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Archives for June 2012

Twins Seek Pitching

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The Twins are looking to add pitching depth to their organization, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports. General manager Terry Ryan said he’s not set on acquiring a certain type of pitcher — he’s just looking for outs.

"We don't have enough pitching," Ryan said. "We need pitching, and we need it bad."

The Twins are 29th in baseball with a 5.05 team ERA. Only two teams have obtained fewer innings from their starters and no team induces fewer strikeouts per nine innings (5.8 K/9).

The Twins selected pitchers with seven of their first nine selections in this year's draft and they’ve signed every one of those arms except J.T. Chargois and Luke Bard. Executives from other teams have wondered if the Twins would trade players such as Denard Span and Josh Willingham for young pitching, according to Olney.

Sherman On Dempster, Lee, Gonzalez

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MLB executives expect the additional Wild Card teams to slow the trade market this summer, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. The Cubs and a few other teams such as the Athletics, Astros and Padres are willing to sell now, but most clubs still hope to contend this summer. Here are some notes from Sherman on the trade market:

  • No clear difference makers appear to be available right now, Sherman reports. People are generally waiting to see if the Brewers or Phillies decide to trade established stars for controllable talent.
  • A Yankees official told Sherman that Ryan Dempster would just “muddy the water” in New York, an indication that the Yankees aren’t overly interested in the Cubs right-hander.
  • Though there’s no indication that Cliff Lee and Carlos Gonzalez are available, Sherman makes the case that their respective clubs should consider trades for them this summer. Lee, who has a nine-team no-trade list, would appeal to a number of contenders, and Gonzalez would draw considerable interest in a trade market that currently features few impact hitters.
  • Sherman points out that people in the industry see California native Cole Hamels heading toward a big payday from the Dodgers after the season when he hits free agency.

First And Supplemental Round Picks Yet To Sign

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With myriad players currently in search of a College World Series title or holding out for an over-slot bonus, here are the first round and supplemental round draft picks who have yet to agree to terms:

3. Seattle Mariners - Mike Zunino, C, Florida

4. Baltimore Orioles - Kevin Gausman, RHP, Louisiana State

6. Chicago Cubs - Albert Almora, Mater Academy (Fla.)

8. Pittsburgh Pirates - Mark Appel, RHP, Stanford

9. Miami Marlins - Andrew Heaney, LHP, Oklahoma State

16. Washington Nationals - Lucas Giolito, RHP, Harvard-Westlake High School (Calif.)

18. Los Angeles Dodgers - Corey Seager, SS, Northwest Cabarrus High School (N.C.)

22. Toronto Blue Jays - Marcus Stroman, RHP, Duke

23. St. Louis Cardinals - James Ramsey, OF, Florida State

25. Tampa Bay Rays - Richie Shaffer, 1B/3B, Clemson

30. New York Yankees - Ty Hensley, RHP, Santa Fe High School (Okla.)

31. Boston Red Sox - Brian Johnson, LHP, Florida

42. Minnesota Twins (for Jason Kubel) - Luke Bard, RHP, Georgia Tech

44. San Diego Padres (for Aaron Harang) - Travis Jankowski, OF, Stony Brook

47. Oakland Athletics (for David DeJesus) - Matt Olson, 1B, Parkview High School (Ga.)

55. San Diego Padres (for Brett Austin) - Walker Weickel, RHP, Olympia High School (Fla.)

57. Cincinnati Reds (for Francisco Cordero) - Jeff Gelalich, OF, UCLA

Cardinals Sign Wisdom, Bean

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June 17th: Bean received a $700K bonus from the Cardinals, more than $170K under MLB's recommendation, reports Callis.

June 9th: Wisdom signed for $693K, reports Jim Callis of Baseball America. The Cardinals save approximately $277K of draft pool money with the below slot deal.

