Draft Signings: Gage Hinsz
We’ll keep track of today’s draft signings here.
- The Pirates have agreed to terms with 11th-round pick Gage Hinsz on a $580K deal, MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets. $480K of Hinsz’s bonus will count against the Pirates’ bonus pool. Hinsz, a high school pitcher from Montana, was committed to Oregon State. The Pirates have now agreed to terms with all of their draft picks through the first 22 rounds.
Minor Moves: Alex Sogard, Pedro Ciriaco
Here are today’s minor moves from around baseball.
- The Astros have traded pitcher Alex Sogard to the Diamondbacks, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets. The Astros will receive minor-league infielder Cesar Carrasco in return. Sogard, 26, has pitched 43 1/3 innings for Double-A Corpus Christi this season, with 5.2 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.
- Utilityman Pedro Ciriaco has accepted his outright assignment from the Royals, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star tweets. The Royals designated Ciriaco for assignment last week. He has a career .270/.299/.372 line in 498 plate appearances over five seasons with the Pirates, Red Sox, Padres and Royals.
AL Notes: Soriano, Mariners, Reimold
Alfonso Soriano will consider retirement after being designated for assignment by the Yankees, Marly Rivera of ESPN Deportes tweets. Soriano will take a week to talk with his family and think about what to do next. “This was to be expected. I talked to my lawyer about what I was going through, how I was being used, and I didn’t feel comfortable,” says Soriano. If this is it for the 38-year-old Soriano, he’ll finish his career with a .270/.319/.500 line and 412 home runs. Here are more notes from the American League.
- One team that might make sense for Soriano is the Mariners, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. The Mariners have struggled against lefties, and Soriano has still hit for power against them, with a split of .247/.269/.416, even as he has struggled this season.
- The Blue Jays plan to give new outfielder Nolan Reimold plenty of playing time, SportsNet.ca’s Shi Davidi writes. The Jays claimed Reimold from the Orioles earlier this weekend. “His big thing is staying healthy, he’s had trouble doing that over his career. This is his opportunity, there wasn’t a spot for him over in Baltimore,” says manager John Gibbons. “He’ll come here and help us out.” Adding Reimold could help the Jays use Jose Bautista more frequently in the infield.
Week In Review: 6/28/14 – 7/5/14
Here’s a look back at this week at MLBTR.
Key Moves
- The Cubs traded pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel for pitcher Dan Straily, prospects Addison Russell and Billy McKinney and a player to be named.
- The Padres signed outfielder Seth Smith to a two-year extension with a team option for 2017.
- The Yankees acquired pitcher Brandon McCarthy from the Diamondbacks for pitcher Vidal Nuno.
- The Angels acquired pitcher Joe Thatcher and outfielder Tony Campana from the Diamondbacks for outfielder Zach Borenstein and pitcher Joey Krehbiel.
Top Prospect Promotions
- Red Sox — 2B/OF Mookie Betts (link)
Signed / Agreed To Terms
- Royals — OF Raul Ibanez (link), P Scott Downs (link)
Trades
- Braves — acquired P Andrew Robinson from Astros for cash considerations or a PTBNL
- Rockies — acquired P Jair Jurrjens from Reds for 1B Harold Riggins
- Dodgers — acquired 1B Brock Peterson from Nationals for cash considerations
- Angels — acquired P Rich Hill from Red Sox for cash considerations
- Marlins — acquired P Donnie Joseph from Royals for cash considerations
- Diamondbacks — acquired INF Ronny Cedeno from Phillies for C Raywilly Gomez
Claimed
- White Sox — P Angel Sanchez (from Rays — link)
- Rays — P Cory Burns (from Rangers — link)
- Blue Jays — OF Nolan Reimold (from Orioles — link), OF Cole Gillespie (from Mariners — link)
- Pirates — INF Dean Anna (from Yankees — link)
Designated For Assignment
- Yankees — OF Alfonso Soriano (link)
- Athletics — P Jeff Francis (link), OF Nick Buss (link)
- Astros — P Jerome Williams (link)
- Royals — OF Justin Maxwell (link)
- Orioles — P Ramon Ramirez (link)
- Angels — P Rich Hill (link)
- Blue Jays — OF Kenny Wilson (link), OF Brad Glenn (link)
- Rockies — P Raul Fernandez (link)
Outrighted
- Nationals — UT Greg Dobbs (link)
- Marlins — OF Brent Keys (link)
- Phillies — P Sean O’Sullivan (link), OF Zach Collier (link)
- Giants — P Jake Dunning (link)
- Royals — OF Pedro Ciriaco (link)
Returned
- Orioles — Rule 5 pick Michael Almanzar to Red Sox (link)
Released
- Rangers — P Joe Saunders (link)
- Nationals — P Mike Gonzalez (link)
Key Draft Signings
- Blue Jays — P Jeff Hoffman, C Max Pentecost (link)
- Royals — P Brandon Finnegan (link)
- Reds — P Nick Howard (link)
- Astros — OF Derek Fisher (link)
- Indians — 1B/OF Mike Papi (link)
- Cubs — P Dylan Cease (link)
Key Minor-League Signings
- Rockies — P Chris Capuano (link)
- Yankees — P Edgmer Escalona (link)
Blue Jays Designate Brad Glenn For Assignment
The Blue Jays have designated outfielder Brad Glenn for assignment, SportsNet.ca’s Shi Davidi tweets. The move clears space on the Jays’ active roster for Cole Gillespie, and on their 40-man for Nolan Reimold. Davidi tweets that the Jays will have to make another move to make space for Reimold on their active roster.
