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AL East Notes: Red Sox, Bradley, Cashman, O’s

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This spring, Jackie Bradley Jr. has shown that he absolutely belongs on the Red Sox's big league roster, but he may not break camp with the club for Opening Day because of service time considerations.  It's a system that agent Scott Boras believes is deeply flawed, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.  "Certainly one of the problems in baseball is that the fans are owed the best performance. But for strategic and economic reasons the clubs place themselves in the position where they're making decisions based on the economic structure and not on the performance," Boras said. "Every team does this. I don't think it's good for baseball."  Here's more from the AL East..

  • Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe (on Twitter) thinks that the Red Sox are either trying to make sure that he stays healthy and/or looking to trade someone off of the 40-man roster to clear a spot for him.
  • When asked if there were any attractive outside options available, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman responded, "We’ll see. You don’t have to be attractive right now," tweets Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger.
  • The Orioles released Adam Greenberg from their minor league system, tweets Steve Melewski of MASNsports.  Greenberg, who was hit in the head with a pitch when he debuted with the Cubs in 2005, inked a one-day deal with the Marlins last year.

Minor Moves: Evans, Proctor, Demel

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.

  • The Diamondbacks signed utility man Nick Evans, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter).  Evans, who last appeared at the MLB level with the Mets in 2011, was cut loose by the Dodgers earlier this month.
  • The Orioles have acquired pitcher Scott Proctor from the Giants for cash, Andrew Baggarly of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area reports (via Twitter). Proctor will pitch for Triple-A Norfolk. Proctor last appeared in the big leagues in 2011, when he played for the Yankees and Braves. He pitched in Korea in 2012.
  • The Yankees have outrighted reliever Sam Demel to Triple-A Scranton, the team’s PR department reports (on Twitter). The team claimed Demel from the Astros earlier this week. The team also added Jayson Nix and Ben Francisco to its 40-man roster, the team notes (on Twitter) and, as MLBTR noted earlier today, designated reliever David Aardsma for assignment. Demel, 27, spent most of 2012 at Triple-A Reno in the Diamondbacks system, posting a 4.07 ERA in 66 1/3 innings with 10.2 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. He has pitched 63 2/3 major-league innings in his career, all with the Diamondbacks.

Minor Moves: Townsend, Royals, Green, Geltz

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 Here are some of today's minor moves:

  • Tyler Townsend, an Orioles' first base prospect who impressed when healthy but could not overcome his myriad injuries, has announced his retirement, reports Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com. Despite his "great swing," Townsend ultimately "was just not enjoying the process" due to the series of hamstring, wrist, and hip injuries he suffered, explained O's director of player developmet Brian Graham.
  • The Royals have released minor league pitchers Michael Giovenco, Jose Jimenez, Leondy Perez, and Elisaul Pimentel, reports Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star. K.C. originally acquired Pimentel before the 2010 trade deadline along with catcher Lucas May, in a deal that sent Scott Podsednik to the Dodgers.
  • Marlins infielder Nick Green has been "sent down" by Miami and "may consider opting out" of his deal with the club, CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman tweets. Green elected free agency when he was outrighted to Triple-A by the Marlins last fall, only to return to the club on a minor league deal in January.
  • Righty Steve Geltz was outrighted by the Angels today and will head to the club's Triple-A affiliate, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reports on Twitter. The move opens a 40-man roster spot for the Angels. Geltz, 25, saw his first big league action last year for L.A., logging just two innings in relief. While Geltz posted a 0.36 ERA in 25 1/3 Double-A innings last year, he sported a 5.08 ERA in his 33 2/3 innings at Triple-A Salt Lake.

Orioles Acquire Jairo Asencio From Brewers

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7:53pm: Asencio will not be placed on the 40-man roster and will likely be assigned to Triple-A, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports (Twitter link). The Orioles' interest in Asencio dates back to last season.

7:36pm: The Orioles have acquired right-hander Jairo Asencio from the Brewers in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations, according to Rich Dubroff of CSN Baltimore (on Twitter).

Asencio, 28, split the 2012 season between the Indians and Cubs, pitching to a 4.91 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 40 1/3 innings of relief work. He's been flat-out dominant at the Triple-A level, compiling a 2.52 ERA, 10.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 139 1/3 innings, though that's yet to transfer over to the big league level.

Asencio has averaged 92.3 mph on his heater throughout his career and owns a 40.8 percent ground-ball rate. He pitched previously under a false name: Luis Valdez.

Multiple Teams Showing Interest In Chris Young

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MONDAY: The Blue Jays, Orioles, Twins, Indians, Cubs, Cardinals, Red Sox, Brewers and Mets all have scouts on hand for Young's start against the Astros today, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). However, as he's quick to note, that doesn't necessarily mean that each team is there to scout Young specifically.

For what it's worth, Young was terrific in his outing, scattering two hits, a walk and an unearned run over four innings to go along with a pair of strikeouts.

SUNDAY, 2:10pm: The Pirates are intrigued by Young, tweets the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Rob Biertempfel. However, Biertempfel wonders whether the Pirates can assure Young he'd be on roster the whole year and, if not, whether or not Young would be interested.

