Transactions Rumors
Red Sox Sign Rafael Perez
The Red Sox have signed left-hander Rafael Perez to a minor league contract, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. MLB.com's Jordan Bastian heard from a source earlier today that Perez was signing with Boston though the move was "not official" yet, while Jon Morosi of FOX Sports first noted that Perez was talking to the Sox about a deal.
Perez, 31, was released by the Twins last week after appearing in four games at Triple-A Rochester. The southpaw signed a minor league deal with Minnesota this offseason after he was non-tendered by the Indians in November. Perez missed most of the 2012 season with a lat injury and pitched in only eight games last year.
Over seven seasons and 329 relief innings with the Indians, Perez posted a 3.64 ERA, 3.2 BB/9 and 7.3 K/9, though he has only averaged 5.3 K/9 over the last four seasons. He has been effective against batters on either side of the plate, holding lefty hitters to a .678 OPS and righties to a .694 OPS over his career.
Orioles Designate Alex Burnett For Assignment
The Orioles designated righty Alex Burnett for assignment to make room for heralded pitching prospect Kevin Gausman, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com.
Burnett was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays from the Twins on March 29th and quickly designated for assignment, at which point the Orioles claimed him. The 25-year-old made two relief appearances for Baltimore, surrendering three runs in his most recent outing. For his career, he has a 4.73 ERA, 5.7 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, and 0.74 HR/9 in 171 1/3 innings in parts of four seasons.
Indians Designate David Huff For Assignment
The Indians designated lefty David Huff for assignment to open a spot for another southpaw, Scott Barnes, tweeted the team.
Huff, 28, was designated for assignment when the team could not find a spot for him as the season began, but he remained in the organization after clearing waivers. The team had re-added him to the 40-man roster ten days ago. After being scored upon in two of his three relief appearances, he's off the 40-man again. Should he clear waivers, Huff can elect free agency this time, but he would give up his contract in that case.
Huff, drafted 39th overall in 2006 by the Indians, has thrown 288 1/3 innings (52 starts, six relief appearances) in parts of five seasons, with a 5.40 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, and 1.28 HR/9. After Huff was drafted, Baseball America wrote positively about Huff's command and control but also his fringe-average fastball velocity and lack of a weapon against left-handed hitters.
Rangers Sign Mark Teahen, Waive Derek Lowe
The Rangers announced that they have placed Derek Lowe on release waivers. Meanwhile, they've also signed Mark Teahen to a minor league deal.
Lowe was designated for assignment on Monday to make room for the newly activated Josh Lindblom. The hurler cleared waivers yesterday and had the option of joining the club's Triple-A affiliate but instead chose to elect free agency. The Rangers signed Lowe to a minor league deal on March 6th and he subsequently made the team’s Opening Day roster. In nine relief appearances with Texas, Lowe allowed 13 runs while striking out eight batters and allowing three walks.
As MLBTR reported earlier this week, Teahen was granted his release from the Diamondbacks and became a free agent. The D'Backs agreed to trade the veteran to the Reds earlier this month but the deal fell through due to Cincinnati's concerns about his physical. While Arizona claims to have spotted a red flag or two, both the D'Backs and Teahen say that he is healthy. Across seven big league seasons, the versatile 31-year-old posted a .264/.327/.409 line for the Royals, White Sox, and Blue Jays.
Marlins Designate Jon Rauch For Assignment
THURSDAY: The Marlins have released Rauch, according to the MLB.com transactions page yesterday. The person running that page jumped the gun, however, a source tells MLBTR, as the pitcher has not yet been officially released.
FRIDAY: The Marlins have announced that right-hander Jon Rauch has been designated for assignment. The move creates a spot on the 40-man roster for Duane Below, who was recently claimed off waivers from the Tigers.
Rauch signed a one-year, $1MM deal with the Marlins in February, but pitched to a 6.89 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 15 2/3 innings. The 34-year-old owns a career 3.88 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 over 594 big league innings. Before he signed with Miami, the Brewers were among the clubs with interest in Rauch.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Minor Moves: Dustin Martin, Josh Horton
Here's your rundown of today's minor moves...
- Sugar Land Skeeters outfielder Dustin Martin has signed a minor league contract with the Diamondbacks according to a press release from the Skeeters (via MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez on Twitter). Martin, 29, has spent time in the Mets and Twins organizations. He was part of the return the Twins received when they traded Luis Castillo to the Mets in 2007. The lefty swinger is a career .259/.328/.397 hitter in 420 games at the Triple-A level.
