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AL East Notes: Vlad, Anderson, Delcarmen

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Here are a few AL East items of note for Feb. 12. On this day in 1981, a contract violation by the Red Sox made catcher Carlton Fisk a free agent. Pudge eventually signed with the White Sox, with whom he spent the balance of his 24-year, Hall of Fame career.

  • Vladimir Guerrero's physical with the Orioles is scheduled for Wednesday, blogs Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com. The Orioles' and Vlad's verbal agreement was first reported Feb. 4, so it's been an unusually long period between the agreement and scheduled physical, but O's president Andy MacPhail said that Guerrero's agent, Fernando Cuza, has signed an agreement that he can't accept another offer in the interim.
  • Brian Anderson is in Yankees camp and trying to make the team as a reliever, writes Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News. The former outfielder and first-round pick of the White Sox was DFA'd by the Royals in December after spending 2010 in the Kansas City organization, converting to life as a hurler. Anderson, signed to a minor league deal by the Bombers, said he was told by the Yankees that he has a chance to make the team out of camp, but if he doesn't, he will return to the minors to contine working.
  • The Rays were one of two finalists to sign reliever Manny Delcarmen, blogs Alex Speier of WEEI.com, but the right-hander ultimately chose Seattle over Tampa Bay. Both clubs offered minor league deals, and as we noted Thursday, Delcarmen also turned down a Major League offer from a National League team.

Minor Deals: Yankees, Chulk, Van Every, Coats

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Let's take a look at today's notable minor league deals, with the most recent updates at the top:

  • The Yankees signed Doug Bernier, Buddy Carlyle, Neal Cotts and Gustavo Molina to minor league deals, the team announced. The club officially announced its deals with Andy Sisco and outfielder-turned-pitcher Brian Anderson.
  • The Pirates have welcomed back Donald Veal just two weeks after non-tendering him, Eddy tweets.  Veal underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this year. 
  • The Rays picked up right-handed reliever Jonah Bayliss, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter).  Bayliss turned in a 3.58 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 for Houston's Triple-A club last season.
  • The Athletics signed right-handed reliever Vinnie Chulk, tweets Eddy.  Chulk appeared in 28 games for Pittsburgh's Triple-A affiliate in 2010 and spent the other half of the year with the Hiroshima Carp.  His numbers overseas left much to be desired but the righty carries more than 250 games of big league experience.
  • First baseman Andy Tracy has hooked on with the Diamondbacks, tweets Baseball America's Matt Eddy.  The left-handed hitter, who turned 37-years-old on Saturday, has spent the last three years with the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate.  In 2010 he hit .275/.373/.492, numbers that are slightly better than his career averages.
  • The Nationals signed outfielder Jonathan Van Every, according to Eddy (via Twitter).  The 31-year-old boasts a career .471 slugging percentage in Triple-A and can play all three outfield positions.  Van Every played in 39 games for Boston's varsity squad across the last three years.
  • Washington picked up another versatile, left-handed hitting outfielder in Buck Coats, Eddy tweets.  Coats, who spent the first seven years of his career with the Cubs, has a lifetime slash line of .294/.352/.407 at the Triple-A level.
  • The Cubs invited first baseman Bryan LaHair and outfielder Brad Snyder to Spring Training, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (on Twitter).

Odds & Ends: Garland, Tigers, Manny, Astros

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Links for Saturday, exactly six years after the Pirates traded Jason Kendall to the Athletics for Mark Redman, Arthur Rhodes, and cash…

  • The Rockies offered Jon Garland a similar deal to the one he agreed upon with the Dodgers, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
  • Tigers owner Mike Ilitch is willing to spend in order to make Detroit a winner again, writes Peter Gammons for MLB.com.
  • The Yankees have signed right-hander Brian Anderson and left-hander Andy Sisco to minor league contracts with invites to Spring Training, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Anderson was recently cut by the Royals and is new to pitching after playing the outfield his entire career. Sisco threw 66.2 innings for the Giants Double-A affiliate this year after having Tommy John surgery in 2008.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney asked several talent evaluators for their opinion of Manny Ramirez (Insider req'd). Most see him as a designated hitter (unsurprisingly) that is good offensively but no longer elite. One compared him to a healthy Nick Johnson, meaning good average, great OBP, some power. Almost everyone Olney polled suggested an incentive-laden deal, which is what Scott Boras is seeking.
  • Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle says the Astros need to make a big move in free agency if Drayton McLane really hopes to sell the team for $800MM. He throws the names of Carl Pavano, Jorge de la Rosa, Jeff Francis, Rafael Soriano, and Dan Wheeler out there as possibilities.
  • Jonathan Albaladejo finalized a one-year contract with the Yomiuri Giants that will pay him $950K according to the AP (via ESPN New York). The Yankees released Albaladejo at his request earlier this month.

