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Minor Moves: Vasquez, Alvarado, Upperman, Moskos

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Here's today's rundown of minor moves from around the league…

Rockies Outright Chris Volstad, Logan Kensing

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The Rockies have announced that Chris Volstad and Logan Kensing have cleared waivers and accepted outright assignments to Triple-A Colorado Springs (Twitter link).

Volstad was placed on waivers in order to clear a roster space for Roy Oswalt. The 26-year-old allowed 10 runs in 8 1/3 innings this season. He posted a 4.79 ERA with 3.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 47 innings at Triple-A so far this season.

The 30-year-old Kensing pitched just two-thirds of an inning for the Rockies this season — his first big league action since 2009. The former second-round pick has a 5.79 ERA in 161 2/3 career innings with 8.0 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9. He's fared significantly better in Triple-A, though, where he owns a career 3.67 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.

Rosenthal On Nolasco, D’Backs, Rockies, Gallardo

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports posted his latest edition of Full Count.  Here's a look at the highlights..

  • The Rockies and Marlins recently had talks about Ricky Nolasco, but money was an obstacle as he is still owed about $6MM on his deal.  The Diamondbacks are another possible destination for the Miami pitcher, and it makes sense that NL West clubs have interest given his success against the Giants and at AT&T Park throughout his career.  Nolasco is a native of Southern California, so if the Padres acquire him, he could be open to an extension before he hits the open market this winter.
  • The Orioles can forget about acquiring Yovani Gallardo as they are on his ten-team no-trade list and the Brewers would prefer to make a clean deal with no restrictions.  Meanwhile, the Brewers' pitchers are getting hot at the right time – Gallardo, Francisco Rodriguez, and John Axford have all looked strong as of late and could draw interest from contending clubs.
  • in the likely event that the Twins become sellers, their only untouchable veterans figure to be Joe Mauer and Glen Perkins.  Trading the remainder of Justin Morneau's $14MM salary would be helpful, but his lack of power hurts his value.  

Minor Moves: Volstad, Hughes

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We'll keep track of today's minor moves here..

  • Right-handed pitcher Chris Volstad cleared waivers and accepted his assignment to rejoin the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate, according to the Sky Sox's Twitter feed.  Volstad was waived last week to make room on the roster for Roy Oswalt.
  • Left-hander Dusty Hughes has retired from baseball, MLBTR's Chris Cotillo has learned. Hughes, who was released by the Braves in May, posted a 4.99 ERA with a 6.5 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 80 appearances over three major league seasons with the Royals and Twins.  The 30-year old will become a coach at a private school.

Rockies Acquire Hisanori Takahashi

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The Rockies have acquired left-hander Hisanori Takahashi from the Cubs in exchange for a player to be named later, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (via Twitter).  The veteran will report to the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate.

Takahashi made just three relief appearances for the Cubs this season and spent most of the year with Triple-A Iowa.  In the minors, the 38-year-old posted an impressive 1.99 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.

Rockies Designate Logan Kensing For Assignment

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The Rockies announced (via Twitter) that they have selected the contract of outfielder Corey Dickerson and designated right-hander Logan Kensing for assignment.

The 30-year-old Kensing pitched just two-thirds of an inning for the Rockies this season — his first big league action since 2009. The former second-round pick has a 5.79 ERA in 161 2/3 career innings with 8.0 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9. He's fared significantly better in Triple-A, though, where he owns a career 3.67 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.

Kensing found himself out of affiliated ball entirely following the 2009 season, but worked his way back to the Majors this season following a brief stop in the independent Atlantic League along the way.

Dickerson, 24, is hitting .386/.429/.646 with nine homers, 19 doubles and an incredible 13 triples through 303 plate appearances at Triple-A this season. He's played left field almost exclusively, though he has made five appearances in right field as well. Prior to the season, Baseball America ranked Dickerson as Colorado's No. 13 prospect, noting that he's become a much more complete hitter in recent years but calling his defense in left a "work in progress."

Rockies Waive Volstad; Promote Oswalt

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The Rockies have placed Chris Volstad on waivers, writes Troy Renck of the Denver Post. The move creates a 40-man roster spot for Roy Oswalt, who will be promoted and start tonight for Colorado. Jeff Francis has accepted a minor league assignment to Triple-A Colorado Springs, which clears a 25-man roster spot for Oswalt. We learned yesterday that Francis would be removed from the 25-man roster, but it wasn't clear whether he would accept a trip to the minors or be designated for assignment.

