Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Buehrle, Markakis, Strasburg
On this date in 1920, pitcher Babe Ruth, acquired from Boston in the offseason, hit cleanup in the Yankees’ lineup and also got the win when he tossed four innings as the starter in the team’s 14-7 victory over Washington at the Polo Grounds. During his 15 years with New York, Ruth took the mound five times for the club. Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere..
- Blue Jays Plus breaks down the partnership of Mark Buehrle and Dioner Navarro.
- Camden Depot unearths Nick Markakis‘ secret platoon issue.
- Federal Baseball says Stephen Strasburg‘s first inning troubles can’t slow him down.
- Reviewing The Brew checks in on the curious case of Marco Estrada.
- Inside The Zona has some tips for Paul Goldschmidt.
- AL Eastbound & Down wants Toronto to keep Drew Hutchinson.
- The Beanball wonders where all of J.J. Hardy‘s power went.
- You Gotta Like These Kids evaluates A’s GM Billy Beane.
- Friars On Base says it’s time for serious change in San Diego.
- Grading On The Curve says that the Royals’ troubles go beyond the big league level.
- Royals Blue says KC needs a king.
- Rays Colored Glasses runs down some college pitchers the Rays might look at.
- Baseball Stooges scouted the Wilmington Blue Rocks.
- Replacement Level Red Sox plays “Where are they now?”
Please send submissions to Zach at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.
Draft Prospect Q&A: Nick Burdi
MLBTR is re-launching its Draft Prospect Q&A series this season in order to give our readers a look at some of the top names on the board in this year’s draft. MLBTR will be chatting with some of the draft’s most well-regarded prospects over the next couple of weeks as they prepare for the 2014 draft on June 5-7.
Teams looking to draft a future closer with serious velocity will be taking a long look at Louisville pitcher Nick Burdi. In fact, with a fastball that hits 96-100 mph on the radar gun, Burdi stands as the hardest thrower in college. To complement the heat, Burdi also boasts a plus slider that can develop into a premium pitch.
You could say that hard throwing runs in the family. Burdi’s older brother, Drew, was a quarterback at Western Michigan. His younger brother, Zack, is a promising pitcher in his own right for the Cardinals. Burdi has shown that he can hold that velocity over two- and three-inning outings, leading some to believe that he could blossom into a starter. Baseball America has Burdi pegged as the No. 27 prospect in the draft, MLB.com has him ranked at No. 34, and ESPN.com’s Keith Law has him at No. 52. Burdi spoke with MLBTradeRumors on Friday about his skill set, whether he’d be interested in starting, and more:
Marlins Acquire Bryan Morris From Pirates
The Marlins announced that they have acquired right-hander Bryan Morris from the Pirates in exchange for the No. 39 overall pick in the 2014 draft. The No. 39 pick is Miami’s Competitive Balance Round A selection and is worth roughly $1.58MM.
“We feel this trade will have a positive impact on our organization in the short, moderate and long term,” said Bucs GM Neal Huntington in Pittsburgh’s press release. “In the short term, this trade will add a quality prospect to our system that will enhance our ability to make additional prospect for major league player type deals while helping us to better sustain crucial prospect depth. Additionally, we feel we have made this move from a position of strength as we have kept our core bullpen intact. In the moderate and long term, we add an additional first-round talent that we project to play a significant role on future Pirates’ teams.”
Morris, 27, has pitched to a 3.46 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 over the last three seasons with the Pirates. In late March, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reported that the PIrates were open to dealing Morris and Jeanmar Gomez, though they were a little more reluctant to part with the latter since he can also start. Morris is out of options this year and the Bucs have had a logjam in the bullpen this season. In short, the Pirates are dealing from a surplus to add a promising talent to their farm system.
Of course, the Marlins still have choice picks at the top of the draft. They own the No. 2 overall pick, the No. 36 pick in the Competitive Balance Round A portion after they were unable to sign Oregon pitcher Matt Krook last year, and the No. 43 pick, the second pick of the second round. For the Pirates, the deal gives them a pick to think about in between their No. 24 and No. 64 selections.
Phillies Designate Jeremy Horst For Assignment
The Phillies announced that they have designated Jeremy Horst for assignment. The move will create room on the 40-man roster for the arrival of Cesar Jimenez, who has been called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
The left-hander reliever made 28 appearances for the Phillies last season and didn’t have a ton of success. Horst posted a 6.23 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in those outings. In the two seasons prior, the 28-year-old pitched to a combined 1.74 ERA 9.5 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 44 outings. So far in 2014, Horst owns a 4.35 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 7.0 BB/9 in 19 Triple-A games.
