Blue Jays Option Ricky Romero To High-A
The Blue Jays have optioned starting pitcher Ricky Romero to High-A Dunedin, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Romero is guaranteed $7.5MM by Toronto for the 2013 season.
Toronto had reportedly been deciding whether to allow the former Opening Day starter and All-Star to work out his issues on the big league club, or whether instead to turn to J.A. Happ to fill out the rotation, as CBS Sports' Danny Knobler explained earlier today. In conjunction with the Romero move, Happ has been told that he will be the fifth starter by GM Alex Anthopoulos, Davidi further tweets.
Yankees Release David Adams
The Yankees have released infielder David Adams to make space on the team's 40-man roster for Vernon Wells, tweets Sweeny Murti of WFAN. Adams, 25, spent last season in Double-A, where he hit .306/.385/.450 over 383 plate appearances.
As Larry Stone wrote in the Seattle Times a few years back, a failed medical exam of Adams held up the Yankees' attempt to acquire Cliff Lee in 2010. "I had him," Cashman said of Lee, until the Mariners found that Adams had what turned out to be a fractured ankle. When Cashman refused to replace Adams with Eduardo Nunez or Ivan Nova, Texas jumped in with a deal centered around Justin Smoak. The change of events not only kept Lee from going to the Yanks, but also prevented catcher Jesus Montero from going to Seattle (for the time being).
Don Kelly Will Not Opt Out Of Contract With Tigers
Left-handed-hitting utility man Don Kelly will not excercise the opt-out clause in his contract, reports MLB.com's Jason Beck. While he could have done so today, Kelly instead will stick with the club on "an informal agreement." As Beck explains it: "if Kelly doesn't make the Opening Day roster, team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski will try to find Kelly another team with a big-league job for him." Failing that, "Kelly will accept an assignment to Triple-A Toledo."
According to Kelly, "this is all contractual stuff," and he is "just trying to go out and get hits." Kelly has enjoyed a strong spring with the Tigers, putting up a .238/.347/.548 line.
Rangers Notes: Ryan, Borbon, Woods, Rotation
Let's take a quick look at some Texas Rangers news:
- The Rangers and CEO Nolan Ryan are on a "sad, unnecessary collision course," writes Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman. It seems more likely than not that Ryan will leave the club that he "helped rescue from despair," says Bohls, who cites a source "close to Ryan" who said it was '70-30' that he leaves." Boyls further opines that while Ryan is "not completely blameless in this soap opera because he's overstepped his bounds at times," he "has done too much and meant too much to be treated so callously."
- With highly-touted infield prospect Jurickson Profar headed to Triple-A in favor of Leury Garcia and Nick Tepesch taking the fifth rotation spot, the Rangers are continuing to hone their roster by "having trade discussions with other teams about outfielder Julio Borbon," writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Texas is "ready to go with Craig Gentry and Leonys Martin as their center fielders," says Sullivan, making Borbon expendable. According to GM Jon Daniels, "based on the interest we've received" in Borbon, the club would be "shocked" if he cleared waivers if the team sought to stash him in Triple-A.
- The Rangers also hope to work out a trade to keep Rule 5 pick Coty Woods, reports Sullivan. Since Woods cleared waivers, the club has 72 hours to reach a deal with the Rockies if they hope to hold on to him.
- Regarding the rotation, Sullivan writes that the team is committed at this point to Tepesch. "The Rangers were never seriously interested in free-agent pitcher Kyle Lohse and they[] have no ongoing trade discussions with other teams about starting pitching. They have scouted Dodgers pitchers Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang but did not get good reports back and there is nothing going between the two teams."
Rangers Re-Sign Yoshinori Tateyama
SATURDAY: Days after releasing Yoshinori Tateyama, the Rangers have re-signed the reliever to a minor-league contract, Ron Matejko of ESPN Dallas and T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com both note.
THURSDAY: The Rangers have released right-handed reliever Yoshinori Tateyama, reports T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. The 37-year-old Tateyama, a client of Pro Star Management, will look to catch on with another club, according to Sullivan.
Tateyama signed a minor league deal with Texas after throwing just 17 big league innings last year, posting a 9.00 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. Tateyama did perform well in Triple-A in 2012, putting up a 1.13 ERA in 39 2/3 innings. He also played a larger role with the big club in 2011, logging 44 innings and managing a 4.50 ERA on the back of 8.8 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9.
AL West Notes: Lohse, Garland, Astros
Here are a few updates from the American League West:
- The Rangers are "among the teams who have a scout watching free agent pitcher Kyle Lohse throw simulated games” at a local community college, but "this may be more due diligence than anything," writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Sullivan further reports that "Rangers officials acknowledged they are keeping an eye on Kyle Lohse," but "are still holding to their stance they will not sign Lohse this spring." According to Sullivan, "the Rangers are ready to go with what they have here in camp," most likely either Nick Tepesch or Michael Kirkman.
- Mariners manager Eric Wedge discussed the team's unwillingness to commit a rotation spot to Jon Garland, as reported by Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. Wedge explained that Garland's out clause created an "unusual situation" because the club has "multiple non-roster guys in this camp that have a chance to make this club." Garland was released on Saturday.
- The Astros are close to deciding whether to keep Rule 5 pick Josh Fields, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Odds look good for Fields, "considering how wide open the bullpen is." Another Rule 5 pick previously in Astros camp, Nate Freiman, has already been claimed by the Athletics.
