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Archives for May 2012

Indians Notes: Lopez, Jimenez

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It was on this day in 1952 that the Indians used a record 23 players in a game against the Washington Senators.  Despite using nearly their entire roster, the Indians still lost, 7-6, on Pete Runnels' walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth.

Here's the latest from Cleveland…

  • Jose Lopez has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.  Lopez was designated for assignment on Tuesday so the Tribe could create a roster space for Johnny Damon.
  • "Keep in mind, there was risk on both sides of the deal," Indians president Mark Shapiro said to Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer when discussing last year's trade with the Rockies that brought Ubaldo Jimenez to the Tribe. "It's often like that when you trade a lot of pitchers, but they do get hurt [more often than position players]."  Shapiro and GM Chris Antonetti both feel it's much too early to evaluate the trade, but Pluto feels the early returns don't favor the Indians thanks to Jimenez's struggles and mechanical issues.
  • You can keep up on all of MLBTR's Indians coverage on our Tribe-centric Facebook page, Twitter and RSS feeds.

Quick Hits: Weaver, Komatsu, Sandoval

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On this date last year, Twins left-hander Francisco Liriano no-hit the White Sox. Here are some links for Thursday afternoon, starting with a note on Jered Weaver, who no-hit Liriano's Twins last night…

  • Weaver pitched a no-hitter for his hometown team in front of his fans and family last night and as Scott Miller of CBSSports.com writes, it's for days like yesterday that the right-hander signed a long-term deal with the Angels. Weaver signed a five-year, $85MM contract last summer instead of testing the open market, where he likely would have obtained a larger guarantee. So far this deal seems to be working well for both sides.
  • Outfielder Erik Komatsu expects to learn if he has a new team by tomorrow, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The Cardinals designated the Rule 5 pick for assignment earlier in the week and other MLB teams now have the chance to claim him off of waivers.
  • Pablo Sandoval is expected to miss four to six weeks with a fractured hamate bone, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported (on Twitter). The Giants are calling up Conor Gillaspie for now, and it appears they'll rely on their internal options while Sandoval's out.

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Minor Moves: Jeff Frazier

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We'll track the latest minor moves right here…

  • The Tigers signed free agent outfielder Jeff Frazier, according to the team's transactions page. Frazier, 29, appeared in nine games for the 2010 Tigers before playing in the Nationals' system in 2011. The corner outfielder owns a .271/.324/.415 line in parts of nine minor league seasons. He had been playing in the Mexican League this year.

Updates On Converted Relievers Now Starting

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One way for teams to avoid building their rotations through free agency is to move relief pitchers to the starting rotation. Few relievers have the repertoire and durability to succeed in the rotation, but teams are understandably tempted by certain promising bullpen arms. After all, starters have the potential to limit the opposition for 180-200 innings, while relievers might pitch 60-70 innings.

The Rangers have successfully converted C.J. Wilson and Alexi Ogando to starting roles under Ron Washington and Mike Maddux in recent years, but some conversions don't work out quite as well. For example, Phil Coke and Kyle McClellan started the 2011 season in the rotation, before returning to relief roles.

Here’s an early season update on four pitchers who jumped from the ‘pen to the rotation this year. None of the pitchers below had started more than three MLB games in a season before 2012 and all of them were big league relievers last year:

  • Daniel Bard – Bard's walk rate has spiked, his strikeout rate is down and he's generating fewer ground balls. His average fastball sits in the 93-94 mph range, down from 97.3 mph out of the bullpen, but he continues to generate swings and misses. A dropoff is expected from relievers who move to the rotation, and Bard showed promise against the White Sox last week. 
  • Neftali Feliz – Feliz's 3.81 ERA is a little deceptive. He has 18 strikeouts against 14 walks, partly because he's generating fewer swings and misses. He has also been lucky on balls in play, as his .194 opponents' BABIP indicates.
  • Jeff Samardzija – The strikeouts are up, the walks are down and the peripheral numbers suggest this may well be sustainable. Samardzija's fastball continues to average 94.7 mph and batters are swinging and missing more than ever. So far, Samardzija's conversion has been a major success, especially relative to pre-season expectations. To his credit he has faced the Cardinals — the NL's top offense — twice.
  • Chris Sale – Sale's transition to the rotation is going smoothly. Though his fastball velocity has dipped to 92.4 mph and his strikeout rate is down, he's limiting walks and averaging more than six innings per start.

