Jeremy Reed Clears Waivers
WEDNESDAY: Reed cleared waivers and has accepted a Triple-A assignment, tweets Haudricourt.
MONDAY: The Brewers designated outfielder Jeremy Reed for assignment, the team announced today. Catcher Jonathan Lucroy was reinstated from the DL in a corresponding move, and the team's 40-man roster stands at 39.
Reed, a former top prospect, turns 30 in June. He made the Opening Day roster as a pinch-hitter after a strong spring, but was hitless in seven regular season plate appearances. Talking to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Brewers GM Doug Melvin explained the choice to cut Reed and go with three catchers for the time being. The GM also noted that Reed has until Wednesday to tell the team whether he'll declare free agency.
The Brewers will have a tough decision to make when Corey Hart returns from the DL, as catchers George Kottaras and Wil Nieves are out of options and Haudricourt says one of them could be on the bubble.
Dodgers Notes: Carroll, Eckstein, Dye
The Dodgers have only scored 34 runs in their first ten games, but they're 6-4 in the early goings of the 2011 season. Here’s the latest on the club, which just lost its starting shortstop, probably for a month or more…
- Rafael Furcal’s broken thumb leaves the Dodgers weakened in the middle infield, and they’re preparing to fill the void by playing Jamey Carroll at shortstop and Ivan DeJesus at second base, according to MLBTR's Tim Dierkes (Twitter link).
- Furcal is not retiring, though he's frustrated by his latest injury.
- The Dodgers expressed some interest in David Eckstein this offseason, but backed off when they heard he was asking for $2MM, according to Yahoo’s Tim Brown (on Twitter).
- Recently retired slugger Jermaine Dye tells Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that the Dodgers showed interest in him this offseason, before they signed Marcus Thames. The Blue Jays and Brewers showed interest after the 2009 season, according to Dye.
Quick Hits: Villanueva, Looper, Red Sox, Wilson
As the Giants raise their World Series banner with an assist from the Say Hey Kid, here's some news from around the majors…
- The Brewers received cash, rather than a player to be named later, from the Blue Jays to complete the Carlos Villanueva trade, reports the team (and passed on by MLB.com's Adam McCalvy).
- The Cubs aren't considering trying to lure Braden Looper out of retirement, reports ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine. Looper retired when he didn't make Chicago's Opening Day roster. With right-handers Andrew Cashner and Randy Wells on the disabled list, the Cubs have a sudden lack of pitching depth, but the team will turn to internal options like Casey Coleman, who will start on Sunday.
- The Red Sox got their first win of the season today, but there's still plenty of talk about Boston's slow start. SI's Tom Verducci thinks there are legitimate reasons for worry, namely that Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka "have to suddenly reverse the downward trends of their careers in their 30s."
- Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com also questions Boston's pitching, pointing out that barring rebound years from Beckett, Lackey and Matsuzaka, "they’re essentially the same team as the Yankees — terrific offense, deep bullpen, weak back of the rotation." Rosenthal, however, thinks it is far too early in the season for the Sox and their fans to panic.
- Jack Wilson asked to be taken out of the Mariners' 7-3 loss to the Rangers on Wednesday, Seattle manager Eric Wedge told reporters today. Wilson implied that Wedge had removed him from the game, which upset Wedge, tweets Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. The Twitter feed of the Brock & Salk radio show on 710 ESPN Seattle reports that Wedge described Wilson's actions as "unspeakable" and wouldn't discuss the veteran infielder's status with the club.
- Pirates right-hander Tyler Yates has a torn flexor tendon in his throwing elbow, reports Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. Yates hasn't pitched since 2009 due to Tommy John surgery, and Langosch reports that this latest injury might convince Yates to retire, a decision he's already considered earlier in his career.
- The Diamondbacks are looking at Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon and Danny Hultzen with the third pick in this June's amateur draft, says Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Sources on other teams think this trio will be the first three players taken in the draft, though perhaps not in that order. Arizona also has the seventh overall pick, and Piecoro notes that the D-Backs' priority with that pick is to draft a player they can sign. Vanderbilt's Sonny Grey and high schoolers Dylan Bundy and Taylor Guerrieri are some of the players Piecoro hears connected with this pick.
