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Draft Links: Correa, Braves, Appel, Red Sox

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The 2012 amateur draft kicks off soon, and yesterday we heard that the Astros are expected to select Stanford right-hander Mark Appel with the first overall pick. Here's the latest news on the event, starting with an update on the first overall selection…

  • MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo has heard a lot of chatter about Puerto Rican shortstop Carlos Correa going first overall to the Astros (Twitter link). He feels it's posturing, however, and that Appel is still their selection.
  • The Braves are likely to select a college player with their first round pick (No. 21), according to the sources of MLB.com's Mark Bowman (on Twitter). As Bowman notes, Mayo has Atlanta selecting Texas A&M outfielder Tyler Naquin.
  • Though the Astros appear to have identified Appel as their top choice, they could move on to other options if the right-hander doesn’t show a willingness to sign at Houston’s price, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports.
  • WEEI.com's Alex Speier provided a breakdown of the new rules implemented by the new collective bargaining agreement, and also a primer on what the Red Sox may do.
  • The Cardinals have five picks in the first and supplemental first round, and Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote about their possible plan of attack.
  • The Phillies hope to land a college hitter who can reach the majors in short order with their first pick, writes David Murphy of The Philadelphia Daily News. They pick 40th overall after forfeiting their first rounder to sign Jonathan Papelbon.
  • Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic tells us what to expect from the Diamondbacks on draft day. "The boring, standard answer is we’re going to pick the best player available," said scouting director Ray Montgomery.
  • Nationals assistant general manager Roy Clark spoke to Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post about the difference between picking first overall (like the Nats did in 2009 and 2010) and picking in the middle of the first round (like they'll do this year).
  • Curious about all the draft picks that changed hands via free agent compensation this year? The full draft order can be found at River Ave. Blues.

Latest First Round Mock Drafts

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Yesterday we heard that the Astros are expected to take Stanford right-hander Mark Appel with the first overall pick in tonight's draft, but there are still another 1,500 or so selections to be made after that, including another 59 this evening. Let's round up the latest mock drafts before the real thing begins (these articles are free for all; no subscription is required.)…

  • Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus has the Astros taking high school outfielder Byron Buxton first overall despite yesterday's report about Appel. He reports that checks on the right-hander's signability "were not going well." 
  • Jim Callis of Baseball America has the Astros taking Appel with Buxton going second overall to the Twins and Florida catcher Mike Zunino third overall to the Mariners. 
  • Keith Law of ESPN.com puts together a mock draft that has the Astros selecting Appel, the Twins selecting Buxton and the Mariners selecting Zunino. Shortstop Carlos Correa remains an option for the Astros at #1, Law notes.
  • Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com agrees that Appel, Buxton and Zunino figure to be the first three players selected. Correa could be an option for the Twins at #2 or the Mariners at #3, Mayo writes.

Pirates Notes: Jorge Soler, Stetson Allie

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The Pirates own the eighth overall pick in tonight's amateur draft, the first time they've selected outside of the top five since picking Andrew McCutchen with the 11th overall pick in 2005. Here's the latest from Pittsburgh…

Reds Release Jeff Francis

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The Reds have released Jeff Francis at his request according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN (on Twitter). The veteran southpaw exercised a June 1st opt-out clause in his minor league contract.

Francis, 31, pitched to a 3.72 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 77 1/3 innings across 12 starts for Cincinnati's Triple-A affiliate. He threw a nine-inning complete game shutout just last night. Given his solid performance in the minors and the demand for pitching, Francis could wind up signing a Major League contract and join a team's rotation in short order.

Red Sox Prioritizing Starting Pitching Depth

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The Red Sox are prioritizing starting pitching depth leading up to the trade deadline, reports WEEI.com's Rob Bradford. Boston's rotation came into today with a 4.53 ERA that ranks 28th out of the 30 big league clubs.

