Astros Release Joe Inglett
The Astros have released utility infielder Joe Inglett, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (via Twitter). Houston acquired Inglett from Tampa Bay in March, and designated him for assignment at the end of April. Inglett hit .222/.222/.259 in 27 plate appearances for the Astros this year and had just two hits in 37 plate appearances at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Inglett, who turns 33 next month, has a career .734 OPS in six Major League seasons with the Indians, Blue Jays, Brewers and Astros. He has played everywhere but catcher and first base during his career, even pitching a perfect inning of relief for Milwaukee last year. All but 92 of Inglett's 898 career plate appearances have been against right-handed pitching, so between Inglett's decent left-handed bat and his versatility, he's a good bet to be signed by a club in need of bench depth.
Quick Hits: Dodgers, Cardinals, Inglett, Broderick
Saturday evening linkage…
- Frank McCourt told Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times that the Dodgers' roster would look the same even if the team didn't have financial problems. He was also vague about future payroll plans if the multi-billion dollar deal with FOX were to be approved (Twitter link).
- B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com points out that the Cardinals will have to make room for Brian Tallet when the lefty comes off the disabled list next week (Twitter links). He doesn't think they'll cut ties with the struggling Ryan Franklin, but he says it's "debatable."
- MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports that Joe Inglett has accepted his outright assignment and will join the Astros' Triple-A affiliate (on Twitter). Inglett could have elected free agency after clearing waivers earlier in the week.
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo believes that pitcher Brian Broderick has a bright future in the big leagues, despite being DFA'd by the club earlier today, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
- Manager Dusty Baker is curious to see if the newly activated Jose Arredondo can provide the Reds with the kind of pitching they expected upon signing him.
- Dave Gershman of Beyond The Box Score examined the market for Padres pitcher Dustin Moseley.
Texas Notes: Figueroa, Inglett, Ryan
The latest on the Astros, as they shuffle their roster, plus an update on Nolan Ryan's responsibilities…
- The Astros announced that Nelson Figueroa and Joe Inglett cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A. Inglett accepted his minor league assignment last week, according to MLB.com, while Figueroa accepted his assignment today, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
- The Astros are scheduled to activate Jason Michaels from the 15-day DL before tonight's game in Houston.
- MLB appointed team president Nolan Ryan as the 'control' person of Rangers, according to Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Baseball’s owners approved the move, which makes Ryan accountable to MLB for operating the Rangers and following rules.
Astros Notes: McLane, Crane, Friedman, Inglett
The Astros have allowed more runs than any other National League team (151). Despite Bud Norris' emergence and solid pitching from Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers, the bullpen ERA is 4.97 and J.A. Happ and Nelson Figueroa have struggled. Here's the latest on the Astros, with a focus on the potential sale of the team…
- Astros owner Drayton McLane told Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle that Houston businessman Jim Crane has become the lone buyer he’s focusing on. “Jim Crane is the only person we’re negotiating with now,” McLane said Monday.
- Others were interested as prospective buyers, however. Houston attorney Kenny Friedman confirmed that he had spoken to McLane about assembling a group to buy the team, according to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Friedman is the father of Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
- Joe Inglett, who was designated for assignment late last week, cleared waivers and accepted a Triple-A assignment, according to McTaggart (on Twitter).
Astros Designate Joe Inglett For Assignment
The Astros designated Joe Inglett for assignment to create roster space for Clint Barmes, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Barmes was hit by a pitch in Spring Training and has now recovered from a fractured hand.
Inglett hit .208/.208/.250 in 24 plate appearances for the Astros, who acquired him from the Rays this spring. The 32-year-old appeared in 102 games for the Brewers last year, hitting .254/.331/.401 and playing second base, left field and right field. He has also played shortstop, third base and center field over the course of his six-year MLB career. The left-handed hitter has a .286/.345/.397 line in the majors.
Barmes has not appeared in a big league game for the Astros since they acquired him for Felipe Paulino last November. He hit .235/.305/.351 in 432 plate appearances for Colorado last year, playing short, second and third.
Astros Acquire Joe Inglett
The Astros have acquired Joe Inglett from the Rays in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations, tweets Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
Inglett, 32, has seen time at shortstop, second base, third base, and all three outfield spots over the course of his career. The utility man owns a respectable career line of .286/.345/.397 over 871 career plate appearances. He carries a significant platoon split, having hit just .200/.310/.253 against southpaws, though that data comes from a very small sample size of just 91 plate appearances.
