Juan Rincon Rumors
Juan Rincon Elects Free Agency
Right-hander Juan Rincon has opted out of his contract with the Angels and elected free agency, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Rincon had signed a minor league deal with Los Angeles in February.
Rincon, 33, has a 3.12 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 6.2 BB/9 in 26 innings at Triple-A this year. The ten-year MLB veteran has started three games and pitched out of the bullpen in 14 others. He last pitched in MLB with the 2010 Rockies.
Minor Moves: Dickerson, Rincon
We'll keep track of today's minor moves right here..
- Chris Dickerson cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A by the Yankees, writes Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. The move opens a spot on the 40-man roster, which should allow the Bombers to officially add Eric Chavez to the team. The 29-year-old Dickerson hit .260/.296/.360 in 55 plate appearances while playing both outfield corners for the Yankees last season.
- To bolster their minor league depth, the Angels signed reliever Juan Rincon to a deal with no spring training invite, tweets Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
Dodgers Sign Juan Rincon
The Dodgers have signed reliever Juan Rincon to a minor-league contract, the pitcher told Augusto Cárdenas at the Venezuelan paper Diario Panorama (link in Spanish). Rincon said the contract does not include an invitation to Spring Training, but he may still end up pitching there, as he noted, "I have to go to a mini-camp in order to be ready for big league [exhibition] games."
Rincon, 32, appeared in just two games for the Rockies last season and struggled at the team's Triple-A affiliate. The right-hander has shown that he can still strike hitters out in his light major league duty over the last two seasons, but control has eluded him since his mid-2000s heyday with the Twins.
Tankersley, Others Hit Free Agency
Taylor Tankersley and a number of others with big league experience recently hit free agency, as Baseball America's Matt Eddy reports. Joining the left-hander on the open market are Bobby Scales (Cubs), Justin Lehr (Reds), Paul Phillips (Rockies), Juan Rincon (Rockies), Hector Luna (Marlins), Anderson Hernandez (Astros), Adam Stern (Brewers), Denny Bautista (Giants), Brandon Medders (Giants), Willie Eyre (Rangers) and Sean Henn (Blue Jays).
Tankersley, the Marlins' first round pick in the 2004 draft, succeeded early in his career, but has since struggled. Still just 27, Tankersley brings a career 8.8 K/9 to the free agent market and could become a lefty specialist. He missed all of 2009 with a stress fracture in his elbow, but it wouldn't be surprising to see a team like the Diamondbacks take a flier on the former prospect.
Bautista, who turns 28 this weekend, is another interesting arm. He posted a 3.74 ERA with the Giants this year and struck out (11.8 K/9) and walked (7.2 BB/9) tons of batters in 33.2 innings. The right-hander has always walked lots of hitters, but his mid-90s fastball and ability to induce strikeouts may tempt teams looking to buy low on live arms.
Juan Rincon Designated For Assignment By Rockies
With Huston Street activated today from the disabled list, Colorado has cleared roster space by designating reliever Juan Rincon for assignment. Troy Renck of the Denver Post was the first to report that Rincon was being "moved out" (Twitter link), and he also tweets that the team will know by tomorrow if Rincon will stay in the organization.
This is the second time that the out-of-options Rincon has been DFA'ed by the Rockies this season. He cleared waivers the first time, went to Triple-A Colorado Springs and was just recalled to the majors last week. The right-hander has appeared in just two major league games this season, but has a 7.25 ERA in 24 relief appearances for Colorado Springs.
Odds & Ends: Chipper, DeJesus, Rincon
A few links to check out as you celebrate Kansas City being awarded the 2012 All-Star Game...
- Chipper Jones isn't ready to talk about his future yet, reports Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A settlement of the $28MM left on his contract is one issue that has to be cleared up before Jones can announce any retirement plans, if any.
- Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star says the Royals should find a way to maximize David DeJesus' value, either through trade or letting him leave as a free agent and receiving compensation draft picks. DeJesus currently projects to be a Type-B free agent, assuming the team declines his $6MM option for 2011.
- Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post mentions that Rockies' manager Jim Tracy indicated that Juan Rincon would likely be the reliever to bounce back and forth between the big leagues and Triple-A this year, however he's out of options and would need to clear waivers each time he is sent down.
Rockies Designate Rincon For Assignment
12:24pm: Renck tweets that Rincon has in fact been designated for assignment.
12:11pm: The Rockies are calling up righthander Esmil Rogers to start today's game against the Giants, and it appears that reliever Juan Rincon may lose his 40-man roster spot according to The Denver Post's Troy Renck (via Twitter). Rincon's name was not included on the pre-game lineup card.
The 31-year-old Rincon has appeared in just one game for the Rockies this year, giving up one run in one inning of work. Colorado re-signed him to a minor league contract over the winter.
Odds & Ends: Rincon, Calero, Rangers, Encarnacion
Here are some links to kick off the weekend...
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post provides the details on Juan Rincon's contract with the Rockies. He'll earn $800K plus incentives in the big leagues, or $20K per month in the minors.
- Satchel Price at Beyond The Box Score wonders why we haven't heard more about Kiko Calero this offseason. The Cubs and Giants were interested in the righthander at various times this offseason.
- Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas reiterates what we heard yesterday: the Rangers are seeking a veteran catcher. He mentions that they've shown interest in both Rod Barajas and Dioner Navarro.
- Edwin Encarnacion suffered burns to his face in a fireworks accident according to ESPN Deportes' Enrique Rojas. He will not require surgery, and will be ready to go in Spring Training.
- Jeff Passan at Yahoo! Sports lists ten players we should keep an on eye to see how their market develops during the remainder of the offseason. His list is led by Matt Holliday and Aroldis Chapman.
- MLB.com's Matthew Leach notes that if the Cardinals felt they weren't in a good position to re-sign Holliday, they would have moved on to other targets by now.
- Dick Kaegel of MLB.com says that "it would take a calamitous showing" for Royals' manager Trey Hillman to lose his job this season given his relationship with GM Dayton Moore.
- Steve Slowinski at DRaysBay goes back in time to evaluate the Danys Baez and Lance Carter for Edwin Jackson and Chuck Tiffany trade.
Rockies Re-Sign Juan Rincon
The Rockies have re-signed reliever Juan Rincon to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding. He'll compete for a bullpen spot in Spring Training.
Rincon, 31 next month, had a 7.52 ERA in 26.1 innings with the Rockies last season. After a long stint with the Twins, Rincon has bounced around from Cleveland to Detroit to Colorado in the last few seasons.
Rockies Notes: Marquis, Betancourt, Giambi
Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies examines Colorado's commitments for 2010, and the decisions they'll face regarding potential free agents and arbitration cases. Here are a few of his thoughts:
- Jason Marquis has said he wants to sign with the Mets and likely won't be back in Colorado.
- There's a good chance that lefty Alan Embree will retire.
- Jose Contreras is interested in returning in a middle relief capacity, but Matt Belisle is a younger option for the team in that role.
- The club would like to retain Rafael Betancourt, but his contract would have to be reworked. Betancourt has a $5.4MM club option for 2010.
- Behind the plate, Chris Iannetta will be back as the starter. Yorvit Torrealba could return as Ianetta's backup, but probably not for more than $1MM.
- The team may not have room for Jason Giambi, instead opting to use his roster spot on a right-handed hitter who can play both infield corners.
- Righty relievers Juan Rincon and Matt Herges could receive minor-league invites.
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