• Pitcher Justin Masterson, 33, is officially retired, per his agent Randy Rowley (Twitter link via Fancred’s Jon Heyman).  Masterson, who came up with the Red Sox, was a rotation stalwart for the Indians over the early part of the decade, posting an excellent 12.3 fWAR from 2010-’13.  The low-slot righty posted some of the league’s highest ground-ball rates over that frame, rarely missing an outing in the process. After a dreadful, walk-marred 2014 campaign, the then-29-year-old never reclaimed his barrel-avoiding touch. The Dodgers took a flier on him prior to the ’17 season, but he struggled in Triple-A Oklahoma City and never did make an appearance for the parent club.
• Reliever Tom Wilhelmsen announced his retirement on Instagram this morning. Wilhelmsen, 35 on Sunday, was suspended from baseball in 2004 and subsequently quit the game the next season; in 2009, though, he returned to pitch for the Golden (Independent) League’s Tucson Toros and was signed by Seattle the next spring.  He quickly inserted himself into the bullpen mix for the M’s, posting four seasons of a sub-3.35 ERA from 2011-’15.  Command issues often plagued him, though, and he was released by Arizona after a rough start to the 2017 season.
• 2008 Rookie of the Year Geovany Soto will attempt a comeback next season after sitting out 2018, per agent Paul Kinzer (via MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes on Twitter). Soto, 35, has been mostly a backup option after a rough 2012 with the Cubs and Rangers, though has often acquitted himself well in limited action since.  He last appeared in the majors with the 2017 White Sox, slashing .190/.271/.405 in 48 plate appearances.

Soto will turn 35 in January and hasn’t received more than 210 plate appearances in any single season since 2012. The former NL Rookie of the Year (2008, Cubs) is a lifetime .245/.330/.435 hitter with 108 homers in 2876 plate appearances. between the Cubs, White Sox, Rangers, A’s and Angels. He’s had two stints with the White Sox now, and given their organizational needs, it seems plausible that the two sides could yet agree to a new minor league contract for the 2018 campaign. If not, he’ll likely command interest on a minor league deal and could look to latch on somewhere as a depth option or in a competition for a backup role next season.

[Related: Updated White Sox Depth Chart]

Soto, 34, returned to the ChiSox for his second stint with the team this year and was expected to receive a fair share of the playing time, but he’s tallied just 48 plate appearances and batted .190/.271/.405 on the year thus far. He’ll now be out until at least mid-August due to the injury. In his stead, Omar Narvaez and Kevan Smith seem likely to handle the bulk of the catching duties on the South Side of Chicago.

The 25-year-old Narvaez should slot in as manager Rick Renteria’s primary backstop; since making his Major League debut in 2016, he’s proven to have a keen eye at the dish but hasn’t demonstrated much in the way of power. Narvaez has walked more than he’s struck out (13.9 percent versus 12.8 percent) and posted a collective .253/.355/.310 batting line in 187 plate appearances as a big leaguer to date. He’s caught just 18 percent of potential base thieves thus far in his career, though he’s gone 4-for-8 in that regard this year after struggling substantially in 2016 (2-for-25). Baseball Prospectus pegs him as a slighty below-average pitch framer.

As for Infante, the 29-year-old will be returning to the Majors for the first time since a brief, five-game stint with the White Sox all the way back in 2010. He has just 4 2/3 innings under his belt in the Majors, though he possesses a solid Triple-A track record and has been excellent there in 2017. Thus far with Charlotte, Infante has tossed 13 innings and allowed just three runs on seven hits and six walks with 16 strikeouts. Overall, he owns a 3.47 ERA in parts of seven Triple-A campaigns, though he’s been a bit wild there at times, averaging just under five walks per nine innings pitched.

