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Dodgers Designate Link, Lindsey For Assignment

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The Dodgers have designated reliever Jon Link and first baseman John Lindsey for assignment, the club has confirmed.

Link, a 27-year-old right-hander, made his Major League debut with Los Angeles in 2010, appearing in nine games, after spending time in the Padres and White Sox organizations. For his minor league career, he has a 3.84 ERA, 9.0 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.

Lindsey, 34, debuted in the bigs with the Dodgers in 2010 after a lengthy minor league career. He appeared in 11 games with the big club after a 16-year minors career in which he posted a respectable .284/.361/.478 line in 6,342 plate appearances. Lindsey was a 13th-round pick of the Rockies in 1995.

Minor Moves: Braves, Red Sox, White Sox

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A few minor league moves of note as organizations continue to shuffle their affiliates' rosters…

  • The Braves released left-hander Brett DeVall, a sandwich-round pick in 2008 (40th overall), tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America. DeVall is still only 21, but elbow troubles limited him to just 160 innings at Class A Rome the past two seasons, according to Eddy. For his career, DeVall has a 3.92 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. Atlanta selected DeVall with the pick it received for the loss of Ron Mahay – whom it acquired with Mark Teixeira from Texas – to free agency following the 2007 campaign.
  • The Braves have acquired utilityman Marcus Lemon from the Rangers for a player to be named, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus. Lemon, 23 in June, was a fourth-round pick of Texas in 2006, and has a career .274/.348/.372 line in five minor league campaigns, topping out at Double-A Frisco the past two seasons. He was drafted as a shortstop but began moving around the diamond in 2009.
  • The Red Sox released right-handed reliever Bryce Cox, tweets Eddy. Bryce was a third-round pick out of Rice in 2006, and he was ultimately felled by a 5.7 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 in 96 career outings with Double-A Portland, according to Eddy.
  • The Red Sox also released first baseman Aaron Bates, utility man Ryan Khoury and right-hander Adam Mills, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Bates (who had a cup of coffee with Boston in 2009) and Khoury were selected in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, in the third and 12th rounds, respectively, while Mills went in the ninth round in 2007.
  • The White Sox released infielder C.J. Retherford, tweets Eddy. Retherford, 25, was a fairly promising prospect at Class A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham in 2008 and '09, respectively, but he struggled at two stops last season, notes Eddy. For his four-year minor league career, he has a .273/.327/.442 line.

Quick Hits: Ethier, Buehrle, 2011 Salaries

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A few items of note as Opening Day 2011 winds down …

  • Dodgers GM Ned Colletti confirmed that he and Andre Ethier's agent, Nez Balelo, have had vague discussions about a contract extension for the outfielder, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. We first learned of the extension talks Wednesday, when Balelo issued a statement in which he said the subject had been broached but no formal offer was made.
  • White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle has no idea about whether he factors into the South Siders' long-term plans, writes Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Buehrle is in the final year of a contract extension he signed during the 2007 campaign and said, "if [extension] talks do happen, I'm sure my agent will let me know or the White Sox will let me know."
  • USA Today has published its list of the payrolls of the 30 Major League clubs. Not surprisingly, the Yankees pull in at No. 1 at roughly $202MM while the Royals are No. 30 at roughly $36MM. Interestingly, the AL Central has the most top-10 teams between the White Sox, Twins and Tigers, writes Bob Nightengale.

Phillies Sign Ronnie Belliard

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The Phillies have signed infielder Ronnie Belliard to a minor league contract, tweets Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.

Belliard, released by the Yankees on Monday, will report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, according to Zolecki. Presumably, the move was made for injury insurance at the infield positions, where the Phils are thin between second baseman Chase Utley being shelved and third baseman Placido Polanco coming off offseason elbow surgery.

Yesterday, the Phillies released Luis Castillo, eliminating him from contention for the second-base gig. So, it looks like the Phils will go with Wilson Valdez as the starter there for now.

Belliard, 35, hit .216/.295/.327 in 185 plate appearances for the Dodgers last year, playing first, second and third.

