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Cubs Release Munenori Kawasaki

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The Cubs have released infielder Munenori Kawasaki, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times was among those to report on Twitter. In addition to avoiding Article XX(B) obligations, the move allows Kawasaki to look for a shot at making another organization’s Opening Day roster.

If Kawasaki isn’t able to find greener pastures, says Wittenmyer, the Cubs would like to bring him back. That’s not surprising given that the veteran utilityman, a noted clubhouse character, accompanied the team on its successful journey to the World Series even though he wasn’t on the postseason roster and had appeared in just 14 regular-season games.

That’s not to say that Kawasaki doesn’t have his uses as a player. He has only seen limited action over the past two MLB seasons, but has taken 738 trips to the plate at the game’s highest level. While Kawasaki has hit just .237/.320/.289 in that span, he is known as a good and versatile defender.

Phillies Release Chris Coghlan

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The Phillies have announced the release of veteran outfielder/infielder Chris Coghlan. He was an Article XX(B) free agent, meaning today was the deadline for the organization either to promise him an active roster spot or commit to paying him a $100K retention bonus.

Coghlan, 31, had signed a minors pact over the offseason and seemingly had a good chance of cracking the rebuilding Phillies’ roster. But he didn’t do much to win a job with his performance in the Grapefruit League. Coghlan ended up with a .231/.319/.282 batting line in camp.

Still, the veteran has done enough in recent years to think he’s still plenty capable of functioning as a handy MLB bench piece, featuring defensive versatility and quality production against righties. While he got off to a terrible start last season, he finished strong with a .252/.391/.388 batting line over his final 128 plate appearances.

With Coghlan on his way back onto the open market, the Phils may be set to turn to Brock Stassi as a bench option. He certainly has done all he can this spring to earn a shot, with a .320/.370/.680 batting line in game action.

That said, there could be something else afoot, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). The organization may end up dealing a pitcher off of its 40-man roster in a swap that would deliver an alternative bench option, Gelb suggests.

Diamondbacks Release, Re-Sign Gregor Blanco

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TODAY: The D-Backs have indeed re-signed Blanco to a new minors deal, per a club announcement. It contains the same terms — a $1MM potential base salary and $2.7MM in available incentives — as the old one, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter).

YESTERDAY, 9:29pm: Arizona would like to re-sign Blanco, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter links). With an oblique injury slowing Blanco, the club wasn’t “comfortable making the call on him for the Opening Day roster tomorrow” (the Article XX(B) deadline), thus leading to tonight’s move.

9:11pm: The Diamondbacks have released veteran outfielder Gregor Blanco, per a team announcement. He’ll return to the open market in search of another opportunity after failing to crack the team’s Opening Day roster.

The 33-year-old Blanco was an Article XX(B) free agent, meaning the club would have had to pay him a $100K roster bonus to keep him in the minors (assuming he’d not have opted out at that point). Though it seemed entering camp that Blanco would have a reasonable shot at making the team, he hit just .225/.295/.400 in spring action.

Blanco’s offensive production tanked last year, as he scuffled to a .224/.309/.311 slash. But he had been quite a steady performer over the four preceding seasons with the Giants, often as a semi-regular player. Blanco slashed a solid .264/.343/.367 with 18 homers and 69 stolen bases in 1,565 trips to the plate from 2012 through 2015.

Rays Acquire Peter Bourjos

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TODAY: The deal is official. Cash or a player to be named will head to Chicago in return for Bourjos.

YESTERDAY, 11:09pm: Bourjos is indeed heading to the Rays in exchange for cash considerations, Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago reports on Twitter.

10:41pm: The Rays are “working on a deal to acquire” outfielder Peter Bourjos from the White Sox, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links). Bourjos, who’ll turn 30 in a few days, signed with Chicago on a minor-league deal over the winter.

Valued mostly for his speed and defense, Bourjos has been inconsistent with the bat and owns a lifetime .243/.300/.382 batting line. But he has had his moments at the plate over parts of seven MLB seasons. And he owns a productive .313/.340/.521 slash this spring, seemingly opening the door to semi-regular playing time with the rebuilding White Sox.

It could be, though, that the Sox have other ideas up the middle. 25-year-old switch-hitter Jacob May has topped Bourjos’s stat line and could be ready for a shot at the majors despite meager production last year in his first attempt at Triple-A. With the Article XX(B) free agent decision deadline looming, it seems Bourjos didn’t really factor into the Sox’ plans.

It seems that Bourjos will function as a reserve outfielder in Tampa Bay. As Topkin notes, Colby Rasmus is expected to open the season on the DL, which creates some need for depth. And the club evidently isn’t content with utilizing Mallex Smith as the only center field-capable reserve; like Kevin Kiermaier, he’s a left-handed hitter. What the addition means for Smith remains to be seen.

Braves Release Paco Rodriguez

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The Braves have released lefty Paco Rodriguez, Mark Bowman of MLB.com was among those to report on Twitter. He had been competing with Eric O’Flaherty and Kevin Chapman for a spot in the Opening Day pen.

Rodriguez, 25, has been working back from a Tommy John procedure he underwent in October of 2015. He did manage to make it into four spring games, but failed to win the organization’s confidence after agreeing to a $637,500 arbitration salary earlier in the offseason. Atlanta will owe him about a sixth of that sum.

The Braves had picked up Rodriguez in the three-team, thirteen-player swap the organization struck back at the 2015 trade deadline. That deal has not turned out well for Atlanta thus far; all they have to show for the loss of lefty Alex Wood and MLB-ready prospect Jose Peraza, at this point, are young lefty Joey Wentz (chosen with the competitive-balance pick acquired in that deal) and minor-league righty Zachary Bird. (And that’s before getting into the money still effectively owed to Hector Olivera, though his contract was sent to the Padres as part of the salary maneuvering in the deal that brought Matt Kemp to the Braves.)

