Added To 40-Man Roster: Giants, Dodgers, Pirates
Today is the deadline for teams to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from next month's Rule 5 draft. Here's more on which players need to be protected and here are the details on which players have had their contracts selected to the 40-man roster:
- The Giants added Hector Correa, Charlie Culberson, Tyler Graham, Roger Kieschnick, Dan Otero and Angel Villalona to their 40-man roster, reports Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (Twitter links). Baggarly suspects Villalona's inclusion may be a "procedural move," since Villalona still needs a new visa to play in the United States.
- The Dodgers have added Michael Antonini, Alex Castellanos, Stephen Fife, Josh Wall and Chris Withrow to their 40-man roster, according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times (Twitter link).
- The Pirates have announced the additions of Matt Hague, Starling Marte, Jordy Mercer, Rudy Owens, Duke Welker and Justin Wilson to their 40-man roster. Pittsburgh's 40-man roster is now full.
- The Mariners added Chih-Hsien Chang, Francisco Martinez and Carlos Triunfel to the 40-man roster, reports Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Radio Seattle (via Twitter).
- The Angels added Johnny Hellweg, Fabio Martinez, Ariel Pena and Jean Segura to their 40-man roster, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
- The Red Sox announced that Drake Britton, Che-Hsuan Lin and Will Middlebrooks were added to the club's 40-man roster.
- The Rangers added pitchers Jacob Brigham, Roman Mendez, Justin Miller, Martin Perez, Neil Ramirez and Matt West to their 40-man roster, reports Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest (via Twitter).
- The Indians announced that Scott Barnes, Juan Diaz and Danny Salazar were added to the team's 40-man roster. The Tribe's roster now has a full complement of 40 players.
- The Cubs announced that Jeff Beliveau, Junior Lake, Matt Szczur and Josh Vitters have been added to the club's 40-man roster.
Quick Hits: Sizemore, Ponson, Braves
Wednesday afternoon linkage as the news continues to fly in from the Milwaukee meetings..
- A number of teams remain in play for Grady Sizemore including the Giants, Rockies, Cubs, Red Sox, Rangers, Mariners, and Nationals, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
- The Athletics met with Sidney Ponson's agent today, a source tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter).
- Braves GM Frank Wren and agent Adam Katz are now meeting in Milwaukee, tweets MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith. Katz is a part of Wasserman Media Group and represents a number of players, including Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. To view WMG's client list, check out MLBTR's Agency Database.
Quick Hits: Phillips, Kuroda, Ortiz, Wood, Counsell
It's been a busy first day of the GM meetings, but we don't want to let anything fall through the cracks. Here's a collection of assorted links from throughout the day:
- The Reds don't intend to make Brandon Phillips available in a trade, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers confirms a rumor we'd heard about previously, telling MLB.com's Ken Gurnick that his team has interest in Hiroki Kuroda.
- The Red Sox aren't the only team meeting with David Ortiz's agent tonight. Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets that the Orioles will also meet with Fern Cuza, and could be interested in Ortiz as well. GM Dan Duquette noted that Cuza also represents Vladimir Guerrero, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com.
- Former Angels pitching coach Marcel Lachemann has rejoined the team as an assistant to new GM Jerry Dipoto, says Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
- Earlier this week, we heard the Angels were eyeing right-handed relief help. DiGiovanna has more details on their search, naming Octavio Dotel, Todd Coffey, and Matt Capps as some possible targets.
- Cubs GM Jed Hoyer will explore the possibility of bringing back Kerry Wood, says MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
- At U.S.S. Mariner, Dave Cameron explains why he doesn't think the Mariners should open their wallets to sign Prince Fielder.
- Craig Counsell is open to both playing and "non-playing" offers, tweets Tom Haudicourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Counsell isn't necessarily leaning toward retirement, but would seriously consider it for the right non-playing opportunity.
AL West Notes: Hernandez, Mariners, Angels, Barajas
Here's a look at a few items out of the American League West..
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik has no intentions to trade Felix Hernandez and the organization plans to build around the 25-year-old right-hander, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
- The Angels called to express interest in Rod Barajas after he had already committed to the Pirates, tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
- The Angels announced that former big leaguer Hal Morris has agreed to terms on a multi-year contract to become the team's director of pro scouting, writes Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times. After retiring as a player Morris scouted amateur players from 2008-2009 for the Pirates before joining the Red Sox in 2010.
