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Blue Jays Sign Corey Patterson

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The Blue Jays announced six minor league signings today: outfielder Corey Patterson, righty Winston Abreu, catcher Ryan Budde, lefty Sean Henn, lefty Mike Hinckley, and righty Brian Stokes.  The deals for Abreu, Budde, Henn, Hinckley, and Stokes were reported on previously.

Patterson, 31, hit .269/.315/.406 in 340 plate appearances for the Orioles this year, playing mostly left field.  He came up as a center fielder with the Cubs, who drafted him third overall in 1998.  As Patterson can be a useful fourth outfielder, I thought he might be able to snag a big league contract.  He is represented by Jim Bronner and Bob Gilhooley.  The Jays' current outfield picture includes Travis Snider, Vernon Wells, and Rajai Davis, with Jose Bautista and Adam Lind seemingly more likely to occupy infield corners.

Abreu, 34 in April, spent the 2010 season with Tampa Bay's Triple-A affiliate.  His signing was announced by Baseball America's Matt Eddy earlier this month, but the journeyman deserves elaboration here at MLBTR.  In Triple-A Abreu posted a 2.28 ERA, 13.3 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, and 0.2 HR/9 in 55 1/3 innings.  Abreu has done that type of thing at Triple-A before, but has yet to receive an extended big league trial.

A note about Henn: the Blue Jays originally claimed him off waivers from the Orioles in October of last year, marking GM Alex Anthopoulos' first move.

Minor Deals: Stokes, Diaz, Barton, Brewers

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Rounding up today's minor signings:

  • The Blue Jays signed Brian Stokes, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). The 31-year-old struggled through 16 2/3 innigns for the Angels last year, but was useful for the Mets from 2008-09 before they sent him to L.A. for Gary Matthews Jr..
  • The A's signed right-hander Jonathan Ortiz, who combined a sinker and an above-average changeup to post 11.8 K/9 in the Yankees system this year, according to Eddy (all links go to Twitter).
  • The Tigers signed shortstop Argenis Diaz, who was non-tendered by the Pirates despite his strong glovework.
  • The Angels signed Ryan Braun – not the Brewers slugger, but the 30-year-old right-hander who posted a 2.20 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 in 57 1/3 innings at Triple-A Charlotte last year. He last pitched in the majors for the 2007 Royals.
  • The Twins signed Matt Brown, a former Angel who should provide corner infield depth.
  • The Pirates re-signed Tyler Yates, who missed last season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery.
  • Brian Barton, who hit 19 homers and stole 18 bases in the Atlantic League this year, signed with the Reds, according to Eddy (on Twitter).
  • The Cubs signed lefty Polin Trinidad, who posted a 4.81 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 149 2/3 innings in the upper minor for the Astros last year (Twitter link).
  • The Brewers signed Edwin Maysonet and Shawn Riggans to minor league deals and invited them to Spring Training, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). Maysonet, 29, appeared in 46 games as a backup infielder for the Astros in 2008-09 and hit .248/.308/.329 in 356 minor league plate apperances last year. Riggans, who spent parts of four seasons with the Rays, barely played in 2010.
  • The Twins inked lefty Chuck James, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.  The 29-year-old former Brave had rotator cuff surgery in September of 2008.
  • The Nationals announced seven signings, including previously unreported contracts for Ryan Mattheus, Michael Aubrey, and Brian Bixler.  Mattheus, a 27-year-old right-handed reliever, was acquired by the Nats at the '09 trade deadline in the Joe Beimel deal, the same month he had Tommy John surgery.  His is a Major League deal.  Aubrey, drafted 11th overall by the Indians in 2003, hit .235/.310/.495 at Triple-A this year.  Bixler, a defensive-minded utility infielder, was acquired by Washington from the Pirates in August.

Minor Deals: Budde, Lerew, Guzman, Jimenez

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A roundup of today's minor transactions, with any new signings added to the top of the page throughout the day….

