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Archives for August 2012

Melky Cabrera Suspended For Positive PED Test

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Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera has been suspended 50 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, reports ESPN's Jorge Arangure (on Twitter). MLB has confirmed both the suspension and that substance was testosterone. The suspension takes effect immediately and will cost him the rest of the season.

"My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used," said Cabrera through a statement, courtesy of Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle (on Sulia). "I accept my suspension under the Joint Drug Program and will try to move on with my life. I am deeply sorry for my mistake and I apologize to my teammates, to the San Francisco Giants organization and to the fans for letting them down." 

Cabrera, 28, was in the middle of a breakout season and is scheduled to hit free agency this coming winter. Both Melky and the team recently agreed to put contract extension talks on hold. Cabrera hit .346/.390/.516 with 11 homers in 501 plate appearances during his first season in San Francisco, earning him his first All-Star Game nomination.

Ryan Braun was suspended for a failed PED test this past offseason but successfully appealed and did not miss any games. Cabrera will not do the same based on his statement. He was set to hit the open market as one of the most coveted free agents available due to his age and production, but the suspension will surely impact his next contract, perhaps in a real big way.

Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com confirmed that Cabrera will be eligible to play in the postseason once his suspension is over (Twitter link). He would have to miss his team's first four games, however. The Giants are currently tied atop the NL West with the Dodgers at 64-53.

New York Notes: Shoppach, Payroll, Burnett, Lowe

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The Yankees (69-47) own the best record in the AL, but the Mets (55-61) grabbed some headlines yesterday by acquiring Kelly Shoppach from the Red Sox for a player to be named later. Here's the latest out of the Big Apple…

  • Ken Davidoff of The New York Post says that the Shoppach acquisition is an encouraging pickup because it shows the Mets are willing to take on money at midseason, something they haven't done in recent years.
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson isn't sure how much money he'll have to spend on his roster this offseason, reports Brian Costa of The Wall Street Journal. He said he also has yet to think about extending manager Terry Collins, who is under contract through next season.
  • Davidoff reports that the Yankees preferred Derek Lowe to A.J. Burnett during the 2008-2009 offseason, but they had concerns about the sinkerballer's ground ball tendencies and their infield defense. New York signed Burnett back then, but traded him to the Pirates this offseason while adding Lowe this week.

Rockies Designate Mike Ekstrom For Assignment

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The Rockies have designated Mike Ekstrom for assigment, the team announced (on Twitter). The move creates room on the roster for Guillermo Moscoso. 

Ekstrom, 28, allowed 11 runs in 15 2/3 relief innings for Colorado this season, striking out nine and walking two. The right-hander pitched to a 2.64 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 47 2/3 Triple-A innings this year.

White Sox Sign Jose Lopez

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The White Sox have signed Jose Lopez to a minor league contract and assigned him to their Triple-A affiliate, according to the International League transactions page. The Indians released the utility man over the weekend.

Lopez, 28, hit .249/.272/.366 in 224 plate appearances for Cleveland this year while playing first, second, third, and right field. He has already appeared in one game for Chicago's Triple-A squad in Charlotte, picking up three hits including a double.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Chavez, Richmond, Zagurski

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Here are Wednesday's outright assignments, courtesy of the MLB.com transactions page…

  • The Orioles have outrighted Endy Chavez to Triple-A. The 34-year-old outfielder hit .190/.222/.281 in 129 plate appearances for Baltimore this season before being designated for assignment earlier this month.
  • The Blue Jays have outrighted right-hander Scott Richmond to Triple-A. Toronto designated the 32-year-old for assignment last week after allowing two runs in three relief innings. Richmond pitched to a 5.89 in 117 2/3 Triple-A innings this year.
  • The Diamondbacks have outrighted Mike Zagurski to Triple-A. The 29-year-old southpaw pitched to a 6.18 ERA in 27 2/3 relief innings this year, and left-handed hitters tagged him for a .256/.320/.395 batting line. Arizona designated Zagurski for assignment this past weekend.

