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Orioles Release Luis Lebron

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Let's keep track of the day's minor moves right here…

  • The Orioles have released right-hander Luis Lebron, reports Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com (on Twitter). Baseball America ranked the 27-year-old as Baltimore's 21st best prospect prior to last season. Lebron owns a gaudy 13.3 K/9 in 205 1/3 minor league innings, though his 7.0 BB/9 and 5.13 ERA leave a lot to be desired. He had Tommy John surgery in 2010 and has struggled since.

Stark On Rays, Giants, Phillies, Ethier, Nationals

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In today's column, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com put together his "All-Most-Immovable team" with help from front office executives from around the league.  Predictable names such as Carl Crawford, Alfonso Soriano, and Barry Zito are on the list, but Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder also made the cut.  Pujols wouldn't be a tough sell because of his slow start, according to one AL exec, but rather because of the money due to the slugger on the back end of the deal.  Here's more from Stark..

  • If the Rays and Giants shop for third basemen to replace Evan Longoria and Pablo Sandoval, they might not find many viable options. The only potentially available names Stark has heard are the Orioles' Mark Reynolds and the Twins' Danny Valencia.  One exec said that the Rays are more likely to go after someone with versatility that they can slide into a different spot upon Longoria's return.
  • The Phillies are also looking for a young third baseman and the club is working to put together a list of potential replacements for impending free agent Placido Polanco.
  • While some execs say that they would be wary of giving Andre Ethier a sizable deal for fear that he is in salary-drive mode, others think that the Dodgers have no other choice.  The cost of finding another right field, middle of the order bat will likely be just as high and alternatives such as Josh Hamilton, Nick Swisher or Torii Hunter don't appear to be more trustworthy.
  • A number of clubs are bearing down on the Astros, but reviews are mixed on Wandy Rodriguez thanks in large part to his contract.  The pitcher will earn $10MM this year, $13MM in 2013, and can be bought out of his $13MM club option for 2014 with a $2.5MM payment.
  • If Bryce Harper and Tyler Moore continue to look sharp, the Nationals might not be in the market for a center fielder.
  • Stark asked a few executives if they'd roll the dice on Delmon Young as a relative free agent bargain next winter and the typical response was that they would not.  Young avoided arbitration with the Tigers this winter by agreeing to a one-year, $6.75MM deal.

Wada Requires Tommy John Surgery

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Orioles left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada requires Tommy John surgery, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. The Japanese starter has yet to appear in a game for the Orioles, who signed him to a two-year, $8.15MM contract this offseason.

Wada posted a 1.51 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 184 2/3 innings for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in 2011, but has been sidelined so far this year. The Orioles have a 2014 club option for Wada, who's now 31.

Rosenthal On Hammel, Pirates, Tigers, Gomez

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports points out that Jason Hammel has outperformed Jeremy Guthrie so far this season. The right-handers were traded for one another this offseason (with Matt Lindstrom also going to the Orioles) and Hammel has pitched well for Baltimore, while Guthrie is on Colorado’s disabled list. Here are more notes from Rosenthal:

  • Some considered Hammel a “passive competitor,” but Dan Duquette and the Orioles viewed him as a dependable innings eater. Hammel, 29, has a 1.73 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 through 26 innings for his new team.
  • Though Yankees GM Brian Cashman says his team did more background work than ever before acquiring Michael Pineda from Seattle, one rival executive says his club grew concerned. The right-hander showed diminished velocity in his final start of the 2011 season after struggling in the second half. Pineda will miss the 2012 season with a shoulder injury.
  • The Pirates aren’t scoring many runs, but rival executives like the trio of Alex Presley, Jose Tabata and Andrew McCutchen at the top of Pittsburgh's order, Rosenthal writes.
  • Tigers starters other than Justin Verlander and Drew Smyly have struggled so far this year, and rival executives expect Detroit to make a strong push for rotation help by the July trade deadline.
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Rosenthal that Carlos Gomez would generate approximately as much interest as Yoenis Cespedes if you put him in a tryout camp. Gomez, who is two months younger than Cespedes, could be a late-bloomer, Melvin said.

Minor Moves: Gonzalez, Hill, Barfield

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Today's minor moves..

2013 Vesting Options Update

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As the calendar gets ready to flip over to May, let's check in on the players who have vesting options for the 2013 season…

  • Jason Bartlett, Padres – $5.5MM option vests with 432 plate appearances. Bartlett currently has 61 PA and has come to the plate at least 432 times in each of the last five seasons.
  • Alex Gonzalez, Brewers – $4MM option vests with 525 PA. Gonzalez has 66 PA at the moment and has eclipsed 525 PA in both 2010 and 2011.
  • Kevin Gregg, Orioles – $6MM option vest with 50 games finished. Gregg has finished three games this season but is a release candidate given his poor performance (7.94 ERA).
  • Brett Myers, Astros – $10MM option vests based on unknown starting or relieving milestones.

