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Minor Moves: Simon Castro, Brian Bixler

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Here are today’s notable minor league transactions, with the latest moves at the top of the page…

  • Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports that the Rockies have inked right-hander Simon Castro to a minor league deal (Twitter link). A former top prospect in the Padres system, Castro was traded to the White Sox along with left-hander Pedro Hernandez in exchange for Carlos Quentin back in 2011. Castro was a Top 60 prospect in 2010-11 according to both BA and Baseball Prospectus, but his stock has obviously tumbled since that time. He posted a 5.83 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 92 2/3 innings for the Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in 2013 and has a career 6.44 ERA at the Triple-A level. Castro has been excellent at Class-A and Double-A, although BA wrote following the 2012 season that his slider and changeup have lost their effectiveness. The scouting report did note, however, that he flashed a splitter that could complement his 90-95 mph fastball in the bullpen should he abandon his role as a starter.
  • The Padres have signed utiltyman Brian Bixler to a minor league deal and he’ll report to Double-A, MLB.com’s Corey Brock reports (Twitter link).  Bixler signed a minor league contract with the Phillies in February but was released earlier this month.  The versatile Bixler hit .189/.249/.269/ in 356 PA with the Pirates, Nationals and Astros from 2008-12 and he spent 2013 with the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Minor Moves: Ciriaco, Mazzaro, Bixler, Accardo

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The day's minor moves:

  • The Royals have assigned infielder Pedro Ciriaco to Triple-A after he cleared outright waivers, tweets Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star. Ciriaco, 28, will have to wait in the minors for another big league opportunity to open with Kansas City's middle infield. The club just called up Johnny Giavotella to fill in for injured second baseman Omar Infante, who is expected to return to action soon without a DL trip.
  • Pirates reliever Vin Mazzaro has accepted an outright assignment from the team to Triple-A, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune (via Twitter). That is a good result for a Pittsburgh club that had expected to lose the 27-year-old righty, who was an effective piece for them last year.
  • Utility man Brian Bixler has been released by the Phillies, according to the International League transactions page. Bixler, 31, had been playing with the Phils' Triple-A affiliate. He last appeared in the bigs in 2012 with the Astros.
  • The independent ball Atlantic League has made two notable additions today, according to Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (Twitter links). Right-hander Jeremy Accardo, an eight-year MLB veteran, has inked with the Long Island Ducks. And shortly after being released by the Red Sox, 29-year-old outfielder Scott Cousins has joined the Camden Riversharks.
  • The Dodgers have outrighted Mike Baxter, who has cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A, according to the PCL transactions page. The outfielder was designated for assignment to create 40-man space for another DFA'd player in Colt Hynes. Baxter, 29, struggled at the MLB level last year, but had a strong 2012 campaign (.263/.365/.413 in 211 plate appearances).
  • With this move, only four players are left in DFA limbo: Seth Rosin (Rangers, Rule 5), Pedro Ciriaco (Royals), Hector Noesi (Mariners), and Jeremy Jeffress (Blue Jays). As always, you can track DFA situations past and present using MLBTR's DFA Tracker.

Minor Moves: Brian Bixler, Matt LaPorta

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Here are the day's minor moves:

  • Utilityman Brian Bixler has agreed to a minor league deal with the Phillies, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. The 31-year-old has seen time at the MLB level with the Pirates, Nationals, and Astros, but spent last season with the Mets' Triple-A affiliate. His career big league line is a modest .189/.249/.269 in 356 plate appearances, and he slashed .259/.323/.372 in 345 plate appearances in the upper minors last year. Bixler's calling card is versatility: he has played every field position but pitcher and catcher at the MLB level, and in fact appeared everywhere but the battery and at first during his 2013 stint at Las Vegas.
  • The Orioles have signed 29-year-old outfielder Matt LaPorta to a minor league deal that does not include an invite to major league camp, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). LaPorta was the 7th overall pick of the 2007 draft and twice a Baseball America top-30 prospect, but has managed only a .238/.301/.393 line in 1,068 MLB plate appearances between 2009-12. With unfavorable defensive ratings, he graded out as a sub-replacement-level player for most of his time in the bigs. At Triple-A last year with the Indians organization, LaPorta slashed .238/.310/.476 with ten home runs in 185 plate appearances. LaPorta was the key piece in the deal that shipped C.C. Sabathia out of Cleveland, but became a minor league free agent this year.
  • Checking in on the MLBTR DFA Tracker, three players sit in DFA limbo: Brett Wallace of the Astros and Emilio Bonifacio and Everett Teaford of the Royals.

