Joe Frisaro reports that the Marlins have signed Brendan Donnelly. The 37 year old veteran was signed by the Astros in May after being released by the Rangers in March. He left the Astros on July 1 to become a free agent. Florida will be the fifth club Donnelly has joined since leaving the Angels after 2006.
Brendan Donnelly
Odds And Ends: Mariners, Webb, Donnelly
Some links for the afternoon…
- John McGrath of the Tacoma News Tribune says Greg Dobbs could be the answer for the Mariners at third base.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times considers the possibility that the Mariners could deal Erik Bedard or Jarrod Washburn and still contend. He concludes that the team needs both pitchers to make the playoffs.
- Dayn Perry of FOX Sports looks at projected stats for a handful of trade candidates.
- Brandon Webb won't have to undergo shoulder surgery, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Instead, he'll aim for a September return.
- Mike Aviles isn't so lucky. He'll miss the rest of the season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel
- Diamond Leung reports that Brendan Donnelly left the Astros organization to become a free agent.
- Tune in to 1570 WSCO in Green Bay at 5:05 CST as I'll be talking rumors.
Astros Sign Brendan Donnelly
The Astros signed Brendan Donnelly and assigned him to Triple-A, a month after the Rangers released him. He joined Round Rock earlier in the week, but it was an under-the-radar signing found on the team's transactions page so it didn't surface right away (Hat Tip to this blog). Donnelly, now 37, debuted as a 30-year-old rookie on the World Champion Angels team in 2002.
Angels May Look to Independent Leagues for Pitching Help
According to Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times, Angels manager Mike Scioscia says he might look to independent leagues for pitching help.
"There are some good pitchers that don't have jobs that have major league experience," Scioscia said of independent league pitchers.
According to Baxter, "the team appears unlikely to make a trade and management doesn't believe the big-name free agents still on the market – namely Pedro Martinez and Paul Byrd – can get up to game speed fast enough to help them."
Baxter notes that Jose Lima and Brendan Donnelly are among the players who have resurrected their careers after pitching in the independent Atlantic League. He mentions Ryan Drese as a player who "might be worth a look" by the Angels.
Rangers Release Brendan Donnelly
According to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers released reliever Brendan Donnelly today. Donnelly allowed five runs in six spring innings, striking out five and walking one.
Donnelly, 37, was on a $950K minor league deal. He had Tommy John surgery in '07 and played at various levels in the Indians organization last year.
The Rangers now have seven pitchers fighting for four bullpen slots, including offseason imports Derrick Turnbow and Jimmy Gobble (and possibly Jason Jennings).
Rangers Sign Brendan Donnelly
8:33pm: T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com confirmed the signing, saying that Donnelly will compete for a roster spot in Spring Training.
7:14pm: According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rangers have signed RP Brendan Donnelly to a one-year, $950,000 minor league deal. The contract stipulates that if Donnelly is not on the major league roster between March 27 and April 27, he can ask for his release.
Donnelly underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in 2007. He came back with the Indians last year, posting an underwhelming 8.56 ERA in 13.2 innings. He has a 3.12 ERA in 319 big league games.
Relief Moves
The Red Sox picked up 35 year-old right-handed reliever Brendan Donnelly from the Angels for Phil Seibel. Donnelly’s control slipped significantly last season, but he’s had an excellent career despite a late start. He can help. Seibel, a southpaw, turns 28 in January. He was unhittable across three minor league levels for the Red Sox this year. The Red Sox also added J.C. Romero as a LOOGY option.
The D-Rays signed Al Reyes to a one-year deal. You may recall he was a fantastic reliever for the Cards in ’05 before succumbing to TJ surgery. He already threw a few Triple A innings in August so he should be 100% for spring training. I could see him as the closer at some point.
The Mets probably won’t land Akinori Otsuka, but the Diamondbacks could trade for him. On one hand, it’s scary to rely on Eric Gagne for anything. On the other hand, Otsuka’s value will never be higher. I agree with RotoWorld that Scott Hairston could be a huge sleeper in Texas. More on Hairston here.
