Draft Notes: Bundy, Cubs, Rendon, Rays
The 2011 draft takes place in exactly two weeks. In the meantime, here's the latest draft-related news from around the game…
- Executives estimate that high school right-hander Dylan Bundy could obtain a bonus of $6-7MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Bundy has a 100 mph fastball and has been linked to a possible $30MM asking price (basically double Stephen Strasburg’s current record of $15.1MM).
- Virginia left-hander Danny Hultzen, UCLA right-hander Trevor Bauer and high school outfielder Bubba Starling are moving up draft boards, according to Heyman. Some expect the Cubs to take Starling if he’s available when they select ninth overall.
- Executives continue to suggest to ESPN.com's Buster Olney that Anthony Rendon's future may be at second base because of body type and arm concerns (Twitter links). Rendon entered the season as a higly-regarded defender at third, but has spent considerable time DHing this year because of injuries.
- Teams received their slot bonus recommendations from the commissioner's office last week, according to Olney.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo breaks down this year's available catchers, starting with high schoolers Blake Swihart and Austin Hedges. Swihart can hit for average and power, but may be a tough sign and could eventually move to the outfield. Hedges has the top defensive skills of any draft-eligible catcher and could hit enough to be an everyday backstop.
- The Rays have 12 picks in the first two rounds of this year's draft – enough to re-load an already-deep farm system. But as Jim Callis of Baseball America explains, teams with lots of early picks haven't done particularly well, historically speaking.
- Frankie Piliere of FOX Sports hears that the Yankees are “heavily in on” prospects Dillon Howard and Brandon Martin (Twitter link). Howard is asking for a large bonus, according to Piliere.
Padres Designate Samuel Deduno For Assignment
The Padres designated Samuel Deduno for assignment to create 40-man roster space for Blake Tekotte, the team announced. To create 25-man roster space, the team optioned Will Venable to Triple-A Tucson.
Deduno earned a spot on the Padres' Opening Day roster and made two relief appearances before getting optioned to the minors on April 10th. The 27-year-old right-hander has a 2.92 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 6.6 BB/9 through 24 2/3 innings of relief work in Triple-A this year. The Padres claimed Deduno from the Rockies last offseason.
Tekotte, who turns 24 tomorrow, has a .291/.410/.486 line in 180 plate appearances at Double-A this year. He is the second player from the Padres' 2008 draft to make the Major Leagues (Logan Forsythe was the first).
Wilpon Fallout: Reyes, Beltran, Wright
Mets owner Fred Wilpon publicly criticized three of his team’s best players in a piece by Jeffrey Toobin in the New Yorker. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes explained and weighed in on the drama earlier today and others have since done the same. Here’s the latest on Wilpon, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and David Wright:
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney says it was a "really, really bad idea" for Wilpon to agree to do the New Yorker interview in the first place. People aren't going to feel sorry for him and the news will generate lots of headlines for the wrong reasons.
- Olney reports that the Mets would trade Reyes between the middle of June and the beginning of July if a deal occurs (all Twitter links). Though Wilpon's comments appear to be true, they cut into the leverage GM Sandy Alderson has, according to Olney. The Mets haven’t engaged Reyes in talks about a possible extension yet, Olney reports.
- Reyes' agents are not going to comment, but the shortstop himself is not bothered by the story, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (on Twitter).
- Agent Scott Boras told Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal that he was surprised by Wilpon's jabs at Beltran, given how well the outfielder is playing this year. Boras also suggests he'd prefer to see Wilpon be more supportive of his team's players.
- Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog wonders how Wilpon's words will impact the trade market for Reyes and how the story will impact players like Reyes and Wright as they try to focus on their jobs.
- Author Jeffrey Toobin said today on WFAN that he expects the Mets to try to re-sign Reyes and keep Wright, according to Cerrone.
- As Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out, the sympathetic portions of the 11,000 word article "are obscured in total by Wilpon's critical comments on Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran." Mets officials say Wilpon is an obsessed fan who cares about every game, rather than a detached owner.
- Though many owners and club officials talk critically about players in private moments, Wilpon made a mistake in expressing his thoughts publicly, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Mets skipper Terry Collins told Mike Puma of the New York Post that his team consists of professionals who can tune out distractions like this (Twitter link).
- The Mets are formulating a response, according to Andy McCullough of the Star Ledger (on Twitter). It could take a while, he reports.
