Cubs Acquire Koyie Hill From Reds
The Cubs have brought back catcher Koyie Hill after acquiring him from the Reds in exchange for cash considerations, tweets Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. Hill will be with the club for tonight's game against the White Sox.
Hill, 33, was hitting just .195/.250/.341 for the Reds' Double-A affiliate so far this year. The veteran spent the previous five years with the Cubs and hit .208/.270/.295 in 252 big league games. With the retirement of Kerry Wood, Chicago’s 40-man roster still stands at 40 players.
The Reds signed Hill to a minor league deal in late April after he was let go by the Cardinals.
NL Links: Braves, Mets, Oswalt, Dodgers, Wood
Here are some links from the National League as the Cardinals and Dodgers play baseball's only intra-league game of the night…
- Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution hears the Braves have not ruled out signing Roy Oswalt, but he assumes their interest depends on the price (Twitter link). Oswalt has begun auditioning for teams.
- The Mets, meanwhile, are not in the running for Oswalt according to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York.
- Steve Dilbeck of The Los Angeles Times praises Dodgers GM Ned Colletti for his job building the team that owns baseball's best record.
- The Reds tried to sign Kerry Wood this offseason, manager Dusty Baker told John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). "But he loves Chicago, and Chicago loves him," said Baker.
- The Cubs will announce Wood's new position with the team tomorrow, reports Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). He's expected to become a special assistant.
- After Wood announced his retirement today, Baseball America compiled some old scouting reports from his days as a prospect. "Scouts say Wood is so advanced that he should be ready for the big leagues faster than all but one or two college pitchers," said the publication when Wood was a high school senior in June 1995, less than three years before he made his big league debut.
Quick Hits: Lind, Gomes, Chapman, Votto
The Blue Jays optioned the struggling Adam Lind to Triple-A earlier today. The 28-year-old has hit just .238/.289/.420 in nearly 1,300 plate appearances since signing his four-year, $18MM contract extension in April of 2010. Toronto recalled Yan Gomes to take Lind's roster spot, and tonight he became the first first Brazilian-born player in baseball history. Here's the latest from around the league…
- Richard Griffin of The Toronto Star notes (on Twitter) that the Blue Jays would not have been able to option Lind after June 29th, when he would have accrued enough service time (five years) to decline an optional assignment.
- “The longer we go, it will be harder to stretch (Aroldis Chapman) to start,” said Reds GM Walt Jocketty to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Chapman has not allowed a run in 20 1/3 innings this season with 34 strikeouts and seven walks. “We may be resigned to the fact that he will have to pitch in the bullpen all year," adde the GM.
- Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com spoke to Reds manager Dusty Baker about the difference between signing a huge contract with a new team (like Albert Pujols) and signing a huge deal with your current team (like Joey Votto). "You get more tolerance," he said, referring to the slow starts each player has endured.
Venezuelan Links: Mora, Escobar, Cervelli
A trio of venezolanos try to claw their way back to la gran carpa. Yes, that literally translates to "the big carp," but it also means "the big top." Links are in Spanish…
- Melvin Mora will fly to the states this weekend to begin negotiations with the Giants and Reds, the 40-year-old utilityman told Jonathan Costa Hernández at Líder en Deportes. Mora said his agent received offers from both teams last week, but he didn't yet know the terms. "I haven't had much time for that, due to the kids," Mora said, in reference to his 11-year-old quintuplets.
- After managing just five innings over the last five years, Kelvim Escobar says he is mounting what will be his final attempt at a comeback. "In two months I'll know where I'm at and the progress of my shoulder," the 36-year-old told Meridiano Television in Venezuela. He said his agent has been contacted by several teams, but they will wait until his shoulder is consistently healthy before attempting to arrange a tryout. In 2009, the Mets signed Escobar to an incentive-laden one year deal, but continued shoulder problems kept him from ever taking the mound.
- Francisco Cervelli has heard that two teams are interested in obtaining him from the Yankees, but the team doesn't want to trade him, the catcher told Wilmer Reina at La Verdad. The Yankees have reportedly come close to trading Cervelli several times over the last two seasons, but for the moment he is laboring at Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and says his singular focus is on improving his offensive output enough for another callup. "I don't know anything about the Major Leagues, not even from the news," he said. "Now I only worry about working at my job and developing as a player."