  • The Blue Jays signed catcher Ryan Budde to a minor league deal, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. Budde, who has some history with new Toronto manager John Farrell, has seen limited major league playing time in each of the last four seasons with the Angels.
  • Softbank, a Japanese club, acquired Anthony Lerew and signed him to a one-year deal, according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. Lerew had signed with the Athletics earlier this offseason.
  • Other players to sign with Japanese teams, Newman reports, include Joel Guzman with Chunichi and Kelvin Jimenez with Rakuten. Guzman was a former top prospect in the Dodgers system; Baseball America ranked him as baseball's fifth-best prospect prior to the 2005 season. Jimenez, meanwhile, last pitched in the majors in 2008 with St. Louis.
  • The Indians have signed former Yomiuri Giants pitcher Toru Murata to a minor league deal. According to Newman, "Murat is a former first-round draft pick who never reached the top level in NPB. At 25 he should still have some upside left." A year ago, Murata earned a roster spot in the Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars game.

Odds & Ends: Hudson, Jackson, Lee, Crain

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These days it takes more than a dollar to get a can of soda from a vending machine.  Back in 1936, a dollar represented the late Bob Feller's signing bonus with the Indians.  Pretty nice bargain for the Tribe on that one.

Onto tonight's links…

  • Orlando Hudson is running out of suitors, but ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill suggests the Blue Jays could be a potential match, with Aaron Hill moving to third base to accomodate Hudson at second.  Hudson was originally drafted by Toronto in 1997 and played four seasons for the Jays before being dealt to Arizona following the 2005 season.
  • The White Sox are pushing their payroll to new heights, and ESPNChicago.com's Doug Padilla suggests they might consider trading Edwin Jackson to create some salary breathing room.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com (Twitter link) has the breakdown of Cliff Lee's annual salaries with the Phillies.  Lee will earn $11MM next season, $21.5MM in 2012, and then $25MM per season from 2013 to 2015, plus the previously-reported vesting option for 2016.  Rosenthal tweets that Lee's $27.5MM vesting option in 2016 becomes a club option for the same total if it fails to vest, but in such a situation it seems a lock that Philadelphia would just pay Lee the $12.5MM buyout.
  • There was no pressure put on Lee by the players' union to take the largest contract offer, says Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  "As long as a player makes an informed choice, we're happy," says MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner.
  • Jesse Crain spoke about his all-but-official contract with the White Sox in an interview on KFAN 1130 AM in Minneapolis, and MLB.com's Scott Merkin reports on the highlights of the chat.  Crain said he was swayed by the chance to close games and Chicago's offer of a three-year deal, also noting that "the Twins didn't really make an offer" to re-sign him.
  • Washington GM Mike Rizzo says Oakland's offer for Josh Willingham was better than any of the offers he received for Willingham before last year's trade deadline, tweets MASNsports.com's Ben Goessling.
  • The Tigers have the young pitching (Andy Oliver or Jacob Turner) and middle infield prospects (Danny Worth, Will Rhymes, Scott Sizemore) to meet Kansas City's asking price for Zack Greinke, writes Steve Kornacki of MLive.com.  Count me as skeptical — it's hard to see the Royals dealing Greinke to a division rival unless they got an absolute monster of an offer, and they'd probably ask Detroit for both Oliver and Turner just as a starting point.
  • ESPN's Keith Law covered such topics as Jay Bruce's extension, the 2011 amateur draft and the spate of multi-year contracts for relievers in an online chat with fans today.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com outlines ten of the major holes that various contending teams still need to fill this winter.

Blue Jays Sign Edwin Encarnacion

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The Blue Jays announced that they signed Edwin Encarnacion to a one-year, $2.5MM contract that includes a club option for $3.5MM in 2012. The team says Encarnacion will play first base/DH, instead of third base, where he spent last season.

The A's claimed the infielder off of waivers  from the Blue Jays only to non-tender him a month later. Encarnacion would have been due for a raise from the $4.75MM salary he earned in 2010 if the A's or Blue Jays had gone to arbitration with him.

