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Archives for June 2014

Rockies Agree To Below-Slot Bonus With Kyle Freeland

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6:48pm: The bonus will land at $2.3MM, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (Twitter link). That means that Colorado will save about $890K to put towards other choices.

As Callis explains (Twitter links), Freeland ended up in a difficult bargaining position due to a high school medical report that contained speculation about possible elbow issues. In spite of that loss of leverage, Callis notes, Freeland still ended up with at least mid-first-round money.

6:19pm: The Rockies have reached agreement with first-rounder and eight overall choice Kyle Freeland, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com (via Twitter). He reportedly will take hom a bonus of approximately $2.5MM, significantly below his slot allocation of $3.19MM.

Freeland, a lefty from Colorado who played college ball for the University of Evansville, was said to have raised medical concerns from some clubs prior to the draft. Nevertheless, he landed at fifth on Baseball America’s list of the top draft prospects and was rated seventh by MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo. (He slid to 19th on ESPN.com’s Keith Law’s final prospect ranking,)

The lean southpaw has plus-plus command, in BA’s estimation, and has moved his heater into the low to mid-90s. His secondary offerings are led by a mid-80s slider and also include an average curve and decent change. Though Law notes that Freeland did not face top-end competition in college, he did put up a ridiculous 15:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio last year. While Law rejects the comparison, Freeland has’s body type has led to comparisons to Chris Sale. And as with Sale when he was a draft prospect, some have expressed concern that he’s ultimately ticketed for the bullpen.

Colorado entered the draft with about $8.35MM in achievable pool money from the first ten rounds. The club was aggressive with taking high school prospects elsewhere in the early stages of the draft, nabbing Forrest Wall at 35th overall, Ryan Castellani at the 48th slot, and Kevin Padlo an Max George with its fifth and sixth-round choices. The Rockies will now have about $690K extra to play with in signing those players.

Mariners Sign Gareth Morgan

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6:34pm: The Mariners have agreed to bonuses with their fourth through tenth round picks that, in total, have saved them $1,253,500, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter). That obviously accounts for essentially all of the overage on Morgan, though Seattle would be back to even as it negotiates with Jackson.

6:01pm: Morgan has agreed to a $2MM bonus, Elliott reports on Twitter. Needless to say, that level of commitment will require Seattle to produce savings elsewhere, as it lands $1.24MM over slot.

The Mariners entered the draft with a total potential pool of about $6.77MM. The bulk of that is attributable to the club’s first pick (6th overall), which came with a slot allotment of $3.575MM. Seattle took high school outfielder Alex Jackson with that choice. Five of the team’s picks from the first ten rounds were college seniors, which could allow for savings, though just one of those — the fourth-round pick (Ryan Yarbrough) — came with a pool share of over $200K.

5:55pm: The Mariners have signed compensation round B choice Gareth Morgan, reports Shannon Drayer of ESPN Radio Seattle (via Twitter). Morgan was taken with the 74th overall choice, which carries a slot allocation of $760K.

Though terms have yet to be reported, Morgan was said to be seeking a seven-figure bonus before the draft, reports Bob Elliott of the Canadian Baseball Network. Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik said that the club “see[s] him as a high upside kid who has a very nice profile and skill set.”

Morgan is a high school outfielder from Ontario. He was rated as the 84th-best prospect by Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, who cite his raw power while raising questions about his hit tool. ESPN.com’s Keith Law (44th) and Baseball America (65th) both had Morgan higher on their boards.

Rays Sign Casey Gillaspie

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6:19pm: The Rays have announced the signing, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter).

2:40pm: The Rays are closing in on a deal with first-rounder Casey Gillaspie, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter). Gillaspie will earn the full $2.035MM slot bonus associated with the 20th overall choice.

Gillaspie, a first baseman with Wichita State, is the younger brother of White Sox infielder Conor Gillaspie. Rating him as the 25th-best player available, MLB.com wrote that the younger Gillaspie offers pop and patience from both sides of the plate. He is regarded as a solid defender, but is not expected to move off first base. Baseball America rated the former Shocker at #29, while ESPN.com’s Keith Law had him much further down on his board (52nd).

