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Archives for December 2013

Red Sox Designate Alex Castellanos

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The Red Sox have designated outfielder Alex Castellanos for assignment, the team announced.  The move creates 40-man roster space for Mike Napoli, whose new deal with the Sox became official today.

Castellanos was acquired in an October trade with the Dodgers.  The 27-year-old was originally a tenth-round draft pick for the Cardinals in 2008, and he owns an impressive .288/.362/.502 slash line in 2529 PA over six minor league seasons in the St. Louis and Los Angeles farm systems.  Castellanos also has 43 Major League PA to his name, accumulated in cups of coffee with the Dodgers in 2012 and 2013.

According to MLBTR's DFA Tracker, Castellanos is one of five players currently residing in "DFA limbo," along with the Nationals' Corey Brown, the Twins' Liam Hendriks, and the Tigers' Dixon Machado and Luis Marte.

Padres, Indians Competing For Joaquin Benoit

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4:59pm: An official with knowledge of the talks tells ESPN's Buster Olney that the Padres are in the lead for Benoit (Twitter link).

2:05pm: The Padres and Indians are both in on Benoit at two years and $14MM or more, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The Padres' offer may include a third-year option, he adds.

12:01pm: The Padres are making a strong push for free agent right-hander Joaquin Benoit, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link).

The move would come as somewhat of a surprise, given GM Josh Byrnes' previous aversion to multiyear pacts for relief pitchers. Huston Street is the only reliever to sign a significant multiyear deal with the Padres during Byrnes' tenure.

Benoit, 36, posted a 2.01 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 with 24 saves in 67 innings for the Tigers in 2013. He's drawn interest from the Rockies, but he was said to be too expensive for Colorado's tastes, as he's seeking $7-10MM annually. Reports yesterday indicated that the Padres were one of the most likely landing spots for Benoit, along with the Indians, Cubs,  Yankees and Mariners.

Three Teams Have Two-Year Offers To Balfour

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4:56pm: The Orioles aren't the team that has offered Balfour a vesting option, tweets Encina.

3:40pm: Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles are one of three teams that has made a two-year offer to Balfour. One team's offer contains a vesting option for a third season, he adds. Connolly isn't sure which team has offered the vesting option, but he gets the sense that it's not the Orioles (Twitter links).

1:45pm: The O's prefer Balfour on a two-year deal, and one other club is still in the mix at this time, tweets Heyman.

12:56pm: Years are the main sticking point in negotiations with Balfour, tweets Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun.

THURSDAY, 11:54am: The Orioles are confident that they can sign Balfour, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

WEDNESDAY: The Orioles have an offer out to reliever Grant Balfour and others as they try to fill four holes in their lineup, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  The O's also have an offer out to John Axford, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).  Heyman also notes that Baltimore has talked to Nelson Cruz's agent, but a source tells Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter) that the club hasn't made an offer to him.

Heyman writes that the O's are also in on an unnamed starting pitcher.  Baltimore also has to address holes at closer, left field, and at DH.  Balfour is their top choice to replace Jim Johnson as a closer with Axford and Chris Perez believed to be secondary options.

Minor Moves: Andrew Werner, Manny Pina

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Here are today's minor moves and outright assignments from around the league…

  • The Athletics have outrighted left-hander Andrew Werner to Triple-A Sacramento after he cleared waivers, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Werner, 26, was designated for assignment in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for Scott Kazmir last week.
  • The Mariners have signed catcher Manny Pina to a minor league deal, tweets Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. The 26-year-old batted .228/.274/.359 with seven homers in 325 plate appearances between the Royals' Double-A and Triple-A affiliates last season.

Orioles Acquire David Freitas To Complete Jim Johnson Trade

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The Orioles announced that they have acquired minor league catcher David Freitas from the Athletics as the player to be named later to complete the Jim Johnson trade.

Freitas, 24, was selected by the Nationals in the 15th round of the 2010 draft out of the University of Hawaii. He reached Triple-A for the first time in 2013 and posted a .231/.306/.368 batting line with 10 homers in 356 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A. Freitas was actually much better in Triple-A than in Double-A (in a smaller sample size), batting .268/.355/.381 in 110 plate appearances.

Prior to the 2012 season, Baseball America ranked him 27th among Nationals prospects, noting that he had good power to the pull side and a patient approach at the plate that gave him a chance to be an offensive-minded part-time catcher in the Majors.

Nationals Sign Nate McLouth

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3:59pm: Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets that McLouth will earn $5MM in each year of the deal, and his club option contains a $750K buyout.

3:20pm: The Nationals were in the market for a left-handed hitting outfielder to strengthen their bench, and they addressed that need by bringing Nate McLouth into the fold. Washington officially announced a two-year deal for McLouth today — a contract that is reportedly worth $10.75MM and contains a club option for a third season valued at $6.5MM. McLouth is represented by The Sparta Group.

McLouth-Nate

Rosenthal goes on to note that while McLouth will technically be the Nats' fourth outfielder behind Bryce Harper, Denard Span and Jayson Werth, but he will get "significant" at-bats. McLouth will serve as insurance for all three outfield positions, but he could also see a more regular role if recent rumors that Span could be available prove to be true.

The 32-year-old McLouth batted .258/.329/.399 with 12 homers and a career-best 30 stolen bases for the Orioles last season. Curiously, McLouth swiped 24 bases in 28 attempts in the season's first half but only attempted nine steals in the entire second half. He's significantly better against right-handed pitching, as he batted just .209/.283/.357 against fellow lefties in 2013.

