David Purcey Rumors
White Sox To Sign Gray, Troncoso, Anderson
The White Sox announced that they agreed to sign seven players to minor league contracts that include invitations to MLB Spring Training. Right-handers Jeff Gray and Ramon Troncoso, left-hander David Purcey, catcher Bryan Anderson, infielders Josh Bell and Steve Tolleson and outfielder Stefan Gartrell will all report to Glendale next month.
Gray pitched for the Twins in 2012, posting a 5.71 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 52 innings. Troncoso, who turns 30 next month, pitched for the Dodgers' Triple-A team in 2012. Purcey also spent the 2012 season at Triple-A, and he struck out more than one batter per inning at that level while struggling to limit walks. The 26-year-old Anderson appeared in ten games for last year's Cardinals team. Bell, formerly a top prospect, played in 21 games for the Diamondbacks in 2012. Tolleson appeared in 29 games with the 2012 Orioles, posting a .183/.227/.310 batting line as a utility player. Gartrell posted a .787 OPS with 20 home runs for the Braves' top affiliate last year.
Minor Moves: Ka'aihue, Hinshaw, Luna, Pirates
We’ll keep track of the day’s minor moves here...
- The White Sox signed catcher Bryan Anderson and left-hander David Purcey to minor league deals, Eddy reports (on Twitter).
- The Diamondbacks signed Kila Ka'aihue, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports (on Twitter). The 28-year-old appeared in 39 games for the Athletics this past season, posting a .234/.295/.398 batting line.
- The Blue Jays announced that they signed outfielder Ricardo Nanita and left-hander Alex Hinshaw to minor league contracts. Nanita played for the Blue Jays' Triple-A team in 2012, hitting 12 home runs. Hinshaw appeared in 33 games for the Padres and Cubs in 2012, posting a 6.04 ERA. The team also confirmed its minor league contracts with infielder Jim Negrych and right-hander Neil Wagner.
- The Chunichi Dragons have agreed to sign utility player Hector Luna to a one-year, $450K deal that includes $200K in incentives, Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com reports (on Twitter). Luna, 32, appeared in 28 games for the Phillies this past season, playing first base, third base and left field. In seven seasons at the MLB level, he has a .262/.314/.385 batting line.
- The Pirates announced that they’ve agreed to sign right-handers Brooks Brown and Erik Cordier to minor league contracts with invitations to Spring Training. The club also announced minor league deals with right-handers David Bromberg and Luis Sanz, and infielder Alex Valdez. Finally, the Pirates officially announced their minor league deal with former MLB outfielder Felix Pie.
Phillies Sign Bush, Lerud, Purcey To Minors Deals
The Phillies have signed Dave Bush, Steven Lerud and David Purcey to minor league contracts, the team announced. All three players will be invited to Major League spring training camp as non-roster players.
Bush, 32, signed a minor league deal with Philadelphia last August and posted decent numbers in four starts for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Bush is an eight-year Major League veteran, playing for the Blue Jays, Brewers and Rangers during his career.
Lerud, a catcher, has played eight seasons in the Pirates and Orioles' farm systems with a career OPS of .665. He has spent the majority of this time in Double-A ball, briefly cracking the Triple-A level in 2010.
Purcey, drafted 16th overall by the Blue Jays in 2004, was well-traveled in 2011, going from Toronto to Oakland and finally to Detroit in a six-week span. The left-hander has a 5.38 ERA in 87 career Major League games, 21 of them starts.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Brandon Erbe, David Purcey
Here's today's list of players to get outrighted to Triple-A...
- Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com reports that the Orioles have outrighted Brandon Erbe off the 40-man roster. Erbe was sent to the team's New York-Penn League affiliate, which is short season Single-A ball, not Triple-A. Erbe had been designated for assignment over the weekend.
- The Tigers announced (on Twitter) that they outrighted left-hander David Purcey to Triple-A. Detroit designated him for assignment last week to create roster space for David Pauley. The 29-year-old Purcey has a 5.61 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 7.2 BB/9 in 33 2/3 innings for three teams this year.
Tigers Designate David Purcey For Assignment
The Tigers announced on Twitter that they have designated David Purcey for assignment. The move will create roster space for newly-acquired reliever David Pauley.
It's the second time this season that Purcey has been designated for assignment. The Blue Jays cut him in April, then sent him to the Athletics for Danny Farquhar. The next month, the Tigers acquired Purcey, sending Scott Sizemore to the A's.
