Pirates Designate Zach Stewart For Assignment
The Pirates have designated Zach Stewart for assignment, according to MLB.com's official transactions page. The move was made in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Jeff Karstens, whom they signed earlier this week.
Stewart was acquired from the Red Sox for a player to be named later in late November. In 103 career major league innings at the MLB level, Stewart has a 6.82 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9. He's no stranger to the pages of MLBTR, having been traded four times since being drafted by the Reds in 2008.
AL West Notes: Morse, Kubel, M’s, Angels, Young
Yesterday, Mariners General Manager Jack Zduriencik told reporters, including MLBTR's Mark Polishuk, that while he liked what John Jaso brought to the table for the team, it was worth parting with him in order to acquire an impact hitter like Michael Morse. Morse will now join Kendrys Morales, Jason Bay, and Raul Ibanez in the middle of Seattle's lineup for 2013 but Jack Z says that he isn't done yet. Seattle would still like to add veteran depth at catcher in support of Jesus Montero. Here's today's news out of the American League West..
- Before acquiring Morse and before Justin Upton vetoed the deal that never was, the Mariners had serious talks about getting Jason Kubel, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. The D'Backs are said to be seeking young pitching in return for the outfielder and recently had talks with the Orioles about him.
- Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) looked at the five outfielders most likely to be traded this season, including Chris Young and Coco Crisp of the A's and the Angels' Vernon Wells. If manager Bob Melvin is committed to Crisp, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Young is shipped to the first team that loses its starting center fielder to injury. And for his part, Crisp has said that he wouldn't mind a trade to a contender.
- In conversations with several agents and executives about young stars who might agree to contract extensions in the near future, the Angels' Mike Trout and the Mariners' Felix Hernandez came up fairly often, writes MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. "If I'm [the Angels]," said one exec of Trout, "I'm already talking about a crazy long deal. I don't think anybody knows what his ceiling is. You could be looking at the greatest modern player in the game."
Orioles Notes: Duquette, Showalter, Pitching
Yesterday, the Orioles finalized lengthy contract extensions for manager Buck Showalter and General Manager Dan Duquette. Here's a look at some news out of their joint press conference earlier today..
- Duquette told reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports (on Twitter), that he would still like to add a veteran starter this winter. So far, it has been a quiet offseason for the O's on the heels of their first postseason birth 1997.
- While Duquette says that there's still plenty of time left in the offseason to make moves, he explained that he's rather happy with what the O's already have in place, writes Kubatko. "We have more work to do..But again, I like this ballclub, I like the depth of the pitching, I like the core players, I like the leadership on the field and I think we have a very competitive team. And we'll have some other opportunities," the GM said.
- The GM also said that he doesn't envision any impact hitters becoming available on the trade market anytime soon.
- Meanwhile, ownership representative Louis Angelos applauded Duquette and Showalter for not making any moves this winter that might jeopardize the club's future, writes Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun.
Four Teams Interested In Ryan Theriot
THURSDAY: The Rangers and Indians also have some interest in Theriot, Heyman reports (on Twitter).
WEDNESDAY: The Phillies and Giants are among the teams interested in free agent Ryan Theriot, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The shortstop/second baseman hit .270/.316/.321 in 384 plate appearances for San Francisco last season.
Theriot, a client of Beverly Hills Sports Council, owns a career .281/.341/.350 slash line across eight seasons with four teams. The veteran has had the good fortune of capturing World Series rings in his last two stops – San Francisco and St. Louis (2011).
The Giants reportedly shopped Theriot last March, with possible interest from teams including the Phillies, but wound up holding on to him.
Jo-Jo Reyes Released; Signs In Korea
THURSDAY, 10:12am: The SK Wyverns announced they've signed Reyes (via Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net).
WEDNESDAY, 8:49pm: Reyes and his representatives are still negotiating with SK Wyverns and the Angels are still negotiating the compensation they will receive for releasing the southpaw, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reports (Twitter link). The transaction is expected to be finalized by tomorrow.
11:33am: The Angels are giving left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes his unconditional release to allow him to sign with the SK Wyverns of the Korean League, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The Paragon Sports International client signed a minor league deal with a big league spring training invite in November.
This isn't the first time Reyes has drawn interest from Korea as he fielded interest from the KBO around this time last year before hooking on with the Pirates. The 28-year-old posted a 2.67 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in nine starts and eight Triple-A relief appearances last season. Despite strong numbers in the minors over the years, Reyes has a career 6.05 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in the majors.
