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Blake DeWitt Accepts Outright Assignment

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Cubs infielder Blake DeWitt accepted his outright assignment, tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.  Despite a $1.1MM contract, the Cubs removed DeWitt from the 40-man roster this month to open a spot for Adrian Cardenas.  He has a chance to earn his way back on the roster with a good performance this spring.

DeWitt, the Cubs' main return in the July 2010 Ted Lilly/Ryan Theriot trade with the Dodgers, hit .265/.305/.413 in 243 plate appearances last year.  A left-handed hitter, DeWitt played left field, second base, and third base in 2011.

NL Central Notes: Burnett, Madson, Kvasnicka

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Let's celebrate perhaps the last year of a six-team NL Central with spring training links for all the clubs…

  • Pirates infielder Gustavo Nunez, who was taken from the Tigers in December's Rule 5 draft, was placed on the 60-day DL with a right ankle injury, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  Side effects of the move: the Pirates buy some time before deciding whether to put Nunez on the 25-man roster, and a 40-man roster spot is opened for new acquisition A.J. Burnett.
  • The Burnett acquisition creates competition at the back end of the Pirates' rotation, writes Biertempfel.  He believes Kevin Correia and Jeff Karstens will battle for the last spot, if everyone is healthy.  Burnett talked to reporters this morning.  One interesting news tidbit was his comment that one ever asked him about a potential Angels trade, though he confirmed he's not interested in the West Coast for family reasons.  Unprompted, Burnett debunked the rumors about his wife's transportation preferences, saying with a smile, "She loves to fly."
  • Ryan Madson's $8.5MM commitment with the Reds is spread out over three budgets, explains ESPN's Buster Olney: "$2MM during the 2012 season, $2MM in deferred salary on Nov. 1, 2012 — which is the start of the 2013 budget — and another $2MM in deferred salary, without interest, on Nov. 1, 2013, at the outset of the 2014 fiscal year. In the middle of that, they have a $2.5MM buyout on an $11 million option for 2013."  On the topic of his one-year deal, Madson told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon, "I take it as motivation to show people again, to prove that it's real.  It's unfortunate it's that way but I'm not complaining. I'm very happy. I'm very privileged to have this opportunity, and I just want to run with it and show people that I will be OK."
  • Righty Brett Tomko always wanted to come back to Cincinnati, he told John Fay of the Enquirer.  Tomko said it's taken two years to recover from a 2009 pinched nerve.
  • The Astros could have a new player at all nine positions for Opening Day 2012 compared to '11, writes Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.
  • Astros 2010 supplemental first-round pick Mike Kvasnicka is moving back to catcher from third base, tweets Levine.  Kvasnicka was recently ranked 25th among Astros prospects by Baseball America.
  • "I'm not one to look back with animosity, however people or fans want to view my time there," former Cubs GM Jim Hendry told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.  Hendry noted that it was "just nice" to be wanted by the Yankees, "the most storied franchise in sports."  He's now with the Yankees as a special assistant to GM Brian Cashman, and isn't worrying about becoming a GM again.
  • "They always say contract years turn out to be great years," Brewers starter Chris Narveson mentioned to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum are entering contract years, while Randy Wolf has a $10MM club option for '13 with a $1.5MM buyout.
  • Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright refuses to put a limit on his innings following 2011 Tommy John surgery, he told MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, but she notes that GM John Mozeliak has said 200 frames is likely out of the question.

Cubs May Start Extension Talks With Garza Soon

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The Cubs spent most of the winter gauging trade interest in Matt Garza, but now it appears they're willing to discuss a long-term commitment. GM Jed Hoyer spoke to reporters (including Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun Times) upon arriving at the team's Spring Training facility today, and said the two sides could being extension talks soon.

"We focused really hard on getting the one-year number done a few weeks ago," said Hoyer, referring to the one-year, $9.5MM contract the two sides agreed to a few weeks ago, avoiding arbitration. "We didn’t have any kind of long-term discussions before that, but certainly there was some dialogue about possibly having some long-term discussions at some point maybe this spring … I think we probably will sit down and talk."

Garza, 28, can't become a free agent until after the 2013 season. He made at least 30 starts and threw at least 180 innings for the fourth straight year in 2011, pitching to a 3.32 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 during his first season on Chicago's north side. Garza has said he's open to an extension with the Cubs earlier this offseason.

Cubs Designate Blake DeWitt For Assignment

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FEBRUARY 18TH: DeWitt has apparently cleared waivers and has until Wednesday to decide whether to sign with the Cubs as a non-roster invitee, tweets Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.

FEBRUARY 6TH: The Cubs announced that they designated infielder Blake DeWitt for assignment. The move creates 40-man roster space for Adrian Cardenas, who the Cubs claimed from Oakland today.

DeWitt, 26, posted a .265/.305/.413 line in 243 plate appearances in 2011, playing left field, second base and third base. The 2004 first rounder owns a .260/.329/.385 career line in four seasons with the Dodgers and Cubs.

DeWitt and the Cubs had agreed to a $1.1MM salary for 2012 earlier in the offseason, avoiding arbitration. The Cubs could attempt to deal DeWitt, but if they release him, I expect they'll be responsible for one sixth of his salary (approximately $183K). He was arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason.

NL Central Notes: Garza, DeWitt, Jocketty, Brewers

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The Pirates have agreed to acquire A.J. Burnett from the Yankees in exchange for two minor league prospects and cash, though the trade won't be finalized until Burnett passes a physical and the commissioner's office signs off on the $20MM the Yanks are sending to Pittsburgh to help cover Burnett's salary.

