West Notes: Murphy, D’Backs
The surging Diamondbacks are a hot topic these days. Here's more on the Snakes and an item of note about another ballclub residing in a west division.
- Rangers outfielder David Murphy could be a hot trade commodity, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. This season has been an historically weak one with respect to production out of left fielders, writes Sullivan, and Murphy, Texas' fourth outfielder, is a solid hitter and pretty cheap. I could see this, but Murphy struggles against lefties (.257/.299/.363 career line), and it couldn't hurt for the Rangers to keep him around as insurance for the often-injured Josh Hamilton.
- The D'Backs' success in 2011 can be chalked up to organizational stability, hard work, and a few shrewd offseason moves, writes Tracy Ringolsby of FOXSports.com. After its bullpen posted a 5.74 ERA and 24 blown saves in 2010, Arizona added J.J. Putz via free agency, David Hernandez via trade and Joe Paterson through the Rule 5 Draft, and the D'Backs are now 13-7 in one-run decisions, notes Ringolsby. Twelve players currently on the 25-man roster were brought on by GM Kevin Towers, who Ringolsby says isn't trying to reinvent the proverbial wheel.
Draft Notes: Cole, Hultzen, Bradley, Springer
The draft takes place one week from today; here’s the latest as teams prepare their draft boards for next Monday…
- ESPN.com’s Keith Law projects the Pirates to select UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole with the first overall pick, though he says they’re still seriously in on Virginia left-hander Danny Hultzen and high school outfielder Bubba Starling. It’s too early to rule out Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon either.
- The D’Backs could take Hultzen, UCLA right-hander Trevor Bauer or high schooler Dylan Bundy third overall, according to Law.
- It looks like the Orioles will take an arm fourth overall; they have Bundy, high schooler Archie Bradley and Cole in their sights.
- If Bauer falls to the Indians, they’ll take him, according to Law.
- The Cubs “sent a small army” to watch outfielder George Springer at the Big East tournament.
- The Padres are interested in UConn right-hander Matt Barnes and Vanderbilt right-hander Sonny Gray.
- The top three players on one team’s draft board are advised by agent Scott Boras, according to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan.
- Rendon's stock is down a bit because of a dip in production and injury concerns, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, but Rendon's coach at Rice, Wayne Graham, expects the third baseman to go within the top two picks.
- The Giants shouldn't (and won't) alter their draft strategy in response to Buster Posey's season-ending injury, writes Jim Callis of Baseball America in a mailbag.
Quick Hits: Pirates, Reyes, Mariners, Galarraga
Links for Sunday, after John Danks was unable to get his first win of 2011 this afternoon….
- It seems likely that the Pirates will place Ryan Doumit on the disabled list after he injured his ankle today, and Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh-Tribune Review says (on Twitter) that Dusty Brown would get called up to replace him since Jason Jaramillo is also hurt. Pittsburgh's 40-man roster is full, so a move will have to be made to accommodate Brown.
- Andy McCullough of The Star-Ledger reports (on Twitter) that Mets shortstop Jose Reyes was again asked about his contract following today's game. "I've told you like a million times already," said Reyes, an impending free agent. "If [an extension] comes, it comes. If not, I'm going to continue to play."
- Larry Stone of The Seattle Times spoke to Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik about the upcoming draft, who indicated that he will not draft based on team need and that they have a group of about five players they're specifically targeting for the second overall pick.
- Bob Cohn of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote about the importance that decision-making plays into the success of small market teams.
- Armando Galarraga wasn't pleased about his demotion to Triple-A, writes Chris Gabel of the Reno Gazette-Journal. The right-hander was blunt about why he stayed in the Diamondbacks' organization and accepted his minor league assignment: "The money. They have to pay me $2.3MM to come here."
- The trade pulled off by the Yankees, Tigers, and Diamondbacks in 2009 was the rare three-way deal that worked out for each team, says Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
- Asked whether the Indians could pursue Jim Thome this summer, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer points out that if the Twins make him available, it likely won't be until after he hits his 600th home run. Hoynes doubts that the veteran slugger is a fit for the Tribe anyway.
