Here we present official minor league transactions, conveyed to us by Major League Baseball, for the period Nov. 20-26.

We saw a smattering of 40-man roster additions last time, but here we complete the picture of players shielded from the Rule 5 draft.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Signed: RHP Robert Coe (St. Paul (American Association)), RHP Chris Cox (Quebec (Can-Am)), 1B Mark Teahen, 3B Ryan Stovall (Fargo-Moorhead (American Association))

Atlanta Braves
Signed: RHP Reinier Roll

Baltimore Orioles
Added to 40-man roster: LHP Mike Belfiore, 2B Jonathan Schoop
Removed from 40-man: RHP Oliver Drake (outrighted to Triple-A) [...] Continue Reading »

Anthony Alford, an outfielder in the Jays farm system and quarterback at Southern Miss, has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault according to the Sun Herald of Biloxi (Miss.). Alford and Korey Hathorn, another student, were arrested on campus after being involved in a fight on Wednesday.

Hathorn was charged with possession of a felony weapon on campus by a student. The altercation did not cause any injuries. The Sun Herald states that the incident happened around 11 a.m. and involved four people, two of whom were not students.

[...] Continue Reading »

Here we present official minor league transactions, conveyed to us by Major League Baseball, for the period Nov. 13-19.

You'll find that many teams in this installment have added players to the 40-man roster in order to shield them from the Rule 5 draft. However, since the deadline for teams to carry out that process was Nov. 20, this list here is a partial one. BA subscribers can check out the early Rule 5 Preview.

The expanded Minor League Free Agent Tracker has all the signings through mid-November.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Signed: LHP Rommie Lewis (Bridgeport (Atlantic)), 1B Kila Ka'aihue
Added to 40-man roster: RHP Chase Anderson, RHP Charles Brewer, RHP Eric Smith, LHP Eury de la Rosa, OF Keon Broxton

Atlanta Braves
Signed: RHP James Hoyt (Tabasco (Mexican)), RHP Jonathan Santiago, LHP Dusty Hughes (re-signed), C Shawn McGill (re-signed)
Released: RHP Kevin McKague, LHP Matt Fouch, LHP Elvin Garcia, LHP Mike Hashem, C Ryan Query, 1B Mike Spina, 2B Luis Madrid, 3B Angel Vargas, OF Emmanuel Daniel, OF Kurt Fleming
Added to 40-man roster: RHP David Hale, RHP Aaron Northcraft, RHP Cory Rasmus, RHP Zeke Spruill, C Christian Bethancourt

Righthanded reliever James Hoyt pitched for Centenary College (La.) in ’10, joined the independent North American League for the ’11 season and then latched on with the indy American Association and Mexican League this year. The 26-year-old has shown swing-and-miss stuff for four different pro teams—Yuma, Edinburg, Wichita and Tabasco—striking out 104 batters over 78 relief innings. Of course, he's also walked 5.3 batters per nine innings in that time.

Among the released players are a pair of former Army pitchers: Kevin McKague, a 23rd-round righty drafted this year, and lefty Matt Fouch, who had been on baseball's military list since July ’10. [...] Continue Reading »

UPDATE: Brazil won the qualifier, beating Panama 1-0.

Host Panama took a big early lead and held off Colombia 9-7 to advance to the winner-take-all final against Brazil.

Big league veteran Carlos Lee hit a two-run homer as part of a five-run second inning, and 39-year-old Ruben Rivera added a solo shot for insurance in the seventh for Panama. Ramiro Mendoza got the victory with 2 1/3 scoreless innings, while Cubs righthander Manny Corpas got the final outs for the save. Rays farmhand Isaias Velasquez had a pair of hits and three RBIs to set the pace for the Panamanian offense. Veteran righty Alberto Acosta, who pitched in the Yankees' system in the late 1990s, got the start and got five of his 10 outs via strikeout. [...] Continue Reading »

Taiwan completed a near-perfect run through the overmatched field in the World Baseball Classic qualifier field at New Taipei City, allowing the host nation to earn a spot in the WBC proper in March.

