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Minor Moves: Armstrong, Vitek, Keck, Arroyo, Broxton

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

  • Jack Armstrong, a 2011 third-round choice of the Astros, has hung up his spikes, reports Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter links). Selected as a pitcher and given a $750K signing bonus, Armstrong never even got on the hill professionally due to a series of arm injuries. He had been hoping to switch to first base. 
  • 2010 Red Sox first-rounder Kolbrin Vitek has retired, reports Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Injuries slowed the toolsy player, who never managed to translate his raw abilities into production. As Speier notes, however, several other players taken in that draft have panned out quite nicely.
  • Reliever Jon Keck has signed on with the Rockies on a minor league pact, according to the MLB transactions page. The 25-year-old southpaw had spent his entire career in the Royals organization, and threw 52 relief innings of 3.81 ERA ball at the Double-A level last year. It would appear that he had some significant control issues, however, as he walked 6.8 batters (striking out 8.7) for every nine innings.
  • The Diamondbacks have acquired lefty Spencer Arroyo from the White Sox for cash, according to the MLB transactions page. The 25-year-old spent most of his time as a starter in Double-A last year, putting up a 3.50 ERA in 149 1/3 innings while posting 5.8 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9. 
  • The Pirates have acquired outfielder Keon Broxton from the Diamondbacks in exchange for a player to be named later, Pittsburgh announced via press release. Selected 95th overall in the 2009 draft, Broxton was outrighted off of the Arizona 40-man roster back in October. Broxton has struggled to translate his athleticism — he was the D'backs most athletic prospect last year, per Baseball America — into consistent production. Playing at Double-A last year, Broxton was unable to follow up on a strong 2012 campaign in his repeat of the HIgh-A level, and hit just .231/.296/.359 with eight home runs and five steals in 372 plate appearances.
  • At the start of the day, two players — Carlos Peguero of the Royals and Johnny Monell of the Orioles — were in limbo in the MLBTR DFA Tracker. They have since been joined by Bobby LaFromboise of the Mariners and Raul Valdes of the Astros.

Rangers Claim Seth Rosin; White Sox Claim Javy Guerra

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Two Dodgers players have been claimed off of waivers, the club announced. The Rangers have claimed Rule 5 righty Seth Rosin, while the White Sox claimed reliever Javy Guerra.

Rosin was selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Mets from the Phillies, and then had his right shipped to Los Angeles. Now, the Rangers will become the third team to give him a look. The 25-year-old put up a 4.33 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 126 2/3 innings for the Phillies' Double-A affiliate in 2013. 

Guerra, 28, spent time as the Dodgers closer in 2011, and has a lifetime 2.90 ERA in 102 1/3 MLB innings. But he fell out of favor in Los Angeles last year after posting a rough 6.75 ERA in 10 2/3 frames, and saw his chances at a pen slot evaporate as the team made several additions over the offseason.

AL Central Notes: Royals, Scherzer, Quintana, Twins, Baker

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One hidden key to the Royals' emergence has been the club's dedication to Latin American scouting, signing, and player development under GM Dayton Moore (and special assistant Rene Francisco), writes Rany Jazayerli of RanyontheRoyals.com. Jazayerli breaks down the team's long history of virtually no significant spending on Latin American players, and how increased investments — especially on lower-priced players like Salvador Perez, Yordano Ventura, Miguel Almonte, and Jorge Bonifacio (total commitment: $253K) — have been critical to building the team's overall talent base. Here's more from the American League Central:

