Recent Notable (and Not So Notable) Baseball Transactions: 2/8 – 2/13

News

February 13, 2009:

It was reported by TSN.ca that utility-man Ramon Martinez had signed a minor-league deal with the New York Mets. A .264 career hitter, he appeared in seven games for the Mets in 2008, hitting .250 in 16 at-bats. Prior to playing with the Mets, he played for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers.

After acquiring Matt Bush from the San Diego Padres, the Toronto Blue Jays released Dirk Hayhurst, as reported by TSN.ca on February 10. Hayhurst was re-signed by the Blue Jays on February 13. The 27-year old Canton, Ohio native appeared in ten games for the Blue Jays in 2008, going 0-2 with a 9.72 ERA.

To make room for Ty Wigginton (see below) on their roster, the Orioles outrighted Scott Moore to the minor leagues. The former first-round draft pick has a .235 career batting average in 98 big league at-bats.

Gilbert De La Vara agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Houston Astros. A relief pitcher, he pitched in the Kansas City Royals minor league system and has yet to make his big league debut.

Similarly, Brian Bogusevic also agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Astros. He too has yet to make his big league debut. He is serviceable as a pitcher and an outfielder.

The Yankees are still signing people even after acquiring CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and AJ Burnett. They signed Brett Tomko, a 12-year veteran who went 2-7 with a 6.30 ERA in 2008. He has a 95-99 record as well as a 4.68 career ERA.

The Mariners came to terms with Josh Fields, their first round draft pick in 2008. He pitched for Georgia that year, serving as their closer.

February 12, 2009:

The Rays finalized the signing of Brian Shouse, who in 2008 had a 2.81 ERA in 69 relief appearances. A LOOGY, Shouse has become a solid relief pitcher despite a peculiar path to the majors. He made his major league debut in 1993 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and then he spent 1994-1997 in the minors, not reaching the big leagues again until 1998 with the Red Sox. From 1999 to 2001, he played in the Arizona Diamondbacks (1999), New York Mets (2000), Baltimore Orioles (2000) and Houston Astros (2001) systems, however he didn’t play in the majors in any of those years. In fact, he didn’t become a big league regular until 2003, by which time he was already in his mid-30s.

As a result of the Shouse signing, the Rays have designated for assignment Juan Salas. Like Shouse, Salas is a relief pitcher, who in 2007 made 34 appearances for the Rays, going 1-1 with a 3.72 ERA. He appeared in only five games in 2008, posting a 7.11 ERA.

Dan Uggla won his arbitration hearing and will receive the 5.35-million dollar salary he wanted. Uggla is a two-time All-Star, who has never hit below 27 home runs or scored less than 97 runs in a season. He is a free-swinger who struck out 171 times in 531 bats in 2008.

The St. Louis Cardinals avoided arbitration with Rick Ankiel, signing him to a contract worth nearly three million dollars. A pitching wunderkind in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Ankiel suffered a rash of injuries and wildness that could have ended his career. He transformed himself into a power-hitting outfielder however, and in 2007 he hit a combined 43 home runs in all professional levels (including 11 with the St. Louis Cardinals). In 120 games with the Cardinals in 2008, he hit .264 with 25 home runs and 71 RBI.

After converting to starting pitching after the 2006 season, Braden Looper posted a combined 24-26 record with a 4.52 ERA in 2007 and 2008. That was good enough for the Brewers, who signed him to a one-year deal worth a guaranteed 5.5-million dollars. He has a 2010 option that could net him twelve million dollars. Prior to pitching for the Cardinals, he was a reliever and eventual closer for the Florida Marlins, and from 2004 to 2005 he closed for the New York Mets.

Due to the signing of Looper, the Brewers have designated for assignment Vinny Rottino, who has 18 games of major league experience under his belt. In 24 at-bats, he has a .208 batting average. He appeared in only one game in 2008.

