Mariners Designate Adam Moore For Assignment
The Mariners have designated catcher Adam Moore for assignment, the team announced. The move was made to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for pitcher Josh Kinney. In a corresponding move, the Mariners placed pitcher Erasmo Ramirez on the 15-day disabled list with a right elbow flexor strain.
Moore, a former sixth round selection of the Mariners in the 2006 draft, has had two stints on the disabled list this season. The most recent was for his second surgery in two years to repair a medial meniscus tear in his right knee. Moore has not appeared in a game for Mariners this season, but has played 24 games for Triple-A Tacoma with a batting line of .209/.247/.372. In his three-year major league career spanning 68 games, Moore has hit .197/.231/.295 with a caught stealing rate of 17%.
Braves Sign Ben Sheets
1:25 pm: Braves GM Frank Wren spoke with reporters, including Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, after watching Sheets' bullpen session. "You look at him being a guy who, if the progression goes as we hope, that he could join our rotation in the next few weeks. What we just saw in the bullpen was very impressive."
11:53 am: The Braves announced that they have signed pitcher Ben Sheets to a minor league deal. The right-hander will make his first start on July 4th for the team's Double-A affiliate.
Sheets, 33, will now work his way towards returning to a big league mound for the first time since July 19th, 2010 when he was with the A's. The Louisiana native had a 4.53 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 through 20 starts that season with Oakland before having to undergo flexor tendon surgery.
As MLBTR first reported, Sheets threw for scouts from the Phillies, Braves, Yankees, and Angels two weeks ago. The pitcher apparently wanted to wait until he was 100% before returning to baseball.
AL East Notes: Bautista, Blue Jays, Rays, Yankees
Over the weekend we learned that the Blue Jays are looking to upgrade their rotation as the deal with a rash of injuries. Toronto recently sent multiple scouts to at least two of Wandy Rodriguez’s starts and has also maintained contact with the Cubs about Matt Garza. Here's more on the Blue Jays and the rest of the AL East..
- Jose Bautista told Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com that he wants to see the club make a big push at the deadline. "Let’s go for it,” Bautista said. “Hopefully, the change is made now. We’re in a position, in the middle of the season, to compete for a playoff spot. A lot of people maybe have forgotten about the extra wild card, but I certainly haven’t. There was a lot of talk about it in spring training, and I haven’t heard much since."
- The Rays signed Dominican catcher Erick Maria for $300K, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. Maria was known as Eric Otanez when he signed with Tampa Bay last year before the deal was declared ineligible thanks to an inaccurate birthdate. Maria has developed into a better prospect than he was a year ago but he appears to have remained loyal to the Rays to honor his original deal.
- No one realized exactly how important the Hiroki Kuroda signing would be for the Yankees this season, writes David Lennon of Newsday. Kuroda, who signed a one-year, $10MM deal with the Bombers, has stepped up for the club in the wake of the ill-fated Michael Pineda trade.
Cafardo On Yankees, Ichiro, Greinke, Orioles
In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders why other clubs weren't more aggressive in their pursuit of third baseman Kevin Youkilis. The veteran, he argues, would have been a perfect fit in Cleveland where Travis Hafner was sidelined for a time. The Pirates and Dodgers also could have used a boost at first base, but ultimately backed away when the talks got serious. At the end of the day, White Sox GM Ken Williams got his man at the deadline and Cafardo praises him for it. Here's more from today's column..
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman wants to find starters in place of CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte from within, but if that’s not possible, he’ll look outside. One National League GM said that while the Astros' Wandy Rodriguez would be a good fit, he doesn’t believe he is of particular interest to them. Cashman is more likely to gravitate toward Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster, and even Zack Greinke.
- It wouldn’t be shocking to see Ichiro Suzuki get another contract from the Mariners if he wants it. The outfielder's abilities have declined but ownership may stick with him for the sake of reputation.
- If the Brewers entertain a deal for Greinke, the Orioles are a team to watch. The notion that Greinke needs a smaller market because of his past anxiety issues is still very much in play.
- A team like the Dodgers, Indians, or Pirates would likely take on Vernon Wells if the Angels picked up the majority of the $53MM remaining on his deal.
- The Nationals and Marlins will have interest in Scott Podsednik once he is healthy.