Quick Hits: Nationals, Pirates, MacPhail, Astros
Links for Saturday…
- The Nationals plan on having Davey Johnson meet up with the team tomorrow in Chicago before flying to Anaheim with them, reports Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post (Twitter links). ESPN's Buster Olney, meanwhile, notes that Johnson's contract ensures that he'll be the manager for this year only. The two sides will re-evaluate things after the season.
- Tim Britton of The Providence Journal says the Pirates were the big losers in the Jason Bay-Manny Ramirez trade.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun spoke to Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail about his contract, which expires after the season. "I have always taken the position, unlike one of my good friends in the game Jim Riggleman, let's just see how we do," said MacPhail. "Let's get to the end of the year and see how we do and take it from there."
- Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle reports that the Astros transfer of ownership from Drayton McLane to Jim Crane likely won't happen until mid-July (or later) as MLB focuses its efforts on the Dodgers (Twitter link).
- Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch addressed the speculation about how Albert Pujols' injury could impact his contract negotiations with the Cardinals after the season.
- McLaren will not be leaving the Nationals, reports Bill Ladson of MLB.com (Twitter links). He will not be bench coach and will instead stay in another capacity.
- The Nats can expect another resignation, this time from acting manager John McLaren, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. McLaren served as bench coach under Jim Riggleman.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports spoke to a source that is doubtful the Giants would move any of their big league pitchers to improve the offense (Twitter link). San Francisco has scored just 261 runs this year, the fewest runs in the game.
- Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun-Times says the Cubs front office plans to give the team a few more weeks to see if they can salvage the season before deciding to sell. The front office will meet next week to sort some of this stuff out.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun mentioned that Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and Reds GM Walt Jocketty have swung trades in the past and spent some time together yesterday before their clubs played. He notes that the two clubs appear to match up well in a potential trade as well.
- Baseball America's Matt Eddy has this week's collection of minor league transactions, which includes a slew of draft pick and undrafted free agent signings.
Rays Sign Draft Picks Brandon Martin, Lenny Linsky
The Rays have signed supplemental first round pick Brandon Martin and second round pick Lenny Linsky, reports Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times (Twitter links). It's unclear how much Martin received, but Baseball America's Jim Callis says Linsky signed for slot money (approximately $392K).
Martin, a high school shortstop from California, was the 38th overall selection in the draft, a compensation pick for the loss of Carl Crawford. Baseball America (subs. req'd) says he's been "showing off five legitimate tools" and draws praise for his "line-drive swing and bat speed." They note that Martin can make the highlight reel plays at short but still needs to refine his game overall. MLB's slot recommendation for the 38th overall pick is approximately $859K.
Linsky, a righty reliever out of Hawaii, was the 89th overall pick and Tampa's natural second rounder. Baseball America described him "nearly unhittable" thanks to heavy sink on his 92-94 mph fastball and a power slider that can run as high as 89.
The Rays have now signed 30 of their 60 draft picks according to Topkin. Check the status of all first and supplemental first round players right here.
Cards Agree To Terms With Draft Pick Kolten Wong
The Cardinals have agreed to terms with first round pick Kolten Wong, reports Baseball America's Jim Callis (on Twitter). He will receive a $1.3MM signing bonus, slightly above MLB's slot recommendation of $1.287MM for the 22nd overall pick.
Wong, a second baseman from Hawaii, was expected to be in St. Louis this weekend as the two sides neared a deal. Baseball America (subs. req'd) says he has "professional approach at the plate and a good understanding of the strike zone" with surprising power for a 5-foot-9, 190 lb. middle infielder. They also mention that Wong might fit best as a "Chone Figgins type who moves around the field" down the road.
Check the status of all first and supplemental first round players right here.
Millwood Chooses Not To Exercise Opt-Out
Veteran pitcher Kevin Millwood has chosen not to exercise his opt-out with the Red Sox organization, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Millwood, 36, will remain in the Sox' organization with the understanding that exploring opportunities in other organizations may be revisited as the season progresses.
Millwood's official opt-out date was on Monday. The right-hander has looked solid in five starts with Triple-A Pawtucket, posting a 2.89 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9.
Pirates Designate Dusty Brown For Assignment
The Pirates have designated catcher Dusty Brown for assignment, according to a team press release. The move was made in order to create space for catcher Eric Fryer who is being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Brown, 29, played in 11 games for the Pirates this season. In parts of five Triple-A seasons, the catcher has a .259/.340/.394 slash line.
Rosenthal On Reyes, White Sox, Padres, Nunez
Here are some highlights from the latest edition of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..
