David Aardsma Clears Waivers
David Aardsma has cleared release waivers, MLBTR has learned. The right-handed reliever has generated interest from around ten teams, and hopes to decide on a new destination by the middle of next week.
Aardsma was released on Thursday by the Yankees. As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes wrote upon Aardsma's release, there should be interest in the newly-minted free agent since he showed his health and hit 94 on the gun during the spring.
Aardsma had Tommy John surgery in July 2011, so he only ended up making one big league appearance for the Yankees. For his career, the right-hander owns a 4.22 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Minor Moves: Flacco, M’s, Twins, Tigers, Braves
Here are your minor moves for Friday (all links courtesy of Baseball America's Matt Eddy on Twitter)…
- Long-time Orioles farmhand Mike Flacco — the brother of Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco — has retired, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com (Twitter link). The 26-year-old first baseman hit .253/.335/.378 in 353 minor league games. Flacco had been with the High-A Salem Red Sox.
- The Mariners released minor league Rule 5 pick Eric Farris, and the second baseman quickly latched on with the Twins, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). The M's plucked Farris off of the Brewers' roster in December.
- The Tigers released defensive wizard Cale Iorg. The shortstop hit just .199/.240/.313 in parts of three seasons at Double-A. MLB.com's Adam McCalvy points out (via Twitter) that Iorg is the son of Brewers first base coach Garth Iorg.
- The Pirates acquired catcher Troy Snitker from the Braves in a trade. The 24-year-old was taken by Atlanta in the 19th round of the 2011 draft and has spent the bulk of the last two seasons in rookie ball.
- Also within that link, Eddy reports that the Phillies acquired shortstop Jose Mojica from theYankees. Mojica hit just .226/.265/.305 for the Bombers' Advanced-A affiliate in 2012.
- The Braves released Dimasther Delgado, who appeared on three organization top 30 lists. The 24-year-old left-hander has a 3.93 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in two years of Advanced-A ball.
- The Rays have released right-hander Jason McEachern, who was a 13th-round selection in the 2008 draft. Eddy notes that McEachern was a projectable high school arm that made it to Class-A but never took a step forward in his fastball velocity. The 22-year-old has a 4.96 ERA in 201 Class-A innings.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Clay Rapada Clears Waivers, Hits Free Agency
FRIDAY: The Yankees have announced that Rapada has cleared release waivers and is now a free agent, per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY: The Yankees have released left-hander Clay Rapada, tweets MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. The Bombers had designated the southpaw for assignment last week after signing him to a minor league deal in February.
Rapada pitched to a 2.82 ERA, 8.9 K/9, and 4.0 BB/9 in 70 games (38 1/3 innings) out of the bullpen for the Yankees in 2012. He dealt with shoulder bursitis throughout Spring Training, which limited him to just two innings of work.
New York Notes: Yankees, Chris Young
The Mets kicked off the 2013 campaign with a 2-1 series victory over the Padres while the Yankees fell to 1-2 at the hands of the Red Sox. Here's some news on both teams as they prepare for their second series of the season…
- The Yankees are focused on getting younger, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, and they'll have a great opportunity to do so in this year's draft. The Yankees hold three of the first 33 picks in this year's draft — an almost unheard of feat for the Bronx Bombers. Rosenthal notes that the Yanks haven't had a Top 10 pick since selecting Derek Jeter in 1992 and have had just one Top 20 pick since.
- One scout told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News that he won't believe the Yankees are dead "until he sees the body." Other scouts he talked to, however, were down on both CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda.
- Within that same piece, Martino writes that the Mets passed on Chris Young after seeing his fastball sit between 79-82 mph in his final Spring Training start. While Young has never had much velocity, he was at least able to average 84.6 mph on his fastball last season.
AL Notes: Valverde, Rays, Viciedo, Wells
Baseball America has released this useful chart showing where each of baseball's 100 best prospects is currently playing. Elsewhere around baseball:
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski says the club's deal with Jose Valverde does not include a Major League side, reports Jason Beck of MLB.com. Dombrowski acknowledged that he "talked extensively" with Valverde agent Scott Boras "throughout the last couple months" about the Tigers' former closer, in spite of reports that the Tigers were not interested. The team decided that the deal was beneficial because "if this makes us the best team, then, great, and if it doesn't, then we don't have any commitments."
- The Rays organization is fully stocked with major league ready talent after its offseason moves, writes Bill Chastain of MLB.com. Manager Joe Maddon says that the club "sent some Major League players back to Triple-A this time," which is "not so good for them and good for us." In particular, Chastain cites players such as pitchers Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi, and Alex Colome, along with hitters Wil Myers and Tim Beckham, as ready to step in on the MLB level. According to Maddon, "if anything were to happen, we have the guys in tow."
