Josh Bell Rumors
Minor Moves: Wilson, Beimel, Parraz, Velazquez, Bell
We'll keep track of today's minor moves here.
- The Padres signed outfielder Mike Wilson to a minor-league deal, according to MLB.com's transactions page. The former Mariners prospect hit .239/.343/.452 for Triple-A Tacoma last year. He has 27 career big-league at bats.
- The Braves have signed lefty reliever Joe Beimel to a minor-league deal, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (on Twitter). Beimel missed 2012 due to injury. He pitched 25 1/3 innings for the Pirates in 2011, posting a 5.33 ERA with 6.04 K/9 and 3.20 BB/9.
- The Twins will sign outfielder Jordan Parraz and assign him to Double-A, MLBTR has learned. Parraz, 28, hit .141/.230/.321 in 78 at bats for the Braves' Triple-A affiliate this season.
- The Marlins have signed infielder Gil Velazquez, Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel reports (on Twitter). Velazquez, 33, has a career .245/.307/.327 line in the minors. He played in the Yankees' farm system earlier in 2013 before being released.
- The Yankees have signed third baseman Josh Bell to a minor-league deal, Chris Cotillo of CLNSRadio.com reports. Bell has hit .195/.223/.265 in 272 career big-league at bats. He received 55 at bats for the White Sox's Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte in 2013 before being released.
Minor Moves: Bell, Magnuson, Green
Today's minor moves:
- Infielder Josh Bell has been released by the White Sox, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). Bell, 26, was with the club's Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte where he hit .273/.310/.345 in 58 plate appearances this season. He was the key player in the July 2009 trade that sent George Sherrill to the Dodgers.
- The Blue Jays released righty Trystan Magnuson, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Magnuson, a 27-year-old Canadian, struggled in his ten Double-A appearances this year. The 56th overall pick in the 2007 draft, Magnuson was traded to the Athletics in 2010 in the deal that brought Rajai Davis to Toronto. A year later, the Blue Jays bought Magnuson back from the A's.
- Marlins second baseman Donovan Solano was placed on the 15-day DL last night, reported MLB.com's Joe Frisaro, prompting the club to purchase the contract of infielder Nick Green from Triple-A. Henderson Alvarez was transferred to the 60-day DL in a corresponding move. Green, signed to a minor league deal in January, lost his 40-man roster spot last Thursday in favor of Matt Diaz but has already regained it.
- Four players currently reside in DFA limbo: Jonathan Sanchez of the Pirates, Kameron Loe of the Cubs, and Rick Ankiel and Fernando Martinez of the Astros.
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.
O's Acquire Mike Belfiore To Complete Josh Bell Trade
The Orioles have acquired minor league lefty Mike Belfiore from the Diamondbacks to complete the Josh Bell trade, the team announced. Arizona acquired Bell for a player to be named later last month.
Belfiore, 23, was the 45th overall pick of the 2009 draft but has yet to develop as hoped. He owns a 4.05 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 282 1/3 minor league innings, but has experienced some success after moving to the bullpen full-time last year. Baseball America did not rank him among Arizona's top 30 prospects in their 2012 Prospect Handbook.
Belfiore may be best known for throwing 9 2/3 scoreless innings of relief for Boston College during an NCAA postseason game in 2009, the longest game in college baseball history.
Diamondbacks Acquire Josh Bell From O's
The Diamondbacks have acquired infielder Josh Bell from the Orioles, a source tells Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link), and Arizona announced that Baltimore will receive a player to be named. The Orioles designated Bell for assignment earlier in the week.
Baltimore acquired Bell, 25, from the Dodgers shortly before the non-waiver trade deadline in 2009, in the deal that sent left-handed reliever George Sherrill to Los Angeles. Bell was a well-regarded prospect then but played poorly in two stints with the O's in 2010 and '11, hitting .200/.221/.264 in 226 Major League plate appearances.
Arizona was one of four teams interested in acquiring the 2005 fourth-round draft pick, according to Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com, who adds that the Dodgers were in the mix, as well (Twitter links). Bell will be assigned to Triple-A Reno, Ghiroli writes.
