Orioles Closing In On Deal With First Round Pick
Dan Connolly and Mike Klingaman of The Baltimore Sun are reporting that California high school RHP Matt Hobgood, the fifth overall pick in last week's amateur draft, is expected to take a physical in Baltimore in two weeks.
"That's the plan. We've pretty much got [the contract] set," said Hobgood, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound right-handed pitcher from Norco High in suburban Los Angeles. "Nothing is final, but [the Orioles] presented us a deal and we'll work something out. I'll for sure sign on that Saturday."
"We don't have anything finalized yet. We're going to have to get him into town; we never sign any of these kids without a complete physical," Orioles director of amateur scouting Joe Jordan said. "We are getting close, but we have a few things to get settled first."
The recommended slot bonus for the fifth overall pick is expected to be around $2.25MM after MLB reduced their recommendations 10% across the board.
Discussion: Best Minor League Contracts
One of the staples of the Hot Stove League is the minor league contract. Teams hand them out to aging veterans, players coming off injuries, guys looking for one last shot to extend their careers, stuff like that. Now that we're just over one-third of the way through the season, let's discuss some players who've made the most of their opportunity.
Here's some notable performances:
- Livan Hernandez: 3.88 ERA in 11 starts coming into tonight for the Mets.
- Omar Vizquel: .345-.379-.455 in 60 plate appearances while playing short, second, and even some third for the Rangers.
- Juan Uribe: .296-.317-.435 in 121 plate appearance for the Giants. He's played all over the infield.
- Adam Kennedy: .328-.406-.525 in 140 plate appeances for the A's after signing with the Rays.
Who do you think has been the best player after signing a minor league deal this past offseason? Anyone I miss?
Odds & Ends: Betemit, Greene, Sano, Draft
How do you guys feel about interleague play? I understand the problems in creates in terms of the unbalanced schedule, but the fan in me still loves it. Anyway, here's some evening links as rivalry weekend kicks off…
- Wilson Betemit has been outrighted to Triple-A according to Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune. Betemit had been designated for assignment to make room on the roster for Gordon Beckham last week.
- Khalil Greene has returned to St. Louis not to play, but to "have his status re-evaluated" according to Derrick Goold. The Cards have been looking for middle infield help, and most recently have been connected to Miguel Tejada.
- Tyler Kepner notes that prospect Miguel Angel Sano will work out for the Yankees at their Dominican academy next Thursday. Here's the money quote from Sano's agent Rob Plummer: "I would say he has a Hanley Ramirez body and the possible upside of an Albert Pujols-type bat." Oh, is that all?
- Maury Brown notes that this week's amateur draft shattered MLB.com's traffic records.
- MLB.com's Todd Willis reports that the Rangers have signed six draft picks including Ruben Sierra Jr.
- The Blue Jays inked a nostalgic draft pick of their own, agreeing to terms with Tony Fernandez's son Jonathan according to Erika Gilbert.
Melvin: Talk Of Deal “Absolutely False”
MLB.com's Adam McCalvy spoke to Brewers' GM Doug Melvin about some "trade rumors that have swirled on the Internet over the past 36 hours about an imminent trade for a front-line pitcher." Melvin called the rumors "absolutely false," although he did acknowledge speaking to several other GM's recently. He wouldn't acknowledge who exactly he spoke to, or what kind of players were discussed.
The only recent trade talk we've heard involving the Brew Crew lately is that Jake Peavy is too expensive and that Tom Glavine isn't good enough to help. Peavy is out for at least a month with an ankle injury, so he figures to be out of the mix for now.
Let's round up the rest of McCalvy's rumors:
- Neither Trevor Hoffman or Ryan Braun has spoken to Peavy lately, perhaps about pitching in Milwaukee. Hoffman, of course, was Peavy's teammate in San Diego, while Braun played with him in the World Baseball Classic.
- Melvin said he hasn't spoken to Indians' GM Mark Shapiro "in a while," potentially eliminating Cliff Lee as the rumored front-line pitcher.
- Boston GM Theo Epstein called Melvin recently not to talk trade, but to apologize for a rumor about the Red Sox attempting to acquire Corey Hart.
- Melvin said "There's not one team that's saying, 'I'm ready to trade my players,'" specifically mentioning the Mariners.
