Cubs Release Trever Miller
The Cubs released left-handed reliever Trever Miller, Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com tweets. The Cubs had signed the Praver/Shapiro client to a minor league contract in January.
Miller, who turns 39 in May, posted a 3.80 ERA with 5.1 K/9, 5.1 BB/9 and a 38% ground ball rate in 21 1/3 innings for the Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Red Sox in 2011. He started the season in St. Louis, went to Toronto in a July trade, and signed with Boston after the Blue Jays released him.
Cubs Sign Shawn Camp
The Cubs signed right-hander Shawn Camp to a minor league deal, MLB.com's Carrie Muskat reports (Twitter links). The Mariners released the reliever five days ago.
Camp spent the last four seasons with the Blue Jays, and posted a 4.21 ERA with 4.3 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 53.5% groundball rate in 66 1/3 innings a year ago. The Blue Jays did not offer the right-hander arbitration after the season despite his Type B status.
Andy Sonnanstine Elects Free Agency
Cubs right-hander Andy Sonnanstine is now a free agent after declining an outright assignment to Triple-A, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Chicago outrighted the veteran to their Iowa affiliate on Thursday.
Sonnanstine, who turned 29 last Saturday, signed a non-guaranteed split contract with the club in December. The longtime Rays hurler posted a 5.55 ERA with 12 walks and 12 strikeouts in 35.3 innings of work for Tampa Bay last year.
The 6'3" pitcher made 72 starts for the Rays from 2007-2009 but worked mostly out of the bullpen in '10 and '11.
Quick Hits: Escalona, Duke, Garza, Soria, Lawrie
"I think very highly of my client," said Zack Greinke's agent to Brewers management when the two sides opened extension talks according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Greinke, of course, represents himself. The right-hander and his sense of humor will hire an agent at some point, but for now here are some links from around the league…
- The Astros announced that left-handed reliever Sergio Escalona will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the season. "This probably makes us think about [Zach] Duke’s role if he doesn’t win a spot in the rotation," said GM Jeff Luhnow to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (Twitter link).
- Cubs GM Jed Hoyer told ESPN's Jim Bowden that he wants to sign Matt Garza long-term and build around the right-hander rather than trade him (Twitter link).
- "I hope I stay here in Kansas City," said Joakim Soria to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel. Soria will miss the season with Tommy John surgery, and the Royals hold an $8MM club option for his services in 2013. "I love this organization, I feel part of this family and I appreciate what they've done for me."
- "I needed a fresh start. I needed a new team," said Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie to ESPN's Jayson Stark about his trade from the Brewers. Lawrie feels Milwaukee tried to change his effusive personality, though GM Doug Melvin disagrees.
- John Grabow and Jamey Wright will earn $800K and $900K, respectively, if they make the Dodgers according to Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). Both pitchers have incentives based on appearances, maxing out at $500K (Wright) and $200K (Grabow).
Outrighted To Triple-A: Sonnanstine, Jimenez
Keeping track of the latest outright assignments…
- The Cubs announced that they outrighted right-hander Andy Sonnanstine to Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs now have 39 players on their 40-man roster. Sonnanstine signed with the Cubs in December after posting a 5.55 ERA with as many walks as strikeouts (12) in 35 2/3 innings for the Rays in 2011.
- The Mariners announced that they outrighted left-hander Cesar Jimenez to Triple-A Tacoma. The Mariners, who had placed the reliever on waivers earlier this week, now have three open spots on their 40-man roster. Jimenez, 27, pitched briefly with the Mariners last year and spent most of the season in the bullpen at Tacoma. He has missed considerable time with injuries in recent years.
Cubs Notes: Soler, Pitching, LaHair, Jackson
As long-time Cubs shortstop Shawon Dunston celebrates his 49th birthday today, here's the latest out of Wrigley Field…
- Rumors that the Cubs have a $27MM agreement in place with Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler "are completely bogus," GM Jed Hoyer told reporters (including Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune). Soler is still waiting to be officially declared a free agent by Major League Baseball.
- Hoyer also says (via Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times) that he "wouldn’t be surprised" if the Cubs made a trade before the season begins, though the team is happy with its current roster. The Cubs theoretically have an excess of pitching but Hoyer likes having that extra depth in the staff.
- Anthony Rizzo has hit well this spring while Bryan LaHair has struggled, but Hoyer tells reporters (including ESPN Chicago's Doug Padilla) that the Cubs still intend to start LaHair at first base on Opening Day and have Rizzo begin the year in the minors.
- Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago says the Cubs aren't keen on starting the Major League service time clocks of their top prospects, so Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters look to remain in the minors for at least a few months, if not all, of the 2012 campaign. Also from Levine's chat, he discusses the lack of news about possible trades of Matt Garza or Marlon Byrd and now Alfonso Soriano is virtually untradeable even if he enjoys a good first half of the season.
