Padres Claim Bobby LaFromboise
The Padres have claimed lefty Bobby LaFromboise off of waivers from the Mariners, reports Corey Brock of MLB.com (via Twitter). He has been optioned to Triple-A, Brock adds.
LaFromboise was designated by the Mariners to create 40-man space for Chris Young. At age 27, he has only ten MLB appearances under his belt, but has posted an intriguing stat line in the upper minors for a southpaw. He worked to a 3.39 ERA last year and a 1.36 mark in 2012, both in over 60 frames of work. Better, he did so with over 9.0 K/9 and less then 3.0 BB/9.
Minor Moves: Watanabe, Poythress, Laffey, Berger
We'll round up today's minor moves here:
- The Red Sox have released reliever Shunsuke Watanabe, who was in camp on a minor league invite, tweets WEEI.com's Alex Speier. The 37-year-old has never pitched in the majors, spending his entire career in Japan with the Chiba Lotte Marines.
- First baseman Rich Poythress has been released by the Mariners, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports (via Twitter). A lifetime member of the Mariners organization, the 26-year-old has never received a big league callup.
- The Nationals signed lefty Aaron Laffey to a minor league deal, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish. Laffey was released by the Orioles earlier this week.
- The A's have acquired left-hander Eric Berger from the Astros in exchange for a player to be named, according to Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Berger, 27, has never made an appearance in the major leagues.
Added To The 40-Man Roster: Friday
Between now and Opening Day, several minor league signees will win jobs with their clubs and earn 40-man roster spots. Here are today's additions:
- The Mariners have told lefty Joe Beimel that he will get an Opening Day slot, meaning that he'll need to be added to the club's 40-man, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). In addition to the 36-year-old, Seattle will need to add 25-year-old lefty Roenis Elias to the 40-man after he made a surprise run through camp to join the Opening Day rotation, as Shannon Drayer of ESPN Radio Seattle reports on Twitter. To clear room, the club designated Carlos Triunfel and Xavier Avery for assignment.
Mariners Designate Carlos Triunfel, Xavier Avery
The Mariners Have designated Carlos Triunfel and Xavier Avery for assignment, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). The moves opened 40-man spots for the club's final Opening Day roster moves.
Both players are 24. Triunfel is a middle infielder on a team that is stocked up the middle. He has only limited MLB experience, but in 413 Triple-A plate appearances last year he was good for a .282/.328/.394 line. Meanwhile, Avery came to Seattle in last year's Michael Morse deal. The speedy former Oriole came in with a chance to earn a spot in the outfield, but did not impress enough in camp to crack the Opening Day roster, or to keep his 40-man spot.
It is worth noting as well that the club has decided to option Nick Franklin to Triple-A, where he is expected to handle the shortstop duties. Franklin has come up frequently in trade rumors, and had been experimenting in the outfield in hopes of landing a big league roster spot.
Mariners Sign Chris Young, Designate Bobby LaFromboise
TODAY: Young agreed to an advance consent clause, tweets Dutton, which is somewhat notable because it was Seattle's demand for such a provision that led Randy Wolf to request his release.
YESTERDAY 5:31pm: Young gets a $1.25MM guarantee, reports Dutton. Performance bonuses could tack on an additional $3.475MM if maxed out, which would occur at 28 starts and 180 innings.
11:14am: The Mariners have officially signed starter Chris Young and designated Bobby LaFromboise for assignment to create space, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (via Twitter). After recently parting with veterans Randy Wolf and Scott Baker, Seattle had a clear need for starting pitching.
Young, 34, appeared to be rejuvenated this spring, spending camp with the Nationals after undergoing thoracic outlet surgery on his shoulder. The towering righty has not appeared in the bigs since 2012, but threw to a 3.48 ERA in 10 1/3 spring innings. In his last MLB turn, Young threw to a 4.15 ERA in 115 innings with the Mets.
