Randy Ruiz Rumors

Minor Moves: Ruiz, Meloan, Hernandez

Here are the details on the latest minor moves. Unless otherwise noted, Matt Eddy of Baseball America first reported these transactions on Twitter...

• The Diamondbacks signed 34-year-old first baseman Randy Ruiz. He won the 2009 Pacific Coast League MVP and spent the past two seasons in Japan.
• The Rangers signed right-hander Jon Meloan, who has big league experience with the Dodgers, Indians and Athletics.
• The Padres signed right-hander Dennis Tankersley. Baseball America ranked Tankersley ahead of Jake Peavy in its 2002 handbook, but he hasn't pitched affiliated baseball since 2008.
• The Blue Jays signed right-hander Fernando Hernandez, who appeared briefly with the 2008 Athletics. The reliever has a 3.55 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in nine minor league seasons.
• The Cubs released right-hander Kyle Smit, who struggled at three levels in 2011.
• The Dodgers signed right-handed reliever Blake Johnson, their second round selection in the 2004 draft.
• The Mariners released former catching prospect Angel Salome, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.

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Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Ruiz, Millwood, Crawford

Links for Wednesday, as we make sense of Angel Pagan's unbelievable night...

• Stephen Strasburg didn't allow a run and struck out nine in 6.1 innings at Triple A tonight, as the AP notes on ESPN.com. It's only a matter of weeks before Strasburg starts striking out big leaguers.
• Cha-Seung Baek appears to have found a home in the Yuma Scorpions' rotation, writes Edward Carifio of the Yuma Sun.
• Randy Ruiz, who signed with a Japanese team after getting released by the Blue Jays, told Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star that he's "set for life" (Twitter link).
• Former big leaguer Mike Gosling retired on Monday, according to the Indians' Twitter. The 29-year-old was pitching well in Triple A Columbus, but decided to focus on his family.
• This should come as no surprise, but the Marlins are not looking to trade Hanley Ramirez, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro (via Twitter).
• Former Ranger Kevin Millwood tells Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com that he has no hard feelings about the deal that sent him to Baltimore last offseason.
• Carl Crawford told reporters that he doesn't really think about his impending free agency, according to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
• J.P. Howell had shoulder surgery today, but the Rays are "optimistic" that the reliever will be ready for 2011, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (via Twitter).
• ESPN.com's Rob Neyer doesn't think the red hot Blue Jays are likely to finish the season above .500.
• Matt Klaassen of FanGraphs reminds us that Alex Rios was an excellent player before 2009 and argues that the White Sox got a "very good player at a reasonable price" when they claimed him off of waivers from the Blue Jays last summer.
• The first-year player draft begins on June 7th.  MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo takes a stab at projecting the first ten picks.
• ESPN's Jerry Crasnick runs through nine stories that have been overdone this year.
• Crasnick's colleague Buster Olney talked to couple of rival talent evaluators who'd love to see the Marlins shop Hanley Ramirez in the wake of his recent jogging incident.  Instead, ESPN's Enrique Rojas reports that Ramirez will apologize to Fredi Gonzalez and the team today.

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Blue Jays Release Randy Ruiz

The Blue Jays released Randy Ruiz, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.  Ruiz then signed a contract with Japan's Rakuten Golden Eagles.  The Jays called up Jeremy Reed to take Ruiz's place.

Ruiz, 32, raked in his 130 big league plate appearances for the Blue Jays last year but had only 40 PAs this year.  The journeyman first baseman/left fielder has logged 11 minor league seasons, and will presumably get a chance to earn more money in Japan.

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