Heyman On Reyes, Lowe, Peavy, Howard
The Cardinals, Giants, Brewers, Red Sox, Twins and Mariners are possible suitors for Jose Reyes this summer, writes Jon Heyman of SI.com. However, the Mets don’t have an obvious replacement for their shortstop and attendance could suffer if they deal Reyes, as Heyman points out. (Though the Mariners have won seven of their last nine games and haven't obtained much production at short, it's still extremely difficult to imagine them trading for Reyes.) Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors:
- Derek Lowe could be available at the trade deadline given the Braves’ starting pitching depth.
- The White Sox have insurance on Jake Peavy, according to Heyman. This means that the team may already have started receiving payments to help cover the injured right-hander’s $16MM salary.
- Heyman, a defender of Ryan Howard’s five-year, $125MM contract from the start, says the first baseman has been “worth every penny so far.”
- On the one-year anniversary of Howard's deal, I concluded that Howard and agent Casey Close had done well to sign the contract.
- The Nationals may want to consider locking manager Jim Riggleman up, Heyman writes. The Nationals have a team option for Riggleman's 2012 services.
Draft Notes: Orioles, Pirates, Rendon, Cole
Baseball's amateur draft takes place in exactly one month. Here are the latest updates on a pair of teams with high first round picks…
- Orioles amateur scouting director Joe Jordan told Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he has good sense of which players his club will be choosing from when it selects third overall in June. It’s too early to know precisely which players will be available so Jordan is still considering about ten prospects with Baltimore’s top pick.
- Manny Machado, last year’s third overall pick, has a left knee injury and as Zrebiec points out, an extended absence would be quite a blow to the Orioles. It's unclear how much time the 18-year-old will miss. He has a .333/.450/.611 line in Class A.
- The Pirates are focusing heavily on UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole and Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon as they prepare to make the first overall pick, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. However, there’s internal concern about Rendon’s stature and health and there’s concern about Cole “simply because he is a pitcher,” so the Pirates haven’t ruled out other options.
- Check out River Ave. Blues for a detailed draft order.
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Quick Hits: Wheeler, Doumit, Relegation
The legendary Cy Young threw a perfect game against the Philadelphia Athletics on this date in 1904. The perfecto was one of three no-hitters thrown by Young in his career, and it accounted for nine of Young's record 24 consecutive hitless innings.
Some notes from around the majors…
- Red Sox reliever Dan Wheeler has appeared in more games than all but two other pitchers since the start of the 2005 season, and The Providence Journal's Brian MacPherson believes Wheeler's workload is the reason for his poor start this year. MacPherson also points out how the other heavily-worked pitchers on the list (like Chad Qualls, Francisco Cordero and Aaron Heilman) have "hit the same wall."
- Ryan Doumit is unlikely to get much more playing time with the Pirates despite the club's desire to trade him, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. GM Neal Huntington said the Doumit trade market had "kind of died" back in February, though the Bucs have no plans to release him.
- "While fully realizing that it'll never, ever, ever happen," Alex Remington of Fangraphs looks at how Major League Baseball could implement a franchise relegation system akin to that of European soccer.
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America recaps the week's minor league transactions.
- The 42 players who made their Major League debuts in March and April combined to hit .172/.248/.212 though April 30, reports Sean Forman of the New York Times. "The worst-hitting bunch ever" has just one home run, courtesy of the Giants' Brandon Belt.
Trade Candidate: David Wright
It seems a foregone conclusion that the Mets will trade at least one of their high-priced stars this summer. Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and Francisco Rodriguez have been the most-rumored candidates to leave Queens, but all three players carry risk for any trade partner.
Beltran is under contract just through this year, he has a full no-trade clause and is coming off of two injury-plagued seasons. Reyes can also be a free agent this winter, so an interested team might not be willing to trade much of value for the shortstop unless it is given a negotiating window beforehand. Rodriguez has little value as a closer due to the vesting option that would guarantee him $17.5MM in 2012 if he finishes at least 55 games this year, and no team is desperate enough for a stopper at that price.
The Mets do have one asset that carries no baggage — David Wright. The third baseman is just 28 and signed to a contract that would pay him roughly $27MM between now and the end of the 2012 season, plus a $16MM club option for 2013 (with a $1MM buyout). Wright has indicated he wants to stay in New York and wouldn't ask for a trade.
