Tagged: Houston Astros

Non-Roster Invitees With Big League Experience

  • Baltimore Orioles- Alexi Casilla and Quintin Berry
  • Los Angeles Angels- Wade LeBlanc, Mark Mulder,Clay Rapada, Justin Thomas, Yorvit Torrealba, John McDonald, Carlos Pena, Ian Stewart, Chad Tracy, Brennan Boesch and Brandon Lyon
  • Houston Astros- Peter Moylan, Rhiner Cruz, Cesar Izturis, J.D. Martinez, Adron Chambers, Gregorio Petit
  • Oakland A’s- Philip Humber, Fernando Nieve, Dusty Brown, Luke Montz and Sam Fuld
  • Toronto Blue Jays- Tomo Ohka, Juan Perez, Chris Getz, Dan Johnson, Munenori Kawasaki, Andy LaRoche, Mike Nickeas, Steve Tolleson
  • Atlanta Braves- Yunesky Maya, Mat Gamel and Tyler Greene
  • Milwaukee Brewers- Zach Duke, Robinzon Diaz, Matt Pagnozzi, Irving Falu, Hector Gomez, Taylor Green, Lyle Overbay, Mark Reynolds and Eugenio Velez
  • St. Louis Cardinals- Pat Neshek and Scott Moore
  • Chicago Cubs- Tom Hottovy, Jonathan Sanchez, Brian Schlitter, John Baker, Eli Whiteside, Chris Valaika, Ryan Roberts, Chris Coghlan, Aaron Cunningham, Ryan Kalish, Mitch Maier, Darnell McDonald and Casper Wells
  • Arizona Diamondbacks- Daniel Hudson, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Adam Russell, Henry Blanco, Bobby Wilson, Mike Jacobs and Andy Marte
  • Los Angeles Dodgers- Sam Demel, Daniel Moskos, Miguel Olivo, Chone Figgins, Brendan Harris, Justin Turner, Clint Robinson and J.C. Boscan
  • San Francisco Giants- Jason Berken, Rafael Dolis, Juan Gutierrez, Kameron Loe, Sandy Rosario, Dan Runzler, Mason Tobin, Guillermo Quiroz and Brandon Hicks
  • Cleveland Indians- David Aardsma, Scott Atchison, Matt Capps, Tyler Cloyd, Shaun Marcum, J.C. Ramirez, Mike Zagurski, Luke Carlin, Matt Treanor, Elliot Johnson, Brian LaHair, Matt Carson, Ryan Rohlinger, Jeff Francoeur, Nyjer Morgan and Jason Giambi
  • Seattle Mariners- Scott Baker, Joe Beimel, Logan Kensing, Matt Palmer, Ramon Ramirez, Mark Rogers, Chance Ruffin, Manuel Pina, Humberto Quintero, Endy Chavez, Cole Gillespie, Randy Wolf and Zach Miner
  • Miami Marlins- Henry Rodriguez, Chaz Roe, Kevin Slowey, Josh Spence, Reed Johnson, Ty Wiggington, Kyle Skipworth, Juan Diaz, Matt Angle and Joe Benson
  • New York Mets- Daisuke Matsuzaka, Kyle Farnsworth, Taylor Teagarden
  • Washington Nationals- Manny Delcarmen, Clay Hensley, Tyler Robertson, Daniel Strange, Koyie Hill, Chris Synder, Jamey Carroll, Mike Fontenot, Brock Peterson and Will Rhymes
  • San Diego Padres- Blaine Boyer, Alberto Gonzalez and Xavier Nady
  • Philadelphia Phillies- Shawn Camp, Chad Gaudin, Cesar Jimenez, Jeff Manship, Sean O’Sullivan, Lou Marson, Andres Blanco, Reid Brignac, Ronny Cedeno, Bobby Abreu, Tony Gwynn Jr. and Clete Thomas
  • Pittsburgh Pirates- Cody Eppley, Josh Kinney, Kyle McPherson, Daniel Schlereth, Adam Wilk, Omir Santos, Robert Andino, Matt Hague, Travis Ishikawa, Michael Martinez and Chris Dickerson
  • Texas Rangers- Nate Adcock, Daniel Bard, Jose Contreras, Ryan Feierabend, Justin Germano, Colby Lewis, Rafael Perez, Aaron Poreda, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Brent Lillibridge, Josh Wilson, Bryan Peterson, Brad Snyder and Kensuke Tanaka
  • Tampa Bay Rays- Steve Geltz, Mark Lowe, Eddy Rodriguez, Roman Ali Solis, Wilson Betemit, Jayson Nix, Ray Olmedo, Justin Christian, James Darnell, Jeremy Moore and Jerry Sands
  • Boston Red Sox- John Ely, Rich Hill, Jose Mijares, Tommy Layne, Brayan Villarreal, Mike Mccoy and Brandon Snyder
  • Cincinnati Reds- Trevor Bell, Jeff Francis, Chien-Ming Wang, Corky Miller, Max Ramirez, Argenis Diaz, Kristopher Negron, Chris Nelson, Roman Santiago, Roger Bernadina and Jason Bourgeois
  • Colorado Rockies- Greg Burke, Manny Corpas, Pedro Hernandez, Nick Masset, Matt McBride, Michael McKenry, Paul Janish, Jason Pridie
  • Kansas City Royals- Guillermo Mota, Brad Penny, Jon Rauch, Everett Teaford, Corey Wade, P.J. Walters, Ramon Hernandez, Adam Moore, Jason Donald, Brandon Laird, Gorkys Hernandez, Melky Mesa
  • Detroit Tigers- Duane Below, Jhan Marinez, Luis Marte, Eduardo Sanchez, Luis Exposito, Danny Worth, Ezequiel Carrera and Trevor Crowe
  • Minnesota Twins- Matt Guerrier, Lester Oliveros, Aaron Thompson, Jason Bartlett, Doug Bernier, Jason Kubel, Darin Mastroianni and Wilkin Ramirez
  • Chicago White Sox- Dylan Axelrod, Deunte Heath, Brian Omogrosso, David Purcey, Zach Putnam, Mauricio Robles, Hector Gimenez, Miguel Gonzalez, Alex Liddi, Dennis Phipps, Blake Tekotte
  • New York Yankees- Bruce Billings, Robert Coello, Matt Daley, Brian Gordon, David Herndon, Chris Leroux, Jim Miller, Yoshinori Tateyama, Russ Canzler, Corbin Joseph, Scott Sizemore and Antoan Richardson

