Archives for April 2013

MLBTR Originals

By edcreech | April 7, 2013 at 7:03pm CDT

A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR during the first week of the 2013 season:

MLBTR was the first to learn of additional provisions in the Elvis Andrus contract extension regarding full no-trade protection and how his 2023 vesting option could be converted into a player option.
In the wake of Andrus receiving not one, but two opt-clauses in the aforementioned extension, Tim Dierkes listed other notable deals in which a player obtained an opt out.
The Andrus extension also prompted Steve Adams to hark back to other April extensions from the past two years.
MLBTR was the first to report David Aardsma cleared release waviers and became a free agent with roughly ten interested in his services.
Tim listed the ten largest contracts given to starting pitchers in terms of new money and years.
Steve reviewed the offseason of the Cardinals, Reds, and Dodgers while Zach Links recapped the Padres.
The Why I Chose My Agency series continued with MLBTR correspondent B.J. Rains discussing Rex Gary and Jimmy Turner of Turner-Gary Sports, Inc. with Shaun Marcum.
Steve presented another installment of the Transaction Retrospection series by revisiting the Doug Fister trade.
MLBTR contributor Chuck Myron examined how the timing of the blockbuster James Shields–Wil Myers trade affected the Rays.
Tim hosted the weekly live chat.
Zach gathered the best the baseball corner of the web had to offer in Baseball Blogs Weigh In.

Week In Review: 3/31/13 – 4/6/13

By charliewilmoth | April 7, 2013 at 5:47pm CDT

Here's a look at the week that was here at MLBTR …

The Rangers signed shortstop Elvis Andrus to an unusual eight-year, $120MM contract extension.
The Dodgers traded pitcher Aaron Harang and cash to the Rockies for catcher Ramon Hernandez. The Rockies then designated Harang for assignment.
The Tigers signed reliever Jose Valverde to a minor-league deal.
The White Sox signed infielder Tyler Greene.
The Cubs signed infielder Donnie Murphy and outfielder Ryan Sweeney to minor-league deals.
The Nationals re-signed pitcher Chris Young to a minor-league deal.
The Angels re-signed utilityman Bill Hall to a minor-league deal.
The Dodgers released reliever Kevin Gregg.
The Rangers released first baseman Brandon Allen.
The Yankees released reliever David Aardsma.
The Athletics traded a PTBNL or cash to the Rays for catcher Stephen Vogt, and made room for him on their roster by designating Dan Otero for assignment. Otero cleared waivers, and the Athletics outrighted him to the minors.
The Blue Jays traded first baseman Lars Anderson to the White Sox for cash considerations.
The Astros traded minor-league outfielder Jake Goebbert to the Athletics for pitcher Travis Blackley, then made space for Blackley on their roster by designating pitcher Edgar Gonzalez for assignment. The Blue Jays then claimed Gonzalez on waivers.
The Diamondbacks claimed pitcher Will Harris from the Athletics. The A's had claimed Harris from the Rockies earlier in the week.
The Orioles claimed pitcher Josh Stinson from the Athletics.
The Indians claimed pitcher Robert Whitenack from the Cubs
The Tigers claimed pitcher Evan Reed from the Marlins.
The Giants claimed pitcher Hunter Strickland from the Pirates.
The Blue Jays designated pitcher Jeremy Jeffress for assignment.
The Phillies returned Rule 5 pick Ender Inciarte to the Diamondbacks. They had previously designated Inciarte for assignment when they claimed outfielder Ezequiel Carrera from the Indians.
First baseman Daric Barton cleared waivers, and the Athletics outrighted him to the minors.
Lefty David Huff cleared waivers, and the Indians outrighted him to the minors.
Infielder Jason Donald cleared waivers, and the Reds outrighted him to the minors.
Zack Cox, Gorkys Hernandez and Scott Maine of the Marlins all cleared waivers.
Reliever Clay Rapada, who had been with the Yankees, cleared waivers and became a free agent.
Vladimir Guerrero signed with the independent Long Island Ducks, as did Dontrelle Willis.

NL Notes: Fernandez, Fowler, Pirates, Giants

By edcreech | April 7, 2013 at 5:00pm CDT

The Marlins were questioned about their decision to overlook service time considerations when they added Jose Fernandez to their Opening Day roster. So far, the gamble is working for Miami. The 20-year-old, who is making the jump from High-A ball and is the youngest player on a 2013 Opening Day roster, was outstanding in his MLB debut striking out eight (a franchise record for a debut) while allowing only three hits and one walk in five innings of the Marlins' walkoff loss to the Mets. Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel notes Fernandez is just the seventh starter under the age of 21 to record at least eight strikeouts in his MLB debut since 1916 and only the fourth pitcher in the past 13 years to record six or more strikeouts in his debut joining Oliver Perez, Clayton Kershaw, and teammate Jacob Turner (Twitter link). In other news and notes from the National League:

Dexter Fowler credits his early season success to the security of his recent two-year, $11.6MM contract extension, writes the Denver Post's Troy E. Renck. Fowler believes the investment shows the Rockies now see him as part of their core and not just a trade chip for pitching.
A former minority owner of the Pirates believes owner Bob Nutting "is too rational a businessman to ever spend more money to build a winner," reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Conventional wisdom says the economic playing field is too uneven for the Pirates to be competitive without a larger payroll. Ex-Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg, a Pittsburgh native, disagrees telling Biertempfel, "The days when any franchise was revenue-challenged are long over. There is so much revenue in baseball, not just at the local level but also national revenues that sustain every franchise as well as enormous amounts of revenue sharing. Every franchise has the ability to compete without losing money."
The Giants held their World Series ring ceremony today and and there were some notable no-shows. According to Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com, Brian Wilson was invited, but never responded dampening the prospects of a reunion when the Giants' former closer fully recovers from Tommy John surgery. Guillermo Mota meanwhile had a prior family committment, but Baggarly writes he has thrown for the Orioles and could sign a Triple-A contract with them.
Reliever Mike MacDougal has signed a minor league deal with the Reds, reports Baseball America's Matt Eddy. MLBTR reported exclusively in February the 35-year-old would throw a bullpen for interested teams. MacDougal appeared in just seven games for the Dodgers in 2012, but he posted a 2.05 ERA in 69 appearances with them in 2011.

Blue Jays Claim Edgar Gonzalez

By edcreech | April 7, 2013 at 3:22pm CDT

The Blue Jays have announced they have claimed right-hander Edgar Gonzalez off waivers from the Astros. Gonzalez was designated for assignment by the Astros on Friday. The Blue Jays opened a spot on the 40-man roster for Gonzalez by transferring Dustin McGowan to the 60-day disabled list. The team will make a corresponding 25-man roster move prior to their Tuesday matinee in Detroit, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca.

Gonzalez pitched to a 5.04 ERA with 6.5 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and a 46.2 percent ground-ball rate in six starts (25 innings) for the Astros last year. Originally signed by Arizona in 2000, the 30-year-old has appeared in parts of nine MLB seasons with the Diamondbacks, A's and Astros. He has a 5.84 ERA in 350 career innings covering 113 games including 47 starts.

Athletics Outright Dan Otero To Triple-A

By edcreech | April 7, 2013 at 1:22pm CDT

The Athletics have outrighted Dan Otero to Triple-A after the right-hander cleared waivers, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Otero was designated for assignment on Friday when the Athletics acquired catcher Stephen Vogt from the Rays.

Otero has been a travelling man the past three weeks after being optioned by the Giants to Triple-A Fresno (March 15), claimed on waivers by the Yankees (March 26), designated for assignment the next day and claimed by the Athletics (March 29), and now onto Sacramento. The 28-year-old made his MLB debut with the Giants last season (5.84 ERA, 5.8 K/9, 1.5 BB/9, and 13.9 H/9 in 12 games covering 12 1/3 innings) while also appearing in 48 games at Fresno where he posted a 2.90 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 1.2 BB/9.

The team confirmed the move in a press release.

Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, Jimenez

By Zachary Links | April 7, 2013 at 12:29pm CDT

The Yankees can learn from the Red Sox's approach to free agency, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Other teams could also follow their lead if Boston is successful this season, which would mean aggressively attacking the middle-class free agent market and constructing a deep bullpen. Someday, Sherman argues, we may look back on the August blockbuster as the Red Sox's Herschel Walker trade as it brought them a couple of impressive arms in Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster while giving the club a financial do-over. Here's more from around baseball..

Meanwhile, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes that the Dodgers seemed to have sense the current flurry of contract extensions coming when they made their mega-deal with Boston and acquired Hanley Ramirez from the Marlins. The Dodgers could have their own pricey extension coming up as they look to lock Clayton Kershaw up for the long term.
Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon Journal wonders if the Indians' Ubaldo Jimenez is starting to figure things out. The hurler is in the final year of his deal with Cleveland unless both parties agree to trigger the mutual option for 2014, which is unlikely.
Angels slugger Josh Hamilton would have been wise to take a page out of John Farrell's book and not slam his former home, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

West Notes: Dodgers, Harang, Profar

By Zachary Links | April 7, 2013 at 11:31am CDT

Yesterday, the Dodgers narrowed their starter surplus by one when they shipped Aaron Harang to the Rockies for catcher Ramon Hernandez. Here's more on yesterday's swap and other notes out of the Western divisions.

The Dodgers now have seven starting pitchers, which is more livable that the eight they had yesterday, writes Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times. Observers might have expected the Dodgers to come away with more in the trade, but GM Ned Colletti has had months to gauge interest from around the majors and this was the best deal that he could find.
Rangers GM Jon Daniels was asked by Jim Bowden of SiriusXM's MLB Network Radio (on Twitter) if he would consider a swap of Jurickson Profar and Oscar Taveras, but artfully dodged the question. Cardinals GM John Mozeliak recently told Bowden that he would have to consider such an offer if presented with it.

