Quick Hits: Orioles, Danks, Athletics, Yankees, Mets
Tampa Bay selected Jose Bautista off of waivers from the Orioles on this date in 2004. That was, of course, before the Rays dropped the "Devil" portion of their nickname and before Jose Bautista was Jose Bautista..
- The Orioles haven't found a taker for Jake Fox yet and will likely need the full ten days to do so, according to Todd Karpovich and Avi Zaleon for MLB.com. Baltimore DFA'd the 28-year-old on Wednesday.
- Despite his rough start, there's no reason to fret about John Danks' long-term future with the White Sox, writes Brett Ballantini of CSNChicago.com.
- If Bob Geren is to stay on as Athletics skipper beyond this season, the club needs to turn things around, writes Jon Heyman of Sports Ilustrated. Even though things have been rocky in Oakland, Heyman expects Geren to keep his job for the rest of the year.
- The Mets are open to talking trade with the Yankees, writes David Lennon of Newsday. Even though there are obvious hurdles, Lennon wonders if the two could be a match in a deal involving Carlos Beltran.
Draft Notes: Starling, Phillies, Bauer, Bradley
Peter Gammons of MLB Network runs through some of the most intriguing 'what-ifs' in the history of the draft at MLB.com. Here are more draft links, as we wonder what would have happened if the White Sox had drafted Barry Bonds in 1985…
- Florida prep shortstop Francisco Lindor's workout with the Diamondbacks was scheduled for today, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The Monteverde (Fla.) Academy product is a candidate for their pick at No. 7.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (via Twitter) has received more pre-draft bonus demand letters. Wyoming's Brandon Nimmo is seeking $3MM, first baseman Dan Vogelbach wants $1.65MM, and Pennsylvania outfielder Derek Fisher is eyeing a bonus of $2.25MM.
- Chris Cox of MLB.com profiled University of South Carolina outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr., who is unsure of where he'll land after suffering a wrist injury. Bradley, who has garnered comparisons to Jim Edmonds, will likely wind up being selected in the supplemental round.
- Right now there's not a whole lot of clarity in the top 15 of the draft, writes Keith Law of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). Law has Anthony Rendon pegged to go No. 2 to the Mariners though he believes that outfielder Bubba Starling could wind up going in that spot also.
- More from Law (via Twitter) as he hears that the White Sox are potentially looking at Stanford left-hander Chris Reed as a sandwich round pick.
- Phillies scouting director Marti Wolever suggested to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com that the Phils will be looking for offense this year. "I always love to get bats, but that's kind of what we're looking at," Wolever said.
- Steve Henson of Yahoo Sports shows that UCLA right-hander Trevor Bauer is talented, feisty and unorthodox. Could he be the next Tim Lincecum? One American League scout says he "could be as good as [Lincecum] or better."
- As Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic explains, high school right-hander Archie Bradley faces a difficult decision: start at quarterback for the football-crazed University of Oklahoma or let his 100 mph fastball carry him to a seven-figure bonus and a baseball career. It sounds as though the affable Bradley will sign with an MLB team if he's offered enough money, since baseball is his first love.
- Check out Tim Dierkes’ writeup about Bradley from last month.
- Virginia left-hander Danny Hultzen has pitched his way up teams' draft boards and remains a candidate to go first overall to the Pirates, Jonathan Mayo writes at MLB.com.
The Phillies’ Approach To The 2011 Draft
The Phillies haven’t had the first overall pick in the amateur draft since 1998, when they selected Pat Burrell. This year, their first pick will be number 39 overall, but Phillies amateur scouting director Marti Wolever says it’s a good problem to have, since it means the Major League team has played well. Just don’t expect the Phillies to draft with an eye on their 2011 win total.
“You have to look down the road and I don’t think you can look for a quick fix necessarily,” Wolever said on a conference call with reporters. “Often if you look back at those [picks] they don’t work out the way you planned them to work out.”
