• Both the White Sox and Red Sox organizations believe new top prospect Yoan Moncada can be an impact player, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune writes. He’ll still have work to do, however, as his first taste of big-league action late last year (during which he struck out 12 times in 20 plate appearances) showed. “They were coming down, finishing him off underneath the hands down and in,” says White Sox manager Rick Renteria. “He’s a 21-year-old man who has not seen that type of bite coming from pitchers, and it’s probably changing the lane in which he’s looking for that particular type of slider, where he has to get it out and away.” Kane also reports that after learning the White Sox had acquired Moncada, Jose Abreu sent Moncada a congratulatory text message. The two played together in Cuba with Cienfuegos in 2012, when Moncada was 17.
• The Brewers lost Miguel Diaz as the top overall pick in the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday, as Minnesota selected Diaz and then traded him to San Diego. Diaz appeared to be a good prospect, but GM David Stearns says the organization left him unprotected because of his lack of experience, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes. The 22-year-old Diaz had elbow surgery in 2015 and only pitched his first full minor-league season in 2016, when he posted a 3.71 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 94 2/3 innings for Class A Wisconsin. “He’s never pitched above the Midwest League. It’s very unusual for guys to be able to make that jump,” says Stearns. “We have to be prepared for that but it would be the exception to the norm if someone is able to make that jump successfully and contribute at the Major League level.” Of course, a Rule 5 pick doesn’t have to succeed for his original team to lose him. Before Stearns joined the Brewers organization, the team selected Wei-Chung Wang, a pitcher who had even less minor-league experience than Diaz now does, in the 2013 Rule 5 Draft. Wang pitched poorly in the Majors in 2014 and hasn’t yet returned to the big leagues, but the Brewers did manage to keep him.

Dating back to his debut in 2007, Burton has contributed 361 innings of 3.44 ERA pitching at the major league level. Serving in the pen for the Reds and then the Twins, Burton averaged 7.6 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 to go with a 44.1% groundball rate.

Last year, however, the veteran failed to crack the majors for the first season since he entered the league. He threw 16 minor league frames in the Yankees and Rangers organizations, allowing just four earned runs on nine hits and seven walks while striking out 18 batters. Burton had been said to be drawing interest earlier in the winter, but obviously this news will not improve his market outlook.

Here’s some more from around baseball…

• There are “no active discussions” between the Braves and Royals on a trade that would send Nick Markakis to Kansas City, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.  The Royals have gaps in both corner outfield slots with Alex Gordon and Alex Rios both hitting free agency though Markakis could be a bit pricey with $31.5MM owed to him over the next three seasons.
• In another tweet from O’Brien, he thinks the Braves aren’t likely to trade Ender Inciarte unless they’re “blown away (again) by a great offer.”
• Five teams are showing interest in veteran reliever Jared Burton, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Burton signed minor league deals with the Yankees and Rangers last season but never reached the bigs, and he didn’t catch on with any other teams after Texas granted him a release in late June.  Burton put up some solid numbers out of the Reds and Twins bullpens over his eight-year career, though a down year in 2014 hurt his market last winter.
• The Dodgers’ need for pitching tops Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com’s list of the 10 teams with the biggest remaining offseason needs.
• In a subscription-only piece for ESPN.com, Jim Bowden grades each club’s offseason moves thus far.  The Red Sox are the only team that Bowden awards with an A+ (though three others receive an A grade), while the Reds’ lack of activity nets them the only F grade amongst the 30 teams.

Burton inked a minor league deal with New York this offseason but failed to make the club in Spring Training, so he re-signed a new minor league deal and went to the team’s Triple-A affiliate, where yielded three runs in four innings before being released. Burton latched on with the Rangers in late May and has pitched quite well for Triple-A Round Rock, surrendering just one run with an 11-to-3 K/BB ratio in 10 innings there.

Now 34 years old, Burton was a key member of the Twins’ bullpen from 2012-14. He signed a minor league deal prior to the 2012 season as he worked his way back from shoulder injuries and proved to be one of the better bargain pickups in all of baseball that winter. Burton worked to a 2.18 ERA with 8.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 48.5 percent ground-ball rate in 62 innings for the Twins in 2012, prompting the team to re-up with the righty on a two-year, $5.4MM contract.

