2016 Competitive Balance Lottery Results
The Reds have drawn the first competitive balance selection in the 2016 draft, as Cash Kruth of MLB.com reports. While the precise draft slots remain to be determined, Cincinnati will pick after the conclusion of the first round (including compensation choices).
Here is the order of the selections, which were determined by lottery between the clubs that fell among the ten smallest markets and/or the ten smallest revenue pools league-wide. Other teams that participate in revenue sharing are also eligible, but only for the second round.
Round A (selections occur after first round)
1. Reds
2. Athletics
3. Rockies
4. Diamondbacks
5. Marlins
6. Pirates
Round B (selections occur after second round)
1. Padres
2. Indians
3. Twins
4. Brewers
5. Orioles
6. Rays
These results mean that the Cardinals, Royals, and Mariners failed to receive a pick despite being eligible. With some restrictions, the picks can be traded — and increasingly have been in recent seasons. You can take a look at this year’s draft results and slot values to get an idea of the range of selections (and drafted players) that the most recent competitive balance awards ultimately represented.
Heyman On Cueto, Uribe, Wilson, Brewers, Niese, Pirates, Gallardo
In his latest notes column, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com addressed a number of interesting deadline issues, starting with Reds starter Johnny Cueto. There have been suggestions over concern among buyers with the health of the star righty, but Heyman cites one scout from a team with interest who tells him that Cueto “looks fine.” As far as interest, Heyman pegs the Blue Jays, Royals, Yankees, Dodgers, and Astros as “the most likely and logical landing spots.”
Here are some other highlights from an info-packed piece (which you’ll want to read in full for even more notes):
- The Braves are shopping the recently-acquired Juan Uribe, says Heyman, with the asking price of a “mid-range prospect” and full unloading of the approximately $3MM left on Uribe’s deal. Atlanta has had communications with at least the Mets, per the repor.
- While the Orioles had been looking at adding a starter, Heyman reports that the team now may instead be prioritizing bats. Though the report doesn’t specify a position, we’ve heard in the past that Baltimore had interest in adding to its corner outfield mix.
- Heyman writes that it’ll be interesting to see if Angels lefty C.J. Wilson becomes “even more available” now that Jerry Dipoto has resigned as the general manager. Per Heyman, Wilson was close with Dipoto, and the Wilson signing (five years, $77.5MM) was the one significant free agent pickup that Dipoto was actually responsible for. Angels owner Arte Moreno was behind the Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton signings, as many other reports have indicated over the years.
- The Brewers are officially open for business and “may be considering a rather big sale,” one competing team exec tells Heyman. Interest in Jean Segura is down due to his poor play since an early 2013 breakout, but Gerardo Parra‘s big year has lots of clubs asking about him. Mike Fiers, Wily Peralta and Francisco Rodriguez are drawing interest, and the Brewers are open to packaging some of those players to improve the return.
- The Jon Niese saga continues, as Heyman hears that the lefty now doesn’t seem particularly available, with one Mets person telling Heyman that Niese never really was. In other Mets news, Heyman hears that the team floated the idea of a Rafael Montero-for-Ben Zobrist swap when Montero was still healthy, but Montero, of course, has since been injured. The Mets have also talked about Uribe, but there are other names higher on their list.
- While some have connected the Pirates to Ben Revere and Jeff Francoeur, the Bucs might be aiming a bit higher, looking at Marlon Byrd of the Reds and Aramis Ramirez of the Brewers — both former Pirates. Heyman lists Ben Zobrist as a target for the Bucs as well. Earlier today the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Bill Brink linked Pittsburgh to Zobrist, Cliff Pennington and Clint Barmes.
- Yovani Gallardo could hit the trade market if the Rangers end up selling short-term pieces, and he’s not interested in springing for an early extension with his hometown team. Agent Bobby Witt has apparently told the Rangers that Gallardo is looking forward to testing the free agent market.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Pitching Market, O’s, Zunino, Inciarte, Astros
In his latest notes post for FOX Sports, Ken Rosenthal writes that while he opined on Saturday that pitching-hungry GMs should act sooner rather than later, he spoke to one exec yesterday that plans to wait until the trade deadline is nearly at hand, believing prices will drop late in the month. A second exec opined to Rosenthal, though, that the market for pitchers other than Johnny Cueto and Cole Hamels will soften in the coming days. Rosenthal gets the sense that the trade market will “erupt” and action will be “frenetic,” but it might take awhile to reach that boiling point.
