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Ely headed for Tommy John
The Houston Astros have lost another starting pitcher to Tommy John surgery, as right-hander John Ely is expected to go under the knife, reports Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle.
The 26-year-old started the year with Triple-A Oklahoma City, but made it just four innings before his elbow injury took hold. Ely will be the second Astros pitcher this month to undergo the procedure, joining young right-hander Alex White, who had the operation last Thursday.
The loss of both Ely and White severely depletes Houston’s rotation depth at Triple-A, so the club may look to add a couple pieces off the scrap heap to fill that void.
Dodgers add Burroughs
The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed former Padres and D’Backs third baseman Sean Burroughs to a minor-league deal, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America.
A former top prospect and Southern California native, the 32-year-old has had a roller coaster career that includes a four-year hiatus from professional baseball. Burroughs appeared in 10 games for the Twins last year, but spent most of the season at their Triple-A affiliate, where he hit .271/.326/.348 with one home run in 67 games.
Mitchell elects free agency
Mariners right-hander D.J. Mitchell cleared waivers over the weekend and elected to take his chances on the free-agent market rather than stay at Triple-A, reports Larry Stone of the Seattle Times.
Mitchell, 25, was designated for assignment last week to make room on the 40-man roster for outfielder Endy Chavez when Michael Saunders went to the disabled list. The right-hander made his big-league debut with the Yankees last season, giving up two runs in 4⅔ innings of work.
Padres ink Allen
The San Diego Padres have signed first baseman Brandon Allen to a minor-league deal, Eddy also reports. Allen, 27, has bounced around quite a bit in the last two years, spending time with the Diamondbacks, Athletics, Rays, Rangers, and now the Friars.
The lefty-swinging first baseman has appeared in 116 big-league games over the last four years, hitting .203/.290/.375 with 12 home runs in 389 plate appearances. Allen actually began the 2012 season as the A’s Opening Day first baseman, but somehow managed to make it into just 10 MLB games on the year.
