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Archives for March 2013

Angels Sign Mark Lowe

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The Angels signed reliever Mark Lowe to a minor league deal, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times.  Lowe will be in big-league camp with the Halos, who open the season in Cincinnati on Monday.  Lowe had signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in February, but was released three days ago.  He's represented by Frye McCann Sports.

Lowe, 29, posted a 3.43 ERA, 6.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 1.14 HR/9, and 33.9% groundball rate in 39 1/3 big league innings for the Rangers last year.  The hard-throwing righty missed time with an abdomen strain. 

Yesterday, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez wrote that three relievers — Mitch Stetter, David Carpenter, and favorite Garrett Richards — were fighting for two spots in the Angels' Opening Day bullpen.  The team's bullpen also includes Ernesto Frieri, Sean Burnett, Kevin Jepsen, Scott Downs, and Jerome Williams, with Ryan Madson slated to start the season on the DL.

Royals Re-Sign Xavier Nady, George Sherrill

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The Royals announced that they have re-signed outfielder Xavier Nady and left-hander George Sherrill. Kansas City cut both players in advance of yesterday's deadline for Article XX(B) free agents in order to avoid paying them a $100K retention bonus.

Nady, 34, hit .184/.253/.316 in 166 plate appearances for the Nationals and Giants last season.  The veteran posted a strong .289/.342/.480 batting line in 2006-09 for the Mets, Pirates, and Yankees but hasn't looked quite the same since undergoing Tommy John surgery during the '09 campaign.  Since then, he's hit .237/.288/.347 in 260 games between four organizations.

Sherrill, who turns 36 in April, appeared in just two games for the Mariners last season before a torn UCL in his left elbow led to Tommy John surgery.  Sherrill has a 3.77 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 across parts of nine big league seasons.

Royals Acquire Desmond Henry

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The Royals announced that they have acquired outfielder Desmond Henry from the Rangers to complete the November deal that sent Tommy Hottovy to Texas.  The deal called for KC to receive a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Henry, 19, was the Rangers' fourth-round pick in the 2011 draft and signed with the club for $200K.  The switch-hitting outfielder boasts tremendous speed and has the potential grow into a strong defensive player.

Latest On Adam Wainwright

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The Cardinals and ace Adam Wainwright are still working towards reaching agreement on a contract extension as spring training comes to a close.  Sources familiar with both sides of the conversation expressed a sense of optimism to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that a deal will be struck before Opening Day.

The two sides took a break from extension talks earlier in the offseason when Wainwright was seeking more years than the Cards were willing to offer.  However, they have come back to the table in recent weeks and reports have generally been positive regarding the discussions.  

An extension for the 31-year-old figures to be the most lucrative one ever given to a pitcher by the Cardinals.  Deals given to right-handed starters Matt Cain (six years, $127.5MM) and Zack Greinke (six years, $147MM) could provide a framework for a deal.

Wainwright posted a 3.94 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 198 2/3 innings last season after returning from Tommy John surgery.

AL West Notes: Wells, Angels, Bourjos, Astros

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The Angels surprised many on Sunday when they shipped Vernon Wells to the Yankees and received a significant amount of salary relief in the deal.  The Halos are happy to have the Yanks pick up $13.9MM of the $42MM owed to Wells over the next two seasons and the outfielder is likely enthused about seeing more playing time in New York.  Here's more on the Angels and the rest of the AL West..

  • The Wells trade didn't just help the Angels' finances, it paved the way for Peter Bourjos to take over in center field, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.  General Manager Jerry Dipoto believes that Bourjos has plenty of room to grow and sees him excelling now that he has the everyday job and can relax.  
  • Angels manager Mike Scioscia doesn't think that his club's bench necessarily took a step back by losing Wells, writes MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez.  Because Wells is accustomed to starting over the course of his career, Scioscia doesn't believe that he was going to get into a rhythm without consistent playing time.
  • While some have been critical of the Astros' thin payroll, commissioner Bud Selig says that he doesn't have a problem with it, writes Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle.  "I do trust the organization," Selig said. "Look, every organization goes through certain phases. They have chosen the path with some very qualified people. And the only way you can really build a solid organization, a solid team, is through a very productive farm system. And I think they're doing it the right way. There's no question in my mind." 

