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Quick Hits: Byrd, Royals, Youk, Padres Sale

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Marlon Byrd was suspended for 50 games today after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs, according to MLB's official PR department (on Twitter). Byrd issued the following statement:

“I made an inexcusable mistake. Several years ago, I had surgery for a condition that was private and unrelated to baseball. Last winter, I suffered a recurrence of that condition and I was provided with a medication that resulted in my positive test. Although that medication is on the banned list, I absolutely did not use it for performance enhancement reasons. I am mortified by my carelessness and I apologize to everyone who loves this game as I do. I will serve my suspension, continue to work hard and hope that I am given an opportunity to help a Club win later this season.”

Here are some additional links for your Monday evening…

  • Royals general manager Dayton Moore told Jon Heyman of CBS Sports that he has received zero calls on Jeff Francoeur, Bruce Chen, and Jonathan Broxton (Twitter link).
  • Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com tweets that the reason the Red Sox didn't get more for Kevin Youkilis is because some offers from interested parties simply stated that they would take Youkilis "for nothing," if the Sox were willing to pick up the entire contract.
  • The imminent sale of the Padres could have a positive impact on the Mariners, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. The sale price is said to be $800MM — $600MM for the Padres and $200MM for a stake in their upcoming $1.2 billion TV deal with FOX. The Mariners can opt out of their current TV deal in 2015, and could be sitting on top of a "financial windfall," writes Baker. He writes that Mariners "should be able to get more in any pending sale if everything remains equal."
  • Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports writes that yesterday's Youkilis trade has kicked off the trade season, and runs through some big names that could be trade candidates at this year's deadline.

Outrighted: Repko, Chiang

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The latest outright assignments from around MLB…

  • The Red Sox announced that they activated outfielder Jason Repko from the 60-day disabled list and outrighted him to Triple-A.
  • The Mariners outrighted outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang to the Double-A Jackson Generals, the team announced on its website. The Mariners designated Chiang for assignment earlier this month to create roster space for Oliver Perez. The 24-year-old, who was acquired from the Red Sox in last summer's Erik Bedard trade, has a .238/.269/.336 batting line in the upper minors this year.

Rosenthal On Hernandez, Castro, Butler

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Trading Felix Hernandez for offense would make sense for the Mariners, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests. Hernandez, who’s under contract through 2014 and can block deals to ten teams, has a 3.52 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 94 2/3 innings this year. Here are more of Rosenthal’s notes from around MLB…

  • Few teams are willing to take on high salaries and part with premium prospects, Rosenthal writes. This would limit the Mariners’ potential trade partners were they to consider trading Hernandez.
  • The Mariners asked the Cubs about Starlin Castro and asked the Royals about Billy Butler in recent weeks, Rosenthal reports. They also talked to other clubs about potential trades for hitters, but none of the discussions progressed.
  • Virtually every team contacted the Cubs following a report indicating that Castro was available. However, the Cubs haven’t actually put Castro on the trading block.
  • Butler is also relatively untouchable, Rosenthal writes. The Royals consider him a core piece.

Draft Signings: Diaz, Blach, Cubs, Red Sox

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Here are the latest mid-to-late round draft signings…

  • The Mariners have signed third rounder Edwin Diaz for $300K reports ESPN's Kiley McDaniel (via Keith Law on Twitter). The right-hander was slotted for a $186K bonus.
  • The Giants have signed fifth rounder Ty Blach for a straight slot $225K, reports Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter).
  • MLB.com's Carrie Muskat reports that the Cubs have signed fifth rounder Anthony Prieto ($200K), 10th rounder Chad Martin ($10K), 13th rounder Bijan Rademacher, 16th rounder Michael Hamann ($100K), and 22nd rounder Eduardo Orozco ($1K). Chicago has signed 21 picks so far.
  • The Red Sox have signed sixth rounder Justin Haley and 19th rounder Iseha Conklin according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier (on Twitter). Haley's slot number was approximately $164K.

Trade Candidate: Jason Vargas

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In a trade market that’s expected to feature some effective but expensive left-handed starters, Jason Vargas could have considerable value. His $4.85MM salary is less than half of Wandy Rodriguez’s salary, and less than one third of Cole Hamels’ salary.

Vargas’ back of the baseball card numbers are remarkably similar to those of Rodriguez, as demonstrated below. But interested teams will note that Vargas is younger, faces designated hitters instead of pitchers, and will be more affordable in the short and long-term.

