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Archives for May 2012

Casey Blake To Retire

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Veteran infielder Casey Blake announced that he will retire from baseball, according to Bryce Miller of the Des Moines Register. The 38-year-old said he considered playing for one more year before deciding to move on. 

“I just decided to shut it down,” he said. “And I’m OK with the decision.”

Blake will retire with 167 home runs and a .264/.336/.442 batting line after a career that included stops in Cleveland, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Baltimore and Toronto. He averaged 22 home runs per season with an .800 OPS in his prime, from 2004-08.

Blake spent considerable time on the disabled list last year as he dealt with a cervical strain. Agent Jim McDowell represents the veteran infielder, who earned more than $32MM over the course of his 13-year career. The Rangers expressed interest in Blake after the Rockies released him this spring, the Register reports.

Nationals Sign Mike Gonzalez

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The Nationals announced that they have signed left-handed reliever Mike Gonzalez (Twitter link). Gonzalez, a client of the Boras Corporation, will report to Viera, the team announced. He signed a minor league deal, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post tweets.

Gonzalez posted a 4.39 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 53 1/3 innings for the Orioles and Rangers in 2011. The Indians, White Sox and Athletics had some interest in the 33-year-old, who turned down a minor league offer from the Rangers this spring. Scott Boras has said Gonzalez is returning to health following offseason knee surgery.

The Nationals' bullpen currently includes left-handers Sean Burnett and Tom Gorzelanny. As MLBTR's Agency Database shows, the Boras Corporation represents a considerable number of players on Washington's roster.

Brewers Extend Melvin, Roenicke

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The Brewers announced that they have extended the contracts of their general manager and field manager. Doug Melvin, the club's GM since 2002, receives a promotion to president of baseball operations under his new contract, which runs through 2015. Manager Ron Roenicke obtains an extension runs through 2014 and includes a club option for 2015.

Brewers owner Mark Attanasio explained that the team's recent postseason berths give him confidence in Melvin, "one of the most respected leaders in the industry." Melvin said Roenicke's leadership has also been instrumental to the team's success. “He and his staff have worked tirelessly to put us in a great position to win, and he has been very supportive of everything we are looking to accomplish," Melvin said via press release.

MLBTR's Transaction Tracker offers a look back at the moves Melvin has made since joining the Brewers a decade ago. Melvin, Baseball America's 2011 Executive of the Year, became the Rangers' GM following the 1994 season and has been running teams ever since.

Roenicke led the Brewers to the NLCS last year, his first full season as an MLB manager. The club won 96 games in 2011, but is off to a 12-17 start this year. The club appeared to be nearing extensions with Melvin and Roenicke over the weekend.

Olney On Angels, Penny

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The Cardinals’ bullpen struggled early on in the 2011 season but recovered to help St. Louis win the World Series. This provides hope for teams with early-season bullpen issues such as the Angels, as Buster Olney explained at ESPN.com this morning. Here are some more notes from Olney:

  • Angels GM Jerry Dipoto says the club needs to restore Jordan Walden’s confidence. "We need for Jordan to be good,” he said. “He's going to be an important part of things here."
  • The Angels are struggling for many reasons in Dipoto’s view, but the bullpen remains a clear area of concern, especially with recent injuries to Scott Downs and LaTroy Hawkins. Dipoto acquired Ernesto Frieri from the Padres over the weekend.
  • Brad Penny has offers from MLB teams to start or pitch out of the bullpen, Olney reports. Penny, who recently became a free agent, expects to choose a team soon. He had been dealing with shoulder issues while under contract with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Brewers Sign Tommy Manzella

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The Brewers have signed Tommy Manzella to a minor league contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The move gives the club infield depth following Alex Gonzalez's season-ending torn ACL.

Manzella, 29, was the Astros' Opening Day shortstop in 2010. He hit just .225/.267/.264 in 282 plate appearances before spending last season in Triple-A. Houston designated the Sports One Athlete Management client for assignment last August. Manzella was claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks before being removed from the 40-man roster in September.

Rockies Designate Eliezer Alfonzo For Assignment

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The Rockies designated catcher Eliezer Alfonzo for assignment, according to the team's transactions page. The Rockies appear to have removed the 33-year-old from their 40-man roster to create space for left-hander Christian Friedrich, who will start tomorrow's game.

Alfonzo had an impressive .319/.347/.777 line with 12 homers in 101 plate appearances at Triple-A Colorado Springs last year. He owns a .290/.332/.475 batting line in a minor league career that spans 15 seasons and has experience in six MLB campaigns, most recently with the 2011 Rockies.

SoftBank Hawks Release Brad Penny

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The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks have released right-hander Brad Penny at his request after just one start in Japan, according to this Sanspo article passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (Twitter link). The right-hander signed with the Hawks this past offseason, but shoulder pain sidelined him for much of the past month and he appeared to have trouble adapting to Japanese baseball.

