Odds & Ends: Maybin, Blue Jays, Orioles, Oswalt
Links for Thursday night, as interleague play keeps Dan Haren's 1.000 OPS out of Arizona's lineup….
- Following tonight's game, the Marlins optioned Cameron Maybin to the minors, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. As MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith noted yesterday, the team might avoid having Maybin become a super two player after 2011 if they keep him in the minors for a few weeks.
- Not many draft signings to pass on today, but the Blue Jays announced that they've signed their 16th-round pick, Canadian Dalton Pompey. Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun says (via Twitter) that Pompey gets a $140K bonus.
- While the Orioles have yet to discuss such a plan, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains why he thinks the club could hire a manager and not immediately put him in the dugout.
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News believes the Rangers are the frontrunners for Roy Oswalt if the sale of the team moves forward by early July.
- In a Q&A with MLB.com's Bill Ladson, Nationals manager Jim Riggleman says Roger Bernadina's performance is convincing the team they don't need to acquire a right fielder.
- Cody Ross tells Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post that he hopes the Marlins become buyers rather than sellers: "We want to get somebody to help us rather than see some of us gone."
- Pirates president Frank Coonelly met with reporters today and addressed Akinori Iwamura's DFA, Pedro Alvarez's promotion, and the team's recent trades. MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch has the details.
Cubs Agree To Terms With Hayden Simpson
The Cubs have reached an agreement with first-round draft pick Hayden Simpson, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (via Twitter). The deal is pending a physical, but the team could officially announce the signing by Saturday.
Jim Callis of Baseball America reports that Simpson will receive a signing bonus of $1.06MM, well below MLB's recommended figure for the draft slot.
The club's selection of Simpson at 16th overall in last week's draft surprised many, including the college right-hander himself. Although Baseball America ranked the Southern Arkansas pitcher 191st overall in their list of the top 200 amateur prospects, Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times points out that Cubs scouting director Tim Wilken "has a history of taking players based on his ratings and not Baseball America's."
Amateur Draft Signings: Wednesday
It's only been ten days since the draft, but teams are quickly coming to terms with their picks. Here are the latest updates on the deals you need to know about. You can track first rounders and their bonuses right here:
- The Red Sox made ten draft pick signings official, according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier.
- John Lowe of The Detroit Free Press reports that the Tigers have signed eighth round pick Pat Leyland, the son of manager Jim Leyland.
- The Padres signed 20 players, including second rounder Jedd Gyorko, according to the team.
- The White Sox signed second rounder Jacob Petricka, third rounders Addison Reed and Thomas Royse and 19 others, according to the team.
- The St. Louis Post-Dispatch lists the 33 picks the Cardinals have signed.
- The D'Backs signed 15 picks, including ninth rounder Zachary Walters, according to the Arizona Republic.
- The A's signed fifth rounder Tyler Vail and five others, according to the team.
- James Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press reports that ninth rounder Tony Plagman and 15 other picks agreed to terms with the Tigers today.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (via Twitter) that the Indians signed their 40th rounder and three undrafted free agents.
Blue Jays Sign Asher Wojciechowski
The Blue Jays have signed sandwich pick Asher Wojciechowski, according to a team press release. Wojciechowski is the third and final of the Jays' supplemental round selections to reach an agreement with the club, following the signings of Aaron Sanchez and Noah Syndergaard.
Wojciechowski gets a $815K bonus, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. That's in line with MLB's recommended bonuses.
The right-hander from The Citadel hits 96 mph on the radar gun and is considered a potential workhorse starter or closer. When Toronto nabbed him 41st overall on draft day, John Manuel of Baseball America praised the value, speculating that Wojciechowski's workload late this season may have caused him to slip a little.
Red Sox Agree To Sign First Rounder Kolbrin Vitek
TUESDAY, 7:07pm: Vitek has passed his physical and will probably sign his contract on Wednesday, Speier reports. Jim Callis of Baseball America reports that Vitek will receive a $1.36MM bonus, as expected.
FRIDAY, 12:21pm: The Red Sox have reached an agreement with first round pick Kolbrin Vitek, pending a physical, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law (via Twitter). Immediately after Monday night's draft, Vitek told reporters that he had reached a "verbal agreement" with the Red Sox and Alex Speier of WEEI.com reported at the time that the deal would be for slot money. That likely means a bonus worth about $1.36MM for the 20th overall pick, who said Monday that he didn't want to spend much time negotiating.
“I expect to sign right away and get playing and start my career right away,” Vitek said.
The Red Sox spoke to Vitek, a two-way player at Ball State, about playing third base and that's where he expects to play. The 21-year-old Ohio native stands 6'3".
Rays To Sign Second-Rounder Jacob Thompson
Jacob Thompson, a second-round pick of the Rays (66th overall) in the Amateur Draft, intends to sign with the club on Wednedsay, reports Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. Thompson informed the Times of his decision via text message.
Thompson, 20, is a right-handed starter out of Long Beach State. His signing means that Tampa Bay now has three of their top five selections under contract, including first-rounder Justin O'Conner and second-round pick Derek Dietrich.
Amateur Draft Signings: Tuesday
We'll probably have to wait a little while for Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Jameson Taillon to sign, but teams have agreed to deals with some of the players selected later on in the draft. The players listed below signed today. Click here for the list of picks to sign yesterday and here for the updated list of first rounders to sign:
- The Rangers signed four picks, reports ESPNDallas.com, including third-rounder Jordan Akins and fourth-rounder Drew Robinson.
