Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Blue Jays Rumors

AL East Notes: Guerrero, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees

By | at

The Blue Jays released Vladimir Guerrero yesterday morning at the slugger's request.  Here's a bit of news on the 37-year-old and more from around the American League East..

  • The Tigers‬' interest in Guerrero is lukewarm, a source told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  It's not clear if Detroit will pursue him at this point.  Bean Stringfellow, the veteran's agent, says his client is not retiring and plans to continue playing.
  • Red Sox skipper Bobby Valentine says that it's only human for Kevin Youkilis to be upset by trade rumors, writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.  Earlier today, the third baseman confessed that this season hasn't been terribly fun for him.
  • Yankees Triple-A catcher Francisco Cervelli could help several teams in the majors but continues to serve as the club's insurance policy, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  The catcher told Heyman that he has no hard feelings against the Yankees.
  • Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (via Twitter) sees supplementary first round selection Matt Smoral signing with the club for over-slot, but not for twice as much as the $1MM recommendation.

Blue Jays Release Vladimir Guerrero

By | at

The Blue Jays have released Vladimir Guerrero at his request, the team announced. The 37-year-old outfielder issued the team an ultimatum earlier today, and they decided to release him rather than call him up the big leagues. Bean Stringfellow, Vlad's agent, said his client is not retiring and will seek employment elsewhere.

Soon after joining the Blue Jays' organization, Guerrero hit four homers in four games at Class A Dunedin. He was then promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas, where he collected four hits last night after a slow start. Guerrero has 2,590 hits, 449 homers and a .318/.379/.553 line in 16 big league seasons. In 590 plate appearances with the Orioles last year, the nine-time All-Star posted a .290/.317/.416 line with 13 homers. He drew interest from the Diamondbacks, Indians and Marlins earlier this year.

Blue Jays Sign Davis, Nay, Gonzales

By | at

9:30pm: Callis tweets that Gonzales received a $750K bonus — $107,200 below the recommended slot bonus of $857,200.

3:12pm: The Blue Jays announced that they signed first round draft pick D.J. Davis. The team also announced the signing of supplementary first round selections Mitchell Nay and Tyler Gonzales. Davis obtained a $1.75MM bonus, Jim Callis of Baseball America reports (Twitter links). Nay obtained a bonus of $1MM, Callis reports.

The Blue Jays chose Davis, a high school outfielder, with the 17th overall selection. They chose Nay, a high school third baseman, with the 58th overall selection as compensation for losing Jon Rauch then, two picks later, chose Gonzales, a high school right-hander, as compensation for losing Jose Molina.

MLB recommends a bonus of $2MM for the 17th overall selection, and recommends bonuses of $884K and $857K for the 58th and 60th selections, respectively. The Blue Jays have now signed 22 of their 44 selections plus seven non-drafted free agents.

Jorge Soler Rumors: Monday

By | at

Cuban outfield prospect Jorge Soler could sign any day now. A number of teams have been linked to Soler, who must sign by July 2 if he aims to maximize his earning potential and avoid the spending restrictions that will soon take effect. Here’s the latest on Soler:

  • The Phillies have maintained a stealth pursuit of Soler and have made him an offer, Jim Salisbury‏ of CSNPhilly.com reports (on Twitter).
  • Some competing executives see the Cubs as the favorite for Soler, Heyman tweets.
  • The Dodgers are no longer engaged on Soler, Yahoo’s Tim Brown reports (on Twitter). ESPN.com's Buster Olney reported late last week that the Dodgers were among his most aggressive suitors.
  • The Blue Jays are said to be in the mix for Soler, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Heyman notes that the Cubs and Yankees also appear to be involved.

Latest On Vladimir Guerrero

By | at

11:34pm: The Blue Jays have informed Guerrero that they have no spot for him in the Majors and he will not be called up, reports Enrique Rojas on ESPN Radio Dominicana (via Twitter). Vlad will be allowed out of his contract to seek employment elsewhere.

10:16am: Agent Bean Stringfellow told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that Guerrero "has not [opted out]. Not yet." The opt-out date is open, Rosenthal reports. There's no talk of Guerrero retiring, though. He's running and hitting well, according to his agent.

10:14am: Guerrero has given the Blue Jays an ultimatum, Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com reports (Spanish link). He won't return to the minor leagues, even if the team decides not to call him up. Guerrero has returned home to Anaheim, Rojas reports.

9:54am: Vladimir Guerrero appears to have decided to give up his comeback, Mike Wilner of Sportsnet 590 the FAN reports (on Twitter). The Blue Jays signed the 37-year-old to a minor league contract worth $1.3MM in the Major Leagues last month.

Soon after joining the Blue Jays' organization, Guerrero hit four homers in four games at Class A Dunedin. He was then promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas, where he collected four hits last night after a slow start. Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has maintained that Guerrero won't necessarily make the club's active roster.

