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Billingsley To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Dodgers righty Chad Billingsley will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow, announced the team, with the standard expected recovery time of one year.  Elbow pain first surfaced for Billingsley in mid-July of last year.  He had platelet-rich plasma injections in August and September and tried to rehab the injury, but Tommy John surgery was looming as a possibility.  The 28-year-old made a pair of big league starts this year before the elbow problem resurfaced.

Billingsley will earn $12MM in 2014, the last guaranteed year of his contract.  After 2014, the Dodgers will choose between a $3MM buyout and a $14MM club option for 2015.

Billingsley joined Dodgers starters Zack Greinke (broken collarbone) and Chris Capuano (strained calf) on the DL two days ago.  Greinke's collarbone was broken when the Padres' Carlos Quentin charged the mound on April 11th, with Capuano worsening his own injury by sprinting toward the fracas.  The Dodgers' rotation will welcome Ted Lilly tomorrow, with Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Josh Beckett, and Stephen Fife comprising the other four and Aaron Harang now pitching for the Mariners.

AL West Notes: Rangers, Casper Wells

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The Rangers and Athletics sit atop the AL West with about 88% of the season remaining; the Angels, Mariners, and Astros are currently below .500.  The latest from the division:

  • "There's not a lot flashy about what we do. We work. We stick with each other. We try to make good decisions. We've made some bad ones. But more good than bad," Rangers president Jon Daniels told Yahoo's Tim Brown.  The Rangers missed out on all the big names during the offseason, yet they're still looking good in the early going.
  • The idea of a Jurickson Profar–Oscar Taveras swap between the Rangers and Cardinals "has crazy legs for something never discussed between the two teams," Daniels told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  MLBTR probably deserves some of the blame for that, but don't worry, we'll have real trade rumors to discuss soon enough.
  • The Athletics sent $100K to the Blue Jays for Casper Wells, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Wells' role with the team once Yoenis Cespedes returns Sunday is unclear.  After spending about a month in waiver/DFA limbo, Wells should at least get into a few games for the A's.  He lamented the transaction-related layoff, tweets Slusser.

Blue Jays Claim Aaron Laffey

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The waiver claim kings have struck again.  The Blue Jays announced today they've claimed lefty Aaron Laffey off waivers from the Mets, transferring shortstop Jose Reyes to the 60-day DL.  Laffey had been designated for assignment by the Mets on Sunday.

Laffey tossed 100 2/3 big league innings for the 2012 Jays, but lose his 40-man roster spot in October and later joined the Mets on a minor league deal.  The 28-year-old made four appearances for the Mets this year.

The Blue Jays have been the most active team on the waiver wire, as recently pointed out by our own Steve Adams.  MLBTR's Charlie Wilmoth recently asked if excessive adds and drops this season should lead baseball to reevaluate the way that the waiver system works.

Nationals Claim Xavier Cedeno

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The Nationals claimed lefty reliever Xavier Cedeno off waivers from the Astros, according to a tweet from the team.  They've optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse.  Cedeno had been designated for assignment by the Astros on Thursday.  He nearly made it through unclaimed, as the Nationals were the last team in the waiver order.

Cedeno, 26, was scored upon in four of his five appearances this year.  In 2012, he posted a 3.77 ERA, 10.5 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 0.87 HR/9, and 50.0% groundball rate in 31 relief innings, tossing another 27 2/3 innings at Triple-A.  A native of Puerto Rico, Cedeno was drafted by the Rockies in the 31st round in 2004.  They released him in March 2010, and he signed with the Astros as a free agent in December of that year.  Cedeno made seven appearances in the World Baseball Classic this year for Puerto Rico.

The Nationals only have one other left-handed reliever on their 40-man roster: Zach Duke.