Multiple teams were interested in him but only one could have him, and it was the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim who nabbed Bobby Abreu. The 13-year veteran signed a one-year contract worth a guaranteed five-million dollars, with the potential of earning an extra one-million dollars. Abreu is a two-time All-Star who has a .300 career batting average, 241 home runs and 1,084 RBI. He compares favorably to fellow outfielder Brian Giles.

Delmon Young agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Minnesota Twins. The younger brother of Dmitri Young, Delmon hit .290 in 2008 with 10 home runs, 69 RBI and 14 stolen bases.

Although he hit only .137 in 2008, the Astros agreed to terms with JR Towles on a one-year contract. He was a 20th round pick in 2004 and made his big league debut in 2007.

The Astros also agreed to terms with Drew Sutton on a one-year deal. He may face increased competition since the Astros signed David Newhan earlier this year as well.

Chris Sampson agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Astros, too. He is an interesting case, as he began his professional career as a shortstop in 1999, but did poorly. So, after one year he called it quits and he didn’t play professional baseball from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, however, he contacted the Astros for a tryout as a pitcher and the Astros were impressed enough to sign him. He made his big league debut in 2006 as one of the few players (in fact, he may be the only one) to start at one position in the minors, retire, come back playing a different position in the minors and eventually making it to the big leagues.

Starting pitcher Nick Green was claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He has yet to make it to the big leagues.

Because the Brewers acquired Green, they designated another minor league pitcher – Luis Pena – for assignment.

The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Randy Wolf, a one-time All-Star who has a 90-78 career record. He pitched for the San Diego Padres and Houston Astros in 2008, going 12-12 with a 4.30 ERA.

February 11, 2009:

The Colorado Rockies signed Randy Flores to a minor league deal. Being a LOOGY, he has made 265 career appearances but has pitched only 207 career innings. In 2008, he pitched for the Cardinals, appearing in 43 games and posting a 5.26 ERA.

Despite hitting 278 home runs in only eight big league seasons and hitting no less than 40 each year since 2004, Adam Dunn has been an All-Star only once – 2002 – and that was a year in which he hit 26 home runs. That might be because, despite his power, he has only a .247 career batting average. He is a modern-day Gorman Thomas, a Russell Branyan that got lucky. Nevertheless, the Washington Nationals signed Dunn to a two-year, 20-million dollar deal, hoping his power can compensate for his shortcomings.

He didn’t pitch in the majors in 2008 – or at all, for that matter – however the Dodgers signed Eric Milton to a minor league deal. The 2001 All-Star has an 87-84 career record, as well as a 5.01 ERA. He played for the Minnesota Twins from 1998 to 2003, the Philadelphia Phillies in 2004 and the Cincinnati Reds from 2005 to 2007.

Luke Carlin was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He hit .149 in 94 at-bats with the Padres in 2008.

There was a time when Chris Roberson was fairly highly touted; however he has yet to measure up. In 85 big league games (only 69 at-bats), he has a .232 batting average. He too was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Another Diamondbacks signing: Ryan Roberts. He has made brief appearances each year since 2006, never appearing in more than nine games in a season. He has a .074 batting average in 27 at-bats.

One more Diamondbacks signing: Brandon Watson. Watson holds the International League record for the longest hitting streak ever, an amazing 43-game stretch in 2007. A .305 career hitter in minor-league ball, Watson has a .198 batting average in 40 big league games.

The Toronto Blue Jays signed slugging Kevin Millar, who in 2008 hit .234 with 20 home runs and 72 RBI for the Baltimore Orioles. Over his 11-year career, Millar has hit 163 home runs and driven in 670 RBI. His best season slugging-wise came in 2001 with the Florida Marlins, when he hit .314 with 20 home runs, 39 doubles and five triples. In 2003 with the Red Sox, he hit 25 home runs and drove in 96 runs – both career highs.

Russ Adams was outrighted to Las Vegas of the PCL by the Blue Jays. Adams hit only .219 in 2007 and .233 in 2008.