Although Daisuke Matsuzaka (Tommy John surgery) and Aaron Cook (laceration) are currently rehabbing their way back to the club, Daniel Bard's five-run, five-out outing yesterday ballooned his ERA to 5.24 in ten starts and one relief appearance. He has more walks (37) than strikeouts (34). Southpaw Felix Doubront (3.76 ERA) is the club's only starter with an ERA below 4.25.

Ross Ohlendorf recently opted out of his minor league contract with the Red Sox after pitching to a 4.61 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 52 2/3 innings for their Triple-A affiliate.

No International Draft For 2013

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SUNDAY: Clubs will actually be allowed to spend up to $3.2MM, not the announced $2.9MM, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.  According to the CBA, six bonuses up to $50K will not count against the international pool.  If teams push the rule to the limit, they'll get $2.9MM, plus $300K.

SATURDAY, 12:26pm: There will be no international draft for 2013, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). Certain conditions were not met by yesterday's deadline, so the goal is to have a draft in place for 2014.

The new collective bargaining agreement implemented a spending pool for both the draft and international free agent markets. Clubs will be allotted $2.9MM for international players starting July 2nd of this year before shifting to a sliding scale based on winning percentage in the future, though a draft has always seemed to be the long-term goal.

Back in December, union head Michael Weiner said the owners are in favor of international draft "right now."

Chicago Cubs Rumors: Saturday

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Two days ago we heard that the Cubs are letting teams know that almost all of their players — other than Jeff Samardzija and Starlin Castro — are available in trades. Chicago's north side will be a hot source of rumors over the next few weeks, so let's keep track of today's news here, with the latest up top…

  • Contrary to spring rumors, the Cubs never had a handshake agreement with outfielder Jorge Soler, but their interest in the Cuban was legit and figures to intensify now that he's officially a free agent, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Manager Dale Sveum, who watched Soler workout this offseason, described his hitting as "pretty strong" today.
  • Matt Garza is available for the right offer, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter links). The Yankees have interest and Olney speculates that the Blue Jays could be a fit given their need for high-end starting pitching and cache of tradeable prospects.
  • "If I'd known that, it would have made me think about it," said Castro to reporters (including Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune) when asked about the trade rumors. "That's what I want — to be here all my career. I don't want to go anywhere. I have my family here. I don't want to be traded."

Jorge Soler Declared A Free Agent

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11:52am: Ben Badler of Baseball America reports that Soler's agent, Bart Hernandez of the Praver Shapiro Sports Management group, still must produce a) an unblocking license from the Office of Foreign Asset Control, or b) two permanent residency documents from a new country before any contract can be finalized. 

10:39am: Jorge Soler has been declared a free agent and is now eligible to sign with any team, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The 20-year-old Cuban outfielder will be subject to the spending restrictions imposed by the new collective bargaining agreement as of July 2nd, but he can sign for any amount prior to then.

The Indians, Red Sox, Phillies, Yankees, Marlins, Blue Jays, and Astros are said to have interest in Soler, and I'm sure many other clubs will get involved as well. Back in March we heard bogus reports that the Cubs had agreed to a contract with the outfielder. Two GMs speculated that the bidding would exceed five years and $15-20MM back in February.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Oswalt, Jones, Youkilis

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On this date in 1995, the Diamondbacks named Joe Garagiola Jr. the first GM in franchise history. Arizona started play in 1998 and Garagiola remained with the team through August 2005, when he took a senior-level position with MLB. Bob Gebhard served as the team's interim GM until Josh Byrnes was hired that October. Here's the latest from the baseball corner of the web…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.

Longest Current Contracts By Team

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As the number of long-term contracts and contract extensions increases, teams lock themselves into payroll obligations well into the future. With some help from Cot's Baseball Contracts, let's take a look at the longest current contracts for all 30 teams…

Signed Through 2023

Signed Through 2021

Signed Through 2020

Signed Through 2019

Signed Through 2018

Signed Through 2017

Signed Through 2016

Signed Through 2015

Signed Through 2013

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