Minor Deals: Lamb, Tiffee, Periard
A few minor moves…
- The Yankees have signed Mike Lamb and Terry Tiffee to minor league deals, reports Donnie Collins of The Scranton Times-Tribune. Both infielders were playing in the independent Atlantic League, Lamb with the Camden River Sharks and Tiffee with the Lancaster Barnstormers. They will head to Triple-A.
- The Mariners have signed Alex Periard to a minor league pact according to Baseball America's Matt Eddy (on Twitter). Eddy notes that Periard was originally drafted by Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik back when he was the Brewers' scouting director in 2004. The right-hander had a 4.71 ERA in 11 starts last season before Milwaukee released him.
Minor Deals: Lamb, Hall, Johnson, Baisley
Today's minor deals include a number of former Major Leaguers…
- The Nationals re-signed Ron Villone, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). As Eddy points out, the 18-year veteran has been traded for Greg Vaughn and Andy Benes.
- The Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League signed Mike Lamb, Toby Hall and Jason Johnson, according to Mike Ashmore of the Hunterdon County Democrat (on Twitter). Lamb, 35, was a pinch hitter for the Marlins last year after missing the 2009 season; Hall, a nine-year veteran, hasn't spent time in the majors since 2008 and Johnson, a 37-year-old right-hander with 11 years of MLB experience, has been out of the majors for two years as well.
- The Dodgers signed right-hander Steven Jackson to a minor league deal, according to Eddy (on Twitter). He appeared in 11 games for the Pirates last year, but got much more exposure in 2009 when he posted a 3.14 ERA in 40 relief appearances despite walking more batters than he struck out.
- The Reds signed right-hander Tyree Hayes, the son of former MLB third baseman Charlie Hayes, according to Eddy (on Twitter). Hayes, 22, has yet to advance past Class A in five pro seasons.
- The Twins signed former Royals prospect Joe Dickerson, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter). The 2005 fourth rounder didn't play last year.
- The Angels signed former A's prospect Jeff Baisley, according to Goldstein (on Twitter). The 28-year-old played in 14 games for the 2008 A's and posted an .845 OPS in the upper minors of their system last year.
Mike Lamb Clears Waivers
WEDNESDAY: Lamb cleared waivers and the Marlins outrighted him to Triple A New Orleans, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (via Twitter).
SATURDAY: The Marlins will designate Mike Lamb for assignment tomorrow, tweets Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun Sentinel.
The 34-year-old Lamb hit .189/.231/.270 in 39 plate appearances spread across two stints with the big league team this year. He was designated for assignment back in June when the Marlins called up Mike Stanton, though he cleared waivers and headed to Triple-A.
Mike Lamb Clears Waivers
Third baseman Mike Lamb has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple A, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Lamb was the casualty a few days ago when the Marlins called up top prospect Mike Stanton, who had three hits in his debut last night. Lamb's last extended Triple A stay last year in the Mets' organization produced a .261/.299/.370 line.
Marlins Promote Mike Stanton; DFA Mike Lamb
4:00pm: Rodriguez tweets that the Marlins will designate veteran infielder Mike Lamb for assignment to make room for Stanton. Lamb's DFA is unsurprising, as the 34-year-old posted a line of just .208/.269/.250 through 26 plate appearances.
3:39pm: Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweets that Stanton will join the Marlins for the series opener in Philadelphia on Tuesday this week.
1:46pm: MLB.com's Joe Frisaro echoes (via Twitter) that Stanton is not in the lineup and says that there is a report out that he's been called up by the Marlins.
1:42pm: Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel reports that Marlins top prospect Mike Stanton is not in the lineup for Double-A Jacksonville this afternoon.
As Rodriguez cautions, it's possible that Stanton is just receiving a scheduled day off, however this news certainly meshes with the previous reports and speculation that Stanton may be on his way to Miami to continue his 2010 reign of terror in the National League East.
The 20-year-old righty slugger has shown tremendous improvement over last year and absolutely annihilated Double-A so far this season. His .311 batting average entering Sunday matches his on-base percentage from Jacksonville in 2009; his .441 OBP and .726 slugging percentage for the season are also each well over 100 points higher than his marks from '09. To date, he's mashed 21 home runs and walked 44 times in 238 plate appearances, versus 53 strikeouts.
Heading into the season, Baseball America ranked Stanton as the game's third-best prospect, behind only Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg.
Odds & Ends: Scherzer, Lamb, LaRoche
Saturday night linkage..
