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Minor MLB Transactions: 1/5/17

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • First baseman/outfielder Ji-Man Choi has been outrighted to Triple-A by the Angels after clearing waivers, the team announced. He had been designated for assignment recently. Choi, 25, hit a robust .346/.434/.527 over 227 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors and earned his first trip to the majors in 2016. He put up a meager .170/.271/.339 slash there, however, over his 129 trips to the plate. The left-handed hitter could still compete for a bench spot in camp, particularly if Albert Pujols is slow to return from his offseason surgery.
  • The Rangers have added catcher Steven Lerud on a minor-league deal, per a club announcement. He’ll receive an invitation to MLB camp this spring. Lerud, 32, saw very brief MLB action in both 2012 and 2013, but has plied his trade in the upper minors almost exclusively since 2009. Last year, playing in the Giants organization, he hit .229/.385/.288 over his 214 plate appearances, drawing 38 walks against 50 strikeouts but launching just one home run.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/25/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • Lefty Phil Coke will head to Triple-A for the Yankees after his rights were acquired from the indy league Lancaster Barnstormers, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports on Twitter. Coke, 33, has bounced around quite a bit in recent years and was most recently released by the Braves during spring camp. He appeared in the majors last year with the Cubs and Blue Jays, allowing eight earned runs with 12 strikeouts and five walks (two intentional) over 12 2/3 frames.
  • The Cubs have released right-hander Jonathan Pettibone from his minor league contract, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports. Chicago signed the former Phillies right-hander to a minor league pact back in February in hopes that he’d be able to return to health following a pair of shoulder surgeries in 2014 and 2015. Pettibone last appeared in the Majors in 2014, but it was 2013 that he looked the part of an intriguing long-term piece in the Phillies’ rotation. That year (his age-22 season), Pettibone logged 100 1/3 innings with a 4.04 ERA, 5.9 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 49.4 percent ground-ball rate in 18 starts at the Major League level.
  • The Giants have added veteran minor league catcher Steven Lerud on a minors deal, per Eddy. The 31-year-old began the year with the Mariners but didn’t make the big league roster and was released in early April. Lerud, 31, spent the 2015 campaign in the Nationals organization, batting .238/.320/.301 in 231 plate appearances (60 games). Lerud saw brief action for the Phillies in 2012-13, but he’s spent most of his career in the minors and is a lifetime .229/.347/.324 hitter in parts of four seasons at the Triple-A level.
  • Righty Loek Van Mil was released by the Twins, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger tweets. The 31-year-old, who stands at 7’1, was bombed for 14 earned runs in just 5 1/3 innings at Triple-A this year, while issuing six walks against four strikeouts. The Netherlands native has yet to crack the majors, and has struggled in his time at the highest level of the minors. He has, however, been better historically at Double-A, where he owns a 3.01 ERA in 212 frames with 6.1 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9.
  • The Pirates have released outfielder Antoan Richardson from Triple-A, per a club announcement. Richardson, a speedy 32-year-old, was scuffling in limited duty. He’s been up in the majors before as a late-season option, recording six steals despite taking only 21 plate appearances. In 785 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Richardson owns a .261/.377/.347 slash and has 56 steals while being caught only three times.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/8/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Mets announced the signing of outfielder Roger Bernadina to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to major league camp. He’ll earn $750K if he makes it to the MLB roster, Jon Heyman tweets, and receives a June 15 opt-out. Bernadina, 31, has accumulated nearly 1,500 MLB plate appearances, with the bulk of that action coming between 2010-13 with the Nationals. He’s also spent time with the Phillies, Reds, and Dodgers. Last year was his first without any action in the majors since he broke in with the Nats in 2008. Bernadina put up a .276/.383/.466 slash with 15 home runs and 20 steals in 447 plate appearances for the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate in 2015.
  • Infielder Danny Worth has caught on with the Astros, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. The 30-year-old owns a .230/.293/.295 slash in 292 big league plate appearances, all of which came with the Tigers between 2010-14. He played at Triple-A last year in the Diamondbacks organization, slashing a rather robust .314/.394/.469 in 399 trips to the plate.
  • The Dodgers brought back right-hander Chin-hui Tsao on a minor league pact, according to Eddy. Now 34, the Taiwanese reliever (and former top prospect) has seen 95 1/3 MLB innings spread between 2003 and 2015. He spent most of last year with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, working to a 2.77 ERA in 39 frames with 9.7 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9.
  • Backstop Steven Lerud recently inked with the Mariners, per a club announcement. The 31-year-old has minimal MLB experience, but has been in the upper minors since 2008. Most recently, in 2015, he posted a .238/.320/.301 slash over 231 plate appearances at Triple-A Syracuse in the Nationals organization.