Astros Notes: Luhnow, DeShields Jr., Altuve

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Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow wrote the club's season ticket holders this afternoon to encourage them to stay on board as they look to build for future seasons.  Houston is dead last in the standings but Luhnow pointed to the club's commitment to building through the draft, international free agents, and the trade market as evidence of better things to come.  More on the Astros..

  • While the Astros weren't expecting to contend this year, new owner Jim Crane told the Associated Press that he wasn't expecting the team to be struggling this much.  "We made a lot of trades and once we made that decision — Jeff started moving some of the talent — we knew we might slide back a little bit, but we didn’t think it would be this bad," Crane said.
  • Prospect Delino DeShields Jr. is on a path to reach the majors in the near future, but Luhnow says that the club isn't yet concerned about what to do with him and All-Star Jose Altuve, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.  "If we get to the point we have two guys up here and they're blocked, or one guy here and one guy [at Triple-A], maybe then you make an adjustment. That's how we're going to approach it," the GM explained.
  • The Astros' rebuilding project is a gift to the rest of the contending teams that are scheduled to face them in the coming weeks, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Of the seven teams in the hunt for the Wild Card (including the division-leading Reds), five have games remaining against Houston.

Mets Notes: Shoppach, Thole, Alderson, Payroll

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A look at the latest on the Mets as they take on the Reds in Cincinnati..

  • The Mets view the recently-acquired Kelly Shoppach as a player that they might want to bring back for 2013, tweets Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger (via Twitter).  The catcher is hitting .250/.327/.471 in 158 plate appearances this year with a career .270/.364/.530 against lefties.
  • The Mets will audition Shoppach for the rest of the year to see if he might be a worthy platoon mate for Josh Thole next season, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  The former Boston catcher was the club's third or fourth choice at catcher as they favored both Ramon Hernandez and Kurt Suzuki, Sherman tweets.  Shoppach could make sense for the Mets in 2013 as they will look to steer their payroll space elsewhere with a focus on the outfield and bullpen, tweets Sherman.
  • When asked about the team payroll for 2013, General Manager Sandy Alderson said to check back in a few weeks as the club has yet to talk it over, McCullough tweets.  Alderson went on to add that the organization is focused on the season at hand.

Red Sox Notes: Valentine, Shoppach, Gonzalez

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Earlier today, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported that Red Sox players met with owners John Henry and Larry Lucchino in late July to voice their displeasure with manager Bobby Valentine.  Adrian Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia were said to be among the most vocal in the meeting and GM Ben Cherington confirmed that the pow-wow took place.  Here's the latest out of Fenway..

  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter) opines that the trade of Kelly Shoppach in order to give Valentine favorite Ryan Lavarnway more playing time can't be a bad sign for Bobby V.  Boston will receive a player to be named later from the Mets in exchange for the backstop.
  • Valentine told reporters, including Tim Britton of The Providence Journal, that he is glad to have the reported unrest behind him.  "Wow.  Is that what was said really?  That's what Dustin and Adrian said?  It did say that?  I didn't hear that.  I'm glad that July is over because they're still playing for me," said the skipper.
  • The Red Sox players haven't kept an open mind about Valentine ever since his remarks about Kevin Youkilis back in April, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.  In an interview, Valentine said that he didn't think the veteran was "as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason.”

Orioles Designate Miguel Socolovich For Assignment

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The Orioles have designated right-hander Miguel Socolovich for assignment, according to Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com (via Twitter).  The move will allow the Orioles to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for J.C. Romero.

The native of Venezuela pitched ten and one-third innings for the O's this season, allowing eight earned runs with six strikeouts and six walks.  In 28 games for Triple-A Norfolk in 2012, Socolovich posted a 1.90 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9.

Blue Jays Acquire Yorvit Torrealba

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5:34pm: The Blue Jays announced that they have signed Torrealba to a minor league deal. 

2:42pm:  Veteran catcher Yorvit Torrealba, placed on release waivers last week by the Texas Rangers, is close to joining the Toronto Blue Jays, a source tells Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).

Torrealba, 34, posted a .236/.302/.342 batting line in 182 plate appearances for Texas before being designated for assignment earlier this month.

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