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Minor Moves: Dane Sardinha

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The latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • Catcher Dane Sardinha failed a recent physical because of an elbow issue, and his minor league deal with the Orioles wasn't completed, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets.  Sardinha agreed to terms with Baltimore earlier in the month. The 32-year-old appeared in 15 games for the Phillies last year and also has big league experience with the Tigers and Reds. He has a .216/.262/.328 line in 11 minor league seasons.

Yankees Notes: Rivera, Betances, Rodriguez

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It sounds as though 2012 may be the final season of what will surely be a Hall of Fame career for Mariano Rivera. Here’s the latest on the Yankees and the back end of their bullpen as Spring Training 2012 gets underway…

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post doubts the Yankees will spend on the best free agent closer available, though it’s a strategy they might have chosen in the recent past. Brian Cashman believes it’s unwise to sign relievers other than Rivera to significant contracts, and the GM aims to keep payroll under $189MM by 2014.
  • David Robertson and Rafael Soriano are internal candidates to close if Rivera retires, as Sherman points out. Many baseball people believe the Yankees should use prospect Dellin Betances out of the bullpen, but he has just two MLB games to his name at this point.
  • The Yankees don’t expect Alex Rodriguez to be a vital part of their team four or five years from now, but there’s $143MM remaining on his contract, so the team needs to get as much value as possible from A-Rod.
  • The Yankees will obtain another closer, but they won’t replace Rivera, Sherman writes.
  • Robertson, Soriano and Joba Chamberlain told Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger that they aren't thinking about replacing Rivera just yet.

Cubs Designate Blake DeWitt For Assignment

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FEBRUARY 18TH: DeWitt has apparently cleared waivers and has until Wednesday to decide whether to sign with the Cubs as a non-roster invitee, tweets Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.

FEBRUARY 6TH: The Cubs announced that they designated infielder Blake DeWitt for assignment. The move creates 40-man roster space for Adrian Cardenas, who the Cubs claimed from Oakland today.

DeWitt, 26, posted a .265/.305/.413 line in 243 plate appearances in 2011, playing left field, second base and third base. The 2004 first rounder owns a .260/.329/.385 career line in four seasons with the Dodgers and Cubs.

DeWitt and the Cubs had agreed to a $1.1MM salary for 2012 earlier in the offseason, avoiding arbitration. The Cubs could attempt to deal DeWitt, but if they release him, I expect they'll be responsible for one sixth of his salary (approximately $183K). He was arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason.

Quick Hits: Arbitration, Hamilton, Castillo, Kazmir

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Condolences go out to the family of Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter, who passed away today following a long bout with cancer. He was 57. Carter hit .262/.335/.439 and made eleven All-Star Games in his 19 seasons, 12 of which came with the Expos. He backstopped the Mets to the 1986 World Championship. Here is some news from around the league…

  • The 142 players who filed for arbitration last month averaged a 112% raise reports the AP (via ESPN). That's down from 123% last offseason and the lowest average raise since 106% in 2007. Check out our Arbitration Tracker for the answers to all of your arbitration questions.
  • Rangers GM Jon Daniels reiterated that contract extension talks with Josh Hamilton are on hold, reports Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas. "The priority needs to be his recovery and his family and, secondarily, getting ready for the season," said the GM. "We're not going to get in the way of those things with contract talk.
  • The Diamondbacks have signed 16-year-old Dominican right-hander Luis Castillo for $80K according to a release, which said his fastball sits 84-87 mph. He also throws a curveball and a changeup.
  • The trade market is likely to heat up as the season progresses, writes MLB.com's Richard Justice. As he explains, most GMs feel confident in their team this time of year and prefer to take their time evaluating needs.
  • Scott Kazmir, who had been scheduled to pitch in front of scouts yesterday, won’t audition until Friday, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. The left-handed free agent is feeling well, Olney writes.
  • Brandon Webb is throwing painlessly off of flat ground, agent Jonathan Maurer told Olney. Webb will throw in front of scouts at some point, Olney tweets.
  • Newsday’s Ken Davidoff adds up teams’ payroll commitments for 2015 and beyond and finds that nine clubs — the Orioles, Cubs, Indians, Astros, Royals, Mets, Padres, Giants and Mariners — haven’t committed a thing for ’15 or beyond.
  • Yahoo’s Jeff Passan examines the market for the top remaining free agents, including Roy Oswalt, Mike Gonzalez and a crowd of designated hitters.
  • Joe Jordan, the Phillies' new director of player development, breaks down a number of the team's top prospects with Joe Berkery of the Philadelphia Daily News.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

AL East Links: Kazmir, Orioles, Epstein, Wakefield

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The Red Sox announced minor league deals with Ross Ohlendorf and Mauro Gomez earlier today. Here are the rest of the links from their division…