Burton was solid in the first season of the deal before taking a step back in 2014. Last year, his K/9 rate, BB/9 rate, ground-ball rate and velocity all went in the wrong direction. Burton, however, still displayed an effective split-finger changeup (which he’s previously termed a “splangeup”).

The veteran was plagued by a lat injury earlier in the season while with the Yankees, but he’s back to full strength now and could be a bullpen option for a club that is thin on experienced arms. Given the sheer volume of teams that are on the lookout for affordable bullpen help, I’d imagine that Burton and agent Dave Pepe of Pro Agents, Inc. will have interest from multiple clubs.

The Yankees signed the client of Pro Agents, Inc.’s Dave Pepe to a minor league deal in February, but released him a month later so as to avoid paying Burton, who was an Article XX(B) free agent, a $100K retention bonus to remain in the organization. Three days later, the Yankees re-signed Burton only to release him for good May 16.

After enjoying strong seasons in 2012-13 with the Twins (particularly in 2012), Burton regressed in 2014 as his K/9 rate dipped to 6.5, his BB/9 rate rose to 3.5, and both his ground-ball rate rate (38.5%) and fastball velocity deteriorated (92.9 mph in 2012; 91.5 in 2014). Burton, however, still possesses an effective split-finger changeup (which he’s calls a “splangeup” ). Burton, who suffered a strained lat muscle during Spring Training, made only four appearances in the Yankee organization this season allowing three earned runs in six innings while striking out seven and walking four.

• the Yankees have released righty Jared Burton, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tweets. Burton, formerly a regular in the Reds and Twins bullpens, has made a handful of appearances for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. The Yankees originally signed Burton to a minor-league deal with a series of opt-out dates, and they already released and re-signed him in March, so perhaps it’s not out of the question that they could re-sign him yet again.
• The Royals have announced that they’ve selected the contract of veteran righty Joe Blanton. Blanton had an opt-out opportunity yesterday on his minor-league deal. He had been pitching for Triple-A Omaha, where he posted a 3.89 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 39 1/3 innings. The longtime Athletics and Phillies starter last appeared in the big leagues in 2013, when he posted a 6.04 ERA in 132 2/3 innings with the Angels. Blanton will work in long relief, as MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets. The Royals also announced that they optioned righty Aaron Brooks to Omaha and placed lefty Brian Flynn on the 60-day disabled list.
• The Pirates have selected the contract of righty Wilfredo Boscan, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. They also optioned utilityman Steve Lombardozzi to Triple-A Indianapolis and moved righty Brandon Cumpton to the 60-day disabled list. Boscan will, presumably, help the Pirates’ bullpen after yesterday’s 11-10 extra-inning loss, which required the Bucs to throw 261 pitches. The 25-year-old Boscan has a 2.87 ERA, 5.7 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 31 1/3 innings at Triple-A Indianapolis this season. He has never pitched in the Majors.
• The Angels have signed outfield Jared Mitchell and assigned him to the Double-A Arkansas Travelers, the Travelers have announced. The White Sox released Mitchell, a 2009 first-round pick, earlier this month. The 26-year-old has hit .226/.334/.381 in parts of six seasons in the minor leagues.
• The Phillies have acquired infielder Jayson Nix from the Orioles for cash considerations, the teams have announced. Nix will head to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 32-year-old was hitting .167/.190/.198 in 100 plate appearances for Triple-A Norfolk, and he struggled in brief stints in the big leagues last year with the Phillies, Pirates and Royals. In parts of seven seasons in the Majors, he’s hit .212/.282/.345. The move gives the Phillies infield depth after the recent promotion of Maikel Franco and their decision to have Cody Asche transition to playing outfield.
• The Rays have signed former Pirates pitching prospect Kyle McPherson, Steve Kinsella of DRaysBay tweets. McPherson pitched 26 1/3 strong innings with the Bucs in 2012 after posting a 3.22 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and an extremely stingy 1.2 BB/9 in 67 innings in the high minors that year, but he had Tommy John surgery in 2013 and another elbow injury last season. He became a minor-league free agent last fall.

