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Royals Release Nady, Sherrill

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The Royals have released Xavier Nady and George Sherrill, reports Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). Both players signed minor league deals with Kansas City this offseason, and the organization hopes to re-sign both.

Both Nady and Sherrill were Article XX(B) free agents, meaning the Royals would have had to pay each player a $100K retention bonus if they remained within the organization by noon ET tomorrow. Instead, general manager Dayton Moore will have the opportunity to work out new deals with the pair, but they're both free to explore options with other teams.

Nady, 34, batted .184/.253/.316 between the Nationals and Giants last season. From 2006-09, Nady posted a strong .289/.342/.480 batting line in 410 games for the Mets, Pirates and Yankees. However, his 2009 campaign was cut short when he needed Tommy John surgery, and he's never regained his form at the plate. Since returning from the injury, he's batted .237/.288/.347 in 260 games between four organizations.

Sherrill, who turns 36 in a few weeks, appeared in just two games for the Mariners last season before a torn UCL in his left elbow led to Tommy John surgery. He had yet to appear in a Spring Training game for the Royals, as his surgery didn't take place until May of last year. Sherrill has a 3.77 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 324 1/3 Major League innings between the Mariners, Dodgers, Orioles and Braves.

Quick Hits: Expos, Vlad, Indians, Betancourt, Ankiel

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Former Expos outfielder Warren Cromartie is convinced that the city of Montreal would welcome baseball back with open arms, writes Bill Beacon of the Canadian Press. Cromartie is heading up the Montreal Baseball Project — an organization that has been formed with the goal of bringing baseball back to Montreal. The $400K project will be completed by year's end and feature financial analysis, legal consultation and extensive market research among the city's population. Here's more from around the league for those of you in the mood for some late-night reading…

  • Former Expo (and Angel, Ranger and Oriole) Vladimir Guerrero has an offer from the independent league Quebec Capitales, and he's been in contact with the Long Island Ducks as well, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (confirming an earlier tweet from Chris Cotillo).
  • The Indians are hopeful of working out a trade with the Rangers to keep Rule 5 Draft pick Chris McGuiness, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
  • The Yankees had preliminary discussions with Yuniesky Betancourt on Sunday but don't see a fit, Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reports (via Twitter).
  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart breaks down Rick Ankiel's incentive structure with the Astros (on Twitter). Ankiel, who has a $750K base salary, will receive $75K for 200, 250 and 300 plate appearances. He'll then receive $100K for 350, 400 and 450 plate appearances. All told, he could earn $1.275MM. Ankiel, an Article XX(B) free agent, was named the team's everyday right fielder earlier today.
  • Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times expects the Angels to receive a low- to mid-level prospect from the Yankees when the reported Vernon Wells trade is finalized (Twitter link).
  • Joey Nowak of MLB.com lists 12 notable out of options players who could be traded before the end of Spring Training.

Twins Notes: Hicks, Butera, Young, Betancourt, Garcia

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The Twins announced yesterday that they will hand the reins in center field over to top prospect Aaron Hicks. The 2008 first-rounder ranked 72nd on Baseball America's Top 100 list and 98th on MLB.com's Top 100. Here's some more on the Twinkies as we draw closer to the end of Spring Training…

  • General manager Terry Ryan told MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger that Hicks won the Opening Day job because he doesn't believe in holding players back for service time reasons: "'Can you imagine if we sent somebody out who did what the kid did?' Ryan said. 'And I had to look at [Josh] Willingham, [Justin] Morneau, [Glen] Perkins, [Joe] Mauer and those guys who are trying to win, and I'm going to stop that guy? I just don't believe in that.'"
  • Other teams are interested in catcher Drew Butera, who the Twins optioned to Triple-A yesterday, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). However the Twins prefer to keep Butera, who they signed to a $700K contract in order to avoid arbitration this winter. The 29-year-old is just a .183/.232/.265 career hitter but is regarded as a terrific defensive catcher.
  • The Twins contacted Chris Young this offseason and had interest in him at one point according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, but an official tells Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that the team no longer considers him a fit (Twitter link). Young is set to opt out of his contract with the Nationals.
  • The Twins were approached by representatives for both Yuniesky Betancourt and Freddy Garcia, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, but the team passed on both players (Twitter links).
  • Outfielder Wilkin Ramirez, who signed a minor league deal with the Twins, has all but guaranteed himself a spot on the Opening Day roster, tweets MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger. A corresponding 40-man roster move will need to be made in the coming days.

NL West Notes: Capuano, Garland, Nelson, Giants

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Scouts from the Indians, Rangers, Mariners and Pirates were in attendance on the back fields of the Dodgers' Spring Training complex today to watch Chris Capuano in a minor league game, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. Capuano dominated, striking out 11 hitters and yielding just three hits over seven shutout innings (85 pitches). Capuano is pleased with his improved mechanics and results over his past two starts, Gurnick writes. Here's more out of the NL West…

  • Gurnick also notes that many of those same scouts (and possibly others) are likely to gather tomorrow for Aaron Harang's start. Capuano, Harang, Ted Lilly and Matt Guerrier are all trade candidates for the Dodgers.
  • Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweets that new Rockies pitcher Jon Garland said he "strongly considered" signing with the Rox as a free agent this offseason before accepting a minor league deal from the Mariners. When that didn't work out (they released Garland on Saturday), he quickly reached an agreement with Colorado on a one-year, Major League deal.
  • Top prospect Nolan Arenado has had a great Spring Training and is still in camp with the Rockies, but MLB.com's Thomas Harding tweets that the team isn't planning a Chris Nelson trade to clear a starting spot for Arenado.
  • The Giants are in the market for a backup middle infielder, according to CSN Bay Area's Andrew Baggarly, who opines that Nick Noonan makes for a fine internal option (Twitter link).