Alyson Footer adds, via Twitter, that Inglett comes to the Astros as a non-roster player and will be in the mix for a job as a left-handed bench bat.
Rays Sign Joe Inglett
The Rays signed Joe Inglett to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Major League Spring Training, the team announced. The 32-year-old, who was non-tendered by Milwaukee in December, will provide the Rays with depth on the infield and in the outfield.
Inglett appeared in 102 games for the Brewers last year, hitting .254/.331/.401 and playing second base, left field and right field. He has also played shortstop, third base and center field over the course of his five-year MLB career. The left-handed hitter has a .286/.345/.397 line in the majors, so he's a potential source of OBP off of manager Joe Maddon's bench.
Elliot Johnson, Felipe Lopez and Casey Kotchman will also be battling for spots on the Rays' bench. Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times first reported the Inglett signing.
National League Non-Tenders
This post will list all the National League players non-tendered today, but the best place to track all 200+ arbitration eligible players is our new non-tender tracker.
- Rockies: Manny Delcarmen
- Mets: Sean Green Chris Carter, John Maine
- Nationals: Joel Peralta, Wil Nieves, Chien-Ming Wang
- Dodgers: Russell Martin, George Sherrill, Trent Oeltjen
- Giants: Chris Ray, Eugenio Velez
- Pirates: Lastings Milledge, Argenis Diaz, Donnie Veal, Brian Burres
- Diamondbacks: Blaine Boyer, Ryan Church, Augie Ojeda, D.J. Carrasco
- Marlins: Jose Veras, Ronny Paulino
- Padres: Tony Gwynn, Scott Hairston, Matt Antonelli, Luis Perdomo
- Brewers: Todd Coffey, Joe Inglett
- Astros: Sammy Gervacio
- Braves: Matt Diaz
Odds & Ends: Ortiz, Brewers, Salcedo, Miller
Links for Saturday…
- David Ortiz said he isn't letting his contract situation get to him, writes ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes. Big Papi will earn $12.5MM this year, and the Red Sox hold an option at the same salary for 2011 with no buyout. Tough to see them picking that one up.
- An interesting point raised by MLB.com's Adam McCalvy: The Brewers essentially traded Hernan Iribarren to the Rangers for Joe Inglett. Milwaukee picked up Inglett in January after he was waived by Texas. Mat Gamel and Inglett are now in the mix for the Brewers' final bench spot.
- Edward Salcedo was officially introduced to Braves reporters this morning, writes Mark Bowman of MLB.com. The 18-year-old Dominican shortstop said that Atlanta was the only organization to show significant interest in him over the past two years.
- Jim Edmonds may be playing his way into a role with the Brewers, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- Both the Diamondbacks and Mariners had interest in Dana Eveland before he was acquired by the Blue Jays, tweets MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com spoke to a scout who wouldn't be surprised if the Marlins traded lefty Andrew Miller (link goes to Twitter).
- David Murphy is just biding his time on Texas' bench, writes Anthony Andro of The Star-Telegram. Murphy is a .278/.336/.465 career hitter, but he might get too expensive for a bench job as he enters his first arbitration year after 2010.
- Ben Shpigel of The New York Times reports that Yankees' hitting coach Kevin Long was analyzing videotape of Curtis Granderson to help him improve against lefthanders way back in November, a month before the team traded for him.
Odds & Ends: Brewers, Cubs, Looper, Baer, Wigginton
Links for Monday…
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy posts an unofficial list of Brewers' players who are out of options. Joe Inglett and George Kottaras appear to be the players most on the bubble.
- In a mailbag, MLB.com's Carrie Muskat says that the Cubs are still looking for righthanded relief help.
- MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince explains that Grady Sizemore's 2012 club option becomes a player option if traded. He also notes that the Indians are not in on Felipe Lopez.
- Braden Looper will not settle for a low base salary or a minor league deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- The Biz of Baseball now has Opening Day and year-end payroll data by team.
- Giants president Larry Baer mentioned MLBTR in a recent KNBR interview with Ralph Barbieri and Tom Tolbert.
- Roch Kubatko of MASN believes it's possible the Orioles will trade Ty Wigginton. Wiggy has $3.5MM coming in 2010.
- Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues ponders the benefits of the Yankees bringing Gary Sheffield back on a minor league deal.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs would like the Mariners to spend a few million on Jarrod Washburn, provided he'd be willing to pitch out of the bullpen when Erik Bedard is ready.
- ESPN's Tim Kurkjian explains why the Reds should sign Johnny Damon.