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Archives for November 2013

Padres Designate Four For Assignment

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The Padres announced that they have designated right-handed pitchers Brad Brach and Miles Mikolas, left-handed pitcher Jose De Paula, and outfielder Jaff Decker for assignment.  The move creates room on the 40-man roster for right-handed pitchers Donn Roach and Keyvius Sampson, left-handed pitcher Juan Oramas, and the newly-acquired Josh Johnson.

Brach, 27, posted a 3.19 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 in 33 outings last season for the Padres, following up on a year in which he logged 67 relief appearances.  Mikolas and Decker also have big league service time to their credit.

San Diego's 40-man roster is now at capacity.

Minor Moves: Twins, Pirates, Cabrera, Ely, Alfaro

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Here are today's minor transactions from around the league…

  • The Yankees announced that they traded right-hander Ben Paullus to the Padres for utility man Dean Anna.  Anna, who recently celebrated his 26th birthday, posted an .892 OPS in Triple-A last season.  Paullus, 24, worked his way up to Advanced-A Tampa last season.
  • Right-hander B.J. Hermsen has been outrighted from the Twins' 40-man roster, the team announced. The 23-year-old posted a 4.81 ERA In 86 Double-A innings this season, but his strikeout rate fell to just 3.7 per nine innings. The low whiff rate was likely to blame for the whopping 117 hits he allowed in those 86 frames.
  • Minnesota also announced that it has signed outfielder Chris Rahl to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training. The 30-year-old spent 2013 with the Nats' Triple-A affiliate. Rahl is a .292/.325/.443 hitter in 700 Triple-A plate appearances and can play all three outfield spots.
  • The Pirates announced the signing of five players to minor league deals, three of whom have big league experience. Right-handers Seth McClung, Josh Kinney and Collin Balester are all veterans of multiple seasons. The others — right-handers Jay Jackson and Jake Brigham — each split last season between Double-A and Triple-A.
  • The Rangers announced that left-hander Edwar Cabrera has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A. Texas claimed the 26-year-old from the Rockies back in October. A shoulder injury cost him the entire 2013 season, but Cabrera has an impressive minor league resume: a 3.13 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 501 innings.
  • The Astros have released right-hander John Ely, according to the team's transactions page. Ely underwent Tommy John surgery after just four innings of work at the Triple-A level in April. The 27-year-old has a 5.70 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 115 1/3 career big league innings, though he was excellent for the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate in 2012. Ely pitched to a 3.20 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 168 2/3 innings that season.
  • The Nationals have signed right-hander Gabriel Alfaro to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, tweets Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com. The 30-year-old has spent the past two seasons pitching for the Guerreros de Oaxaca in the Mexican League, compiling an impressive 2.58 ERA with 11.4 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and 52 saves in 129 innings as the team's closer.

Nationals Designate Abad, Robertson For Assignment

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The Nationals announced that they have designated left-handed pitchers Fernando Abad and Tyler Robertson for assignment.  The moves will make room for left-hander Sammy Solis, outfielder Michael Taylor, and right-hander Aaron Barrett on the 40-man roster.

Abad, 28 in December, pitched to a 3.35 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 39 appearances last season.  Dan Kolko of MASNSports.com (on Twitter) is surprised to see him DFA'd as he was fairly solid in 2013.  Robertson, 26 in December, made two big league appearances but spent the bulk of the year with the Nats' and Twins' Triple-A where he posted a 3.04 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 47 outings.

The Nats' 40-man roster is now at capacity.

Royals Designate Arguelles, Falu For Assignment

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The Royals have designated left-hander Noel Arguelles and second baseman Irving Falu for assignment in order to clear space for additions to their 40-man roster, the team announced via press release. In addition to the pair of DFAs, right-hander Felipe Paulino has elected free agency after being outrighted. The Royals will add Lane Adams, Christian Colon, Cheslor Cuthbert and Michael Mariot to the 40-man roster.

The Royals signed Arguelles, a Cuban defector, to a five-year, $7MM contract back in 2009, but the southpaw never lived up to his lofty prospect status. Arguelles, 23, underwent shoulder surgery in 2010 and was hampered by groin problems in 2013. He has a career 5.12 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 300 1/3 minor league innings, none coming above the Double-A level.

Falu, 30, has outstanding Major League numbers, but they come in a tiny sample of just 95 plate appearances. Still, the switch-hitter owns a .337/.366/.427 slash line with the Royals — the only team for whom he's played at the big league level. Falu is a career .283/.342/.365 hitter in Triple-A.

Paulino, also 30, pitched to a 3.55 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 162 1/3 innings with the Royals from 2011-12 but had his 2012 campaign cut short by Tommy John surgery. His strong career strikeout rate (8.4 K/9) and respectable ground-ball rate (44 percent) make him an intriguing buy-low candidate.