In total, the 29-year-old has a 5.61 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 7.2 BB/9 in 33 2/3 innings this year. Last year, he posted a career-best 3.71 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 34 innings out of Toronto's 'pen.
Rosenthal On Rangers, Upton, Marlins, Indians
With only five teams more than seven games out of first place, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports thinks this year's trade market could play out differently than your usual scenario of struggling teams selling to contenders. An unnamed general manager tells Rosenthal “It might be more of a reallocation of pieces than classic buying or selling...Parity also means that teams that aren’t close are saying, ‘Next year, it can be us.’ Maybe they buy a two- to three-year asset that they wouldn’t otherwise.”
Here's the latest from Rosenthal on a number of teams looking to fill needs as the pennant races begin to heat up...
- The Rangers are looking for right-handed relievers and have a number of trade chips to offer other teams. Rosenthal speculates Texas could offer Taylor Teagarden to the Giants for a righty arm, or possibly Chris Davis to the Padres or another team that is looking for offensive help.
- Todd Coffey is drawing interest from the Rangers, and Rosenthal thinks Coffey could be part of a package for Julio Borbon since the Nationals need a center fielder/leadoff hitter type.
- Of course, Washington is also looking at B.J. Upton to fill that hole in center. Rosenthal thinks it's unlikely the Rays move Upton, though they could change their minds if the Nats offer Tyler Clippard and a young positional prospect.
- The Marlins are interested in acquiring veteran bullpen help in exchange for one of their minor league relievers. Right-handers Jose Ceda, Jhan Marinez and Sandy Rosario have all attracted some attention from other clubs.
- While "the Indians’ most obvious need remains a quality starting pitcher," Rosenthal also thinks the Tribe could be in the market for right-handed hitting help. One of Rosenthal's Twitter followers asked if Cleveland could make a move for Hunter Pence, but Rosenthal doesn't think Houston will move Pence and the Indians already have Shin-Soo Choo in right field.
- The Brewers "would love to add another power arm to their 'pen," as Milwaukee relievers rank 13th in the league in K/9.
- The Diamondbacks had an interest in David Purcey before the A's dealt the left-hander to the Tigers on May 27.
- Bruce Bochy thinks rookie shortstop Brandon Crawford can be a productive Major League hitter, which would seem to lessen the Giants' chances of acquiring Jose Reyes before the deadline or trying to sign Reyes this winter in free agency.
- Rosenthal "can't see" Jim Hendry returning as the Cubs' general manager given the team's current state. "Forget about signing a free agent such as the Cardinals' Albert Pujols or the Brewers' Prince Fielder," Rosenthal writes. "The Cubs are so far gone, they are much more than one player away." Carlos Pena, John Grabow, Kosuke Fukudome, Kerry Wood and Jeff Baker are all trade candidates this summer; MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently looked at the values of these players and others on the struggling Cubbies.
Quick Hits: McCourt, Abreu, Sizemore, Purcey
A night after striking out four times in four plate appearances, Adam Dunn walked in all four of his plate appearances in Friday's 4-2 loss to Toronto. If we're sticking to a pattern of Dunn's "three true outcomes," then theoretically, Dunn should hit four home runs against the Blue Jays tomorrow. Set your fantasy lineups accordingly!
Some news from around the majors as we go into the weekend...
- Frank McCourt will be able to meet the Dodgers' May 31 payroll, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. One of Shaikin's sources says McCourt is still looking to secure the funds to meet the next payroll deadline on June 15. If McCourt fails to meet payroll, Major League Baseball will seize control of the team from the embattled owner and cover the payroll itself.
- With Bobby Abreu on pace to easily reach 433 plate appearances and cause his $9MM option for 2012 to vest, the Angels will owe $48MM in 2012 to Abreu, Vernon Wells and Torii Hunter. Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com thinks allowing Abreu's option to vest "would be just another poor long-term decision for a GM [Tony Reagins] that seems to be specializing in them," and wonders why the Halos would tie so much money up in the outfield when their top prospect (Mike Trout) is an outfielder and Peter Bourjos is in the picture.
- In his analysis of today's Scott Sizemore-for-David Purcey trade, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports notes that the Tigers first contacted the Athletics about Purcey on the very day that Oakland acquired the left-hander from the Blue Jays. The deal was a natural match since "the A’s long have had interest in Sizemore," and plan to convert him to a third baseman.
- Matthew Eddy of Baseball America wraps up the week's minor league transactions.