Quick Hits: Glass, Bell, Bumgarner
The 1909 T-206 Honus Wagner baseball card continues to be the hottest item in the memorabilia market, as one of the rare cards was sold today for $1.2MM in an online auction. Here's some news from around the majors as we head into the weekend...
- “The more payroll you have, the easier it is to be competitive,” Royals owner David Glass tells Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. “But you’ve seen Tampa Bay and several other teams go to the World Series with low payrolls, so you don’t have to do it that way. What you can do is develop a lot of your own players, bring them up through your system without having to go to the big-time free agents. That’s what we’re doing and hopefully, it will work out well.”
- The Orioles are still trying to find a trade partner for Josh Bell, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Bell was designated for assignment on Tuesday.
- Giants VP of baseball operations Bobby Evans discussed Madison Bumgarner's new contract extension with Jim Duquette and Mike Ferrin of MLB Network Radio's "Power Alley" show on SiriusXM.
Orioles Claim Luis Exposito, Designate Josh Bell
The Orioles announced that they claimed catcher Luis Exposito off of waivers from the Red Sox. To create 40-man roster space for Exposito, Baltimore designated infielder Josh Bell for assignment.
The Red Sox designated Exposito and Michael Bowden for assignment in a recent roster shuffle. The 25-year-old Exposito spent last season at Triple-A, where he posted a .242/.298/.367 line in 359 plate appearances. He prevented one third of stolen base attempts from behind the plate.
Bell, once considered a top prospect, has fallen out of favor in Baltimore. He spent most of last season at Triple-A, where he posted a .253/.320/.438 line in 438 plate appearances as Norfolk's third baseman. He has a .485 OPS in 226 plate appearances at the MLB level.
Pirates Break Draft Records
The Pirates spent $30.6MM on the 2008-10 drafts, more than any other team. This year they upped the ante, spending over $17MM on 24 players - the largest draft expenditure in baseball history. Yesterday, the Bucs inked first overall pick Gerrit Cole for a record $8MM bonus, and then surprised the industry by succeeding in signing second round pick/first round talent Josh Bell for $5MM. Bell, who had a strong commitment to the University of Texas, more than doubled the record for a player drafted outside of the first round. Both players are represented by Scott Boras, as our agency database shows. Today's Pirates draft links...
- Talking to Karen Price of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, GM Neal Huntington explained the team's pursuit of Bell: "His family is obviously strong, they're intelligent and hard-working people, and we had nothing but respect for their perspective. We wanted the opportunity to explain who we were, how we do things, and we were hoping Josh was ready to take the step to professional baseball if we were to find a common financial ground, and we were able to do that."
- Cole can make more than $9MM in guaranteed money if he reaches the Majors by 2013, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. Price has Huntington explaining that Cole's record minor league deal was the way to go: "There are times where a pure minor league contract and minor league signing bonus, paid out over nine months, is better than a major league contract paid out over five-plus years, depending on how the deals are structured."
- Just for good measure, the Pirates also set a ninth-round record by signing high school righty Clay Holmes for $1.2MM, according to Baseball America's Jim Callis. Holmes was one of many over slot deals for the Pirates.
Pirates Sign Josh Bell
The Pirates signed second rounder Josh Bell for $5MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). The team has confirmed the deal. The high schooler appeared to be one of the toughest signs in the draft.
NL Central Notes: Pujols, Bell, Brewers
Albert Pujols will miss four to six weeks with a fracture in his left arm, further confirmation that no NL Central club appears ready to run away with the division. The 40-33 Brewers would deal a catcher, the defending champion Reds are eyeing arms and the Pirates are lurking around the .500 mark. Here's the rest of tonight's NL Central-related news...
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told Matthew Leach of MLB.com that he isn't ready to determine how aggressive the Cardinals will be in trade talks leading up to the July 31st deadline. The GM acknowledged that Pujols' injury opens "some potential opportunities out there that maybe [the team] wouldn't have explored 48 hours ago."
- Here's more reaction to Pujols' injury from earlier tonight.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America hears that Pirates draft pick Josh Bell is set on going to the University of Texas, where he has committed to playing. Despite that, Callis likes the pick for Pittsburgh, which should have plenty of money to dangle in the prospect's direction.
- Adam McCalvy and Audrey Snyder of MLB.com explain how one lucky Brewers fan signed a one-day contract with his favorite team.
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