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Conor Jackson Retires

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Outfielder Conor Jackson has decided to retire, according to a tweet by the Norfolk Tides, the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate. Jackson signed a minor league deal with the Orioles last December and was their final cut this spring after posting a slash line of .302/.327/.528 with three home runs and six RBIs in 22 games. Norfolk manager Ron Johnson said Jackson is healthy but he has been wrestling with the decision to retire as his heart is just not into baseball right now, reports MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko (Twitter links). 

"A lot happens during the season and I've been on teams where the 25-man roster starts one way and ends up a different way within six weeks," Jackson said when he was cut (as quoted by Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun). "It's a funny game and things work differently."

Things did work differently when Jackson managed only five hits in 25 at-bats for a .200/.333/.240 batting line in his nine games with the Tides. Taken by the Diamondbacks with the 19th overall pick in the 2003 amateur draft, Jackson was ranked by Baseball America as the 17th best prospect entering the 2006 season and he didn't disappoint averaging a slash line of .292/.371/.451 from 2006-2008 for Arizona. Jackson then contracted Valley Fever that offseason and was never the same. His last MLB action came in 2011 when appeared in 114 games for the A's and Red Sox, the most since his illness, hitting .244/.310/.341. The 30-year-old spent the entire 2012 campaign at Triple-A in the White Sox's organization recording a line of .277/.363/.434.

According to Baseball Reference, the 30-year-old made nearly $10.5MM during his seven-year MLB career (658 games) and finishes with a slash line of .271/.351/.407.

Rangers Notes: Stanton, Borbon, Orioles

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Yesterday, we learned that the Rangers are "growing confident" that they'll be able to find a taker for Julio Borbon after designating him for assignment last week.  We already know that the Twins are among the teams with interest in the 27-year-old, but another interested club has emerged.  Meanwhile, the Rangers are in the early stages of plotting what would be a much bigger move.  Here's the latest out of Arlington, courtesy of ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider sub. req'd).

  • The Rangers are doing early reconnaissance and prep work on what it would take to land Giancarlo Stanton down the road, according to Olney.  In a poll last week, roughly 70% of MLBTR readers said that the Marlins star would be traded either this season or following the 2013 season.  Only 4% see Stanton signing a long-term deal to remain with Miami.
  • The Orioles have interest in trading for Borbon, but the asking price is high.  The out-of-options outfielder posted a .304/.349/.433 slash line for Triple-A Round Rock in 2012.  Recently, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan suggested that the Rangers might get a reliever in return for Borbon.

Orioles, Wieters Still Discussing Extension

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APRIL 13: The Orioles would be willing to give Wieters six years in an extension, reports Buster Olney ESPN.com (on Twitter). Olney further notes, however, that there is no momentum in the long-term extension discussions between the O's and their star catcher.

APRIL 3: The Orioles recently offered a contract extension of at least five years to Matt Wieters, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. However, Heyman adds that there is no evidence that the two sides are anywhere near an agreement. In fact, Wieters (a Boras Corporation client) says that if the O's have made an extension offer to him, then he doesn't know about it, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Then again, the catcher says that he doesn't want to be briefed on contract talks right now.

Wieters, who can become a free agent following the 2015 season, avoided arbitration with the Orioles this offseason by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $5.5MM. Heyman notes that the bar for catchers has been raised significantly with Buster Posey's extension, but it's safe to say the two aren't exactly comparables. Posey already has a Rookie of the Year, an MVP and two World Series titles under his belt. His .317/.384/.509 batting line from 2010-12 is also far superior to Wieters' .253/.326/.423 performance during that same span.

A look at MLBTR's Extension Tracker shows that catchers with between three and four years of service time have typically signed extensions worth $15-16MM. That's too low for Wieters, whose salary is already north of $5MM. A number closer to Miguel Montero's five-year, $60MM contract with the Diamondbacks could be more reasonable, though Montero was just one year from free agency when he signed that deal.

Heyman asked Orioles GM and executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette how talks between the two sides were going but was simply told, "We'll enjoy him while he's here," in reply. Wieters recently told reporters that he would be open to discussing a long-term deal in Baltimore.

Orioles Claim Alex Burnett

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The Orioles have claimed right-hander Alex Burnett off waivers from the Blue Jays and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk, the team announced via Twitter. The team has transferred Wilson Betemit to the 60-day disabled list in order to create space on the 40-man roster.

Burnett, 25, was designated for assignment when the Blue Jays claimed Casper Wells off waivers from the Mariners. Burnett's command has improved each year since his 2010 debut with, but his strikeout rate has declined as well. In 170 career innings, he has a 4.61 ERA, 5.6 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9. Last year he struck out just 36 batters in 71 2/3 innings, though he managed a solid 92.7 mph on his fastball. All three of his Major League seasons have come with the Twins.

