Minor Moves: Slaten, Manzella, Acosta, Gaudin
Here are the latest minor transactions from around the league…
- SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization announced the signing of left-handed reliever Doug Slaten. Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net (Twitter link) first reported the deal earlier this week. Slaten has a 3.52 ERA in 216 games for the Diamondbacks, Nationals and Pirates since 2006, including a 2.16 ERA in 10 games with the Bucs in 2012.
- The Rockies have signed shortstop Tommy Manzella to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invitation, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Manzella last appeared in the majors in 2010 with the Astros and has bounced around the minors with four different organizations over the last two seasons.
- Right-hander Manny Acosta has signed a one-year, $1.65MM contract with the Yomiuri Giants, according to Gene Mato, Acosta's agent (Twitter link). The deal could be worth another $500K in bonuses. Acosta, 31, was non-tendered by the Mets following a season that saw him post a 6.46 ERA over relief appearances.
- The Giants have agreed to a minor league deal with right-hander Chad Gaudin, reports Janie McCauley of the Associated Press (via Twitter). Gaudin posted a 4.54 ERA in 46 relief appearances for the Marlins last season.
- The Yankees have signed catcher Bobby Wilson to a minor league deal that contains a Spring Training invite, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link). Wilson hit .211/.277/.292 batting line in 201 plate appearances with the Angels last season and was both claimed on waivers and non-tendered by the Blue Jays earlier this offseason.
- The Yankees have also signed infielder Gil Velazquez to a minor league deal, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). The 33-year-old Velazquez received 57 PAs with the Marlins last year and also has Major League exerperience with the Angels and Red Sox.
- The Cardinals have signed 18-year-old Dominican right-hander Alex Reyes to a contract worth $950K, reports MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter).
- The Nationals signed 16-year-old Dominican third baseman Neivy Pilier to a $225K deal, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America.
- The Nationals signed infielder Brian Bocock to a minor league contract, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson (Twitter link). Bocock last played in the majors in 2010 and has spent the last two seasons playing in the Phillies, Pirates and Blue Jays organizations.
- The Padres acquired left-hander Chris Rearick from the Rays in exchange for infielder Vince Belnome, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter).
- The Phillies have announced the signings of Andres Blanco, Josh Fields, Cesar Jimenez, Steven Lerud, Michael Martinez, Zach Miner, Jermaine Mitchell, Pete Orr and Humberto Quintero to minor league contracts with invitations to Spring Training.
Minor Moves: Slaten, Ohlendorf, Conrad
We'll keep track of today's minor moves in this post..
- Pirates left-hander Doug Slaten, Padres right-hander Ross Ohlendorf, and Rays third baseman Brooks Conrad are free agents after recent outright assignments, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). Slaten appeared in ten major league games for Pittsburgh while posting a 2.11 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 40 relief appearances in Triple-A. Ohlendorf had a 7.77 ERA with 39 strikeouts and 24 walks in nine starts and four relief appearances for the Padres over the summer. Conrad saw time in 49 games for the Rays and Brewers in 2012.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Doug Slaten, Chris Leroux
Let's keep track of the day's outright assignments right here…
- The Pirates announced that Doug Slaten has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A on their Twitter feed. The 32-year-old southpaw was designated for assignment late last month. Slaten appeared in ten games for Pittsburgh and owns a 3.52 ERA in parts of seven big league seasons.
- The Pirates also announced that Chris Leroux has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A. Leroux, a 28-year-old righty, has battled injury this season while pitching to a 3.77 ERA in 11 1/3 minor league innings. He owns a 5.47 ERA in parts of three big league seasons, and last appearanced in the show with the Pirates last year.
Pirates Claim Oscar Tejeda, DFA Slaten
The Pirates have claimed infielder/outfielder Oscar Tejeda off waivers from the Red Sox, the team announced. To make room for Tejeda, Pittsburgh has also designated left-hander Doug Slaten for assignment.
Tejeda, 22, was designated for assignment by Boston following their acquisition of Zach Stewart and Brent Lillibridge earlier this week. Tejeda split time between designated hitter and left field this season, hitting .262/.294/.396 in 51 Double-A games.