- Doug Davis held another workout today, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus. Five or six teams were present, down from the eight clubs that watched Davis throw two weeks ago.
Minor League Transactions
There was a slew of minor league transactions from March 30 to April 5, and Matt Eddy of Baseball America has written them up and included info on some noteworthy names. Here's more on those …
- The Cubs released righty Chris Huseby, an 11th-round draft pick in 2006 who signed for a hefty $1.3MM. Huseby wasn't panning out as a pitcher and saw action in the outfield in recent seasons.
- The Indians released third baseman Matt Cusick, one of the two players they received from the Yankees in last season's swap for Kerry Wood. The other player – Andrew Shive – had been previously released.
- The Rockies released reliever Craig Baker, who led the Minors in saves in 2009 with 33. A fourth-round pick 2006, Baker's 2010 was derailed by the injuries that haunted him earlier in his career.
- The Astros released reliever Bubbie Buzachero, who is among the active career leaders in minor league saves.
- The Royals released speedy outfielder Hilton Richardson, a seventh-round pick in 2007 who has 77 steals in the minors in 100 attempts. The Braves then signed Richardson.
- The Dodgers released lefty reliever James Adkins, a sandwich-round pick in 2007 out of Tennessee. The southpaw is the Volunteers' career leader in strikeouts but has struggled with control and against righties in the minors.
- The Brewers released hard-throwing lefty Evan Frederickson, the 35th overall pick in 2008. Frederickson has been excessively wild in his minors career, never walking fewer than 7.6 batters per nine, according to Eddy.
- Twins righty Chris Province, acquired from the Red Sox in the Boof Bonser trade in 2009, voluntarily retired. Province surrendered a lot of hits in 2010, but seeing as he posted solid groundball rates for two poor teams, Eddy wonders whether he might have fared better with a better defense behind him.
- The Padres released catcher Mitch Canham, the 57th overall pick in 2007. The Friars hoped Canham would develop into an offense-first backstop, but he was abused by basestealers, and his production with the bat didn't hold up at other positions.
- The Giants released righty Craig Whitaker, a supplemental-round pick in 2003. Whitaker, as Eddy notes, is something of a rarity as an unsuccessful power arm drafted by San Francisco. Outfielder Ben Copeland, the Giants' first pick (fourth round) in 2005, was also released.
- The Rangers released righty Danny Gutierrez, formerly one of their top-10 prospects. Gutierrez had been acquired from the Royals, but his stuff has diminished and was suspended 50 games for amphetamines prior to the 2010 season.
- The Blue Jays released speedy outfielder Eric Eiland, a second-round pick in 2007. Eiland has been an efficient basestealer but has struggled overall offensively.
Acosta, Merklinger Clear Waivers
We'll keep track of players who clear waivers right here:
- The Mets announced that Manny Acosta cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo (Twitter link). They designated the reliever for assignment last Tuesday.
- Dan Merklinger has cleared waivers and the Brewers have assigned him to Double-A Huntsville, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Milwaukee designated the left-hander for assignment yesterday.
Brewers Designate Dan Merklinger For Assignment
The Brewers have designated left-hander Dan Merklinger for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot for tonight's starting pitcher, Marco Estrada, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
Merklinger, 25, posted a 3.65 ERA in 143 minor league innings last year, mostly at Class A. Overall, the 2007 sixth rounder struck out more than a batter per inning (9.3 K/9) and limited his walks (2.8 BB/9).
Estrada, 27, will start for the Brewers against the Braves tonight. He has an 8.04 ERA in his 31 1/3 big league innings with an impressive 32 strikeouts. He pitched well enough this spring for manager Ron Roenicke to add him to the rotation, at least for now with Zack Greinke sidelined.
Minor Deals: Swaggerty, Cruz, Brewers, Pirates
Teams are making procedural moves left and right as they finalize their Opening Day rosters. Here's the latest on some minor deals from around the majors…
- The Royals granted minor league left-hander Ben Swaggerty his release, according to MLB Reports (on Twitter). The 28-year-old has a 3.35 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in four minor league seasons as a reliever.
