Hot Stove: 2/12

African American Player Profile

Dave Winfield (1973-1995).

Dave Winfield may have never won an MVP, but for 22 seasons, he ravaged major league pitching at en route to an election into the Hall of Fame.  One of the most consistent power hitters of his era, Winfield hit at least 20 home runs in 16 of his 22 years in the big league, including a 16-year stretch where he reached the number 15 times. Surprisingly, he only reached 30 home runs three times: 1979, 1982, and 1983. Arguably his best year was 1979 with the Padres, when the 28-year-old hit 34 home runs, knocked in 118, and batted .308 with 15 stolen bases, while also winning his first of seven Gold Gloves. Another of his best seasons was 1984 with the Yankees, when despite only hitting 19 home runs, he knocked in 100 runs and batted .340 in 141 games. He finished his career with 465 home runs, 1833 RBI, a .283 average, and 223 stolen bases. Winfield was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2001, choosing to enter as a Padre, his first team and a member for eight years from 1973-1980, rather than the Yankees, who he played with for eight and a half years from 1981-1990 (he missed 1989 to injury). 

Free Agent Signings

Orioles signed Luis Ayala (2-2, 2.09 ERA, .256 BAA, 2012 age: 34) to a one-year, $925,000 deal.

Cardinals signed Scott Linebrink (4-4, 3.64 ERA, .282 BAA, 1 save, 2012 age: 35) to a minor league deal.

Cubs signed Trever Miller (0-1, 3.80 ERA, .298 BAA, 1 save, 2012 age: 39) to a minor league deal.

Orioles also agreed to terms with Nick Johnson (missed 2011 season, 91 career HR, .270 AVG, 2012 age: 33) on a minor league deal.

Nationals signed Mitch Atkins (0-0, 8.44 ERA, .412 BAA, 2012 age: 26) to a minor league deal.

Orioles also agreed to terms with Dane Sardinha (0 HR, 1 RBI, .219 AVG, 0 SB, 2012 age: 33) on a minor league deal.

The Orioles brought on Luis Ayala to fill out the back end of their bullpen. Along with newcomer Matt Lindstrom, Ayala will be a setup man for closer Jim Johnson. Ayala saw most of his success with the Expos and Nationals from 2003-2007, then seemed to be tailing off for a few years until rebounding strongly in New York in 2011. The Mexican native was a rookie sensation out of the bullpen in 2003, while at age 25 he was 10-3 with a 2.92 ERA and five saves in 65 appearances. 2004 would turn out to be his best year with the franchise, as he was 6-12 with a 2.69 ERA and a couple of saves in 81 appearances. He was solid upon moving to Washington in 2005 as well, going 8-7 with a 2.66 ERA in 68 appearances. Despite the lofty total of wins and losses, Ayala never started a game. Missing 2006 to injury, his win-loss record dipped down to just 2-2 in 2007 despite a fine 3.19 ERA in 44 appearances. 2008 got off to a horrible start with the Nationals and by the time he was traded to the Mets, he was just 1-8 with a 5.77 ERA in 62 appearances. He did not fare much better in New York, ending up 1-2 with a 5.50 ERA in 19 appearances to close out the year. Cumulatively, he was 2-10 with a 5.71 ERA in 81 games. The Twins picked him up in 2009 and he seemed to be back in the hang of things, posting a 4.18 ERA in 28 appearances. He was trade to the Marlins, where he lost his season by going 0-3 with an 11.74 ERA in just ten games. Overall, his record had dropped to 1-5 and his ERA had jumped to 5.63 in 38 appearances. After spending 2010 in the minors with three different teams, he joined the Yankees and had a huge rebound. In 52 appearances, he surprised New York by posting a 2.09 ERA in a comeback season. Now onto Baltimore, he looks to continue that success. Over his seven-year career, he is 31-41 with a 3.47 ERA and 18 saves in 429 appearances.

The Cardinals signed Linebrink to be a veteran middle reliever in an already strong but young bullpen including Jason Motte and Fernando Salas. The Cardinals will be his seventh team, as he most recently played with the Braves in 2011. His best years came with San Diego from 2003-2007, after coming over in a trade from Houston. In his first 43 appearances there in 2003, he posted a 2.82 ERA in his first full season. He was even better in 2004, his first full season as a Padre, going 7-3 with a 2.14 ERA and .209 BAA in 73 appearances. In 2005, he was even better, going 8-1 with a 1.83 ERA and .209 BAA in 73 appearances. That ran his career record in San Diego so far to 17-5. 2006 was his final full season for the Padres, as he was 7-4 with a 3.57 ERA in another 73 appearances, his third straight season with exactly that many. He ran his win-loss record with the Padres up to 24-9. Linebrink was traded to the Brewers in 2007 after posting a 3.80 ERA in 44 appearances, and then upon spending the next three seasons with the White Sox, was solid at times, and at other times not so much. The Braves picked him up last year and he pitched well, posting a 3.64 ERA in 64 appearances. Over his 12-year career, Linebrink is 42-31 with a 3.51 ERA, .254 BAA, and eight saves in 607 games (six starts).

The Nationals brought on Mitch Atkins, a once promising Cubs prospect who never quite panned out. Over his three-year career with the Cubs and Orioles, he has a 6.75 ERA in 10 games (three starts). Atkins went to the same high school as singer Chris Daughtry in rural northern North Carolina. He hails from Browns Summit, an unincorporated community with a population a little under 8,000. He is a long shot to make the bullpen out of Spring Training.

Waiver Claims

Twins claimed Darin Mastroianni (hitless in two at bats in 2011, 2012 age: 26) off waivers from the Cubs.

Other News

Former Red Sox pitcher Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd admitted to using cocaine and was high for "two-thirds of his starts".  

Free agent Rich Harden will have shoulder surgery and miss the 2012 season.

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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