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Minor Moves: Braves, Loewen, Garrison

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The latest minor moves from around MLB via Matt Eddy of Baseball America…

  • The Braves have signed 14 players to minor league contracts according to a press release, including righty reliever Adam Russell, utility man Drew Sutton, lefty reliever Dusty Hughes, and infielder Josh Wilson. The full list can be found here.
  • The Mets signed outfielder Adam Loewen, according to Eddy. Loewen, the fourth overall selection in the 2002 draft, successfully completed the transition from left-handed pitcher to outfielder in 2011. He posted a .306/.377/.508 line with 46 doubles at Triple-A before appearing in 14 games with the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays removed the Surrey, British Columbia native from their roster after the regular season, but maintained some interest in him.
  • The Mariners signed left-hander Steve Garrison, according to Eddy. Garrison, 25, appeared in one game for the Yankees this past season and posted a 5.58 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 as a starter in the minors.
  • The Red Sox signed right-hander Will Inman and left-hander Justin Thomas for bullpen depth, according to Eddy.
  • The Twins re-signed left-hander Phil Dumatrait, according to Eddy.

Twins Open To Bringing Matt Capps Back

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The Twins had two players save 14+ games this past season, and one of them agreed to join the Rangers yesterday. Minnesota is open to bringing the other one back, as John Shipley of The Pioneer Press reports that both GM Terry Ryan and Matt Capps are open to a reunion. The two sides spoke on Tuesday morning.

Ryan acknowledged Capps' struggles in 2011, when the 28-year-old right-hander pitched to a 4.25 ERA in 65 2/3 innings and was regularly booed off the field at Target Field. "I would say I'm looking back two years ago to the type of year he had," said the GM, referring to the 2010 season. Capps saved 42 games for the Nationals and Twins that year, posting a 2.47 ERA in 73 innings.

Under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, Capps will be treated as a Type-B free agent. The Twins would receive a supplement draft pick if he signs elsewhere, but his new team will not have to forfeit a pick. The Red Sox and Angels have expressed interest in the burly right-hander recently.

Quick Hits: Infielders, Young Jr., Scott, Red Sox

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On this day in 2006, the Cubs signed Alfonso Soriano to an eight-year, $136MM deal.  In five seasons with Chicago, Soriano has a slash line of .266/.320/.498 and has averaged 129 games per year.  Here are some links for Sunday afternoon..

  • Mark Townsend of Yahoo! Sports is surprised at what teams are paying for sure-handed middle infielders. Specifically, he says the Twins and Dodgers paid role players like final pieces to the puzzle and are counting on them for too much (referring to Jamey Carroll and Mark Ellis, respectively).
  • Eric Young Jr. decided to play in Venezuela this offseason in order to gain more experience playing second base, writes Rafael Rojas Cremonesi for the Denver Post. Young played second base just seven times for the Rockies last season, and is 6-for-20 with three steals in his first six games.
  • Luke Scott would be open to negotiating a new deal with the Orioles if he's non-tendered, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.  Scott is projected to earn $6MM in arbitration.
  • Bobby Valentine expects to meet with Red Sox GM Ben Cherington on Monday and could emerge as the favorite for the job if his meeting goes well, a source tells Jeff Passan of Yahoo (via Twitter).
  • Astros owner Jim Crane is prepared to make a swift decision on the futures of president Tal Smith and GM Ed Wade, writes Steve Campbell of the Houston Chronicle.
  • There are team executives who are furious with aspects of the new labor agreement, writes ESPN.com's Buster Olney.  Some believe that MLB's new draft structure hurts the league's small-market and mid-market clubs.  One GM told Olney that the changes don't solve any problems and actually make some worse.

Quick Hits: Mills, Madson, Twins, Danks, Prado

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On a day when the Blue Jays adopted a familiar-looking "new" logo, here are some news items to carry us into the weekend….

