Blue Jays Designate Mauro Gomez For Assignment
The Blue Jays designated first baseman Mauro Gomez for assignment, according to Scott MacArthur of TSN (via Twitter). Toronto also moved Melky Cabrera and Josh Johnson to 60-day DL, officially ending their 2013 seasons.
Gomez, soon to be 29, has spent the entire year with the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate, hitting .249/.322/.521 with 29 homers in 453 plate appearances. The first/third baseman saw some time in the majors last season with the Red Sox where he posted a .275/.324/.422 slash line in 37 games.
You can keep track of all of the players currently in DFA limbo using the MLBTR DFA Tracker.
Cubs Designate Dave Sappelt For Assignment
The Cubs announced that they have designated outfielder Dave Sappelt for assignment. The move makes way for the promotion of left-hander Zach Rosscup.
Sappelt, 26, came to the Cubs along with Ronald Torreyes and Travis Wood in exchange for Sean Marshall prior to the 2012 season. He hit just .240/.269/.280 this season and is a career .251/.301/.343 hitter in 274 plate appearances.
Rosscup, 25, was part of another major trade for the Cubs, as he came to Chicago from Tampa Bay along with Matt Garza. The Oregon native posted a 2.12 ERA with 14.6 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 51 relief innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season, most recently whiffing 17 batters in 7 2/3 innings at Triple-A.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
Giants Designate Tanaka, Runzler For Assignment
The Giants have designated Kensuke Tanaka and Dan Runzler for assignment, according to Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com (via Twitter). Baggarly speculated yesterday that Tanaka and Runzler could be bounced from the 40-man roster to make room for minor leaguers Heath Hembree and Johnny Monell and today the Giants followed through on that.
Tanaka, 32, saw time in 15 big league games for the Giants this season but he's spent the bulk of the year at Triple-A, hitting .329/.400/.397 in 400 plate appearances. The veteran split time between second base and left field for the team's affiliate in Fresno.
Runzler, 28, owns a 3.86 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 across parts of four seasons for the Giants. Those numbers are mostly propped up by strong pitching in 2009 and '10; the lefty reliever pitched a 5.52 ERA in the subsequent two years. He hasn't been able to get back on track at Triple-A Fresno so far this year, posting a 5.68 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 6.4 BB/9.
To keep track of the many players currently in DFA limbo, be sure to check out MLBTR's new DFA Tracker.
Mariners Release Aaron Harang
SUNDAY, 9:20am: The MLB transactions page reflects that Harang has been released.
MONDAY, 5:18pm: The Mariners announced that they have designated Aaron Harang for assignment. In a related move, outfielder Franklin Gutierrez has been activated from the 15-day disabled list.
Harang, 35, had a 5.76 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 22 starts this season. The veteran had solid numbers with the Padres and Rockies in the previous two seasons (3.62 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9) but has been unable to replicate that with the M's. He could be on his way to joining a fourth team in 2013 – the Dodgers traded Harang to the Rockies for Ramon Hernandez in April and Colorado flipped him to the M's just days later. Harang's stay with in Colorado was brief, however, and he never got to pitch for the Rockies.
For the status of all players in DFA Limbo, be sure to check out MLBTR's DFA Tracker.
Mets Sign Cory Wade
The Mets have signed Cory Wade to a minor league deal, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The news was first reported by Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter).
Wade signed a minor league deal with the Rays back in May after being cut loose by the Cubs' Triple-A affiliate. The 30-year-old enjoyed a drastic turnaround in the Rays organization, pitching to a brilliant 2.17 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 49 1/3 innings of relief for the Durham Bulls.
His Major League career has been up and down, as he's twice pitched a full season with a sub-3.00 ERA (in 2008 with the Dodgers and 2011 with the Yankees) and twice posted an ERA north of 5.50 in significant action (2009 with the Dodgers and 2012 with the Yankees). In total, Wade has a career 3.65 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 39.5 percent ground-ball rate in 177 2/3 innings between the Bronx and L.A.
Wade is represented by Casey Close of Excel Sports Management, as shown in the MLBTR Agency Database.
Union Has Concerns Over Contract Language
The MLBPA has fought hard to secure and maintain guaranteed contracts across the board for its players. At the same time, teams are looking to reduce their risk in deals and some have taken to adding guarantee language to contracts, which could theoretically void the contract if a player is in violation of conditions in the clause. It's an issue that has yet to blow up, but it was of enough concern to the MLBPA that they discussed it at length in a New York City summit last year, sources tell Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
At the time, the Cubs, Yankees, and Nationals were among the teams that were putting additional language into their contracts to help protect them against certain off-the-field occurrences. That doesn't sit well with the union as they would argue that punishment for harmful behaviors is already covered under the collective bargaining agreement. Ultimately, the union was worried that teams could look to 86 contracts over things like PED use and misrepresentation of age. While this hasn't really been an issue yet, sources assure Passan that the Yankees have discussed turning to guarantee language to go after Alex Rodriguez.
In total, Passan counts four instances of teams attempting to use guarantee language to convert a deal from guaranteed to non-guaranteed in an effort to ostensibly void a deal. Three of those cases were settled for close to 90 cents on the dollar owed, sources said, before an arbitrator could rule on any grievance. The other case was when the Padres tried to void LaMarr Hoyt's deal entirely when he was caught smuggling drugs across the Mexican border, but they were unsuccessful.
