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Astros Sign Landon Powell

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The Astros signed catcher Landon Powell to a minor league deal and invited him to big league camp, Alyson Footer of the Astros tweets. The A's had released the 29-year-old SFX client five days ago.

Powell has a .207/.284/.328 line in 406 plate appearances over the course of three seasons with the Athletics. He has played some first base, but spent most of his time behind the plate. Just 60% of stolen base attempts against Powell have been successful since 2009.

Powell joins catchers Jason Castro, Chris Snyder and Humberto Quintero on the Astros' depth chart. The A's owe Powell approximately $103K even after cutting him from the roster last week.

Quick Hits: Twins, Rangers, Orioles, Mariners, Mitre

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Tuesday night linkage..

  • Free agent reliever Michael Wuertz says his tryout will be early next week with plans to be finalized in the next day, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Minneapolis.  The Twins are expected to attend.
  • Signing closer Joe Nathan allowed the Rangers to move Neftali Feliz into the rotation while keeping skipper Ron Washington comfortable by continuing to have an established closer, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  Nathan inked a two-year, $14.75MM deal with Texas last November, though the club typically doesn't give multi-year deals to relievers.
  • There were at least 40 scouts on hand to watch the Orioles today, tweets Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun.
  • The Mariners reported a financial loss for a fiscal year with a $7.3MM deficit for 2011, writes Greg Johns of MLB.com.  This marks just the second time since the opening of Safeco Field that the M's find themselves in the red.
  • The bidding groups for the Dodgers appear to have been whittled down to five from seven tonight, a person familiar with the meetings tells Mike Ozanian of Forbes.com.  The highest bid was $1.6 billion from Magic Johnson and former baseball exec Stan Kasten, whose purchase would be partially financed by private equity.  The lowest bid from the five groups was $1.3 billion.
  • Looking at at future payroll commitments, major league assets, farm systems, ownership status, and front office strategies, ESPN.com's Keith Law (Insider sub. req'd) tries to hash out when clubs such as the Mets, Cubs, and Astros will be able to contend.
  • The biggest area of uncertainty for the Nationals, outside of their surplus of starting pitchers, seems to be their bench, writes Amanda Comak of The Washington Times. 
  • Free agent Sergio Mitre will work out for teams in March or April and expects to play in the majors this year, according to Tim (via Twitter).

AL Central Notes: Lannan, Pauley, Dotel, Floyd

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Here's a look at some items on the Tigers and White Sox..

Phillies Looking For Infield Help

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The Phillies already have a good deal of infielders in camp but are in search of more depth, multiple major league sources tell Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.  The club has health concerns about both first baseman Ryan Howard second baseman Chase Utley as they have yet to play in a game this spring. 

Sources say that left field could also be a position the Phillies are looking to bolster.  With Howard sidelined, John Mayberry Jr. might have to pitch in at first base.  Help at third base might also be in order as Placido Polanco is coming off surgery to repair a double groin tear.

Blue Jays, White Sox Discussed Gavin Floyd

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7:17pm: The Red Sox and Orioles had interest in Floyd over the winter and Baltimore had talks that nearly resulted in a deal, a source told Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.

TUESDAY, 7:32am: The Blue Jays and White Sox have discussed many players, but there's no evidence that serious talks regarding Floyd have taken place, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.

MONDAY, 9:12pm: "I am not looking to move [Floyd]," White Sox GM Kenny Williams said in an e-mail to MLB.com's Scott Merkin.

2:12pm: The Blue Jays continue pursuing White Sox right-hander Gavin Floyd, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports report. Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos has interest in upgrading the club's rotation before Opening Day, the FOX reporters add.

The Blue Jays and White Sox have had dialogue about Floyd since Spring Training began, according to Rosenthal and Morosi. The 29-year-old will earn $7MM in 2012 and his contract includes a $9.5MM club option for 2013. Henderson Alvarez and Dustin McGowan currently profile as the club's fourth and fifth starters. Alvarez has just ten big league appearances and though McGowan is looking sharp this spring, he has struggled to stay healthy in recent years, appearing in just five big league games since 2008.

The Blue Jays' pitching staff includes two relievers who were traded to Toronto after finishing the 2011 season with the White Sox: closer Sergio Santos and right-hander Jason Frasor. Anthopoulos and GM Kenny Williams have completed three trades since last summer, as MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows.