More from the American League Central…

• White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson appeared on the Baseball Tonight podcast with Buster Olney (audio link) and talked about his days as an amateur, his experience playing basketball in his youth and the decision to ink a six-year, $25MM contract extension before reaching one full year of Major League service time. “It was more so the security level had to meet where I wanted to feel secure with my family,” says Anderson. “It was an exciting moment. We went back and forth two or three weeks, and was able to get this thing — get it figured out and get it going. Just on my family’s side, my daughter and my wife, it was relieving just to be able to tell them and let them see that we’re going to be OK and be fine.” Sox fans will want to give the interview a listen, as it offers some good insight into the background of one of the team’s rising stars and core pieces.
• Chicago announced yesterday that catcher Geovany Soto was headed to the 10-day DL with elbow inflammation, summoning Kevan Smith from Triple-A Charlotte to take his spot on the roster for the time being. Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago writes that while Soto experienced some abnormal discomfort when making a throw, an MRI revealed everything in his elbow to be “fairly OK” (Soto’s own words). Soto says there’s no tear in his arm but there are “a couple floaters” (presumably referring to spurs or loose bodies). He’ll rest the elbow and use medication to treat the issue, though there’s not yet a clear indication of when he’s expected to return to the White Sox.
• Though many Tigers fans were upset with the team’s decision to demote ballyhooed relief prospect Joe Jimenez after one appearance in the Majors, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press argues that the move represented a logical course of action for a club in need of temporarily lengthening its bullpen. Detroit would’ve been without a long reliever in the first game against the division-rival Indians and would have been exposed in the event of a short outing from starter Daniel Norris, Fenech writes. And the risk of further depleting the bullpen by having to turn to the likes of Francisco Rodriguez, Justin Wilson, Alex Wilson and Kyle Ryan in the first game of a series against their top competition in the AL Central wasn’t a scenario with which Detroit wanted to be faced. “If something happens tomorrow with Daniel Norris early in the game, we won’t make it nine innings unless Andrew Romine toes the rubber,” manager Brad Ausmus told reporters after the game. Jimenez figures to be back with the team in short order, according to Fenech, though he’ll need to spend at least 10 days in the minors. Fenech also adds that righty Anibal Sanchez “is not going anywhere” in the near future, as he’s the team’s most experienced piece of rotation depth and the club still believes he can get outs in the Majors, even if he won’t ever return to peak form.

• The White Sox have selected the contracts of three offseason minor league signings – infielder/outfielder Cody Asche, catcher Geovany Soto and right-handed reliever Anthony Swarzak. The 26-year-old Asche was once a well-regarded prospect with the Phillies, but he scuffled to a .240/.298/.385 line in 1,287 plate appearances with the club from 2013-16. Soto, who’s in his second stint with the White Sox, has typically served as a capable offensive catcher, and has thrown out would-be base stealers at a league-average rate, though his pitch-framing numbers have declined in recent seasons. Swarzak, meanwhile, has created intrigue this spring with an uptick in velocity. The 31-year-old threw harder than usual with the Yankees last season, and he logged terrific strikeout and walk rates of 9.0 and 2.03, respectively, per nine innings. However, a bloated home run-to-fly ball ratio (27.8 percent) led to a 5.52 ERA in 31 frames.
• The Twins have selected catcher Chris Gimenez’s contract and placed reliever Glen Perkins on the 60-day disabled list, according to Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press (Twitter link). The 34-year-old Gimenez has a history in Cleveland, including last season. His time there helped him land a minor league pact with the Twins, whose new front office head, Derek Falvey, used to work for the Tribe. Gimenez, a lifetime .218/.297/.335 hitter in 776 PAs, has garnered slightly negative reviews as a framer and will back up the defensively adept Jason Castro in Minnesota. As for Perkins, the Twins’ former (and future?) closer, the three-time All-Star is continuing to rehab from the shoulder surgery he underwent last June. Perkins threw just two innings in 2016.
• The Indians have released left-hander Tim Cooney, who sat out of all last season because of shoulder problems and has dealt with a forearm strain this spring. Cleveland claimed Cooney off waivers from the Cardinals in November, a year after Cooney debuted in the majors and impressed across 31 1/3 innings and six starts. All told, Cooney registered a 3.16 ERA, 8.33 K/9 and 2.87 BB/9.
• The Orioles have selected veteran outfielder Craig Gentry’s contract. The 33-year-old’s fate was reportedly tied to Rule 5 outfielder Aneury Tavarez, whom the Orioles returned to the Red Sox on Sunday. Gentry’s reemergence looked highly improbable a couple years ago, when he contemplated retirement after suffering a sixth concussion. He also only picked up limited major league experience over the past two seasons, and the Angels released him last year after he dealt with a spine injury. At his best, Gentry brought a solid blend of offense, defense and baserunning as a member of the Rangers from 2012-13. The right-handed hitter will now serve as a platoon option for a Baltimore team with lefty-swinging corner outfielders in Seth Smith and Hyun Soo Kim.
• The Mets have selected the contract of infielder Ty Kelly, who’s back on their 40-man roster after the team designated him for assignment in February. Kelly could have ended up elsewhere at that point, but he ultimately cleared waivers. The 28-year-old made his big league debut with New York last season, hitting .241/.352/.345 in 71 trips to the plate.
• The Reds have selected the contract of outfielder Patrick Kivlehan, who joined the organization as a waiver claim last September. Kivlehan debuted in the majors last year and picked up 24 plate appearances between San Diego and Cincinnati. The 27-year-old has mostly played at the Triple-A level, where he has slashed .255/.308/.477 in a combined 915 plate appearances with the Seattle, Texas and San Diego organizations.
• The Marlins have selected the contract of first baseman/outfielder Tyler Moore, whom they signed to a minor league deal in December. Moore spent 2012-15 as a member of the NL East rival Nationals, with whom he hit .228/.281/.401 in 649 PAs. The 30-year-old was with another of the Marlins’ division rivals, the Braves, last season, but he didn’t make it to the majors. Instead, Moore was with Triple-A Gwinnett, where he batted just .229/.276/.375 over a small sample of PAs (106).