Evan Meek Accepts Outright Assignment
SUNDAY, 9:44am: Meek has accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk rather than elect free agency, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.
WEDNESDAY, 3:27pm: The Orioles have outrighted reliever Evan Meek off of the club’s 40-man roster, the team announced. It is not yet clear whether Meek will accept the assignment, which he has the right to decline since he has previously been outrighted.
Meek was previously designated for assignment off the club’s active roster, then optioned to Triple-A once he had cleared optional assignment waivers. By now passing him through outright waivers, Baltimore has cleared a 40-man roster spot.
The 31-year-old has tossed 11 2/3 MLB innings thus far in 2014, surrendering nine earned runs on nine strikeouts and six walks. Meek has scuffled at Triple-A as well, working to a 5.59 ERA in 9 2/3 innings after posting a 4.50 mark in 108 innings in the upper minors last year (including 15 starts). He has thrown 184 1/3 MLB innings of 3.56 ERA ball over his career.
Astros Finalizing Draft Strategy
The Astros‘ draft strategy is taking shape, according to a report from Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. Houston is expected to finalize its board and approach in a series of early-week front office sessions. Drellich’s piece is full of interesting information, quotes, and analysis, and is well worth a full read.
With the first overall choice, the Astros have narrowed their options to six players, all of whom will be familiar to those who have followed the recent prognostications of observers. The list includes two collegiate hurlers (Carlos Rodon and Aaron Nola), two prep arms (Tyler Kolek and Brady Aiken), and two high school position players (Alex Jackson and Nick Gordon).
While that grouping is not surprising, Drellich writes that the Astros could attempt to get an agreement from a player to a below-slot bonus with the first overall selection. Should that occur, Houston could aim to put more of its $13.36MM total pool into hard-to-sign later choices. The club also possesses the 37th and 42nd overall choices.
That strategy, of course, sounds similar to what the ‘Stros did in 2012, when they took Carlos Correa first overall (over Byron Buxton) and later drafted and inked players like Lance McCullers Jr. and Rio Ruiz. The gambit “worked perfectly a couple years ago,” said amateur scouting director Mike Elias.
It is not yet clear how Houston will proceed this time around. Elias says that this year’s deep class — unlike last year’s, which lacked “high school players that were first-round talents that might fall” — could allow such an approach. “We’re going to look at how to extract the most value from our draft board and from this draft,” he said. “And if we feel there is a lack of separation between two of the options and perhaps we feel we may be able to sign one of those options for less money to get some extra major league prospects because of it that we wouldn’t otherwise, we’re going to consider that.”
Of course, the final call will go to GM Jeff Luhnow. He acknowledged that, in theory, a lack of consensus on the top choice could be beneficial, at least “theoretically, if you were indifferent between two players, three players.” But the head baseball man also explained that the 2012 haul was driven by the fact that the team viewed Correa as the best player available, while industry consensus saw him as the fifth or sixth-best option. With this year’s top pick, Luhnow said that he intends to “take who we believe is the best player in the draft and then let the chips fall where they may.”
Cafardo On Samardzija, Arroyo, Mayberry Jr.
In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe ran down the 20 best stories in baseball, starting with the worst-to-first (so far) Blue Jays. Toronto has gotten great hitting out of Jose Bautista, Melky Cabrera, Edwin Encarnacion, and Adam Lind and great pitching from Mark Buehrle, R.A. Dickey, and Drew Hutchison. Now, it remains to be seen whether the Blue Jays will be willing to part with Hutchison in a deal for Cubs‘ ace Jeff Samardzija. More from today’s column..
- The Red Sox and Rangers have the most to offer the Cubs for Samardzija, followed by the Giants. Of course, Cubs president Theo Epstein is quite familiar with the Red Sox’s farm system. The Cubs need pitching, but Boston will definitely not part with lefthander Henry Owens. If that’s not a deal breaker, the Sox have other pitchers like Brandon Workman, Matt Barnes, Anthony Ranaudo, Allen Webster, and Rubby De La Rosa that they can offer. Cafardo guesses that it would take two of them, plus perhaps a catcher, to pry Samardzija loose.
- With the Diamondbacks likely out of the race by the deadline, Cafardo says that we should look for veteran Bronson Arroyo to change uniforms again. Arroyo isn’t a shutdown guy, but he’s an experienced starter who could solidify the back of a rotation, particularly for an NL team.
