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Archives for July 2013

Int’l Prospect Signings: A’s, Angels, Rangers

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It's open season on this year's class of July 2nd international prospects and we'll be keeping track of all notable signings.  You can get familiar with the top guys this year by checking out the rankings from Baseball America and MLB.com.  Here are the latest deals..

  • The A's inked Nicaraguan shortstop Jesus Lopez to a $950K contract, tweets John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group.  BA has him ranked as the 14th best player in this class and speaks highly of his bat.  Lopez has been switch-hitting for only a year or so and some scouts already like his left-handed swing better than his natural right-handed stroke.
  • The Angels signed Venezuelan left-hander Ricardo Sanchez for $580K, according to Kiley McDaniel of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  BA had him ranked as the No. 27 player in this year's class and says that the undersized Venezuelan lefty reminds scouts of Rays left-hander Alex Torres.  Boston also had interest in signing Sanchez.
  • The Rangers signed Dominican shortstop Michael de Leon for $550K.  The 16-year-old switch-hitter,who is ranked as the No. 26 international prospect by BA, stands at 6'1", 160 pounds and boasts a strong line-drive swing.  While he makes the routine plays at shortstop, some scouts think his future could be at second base. 

Martino On Phillies, Papelbon, Nolasco, Dodgers

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The first big move of trade season went down yesterday when the Orioles acquired starter Scott Feldman from the Cubs, along with catcher Steve Clevenger, for starting pitcher Jake Arrieta, reliever Pedro Strop and international bonus pool money.  The move will obviously have an impact on the O's, but more broadly, it means that we've entered the period when trade talk becomes more than just talk, writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.  Here's more from today's column..

  • Scouts that have spoken with Martino expect the Phillies to be active sellers, but hold onto Cliff Lee since they want to contend next year.  However, rival scouts and execs anticipate that, in addition to Michael Young and Chase Utley, Jonathan Papelbon will be dealt or at least heavily shopped.  We've heard previously that the Phillies are expected to ask for an astronomical haul to part with Papelbon.
  • Papelbon also fits the bill as someone who could be kept for next year, but rivals that have spoken with Martino see too much of a need for bullpen help amongst contenders like the Red Sox and Tigers and they expect GM Ruben Amaro to get a strong offer for the closer.
  • One executive involved in the talks for the Marlins' Ricky Nolasco predicts that he will land with the Dodgers, with the Giants a possibility and the Padres still somewhat interested.  Last night it was reported that the Rangers, Rockies, and Dodgers are in "heavy pursuit" of the Miami hurler.  
  • A major league source told Martino that the Twins will likely shop Mike Pelfrey later this month, if he makes a strong few starts.  While the 29-year-old hasn't exactly been a world-beater this year – he has a 6.11 ERA with 4.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 – he could perhaps get better as he moves further from last year's Tommy John surgery and appeal to a contender willing to throw starters against the wall like the Orioles.

Sherman On Utley, Cano, Dodgers, Marlins

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Joel Sherman of the New York Post has some interesting items in today's column so let's dive in..

  • The Dodgers reportedly have interest in acquiring the Phillies' Chase Utley and one NL executive sees it happening, just not necessarily this month.  “I know everyone has [Robinson Cano] going to the Dodgers as a free agent if the [Yankees] don’t get him signed up, but I would put it at 90 percent that Utley ends up there,” said the exec.  He reasoned that the Dodgers, who have to sign Clayton Kershaw to a $200MM+ deal soon, may not be all that bullish about Cano since they aren't as flush with cash as people believe and they have learned that collecting mismatched expensive star players isn't necessarily the way to go.  The exec went on to predict that the Dodgers will offer Utley something like a three-year, $45MM deal this winter.  As for the Dodgers and Cano, we learned yesterday that the club doesn't want to do long-term contracts beyond age 36, which could limit Cano to a six-year offer if they decide to get involved.
  • The Marlins fire sale appears to be panning out well for the club, even if it was done for the wrong reasons.  Miami now looks better not just from a financial standpoint, but also when it comes to talent.  The Hanley Ramirez deal brought them Nathan Eovaldi and the blockbuster with Toronto imported Adeiny Hechavarria, Henderson Alvarez, and well-regarded minor leaguers Jake Marisnick and Justin Nicolino. The Marlins’ rebuilding might be going quicker and better that the Mets' rebuilding.  As one AL source told Sherman, ignore who made the deals and just realize, “they made good baseball trades.”
  • After the Indians gave Michael Bourn a four-year, $48MM deal and the Nationals dealt one of their top prospects for Denard Span, Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Sherman that Brett Gardner was in their class, if not better.  Right now, Gardner is outperforming both players in OPS and has a significant lead in WAR (2.8).

Josh Willingham Out Four To Six Weeks

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The Twins may have lost a trade chip today when they placed Josh Willingham on the disabled list. The outfielder told reporters, including MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger (Twitter link), that he expects to miss the next four to six weeks following arthroscopic knee surgery.

