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Minor Moves: Slama, LaRoche, Bantz, Madrigal

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Today's minor moves:

  • The Twins have released right-handed reliever Anthony Slama to make 40-man room for recently-signed righty Cody Eppley, tweets Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Slama has not seen MLB action since 2011. He struggled to a 13.50 ERA in 13 1/3 innings with the Twins' Triple-A affiliate this season, including an unsightly 0.64 K/BB ratio.
  • The Blue Jays outrighted Andy LaRoche to their Triple-A affiliate after he cleared waivers, according to a press release. Toronto designated LaRoche for assignment two days ago to clear a roster spot for Chien-Ming Wang. The 29-year-old appeared in just one game for the Jays this season and went 0-for-4. 
  • The Mariners announced that they have outrighted Brandon Bantz to Triple-A Tacoma. The catcher was DFA's earlier this week after playing in just one game for the varsity squad.
  • The Diamondbacks have sold right-handed reliever Warner Madrigal to Japan's Chunichi Dragons for an undisclosed sum, the team announced in a press release. The 29-year-old had been solid this year at Triple-A Reno, where he sported a 2.75 ERA in 36 innings of work and maintained a 10.2 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9.

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

Minor Moves: Clay Hensley, Warner Madrigal

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Wednesday's minor moves…

  • The Brewers released Clay Hensley from Triple-A Nashville, according to the Pacific Coast League's transactions page. The 33-year-old has also spent time with the Reds' Triple-A affiliate this season, posting a combined 3.92 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9 in 20 2/3 innings. Hensley posted a 4.62 ERA in 50 2/3 innings for the Giants in 2012.
  • Also according to the PCL transactions page, the Diamondbacks have released Warner Madrigal from Triple-A Reno. The 29-year-old right-hander posted a 2.75 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 36 innings for the Aces. He hasn't appeared in the Majors since 2009 with the Rangers when he allowed 14 runs in 12 2/3 innings of work.
  • Seven players are currently in DFA limbo: Eduardo Sanchez of the Cubs, Brandon Bantz of the Mariners, Andy LaRoche of the Blue Jays, Chris Nelson of the Angels, Pedro Ciriaco of the Red Sox, Rick Ankiel of the Mets and Nate Adcock of the Royals.

Minor Transactions: Madrigal, Lane, Vasquez

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Tobi Stoner and Jason Pridie both cleared waivers and were outrighted to the Mets' Triple-A affiliate today, reports Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger (Twitter link).  The duo were designated for assignment earlier this week.

Here are some other minor moves from around baseball today, courtesy of Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.  All contracts are minor league deals, and all links are to Goldstein's Twitter feed.

  • The Yankees signed right-hander Warner Madrigal, who last pitched in the majors with Texas in 2009.  Madrigal originally broke into pro ball as an outfielder, but converted to pitching in 2006.  He posted a 3.73 ERA in 35 games with the Rangers' Double-A and Triple-A teams last year.
  • The Blue Jays re-signed Jason Lane.  Best known for his 26-homer season with Houston in 2005, Lane hasn't played in the big leagues since 2007 and has played for the Padres, Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays and Marlins organizations since leaving the Astros.
  • The Angels signed Virgil Vasquez.  The right-hander pitched in Tampa Bay's system last year.  A seventh-round pick of the Tigers in the 2003 draft, Vasquez has a 6.60 ERA in 19 career Major League games (10 of them starts) with Detroit and Pittsburgh.
  • The Rangers signed catcher Robinzon Diaz, who is best known for being the player to be named later that Toronto sent to Pittsburgh for Jose Bautista in 2009.  Diaz had 139 plate appearances with the Bucs before being released in the offseason.  He played Triple-A ball for Detroit last year.
  • The Rockies signed Kala Ka'aihue.  Ka'aihue was putting up minor league numbers akin to those of his older brother Kila through the 2008 season, but has struggled the last two years.

Warner Madrigal Not Designated

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1:41pm: Grant has tweeted a correction, saying Madrigal has not been designated but instead transferred to the 60-day DL.  According to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, Major League Baseball told the Rangers they were not comfortable with Madrigal being designated while still on the 15-day DL.

1:21pm: The Rangers designated righty Warner Madrigal for assignment to make room for Matt Treanor, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.  The potential loss of Madrigal is linked to catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who was slow to notify the team about a back injury.

Madrigal, 26, struggled in 12.6 big league innings last year.  He was solid in Triple A, posting a 2.57 ERA, 8.8 K/9, and 2.0 BB/9 in 49 innings.  Madrigal began his career as an outfielder in the Angels organization.  According to Baseball America, the Halos "inadvertently failed to place him on the 40-man roster before the end of the [2007] World Series," allowing the Rangers to sign him as a minor league free agent.  Madrigal threw in the mid-90s back then, but averaged 91.4 mph in the Majors last year.  Madrigal was recently placed on the DL with forearm tightness.

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