- The Phillies have made John Mayberry Jr. available and Cafardo writes that the Red Sox could be interested. The Phillies have been scouting the Sox for a third straight series and are looking at Boston as a possible trade partner.
Rosenthal On Marlins, Rays, White Sox, Reds
Here’s the latest on the developing trade market, courtesy of Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (video link):
- The most likely scenario at this point is for the Marlins to be aggressive, early buyers, says Rosenthal. With the club still very much in the NL East mix and possessing confidence in the ability of its young arms to fill the void created by Jose Fernandez‘s UCL tear, Rosenthal says that Miami may not to wait for the trade deadline to make moves to bolster its roster.
- Concurring with a report from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter), Rosenthal says that the Fish could look to add a strong reliever to slot in front of Steve Cishek. While the bullpen has not been a problem area on the whole, Cishek has easily paced the rest of the group in performance, and the potential loss of Carter Capps elevates the team’s need.
- On the other hand, the Rays could consider moving a series of veterans if they become sellers, according to Rosenthal. Having dropped well off the pace (9.5 games back in the AL East), Tampa Bay could potentially deal away not only ace David Price but also players like Ben Zobrist and Matt Joyce.
- Another team worth watching closely, in Rosenthal’s estimation, is the White Sox. While Chicago will surely wait to see how the team performs with Chris Sale and Jose Abreu back in action, Rosenthal says that middle infielders Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham could be attractive to clubs like the Blue Jays, Giants, and others who may be in the market for second basemen.
- Meanwhile, Rosenthal says that the underperforming Reds “could listen” on starters Mat Latos, Mike Leake, or even Johnny Cueto. That trio is under control only through next season, and it may prove too expensive to retain more than one or two of them for the long haul. Rosenthal also suggests that there is at least some possibility that Cincinnati could field offers on closer Aroldis Chapman.
Poll: Where Will Kendrys Morales Sign?
MLBTR’s pages are increasingly loaded with draft news, which means that June 5 is fast approaching. Of course, that also means that we are just days away from Kendrys Morales becoming the first ever player to wait out the draft and thereby relieve himself of the compensation that attached upon declining a qualifying offer. (Technically, teams can sign him without sacrificing a pick after the completion of the draft’s first day.)
So, with Morales set to become a true free agent — one who can sign with any team on equal terms, without any strings attached — where is he most likely to go? I’ll list the seven teams that seem, in my view, to be the most compelling possibilities, along with the ever-popular wild card option. (Choiced presented in no particular order; poll choices randomized; feel free to register complaints with my selections in the comments.)
- Yankees — We’ll start with the team most recently linked to Morales. The presence of Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira complicates this match-up, although Teixeira did suffer a potentially troubling set-back today. On the other hand, so did Michael Pineda, which emphasizes further that the rotation is likely a greater need (if not also the infield mix). Owner Hal Steinbrenner has indicated that the club could still unleash its vaunted spending capacity over the summer, but it remains an open question whether the cash would be better spent in other areas.
- Orioles — Baltimore was long viewed as a potential Morales suitor, at least before signing Nelson Cruz. As good as Cruz has been at the plate, he’s been terrible in the field, making it questionable whether the club would be interested in moving him to the outfield on a regular basis (he’s been splitting time about evenly thus far). The elbow questions surrounding catcher Matt Wieters also presents a barrier, as he may need to spend some or all of his time in the DH role. Indeed, executive vice president Dan Duquette has strongly downplayed the likelihood of a Morales signing for those very reasons.
- Rangers — The fit here is obvious: Morales represents a big left-handed bat who could pick up some of the slack for the injured Prince Fielder. But the club, which entered the year with a record $133.5MM payroll, has been treading water for much of the season after being crushed by injuries to Fielder, Jurickson Profar, and seemingly half of the pitching staff. Indeed, much of the latest discussion has centered upon whether, and if so how, Texas might turn into a trade-deadline seller, with GM Jon Daniels saying recently that the organization is not ready to give up but declining to rule out the possibility of making “adjustments” to the organization’s approach if the team falls further back.
- Angels — Could a return to Morales’s original employer be in the offing? The Halos rejected the overtures of agent Scott Boras back in December, with GM Jerry Dipoto noting that the team was uninterested in sacrificing a first-round pick and ultimately signing the grizzled Raul Ibanez. But the draft pick is no longer an issue, Ibanez has been poor, and the Angels are finally in position to make a real run at the post-season. Then again, prospect C.J. Cron has mashed in his first taste of the bigs and the team has something of a glut of talented outfielders in the fold (including the rehabbing Josh Hamilton) who could presumably absorb some plate appearances at DH.
