Padres Work Out Top Latin Prospects
The San Diego Padres held an invite-only camp for some of the top players eligible for the July 2 international signing date.
San Diego’s director of professional and international scouting, Randy Smith, and several front-office staffers were in the Dominican Republic last week for the two-day camp, which had about 21 players at the facility in Najayo.
Corey Brock of MLB.com notes the facility is considered the Taj Mahal of training facilities in Latin America.
Smith told Brock that this year’s class isn’t quite on par with the 2008 group, but there’s still plenty of talent.
The Padres’ camp for Latin American prospects helps the club identify players to pursue.
“Much like your draft, you get your guys in order, figure out who you want to pursue. It’s much like recruiting,” Smith said. “You sell them on your organization; sell him on your facility. The facility sells itself. It’s head and shoulders above everything else.”
Most players are between 14 and 16 years old. Only players who will turn 16 by the end of August are eligible to sign on July 2.
The Padres signed right-handed pitcher Adys Portillo (Venezuela), shortstop Alvaro Aristy (Dominican Republic), outfielder Luis Domoromo (Venezuela) and right-handed pitcher Elvin Tavarez (Dominican Republic), as well as an Australian outfielder, Corey Adamson on international signing day in 2008.
Offseason In Review: Seattle Mariners
Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Mariners. Take a look at what I had to say about them on September 2nd. By the way for subtractions I’ll put anyone who had decent playing time for the team in ’08.
Additions: Ken Griffey Jr., Russell Branyan, Tyler Johnson, Ronny Cedeno, Franklin Gutierrez, Endy Chavez, Garrett Olson, David Aardsma, Tyler Walker, Randy Messenger, Mike Sweeney, Jamie Burke, Reegie Corona, Jason Vargas, Chris Shelton, Jason Phillips, Luis Pena
Subtractions: Raul Ibanez, Jose Vidro, Jeremy Reed, Richie Sexson, Miguel Cairo, Willie Bloomquist, R.A. Dickey, Sean Green, J.J. Putz, Ryan Feierabend (out for season), Cha Seung Baek
I like the direction Jack Zduriencik has taken with the Mariners. He added a couple of cheap potential 20 HR bats in Griffey and Branyan. He declined to spend big money on the bullpen. He quietly added Olson to the starting mix. He brought in Cedeno to push Yuniesky Betancourt. And he improved the outfield defense with Gutierrez and Chavez.
2009 is a weird year for the Mariners – Adrian Beltre, Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista, and Erik Bedard are in their contract years. So we’ll see a lot of turnover in the 2009-10 offseason as well. The ’09 club doesn’t look like a winning team on the surface. It’s light on offense and certain players will be tested as full-timers. But you have to wonder if a pitching and defense-oriented team could sneak into contention if Erik Bedard and Brandon Morrow have big years.
Bottom line: Jack Z. is well on his way toward remaking the Mariners, with a slew of savvy low-cost moves in his first winter as GM.
Minor League Transactions
Baseball America’s Matt Eddy has the latest installment of minor league transactions. Notable: the Rockies signed Mark Bellhorn, the Twins signed Justin Huber, and the Nationals signed Dave Williams.
A’s Sign Orlando Cabrera
According to Yahoo’s Tim Brown, the A’s signed shortstop Orlando Cabrera to a one-year, $4MM deal. Since Cabrera was a Type A free agent offered arbitration, the White Sox will receive Oakland’s second-round pick this June as well as a supplemental pick. The move leaves Bobby Crosby ($5.5MM) as a pricey backup infielder. ESPN’s Buster Olney adds that the A’s "have had substantial talks with Nomar Garciaparra in the last 48 hours." They also remain in talks for Dennys Reyes.
The A’s have been flirting with Cabrera for a while now, and I didn’t think they’d go as high as $4MM (which is still a bargain in general). Perhaps recent reported interest by the Blue Jays forced them to make a move.
Now seems like a good time to bust out some quotes from John Dewan’s awesome new Fielding Bible Volume II. Here’s his opinion on Cabrera’s defense:
"Cabrera is a fundamentally sound shortstop who plays with a lot of energy and does everything well. He has above-average range and makes a lot of sliding plays, but he also led all shortstops in 2008 in defensive misplays (56)."
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Monday
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new column up, primarily focusing on Manny Ramirez. To review – though the Dodgers and Manny/Scott Boras were just $1.5MM or so apart, owner Frank McCourt ignored Boras’ most recent proposals and talked about starting from scratch. Heyman’s source believes McCourt may choose to "stop negotiating for now, or more drastically, begin negotiating backward." Another source of Heyman’s, one close to Manny, believes lowering their offer would be a dangerous move for the Dodgers.
Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times talked to McCourt, who "said the latest phase of negotiations ended the moment agent Boras made him a counterproposal instead of simply accepting or declining an offer the Dodgers made Wednesday of a two-year, $45MM contract with much of the money deferred without any added interest."
Stan Kasten Performing GM Duties For Now
11:43am: Harlan says Nationals president Stan Kasten is performing the GM duties for the moment, at least as far as trades. Kasten didn’t offer much else regarding the search for Bowden’s replacement.
8:55am: The Washington Post has all kinds of reading material in the wake of Jim Bowden’s resignation.
- Thomas Boswell says Bowden shouldn’t blame the media. Bowden’s #1 job was to build a farm system, but the Nationals are in the bottom third of baseball in that regard.
- Barry Svrluga looks at Bowden’s significant moves as Nationals GM. Svrluga and Chico Harlan gathered quotes from many who worked with Bowden.
- Joshua Robinson and Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times note that baseball investigators have examined 6-8 teams’ dealings in the Dominican Republic – not just the Nationals.
- Harlan figures Mike Rizzo and Tony LaCava are candidates to replace Bowden.
Odds & Ends: Contraction, Pudge, German, Jays
Links for Monday…
- Squawking Baseball talked to Braves exec John Coppolella about the salary arbitration process as well as various topics about the team.
- The Marlins renewed their remaining players, including Cameron Maybin and Matt Lindstrom. The Braves signed 10, including Yunel Escobar.
- Bill Madden of the New York Daily News wonders if contraction will be considered during negotiations for the next Basic Agreement.
- Justin Murphy of Seamheads.com talked to Brian Bannister, as did Joe Posnanski of the Kansas City Star.
- MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro talked to various sources who expect Ivan Rodriguez to wind up a Marlin, though that’s based on opinion rather than insider knowledge.
- We forgot to mention that the Royals designated Esteban German for assignment to make room for Juan Cruz. Rany Jazayerli liked the Cruz signing. My opinion: Cruz has great stuff and upside, but he has a ways to go before being considered a top setup man.
- Blue Jays president Paul Beeston says the team will go over slot in the draft for the first time, according to Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail (hat tip Drunk Jays Fans).
- Tracy Ringolsby and Jack Etkin, formerly of the Rocky Mountain News, can now be found at Inside The Rockies.
Cubs Rumors: Schilling, Peavy
Let’s talk about the Cubs’ connection to starters Curt Schilling and Jake Peavy.
- Schilling is undecided on pitching in 2009, but if he does he’d be interested in the Cubs and Rays, among other teams. As a reminder, here’s Schilling’s list of ten preferred teams from October of 2007. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times finds it a "long shot" that the Cubs would pursue Schilling, while Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune thinks the Cubs "probably would take a flier on him, at the right price."
- Wittenmyer and Sullivan have quotes from Peavy, who denied singing "Go Cubs Go" at a Vegas bar in December. Peavy had kind words for the Cubs, but the two teams are not talking trade currently.
- In a related story, Sullivan’s heard that Padres CEO Sandy Alderson could take a similar role with the Cubs once new owner Tom Ricketts takes over. Alderson declined comment.
Brett Myers Hopes To Stay With Phillies
MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki spoke to Phillies pitcher Brett Myers yesterday. The 28 year-old righty is entering the last year of his contract. After John Lackey, Myers is in the running to be the second-best available free agent starter after the season.
Myers managed to drop 35 pounds in the offseason, and he’s also trying to improve his changeup. He has no desire to pitch the ninth inning anymore, and said he "absolutely" wants to stay with the Phillies beyond this year. With a huge season he could have a shot at an A.J. Burnett contract (five years, $82.5MM), but he may wind up in the Oliver Perez range (three years, $36MM).
Jim Bowden Resigns
7:52pm: According to Ladson, the Nationals were shocked by Bowden’s resignation. Manager Manny Acta and several players made complimentary remarks Sunday evening.
"The news caught me by surprise," Acta said. "It takes a lot of courage for him to do that. As a manager, I appreciate what he did if he felt that he was being a distraction here. I will always be grateful and have a soft spot for Jim."
9:48am: The Washington Post has provided a link to Bowden’s official statement.
9:04am: According to Chico Harlan of the Washington Post, Nationals GM Jim Bowden has resigned.
ESPN.com has more, including quotes from Bowden. Most notably, Bowden says, "I’ve become a distraction," and, "my ability to properly represent the Washington Nationals has been compromised."
Finally, Bill Ladson of MLB.com captures a classic quote from the GM: "I have become a distraction. Unless you are Manny Ramirez, there is no place for distraction in baseball."