NL Notes: Garland, Cook, Puig, Brewers, Soriano

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Making his first start in a Rockies uniform tonight, recently-signed Jon Garland made such an impression with his groundball-inducing ways that the club tweeted his groundout to flyout ratio (2.5:1) through five innings. 

  • Garland has substantial incentives in his contract with the Rockies that could raise its total value to $3.1MM, explains Troy Renck of the Denver Post. In addition to his base $500k deal, which will fully vest if he stays on the 25-man roster for 45 days, Garland can earn up to $1.35MM for innings pitched (the pay starts at 105 IP and increases up to 195 IP) and up to $1.25MM for starts made (with the incentives kicking in at 20 starts and continuing to 32 starts). 
  • The Rockies are expected to consider the possibility of inking righty Aaron Cook, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweeted earlier today. Cook, who was released earlier today by the Phillies, is (like Garland) known as a groundball artist.
  • In spite of being sent to Double-A today by the Dodgers, Yasiel Puig has been so impressive that he may enable the club to effectively buy even more young talent from other clubs, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. As Rosenthal explains, if L.A. is able to replace either Carl Crawford or Andre Ethier with Puig, they could then offer to pay for much of the balance of the contracts of those expensive veterans to extract quality prospects from a trade partner. According to an unnamed rival executive, "It's smart actually — the only way to really build a farm system under the new rules. And you can only do it if you've got big dollars."
  • The Kyle Lohse signing was a substantial investment for the Brewers at three years and $33MM, but owner Mark Attanasio says that it will not prevent the club from "being able to make another move," reports Rosenthal. In particular, Attanasio expects to be in a position to re-sign first-baseman Corey Hart, who falls just outside the top 10 anticipated 2014 free agents in MLBTR's TIm Dierkes's 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings. While the Brewers sought to add to their rotation without losing a draft pick when they made an offer to Ryan Dempster before he joined the Red Sox for two years and $26.5MM, Attanasio explained that, "at the time we made the Dempster decision, we thought Kyle would go at a higher price." Finally, Rosenthal notes that Lohse can earn three separate paydays totalling an additional $1MM for reaching 190 innings pitched over each of the next three seasons.
  • Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano has been a popular topic of trade speculation, with the presumption being that Chicago would try to get whatever prospects and/or salary relief it could. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times wonders, however, whether Soriano is now too valuable for the team to consider dealing. For his part, Soriano raves about the team's new front office and coaching staff, explaining how they changed the culture from one in which he felt singled out for the team's failings to one in which, "if we lost, we lost like a team; if we won, we won like a team."

Minor Moves: Townsend, Royals, Green, Geltz

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 Here are some of today's minor moves:

  • Tyler Townsend, an Orioles' first base prospect who impressed when healthy but could not overcome his myriad injuries, has announced his retirement, reports Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com. Despite his "great swing," Townsend ultimately "was just not enjoying the process" due to the series of hamstring, wrist, and hip injuries he suffered, explained O's director of player developmet Brian Graham.
  • The Royals have released minor league pitchers Michael Giovenco, Jose Jimenez, Leondy Perez, and Elisaul Pimentel, reports Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star. K.C. originally acquired Pimentel before the 2010 trade deadline along with catcher Lucas May, in a deal that sent Scott Podsednik to the Dodgers.
  • Marlins infielder Nick Green has been "sent down" by Miami and "may consider opting out" of his deal with the club, CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman tweets. Green elected free agency when he was outrighted to Triple-A by the Marlins last fall, only to return to the club on a minor league deal in January.
  • Righty Steve Geltz was outrighted by the Angels today and will head to the club's Triple-A affiliate, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reports on Twitter. The move opens a 40-man roster spot for the Angels. Geltz, 25, saw his first big league action last year for L.A., logging just two innings in relief. While Geltz posted a 0.36 ERA in 25 1/3 Double-A innings last year, he sported a 5.08 ERA in his 33 2/3 innings at Triple-A Salt Lake.