  • If the Astros fire Brad Mills, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes Mills could reunite with Terry Francona as the latter's bench coach for a future managing vacancy.  Morosi also lists Rangers executives A.J. Preller and Thad Levine and Rays executives Andrew Friedman and Gerry Hunsicker as wish list candidates for Jim Crane if he removes Ed Wade as Houston's general manager.  It would be the second stint as Astros' GM for Hunsicker, who ran the team from 1996-2004.
  • Ryan Madson could be one of several free agents to lose his Type A status under the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  Such an adjustment would help Madson, as clubs with unprotected first-round draft picks currently have to give up that pick in order to sign the closer.
  • Twins GM Terry Ryan tells Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that Denard Span and Ben Revere won't be traded this winter.  Minnesota could lose both Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel to free agency this offseason.
  • The White Sox didn't add Jordan Danks to their 40-man roster, and Jim Margalus of the South Side Sox speculates that this could be a hint that Chicago is preparing to part ways with John Danks.  The elder Danks brother has drawn strong interest on the trade market.
  • The Braves "seem to undervalue [Martin Prado's] skills," writes Fangraphs' Jason Roberts, who thinks Atlanta may not get proper market value in exchange for the utilityman in a deal. 
  • Right-hander Darrell Rasner has signed a new contract with the Rakuten Golden Eagles, reports NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman.  Matt Sosnick, Rasner's agent, tells Newman the contract is worth $1.5MM plus performance bonuses.  Rasner last appeared in the majors as a Yankee in 2008 and has pitched for Rakuten ever since.
  • The Blue Jays, Cardinals, Mariners, Red Sox and Twins are all listed as possible suitors for Kelly Shoppach by ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link).

Added To 40-Man Roster: Giants, Dodgers, Pirates

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Today is the deadline for teams to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from next month's Rule 5 draft. Here's more on which players need to be protected and here are the details on which players have had their contracts selected to the 40-man roster:

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Outrighted To Triple-A: Dodgers, Cubs, Athletics

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Teams will be adding minor leaguers to their 40-man rosters today in anticipation of next month's Rule 5 Draft. In order to create roster space, some teams will outright players off of the 40-man. Here are the latest outright assignments from around MLB…

  • The Dodgers outrighted John Ely and Carlos Monasterios to Triple-A, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
  • The Cubs announced Esmailin Caridad, Lou Montanez and Kyle Smit have been outrighted off their 40-man roster.  The Cubs currently have six open spots remaining on their 40-man roster.
  • The A's announced that they outrighted right-hander Evan Scribner and outfielder Cedric Hunter to Triple-A.
  • The Rockies outrighted infielder Andrew Brown off of their roster, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).
  • The Twins announced that they outrighted right-hander David Bromberg off the 40-man roster.
  • The Pirates announced that they outrighted Matt Pagnozzi to Triple-A.
  • The Tigers announced that they outrighted Cale Iorg to Triple-A. The infielder split the 2011 season between Detroit's top two affiliates.
  • The Angels outrighted right-handers Francisco Rodriguez and Loek Van Mil to Triple-A yesterday, according to MLB.com's transactions page. Rodriguez, 28, has appeared in 53 games for the Angels since 2010, posting a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 61 innings. Van Mil, a 7'1" native of the Netherlands, posted a 2.04 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 66 1/3 innings at Double-A in 2011. The Angels acquired him from the Twins for Brian Fuentes in 2010.

