Archives for July 2011

Red Sox To Sign Raymel Flores

By Zachary Links | July 8, 2011 at 7:01pm CDT

The Red Sox have reached agreement on a deal with Dominican shortstop Raymel Flores, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (Spanish link). Flores' signing bonus is worth $900K.

Flores, 16, is a switch-hitter and stands out for his defensive skills. This marks the second notable international signing by the BoSox this week as they inked Dominican outfielder Manuel Marcos to an $800K deal on July 4th.

Quick Hits: Phillies, Soria, Hardy, Braves

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 8, 2011 at 4:30pm CDT

The Reds signed Pete Rose as an amateur free agent on this date in 1960 and it's safe to say their investment paid off. Rose collected 3,358 hits in 19 seasons with the Reds en route to becoming MLB's all-time hits leader with 4,256. Here are today's links…

Phillies starter Cole Hamels is heading into his final season of arbitration eligibility and as David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News shows in a pair of pieces, starters with Hamels-like production have been extremely well-paid in recent years. Hamels is earning $9.5MM this year in his third season of arbitration eligibility.
Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News explains that the Phillies might want to acquire a right-handed hitter for their lineup to avoid becoming a regular season success that fails in the playoffs, like the 2001 Mariners.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports explains that being selected to play in the All-Star Game has made a difference for players like Jose Bautista and Joe Nathan, who have obtained more endorsement offers and had more leverage in contract discussions since becoming All-Stars for the first time.
The teams on Joakim Soria's no-trade list have changed since last season, according to Morosi (on Twitter). The Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies are on the list, just as they were last year. The Tigers, Cardinals and Cubs were previously on Soria's list, which is designed to provide the reliever with leverage.
Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles are communicating semi-regularly with J.J. Hardy about a possible extension. The Orioles began extension talks with the shortstop last week.
Atlanta GM Frank Wren told Mark Bowman of MLB.com that the pieces the Braves are looking for may already be on their roster.

New York Notes: Rodriguez, Burnett, Budgell

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 8, 2011 at 3:40pm CDT

The latest from New York, where Derek Jeter will attempt to reach the 3,000 hit plateau against the Rays tonight. The Yankees' captain is two hits away from reaching the milestone…

Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez met with Scott Boras and two of the agent’s associates both before and after yesterday’s game against the Dodgers, according to Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal. Other agents have also contacted Rodriguez, who is currently represented by Paul Kinzer of Wasserman Media Group, as MLBTR’s Agency Database shows.
Kinzer called Rodriguez's meetings with Boras "a sad part of the business," according to Costa (Twitter link).
Rodriguez will not become a free agent if he completes 55 games and his $17.5MM option for 2012 vests. Otherwise, he’ll receive a $3.5MM buyout and hit the open market this offseason.
The Yankees appear to have interest in Sean Burnett, but ESPN.com's Buster Olney cautions that the Yankees were simply doing their regular scouting when they saw the Nationals left-hander pitch recently (Twitter link).
The Mets signed tenth round pick Matthew Budgell, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). Jim Callis of Baseball America notes that the high schooler obtained an over-slot bonus of $225K (Twitter link).

Cubs Release Fernando Perez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 8, 2011 at 3:12pm CDT

The Cubs released Fernando Perez, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). The Cubs acquired the 28-year-old in January the trade that brought Matt Garza to Chicago. By releasing Perez, Chicago opens up a spot on its 40-man roster.

Perez hit .206/.206/.206 in 35 plate appearances for the Cubs this year, playing all three outfield positions. The switch-hitter spent most of the season at Triple-A Iowa, where he posted a .238/.312/.337 line with 17 stolen bases.

Astros Claim Lucas Harrell

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 8, 2011 at 2:40pm CDT

The Astros have claimed right-hander Lucas Harrell from the White Sox, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The move fills Houston's 40-man roster and creates a spot on Chicago's roster, which now stands at 37.

The White Sox selected Harrell in the fourth round of the 2004 draft and the 26-year-old has had brief stints in the majors in each of the past two seasons. In 29 big league innings, he has a 5.28 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 5.6 BB/9 and over the course of seven minor league seasons, Harrell has a 3.79 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9.

Heyman On Ethier, Lowe, Astros, Twins, Mets

By Dan Mennella | July 8, 2011 at 2:27pm CDT

Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier is the main topic of Jon Heyman's latest piece at SI.com. Ethier, a free agent after the 2012 season, is deeply unhappy with the Dodgers on account of their on and off-field troubles, a source tells Heyman.

While no specific trade or signing rumors pertaining to Ethier are cited, the outfielder is apparently a good friend of Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia (both players attended Arizona State University) and is said to have "Boston in his mind."