Cafardo On Norris, Rangers, Lilly, Dodgers, Tigers

By Zachary Links | April 7, 2013 at 8:55am CDT

In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that baseball could eventually return to Montreal. While it has always been known as a hockey town, Montreal has been responsible for such great baseball talent as Hall of Famers Andre Dawson and Gary Carter, “Le Grand Orange,” Rusty Staub, Tim Raines, Marquis Grissom, Cliff Floyd, Randy Johnson, Dennis Martinez, Pedro Martinez, Larry Walker, Andres Galarraga, Moises Alou, Vladimir Guerrero, and Tim Wallach. The city is looking into the possibility of giving Expos fans something to cheer about again and they claim that the strength of the Canadian dollar coupled with revenue sharing can help make it work. Here's more from Cafardo..

Pitcher Bud Norris improved his stock after he beat the Rangers on Opening Day and he should bring the Astros a good haul between now and the trade deadline. One longtime National League adviser believes that the Rangers might be the team to scoop him up.
After unloading Aaron Harang in yesterday's trade with the Rockies, the Dodgers would still love to find a taker for Ted Lilly, who earns $12MM this year. However, there has been little to no interest in the veteran so far.
There aren't many people who think that the recently re-signed Jose Valverde can be the Tigers' closer, but could add to their mix in the bullpen. One AL evaluator feels that they have to move and get themselves a proven closer in a hurry.
Kip Wells, soon to be 36, is available and throwing 93 miles per hour, according to his agent, Burton Rocks. The veteran reliever made seven starts over the summer for the Padres last season.

Quick Hits: Rockies, Indians, Pujols, Cubs

By charliewilmoth | April 6, 2013 at 10:29pm CDT

The Rockies' decision to designate Aaron Harang for assignment after trading Ramon Hernandez for him shows that Colorado likes the pitchers it already has, MLB.com's Thomas Harding argues. The Rockies will stick with their rotation of Jhoulys Chacin, Jorge De La Rosa, Juan Nicasio, Jeff Francis and Jon Garland. Behind them at Triple-A Colorado Springs, the Rockies have youngsters Drew Pomeranz, Christian Friedrich and Tyler Chatwood, along with veteran Aaron Cook. "We're happy with our guys," Rockies senior vice president of Major League operations Bill Geivett says. "Whether it was Chacin who missed a lot of time, or De La Rosa who missed a lot of time, or Nicasio who missed a lot of time, there's some ring-rust that comes with a new season and not having a full season last year. At the same time, we're confident in them." Here are more notes from around the majors.

Indians GM Chris Antonetti and his front office sometimes try to "cram six pounds of smart into a five-pound bag," the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes says. The decision to begin the season short-handed, as they carried Carlos Carrasco on their 25-man roster while he served a suspension, came back to bite the Indians, says Hoynes. The trouble began when Scott Kazmir hurt his ribcage on Monday, which forced the Indians to activate him so they could backdate his stay on the disabled list. That meant they had to option Nick Hagadone, who was supposed to provide bullpen depth in a week in which, as it turns out, they could have used it, as they played an 11-inning game Wednesday and a high-scoring game Thursday. The Indians ultimately had Trevor Bauer start Saturday night, and he walked seven while allowing three runs in five innings.
Albert Pujols says he won't allow his ten-year, $240MM contract with the Angels to become a burden, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports. "God has given me ability and talent, but the day I feel like I can't compete any more on this level, I'm not going to embarrass myself," says Pujols, who hit "only" .285/.343/.516 in the first year of his contract in 2012. DiGiovanna clarifies that Pujols isn't suggesting he has plans to retire, but rather that pride compels him to play his best and try to prove his critics wrong.
The Cubs are currently looking at six MLB Draft prospects, says MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Their list includes Stanford pitcher Mark Appel (who is currently generally regarded as the top talent available), along with Georgia high school outfielders Austin Meadows and Clint Frazier. The Cubs pick second in the draft, which will be held in early June.

Angels Re-Sign Bill Hall

By Tim Dierkes | April 6, 2013 at 8:05pm CDT

Utility man Bill Hall has rejoined the Angels organization, according to his Twitter page. The Halos had released Hall last month, avoiding paying him a $100K retention bonus. He battled some nagging injuries during Spring Training.

Hall notes that he'll be heading to extended spring training. The 33-year-old appeared briefly with the Orioles last year, spending most of the season hitting .246/.300/.430 at Triple-A while playing mostly second and third base. Hall's 35 home runs in 2006 are the most in baseball history for someone who played at least three games each at shortstop, third base, center field, and second base. Previously, Felix Mantilla hit 30 bombs in 1964 while playing each of those positions.

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