Outfielder Ryan Spilborghs is headed to Japan, signing a one-year deal with the Seibu Lions according to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. The 33-year-old spent 2012 with the Triple-A affiliates of the Rangers and Indians.
Rangers Sign Evan Meek, Randy Wells
The Rangers signed reliever Evan Meek, starter Randy Wells, first baseman Brandon Allen, and starter Jake Brigham to minor league deals with invites, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Meek, 29, made the All-Star team during a 2.14 ERA campaign for the Pirates in 2010. Since then, he's been limited by a shoulder injury.
Wells, 30, made 82 starts for the Cubs from 2009-11, even placing sixth in the NL Rookie of the Year vote in '09. He spent much of this year struggling at Triple-A Iowa.
Allen, 26, never caught on in the Majors and spent the second half of this season in Japan.
Phillies Acquire Ben Revere
The Phillies acquired outfielder Ben Revere from the Twins, reports MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Starting pitcher Vance Worley is going to the Twins in the deal, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports, as well as pitching prospect Trevor May, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Both teams have since confirmed the trade.
Revere, 24, hit .294/.333/.342 in 553 plate appearances for the Twins this year, stealing 40 bags in 49 tries. With just one year and 149 days of Major League service, Revere will not be arbitration eligible until 2014 at the earliest, and is under team control through 2017. He was a first-round pick of the Twins in 2007. He'd been penciled in to take over center field from Denard Span, who the Twins dealt to the Nationals less than a week ago.
"Ben is an outstanding, young, controllable center fielder who fits nicely with our club," Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said in a statement. He's also affordable, allowing for payroll flexibility for the team. Meanwhile, there's one less suitor for free agent Michael Bourn.
Worley, 25, posted a 4.20 ERA, 7.2 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 0.81 HR/9, and 46% groundball rate in 133 innings this year for the Phillies. He battled a bone chip in his elbow for much of the season, which was removed in September surgery. Worley has one year and 152 days of Major League service, matching up nicely with Revere in terms of club control.
May, 23, was ranked as the Phillies' second-best prospect by MLB.com. He posted a 4.87 ERA, 9.1 K/9, 4.7 BB/9, and 1.32 HR/9 in 149 2/3 Double-A innings this year. Prior to the season, Baseball America wrote, "If his command continues to improve, he could become a No. 2 starter, and he should be at least a solid mid-rotation workhorse." The Twins added Alex Meyer in the Span trade, ranked the 50th-best prospect in baseball by MLB.com.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Ben Revere
Twins outfielder Ben Revere appears to be in play, despite the team trading Denard Span to the Nationals six days ago. Revere, 24, hit .294/.333/.342 in 553 plate appearances for the Twins this year, stealing 40 bags in 49 tries. With just one year and 149 days of Major League service, Revere will not be arbitration eligible until 2014 at the earliest, and is under team control through 2017. The latest:
- Revere may be the Phillies' top choice for center field, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. The Twins are interested in Vance Worley plus a pitching prospect, tweets Knobler. Phillies executives Ruben Amaro Jr. and Pat Gillick met separately with Twins GM Terry Ryan this morning, tweets MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
- The Braves are interested and have spoken to the Twins about Revere, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
SK Wyverns Sign Chris Seddon
The SK Wyverns, a team in South Korea, signed lefty Chris Seddon, tweets Dan Kurtz of mykbo.net. The Wyverns have since announced the move. Seddon, 29, tallied 34 1/3 relief inning for the Indians this year and another 123 at Triple-A.
Rays Sign Jason Bourgeois
Outfielder Jason Bourgeois has popped up as a non-roster invitee on the Rays' official site, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, suggesting the Rays signed him to a minor league deal.
Bourgeois, 31 in January, has a .261/.306/.324 line in 497 career big league plate appearances for the White Sox, Brewers, Astros and Royals. He's stolen 51 bases in 61 tries in that time.
