By Zachary Links | at
The Rockies have acquired left-hander Hisanori Takahashi from the Cubs in exchange for a player to be named later, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (via Twitter). The veteran will report to the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate.
Takahashi made just three relief appearances for the Cubs this season and spent most of the year with Triple-A Iowa. In the minors, the 38-year-old posted an impressive 1.99 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.
By charliewilmoth | at
We'll track today's minor moves here:
By Tim Dierkes | at
The Cubs claimed infielder Cody Ransom off waivers from the Padres, GM Jed Hoyer told reporters including MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. The team also purchased the contract of Kevin Gregg. Sunday's waiver claim, Kameron Loe, is also joining the Cubs' bullpen, while reliever Hisanori Takahashi and infielder Brent Lillibridge were designated for assignment. Second baseman Darwin Barney has been reinstated from the DL, as expected.
Ransom had been designated for assignment by the Padres on Friday. The 37-year-old had the most exposure of his big league career last year, racking up a .220/.312/.411 line in 282 plate appearances for the Brewers and Diamondbacks. If Ransom somehow sticks on the Cubs' roster, he'll be arbitration eligible after the season.
Takahashi, 38, was scored upon in two of his three appearances for the Cubs this year. The lefty posted a 5.54 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 1.43 HR/9, and 37.1% groundball rate in 50 1/3 innings for the Angels and Pirates in 2012. The Cubs' bullpen is already being retooled, with a 5.82 ERA in the early going.
Lillibridge, 29, had one hit in 24 plate appearances for the Cubs this year. He played second and third base. Lillibridge hit .195/.250/.274 in 209 plate appearances for the White Sox, Red Sox, and Indians last year. He was part of a "numbers crunch," Hoyer told reporters including Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. With the recent additions of Ransom, Gregg, and Loe, the Cubs' 40-man roster remains full.
By Mike Axisa | at
The Cubs have agreed to sign Hisanori Takahashi to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). The veteran left-hander is a Wasserman Media Group client.
Takahashi, 37, pitched to a 5.54 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 50 1/3 relief innings for the Angels and Pirates last season. He owns a 3.97 ERA in 240 1/3 MLB innings, making 12 starts and 153 relief appearances. Takahashi has held big league lefties to a .238/.283/.381 batting line with a 4.14 K/BB.
By Mike Axisa | at
The Pirates have exercised their 2013 club option for Pedro Alvarez and declined for Rod Barajas, reports Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter). The team also released southpaw Hisanori Takahashi.
Alvarez will earn $700K next season and would have remained under team control as a pre-arbitration eligible player had Pittsburgh declined the option. Barajas, 37, hit .206/.283/.343 with 11 homers this year and will receive no buyout rather than a $3.5MM salary. Takahashi, 37, was due to hit free agency so his release is just procedural. He pitched to a 5.54 ERA in 50 1/3 innings split between the Angels and Pirates in 2012.
By Ben Nicholson-Smith | at
The Pirates claimed Angels reliever Hisanori Takahashi off of waivers, Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times reports (on Twitter). The left-hander had been sent to Triple-A five days ago.
Takahashi appeared in 42 games for the Angels this year, posting a 4.93 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 42 innings. He signed a two-year, $8MM contract with Los Angeles after the 2010 campaign.
The 37-year-old has held left-handed hitters to a .244/.287/.384 batting line with 9.2 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in three MLB seasons. Takahashi joins fellow southpaw Tony Watson and right-handers Joel Hanrahan, Jason Grilli, Jared Hughes, Chris Resop and Chad Qualls in the Pirates' bullpen.
By Zachary Links | at
Links for Thursday night..
By Tim Dierkes | at
FRIDAY, 4:40pm: Takahashi received a two-year deal worth $8MM, according to David Lennon of Newsday (via Twitter).
THURSDAY: The Angels got started with what will likely be a busy offseason, signing versatile left-hander Hisanori Takahashi to a two-year deal. The terms of the deal are unknown.
Takahashi, 36 in April, posted a 3.61 ERA, 8.4 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 1.0 HR/9, and 38.4% groundball rate in 122 innings this year for the Mets. Takahashi was especially strong as a reliever in his MLB debut season, posting a 2.04 ERA, 9.4 K/9, and 3.5 BB/9 in 57 1/3 innings out of the pen. He even picked up eight saves in as many tries. Takahashi is tough on lefties and should take on a late-inning role for the Halos.
The Mets had until October 31st to re-sign Takahashi per the terms of his contract, which was later extended until November 5th. The Mets were unwilling to offer multiple years.
Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times reported that the Angels announced the deal after David Waldstein of the New York Times reported that the sides were close to a multiyear contract.
By Zachary Links | at
Let's take a look at a few items on the Nationals and Phillies..
By Ben Nicholson-Smith | at
10:16am: Even though the Reds claimed Takahashi, he cannot play for the Mets before May 15th if he signs with New York, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). In other words, don't expect him to return to the Mets.
8:07am: The Reds claimed Hisanori Takahashi on unconditional release waivers last week, according to transactions summaries at CBS Sports and Yahoo Sports. A source confirmed to MLBTR that the Reds claimed the left-hander. Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports that the Reds claimed Takahashi to obtain an exclusive five-day negotiating window with him.
Takahashi was set to hit free agency, but the Reds' move won't prevent him from hitting the open market. Players claimed on unconditional release waivers have five days to reject the claim and elect free agency and Takahashi elected free agency, according to Rubin.
It's unclear whether the move will help the Mets, who were negotiating an extension with Takahashi earlier in the month. Because the Mets didn’t sign Takahashi in time, it appeared that he would not be able to pitch before May 15th if he re-signed in New York. Takahashi's last club was the Reds, which could allow the Mets to re-sign him.
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