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Archives for November 2013

Coaching Links: Nationals, Angels

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The latest on the various coaching vacancies around Major League Baseball…

  • The Nationals announced that they have promoted minor league fielding coordinator Bob Henley to the position of third base coach. Henley, who has been with the Nationals/Expos organization for 11 years, played with the Expos in the 1998 season, appearing in 41 games and batting .304/.377/.470 in his only Major League action. The now-40-year-old Henley appeared in parts of eight minor league seasons as well.
  • The Angels announced that they have added Rick Eckstein as their Major League Player Information Coach in 2014.  Eckstein, 40, joins the Angels coaching staff after spending the past five seasons as the hitting coach for the Washington Nationals. In 2012, he helped the Nats offense rank among the top of the National League in several offensive categories and the club’s 194 home runs established a new franchise record en route to the club’s first National League Eastern division championship.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

AL East Rumors: Blue Jays, Johnson, Markakis, Ruiz

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After looking at the Red Sox earlier this evening, let's check out the rest of the American League East..

  • General Manager Alex Anthopoulos says the Blue Jays haven’t had recent talks with Josh Johnson and gets the impression that he has better options elsewhere, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Earlier today it was reported that Johnson is down to three or four teams with the Pirates among the finalists and Tim Dierkes learned that all of those clubs are in the National League.
  • Nick Markakis is among the Orioles in need of a better 2014 campaign, writes Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com. Markakis was plagued with injuries in 2012 and struggled in 2013, even though he played a full season. If he's going to turn things around, 2014 – his walk year – might be the time to do it.
  • Anthopoulos acknowledged that he had dialogue with Carlos Ruiz's agent and "liked the player" in an interview on Sportsnet 590, BN-S tweets. The Phillies re-signed Ruiz to a three-year, $26MM deal earlier this week.
  • Yankees president Randy Levine denied conspiring with MLB to run Alex Rodriguez out of the game or to personally benefit financially if his 211-game suspension is upheld, a source familiar with his testimony told Wallace Matthews and Matt Ehalt of ESPNNewYork.com.
  • Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (video link) looks at Matt Wieters' future with the Orioles.

Red Sox Rumors: Beltran, Relievers, Yankees

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Earlier today, Corey Hart told Jim Bowden of SiriusXM that he's getting interest from a handful of interested clubs, including the Red Sox.  However, he won't be getting full medical clearance for a couple of weeks and he admits that he'll likely be in a holding pattern until that point.  Here's more out of Boston..

  • The Red Sox have had "serious dialogue" with free agent oufielder Carlos Beltran, hears Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald (Twitter link).  Boston has been said to have interest in the veteran, but the Yankees, Orioles, Royals, Indians, and Mariners are also said to have interest.
  • GM Ben Cherington & Co. are exploring a right-handed setup-type reliever, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  The Red Sox should have plenty of payroll flexibility to work with as they look to bolster their bullpen and other areas and they could free up more space by trading a veteran starter like Jake Peavy, John Lackey or Ryan Dempster.
  • Given the value they place on draft picks,  the Red Sox's interest in Beltran is puzzling to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe (Twitter links), even if they get picks for their own free agents.  Abraham wonders if this might be a case of an AL East team engaging a free agent in an attempt to raise the price for their rivals.

Orioles Have Interest In Gavin Floyd

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The Orioles have some interest in free agent right-hander Gavin Floyd and have been monitoring his progress as he recovers from elbow surgery, industry sources tell Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.  Agent Mike Moye told MLBTR's Tim Dierkes earlier today that his client is progressing extremely well after undergoing surgery to repair his ulnar collateral ligament and torn flexor tendon in his elbow back in May.

The Maryland native has been throwing long toss at 180 feet and could begin a mound progression in early December with hopes that he can be ready for game action at, or near, Opening Day.  An O's representative has periodically kept tabs on the progress of Floyd, but their interest is obviously tied to how healthy they believe he can be next season and beyond.  Floyd, 31 in January, made just five starts last season for the White Sox but prior to the surgery he made at least 29 starts or more in his previous five full seasons.

