Minor Moves: A’s, Pirates, Colon, Orioles, Hudson
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
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:
- Count the Phillies out as suitors for Lohse as GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is prepared to go with the staff he has in camp, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.
- Lohse will only become of interest to the Cardinals if their rotation candidates aren't panning out during Spring Training, writes CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman in a piece outlining six reasons why the Redbirds remain playoff contenders.
- One reason for the Cardinals making the postseason in three of the last four years is being ranked as one of the NL's top four teams in terms of innings pitched by the starting rotation, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Goold notes this year’s rotation is set to include four starters, beyond Wainwright, who combined have just one 190-inning season.
- The Mets could use catcher John Buck as trade bait once they promote Travis d'Arnaud in the opinion of ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin, who cites the precedent of when David Wright took over at third base.
- Bill Madden of the New York Daily News cautions the Mets to be prudent with their newfound financial flexibility if they dive into next year's free agent outfield pool. Madden lists Jacoby Ellsbury, Shin-Soo Choo, and Hunter Pence (all ranked in the top ten of MLBTR's 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings) as possible targets.
Cafardo On Arroyo, Wang, Perez, Dodgers, Oswalt
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.
Quick Hits: Bourn, Richard, Padres, Manuel
It took Michael Bourn a long time to find his new team this winter, but the center fielder isn't complaining, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. At the same time, several executives charge that agent Scott Boras overreached and initially asked for much more than a four year deal. "Boras clearly felt he’d get significant length, definitely five years, possibly six or seven," one exec told Rosenthal. Here's more Saturday linkage..
- Clayton Richard is now the lone remaining arbitration case with Homer Bailey agreeing to a one-year deal this afternoon, but it seems likely that he'll be headed to the table with the Padres, tweets Scott Miller of CBSSports.com.
- Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is entering the final season of his two-year contract extension, but the skipper says that he is focused on winning and not his next deal, writes Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Manuel is adamant that he won't worry about his job security if the team struggles early on in the season and pointed out that managers like Joe Torre and Tony LaRussa have been in similar situations.
- While Rafael Soriano won't miss ceding the ninth inning to Mariano Rivera in New York, he will miss having the legendary closer as a teammate, writes Harvey Araton of the New York Times. Meanwhile, he's happy to be with the Nationals where he knows for certain that he will enter as the closer.
National League Notes: Phillies, Boras, Weiss
The Phillies have been a playoff contender for the better part of the past half decade, but time and a decline in talent may mean the window of opportunity is quickly closing at Citizens Bank Park, writes Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News. "A lot of it will depend on how people perform, on how the young players perform," Amaro said. "At some point we're going to be filtering some young players onto this club and we need to find out who needs to be those guys to keep us going, to keep us afloat." Here's the latest news from around the National League.
- Scott Boras believes the market is heating up for his unsigned clients like Kyle Lohse and Jose Valverde thanks to the start of Spring Training, says Adam Berry of MLB.com. "Like most free agents with that kind of ability, I think you get all kinds of calls. Frankly the calls increase during Spring Training rather than decrease because the need level of each club is more evident," Boras said. "These are ownership decisions at this point. The talent is there.
- Walt Weiss must put his stamp on every aspect of his squad as he enters the 2013 season as the Rockies first-year manager, writes Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post. Renck points to Todd Helton as the starting point with his declining skills, inability to play a full season and the lingering DUI arrest that must be addressed by the veteran first baseman in front of the team.
- John Mozeliak's contract extension from the Cardinals stems from his linear integration model that has paid dividends in the form of victories at the Major League level, says Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I think he’s got a real sense of how to make a decision and a recommendation and not panicking into doing something that is good for the moment,” Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said.
NL East Notes: Hudson, Desmond, Halladay
The Mets are optimistic that they can surprise people in 2013 then spend more liberally starting next offseason. Here’s the latest on their division rivals…
- As Tim Hudson begins the final year on his contract with the Braves, he's hopeful of staying in Atlanta long-term. The right-hander told Mark Bowman of MLB.com that he hopes to play for "a while longer" with the Braves. "I think when the day comes when I'm not a Brave or not playing for anybody, it's going to be a sad day around the Hudson house," he said.
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said he’s “open minded” to the notion of pursuing a contract extension with shortstop Ian Desmond before the season begins, Amanda Comak of the Washington Times reports (on Twitter). Desmond said he's open to the possibility of an extension, but not in a rush to complete a deal, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports (on Twitter). The 27-year-old will earn $3.8MM as a first time arbitration eligible player in 2013 following a breakout offensive season.
- Phillies ace Roy Halladay doesn’t sound intrigued by the possibility of hitting free agency this coming offseason, David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News reports. The right-hander’s three-year, $60MM contract will expire assuming he doesn’t pitch 259 innings or more in 2013. "I think if I have my druthers I would be here until I'm done," he said. "As good as they've been to me, I think they realize that I would be as good to them as I could be. So going forward, if that that was the case, I really can't see myself playing anywhere else.” Halladay ranked fifth on Tim Dierkes' 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings.