NY Notes: Hernandez, Misch, Yanks Rotation

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One New York team, the Mets, rested today while the other, the Yankees, opened their season with a win over the Tigers. Here are some items of note for each of Gotham's big league ballclubs …

  • Luis Hernandez has decided to remain with the Mets organization after clearing waivers, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The second baseman, rumored at one point during Spring Training to be the favorite to win the starting job at second base, will report to Triple-A Buffalo rather than testing free agency.
  • Similarly, left-hander Pat Misch has opted to stay with the organization after clearing waivers, writes Rubin. Misch, too, will report to Triple-A Buffalo.
  • All the conjecture over the state of the Yankees' rotation came to an end today, at the outset of the regular season, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Despite the attention paid to the state of the Bombers' rotation this offseason and spring, Sherman writes, their starting five was hardly a sure thing in 2010, when they managed to win 95 games and reach the ALCS. As with last season, the lineup and bullpen are very strong, but it will be interesting to see how the spotty rotation plays out and whether GM Brian Cashman makes any in-season moves in the event that things don't work out between A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia. No team's Nos. 1-5 starters are perfect, of course, but as Sherman notes, the Red Sox and Rays appear to have the better rotations in the AL East on paper as of now.

Mets Notes: Castillo, Buyers, Lawsuit

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Here are a few items of note coming out of Mets camp on Friday night …

  • GM Sandy Alderson and manager Terry Collins admitted that Mets fans' disdain for Luis Castillo factored into the team's decision to release the embattled second baseman earlier today, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Collins implied that even if Castillo had played well, fans would have been hard on him at his first sign of struggles. Here are the early reports on where Castillo might and might not land.
  • There is "decent interest" in buying a minority stake in the Mets, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, but the potential partners are apparently insisting on including a clause that would make the team theirs should the Wilpons not be able to afford running the team anymore. This would seem to indicate that the cash from a minority partner might not necessarily solve all the Wilpons' financial troubles.
  • The trustee trying to recover funds from Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme in a lawsuit against Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz is now seeking a total of more than $1 billion, writes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. The previous amount sought by the trustee wasn't far short of $1 billion, so, either way, it's a lot of money. If the Mets' owners lose and have to pay, it could be crippling to their chances of retaining the team, depending on how much they are forced to pay, of course.

Doug Davis To Audition For Teams Next Week

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Free-agent left-hander Doug Davis will work out for teams in Tempe, Arizona, on Thursday, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.

Davis, 35, appeared in just eight games with the Brewers in 2010, suffering from a virus in the lining of his heart and then undergoing surgery to repair a "small tear in his flexor tendon," according to Crasnick (via Twitter). Milwaukee declined to pick up its end of the lefty's $6.5MM option for 2011, granting Davis a $1MM buyout and free agency.

Between his age and recent trouble staying healthy, Davis' prospects of latching on with another team did not look especially great, depending on the terms of a contract he might have been seeking, of course.

However, his agent, Steve Canter, said that Davis has been throwing for two-plus months and that Davis "feels great," tweets Crasnick. And with a few pitchers having already gone down to injury this spring, Davis could seize an opportunity at the right price.

That being said, it's unclear whether Davis would be seeking a Major League or minor league deal. We've already seen the durable Kevin Millwood, who is reportedly seeking one year and $4MM, encounter trouble in securing a big league deal.

In 12 big league seasons, Davis has a 4.38 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9.

Piecoro’s Latest On Paniagua

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It seemed like a simple enough story when the Yankees agreed to terms on a $1.1MM deal with Dominican right-hander Juan Paniagua, who had served a one-year suspension for identity fraud, on March 10 (as first reported by Ben Badler of Baseball America). Earlier this week, though, Badler wrote about the unintended consequences of a since-changed rule, as well as the Diamondbacks' reaction to losing out on the now highly touted prospect.

Today, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic has more on Paniagua's original, voided deal, and the righty's future prospects.

Ultimately, it was the Diamondbacks' decision to void Paniagua's $17K deal, because neither they nor Major League Baseball could verify the player's identity. This after Paniagua — then going by the name Juan Collado — had played for Arizona's Dominican Summer League team in parts of two seasons under an old rule. It allowed international free agents to play for their would-be teams while their contracts awaited approval from the commissioner's office.

