Rosenthal On Yankees, Angels, Glavine
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Yankees will eventually "target the best available late-inning relievers." Here are some names to watch and the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:
- The Yankees have already expressed interest in Huston Street.
- The Rockies, on an eight-game win streak, are just 4.5 games back in the NL Wild Card race and don't want to deal Street until closer to July 31st.
- Chad Qualls and Jose Valverde could be options for the Yankees, but both have dealt with health issues and the Yankees would have to be certain they're healthy.
- The Yankees could pursue Danys Baez.
- Angels GM Tony Reagins says other teams are calling him regularly, but there's "nothing on the horizon."
- The Angels could use help just about everywhere and they could deal from depth in the middle infield and behind the plate.
- Brandon Wood has been playing some first base in Triple A.
- Andy Sonnanstine and Jeff Niemann could be traded if the Rays don't start winning.
- The White Sox may not receive good prospects in return if they deal Jermaine Dye, since "few clubs, if any" can afford to take on his $11.5MM salary and surrender top young players in the same deal.
- Rosenthal hears that any grievance Tom Glavine files against the Braves would be out of principle; he would donate any money awarded to charity.
- Gregor Blanco could play right field for the Braves if they deal Jeff Francoeur.
- Rosenthal heard from one scout who was "decidedly unimpressed" with Doug Davis.
Odds And Ends: Fields, Grilli, Boras, D’Backs
Some links for Thursday evening…
- Josh Fields told MLB.com's Scott Merkin that he had a "blunt and straightforward" meeting with Ken Williams about his place on the White Sox.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports the White Sox drafted their GM's son, Tyler Williams, and Harold Baines Jr..
- Jason Grilli was recently dealt to the Rangers and now he's working on a deal of his own. According to his Twitter, Grilli plans to exchange "cash or an item to be named later" for number 49.
- Gavin McCourt, the son of Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, was drafted by the Red Sox. The 39th round pick says Scott Boras wouldn't fit into his "family dynamics," so his dad will represent him, according to the LA Times .
- Scott Bordow of the East Valley Tribune believes it's time for the Diamondbacks to sell, beginning with Felipe Lopez and Doug Davis.
- And I'll be talking baseball on 590 KFNS in St. Louis tonight at 11pm CST, so tune in if you're in the area. If not, you can always listen online.
Draft Roundup: White, Tejada, Fuentes
Here are some updates on the draft as we enter its final day…
- The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Indians will develop their first round pick, Alex White, as a reliever.
- Astros GM Ed Wade told Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle that the team's selection of shortstop Jiovanni Mier doesn't mean Miguel Tejada's about to be moved. Mier had said a scout told him the Astros would get rid of Tejada.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo points out that more high school arms were selected than usual. Seven of the first 19 picks were prep pitchers.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports "indications" that the D'Backs will be able to sign their second and third highest picks, A.J. Pollock and Matt Davidson, soon.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the Brewers could sign first round pick Eric Arnett soon with a bonus of about $1.2MM.
- As Mike Fitzpatrick of the AP reports, Carlos Beltran has high hopes for his cousin, Reymond Fuentes, who was drafted by the Red Sox in the first round.
Draft Updates: Deadline, D’Backs, Rangers
Some more links in anticipation of this evening's draft…
- Jon Heyman of SI.com says the signing deadline has been pushed back to August 17th because the 15th is a Saturday. The Nats' negotiations with Scott Boras will probably go down to the wire regardless, so it barely matters. If anything it's bad news for the Nats, as they'll have less time to prepare their probable selection, Stephen Strasburg, for a late-season cameo.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the D'Backs could choose two hitters with their 16th and 17th picks. They like Bobby Borchering, but he may not be available to them.
- Nolan Ryan expects the Rangers to select a pitcher when they pick 14th, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
- MLB.com's Doug Miller rounds up major leaguers' responses to this question: Has any prospect ever received more hype than Strasburg?
- And here's the final projection MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo will make. He has Dustin Ackley going to Seattle, Donavan Tate going to San Diego, Tony Sanchez going to Pittsburgh and Zack Wheeler going to Baltimore.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law has the same five players going in the same order. Interestingly, Law has Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers out of the first round, in large part because they're expected to demand lots of money.
D’Backs Claim Blaine Boyer Off Waivers
According to the Arizona Republic the D'Backs claimed pitcher Blaine Boyer off waivers from the Cardinals, who designated him for assignment last week. The 27-year-old had a 4.41 ERA in 15 appearances with the Cards. It's been a hectic year for Boyer, who was traded from Atlanta to St. Louis back in April.
Heyman On Strasburg, D’Backs, Penny
Jon Heyman of SI.com anticipates some memorable negotiations between the Nationals, Scott Boras and Stephen Strasburg. Here's what Heyman heard about Strasburg along with the rest of his rumors:
- Boras is still expected to demand $50MM for Strasburg.
- Think that's a lot? Some think Strasburg would command $100MM as a free agent.
- Executives generally guess he'll end up signing for more than $20MM, but not by much.
- One NL exec said he expects the deal to reach $30MM.
- Strasburg could always pitch in Japan or for an independent team if he doesn't sign, but Heyman imagines he'd much rather join a major league franchise immediately.
- The Pirates could draft catcher Tony Sanchez with the fourth pick.