Olney On Puig, Wells, Martin, Teixeira, Hanley

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The latest from ESPN's Buster Olney (Insider subscription required)…

  • Cuban slugger Yasiel Puig is forcing the Dodgers' hand with his monster performance in Spring Training, Olney writes. While the team clearly has no place for him to play given the presence of Carl Crawford, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, the buzz he's generating and intrigue from scouts could force the team to consider him for a quick promotion to complement Ethier and/or Crawford against left-handed pitching.
  • Olney wonders why the Yankees appear willing to take on $13MM of Vernon Wells' salary in the trade that has reportedly been agreed to, but wouldn't spend that money on Russell Martin earlier in the offseason: "Instead of having a good defender at a premium defensive position, they have now invested that money in a corner outfielder who has been in decline the last couple of seasons and wasn't even used as a regular player for much of 2012."
  • One possible explanation, as Olney notes, is the salary relief the Yankees will get from Mark Teixeira's injury. The World Baseball Classic is paying the team $7-8MM to cover the injury sustained by Teixeira as he prepared for the event.
  • Similarly, the WBC is picking up the tab for the Dodgers on the injury sustained by Hanley Ramirez in the Championship game.

Rockies Release Miguel Batista

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The Rockies have announced (via Twitter) that they have released right-hander Miguel Batista, who had signed a minor league deal with the club this past January.

In 52 2/3 innings between the Braves and Mets last season, Batista registered a 4.61 ERA, 6.2 K/9, 5.2 BB/9 and a 46.2 percent ground-ball rate. His fastball has lost a tick with age, but he still managed to average 91.7 mph. Batista has appeared with eleven different Major League clubs over parts of 18 seasons. The Dominican hurler has a 4.48 career ERA in 1956 1/3 Major League innings.

Marlins To Sign Matt Diaz

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The Marlins have agreed to a minor league deal with outfielder Matt Diaz, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). Diaz signed a minor league deal with the Yankees this offseason but was released last week. He is represented by Reynolds Sports Management.

Diaz, 35, hit .222/.280/.333 in 51 games for the Braves last season, but owns a much more respectable .770 career OPS. He's tattooed left-handed pitching throughout his 10-year career, knocking them around to the tune of a .324/.364/.498 line. Though he's primarily played left field throughout his career, he does have extensive experience in right field as well.

Orioles Acquire Jairo Asencio From Brewers

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7:53pm: Asencio will not be placed on the 40-man roster and will likely be assigned to Triple-A, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports (Twitter link). The Orioles' interest in Asencio dates back to last season.

7:36pm: The Orioles have acquired right-hander Jairo Asencio from the Brewers in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations, according to Rich Dubroff of CSN Baltimore (on Twitter).

Asencio, 28, split the 2012 season between the Indians and Cubs, pitching to a 4.91 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 40 1/3 innings of relief work. He's been flat-out dominant at the Triple-A level, compiling a 2.52 ERA, 10.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 139 1/3 innings, though that's yet to transfer over to the big league level.

Asencio has averaged 92.3 mph on his heater throughout his career and owns a 40.8 percent ground-ball rate. He pitched previously under a false name: Luis Valdez.

Multiple Teams Showing Interest In Chris Young

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MONDAY: The Blue Jays, Orioles, Twins, Indians, Cubs, Cardinals, Red Sox, Brewers and Mets all have scouts on hand for Young's start against the Astros today, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). However, as he's quick to note, that doesn't necessarily mean that each team is there to scout Young specifically.

For what it's worth, Young was terrific in his outing, scattering two hits, a walk and an unearned run over four innings to go along with a pair of strikeouts.

SUNDAY, 2:10pm: The Pirates are intrigued by Young, tweets the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Rob Biertempfel. However, Biertempfel wonders whether the Pirates can assure Young he'd be on roster the whole year and, if not, whether or not Young would be interested.

11:25am: The minor league deal that Chris Young signed with the Nationals last month contains an opt-out clause that he can exercise today. However, Young is scheduled to pitch in a Grapefruit League game tomorrow. Dan Kolko of MASNsports tweets that Young is planning on making that start tomorrow and then making a decision. Young says he has received interest from other teams, and it was reported on Friday that Young likely won't make the roster.

The Washington Post's Adam Kilgore adds that the Nationals hope to retain Young and view him as the clear favorite for a rotation spot if one of their starting five were to suffer an injury. Young is interested in staying in the organization in the event that he can't find a Major League job elsewhere.

The 33-year-old Young posted a 4.15 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 115 innings for the Mets last season. However, teams in smaller ballparks will likely be wary of Young's alarming 58.2 percent fly-ball rate. Among pitchers with 100 innings or more, Young's fly-ball rate was far and away the highest in baseball, while his 22.3 percent ground-ball rate was far and away the lowest.

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

Indians Designate Ezequiel Carrera For Assignment

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The Indians announced that Ezequiel Carrera has been designated for assignment in order to clear roster space for non-roster invitee Jason Giambi, who has made the club (Twitter link). The Indians announced that Giambi, an Article XX(B) free agent, made the roster recently, but the original plan was to transfer Frank Herrmann to the 60-day disabled list.

Earlier today, it was reported that the Tribe would look to trade Carrera and lefty David Huff, both of whom are out of options and will not make the Opening Day roster.

Carrera, 25, has hit .255/.306/.347 with 18 stolen bases in 24 attempts in 116 career games for Cleveland. The left-handed hitting outfielder has mixed defensive reviews in a small 860-inning sample size, as UZR/150 pegs him at 2.2 runs below average while The Fielding Bible gives him credit for being two runs above average. He's played primarily center field but also has experience at both corner positions. It was reported in late February that the Indians could very likely end up trading Carrera near the end of Spring Training.

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