Note: Though Lance Lynn, Anthony Bass and Felix Doubront pitched in relief last year, they also started in the minors for an extended period of time, so I don’t consider them converted relievers. Advanced stats via FanGraphs.

Sabean: Belt Staying Put

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At times it's not clear where Brandon Belt fits on the Giants' roster. The 24-year-old gets regular plate appearances, but he shares the first base job with Brett Pill, Aubrey Huff and Buster Posey. However, GM Brian Sabean says Belt’s not trade bait. 

"He's going nowhere," Sabean told Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle. "The kid's earned his way onto the team … and we all want him to take over as the first baseman, and help this lineup, and I think it'll turn out that way.”

Sabean cautioned that Belt will have to earn his playing time and noted that some of his at bats have been disappointing. Belt, a top prospect entering the 2011 season, has a .234/.317/.407 line in 259 plate appearances as a Major Leaguer. He appeared in left and right field last year, but has played exclusively at first so far in 2012.

Quick Hits: Gamel, Paniagua, Padres, Harper

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Brewers GM Doug Melvin confirmed that Mat Gamel has a torn right ACL and is likely to miss the rest of the season, reports Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel. "For now, we'll fill from within," said the GM. "[Travis Ishikawa] will be out there. Making trades aren't as easy as people think."

Here's the latest from around the league…

  • Dominican right-hander Juan Carlos Paniagua recently worked out for teams in Puerto Rico, reports Conor Glassey on Baseball America. The Yankees signed the 22-year-old for $1.1MM last year, though the deal was later voided. Paniagua will be free to sign with teams on July 19th, though he will be subject to the international spending restrictions implemented by the new collective bargaining agreement.
  • ESPN's Jim Bowden put together a list of early trade candidates, including names like Brandon League, Erik Bedard, and Jeff Francoeur.
  • "There are a lot of good things about [the San Diego] market," said Scott Boras to Tom Krasovic of Inside of the Padres. "Has to be an owner with lot of money and patience," he added. The Padres are expected to be sold in the near future, possibly by the All-Star break.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote about Bryce Harper and explained why the Nationals should not send him down. Meanwhile, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tries to temper expectations for the young phenom.
  • Matt Eddy of Baseball America has a full recap of last week's minor league transactions, including DL assignments and players signed as undrafted free agents.

Yankees Sign Adonis Garcia

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9:21pm: Garcia signed a one-year minor league contract worth $400K according to Marc Carig of The Star Ledger (on Sulia).

4:16pm: The Yankees have signed Cuban outfielder Adonis Garcia, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. The 26-year-old became a free agent in February and drew interest from a number of teams.

Rumors of offers in the $16-18MM range circulated a couple of months ago, but it would be a surprise if Garcia obtains more than a couple million given Badler's description of his tools. Though he's relatively advanced as a hitter, "it's hard for scouts to see him fitting in as a big league regular," Badler writes. The outfielder spent this winter with the Magellan Navigators of the Venezuelan League.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Omar Vizquel Hints At Retirement

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Infielder Omar Vizquel openly wondered why more older players don't sign minor league contracts and try to win jobs back in Spring Training, though it appears as though he won't do that himself next year. Vizquel told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that this season is likely to be his last as a player.

“I think this is going to be it for me,” he said. “This is going to be my last year.”

Vizquel, 45, did qualify the statement by saying he's only "51% sure" he will call it a career after 2012. He has one single and one walk in a dozen plate appearances for the Blue Jays this year, who signed him to a minor league deal back in January. This is Vizquel's 24th season in the big leagues and the Jays are his sixth team. He has indicated a desire to coach once he hands up the spikes.

Dodgers In Serious Talks With Bobby Abreu

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The Dodgers are in serious talks with Bobby Abreu, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Details still need to be worked out, so the deal is not yet done.

The Angels released the 38-year-old Abreu late last week, and earlier today we heard that several NL teams have expressed interest. Abreu posted a .353 on-base percentage with 21 stolen bases and 78 walks last year, but got off to a slow start in 2012. He is a client of Peter E. Greenberg & Associates and is available for a pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum at this point. The Angels are responsible for the remainder of his $9MM salary.

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