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Outrighted To Triple-A: Lopez, Carroll

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Here are the latest outright assignments from around MLB…

  • Rodrigo Lopez cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Iowa, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com tweets. The Cubs designated the veteran right-hander for assignment yesterday.
  • The Nationals announced that they outrighted outfielder Brett Carroll to Triple-A (Twitter link). Carroll, who was designated for assignment earlier this month, has accepted the assignment to Syracuse. The 29-year-old has a .201/.280/.319 line in 324 MLB plate appearances and experience at all three outfield positions.

Chris Narveson To Undergo Season-Ending Operation

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Brewers left-hander Chris Narveson told reporters, including MLB.com's Adam McCalvy, that he needs season-ending surgery on his pitching shoulder. The operation will repair a partially torn rotator cuff and require between six and nine months of rehab.

The Brewers moved right-hander Marco Estrada to Narveson's spot in the rotation, so they have enough starting pitching for now. Estrada struck out nine over five innings while allowing one run in his first start of the season on Saturday. Wily Peralta, who was recently optioned back to the minor leagues, provides GM Doug Melvin with another internal candidate for the rotation.

Narveson, 30, made 28 starts for the Brewers in each of the past two seasons. He has a 4.67 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 394 2/3 innings as a big leaguer and will be arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason.

NL West Notes: Ethier, Lincecum

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Dodgers left-hander Sandy Koufax struck out 18 Cubs on this date in 1962, tying Bob Feller for a share of what was then the single game strikeout record. Here are today's links from the NL West…

  • Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said he’s "always been inclined to keep" Andre Ethier, Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times reports. Agent Nez Balelo has said his client is open to discussing a long-term contract during the season, assuming the incoming ownership group takes over the team at the end of the month. Colletti said yesterday that he has already talked to the team's new owners about an extension for Ethier.
  • Scouts wonder if Tim Lincecum’s right hip is bothering him, but the Giants right-hander told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that, “none of that is true.” Though Lincecum is off to a slow start, he prefers to focus on the positives. “We get caught up in negatives so much and so easily, especially with so many games,” he said. Lincecum is under contract through 2013, and remains a candidate for a longer-term deal.

AL Central Notes: Royals, Tigers, Humber

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Adam Dunn (.916 OPS) and Alex Rios (.934 OPS) are off to strong starts for the 10-6 White Sox. If Dunn and Rios keep this up, their team may be much more interesting than most pundits expected. Here are the latest links from the AL Central…

  • Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star takes a long look at the Royals and points out that their abundance of minor league talent hasn't yet translated into a compelling on-field product. The Royals "deserve every bit of venom you can muster for a franchise that’s been a ubiquitous letdown for most of the last two decades," Mellinger writes. The team is in the midst of an 11-game losing streak and has started to pull back some of its "Our Time" marketing. “We’ve got to win games," GM Dayton Moore said. "Because we can’t lose our fans for the summer.”
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs suggests the Royals resemble a .500 team much more than it seems at first glance.
  • The Tigers announced that they have transferred right-hander Al Alburquerque to the 60-day DL. The move opens up a 40-man roster spot for Detroit.
  • Tom Verducci of SI.com points out that Philip Humber, author of the 21st perfect game in MLB history, is in many ways every general manager's dream. The White Sox didn't have to pay for the right-hander's signing bonus or wait for him to recover from Tommy John surgery, but they’ve developed him into a valuable MLB starter. White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper told Verducci that he and Humber kept things relatively simple. "What we tried to do was tap into his best asset: his stuff," Cooper said.
  • Cameron explained Humber’s evolution as a pitcher at FanGraphs yesterday. The 29-year-old has been using his slider effectively and his fastball velocity is up.

NL East Notes: Jurrjens, Utley, Tejada, Wright

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Here are some links from the NL East on the day Chipper Jones turns 40 and Jose Reyes returns to Citi Field…

  • The Braves optioned right-hander Jair Jurrjens to Triple-A Gwinnett following a disappointing start against the Dodgers yesterday. The right-hander has a 9.37 ERA through four starts, so he's returning to the minors, where he last spent considerable time in 2007. Jurrjens' path to free agency could be affected if he spends two months or more in the minor leagues.
  • Phillies manager Charlie Manuel hasn’t ruled out the possibility of playing Chase Utley at first base when he's activated from the disabled list, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. If Utley returns before Ryan Howard, the Phillies could mix things up defensively. "We'll figure that out when we get there," Manuel said. 
  • Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada has the unenviable task of replacing Reyes, but as Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com shows, the 22-year-old has already earned the confidence of his team. Meanwhile, Tejada says Reyes was a "great teammate" in New York before signing a $106MM free agent contract with the Marlins this past offseason. 
  • Ken Davidoff of the New York Post suggests there's no rush to lock David Wright up long-term despite the third baseman's hot start. Davidoff points out that it's April and that Wright is under team control through 2013. If he's still hitting this well when summer trade talks begin in earnest, the Mets will face a major decision, but we aren't there yet.