For his big league career, Floyd owns a 4.48 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 over ten seasons.

Red Sox, Rays, Rockies, Others Interested In Corey Hart

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Corey Hart told Jim Bowden of SiriusXM (Twitter link) that his agent has talked with the Brewers, Red Sox, Rays, and Rockies amongst other interested teams.  Hart added that he won't officially get 100% medical clearance until December 3rd when he visits his doctor in Los Angeles, but he's fully healthy (link).

The CAA Sports client doesn't consider himself to be an injury prone player but admits that he's in a holding pattern until he's cleared physically, tweets Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter links).  Hart says that he's dropped 20 pounds and that he should be able to run around better than he had the past few years, so he'll be open to playing in the outfield (link).

Also from Rosiak, Hart says that a winning team would be nice, but he's a family man first and will do what he feels is best for them.  As MLB.com's Adam McCalvy points out in his transcript of Hart's interview, Harts and his family live in Arizona, which could factor into his decision.  McCalvy notes that of the four teams mentioned by Hart, the Rockies and Brewers both have Spring Training facilities in the Phoenix area.  The Spring Training facilities for Tampa Bay and Boston are each in Florida.

Hart last played in 2012, batting .270/.334/.507 with 30 homers, 35 doubles and four triples, illustrating why he can still be considered one of the most promising power bats on this year's free agent market even after missing the 2013 season.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Pirates Reacquire Duke Welker From Twins

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4:07pm: The Twins will receive left-hander Kris Johnson from the Pirates in exchange for Welker, the teams have announced via press release.

Johnson, 29, seems to have a shot at making some starts for the Twins at some point next season after pitching to a 2.39 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 135 2/3 innings for the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate in 2013. That will, of course, depend on how the Twins' offseason hunt for pitching shakes out, but few teams have less rotation stability than the Twins. MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger spoke with GM Terry Ryan, who said the team plans to leave Johnson in a starting role (Twitter link).

Like Welker, Johnson made his big league debut with the Bucs in 2013, making three relief appearances and one spot start. After allowing two runs in six innings of relief work in his debut, Johnson was torched for five runs in just two innings in a spot start versus the Cardinals.

Johnson, who is represented by agent Matt Sosnick, was originally selected by the Red Sox with the 40th overall pick in the 2006 draft as compensation for the loss of Johnny Damon via free agency. He signed as a minor league free agent with the Pirates following the 2011 season and has enjoyed his two most successful minor league seasons with Pittsburgh since.

3:48pm: Just six weeks after trading him to the Twins as part of the return for Justin Morneau, the Pirates have reacquired right-hander Duke Welker from Minnesota, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). It's unclear what the Twins are receiving in return at this point, Passan adds.

Welker, 27, was acquired as a player to named later in the Morneau deal. The Pirates also sent outfielder Alex Presley to Minnesota as part of the trade. Welker posted a 3.57 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 63 Triple-A innings this season and made his Major League debut with the Pirates, hurling 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

After a five-year absence from the Pirates' Top 30 prospect lists (per Baseball America), Welker resurfaced at No. 26 prior to the season. Drafted in the second round as a starting pitchers, a slew of injuries derailed his prospect status for a number of years. BA wrote this past offseason that since converting to a reliever, Welker's fastball had topped out at 98 mph and he could emerge as a setup man for the Buccos.

Latest On Gavin Floyd’s Elbow Rehab

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Gavin Floyd's rehabilitation from May surgery to repair his ulnar collateral ligament and torn flexor tendon in his elbow is progressing extremely well, agent Mike Moye tells MLBTR.  Moye says Floyd escalated his throwing program to three sets at 180 feet this week and is experiencing almost no soreness.  Based on discussions with his doctor and trainer, Floyd's mound program should begin no later than December 7th and possibly sooner.  Floyd's mound program will likely follow a two to three month timeline.  Barring an unforseen setback, Floyd should be ready to take the mound in game action prior to Opening Day 2014.