- Rival clubs continue to report that the Giants are looking hard for a catcher. In a perfect world, they'd pick up a shortstop too. Rookie Brandon Crawford appears to be over-matched at the plate, Miguel Tejada has the lowest OPS in the National League, and Mike Fontenot won't be able to play the position every day even when he returns from the DL. Jose Reyes has been mentioned as a fit but he'll probably cost a ton to land and quite a bit of cash to retain beyond this year. One veteran that could make sense for the club is the Indians' Orlando Cabrera. The Giants had interest in him last winter and he is now expendable.
- The White Sox are looking to improve and there's one obvious move they can make within: dumping Juan Pierre and promoting Dayan Viciedo. It would leave the club without a leadoff hitter, but Pierre has been struggling as of late anyway. Meanwhile, Viciedo has been hitting .324 with power in Triple-A.
- The Padres are taking one last stab at getting into contention, but one more losing stretch and they'll commence the selloff. It would behoove them to act sooner rather than later with players like Heath Bell and Ryan Ludwick so that they can get the jump on the market. Money is tight for many teams right now but the Padres might be willing to include some cash in deals to get better returns.
- The rapidly declining Marlins will definitely be sellers and will listen on offers for Wes Helms and Greg Dobbs. They could also shop Leo Nunez, even though the market for relievers is crowded. Nunez is making $3.65MM this season and has one more year of arbitration eligibility left.
NL West Notes: Dodgers, Cook, Hawpe
Let's check out a few items from the National League West..
- Steve Soboroff, who publicly clashed with the commissioner’s office in his brief tenure as the Dodgers’ vice chairman, has resigned, writes Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
- Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune wonders where Brad Hawpe will fit in when he returns from the disabled list. Even though it'll be hard to find a place for the veteran, it's hard to imagine the Padres cutting him loose and paying him the $2MM that he is still owed.
- Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook needs to turn things around quickly before the Rockies start exploring other options, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post. Earlier today, Renck reported that the club has started calling other teams to gauge the market for rotation help.
Draft Links: Wong, Simon
Teams have 51 more days to get their draft picks signed before the August 15th deadline. Let's round up the latest draft news here…
- Cardinals first round pick Kolten Wong was expected to visit St. Louis today as he nears a deal with the team, reports The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Wong ran into some travel issues but is still expected to meet with the team soon, and scouting director Jeff Luhnow said they are having "active ongoing and daily discussions." A second baseman from Hawaii, Wong was the 22nd overall pick earlier this month, which comes with a slot recommendation of $1.287MM from MLB.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles have signed fourth rounder Kyle Simon, a right-hander from Arizona. MLB's slot recommendation for the 125th overall pick is approximately $231K, but it's unclear how much he received.
Rockies Calling Other Clubs About Pitching
A few days ago we heard that the Rockies could end up looking for pitching help later this summer, and today Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post reports that the team has started calling other clubs to "gauge the market" for rotation help. GM Dan O'Dowd believes the team needs some reinforcements for their starting staff, echoing something Todd Helton said recently.
Colorado lost Jorge de la Rosa to Tommy John surgery earlier this year, and Jhoulys Chacin (2.71 ERA) is their only current starter with an ERA under 4.00. Jason Hammel (4.13 ERA) and Ubaldo Jimenez (4.50 ERA) have both been up and down, while Aaron Cook (4.67 ERA) is struggling with his trademark sinker. Recent call-up Juan Nicasio (4.71 ERA) is searching for his secondary pitches after skipping over Triple-A. Swingman Clayton Mortensen has a 4.71 ERA in five starts and a 1.65 ERA in six relief appearances.
MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently previewed the trade market for starting pitchers.
McCourt Willing To Sell Minority Stake In Dodgers
With his proposed Fox television contract rejected and end of the month payroll looming, Frank McCourt and his lawyers recently had dialogue with MLB that have focused on his willingness to sell part of the team to keep it afloat, writes Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports. A source tells Brown that McCourt has received “numerous inquiries” from parties willing to buy a piece of the team.
Bud Selig has been adamant in his refusal to allow clubs to use future earnings to pay off past debt, which is why the Fox deal was shot down. It’s unclear if the recent dialogue between McCourt and the league have resulted in any progress toward his retention of the club, but Brown’s source hears that the owner might not be able to meet payroll next week. If he doesn’t, MLB will likely step in and seize the team.
The Mets recently sold a minority share of the team to David Einhorn for about $200MM, giving that franchise a much needed cash infusion.