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Orioles, Fourth-Rounder Coby Mayo Agree To Above-Slot Bonus

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The Orioles and fourth-rounder Coby Mayo have agreed to a deal, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. Mayo – the 103rd pick – will earn a bonus worth $1.75MM, which is well above the $565,600 recommended value of his selection. Notably, the Orioles lead the majors with a $13,894,300 bonus pool.

A high school third baseman from Coral Springs, Fla., Mayo had committed to the University of Florida before signing with the Orioles. Mayo didn’t wind up in the top 100 of Keith Law of The Athletic or MLB.com prior to the draft, but FanGraphs (No. 67) and Baseball America (No. 79) are more bullish on the 18-year-old. FanGraphs notes Mayo has “surprising bat control for size,” while BA credits him for his “raw power,” “solid zone recognition and a mature approach at the plate.” There are some questions as to whether the 6-foot-5, 215-pounder will stick as an infielder in pro ball, but the Orioles do view him as “strictly” a third baseman, Joe Trezza of MLB.com tweets.

With Mayo under wraps, the Orioles still have five other picks to sign, including second selection Heston Kjerstad and 30th choice Jordan Westburg.

MLBTR Poll: Will Alex Cora Manage Again In MLB?

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Thursday evening was one of the few times that former Red Sox manager Alex Cora has spoken publicly since the club fired him in late January. At the outset of the offseason, no one would have expected such a horrid outcome for Cora, who was wildly successful during his two years as Boston’s skipper. But Cora found himself embroiled in a couple of scandals – one for the Astros’ sign-stealing violations from a World Series-winning 2017, when he was its bench coach; the other came as a result of Boston’s sign-stealing from the 2018 campaign, in which Cora was a rookie manager who helped the team to a championship.

The Red Sox felt it was best to part with Cora as MLB was deliberating his fate. After months of reviewing the evidence, the league decided in April to suspend Cora through the 2020 postseason. However, it only banned Cora for the role he played as Houston’s assistant in 2017, not Boston’s manager the next season. Cora has since acknowledged the errors he made with the Astros, including when he took responsibility on Thursday (via Marly Rivera of ESPN.com) and said: “I deserve my suspension and I’m paying the price for my actions. And I am not proud of what happened.”

The 44-year-old Cora went on to admit he’d eventually like to return to baseball. It’s anyone’s guess whether he’ll get back into the game in any capacity, but if teams are willing to believe he has learned his lesson, he could re-emerge as a managerial candidate down the line (perhaps he’ll first have to prove himself again as an assistant). Cora did hold his own in that position in the pressure cooker known as Boston, where he guided the team to 192-132 regular-season record and the aforementioned championship. With that in mind, do you think some MLB franchise will ever give him another shot as a manager?

(Poll link for app users)

Will Alex Cora ever manage again in MLB?
No 54.45% (5,706 votes)
Yes 45.55% (4,774 votes)
Total Votes: 10,480

The 2013 Top 10: An MVP And The Rest

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With draft season in full swing, we’ve recently been looking back at how recent top 10s have panned out thus far. Having examined 2008, 2010 and 2012, let’s turn our attention to 2013 – certainly a top 10 that has produced more letdowns than success stories.

1.) Mark Appel, RHP, Astros:

  • One of the few No. 1 overall picks to never appear in the majors, Appel stepped away from the game in February 2018 after a difficult run in the minors. Appel was then a member of the Phillies, who acquired him from the Astros in a 2015 trade that also delivered righty Vince Velasquez, among others, to Philly. Meanwhile, Houston got reliever Ken Giles, who was up and down in its uniform from 2016-18 before it sent him to Toronto for current closer Roberto Osuna.

2.) Kris Bryant, 3B/OF, Cubs:

  • Hands down the best member of this top 10, Bryant’s a lifetime .284/.385/.516 hitter with 138 home runs and 27.8 fWAR. The 28-year-old’s also a three-time All-Star, a former Rookie of the Year (2015) and a past NL MVP (2016). Oh, and the same year he won the MVP, Bryant helped the Cubs to their first World Series title in 108 years.

3.) Jon Gray, RHP, Rockies:

  • Everyone knows it’s especially difficult to prevent runs as a member of the Rockies. Gray has nonetheless enjoyed a fine career so far, though, having tossed 641 1/3 innings of 4.46 ERA/3.77 FIP ball with 9.4 K/9, 2.96 BB/9 and a 47.1 percent groundball rate. He logged a personal-best average fastball velocity of 96.1 mph last year.

