Baltimore Orioles: Rookie right-hander Hayden Penn was optioned to
Double-A Bowie on Friday by the Orioles, who will attempt
to use a four-man rotation until the All-Star break.
Penn never pitched above the Double-A level before joining the
Orioles in late May to replace the injured Erik Bedard in the
starting rotation. He was 2-0 after five games, but lost his last
two starts while yielding a total of 12 runs and 15 hits in 5 2/3
innings.
Penn allowed five runs, seven hits and three walks in 3 2/3
innings Thursday against Cleveland. The Orioles hope the
20-year-old will return to form in the minor leagues.
The Orioles will replace Penn on Saturday by purchasing the
contract of left-hander Tim Byrdak from Triple-A Ottawa. Byrdak,
31, last pitched in the majors in 2000 with Kansas City.
He was 3-2 with a 2.11 ERA and 11 saves in 36 games with the
Lynx. He will work out of the bullpen.
With an off-day coming up Wednesday, Baltimore will rotate four
starters through July 10. Daniel Cabrera will pitch Saturday,
followed by Sidney Ponson. Bruce Chen will pitch Monday in New York
and Rodrigo Lopez, who started against Cleveland on Friday night,
is scheduled to pitch on three days rest Tuesday.
The Orioles will return to a five-man rotation after the break.
They hope that Bedard, who's been sidelined with a sprained knee
ligament, will be part of the equation.
Detroit Tigers: Justin Verlander, currently rated No. 1 on Baseball America's weekly Prospect Hot Sheet, will make his major league debut Monday against the Indians in the second game of a doubleheader.
"You never know what can happen," Verlander told the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch. "They told me [yesterday] that they had a sixth spot [in the rotation] open and I was the guy. I'm pretty stoked about it."
The hard-throwing right-hander was Detroit's top pick in the 2004 draft (No. 2 overall) out of Old Dominion.
According to the Tigers' Web site, Verlander will be sent back to Double-A Erie (Pa.) after the start.
Verlander began the season at Class-A Lakeland (Fla.), where he went 9-2 with a 1.67 ERA in 13 starts. In 86 innings, he has struck out 104 and walked 19.
Kansas City Roayls: The Royals activated Mike Sweeney off the 15-day disabled list and optioned first
baseman Justin Huber to Double-A Wichita.
Sweeney missed 13 games with a sprained left wrist. He was used
as the designated hitter against the Los Angeles Angels and
probably will not play in the field until after the All-Star break,
manager Buddy Bell said.
Florida Marlins: The Marlins are leaning toward skipping
struggling left-hander Al Leiter's next turn in the rotation in
favor of rookie Scott Olsen.
Manager Jack McKeon said Friday before Florida played
the New York Mets that he was considering giving Olsen his second
career start Monday against Milwaukee.
Leiter, who signed a one-year, $8 million contract in the
offseason to return to the team he helped lead to the World Series
title in 1997, has been ineffective. He is 3-6 in 15 starts with a
6.45 ERA this season.
"I didn't expect this at all, knowing what I'd seen of him in
the past," McKeon said. "I thought he'd be a guy who'd win 12 to
14 games for us."
Leiter went 10-8 with a 3.21 ERA last season for the Mets and is
158-126 in his 19-year career.
McKeon said that he had spoken to Leiter about starting Olsen.
"What would you expect? He was fine, but he was disappointed,"
McKeon said.
Minnesota Twins: Minnesota infielder Michael Cuddyer showed up
at the stadium with a sore and swollen left hand, causing
the Twins enough concern to send him for a CT scan.
The test revealed a deep bone bruise, stemming from a pitch by
Kansas City's D.J. Carrasco that hit him there during Wednesday's
game. Manager Ron Gardenhire said before Friday's game against
Tampa Bay that Cuddyer will likely be out at least the weekend.
"He has no strength in it," said Gardenhire, who has been
forced to constantly shuffle his infield this season. "We were
hoping that he would be a little better, and he's not."
Luis Rodriguez, essentially the regular second baseman during
June with Nick Punto and Luis Rivas both hurt, played third base on
Friday. If Cuddyer has to miss more time, Minnesota could recall
Terry Tiffee again from Triple-A. Glenn Williams had assumed the
starting job at third from the struggling Cuddyer, but Williams
dislocated his shoulder earlier this week and was placed on the
disabled list.
Second baseman Brent Abernathy was activated from the DL on
Friday, and Punto could come back from his rehabilitation
assignment as soon as Sunday.
Reserve outfielder Michael Ryan and backup catcher
Mike Redmond
have each been taking groundballs at third, in case they're needed.
Seattle Mariners: The Mariners activated infielder Scott Spiezio from the 15-day disabled list and optioned infielder Jose Lopez to Triple-A Tacoma.
The Mariners also activated catcher Wiki Gonzalez from the
15-day disabled list and optioned him to Tacoma.
Spiezio, 32, was placed on the disabled list on April 20 after
straining his left oblique while pinch-hitting. He just finished an
11-game rehabilitation assignment at Tacoma.
In eight games with the Mariners this season, he hit .083
(1-for-12). In 112 games with Seattle last season, he hit .215 with
10 homers and 41 RBI.