Guerrero has 2,590 hits, 449 homers and a .318/.379/.553 line in 16 big league seasons. In 590 plate appearances with the Orioles last year, the nine-time All-Star posted a .290/.317/.416 line with 13 homers. He drew interest from the Diamondbacks, Indians and Marlins earlier this year.

This post was originally published on June 12th.

Athletics Claim Danny Farquhar Off Waivers

By | at

‪The Athletics‬ announced that they have claimed pitcher Danny Farquhar off of waivers from the Blue Jays.  The right-hander will be optioned to Triple-A Sacramento while Andrew Carignan has been transferred to the 60-day DL.

The move marks a return to the A's organization to Farquhar, who joined Oakland in November 2010 as a part of the Rajai Davis deal.  The 25-year-old was soon sent back to Toronto in April for David Purcey.  Farquhar owns a 2.97 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 20 Double-A appearances this year.

Draft Signings: Melotakis, Jones, Alford, Astros, A’s

By | at

MLBTR will track which first and supplemental first round picks have signed leading up to the July 13th signing deadline. As for players selected in round two and beyond, here are some additional draft signings…

  • The Twins have signed second rounder Mason Melotakis and fourth rounder Zach Jones, reports MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger (on Twitter). Both players are college pitchers; Melotakis a lefty and Jones a righty. Jim Callis of Baseball America reports (on Twitter) that Jones signed for $357K, exactly slot money.
  • The Brewers have signed 25th rounder Lance Roenicke according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (on Twitter). Lance, a college outfielder, is the son of Brewers manager Ron Roenicke.
  • The Blue Jays will sign third round selection Anthony Alford, Jim Callis of Baseball America reports. Alford, a high school outfielder, might have been a first round selection, but he informed teams of his intent to play football and baseball at Southern Mississippi instead of signing out of the draft. The Blue Jays will allow Alford to play football, Callis reports. The outfielder’s bonus remains unconfirmed, but it could be close to double the recommended value of $424K.
  • The Astros announced the signing of eight selections, including fifth rounder Andrew Aplin.
  • The A's announced that they agreed to terms with 13 players, including their fourth round selection, high school center fielder B.J. Boyd.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

AL East Notes: Reyes, Rundles, Blue Jays

By | at

David Price is set to face C.C. Sabathia in the Bronx tonight, but this battle of lefty aces has been pushed back to 6:30 CST due to a rain delay.  While you're waiting, check out these notes from around the AL East…

  • The Yankees have signed 22-year-old Dominican right-hander Manolo Reyes, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America.  The contract is worth $600K but is contingent on Reyes obtaining a visa and passing an MLB investigation into his identity and age, as Reyes has already served one year-long suspension due to problems with his paperwork.  Reyes was originally signed by the Braves in 2009.
  • The Orioles signed left-hander Rich Rundles to a minor league contract.  The 31-year-old had been pitching for the Atlantic League's Lancaster Barnstormers, who announced the transaction on their website.  Rundles appeared in nine games (six IP with a 1.50 ERA) for the Indians in 2008-09 and was originally drafted by the Red Sox in 1999 when Dan Duquette was Boston's general manager.
  • The Blue Jays are going well under slot with some of their early draft picks, signing tenth-round pick Alex Azor to a $1K bonus (as reported by Chris Toman of MLB.com) and sixth-rounder Eric Phillips to a $5K bonus, according to Rogers Sportsnet's Shi Davidi.  As Davidi's piece outlines, the Jays' strategy is to free up money in their draft pool to lock up some of their perceived tough-sign picks.  One such higher pick, supplemental first-rounder Matt Smoral, has reportedly agreed to sign with Toronto for a signing bonus almost double the recommended slot value.

Cubs Notes: Garza, Soler

By | at

A couple of items on the 19-37 Cubs..

  • The Cubs are saying that they'll try to sign Matt Garza, but rival GMs believe that there is a decent chance of a trade, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  It could come down to an AL East battle for his services, Heyman adds, with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays all in the mix.
  • The Cubs were one of several teams that had representatives at Jorge Soler's workout today, writes Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com.  Cubs GM Jed Hoyer admitted that the club has done their fair share of homework on the highly-touted prospect.  “We’ve been following this carefully and we certainly plan to be involved," Hoyer said.

Indians Claim Chris Schwinden Off Waivers

By | at

The Indians announced that they have claimed right-hander Chris Schwinden off of waivers from the Blue Jays.  Schwinden has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus.

The 25-year-old spent less than a week with Toronto after being picked up off of waivers from the Mets on Saturday.  Schwinden started two games for the Mets this year and nine starts for Triple-A Buffalo in which he posted a 2.59 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.  The righty allowed eight runs in three innings in his lone start for Toronto's Triple-A affiliate.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top