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Brewers Claim Marco Estrada

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The Brewers claimed pitcher Marco Estrada off waivers from the Nationals, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  In a corresponding move, Milwaukee designated Tim Dillard for assignment.

Estrada, 26, posted a 3.63 ERA, 6.5 K/9, and 2.2 BB/9 in 136.3 Triple A innings last year.  In their new Handbook, Baseball America had him ranked as the Nationals' #18 prospect.  They praised his change-up, and suggested he could become a back-end starter despite being undersized.  The Nats designated him for assignment recently to make room for Tyler Walker.

Dillard, 26, posted a 4.51 ERA, 3.9 K/9, and 3.2 BB/9 in 147.6 Triple A innings last year.  He'd spent the previous year as a reliever.  He garnered a mention as the Brewers' #30 prospect in the '09 Handbook, when he profiled as a "resilient middle reliever."  It seems clear that the Brewers upgraded going from Dillard to Estrada, and Dillard may be retained anyway if he's not claimed off waivers.

Nationals Monitoring Chien-Ming Wang

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The Nationals are the latest team linked to free agent righty Chien-Ming Wang, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson.  Wang, 30 in March, had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right shoulder capsule on July 29th of last year.  On January 28th, Wang's agent Alan Nero told ESPN's Jayson Stark that his client is expected to "make a major-league start sometime in the first two weeks of May."  If we project Wang's return date as May 15th, that'd be 75% of a season. 

Nero told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports a week ago that he's "anticipating a major-league offer with a substantial guarantee and substantial upside."  About six clubs have been in on Wang this winter to some extent, including the Nationals, Dodgers, Phillies, Cardinals, and Mets.  SI's Jon Heyman says an April showcase is possible.

Minor League Transactions: Mench, Perez, Cairo

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A 25 homer hitter, a former first rounder and a 14-year veteran signed this week. Baseball America's Matt Eddy has the details on those transactions and more. Here are some highlights from January 25th-31st:

  • The Nationals signed Kevin Mench. The 32-year-old didn't play in the majors last year, but he hit 25 homers as recently as 2005. He has a career .900 OPS against lefties.
  • The Blue Jays signed Wade Townsend. The Rays released the 2005 first rounder last summer, but the Jays are giving him a chance. 
  • The Reds signed Miguel Cairo. The 14-year-veteran posted a .705 OPS for the Phillies last year in 47 plate appearances. 
  • The White Sox signed Daniel Cabrera. The 6'7'' right-hander led the American League in walks and earned runs allowed when he logged over 200 innings for the Orioles in 2007. He split time with the D'Backs and Nationals last year, struggling with both clubs.  
  • The Dodgers signed Timo Perez out of the Can-Am League. The 34-year-old surfaced as a rookie for the Mets in the 2000 Subway Series. 
  • The Phillies signed Freddy Guzman. 
  • The Mets signed Val Pascucci, who has 193 minor league homers to his name.

Odds & Ends: Mauer, Hairston, Buck, Benson

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Links for Tuesday…

Orlando Hudson Rumors: Tuesday

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3:00pm: MLB.com's Bill Ladson talked to Adam Kennedy, who said the Nationals "basically let us know that they are kind of waiting on Orlando."  Hudson earned about $7MM last year after incentives and seemingly isn't ready to accept the inevitable pay cut.  He's not coming off an injury this time, but it may be difficult to top last year's $3.38MM guarantee.

9:04am: The Mariners "remain a long shot candidate" to sign free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Morosi admits that some roster maneuvering would be necessary to accomodate Hudson, as the Ms already have Jose Lopez at second and a full slate of position players.  I should add that whether Hudson is an upgrade over Lopez overall is an open question.

Morosi names the Nationals, Indians, and Twins as Hudson's other suitors.  We learned yesterday that the Twins are serious, while the Rockies are out. 

Lowry Audition Pushed Back

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MONDAY, 4:13pm: Lowry's scheduled throwing session has been pushed back, according to the AP.  His agent says the lefty has not had a setback; he just wants to throw a few more bullpen sessions before auditioning.

THURSDAY, 1:35pm: Scott Lauber of the News Journal tweets that the Phillies will be there.

WEDNESDAY, 4:29pm: The Rangers will watch Lowry throw, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.

8:27am: Lefty Noah Lowry is set to throw for teams Tuesday, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.  The 29-year-old seeks a one-year contract after battling thoracic outlet syndrome the last few years.  His last truly effective season was 2005.

Crasnick expects about 15 teams to attend the session, including the Reds, Red Sox, Cardinals, Braves, Astros, Dodgers, Mariners, Cubs, Nationals and Mets.  Back in December, a Crasnick report linked the Padres, A's, Rockies, and Pirates to Lowry as well.

Orlando Hudson Rumors: Monday

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3:53pm: The Rockies are out on Hudson as well as Felipe Lopez, writes Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.

Meanwhile, Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said on Sirius XM's MLB Home Plate show today that GM Mike Rizzo "feels confident that we’re going to get [a Hudson deal] done," but other teams are interested and taking a lower-than-expected contract "might be a little bit of a hard pill to swallow" for the player.

11:15am: Ladson tweets that the Indians, Rockies, and another AL team – not the Twins – are in on Hudson, aside from the Nationals.  He adds in another tweet that Hudson "appears unwilling to play for the Nats at a discount."