Vargas & Wandy

Vargas could slot comfortably into the rotation of many contending teams. He’s not an ace and probably never will be, but he successfully limits the opposition with a repertoire based on his changeup and modest 88 mph fastball. The combination typically results in an ERA around 4.00, twice as many strikeouts as walks and lots of fly balls in 200 innings or so. So far this year, Vargas has a 3.95 ERA with 5.7 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 40.1% ground ball rate in 98 innings. 

However, Vargas has been more homer-prone than usual this year and he’s generating fewer swings and misses than he ordinarily does. Just five qualified starters are inducing swings and misses less frequently than Vargas, whose 5.8% swinging strike rate is his lowest since joining the Mariners three and a half years ago.

Potential suitors wouldn't be looking at a three-month rental. The 29-year-old CAA client is under team control through 2013 when he’ll be arbitration eligible for the final time. He’s on track for a substantial raise next year — possibly a salary of $7MM-plus.

The last-place Mariners, now 30-40, will presumably acknowledge that this isn’t their year within a month or so and start listening to trade offers. General manager Jack Zduriencik has dealt from starting pitching depth twice in the past year, yet the Mariners still have many young arms. The rotation of the Jackson Generals, Seattle’s Double-A affiliate, includes top prospects Danny Hultzen, James Paxton and Taijuan Walker.

The Mariners probably won’t be able to trade Vargas for an elite hitting prospect like Jesus Montero. But Zduriencik acquired Charlie Furbush, Chance Ruffin and Casper Wells for Doug Fister and David Pauley a year ago. Perhaps they’ll see similarly intriguing offers for Vargas this summer, when some contenders will be willing to part with controllable players for experienced starting pitching help.

Quick Hits: Galvis, ChiSox, Marlins, Soriano, Dodgers

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Ichiro Suzuki recorded his 2500th career hit tonight, leading off the game with a single to center field.  Only Al Simmons, Ty Cobb and George Sisler reached the 2500-hit milestone in fewer games than Ichiro's 1817 MLB games.  Of course, Ichiro started his Major League career at a much later age than any of those Hall-of-Famers, as he had already racked up 1278 hits in Japan before joining the Mariners in 2001.

Here's the latest from around the majors….

  • Phillies infielder Freddy Galvis has been suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball due to a positive PED test, according to a statement from the league.  Galvis is currently injured and will able to serve his suspension while on the DL, which FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi describes as "a loophole that wasn't closed in the new [collective bargaining agreement]."
  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams told reporters (including Scott Powers of ESPN Chicago) that his team's low attendance could make it more difficult for the Sox to make acquisitions at the trade deadline.
  • The Marlins are actively looking for outfielders, writes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro as part of a reader mailbag.  Frisaro speculates that Denard Span, Peter Bourjos or Carlos Lee could fit the Marlins' needs.
  • ‘‘It goes both ways because I don’t want to be miserable,’’ Alfonso Soriano tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times about a possible trade from the Cubs.  Soriano wants to remain in Chicago but, ‘‘I don’t want to have a long summer or a long season. I just want to win, no matter what. If it’s here, I’m more than happy. If it’s not here, if they think they want to take longer than two or three years, then my contract’s done….But it has to be a very good team to go to because I don’t want to go be miserable on the other team, too.’’
  • With the Dodgers expected to big players at the trade deadline, Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times warns that the team shouldn't feel obligated to make a move just to answer the pressure.
  • Ned Colletti tells Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times that the Dodgers are looking for a starting pitcher, a hitter and a left-handed reliever.  Trades have been hard to come by, however, as Colletti says teams have so far only been willing to discuss moving pending free agents.  The second wild card has also improved several teams' chances of contending, so there are fewer obvious sellers.
  • The Pirates have been similarly stifled in their trade attempts, as they've been discussing moves for the last six weeks, writes Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  "We've been told by some clubs that they're going to hold on as long as they can to sell tickets and try to keep their fans engaged, so that may take an obvious seller off the market," said GM Neal Huntington.
  • Diamondbacks rookie Wade Miley shut down the Mariners on Monday, but Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that in 2010, the two teams discussed a trade that would've sent Miley to Seattle in exchange for David Aardsma.

Mariners Designate Chiang for Assignment

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The Mariners announced today that they have designated outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang for assignment. Oliver Perez was selected from Triple-A Tacoma in a corresponding 40-man-roster move.