4.) Kohl Stewart, RHP, Twins:

  • Still just 25, Stewart’s not a sure bet to return to a major league roster after totaling 62 innings and recording a 4.79 ERA/4.80 FIP with a paltry 4.94 K/9 as a Twin from 2018-19. The team outrighted Stewart last winter, and he then ended up with the Orioles on a split contract.

5.) Clint Frazier, OF, Indians:

  • Frazier never played for Cleveland, which traded the then-highly ranked prospect to the Yankees in a deal for reliever Andrew Miller in 2016. The Indians got plenty from Miller over parts of three seasons, while the Yankees are still waiting for Frazier to establish himself in the majors. The 25-year-old hasn’t been able to carve out a regular role yet, having hit a mediocre .254/.308/.463 over 429 plate appearances while struggling as an outfielder.

6.) Colin Moran, 3B, Marlins:

  • Like Frazier, Moran didn’t suit up for the team that drafted him. Miami instead traded him to the Astros in 2014. Moran appeared briefly with the Astros in 2016-17 before they sent him to Pittsburgh in a blockbuster for ace Gerrit Cole. That worked out very well for the Astros, whereas Moran hasn’t made a sizable impact as a Pirate. Overall, the 27-year-old is a .274/.328/.417 hitter in 1,005 PA.

7.) Trey Ball, LHP, Red Sox:

  • Ball never advanced past Double-A ball with Boston, and he hasn’t pitched professionally since 2018.

8.) Hunter Dozier, 3B, Royals:

  • It probably took longer than the Royals wanted it to, but Dozier finally came into his own last season. After struggling mightily in 2018, his first extensive look in the majors, the 28-year-old slashed .279/.348/.522 with 26 homers and 3.0 fWAR in 2019.

9.) Austin Meadows, OF, Pirates:

  • Notably, the Pirates were only in position to draft Meadows because they received a compensatory pick for failing to sign Appel, their No. 1 selection the previous year. But Meadows didn’t see much time with the Pirates, who moved him and pitchers Tyler Glasnow and Shane Baz to the Rays in 2018 for righty Chris Archer. We don’t need to rehash what an overall nightmare that trade has turned into for the Pirates, though it’s still worth mentioning that the 25-year-old Meadows was a .291/.364/.558 batter with 33 HRs and 4.0 fWAR in 2019.

10.) Phil Bickford, RHP, Blue Jays:

  • Toronto couldn’t sign Bickford, so it landed the ninth pick in the next draft as compensation. The Blue Jays used that choice on righty Jeff Hoffman, whom they traded to the Rockies in a 2015 deal for shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.

—

Combined fWAR of this 10-player group: 50.4, though approximately 80 percent of that total has come from Bryant and Gray. Here’s how they rank in that category:

  • 1.) Bryant: 27.8
  • 2.) Gray: 13.1
  • 3.) Meadows: 4.2
  • 4.) Dozier: 2.1
  • 5.) Moran: 0.7
  • 5.) Stewart: 0.2
  • 6.) Appel/Ball/Bickford: 0.0
  • 7.) Frazier: minus-0.3

Alex Cora On Suspension, Future

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Former Astros bench coach and Red Sox manager Alex Cora was among those who bore the brunt of the punishment Major League Baseball handed down over Houston’s sign-stealing scandal from its 2017 World Series-winning campaign. Although they were just over a year removed from winning their own title under Cora in 2018, his first season as their skipper, the Red Sox parted with Cora back in January. MLB then suspended Cora through the 2020 postseason this past April.

Shortly after the league banned Cora, he issued a statement taking “full responsibility” for his role in the Astros’ misdeeds. Cora remains contrite for his actions as a Houston assistant, per Marly Rivera of ESPN.com, but he’s unhappy that he and former Astros designated hitter Carlos Beltran have gotten so much blame in comparison to many other members of the organization.

Rivera’s piece is worth reading in full for all of Cora’s quotes, but he said, in part: “Out of this whole process, if there is one thing that I completely reject and disagree with is people within the Astros’ organization singling me out, particularly [former general manager] Jeff Luhnow, as if I were the sole mastermind. The commissioner’s report sort of explained, in its own way, what happened. But the [Astros players] have spoken up and refuted any allegations that I was solely responsible.”

Cora added that “it was not a two-man show. We all did it.” However, he admitted that the ban the league handed him was deserved and he has to pay for his mistakes.

