Archives for May 2011

Athletics Sign Lenny DiNardo

By Mike Axisa | May 21, 2011 at 10:55am CDT

The Athletics have signed Lenny DiNardo according to Mike Ashmore of The Hunterdon County Democrat (on Twitter). He will report to Triple-A.

DiNardo, 31, had been pitching with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League after the Red Sox released him from his minor league contract at the end of Spring Training. He had a 5.09 ERA in 17 2/3 innings with the Ducks before catching back on with the A's, with whom he spent 2007-2008. DiNardo last appeared in the big leagues in 2009 and owns a 5.36 ERA in 257 MLB innings.

The A's are dealing with injuries to Dallas Braden (shoulder), Rich Harden (lat), Brandon McCarthy (shoulder), and Tyson Ross (oblique), so DiNardo will serve as rotation depth in Triple-A.

Armando Galarraga Clears Waivers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 21, 2011 at 9:27am CDT

SATURDAY: Galarraga has cleared waivers and accepted his assignment to Triple-A, reports Marcos Grunfeld of BeisbolVenezolano.net (link in Spanish). MLBTR's Nick Collias provided the translation.

"Armando accepted the assignment and in a couple of days he'll be traveling [to Triple-A]," said Galarraga's agent to Grunfeld via telephone. "We don't know if the Diamondbacks have received any offers for him, [because] they didn't tell us anything about that."

TUESDAY: The D'Backs designated Armando Galarraga for assignment, according to Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com (Twitter links). Arizona intends to activate Willie Bloomquist Wednesday and needed a roster spot.

"We felt it was time to make a change," GM Kevin Towers said. The D'Backs now have ten days to trade Galarraga, release him or, if he clears waivers, assign him to the minor leagues.

The 29-year-old posted a 5.91 ERA with 5.9 K/9, 4.6 BB/9 and a league-high 13 homers allowed in 42 2/3 innings this year. Earlier today, manager Kirk Gibson hinted that the former Tigers starter could be removed from the rotation. On Monday, Galarraga responded with hostility to a question about losing his rotation spot.

Diamondbacks Release Russell Branyan

By Mike Axisa | May 21, 2011 at 8:06am CDT

The Diamondbacks have released Russell Branyan according to Bob McManaman of The Arizona Republic. The move makes room on both the 25-man and 40-man rosters for Micah Owings.

Branyan, 35, was stuck in a three-way platoon with Juan Miranda and Xavier Nady at first base. He hit just .210/.290/.339 with one homer in 69 plate appearances, 17 of which came as a pinch-hitter. Dan Mennella looked at Branyan as a potential trade candidate last month, but now any club could pick him up for nothing but the minimum salary.

The 28-year-old Owings has a 4.85 ERA in seven Triple-A starts this year, and he's hit .250/.357/.500 in 14 plate appearances. The D'Backs indicated that they hoped to use Owings on the mound and occasionally at first base when they signed him to a minor league deal back in January.

Quick Hits: Dodgers, DeRosa, LaRoche

By Dan Mennella | May 20, 2011 at 9:01pm CDT

Some items of note on Friday night as Danny Espinosa looks to collect a double to complete the cycle in the slugfest between the Nationals and Orioles …

Dodgers GM Ned Colletti admitted that he is exploring trade opportunities to help boost his sagging club, but he cautioned that it's tough to complete deals at this time of year without overpaying, writes Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
Giants utility man Mark DeRosa will see a specialist about his injured left wrist, for which he's already undergone two surgeries, but he's not considering retirement if doctors think he can make a full recovery, writes Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche said offseason negotiations with the Orioles never got serious enough that his decision to sign with Washington was especially tough, writes Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com. Not to pile on the O's, but Mark Teixeira echoed a sentiment similar to LaRoche's a couple days back.

Minors Notes: Jennings, Transactions, Red Sox

By Dan Mennella | May 20, 2011 at 7:05pm CDT

The Phillies' Domonic Brown became the latest prospect to get the call up to the big leagues today (although he debuted in 2010), but some blue-chippers remain down on the farm. Here's a note about one of them, and some other interesting items …

Rays manager Joe Maddon said Desmond Jennings wasn't called up after Dan Johnson was designated for assignment because Tampa wants the speedy outfielder to play every day, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. Of course, Maddon was implying that the decision was not related to Jennings' service time.
The Phillies' signing of 17-year-old Australian catcher Liam Bedford was among last week's notable minors transactions, compiled by Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Another noteworthy move: The Angels have finally signed UC Irvine catcher Francis Larson, their 22nd-round pick in last year's draft.
The Red Sox have a unique sales pitch for minor league free agents, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Boston has a recent track record of awarding promotions to players like Nick Green and Darnell McDonald, which is appealing to guys like Drew Sutton who are looking to latch onto organizations that will give them a legitimate shot of playing in the Majors.

Orioles Designate Troy Patton For Assignment

By Dan Mennella | May 20, 2011 at 5:45pm CDT

The Orioles have designated lefty Troy Patton for assignment from the 25-man roster, per a club press release. The move serves to clear space on the 25-man roster for infielder Ryan Adams, whose contract was purchased from Triple-A Norfolk.

