Cleveland Sports Forum

Red Sox non-tendered 3B Juan Francisco.
Francisco was designated for assignment last week to clear a roster spot for Hanley Ramirez, so the writing was already on the wall. Francisco would have been arbitration-eligible for the first time in his career. The 27-year-old is now a free agent.


Source: Peter Abraham on Twitter

Dec 2 - 4:36 PM

Joey Meyer poses from the spot his 582-foot home run hit in Denver's Mile High Stadium in 1987. (Karl Gehring/Getty Images)

Meyer's blast etched in Minor League lore

Denver Zephyrs slugger homered into Mile High's second deck in '87

By Tyler Maun / MiLB.com12/02/2014 10:00 AM ET

This is a story about a chair. Actually, this is a story about two chairs, both of which occupy a place in history and one of which has been lost to it.

On a late spring night in the largest Minor League stadium in the nation, a man bashed a baseball farther than perhaps anyone had before him. It sailed through air light on oxygen, over two outfielders who didn't move a muscle to pursue it, and slammed into a plastic chair almost 600 feet from the bat it left.

Nearly three decades later, Joey Meyer is still more than happy to remember it.

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http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ym ... b&sid=milb

For the all-time trivia question of who was the man to replace Derek Jeter as the New York Yankees' shortstop, the answer may very well be 24-year-old Didi Gregorius.

Didi Gregorius is known for his fielding prowess, but the question with him is, will he hit in the majors?

The Yankees on Friday announced that they have acquired Gregorius from the Diamondbacks in a three-team trade that also involves the Tigers. Right-handed pitcher Shane Greene was traded from the Yankees to Detroit, while Arizona received left-handed pitcher Robbie Ray and minor league infielder Domingo Leyba from the Tigers.

Gregorius hit .226 with six homers and 27 RBIs in 80 games with the Diamondbacks in 2014. Greene was 5-4 with a 3.78 ERA as a rookie last season.

The Yankees would have Gregorius and Brendan Ryan as shortstops on their roster.

Gregorius, who is from the Netherlands, is known as a good defender, but there are questions if he will be able to hit consistently enough in the big leagues. In 191 games, he is a .243 career hitter.

Before news broke about the potential deal, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the shortstop market is limited.

"That's been difficult," he said. "It is not easy, shortstop. It is not a plentiful market. It is very thin. We are not the only club looking for a shortstop, so it makes it even more difficult."

Cashman said he has had more trade talks to this point than in other winters and that teams are "definitely willing to take more risks in the trade market than they have in the past."

The Yankees liked Greene's potential; especially with the uncertainty with many of their starters. Masahiro Tanaka (elbow), CC Sabathia (knee), Ivan Nova (elbow) and Michael Pineda are the Yankees' top four starters right now. Cashman said Tanaka's rehab is over and he is set to go for spring training, as is Sabathia. Nova, after Tommy John surgery, will not be available until May at the earliest.

The team could re-sign Brandon McCarthy, Hiroki Kuroda or Chris Capuano to fill out the staff.

"This offseason, I feel like we have a lot more areas to address," Cashman said. "That means I am open to a lot more ways to solve the problems and improve the club."

Cashman said he still wants to improve the Yankees' pitching staff, adding he was open to acquiring either starters or relievers. The Yankees have had talks with left-handed reliever Andrew Miller, while they are also interested in retaining closer David Robertson.

Gregorius is what the Diamondbacks got for trading Bauer in another three team trade.

Left-handed reliever Andrew Miller has agreed to a four-year, $36 million contract with the Yanks

Scott Barnes, recently dropped from Cleveland 40 man roster, is continuing a whirlwind winter. I guess he was signed by Baltimore although I missed that. But now I read that Texas has signed him after the Os dropped him. Being the 40th man on a winter roster means you're constantly on the move; remember Russ Canzler's winter "travels" a few years back?

Just like that, White Sox reshape outlook in AL Central

SAN DIEGO --

The Chicago White Sox redefined themselves on Monday. Along the way, they redefined the American League Central as well.

This was a day that reminded us why we love the Hot Stove League. One day we're focused on this team or that one. And in an instant, everything changes.

Here's to the White Sox. Gotta watch the quiet ones.

No team has improved itself more than this one. No team has made itself more relevant.

The White Sox took one significant step forward on Monday night by agreeing to a deal with free-agent closer David Robertson, sources told MLB.com. USA Today first reported the four-year agreement, and CBSSports.com reported it's worth $46 million.

If they hadn't done one other thing, that deal would have sent shockwaves through the AL Central. The White Sox had 21 blown saves last season, third most in the AL. So adding a guy who made good on 39 of 44 save chances with the Yankees would have signaled a significant upgrade.

And then the White Sox closed in on something else even more significant. As they were finishing the Robertson trade, they were set to acquire right-hander Jeff Samardzija from the A's, according to CBSSports.com.

Samardzija is all of 29 years old and has averaged 203 innings the last three seasons. He's among the Major League leaders in strikeouts in that time.

Now when the White Sox look to 2015, they hope to pencil Samardzija in right behind the best pitcher in baseball, Chris Sale, and right in front of Jose Quintana.

The White Sox had already signed Adam LaRoche to split the first base and designated hitter at-bats with Jose Abreu. Meanwhile, they added left-hander Zach Duke, who can swing between the bullpen and the rotation.

What's left?

When Rick Hahn took over as general manager last offseason, he seemed to focus on infusing the roster with young talent. In the last 18 months, the White Sox have acquired center fielder Adam Eaton from Arizona and right fielder Avisail Garcia to play right.

