The latest minor league deals, with fresh updates up top:
- The Rockies have signed utilityman Hernan Iribarren to a minor league contract, reports MLB.com's Thomas Harding. Iribarren, 26, last played in the majors with Milwaukee in 2009, and spent last season playing with Texas' Triple-A affiliate. Harding says Iribarren's deal includes an invitation to Colorado's Major League Spring Training camp.
- The Yankees claimed righty Brian Schlitter from the Cubs, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (on Twitter). Schlitter, 25, appeared in seven games for the Cubs last year. He spent most of the season at Triple-A Iowa, where he posted a 3.15 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings.
- The D'Backs re-signed lefty Clay Zavada. The 26-year-old thrived in 49 relief appearances in 2009, posting 9.2 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9. He spent part of the 2010 season at Triple-A Reno, but appeared in just five games before undergoing Tommy John surgery.
- The Royals re-signed right-hander Gaby Hernandez. Hernandez started 22 games for Kansas City's Triple-A affiliate in 2010, posting a 4.91 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 144 2/3 innings. The Mets selected Hernandez in the third round of the 2004 draft and he has also spent time in the Marlins and Mariners organizations.
- The Padres added some catching depth, signing Guillermo Quiroz. The 29-year-old, who has big league experisnce with the Mariners, Blue Jays, Rangers and Orioles, spent last year in Seattle's minor league system. The backstop hit .286/.347/.431 in 361 minor league plate appearances. The Mariners have added two former Padres catchers this winter: Miguel Olivo and Josh Bard (a player I thought could have fit well on the 2011 Padres). San Diego already has former Mariner Rob Johnson, and the Padres continue to look for catching depth.
What do ya know? The Mariners have 2 former Pads catchers and now the Pads have 2 former Mariners catchers
Clay Zavada is worth having around for the sweet moustache alone.
He definitley has the best one going since Sal Fasano
A 12.38 ERA with the Cubs? Sounds like Brian Schlitter is ready to slide into the Yankees rotation right behind Burnett.
The Yankees’ offseason is really in the Schlitter.
Really? Couldn’t let that one gu,huh? Couldn’t take the high road? Hahaha. I bet you rushed to the keyboard to bang that one out…….ok. You beat me to it…haha.
He throwa hard (93 mph) and I assume the new pitching coach knows him too. We’ll see.
I’ve seen Schlitter. He’s got some gas.
Amazin Avenue has Chris Carter signing a minor-league deal with the Rays.
29 and split season between AA and AAA? Quiroz is ticketed for Tucson not a stint with the Padres. Stay tuned.
Am I the only Cubs fan pissed to se Schlitter go. The guy came in during a rough time and did great out of the pen. He got rocked a couple times and that is his high ERA but he has great potential. I wish the Cubs still had him he has great setup man qualities.
You’re not the only one…I think given a real opportunity his AAA numbers could have carried over to the bigs, he throws hard and had pretty decent strike out numbers…unfortunately he has the Cubs Bullpen Walks problem…I don’t understand why we dropped him