  • Max Scherzer requested an eight-year deal in his negotiations with the Tigers, reports Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The Tigers' reported offer was for six years and $144MM. If the sides were in agreement on the $24MM AAV, that would hypothetically put Scherzer's demands on total gaurantee at $192MM. Scherzer has injury protection through an insurance policy, Bowden adds, which perhaps has increased his willingness to wait for a larger deal on the open market.
  • Meanwhile, the White Sox were able to secure seven years of control rights over their own prized starter, Jose Quintana, for a total guarantee that maybe as low as $21MM (if he does not qualify for Super Two status). Of course, unlike Scherzer, Quintana has just 1.133 years of service and did not win the AL Cy Young last year. Nevertheless, the deal looks like a smart investment for a Chicago club that has purchased prime years of several players at seemingly reasonable rates. As Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports, GM Rick Hahn sees the value in early extensions, which "frees us up to allocate our resources to other needs." Hahn explained: "You've seen the magnitude of what some of these deals have gotten to in free agency. It makes sense to try to get out in front of that sometimes, to try to get the price points locked in before the market continues to grow … ."
  • Twins assistant GM Rob Antony had several updates today, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. Infielder Jason Bartlett has agreed to push back his March 25 opt-out to the March 30 Opening Day roster deadline, which gives both sides more time to assess their options. Meanwhile, the club is still in discussions on a new deal with reliever Matt Guerrier, who was released because the club did not want to pay the Article XX(B) free agent signee a $100K retention bonus to stash him in the minors.
  • Though the Twins have had some exploratory discussions about an extension with second baseman Brian Dozier, the 26-year-old tells Berardino that a deal is probably not happening at this point. That is not surprising, as Dozier has just 1.100 on his service clock and still has some questions to answer as a player. But he indicated that there is a positive vibe between the two sides and a hope that talks could pick up in the future. "We had some talks or whatever," he said. "Obviously nothing took place but it was a bunch of good postive feedback on both ends.It's very unlikely anything will be coming soon or during the season or anything. We'll let another year play out and see where it goes. That was just a thing to see where everybody was. I think [the Twins] would be in the near future open to it and we definitely are."
  • The Indians were one of the clubs vying for Scott Baker's services before the offseason, and just released Aaron Harang. Nevertheless, Cleveland will not pursue the starter at this point, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. Baker was released today by the Mariners after deciding he would rather test the market than accept an assignment to Triple-A.

Added To The 40-Man Roster: Monday

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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:

  • Nyjer Morgan will make the Opening Day roster for the Indians and will therefore need to be added to the club's 40-man, according to a report on Twitter from MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. With Michael Bourn set to open the year on the DL, Morgan figures to play center until Bourn returns, though that may only be for a few games and it is not clear whether he'll have a roster spot beyond that point.
  • The Marlins are expected to add outfielder Reed Johnson to their 40-man and Opening Day rosters, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. As an Article XX(B) free agent, Johnson would have been subject to tomorrow's roster decision deadline, though Cotillo notes that Johnson's deal actually gives him a March 24th opt out that strengthens his collectively bargained protections.

White Sox To Add Rule 5 Pick Nieto To Opening Day Roster

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The White Sox have informed Rule 5 pick Adrian Nieto, who was plucked from the Nationals organization, that he will make the Opening Day roster, his agent Joshua Kusnick tweeted. Nieto beat out Josh Phegley (who was optioned on Wednesday) and Hector Gimenez for the right to back up incumbent Tyler Flowers. 

The 24-year-old Cuban native has never played above the High-A level. Last year, he put up a .282/.371/.446 line with 11 home runs in 448 plate appearances as a 23-year-old. Checking in as the Nats' 30th overall prospect entering the season (per Baseball America), Nieto is said to be a work-in-progress behind the dish who could become an average defensive backstop. His calling card is his bat, with BA saying that the switch-hitter could become an offense-first MLB catching option.

Of course, Chicago will need to keep Nieto on its 25-man roster for the duration of the season to keep his rights going forward.

White Sox, Quintana Agree To Five-Year Extension

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The White Sox have locked up lefty Jose Quintana to a five-year deal worth at least $21MM, announced the team.  The guaranteed money in the deal is contingent on Quintana's arbitration status: $26.5MM if he qualifies as a Super Two after 2014, and $21MM if not.  Quintana will have two years and 133 days of Major League service after 2014, which would have qualified him for Super Two in two of the last five years.  The deal includes club options at $10.5MM for 2019 and $11.5MM for 2020.  A White Sox press release has the full salary breakdown.  Quintana is represented by MDR Sports Management.

