Yankees Claim Cody Eppley
The Yankees claimed reliever Cody Eppley off of waivers from the Rangers, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. The Rangers had designated the right-hander for assignment yesterday.
Eppley appeared in ten games with the Rangers early on last year, but spent most of the season at Triple-A. The 26-year-old posted a 3.90 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 in 55 1/3 innings of relief with Round Rock. They Yankees will send him to Triple-A.
Quick Hits: Lannan, Payrolls, Moyer, Eveland
Here are some links from around the league as Wednesday turns into Thursday…
- John Lannan requested a trade earlier tonight, but MLB.com's Bill Ladson hears the Nationals aren't close to making a deal. They've talked to at least 20 teams about the southpaw, but his $5MM salary is a sticking point. Washington wants prospects or bench players in return.
- Unsurprisingly, the Yankees top baseball with a $197.9MM payroll according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter links). It's their lowest payroll since 2007. The Padres bring up the rear at $53.9MM.
- Nightengale reports (on Twitter) that Jamie Moyer will earn $1.1MM with the Rockies this season. The 49-year-old made the club after signing a minor league deal this winter.
- Orioles GM Dan Duquette said there is no update on Dana Eveland, according to Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com (on Twitter). The left-hander was designated for assignment last week and they are still going through the process.
- The Orioles are expected to acquire Chris Robinson, reports Melewski (on Twitter). The catcher hit .316/.345/.396 in 240 plate appearances while in the Cubs' farm system last year. He is now listed on the roster of Baltimore's Triple-A affilliate.
Yankees Sign Ramon Ortiz
The Yankees signed right-hander Ramon Ortiz, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. It's a minor league deal, Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger tweets. The Giants recently released the 39-year-old Praver/Shapiro client.
Ortiz appeared in 22 games for the Cubs last year, posting a 4.86 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 33 1/3 innings. The 11-year MLB veteran also made 16 starts at Triple-A, completing 99 1/3 innings with the Iowa Cubs. The Yankees acquired catcher Chris Stewart from the Giants earlier today.
Bill Hall Elects Free Agency
Utility player Bill Hall elected free agency upon learning that he didn't make the Yankees' Opening Day roster, Daniel Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal tweets. Hall wants a Major League job and will try to sign with another club.
The Yankees had signed Hall to a minor league deal in February. The contract would have been worth $600K plus incentives at the Major League level and it included an opt-out clause in case Hall didn't make the Opening Day roster. The 32-year-old played for the Astros and Giants in 2011, posting a .211/.261/.314 line in 199 plate appearances. He played second base and left field last year, but has MLB experience at a wide array of other positions.
Yankees Designate Justin Maxwell For Assignment
The Yankees have designated Justin Maxwell for assignment, reports Mark Feinsand of The New York Daily News (on Twitter). Maxwell is out of options.
Maxwell, 28, hit .260/.358/.588 with 16 homers and 11 steals in 204 Triple-A plate appearances last season before injuring his shoulder. The outfielder had a strong showing in Spring Training could get claimed off waivers.
Giants, Yanks Swap Chris Stewart For George Kontos
2:32pm: The Yankees have acquired Stewart in exchange for right-hander George Kontos, reports MLB.com's Bryan Hoch (on Twitter).
Kontos, 26, allowed two runs in six innings for New York last September, his big league debut. He pitched to a 2.62 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 89 1/3 Triple-A innings.
2:13pm: Shea hears that Stewart is being traded to the Yankees, but it is not official and the team hasn't announced anything yet (Twitter link).
1:53pm: The Giants will trade Chris Stewart according to John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). The deal is pending at the moment. The backstop is out of options.
Stewart, 30, hit .204/.283/.309 in 183 plate appearances with the Giants last season after Buster Posey's injury. A release from the team says the trade will be announced later today. The details are unknown.
AL East Links: Bailey, Farnsworth, Alvarez, Yankees
It was on this day in 1919 that Yankees outfielder Ping Bodie defeated an ostrich named Percy in a spaghetti-eating contest. The valiant bird made it through 11 plates before finally passing out. We here at MLB Trade Rumors usually stick to reporting transactions, but we promise to provide up-to-the-minute coverage of any modern player vs. bird eating duels.
Here's the latest from the AL East…
- The Red Sox announced that Andrew Bailey will undergo surgery on his right thumb's UCL tomorrow, a procedure that a team source tells Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald will sideline Bailey for 4-5 months (Twitter link). The Rays look like they'll also be without a closer, as Kyle Farnsworth is expected to start the season on the DL with an elbow issue. To keep tabs on who the Sox and Rays will use in the ninth inning, follow Tim Dierkes on Twitter @CloserNews.
- Red Sox GM Ben Cherington says he is continuing to explore external pitching options since he never feels comfortable about the club's depth, tweets Michael Silverman.
- Blue Jays right-hander Henderson Alvarez has switched agencies and is now being represented by Proformance, reports MLBTR's Tim Dierkes.
- No team claimed either Jayson Nix and Dewayne Wise today so both players will start the season with the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate, tweets Jack Curry of the YES Network. Any team that had claimed Nix or Wise would've had to put them on their 25-man roster.
- With more teams willing to spend money on signing or extending top pitchers, Joel Sherman of the New York Post feels the Yankees need their young arms to deliver since the Bombers can no longer rely on outspending the competition.
- Rule 5 draft pick Ryan Flaherty will make the Orioles, and thus will have to spend the entire season on the team's 25-man roster or else be offered back to his original team, the Cubs. Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun relates how O's manager Buck Showalter told Flaherty the news in front of the rest of the team.
Minor Moves: Jorge Vazquez
The latest minor moves from around MLB…
- The Yankees have released first baseman Jorge Vazquez, Chad Jennings of the Journal News reports. Vazquez, 30, hit 32 homers with a .262/.314/.516 line at Triple-A last year. However, the Yankees preferred Steve Pearce at Triple-A, according to Jennings.
Minor Moves: Scales, Bulger
We'll keep track of minor Sunday's minor transactions here…
- Bobby Scales has signed a minor league deal with the Mets and will report to Triple-A Buffalo, according to ESPN's Adam Rubin (on Twitter). The 34-year-old has spent most of his career in the minor leagues, but did see 158 plate appearances with the Cubs in the 2009-10 seasons.
- The Yankees have signed Jason Bulger to a minor league contract, tweets MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. He'll pitch at Triple-A. After signing a minor league deal with the Twins this winter, Bulger disappointed in Spring Training, allowing 10 earned runs on eight hits and five walks in four innings. He last enjoyed success in 2009 with the Angels.
East Links: Pineda, Michaels, Banks, Larish, Branyan
Happy birthday to Jeff Mathis (29) and Chien-Ming Wang (32). Here's the latest from their respective divisions, the AL East and NL East…
- Michael Pineda is headed to the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis, but John Harper of The New York Daily News says the trade was still the right move for the Yankees even if the right-hander won't pay dividends right away.
- Nationals manager Davey Johnson told reporters (including MLB.com's Bill Ladson) that the team is close to bringing Jason Michaels back. Washington released the outfielder earlier this week.
- The Orioles released a handful of minor leaguers according to Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com (on Twitter). Among those released were former big leaguers Josh Banks and Jeff Larish.
- The Yankees saved about two months of salary by releasing Russell Branyan and re-signing him to a new minor league deal yesterday, reports MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.