- The Orioles have acquired minor league infielder Josh Horton from the Athletics in exchange for cash or a player to be named later, assistant GM David Forst told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). The 27-year-old Horton is hitting .224/.246/.373 this season at Triple-A. He has experience at second base, shortstop and third base. Horton was a second-round pick by the A's in 2007 and ranked as their No. 26 prospect prior to the 2008 season, according to Baseball America. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports tweets that Horton will be assigned to Double-A Bowie.
Derek Lowe Clears Waivers
WEDNESDAY: Lowe has cleared waivers and now must decide whether to accept an assignment to Triple-A or become a free agent, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter).
MONDAY: The Rangers designated righty Derek Lowe to open a spot on the active roster for Josh Lindblom, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The Rangers now have 38 players on their 40-man roster.
Lowe, 39, posted a 9.00 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 2.08 HR/9, and 55.8% groundball rate in 13 relief innings this year. He had signed a minor league deal in March and made the team out of Spring Training, receiving a $1.25MM salary. That salary should prevent a waiver claim, and result in Lowe becoming a free agent via release. At that point, a team could sign him for the league minimum $490K with the Rangers picking up the rest of the tab.
Lowe has pitched over 2,600 innings in his big league career with the Mariners, Red Sox, Dodgers, Braves, Indians, Yankees, and Rangers, and has had success as both a reliever and a starter. His 176 wins rank him 11th all-time among those born in Michigan, and his 86 saves rank tenth.
Blue Jays Release Miguel Batista
The Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate announced the release of Miguel Batista, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (on Twitter). The 42-year-old right-hander had signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays back in April. Batista struggled to establish himself in Triple-A Buffalo however, pitching to an 8.36 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 over 28 innings.
In 2012, Batista posted a 4.61 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9 in 52 and 2/3 innings with both the Braves and the Mets. The 18-year veteran was hoping to return to Toronto after last pitching for the club in the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Batista owns a career 4.48 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 over 1956 and 1/3 innings.
Minor Moves: Cotts, Boyer, Barton
The latest minor moves...
- The Rangers plan to purchase the contract of lefty reliever Neal Cotts if tonight's game is played, tweets Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest. The 33-year-old hasn't seen big league action since 2009, but he's been dominant in 23 Triple-A innings this year. The Rangers already have an open spot on their 40-man roster for him.
- The Hanshin Tigers have a basic agreement with righty reliever Blaine Boyer, according to Sanspo (via Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker). Boyer, 31, pitched 15 relief innings for the Royals' Triple-A affiliate before exercising his out clause to pursue the opportunity in Japan.
- The Mariners signed 17-year-old Brazilian righty Daniel Missaki, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America. Badler notes that he was the youngest player in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
- The Athletics announced that first baseman Daric Barton cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A, after he was designated for assignment Saturday to open a spot for Chris Young. He's earning $1.1MM this year, which may have limited interest. Barton led the American League in walks as a 24-year-old in 2010, but has battled injuries since. He's still a walk machine at Triple-A, though, with a .422 OBP through 128 plate appearances.
- The Angels outrighted outfielder Scott Cousins to Triple-A yesterday, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. Cousins had been designated for assignment on Saturday to make room for Chris Nelson.
- The Yankees outrighted infielder Alberto Gonzalez to Triple-A yesterday, according to the International League transactions page. Gonzalez had been designated for assignment on Saturday to make room for Reid Brignac.
- Three players currently reside in DFA limbo: Jon Rauch of the Marlins, Derek Lowe of the Rangers, and Michael Bowden of the Cubs. Rauch and Lowe figure to be released by their clubs in the coming days, while Bowden will have to decide whether to accept an outright assignment if he clears waivers.
Cubs Claim Eduardo Sanchez
The Cubs claimed reliever Eduardo Sanchez off waivers from the Cardinals, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cards moved Sanchez off the 40-man roster to create a spot for Tyler Lyons, who will start tomorrow in place of Jaime Garcia. The addition will put the Cubs' 40-man roster count at 39, as Michael Bowden was designated for assignment today to open an active roster spot for Matt Garza. Sanchez will report to Triple-A Iowa for the Cubs.
Sanchez, 24, has a 3.40 ERA, 9.6 K/9, 5.8 BB/9, and 0.60 HR/9 in 45 big league innings spanning 2011-12. Signed out of Venezuela in '05, the hard-throwing righty spent some time closing for the Cardinals as a rookie in '11, but later landed on the DL for a shoulder strain. He bounced up and down last year and has missed time this year with a forearm strain, making nine appearances at Triple-A. Even before his big league debut, Baseball America noted, "durability remains his biggest concern, as his small frame leaves some scouts wondering how his stuff will hold up at the major league level."
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