Taiwan beat New Zealand 9-0 in the qualifier finale as five pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout. Taiwan won its three qualifier games by a combined score of 35-0, beating the Philippines and New Zealand twice. [...] Continue Reading »

BA intern Peter Wardell checked in from the AFL championship game with some observations of his own:

• Lost in the shuffle of Brian Goodwin’s seventh-inning baserunning blunder was Peoria right fielder Rymer Liriano (Padres)’s impressive, accurate throw to the plate. The 21-year-old’s plus arm has earned the distinction of Best Outfield Arm in the Padres’ system three straight seasons and ranks among the best in all of the minor leagues.

• Peoria outfielder Billy Hamilton (Reds) showed off his elite speed all over the diamond on Saturday—tripling to center field in the first, drag-bunting for a single in the second and very nearly tracking down a well-hit ball to right-center in the eighth, a play that would knock him out of the game. On his bunt single, Hamilton timed 3.45 seconds home-to-first. It was the third fastest time I personally had gotten on him this fall (Best: 3.39 sec at Rising Stars Game).

• Hamilton wasn’t the only Reds player to excite however. Peoria shortstop Didi Gregorius (Reds) made a pair of impressive plays on shallow pop-ups into left field and got the chance to show off his plus arm on a tough fifth-inning chopper.

• Salt River second baseman Carlos Sanchez (White Sox) registered the game’s only stolen base. A slightly above-average runner, Sanchez led the AFL in stolen bases this fall with 11. Hamilton ended up with 10.

• Peoria righthander Carson Smith (Mariners) impressed in his inning of work with a pair of strikeouts. Smith, who throws from a low three-quarters arm slot, sits 93-95 with his fastball, mixing in an 85-87 mph slider with good bite.
 
 

Righthander James Wilson scattered six hits and gave up only one run in 4 2/3 innings, and New Zealand took advantage of seven Philippines errors to earn a 10-6 victory and earn a spot in the finals opposite Taiwan in the World Baseball Classic qualifier.

Righthanders Jonathan and Lincoln Holdzkom both pitched, with Jonathan, a member of the Reds organization, recording three of his four outs via strikeout; brother Lincoln got the last four outs for the save, pitching on one day's rest after throwing 46 pitches in a loss to Taiwan in New Zealand's opener. [...] Continue Reading »

Astros farmhand Murilo Gouvea retired the first 10 batters he faced, and Rays farmhand Leonardo Reginatto scored two of Brazil's runs and drove in a third as Brazil upset Panama 3-2 to open the World Baseball Classic qualifying tournament.

Managed by Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin, Brazil left nine runners on base but overcame that to beat the host nation in front of 13,728 fans at Rod Carew Stadium. The Panamanian lineup featured three big leaguers in the middle with Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada batting second, Phillies all-star catcher Carlos Ruiz hitting third and veteran Carlos Lee hitting cleanup. Gouvea retired Tejada twice, but left in the eighth with a 3-2 lead when Ruiz and Lee chased him with back-to-back singles.

Righthander Kesley Kondo, a Sao Paolo native who pitched the last two seasons out of the University of Utah's bullpen, relieved and got out of the jam. He retired a pair of ex-big leaguers, 39-year-old Ruben Rivera and 40-year-old Jose Macias, on groundouts to retire the side. Kondo, 22, posted a 3.40 ERA in 2012 for the Utes in 48 innings, and gave way to hard-throwing Thyago Vieira for the ninth. The Mariners farmhand, whose fastball has reached 97 mph, retired the side in the ninth to record the save.

[...] Continue Reading »

Host Taiwan has baseball history, and it stands out in a big way compared to its competition in the World Baseball Classic qualifier being played in New Taipei City.