- The Tigers announced tonight they've demoted Max Scherzer and Scott Sizemore to Triple A, with Armando Galarraga and Danny Worth getting the call. Both Scherzer and Edwin Jackson have disappointed since changing teams in December's big deal.
- Hank Blalock comes to Tampa Bay determined to be a more well-rounded player, according to MLB.com's Adam Berry and Bill Chastain.
- The Marlins could make a 40-man roster move soon to bring back Mike Lamb, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Lamb was designated for assignment last week and is currently in Triple A.
- Despite Adam LaRoche's successful 2009 stint in Atlanta (.325/.401/.557 in 57 games), the Braves didn't approach him about returning, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Alan Schwarz of the New York Times takes an in-depth look at the likely first overall pick in next month's draft, Bryce Harper.
- Nats manager Jim Riggleman says that the club will have to consider making a roster move with reliever Brian Bruney, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (via Twitter).
- Mets pitcher Oliver Perez won't accept a demotion to Triple-A if asked, tweets David Lennon of Newsday. Perez has been bumped out of the starting rotation and placed in the bullpen.
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes that Eric Byrnes and Morgan Ensberg are making the most of life-after-baseball.
- Brewers pitching prospect Jeremy Jeffress will have to wait a little bit longer to return to the mound once he is reinstated, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Jeffress, the 18th overall pick in the 2006 draft, has tested positive for a "drug of abuse" on three separate occasions.
Mike Lamb Clears Waivers
May 12th: Having cleared waivers, Lamb will join the Marlins' Triple A club today according to Larry Holder of the Times-Picayune. As a member of the Zephyrs, Lamb will be reunited with Jason Lane, another member of the Astros' 2005 World Series club.
May 6th: The Marlins have designated Mike Lamb for assignment, tweets Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Outfielder Bryan Petersen has been called up from Triple-A New Orleans and will join the team effective tomorrow.
Lamb has had just 18 plate appearances in 17 games this season for Florida. The corner infielder spent 2009 in the Mets' farm system and was signed by the Fish to a minor league deal in February. Soon after he signed, it was reported that the Marlins were still on the lookout for a lefty bat off of the bench. It appears that they have found that lefty bat in-house.
The 34-year-old had a less-than-stellar stint in Triple-A Buffalo last season, posting an OPS of .669 in 119 games.
Odds & Ends: Blue Jays, Gomes, Lincecum
Links for Saturday…
- Jordan Bastian of MLB.com provides his list of the top 10 prospects in Toronto's system and answers other Jays-related questions in a reader mailbag.
- MLB.com's Mark Sheldon writes that the holding pattern between Jonny Gomes and the Reds is continuing. Sheldon says that Gomes might make his decision once one of the other second-tier outfielders – guys like Garret Anderson, Cliff Floyd, Endy Chavez, or Marlon Anderson – sign with a club.
- Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle says that Tim Lincecum's contract with the Giants will have future ramifications because it'll help keep his salary down after it expires. Lincecum will still have two more years of arbitration eligibility left when this new deal expires.
- The Yankees will be serious bidders for Cuban shortstop Adeiny Hechevarria once he is "unblocked" by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, reports George A. King III of The New York Post.
- Despite signing Mike Lamb to a minor league deal, the Marlins are still on the lookout for a lefty bat off the bench, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
- In a separate tweet, Frisaro says that the chances of the team bringing Kiko Calero back are slim, even on a minor league deal. They have concerns about his shoulder.
- Jim McLennan of AZ Snakepit posted Part Two if his interview with Diamondbacks' GM Josh Byrnes.
- John Tomase of The Boston Herald says that the Red Sox don't look like a team in transition, despite GM Theo Epstein's comments earlier this offseason.
- Here are the latest minor league transactions, courtesy of Baseball America's Matt Eddy. The Marlins signed outfielder Jason Lane to a minor league deal.
Marlins Sign Mike Lamb
Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post tweets that the Marlins have agreed to terms with infielder Mike Lamb on a minor league deal.
Lamb also received an invite to spring training, but will need to hit better than he did in 2009 to make the club. He spent the year with Triple-A Buffalo, posting just a .261/.299/.370 line in 466 plate appearances.
Mets Sign Mike Lamb
According to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News the Mets signed Mike Lamb; he'll likely join their AAA affiliate in Buffalo. Lamb, 33, played in 92 games with the Twins and Brewers last year. He was released by Milwaukee earlier in the month. Like the Wily Mo Pena signing, this move gives the Mets extra depth.