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West Notes: Perez, Cashner, Ibanez, La Russa

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Rangers left-hander Martin Perez underwent his Tommy John surgery earlier today, and everything “went as expected,” writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The surgery was performed by Dr. Keith Meister, who performs most of the club’s surgeries. As the Rangers look to deal with that blow to their rotation, here’s more from baseball’s Western divisions…

  • For the time being, Padres ace Andrew Cashner has avoided joining Perez on the list of series elbow injuries. Cashner underwent an MRI today, and while that test has conditioned the public to fear the worst, GM Josh Byrnes issued the following statement via press release: “After performing an MRI today on Andrew’s right elbow, our doctors have indicated to me that he has elbow soreness and irritation. Based on our doctors’ recommendation we will be proceeding with rest and rehabilitation for his recovery.”
  • Though the Angels will soon need to make roster moves to get Kole Calhoun, David Freese and Dane De La Rosa back on the active roster, releasing struggling DH Raul Ibanez isn’t likely, reports MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez. General manager Jerry Dipoto wouldn’t say Ibanez will not be released, Gonzalez writes, but he expressed that the team will remain patient and voiced confidence in the aging slugger: “Raul has a track record. He has done this before. He has gone through cold spells, and he has gotten hot. There’s nobody here who believes Raul has had his last good days in the big leagues.”
  • Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall “can hardly stop pinching [himself]” after the team’s hiring of Tony La Russa as its new chief baseball officer, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. La Russa drew interest from multiple clubs for an executive role and turned down at least one offer, feeling that he wasn’t needed with that team, Heyman adds. He also writes that manager Kirk Gibson has close to a clean slate following the La Russa hire, and that La Russa will give Gibson and GM Kevin Towers until at least season’s end to help get the Snakes back on track.

AL Notes: Red Sox, Drew, Angels, Suzuki

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Let’s take a look at a few notes out of the American League to round out the evening:

  • While recent developments have made free agent infielder Stephen Drew a more enticing fit for the Red Sox, the club has yet to re-engage agent Scott Boras, reports Alex Speier of WEEI.com. The fractured right finger of Will Middlebrooks — to say nothing of his sluggish play — has clouded Boston’s third base picture, and it now seems quite unlikely that the team will pick up a draft choice through another club inking the compensation-bound Drew. (With only weeks remaining until the amateur draft, interested clubs will presumably wait until the draft passes and signing Drew no longer requires the sacrifice of a pick.) While Speier notes that the Sox’ approach could still change before the draft, it bears noting that Drew himself is now free of the compensation as a practical matter and has little to lose by waiting for his market to open up.
  • The Angels could stand not only to add to the back of the bullpen, but also the starting rotation, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (video link). Los Angeles looked to add Ian Kennedy last year, says Rosenthal, who opines that the club might be interested in dealing for a mid-level arm like Dillon Gee of the Mets. While payroll space is probably not much of an issue, the club does not have a deep set of prospects from which to deal.
  • Veteran catcher Kurt Suzuki has turned his career trajectory on its head through his first 137 plate appearances of 2014, posting an excellent .322/.390/.424 line for the Twins. Needless to say, that is a nice return on the one-year, $2.75MM contract he signed over the offseason. Minnesota could be interested in discussing an extension with Suzuki before the summer is out, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, though the club has not yet engaged him. Suzuki has hit well enough that the ZiPS projection system now likes him to produce at a league-average rate for the rest of the year; combined with his well-regarded defensive skills, clubhouse presence, and relatively young age of 30, Suzuki could be setting himself up as a fairly attractive trade chip and future free agent target if the Twins don’t move to lock him up.

