Brewers Designate Sean Green For Assignment
The Brewers designated reliever Sean Green for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot for catcher Mike Rivera, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Green, 32, posted a 5.40 ERA, 5.4 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, and 58.1% groundball rate with no home runs allowed in 11 2/3 innings this year. He averaged only 84.5 mph on his fastball, the lowest velocity for all relievers aside from Tim Wakefield. Green had signed an $875K deal with the Brewers in December after being non-tendered by the Mets.
Blue Jays Release Chad Cordero
The Blue Jays released reliever Chad Cordero from their Triple-A club, reports Todd Dewey of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Cordero, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Jays in January. Cordero had 128 career saves under his belt as a 25-year-old with the Nationals, but he had surgery to repair a labrum tear in his shoulder in July of '08. Since then he has been a part of the Mariners, Mets, and Jays organizations. This year at Triple-A he posted an 8.66 ERA, 3.6 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, and 2.5 HR/9 in 17 2/3 innings, a departure from his Triple-A work of 2010.
Conor Glassey’s Draft Overview
Baseball America's Conor Glassey posted a draft overview yesterday, and it appears to be free to all. A few highlights:
- Anthony Rendon, Gerrit Cole, Danny Hultzen, Francisco Lindor, and Bubba Starling are in the Pirates' mix for the first overall pick, writes Glassey. Pirates scouting director Greg Smith told Glassey he's more prepared for this first overall pick than he was when he drafted Matt Anderson with the Tigers in 1997. There is no obvious number one overall talent, in Glassey's opinion. High school pitcher Dylan Bundy could be a longshot for first overall, writes Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein in this free article. Goldstein also ranks his top 20, so be sure to check that out.
- One NL scouting director told Glassey he hasn't seen this kind of depth in a draft at any point in the 2000s. This draft features a lot of high-velocity pitchers, though it's light on impact college bats and up-the-middle players. Glassey notes that "many premium players are from non-traditional states." One such example a little further down the draft might be Ben Roberts, a high school outfielder out of Montana who participated in his first showcase recently.
- 2011 could be the last year without a hard slotting system, prompting some to assume teams will go crazy spending. One NL scouting director Glassey spoke to expressed skepticism about that possibility.
- Rays scouting director R.J. Harrison echoes the velocity sentiment in this Bill Chastain article for MLB.com: "This is the most guys I've ever seen who are throwing mid-90s." The Rays have 12 picks between #24 and #89, and Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Chastain the team has "planned in advance for this Draft and the expected financial outlay for this many players in the top of the Draft."
2012 Contract Issues: Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers are next in our 2012 Contract Issues series. Here's what the team faces after the 2011 season:
Eligible For Free Agency (6)
- Prince Fielder may have to share the free agent spotlight with Albert Pujols, C.C. Sabathia, and Jose Reyes. But Fielder, a 27-year-old Scott Boras client, brings an elite bat to the open market. Boras has to be targeting Mark Teixeira's eight-year, $180MM deal, if not more. The Brewers are not expected to be in the mix.
- LaTroy Hawkins had shoulder surgery in August of last year, but he's been decent so far in a limited sample. Sergio Mitre has a similar line involving a low ERA, a low strikeout rate, and a good amount of groundballs.
- Hamstring and oblique injuries should keep Takashi Saito out until June or so; he's only tossed two innings for the Brewers so far. 42 in February, DL stays are the norm for Saito but he's still good when healthy.
- Bench players Craig Counsell and Mark Kotsay are eligible for free agency as well.
Contract Options (1)
- Yuniesky Betancourt: $6MM club option with a $2MM buyout. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke seems to be a fan of Betancourt's offense and defense, but the Royals won't be picking up $2MM of his $4MM net price in 2012. I expect GM Doug Melvin to survey free agent alternatives.