JAN. 5: The White Sox have struck a minor-league deal with free-agent catcher Geovany Soto, according to Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com (via Twitter). Soto, who has played previously in Chicago with both the White Sox and Cubs, will turn 34 in two weeks’ time.

After providing the South Siders with a .219/.301/.406 batting line over 210 plate appearances in 2015, Soto returned to the open market in search of a new opportunity. He ended up landing with the Angels on a one-year, $2.8MM contract.

This time, Soto will have to earn his way onto a roster in camp. Though he hit quite well in Los Angeles — .269/.321/.487 — Soto managed only 86 trips to the plate in 26 games. The problem was a knee issue that hindered him throughout the year and ultimately forced him to the DL for good in mid-August.

It seems reasonable to expect that, as Levine notes, Soto will have a solid chance at taking an active roster spot. The top two catchers on the depth chart, at present, are Omar Narvaez and Kevan Smith — each of whom made his major-league debut in 2016. Alfredo Gonzalez and Roberto Pena perhaps also represent options.

• The Blue Jays continue to monitor and stay in touch with free agent first baseman/designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman. Encarnacion’s preference is to re-sign with the Jays, but he’s talking less with them than he is with other teams, per Heyman. Notably, Toronto general manager Ross Atkins expressed pessimism Wednesday about re-upping Encarnacion. While the 33-year-old’s market has seemingly shrunk in the past week, agent Paul Kinzer isn’t worried that Encarnacion will have difficulty securing a sizable contract – whether with the Jays or another team. “Not only is he the best player in this class, he’s one of the best in baseball,” Kinzer told Heyman. “We’re going to be fine. He and I are patient. He’s good” (Twitter links here).
• Having lost left-handed setup man Brett Cecil to the Cardinals, the Blue Jays are on the hunt for a southpaw reliever, leading to interest in Jerry Blevins, Mike Dunn and Javier Lopez, report Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and Shi Davidi. However, the contracts given to Cecil (four years, $30.5MM) and fellow lefty Marc Rzepczynski (two years, $11MM) have perhaps driven up the prices for Blevins, Dunn and Lopez, meaning the Jays could scour the trade market for a cheaper option than free agency offers, Nicholson-Smith and Davidi observe.
• Along with Chris Iannetta, fellow free agent catchers Bobby Wilson and Geovany Soto are on Toronto’s radar, write Nicholson-Smith and Davidi. The Blue Jays are looking for someone to back up Russell Martin, whose 2016 reserves – Josh Thole and Dioner Navarro – are also on the open market.

