Orioles Designate Kyle Hudson For Assignment
The Orioles announced they've designated outfielder Kyle Hudson for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot for newly-signed lefty Wei-Ying Chen.
In the minors Hudson hit .296/.375/.336 in 485 plate appearances, ascending from High-A to the Majors with stops at each level along the way. Hudson, 25, played mostly center and left field. In a chat yesterday, Baseball America's Will Lingo wrote that the speedy Hudson is "a premium athlete, but he's still refining his baseball skills, particularly his swing."
Orioles Re-Sign Willie Eyre
The Orioles re-signed righty reliever Willie Eyre to a minor league deal with a spring training invite, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com. The Orioles had designated Eyre for assignment upon acquiring Dana Eveland in December, and non-tendered him a few days later.
Eyre, a 33-year-old Sosnick Cobbe client, had 18 1/3 big league innings in 2011. For the Athletics' Triple-A affiliate, he posted a 3.48 ERA, 6.5 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, and 0.73 HR/9 in 62 innings.
Orioles Close To Deal With Wei-Yin Chen
The Orioles are close to a multiyear deal with Taiwanese lefty Wei-Yin Chen, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. As a foreign player in Nippon Professional Baseball, Chen had free agency negotiated into his contract with the Chunichi Dragons.
Last year in Japan, Chen posted a 2.68 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, and 0.49 HR/9 in 164 2/3 innings. He ranked 19th on Keith Law's top 50 free agents list. Law offered a positive scouting report, concluding that Chen "offers more upside than the typical NPB refugee, both due to age and the chance for the slider to become a consistently plus pitch." Chen, 26, throws relatively hard for a southpaw, as high as 92-94 when he's right according to Law.
New Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette has gone the international route to supplement his rotation, having already added an NPB starter in December in Tsuyoshi Wada.
AL East Notes: Smith, Hanigan, Yankees, Orioles
Exactly one year ago, the Rays and Cubs finalized an eight-player deal that sent Matt Garza to Chicago. 365 days later, Garza is on the block again, though so far teams have balked at the Cubs' asking price. Could Garza be back in the AL East before Opening Day? While we wait to find out, here are a few links from the division:
- Although we heard in recent weeks that Tampa Bay was interested in Rockies' outfielder Seth Smith, the Rays may not have held onto Smith had they acquired him. According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider link), one deal discussed earlier in the winter involved the Rays trading for Smith and flipping him to the Reds in exchange for catcher Ryan Hanigan.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff explains why the Yankees haven't made a move for one of the top starting pitchers (including Garza) available via free agency or trade.
- Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com looks into the Orioles' search for a designated hitter.
- Check out this morning's Red Sox notes here and last night's AL East notes here.
AL East Notes: Damon, Ramirez, Scott, Oliver, Theriot
Here are some items out of the American League East..
- Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman continues to comb the market for a pair of bats but is confident that the right deals will present themselves, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Friedman says that both Johnny Damon and Casey Kotchman are candidates to return, but Topkin writes that they would only look to bring one back if they wanted to improve at either spot.
- Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette wouldn't say much when asked about the club's interest in Manny Ramirez, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. However, Duquette did confirm that the club still has interest in Luke Scott, who they non-tendered last month. At least eleven teams have expressed some level of interest in the 33-year-old.
- Blue Jays skipper John Farrell won't comment on what's holding up the official announcement of the club's deal with Darren Oliver, but it's likely related to finding spot on the 40-man roster, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Toronto agreed to sign the reliever to a one-year deal with a club option for 2013 earlier this week.
- The Rays wanted Brooks Conrad on a minor-league deal but Conrad ultimately chose the Brewers because they offered greater potential for at-bats, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal adds (via Twitter) that the Rays also like Ryan Theriot as they seek out a utility infielder.
Orioles Notes: Soriano, Pitching, Ramirez, Miller
Yesterday, we heard that the Orioles and Cubs talked about a deal involving Alfonso Soriano. In order to ship the outfielder elsewhere, the Cubs would have to eat a substantial portion of the $54MM remaining on his contract. Here's more on Soriano and the Orioles..
- Talks between the Orioles and Cubs were probably not very serious, sources told Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com. Dan Duquette doesn't want to spend heavily on a designated hitter and even if the Cubs ate about 80% of the $54MM owed to Soriano, the O's would still be on the hook for $3-4MM for each of the next three seasons.
