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Minor Moves: Pena, Boyer, Gutierrez, Swarzak, Belisario, Kohn

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Some minor moves from around the league…

  • Also outrighted today was Ramiro Pena of the Braves, per the MLB.com transactions page. The utility man was designated recently, presumably in large part due to his rising arbitration salary.
  • Righty Blaine Boyer (Padres), Anthony Swarzak (Twins), and Juan Gutierrez (Giants) have elected free agency rather than accepting outright assignments, also via the MLB transactions page.
  • The White Sox have outrighted righty Ronald Belisario, per the MLB.com transactions page. Belisario was designated recently to make room for the claim of reliever Onelki Garcia.
  • Likewise, the Rays have outrighted righty Michael Kohn. It has been an odd start to the offseason for Kohn, who was signed to a MLB deal before being designated within weeks by Tampa.
  • Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reported a number of new transactions in his weekly Minor League Transactions roundup on Monday. Of particular note is a crop of Phillies signings: catcher Koyie Hill, right-hander Paul Clemens, and infielders Chase d’Arnaud and Cord Phelps. Clemens gives them some pitching depth, as he’s totaled 98 innings with the Astros over the past two seasons, albeit with a 5.51 ERA.
  • Also from Eddy, the Reds have inked outfielder Brennan Boesch to a minor league contract. The 29-year-old Boesch hit .269/.330/.436 in 248 games with the Tigers from 2010-11, but since that time, he’s batted just .237/.277/.376 in 635 plate appearances with the Tigers, Yankees and Angels.
  • The Tigers have announced that outfielder Ezequiel Carrera has elected free agency rather than accepting an assignment to Triple-A after being outrighted (Twitter link). The 27-year-old hit .261/.301/.348 in 73 plate appearances with Detroit this season and is a lifetime .253/.305/.340 hitter in the Majors. Carrera hasn’t hit much in 478 big league PAs, but he brings some speed and solid baserunning to the table and is capable of handling all three outfield spots.

Giants Designate Juan Gutierrez For Assignment

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The Giants have designated right-hander Juan Gutierrez for assignment, according to the club’s transactions page.

The 31-year-old Gutierrez was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $1.7MM in arbitration next season. He pitched 63 2/3 innings of 3.96 ERA ball with the 2014 World Champions, averaging 6.2 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 along the way. Gutierrez was bothered by biceps inflammation in the month of August, for which he eventually received a cortisone injection.

The hard-throwing Gutierrez has also spent time with the Astros, D’Backs, Angels and Royals in his career, accumulating more than five years of service time. If he latches on with another club and earns a big league roster spot, he’d be a six-year free agent next winter as long as he logs about four months of time on a big league roster, which he’s done in each of the past two seasons.

Giants Sign Loe, Gutierrez, Rosario

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The Giants released their list of Spring Training invitees today, which included the minor league signings of right-handers Kameron Loe, J.C. Gutierrez and Sandy Rosario.

Loe, 32, posted a 7.09 ERA with 5.1 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 50.5 percent ground-ball rate in 26 2/3 innings for the Mariners, Cubs and Braves in 2013. A bloated 34.4 percent homer-to-flyball ratio was Loe's undoing last season, as it led to an unthinkable 11 homers in those 26 2/3 frames. Loe's career mark is just 13 percent in that category, and the league average was 10.5 percent, suggesting that he's due for some improved luck in that department. Loe isn't far removed from big league success, as he posted a 3.61 ERA in 229 1/3 innings from 2008-12 with the Rangers and Brewers.

Gutierrez, 30, pitched to a 4.23 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 42.6 percent ground-ball rate in 55 1/3 innings for the Angels and Royals in 2013. Formerly referred to as "Juan" rather than "J.C.," Gutierrez has 222 2/3 innings of Major League experience and spent a good chunk of the 2010 season closing for the Diamondbacks, collecting 15 saves in the process.

The 28-year-old Rosario saw the most extensive action of his big league career in 2013, totaling 41 2/3 innings of 3.02 ERA ball for the Giants. His ratios weren't as impressive as his ERA, as he averaged 5.2 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 to go along with a 44.7 percent ground-ball rate.

All three pitchers in this group will hope to win a spot alongside closer Sergio Romo and relievers Jeremy Affeldt, Javier Lopez and Santiago Casilla, each of whom is a lock for a spot in manager Bruce Bochy's relief corps.

American League Non-Tenders

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Major League clubs have until 11pm CT tonight to tender contracts to players for the 2014 season. We'll run down the list of American League non-tenders here. Remember that you can track all of the action using MLBTR's Non-Tender tracker, and we offer a full list of non-tender candidates as well. Also of use will be our Arbitration Eligibles series, which includes Matt Swartz's projected 2014 salaries for all arbitration eligible players.