Some highlights from his column (though I’d recommend checking out the entire column)…
- Orioles GM Dan Duquette is very serious about wanting to add a bat and has indeed expressed interest in Jay Bruce, Justin Upton and Carlos Gomez, but as Rosenthal notes, the Orioles may have the thinnest farm system in the game. Baseball America ranked Baltimore’s farm just 29th heading into the season, and that was before recent injuries to top arms Dylan Bundy and Hunter Harvey. The team has some interesting names ready at the Triple-A level, but they also need to replace departing free agents Chris Davis, Matt Wieters and Wei-Yin Chen and will need to rely on the farm to fill some of those holes.
- The Mariners aren’t just looking for a backup to Mike Zunino, Rosenthal hears, but a veteran option who would allow them to send Zunino back to Triple-A. Of course, he points out the fact that Seattle had such a player in the form of Welington Castillo but traded him to the D-Backs in the Mark Trumbo deal, only to watch Castillo out-hit Trumbo.
- The Padres talked with the Diamondbacks about a trade that would’ve brought both Aaron Hill and Ender Inciarte to San Diego during Spring Training, and they’ve made a much more recent inquiry on Inciarte than that as well. The D-Backs are also receiving interest in David Peralta, Rosenthal writes, but Arizona isn’t motivated to trade either outfielder. Both are controlled through the 2020 season. Inciarte is a logical trade candidate for the Padres, in my mind, as a plus defender in center field and a left-handed bat — two things which the club currently lacks.
- The Phillies may end up hanging on to Jeff Francoeur rather than trading him, according to Rosenthal. While a last-place team hanging onto a short-term veteran such as Francoeur seems counter-intuitive, he notes that the return on Francoeur would be extremely minimal, so the team may value his leadership over the warm body they’d receive for trading him. I agree that the return on Francoeur, who’s hitting .257/.288/.449 with suspect range in the corner outfield, wouldn’t be all that exciting.
- The Astros do want to add a bat, but the team’s search for starting pitcher is a significantly greater priority, sources tell Rosenthal. GM Jeff Luhnow did tell MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart on Friday that getting a bat is a growing area of focus, however, and Chris Carter hasn’t played since Friday due to an ankle sprain. (He and other Houston first basemen have struggled at the plate even when healthy, as well.)
NL Notes: Mercer, Morel, Cueto, Bruce, Alvarez, Upton
Pirates infielder Jordy Mercer was injured by a take out slide while turning a double play earlier today. The extent of the injury is unknown. The Pirates may activate utility infielder Brent Morel if Mercer misses more than a few days, writes Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The club is already carrying a short bench, and none of the three healthy players have experience at third base. Morel was pulled from his Triple-A start today. The Pirates 40-man roster is full, so activating Morel will require a roster move.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter) heard that the Reds did not want to trade Johnny Cueto last month because they feared having to watch him pitch for another team in the All-Star Game. Of course, Cueto was not named an All-Star and he remains a member of the Reds as of this writing.
- The Orioles are among the teams scouting the Reds, tweets Morosi. They’re most interested in Cueto and outfielder Jay Bruce. Cueto is a free agent after the season, but Bruce is under contract through 2016 for $12.5MM with a $13MM ($1MM buyout) for 2017.
- Pirates manager Clint Hurdle acknowledged the challenges Pedro Alvarez is having in his first season at first base, but he told reporters, including Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that he’s not about to lobby GM Neal Huntington to make a move. “I think our [GM] knows as well as I do what we’re looking to identify as strengths and weaknesses on our club,” Hurdle said. “We will do everything we can to fortify and make our club better. I’m not a fan of saying OK, we need A, B and C when A, B and C are out there [in the clubhouse].”
- Justin Upton was pulled out of today’s game early, but it wasn’t a sign of an impending trade as many speculated. The Padres simply had a muscle tighten up on him in the middle of today’s contest and he was pulled from the game as a precaution due to weather, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
Orioles Interested In Upton, Gomez
4:08pm: The O’s have also inquired on Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. As Rosenthal writes, it’s questionable as to whether the Orioles have the prospects necessary for a big move.
Rosenthal reported on Saturday that the Astros have also scouted Gomez. Late last week, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported that the Brewers are now showing a willingness to trade both Gomez and Jean Segura.
3:50pm: The Astros also have interest in Upton, Morosi tweets. The Astros are on their way to a 51-43 record as they lead the Rangers by a wide margin.
3:45pm: The Orioles have expressed interest in trading for Padres outfielder Justin Upton, sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The O’s have been looking to add an outfielder this season.