Trade and Acquistion Roundup

This has been a very active day for baseball transactions. Players have been signed to new deals and have been dealt to new teams. Here is a list of all the different wheelings and dealings that have occurred today.

  • Red Sox sign catcher A.J. Pierzynski to a 1-year deal worth 8.25 million.
  • Blue Jays sign catcher Dioner Navarro to a 2-year deal worth 8 million.
  • Tigers are close to a deal with reliever Joe Nathan according to FoxSports’ baseball insiders Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi.
  • Dodgers are close to signing reliever Brian Wilson according to FoxSports’ baseball insiders Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi
  • Phillies sign catcher Wil Nieves according to CBSSports’ baseball insider Jon Heyman
  • Rays acquire Heath Bell and Ryan Hanigan, Reds acquire Minor League pitcher David Holmberg and D’backs acquire Minor League pitcher Justin Choate in a 3-team trade.
  • Rays agree to a 3-year extension worth 11 million with Hanigan
  •  A’s have acquired outfielder Craig Gentry and pitcher Josh Lindbloom from the Rangers for outfielder Michael Choice and minor league second baseman Chris Bostick.
  •  A’s have acquired pitcher Luke Gregerson from the Padres for outfielder Seth Smith
  • Marlins sign catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a 3-year worth 21 million.
  • Astros acquire outfielder Dexter Fowler and a player to be named later from the Rockies for pitcher Jordan Lyles and outfielder Brandon Barnes.
  • Yankees sign outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury to a 7-year deal worth 153 million.

Angels,Braves,Astros and Tigers Trade Notes

The Angels have traded reliever Scott Downs to the Braves for reliever Cory Rasmus. Downs has a 2-3 record with an ERA of 1.83 in 43 games for the Angels. The Braves have been looking for a veteran left-handed reliever since Eric O’Flaherty and Jonny Venters went down with season ending injuries. Downs has held left-handed hitters to a .196 batting average and an OPS of .470. Rasmus appeared in 3 games with an ERA of 8.10 with the Braves this season. He is a young pitcher, so he has room to grow and become a serviceable pitcher in the big leagues for the Angels.