More from Arizona and a few other NL cities:

• Along with bolstering his bullpen, Hazen hopes to add left-handed hitters, he told Piecoro. “I think being a little more left-handed could certainly help us,” Hazen said. “Pigeonholing it into one specific focus, I think, would be too complicated to try to pull off. I think we can be opportunistic about that.” The Diamondbacks have four established or potential regulars who are either lefties or switch-hitters in third baseman Jake Lamb, outfielder David Peralta, catcher Chris Herrmann and infielder Ketel Marte, notes Piecoro. They could trade outfielder Yasmany Tomas in an attempt to become less right-handed, but there’s not much of a market for him, sources informed Piecoro. While Tomas belted 29 home runs in 2016, the 26-year-old’s .272/.313/.508 line wasn’t great overall; further, he doesn’t provide defensive or baserunning value and still has $48.5MM coming his way through the 2020 season.
• The Cubs made attempts over the past couple years to acquire right-hander Tyson Ross from the Padres and could pursue him in free agency, according to Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago. “The Padres were close to trading Ross to the Cubs for Starlin Castro,” a major league source who worked for one of the teams told Levine. “San Diego execs were mixed on asking for Castro or Javier Baez. The deal went down to the wire in late July of 2015 but never got to the point of exchanging medicals.” Ross was a front-of-the-rotation starter at that point, but he only threw 5 1/3 innings last season and is currently recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. The Padres non-tendered him Friday.
• The rebuilding Reds are committed to giving regular playing time to young middle infielder Jose Peraza in 2017, general manager Dick Williams and manager Bryan Price told C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). That’s particularly notable with two up-the-middle veterans – second baseman Brandon Phillips and shortstop Zack Cozart – in place. Cincinnati attempted to deal Phillips last offseason, but he took advantage of his ability to block a trade. Phillips, who has one year and $14MM left on his contract, is reportedly more open to waiving his no-trade clause this offseason. Cozart also has one year of club control remaining, and he nearly went to the Mariners prior to last summer’s non-waiver trade deadline. Seattle has since acquired Jean Segura, taking it out of the running for Cozart, but he could still interest other shortstop-needy teams looking for a capable and affordable stopgap. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $4.7MM arbitration award for Cozart.
• With Jeff Mathis headed to Arizona, the Marlins are in the market for a veteran backup catcher, per Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Free agents like Geovany Soto and Dioner Navarro are candidates to end up in Miami as the main reserve behind J.T. Realmuto, writes Frisaro.

Here are some more notable pieces of information on the injury front:

• Giants righty Matt Cain is headed to the DL with a lower back strain, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to tweet. San Francisco activated righty Cory Gearrin from his own DL stint in a concurrent move, which does at least bolster the pen. It seems possible that veteran righty Jake Peavy could slide back into the rotation in place of Cain, who hasn’t completed six innings in a start since May 21st and was tagged for 11 earned runs over his last two outings.
• While it’s still far from a sure thing, the Athletics may yet welcome back righty Sonny Gray this year, manager Bob Melvin said yesterday. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets, the 26-year-old staff ace is beginning plyometric workouts and is feeling better. He recently hit the disabled list with a forearm strain and has struggled all year long, compiling an uncharacteristic 5.74 ERA in 116 innings of work.
• Tyson Ross has made it through a 30-pitch live BP session with added pen work, giving some hope that he’ll return for the Padres late this year, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). Still, the veteran righty will need to throw another such session before a rehab stint can be considered as he tries to return from shoulder troubles. With just one outing on his record for the season, Ross won’t command much if any raise on his $9.625MM arbitration salary in his final year of eligibility, but it will surely be difficult for the Pads to trade him over the winter if he can’t return to full health by the end of the year. Ross may yet feature as a spring or mid-season trade candidate next season, as he’ll qualify for free agency after the 2017 campaign.
• The Angels placed catcher Geovany Soto on the 15-day DL with knee inflammation, as Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Soto had appeared to be a plausible August trade candidate, but his knee surgery earlier this year seems to have lingered. The 33-year-old carries a useful .269/.321/.487 slash on the year, though he has compiled that in only 86 plate appearances. He is set to return to the open market at season’s end.

