Phillies Release Matt Anderson
The Phillies have released Matt Anderson from minor league camp, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com (on Twitter). The right-hander joined Philadelphia on a minor league contract in January.
Anderson, 34, hasn't played in the big leagues since 2005. He was the first overall pick of the 1997 draft, signing for $2.5MM. His best year came with the Tigers (the team that drafted him) in 2001, when he saved 22 games with a 4.82 ERA in 56 innings. Anderson hasn't played in affiliated ball since 2008, and the old story is that he wrecked his pitching shoulder in May 2002 during a pre-game octopus-tossing promotion at a Detroit Red Wings' game. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick spoke to Anderson recently and got to the bottom of the incident and his injuries.
Phillies Sign Ronnie Belliard
The Phillies have signed infielder Ronnie Belliard to a minor league contract, tweets Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.
Belliard, released by the Yankees on Monday, will report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, according to Zolecki. Presumably, the move was made for injury insurance at the infield positions, where the Phils are thin between second baseman Chase Utley being shelved and third baseman Placido Polanco coming off offseason elbow surgery.
Yesterday, the Phillies released Luis Castillo, eliminating him from contention for the second-base gig. So, it looks like the Phils will go with Wilson Valdez as the starter there for now.
Belliard, 35, hit .216/.295/.327 in 185 plate appearances for the Dodgers last year, playing first, second and third.
Phillies Release Luis Castillo
The Phillies released second baseman Luis Castillo, tweets Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. It was a brief trial for Castillo, who was picked up nine days ago after the Mets released him on March 18th. All along, the understanding was that Castillo would make the Phillies out of Spring Training or be released.
Phillies second baseman Chase Utley is dealing with chronic knee pain, and hasn't offered a timetable aside from saying he aims to be back before the All-Star break. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. currently isn't thinking about putting Utley on the 60-day DL. While he's out, the Phillies will apparently go with Wilson Valdez and some combination of Michael Martinez, Pete Orr, and Delwyn Young. The Phillies opened a spot on the 40-man roster yesterday by outrighting Matt Rizzotti, which according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer means a spot is open for either Young or Mike Stutes (Twitter link).
NL East Notes: Chipper, Werth, Rollins
The Mets made a minor trade and the Marlins are finalizing their roster. Here's the latest from the other NL East teams…
- The Braves are looking to upgrade their bench with another right-handed bat, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). The Braves have been on the lookout for such a player throughout the month of March.
- In a wide-ranging Q&A with David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chipper Jones says the hardest part of getting older is that something hurts every day. But fret not, Braves fans – Chipper's knee has been pain-free for three weeks.
- As Tyler Kepner of the New York Times explains, a visit with a wrist surgeon changed the course of Jayson Werth's career a little more than four years ago. The Nationals lured Werth to Washington this offseason, signing him to a $126MM deal.
- Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins tells Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he has six or seven more years of baseball left. The 32-year-old hits free agency after the season.
Today’s Outrights: Marquez, Mather, Rizzotti, Misch
Several players cleared waivers and were removed from the 40-man roster today by way of an outright assignment. The latest:
- Jeff Marquez of the White Sox cleared waivers and is headed for Triple-A, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
- Braves utility player Joe Mather cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).
- The Phillies removed Matt Rizzotti from the 40-man roster and outrighted him to the minor leagues, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter).
- Mets lefty Pat Misch was outrighted to Triple-A, tweets Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger. He's expected to accept the assignment. Misch, 29, posted a 3.82 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 1.0 BB/9, 1.0 HR/9, and 52.0% groundball rate in 37 2/3 innings for the Mets last year, tossing another 150 2/3 innings across 23 starts in Triple-A.
- Brewers outfielder Brandon Boggs was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Boggs, 28, hit .290/.406/.470 in 439 Triple-A plate appearances last year while playing all three outfield positions. He has until Wednesday to decide whether to accept the assignment or elect free agency, tweets Haudricourt.
- The Mariners outrighted southpaw Cesar Jimenez, tweets ESPN's Shannon Drayer. Jimenez, 26, missed most of the 2010 season recovering from labrum surgery.
NL East Notes: Phillies, Marlins, Isringhausen
It has been a busy day in the NL East as the Phillies completed a signing, the Braves made a trade and the Mets placed three players on waivers. Here's the rest of what you need to know about the division…
- Alden Gonzalez previews the NL East for MLB.com and, with some help, predicts the Phillies will win the division, followed by the Braves, Marlins, Nationals and Mets.
- MLB.com's Mark Bauman argues that the margin for error has shrunk for the Phillies' highly-regarded rotation, because Brad Lidge and Chase Utley have been sidelined with injuries.
- Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest told MLB.com's Joe Frisaro that he isn't actively looking to make any deals between now and Opening Day, though he'll watch out for possible bargains. "You always look to see if there is an upgrade or a different fit for your club," Beinfest said. "We're not going to do something [just] to do something. It's going to have to be an upgrade over what we think we have here."