Losing a homegrown star like Wright would be an unpopular move amongst Mets fans, but if Sandy Alderson is committed to a complete rebuild, moving Wright would be the last step, but also the most lucrative in terms of what the Mets could demand in return. Here are a few of the teams that would likely get in on the bidding if Wright became available…
- Angels. Alberto Callaspo has been the bulk of playing time at third for the Halos, with the hot-hitting Maicer Izturis seeing a few starts at third and at shortstop. Wright would certainly be an upgrade, the Angels could afford him, and they probably have the prospect depth to get the New York's attention. (Though Mike Trout is untouchable.)
- Athletics. It isn't Billy Beane's style to make a big deadline move, but with the AL West as tight as it is and Kevin Kouzmanoff having seemingly lost his starting job at third, the A's could decide their time is now and make an offer for Wright. If the quest for the playoffs came up short, Oakland might also try to flip Wright this winter.
- Cardinals. David Freese got off to a great start but he will be out for at least the next two months with a fractured hand. With the Albert Pujols negotiations looming this winter, St. Louis is pretty unlikely to pick up another big contract, though the argument could be made that Pujols would be more eager to stay if Wright was also in the lineup.
- Marlins. Florida is right behind the Phillies in the NL East despite a revolving door at third base. The Fish aren't known for adding big contracts, but with their new ballpark opening next season and a real shot at the playoffs, an exception could be made. That said, it's hard enough to imagine the Mets trading Wright at all, and almost impossible to see them moving their franchise player to a divisional rival.
- Rockies. Ian Stewart was sent to Triple-A after a 2-for-26 (.077) start to the season and was recalled on Tuesday after hitting well in the minors. It's possible Colorado could look for outside help if Stewart continues to struggle, since their veteran infield depth (Jose Lopez and Ty Wigginton) has also been ineffective.
- Tigers. Brandon Inge has started 29 of Detroit's 32 games this season and while his defense at the hot corner remains above average according to UZR/150, he has managed just a .551 OPS at the plate. Inge has been an underrated source of power for the last few seasons but he has just one home run in 2011. He signed a two-year extension last October so the Tigers would have to eat some money if they acquired another third baseman, but if Detroit gets back into the pennant race and still needs hitting help, Wright could look awfully tempting.
West Notes: Giants, Smoak, Trumbo, D’Backs
There are two intra-divisional matchups between NL and AL West rivals slated for tonight. The Rockies face the Diamondbacks at Chase Field while the Mariners host the Rangers. Here are some tidbits from the western divisions…
- "There is discussion in the [Giants'] executive offices as to how long they can stay with [Miguel] Tejada and Pat Burrell," reports Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle. Jose Reyes has been mentioned as a trade target for the Giants, though Brian Sabean denied his club's interest yesterday.
- Thanks to Justin Smoak's emergence, the Mariners seem to have gotten the best of the three recent Cliff Lee trade packages, writes Larry Stone of the Seattle Times.
- If Mark Trumbo keeps hitting and Kendrys Morales is out of action for most of the season, Eric Denton of the LA Angels Insider blog notes that the Angels could face a tough choice this offseason. Denton suggests the Halos could even non-tender Morales, but if they do choose to move the first baseman, surely you'd think the team could find a trade partner.
- We know the Diamondbacks have an interest in UCLA prospect Gerrit Cole with the third pick of the upcoming amateur draft, but Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic adds a couple of other interesting nuggets about the right-hander. Arizona also has the seventh overall pick, but Piecoro notes that since that pick is unprotected, the D'Backs "almost certainly couldn’t risk drafting him" at that spot if they pass on him at #3. Cole is represented by Scott Boras and could be a difficult signing.
- Cole was drafted 28th overall by the Yankees in the 2008 draft but he didn't sign. Piecoro "got the sense from talking with other scouts and executives that there are still some people in the game harboring a grudge toward Cole" since Cole didn't let it be known that he wasn't interested in signing back in 2008.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock profiles A.J. Hinch, the former D'Backs manager who is now the Padres' vice president of professional scouting.
