Cafardo On Lee, Papelbon, Sizemore, Rios
In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders if George Brett is being groomed to be the Royals' next manager now that he has committed to being with the team every day as hitting coach. Dennis Gilbert, who represented Brett as an agent and who has fallen short in bids to purchase the Dodgers, Padres, and Rangers, would have installed Brett as manager had he landed one of those clubs. Brett could very well be Ned Yost’s eventual replacement if he boosts Kansas City's offense, but there’s also a lot of sentiment for Jim Fregosi, who has ties to GM Dayton Moore. Here's more from today's column..
- Cafardo spoke to a couple dozen executives, scouts, and players over the past few days about who the top player on the trade block will be and the consensus was Phillies left-hander Cliff Lee. The Red Sox, Orioles, Indians, Angels, and Rangers would really like to have Lee and there are many more clubs who could be in the mix, including the Dodgers and the Yankees, who say they can’t swing it but have the means to do it. One American League exec indicated there would be 20 teams lined up for Lee. Lee might be the last guy Ruben Amaro Jr. wants to trade, but he'd yield the greatest return.
- The Phillies have another interesting piece in Jonathan Papelbon and if they decide they are retooling, they probably don’t need a top closer. Several baseball people say the Tigers would be a tremendous fit for Papelbon since pairing him with that starting rotation would be rather formidable. He would also be an option for the Angels and Red Sox, but the Sox want to give Andrew Bailey every chance to do the job. The Indians would also be a possibility.
- It shouldn’t be long before a long list of teams start to inquire about free agent Grady Sizemore. Sizemore has begun baseball activities after being sidelined by knee surgeries and so far he’s had no setbacks. Cafardo suggests the Mets could be a fit as they are in need of outfield help.
- The White Sox, Blue Jays, and Twins might hold some of this year's top trade chips. “Alex Rios, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, and you can add Justin Morneau, are definitely the major guys scouts are focusing on,” said one AL GM.
- After Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury stole five bases Thursday night against the Phillies, it started to dawn on people — including some in the Philadelphia organization — that Ellsbury would be a nice piece in the Phillies’ lineup next season. However, he also hurt his groin during the game, and the injury question popped up.
Orioles Sign Jon Rauch
9:10pm: Rauch has a June 18th opt out with the O's, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Baltimore will then have 48 hours to respond to the veteran's request at that date.
1:03pm: The Orioles announced that they have agreed to a minor league deal with pitcher Jon Rauch. The right-hander, who is represented by Turner Gary Sports according to the MLBTR Agency Database, will report to Triple-A Norfolk.
Rauch was designated for assignment by the Marlins earlier this month in order to create room on the 40-man roster for Duane Below. Rauch signed a one-year, $1MM deal with the Marlins in February and posted a 6.89 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 15 and 2/3 innings. The 34-year-old owns a career 3.88 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 over 594 big league innings.
Rosenthal On Hughes, Gallardo, Kershaw, Pirates
Here’s a look at some highlights from the latest edition of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..
- At the age of 27, Phil Hughes will be the youngest pitcher on the open market by far. The Yankees hurler figures to be more in demand that one might think thanks to his high strikeout rate, low walk rate, postseason experience, and his ability to survive – and sometimes thrive – in New York. Hughes’ biggest flaw is giving up a lot of home runs, but a more forgiving ballpark could help correct that. Rosenthal suggests that he would do well in the pitcher-friendly parks of the Mets, Padres, Mariners, and Tigers.
- The trade market for starting pitchers doesn’t look very attractive at this point, but Yovani Gallardo is one player to keep an eye on. Gallardo hasn’t done especially well this season for the Brewers and his fastball velocity is trending downward, but he might be better than any other starter on the block. He’s also relatively affordable as he makes $7.75MM this season and $11.25MM next season with a $13MM option for 2015.
- The Dodgers might not be in as strong of a position for Robinson Cano as they initially appeared. Clayton Kershaw is going to go for ~$200MM and the team might not be able to take another contract in that range. As Josh Kosman and Mark DeCambre of the New York Post reported earlier this week, the club will have to commit a greater percentage of their deal to revenue sharing than the originally thought. That could cost them more than $1B over 25 years and that could affect their ability to maintain skyhigh payrolls.
- Much has been made of the workloads of the Pirates‘ top relievers, triggering speculation that they’ll have to trade for relief help at the deadline. That could happen, but team officials note that Jason Grilli and Mark Melancon both have been quite efficient while Justin Wilson has gone back-to-back just twice in his multi-inning role this season. The club also has a number of intriguing options waiting in the wings in Triple-A, most notably Ryan Reid and Jared Hughes.
2014 Vesting Options Update
With two months of baseball in the books, here's a look at the players who have vesting options for the 2014 season..
