has passed his physical, notes ESPN's Jayson Stark. The Mariners will have to create a spot on the 40-man roster for Kuo, who is represented by Octagon.
Kuo, 30, allowed an earned run per inning in a difficult 2011 season with the Dodgers. With a 1.96 ERA, 10.6 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 0.37 HR/9, and 5.8 H/9 in 170 innings, Kuo had been one of the game's most dominant relievers over the three prior seasons when healthy. He had a DL stint for an anxiety disorder last season, and in October endured his fifth career elbow surgery.
Kuo, a native of Taiwan, will again team up with Mariners offseason acquisition George Sherrill. They'll presumably be setting up closer Brandon League.
After Kuo was non-tendered by the Dodgers in December, they continued to show interest, as did a few other unknown West Coast teams. As our free agent tracker shows, Mike Gonzalez and Arthur Rhodes are now the top available lefty relievers.
Rockies To Acquire Guthrie For Hammel, Lindstrom
"Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Baltimore anymore," tweeted righty Jeremy Guthrie this morning after learning he'd been traded from the Orioles to the Rockies. The clubs reached an agreement that sends Guthrie to Colorado for pitchers Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun first reported the near-deal, which has now been officially announced.
Guthrie's arbitration hearing against the Orioles was scheduled for this morning with a $7.25MM-$10.25MM spread, but his agent Brodie Van Wagenen of CAA Sports tweeted today he reached an agreement on a one-year deal that fits "within the Rockies' payroll structure" and is "a showing of good faith." Connolly says Guthrie settled with the Rockies at $8.2MM, which is $550K below the midpoint. With the Orioles, a hearing had "seemed possible and even likely," tweeted Van Wagenen.
Guthrie, 32, had been a regular in Baltimore's rotation since being claimed off waivers from the Indians five years ago. Last year he posted a 4.33 ERA, 5.6 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 1.13 HR/9, and 39.6% groundball rate in 208 innings for the Orioles. His skills suggest a 200-inning, 4.50 ERA guy in the AL East. Guthrie (pictured) will be a useful addition for a Rockies rotation long on options but short on stability, assuming his proclivity to surrender home runs doesn't worsen in Coors Field. Guthrie will be eligible for free agency after the season, and I would not expect draft pick compensation.
Hammel, 29, posted a 4.76 ERA, 5.0 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 1.11 HR/9, and 43.9% groundball rate in 170 1/3 innings last year. Acquired from the Rays three years ago, Hammel has given the Rockies 170+ innings in each season since the trade. Prior to 2011, Hammel's skills suggested a pitcher capable of a sub-4.00 ERA. In 2011, however, he was demoted to the Rockies' bullpen in August. He'll earn $4.75MM in 2012 and will be arbitration eligible for 2013.
Lindstrom, 31, posted a 3.00 ERA, 6.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 0.50 HR/9, and 47.3% groundball rate in 54 innings last year for the Rockies. His strikeout rates have always seemed low for someone averaging a 96 mile-per-hour fastball. Lindstrom, who was acquired in December 2010 from the Astros, is owed $3.6MM for 2012 and has a $4MM club option for '13. Interestingly, Guthrie and Lindstrom both put their baseball careers on hold for two-year Mormon missions in their lives.
With the trade, Orioles vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette has subtracted his rotation's one sure thing in favor of Hammel, who was demoted from the Rockies' rotation last summer. He did acquire two pitchers for the price of one, as well as potential 2013 control for each. Noted Duquette on today's conference call, "We didn't have any offers of young prospects for Jeremy." Duquette has hooked up with Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd for trades twice before, when the former was at the helm of the Red Sox.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Orioles Designate Clay Rapada For Assignment
The Orioles designated lefty Clay Rapada for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot in the wake of their recent two-for-one trade, tweets MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli.
Rapada, 31 in March, has tallied 52 2/3 big league innings for the Tigers, Cubs, Rangers, and Orioles across five seasons. He's done a nice job against lefties in 34 2/3 career innings.
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