The Orioles aren’t the first team to show interest in Upton this summer. The Mets are reportedly aiming high in their pursuit of outfield help and Upton is high on their list. Upton, who is in his first year with the Padres, is owed the prorated portion of a $14.5MM salary for the rest of the season. Through 370 plate appearances this season, Upton owns a slash line of .252/.331/.426 with 15 homers plus 17 stolen bases.
For his part, Upton said recently that he hopes to stay in San Diego.
“At this point, I haven’t given up on the team,” said Upton late last week. “I really like the guys, and I like the clubhouse. We still have some time to change the minds of the front office. In a perfect world, we play well over the next two or three weeks and [GM] A.J. [Preller] pumps the brakes on dismantling the team.”
The Orioles are 46-45 after topping the Tigers earlier today, putting them 4.0 games behind the first place Yankees in the AL East.
NL Central Notes: Reds, Parra, Soriano, Alvarez
The Reds have opened the doors on a fire sale, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Todd Frazier will stay put. Billy Hamilton probably isn’t going anywhere. Most others are probably on the table. Fay expects at least four players to be traded, presumably Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake, Aroldis Chapman, and Marlon Byrd as a starting point. Others like Brandon Phillips, Jay Bruce, and Skip Schumaker are also expected to be shopped. The Reds are seven games below .500 and 15.5 games back in the NL Central. It’s probably too late for a rebound.
Here’s more news out of the NL Central:
- Gerardo Parra‘s strong play has all but ensured that he’ll be traded by the Brewers, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Parra is in the midst of a career season, hitting .311/.345/.502 with nine home runs and six stolen bases. Known for fantastic defense, he’s actually struggled this year per Ultimate Zone Rating (-9.8 UZR). Still, plenty of playoff teams have need of a high average, left-handed outfielder.
- Cubs manager Joe Maddon said reliever Rafael Soriano might be “up sooner than planned,” tweets Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Soriano was signed on June 12. He has a career 2.85 ERA and 207 saves in 630 innings. The Cubs have manufactured a pseudo-closer battle. They demoted Hector Rondon from the role earlier in the summer despite solid production. The club also recently called up Neil Ramirez – another candidate for saves.
- The Pirates would probably like to de-emphasize Pedro Alvarez, reports Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The former third baseman has continued his defensive ineptitude at first base with 15 errors. He’s also offered a .233/.299/.424 slash which is well below average for a first baseman. Unfortunately, the Pirates will have to look outside of the organization to move beyond Alvarez. Adam Lind is probably the most notable first baseman on the trade market. If the Pirates get creative, they could also try a three-team swap for Jon Singleton. Typically, Pittsburgh will look for fringier options like Chris Parmelee. We heard earlier this evening that the Orioles may soon designate Parmelee for assignment.
East Notes: Buchholz, Kelly, Sandberg, Yankees
Red Sox ace Clay Buchholz will see Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on his strained flexor tendon, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Buchholz doesn’t believe the injury is more serious than originally thought. However, he trusts Andrews’ opinion as an impartial observer, and they have consulted over previous injuries. Interestingly, Buchholz mentioned his contract status as a reason to seek an opinion outside of the organization. The Red Sox own team options for 2016 and 2017.
Here’s more from the East divisions:
- Marlins utility man Don Kelly had season-ending Tommy John surgery, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Kelly got into just two games for the Marlins in early April. He also spent a short stint at High-A. In 1,190 plate appearances, mostly with the Tigers, he’s a .232/.296/.335 hitter.
- A roster move is in the Orioles immediate future and Chris Parmelee may wind up with the short straw, writes Roch Kubatko of MASN. The club plans to recall Kevin Gausman for a start on Wednesday. The O’s are currently carrying just 11 pitchers, so a position player will have to go. In addition to Parmelee, I could see Ryan Flaherty, David Lough, and Nolan Reimold as players who could be designated. Jonathan Schoop could be temporarily optioned if Baltimore didn’t want to risk losing anybody. Also per Kubatko, the Orioles are monitoring prospect Dariel Alvarez. They could promote him soon despite concerns about his defense and plate discipline.
- When Ryne Sandberg resigned as Phillies manager, it caught colleague and friend Larry Bowa by surprise, writes Jim Salisbury of Philly.com. In an interesting interview, Bowa offered some opinions as to why Sandberg walked away. In addition to expected changes related to the hiring of Andy MacPhail, Bowa posits that Sandberg was fed up with a lack of work ethic in modern players. Bowa offers quite a bit more nuance so I recommend Phillies fans read the article.
