Minor Moves: 28 Players Elect Free Agency
A total of 28 players — all with big league time under their belts — recently elected free agency after finishing the year in Triple-A. Here is the full list, courtesy of the International League and Pacific Coast League transaction pages…
- Infielders: Brian Bixler (Astros), Sean Burroughs (Twins), Blake DeWitt (Cubs), Alberto Gonzalez (Rangers), Angel Sanchez (Astros), Nate Spears (Red Sox), Drew Sutton (Pirates)
- Outfielders: Travis Buck (Astros), Ryan Langerhans (Angels), Mitch Maier (Royals), Darnell McDonald (Yankees), Jai Miller (Orioles), Trent Oeltjen (Dodgers), Jason Pridie (Phillies), Mike Wilson (Mariners)
- Right-handed Pitchers: Roman Colon (Royals), Mike Ekstrom (Rockies), Jack Egbert (Mets), Ryota Igarashi (Yankees), Evan Meek (Pirates), Scott Richmond (Blue Jays), Kip Wells (Padres), Randy Wells (Cubs), Dan Wheeler (Indians)
- Left-handed Pitchers: Alex Hinshaw (Cubs), Cesar Jimenez (Mariners), Zach Kroenke (Diamondbacks), Garrett Olson (Mets)
Outrighted To Triple-A: Wells, Carpenter, Sutton
The latest outright assignments from around MLB…
- Padres pitcher Kip Wells cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Tucson, according to U-T San Diego (via Twitter). The Padres designated the right-hander for assignment on Friday. Wells, 35, made seven starts for the Padres this year.
- The Blue Jays outrighted Andrew Carpenter to Triple-A, Las Vegas, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. The Blue Jays had removed Carpenter from their roster to create room for Adeiny Hechavarria and Jesse Chavez over the weekend.
- The Pirates outrighted Drew Sutton to Triple-A Indianapolis, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. Pittsburgh designated Sutton for assignment one week ago on the day of the non-waiver trade deadline.
Padres Designate Kip Wells For Assignment
The Padres have designated right-hander Kip Wells for assignment, according to a team press release. In a corresponding move, right-hander Cory Burns has been selected from Triple-A Tucson.
Wells posted a 4.58 ERA in seven starts with the Padres, recording more walks (20) than strikeouts (19) in 37 1/3 innings of work. It was Wells' first time pitching in the Major Leagues since the 2009 season. The 35-year-old signed a minor league deal with San Diego in May.
Padres Sign Kip Wells, Anthony Reyes
The Padres have signed right-handers Kip Wells and Anthony Reyes to minor league contracts, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com and MLB.com's Corey Brock (Twitter links). The moves will replenish the club's Triple-A depth following injuries to Tim Stauffer, Dustin Moseley, and Cory Luebke.
Wells, 35, signed with the White Sox last month but was released just ten days later. The Burton Rocks LTD client hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2009 and owns 4.71 ERA in over 1,300 innings. Reports from earlier this spring indicate that his fastball is still running as high as 93 mph.
Reyes, 30, did not play at all last season. He's pitched to a 5.12 ERA in 293 1/3 career innings, but like Wells he hasn't been in the show since 2009. Reyes is perhaps best known for his eight-inning, two-run performance in Game One of the 2006 World Series for the Cardinals.
Minor Moves: Fossum, Johnson, Wells, Buschmann
We'll keep track of today's minor moves right here…
- The Orioles released left-hander Casey Fossum and catcher Josh Johnson, tweets Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com. Both players were at Baltimore's extended Spring Training camp on minor league contracts.
- The White Sox have parted ways with Kip Wells, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune tweets. The White Sox had signed the right-hander to a minor league deal ten days ago.
- The Rays acquired right-hander Matt Buschmann from the Nationals for cash and assigned their new acquisition to Double-A, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The 28-year-old posted a 6.16 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 134 1/3 innings with the Padres' top affiliates last year. Buschmann has started 116 minor league games in six pro seasons.