Playing through the knee injury, Willingham's 2013 season hasn't been nearly as productive as his 2012 was, though he's still done a good job drawing walks. After a career-best 35 homers last season, Willingham is hitting .224/.356/.398 with 10 homers. As recently as four days ago, it was reported that the Twins had begun to receive calls on Willingham. Those trade hopes are likely dashed now, and given his modest $7MM salary in 2013 and 2014 — he's midway through a three-year, $21MM contract — it's unlikely that he'd clear waivers in order to be eligible for an August trade once healthy.

Marlins Getting Calls On Cishek, Webb, Dunn, Qualls

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Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that the Marlins are receiving quite a bit of interest in their bullpen, with left-hander Mike Dunn and righties Steve Cishek, Ryan Webb and Chad Qualls all drawing interest.

While the Fish have hardly enjoyed a successful season, their bullpen has been reasonably effective, ranking 17th with a 3.73 ERA and 16th with a 3.68 FIP. The veteran Qualls is a free agent at season's end, but the rest of the Marlins relievers figure to have higher costs due to the extra team control that they have.

The 28-year-old Dunn is controlled through 2016 and will be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this season. Cishek, 27, is controlled through 2017 and is also arb-eligible for the first time this offseason. Webb is controlled through the 2015 season and is eligible for arbitration a second time this winter. He is making $975K this season.

The Marlins have been said to be open to dealing Webb, but their preference is to hang onto Dunn and Cishek. Of course, Ricky Nolasco has been the Marlins' hottest trade chip, with three teams currently rumored to be in heavy pursuit of the 30-year-old right-hander.

Rangers, Dodgers, Rockies In “Heavy Pursuit” Of Nolasco

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9:42pm: The Rangers, Dodgers and Rockies "are in heavy pursuit" of Nolasco, two executives tell ESPN's Jayson Stark. The Marlins are narrowing their focus to getting a deal done quickly, because the team would like to have the returning Henderson Alvarez make tomorrow's start instead of Nolasco. The Marlins are seeking a pair of prospects in return for Nolasco.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports adds that the Marlins are looking for prospects as opposed to a return like the Cubs received from the Orioles earlier today when they acquired Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop for Scott Feldman. Rosenthal opines that there is no sense in the Marlins' insistance that the acquiring team absorb the remaining $5.7MM on Nolasco's deal. The Marlins entered the season with a $36.3MM payroll — the second lowest in baseball — and will easily receive more than that figure in revenue sharing and national TV money.

7:10pm: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports spoke with a Marlins source who emphasized that Nolasco is "not a giveaway." According to Heyman, the Rockies have offered a pair of "pretty decent prospects" but don't want to absorb the remaining salary on Nolasco's deal. Heyman's source suggests that the Marlins also have an offer that is mostly salary relief without offering much in the way of prospects.

5:12pm: The Marlins are beginning to adjust their asking price on Ricky Nolasco, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter). The change reflects their desire to move him as soon as possible, according to Olney, who notes that the Dodgers are still the frontrunners.

As recently as last Thursday, the Marlins were said to be looking for a "good" prospect for Nolasco, as well as a willingness to absorb the entirety of the roughly $6MM remaining on his contract for the 2013 season.

Nolasco has been connected to the Dodgers, Rockies, Padres, Giants, Orioles and Rangers, though the Orioles swung a deal for Scott Feldman earlier today, and it's unclear if their interest remains. The 30-year-old has a 3.93 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 105 1/3 innings this season, though he's struggled in his past two outings.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reported last week that Wednesday could be a "soft deadline" to move Nolaco, as the Marlins are hoping to deal him before he makes his scheduled start that day.

