Draft Day Roundup
The draft is just four hours away. We’ll be live-blogging it here at MLBTR. Here are today’s draft links.
- Baseball America’s brand new top 30 projections.
- According to Keith Law, Mariners doctors gave the thumbs up on Tanner Scheppers and the team could take him at #20.
- Law says the Nationals seem to be debating between Kyle Skipworth and Aaron Crow at #9.
- Law adds that first baseman Yonder Alonso has an $8MM rumored asking price, which could cause him to drop. Alonso is roughly the 11th-best player in the draft, combining various expert rankings.
- Speaking of huge demands, Buster Posey‘s people are floating $12MM. Perhaps for that reason, the Rays will go with Tim Beckham.
- The Pirates seem a near-lock to take Pedro Alvarez at #2.
- Jonathan Mayo is "fairly certain" the Reds will take Gordon Beckham at #7.
- Nick Piecoro tosses out some possibilities for the D’Backs at #26.
- Tom Haudricourt has three names for the Brewers at #16.
Jason Botts Acquired By Nippon Ham
According to Sanspo.com, the Nippon Ham Fighters have acquired Jason Botts from the Rangers. Botts, 27, is hitting .242/.342/.515 in Triple A. He wasn’t able to figure it out in 282 career ABs with the Rangers.
Thanks to Patrick Newman for the tip.
Esteban Loaiza Signs With White Sox
Esteban Loaiza is back with the White Sox, this time as a reliever. I believe ESPN 1000’s Bruce Levine had the scoop once again.
Loaiza, 36, pitched in seven games for the Dodgers this year before being designated for assignment to make room for Clayton Kershaw. Loaiza is back under pitching coach Don Cooper, who helped him win 21 games in ’03.
Odds and Ends: Lane, K-Rod, Adam LaRoche
Random linkage…
- Jason Lane has agreed to remain a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankee.
- Francisco Rodriguez would like to play nine more seasons. Four or five or those might come with his next contract, which may set a record for a reliever.
- Pirates prospect Steve Pearce is getting some time at first base in Triple A. Despite that development, Dejan Kovacevic says there is no Adam LaRoche trade chatter yet. LaRoche followed up his standard awful April with an .804 OPS in May.
- RotoAuthority looks at the fantasy studs of May.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman speculates that it’d require at least two of a team’s best young players to get Matt Holliday.
Red Sox Not Interested In Bonds
According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, a club source said Barry Bonds is "not a fit" for the Red Sox. David Ortiz may be ready to play in July, anyway.
Bonds will continue to wait for a phone call. I believe he would’ve put aside negative feelings for Boston, had the Red Sox come calling. Just for the fun of it, the following contending teams have gotten below-average production out of the DH spot: Indians, Tigers, Angels, Twins, Blue Jays. You could probably find a reason for each of these clubs to pass on Bonds, however.
The Starting Pitcher Market
Almost every team needs starting pitching. Let’s take a look at who’s out there.
- Bronson Arroyo, Reds. If Walt Jocketty starts selling off his veterans, he’ll have to listen on Arroyo. The innings-eating 31 year-old is signed through 2010.
- Derek Lowe, Dodgers. Lowe seems to have righted the ship after a five-start stumble. He’ll be a free agent after the season, but I can’t see Ned Colletti moving Lowe unless the Dodgers fall out of contention.
- Joe Blanton, A’s. Like Arroyo, a hittable innings eater. Also like Arroyo, he’s under team control through 2010.
- Livan Hernandez, Twins. The Twins may want to keep Livan, since they are in the thick of the AL Central race. You may recall they did not elect to trade Carlos Silva last year.
- A.J. Burnett, Blue Jays. His name comes up in trade rumors because of an opt out clause. If he thinks he can top a two-year, $24MM deal, Burnett will probably elect free agency after the season. The Jays are currently a contender, so he shouldn’t be available. Plus, he has a limited no-trade clause.
- Boof Bonser, Twins. Recently demoted to the bullpen, Bonser may be expendable (and more desirable than Livan).
- Brad Penny, Dodgers. The Dodgers hold an $8.75MM option for ’09 with a $2MM buyout. Penny has a limited no-trade clause. He’s pitched terribly lately.