Free Agent Notes: Rafael Soriano, Thome, Lannan
MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith and Jason Martinez of MLB Depth Charts discussed suitors for Zack Greinke and the developing infield market on the latest Rosters and Rumblings podcast. Click here to listen in. Read on for some free agent notes…
- Agent Scott Boras seemingly took shots at Boston's Shane Victorino and Mike Napoli signings in his explanation of closer Rafael Soriano's demands, telling reporters including Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times, "We're seeing mid-level players make $13 million a year. The value of a closer, you would have to argue, has historically been more valuable than what you see in mid-level players." Apparently in reference to Tigers' plan to use Bruce Rondon, Boras said, "You can count on one hand the number of closers under the age of 23 that have ever gone to the big leagues and put together 30 saves, let alone pitch in the postseason and be effective." It has actually only happened twice, with Neftali Feliz in 2010 and Huston Street in 2006. If we include age-23 seasons, seven more stoppers join the list and Feliz appears again.
- Jim Thome remains undecided on whether to play in 2013, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel told MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.
- 11 teams have expressed interest in free agent lefty John Lannan for potential Major League jobs, hears Amanda Comak of the Washington Times. The 28-year-old has drawn interest from the Mets, Twins, and Pirates, based on previous reports.
AL East Notes: Rays, Yankees
The Orioles' re-signing of left fielder Nate McLouth sums up the Winter Meetings Day 3 action coming out of the AL East. The latest around the division:
- The Rays pursued right fielder Nate Schierholtz to the end and finished a close second, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Schierholtz ultimately signed a one-year, $2.25MM deal with the Cubs.
- "There's a few potential outcomes that are really exciting to us and we're going to work toward trying to make them materialize," Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times earlier today.
- The Yankees never made offers to Jeff Keppinger and Eric Chavez, tweets Jack Curry of YES Network.
- Scott Boras questioned the Yankees' choice to reduce payroll, according to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. Responded president Randy Levine, "Scott’s a great agent, but he’s an agent. Last I looked, he had zero experience running a professional sports team. I think the Yankees have done pretty well following our own course. My advice to Scott is stick to your day job representing players."
NL Central Notes: Brewers, Cubs, Cardinals
Today in NL Central news, the Cardinals reached a three-year agreement with lefty reliever Randy Choate, the Pirates traded for wild power lefty Andy Oliver, and the Cubs signed right fielder Nate Schierholtz to a one-year deal. The latest from the division:
- Speaking of lefties, the Brewers are in the market for one, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Haudricourt can see Tom Gorzelanny as a fit, since the recently non-tendered 30-year-old can retire righties as well as lefties. Gorzelanny, though, has been some combination of wild and homer-prone against righties the last few years.
- J.P. Howell is a name to watch for the Brewers, as MLB.com's Adam McCalvy notes that GM Doug Melvin met with agent Greg Genske today at the Winter Meetings. Genske's agency also represents free agents Edwin Jackson, Francisco Liriano, Brad Penny, and Joe Saunders.
- "I don’t see this being one of our more active years at this point," Melvin told Haudricourt today.
- The Cubs were in on Jeff Keppinger and Eric Chavez before they signed with the White Sox and Diamondbacks, respectively, GM Jed Hoyer told reporters. The Cubs are seeking someone who can help at the hot corner.
- The Cardinals want to upgrade with a utility infielder, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. They've discussed free agent Alex Gonzalez and trade options Chris Getz of the Royals and Steve Lombardozzi of the Nationals.
Orioles Notes: Conor Jackson, Swisher, Novak
The latest on the Orioles:
- The Orioles signed Conor Jackson to a minor league deal, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com and other reporters. Jackson, 30, spent 2012 with the Triple-A affiliate of the White Sox, hitting .277/.363/.434 in 366 plate appearances while playing the outfield corners and third base.
- Though executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette would like to add a power bat, he dismissed Nick Swisher as a possibility.
- The Orioles announced they've signed 18-year-old lefty Jan Novak from the Czech Republic. I'm told Novak is tall and athletic southpaw who sits in the high 80s with the makings of a change-up and slider. He's understandably a bit raw.