Now, Paniagua's new deal with the Yankees is still awaiting approval, and under the new rules, he may not play for the Yankees organization until a decision is rendered. It bears watching whether the new deal will be approved, because, according to Piecoro, that is not a given:

There still is a lot of skepticism about whether he’ll actually get off the island and into the U.S. The fact that he changed his name, but not his birthday, is a red flag.

We’ll see if he actually gets to the states to play in the minors and if he actually gets the $1.1 million.

Paniagua has apparently maintained all along that his birthday is April 4, 1990, even when he was going by the Collado surname.

Nevertheless, Piecoro writes that a situation like Paniagua's — in which the player benefits financially — is extremely rare; the great majority of international free agents whose contracts are voided for fraud end up losing money in the long run. So, although Arizona lost out on what looks like a promising player, this doesn't seem to be a very common happening.

Quick Hits: Marcum, Crede, Contraction

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A few items of note for Thursday evening. On this day in 2005, the Committee on Government Reform held its now-infamous 11-hour hearing, during which former and current players such as Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa testified about steroid use in baseball.

  • Brewers right-hander Shaun Marcum, acquired from the Blue Jays in an offseason trade, exited his Cactus League start due to shoulder tightness, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke acknowledged feeling concerned about the righty, and Olney described the potential situation as "not good." The Brewers have already lost ace Zack Greinke for a few starts after he suffered broken ribs in a pickup basketball game, and a potential injury to Marcum, though only speculation now, would be a major blow for a team expected to be in the thick of the NL Central race. Marcum, 29, missed all of 2009 with Toronto following Tommy John surgery in late 2008.
  • It's too soon to speculate about the severity of Marcum's injury or how much time he might miss, if any, but as our Free Agent Tracker shows, there wouldn't be much for Milwaukee to choose from in the event it should need a fill-in. Kevin Millwood and former Brewer Doug Davis are among the usual suspects, while Jeremy Bonderman is expected to sit out the season, and Jarrod Washburn hasn't pitched in the Majors since 2009. The Phillies' Joe Blanton is thought to be on the trade block.
  • White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said yesterday that Joe Crede and agent Scott Boras made a poor decision in turning down a multiyear extension offer when the third baseman was with the South Siders. Today, Boras responded, saying that Crede's camp is the side that proposed the extension, not the other way around, writes Brett Ballantini of CSNChicago.com. Crede's career has been derailed by injuries, and he hasn't played in the Majors since spending 2009 with the Twins. He signed a minor league deal with the Rockies this offseason but decided not to report to camp, becoming a free agent.
  • A person "involved in baseball labor" confirmed to Joel Sherman of the New York Post that Major League Baseball has considered a streamlining proposal, wherein the A's and Rays would be contracted, and owners Lew Wolff of Oakland and Stu Sternberg of Tampa Bay would buy the Dodgers and Mets, respectively. However, it is unlikely to transpire, according to Sherman, because baseball has enjoyed relative labor peace at a time when other sports leagues haven't, and the idea of contracting two teams would not sit well with the MLB Players Association — even if the owners conceded to preserving the jobs by expanding MLB rosters to 27.

Rangers Notes: Teagarden, Davis

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A couple items of note with respect to two Rangers players who could be on the trade block…

  • The Rangers, well-stocked at catcher, may have been showcasing backstop Taylor Teagarden for a potential trade partner in the Padres in their Cactus League game on Thursday, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Texas has Yorvit Torrealba, Matt Treanor and Mike Napoli (who will also DH and play first base) on the catching depth chart, so Teagarden will not likely make the big league team out of camp, writes Sullivan. Earlier this spring, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports pegged the Royals as a potential landing spot for Teagarden.
  • David Golebiewski of Fangraphs had a look at the five potential destinations for Chris Davis recently put forth by Ben Nicholson-Smith, and the takeaway looks to be that Davis' best shot may be to take over third base or DH duties for a team that is especially weak offensively at either of those positions and can stomach Davis' low OBP and bad glovework. The best fits could be for Davis to take over third from the old platoon of Melvin Mora and Geoff Blum in Arizona, or as a third-base stop gap for Matt Dominguez or Lonnie Chisenhall of the Marlins and Indians, respectively. With Davis' skills limiting him to such a narrow profile, Golebiewski thinks he could probably fetch a modest return, like a decent reliever, in a trade.

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