- C.C. Sabathia, Indians. Teams would be falling all over themselves to add a true ace, even for two months. And maybe the acquiring team would try to lock him up. The Indians are still contending, however.
- Daniel Cabrera, Orioles. Has he turned the corner, or should the O’s sell high? Cabrera is under team control through 2010.
- Gil Meche, Royals. Meche is signed through 2011. I think the Royals should at least shop him around.
- Greg Maddux, Padres. Mad Dog has no-trade protection, so it’ll be his call as to whether he wants a trade.
- Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson, Kenny Rogers, Tigers. Some have suggested the Tigers will look to move a starter. They’re not out of the AL Central race, in my opinion.
- Miguel Batista, Jarrod Washburn, Mariners. Both vets are signed through ’09. Both have been lousy.
- Odalis Perez, Nationals. Allows too many baserunners, but may be attractive as an innings eater. Should definitely be available.
- Randy Wolf, Padres. If Wolf puts in another strong, healthy month he should be one of Kevin Towers’ more valuable trade chips.
- Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Sidney Ponson, Rangers. The Rangers are only six games out, so don’t start the fire sale yet. Padilla is signed through ’09, Millwood through ’10.
- Ben Sheets, Brewers. The Brewers are only 3.5 games out of the wild card, so trading Sheets (an impending free agent) should not be considered for now.
- Paul Byrd, Jeremy Sowers, Indians. Shopping these two made sense before the Jake Westbrook injury. Pitching surpluses don’t exist!
- Zack Greinke, Royals. To trade him, the Royals would probably need a very good, cheap, young MLB-ready hitter.
- Rich Harden, A’s. I expect interested teams to see how Harden fares over the next month before getting serious.
Draft Roundup
Tomorrow is draft day! ESPN’s coverage begins at 1pm CST. We’ll live-blog it here at MLBTR, just for the fun of it. Here are today’s draft-related links.
- Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein projects the top 30. Plenty of inside info here.
- Jonathan Mayo has another set of top 30 projections. He’s also got a host of rumors; I’ll let you click over to read them.
- Roto Professor chatted with Baseball America’s Jim Callis.
- Dejan Kovacevic dismisses the idea of the Pirates picking Pedro Alvarez as a P.R./fan-pleasing move. If they pick him, it’ll be for baseball reasons.
- The Reds have their #7 pick narrowed down to four players.
- Baseball America’s John Manuel has all kinds of rumors, and the article is free to read.
Talking Retirement: Smoltz, Trachsel, Mercker
Today we’ve got a trio of pitchers who may be ready to call it quits.
- John Smoltz will have season-ending shoulder surgery. Retirement is not out of the question, but right now he’s got his eye on returning in ’09.
- Jeff Zrebiec talked with Steve Trachsel in spring; he’ll probably retire if the Orioles release him.
- Hal McCoy expects Kent Mercker to hang it up. He’s on the 60-day DL with a sore back.
Bill Hall Hopes For Trade
WEDNESDAY: Doug Melvin says he’s "not really motivated" to trade Hall at this time. Makes sense, since trading him now would mostly be a salary dump.
TUESDAY: According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, third baseman Bill Hall would prefer to be traded. He’s unhappy about losing playing time to Russell Branyan, and believes his willingness to switch positions in each of the last two seasons should’ve bought him more latitude.
Hall, 28, is hitting .225/.295/.418 in 201 plate appearances. He’s a year removed from his last .800+ OPS month. Would positional stability help Hall return to his 35 home run form? Will any team have the patience to find out?
Hall earns $4.8MM this year, $6.8MM in ’09, and $8.4MM in ’10 (with a $9.25MM option for ’11). I can’t imagine much of a trade market for him given his recent hitting. Can you think of a team with a need at third or short that would make sense for Hall?
Francisco Cruceta Designated
Casey Fossum had been tearing up Triple A, so the Tigers decided to designate Francisco Cruceta to make room for him.
Cruceta, 26, has only 26 big league innings under his belt. He’s been knocked around, and lousy control hasn’t helped. Cruceta missed all of spring training with visa issues. The Tigers are the fifth organization seduced by Cruceta’s high ceiling (according to Baseball America).