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Archives for February 2012

Brewers Beat Jose Veras In Arbitration

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The Brewers announced that they beat Jose Veras in yesterday's arbitration hearing. The right-hander will earn $2MM in 2012, instead of the $2.375MM his agent Bryce Dixon had requested.

Veras posted a 3.80 ERA with 10.0 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 71 innings of relief for the 2011 Pirates. The 31-year-old will remain under team control through 2013. The Brewers have now signed all of their arbitration eligible players for 2012, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first reported the news on Twitter.

Royals Exercise Ned Yost’s 2013 Option

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The Royals announced that they have exercised the 2013 option on manager Ned Yost's contract. The 57-year-old skipper now starts his second full season in Kansas City with job security that extends beyond the coming season.

The Royals have a 126-163 record under Yost, who managed the Brewers from from 2003-08. He is the 16th full-time manager in Royals history.

Indians Designate Kelvin De La Cruz For Assignment

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The Indians designated left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz for assignment, according to MLB.com's transactions page (hat tip: Jordan Bastian). The move creates 40-man roster space for Casey Kotchman.

De La Cruz spent the 2011 season at Double-A, where he posted a 4.19 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 in 86 innings as a starter and reliever. The 6'5" 23-year-old has a 4.21 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in six minor league seasons spent mostly in the rotation.

Orioles, Jones Have Talked Extension

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The Orioles and Adam Jones have had preliminary discussions about an extension, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette acknowledged the talks, but said they aren't currently the club's top priority.

"Yes, we have discussed a variety of different options,” Duquette said. “But the goal right now is to get a deal for this year and avoid the hearing."

Jones, who has an arbitration hearing scheduled for Friday, seeks $7.4MM and the Orioles offered $5MM. The 26-year-old is on track to hit free agency after the 2013 season. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes suggested in August that a four-year extension in the $40MM range could work for both sides and examined Jones’ case in further detail last week. The center fielder posted a .280/.319/.466 line with 25 homers last year. Jones said about a month ago that the Orioles hadn’t started extension talks.

Dipoto: Abreu In DH Mix, Hasn’t Requested Trade

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When the Angels signed Albert Pujols earlier in the offseason, first basemen Mark Trumbo and Kendrys Morales joined the designated hitter mix, and Bobby Abreu’s grip on his everyday role seemed to weaken. However, health issues persist for Morales (left ankle) and Trumbo (right foot). GM Jerry Dipoto told Abreu that he will have the chance to earn regular playing time by swinging the bat well this spring, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times.

“Bobby is an Angel,” Dipoto said. “Right now, he fits on our 25-man roster, in our clubhouse, on our team. Where he is in eight weeks is predicated on how he’s playing and everyone’s health.”

Dipoto has maintained throughout the winter that Abreu is valuable to the Angels, though Ken Rosenthal heard in December that the veteran would welcome a change of scenery. Dipoto told DiGiovanna that Abreu, who turns 38 in March, has not requested a trade.

The left-handed hitter posted a .253/.353/.365 line with 21 stolen bases in 585 plate appearances as the Angels' primary DH last year. He posted the lowest full-season slugging percentage and OPS of his 16-year career. Abreu will earn $9MM in 2012 before becoming a free agent.

Quick Hits: Prospects, Soler, Zimmerman

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Yahoo's Jeff Passan presents the projected 2012 payroll for every MLB team, from the Yankees ($204MM) to the Pirates ($46MM). Those two clubs are currently working on a trade and, oddly enough, the Pirates would be the ones absorbing salary. Here are tonight’s links…

Latest On Roy Oswalt

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Even as pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training, Roy Oswalt remains unsigned. Here’s the latest buzz on the 34-year-old, who’s undeniably the top free agent available…

  • Royals GM Dayton Moore explained to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that he has passed on available starting pitchers this offseason because he wants to see what his young pitchers can do at the Major League level. Moore said he doesn't think the Royals' offseason plan would have changed much if they had known from the start that Oswalt and Edwin Jackson would end up signing one-year deals.
  • Rangers senior director of player development Tim Purpura said adding Oswalt to a pitching staff that already includes six starters wouldn't be easy, according to Bryan Dolgin of ESPNDallas.com.
  • The Reds haven't been in touch with Oswalt's agents in the past week and GM Walt Jocketty thinks the right-hander is waiting for the Rangers to create room for him on their payroll.

NL Central Notes: Snyder, Mejdal, Young

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We've already heard that the Reds don't expect to make any additions before Spring Training. Here are the latest rumors from the rest of the NL Central…

  • Chris Snyder, who signed with the Astros earlier this offseason, says a part of him had always wanted to join his hometown team, according to Zachary Levine and Sam Khan Jr. of the Houston Chronicle. The 31-year-old backstop is a Houston native.
  • Newly-hired director of decision sciences Sig Mejdal explained to Levine how he intends to use data in a way that will allow the Astros to improve their on-field product.
  • Dmitri Young worked out for the Pirates today and manager Clint Hurdle said he got a good read on the first baseman/outfielder, according to Tom Singer of MLB.com. "He met all the criteria we wanted to see," Hurdle said. "He ran the bases, took balls at first base, threw from the outfield and hit from both sides of the plate." The 38-year-old is attempting a comeback after losing 70 pounds.
  • In case you missed it, Brewers reliever Jose Veras had an arbitration hearing today and the Cubs are interested in Ramon Ortiz.

Cubs Interested In Ramon Ortiz

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The Cubs are interested in signing 38-year-old right-hander Ramon Ortiz to a minor league deal, Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com reports. Praver/Shapiro represents Ortiz, who split the 2011 season between the Cubs and their Triple-A affiliate.

Ortiz appeared in 22 games for the Cubs last year, posting a 4.86 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 33 1/3 innings. The 11-year MLB veteran also made 16 starts at Triple-A, completing 99 1/3 innings with the Iowa Cubs. No other teams have been publicly linked to Ortiz this offseason.

Jocketty On Oswalt, Kazmir, Chapman

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Reds GM Walt Jocketty expects to start Spring Training without making further changes to the team's roster, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Fay says the club will review its roster this week, but that it's "pretty well set." Here are some more notes from the GM:

  • The Reds haven't been in touch with Roy Oswalt's agents in the past week. “I think he’s waiting for Texas to clear money,” Jocketty said. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark said on Friday that Oswalt isn't going to sign with the Rangers or Phillies, however. Perhaps the Red Sox or Cardinals will make a late push for the right-hander.
  • The Reds are not interested in watching Scott Kazmir audition in front of scouts, Jocketty said. The free agent left-hander is looking for an opportunity with an MLB club and will pitch in front of an audience this Wednesday.
  • Aroldis Chapman is healthy and the Reds intend to work him out as a starter this spring.

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