Minor Moves: Kimball, Corporan, Rottino, Pascucci

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Today's minor moves…

  • The Twins re-signed left-hander Phil Dumatrait, according to the Sosnick Cobbe Twitter page. Dumatrait appeared in 45 games for the Twins last season, posting a 3.92 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9.
  • The Blue Jays claimed right-hander Cole Kimball off of waivers from Washington, according to the Nationals' official Twitter feed.  Meanwhile, the Nats outrighted outfielder Corey Brown to Triple-A Syracuse.
  • Astros catcher Carlos Corporan cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City, tweets Alyson Footer of the Astros.  Corporan has the right to elect free agency due to previously being outrighted.
  • The Mets signed catcher/left fielder/first baseman Vinny Rottino and first baseman/DH Val Pascucci to minor league deals, reports ESPN's Adam Rubin.  Both players saw their first big league action in several years in 2011.
  • Eric Duncan, drafted in the first round by the Yankees in 2003, has signed with the Royals, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.  The 26-year-old played mostly first base, second base, and left field this year for the Cardinals' Double-A affiliate, hitting .274/.322/.527 in 385 plate appearances.
  • The White Sox re-signed Leyson Septimo, tweets Goldstein.  The Sox claimed the hard-throwing 26-year-old southpaw off waivers from Arizona in June but removed him from their 40-man roster in October.
  • The Giants signed center fielder Gregor Blanco, according to his agency (via Matt Eddy of Baseball America on Twitter).  The 27-year-old spent the year with the Triple-A affiliates of the Nationals and Royals, hitting .201/.350/.327 in 252 plate appearances.
  • The Phillies acquired righty Adam Worthington from the Diamondbacks to complete the September Mike Zagurski trade, tweets Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.  Worthington, 24, posted a 4.48 ERA, 10.0 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, and 0.6 HR/9 in 62 1/3 High-A relief innings this year.
  • The Yankees signed lefty reliever Mike O'Connor, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  The 31-year-old appeared briefly in the Majors for the Mets this year, also posting a 5.22 ERA, 9.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, and 1.0 HR/9 in 60 1/3 Triple-A innings.

Thirteen Teams In On Mark Buehrle

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11 teams are playing on Mark Buehrle, tweets Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM and ESPN.com: the Nationals, White Sox, Cubs, Marlins, Twins, Rangers, Yankees, Royals, Cardinals, Red Sox, and Diamondbacks.  These suitors have all been confirmed by club sources, according to Bowden.  The Blue Jays and Angels were named by Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports yesterday, potentially bringing the total to 13.  From Bowden's list, I believe the Twins, Cardinals, and Red Sox are new suitors.  Cards GM John Mozeliak said yesterday he is not seeking to alter the team's rotation, however.

Twins Sign Jamey Carroll

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The Twins have signed Jamey Carroll to a two-year deal to be their everyday shortstop.  The team announced the deal today.  Carroll's contract will guarantee him $6.75MM and includes a $2MM mutual option for 2014. The option vests if Carroll makes 401 plate appearances in 2013, though he can choose to turn it down.  SI's Jon Heyman has further contract details. The Millenium Sports Management client drew interest from multiple teams this offseason before signing with the Twins, who are operating under interim GM Terry Ryan.

Carroll

The 37-year-old infielder played shortstop and second base for the Dodgers in 2011, posting a .290/.359/.347 line in 510 plate appearances. He hasn't posted an on-base percentage below .355 in any of the past four seasons and he has a career mark of .356 after a decade in the Major Leagues. Carroll, who also has experience at third base and in the outfield, stole ten bases without getting caught this past season. He is not a ranked free agent and won't cost his new team a draft pick.

Carroll spoke with MLBTR's Tim Dierkes in June and you can check out the interview here.

ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reported the deal, with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, SI's Jon Heyman, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports adding details.  Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Twins Interested In Doumit, Willingham

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The Twins spoke to agent Matt Sosnick today and expressed interest in Ryan Doumit and Josh Willingham, two of his clients, says Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune. Doumit and Willingham are players the Twins could end up aggressively pursuing, particularly if Michael Cuddyer signs elsewhere.

Doumit is reportedly weighing a few contract offers and may make a decision as soon as this week. Christensen indicates that the Twins haven't extended a formal offer, however, meaning they probably weren't among the clubs Doumit was considering over the weekend.

As for Willingham, we heard earlier in the month that at least ten teams had already expressed interest in the outfielder. Given the lack of power-hitting outfielders on the market, Willingham appears poised to do quite well for himself this winter.

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