Minor Moves: Leroux, Alberto Gonzalez, Maine

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Today's minor moves…

  • Former Pirates pitcher Chris Leroux signed with Japan's Yakult Swallows, tweeted Chris Cotillo last night.  The signing has since been confirmed by Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca, who spoke to Leroux's agent, Fred Wray of Octagon.  Leroux received a $500K contract for 2013 that includes incentives and a 2014 vesting option, reports Nicholson-Smith.  The 29-year-old righty had been designated for assignment by the Pirates earlier this month, after which point he elected free agency.  He's never exceeded 25 big league innings in a season, tallying 63 2/3 Triple-A frames in 2012.
  • Infielder Alberto Gonzalez and righty John Maine have been outrighted to Triple-A by the Cubs and Marlins, respectively, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page.  Both players had been designated for assignment on Friday, Gonzalez for Julio Borbon and Maine for Tom Koehler.
  • Three players currently reside in DFA limbo: the Indians' Fernando Nieve, the Mets' Aaron Laffey, and the Astros' Xavier Cedeno.

Trade Candidate: Carlos Villanueva

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29-year-old righty Carlos Villanueva has kicked off his Cubs career with three quality starts.  That's been a big part of the team's 3.11 rotation ERA, third-best in the National League.  The Cubs, however, have failed in most other aspects of the game and are already six games back in the NL Central with a 5-13 record.  Once again, the team's veterans need to be ready for the possibility of a summer trade.

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Because of his age and some decent rotation work for the Blue Jays last year, Villanueva was able to find a two-year, $10MM deal with the Cubs in December.  The Cubs had already signed Scott Baker and Scott Feldman at that point, and went on to add Edwin Jackson.  That's a whopping four free agent starters, but the depth has been necessary so far with Baker and Matt Garza on the shelf.  Garza's first minor league rehab start is scheduled for tomorrow, so he's projected to return in May.  Baker will be out until at least June, after undergoing Tommy John surgery a year ago.  Even with the uncertainty surrounding Baker, the Cubs have assembled significantly more rotation depth than they had last July, when they traded Paul Maholm and Ryan Dempster.  

So, there's a chance the Cubs move two starting pitchers again this summer.  With free agency looming, Garza is a prime candidate.  If he stays healthy and reasonably effective, Villanueva is another.  Though he has one of the slower fastballs you'll see from a right-handed starter, Villanueva has been effective since joining the Jays' rotation in late June of last year.  Since then he's started 19 games, with a 3.90 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, and 1.67 HR/9 in 113 innings.  Some of his numbers in his brief Cubs career are unsustainable, but if Villanueva's walk and groundball rates stick, he should have continued success.  In particular, he shouldn't be quite so homer-prone moving forward.

Perhaps they underestimated Maholm at the time, but the Cubs were still able to acquire a top-90 prospect from the Braves in Arodys Vizcaino last summer.  Like Maholm, the Cubs can offer an additional full season of Villanueva's services, making him more than just a rental.  The Indians, Angels, and Phillies are a few early potential matches, should those teams remain on the fringe of contention.  Should the longball remain an issue for Villanueva, though, it could cause teams with hitters' parks to shy away.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

MLBTR Seeks Part-Time Writing Help

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We’re looking to add to the MLB Trade Rumors writing team. The position pays on an hourly basis.  Unlike some of our previous openings, this is specifically for the regular Saturday night shift, which runs from 5pm til 11pm or midnight central time every week.  The criteria:

  • Exceptional knowledge of all 30 MLB teams, no discernible bias. Knowledge of hot stove concepts such as arbitration and free agent compensation.
  • Availability to regularly work Saturday nights from 5pm til 11pm or midnight central time.  This availability is required every week.
  • Writing experience is necessary and online writing experience is preferred. 
  • Journalistic experience writing and reporting is also a plus.
  • Attention to detail and ability to follow the MLBTR style and tone.  
  • Ability to analyze articles and craft intelligent, well-written posts summing up the news concisely. 
  • Ability to accept and learn from constructive criticism. In general, a team player.
  • Ability to use Twitter and an RSS feed reader. You must be able to multi-task.
  • If you're interested, email mlbtrhelp@gmail.com and explain how you stand out in a couple of short paragraphs. Hundreds may apply, so we will not be able to respond to most applications.