Slaten, 32, appeared in ten games for the Pirates this season. The left-hander also pitched 25 1/3 innings for Triple-A Indianapolis and allowed just one run with 15 strikeouts and six walks. Slaten owns a 3.52 ERA in the big leagues with 6.6 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in parts of seven big league seasons.
Pirates Sign Doug Slaten
The Pirates signed lefty reliever Doug Slaten to a minor league, deal, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Slaten, 31, tossed 16 1/3 innings for the Nationals this year and another 10 1/3 in the minors, missing much of the season with an elbow injury. He was effective against lefty batters in 2010, although he faced only 81 of them. Slaten was non-tendered by the Nationals last month after earning $695K in 2011. He also had minor league offers from the Brewers and Rangers, tweets Rosenthal.
Slaten is represented by Paragon Sports International. Another PSI client, Jo-Jo Reyes, signed a minor league deal with the Pirates eight days ago.
National League Non-Tenders
Here are this year's National League non-tenders. You can also keep track of all teams with our non-tender tracker and check out our list of non-tender candidates:
- The Braves non-tendered Peter Moylan, according to Ronald Blum of the AP. They also non-tendered Brooks Conrad, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports (on Twitter).
- The Mets non-tendered Ronny Paulino and Mike Baxter, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
- The Cardinals will non-tender Ryan Theriot, according to B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com (Twitter link).
- The Giants will non-tender Jeff Keppinger and Eli Whiteside, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (on Twitter).
- The Pirates announced that they're non-tendering infielder Pedro Ciriaco and catcher Jason Jaramillo.
- The Padres announced that they non-tendered Jeremy Hermida.
- The Marlins non-tendered Clay Hensley, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (on Twitter).
- The Dodgers announced that they non-tendered Hong-Chih Kuo (Twitter link).
- The Rockies announced that they non-tendered outfielders Ryan Spilborghs and Cole Garner (Twitter link).
- The Cubs non-tendered Koyie Hill, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (Twitter link).
- The D'Backs will non-tender Joe Saunders and Micah Owings, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Arizona will try to re-sign both pitchers. The team has confirmed the moves.
- The Nationals will non-tender left-hander Doug Slaten, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (Twitter link).
East Links: Cespedes, Nationals, Hanley
Some afternoon reading pertaining to Eastern division teams…
- The Orioles traveled to the Dominican Republic to scout Yoenis Cespedes this past weekend, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNSports. Among those in attendance were manager Buck Showalter, executive director or international recruiting Fred Ferreira, director of international operations David Stockstill, scout Carlos Bernhardt, and bullpen coach Bill Castro. Kubatko says O's brass is staying tight-lipped about whether or not they'll attempt to sign Cespedes.
- Kubatko's colleague Pete Kerzel writes that the Nationals could non-tender Jesus Flores, Doug Slaten, and Tom Gorzelanny before tomorrow night's deadline.
- There have been some reports that the Marlins have discussed trading Hanley Ramirez, but MLB.com's Joe Frisaro writes that the Fish aren't looking to Ramirez and those discussions were all intitiated by other teams.
Players To Avoid Arbitration: Tuesday
Today is the deadline for players and teams to submit arbitration figures. The sides will then settle on a salary between the team's proposed number and the player's proposed number or go to an arbitration hearing. Arbitration eligible players are under team control, so the clubs don't risk losing them – it's a question of how much the players will earn.
Yesterday, 11 players avoided arbitration. We could see just as many agreements trickle in today and we'll keep you posted on them right here and with our Arb Tracker. The latest updates will be at the top of the post:
- The Angels have agreed to terms with Reggie Willits and Howie Kendrick, tweets Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times. Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register tweets that Kendrick will earn $3.3MM, Willits $775K (on Twitter).
- The Giants agreed to terms with Santiago Casilla on a one-year deal worth $1.3MM with incentives, according to ESPN Deportes' Enrique Rojas (on Twitter). The team also announced that they avoided arb with Jonathan Sanchez and Ramon Ramirez (on Twitter). Sanchez will earn $4.8MM with incentives tweets Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle while Ramirez will earn $1.65MM according to Janie McCauley of The Canadian Press.
