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AL East Notes: Rays, Kelley, Drew, Gomes, Sox

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Facing the possibility of losing Matt Moore to Tommy John surgery, Rays manager Joe Maddon offered his take on the recent rash of Tommy John surgeries in the game. Via the Associated Press:

"Sometimes you have to look underneath the surface and I tend to agree it has a lot to do with youth sports and travel teams and multiple travel teams and kids pitching to win when they're really young and throwing too many pitches. I think the more recent epidemic curiously might be tied to what they're doing before they even get here professionally."

Of course, Moore's injury is not the only injury facing the Rays' rotation, either. Jeremy Hellickson opened the season on the disabled list, and Alex Cobb is now out as long as six weeks after being placed on the DL with an oblique strain yesterday, writes Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune. Here's more from the AL East…

  • The Mariners' decision to designate Shawn Kelley for assignment last Spring Training rather than pay him $935K has proven to be the Yankees' gain, writes John Harper of the New York Daily News. Kelley was a vital part of the bullpen in 2013 and has stepped up for the injured David Robertson in 2014 thus far. Kelley's strong 2013 season is part of the reason that the Yanks didn't add a right-handed setup arm this offseason, writes Harper, as they believed the two-time Tommy John victim to be capable of handling the role of Robertson's primary setup man.
  • Harper also looks at the predictably injury-riddled Yankees infield and opines that it's time for the team to call Scott Boras to get a deal done with Stephen Drew. As Harper points out, the Yankees ran out an infield of Kelly Johnson, Dean Anna, Yangervis Solarte and Carlos Beltran last night, and patchwork mixes like that simply won't cut it. He suggests a two-year deal for Drew, to play second base and provide insurance for Jeter this season before taking the reins at shortstop in 2015.
  • While much is made of Jon Lester's coming free agency by the Boston media, the Boston Herald's John Tomase writes that Jonny Gomes is also in the final year of his deal, and he spoke with the part-time Red Sox outfielder about that scenario. Gomes admits that it's difficult to play in a walk year due to the results-oriented nature of the game, adding that he knows being a good clubhouse presence won't necessarily get him a job next year. Tomase writes that ideally, Gomes' preference is to stay in Boston.
  • WEEI.com's Alex Speier writes that Red Sox manager John Farrell isn't exactly thrilled with the early returns on baseball's instant replay system. "It's hard to have any faith in the system," said Farrell after being on the losing end of a pair of challenges this weekend. Saturday's call, in particular, looked to provide conclusive evidence in Boston's favor, but the umpires didn't agree. Said Farrell: "As much as they’re trying to help the human element inside this system, it seems like it’s added the human element at a different level."

Rangers Acquire Hector Noesi

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The Rangers have announced that they have acquired pitcher Hector Noesi from the Mariners. The Mariners will receive cash in the deal, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tweets. The Mariners designated Noesi for assignment last week. To clear space on their 40-man roster for Noesi, the Rangers moved Jurickson Profar to the 60-day disabled list. The Rangers will have to make another move to add Noesi to their 25-man roster.

Noesi, 27, has a 5.64 ERA, 6.4 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 191 1/3 career innings with the Mariners and Yankees. The Mariners acquired him from New York before the 2012 season in the Michael Pineda / Jesus Montero trade. There's no immediate word on Noesi's role in Texas, but the Rangers' pitching staff has struggled with injuries, and Noesi has experience with both starting and relieving.

Angels Rule 5 Pick Brian Moran To Undergo Tommy John

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The Angels have announced that lefty Brian Moran will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery. After being left unprotected by the Mariners, Moran was taken by the Blue Jays in the ninth position in the Rule 5 draft and immediately shipped to Los Angeles in exchange for an international bonus slot.

Moran is expected to remain with the Angels for the coming season while he rehabs from surgery, says MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez. The club will be able to keep him while clearing a 40-man spot by placing him on the 60-day DL, and will then have the same rights over Moran as they do at present. Once Moran is activated, the Angels will need to clear a 40-man spot and then maintain him on the active roster for all of next season or offer him back to Seattle.