White Sox To Sign Kip Wells
We'll keep track of the day's minor moves right here…
- The White Sox agreed to sign right-hander Kip Wells to a minor league deal, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Wells, 34, last pitched in the Major Leagues in 2009. He broke in with the 1999 White Sox and spent three seasons in Chicago before the White Sox traded him to Pittsburgh. Wells reached 93 mph in a recent workout with the Mets.
Quick Hits: Hernandez, Hamels, Grabow, Wells
In what has to be one of the more unusual clubhouse transactions in baseball history, Carlos Beltran has come through on his promise to pay for ex-Mets teammate Jonathon Niese's nose job. Beltran footed the $10K bill for Niese's rhinoplasty, which, as Mets fan Jerry Seinfeld famously observed, is a pretty unusual name for such a procedure.
Some news from around the majors…
- The terms of Roberto Hernandez's restructured contract with the Indians have been reported by The Associated Press. The pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona will now earn $2.5MM in 2012 (down from $7MM) with another $2.7MM available in roster and performance bonuses. The Tribe's $9MM option on Hernandez for 2013 drops to $6MM, though Hernandez can earn that money back based on innings pitched and bonuses carried over from 2012. Cleveland also holds a $14MM team option on the right-hander for 2014 that is apparently still intact.
- Cole Hamels feels bad that his friend Ryan Madson will miss the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but Hamels said that Madson's situation won't cause him to rethink his own plans for free agency, reports Scott Miller of CBS Sports. "If you're in the game long enough, nothing can push you in a different direction and make you worry," Hamels said. "If you're able to reach free agency, you've obviously had success in the big leagues, and there are going to be teams that trust you….Surgeries are a lot better today, they're not as scary as they were 10 or 12 years ago."
- The Pirates haven't yet expressed interest in left-hander John Grabow, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Grabow exercised an out clause in his Dodgers contract earlier today and is now a free agent. Grabow was originally drafted by the Bucs in 1997 and pitched for the club from 2003-09.
- Right-hander Kip Wells threw for the Mets a few weeks ago and hit 93 mph on the radar gun, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Wells hasn't pitched in the majors since 2009 but recently signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks.
- “I’ve been a Red for 10 years now,” Joey Votto tells John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I don’t daydream about playing for another team. I don’t.” Votto is scheduled to hit free agency after 2013 but again reiterated that he hopes to remain with the Reds and is only focused on the upcoming season.
Diamondbacks Sign Kip Wells
The Diamondbacks have signed Kip Wells to a minor league contract according to Baseball America's Matt Eddy. Wells had been with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League.
The soon-to-be 34-year-old last appeared in the bigs leagues with the Reds in 2009. Cincinnati re-signed him last February, but ended up releasing him before the season started. Wells then hooked on with the Ducks, and posted a 4.00 ERA with 23 strikeouts and 15 walks in 27 innings (five starts) with them. He owns a 4.71 ERA during a Major League career that has spanned parts of 11 seasons.
Long Island Ducks Sign Kip Wells
The Long Island Ducks signed pitcher Kip Wells, according to the Atlantic League's website. Wells, 33, posted a 5.33 ERA, 5.3 K/9, and 5.0 BB/9 in 72.6 innings for the Reds and Nationals last year. The Reds had re-signed Wells to a minor league deal in mid-February this year, but cut him loose in April.
Reds Notes: Wells, Chapman, Leake, Balentien, Miles
A few Reds-related items to round up:
- The team has released Kip Wells, according to the club's official Twitter page. They had signed the veteran right-hander to a minor league deal earlier in the winter.
- Aroldis Chapman is among the players listed in the same tweet that will head to the Reds' Triple A affiliate in Louisville.
- Mike Leake, Cincinnati's first round pick in last year's draft, has earned a spot in the rotation as the team's fifth starter, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Sheldon points out that Leake will be the first drafted pitcher to skip the Minor Leagues entirely since Darren Dreifort, and ESPN.com's Rob Neyer adds that no starting pitcher has pulled off the feat since Jim Abbott in 1989.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that Wladimir Balentien and Aaron Miles remain on the roster for now, but will not be on the team. GM Walt Jocketty says that the club will try to trade them in the next few days, if possible. Fay adds in a tweet that the pair will be designated for assignment on Sunday.