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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.

AL Central Notes: Royals, Tigers, Humber

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Adam Dunn (.916 OPS) and Alex Rios (.934 OPS) are off to strong starts for the 10-6 White Sox. If Dunn and Rios keep this up, their team may be much more interesting than most pundits expected. Here are the latest links from the AL Central…

  • Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star takes a long look at the Royals and points out that their abundance of minor league talent hasn't yet translated into a compelling on-field product. The Royals "deserve every bit of venom you can muster for a franchise that’s been a ubiquitous letdown for most of the last two decades," Mellinger writes. The team is in the midst of an 11-game losing streak and has started to pull back some of its "Our Time" marketing. “We’ve got to win games," GM Dayton Moore said. "Because we can’t lose our fans for the summer.”
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs suggests the Royals resemble a .500 team much more than it seems at first glance.
  • The Tigers announced that they have transferred right-hander Al Alburquerque to the 60-day DL. The move opens up a 40-man roster spot for Detroit.
  • Tom Verducci of SI.com points out that Philip Humber, author of the 21st perfect game in MLB history, is in many ways every general manager's dream. The White Sox didn't have to pay for the right-hander's signing bonus or wait for him to recover from Tommy John surgery, but they’ve developed him into a valuable MLB starter. White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper told Verducci that he and Humber kept things relatively simple. "What we tried to do was tap into his best asset: his stuff," Cooper said.
  • Cameron explained Humber’s evolution as a pitcher at FanGraphs yesterday. The 29-year-old has been using his slider effectively and his fastball velocity is up.

Rosenthal On Halladay, Royals, Wandy

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Roy Halladay is pitching differently this year, according to pitch f/x data and team officials who spoke to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Though Halladay remains effective, he’s relying on different weapons than the ones he used in the past. Here are Rosenthal’s latest rumors:

  • The Royals have lost ten consecutive games, but GM Dayton Moore says it’s not always bad to scuffle. “I’m not shocked that we’re struggling out of the gate,” Moore told Rosenthal. “Although you expect good things to happen, we’re very young.” Rosenthal cites a scout who was “decidedly unimpressed” by the Royals’ play this weekend.
  • Rosenthal suggests the Padres might be inclined to trade Carlos Quentin if he hits well once he returns from knee surgery in May. Rosenthal wonders if the Padres might look to sign Quentin to a two-year deal in the $18-20MM range if he has a decent season.
  • Many teams are intimidated by Wandy Rodriguez’s contract, Rosenthal reports. The left-hander earns $10MM in 2012 and $13MM in 2013. The Astros hold a $13MM club option for 2014, but it becomes a player option if they trade him.
  • Some executives were surprised the Reds committed $72.5MM to Brandon Phillips when some of their best prospects (Billy Hamilton and Didi Gregorius) are middle infielders.
  • Adam Dunn looks more comfortable at the plate this year, one scout says.

Quick Hits: Glass, Bell, Bumgarner

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The 1909 T-206 Honus Wagner baseball card continues to be the hottest item in the memorabilia market, as one of the rare cards was sold today for $1.2MM in an online auction.  Here's some news from around the majors as we head into the weekend…

Minor Moves: Pettit, Hester, Miner

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We'll keep track of the day's minor (and Miner) moves right here…

  • The Mariners have signed outfielder Chris Pettit to a minor league deal, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnicktweets. Pettit, who has MLB experience with the Angels, was released by the Dodgers at the end of Spring Training.
  • The Orioles released minor league catcher John Hester, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com tweets. Baltimore’s Norfolk affiliate let Hester go to create roster space for the recently claimed Luis Exposito.
  • The Tigers have acquired right-hander Zach Miner from the Royals, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star tweets. The Royals confirmed the deal, noting that they'll obtain cash for Miner (Twitter link). The 30-year-old pitched in the Royals' minor league system last year after pitching for the Tigers from 2006-09. Miner has a 4.24 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 as a big leaguer, but posted a 5.26 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 as a minor leaguer in 2011.

Quick Hits: Hunter, Angels, Royals, Draft

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The Dodgers improved to 9-1 tonight with a win over the Padres and did so in impressive fashion.  With the score tied 4-4, the Dodgers turned a triple play in the top of the ninth – their first since 1998.  Dee Gordon later scored the game winning run with a single to left to give Los Angeles the 5-4 victory.  It's hard to imagine a better outcome for the Dodgers on a day dedicated to the legacy of Jackie Robinson.  A look at links from around baseball tonight..

  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney (via Twitter) talked to Angels outfielder Torii Hunter about how long he wants to play and in the back of his mind, the outfielder wonders if he might have a chance to play with his son, Torii Jr.  The 36-year-old's son is a high school senior and considering a handful of Division-I baseball programs.  Hunter is in the final season of a five-year, $90MM contract with the Angels.
  • Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow tries to make sure the team has a scout at every game involving players who might be taken with the first overall pick, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.  The GM doesn't expect the club to decide who they're going to take until close to the Draft as there is no clear cut No. 1 choice.
  • As the draft draws closer, industry speculation is that the Royals are targeting LSU pitcher Kevin Gausman with the fifth-overall pick, writes Keith Law of ESPN.com.  Law assumes that he would be Kansas City's pick if Byron Buxton, Mark Appel, Kyle Zimmer, and Mike Zunino are the first four off of the board.