Quick Hits: Santiago, Padres, White Sox

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Here are some notes on a few possible trade situations shaping up around baseball:

  • The Tigers are shopping middle infielder Ramon Santiago, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter). The 33-year-old Santiago has spent 9 of his 11 big league seasons in Detroit, but his performance fell off last year when he hit just .206/.283/.272 in 259 plate appearances for the Tigers.
  • In light of today's news that Padres third baseman Logan Forsythe suffered a setback in his attempt to recover from a foot injury, the club once again finds itself wondering who will man the hot corner for the start of the season after already losing Chase Headley. As reported by Bill Center of The San Diego Union-Tribune, manager Bud Black acknowledged that a DL stint was likely for Forsythe. GM Josh Byrnes says that it is unlikely that the team will look outside the organization for a replacement, tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com. Center suggests that, instead, rookie Jedd Gyorko will move over to third, with Alexi Amarista filling in at second. 
  • Meanwhile, the White Sox also have some injury concerns that they do not expect to address via trade, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. However, GM Rick Hahn says that the team is "looking around outside for other upgrades." Chicago manager Robin Ventura also announced that righty Dylan Axelrod will be the team's fifth starter to begin the year, writes Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, in conjunction with the news that John Danks will begin the year on the DL.

New York Notes: Mets, Havens, Marcum, Wells

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Here are some notes from the big apple's two big league clubs:

  • The Mets are "in desperate need of clearing several spots" on their 40-man roster, and have "put out word to other teams that they are interested in moving non-core prospects" who would have to pass through waivers to be retained, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. With the team likely in need of four roster vacancies to account for players who figure to be added to the 40-man before Opening Day, the Mets could look to move players such as Gonzalez Germen, Darin Gorski, Reese Havens, Juan Lagares, Cesar Puello, Elvin Ramirez, and Hansel Robles, according to Rubin. 
  • The Blue Jays could be interested in the aforementioned Havens, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Havens, a 25-year-old second baseman, has yet to see big league action and hit .215/.340/.351 over 390 Double-A plate appearances last year.
  • After allowing him to reach free agency, the Brewers "didn't want to touch" Shaun Marcum this offseason due to injury concerns, tweets Martino. Marcum, now with the Mets, is looking unlikely to start the season in the rotation due to neck and shoulder issues, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com explains.
  • The Yankees "will not receive credit on their 2014 luxury-tax payroll" for recently-acquired outfielder Vernon Wells, tweets FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. Instead, "the charge for him will simply be zero." Rosenthal had previously discussed the complicated background of the Yankees' attempt to maximize their ability to get under the luxury tax threshold in structuring the Wells deal. Wells is still due $42MM over the next two seasons as he plays out the end of his 7-year, $126MM deal. As Rosenthal explains, the Yankees will pay him $13.9MM of the remaining obligation, with only $2.4MM of that allocated to 2014 for purposes of luxury tax avoidance.
  • Rosenthal discussed the financial impact to the Yanks for acquiring Wells, questioning whether the club might have been better served by instead inking Russell Martin this off-season. In particular, Rosenthal explained that Martin told New York that he would agree to a one-year deal for around $9-10MM before he agreed to terms with the Pirates on a two-year, $17MM contract.
  • Discussing his contract, which he originally signed with the Blue Jays before it was famously assumed by the Angels, Vernon Wells acknowledged that "no one's worth that kind of money," tweets Andy McCullough of The Star-Ledger. Wells continued: "It’s what the market’s worth at that time … I caught the market at a good time."
  • While commentators and fans seem skeptical of the Yankees' prospects for 2013, as well as their recent roster moves, GM Brian Cashman is resolute, writes McCullough (hat tip to River Ave. Blues). Cashman says that any notion of rebuilding is "just not part of our DNA," and rejects the notion that the team has been holding back on spending, though he acknowledges that he intends to "tread water until the guys come back." In terms of philosophy on long-term commitments, Cashman says he will not be "gun-shy," but nevertheless will be "more choosy" going forward. 
  • Cashman also discussed the decision not to beat the Mets' offer for then-Twins hurler Johan Santana. Unlike current Yankees starter C.C. Sabathia, Cashman noted, Santana profiled as a "high-risk player going forward, health-wise."

Blue Jays Option Ricky Romero To High-A

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The Blue Jays have optioned starting pitcher Ricky Romero to High-A Dunedin, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Romero is guaranteed $7.5MM by Toronto for the 2013 season.

Toronto had reportedly been deciding whether to allow the former Opening Day starter and All-Star to work out his issues on the big league club, or whether instead to turn to J.A. Happ to fill out the rotation, as CBS Sports' Danny Knobler explained earlier today. In conjunction with the Romero move, Happ has been told that he will be the fifth starter by GM Alex Anthopoulos, Davidi further tweets. 

 

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