Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for June 2020

Tigers Select Spencer Torkelson With No. 1 Pick

By | at

The Tigers have made official what so many have expected to be the case over the past several months: Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson has been selected by Detroit with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft. Interestingly, the team announced him as a third baseman — where he played in high school but has not appeared in college. The slot value for the top pick checks in at $8.415MM.

Spencer Torkelson | Arizona State Media Relations/Jeremy Hawkes

Torkelson, still just 20 years of age, has wowed scouts with his power, plate discipline and feel for hitting throughout his career with the Sun Devils. A career .337/.463/.729 hitter with 54 home runs, 33 doubles and a 110-to-104 BB/K ratio in 628 college plate appearances, Torkelson was off to his best start yet when the NCAA halted play due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through 17 games and 82 plate appearances in 2020, Torkelson had posted a ridiculous .340/.598/.780 slash with six homers and 31 walks against 15 punchouts.

Pre-draft rankings were in agreement that Torkelson and Vanderbilt third baseman/outfielder Austin Martin were the top two talents in this year’s draft. Most gave Torkelson the slight edge — he topped the rankings at Baseball America, ESPN, FanGraphs and MLB.com — although some peg Martin as the slightly better all-around prospect due to his superior defensive value.

There’s little arguing that the Tigers made any sort of misstep, though. Torkelson is widely regarded as a potentially fast-moving bat with off-the-charts power who could hit in the middle of a big league lineup for years to come. That’d be music to the ears for the Tigers and their fans, as the organization’s lengthy rebuild has resulted in a farm system that is deep in high-end pitching talent but has fewer bats on the fast track to the Majors. Right-handers Casey Mize (the No. 1 pick in 2018) and Matt Manning, coupled with southpaw Tarik Skubal, give the Tigers a trio of arms upon which to dream. That trio is backed by several other potential rotation pieces, including Alex Faedo, Beau Burrows and Franklin Perez.

Torkelson should immediately become the Tigers’ top position prospect — and one of the top position prospects in all of baseball for that matter. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen writes that the 20-year-old Torkelson possesses “sublime hitter’s timing, plus bat speed, and above-average barrel control and ball/strike recognition,” ultimately tabbing him as a future “thumping, heart of the order hitter.” ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel calls him the safest pick in the draft, pointing to his previous success with a wood bat in summer league play and calling Torkelson a potentially “above-average hitter with an above-average walk rate and 30+ homers.”

Torkelson is being advised by the Boras Corporation, but there’s no indication that a deal will be difficult to reach. In fact, Lynn Henning of the Detroit News suggested yesterday that the two sides are expected to come to terms on a deal in the vicinity of Torkelson’s slot value without a long, drawn-out negotiation process. Assuming that indeed pans out, the Tigers will suddenly find themselves with five of the top 60 prospects in baseball according to each of MLB.com, FanGraphs, Baseball America and The Athletic (joining the aforementioned pitchers and 2019 first-round outfielder Riley Greene).

It’s been an excruciating rebuild process for Tigers fans, but the team’s next core is coming into focus, and Torkelson should be squarely in the middle of the team’s resurgence.

Photo courtesy of Arizona State University Media Relations.

Manfred: “We’re Going To Play Baseball In 2020”

By | at

Major League Baseball is preparing yet another counter-offer to the Players Association after the MLBPA proposed an 89-game season with prorated salaries yesterday, commissioner Rob Manfred said minutes ago in an appearance on MLB Network (hat tip: Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times, on Twitter). More encouragingly, Manfred emphatically stated: “We’re going to play baseball in 2020 — 100 percent.” The commissioner’s preference remains for a negotiated agreement between the league and union, but Manfred does have the ability to implement a shorter season (at fully prorated salaries) under the standing March agreement.

The details of the forthcoming proposal will be telling. Manfred acknowledged that it’ll be in the “players’ direction” but also suggested that he hopes the union will back down from its insistence on prorated pay. That has been the crux of the players’ entire argument to this point, and it has not seemed likely at all that they’ll be swayed. If anything, recent brazen comments from Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr., Cubs owner Tom Ricketts and D-backs owner Ken Kendrick about the lack of profitability in baseball and the need for revenue sharing have only caused the players to further dig in. Many big leaguers — Justin Turner, Jameson Taillon, Randal Grichuk among them — met DeWitt’s comment that the baseball industry “isn’t very profitable, to be honest,” with bewilderment and disbelief.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported earlier today, citing three MLB executives, that a counter-proposal was indeed in the works. Yesterday’s union proposal did contain some concessions that should appeal to ownership, but the MLBPA has steadfastly insisted that the prorated salaries which they feel were agreed upon back in March remain in place. That and the 89-game length of the proposal remain too costly in the eyes of ownership.

