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Yankees Claim Russ Canzler

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The Yankees have claimed Russ Canzler off of waivers from the Indians, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (on Twitter). This marks the third time this winter that the first baseman/designated hitter has been claimed. The Blue Jays claimed him on December 21st before Cleveland claimed him back on January 2nd.

Canzler will provide the Yankees with another right-handed bat, assuming he remains on New York's roster. The 26-year-old appeared in 26 games for the Indians this past season. He posted a .269/.299/.398 batting line in 97 MLB plate appearances while playing first base and left field. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a .265/.328/.487 batting line with 22 home runs and 36 doubles in 539 plate appearances.

Quick Hits: Stanton, Indians, Blue Jays, Rays

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The Marlins should trade Giancarlo Stanton and the sooner they do it, the better, opines MLB.com’s Hal Bodley.  The 23-year-old, he argues, really won’t make the difference between winning and losing as this team rebuilds.  Stanton would obviously net the Marlins a strong package of prospects – players who would be ready to contribute down the road when Miami would hopefully be ready to contend.  Here’s more from around baseball as we head into Friday..

  • After their next free agent signing, Indians General Manager Chris Antonetti said the team has “used the vast majority of our [financial] resources” for the offseason, tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.  It’s safe to assume that Antonetti was referring to Brett Myers’ one-year, $7MM deal when he referred to the team’s next signing.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (video link) believes that the Blue Jays had the best offseason of any team in the majors because of their blockbuster with the Marlins and their trade for R.A. Dickey.  Meanwhile, the Rangers have had the most disappointing winter thus far because of their misses on their top free agent targets.
  • ESPN.com’s Buster Olney ranked the top ten infields in the majors and slotted the Rays in at No. 4.  Olney writes that first baseman James Loney is likely getting his last full-time shot to show that he can be a consistent run producer.
  • Antonetti also said that the recently re-acquired Russ Canzler will be among the Indians’ internal DH options this year, Bastian tweets.
  • Troy Renck of The Denver Post (on Twitter) expects the Rockies to have interest in free agent Brandon Webb.

Indians Designate Thomas Neal For Assignment

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The Indians announced that they have designated outfielder Thomas Neal for assignment.  The move will allow them to make room for Nick Swisher on the 40-man roster.

Neal, 25, was rated as a top 100 prospect before the 2010 season as a member of the Giants organization.  He was then traded to the Indians in July 2011 for Orlando Cabrera in a deal that allowed Cleveland to give their own youngsters more playing time.  Neal spent the 2012 season with Double-A Akron and posted a .314/.400/.467 slash line in 470 plate appearances.  He also spent nine games on the Tribe's varsity squad last year.

Indians Sign Nick Swisher

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The Indians announced that they've signed free agent outfielder Nick Swisher to a four-year contract. The agreement covers the 2013-16 seasons and includes a vesting option for 2017.

Swisher, an MVP Sports Group client, will earn at least $56MM before the contract expires. The $14MM vesting option in year five could boost the deal's overall value to $70MM. He'll make $11MM in 2013, $15MM for each of the 2014-16 seasons, and his $14MM 2017 option will vest if he has 550 plate appearances and passes his physical at the end of the 2016 season, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter links).

Nickswisher

The 32-year-old is coming off of yet another solid season in which he posted a .272/.364/.473 batting line with 24 home runs.  Swisher has been a consistent force at the plate for the Yankees over the past four seasons, posting a batting line of .268/.367/.483 with 105 homers across that span.

The veteran comes to Cleveland as the club's replacement in right field for Shin-Soo Choo.  The Tribe sent Choo to the Reds earlier this winter in a three-team deal that netted them right-handed pitchers Trevor Bauer, Matt Albers, Bryan Shaw, and center fielder Drew Stubbs.  The signing also means that Yankees will receive a compensatory draft pick as they extended the one-year, $13.3MM qualifying offer to Swisher earlier this offseason.

Swisher was said to have a four-year, $52MM offer on the table from Cleveland, but he ultimately got a little more out of General Manager Chris Antonetti & Co.  The switch-hitting outfielder reportedly preferred to play for the Dodgers, Angels, or Yankees, but he wasn't a fit for any of those teams given their outfield situations.  The Yankees also didn't seem to have much interest in working out a new deal with Swisher once he declined their qualifying offer.

