Phillies add veteran Guzman

Recently a club spokesman confirmed on Wednesday that the Phillies signed veteran outfielder Freddy Guzman to a Minor League contract, though his deal does not include an invitation to Spring Training. Guzman spent the 2009 season with the Triple-A affiliates of the Orioles, Mariners, Red Sox and Yankees, while also seeing action in 10 games for the Bronx Bombers. In 101 Minor League games last year, he batted .223 with a .272 on-base percentage, two homers.

Guzman has played parts of four big league seasons with the Padres, Rangers and Yankees, batting .211 with a .255 on-base percentage in 47 games. In six seasons in the Minor Leagues, he holds a .265 batting average and a .338 on-base percentage.
Hope Guzman is also a main center fielder when he puts on the phillies jersey.

Mariners agree to add Kotchman

The Mariners and first baseman Casey Kotchman have reached agreement on a one-year contract. Kotchman was acquired from the Red Sox on Jan. 7. Details of the agreement have not been announced, but it is believed that two sides split the difference and Kotchman will receive about $3.5 million in 2010.

Center fielder Franklin Gutierrez signed a four-year, $20.5 million contract extension on Jan. 8; right-handed relievers David Aardsma and Mark Lowe signed on Jan. 19 respectively; and, the following day, right-hander Felix Hernandez signed a five-year, $78 million contract extension and right-handed reliever Brandon League also reached an agreement. Fans look forward to seeing them playing for the team in the mariners jerseys.

Taguchi comes back to Japan

So Taguchi, who was a member of two World Series championship teams, is coming back to Japan, likely to finish up his career where it began. After eight seasons in the big leagues, Taguchi has signed with the Orix Buffaloes. Taguchi debuted with Orix in 1992 and spent 10 seasons with the club before signing as a free agent with the Cardinals in 2002, becoming the first Japanese-born player in the team history. His home run off Mets closer Billy Wagner in the ninth inning of the 2006 National League Championship Series was a great moment in St. Louis' run to the World Series.

Taguchi joined the Phillies in 2008 and earned his second World Series ring. He appeared in six games with the Cubs last year after spending most of the season in the Minor Leagues. It seems that we will not see him playing in his mlb jersey for a long time.

Walker joins Nationals with one-year deal

The Nationals has signed Tyler Walker with a free-agent reliever to a one-year, $650,000 contract. Walker is expected to be part of the relief corps, which includes Brian Bruney, Matt Capps and Eddie Guardado. He is coming off one of his better seasons, going 2-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 32 games in the phillies jersey. The seven-year veteran has played with the Mets, Giants and Rays.

Originally drafted by the Mets in the second round of the 1997 First-Year Player Draft, Walker is good at pitching on back-to-back days, having done this 69 times in his career. In order to put Walker on the 40-man roster, the Nats designated Marco Estrada for assignment. Estrada appeared in four games this past season and gave up five runs in 7 1/3 innings.

Nationals sign Miguel Batista

The Nationals have signed right-hander Miguel Batista to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Batista could be both a starter and a reliever. Last year he served as a reliever for the Mariners, going 7-4 with a 4.04 ERA in 56 games.Known as a poet and novelist, Batista has played in the big leagues for 15 seasons, going a combined 95-108 with a 4.54 ERA for eight teams.

He also has a history with Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, as they worked together when they were in the Diamondbacks. Rizzo was the team's scouting director, and Batista was a starter. They were with Arizona when the team won its only World Series in 2001. Let us put on nationals jerseys and support him.

Astros' Paul feels good after Haiti earthquake

Dieudone Paul, a left-handed pitcher in the Astros' system who was born in Haiti, was in the Dominican Republic with his family and was unharmed during the earthquake. Houston assistant general manager Ricky Bennett said coordinator of player development Allen Rowin contacted Paul on Thursday and was informed his family was unharmed. Paul was signed in June and posted a 1.65 ERA for the Dominican Summer League Astros last year. "He is lucky, obviously, because his family is safe and sound," Bennett said. "It was difficult to find out because of the lack of communication. But the staff located him and he talked with his family and he was fine."

Commissioner Bud Selig announced that MLB has pledged an immediate donation of $1 million to support earthquake relief. The donations are aiding victims by providing necessary supplies to assist with recovery efforts, including clean water and sanitation, medical supplies and temporary shelter. This piece of news will comfort Paul's fans and they will see him playing in his astros jersey sooner or lanter.

Yankees donate $500K to Haiti relief

It is announced that the Yankees donated $500,000 in support of rescue and relief efforts following the tragic earthquake in Haiti.The earthquake measured a 7.0 on the Richter scale and the International Red Cross says a third of Haiti's 9 million people may need emergency help.

