Chen receives two third-place votes for AL Rookie of the Year (with minor league signings)

There was little drama surrounding tonight's announcement of the American League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year. The Angels' Mike Trout was the eighth unanimous AL winner in the award's history, receiving all 28 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The Athletics' Yoenis Cespedes finished second and the Rangers' Yu Darvish was third, which is how my ballot looked when I submitted it shortly before the conclusion of the regular season. Cespedes received 19 second-place votes and six third-place votes. Darvish received nine second-place votes and 19 third-place votes. Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen received two third-place votes to finish fourth. The Athletics' Jarrod Parker was fifth with one third-place vote. Chen had the support of former Baltimore Sun columnist John Eisenberg, an honorary member of the BBWAA who chose Darvish second, and Michi Murayama of Tokyo Chunichi Sports, who also picked Darvish second and excluded Cespedes. The BBWAA's Web site posted the votes from each member. Trout joins Evan Longoria, Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Jeter, Tim Salmon, Sandy Alomar Jr., Mark McGwire and Carlton Fisk as unanimous selections in the American League. Trout and Salmon are the only Angels to win the award. It's been quite a day for Chen, who became a father early this morning and has been mentioned in all three of my blog entries today. He must be overwhelmed. I have no doubt that I'd come in third behind "father" and "fourth place" on his ballot. Note: The Orioles have signed pitchers Daniel McCutchen and Dan Meyer to minor league deals, according to MLBTradeRumors.com's Tim Dierkes. McCutchen, 30, is 8-11 with a 4.77 ERA in parts of four major league seasons with the Pirates, with only 15 starts among his 108 appearances. He got into one game this summer and allowed two runs without retiring a batter, but he went 7-2 with a 2.98 ERA in 36 appearances (one start) at Triple-A Indianapolis. McCutchen went 5-3 with a 3.72 ERA in 73 relief appearances for the Pirates in 2011. The Yankees chose McCutchen in the 13th round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft. Meyer, 31, is 3-9 with a 5.46 ERA in parts of five major league seasons with the Braves, Athletics and Marlins. The left-hander hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2010 with Florida, when he was 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA in 13 relief appearances. He was 2-6 with a 7.02 ERA in 18 games (eight starts) with the independent Long Island Ducks this summer. The Braves made Meyer the 34th overall selection in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft before sending him to the A's two years later in the Tim Hudson deal.