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Quick Hits: Villanueva, Hammel, Cabrera, Hamilton

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Orioles pitcher Jason Hammel is on the mend and set to return next month.  With that in mind, O's General Manager Dan Duquette doesn't seem terribly focused on adding a starting pitcher, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.  Here's more from around baseball..

  • Blue Jays right-hander Carlos Villanueva hopes to stay in Toronto, but wants to do so as a starting pitcher, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.  Villanueva avoided arbitration with a $2.2775MM deal this winter but would likely look for a significant pay bump as a starter.
  • This winter's free agent market figured to be light on heavy hitters anyway, but Melky Cabrera's situation means that the Rangers would have an even harder time replacing Josh Hamilton, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  One Texas official cautiously predicted that the slugger would re-sign with the team, but we learned last week that Hamilton will wait until the offseason to negotiate.
  • It hasn't been a successful year for the Astros, but things could get worse upon their arrival in the American League West, writes Randy Harvey of the Houston Chronicle.
  • Speaking of the Astros, they released 2008 second-round pick Jay Austin earlier today (hat tip to Jayne Hansen of What The Heck, Bobby).  The 22-year-old outfielder never advanced beyond Advanced-A ball in his time with Houston.
  • Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine is staying upbeat in the face of the latest controversy surrounding him and the club, writes MLB.com's Ian Browne.  Adrian Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia were reportedly the most vocal in a meeting between the players and principal owners regarding Valentine.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Chavez, Richmond, Zagurski

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Here are Wednesday's outright assignments, courtesy of the MLB.com transactions page…

  • The Orioles have outrighted Endy Chavez to Triple-A. The 34-year-old outfielder hit .190/.222/.281 in 129 plate appearances for Baltimore this season before being designated for assignment earlier this month.
  • The Blue Jays have outrighted right-hander Scott Richmond to Triple-A. Toronto designated the 32-year-old for assignment last week after allowing two runs in three relief innings. Richmond pitched to a 5.89 in 117 2/3 Triple-A innings this year.
  • The Diamondbacks have outrighted Mike Zagurski to Triple-A. The 29-year-old southpaw pitched to a 6.18 ERA in 27 2/3 relief innings this year, and left-handed hitters tagged him for a .256/.320/.395 batting line. Arizona designated Zagurski for assignment this past weekend.

Blue Jays Acquire Yorvit Torrealba

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5:34pm: The Blue Jays announced that they have signed Torrealba to a minor league deal. 

2:42pm:  Veteran catcher Yorvit Torrealba, placed on release waivers last week by the Texas Rangers, is close to joining the Toronto Blue Jays, a source tells Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).

Torrealba, 34, posted a .236/.302/.342 batting line in 182 plate appearances for Texas before being designated for assignment earlier this month.

Blue Jays Sign Jeff Mathis To Extension

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The Blue Jays announced that they have signed Jeff Mathis to a two-year contract extension worth $3MM with a club option for 2015 worth $1.5MM.  The deal marks a lateral move in compensation for the catcher, who made $1.5MM this season after avoiding arbitration with Toronto over the winter.

Mathis, 29, is hitting .215/.252/.415 with six homers in 147 plate appearances this season.  The backstop spent the first seven years of his big league career with the Angels before being traded to the Blue Jays for left-hander Brad Mills.  While Mathis is far from an elite slugger, he has stepped up his offensive production in 2012 and currently has his best OPS of any full campaign.

Earlier today, it was reported that the Blue Jays were on the verge of acquiring fellow veteran catcher Yorvit Torrealba off of waivers.

Anthopoulos Talks Offseason Plans

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With the Blue Jays entering Sunday mired in a five-game losing streak and occupying last place in the AL East behind the dysfunctional Red Sox, GM Alex Anthopoulos met with reporters prior to his team's victory over the Yankees. Mike Cormack of Sportsnet has the details from the press conference.

  • Anthopoulos believes Toronto's strengths lie in its potent offense and rebuilt bullpen. "You know for the most part this is going to be a very good, deep offensive team, and we'll have some young kids behind some of these guys for depth. Offensively, I feel very good about it." The 35-year-old general manager went as far as to say his team's bullpen and offense, when healthy, have the makings of being "championship caliber."
  • Toronto's starting rotation has been an area of concern for Anthopoulos as his starters have struggled with myriad health issues and performance on the field. With Kyle Drabek and Drew Hutchison set to miss a portion or all of next season, the team may be looking to add as many as three new arms into the rotation to complement Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow.
  • While the Blue Jays are clearly in need of a few starters to bolster their pitching staff, Anthopoulos says he'll be able to devote his entire winter to improving the team's rotation unlike in years past. "… It's a lot easier going into an off-season when you have really one area to really attack, and every trade dialogue, every free-agent dialogue, can be geared to one area rather than having 40 balls in the air and having to fill three spots in the bullpen, two spots in the rotation, two position players," said Anthopoulos. 

