Archives for January 2011

Giants Sign Marc Kroon To Minor League Deal

By Mike Axisa | January 24, 2011 at 6:48pm CDT

The Giants have agreed to terms with right-hander Marc Kroon on a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training according to Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse. He has spent the last six years pitching in Japan and will compete for a bullpen job.

Kroon, 38 in April, was a star closer for the Yokohama Bay Stars and Yomiuri Giants, striking out 12.3 batters per nine innings. He broke his own record for the fastest pitch in Japanese baseball history when he uncorked a 101 mph fastball three years ago. A former second round pick of the Mets, he pitched sparingly for the Padres, Reds, and Rockies in his career, posting a 7.43 ERA in just 26 2/3 big league innings.

The Bronx-born Kroon earned himself more than $13MM during his time in Japan.

Athletics Sign Andy LaRoche To Minor League Deal

By Mike Axisa | January 24, 2011 at 6:09pm CDT

The Athletics have signed Andy LaRoche to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training according to the team's Twitter feed. The 27-year-old elected free agency after being designated for assignment by the Pirates back in November.

Adam's younger brother went to Pittsburgh in the Manny Ramirez trade, and is a .224/.304/.338 hitter in a little over 1,200 big league plate appearances. Oakland tried to upgrade their third base situation by signing Adrian Beltre this offseason, but LaRoche will have to overcome Kevin Kouzmanoff to land the job. In addition to the hot corner, he has also played first and second bases in his young career.

Rockies Acquire Clayton Mortensen

By Mike Axisa | January 24, 2011 at 6:08pm CDT

The Rockies have acquired Clayton Mortensen from the Athletics for minor league righty Ethan Hollingsworth according to the team's Twitter feed. Troy Renck of The Denver Post says that Colorado has also designated right-hander Samuel Deduno for assignment (Twitter link).

Mortensen was designated for assignment last week to create room on the 40-man roster for Grant Balfour. The 2007 supplemental first round pick has appeared in eight big league games over the course of the past two campaigns. He has posted a 7.12 ERA with 20 strikeouts and 15 walks in 26 2/3 innings for the A's and Cardinals in his big league career. The 25-year-old has a 4.29 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 as a minor leaguer.

Hollingsworth was Colorado's fourth round pick in 2008. He owns a 4.33 ERA with impressive peripheral stats (8.4 K/9, 2.1 BB/9) in 376 minor league innings. Baseball America did not rank him as one of the team's top 30 prospects in the 2010 edition of their Prospect Handbook. Deduno, however, was ranked as the Rockies' 11th best prospect before last season. The 27-year-old has battled elbow issues in recent years, throwing just 47 innings (3.83 ERA) in 2010.

Beimel Has “Several Irons In The Fire”

By Mike Axisa | January 24, 2011 at 5:33pm CDT

It's been a relatively quite winter for Joe Beimel, but the free agent lefty reliever told Troy Renck of The Denver Post that he has "several irons in the fire." The Rockies, however, are not involved.

Last month we heard that Beimel was sitting on several offers, but obviously nothing has materialized. The Marlins were said to have interest, but that was before they signed Randy Choate. Beimel, 34 in April, has held left-handed batters to a .254/.305/.394 batting line with 5.3 K/9 over the last three seasons. He didn't sign until mid-March in each of the last two offseasons, so the wait is nothing new for him.

Renck also notes that Jay Payton wants to still play, but he isn't interested in spending time in the minors. The 38-year-old outfielder hit .343/.361/.514 in 36 plate appearances with Colorado last year, his first big league action since 2008.

Quick Hits: Brewers, Cardinals, Tigers, Rays

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 24, 2011 at 4:50pm CDT

On this date in 2003, the White Sox signed Esteban Loaiza as a free agent. He went on to lead the league in strikeouts, post a 2.90 ERA and win 21 games, finishing second in the AL Cy Young Award balloting to youngster Roy Halladay. Here are today's links…

Yahoo's Jeff Passan says it's hard to call the Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum deals "anything other than a resounding victory" for Brewers GM Doug Melvin.
Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explains how the selective shopping of Cardinals GM John Mozeliak might pay off this season. Players like Nick Punto, Brian Tallet and Miguel Batista could contribute in 2011.
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick examines a Tigers pitching staff that's loaded with dynamic young arms.
At ESPN.com, Kevin Goldstein gives us a sense of what the Rays could do with their many 2011 draft picks. I previewed Tampa Bay's draft last week.