Glenn, 27, had appeared in six games for the Blue Jays this season. His .377/.418/.570 line in 122 plate appearances for Triple-A Buffalo this year was almost certainly somewhat fluky, but he showed reasonable offensive ability in his previous minor league stops.
Rockies Designate Raul Fernandez For Assignment
The Rockies have designated pitcher Raul Fernandez for assignment, Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweets. The Rockies also placed pitcher Nick Masset on the disabled list and replaced him on the active roster with Brooks Brown, for whom the Fernandez DFA clears a spot on the 40-man.
Fernandez, 24, had posted a 7.00 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in 27 innings for Class A+ Modesto. Fernandez throws hard but has struggled in both the last two seasons.
Latest On The Padres’ GM Search
Here’s the latest on the Padres’ search for a new GM to replace Josh Byrnes.
July 3 Updates
- The Padres will interview MLB Senior Vice President for Baseball Operations Kim Ng for the GM job, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first reported that the former Dodgers and Yankees assistant GM was under consideration for the role.
July 2 Updates
- The Padres will interview Diamondbacks scouting director Ray Montgomery, sources tell Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
July 1 Updates
- San Diego has received permission to interview Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, who also runs down some of the known and possible field.
- The club’s current VP of baseball operations, Omar Minaya, has decided not to pursue the job but does wish to stay with the team, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter).
June 30 Updates
- The Padres announced that they have interviewed White, tweets MLB.com’s Corey Brock.
- Cubs‘ executive Jason McLeod told reporters, including Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter links), that he has taken himself out of the running for the Padres GM role. He explained that he was “flattered” to be considered, but wants to stay in Chicago because the team has “a lot of special things going on.”
June 29 Updates
- Red Sox Assistant GM Mike Hazen confirms he will interview for the position, tweets Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald.
- Dodgers Vice President of Amateur Scouting Logan White will receive “big time” consideration, tweets the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo.
- The Padres will interview Rangers assistant GM A.J. Preller but not fellow assistant Thad Levine, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. The Padres would prefer not to interview two candidates from the same organization.
- Red Sox Assistant GM Mike Hazen has connections to Padres president Mike Dee (the former Red Sox Chief Operating Officer) and could become a strong candidate for the Padres’ GM job, Cafardo reports. Hazen has not yet interviewed, however.
- There has been “a lot of talk” of Diamondbacks president Kevin Towers returning to San Diego, Cafardo reports.
- Cafardo also notes that former Twins, Cubs and Orioles exec Andy MacPhail would have interest in the position if the Padres were interested in him. MacPhail, 61, served as the Orioles’ president of baseball operations from 2007 through 2011.
Edward Creech and Jeff Todd contributed to this post.
Quick Hits: Headley, Braves, Uehara, Peavy
The results of today’s Giants-Reds and Dodgers-Cardinals games look like the crest of a sea change that has reshaped the NL playoff race. Homer Bailey took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning against the Giants, and the Reds emerged with a 4-0 win. Meanwhile, Clayton Kershaw struck out 13 Cardinals in seven innings as the Dodgers cruised to a 6-0 victory. The Dodgers, 9 1/2 games out of first in the NL West three weeks ago, are now even with the Giants, and the Reds are now tied with St. Louis for second place in the Central. With two teams near the top in the NL East as well, and a wide-open Wild Card picture, there could be plenty of competition for veteran talent at the trade deadline. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.
- Third baseman Chase Headley says he doesn’t feel the Padres are the reason he’s inconsistent, and doesn’t think a change of scenery will help him, Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. “Even when things are going full-on crappy, like now, I’m confident that sometime in the near future, I’m going to get healthy, stay healthy and start playing the way I know I’m capable of,” says Headley. “I don’t look at it like, ‘Man, I gotta get out of here to be me again.’ I’m going to be me again, whether it’s here or somewhere else.” Headley is currently hitting .207/.294/.332 while dealing with a herniated disk in his back, but his banner 2012 season likely ensures there will be plenty of interest in him, both at the trade deadline and when he becomes a free agent this offseason.
