Notable Transactions From June 2012

On the first of May, MLBTR's Steve Adams took a look back at 2012 to see what sorts of transactions might be anticipated over the coming month. With May in the books, we'll do the same with respect to June of 2012. If last year is any indication, we could see some fairly substantial trades occur as teams look to get a boost well in advance of the non-waiver trade deadline (which is July 31 this season). As MLBTR's Transaction Tracker reflects, these were the most important moves made last June (in rough order of magnitude):

Extensions

• The Dodgers and Andre Ethier agreed to a five-year, $85MM contract extension.
• The Twins and Ryan Doumit agreed to a two-year, $7MM contract extension.
• The Diamondbacks and David Hernandez agreed to a two-year, $3.5MM contract extension.

Trades

• The White Sox acquired third baseman Kevin Youkilis from the Red Sox in exchange for pitcher Zach Stewart and utilityman Brent Lillibridge.
• The Orioles acquired DH Jim Thome from the Phillies in exchange for prospects Kyle Simon and Gabriel Lino.
• The Indians acquired righty Esmil Rogers from the Rockies for cash considerations. After Rogers finished the season strong, Cleveland flipped him to the Blue Jays over the offseason for infielder Mike Aviles and backstop Yan Gomes. With Aviles playing well on his two-year extension, and Gomes exhibiting surprising power, this series of transactions has turned out quite nicely for the Indians.
• The Orioles acquired first baseman/outfielder Steve Pearce from the Yankees for cash considerations.
• The Twins acquired minor league righty Shairon Martis from the Pirates for future considerations.
• The Blue Jays acquired minor league righty Sean O'Sullivan from the Royals for cash considerations.
• The Braves acquired minor league lefty Cole McCurry from the Orioles for cash considerations.
• The Nationals acquired minor league catcher Kris Watts from the Pirates for cash considerations.
• The Braves acquired minor league utility player Ruben Gotay from the Blue Jays for cash considerations.

Waiver Claims (in reverse chronological order)

• The Yankees claimed Chris Schwinden off of waivers from the Indians. Schwinden began the month with the Mets, but was claimed by the Blue Jays and then the Indians before ending up back in New York. The circle was not fully completed, however, until July 5, when he returned to the Mets via yet another waiver claim.
• The Brewers claimed Hector Gomez off of waivers from the Rockies.
• The Indians claimed Vinny Rottino off of waivers from the Mets.
• The Pirates claimed Oscar Tejeda off of waivers from the Red Sox.
• The Yankees claimed Danny Farquhar off of waivers from the Athletics (who earlier in the month had claimed him from the Blue Jays).
• The Padres claimed Mark Hamburger off of waivers from the Rangers.
• The Pirates claimed Drew Sutton off of waivers from the Rays.
• The Rays claimed Brooks Conrad off of waivers from the Brewers.
• The Blue Jays claimed David Pauley off of waivers from the Angels.
• The Cardinals claimed John Gaub off of waivers from the Rangers.
• The Cubs claimed Jairo Asencio off of waivers from the Indians.

International Signings

• The Dodgers signed Yasiel Puig to a seven-year, $42MM Major League deal.
• The Cubs signed Jorge Soler to a nine-year, $30MM Major League deal. 

(Of course, these high-dollar international signings were made in anticipation of a rule change that imposed significant caps on international spending. June 15 serves as the end of the 2012-13 international signing period this year, but don't expect any deals like those handed to Puig and Soler. At this point, international prospect watchers have turned their attention to July 2, the date that the 2013-14 signing period begins.) 

Major League Signings

• The Rockies signed lefty Jeff Francis to a Major League contract after he opted out of his contract with (and was released by) the Reds. Francis ended up throwing 113 innings for Colorado, posting a 5.58 ERA, and re-signed this offseason on a one-year, $1.5MM deal that also includes $1.5MM in incentives.

Notable Minor League Signings (players who ascended to big league club)

• The Orioles signed Nate McLouth to a minor league deal after he was released by the Pirates. McLouth helped the O's to win a Wild Card by slashing .268/.342/.435 and contributing seven home runs and twelve stolen bases over 236 plate appearances down the stretch. He has carried that success over to this season after signing a one-year, $2MM deal to stay in Baltimore. With a current line of .297/.376/.440 to go with four long balls and seventeen swipes, McLouth stands alongside Jacoby Ellsbury, Kendrys Morales, and Mike Napoli as baseball's 58th most valuable position player (according to Fangraphs).
• The Braves signed Ben Sheets to a minor league deal. Sheets successfully returned from a long injury layoff to end his excellent career in style. He threw 49 1/3 innings of 3.47 ERA baseball and helped Atlanta to overcome the loss of Brandon Beachy and grab a Wild Card berth.
• The Padres signed Ross Ohlendorf to a minor league deal.
• The Brewers signed Livan Hernandez to a minor league deal. 
• The Astros signed Hector Ambriz to a minor league deal.
• The Phillies signed Jason Pridie to a minor league deal.