Heyman On Red Sox, Davis, Padilla
Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Red Sox are "thought to have offered a five-prospect package of [Clay] Buchholz, Michael Bowden, Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone and a position player" for Roy Halladay. The club apparently offered the Mariners an even better deal for Felix Hernandez. Here are the rest of Heyman's rumors:
- The Brewers offered nothing more than salary relief for Doug Davis, so the D'Backs held on.
- There's a decent chance the Blue Jays will find a new GM. As one exec points out, no one gets to rebuild twice without making the playoffs.
- The Rangers gave up on Vicente Padilla because they consider him a bad teammate.
Law On Miller, Purke, Jays
ESPN.com's Keith Law wrote last night that the Cardinals seem to be on their way to signing top pick Shelby Miller, who could receive top-ten money. Signing the righty would be "a huge coup" for the Cards, Law says. Here are the rest of his rumors:
- The Rangers and Matt Purke are still over $1MM apart so the club isn't optimistic about signing the first rounder.
- The Blue Jays have a good shot at signing third rounder Jake Marisnick, a high schooler who had first round potential heading into the spring.
- The Jays aren't likely to sign Canadian lefty Jake Eliopoulos.
Nats DFA Logan Kensing
For the second time this year, the Nats have designated reliever Logan Kensing for assignment, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Kensing, who throws as hard as 96 mph, has a 10.71 ERA for the season, leading manager Jim Riggleman to wonder if he's tipping his pitches. The Nats DFA'd Kensing for the first time back in May.
Yankees Sign First And Second Rounders
Draft Updates: Jays, Rays, Mariners, Padres
Its' still quiet on the Stephen Strasburg front, but we have other draft updates with less than 12 hours remaining for teams to sign their picks.
- Baseball America's Jim Callis says the Jays signed outfielder K.C. Hobson for $500k, more than three times what MLB recommends giving sixth rounders.
- Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times says the Rays will have to examine Levon Washington's shoulder carefully today, since the top pick is coming off surgery.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times imagines what would happen if the Mariners and Nationals both failed to sign their top picks this year.
- Andy Marks of the Ocala Star-Banner reports that the Padres agreed to sign fourth rounder Keyvius Sampson for second round money, though the specifics of the deal aren't yet known.
Russell Will Manage The Pirates Next Year
Pirates President Frank Coonelly told Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that manager John Russell will return next year. Russell, who is already under contract for 2010, has led the Pirates to a 113-165 record in his two seasons as team manager. GM Neal Huntington, who is also under contract through next season, has traded away most of the team's veteran talent, so Russell has worked with a constantly-changing group.
Odds And Ends: Reds, Alvarez, Holliday
Some links for Monday morning…
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer believes the Reds should be quiet on the free agent market after the season because they have many needs and very little money. And why don't they have enough money? They've spent too much on big contracts already.
- But Scott Miller of CBS Sports says small-market teams can still contend. He points to recent winners such as the Twins, Indians, Rays and Rockies to show that low-budget teams can succeed.
- A year ago this time, Pedro Alvarez was the center of attention as he signed with the Pirates. Now, he's heating up in the minors, but he won't make his MLB debut this year, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- Erik Manning of FanGraphs says he was wrong to assume the Cards gave up too much to acquire Matt Holliday, who's been on an extended tear since joining his new club.
Draft Updates: Miller, Yankees, Jays
More updates on the final day to sign draft picks…
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that top Cardinals pick Shelby Miller is in St. Louis for a physical. GM John Mozeliak says talks are "moving in a positive direction" and one official says the sides could end up agreeing on a deal worth about $3.25MM.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo hears that the Cards are making progress with Miller, but doubts they'll hand out $3.25MM.
- Mayo reports that first rounders Tyler Matzek (Rockies) and Matt Purke (Rangers) all have substantial gaps to overcome if they're going to sign today.
- Zack Wheeler and the Giants are now less than $1MM apart, Mayo reports.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America reports that the Yankees signed righty Caleb Cotham for $675k, which is more than four times the recommended limit for a fifth rounder.
- Callis reports that the Blue Jays signed 18th rounder Daniel Webb for $450k, triple the recommended ceiling for late round picks.
Draft Updates: Brewers, Rays, Yankees
Some more news on signings is trickling in — let's dig in:
- Tom Haudricourt at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is hearing that the Brewers have essentially agreed to terms with 39th overall pick Kentrail Davis but aren't announcing it so as to not drive up the price of other picks before the deadline. There was a worry that the two sides weren't completely close earlier today. I understand the reasoning behind the secrecy, but doesn't this feel like something that needs to change? It's not like all of these contract figures have been on lockdown in the first place, and chances are they're not going to be in the future either.
- Jim Callis at Baseball America reports that the Rays awarded fifth-round pick Jeff Malm a bonus of $680k, about five times the slot recommendation for that selection.
- George A. King III at the New York Post says that the only obstacle in the way of Slade Heathcott and John Murphy becoming Yankees are their upcoming physicals. Heathcott and Murphy are the Yanks' first- and second-rounders, respectively.
- We know that the Angels have come to terms with Jake Locker, their 10th-round pick, on a $150k bonus. Locker is a top football prospect too, though, and he will reportedly be given free reign to pursue that career, says Jim Callis. Sounds like a pretty nice deal.
Smoltz To Be Released Monday?
8:38pm: Mark Bowman at MLB.com says the Braves appear to have no interest in bringing back Smoltz and discusses the dubious relationship between the righty and the Braves. A source acknowledges "there would have to be some people saying they're sorry to each other" if any deal were to happen, but Bowman suggests that the Braves were more concerned about his durability than the emotions involved. Had Smoltz been willing to sharpen his mechanics in the minors, Bowman says the team would have been more willing to take another chance on him.
7:49pm: Jon Heyman at SI says (via Twitter) that the Red Sox may release the DFA'd John Smoltz tomorrow. As Heyman notes, it was probably difficult to find takers for Smoltz not only due to his questionable performance but also his built-in contract incentives that pay Smoltz for every day he's on the major-league roster.
As we pointed out yesterday, there are a number of teams that retain interest in Smoltz, and Ken Rosenthal at FOX Sports named the Marlins and Cardinals as suitors for Smoltz as a right-handed option out of the bullpen.