Nightengale suggests that Manfred will implement a season length of around 50 games if an agreement isn’t in place by next week. Of course, we’ve seen both sides negotiate through the media with a series of strategically leaked bluffs and half-truths, so it’s anyone’s guess whether ownership actually plans to wield that hammer or if this, paired with Manfred’s strong comments, is yet another leverage play. Remember, after all, that the league sent a counter-proposal to the MLBPA on Monday — just days after putting out the message that no counter was coming.

Regardless, it’s true that the clock is ticking for some kind of decision to be made. Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic wrote this morning that the time for “best and final” offers from both parties is nigh. Separately, Rosenthal suggests that the league should propose a 72-game season with prorated salaries and several of the new elements put forth by the union yesterday (e.g. two years of expanded 16-team playoffs, increased instances of players being mic’d up during broadcasts, an offseason All-Star Game/Home Run Derby this winter, etc.). To this point, neither side has made a proposal that has even moved the needle for the other.

Charlie Tilson, Jake Elmore, Luis Escobar Among Pirates’ Minor League Releases

By | at

The Pirates released 39 minor league players this week, as first reported by John Dreker of PiratesProspects.com. Outfielder Charlie Tilson, utilityman Jake Elmore, right-hander Luis Escobar and infielder Sherman Johnson stand out as players with prior big league experience.

Tilson, 27, joined the Bucs on a minor league deal this winter after spending the past four seasons in the White Sox organization. Acquired by Chicago in the 2016 swap that sent lefty Zach Duke to the Cardinals, Tilson made his MLB debut shortly after that trade. However, a torn hamstring suffered in his debut game required surgery, and he’s been plagued by a series of leg and ankle injuries ever since. In 280 Major League plate appearances, the former second-round pick carries just a .246/.310/.290 batting line. Tilson was known for his speed early in his career, but the 46 stolen bases he recorded in 134 games back in 2015 dwarf the eight bags he swiped in a combined 115 games between Triple-A and the Majors last year.

The 32-year-old Elmore has the most MLB experience of the group, having appeared in 217 games and logged 527 plate appearances. Elmore is just a .215/.292/.275 hitter in that time, but he’s demonstrated substantial versatility; in 2013, the Astros used him at every position on the diamond — including catcher and pitcher. Elmore has at least 106 innings at all four infield spots, 234 innings in the outfield (including 14 in center) and has also caught 4 1/3 innings and pitched two frames (one run allowed) in the Majors.

Escobar, 24, made his big league debut last year and received 60 grades on his fastball while coming up through the minors. He averaged 95.1 mph on that heater in his 5 2/3-inning cup of coffee last year, although he also walked four batters, hit another and threw a wild pitch in that short time. Escobar’s 2019 results in Triple-A were solid, particularly considering how hitter-friendly that league was last year: 4.09 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 5.2 BB/9, 1.15 HR/9 and a 46.6 percent grounder rate. That said, it’s not exactly a huge surprise that he was cut loose; Escobar did go unclaimed on waivers back in November.

As for the 29-year-old Johnson, he’s an eight-year minor league veteran who received the briefest of looks with the Angels back in 2018, appearing in 10 games but going hitless in 11 plate appearances. He has at least 450 innings at all four infield positions and, while he’s never shown much power, has been a consistent on-base threat with fairly low strikeout rates in his minor league career.

Matt den Dekker Joins Charleston Southern Coaching Staff

By | at

Former Mets and Nationals outfielder Matt den Dekker has been named to the coaching staff at Charleston Southern University, the school announced today. He’ll work with the Buccaneers’ hitters and outfielders.

The 32-year-old den Dekker announced his retirement as a player last summer and, per CSU’s press release, returned to the University of Florida to serve as a student-assistant coach this past season. He’ll now take up a full-time coaching position at a Division-I program as he embarks on the next step in his baseball journey. At Charleston Southern, den Dekker will join a program that has produced a handful of draft picks over the past couple decades, including eventual big leaguers Tyler Thornburg, Bobby Parnell and R.J. Swindle.

“His time at Florida as a player and assistant yielded excellent results,” head coach Marc MacMillan said of den Dekker in today’s announcement, “and his Major League Baseball career earned him great respect from all that he came in contact with on a daily basis. The strong recommendations he received, his understanding of the importance of building relationships with our players; and both his knowledge and verbiage for hitting and outfield play made a lasting impression on me.”

We haven’t seen den Dekker in the big leagues since he briefly resurfaced with his original organization, the Mets, back in 2018. But he appeared in 166 games from 2013-18, batting a combined .223/.303/.337 while drawing plus marks for his defense at all three outfield positions.

