Here are today's minor moves and outright assignments from around the league…
- The Rays have signed catcher Eddy Rodriguez to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invitation, MLB.com's Corey Brock tweeted earlier today. Most recently a Padres farmhand, Rodriguez has just seven MLB plate appearances to his name. (Notably, he appears on the short list of players to have hit a home run in their first trip to the plate, sandwiched chronologically between Starling Marte and Jurickson Profar.) Playing at the Double-A and Triple-A level last year, Rodriguez managed a .231/.271/.374 line in 299 plate appearances.
- Outfielder Greg Golson has signed a minor league pact with the Brewers, the club announced via Twitter (hat tip to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Golson, 28, has seen sporadic big league action over parts of four seasons, but hasn't had a crack at the show since 2011. A first round pick of the Phillies back in 2004, Golson spent time in the Rockies and Braves systems last year, putting up a composite .249/.313/.392 line with 19 stolen bases.
- The Rays have inked outfielder Justin Christian to a minor league deal that includes a Spring Training invite, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The 33-year-old has not seen MLB time since 2012, and has a career .203.255/.266 line in 155 plate appearances over three seasons. Last year, playing at Triple-A for the Cardinals organization, Christian put up a .270/.332/.353 triple-slash in 411 plate appearances.
- The Marlins acquired minor league shortstop Hiram Martinez from the Athletics in exchange for cash considerations last week, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports in his latest minor transactions roundup. The 21-year-old played in the Mexican League last year and batted .222/.265/.254 in 56 games (just 69 plate appearances).
- Also from Eddy, the Royals have signed former Indians infielder Jason Donald to a minor league deal. One of the four players acquired by Cleveland in the trade that sent Cliff Lee to the Phillies, Donald is a career .257/.309/.362 hitter that hasn't appeared in the bigs since 2012. The 29-year-old batted .219/.268/.319 in 271 plate appearances for the Reds' Triple-A affiliate in 2013.
- The White Sox have signed first baseman Christian Marrero to a minor league deal and re-signed right-hander Scott Carroll to a minor league pact as well, per the team's transactions page. The ChiSox originally drafted Marrero in 2005, but he spent the past two seasons in the Pirates and Braves organizations. The 27-year-old is a career .273/.361/.434 hitter in the minors, but he has just 76 games at the Triple-A level. The 29-year-old Carroll has a 5.14 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 232 2/3 innings in his Triple-A career.
- As can be seen in MLBTR's DFA Tracker, the Yankees' Vernon Wells is the only player that is currently in DFA limbo.
Vernon Wells should sign up for MLB Extra Innings, find a comfortable spot on his sofa, and let the Yankees and Angels pay him $22mm this season. I’d be counting my blessings that my baseball abilities didn’t crap out before signing that monster deal with Toronto.
I have a feeling Phillies will try to acquire vernon wells either as a FA or a claim
I pray you are wrong
If Vernon gets picked up by another team, how much would they have to pay him? Just curious.
baseball reference.com has the angels paying 18.6M of his 21M Salary, so if my math is correct in 2014 he will be making 2.4M.
Major league minimum.
Thanks!
I see Vernon Wells as a Cubs pick up. League minimum and can platoon with Sweeney or Schierholtz in the corners
Ah, Jason Donald. The man who ran just hard enough to make the play close enough at first base, which led Jim Joyce to mistakenly end Armando Gallaraga’s perfect game.
Biggest “hit” of his career!
Hang on. Do you know what this means? It means doug melvin IS alive!
If Vernon Wells can be had at major league minimum, the Pirates should pick him up. Personally I’d rather Wells/Tabata than Snider/Tabata. And if wells isn’t putting up any numbers by June when Polanco comes up, release him.
Maybe he can give the Buccos the same jolt Marlin Byrd gave them last year.
marlins love ss who can’t hit.