Nationals Release Brian Bruney
The Nationals released Brian Bruney, according to a team press release. They called catcher Carlos Maldonado up in a corresponding move. The Nationals designated Bruney for assignment last week and the reliever refused a minor league assignment after clearing waivers. The Nationals are responsible for Bruney's $1.5MM salary unless another team signs him, in which case the Nats will save about $300K.
Bruney, 28, had serious control problems in his 19 appearances this year, walking more than a batter per inning. He has never been a control pitcher, but had an acceptable walk rate as recently as 2008, when he posted a sub-2.00 ERA for the Yankees.
The hard-throwing right-hander could sign with a team looking for minor league depth. The Brewers, who signed Jeff Bennett earlier today, would make some sense. Bruney still considers himself a major leaguer and hopes his time in pinstripes will help him find a big league job, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (via Twitter).
Brewers Sign Jeff Bennett
The Brewers signed Jeff Bennett to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (via Twitter). The righty pitched 46.2 innings for the Braves and Rays last year, posting a 5.01 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9. Bennett, 30 next month, was a big part of the Brewers' 'pen in 2004, posting a 4.79 ERA in 60 appearances.
The Rays released Bennett, who had been pitching at Triple A, earlier in the month. He was struggling in Triple A, but the Brewers need arms. Their 6.03 bullpen ERA is part of the reason they're 14th in the National League in runs allowed.
Red Sox Designate McDonald For Assignment
The Red Sox designated Darnell McDonald for assignment, according to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). The Red Sox had to make room for returning center fielder Mike Cameron, who is returning from an abdominal injury.
Cameron and Jacoby Ellsbury both missed significant time early on, so McDonald has played more than expected. The 31-year-old has essentially been a regular this year. He has played all three outfield positions, hitting .263/.320/.400 in 105 plate appearances. Like Jeremy Hermida, McDonald has batted more times than Cameron and Ellsbury combined. It wouldn't be fair to judge McDonald's defensive ability on 226 innings, but UZR suggests he has been below average to this point.
McDonald could be claimed by another team, but the outfielder has enjoyed playing for the Red Sox so far. He told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that he wants to stay in the Red Sox organization, though he understands the business side of the game.
Odds & Ends: Rangers, Resop, Trembley, Harper
Links for Monday, as Edwin Encarnacion and the Blue Jays swing away in Anaheim…
- Michael Young told MLB.com's Chris Cox that he was relieved to hear that the Rangers' sale won't affect the team's regular spending.
- As MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan explains, the Rangers' sale will go before a judge to speed up the process. In the meantime, the Rangers should be able to spend normally.
- The Rangers probably won't be drafting players who demand over-slot money this year, according to Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com.
- Jon Paul Morosi expects Chris Resop, who has a June 15th opt-out clause, to be in the majors within a couple weeks (Twitter link). The Braves could trade him or call him up.
- Dave Trembley is still the Orioles' manager after today's meeting with president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, writes Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
- Bryce Harper keeps making the Nationals' decision easier. The 2010 draft prospect slugged four homers, a triple and a double in one game over the weekend, writes John Manuel of Baseball America.
- In a mock draft for ESPN.com, Keith Law has the Harper going first overall to the Nationals, because "there's no argument left for taking anyone else."
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo shows that the D'Backs and A's have drafted many major league contributors this past decade.
- The Koji Uehara signing was a regrettable but not unforgivable move by the Orioles, writes Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.
- Former Astros manager Phil Garner told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he thinks Roy Oswalt would prefer to play near his Mississippi home. Garner, who hasn't spoken to Oswalt in three years, believes Brad Ausmus and Jake Peavy could draw Oswalt to the Dodgers and White Sox, respectively.
Rockies Sign Kaz Matsui
Kaz Matsui wasn't a free agent for long. Just hours after his official release from the Astros, he agreed to a minor league deal with the Rockies. Matsui has struggled this year – his batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage all fall short of .200 – but he has succeeded in Colorado before.