Minor Moves: Nats, Royals, Cust, Padres, Puckett
Here are a few of today's minor moves from around baseball:
- The Nationals have released 10 minor-leaguers, MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports, including Delwyn Young, a utilityman who played parts of five seasons for the Pirates and Dodgers. The Nats also released pitchers Ryan Demmin, Inocencio Heredia, Bobby Lucas, Blake Monar, Casey Upperman, and Andrew Wall; outfielders Wade Moore and J.P. Ramirez; and infielder Stephen King.
- The Royals have released 11 minor-leaguers, reports Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter): pitchers Rudy Brown, Allen Caldwell, Blaine Hardy, Joe Karlik, Patrick Keating, Jason Mitchell, Lincoln Rassi, and Jamie Richmond; outfielder Nick Van Stratten; and infielders Michael Liberto and Adrian Martinez.
- The Rays have released DH Jack Cust, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune reports (on Twitter). Cust signed a minor-league deal with the Rays on February 17. He played for Triple-A Scranton (Yankees) and Las Vegas (Blue Jays) in 2012. He last appeared in the majors with the Mariners in 2011, hitting .214/.344/.329 in 225 at bats.
- The Padres have released six minor-leaguers, MLB.com's Corey Brock Reports (on Twitter): pitchers Mark Pope, Chris Haney, and Michael Broadway; outfielders Anthony Renteria and Kyung-Min Na; and first baseman Goose Kallunki.
- Infielder/outfielder Cody Puckett has been traded from the Reds, with whom he has spent his entire career, to the White Sox, Puckett himself tweeted. In return, the Reds will receive a player to be named later, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Splitting last season between Double-A and Triple-A, Puckett saw time in the infield (mostly at second) and corner outfield, and hit .233/.306/.390 with 16 home runs over 488 plate appearances.
- The Marlins released left-handed pitcher Kevin Gelinas, tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Gelinas, just 23, was Baseball America's Independent Leagues Player of the Year last season, Eddy notes.
- The Rangers released catcher Konrad Schmidt, a 28-year-old who has 17 total plate appearances in the big leagues, reports T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Texas claimed Schmidt off waivers from the Diamondbacks last fall and then outrighted him to Triple-A in December.
Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.
East Notes: Blue Jays, Mets, Santana, Phillies, Wang
Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos sat down for an interview with Sportsnet.ca (video link), discussing (among other things) the club's rotation battle between Ricky Romero and J.A. Happ. The GM said that while Happ will "factor into this club, and it doesn't mean that he can't factor into this club on opening day in some role, some capacity," the team will "do everything we can with Romero" in the spring before taking him out of a starting role.
- Further addressing the issue of rotational depth, Anthopoulos acknowledged that the club lacks "household names" in that area. While the Jays "have 4-A guys," the GM says he wants to add "someone who is a little bit better than that, … a Happ type of guy." The team is "active … trying to do some things, trying to make some trades" for a starting-caliber arm that can be used in the bullpen or stashed in the minors, although some player on the current roster "wouldn't be happy, because somebody would be out of a job."
- The Mets appear prepared to enter the season without adding to their mix of outfielders, reports Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. “I think we’ve got a sense of who the five or six are who might be on the team," said GM Sandy Alderson. "What we have is what we’re going to have, and we’re not entirely displeased with that.”
- Rubin also notes that the Mets could be dealing with a long absence from starter Johan Santana, who is still a ways away from returning to the mound, let alone doing so in a big league game. Santana acknowledged that his absence is indefinite: “I’m making progress. It’s just I don’t know when I’m going to be pitching again.” According to Rubin, “there is now an open question about whether Santana’s shoulder and his career will ever be the same.”
- After sending Darin Ruf down to work on his defense, Phillies’ GM Ruben Amaro Jr. acknowledged that there is a chance the Phillies may look to acquire another outfielder via trade, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. “There’s a lot of time left. If we can improve the team we’ll do it.”
- The Yankees have made their signing of Chien-Ming Wang to a minor-league deal official, according to a team press release. Wang will enter his age-33 season looking for another chance to pitch in pinstripes, and to regain the success he had during his first stint with the club.
Marlins Sign Wilson Valdez
The Marlins have signed infielder Wilson Valdez to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to big league camp, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports on Twitter. Valdez, a 34-year-old infielder who is represented by Kinzer Management Group, was released by the Giants yesterday.
Valdez was a member of the Marlins' minor league system before being dealt in 2004 for Billy Koch, Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel notes (Twitter link). Over 42 plate appearances with San Francisco this spring, Valdez posted a .194/.310/.222 line.
Pirates Release Brad Hawpe
The Pirates have granted outfielder Brad Hawpe his unconditional release, report Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter) and Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (also on Twitter). While it is unclear whether Hawpe will look to continue his attempt at a career revival with another club, he acknowledged that "the game has gotten faster and I didn't catch up," according to another Biertempfel tweet.
The left-handed-swinging Hawpe had not seen big league action since 2011. A former All-Star in Colorado, Hawpe averaged a slash line of better than .280/.380/.500 with over 20 home runs a season between 2006-2009, but never regained that form in the years that followed. Hawpe was struggling at the plate this spring, putting up just a .139/.225/.222 line over 40 plate appearances.
As MLB.com's Tom Singer reported in February, Hawpe's contract with Pittsburgh permitted him to request his release on March 26 if he had yet to be placed on the club's major league roster.