Seattle cuts ties with INF Chone Figgins (Yahoo!
Sports)

post from MLB News Blog on 20 November 2012 11:46:57 PM. © MLB News Blog

SEATTLE (AP) — Chone Figgins was expected to give the Seattle Mariners a spark when he signed a $36 million, four-year contract with them in December 2009.

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Yankees Resign Kuroda

post from Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog on 20 November 2012 10:01:05 PM. © Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog

From Anthony DiComo:

Hiroki Kuroda will be back with the Yankees next season on a one-year contract. The Yankees did not release details, but ESPN's Buster Olney reported the deal to be worth $15 million, plus incentives of less than $1 million.

...

Though Kuroda recently rejected the Yankees' one-year, $13 million qualifying offer, it was widely assumed that he was still interested in a one-year deal. He was also reportedly considering a return to Los Angeles, where he played from 2008 to 2011 with the Dodgers, or Japan, where he broke into professional baseball with the Hiroshima Carp in 1997.

"I am very happy and excited to re-sign with the Yankees," said Kuroda. "I am very grateful for all of the interest and all of the offers that I received from the various teams that courted me. It was a tough decision for me to make, but at the end of the day, I wanted to try to win a championship with the teammates that I went to battle with last season."

Nice!

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The Houston Astros Set 40-Man Roster; Lose Mickey
Storey To New York Yankees

post from The Crawfish Boxes - All Posts on 20 November 2012 10:01:00 PM. © The Crawfish Boxes - All Posts

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From Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle, we learn that seven minor league players were added to the 40-man roster. Those players, with 2012 minor league stats:

RHP Jose Cisnero 3.70 ERA in 148.1 IP between AA and AAA
RHP Jarred Cosart 3.30 ERA in 114.2 IP between AA and AAA
OF Robbie Grossman .266/.36/.410 in 577 PA at AA between the Astros and Pirates farm system
RHP Chia-Jen Lo 0.90 ERA in 30 IP between Rookie and A+ also had a good AFL
LHP Brett Oberholtzer 4.37 ERA in 166.2 IP between AA and AAA
RHP Ross Seaton 3.93 ERA in 169.1 IP between AA and AAA
SS Jonathan Villar .261/.336/.396 (and a busted fire hydrant) in 377 PA at AA

That puts the 40-man roster at 36 players, that means with the exception of a trade there's room for a Rule 5 draftee and three free agents.

From What The Heck, Bobby? we find the more interesting names of players left off the 40-man roster. Can't say I'm really all that surprised by the players left off. Marc Krauss is probably the biggest name sticking out from that list. He hit .271/.397/.491 in 535 PA between AA and AAA and the Diamondbacks and Astros farm systems. He spent quite a bit of time moving around defensively so that may be a contributing factor as to why Grossman was protected but Krauss wasn't. The Astros also still have to figure out what they have with both J.D. and Fernando Martinez. This is likely an indication that they either have more faith in one of the Martinez's or that Krauss is the least likely to be selected in the Rule 5 draft.

Remember the Rule 5 is about getting blocked players a chance. With the Astros new found depth it means leaving good players that might be selected in the Rule 5 off the 40-man roster. Krauss still has to make it through a full season on the roster of the team that selects him, so even if he is selected that doesn't mean he's necessarily gone forever.

As we said on the podcast, what the Astros decided to do with Chia-Jen Lo and whether or not he would get a 40-man roster spot would tell us a lot about what the Astros think in regards to the soon to be 27 year old reliever. Overall, Lo has some very good numbers in the minor leagues, but has struggled with injuries the past two years. He was very effective in his 30 minor league innings on the mound this year and apparently showed enough in the Arizona Fall League (2.40 ERA in 15 IP) for the Astros to use a 40-man roster spot on him. I have to think Lo pitching effectively had something to do with the Astros losing Mickey Storey to the New York Yankees via waiver claim.