- The Braves agreed to terms with Peter Moylan and Eric O'Flaherty, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman (on Twitter). Moylan gets $2MM, O'Flaherty gets $895K according to Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).
- The Mariners agreed to terms with Brandon League, David Aardsma and Jason Vargas, the team announced. Aardsma will earn $4.5MM with plenty of incentives, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times (plus Twitter link).
- The Rangers agreed to terms with C.J. Wilson and Nelson Cruz, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan (Twitter links). Cruz gets $3.65MM, and Wilson gets $7.05MM with a chance to earn another $100K according to his agent Bob Garber, via email.
Nationals Designate Matt Chico For Assignment
11:22am: In an update to his blog post, Goessling has quotes from GM Mike Rizzo on the move. Rizzo explains that it was necessary to DFA Chico in order to put him in the minors because he was on the major league squad for just one day. He added that there is zero risk of the club losing the 26-year-old.
10:30am: The Nationals have designated pitcher Matt Chico for assignment, though he will soon return to the club's 40-man roster, writes Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com. The move is concurrent with Washington's purchase of Doug Slaten's contract from Triple-A Syracuse.
Chico, 26, made his first big league appearance in nearly two years when he got the start against the Marlins yesterday. In five innings, Chico allowed two runs, registered three strikeouts, and didn't walk any batters.
Slaten has been golden in 17 Triple-A innings this season. The 30-year-old has not allowed a single run while racking up 17 strikeouts with just one walk. In 126 career big league outings, the lefty has a 3.68 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9.
Goessling adds that he is unsure as to why Chico is being DFA'd only to be retained. Nats GM Mike Rizzo is scheduled to give a more detailed explanation of the move later this morning.
Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Burnett, Chapman, Reyes
Links for Thursday…
- GM John Mozeliak and manager Tony LaRussa both mentioned to MLB.com's Matthew Leach that the Cardinals are not in a rush to add an infielder despite Brendan Ryan's recent wrist surgery.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels knows that it's far from a foregone conclusion that his team will win 87 games again, according to ESPNDallas.com reporter Richard Durrett.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that Aroldis Chapman has looked "very impressive" so far.
- Jose Reyes tells Kevin Kernan of the New York Post that he wants to finish his career with the Mets. Reyes says he's not thinking about the $11MM option the Mets have for his services in 2011.
- The Nats outrighted Doug Slaten to Triple A, according to the team's Twitter. They designated him for assignment two days ago.
- The Rockies and Mariners offered Mark McGwire hitting coach positions, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Mariners made their offer in 2003; the Rockies made theirs a few years ago.
- Victor Martinez tells Alex Speier of WEEI.com that he'd "obviously" like to stay in Boston. The catcher says the negotiations are now under the team's control.
- Carlos Zambrano tells Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald that he would have vetoed a trade had the Cubs approached him about one this offseason.
- Andrew Friedman says he and his front office have assembled "the most talented team in Rays history," according to the Tampa Tribune (via Twitter).
- USA Today's Peter Barzilai looks back at some historically good free agent signings.
- Greg Burke cleared waivers, tweets Dan Hayes of the North County Times. The club placed Burke on unconditional waivers ten days ago.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney that the club find its fifth starter outside of the organization. "We'd love to have a bona fide No. 5 starter," Colletti said.
- Mariano Rivera tells MLB.com's Brian Hoch that he doesn't know how long he's going to continue playing (Twitter link).
- Rockies manager Jim Tracy told Denver Post readers that he helps Dan O'Dowd make personnel decisions when the GM is looking for input.
- In anticipation of the club's scheduled arbitration hearing with Ryan Theriot, Cubs GM Jim Hendry tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that the arbitration process is sometimes unavoidable.
- The Braves signed 17-year-old infield prospect Alejandro Sanchez Martinez to a seven-year contract out of Spain earlier in the winter, according to David Menayo of Marca.com. Thanks to Nick Collias for the translation.