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Astros Designate Raul Valdes For Assignment

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The Astros announced (via Twitter) that they have designated left-hander Raul Valdes for assignment.  In a related move, Houston recalled fellow southpaw Darin Downs from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Valdes, 36, allowed five runs over 3 and 2/3 innings for the Astros this season.  For his career, the veteran owns a 5.13 ERA across 9.4 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 across five big league campaigns.

Downs, 29, appeared in 29 games for the Tigers last season, posting a 4.84 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.  Over parts of five seasons in Triple-A, Downs has pitched to a 3.76 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.

Rays Designate Heath Bell For Assignment

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The Rays have designated Heath Bell for assignment, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter).  It’s a potentially costly decision for Tampa Bay as they’re on the hook for $5.5MM of Bell’s $9MM salary.

The Rays can theoretically get out from under their financial obligation to Bell if they find a trade partner in the next ten days, but that won’t be easy.  Bell, 36, is three years removed from his All-Star form and has struggled mightily thus far in 2014.  In 13 outings (17.1 innings), Bell has a 7.27 ERA with 12 strikeouts and eight walks.

This surely wasn’t the result that the Rays were hoping for when they acquired Bell in a three-team December deal.  While catcher Ryan Hanigan has been solid for Tampa Bay for the first month under his extended contract, the veteran reliever has floundered.  Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman expressed optimism at the time of the trade that Bell could enjoy a 2014 resurgence.

“His stuff is virtually as good as when he was a dominant closer with the Padres (2009-11),” said Friedman. “He missed a lot of bats last year. He commanded the ball better than he had in previous years. He’s just got a lot of things in place that give him a chance to be really good, and it’s about trying to sync them all up.”

In his last three seasons bouncing between the Marlins, Diamondbacks, and Rays, Bell owns a 4.91 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9.  That’s a far cry from the previous three years he enjoyed with the Padres where he posted a 2.36 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 en route to three straight All-Star selections.

In Bell’s place, the Rays have promoted right-hander Nate Karns.

Cafardo On Morales, Pirates, Buehrle, Hanrahan

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In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that Jarrod Saltalamacchia is over his breakup with the Red Sox and now thriving in his new environment with the Marlins.  The catcher is not only hitting well, but overseeing one of the most talented young pitching staffs in baseball. “It’s been fun being back home and just being a part of this team and watching us grow together,” Saltalamacchia said. “I think last year the guys were saying here that we really weren’t a team and now it seems we’re coming together. We have each other’s back. We look out for each other. We win together and we lose together. We know what we have to do to get better as a team.”  More from today’s column..

  • Ike Davis’ play since his trade from the Mets (.205/.279/.333 in 43 plate appearances) has not deterred the Pirates from trying to acquire a first baseman. However, the Pirates still don’t believe Kendrys Morales is the answer, believing he wouldn’t hold up playing every day and that he should be a DH.
  • Scouts are already indicating the Blue Jays will be a major team to pay attention to at the trading deadline. If they start fading, scouts view Mark Buehrle as a top target of contending teams. There’s also Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion to consider, but Buehrle, given his ability to pitch in either league at a high level and to work quickly and effectively, will be valued.
  • It appears Joel Hanrahan, the newest member of the Tigers, will need about a month to get back into playing mode.  Both Hanrahan and GM Dave Dombrowski declined to give a timetable on Friday’s conference call.
  • Mark Mulder, 36, is out of his boot and continues to rehab his torn Achilles tendon.  He says he’d “absolutely” get back out on the field if he heals properly from his injury, but he also has a long way to go before he knows that he’ll get there.  Mulder signed with the Angels after a six-year layoff but saw his comeback bid cut short by the injury.

