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Tim Stauffer Signs With Sugar Land Skeeters

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The Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League announced that they’ve signed former Twins/Padres right-hander Tim Stauffer as well as former Rays first baseman Allan Dykstra.

The 33-year-old Stauffer enjoyed a long but injury-marred tenure with the Padres after being selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2003 draft. He became a free agent for the first time this season on the heels of a solid 3.50 ERA in 64 1/3 innings of relief for the 2014 Padres. Minnesota signed him to a one-year, $2.2MM contract, but he struggled in Minnesota from day one. Stauffer missed a chunk of time with an intercostal strain and ultimately saw his Twins career end with a release following a 6.60 ERA with six strikeouts against seven walks in 15 innings.

As for Dykstra, he was cut loose by the Rays earlier this season. He made his big league debut in 2015 but struggled to a .129/.289/.226 line in 38 plate appearances with the Rays. Interestingly, Dykstra was also a first-round pick of the Padres, who selected him 23rd overall in 2008. He’s enjoyed a good amount of success at the Triple-A level, however, hitting .261/.411/.457 in 606 plate appearances.

Minor Moves: Noesi, Dykstra, Velez, De La Rosa

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We’ll track the day’s minor moves in this post:

  • White Sox righty Hector Noesi has accepted an outright assignment with the club, Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com reports on Twitter. The 28-year-old was designated for assignment recently after posting a 6.89 ERA over 32 2/3 frames to start the year. Working both as a starter and from the pen, Noesi has struck out 6.1 and walked 4.7 batters per nine on the season. He has permitted 5.30 earned runs per nine in his 395 1/3 career MLB innings.
  • The Rays have released first baseman Allan Dykstra and utilityman Eugenio Velez, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Dykstra, 28, saw his first big league action this year, but has spent most of his time in recent seasons in the upper minors. Though he carries a strong .261/.411/.457 line in his 606 total plate appearances at Triple-A, with similar numbers over exactly twice as many career turns at bat at Double-A, Dykstra has scuffled to a .705 OPS this year at Durham. The 33-year-old Velez has not seen big league action since 2011. He has generally hit well at Triple-A in the years since, but slipped to a .272/.336/.371 slash in 236 plate appearances this season at that level.
  • Orioles righty Dane De La Rosa has retired, David Hall of the Virginia Pilot reports on Twitter. The big, 32-year-old reliever had worked to a 4.35 ERA in 10 1/3 innings at Triple-A Norfolk, striking out 6.1 but walking 7.0 batters per nine innings. De La Rosa had seen big league time in each of the last four years, and was quite a productive pen option for the Angels in 2013, when he delivered 72 1/3 innings of 2.86 ERA ball. But he’s struggled badly with command since that time while dealing with shoulder, forearm, and knee issues.

Minor Moves: Snyder, Dykstra, Redmond, Roberts

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Here are Sunday’s minor moves from around MLB:

  • The Orioles will sign corner intfielder Brandon Snyder to a minor-league deal, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Snyder, 28, had agreed to a deal with the independent Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in March. He hit .206/.284/.444 in 141 plate appearances with the Red Sox’ Triple-A Pawtucket affiliate in 2014. He last appeared in the big leagues with the Red Sox in 2013 and had previously had cups of coffee with the Orioles and Rangers. The Orioles made him the 13th overall pick in the draft ten years ago.
  • The Rays have outrighted Allan Dykstra, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. Dykstra playing first base for much of April, but he became superfluous when James Loney returned from the disabled list. The 27-year-old Dykstra hit .280/.426/.504 for the Mets’ hitter-friendly Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas last season, drawing 84 walks in 439 plate appearances.
  • The Blue Jays outrighted right-hander Todd Redmond to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca. Redmond, who was designated for assignment April 16, struggled to start 2015 allowing eight runs (all earned) in a pair of relief appearanes (covering 4 1/13 innings) with five walks and four strikeouts.
  • The A’s have signed infielder Ryan Roberts to a minor league deal and have assigned him to Triple-A Nashville, tweets the Sounds’ play-by-play announcer Jeff Hem. Roberts, who was in camp with the Royals before being released in March, made a cameo appearance with Boston in 2014 and batted just .105/.227/.105 in 22 trips to the plate during eight games. Over his nine-year career, the 34-year-old has slashed a much more acceptable .243/.320/.388 for the Red Sox, Rays, Diamondbacks, Rangers, and Blue Jays.
  • The Marlins have outrighted left-hander Grant Dayton to Triple-A, per the club’s transactions page. The 27-year-old was designated for assignment Friday to create room on the 40-man roster for catcher Jhonatan Solano, whose contract was purchased when the Marlins placed Jarrod Saltalamacchia on the paternity list.
  • The Mets signed free agent second baseman Brooks Conrad to a minor league contract, according to the International League transactions page.  Conrad signed a minor league deal with the Padres in January of last year after spending some time in Japan and joined their major league team later in 2014.  He spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A, slashing .278/.349/.529 with 18 homers in 337 plate appearances. In a limited sample size of 34 major league appearances in 2014, however, he couldn’t produce the same results, and he was released in August.
  • Per MLBTR’s DFA Tracker, Eric Surkamp (White Sox), Grant Balfour (Rays), Eury De La Rosa (A’s), Steve Tolleson (Blue Jays), Xavier Cedeno (Dodgers), and Logan Verrett (Rangers) are still in DFA limbo.

