Rosenthal On Willingham, Upton, Reds, Twins
It's the middle of June and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (video link) says that teams aren't sure if they'll be buying or selling as the deadline approaches..
- The Athletics certainly look like sellers but they're not ready to just give players away. Three of their more attractive hitters, David DeJesus, Coco Crisp, and Josh Willingham all make $6MM or less, salaries that are not prohibitive. The A's can keep all of them, offer them arbitration, and then collect draft picks if they go elsewhere. Right now, Willingham is the only one of the trio that projects as a Type A free agent.
- The Rays could sell even while in contention if they believe that they can build something better for the future. B.J. Upton remains a difficult call for the club. Desmond Jennings, their top prospect, wouldn't provide as much of an impact. At the same time, Upton is likely to make more than $6MM next season in arbitration. Tampa Bay could wait until the offseason to move him but they might get more value if they act sooner.
- If the Reds wanted to get creative, they could move one of their catchers for starting pitching and promote prospect Devin Mesoraco. However, the combination of Ramon Hernandez and Ryan Hanigan is one of their strengths and they might not want to disrupt the chemistry between their pitchers and catchers.
- The Twins are at the bottom of the AL Central but GM Bill Smith says that the team still believes that it's in the race. It also helps that Jason Kubel, Jim Thome, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, and Joe Mauer are all expected back soon. Minnesota isn't ready to pack it in just yet, and they're not quite ready to be mid-season sellers.
Quick Hits: Pirates, Cabrera, Realignment, Oeltjen
Links for Saturday, as a pair of offseason headliners (Cliff Lee and Matt Garza) prepare to face off in Philadelphia this afternoon…
- The Pirates have been asking around for a catcher but have found that the asking prices are high as clubs want to take advantage of their situation, tweets Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. Pittsburgh is in a bind with Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder on the disabled list.
- As the Giants look for infield help, ESPN's Buster Olney (via Twitter) says that Orlando Cabrera is a name to keep an eye on. The veteran just lost his everyday job in Cleveland and the Giants were close to inking him over the winter.
- After the Orioles tabbed Dylan Bundy with the fourth overall pick in the draft, Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun takes a look at Adam Loewen, the No. 4 pick that got away.
- Major League Baseball and the players' association have discussed doing away with divisions altogether and balancing out the leagues to 15 teams each, writes ESPN.com's Buster Olney. The new structure would have teams vying for five playoff spots in each league. The odds of this happening, however, are still less than 50-50, according to one source.
- Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times says that Trent Oeltjen could have become a free agent if the Dodgers didn't add him to the Major League roster by June 15th (Twitter link). Oeltjen was called up two days ago.
- In a piece for ESPN, Jim Bowden wrote about how GM's prepare to make trades, a process that usually begins with low-ball offers being exchanged.
- The writers at FanGraphs conducted a franchise player draft, selecting a player they would build a team around. Evan Longoria and Troy Tulowitzki were the first two off the board.
- The Royals have signed 16 draft picks according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel. The highest signed pick was ninth rounder Aaron Brooks.
Giants Sign First Rounder Joe Panik
The Giants have signed first round pick Joe Panik according to a team press release. His signing bonus is unknown, but MLB's slot recommendation for the 29th overall pick is approximately $1.1MM.
Baseball America ranked the middle infielder as the second best prospect to come out of New York in 2011. Nationally, Panik was ranked 67th by the publication. The St. John's product is said to have a plus bat and likely projects to second base.
Panik, 20, is the first middle infielder taken by the Giants with a first-round pick since shortstop Royce Clayton in 1988.
Cubs Designate Brad Snyder For Assignment
The Cubs have designated Brad Snyder for assignment reports Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). The move creates room on the roster for Casey Coleman, who was called up to reinforce the bullpen.
Snyder, 29, started one game in left field for the Cubs this year, striking out three times in four hitless at-bats. He picked up one hit and three more strikeouts in five pinch-hitting appearances. The lefty swinger hit a fine .342/.374/.568 with seven homers in 155 plate appearances with Chicago's Triple-A affiliate before being called up.
2012 Vesting Options Update
Now that the calendar has flipped to June, let's check in on the status of the various vesting options around the league…
- Bobby Abreu, Angels: $9MM option vests with 433 plate appearances. Abreu has already come to the plate 276 times this year, so this one seems life a safe bet to vest, barring injury.
- Rafael Furcal, Dodgers: $12MM option vests with 600 plate appearances. Furcal is back on the disabled list with an oblique strain, and he's still a month away from returning. He has only 69 plate appearances this year, so this one won't vest.
- Jon Garland, Dodgers: $8MM option vests with 190 innings pitched. Garland has been on the disabled list twice this year (the first two times of his career), and he's currently out with a sore shoulder. He only has 54 innings to his credit and won't be back anytime soon, so this one won't vest.
- Francisco Rodriguez, Mets: $17.5MM option vests with 55 games finished and if doctors declare him healthy at the end of the year. K-Rod has already finished 25 games, putting him on pace for 65 at season's end. A trade to a team that would use him as a set-up man would change everything, but right now the option figures to vest.
- Koji Uehara, Orioles: $4MM option vests with either 55 appearances or 25 games finished. Uehara has appeared in 26 games and finished 11, putting him on pace for 69 and 29, respectively.
- Arthur Rhodes, Rangers: $4MM option vests with 62 appearances and if he's not on the disabled list at the end of the season. He's appeared in 20 games so far, putting him on pace for 50. Rhodes' workload could increase down the stretch.