Orioles Closing In On Showalter Extension
The Orioles hope to announce a contract extension for manager Buck Showalter this week and it could come as early as tomorrow morning, according to Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun. It's not yet known when the deal will become official but the two sides have been confident for weeks that it would all get hammered out.
Showalter's current contract has just one season remaining and the new deal is expected to take him through at least the 2017 season. That would make it longer than the three-year deal the skipper signed in August 2010.
Baltimore surprised the baseball world under Showalter's leadership in 2012, clinching their first postseason birth since 1997 with a 93-69 record.
East Notes: Orioles, Mets, Wilson, Blue Jays
We know that the Orioles aren't looking to trade J.J. Hardy based on recent comments from manager Buck Showalter, but that doesn't mean that Baltimore won't look to make other deals. "I know from talking to Peter [Angelos], if there's a deal there that everybody thinks works, we're going to go. Nobody's scared here. Nobody's afraid to make a deal here. Trust me. Trust me. It's just, we've got to get the right one," said the skipper, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (on Twitter). Here's more out of the AL and NL East..
- The Mets are reportedly showing serious interest in Brian Wilson, but Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (onTwitter) doesn't see a signing in the immediate future. At this stage, Rubin is told that Wilson still has a ways to go after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year.
- Don't look for the Mets to actively pursue Grady Sizemore thanks to an outfield already full of left-handed hitters, adds Rubin (via Twitter). The former Indians star's health remains an issue heading into 2013 as Sizemore works to recover from microfracture surgery on his knee.
- Other teams in the AL East, like the Blue Jays, claim that they're not building with the idea of pouncing while the Yankees are cost-conscious, but Ken Davidoff of the New York Post isn't necessarily buying it. Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos has said that his club has a three-to-five-year window to seriously contend, and a person familiar with the the Blue Jays’ internal discussions says that it ties back into the Yankees’ apparent weakening and the Red Sox's disappointing 2012.
- The Red Sox have high hopes for their recently-replenished youth movement, writes Tim Britton of The Providence Journal. Boston has placed a greater emphasis on developing talent from within their system ever since their August trade with the Dodgers.
Daniel Seco contributed to this post.
Mets Showing Strong Interest In Brian Wilson
2:45pm: Alderson is "not sure" if the Mets will extend Wilson an offer, reports the New York Post's Mike Puma.
10:03 am: The Mets are showing strong interest in former Giants closer Brian Wilson, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson watched Wilson yesterday in a private workout.
Before the New Year we learned that Wilson narrowed down his list of suitors in half from about nine or ten to approximately five. The Giants are open to a reunion but are only willing to give Wilson a deal with a low base salary and performance-based incentives. The 30-year-old made only two appearances in 2012 before suffering a season-ending elbow injury.
Justin Upton Rumors: Sunday
Earlier today, we learned that the budget-conscious Yankees aren't in on Justin Upton at present. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports proposed a scenario in which the Yanks send Curtis Granderson to the Mariners and then parlay that haul into Upton, but it doesn't look like Brian Cashman & Co. are going to join the fray for the Diamondbacks star. We'll keep track of the latest on Upton here..
- D'Backs GM Kevin Towers told Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com that he won't be giving the outfielder away for cheap and he's not in a rush to move him. Towers also said owner Ken Kendrick is "fine" with them keeping all their outfielders. Kendrick seemed to have a strong preference towards moving Upton when he spoke with Heyman earlier this offseason, but he'll be leaving the call up to Towers.
Yankees Haven’t Intensified Pursuit Of Justin Upton
There are several teams looking into a trade for the Diamondbacks' Justin Upton, but right now it doesn't seem as though the Yankees will be among them. The Bombers would still like to add a right-handed hitter but haven’t picked up their pursuit of Upton since he was nearly dealt to the Mariners, major league sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
Their decision to stay out of the Upton sweepstakes likely has to do with their efforts to get beneath the $189MM tax threshold for 2014. Upton wouldn't fit into that plan as he is owed $38.5MM over the next three years. Morosi proposes that the Yankees could make room for Upton on the payroll and in the outfield by moving Curtis Granderson, who will earn $15MM this season.
Yesterday, Buster Olney of ESPN.com reported that the Braves are "lying in the weeds" in conversations about Upton and the D'Backs are expected to target Mike Olt in any talks with the Rangers.