Quick Hits: Reds, Youkilis, Angels, Beltran, Orioles
Links from around baseball as Wednesday becomes Thursday..
- The Reds are not seeking outside help at third base with Scott Rolen on the disabled list, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Inquirer. General Manager Walt Jocketty also said that he hasn't had discussions with the Red Sox, shooting down any speculation that the club might have interest in Kevin Youkilis.
- Angels manager Mike Scioscia wouldn't go into much detail about the firing of hitting coach Mickey Hatcher, but it clearly wasn't his choice, tweets Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. "Obviously the GM’s position is to try to make changes, whether it’s personnel or staffing, that he believes is going to help us [get] better, and we have to respect that," said the skipper.
- Carlos Beltran didn't feel that the Giants made a strong effort to re-sign him last season even though the club knew that he liked playing in San Francisco, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links). However, the team did talk with agent Dan Lozano in generalities, Schulman tweets.
- Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun hopes that the Orioles will spend the money necessary to keep Matt Wieters and Adam Jones in the fold despite the team's bad luck with hefty contracts in the past.
- In a piece for Deadspin, Craig Fehrman gives an inside look at the Atlantic League's Bridgeport Bluefish.
2013 Contract Issues: Cincinnati Reds
The Reds are next in MLBTR’s 2013 Contract Issues series:
Eligible For Free Agency (2)
- Scott Rolen – Rolen, now on the disabled list with a strained shoulder, could be replaced by Todd Frazier in 2012. Frazier is 11 years younger than Rolen and considerably more affordable.
- Miguel Cairo - Cairo, 38, contributed at three positions and posted a .742 OPS in 102 games last year. He's off to a slow start in 2012, and will probably be looking at a minor league deal next offseason.
Contract Options (2)
- Ryan Madson: $11MM mutual option with a $2.5MM buyout. As MLBTR's Dan Mennella recently explained, it's safe to expect the Reds to decline their side of this option. It'd be a lot of money for a player recovering from Tommy John surgery on a team with alternatives in the bullpen.
- Ryan Ludwick: $5MM mutual option with a $500K buyout. Ludwick hasn't done much at the plate this year; it's hard to imagine the Reds exercising their side of the option.
Arbitration Eligible (10)
- First time: Mat Latos, Drew Stubbs, Mike Leake, Chris Heisey, Logan Ondrusek, Alfredo Simon
- Second time: Homer Bailey, Wilson Valdez, Paul Janish
- Third time: Bill Bray
First-time eligible players Latos, Stubbs and Leake have their shortcomings, but they've got bulk performance on their side, and could each earn $2.5-4MM in 2013. Bailey will earn a raise from $2.43MM his second time through the arbitration process, giving the Reds at least four reasonably expensive players. Non-tender candidates such as Valdez will emerge, lessening the team's obligations.
2013 Payroll Obligation
The Reds have steadily raised payroll from $73MM to $87MM in recent seasons. They have $74MM in pre-existing commitments for 2013 plus a large arbitration class, so it seems likely next year's payroll will rise as well.
Minor Moves: Johnson, Mahay, Thurston, Bates, Garko
Tonight's minor moves..
- The Rockies signed former Cardinals left-hander Tyler Johnson to a minor league deal, according to the CBSSports.com transactions page. Johnson, who won a ring with the Cards in 2006, has been out of affiliated baseball since 2009.
- The Reds released left-hander Ron Mahay, according to the International League transactions page. The 40-year-old signed a minor league deal with the club in January and appeared in 14 games for their Triple-A affiliate this season. The veteran last pitched in the majors for the Twins in 2010 and was signed and released by the Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Cardinals in 2011.
- The Twins have released infielder Joe Thurston and first baseman Aaron Bates, according to Dustin Morse of the Twins (via Twitter). Thurston, 32, hooked on with Minnesota in late April after being cut by the Phillies. Once considered a top asset in the Dodgers' farm system, Thurston has yet to see significant time in the majors outside of his 124 game 2009 campaign with the Cardinals.
- The Rays signed former major-leaguer Ryan Garko to a minor league deal, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). The first baseman spent time in Korea last year.
