Indians Designate De La Cruz For Assignment
The Indians announced that they designated left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz for assignment. The move creates 40-man roster space for waiver claim Rick VandenHurk.
De La Cruz posted a 4.19 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 in 86 innings as a starter and reliever at Double-A last year. The 6'5" 23-year-old has typically walked and struck out lots of opponents, as his career rates of 8.9 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 indicate. The Indians originally sent De La Cruz to the Rangers on February 21st before re-acquiring him six days ago. He made one appearance for Texas before being returned to Cleveland.
Indians Claim Rick VandenHurk
The Blue Jays announced that the Indians claimed right-hander Rick VandenHurk off of waivers. The Blue Jays had signed the native of the Netherlands to a Major League contract in February after the Orioles released him.
VandenHurk, who is out of options, has experience in five big league seasons, but he appeared in just four games for the 2011 Orioles. He spent most of the season as a starter at Triple-A, where he posted a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 154 1/3 innings. The 6'5" 26-year-old has a 5.97 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 4.7 BB/9 and a 27.9% ground ball rate in 181 career innings with the Marlins and Orioles.
Minor Moves: Indians, Rangers
Here's a rundown of some minor transactions from around baseball…
- The Indians announced the acquisition of infielder Davis Stoneburner from the Rangers. The move completes the February 21 trade that sent Kelvin De La Cruz to Texas, though De La Cruz was re-acquired by the Tribe earlier this week. Stoneburner was a ninth-round draft choice for the Rangers in 2007 and he has a .273/.339/.422 slash line in 1849 minor league plate appearances. He spent last season at Double-A Frisco.
AL Central Notes: Soria, Baker, Antonetti
Here's the latest from the AL Central…
- Royals closer Joakim Soria has suffered "definite damage" in his right elbow's UCL, GM Dayton Moore told media (including Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star) today. Soria will visit Dr. Lewis Yocum on Tuesday to determine if Tommy John surgery is necessary and, if so, it would be the second time Soria has undergone a Tommy John procedure in his career. Greg Holland and Jonathan Broxton would seem like the top candidates to close games for the Royals in Soria's absence, but to keep tabs on the situation, follow MLBTR's Tim Dierkes on Twitter @CloserNews.
- Some baseball people "have said for a while" that the Royals should've traded Soria while his value was at its highest, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Soria had an off-year by his standards in 2011 but still drew some trade interest over the winter, with Kansas City demanding a top starting pitcher in return.
- Even if Scott Baker struggles in 2012, the Twins could still be justified in picking up his $9.25MM option for 2013, writes John Bonnes of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti discusses Shin-Soo Choo, the importance of assembling a good defensive corps to help a pitching staff and several other topics with Grantland's Jonah Keri.
Central Notes: Gonzalez, Tigers, Axford
A few items of note out of MLB's Central divisions …
- The Indians are interested in signing free-agent reliever Mike Gonzalez, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun, although it may depend on the health progress of dinged up relievers Rafael Perez and Chris Perez. Rafael has battled left shoulder soreness while Chris was sidelined early in spring by a left oblique injury.
- The Tigers appear unlikely to acquire a fifth starter via trade, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Andy Oliver and Drew Smyly are the front runners to be Detroit's fifth starter, Knobler adds.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin said there were recent talks between the organization and John Axford's agent, Dan Horwits, but Melvin characterized them as "just a conversation," tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The Brewers and Axford have been rumored to be discussing an extension, and MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith recently examined what such an extension might look like.
Cafardo On Red Sox, Aybar, Lannan, Cecil
While Larry Lucchino may not have officially signed a new deal with the Red Sox, the team’s president/CEO told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he expects to be with the organization for years to come. It's widely known that Lucchino has a greater role in baseball operations than he did in years past when he worked with GM Theo Epstein. The CEO also told Cafardo that while ownership long considered Cherington to be Epstein's heir, there were brief discussions about going outside for a GM. Here's more from Cafardo..
- The Angels are working on a multiyear extension with shortstop Erick Aybar, who can become a free agent next winter. Agent Fernando Cuza is looking for a five-year deal and Aybar could land a big contract on the open market. If Jose Iglesias doesn't look like the Red Sox's long-term solution, Aybar may become an option.
- Interest in Nationals left-hander John Lannan has diminished with some teams that feel what they have is just as good. Boston, for example, feels equally comfortable with Felix Doubront and Andrew Miller. However, the Nats still have a pitching surplus and it appears that teams are more interested in lefty Ross Detwiler’s upside. It's also possible that Washington will want to keep all of their starters as insurance because of Chien-Ming Wang's hamstring injury.
- As the Blue Jays create more room for their top young pitchers, left-hander Brett Cecil could be made available in a deal. The former top prospect hasn’t lived up to expectations and hasn’t had an especially good spring. Last week we learned that Cecil and Kyle Drabek are drawing attention from scouts.
- Mike Aviles is the Red Sox's starting shortstop, but the Phillies are one team that would be interested in dealing for him as they look for an experienced backup infielder. If Boston committed to Iglesias, Aviles could be made available.
