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Braves Sign Juan Jaime

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The Braves signed righty Juan Jaime to a minor league deal, MLBTR has learned.  The deal covers the rest of 2011 as well as 2012.

Jaime, 24, was released by the Diamondbacks yesterday after being designated for assignment to create a roster spot for Lyle Overbay.  He had Tommy John surgery in April of last year, prior to which Baseball America ranked him 17th among Nationals prospects.  At that time BA saw Jaime as a future power arm out of the bullpen.  With a mid-90s fastball, his ceiling is high.

Mariners Outright French To Triple-A

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THURSDAY: French has cleared waivers, and the Mariners have outrighted him to Triple-A Tacoma, according to a club release.

SATURDAY: The Mariners have designated lefty Luke French for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Wily Mo Pena, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com (via Twitter).

In 31 career big league appearances (25 starts), French owns a 4.99 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 4.6 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. The 25-year-old lefty has not yet appeared in the Majors this season, making 23 starts with Triple-A Tacoma.

French was selected in the eighth round of the 2004 draft by the Tigers, with whom he made his big league debut in 2009. He was acquired by Seattle in the deal that sent Jarrod Washburn to Detroit prior to the non-waiver trade deadline in 2009.

League Notes: Selig, Astros, HGH, Draft Slots

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With the owners meeting in Cooperstown, N.Y., this week, there's plenty of administrative items of note to pass along. Here's the latest:

  • One conversation that has come up frequently at the meetings is how long Bud Selig will remain MLB commissioner and who his successor will be, writes Ken Davidoff of Newsday. Davidoff speculates that the 77-year-old Selig, currently signed through 2012, will serve one more term before stepping down. Davidoff names following as potential successors: former MLB executive Bob DuPuy, Mets GM Sandy Alderson, D'Backs president Derrick Hall, former Braves and Nationals president Stan Kasten, Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, and current MLB executive Rob Manfred.
  • As expected, the potential sale of the Astros from Drayton McLane to Jim Crane wasn't even addressed during the meetings, the Associated Press reports. We learned last night that no one is questioning Crane's viability, but Selig has declined to comment on the exact cause of the holdup, so there is some kind of disconnect here. Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com examined the situation a couple days back.
  • In the wake of former Rockies minor leaguer Mike Jacobs' positive test and subsequent release, Selig said today he would like to see HGH testing in the Major Leagues, too, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). I wondered in that post whether HGH testing would come up during negotiations for the new CBA this offseason, but I think this pretty much answers that. Expect to hear more about it this winter.
  • Another issue that figures to come up during CBA negotiations is draft slotting. Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reported yesterday that Selig has promised to the owners the implimentation of a hard-slotting system for draft bonuses, whereby each pick would be signed for a predetermined sum. Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com, for one, thinks this is a bad idea, as it will scare away premium athletes like the Royals' Bubba Starling, who could choose to play in the NFL or NBA rather than MLB (Twitter links).

Royals Sign Francoeur To Two-Year Extension

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12:36pm: The two-year deal is worth $13.5MM, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City (via Twitter).

10:18am: The Royals have signed outfielder Jeff Francoeur to a two-year extension, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.

The Royals and Francoeur had a $4MM mutual option for 2012, so this deal buys that out and locks up Francoeur through the 2013 season. The 27-year-old right fielder, a one-time blue-chip prospect, signed with Kansas City in December after he was traded twice in less than two years, going from the Braves to the Mets to the Rangers.

Francoeur was mentioned prominently in trade rumors prior to last month's deadline, but he remained in Kansas City, where he is enjoying a modest renaissance from his nadir in New York. A career .269/.312/.430 hitter, Frenchy has been a bit better than that in 2011, hitting .278/.328/.465. 

Francoeur and Royals GM Dayton Moore have always had a strong relationship, going back to their time together in the Braves organization, according to Knobler (Twitter link). Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports first reported last month that a possible extension was in the works.

Rangers Acquire Tim Wood From Pirates

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The Rangers have acquired right-handed reliever Tim Wood from the Pirates in exchange for cash or a player to be named, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Twitter).

Wood has been added to Texas' 40-man roster and optioned to Triple-A Round Rock, filling out Texas' 40-man, according to Evan P. Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter).

Wood has appeared in 57 games with the Marlins and Pirates in parts of three big league seasons, posting a 4.50 ERA, 4.3 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9. The righty was drafted by Florida in the 44th round in 2002.

Indians Release Austin Kearns

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The Indians have released outfielder Austin Kearns, according to a club press release.

The Tribe designated Kearns for assignment last week to make room on the active roster for Shin-Soo Choo, who was activated from the disabled list. Now, after clearing waivers, the 31-year-old is a free agent.