- Joe Girardi said he could move Nick Swisher into a platoon with Chris Dickerson if Swisher doesn't pick up his hitting from the left side of the plate, reports Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com. Swisher still has four months to get on track, but right now it looks like there's no chance the Yankees will pick up his $10.25MM option for 2012.
- Ryan Drese was granted his release by the Orioles earlier today, and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun reports the veteran righty is expected to sign a minor league deal with the Astros.
Tigers Acquire David Purcey For Scott Sizemore
The Tigers have acquired left-hander David Purcey from the Athletics for second baseman Scott Sizemore, the teams announced. The move provides the Tigers with another left-handed relief option and gives the A's second base depth behind the struggling Mark Ellis. In related moves, the Tigers called Danny Worth up and the A's called Bobby Cramer up.
Purcey, a 2004 first rounder, arrived in Oakland last month, after the Blue Jays designated him for assignment. He has a 3.60 ERA for the A's and Blue Jays this year with a 10K/7BB ratio through 15 innings. Last year, the 29-year-old posted a career-best 3.71 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 34 innings out of Toronto's 'pen.
Sizemore has been Detroit's everyday second baseman since getting the call to the Majors in early May. He has a .222/.329/.238 line in 74 plate appearances this year, which is similar to the batting line he produced as a rookie in 2010 (.224/.296/.336). A fifth round pick in 2006, Sizemore has a .301/.387/.453 line in the minor leagues.
The Tigers currently have three left-handed relievers on the active roster: Daniel Schlereth and recent additions Charlie Furbush and Adam Wilk (Brad Thomas is on the DL). Wilk and Furbush debuted this week and Purcey has pitched more MLB innings than Schlereth and Thomas combined, so he'll provide manager Jim Leyland with something of a known commodity.
Athletics Acquire David Purcey
The Athletics acquired lefty David Purcey from the Blue Jays for minor league reliever Danny Farquhar, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The deal is now official. The A's cleared a space on the 25-man roster by putting Dallas Braden on the DL, and gained a spot on the 40-man by transferring Rich Harden to the 60-day DL, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
Purcey, 29 in a few days, was designated for assignment by the Jays last week. He drew "very strong" interest, according to GM Alex Anthopoulos. The former first-rounder is out of options, so the A's must keep him in the Majors or attempt to pass him through waivers. Purcey, who switched to the bullpen to start the 2010 season, has battled control problems for much of his career. He's always posted strong strikeout rates, averaging 92-93 miles per hour on his fastball since converting to the bullpen.
Though they sandwiched an elbow strain, Purcey's '07 and '08 stints in the minors did include good control. Purcey seemed to be on to something in '08, finishing the season in the Majors and tossing a couple of eight-inning gems. MLB.com's Jane Lee has a bit more on Purcey, after talking to A's assistant GM David Forst.
Farquhar, 24, returns to his old organization after a brief stint this year as a Sacramento River Cat. The A's had acquired him in November as part of the Rajai Davis deal with Toronto. He posted a 3.52 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 4.9 BB/9, and 0.8 HR/9 in 76 2/3 Double-A relief innings last year. Baseball America ranked him 22nd among A's prospects, noting that his "defining characteristic is his use of two different arm angles."
Quick Hits: Purcey, Mariners, Cruz, Rays
Links for Friday, as we celebrate the anniversary of Jackie Robinson's MLB debut. Robinson's Hall of Fame career began 64 years ago today, when he broke baseball's color barrier...
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos continues to talk to teams about David Purcey and tells Rogers Sportnet's Shi Davidi (Twitter link) that there is "very strong" interest in the left-hander. Purcey was designated for assignment earlier this week, and Anthopoulos said he expects to use all 10 days of Purcey's DFA period exploring trades.
- The Mariners are still searching in vain for a cleanup hitter to anchor their lineup, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
- Jonah Keri of Fangraphs looks at some players who parlayed "a small sample of greatness — a stretch-run tear, monster playoff performance, even a single game or play — to big paydays" and how none of these signings worked out for their respective teams.
- Now that Josh Hamilton is on the disabled list, it's Nelson Cruz's chance to carry the Rangers, Jon Paul Morosi writes at FOX Sports.com.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports points out that the Rays figure to have a tougher climb to the top of the AL East standings than the Red Sox.
- Is Troy Tulowitzki the best player in baseball? Rob Neyer of SB Nation asks a legitimate question and says it'd be hard to argue that there's a better player to be found right now.
MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post
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