- The Braves‘ constant stream of young talent helps keep them consistently competitive and prevents them from having to rebuild, Marc Narducci of Philly.com writes. “What they have done in our organization is pretty special,” says Freddie Freeman. “They have great development people and it seems like when a guy is ready, they don’t let him sit there and they give him at-bats – and that is what they did with me.” Narducci contrasts the Braves’ approach with that of the Phillies, who seem to keep older players longer and often lack interesting young players to plug into their lineup when playing time finally becomes available.
- The Red Sox should consider trading Koji Uehara, John Tomase of the Boston Herald writes. Tomase points to the Rangers’ 2003 trade of Ugueth Urbina to the Marlins for Adrian Gonzalez and two other players as evidence of the good things that can happen when a team deals an experienced closer. As Tomase himself notes, of course, it’s very rare to receive a player of Gonzalez’s caliber in return for a reliever. And of course, first the Red Sox need to figure out if they’re buyers or sellers. “Here’s how I view it from the outside. The first thing you have to do is cross that bridge and say, ‘Is it even worth it for us to go out and try to fill two or three holes?‘” says John Hart, the former Rangers GM who pulled off the Gonzalez deal.
- Sox starter Jake Peavy will be a free agent this winter, and the emergence of Rubby De La Rosa has led to speculation about the possibility Peavy could be traded. But Peavy says he’s not concerned about trade rumors, WEEI.com’s Alex Speier writes. “I have a great relationship with my pitching coach (Juan Nieves), my manager (John Farrell) and my general manager (Ben Cherington). We’re all very open with each other. I don’t need any clarity on any situation involving anything,” says Peavy. “If you start worrying about stuff like that, your focus is off where it needs to be and it’s going to affect things.”
Red Sox Again Trying To Extend Jon Lester
9:37pm: The Red Sox do want to reignite extension talks with Lester, but there has been no progress toward an extension, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford writes.
9:02pm: The Red Sox are making what could be a final attempt to extend starting pitcher Jon Lester before he reaches free agency this winter, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports. Olney says the Red Sox have improved upon their previous offer to Lester. It’s unclear, however, whether Lester is even receptive to extension talks at this point, preferring to concentrate on pitching during the season. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal noted yesterday that Lester and the Red Sox were very far apart on the terms of a potential deal.
Olney writes that Lester and the Red Sox had not negotiated since the spring, when the Red Sox reportedly made a four-year, $70MM offer. (Since then, even the Red Sox have characterized the $70MM figure as something less than a final offer.) Lester has pitched brilliantly so far this season, posting a 2.92 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 114 innings, and with the recent escalation in salaries for starting pitchers like Clayton Kershaw, Felix Hernandez and Homer Bailey, one would think that Lester would have little trouble topping $70MM on the open market.
AL Notes: Indians, Santana, Red Sox
Indians scouting director Brad Grant says he had indications on the first day of the draft that University of San Francisco outfielder Bradley Zimmer would be available when Cleveland picked at No. 21, Fangraphs’ David Laurila reports. “There are a lot of sources who provide information on who is going to go where,” Grant says. “You talk to different sources in order to kind of put that together. … You usually get a pretty good feel from that and can normally narrow it down to one or two players for your first pick.” Grant adds that the Indians became especially interested in No. 31 overall pick Justus Sheffield because they scouted his older brother Jordan, a 2013 Red Sox 13th-round pick who is now at Vanderbilt. Here are more notes from the American League.
- Astros top prospect Domingo Santana isn’t likely to be promoted this summer, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports. “Domingo still has some developing in Triple A, from our perspective,” says GM Jeff Luhnow. “We’re really excited about what he’s done, and I think the higher average at a higher level has been clearly a sign of better development and of him becoming a more complete player. But, the profile of the feast or famine is not something that we want to continue to have.” Santana has hit .305/.383/.508 so far this season for Oklahoma City, but with 94 strikeouts in 350 plate appearances. He’s already on the Astros’ 40-man roster, however, which makes him a good candidate for a September callup.
- The Red Sox‘ options this summer remain wide open, WEEI.com’s Alex Speier writes. The Red Sox, in the midst of a disappointing season but still only 6 1/2 games back in the AL East, could become buyers with a good month, and the recent addition of top prospect Mookie Betts could spark the Red Sox to add talent this July. If they don’t play well, they could sell. They could also pursue a multifaceted strategy in which they move players who are eligible for free agency after the season in exchange for players who might be around for the longer term but still could help this season.