- Kurt Suzuki, Nationals: $9.25MM option vests with 113 starts in 2013. Suzuki was slated to split time behind the plate with Wilson Ramos this season, but Ramos' hamstring has forced the club to give the veteran catcher 39 starts thus far (counting tonight's game). The most recent update on Ramos, courtesy of the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore, says that he'll be sidelined until around July 1st. If Ramos heals up and takes starts away from Suzuki, it will be a club option worth $8.5MM with a modest $650K buyout.
- Jamey Carroll, Twins: $2MM option vests with 401 plate appearances. Carroll has 105 PAs in 27 games this season. The veteran has had more than his needed total in each of the last three seasons with 500+ plate appearances in each of the last two years.
- Wilson Betemit, Orioles: $3.2MM option vests with 324 plate appearances (combined 700 between 2012 and 2013). Betemit underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on March 26th and a late May update (from Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com) indicates that he still hasn't been cleared for baseball activities.
- Lance Berkman, Rangers: $13MM option vests with 550 plate appearances. So far, Berkman has 199 plate appearances to his credit and is on pace to lock in his 2014 option with ease. In 2011, his last full season, the slugger racked up 587 PAs.
- Roy Halladay, Phillies: $20MM option vests with 259 innings pitched (combined 415 innings pitched between '12 and '13). This was a longshot to begin with, but shoulder surgery earlier this month makes this one impossible.
- Brett Myers, Indians: $8MM option vests with 200 innings pitched in 2013 and a passed physical after the season. After logging 21 and 1/3 innings in 2013, Myers was sidelined with tendinitis and a mild ligament sprain in his right elbow and has yet to return. When he does come back, it's possible that the Tribe will move him to the bullpen.
- Barry Zito, Giants: $18MM option vests with 200 innings pitched. Zito has racked up 62 and 2/3 innings through eleven starts this season. It's far from a lock, but as it stands the veteran still has a chance at securing his 2014 salary. His numbers are strong as he has a 3.88 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9.
- Johan Santana, Mets: His $25MM option could have vested with 215 innings pitched or winning the 2013 Cy Young Award, but he won't have a chance at that thanks to a season-ending tear in his pitching shoulder.
It's also worth noting that Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano has a $8MM club option for 2014, but it can vest at any of three levels – $5MM, $6MM, or $8MM – based on the number of days he is not on the DL this year with a recurrence of his right arm injury. It's not known how many days the hurler must steer clear of right arm trouble in order to trigger each level of his option, however. The left-hander made his season debut on May 11th.
David Huff Clears Waivers
David Huff has cleared waivers and accepted the Yankees' assignment to Triple-A Scranton, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has learned. The Bombers designated Huff for assignment earlier this week to clear room on the roster for the return of Joba Chamberlain.
Huff has been moved around quite a bit in recent days as he was designated for assignment by the Indians on May 23rd and claimed by the Yankees two days later. The 28-year-old has a 5.40 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 across 52 career big league starts and six relief appearances. Huff, who was drafted 39th overall in 2006 by the Indians, made just three relief appearances for the Tribe in 2013.
Phillies Notes: Brown, Draft, Smith
While some people were down on Domonic Brown, who had just 12 career Major League homers entering the season and hit .233/.309/.372 this April, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel believed that he could put together a streak of success at the plate, writes MLB.com’s Stephen Pianovich. “I’ve made statements about guys like Jim Thome, Brian Giles, guys like that,” Manuel said. “And I’ve had guys in meetings say ‘I’m going to tell you to shut up.’ By the end of the year, they don’t tell me to shut up. Seriously, I can name you a lot of guys. That’s part of loving the game. That’s also part of stand up and put what you see.” Here’s more out of Philly, courtesy of Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer..
- The Phillies are likely to grab a position player with the 16th overall pick in the draft, according to Brookover. Assistant GM Marti Wolever admitted that he likes first baseman Dominic Smith who comes from the same high school in Northern California that produced Barry Bonds, Jim Fregosi, and Gregg Jefferies.
- The Phillies can look to the rival Braves and Nationals for a reminder of how important the draft is, writes Brookover. The Nats have eight players on their 25-man roster that they drafted from 2007-2011 while the Phillies have just four in Justin De Fratus (rd. 11, 2007), Michael Stutes (rd. 11, 2008), Tyler Cloyd (rd. 18, 2008), Joe Savery (18th overall, 2007).
- More from Brookover, who writes that the outfield is an issue in the club’s farm system. Meanwhile, Brown is an example of a draft risk on an outfielder that paid off. “I know they picked him in the 20th round, but everybody thought he was going to play football and they gave him a lot of money,” the scout said. Brown got a $200K bonus from the Phillies, which was quite high for a player taken that late in the draft.
Beltway Notes: Strasburg, Orioles, Nats, Rauch
Here's a look at the latest on the Nationals and Orioles..