A crowd of 9,788 watched the host shut out New Zealand by a 10-0 score in seven innings, as Taiwan posted an eight-run fifth inning after chasing the Diamondblacks' most recognizable pitcher, righthander Lincoln Holdzkom. A seventh-round pick in 2001 by the Marlins, Holdzkom reached Triple-A with the Red Sox in 2008 and last pitched in the affiliated minors in 2009. He never started a game above Rookie ball but lasted into the fourth against a team of Taiwanese players who are veterans of the country's domestic Chinese Professional Baseball League. [...] Continue Reading »

Here we present official minor league transactions, conveyed to us by Major League Baseball, for the period Nov. 6-12.

Please see the new-and-improved Minor League Free Agent Tracker to monitor player movement and see who's still available.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Signed: RHP Eddie Bonine, RHP Garrett Mock, OF Brad Snyder
Released: LHP Mike Hampton

Mike Hampton made 14 appearances in the Diamondbacks organization in ’10, but he had been voluntarily retired since March ’11. [Edit: As noted in the comments below, Hampton will serve as pitching coach for the Angels' Double-A Arkansas club next season, a hiring that required his release from Arizona.]

Atlanta Braves
Signed: RHP Wilmi Francisco

Chicago Cubs
Signed: RHP Blake Parker (re-signed)
Released: 1B Rebel Ridling [...] Continue Reading »

The 2013 28-team World Baseball Classic is down to 22 teams, with eight in action this weekend. Panama and Taiwan will play host to four-team WBC qualifiers that will feature major league veterans such as Johnny Damon, Carlos Lee and Edgar Renteria.

Lee, 36 and coming off his 14th major league season, will play for Panama, which plays host to Brazil, Colombia and Nicaragua.

Damon, who just turned 39, will play for Thailand in a qualifier with host Taiwan, New Zealand and the Philippines. Damon's mother has a Thai background, which made him eligible to play for the Asian nation that has little baseball tradition.

Some quick highlights from the qualifier rosters: [...] Continue Reading »

Former Giants minor league righthander Rafael Martinez faces a 50-game suspension if and when he signs with a new organization. He refused to take a test, which is a violation of the drug prevention and treatment program.

Martinez qualified for and was granted minor league free agency a week ago. Signed by the Giants in October 2005, he spent four seasons in the Dominican Summer League, one in the Rookie-level Arizona League and this season with short-season Salem-Keizer, for whom he made 13 relief appearances.

The Padres have signed four amateur prospects from Latin America, including 17-year-old Dominican outfielder Euri Minaya for $700,000. 

Minaya, who is 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, projects as a right fielder, as his best tools are his righthanded raw power and arm strength. Several scouts leading up to July 2 had concerns about Minaya's propensity to swing and miss, particularly at breaking pitches, but Minaya impressed the Padres with his ability to make swing adjustments since then. Minaya, who had surgery to remove the hamate bone from his left hand in April 2011 and got back on the field last year in October, trained with Valentin Monero and was represented by Rob Plummer.

The Padres also signed Starling Ynfante, an 18-year-old Dominican righthander, for $200,000. At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, Ynfante's arm works well, his fastball sits in the low-90s with heavy action and has touched 94. He also throws a firm changeup with some promise and a curveball. Ynfante trained with Victor Baez and was represented by Jim Sanson and Luis Scheker. 

A third Dominican prospect, Ronaldo Jose Contreras, signed with the Padres for $140,000. Contreras, 16, has started to fill out his athletic frame and is now 6-foot-3, 195 pounds with good bat speed and power potential from the right side, though some scouts have noted he has a tendency to lunge at the ball. He's a below-average runner with an average to a tick above-average arm that should allow him to play right field.

The Padres also signed Elys Ugueto, a Venezuelan shortstop with good hands and a slender 6-foot-1, 160-pound build. A righthanded hitter, Ugueto trained with Ciro Barrios and signed for $50,000.

San Diego's biggest international signing of the year came back on July 2, when the Padres signed Dominican third baseman Carlos Belen (the No. 8 prospect for July 2) for $1 million.