Quick Hits: Rincon, Coffey, Ibanez, Kolek

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Here are some stray notes from around the game to finish up the evening:

  • 35-year-old former big leaguer Juan Rincon, who has not thrown in the bigs since 2010, is looking to mount a comeback, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Rincon, a righty who owns a 4.03 ERA in 507 MLB innings, has thrown for several clubs already, says Heyman.
  • Meanwhile, another veteran — 33-year-old right-hander Todd Coffey — is set to put on a showcase tomorrow, Heyman tweets. Heyman says that the eight-year veteran, whose career ERA stands at 4.10, has amped his fastball up into the 92mph to 94mph range as he looks to return after sitting out all of 2013 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
  • Besting both of the aforementioned players in both age and MLB service is Angels outfielder Raul Ibanez, who is now in his 19th big league campaign at age 41. But with a disappointing .139/.248/.267 slash through 117 plate appearances, Ibanez could be in danger of losing his roster spot, writes Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. With rookie C.J. Cron off to an outlandish 1.128 OPS start (albeit in only 29 plate appearances), and having shown the ability to hit righties at the Triple-A level, Ibanez could prove superfluous. On the other hand, manager Mike Scioscia appeared to downplay that possibility. “I don’t know that it’s going to be C.J. versus Raul,” he said. “We’ll find at-bats for guys who are swinging the bat well.”
  • While hard-throwing young arms are the story of this year’s amateur draft, none has more power than Texas prep righty Tyler Kolek, writes Baseball America’s John Manuel. The mountainous Kolek has consistently hit triple-digits on the radar gun, leading scouts to tell Manuel that he throws harder than any high school pitcher in the draft era. Of course, that kind of radar reading comes with risks, as all observers of the game are aware. Fellow BA writer J.J. Cooper breaks down the rise of power arms in the high school ranks, discussing the risks — and, of course, the immense upside — that come with top-end speed at a young age.

Angels Acquire Greg Billo From Royals

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Angels have acquired minor league right-hander Greg Billo from the Royals in exchange for cash considerations, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports (via Twitter). The 23-year-old Billo posted a sparkling 1.35 ERA with a 38-to-13 K/BB ratio in 40 innings at Class A Lexington last season but has a bloated 7.41 ERA with 17 strikeouts and 13 walks in 17 innings at Double-A this season. Kansas City selected Billo in the 28th round of the 2008 draft. Prior to the 2012 campaign, Baseball America praised Billo for having the best command of any pitcher in the Royals’ system, but that appears to have eluded him — at least for the time being.

Minor Moves: Komatsu, Brown, Boshers, Wilson, Rosario

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Here are today’s minor transactions, with the latest moves at the top of the post…

  • The Angels have signed outfielder Erik Komatsu to a minor league deal, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. Komatsu, a 26-year-old former Rule 5 choice who saw brief MLB time with the Cardinals and Twins, was recently released by the Nationals.
  • The Rangers have released outfielder Jordan Brown, tweets Cotillo. The 30-year-old was struggling in the upper minors this year with a .212/.286/.363 line in 126 plate appearances. Brown has seen some MLB time in the past, but his Triple-A production has been in steady decline since a strong 2009 season (.913 OPS, 15 home runs).
  • Angels director of communications Eric Kay tweets that left-hander Buddy Boshers has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. Boshers was designated for assignment last week when the Halos claimed Brooks Raley off waivers from the Twins.
  • Infielder Josh Wilson has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock from the Rangers, tweets Anthony Andro of Fox Sports Southwest. Texas outrighted the veteran yesterday, leaving him with 72 hours to accept his assignment or elect free agency.
  • The Giants re-signed Sandy Rosario to a new minor league contract after the team released the right-hander earlier in the week, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports.  Rosario was bothered by leg injuries during Spring Training and has yet to pitch in 2014.  The righty posted a 3.02 ERA, 1.2 K/BB rate and 24 strikeouts over 41 2/3 relief innings with San Francisco last season and was non-tendered, though Rosario was a non-roster invitee to the Giants’ Spring Training camp.