Rays Designate Allan Dykstra For Assignment

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The Rays have designated first baseman Allan Dykstra for assignment, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The move clears space for pitcher Everett Teaford, whose contract the Rays selected from Triple-A Durham.

Dykstra collected the first 38 plate appearances of his big-league career with the Rays this season, hitting .129/.289/.226 before being optioned to Durham when James Loney returned from injury. The 27-year-old Dykstra is now in his eighth season in the minors and could be on his way out of his third organization despite a first-round draft pedigree and consistently impressive-looking minor-league stats. He hit .280/.426/.504 in 439 plate appearances with the Mets’ (admittedly hitter-friendly) Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas last season.

Minor Moves: Satin, Kensing, Romak, Orioles, Billings, Avery

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…

Earlier Updates

  • The D’Backs have agreed to terms on a minor league deal and a Spring Training invite with infielder/outfielder Jamie Romak, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes tweeted today. The 29-year-old Romak, a client of Taurus Sports’ David Sloane, made his big league debut with the Dodgers in 2014 and collected his first hit in the Majors. The former fourth-rounder is a lifetime .258/.324/.474 hitter at Triple-A.
  • The Orioles announced the signings of infielder Paul Janish, right-hander Terry Doyle and outfielder Quincy Latimore to minor league contracts and invitations to big league Spring Training. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo was the first to tweet Janish’s agreement, and Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com had previously reported that the team was working on a deal with him. Janish is the only one of the bunch that comes with MLB experience; the 32-year-old defensive specialist is a career .214/.284/.288 hitter in 1206 plate appearances between the Reds and Braves.
  • The Nationals announced that they have signed right-hander Bruce Billings to a minor league contract with an invite to Major League Spring Training. The 29-year-old Billings pitched four innings for the Yankees last season and split the season between the Yankees and Dodgers organizations. Overall, the veteran posted a 5.27 ERA with 6. K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 95 2/3 innings.
  • Outfielder Xavier Avery has inked a minor league deal with the Tigers and will receive a Spring Training invite as well, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. The 24-year-old Avery spent last season with the Mariners after being acquired from the Orioles in the 2013 Mike Morse trade. Avery hit .275/.344/.413 with 10 homers and 31 steals, appearing at all three outfield spots for Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate in 2014.

Mets Acquire Allan Dykstra For Eddie Kunz

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The Mets acquired first baseman Allan Dykstra from the Padres for righty Eddie Kunz in a swap of former first-round picks, tweets Darren Smith of XX 1090.

Dykstra, 24 in May, hit .241/.372/.438 in 469 plate appearances at High-A last year.  He was drafted 23rd overall by the Padres in '08.  Two years ago, Baseball America ranked him eighth among Padres prospects, praising his "plus-plus raw power and plate discipline" while expressing concern about a hip ailment and his lack of athleticism.  Dykstra did not crack BA's top 30 Padres prospects '10 or '11.  He's one of Paul DePodesta's guys, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.

Kunz, 25 in April, posted a 5.34 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 5.5 BB/9, and 0.6 HR/9 in 111 1/3 Double-A innings last year, including 12 starts.  Drafted 42nd overall in 2007 as a supplemental pick for the loss of Roberto Hernandez, Kunz last made the Mets' top 30 prospects one year ago at the #25 spot.  According to BA, Kunz's stock plummeted as his fastball and slider regressed and he struggled with his command and conditioning.

Latest On Pedro Alvarez

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Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a source that claims the Player’s Association will only focus on the status of Pedro Alvarez’ contract and not on the contract of Eric Hosmer. Kovacevic says the MLBPA will argue that Hosmer’s contract was only delayed so the Pirates could have more time to negotiate with Alvarez.

However, Jonathan Mayo obtained a copy of the grievance filed by the union which suggests that Alvarez’ contract will not be the sole focus (emphasis Mayo’s).

The Commissioner’s Office, without notice to the MLBPA, unilaterally determined to permit Clubs to negotiate with drafted players after the August 15, 2008 deadline, and unilaterally determined to accept agreements by Clubs after the August 15, 2008 deadline.

Mayo feels that the use of plurals in the grievance indicates the union is contesting more than one contract. Mayo says the grievance, combined with MLB not allowing Hosmer to play until this issue is resolved, suggests that this is about more than just the contract status of Alvarez.

Mayo also speculates that part of the desire to make Alvarez the top-paid draftee, may stem from Buster Posey’s decision to go with an agent other than Boras. Mayo wonders if Boras is in-part driven to prove Posey made a mistake.

Other notes…

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Draft Pick Signing Update: Posey, Matusz, Alonso

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10:51am: Baggarly has the latest on Posey.  He says it’s a "spitting contest" between Scott Boras and Posey’s agency to have the highest-paid draft pick.

7:46am: The latest links involved unsigned first-round draft picks.

Draft Roundup: Dykstra, Smoak, Alonso

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Here’s a collection of links involving unsigned first rounders.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

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