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Archives for June 2009

Odds & Ends: Hart, Bedard, Hanson, Draft

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Some bullet points from around the internet:

  • Via Twitter, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (@haudricourt) wrote, "Talked to a baseball official who said the Brewers have indicated RF Corey Hart is not available, so forget any trade rumors involving him."
  • In response to his name swirling around the rumor mills, Erik Bedard is speaking in clichés, saying in a piece by MLB.com's Jim Street,  "I don't really pay much attention to it" and "I love Seattle. You can't complain with this city, the fans, the stadium, the new coaches we've got, the players … it's a lot of fun. I love it here, so if it [contract extension] does happen, I'd be happy."
  • Tommy Hanson has been called up to make his Major League debut today against Milwaukee, says the Miami Herald. Casey Kotchman was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained right calf to make space for Hanson.
  • The Washington Post reports Nats GM Mike Rizzo says the team is "not drafting on signability whatsoever." Instead, the Nats will take, according to the Post, "the highest-remaining player on their board. That simple."
  • According to Keith Law, high schooler and lefty "Matt Purke is looking for 'Rick Porcello's deal' in the upcoming draft, according to industry sources." Law notes Porcello received $7.285MM in guranteed money, including a $3.58MM signing bonus, a record for a high school pitcher previously held by Josh Beckett.
  • Law also ranks the best tools in the '09 draft.

Huntington On Draft

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Pirates GM Neal Huntington answered fan questions about his draft procedure and approach on MLB.com today. It's a decent read. Said Huntington in one response,

"We place an internal value on each player in the Draft, and when our internal value is within a realistic range of the player's legitimate signing-bonus expectations, we will be aggressive in our selection of that player… We believe that, when the signing deadline passes, we will have committed dollars to the Draft that will again rank among the top-10 of all Major League clubs and added a deep and talented class to our system."

Huntington added that this years draft class "is not nearly as strong" as last year, with less "premium talent", which Huntington explains are "present and future abilities to allow evaluators to project them to develop into All-Star caliber players."

Huntingon also added that what happened with Pedro Alvarez won't dissuade them from pursuing Scott Boras' clients.

Atkins Could Lose Playing Time, Trade Value?

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What to do with Garrett Atkins? The cleanup hitter for the Rockies has not been cleaning up, hitting .190 with only 5 homeruns and a mere .579 OPS. He's seen his slugging percentage decline each year since 2006.

Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post says the Rockies have five players for four infield spots and Atkins is likely to be the odd man out. If he can produce at the plate, the Rockies will play him with hopes that he'll regain significant trade value. If he can't, will the Rockies want to use him off the bench? Atkins does have minor league options remaining.

Atkins recently changed contact lenses and has seen recent improvement (albeit in a small sample size), hitting 2 of his 5 homeruns on June 4. Yesterday, Renck wrote, "Atkins has three hits in the past two games, emerging from his offensive coma. The Cardinals are seeking a third a baseman, but like all suitors, are waiting to see if Atkins consistently regains his swing." Atkins is making $7.05MM this season.

What would you do? Choose your own adventure: Send Atkins down to hope he regains his swing in Triple A? Shop him at his current value? Wait until the trade deadline to see if Atkins can demonstrate his power potential?

Price’s Latest: Draft, Red Sox, Astros, Giants

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Ed Price of MLB FanHouse has a new article up, with notes on the draft and around the Majors.

  • Price writes, "'The bottom line is there is a consensus,' said an industry source who monitors the draft closely, 'and that consensus is: There's no consensus after [Stephen] Strasburg.' The source said he has counted 63 players who could be taken in the 32 choices of the first round."
  • Price also gives us an industry insiders "educated guess on the top five: Strasburg to Washington, [North Carolina's Dustin] Ackley to Seattle, Vanderbilt lefty Mike Minor to San Diego, former Missouri right-hander Aaron Crow to Pittsburgh and Georgia high-school right-hander Zack Wheeler to Baltimore."
  • Due to free-agent compensation picks and "the rule that gives a team that fails to sign a high choice a corresponding pick the next year", the White Sox have 3 of the first 61 picks. Arizona has 7 of the first 64. Colorado has 3 of the first 34. The Angels have 5 of the first 48.
  • The Mets first pick is 72nd overall. The Phillies first is 75th.
  • The first three rounds of the draft are this Tuesday, with the first round on MLB Network.
  • The Astros are not in "dump mode," says Price. Quoting a person familiar with Drayton McLane, "'His track record is when everybody says you should dismantle [he doesn't]," the person said. 'He's been so lucky.'"
  • With Jed Lowrie returning and the ballclub winning, the Red Sox are not looking to add a bat and instead can wait to see if David Ortiz improves.
  • The Giants want a bat, but they won't give up premium young pitching.