Here are some other items of note from Heyman's piece:

The Braves aren't openly shopping Derek Lowe, but with good pitching depth in the minors, Atlanta would probably listen to offers on the right-hander.
The Astros will be hard trade partners, one GM told Heyman, because of the impending change of ownership.
The Twins do not yet consider themselves sellers, a rival exec told Heyman.
Even if the Mets wanted to negotiate secretly with Jose Reyes, as was recently reported, Heyman thinks it's unlikely Reyes and his agents would entertain those talks at this juncture.
The Mets would love to find a trade partner to offload Francisco Rodriguez but, the closer's $17.5MM 2012 option deters logical suitors. One GM called it "scary."
The Tigers will consider an offensive upgrade at one of third base, second base or outfield.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Uehara, Pagan, Red Sox

By Mike Axisa | July 8, 2011 at 1:16pm CDT

Eleven years ago today, the Yankees swept the Mets in baseball's first two-park doubleheader since 1903. Doc Gooden returned to Shea Stadium and pitched the Yankees to a 4-2 win in the first game, then Roger Clemens gave the Yankees another win by the same score at Yankee Stadium in the nightcap. The two clubs had a game rained out in the Bronx earlier that month.

Here is this week's collection of links from around the baseball blogosphere…

Phoul Ballz spoke to Brad Lidge after one of his recent minor league rehab outings.
Penn League Report interviewed Rays' second rounder Lenny Linsky.
Pirates Prospects revisits some of the Pirates' recent trades (part one, part two).
The Days of Yost tackled the Brewers' shortstop problem (part one, part two, part three).
Bleacher Nation compiled a complete list of Cubs trade candidates.
Brotherly Glove thinks the Phillies should pursue Koji Uehara.
FanSpeak mused about a Laynce Nix for B.J. Upton trade.
Rising Apple says the Mets should trade Angel Pagan, not Carlos Beltran.
Meanwhile, CitiField Nine believes the Mets should start over by trading David Wright and Jose Reyes.
BoSox Banter don't want the Red Sox to trade prospects for a rental.
SoDo Mojo thinks Kyle Seager would be best used as a trade chip.
The Nats Blog wrote about Jordan Zimmermann's pitch limits and what they tell us about Stephen Strasburg.
The Todd Van Poppel Rookie Card Retirement Plan isn't sure what to make of Guillermo Moscoso.
Tomahawk Chop wonders if the Braves would be willing to trade Brandon Beachy.
Chicken Friars asks Padres fans if they'd rather keep Heath Bell or Mike Adams.
Padres Future checked in on the state of the Padres at each position.
D'Backs Central breaks down the Diamondbacks' bullpen.
We Should Be GMs came up with a new stat in honor or Ryan Howard.
Motor City Bengals says the Tigers will sink or swim with their veteran infielders.
Splashing Pumpkins analyzed Nate Schierholtz's batting stance.
Pitchers & Poets wrote about the problem with the pick-off throw.
Call To The Pen listed their first half MVPs for the AL Central.
Beer Leaguer took a look at Mark Buehrle's Hall of Fame chances.
MLB Reports discussed the possibility of adding two teams to the league.
The Hardball Times broke down the Home Run Derby participants.
Infield Chatter wrote about the impact of social media on MLB.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.

Cardinals Continue To Search For Pitching

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 8, 2011 at 12:11pm CDT

The Cardinals signed Blaine Boyer and Ron Mahay to minor league deals this week, but GM John Mozeliak told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he is still looking for pitching. Mozeliak says the Cardinals are in a position to make a move and could target starters or relievers.

St. Louis appears to have interest in Heath Bell, but there are indications that the Cardinals are unlikely to meet the Padres’ current asking price for their closer, according to Goold. Depending on what the Cardinals are getting and who they’re giving up, they could have payroll flexibility, but at this point, “that's a tough question to answer,” according to Mozeliak.

Baseball America’s Midseason Prospect List

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 8, 2011 at 11:49am CDT

Baseball America released its midseason list of the top 50 prospects in the game yesterday and Nationals outfield prospect Bryce Harper and Mike Trout, the recently-promoted Angels outfielder, remain the most highly-regarded prospects in baseball. Rays left-hander Matt Moore, Braves right-hander Julio Teheran and Orioles shortstop prospect Manny Machado round out the publication's top five (click here for a more detailed subscriber-only list).

The Rangers had four prospects in the top 50, more than any other club. The Rays, Yankees, Blue Jays, Royals, Braves, Diamondbacks and Dodgers all had three players on BA's list. Five teams didn't have a prospect on the list: the White Sox, Athletics, Marlins, Brewers and Astros.

Rockies Sign Supplemental Pick Story

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 8, 2011 at 11:22am CDT

July 8th: Story signed for a bonus of $915K, which is above the recommended bonus of $764K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter).

June 30th: The Rockies have agreed to terms with supplemental first round pick Trevor Story, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). Colorado selected the high school shortstop with the 45th overall pick earlier this month.

Baseball America ranked Story 40th among eligible prospects before the draft, calling him a quality, surefire shortstop. Some scouts believe he could be close to a five-tool player because he can reach 92 mph with his fastball and has good range, pop in his bat, speed and baserunning skills. He had committed to Louisiana State. Click here for a complete list of top draft picks to sign.

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