- Joakim Soria, Royals: $6MM option vests with 55 appearances. He's already appeared in 28 games and is on pace for 71. It's worth noting that even if the option doesn't vest, the Royals would still control Soria as an arbitration-eligible player in 2012.
- Dan Wheeler, Red Sox: $3MM option vests with 65 games; increases to $3.25MM with 70 games. Wheeler has appeared in 17 games so far, so a stint on the disabled list did not help his cause.
Adam Wainwright's 2012 ($9MM) and 2013 ($12MM) options will not vest because he will finish the season on the disabled list after having Tommy John surgery. Aramis Ramirez's option depends on MVP Award finishes and whether or not he's traded, not plate appearances or another counting milestone.
Mark Buehrle is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2011 season and although he doesn't have a traditional option in his contract, he gets an extra year at $15MM tacked onto his current deal if he's traded at some point this season.
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.
Giants To Sign Bill Hall
The Giants will sign Bill Hall, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The move comes after second baseman Freddy Sanchez dislocated his shoulder diving for a ball on Friday night. San Francisco is also without Pablo Sandoval (hand) and Mike Fontenot (groin). Fontenot left last night's minor league rehab game with tightness in his groin.
Hall, 31, hit .224/.272/.340 with the Astros before being released last weekend. He did hit .247/.316/.456 with 18 homers for the Red Sox last year, plus he's capable of playing almost every position on the field. Houston will pay Hall the majority of his $3MM salary; the Giants will only be on the hook for the pro-rated portion of the league minimum (less than $300K according to Rosenthal). The Orioles, Nationals, and possibly the Yankees also had interest in signing Hall.
Quick Hits: Beltran, Santana, Bundy, Hultzen
On this date three years ago, Ken Griffey Jr. hit home run number 600 off of Marlins lefty Mark Hendrickson. Slugger Jim Thome will resume his quest for 600 homers once the Twins activate him from the disabled list (Thome has 593 career homers). Here are today's links…
- The Mets are willing to eat some of Beltran's $18.5MM salary in order to get quality prospects in return, tweets SI.com's Jon Heyman. Approximately $11.4MM is still owed to him this year.
- Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times reports that the Dodgers have signed second round pick Alex Santana (on Twitter). MLB's slot recommendation for the 73rd overall pick is approximately $500K.
- Orioles' scouting director Joe Jordan spoke to MLB.com's Britt Ghiroli about this week's draft, saying they "don’t expect" to set any bonus records for first rounder Dylan Bundy. You can see Baltimore's five largest amateur signing bonuses here.
- Danny Hultzen (Mariners), Taylor Jungmann (Brewers) and Tyler Anderson (Rockies) are among the 2011 draftees who could make an impact in the Major Leagues before long, according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.
- We’re looking forward to seeing pitchers like Hultzen in the big leagues, but building a rotation through the draft is harder than it seems, as Tom Verducci shows at SI.com. Even first rounders have a high rate of failure, Verducci explains.
- Former first rounder Scott Kazmir has a 15.15 ERA with a 13K/16BB ratio in Triple-A, so it appears that it's only a matter of time before the Angels release him, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times.
- Jim Bowden of ESPN.com explains that he would pursue a two-year, $30MM extension with David Ortiz if he were running the Red Sox. Big Papi's consistency, history of health and hot bat all figure in to Bowden's analysis. Ortiz has a .326/.394/.612 line with 15 homers.
Cardinals Release Ramon Vazquez
The Cardinals have released Ramon Vazquez according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. St. Louis signed him to a minor league deal back in January.
Vazquez, 34, hit a respectable .275/.362/.321 in 150 plate appearances for the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate, playing all three non-first base infield spots. He hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2009, when he followed up a breakout .290/.365/.430 performance with the Rangers with a .230/.335/.279 effort with the Pirates.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Todd, Gibbons, Kouzmanoff,
Here's where we'll keep track of all players who get outrighted to Triple-A today…
- The Cardinals have outrighted Jess Todd to Triple-A, reports Rick Hummel of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Todd returned to the team that originally drafted him after being claimed off waivers last month.
- Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times reports (on Twitter) that Jay Gibbons has accepted his outright assigment with the Dodgers and will report to their Triple-A affiliate.
- The A's announced that they outrighted Kevin Kouzmanoff to Triple-A (Twitter link). Oakland initially demoted the third baseman on Monday and they outrighted him today to create a 40-man roster spot for Graham Godfrey.
- Jake Fox cleared waivers and the Orioles outrighted him to Triple-A, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). Fox is expected to report to the minors this weekend, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). Baltimore designated the utility player for assignment last week and were exploring possible trades, but rival teams, including the Pirates, weren't interested.
Blue Jays Sign Joe Musgrove
FRIDAY: Baseball America's Jim Callis reports that Musgrove received a $500K bonus, which would be below slot (Twitter link).
THURSDAY: The Blue Jays have signed supplemental first round pick Joe Musgrove according to information relayed by MLB, reports Baseball America's Matt Eddy (on Twitter). MLB says Musgrove is the first 2011 draft pick to sign a professional contract.
Musgrove, a high school right-hander from California, was selected with the 46th overall pick on Monday. The Blue Jays received the pick after Type B free agent John Buck turned down their arbitration offer and signed with the Marlins. Baseball America's Draft Database (subs. req'd) says "it's easy to dream on him becoming a big league workhorse starter" because of a heavy sinking fastball and a hammer curveball. Musgrove's signing bonus is unknown, but MLB's slot recommendation for the 46th overall pick is approximately $750K.