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Quick Hits: Phillies, Schwimer, Blue Jays, Rockies

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Saturday afternoon linkage..

  • Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro says that he traded Michael Schwimer to the Blue Jays earlier today because the club will have some looming 40-man roster issues and they already had excess bullpen depth, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • Meanwhile, Schwimer says that the players' union has not closed an inquiry into whether he was optioned to the minors last season while injured, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.  The Phillies said the reliever was healthy while he claims that he was dealing with a biceps issue.  Schwimer can file a grievance with the union and seek lost service time and back pay up to $75K, but the outcome won't affect the Blue Jays, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (on Twitter).
  • The Rockies' interest in Rays pitcher Jeff Niemann makes sense as they have had interest in him in years past and he is affordable at $3MM, writes Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter links).  However, Renck would be surprised if the Rockies did something before seeing the rotation cycle through a few times.

Blue Jays Acquire Michael Schwimer From Phillies

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The Phillies announced that they have traded reliever Michael Schwimer to the Blue Jays for minor league first baseman Art Charles.  Schwimer appeared in 35 games for the Phillies last season.

Schwimer, who turned 27 on Tuesday, posted a 4.46 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 2012.  He has put up even more impressive numbers across three seasons at the Triple-A level, boasting a 2.12 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.  Standing at 6'8", Schwimer was a three-sport athlete coming out of high school and passed on a basketball scholarship at Duke to pitch at Virginia.

Charles, 22, is a left-handed hitting first baseman who spent part of last season with Toronto's Class-A Short Season affiliate in Vancouver.  Charles was drafted twice before being selected by the Blue Jays in the 20th round in 2010.

Minor Moves: Maloney, Hampson, Blanco, Blue Jays

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Here's a look at today's minor moves, courtesy of Baseball America's Matt Eddy..

  • The Red Sox have signed left-hander Matt Maloney to a minor league deal, according to Eddy. The 29-year-old has spent time in the big leagues in each of the past four seasons and owns a career 3.83 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in Triple-A.
  • The Mets have re-signed left-hander Justin Hampson, Eddy writes.  The 32-year-old posted a 2.33 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 for Triple-A Buffalo in 2012.  Hampson also saw time in 13 big league games last season for the Mets and a combined 74 for the Padres in 2007 and 2008.
  • The Phillies released shortstop Andres Blanco, according to Eddy.  Blanco, 28, last appeared in the majors with the Rangers in 2011 and owns a career .255/.301/.333 slash line across six big league seasons.
  • The Blue Jays re-signed right-hander Clint Everts, Eddy reports.  Everts, who spent last season with Toronto's Triple-A affiliate, was taken with the fifth-overall pick in the 2002 draft by the Expos.

Quick Hits: Lohse, Volquez, Bourn, Phillies, Blue Jays

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Padres starter Edinson Volquez is eligible for free agency after the 2013 season, but his preference is to sign an extension with San Diego, says Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Before considering a new contract, the Padres want to see Volquez improve his control, Center notes. Volquez allowed 105 walks in 2012. Here are more notes from around baseball…

  • The Dodgers' surplus of starters is yet another factor working against Kyle Lohse as he tries to find a suitable deal this winter, rival officials tell Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd).  Teams looking for pitching can pick up the phone and call the Dodgers to ask about Chris Capuano or one of their other available starters.  Lohse is obviously a stronger option, but he's also more expensive and teams have less flexibility than they did earlier this winter.
  • Pitcher Kyle Davies agreed to a minor league deal with the Twins that does not include an invite to big league camp, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.  The 29-year-old owns a career 5.59 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 across seven big league seasons.
  • New Indians outfielder Michael Bourn says that the offseason market for his services took a turn for the worse after the Twins traded not one, but two center fielders in Denard Span and Ben Revere, CBSSports.com's Scott Miller reports. The trades of Span and Revere took the Nationals and Phillies out of the market for a center fielder. "I was looking at that like, ‘Man, are you serious?' Those were two teams I pretty much thought would be fighting for me," Bourn says.
  • The Phillies discussed trading Domonic Brown to the Astros this offseason, Jon Heyman reports (on Twitter), but the Phils, still low on talent in the outfield, are reluctant to deal him. The former top prospect is current competing for time in left field with the Phillies.
  • Blue Jays manager John Gibbons hints that the club might turn to Josh Thole or Henry Blanco, rather than J.P. Arencibia, to catch R.A. Dickey, Richard Griffin of TheStar.com reports. The Jays will go with a personal catcher for Dickey, MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm notes. Arencibia wants to catch for Dickey, but Thole and Blanco both caught Dickey and his knuckleball when Dickey played for the Mets.

East Notes: Phillies, Steinbrenner, Yankees, Red Sox

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Despite what some observers may think, the Phillies refuse to believe that their window has closed, writes Bob Nightengale of USA Today.  "If I really thought the window was closing," said Cole Hamels, "I would have been gone. I play to win. They didn't have to give me any assurances. You can see it. You can feel it."  There are a number of questions surrounding the Phillies, including offseason acquisition Michael Young's ability to play third base, but Ryan Howard cautions fans not to be surprised by their success in 2013.  Here's more out of baseball's eastern divisions..