One source indicated to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that the Red Sox were interested in signing Swisher but didn't want to give up their high second round pick to the Yankees.  It's possible that the draft pick compensation tied to Swisher hurt his value as he looked for a deal on the open market. Swisher ranked sixth on MLBTR's top 50 list of free agents this offseason.

Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News first reported the agreement and its value (via Twitter). Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

 

Minor Moves: Indians, Reds, Brewers, Rockies

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We’ll keep track of tonight’s minor moves right here..

  • The Indians signed second baseman Matt Antonelli to a minor league deal, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter).  The 27-year-old had a rough Triple-A season for the Yankees and Orioles, but hit .297/.393/.460 for the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate in 2011.
  • The Reds signed right-hander Jeff Marquez, outfielder Derrick Robinson, and right-handed reliever Kevin Whelan, Eddy tweets.  Whelan posted a 3.55 ERA with 12.8 K/9 and 5.7 BB/9 with the Yankees’ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Triple-A partner last season.
  • The Brewers signed right-hander Jim Hoey, shortstop Ozzie Chavez, and outfielder Rene Tosoni to minor league deals.  Tosoni is a former Futures Game MVP and spent 60 games on the Twins big league roster in 2011.
  • The Rockies inked left-hander Erick Threets and right-hander Tim Gustafson to minor league deals, according to Eddy (on Twitter).

AL Central Notes: Verlander, Tigers, Twins, Indians

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Last month, we heard that a number of teams were inquiring on Tigers right-hander Rick Porcello.  Detroit turned clubs away at the time because they were unsure if they would be able to retain Anibal Sanchez.  Now that they have Sanchez in the fold, however, Detroit could conceivably pull the trigger on a deal.  Could they also have a significant free agent pickup on the horizon?  More on that and other items out of the American League Central..

  • The Tigers have a history of making waves in January, but it looks like their biggest improvements will come from within this year, writes Jason Beck of MLB.com.  Even though the club has refused to comment on it, now would be the time for them to sign Justin Verlander to a contract extension as he has two years left on his current deal.  Detroit may also pick up a right-handed hitter to play left field in a mix with Andy Dirks, but it’s not expected to be a glamorous signing.
  • MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger writes that the Twins are also thinking in-house when it comes to their center field vacancy.  Minnesota has a hole to fill after moving both Denard Span and Ben Revere, but they plan to have Darin Mastroianni and prospects Aaron Hicks and Joe Benson compete for the spot.  At the same time, General Manager Terry Ryan won’t completely rule out signing a center fielder.
  • Indians GM Chris Antonetti is happy to have gotten a second chance to keep Russ Canzler, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.  Cleveland claimed the infielder earlier today from the Blue Jays just weeks after DFA-ing him.

Quick Hits: Qualifying Offers, Swisher, Kennedy

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All but seven of MLBTR's top 50 free agents have agreed to terms, but there are still dozens of unsigned players at this stage in the winter, as MLBTR’s Free Agent Tracker shows. Here are some links from around MLB as the 2013 portion of the 2012-13 offseason gets underway…

  • Yahoo's Jeff Passan explains the tension between the MLB teams that aim to keep their top draft picks and free agents such as Kyle Lohse, Rafael Soriano, Michael Bourn and Adam LaRoche, who are linked to draft pick compensation after declining qualifying offers. Agent Scott Boras, who represents Lohse, Soriano and Bourn, faces the challenge of finding contracts for these players at a time that some teams are hesitant to engage them.
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs wonders if the next collective bargaining agreement will adjust or even overhaul the current system of qualifying offers to find a balance for all parties involved.
  • Nick Swisher will be introduced to the Cleveland media tomorrow if he passes his physical, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (on Twitter). The Indians agreed to sign the outfielder for $56MM over four years.
  • Though former Angels infielder Adam Kennedy hasn’t officially retired, he’s opening a baseball development facility in Anaheim next week, Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times reports (on Twitter). The 36-year-old TWC Sports client played in 86 games for the 2012 Dodgers, posting a .262/.345/.357 batting line in 201 plate appearances.
  • The Dodgers and Mariners haven’t talked about a potential deal involving Andre Ethier in weeks, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Earlier today ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported that the Mariners have called the Dodgers repeatedly to ask about the outfielder.

Indians Designate Jeanmar Gomez For Assignment

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The Indians have designated right-hander Jeanmar Gomez for assignment, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). The move creates 40-man roster space for Russ Canzler, who has been claimed from the Blue Jays on waivers.