Floyd, 31 in January, made five starts this year prior to the injury.  Prior to 2013, he made at least 29 starts in each of the five previous seasons for the White Sox.  Floyd generally posted ERAs in the low 4.00s during that time.  I imagine he's likely to sign a one-year deal this offseason.  While we've seen that setbacks are possible with these types of elbow procedures, there seems to be optimism currently that Floyd can contribute with a Major League club for the majority of the 2014 season.

Josh Johnson Narrows Choice To Three Or Four NL Teams

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2:31pm: MLBTR's Tim Dierkes (via Twitter) hears that Johnson's finalists are all NL teams, some likely on the west coast.

1:45pm: Josh Johnson has narrowed his decision down to three or four teams, agent Matt Sosnick tells Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and the Pirates are among the finalists. A deal could be done "in the short-term," Sawchik adds, reminding that Johnson is seeking to rebuild his value on a one-year deal (Twitter links). Last night, Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Johnson reached out to the Padres and Giants early in the offseason to inform the teams that they were his first choice.

Johnson, 30 in January, posted a bloated 6.20 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 81 1/3 innings. Sabermetric stats such as xFIP (3.58) and SIERA (3.73) feel that Johnson was victim to some bad luck, and his .356 BABIP and 18.5 percent homer-to-flyball ratio would back that line of thinking up.

Of course, the bigger issue with Johnson is his health. Johnson pitched through tendonitis in his knee all season and also hit the disabled list due to a forearm strain and triceps inflamation this season before undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs from his right elbow in early October. Johnson is one of the game's most talented arms but has only topped 200 innings in a season once, and in fact has only thrown more than 100 innings four times in a Major League season.

The Pirates are a logical suitor for his services as they've recently enjoyed success in buying low on talented pitchers coming off down seasons. Francisco Liriano, A.J. Burnett and Mark Melancon have all enjoyed tremendous success in a black and gold jersey. Johnson didn't receive a qualifying offer and therefore won't require his new team to surrender a draft pick.

Phillies Sign Reid Brignac To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies announced that they have signed infielder Reid Brignac to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training.

Brignac, 28 in January, split last season between the Rockies and Yankees, batting a combined .185/.219/.261 in 98 plate appearances. Brignac was once one of the game's most highly regarded prospects back in his days as a Rays farmhand, ranking 17th on Baseball America's Top 100 Prospect List heading into the 2007 season. He cracked the Top 100 in each of the next three offseasons but has yet to be able to piece together his talents at the Major League level.

A client of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, Brignac owns a career .272/.334/.430 slash line in nine minor league seasons and has experience at shortstop, second base an third base.

Raicel Iglesias Defects From Cuba

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NOV. 19: Iglesias has now established residency in Mexico, tweets MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez. The next step in his process will be gaining clearance from the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and from Major League Baseball to sign with MLB teams.

NOV. 6: The number of recent Cuban defectors continues to grow, as reports from Diario de Cuba and the Havana Times have indicated that right-hander Raicel Iglesias has successfully defected from the country. Ibrahim Rojas of CMHS Radio Caibarién tells MLBTR that Iglesias is currently in Mexico.

Iglesias, 23, was detained on his first attempt to defect after running out of food and water while hiding in the mountains. In his second effort, which reportedly took place on Oct. 9, he successfully fled the country by sea. Iglesias is said by Ben Badler of Baseball America to possess a 92-95 mph fastball with a swing-and-miss breaking ball but questionable control. Badler feels that Iglesias would likely have to begin his pro career in the U.S. by starting in the minor leagues.

Because Iglesias is 23 years old and has more than three years of professional experience, he can sign for any amount and will not count against a team's international signing pool.

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