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Rangers To Sign Chris Snyder

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The Rangers have agreed to a minor league deal with catcher Chris Snyder, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter). Snyder was released just yesterday by the Nationals.

The 33-year-old will provide depth to the team while starter Geovany Soto works to return from knee surgery. Snyder's last substantial MLB action came in 2012 with the Astros, when he put up a .176/.295/.308 line in 258 plate appearances. He had a strong spring line in limited action, putting up a .294/.381/.529 triple-slash with one long ball in 21 plate appearances. The Rangers apparently preferred him to other available options, such as Ramon Hernandez and Yorvit Torrealba.

Royals Claim Rule 5 Pick Patrick Schuster

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The Royals have claimed Rule 5 choice Patrick Schuster off of waivers from the Padres, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes reports (Twitter links). The 23-year-old southpaw was the first choice in this year's Rule 5 draft.

Kansas City will now have the same rights as did San Diego, meaning the club will need to keep him on its active roster all year in order to keep him going forward. Otherwise, he would once again hit the waiver wire and ultimately (if he clears waivers) be offered back to the Diamondbacks, his original team.

As Dierkes notes, the Royals had seemed ready to give its last pen slot to fellow lefty Francisley Bueno. Instead, perhaps, the club will see if Schuster is able to contribute enough to occupy a valuable roster slot. Of course, Kansas City would need to pass the out-of-options Bueno through waivers to stash him in the minors.

Phillies Outright Kevin Frandsen, Who Elects Free Agency

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TUESDAY: Frandsen has elected to forego his salary and become a free agent, the team announced.

SUNDAY: The Phillies have outrighted infielder Kevin Frandsen to Triple-A, reports MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Frandsen has 72 hours to either accept the assignment or reject the move and become a free agent. If the 31-year-old elects free agency, he will forfeit the guaranteed $900K salary agreed to last December when he signed a one-year deal to avoid arbitration, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).

"We're in a situation now with many of the injuries that have happened and the things that have occurred this spring to try and create some roster space for us," Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "That's what we've done. We still think he can be a valuable part of our club. But he's competing. Just like he was before, he continues to compete for a job on the bench."

The Phillies now have 37 players on their 40-man roster, so they "can add him back" if necessary, according to assistant GM Scott Proefrock. Zolecki notes such a scenario is unusual.

Frandsen has spent the past two seasons with the Phillies slashing .280/.333/.389 during his time in Philadelphia, including a .234/.296/.341 mark in 278 plate appearances (119 games) in 2013. Frandsen spent time at every infield position, except shortstop, last year. 

Frandsen is a lifetime .259/.316/.359 hitter during his seven-year MLB career with the Giants, Angels, and Phillies.

Twins Re-Sign Matt Guerrier

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12:19pm: Guerrier can opt out of his deal on May 8, tweets LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune. Financial terms remain the same as in Guerrier's prior deal, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He will earn $1MM while on the MLB roster and could earn up to $1MM more through incentives, with $250K bonuses triggered upon his 45th, 50th, 55th, and 60th appearances.

11:29am: The Twins have re-signed reliever Matt Guerrier after releasing him yesterday, reports MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger (Twitter links). The new deal includes an opt-out clause earlier than the June 1 date from his old contract, Bollinger adds.

By releasing and re-signing Guerrier, Minnesota avoided paying him a $100K retention bonus to stash him in the minors. The 35-year-old righty had hoped to find a big league opportunity elsewhere, but presumably was unable to do so. 

Brewers To Add Rule 5 Pick Wang To Opening Day Roster

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The Brewers have informed Rule 5 choice Wei-Chung Wang that he will make the club's Opening Day roster, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter). The southpaw has impressed since being taken from the Pirates after his former club declined to protect him by adding him to its 40-man roster.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether Wang can stick on the active roster for the duration of the season. The 21-year-old Taiwanese hurler has never thrown above the Rookie ball level, though he was fairly dominant there while working almost entirely as a starter. Wang posted a 3.23 ERA in 41 1/3 innings, with 8.0 K/9 against 0.8 BB/9 and a 0.866 WHIP. Thus far in the spring, Wang has a 2.45 ERA in 11 innings, with six strikeouts and no free passes — quite an impressive showing for a pitcher of his experience level.