A similar situation occurred recently with Brad Meyers, who was selected by the Yankees from the Nationals. Meyers spent the entire year on the DL — including time on the 60-day list — and was ultimately returned to Washington in the fall following his surgery.

Moran, a 25-year-old lefty, spent the last three seasons in the upper minors with the Seattle organization. In 62 2/3 innings at Triple-A last year, he threw to a 3.45 ERA while striking out 12.2 and walking 2.9 per nine. While those K:BB numbers are quite impressive, Moran did allow 10.1 hits for every nine frames over his first full season at the highest level of the minors.

The Angels had hoped to use Moran as a lefty specialist out of the pen, Gonzalez notes. With fellow southpaw Sean Burnett also still on the shelf, the club has gone with Nick Maronde as its only lefty in relief. The Angels do have some options with MLB experience stashed at Triple-A, including Buddy Boshers, Wade LeBlanc, and Clay Rapada.

Mariners Designate Hector Noesi For Assignment

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The Mariners announce that they have designated pitcher Hector Noesi for assignment. The move clears space to add reliever Dominic Leone to the 25-man roster. The Mariners used six pitchers, including Noesi, to get through six innings of relief in a 12-inning game yesterday. (Noesi took the loss, giving up a walk-off home run to Coco Crisp.) Leone provides the Mariners with an extra arm in their bullpen.

Noesi, 27, has a 5.64 career ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 191 1/3 innings, some of them as a starter. He pitched just 27 1/3 innings with the Mariners in 2013, spending much of the season in the minors. The Mariners acquired him from the Yankees in the Jesus Montero / Michael Pineda trade in early 2012.

Minor Moves: Rapada, Gimenez, Cabrera, Taylor

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We'll keep track of the day's minor moves here:

  • The Mariners have signed lefty Clay Rapada and added him to the roster at Triple-A Tacoma, according to Rainiers announce Mike Curto (on Twitter). Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune first reported (via Twitter) that Rapada was working out for the team. The left-hander has a 4.06 ERA in 94 big league innings but has never been able to hold down a consistent big league job despite dominant numbers against left-handed hitters; Rapada has held lefties to a minuscule .164/.255/.231 batting line in his career. However, righties have roughed him up at a .345/.464/.611 clip.
  • Catcher Chris Gimenez has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Round Rock, according to the Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant (Twitter link). Gimenez, who has been outrighted previously, has 72 hours to accept or reject the assignment. He was claimed off waivers by the Rangers last week but quickly designated for assignment when the club promoted Daniel McCutchen to the Majors.
  • The Cubs have outrighted reliever Alberto Cabrera to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, reports Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). The 25-year-old righty was designated on Saturday. 
  • Outfielder Michael Taylor has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. The 28-year-old will take up residence in Sacramento for the fifth straight year since joining the Oakland organization.
  • Brian Bogusevic has accepted an outright assignment from the Marlins, reports Cotillo (via Twitter). Bogusevic, a 30-year-old outfielder who was acquired over the offseason for Justin Ruggiano, could have elected free agency since he has previously been outrighted.
  • The Red Sox have released outfielder Scott Cousins, Cotillo also tweets. Cousins, 29, has seen bit action in parts of four MLB seasons. The news was first reported yesterday by Mike Andrews of SoxProspects (via Twitter). According to Andrews, longtime minor leaguer Juan Carlos Linares was also among the players cut loose from the Boston system.
  • Pitcher Armando Galarraga is working on securing a visa after receiving an offer from the Taiwanese club Brother Elephants, his agent tells Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Cotillo tweeted earlier this morning that the former big leaguer was close to a deal to move to Taiwan. In 542 career MLB innings, Galarraga has a 4.78 ERA  with 5.7 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9.
  • Outfielder Dave Sappelt has been released by the Phillies, tweets Cotillo. Sappelt himself said on Twitter that he appreciates the club carrying him while undergoing offseason surgery. The 27-year-old has seen limited action in three big league seasons.
  • The Astros have outrighted reliever Raul Valdes to Triple-A, according to the PCL transactions page. Though he lacks an extensive MLB track record at age 36, Valdes still has an intriguing recent stat line and looks to be a good bet to see time in Houston at some point. His ERA was a ghastly 7.46 last year, but he put up 9.5 K/9 (against just 2.1 BB/9), good for a 3.10 SIERA. Valdes posted numbers more line with those peripherals in 2012 and even during limited action this spring.
  • Likewise, Hiroyuki Nakajima has been outrighted to the top affiliate of the Athletics, also via the PCL transactions page. The move is not surprising, given that Nakajima had only been added to the 40-man in the first place to fill it up to allow for the team to designate Taylor for assignment, according to a report from John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter).

