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Orioles Outright Johnny Monell To Triple-A

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FRIDAY: Monell cleared outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com.

MONDAY: The Orioles have announced they have designated catcher Johnny Monell for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot for newly-acquired infielder Steve Lombardozzi.

Monell, 28 on Thursday, was optioned to Triple-A by the Orioles last Wednesday after Steve Clevenger won the team's backup catcher job.  The Orioles acquired Monell from the Giants in November for cash considerations.  He hit .275/.364/.494 with 20 home runs in 481 Triple-A plate appearances last year, his first time at that level.  For the Giants' Triple-A club, Monell played 48 games at catcher, 47 at first base, and one at the hot corner.

Monell joins brief teammate Kelvin De La Cruz in DFA limbo, as well as Dodgers reliever Javy Guerra.

Kyle Farnsworth Re-Signs With Mets

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WEDNESDAY, 11:00am: Farnsworth is believed to have a May opt-out clause, Rubin reports.

9:45am: It appears that this saga can finally be put to rest, as Farnsworth has officially re-signed with the Mets, according to ESPN.com's Adam Rubin (via Twitter).

TUESDAY, 10:46am: Agent Barry Meister tells MLBTR's Zach Links (via Twitter) that nothing has changed: Farnsworth is still "assessing his options" and has not re-signed with the Mets.

7:35am: Farnsworth's name is on the lineup card, so it appears that he has, in fact, re-signed with the Mets, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPN.com.  

MONDAY, 9:40am: "Farnsworth has not returned to the Mets and is exploring his options," agent Barry Meister tells Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish.  "No agreement was or has been reached," adds the agent.  Jon Heyman of CBS Sports says Farnsworth is looking for a Major League deal, and if he can't find one, he may go back to the Mets.

8:22am: Reliever Kyle Farnsworth will re-sign with the Mets this week, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.  The deal will happen tomorrow, tweets Marc Carig of Newsday.  The maneuver is seemingly a way of avoiding paying Farnsworth a $100K retention bonus, the deadline for which is tomorrow at 11am central time.

Farnsworth, 38 in April, posted a 4.70 ERA, 6.6 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 1.17 HR/9, and 45.5% groundball rate for the Rays and Pirates in 2013.  He was up to 95 miles per hour on his fastball in a strong September showing for the Bucs, although his velocity was reportedly (and not unusually) back down this spring.  The Mets initially inked Farnsworth to a minor league deal in February.

Two non-roster invitees do appear to make the Mets' Opening Day bullpen, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com on Saturday: Jose Valverde and John Lannan.  Bobby Parnell, Vic Black, Carlos Torres, Jeurys Familia, and Scott Rice will likely round out the seven-man crew.

Brewers Request Release Waivers On Juan Francisco

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The Brewers have requested waivers on corner infielder Juan Francisco for the purpose of his unconditional release, tweets team senior director of media relations Mike Vassallo.  Any team claiming Francisco would owe him his $1.35MM salary, though the Brewers are only on the hook for 45 days' pay, around $332K.  Francisco's impending departure from the Brewers became known yesterday when they cleared out his locker.

Francisco, 26, hit .227/.296/.422 with 18 home runs in 385 plate appearances for the Braves and Brewers last year, playing first base and third base.  A left-handed hitter, Francisco faced righties in 91% of his plate appearances.  He joined the Brewers via trade last year in June.

Rather than use Francisco at first base this year, the Brewers will put non-roster invitees Mark Reynolds and Lyle Overbay on the Opening Day roster.

Braves Release Freddy Garcia

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The Braves announced today they have given righty Freddy Garcia his unconditional release.  Earlier this month, Garcia told MLB.com's Mark Bowman he'd retire rather than return to Triple-A.  Garcia pitched in five games this spring, allowing nine earned runs in 17 innings.  He would have earned $1.5MM had he made the Braves' Opening Day roster.

Garcia, 37, posted a 4.37 ERA, 5.2 K/9, 1.9 BB/9, 2.02 HR/9, and 41.9% groundball rate in 80 1/3 innings for the Orioles and Braves last year.  The Braves lost Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy this year to Tommy John surgery, and have also placed Mike Minor and Gavin Floyd on the DL.  Minor and Floyd hope to be activated in April and May, respectively.  The Braves seem to be planning to open the season with a four-man rotation of Julio Teheran, Alex Wood, David Hale, and Gus Schlosser, with Ervin Santana joining the mix around the season's second week.

Tigers Sign J.D. Martinez

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The Tigers announced they have agreed to terms on a minor league deal with outfielder J.D. Martinez and he has reported to minor league camp.  The Astros removed Martinez from their 40-man roster in November, and released him on Saturday.

Martinez, 26, hit .251/.300/.387 in 975 plate appearances for the Astros spanning the 2011-13 seasons.  Three years ago, Baseball America ranked Martinez sixth among Astros prospects, suggesting he profiled as a second-division regular.  The Tigers can use the depth, having lost Andy Dirks to back surgery possibly until June.

