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Darren Oliver To Return To Blue Jays

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The Blue Jays announced that left-hander Darren Oliver will return to the team in 2013.  The 42-year-old reliever will earn $3MM this coming season, as the Blue Jays exercised his option earlier in the offseason.

Oliver, a Frye McCann Sports client, wanted the Blue Jays to increase his salary, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reported this month.  The veteran reportedly planned to retire if Toronto didn't give him a bump from his $3MM salary and sources indicated that he would have welcomed a trade back to the Rangers as his family lives in the area.  

Instead of calling it quits or being traded elsewhere, he'll return for a 20th MLB season without a raise.  Oliver posted a 2.06 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings this past season.  Despite his advanced age, Oliver has made more than 60 relief appearances in each of the past four seasons.

AL East Notes: Rays, Blue Jays, Johnson

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Links from the only division in baseball that featured three 90-win teams in 2012…

International Moves: Dodgers, Liberato, Villatoro

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We’ll keep track of the day’s international signings here…

  • The Dodgers announced the signings of four 17-year-olds from the Dominican Republic (via Twitter): outfielders Deivy Castillo and Ariel Sandoval, shortstop Ravel Hernandez, and right-hander Miguel Urena. Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times tweeted the age and positions of each player.
  • The Mariners signed Luis Liberato, a 17-year-old outfielder from the Dominican Republic, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. Liberato obtains a $140K bonus. The 6'1" teenager has gap power with a solid swing and could stay in center field or move to right, according to Badler.
  • The Blue Jays signed 18-year-old right-hander Denis Villatoro to a five-year contract, Saúl Carranza of the Honduran newspaper Diez reported over the weekend (translation via MLBTR's Nick Collias). It's a five-year deal, according to La Tribuna. Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun notes that it's worth $20K (Twitter link). Villatoro, who worked out for the Blue Jays before signing, said he's "very happy" to have agreed to terms with Toronto, Carranza reports. His fastball reaches 93 mph, and he also drew interest from the Orioles, Yankees, Mets, Astros, Giants and Pirates.

Minor Moves: Young, Loewen

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The latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Nationals have signed Delwyn Young to a minor league contract, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (on Twitter). Young has a career line of .258/.317/.393 in 779 plate appearances for the Dodgers and Pirates. He posted just a .569 OPS for the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League last season. The second baseman/outfielder did not receive an invitation to Major League Spring Training.
  • The Blue Jays signed outfielder Adam Loewen to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to MLB Spring Training, the team announced. The 28-year-old native of Surrey, British Columbia returns to the Blue Jays organization following a season with the Mets’ top affiliate. Loewen played at Triple-A Buffalo (now Toronto's International League affiliate) last year and posted a .227/.328/.391 batting line with eight home runs in 238 plate appearances. The former pitching prospect spent the 2009-11 seasons in the Blue Jays organization.

Quick Hits: Giants, Byrd, Reyes, Jurrjens

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As arbitration eligible players around MLB agree to terms with their respective teams, be sure to use MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker. The tool allows users to search in many ways, including by team and by service time. Here are the latest links from around MLB…

  • The Giants' multiyear deals with Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro are among five free agent contracts that could backfire, ESPN.com's Jim Bowden writes.
  • The Giants would offer Brian Wilson a big league contract, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (on Twitter). The Mets are also in on Wilson, who was non-tendered by San Francisco at the end of November.
  • Doug Lara, Marlon Byrd's personal hitting coach, told Puro Beisbol last week that the outfielder is in discussions with the Marlins. Byrd has been playing for the Tomateros de Culiacán this winter (translation via Nick Collias). 
  • Dennys Reyes told Puro Beisbol that he has offers from the Dodgers, Orioles, and Blue Jays. Among the three, Reyes said, "I'd like to return to the Dodgers," the team he debuted with as 20-year-old in 1997 (translation via Nick Collias). 
  • Free agent right-hander Jair Jurrjens told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he feels good physically and has begun throwing bullpens (Twitter link).

Blue Jays, Colby Rasmus Avoid Arbitration

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The Blue Jays avoided arbitration with center fielder Colby Rasmus, agreeing to a one-year, $4.675MM deal, MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm reports (on Twitter). Beverly Hills Sports Council represents Rasmus, who was arbitration eligible for the second time.