Nationals Release Michael Gonzalez

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The Nationals have released southpaw reliever Michael Gonzalez, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Gonzalez had a Thursday opt-out date, notes Mark Zuckerman of CSNwashington.com (on Twitter).

The 35-year-old seemed a long shot for a slot after the club decided to add Ross Detwiler to the pen. He joined the Nats just three weeks ago after spending 2013 with the Brewers. Gonzalez was an important part of the Nationals club down the stretch in 2012, after signing mid-season.

Rays Release Erik Bedard

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The Rays have released pitcher Erik Bedard, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The 35-year-old hurler is expected to seek an MLB opportunity, though Tampa is still interested in bringing him back at the Triple-A level if he does not find a big league roster spot.

Throwing for the Astros last year, Bedard managed a 4.59 ERA in 151 innings over 26 starts and six relief appearances. He struck out batters at a clip of 8.2 K/9 while surrendering 4.5 BB/9 and posting a 36.4% ground ball rate. The veteran southpaw should hold some appeal for clubs looking for an arm to eat innings at the back of a rotation or, possibly, in the bullpen.

AL Notes: Almanzar, Athletics, Blue Jays

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After a busy transactional day yesterday, here are some American League notes that we did not quite get to:

  • The Orioles are trying to decide what to do with Rule 5 pick Michael Almanzar, who looks to be unlikely to make the club's Opening Day roster. One possibility is a trade of the rights to the former Red Sox third base prospect, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. But that scenario could be complicated by the fact that Almanzar is dealing with a knee problem that will require an MRI, as MLB.com's Adam Berry reports. Of course, if Almanzar were to require a DL trip to start the year, it would offer Baltimore some added time to sort things out. Manager Buck Showalter said the team would not use the injury as pretext, however, emphasizing that Almanzar would only go to the DL if the injury required it.
  • The Athletics raised some eyebrows by spending significant cash on relievers this offseason, taking on the salaries of Jim Johnson ($10MM) and Luke Gregerson ($5.065MM) while committing $7MM to Eric O'Flaherty over two years. For the notoriously tight-fisted, analytical ballclub, this spending pattern led to an obvious question: what edge had GM Billy Beane found this time? As Yahoo's Jeff Passan reports, the explanation may be fairly simple. With limited payroll to add to a ready-to-win roster, the club simply got the best "bang for its buck (Beane's words) while avoiding long-term commitments. Of course, as Passan notes, the team also knows that allowing Johnson to rack up the saves will result in arbitration savings on in-house relievers like Ryan Cook and Sean Doolittle.
  • With just days remaining until the deadline to settle on an Opening Day roster, the Blue Jays still have several roster battles taking place. As Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca writes, there still seems to be plenty of wiggle room in the final composition of the Toronto club. The rotation has two spots in play given J.A. Happ's struggles, the middle infield mix could be impacted by the recent injury to Jose Reyes, the backup catching situation is still not finalized, and the fourth outfielding spot is suddenly open to a last-minute competition between Moises Sierra and the newly-added Matt Tuiasosopo. Of course, as Nicholson-Smith notes, options will play a big role in the final determinations and no MLB roster is static throughout the season.

Marlins Release Ty Wigginton

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The Marlins have released infielder Ty Wigginton, reports Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). The 36-year-old had signed a minor league deal with the club after sitting out most of 2013.

In 38 trips to the plate this spring, Wigginton managed only a .147/.237/.176 line. Before a difficult start to his 2013 season led to his release by the Cardinals (after he had signed a two-year deal), Wigginton had been a solid big leaguer. Though not the player he was earlier in his career, over 2009-12 Wigginton put up a combined .250/.313/.404 triple-slash.

Added To The 40-Man Roster: Tuesday

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Between now and Opening Day, several minor league signees will win jobs with their clubs and earn 40-man roster spots. Here are today's additions:

  • After the Pirates optioned Andrew Lambo today, it appears that Travis Ishikawa will be in line for a spot on the Opening Day roster as a platoon mate for Gaby Sanchez at first base, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune (Twitter links). He would need to be added to the 40-man roster in that case, though obviously there is still some time for an outside acquisition to intervene in that outcome.
  • Outfielder Jason Kubel has made the Twins club, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune reported yesterday on Twitter. He will need to be added to the club's 40-man roster to make that possible. As an Article XX(B) free agent, Kubel had to either make the Opening Day roster today or receive a $100K bonus to be retained. 

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