Brayan Pena Rumors

Tigers To Sign Brayan Pena

The Tigers announced that they agreed to a one-year contract with catcher Brayan Pena. Pena, a client of the Wasserman Media Group, was granted free agency by the Royals on November 28th. President and GM Dave Dombrowski suggested Pena will be an important part of Detroit's bench in 2013.

“As a switch-hitter, he will serve as a solid complement to Alex Avila as our backup catcher for the 2013 season,” Dombrowski said.

Pena, who turns 31 next month, appeared in 68 games for the Royals in 2012, posting a .236/.262/.321 batting line in 226 plate appearances. He has a .248/.286/.350 batting line in eight seasons with the Braves and Royals. Former Tigers backup Gerald Laird signed with Atlanta earlier this offseason.

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Minor Moves: Volstad, Pena, Balester, Solarte, Buck

Here are Wednesday's minor moves...

• Right-hander Chris Volstad and catcher Brayan Pena have rejected their outright assignments and elected free agency, the Royals announced (on Twitter). Both players were designated for assignment last week.
• The Rangers have signed Collin Balester to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The 26-year-old right-hander allowed 14 runs in 18 innings for the Tigers this year while pitching to a 3.64 ERA in 47 Triple-A innings.
• The Rangers have also signed Yangervis Solarte to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training according to Morosi. The 25-year-old infielder hit .288/.340/.405 with 11 homers in 568 plate appearances for Texas' Triple-A affiliate this season.
• The Padres have signed Travis Buck to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, report Baseball America's Matt Eddy (on Twitter). Buck, 29, hit .216/.284/.311 in 81 plate appearances for the Astros this year.
• The Padres also re-signed catcher Eddy Rodriguez and right-hander Daniel Stange to minor league deals with invites to camp, according to Eddy. The 26-year-old Rodriguez went 1-for-5 with a homer for San Diego this year, his big league debut.

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Royals Designate Seven For Assignment

The Royals announced that they designated seven players for assignment to create 40-man roster space for players who would otherwise have been eligible for the Rule 5 draft. The Royals designated right-handers Vin Mazzaro and Chris Volstad, left-hander Ryan Verdugo, catcher Brayan Pena, infielder Clint Robinson and outfielder Derrick Robinson for assignment.

The Royals, who are also designating catcher Adam Moore for assignment, now have a full 40-man roster. They selected the contracts of left-handers Chris Dwyer, Donnie Joseph, John Lamb, Justin Marks and Mike Montgomery, and right-hander J.C. Gutierrez in related moves.

The move could amount to an early non-tender for two players. Pena was on track for a salary in the $1.1MM range as a third time arbitration eligible player. Meanwhile, Volstad projected to earn $3MM as a second time eligible player.

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Players Avoiding Arbitration: Monday

In advance of tomorrow's 11am central time deadline to exchange arbitration figures, settlements will be rolling in today.  Follow all of the action with MLBTR's arbitration tracker.  The latest for players under $4MM:

• The Braves and Eric O'Flaherty avoided arbitration, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. O'Flaherty will earn $2.49MM, just shy of his projected $2.6MM salary.
• The Orioles and Jim Johnson have avoided arbitration, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets.  The right-hander will earn $2.625MM in 2012, just north of his projected $2.5MM salary.
• The Red Sox avoided arbitration with Franklin Morales, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets.  The left-hander had a projected salary of $1MM and agreed to an $850K deal.
• The Rays avoided arbitration with J.P. Howell, agreeing to a $1.35MM deal for 2012, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets.  Matt Swartz had projected a $1.4MM salary for the left-hander.
• The Royals avoided arbitration with Chris Getz, agreeing to a $967,500 deal for 2012, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets.  Matt Swartz had projected a $1.2MM salary for the infielder.
• The Nationals announced they've avoided arbitration with catcher Jesus Flores.  Flores, who is represented by Praver/Shapiro, received $815K, MLBTR has learned.
• The Brewers avoided arbitration with outfielder Nyjer Morgan, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  The ACES client received $2.35MM, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
• The Royals announced they've avoided arbitration with catcher Brayan Pena, a client of Wasserman Media Group.  Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star says the deal is worth $875K; Matt Swartz had him at $900K.
• Orioles pitcher Darren O'Day avoided arbitration for a deal worth $1.35MM, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.  Matt Swartz had projected the same for the Beverly Hills Sports Council client.
• Yankees righty Phil Hughes agreed to a deal worth $3.2MM plus performance bonuses, tweets his agency CAA.  The 25-year-old gets a $500K raise after a lost 2011 season.
• The Tigers announced they've avoided arbitration with lefty Phil Coke.  Coke, a client of Full Circle Sports Management, gets a $1.1MM base salary with $50K in incentives for appearances or starts, MLBTR has learned.
• The Angels avoided arbitration with infielder Alberto Callaspo, signing him to a one-year deal worth $3.15MM, tweets ESPN's Keith Law.  MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz nailed this one, projecting a $3.1MM salary.  Callaspo, a client of Eric Goldschmidt, received a $1.15MM raise for his second time through arbitration.