11:25am: The minor league deal that Chris Young signed with the Nationals last month contains an opt-out clause that he can exercise today. However, Young is scheduled to pitch in a Grapefruit League game tomorrow. Dan Kolko of MASNsports tweets that Young is planning on making that start tomorrow and then making a decision. Young says he has received interest from other teams, and it was reported on Friday that Young likely won't make the roster.

The Washington Post's Adam Kilgore adds that the Nationals hope to retain Young and view him as the clear favorite for a rotation spot if one of their starting five were to suffer an injury. Young is interested in staying in the organization in the event that he can't find a Major League job elsewhere.

The 33-year-old Young posted a 4.15 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 115 innings for the Mets last season. However, teams in smaller ballparks will likely be wary of Young's alarming 58.2 percent fly-ball rate. Among pitchers with 100 innings or more, Young's fly-ball rate was far and away the highest in baseball, while his 22.3 percent ground-ball rate was far and away the lowest.

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

Orioles Could Trade Luis Ayala

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The Orioles are contacting other teams to let them know reliever Luis Ayala is available in a trade, the Baltimore Sun’s Dan Connolly reports. The O’s would like to find space on their 25-man roster for Rule 5 Draft pick T.J. McFarland. They might be looking for players in return who aren’t required to be placed on the 40-man roster, Connolly says.

Baltimore is known to be interested in finding depth to back up Matt Wieters and Taylor Teagarden at catcher.

Ayala will make $1MM in 2013. He pitched 75 innings for the Orioles in 2012, posting a 2.64 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9.

Orioles, Phillies Swap Minor Leaguers

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The Orioles have acquired minor league right-hander Julio Rodriguez from the Phillies in exchange for outfielder Ronnie Welty, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli (on Twitter).

Rodriguez, who turned 21 in August, pitched to a 4.23 ERA with a 9.1 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 in 134 innings for the Phillies' Double-A affiliate last season. He did not rank among Baseball America's Top 30 Phillies prospects, nor did he appear on MLB.com's list of Top 20 Phillies prospects.

The 25-year-old Welty has some experience at all three outfield positions but played right field exclusively in 2012. Last season, he batted .333/.373/.662 with 13 homers in 229 plate appearances across four levels. However, a great deal of those plate appearances came in Rookie ball and Class-A (both levels) as he rehabbed from an injury. In 37 games for Double-A Bowie, he batted .286/.303/.564. Like Rodriguez, he did not appear on his team's respective Top 30 and Top 20 prospects.

Beltway Notes: Wieters, Jurrjens, Gonzalez, Rizzo

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One Scott Boras client created a tense moment for another today as Prince Fielder lined a ball off the left hand of Stephen Strasburg during a Spring Training game.  Strasburg seemed fine after the knock and continuing pitching, finishing the outing with three runs allowed and five strikeouts over six innings of work.

Here's the latest from around the Beltway from both the Nationals' and Orioles' camps…

  • Matt Wieters told Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com that he would be open to discusing a multiyear extension with the Orioles but didn't confirm whether any talks had taken place.  "At this point, I am getting ready for the year and if something were to ever develop, I'd pretty much tell Scott [agent Scott Boras] to present the information," Wieters said.  O's executive VP Dan Duquette said in January that the team would likely approach Wieters about a long-term deal at some point during the offseason, while the catcher said he just wants to focus on playing once Opening Day hits.  Wieters has two more arbitration eligible years left and is eligible for free agency after the 2015 season.
  • Jair Jurrjens can't opt out of his Orioles contract until June 15, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports (via Twitter).  The O's signed the veteran righty to a minor league deal last month.
  • The Nationals are internally confident that Gio Gonzalez won't be suspended for his connection to the controversial Biogenesis clinic in Miami, James Wagner of the Washington Post reports.  MLB is continuing to investigate Gonzalez and other players named in the clinic's records, though last month it was reported that no banned substances were among Gonzalez's alleged purchases from Biogenesis.
  • Nationals center field prospect Eury Perez could become trade bait after this season, MLB.com's Bill Ladson opines as part of a reader mailbag.  Perez has become expendable with Denard Span in center and other prospects like Brian Goodwin and Michael Taylor also in the mix.
  • Nats GM Mike Rizzo hinted to reporters (including Ladson) that Chris Young may opt out of his contract on or before March 24 since there doesn't seem to be room for the right-hander on the Nationals' Major League roster.  "We are certainly not going to keep him in the minor leagues if he has a chance at a big league job," Rizzo said.  "That's only right. That's how we get these players to come with us under these conditions, because they know we are going to do right by them and treat them well."
  • "We'll know what other teams think of him," Rizzo said of utilityman Carlos Rivero, who is out of options. "He is a good, versatile player. He is a guy that could help some teams….We'll see shortly."  Rivero, 24, has a .265/.322/.386 line over 3222 career PA in the minor leagues since 2006.  Here is the full list of this year's out of options players.

Blue Jays Claim Todd Redmond

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The Blue Jays claimed Todd Redmond off of waivers from the Orioles, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports (on Twitter). The Blue Jays confirmed the move, adding that they optioned Redmond to Triple-A Buffalo. Toronto placed Drew Hutchison on the 60-day disabled list to create roster space for Redmond.

The Orioles had claimed the right-hander off of waivers from the Reds last month. The 27-year-old made his MLB debut in 2012, starting one game at the big league level. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a 3.63 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 148 2/3 innings. The Reds acquired him from the Braves for Paul Janish last July.

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