Still, Olney does believe (via Twitter) the Twins have shifted their focus from pitching to an infielder, perhaps given Nick Punto's recent surgery and Francisco Liriano's impresive winter ball stint.

9:25am: Let's try to decipher the latest rumors involving free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson.  MLB.com's Bill Ladson expects a decision this week (Twitter).

Yesterday, ESPN's Tim Kurkjian wrote the Nationals "appear to be getting closer to signing" Hudson.  The deal "would be for $3 million with incentives that could easily reach $4 million for 2010."  Kurkjian cautioned that Hudson had not signed off on Washington's offer.  Also on Sunday, Ladson countered Kurkjian's report with two Tweets.  Ladson said Nationals GM Mike Rizzo hadn't talked to Hudson's agent "in a couple of days," and if Hudson's price is coming down "that's news to Rizzo."

This morning, ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted that the Twins "appear to be serious in their pursuit of Hudson."  On Saturday, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wondered if the Twins were "looking harder into acquiring Hudson" based on TwinsFest comments.  Neal's colleague Joe Christensen doesn't believe the Twins would go to $3MM for Hudson.

Odds & Ends: Carroll, Wang, Hudson, Fielder

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Sunday night linkage..

  • Despite their budget constraints, Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times expects the Rays to upgrade their roster.  Topkin mentions several quality free agents who may have to accept minor league deals such as Jim Edmonds, Rocco Baldelli, and ex-Ray Jonny Gomes as proof that the market is rife with valuable players.
  • At the Mariners Fan Fest event, pitcher Mark Lowe told the crowd in attendance that he keeps up on all of the latest transactions with MLBTradeRumors (video from MLB.com, :40 mark).  Dave Sims – the television voice of the M's – followed that up with his own mention of MLBTR.  Thanks guys!
  • Tim brings us the terms of Jamey Carroll's contract with the Dodgers via Twitter.  Carroll will earn $1.35MM in 2010 and $2.5MM in 2011.  The 35-year-old could also earn up to $525K per year in plate appearance incentives.
  • The Dodgers are among the teams that have reviewed Chien-Ming Wang's medical records, according to a tweet from Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.  Recently, ESPN's Jayson Stark pegged the Dodgers as a possible destination for the 29-year-old.
  • Washington GM Mike Rizzo and Orlando's Hudson's representative haven't talked in a couple of days, according to MLB.com's William Ladson (via Twitter).  Furthermore, Rizzo says that if Hudson has brought his price down, it's news to him (also via Twitter).
  • In response to a fan asking how much he thinks Prince Fielder will sign for, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy writes that he doesn't think he will sign at all and will instead opt to hit the open market after the 2011 season (via Twitter).
  • Jon Weisman of the Los Angeles Times writes that the Dodgers' rumored signing of Reed Johnson likely means that Ronnie Belliard will get the nod over Blake DeWitt at second base.  Weisman's reasoning is that the roster, as it stands now, would feature an all right-handed bench without DeWitt's inclusion.  Weisman wonders if this overload of righty sluggers means that the Dodgers will pursue another free agent backup outfielder.

Odds & Ends: Hudson, Wang, Brewers, Cabrera

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Some links for your Sunday…

Odds & Ends: Indians, Mets, Verlander

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As Tommy John's long-lost brother Elton once said, Saturday night's alright for fighting…and also for posting news links.

  • The Tribe's quiet offseason is recapped by Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer, who also looks at how busy the other AL Central teams have been in comparison.
  • MLB.com's Marty Noble outlines how he would have handled the Mets' offseason if he had been the GM, both if the team's goal was to contend or to rebuild (Noble's preference).
  • Steve Kornacki of MLive.com thinks Justin Verlander's reported five-year, $75MM offer from the Tigers "is too sweet a contract for Verlander to pass on," even without the sixth year that the pitcher wants.
  • Mark Sheldon of MLB.com passes along some tidbits from Dusty Baker on the Reds Winter Caravan.  Baker said that reliever Mike Lincoln (who last started a major league game in 2000) was a contender for the No. 5 spot in the Reds' rotation, and that the club had considered moving top prospect Yonder Alonso to catcher.  John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer sums these ideas up as candidates for the "sometimes-managers-say-the-darnedest-things file."
  • MLB.com's Bryan Hoch believes the Yankees have finished their roster tinkering before spring training, and talks to Yankees manager Joe Girardi about New York's offseason moves.
  • Chuck Greenberg, the incoming general managing partner of the Texas Rangers, is profiled by Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. 
  • MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch was all over the Q&A sessions with Pirates management during the team's PirateFest event.  Here is her latest transcript of a similar sessions with various Pittsburgh players.
  • Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets his guesses about the destinations of some of the free agent infielders left on the market.  He sees Orlando Hudson in Washington, Orlando Cabrera in Cincinnati and Felipe Lopez in St. Louis.
  • Count the White Sox out of the running for Johnny Damon or Hank Blalock, says Scott Merkin of MLB.com, since both are too costly for the limited space left in the team's budget.  When asked about the possibility of Damon in Chicago, Sox GM Kenny Williams rhetorically asked, "Who is his agent?"
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