Minor Moves: Zavada, Cruz, Kimball, Laffey, Pauley

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Today's minor moves…

  • The Padres have purchased left-hander Clay Zavada from the independent league Gary SouthShore RailCats, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (on Twitter). Zavada had a 1.65 ERA in 16 1/3 innings for the RailCats. The former Diamondback was known more for his mustache than his pitching in 2009, but he posted a 3.35 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 51 innings for the D-Backs that year. Brock tweets that Zavada will report to Double-A.
  • Luis Cruz has refused an outright assignment to Triple-A and elected free agency, according to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times (Twitter links). Cruz, who was designated for assignment last week, cleared waivers and can sign with any team. He hit just .127/.175/.169 in 128 plate appearances for the Dodgers this season — a far cry from the solid .297/.322/.431 line he posted in 296 plate appearances last season.
  • The Nationals announced that they have outrighted right-hander Cole Kimball off the 40-man roster (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has appeared in just four minor league innings for the Nats this season and hasn't pitched with the big league club since 2011.
  • Aaron Laffey has opted out of his minor league deal with the Dodgers, according to Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish (on Twitter). MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has confirmed the move. Laffey, 28, has a 5.61 ERA with 4.3 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 61 innings for Triple-A Albuquerque this season. He also allowed 10 runs in 12 2/3 innings between the Mets and Blue Jays at the MLB level.
  • Righty David Pauley was released by the Diamondbacks' Triple-A club on Saturday, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page.  Pauley had joined them on a minor league deal on June 10th, but the 30-year-old struggled in four relief appearances.  Pauley was originally drafted by the Padres in '01, three picks before the Red Sox took Kevin Youkilis.  Pauley was later a minor piece in Dave Dombrowski's July 2011 heist of the Mariners, in which the Tigers acquired Doug Fister.
  • Six players are currently in DFA limbo: Francisley Bueno of the Royals, Eric Hinske of the Diamondbacks, Alex Liddi of the Mariners, Clayton Mortensen of the Red Sox, Travis Ishikawa of the Orioles and Jeff Francoeur of the Royals.

Diamondbacks Sign Jose Herrera

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The Diamondbacks have signed Venezuelan catcher Jose Herrera for a $1.06MM bonus, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America. The 16-year-old ranked 10th on Baseball America's Top 30 and seventh on MLB.com's Top 30.

MLB.com and Badler both call Herrera the top catcher on the international market. The switch-hitter is listed at 5'10" and 180 pounds.

Badler writes that Herrera has the ability to hit for power and has good lift in his swing. While some scouts question his ability to hit for average, he lays off pitches outside the zone and should be able to get on base at a good clip. MLB.com adds that he makes good contact as a right-handed hitter but has a longer swing from the left side that needs some refinement.

The Diamondbacks spent nearly 45 percent of their $2.355MM bonus pool to bring Herrera into the organization.

Reactions To The Feldman-Arrieta Trade

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Earlier today, the Orioles acquired Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger from the Cubs in exchange for Jake Arrieta, Pedro Strop and two international bonus slots. Here are some reactions and related news to the first significant trade of this year's trading season…

  • MLBTR's Tim Dierkes reports that Arrieta has two year and 99 days of service time, meaning that the Cubs can avoid Super Two status if he accumulates less than 53 days of service time this season (Twitter link). If Arrieta picks up fewer than 73 days of service time, he will be controllable through the 2017 season.
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs provides an excellent, in-depth analysis of the trade, noting that Feldman should net the Orioles an extra 1.0-1.5 wins above replacement, which is a critical upgrade over their internal rotation options. From the Cubs' point of view, Arrieta is a nice gamble, but the deal is really about the long-term future, Cameron writes. He agrees with the assessment of Baseball America's Ben Badler that the Cubs are clearly stockpiling international money to add top international prospect Eloy Jimenez after signing Gleyber Torres earlier today.
  • Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette told Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio that he didn't want to trade prospects whose capabilities are unknown at this point. The O's parted with Arrieta and Strop because they believe they know what those arms are capable of (Twitter link).
  • The Padres tried to acquire Arrieta, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, but it sounds like the Cubs fully intend on hanging onto him rather than including him in other deals.
  • The Red Sox weren't in on Feldman, according to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.co (on Twitter). Feldman could have appealed to Boston had the rotation faded as the trade deadline drew nearer, but they weren't interested at this time.
  • Cubs closer Kevin Gregg told MLB.com's Carrie Muskat that he couldn't believe the Cubs were able to acquire both Arrieta and Strop in the trade. Gregg offered high praise for the talent of both players, noting that a change of scenery could help Strop. Manager Dale Sveum expressed excitement to Muskat about acquiring a power arm like Strop that was part of baseball's best bullpen in 2012.

Twins Sign Lewin Diaz, Roni Tapia

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7:33pm: The Twins have also signed Dominican third baseman Roni Tapia for a $550K bonus, Wolfson tweets. Ben Badler of Baseball America writes that Tapia generates "easy power" but added that a position change is all but inevitable.

5:01pm: The Twins have signed Dominican outfielder Lewin Diaz, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter). Diaz ranked as MLB.com's No. 10 international prospect in this year's class and was 15th on Baseball America's Top 30. According to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez (on Twitter), Diaz signed for $1.4MM — a significant chunk of the Twins' $3.9MM bonus pool.

The 16-year-old Diaz's frame reminds some scouts of Ryan Howard, and MLB.com praises his power and approach: "Overall, Diaz has notable raw power and one of the best rhythm and timing approaches among all hitters in the international market this year."

Wolfson also adds that the Twins like Cuban defector Dariel Alvarez, but he will likely be too expensive. Signing Alvarez wouldn't count against Minnesota's bonus pool, because he's over 23 years of age and has more than three years of experience. There is no restriction on how much teams could spent to sign him. It was reported last week that Alvarez is eligible to sign with any team as a free agent.

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