Passan's article includes a look at the list of prohibited activities under the Cubs' standard guarantee language. The list is comically lengthy and covers everything ranging from hot air ballooning to bobsledding to participation in a show like the Battle Of The Network Stars, just in case that gets a reboot. However, agents have asked the Cubs to back off of that language and they have agreed. The bigger concern for the union is that the Cubs contract calls for a conversion in the event of things such as attempted suicide, contraction of HIV, criminal acts, and PED use. The MLBPA believed teams were broadening the conversion clause to potentially punish PED users beyond the discipline called for in the joint drug agreement.
While there is obviously some disagreement between the two sides on this issue, both tend to agree that truly standard guarantee language would go a long way toward fixing the issue. That was an idea that was brought up during the last CBA talks, but was too far down the priority list and wasn't addressed. That's something that could change ahead of 2016 when the league will have a new JDA. At that point, PED penalties will likely increase and the incentive to go after users will be even greater.
West Notes: Hamilton, Dodgers, Volquez, Suzuki
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark turned to executives, scouts, and other baseball people to try and figure out what has gone wrong with Josh Hamilton since he joined the Angels. While some expressed doubt over whether he can rebound, GM Jerry Dipoto said that he's confident that his sizable investment will pay off. "I still believe in Josh's physical ability. I still believe in the player. … And we've seen signs, over the last three weeks [as Hamilton has put up a .329/.414/.539 slash line over a 19-game stretch], that he's getting back to doing the things that Josh Hamilton does," the GM said. Here's more out of the AL and NL West..
- The Dodgers signed Edinson Volquez shortly after he was cut loose by the Padres, but there were plenty of other suitors. The pitcher says that he chose L.A. over the Reds, Blue Jays, Orioles, Phillies, and "a couple more" teams, tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Volquez added that he's willing to start or relieve for the Dodgers.
- Ken Gurnick of MLB.com (via Twitter) notes that even though Don Mattingly said that Volquez would come out of the bullpen for the Dodgers, he was seen taking batting practice with the starting pitchers.
- Kurt Suzuki is glad to be back with the A's and the feeling is mutual within the organization. Manager Bob Melvin says that one advantage of reacquiring Suzuki is that he won't need a whole lot of time to get acquainted with the Oakland pitching staff as other backstops would, writes Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com.
NL East Notes: Mets, Kendrick, Phillies, Nats
After a week in which the Mets lost Matt Harvey for the season and traded Marlon Byrd and John Buck to the Pirates, GM Sandy Alderson sent out a letter to team season ticket holders. The letter, which was passed along by Kristie Ackert of the Daily News, re-iterated the club's desire to win as many games as possible in 2013, even though they won't be playoff bound. "This offseason, we will explore every possible way of improving our club. Trades and free agent signings always seem to get the most attention, but helping our current players also will be a key to improving in 2014 and beyond," Alderson wrote. Here's more out of the NL East..
- David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News explains why another year of Kyle Kendrick at about $8MM would be a good deal for the Phillies. Kendrick's two-year, $7.5MM deal expires this season, leading to his final year of arbitration eligibility. Kendrick, 29, owns a 4.40 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 on the year.
- The Phillies officially signed Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez today and GM Ruben Amaro Jr. sounds confident that the deal is a worthwhile risk for the club despite health concerns, writes CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury.
- Nationals manager Davey Johnson told 106.7 The Fan that he feels this is a good time for him to "ride off into the sunset," writes Patrick Reddington of Federal Baseball. However, it sounds as though the 70-year-old still wants to work in baseball in some capacity.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney (video link) explains why the Marlins' Jose Fernandez should be the Rookie of the Year.
AL Central Notes: Morneau, Willingham, White Sox
Earlier today, the Orioles found their new bat in the Mariners' Mike Morse after a potential deal for the Twins' Josh Willingham fizzled. The Twins reportedly asked for top prospect Eduardo Rodriguez in exchange for the outfielder, which was too rich for Baltimore's blood. Here's more on the Twins and other notes out of the AL Central..
- A Twins source tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter) that the club still isn't close on any deal and that includes Justin Morneau. The Twins may have asked for a lot to part with Willingham, but they have been said to be more eager to deal Morneau, who is a pending free agent. It was also reported earlier this week that the PIrates had interest in the 2006 AL MVP along with other clubs.
- Willingham is happy that the two-day window passed without a trade being reached, writes MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger. “I’m comfortable here so I’d like to stay here,” Willingham said. “The bottom line is I didn’t have any control so I didn’t worry myself with it.” The 34-year-old is under contract with the Twins through 2014 and he's set to earn $7MM in his walk year.
- Jake Peavy, who is facing the White Sox tonight for the first time since the Boston deal, says that he doesn't expect his former club to face a lengthy rebuilding process, tweets Scott Merkin of MLB.com.
Reds Designate Justin Freeman For Assignment
The Reds announced that they have designated Justin Freeman for assignment. In a corresponding move, the club has promoted Zach Duke to the big league roster.
Freeman, 26, saw just one inning of action for the Reds this season when he faced the Phillies on April 17th. In six minor league seasons in the Reds system, the right-handed reliever owns a 3.57 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9.
You can keep track of every player in DFA limbo using MLBTR's brand new DFA Tracker.