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AL Central Links: Tigers, Pena, Buehrle, Acta

The Tigers' magic number for clinching the AL Central is nine after Brandon Inge's walkoff blast against the Twins this afternoon.  Red-hot Detroit has won eight games in a row and the team looks like a sure bet to reach the postseason for the first time since 2006.

Let's round up the latest from the division...

• Intra-divisional trades made been a big part of the Tigers' success, writes Lynn Henning for the Detroit News.  Jhonny Peralta, Delmon Young and Wilson Betemit have all come to Detroit from AL Central rivals over the last two seasons.
• Brayan Pena wants to keep playing for the Royals and is happy to remain a backup catcher, reports Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
• Following last night's game, Mark Buehrle told reporters that he plans to work out this offseason as if he'll be pitching next season, but he doesn't know if a contract will get worked out with the White Sox. You can watch the video on CSNChicago.com. Buehrle will be a free agent for the first time in his career after the season, and he's hinted at retirement in the past.
• Ozzie Guillen, for his part, thinks Buehrle will pitch in 2012.  "Oh, he's staying," Guillen tells ESPN Chicago.  "I talk to him every day and he never mentions [to] me anything about retirement. I think this kid's got a lot left to give [to] baseball. I think this kid can help a lot of big league ballclubs. Believe me, I don't think he's retiring."
• In that same piece, Guillen also reiterated his commitment to the White Sox, saying he wishes to manage the club in 2012 and for "the next 20 years."
• Joe Mauer talks to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal (video link) about his season, his future behind the plate and the Twins' struggles.  Two days ago, more than 3,000 MLBTR voters said the Twins have been baseball's most disappointing team this season. 
• "That's a good question for the off-season," said Indians GM Chris Antonetti when asked about manager Manny Acta's club option for 2013 by Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Acta will be in the final year of his three-year contract next season, and Antonetti made it clear that he's pleased with the job his manager has done.
• Tigers manager Jim Leyland told Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press that they're "thrilled" about the Delmon Young acquisition. "It's worked out pretty good so far, and when he steps in that batter's box he's a man," said Leyland. "He's going to get his rips and has a pretty good idea how to hit and what pitchers do."

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

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Royals Rumors: Pena, Treanor, May, Adcock

The latest on the Royals, who acquired Matt Treanor today...

• It seems that the Royals will team Brayan Pena and Treanor behind the plate, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). This means Lucas May might not break camp with the Royals.
• May is out of options and GM Dayton Moore says the Royals are "probably looking to do something" with him. A trade is the preferred route, according to Dutton (on Twitter).
• Moore confirmed to Dutton that Rule 5 selection Nate Adcock will make the team (Twitter link).
• Rany Jazayerli analyzes each pitcher on the Royals' projected Opening Day staff.

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Royals Agree To Terms With Betemit, Pena

The Royals have agreed to terms on one-year contracts with infielder Wilson Betemit and catcher Brayan Pena, reports Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.  Betemit will make $1MM next season, while Pena will earn $660K.  The Royals avoid going to arbitration with both players.