Minor Moves: Krauss, Peguero, Rodriguez, Lerud

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

  • First baseman/outfielder Marc Krauss, who was designated for assignment by the Angels last week, has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. Krauss hit .194/.279/.323 with six homers in 208 PAs for the Astros last season but was designated to clear room on the 40-man roster when the Halos acquired Kyle Kubitza from the Braves.
  • The Rangers have signed both Carlos Peguero to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, executive VP of communications John Blake announced (Twitter link). Peguero, 28 next month, had an excellent season with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate in 2014, hitting .266/.349/.563 with 30 homers. The former Mariners prospect has shown huge power throughout his minor league career but hasn’t been able to carry his success over to the Majors, where he’s hit .196/.245/.379 and fanned in nearly 39 percent of his 229 PAs.
  • The Rangers also re-signed Guilder Rodriguez to a minor league deal, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The 31-year-old infielder was a nice story in an otherwise dreadful Rangers season in 2014, as he reached the Majors for the first time after 13 minor league seasons and collected a pair of hits in 12 at-bats. Rodriguez hit .260/.340/.290 in 284 PAs at Triple-A.
  • Catcher Steven Lerud has signed a minor league deal with the Nationals that contains an invite to big league camp, tweets Mark Zuckerman of CSN Washington. The former Pirates third-rounder (2003) saw a bit of Major League time with the Phillies in 2012-13, but the 30-year-old has never received a prolonged look in the bigs. He’s a lifetime .225/.361/.337 hitter at Triple-A and has caught an excellent 34 percent of attempted thieves on the basepaths over the life of his career.

Minor Moves: Laird, Wells, Lerud, Maya, Sappelt

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We'll keep tabs on the day's minor moves here:

  • The Royals announced a series of minor league signings, including for third baseman Brandon Laird, outfielder Paulo Orlando and right-hander Wilking Rodriguez. Laird, 26, is the younger brother of Gerald Laird and joins the Royals from the Astros, where he received major league playing time in 2013. Orlando, 28, is re-upping with the Royals after six seasons in the organization. The 23-year-old Rodriguez will transition to the Royals after seven seasons in the Rays' farm system. He has a career 3.90 ERA, mostly as a starter, but has never reached Double-A.
  • Matt Eddy of Baseball America has updates on a number of clubs' minor league signings. Among those with MLB experience (with links to Twitter): The Rockies will return Bobby Cassevah and Matt McBride, and have added righty Greg Burke. Headed to the Tigers is righty Jhan Marinez, while Gorkys Hernandez and Edinson Rincon will stick with the Royals organization. The Phillies have brought back shortstop Andres Blanco. And the Dodgers inked utility infielder Brendan Harris. Other clubs with new signings include the Orioles, Reds, Marlins,  White Sox, and Athletics. 
  • The Cubs have signed outfielder Casper Wells, according to a tweet from Eddy. The team also added righties Paolo Espino and Carlos Pimentel, along with shortstop Jeudy Valdez. Wells got 102 plate appearances with three different clubs last year, posting a meager .126/.186/.147 line that is perhaps understandable given his constant movement and scant playing time. In 2012, over 316 plate appearances with the Mariners, Wells was good for a .228/.302/.396 slash. 
  • In addition to bringing back righty Benino Pruneda and catcher Jose Yepez on minor league deals, the Braves have added former Phillies backstop Steven Lerud, tweets Eddy. Lerud appeared in nine games for the Phils between 2012-13. At Triple-A last year, he had an interesting .217/.353/.311 line over 219 plate appearances, as he drew nearly as many walks (35) as he had hits (39).
  • Cutting ties with a major international acquisition, the Nationals have released righty Yunesky Maya, Eddy tweets. Washington saw little return on its $6MM investment in Maya, who had been outrighted off of the club's major league roster early in the 2013 season. After struggling in two brief call-ups in 2011-12, Maya's last stint with the Nats was even more regrettable. In his only MLB appearance of the 2013 season, Maya retired one batter in the bottom of the tenth before surrendering a walk-off home run to Pablo Sandoval. 
  • The Cubs have released outfielder Dave Sappelt, tweets Eddy. As Eddy notes, Sappelt was one of the pieces — along with lefty Travis Wood and second baseman Ronald Torreyes — picked up by Chicago in the deal that sent Sean Marshall to Cincinnati. The 26-year-old Sappelt has a .251/.301/.343 slash line in 274 plate appearances spread over the 2011-13 seasons. He has spent most of his time in Triple-A over that time frame, and posted a sub-.700 OPS in each of his two years at Iowa.

