At least 50 transactions were completed during the winter meetings this week, including 16 free agent signings, eight trades, three waiver claims, and 14 minor league signings. A total of eight first round picks were involved in those transactions, not including Jeremy Hermida and Andrew Miller, former first rounders who were designated for assignment by the Padres and re-signed by the Red Sox, respectively. Let’s recap the first rounders that changed addresses during the last five days…
- Ian Stewart, Casey Weathers & Tyler Colvin – Stewart was the 10th overall pick in 2003, Weathers the 8th overall pick in 2007, and Colvin the 13th overall pick in 2006. Stewart and Weathers were traded by the Rockies to the Cubs for Colvin and DJ LeMahieu.
- David Purcey – 16th overall in 2004, signed a minor league deal with the Phillies.
- Jarrod Parker – 9th overall in 2007, traded by the Diamondbacks with Ryan Cook and Collin Cowgill to the Athletics for Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow.
- Nick Schmidt – 23rd overall pick in 2007, traded by the Padres to the Rockies for Huston Street. Street was the 40th overall pick in 2004, a compensation pick for Miguel Tejada.
- Ryan Perry – 21st overall pick in 2008, traded by the Tigers to the Nationals for Collin Balester.
- Sergio Santos – 27th overall in 2002, back when he was an infielder. The White Sox traded him to the Blue Jays for Nestor Molina.
Interestingly enough, three of the four largest contracts handed out this week were given to players selected in the 5th round (C.J. Wilson), 13th round (Albert Pujols), and 38th round (Mark Buehrle) of the draft. The lone exception is Jose Reyes, who signed with the Mets as an international free agent.
I remember when Mark Buehrle first came up with the White Sox and they said he was a 38th round pick, I remarked “I didn’t even know there was a 38th round?”
Kenny Rogers was drafted in the 39th round and had a pretty good career for the Rangers. You never can tell…
can’t forget that soon-to-be ace for the pittsburgh pirates, Aaron Poreda!!! first rounder in 2007. picked up in the AAA portion of the rule 5 draft. i can’t trust MLBTR anymore!!!! just kidding
Also, how in the world can MLBTR forget Matt Antonelli? I mean he’s the crowning jewel in the Orioles free agency signings so far! He was the 17th pick in the 2006 draft. Henson was a “throw in” for the Eveland trade and yet Antonelli who’s done nothing so far in career is given a MLB contract. I would love to be a fly in the Oriole “War Room” to see and hear how exactly they evaluate talent. Can’t wait to see who’s going to play outfield for us in the minors. It’s not like Xavier Avery is not exactly tearing things up down there and we go and trade one of our prospects for a do nothing pitcher!
Because he wasn’t signed during the Winter Meetings!
surprised how many people can’t read! i’m an old man and even i can.
Ok what did I miss there?
Nothing, I am the one who can’t read.
Fred, responded or tried to respond to me I believe.
It’s more like I didn’t read the beginning of the article.
I still can’t believe KW traded Sergio Santos.
He was the only competent closer on the White Sox in 2011.
I get the feeling that he has no clue what he’s doing.
he got a pretty damn good arm off the jays.. at worst, molina will be what santos is now, at best he’s a middle of the rotation starter.
The White Sox are rebuilding or they would have resigned Beurhle. Santos was what the Jays needed and is under control for a long period. Molina has the upside to be a #2 starter. This was a good trade for both teams.
Molina’s fastball top out at 91 and the range is from 88-91, that kind of fastball would be eaten alive by the AL East. He does have 4 good pitches but they are all average. The Jays had a pitcher like him, Brad Mills, who dominated the minors but got eaten alive in the majors (Molina is better than him though). Molina cannot be the closer in this league with that fastball, a really good setup man, yes. All the scouts are saying that Molina is a number 4 starter and at best a number 3, no way that he can become a dominant number 2 with his velocity and a lack of a dominant pitch. Santos on the other hand has a 95mph fastball and one of the best sliders in the game. Molina gets players out with his amazing control, but it doesnt matter how amazing your control is in the majors, teams will hit against you. But, if the White Sox gamble pays off this could be a fair trade (Jays could lose if Santos regresses).
“it doesnt matter how amazing your control is in the majors, teams will hit against you.”
Greg Maddux says hi.
The batters and scouts have gotten alot smarter since the Maddux days. There are alot more players that hit smart than hit with roids now. Comming from a Jays fan that has watched Molina pitch and read every scouting report about him, I’m saying at best he is Marcum (which is really good) and at worst he is Brad Mills (which is really bad). By the way he was known as the 8th or 9th best pitching prospect in the Jays system, he wasnt even on the radar until his amazing stats last season.
Most great players come in the first 10 picks of the draft, but sometimes a team gets lucky like with Piazza, Pujols, and Beurhle. Once you get near the end of the first round your chances of getting a major starter is no better than the 2nd,3rd, or 4th round.