Rasmus, 26, remains under team control through 2014. Matt Swartz had projected a $4.5MM salary for Rasmus following a season in which he hit 23 home runs and posted a .223/.289/.400 batting line.

As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, the Blue Jays have three remaining unsigned arb eligible players: Emilio Bonifacio, J.A. Happ and Josh Thole.

East Notes: Orioles, Mets, Wilson, Blue Jays

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We know that the Orioles aren't looking to trade J.J. Hardy based on recent comments from manager Buck Showalter, but that doesn't mean that Baltimore won't look to make other deals.  "I know from talking to Peter [Angelos], if there's a deal there that everybody thinks works, we're going to go. Nobody's scared here.  Nobody's afraid to make a deal here. Trust me. Trust me. It's just, we've got to get the right one," said the skipper, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (on Twitter).  Here's more out of the AL and NL East..

  • The Mets are reportedly showing serious interest in Brian Wilson, but Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (onTwitter) doesn't see a signing in the immediate future.  At this stage, Rubin is told that Wilson still has a ways to go after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. 
  • Don't look for the Mets to actively pursue Grady Sizemore thanks to an outfield already full of left-handed hitters, adds Rubin (via Twitter). The former Indians star's health remains an issue heading into 2013 as Sizemore works to recover from microfracture surgery on his knee.
  • Other teams in the AL East, like the Blue Jays, claim that they're not building with the idea of pouncing while the Yankees are cost-conscious, but Ken Davidoff of the New York Post isn't necessarily buying it.  Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos has said that his club has a three-to-five-year window to seriously contend, and a person familiar with the the Blue Jays’ internal discussions says that it ties back into the Yankees’ apparent weakening and the Red Sox's disappointing 2012.
  • The Red Sox have high hopes for their recently-replenished youth movement, writes Tim Britton of The Providence Journal.  Boston has placed a greater emphasis on developing talent from within their system ever since their August trade with the Dodgers.

Daniel Seco contributed to this post.

Blue Jays Designate Tommy Hottovy For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have designated Tommy Hottovy for assignment, the team announced. The move clears room on the 40-man roster for the recently-signed Henry Blanco.

Toronto claimed Hottovy off waivers from Rangers just yesterday. The 31-year-old left-hander appeared in nine MLB games with the Royals this past season, but spent most of the year at Triple-A, where he posted a 2.52 ERA with 11.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 50 innings.

Blue Jays Sign Henry Blanco

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The Blue Jays announced that they signed catcher Henry Blanco to a non-guaranteed deal for the 2013 season. The 41-year-old Elite Sports Group client would earn $750K at the MLB level.

Blanco appeared in 21 games this past season, posting a .188/.224/.281 batting line in 67 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks. He also spent time on the disabled list with a sprained thumb. Arizona declined its 2013 option on Blanco after the season.

Boras Talks Bourn, Soriano, Lohse

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Though many have expressed doubts that Michael Bourn, Rafael Soriano and Kyle Lohse will find lucrative free agent contracts, their agent suggests all three players will be just fine. Scott Boras, who represents each of the top three remaining free agents, told ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick that Bourn, Soriano and Lohse will do well, even if they remain unsigned as Spring Training approaches.

“People call me all the time and say, 'Man, your players aren't signed yet,'” Boras said. “Well, it doesn't really matter what time dinner is when you're the steak.”

All three players are linked to draft pick compensation after turning down qualifying offers at the beginning of the offseason (they're actually the only three free agents still linked to draft pick compensation). The Rangers have done legwork on Bourn, according to Crasnick, who notes that the Braves haven’t ruled out a reunion with the center fielder. Bourn could appeal to the Mariners, and Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik told Crasnick that he continues seeking bats.

"We have had a lot of dialogue regarding offense, but we would be open to anything," Zduriencik said.

Boras denied reports that he circled back to ask the Yankees about their interest in a one-year deal with Soriano. The Tigers continue expressing confidence in internal relief options such as Bruce Rondon, though they’re viewed as a possible suitor for Soriano along with the Blue Jays. However, Toronto would likely be reluctant to surrender a draft pick to sign the closer.

As for Lohse, the Rockies and Mets want starters, but prefer affordable options. Some view the Angels and Rangers as potential suitors for the right-hander, though their interest level remains unclear. While the Brewers could use pitching, GM Doug Melvin said he’s decided “this is the year we're probably going to go with some of our younger guys."

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