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Odds & Ends: Nava, Yankees, Astros, Lowell, Giants

Links for Saturday....

• The Red Sox initially bought the rights to Daniel Nava for what Randolph and Mortimer Duke would refer to as the "usual amount", writes Alex Speier of WEEI.  Earlier at Fenway, Nava hit a grand slam on his very first major league pitch.
• Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star provides us with a breakdown of the Royals' performance thus far under Ned Yost.
• Bryan Smith of Fangraphs examined the top hurlers in the 2011 MLB Draft.
• Look for the Yankees to have smooth negotiations with first round pick Cito Culver, tweets Jack Curry of the YES Network.  The Yanks can't officially sign the 32nd overall selection until he graduates on June 20th.
• The Astros signed three more draft picks today, per a team release. They've now signed 19 of their selections, including 11 of the 22 players they drafted in the first 20 rounds.
• ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider-only link) says there's "no bubbling, hot market right now for Mike Lowell." The teams who are interested in Lowell are hoping the Red Sox will give him away and eat his salary.
• Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe argues that Lowell still has value. Raul Ibanez, a friend of Lowell's, agrees that the 36-year-old's bat has some pop left, writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
• Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle thinks the Giants are just one slugger away from World Series contention.
• Addressing his team's bullpen struggles, Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said he hoped the organization's current players could turn things around, but didn't rule out a trade. Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald has the details.
• Fanhouse's John Hickey says that Mike Hargrove would be interested in managing the Orioles, though it's not known if that interest is mutual.
• The Dodgers signed four of their draft picks, including fifth-rounder Jacob Lemmerman, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick and Evan Drellich.
• In a video for FOX Sports, Jim Bowden gives his opinion on the winners and losers of the draft. He names the Nationals, Red Sox, Rays, and Blue Jays as clubs that made out well.
• Jeff Zimmerman at Beyond the Box Score takes a look at which teams are paying the most money to players no longer on their rosters.

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