Minor Moves: Slaten, Manzella, Acosta, Gaudin

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Here are the latest minor transactions from around the league…

  • SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization announced the signing of left-handed reliever Doug Slaten.  Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net (Twitter link) first reported the deal earlier this week.  Slaten has a 3.52 ERA in 216 games for the Diamondbacks, Nationals and Pirates since 2006, including a 2.16 ERA in 10 games with the Bucs in 2012.
  • The Rockies have signed shortstop Tommy Manzella to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invitation, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  Manzella last appeared in the majors in 2010 with the Astros and has bounced around the minors with four different organizations over the last two seasons.
  • Right-hander Manny Acosta has signed a one-year, $1.65MM contract with the Yomiuri Giants, according to Gene Mato, Acosta's agent (Twitter link).  The deal could be worth another $500K in bonuses.  Acosta, 31, was non-tendered by the Mets following a season that saw him post a 6.46 ERA over relief appearances.
  • The Giants have agreed to a minor league deal with right-hander Chad Gaudin, reports Janie McCauley of the Associated Press (via Twitter).  Gaudin posted a 4.54 ERA in 46 relief appearances for the Marlins last season.
  • The Yankees have signed catcher Bobby Wilson to a minor league deal that contains a Spring Training invite, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link).  Wilson hit .211/.277/.292 batting line in 201 plate appearances with the Angels last season and was both claimed on waivers and non-tendered by the Blue Jays earlier this offseason.
  • The Yankees have also signed infielder Gil Velazquez to a minor league deal, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter).  The 33-year-old Velazquez received 57 PAs with the Marlins last year and also has Major League exerperience with the Angels and Red Sox.
  • The Cardinals have signed 18-year-old Dominican right-hander Alex Reyes to a contract worth $950K, reports MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter).
  • The Nationals signed 16-year-old Dominican third baseman Neivy Pilier to a $225K deal, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America.
  • The Nationals signed infielder Brian Bocock to a minor league contract, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson (Twitter link).  Bocock last played in the majors in 2010 and has spent the last two seasons playing in the Phillies, Pirates and Blue Jays organizations.
  • The Padres acquired left-hander Chris Rearick from the Rays in exchange for infielder Vince Belnome, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter).
  • The Phillies have announced the signings of Andres Blanco, Josh Fields, Cesar Jimenez, Steven Lerud, Michael Martinez, Zach Miner, Jermaine Mitchell, Pete Orr and Humberto Quintero to minor league contracts with invitations to Spring Training.

Outrighted: Orr, Lerud, Lewis

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We’ll keep track of the day’s outright assignments right here…

  • The Phillies announced that they outrighted infielder Pete Orr and catcher Steven Lerud off of their 40-man roster. Orr, 33, appeared in 35 games for the team, playing second and third base while posting a .772 OPS. Lerud, 28, appeared in three contests this past season. The Phillies now have 37 players on their 40-man.
  • The Mets outrighted outfielder Fred Lewis to the minor leagues, according to the transactions page at CBSSports.com. The seven-year MLB veteran appeared in 18 games for New York this past season, playing all three outfield positions. A Mets official told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com that Lewis plans to become a free agent. The 31-year-old hasn't yet filed the formal paperwork, but will become a free agent once he does so.

Phillies Sign Bush, Lerud, Purcey To Minors Deals

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The Phillies have signed Dave Bush, Steven Lerud and David Purcey to minor league contracts, the team announced.  All three players will be invited to Major League spring training camp as non-roster players.

Bush, 32, signed a minor league deal with Philadelphia last August and posted decent numbers in four starts for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.  Bush is an eight-year Major League veteran, playing for the Blue Jays, Brewers and Rangers during his career.

Lerud, a catcher, has played eight seasons in the Pirates and Orioles' farm systems with a career OPS of .665.  He has spent the majority of this time in Double-A ball, briefly cracking the Triple-A level in 2010.

Purcey, drafted 16th overall by the Blue Jays in 2004, was well-traveled in 2011, going from Toronto to Oakland and finally to Detroit in a six-week span.  The left-hander has a 5.38 ERA in 87 career Major League games, 21 of them starts.

Orioles Acquire Steven Lerud

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Bob Dutton tweets that the Royals have traded minor league catcher Steven Lerud to the Orioles for a player to be named later.

Lerud, 24, was a third-round draft pick of the Pirates in 2003 and posted a line of .240/.339/.336 in 95 games for the Pirates' AA affiliate in Altoona last season. The Royals signed him as a minor league free agent back in December. Over six minor league seasons, Lerud owns a line of .228/.314/.363.

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