Mariners Willing To Include Cash In Figgins Trade
The Chone Figgins' signing has been nothing short of a disaster for the Mariners, which is why the team is willing to include cash in any trade involving the infielder according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. There isn't much interest right now, but Morosi says the Mariners view the Reds, Giants, and Tigers as possible trade fits.
Figgins, 33 in January, has hit just .236/.309/.285 with 53 steals in 74 chances during his two years in Seattle. He can play second and third bases, and has also filled in at left field in recent years. There are still two years and $17MM left on his contract, and a $9MM option for 2014 will vest with 600 plate appearances in 2013. It's not unreasonable to think the Mariners will have to eat upwards of $15MM to move Figgins.
Heyman On Fielder, Madson, Jurrjens, Capuano
In addition to Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes, and Mark Buehrle, the Marlins made an offer to free agent closer Ryan Madson, reports SI's Jon Heyman. Unlike the other three, the Madson offer has yet to inspire a visit to Miami. Heyman notes that the proposals are preliminary, and the team is not concerned about all four accepting. Marlins president David Samson explained Saturday on 790 The Ticket with Glenn Geffner that the team has a free agent flow chart in which they expect a playoff team with every outcome (transcript courtesy of Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post). More from Heyman…
- The Mariners will make a run at Prince Fielder, tweets Heyman, but they're unsure if there's room in the budget. Heyman suggests the Ms will not be in on Pujols.
- Heyman explains the mess that was the Phillies' negotiations with Madson. He says Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. proposed $44MM over four years, which Madson accepted an hour or two later. Oddly, Amaro added at that point that he needed the approval of CEO David Montgomery, according to Heyman. The next day Amaro told agent Scott Boras he'd been unable to get that approval. However, Amaro told Heyman there was no agreement "either verbal or in writing," and also said, "I will stand by my history of integrity forever." Amaro also said Montgomery was aware of the negotiations as they occurred and wasn't responsible for killing the deal. It appears Amaro and Boras are not on the same page as to what constitutes an agreement.
- The Braves seek a Zack Greinke-like deal for Jair Jurrjens, writes Heyman. He later tweeted, "Jurrjens understandably popular on trade market. A star and only 25. You know Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers, others are in."
- The Mets have crossed Chris Capuano off their list given his desire for a two-year deal.
Minor Moves: Snyder, Fox, Torres
We'll track the latest minor transactions here….
- The Astros have signed outfielder Brad Snyder to a minor league contract, tweets Alyson Footer. The 29-year-old was drafted by the Indians in the first round of the 2003 draft, and spent the last three seasons in the Cubs' organization. He posted an .801 OPS in 407 Triple-A plate appearances for Iowa in 2011.
- Right-hander Matt Fox has agreed to a minor league deal with the Mariners, tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The 28-year-old turned down more money from the Red Sox in favor of what he feels is a better opportunity to pitch in the bigs, MLBTR has learned. Fox made four Major League appearances for the Red Sox and Twins in 2010, but pitched exclusively for Boston's Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket last season.
- Within the previously linked tweet, Eddy adds that left-hander Joe Torres has re-signed with the Rockies. Torres, a former tenth overall pick by the Angels, spent most of 2011 pitching out of the bullpen at Double-A Tulsa, recording 10.1 K/9 and a 2.28 ERA in 55 1/3 innings.
AL West Notes: Fielder, Walker, Athletics
The Rangers are expressing early interest in available starters and relievers. Here’s an update on two of Texas’ division rivals…
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times doesn't endorse the argument that the Mariners should ignore Prince Fielder simply because they aren't positioned to contend in 2012.
- Taijuan Walker and Danny Hultzen are the best of the best Mariners prospects, Kevin Goldstein explains at Baseball Prospectus.
- The Mariners are hopeful that they'll only need to acquire one starting pitcher this offseason, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Felix Hernandez, Michael Pineda and Jason Vargas will start for Seattle and Blake Beavan could prove useful at the back of the rotation. Hultzen, James Paxton and Forrest Snow may be ready for the rotation at some point in 2012 and Seattle could sign 49-year-old free agent Jamie Moyer.
