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Draft Links: Cardinals, Royals, Jackson, Rays

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If this morning's round of draft-related links wasn't enough, here's some more reading material to prepare you for Monday….

  • The Cardinals are targeting left-handed pitching, speed, and power in the draft, according to Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo hears that the Royals don't quite have an agreement in place with Yasmani Grandal yet, but that Grandal is still the favorite to go fourth overall to Kansas City.
  • Rany Jazayerli outlines why he thinks the Royals' draft positions in recent years have been unlucky.
  • Within Peter Gammons' MLB.com piece on the draft, one National League GM says that after the top three of Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and Jameson Taillon, "there's virtually no difference between the fourth and 44th picks."
  • ESPN.com's Keith Law tweets that the Brewers, Astros, Marlins, and Yankees are interested in right-hander Luke Jackson, who looks increasingly like a first-round pick.
  • Continuing their three-part preview of Tampa Bay's draft, DRaysBay examines some players the Rays could target with their first few picks.
  • Fanhouse's Frankie Piliere runs down the latest draft buzz he's heard and updates his predictions for the first 15 picks.
  • Former Athletic Scott Hatteberg is helping out with the club's draft preparation, according to Joe Stiglich of the Oakland Tribune (via Twitter).

Discussion: The Orioles’ Next Move

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When the Orioles fired manager Dave Trembley on Thursday, it represented the club's first major shake-up, and Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun hopes it won't be the last. Schmuck writes that, no matter who is managing the O's, changes need to be made to the team's roster. He advocates trading away many of the team's veterans and focusing on player development for the rest of the season.

In his blog post this morning, ESPN.com's Buster Olney quoted a talent evaluator who thought the Orioles might be better off hanging on to older players such as Kevin Millwood, Ty Wigginton, and Luke Scott, to help stabilize the clubhouse. And, as Schmuck notes, Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail doesn't seem ready to give up on the current roster quite yet:

"I'm still hopeful we can end up with a better record than we had last year,'' said MacPhail. "I still want to move that needle…. Obviously we've handicapped ourselves greatly, but I think getting our players healthy will help us in that regard."

Still, with no chance of contending this season in a stacked AL East, and prospects like Josh Bell and Jake Arrieta close to being ready, revamping the roster seems like the logical next step for the Orioles. Schmuck suggests that the ideal approach would be dealing the aforementioned veterans (plus Miguel Tejada), giving a few young players a shot in the majors, and aggressively diving into the free agent market this coming offseason. If you were running the Orioles, would you do things differently?

Rosenthal On Fielder, Angels, Pierzynski, Mets

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Let's check out the newest edition of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..

  • Milwaukee may not be able to find a taker for Prince Fielder before the trade deadline.  Fielder's deal runs through next season and the Angels, who are the most obvious fit, only need a first baseman for the remainder of this season to fill in for Kendry Morales.  The teams with the greatest needs for a first baseman/designated hitter type, such as the Mariners, aren't in contention.  Rosenthal points out that Brewers GM Doug Melvin has always said that it's easier to move position players in the winter when more teams can be drawn into the mix.
  • Angels GM Tony Reagins says that the team will be patient in finding a replacement for Morales.  The Angels are starting to play better and Mike Napoli is an obvious internal solution as Jeff Mathis gets set to return.  While their biggest need is in the bullpen, Reagins says that the team is comfortable with the pitchers that they have, for now.
  • White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski would almost certainly consent to a trade if the club asked him to move on in order to give Tyler Flowers big league experience.  Pierzynski has the right to veto any trade beginning on June 13th.  The veteran is a free agent at the end of the season and could enhance his value by going to a contender.  If he was still available in August then his salary is high enough that he would likely clear waivers.
  • The Mets say that they have the payroll flexibility to add a starter at the deadline but it remains to be seen just how much and how willing they are to part with young talent.  One solution could be putting Jenrry Mejia in the starting five as GM Omar Minaya believes that he could be a dominant starter.  However, manager Jerry Manuel raised doubts about that happening this season.

Roster Moves Hinge On Oliver Perez’s Decision

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SATURDAY, 4:10pm: Major League Baseball will independently review Oliver Perez's medical records, including the MRI he took on Friday, a league official told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.  The official told Martino that the league often does this when an injury needs clarification.

11:09am: Perez was placed on the 15-day disabled list with knee tendinitis today according to SNY's Kevin Burkhardt (via Twitter). No further move will be needed to make room for Niese. 

FRIDAY, 9:48pm: If Oliver Perez does not accept a minor league assignment, the Mets may designate a reliever for assignment, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo.  The organization is hoping that Perez will agree to the demotion by tomorrow when they plan to activate Jon Niese off of the disabled list.

In order to make room on the roster, Elmer Dessens could be DFA'd.  The Mets re-signed Dessens to a minor league deal in December and have given him just 4.1 innings of work heading into tonight's game.  However, the veteran hurler made his case for staying on with the club tonight by pitching 1.1 scoreless innings to set the table for a Francisco Rodriguez save.

Another possibility for the Mets would be to option Jenrry Mejia to Triple-A, though they may want to keep him on the big league roster.  

Perez refused a minor league assignment from the Mets on Monday.  The club reportedly asked the lefty at least twice to go to the minors.

Blue Jays Sign DeWayne Wise

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The Blue Jays have signed outfielder DeWayne Wise to a minor league deal, according to James Hall of MLB.com.  Wise, 32, opted out of his deal with the Phillies on Tuesday.

