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Health & Fitness

Hot Stove: 12/22

A flurry minor signings occurred yesterday, plus we have an interesting "Record of the Day".

Record of the Day

First and only player born in American Samoa: Tony Solaita, (1968-1979).

Of Somoan descent, Solaita is the only person ever to be born in American Samoa and play in the major leagues. On Jan. 15, 1947, he was born into the town of Nuuuli, 3 miles outside the capital city of Pago Pago. His best season came in 1975 with the Royals at the age of 28, when he hit 16 home runs and batted .260 in 93 games. He finished his career with 50 home runs and a .255 average in 525 games with the Yankees, Royals, Angels, Blue Jays and Expos.

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Free Agent Signings

Royals signed Yuniesky Betancourt (13 HR, 68 RBI, .252 AVG, 4 SB, 2012 age: 30) to a one-year, $2 million deal (plus $500,000 in incentives).

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Dodgers signed John Grabow (3-1, 4.76 ERA, .271 BAA, 2012 age: 33) to a minor league deal.

Cubs agreed to terms to bring back Reed Johnson (5 HR, 28 RBI, .309 AVG, 2 SB, 2012 age: 35) on a one-year deal.

Royals also signed Jose Mijares (0-2, 4.59 ERA, .275 BAA, 2012 age: 27) to a one-year, $925,000 deal.

Indians signed Andy LaRoche (0 HR, 5 RBI, .247 AVG, 0 SB, 2012 age: 28) to a minor league deal.

Brewers signed Cesar Izturis (0 HR, 1 RBI, .200 AVG, 0 SB, 2012 age: 32) to a minor league deal.

Yuni is returning to Kansas City after a one-year lapse in which he played for the Brewers. A Mariner until 2009, he was traded to the Royals, where he played through 2010, after which he was traded with Zack Greinke to Milwaukee. Betancourt has seen a dramatic change from the power-lacking contact hitter he was from 2005-2008 to now becoming more of a balanced hitter. One stat that has never changed is the strikeout. Since 2006, Yuni has struck out just 315 times in 902 games, averaging just 52.5 per season in an average of just over 150 games per season. For those unfamiliar with strikeout totals, MVP Ryan Braun struck out 93 times last year, in his 150 games, and even that was a career low for him. When Betancourt played his first full season in 2006, he hit eight home runs and batted .289 with 11 stolen bases, striking out just 54 times in 157 games. He yielded almost identical results in 2007 (nine home runs, .289 average, 48 K's in 155 games), but saw his hitting begin to decline until 2009, when he combined to hit six home runs and bat .245 in 134 games between the Mariners and Royals, striking out 44 times. In his first full season in K.C. in 2010, his power sprang to life as he hit 16 home runs and batted .259 while striking out 64 times in 151 games. Traded to Milwaukee with Zack Greinke after the season, Betancourt hit another 13 home runs and batted .252 with 63 strikeouts in 152 games for the Brewers. Over his seven-year career, he hit 60 home runs and batted .268 with 30 stolen bases and 339 strikeouts in 962 games.  

John Grabow brings a left-handed specialist who has seen consistency throughout his career. He pitched at least 63 games in six straight seasons from 2004-2009, including thrice reaching 72 games and topping out with 75 in 2009 split between the Pirates and Cubs. His best season came in 2008, when he was 6-3 with a 2.84 ERA, .215 BAA, and four saves in 74 games for the Pirates. 2009 was also a solid season, when he was 3-0 with a 3.36 ERA and .233 BAA in 75 games.  He ran into injury trouble in 2010, but bounced back with 58 games in 2011 and a 4.76 ERA.  Over his nine year career, he is 24-19 with a 4.31 ERA, .263 BAA, and six saves in 506 appearances.  

Other News

Phillies officially announced the resigning of Jimmy Rollins.

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Teams followed in this update: Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves

If your team is not included, please leave a comment.

HR: home runs. RBI: runs batted in. AVG: batting average. SB: stolen bases. ERA: earned run average. BAA: batting average against. K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage

Zack Silverman

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