June 7th: The Cardinals have agreed to terms with supplementary first round selection Patrick Wisdom, scouting director Dan Kantrovitz told Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Wisdom is represented by Adam Karon and Tripper Johnson of Sosnick Cobbe Sports. Steve Bean, another one of the Cardinals' supplementary first round selections, is also nearing an agreement with the team.

The Cardinals selected Wisdom with the 52nd overall pick, which they obtained as compensation for losing Octavio Dotel. They selected Bean with the 59th overall pick, which they obtained as compensation for losing Edwin Jackson. MLB recommends a bonus of $970K for the 52nd selection and a bonus of $870K for the 59th selection, according to Baseball America.

Mike Axisa and Daniel Seco contributed to this post.

Week In Review: 6/10/12 – 6/16/12

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As we tip our caps to Matt Cain and R.A. Dickey for providing Wednesday's evening of historical pitching, let's catch up on the week that was here on MLBTR…

  • The Dodgers signed Andre Ethier to a five-year, $85MM extension. Ethier boasts a solid .291/.363/.482 slash line for his career, but has a less-than-stellar defensive reputation. 
  • Jorge Soler is headed to Wrigley after the Cubs won the bidding and signed the Cuban outfielder to a nine-year deal worth approximately $30MM. 
  • The Twins signed second overall pick Byron Buxton. The high school outfielder will receive a bonus of $6MM, which is $200K below MLB's recommended figure of $6.2MM. Supplemental first round draft pick J.O. Berrios also signed with the Twins and will receive a $1.55MM bonus.
  • Veteran infielder Aaron Miles retired from baseball on Wednesday after hitting .235/.297/.338 in 18 games for Triple-A Albuquerque this season. 
  • The Athletics granted Manny Ramirez his outright release after the former Red Sox star hit .302/.348/.349 for Triple-A Sacramento in 69 plate appearances this year. 
  • Vladimir Guerrero is a free agent as the Blue Jays released him at his request after failing to be promoted to the big leagues. 
  • Livan Hernandez's lengthy career may be coming to a close after the Braves designated the right-hander for assignment. He posted a 4.94 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 31 innings out of the bullpen for Atlanta.
  • A's first baseman Kila Ka'aihue cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento.
  • Donnie Murphy's poor hitting has him headed to the minor leagues after the Marlins outrighted the utility infielder to Triple-A New Orleans. Murphy posted a .136/.250/.318 batting line in 52 plate appearances this season. 
  • The Cubs designated catcher Koyie Hill for assignment. Hill appeared in 11 games for the Cubs this year, collecting six singles and a double in 39 plate appearances. 
  • Esmil Rogers hopes a league change will remedy his pitching woes after the Indians acquired the right-hander from the Rockies for $150K. In a related move, the Indians outrighted catcher Luke Carlin to Triple-A after designating him for assignment.
  • Catcher Omir Santos signed with the Rockies after cutting ties with the Tigers. The 31-year-old elected free agency last week after Detroit designated him for assignment. 
  • The Red Sox released Marlon Byrd after designating the outfielder for assignment earlier this month. 
  • The Red Sox signed supplemental first rounder Pat Light, who agreed to a bonus of $1MM.
  • The Blue Jays signed first round draft pick D.J. Davis. The team also announced the signing of supplementary first round selections Mitchell Nay and Tyler Gonzales.
  • The Indians signed first round pick Tyler Naquin, who will obtain a bonus of $1.75MM.
  • The White Sox signed first round draft pick Courtney Hawkins. The outfielder will obtain a bonus of $2.475MM. Foregoing his scholarship to the University of Miami, supplementary first round pick Keon Barnum also signed with the White Sox
  • Thanks to a busy front office, the Rangers signed their top five selections from the draft. 
  • First round selection Addison Russell signed with the Athletics as did supplementary first round pick Daniel Robertson. 
  • The Phillies signed supplemental first round pick Shane Watson, who will receive a bonus of $1.29MM. 
  • The Mets signed supplemental first round draft pick Kevin Plawecki. He'll obtain a $1.4MM bonus.
  • First round draft pick Michael Wacha signed with the Cardinals and received a $1.9MM bonus. The Cardinals also‬ signed supplementary first-round pick Stephen Piscotty, who will receive a $1.4MM bonus.
  • The Reds signed first round pick Nick Travieso. The right-hander, selected 14th overall, will receive a $2MM bonus.
  • The Pirates signed supplemental first round selection Barrett Barnes, who will obtain a $1MM bonus.
  • Supplemental first round selections Paul Blackburn and Pierce Johnson signed with the Cubs.
  • Supplemental first round draft pick Mitch Haniger signed with the Brewers and will obtain a $1.2MM bonus.
  • The Padres signed first round selection Max Fried, who will obtain $3MM.
  • The Rockies signed first round pick David Dahl. The high school outfielder, selected 10th overall, will receive a $2.6MM bonus. The Rockies also signed supplemental first round selection Eddie Butler for $1MM.
  • The Giants signed first round pick Chris Stratton, who will receive the full $1.85MM slot bonus for the 20th overall selection..
  • The Dodgers signed their supplementary first round draft choice Jesmuel Valentin. 