Matsui passed his physical, so he will report to Triple A Colorado Springs, where he first played in 2006. GM Dan O'Dowd told Renck that Matsui's first stint in Colorado contributed to the team's current interest.
"We all remember the magic of 2007," O'Dowd said. "But I also know that this is 2010."
MLB.com's Thomas Harding reported the deal after Troy Renck of the Denver Post reported mutual interest between the team and Matsui.
Matsui was off to a poor start at the plate, hitting .141/.197/.155. That's not the only reason he doesn't fit on the Rockies' major league roster, as I wrote last week. However, adding an extra middle infielder to the minor leagues is a cheap way for the Rockies to build depth.
Chris Resop’s Future
Chris Resop is doing a pretty good Stephen Strasburg imitation these days. Resop may not be a top prospect, but the 27-year-old right-hander is pitching so well that he may not be in the minors much longer than Strasburg. And unlike the Nationals' prospect, Resop has some control over when he arrives in the majors.
Resop, a starter in the Braves' system with big league experience on the Marlins, Angels and Braves, has a clause in his contract that forces the Braves to expose him to the 29 other clubs if he's not on Atlanta's 25-man roster by June 15th. The clause, which Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports explains in detail here, means the Braves are likely to call Resop up or deal him within a few weeks.
Like Colby Lewis, who is in the midst of a strong season for the Rangers, Resop recently pitched in Japan. Unlike Lewis, Resop didn't dominate there. Before he left, Resop threw a 94 mph fastball as a reliever. Now, he's starting in Triple A and his first nine starts have been dominant. Resop has a 2.03 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9. He has not been pitching deep into games, but he has allowed just 34 hits in 48.2 innings.
The Braves were confident enough in their starting pitching depth to deal Javier Vazquez last winter, but with Jair Jurrjens recovering from a hamstring injury, their rotation now looks thinner. Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe, Kenshin Kawakami and Tommy Hanson have four rotation spots covered. Kris Medlen has started well in Jurrjens' absence, but the Braves may decide to promote Resop to maintain pitching depth.
If the Braves are confident moving on without Resop, they could trade him. The Nationals, Mets and Dodgers are among the teams that could look to acquire starters this summer. Resop would be more than just a rental, though – he isn't scheduled to hit free agency until after 2014.
Ben Sheets’ Trade Value
At first glance, Ben Sheets doesn't appear like much of a trade target. He has an ERA over 5.00, he's walking a batter every two innings and his team is just two games out of a playoff spot. Not only that, he's making a base salary of $10MM this year. But if the A's fall from contention and Sheets builds on his current hot streak, he could attract interest on the trade market.
Sheets started the season poorly and even gave up eight-plus earned runs in back-to-back starts, but he may have been tipping his pitches early on. Only the hitters who faced him know if he was tipping his pitches, but this much is clear: Sheets has pitched much better recently. Since May 8th, he has a 2.52 ERA, has allowed fewer hits than innings pitched and has 29 strikeouts with 12 walks.
Still, Sheets, who has generally had low walk rates, is now walking more hitters than ever. It's less worrisome when you consider that his walk rates have traditionally improved over the course of the season. Sheets missed all of 2009 with elbow surgery, so he may still be finding his way around the strike zone. That's what Sheets thinks, anyway. He recently told Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle that he's "starting to settle in."
Most MLB starters will look good if you highlight their best four-start stretch of the season, but Sheets' recent success is just part of the reason his trade value is picking up. His average fastball is 91 mph this year, just a bit lower than his career norms. That suggests he's healthy after last year's operation. The A's aren't taking any chances, however; they have only allowed Sheets to reach the 100 pitch plateau twice in his ten starts.
Teams could have interest if the A's fall from contention, but they would probably want to see improved control and continued health from Sheets. He cannot be offered arbitration after the season, so no acquiring team will have the chance to obtain draft picks. Even if Sheets stays healthy, the A’s would likely have to eat salary in any trade, since there are many cheaper, more predictable options available.