"It was the individual's strong desire to leave," according to the team. 

Penny and the SoftBank Hawks agreed to a $4MM contract with $3.5MM in performance bonuses this February. The 33-year-old Legacy Sports client posted a 5.30 ERA with 3.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 181 2/3 innings for the Tigers last season.

No In-Season Talks For Kershaw, Dodgers

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The Dodgers don’t have plans to discuss a long-term contract extension with defending NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw — at least for now. GM Ned Colletti told Bill Shaikin of the LA Times that "nothing will happen” during the season (Twitter link).

Kershaw recently signed a two-year, $19MM deal that covers his first two arbitration seasons (2012-13). The 24-year-old Hendricks Sports client will be eligible for arbitration one more time following the 2013 season and eligible for free agency following the 2014 season. Guggenheim Baseball Management recently gained control of the Dodgers and may look to extend the left-hander’s stay in Los Angeles with a long-term extension. Kershaw figures to set ask for a $100MM contract if he has another strong season.

Make Or Break Year: Geovany Soto

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In the aftermath of Geovany Soto's big 2010 season, the catcher was being looked at as extension candidate, in line for a healthy multiyear contract.  The Cubs held off extending Soto and instead chose to go year-to-year in arbitration, which may have proven to be a wise decision.  Soto followed up his .280/.393/.497 performance in 2010 with a disappointing .228/.310/.411 slash line in 2011, and has thus far gotten off to a slow start this season, with just a .526 OPS entering tonight's play.  (Though, in fairness, Soto's .157 BABIP indicates he's been very unlucky.)

Uspw_6233158Soto earned $3MM in 2011 and $4.3MM this season during his first two arb-eligible years and is due for one more trip through the arb process before hitting free agency after the 2013 campaign.  We can tentatively predict Soto to earn around $5.5MM next year since even if he continues to hit poorly, I think the Cubs will still tender him a contract.  Soto's big 2010 season and his Rookie Of The Year campaign in 2008 are still too fresh in everyone's memory, and since solid-hitting catchers are such a commodity in the game, the Cubs will likely give Soto another chance to regain his past form.

"Likely," however, is not a certainty.  Soto is a middling-to-below average defender, so unless his bat heats up, he has little value.  Chicago has another catching prospect in 25-year-old Welington Castillo, who has posted an .852 OPS in 590 Triple-A plate appearances and is currently serving as the Cubs' backup with Steve Clevenger on the DL.  Jed Hoyer could go in a different direction next year, using Castillo and Clevenger (who also has some good minor league numbers) in a righty-lefty platoon, possibly with a veteran brought into the mix during Spring Training to add depth.

If the Cubs do give up on Soto, it's more likely that they would try to deal him at the trade deadline rather than non-tendering him for nothing in return.  The Rays are the most notable contender with a clear need at catcher, though a number of other teams could develop a hole behind the plate by the end of July.  If Soto can't get his bat going, expect him to be dealt for a low-level prospect to a team in need of a backup catcher.  If Soto does hit, however, he'll keep his job in Chicago for at least one more season, though the Cubs will still be right to hold off on an extension until they see what Soto does in 2013.

Photo courtesy of Howard Smith/US Presswire

Quick Hits: Lee, Brewers, Moyer, Bonderman

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Giants reliever Guillermo Mota is appealing his 100-game suspension due to a positive drug test, reports Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com.  In a statement issued through Adam Katz, Mota's agent, the right-hander claims that children's cough medicine was responsible for the banned substance (clenbuterol) that was found in his system.  Since this is his second drug-related suspension, Mota will not be allowed to continue playing while waiting for an appeal.

Here's the latest from around the majors….

  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Trenni Kusnierek of WTMJ 620 radio in Milwaukee that the team "had a discussion" with free agent first baseman Derrek Lee but a signing is "not going to happen."  The team will look internally to fill its hole at first base with Mat Gamel out for the season.
  • Melvin also said that the Brewers have the financial resources and farm system depth to make trades if necessary, though the club will wait until about a week before the July trade deadline before deciding if any moves need to be made.  Melvin predicts less deadline activity in general around baseball this year due to both the Cardinals' late-season hot streak last year and the extra wild card that will have more teams unwilling to give up on their season.
  • Jamie Moyer thought he had a deal worked out with the Orioles last fall but Dan Duquette's hiring scuttled the move, reports Caleb Hannan of the Denver News.  "They said one thing one day and by the next it was completely different," Moyer said. "They pulled a complete 180."  One of the reasons may have been due to an incident between Moyer and Duquette in 1996 when both men were with the Red Sox. 
  • Jeremy Bonderman tells Chris Iott of MLive.com that he was "burnt out" and didn't expect to return to baseball when he sat out the 2011 season but he's now eager to pitch again.  Bonderman underwent Tommy John surgery last month and is hoping to catch on with a team in 2013.
  • Teams that write off several seasons in the name of a long rebuilding process run the risk of permanently alienating their fans, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.

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