Kearns re-signed with Cleveland on a one-year, $1.3MM contract in December. He began the 2010 campaign with the Indians but was traded to the Yankees prior to the non-waiver trade deadline.

The former first-round pick (No. 7 overall in 1998) was once a highy touted prospect in the Reds organization, but has played mostly like a fourth outfielder or platoon type throughout his career. He has hit .254/.350/.417 in 10 big league seasons with the Reds, Nationals, Indians and Yankees.

Rockies Release Mike Jacobs

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The Rockies have released minor league first baseman Mike Jacobs following his 50-game suspension for testing positive for HGH, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (via Twitter). He apologized to the Rockies and said he hopes to sign with a team in 2012, Renck reports (Twitter link).

Jacobs, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Rockies in December after he spent time with the Mets and Blue Jays organizations in 2010. He was hitting .298/.376/.534 with 23 homers for Triple-A Colorado Springs in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but he did not appear in the big leagues in 2011.

Jacobs becomes the first player ever suspended for using HGH, which is not tested for in the Major Leagues, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. HGH testing was introduced in the minor leagues before the 2010 season.

With a new collective bargaining agreement to be negotiated this offseason, I wonder whether HGH testing will be one of the issues on the table.

Mets Won’t Trade Izzy, Byrdak, Hairston

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Relievers Jason Isringhausen and Tim Byrdak, and outfielder Scott Hairston will remain with the Mets for season's balance, a source tells Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The players were placed on waivers, claimed and pulled back by the Mets, meaning they are ineligible to be traded for the rest of the month, Rubin reports.

Last week, we heard that several Mets players cleared waivers, including Jason Bay, Chris Capuano, Angel Pagan, D.J. Carrasco and Willie Harris. Those players can be traded freely, as can the others on this list, which has a running tally of the guys who have cleared waivers this month.

Phillies Interested In Acquiring Left-Handed Hitter

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The Phillies have had internal discussions about acquiring a left-handed bench bat to serve as a pinch-hitter, according to Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Phils discussed trades involving Rockies first baseman Jason Giambi and Twins first baseman/DH Jim Thome prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, and they would still like to acquire either of those sluggers, according to Brookover. However, both would be long shots at this point because it's unlikely Giambi or Thome would fall to the Phillies through waivers.

Ross Gload and Brian Schneider are the only lefty hitters on the bench presently, although the Phils recently signed former Athletics and Mariners slugger Jack Cust to a minor league contract in hopes that he could serve in a Matt Stairs-like role. Cust has declined in recent years, though, and has not had much success in his career as a pinch-hitter, so it doesn't sound like the Phils are expecting much there.

Otherwise, one remaining option would be to recall Domonic Brown, although that is less than ideal because he is slumping with Triple-A Lehigh Valley and needs to play every day to develop. Another option the Phils have discussed, a source tells Brookover, is recalling Brandon Moss from Lehigh Valley. Moss, of course, was involved in the three-team swap that sent Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers and Jason Bay to the Red Sox a couple years back.

The Phils look to be fine-tuning things before the postseason. We also heard yesterday that they are seeking a left-handed reliever.

Quick Hits: Nationals, Ichiro, Astros, Starling

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On this date ten years ago, John Smoltz struck out four batters and picked up his first regular season save. Then, on this date in 2009, the Red Sox released Smoltz, who had an 8.33 ERA at the time. The potential Hall of Famer went on to provide seven solid starts for the Cardinals later that season and hasn't pitched in the Majors since. Here are today's links…

  • Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that GM Mike Rizzo did a "fantastic job" to sign Anthony Rendon, Alex Meyer, Brian Goodwin, Matt Purke and others on Monday night. Lerner believes the Nats now have one of the best farm systems in the game.
  • Just because the Yankees signed Derek Jeter to a $51MM deal last winter doesn’t mean the Mariners should extend Ichiro Suzuki, Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times writes. Arguing that Ichiro deserves Jeter-like treatment doesn’t make sense to Baker “for reasons that start on the field and end off of it.” The Mariners outfielder is under contract for $17MM in 2012.
  • Jim Bowden of ESPN.com identifies five players we shouldn't give up on, including Pedro Alvarez and Ian Stewart.
  • No one at the MLB owners meetings is questioning whether Jim Crane, the incoming Astros owner, is a viable candidate to take over the team, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter).
  • Top Royals pick Bubba Starling said at a press conference today that his offense could still improve because he played three sports in high school and hasn't had the chance to devote himself to hitting (Associated Press link via ESPN.com).

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