The Phillies’ Search For Pitching
The Phillies are looking at pitchers around the league, though they don’t need arms as badly as they did last year, writes MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Roy Oswalt is not a likely fit, despite his availability, since the Phillies would prefer to hold onto their prospects.
"We're going to be reluctant to move talent, because we've moved a lot of talent out of our system," GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "But we'll see how things shape up over the next several months."
Since Oswalt makes $16MM next season and the Phillies have already guaranteed their players $135MM in 2011, acquiring Oswalt would likely mean letting Jayson Werth leave as a free agent after the season unless the Astros took on salary. The Astros would demand better prospects if they had to take on salary, so the Phillies are keeping tabs on cheaper options. As ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reported last week, the Phillies are in touch with Pedro Martinez.
"We haven't seen him throw, but we check in with him," Amaro told Zolecki.
Martinez, who pitched well for the Phillies down the stretch last year after they signed him mid-season, would not cost prospects, so the Phillies are intrigued. They are eyeing a pair of White Sox relievers, too.
Kaz Matsui Clears Waivers
MONDAY, 2:09pm: Matsui has cleared waivers and is now a free agent, tweets Alyson Footer. The Astros will be on the hook for his $5MM salary, minus the pro-rated league minimum.
WEDNESDAY, 11:02pm: The Astros have asked waivers on Kaz Matsui and intend to release the infielder, GM Ed Wade said in a team press release. If no team claims Matsui by Monday, he will become a free agent, though the Astros will be responsible for his $5MM salary. The Astros called Oswaldo Navarro up from Triple A in a corresponding move.
The Astros signed Matsui to a three-year $16.5MM deal in 2007 and were rewarded a promising initial season. Matsui hit .293/.354/.427 with 20 steals in 25 attempts in 2008, though he played in just 96 games. The 34-year-old hasn't been as productive since and his batting line has fallen off to .141/.197/.155 this year. The Astros, whose offense ranks last in the NL, had to move on.
Matsui's batting line won't have suitors lining up and his fielding has been below average since joining the Astros (according to UZR). Last fall, Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle reported that the Astros could consider the possibility of Matsui returning to Japan. Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle reports today that Matsui did not say whether he would consider a return to his native country.
The Growing Role Of Video For MLB Scouts
Scouts are hired because they have a knack for observing baseball players, not because they’re particularly tech-savvy.
“I’m not up to speed with all the new technology so to speak, so it’s pretty old-fashioned,” says David Chadd, amateur scouting director for the Detroit Tigers.
Chadd says he relies primarily on cell phones and computers to do his job, so he is comfortable with gadgets. That's a good thing, because another form of technology is becoming more important for him and other Tigers scouts.
“We’ll video as many kids as we can and we’ll actually use that video in the draft when we’re talking about players,” says Chadd, who operates one of three Tigers video cameras. “[Video scouting] certainly started to advance itself probably in the last three years.”
The Tigers are far from the only team using video. Clubs know that the footage they record provides them with more information about the amateur players they’re considering on draft day. Brad Grant, the amateur scouting director for the Cleveland Indians, uses a game card, stopwatch and radar gun, but that’s not all.
“I carry a video camera as well,” Grant says. “Video’s becoming a big part of it now as well.“
This year the Blue Jays hired three new video coordinators. They have always relied on scouting reports, medical reports and stats. That remains important to the Blue Jays, but they’re relying more on video to gather information. Andrew Tinnish, the Blue Jays’ amateur scouting director, says video can supplement a scout’s written or spoken report.
“I think our guys do a great job of painting a picture,” Tinnish says. “But it’s even better when you have film to look at [too].”
Video has its limitations, too. It can be a distraction for scouts, players can perform differently on different days and cameras don’t capture everything. But for Tinnish, having video footage of a prospect is better than nothing.
“It certainly isn’t the be all and end all, but it’s a piece of the puzzle,” he says.
Whether you use a game card, a smart phone or a camera, Chadd says the results are more important than the method for the Tigers.
“At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter, as long as we’re seeing and talking about the right players.”