Here we present official minor league transactions, conveyed to us by Major League Baseball, for the period Nov. 1-5.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Signed: C Tuffy Gosewisch
Elected free agency: LHP Mike Zagurski
Removed from 40-man: LHP Mike Zagurski, 3B Josh Bell (both players outrighted to Triple-A)

Atlanta Braves
Signed: 1B Chris Garcia (re-signed)
Elected free agency: C J.C. Boscan
Added to 40-man roster: RHP Juan Jaime, 1B Ernesto Mejia
Removed from 40-man: LHP Robert Fish, C J.C. Boscan (both players outrighted to Triple-A)

Credit the Braves pro scouting department with finding power reliever Juan Jaime and power-hitting first baseman Ernesto Mejia, both of whom signed minor league contracts with the organization and eventually worked their way onto the 40-man roster. The 25-year-old Jaime missed all of ’10 and ’11 after having Tommy John surgery, earning his release from the Diamondbacks, but he proved healthy and effective with high Class A Lynchburg this season, ranking among the Carolina League leaders with 42 appearances and 18 saves while striking out 73 in 51 innings. He touches 98 mph but lacks feel for a fringy slider and changeup, but if he continues to miss bats and limit baserunners he might have a big league future.

Mejia originally signed with the Braves out of Venezuela in July ’02—he spent the ’10 season in the Royals system—but he didn't garner much prospect buzz until this season when International League managers voted him the Triple-A circuit's top power prospect. The 26-year-old batted .296/.347/.502 with 24 homers for Gwinnett, leading the IL with 92 RBIs, 152 hits and 258 total bases. In an era where even corner power can be difficult (or prohibitively expensive) to acquire, Mejia has it in spades. [...] Continue Reading »

The Astros have made another addition to their staff, hiring Marc Russo as an international crosschecker, Baseball America has learned.

Russo had been the international scouting director for the Angels since November 2010, but he was not retained. Russo had helped rebuild the Angels' infrastructure in Latin America after the team fired former international director Clay Daniel shortly before July 2, 2009 and cleaned out their international scouting department. Oz Ocampo, who had worked as an international baseball operations specialist for Major League Baseball, was hired two months ago as Houston's international director.

Earlier today, BA reported that Carlos Gomez will run the international scouting in Anaheim.

Major League Baseball has announced that Padres' catcher Yasmani Grandal has been suspended for 50 games after testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone, which is a violation of Major League Baseball's performance enhancing drug policy. The suspension will begin at the start of the 2013 season.

Grandal is the sixth major leaguer in 2012 to test positive and be suspended for PED use, the most in a season since 2007. [...] Continue Reading »

The Angels have hired Carlos Gomez to run their international scouting, Baseball America has learned.

Gomez had been the international scouting director for the Diamondbacks the last two years after joining the organization as a pro scout following the 2007 season. Gomez had worked with Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto with the Diamondbacks when Dipoto was Arizona's vice president of scouting and player development. Gomez is Dipoto's first major hire on the international side since he took over as the Angels' general manager after the 2011 season. Marc Russo, the team's previous international scouting director, was not retained.

The Diamondbacks ranked 28th in Baseball America's international spending estimates in 2011, but they still landed a host of promising pitchers, including Venezuelan righthander Jesus Castillo for $250,000. Righthanders Jose Fermin, Erick Leal, Carlos Hernandez and lefthander Anfernee Bernitez all had impressive debuts this year in the Dominican Summer League.

Arizona was more aggressive with its spending since July 2 this summer, landing Dominican shortstop Sergio Alcantara (the No. 18 prospect available for July 2), as well as Dominican outfielder Ismael Pena, Colombian catcher Oswaldo Garcia, Dominican shortstop Fernery Ozuna and Venezuela outfielder Jose Ordaz.

Here we present official minor league transactions, conveyed to us by Major League Baseball, for the period Oct. 24-31.

