Gerrit Cole Rumors
Pirates Links: Cole, Draft, Attendance, Maholm
A few links for all of you Bucco fans out there to enjoy on your Saturday afternoons:
- No. 1 overall pick Gerrit Cole is excited to be joining the up-and-coming Pirates, writes MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. Cole will pitch in the Pirates' instructional league next month, and GM Neal Huntigton says Cole could head to the Arizona Fall League after that.
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times looks at the Pirates' decision to build for the future by investing in the draft rather than spending on Major Leaguers. The Pirates' total spends of $17MM this summer and $47MM over the past four seasons are both more than any organization in baseball.
- Langosch points out the success of this process by highlighting that the Pirates are just 57,108 fans shy of matching 2010's attendance mark. Tonight's sellout at PNC Park is the club's 16th this season, which is just three sellouts shy of their single-season record.
- The Pirates may make a 40-man roster move in the coming days to call up a starting pitcher that will replace the injured Paul Maholm, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Biertempfel speculates on Sean Gallagher and Brian Burres. Ross Ohlendorf is also available to return after missing most of the season due to injury.
Draft Notes: Austin, Pirates, Hultzen
The deadline for signing draft picks has passed, but there’s still lots of news about 2011 draftees. The latest:
- Padres draftee Brett Austin turned down $1.5MM from San Diego to play for North Carolina State, according to Tom Krasovic of Inside the Padres (Twitter link). San Diego selected the catcher with the 54th overall pick in the draft.
- As Jim Callis of Baseball America shows, the Pirates, Nationals and Royals lead all MLB teams in bonus expenditures from 2007-11. Four AL East teams - everyone but the Yankees - are next on the list.
- Callis also details this year's expenditures, with the Pirates, Nationals and Royals again leading the way.
- 2011 draftees Gerrit Cole, Bubba Starling and Danny Hultzen obtained three of the top five bonuses in draft history, according to Callis.
Heyman On Cubs, Marlins, Cole, Posada
Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano could use a change of scenery, as Jon Heyman explains at SI.com. One rival GM considers the right-hander a fourth starter, which matches Tim Dierkes’ assessment of Zambrano from yesterday. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors, starting with another note on the Cubs...
- Cubs owner Tom Ricketts has had good things to say about GM Jim Hendry, but Heyman hears that Hendry is still “at risk” of losing his job. Despite a weekend report to the contrary, Hendry doesn't have any guarantees.
- The Marlins demoted Logan Morrison to the minors because Marlins officials, including manager Jack McKeon, believe the outfielder needs to show more maturity and be less outspoken. It doesn't appear that Morrison will file a grievance.
- One GM called first overall pick Gerrit Cole a “slam dunk” number one starter, Heyman reports. The Pirates signed the former UCLA right-hander to an $8MM deal on Monday.
- The Yankees won’t release Jorge Posada, but it appears that he’ll have to earn a spot on their playoff roster.
Pirates Break Draft Records
The Pirates spent $30.6MM on the 2008-10 drafts, more than any other team. This year they upped the ante, spending over $17MM on 24 players - the largest draft expenditure in baseball history. Yesterday, the Bucs inked first overall pick Gerrit Cole for a record $8MM bonus, and then surprised the industry by succeeding in signing second round pick/first round talent Josh Bell for $5MM. Bell, who had a strong commitment to the University of Texas, more than doubled the record for a player drafted outside of the first round. Both players are represented by Scott Boras, as our agency database shows. Today's Pirates draft links...
- Talking to Karen Price of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, GM Neal Huntington explained the team's pursuit of Bell: "His family is obviously strong, they're intelligent and hard-working people, and we had nothing but respect for their perspective. We wanted the opportunity to explain who we were, how we do things, and we were hoping Josh was ready to take the step to professional baseball if we were to find a common financial ground, and we were able to do that."
