Phillies Sign Top Draft Pick Larry Greene
The Phillies signed top draft pick Larry Greene, reports Baseball America's John Manuel. Greene, a high school outfielder, was drafted 39th overall in the supplemental round as part of the compensation for the loss of Jayson Werth. He received a $1MM bonus, the largest amount so far outside of the first round. Greene is represented by ACES. The Phillies' first-round pick, #33 overall, went to the Rangers for Cliff Lee.
According to Baseball America, Greene is a "physical beast" known for "well above-average raw power."
Blue Jays Sign Dwight Smith Jr.
10:59pm: Smith received an $800K bonus, tweets Baseball America's Jim Callis. That's about $125K over slot. Smith is represented by Wasserman Media Group.
7:09pm: The Blue Jays announced they've signed supplemental first round draft pick Dwight Smith Jr. Smith, a high school outfielder, was drafted 53rd overall as compensation for the loss of Miguel Olivo. The Jays essentially purchased the draft pick for $500K (the cost of declining Olivo's option) as well as the cash sent to the Rockies in that deal.
Smith's father had a nice career in the Majors, beginning with a second-place Rookie of the Year finish for the Cubs in 1989. Junior doesn't have the speed his dad did, reports Baseball America, but his pure batting stroke "ranks among the best in the draft class."
The Blue Jays have until tomorrow's 11pm central time deadline to sign their first draft pick, Tyler Beede. There was a report Friday that Beede is likely to honor his commitment to Vanderbilt. For MLBTR's list of all first round and supplemental draft picks to sign so far, click here.
Week In Review: 8/7/11 – 8/13/11
Time to catch up on the last week at MLBTR…
- The Tigers extended GM Dave Dombrowski through 2015 and manager Jim Leyland through next season. Dombrowski will celebrate his tenth season as the Tigers' GM next April.
- The Cubs hired Jim Hendry three months after the Tigers hired Dombrowski, back in 2002. It appears that Hendry will have one more shot to take the Cubs to the promise land, as Bob Nightengale tweeted that the team's ownership is currently planning to keep Hendry for next year, barring a change of thinking.
- Carlos Zambrano provided the drama for the Cubs on Friday, allowing five home runs to the Braves, earning an ejection, and then clearing out his locker and telling the team trainer he was retiring. The next day the Cubs announced they placed Zambrano on the disqualified list, meaning 30 days without pay, which would save the team over $1.6MM. The players union will file a grievance, of course. You have to think the Cubs will unload Zambrano at any cost this winter.
- The list of players who have cleared waivers is up to ten, with ESPN's Buster Olney reporting nine of them.
- The Dodgers signed first round draft pick Chris Reed for $1.589MM. The Stanford lefty was drafted 16th overall. With just over 25 hours remaining until the draft pick signing deadline, 23 of the 33 first round picks are unsigned.
- A couple of prominent players switched agencies: Blue Jays outfielder Colby Rasmus jumped from Bobby Barad to Beverly Hills Sports Council in advance of his first arbitration year, while Tigers closer Jose Valverde switched from Praver/Shapiro to Proformance a few months prior to the team's decision on his $9MM club option.
- Mets shortstop Jose Reyes was placed on the 15-day DL for a hamstring strain Monday, after missing about two weeks for a similar injury in July. The latest DL stint prompted many analysts to wonder how much Reyes' injuries will cost him as a free agent.
- White Sox lefty John Danks told the Chicago Sun-Times he loves Chicago and hopes to remain with the White Sox. Danks is due a sizeable arbitration raise next year, after which he'll be eligible for free agency.
- Many players landed on the scrap heap last week. J.C. Romero was released by the Yankees, Arthur Rhodes was released by the Rangers, the Red Sox cut Kevin Millwood loose, the Braves released Scott Proctor, the Marlins cut Wes Helms, the Cardinals released Blaine Boyer and Ron Mahay, the Royals released Kyle Davies, and the Pirates released Lyle Overbay. Also, Dave Bush elected free agency from the Cubs.
- Six players were removed from 40-man rosters by being designated for assignment: Luke French (Mariners), Juan Jaime (Diamondbacks), Tim Wood (Pirates), Raul Valdes (Cardinals), Austin Kearns (Indians), and Tommy Manzella (Astros).
- On the positive side, many players were rescued from the scrap heap: Millwood signed with the Rockies, the Yankees brought Proctor back, the Diamondbacks reunited with Overbay, the Phillies inked Jack Cust, the Cardinals signed Rhodes, the Padres signed Pedro Feliz, and the D'Backs claimed Manzella.
