Justin Smoak Rumors

Odds And Ends: Royals, Kazmir, Hudson

Some links for the morning... Jeff Sackmann of the Hardball Times can imagine an excellent Royals team in 2012, but says there's no guarantee we'll see such a thing. As MLB.com's Doug Miller shows, cheap, no-name closers can be just as effective as proven commodities. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the addition of Scott Kazmir should help the Angels reach the playoffs once again. Tim Hudson and Dan Meyer were traded for each other in 2004. This week, Hudson pitched against Meyer's team for the first time, as MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reports. Jamey Newberg ranks Justin Smoak and...   Continue Reading

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Roy Halladay Not Traded

5:38pm: Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski says his team was not involved with Halladay, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck. 5:10pm: The Blue Jays and Rangers were talking last night when they found that Halladay wouldn't approve a deal to the Rangers, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. The sides weren't close to a deal when they found out. The Jays, like other teams the Rangers spoke with, coveted Derek Holland, Neftali Feliz, Justin Smoak and Pedro Borbon. Holland's now in the majors and the other three rank on Jonathan Mayo's updated list of top prospects. 4:20pm: Jeff Blair of the Globe and...   Continue Reading

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Odds And Ends: Snell, Tigers, Dotel

Some more links for a quiet Thursday... MLB.com's Jen Langosch says it's "almost certain" that Ian Snell will be demoted to Triple A and Dejan Kovacevic confirms the news. Snell has been mentioned in some rumors, but his value's pretty low at this point. Chris Iott of MLive.com reports that the Tigers signed two of their picks and a non-drafted free agent. Octavio Dotel realizes he could be traded and says nothing will surprise him, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin. In a piece for MLB.com, Jamey Newberg says Justin Smoak and Martin Perez lead the list of top Rangers prospects....   Continue Reading

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Gammons' Latest: Red Sox, Washburn, DeRosa

In his latest blog post at ESPN.com, Peter Gammons writes that "unless someone comes up with a Justin Smoak, Matt LaPorta or Brett Wallace," the Red Sox will hold on to Brad Penny and enjoy the depth. He says no one will offer up a prospect like that for a few months of Penny. Here's the rest of Gammons' rumors: Takashi Saito is the pitcher on Boston's staff most likely to be traded. Jake Peavy and Erik Bedard "probably won't be tradeable before Aug. 1" because of their injuries. Jarrod Washburn could be had. The Red Sox have talked to...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends, Prospects Edition: Kendry Morales, Dayan Viciedo, Logan Morrison

Some news from the winter leagues and beyond: Kendry Morales homered and doubled in Dominican Winter League play yesterday. "Morales is 9-for-23 and has homered in four of his six games in the Dominican Republic," reports Rotoworld. "He's trying to force the Angels to open up either first base or DH for him next year." Of course, if the Angels can't re-sign Mark Teixeira, Morales may not have to do much forcing (as the Angels have known all along). Seen as the future "Babe Ruth of Cuba" until he defected, Dayan Viciedo has been cleared by MLB to be a...   Continue Reading

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Latest On Pedro Alvarez

Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a source that claims the Player's Association will only focus on the status of Pedro Alvarez' contract and not on the contract of Eric Hosmer. Kovacevic says the MLBPA will argue that Hosmer's contract was only delayed so the Pirates could have more time to negotiate with Alvarez. However, Jonathan Mayo obtained a copy of the grievance filed by the union which suggests that Alvarez' contract will not be the sole focus (emphasis Mayo's). The Commissioner's Office, without notice to the MLBPA, unilaterally determined to permit Clubs to negotiate with drafted players after...   Continue Reading

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Post-Draft Roundup: Hosmer, Smoak, Strasburg

Below I've collected more interesting remaining links regarding the amateur draft. The Royals bumped their offer from $5MM to $6MM and signed top pick Eric Hosmer. Rany Jazayerli was surprised to see Hosmer effectively get more than #1 pick Tim Beckham. The Royals joined the Red Sox and Pirates as teams spending around $10MM on draft picks this year. The Rangers resisted a Major League deal for Justin Smoak, and ultimately signed him to a $3.5MM minor league deal. Owner Tom Hicks pined for a hard slot system. The story of pitcher Chris Gruler, picked third overall by the Reds...   Continue Reading

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Rangers Sign Justin Smoak

11:15pm: Smoak gets $3.5MM, per Jim Callis. 11:07pm: According to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, Smoak has been signed to a minor league deal. Terms are not yet known. 10:33pm: MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo heard an agreement between the Rangers and top pick Justin Smoak might be close, a big league deal worth more than $3MM. The Rangers will not confirm it though. Mayo considers Smoak and Yonder Alonso's fates linked.   Continue Reading

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Draft Pick Signing Update: Posey, Matusz, Alonso

10:51am: Baggarly has the latest on Posey. He says it's a "spitting contest" between Scott Boras and Posey's agency to have the highest-paid draft pick. 7:46am: The latest links involved unsigned first-round draft picks. Sam Mellinger explains the decision Eric Hosmer faces. He might have to go against Scott Boras' advice. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle denies Andrew Baggarly's Buster Posey report yesterday, calling it "premature Posey-ing." Schulman talked to the Giants' director of player personnel, who said the deal is not done and the number is not $7.5MM. There is no verbal agreement, either. Schulman also heard...   Continue Reading

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Draft Roundup: Dykstra, Smoak, Alonso

Here's a collection of links involving unsigned first rounders. Kevin Towers expects talks to Allan Dykstra to go down to Friday. The Padres nearly had a deal, buy Dykstra's physical revealed a hip problem. Justin Smoak reportedly wants a big league contract from the Rangers. The Reds want to do a minor league deal with Yonder Alonso, which has caused a stalemate. John Fay thinks he wants $7MM. Hal McCoy says the Reds are offering a $2.5MM minor league deal. Fay talked to Alonso, who may join an independent league and move in with Alex Rodriguez if need be.   Continue Reading

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