Tampa came into the draft with a relatively meager $5.85MM total pool. None of Tampa’s other choices (it next picked at 60th overall) came with a seven-figure allotment. The Rays chose three high-schoolers and one first-year JuCo player with their next four picks, and ended the draft’s second day with four straight college seniors.

Jurickson Profar Switches Representation

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Rangers infielder Jurickson Profar has elected to hire the Boras Corporation, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). He was previously represented by Pro Star Management.

Profar, 21, entered last season as the game’s consensus top overall prospect. He scuffled somewhat in his first sustained MLB action, hitting only .234/.308/.336 in 324 plate appearances, but was nevertheless expected to take the everyday job at second base after the Rangers dealt away Ian Kinsler. But ongoing right shoulder issues, including a recent setback, have conspired to keep Profar off the field in 2014.

Profar entered this season with 167 days of MLB service. Since he will accrue a full year of service time on the DL this year, Profar is almost certain to reach Super Two eligibility in 2016, provided he stays on the active roster for all of next season.

Phillies Sign Aaron Nola

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4:08pm: Nola will receive the full slot bonus of $3.3MM and change, tweets Jim Callis of MLB.com.

1:08pm: The Phillies announced that they have agreed to terms with right-hander Aaron Nola, whom they selected out of Louisiana State with the seventh overall pick in the 2014 draft. Terms of the deal have yet to be reported, but the assigned pick value is $3,300,900, according to Baseball America. Nola was advised by and is now represented by Paragon Sports International.

Aaron Nola

Nola, considered by some to be the most polished collegiate pitcher in the 2014 draft class, was a consensus Top 10 talent and generated some buzz within the Top 5 leading up to the draft as well. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com ranked Nola sixth among draft prospects, while Baseball America pegged him seventh and Keith Law of ESPN.com ranked him ninth.

In his Junior season at LSU, Nola completely dominated the competition, pitching to an 11-1 record with a 1.47 ERA and a 134-to-27 K/BB ratio in 116 1/3 innings of work. He surrendered just 12 extra-base hits this season (eight doubles, four homers) and held opponents to a minuscule .172 batting average.

Mayo and Callis noted that Nola has “exquisite command” of a three-pitch mix and “effortlessly” sits at 91 to 93 mph with his fastball, also featuring a sometimes-plus changeup and a breaking ball that can both be thrown for strikes. BA has Nola sitting 93 to 94 mph with his fastball and touching 95 while commanding both sides of the plate with some of the best command in the college class. BA also calls Nola “one of the safest bets in the class.” Law’s early scouting report expressed some concern about Nola’s three-quarter arm slot but noted that it does “give right-handed hitters fits” and generate a good deal of ground-balls.

Nola is the first college player selected by the Phillies in the first round since Joe Savery back in 2007. MLBTR’s Zach Links spoke with Nola for our Draft Prospect Q&A series.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Astros To Sign A.J. Reed

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TODAY: Reed will receive the full slot value of $1.35MM, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.

YESTERDAY: The Astros have agreed to terms with second-round choice A.J. Reed, reports Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (via Twitter). Reed says that he will formally sign on Wednesday.

Though the terms of the bonus were not disclosed, Reed — a junior first baseman from the University of Kentucky — was chosen with the 42nd overall pick, which comes with a $1.35MM slot value (via Baseball America). That was precisely where he should have been taken, according to the talent rankings of ESPN.com’s Keith Law (who placed him at 42nd overall) and Baseball America (41st).

MLB.com was even more bullish on Reed, saying that he offers a rare combination of consistent contact and real pop at the plate. He is regarded as a strong defender, though he lacks the foot speed to play off of first. Reed is also an accomplished collegiate pitcher, but profiles to carry much more value off the mound.

Cubs Release Jose Veras

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June 10: Veras has been released, tweets Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.

June 3: The Cubs have designated reliever Jose Veras for assignment, tweets Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald. The 33-year-old veteran was signed to serve as Chicago’s closer after the Tigers declined to pick up his club option.

Veras represents a fairly significant miss for the Cubs front office. He was given a $4MM guarantee, including this year’s salary and a $150K buyout for a 2015 club option at $5.5MM. In addition to putting a consistent presence at the back of the bullpen, the Cubs no doubt considered the possibility of dangling Veras at the trade deadline.

