Nationals Release Cla Meredith
The Nationals announced that they have released Cla Meredith. The Nationals signed the 27-year-old right-hander to a minor league deal in February and he underwent Tommy John surgery last week.
Meredith posted a 5.40 ERA with 4.2 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 21 relief apppearances for Baltimore last year. He was a key member of the Padres' bullpen from 2006-09, when he posted a 3.26 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 237 1/3 total innings.
Meredith, a sixth round selection of Boston's in the 2004 draft, reached the majors the following season when he made a three-appearance cameo with the Red Sox. He has appeared in the big leagues every season since his 2005 debut, averaging 57 outings per year and a 3.43 ERA in that time.
Cla Meredith To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
Nationals right-hander Cla Meredith will undergo Tommy John ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow in D.C. today, according to Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com (on Twitter). Washington signed the 27-year-old to a minor league deal a month ago.
Meredith posted a 5.40 ERA with 4.2 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 21 relief apppearances for Baltimore last year. He was a key member of the Padres' bullpen from 2006-09, when he posted a 3.26 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 237 1/3 total innings. The Orioles acquired Meredith for Oscar Salazar during the 2009 season.
Nationals To Sign Cla Meredith
The Nationals announced (on Twitter) that they have agreed to sign right-hander Cla Meredith to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to Spring Training. Meredith, 27, had elected free agency after the 2010 season.
In 21 relief appeareances for the Orioles last year, Meredith posted a 5.40 ERA with 4.2 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9. He had a 1.07 ERA in 45 appearances for the Padres five years ago and was a key member of the San Diego bullpen from 2006-09, before the Padres sent him to Baltimore for Oscar Salazar. Coincidentally, the Padres designated Salazar for assignment yesterday.
Minor League Transactions: Free Agents, Herges, Ramirez
Matt Eddy of Baseball America brings us minor league transactions for October 3rd to 9th, the first full week of the offseason for most clubs. Here are a few notes of interest from the latest series of minor league moves across the league:
- Many familiar names have been granted free agency, including Ian Snell, Cla Meredith, Micah Owings, Fernando Nieve, Dan Meyer, Ryan Garko, Mike Jacobs, and Jason Bergmann.
- The Royals released reliever Matt Herges. Herges didn't reach the majors this season, but had a solid year in 2009, recording a 3.38 ERA in 30 games between Cleveland and Colorado.
- Yordany Ramirez, a long-time minor league outfielder, was re-signed by the Astros. After struggling as a hitter in three Triple-A seasons, the 26-year-old is being converted to pitching.
Moore, Meredith, Castillo, Aubrey Elect Free Agency
Orioles players Scott Moore, Cla Meredith, Alberto Castillo, and Michael Aubrey elected free agency, tweets MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. They appear to be minor league free agents, having finished the season at Triple A and off the 40-man roster.
Moore, 27 in November, hit .209/.274/.337 in 96 plate appearances for the Orioles this year, playing mostly second base. He joined the Orioles in August of '07 in the Steve Trachsel deal with the Cubs. Moore was designated for assignment in '09 and '10, clearing waivers both times. He hit .280/.345/.476 at Triple A this year while playing mainly third base.
Meredith, 27, tallied 15 relief innings for the Orioles this year with a 5.40 ERA, 4.2 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, and four home runs allowed. The sidearmer racks up groundballs and handles righties well on his best days. The Orioles acquired him from the Padres for Oscar Salazar in July of last year. He was designated for assignment and cleared waivers in June.
Castillo, 35, whiffed 11 but allowed five homers and 12 earned runs in his 10.6 inning stint with the O's this year. He was designated for assignment in June to clear a 40-man spot for Jake Arrieta. Castillo's work in Triple A: a 4.54 ERA, 9.8 K/9, and 3.4 BB/9 in 39.6 innings. He was done in by 46 hits allowed. His previous work in Triple A was more encouraging.
Aubrey, 28, was drafted 11th overall by the Indians in 2003. It appeared that he might get a shot at first base for the Orioles heading into this season, but they signed Garrett Atkins and ended up designating Aubrey on April 1st. He spent the season at Triple A, hitting .235/.310/.495 with 22 home runs in 419 plate appearances.
Cla Meredith Clears Waivers
JUNE 30: Meredith cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple A Norfolk, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
JUNE 22: The Orioles designated Cla Meredith for assignment, according to the team. The 27-year-old sidearmer has a 5.40 ERA in 15 innings with the O's this year, posting 4.2 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9. Meredith, who last pitched in the majors on May 27th, was acquired for Oscar Salazar last year. Since his late-May demotion to Triple A, Meredith has a 13.50 in five appearances.
The Orioles demoted Chris Tillman to make room for recent acquisition Jake Fox on the 25-man roster, but they needed 40-man roster space so Meredith loses his spot.
Players Tendered Contracts
Midnight ET is the non-tender deadline, so we'll keep track of all the players who are offered and/or agreed to contracts today in this post. Keep coming back throughout the day for updates.
