Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for March 2012

Minor Moves: Marrero, Thurston, Guzman

By | at

Keeping track of the day’s minor moves…

  • The White Sox sent outfielder Christian Marrero to the Braves for cash considerations, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). It appears that he'll start the 2012 season in the minor leagues.
  • The Phillies signed Joe Thurston, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com (on Twitter). He'll open the season in the minors. The Astros released the utility player earlier today, according to the team’s senior director of social media, Alyson Footer (Twitter link). The 32-year-old has MLB experience at second and third and in both corner outfield positions. He owns a .226/.305/.323 line in parts of seven MLB seasons.
  • The Dodgers signed right-hander Kyle Smit, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus tweets. Smit had spent the past few seasons in the Cubs’ organization.
  • Cristian Guzman says the Indians released him, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link). The veteran infielder signed a minor league deal with the Cleveland last month, though he didn't play affiliated baseball in 2011.

Twins Release Joel Zumaya

By | at

11:51am: The Twins have to pay Zumaya his full $850K salary because he was injured prior to the start of the season, reports Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter). GM Terry Ryan confirmed this to Twins reporters at camp.

7:41am: The Twins announced that they have officially released right-hander Joel Zumaya (Twitter link). Zumaya will miss the 2012 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow. The move creates 40-man roster space for the Twins.

The Twins signed Zumaya to a low-risk Major League deal that would have guaranteed him $850K for making Minnesota's Opening Day roster. The hard-throwing 27-year-old hasn't pitched in the Major Leagues since June of 2010, but has a career 3.05 ERA with a 9.0 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in 209 2/3 innings.

Yankees Sign Jack Cust

By | at

The Yankees have signed Jack Cust to a minor league contract, reports Sweeny Murti of WFAN (on Twitter). Last night we heard that the TWC Sports client was likely to sign with an NL team, but the Yankees apparently swooped in.

Cust, 33, was released by the Astros yesterday. He posted a .213/.344/.329 line with three home runs in 270 plate appearances for the Mariners in 2011, when he earned $2.5MM. However, the left-handed hitter averaged 28 homers and 103 walks with the A's from 2007-09. Cust gives the Yankees some left-handed hitting DH insurance in Triple-A in case Raul Ibanez doesn't work out.

Rangers Relievers Drawing Interest

By | at

Teams seeking bullpen depth have started calling the Rangers about possible trades, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. The Rangers may be able to part with a right-handed reliever now that left-hander Robbie Ross has made a strong case for a 25-man roster spot.

Right-handers Koji Uehara and Mark Lowe may be expendable in trades. They’ll earn $4MM and $1.7MM, respectively, before hitting free agency next offseason. The Rangers are still looking for a middle infielder who can play short and a right-handed hitting outfielder for the bench, according to Grant.

Rosenthal On Byrd, Bernadina, Snider

By | at

March is generally a quiet time for trades, but there's often a flurry of activity toward the end of the month. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has the latest rumors from around the Major Leagues…

  • At this point a trade involving Cubs center fielder Marlon Byrd is unlikely. The 34-year-old has been drawing some interest this spring, but a trade in July seems more realistic.
  • Rival officials say Roger Bernadina isn’t a favorite of GM Mike Rizzo’s. The Nationals could part with Bernadina and rely on Rick Ankiel and Brett Carroll in center field until Bryce Harper’s ready for his MLB debut.
  • Travis Snider isn’t drawing much trade interest, even though rival clubs like him. The Blue Jays are reluctant to trade the 24-year-old left fielder when his value is low, especially since they may need him at some point in the season.
  • The Diamondbacks seek a long-term solution at catcher and have targeted 10-15 possible trade candidates. Miguel Montero's expected to test free agency after the 2012 season.

Johnson/Kasten Group Agrees To Purchase Dodgers

By | at

WEDNESDAY, 7:40am: The Dodgers sold for $2.15 billion, the world record price for a sports franchise, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports (Twitter links). The Cubs had set the previous record for an MLB team with a sale price of $845MM. The new deal allows the incoming ownership group to control parking lots for games, but Frank McCourt and the new group will jointly pursue any development of the lots.

TUESDAY, 11:48pm: The Magic/Kasten/Guggenheim Partners group will in fact control the Dodger Stadium parking lots, reports Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). There was no auction between the three bidding groups; McCourt struck a deal with Walter after the owners vote today.

10:01pm: The Dodgers have reached an agreement to be sold to the bidding group led by Magic Johnson, Stan Kasten, and Guggenheim Partners according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. Dennis Berman of The Wall Street Journal reports (on Twitter) that they will pay $2 billion for the team, by far the most ever paid for a North American sports franchise. The Dodgers have confirmed the sale.

"I am thrilled to be part of the historic Dodger franchise and intend to build on the fantastic foundation as we drive the Dodgers back to the front page of the sports section in our wonderful community of Los Angeles," said Johnson in a statement.

“This transaction underscores the Debtors’ objective to maximize the value of their estate and to emerge from Chapter 11 under a successful Plan of Reorganization, under which all creditors are paid in full," said the team in a statement.