- While the Red Sox committed over $300MM to Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez this year, their smaller investments are also paying dividends, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- P.J. Walters was removed from the Cardinals' 40-man roster and cleared waivers earlier this weekend, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Draft Notes: Cole, Hultzen, Meyer
Eleven former first overall picks are currently on MLB rosters (DL included): Chipper Jones, Alex Rodriguez, Pat Burrell, Josh Hamilton, Adrian Gonzalez, Joe Mauer, Delmon Young, Justin Upton, Luke Hochevar, David Price and Stephen Strasburg. Here are some draft-related links in anticipation of this year's top pick:
- Anthony Rendon played his first games in the field since suffering a shoulder injury in March, and interestingly, Rendon played second base, reports John Manuel of Baseball America. Rendon made an error in his second game but according to one scout, "handled his routine chances just fine." While Rendon has displayed a strong third base glove in his college career, some executives have wondered if he is better suited to play second in the majors.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America has Rendon going first overall to Pittsburgh in his latest mock draft.
- The Pirates are open to taking any of the top three or four players with the first overall pick, and they don't even have a "front-runner" for the pick, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Pirates continue to consider Gerrit Cole as a candidate for the first overall pick in the draft. Cole’s struggles have scared some teams off to an extent, but not Pittsburgh. Cole hit the 101-mph mark on the radar gun during a start tonight, according to ESPN's Keith Law (Twitter link).
- MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo lists the draft's top college arms, including Cole, Trevor Bauer and Danny Hultzen. The 2011 draft class stands apart from others thanks in large part to the deep, talented crop of college hurlers.
- As Mayo explains, 6'9" right-hander Alex Meyer has developed from a hard thrower into a more polished college arm.
- Reed MacPhail of FanGraphs offers more on the Kentucky starter and his “tantalizing combination of size and stuff.”
- Hultzen is "probably" the Diamondbacks' most wanted player, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic and he thinks the D'Backs would pass on Cole if he's still available when Arizona makes the third overall pick.
MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post
NL West Notes: Rizzo, De La Rosa, D’Backs
Giants catcher Buster Posey appeared to suffer a serious leg injury while blocking the plate in extra innings last night. Posey's agent, Jeff Berry, says he's going to call Joe Torre about changing rules for plays at the plate to make collisions safer for catchers, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. "It's brutal," Berry said. "It's borderline shocking. It just stinks for baseball." Here are some other notes from the NL West:
- Padres GM Jed Hoyer told Bill Center of of the San Diego Union-Tribune that top first base prospect Anthony Rizzo is "not yet" ready for the Major Leagues. The Padres want Rizzo to stay in the Majors once he arrives, so "the timing and situation has to be right."
- Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd told Dave Krieger of the Denver Post that he has the financial freedom to make a trade. "I have some flexibility that we saved for opportunities that may come up," O'Dowd said. "It would be hard to do multiple things, so we're probably going to have to prioritize what that is if something should come available." Though the Rockies aren't about to make a sudden move, they'll keep talking to teams about possible deals.
- The Rockies will call on internal options to replace Jorge de la Rosa, who will miss the rest of the season with Tommy John surgery, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Rockies owner Dick Monfort says the team didn't have insurance on the left-hander's contract.
- The D'Backs continue to eye other teams' arms as they look to bolster their Triple-A pitching depth, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
Brewers Claim Josh Wilson
The Brewers announced that they claimed infielder Josh Wilson off of waivers from the Diamondbacks (on Twitter). In a corresponding move, the Brewers moved Takashi Saito to the 60-day DL; their 40-man roster is now full.
The D'Backs designated Wilson for assignment on Monday. The journeyman infielder has a .227/.280/.315 in parts of five seasons with the Marlins, Nationals, Rays, D'Backs, Padres and Mariners. Though he's primarily a shortstop, Wilson has appeared at every infield position and has pitched in three MLB games. GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel that the Brewers wanted Wilson's right-handed bat and versatility.
Note that the Brewers have have not claimed Josh Fields from Colorado.
Alex Cintron Retires
Infielder Alex Cintron has retired, tweets Padres Triple-A broadcaster Tim Hagerty. Cintron had signed a minor league deal with the Padres earlier this month after a brief stint in the Nationals organization.