The Astros have traded Jose Veras to the Tigers for Danry Vasquez and a player to be named later. Veras had a record of 0-4 with an ERA of 2.93 and 19 saves in 42 games with the Astros this season. He will be the setup man to Joaquin Benoit and will provide insurance if Benoit struggles in the closer’s role. Right-handed batters are only hitting .160 against Veras this season. Vasquez had stat lines of .281/5/39/.333/.390/.723 in 96 games in A ball. He is only 19 years old,so Astros will have to wait a few years to see him patrolling the outfield in the big leagues.

AL West News and Notes

-Mariners’ reliever Yoervis Medina recorded his first career. Medina worked a clean 10th inning to secure the save. He becomes the second Mariner in the four games to record his first big league save. Oliver Perez recorded his first save against the A’s on Friday.

-Josh Hamilton had a horrible time at the plate last night. Hamilton grounded into three double player and struck out twice in five at-bats. Angel fans started booing Hamilton after his third double play ground out. 

-Four of the five runs scored in last night’s Mariners vs Angels came from solo home runs (Ibanez, Smoak, Trumbo and Pujols). Kendrys Morales had the only RBI that didn’t came from a solo home run. He batted in Kyle Seager to score the game winning run in the 10th. This was the first Mariner win in Anaheim in four games. The Mariners had been outscored 30-4 by the Angels in their first three home games against the M’s.

-Astros’ third baseman Matt Dominguez hit his first career grand slam against the Brewers last night. He hit the slam in the 7th inning off reliever Tom Gorzelanny.  Dominguez is having a career year. He has already established career-highs in: games played (68), at-bats (246), runs (26), hits, (58), doubles (12), home runs (10), RBI (40), walks (7) and strikeouts (39). 

-Albert Pujols has been tearing up Mariner pitching in the last two games. Pujols is 5-9 with a home run and two RBIs in the first two games of the series.

-Ranger starter Yu Darvish hasn’t won a start since May 16th against the Tigers.

-A’s starter Jarrod Parker has won four of his last five starts. He hasn’t lost a game since May 22nd against the Rangers. Parker pitched 7 innings of two run ball to earn a win against the Rangers last night.

-Joe Blanton struck out 11 Mariners over 6 2/3 innings pitched last night. This has to be some kind of record for most strikeouts in a game for a pitcher with only a win in 14 starts.

-Mariner starter Jeremy Bonderman has performed well since a lackluster first start against the Twins. Bonderman pitched 14 innings of scoreless ball until a Mark Trumbo home run in 2nd inning of last night’s game. He has only allowed two runs over his last 20 innings of work.

Firsts in the first 4 games of the season

The Astros became the first team in MLB history to strikeout 43 times in the opening series of the season.

The Mariners became the first team since the 1970 Reds to give up three hits or fewer in the first two games of the season.

Red Sox’s rookie Jackie Bradley Jr. recorded three walks, two runs and an RBI in his major league debut. He got the first hit of his career in the second game of the season.

Braves’ catcher Evan Gattis and Athletics’ first baseman Nate Frieman each collected an RBI in their first major league at-bat. Gattis hit a solo home run off Roy Halladay and Frieman hit a single off Joe Saunders.

Cubs’ reliever Kyuji Fujikawa recorded his first save in his first major league appearance.

Dodgers’ pitcher Clayton Kershaw hit his first career home run in the opening day game against the Giants. Kershaw went on to pitch a complete game four hitter for the Dodgers

Erik Bedard picked up the first save in his 9 year career on opening night for the Astros. Bedard pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to accomplish this feat.

Twins’ outfielder Aaron Hicks records his first MLB hit in the fourth game of the season. It was a two run single off Al Alburquerque in the 8th inning.

Padres’ Jedd Gyorko collected his first hit and RBI in the third game of the season. He hit an RBI double off Dillon Gee in the 4th inning of today’s game.

According to Elias sports Chris Davis is the first MLB player to beat in at least three runs in each of the team’s first three games.

News and Notes from Astros/Rangers Opening Night Game

– Bud Norris whiffs Elvis Andrus for the first strikeout of the 2013 season.

– Jose Altuve gets the first hit of the 2013 season. This is also the first hit for the Astros in the American League.