Arbitration Eligible (9)
- First time: Casey McGehee, Nyjer Morgan, Mitch Stetter
- Second time: Kameron Loe, Manny Parra
- Third time: Shaun Marcum, Carlos Gomez, Sean Green, Wil Nieves
A few of these players will be cut loose by the non-tender deadline. McGehee is a notable first-time case; he could get $2MM. Marcum has been stellar, and a raise to the $8-9MM range is plausible. I can see about $18MM to retain McGehee, Morgan, Loe, Parra, Marcum, and Gomez.
2012 Payroll Obligation
The Brewers' 2012 payroll obligation, according to Cot's, is $58.08MM including Betancourt's buyout. Retaining arbitration eligibles could bring the total to $76MM or so, leaving $8MM to spend aside from minimum salary players if payroll is maintained. Melvin could have a few million more to work with if players such as Gomez and Parra are non-tendered or traded. The 2010 payroll was $90MM; going back to that level or higher would create another $6MM+ to use. Melvin will have some room to acquire a shortstop, first baseman, and a reliever or two, but it'd be surprising to see him in on any of the big names.
Mets Outright Chin-lung Hu
The Mets outrighted shortstop Chin-lung Hu to Triple-A, reports MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. With Ike Davis on the DL and David Wright headed there, the team will play Justin Turner at third base, Jose Reyes at shortstop, Ruben Tejada at second base, and Daniel Murphy at first. Nick Evans will be recalled today to take a spot on the bench.
Removing Hu from the 40-man roster drops it to 39 players, leaving a spot for Evans. Another 40-man roster spot will be opened up when Chris Young is moved to the 60-day DL.
Hu, 27, was acquired by the Mets from the Dodgers in December for southpaw Michael Antonini. Hu, who is known for his defense, had one hit and one walk in 23 plate appearances for the Mets this year. He had to clear waivers before being outrighted.
Quick Hits: Colvin, Olsen, Lackey, Astros
On this date 15 years ago, Sammy Sosa became the first Cub to homer twice in one inning. Here's the latest from around the league, including a note on a less productive Cubs bat…
- The Cubs optioned Tyler Colvin to the minors after today's game and GM Jim Hendry told Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune that he wants the outfielder to get regular playing time in Triple-A. As Hendry says, MLB teams are in the "production business."
- Scott Olsen made about $108K with the Pirates before they released him, according to Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter).
- John Lackey's DL stint probably won't affect Boston's 2015 option for the right-hander, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Though the option will be worth the MLB minimum if Lackey misses extended time because of a right elbow injury that existed before he signed with the Red Sox, he'd have to miss the rest of the season for the option to be affected, according to Bradford.
- Brian McTaggart of MLB.com looks back at Drayton McLane's 19 years of ownership in Houston. McLane has agreed to sell the Astros to Jim Crane; for details on the sale and how it could impact the franchise, click here.
Blue Jays Designate Robert Ray For Assignment
The Blue Jays designated right-hander Robert Ray for assignment to create 40-man roster space for Eric Thames, according to MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm (on Twitter). The Blue Jays placed Adam Lind on the 15-day disabled list and called on Thames to take Lind's 25-man roster spot.
Ray, 27, appeared in a handful of games for the Blue Jays in 2009 and 2010. He is currently on the 7-day DL in Triple-A and has not yet appeared in a game this year. In parts of six minor league seasons, he has a 4.19 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.
Thames, 24, has a .342/.419/.610 line in 167 plate appearances at Triple-A with 17 doubles and six homers as an outfielder. He hit 27 homers at Double-A last year and has a .303/.381/.529 line over the course of three minor league seasons.
According to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star, the Blue Jays called on Thames rather than Brett Lawrie, since they wanted a left-handed bench bat in Lind's absence (Twitter link). When Lawrie gets the call, he'll join the team as an everyday player.
Transactions History: Sergio Santos
When the Twins claimed a shortstop off of waivers on this date in 2008, they probably wouldn’t have guessed that Sergio Santos would go on to become a closer for their division rivals. Yet that’s exactly what’s happened since Minnesota claimed Santos from the Blue Jays three years ago.