Astros Release Cesar Izturis

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Infielder Cesar Izturis did not make the Astros and will opt out of his deal with the Astros, tweets Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle.  Izturis is one of many veterans subject to tomorrow's $100K retention bonus deadline, so the Astros would have released him by then anyway.  The 34-year-old glove man tallied 142 plate appearances with the Reds last year, hitting .209/.259/.271.  One claim to fame:  he was traded for Greg Maddux at the 2006 trade deadline.

Indians Release Aaron Harang

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Righty Aaron Harang asked for and was granted his release from the Indians, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.  The move was expected after Harang was told yesterday he would not make the team's Opening Day roster.  Even if Harang was willing to go to Triple-A, the Indians likely would have released him rather than paying the $100K retention bonus.

Harang, 36 in May, signed a minor league deal with Cleveland in February and allowed two runs in nine innings this spring.  The veteran posted a 5.40 ERA, 7.1 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 1.63 HR/9, and 36% groundball rate in 143 1/3 innings for the Mariners and Mets last year.

Red Sox Aiming For Lester Resolution By Opening Day

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Red Sox GM Ben Cherington is focused on resolving Jon Lester's contract one way or another this week prior to Opening Day, he told reporters including WEEI's Rob Bradford.  Though Lester has indicated a willingness to continue contract talks during the season if the two sides are close, Cherington prefers to wrap things up before the Red Sox open their season in Baltimore a week from today.

Lester, 30, is eligible for free agency after the season.

Pirates, D’Backs Have Discussed Didi Gregorius

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The Pirates have had trade talks with the Diamondbacks about shortstop Didi Gregorius, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Last Wednesday, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reported the D'Backs were making Gregorius available in trade, after Chris Owings won the team's starting shortstop job.  Rubin wrote that the Diamondbacks seek an MLB-ready starting pitcher to offset the loss of Patrick Corbin.

Rubin implied potential interest from the Mets, and now we have another possible suitor in the Pirates.  The Pirates enter the season with Jordy Mercer atop their shortstop depth chart, with top prospect Alen Hanson likely ticketed to return to Double-A.  Though he's not Major League ready, the Pirates have a pitching prospect who's fairly close in Nick Kingham.  Easier to acquire would be Jeff Locke, who will begin the season back at Triple-A, with, as he tells Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "a bit of a chip on my shoulder."

Aside from the Mets and Pirates, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports lists the Reds, Tigers, and Yankees as teams the D'Backs "have thought of as possibilities" for Gregorius.

White Sox, Quintana Agree To Five-Year Extension

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The White Sox have locked up lefty Jose Quintana to a five-year deal worth at least $21MM, announced the team.  The guaranteed money in the deal is contingent on Quintana's arbitration status: $26.5MM if he qualifies as a Super Two after 2014, and $21MM if not.  Quintana will have two years and 133 days of Major League service after 2014, which would have qualified him for Super Two in two of the last five years.  The deal includes club options at $10.5MM for 2019 and $11.5MM for 2020.  A White Sox press release has the full salary breakdown.  Quintana is represented by MDR Sports Management.

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Quintana, 25, broke out last year with a 3.51 ERA, 7.4 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 1.04 HR/9, and 42.5% groundball rate in 200 innings.  "Jose quickly has established himself as a quality major-league starting pitcher, and along with Chris Sale, we expect him to be an important piece of our rotation for the foreseeable future," said White Sox senior vice president/general manager Rick Hahn in the statement.  Sale, 25 this month, is potentially under team control through 2019.

Quintana has taken an interesting path to this $21MM+ deal.  Signed by the Mets out of Colombia for $40K in 2006, he was eventually released for a violation of the Minor League Baseball drug policy.  The southpaw signed with the Yankees, but never ranked among their top 30 prospects as ranked by Baseball America.  The Yankees offered Quintana a minor league deal after 2011, but White Sox scouts Joe Siers and Daraka Shaheed "made him stand out on the six-year free-agent list," Hahn told Joel Sherman of the New York Post in June 2012.  The Sox separated themselves by offering a Major League deal, and now they have a rotation mainstay.

Quintana's contract falls squarely between the last two deals done for one-plus service starting pitchers, as you can see in our Extension Tracker.  In November, the Rangers' Martin Perez signed a four-year, $12MM deal with three club options, which was in line with previous deals for pitchers in this service class.  In February, however, the Braves gave Julio Teheran a six-year, $32.4MM deal that included only one club option.  Quintana and Teheran have similar career ERAs (3.61 and 3.44), but Quintana has pitched 336 1/3 innings to Teheran's 211 2/3.  Perhaps the discrepancy is because Quintana never enjoyed Teheran's status as a top prospect, or perhaps Teheran's deal simply didn't reset the extension market for this service class as some speculated.

MLB.com's Scott Merkin first broke news of the extension, with Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com providing the salaries.  Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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