Posted by basebal5 on Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 2:28 pm

The former mainly looks at the game's past and the latter, the game's future.  With BLF, you have a daily feed of all newsworthy items found on the minor leagues and also original content, with The Diamond Cutter's very own Matthew Whipps.

Also, take a look at my Game Notes, where I provide scouting reports, stats analysis, comments and more about the games I'm watching everyday.

Atlanta    

Todd Redmond – Acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Redmond is a 22-year-old, right-handed starter who showcases very good control and a decent ability to strikeout batters (over 6 K/9 last season).  He threw only 17 innings in Double-A last season and he should begin the year at this level with the Braves organization.
    
Boston    

Brandon Moss – Optioned to Pawtucket (AAA).

From Boston.com:

Tuesday night Brandon Moss became the first player in big league history to hit his first career home run while playing in the eastern hemisphere. Moss's ninth-inning, one-out blast off Oakland closer Huston Street sent the Sox and A's into extra innings and cleared the path for Manny Ramirez's game-winning double in the 10th.

Today, Moss again filled in for J. D. Drew in right field and struck out three straight times before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of the Sox 5-1 loss to the A's.

Now, the 24-year-old must go back to AAA after that high.  He has led his league in doubles for two straight years, but has nothing left to prove at that level.  While he doesn't have the typical power numbers associated with a corner outfielder, he can hit the ball to all fields.

Sean Casey – Missed 1 game (stiff neck).
    
Chicago Cubs    

Alex Cintron – Released by the Chicago Cubs.

He can play second base, third base, shortstop and DH.  He has been used regularly only one in his career, when he has with Arizona in 2003.  He responded by batting .317/.359/.489 in 448 AB.  From the Sports Network:

The Cubs signed Cintron, 29, as a minor league free agent February 18. In limited action, the infielder battled a sore left hamstring and was even struck in the face with a foul ball while standing in the on-deck circle two weeks ago.
    
Cincinnati    

Homer Bailey – Optioned to Louisville (AAA).

Wild, wild, wild.  That's one way to characterize his Spring: 19 IP, 24 H, 16 BB, 11 K.  Many scouts affirmed he has been passed on the depth chart by RHP Johnny Cueto (great scouting report here) and RHP Edinson Volquez.  This is one case where a pitcher has great stuff, but doesn't know how to harness it.  2008 will be a huge year for him.
    
Colorado    

Marcus Giles – Released by the Colorado Rockies.

Jayson Nix has locked up the second base job for the Rockies, so Giles is out.  He was rumored to be in a trade with the Dodgers, but now he'll be able to sign as a free agent.  The Rockies on Nix getting the job:

He impressed Rockies manager Clint Hurdle with his fielding from the outset of camp. Nix had a play recently where he glided far to his left to track down a grounder, taking a sure hit away from a Los Angeles Dodgers hitter. Hurdle gushed about the play after the game.

“That's as much range as I've seen a second baseman have,” Hurdle said. “Defensively, he has a lot of confidence. That's all we heard. We're getting to see it.”

Nix's three homers this spring have come as a relative surprise, even to him. He hit a combined 13 in two seasons at Colorado Springs.

“I'm not a home run hitter,” said Nix, who missed a handful of games this spring with a stiff lower back. “But I know that if I get certain types of pitches, I can run into them and hit home runs.”

(…)

Baker worked hard in the offseason to turn himself into a second baseman, a position he hasn't played since high school. He dropped 15 pounds and constantly worked out at an indoor facility near his home in Virginia, taking a steady volume of grounders at second all winter.

Humberto Cota – Assigned to minor league camp.
    
Detroit    

Francis Beltran – Assigned to minor league camp.
Timo Perez – Assigned to minor league camp.
Tim Byrdak – Released by the Detroit Tigers.
    
Houston    

Jack Cassel – Optioned to Round Rock (AAA).
Runelvys Hernandez – Assigned to minor league camp.
    
Kansas City    

Ken Huckaby – Assigned to minor league camp.
Chin-Hui Tsao – Assigned to minor league camp.
Roman Colon – Assigned to minor league camp
Kyle Davies – Optioned to Omaha (AAA).
Jorge De la Rosa – Designated for assignment by Kansas City Royals.