NL East Notes: Vizcaino, Phillies, Mets, Lannan
Earlier today MLBTR's Tim Dierkes reviewed the Marlins' busy offseason. Here are some more links from the NL East…
- Braves GM Frank Wren told reporters that reliever Arodys Vizcaino will miss the 2012 season after undergoing Tommy John ligament replacement surgery. The 21-year-old right-hander appeared in 17 games with the Braves last year and entered the season as the 40th-best prospect in MLB, according to Baseball America.
- The Phillies could start the season with prospect Freddy Galvis at second base, or explore the trade market for alternatives. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney hears from rival executives that there’s a short list of veteran middle infielders available in trades. Maicer Izturis, Alberto Callaspo, Chris Getz and Blake DeWitt appear to be options for teams seeking infield depth.
- Even though they're short on left-handed relief, the Mets are unlikely to sign C.J. Nitkowski, Hong-Chih Kuo or Dontrelle Willis, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports.
- Jayson Stark of ESPN.com hears the Nationals "still have a lot of motivation" to trade John Lannan and his $5MM salary (Twitter link).
Quick Hits: Padres, Nishioka, Giants, DeWitt
Here's a wrap-up of news from around baseball as we head into Tuesday….
- A number of teams have asked the Padres about their bench players, but the Friars are "inclined" to keep them, reports Dan Hayes of the North County Times (Twitter link). Everth Cabrera is one of the players who has been asked about, and Hayes presumes Jesus Guzman is another.
- Tsuyoshi Nishioka's demotion to Triple-A has Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities radio pointing the finger at both Nishioka and at Twins management for signing the Japanese shortstop and letting J.J. Hardy leave.
- The Giants' rise to prominence has been fueled by their homegrown stars, writes Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle, and the team could be a couple of years away from having almost an entire roster comprised of players drafted and developed internally.
- Gregor Blanco is a virtual "stone-cold lock" to make the Giants' Opening Day roster, writes Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Signed to a minor league deal in November, Blanco has had a huge Spring Training and seemingly has a backup outfield spot sewn up.
- Cubs utilityman Blake DeWitt's name "has come up in recent trade rumors," according to Doug Padilla of ESPN Chicago. DeWitt has played mostly second and third in his career, though he appeared in 23 games in left field for the Cubs last season. DeWitt could be a possibility for teams looing for infield depth like the Phillies, Athletics or Twins.
- With the Madoff trustee lawsuit now settled, Andrew Keh of the New York Times wonders if the Mets might now be able to explore keeping David Wright with the team long-term and notes that such a move would help sooth the team's disillusioned fanbase.
Quick Hits: Wuertz, Cespedes, Helton, Dodgers
On this day in 1991, the Royals released leftfielder Bo Jackson after he suffered a serious hip injury in the NFL playoffs against the Cincinnati Bengals. That was Jackson's final NFL game but the iconic athlete eventually returned to baseball in 1993 with the White Sox and played 75 games for the Angels in '94 before the players strike brought the season to an end. Here's a look at what's happening today..
- Angels outfielder Torii Hunter would "love to stay" with the Halos but understands that at age 37, and with Los Angeles having plenty of money on the books, this season may be his last, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. The five-year, $90MM deal that Hunter signed prior to the 2008 season expires after this year.
- Free agent starter Javy Vazquez is not considering coming out of retirement, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
- Free agent reliever Michael Wuertz will throw for teams on Thursday in Tempe, Arizona, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The Twins are expected to be among the clubs in attendance.
- Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was willing to sign with the Cubs and had reason to believe that he might wind up in Chicago, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Ultimately, the Cubs offered six years for $36MM while the Athletics offered that same number for four years. The Cuban star also said that he was seeking either a four-year deal or one that was for eight years or more. Through a translator, Cespedes said that he probably would have wound up in Chicago had the Cubs offered him the same deal before the A's did.
- Rockies first baseman Todd Helton insists that he hasn't thought about retirement, writes Troy Renck of The Denver Post. The 38-year-old has two years remaining on his contract.
- More from Renck as he writes that Esmil Rogers is a trade candidate for the club. Rogers, Edgmer Escalona, and Josh Outman are battling for the final spot in the bullpen. Rogers is out of options and could be moved.
- Dodgers play-by-play announcer Vin Scully addressed the club's ownership situation prior to yesterday's broadcast and said that he doesn't believe it is having any effect on the players at all, writes J.P. Hoornstra of the LA Daily News.
Cubs Claim Frankie De La Cruz
The Cubs claimed right-hander Frankie De La Cruz off of waivers from the Brewers, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets. The Brewers now have one open spot on their 40-man roster.
De La Cruz made 11 appearances with the 2011 Brewers, posting a 2.77 ERA with nine strikeouts and five walks. The 28-year-old spent most of last year as a starter at Triple-A, where he had a 3.88 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 137 innings.