Chiang, 24, was acquired by the M's in the three-way swap that sent Erik Bedard to the Red Sox prior to last summer's non-waiver trade deadline. The left-handed hitter posted a .242/.273/.342 line in 59 games at Double-A and Triple-A this season, a poor showing after a promising 2011 in which he .302/.361/.537 in Boston's and Seattle's organizations.

AL West Notes: Manny, A’s, Saunders, Vargas

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Manny Ramirez has been eligible to join the A's major league roster for more than two weeks after completing his 50-game suspension, but the slugger remained in Triple-A.  Last night, the situation reached its logical conclusion as Ramirez requested his outright release and the team obliged.  Here's more on Manny and a look around the AL West..

  • Ramirez told ESPNDeportes.com's Enrique Rojas that he isn't mad at Oakland for not promoting him and hopes to continue his career.  "The A's treated me amazingly during all this time, but sadly didn't have space for me and this is something I can't control. I'm going home to continue my training hoping to get the chance to play again," said the slugger.
  • Pitcher Joe Saunders was emotional when he learned that the Angels were trading him to the Diamondbacks in 2010 as part of a package for Dan Haren, writes Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times.  Looking back on it now, the hurler says that he is glad to be a part of the building process in Arizona.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) says not to discount the Mariners' Jason Vargas as a trade candidate due to his road ERA (4.53).  In total, the left-hander has a 3.95 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 15 starts this year.

Draft Signings: Mariners, Nats, Pirates, Royals, O’s

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Here are the latest draft signings from beyond the first round, with the most recent news at the top of the post….

  • The Mariners announced that third-rounder Edwin Diaz and third-round compensation pick Tyler Pike have agreed to terms.  Figures weren't announced but Kendall Rogers of Perfect Game USA (via Twitter) reports that left-hander Pike signed for an $850K bonus, well above the recommended slot value of $370.8K.  Diaz is a right-handed pitcher and, as the 98th overall pick, has a recommended bonus of $485.7K.
  • The Nationals paid second-round pick Tony Renda a $500K bonus, reports Baseball America's Jim Callis (via Twitter).  Renda, a second baseman from Cal, carried a recommended bonus price of $630K as the 80th overall pick.
  • The Pirates announced the signing of high school pitcher Jon Sandfort, the club's third-round selection.  Terms were not disclosed, but Jim Callis tweets that Sandfort signed for his exact recommended bonus of $462.9K.
  • The Royals have announced (Twitter link) the signing of Vanderbilt left-hander Sam Selman, the club's second-round draft pick.  Selman signed for a $750K bonus, reports Baseball America's Jim Callis, which is below the recommended $781.6K bonus price for the 66th overall pick.  The Royals have now signed 28 of 40 draft picks, including all of their picks from the first 11 rounds.
  • Another Royals draft signing, fourth-rounder Kenny Diekroeger, will receive a $500K bonus, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (Twitter link).  The recommended price for Diekroeger's draft position was $346.6K.
  • The Orioles have agreed to terms with more than 20 draft picks, reports Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com.  The club is "in the very early or beginning stages" of negotiations with first-round pick Kevin Gausman and second-round pick Branden Kline.

Draft Signings: Mariners, Mets, Royals, A’s, Pirates

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Here are today's latest draft signings, with the most recent updates up top..

  • ‪The Mariners‬ signed sixth-round pick Timmy Lopes for $550K, well over the pick value of $198K, according to Callis (via Twitter).  The infielder out of California is said to have a good bat, not unlike his older brother Christian Lopes who was drafted by the Blue Jays last year.  The M's also announced that they signed 26 others from this year's draft and have now inked 25 of their first 30 picks.
  • The Mets‬ signed third-rounder Matt Koch for $425K, slightly below his pick value of $445K, tweets Jim Callis of Baseball America.  The right-hander has a 92-96 mph fastball and flashes good slider and changeup. 
  • The Royals‬ signed fourth-round pick, Stanford infielder Kenny Diekroeger, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.  Just one of Kansas City's top ten picks remain unsigned.
  • The A’s announced that they agreed to terms with center fielder Herschel Powell (20th round), right-hander Lee Sosa (26th), shortstop Christopher Wolfe (30th), and first baseman John Wooten (37th).
  • The Pirates announced that they signed eight draft picks, including infielder Eric Wood (sixth round).  Pittsburgh has now inked nine draft picks in total and continues to negotiate with eighth-overall pick Mark Appel.
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