- It makes no sense to question the Nationals' decision last year to put an innings limit on Stephen Strasburg's arm last year due to his current troubles, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Strasburg's is dealing with an oblique injury while last year's move was made in order to protect his arm.
- Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com (Twitter link) asked Dan Duquette if Jon Rauch has an opt out clause in his deal but the Orioles GM didn't answer. That leads Ghiroli to surmise that he probably has one in his contract. The O's signed the veteran hurler to a minor league deal earlier today.
- Duquette says that Rauch replaces the veteran experience of Luis Ayala, Ghiroli tweets. The Orioles shipped the reliever to the Braves back in April for minor league lefty Chris Jones.
- Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link) notes that the Orioles had interest in Rauch over the offseason before he signed with the Marlins. The 34-year-old got a $1MM deal with incentives from Miami.
Draft Notes: Astros, Moran, Gray
Although it has been rumored that the Astros may draft North Carolina third baseman Colin Moran with the No. 1 overall pick, it's an unlikely scenario, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. While Moran could be signed to an under-slot deal as the Astros did last year with top selection Carlos Correa, Moran lacks the legitimate No.1 talent of Correa. Callis argues that although skimping on their first round pick would allow the club to spend more in other parts of the draft, he does not think the talent in later rounds is worthy of large bonuses. Here is a look at some more news from June’s amateur draft..
- Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle tweets that Jonathan Gray tops the Astros draft board with fellow right-hander Mark Appel a close second. Sluggers Kris Bryant and Moran round out their current top four according to Smith.
- Front office personnel have to adapt to changes in the draft process, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. General Manager Jack Zduriencik of the Mariners and Rays Executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman have adjusted to new rules concerning spending, the ability to trade picks, and may soon have to navigate an international draft as well. Although an international draft will not place until at least 2015, Friedman is ready for that type of event, which in his opinion would alter “the game theory of the draft.”
- Gonzaga left-hander Marco Gonzales is a likely first-rounder, reports Terry Frei of the Denver Post. The Colorado native was selected by the Rockies in the 29th round in 2010, but has significantly improved his draft stock since then, likely falling somewhere between the Rockies' first two picks at No. 3 and No. 42.
Max Fogle contributed to this post.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Kickham, Brown, Indians
On this date in 1965, an all-switch-hitting infield started a big league game for the first time ever. In the nightcap of a twin bill, the Dodgers, with Wes Parker at first base, Jim Lefebvre at second, Maury Wills at shortstop and Jim Gilliam at third, lost to the visiting Reds, 6-1. Here's this week's look around the baseball blogosphere..
- I R Fast scouted Giants hurler Michael Kickham.
- That Ball's Outta Here wondered if Domonic Brown is for real.
- Indians Baseball Insider profiled a Double-A outfielder in the Tribe's system.
- Bronx Baseball Daily explained the significance of a healthy Yankees club.
- Halos Daily remembered Chan Ho Park's dropkick.
- NASORB noted that Dustin Ackley and Kyle Seager are moving in very different directions.
- Phoul Ballz chatted with Phillies reliever Justin De Fratus.
- 108 Stitches gave a tip of the cap to Albert Pujols.
- Feelin' Kinda Blue introduced everyone to Dodgers prospect Julio Urias.
- The War Room broke down the Phillies' issues with some alliteration.
- Lasorda's Lair stood up for Tim Federowicz.
- Success With No Salary examined the Marlins.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.
Draft Notes: Moran, Gray, Astros, Appel, Twins
Third baseman Colin Moran is shooting up draft boards and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com hears that he could even go first overall to the Astros. Could the UNC product jump past both Jonathan Gray and Mark Appel to be the top choice in the 2013 draft? Here's today's draft links..
- Senior scouting officials from the Astros met with Gray during the recent Big 12 Tournament, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports.
- Appel made the right call in not taking the Pirates' offer in 2012 and re-entering the draft this year, suggest sources of ESPN's Jason Churchill.
- The latest mock draft from Keith Law of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) has Moran slated to go to the Astros. Law doesn't think Houston will make a formal decision on the pick until Thursday, but the buzz within the industry has them leaning towards Moran. The reasoning is that the third baseman's next-best alternative is to go No. 5 to Cleveland, where his slot value is less than $3.8MM. Because of that, the Astros could offer him about $4MM or so and know he'd accept it. The value of the No. 1 pick is $7.2MM, which would leave the Astros with enough to grab top talents who fall to picks 40 and 74. They could take Gray but they wouldn't pocket much by doing that and they're not on Clint Frazier or Kris Bryant. Appel doesn't seem to be one of their top two options either. Also noteworthy – Law's scenario has Gray falling to the Indians at No. 5.
- Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com's mock draft has Gray going No. 1 followed by Appel and Bryant. At No. 4, Mayo now has right-hander Kohl Stewart going to the Twins. Yesterday, Twins VP Mike Radcliff told Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN that he won't rule out Stewart due to his diabetes.