Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Nationals Release Chris Snyder

By | at

The Nationals announced that they have granted catcher Chris Snyder his unconditional release (Twitter link). The LSW Baseball client is now a free agent.

Snyder's contract included a clause that allowed him to request his release if he wasn't on the MLB roster by March 24th. A trade seemed likely as recently as yesterday, with teams such as the Angels, Pirates, Phillies and Rays seeking catching depth. Presumably some or all of those clubs will express interest in signing Snyder.

The 32-year-old appeared in 76 games for the Astros this past season. He posted a .176/.295/.308 batting line in 258 plate appearances, adding seven home runs. The Astros declined a $4MM option on Snyder after the regular season, choosing a $500K buyout instead.

Blue Jays Claim Guillermo Moscoso On Waivers

By | at

SATURDAY, 4:16pm: The Blue Jays announced that they have claimed Moscoso off of waivers from the Royals.  With the addition, Toronto now has 40 players on the 40-man roster.

FRIDAY, 1:37pm: An unnamed MLB team claimed right-hander Guillermo Moscoso, the Royals announced (Twitter links). Moscoso, who was placed on unconditional release waivers two days ago, has until March 20th to accept the claim or terminate his Major League contract and elect free agency.

The Royals claimed Moscoso from Colorado in November after he posted a 6.12 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 50 innings for the Rockies last year. The 29-year-old started 21 games for the 2011 Athletics, posting a 3.38 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 128 innings. He also played briefly with the Rangers in 2009-10.

Yankees Sign Brennan Boesch

By | at

SATURDAY: Yanks General Manager Brian Cashman says that Boesch is on a split contract and will earn $1.5MM in the majors and $500K if he's in the minors, according to Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter).

FRIDAY: The Yankees have officially announced the team's signing of Brennan Boesch, tweets Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.  

The Yankees agreed to terms with the free agent outfielder earlier today, as reported by Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (all Twitter links). The Scott Boras client obtained a Major League deal worth $1.5MM plus incentives, Heyman reports. Boesch will earn $600K in incentives based on plate appearances.

The Tigers released Boesch two days ago after discussing possible trades with a number of interested teams. Ultimately Boesch's $2.3MM salary proved to be an obstacle, and the Tigers released him without getting anything in return. After Boesch's release, the Mets, Red Sox and Astros appeared to have some interest in signing him.

Boesch appeared in 132 games for the Tigers last year, posting a .240/.286/.372 batting line with 12 home runs in 503 plate appearances. The left-handed hitting 27-year-old remains on track to remain under team control through 2015.

Minor Moves: Cortes, Reifer, Flacco

By | at

We'll track the latest minor moves here…

  • Righty Dan Cortes has signed with the Diamondbacks, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports on Twitter.  The one-time top-100 prospect last pitched in 2011 for the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate, tossing 39 innings and logging a 5.08 ERA, before he sat out the 2012 season.
  • The Cardinals have released right-handed relief pitcher Adam Reifer after previously outrighting him off of the team's 40-man roster, Eddy further tweets.  Reifer, 26, spent the last two seasons at Triple-A Memphis and last year posted a 4.90 ERA over 64 1/3 innings.
  • The Red Sox acquired minor league first baseman Mike Flacco from the Orioles for cash considerations, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (on Twitter). The Orioles could get a player to be named instead of cash, Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com reports (on Twitter). Flacco, the brother of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, spent the 2012 season at Class A and Double-A. The 26-year-old posted a .214/.284/.330 batting line with eight home runs in 396 total plate appearances last year. The Orioles originally selected him in the 31st round of the 2009 draft.

International Signings: Mariners

By | at

The latest international signings from around MLB…

  • The Mariners signed Dominican right-hander Jose Santiago for $205K, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. The 19-year-old is a converted catcher who has been pitching for less than a year. He stands 6’2” and throws a fastball in the 91-93 mph range, according to Badler. In addition to his fastball, Santiago throws a breaking ball and a developing change-up.

