Jayson Nix Rumors
AL Notes: Yankees, Bauer, Twins, Dickey
If you are looking for some interesting reading this evening, have a look at the evolution of the defensive shift as told by Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Meanwhile, let's take a look at some American League clubs and ballplayers:
- We heard on Wednesday that the Yankees were looking for a right-handed bat, and all signs point to that need being real. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports that Jayson Nix, who sports a career .365 slugging percentage, has been taking balls at first base in case the team wants a righty to spell Lyle Overbay. Nix has held down third base while Kevin Youkilis works his way back, but the Yanks' recent acquisition of Chris Nelson provides the club with another option at the hot corner.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman deserves a ton of credit for finding value in Overbay, Travis Hafner, and Vernon Wells, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. There may be a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel for the scrambling Cashman, however. Hoch reports that Ivan Nova, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, and Youkilis are all expected to report to the Yankees' Tampa facility for rehab work. Meanwhile, Curtis Granderson has been playing in extended spring training since Wednesday.
- Count Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer as a fan of the Indians' decision to trade for young pitcher Trevor Bauer this offseason. Hoynes writes that Bauer is ready to be a successful big leaguer this year, and may be the most talented pitching prospect in Cleveland since a certain CC Sabathia.
- Of course, all three teams involved in the deal that brought Bauer to the Indians seem to have gotten what they wanted out of the deal (at least so far). In addition to Bauer, outfielder Drew Stubbs is off to a fairly promising start for Cleveland, and currently sports a .284/.340/.420 line. The Indians have also enjoyed quality bullpen work from Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw. Meanwhile, Shin-Soo Choo has clobbered the ball for the Reds, putting up a .330/.467/.541 line. He has done so while playing a passable, albeit below average, center field. And the Diamondbacks not only seem quite pleased with shortstop prospect Didi Gregorius, who is off to a .407/.448/.778 start in his first 30 plate appearances, but have received solid production from veteran reliever Tony Sipp.
- Of course, not all deals turn out the way you hope. As ESPN's Buster Olney notes on Twitter, Twins fans are (or should be) cringing at the hot start for the Brewers' Carlos Gomez. After emerging as a solid regular center fielder last season, Gomez is putting up excellent power, speed, and on-base numbers thus far in 2013. The Twins shipped Gomez to Milwaukee in return for J.J. Hardy after the 2009 season, and later sent Hardy to the Orioles to make way for the failed Tsuyoshi Nishioka experiment. In exchange for Hardy, in turn, the Twins got a pair of young righties -- Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson -- who have failed to deliver any value to the club.
- While the full ramifications of trades often take years to clarify, the Blue Jays could be wondering already how the recent trade for R.A. Dickey will turn out. As Mark Simon of ESPN.com explains, Dickey is failing to get hitters to chase pitches outside the zone, which could attributable in part to decreased knuckleball velocity. On the other side of the ledger, the Mets have surprisingly received incredible production from a seemingly minor piece of that deal -- catcher John Buck -- and were able to slot prospects Travis d'Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard atop the team's prospect list.
Minor Moves: Rockies, Jayson Nix, Travis Webb
Here are some minor transactions from around baseball...
- The Rockies have signed Justin Berg, Hernan Iribarren, Jeff Manship, Gustavo Molina and Henry Wrigley to minor league contracts, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post. All five are invited to the Rockies' big league Spring Training camp.
- The Yankees have outrighted Jayson Nix off the 40-man roster and assigned him to Triple-A, tweets Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Nix accepted his assignment after being designated for assignment and clearing waivers, as he agreed after signing his one-year, $900K contract with the club last week.
- The Brewers have signed left-hander Travis Webb to a minor league contract, the team announced. The deal contained an invitation to the Major League Spring Training camp. Webb, 28, has a 4.13 ERA and 8.5 K/9 rate in 186 career games (88 starts) in the Reds' minor league system since 2006, pitching primarily as a reliever over the last two seasons.
Players To Avoid Arbitration
Tonight is the deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration eligible players. Many teams will agree to terms with players before the 11pm CT deadline and we'll keep track of them here. Be sure to check out MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker for complete details:
- The Mariners have avoided arbitration with Josh Kinney, the team announced. It's a one-year deal.
- The Pirates have agreed to terms with Charlie Morton, the team announced. The right-hander missed most of the season following Tommy John surgery. Morton will earn $2MM, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has learned.
- The Athletics avoided arbitration with Adam Rosales, the team announced. They also agreed to sign Daric Barton to a one-year, $1.1MM contract, avoiding arbitration, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (on Twitter). The non-guaranteed deal includes $250K in incentives. Barton had been a non-tender candidate.
- The Orioles announced that they have avoided arbitration with Taylor Teagarden, Steve Pearce, and Alexi Casilla. Casilla's deal is worth $1.7MM with a $3MM option for 2014 ($200K buyout) according to Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).
- The Astros announced that they have avoided arbitration with Phil Humber. It's a one-year deal worth $800K with a $3MM club option for 2014 ($500K buyout), reports the AP via MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (on Twitter). Houston claimed the right-hander off waivers earlier today.
- The Yankees announced that they avoided arbitration with Jayson Nix, signing the infielder to a Major League deal for 2013.
- The Royals announced that they avoided arbitration with second baseman Chris Getz, agreeing to a one-year, Major League contract. Getz will earn $1.05MM in 2013 on a deal that includes up to $150K in performance bonuses, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports (on Twitter). Luke Hochevar is Kansas City's lone unsigned arbitration eligible player as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Yankees Designate Jayson Nix For Assignment
The Yankees have designated Jayson Nix for assignment, the team announced. The move creates room on the 40-man roster for the recently re-signed Mariano Rivera.