Mets Links: Nimmo, Capuano, Igarashi
Having dropped five in a row, the Mets are in line for the 14th overall draft pick next year, but they could certainly make a "run" for a top ten pick. The latest on the team:
- The Mets drafted high school outfielder Brandon Nimmo 13th overall this year. Slot for that pick is $1.656MM, according to Baseball America, though Nimmo may need more. With tomorrow night's deadline looming, will Nimmo sign or will he honor his commitment to Arkansas? Talking to Mike Puma of the New York Post, Brandon's father Ron said the two sides haven't made any progress since draft day (Twitter link). However, Ron feels that both parties have wiggle room.
- Mets starter Chris Capuano cleared waivers, ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted earlier today. That surprised me, as I explained here. Capuano seemed like a decent fit for a contender like the Diamondbacks, even before they lost new acquisition Jason Marquis for about a month to a broken fibula today.
- Mets manager Terry Collins intends to let his current relievers finish out the year, he told ESPN's Adam Rubin. Rubin had previously wondered if today's unimpressive performance from Ryota Igarashi would be the nail in the coffin (Twitter link).
Alex Gordon, Royals Plan To Discuss Extension
It took a few years longer than expected, but Alex Gordon has established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the Royals' lineup. Interest is mutual on a possible extension, reports Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
Asked about staying in Kansas City, Gordon replied with a Napoleon Dynamite-esque, "Heck, yeah." Gordon's agent Casey Close has spoken to Royals GM Dayton Moore, and the two agreed to discuss an extension in the offseason.
Gordon, 27, is hitting .301/.374/.484 in 527 plate appearances this year, his first full season as a left fielder. Dutton writes in praise of Gordon's outfield defense, and UZR concurs. Back when the Royals drafted Gordon second overall in 2005, he played third base.
Gordon, who is represented by Casey Close of Excel Sports Management, is earning $1.4MM this year. His disappointing 2010 season resulted in just a $250K raise, but Gordon's salary will rise by several million for 2012. Barring an extension, he'll be arbitration eligible one more time in 2013 before hitting free agency.
In my opinion, a fair price for Gordon's final two arbitration years would be $9MM total, and then free agent years could be bought out in the $9-11MM range. I could see a four-year deal for under $30MM, perhaps with a club option in the mix.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
MLBTR Originals
MLBTR's top-notch writing team was on fire last week with original content. Let's take a look:
- Ben Nicholson-Smith and I presented our inaugural list of the top GM candidates in baseball, after surveying a diverse group of baseball insiders. We're aiming to bring you interviews with many of the executives on the list over the next few months, so you'll be fully prepared if a GM job opens up.
- Speaking of GMs past and present, Ben scored interviews with John Hart and Andrew Friedman for a piece discussing the parallels between Hart's Indians extensions and Friedman's Rays contracts.
- The Tigers extended manager Jim Leyland and GM Dave Dombrowski, and Ben jumped on the conference call to snag quotes from the latter.
- Tigers closer Jose Valverde is a perfect 35 for 35 in save chances this year, but his recent track record on finding the right agency is not as good. He recently switched to Proformance, MLBTR was first to report. You'll find all the latest info in our one-of-a-kind Agency Database.
- Willie Eyre's first call to the bigs since '09 was first reported on MLBTR.
- Neftali Ruiz and Mario Guerrero brought readers this story on the struggles of Haitian prospects, while our Nick Collias translated their work to English and tied it all together.
- Ben ran through the 2010 non-tenders currently contributing with their new teams. Ben also explained why Twins righty Kevin Slowey is a candidate for the indignity of a non-tender after this season.
- What would it take for the Blue Jays to lock up Brandon Morrow, whose K/9 stands tall over the rest of the American League? Mark Polishuk investigated. Meanwhile, Dan Mennella explored Jonathan Papelbon's free agent prospects.
- Indians fans can only hope the Ubaldo Jimenez trade doesn't end up mirroring Brock-for-Broglio, but Howard Megdal shows why Jimenez and Broglio are trade targets separated at birth.
- Thousands of MLBTR readers voted on polls asking whether the Rays should trade B.J. Upton this winter and which recent Brewers trade was the best.
- Ben answered reader questions on Dontrelle Willis' next contract, this offseason's extension candidates, and what it would take to lock up Michael Bourn, among many others in last week's chat.
- Lots of interesting stuff from baseball blogs around the web last week, collected by Mike Axisa here. Especially notable is Bronx Baseball Daily's interview with C.C. Sabathia.
Quick Hits: Mets, Overbay, Springer, Storen, Stewart
Thanks to our loyal readers, MLBTR generated 3.1 million pageviews over the weekend! We appreciate you making MLBTR a regular stop, and have a lot of cool things planned in the coming months. On to today's links…
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson told ESPN New York's Adam Rubin that he tried to acquire a reliever before the deadline, but to no avail (Twitter link). He would not rule out a trade before August 31st.