The Phillies are eyeing catchers and middle infielders, though they will be ready to adjust since they realize many of their top targets may already have been selected by the time they make their first pick. It’s “one of the deeper drafts" in recent memory for position players, so Wolever will be looking out for bats, but he’ll also monitor pitchers, particularly southpaws.
“I love offensive players and I think everyone does,” he said. “But strong pitching certainly gets you to where you need to be when the bats aren’t going quite right.”
This draft features a strong group of college pitchers, some of whom the Phillies acknowledge they aren’t drafting. Though Wolever and his staff saw every elite prospect in preparation for Monday’s draft, the Phillies know that they have zero chance of obtaining certain players. Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer and Danny Hultzen are among the pitchers who figure to be long gone by the time the Phillies make their first selection.
NL Central Notes: Reds, Cardinals, Bartlett, Cubs
Let's take a look at some items out of the NL Central, including a Point-Counterpoint on the Cardinals and Jason Bartlett..
- The Reds' biggest need at the trade deadline will be at shortstop if Paul Janish doesn't turn things around at the plate, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The 28-year-old is hitting .221/.250/.260 so far this year.
- Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cardinals should be "all over" Jason Bartlett if the Padres make him available. While Gordon likes what Ryan Theriot has brought to the table this year, he believes that his substandard defensive play at shortstop is hurting the club.
- Meanwhile, Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch presents a respectful dissent to the case for Bartlett. While Bartlett is a better option defensively than Theriot, the gap between the two at the plate is too large to overlook.
- Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald wonders if it's time for a regime change with the Cubs’ baseball operation. Miles points out that GM Jim Hendry is getting to rebuild his club for a third time, something few major-market GMs get to do.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Almonte
Here's the list of players to be outrighted to the minors today:
- The Brewers outrighted Erick Almonte to Triple-A and he has accepted the assignment, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). The 33-year-old had been on the 15-day DL and the move opens up a spot on Milwaukee's 40-man roster, which now stands at 37.
AL Central Notes: Tigers, Twins, Hernandez, Dunn
On this date in 1997, the Tigers drafted Matt Anderson first overall (under management that has since been replaced). The flame-throwing right-hander briefly became the Tigers' closer, but didn't match the success of others in his draft class like J.D. Drew, Troy Glaus, Vernon Wells and Lance Berkman. Anderson attempted a comeback with the Phillies this year, but has since been released. Here's the latest from around the AL Central…
- David Mayo of The Grand Rapids Press defends Tigers manager Jim Leyland and GM Dave Dombrowski, saying the Tigers are annual contenders and “give the Michigan summer a sporting purpose.”
- Yes, the Twins are just 18-37, but GM Bill Smith tells John Shipley of the Pioneer Press that it's not too late for a comeback. Smith says better health and more home games and intra-divisional series could get the Twins back into contention. Smith also noted that his re-worked bullpen "hasn't worked" and expressed confidence in Alexi Casilla's skills.
- The Royals have been linked to international prospect Elier Hernandez, according to Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The outfielder is likely to command a $2-3MM bonus once he's eligible to sign after July 2nd.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports suggests that Adam Dunn's struggles and $56MM contract with the White Sox could affect the way American League teams build their rosters going forward. Red Sox DH David Ortiz tells Morosi that DHing is harder than it seems (for more on Ortiz's market value, click here).
Nine Teams In Violation Of Debt Service Rules
The Dodgers and Mets are among the nine MLB teams in violation of MLB’s debt service rules, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. The regulations came into being in 2002 and are intended to limit a team’s debt to ten times its yearly earnings and ensure that each team can pay its bills. The Orioles, Cubs, Tigers, Marlins, Phillies, Rangers and Nationals are also in violation of the rules, according to Shaikin.
MLB executive VP of labor relations Rob Manfred says he isn’t “concerned about the overall economic condition of the industry" and a National League executive called the high number of teams out of compliance a “hiccup” for an otherwise healthy league.
