Minor Deals: Rangers, Padres, Marlins
The Braves made a pair of minor deals yesterday; here are today's minor moves…
- The Rangers released several minor leaguers including former major leaguer Ty Taubenheim, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- The Padres released right fielder Kellen Kulbacki, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). The 40th overall selection in 2007, Kulbacki has a .273/.357/.448 line in four pro seasons.
- The Marlins released right-handed reliever Brett Sinkbeil, according to Eddy (on Twitter). Sinkbeil, the 19th overall selection in 2006, spent 2010 on the Marlins' 40-man roster and boosted his strikeout rate to 8.0 K/9 as a reliever at Triple-A.
Minor Moves: Braves, Red Sox, White Sox
A few minor league moves of note as organizations continue to shuffle their affiliates' rosters…
- The Braves released left-hander Brett DeVall, a sandwich-round pick in 2008 (40th overall), tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America. DeVall is still only 21, but elbow troubles limited him to just 160 innings at Class A Rome the past two seasons, according to Eddy. For his career, DeVall has a 3.92 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. Atlanta selected DeVall with the pick it received for the loss of Ron Mahay – whom it acquired with Mark Teixeira from Texas – to free agency following the 2007 campaign.
- The Braves have acquired utilityman Marcus Lemon from the Rangers for a player to be named, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus. Lemon, 23 in June, was a fourth-round pick of Texas in 2006, and has a career .274/.348/.372 line in five minor league campaigns, topping out at Double-A Frisco the past two seasons. He was drafted as a shortstop but began moving around the diamond in 2009.
- The Red Sox released right-handed reliever Bryce Cox, tweets Eddy. Bryce was a third-round pick out of Rice in 2006, and he was ultimately felled by a 5.7 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 in 96 career outings with Double-A Portland, according to Eddy.
- The Red Sox also released first baseman Aaron Bates, utility man Ryan Khoury and right-hander Adam Mills, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Bates (who had a cup of coffee with Boston in 2009) and Khoury were selected in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, in the third and 12th rounds, respectively, while Mills went in the ninth round in 2007.
- The White Sox released infielder C.J. Retherford, tweets Eddy. Retherford, 25, was a fairly promising prospect at Class A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham in 2008 and '09, respectively, but he struggled at two stops last season, notes Eddy. For his four-year minor league career, he has a .273/.327/.442 line.
Quick Hits: Selig, Leyland, Rangers, Ethier
Links for Wednesday evening to tide you over until Opening Day…
- Peter Gammons offers up some predictions at MLB.com, but not before explaining how quickly things can change once the season begins. MLBTR's team made postseason and award picks earlier tonight.
- Commissioner Bud Selig says he's hopeful for peaceful negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA after the season, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez. "Hopefully, we'll do it the way we did it in '06 — thoughtfully, carefully and quietly," Selig said.
- Tigers manager Jim Leyland told MLB.com's Jason Beck that he doesn't feel additional pressure because he's in the last year of his contract. “If we do all right, I assume I’ll be here," Leyland said. "If we don’t, I probably won’t be.”
- Rangers president Nolan Ryan told MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan that he expects Texas to repeat as AL West champions. The Rangers will have the flexibility to make another major midseason acquisition, according to Ryan.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said on 710 ESPN's Mason and Ireland show that he was surprised by Andre Ethier's recent comments and that he has no interest in moving him (via ESPNLosAngeles).
Minor Deals: Swaggerty, Cruz, Brewers, Pirates
Teams are making procedural moves left and right as they finalize their Opening Day rosters. Here's the latest on some minor deals from around the majors…
- The Royals granted minor league left-hander Ben Swaggerty his release, according to MLB Reports (on Twitter). The 28-year-old has a 3.35 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in four minor league seasons as a reliever.
- The Rangers signed Luis Cruz after the Brewers released him, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). The infielder is playing short for the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate tonight.
- The Brewers released a number of minor leaguers besides Cruz and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has all the details.
- The Pirates are "looking hard" into an external move, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter links). Pittsburgh would like to add pitching.
Rangers Made Offer To C.J. Wilson
The Rangers made lefty C.J. Wilson an offer this month, the pitcher revealed today on ESPN's Ben & Skin Show. Wilson indicated that the offer came too late in the offseason, as "a multiyear contract is a very complicated scenario."
Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine told ESPN's Richard Durrett he's open to further discussions with Wilson's agent Bob Garber during the season. The offseason talks were described as "amicable" a few days ago by Wilson, who at that time preferred to resume discussions after the season. Still, it seems possible Garber can negotiate midseason with the Rangers' front office without distracting Wilson.
Levine happened to sit next to Wilson on a flight to Dallas Monday afternoon. Wilson joked that he was surprised he didn't read about the meeting on MLBTradeRumors.com.
If Wilson does reach the free agent market at age 31, he'll be one of the best starters out there aside from perhaps C.C. Sabathia. MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith identified a few comparables in this March 18th article.
Luis Cruz Elects Free Agency
Infielder Luis Cruz has refused an outright assignment by the Brewers and elected free agency, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. McCalvy says word from Cruz's teammates is that he will sign with the Rangers.