Mets Sign Brian Bixler

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The Mets announced that they signed utility player Brian Bixler to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to Spring Training (Twitter link). Octagon represents Bixler, who spent the 2012 season with the Astros.

Bixler appeared in 36 games with Houston, playing second base, third base, shortstop and both corner outfield positions. The 30-year-old posted a .193/.253/.330 batting line in 96 plate appearances. Bixler, who also has MLB experience with the Nationals and Pirates, has a .279/.356/.401 batting line in six seasons at the Triple-A level.

Minor Moves: 28 Players Elect Free Agency

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A total of 28 players — all with big league time under their belts — recently elected free agency after finishing the year in Triple-A. Here is the full list, courtesy of the International League and Pacific Coast League transaction pages…

Outrighted To Triple-A: Brian Bixler

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Today’s outright assignments..

  • Brian Bixler has been outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City after clearing waivers, tweets Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.  Bixler, DFA’d by Houston on Thursday, appeared in 36 games this yea and saw time at second, third, shortstop, and both corner outfield positions.  The 29-year-old has a .267/.349/.366 slash line in 229 Triple-A plate appearances.

Astros Designate Brian Bixler For Assignment

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The Astros announced that they designated infielder Brian Bixler for assignment. The move creates 40-man roster space for Tyler Greene, who was claimed off of waivers from St. Louis.

Bixler has appeared in 36 games for the Astros this year, playing second, third, shortstop and both corner outfield positions. He posted a .193/.253/.330 line in 96 plate appearances at the MLB level and has a .267/.349/.366 batting line in 229 plate appearances at Triple-A. The Astros claimed the 2004 second round pick off of waivers from Washington last November.

Quick Hits: Astros, Angels, Cespedes

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We wouldn’t want the biggest news of the day — that the Rangers won the bidding for Yu Darvish — to completely overshadow some secondary notes from around MLB. Here are some quick hits from around the league, starting in Texas:

  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told fans at MLB.com that Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers and Carlos Lee are “very good players” who could help the Astros going forward. “We will look for any opportunity to improve our team in the medium and long term,” Luhnow explained, “so if there were a trade that made sense, we would consider it.”
  • Brian Bixler cleared waivers and accepted his assignment to Oklahoma City, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. The Astros designated the infielder for assignment last week to create roster space for Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland.
  • The Cubs and Red Sox have agreed that former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein won't be able to hire anyone from the Red Sox for three years, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (on Twitter).
  • Angels GM Jerry Dipoto likes the depth in his team's starting rotation, but doesn't yet know whether his bullpen is a strength or a weakness, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times. Ideally, the Angels would like to add a late-inning reliever and make the lineup a little more left-handed, Dipoto says.
  • There's a consensus among international MLB people that the Yankees are "BIG" on Yoenis Cespedes, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter).
  • Cespedes is close to establishing residency in the Dominican Republic, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes. The Cuban outfielder still needs to secure a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control since his residency is not permanent. The process could take two weeks, but he should be cleared to sign sometime in January.

Removed From 40-Man: Jesse Chavez, Brian Bixler

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We'll keep track of which players are removed from 40-man rosters right here…

  • Right-hander Jesse Chavez cleared waivers and the Blue Jays outrighted him to Triple-A, the team tweeted.
  • The Astros designated Brian Bixler for assignment, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The Astros, who needed roster space because of today's trade, had claimed Bixler from the Nationals last month. The 29-year-old appeared in 79 games for the Nationals in 2011, playing all three outfield positions, shortstop, third base and first base. He posted a .205/.267/.265 line in 94 plate appearances. 

Astros Claim Brian Bixler

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The Astros announced that they claimed utility player Brian Bixler off of waivers from the Nationals. Houston's 40-man roster now includes 38 players.

Bixler, 29, appeared in 79 games for the Nationals, playing all three outfield positions, shortstop, third base and first base. He posted a .205/.267/.265 line in 94 plate appearances. The Pirates selected Bixler in the second round of the 2004 draft and sold him to the Nationals in 2010.

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