Oscar Colas Seeking Release From Contract With Japanese Team

By | at

It emerged in January that intriguing Cuban talent Oscar Colas — who holds promise both as a pitcher and position player — was seeking to launch a big-league career. While he departed his home island to pursue that dream, there are some other complications that must still be navigated.

Colas drew attention last year for his high-quality showing with Japan’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. But as Jim Allen reports for Kyodo News, that appearance left some strings attached in the world’s top non-MLB league.

You’ll want to read Allen’s piece for the full rundown, but the gist is that Colas’s contract grants the Hawks five option years. His representatives believe the deal should be invalidated, at least after its initial term expires after the 2020 season.

There are several issues with the original agreement, Colas’s camp contends. For one thing, they say it was signed before he reached the age of consent under Japanese law (and without the signature of his guardian). For another, Colas’s reps claim the agreement was orchestrated by the Hawks and Cuban baseball officials, with Colas not fully informed of some key terms. Colas’s mother says the family believes it was “deceived” by the process. She alleges that the family never had an understanding of the options or a chance to review the contract before it was put in front of Colas to sign during a news conference. Allen’s report makes clear that there are several messy underlying factual disagreements, including whether Colas even personally signed certain documents.

It is not clear at this point whether and how this matter will be resolved. Colas’s reps have offered that he would play in 2020 if he’s allowed to depart thereafter, but the team has unsurprisingly insisted it retains control rights thereafter.

Colas will surely draw interest from MLB organizations if and when he’s able to market himself, whether through the posting process or as a free agent. Whatever the merits of the underlying factual disputes, this represents yet another instance in which a ballplayer has become entangled on the largely unmarked, obstacle-strewn path from Cuba to the majors.

Despite Recent Signings, Marlins Don’t Owe Much Beyond 2020

By | at

2020 salary terms still need to be hammered out. But what about what’s owed to players beyond that point? The near-term economic picture remains questionable at best. That’ll make teams all the more cautious with guaranteed future salaries.

Every organization has some amount of future cash committed to players, all of it done before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe. There are several different ways to look at salaries; for instance, for purposes of calculating the luxury tax, the average annual value is the touchstone, with up-front bonuses spread over the life of the deal. For this exercise, we’ll focus on actual cash outlays that still have yet to be paid.

We’ll run through every team, with a big assist from the Cot’s Baseball Contracts database. Next up is the Marlins:

*Includes buyouts of club options over Miguel Rojas and Brandon Kintzler

(click to expand/view detail list)

2020 MLB Draft Resources

By | at

Like most everything else, the MLB draft will take place in an unusual fashion this year. This year’s 2020 Rule 4 amateur selection show will launch at 5pm EST, but it’ll be held remotely and it will end after only five rounds — well shy of the typical forty-round affair. Bonuses will be capped as usual, but they won’t be paid up front. Instead, players can only receive up to $100K at the outset, with the rest deferred to 2021-22.

Three days from now, draft-eligible players that went unselected will be eligible to sign. There’ll be a large number of worthwhile candidates out there, but none can sign for more than $20K under the coronavirus-specific rules.

The atypical circumstances only increase the potential for wild outcomes. It might feel like normal at the top of the draft, where the scuttlebutt is that the Tigers will kick things off by taking ASU first bagger Spencer Torkelson, but things could get weird quickly thereafter. There has been some chatter that a team could even punt the draft — perhaps even one that has a fairly lofty draft position, per R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports. Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper examined that possibility, concluding it likely doesn’t make much sense for a team to pursue.

We’ll find out soon enough. As we wait, here are some resources to learn up on how this year’s draft came together or see how prognosticators expect it to turn out …

What The Mets Owe In Player Contracts After 2020

By | at

2020 salary terms still need to be hammered out. But what about what’s owed to players beyond that point? The near-term economic picture remains questionable at best. That’ll make teams all the more cautious with guaranteed future salaries.

Every organization has some amount of future cash committed to players, all of it done before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe. There are several different ways to look at salaries; for instance, for purposes of calculating the luxury tax, the average annual value is the touchstone, with up-front bonuses spread over the life of the deal. For this exercise, we’ll focus on actual cash outlays that still have yet to be paid.

We’ll run through every team, with a big assist from the Cot’s Baseball Contracts database. Next up is the Mets:

*Reflects signing bonus and salary deferrals in Jacob deGrom contract; contract includes partially deferred 2024 club option but deGrom can opt out after 2022

*Reflects remaining obligations to Robinson Cano retained by Mariners

*Reflects deferrals in Jeurys Familia contract

*Includes minimum value ($6MM) of variable-rate vesting/player option in Dellin Betances contract (Betances to receive $3MM buyout if he declines)

*Includes buyouts of club option over Wilson Ramos

*Includes player option of Brad Brach

*Does not include any money still owed Bobby Bonilla!