National League Notes: Cedeno, Diamondbacks, Mets

By | at

Three years ago this time a memorable rumor made its way onto the pages of MLBTR, as ESPN reported the possibility of a Ryan Howard for Albert Pujols swap. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. quickly dismissed the report that the Phillies had talked internally about the idea, saying "I don't know who you're talking to, but that's a lie." It’s rare for such an exciting rumor to circulate during Spring Training, so it generated lots of discussion. Ultimately the rumors quieted down and the deal never materialized. Here are some National League notes for Friday morning…

How To Use MLBTR

By | at

An explanation of the many ways to enjoy MLB Trade Rumors:

  • If the main site doesn't load perfectly on your cell phone, try the more mobile-friendly mlbtraderumors.mobi.  It's a simple page that shows you just the headlines and lets you click through to what you want to read.
  • If you're an iPhone user, be sure to pick up our app for the latest news and rumors. MLBTR just introduced an Android app as well.
  • If you want only the hard news in the form of transactions, our transactions page is the ticket.  You can also get only the transactions via Twitter or RSS. 
  • To return to the main page at any time, just click on the title or the Home button on the navigation bar below the title. 
  • The navigation bar will cover many of your needs.  Use the About dropdown to learn about this site or any of its writers. 
  • The Contact button takes you to a page where you can write an email message to the MLBTR writers.  If you have a link to a rumor we've missed, please send it in through the Contact page!  Also use the Contact page to inquire about advertising on MLBTR.
  • The Archives dropdown shows you 15 months worth.  If you need to go back further, click on Site Map at the very bottom of the page.  Site Map also lists out every MLBTR post category, including players, teams, and features.
  • The Tools dropdown takes you to a number of different places. The MLBTR Widget allows website owners to easily add a constantly updated box with all of MLBTR's headlines to their sites.
  • Also under the tools tab is our Transaction Tracker, which enables you to search about anything and everything to do with baseball trades, signings and extensions. 
  • Under the tools tab, you'll find a link to our Forums, a message board community of MLBTR readers with over 9,100 members.  You can discuss any baseball-related topic on the Forums, and start your own thread too.
  • MLBTR's Agency Database lets you know which agencies represent which players. It's searchable by team, agency or player, so be sure to check it out.
  • Feeds By Team is a very useful dropdown.  Hover over it to see all 30 teams.  Click on the team name to bring up a page of every post containing information about that team, with the latest on top.  These are the same pages you'll find if you go to the Rumors By Team section on the sidebar and select A's Rumors, Angels Rumors, etc.  
  • Also under the Feeds By Team dropdown, you'll find RSS and Twitter buttons.  Those links allow you to follow a single team's rumors via RSS or Twitter.  Did you know we have a separate Twitter account for each of the 30 teams?  For example you can follow @mlbtrtigers, where you would get the latest Tigers updates.
  • You can also follow Tim Dierkes on Twitter for more MLBTR content.
  • On the far right of the Navigation bar, you'll see buttons for Twitter, Facebook, and RSS.  MLBTR has over 255,000 Twitter followers, over 70,000 Facebook fans, and over 53,000 RSS subscribers.  Sign up for these and you'll be the first to receive all of our posts.
  • Be sure to check out your favorite team's MLBTR page on Facebook so you can receive and comment on the latest rumors.
  • On to the sidebar.  It begins with a list of our Top Stories, which our writers update any time major hard news occurs.  Go here for a quick update on the most important stories.  Below that is the site's Search Box, where you can type in any player's name and get the latest on him. 
  • MLBTR Features has all kinds of goodies, including our free agent lists.  Many of the MLBTR Features are constantly updated by our writers, so be assured that our free agent lists are always fresh. 
  • Below Features you've got headlines for all the Recent Posts, in case you'd rather not scroll to see all the headlines.  Then there's a box for our Mailing List, where you can sign up to receive a daily email containing MLBTR's posts.  Use this option if you don't need the news as soon as possible.
  • Next we have Featured Posts, where you'll find original work from MLBTR writers we consider noteworthy. 
  • There's also a contact form in case you need to reach MLBTR.

