6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog: Roster Notes

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Thursday, December 14, 2006

Roster Notes

Sundry items from around baseball...

Mariners shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt was among a number of Cubans smuggled into the U.S. by Gustavo "Gus" Dominguez.
Betancourt was driven from Los Angeles to Mexico to obtain a visa to legitimize his entry into the United States but his Mexican passport was "determined to be fraudulent," prosecutors said. He was arrested by Mexican authorities but later released and entered the U.S. again on Oct. 10, 2004, as a Cuban seeking asylum.
The Padres have made a one-year, $3-$4M offer to new free agent Marcus Giles. The Braves cut ties to Giles earlier in the week when they non-tendered him.
Padres GM Kevin Towers had dinner at David Wells' home, presumably about bringing him back to the San Diego rotation.
Jayson Werth could also end up a Padre, as the team is considering him for left field.
Update: While we're talking about the Pads, Bob Timmermann reminds us that the Red Sox, who got Doug Mirabelli back from that club this year, has signed a one-year deal with the Sox. Meantime, the guys he was traded for, Cla Meredith and Josh Bard, were maybe kinda useful: "Mirabelli had a .595 OPS last year. Bard, who should be starting for San Diego in 2007, had an OPS of .926. Meredith had a 1.07 ERA in 50 2/3 innings for San Diego."
Toby Hall, diplomat:
Ex-Rays catcher Toby Hall, nontendered by the Dodgers, said several teams called and he expected better options (Phillies? White Sox? Yankees?) than a minor-league contract the Rays might offer. "That was funny," Hall said. "I guess it would be a minor-league contract because they're a minor-league team."
Ex-Dodger Tom Martin gets to be a Rocky for another year, for $800,000 with a mutual option for 2008.