Quick Hits: Royals, Teixeira, Wright, Rockies, Royals

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On this day in 2000, the (Devil) Rays purchased Dwight Gooden from the Astros.  Doc made eight starts with Tampa Bay before being released in May, allowing him to finish out his career in New York with the Yankees.  Gooden obviously didn't replicate the numbers of his prime in this final season but did post a 4.71 ERA with 4.7 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 for the three teams.  Here's a look at tonight's links..

  • The Royals have hope for the first time in a long time but they'll have to ramp up the spending to truly contend, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
  • Teams continue to sign first basemen to long, expensive agreements despite mounting evidence that such deals are not very good ideas, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com.  It looks as though Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is in decline in the middle of his monster deal and even Todd Helton's team-friendly pact with the Rockies wound up looking like an overpay.
  • In a piece for CapitalNewYork.com, Howard Megdal wonders if the Mets might be laying the PR groundwork to let David Wright walk at the end of this season.  The Mets hold a $16MM option on the third baseman for 2013.
  • Mike Fontenot could replace Pete Orr on the Phillies' bench as the utility man, but don't expect him to replace Freddy Galvis, writes David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News.  The Phillies signed the 31-year-old infielder to a minor league deal earlier today.
  • Mike Cameron signed a one-day deal with the Mariners today in order to retire with the club and though he may look to be a coach or instructor he vowed to never pursue a managerial career, tweets John Hickey of SportsPressNW.com.

Quick Hits: Padres, Berkman, Giants, Rays, Royals

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Here's the latest from around the league, on the night Yu Darvish made his MLB debut…

  • Padres owner John Moore has retained investment banker Steve Greenberg to broker a sale of the club, reports Dan Hayes of The North County Times. Hayes says the club could fetch up to $700MM after the Dodgers sold for $2 billion last month.
  • "If I could go back in time, I would have explored free agency earlier in my career," Lance Berkman told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  The veteran missed the boat on truly massive contracts for first basemen, but he's still earned upwards of $100MM over the course of his career.  Berkman, 36, is earning $12MM this year from the Cardinals.
  • Giants owner Charles Johnson told Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicle that he plans to stay out of the club's day-to-day operations.  The billionaire upped his stake in the club in September 2011, making him the team's top shareholder.
  • In his latest mailbag, MLB.com's Bill Chastain says that he wouldn't be so sure that Rays fans have seen the last of Wade Davis as a starter.  James Shields will make $12MM in 2013 and it's not clear if the Rays will bring him back at that number or deal him.  If that were to happen then Davis would likely return to the rotation.
  • Many writers scoffed when the Royals handed the closer’s role to Jonathan Broxton this spring, but so far it looks like he might be ready to return to form, writes J.P. Breen of Fangraphs.  The 27-year-old's deal is worth $4MM plus $1MM in incentives based on games pitched.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Zagurski, Sosa, O’Sullivan

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The latest outright assignments from around MLB…

  • The Diamondbacks outrighted left-hander Mike Zagurski, the team announced. Arizona acquired the 29-year-old from the Phillies last September. Zagurski owns a 6.82 ERA in 31 2/3 big league innings, all with Philadelphia.
  • The Astros outrighted right-hander Henry Sosa to Triple-A, Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Sosa, 26, posted a 5.23 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 53 1/3 innings for the Astros in 2011, his rookie season.
  • The Royals outrighted Sean O'Sullivan to Triple-A after the right-hander cleared waivers, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports (on Twitter). O'Sullivan, 24, started ten games for the Royals last year and posted a 7.25 ERA with 2.9 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 58 1/3 innings. His numbers were considerably stronger in 14 Triple-A starts, however.

Quick Hits: Oswalt, Cain, Soria, Votto, McCourt

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We're less than 24 hours away from the first official game at Marlins Park, as the Fish show off their new ballpark in their season opener against the World Series champion Cardinals.  Here are some news bits to tide us over in the meantime…

  • The Giants' extension with Matt Cain is "a sound deal," several non-San Francisco team executives tell ESPN's Buster Olney (via Twitter).
  • Roy Oswalt will likely need around 60 days of preparation time to be ready to pitch, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link).  This fits with Oswalt's previous statement about looking at a midseason return.
  • Royals closer Joakim Soria underwent Tommy John surgery today and the medical team "couldn't have been more pleased" with the procedure, a club source tells MLB.com's Dick Kaegel.  Soria will miss the entire 2012 season recovering from the surgery.
  • Joey Votto's 10-year, $225MM extension with the Reds is "one of the crazier seeming contracts in baseball history," writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  Heyman talks to several anonymous team executives about the contract, with theories ranging from the Reds being worried about the Dodgers' aggressive new ownership to the Reds being able to afford Votto thanks to several years of collecting luxury tax payments.  Then again, one competing GM says simply, "The Reds look like they have no plan."
  • Attorneys for Major League Baseball made a court filing arguing that the Dodgers shouldn't be allowed to emerge from bankruptcy until the team pays back $8.3MM worth of bills from the league, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
  • Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at how some recent big contracts around baseball could impact the Cardinals.  Miklasz thinks that Cain's deal will make Adam Wainwright's next contract even more expensive, but I don't agree, given that Wainwright is three years older and has a more checkered injury history.
  • Several Padres players, as well as several players from the entire NL West and AL West, are discussed by opposing scouts in a chat with Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres.
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