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Varvaro, Cristhian Martinez Likely To Stay Put

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3:08pm: With Jonny Venters spraining his elbow today, Varvaro and Martinez are both likely to begin the year with the Braves, tweets MLB.com's Mark Bowman.

7:55am: Right-handed relievers Anthony Varvaro and Cristhian Martinez were a couple of solid waiver claims by the Braves, as both have made contributions to the team's Major League bullpen.  However, since both pitchers are out of options, one of them could be traded if Jordan Walden is ready for Opening Day on Monday, writes MLB.com's Mark Bowman.

Walden was injured earlier this spring, and the Braves could retain Varvaro and Martinez for now by putting Walden on the disabled list to start the season.  Otherwise, it would make sense to trade Varvaro or Martinez rather than expose one to waivers.

Varvaro, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Mariners in January 2011.  He's got some control issues, and has spent much of the last two seasons at Triple-A.  He seems the more expendable of the two for the Braves.

Martinez, 31, joined the Braves via waivers from the Marlins in April 2010.  Since then he has a 3.81 ERA, 7.4 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, and 0.86 HR/9 in 177 1/3 innings. 

Brewers Sign Yuniesky Betancourt

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The Brewers signed infielder Yuniesky Betancourt to a Major League deal, according to a press release from his agency.  He'd been the team's starting shortstop in 2011, and now he'll serve in a utility role.

Betancourt, 31, hit .228/.256/.400 in 228 plate appearances for the Royals last year, playing mostly second base.  He was on a minor league deal with the Phillies this spring, but opted out a few days ago.

 

Yankees Claim Dan Otero

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The Yankees claimed righty reliever Dan Otero off waivers from the Giants, tweets Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com.  

The move opens a 40-man roster spot for the Giants, but only complicates the situation for the Yankees, as detailed prior to the pickup by Chad Jennings of The Journal News.  The Yankees announced the move, noting that Cesar Cabral was placed on the 60-day DL to make room.  The team's 40-man roster is full, but they've got many players they'd like to add, including the newly-acquired Vernon Wells.

Otero, 28, made his Major League debut with the Giants in 2012.  He spent most of the year at Triple-A, where he posted a 2.90 ERA, 6.5 K/9, 1.2 BB/9, and 0.58 HR/9 in 62 innings.

Indians Re-Sign Matsuzaka, Capps

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The Indians re-signed pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Matt Capps to minor league deals, according to a press release.  The pair had been released recently so the team could avoid paying them $100K retention bonuses.  It looks like they'll head to Columbus, providing the organization with veteran depth for the rotation and bullpen.

Astros Release Tyler Greene

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The Astros released infielder Tyler Greene, tweets MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.  McTaggart notes that Greene will become an unrestricted free agent if he clears waivers on Thursday.

Greene, 29, hit .230/.274/.400 in 330 plate appearances for the Cardinals and Astros last year, playing both middle infield positions.  Astros GM Jeff Luhnow had acquired Greene in August of last year from his former team.  The former first-round pick seemed like the team's projected starter when they traded Jed Lowrie in February, but now they'll go with Ronny Cedeno.

Kyle Lohse Signing Reactions

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Kyle Lohse's long winter ended yesterday, as the 34-year-old righty signed a three-year, $33MM deal with the Brewers.  According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Lohse will receive $4MM in 2013, with $7MM deferred in 2016-18, and $11MM salaries in '14 and '15.  The players' union values the Lohse deal at $31.95MM over three years, factoring in the deferred money, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The Brewers also had to surrender the 17th overall pick in the June draft, while the Cardinals gained the 28th for their loss.  Lohse has been throwing bullpens and simulated games, and will begin the season on the Brewers' active roster.  Let's check out some Lohse reactions and links:

  • Olney doesn't think the Lohse signing made sense for the Brewers, as the loss of the draft pick means they are "drifting into more talent debt."  The Brewers "pushed forward at a time when it really needed to take a step back," writes Olney.
  • Keith Law, also at ESPN, feels the contract is "pretty reasonable relative to market values for starters of his caliber."  Law also feels the Brewers are "sliding out of contender status," but notes that the contract seems tradeable later on.  Lohse did not receive a no-trade clause, noted Rosenthal.       
  • Agent Scott Boras "doesn't lose, even if he didn't exactly win" on the Lohse deal, writes Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs.  Lohse should have gotten a higher average annual value, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but he's not convinced the new draft pick compensation system needs an overhaul.
  • "When you have a system that does not reward performance, you know we have something corrupt in the major league process," Boras told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Boras says baseball should remove the financial motivation for teams to lose, as the worst teams receive the largest pools of draft dollars.  The current system allows bad teams to make up ground on the good ones, which wasn't possible before, Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said on Law's podcast a few weeks ago.  Is it fair, though, that the Astros have significantly more draft dollars to spend than the Nationals?  It's good for parity, though teams don't necessarily lose because of their market size.      
  • "Losing the first-round pick is tough, but that's a decision we had to make," GM Doug Melvin told reporters including Haudricourt.

Phillies Release Aaron Cook

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The Phillies released righty Aaron Cook, according to a tweet from the team.  The team's other choices were to add him to the 25-man roster or pay a $100K retention bonus to send him to the minors.