Meanwhile, LaFromboise is a 27-year-old lefty who has seen only ten chances to make a big league appearance, all in a brief stint in the Mariners pen last year. He has put up some solid numbers in the upper minors in recent seasons, working to a 3.39 ERA in 61 innings at Triple-A last year and putting up a 1.36 mark in 66 1/3 innings at Double-A and Triple-A in 2012. LaFromboise has averaged better than nine strikeous and less than three free passes per nine innings in both of the last two years.
AL West Notes: Harden, Boesch, Franklin, Taylor
Longtime Athletics starter Rich Harden is still pursuing his throwing program and is planning to hold a mid-season showcase, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Over 624 1/3 innings in seven seasons with the A's, the 32-year-old threw to a 3.65 ERA. Here are a few quick notes out of the AL West:
- Angels outfielder Brennan Boesch has a March 30 "soft out" in his deal, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. In essence, the clause requires the club to add him to its 25-man roster or allow him to go to any other team that is willing to do so. The 28-year-old has enjoyed a strong spring, putting up a .278/.350/.472 line in 40 plate appearances.
- Mariners infielder Nick Franklin has been spending some time working in the outfield, and says that he is simply "trying to be versatile," reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. The 23-year-old has been a hot subject of trade speculation, as he lacks a regular spot in the Seattle infield and could appeal to a variety of clubs. But his focus is on getting to the bigs with his current organization. "Some way, somehow I want to get on the field, whatever it takes," said Franklin. "What am I going to do, wait around for someone to get hurt?"
- Athletics outfielder Michael Taylor has learned that he will not make the Opening Day roster, reports Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com. As the 28-year-old is out of options, he figures to be dealt or plucked off of the waiver wire, though a move has yet to be made. Once a top prospect, Taylor has certainly put his best foot forward this spring with a .274/.348/.532 line and three long balls in 69 plate appearances, though he has struck out 17 times while drawing six walks. Last year, in 481 trips to the plate at Triple-A, Taylor had a .281/.360/.474 triple-slash with 18 home runs.
- The division has two new additions from this morning, as the Mariners added starter Chris Young and the Astros claimed outfielder Alex Presley.
Mariners Looking For Starting Pitching
The Mariners are looking for another starting pitcher after the departure of Randy Wolf, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News-Tribune writes. Wolf was to be part of the Mariners' rotation, but he left the team over a disagreement about a 45-day advance-consent release. The team had just released another rotation candidate, Scott Baker, at his request, and Baker has now agreed to terms with the Rangers.
That leaves the Mariners with either Blake Beavan or Hector Noesi in their No. 5 spot, and they're looking for other possibilities. "There are still some things in the works," manager Lloyd McClendon said this morning. "We’re starting to get clarity to the whole picture. Hopefully, by the end of the day, we’ll have more to tell you."
Mariners Reach New Terms With Endy Chavez, Humberto Quintero
TODAY: Quintero has also re-signed with the Mariners on a minor league deal, tweets Dutton.
YESTERDAY, 3:38pm: Chavez has already reached agreement on a new minor league deal, tweets Dutton.
3:18pm: The Mariners will release outfielder Endy Chavez and catcher Humberto Quintero rather than paying the pair $100K retention bonuses, tweets Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (via Twitter). Both will hit the open market as a result.
The pair of veterans have a combined 23 years of MLB experience between them. It appears that Seattle would be interested in bringing them back on new minor league deals, but they'll have a chance to look for a better opportunity elsewhere in the meantime.
Quick Hits: Royals, Wolf, Astros, Phillies
The Royals made an odd move Tuesday, claiming Rule 5 pick Patrick Schuster from the Padres and designating outfielder Carlos Peguero for assignment. As Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star notes, the Royals did not give Schuster a locker, and manager Ned Yost said he had not talked to GM Dayton Moore about Schuster. McCullough thinks the move was about Peguero — the Royals would like to keep Peguero, and they may feel ten days from now, by which time the season will have begun, is a good time to sneak him through waivers. To designate Peguero for assignment, the Royals needed to claim someone else, and Schuster just happened to be available. It doesn't sound like he'll be with the Royals long. Here are more notes from around baseball.