It's not just that the White Sox have added talent. They've added impact talent. Abreu hit 36 home runs in his rookie year. LaRoche has averaged 23 home runs and 29 doubles in the last 10 seasons.

Now with Robertson and Samardzija, the White Sox appear to be good enough to contend. But good teams win because they've got talent. To have a rotation led by Sale and Samardzija and Quintana is to have three pitchers who throw hard and make opposing hitters uncomfortable.

Likewise, lineups are built from the inside out. With Abreu and LaRoche in the middle of the order, with Eaton's .362 on-base percentrage at the top, the White Sox will have the potential to put pitchers in high-stress situation from the first inning on.

They are not yet a finished production. They're going to have young players scattered up and down their roster, and they need some of them to take a step forward to contend with the Tigers and Royals in the AL Central.

But that division race looks way different than it did at the beginning of the week. With three acquisitions, the White Sox have positioned themselves to compete with virtually any team in the game.

The White Sox have reminded us that baseball's competitive balance has put every team in position to succeed and that every general manager believes he's a move or two away from going to the postseason.

This has already been a nice Hot Stove League for the Red Sox and Blue Jays and for the Cardinals and others. There's plenty more to come as the Giants, Yankees, Cubs and others are aggressively pursuing a series of deals.

On Monday, it was the White Sox stepping to center stage. They were already close enough to the postseason to think only a couple of things needed to happen. Now they're closer.

Richard Justice is a columnist for MLB.com. Read his blog, Justice4U. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Rumors in the Chicago land area say the Sox are going to be taking a long, hard look at Cespedes. It could be just talk, but if that happens, all of a sudden, Chicago could make that leap the Indians made in 2013.

One of the sports talk shows out here brought up the idea of Gardenhire for hire. He was raised in the Chicago land area and followed the Sox when he was growing up.

I am sorry we lost him, although still a longshot.

PHILADELPHIA—The Phillies affirmed themselves as a rebuilding team with the luxury of taking a chance on upside when they took the unusual step of signing a minor league free agent to a major league contract in November.
“We viewed this as a chance to add a quality arm to our organization,” Mike Ondo, the team’s director of pro scouting, said of lefty reliever Elvis Araujo.

The 6-foot-6, 23-year-old Araujo originally signed with the Indians as a teen in Venezuela in 2007. He has a power arm but missed two seasons with an elbow injury early in his career before recovering and ranking as the Tribe’s 11th-best prospect after the 2011 season. He had a 3.42 ERA and struck out 50 and walked 28 in 50 innings at high Class A and Double-A in 2014 and became a free agent after the season.

“Through regular coverage, our guys have always liked him,” Ondo said. Araujo continued to impress Phillies’ personnel while pitching for Zulia in Venezuelan League this winter. Through his first 11 innings, he had allowed just seven hits and a run while walking four and striking out 12. Phillies scouts have seen Araujo’s fastball up to 97 mph this winter.

“There was competition for this guy,” said Ondo, explaining the decision to give Araujo a big league deal.
Araujo has three options remaining, so that will buy the Phillies development time as he provides lefty relief depth behind big leaguers Antonio Bastardo, Mario Hollands and Jake Diekman.

Araujo was one of four pitchers added to the 40-man roster in November, joining lefties Jesse Biddle and Adam Morgan and righthander Nefi Ogando.

Tigers get cespedes from the BoSox for Porcello!

Wow. I never was that impressed with Porcello. On the surface looks like Tigers got a good deal. But Cespedes has an attitude problem so we'll see. Cabrera will probably keep his attitude in check and they're gonna kill it.

Tigers are probably losing Scherzer; last winter they dealt Fister. Now they trade Porcello. Do they have some key young arms ready for the majors? It sounds like they're aiming to be a rather one dimensional team.

That shortage didn't last too long:

DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers may have found a replacement for Rick Porcello.

The Tigers have reportedly reached an agreement with the Cincinnati Reds to acquire right-handed starting pitcher Alfredo Simon, according to multiple reports.

In exchange for Simon, the Tigers have reportedly traded rookie shortstop Eugenio Suarez and right-handed pitching prospect Jonathon Crawford.

A free agent at the end of this season, Simon went 15-10 with 3.44 ERA in 32 appearances last season with the Reds. Simon, 33, is expected to fill the spot vacated by Porcello, who was traded to Boston in exchange for outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.

Suarez, 22, batted .242 with four home runs and 23 RBIs in 85 games for the Tigers as a roookie last season.

Crawford, 23, was 8-3 record with a 2.85 ERA for Class A West Michigan in 2014. He was originally selected by the Tigers as a first-round draft pick in 2013.

Named an All-Star last season, Simon earned $1.5 million last year and is entering his third year of arbitration eligibility.

Porcello arguably had his best year with the Tigers last year, winning 15 games, with a 3.43 ERA in 32 games. In six years with the Tigers, he averaged a 4.30 ERA in 184 games. he has 655 strikeouts, averaging 5.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

In 2015, Porcello's contract makes him third-year arbitration eligible. The earliest he can become a free agent will be in 2016.

Cespedes joined the Oakland A's in 2012 as a rookie coming from Cuba. He was a big name in Cuba, and was a star in his first season. Last year, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox for pitcher Jon Lester.

He batted .260 with 22 home runs, 100 RBIs and 35 walks. He struck out 128 times, with a .301 on-base percentage and .450 slugging percentage.

Cespedes is signed through the 2015 season for $10.5 million a year. He will also become a free agent in 2016.