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SoftBank Hawks Release Brad Penny

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The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks have released right-hander Brad Penny at his request after just one start in Japan, according to this Sanspo article passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (Twitter link). The right-hander signed with the Hawks this past offseason, but shoulder pain sidelined him for much of the past month and he appeared to have trouble adapting to Japanese baseball.

"It was the individual's strong desire to leave," according to the team. 

Penny and the SoftBank Hawks agreed to a $4MM contract with $3.5MM in performance bonuses this February. The 33-year-old Legacy Sports client posted a 5.30 ERA with 3.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 181 2/3 innings for the Tigers last season.

No In-Season Talks For Kershaw, Dodgers

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The Dodgers don’t have plans to discuss a long-term contract extension with defending NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw — at least for now. GM Ned Colletti told Bill Shaikin of the LA Times that "nothing will happen” during the season (Twitter link).

Kershaw recently signed a two-year, $19MM deal that covers his first two arbitration seasons (2012-13). The 24-year-old Hendricks Sports client will be eligible for arbitration one more time following the 2013 season and eligible for free agency following the 2014 season. Guggenheim Baseball Management recently gained control of the Dodgers and may look to extend the left-hander’s stay in Los Angeles with a long-term extension. Kershaw figures to set ask for a $100MM contract if he has another strong season.

2013 Contract Issues: San Diego Padres

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Each year, MLBTR looks ahead to the contract issues facing the 30 MLB teams. We’ll lead off with the Padres this year:

Eligible For Free Agency (3)

  • Mark Kotsay – Kotsay signed a $1.25MM contract with the Padres this past offseason and has eight hits and a homer in a limited role so far in 2012. He'll turn 37 this December, but the Padres figure to have interest in retaining him on a minor league deal if he continues hitting.
  • Jeff Suppan - One start into the season it's too early to say whether the right-hander will have a role on next year's team. Perhaps another minor league deal will work for both sides.
  • Jeremy Hermida - Like Kotsay, Hermida's an extra outfielder who won't necessarily have a place on the 2013 Padres. At 28, he's the younger of the two.

Contract Options (3)

  • Huston Street: $9MM mutual option which the club can decline for $500K. Dan Mennella recently discussed the Padres' choices, reminding us that a midsummer trade is possible.
  • Jason Bartlett: $5.5MM club option with a $1.5MM buyout. Though the option can vest during the season, Bartlett doesn't appear to figure in to the Padres' long-term plans.
  • Orlando Hudson: $8MM club option with a $2MM buyout. Again, it seems unlikely that the Padres will commit a significant part of their payroll to an aging middle infielder whose offensive production has dropped off.

Arbitration Eligible (13)

Headley leads a large Padres arbitration class that could theoretically cost $30MM in 2013. It's unlikely that they'll all be tendered contracts, however, and Moseley and Owings might already be considered non-tender candidates. Padres director of baseball operations Josh Stein will still have enough arb cases on his hands to keep busy next winter.

2013 Payroll Obligation

The Padres have a 2013 payroll commitment of just $11.475MM, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. GM Josh Byrnes figures to have some payroll flexibility once arbitration raises are accounted for even if the team's payroll remains relatively low.

Quick Hits: Gonzalez, Mota, Red Sox

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Brewers shortstop Alex Gonzalez has torn his right ACL and is expected to miss the rest of the season, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (Twitter links). It's another setback for the Brewers, who have also lost Mat Gamel and Chris Narveson to season-ending injuries. Gonzalez's vesting option for 2013 is no longer in play, as Haudricourt notes. Here are today's links…

Outrighted To Triple-A: Harris, Eldred

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We’ll track the latest outright assignments here…

  • The Reds announced that they have outrighted Willie Harris to Triple-A (Twitter link). The utility player has appeared in 19 games this year, but has just three hits and two walks.
  • The Tigers outrighted first baseman/designated hitter Brad Eldred to Triple-A, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. Eldred hit .388/.444/1.013 with 13 homers in 90 Triple-A plate appearances to start the season and the Tigers called him up for five games. In parts of eight Triple-A seasons, the 31-year-old has a .260/.327/.536 line.

Minor Moves: Martinez-Esteve

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Here are the latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Mariners released infielder Eddy Martinez-Esteve, Larry Stone of the Seattle Times tweets. The 28-year-old spent seven minor league seasons with the Giants before joining the Mariners' organization in time for the 2012 campaign. Martinez-Esteve has a .295/.382/.431 line as a professional since being selected by the Giants in the second round of the 2004 draft.