"The catastrophic event has devastated an entire nation and will have far-reaching effects in the worldwide Haitian community," the Yankees said in a statement. "The Yankees hope their donation will inspire people throughout the United States to do everything they can to aid the people of Haiti in their time of need."

Rockies sign with Jay Payton

Rockies player development director Marc Gustafson announced that the Rockies signed Payton, who didn't play in the Majors in 2009, to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. Gustafson also said the Rockies completed working on a Minor League deal with catcher Paul Lo Duca, a former All-Star who also didn't play in 2009.

Payton hit .309 with 33 home runs in the rockies jersey before signing with the Padres as a free agent. He last played for the Orioles in 2008, when he hit .243 with seven homers and 41 RBIs. Lo Duca played for manager Jim Tracy with the Dodgers. A .286 hitter in 11 seasons, Lo Duca hit .243 for the Nationals and Marlins in 2008.

Cubs sign Minors deal with Bryan Lahair

The Cubs have signed first baseman LaHair to a Minor League contract and he will be an invitees this spring. FOX Sports first reported that LaHair will compete for a spot on the Cubs' bench. The left-handed hitter has spent his entire career in the Seattle Mariners. Last year at Triple-A Tacoma, he batted .289 with 26 homers and 85 RBIs.

In 2008, LaHair appeared in 45 games with the Mariners and batted .250 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in his mariners jersey. Micah Hoffpauir began the 2009 season on the Opening Day roster, but hit .239 in 105 games. The Cubs are expected to announce their non-roster invitees later this month.

Winn isn't aware Nats' interest about him

Some reports indicated that the Nationals have interest in signing free-agent outfielder Randy Winn. However, Winn said he has not heard anything about the Nationals having interest in him. Even a baseball source said he didn't see Winn coming to Washington because the Nationals are likely to be set with a starting outfield of Josh Willingham, Nyjer Morgan and Elijah Dukes, with Roger Bernadina and Justin Maxwell waiting. If Winn were to become a member of the Nationals, he would be considered a fourth outfielder. "Like I said, I've never even received a call from them," Winn said. "I don't believe my agent has either. Whether they do or don't has not been expressed to me."

Winn is a 12-year Major League veteran and has played the past four-plus seasons with the Giants. Winn hit .262 with two home runs and 51 RBIs in 149 games in 2009 in giants jersey.

Dodgers sign Ortiz and Restovich

The Dodgers announced that the club have signed free-agent pitcher Russ Ortiz and outfielder Michael Restovich to Minor League contracts with invitations to Major League Spring Training. Ortiz has been released by Arizona from a $33 million contract and missed the 2008 season with Tommy John elbow reconstruction. He pitched for three organizations last year, going 3-6 with a 5.57 ERA in the Major Leagues with Houston in the astros jersey.

The 31-year-old Restovich has spent parts of six seasons in the Majors, most recently 2007 with Washington Nationals. He spent last year with the White Sox Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte.

Tigers' Laird brothers were arrested

According to Phoenix police, Tigers catcher Gerald Laird and his younger brother, Brandon were arrested on suspicion of assault and disorderly conduct last Wednesday in Phoenix. The two ballplayers, plus another man, were arrested after a Phoenix Suns game at U.S. Airways Arena. Gerald Laird was cited for assault, while Brandon was cited for disorderly conduct. Also arrested was Gregory Scott Collins on suspicion of assault after the Suns beat the Boston Celtics.

"While security guards were trying to arrest the suspect for disorderly conduct, the Laird brothers interfered and assaulted the security guards," Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill said. Brandon Laird is an infield prospect with the Yankees. He played for the Surprise Rafters in the Arizona Fall League. It seems that Gerald Laird will take off his tigers jersey for a while because of this incident.

Rockies may sign Olivo

A report on Wednesday indicated that the Rockies were attempting to sign a deal with Olivo to be the primary backup. In December Iannetta signed a three-year extension with the team worth $8.3 million. Olivo hit .249 with 23 home runs and 65 RBIs in 2009 with the Kansas City Royals. He also has played parts of three seasons with the Padres and Marlins.

The Rockies' decision to add Olivo means the end of Yorvit Torrealba's run in Colorado. Torrealba was seeking a two-year deal worth $6 million to return to Colorado Rockies. Last month Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd told the paper that he was not optimistic about being reached to retain Torrealba. Hope Olivo can put on the rockies jersey successfully.

Former Astros scout dies at 95

It is announced that Stan Benjamin, a former scout for the Houston Astros, passed away last Thursday at the age of 95.
Benjamin joined the Astros in 1965 and worked in the organization for nearly 40 years as a scout at the amateur and professional levels. His duties included serving as a Major League scout covering the American League East clubs for several seasons. He also served as Houston's amateur scouting supervisor for the Northeast section of the country.