– The second base umpire had the first missed call of the season. Jose Altuve tried to advance to second base on a wild pitch and the umpire called him out. Even though he was safe in real time and on the slow motion replay.

– A.J Pierzynski gets the first hit for the Rangers in the new season.

– Matt Harrison strikes out 3 Astros’ hitters in a row. Harrison struck out the 2-3 hitters in the first and the leadoff hitter in the 2nd inning.

– Bud Norris had an ERA of 1.71 at Minute Maid Park last season. He only trailed Justin Verlander in best ERA at home last year.

Astros’ center fielder Justin Maxwell made a diving trap that the ump called a catch to end the top of the 4th inning. 

-Justin Maxwell drives in the first two runs of the season on a triple in the bottom of the 4th inning.

– Ronny Cedeno and Jose Altuve had RBI singles in the 5th inning to go up 4-0 on the Rangers.

-David Murphy drives in an RBI single to put the Rangers on the board in the 6th inning. Nelson Cruz hit an RBI single to cut the lead to two. Murphy and Cruz hit back to back RBI singles.

– Bud Norris threw 5 2/3 innings of two run ball with five strikeouts. Matt Harrison went 5 2/3 innings allowing five earned runs and striking out nine Astros’ batters.

– Rick Ankiel hits a three run home run to put Houston up 7-2. This was a pinch hit home run for Ankiel and it was the first home run of the 2013 season.

– Rangers’ reliever Joe Ortiz made his major league debut in tonight’s game. He pitched an inning of one run ball with two strikeouts.

– Justin Maxwell hit his second triple of tonight’s game. ESPN Stats and Info tweeted that Maxwell is the first player to hit two triples on Opening Day since Tony Pena Jr. in 2007.

– Pitcher Erik Bedard records his first save in his nine year career. He pitched 3 1/3 innings of one hit ball with two strikeouts

 

 

 

Tigers,Astros,Blue Jays, Yankees, Mariners and Rockies news

The Tigers have sent down rookie reliever Bruce Rondon to Triple-A Toledo. Rondon was slated to be the Tigers’ closer this season. He struggled mightily this spring against big league hitters (2-1 record with 5.87 ERA and a .327 AVG against in 13 spring training games). The Tigers will start the season with a closer by committee.

Brad Peacock has been named the #4 starter in the Astros’ rotation. Peacock was acquired by the Astros as part of the Jed Lowrie trade to the A’s during the off-season. He had a 12-9 record with an ERA of 6.01 in 25 starts last season for the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. Peacock had a 0-1 record with an ERA of 3.20 and a .225 AVG against in 7 spring appearances.

J.A. Happ has agreed to a two year contract extension with the Blue Jays. The extension is worth a total of 8.9 million dollars. Happ will be the #5 starter in the Blue Jays rotation. He beat out Ricky Romero for the last spot in the rotation. Happ had a spring record of 1-1 with an ERA of 1.90 in 7 appearances.

The Yankees have released 1B/OF Juan Rivera. Rivera was signed to a minor league contract during the off-season. He became expendable after the club acquired Ben Francisco and Lyle Overbay during spring training.

M’s OF/1B Michael Morse has set the club’s spring training home run record for a player. Morse hit his 9th home run of the spring in 2nd of today’s Mariners/Cubs game off Carlos Villanueva. The Mariners have set a team spring training record with 56 home runs and counting.

Rockies have signed pitcher Aaron Cook to a minor league contract. He was released by the Phillies earlier in the week. This will be Cook’s 2nd stint with the Rockies. Cook had a 72-68 record and an ERA of 4.53 in 206 starts over 10 years with the Rockies. He had a 4-11 record with an ERA of 5.65 in 18 starts for the Red Sox last season. Cook will provide depth in the minor league ranks and can be called upon if one of the major league starters struggles or has an injury.

Baseball news 3-25-13

The Brewers have signed pitcher Kyle Lohse to a 3 year deal worth 33 million dollars. With only six days left of spring training, Lohse finally got the deal he has been looking for all spring. Lohse will move into the number 2 slot in the Brewers rotation after ace Yovani Gallardo.

Blue Jays’ third baseman Brett Lawrie will start the year on the DL. He has a strained rib and will be eligible to come off the DL on the 22nd.