It now remains to be seen whether some of the key members of the scandal will return to the majors. Luhnow and ex-Astros manager A.J. Hinch received one-year suspensions in January. Beltran, now retired from playing, became the Mets’ manager in November, but the team ousted him around the time the league booted Luhnow and Hinch. Cora, though, could be helping his cause with the remorse he has shown throughout this process. He’s also just 44 years and someone with an excellent track record as a manager. And for what it’s worth, Cora told Rivera he “absolutely” wants to get back in the game at some point. For now, though, he’s focusing on his family.

Quick Hits: Harvey, Torkelson, Giants

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While free-agent right-hander Matt Harvey has drawn the attention of teams in the Korea Baseball Organization, a KBO match may not be all that likely. KBO clubs are currently wary of adding new players to their roster because those individuals would need at least six weeks from debuting, per Daniel Kim of MBC. There would be a few notable hoops for someone like Harvey to jump through, including a two-week quarantine, acquiring a work visa and getting into game shape. There’s also the fact that KBO teams are only allowed to carry two foreign-born pitchers, Jay Jaffe of FanGraphs points out. Beyond that, Jaffe explains that Harvey may have a difficult time boosting his stock enough in the KBO even if he does land there. The former ace, 31, is coming off a mostly disastrous run over the past few seasons, thanks in part to major injuries and a serious dip in velocity, so it’s unclear whether he’ll get another MLB opportunity.

More from around baseball…

  • The Tigers made what most have deemed the right call in selecting Arizona State slugger Spencer Torkelson with the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft. However, the team caught many off-guard when commissioner Rob Manfred announced Torkelson, a college first baseman/outfielder, as a third baseman. Even Torkelson didn’t see it coming. “The first time I knew they were drafting me as a third baseman was when the commissioner said, ‘Spencer Torkelson, third base,'” he revealed Thursday (via Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic; subscription link). But Torkelson’s a former high school third baseman who has taken reps at third at ASU, so the position’s not foreign to him. Even if he’s unable to stick at the hot corner as a professional, the Tigers are confident the big hitter will make a significant impact at either first or in the outfield.
  • The Giants now have two premium catcher prospects in 2018 first-rounder Joey Bart and their No. 1 pick this year, Patrick Bailey. In a best-case scenario, both players will evolve into impact big leaguers within the next few years. But will there be enough room for Bart and Bailey on the same roster? The Giants believe so, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area relays. In the wake of the Bailey pick, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said that, if their development goes according to plan, “there are going to be times when you want both guys in the lineup.” Zaidi also noted a potential universal DH could help the Giants achieve that goal, adding the club wants “all the guys in the system to be able to play a different position.”
  • More on the Giants, who have now committed to paying all of their minor leaguers a $400 weekly stipend through the end of the season (Sept. 7), according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. In all, the organization will pay out roughly $1MM to its 270 minor leaguers, Schulman reports. The Giants had previously agreed to pay those players through June.

Red Sox Will Reportedly Sign First-Rounder Nick Yorke To Below-Slot Deal

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The Red Sox used the 17th pick in Wednesday’s first round on high school second baseman Nick Yorke, and it appears the two will reach an agreement. It’s “expected” that Yorke will sign for less than the $3.61MM slot value of his selection, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets. The Red Sox have a bonus pool of $5,129,900, but they’re working without a second-rounder after losing it as a result of a sign-stealing scandal.

As Matt Eddy of Baseball America notes, Yorke became the first high school second baseman to come off the board in the opening round since LeVon Washington (a former Rays pick who didn’t sign) in 2009. Otherwise, only Rich Puig (1971), Terry Lee (1974) and Blake DeWitt (2004) have done it.

The California-born Yorke came into the draft “as one of the best pure hitters on the West Coast thanks to a well-balanced swing and excellent timing,” J.J. Cooper of Baseball America writes. However, MLB.com only placed Yorke in the No. 139 spot among this year’s draft prospects, citing concerns with his defense and a past shoulder surgery.

