Phillies Claim Ezequiel Carrera Off Waivers
The Phillies announced that they have claimed outfielder Ezequiel Carrera off of waivers from the Indians. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Phillies have designated fellow outfielder Ender Inciarte for assignment.
Carrera, 25, has appeared in 116 big league games for the Indians across the last two seasons, posting a .255/.306/.347 slash line. He has spent parts of the last three seasons at the Triple-A level where he has hit .286/.351/.372. Carrera first came to Cleveland by way of Seattle in the deal that sent Russell Branyan to the M's.
Inciarte, 22, was plucked from the Diamondbacks in the Rule 5 draft by the Phillies in December. The youngster, who is said to be strong defensively but lacking a major league-ready bat, split time between Class-A and Advanced-A ball in 2012. Last season, he had a combined slash line of .307/.376/.421
East Notes: Desmond, Garcia, Inciarte
It's "possible," though not likely, that the Nationals could sign shortstop Ian Desmond to a contract extension before the season begins Monday, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Desmond is eligible for free agency after 2015, and the Nationals would likely look to acquire the rights to some of Desmond's free agency years if he were to sign with them, Kilgore suggests. Desmond hit .292/.335/.511 in a breakout year for the Nationals in 2012. He avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $3.8MM contract for 2013. Here's more from the East Coast.
- Orioles manager Buck Showalter likes the depth that new acquisition Freddy Garcia provides, Eduardo A. Encina and Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun report. "He is inventory. He can help us if we have a need," says Showalter. "He can pitch as a starter and out of the bullpen. I like it." Encina and Connolly write that Garcia will start five or six games for Triple-A Norfolk before the Orioles reevaluate how they plan to use him.
- Outfielder and rule 5 pick Ender Inciarte has won a job with the Phillies, meaning Philadelphia won't be offering him back to the Diamondbacks, Tim McManus of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Inciarte will be required to stick on the Phillies' 25-man roster throughout the season. Inciarte spent 2012 at Class A South Bend and Class A+ Visalia. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says Inciarte "may be a little overmatched offensively," but can provide help on defense.
Quick Hits: Phillies, Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs
Let's take a quick trip around four of baseball's five most valuable franchises, according to Forbes:
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. discussed the team's offseason strategy and looked ahead to the new season in a wide-ranging question-and-answer session with Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News. When asked about the decision to add yet more older players to his club, Amaro said that "age is a factor," but not the only factor. "I've said this before and [Yankees GM] Brian Cashman has said this before," said Amaro. "I don't worry so much about age as I do about production." Amaro did note that the team figures to get younger in the outfield with Ben Revere and Domonic Brown expected to occupy two starting spots.
- Meanwhile, the club has announced its Opening Day roster, which includes outfielder Ender Inciarte, according to a team tweet. As MLBTR previously noted, the 22-year-old Rule 5 draftee has yet to appear above High-A ball. Inciarte will remain Phillies property so long as he sticks on the club's 25-man roster (or is placed on the DL) for the duration of the season. Click here for an explanation of the Rule 5 Draft. Todd Zolecki of MLB.com tweets that he expects Inciarte to be returned to the Diamondbacks when Delmon Young is ready to join the club.
- Turning to Cashman's Yankees, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman pulled no punches when reviewing the club's offseason, writing that "no one had a worse spring training than baseball's most storied team, maybe ever." Heyman further reports that, in spite of their public proclamations and massive payroll, the Yanks' brass is very concerned internally about the club's prospects for 2013. Likewise, ESPN's Jim Bowden predicted that New York would finish last in the AL East, writing that the club could sport a losing record for the first time since 1992.
- Meanwhile, first baseman Lyle Overbay has made the Yankees Opening Day roster, Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reported on Twitter. The 36-year-old was inked shortly after being released by the Red Sox. MLB.com's Bryan Hoch previously reported that Overbay signed what Cashman described as "a three-day, NBA-style contract" to allow the club to get "a quick peek" at the veteran. As McCullough wrote, Cashman has described his recent scramble to add players by evoking the famous Emma Lazarus line featured on the Statue of Liberty: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to break [sic] free."
