Minor MLB Transactions: 12/20/16

The latest minor moves from around baseball:

• Outfielder Juan Perez, third baseman Zack Cox and right-handed reliever Waldis Joaquin have joined the Tigers on minor league deals. Perez’s only major league experience came as a member of the Giants, with whom he batted .224/.267/.316 in 246 plate appearances from 2013-15. All of his time in 2016 was spent with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in Iowa, where he slashed .276/.310/.444 with nine home runs and 16 steals in 412 trips to the plate. Cox went to the Cardinals in the first round of the 2010 draft (25th overall), but he didn’t get to the majors with either them or his second organization, the Marlins. The 27-year-old hit .290/.348/.452 in 460 PAs with Wichita of the independent American Association last season. Joaquin, who spent the past few seasons pitching in Mexico and his native Dominican Republic, was with the Giants from 2007-11. He notched 21 2/3 big league innings of 5.40 ERA ball during that period, also adding matching strikeout and walk rates of 7.06 per nine.
• The Reds have signed righty reliever Rob Wooten to a minor league contract, tweets Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. Wooten last pitched in the majors in 2015, when he totaled six innings as a member of the Brewers. Overall, he has registered a 5.03 ERA, 7.01 K/9, 2.91 BB/9 and 48.1 ground-ball rate in 68 major league innings – all of which have come with the Brewers, who selected him in the 13th round of the 2008 draft. The 31-year-old spent last season with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate and recorded a 3.58 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 1.36 BB/9 in 73 frames.
• The Diamondbacks have added righty swingman Brooks Hall on a minors deal. Hall, 26, went to Milwaukee in the fourth round of the 2009 draft and stayed with the organization through last season, but he hasn’t yet cracked the majors. He saw his first action at the Triple-A level in 2016 and struggled with a 6.94 ERA, 4.24 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 23 1/3 frames. Most of Hall’s recent work has come at the Double-A level, where he has logged a 3.90 ERA with 6.5 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 across 267 2/3 innings since 2013.
• To continue the theme of ex-Brewers catching on elsewhere, third baseman Garin Cecchini has signed a minor league deal with the Royals. Cecchini, whom the Brewers designated for assignment in October, hit .271/.325/.380 over 469 Triple-A plate appearances last season. The 25-year-old was previously a high-end prospect with Boston, and even slashed a terrific .258/.361/.452 in a small sample of 36 major league PAs in 2014, but the shine truly wore off in 2015. That year, Cecchini batted just .213/.286/.296 in 496 Triple-A plate appearances.
• Righty Jon Edwards has re-signed with the Padres on a minors pact, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). The 28-year-old reliever missed all of last season after suffering a flexor strain in spring training. He previously totaled 25 innings with the Rangers and Padres from 2014-15.
• The Cubs have reached a minors agreement with middle infielder Elliott Soto, who was previously with the organization from the 2010 draft (15th round) through the 2015 campaign. All of Soto’s action last season came with the Marlins’ Triple-A affiliate, with which he hit .241/.358/.297 in 190 plate appearances. In 2,202 minor league PAs, Soto has batted .249/.329/.299.