Texas Notes: Ryan, Red Sox, Luhnow, Crane

By | at

Nolan Ryan doesn't seem pleased with the Rangers' re-structured front office, and there are rumblings that he could leave the organization. There's no denying Ryan's stature in the game, but he's acting "like a big baby" in the view of Yahoo's Jeff Passan. The Hall of Famer has made the mistake of picking a fight at a time that he has few alternatives and limited leverage, Passan writes. Here are more links from the state of Texas…

  • Rangers senior scout Don Welke is in Florida looking at Red Sox relievers, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.  Welke is also scouting Yankees right-hander Joba Chamberlain, as we heard yesterday.  Both Boston and New York had their own scouts watching the Rangers play today.
  • The circumstances behind the Barret Loux/Jake Brigham trade between the Rangers and Cubs are outlined by MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
  • Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported two days ago that there's sentiment within the Rangers organization that Ryan will stay with the club.
  • GM Jeff Luhnow told Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal that the Astros are looking forward to determining which young players will become part of the team’s core. That’s part of Luhnow's motivation for passing on experienced free agents and relying on younger players. “If you take away their job and give it to a veteran, you delay finding it out. It doesn't push the organization forward," Luhnow explained.
  • Though some fans would like to see the Astros spend more, owner Jim Crane pointed out that it’s not the fans’ money. “This is a private company, even though it's got a public flair to it,” Crane told Costa. “If they want to write a check for 10 million bucks, they can give me a call."

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Phillies Notes: Manuel, Halladay, Howard

By | at

The Phillies were a .500 team in 2012 after winning five consecutive NL East titles. They enter the 2013 season with a payroll in excess of $150MM and new additions such as Michael Young, Delmon Young, John Lannan and Mike Adams. Here's the latest on the Phillies…

  • Phillies manager Charlie Manuel told the Associated Press that he wants to continue managing the Phillies after the 2013 season (link via ESPN.com). Manuel, who's entering the final year of his contract with the team, said he has no plans to retire. "I'm not ready for somebody to tell me to go home. I'm not ready to quit managing." Ryne Sandberg looms as a possible replacement for Manuel.
  • Phillies second baseman Chase Utley has drawn positive reviews from scouts this spring, but there are some questions surrounding Roy Halladay and Ryan Howard, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News writes. Halladay, a potential 2014 free agent, hasn’t looked good in recent outings. “I’ve got to believe he’s just working to get ready at this point,” one scout told Martino.
  • Howard "was hobbling around a little and struggled versus good stuff" in the words of a scout. This could become a long-term problem for the Phillies, who owe Howard $105MM through 2017.

Tigers Weighing Trade Options

By | at

The Tigers have uncertainty in their bullpen, and they could use a right-handed hitting outfielder. They also have six starters capable of pitching at the MLB level, which has led to speculation that Rick Porcello could be dealt. While the team doesn’t seem close to making any trades, general manager Dave Dombrowski acknowledged that he continues to consider various options, Chris Iott of MLive.com reports.

"I'm not lacking for trade phone calls," Dombrowski said. "That's not any different. I've had a lot of those phone calls. It's more people calling us at this point."

The Tigers seem more likely to open the season with Bruce Rondon or a committee of relievers closing games, Iott writes. The team may also rely on internal options in left field, where the left-handed hitting Andy Dirks will be more than a platoon player. Other teams have interest in Porcello, but the Tigers would have limited rotation depth if they dealt Porcello and replaced him with Drew Smyly. Instead, Porcello figures to open the season at the MLB level with Smyly pitching in relief or at Triple-A. 

MLBTR reviewed the Tigers’ offseason earlier today.

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

hide arrows scroll to top