Storey, the 26 year old righty, had a 3.05 ERA in 65 innings in Oklahoma City and a 3.86 ERA in the 30.1 innings he pitched at the major league level. Storey had become a favorite of mine. He had a 2.80 FIP, and was striking out 10 batters per nine innings while only walking about three batters per nine innings, so I'm a bit confused why the Astros tried to send him through waivers. Maybe they were trying to be sneaky and failed, or maybe there were concerns about his 37.5% ground ball percentage and as reillocity pointed out in the comments his extreme reliance on his breaking ball. Ultimately, I think it goes back to the whole depth thing, sometimes teams with a good farm system lose potentially good players.

The other transaction today includes Scott Moore being outrighted to Oklahoma City. I can't say that I'm surprised by this move. Moore will have the option to either accept the assignment or move on to other opportunities.

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I’m glad Kuroda is off the radar

post from LADodgerTalk.com - Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Vin Scully, Andre Ethier and the Dodgers on 20 November 2012 09:01:13 PM. © LADodgerTalk.com - Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Vin Scully, Andre Ethier and the Dodgers

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Rockies Protect Three, Outright McBride, Brown

post from Purple Row - All Posts on 20 November 2012 09:01:02 PM. © Purple Row - All Posts

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The Rockies protected outfielder Tim Wheeler (purchased from AAA), right-handed pitcher Joe Gardner (purchased from AA) and shortstop Cristhian Adames (purchased from A+). These were the three players I most expected to be protected from the draft. Wheeler will likely be repeating a season with the Sky Sox in 2013, where the organization hopes he will regain his power after a hand injury sapped it from the 2012 campaign. Gardner may see time as both a starter and a reliever with the Sky Sox and/or Drillers next season, with Adames likely manning the shortstop position full time with Tulsa.

Already protected from the draft this year were Rob Scahill and Rafael Ortega, purchased from the minors during the season. Notable players left unprotected include outfielder Kent Matthes and right-handed pitcher Coty Woods, who put up fights for spots in the Arizona Fall League this year, as well as first baseman Ben Paulsen, who may be in line to repeat his third straight year with the Drillers. Parker Frazier, Dan Houston and Nick Schmidt represented long-shot protection candidates who have already survived a year of eligibility to the draft.

In addition, the Rockies pre-emptively freed up some extra roster space by completing a second wave of outright assignments. Outfielder Andrew Brown and first baseman/outfielder Matt McBride were removed from the roster outright, and sent to the Sky Sox. McBride will be headed for MiLB Free Agency automatically, while Brown will be allowed to choose whether to depart or to remain on his MiLB contract, which has one more year remaining on it. Because both players cleared waivers for the move to be made, this action was planned for at least three days prior. Because the Rockies did not fill their spots with additional Rule 5 protectees, it is likely that the Rockies intend to use these spots for incoming players via trade or free agency at the Winter Meetings.

The Rockies 40-man roster, with the addition of three, subtraction of two and Matt Reynolds swapping places with Ryan Wheeler, stands at 38 players.

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Trade Approved, Decisions to Be Made

post from Marlin Maniac on 20 November 2012 08:38:33 PM. © Marlin Maniac

Yesterday afternoon saw Commissioner Bud Selig approve the Marlins recent trade with the Blue Jays. Selig reportedly expressed concerns on the trade, saying he was “aware of the anger? from fans and took a week to review it. His statement released yesterday reflected his distaste for the trade. ?I am sensitive to the concerns of [...]

Trade Approved, Decisions to Be Made - Marlin Maniac - Marlin Maniac - A Miami Marlins Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Rumor: Yankees interested in shortstop Stephen
Drew

post from Bronx Baseball Daily on 20 November 2012 08:37:10 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily

[...]

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My Jim Abbott Player Collection Is COMPLETE!!!
Oh, Yeah!!

My Jim Abbott Player Collection Is COMPLETE!!! Oh, Yeah!! Well friends, another player collection has been completed at ’30-YOC’. This time around, it is my Jim Abbott collection. And it was a lot of fun to build! This journey started … Continue reading →

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Cubs designate LaHair for assignment (Yahoo!
Sports)

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs say they have designated first baseman Bryan LaHair for assignment because he and the club are pursuing an opportunity for him in Japan.

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