Cubs Sign Donnie Murphy
The Cubs have signed infielder Donnie Murphy to a minor league contract, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). The 30-year-old infielder will report to Triple-A Iowa. He is represented by Lapa/Leventhal.
Murphy hit .216/.281/.379 with a trio of home runs for the Marlins last season. He has significant MLB experience at second base, third base and shortstop with three teams scattered across parts of seven Major League seasons.
Minor Moves: Olivo, Rays, Murphy
We'll keep track of today's minor moves here..
- Catcher Miguel Olivo has asked for and been granted his release by the Reds, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). It was previously reported that Olivo was mulling whether to accept a $100k bonus and report to Triple-A, or instead test the market. Olivo could be an option for the Marlins, writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.
- The Rays have released minor leaguer righties Nick Barnese and Joe Cruz, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times on Twitter. Barnese, a third-rounder from 2007, threw 56 2/3 innings over 12 starts in Double-A last year and mustered only a 5.72 ERA with 4.8 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9.
- Infielder Donnie Murphy exercised his out clause with the Brewers today and took his release, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The 30-year-old hooked on with Milwaukee in December and hit hit .216/.281/.379 in 129 plate appearances with the Marlins last season. Murphy is a .205/.270/.373 career hitter in 640 big league plate appearances and a .285/.351/.556 career hitter 738 Triple-A plate appearances.
Jeff Todd contributed to this post.
Brewers Sign Donnie Murphy
The Brewers have signed Donnie Murphy to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, the team announced. The infielder is a Lapa/Leventhal client.
Murphy, 29, hit .216/.281/.379 in 129 plate appearances with the Marlins last season while playing the three non-first base infield positions. He's a .205/.270/.373 career hitter in 640 big league plate appearances and a .285/.351/.556 career hitter 738 Triple-A plate appearances.
Donnie Murphy Hits Free Agency
The latest minor moves from around MLB…
- Donnie Murphy refused a minor league assignment, choosing instead to hit free agency, according to the transactions page at CBSSports.com. The Marlins outrighted the utility player to their Triple-A affiliate two days ago. Murphy, 29, appeared in 52 games for the Marlins this past season, playing second base, third base and shortstop. He posted a .216/.281/.379 batting line in 129 plate appearances and missed some time with a strained hamstring.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Tufts, Green, Murphy
Let's keep track of the day's outright assignments right here as clubs get their 40-man rosters in shape prior to the offseason…
- The Rangers announced that right-hander Tyler Tufts was outrighted to Triple-A Round Rock after being activated from the 15-day disabled list. Tufts appeared in 19 minor league games last season before undergoing stomach surgery. The move leaves Texas with 39 players on their 40-man roster.
- The Marlins have outrighted infielder Nick Green to Triple-A according to Clark Spencer of The Miami Herland (on Twitter). The 34-year-old Green hit .174/.208/.304 in 24 plate appearances for Miami this season and is a .236/.303/.347 career hitter in the big leagues.
- The Marlins have also outrighted utility man Donnie Murphy to Triple-A according to Spencer. Murphy, 29, hit .216/.281/.379 in 129 plate appearances for the Fish this year. He's a .205/.270/.373 career hitter in the show.
- The Marlins have also outrighted infielder Gil Velazquez to Triple-A according to Spencer. The 33-year-old hit .232/.246/.250 in 57 plate appearances for Miami this year.
Outrighted: Donnie Murphy
The latest outright assignments from around MLB…
- The Marlins outrighted utility player Donnie Murphy to the minor leagues, according to the transactions page at CBSSports.com. The Marlins designated the 29-year-old for assignment over the weekend, after he posted a .136/.250/.318 batting line in 52 plate appearances. Murphy has played for the Royals, Athletics and Marlins in seven MLB seasons.
Marlins Designate Donnie Murphy For Assignment
The Marlins have designated Donnie Murphy for assignment, reports Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post (on Twitter). The 29-year-old utility infielder hit .136/.250/.318 in 52 plate appearances coming into today. He's hit .196/.266/.366 in 563 career plate appearances with the Marlins, Royals, and Athletics.
Players To Avoid Arbitration
Tonight is the deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration eligible players. Many teams will agree to terms with players before the deadline and we'll keep track of them here:
- The Orioles have agreed to terms with Dana Eveland on a one-year, $750K deal for 2012, MLBTR has learned.
- The Giants have agreed to terms with Mike Fontenot on a one-year deal for 2012, avoiding arbitration, MLBTR has learned. It's a $1.05MM deal, according to the Associated Press.
- The Red Sox announced that they re-signed Matt Albers. He'll earn $1.075MM, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
- The Padres agreed to terms with Chris Denorfia on a one-year deal, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (Twitter link). The deal is worth $1.165MM, according to Ronald Blum of the AP
The Pirates agreed to terms with Jason Grilli on a one-year, $1.1MM deal for 2012, MLBTR has learned. - The Rockies agreed to terms with Kevin Slowey on a one-year deal, the team announced (on Twitter). Slowey obtains $2.75MM from the Rockies, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link). MLBTR had projected a $2.7MM salary.
- The Blue Jays agreed to sign Jeff Mathis to one-year deal that guarantees the backstop $1.5MM in 2012, MLBTR has learned. The Blue Jays have since confirmed the move.
- The Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with Jesse Litsch (one-year, $975K) and Dustin McGowan (one-year, $600K) according to a team press release.
- The Dodgers have signed outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. to a two-year deal.
- The A's announced that they agreed to terms with Landon Powell, Daric Barton and Adam Rosales on one-year deals for 2012. The A's aren't non-tendering any arbitration eligible players this offseason. Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group hears Barton will earn $1.1MM in 2012 (Twitter link). Rosales will earn $600K and Powell will earn $620K, according to Ronald Blum of the AP.
- The Marlins signed Donnie Murphy to a contract for 2012, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (Twitter link). He'll earn $560K, according to Ronald Blum of the AP.
- The Brewers announced that they signed George Kottaras to a one-year deal, avoiding arbitration. He'll earn $700K, according to Ronald Blum of the AP.
- The Astros avoided arbitration with Humberto Quintero, signing him to a one-year deal worth $1MM, according to the team. MLBTR had projected a $1.2MM salary for Quintero.
- The Angels agreed to terms with right-hander Jerome Williams on a one-year deal, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times (on Twitter). Williams agreed to sign for $820K with $120K in incentives, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (on Twitter).
- Skip Schumaker is nearing a two-year deal with the Cardinals.
Marlins Re-Sign Donnie Murphy
Florida has re-signed infielder Donnie Murphy, reports Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). The contract is a split major league/minor league deal and Murphy will be invited to Florida's major league spring training camp.
Murphy, a fifth-round pick of the Royals in the 2002 amateur draft, has a career .659 OPS in 411 plate appearances with Kansas City, Oakland and Florida. He appeared in 29 games with the Marlins last year before undergoing wrist surgery in September. Murphy can play third, short and second, so he'll give the Fish some infield depth if he can make the team in the spring.