Nolan Ryan To Remain With Rangers As CEO
The Rangers will announce shortly that Nolan Ryan will stay with the club as CEO, a source tells Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Jeff Wilson's Twitter). Ryan met Sunday afternoon with principal owners Bob Simpson and Ray Davis to discuss the CEO's future for the first known meeting since a March 8th pow-wow in Fort Worth.
“After productive discussions the last several weeks with Ray Davis and Bob Simpson about the structure of our organization, together we are moving forward. In my role as CEO, I am focused on working closely with ownership and with [General Manager] Jon Daniels and Rick George to build on the success of the past five years and to bring a championship to Arlington," Ryan said in the press release.
Meanwhile, Davis and Simpson's statement in the release praised Ryan for the guidance that he has given Daniels and president of business operations Rick George over the years. There has been talk over the last few months that Ryan was unhappy with his perceived shrinking role within the organization. Daniels was recently bumped up to president of baseball operations, a move that Ryan believed would reduce his amount of control over personnel decisions.
Minor Moves: Juan Apodaca
We'll keep track of today's minor moves from around the league right here…
- The Rays have acquired catcher Juan Apodaca from the Rangers in exchange for cah considerations, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). Apodaca, 26, is a veteran of eight minor league seasons with the Dodgers, Red Sox, Indians and Cubs. He's currently on the DL at Triple-A Round Rock with a forearm strain, but owns a .251/.337/.368 minor league batting line. Topkin notes that this move is unrelated to the recent Robinson Chirinos trade.
Rangers Designate Julio Borbon For Assignment
The Rangers announced that they have designated center fielder Julio Borbon for assignment. The move will allow the club to make room for the debut of Nick Tepesch.
Borbon has long been expected to be the odd man out upon Tepesch's promotion to the varsity squad. The out-of-options outfielder posted a .304/.349/.433 slash line for Triple-A Round Rock in 2012. The Rangers will have ten days to find a trade for the 27-year-old, but it's unlikely that they'll get much for him as he has yet to establish himself in the majors.
Rangers Designate Jeff Beliveau For Assignment
The Rangers designated lefty Jeff Beliveau for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot for newly-acquired catcher Robinson Chirinos, according to a team press release. The Rangers had claimed Beliveau off waivers from the Cubs in December.
Beliveau, 26, posted a 3.89 ERA, 10.6 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, and 0.82 HR/9 in 44 relief innings for the Cubs' Triple-A affiliate last year, making his big league debut in July.
Rangers Acquire Robinson Chirinos
The Rangers acquired catcher Robinson Chirinos from the Rays for a player to be named later, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Chirinos had been designated for assignment on March 31st.
Chirinos, 28, missed the entire 2012 season after suffering a concussion. In 2011, he hit .259/.343/.376 in 319 Triple-A plate appearances, a disappointing offensive season after a breakout 2010 factored into the Rays acquiring him from the Cubs as part of the Matt Garza trade. After 2010, Baseball America wrote that Chirinos "always had shown an ability to handle the bat and control the strike zone, and now he has developed power to all fields." They also praised his work behind the plate.
West Notes: Dodgers, Harang, Profar
Yesterday, the Dodgers narrowed their starter surplus by one when they shipped Aaron Harang to the Rockies for catcher Ramon Hernandez. Here's more on yesterday's swap and other notes out of the Western divisions.
- The Dodgers now have seven starting pitchers, which is more livable that the eight they had yesterday, writes Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times. Observers might have expected the Dodgers to come away with more in the trade, but GM Ned Colletti has had months to gauge interest from around the majors and this was the best deal that he could find.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels was asked by Jim Bowden of SiriusXM's MLB Network Radio (on Twitter) if he would consider a swap of Jurickson Profar and Oscar Taveras, but artfully dodged the question. Cardinals GM John Mozeliak recently told Bowden that he would have to consider such an offer if presented with it.
Cafardo On Norris, Rangers, Lilly, Dodgers, Tigers
In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that baseball could eventually return to Montreal. While it has always been known as a hockey town, Montreal has been responsible for such great baseball talent as Hall of Famers Andre Dawson and Gary Carter, “Le Grand Orange,” Rusty Staub, Tim Raines, Marquis Grissom, Cliff Floyd, Randy Johnson, Dennis Martinez, Pedro Martinez, Larry Walker, Andres Galarraga, Moises Alou, Vladimir Guerrero, and Tim Wallach. The city is looking into the possibility of giving Expos fans something to cheer about again and they claim that the strength of the Canadian dollar coupled with revenue sharing can help make it work. Here's more from Cafardo..