Players Added To The 40-Man Roster

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Midnight tonight is the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster in order to protect them from being selected in next month's Rule 5 Draft. There should be no shortage of players being added, and we'll run them down here in this post…

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Quick Hits: Giants, Arroyo, De La Cruz, Cano, Blanco

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Giants assistant GM Bobby Evans told Jim Bowden of SiriusXM (Twitter link) that the club still likes Bronson Arroyo, even after signing Tim Hudson. "Bronson Arroyo is not out of our picture," Evans said. The Giants made a two-year, $23MM commitment to Hudson yesterday.  Here's tonight's look around the majors..

  • Kelvin De La Cruz is out of options, so the Orioles must be planning on having him in their big league bullpen, tweets Tim Dierkes of MLBTR. The O's won't be able to remove him from the 40-man roster without him passing through waivers, and they signed him to a Major League deal despite his lack of MLB experience.
  • In his latest mailbag, Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes that while the Braves will certainly make every attempt to move Dan Uggla and a piece of the $26MM he is owed over the next two seasons, they understand it will not be easy.  Teams that can't afford to sign top second baseman Robinson Cano can look into signing Omar Infante or trading for the likes of Ian Kinsler or Howie Kendrick.
  • Andy Martino of the New York Daily News says that the Mets should be serious players for Cano.  The Mets met with Cano's agents, Brodie Van Wagenen and Jay-Z, last night, but all indications are that they won't be in the mix for his services.
  • Catcher Henry Blanco, 42, is looking to play one more season, Tim tweets. The veteran is likely to have a career in coaching once he's through playing.  Blanco saw 50 games of big league action for the Blue Jays and Mariners last season.

New York Notes: Mets, Peralta, Hughes, Nathan

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The Mets are currently dealing with sticker shock when looking at free agent demands, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. One example, says Puma, is Jhonny Peralta, whom the Mets initially believed they could land on a two-year deal. Peralta, however, is said to be seeking more than $45MM on at least a three-year deal. Here's more out of the Big Apple…

Astros Claim Ryan Jackson, Outright J.D. Martinez

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The Astros announced that they have claimed shortstop Ryan Jackson off aivers from the Cardinals and outrighted outfielder J.D. Martinez to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Jackson, 25, went hitless in seven plate appearances for the Cardinals in 2013 and is just 2-for-24 in his brief big league career to date. However, he's posted a much stronger .275/.343/.371 batting line in 1,013 career plate appearances at Triple-A and is capable of playing second base and third base as well. It's hardly a surprise to see the Astros claim him, as GM Jeff Luhnow likely played an integral role in selecting Jackson in the fifth round of the 2009 draft when he served as the Cardinals' VP of scouting and player development.

The 26-year-old Martinez owns a career .251/.300/.387 slash line with 24 homers in 975 plate appearances. He hit the DL on two separate occasions in 2013 — once for a sprained wrist and once for a sprained knee.

Chris Carpenter Retires

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Chris Carpenter has told the Cardinals that he is officially retiring, general manager John Mozeliak revealed at today's press conference to announce manager Mike Matheny's three-year extension (Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporting on Twitter).

Carpenter attempted a comeback this season but was unable to make it back to a big league mound. The 38-year-old didn't pitch in 2013 and managed just 17 innings in 2012 after a strong 2011 campaign that saw him lead the NL in starts and innings pitched.

Injuries to Carpenter shortened what could have been one of the most impressive careers of a generation, but few were better than Carpenter when he was healthy. From 2004-11, Carpenter posted a 3.06 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 1,331 2/3 innings. He took home the National League Cy Young Award in 2005 and finished in the Top 3 on two other occasions.

Carpenter's career will conclude with a 144-94 record, 3.76 ERA, 33 complete games, 15 shutouts and 1,697 strikeouts in 2,219 1/3 innings between the Blue Jays and Cardinals. Baseball-Reference pegs his career at 35.5 wins above replacement, and Fangraphs likes him for 38.9 WAR. Carpenter earned $98.5MM in his career, according to Baseball-Reference. The Cardinals are said to be discussing a new role in the organization with Carpenter, so St. Louis fans will likely continue to see his name in the news. Best of luck in life after pitching, Chris.

Cardinals Extend Mike Matheny

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The Cardinals have signed manager Mike Matheny to a three-year extension that will run through the 2017 season, the team announced on Twitter.

The past two seasons as the Cardinals' skipper are the only two seasons of managerial experience Matheny has at the big league level, but it's hard to argue with the results. Matheny's Redbirds have turned in a 185-139 record. They reached the National League Championship Series in his first season as manager and made it to Game 6 of the World Series this season, ultimately being defeated by the Red Sox.

Matheny's initial contract ran through the 2013 season and contained a club option for 2014, which the team exercised this past February.

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