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Quintana, 25, broke out last year with a 3.51 ERA, 7.4 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 1.04 HR/9, and 42.5% groundball rate in 200 innings.  "Jose quickly has established himself as a quality major-league starting pitcher, and along with Chris Sale, we expect him to be an important piece of our rotation for the foreseeable future," said White Sox senior vice president/general manager Rick Hahn in the statement.  Sale, 25 this month, is potentially under team control through 2019.

Quintana has taken an interesting path to this $21MM+ deal.  Signed by the Mets out of Colombia for $40K in 2006, he was eventually released for a violation of the Minor League Baseball drug policy.  The southpaw signed with the Yankees, but never ranked among their top 30 prospects as ranked by Baseball America.  The Yankees offered Quintana a minor league deal after 2011, but White Sox scouts Joe Siers and Daraka Shaheed "made him stand out on the six-year free-agent list," Hahn told Joel Sherman of the New York Post in June 2012.  The Sox separated themselves by offering a Major League deal, and now they have a rotation mainstay.

Quintana's contract falls squarely between the last two deals done for one-plus service starting pitchers, as you can see in our Extension Tracker.  In November, the Rangers' Martin Perez signed a four-year, $12MM deal with three club options, which was in line with previous deals for pitchers in this service class.  In February, however, the Braves gave Julio Teheran a six-year, $32.4MM deal that included only one club option.  Quintana and Teheran have similar career ERAs (3.61 and 3.44), but Quintana has pitched 336 1/3 innings to Teheran's 211 2/3.  Perhaps the discrepancy is because Quintana never enjoyed Teheran's status as a top prospect, or perhaps Teheran's deal simply didn't reset the extension market for this service class as some speculated.

MLB.com's Scott Merkin first broke news of the extension, with Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com providing the salaries.  Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Quick Hits: Lester, Grossman, Moylan, White Sox

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Very early this morning, the 2014 MLB regular season will officially begin, as Wade Miley and the Diamondbacks host Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers at 3:00am Central at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Australia. Here are a few notes from around the Major Leagues.

  • Considerations regarding the luxury-tax threshold will not affect the timing of potential extensions for David Ortiz and/or Jon Lester, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com. In the past, the Red Sox might have waited to announce extensions until after Opening Day, because the average annual value of those extensions might have caused the team to go over the luxury-tax threshold that year. Now, however, the CBA stipulates that new extensions that begin in the future will not affect current contracts as long as the terms of those contracts remain the same. So, for example, if the Red Sox were to sign Lester to an extension, he would still only count his current $9.37MM against the luxury-tax threshold for 2014 as long as the extension did not change his 2014 salary.
  • Lester could allow extension negotiations to continue into the regular season under the right circumstances, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald writes. "If you’re at the 5-yard line and you’re closing in on the thing, yeah, let’s spill it over (into the season)," he says. "But if we’re so far apart that it doesn’t matter, then no. That’s something you discuss when you get to that point."
  • Outfielder Robbie Grossman won't say whether he and the Astros are working on an extension, but he does tell the Houston Chronicle's Evan Drellich that he would have interest in one. "I’m from Houston. I want to be able to play for the Astros my whole career if possible, and that’s all I have to say." On Thursday, a report indicated that the Astros had discussed an extension with Grossman.
  • Astros NRI Peter Moylan has been diagnosed with a high-grade tear in the UCL in his elbow, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports. Moylan pitched 15 1/33 innings for the Dodgers last season.
  • The White Sox' farm system is on the rise, MLB.com's Jim Callis writes. That's thanks in part to an increase in draft spending in the past two seasons. Callis notes that their 2013 class, topped by first-round shortstop Tim Anderson, is "one of its most promising in recent memory." The White Sox have also increased their efforts to sign Latin American amateurs.

