Odds & Ends: Stanton, Daigle, Bell, Mariners
A round-up of some of Wednesday's newsbits….
- The Marlins assigned top prospect Mike Stanton to Double-A, but MLB.com's Joe Frisaro writes that by keeping Stanton in the minors until "around Memorial Day, or June 1," the club can delay Stanton's Super Two status.
- RHP Casey Daigle, a non-roster invitee signed by the Astros in December, has a shot at winning a spot on the Houston roster, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Daigle last pitched in the majors in 2006.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter) hears from GM Jed Hoyer that the Padres haven't heard from other teams interested in Heath Bell, nor are they "actively shopping" the closer themselves.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports calls the Mariners "a disappointment waiting to happen" and feels they won't live up to the hype generated by their busy offseason.
- Carroll Rogers of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on new TBS analyst John Smoltz popping by the Braves camp. Smoltz said he is "not officially [retired], but close" and noted that the Nationals offered a deal over the winter for him to pitch and eventually coach for the club.
- MLB.com's Steve Gilbert writes that Arizona GM Josh Byrnes' interest in Kelly Johnson dated back to the infielder's high school days, and that Byrnes tried to deal for Johnson back in 2006.
- LHP Danny Duffy, one of Kansas City's top pitching prospects, is quitting baseball, reports Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star.
- WEEI.com's Rob Bradford reports that reliever Joe Nelson has an opt-out clause in his contract with the Red Sox that allows him to become a free agent if he isn't on Boston's major league roster by June 1.
- Prospective Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg won't have the deal finalized to buy the team by Opening Day, reports Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com. Mid-April is the new target date.
- Matt Klaassen of Fangraphs looks at the battle for the last spot on the Oakland roster, while also dropping several hints that the A's would be helping themselves by releasing Eric Chavez.
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America looks at seven out-of-options players who he figures will either make their team's roster or be traded in the coming days. Eddy also gave us a shout-out by linking to MLBTR's full list of players who are out of options.
Out Of Options 2010
Here is MLBTR's list of players who are out of options and have less than five years of service time. These players would have to clear waivers before being sent to the minors. Right now the list is missing a few names, but journalists are on the case.
Athletics
Chad Gaudin, Eric Patterson, Mike Wuertz, Jake Fox, Rajai Davis
Angels
Brandon Wood, Brian Stokes, Bobby Wilson, Reggie Willits, Terry Evans
Astros
Alberto Arias, Yorman Bazardo, Tim Byrdak, Jeff Keppinger, Humberto Quintero
Blue Jays
Brian Tallet, Shawn Camp, Dustin McGowan, Merkin Valdez, Dana Eveland
Braves
Melky Cabrera
Brewers
Todd Coffey, Corey Hart, Joe Inglett, George Kottaras, Chris Narveson, Manny Parra, Rickie Weeks
Cardinals
Skip Schumaker, Ryan Ludwick, Blake Hawksworth
Cubs
Jeff Baker, Tom Gorzelanny, Angel Guzman, Koyie Hill, Geovany Soto
Diamondbacks
Blaine Boyer, Leo Rosales, Edwin Jackson
Dodgers
Hong-Chih Kuo, Ronald Belisario, Charlie Haeger
Giants
Travis Ishikawa, Fred Lewis, Brandon Medders, Nate Schierholtz, Andres Torres, Eugenio Velez
Indians
Fausto Carmona, Shin-Soo Choo, Anderson Hernandez, Andy Marte, Rafael Perez, Mitch Talbot
Mariners
David Aardsma, Brandon League, Franklin Gutierrez, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Ian Snell, Ryan Langerhans
Marlins
Dan Meyer, Leo Nunez, Renyel Pinto, Brian Sanches, Cody Ross
Mets
Nelson Figueroa, Fernando Nieve
Nationals
Jason Bergmann, Brian Bruney, Sean Burnett, Tyler Clippard, Tyler Walker, Mike Morse, Josh Willingham, Alberto Gonzalez
Orioles
Matt Albers, Robert Andino, Jeremy Guthrie, Felix Pie
Padres
Edward Mujica, Tim Stauffer, Sean Gallagher, Tony Gwynn Jr.
Phillies
Pirates
Andy LaRoche, Delwyn Young, Ronny Cedeno, Joel Hanrahan, Hayden Penn
Rangers
Joaquin Arias, Andres Blanco, Nelson Cruz, Luis Mendoza, Dustin Nippert, Scott Feldman
Rays
Willy Aybar, Jason Bartlett, Lance Cormier, Elliot Johnson
Red Sox
Boof Bonser, Manny Delcarmen
Reds
Homer Bailey, Wladimir Balentien, Nick Masset
Rockies
Jason Hammel, Clint Barmes
Royals
Alberto Callaspo, Roman Colon, Kyle Davies, Josh Fields, Luke Hochevar, Anthony Lerew, Brayan Pena, Robinson Tejeda, Mitch Maier
Tigers
Don Kelly, Brad Thomas, Bobby Seay, Ramon Santiago
Twins
Scott Baker, Clay Condrey, Alexi Casilla, Brendan Harris, Delmon Young
White Sox
Jayson Nix, Sergio Santos, Gavin Floyd
Yankees
Sergio Mitre
Thanks to the following sources for the information: Matt Eddy, Susan Slusser, Bill Plunkett, Brian McTaggart, Jordan Bastian, Brewerfan.net, Nick Piecoro, Ken Gurnick, Chris Haft, Anthony Castrovince, Geoff Baker, Joe Capozzi, Adam Rubin, Ben Goessling, Dan Connolly, Corey Brock, Dejan Kovacevic, T.R. Sullivan, Marc Topkin, Alex Speier, Mark Sheldon, Jon Paul Morosi, La Velle E. Neal III, Scott Merkin, Bryan Hoch, Bob Dutton, Greg Schaum, Mark Wilkins