Gammons’ Latest: Tate, Turner, Oliver
In his latest blog post at ESPN.com, Peter Gammons says that there "are rumblings that the commissioner's office wants to hold off the announcement of some of the bigger deals so they do not impact others." He hears the following deals are done according to GMs:
- Padres and first rounder Donovan Tate at $6.7MM, which had been done for five days
- Tigers and first rounder Jacob Turner at $6.7MM
- Tigers and second rounder Andy Oliver at $1MM
Gammons also says that the Giants and first rounder Zack Wheeler are close to a deal at $3.4MM, and that there are "conflicting reports" on Colorado signing Tyler Matzek and Texas signing Matt Purke, both first round picks. The Indians and Alex White are deadlocked, but the Tribe could go near $2MM.
Draft Updates: Unsigned Picks, Tigers, Brewers
Two hours to go…
- ESPN's Keith Law says he's hearing "lots of reports of deals that are done, including "unsigned" first-rounders, whose contracts are being throttled by MLB to prevent other players/agents from using them as leverage." He expects there to be a flood of announcements from 11pm-12:30am ET tonight, so stay tuned.
- MLB.com's Jason Beck reports that the Tigers continue to negotiate with the agents for first rounder Jacob Turner, second rounder Andrew Oliver, and sixth rounder Daniel Fields. Turner and Oliver are Scott Boras clients, Fields isn't.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo says the Brewers continue to be aggressive in the later rounds, landing 16th rounder Scooter Gennett.
Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Matzek, Mets, Helm
I think we're in the eye of the draft storm, because things suddenly got quiet…
- Baseball America's Jim Callis reports that the Red Sox have signed ninth rounder Kendal Volz for $550K. Volz was considered a first round talent coming into the year, but a down season at Baylor dropped his stock.
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post notes that Rockies first rounder Tyler Matzek didn't attend classes at Oregon today, an indication that he's interested in signing. Renck says it's hard to believe he'd sign for less than the $2.875MM Shelby Miller got from the Cardinals.
- The Mets are "still haggling" with top pick Steven Matz, according to SI.com's Jon Heyman.
- The Diamondbacks signed seventh rounder Matt Helm for $500,000, according to Callis.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus writes that there is "very little optimism right now coming out of clubs with unsigned picks." He estimates that we're looking at as many as six first rounders going unsigned by the midnight deadline.
- Make sure you check out our list of the first round picks who have signed to stay up to date with all the goings on of the draft.
- To get the fastest updates, follow MLBTR on Twitter and subscribe to our transactions-only feed.
Braves Not Interested In Smoltz Reunion
There figure to be plenty of clubs interested in the recently released John Smoltz, but one of those clubs will not be the Atlanta Braves according to Carroll Rogers of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"With the anticipated addition of Tim Hudson in the near future, we have not pursued John Smoltz," Wren said in a text message Monday.
Smoltz is available to any team now for just the pro-rated league minimum.
Draft Updates: D-Backs, Twins, Yankees, Mets
A few more loose draft links…
- Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Repubic reports that the Diamondbacks have made a new offer to seventh round pick Matt Helm, but it will only be the table for another two hours. Piecoro notes that Helm said he was looking for third round money last month.
- Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune notes that the Twins are stil in talks with first rounder Kyle Gibson. Over the weekend we learned that the two sides were about $1MM apart. Christensen also mentions that 44th rounder Tyler Herr has agreed to terms.
- Peter Abraham of The Journal News says the Yankees have come to an agreement with 21st rounder Joe Talerico.
- ESPN's Keith Law confirms that righty David Buchanan will not be signing with the Mets. He was their sixth rounder.
Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Magglio, Marlins, Yanks
It's going to be a busy night, so I hope you've got a comfy chair…
- ESPN's Peter Gammons writes that the Nationals and Stephen Strasburg need each other. I have to agree with that.
- MLB.com's Jason Beck notes that the Tigers still have to make a roster move to get the newly acquired Aubrey Huff on the 25-man roster, but GM Dave Dombrowski confirmed it would not involve Magglio Ordonez.
- The Marlins signed second rounder Bryan Berglund for $572,500 according to Baseball America's Jim Callis, a touch over slot. We first learned of this signing over the weekend, but now we have a dollar figure.
- Callis also reports that the Yankees have signed 16th rounder Bryan Mitchell to a deal worth $800,000. Obviously, that's way over slot.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus tweets that 10 of top 15 picks were still unsigned when we woke up this morning, and that that's still the case with less than six hours until the deadline. Should be a fun night.
- Kiley McDaniel of BP says he was told that another club fired an international scout last week for bonus skimming.
Blue Jays Sign Jake Marisnick
According to his Twitter account, Blue Jays third rounder Jake Marisnick has signed with the team. ESPN's Keith Law says he'll receive a $1MM bonus, considerably more than MLB's recommended slot of roughly $310K.
Indians, White At A ‘Standstill’
Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com reports that negotiations between the Indians and first round pick Alex White have "remained at a standstill as of 5 p.m."
"It wouldn't do me any good to say [how the negotiations are progressing]," amateur scouting director Brad Grant said. "We have about eight hours left. One way or another, we'll know by then."
Castrovince mentions that White is believed to be seeking a signing bonus north of $2MM. Drafted 15th overall, MLB's recommended bonus is approximately.$1.557MM.
Gammons’ Latest: Greene, Angels, Strasburg
Peter Gammons has a new blog post up at ESPN, in which he writes about the wildcard races and what they mean for baseball. Bud Selig takes a lot of heat, but I don't think there's any arguing that the wildcard is one of his greatest achievements.
Anyway, Gammons drops a few rumor nuggets at the end of the piece, so let's round 'em up…
- The Red Sox did not pursue Cardinals shortstop Khalil Greene when he cleared waivers. Remember to check out out handy dandy list of players who have already cleared waivers.
- The Angels are reportedly interested in Heath Bell, who was put on waivers yesterday. Several GMs "expressed doubt that the Padres would be able trade him." I, for one, think the Pads would have no problem moving him if they really wanted to.
- One GM says the Angels "should take Francisco Cordero. The Reds will move him."
- Gammons says that most baseball people think the Nationals will sign Stephen Strasburg "if negotiations with Scott Boras do not get contentious." He guesstimates that Strasburg could get $22MM for three years, which would allow him to go to arbitration for three years and land another big payday. Or three.
Odds & Ends: Shelby Miller, Astros, Strasburg
… you've gotta ask yourself a question: "Do I feel linky?" Well, do ya, punk?
- According to MLB.com's Matthew Leach, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said "I would say there's optimism on both sides," when asked about negotiations with top pick Shelby Miller.
- Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle reports that the Astros have signed 18-yr old Ruben Alaniz for $160K as an undrafted free agent. A Texas high schooler, Alaniz "slipped through the cracks as teams prepared for the draft," but the Astros found him in a tryout camp recently and outbid at least two other teams for his services.
- Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball takes a look at Stephen Strasburg's value by comparing him to last year's crop of arbitration eligible pitchers.