- The Indians are wading through left fielders to find a fit, and they could wind up with Johnny Damon. One Tribe exec shot down that idea yesterday, saying that Damon's lackluster defense kills any interest they might have. While the Orioles keep indicating they won’t sign Damon, the veteran would be a great fit for their lineup.
- Cafardo wonders if Ivan Rodriguez could land somewhere soon. The Orioles feel protected with Ronny Paulino if Taylor Teagarden’s back issues persist, but Cafardo writes that Paulino never seems to endear himself wherever he goes. The Royals are on the lookout for catching help due to Salvador Perez’s injury but rather solve that problem from within. Yesterday we heard that the Royals extended a camp invite to Pudge which was not accepted but the club later denied the report.
Quick Hits: Madson, Axford, Mets, Indians, Damon
On this day in 1969, the Braves traded infielder Joe Torre to the Cardinals for Orlando Cepeda. Here's a look at what's happening today..
- Reds closer Ryan Madson still believes that the Phillies offered him a $44MM contract in November, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro denies that any sort of proposal was offered while agent Scott Boras has a different story.
- Brewers closer John Axford expects extension talks to begin soon as his agent, Dan Horwits, is in town to meet with the club, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel. Axford also says that he won't set a deadline for the talks as he doesn't believe that they would be a distraction to him during the season.
- Multiple scouts told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter) that the Mets haven't been looking for a backup lefty hitting outfielder as of late. Right now it looks like the club will turn to Adam Loewen or Mike Baxter rather than add someone from the outside.
- The Indians are looking for a leftfielder but have no interest in Johnny Damon because of his lackluster defense, a Cleveland front office executive told Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Twitter link). In an interview with Bowden on MLB Network Radio this week, the veteran said that he plans to take his time in choosing a team as he looks for an everyday job.
- The Red Sox's signing of Simon Mercedes marks a change in the club's approach to the international amateur market under new director of international scouting Eddie Romero, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Speier writes that former VP of International Scouting Craig Shipley would never have signed Mercedes because the right-hander lied about his documentation.
Indians Re-Acquire Kelvin De La Cruz
The Indians announced that they re-acquired left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz from the Rangers for cash considerations. The club placed right-hander Carlos Carrasco on the 60-day disabled list to create roster space for De La Cruz. Cleveland's 40-man roster is full with the addition of De La Cruz, who will be optioned to Double-A Akron.
The 6'5" 23-year-old posted a 4.19 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 in 86 innings as a starter and reliever at Double-A last year. He has typically walked and struck out lots of opponents, as his career rates of 8.9 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 indicate. The Indians originally sent De La Cruz to the Rangers on February 21st. He made one appearance for Texas before being returned to Cleveland.
Indians, Roberto Hernandez Restructure Contract
4:09pm: Hernandez switched agencies and is now represented by Jorge Brito, a one-time employee of Hernandez's former agency, Proformance, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
11:57am: The Indians and Roberto Hernandez (a.k.a. Fausto Carmona) have restructured the right-hander's contract, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). His 2012 salary will now be "far less" than the $7MM he was scheduled to earn, and an option year in his contract has been eliminated.
The contract originally included a $9MM option for 2013 and a $12MM option for 2014. The Indians exercised Hernandez's $7MM option for 2012 last fall, before issues surrounding his age and identity emerged.
Central Notes: Floyd, Garza, Baker, Hernandez, Pirates
Here's the latest from both of MLB's Central divisions…
- MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm doesn't put much stock in the latest Gavin Floyd trade rumors between the White Sox and the Blue Jays because of the Jays organization's "cone of silence" under Alex Anthopoulos. "There’s a general rule of thumb Toronto’s GM likes to use in these type of situations," Chisholm writes. "If a report gets out that a deal is done then it very likely is done. If a report comes out that two teams are discussing something, or that a team and agent have begun serious negotiations, more often than not it’s false."
- Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer declined to comment on whether the team was any closer to a multiyear extension with Matt Garza, reports Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com. We heard last month that the two sides planned to talk contract during Spring Training.
- Dusty Baker was non-committal about his future with the Reds as he enters the last year of his contract, Baker told the media (including MLB.com's Barry M. Bloom). "This year, it's my decision, as well as a [Reds] ownership decision. It depends whether I'm asked back. It depends on my feelings," Baker said. "You get to that certain point in your life. We'll see at the end of the year or before it, depending on how things go."
- Indians right-hander Roberto Hernandez (a.k.a. Fausto Carmona) has agreed to complete a work program in the Dominican Republic in exchange for having the false identity charges against him dropped, reports The Associated Press. Hernandez is currently on Cleveland's restricted list while the matter is being investigated. It is still unknown when Hernandez will be allowed to obtain a new visa and resume his baseball career.
- The Indians are interested in Jorge Soler, but Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer thinks the Tribe will be outbid for the Cuban outfield prospect. At least nine teams are known to have some level of interest in Soler, with the Cubs considered by "most in the industry" to be the favorites.
- The Pirates' process of rebuilding their minor league system in order to restock their team's talent base is slowly beginning to pay dividends, writes MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.
- Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole's first pro Spring Training experience and his road to being the first overall pick in last summer's amateur draft are profiled by J. Brady McCollough of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.