- San Jose city council approved the extension of a land-purchase option for the Athletics, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The A's have two years to decide whether to buy approximately five acres of downtown land for $7MM. First, however, MLB would have to approve a move from Oakland to San Jose.
Quick Hits: Moyer, Beltran, CBA, Lincecum, Mariners
It was 10 years ago today that the Diamondbacks set a World Series record for hits in a game, racking up 22 hits en route to a 15-2 rout of the Yankees in Game Six of the 2001 Series. This set the stage for a legendary seventh game that saw Luis Gonzalez's bloop single in the ninth inning off Mariano Rivera give the D'Backs their first world championship.
Some news from around the majors….
- The Mariners, Orioles, Pirates, Rangers, Rockies and Royals are among the teams that have sent scouts to monitor Jamie Moyer's throwing sessions, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Moyer now lives in San Diego, so Rosenthal guesses he'd prefer to pitch for a West Coast team — possibly a reunion with the Mariners, where Moyer is the club's all-time wins leader. The 49-year-old Moyer missed the entire 2011 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, but two scouts tell Rosenthal that Moyer is throwing as well as ever.
- The Blue Jays are getting closer to hiring Chuck LaMar as a scout, tweets Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun. LaMar was the original GM of the then-Devil Rays from 1998-2005 and has since worked in the front offices of the Phillies and the Nationals.
- Carlos Beltran could be re-signed if the Giants offer him a two-year deal with a vesting option on a third year, or three guaranteed years with a condition that Beltran plays left field, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- A source tells ESPN's Jerry Crasnick not to expect any "meaningful news" about the new collective bargaining agreement until next week at the earliest. The disagreement about hard slotting for draft picks remains the major point of contention, and Crasnick isn't sure if any other issue is holding up the new deal.
- Dave Cameron of Fangraphs thinks the Giants could save a lot of money and improve the overall state of their roster if they traded Tim Lincecum.
- Jack Zduriencik tells Larry Larue of the Tacoma News Tribune that veteran relief pitching and an answer at third base are goals for the Mariners this offseason, plus the broader goals of adding a bat and starting pitching.
- The Padres have hired Chad MacDonald as their new vice-president and assistant general manager, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. MacDonald had been the Mets' scouting director, and ESPN's Keith Law (Twitter link) reports that the Mets have hired former Blue Jays scout Tommy Tanous to fill the position.
- Bob Garber, the agent for C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt, tells Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York that both his clients would enjoy pitching in New York and fit in well with the Yankees. We've heard, however, the Yankees are worried about Oswalt's injury history and aren't willing to go all-out to sign Wilson.
- Prince Fielder sits atop Keith Law's ranking of the top 50 free agents, edging out Albert Pujols for the #1 spot since Fielder is younger. Law calls this year's free agent class "one of the thinnest I've ever seen." MLBTR's Tim Dierkes flip-flopped Pujols and Fielder atop his own list of the top 50 free agents. You can get in on the action by entering MLBTR's Free Agent Prediction Contest for the chance to win several terrific prizes.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Johnson, Vasquez, Blue Jays
The latest outright assignments from around MLB…
- The Rays might not have made the playoff were it not for Dan Johnson's heroics in the final game of the regular season, but he's no longer on Tampa Bay's roster. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Rays outrighted Johnson to Triple-A (Twitter links). The first baseman can elect free agency.
- The Mariners announced that they outrighted left-hander Anthony Vasquez to Triple-A. The 25-year-old posted a 8.90 ERA with 4.0 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 29 1/3 innings for Seattle in 2011. Vasquez must accept the assignment.
- The Blue Jays announced that they outrighted outfielder Adam Loewen and reliever Jesse Carlson off of their 40-man roster. Loewen, the fourth overall selection in the 2002 draft, successfully completed the transition from left-handed pitcher to outfielder in 2011. He posted a .306/.377/.508 line with 46 doubles at Triple-A before appearing in 14 games with the Blue Jays.
- Carlson, 30, spent the 2011 season on the disabled list after experiencing arm soreness in Spring Training and undergoing season-ending rotator cuff surgery in May. Carlson would have been arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason and his projected salary of $700K made him a clear non-tender candidate.