- Athletics — Oakland always feels like a wild card. There may not be a need here, strictly speaking, but the A’s could see a chance to add value by plugging Morales in the DH slot. The hitter-only slot in the lineup has been given most often to Alberto Callaspo, who has been below average with the bat, with players like John Jaso and Yoenis Cespedes also getting significant time away from the field. But will the team have room to add that kind of payroll after entering the season well above its usual spending levels (or, if not, would it be able/inclined to create space via trade)? And would GM Billy Beane want to add a full-time DH to a roster that has thrived on matchups and flexibility?
- Mariners — A return to Seattle seemed the logical choice from the get-go, as the club plainly values Morales. That likelihood dissipated with the acquisitions of Corey Hart and Logan Morrison, but injury issues for that pair — along with an underwhelming start for Justin Smoak — has led to renewed suggestions of a reunion. On the other hand, payroll issues could still pose a barrier for a club that is looking up at three AL West competitors in the standings, just as it is in this post. And if this was a fit from the M’s perspective, why did the club seemingly decline to pursue a pre-draft deal (as the Red Sox did with Stephen Drew)?
- Brewers — The only National League club on my list, Milwaukee entered the year with big questions at first base. While Mark Reynolds has been adequate, Lyle Overbay (the left-handed side of that platoon) has struggled. Meanwhile, the front-running Brewers could (and probably should) be looking to upgrade their roster in any way possible to fend off a tough Cardinals squad. This fit would be close to perfect, were it not for the fact that Morales is considered a liability at first.
- Other — Why limit ourselves? There are other teams that could potentially benefit from Morales, at least in a vacuum, though in each case there may be lesser motivation and greater barriers than in the situations of those teams named above. It would be rather surprising, but perhaps not outside the realm of possibility, for teams such as the Indians, Twins, Pirates, or Padres to enter the mix. Of course, none of the clubs just listed sat closer than seven games out of first (or 3.5 out of the Wild Card) entering today’s action. In some respects, their involvement — or that of unnamed others, if injuries were to intervene — could potentially to depend upon whether Morales looks to sign quickly or instead prefers to let things develop over the summer.
Where Will Kendrys Morales Sign?
-
Yankees 40% (2,709)
-
Rangers 21% (1,438)
-
Brewers 10% (707)
-
Mariners 9% (603)
-
Other 8% (510)
-
Orioles 4% (304)
-
Angels 4% (287)
-
Athletics 3% (224)
Total votes: 6,782
Quick Hits: Holt, Astros, Bell, Simmons
Infielder Brock Holt was surprised when the Pirates traded him to Boston before last season, but he’s doing his best to provide the Red Sox with value in the deal, writes WEEI.com’s Katie Morrison. “I was expecting to go to big league camp with them [the Pirates] with the chance to make the team,” says Holt. “Then a couple days after Christmas, Neal Huntington called me, and said, ‘Hey, we traded you to the Red Sox,’ so then I didn’t have a clue what to expect.” Morrison points out that the other player the Red Sox received was Joel Hanrahan, who got hurt almost immediately and then left via free agency, so Holt represents the Red Sox’ only chance of recouping value from the trade (a deal that netted the Pirates a very good reliever in Mark Melancon, along with another interesting arm in Stolmy Pimentel). Holt has hit well this year while filling in at third base, with a .299/.349/.390 line in 87 plate appearances this season. Here’s more from around the big leagues.
- The Astros‘ strong month of May suggests they might not be a punch line anymore, Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan writes for FOX Sports. The big differences between this year’s Astros team and the 100-loss teams of years past are, of course, rookie outfielder George Springer and breakouts from starters Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh. Keuchel and McHugh didn’t look like important parts of the Astros’ future before this season, and now it looks like they might be, so the next competitive Astros team might be coming more quickly than we think.
- Heath Bell will opt out of his minor-league deal with the Orioles next Saturday if he isn’t promoted, David Hall of the Virginian-Pilot tweets. Since being released by the Rays, Bell has pitched 6 2/3 innings for Triple-A Norfolk, allowing five runs while striking out five and walking six.
- Reliever Shae Simmons, whose contract the Braves purchased on Saturday, was so good in Double-A that the Braves didn’t feel he needed to go to Triple-A, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Simmons struck out 30 batters in 23 Double-A innings this season, throwing a fastball that reaches into the high ’90s to go along with a good slider. O’Brien notes that Simmons has been compared to Craig Kimbrel and Billy Wagner — like those pitchers, Simmons has great stuff and is a bit small, at 5-foot-11.