- According to assistant GM Billy Eppler, the Yankees are engaged in several trade discussions, reports Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. Eppler played coy to the specifics, but he did note that it would be hard for the club to outdo the reinforcements they received off the disabled list – namely Jacoby Ellsbury and Andrew Miller.
Top Picks Funkhouser, Singer, Hughes, Cody Do Not Sign
The deadline for 2015 draft picks to sign is today at 5pm ET, and entering Friday, there were seven players from the top two rounds that remained unsigned: No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson; Dodgers top picks Walker Buehler (No. 24) and Kyle Funkhouser (No. 35); Brewers Competitive Balance (A) pick Nathan Kirby (No. 40); Blue Jays second-rounder Brady Singer (No. 56); Orioles second-rounder Jonathan Hughes (No. 68); and Twins Competitive Balance (B) pick Kyle Cody (No. 73).
Swanson, Buehler and Kirby have reportedly agreed to sign, but we’ll run down the list of top picks that have elected not to sign right here…
- Baseball America’s John Manuel reports (on Twitter) that Cody will not sign with the Twins and will instead return to Kentucky for his senior season. Minnesota will receive the No. 74 pick in this year’s draft.
- Singer will indeed attend college rather than sign with the Blue Jays, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. As Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper tweets, this marks the third time in five seasons that the Blue Jays have failed to sign a first- or second-round pick. Toronto will receive the No. 57 pick in next year’s draft.
Earlier Updates
- Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that the D-Backs have offered Swanson a bonus of $6.5MM or more, but he’s yet to decide on whether or not to accept. That’s about $2.116MM below the slot value at No. 1 overall. Swanson is reportedly being advised by Casey Close of Excel Sports Management.
- It “looks like” Singer will attend Florida rather than sign with the Blue Jays, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter links). That’s not the same definitive type of report listed below, however, so there would at least appear to be room for the two sides to strike a last-minute deal in the final hour. The Blue Jays would receive the 57th pick in next year’s draft if the high-school righty elects college over pro ball.
- Funkhouser tweeted today that he will not sign with the Dodgers and will instead return to Louisville for his senior season. The college right-hander was at one point thought to be a potential Top 10 pick, but as Baseball America’s Teddy Cahill wrote last night, attrition of Funkhouser’s stuff as the draft approached caused his stock to slip. CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reported that the Dodgers offered Funkhouser roughly $2MM, which was above his $1.756MM slot, though also considerably lower than the amount he’d have gotten without the late dip in his draft stock. The Dodgers will receive the No. 36 pick in the 2016 draft as compensation, and they’ll now turn their focus to signing Buehler, a right-hander out of Vanderbilt. Because Funkhouser did not sign, however, his $1.756MM slot value will be subtracted from the Dodgers’ allotted draft pool.
- MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports that Hughes will not sign with the Orioles and will instead Georgia Tech. A high school righty out of Georgia, Hughes’ No. 68 overall slot came with a value of $907K, though it’s not clear what sort of offer the Orioles made. Baltimore will be awarded the 69th pick in next year’s draft as compensation for failure to sign Hughes. Still, the loss of a top pick just one year after not picking until the third round (the Orioles forfeited draft picks to sign both Nelson Cruz and Ubaldo Jimenez) and just months after trading a Competitive Balance pick to the Dodgers to relieve themselves of Ryan Webb‘s salary is a tough blow for the Baltimore farm system. They did, however, net an extra pick when Cruz, who had received a qualifying offer, signed in Seattle.
Orioles Agree To Minors Deals With Dana Eveland, Andy Oliver
The Orioles have agreed to minor league contracts with left-handers Dana Eveland and Andy Oliver, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter links). Both will head to Triple-A, according to Kubatko.
Eveland, a client of PSI Sports Management, began the year in the Red Sox organization but opted out of his deal after pitching well at the Triple-A level. He signed with the Braves and joined their big league roster but pitched just 3 1/3 innings before being designated for assignment and released.
The 31-year-old Eveland returned to Major League Baseball last season after spending the 2013 campaign pitching for the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization. He made 30 appearances with the Mets and worked to a 2.63 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 27 1/3 innings. Despite that solid performance, Eveland settled for a minor league contract this past offseason. In 25 innings split between Triple-A Pawtucket (Boston) and Gwinnett (Atlanta) this season, Eveland has worked to a 1.54 ERA with 23 strikeouts and three walks.