Minor Moves: MacDougal, Carson, Ambriz, Martin

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We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

  • The Mariners have agreed to terms with reliever Mike MacDougal on a minor-league deal, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune tweets. MacDougal, 37, had been pitching for the independent Camden Riversharks. The veteran spent 2013 at the Triple-A level and last appeared in the big leagues in 2012, struggling in seven appearances with the Dodgers.
  • The Angels have released lefty Robert Carson, MiLB.com has announced. The Angels claimed him from the Mets in October, then outrighted him in March. He pitched 33 innings for the Mets in 2012 and 2013 combined, posting a 6.82 ERA with 3.5 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. He struggled for Triple-A Salt Lake this season, posting 13 walks against nine strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings there.
  • The Padres outrighted pitcher Hector Ambriz to Triple-A El Paso, although it’s not clear whether he will accept the assignment, MLB.com’s Corey Brock tweets. The Padres designated Ambriz for assignment on Thursday. He appeared in one game with them, after having spent the 2013 season with the Astros.
  • The Diamondbacks have purchased outfielder Dustin Martin from the independent Sugar Land Skeeters, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish tweets. Martin, 30, also played for both Sugar Land and in the Diamondbacks organization in 2013, when he batted .295/.378/.502 in 249 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks’ Double-A Mobile affiliate.
  • The Mets have outrighted infielder Omar Quintanilla to Triple-A Las Vegas, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin tweets. Quintanilla had hit .207/.258/.241 in 31 plate appearances in the big leagues this season. The Mets designated Quintanilla for assignment on Wednesday, making room on their active roster for Wilmer Flores.

Angels Designate Buddy Boshers For Assignment

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The Angels have designated lefty Buddy Boshers for assignment, the club announced. The move was made to clear space for fellow southpaw Brooks Raley, who was just claimed off waivers from the Twins.

Like Raley, Boshers is a 25-year-old with only minimal MLB exposure. In 15 1/3 relief innings last year, he worked to a 4.70 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9. Boshers had put up consecutive strong seasons in the upper minors, but is off to a tough start in 2014. Through 13 innings at Triple-A this year, Boshers has a 6.23 ERA with 8.3 K/9 but a startling 9.0 BB/9.

Angels Claim Brooks Raley Off Waivers From Twins

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12:58pm: Berardino updates things from the Twins’ side (Twitter links), writing that Raley was actually designated earlier in the week and put on outright waivers on Tuesday. Thinking through the reasons that the move was kept under wraps, Berardino posits that the club may have hoped to maintain leverage with Guerrier’s agent as the parties discussed the reliever’s opt-out date. (The club ultimately purchased Guerrier’s contract after he made clear he would not extend the opt-out date.)

12:34pm: The Angels have claimed southpaw Brooks Raley off waivers from the Twins, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports on Twitter. Raley, 25, was apparently exposed to outright waivers to create 40-man space for Matt Guerrier.

This marks the second time in 2014 that Raley has been nabbed via waiver claim; Minnesota acquired him from the Cubs by that mechanism back in February. As Berardino notes in another tweet, it is not yet clear why the Twins placed Raley right on the waiver wire rather than first designating him for assignment.

Raley had been working at the Twins’ top affiliate this year, throwing 14 2/3 innings of 3.68 ERA ball while generating a promising 11.7 K/9 against a less-stellar 6.8 BB/9. After spending most of his professional life as a starter, Raley worked primarily as a reliever this year, though he just received his first start of the season. Across two brief stints with the Cubs — first in a starting role (in 2012) and then from the pen (2013) — Raley has accumulated a 7.04 ERA in 38 1/3 MLB frames.

