Minor Moves: Andrew Kown, Chris Wallace
Here's a look at today's minor moves..
- Right-hander Andrew Kown has been released from the Fresno Grizzlies (the Giants' Triple-A affiliate), the team announced on Twitter. The 30-year-old Kown has a 4.75 ERA in 396 Triple-A innings and has spent time with the Tigers and Nationals in addition to the Giants.
- The Indians acquired catcher Chris Wallace from the Astros in exchange for minor league left-hander Eric Berger, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. The addition of Wallace gives the Tribe catching depth following injuries to Lou Marson and Carlos Santana. Berger, who turns 27 next week, had a 5.27 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 last season in Double-A and Triple-A.
AL Notes: Blue Jays, Jackson, McFarland, Francona
The 2013 Blue Jays are the only team since 2009 to make three or more waiver claims in April, R.J. Anderson of Baseball Prospectus notes. The Jays have claimed Casper Wells, Edgar Gonzalez and Mauro Gomez this month. The Jays are typically very active on the waiver wire, frequently claiming players and then trying to sneak them through waivers again in an attempt to build depth in their minor-league system. (Toronto also claimed four players in the last half of March: Todd Redmond, Guillermo Moscoso, Alex Burnett and Clint Robinson. Moscoso and Burnett were lost after other teams claimed them.) The Jays' waiver-claim strategy is unusual for a contending team, Anderson says. Here are more notes from around the American League.
- Orioles manager Buck Showalter reiterates that 1B/OF Conor Jackson retired at least in part because his enjoyment of the game diminished, MASN's Roch Kubatko reports. "[Jackson] loved being with the organization and all that, but he's at the stage of his life where it wasn't something he wanted to continue to do," says Showalter. "I just wanted to know whether there was something he was unhappy about. It wasn't at all. He had been thinking about it for a little while and just didn't enjoy going to the park like he used to." Jackson appeared in nine games this year for Triple-A Norfolk, hitting .200/.333/.240.
- Rule 5 Draft pick T.J. McFarland, from the Indians' system, remains in the Orioles' bullpen, notes MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. He has appeared in just one game so far, throwing 3 1/3 scoreless innings April 6. The Orioles' recent trade of Luis Ayala to the Braves gives McFarland some breathing room, but he'll still have to pitch well to remain on Baltimore's roster the entire year. "We've been throwing him down in the bullpen. Keeping the ball in his hand," Showalter tells Ghiroli. "There will come a time this season, I hope, when it's not always saving him for long relief."
- Indians manager Terry Francona isn't fixated on his past with the Red Sox, against whom the Indians have an upcoming series, MLB.com's Zack Meisel reports. "To be honest, I'm an Indian," says Francona. "I'm aware of the questions and everything, and I have a lot of great memories, but I don't think it's fair to the players. … They don't need to be worrying about me having nostalgia week. They just need to try to beat them." The Red Sox let Francona go in 2011, and after a season working for ESPN, he took over as manager in Cleveland.
Indians Designate Robert Whitenack For Assignment
The Indians announced that they have designated right-hander Robert Whitenack for assignment. In a related move, the Tribe will place catcher Omir Santos on the 40-man roster.
Whitenack's stay in Cleveland was short as he was just claimed off of waivers by the Tribe on April 3rd. The 24-year-old struggled through 51 1/3 innings at High-A Daytona last season, posting a 5.96 ERA with 5.4 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9.
Whitenack, ranked 23rd among Cubs prospects this offseason by Baseball America, underwent Tommy John surgery in 2011. The publication noted that his velocity was averaging just 90 mph after touching 96 mph in 2011 and that his slider had lost bite. If he can rediscover his 2011 form, BA feels that he has the ceiling of a No. 3 starter.
East Links: Wheeler, Fernandez, Swisher, Red Sox
A collection of links pertaining to baseball's Eastern divisions…
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post praises the Mets for leaving top prospect in the minor leagues and questions why the Marlins have chosen to start Jose Fernandez's service clock early. Sherman argues that non-contenders should be more mindful of the financial rammifications — especially the Marlins, for whom money will likely continue to be an issue.
- Nick Swisher told reporters (including Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger) that "it hurt" when the Yankees didn't make him an offer to return (beyond the one-year, $13.3MM qualifying offer to receive draft pick compensation). Swisher said he's no longer thinking about the Yankees and is focused on winning with the Indians, who have treated him "like a king" thus far.
- Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino told Jerry Spar of WEEI that baseball is "fun again" in Boston. Lucchino also praised general manager Ben Cherington's work in last summer's trade with the Dodgers, noting that they would have been happy to receive just one of Allen Webster or Rubby De La Rosa but wound up with both.
- In this week's Nationals mailbox, MLB.com's Bill Ladson writes that the team has given no thought to cutting ties with flamethrower Henry Rodriguez. Manager Davey Johnson loves Rodriguez's arm, according to Ladson, so the organization plans to stick with him.
Quick Hits: Alomar, Phillies, Cubs
Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar is grateful for the December 1989 trade in which the Padres shipped him to Cleveland with Carlos Baerga and Chris James for Joe Carter, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. In 1988, Baseball America named Alomar its Minor League Player Of The Year after a strong year in Triple-A Las Vegas, but he was blocked by Benito Santiago, so the Padres sent him back to Triple-A, and Alomar won the Minor League Player Of The Year award a second time. When the Padres finally dealt him to Cleveland, Alomar says, he "didn't know much about the Indians, I just knew it was the major leagues." But he had an opportunity there, and in 1990 he won the AL Rookie Of The Year award. Alomar spent 11 seasons with the Indians as a player, then returned to the Indians as a coach in 2010. Here are more notes from around the majors.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. shouldn't wait to address the team's problems, Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer argues. "What they can't do is let a handful of spare-part relievers continue to work themselves into dubious shape while the season slow-drips away," Sheridan says, adding that there's a fine line between "maintaining perspective" and doing nothing while a season comes apart. It's early in the year to be making big trades (or drawing radical conclusions from the season thus far), but Sheridan suggests the Phillies might make do in the meantime by cycling through some relievers currently at Triple-A.
- GM Jed Hoyer says the Cubs are honing in on potential choices with the second overall pick in the upcoming June draft, Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com reports. "We are narrowing it down," says Hoyer. "We haven’t narrowed it down to hitter vs. pitcher yet. We’ve narrowed it down to a group. We’ll meet next week and decide if that group is big enough (or) if we need to include more players in that group." Stanford pitcher Mark Appel appears to be in that group, along with Georgia high school outfielders Austin Meadows and Clint Frazier.
AL Notes: Borbon, Hamilton, Yankees, Indians
Rangers outfielder Julio Borbon describes his future as "a real question mark," Evan Grant of DallasNews.com reports. Texas appears likely to trade Borbon or designate him for assignment, when they add starter Nick Tepesch to their active roster on Tuesday. If the Rangers designate Borbon for assignment, the Astros might claim him, Grant says. Borbon hit .304/.349/.433 for Triple-A Round Rock in 2012. Here are more notes from around the American League.
- Ranger-turned-Angel C.J. Wilson understands why Rangers fans weren't happy to see fellow former Ranger Josh Hamilton play in Arlington for the Angels this weekend, MLB.com's Lyle Spencer reports. "We're all baseball players," Wilson says. "It's not real life. Sports gives you something to cheer for or boo about. It's your choice. They're not going to cheer for him, obviously." Hamilton signed a five-year, $125MM contract with the Angels in December.
- The upcoming Yankees–Indians series in Cleveland will be a reunion for both Nick Swisher and Travis Hafner, Zack Meisel of MLB.com reports. "Oh, man, that's going to be the jam," says Swisher, who left New York in the offseason and signed a four-year, $56MM contract with the Indians. Hafner signed a one-year, $2MM contract with the Yankees in February.
Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, Jimenez
The Yankees can learn from the Red Sox's approach to free agency, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Other teams could also follow their lead if Boston is successful this season, which would mean aggressively attacking the middle-class free agent market and constructing a deep bullpen. Someday, Sherman argues, we may look back on the August blockbuster as the Red Sox's Herschel Walker trade as it brought them a couple of impressive arms in Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster while giving the club a financial do-over. Here's more from around baseball..
- Meanwhile, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes that the Dodgers seemed to have sense the current flurry of contract extensions coming when they made their mega-deal with Boston and acquired Hanley Ramirez from the Marlins. The Dodgers could have their own pricey extension coming up as they look to lock Clayton Kershaw up for the long term.
- Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon Journal wonders if the Indians' Ubaldo Jimenez is starting to figure things out. The hurler is in the final year of his deal with Cleveland unless both parties agree to trigger the mutual option for 2014, which is unlikely.