Here’s more from Minnesota and the rest of the American League:

• The Twins have engaged in talks with the Red Sox, with Boston keeping an eye on righty Ervin Santana, according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. But the teams do not appear to be lining up at the moment. Meanwhile, Minnesota still needs to decide if it wants to keep useful veterans around its talented but not fully realized core, and Berardino wonders whether it will end up making sense to part with the final two years of Santana’s deal now that he’s pitching fairly well.
• One factor in the Twins’ decisionmaking will obviously be related to the financial ramifications of any deals, but now-acting GM Rob Antony says that there isn’t a mandate to trim payroll. As Berardino tweets, Antony says that the organization doesn’t “have financial problems” in need of resolution at the deadline.
• Despite losing Yan Gomes for a lengthy stretch, the Indians aren’t prioritizing the addition of a backstop, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The club is relatively bullish on both Roberto Perez and Chris Gimenez, it seems. Presumably, that assessment is also informed by the club’s view on other needs.
• Outfield would certainly be one area where the Indians could stand to improve, but relief pitching is likely the most pressing. Per Rosenthal (Twitter links), Cleveland is focused on adding a lefty to the team’s right-handed-heavy pen mix. Andrew Miller of the Yankees is “probably” at the top of the club’s wish list, says Rosenthal, though you could certainly say the same of many other organizations that are looking for relief upgrades.
• Whether the Yankees shop Miller or fellow power lefty Aroldis Chapman remains to be seen, but it’s a fait accompli in the view of Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. He argues that the club shouldn’t stop at dealing away pending free agents, but should be willing to deal most any players who draw interest — with Miller among the possible exceptions. Feinsand also notes that New York is taking a close look at the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate.
• Even if he’s traded away, Chapman says that he’d remain interested in re-uniting with the Yankees as a free agent, Feinsand tweets. “I would love to come back and be part of the team again,” said the fireballing southpaw, who matched his own record tonight by launching a ridiculous 105.1 mph heater.
• The Angels announced that catcher Geovany Soto is headed to the 15-day DL with left knee inflammation. That seems to take him off the table for pre-deadline dealing, though Soto could certainly end up being dealt in the revocable waiver trade period. Los Angeles selected the contract of Juan Graterol to take his place on the active roster. The 27-year-old will receive his first major league opportunity after opening the year with a .292/.331/.357 slash in his first full year at the Triple-A level.
• Astros GM Jeff Luhnow says that he expects to be busy over the coming weeks, as MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart writes. But that doesn’t mean the club will be pushing the action; Luhnow says “there’s no real sense of urgency on our part necessarily.” Rather, he explained, “as teams pick up the pace, we’re certainly going to be involved in the conversations.” It’s possible to imagine Houston targeting a starter, as McTaggart notes, but Luhnow says that he’d only be interested in a certain kind of arm. The ’Stros would be looking at starters who are not only healthy and effective at present, but who are capable of slotting into the team’s hopeful post-season rotation.