During the offseason, the Mariners signed free agents Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson to play third and first base for them in
2005. Those are the positions Spiezio plays.
Lopez, 21, is regarded as the Mariners' second baseman of the
future and is expected to replace Bret Boone next season. Boone
will be a free agent at the end of this season.
After being recalled June 17, Lopez hit .250 (5-for-20) with two
doubles, two runs scored and four RBI in six games for Seattle. He
replaced Boone at second when Boone was benched to work on his
hitting mechanics.
Gonzalez, 31, was placed on the disabled list with a strained
left hamstring after trying to beat out a grounder in a game on May
14. He played eight rehabilitation games at Tacoma. In four games
with the Mariners this season, he hit .375 with two RBI.
San Diego Padres: University of Miami right-hander Cesar
Carrillo, San Diego's first-round pick in last month's draft,
agreed to a contract Friday that includes a $1.55 million signing
bonus.
Carrillo was the 18th overall pick. He went 13-3 with a 2.22 ERA
in 18 starts and one relief appearance this season, with 127
strikeouts. He earned Atlantic Coast Conference pitcher of the year
honors and was on the All-ACC first team.
Carrillo set a school record by winning his first 24 decisions,
the fourth-longest winning streak in NCAA Division I history.
During the streak, Carrillo compiled a 2.32 ERA in 34 games,
including 30 starts, while striking out 195 and holding opponents
to a .214 batting average.
The Padres also agreed to terms with third baseman Chase Headley
(second round), catcher Nicholas Hundley (second round),
right-hander Joshua Geer (third round) and outfielder Joshua Alley
(10th round).
The Padres have agreed to terms with 10 of their 12 picks in the
first 10 rounds and 25 of the 52 players drafted.
St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals signed
first-round draft picks Tyler Greene and Mark McCormick to minor-league contracts.
Greene, a shortstop from Georgia Tech, was the Cardinals' second
pick of the draft and the 30th overall selection. McCormick, a
right-handed pitcher, was the 44th selection with a supplemental
pick and recently completed his college career at Baylor with a
trip to the College World Series.
The Cardinals have signed 36 of their 51 picks from the June 7
draft, including all 14 players selected in the first 10 rounds.
Washington Nationals: The Nationals activated left-handed pitcher Joey Eischen from the 60-day disabled list and called up infielder Rick Short from Triple-A New Orleans.
Eischen was 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA in 15 relief appearances before breaking a bone in his right wrist. Short is in his second stint with the Nationals this season. He singled and drove in a run in his only major-league at-bat June 10 against Seattle.
Eischen and Short replace outfielder Ryan Church and right-handed pitcher Travis Hughes. Church went on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained ligament in his right rib cage before Friday's game and Hughes was sent to Triple-A after Thursday's game against Pittsburgh.
Nationals minor-leaguers suspended: Two Nationals minor-league players
were suspended by the commissioner's office for violating
baseball's minor league drug policy, including a 105-game
punishment handed to Double-A infielder Ramon Castro.
Triple-A shortstop Josh Labandeira was suspended 15 games.
Castro had two separate violations of the program and was fined an
undisclosed amount.
They are the first Nationals to be suspended for violating the
drug program. Their suspensions bring the number of minor leaguers
penalized for violations under the minor league program to 77. Five
have been suspended under the major-league policy.
"We support the commissioner's office, the minor-league drug
program," general manager Jim Bowden said. "We're disappointed in
the violation that two of our players caused, but we support the
system 100 percent. And hopefully, this will be a good experience
for the players involved and it won't happen again in the future."
Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates purchased the contract of highly touted pitching prospect Zach Duke from their Indianapolis farm team and released former No. 1 draft pick Bobby Bradley to make room on their 40-man roster.
The 22-year-old Duke will make his major-league debut for the Pirates when he starts Saturday night in Milwaukee against the Brewers. He will start in place of Oliver Perez, who is out three to six weeks with a broken left big toe after kicking a laundry cart in the clubhouse in St. Louis on Sunday.
Duke was 12-3 with a 2.92 ERA in 16 starts for Indianapolis. He led the International League in wins and innings pitched (108) and was fourth in ERA.
Last season, Duke had the lowest ERA of any pitcher in minor-league baseball, 1.46, in 26 starts with Single-A Lynchburg and Double-A Altoona. He was invited to the Pirates' major-league spring camp this year as a non-roster player where he was 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA in four games.
Bradley was the Pirates' top pick in 1999 and the eighth overall pick that year but never pitched above the Double-A level because of arm injuries and control problems.
The Pirates also sent outfielder Nate McLouth back to Indianapolis. McLouth joined the team for their series against the Nationals to fill Perez's spot on the 25-man roster.
Anaheim Angels: The Angels put Robb Quinlan
on the 15-day disabled list and brought up right-hander
Kevin Gregg from Triple-A Salt Lake.
Royals' physician Dr. Steven Joyce said an MRI indicated a mild
disc bulge in Quinlan's neck and inflammation in his left shoulder.
Quinlan, an infielder-outfielder, has been having a nagging problem
in the area.
Gregg provides the Angels with a bullpen replacement for
reliever Brendan Donnelly, who began serving an eight-game
suspension on Friday for having pine tar on his glove.