• Three days after releasing him, the Yankees have signed right-hander Jared Burton to a minor league deal, reports Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Burton was an Article XX(B) free agent, so the release/re-signing allows the Yankees to avoid paying the reliever a $100K retention bonus to remain in the organization.
• The Phillies have released their 2010 second-round pick right-hander Perci Garner, tweets CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury. Garner never advanced beyond Double-A and compiled a mark of 4.50 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 5.1 BB/9 during 87 appearances (73 starts) in his five seasons in the Philadelphia organization.
• The Rays have released outfielder Andrew Toles, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Toles, the Rays’ 2013 minor league player of the year, posted a line of .261/.302/.337 in 218 plate appearances last year at Class A-Advanced Charlotte despite missing two months for personal reasons. The 22-year-old was a third-round selection of the Rays in the 2012 draft.

After enjoying strong seasons in 2012-13 with the Twins (particularly in 2012), Burton’s K/9 rate dipped to 6.5, and his BB/9 rate ticked up to 3.5. Meanwhile, his ground-ball rate (38.5 percent) and fastball velocity deteriorated (92.9 mph in 2012; 91.5 in 2014). However, Burton still possesses an effective split-finger changeup (which he’s termed a “splangeup” in the past) that has been his best pitch in recent years. If he can rediscover some of his fastball effectiveness and/or some of his control, he could again re-emerge as a successful bullpen arm in a big league bullpen.

FEB. 17: Burton will earn $2MM if he is in the big leagues, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. The deal also comes with $750K in available incentives.

FEB. 16: The Yankees announced that they have signed right-hander Jared Burton to a minor league contract and invited the former Twins/Reds setup man to Major League Spring Training. Burton is a client of Pro Agents, Inc.’s Dave Pepe.

Burton, who turns 34 in June, latched on with the Twins on a minor league deal following a shoulder injury that cut his Reds career short. (The presence of former Reds GM Wayne Krvisky in the Twins’ front office likely played a role in that move.) With Minnesota, Burton revived his career, working to an excellent 2.18 ERA with 8.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 48.5 percent ground-ball rate in 62 innings in 2012. That strong performance netted him a two-year, $5.5MM extension with the Twins.

Minnesota paid a $200K buyout on Burton’s $3.6MM option for the 2015 season after Burton took a notable step backward this past season. Burton’s K/9 rate dipped to 6.5, and his BB/9 rate ticked up to 3.5 all while his ground-ball rate (38.5 percent) and fastball velocity deteriorated (92.9 mph in 2012; 91.5 in 2014). However, Burton still possesses an effective split-finger changeup (which he’s termed a “splangeup” in the past) that has been his best pitch in recent years. If he can rediscover some of his fastball effectiveness and/or some of his control, he could re-emerge as a useful bullpen arm for the second time in his career.

Burton’s been a durable arm for Minnesota since returning from injury, averaging 64 innings and 68 total appearances over his three-year stint there. Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, David Carpenter and Justin Wilson are all locks for the New York ’pen, and they’ll likely be joined by Esmil Rogers and Adam Warren. Burton will compete with pitchers such as Chasen Shreve, Andrew Bailey and Jose De Paula for a slot in manager Joe Girardi’s relief corps.

• The Indians are expected to exercise their $3.5MM club option on Mike Aviles rather than pay him a $250K buyout, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Indians could have reasonably gone either way, as the team has some limited financial flexibility (a topic I highlighted in yesterday’s Offseason Outlook). It appears that his versatility will earn him a spot on the 2015 club. The 33-year-old batted .247/.273/.343 in 374 plate appearances with Cleveland last year.
• MLB.com’s Jason Beck spoke with Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski, and while the GM didn’t specifically say that the team would exercise its $7MM club option on Joakim Soria, he certainly implied as much with his comments: “We still have to make the final decision, but it’s a situation where we look at him as being an important acquisition toward this [coming] year also.” Dombrowski said that the team views Joe Nathan as its closer next season, though he indicated that Nathan will have to perform up to his previous capabilities in order to hold onto that role.
• The Twins declined their $3.6MM option on Jared Burton earlier today, and Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets that the team hasn’t expressed an interest in bringing the 33-year-old back, even at a lower rate.