Rosenthal On Morales, Tigers, Cleto, Reds

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Here's the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports:

  • The Mariners have made a series of attempts to re-sign DH Kendrys Morales since he turned down their qualifying offer, but the Mariners' proposals probably reflected the reality that if they re-signed Morales, they would lose the compensatory draft pick they would gain if another team signed him. Some Mariners personnel believe the team's greatest need right now is another hitter.
  • After Jose Iglesias' injury, the Tigers' shortstop options (Danny Worth, Hernan Perez, Eugenio Suarez) do not impress scouts. The Tigers likely won't pursue free agent Stephen Drew, and trade target Chris Owings of the Diamondbacks doesn't look likely either. Rosenthal speculates the Tigers could look to Clint Barmes of the Pirates or Tyler Pastornicky of the Braves instead.
  • The White Sox are excited about Maikel Cleto, who they recently claimed off waivers from the Royals. He's now throwing 96-98 MPH down in the zone with good secondary pitches. Since Cleto is out of options, the White Sox had originally considered trying to sneak him through waivers after they claimed him, but now that seems very unlikely.
  • The Reds are worried about their depth of starting pitching, but they don't have enough room in their budget to make a significant addition.

AL East Notes: Cervelli, Pineda, Drew, Orioles

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While much has been made of the Yankees' lack of infield depth in 2014, Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out that the depth beyond this coming season is even more concerning. Of the team's starting infielders, only Mark Teixeira is under contract after 2014, and they have little in the way of MLB-ready replacements within the organization. As such, Sherman reports that when scouting other clubs, the Yankees aren't looking for platoon partners for Kelly Johnson or Brian Roberts; they're looking for a "500 at-bat" type of player who could start in 2015. Rival scouts are focusing on the Yankees' catchers, and a deal centered around Francisco Cervelli and Gordon Beckham "is not impossible," writes Sherman. He adds that Mason Williams could be a trade chip with the Yankees' outfield now locked in for the foreseeable future.

Here are some more links pertaining to the AL East…

  • Asked by MLB.com's Paul Hagen about the possibility of being traded, Cervelli replied: "I don't know. I've been here forever. I don't have that answer, because I feel right now like this is my house. But if somebody wants me to go over there, I've got to make the adjustment, you know?" Cervelli added that his dream has always been to be a starting catcher, but he accepts his role as a backup to Brian McCann. Manager Joe Girardi told Hagen that he feels Cervelli could be a starter for another organization, praising Cervelli's development offensively and defensively.
  • Hagen also writes that Michael Pineda has made a good impression with the Yankees this spring, but manager Joe Girardi suggested that he'd be on an innings limit if he won the fifth starter's job. "Let's just say, hypothetically, he was a starter at some point," Girardi said to Hagen. "You're going to have to adjust. Because you're not getting 200 innings from him." Pineda shrugged off Girardi's comments when asked about them, stating that he knows it's Girardi's choice to make, and he's simply preparing himself to be ready to pitch every fifth day.
  • Stephen Drew tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that doesn't know where he's going to be playing in 2014, but he's confident that a club will sign him and that he can help the team win. Drew is working out with fellow free agent Kendrys Morales at the Scott Boras Training Institute in Miami and says he feels he is coming off his best defensive season in the Majors. He'd love to return to Boston, but acknowledges that he can see why the team wants to give Xander Bogaerts a long look at shortstop. Drew doesn't say it directly, but he hints at his displeasure with the qualifying offer/compensatory draft pick system.
  • Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com hears from scouts outside the Orioles organization that Baltimore is on the hunt for a backup catcher. The club has yet to commit to choosing solely betwee Steve Clevenger and Johnny Monell for that distinction. Kubatko writes that manager Buck Showalter feels the decision will ultimately come down to defense.

Avisail Garcia, Jonathan Villar Change Agencies

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White Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia has changed representation, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes reports (on Twitter). MLBTR has also learned that Astros shortstop Jonathan Villar has switched agencies as well. Garcia, who had been represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council, will now be represented by Octagon. Villar, formerly with Kinzer Management Group, is now represented by MDR Sports Management.

Both 22-year-olds saw their first significant taste of big league action in 2013. Garcia, the key component of Chicago's Jake Peavy trade, slashed .283/.309/.422 with seven homers in 256 plate appearances. Villar, one of the players Houston received from the Phillies in 2010's Hunter Pence trade, received 241 PAs and batted .243/.321/.319. While he showed very little power, Villar showcased his speed by swiping 18 bases in just 58 games.

For additional agency info on roughly 2,000 Major League and Minor League players, check out MLBTR's Agency Database. If you see any omissions or errors within the database, please email us at mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

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