- Pitcher Bud Norris improved his stock after he beat the Rangers on Opening Day and he should bring the Astros a good haul between now and the trade deadline. One longtime National League adviser believes that the Rangers might be the team to scoop him up.
- After unloading Aaron Harang in yesterday's trade with the Rockies, the Dodgers would still love to find a taker for Ted Lilly, who earns $12MM this year. However, there has been little to no interest in the veteran so far.
- There aren't many people who think that the recently re-signed Jose Valverde can be the Tigers' closer, but could add to their mix in the bullpen. One AL evaluator feels that they have to move and get themselves a proven closer in a hurry.
- Kip Wells, soon to be 36, is available and throwing 93 miles per hour, according to his agent, Burton Rocks. The veteran reliever made seven starts over the summer for the Padres last season.
Rosenthal On Kershaw, Fernandez, Davis
Baseball is back, and that also means the return of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Let's dive in..
- Clayton Kershaw's people and the Dodgers are still talking with the season underway, but no one really knows what's going on behind closed doors. At the same time, no one should be surprised if Kershaw winds up being the first true $200MM pitcher. Inking him for a total of ten years would keep him locked up through his age 34 season and even though that length sounds crazy, Felix Hernandez is signed through age 33 and Justin Verlander through age 36. Rosenthal's guess is an eight-year, $200MM extension on top of the two years of control that he has left.
- It was a surprise to some that the Marlins opted to start Jose Fernandez's service clock so early, but it turns out that they had little choice thanks to an unimpressive spring from Jacob Turnerand injuries elsewhere in the rotation. Miami did their homework on other pitchers that started their careers at a young age, including Dwight Gooden, and ultimately decided that it was the right call.
- Many are asking why the Rangers ever parted with Chris Davis, but its a deal that made sense at the time in 2011. Mitch Moreland had the first base job and Davis had no place in the lineup, meaning that he needed a change of scenery. Texas GM Jon Daniels acknowledged that Davis could develop into an impact offensive player at the time, and that's exactly what happened.
West Notes: Dodgers, White, Profar, Astros
Earlier today, we recapped the Dodgers' winter. Here's a look at the latest on the Dodgers and more out of the AL and NL West..
- The Dodgers have a surplus of starting pitchers, leaving Aaron Harang, Chris Capuano, and Ted Lilly in limbo, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. Neither Harang nor Capuano are pleased to be in a relief role, as both feel they're still starting pitchers.
- Hernandez's colleague, Steve Dilbeck, writes that the unhappiness of the Dodgers' reluctant trio of relievers could eventually become a problem for the team. As Dilbeck notes, pitching in long relief roles will negatively impact the contracts that Capuano and Harang can receive in free agency this offseason.
- Rangers prospect Jurickson Profar would like to follow in the footsteps of teammate Elvis Andrus, who recently agreed to an eight-year, $120MM extension, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. With Ian Kinsler in the first year of a five-year extension and Andrus locked up through at least 2018, something will have to change before Profar can earn a spot in the everyday lineup.
- Astros right-hander Alex White, acquired in this offseason's Wilton Lopez trade with the Rockies, will require Tommy John surgery, writes Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Quick Hits: Vlad, Murphy, Ryan, Lester
On this date in 2002, the Mets claimed a 26-year-old shortstop off waivers from the Brewers. He had just posted a .295/.382/.432 batting line in Triple-A Indianapolis a year prior, and would go on to make his Major League debut for the Mets that season. The infielder would bat just .216/.299/.351 in 129 plate appearances for the Mets over the next two years before being plucked off waivers again — this time by the A's. Marco Scutaro would eventually cement himself as a late bloomer and ultimately help the Giants to a World Series title before inking a three-year, $20MM contract this offseason. Here are some links from around the league as we enter the season's first full weekend…
- Vladimir Guerrero turned down offers to play in Taiwan and in Quebec to sign with the Long Island Ducks, writes ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Crasnick goes on to explain that Guerrero's goal is to get back into Major League Baseball and chase the 500-homer plateau. He's currently 51 long balls shy with 449 in his career.
- There have been no serious extension talks between David Murphy and the Rangers, tweets Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest. Murphy plans to play out the season and think about his next deal in the offseason.
- Nolan Ryan will be at the Rangers home opener today, and he's taking a "wait-and-see" approach as he decides his future with the team, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that a rebound campaign from Red Sox lefty Jon Lester will likely result in a mega-deal that's comparable to some of the "silly money" deals doled out to starting pitchers around the game recently. Cafardo breaks down the track records of pitchers like Zack Greinke, Matt Cain, Cole Hamels and others and compares them to Lester.