- As reported earlier, Toronto signed 14 picks, including supplemental rounders Aaron Sanchez and Noah Syndergaard.
- Thirteenth-rounder Robby Price is the highest-drafted of the five Rays picks who signed today, reports Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
- Eight more Orioles picks have signed, says Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Riley Hornback (12th round) is the highest selected of the new signees.
- The Brewers have signed fourth-rounder Hunter Morris and two other draft picks, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- LoHud.com's Chad Jennings reports that the Yankees have signed 13 picks, with eight-rounder Kyle Roller the highest-drafted of the bunch.
- The Padres signed second rounder Jedd Gyorko and fourth rounder Chris Bisson pending physicals, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter).
- The Royals signed seven more draft picks, including eighth rounder Michael Mariot.
- The Pirates signed six late round selections, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch (via Twitter).
Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post.
Blue Jays Sign Aaron Sanchez
The Blue Jays signed supplemental round pick Aaron Sanchez, according to the team. The Jays formally announced the signing of Noah Syndergaard, another right-hander the club selected in the supplemental round, and 12 other draft picks.
Jim Callis of Baseball America notes that the Blue Jays signed Sanchez for $775K and Syndergaard for $600K.
Sanchez, a high schooler who batted .542 as a junior, has a 91-93 mph fastball that intrigued scouts. Baseball America ranked Sanchez, who had committed to the University of Oregon, 59th among draft-eligible prospects. He and Syndergaard are two of the four righties the Blue Jays selected with their top four picks this year. Deck McGuire and Asher Wojciechowski have yet to sign.
Indians Notes: Draft, Carmona, Westbrook, Choo
Here's some news out of Cleveland that has nothing to do with Tom Izzo…
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Tribe has signed draft picks Jordan Cooper (9th round) and Diego Seastruck (14th).
- Fangraphs' Matt Klaassen looks at the Indians as a whole and examines their trade options. He notes that the reasonable contracts of Fausto Carmona and Jhonny Peralta make both men attractive to other teams, with Carmona being Cleveland's top piece of trade bait. Kerry Wood and Jake Westbrook's ages and injury histories keep them, in Klaassen's view, from having "much value on the trade market."
- In regards to Westbrook, Anthony Castrovince writes in a mailbag for MLB.com that the Indians love the experience that he brings to their rotation. If Westbrook is dealt at the deadline, Castovince thinks the team might try to re-sign him in the winter. The veteran right-hander is in the last year of a contract that pays him $11MM for 2010.
- Castrovince also notes that Shin-Soo Choo and his agent Scott Boras may be looking for an extension over Choo's three arbitration years, but not a deal that would cover any of his free agent years. Choo isn't eligible for free agency until after the 2013 season.
Odds & Ends: Angels, Brewers, Gordon, Romero
Some links to check out while we wait to see if Jon Garland can help the Padres extend their lead in the NL West…
- Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports that the Angels may take their time in trading for a first baseman, both to save money and to determine if they need to make a big pickup.
- Brewers' first-round pick Dylan Covey is looking for a $2MM signing bonus, which Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes is about $300K higher than MLB's slotted bonus price for a 14th overall selection.
- Haudricourt also reports that Milwaukee's first two picks from the 2009 Amateur Draft (26th overall right-hander Eric Arnett and 39th overall outfielder Kentrail Davis) have both been sent down a level. Arnett posted a 6.87 ERA in 12 starts at the low-A level and is moving down to rookie ball, while Davis goes from high-A to low-A.
- Royals manager Ned Yost tells MLB.com's Dick Kaegel that in spite of Alex Gordon's success at Triple-A, Gordon won't be called back up to the majors until Kansas City can find an everyday space for him.
- Five teams have an interest in outfielder Wilmer Romero in advance of the international signing period opening on July 2, tweets Melissa Segura of Sports Illustrated.
- Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette thinks the Pirates could spend around $10.5MM to sign their draft class since they "need, and want, to flood…their system with talent."
- The already pitching-rich Braves have "the most talented rotation in the minors" at Advanced-A Myrtle Beach, according to Fangraphs' Marc Hulet.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson sees Washington pursuing a pitcher and a hitter at the trade deadline, and answers a number of hot stove-related questions in a fan mailbag.
- Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times says that the Dodgers haven't made any progress towards acquiring Cliff Lee and are balking at the money left on Roy Oswalt's contract.
- Meanwhile, Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times says the Angels could have Paul Konerko today, if they wanted. He adds that if they do make a trade, they might be better off targeting a third baseman.
- A Mets' official indicated that the team won't discuss an extension with Rod Barajas until after the season, tweets Newsday's David Lennon.
- Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe tweets that Ted Lilly was "begging" the Yankees to sign him before the 2007, but they went for Kei Igawa instead.
- Paul Hagen of The Philadelphia Daily News says the Phillies shouldn't expect a trade deadline boost this year because of a depleted farm system beyond Domonic Brown and close to $140MM in salary commitments for 2011.
- Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle says it might not be until July that the Astros decide to "blow up the roster and start over."
- Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports looks at nine starting pitchers who will be on the market this summer, led by Lee.