Patton, a ninth-round pick of the Astros in 2004, appeared in just one game for the O's this season, surrendering two earned runs in 2 1/3 innings on Thursday night against the Yankees. The lefty, now 25, was once a well-regarded prospect and was acquired by Baltimore after the 2007 season in the deal that sent Miguel Tejada to Houston.

Top Interleague Acquisitions For 2011

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 20, 2011 at 4:57pm CDT

Another round of interleague play begins tonight, so let’s take a look at some players who switched leagues last winter and are off to hot starts in 2011. Here are a few of the players thriving in new leagues – and what it cost to acquire them:

Free Agents

Cliff Lee – It cost $120MM in guaranteed money and a first round pick for the Phillies to reacquire Lee. He has a 3.84 ERA with a 68K/13BB ratio through 58 2/3 innings.
Adam Dunn – After a slow start, Dunn has been hitting like his usual self this month and now has a .203/.321/.368 line. He cost the White Sox $56MM and the 23rd overall selection in this year's draft.
J.J. Putz – Putz, one of many relievers to sign multiyear deals last winter, is living up to Arizona's $10MM investment. He has a 2.12 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 through 17 innings of work.
Lance Berkman – Berkman wasn't out of the National League for long and he must be happy he's back. Though currently sidelined, the 35-year-old has a .349/.455/.683 line and is among the league leaders in many offensive categories. Well worth the Cards’ $8MM investment.
Russell Martin – Easily one of the offseason's best bargains, Martin has a .268/.371/.480 line. Not only did he cost just $4MM, he's under team control in 2012.
Jeff Francis – Francis has a 4.83 ERA with a 27K/10BB ratio through 54 innings and he cost just $2MM.

Trades

Adrian Gonzalez – Gonzalez has a .314/.370/.560 line back in the American League, but he didn’t come cheap. The Padres obtained top pitching prospect Casey Kelly, former first rounder Reymond Fuentes and Anthony Rizzo, who is tearing through the Pacific Coast League. Rizzo has a .371/.443/.702 line through 174 plate appearances and it won't be long before he's making an impact at Petco Park.
Shaun Marcum – Marcum is pitching better than ever for the Brewers and the Blue Jays are no doubt pleased with what 21-year-old Brett Lawrie’s doing to Triple-A pitching. The #40 prospect in the game, according to Baseball America, Lawrie has a .335/.395/.607 line with nine homers and as many steals.
Matt Garza – Garza leads the National League with 11.0 K/9 and has a 3.72 ERA through 55 2/3 innings, though it took Chris Archer, Hak-Ju Lee, Robinson Chirinos, Sam Fuld and Brandon Guyer to acquire him. We've all heard about Fuld’s hot start and Guyer homered in his first MLB game.

Red Sox Sign Kevin Millwood

By Steve Adams | May 20, 2011 at 4:53pm CDT

The Red Sox and Kevin Millwood have finalized a minor league deal, Alex Speier of WEEI confirmed (on Twitter). Yahoo's Tim Brown first reported the agreement (on Twitter).

Millwood, 36, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees earlier this year but opted out of his contract after posting a 4.50 ERA through three minor league starts. Millwood's numbers appeared to be good through his first two starts, but scouts said otherwise, citing that his fastball was sitting around just 85mph.

Over the past few days, we've heard that the Cubs, Red Sox, and possibly the Angels have all shown interest in Millwood. Boston's rotation depth has taken a hit with injuries to both John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka, so the Red Sox were a logical destination for the 14-year Major League veteran.

Quick Hits: Brown, Padres, Johnson

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 20, 2011 at 3:34pm CDT

On this date in 1919, Babe Ruth hit his first career grand slam to help the Red Sox beat the Browns. Oh yeah, and he pitched a complete game. Here’s the latest from around the league on the anniversary of the Babe’s big day…

The Phillies placed Shane Victorino on the 15-day DL with a right hamstring strain and called up outfielder Domonic Brown from Triple-A, the team announced.
By waiting a month, the Phillies could have ensured themselves that Brown would finish the 2011 season with less than a full year of service time, but their focus is clearly (and rightfully) on winning games now.
The Padres are close to announcing a 20-year TV deal with Fox that will provide the team with $25-30MM per season, according to John Maffei of the North County Times.
Teddy Cahill of Baseball America lists draft-eligible prospects with connections to current and former big leaguers and others around the game.
Dan Johnson, who was designated for assignment earlier today, told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that he's "kind of numb," but open to remaining in the organization if he clears waivers.

Red Sox Designate Daniel Nava For Assignment

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 20, 2011 at 2:44pm CDT

The Red Sox designated outfielder Daniel Nava for assignment to create 40-man roster space for Drew Sutton, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com (Twitter link). The Red Sox created room on the active roster for Sutton by optioning Jose Iglesias to the minor leagues.

Nava, 28, has a .192/.321/.262 line in 156 plate appearances at Triple-A this year. In 2010 he was a major contributor in Pawtucket, hitting .289/.372/.458 and earning a promotion to Boston. He made an impression early, hitting a grand slam on the first MLB pitch he saw and posting a .242/.351/.360 line in 188 plate appearances for the Red Sox.

Here's a more detailed look at Nava's path to the Major Leagues.

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