Dodgers To Sign Justin Masterson

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The Dodgers have agreed to a minor-league deal with free-agent righty Justin Masterson, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Additional terms were not reported.

Masterson, who recently turned 32, had been looking for a new organization after failing to receive a shot at the majors last year with the Pirates. He threw 54 1/3 innings at Triple-A, over five starts and twenty relief appearances, compiling a 4.97 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9.

As recently as 2013, Masterson seemed on the rise, as he turned in 193 innings of 3.45 ERA ball in a bounceback campaign. But extension talks with the Indians stalled and disaster struck in 2014, when he lost nearly three full ticks of fastball velocity. That trend only continued after Masterson signed a make-good deal with the Red Sox, but his velocity dove further as shoulder problems emerged.

It’s not clear at this point whether Masterson will be assigned to a minor-league roster or instead spend some time at extended spring training working with his new organization’s staff. The Dodgers have employed a fair number of pitchers in recent years who rediscovered their past form after stretches of injury-driven ineffectiveness, so perhaps there are some lessons to be conveyed to Masterson.

Cardinals “Making Progress” In Contract Talks With Yadier Molina

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The Cardinals are “making major progress” in extension talks with star catcher Yadier Molina, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. With positive momentum toward a deal, it now seems an accord is “getting close,” per the report.

Molina said over the weekend that he would not be willing to discuss a new deal during the season, seemingly setting an Opening Day deadline to wrap talks up one way or another. If it doesn’t come to fruition, then the 34-year-old would almost certainly hit the open market after the season. Though his contract does include a $15MM mutual option, with a $2MM buyout, there’s little likelihood of both sides wanting to exercise that clause.

The terms under consideration aren’t clear at this point, but Heyman notes that the sides were working to bridge initial differences in the length of the new deal. Molina’s representatives opened with a four-year request, with the organization coming in at two seasons. That leaves three as the natural (and, in this case, seemingly reasonable) compromise point, though of course options could also be used to tweak the consideration in either direction.

Royals Roster Notes: Moylan, Mondesi, Soler, Gore

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A number of Royals moves on Monday moved the team closer to setting their 25-man roster for the start of the season, as Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star and other reporters have noted. Here’s the breakdown of where the Royals’ roster stands:

  • First, the team optioned lefty Scott Alexander and outfielders Billy Burns and Peter O’Brien to Triple-A Omaha and assigned catcher Zane Evans, infielder Humberto Arteaga and relievers Yender Caramo, Eric Stout, Al Alburquerque and Malcom Culver to minor-league camp. The moves left veteran righty Peter Moylan as the Royals’ clear choice for the last spot in their bullpen. (Another veteran, Seth Maness, remains in camp, but he is recovering from injury and will not be ready for Opening Day.) Moylan’s minor-league deal with the Royals contains an opt-out clause tomorrow, so the team seems likely to place him on their 40-man roster shortly. Moylan allowed just one run in eight Spring Training innings, striking out six and walking one.
  • Royals manager Ned Yost also announced that Raul Mondesi would serve as the team’s starting second baseman, beating Whit Merrifield, Christian Colon and Cheslor Cuthbert. Cuthbert will make the team, while Merrifield and Colon are still competing for a bench job. The 21-year-old Mondesi was the surprise winner of the job after batting just .185/.231/.281 in 149 plate appearances in his rookie season in 2016, but he was previously a top prospect and had a very strong spring, batting .378/.391/.623.
  • Finally, Jorge Soler, who had been projected to start in right field, suffered a strained oblique this weekend and appears likely to begin the season on the disabled list. It’s only a grade I strain, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets, and Soler may be able to begin resuming baseball activities in a week, so perhaps he can avoid a lengthy absence. That means Paulo Orlando will likely begin the season as the team’s right fielder, with Brandon Moss also occasionally helping at the position. Terrance Gore, who the Royals value for his speed and defensive ability, now seems likely to occupy a bench spot with Soler on the shelf.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/27/2017

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league:

  • The KBO’s Lotte Giants have released righty Parker Markel, the Yonhap News Agency in Korea reports. Markel struck a deal with the Giants over the offseason but never pitched in a regular-season game with them. The decision was apparently Markel’s, as he asked for the termination of his contract, citing difficulties adjusting to Korean baseball and family issues, and was placed on the voluntarily retired list. The 26-year-old Markel pitched at the Double-A and Triple-A levels in the Rays minor-league system last year, posting a 2.78 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 71 1/3 innings. He has never pitched in the Majors.

Phillies Release Bryan Holaday, Ryan Hanigan

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Veteran catcher Bryan Holaday has exercised the opt-out clause in his minor-league deal with the Phillies, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. The Phillies told Holaday he wouldn’t make the team’s Opening Day roster. The Phillies have also released veteran catcher Ryan Hanigan, tweets MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. It therefore appears Andrew Knapp has made the team as the backup catcher to Cameron Rupp, as Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.

The Phillies signed Holaday and Hanigan over the winter to provide veteran competition for youngsters Knapp and perhaps Jorge Alfaro. Holaday, though, played somewhat sparingly this spring, receiving just 24 at-bats even though he out-hit Knapp in a small sample. Hanigan hit even better and played even less. Of course, a catcher’s job is about far more than hitting, particularly over just a handful of games, and Knapp (the primary catcher at Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year) appeared to be the favorite for the job heading into camp.

The 29-year-old Holaday has appeared in parts of five big-league seasons, batting .245/.282/.346. He played for the Rangers and Red Sox last year. Hanigan, a ten-year veteran, also played for the Red Sox in 2016.

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