Galarraga Drew Interest Before Trade

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 24, 2011 at 4:36pm CDT

A handful of teams showed interest in Armando Galarraga before the Tigers sent him to Arizona, Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski said today. Some interested clubs couldn’t afford Galarraga’s $2.3MM salary and one potential suitor signed a player this week, so the D’Backs acquired the right-hander after an “aggressive” pursuit.

Dombrowski didn't disclose which teams pursued the 29-year-old Venezuelan, but the Pirates appeared to have some interest. It's not clear whether the Nationals, Indians and Orioles were among Galarraga's suitors, but those clubs have potential interest in trading for starting pitching.

In exchange for Galarraga, the Tigers get Kevin Eichhorn and Ryan Robowski, two minor league pitching prospects. Dombrowski says he likes Eichhorn’s ability and Robowski’s fastball and breaking ball. But the Tigers are realistic; they know they didn’t get blue-chip prospects in the deal.

"We look at both guys as sort of fringe-type prospects," Dombrowski said on this afternoon's conference call, before noting that both pitchers could eventually contribute at the major league level.

The Tigers don’t anticipate any more moves before Spring Training, Dombrowski said.

Rockies Sign Willy Taveras

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 24, 2011 at 4:05pm CDT

The Rockies signed Willy Taveras to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training, the team announced (on Twitter).

Taveras didn't hit much in his 37 plate appearances for the Nationals this year and hasn't been a serious offensive threat for a couple of years. He posted a .367 on base percentage for the 2007 Rockies and led the National League in stolen bases the following season. He has bounced from the Reds to the Nationals to the Phillies since, without much success.

But the seven-year veteran is relatively young (he's 29) and has plenty of experience (601 games) in center field. He'll provide the Rockies with depth and speed, though he doesn't appear to be the difference maker he was a couple seasons ago.

D’Backs Designate Rafael Rodriguez For Assignment

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 24, 2011 at 3:29pm CDT

The D'Backs designated right-hander Rafael Rodriguez for assignment to create 40-man roster space for new acquisition Armando Galarraga, the team announced.

Rodriguez appeared in two games for the D'Backs after they acquired him in last summer's Dan Haren trade. The 26-year-old has a 5.60 ERA with 13 strikeouts and 12 walks in 35 1/3 big league innings since 2009. Rodriguez posted a 4.26 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 at Triple-A for the D'Backs and Angels last year.

Nationals To Sign Todd Coffey

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 24, 2011 at 3:19pm CDT

The Nationals have agreed to sign Todd Coffey, the team announced. MLB.com's Bill Ladson (on Twitter) first reported the agreement and Jon Heyman of SI.com first reported that the team was closing in on a deal with the BHSC client. Heyman reports that the deal guarantees Coffey $1.35MM (Twitter link).

Coffey posted a 4.76 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 for the Brewers last year before they non-tendered him. He has appeared in at least 69 games in 2009 and '10, so the Nationals are adding a durable piece to Jim Riggleman's bullpen. The 30-year-old right-hander boasts a 52.1 % career ground ball rate and an average fastball velocity of 93.2 mph.

Click here for more analysis of the Beverly Hills Sports Council's work with relievers this winter.

D’Backs To Sign Micah Owings

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 24, 2011 at 3:18pm CDT

The D'Backs announced that they have agreed to sign Micah Owings to a minor league contract. The right-hander will also get an invitation to Spring Training. The D'Backs intend to use Owings as a pitcher and occasional first baseman, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports (on Twitter).

Owings posted a 5.40 ERA in 33 1/3 innings for the Reds last year, striking out 9.5 batters per nine. The 28-year-old walked 6.8 batters per nine, however, and didn't fare quite as well as usual at the plate.

Owings, who won a Silver Slugger with the D'Backs in 2007, is one of baseball's best-hitting pitchers. He has a remarkable .293/.323/.538 career line with 9 homers in 198 plate appearances. He strikes out at a Mark Reynolds-like rate, but can hit the ball a long way, especially against southpaws.

Agent Scott Boras represents Owings.

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