- Julio Borbon welcomes the center field competition of newly-signed Rangers prospect Leonys Martin, reports Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com.
Yankees Notes: Russo, Prospects, Granderson
The classic musical Damn Yankees opened on Broadway on this day in 1955. Such noted Broadway stars as Gwen Verdon, Ray Walston and Stephen Douglass formed the original cast, with Douglass in the lead role as fan-turned-Washington Senators slugger Joe Hardy.
Unfortunately for supporters of both Washington's current team and the "Senators" (now the Twins), there is no word of either team signing an out-of-nowhere star prospect from Hannibal, MO. There is, however, some news about that darn team from the Bronx.
- The Yankees explored trading Kevin Russo during Spring Training, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Sherman notes that New York could take Russo off their 40-man roster to make room for Jorge Vazquez as a replacement for the injured Eric Chavez, though Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees blog believes Ramiro Pena will be called up instead.
- Slade Heathcott (29th overall) and J.R. Murphy (76th overall) were New York's top two picks in the 2009 amateur draft and are off to strong starts in low Class A ball, writes George King for Baseball America. Brian Cashman calls center fielder Heathcott "a five-tool guy," while Murphy "is going to hit for average with average power" while remaining at catcher.
- Curtis Granderson's early-season success and Austin Jackson's struggles have made the three-team deal involving the two center fielders look a lot better for the Yankees, writes Daniel Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal. You still have to consider that deal an overall win for the Tigers — Max Scherzer, Phil Coke and Daniel Schlereth have all contributed this season, and all three pitchers plus Jackson are under control for several more years.
Royals Notes: Hosmer, Arguelles
The Royals defeated the Orioles this afternoon to earn their fifth victory in their last six games. The big headline of the day for Kansas City, however, has to do with a certain minor league call-up…
- The Royals announced that Eric Hosmer has been called up to the big leagues to replace Kila Ka'aihue at first base. Hosmer was the third overall pick of the 2008 amateur draft and was rated by Baseball America as the eighth-best prospect in the game before this season. He has a career .886 OPS in the minors, and had a superb .439/.525/.582 line in 118 plate appearances for Triple-A Omaha this season.
- MLB.com's Dick Kaegel says the club wanted Hosmer to have around 250 Triple-A at-bats before coming to the majors, but it's interesting that K.C. pulled the trigger now and not next month. The early call-up means that Hosmer is likely to pick up enough service time to become a Super Two player, meaning he'll earn an extra year of salary arbitration. This, of course, depends on if the Super Two rules aren't changed in the next collective bargaining agreement.
- Noel Arguelles is pitching well in his first month of pro baseball, writes Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star.
- You can follow all the latest Kansas City news on MLBTR's Royals-centric Facebook page, RSS and Twitter feeds.
Russ Adams Retires
Infielder Russ Adams has decided to retire, reports Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Adams has played the last two seasons for the Mets' Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, beginning this season hitting just .180/.296/.246 in 72 plate appearances.
Adams was Toronto's first-round pick (14th overall) in the 2002 amateur draft, J.P. Ricciardi's first as the Blue Jays' GM. Originally drafted as a shortstop, Adams was moved to second and then third base in the majors, but the bigger issue was his bat. In 993 Major League plate appearances, all with the Jays, Adams managed just a .247/.313/.372 line. Adams' struggles were magnified by the success of Scott Kazmir, Nick Swisher and Cole Hamels — the three players taken directly after him in the draft, a fact that Ricciardi was criticized about for the rest of his Jays tenure.
Ramon Aguero Clears Waivers
THURSDAY: Aguero has cleared waivers and been assigned back to Double-A, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
WEDNESDAY: The Rangers designated righty Ramon Aguero for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot for Leonys Martin, tweets Jamey Newberg.
Aguero, 26, spent the 2010 season with the Pirates' High-A and Double-A affiliates, posting a 6.14 ERA, 7.7 K/9, 5.2 BB/9, and 0.3 HR/9 in 29 1/3 relief innings. He was designated for assignment by the Bucs in March to open a spot for Jose Veras, and later claimed off waivers by the Rangers. Prior to the season, Baseball America ranked Aguero 19th among Pirates prospects, noting that his fastball can reach the high 90s but there are concerns about his health and toughness.