- Lefty Randy Wolf release by the Mariners was triggered by Wolf's annoyance at the Mariners' insistence on a 45-day advance-consent release, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune writes. Such a clause would have allowed the Mariners to drop Wolf during the first several weeks of the season and only pay a prorated portion of his big-league salary. "I principally objected to that because we negotiated in good faith in February on a very team-friendly contract," says Wolf. Wolf would have broken camp with the team if he had been willing to sign the release. Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik says he wanted the clause in case Wolf, who did not pitch at all in 2013 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, did not perform well. Dutton reports that many sources within baseball say that clauses like the one Mariners wanted Wolf to sign are not unusual.
- FOX Sports' Jon Morosi, however, asks (via Twitter) whether the Yankees, for example, would have let a member of their projected starting rotation depart over a clause like this. Probably not, Morosi suggests, saying that the Mariners' decision to release Wolf "sends the wrong message."
- The Astros object to the Associated Press' calculation of their payroll, reports Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. The AP lists their payroll as $45MM, lowest in the Majors, just behind that of the Marlins. "Outside accounting methods are estimates and don’t accurately reflect total payroll costs," says GM Jeff Luhnow. Drellich notes that the AP's calculation does not seem to include a $5.5MM payout to the Pirates for Wandy Rodriguez, for example.
- Freddy Galvis' MRSA infection has the Phillies interested in finding an extra reserve infielder who can play shortstop, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports. That could mean adding an infielder who isn't currently with the team. Galvis hopes to return to baseball activities in around a week, but he will start the season on the disabled list, and starting shortstop Jimmy Rollins, meanwhile, might need a day or two off in April when his wife has a baby. In the meantime, the Phillies will look for alternatives. "We’re still looking inside and outside the organization as far as filling that role," says GM Ruben Amaro Jr. "But we have candidates. We have guys internally and there are some guys we’re looking at outside the organization as well." Reid Brignac, an NRI in Phillies spring training, might be a possibility.
Minor Moves: Oeltjen, Laffey, Cassevah, Wolf, Hill
We'll keep tabs on the day's minor moves here:
- Outfielder Trent Oeltjen tweets (via Rotoworld) that he has signed with the Diamondbacks. Oeltjen, 31, has not appeared in the big leagues since 2011 with the Dodgers, but he has hit well at the Triple-A level, putting up a line of .255/.345/.483 for the Angels' Triple-A Salt Lake affiliate last season.
- The Orioles have released lefty Aaron Laffey, MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski tweets. Laffey pitched just 12 2/3 innings in the big leagues in 2013, spending most of it struggling at Triple-A, but he pitched 100 2/3 innings for the Blue Jays in 2012.
- The Rockies have released pitcher Bobby Cassevah, MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo tweets. Cassevah, who accumulated a 3.20 ERA with 4.7 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 from 2010-2012 in the Angels bullpen, is currently rehabbing an injury.
- Veteran lefty Randy Wolf has requested, and received, his release from the Mariners, MLB.com's Greg Johns tweets. Wolf was attempting a comeback after missing the entire 2013 season. He last appeared in the big leagues in 2012, when he pitched for the Brewers and Orioles. The Mariners told Wolf he had made the team, but he did not want to sign a 45-day advance consent release, Johns notes.
- The Blue Jays have signed pitcher Shawn Hill from the York Revolution of the Atlantic League, MLive.com's Chris Iott tweets. Hill, 32, last appeared in the big leagues in 2012 with the Jays. He posted a 5.51 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 150 1/3 innings with the Tigers' Triple-A Toledo affiliate in 2013.
- The Padres have acquired catcher Adam Moore from the Royals in exchange for cash considerations, tweets Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star. The 29-year-old has seen bit action at the MLB level in each of the last five years. In his longest stint, a 2010 run with the Mariners, Moore managed only a .513 OPS in 218 plate appearances.
Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.