  • Hal Steinbrenner has been adamant about the Yankees cutting their payroll to $189MM, but ESPN New York's Wallace Matthews reports that he may return to something resembling his father's free-spending ways. "This is the first time since George died that it appears a Steinbrenner is actually running the Yankees," a source tells Matthews. A change in the Yankees' approach would have dramatic implications throughout the free-agent market, and it could have a near-immediate impact on Robinson Cano as he enters his walk year.
  • The Red Sox generally haven't incorporated former major league players into their decision-making, but GM Ben Cherington appreciates special assistant Jason Varitek's input, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.  In the coming months, Varitek will assist the front office in player development and draft scouting.  Two other former Red Sox stars, Pedro Martinez and Tim Wakefield, are also working with Cherington.
  • In addition to being a key bullpen piece for the Orioles, the recently extended Darren O'Day is also a mentor to his fellow Baltimore sidearmers, writes Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com. O'Day recently agreed to a two-year, $5.8MM deal with a club option for 2015.

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

NL East Notes: Gio, Owings, Stanton, Young

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Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez was one of several players whose names were found in the records of Biogenesis, a Miami clinic linked to PEDs, as revealed last month by the Miami New Times.  According to a new report from ESPN's Mike Fish and T.J. Quinn, however, none of the substances that Gonzalez allegedly purchased are banned by Major League Baseball.  Gonzalez has denied any personal involvement with Biogenesis, though his father is a client of the clinic. 

Here are some more items from around the NL East…

Alfonso Soriano Would Consider Trades

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Alfonso Soriano insists that his top priority hasn’t changed since signing a $136MM contract with the Cubs following the 2006 season. He said he still aims to win a World Series, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. But trade rumors involving Soriano persist, and the left fielder doesn’t want to be a part of a losing team.

"If we have a bad start, I have to think about moving somewhere else," he said.

Soriano said he has given the Cubs about six or seven teams to which he’d consider trades. The list includes the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Phillies and White Sox, according to the Sun-Times. Soriano, whose contract includes a full-no trade clause, has maintained an open dialogue with Cubs executives about the possibility of a trade.

"I don’t control that situation," Soriano said. “I’m just going day-by-day and see what happens and try to focus on my spring training to get ready for my season."

The 37-year-old has two years and $36MM remaining on his contract with the Cubs. He posted a .262/.322/.499 batting line with 32 home runs in 2012.

Minor Moves: A’s, Pirates, Colon, Orioles, Hudson

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Here's a look at today's minor moves, courtesy of Baseball America's Matt Eddy..

  • The Athletics are close to signing Mexican League infielder Antonio Lamas to an undisclosed deal, reports John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter).
  • The Pirates signed right-hander Roman Colon to a minor league deal.  Colon appeared in a few games for the Royals last season but spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A Omaha where he posted a 3.09 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 40 games.  
  • The Orioles signed left fielder Kyle Hudson, who spent the first four years of his career in the Baltimore organization.  The 26-year-old hit just .264/.335/.286 for the Triple-A affiliates of the Phillies and Rays.
  • Right-hander Mark Hamburger is seeking employment once again after being released by the Astros this week.  The 26-year-old was a roster casualty several times last season and spent time with the Rangers, Astros, and Padres. 

Daniel Seco contributed to this report.

NL Notes: Lohse, Cardinals, Mets

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Jim Bowden of ESPN.com and MLB Network Radio predicts Kyle Lohse will sign with either the Brewers or Rangers as one of five moves which will happen this spring (Insider subscription required). Bowden also sees extensions for Adam Wainwright and Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. Here's the other Senior Circuit news and notes from the first Sunday of Spring Training:

Cafardo On Arroyo, Wang, Perez, Dodgers, Oswalt

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The Rays shed about $28MM of payroll this winter between B.J. Upton, James Shields, Carlos Pena, Jeff Keppinger, J.P. Howell, and Wade Davis, but that's no problem for the confident organization, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  While the team will look different in several areas this season, they'll still have their typically strong pitching.  The first four of the rotation are set with David Price, Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Moore, Alex Cobb with a competition between four strong candidates for the No. 5 spot.  Here's more from today's column..

  • Bronson Arroyo has been a consistent pitcher for the Reds, but the feeling from most people and the pitcher himself is that this could be his last year in Cincinnati.  One major league source says the Cubs would be a perfect fit as a strong veteran presence in their rebuilding effort. 
  • Agent Alan Nero said he has taken Chien-Ming Wang off the market until he pitches for Taiwan in the World Baseball Classic.  If he pitches well, the veteran should have a healthy market for a team in need of depth.  The Yankees are keeping tabs on Wang despite already having six starters in the fold.
  • While there’s more focus on where Alfonso Soriano might be dealt, David DeJesus could also be a nice midseason chip for the Cubs.  The outfielder would be a solid fit for a few teams, including the Phillies, Orioles, and Red Sox. 
  • It looks like the Indians will hold on to Chris Perez for now, but the Dodgers had serious interest in him not too long ago.  If Tribe gets off to a slow start, L.A's interest could be something to keep in mind.
  • The Red Sox have discussed first baseman/outfielder Mike Carp, who was designated for assignment last week by the Mariners, as a backup.  There may not be room, however, as they are committed to Lyle Overbay.  Overbay has asked the Red Sox if he could play some outfield as well this season.
  • Roy Oswalt still hasn't officially retired and he could be leaving the door open to join a club during the season.  Recently, we learned that the Mets tried to sell Oswalt on becoming their closer in 2013, but the veteran isn't interested in the bullpen.
  • Teams will pay attention to out-of-options Red Sox reliever Clayton Mortensen in spring training. The 27-year-old looks to be the odd man out the way the Sox bullpen could be configured.
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