- While nothing is yet official, Red Sox prospect Jackie Bradley Jr. is heading with the club to New York, where the team opens against the Yankees on Monday, tweets Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. The club will need to clear a 40-man roster spot before it can select the contract of the young outfielder, notes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal (on Twitter).
- The Cubs' front office is working hard to make final additions to the roster, writes Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune (must register to access article). After adding players like Luis Valbuena and Shawn Camp around this time last year, Rogers says, the club could be active on the waiver wire.
July 2nd Rumors: Aybar, Devers, Zapata, Jimenez
Kiley McDaniel of sbb.scout.com has a primer on the international signing period, which begins July 2nd every year. That's when 16-year-olds from countries such as the Dominican Republic and Venezuela can be signed by Major League teams. The latest from McDaniel:
- There is no super elite prospect this year, writes McDaniel. He notes that under the new collective bargaining agreement, most teams will have budgets in the $1.5-4MM range, as determined by the 2012 MLB standings. The Astros could have north of $7MM to spend, however. McDaniel notes that teams can trade for up to 50% of their assigned cap.
- In another article, McDaniel looks at particular players in this July 2nd class. Dominican shortstop Obispo Aybar could get a $1MM bonus, even though MLB is investigating his age and clubs believe he is 18 or 19.
- Dominican third baseman Rafael Devers has been connected to the Red Sox, with a possible bonus over $1MM.
- Right fielder Micker Zapata, born on the island of St. Thomas but trained in the Dominican in recent years, has drawn interest from the Phillies, Mariners, Twins, and Indians. McDaniel notes that Zapata "speaks perfect English from his upbringing in St. Thomas."
- Dominican right fielder Eloy Jimenez has shown similar tools to Zapata with plus speed, a right field arm, and big raw power to his pull side. Jimenez has been rumored to be in line for a bonus that would likely top the class, ranging from $2.5MM-$3MM and is most often linked to the Astros.
- Gleyber Torres is a Venezuelan shortstop who doesn’t offer a ton of projection but has the smoothness and skills to put him into the top group of talents in this class. The Cubs are said to like him and they could spend over $2MM on him.
- Fellow Venezuelan shortstop Yeltsin Gudino is rumored to be in line for over $1MM with the A's and Mariners mentioned most often.
- Dominican shortstop Franly Mallen is further along than Gudino and has caught the attention of a number of teams. Rumor has it that a couple of clubs have already offered him a bonus in the high six figures.
- Dominican righties Mayky Perez and Marcos Diplan are the top two pitchers this year. Perez is 6’5, 205 pounds and shows three average or better pitches with a physical, projectable frame. Diplan, meanwhile, is skinny at 6’0, 160 pounds and boasts a 90-94 mph fastball with an above average breaking ball.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Phillies Release Aaron Cook
The Phillies released righty Aaron Cook, according to a tweet from the team. The team's other choices were to add him to the 25-man roster or pay a $100K retention bonus to send him to the minors.
Cook, 34, posted a 5.65 ERA, 1.9 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 1.44 HR/9, and 58.6% groundball rate in 94 innings for the Red Sox last year. He signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in mid-January. Cook still keeps the ball on the ground, but it's hard to survive with so few strikeouts.
Quick Hits: Astros, Phillies, Dodgers
The Astros and GM Jeff Luhnow are drawing polarized opinions this spring, writes Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. Luhnow argues that the Astros are closer to building a strong organization than some outside commentators might think, citing Jose Altuve, Jason Castro and Lucas Harrell as players who could be part of a strong core in Houston. "I think the core is already here," says Luhnow. "I really do." Here are more notes from around the majors.
- The Phillies could look outside the organization to fill their last outfield spot, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports. Salisbury cites Casper Wells and Ryan Sweeney as examples of the sorts of players the Phillies might pursue. If the Phillies don't acquire a new player, Rule 5 Draft pick Ender Inciarte might end up taking the job.
- As spring training nears its end, the Dodgers still have all eight of their starting pitchers, Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times notes. The Dodgers had been rumored to be looking to trade at least one of them. Dilbeck projects that the team's rotation will include Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Josh Beckett, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Chad Billingsley, with Chris Capuano, Ted Lilly and Aaron Harang on the outside looking in.