Chipper Jones has an option worth $9MM+ that will vest with 123 games played, but he's already rendered the option moot by announcing his plans to retire after the season. Chipper has played in a dozen of the Braves' first 20 games.

Twins, Athletics, Orioles May Have Interest In Inge

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6:05pm: The Athletics have legitimate interest in Inge, according to Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group.  General Manager Billy Beane would not comment on Inge specifically, saying only that he is looking to "upgrade at third base, as well as all other positions." 

10:23am: Brandon Inge might not be on the free agent market for long despite his struggles at the plate. The Twins, Athletics, Orioles and Diamondbacks are among the teams that may have interest in the recently-released ACES client.

There are indications that the Twins will at least have a discussion about Inge, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. Minnesota could demote Danny Valencia to Triple-A and rely on Inge and Sean Burroughs at the hot corner.

The Athletics are expected to have some interest in Inge, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. However, the 34-year-old must clear release waivers before becoming eligible to sign with a new team. Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group noted yesterday that he expects the Athletics to consider Inge.

The Orioles have some interest in Inge, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reported yesterday. Meanwhile, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com wouldn’t be surprised if the Diamondbacks take a look at the veteran third baseman (Twitter link).

Inge has just two hits in 20 trips to the plate so far this season and he posted a .548 OPS last year. The Tigers are responsible for his $5.5MM salary, so any team that signs him would only owe him a pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum for the remainder of the season.

AL East Notes: Orioles, Red Sox, Crawford, Yankees

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A look at a few items out of the AL East as the Blue Jays take on the Orioles in Baltimore..

  • The Orioles are still looking for ways to improve defensively and the club has some interest in Brandon Inge, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.  Inge was let go by Detroit earlier today but made it clear that he wants to continue playing.
  • There hasn't been any talk of Will Middlebrooks being promoted in support of the struggling Kevin Youkilis, a Red Sox source told Alex Speier of WEEI.com.  So far this year, the veteran is hitting just .204/.267/.296 as Middlebrooks has looked solid for Triple-A Pawtucket.
  • Peter Gammons of MLB.com tweets that the lesson to be learned from the Red Sox's Carl Crawford "debacle" is that the club should have had his agent work with the club to help with his adjustment to a new market.  Crawford hit just .255/.289/.405 for Boston in 2011 and could now miss three months after undergoing elbow surgery.
  • Former pitcher Curt Schilling suffered the same torn anterior labrum in his throwing shoulder as Michael Pineda and believes that he could bounce back better than ever and return in less than a year, writes Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com.  Yesterday we learned that the Yankees pitcher is likely going to be sidelined for a full year.

Minor Moves: Thurston, Vazquez, Edell, Cantrell

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The latest minor moves via Matt Eddy of Baseball America…

  • The Twins have signed Joe Thurston according to their manager of baseball communications Dustin Morse (on Twitter). The 32-year-old infielder was released by the Phillies earlier this week and has a .226/.305/.323 line in 384 MLB plate appearances with the Dodgers, Phillies, Red Sox, Cardinals and Marlins.
  • Ramon Vazquez signed with the Birdgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The 35-year-old hasn’t played in the Major Leagues since 2009, but has experience in nine MLB seasons.
  • The Orioles released Ryan Edell, Eddy tweets. Edell, 28, pitched for the Phillies' top affiliate last year, posting a 3.27 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9 in 77 innings.
  • The Royals released right-hander Eric Cantrell, Eddy tweets. The Royals selected Cantrell in the seventh round of the 2010 draft. The 22-year-old has a 5.43 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in parts of three seasons as a professional.

Minor Moves: Martin, George, Cintron, Hester

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We’ll keep track of the latest minor moves right here…

  • The Mets re-signed outfielder Dustin Martin, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. The Mets drafted Martin in 2006 but traded him to Minnesota. He has a .276/.347/.417 line in seven minor league seasons, the last three of which he played at Triple-A Rochester.
  • The Orioles' Triple-A affiliate announced that the organization released left-hander Chris George (Twitter link). George, a first rounder back in 1998, has started for Norfolk for the past two-plus seasons.
  • Infielder Alex Cintron, who last played in the Major Leagues with the 2009 Nationals, signed with an independent league team, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Cintron, 33, has played in nine big league seasons.
  • The Angels signed minor league catcher John Hester and assigned him to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. The Orioles released Hester last week to create roster space for Luis Exposito. Hester, 28, has big league experience with the Diamondbacks and a .285/.345/.471 batting line in seven minor league seasons.
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