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 02/28/2015 MLB Note - Retired Player Pierre, Juan
OF Juan Pierre decided that he will call it a career after 14 major
league seasons. The 37-year-old Pierre announced his retirement
Friday, closing the curtain on his playing days with a .295 batting
average, 2,217 hits and 614 stolen bases. The steals rank 18th in
major league history.
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MLB Note - Atlanta Braves Upton Jr., Melvin
OF Melvin Upton, 30, was diagnosed with inflammation in his left
foot that likely will sideline him for the remainder of spring
training. An X-ray and MRI of the foot identified the injury as
sesamoiditis, which is inflammation behind the ball of the foot.
Upton's foot will be placed in a cast for two weeks, followed by a
walking boot for four to six weeks. The Braves expect Upton to
return to baseball activities in early April when the regular season
opens.
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MLB Note - Milwaukee Brewers Ramirez, Aramis
3B Aramis Ramirez said the 2015 season will be his last. Ramirez,
36, enters his 20th season with 2,057 games played with the
Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and Brewers. He has 369 career home
runs, 1,342 RBIs and 2,186 hits with a .285 batting average. "I'm
going to play this year, and probably be done after this year,"
Ramirez said. "I don't know if I want to play after this year. I
think this is it. I had a nice career, and I think enough is
enough." He is sixth all-time among third basemen in home runs.
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MLB Note - New York Yankees Ryan, Brendan
INF Brendan Ryan underwent a precautionary MRI which revealed a
mid-back strain on Feb. 27. The team announced Feb. 27 that Ryan saw
Dr. Daniel Murphy in Tampa, Fla., a day earlier. The injury occurred
while lifting weights in the days leading up to the start of spring
training, and Ryan is expected to miss approximately five days of
on-field activity.
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MLB Note - St. Louis Cardinals Wainwright, Adam
RHP Adam Wainwright returned to spring training in Jupiter, Fla., on
Feb. 27 and expects to be back on the mound in a matter of days.
Wainwright left camp for a medical exam in St. Louis a day earlier,
where he was diagnosed with a mild abdominal strain. Wainwright felt
a tweak in his side while returning a 45-pound barbell to the rack
during early weight room sessions in Florida. He experienced
discomfort during fielding drills, and agreed to the appointment
despite his personal opinion that the injury was nothing serious.
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MLB Note - Minnesota Twins Meyer, Alex
RHP Alex Meyer was excused from the team for a few days to attend
the funeral of his grandfather, who passed away earlier this week.
Meyer is expected to compete for the No. 5 starter's job in the
Twins' rotation.
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MLB Note - Minnesota Twins Pressly, Ryan
RHP Ryan Pressly is among eight pitchers competing for maybe two or
three bullpen slots. That includes veterans LHP Tommy Milone and RHP
Mike Pelfrey, who are competing for the No. 5 spot in the rotation.
Pressly went north with the Twins in 2013, but was sent to the
minors last spring. "It's about who shows up and who has a good
spring, and I'm hoping I have a good spring like I did in 2013,"
Pressly told MLB.com.
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MLB Note - Minnesota Twins Perkins, Glen
LHP Glen Perkins, an All-Star closer who finished with 34 saves last
season, is expected to be used by Twins manager Paul Molitor in a
conventional closer's role. That means entering games at the
beginning of the ninth inning, instead of being used to get an out
or two in the eighth, if needed. "I'm not big on trying to expand
his role past the ninth inning in the short term," Molitor told the
St. Paul Pioneer Press. "Part of the success we hope to have in the
bullpen, we'll be able to have guys that can bridge us, however long
our starter goes."
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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Santana, Johan
LHP Johan Santana is a no-risk proposition for the Blue Jays. He was
signed to a minor league contract Feb. 26, and invited to major
league camp, with the intention of using the two-time American
League Cy Young Award winner as a starter. The deal is worth
$2.5-million with performance clauses possibly adding to that total.
The 35-year-old is not expected to be ready for opening day. "It's a
no-risk deal for us," GM Alex Anthopoulos said. "He's just getting
into his throwing program right now. We're going to bring him in.
He's going to go at his own pace and we'll see what he has and how
he looks, but it will really be at his own pace as to when he might
be ready. ... If we can get him on the mound and (he is) healthy, we
don't have any doubts that he can be a very good starter. His stuff
was still good during the winter. The changeup's still there. He's a
great competitor, a great athlete, and it's a minor league deal, so
we don't have anything to lose." Santana, 35, has had surgery twice
for a torn anterior capsule in his left shoulder. Last spring
training, he injured his Achilles tendon with the Baltimore Orioles
and became a free agent. He pitched in the Venezuelan Winter League
and impressed before being shut down for the playoffs. His career
record in the majors is 139-78, with a 3.20 ERA in 284 starts.
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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Saunders, Michael
LF Michael Saunders will be out until at least the All-Star break
after surgery to repair in the meniscus in his left knee on Feb. 25
and immediate plans were to fill the position from within the
organization, which would make OF Kevin Pillar a leading candidate.
Saunders was injured when he tripped on sprinkler head while
shagging fly balls in batting practice. "Just shagging fly balls on
the back field on the minor- league side," the 28-year-old Saunders
said. "And just kind of lightly jogging after a ball and hit a
sprinkler head and my foot got jammed. To be honest I don't know
exactly how it happened. It stopped me in my tracks and I heard a
pop. I was almost scared to find out so I just kind of did my best
to get off the field and try to not draw any attention to myself
until I saw the training staff." Saunders was acquired in a trade
that sent LHP J.A. Happ to the Seattle Mariners.
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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Martin, Russell
C Russell Martin has been catching RHP R.A. Dickey using a
large-sized glove provided by the knuckleball pitcher. Martin has a
new glove but it has not been worked in yet. "I'm going to have to
throw it in the microwave or something, maybe get some oil on it,
wrap it with a softball in there and sleep on it," Martin said. The
catcher, signed in the offseason as a free agent, was impressed by
Dickey's knucklers, describing some of them as "filth." The hope is
that Martin could catch Dickey during the regular season. C Josh
Thole has been behind the plate for most of Dickey's starts in
recent years.
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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Dirks, Andy
OF Andy Dirks was expected to start baseball activities sometime
during the week of March 3 as he continues his comeback from back
surgery last March. He also had a hamstring injury and he was
limited to 14 minor league rehabilitation games in 2014. The
29-year-old signed a minor league contract during the offseason but
has yet to take part in the major league camp. Manager John Gibbons
is not counting on him to be ready for opening day. "No, I wouldn't
think," Gibbons said. "He still has some time he's going to need,
but that could change." When Dirks becomes ready, he could help in
left field now that a knee injury has put LF Michael Saunders out of
action until at least July. OF Kevin Pillar, OF Chris Dickerson, OF
Ezequiel Carrera, INF Chris Colabello, and INF Danny Valencia are
among the possible candidates. Dirks batted .276 with a .745 OPS in
297 career games with the Tigers, adding 24 home runs and 100 RBIs.
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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Dickerson, Chris
OF Chris Dickerson, 31, was signed to a minor league contract and
invited to major league spring training. He batted .244 with two
home runs and six RBIs in 41 games with the Cleveland Indians last
season and batted .309/.407/.479 in 65 games at Triple-A
Indianapolis. .In .355 major league games with Cleveland, Baltimore,
New York Yankees and Cincinnati, he is batting .257 with 17 homers
and 66 RBIs. Dickerson, who can play all three outfield positions,
could be in the mix for left field with LF Michael Saunders out with
a knee injury until July.
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