- Angels slugger Josh Hamilton would have been wise to take a page out of John Farrell's book and not slam his former home, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Quick Hits: Rockies, Indians, Pujols, Cubs
The Rockies' decision to designate Aaron Harang for assignment after trading Ramon Hernandez for him shows that Colorado likes the pitchers it already has, MLB.com's Thomas Harding argues. The Rockies will stick with their rotation of Jhoulys Chacin, Jorge De La Rosa, Juan Nicasio, Jeff Francis and Jon Garland. Behind them at Triple-A Colorado Springs, the Rockies have youngsters Drew Pomeranz, Christian Friedrich and Tyler Chatwood, along with veteran Aaron Cook. "We're happy with our guys," Rockies senior vice president of Major League operations Bill Geivett says. "Whether it was Chacin who missed a lot of time, or De La Rosa who missed a lot of time, or Nicasio who missed a lot of time, there's some ring-rust that comes with a new season and not having a full season last year. At the same time, we're confident in them." Here are more notes from around the majors.
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti and his front office sometimes try to "cram six pounds of smart into a five-pound bag," the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes says. The decision to begin the season short-handed, as they carried Carlos Carrasco on their 25-man roster while he served a suspension, came back to bite the Indians, says Hoynes. The trouble began when Scott Kazmir hurt his ribcage on Monday, which forced the Indians to activate him so they could backdate his stay on the disabled list. That meant they had to option Nick Hagadone, who was supposed to provide bullpen depth in a week in which, as it turns out, they could have used it, as they played an 11-inning game Wednesday and a high-scoring game Thursday. The Indians ultimately had Trevor Bauer start Saturday night, and he walked seven while allowing three runs in five innings.
- Albert Pujols says he won't allow his ten-year, $240MM contract with the Angels to become a burden, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports. "God has given me ability and talent, but the day I feel like I can't compete any more on this level, I'm not going to embarrass myself," says Pujols, who hit "only" .285/.343/.516 in the first year of his contract in 2012. DiGiovanna clarifies that Pujols isn't suggesting he has plans to retire, but rather that pride compels him to play his best and try to prove his critics wrong.
- The Cubs are currently looking at six MLB Draft prospects, says MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Their list includes Stanford pitcher Mark Appel (who is currently generally regarded as the top talent available), along with Georgia high school outfielders Austin Meadows and Clint Frazier. The Cubs pick second in the draft, which will be held in early June.
Indians, Kipnis Table Extension Talks
The Indians and Jason Kipnis have put their extension talks on hold now that the regular season has started, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Kipnis and his agents at the Beverly Hills Sports Council had been in discussions as recently as March. Hoynes writes:
"Once the regular season started, the negotiations stopped," said Kipnis before Friday's game against the Rays. "We didn't want the distraction during the season. I think they felt the same way."
Kipnis tells Hoynes that he's interested in resuming extension talks following the 2013 season. The 26-year-old has a little more than one year of service time and isn't eligible for arbitration until after the 2014 season. Kipnis hit .257/.335/.379 with 14 homers in his first full season in 2012.
Hoynes adds that there's no word on whether or not talks with outfielder Michael Brantley are still in progress. Brantley, 26 in May, will be eligible for arbitration for the first time after this season.
The Indians worked out one other extension this winter when they agreed to a two-year pact with infielder Mike Aviles. You can keep track of all contract extensions with MLBTR's Extension Tracker.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Indians Claim Robert Whitenack
The Indians have claimed right-hander Robert Whitenack off waivers from the Cubs and optioned him to Double-A Akron, the team announced via Twitter. Frank Herrmann was transferred to the 60-day-disabled list to create roster space. Whitenack had been designated for assignment on Monday to clear roster space for Alberto Gonzalez.
Whitenack, 24, was an eighth-round pick by the Cubs in the 2009 draft but struggled through 51 1/3 innings at High-A Daytona last season. Whitenack posted a 5.96 ERA, 5.4 K/9, 4.7 BB/9, hit five batters and threw three wild pitches. Westnack had been in the midst of a breakout 2011 season before Tommy John surgery cut that effort short.
Baseball America ranked him 23rd among Cubs prospects this offseason, noting that his velocity was averaging just 90 mph after touching 96 mph in 2011 and that his slider had lost bite. If he can rediscover his 2011 form, BA feels that he has the ceiling of a No. 3 starter.