  • The Red Sox will not be one of the teams in attendance for Scott Kazmir's workout tomorrow, reports Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). The southpaw's audition was supposed to be today, but it was pushed back.
  • Korean pitching prospect Seong-Min Kim originally agreed to a $575K deal with the Orioles, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports.
  • Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun hears that while MLB hasn't approved the contract between the Orioles and the 17-year-old left-hander, MLB didn't technically void it. In any case it seems the deal for Kim will not go through as originally announced.
  • A Red Sox official expects compensation for Theo Epstein to be finalized "very soon," Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets. The Red Sox and Cubs recently sent briefs to the commissioner's office explaining their perspective on the issue of how to compensate Boston for Epstein's departure to Chicago.
  • Agent Barry Meister didn't comment on whether Tim Wakefield will accept a minor league deal from the Red Sox, Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com tweets. It doesn't appear that Wakefield will accept the offer, Edes writes.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

A.J. Burnett Rumors: Thursday

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Multiple teams are discussing right-hander A.J. Burnett with the Yankees, according to yesterday's rumors. The right-hander vetoed a trade to the Angels, so it's down to the Pirates and at least one unknown club. Burnett will earn $33MM between now and the end of the 2013 season, and the question of how much money the Yankees absorb figures to shape trade talks. Here are the latest rumors as we await resolution on a deal:

  • The Yankees and Pirates are nearing a deal that would send Burnett to Pittsburgh for two marginal prospects and $13-15MM in salary relief, reports George A. King III of The New York Post. "It will happen this weekend,'' said King's source. "Probably Saturday.''
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Yankees have countered the Pirates offer with a sliding scale, meaning they'd have to surrender lesser prospects the closer they get to eating $15MM of the $33MM left on Burnett's contract. He says it would be an upset if he's not traded before the Yankees open camp on Sunday (all Twitter links).
  • Ken Davidoff of Newsday reminds us (on Twitter) that MLB will need to approve any trade because of the large amount of cash changing hands.
  • The Yankees and Pirates know which players would go from Pittsburgh to New York if the Pirates take on $13MM in salary, Davidoff tweets.
  • The Yankees and Pirates should complete a deal within 24 hours, according to Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • A team other than the Pirates and Indians made a proposal for Burnett yesterday and the Yankees appear to be approaching a decision, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (Twitter links). Burnett told the Yankees three weeks ago that he would block a trade to Anaheim.
  • Considerable optimism exists that the Yankees and Pirates will work out a deal, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Heyman adds that the Yankees will pay $20MM of Burnett's contract.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Reds To Sign Brett Tomko

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The Reds have agreed to sign right-hander Brett Tomko to a minor league deal, MLBTR has learned. The 14-year veteran split the 2011 season between the Rangers and their Triple-A affiliate.

Tomko appeared in eight games for the Rangers last year, posting a 4.58 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 in 17 2/3 innings. The 38-year-old Paragon Sports International client also pitched 108 1/3 innings for Texas' top affiliate, starting 18 games. Tomko broke in with the Reds in 1997, spending three seasons in Cincinnati before being traded to Seattle in the Ken Griffey Jr. deal.

Red Sox Sign Ross Ohlendorf

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6:14pm: The contract will pay Ohlendorf $900K in the big leagues, reports WEEI.com's Alex Speier. Speier also confirmed that Ohlendorf has a minor league option remaining. The Red Sox control the right-hander through the 2014 season.

8:07am: The Red Sox signed Ross Ohlendorf, Peter Gammons of MLB Network tweets. Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe confirms that the right-hander is in Red Sox camp in Fort Myers, Florida and MLBTR has confirmed that the sides agreed to a minor league deal.

Ohlendorf pitched respectably out of the Pirates' rotation in 2009-10, when he posted a 3.98 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 285 innings over the course of 50 starts. However, the 29-year-old Princeton graduate struggled in 2011, posting an 8.15 ERA in nine starts and allowing nine home runs in 38 2/3 innings. The Pirates released him after the season.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Rays Sign Chris Gimenez

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The Rays signed catcher Chris Gimenez to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to Spring Training, according to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune (Twitter link). Gimenez elected free agency earlier in the week, not long after the Mariners designated him for assignment.

The Mariners non-tendered Gimenez in December, re-signing him to a Major League deal soon afterwards. The 29-year-old has a .171/.279/.272 line in 267 career plate appearances from 2009-11. He also has experience at first base and the corner outfield positions.

Latest On Jorge Soler

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At least seven teams have interest in 19-year-old Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler, according to the most recent rumblings from around MLB. The Yankees and Phillies are said to have serious interest, and the Blue Jays, Orioles, Red Sox, Cubs and White Sox also appear to be in the mix. Soler isn't a fully fledged free agent yet, but that hasn't slowed the rumor mill down. The latest:

  • GM Ruben Amaro Jr. confirmed the Phillies' interest to Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "It may come down to where he wants to play and, of course, the money," Amaro said.The Phillies have stayed in close contact with Soler, taking him to dinner several times, according to Brookover.
  • The Indians have worked Soler out at their Dominican academy several times, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets.
  • Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN The Magazine tweets that he would be very surprised if the Yankees sign Soler.

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