Brian Broderick Returned To Cardinals
The Cardinals accepted Rule 5 selection Brian Broderick back from the Nationals, according to Ben Goessling of MASNsports.com (on Twitter). The Nationals get $25K back from the Cardinals to complete the transaction.
Broderick pitched 12 1/3 innings for the Nationals this year and allowed 16 hits and three walks while striking out four. Manager Jim Riggleman has not used the 24-year-old right-hander since May 13th. The Nationals claimed Broderick after a 2010 season in which he posted a 3.66 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 150 innings as a starter in Class A and at Double-A.
D’Backs Designate Josh Wilson For Assignment
The D'Backs designated infielder Josh Wilson for assignment to create roster space for Melvin Mora, who has been reinstated from the bereavement list, the team announced. Mora missed five games after going on the bereavement list May 18th.
Wilson has appeared in six games this year and has only come to the plate ten times. He has a .227/.280/.315 in parts of five seasons in the Major Leagues with the Marlins, Nationals, Rays, D'Backs, Padres and Mariners. Though he's primarily a shortstop, Wilson has appeared at every infield position and has pitched in three MLB games.
Braves Sign Julio Lugo
The Braves signed shortstop Julio Lugo to a minor league contract that's pending a physical, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes.com. Lugo will earn $12K per month in the minor leagues and a pro-rated portion of $650K if he makes the Major Leagues, Rojas reports.
The 35-year-old hit .249/.298/.282 in 264 plate appearances with the Orioles last year. In 11 big league seasons with six teams, Lugo has a .270/.334/.386 line with 80 homers and 198 stolen bases. He has experience at second, short and third and can even play the outfield if necessary. Lugo, a right-handed hitter, has hit lefties and righties evenly in his career, but struggled to hit right-handed pitching last year.
Dan Uggla, Alex Gonzalez and Chipper Jones start at second, short and third for the Braves and Brooks Conrad, Diory Hernandez and Brandon Hicks have provided depth at those positions this year. Lugo will provide the Braves with additional insurance in case of injuries or poor performance.
Heyman On Sabathia, Swisher, Red Sox
C.C. Sabathia told Jon Heyman of SI.com that he hopes the Yankees will add guaranteed years to his contract after the season. The left-hander has an opt-out clause that enables him to walk away from the four years and $92MM remaining on his contract and become a free agent, so he has leverage. Here's the latest on Sabathia, the Yankees and the Red Sox:
- Executives around the league tell Heyman that they're sure Sabathia will use the opt out to leave or obtain an extension.
- However, people around the Yankees like what Sabathia delivers and say he is "pretty well entrenched" as a Yankee.
- Miguel Cabrera is the best hitter in the league, according to Sabathia, who gave Jose Bautista an honorable mention.
- It's possible that the Yankees will allow Nick Swisher to hit free agency instead of exercising his $10.25MM option after the season. Here's a list of all 2012 free agents.
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who has homered in three of his past four games, is rewarding the Red Sox people who believed in his ability.
- Carl Crawford has been a "real professional" despite his struggles, a Red Sox person told Heyman.
Contenders And Lefty Relievers
Athletics lefty reliever Jerry Blevins has been designated for assignment and is presumably available, leaving me to wonder which contenders have a need. For now I'll define a contender as any team five games out in the division or wild card at worst. That generously leaves 24 teams to consider. Note that I haven't included minor league southpaw starters who could be promoted to the big league pen, like Charlie Furbush was with the Tigers. The lefties on each team's active or Triple-A roster or DL list:
AL East
- Yankees (1): Boone Logan. Pedro Feliciano aiming for July return. Randy Flores and Andrew Sisco at Triple-A.
- Rays (2): J.P. Howell, Cesar Ramos. Jake McGee and R.J. Swindle at Triple-A.
- Red Sox (2): Rich Hill, Franklin Morales. Felix Doubront is on the DL but will be used as a starter. Hideki Okajima could remain in the organization if he clears waivers. Also have Andrew Miller, Randy Williams, and Tommy Hottovy at Triple-A.
- Blue Jays (2): Luis Perez, Marc Rzepczynski. Willie Collazo, Sean Henn, Wil Ledezma, and Rommie Lewis at Triple-A.
- Orioles (2): Mike Gonzalez, Clay Rapada. Alberto Castillo, Mark Hendrickson, Chris George at Triple-A.
AL Central
- Indians (2): Rafael Perez, Tony Sipp. Nick Hagadone at Triple-A.
- Tigers (2): Charlie Furbush, Daniel Schlereth. Brad Thomas on the DL with elbow inflammation. Ramon Garcia, Matt Hoffman, Fu-Te Ni at Triple-A.
- White Sox (3): Will Ohman, Chris Sale, Matt Thornton.
- Royals (2): Tim Collins, Everett Teaford. Blaine Hardy at Triple-A.
AL West
- Rangers (2): Darren Oliver, Arthur Rhodes. Beau Jones, Michael Kirkman, Zachary Phillips at Triple-A.
- Angels (2): Scott Downs, Hisanori Takahashi. Scott Kazmir on DL with lower back stiffness. Barret Browning, Horacio Ramirez at Triple-A.
- Athletics (3): Craig Breslow, Brian Fuentes, David Purcey.
- Mariners (1): Aaron Laffey. Cesar Jimenez, Royce Ring at Triple-A.
NL East
- Phillies (2): Antonio Bastardo, J.C. Romero. Juan Perez, Mike Zagurski at Triple-A.
- Marlins (2): Randy Choate, Mike Dunn. Victor Garate, Dustin Richardson at Triple-A.
- Braves (3): Eric O'Flaherty, George Sherrill, Jonny Venters. Yohan Flande, Jose Lugo at Triple-A.
- Mets (3): Tim Byrdak, Pat Misch, Michael O'Connor. Justin Hampson, Taylor Tankersley at Triple-A.
NL Central
- Cardinals (2): Trever Miller, Brian Tallet. Rich Rundles, Raul Valdes at Triple-A.
- Reds (1): Bill Bray. Aroldis Chapman on DL with shoulder inflammation. Tom Cochran, Jeremy Horst, Joseph Krebs, Dontrelle Willis at Triple-A.
- Brewers (0): None, though Danny Ray Herrera could join the active roster soon. Zach Braddock, Manny Parra, Mitch Stetter on DL. Sam Narron, Chase Wright at Triple-A.
- Pirates (1): Joe Beimel. Dan Meyer, Daniel Moskos, Garrett Olson, Justin Thomas, Tony Watson at Triple-A.
NL West
- Giants (3): Jeremy Affeldt, Javier Lopez, Dan Runzler. Justin Dowdy, Geno Espineli at Triple-A.
- Rockies (1): Matt Reynolds. Rex Brothers, Eric Stults at Triple-A.
- D'Backs (1): Joe Paterson. Tom Layne, Jordan Norberto at Triple-A.
The Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, Tigers, Royals, Brewers, Mets, and Diamondbacks strike me as a few clubs looking light on lefty reliever depth, though unproven or journeyman pitchers step up every year. Plus, some teams are comfortable with their right-handers' abilities to retire left-handed hitters.
Brewers Claim Danny Ray Herrera Off Waivers
The Brewers claimed reliever Danny Ray Herrera off waivers from the division-rival Reds, reports John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The Brewers will have to open a spot on the 40-man roster for the 5'6" lefty, who is currently at Triple-A. Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein first tweeted that Milwaukee made the claim on Herrera.
The 26-year-old Herrera came to the Reds from the Rangers in December of 2007 along with Edinson Volquez for Josh Hamilton. Herrera logged 92 big league innings from 2008-10, posting a 3.62 ERA, 6.5 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, and 0.8 HR/9. Against southpaws, he has a 7.2 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, and 0.41 HR/9 in 44 career innings. He's the definition of a soft-tosser, with an average fastball in the 83-84 mile per hour range. Herrera's out pitch is a screwball, as ESPN's Tim Kurkjian explained in this article a couple of years ago.
The Brewers are the only contender currently without a left-handed reliever on the active roster. Zach Braddock, Manny Parra, and Mitch Stetter are all on the DL.
Athletics Designate Jerry Blevins For Assignment
The Athletics designated lefty reliever Jerry Blevins for assignment, tweets the team. The move opens a spot on the active roster for Josh Outman, who is scheduled to make his first Major League appearance in nearly two years tonight.
Blevins, 27, appeared in 15 games for the A's this year. He struck out 13 but walked 13 in 14 1/3 innings. In his career, he's handled lefties very well: a 10.3 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, and 0.83 HR/9 in 54 innings. The A's should be able to find a trade partner within the next ten days.