But that was not to be. Across 13 1/3 innings on the season, Veras has worked to a 8.10 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 7.4 BB/9. Adding injury to insult, he then missed 17 games with an oblique strain. But Veras was actually much better upon his return from the DL. Since May 15, he has thrown 7 2/3 innings and allowed just two earned runs and a walk while setting down eight batters on strikes.

Blue Jays To Sign Sean Reid-Foley

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The Blue Jays have agreed to terms with second-round selection and No. 49 overall pick Sean Reid-Foley, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). Reid-Foley himself hinted on Twitter recently that he would be signing with Toronto. Many thought that Foley, who was projected as a potential first-round talent, would be signed to an over-slot deal due to his slide to No. 49, but Heyman reports that he will sign for the slot value of $1.128MM, which seems like a nice deal for Toronto.

Reid-Foley, a high school right-hander out of Florida, was MLB.com’s 18th-ranked prospect heading into the drat. Baseball America ranked him 19th, and ESPN’s Keith Law, while a bit more pessimistic on Reid-Foley, still ranked him 35th on his pre-draft Top 100. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com praised Reid-Foley’s fastball, which sits 91 to 93 mph and touches 95 mph, as well as his four-pitch mix and his ability to repeat his delivery. Law praised Reid-Foley’s fastball and breaking ball but felt that his changeup needs work if he is to reach his ceiling as a No. 3 starter in the Majors.

A Florida State commit, Reid-Foley will be the second top pick to join the Blue Jays organization today rather than head to college. Toronto agreed to a well-above-slot, $750K bonus for fifth-round outfielder Lane Thomas earlier today, who had been committed to Tennessee. The ability to sign Reid-Foley at slot value is a big boost to Toronto’s draft, as it will allow them to reallocate the savings from selecting Tommy John victim Jeff Hoffman with the ninth overall selection. Hoffman and Max Pentecost — Toronto’s other first-round selection — remain unsigned to this point.

Jordan Pacheco On Outright Waivers

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JUNE 10: Pacheco is currently on outright waivers and will learn his fate in the next 48 hours, reports MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). Any team will have the option to claim him (in order of reverse record starting with the NL and then moving to the AL). If not, the Rockies will be able to assign him outright to Triple-A Colorado Springs.

JUNE 4: The Rockies have designated catcher/infielder Jordan Pacheco for assignment, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post (via Twitter). Fellow backstop Michael McKenry will take his roster spot, while the club will also promote infielder Ryan Wheeler with star outfielder Carlos Gonzalez hitting the DL.

Pacheco, 28, has been a mainstay on the Colorado roster for much of the last two seasons, largely due to his defensive flexibility. He saw plenty of time at third in 2012, starting 80 times there and 35 times across the diamond, but last year played mostly at first while also shifting behind the dish at times. Entering 2014 as the reserve backstop, Pacheco has been limited to just 175 1/3 innings in the field thus far, and has taken only one start at a different position.

On the offensive side of the ledger, Pacheco has been unable to follow up on his solid 2012 campaign (.309/.341/.421 in 505 plate appearances). He struggled to a .588 OPS last year, and has slashed .236/.300/.347 through 80 plate appearances in 2014. Of course, all of those numbers reflect time spent at Coors Field; Pacheco’s lifetime wRC+ stands at just 76.

Royals To Sign Foster Griffin

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The Royals have agreed to terms with first-round selection Foster Griffin on a $1.925MM signing bonus that is above the No. 28 overall selection’s assigned slot value of $1.815MM, reports MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter).

Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com ranked Griffin as the draft’s No. 28 prospect, while Baseball America ranked him 27th and ESPN’s Keith Law ranked him 34th. A high school left-hander out of Orlando, Fla., Griffin had previously been committed to Ole Miss. Griffin, who stands 6’5″ and is listed at 190 pounds, sits in the low 90s with his heater and has touched 94 mph, per BA. Griffin’s changeup is ahead of his slider, per Callis and Mayo, though Law notes that he is a work in progress, mechanically speaking. Law calls him a potential No. 3 starter with a swing-man role or lefty specialist serving as his floow.

Griffin was the second left-handed pitcher selected in the first round by the Royals, who took TCU southpaw Brandon Finnegan 17th overall. Kansas City received the No. 28 selection as compensation for losing Ervin Santana to the Braves in free agency.

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