Encarnacion, who turns 28 next month, hit .244/.305/.482 with 21 homers in 367 plate appearances for the Blue Jays last year. He surged at the end of the season, homering in his last four games. He has a career .266/.373/.474 line against left-handed pitchers, so he could spell Adam Lind against lefties given Lind's struggles against southpaws.

Unless the Blue Jays intend to play Jose Bautista at third, they still have an opening at the hot corner. The Rays and Indians also had some interest in Encarnacion. Wasserman Media Group represents Encarnacion.

Blue Jays Pursuing Octavio Dotel

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After letting Scott Downs and Kevin Gregg become free agents, the Blue Jays are interested in adding Octavio Dotel to their bullpen according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Last week we learned that Toronto was one of seven teams that inquired about the right-hander.

Dotel, now 37, bounced from the Pirates to the Dodgers to the Rockies in 2010 and posted a 4.08 ERA along the way. He picked up 21 saves as the closer in Pittsburgh and struck out over a batter per inning (10.5 K/9) overall. Dotel walked lots of hitters as usual (4.5 BB/9), but limited hits.

Zack Greinke Rumors: Monday

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10:30pm: The Yankees are reluctant to pursue Greinke if Cliff Lee signs elsewhere, according to Heyman (on Twitter). Jack Curry of the YES Network reports that the Yankees won't make Greinke their Plan B, though they have discussed him (Twitter link). Heyman suggests the Yankees will spend aggressively on relievers if they don't sign Lee.

12:09pm: Royals GM Dayton Moore is "actively gauging" the trade market for Zack Greinke, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.  Moore "has focused on adding up-the-middle position players who are close to major league ready," and the Yankees, Rangers, and Brewers are not considered among the best matches.

The Blue Jays and Nationals have been actively pursuing Greinke, and the Jays theoretically do have the players to pull off a deal if the righty's no-trade clause can be addressed.  However, ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted on Saturday that the Blue Jays "have no intention of giving up Kyle Drabek and Travis Snider" for Greinke.

Brett Gardner's name has come up in talks between the Royals and Yankees, according to Crasnick. 

SI's Jon Heyman covers Greinke today as well, adding that the Dodgers have been linked to him and the Angels could make sense.  Heyman feels that the Yankees do have the players "to form a respectable deal."

Six Teams Interested In Derrek Lee

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The Orioles, Athletics, Blue Jays, Padres, Nationals, and Diamondbacks have all expressed interest in free agent first baseman Derrek Lee according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (via Twitter). We've heard that Lee wouldn't mind playing for Arizona, and the interest from the O's and A's is nothing new. Heyman reiterated the D'Backs interest in Xavier Nady as well.

Lee, 35, had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his thumb after the season. He's expressed a desire to join a playoff club for 2011, but calling any of those six teams a contender would be generous. D'Backs GM Kevin Towers was the Padres GM when Lee broke in with the team in 1997, and the running theme of the offseason has been Towers bringing some of his former players to Arizona. Nady obviously fits the bill as well.

I examined Lee's free agent stock back in October.

Blue Jays Have No Intention Of Trading Snider And Drabek For Greinke

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The Blue Jays have been connected to Zack Greinke basically all offseason, but they have no intention of trading Travis Snider and Kyle Drabek for him according to ESPN's Buster Olney (via Twitter). Obviously, Toronto is not close to completing a deal for the Royals' ace.

Kansas City understandably want a bounty for Greinke, who has two years and $27MM left on his contract. Snider, 23 in February, is a .255/.318/.446 hitter in 675 big league plate appearances, though Baseball America ranked him the sixth best prospect (and third best outfield prospect) in the game prior to the 2009 season. The 23-year-old Drabek was the centerpiece of the Roy Halladay trade, making three very respectable starts for the Jays late in the season. Baseball America said the development of his cutter and changeup "would put him over the top as a frontline starter" when they named him the team's top prospect last month.

Odds & Ends: Guerrier, McCutchen, Blue Jays, Punto

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As the baseball world says goodbye to Cubs great Ron Santo, here are some news tidbits heading into the weekend…

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