- White Sox outfielder Dayan Viciedo, another Boras client, appears content to sit back and let his agent decide whether or not to seek an extension, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Viciedo says he has already been "very privileged" to have signed a four-year, $10MM deal as an international free agent from Cuba. The 24-year-old will reach arbitration eligibility in 2015, unless he qualifies for Super Two status.
- Both the Mariners and Yankees made bad decisions relating to a player named Wells, writes ESPN.com's Dave Szymborski (insider sub. req'd). Szymborski opines that Seattle's decision to go with Jason Bay over Casper Wells and New York's acquisition of Vernon Wells are among the worst moves of the spring.
Yankees Release David Aardsma
The Yankees have unconditionally released reliever David Aardsma, tweets MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. Aardsma had been designated for assignment on Friday.
Aardsma signed with the Yankees in February 2012, and appeared in only one big league game for them after recovering from July 2011 Tommy John surgery. The team picked up his cheap $500K option in October, but cut him this spring partially due to his history as a one-inning guy.
Aardsma, 31, was drafted in the first round by the Giants in 2003, but didn't really find himself until he became the Mariners' closer in 2009. From 2009-10, Aardsma ranked ninth in the game with 69 saves. Aardsma's velocity reached 94 miles per hour in Spring Training, and he was able to prove his health, so he should generate interest as a free agent.
Latest On Robinson Cano
Robinson Cano found an agent who is perhaps more powerful than Scott Boras, dropping Boras for Jay-Z this week. While it was previously suggested CAA Baseball's Brodie Van Wagenen would handle all of the contract negotiations, Jay-Z will be "intimately involved," Van Wagenen tells Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Heyman feels that Cano, next offseason's top free agent, has "at least tipped his hand that he wants to stay in the Bronx."
Boras, who never brokered a contract for Cano during their time together, flew to New York Tuesday to try to meet with his former client, writes Heyman. Notes Heyman, "As of late Wednesday morning, he had not heard a word back from Cano, who is notoriously non-confrontational." Perhaps players just aren't keen on making the breakup call to Boras. Former Boras advisee Jay Bruce admitted to me in February that his mom made that call with his contact at the agency, though it was certainly a different situation since Bruce was a teenager and did not have a relationship with Boras himself. Cano did not want to address his avoidance of his former agent, responding to the question with, "No answer on that one, how's that?" according to David Lennon of Newsday.
Cano's teammate Mark Teixeira, also a former Boras client, explained to reporters why some players might prefer other representation. He told reporters, including Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, "Everyone knows Scott likes to control everything. He has a financial-services part of his business, he has a sports-performance training side of his business, he has a mental-performance side of his business. He has everything that you could possibly do; he takes care of for you if you choose. It doesn’t necessarily benefit every player. Some guys need that, some guys want that. But the guys that want to take control of their lives and make their own decisions, it’s not ideal for."
Does Jay-Z have a conflict of interest, given his longstanding association with the Yankees? Certainly Boras doesn't sport a Yankees cap in public. Publicist Ron Berkowitz told Heyman, "Jay-Z's a New York guy, but he's going to represent his guys, and it's going to be about where the player wants to go."
Latest On Robinson Cano
Robinson Cano's decision to fire Scott Boras yesterday in favor of Jay-Z's newest venture — Roc Nation Sports — caused quite the stir in the media. Earlier today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote that Boras was "blindsided" by Cano's decision. Here's more on the situation…
- Rosenthal corrects his earlier statement that Boras will receive commission on Cano's $15MM salary in 2013 by noting that Cano's former agent Bobby Barad will receive that commission (Twitterlinks).
- Jay-Z is still waiting to be formally certified as an agent, writes Rosenthal. The rapper is one of three representatives from his company, Roc Nation, to receive temporary limited certification. Meanwhile, Brodie Van Wagenen of CAA is the only person currently certified to represent Cano.
- Boras was caught off-guard by Cano's decision to change representation, writes Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger. “Robinson is a fine guy. Obviously between the 20th of March and the start of the season, he received a lot of information. Obviously a lot of promises. A lot of things came his way. I don’t know specifically what they are. But this happened very, very quickly," said the agent.
