According to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Philip Humber cleared waivers and will report to Triple A. The Twins had designated him for assignment to make room for Juan Morillo. Turns out they get to keep Humber too, as the other 29 teams passed.
Twins Rumors
Odds & Ends: Hunter, Keppinger, Swisher
Links for Monday…
- Become a fan of MLB Trade Rumors on Facebook! We're up to 9,828 fans.
- Jed Lowrie will have wrist surgery, and Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe learned that he could return by the All-Star break. Julio Lugo, recovering from knee surgery, should be ready to take over soon.
- ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. says "negotiations between the New York Yankees and Cuban exile prospect Felix Perez have broken down because of the outfielder's problem in obtaining a visa." Perez was set for a bonus north of $3MM, but questions have been raised about his age. The Yanks may have interest in a couple of other Cuban players, Noel Arguelles and Jose Iglesias, once they're declared free agents.
- According to Phil Miller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Torii Hunter would seemingly like to finish his career with the Twins.
- MLB.com's Alyson Footer says sending Drew Sutton to the Reds for Jeff Keppinger was "a great, great deal for the Astros." Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle explains why the move was made.
- Aaron Gleeman weighs in on the Twins' decision to swap out Philip Humber for Juan Morillo.
- David Pinto of Baseball Musings gives his opinion of the Ryan Zimmerman extension.
- South Side Sox and Sox Machine discuss the minor tiff between Ozzie Guillen and Nick Swisher.
- Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News says the Dodgers signed pitcher Chuck Tiffany to a minor league deal. They'd traded him to the Rays in '06 as part of the Danys Baez deal, and the Rays released him in March of this year.
Twins Claim Morillo; Designate Humber
According to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins claimed reliever Juan Morillo off waivers from the Rockies and designated Philip Humber for assignment. They must feel that Morillo has more upside given the mid-90s heat. Both pitchers are out of options. Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies notes that the Twins were the 21st in line to make the Morillo claim.
Humber, 26, was chosen third overall by the Mets in '04. He was traded to the Twins as part of the Johan Santana deal in February of '08.
Odds & Ends: Swisher, La Russa, Twins
Happy Easter to those celebrating. Here are your Sunday links…
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette addresses the ever-popular question, "What if the Pirates had drafted Matt Wieters" in 2007?
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star did some number crunching and determined that forking over major cash for a free agent pitcher is often far too risky. 30 pitchers regressed after inking new deals, while only 13 improved.
- The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan believes the Brewers might make a run at Jake Peavy later this season.
- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has abandoned the idea of hitting his pitcher eighth for the last three games, and his club is suddenly on a winning streak. "Hitting the guy ninth we've got a winning record," said La Russa. "I don't want to mess around with it." (Quote courtesy of Rick Hummel with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times examines the "evolution" of the trade that brought Nick Swisher to the Yankees. As Kepner notes, it "looks like a steal" at this point.
- The Twins are considering a uniform design change for the opening of Target Field in 2010. Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wants your suggestions.
- You're obviously a baseball buff if you're checking MLBTR daily, so let me direct you to a brand new site chock-full of streaming baseball-related content. It's NBCSports.com's newest darling, "Circling The Bases," featuring the writing styles of Aaron Gleeman, Matthew Pouliot and Craig Calcaterra.
Rosenthal On Free Agents, Orioles, Ortiz
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new column up.
- Rosenthal discusses the unprecedented number of decent free agents available, a few games into the season (click here for our free agent list). He suggests the hitters will have a harder time getting jobs than the pitchers due to the time needed to shake off the rust. In talking with execs, Rosenthal learned that the trade market for mediocre players (Jarrod Washburn, Nate Robertson, Austin Kearns) may be depressed this summer due to the available free agents.
- As he wrote in February, Rosenthal says that Braden Looper turned down more money to play for the Orioles due to his preference for the NL. Tim Redding also preferred the easier league. The result of those rejections: a very questionable '09 rotation.
- Rosenthal spoke to an executive who was shocked to discover that Russ Ortiz seems to be back to his peak form.
- Rosenthal speculates that Paul Bako could help the Twins.
Odds & Ends: McPherson, Izzy, Hammel
Happy April Fools, or something. Here are your Wednesday night links…
- Mike Axisa over at River Ave. Blues believes the Yankees should take a long look at former top prospect Dallas McPherson.
- Sam A. Miller of the Orange County Register presents some best-case scenario projections for the 2009 Angels.
- Jason Isringhausen is going to stick it out with the Rays. He'll be placed on the disabled list to start the season, but could be pitching for Tampa by mid-May.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus discusses some of the Rays' offseason moves with RaysProspects.com. He also touches on Jason Hammel's trade value.
- Pirates president Frank Coonelly hosted a chat with fans at MLB.com on Wednesday.
- Mariners Rule 5 pick Jose Lugo, a reliever, has been returned to the Twins.
- Another Rule 5 pick, catcher James Skelton, has been waived by the Diamondbacks.
- If you missed it, take a look at Tim's Tuesday chat.
- Join the fun! Add MLBTR to your Twitter following tonight. And hey, while you're at it, why not check out your (attention craving) friend Drew Silva as well?
Odds & Ends: Smoltz, Cubs, Melky, Lima
Links for Monday…
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes about the Giants' lack of interest in Adam Melhuse and considers other players who could help.
- Alex Speier of WEEI looks back at the Doyle Alexander for John Smoltz trade of 1987. According to former Tigers GM Bill Lajoie, the Braves would have taken Steve Searcy instead of Smoltz.
- Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald says the Cubs "appear to be getting some trade feelers" on out of options relievers Chad Gaudin and Angel Guzman. Moving one could create space for Rule 5 pick David Patton.
- Tyler Hissey of Around The Majors looks back at the Delmon Young/Matt Garza swap. What did MLBTR commenters think when the deal went down on November 28th, 2007? Click here to find out. Garza will face the Twins for the first time today.
- Eddie Bajek of Detroit Tigers Thoughts says the Tigers are apparently trying to recreate the bullpen of the 2007 Rays.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes Melky Cabrera would be best served as an NL bench player.
- T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times discusses the Dodgers' $47MM bust, Jason Schmidt.
- Aaron Shinsano of East Windup Chronicle has more Korean prospect news: the Royals signed catcher Shin Jin-ho, while the Mariners signed catcher Choi Ji-man.
- Jose Lima is back playing baseball in the U.S., according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times.
- Will Sommer of Mets Fans Forever talked to GM Omar Minaya.
- Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post looks at the Marlins' decision to non-tender reliever Joe Nelson. It would've made a lot of sense to bring him back.
Odds & Ends: Twins, Rockies, Yankees
Ed Price at FanHouse.com has some Odds & Ends of his own in the Overheard and Understood section of his column.
- The Twins are looking for a setup man who can provide good control. Internally, it's a big deal for them.
- The Rockies could wind up dumping contracts midseason if they find themselves out of contention. Price quotes one exec saying, "Unless they move ($3.5-million salaried backup catcher Yorvit) Torrealba, they're not taking on any money."
- The Mariners say no player is untouchable. The M's are seeking "athletes" says Price.
- Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill will get the last two spots in Oakland's rotation.
- The Padres are "dying for pitching" and "will claim anybody" on waivers, says Price.
- If Cody Ransom gets exposed by playing on a daily basis, then the Yankees may need a stopgap to fill third base until Alex Rodriguez's mid-may return.
Twins Strike Deal To Keep Jason Jones
According to Phil Miller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Twins traded right-hander Charles Nolte on Friday night for the rights to Rule 5 pick Jason Jones. Miller explains the odd circumstances:
The right-hander (Jones) was the Twins' lone selection in last winter's Rule 5 draft, but the Yankees were allowed to reclaim the pitcher if he didn't remain on the Twins' 25-man roster all season. Rather than exercise that right, since Jones is not expected to break camp with Minnesota, the Yankees agreed to take Nolte instead.
Jones, 26, has posted a 2.70 ERA in seven appearances this spring and will join Triple-A Rochester once the season begins. Nolte, 23, went 4-3 with a 2.05 ERA in relief for Single-A Beloit last season. He was drafted by the Twins in the 24th round two years ago.
If you need a refresher, Bart Given of Inside the Majors has a great article on the Rule 5 Draft return process. Given was once the assistant general manager of the Blue Jays.
Kevin Slowey Q&A
Recently MLB Trade Rumors had the chance to ask a few questions of Twins pitcher Kevin Slowey. Slowey won 12 games with a 3.99 ERA last year in his first full season.
MLB Trade Rumors: Throughout your career, you've had pinpoint control and command. How did this ability come about for you? When you were a kid could you put the ball exactly where you wanted?
Kevin Slowey: I'm not sure there is any real explanation for my command, except that I've been blessed with the ability to throw strikes…It would be like trying to explain how Jesse Crain acquired the ability to throw 97, or how Josh Hamilton can hit a ball 600 feet..It is certainly something I work on, but not anything that I can really explain.
MLBTR: There's a rumor your older brother Dan was the more talented one growing up…what happened there?
Slowey: Haha, he really was the more talented one, and probably still is…especially when it came to chemistry experiments.
MLBTR: The Twins locked up your rotation-mate Scott Baker through his arbitration years with an option on his first free agent season. Are you interested in signing an extension, or do you prefer going year-to-year for now?
Slowey: For now I don't have a whole lot of say in the matter, but if it is ever in my hands I would love to stay with the Twins long term. I like everything about our organization, from my teammates down to the the die-hard fans and hope I can be a part of baseball in Minnesota for a long time.
MLBTR: Did you ever get to meet your favorite player, Andy Van Slyke? How about Greg Maddux?
Slowey: I did, my first spring training during an exhibition game in Lakeland. I've never met Maddux, but I did have the pleasure of watching him firsthand last year in San Diego.
MLBTR: How deeply do you examine your own stats? What numbers do you find the most helpful?
Slowey: Not that deeply to be honest. The best indicator of success isn't always in the numbers, but in my ability to give my team a chance to win every time out there. If I can do that, my stats should take care of themselves.
MLBTR: You had to face Nick Swisher and Milton Bradley in your first big league inning in Oakland. What was going through your head at the time?
Slowey: Haha, a lot. And very quickly too. You don't really have time to enjoy your first game until after it is over and time starts slowing back down again. Those six innings in Oakland felt like they took about 15 minutes…15 minutes I'll never forget.
MLBTR: Do you have an innings target for 2009? You had to overcome a biceps strain to start '08, but got on track pretty quickly in May.
Slowey: Not really… As I said before, isolated statistics don't mean a whole lot to me. If I was out on the mound thinking about how many innings I needed, or how many pitches I had left, I can't imagine I would have a lot of success. As long as I can continue to improve on a daily basis, I'm sure the secondary statistics will fall into place.
