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Archives for January 2013

Giants Talking To Brandon Lyon

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The Giants are in deep discussions with reliever Brandon Lyon, according to Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com.  If the Giants sign the right-hander, it is expected to be the last move they make this winter.

If inking Lyon does close the books on significant moves for the 2012/13 offseason, that would spell the end of fellow reliever Brian Wilson in San Francisco.  Giants vice president Bobby Evans says that it's an oversimplification to say that signing Lyon would leave Wilson on the outside, but he acknowledged that "there are only so many spots that can be filled."

In 67 outings for the Astros and Blue Jays last season, Lyon posted a 3.10 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.  It was an all-around strong showing for the 33-year-old who was limited to just 15 games in 2011 due to bicep surgery.

D’Backs, Tony Sipp Avoid Arbitration

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The Diamondbacks have reached agreement on a one-year, $1.275MM deal with Tony Sipp, the right-hander told Creg Stephenson of GulfLive.com.  Sipp is a client of the Bledsoe Brothers.

Sipp, 29, came to the Diamondbacks in the three-team deal which shipped Shin-Soo Choo to the Reds last month.  He was a fixture of the Indians' bullpen in 2012 as he posted a 4.42 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 63 relief appearances.  MLBTR's projection model had Sipp coming away with a $1MM deal in arbitration.

Pirates Designate Zach Stewart For Assignment

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The Pirates have designated Zach Stewart for assignment, according to MLB.com's official transactions page.  The move was made in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Jeff Karstens, whom they signed earlier this week.

Stewart was acquired from the Red Sox for a player to be named later in late November.  In 103 career major league innings at the MLB level, Stewart has a 6.82 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9.  He's no stranger to the pages of MLBTR, having been traded four times since being drafted by the Reds in 2008.

AL West Notes: Morse, Kubel, M’s, Angels, Young

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Yesterday, Mariners General Manager Jack Zduriencik told reporters, including MLBTR's Mark Polishuk, that while he liked what John Jaso brought to the table for the team, it was worth parting with him in order to acquire an impact hitter like Michael Morse.  Morse will now join Kendrys Morales, Jason Bay, and Raul Ibanez in the middle of Seattle's lineup for 2013 but Jack Z says that he isn't done yet.  Seattle would still like to add veteran depth at catcher in support of Jesus Montero.  Here's today's news out of the American League West..

  • Before acquiring Morse and before Justin Upton vetoed the deal that never was, the Mariners had serious talks about getting Jason Kubel, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.  The D'Backs are said to be seeking young pitching in return for the outfielder and recently had talks with the Orioles about him.
  • Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) looked at the five outfielders most likely to be traded this season, including Chris Young and Coco Crisp of the A's and the Angels' Vernon Wells.  If manager Bob Melvin is committed to Crisp, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Young is shipped to the first team that loses its starting center fielder to injury.  And for his part, Crisp has said that he wouldn't mind a trade to a contender.
  • In conversations with several agents and executives about young stars who might agree to contract extensions in the near future, the Angels' Mike Trout and the Mariners' Felix Hernandez came up fairly often, writes MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.  "If I'm [the Angels]," said one exec of Trout, "I'm already talking about a crazy long deal. I don't think anybody knows what his ceiling is. You could be looking at the greatest modern player in the game."

Orioles Notes: Duquette, Showalter, Pitching

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Yesterday, the Orioles finalized lengthy contract extensions for manager Buck Showalter and General Manager Dan Duquette.  Here's a look at some news out of their joint press conference earlier today..

  • Duquette told reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports (on Twitter), that he would still like to add a veteran starter this winter.  So far, it has been a quiet offseason for the O's on the heels of their first postseason birth 1997.
  • While Duquette says that there's still plenty of time left in the offseason to make moves, he explained that he's rather happy with what the O's already have in place, writes Kubatko.  "We have more work to do..But again, I like this ballclub, I like the depth of the pitching, I like the core players, I like the leadership on the field and I think we have a very competitive team. And we'll have some other opportunities," the GM said.
  • The GM also said that he doesn't envision any impact hitters becoming available on the trade market anytime soon.
  • Meanwhile, ownership representative Louis Angelos applauded Duquette and Showalter for not making any moves this winter that might jeopardize the club's future, writes Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun.

How To Use MLBTR

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An explanation of the many ways to enjoy MLB Trade Rumors:

  • If the main site doesn't load perfectly on your cell phone, try the more mobile-friendly mlbtraderumors.mobi.  It's a simple page that shows you just the headlines and lets you click through to what you want to read.
  • If you're an iPhone user, be sure to pick up our app for the latest news and rumors. MLBTR just introduced an Android app as well.
  • If you want only the hard news in the form of transactions, our transactions page is the ticket.  You can also get only the transactions via Twitter or RSS. 
  • To return to the main page at any time, just click on the title or the Home button on the navigation bar below the title. 
  • The navigation bar will cover many of your needs.  Use the About dropdown to learn about this site or any of its writers. 
  • The Contact button takes you to a page where you can write an email message to the MLBTR writers.  If you have a link to a rumor we've missed, please send it in through the Contact page!  Also use the Contact page to inquire about advertising on MLBTR.
  • The Archives dropdown shows you 15 months worth.  If you need to go back further, click on Site Map at the very bottom of the page.  Site Map also lists out every MLBTR post category, including players, teams, and features.
  • The Tools dropdown takes you to a number of different places. The MLBTR Widget allows website owners to easily add a constantly updated box with all of MLBTR's headlines to their sites.
  • Also under the tools tab is our Transaction Tracker, which enables you to search about anything and everything to do with baseball trades, signings and extensions. 
  • Under the tools tab, you'll find a link to our Forums, a message board community of MLBTR readers with over 9,100 members.  You can discuss any baseball-related topic on the Forums, and start your own thread too.
  • MLBTR's Agency Database lets you know which agencies represent which players. It's searchable by team, agency or player, so be sure to check it out.
  • Feeds By Team is a very useful dropdown.  Hover over it to see all 30 teams.  Click on the team name to bring up a page of every post containing information about that team, with the latest on top.  These are the same pages you'll find if you go to the Rumors By Team section on the sidebar and select A's Rumors, Angels Rumors, etc.  
  • Also under the Feeds By Team dropdown, you'll find RSS and Twitter buttons.  Those links allow you to follow a single team's rumors via RSS or Twitter.  Did you know we have a separate Twitter account for each of the 30 teams?  For example you can follow @mlbtrtigers, where you would get the latest Tigers updates.
  • You can also follow Tim Dierkes and Ben Nicholson-Smith on Twitter for more MLBTR content.
  • On the far right of the Navigation bar, you'll see buttons for Twitter, Facebook, and RSS.  MLBTR has over 240,000 Twitter followers, over 66,000 Facebook fans, and over 53,000 RSS subscribers.  Sign up for these and you'll be the first to receive all of our posts.
  • Be sure to check out your favorite team's MLBTR page on Facebook so you can receive and comment on the latest rumors.
  • On to the sidebar.  It begins with a list of our Top Stories, which our writers update any time major hard news occurs.  Go here for a quick update on the most important stories.  Below that is the site's Search Box, where you can type in any player's name and get the latest on him. 
  • MLBTR Features has all kinds of goodies, including our free agent lists.  Many of the MLBTR Features are constantly updated by our writers, so be assured that our free agent lists are always fresh. 
  • Below Features you've got headlines for all the Recent Posts, in case you'd rather not scroll to see all the headlines.  Then there's a box for our Mailing List, where you can sign up to receive a daily email containing MLBTR's posts.  Use this option if you don't need the news as soon as possible.
  • Next we have Featured Posts, where you'll find original work from MLBTR writers we consider noteworthy. 
  • There's also a contact form in case you need to reach MLBTR.

Four Teams Interested In Ryan Theriot

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THURSDAY: The Rangers and Indians also have some interest in Theriot, Heyman reports (on Twitter).

WEDNESDAY: The Phillies and Giants are among the teams interested in free agent Ryan Theriot, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  The shortstop/second baseman hit .270/.316/.321 in 384 plate appearances for San Francisco last season.

Theriot, a client of Beverly Hills Sports Council, owns a career .281/.341/.350 slash line across eight seasons with four teams.  The veteran has had the good fortune of capturing World Series rings in his last two stops – San Francisco and St. Louis (2011).

The Giants reportedly shopped Theriot last March, with possible interest from teams including the Phillies, but wound up holding on to him.

Pirates Sign Brad Hawpe, Lucas May

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The Pirates announced that they signed outfielder Brad Hawpe and catcher Lucas May to minor league deals. Both players receive invitations to MLB Spring Training.

Hawpe, a former All-Star with eight years of MLB experience, last appeared in the big leagues with the 2011 Padres. He spent the 2012 season with Texas' Double-A affiliate, posting a .260/.382/.382 batting line in 152 plate appearances. The 33-year-old left-handed hitter reached the 20-homer plateau four consecutive times with the Rockies from 2006-09.

May, who appeared in 12 games with the 2010 Royals, spent this past season with the Mets' top affiliate. The 28-year-old posted a .215/.245/.348 batting line in 269 plate appearances at Triple-A Buffalo.

Twins, Drew Butera Avoid Arbitration

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The Twins avoided arbitration with catcher Drew Butera, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). Butera, a client of agent David Schwartz, will earn $700K in 2013.

Butera had been arbitration eligible for the first time as a super two player. MLBTR projected a salary of $500K for the 29-year-old. He appeared in 42 games for the Twins this past season, posting a .198/.270/.279 batting line in 122 plate appearances.

Brian Duensing is Minnesota's lone remaining arb eligible player, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows.

Red Sox, Jarrod Saltalamacchia Avoid Arbitration

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The Red Sox announced that they avoided salary arbitration with catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The Munsey Sports Management client obtains a one-year, $4.5MM deal for 2013, Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports.

Saltalamacchia had a projected salary of $3.9MM following a season in which he hit 25 home runs and posted a .222/.288/.454 batting line in 448 plate appearances. The 27-year-old had been arbitration eligible for the third and final time. He remains on track to hit free agency after the 2013 season.

The Red Sox have eight remaining arbitration eligible players, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. Right-handers Alfredo Aceves, Andrew Bailey, Daniel Bard, and Joel Hanrahan, left-handers Craig Breslow, Andrew Miller and Franklin Morales, and outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury are also eligible.

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