(click to expand/view detail list)

MLBPA Pushes Back Against Boras’ Offer To Cover Salaries Of Released Minor League Clients

By | at

Agent Scott Boras last week pledged to pay the salaries of his released minor league clients, as first reported by MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). At the time, Boras called the releases “completely unanticipated” and expressed a desire to make sure those clients received the income they’d anticipated. However, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic now reports (subscription link) that the MLBPA nixed the gesture because it violates the union’s agent regulations, which stipulate:

Any gifts or promise of gifts, of money or of any other thing with an aggregate value exceeding $500 U.S. in any calendar year, by an Expert Agent Advisor to any single player, or any persons related to or associated with such player, are prohibited.

Other agents were understandably opposed, feeling it could set a precedent of paying to retain clients in other scenarios. It’s not hard to see the manner in which they could fear such a gesture snowballing — be it in the form of increased pressure to follow suit or in the form of released clients jumping ship to the Boras Corporation (or any other agency willing to cover unexpected salary losses in 2020). Boras won’t be disciplined by the MLBPA, Rosenthal adds.

The massive wave of minor league releases in late May and early June came as the agreed-upon window to pay minor leaguers a $400 weekly stipend expired. Many of those players might’ve been cut near the end of Spring Training — spring cuts didn’t happen due to the pandemic shutdown — or prior to the amateur draft in a normal season anyhow. But there were countless others who found themselves cut largely because of the likely cancellation of the minor league season. Between that likelihood and the looming specter of minor league contraction, which feels increasingly inevitable, most expect that there simply won’t be as many minor league jobs to go around once play resumes. A few clubs (e.g. Royals, Tigers, Twins) opted not to cut any minor leaguers, but we saw many other teams cut 30, 40 or even 50-plus minor leaguers apiece.

That Boras even attempted to step in underscores the manner in which minor league players are underrepresented. And on the surface, it’s a rather backwards sentiment to think that the MLB Players Association spoke out to prohibit a gesture that would’ve helped to protect the livelihood of several players. However, minor league players don’t pay union dues and aren’t protected by the MLBPA as a result. The union’s objection is sensible, but that shouldn’t overshadow the reality that we’re past due for a change to the overall minor league compensation structure. Notably, tonight’s MLBPA counter-proposal to MLB is reported to include the establishment of a joint $5MM fund which would, in part, support minor league players.

Tigers Notes: Torkelson, Draft, Pitching Prospects

By | at

The Tigers will be on the clock with the top pick in the shortened, five-round MLB draft tomorrow night, and although general manager Al Avila unsurprisingly declined to tip his hand in speaking with reporters today, Lynn Henning of the Detroit News writes that Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson is expected to be the pick “unless something bizarre occurs.” Torkelson has long been regarded as a potential, if not likely No. 1 overall pick, having put together an outrageous NCAA career at the plate (.337/.463/.729) while wowing scouts with elite power, a keen eye at the plate and a potentially strong hit tool. Detroit has the second-largest bonus pool in this year’s draft, due largely to the No. 1 overall selection’s $8.415MM slot value.

Even beyond the selections the Tigers will make over the next two days, though, Avila feels the club will be well-positioned to lure in undrafted amateurs, Henning’s colleague Chris McCosky writes. Bonuses for undrafted players are capped at just $20K, so the Tigers won’t be able outbid other teams, but Avila touts the manner in which his organization has embraced “modern technology” as both an advantage for luring undrafted players and preparing for the draft in general. The club’s bolstered analytics department proved vital for draft preparation in the absence of conventional scouting opportunities, Avila says. He adds that the team’s recruiting message and the clear opportunities at the MLB level both work in their favor as well.

This marks the second time in three years that the Tigers have landed the No. 1 overall selection. In 2018, the top pick led Detroit to former Auburn ace Casey Mize, who now joins fellow Tigers farmhands Matt Manning and Tarik Skubal among baseball’s premier pitching prospects. Each had been ticketed for Triple-A, but Avila acknowledges that the likely lack of a minor league season has at least led to discussion about some of the organization’s top pitching prospects beginning to log innings at the MLB level in 2020.

Avila cautions that “no final decision” has been made and call the debate a “work in progress.” The Tigers, of course, still view their rebuild as an ongoing process and likely won’t be inclined to rush any of their prized arms to the Majors. The determination surely depends on what other developmental opportunities present themselves, too. While virtually everyone expects the minor league season to be canceled, there’s been talk of a potentially expanded Arizona Fall League format and the advent of a Florida Fall League, which could give high-end prospects like Mize, Manning and Skubal some much-needed developmental reps against similarly touted minor league hitters.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top