Santos, selected in the first round of the 2002 draft by the D’Backs as a shortstop, arrived in the Toronto organization late in 2005, when the Blue Jays sent Orlando Hudson and Miguel Batista to the D’Backs for Troy Glaus. The Twins then claimed Santos on May 16th, 2008, before he had ever pitched in a professional game. After Santos posted a .242/.279/.374 line in the minors, the Twins let the infielder go.
Later in the offseason the White Sox signed Santos and within months, he was on the move again. The White Sox traded Santos to San Francisco late in Spring Training on the condition that the Giants would find him an everyday job in Triple-A. Unable to provide Santos with a regular role, the Giants sent him back to Chicago less than two weeks later.
Once the 2009 season began, Santos began the transition to the mound, as Yahoo's Jef Passan explained last year. The right-hander posted an 8.16 ERA through 28 2/3 innings for four different White Sox affiliates and allowed 37 hits and 20 walks, while striking out 30.
By 2010, Santos had graduated to Chicago's 'pen. He posted a 2.96 ERA in 51 2/3 innings with 9.8 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 as a rookie. Armed with a 95 mph fastball, Santos has posted similar numbers through 19 frames this year. He has yet to allow an earned run and he has 10.4 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 as Ozzie Guillen’s most effective reliever – almost certainly not what the Twins were envisioning when they claimed the former shortstop off of waivers on this date in ’08.
AL East Notes: Posada, Jeter, Lawrie, Bautista
The Rays lost most of their bullpen and several regulars during the offseason, but they currently sit atop the AL East with a 23-17 record. It's a tight race, though, as the fifth-place Orioles are only 3.5 games out. A few links from around the division:
- Over the weekend Jorge Posada told GM Brian Cashman that he wanted out of the Yankees, not just out of the lineup, according to Bill Madden of the New York Daily News. However, a source close to Posada says his comments were simply said out of anger and frustration.
- Yankees management was "surprised and frustrated" that Derek Jeter told reporters Posada did nothing wrong and did not owe his teammates an apology, reports ESPN's Buster Olney. Posada pulled himself from the lineup Saturday, partially because he'd been dropped to ninth and also because of "a long-running antagonism between him and manager Joe Girardi," in the words of Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman says the team was ready to move on after Posada's apology, but then executives including Hal Steinbrenner were miffed at Jeter's comments. At any rate, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweets that the Yankees spoke with Jeter, and "all is fine between them."
- Brett Lawrie's continued stay at Triple-A "doesn't seem to be a case of Super 2 concerns overriding baseball considerations," writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports in regard to the Blue Jays' top prospect. Club officials tell Rosenthal Lawrie is playing well at third base, so you have to think his promotion is near.
- MLBTR's Steve Adams wrote yesterday that it would have been conceivable for Jose Bautista to try to top Carl Crawford's seven-year, $142MM deal in free agency. FanGraphs' Dave Cameron is thinking $158MM over seven years would have been possible, adding that Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos "created something like $150 million in surplus value for his club this winter" given the dumping of Vernon Wells' contract as well. In another post, Cameron demonstrates just how amazing Bautista's season has been so far.
Draft Notes: Bundy, Bradley, Lee
Baseball’s amateur draft takes place in exactly three weeks. Here’s the latest on some of the top draft prospects and one 2010 draftee who is thriving six appearances into his pro career…
- Teams are hearing that the asking price for Dylan Bundy is $30MM for six years and that it will cost $20MM over five years to sign Archie Bradley, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (Twitter links). No draft deal has ever been worth $20MM, so the high schoolers' asking prices are sure to scare away less serious teams.
- MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes introduced us to Bradley earlier today.
- Dodgers right-hander Zach Lee is adapting well to the mental side of the game, Kevin Baxter writes in a piece for Baseball America (subscription required). Lee, who signed last year for a Dodgers-record $5.25MM, chose baseball over football and the results have been good for the 19-year-old. He has a 1.17 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in six starts at Class A.
- Click here to read Q&As with some prominent members of this year’s draft class.