• Some rival evaluators feel the Mariners could make Steve Cishek, Adam Lind and/or other veterans available before the deadline, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports in his latest subscriber-only news column.  Lind has hit just .229/.258/.429 this season and lost playing time to Dae Ho Lee at first base, so in moving Lind, the M’s would be able to shift Nelson Cruz back to DH and improve their outfield defense.  Cishek struggled in his last few outings prior to the All-Star break but has overall been quite solid as Seattle’s closer, notching 22 saves and posting a 3.07 ERA, 11.63 K/9 and 3.79 K/BB despite an ungainly 18.9% homer rate.  The Mariners fell to the .500 mark after today’s loss to the Astros, so the M’s could certainly turn into deadline sellers barring a quick turnaround.
• Also from Olney, some teams see Angels catcher Geovany Soto as a possible deadline trade chip.  Soto has been limited to 22 games this season thanks to a torn right meniscus, though he has hit .284/.333/.478 over 74 plate appearances.  It’s worth noting that Soto has missed the last two games with soreness in his left knee.  MLBTR’s Steve Adams listed Soto as a trade candidate in his overview of the catching trade market earlier this week.
• Yulieski Gurriel’s five-year contract with the Astros has drawn some split reaction from rival front offices, Olney writes.  One executive called the contract “a good deal — three years ago,” while another noted that Gurriel was being outperformed by some former North American minor leaguers when he played in Japan in 2014.  On the flip side, other evaluators praised Gurriel’s character.
• With Gurriel and probably top prospect Alex Bregman joining the already-crowded infield mix in Houston, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart) that the added depth will allow for Jose Altuve to receive some DH days.  The Astros obviously want to keep their superstar second baseman (who has played in 183 consecutive games) as fresh as possible down the stretch, and the likes of George Springer or Carlos Correa could also get some DH time for similar reasons.  Altuve delivered four hits as Houston’s designated hitter today against the Mariners.
• It’s been a busy day for AL West news here at MLB Trade Rumors, as we’ve also covered the Rangers’ search for pitching and a number of Athletics-related items, including Oakland’s acquisition of lefty Ross Detwiler from the Indians.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the game:

• Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira will forego surgery on his right knee in hopes that he’ll be game-ready in three weeks’ time, as Roger Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports. That doesn’t necessarily mean that he’ll be expected at the major league level at that point, as the length of his layoff could require at least a brief rehab stint. The struggling veteran has already been placed on the 15-day DL after being diagnosed with a cartilage tear.
• Indians righty Danny Salazar will miss his next start due to shoulder fatigue, the club announced. It seems that the hope is it won’t be much more than that, as he’d likely be placed on the DL to free a roster spot otherwise. Salazar’s status remains worth watching, however. The 26-year-old has been outstanding in his first 11 starts. Cleveland will go to Cody Anderson for the spot start. While he’s struggled at times this year in the majors, Anderson has dominated in three Triple-A starts and is as good an insurance policy as you’ll find around the game.
• The Cubs had to pull outfielder Jorge Soler from tonight’s action due to a hamstring injury, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. He’s headed in for an MRI tomorrow, but it seems as if a DL stint could be in his future. Veteran minor-leaguer Matt Murton could get consideration if that proves necessary, but skipper Joe Maddon also suggested that prospect Albert Almora could receive consideration.
• Meanwhile, the Angels continue to sort through a host of pitching ailments, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. Of immediate concern, set-up man Joe Smith is hoping to stave off a trip to the DL with a hamstring injury. Starters Tyler Skaggs and C.J. Wilson are both in different stages of the rehab process. The former is expected to head out on a rehab assignment after a five-inning extended spring appearance tomorrow. And the latter hopes to re-start a throwing program this week.
• The Angels are also waiting for some position players, as Fletcher further covers. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons (thumb surgery) could return to the majors as soon as Friday; outfielder Daniel Nava (groin) has only just returned to baseball activities; and catcher Geovany Soto (knee surgery) is throwing but has yet to hit or get into the crouch.

Soto becomes the latest in a seemingly ceaseless cavalcade of injuries for the Angels, who currently have Garrett Richards, Andrew Heaney, C.J. Wilson, Andrelton Simmons, Huston Street, Daniel Nava, Craig Gentry, Cory Rasmus and Cliff Pennington on the Major League disabled list. That list doesn’t include left-hander Tyler Skaggs, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery but has had some recent setbacks at the Triple-A level.

Soto, 33, has hit well in limited action with the Halos this season, batting .283/.338/.483 with three homers in 67 trips to the plate. He signed a one-year, $2.8MM contract with the Angels this offseason. With Soto on the shelf, Bandy will pair with 25-year-old Carlos Perez behind the plate to comprise the Angels’ primary catching tandem. Bandy made his big league debut for the Angels in 2015 but received just two plate appearances in his brief promotion to the Majors. The former 31st-round pick rated 23rd (MLB.com) and 27th (Baseball America) in a weak Angels farm system heading into the season. He’s off to a .274/.314/.411 start with a pair of homers at Triple-A Salt Lake this season, and he’s caught 13 of 27 potential base thieves (48 percent). Bandy has halted 36 percent of stolen base attempts over the course of six minor league seasons.