- Cole can make more than $9MM in guaranteed money if he reaches the Majors by 2013, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. Price has Huntington explaining that Cole's record minor league deal was the way to go: "There are times where a pure minor league contract and minor league signing bonus, paid out over nine months, is better than a major league contract paid out over five-plus years, depending on how the deals are structured."
- Just for good measure, the Pirates also set a ninth-round record by signing high school righty Clay Holmes for $1.2MM, according to Baseball America's Jim Callis. Holmes was one of many over slot deals for the Pirates.
Pirates Sign Gerrit Cole
The Pirates have signed first overall pick Gerrit Cole, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Cole obtains an $8MM deal, according to John Manuel of Baseball America (on Twitter). The Boras corporation represents the hard throwing UCLA product.
Cole stands 6'4" and doesn't turn 21 until the fall. He throws a slider and change-up, plus a fastball that regularly reaches the mid 90s. However, his stuff didn’t translate into the statistical success you’d expect for a first overall pick (teammate Trevor Bauer posted more impressive numbers). Cole finished the season with a 3.31 ERA, 119 strikeouts and 24 walks in 114 1/3 innings - impressive numbers, but certainly not Strasburg-esque.
Cole has experience as a first rounder. The Yankees selected him out of high school in 2008. He declined to sign, even though he’s a Yankees fan who counts Roger Clemens and Mariano Rivera among his role models.
I spoke to Cole earlier this year; here's my interview transcript.
You can keep track of which top picks have signed with MLBTR's list.
Heyman On Reyes, Ortiz, Cole, Twins
The market for Jose Reyes should still be strong after the season, Jon Heyman writes at SI.com. MLB executives tell Heyman that the Giants, Cardinals, Tigers, Angels, Nationals, Braves, Phillies, Red Sox, Yankees and Mets could be fits for the shortstop in terms of finances and positional need. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors...
- Yankees people suggest they’re unlikely to pursue Reyes and Red Sox people say they don’t expect to spend big on a position player this winter.
- The Red Sox haven’t discussed a new deal with David Ortiz, though they’re confident that they’ll be able to re-sign him after the season. Ortiz has expressed interest in a multiyear deal for a while, but the Red Sox don’t want to guarantee more than one year.
- First overall draft pick Gerrit Cole is looking to approach Stephen Strasburg’s $15.1MM bonus and top Mariners pick Danny Hultzen is looking for $13MM plus money for school, Heyman reports. Keep track of which top picks have signed here.
- The Twins appear to want to keep Joe Nathan when he hits free agency after the season, but they’ll probably let Matt Capps sign elsewhere.
Pirates Notes: Cole, Huntington, Pitching
The Pirates were buyers at the July 31st trade deadline, acquiring Ryan Ludwick and Derrek Lee, but they haven't won a game this month. Here's the latest from Pittsburgh as the 54-59 Pirates look to post their first winning record since 1992...
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington must sign first overall draft pick Gerrit Cole by next week's deadline, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes.
- Kovacevic also says president Frank Coonelly should complete an extension for Huntington, whose contract expires after the season.
- Huntington told Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Pirates could solve their bullpen problems by calling up pitchers such as Tim Wood, Chris Leroux and Danny Moskos.
- Kovacevic points out that the Pirates' dropoff in starting pitching performances has contributed to the club's current ten game losing streak. Paul Maholm agrees that the results have to improve. "It's on us," Maholm said. "We're the ones who go out there and pitch."
Quick Hits: Twins, Ellis, Cole, Hultzen
The Mets released Wily Mo Pena on this date two years ago. The slugger resurfaced with the D'Backs yesterday, when he homered in his first MLB game since 2008. Here are some links for Wednesday night as Pena attempts to hit another homer or two...
- A scout tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that the Twins seem less likely to become sellers than they were a few weeks ago (Twitter link). Minnesota has re-entered the playoff race thanks to a 14-3 tear.
- Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group hears that the Giants are not one of the six teams on Mark Ellis’ no-trade list (Twitter link). Ellis has lost his starting second base job in Oakland and the Giants have had internal talks about obtaining him.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com hears that top draft choices Gerrit Cole (Pirates) and Danny Hultzen (Mariners) will sign for roughly $10MM or so. Two high school arms, Archie Bradley (D’Backs) and Dylan Bundy (Orioles), will likely obtain $6-7MM and some executives see high school outfielder Bubba Starling (Royals) signing for more than Cole or Hultzen.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick examines the case for expanding active rosters to 26 players. Teams now have sprawling bullpens and demanding travel schedules, so there's support for bigger rosters from Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd, Marlins infielder Wes Helms and others.
Pirates, Cole Talk First Overall Selection
Gerrit Cole wasn’t the best pitcher in the country this year. He wasn’t even the best pitcher on his team (that distinction belongs to third overall selection Trevor Bauer). But the Pirates selected Cole with the first overall pick in spite of his good-but-not-great numbers because they see him as a future impact starter in the Major Leagues.
"If we were focused on taking the player who performed the best this year, there might have been other options," GM Neal Huntington said on a conference call after selecting Cole. "Our focus is selecting the player that we believe is going to be the best for the organization two, four, six, eight, ten years from now.”
Cole posted a 3.31 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 for UCLA last year. Those numbers are good and Cole insists he’s capable of more.
“Obviously it wasn’t up to my standards, but you try not to think about it,” he said. “I didn’t really let it get to me or affect me very much. I just control what I can control and let the teams do the evaluation.”
The Pirates' top amateur talent evaluator, scouting director Greg Smith, was impressed with the way the right-hander battled through tough spots this season, so Pittsburgh selected a pitcher with its top pick for the second consecutive season (the Pirates selected high schooler Jameson Taillon last year). Smith and Huntington considered taking high school and college position players first overall before deciding that they wanted more pitching.
“You can never have too much of it. It’s the most valuable commodity in our game,” Huntington said. “We haven’t consciously gone out to stockpile arms. We play by the integrity of the [draft] board.”
Of course, Cole isn’t Pirates property just yet. The 20-year-old Scott Boras client already turned down first round money once, when he went to UCLA instead of signing with the Yankees in 2008. No first overall pick is ever cheap, but Huntington says he expects to work out a deal by the August 15th signing deadline.
“Signability is an issue with every player that comes off the board in the first round,” he said. “We’re going to work hard. We’re going to fight to find a common ground that makes sense for both sides.”
Pirates Select Gerrit Cole
The Pirates may be headed for a 19th consecutive losing season in 2011, but if their assessment of Gerrit Cole is accurate, they're a little closer to becoming a winner again. They have officially selected the UCLA right-hander with the first pick of the amateur draft.
Cole stands 6'4" and doesn't turn 21 until the fall. He throws a slider and change-up, plus a fastball that regularly reaches the mid 90s. His stuff didn’t translate into the statistical success you’d expect for a first overall pick (teammate Trevor Bauer posted more impressive numbers). Cole finished the season with a 3.31 ERA, 119 strikeouts and 24 walks in 114 1/3 innings - impressive numbers, but certainly not Strasburg-esque.
Cole has experience as a first rounder. The Yankees selected him out of high school in 2008. He declined to sign, even though he’s a Yankees fan who counts Roger Clemens and Mariano Rivera among his role models.
The Pirates have had the first overall pick three other times in their history. They selected Jeff King in 1986, Kris Benson in 1996 and Bryan Bullington in 2002. Scouting director Greg Smith and GM Neal Huntington also considered Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon, Virginia left-hander Danny Hultzen and others with the top pick.
I talked to Cole about his season and the draft in March and MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes introduced us to Cole and a number of other college right-handers last week.
The Pirates have until August 15th of this year to sign Cole, who is represented by Scott Boras. The commissioner’s office recommended a $4MM signing bonus for last year’s top pick, which turned out to be Bryce Harper.
Photo courtesy UCLA athletics.
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