Minor League FA list and signings

[Guacarock]

Interesting life story for Arshwin Asjes.

http://antillen.nu/content/view/407/155/

[corkedbat]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

Talked to a scout last night who saw Asjes pitch last season. Says he is 89-91 with a decent slider. No third pitch. Sounds like solid bullpen depth for the farm.

Sounds like a job for Super Mario!

[lollipopcurve]

Interesting life story for Arshwin Asjes.

http://antillen.nu/content/view/407/155/

Thanks, Guac. Excellent article. Sounds like Asjes would make a good mentor for Sulbaran.

[JaxRed]

Originally Posted by Guacarock

Here's a Wikipedia report on pitcher Chad Reineke, who began his career in the Astros organization as a reliever but has been used increasingly as a starter, getting a couple of ML starts for the Padres and Oakland A's. Of note:

* He's from Defiance, Ohio and attended Miami U
* He's been traded for Randy Wolf
* He just got married
* And he has at least one dedicated fan because someone already updated his Wikipedia entry to reflect today's signing by the Reds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_Reineke

Or Chad has some computer skills

[chicoruiz]

"Scrappy, undersized, and speedy, Danielson is a great clubhouse presence at any level. He's very capable defensively, able to play all three outfield positions well with great range. Strong arm, big league glove. At the plate, Danielson is a slap hitter who will dig out a few doubles but doesn't have much power. Some on base ability, runs the bases well. Has the potential to be a late inning defensive replacement and pinch runner at the MLB level."

Sound like a switch-hitting Norris Hopper...except for the strong arm part.

[mace]

Is anybody seeing a trend here, in terms of the type of player that Jocketty is gathering? He re-signs Corky Miller, whose best (perhaps only) asset is his ability to handle pitchers and be a strong team presence. He re-signs Justin Lehr, who is credited with being a mentor for Bailey and others. He acquires and then extends Rolen, who last year established himself as the Reds' leading role model. He acquires Danielson, who is described as "a great clubhouse presence." He acquires Asjes, who apparently willed himself into the game. He acquires Burke, who is best known for his energy. He goes after Counsell, a consummate pro . . . It seems pretty evident to me that he's intent on building up the organization's base of character. Obviously, that doesn't supersede the need for arms and bats; but I like it.

[redsof72]

Some of these guys are Reynolds signings. The farm director will have a budget for six year free agents. In some cases, Jocketty probably would not be involved unless the player has a split contract or a relatively large minor league deal that requires that the farm director get some help from the big league side in paying the player. Yes, Burke is going to be signed by Jocketty or Bavasi because his contract would blow Reynolds' budget, I am sure.

Danielson, I would expect, was signed by Reynolds and is slated for Carolina to fill the role that Cumberland filled last season or maybe as a fifth outfielder in Louisville.

Your point is well taken. Different players bring different things of value to the table. Bowden loved guys with off-the-charts physical skills, athletic guys who could hit the ball a mile in batting practice (see Wily Mo, Ruben Rivera for a time) even if they lacked instincts or even functional baseball skills.

[mace]

Good call. At the same time, I suppose, it could be emerging as an organizational philosophy. I know that Rick Sweet feels strongly about guys like Lehr and Miller, and in fact lobbied to bring back both of them last year.

[redsof72]

I am sure you are right. Managers love players with leadership skills. Leadership is a much more important quality than most give it credit. There is no statistic to measure how many times the team fell behind by three runs in the sixth inning, and seven guys were ready to fax it in the rest of the way, and one or two guys stayed on them to stay focused and keep battling.

I remember when the Dragons lost Frazier in '08 and the team went into a terrible funk, something like 6-26 after being in first place with Frazier there, and Donnie Scott would tell you that the most important thing they lost with Frazier was the leadership.

[Doc. Scott]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=7417

Cincinnati Reds

Signed: RHP Arshwin Asjes (Midwest (Frontier)), RHP Chad Reineke, OF Sean Danielson, OF Laynce Nix (re-signed)

A native of Curacao, Asjes went undrafted out of Temple in ‘08 and signed on to play in the Frontier League. The 24-year-old saved 12 games in 33 appearances this year, notching a 34-to-16 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 36 innings.
---

Looks like previous posters already covered the signings of Asjes, Danielson and Reineke. Reineke has been in the majors each of the last two years- he seems consistent, without too many really good or really bad seasons on his resume. Danielson is a 5'8" former NDFA with zero power but a decent batting eye and speed. Asjes had mixed results at Temple.

Atlanta released Micah's younger brother Jon Mark, an outfielder.

The Angels signed LHP Camilo Vazquez.

Milwaukee picked up INF Anderson Machado out of the independent Atlantic League. He hit .193 there in 2009, so we know Dan O'Brien still has a job in the Brewer organization.

The Mets re-upped RHR Elmer Dessens.

Oakland signed RHR Marcus McBeth (the A's were his original organization).

San Diego signed OF Chris Denorfia. Also previously covered. He might get a significant chance there; they've got perpetual depth problems. Deno had a healthy but subpar 2009 (.271/.317/.398 in the PCL).

Texas got SS Ray Olmedo. After Toronto let Olmedo go following the 07 season (he did get into 27 games with them that year), he hasn't been back in the big leagues. He spent 2008 in the Washington organization and 2009 with Tampa, having pretty much the same line both years (.252/.292/.340 and .250/.290/.335). The bat's never come around, obviously.

[Doc. Scott]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=7437

December 21-31

The Cubs signed RHR Jeff Kennard. Kennard did some good work in the Louisville pen last year.

Florida signed 2B Danny Richar. Best of luck to Danny in his injury recovery.

Washington signed LHR Eddie Guardado. Last go-round, most likely, for the crafty lefty.

[camisadelgolf]

Andy Green also re-signed with the Mets.

[OnBaseMachine]

Cincinnati Reds
Signed: RHP Jesus Delgado, RHP Justin Lehr (re-signed), RHP Daryl Thompson (re-signed), OF Josh Anderson, OF Luis Terrero

Terrero enjoyed a huge year in the Mexican League last season, batting .345/.440/.603 with 21 home runs in 103 games for Laguna. Of course, the run-scoring environment in Mexico is elevated, but Terrero still ranked fifth in the ML in slugging (Ruben Rivera finished on top), third with 54 extra-base hits and fourth with 90 RBIs. At the conclusion of the Mexican League season, Terrero played indy ball with Kansas City of the Northern League for 10 games.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/...7444#more-7444

[OnBaseMachine]

I like the re-signing of Daryl Thompson. I'd move him to the bullpen. Maybe he'll be more effective and stay healthier pitching in short stints as opposed to starting every fifth day.

[mace]

Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine

I like the re-signing of Daryl Thompson. I'd move him to the bullpen. Maybe he'll be more effective and stay healthier pitching in short stints as opposed to starting every fifth day.

I'd agree with all of that. Recalling how Thompson came out blowing away the Yankees (at Yankee Stadium) in his first start, it suggests that he responds well to heightened circumstances, and has the stuff to go with it.