- The Red Sox will not have interest in Lyle Overbay, reports Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). The Pirates designated Overbay for assignment today, and as Cafardo notes, he has great numbers in Fenway Park: .323/.395/.500 in 177 plate appearances.
- Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter) doesn't envision Jason Isringhausen re-signing with the Mets this offseason.
- The Astros are very confident that they'll sign first-round pick George Springer, but it may come down to the last week, tweets MLB.com's Alyson Footer. Last week we learned that Springer's father met with the independent league Long Island Ducks.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick names a bunch of waiver trade candidates in his latest article.
- The Twins wanted closer Drew Storen and minor league second baseman Stephen Lombardozzi for center fielder Denard Span, and the Nationals declined, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. I think that would have been a solid deal for Washington.
- The Indians announced they signed infielder Argenis Reyes to a minor league deal; he'd been playing independent ball. In slightly more important news, Ubaldo Jimenez will debut for the Tribe Friday in Texas.
- The extent of Boston's interest in Ubaldo? Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald says exec Allard Baird put in a call on Thursday and the Red Sox weren't in touch after that.
- Both sides have denounced the $30MM figure that was floated for Dylan Bundy, tweets MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. Talks are expected to start this week for the Orioles' fourth overall pick. Ghiroli has more on the topic here. Bundy is advised by Jay Franklin at BBI Sports Group; the company also employs his father.
- The Rockies were close to trading third baseman Ian Stewart to an undisclosed National League team yesterday, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, but the deal fell apart with a half hour to go.
- The Mariners and Red Sox are sharing the costs of Erik Bedard's incentives, reports Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
- Newly-acquired players Zack Wheeler and Jonathan Singelton head updated top ten prospects lists for the Mets and Astros, courtesy of Baseball America's Jim Callis.
Yu Darvish Represented By Arn Tellem, Don Nomura
Nippon-Ham Fighters ace Yu Darvish is represented by Arn Tellem of Wasserman Media Group as well as Don Nomura, MLBTR has confirmed. There had been rumors of a Darvish-Tellem connection dating back to May of last year.
The bigger question, of course, is whether the Fighters will post the superstar righty this offseason. That is currently an unknown. Darvish, 25 this month, has a 1.56 ERA, 10.2 K/9, 1.4 BB/9, and 0.20 HR/9 in 133 innings for the Fighters this year.
Hisashi Iwakuma Hires Sosnick-Cobbe Sports
Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma hired Paul Cobbe of Sosnick-Cobbe Sports as his new agent several months ago, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Iwakuma, who will be a free agent after the season, intends to make another attempt to join an MLB club this winter. You can keep track of all the representation changes with MLBTR's Agency Database.
The Rakuten Golden Eagles posted Iwakuma last year, with the Athletics winning the right to negotiate with him for a reported $19.1MM. The team has been through tough times since having to return that posting fee after talks with the A's broke down. The Eagles are from Sendai, a city that was ravaged by the earthquake and tsunami in March.
Iwakuma's former agent, Don Nomura, said after talks broke off that the A's "never showed any respect" toward his client. He took a jab at the team on Twitter as well, calling their pursuit of Adrian Beltre "just a PR" move. Nomura wanted $12MM a year, while the A's were thinking $3-5MM per year given the commitment they made on the posting fee. The situation was considered an embarrassment for Rakuten and cost Nomura the client.
Crasnick notes that Iwakuma battled a shoulder injury this year. If that's behind him, there's a case to be made that he'll be one of the five best starting pitchers on the free agent market this winter, perhaps commanding three or four years at a salary approaching $10MM per. This year Iwakuma has a 1.67 ERA, 7.5 K/9, 1.5 BB/9, and 0.33 HR/9 in 54 innings. He'll turn 31 in April.
Sosnick-Cobbe also represents Darrell Rasner and Randy Messenger, a couple of American-born pitchers who have sub-3.00 ERAs this year in Japan. I spoke to Sosnick today about the agency's efforts in Japan, and he told me, "We opened an office in Tokyo that we think will serve our Japanese and American clients well. The fact that Paul Cobbe speaks some Japanese has been a huge advantage for us."
Pirates Designate Lyle Overbay For Assignment
The Pirates will designate first baseman Lyle Overbay for assignment, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Pirates have since confirmed the move. Overbay homered yesterday, but it wasn't enough to save his job with the team acquiring Derrek Lee.
Overbay, 34, has a .227/.300/.349 line in 391 plate appearances this year. He signed a $5MM deal in December, which seemed a bit high at the time.