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Padres Sign Jose Valverde To Minor League Deal

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The Padres have signed former closer Jose Valverde to a minor league deal, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy tweets. San Diego has also signed lefty Scott Elbert and righty Marcos Mateo.

Valverde made the Mets’ Opening Day roster last season, but after a combustive two months in their bullpen, the Mets released him in late May. He has struggled in each of the past two seasons, posting ERAs over five in both and giving up ten home runs in 40 total innings. Valverde’s last full season came in 2012, when he posted a 3.78 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 for the Tigers. The 36-year-old has 288 career saves with the Diamondbacks and Astros in addition to the Tigers and Mets.

The 29-year-old Elbert was a first-round pick of the Dodgers all the way back in 2004. He had two effective seasons of relief for them in 2011 and 2012, but had Tommy John surgery in 2013 and missed most of the next two years. The Dodgers outrighted him in early November, and he became a free agent.

The 30-year-old Mateo pitched for Triple-A Iowa in 2014, posting a 3.86 ERA, 10.4 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 37 1/3 innings of relief. He last appeared in the big leagues with the Cubs in 2011.

Outrighted: Quiroz, Bochy, Axford, Gomez, d’Arnaud, Richardson, Elmore

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According to the International League and Pacific Coast League transactions pages, the following outrights and related minor moves took place today:

  • The Giants have outrighted catcher Guillermo Quiroz and righty Brett Bochy. Quiroz, 32, saw just three MLB plate appearances this year and has only once made more than 100 trips to the plate in a single season despite seeing action in ten MLB campaigns. Bochy, son of manager Bruce, got his first taste of the bigs this year, allowing two earned runs in 3 1/3 innings.
  • After designating them for assignment recently, the Pirates have outrighted relievers John Axford and Jeanmar Gomez. Axford, 31, will look for a chance to bounce back after posting three seasons and 189 innings of 4.24 ERA work from the pen. Gomez, meanwhile, tossed 62 frames of 3.19 ERA ball after a solid 2013, but his peripherals do not quite back up the results.
  • Pittsburgh also outrighted utility infielder Chase d’Arnaud. The 27-year-old has fairly minimal MLB action, but owns a .251/.316/.370 line over 1,426 Triple-A plate appearances over parts of four seasons. He has spent his entire career in the Pirates organization.
  • The Yankees have outrighted outfielder Antoan Richardson after he racked up five stolen bases over the course of just 13 games (and 17 plate appearances) in New York. Richardson, 31, has been a consistent high-OBP and speed threat in the upper minors, but has yet to receive a real opportunity at the big league level.
  • Also outrighted was utilitman Jake Elmore of the Reds. Cincinnati claimed Elmore from the Athletics in early August. He ultimately saw just 12 plate appearances with the Reds, and is still looking for his first consistent MLB role at age 27.
  • Previously outrighted players Adam Moore of the Padres, Scott Elbert of the Dodgers, Matt McBride of the Rockies, and Evan Reed and Don Kelly of the Tigers have all elected free agency.

Outrighted: Scott Elbert, Jason Lane, Tony Abreu

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Let’s take a look at the day’s minor moves:

  • Scott Elbert of the Dodgers has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, tweets Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. The lefty was designated for assignment on Tuesday. He has been trying to work back to form after not throwing a big league pitch over the last two seasons. Elbert had the right to refuse the assignment, but will stay with the organization, tweets Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
  • The Padres have outrighted lefty Jason Lane, according to the MLB transactions page. Lane had an outstanding first big league start, but will serve as depth at Triple-A if he accepts his assignment.
  • Tony Abreu has also been outrighted by the Giants, per the PCL transactions page. The second baseman received only four plate appearances during his brief call-up. He will have the option of electing free agency.

Dodgers Designate Scott Elbert For Assignment

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The Dodgers have designated lefty Scott Elbert for assignment, according to the MLB transactions page. Elbert, 28, had been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery (and subsequent toe injury) on the 60-day DL.

Elbert was a major contributor for the Dodgers over 2011-12, throwing 66 innings of 2.32 ERA ball (with 8.6 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9) over that span. But he has thrown only 20 frames over the last two years, all in the minors. He owns a 4.26 ERA in 12 2/3 innings this year, striking out 9.2 and walking 5.0 runners per nine.

Dodgers Avoid Arbitration With Elbert, Butera

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4:50pm: Butera's deal includes $100K in attainable performance bonuses, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Likewise, Elbert can earn up to $100k in incentive pay, Heyman further tweets.

4:01pm: The Dodgers' deals with Elbert, Butera, and Mike Baxter are all non-guaranteed, Hernandez tweets.

3:49pm: The Dodgers have avoided arbitration with Scott Elbert and Drew Butera, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).  Elbert gets a one-year, $575K deal while Butera will earn $700K (link).  

Our own Matt Swartz projected that Elbert would earn $600K through arbitration while Butera would get $700K.  Elbert, 28, underwent Tommy John surgery in June and was considered a non-tender candidate, but it would appear that the Dodgers are confident that he will bounce back strong in 2014.  The lefty reliever posted a 2.20 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 2012.  

Butera, 30, saw just six big league games in total last season for the Twins and Dodgers.  The catcher came to Los Angeles in a July 31st deal for a player to be named later.  In 43 Triple-A games last year, Butera hit just .187/.228 /.281.

The Dodgers have now avoided arbitration with three of their players today after signing Elbert, Butera, and Mike Baxter earlier today.  There are four remaining arbitration eligible Dodgers – Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen, A.J. Ellis, and Ronald Belisario.

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