Yankees Sell Linden To Japanese Team
Chad Jennings of The Scranton Times Tribune reports that the Yankees have sold outfielder Todd Linden to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japanese Pacific League. Linden had been playing in Triple-A, where he hit .312-.381-.515 in 268 plate appearances. The Yanks agreed to the move after Linden had come to terms with his new Japanese club.
Linden is second player the Yankees have agreed to sell to the Golden Eagles within the last eight months. They received $1MM for the rights to RHP Darrell Rasner back in November,
Peavy Out A Month, Trade Will Have To Wait
MLB.com's Corey Brock tweets that Padres righthander Jake Peavy has his injured ankle in a cast, and will miss at least a month. The injury originally popped up when Peavy developed tendonitis in his ankle running the bases in late May.
After nixing a deal to the White Sox last month, Peavy was still expected to be a popular name on the trade rumor circuit between now and the trade deadline. The injury will most likely put any trade talks on hold, because teams are going to want to see him healthy before trading several young players from him, not to mention assume the more than $50MM Peavy's guaranteed over the next four years.
Pirates Sign Tyler Herron
According to a press release from the Altoona Curve, the Pirates have signed RHP Tyler Herron to a minor league deal. The Cardinals released Herron just nine days ago. Still just 22 years old, Herron had a 4.37 ERA in 45.2 IP at Double-A before his release. The 46th overall pick in the 2005 Draft, Herron's been assigned to Double-A Altoona.
Discussion: Which Young Pitcher Would You Take?
Major League Baseball has quickly become a young man's game, and there is nothing more precious than young pitching. Tommy Hanson made his big league debut for the Braves today, allowing three homers and seven runs in six innings against the Brewers at home. Just yesterday the Rays' David Price gave up just two hits and three runs in a start against the Yankees in the Bronx, and on Tuesday the Nationals will make Stephen Strasburg the first overall pick in the 2009 Draft.
If you were running your favorite team, which of these three young pitchers would you take for your club? Price is the oldest at 23, but he also has the most experience. Hanson was the best pitching prospect left in the minors before his call up, and Strasburg may be the best draft prospect ever. There's no wrong answer, but I'm interested to see who everyone prefers. So, who ya got?
Red Sox Show Interest In Orlando Cabrera
According to ESPN.com's Buster Olney, the Red Sox have "had conversations" with the A's about shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who was Boston's shortstop on their 2004 World Series club. Cabrera is hitting just .235/.286/.303 after signing a one year, $4MM contract this offseason. He will receive a $250,000 bonus if traded. Boston shortstops have hit .235-.311-.325 this season.
Olney also says the Red Sox have also talked to the Pirates about Jack Wilson, but says the two teams don't match up well because "the Red Sox probably would prefer to keep some financial flexibility in the event that they need to acquire a DH type" in case David Ortiz doesn't turn it around. Wilson is still owed close to $6MM this season.
Odds & Ends: Phillies, Moore, Draft
Three years ago today, four current big leaguers were selected on day two of the 2006 MLB Draft: Derek Holland of the Rangers, Daniel Murphy of the Mets, David Robertson of the Yankees, and Clay Zavada of the Diamondbacks. Here's some lazy Sunday afternoon linkage for you.
- Sam Mellinger tweets that current Royals' and ex-Phillies' executive Mike Arbuckle says that his biggest regret is drafting Reggie Taylor over Roy Halladay in the first round of the 1995 Draft. I'm going to go out on a limb and say Arbuckle isn't alone with that sentiment.
- Jim Salisbury runs through the Phillies' trade chips.
- Royals' GM Dayton Moore says that his team isn't in need of any major changes right now, via Bob Dutton. “We are constantly evaluating our internal options to improve our team, and specifically our offense. And we’re always looking for opportunities to improve our team through trades or the waiver wire, and we’ll always be aggressive in trying to do that. But I’m confident that we will begin to perform better and play as we did in the first 30 games of the year. That’s all I can focus on.”
- Meanwhile, Rany Jazayerli suggests a move for the Royals: trade for Jeff Francoeur. His reasoning: buy low on someone with gobs of talent.
- Texas high school outfielder Randal Grichuk made a name for himself by hitting a few homers during a predraft workout at Busch Stadium, according to Derrick Goold.
- Ross Ohlendorf's thesis shows that the rate of return of the top 100 picks from the 1989-2003 drafts was about 60%.