Nix, 30, hit .243/.306/.384 in 202 plate appearances with New York this year. He signed a new one-year contract to avoid arbitration today, but Chad Jennings of The Journal News says (on Twitter) Nix has agreed to accept the assignment to Triple-A and come to big league Spring Training if he clears waivers.
Jennings notes that Nix's new deal is worth $900K, which is exactly what Matt Swartz projected.
AL East Links: Bailey, Farnsworth, Alvarez, Yankees
It was on this day in 1919 that Yankees outfielder Ping Bodie defeated an ostrich named Percy in a spaghetti-eating contest. The valiant bird made it through 11 plates before finally passing out. We here at MLB Trade Rumors usually stick to reporting transactions, but we promise to provide up-to-the-minute coverage of any modern player vs. bird eating duels.
Here's the latest from the AL East...
- The Red Sox announced that Andrew Bailey will undergo surgery on his right thumb's UCL tomorrow, a procedure that a team source tells Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald will sideline Bailey for 4-5 months (Twitter link). The Rays look like they'll also be without a closer, as Kyle Farnsworth is expected to start the season on the DL with an elbow issue. To keep tabs on who the Sox and Rays will use in the ninth inning, follow Tim Dierkes on Twitter @CloserNews.
- Red Sox GM Ben Cherington says he is continuing to explore external pitching options since he never feels comfortable about the club's depth, tweets Michael Silverman.
- Blue Jays right-hander Henderson Alvarez has switched agencies and is now being represented by Proformance, reports MLBTR's Tim Dierkes.
- No team claimed either Jayson Nix and Dewayne Wise today so both players will start the season with the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate, tweets Jack Curry of the YES Network. Any team that had claimed Nix or Wise would've had to put them on their 25-man roster.
- With more teams willing to spend money on signing or extending top pitchers, Joel Sherman of the New York Post feels the Yankees need their young arms to deliver since the Bombers can no longer rely on outspending the competition.
- Rule 5 draft pick Ryan Flaherty will make the Orioles, and thus will have to spend the entire season on the team's 25-man roster or else be offered back to his original team, the Cubs. Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun relates how O's manager Buck Showalter told Flaherty the news in front of the rest of the team.
Yankees Sign Jayson Nix
The Yankees have signed Jayson Nix to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Major League Spring Training, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Nix, a 29-year-old who bats from the right side, will presumably compete for a utility job next spring.
Nix posted a .169/.245/.309 line in 151 plate appearances for the 2011 Blue Jays before they outrighted him to the minors in July. He posted double-digit home run totals in 2009-10, but has struck out in a quarter of his career plate appearances. The 2001 first rounder has MLB experience at shortstop, second, third and both corner outfield positions.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Jayson Nix
Let's keep track of all the day's outrights right here...
- The Blue Jays have outrighted Jayson Nix to Triple-A according to MLB.com's transactions log. Nix had been designated for assignment a week ago after hitting .169/.245/.309 in 151 plate appearances for Toronto.
Blue Jays Acquire Jayson Nix
The Blue Jays acquired infielder Jayson Nix from the Indians for cash considerations, according to a tweet from the team. The Jays will have to find a spot for Nix on the 25-man roster or risk losing him to a waiver claim or free agency. They found a spot on the 40-man by placing Jesse Carlson on the 60-day DL.
Nix, 28, hit .224/.281/.396 with 14 home runs in 363 plate appearances for the White Sox and Indians last year, playing mostly second and third base. He was in the mix this spring for a backup infield job with the Tribe, but Adam Everett won that battle. It became clear yesterday that the Indians would try to trade him.
Indians Will Try To Trade Jayson Nix
The Indians will attempt to trade infielder Jayson Nix, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. If they fail, he'll be designated for assignment. Nix is out of options and can decline an outright assignment to the minors if he does clear waivers.
Nix, 28, hit .224/.281/.396 with 14 home runs in 363 plate appearances for the White Sox and Indians last year, playing mostly second and third base. He was in the mix this spring for a backup infield job with the Tribe, but Adam Everett won that battle.
Five Difference-Making Waiver Claims
No one can compete with Cesar Carrillo when it comes to waiver claims. The former first rounder was claimed three times within two weeks this month, so he's approaching waiver claim Hall of Fame territory. Here are five other waiver claims that made a difference this season:
- White Sox Claim Manny Ramirez, August 31st, 2010 - Ramirez has been getting on base, but he has just one extra base hit since joining the White Sox. GM Kenny Williams was hoping for a repeat of Manny's 2008 surge, but he didn't get it and Chicago won't make the playoffs.
- Dodgers Claim Rod Barajas, August 22nd, 2010 - Barajas has an .882 OPS since joining the Dodgers, but it won't be enough to lead the team back to the playoffs. The catcher did his part when the team was in contention, hitting three homers in his first five games as a Dodger.
- Pirates Claim Chris Resop, August 4th, 2010 - The Pirates bought low on Resop and he has responded with 17.2 solid innings; he has walked 5.1 batters per nine, but also has a 2.04 ERA and 10.7 K/9 in Pittsburgh.
- Astros Claim Nelson Figueroa, July 21st, 2010 - The 36-year-old Figueroa pitched 54.1 innings for the Astros after GM Ed Wade claimed him from his former team, the Phillies. The right-hander posted a 3.98 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 for Houston.
- Indians Claim Jayson Nix, June 24th, 2010 - Nix has played second, third and left for the Indians and though he doesn't get on base much, he has hit 11 homers for the Tribe.
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