McLouth's career looked to be on a downward trajectory after he struggled in Atlanta and was released midseason upon his return to the Pirates organization. However, he latched on with the Orioles, and over a span of 201 games with Baltimore, he slashed .261/.333/.409. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes correctly projected that McLouth would sign a two-year deal this offseason in his free agent profile, pegging him for a $10MM guarantee.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the two-year agreement (on Twitter). The $10.75MM value and club option were first reported by Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reported the option's $6.5MM value.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Reds Interested In Omar Infante

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Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that a surprising name has popped up on the list of suitors for Omar Infante; according to Nightengale, the Reds are "quite interested" in Infante but would obviously need to move Brandon Phillips in order to pursue him (Twitter link).

The Yankees and Royals are said to be the strongest suitors for Infante at this time, with the Yankees reportedly having offered three years and $24MM to Infante shortly after Robinson Cano signed with the Mariners. Infante, however, is said to be seeking a four-year, $40MM pact similar to the extension signed by Martin Prado last winter.

Phillips' name has been on the block, and though the Reds have publicly downplayed his availability, recent reports have indicated that he's still in play. Phillips' name surfaced in a prominent rumor last night, as it was said that the Yankees turned down a swap of Phillips for Brett Gardner. There was more to the story than the initial report, as Phillips has the Yankees on his no-trade list and tried to re-open his contract talks to get more money in order to facilitate the deal.

Phillips is owed $50MM over the next four years, which isn't much more than the $40MM sought by Infante over the same term. However, such an offer doesn't appear to be on the table for Infante, so in the event that they find a taker for Phillips, perhaps the Reds could swoop in, sign Infante for $30-35MM and save $15MM or more.

Nationals Designate Corey Brown For Assignment

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The Nationals announced that they have designated outfielder Corey Brown for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Nate McLouth.

Brown, 28, is a career .175/.250/.400 batter in 45 Major League plate appearances. At the Triple-A level, he's slashed .254/333/.461 in 1602 career plate appearances. Brown and right-hander Henry Rodriguez were acquired by the Nationals in the 2010 trade that sent Josh Willingham to Oakland. The A's took him in the supplemental round of the 2007 draft as compensation for the los of Frank Thomas.

NL East Notes: Papelbon, Braves, Samardzija, Nats

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Trading Jonathan Papelbon wouldn't solve much for the Phillies at this point, opines Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com. Seidman runs down a possible scenario in which the Phillies ate $6MM to move Papelbon, noting that GM Ruben Amaro Jr. would then still try to sign a replacement. Names like Grant Balfour and Joaquin Benoit could cost upwards of $10MM per season anyhow, meaning the Phillies may not even save much money should that scenario play out. Papelbon will have more value to teams at the trade deadline when fewer quality options are available, writes Seidman. Here's more from the NL East…

  • David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that the Braves have approached some of their young stars about extensions over the past two years but felt they'd have to overpay to get something done.
  • O'Brien also runs down the Braves needs on the heels of a quiet Winter Meetings, noting that they're optimistic about re-signing Eric O'Flaherty. Atlanta is still pursuing a veteran bench bat — O'Brien mentions Eric Chavez — and are still interested in Jeff Samardzija. The Braves may be considered the favorites to land Samardzija at this point, says O'Brien, noting that payroll constraints will likely preclude them from pursuing David Price.
  • After adding to their rotation, bench and bullpen, the Nationals will now turn their focus to extending Ian Desmond and Jordan Zimmermann, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Should the Nats be unable to extend Zimmermann, they may be forced to consider trading him this time next season, one source told Kilgore.
  • Nate McLouth spoke to former teammate Adam LaRoche (whom he called one of his favorite teammates ever) and asked what the Nationals clubhouse was like before deciding to sign there, writes Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. McLouth doesn't hold ill will toward the Orioles for not retaining him.

Rangers Sign Lillibridge, Wilson, Kouzmanoff

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The Rangers announced that they've signed Kevin Kouzmanoff, Brent Lillibridge, Armando Rodriguez and Josh Wilson to minor league deals with invites to Spring Training.

Lillibridge, 30, batted .119/.133/.136 in 61 plate appearances between the Cubs and Yankees last season. The utility man showed promise with the White Sox in his age-27 season back in 2011, batting .258/.340/.505 with 13 homers in 216 plate appearances. Over the course of his career, however, he's a .205/.267/.332 hitter.

Wilson, 32, batted .200/.262/.300 in 65 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks in 2013. He's a career .225/.278/.317 hitter in 1077 plate appearances between the D-Backs, Mariners, Rays, Padres, Nationals, Marlins and Brewers. 

Kouzmanoff, 32, spent four seasons as the everyday third baseman for the Padres and A's, slashing .259/.303/.426 with 75 homers. He spent 2013 in the Marlins organization, batting .294/.344/.440 at Triple-A.

Rodriguez, 25, split the 2013 season between Double-A and Triple-A with the Mets, posting a combined 4.81 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 63 2/3 innings.

The Rangers also announced that they inked righty Doug Mathis to a minor league pact, though Mathis' deal doesn't contain an invite to Spring Training. Mathis posted a 4.84 ERA in 87 1/3 innings for the Rangers from 2008-10 and split last season between the Triple-A affiliates for the Marlins and Pirates.

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