Cruz, 27, hit .281/.309/.414 in 518 Triple-A plate appearances last year, spending most of his time at shortstop.
Royals Acquire Matt Treanor
The Royals acquired catcher Matt Treanor from the Rangers for cash considerations, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. The acquisition fills up the Royals' 40-man roster, a press release notes.
Treanor, 35, hit .211/.287/.308 in 272 plate appearances for the Rangers last year, leading the team with 614 2/3 innings caught. He re-signed for $850K in December to back up Yorvit Torrealba, but the Rangers acquired Mike Napoli in late January. The move opens up a 40-man roster spot for the Rangers and also a 25-man spot, which makes it easier to retain Rule 5 pick Mason Tobin or Chris Davis.
The Royals' Treanor acquisition comes two days after veteran Jason Kendall told MLB.com's Dick Kaegel his tentative return date from September shoulder surgery is now late April. Brayan Pena and Lucas May, both out of options, have been battling for Opening Day catching spots. Treanor, by the way, was originally drafted by the Royals in 1994.
Quick Hits: Rangers, Angels, Indians, CBA, Slowey
Some links to browse through during your Sunday evening…
- Add the Rangers to the list of clubs that are not interested in recently released Carlos Silva, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan (on Twitter). The Yankees and Cardinals are also out.
- The Angels can opt out of their stadium lease in 2016, but owner Arte Moreno told Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times that the team has not begun exploring the possibility of building a new stadium. That process would have to start at least four years before the planned opening date.
- Indians manager Manny Acta told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that there are likely to be roster moves made on Monday when the 25-man roster is finalized (Twitter link).
- Tom Krasovic spoke to several scouts about teams and players from all around the game.
- In regard to CBA talks, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that the "general consensus is that a hangup or even the slightest threat of a work stoppage would be shocking."
- Within the same piece, Cafardo says the Twins aren't as willing to deal Kevin Slowey as it may seem. One scout opined that the right-hander is "throwing too well for them to deal him."
- The Rockies continue to receive calls about their middle-infield depth, but the club isn't looking to move either Eric Young Jr. or Alfredo Amezaga, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- Dave Bush earned a spot in the Rangers' bullpen as a long man, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Bush would have opted out of his contract today if he didn't make the team.
- The Red Sox' bullpen depth has drawn interest from other teams, a source tells Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
MLBTR's Luke Adams & Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Quick Hits: Rangers, Astros, Reyes, Burrell, Belt
Links for Saturday, after the Yankees announced that Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia will be their fourth and fifth starters while Bartolo Colon serves as the long reliever…
- The Rangers aren't looking for a centerfielder as they believe that Julio Borbon will be okay after suffering an elbow injury, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. It's not realistic to expect the club to land a starting pitcher either as there isn't much out there.
- Astros owner Drayton McLane Jr. denied a report saying that he's close to selling the team, writes Stephen Goff of Examiner.com.
- Left-hander Dennys Reyes told Alex Speier of WEEI.com that he is healthy after dealing with a forearm strain at the end of last year. Earlier today the Red Sox purchased the veteran's big league contract.
- More teams are structuring deals to guard against major injuries to their star players, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- As Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reminds us, chances are that back-of-the-rotation won't be the one the Yankees finish the season with.
- Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that the team's bullpen isn't finalized (Twitter links). "We've still got a few things in the works," said Dubee, which Zolecki says could mean a trade, waiver claim, or an internal option.
- Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Bruce Bochy confirmed that Pat Burrell will be the Giants' Opening Day left fielder, meaning Brandon Belt is likely headed back to the minors. Check out Tim Dierkes' recent look at Belt's service time situation.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reminds us that 40-man roster space (or the lack thereof) can often serve as the tie-breaker when teams make roster decisions with non-roster invitees near the end of Spring Training (Twitter link).
Opt-Out Notes: Batista, Isringhausen, Bush, Chavez
A few notes on veterans with opt-out clauses from around the league…
- Non-roster invitee Miguel Batista has earned a spot on the Cardinals roster, writes B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com. The 40-year-old Batista could have opted out of his contract on Monday had the Cards not informed him that he would make the club.
- The Mets have not asked Jason Isringhausen if he would accept a minor league assignment, because he has already said in the past that he won't, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
- Dave Bush will use his opt-out tomorrow if he doesn't make the Rangers, writes Richard Durrett of ESPN.com. Bush says that he's not sure which way the club is leaning but wants to stay in Texas.
- Russell Branyan could have opted out of his contract with the Diamondbacks yesterday, but he was instead informed that he has made the club according to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. Brandon Allen is likely to go to Triple-A while the out-of-options Juan Miranda stays with the team.
- George A. King III of The New York Post reports that Eric Chavez can ask the Yankees for his release today if he doesn't make the team. "They haven't let me know anything," said Chavez, but his strong showing in camp (.421/.450/.605 in 40 PA) likely won him a bench job.
- Isringhausen told Mike Puma of The New York Post that he will not accept a minor league assignment if he does not make the Mets out of Spring Training. There's a possibility Izzy would go to Extended Spring Training if his swollen elbow isn't fully healed though.