- If the Marlins acquire a third baseman, it would essentially be a "place-keeper" for prospect Matt Dominguez, Beinfest said.
- Like Bartolo Colon of the Yankees, Jason Isringhausen of the Mets surprised people this spring and pitched well enough to earn a roster spot despite a history of injuries. Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains the parallels between the two pitchers and the uncertainty surrounding them.
Phillies To Sign Kevin Frandsen
The Phillies have agreed to sign Kevin Frandsen to a minor league contract, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). The infielder will head to Triple-A for now.
Frandsen nearly signed with Arizona after the Padres released him, but the deal with the D'Backs fell through. He'll provide the Phillies with depth behind Wilson Valdez, the newly-acquired Luis Castillo and the injured Chase Utley. Jon Heyman of SI.com reported earlier today that Castillo appears likely to start the season at second while Utley recovers (Twitter link).
Frandsen, 28, has big league experience at third, short, first and both corner outfield positions, but he has played more games at second than at any other position. He hit .250/.294/.319 in 173 plate appearances for the Angels last year.
Quick Hits: Rangers, Astros, Reyes, Burrell, Belt
Links for Saturday, after the Yankees announced that Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia will be their fourth and fifth starters while Bartolo Colon serves as the long reliever…
- The Rangers aren't looking for a centerfielder as they believe that Julio Borbon will be okay after suffering an elbow injury, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. It's not realistic to expect the club to land a starting pitcher either as there isn't much out there.
- Astros owner Drayton McLane Jr. denied a report saying that he's close to selling the team, writes Stephen Goff of Examiner.com.
- Left-hander Dennys Reyes told Alex Speier of WEEI.com that he is healthy after dealing with a forearm strain at the end of last year. Earlier today the Red Sox purchased the veteran's big league contract.
- More teams are structuring deals to guard against major injuries to their star players, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- As Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reminds us, chances are that back-of-the-rotation won't be the one the Yankees finish the season with.
- Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that the team's bullpen isn't finalized (Twitter links). "We've still got a few things in the works," said Dubee, which Zolecki says could mean a trade, waiver claim, or an internal option.
- Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Bruce Bochy confirmed that Pat Burrell will be the Giants' Opening Day left fielder, meaning Brandon Belt is likely headed back to the minors. Check out Tim Dierkes' recent look at Belt's service time situation.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reminds us that 40-man roster space (or the lack thereof) can often serve as the tie-breaker when teams make roster decisions with non-roster invitees near the end of Spring Training (Twitter link).
Quick Hits: Sabathia, Lopez, Castillo, Rangers
Links for Friday night, as Brandon Beachy continues to impress….
- Speaking to Jack Curry of the YES Network, Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia stuck to his vow to avoid commenting on his opt-out clause until after the season. However, he added "I'm a Yankee" and said he can't see himself "playing anywhere else" (Twitter link).
- Rodrigo Lopez says he has no regrets about signing with the Braves, despite not earning a spot in the rotation, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman and Alden Gonzalez.
- We heard earlier in the week that the Braves were looking to deal Lopez, with MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith running through some potential suitors. Although Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Braves are more likely to trade Lopez than Kenshin Kawakami before Opening Day, he cautions that there's no rush for Atlanta – Lopez has an out in his contract, but not until June.
- Within Rosenthal's piece, a scout expresses doubt about Luis Castillo's chances of making the Phillies. MLB.com's Todd Zolecki says time is running out on Castillo's spring audition.
- Endy Chavez and Esteban German are among the players the Rangers sent to the minors today, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Meanwhile, with Tommy Hunter likely sidelined until May, Alexi Ogando could re-enter the Rangers' rotation mix, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.
Red Sox Seek Rotation Depth
The Red Sox have five proven starters and a handful of viable alternatives, but that’s not stopping GM Theo Epstein from looking for more possibilities for the rotation, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The Red Sox are looking for starting pitching depth and would love to add a veteran who’s open to pitching at Triple-A until he’s needed.
“We’ve learned that we can never have enough starting pitching, but we like the depth provided by [Tim] Wakefield, [Alfredo] Aceves, and [Felix] Doubront," Epstein said.
Wakefield, Aceves and Doubront are the team’s primary alternatives to the starting five of Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, John Lackey, Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka. It also appears that the Red Sox will start Andrew Miller at Triple-A and stretch him out as a starter in the minors.
Though some starting pitching is available, none of it appears to be a logical fit for the Red Sox. The $16MM remaining on Joe Blanton’s contract makes him an unattractive option; it seems doubtful that the Red Sox would meet the Twins' asking price for Kevin Slowey only to stash him in the minors and the Red Sox don’t appear to have much interest in Jeremy Bonderman.
I listed a number of potentially available starters earlier in the week.