Quick Hits: Tigers, Bryan LaHair, Red Sox Draft

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The Yankees completed a sweep against the Nationals on Sunday afternoon in Washington D.C. with a 4-1 victory. The win marked New York's third consecutive sweep of three games or more for the first time since 1998. With the Yankees taking three from the Nationals, the Reds (7-5) are now the lone MLB team with an all-time winning record against the Bronx Bombers. Here's the latest from around the majors…

  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has already conceded his interest in acquiring a right-handed bat before the non-waiver trade deadline, but any potential move hinges on the health of Victor Martinez, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. “The possibility (of Martinez returning) exists in a strong enough fashion that you have to give it some thought, but I don’t really know where that stands – and I don’t know that we will know until July,” Dombrowski said in an interview Sunday morning. “We may get Martinez and (Al) Alburquerque back. Those would be two pretty good acquisitions, and our bullpen actually has pitched pretty well in recent times.”
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (via Twitter) that the Dodgers are not interested in Cubs first baseman Bryan LaHair but are talking with Chicago about right-hander Ryan Dempster. Los Angeles may want to reconsider its stance as LaHair has a slash line of .297/.380/.560 as compared to .261/.322/.368 for the Dodgers' first basemen.
  • According to calculations by Baseball America, the Red Sox will face increased penalties from MLB if they continue spending at their current pace to go 5% over their draft budget as pointed out by Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal. When a team exceeds its budget by 5% or less, it is penalized by paying 75% on the amount over the threshold. Teams that go over by 5 to 10% are mandated to pay a luxury tax of 100% on the excess spending and forfeit their next first round draft pick.

Red Sox To Sign Deven Marrero

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The Red Sox have agreed to terms with first round draft pick Deven Marrero, tweets Jim Callis of Baseball America. The Arizona State shortstop will receive a $2.05MM bonus, significantly higher than the $1.75MM recommended by MLB.

The selection marks the third consecutive draft in which the Red Sox selected a college player with their first pick. Marrero, selected 24th overall, is noted for his slick fielding. 

MLBTR Originals

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Here's a look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR this past week:

Koyie Hill Elects Free Agency

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Koyie Hill is a now a free agent after declining his outright assignment to Triple-A Iowa, tweets Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com. The switch-hitting catcher was outrighted by the Cubs on Friday, a day after being designated for assignment.

Hill appeared in 11 games with the Cubs this year compiling a slash line of .179/.179/.205. Hill has a career line of .210/.271/.294 over 313 games in nine years. The 33-year-old will be looking to hook on with his fourth major league organization in 2012 after spending Spring Training with the Cardinals and playing for the Reds' Double-A affiliate. 

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