Minor Moves: Rogers, Geltz, Sappelt, Ni, Rodriguez, Hottovy

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Here are today’s minor league transactions, with the latest moves atop the post…

  • The Mariners have released hurler Mark Rogers, tweets Tacoma Rainiers announcer Mike Curto (hat tip to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). Rogers, 28, is now far removed from his days as one of the game’s better pitching prospects. He was given a Spring Training invite in the offseason, but Seattle pulled the plug on his comeback attempt after Rogers walked 7 in his first 7 innings on the year.
  • Rays minor league reliever Steve Geltz has been hit with a 50-game suspension after a second positive test for a drug of abuse, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The 26-year-old righty, who came to Tampa last year in exchange for Dane De La Rosa, threw to a 2.82 ERA in 67 frames last year (10.7 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9) and was off to a 3.86 ERA start in his first 16 1/3 innings in 2014.
  • Outfielder Dave Sappelt has signed with los Acereros de Monclova in Mexico, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish. Sappelt has split the past three seasons between the Cubs and Reds, posting a .251/.301/.343 batting line in 274 big league plate appearances.
  • Former Tigers lefty Fu-Te Ni has signed with the independent Atlantic League’s Lancaster Barnstormers in hopes of eventually landing a Major League or Triple-A opportunity, tweets Cotillo. Ni had a solid rookie campaign with Detroit in 2009 but struggled to a 6.65 ERA in 23 innings in 2010. Now 31 years of age, Ni has a strong Triple-A track record but didn’t pitch in affiliated ball last season.
  • The Rays have released catcher Eddy Rodriguez, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy tweets.  Rodriguez, 28, signed a minor league deal with Tampa in the offseason but had only a .443 OPS in 49 PA for Triple-A Durham.  The veteran catcher has a career .235/.286/.386 slash line over 2271 minor league PAs and he received a two-game cup of coffee in the majors with the Padres in 2012.
  • The Cubs have released southpaw Tommy Hottovy, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports (as part of his full recap of the week’s minor league moves).  Hottovy signed a minor league contract with Chicago in December but had yet to pitch this season due to injury.  The left-hander threw 13 1/3 innings for the Red Sox and Royals in 2011-12 and spent last season in the Blue Jays’ farm system.
  • The Angels have signed left-hander Dustin Richardson to a minor league contract, according to the team’s MLB.com transactions page.  Richardson will report to Triple-A Salt Lake City.  The 30-year-old southpaw appeared in 20 games in Salt Lake last season, as well as six games with the independent Sugar Land Skeeters.  Richardson has 16 1/3 Major League innings to his name (with the Red Sox in 2009-10) and he has also spent time with the Braves’ and Marlins’ Triple-A affiliates and served a 50-game PED suspension.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Quick Hits: Cardinals, Pirates, Angels, Jurrjens

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So far, the Cardinals haven’t benefited from the offseason trade that sent David Freese and Fernando Salas to the Angels for Peter Bourjos and Randal Grichuk, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Grichuk played well at the Triple-A level before being promoted, but his ability to make contact remains cause for concern, Miklasz argues. Meanwhile, Peter Bourjos has struggled, and so has Matt Carpenter, which means the Cardinals haven’t gotten the third base upgrade they hoped for, either. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.

  • Pirates GM Neal Huntington denies a recent rumor that his team is still seeking a first baseman despite recently trading for Ike Davis, Bucs Dugout’s David Manel reports. “I typically hate to comment on any specific rumor, but it sounds like somebody, somewhere is trying to create a market,” Huntington says. The Bucs currently have Davis and Gaby Sanchez platooning at first.
  • The Angels’ bullpen struggles might lead one to think that they’ll have to go out-of-house for an upgrade, but the answer to their problem might lie in the minors, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.  “It’s funny, but right now, our primary weakness at the major league level is our primary strength at the minor league level,” says GM Jerry Dipoto. “We have some really nice bullpen arms in the system, and that’s fortunate.”
  • Jair Jurrjens is looking to make a comeback after having knee surgery last fall, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets. He is currently throwing 90 MPH. After posting a 2.96 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 152 innings with the Braves in 2011, Jurrjens has struggled badly in the big leagues. He spent most of 2013 with the Orioles’ and Tigers’ Triple-A affiliates in Norfolk and Toledo, respectively.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

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