Gomez started 17 games for the Indians in 2012, appearing in three more out of the bullpen. He posted a 5.96 ERA with 4.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 90 2/3 total innings. The 24-year-old has started at least ten games every season since 2010, and owns a 5.18 ERA with 4.9 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in his three-year MLB career.

Indians Claim Russ Canzler

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The Indians have claimed infielder Russ Canzler back from the Blue Jays via waivers, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports (on Twitter). The Blue Jays had claimed Canzler from Cleveland on December 21st, not long after the Indians designated him for assignment.

Canzler appeared in 26 games for the Indians this past season. The 26-year-old posted a .269/.299/.398 batting line in 97 MLB plate appearances while playing first base and left field. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a .265/.328/.487 batting line with 22 home runs and 36 doubles in 539 plate appearances.

Checking In On Teams In Need Of Pitching

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MLBTR’s Zach Links recently checked in on some of baseball’s lowest scoring offenses, noting that clubs such as the Dodgers and Mariners could score more often in 2013 thanks to some of their recent moves. Let’s now turn from run scoring to run prevention and check in on the teams that allowed the most runs in 2012. 

Seven teams — the Rockies, Indians, Twins, Red Sox, Astros, Blue Jays and Cubs — posted team ERAs of 4.50 or more this past season, and each club allowed at least 750 runs in total. We'll take a look at those bottom seven teams and see what they've done to improve their pitching and defense so far this offseason. Team name links go to a summary of the moves on MLBTR's Transaction Tracker and 2012 runs allowed totals are in parentheses. For reference, the average MLB team allowed 701 runs this past season.

Jeff Francis - Rockies (PW)

Rockies (890 runs allowed, 5.22 team ERA) – Jeff Francis, who led the 2012 Rockies with 113 innings pitched, re-signed on a one-year deal. Jorge De La Rosa exercised his player option and Colorado traded for reliever Wilton Lopez. Dan O’Dowd and Bill Geivett must do more to address their run prevention issues in the coming months, or they’ll risk a similarly poor showing in 2013.

Indians (845 runs allowed, 4.78 team ERA) – The Indians started the offseason by exercising Ubaldo Jimenez's 2013 option, and they haven't stopped there. GM Chris Antonetti acquired pitching prospect Trevor Bauer from Arizona along with relievers Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw. They have since agreed to terms with Brett Myers, who projects as a starter in Cleveland.

Twins (832 runs allowed, 4.77 team ERA) – GM Terry Ryan has re-worked his team's pitching staff, trading for Alex Meyer and Vance Worley and signing Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey and Rich Harden. The Twins also re-signed a number of pitchers to minor league deals, creating depth. However, the Twins parted with Ben Revere and Denard Span to upgrade their pitching, which creates questions about Minnesota's outfield defense.

Red Sox (806 runs allowed, 4.70 team ERA) – The Red Sox upgraded their rotation by signing Ryan Dempster to a two-year contract. They've also addressed their bullpen, trading for Joel Hanrahan and signing Koji Uehara to a one-year contract. On defense, Shane Victorino will play right field, but defensive standout Jose Iglesias no longer projects as a starter and it looks as though Mike Napoli will replace the sure-handed combination of Adrian Gonzalez and James Loney at first base.

Astros (794 runs allowed, 4.56 team ERA) – The Astros have made some relatively low-profile changes to their pitching staff as they prepare for their first season in the American League. The club acquired Alex White for Wilton Lopez, claimed Philip Humber off of waivers, traded for John Ely, and signed reliever Jose Veras to a one-year deal. At this point it looks as though Houston will have trouble preventing runs again in 2013.

Blue Jays (784 runs allowed, 4.64 team ERA) – The Toronto front office overhauled a starting rotation that lacked depth in 2012. Defending Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey joins newcomers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle in a rotation that now looks like a strength instead of a major weakness. GM Alex Anthopoulos also traded for Esmil Rogers and added numerous others via waiver claims and minor league signings. The future of Darren Oliver still has to be determined, but other than that Toronto's pitching staff seems essentially set.

Cubs (759 runs allowed, 4.51 team ERA) -  The Cubs have upgraded their rotation in a meaningful way, adding Edwin Jackson, Scott Feldman, Carlos Villanueva and Scott Baker on free agent contracts. They also retained free agent Shawn Camp and signed right-hander Kyuji Fujikawa and left-hander Hisanori Takahashi. Chicago’s pitching staff could be much stronger in 2013.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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