Betemit signed a minor league deal with Kansas City last winter and ended up delivering a career-best season in 2010.   He hit .297/.378/.511 in 315 plate appearances with the Royals and received regular playing time at third base following Alberto Callaspo's trade to the Angels.  Betemit just turned 29 last month and is a nice bargain at that price for K.C. given his versatile infield glove and his switch-hitting bat.

Pena is expected to take on at least a platoon role behind the plate next season.  He has a .703 OPS in 357 plate appearances over his two years in Kansas City.

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Odds & Ends: Dunn, Phillies, Crisp, Molina, Fielder

Saturday linkage..

• Adam Dunn had hoped to hammer out an extension before the All-Star break to avoid trade talk, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
• The Rays' director of scouting in the Dominican Republic believes that Yoel Araujo can develop into a "five-tool type player", writes Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
• The Phillies initially called up Brian Bocock over Cody Ransom because Ransom was experiencing knee trouble, writes MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.  Earlier today, the club DFA'd Bocock and promoted Ransom.
• ESPN's Buster Olney speculates that Coco Crisp and the Padres could be a great potential trade match (Twitter links). San Diego tried to sign Crisp this past offseason.
• Bengie Molina didn't find out he was traded to the Rangers until his teammates told him, according to Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle.
• Andrew Baggarly of The San Jose Mercury News spoke to Barry Zito, who indicated that the team's rift with Prince Fielder following last year's elaborate walk-off homerun celebration wouldn't be an issue if they acquired the slugger. Olney tweets that there has been no recent discussion between the two teams about Fielder.
• Brayan Pena told Jeffrey Flanagan of FSKansasCity.com that he hopes to retire as a Royal.
• Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic spoke to Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick about the dismissal of Josh Byrnes, who said he consulted "respected baseball people" from around the league and heard that the team's farm system is devoid of top-shelf talent.

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Stark's Latest: Trade Block, Mets, Phillies, Tigers

ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new blog post up with some trade rumor nuggets for us. It's behind the Insider wall (if you don't have a subscription yet, what are you waiting for?), so I can't give away too much...

• Stark lists 16 players currently on the trade block. Among the names we haven't seen mentioned recently: Willie Harris, Andy Marte, Tim Stauffer, Omir Santos, and Brad Thomas.
• The Mets are looking to move one of their extra catchers, either Santos or Chris Coste, and are looking to add "major league-ready triple-A pitching depth." Aren't we all...
• The Phillies are looking to add all sorts of pitching depth, and have interest in the recently released Chad Gaudin.
• Scott Sizemore's rocky spring has the Tigers looking for a second base upgrade.
• Kansas City is shopping Brayan Pena in their perpetual search for starting pitching.
• The Braves have told other clubs that David Ross is available, "possibly in a catcher-for-catcher swap for a younger backup-catcher type."

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Odds & Ends: Royals, Fielder, Cameron, Park

Some Sunday links to browse....

• The Royals agreed to terms with Brayan Pena and Chris Getz, according to a team press release. Terms of the contracts were not disclosed. With Pena and Getz sorted out, the team now has four unsigned players remaining: Billy Butler, Alberto Callaspo, Luke Hochevar, and Carlos Rosa.
• In his most recent blog post, ESPN.com's Buster Olney writes that Prince Fielder ought to consider a long-term extension with Milwaukee, since "it's still unclear whether any team would value him as much as the Brewers."
• Mike Cameron considered signing with the Mariners before he landed in Boston, according to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times.
• Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that the Phillies were Chan Ho Park's first choice heading into this winter, but that the two sides just couldn't work anything out.
• If Josh Beckett's last contract was any indication, he won't be concerned about "setting the market" when he signs his next deal, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald.
• Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle defends the Astros' offseason bullpen signings, explaining how the team evaluated Brandon Lyon and Matt Lindstrom.
• Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch passes along comments from Tony La Russa about how the club's infield rotation will work with Felipe Lopez now a Cardinal.
• Blaine Boyer played a major part in recruiting Adam LaRoche and Kelly Johnson to Arizona, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.

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