Minor Moves: Zavada, DeWitt, Cubs, Diamondbacks
Today’s minor moves..
- The Cardinals have signed Clay Zavada to a minor league contract and released left-hander R.J. Swindle, according to the Pacific Coast League’s transactions page. Zavada, 27, was recently let go by the Reds.
- Cubs infielder Blake DeWitt cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Iowa, tweets Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. The Cubs designated the 26-year-old for assignment ten days ago. Across parts of five big league seasons, DeWitt owns a .257/.324/.380 slash line.
- The Diamondbacks outrighted minor league outfielder David Winfree to remove him from the 40-man roster, tweets Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Winfree, 26, has hit .285/.331/.476 in four Triple-A seasons.
Cardinals Sign R.J. Swindle
The Cardinals have signed left-hander R.J. Swindle to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has learned.
Swindle, 28, has nine Major League outings to his credit, last appearing in the bigs with the Brewers in 2009. The Vancouver native pitched in 39 games with the Rays' Triple-A affiliate in 2011 and has a career 2.37 ERA with an impressive 9.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 493 2/3 minor league innings.
Swindle was a 14th-round draft pick of the Red Sox in 2004.
Minor Moves: Texeira, Ring, Padres
Matt Eddy of Baseball America has updates on the latest minor moves (Twitter links)…
- The Yankees re-signed right-hander Kanekoa Texeira to a minor league deal. They released the reliever earlier in the month after re-acquiring him in May.
- The Red Sox signed left-hander Royce Ring to a minor league deal. The former first rounder logged 23 2/3 innings for the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate this year, posting a 6.08 ERA with 12.5 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.
- The Padres signed right-hander John Van Benschoten from the Atlantic League. The former Pirate hasn't appeared in the Major Leagues since 2008.
- The Rays released R.J. Swindle, who last appeared in the Major Leagues in 2009. The left-hander had been pitching at Triple-A, where he had a 4.15 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 34 2/3 innings.
- The Dodgers released Merkin Valdez. The right-hander, who appeared in two games for Toronto last year, had a 3.58 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 50 1/3 innings at Triple-A.
- The Brewers released 28-year-old lefty Chase Wright. The former third round pick had a 5.83 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 71 innings in the upper minors this year.
Minor Deals: Gotay, Rays, Duckworth, Carlyle
A number of former big leaguers agreed to minor league deals today. Here are the details:
- The Marlins signed Ruben Gotay, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). The 27-year-old hasn't appeared in the majors since 2008, but he led the Pacific Coast League in walks and posted an .845 OPS last year.
- The Rays announced that they signed five players, including righty Cory Wade and lefty R.J. Swindle, to minor league deals. Wade, 27, spent last year in the minors, but he pitched for the Dodgers in 2008-09. He has a 3.18 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 99 big league innings. Swindle is another 27-year-old who spent the 2010 season in the minors. He posted a 2.45 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 in 55 innings for the Rays' Triple-A affiliate. Like Wade, Swindle could prove useful for the 2011 Rays, who are building a bullpen on a budget.
- The Reds signed outfielder David Cook, according to Eddy (on Twitter). The 29-year-old has a .258/.369/.468 line in eight minor league seasons.
- The Red Sox signed right-hander Brandon Duckworth, according to Eddy (on Twitter). The 34-year-old spent the 2010 season pitching for the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate, where he posted a 3.32 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9. He has a 5.28 ERA in parts of eight big league seasons.
- The Yankees signed right-hander Buddy Carlyle to a minor league deal, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Carlyle, 32, spent the 2010 season in Japan after posting a 5.61 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in parts of six big league seasons.
- The D'Backs signed David Winfree, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The 25-year-old has a .273/.319/.448 line in his eight-year minor league career.
Rays Notes: Crawford, Swindle
Let's take a look at some Rays news from around the web:
- A report from earlier today suggesting that Carl Crawford wants out of Tampa Bay after his $10MM team option was exercised doesn't add up, writes Cork Gaines of Rays Index and Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times. Gaines points out that the alleged "handshake agreement" not to pick up Crawford's option would have happened when he signed his current deal before the '05 season, under a completely different regime.
- Reliever R.J. Swindle is back with the club on a minor league deal, reports R.J. Anderson of DRays Bay. The 26-year-old soft-tossing sidearm-hurler will also receive an invite to Spring Training. Tampa Bay claimed Swindle after he was DFA'd by the Brewers on August 7th. Five days later, the Indians snagged him when the Rays were forced to put him on waivers for roster space.