Joel Hanrahan On Signing With Tigers

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More than 20 teams were on hand for Joel Hanrahan’s April showcase and the former closer reportedly dazzled everyone in attendance.  Ostensibly, Hanrahan had a number of opportunities to pick from and earlier today he came to terms on a deal with the Tigers.  The 32-year-old came out strong and hit 93 mph on the gun, which is extremely impressive considering that he’s just under one year removed from Tommy John Surgery.  On today’s conference call I asked Hanrahan if he was surprised by his fast turnaround.

“No, not really,” the confident veteran said.  “I put in the hard work while everyone else was playing this summer.  I was going to rehab five times a week at 8:00 in the morning.  That was my season. I’ve still got a bit of work to do here.  Hopefully when they put a hitter in the box and I get some adrenaline going, the velocity will be there. I’ve always been a velocity type guy with a bit of the breaking ball.”

While Hanrahan is a very notable addition and one that could help fortify a Tigers bullpen that struggled in 2013, there is another notable name that the club has been linked to heavily over the past few months in Stephen Drew.  When asked if there could be addition room for another major league free agent this season, Dombrowski said such a move wasn’t in the works but didn’t exactly shut the door.

“Our owner has always been generous but we’re not in a spot to do that necessarily.  We’ve made some moves with our club through trades, Andrew Romine has done a good job for us at shortstop, that was one area of need we had…” the GM said.  “The area we wanted to address most was our bullpen if we had the opportunity to.”

As for Hanrahan, both the pitcher and Dombrowski emphasized that there will be no clear timetable for his Tigers major league debut.  Hanrahan wouldn’t guarantee that he’ll be on the mound for Detroit in the next 30 days and the GM said his minor league warmup will be “sort of a Spring Training,” so it sounds like there’s little, if any, pressure on the reliever to rush himself back.  Hanrahan is extremely eager to getting back to what he does best but won’t take any chances to expedite the process.

Orioles Release Steve Pearce

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TUESDAY: The Orioles have announced that Pearce was claimed on release waivers (although it’s unclear which team claimed him), but that Pearce elected to become a free agent rather than accepting the claim. MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko tweets that the Orioles are interested in re-signing Pearce.

SUNDAY: The Orioles announced that they have released infielder/outfielder Steve Pearce. Baltimore designated the 31-year-old for assignment on Tuesday afternoon.

Pearce agreed with the O’s on a $850K deal to avoid arbitration this winter. The veteran made only seven plate appearances in the early portion of the 2014 season but he slashed .261/.362/.420 in 138 trips to the dish at the major league level in 2013.  Because the O’s have previously outrighted Pearce, he reserved the right to reject a minor league assignment.  However, it hasn’t come to that and the Orioles have instead cut him loose.

Over parts of eight big league seasons with the Pirates, Astros, Yankees, and Orioles, Pearce owns a career .237/.316/.376 slash line.  Across six Triple-A seasons, Pearce has slashed .287/.364/.497.

Quick Hits: Drew, Orioles, Samardzija, Rockies

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No one is crying for Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales, who turned down $14.1MM and remain unemployed, but Joel Sherman of the New York Post thinks its unfortunate that they have been subjected to the qualifying offer system.  In Sherman’s view, players already have too little control over their careers.  On top of that, accepting a one-year, $14.1MM deal isn’t as much of a slam dunk as it seems.  If a player doesn’t like where he is playing, or get along with his manager, or finds that the home ballpark is problematic to his game, he should have the opportunity to scope out the open market and look elsewhere without being hindered by the tag.  Here’s more from around baseball..