Odds & Ends: Gordon, Anderson, Phillies, Park

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Links for Wednesday, the second day of the GM Meetings, as Ron Gardenhire and Bud Black take home Manager of the Year honors…

Brian Bannister Becomes A Free Agent

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Brian Bannister is officially a free agent, according to the Royals. Kansas City reinstated Jason Kendall and David DeJesus from the 60-day DL and made room by outrighting Bannister to Triple-A and designating right-hander Brian Anderson for assignment. Bannister refused his assignment and became a free agent.

Bannister, 29, pitched to a 6.34 ERA in 127 2/3 innings last year. His walk rate rose to 3.5 BB/9 and his strikeout rate dropped to 5.4 K/9, so it's not surprising that the Royals let him go. If they had offered arbitration, Bannister would have made something like $2.3MM, his 2010 salary. When Mike Axisa identified Bannister as a non-tender candidate last month, 71% of MLBTR readers correctly predicted that the Royals would cut him loose.

Anderson, a longtime outfielder in the major leagues, started making the transition to the mound this year. He logged 17 1/3 innings across three levels in the Royals system, striking out 17 and walking 5.

Brian Anderson Will Try Pitching

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After failing to make the team, Brian Anderson told the Royals today that he wants to try pitching, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.  Anderson signed a $700K Major League deal with the Royals in December.  Though Anderson pitched at the University of Arizona, the switch comes as a surprise.  Baseball America noted in their '05 Handbook that Anderson threw in the low 90s as a college reliever.   

Royals Sign Brian Anderson

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The Royals signed outfielder Brian Anderson to a one-year, Major League deal worth $700K.  He can earn another $100K in incentives.  MLB.com's Scott Merkin broke the news yesterday, while Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports added contract details.  Anderson was acquired by the Red Sox from the White Sox for Mark Kotsay and cash on July 28th, and non-tendered on December 12th.

Anderson, 28 in March, has a career line of .227/.290/.370 in 883 plate appearances, mostly with the White Sox.  He's mainly played center field in his career, and the Royals probably represented his best opportunity for big league playing time.  The Royals will have the chance to retain Anderson beyond 2010 as an arbitration-eligible player.

Merkin notes that the Cubs, Nationals, and Reds had also expressed interest in Anderson.

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Podsednik, Duchscherer

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Links for Monday…

  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Nationals still have money left to sign Matt Capps, assuming he wants to go there. Morosi expects Capps to decide on his next team this week.
  • In a separate tweet, Morosi notes that the Tigers are only interested in Scott Podsednik if it's a one-year deal. Detroit has no interest in Rick Ankiel.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports that Justin Duchscherer has received contract offers from three unnamed teams, and he expects to decide on his 2010 home within a week.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Royals are interested in free agent outfielder Brian Anderson on a minor league deal.
  • Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle sees Rajai Davis and Ryan Sweeney retaining starting jobs in the wake of the impending Coco Crisp signing.  Slusser suggests a possible reduced role or trade for Scott Hairston.  FanGraphs' Dave Cameron doesn't understand the move, noting that Davis and Sweeney are similar to Crisp.  Crisp's physical will take place tomorrow, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. 
  • Matthew Carruth of Lookout Landing explains that Mariners fans fully understand the dangers of Milton Bradley.  The Seattle Times' Geoff Baker reflects on Carlos Silva's time with the club.
  • Patrick Newman joins FanGraphs with a look at Japanese baseball imports and exports for 2010.  Speaking of which, new Met Ryota Igarashi would like to be Francisco Rodriguez's set-up man.

Red Sox Will Tender Contract To Kotchman

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On July 22nd, the Red Sox made a surprising acquisition in first baseman Adam LaRoche.  Odder still, they shipped LaRoche to the Braves eleven days later for Casey Kotchman.  Perhaps the Sox simply felt two potential seasons of Kotchman had more value than one potential supplemental pick gained if they offered arbitration to LaRoche and he signed elsewhere.

We learned today that the Red Sox will not cut the arbitration-eligible Kotchman loose on Saturday, as WEEI's Alex Speier says they fully intend to tender him a contract.  Kotchman probably won't sign for much more than $3MM for 2010.  The Sox seem intent on moving Mike Lowell, so Kotchman would be the default starter at first base (with Kevin Youkilis moving to third) unless Adrian Beltre or another corner infielder is acquired.

Speier relays a suggestion from Red Sox GM Theo Epstein that the Red Sox have one non-tender candidate for Saturday.  Speier believes it to be outfielder Brian Anderson, who made our list.  Other outfielders who, in our estimation, might be non-tendered tomorrow: Jack Cust, Jonny Gomes, Gabe Gross, Ryan Langerhans, Jeremy Reed, and Cory Sullivan.

Odds & Ends: Anderson, Rangers, Brew Crew

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Another batch of links, served fresh…

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