2020 MLB Draft Results – First Round

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The 2020 amateur draft kicked off Wednesday. We’ll keep track of the results from Round 1 and Competitive Balance Round A here…

1. Detroit Tigers: Spencer Torkelson, 3B/1B, Arizona State
2. Baltimore Orioles: Heston Kjerstad, OF, Arkansas
3. Miami Marlins: Max Meyer, RHP, Minnesota
4. Kansas City Royals: Asa Lacy, LHP, Texas A&M
5. Toronto Blue Jays: Austin Martin, INF/OF, Vanderbilt
6. Seattle Mariners: Emerson Hancock, RHP, Georgia
7. Pittsburgh Pirates: Nick Gonzales, SS/2B, New Mexico State
8. San Diego Padres: Robert Hassell III, OF, Independence HS (TN)
9. Colorado Rockies: Zac Veen, OF, Spruce Creek HS (FLA)
10. Los Angeles Angels: Reid Detmers, LHP, Louisville
11. Chicago White Sox: Garrett Crochet, LHP, Tennessee
12. Cincinnati Reds: Austin Hendrick, OF, West Allegheny HS (PA)
13. San Francisco Giants: Patrick Bailey, C, North Carolina State
14. Texas Rangers: Justin Foscue, 2B, Mississippi State
15. Philadelphia Phillies: Mick Abel, RHP, Jesuit HS (OR)
16. Chicago Cubs: Ed Howard, SS, Mount Carmel HS (ILL)
17. Boston Red Sox: Nick Yorke, 2B, Archbishop Mitty HS (CA)
18. Arizona Diamondbacks: Bryce Jarvis, RHP, Duke
19. New York Mets: Pete Crow-Armstong, OF, Harvard-Westlake HS (CA)
20. Milwaukee Brewers: Garrett Mitchell, OF, UCLA
21. St. Louis Cardinals: Jordan Walker, 3B, Decatur HS (GA)
22. Washington Nationals: Cade Cavalli, RHP, Oklahoma
23. Cleveland Indians: Carson Tucker, SS, Mountain Pointe HS (AZ)
24. Tampa Bay Rays: Nick Bitsko, Central Bucks-East HS (PA)
25. Atlanta Braves: Jared Shuster, LHP, Wake Forest
26. Oakland Athletics: Tyler Soderstrom, C, Turlock HS (CA)
27. Minnesota Twins: Aaron Sabato, 1B, UCLA
28. New York Yankees: Austin Wells, C, Arizona
29. Los Angeles Dodgers: Bobby Miller, RHP, Louisville

Competitive Balance Round A:

30. Baltimore Orioles: Jordan Westburg, INF, Mississippi State
31. Pittsburgh Pirates: Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP, South Carolina
32. Kansas City Royals: Nick Loftin, SS, Baylor
33. Arizona Diamondbacks: Slade Cecconi, RHP, Miami
34. San Diego Padres: Justin Lange, RHP, Llano HS (TX)
35. Colorado Rockies: Drew Romo, C, The Woodlands HS (TX)
36. Cleveland Indians: Tanner Burns, RHP, Auburn
37. Tampa Bay Rays: Alika Williams, SS, Arizona State

The Other Chris Archer Trades

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Pirates right-hander Chris Archer has been among the most prominent major leaguers in the news this week. Archer just underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, meaning he won’t pitch until at least 2021. It also means his tenure could be done in Pittsburgh, which will have to decide between an $11MM club option and a $250K buyout next winter.

Archer’s surgery came as the latest disastrous development during his time with the Pirates, who made an ill-fated trade with the Rays to acquire him in July 2018. For the sake of Pirates fans, who have witnessed Archer struggle mightily in their favorite team’s uniform and have seen two of the players their club gave up flourish as Rays, we’re not going to recap that trade for the umpteenth time. But we are going to look back at other trades involving Archer. Long before he became a Pirate, Archer was part of a couple other notable deals.

First off, Archer entered the pros as a 17-year-old and a fifth-round pick of the Indians in 2006. Archer struggled to prevent runs as part of the Indians’ system through 2008, and after that season, the club traded him, righty Jeff Stevens and lefty John Gaub to the Cubs for infielder/outfielder Mark DeRosa. Cleveland didn’t get a full season out of DeRosa, whom the team flipped to the Cardinals in June 2009 after he batted a solid .270/.342/.457 in 314 plate appearances and 71 games as an Indian.

What of the Cubs’ return for DeRosa? Stevens combined for 37 1/3 innings of 6.27 ERA ball as a Cub from 2009-11. Gaub made even less of an impact in Chicago, with which he threw the only 2 2/3 innings of his career in 2011. Archer never appeared in the majors with the organization, but he turned around his fortunes as a Cubs minor leaguer and began cracking top 100 prospects lists as a member of the franchise. Still, that wasn’t enough for the Cubs to keep him.

