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Yankees Sign Clay Rapada

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The Yankees announced that they have re-signed Clay Rapada to a minor league deal.  The Bombers were forced to designate Rapada for assignment on March 31st in order to make room for Lyle Overbay on the roster.

Rapada, 32, posted a 2.82 ERA, 8.9 K/9, and 4.0 BB/9 in 70 games (38 1/3 innings) out of the bullpen for the Yankees in 2012.  However, Rapada was suffering from shoulder bursitis over the spring and will still need to time to get back on track.  

East Links: Wheeler, Fernandez, Swisher, Red Sox

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A collection of links pertaining to baseball's Eastern divisions…

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post praises the Mets for leaving top prospect in the minor leagues and questions why the Marlins have chosen to start Jose Fernandez's service clock early. Sherman argues that non-contenders should be more mindful of the financial rammifications — especially the Marlins, for whom money will likely continue to be an issue.
  • Nick Swisher told reporters (including Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger) that "it hurt" when the Yankees didn't make him an offer to return (beyond the one-year, $13.3MM qualifying offer to receive draft pick compensation). Swisher said he's no longer thinking about the Yankees and is focused on winning with the Indians, who have treated him "like a king" thus far.
  • Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino told Jerry Spar of WEEI that baseball is "fun again" in Boston. Lucchino also praised general manager Ben Cherington's work in last summer's trade with the Dodgers, noting that they would have been happy to receive just one of Allen Webster or Rubby De La Rosa but wound up with both.
  • In this week's Nationals mailbox, MLB.com's Bill Ladson writes that the team has given no thought to cutting ties with flamethrower Henry Rodriguez. Manager Davey Johnson loves Rodriguez's arm, according to Ladson, so the organization plans to stick with him.

AL Notes: Borbon, Hamilton, Yankees, Indians

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Rangers outfielder Julio Borbon describes his future as "a real question mark," Evan Grant of DallasNews.com reports. Texas appears likely to trade Borbon or designate him for assignment, when they add starter Nick Tepesch to their active roster on Tuesday. If the Rangers designate Borbon for assignment, the Astros might claim him, Grant says. Borbon hit .304/.349/.433 for Triple-A Round Rock in 2012. Here are more notes from around the American League.

  • Ranger-turned-Angel C.J. Wilson understands why Rangers fans weren't happy to see fellow former Ranger Josh Hamilton play in Arlington for the Angels this weekend, MLB.com's Lyle Spencer reports. "We're all baseball players," Wilson says. "It's not real life. Sports gives you something to cheer for or boo about. It's your choice. They're not going to cheer for him, obviously." Hamilton signed a five-year, $125MM contract with the Angels in December.
  • The upcoming Yankees–Indians series in Cleveland will be a reunion for both Nick Swisher and Travis Hafner, Zack Meisel of MLB.com reports. "Oh, man, that's going to be the jam," says Swisher, who left New York in the offseason and signed a four-year, $56MM contract with the Indians. Hafner signed a one-year, $2MM contract with the Yankees in February.

Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, Jimenez

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The Yankees can learn from the Red Sox's approach to free agency, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Other teams could also follow their lead if Boston is successful this season, which would mean aggressively attacking the middle-class free agent market and constructing a deep bullpen.  Someday, Sherman argues, we may look back on the August blockbuster as the Red Sox's Herschel Walker trade as it brought them a couple of impressive arms in Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster while giving the club a financial do-over.  Here's more from around baseball..

Quick Hits: Bruce, Dodgers, Astros, Cano

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Jay Bruce had some interesting comments on the state of free agency in a piece authored by MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.  Bruce noted that the extension boom will lead to greater team continuity, recalling the Reds' famed Big Red Machine. "Of course," he said, "if you had that today, you might have a $600MM payroll." Bruce continued: "Fortunately for us, the dollars have become so large that even when you're signing deals with your team early, they're still close to market. I understand the competitive market and not pushing the market down for players coming after you. I respect that, and that's a big part of keeping things on the up and up on our side. But I don't think that guys are just signing anything put in front of them. There's so much information out there that if you do any due diligence at all, you're going to understand [what's fair]."

  • Right-handed starter Chad Billingsley appears set to return to the Dodgers for a Wednesday start, reports Quinn Roberts of MLB.com.  With lefty Ted Lilly also making minor league rehab starts, the Dodgers will again have to shuffle their rotation.  Los Angeles moved one of their surplus starters earlier today when they shipped Aaron Harang to the Rockies for Ramon Hernandez.
  • The Astros are all-in on rebuilding, with a payroll that barely exceeds the $20MM the team has set aside for draft spending, writes Phil Rogers of the Boston Herald. GM Jeff Luhnow is preaching not "patience," but what he calls "discipline." According to Luhnow: "We all feel a sense of urgency to get this to the endpoint as quickly as possible. But to do that, we have to be disciplined about how we implement (our plan). That means not doing things that are going to give us an extra win or two this year at the expense of an extra five wins two or three years down the road."
  • Robinson Cano's agency swap is an admission that the contract pressure is getting to him, opines Bill Madden of the New York Daily News.  Madden feels that Cano wants to get his big pay day but also doesn't want to have it hanging over him.

 Zach Links contributed to this post.