- The Rangers signed Luis Cruz after the Brewers released him, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). The infielder is playing short for the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate tonight.
- The Brewers released a number of minor leaguers besides Cruz and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has all the details.
- The Pirates are "looking hard" into an external move, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter links). Pittsburgh would like to add pitching.
Procedural Notes: Abreu, Blanco, Evans, Hernandez
The latest procedural notes…
- D'Backs manager Kirk Gibson told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that Tony Abreu cleared waivers and is going to Triple-A (Twitter link).
- The Royals told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that Gregor Blanco cleared waivers and will be outrighted to Triple-A (Twitter link).
- Outfielder Nick Evans cleared waivers yesterday, GM Sandy Alderson told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). The Mets outrighted Evans when he didn't make the Opening Day roster.
- Another Mets player, Luis Hernandez cleared waivers, reports MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. He's unsure whether he'll accept a minor league assignment.
- Cubs catcher Max Ramirez cleared waivers and was outrighted to minor league camp, tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
- The Tigers outrighted infielder Audy Ciriaco to create a 40-man spot for reliever Enrique Gonzalez, tweets MLB.com's Jason Beck.
- Retired reliever Billy Wagner was removed from the Braves' 40-man roster today, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Wagner has no plans to come out of retirement, but if he did he'd have to play for the Braves in 2011. The AP has details.
- Orioles righty Rick Vandenhurk cleared waivers, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
- Mets reliever Jason Isringhausen, who didn't make the club out of Spring Training, agreed to spend two weeks in Port St. Lucie. According to ESPN's Adam Rubin, one condition of the extended Spring Training agreement is that "if another team approaches Isringhausen in the interim about a major league opportunity, the Mets must either call up Izzy or let him depart." The Mets chose Blaine Boyer over Isringhausen for the Opening Day roster, which so far has allowed them to retain both relievers.
- Outfielder Brandon Boggs, outrighted by the Brewers yesterday, accepted his Triple-A assignment according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Today’s Outrights: Marquez, Mather, Rizzotti, Misch
Several players cleared waivers and were removed from the 40-man roster today by way of an outright assignment. The latest:
- Jeff Marquez of the White Sox cleared waivers and is headed for Triple-A, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
- Braves utility player Joe Mather cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).
- The Phillies removed Matt Rizzotti from the 40-man roster and outrighted him to the minor leagues, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter).
- Mets lefty Pat Misch was outrighted to Triple-A, tweets Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger. He's expected to accept the assignment. Misch, 29, posted a 3.82 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 1.0 BB/9, 1.0 HR/9, and 52.0% groundball rate in 37 2/3 innings for the Mets last year, tossing another 150 2/3 innings across 23 starts in Triple-A.
- Brewers outfielder Brandon Boggs was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Boggs, 28, hit .290/.406/.470 in 439 Triple-A plate appearances last year while playing all three outfield positions. He has until Wednesday to decide whether to accept the assignment or elect free agency, tweets Haudricourt.
- The Mariners outrighted southpaw Cesar Jimenez, tweets ESPN's Shannon Drayer. Jimenez, 26, missed most of the 2010 season recovering from labrum surgery.
Quick Hits: Padres, Pirates, Rangers
Links from around the majors as Armando Galarraga makes Arizona's rotation…
- One scout tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that every team is kicking the tires on bullpen help, back-of-the-rotation starters, utility players and backup catchers (Twitter link).
- Scouts break down former Padres, current Padres, and other West Coast teams for Tom Krasovic of Inside the Padres. One scout says there's "no doubt" that Cameron Maybin can play center field in spacious Petco park.
- Top Pirates prospects Stetson Allie, Jameson Taillon and Tony Sanchez have little in common off of the field, but are looking forward to making an impact in Pittsburgh, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports that the Rangers are looking for a shortstop for Triple-A and suggests Luis Cruz, Tony Abreu and Juan Castro are options.