The players added to 40-man rosters in this installment, such as the Diamondbacks' Alfredo Marte below, would have otherwise qualified for minor league free agency, thus providing the impetus for their organizations to act. To view all 549 of such free agents, check out our complete Minor League Free Agents 2012 listing.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Signed: OF Jeremy Reed
Elected free agency: RHP Joe Martinez, 1B Mike Jacobs, SS Cody Ransom
Added to 40-man roster: OF Alfredo Marte
Removed from 40-man: RHP Jonathan Albaladejo, RHP Joe Martinez, 1B Mike Jacobs, SS Cody Ransom, OF Tyler Graham (all players outrighted to Triple-A)

Jeremy Reed, who did not play this season, played Triple-A ball for Nashville (Brewers) and Rochester (Twins) in ’11, batting .203/.280/.305 in an abbreviated 40 games.

Alfredo Marte batted .294/.363/.523 with 20 homers in 398 at-bats for Double-A Mobile this season to rank second in the Southern League in slugging percentage. Scouts believe the 23-year-old's power will play, but then it will have to given that he fits a left-field profile.

Atlanta Braves
Signed: RHP Raymond Sanchez, LHP Yohan Flande (re-signed), LHP Jose Lugo (re-signed), LHP Alfonso Yevoli (Washington (Frontier))
Removed from 40-man: RHP Erik Cordier (outrighted to Triple-A)
Assigned to Arizona Fall League: C Cory Brownsten

Lefty Alfonso Yevoli finished his senior year at Tennessee Wesleyan this spring, went undrafted and signed on with Washington of the Frontier League, where he struck out 34 in 34 1/3 relief innings while allowing 11 walks and 25 hits. The Braves plucked a quality arm out of the FL in June ’11, signing 6-foot-8 righthander Gary Moran, who won the Southern League ERA title this season. [...] Continue Reading »

Major League Baseball declared the following 549 players minor league free agents on Nov. 3, five days after the conclusion of the World Series. All players' minor league contracts expired after the 2012 season and they failed to reach an agreement with their current organizations for 2013.

Nov. 22 update: The Minor League Free Agent Tracker returns for its second season. This time readers can view positions played, Prospect Handbook appearances and Best Tools nods via dropdowns.

Arizona Diamondbacks
RHP: Jonathan Albaladejo (AAA), Daniel Cabrera (AAA), Mike DeMark (AAA), Jensen Lewis (AAA), Yonata Ortega (AA), Brett Tomko (AAA)
C: Ryan Budde (AAA)
1B: Ryan Strieby (AAA)
3B: Josh Bell (AAA), Matt Mangini (AA)
SS: Wladimir Sutil (AAA)
OF: Irfran Becerra (R), Tyler Graham (AAA)

Atlanta Braves
RHP: Buddy Carlyle (AAA), Erik Cordier (AAA)
LHP: Dusty Hughes (AAA), Brent Leach (AA)
C: J.C. Boscan (AAA), Shawn McGill (AAA), Jose Yepez (AAA)
1B: Ian Gac (AA)
2B: Rusty Ryal (AAA), Bobby Stevens (AA)
3B: Ruben Gotay (AAA), Terry Tiffee (AAA)
SS: Jason Christian (AA), Josh Wilson (AAA)
OF: Luis Durango (AAA), Stefan Gartrell (AAA), Josh Kroeger (AAA), Felix Pie (AAA), Tim Smith (AA) [...] Continue Reading »

The commissioner’s office announced three drug-related suspensions on Monday.

• Dodgers righthander Jose Dominguez has been suspended 25 games without pay for violating the program. Dominguez spent most of the 2012 season in low Class A Great Lakes, going 4-3, 5.25 with 78 strikeouts and 47 walks over 72 innings. He finished the season with five solid outings in Double-A Chattanooga.

• Two minor league free agents—righthander Emerson Martinez and shortstop Luis Valenzuela—will be suspended 50 games without pay for testing positive for Stanozolol.