The Brewers agreed to terms with minor league pitcher Cody Scarpetta on a one-year deal.

Eduardo Morlan also agreed to terms with the Brewers on a one-year deal. He had pitched in the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays farm system, and he owns a minor league ERA that is under 3.00.

Japanese pitcher Shigeki Noguchi signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1999 with the Chunichi Dragons, he won the league’s MVP Award after winning 19 games.

February 10, 2009:

The Chicago White Sox signed Ben Broussard to a minor league deal. In 2001, Broussard hit .303 with 28 home runs and 90 RBI– in the minors. He has shown glimpses of his minor league success in the majors, for example hitting .289 with 21 home runs and 63 RBI in 2006. Overall, he has a .263 batting average, 87 home runs and 314 RBI in his seven-year career.

Starter-turned-reliever Jamey Wright was signed by the Kansas City Royals. The 13-year veteran was mostly a starter for the first 12 years of his career, being used entirely as a reliever for the first time in 2008. With the Texas Rangers, he went 8-7 with a 5.12 ERA in 75 relief appearances last season.

Looking for some veteran catching help, the Colorado Rockies signed 11-year vet Sal Fasano. Fasano is like former catcher Tom Prince – he can barely hit his own weight and he doesn’t hit for power, and yet teams keep signing him. Indeed, Fasano has a .221 batting average, .295 on-base percentage and a .392 slugging average, each of which are less than stellar. The aforementioned Prince had marks of .208, .286 and .331 respectively, and yet he managed to play 17 years in the big leagues. On another note, Fasano is a very well-traveled player – since 2001, he has played for nine different teams, if only counting big league service. He has played in 12 different farm systems since 2001.

Dioner Navarro lost his arbitration hearing and will make 2.1-million dollars in 2009. The 25 year-old Tampa Bay Rays catcher was an All-Star in 2008 after hitting .295 with seven home runs and 54 RBI. In a five-year big league career, he has a .263 batting average.

The Baltimore Orioles signed the versatile Ty Wigginton. Since making his major league debut in 2002, he has hit .270 with 110 home runs and 384 RBI for the New York Mets (2002-2004), Pittsburgh Pirates (2004-2005), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2006-2007) and Houston Astros (2007-2008). In 2008, he hit .285 with 23 home runs.

Because of the Wigginton signing, the Orioles designated for assignment Scott Moore. He would be outrighted to the minors.

Ramon Ortiz was signed to a minor league contract by the San Francisco Giants. He was a productive pitcher in the early 2000s, posting an average record of about 15-11 from 2001 to 2003. Since 2004 however, he has not won more than 11 games in a season and has had only one winning season. He has an 84-80 career record and a 4.90 career ERA. In 2008, he didn’t play in the majors.

The New York Mets signed Jose Valentin to a minor league contract. Valentin is a 16-year veteran who didn’t play in the major leagues in 2008, and has been battling injuries since 2007. Valentin has 249 career home runs, and despite hitting only .216 with the Chicago White Sox in 2004 he blasted 30 dingers that year. He came out of nowhere in 2006 to help the Mets to the playoffs, hitting .271 with 18 home runs and 62 RBI. He took over playing second base for the Mets in 2006 after the Mets got tired of Kazuo Matsui‘s constant struggles and injuries.

Dan Cevette was signed by the Kansas City Royals to a minor league deal. He pitched in the Cleveland Indians farm system from 2002 to 2008.

As a 23-year old rookie in 2008, Wesley Wright went 4-3 with a 5.01 ERA in 71 relief appearances. He struck out 57 batters in 55 2/3 innings. He agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Astros.

Minor leaguer Polin Trinidad agreed to terms with the Astros on a contract. He has a 19-18 minor league record.

Posting a minor league ERA under three and an 11-12 record, relief pitcher Samuel Gervacio and the Astros agreed to terms on a contract. He has yet to reach the majors.