NL East Notes: Wheeler, D’Arnaud, Simmons, Nolasco

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The day after he was rocked for six earned runs in 1 2/3 innings, the Phillies placed lefty John Lannan on the DL with a strained quadriceps in his left knee.  There's no word yet on who will replace him in the rotation, but he could be out six-to-eight weeks.  Tonight, the fourth-place Phillies and Cole Hamels host Adam Wainwright and the first-place Cardinals.  Elsewhere in the NL East:

  • "Let's just say if this continues, certainly we've gotta start visiting that here pretty soon," Mets manager Terry Collins told Mike Francesa of WFAN in regard to a question about quality reinforcements including top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler.  The Mets' rotation has struggled beyond Matt Harvey and Jon Niese.  GM Sandy Alderson was noncommittal, telling Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News, "It was always a case that it would be Zack’s sufficiency and the major-league team’s need.  If those two things merge, the need and the performance converge, then it is a possibility.  That could happen sooner or it could happen later."  Ackert hears that people within the organization privately do not feel Wheeler is ready, plus the Mets would like to avoid the pitcher achieving Super Two status after the 2015 season (necessitating a promotion in mid-June or later).
  • Meanwhile, another top Mets prospect won't be seeing Citi Field anytime soon.  Catcher Travis D'Arnaud, acquired from Toronto in the R.A. Dickey trade, fractured a bone in his left foot yesterday in a Triple-A game.
  • The Nationals' depth is on display, explains James Wagner of the Washington Post, with Kurt Suzuki seamlessly taking over as the starting catcher after Wilson Ramos suffered a hamstring injury.     
  • Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons is now represented by SFX, MLBTR has learned.  He'd previously been with The Sparta Group, up until the August switch.  A few new additions to our agency database include Jonathan Gray (advised by Jay Franklin of BBI Sports Group), Oswaldo Arcia (Martin Arburua), and Tony Cingrani (Curtis Dishman).
  • "He's decent for a club that needs a starter. There are worse No. 5 starters in the big leagues right now, but he's not the pitcher he used to be," a scout told Jon Heyman of CBS Sports in reference to the Marlins' Ricky Nolasco.  Nolasco, Miami's highest-paid player by a long-shot at $11.5MM, is a strong candidate to be traded this summer.

Draft Notes: Gray, Appel

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The 2013 Rule 4 draft takes place on June 6th, with the Astros, Cubs, Rockies, Twins, and Indians taking the first five picks.  You can check out the full draft order here.  The latest draft info:

  • 6-foot-4, 240 pound Oklahoma righty Jonathan Gray is shooting up draft boards.  ESPN's Keith Law had him eighth on March 14th, but now has him as the clear number two player behind another college righty, Stanford's Mark Appel.  Gray, who hit 101 in several recent games according to scouts who talked to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, was drafted by the Royals in the 13th round in 2010 and the Yankees in the 10th round in 2011, and now projects to go very early in the 2013 draft.  Oklahoma head baseball coach Sunny Golloway told ESPN's Teddy Mitrosilis, "He's going to Houston or the Cubs, No. 1 or No. 2."
  • Appel is "still clearly the best player in this draft," in the eyes of Law.  Law wonders if the Astros or Cubs can "try to work out a deal less than the recommended bonus number but more than the figure Appel turned down from the Pirates last year ($3.8 million), with the carrot of a big league callup in September if he throws well after signing."  Appel is an advisee of the Boras Corporation.
  • Prep outfielder Austin Meadows, college lefty Sean Manaea, and prep righty Kohl Stewart are the next three players on Law's draft board, which is ranks players by talent and upside and is not a mock draft.

Astros Designate Xavier Cedeno For Assignment

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The Astros designated lefty reliever Xavier Cedeno for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot for infielder Brandon Laird, according to a team press release.  The Astros also optioned Brett Wallace to Triple-A.

Cedeno, 26, was scored upon in four of his five appearances this year.  In 2012, he posted a 3.77 ERA, 10.5 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 0.87 HR/9, and 50.0% groundball rate in 31 relief innings, tossing another 27 2/3 innings at Triple-A.  A native of Puerto Rico, Cedeno was drafted by the Rockies in the 31st round in 2004.  They released him in March 2010, and he signed with the Astros as a free agent in December of that year.  Cedeno made seven appearances in the World Baseball Classic this year for Puerto Rico.

Astros GM Jeff Luhnow professed a desire to keep Cedeno in the organization, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.

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