"Stan was a vital cog in the Astros organization," said Astros president of baseball operations Tal Smith. "He was a keen judge of talent and had great personal associations throughout the game as a result of his long career as a player, high school coach, college basketball official and scout," Smith added. "All of us who knew Stan will have great memories of him."

Nationals sign veteran southpaw Guardado to Minors deal

The Nationals announced that they have agreed to terms with reliever Eddie Guardado on a Minor League deal with an invite to big league Spring Training. The club have been interested in Guardado since the Winter Meetings. According to a baseball source, team scouts told general manager Mike Rizzo that Guardado would be a big help to the club. During his 17 seasons in the big leagues, he has played in 908 games and saved 187 of them in his mlb jersey. He is best known for his years as the Twins' closer. His best season was in 2002, when he saved 45 games.

Guardado is one of three relievers acquired by the Nationals this offseason. The club traded for right-hander Brian Bruney on Dec. 7 and agreed to term with former Pirates closer Matt Capps on Christmas Eve.

Decker is named to lead Fresno Grizzlies

Former Major League catcher Steve Decker has been named manager of the Giants' Triple-A affiliate Fresno Grizzlies.
Decker, who is considered a managerial candidate for the Major Leagues will be joined in Fresno by beating coach Ken Joyce, pitching coach Pat Rice and trainer Anthony Reyes. Decker has progressed quickly through the Giants farm system, having managed at Salem-Keizer in 2005, Class A San Jose in 2008 and Double-A Connecticut in 2009, where he reached the Eastern League finals. He previously served as Triple-A batting coach.

Decker played seven seasons in the Major Leagues, four as the catcher in the giants jersey. Joyce takes over for Hensley Muelens, who was promoted to Major League batting coach. Rice returns as pitching coach for a second season. He previously spent 13 seasons in the Seattle system.

Juan Uribe will return to Giants

According to FoxSports.com, the utility infielder is close to returning to the Giants. Uribe has been testing the free-agent market after playing in San Francisco through a one-year deal worth a little over $1 million. In 122 games he batted .289 with 16 home runs and 55 RBIs. It marked Uribe's highest average since hitting .283 with the White Sox in 2004 in the white sox jersey

Uribe was the starting shortstop for the 2005 World Series champion White Sox as one of the best defensive players in the American League at his position. He played 44 games at third base last year, 41 at shortstop and 38 at second base.

Dodgers and White Sox complete Juan Pierre deal

The Dodgers acquired right-handed pitchers John Ely and Jon Link from the Chicago White Sox to complete Juan Pierre trade. Ely was a starter for Double-A Birmingham in 2009 with a league-leading 125 strikeouts in 156 innings. He is known as an adequate fastball and is considered to be a fifth-starter candidate. He was a third-round pick in 2007. Link saved 13 games at Triple-A in 2009, when he was striking out 66 but walking 27 in 56 1/3 innings in his white sox jersey. He is known as a hard thrower who has come across troubles for most of his seven professional seasons.

Juan Pierre has two years remaining on his contract of which the Dodgers will pay $10.5 million and the White Sox paying $8 million. The basic purpose of the deal for the Dodgers was to provide some payroll relief to obtain a starting pitcher.

Philles add Ross Gload to bench

It is reported that Ross Gload has passed his physical in Philadelphia to finalize a two-year contract with the Phillies. And it is said that he will make $1 million in 2010 and $1.6 million in 2011. Gload hit six home runs and 30 RBIs in 125 games last season with the Florida Marlins. He becomes the final piece on a Phillies bench that includes infielder Greg Dobbs, outfielder Ben Francisco, catcher Brian Schneider and infielder Juan Castro.3.

Gload is a career .300 pinch-hitter, which is the highest average for any active pinch-hitter with 140. Now Gload, who hits left-handed, is known as a fine defensive first basemen, but he can also play the outfield. Now it is time for us to put on the phillies jerseys and support him.

Padres give invitation to Denorfia

The Padres announced that they signed outfielder Chris Denorfia to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Denorfia has a .279 batting average in 208 Major League at-bats with Cincinnati and Oakland. Last season, Denorfia spent most of the season with the Oakland's Triple-A Sacramento affiliate, hitting .271 with nine home runs and 15 stolen bases. Denorfia got 120 at-bats with the Reds during the 2006 season in the reds jersey.

The Padres like Denorfia's versatility and that he can play all three outfield positions. There will be plenty of competition for jobs in the outfield in Spring Training. If there is nothing else, the addition of Denorfia will give Padres outfield depth in Triple-A Portland.