Volstad, 26, appeared in six games for the Rockies this season and allowed 10 runs in 8 1/3 innings with three strikeouts and one walk. In 10 games (nine starts) for Colorado Springs this season, Volstad has a 4.79 ERA with 3.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.

Oswalt, 35, has pitched briliantly for Double-A Tulsa since signing with the Rockies in May. In five starts (33 1/3 innings), the longtime Astro has a 2.16 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9. Last week I examined how much Oswalt would earn based on the incentives in his contract if he were promoted this week. Given the date, it's likely that he could earn nearly $4.3MM if he stays healthy and pitches well.

Francis, 32, re-signed with the Rockies on a one-year deal with a $1.5MM base salary and another $1.5MM worth of incentives. In 52 innings this season, he's posted a 6.58 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. The strikeout rate is actually the highest of Francis' career, as is his 50.3 percent ground-ball rate. He's been hurt by a homer-to-flyball ratio (20.4 percent) that's nearly double that of his career mark.

Rockies To Remove Francis From Roster; Promote Oswalt

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While the precise roster move to be made remains unknown, starter Jeff Francis will be removed from the Rockies' active roster tomorrow, writes Troy Renck of the Denver Post. The team will promote Roy Oswalt to start tomorrow's game at Washington.

As Renck explains, the club could seek to option Francis, but would need the veteran's consent to do so. Of course, a 40-man roster spot would presumably still need to be cleared under that scenario to make way for Oswalt. Otherwise, Colorado could designate Francis for assignment. Either way, says Renck, the lefty has had his locker cleared out and will not accompany the team to D.C.

Francis, 32, re-signed with the Rockies on a one-year deal with a $1.5MM base salary and another $1.5MM worth of incentives. In 52 innings this season, he's posted a 6.58 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. The strikeout rate is actually the highest of Francis' career, as is his 50.3 percent ground-ball rate. He's been hurt by a homer-to-flyball ratio (20.4 percent) that's nearly double that of his career mark.

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

Mets Acquire Eric Young Jr., Designate Collin Cowgill

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The Mets announced that they have acquired Eric Young Jr. from the Rockies in exchange for right-hander Collin McHugh.  In a related move, the Mets have also designated Collin Cowgill for assignment.

Young Jr. was designated for assignment last week in order to make room for the activation of right-hander Chris Volstad.  The outfielder posted a .316/.377/.448 slash line in 196 plate appearances last year but has hit just .242/.290/.352 with one homer in 180 PAs this year.  The 28-year-old has experience at all three outfield positions as well as 49 games at second base.

McHugh has 11 big league games under his belt but has spent the 2013 season with the Mets' Triple-A affiliate.  In nine starts for Las Vegas, McHugh has a 2.87 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9.  Despite his success there, he'll report to the Rockies' Double-A affiliate, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).

Cowgill, 27, has a .173/.189/.327 slash line in 53 plate appearances this year.  In parts of three seasons at the Triple-A the outfielder has hit .307/.381/.476.

Draft Signings: Bohn, Salazar, Verbistky, Healy, Moll

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Baseball America's Jim Callis tweeted updates on previous draft signings Bryan Verbitsky and Carlos Salazar today. Verbitsky, a third-round pick by the Padres will receive $400K, while Salazar, the Braves' third-rounder, will receive $625K (Twitter links). The Padres landed Verbitsky $221K under slot, while the Braves went over-slot by nearly $120K. Here are more signings out of the second and third rounds (all slot info courtesy of Baseball America)…

  • The Rockies went $535K over slot to sign sixth-rounder Dom Nunez, according to BA's Jim Callis (on Twitter).  The California high school third baseman/shortstop/catcher boasts a compact swing, sneaky pop, and a strong arm.
  • The Marlins have agreed to a significantly over-slot deal with seventh-round pick Justin Bohn, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has learned. Bohn, the No. 202 overall selection, signed for $525K, though the assigned pick value for that slot was just $193K. Bohn had been committed to Oregon State.
  • The A's have signed third-round pick Ryon Healy for $500K, tweets Callis. The A's saved about $16K on Oregon's first baseman, who shows good power and has a chance to play third base.
  • Callis tweets that the Rockies signed third-rounder Sam Moll for $600K, meaning they saved about $113K on the Memphis left-hander. Though he stands just 5'11", Moll throws 93-95 mph as a starter. He's likely a reliever in the pros, though.
  • The Royals signed third-round pick Carter Hope for $561K, Callis reports (Twitter link). Hope's bonus is exactly $100K under slot. The prep righty from Texas throws 88-92 mph with an improving curveball. He had been committed to Oklahoma State.
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