Juan Cruz Hits Free Agency
The Phillies and Juan Cruz have mutually decided to rescind their agreement, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports (Twitter link). The right-handed Praver/Shapiro client is now a free agent.
The Phillies signed Cruz to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training last month. He spent the 2012 season with the Pirates, posting a 2.78 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 in 35 2/3 innings before getting designated for assignment. The 34-year-old had signed a one-year, $1.25MM contract with Pittsburgh leading up to the 2012 season.
Cruz never formally signed his contract with the Phillies, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes (on Twitter). The sides agreed there wasn't a fit following the Phillies' deal with Chad Durbin.
NL East Notes: Braves, Zimmermann, Phillies
As the Mets’ pursuit of Michael Bourn continues slowly but surely, let’s check in on the rest of the NL East for the latest news…
- Braves president John Schuerholz told Mark Bowman of MLB.com that the idea of acquiring both Upton brothers “probably would have been a little too much to hope for” at the outset of the offseason. Even so, Braves scouts and executives weren’t discouraged. “Nobody stopped working because we thought it was unrealistic to get it done,” Schuerholz explained. “We just kept working harder to get it done.”
- Jordan Zimmermann's arbitration hearing has been set for February 19th, Bill Ladson of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). The right-hander filed for $5.8MM with the Nationals countering at $4.6MM, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. Zimmermann says he and the Nationals have made "a little progress" toward a one-year deal, Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com reports (on Twitter). The sides haven't engaged in long-term talks.
- Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News notes that two of the Phillies' offseason additions — Delmon Young and Michael Young — could be defensive liabilities in 2013. It's far from a given that the Phillies will be adequate defensively with Delmon in right field and Michael at third base.
NL Notes: Phillies, Reds, Rockies, Figgins
As players, coaches, and front office personnel begin to arrive in Florida and Arizona for Spring Training 2013, let's take a look at the news and notes from the National League:
- The Phillies were surprised Ben Revere was available and, in fact, it was the Twins who brought his name up in trade talks after dealing Denard Span to the Nationals, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer's Bob Brookover.
- Within the same article, Brookover writes the struggles of Domonic Brown were one reason the Phillies were forced to alter their offseason blueprint. "We were hopeful that Domonic would lock down one of those corner outfield spots," GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "He did not do that. He still may do that…but we can't necessarily count on that to happen. Because of that, then we were kind of filling all three outfield positions."
- MLB.com's Mark Sheldon provided additional contract details for some of the players the Reds have signed within the last month including right-hander Logan Ondrusek, who has more than two dozen different escalators, incentives, and bonuses written into the two-year deal he signed last month.
- Jorge De La Rosa, Jhoulys Chacin, Juan Nicasio, and Jeff Francis are near locks for the first four slots in the Rockies' starting rotation leaving Drew Pomeranz, Christian Friedrich, Tyler Chatwood and Chris Volstad jockeying for the fifth spot, according to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.
- MLB.com's Thomas Harding tweets the candidates for the Rockies' rotation change daily, but the final two spots could come down to Nicasio, Pomeranz, and Chatwood.
- Larry Beinfest, the Marlins' president of baseball operations, envisions the recently signed Chone Figgins in a Alfredo Amezaga-type role, tweets Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel. Amezaga played every position, except pitcher and catcher, during his four-year stint in Miami.
Quick Hits: Indians, Mark Prior, Phillies, Mark Lerner
On this day in 1971, Satchel Paige became the first Negro League player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The oldest player to make his Major League debut, Paige took the field for the Indians for the first time at the age of 42. Here's the latest news and stories making headlines across MLB.
- After making a series of deals this offseason in hopes of making a strong push toward the playoffs, the Indians may not be done adding pieces to their roster just yet, writes Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer. Kyle Lohse and Michael Bourn remain on the radar for Cleveland as the organization would only have to give up a third round draft pick in order to sign either player.
- Mark Prior hasn't given up on his goal of returning to the Major Leagues as he's working on strengthening his shoulder in hopes of receiving an invitation to Spring Training, says David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com. Currently in the best shape of his life according to reports, Prior spent the 2012 season at Triple-A Pawtucket as a member of the Red Sox organization before being released in August. For more on Prior, Doug Miller of MLB.com takes an in-depth approach to telling the past and present story of the former sensation's life on both a professional and personal level.
- The contracts for recently-signed members of the Phillies organization are broken down by Todd Zolecki of MLB.com as he provides the financial incentives players would receive based upon meeting specific goals. For example, Delmon Young would be awarded $100K if named NL MVP next season and $250K for reaching 600 plate appearances, among others.
- Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner told college students at a conference directed toward finding a career in sports that he often learns of deals made by his GM Mike Rizzo by visiting MLB Trade Rumors, writes James Wagner of The Washington Post. A special thanks to Mark for publicly recognizing the work done at MLBTR by Tim Dierkes and his staff.