Guillermo Moscoso Outrighted To Minors
Here's a look at today's outright assignments..
- The recently acquired Guillermo Moscoso cleared waivers and has been outrighted off of the Cubs' 40-man roster, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter). The right-hander is likely to land in Triple-A Iowa.
Rockies Designate Ramon Hernandez, Will Harris
FRIDAY: The Rockies tweet that they have officially designated Hernandez and pitcher Will Harris for assignment. They have also selected the contracts of Torrealba and pitcher Chris Volstad. Harris appeared in 17 2/3 innings for the Rockies in 2012, posting an 8.15 ERA, 9.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.
THURSDAY: The Rockies will designate catcher Ramon Hernandez for assignment, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports (on Twitter). Yorvit Torrealba will serve as the backup to Wilin Rosario, Renck tweets.
The Rockies signed Hernandez to a two-year, $6.4MM contract following the 2011 season. He hit .217/.247/.353 in 184 at bats with Colorado in 2012. The Rockies had been rumored to be trying to trade him.
Justin Verlander Signing Reactions
Justin Verlander agreed on Friday to a new $180MM contract with the Tigers that makes him the highest-paid pitcher in the history of the game. Here are some reactions to his new deal.
- With Verlander, Buster Posey and Adam Wainwright all agreeing to extensions with their teams this week, "the age of teams retaining their stars is upon us," MLB.com's Matthew Leach writes. Leach points out that Felix Hernandez, Joey Votto, Cole Hamels, Evan Longoria and Matt Kemp all also fairly recently agreed to huge contracts with their current teams. More money through new TV contracts is partially fueling this trend. "And it becomes somewhat cyclical," Leach writes. "As fewer stars hit free agency, clubs have fewer places to spend that money. So they spend it on their own players, and the cycle continues."
- The string of enormous contracts for players like Verlander should be approached with skepticism, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues. "These $100 million contracts are the price of doing business, no doubt," says Rosenthal. "Whether they qualify as good business is another question entirely." Rosenthal points out that big-money contracts for players like Joe Mauer and Johan Santana have gone sour, and says that while contracts like Verlander's may be exciting when they're announced, they might not seem like such great ideas a few years after the fact.
- The size of Verlander's contract likely makes it impossible for the Rays to keep David Price, ESPN's Buster Olney tweets. An extension for Price would mean yearly salaries that would require an enormous percentage of Tampa Bay's payroll.
- Fellow Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer says that any time he eats dinner with Verlander this year, Verlander is paying for it, MLive.com's Chris Iott reports. "I got a nice little contract this year, but no, he's buying every single dinner this year." Scherzer can afford to buy his own dinner, of course — he's scheduled to make $6.725MM in 2013.
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers Discussing Deal
Pitcher Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers are discussing a contract extension, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The news that Kershaw and the Dodgers are talking about a deal comes on the heels of big new contract extensions for Justin Verlander and Buster Posey.
Heyman notes that Kershaw could be in an even better negotiating position than Verlander was, given that he is only 25 and the Dodgers have shown a willingness to spend freely. Kershaw is slated to become a free agent after the 2014 season. The only downside for Kershaw, Heyman notes, is that he is slated to make $11MM this year and is arbitration-eligible in 2014, whereas Verlander was already under contract for $40MM through 2014 before his extension. Verlander's deal made him the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history. Depending on the length of the extension, Kershaw would be likely to exceed Verlander's $180MM deal.
Orioles Sign Freddy Garcia
The Orioles have signed veteran pitcher Freddy Garcia to a minor-league contract, according to a team release. The Padres released Garcia earlier this week.
Garcia, 36, pitched 107 1/3 innings for the Yankees in 2012, posting a 5.20 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. Garcia is represented by the Legacy Agency.
A’s Claim Otero, Designate Barton, Blackley
The Athletics have claimed pitcher Danny Otero from the Yankees and designated first baseman Daric Barton and pitcher Travis Blackley for assignment, according to a team news release. Earlier in the day, the A's also claimed pitcher Josh Stinson from the Brewers.
Barton has collected 1,583 major-league at bats, all with the A's, hitting .249/.360/.371. He hit .204/.338/.292 in part-time duty in 2012. Blackley pitched in 102 2/3 innings with the A's in 2012, posting a 3.86 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9.
Latest On Johan Santana
Yesterday, the Mets disclosed that Johan Santana will likely miss the 2013 season as he works to come back from a tear in his pitching shoulder. The injury may mean that the left-hander has pitched his final game for the Mets and it could even mean the end of his career. Santana was expected to miss some time this year as he struggled through spring training, but the news that he'll be sidelined for the entire campaign comes as a surprise. Here's more on Santana.
- General Manager Sandy Alderson indicated that the Mets "probably" will not seek outside pitching help despite acknowledging that the club's reserve pitching is "not terribly deep," writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.
- Santana is owed $31MM for the remainder of his contract and the Mets will have to foot the bill for all of it, as they do not have insurance on it, Rubin writes. Premiums have increased sharply over the years, and one source told Rubin that outside insurance has declined tremendously across baseball.
- Santana is leaning towards undergoing surgery and trying to resume his career, a source told Mike Puma of the New York Post (on Twitter).
Yankees Designate David Aardsma For Assignment
The Yankees have designated David Aardsma for assignment, according to Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter). The Bombers felt that the right-hander couldn't really provide them distance out of the bullpen and manager Joe Girardi said that he "didn't really fit" on the roster.
Aardsma, 31, underwent Tommy John surgery two years ago but has looked healthy so far this spring. For his career, the right-hander owns a 4.22 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9.
Blue Jays Claim Alex Burnett, Clint Robinson
The Blue Jays claimed right-hander Alex Burnett off of waivers from the Twins and first baseman Clint Robinson from the Pirates, according to a team press release. To make room on the 40-man roster, Toronto designated first baseman Lars Anderson for assignment.
Burnett, 25, made 67 appearances for the Twins last season, posting a 3.52 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. To date, the right-hander has spent his entire professional career with Minnesota, posting a 4.61 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 across three major league campaigns.
Robinson, 28, played in four big league games for the Royals last season but spent the bulk of the season in Triple-A Omaha. In 131 games, Robinson hit .292/.393/.452 with 13 homers.
Toronto claimed Anderson off of waivers from the White Sox a little over a month ago. The left-handed hitter, spent most of the 2012 season at Triple-A, where he posted a .250/.353/.396 batting line in 470 plate appearances.
Burnett will be sent to Triple-A Buffalo, while Robinson has been sent to Double-A New Hampshire.
Reese Havens, Darin Gorski Clear Waivers
3:02pm: Both Havens and Gorski have cleared waivers, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.
1:04pm: Havens has cleared waivers, according to Rubin (on Twitter). Gorski's status is unknown, however.
11:39am: The Mets want to clear a pair of 40-man roster spots and are expected to so by exposing infielder Reese Havens and left-hander Darin Gorski to waivers, sources tell Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.
Havens, a first-round pick in 2008, has struggled through back injuries throughout his career. The 26-year-old spent last season with Double-A Binghamton and hit .215 .340 .351 in 94 games. Gorski, 25, made 24 starts and one relief appearance for Binghamton last season, posting a 4.00 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9.
Shedding Havens and Gorski will leave the Mets with 35 players on their 40-man roster.