Make Or Break Year: How Are They Doing?

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Before the season, we identified 11 players who were entering "make or break" years. These guys had experienced ups and downs in their respective careers and were positioned to re-establish themselves as difference makers at the Major League level and set themselves up for nice paydays in the future. Now that we're into August, let's take a second to check in each player (all links go to MLBTR posts)…

  • Scott Baker, Twins — Baker, 30, had elbow surgery in April and will miss the entire season. Minnesota will likely decline his $9.25MM option for 2013 (no buyout).
  • Phil Hughes, Yankees — The 26-year-old right-hander owns a 4.10 ERA in 131 2/3 innings this year, including a 3.40 ERA since mid-May. He's a safe bet to be tendered a contract for 2014, his final year as a arbitration-eligible player.
  • Jair Jurrjens, Braves — Jurrjens, 26, pitched so poorly earlier in the season that he had to be sent to the minors. He's since resurfaced and owns 6.89 ERA in 48 1/3 innings, cementing his status as a non-tender candidate.
  • Adam Lind, Blue Jays — Lind has battled back problems and also been demoted to Triple-A this season, and he's hit .227/.298/.394 while with the big league team. The 29-year-old continues to disappoint since signing his four-year, $18MM extension prior to 2010.
  • Francisco Liriano, White Sox — It's been another up and down season for the 28-year-old southpaw, who owns a 5.03 ERA in 111 innings. The Twins traded Liriano to the ChiSox at the deadline.
  • James Loney, Dodgers — Loney, now 28, hasn't helped himself at all this season, hitting just .251/.301/.330 in 327 plate appearances. He might have to settle for a minor league contract this coming offseason.
  • Kendrys Morales, Angels — The 29-year-old is hitting .282/.327/.455 with 14 homers on the year, well below the level he established prior to his leg injury in 2010. Morales figures to be both a trade and non-tender candidate after the season.
  • Mike Pelfrey, Mets — Pelfrey pitched to a 2.29 ERA in three starts before needing Tommy John surgery. The Mets are expected to non-tender the 28-year-old after the season.
  • Geovany Soto, Rangers — The 29-year-old backstop has continued to deal with injuries in 2012 and is hitting just .201/.289/.356. Soto is an obvious non-tender candidate.
  • Kevin Youkilis, White Sox — Youkilis lost his starting job with the Red Sox and was traded to the White Sox, who are likely to decline his $13MM option after the season. The 33-year-old has dealt with nagging injuries and is hitting .238/.339/.427 overall.
  • Delmon Young, Tigers — Young, 26, has had a below-average season at the plate (.266/.298/.402) and has dealt with some off-field problems. He hasn't helped his free agent stock any.

Minor Moves: Tim Redding, Matt Young

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Let's keep track of the day's minor transactions right here…

Quick Hits: Vizquel, Chavez, Hafner

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There are currently 52 starting pitchers on the disabled list, and it’s costing teams money as well as production, Yahoo's Jeff Passan reports (Twitter links). Executives estimate teams will spend $500MM on injured players this year, so let’s hope they took out some insurance. Here are today’s links…

  • Blue Jays infielder Omar Vizquel wants to manage at the MLB level next year, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports. The 45-year-old 11-time Gold Glove winner said he'd like to manager close to his Seattle area home or for a team with which he has pre-existing ties. As Morosi points out, Mike Matheny and Robin Ventura are doing just fine this year despite their relative inexperience managing professionally.
  • Orioles outfielder Endy Chavez will report to Triple-A early next week, according to MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli (Twitter links). Chavez decided to stay in the organization instead of electing free agency, and the Orioles expect him to be back with the MLB team by the time rosters expand in September.
  • ESPN.com’s Buster Olney wonders if Travis Hafner’s tenure with the Indians could be over now that he’s on the disabled list and his contract is about to expire.

Blue Jays Designate Scott Richmond For Assignment

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The Blue Jays announced that they have designated right-hander Scott Richmond for assignment. The Blue Jays removed the British Columbia native from the roster to create roster space for right-hander Juan Abreu, who has been claimed off of waivers from Houston and optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Richmond appeared in three games for the Blue Jays this year, but has spent most of the season at Triple-A. The 32-year-old has a 5.89 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 117 2/3 innings at Las Vegas. He has started 22 games and appeared out of the bullpen twice.

Blue Jays Claim Juan Abreu

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The Blue Jays claimed right-hander Juan Abreu off of waivers from Houston. The Astros, who announced the deal in a press release, had designated Abreu for assignment on Tuesday.

Abreu appeared in seven games for the Astros last year, but has spent the entire 2012 season at Triple-A Oklahoma City. The 27-year-old has a 7.09 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 6.7 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings for the RedHawks this year. He has struck out more than one batter per inning in seven seasons as a professional, but has a high walk rate of 5.6 BB/9.

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