  • Will the Orioles go out-of-house for a first baseman?  Manager Buck Showalter doesn’t seem to think such a move is imminent.  “There are other people, but nobody yet that we like better than the options we have in-house, yet,” said the skipper, according to Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com (on Twitter).
  • Brewers pitcher Matt Garza offered up some advice for former teammate Jeff Samardzija, who is expected to be shopped by the Cubs this summer. “All I can tell him is keep pitching; pitch your way out of it,” said Garza, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Keep your eyes focused, your eyes straight ahead and just pitch. There’s nothing else you can do.”
  • The Dexter Fowler trade is reaping early rewards for the Rockies, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post.  Many wondered how the Rockies would replace Fowler’s leadoff bat and outfield glove, but Jordan Lyles’ early pitching and Brandon Barnes’ high-energy have made Colorado look wise so far.  On top of that, the salary savings from moving Fowler to the Astros allowed the Rockies to sign Justin Morneau, who has also looked strong through the season’s opening month.
  • Months after he agreed to a four-year, $60MM deal, Curtis Granderson and the Mets finally started to find some magic together this week, writes Barry Federovitch of the Star-Ledger.

Jeong Choi Aims To Play In MLB Next Year

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Jeong Choi, the top third baseman in Korea and a former Korean Series MVP, is looking to make the leap to Major League Baseball next season, agent Melvin Roman tells Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  The athletic 27-year-old is considered a five-tool player and enjoyed the best season of his career in 2013.

Choi has hit .300 and posted an OPS over .900 each of the past four seasons playing for SK Wyverns while averaging more than 23 home runs.  Last season, he slashed .316/.429/.551 and belted 28 home runs, putting him amongst the offensive elite in the KBO.  Choi also demonstrated his speed, swiping 24 bases.

Last winter’s third base free agent market was rather thin, but 2015’s figures to have several big names as Chase Headley, Aramis Ramirez, and Pablo Sandoval could hit the open market.  The addition of Choi could add even more depth and Heyman cites the Diamondbacks, White Sox, Red Sox, and possibly the Giants and Padres depending on what happens with Sandoval and Headley, that could be shopping at that position.

Cafardo On Red Sox, Rockies, Towers, Quentin

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The Red Sox were praised for their approach last offseason, but the Yankees’ method can work too, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  However, just like last year’s Red Sox, the Yankees will have to get unexpected performances.  The Red Sox got surprise contributions from Daniel Nava, Mike Carp, who was acquired for cash from the Mariners, and another from left-handed reliever Craig Breslow.   Yangervis Solarte is giving the Yankees that sort of performance so far and they’ll need more to stay strong throughout the year.  More from today’s column..

  • The Rockies are watching the Red Sox’ Double and Triple-A teams very closely.  Even though the Rockies are off to a good start and assistant GM Mike Hazen tells the Sox have not heard from Colorado about a trade, Cafardo says it’s something to keep an eye on down the road.   The Red Sox’ outfield started sluggishly and the Rockies have a surplus of outfielders, but at this time nothing like that has been discussed.
  • Any talk of Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers being in trouble likely isn’t accurate since he’s been the victim of bad luck more than anything.   “If Kevin Towers got fired over injuries to key personnel we’d all be in trouble,” one National League GM said.  Arizona has lost major additions in right-handed starter Bronson Arroyo (back) and outfielder Mark Trumbo (foot) as well as ace Patrick Corbin (elbow).
  • Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin, who has yet to play this season, will soon begin extended spring training after rehabbing his knee. He could be a trade candidate if he’s healthy since he’s owed $9.5MM this season and $8MM in 2015, which isn’t prohibitive.
  • There’s a lot of sentiment for asking Bud Selig to stay on for at least another year as baseball commissioner, until the owners can truly find a new leader.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Gibbons, D’Backs, Chavez

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On this date in 2004, at Dodger Stadium, Mike Piazza tied Carlton Fisk for the most career homers by a catcher with dinger No. 351 as a backstop. The homer, which was his 362nd overall, moved him past Joe DiMaggio on the all-time list.  Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere..

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Fasano, Matsui, Orioles

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On this date three years ago, Bud Selig announced that MLB would be taking over operations of the Dodgers because of concerns over Frank McCourt’s financial situation. McCourt planned to use the club’s new $2.5 billion, 20-year media-rights deal with News Corp.’s Fox Sports to get out of debt, but Selig interfered.  It’s amazing what a difference three years can make.  Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere..

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.  

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