- Orioles infielder Zelous Wheeler has cleared waivers and been assigned to Double-A Bowie. Wheeler was DFA'd by Baltimore on Friday.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Harris, Eldred
We’ll track the latest outright assignments here…
- The Reds announced that they have outrighted Willie Harris to Triple-A (Twitter link). The utility player has appeared in 19 games this year, but has just three hits and two walks.
- The Tigers outrighted first baseman/designated hitter Brad Eldred to Triple-A, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. Eldred hit .388/.444/1.013 with 13 homers in 90 Triple-A plate appearances to start the season and the Tigers called him up for five games. In parts of eight Triple-A seasons, the 31-year-old has a .260/.327/.536 line.
Closer Options For 2013
Last offseason's Hot Stove was notable for the hefty contracts signed by the likes of Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder, but the abundance of closers in free agency was an interesting secondary arc. A few stoppers signed for big bucks, and if there were any takeaway, it was that many teams have not necessarily adopted a frugal philosophy with respect to bullpen spending.
The upcoming offseason's class of free-agent closers is pretty interesting, too, and several of its potential members have options for 2013. Here's a list of those pitchers and a very preliminary look at whether their options figure to be picked up:
- Matt Capps (2013 age: 29), $6MM club option with a $250K buyout: Capps' signing this offseason was maligned after he pitched poorly in 2011, but the Twins' bullpen was pretty barren, so it may have been a devil-you-know situation. He's pitching roughly the same so far this year, but the guess here is that if they were willing to bring him back after last year, they'll be willing to do so again. He could be a trade candidate, but I'm not sure there will be takers.
- Ryan Madson (32), $11MM mutual option with a $2.5MM buyout: The Reds will be on the hook for at least $2.5MM, so will they want to gamble an extra $8.5MM on a guy coming off Tommy John surgery? With Aroldis Chapman and Sean Marshall in the back of the Reds' bullpen, I think they'll pass.
- J.J. Putz (36), $6.5MM club option with a $1.5MM buyout: Putz is getting on in years, and his health is always a concern (including a DL stint during his brilliant 2011), but the right-hander is really good when he's on the mound. If he can get through this year relatively unscathed in terms of injury, which is no sure thing, I think the Diamondbacks will roll the dice, seeing as the penalty for snake eyes is relatively low.
- Joakim Soria (29), $8MM club option with a $750K buyout: Similar to the Reds and Madson, the Royals will have a tough decision to make with Soria coming off (a second) Tommy John surgery. They've been very reluctant to part with him via trade previously, so I'm thinking they'll pick up the option just to save face and see what he can yield — either in terms of on-field contributions or perhaps a trade later in the season if he comes back healthy.
- Huston Street (29), $9MM mutual option with a $500K buyout if club declines: The Padres will likely look to trade Street before this year's deadline, so his recent injury development must make them a little nervous. He has plenty of time to get healthy before the deadline, though, and I'd expect the Friars to move hard to flip him. If they can't, they could always pick up the option and then look to trade him again next summer.
- Grant Balfour (35), $4.5MM club option with a $350K buyout: The A's will be shopping Balfour hard before the deadline, as he'll draw plenty of interest, as MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith recently noted. Wherever he is, his option will look pretty attractive, with his durability and effectiveness probably trumping any concerns over his age.
- Rafael Soriano (33), $14MM player option or a $1.5MM buyout: Soriano is very likely to exercise this option, meaning the Yankees will almost certainly be paying this hefty tab in 2013. The temptation may be there for Soriano to decline and rake in another two- or three-year deal elsewhere on the market, but he can get one of those after 2013, assuming for health.
Reds Sign Michael Wuertz
The Reds signed Michael Wuertz to a minor league deal, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. The Beverly Hills Sports Council represents the right-hander, who nearly signed with the Mariners less than a month ago.
Wuertz, 33, posted a 6.68 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 7.0 BB/9 in 33 2/3 innings for the A's in 2011, just two seasons after emerging as one of the league's dominant setup men. He battled hamstring and thumb injuries last year, which limited him to 39 appearances. Wuertz throws his slider approximately 60% of the time, according to FanGraphs.