Here's more news from around the NL Central…

  • Matt Garza was mum about the possibility of a multiyear deal between he and the Cubs.  “I don’t talk about that,” Garza told MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. “That’s between my agent and myself, and my agent and the front office. If they want to contact us, whatever way it works, is great. My main focus is getting ready for April 5 and having fun again.”
  • Also from Muskat, the Cubs are still waiting on Blake DeWitt's status.  DeWitt was designated for assignment on February 6, and if he clears waivers, he can either choose free agency or join the Cubs as a non-roster invitee to Spring Training.  
  • Since becoming the Reds' general manager, Walt Jocketty has re-acquired several players that he originally acquired when he was the Cardinals' GM, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • The Brewers are already over budget for 2012, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  Haudricourt discussed several Brewers-related topics as part of this chat with fans.

Phillies Notes: Soler, Valdez, Wigginton

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Here's the latest from the City Of Brotherly Love…

  • "Industry insiders" consider the Phillies to be a longshot for Jorge Soler, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.  Though the Phils are known to be one of Soler's top suitors, the team has never been big spenders on the international market and may balk at Soler's price tag.  Salisbury hears from one baseball executive who predicts Soler will end up with the Cubs, who are reportedly ready to offer the 19-year-old Cuban outfielder as much as $27.5MM.
  • The Phillies traded Wilson Valdez to the Reds since GM Ruben Amaro felt his team already had several other utility options in place, reports MLB.com's Todd Zolecki as part of a reader mailbag.  Zolecki says he was personally a little surprised by the Valdez deal.
  • One of those other utility options, Ty Wigginton, is excited to play for a contender, reports Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  In that piece, Amaro mentioned that Wigginton had been highly regarded by several Phillies scouts over the last few years.
  • David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News looks at five key questions surrounding the Phillies as they open Spring Training.

AL East Links: Kazmir, Orioles, Epstein, Wakefield

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The Red Sox announced minor league deals with Ross Ohlendorf and Mauro Gomez earlier today. Here are the rest of the links from their division…

  • The Red Sox will not be one of the teams in attendance for Scott Kazmir's workout tomorrow, reports Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). The southpaw's audition was supposed to be today, but it was pushed back.
  • Korean pitching prospect Seong-Min Kim originally agreed to a $575K deal with the Orioles, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports.
  • Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun hears that while MLB hasn't approved the contract between the Orioles and the 17-year-old left-hander, MLB didn't technically void it. In any case it seems the deal for Kim will not go through as originally announced.
  • A Red Sox official expects compensation for Theo Epstein to be finalized "very soon," Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets. The Red Sox and Cubs recently sent briefs to the commissioner's office explaining their perspective on the issue of how to compensate Boston for Epstein's departure to Chicago.
  • Agent Barry Meister didn't comment on whether Tim Wakefield will accept a minor league deal from the Red Sox, Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com tweets. It doesn't appear that Wakefield will accept the offer, Edes writes.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Quick Hits: Ordonez, Fukudome, Rizzo

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The latest links from around MLB…

Latest On Jorge Soler

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7:57pm: The Yankees and Phillies are in hardest on Soler now, Yahoo's Jeff Passan tweets.

5:21pm: Marlins president David Samson said on 790 the Ticket that the club doesn't have interest in Soler, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets.

2:51pm: The Marlins are interested, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal hears Soler's power is comparable to that of Miami outfielder Mike Stanton — high praise to say the least.

12:59pm: The Blue Jays watched Soler and others Wednesday at the team's complex in the Dominican Republic, writes MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez.  The Orioles will be in the D.R. to watch him Sunday.  Sanchez lists the Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Phillies, and Cubs as other interested parties.

WEDNESDAY, 8:26am: The Phillies are also interested in Soler, reports Olney.

TUESDAY, 2:18pm: The Yankees have serious interest in Soler, ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets.

12:33pm: Many teams remain involved in the bidding for 19-year-old Cuban prospect Jorge Soler, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). The Cubs have been extensively linked to the outfielder, but they’re not the only club involved. 

The Yankees are in on the bidding, tweets David Kaplan of CSN Chicago, and Heyman suggests the Marlins could be involved. Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald hears that “a good number” of teams have interest (Twitter link). Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus explained yesterday that Soler would rank 38th or 39th on his list of top prospects.

Minor Moves: Fisher, Crowe, Rockies

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Keeping track of the latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Reds assigned Carlos Fisher to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. The right-hander, who was designated for assignment last week, receives an invitation to Major League Spring Training.
  • Outfielder Trevor Crowe will be in Indians camp as a non-roster player, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tweets. Cleveland outrighted Crowe off of the 40-man roster back in November.
  • The Cubs released right-hander Robinson Lopez, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter). Chicago acquired Lopez from Atlanta in the 2010 Derrek Lee trade.
  • The Rockies signed right-hander Zack Segovia to a minor league deal, Goldstein tweets. Segovia, 28, appeared in the Majors with the 2007 Phillies and the 2009 Nationals.
  • The Rockies signed Jared Wells, a right-hander who pitched briefly with the 2008 Mariners and Padres, according to Goldstein (Twitter link).
  • The Marlins signed 32-year-old infielder Chase Lambin, Goldstein tweets. Though Lambin has 500-plus games of Triple-A experience, he has yet to play in the Major Leagues.
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