A few more notes from the division…

• The Angels announced a wave of front office hires today, including the previously reported addition of former Padres manager/former Angels pitching coach Bud Black as a special assistant to GM Billy Eppler. Former Yankees scouting director Steve Martone has also been brought on as assistant GM (also previously reported but not official), and 27-year-old Jonathan Strangio has been promoted to AGM also. Strangio, a Harvard grad that joined the Angels as an intern in 2012, spent last season as the team’s manager of Major League operations. The Angels also promoted Bobby Scales from director of player development to special assistant; Justin Hollander from director of baseball ops to director of player personnel; and Mike LaCassa from assistant director of player development to director of minor league ops. The team also announced that A’s third base coach Mike Gallego has been hired as its new director of baseball development.
• Eppler tells MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez that Geovany Soto, who inked a one-year, $2.8MM contract with the Angels today, will compete with young backstop Carlos Perez for the team’s starting role behind the plate next spring (Twitter link). The situation could ultimately result in a timeshare more than a standard starter/backup alignment, Gonzalez notes.
• Brian McTaggart of MLB.com spoke to Astros GM Jeff Luhnow about his team’s upcoming arbitration decisions and was told that there are no budgetary constraints dictating whether or not the team will tender or non-tender any of its eight arb-eligible players. Nonetheless, McTaggart writes that one of Chris Carter, Luis Valbuena, Evan Gattis or Jason Castro is likely to be non-tendered, with Carter representing the likeliest option. With prospect A.J. Reed representing an affordable alternative, the team can probably afford to cut bait with Carter. Valbuena and Jed Lowrie are capable of handling first base in his stead if needed, McTaggart adds.
• The Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich breaks down the Astros’ search for a reliever. While ESPN’s Jayson Stark reported recently that Houston is “hell-bent” on adding a closer, Luhnow said that’s not necessarily the case and he’s more “hell-bent” on improving the team by any avenue necessary. Of course, Luhnow isn’t likely to openly tip his hand about how strongly he wants a given asset, and Drellich points out that it makes sense to downplay this report in particular due to Luke Gregerson’s status as a well-respected leader in the bullpen. Luhnow again noted that it’d be nice to add an arm that can throw 95 to 100 mph, stating that he likes the notion of being able to give plenty of “different looks” to opposing lineups, though he didn’t characterize the need to add to the ’pen as any kind of top priority. Drellich writes that Houston would probably take Tony Sipp back on a two-year deal right now, but setup men like him — Sipp is arguably the market’s top lefty — tend to seek three years. The general expectation, though, seems to be that the Astros will add at least one relief arm (McTaggart noted that it’s likely in the above-linked piece as well). Luhnow told Drellich that for the time being, trade talks are more active than free-agent talks.

Soto, 33 in January, hit .219/.301/.406 in 210 plate appearances with the White Sox in 2015. While his 30 percent strikeout rate limited his batting average and on-base percentage, Soto walked at a healthy 10 percent clip and provided the ChiSox with defensive value as well. The former National League Rookie of the Year (2008) caught 30 percent of attempted base-stealers and rated 5.6 pitch-framing runs above average, per StatCorner.com’s catching report. Soto has never consistently stacked up to the Rookie of the Year production, he’s been a roughly league-average bat dating back to the 2010 season over the course of 1703 plate appearances.

Gonzalez adds (via Twitter) that with Soto’s signing, which comes just one day after former Angels catcher Chris Iannetta signed with the division-rival Mariners, the Angels sit about $20MM south of the luxury tax threshold. Considering the number of holes that new general manager Billy Eppler needs to fill — catcher, third base, second base, left field chief among them — the addition of Soto represents a low-cost upgrade that will allow the club to spend to address other areas on the roster. While the upcoming Dec. 2 non-tender deadline represents an avenue for most teams to save some cost, outfielder Collin Cowgill ($1MM arbitration projection) is the Angels’ only true non-tender candidate. As such, trades figure to be a more plausible means of creating some separation if the Angels do indeed wish to come in beneath the $189MM cutoff.