In 145 plate appearances for Triple A Lehigh Valley, Wise posted a slash line of .272/.317/.515.  In his big league career, which has spanned parts of seven seasons, he has hit .216/.255/.380.  Wise is known for his outstanding defense and has a career UZR/150 of 9.2 in the outfield.

Nationals Release Chris Coste

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The Nationals have unconditionally released catcher Chris Coste, according to a team press release.  The 37-year-old recently underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery.

The backstop was placed on waivers by the Mets in late March and was quickly claimed by the Nats.  Coste made a combined 230 plate appearances for the Astros and Phillies last season, hitting .224/.301/.317. 

2010 Draft Prospect: Matt Harvey

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Major League Baseball's amateur draft will be held from June 7th-9th, so we're going to introduce you to some of the top players available between now and then.

Prior to the season, the story of UNC righty Matt Harvey was an unfortunate one. He and Rick Porcello were considered the top two high school pitchers in the 2007 draft, though Harvey priced himself into the third round and declined to sign with the Angels as the 118th overall pick. While Porcello was busy establishing himself as one of the game's best young pitchers, Harvey was struggling with the Tar Heels and his stock took a significant hit.

The good news is that an improved delivery has helped turn Harvey back in a prospect, and he's once again in the mix for the first round. ESPN's Keith Law and Baseball America are in agreement that he is the 20th best player available in next week's draft. Harvey owns one of the best fastballs in the class, which MLB.com's Draft Report says is up 96-97 mph. The great curveball he showed in high school is now inconsistent, but he's added a decent changeup and slider to his repertoire. There's a chance he may wind up in the bullpen down the road. The MLB.com link has video.

During Harvey's first two years on campus he walked 89 batters in 142.2 innings of work, not to mention the 18 wild pitches he threw. His strikeout rate was very good at 10.2 K/9, but it didn't mitigate all the free passes. Through 14 starts and 96 innings this spring, Harvey posted a 102/35 K/BB ratio, though he still chucked nine wild pitches. 

Baseball America's Jim Callis projected the Mets to take Harvey with the seventh overall pick in his latest mock draft, while Law had him going to Diamondbacks at number six (sub. req'd for both). However, Law did say the Mets have been heavily linked the righty, and Yasmani Grandal's reported deal with the Royals could push him into their laps. Harvey is a Scott Boras client, so whoever drafts him shouldn't expect a discount for his struggles as a freshman and sophomore. 

Cardinals Sign Randy Winn

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11:56am: John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle tweets that the deal is official, and Winn will be available for today's game.

10:19am: The Cardinals are close to signing outfielder Randy Winn, according to the team's official Twitter feed. He was designated for assignment by the Yankees about a week ago.

Winn, 36 next week, hit just .213/.300/.295 in 71 plate appearances for the Yanks, and his merely average defensive performance wasn't even getting him playing time as a late-inning defense replacement by the end of his tenure. The Yanks are still on the hook for his $1.1MM salary, less the pro-rated portion of the league minimum that St. Louis will pay him.

2010 Draft Prospect: Michael Choice

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Major League Baseball's amateur draft will be held from June 7th-9th, so we're going to introduce you to some of the top players available between now and then.

At times it seems like nothing excites a team more on draft day than a power college bat willing to sign for slot money, so it should be no surprise that Texas-Arlington outfielder Michael Choice has worked his way into the mix for the top half of the first round. He offers the best of both worlds – a good scouting report and gaudy stats. 

Baseball America ranked Choice as the 11th best prospect in this year's draft class while ESPN's Keith Law had him 19th (sub. req'd for both). MLB.com's Draft Report says that he has "big-time raw power to all fields," but notes that his swing mechanics will have to improve in the future. He's a good defender that will likely move to a corner down the road despite his above average speed. The MLB.com link offers video.

Choice has put up ridiculous numbers with Texas-Arlington this spring, hitting .383/.568/.704 with 76 walks to just 54 strikeouts. Although he has a good approach at the plate, his walk total has been boosted by lots of intentional and unintentional-intentional walks because of the generally weak lineup around him.

Every recent mock draft has Choice going within the top ten picks, though Law reported yesterday that the Padres have narrowed their options for the ninth overall pick down to two players, one of whom is Choice. It seems very unlikely that he'll get past that pick.

Olney’s Latest: Orioles, Diamondbacks, Delgado

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In today's blog post at ESPN, Buster Olney says a question being asked by some is whether the Orioles' constant losing is infecting the team's great young core, most notably Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, and Matt Wieters. One evaluator said that even though players like Ty Wigginton, Kevin Millwood, and Luke Scott would have trade value at mid-season, the team might be better off holding onto them to help stabilize the young players.

I respectfully disagree, because those players are with the team now and it's obviously just not working. Some new blood might not be the worst thing in the world for Baltimore.  

Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…

  • Diamondbacks' manager A.J. Hinch pointed the finger directly at himself with regards to who to blame for the team's struggles. "This group hasn't responded that well to me," said Hinch. "I'm scratching and clawing, trying to find the right solution, but I'm not going to run from any accountability."
  • The Angels have checked into the condition of Carlos Delgado, who is making his way back from hip surgery and could return in six weeks, if all goes well. They're looking for a Kendry Morales replacement, of course.

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