Update On Timeline For Calling Up Prospects

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Starting this week MLB teams can call all prospects up without putting them on the fast track to free agency. If a prospect’s big league service clock starts after today, he’ll be under team control through at least 2018.

Today represents the 20th day of the minor league season by my count. This means prospects on 40-man rosters such as Trevor Bauer, Bryce Harper and Danny Hultzen will have spent the requisite 20 days on optional assignments following today. Even if their teams call them up tomorrow for the remainder of the MLB season, they will accrue a maximum of 162 days of service — short of the 172 days required for a full year.

For the past few days it's been safe for teams to call up prospects not currently on the 40-man roster. Players such as Brett Jackson and Shelby Miller didn’t have to spend 20 days on an optional assignment, they just had to spend enough time in the minor leagues to ensure that they’ll fall short of 172 days in the Majors in 2012. 

As always, it’s important to note that service time is just one element of a team's decision-making process and that a substantial proportion of top prospects get optioned to the minor leagues early in their careers. The player's readiness and the team's needs generally trump service time considerations. But service time matters a great deal for elite young players.

Teams wishing to prevent their prospects from obtaining super two status following the 2014 season can keep prospects in the minor leagues until late June. This should ensure that the players are only arbitration eligible three times.

Here's a complete look at the timeline for calling up top prospects.

Minor Moves: Rivera, Miller, Wolf, Thurston

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Keeping track of the day's minor moves…

  • The Red Sox signed catcher Mike Rivera, according to the Long Island Ducks' official website.  Rivera had been playing with the independent team after being released by the Brewers during Spring Training.  The 35-year-old catcher has 605 plate appearances over nine Major League seasons, mostly with Milwaukee.
  • The Rangers released Justin Miller, Anthony Andro of FOXSportsSouthwest tweets. The right-hander has a partial tear of his right UCL.
  • The Orioles released right-hander Ross Wolf, MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli tweets. Wolf, 29, posted a 4.76 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 73 2/3 innings of relief for Houston's top affiliate last year. 
  • The Phillies released Joe Thurston, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Thurston signed with the Phillies last month after the Astros released him late in Spring Training. The 32-year-old has a .226/.305/.323 line in 384 MLB plate appearances with the Dodgers, Phillies, Red Sox, Cardinals and Marlins. He has appeared in one MLB game since 2009.

Rangers Notes: Darvish, Hamilton, Rodriguez, Miller

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No team in baseball has scored more runs or allowed fewer runs than the Rangers, so it's no wonder they're 13-3. Here are some Rangers-related links as they prepare to host the Yankees…

  • GM Jon Daniels tells Tyler Kepner of the New York Times that the team didn't mind potentially overpaying during the bidding process for Yu Darvish. “We said, ‘Here’s how we evaluate him, let’s go to the top of our means, whatever we’re willing to pay,’” Daniels said. “It was not about getting the best possible deal. It was about getting the player. And we had to be O.K. with that.”
  • One MLB agent said told Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com that Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton has a strong case for an extension, despite his history of off-field and injury issues. "He's done nothing but perform for them, and nothing he's done has affected him there,” the person said. “He's always performed there, and he continues to perform."
  • Ivan Rodriguez and the Rangers have discussed the possibility of working together in the future, Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com reports. "It would be good for our organization and he wants to stay involved in baseball, so we're looking forward to working something out," CEO Nolan Ryan said of his former battery-mate. Rodriguez formally announced his retirement today.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Rangers have the best lineup in baseball and may be the best team in the game right now (video link). 
  • The Rangers released Justin Miller, Anthony Andro of FOXSportsSouthwest tweets. The right-hander has a partial tear of his right UCL. Here's a complete list of the day's minor moves.

Orioles To Sign Bill Hall

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The Orioles will sign utility player Bill Hall to a minor league deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Hall will replace Josh Bell at Triple-A, according to Rosenthal.

Hall had signed a minor league deal with the Yankees in February, but elected free agency earlier this month. The 32-year-old played for the Astros and Giants in 2011, posting a .211/.261/.314 line in 199 plate appearances. He played second base and left field last year, but has MLB experience at a wide array of other positions.

Rays Expected To Sign Hideki Matsui

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The Rays are expected to sign designated hitter Hideki Matsui, Jack Curry of the YES Network reports (Twitter links). Matsui, who turns 38 in June, could sign a minor league contract with the Rays before long.

Matsui spent last year with the Athletics and posted a .251/.321/.375 line with 12 home runs and 28 doubles in 585 plate appearances. However, he finished strong, posting a .295/.353/.425 line in the second half. Matsui, a Wasserman Media Group client, has been preparing for the 2012 season in the New York area, according to Curry.

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