Kip Wells Rumors
Minor Moves: Fossum, Johnson, Wells, Buschmann
We'll keep track of today's minor moves right here...
- The Orioles released left-hander Casey Fossum and catcher Josh Johnson, tweets Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com. Both players were at Baltimore's extended Spring Training camp on minor league contracts.
- The White Sox have parted ways with Kip Wells, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune tweets. The White Sox had signed the right-hander to a minor league deal ten days ago.
- The Rays acquired right-hander Matt Buschmann from the Nationals for cash and assigned their new acquisition to Double-A, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The 28-year-old posted a 6.16 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 134 1/3 innings with the Padres' top affiliates last year. Buschmann has started 116 minor league games in six pro seasons.
White Sox To Sign Kip Wells
We'll keep track of the day's minor moves right here...
- The White Sox agreed to sign right-hander Kip Wells to a minor league deal, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Wells, 34, last pitched in the Major Leagues in 2009. He broke in with the 1999 White Sox and spent three seasons in Chicago before the White Sox traded him to Pittsburgh. Wells reached 93 mph in a recent workout with the Mets.
Quick Hits: Hernandez, Hamels, Grabow, Wells
In what has to be one of the more unusual clubhouse transactions in baseball history, Carlos Beltran has come through on his promise to pay for ex-Mets teammate Jonathon Niese's nose job. Beltran footed the $10K bill for Niese's rhinoplasty, which, as Mets fan Jerry Seinfeld famously observed, is a pretty unusual name for such a procedure.
Some news from around the majors...
- The terms of Roberto Hernandez's restructured contract with the Indians have been reported by The Associated Press. The pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona will now earn $2.5MM in 2012 (down from $7MM) with another $2.7MM available in roster and performance bonuses. The Tribe's $9MM option on Hernandez for 2013 drops to $6MM, though Hernandez can earn that money back based on innings pitched and bonuses carried over from 2012. Cleveland also holds a $14MM team option on the right-hander for 2014 that is apparently still intact.
- Cole Hamels feels bad that his friend Ryan Madson will miss the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but Hamels said that Madson's situation won't cause him to rethink his own plans for free agency, reports Scott Miller of CBS Sports. "If you're in the game long enough, nothing can push you in a different direction and make you worry," Hamels said. "If you're able to reach free agency, you've obviously had success in the big leagues, and there are going to be teams that trust you....Surgeries are a lot better today, they're not as scary as they were 10 or 12 years ago."
- The Pirates haven't yet expressed interest in left-hander John Grabow, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Grabow exercised an out clause in his Dodgers contract earlier today and is now a free agent. Grabow was originally drafted by the Bucs in 1997 and pitched for the club from 2003-09.
- Right-hander Kip Wells threw for the Mets a few weeks ago and hit 93 mph on the radar gun, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Wells hasn't pitched in the majors since 2009 but recently signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks.
- “I’ve been a Red for 10 years now,” Joey Votto tells John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I don’t daydream about playing for another team. I don’t.” Votto is scheduled to hit free agency after 2013 but again reiterated that he hopes to remain with the Reds and is only focused on the upcoming season.
Diamondbacks Sign Kip Wells
The Diamondbacks have signed Kip Wells to a minor league contract according to Baseball America's Matt Eddy. Wells had been with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League.
The soon-to-be 34-year-old last appeared in the bigs leagues with the Reds in 2009. Cincinnati re-signed him last February, but ended up releasing him before the season started. Wells then hooked on with the Ducks, and posted a 4.00 ERA with 23 strikeouts and 15 walks in 27 innings (five starts) with them. He owns a 4.71 ERA during a Major League career that has spanned parts of 11 seasons.
Long Island Ducks Sign Kip Wells
The Long Island Ducks signed pitcher Kip Wells, according to the Atlantic League's website. Wells, 33, posted a 5.33 ERA, 5.3 K/9, and 5.0 BB/9 in 72.6 innings for the Reds and Nationals last year. The Reds had re-signed Wells to a minor league deal in mid-February this year, but cut him loose in April.
Reds Notes: Wells, Chapman, Leake, Balentien, Miles
A few Reds-related items to round up:
- The team has released Kip Wells, according to the club's official Twitter page. They had signed the veteran right-hander to a minor league deal earlier in the winter.
- Aroldis Chapman is among the players listed in the same tweet that will head to the Reds' Triple A affiliate in Louisville.
- Mike Leake, Cincinnati's first round pick in last year's draft, has earned a spot in the rotation as the team's fifth starter, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Sheldon points out that Leake will be the first drafted pitcher to skip the Minor Leagues entirely since Darren Dreifort, and ESPN.com's Rob Neyer adds that no starting pitcher has pulled off the feat since Jim Abbott in 1989.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that Wladimir Balentien and Aaron Miles remain on the roster for now, but will not be on the team. GM Walt Jocketty says that the club will try to trade them in the next few days, if possible. Fay adds in a tweet that the pair will be designated for assignment on Sunday.
Reds Sign Kip Wells; Gomes Still Possible
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the Reds have signed Kip Wells to a minor league deal.
Wells, 32, pitched to a 5.33 ERA for Cincinnati and Washington last year, with a pedestrian 40 walks, 43 strikeouts in 72 2/3 innings.
Reds GM Walt Jocketty said it is still possible the team will sign Jonny Gomes, but there is no news on that front. Beyond Gomes, Cincinnati has no other free agent targets.
Reds Rumors: Free Agents, Scutaro, Wells
MLB.com's Mark Sheldon has the latest on the Reds' offseason plans:
- GM Walt Jocketty says the team won't be very active on the free agent market.
- The Reds won't set a payroll until next month, but they won't be spending on big-name free agents.
- That probably includes Marco Scutaro, who would fit the team's needs.
- The Reds don't plan on offering free agent pitcher Kip Wells a major league contract.
Reds Sign Kip Wells
Mark Sheldon of MLB.com is reporting that the Reds have signed Kip Wells to a minor league deal and assigned him to AAA.
Wells was designated for assignment on June 24th by the Nationals and elected free agency after clearing waivers. He posted a 6.49 ERA and an 18/18 K/BB ratio in 26 1/3 innings out of the Nationals' bullpen.
Kip Wells: Free Agent
According to Bill Ladson of MLB.com, right-hander Kip Wells has cleared waivers and elected to become a free agent.
Wells was designated for assignment on June 24 after posting a 6.49 ERA and an 18/18 K/BB ratio in 26 1/3 innings out of the Nationals' bullpen. The 32-year-old will hope for a minor league contract with another club. He has a 4.71 career ERA, a 1.52 career WHIP, and one of the meanest-looking player profile pictures we've ever come across.
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