- The D'Backs could deal Chad Qualls and Tony Pena at the deadline.
- Boston seems "in a hurry" to deal Brad Penny.
- One Red Sox person was not impressed by what he saw from Jeff Francoeur.
- It's probably too early for the Rangers to release Vicente Padilla.
Bullpen Roundup: Who Should Rays Get; Is Rauch Out In Arizona?
While Tampa Bay is still reeling from another loss due to a faulty bullpen, R.J. Anderson of DRaysBay.com has some suggested additions to the beleaguered group.
- Winston Abreu, currently dominating at Triple-A Durham, could simply be called up.
- Jason Grilli, recently designated for assignment by the Rockies, could be had for nothing.
- Joel Hanrahan, recently taken out of the closer's role by Washington, would require a trade.
Considering that Grant Balfour, Joe Nelson and Dan Wheeler all have ERAs of 5.50 or higher, some fresh arms in the Tampa Bay bullpen would certainly be welcome.
Meanwhile, a less-treasured member of a major-league bullpen is Jon Rauch, who had a closed-door meeting with manager A.J. Hinch after Saturday night's game.
Rauch is still only utilized in low-leverage situations, and it seems he's worn out his welcome in Arizona. But his ERA dropped from 9.31 in April to 3.46 in May, and he's pitched two scoreless innings so far in June.
Whether the Rays, desperately seeking saves, and Rauch, America's tallest reliever, get together remains to be seen. No smoke here yet, let alone fire, but this seems like a natural connection to make.
Price’s Latest: Draft, Red Sox, Astros, Giants
Ed Price of MLB FanHouse has a new article up, with notes on the draft and around the Majors.
- Price writes, "'The bottom line is there is a consensus,' said an industry source who monitors the draft closely, 'and that consensus is: There's no consensus after [Stephen] Strasburg.' The source said he has counted 63 players who could be taken in the 32 choices of the first round."
- Price also gives us an industry insiders "educated guess on the top five: Strasburg to Washington, [North Carolina's Dustin] Ackley to Seattle, Vanderbilt lefty Mike Minor to San Diego, former Missouri right-hander Aaron Crow to Pittsburgh and Georgia high-school right-hander Zack Wheeler to Baltimore."
- Due to free-agent compensation picks and "the rule that gives a team that fails to sign a high choice a corresponding pick the next year", the White Sox have 3 of the first 61 picks. Arizona has 7 of the first 64. Colorado has 3 of the first 34. The Angels have 5 of the first 48.
- The Mets first pick is 72nd overall. The Phillies first is 75th.
- The first three rounds of the draft are this Tuesday, with the first round on MLB Network.
- The Astros are not in "dump mode," says Price. Quoting a person familiar with Drayton McLane, "'His track record is when everybody says you should dismantle [he doesn't]," the person said. 'He's been so lucky.'"
- With Jed Lowrie returning and the ballclub winning, the Red Sox are not looking to add a bat and instead can wait to see if David Ortiz improves.
- The Giants want a bat, but they won't give up premium young pitching.
Draft Roundup: Mock Draft, Strasburg, Gibson
Major League Baseball's amateur draft is now just three days away, so let's round up the latest news.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America posted version three of their Mock Draft yesterday (subscription req'd). He projects the top three picks to be Stephen Strasburg, Dustin Ackley, and Donavan Tate.
- After Strasburg is announced as the first overall pick on Tuesday, he will not meet with the media at his home or on the San Diego State campus, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. Strasburg will instead hold his press conference in "the main lobby of the Boras Corporation offices."
- Conor Glassey reports that Missouri righthander Kyle Gibson experienced tightness in his forearm during his start last weekend, which is causing his velocity and stock to drop. Gibson was a consensus top 15 talent prior to the injury.
- Mark Heller of The East Valley Tribune spoke to Diamondbacks scouting director Tom Allison, who says the team will "stay true to best person on the board." With seven of the first 64 picks, there was some thought that the D-Backs would seek out players willing to sign for, or below slot to save money.
- Steve Buckley of The Boston Herald wrote about how the Red Sox's recent success in the draft has fans following the event more closely than ever.
Odds And Ends: Draft, Atkins, Lima
Some non-McLouth, non-Glavine links to start your Thursday off…
- On draft day, the Orioles, who pick fifth, will have an ordered list of their top five players and will choose the highest ranked player remaining regardless of position according to Jim Hunter of MASN.com.
- Roch Kubatko of MASN.com would like to see the O's use their pick on a high school arm: either Zack Wheeler or Jacob Turner.
- The D'Backs will have a bigger draft budget than usual, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. They could spend "in the neighborhood of $10MM," since they have seven of the first 64 picks. Not bad, considering the Mets won't have picked once by then.
- The Yankees don't get anything if they can't sign the player they choose 29th overall so, as MLB.com's Brian Hoch reports, signability is a factor.
- Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post wonders if Garrett Atkins could be in line for a demotion to Triple A.
- Jose Lima's making a comeback! MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports that Lima visited the Dodger Stadium press box last night.
- Jorge Says No! chatted with Garry Templeton, Lima's manager, about the 36-year-old pitcher. Apparently he still throws 90 mph.
- Check out this clip of David Ortiz's visit with Torii Hunter on Hanging with Mr. Hunter.