East Links: Harang, Span, Romero, Halladay

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Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes was surprised when Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports pointed out that his new team is off the the same 2-5 start as the Marlins were a year prior. Reyes, however, isn't worried about his team's outlook: "…there’s no concern at all. There’s way too much talent on this ballclub to continue to play the way we’re playing.” Here are some more links from baseball's two Eastern divisions…

  • WEEI.com's Rob Bradford hears that the Red Sox are not interested in trading for Aaron Harang (Twitter link). Reports over the weekend linked Boston to the recently DFA'ed right-hander.
  • Offseason acquisition Denard Span has given the Nationals a "new kind of offensive identity," writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. The presence of Span and Jayson Werth atop the lineup forces pitchers to work, given the high volume of pitches the pair averages per plate appearance. Werth and Adam LaRoche both offer high praise for the Nats' new leadoff man, who was acquired from the Twins for Alex Meyer this offseason.
  • Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca chronicles the early work that former Blue Jays ace Ricky Romero has done so far in his attempts to rediscover his mechanics. As Dividi notes, given the $7.5MM owed to Romero in each of the next three seasons, Toronto has no reason to rush and every reason to make sure they get it right.
  • Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com that struggling ace Roy Halladay will have as long of a leash as he needs to get things sorted out: "If he needs 30 starts he’ll get it. As long as he’s healthy and he keeps working at it — as much as he needs."
  • Chris Dickerson is set to be added to the Orioles' 40-man and 25-man roster today, but speculation that it could result in a Steve Pearce DFA doesn't make sense, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports, who hears that the upcoming move won't involve Pearce.

Braves Acquire Luis Ayala

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The Braves have acquired right-hander Luis Ayala from the Orioles in exchange for minor league lefty Chris Jones, the Orioles announced (on Twitter).

As Roch Kubatko of MASNsports notes (on Twitter), the move allows the team to call up outfielder Chris Dickerson and makes it easier to keep Rule 5 pick T.J. McFarland on the 25-man roster.

Ayala, 35, returned to baseball in 2011 after not pitching in the Major Leagues in 2010. Since his comeback, he's reinvented himself, compiling a 2.50 ERA, 6.2 K/0 and 2.3 BB/9 in 133 innings of work. While he's not a left-handed reliever, Ayala gives Braves' manager Fredi Gonzalez another late-inning option with Jonny Venters currently on the shelf.

The 24-year-old Jones has a 3.58 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 356 2/3 minor league innings. He's yet to pitch higher than the Double-A level, where he's maintained his solid strikeout numbers but owns a 4.11 ERA. He will report to Double-A Bowie for the Orioles.

AL East Notes: Bush, Blue Jays, Davis, Orioles

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Here's a look at the AL East as the Yankees get set to take on Cleveland tonight..

NL Notes: Fernandez, Fowler, Pirates, Giants

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The Marlins were questioned about their decision to overlook service time considerations when they added Jose Fernandez to their Opening Day roster. So far, the gamble is working for Miami. The 20-year-old, who is making the jump from High-A ball and is the youngest player on a 2013 Opening Day roster, was outstanding in his MLB debut striking out eight (a franchise record for a debut) while allowing only three hits and one walk in five innings of the Marlins' walkoff loss to the Mets. Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel notes Fernandez is just the seventh starter under the age of 21 to record at least eight strikeouts in his MLB debut since 1916 and only the fourth pitcher in the past 13 years to record six or more strikeouts in his debut joining Oliver Perez, Clayton Kershaw, and teammate Jacob Turner (Twitter link). In other news and notes from the National League:

  • Dexter Fowler credits his early season success to the security of his recent two-year, $11.6MM contract extension, writes the Denver Post's Troy E. Renck. Fowler believes the investment shows the Rockies now see him as part of their core and not just a trade chip for pitching.
  • A former minority owner of the Pirates believes owner Bob Nutting "is too rational a businessman to ever spend more money to build a winner," reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Conventional wisdom says the economic playing field is too uneven for the Pirates to be competitive without a larger payroll. Ex-Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg, a Pittsburgh native, disagrees telling Biertempfel, "The days when any franchise was revenue-challenged are long over. There is so much revenue in baseball, not just at the local level but also national revenues that sustain every franchise as well as enormous amounts of revenue sharing. Every franchise has the ability to compete without losing money."
  • The Giants held their World Series ring ceremony today and and there were some notable no-shows. According to Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com, Brian Wilson was invited, but never responded dampening the prospects of a reunion when the Giants' former closer fully recovers from Tommy John surgery. Guillermo Mota meanwhile had a prior family committment, but Baggarly writes he has thrown for the Orioles and could sign a Triple-A contract with them.  
  • Reliever Mike MacDougal has signed a minor league deal with the Reds, reports Baseball America's Matt Eddy. MLBTR reported exclusively in February the 35-year-old would throw a bullpen for interested teams. MacDougal appeared in just seven games for the Dodgers in 2012, but he posted a 2.05 ERA in 69 appearances with them in 2011.

Rosenthal On Kershaw, Fernandez, Davis

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Baseball is back, and that also means the return of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Let's dive in..

  • Clayton Kershaw's people and the Dodgers are still talking with the season underway, but no one really knows what's going on behind closed doors.  At the same time, no one should be surprised if Kershaw winds up being the first true $200MM pitcher.  Inking him for a total of ten years would keep him locked up through his age 34 season and even though that length sounds crazy, Felix Hernandez is signed through age 33 and Justin Verlander through age 36.  Rosenthal's guess is an eight-year, $200MM extension on top of the two years of control that he has left.
  • It was a surprise to some that the Marlins opted to start Jose Fernandez's service clock so early, but it turns out that they had little choice thanks to an unimpressive spring from Jacob Turnerand injuries elsewhere in the rotation.  Miami did their homework on other pitchers that started their careers at a young age, including Dwight Gooden, and ultimately decided that it was the right call.
  • Many are asking why the Rangers ever parted with Chris Davis, but its a deal that made sense at the time in 2011.  Mitch Moreland had the first base job and Davis had no place in the lineup, meaning that he needed a change of scenery.  Texas GM Jon Daniels acknowledged that Davis could develop into an impact offensive player at the time, and that's exactly what happened.
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