Rays Sign Winston Abreu
Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times reports that the Rays signed Winston Abreu to a minor league contract today. Abreu opted for free agency this morning after the Indians designated him for assignment on Saturday. The Rays acquired Jonathan Meloan for Abreu a month ago. Safe to say they won that trade.
Odds And Ends: Yanks, Red Sox, Indians, Peavy
More links to look through as we ready ourselves for four days of Yankees vs. Red Sox…
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney presents nine reasons the upcoming Boston-New York series matters. To an extent, both teams have their psyches on the line this weekend.
- Indians ownership says the team will likely lose about $16MM this year, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN). The Indians trimmed about $8.1MM in payroll leading up to the deadline.
- So how do teams like the Indians compete with big spenders like the Yankees and Red Sox? Joe Posnanski of SI.com says small market teams may have to beat richer ones by taking advantage of the 'win now' mentality in large markets.
- Jake Peavy is set to pitch in three minor league games before joining the White Sox, according to Bruce Levine of ESPN.com. He's still expected to make his AL debut in late August or early September.
Crow & Scheppers Face Different Deadline
Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers will have until a week before next year's draft to sign with the teams that selected them, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. Most draftees must sign by August 17th, but MLB has ruled that the August deadline won't apply to players drafted out of independent leagues. Both Crow and Scheppers played in independent leagues after failing to sign last summer.
The Royals will have more time to sign Crow, but the Rangers may benefit most. Their finances are unstable now, but if they're resolved in the coming months, the team could sign Scheppers instead of shying away from his bonus demands.
Mets Acquire Anderson Hernandez
The Mets acquired second baseman Anderson Hernandez from the Nationals, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Ed Price of AOL FanHouse says the Nats obtain minor league second baseman Greg Veloz in return.
Hernandez, 26, already played for the Mets from 2005-07. This year he's hitting .251/.310/.320. Veloz, 21, is hitting .232 without much power or plate discipline in high-A ball.
Odds And Ends: Byrd, Timlin, Giambi
Some links to look through…
- Bobby Abreu tells Yahoo's Tim Brown that it was frustrating to see other players sign big contracts last offseason. Abreu waited and finally settled for a $5MM deal, but now he loves LA.
- The Jason Giambi signing didn't work out nearly as well for the A's. When MLB.com's Mychael Urban asked manager Bob Geren if Giambi will be back next year, Geren avoided the question. Presumably the A's would rather buy the slugger out for $1.25MM than pay him $6MM next year.
- Paul Byrd told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he's in Boston to win a World Series ring.
- Mike Timlin is rehabbing in the Rockies' minor league system to prove he can still pitch, according to Jack Etkin of Inside the Rockies.
- Justin Smoak, Martin Perez and Julio Borbon top Jamey Newberg's updated list of top Rangers prospects at MLB.com.
Winston Abreu Becomes A Free Agent
Less than a week after designating Mike Gosling and Winston Abreu for assignment, the Indians outrighted both pitchers to Triple A Columbus, only to see Abreu opt for free agency. The 32-year-old righty struggled in cameos with the Rays and Indians this year, but he has an impressive minor league line to his credit. In 32 innings at Triple A Durham, he allowed just 14 hits and ten walks, striking out 49.
Odds & Ends: White Sox, Rolen, Halladay
Some late-night links to peruse as we wonder how the Phillies can fit in both Pedro Martinez and J.A. Happ into their pitching staff:
- The Red Sox signed 11th-round pick, high school SS Jason Thompson, to a deal worth $300k, says Jim Callis at Baseball America.
- Evan Brunell at the Hardball Times defends the rationale behind the widely-panned Scott Rolen trade.
- Scot Gregor at the Daily Herald wonders if any of the three recently-defected Cuban talents might land on the White Sox. They all share the same agent, Jaime Torres, as current Sox Dayan Viciedo, Jose Contreras and Alexei Ramirez.
- Joe Cowley at the Chicago Sun-Times posits the question: Do the White Sox keep Scott Podsednik for another year or go after Chone Figgins as their speedy lead-off man for 2010?
- Craig Calcaterra at the Hardball Times questions whether J.P. Ricciardi actually "botched" the Roy Halladay negotiations, as he has been criticized for doing.
Rockies Sign McAnulty
More in the flurry of minor-league depth signings: According to the Minor League Baseball transactions feed, the Rockies have signed OF Paul McAnulty to a minor-league deal. McAnulty was released by the Red Sox in July and his last major-league numbers came in '08 with the Padres, when he hit .207/.341/.341 in 164 plate appearances.
Jays Sign Wilfredo Ledezma
According to the Minor League Baseball transactions feed, the Jays signed LHP Wilfredo Ledezma to a minor-league deal yesterday. The 28-year-old was released by the Nationals in April after he posted a 9.53 ERA and 8/4 K/BB ratio in 5.2 innings.
A’s Sign Brett Tomko
According to the Oakland Tribune, the A's have signed RHP Brett Tomko to a minor-league deal. He'll be assigned to AAA Sacramento.
The 36-year-old Tomko was just released by the Yankees last week after posting a 5.23 ERA and 11/7 K/BB ratio in 20 innings. Lots of teams adding pitching depth today.