Here are today's minor moves and outright assignments from around the league…
- Jairo Asencio has signed with the KIA Tigers in the Korean Baseball Organization, MyKBO.net tweets. The Orioles acquired the 30-year-old righty from the Brewers all the way back in March, using him for just 2 1/3 innings this year. Asencio has a career 5.34 ERA in 43 big league appearances, but has been much better at Triple-A, where he's pitched to a 2.56 ERA across 165 games.
- The Royals announced that they have signed infielder Brian Bocock and outfielder Johermyn Chavez to minor-league contracts. The 28-year-old Bocock has 38 big league games on his resume and last appeared in the majors in 2010 with the Phillies. He has a career .226/.297/.309 minor-league line. Chavez, 24, has never appeared in the big leagues. He's hit .261/.340/.438 in nearly 3,000 minor-league plate appearances. The Bocock deal was originally reported by Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish on Twitter.
- The Red Sox have signed pitcher John Ely and re-signed Miguel Celestino to minor-league deals, WEEI.com's Alex Speier reports. Ely, 27, missed most of 2013 due to Tommy John surgery but had a strong year in Triple-A in 2012, posting a 3.20 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 168 2/3 innings for Albuquerque. Celestino, 24, posted a 6.12 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 for Double-A Portland in 2013.
- The Pirates have signed utilityman Michael Martinez to a minor-league deal, MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo tweets. Martinez, 31, hit .300/.352/.407 for the Phillies' Triple-A Lehigh Valley affiliate in 2013. He also picked up 40 plate appearances at the big-league level.
- The Diamondbacks announced that they've signed veteran catcher Henry Blanco to a minor-league deal with a spring training invite. Earlier today, Arizona was reportedly close to signing Blanco, who hit .142/.228/.246 with the Blue Jays and Mariners in 2013. Blanco, 42, played with the Diamondbacks in 2011 and 2012.
- The Cubs announced that they have signed outfielder Ryan Kalish to a minor league deal with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. Kalish, 25, was originally drafted by the Red Sox when Cubs president Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer were with Boston.
- The Cubs have also signed catcher John Baker to a minor-league deal with a non-roster invite, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune tweets. The light-hitting Baker played briefly with the Padres in 2013, and also appeared in Tucscon (Padres) and Albuquerque (Dodgers) in Triple-A.
- The Tigers outrighted infielder Dixon Machado to Triple-A Toledo, according to an MILB.com release. Machado hit .215/.264/.295 with Class A+ Lakeland in 2013. The Tigers designated him for assignment last week.
Charlie Wilmoth and Aaron Steen contributed to this post.
Kalish to the Cubs is perhaps the least surprising minor league signing of the year.
True story
Took the words out of my mouth…. haha
ya theo and jed probably drooled for kalish. does anyone wana take a bet now that the team of “misfits” make it to the playoffs?!?! haha jk…but this is looking like the indians in Major League
they dont make the playoffs until they pick up Lars Anderson… silly calabio
They also need to trade for Jed Lowrie and culminate it by acquiring Bronson Arroyo to cure that curse.
Henry Blanco is still able to get a job. Keep living the dream buddy
That makes what 6 minor league or dfa outfielders signed by the cubs? how many minor league or dfa outfielders are left for the cubs to sign?
Aaron Cunningham, Darnell McDonald, Ryan Kalish, Casper Wells, Ryan Sweeney, and Justin Ruggiano so yeah six. Except Ruggiano wasn’t signed but still they have acquired 6 outfielders.
I kinda wish Tuffy Gosewich makes it as Arizona’s backup catcher, and not Blanco, who is way over the hill
Blanco should just retire
Poor Pirates fans. Hope to god Martinez never gets up to the bigs. Its brutal. Negitive war in defense and offense last year.
Martinez will definitely be on the roster next year. Just like the last 3 players that the Pirates acquired, they have a strong desire to have a roster of sub .200 hitters. I’m astonished when they complain about hitting during the season. If they just did it right in the beginning of the season last year went out and got a decent first baseman as opposed to scrambling at the end of the season to get one, they wouldn’t have been a wild card team and a 1st place team instead. Same thing with shortstop. How hard would it be to offer an attractive package to both Drew and Morales or Young (I used them because they missed the boat on everyone else)?
There’s very little chance Martinez will be on the roster next year. With Josh Harrison and Clint Barmes, the utility infield spots are covered.
As for Drew, considering he was (and still is) basically the only everyday shortstop on the free agent market, the answer to your question is “very.” It would be very hard to offer an attractive package. It also wouldn’t be very smart considering they have more pressing holes, and it’s not clear that Drew is much of an upgrade over Jordy Mercer.
Morales, too, would be only a very minor upgrade over Gaby Sanchez offensively, and he’d give all that value back on the field. There’s a reason he’s only played a few hundred innings at 1B over the last few seasons. He’d also cost a draft pick.
I’m not even sure who you’re talking about with Young. Michael? Delmon?
How did Michael Martinez sign with the Pirates ? Amaro signed him as a minor league free agent on October 17th. I checked on Baseball Reference and it doesn’t show him being released by the Phils.
The link to baseballreference has Martinez being granted free agency on October 7th. It is entirely possible that it did not say that when you looked, however, as these updates are rather fluid this time of year.
Minor League Free agent
You mean…Mini Mart…is….gone? Praise the lord Phillies fans! something went our way
RAJ, will be on the phone with Huntington next week to work out a deal to reacquire him. As long as RAJ is in Philly, Mini Mart will always be welcomed back.
I’d rather get the Gnome back. Bruntlett in my heart 4 ever.
Stinks to see Kalish go but the injuries just set him back too many times. Good move by Theo he is gonna break through for someone.
At least the Phillies fans won’t have to deal with the call-up of Michael Martinez anymore
Until mini mart retires from baseball, I will always worry he might see some playing time on the Phillies
Henry Blanco will need someone to carry him to first base after he gets a hit.
I hear they are allowing doctors to prescribe jazzys if it’s deemed medically necessary.
Looks like the Yankees & Phillies Equipment manager will need to buy those in bulk at costco.
if he gets a hit
Will the Royals use Johermyn Chavez as a position player or pitcher? He finished the year pitching for the Cubs’ rookie squad after being an M’s “slugging” OF before…
I was wondering the same thing. Haven’t found an answer.
It’s too bad Johermyn Chavez was just a High Desert mirage. I wish the M’s could find another affiliate. All that place does is skew numbers and confuse everybody.
Darn it I thought he would end up with the Hyundai whales that prediction blew up on the beach
I’m surprised that nobody took a chance on Dixon Machado when he was on waivers. He is a very good fielder.
Mini-mart signing elsewhere is the best news of the offseason
So I guess that means Asencio will not be playing for the white sox next year after all? There is no mention of his CWS signing in this blurb.
Also, why is it that he doesn’t get the same treatment as Roberto Hernandez & Juan Carlos Oviedo do everytime their names are mentioned…..
Jairo Asencio formerly Luis Valdez….
It’s been 2 years now since their identies were revealed, If the reader has to be told than the reader must have stumbled on this site by mistake.