Chris Resop Rumors
Anticipating Chris Resop's Next Team
Chris Resop should be in the major leagues before long, it’s just a question of where. The right-hander has pitched to a 1.84 ERA in 13 Triple A starts this year, striking out more than a batter per inning, and he has a clause in his contract that forces the Braves to expose him to the 29 other clubs if he's not on Atlanta's 25-man roster by June 15th.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the trade market has yet to develop for Resop, who pitched a one-hitter last night. MLB.com's Mark Bowman agrees and notes that no MLB scouts watched Resop last night. Morosi reports that the Braves will trade Resop if they see a good offer, but they’ll promote him if they don’t see a proposal they like. Resop could replace struggling reliever Jesse Chavez in the team’s bullpen.
It’s hard to pinpoint Resop’s value, but as Dave Cameron of FanGraphs points out, pitchers with 9.9 K/9 with ground ball rates approaching 50% open some eyes. Plus, since he doesn’t have much big league experience, Resop would be more than a rental. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Cardinals, Blue Jays, Tigers or Mets pursue the 27-year-old.
Odds & Ends: Rangers, Resop, Trembley, Harper
Links for Monday, as Edwin Encarnacion and the Blue Jays swing away in Anaheim...
- Michael Young told MLB.com's Chris Cox that he was relieved to hear that the Rangers' sale won't affect the team's regular spending.
- As MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan explains, the Rangers' sale will go before a judge to speed up the process. In the meantime, the Rangers should be able to spend normally.
- The Rangers probably won't be drafting players who demand over-slot money this year, according to Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com.
- Jon Paul Morosi expects Chris Resop, who has a June 15th opt-out clause, to be in the majors within a couple weeks (Twitter link). The Braves could trade him or call him up.
- Dave Trembley is still the Orioles' manager after today's meeting with president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, writes Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
- Bryce Harper keeps making the Nationals' decision easier. The 2010 draft prospect slugged four homers, a triple and a double in one game over the weekend, writes John Manuel of Baseball America.
- In a mock draft for ESPN.com, Keith Law has the Harper going first overall to the Nationals, because "there's no argument left for taking anyone else."
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo shows that the D'Backs and A's have drafted many major league contributors this past decade.
- The Koji Uehara signing was a regrettable but not unforgivable move by the Orioles, writes Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.
- Former Astros manager Phil Garner told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he thinks Roy Oswalt would prefer to play near his Mississippi home. Garner, who hasn't spoken to Oswalt in three years, believes Brad Ausmus and Jake Peavy could draw Oswalt to the Dodgers and White Sox, respectively.
Chris Resop's Future
Chris Resop is doing a pretty good Stephen Strasburg imitation these days. Resop may not be a top prospect, but the 27-year-old right-hander is pitching so well that he may not be in the minors much longer than Strasburg. And unlike the Nationals' prospect, Resop has some control over when he arrives in the majors.
Resop, a starter in the Braves' system with big league experience on the Marlins, Angels and Braves, has a clause in his contract that forces the Braves to expose him to the 29 other clubs if he's not on Atlanta's 25-man roster by June 15th. The clause, which Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports explains in detail here, means the Braves are likely to call Resop up or deal him within a few weeks.
Like Colby Lewis, who is in the midst of a strong season for the Rangers, Resop recently pitched in Japan. Unlike Lewis, Resop didn't dominate there. Before he left, Resop threw a 94 mph fastball as a reliever. Now, he's starting in Triple A and his first nine starts have been dominant. Resop has a 2.03 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9. He has not been pitching deep into games, but he has allowed just 34 hits in 48.2 innings.
The Braves were confident enough in their starting pitching depth to deal Javier Vazquez last winter, but with Jair Jurrjens recovering from a hamstring injury, their rotation now looks thinner. Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe, Kenshin Kawakami and Tommy Hanson have four rotation spots covered. Kris Medlen has started well in Jurrjens' absence, but the Braves may decide to promote Resop to maintain pitching depth.
If the Braves are confident moving on without Resop, they could trade him. The Nationals, Mets and Dodgers are among the teams that could look to acquire starters this summer. Resop would be more than just a rental, though - he isn't scheduled to hit free agency until after 2014.
Odds & Ends: Resop, Gamel, Santana, Bumgarner
Happy birthday, Jayson Werth! Let's celebrate by reading these news items...
- FOXSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi outlines the unique contract situation of right-hander Chris Resop, who has been a revelation as a starting pitcher this season for Atlanta's Triple-A team.
- A bit further down the FOX Sports Buzz page, Morosi notes that Mat Gamel's time playing first base during his rehab assignment isn't necessarily a hint about Prince Fielder's fate in Milwaukee.
- In response to a piece about the Dodgers' spending under Frank McCourt, Fanhouse's Tom Krasovic relates how L.A. shipped Carlos Santana to Cleveland in the Casey Blake deal rather than pick up $2MM of Blake's salary. If Santana becomes the star catcher that he's projected to be for the Tribe, Dodger fans might be regretting that $2MM worth of savings for a long time.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says the Giants may have Eric Hacker replace the struggling Todd Wellemeyer in the rotation. Star prospect Madison Bumgarner has pitched well in Triple-A this season, but Schulman thinks the Giants want the young left-hander to have more innings at that level before they bring him up to the majors.
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post writes that the recently DFA'ed Willy Taveras worked out in Houston this week. The Astros offered Taveras a minor league deal over the winter, so Taveras' workout could represent a rekindling of the club's interest, or it could've just been a courtesy extended to a former Astro.
- Terry Pluto of The Cleveland Plain Dealer thinks Michael Brantley and the Indians would both be better served by having the outfield prospect back in the majors. Pluto points out that if the Tribe are trying to stall Brantley's service time, then they shouldn't have had him start with the club on Opening Day.
- The Rays have had almost as many key injuries as the Yankees this season, but Tampa Bay's depth made them better prepared to deal with it, writes Steve Slowinski of the DRaysBay blog.
- Speaking of those Yankee injuries, Brian Cashman said today that the club would look within their system to fill the holes, reports Chad Jennings of The Journal News.
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