Cintron, 32, finishes with a .275/.313/.394 line in 2,217 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks, White Sox, Orioles, and Nationals. He played shortstop, second base, and third base. Cintron's best season was with the 2003 D'Backs, when he hit .317/.359/.489 with 13 home runs. The Puerto Rico native earned over $4MM in his big league career, according to Baseball Reference.
D’Backs Designate Josh Wilson For Assignment
The D'Backs designated infielder Josh Wilson for assignment to create roster space for Melvin Mora, who has been reinstated from the bereavement list, the team announced. Mora missed five games after going on the bereavement list May 18th.
Wilson has appeared in six games this year and has only come to the plate ten times. He has a .227/.280/.315 in parts of five seasons in the Major Leagues with the Marlins, Nationals, Rays, D'Backs, Padres and Mariners. Though he's primarily a shortstop, Wilson has appeared at every infield position and has pitched in three MLB games.
2012 Contract Issues: Arizona Diamondbacks
The surging Diamondbacks are next in our 2012 Contract Issues series. Here's what the team faces after the 2011 season:
Eligible For Free Agency (4)
- Kelly Johnson is the Diamondbacks' biggest free agent and may be a trade candidate if he returns to his 2010 form.
- Melvin Mora had a resurgent 2010 for the Rockies, but he's struggling so far with Arizona. Xavier Nady and Aaron Heilman, also signed to one-year free agent deals, have failed to produce as well.
Contract Options (3)
- Zach Duke: $5.5MM club option with a $750K buyout. Duke is currently rehabbing in the minors after breaking his pitching hand in mid-March. If the lefty is to be retained at a $4.75MM net price, he'll need a solid four months.
- Henry Blanco: $1.15MM mutual option with a $250K buyout.
- Willie Bloomquist: $1.1MM mutual option with a $150K buyout. Kevin Towers dished out three mutual options last offseason, the most of any team. This was just a way to push $400K onto next year's payroll.
Arbitration Eligible (8)
- First time: Juan Gutierrez, Gerardo Parra, Ryan Roberts
- Second time: Josh Wilson, Micah Owings
- Third time: Joe Saunders, Miguel Montero, Sean Burroughs
Parra and Roberts will be on the Super Two borderline, assuming it is around two years and 146 days. Saunders is the big money case, as he's working from a $5.5MM salary. However, if he continues along with an ERA over 5.00, he'll probably be non-tendered. Montero will still provide good value, though the catcher's salary could climb past $5MM. Gutierrez's salary should remain reasonable, while Wilson, Owings, and Burroughs will probably be cut loose. If Saunders is cut, Arizona's arbitration eligibles shouldn't cost much more than $8MM.
2012 Payroll Obligation
The Diamondbacks' 2012 payroll obligation, according to Cot's, is $28.908MM if Duke's option is declined. Throw in $8MM for arbitration eligibles and the D'Backs are still about $20MM under their 2011 payroll before accounting for minimum salary players. The payroll exceeded $70MM in each of the two previous years, and a return to that level would give Towers over $30MM in 2012 salaries to work with.
Armando Galarraga Clears Waivers
SATURDAY: Galarraga has cleared waivers and accepted his assignment to Triple-A, reports Marcos Grunfeld of BeisbolVenezolano.net (link in Spanish). MLBTR's Nick Collias provided the translation.
"Armando accepted the assignment and in a couple of days he'll be traveling [to Triple-A]," said Galarraga's agent to Grunfeld via telephone. "We don't know if the Diamondbacks have received any offers for him, [because] they didn't tell us anything about that."
TUESDAY: The D'Backs designated Armando Galarraga for assignment, according to Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com (Twitter links). Arizona intends to activate Willie Bloomquist Wednesday and needed a roster spot.
"We felt it was time to make a change," GM Kevin Towers said. The D'Backs now have ten days to trade Galarraga, release him or, if he clears waivers, assign him to the minor leagues.
The 29-year-old posted a 5.91 ERA with 5.9 K/9, 4.6 BB/9 and a league-high 13 homers allowed in 42 2/3 innings this year. Earlier today, manager Kirk Gibson hinted that the former Tigers starter could be removed from the rotation. On Monday, Galarraga responded with hostility to a question about losing his rotation spot.