- The Dodgers have signed 16-year-old pitcher Jesus Canizales out of Venezuela, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports (on Twitter).
Phillies Release Yuniesky Betancourt
The Phillies have released Yuniesky Betancourt, tweets MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. The Phillies signed Betancourt to a minor league contract in January.
"It was a very difficult decision," Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told reporters including Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "He played great for us. We had some other guys feel great, and we’re comfortable with where we are as far as those players are concerned."
Those players would be Freddy Galvis and Kevin Frandsen. Agent Alex Esteban told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that Betancourt requested his release by exercising his out clause and there are three teams who are interested in his client (Twitter link). Gelb tweeted the Phillies tried to trade Betancourt, but other teams walked away.
Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com tweets both the Yankees and Cardinals are "poking around" Betancourt. The mention of the Yankees is interesting, as GM Brian Cashman told Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News earlier today that he won't be looking outside the organization for a shortstop despite Derek Jeter's ailing ankle (Twitter link). The Giants and Brewers are in the market for an utility infielder and could be interested in Betancourt, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Twitter.
Betancourt hit just .228/.256/.400 with seven home runs in 228 plate appearances for the Royals last season. The 31-year-old is in the midst of an incredibly strong Spring Training collecting 21 hits in 47 at-bats en route to a .447/.451/.574 batting line with a 1.025 OPS in 51 plate appearances.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
Orioles, Phillies Swap Minor Leaguers
The Orioles have acquired minor league right-hander Julio Rodriguez from the Phillies in exchange for outfielder Ronnie Welty, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli (on Twitter).
Rodriguez, who turned 21 in August, pitched to a 4.23 ERA with a 9.1 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 in 134 innings for the Phillies' Double-A affiliate last season. He did not rank among Baseball America's Top 30 Phillies prospects, nor did he appear on MLB.com's list of Top 20 Phillies prospects.
The 25-year-old Welty has some experience at all three outfield positions but played right field exclusively in 2012. Last season, he batted .333/.373/.662 with 13 homers in 229 plate appearances across four levels. However, a great deal of those plate appearances came in Rookie ball and Class-A (both levels) as he rehabbed from an injury. In 37 games for Double-A Bowie, he batted .286/.303/.564. Like Rodriguez, he did not appear on his team's respective Top 30 and Top 20 prospects.
Phillies Notes: Outfield, Roster Moves, Betancourt
Tim Dierkes covered the Phillies' winter moves yesterday in the latest installment of MLBTR's Offseason In Review series. If today's news is any indication, however, the Phils may yet make another tweak or two to their roster before Opening Day. Here's the latest from the City of Brotherly Love…
- The Phillies have been talking to other teams about adding depth in the outfield, bullpen and behind the plate, ESPN's Jayson Stark reports (Twitter link).
- Also from Stark (Twitter links), Phillies GM Ruben Amaro said the outfield situation isn't quite settled. "We could make a trade (or) sign somebody," Amaro said. "We'll see. If there are ways to improve our team, we'll try to do it."
- Alex Esteban, Yuniesky Betancourt's agent, tells Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer that his client will opt out of his minor league deal with the Phillies if he isn't added to their Major League roster by Sunday. "Our preference would be to stay with the Phillies but it's out of our control," Esteban said. "We would definitely be opting out and seeing what's out there." Gelb speculates that the Cardinals, Marlins and Astros could be possible fits for Betancourt if he becomes a free agent.
- If Betancourt makes the Phillies and reaches his contract incentives, his deal would pay him $1.4MM, Gelb reports.
- From earlier today, the Phillies released Rodrigo Lopez.
Phillies Release Rodrigo Lopez
The Phillies have released Rodrigo Lopez, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports (on Twitter). Lopez, an MVP Sports Group client, signed a minor league deal with Philadelphia in January. He would have earned $1MM on the big league roster but will instead hit free agency.
Lopez made four relief appearances for the Cubs last season, but spent most of the year in Triple-A. The 37-year-old posted a 5.28 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 73 1/3 innings with Chicago's Iowa affiliate. A veteran of 11 MLB seasons, Lopez posted a 4.42 ERA in 97 2/3 innings for the 2011 Cubs.
The Phillies have confirmed the move.