Along with the competitive balance tax and revenue sharing, the debt service rule figures to be a major financial issue in the negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the players and the owners. The Phillies have confirmed that they are not currently compliant with the debt-service rule, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Nationals Notes: Harper, Riggleman, Bubba Starling
Last year's top pick, Bryce Harper, hit his first professional walk-off home run last night and now has 13 homers, 11 stolen bases and a .346/.432/.623 line at Class A. Still just 18 years old, Harper provides lots of hope for Nationals fans, though the big league club is in last place with a 25-31 record. Here's the latest out of Washington:
- Nationals manager Jim Riggleman told Bill Ladson of MLB.com that he isn’t worried about his job security, though he’s in the last year of his contract.
- Frankie Piliere of FOX Sports hears that the Nationals have zoned in on high school outfielder Bubba Starling with the sixth overall pick (Twitter link).
- In case you haven't heard about the toolsy two-sport star, check out my piece on Starling from a couple weeks ago.
Stark On Upton, Pirates, Indians, Red Sox, Fox
One GM told ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark that he’d like to see the season shortened because it’s a mental and physical grind for the players and they could use more rest to regroup. Stark provides and passes along many suggestions, including a national doubleheader day (what’s not to like about that?) and expanding the active rosters beyond 25 players. Here are the latest rumblings from around MLB…
- Though a couple of American League teams made strong proposals for Justin Upton last winter, D’Backs president Derrick Hall says it’s doubtful that Arizona would be in first place without their 23-year-old right fielder. About two dozen teams expressed interest in the former first overall pick last offseason. Put another way, only five teams weren’t interested.
- There are signs that the 26-29 Pirates are going to make a run at .500 instead of trading MLB players for prospects this year. One NL assistant GM says he would shoot for .500 to start changing the perception that the Pirates are perennial losers.
- Though the Indians understand the injury risks for catchers (Carlos Santana missed the end of the 2010 season after a home plate collision), GM Chris Antonetti says his front office appreciates “the potential competitive advantage of getting exceptional production behind the plate.”
- They’ve already signed Kevin Millwood and now Red Sox are “poking around” for another starter to stash at Triple-A, according to Stark.
- The Orioles, who designated Jake Fox for assignment this week, are trying to trade him and at least one scout expects them to find a taker.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Soria, Phillies, Kubel, Cubs
On this date in 1995, Pedro Martinez fired nine perfect innings against the Padres, though the two teams went to extra innings with no score. The Expos scored a run in the top of the tenth, but Pedro allowed a leadoff double in the bottom of the inning. Mel Rojas relieved Martinez and recorded the final three outs. That was just a hint of what was to come from Pedro, who produced two of the most dominant seasons in baseball history in 1999 and 2000.
Here is this week's batch of links from around the blogosphere…
- Infield Chatter says the Giants should turn the page on Buster Posey's injury and focus on winning.
- Rany on the Royals addresses the Joakim Soria situation in Kansas City.
- Amazin' Avenue takes a look at what is wrong with Jason Bay.
- Crashburn Alley wonders if the Phillies' rotation has room to improve.
- Brotherly Glove breaks down the Phillies' situation with regards to the luxury tax.
- DesigNate Robertson scores Dave Dombrowski's trade history.
- Capitol Avenue Club tries to figure out where the Braves could upgrade the offense.
- U.S.S. Mariner explains how one solution could fix two problems for the Mariners.
- Call to the Pen explores the possiblity of trading Jason Kubel.
- Through The Fence Baseball comes up with some ways to spice up the draft.
- Rooftop View explains why it isn't a good time to be a Cubs fan.
- The Process Report looks at how successful James Shields' contract extension has been for the Rays.
- BoSox Banter doesn't think the Red Sox should trade for Daisuke Matsuzaka's replacement.
- Rising Apple lists some stopgap first basemen that could make sense for the Mets while Ike Davis on the disabled list.
- Blogging Mets wonders if it's time to trade Mike Pelfrey.
- DC is for Baseball breaks down the Nationals' lefty reliever situation.
- Gaslamp Ball takes us to Petco Park's instant replay console.
- MLB Draft Insider posted their latest mock draft.
- The Hardball Times listed some expected WHIP (xWHIP) leaderboards for you fantasy players.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.