  • The Orioles announced they've non-tendered outfielder Jason Pridie and minor league starter Eddie Gamboa.
  • The Rays will non-tender reliever Wesley Wright, tweets Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune.
  • The Red Sox announced that they have non-tendered outfielder Ryan Kalish, Mike Salk of WEEI.com tweets.
  • The White Sox will not tender a contract to pitcher Dylan Axelrod, tweets Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune.
  • The Angels will non-tender pitcher Jerome Williams, tweets  Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. The club will also non-tender righty Tommy Hanson and third baseman Chris Nelson, tweets DiGiovanna. J.C. Gutierrez will also be non-tendered, tweets Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com, though that seemed a given since that he had already been designated for assignment.
  • The Indians have non-tendered outfielder Matt Carson, pitcher Tyler Cloyd, and catcher Lou Marson, the club announced.
  • The Rays are non-tendering outfielder Sam Fuld, a source tells Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Fuld, who will turn 32 in a few weeks, could be a lefty-swinging bench piece for another club, though he slashed only .199/.270/.267 last year in 200 plate appearances for Tampa.
  • GM Brian Cashman says that the Yankees will non-tender infielder Jayson Nix, tweets Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News. The 31-year-old veteran appeared in 87 games for New York last season, putting up a .236/.308/.311 line in 303 plate appearances. The club will also non-tender reliever Matt Daley and infielder David Adams. New York confirmed the moves via press release.
  • The Royals announced that they have non-tendered second baseman Chris Getz. The 30-year-old Getz has tried to hold down Kansas City's keystone spot for several years now but produced just a .246/.299/.314 batting line from 2012-13. Swartz had pegged Getz for a $1.3MM salary in 2014.

Angels Designate Juan Gutierrez For Assignment

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The Angels announced that they have designated right-hander Juan Gutierrez for assignment.  The move will create space on the 40-man for fellow right-hander Joe Smith.

Gutierrez, 30, began the year with Kansas City before being plucked off waivers by the Halos.  The reliever pitched to a 3.38 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in KC but saw his ERA rise to 5.19 with 9.7 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 28 games for the Angels.  For his career, the veteran owns a 4.65 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 over parts of five big league campaigns.

Gutierrez was eligible for arbitration this year and was projected to earn $1.1MM by MLBTR's Matt Swartz.

Royals Notes: Guthrie, Minor Leaguers

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The Royals have already made headlines this offseason by acquiring Ervin Santana from the Angels, but general manager Dayton Moore will have quite a bit more on his plate over the course of the winter. Here's the latest news pertaining to Kansas City…

Minor Moves: Juan Gutierrez

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We'll keep track of any minor transactions throughout the day right here…

  • The Royals have re-signed Juan Gutierrez according to Baseball America's Matt Eddy. The 29-year-old right-hander pitched to a 4.79 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 167 1/3 innings with the Diamondbacks from 2007-2011 while briefly serving as their closer. Gutierrez posted a 10.45 ERA in 20 2/3 minor league innings this year while battling injury. Kansas City originally signed him last December.

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Minor Moves: Royals, Stavinoha, Santiago, German

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Today's minor moves…

  • The Royals signed Juan Gutierrez to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert (on Twitter).  The right-hander posted a 5.40 ERA with 11.3 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 18 1/3 innings with Arizona this past season.
  • The Astros released Nick Stavinoha so that he can sign with a Japanese team, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.  The 29-year-old spent the 2011 season at Triple-A, where he hit .270/.329/.488 in 586 plate appearances.  The Hiroshima Carp are working toward a deal with Stavinoha, according to a Japanese report passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker.
  • The Nationals signed Jarrett Hoffpauir to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (on Twitter).  Hoffpauir, 28, posted a .281/.356/.428 for the Padres' top affiliate this past season.
  • The Royals announced that the club has granted the release of minor league pitcher Mario Santiago in order for the right-hander to sign a contract with the SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization.  Santiago, who turns 27 on Friday, split time between the Royals' Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2011.
  • Japan's Seibu Lions signed former Rangers utility man Esteban German for $1MM, tweets Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes.  The 33-year-old was removed from the Rangers' 40-man roster in November.

NL West Links: Hill, Gutierrez, Bell

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Some notes from the NL West….

  • Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers spoke with Aaron Hill's agent this week, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The two sides made little progress and didn't exchange figures, but Towers said another talk is tentatively scheduled for next week. Hill hit .215/.386/.492 in 142 plate appearances for the Snakes after being dealt from the Blue Jays, but Towers said he isn't necessarily looking at a multi-year deal for Hill since he doesn't "want to get too crazy about six weeks [of production]. There’s a reason they moved him and a reason we moved Kelly Johnson.”
  • Also from Piecoro's piece, the recently-released Juan Gutierrez said he expected the move and hopes to re-sign with the D'Backs on a minor league deal. Gutierrez underwent Tommy John surgery in September.
  • The Padres are willing to give Heath Bell a two-year, $15-$16MM contract with an option for a third year, reports Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune as part of an online chat with fans. Bell wants three years guaranteed, but Center wonders if the closer would accept a two-year deal with a partial no-trade clause. Center discusses several other Padres topics during the chat, including what he would want in a possible Mat Latos trade and Kyle Blanks' future with the team.

Diamondbacks Release Juan Gutierrez

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The Diamondbacks have released right-hander Juan Gutierrez, the club announced via its official Twitter page.  Gutierrez only pitched in 20 games for the Snakes this season (posting a 5.40 ERA but an impressive 23 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings) due to elbow and shoulder injuries that eventually required Tommy John surgery in September.

Gutierrez, 28, was part of the trade package that came from Houston to Arizona in December 2009 in exchange for Jose Valverde.  In three years with the D'Backs, Gutierrez appeared in 143 games and posted a 4.62 ERA and an 8.4 K/4 rate, though his effectiveness was undermined by his inability to avoid hits (a 8.9 H/9 rate) and the long ball (a 1.1 HR/9 rate).  Given the long recovery time associated with Tommy John surgery, we might not hear of Gutierrez signing with a new team until the 2012-13 offseason.

Gutierrez would have been eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter.  The righty earned $430.5K with the Diamondbacks last season.

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