Hot Stove: 1/23

Record of the Day

Oldest player currently on a 40-man roster: Jamie Moyer, 49.

The Rockies signed 49-year-old pitcher Jamie Moyer to a minor league deal, making him the oldest player in the major leagues. Born on 11/18/1962 and debuting on 6/16/1986, he has been playing in the major leagues longer than many Rockies have even been alive. He had to sit out in 2011 due to Tommy John surgery but is looking to make a comeback in 2012.

Free Agent Signings

Rockies signed Jamie Moyer (missed 2011 season, 267 career wins, 4.24 ERA, 2012 age: 49) to a minor league deal.

Indians agreed to terms with Julio Lugo (0 HR, 3 RBI, .136 AVG, 0 SB, 2012 age: 36) on a minor league deal.

Mariners signed Oliver Perez (missed 2011 season, 58 career wins, 4.63 ERA, 2012 age: 30) to a minor league deal.

Cubs resigned Rodrigo Lopez (6-6, 4.42 ERA, .299 BAA, 2012 age: 36) to a minor league deal.

Cubs also signed Jason Jaramillo (0 HR, 6 RBI, .326 AVG, 1 SB, 2012 age: 29) to a minor league deal.

Jamie Moyer joins the Rockies as the oldest player in the major leagues. The 49-year-old played for 25 years from 1986-2010, and is set to play in a 26th after missing all of 2011 to Tommy John surgery. The Rockies hope Moyer can bounce back and fill out the back end of their rotation or end up in the bullpen. Before the Rockies, Moyer was a member of the Phillies from 2006-2010. As recently as 2008, at the age of 45, Moyer was 16-7 with a 3.71 ERA in 33 starts. His most recent action came in 2010 at the age of 47, where he was 9-9 with a 4.84 ERA in 19 starts. The lefty's best was from 2001-2003 (aged 38-40), where he was 54-21 with a 3.34 ERA in exactly 100 starts. His best year was 2003, when at age 41, he was 21-7 with a 3.27 ERA in 33 starts. Over his 25-year career, Moyer is 267-204 with a 4.24 ERA in 686 games (628 starts). Interesting facts: Moyer is one of only two active players to have been a teammate of Nolan Ryan, the other being Ivan Rodriguez. Moyer is has been in the major leagues longer than 15 of the 45 players on the Rockies roster have even been alive, which is exactly one third. He is more than eight years older than the second oldest player on the Rockies, 41-year-old Jason Giambi.

Trades

Red Sox traded Marco Scutaro (7 HR, 54 RBI, .299 AVG, 4 SB, 2012 age: 36) to the Rockies for Clay Mortensen (2-4, 3.86 ERA, .257 BAA, 2012 age: 27).

I will go right out and say I disagree with this deal from the Red Sox' side. The Sox do have a multitude of shortstops, but I would have rather traded backup Mike Aviles and a low-level prospect for Mortensen instead of Scutaro, our starter. Also, one thing that gets obscured because of Boston's big bats is Scutaro actually hit .299 last year with at least some power (seven home runs). The player the Sox acquire is Clay Mortensen, a young, lanky right-hander who has already played with the Cardinals, A's, and Rockies since debuting in 2009. He has been up and down between the majors and AAA since, never quite getting into a groove in the major leagues. His best year in the minors was 2010 for Oakland's AAA affiliate at Sacramento, where he was 13-6 with a 4.25 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He saw most of his major league action last year with Colorado, where he was 2-4 with a 3.86 ERA in 16 games (six starts). Despite the solid major league numbers, Mortensen struggled at AAA Colorado Springs, where he was 2-8 with a 9.42 ERA in 15 starts. Over his three-year career, the Rexburg, Idaho, native is 4-8 with a 5.12 ERA in 24 games (13 starts).  

The Rockies acquired Scutaro to fill a gaping hole in their infield. Before the trade, Eric Young Jr., D.J. LeMahieu (acquired in Ian Stewart deal), Jonathan Herrera and Chris Nelson were going to duke it out for second base and back-up duties for aging players like Casey Blake and Todd Helton. Scutaro will assume the second base role, where he has performed well over his 10-year career. Scutaro has experience all over the infield because during his four-year tenure in Oakland from 2004-2007, he was the team's "super-utility" player, meaning he started very often but almost always as a fill-in at different positions. His best year in Oakland was his first since being claimed off waivers from the Mets, 2004, where the Venezuela native hit seven home runs and batted .273 in 137 games. After three more successful years, Scutaro was sent to the Blue Jays in 2008, where he earned a starting job. He had an uneventful first year: seven home runs, .267 average, but he broke out in 2009 with career highs in almost every category. In 144 games, Scutaro hit 12 home runs, knocked in 60, and batted .282 with 14 stolen bases. All of that helped him to score 100 runs, 24 more than his previous high. Scutaro then signed with the Red Sox, where he saw his most consistent action. In his first year in Boston, he hit 11 home runs and batted .275 in 150 games. He struggled in the first half of 2011, batting just .259 with four home runs, but turned it around in the second. After the All Star break, Scutaro ripped .329 with three home runs to finish the year with a .299 average. He was one of the few Red Sox that did not crumble in September, as he batted .387 that month. Over his 10-year career, he hit 68 home runs and batted .270 with 44 stolen bases in 1,103 games.

Other News

None.

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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 to request it.

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