With 41 stolen bases in 2008 and 18 in 2007, Michael Bourn has proven to be one of the quickest players in the National League. The Astros signed him to a one-year deal. He hit only .229 in 2008, however, and his career average is only .237.

Former number one draft pick Matt Bush was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. Originally a shortstop, he struggled mightily at the plate. So, he converted to pitching and subsequently missed all of 2008. He has also recently gotten into some trouble with the law.

Tanyon Sturtze signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sturtze has a 40-44 career record, and in 2002 he posted a record of 4-18. He played in three games in 2008, posting a 0.00 ERA.

The Dodgers also signed knuckleballing Charlie Haeger, who played for the Chicago White Sox from 2006 to 2007 and for the San Diego Padres in 2008. He has a 6.35 ERA in 19 career appearances.

February 9, 2009:

In 2005, he was an All-Star. In 2008, he hit .203 in 74 at-bats. Despite his rapid decline, the Tampa Bay Rays took a chance and signed Morgan Ensberg to a minor league contract. In an eight-year career, he has 110 home runs and 347 RBI.

Edgardo Alfonzo is heading to Japan to play ball. He hadn’t played in the big leagues since 2006. The 35-year old hit .284 with 146 home runs and 744 RBI, with his best years (and only All-Star appearance, in 2000) coming with the New York Mets.

The San Francisco Giants signed 14-year veteran Rich Aurilia, who in 2008 hit .283 with 10 home runs and 52 RBI. His best year came in 2001 – a time when steroid use was prevalent and untamed in baseball – when he hit .324 with 37 home runs and 97 RBI and had career highs in every major category except for stolen bases, walks and strikeouts. He has not come close to reaching those totals since then.

He pitched for the Dodgers from 2004 to 2005, and he might be pitching for them again in 2009. Jeff Weaver signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers, with whom he had two of the best year of his career (and the only year in which his winning percentage was greater than .500). He has a 93-114 record to go along with a 4.72 ERA in a nine-year career. In his two years with the Dodgers, he went 27-24 with a 4.11 ERA. He didn’t play in the majors in 2008.

Although he hit .280 in 2008, the St. Louis Cardinals released former ALCS MVP Adam Kennedy. He has yet to sign with anyone.

The Oakland Athletics signed Edgar Gonzalez to a minor league deal. The starter/reliever once managed to post a 108.00 ERA in a season.

Although he has never gotten past Double-A ball, Ronald Belisario found himself on the Florida Marlins 40-man roster at one point. Now he is in the Los Angeles Dodgers system, as they signed him to a minor league contract.

February 8, 2009:

Ryan Howard and the Philadelphia Phillies agreed to a three-year, 54-million dollar contract. He, like Adam Dunn, is a free-swinging power hitter. Unlike Adam Dunn, Howard has shown that he can hit for average, and he has also averaged 11 more home runs and 45 more RBI each season since 2006. According to Bill James‘ Favorite Toy, Howard projects to hit over 500 home runs and drive in over 1,500 RBI in his career. Dunn is on pace to hit more home runs but drive in less RBI than Howard if his projections pan out.

The Nationals signed Scott Olsen to a one-year, 2.8-million dollar deal. The fiery, temperamental Olsen has gone 31-37 with a 4.63 ERA in his four-year career.

So as to avoid arbitration, the Kansas City Royals and Mark Teahen came to terms and agreed upon a deal worth a little more than 3.5-million dollars. He played third base and the outfield regularly in the past, and it looks like he will be playing second base in 2009. Teahen owns a .268 career batting-average.

One-time great Andruw Jones signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers, hoping to resurrect his career much like Sammy Sosa did with them in 2007. Just a few years ago Jones had hit 51 home runs in a season, however in 2007 he hit only .222 and in 2008 he hit only .158 after signing a gigantic contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jones is only 31, and therefore still has time to rebound.

References:

TSN.ca
MLB.com
Baseball.com
MLBTradeRumors.com