After the 2010 season, when Archer topped out as Baseball America’s 27th-best prospect, the Cubs dealt him to the Rays in a blockbuster. Along with Archer, the Cubs surrendered shortstop prospect Hak-Ju Lee, catcher Robinson Chirinos, and outfielders Sam Fuld and Brandon Guyer for righty Matt Garza, outfielder Fernando Perez and lefty Zac Rosscup.

The Cubs got nothing from Perez, who never appeared in the majors with them, and very little from Rosscup (he posted a 5.32 ERA over 47 1/3 frames and parts of four seasons in their uniform). On the other hand, Garza was effective in Chicago from 2011-13. Though the team failed to push for the playoffs during that stretch, Garza turned in 372 2/3 innings of 3.45 ERA pitching with 8.6 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. However, as a non-contender in July 2013, Chicago sent Garza – a soon-to-be free agent – to Texas for third baseman Mike Olt and the righty trio of Carl Edwards Jr., Justin Grimm and Neil Ramirez.

As for the Rays’ return, Lee never made it to MLB, even though he was a highly regarded prospect in his younger days. He’s now playing with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization. Chirinos has evolved into a fine offensive catcher, though he only took 60 plate appearances with the Rays in 2011 before they traded him to the Rangers two years later. Fuld played from 2011-13 in Tampa Bay, where he batted .230/.301/.326 in 653 attempts. Guyer appeared with the Rays in parts of four seasons from ’11-15 and slashed .255/.341/.396 over 978 PA.

While none of Lee, Chirinos, Fuld or Guyer offered especially valuable production as Rays, Archer thrived. He piled up 177 starts and amassed 1,063 innings of 3.69 ERA/3.48 FIP ball with 9.7 K/9 and 2.94 BB/9 as part of the team from 2011-18, during which he earned two All-Star nods and signed the six-year, $25.5MM extension he’s still playing under.

Many have been tough on Archer on account of what has been a rough run in Pittsburgh, but he’s the same player who once made the Rays look like geniuses for adding him. That makes his recent fall from grace all the more surprising, and it’s anyone’s guess whether a rebound will be in store in the wake of TOS surgery.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Athletics To Pay Minor Leaguers

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The Athletics decided last week that they wouldn’t pay their minor league players their $400 weekly stipend as of June 1. Oakland was the only club to make that choice, and it naturally didn’t go over well. Now, in the wake of the vast criticism they’ve received, the A’s are doing a 180. Owner John Fisher told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday that not only will the A’s pay their minor leaguers for the first week of June, but they’ll continue to receive weekly pay through the end of the scheduled minor league season.

“I’ve listened to our fans and others, and there is no question that this is the right thing to do,” Fisher said to Slusser. “We clearly got this decision wrong. These players represent our future and we will immediately begin paying our minor-league players. I take responsibility and I’m making it right.”

Additionally, while many major league teams have been releasing droves of minor leaguers, Fisher informed Slusser that the A’s have not discussed doing so. The club will also set up an emergency assistance fund for the employees it has furloughed, Slusser reports. The A’s recently furloughed more than half of their employees through the end of October, but Fisher credited those individuals for their loyalty and added, “It felt like the right thing to do was to set up a fund to support them.”

Phillies Expect Seranthony Dominguez To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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After being stranded in his native Dominican Republic for several weeks because of travel restrictions, Phillies reliever Seranthony Dominguez has returned to the United States, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports. Now that Dominguez is back, the Phillies expect that he’ll undergo Tommy John surgery on his torn right ulnar collateral ligament sometime soon – perhaps as early as this month – according to Gelb.

Surgery has long seemed like the probable route for Dominguez, as doctors recommended he undergo the procedure back in late March. Because Dominguez has had to wait so long since then, though, his delay in returning to a major league mound will drag on for an especially lengthy period of time. The typical Tommy John recovery takes 12 to 18 months, so he’ll miss all of this season (provided there is one) and could sit out most or all of 2021.

It has been exactly one full year since Dominguez last took the hill on June 5, 2019, after which his UCL injury cut him down. The 25-year-old concluded 2019 with 24 2/3 innings of 4.01 ERA/4.02 FIP ball and 10.58 K/9, 4.38 BB/9, and a 54.5 percent groundball rate. The flamethrowing Dominguez burst on the scene during the previous season with a 2.95 ERA/2.85 FIP, 11.48 K/9 against 3.41 BB/9, and a 55.7 percent grounder mark over 58 frames.

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