Cook, 34, posted a 5.65 ERA, 1.9 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 1.44 HR/9, and 58.6% groundball rate in 94 innings for the Red Sox last year.  He signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in mid-January.  Cook still keeps the ball on the ground, but it's hard to survive with so few strikeouts.

Red Sox Release Lyle Overbay

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The Red Sox released first baseman Lyle Overbay, tweets WEEI's Alex Speier.  Boston's other choices were to put Overbay on the 25-man roster or pay him a $100K retention bonus to go to the minors.

Overbay, 36, hit .259/.331/.397 in 131 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks and Braves last year and was signed by the Sox to a minor league deal in February.  Overbay became the odd man out when Boston acquired Mike Carp from the Mariners later that month.  The Yankees have had internal discussions about Overbay, wrote Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe two days ago.  That match is "unlikely, but possible," tweets ESPN's Buster Olney today.

Why I Chose My Agency: Jake Odorizzi

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Though he's made only two Major League starts, 23-year-old Rays righty Jake Odorizzi is no stranger to MLBTR's pages.  Currently considered a top 100 prospect in the game, Odorizzi was drafted 32nd overall out of high school in 2008, traded to the Royals in the December 2010 Zack Greinke deal, and traded again this offseason to the Rays in the James Shields deal.  Recently I spoke with Jake about his agent, Jason Wood of Arland Sports.

On when he first came into contact with Jason:

I came in contact with him sometime in 2007.  I knew there was a possibility that I could be drafted early.  He was really the first guy we talked to, I met him through one of my friends I played summer ball with, he represented his older brother.  We hit it off on a friendship level more than a professional level, that's kind of our thing.  We became friends and it just kind of worked out for the best, really.  He's originally from an area where I'm from, next to St. Louis.

On the process leading up to the draft in '08:

It was really easy for me, I didn't really have any focus on it.  He was the guy that handled everything, if anybody had questions, like scouts or any teams.  I never had to handle any of that stuff, all I had to do was focus on playing ball and that made things a lot easier for me, having him to take care of all that [rather] than having myself or my parents or anybody take care of it and me having to deal with it.  So he helped me out tremendously, doing that.  

On Jake's involvement in the negotiations after the Brewers drafted him:

He got an update from them, I got the update too.  We went at it together.  When he would hear something, I would be the very next person to hear it as soon as he could get a hold of me.  I was involved in negotiations as well, and I was up-to-date with everything as it was going on.

On Jason's role as an agent after Jake signed:

Lining up endorsement deals, he negotiated all of that for me and takes care of my finances, does tax returns, all that kind of stuff for me.  He handles a lot of things that make my life easier.  He's very hands on, always keeps up-to-date with what's going on, informs you of anything.  If you have any problems or issues or need something, one phone call and it's taken care of.  He's very on top of his game.

On whether a small agency offers any advantages over the big ones:

I think it's more person-to-person, and I don't have to go through anybody else.  It's really easy to just pick up the phone and you just have to call one person and it's done right then and there.  I think it's more personable, really, talking to the same guy about everything.  You don't feel like a dollar amount when you're in a smaller firm.  [At a big agency] I'm sure some of them get lost in translation a little bit.

Brewers Sign Kyle Lohse

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The long wait is over: Kyle Lohse has officially signed a three-year, $33MM contract with the Brewers that includes an additional $1MM in performance bonuses. The Boras Corporation client passed his physical this afternoon and will join his team for the remainder of Spring Training. "This signing makes us a better club today than we were yesterday," said general manager Doug Melvin in a team-issued press release that confirmed the signing.

The Brewers will forfeit the 17th overall pick and the accompanying slot money in the June draft, while the Cardinals will gain the 28th overall pick. Lohse will reportedly earn just $4MM in 2013, followed by salaries of $11MM in 2014-15. The contract contains $7MM worth of deferred money that will be paid out from 2016-18.

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Lohse, 34, seemed en route to a large contract after posting a 2.86 ERA, 6.1 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, 0.81 HR/9, and 40.5% groundball rate in 211 regular season innings for the Cardinals in 2012, and pitching well the year prior.  Turning down the Cardinals' one-year, $13.3MM qualifying offer seemed the right call in November for a player I considered the 10th best free agent available.  However, partially because of the draft pick compensation issue, Lohse languished on the market nearly until Opening Day.  Agent Scott Boras, whose contract demands were the other major factor in Lohse's wait, told ESPN's Jerry Crasnick in January, "It doesn't really matter what time dinner is when you're the steak."  Lohse had been throwing simulated games in Arizona, but it's unclear when he'll be Major League-ready.

Having traded Zack Greinke midseason and lost Shaun Marcum to free agency, the Brewers were hurting for a veteran rotation presence behind Yovani Gallardo.  It seems likely that Boras made his appeal at the Brewers' ownership level, convincing Mark Attanasio to make the win-now signing and give up the draft pick.

The Rangers were the runner-up for Lohse, though they never made an official offer, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports was the first to report the agreement (Twitter link). USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweeted the financial details, while ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reported the details on Lohses's incentives (via Twitter). MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reported the breakdown of Lohse's salary and deferred money (on Twitter).

Steve Adams contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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