Burton, 33, came to the Twins prior to the 2012 season on a minor league deal after shoulder surgery had temporarily derailed his career with Cincinnati. (The return of former Reds GM Wayne Krivsky to the Minnesota front office may have had something to do with the team’s interest.) Burton proved to be an excellent find for the Twins in 2012, as he pitched to a 2.18 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over 62 innings in in his first year with the team. That performance netted him a two-year, $5.45MM extension, which included this option.

Burton’s performance has tailed off over the past two seasons, though he was still solid in 2013, compiling a 3.82 ERA (3.61 FIP) with 8.3 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 66 innings. This season, he got off to a dreadful start to his 2014 campaign, but he did recover to post a 3.41 ERA over his final four months, with the end result being a 4.36 mark.

Overall, Burton spent three seasons with the Twins, totaling a 3.47 ERA with 7.6 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and 10 saves in 203 appearances (192 innings).

• ESPN's Keith Law unveiled the latest edition of his Top 50 prospects (ESPN Insider required and recommended), and it's fronted by Twins Class A Advanced center fielder Byron Buxton, though Law cautions that even he is a little uncomfortable with the amount of hype Buxton is receiving. Oscar Taveras, Xander Bogaerts, Miguel Sano and Francisco Lindor round out Law's Top 5.
• The Mets will need to be "overwhelmed" to trade Marlon Byrd, writes Jorge Castillo of the Newark Star Ledger. "Overwhelmed," of course, is a relative term, and manager Terry Collins states things more lightly later in the article: "Right now, Marlon Byrd’s a huge piece. If Marlon Byrd’s going to get moved, we’re going to get something good back." Castillo's article meshes with previous reports that the Mets may simply stand pat at the deadline.
• A team official tells Mike Puma of the New York Post that the Mets haven't had any action yet on Byrd or closer Bobby Parnell (Twitter link).
• ESPN's Jim Bowden examines the trade market for relievers (video link), naming all of the usual suspects that have been mentioned previously but also adding Jared Burton, Huston Street and Luke Gregerson, who haven't been mentioned often this summer. All three are controlled beyond 2013. Bowden's colleague Buster Olney tweeted earlier today that the Diamondbacks continue to be players on the relief pitching market.
• Uncertainty surrounding Clay Buchholz's injuries hasn't changed Boston's approach to the trade deadline, writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. The Red Sox still plan to be "selective" as they debate possibilities to upgrade what they consider to be strong rotation depth. The team is also still interested in upgrades at third base and in the bullpen.

Burton, 31, inked a minor league deal with the Twins last November and made the big league roster after a strong showing in Spring Training.  The right-hander had a breakout season with the Twins in 2012,  posting a 2.18 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 0.73 HR/9, and 48.5% groundball rate in 62 innings of work.  MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected a $2.1MM salary for Burton's last trip through arbitration in 2013, so his actual $2.05MM salary isn't much of a discount.  But the Twins now have Burton potentially through 2015, as well as reliever Glen Perkins possibly through 2016 from an extension signed in March.   

As MLBTR's arbitration tracker shows, the Twins' class is down to just Drew Butera and Brian Duensing.

Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN first reported the extension was close. Tim Dierkes contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

• So far, the Twins have reached out to free agents Brandon McCarthy, Anibal Sanchez, Joe Blanton, Ryan Dempster, and Brett Myers. They're interested in Myers as a starter. They've also reached out to Brandon Webb even though he hasn't thrown a pitch in the big leagues since 2009.
• The club continues to have regular conversations with Alan Nero, who represents right-hander Scott Baker. The two sides are working on a new contract after Baker's $9.25MM option was declined.
• The Twins have not shown any interest in Jon Garland and were not present when the right-hander threw for teams during an audition back in September.
• Talks with reliever Jared Burton about a contract extension are underway. Matt Swartz projects a $2.1MM salary for the right-hander next season, after which he'll become a free agent.
• The Twins have inquired about reliever Randy Messenger, though the Hanshin Tigers in Japan will not allow the right-hander out of his contract.
• The team has not contacted Bill Bray after he hit free agency. Special assistant Wayne Krivsky acquired the left-hander during his tenure as Reds GM.

Burton, 31, has a 2.40 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 41 1/3 innings for the Twins this year. He's earning a salary of $750K and will go to arbitration this coming offseason before hitting free agency after 2013.