David Aardsma Clears Waivers

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David Aardsma has cleared release waivers, MLBTR has learned. The right-handed reliever has generated interest from around ten teams, and hopes to decide on a new destination by the middle of next week.

Aardsma was released on Thursday by the Yankees. As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes wrote upon Aardsma's release, there should be interest in the newly-minted free agent since he showed his health and hit 94 on the gun during the spring.

Aardsma had Tommy John surgery in July 2011, so he only ended up making one big league appearance for the Yankees. For his career, the right-hander owns a 4.22 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Minor Moves: Flacco, M’s, Twins, Tigers, Braves

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Here are your minor moves for Friday (all links courtesy of Baseball America's Matt Eddy on Twitter)…

  • Long-time Orioles farmhand Mike Flacco — the brother of Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco — has retired, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com (Twitter link). The 26-year-old first baseman hit .253/.335/.378 in 353 minor league games. Flacco had been with the High-A Salem Red Sox.
  • The Mariners released minor league Rule 5 pick Eric Farris, and the second baseman quickly latched on with the Twins, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). The M's plucked Farris off of the Brewers' roster in December.
  • The Tigers released defensive wizard Cale Iorg. The shortstop hit just .199/.240/.313 in parts of three seasons at Double-A. MLB.com's Adam McCalvy points out (via Twitter) that Iorg is the son of Brewers first base coach Garth Iorg.
  • The Pirates acquired catcher Troy Snitker from the Braves in a trade. The 24-year-old was taken by Atlanta in the 19th round of the 2011 draft and has spent the bulk of the last two seasons in rookie ball.
  • Also within that link, Eddy reports that the Phillies acquired shortstop Jose Mojica from theYankees. Mojica hit just .226/.265/.305 for the Bombers' Advanced-A affiliate in 2012.
  • The Braves released Dimasther Delgado, who appeared on three organization top 30 lists. The 24-year-old left-hander has a 3.93 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in two years of Advanced-A ball.
  • The Rays have released right-hander Jason McEachern, who was a 13th-round selection in the 2008 draft. Eddy notes that McEachern was a projectable high school arm that made it to Class-A but never took a step forward in his fastball velocity. The 22-year-old has a 4.96 ERA in 201 Class-A innings.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Clay Rapada Clears Waivers, Hits Free Agency

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FRIDAY: The Yankees have announced that Rapada has cleared release waivers and is now a free agent, per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY: The Yankees have released left-hander Clay Rapada, tweets MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. The Bombers had designated the southpaw for assignment last week after signing him to a minor league deal in February.

Rapada pitched to a 2.82 ERA, 8.9 K/9, and 4.0 BB/9 in 70 games (38 1/3 innings) out of the bullpen for the Yankees in 2012. He dealt with shoulder bursitis throughout Spring Training, which limited him to just two innings of work.

New York Notes: Yankees, Chris Young

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The Mets kicked off the 2013 campaign with a 2-1 series victory over the Padres while the Yankees fell to 1-2 at the hands of the Red Sox. Here's some news on both teams as they prepare for their second series of the season…

  • The Yankees are focused on getting younger, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, and they'll have a great opportunity to do so in this year's draft. The Yankees hold three of the first 33 picks in this year's draft — an almost unheard of feat for the Bronx Bombers. Rosenthal notes that the Yanks haven't had a Top 10 pick since selecting Derek Jeter in 1992 and have had just one Top 20 pick since.
  • One scout told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News that he won't believe the Yankees are dead "until he sees the body." Other scouts he talked to, however, were down on both CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda.
  • Within that same piece, Martino writes that the Mets passed on Chris Young after seeing his fastball sit between 79-82 mph in his final Spring Training start. While Young has never had much velocity, he was at least able to average 84.6 mph on his fastball last season.

AL Notes: Valverde, Rays, Viciedo, Wells

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Baseball America has released this useful chart showing where each of baseball's 100 best prospects is currently playing. Elsewhere around baseball:

  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski says the club's deal with Jose Valverde does not include a Major League side, reports Jason Beck of MLB.com. Dombrowski acknowledged that he "talked extensively" with Valverde agent Scott Boras "throughout the last couple months" about the Tigers' former closer, in spite of reports that the Tigers were not interested. The team decided that the deal was beneficial because "if this makes us the best team, then, great, and if it doesn't, then we don't have any commitments." 
  • The Rays organization is fully stocked with major league ready talent after its offseason moves, writes Bill Chastain of MLB.com. Manager Joe Maddon says that the club "sent some Major League players back to Triple-A this time," which is "not so good for them and good for us." In particular, Chastain cites players such as pitchers Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi, and Alex Colome, along with hitters Wil Myers and Tim Beckham, as ready to step in on the MLB level. According to Maddon, "if anything were to happen, we have the guys in tow."
  • White Sox outfielder Dayan Viciedo, another Boras client, appears content to sit back and let his agent decide whether or not to seek an extension, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Viciedo says he has already been "very privileged" to have signed a four-year, $10MM deal as an international free agent from Cuba. The 24-year-old will reach arbitration eligibility in 2015, unless he qualifies for Super Two status. 
  • Both the Mariners and Yankees made bad decisions relating to a player named Wells, writes ESPN.com's Dave Szymborski (insider sub. req'd). Szymborski opines that Seattle's decision to go with Jason Bay over Casper Wells and New York's acquisition of Vernon Wells are among the worst moves of the spring.
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