- Washington tendered contracts to Josh Willingham, Jesus Flores, Wil Nieves, Jason Bergmann, and Sean Burnett.
- Zach Duke was tendered an offer by the Pirates.
- The Marlins reached an agreement with Ronny Paulino. The deal will be for one-year, $1.1MM.
- The Royals avoided arbitration by reaching one year deals with Brian Bannister ($2.3MM) Roman Colon ($660K), and Kyle Davies ($1.8MM).
- Dioner Navarro will remain with the Rays on a one-year deal worth $2.1MM.
- The White Sox will offer contracts to Bobby Jenks, John Danks, Carlos Quentin, and Tony Pena.
- Milwaukee will tender offers to six players: Dave Bush, Carlos Villanueva, Todd Coffey, Jody Gerut, Corey Hart, and Carlos Gomez.
- Toronto will tender an offer to Jeremy Accardo.
- Kevin Correia will remain with the Padres for one-year, $3.6MM.
- The Rangers have signed Esteban German to a 2010 contract. He'll earn $600K in the majors and $200K in the minors. They offered contracts to their other arbitration-eligible players including Scott Feldman, Chris Ray, Frank Francisco, C.J. Wilson, Dustin Nippert, Brandon McCarthy, and Josh Hamilton.
- Tampa Bay avoided arbitration with Lance Cormier by inking him to a one-year deal. The contract will pay Cormier $1.2MM.
- The Twins will tender contracts to all 30 unsigned players on their 40-man roster. That means Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, J.J. Hardy, Brendan Harris, Francisco Liriano, Pat Neshek, Delmon Young, and many more figure to be in the Twins' plans in 2010.
- The following eight Cubs will receive offers from the team: Carlos Marmol, Ryan Theriot, Jeff Baker, Angel Guzman, Sean Marshall, Koyie Hill, Tom Gorzelanny, and Mike Fontenot.
- Atlanta tendered offers to relievers Peter Moylan and Boone Logan.
- The Marlins will tender offers to almost all of their arbitration-eligible players – Dan Uggla, Jorge Cantu, Ricky Nolasco, Cody Ross, Josh Johnson, Leo Nunez, and Renyel Pinto.
- The Astros will tender offers to all remaining arbitration-eligible players. This means Michael Bourn, Hunter Pence, Wandy Rodriguez, Matt Lindstrom, Tim Byrdak, Chris Sampson, Jeff Keppinger, and Humberto Quintero are invited back.
- Matt Albers and Cla Meredith have agreed to terms with the Orioles. Albers' deal is worth $.68MM for one-year. Meanwhile, Meredith will recieve $.85MM in 2010.
- Randy Choate agreed to a one year deal. Terms of the deal are one-year, $700K.
Odds and Ends: Cubs, Meredith, Fuentes, Dunn, Pavano
A few links on a busy Tuesday night around the league:
- Lou Piniella still wants a left-handed power bat, according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.
- The Orioles officially added Cla Meredith to their active roster today, optioning reliever Kam Mickolio to Triple-A Norfolk.
- On Twitter, ESPN The Magazine's Jorge Arangure reports that the Giants have signed Colombian outfielder Leonardo Fuentes for a bonus of around $280k. Arangure also reports that the Padres made a late bid for the outfielder.
- According to Matthew Leach of MLB.com, Tony LaRussa downplayed rumors that the Cards are pursuing Adam Dunn.
- And R.J. Anderson at Fangraphs argues that Carl Pavano could be a trade deadline bargain.
Odds & Ends: Draft, Salazar, Meredith, Royals
Some more links as we inch closer and closer to the July 31 trade deadline…
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker suggests Major League Baseball should consider re-working its draft system. Here's the gist of his idea: "What I’d propose is a regulated amateur free agent system, in which the draft is discarded entirely. Every amateur player who meets the entry criteria (age, education, whatever) would be allowed to negotiate and sign with any team, regardless of national origin." Check it out.
- The Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck gives his take on the Oscar Salazar-for-Cla Meredith swap: "Oscar was the ultimate good soldier, waiting for his turn without complaint and performing very well as a spot player recently."
- As Joe Posnanski points out, the Royals have won just 19 of their last 62 games. Just how bad is that mark? The Dodgers have never lost as many games in a 62-game stretch.
- Baseball America's Ben Badler reports that the Indians signed Jairo Kelly, a switch-hitting Dominican shortstop.
Orioles Rumors: Huff, Scott, Meredith, Sano
The Orioles could move a number of their players; here are the latest rumblings on the subject:
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the O's aren't enthused about dealing Luke Scott or Aubrey Huff.
- Roch Kubatko of MASN.com notes that Oscar Salazar is out of options, so the Orioles did well to trade him for bullpen inventory and acquire Cla Meredith.
- Steve Melewski of MASN.com hears that the Orioles remain "very interested" in Miguel Angel Sano, but it could be a month before the Dominican shortstop signs.