Vizquel Willing To Play For Boston

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Omar Vizquel expressed a willingness to play for the Red Sox, should the opportunity for a trade arise at some point this season, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald.

"'It seems every time the Red Sox need a shortstop, my name gets brought up,' Vizquel said. 'Now, I don't think I'm in a good position to leave. We're winning here, we have a good thing going. I don't know if Texas would really let me go. We'll see. Maybe later in the season? Who knows. I don't want to close any doors.'"

In the piece, Tomasse says that Vizquel "wishes the Red Sox made a play for him when they had a chance." Vizquel said the Red Sox had not called. Tomasse says the Red Sox did inquire about Vizquel earlier this year, but that the Rangers are not interested in dealing the veteran shortstop.

Odds & Ends: Zambrano, McLouth, Indians

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On this day in MLBTR history: In '08 the Dodgers picked up former ROY Angel Berroa from the Royals, while the Rangers, in a valuable lesson of history repeating itself, DFA'd Sidney Ponson.

A hearty helping of links, cooked up and served (semi-) fresh:

Mets DFA Emil Brown

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So says Mike Nichols at MetsBlog, the Mets designated Emil Brown for assignment today to make room for the recently activated Ryan Church.

Brown was just acquired from the Padres on May 29th for a player to be named later. The 34-year-old journeyman outfielder only saw two plate appearances in his cup of coffee for the Mets, but he had previously put up a line of .260/.345/.432 in 41 Triple-A games for the Pads. He might latch on to another team looking for minor league depth.

Orioles Considering Sano?

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The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec reports that the Orioles invited 16-year-old phenom Miguel Angel Sano to a workout at their baseball academy in the Dominican Republic yesterday. Orioles Director of Player Development David Stocksill came out of the tryout "impressed."

Sano has been linked most often to the Pirates, who are rumored to be offering as much as $4MM to obtain the coveted shortstop prospect when international free agents are able to sign this July 2nd. Zrebiec notes that the Orioles have never dropped more than $1MM to acquire an international free agent.

Discussion: Josh Fields’ Future

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As recently reported by Mark Gonzales at the Chicago Tribune, with the recent slotting of top prospect Gordon Beckham at third, White Sox GM Kenny Williams admits that Josh Fields' future with the team is "undefined":

"I see it here in Chicago and certainly, this isn't an indication we're giving up on Josh, but you guys understand we're all about winning here."

Williams goes on to say there's a place for Fields "right now," though, as Gonzales notes, the surplus of Pale Hose infielders offers an opportunity to swing a deal and patch some holes. Fields has seen his share of ups and downs for the Sox–he was seen to be the future at third after he jacked 23 homers in 373 at-bats in 2007, but he hasn't flashed that potential since. He's posted a meager .626 OPS in 176 at-bats this year.

Do you see Fields staying with the Sox? Or would he make sense for a team starved for depth at the corners like, say, the Mets? Could he command any useful parts for Kenny Williams, or would he be selling too low?

Rockies Sign Adam Eaton

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Troy Renck at the Denver Post reports that the Rockies have signed righty Adam Eaton to a minor-league deal. Eaton was released in late May by the Orioles.

Eaton, 32, posted an ugly 8.56 ERA and 28/19 K/BB ratio for the O's in 41.1 innings before being cut. He'll slide in to provide depth at Triple-A Colorado Springs after the Rockies' recent promotion of Josh Fogg.

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