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Dodgers Claim Carlos Triunfel From Mariners

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The Dodgers have claimed shortstop Carlos Triunfel off waivers from the Mariners, the club announced via press release. Triunfel has been optioned to Triple-A.

That brings an end to a disappointing tenure for Triunfel in Seattle, which designated him for assignment on Friday. Once a consensus top-100 prospect, Triunfel saw only limited big league action with his former club. Last year, at Triple-A, he posted a .282/.328/.394 line in 383 trips to the plate. 

Minor Moves: Adam Rosales, Xavier Avery, Carlos Peguero

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Here are today's minor moves and outright assignments from around the league…

  • Infielder Adam Rosales has accepted an outright assignment with the Rangers, tweets Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest. The well-travelled Rosales has 920 MLB plate appearances over his career, and owns a .219/.287/.335 line in that stretch.
  • Outfielder Xavier Avery of the Mariners has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, reports Greg Johns of MLB.com (via Twitter). The 24-year-old figures to be a useful depth piece for Seattle.
  • Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports (via Twitter) that the Royals have outrighted outfielder Carlos Peguero to Triple-A Omaha after he cleared waivers. According to a previous report from McCullough, the Royals made a clever move — Peguero and his agent might use a different adjective — by claiming left-hander Patrick Schuster from the Padres and designating Peguero for assignment. Per McCullough, Schuster never really had a shot to crack the roster, and the Rule 5 pick was returned to his original organization, the Diamondbacks. However, the move gave Kansas City cause to DFA Peguero, and the 10-day DFA window helped ensure that he could be slipped through waivers more easily, as he didn't have to be waived until eight days after his DFA (most teams' 40-man rosters were set by the time Peguero was placed on waivers). 

Padres Claim Bobby LaFromboise

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The Padres have claimed lefty Bobby LaFromboise off of waivers from the Mariners, reports Corey Brock of MLB.com (via Twitter). He has been optioned to Triple-A, Brock adds.

LaFromboise was designated by the Mariners to create 40-man space for Chris Young. At age 27, he has only ten MLB appearances under his belt, but has posted an intriguing stat line in the upper minors for a southpaw. He worked to a 3.39 ERA last year and a 1.36 mark in 2012, both in over 60 frames of work. Better, he did so with over 9.0 K/9 and less then 3.0 BB/9.

Minor Moves: Watanabe, Poythress, Laffey, Berger

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We'll round up today's minor moves here:

Added To The 40-Man Roster: Friday

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Between now and Opening Day, several minor league signees will win jobs with their clubs and earn 40-man roster spots. Here are today's additions:

  • The Mariners have told lefty Joe Beimel that he will get an Opening Day slot, meaning that he'll need to be added to the club's 40-man, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). In addition to the 36-year-old,  Seattle will need to add 25-year-old lefty Roenis Elias to the 40-man after he made a surprise run through camp to join the Opening Day rotation, as Shannon Drayer of ESPN Radio Seattle reports on Twitter. To clear room, the club designated Carlos Triunfel and Xavier Avery for assignment.
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