NL East Notes: Harper, Hamels, Rizzo, Brown

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Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels created a stir last night by admitting he hit Nationals rookie Bryce Harper intentionally. Though Harper didn’t publicly express frustration at being hit, GM Mike Rizzo fired back at Hamels this morning. The details and other NL East-related notes…

  • Rizzo called Hamels' act the most "classless, gutless" thing he's seen in his career, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. “Cole Hamels says he’s old school? He’s the polar opposite of old school,” Rizzo said. “He’s fake tough." I’d recommend reading Kilgore’s entire piece for the details.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports points out that Hamels won't be signing with the Nationals next offseason and writes that Rizzo will be lucky if he is not reprimanded for his comments.
  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com notes that there's "nothing doing" with respect to an extension for Hamels (Twitter link).
  • Morosi expects Harper to stay in the Major Leagues for good, since he's played too well to be sent down to the minor leagues (video link).
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Rizzo's comments were an overreaction to legitimate old school play from Hamels (video link).
  • Bill Ladson of MLB.com suggests the Nationals may make a trade instead of relying on Xavier Nady and Roger Bernadina in left field (Twitter link).
  • Jim Callis of Baseball America hasn't given up on Phillies prospect Domonic Brown despite his struggles. Brown could still hit for a high average with 20 homers per season to go along with plus speed and arm strength, Callis writes.

Luhnow On Astros’ Trade Candidates

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The 13-15 Astros have scored more runs than they’ve allowed so far this season, but they’re still expected to be sellers at the summer trade deadline. GM Jeff Luhnow acknowledged to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he'll consider trades that add talent to the organization. 

“If we have pieces on our club that are in demand by other clubs and we get enough future value for them to make up for the short-term loss, we’ll consider every opportunity,” Luhnow told Rosenthal.

The GM expects rival teams to have interest in some of his players late this summer. Left-hander Wandy Rodriguez, closer Brett Myers, first baseman Carlos Lee and reliever Brandon Lyon are playing well, but Luhnow said he’s not actively looking to make trades yet.

“We need those guys right now,” Luhnow said. “I’m not in any rush to have any conversations about our veteran players.”

Rodriguez, Myers and Lee have $10MM or more remaining on their contracts and relative to other middle relievers, Lyon’s $5.5MM salary is hardly a bargain. The Astros would presumably need to absorb a considerable percentage of their veteran players’ contracts to obtain highly-regarded prospects in trades.

Yankees Notes: Soriano, Robertson, Rivera

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Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is expected to miss the rest of the 2012 season after tearing his ACL last week. Here are some links explaining the long-term impact of Rivera’s injury on the Yankees’ bullpen:

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggests Rafael Soriano may contemplate hitting free agency in search of a long-term contract after the season if he takes over for Rivera and pitches well. Soriano has a $13MM player option for 2013.
  • David Robertson will earn considerably more through arbitration next year if he becomes the closer. The right-hander, who is under team control through 2014, could become a candidate for a long-term deal if he can handle closing, Sherman writes. An extension would keep Robertson in place for years to come and help the Yankees keep their payroll under the upcoming luxury tax threshold of $189MM.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports wonders how much of a pay cut the Yankees can expect Rivera to take if they re-sign him this offseason. He suggests a 10% reduction to $13.5MM could work for both sides in 2013.
  • The majority of MLBTR readers believe Robertson should replace Rivera according to our weekend poll.

Quick Hits: Weaver, Komatsu, Sandoval

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On this date last year, Twins left-hander Francisco Liriano no-hit the White Sox. Here are some links for Thursday afternoon, starting with a note on Jered Weaver, who no-hit Liriano's Twins last night…

  • Weaver pitched a no-hitter for his hometown team in front of his fans and family last night and as Scott Miller of CBSSports.com writes, it's for days like yesterday that the right-hander signed a long-term deal with the Angels. Weaver signed a five-year, $85MM contract last summer instead of testing the open market, where he likely would have obtained a larger guarantee. So far this deal seems to be working well for both sides.
  • Outfielder Erik Komatsu expects to learn if he has a new team by tomorrow, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The Cardinals designated the Rule 5 pick for assignment earlier in the week and other MLB teams now have the chance to claim him off of waivers.
  • Pablo Sandoval is expected to miss four to six weeks with a fractured hamate bone, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported (on Twitter). The Giants are calling up Conor Gillaspie for now, and it appears they'll rely on their internal options while Sandoval's out.

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