- While this is indisputably a big blow for Boras, he can argue that it's a different situation because of Jay-Z and he wasn't dumped for another baseball agent, writes Ken Davidoff of the New York Post.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
AL East Notes: Orioles, Victorino, Cano
The Orioles made a surprising playoff run in 2012, but SB Nation's Rob Neyer can see why people question their ability to repeat. He argues that the Orioles were merely average in terms of runs scored and runs allowed in 2012, and expecting players like Brian Roberts and Nolan Reimold to perform better than they have in years is going to invite critics. Here's more out of the AL East…
- Shane Victorino inked a three-year, $39MM deal with the Red Sox this offseason, but he told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News that he turned down a bigger offer from the Indians to join the Boston-New York rivalry. Victorino says that Cleveland offered $44MM over four years, but his previous experiences playing at Fenway Park and the intensity of the fans swayed him to leave some money on the table.
- Scott Boras was "blindsided" by Robinson Cano's decision to switch agents yesterday, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Cano, who still must pay Boras the commission on 2013's $15MM salary, had signed a representation agreement with Boras as recently as March 20. Brodie Van Wagenen, who will be Cano's primary baseball representative with CAA/Roc Nation Sports, said he wouldn't publicly discuss a new opening for Cano to sign a contract, but noted that Cano loves New York and would like to stay.
- There are still roadblocks to getting a new deal with the Yankees worked out for Cano and his new representatives, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman wonders about conflicts of interest surrounding Jay-Z — a lifelong Yankee fan who will perform at Yankee Stadium this year — negotiating against the team. He also wonders whether or not the Yanks will want to give another player that's on the wrong side of 30 a $200MM contract.
Quick Hits: Red Sox, Posey, Cano, Indians
Pirates GM Neal Huntington and Rays GM Andrew Friedman claim that their decisions to leave Gerrit Cole (Pirates) and Wil Myers (Rays) in the minors to start the 2013 season were motivated not by service-time concerns, but by those players' readiness, MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo reports. Mayo says the scouts he's spoken to can't blame Huntington for sending Cole to Triple-A Indianapolis, since Cole has very limited experience at that level. Friedman, meanwhile, says that he needs to be sure a player is ready before having him compete in the tough AL East. "The AL East will expose very quickly any weaknesses that you have," he says. "So when we bring someone here, we need to feel that he's ready to step in and help us win right away."
Red Sox GM Ben Cherington, in contrast, says his organization promoted Jackie Bradley Jr. to start the season — even though doing so could affect Bradley's timetable for free agency — because Bradley is one of the organization's 25 best players, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports. "At the end, if there was that level of confidence that he was part of the best 25-man roster, then we felt he should be on the team. That’s part of our responsibility to the fans and to the organization," Cherington says. In addition, Cherington notes, the Red Sox begin their season with plenty of games within their division, and it's especially crucial that they do well in those games. Their first four series against the Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles and Rays, all AL East opponents. Here are more notes from around the majors.
- The Giants have locked up catcher Buster Posey with an eight-year, $159MM extension, but in Keith Law's latest podcast for ESPN, Posey's agent, Jeff Berry of Creative Artist Agency (CAA), contemplates what might have happened if Posey and the Giants had decided to go year-to-year through the arbitration system. Berry argues that Posey's situation would have been unique, because Posey has won an MVP and a Rookie of the Year award and has played for two World Series-winning teams, but after missing much of 2011 to injury, he doesn't have particularly impressive career bulk counting stats, which are a factor in arbitration hearings. "The challenge, first and foremost, in the arb system was looking at, 'Wow, this guy has accomplished things that no one else has ever done, but [among superstars in the arbitration process] he's also played less than anyone,'" Berry says.
- Reacting to Robinson Cano's decision to fire Scott Boras and hire CAA and the rapper Jay-Z as his representation, one agent says that "Jay-Z doesn’t know s— about baseball," Michael O'Keeffe of the New York Daily News writes. "You don’t hire a real estate agent to do neurosurgery," the agent continues. O'Keeffe goes on to note that, of course, Jay-Z will not be negotiating a deal for Cano, who will be a free agent after the season. That duty will go to CAA, which represents Posey and a number of other MLB stars. Here are more reactions to Cano's agency switch.
- This year's Indians are excited about the team's offseason spending spree, Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal reports. "Hats off to Chris Antonetti and the Dolan family, after losing 94 games [in 2012] they very easily could have folded up shop and said, 'Let’s wait for a few more young kids to develop and see what we’ve got,'" says Jason Giambi, who signed a minor-league deal with Cleveland in February. Instead, he says, "[t]hey went out and got some guys and spent some money. They put together a good ballclub, now we have to answer the bell and play good."
- The Rangers had scouts watching pitcher Joba Chamberlain in spring training, but the Rangers and Yankees never ended up discussing a deal, George A. King III and Zach Braziller of the New York Post write. King and Braziller note that Chamberlain impressed the Yankees with a spring training performance that included nine strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings.