Fernando Nieve Rumors
Dodgers Sign Bard, Ledezma, Castillo, Guzman, More
The Dodgers announced the signing of 15 non-roster players yesterday, reported MLB.com's Ken Gurnick: catcher Josh Bard, lefty reliever Wil Ledezma, lefty reliever Alberto Castillo, righty reliever Angel Guzman, outfielder Cory Sullivan, righty reliever Fernando Nieve, righty reliever Jose Ascanio, righty Ryan Tucker, righty Will Savage, lefty Matt Chico, lefty Scott Rice, corner infielder Jeff Baisley, infielder Lance Zawadzki, and infielder Luis Cruz.
Bard, 33, had 86 plate appearances for the Mariners this year and another 250 in Triple-A. His signing was first rumored last week at the Winter Meetings. Ledezma, 30, briefly appeared in the Majors with Toronto this year. He struck out 64 batters in 48 Triple-A innings as well. Castillo, a 36-year-old Cuban, tossed 11 2/3 innings for the Diamondbacks and a strong 42 1/3 frames at Triple-A. His near-deal was first reported last week.
Ascanio, 26, appeared briefly in the bigs with the Pirates this year and also whiffed 50 in 44 Triple-A innings. He was part of the July '09 John Grabow-Tom Gorzelanny trade with the Cubs, but he had labrum surgery in October of that year. Tucker, 25, is a former first-round pick of the Marlins who pitched five innings with the Rangers this year and 68 1/3 more in Triple-A. Guzman, Sullivan, Nieve, Chico, Baisley, Zawadzki, and Cruz have also spent time in the Majors. Guzman, notably, was a successful setup man for the Cubs in '09.
Astros Release Nieve To Play In Korea
The Astros released right-hander Fernando Nieve to allow him to sign with a Korean team, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The Pirates signed Nieve in December and released him in March, when he didn't make the Opening Day roster. Two days later, Nieve signed with the Astros.
Nieve, 28, pitched 42 innings for the Mets in 2010, posting a 6.00 ERA with 8.1 K/9, 4.7 BB/9, 2.1 HR/9 and a 37% ground ball rate before he was Mets granted him free agency. No pitcher who completed 40 innings or more matched Nieve's 18.5% HR/FB rate last year.
The Venezuela native has started three games for the Astros' Triple-A affiliate this year, posting a 7.63 ERA with 10.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 15 1/3 innings.
Astros Sign Fernando Nieve
The Astros have signed Fernando Nieve to a minor league contract, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (Twitter links). Nieve has already passed his physical and will report to minor league camp.
Nieve, 28, was released by the Pirates just two days ago after allowing 17 hits in just 7 1/3 Spring Training innings. Last year for the Mets, he posted a 6.00 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 4.7 BB/9, 2.1 HR/9, and 37% groundball rate in 42 innings. 18.5% of his flyballs left the yard, a rate that led all of MLB among those with at least 40 innings. Nieve also made eight starts in Triple-A, posting a 5.63 ERA. Pittsburgh signed him to a minor league pact back in December.
The Astros originally signed Nieve out of Venezuela back in 1999, and five years ago he was their third-best prospect according to Baseball America.
Pirates Release Fernando Nieve
The Pirates released pitcher Fernando Nieve, reports Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 28-year-old righty struck out eight and walked two in 7 1/3 spring innings, but somehow also managed to allow 17 hits.
Last year for the Mets, Nieve posted a 6.00 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 4.7 BB/9, 2.1 HR/9, and 37% groundball rate in 42 innings. 18.5% of his flyballs left the yard, a rate that led all of MLB among those with at least 40 innings. Nieve also made eight starts in Triple-A, posting a 5.63 ERA. He signed a minor league deal with the Pirates on December 1st.
Five years ago Nieve was the Astros' third-best prospect in the eyes of Baseball America. Back then he was said to have a plus fastball and slider, and a comparison to Ugueth Urbina was considered a positive.
Padres', Pirates' Notable Non-Roster Invitees
The Padres and Pirates have announced their Spring Training non-roster invitees, write MLB.com's Corey Brock and Jenifer Langosch, respectively.
Among San Diego's 20 NRIs is a small handful of players with big-league experience and a decent chance of making the 25-man roster at the end of Spring Training. Here's a quick look at some of those guys:
- Kevin Frandsen has spent parts of five seasons with the Giants and Angels, and he has a "good shot" of catching on with the Padres as a utility man, according to Brock. The 28-year-old plays multiple positions and would earn a salary of $575,000.
- Guillermo Quiroz could challenge Rob Johnson for the backup catching job, notes Brock. Quiroz, 29, has played for four teams (Rangers, Blue Jays, Mariners and Orioles) in parts of seven seasons.
- Gregorio Petit spent parts of two seasons with the A's as a utility infielder in 2008-09. The 26-year-old spent the entirety of 2010 with the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate.
- Bullpen hopefuls Luis Perdomo and Scott Munter each have Major League experience. Perdomo made 35 appearances with San Diego in 2009 but only one last season, and Munter was with the Giants for parts of three seasons.
The Pirates, meanwhile, have a slightly more interesting cast of notable names:
- Garrett Atkins, Jeff Clement, Josh Fields and Andy Marte form a quartet of one-time blue-chip prospects. Atkins, in particular, was an above-average player for the Rockies in 2006-07, but he declined quickly in the following years. Clement, a former catcher, was a No. 3 overall pick of the Mariners in 2005, and Fields and Marte were raw-power corner-infield prospects coming up with the White Sox and Braves/Indians, respectively.
- On the pitching side, Tyler Yates has a 8.1 K/9 for his career but did not pitch in the bigs in 2010. Donald Veal, selected by the Bucs from the Cubs in the Rule 5 Draft prior to the 2009 season, is a hard-throwing but wild lefty. Brian Burres has started 54 games in his five-year career with the Orioles, Blue Jays and Pirates. Sean Gallagher was dealt from the Cubs to the A's in the deal that sent Rich Harden to Chicago, and has appeared in 91 games. Fernando Nieve has appeared in 99 games (19 starts) with the Astros and Mets in parts of four seasons.
Pirates Sign Nieve, Andy Marte, Dusty Brown
The Pirates signed Fernando Nieve, Andy Marte and Dusty Brown to minor league deals and invited them to Spring Training, the team announced. Nieve, 28, pitched 42 innings in 2010, posting a 6.00 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 before the Mets granted him free agency. The right-hander has allowed 1.6 homers per nine innings over the course of his four-year MLB career.
Marte, a former top prospect, failed to make an impact in parts of five seasons with the Indians. Now 27, the third baseman has a .218/.277/.358 line in 924 career plate appearances. The Indians released him last month.
Brown, 28, appeared in seven games for the 2010 Red Sox, but has spent most of his ten-year career in the minors. He has a .259/.340/.389 line in a decade's worth of minor league plate appearances. The Red Sox dropped him from their 40-man roster in October.
Minor League Transactions: Free Agents, Herges, Ramirez
Matt Eddy of Baseball America brings us minor league transactions for October 3rd to 9th, the first full week of the offseason for most clubs. Here are a few notes of interest from the latest series of minor league moves across the league:
- Many familiar names have been granted free agency, including Ian Snell, Cla Meredith, Micah Owings, Fernando Nieve, Dan Meyer, Ryan Garko, Mike Jacobs, and Jason Bergmann.
- The Royals released reliever Matt Herges. Herges didn't reach the majors this season, but had a solid year in 2009, recording a 3.38 ERA in 30 games between Cleveland and Colorado.
- Yordany Ramirez, a long-time minor league outfielder, was re-signed by the Astros. After struggling as a hitter in three Triple-A seasons, the 26-year-old is being converted to pitching.
Mets Designate Fernando Nieve For Assignment
The Mets designated Fernando Nieve for assignment after last night’s loss, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. In need of relievers, the team flew in right-hander Manny Acosta from Triple A and he will replace Nieve on the roster, according to the Mets.
The Mets claimed Nieve off of waivers from the Astros last year and he responded by posting a sub-3.00 ERA in 36.2 innings of work. This season, the 28-year-old Venezuelan has a 6.00 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9. It wouldn't be a surprise if the Mets' decision to designate Nieve had something to do with the five runs he allowed the D'Backs to score in his relief appearance Monday.
Odds & Ends: Dye, Mets, Lincecum, Vazquez, Colon
Some links for your Friday afternoon...
- Jermaine Dye mentioned to Frank Thomas that he's considering retirement, according to a tweet from CSN Chicago's Chuck Garfien.
- Adam Rubin of The New York Daily News tweets the Mets' players that are out of options: Pat Misch, Anderson Hernandez, Nelson Figueroa, and Fernando Nieve. All four seem to be on the bubble.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law says Tim Lincecum left "a lot of money on the table" this morning when he agreed to a two-year $23MM deal.
- A number of unnamed GMs tell ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that they haven't figured out how to find good middle relief consistently.
- Javier Vazquez tells Carlos Gonzalez of Primera Hora that he doesn't see himself playing until he's 38 or 39. Vazquez, 33, doesn't expect to retire this year or next year, though. (Translated by Nick Collias).
- Bartolo Colon's agent tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the former Cy Young Award winner wants to pitch this coming season (Twitter link).
- Tom Glavine tells David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he won't rule out a future as a pitching coach. Now it would be too much of a time commitment for him.
- Ryan Rowland-Smith says via Twitter that he's glad the Mariners re-signed Mike Sweeney.
- The Rays signed infielders Angel Chavez and J.J. Furmaniak to minor league deals and invited the pair to Spring Training, according to a team press release.
- David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News shows that the Phillies have already made major commitments for 2011. They may not be able to re-sign Jayson Werth.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports that Russ Springer intends to pitch this coming season.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan has details on Khalil Greene's deal with the Rangers. The infielder makes $250K if he spends one day on the team's roster.
- Neftali Feliz leads USA Today's list of 100 names we need to know.
- Like most, Jack Moore of FanGraphs finds it hard to imagine 2011 free agent Derek Jeter finishing his career with a team other than the Yankees. One reason Moore believes Jeter's a fit in the Bronx: the shortstop's inside-out swing is perfect for Yankee Stadium.
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy guesses that Corey Hart's reps successfully compared their client to Jeff Francoeur and Josh Willingham. Hart won his arbitration hearing with the Brewers.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Giants and Tim Lincecum went right to the door of their arbitration hearing this morning before settling.
Mets Moves: Valentin, Armas, Spivey, Nieve
4:01pm: Hubbuch says the Mets put Nieve on waivers and will keep Rule 5 reliever Darren O'Day. Nieve, who is out of options, was claimed from the Astros recently.
12:20pm: According to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post, the Mets released veterans Jose Valentin, Tony Armas Jr., and Junior Spivey today. Valentin could return to the organization as a coach eventually.