Athletics Claim Brandon Hicks

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The A's announced that they claimed infielder Brandon Hicks from the Braves. Oakland placed left-hander Brett Anderson on the 60-day disabled list to create 40-man roster space for Hicks.

Hicks, 26, spent most of the 2011 season at Triple-A, where he posted a .252/.333/.446 line with 18 homers in 407 plate appearances. The 2007 third round selection has mostly played shortstop over the course of his minor league career, but he has experience at all four infield positions. Following Scott Sizemore's injury, the A's have an opening at third base, a position at which Hicks has played 20 minor league games and nine Major League games.

Latest On Gerardo Parra

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Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers told reporters, including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, that he's had "no discussions" about trading outfielder Gerardo Parra this spring (Twitter link). The Diamondbacks view Parra "as very much a part of [the] club," Towers said.

The 24-year-old posted a .292/.357/.427 line in 493 plate appearances last year, winning a Gold Glove for his play in left field. This season, he figures to back up Jason Kubel, Chris Young and Justin Upton in the outfield and provide manager Kirk Gibson with a left-handed bat off of the bench. However, Danny Knobler of CBSSports heard that Parra is a possibility for the Nationals (Twitter link), who seek a long-term solution in center field.

John Lannan Drawing Interest

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The Red Sox, Tigers and Astros are watching John Lannan and a deal involving the left-hander is "likely" Danny Knobler of CBS Sports tweets. The Mets and Padres had interest, but balked at his $5MM salary.

Lannan doesn't have a guaranteed rotation spot in Washington after posting a 3.70 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 184 2/3 innings last year, so he's a potential trade candidate this spring. The Blue Jays, Royals and Tigers are among the teams monitoring the market for starting pitching, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported today.

Extension Updates: Phillips, Aybar

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As MLBTR’s Extension Tracker shows, teams and players have signed 34 extensions since last September. Who’s going to be next? A couple of Gold Glove middle infielders may sign soon. Here’s the latest:

  • Fern Cuza, the agent for shortstop Erick Aybar, arrived in Angels camp last night and is expected to meet with GM Jerry Dipoto this week, Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports. Cuza will discuss the possibility of a long-term deal for Aybar, who's on track to hit free agency after the 2012 season.
  • It appears that the agents for Brandon Phillips met with the Reds today, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. “I don’t know . . . probably,” Phillips said. GM Walt Jocketty, who wouldn't comment on the negotiations, hadn't discussed a deal with Phillips' representatives since the Winter Meetings.

Chipper Talks Retirement

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TUESDAY: Jones said yesterday that he's not sure if he'll make it through the season, but he was just joking, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman. "It was tongue and cheek. I was kidding," Jones said. "I just got done playing eight innings with three at-bats. I was a little tired. I wasn't by any means suggesting I couldn't make it through the season."

MONDAY: Chipper Jones spoke to reporters today (including David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) about his health and future in the game, and the veteran third baseman sounded less than optimistic about both topics.

"The body is starting to tell me every morning when I wake up that [retirement] is getting close," Jones said.  "I’m signed through the end of this year. If I play in a certain amount of games, I got an option for next year. I don’t know what next year entails….I don’t know if I can make it through this year."

Jones turns 40 in April and has been hinting about retirement for the last two seasons, so it's perhaps no surprise that he seems to be leaning towards hanging up his cleats after 2012.  Then again, Jones didn't retire in 2010 nor after last season, so he could easily once again change his mind once he works through the offseason rust.

“The big reason for me coming back was my teammates wanted me to come back,” Jones said. “I still feel like I can be a productive major leaguer. We’ll give it this year and see how it feels.”

This is the last guaranteed season of Jones' contract with the Braves, who hold a $7MM option on their long-time star for 2013.  That option will vest (and grow to $9MM) should Jones play in 123 games this season.  He has passed the 123-game mark four times in the last seven years, including playing 126 games in 2011.  Jones missed time last season due to arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, the fifth overall surgery he's endured on his knees.

"As I alluded to earlier, this game is going to wear you down, whether you have major injuries such as two torn ACLs, meniscus tears – I’ve got no meniscus in the right knee," Jones said. "That takes its toll. I’ve got to go when I can go and tell Fredi [Gonzalez] when I can’t.”

Martin Prado is Atlanta's primary backup option at third base.  Jones' questionable physical condition is no doubt a major reason why the Braves held onto Prado despite a plethora of trade rumors this winter.

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