Mets DFA Jon Switzer
According to David Lennon at Newsday, the Mets have designated LHP Jon Switzer for assignment. He'll be replaced by infielder Argenis Reyes on the roster.
The 29-year-old Switzer had been signed to a minor-league deal this past winter. He posted an 8.11 ERA in 3.1 innings for the Mets, but had a solid 2.13 ERA and 29/9 K/BB ratio for Triple-A Buffalo. He could latch on a team looking for minor-league depth.
Angels Sign First-Round Pick Grichuk
10:22 P.M: The L.A. Times' Mike DiGiovanna reports that the bonus was for $1.225MM.
According to the Miami Herald via the Sports Network, the Angels have come to terms with first-round choice Randal Grichuk.
The 17-year-old Grichuk was chosen 24th overall by the Halos. He had signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Arizona. No word on the money or terms yet, but we'll update you when they become available.
Odds & Ends: Pedro, Ordonez, Holliday
On this day in MLBTR history: Last year, the Blue Jays fired manager John Gibbons and Matt Holliday talks were still swirling. In '07, we actually cared who was on Eric Gagne's team veto list and saw Michael Barrett get traded to the Padres.
- Bill Ladson at MLBlogs got word that reports that a Nationals rep saw Pedro Martinez pitch Friday are untrue.
- Joe Pawlikowski at River Ave. Blues takes issue with CERA, the stat that tries to determine "catchers' ERA."
- Jason Beck at MLB.com has more clarification on Jim Leyland's comments on Magglio Ordonez and Scott Boras. Says Leyland: "It was total nonsense on the agent's part that I blindsided Magglio Ordonez."
- John Shea at the San Francisco Chronicle outlines a scenario where 16-year-old super-prospect Bryce Harper might fall to the A's in next year's draft.
- Bill Shaikin at the L.A. Times wonders if Holliday could end up with the Angels.
- Clark Spencer at the Miami Herald wonders where Josh Johnson will end up after 2012.
- Joel Sherman at the New York Post proposes an idea where the Commissoner's Office swallows one bad contract on each MLB team, and which he believes should go.
O’s Not In “Salary-Dump Mode”
The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec talked to Orioles president Andy MacPhail, who says despite the Os' woes the team is not in "salary dump mode":
"People make assumptions about what our activity would be, which is probably not unreasonable, but at the same time, I never thought we're required to be the rest of the league's farm system.
If something makes sense for us where we can help somebody in the short term and we can get better in the long-term, that's one thing. But I really don't have much of an appetite to do something just for the sake of doing it."
Zrebiec notes that this is a stance MacPhail has "reiterated… the past couple years." Despite being the subject of many rumors, the O's haven't made any significant deadline deals since MacPhail was named president in June 2007. Zrebiec reminds that Melvin Mora, Aubrey Huff and Danys Baez are all in the final years of their contracts and that Luke Scott, Felix Pie, Jeremy Guthrie and George Sherrill have all attracted interest.
Keep up with all the latest Orioles rumors here.
Royals Still Scouting Jeff Francoeur
According to Mark Bowman at MLBlogs, the Royals retain interest in Braves OF Jeff Francoeur and are keeping an eye on him this weekend. However, Bowman notes that if a deal were to happen, the Braves might have to be willing to take on the $12MM owed to Jose Guillen.
Guillen is owed another $12MM in 2010 before his contract expires. The Royals' interest in Francoeur is well-known, though supposedly not everyone in the KC front office is keen on him. It isn't clear if the Braves would be willing to add any payroll, let alone any payroll that would involve a potential headcase like Guillen.
Yankees Will Sign Gary Sanchez
According to George A. King III at the New York Post, the Yankees have agreed to sign 16-year-old Dominican catching prospect Gary Sanchez. A contract won't be in place until July 2nd when the international signing period kicks off, but Sanchez will reportedly make $2.5MM in the deal.
Last week, Jorge Arangure noted that the Yankees had made it "very clear" Sanchez was their top choice of the international market. One scout in King's article called Sanchez a "big kid with a big arm" and a "good hitter" but claims he doesn't have the bat of fellow Yankees catching prospect Jesus Montero. The Yankees still retain interest in Miguel Angel Sano, sources tell King.
Red Sox To Sign Dominican Amateur
According to Jorge Arangure at ESPN the Magazine, the Red Sox will sign 16-year-old Dominican amateur LHP Victor Payano on July 2nd, when the international signing period begins. He'll receive a $900,000 bonus.
Can't find much information on Payano, but we dug up some video of him here. As Arangure notes, this is the second Sox amateur commitment after learning they reportedly will come to terms with amateur shortstop Jose Vinicio, also of the Dominican Republic.
Discussion: The Reds
John Fay at the Cincinnati Enquirer got a hold of Reds president Bob Castellini and wondered if the Reds would add any payroll through a trade. Castellini's response:
"We've got some flexibility. We're not looking. We've got some key guys in sick bay right now."
The "key guys" he's referring to are Joey Votto, who's supposedly on track for a rehab assignment, Edwin Encarnacion, and Edinson Volquez. All are due back before the All-Star break.
After a win tonight, the Reds stand two games above .500 at 33-31, but they're still in good enough shape for the NL Central, where they're only three games behind the first-place Brewers and two games behind the Wild Card-leading Cardinals (pending tonight's results). While their team ERA sits at a stellar 3.86, good for fifth in the league, their team OPS sits at fifth-to-last in the majors at .710.
If you're the Reds GM, are Votto and Encarnacion the answers to your offensive woes? Or should they pursue a bat such as, say, Aubrey Huff or Luke Scott, as suggested by Jon Paul Morosi, or Mark DeRosa, as put forth by SI's Tom Verducci? Or something completely different altogether? Discuss your take.
Odds & Ends: Cubs, Brewers, Twins
Some notes from around the horn as another top potential trade piece, Erik Bedard, hits the DL:
- Dave Cameron at Fangraphs gives a neat Pitch/FX examination of Mark DiFelice's stellar year.
- ESPN relays an AP report on the Cubs sale, with a rep from the Ricketts family calling stories that the conversations were stalling "untrue."
- Ken Davidoff at Newsday believes the market for starting pitching is thinning, as he sees Jarrod Washburn as the top option available.
- The Twins signed a couple draft picks today, including second-round pick P Billy Bullock, says Tyler Mason at MLB.com.
- The Indians also inked five more of their draftees today, says Dennis Manoloff at the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
- A Pirates 26th-round high school draftee, one Matt Dermody, struck out every batter he faced in a six-inning perfect game. His teammate threw a no-hitter immediately after in the double-header.
Manuel Wants Arms for Phillies
Scott Lauber at the Delaware News-Journal got a hold of Phillies manager Charlie Manuel and asked if the manager would rather obtain a starter or a reliever. Manuel says he wants both, but would probably prefer a starter.
"But what I'm talking about is a horse. I'm not talking about a guy who's just going to fill out our rotation," Manuel said.
Lauber surmises that Manuel wants a Jake Peavy or Roy Oswalt-type, though Peavy is hurt and probably isn't an option, and the Astros aren't completely out of it just yet. Do the Phillies need a bullpen or rotation arm more? Or something else? Who should they go after?