- Dubroff adds that if Duquette shells out a big contract this winter, it'll be for a pitcher, not for a one-dimensional DH. Former O's reliever Mike Gonzalez is still on the open market, but it's not likely that he'll get the chance to redeem himself in Baltimore.
- The Orioles and Blue Jays have both evaluated Manny Ramirez, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (Spanish link). According to a source, both clubs sent scouts to watch Ramirez hit in an indoor cage in Miami.
- Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter) writes that executive director of international recruiting Fred Ferreira and manager Buck Showalter watched Ramirez take batting practice shortly after the Winter Meetings.
- The Orioles didn't trade for Jai Miller because of concerns over Nick Markakis' health, writes Kubatko. Miller is seen as an upgrade over former first-round pick Brandon Snyder, and a better overall player than Matt Angle. The O's acquired Miller for $45K from the Athletics on Tuesday.
- The Orioles signed Korean right-hander Eun Chul Choi to a minor league deal, according to Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. Not much is known about the 6-foot-5 hurler, but based on comments from Duquette, it seems that his signing marks the beginning of a serious push into Korea by the organization.
Heyman On Rizzo, Rangers, Webb, Jackson
The Cubs acquired Anthony Rizzo from the Padres today, but they weren’t the only team with interest in the first base prospect. The Indians, Blue Jays and Rays also had some interest in Rizzo, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Here are more notes from Heyman (they all go to Twitter):
- The Rangers would like to lock Mike Napoli, Josh Hamilton, Mike Adams and Colby Lewis to extensions if possible, according to Heyman. Ian Kinsler and Derek Holland are among the Rangers’ other extension candidates.
- Brandon Webb started throwing again in late December and his arm is “strong and loose,” according to his agent. Webb signed with the Rangers last offseason, but didn't pitch at the Major League level and underwent right shoulder surgery in the summer. He hasn't appeared in an MLB game since April of 2009.
- The Orioles have interest in Edwin Jackson, according to Heyman. Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun explained in December that Jackson's upside intrigues the Orioles.
Red Sox, Mariners Interested In Maholm
The Red Sox and Mariners are among the teams interested in Paul Maholm, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Cubs and Orioles are still in on the free agent left-hander and the Pirates remain in touch with him. The Padres have also been linked to Maholm, a Bo McKinnis client.
Maholm, 29, posted a 3.66 ERA with 5.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and 49.9% ground ball rate in 162 1/3 innings for the Pirates in 2011. He spent the end of the season on the disabled list recovering from a shoulder injury and the Pirates chose a $750K buyout over a $9.75MM club option in October.
The Red Sox could use rotation depth behind Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Daniel Bard. The Mariners, who locked up Hisashi Iwakuma yesterday, are open to the idea of adding another veteran arm if the price is right, according to Rosenthal.
Orioles, Cubs Discussed Alfonso Soriano
The Orioles and Cubs have discussed a trade involving Alfonso Soriano, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported yesterday that a couple of teams have inquired about Soriano and at this point there's no indication that Baltimore GM Dan Duquette is close to adding Soriano to the left field/designated hitter mix.
Soriano posted a .244/.289/.469 line with 26 home runs last season and is under contract through 2014. There’s $54MM remaining on the 35-year-old left fielder's contract and his no-trade clause allows him to block trades. The Cubs would presumably have to absorb upwards of $40MM to facilitate a deal. Earlier in the week, they sent Carlos Zambrano to the Marlins, absorbing $15.5MM of his $18MM salary in the process.
Quick Hits: Manny, Braves, Oliver, Tejada
Some links as Thursday turns into Friday…
- As part of his comeback attempt, Manny Ramirez will work out for teams later this month according to ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter). Manny was officially reinstated last month, and he indicated that the "doors are open" for a minor league contract.
- Braves GM Frank Wren told MLB.com's Mark Bowman that he feels both Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado will be with the team at the start of Spring Training. They still have interest in Adam Jones and could continue to pursue the outfielder if the Orioles lower their demands.
- The Yankees never inquired on lefty reliever Darren Oliver before he signed with the Blue Jays, reports MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith (on Twitter). New York has brought in southpaws Hideki Okajima and Mike O'Connor on minor league deals this offseason.
- Miguel Tejada is training in Miami as he looks to make a comeback, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). The 37-year-old was designated for assignment by the Giants in August after hitting .239/.270/.326 in 343 plate appearances.
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America recapped the last three weeks of minor league transactions. We've covered all the significant moves here, but you can check out which low-level minor leaguers your favorite team recently released.