Former owner Frank McCourt purchased the Dodgers from NewsCorp for $430MM in 2004. He will form a joint venture with Guggenheim Partners to acquire the Chavez Ravine property for an additional $150MM according to ESPN's Molly Knight (Twitter links), indicating that the Dodger Stadium parking lots were not included in the sale. McCourt's debt has been estimated at $1.1 billion, so he'll still turn a significant profit with the sale.

The Dodgers are getting the best of both worlds with the new ownership group. Magic brings unmatched local starpower while Kasten provides decades of baseball experience. He has previously served as the president of the Braves and Nationals. Mark Walter, CEO of Guggenheim Partners, will become controlling owner of the team according to Knight (on Twitter).

The Johnson/Kasten group was competing with Stan Kroenke and a group led by Steve Cohen and Patrick Soon-Shiong. All three bidders were approved by the other MLB owners just today.

Quick Hits: Byrnes, Hoyer, Cain, Mets, Chamberlain

By | at

Ten years and one day ago today, the Marlins traded Matt Clement and Antonio Alfonseca to the Cubs for Julian Tavarez, Ryan Jorgensen, Jose Cueto, and Dontrelle Willis. Willis alone made the deal worthwhile for the Fish. Here's the latest from around the league…

  • When Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein first called former Padres CEO Jeff Moorad for permission to speak to a member of his front office, he asked about assistant GM Josh Byrnes according to Dan Hayes of The North County Times. Epstein was instead allowed to speak to GM Jed Hoyer because "he was the GM of a last-place team," said Moorad.
  • There has been some recent "back and forth" between the Giants and Matt Cain about a contract extension, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Cain did say that his upcoming free agency is "an exciting part of your career."
  • Outfielder Mike Baxter, catcher Mike Nickeas, and lefty Danny Herrera are front-runners for roster spots with the Mets, writes ESPN New York's Adam Rubin. Baxter and Herrera are not on the team's 40-man roster.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman declined to comment when asked about Joba Chamberlain's contract situation according to Marc Carig of The Star-Ledger (on Twitter). The right-hander suffered an open dislocation of his right ankle playing with his son last week and could miss the season.
  • When the Blue Jays and Athletics discussed Gio Gonzalez this offseason, Oakland asked for 19-year-old right-hander Noah Syndergaard according to Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail. Baseball America ranked Snydergaard as Toronto's seventh best prospect in December.

Mike Gonzalez Auditioned For Reds

By | at

Mike Gonzalez was spotted throwing a bullpen session during an audition for the Reds at their Spring Training complex on Monday, reports Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. With Sean Marshall set to close following Ryan Madson's injury, Cincinnati could be looking to add a left-handed setup man.

Gonzalez, 33, remains a free agent despite recent interest from the Red Sox, Indians, White Sox, and Rangers. The lefty reliever had knee surgery early in the offseason and appears unwilling to sign a minor league contract at the moment.

Jack Cust To Sign With An NL Team

By | at

Jack Cust will sign a minor league contract with an NL team, reports Troy Renck of The Denver Post (on Twitter). That team is not the Rockies however, and we can also rule out the Astros since they released him this morning.

Cust, 33, signed a non-guaranteed Major League deal worth $600K with Houston in January. The one-year contract had also included a club option for 2013. Cust posted a .213/.344/.329 line with three home runs in 270 plate appearances for the Mariners in 2011, when he earned $2.5MM. However, the TWC Sports client averaged 28 homers and 103 walks with the A's from 2007-09.

Make Or Break Year: Scott Baker

By | at

Icon_11802008The Twins are coming off the second-losingest season since moving to Minnesota in 1961, in part because they only got 21 starts out of Scott Baker. The right-hander has been a stabilizing force in their rotation over the last half-decade, though he's now entering what might be the most important season of his career.

Performance has never been an issue for the 30-year-old Baker. He's consistently pitched to a 3.98 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, and a 34.1% ground ball rate since breaking into the big leagues full-time in 2007. Brandon Warne of FanGraphs argued last month that Baker is one of the most underrated pitchers in the game, noting that his fastball command allows his otherwise nondescript stuff to play up. Like I said, his problem hasn't been performance. It's been staying on the field.

Baker has visited the DL in three of the last four seasons, and in that fourth year he missed most of September with an injury but remained active due to expanded rosters. He's dealt with a groin strain (2008), shoulder stiffness (2009), elbow soreness (2010), and a flexor strain (twice in 2011). Sure enough, elbow tendinitis has limited Baker in Spring Training this year. In his first start back this week, he allowed seven runs in 2 2/3 innings.

The Twins hold a $9.25MM club option for Baker's services next year with no buyout. He's a prime midseason trade candidate if they fall out of the race again, but another injury-riddled campaign could ruin Baker's trade value and prompt the team to cut ties with him after the season. If the Twins' longest-tenured starting pitcher can avoid the DL and pitch like his usual self this summer, Minnesota will have no qualms with bringing him back at that price in 2013.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top