He failed to win a spot on the Royals pitching staff, but a team that'd want to take a flyer on the 26-year-old could potentially reap the rewards later. He can be heretic, but I would personally explore a move to the bullpen.  He can throw hard (tops in mid-90s) and the 'pen would permit him to focus on two pitches: fastball and change-up.  That doesn't mean that his slider and curve are no good anymore, but the movement on his fastball coupled with the 83 mph change-up could be interesting.

Ramon Ramirez – Acquired from the Colorado Rockies.
    
Los Angeles    

Rudy Seanez – Released by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Ken Gurnick explains it best:

Seanez, 39, had a 7.71 spring ERA after being slowed by a strained groin muscle early in Spring Training. He has been pitching professionally since 1986 and was a workhorse for the Dodgers last year, appearing in 73 games and going 6-3 with a 3.79 ERA. His outing on Tuesday was marred when center fielder Jason Repko lost a fly ball in the sun, leading to the two unearned runs.

Seanez had a $150,000 bonus if he had made the Opening Day roster.

Seanez's release opens a bullpen spot that could go to a number of pitchers, including veteran left-hander Mike Myers or rookie right-hander Ramon Troncoso.
    
Milwaukee    

Eric Munson – Outrighted to Nashville (AAA).
    
Minnesota    

Drew Butera – Assigned to minor league camp.
    
Pittsburgh    

Masumi Kuwata – Announced his retirement.

Retirement?  Yep, at 39, that's his line in the majors: 21 IP, 25 H, 15 BB, 12 K.

Hector Carrasco – Released by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Jaret Wright – Assigned to minor league camp.
Jorge Velandia – Assigned to minor league camp.
Juan P. Perez – Released by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Byung-Hyun Kim – Released by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Josh Wilson – Designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

A middle-of-the-field defender, he has a potent career in the minor leagues (.281/.338/.419), but struggles when he gets the call for the highest level of competition.  He was a third round pick from the Marlins in 1999.

Doug Mientkiewicz – Contract purchased from Indianapolis (AAA).

He didn't have such a bad season last year (.277/.349/.440) and looks to warm the bench in Pittsburgh.  He's hitting .268/.367/.341 this Spring.

Tyler Yates – Acquired from the Atlanta Braves.

From the Canadian Press:

The 30-year-old Yates will be used as one of the Pirates' setup men, an unexpected addition to a bullpen that has been overly crowded all spring with more than a dozen relievers competing for jobs.

“They have a couple of guys out of options, (right-handers Chris) Resop and (Blaine) Boyer, who have really thrown the ball well for them this spring and, as a result, they had extra pitching and we benefited from that,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said.

Yates has thrown his fastball from 92-97 m.p.h. this spring, his slider from 87-90 and will give the Pirates another of the power arms Huntington likes.

“He can get a strikeout and can overpower people,” Huntington said.
    
San Diego   

Justin Huber – Acquired from the Kansas City Royals.

Baseball Digest Daily has got it covered already.
    
Seattle    

Roy Corcoran – Assigned to minor league camp.
Ryan Feierabend – Optioned to Tacoma (AAA).
    
St. Louis    

Cliff Politte – Assigned to minor league camp.

I am a Blue Jays fan and Politte did very well in his time here (except that damn long ball!!) and he also had a monster year in a White Sox uniform:  67 IP, 42 H, 21 BB, 57 K with a 2.00 ERA and 0.94 WHIP.  He was the set-up man that season.  His MO is easy:  pound the strike zone with a fastball-slider combination.  The heater reaches the low-90s and the slider is filthy.

That said, he is streaky and his career stats page clearly prove it.
    
Texas    

Jarrod Saltalamacchia – Assigned to minor league camp.

Baseball Daigest Daily already has a post on that.

Kameron Loe – Assigned to minor league camp.

He throws mainly fastballs and curves, but can also surprise with a slider and a change-up.  He was a starter for most of the year and was in the running to be the #5 starter in 2008, but to no avail.  Jason Jennings should be chosen for the job.

In the minors, he really need to work on his over all control of the strike zone.  He has posted essentially the same WHIP (1.60) both times he has contributed in the majors.  While keeping the ball on the ground has never been a problem (over 50% ground balls), he gets hurt by putting runners on constantly.  This situation is much better when he pitches in the minor leagues.
    
Washington    

Johnny Estrada – Elbow injury, 15-day DL.
Pete Orr – Assigned to Columbus (AAA).
Ryan Langerhans – Outrighted to Columbus (AAA).
Chris Schroder – Optioned to Columbus (AAA).
John Lannan – Optioned to Columbus (AAA).