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Minor League Transactions: Mench, Perez, Cairo

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A 25 homer hitter, a former first rounder and a 14-year veteran signed this week. Baseball America's Matt Eddy has the details on those transactions and more. Here are some highlights from January 25th-31st:

  • The Nationals signed Kevin Mench. The 32-year-old didn't play in the majors last year, but he hit 25 homers as recently as 2005. He has a career .900 OPS against lefties.
  • The Blue Jays signed Wade Townsend. The Rays released the 2005 first rounder last summer, but the Jays are giving him a chance. 
  • The Reds signed Miguel Cairo. The 14-year-veteran posted a .705 OPS for the Phillies last year in 47 plate appearances. 
  • The White Sox signed Daniel Cabrera. The 6'7'' right-hander led the American League in walks and earned runs allowed when he logged over 200 innings for the Orioles in 2007. He split time with the D'Backs and Nationals last year, struggling with both clubs.  
  • The Dodgers signed Timo Perez out of the Can-Am League. The 34-year-old surfaced as a rookie for the Mets in the 2000 Subway Series. 
  • The Phillies signed Freddy Guzman. 
  • The Mets signed Val Pascucci, who has 193 minor league homers to his name.
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Comments

  1. RE Mench: “as recently as 2005”???

    Really? That is like, 5 seasons ago.

  2. “the White Sox signed Daniel Cabrera. The 6’7” right-hander led the American League in walks and earned runs allowed when he logged over 200 innings”

    Thats what i want in one of my pitchers to lead the league in walks AND earned runs haha :P

  3. Daniel Cabrera is easily one of the worst pitchers I have ever seen. I fail to understand how he keeps convincing people to give him money to be one of the worst pitchers in all of baseball.

    • lol i agree the only thing i can think of is his fastball thats gets him a job or to injure a batter ex (derek jeters wrist) hah

  4. I’d love to see the Cards take on D-Cab as a potential Duncan project. He’d probably bust, but if anyone can turn him around, I guess Duncan could, on a minor league deal.

    Honestly though, one shouldn’t be too rough on Cabrera………… I’d like to see what he could do with good coaching on a non-dysfunctional team.

    • 11 wild pitches in 55 innings. Not even Duncan is a miracle worker.

      As for a good coach, Leo Mazzone was considered one of the greatest pitching coaches of all time and he couldn’t fix Cabrera.

      • For what it is worth, Cabrera was actually serviceable in the 1st half of 2008, and carried an ERA under 4 into June of that year. I just hope next year or when the ChiSox release him this year that perhaps the Cards take a flier on him. I’d prefer to wait until next year, that way they can work on him in the relatively protected environment of ST instead of try and throw him into the fire mid-season.

        • Also for what it’s worth, if you take 2008 all together it was Cabrera’s worst year of his career. I’m just saying I seriously doubt even Duncan could help Cabrera.

          • Cabrera was actually worse in 2007……………….

            I’m not saying that it is a sure thing that Cabrera would turn around like Carpenter or Dave Stewart……………. If you look at Carpenter’s first six years with Toronto, he mostly disappointed and underwhelmed and looked to be all but flamed out as a prospect, much like Cabrera is regarded today. The Cardinals picked up Carpenter when he hit rock bottom, let him recharge and work under Duncan, and look what happened.

            I’m not saying that Cabrera is Carpenter, but both are tall 6’7” RHPs with the typical profile of a Duncan project. I wouldn’t bet on Cabrera turning into an Ace under the Aegis of Duncan…………….. I would say the chance is against him that he would even have a modest Wellemeyeresque revival for only one year and then fade out again. Duncan might not be able to help him, but as cheaply as Cabrera comes these days, why not see what happens?

            Besides, I can’t imagine that the environments in Baltimore or Washington, despite the presence of Mazzone were going to be tremendously conducive to his development as a young pitcher.

            • He had a higher ERA and more losses in 2007. But in 2008 he has a higher FIP, less innings, worse WHIP, worse K/9, worse K/BB, worse opponent batting average, worse HR/9, and more wild as shown by more hit batters and more than twice as many wild pitches. So yeah, I’d say it’s a pretty easy call to say 2008 was much worse than 2007.

              And again, Duncan isn’t always a god. Take Kip Wells for example. I seriously think Cabrera has just never had it in him… he’s just the right size.

              • He was bad both years, I agree with you.

                I also agree that I think the most likely case is that his mind just isn’t in the game or his heart isnt in it. Still, he might mature as he gets older so who knows?

                I agree Duncan isn’t a miracle worker either. Matt Clement and many other projects never panned out.

  7. Mench = another product of performance enhancing and Arlington… Next is Byrd and in 2014 will have a posts that shows his stats from 2009

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