The St. Louis Cardinals haved named Shelby Miller as the team’s 5th starter. Miller had a 3.94 spring ERA and beat out fellow young pitcher Joe Kelly for the last rotation spot. Kelly will be coming out of the bullpen in 2013.

Non-roster reliever Kameron Loe has been named to the Mariners’ 25-man roster. He was placed on the roster after reliever Josh Kinney was placed on the 60-day DL with a rib strain.

According to Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle Astros’ GM Jeff Luhnow expects pitcher Erik Bedard to make the club’s rotation.

ESPN’s Adam Rubin reports that reliever Latroy Hawkins has made the Mets 25-man roster.

Pitcher Scott Kazmir has been named the Indians’ #5 starter. Kazmir has only made 1 major league start in the last 2 seasons.

ESPNNewYork’s Wallace Matthews is reporting that Yankees’ shortstop Derek Jeter will most likely begin the season on the DL. Jeter will be the third Yankee player to start the season on the DL. Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodriguez are the other Yankees’ that will begin the season on the DL.

Baseball Transactions Roundup

The A’s have traded first baseman Chris Cater, starting pitcher Brad Peacock and catcher Max Stassi to the Astros for shortstop Jed Lowrie and reliever Fernando Rodriguez. Carter had stat lines of .239/16/39/.350/.514/.864 in 67 games with the A’s and Brad Peacock did not make an appearance for the big league club. Stassi did not make an appearance for the big league club last season.

Lowrie had stat lines of .244/16/42/.331/.438/.769 in 97 games for the Astros last season. He was off to a great start in the 2012 season,but injuries limited him to under 100 games. Even though the A’s have already acquired shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima earlier in the off season, they still pulled the trigger on this deal. Lowrie will be a roving infielder. He get starts at every infield position except for first base. Rodriguez appeared in 71 games with a 2-10 record and an 5.73 ERA for the Astros last season. 

The Marlins have signed reliever Jon Rauch to a one year deal worth 1 million dollars. Rauch appeared in 73 games with a 3-7 record and an ERA of 3.59 for the Mets last season. He could be a candidate to close for the Marlins next season. Rauch has 62 career saves, achieving a career high 21 with the Twins in 2010.

The Brewers have re-signed shortstop Alex Gonzalez to a one year deal worth 1.5 million dollars. Gonzalez has stat lines of .259/4/15/.326/.457/.783 in 24 games with the Brewers last season. He appeared in only 24 games, because of a torn ACL during the season. Gonzalez will most likely be a bench player for the Brewers this season. The team already has phenom Jean Segura,who was acquired in the Zack Greinke trade last season will be manning the position.

The Pirates have signed pitcher Jonathan Sanchez to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Sanchez had 1-9 record with an 8.07 ERA in 15 starts between the Royals and Rockies last season. He threw a no-hitter in 2009, while achieving career bests in wins (13), ERA (3.07), starts (33), innings (193.1) and strikeouts (205) during the 2010 season. Sanchez will fight to make the starting rotation out of spring training.

The Nationals have signed Micah Owings to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Owings appeared in 6 games with a record of 0-2 and an ERA of 2.79 for the Padres last season. He had his best year in 2007 with the Diamondbacks. Owings won an NL Sliver Slugger award. He also finished 2nd in complete games and 4th in shutouts in the Nation League. He will try to find a spot in bullpen during spring training.

 

 

AL West Signings

The A’s have signed shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima to a 2 year deal worth 6.5 million dollars. Nakajima had stat lines of .311/13/74/.382/.451/.833 with the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Pacific League. He has played his whole career in Japan. Last season Nakajima was posts and won by the Yankees but they could not come to terms on a contract.
The A’s like the offensive numbers that Nakajima put up in Japan. Nakajima is a lifetime .310 hitter with 104 home runs and 514 RBIs in Japan. Oakland is hoping that these numbers transfer into success in the MLB.
The Astros have signed pitcher Jose Veras to a 1 year deal worth 2 million dollars. Veras appeared in 72 games with a 5-4 record and a 3.63 ERA for the Brewers last season. He was demoted from the Brewers’ 40-man roster and elected free agency instead of going to the minor leagues.
Veras will be used in a middle relieve role with the stros. He is a workhorse out of the bullpen appearing 70+ games in each of the last 2 seasons. This is the Astros second move in as many days. Yesterday the club agreed to terms with 1B-DH Carlos Pena on a 1 year contract.