LHP Edgar Osuna, Kansas City's first-round pick in the Rule 5 Draft last December, was outrighted to the Royals' Northwest Arkansas Double-A team today. Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star says (via Twitter) the move was made possible since Atlanta, Osuna's original team, declined their option to bring Osuna back. The southpaw then passed through waivers without being claimed.
Osuna posted a 3.37 ERA and 4.15 K-BB ratio over his four years in the Braves' organization, getting as high as the Double-A level last season. The 22-year-old has made 76 appearances, 48 of them starts.
RHP Chad Orvella, who last played in the majors for Tampa Bay in 2007, was released by the Angels after signing with the club earlier this month.
The Dodgers released outfielder Brian Barton. Barton was one of just two non-pitchers to appear in a game last season without making a plate appearance. He entered his only major league game of 2009 as a pinch-runner and was caught stealing.
Jesse Foppert was released by Florida. Foppert's last major league game was in 2005 with San Francisco, but the right-hander has been pitching in the Giants' (and, briefly, the Mariners') system ever since. Prior to the 2003 season, Foppert was the fifth-highest ranked prospect in the game by Baseball America.
And finally, if you see a spate of "Boston Releases Papelbon" headlines, it's not an April Fool's joke. The Red Sox released right-hander Josh Papelbon, Jon's younger brother.
WEDNESDAY, 6:42pm: Stults' deal with Hiroshima is worth roughly $700K plus bonuses, tweets NPB Tracker.
TUESDAY, 5:26pm: Los Angeles is expected to receive between $300K and $400K for Stults, tweets Hernandez.
TUESDAY, 11:36am: The Dodgers sold pitcher Eric Stults to the Hiroshima Carp, reports Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times. The 30-year-old southpaw was known to be available, as the Dodgers prefer other pitchers for the fifth starter job. The Hanshin Tigers and Chiba Lotte Marines also had an eye on Stults.
Stults posted a 4.86 ERA, 5.9 K/9, and 4.7 BB/9 in ten starts for the Dodgers last year. He made another 13 starts in the minors, putting up similar numbers.
The Offseason In Review series is complete; links by team are below.
A total of $972MM was spent on Major League free agent contracts this offseason, led by the Red Sox at $137MM. The Marlins are on bottom, with no big league free agent contracts signed. Each team spent about $32MM on average. Check out the list below, and contact us if you notice any errors.