Oliver was selected in the minor league portion of the most recent Rule 5 Draft by the Phillies but was cut loose in Spring Training. He ended up with the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate, where he notched a 3.86 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 28 innings. However, Oliver also walked a troublesome 24 hitters in that time. Control problems have long plagued Oliver, who was once one of the more promising prospects in the Tigers’ farm system. He’ll hope to reach the Majors for the first time since 2011 with the Orioles.
Heyman’s Latest: Dodgers/Hamels, Braves, Frazier, Price, Brewers, Upton
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports kicks off his weekly Inside Baseball column by reporting that the Dodgers have “quietly continued having dialogue with the Phillies” regarding Cole Hamels. The Dodgers are also giving serious consideration to the rental market and prioritizing Johnny Cueto over others among such targets. The Dodgers “appear determined” to land a top-of-the-rotation arm to pair with Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, writes Heyman, but most executives think they’ll hold onto top prospects Corey Seager and Julio Urias. The Dodgers have a deep farm system beyond that pairing (righty Jose De Leon has recently been ranked a Top 25 prospect by Baseball America and ESPN), and one exec tells Heyman that the Phillies’ asking price on Hamels has become “more reasonable” recently. The Dodgers feel that Greinke is a lock to opt out of his contract at the end of the season, and while they could possibly re-sign him by adding a year or two to the deal and upping his $24.5MM AAV, Hamels would provide insurance should Greinke sign elsewhere. Jeff Samardzija is also a consideration for the Dodgers, but while they like him, they consider him more of a No. 2/3 starter and don’t love him.
Some more highlights from Heyman’s article, though the synopsis won’t cover everything within the piece, so I’d highly recommend reading it in its entirety…
- The Braves will be deadline sellers, Heyman hears, with Jim Johnson, Juan Uribe and Cameron Maybin among the players that will be available to interested teams. Chris Johnson, too, continues to be available, but there are no takers for his contract, which Atlanta has aggressively tried to move in the past.
- With the Reds expected to trade so many veterans to other clubs, many in the industry expect the team to make a run at extending Todd Frazier beyond his current two-year deal, Heyman writes. (Frazier has one more year of arbitration following his current pact.) Jeff Todd and I have discussed Frazier’s situation on the MLBTR Podcast in the past (and will do so again this afternoon), and I’ve personally taken the stance that given the significant commitments to Joey Votto and Homer Bailey, the Reds could have a difficult time affording Frazier, whose 2014-15 breakout has hugely inflated his price tag. Given the lack of impact bats on the trade market, Frazier would net a king’s ransom and could rapidly expedite the rebuilding process, though the PR hit of trading him with so much control and on the heels of a Home Run Derby victory would of course be significant.
- In other Reds news, Heyman hears Mike Leake‘s ground-ball tendencies are appealing to AL East clubs, and he’s drawn interest from the Blue Jays, Orioles and Red Sox in addition to the Royals, Dodgers, Rangers, Cubs and Giants. Manny Parra and Marlon Byrd are both “likely to go” as well.
- Asked about the possibility of signing with the Cubs this offseason due to his relationship with skipper Joe Maddon, Tigers ace David Price replied, “Wherever I play baseball next year it’s not going to be because of a manager.”
- The Astros are interested in both Cueto and Leake, and Houston seems willing to deal from its glut of MLB-ready outfield prospects, including Domingo Santana and Preston Tucker. (Previous reports have indicated they’re reluctant to part with Brett Phillips, however, who may be the best among the outfield bunch.)
- The Brewers are now showing a willingness to trade both Carlos Gomez and Jean Segura, Heyman hears. Though it was previously believed they were reluctant to move Segura, the emergence of Orlando Arcia (the younger brother of the Twins’ Oswaldo Arcia) may have changed Milwaukee’s thinking. However, Arcia himself is also drawing a huge amount of trade interest, and the Padres have called to express interest. One NL exec called him the best player he’s seen in the minors this year, while another comped him to Francisco Lindor, but said Arcia is better. Regarding Segura, Heyman hears that the Mets dislike his free-swinging approach.
- The Twins aren’t closed off to the idea of re-acquiring Gomez from the Brewers, but their primary focus at this point is bullpen help.
- The Mets are aiming high in their pursuit of an outfield bat and have both Gomez and Justin Upton on their radar. They’re not likely to add Aramis Ramirez from the Brewers unless they receive bad news on the prognosis of David Wright. They also have little interest in swinging a deal for Uribe.
- Padres officials insist that they haven’t determined their course of action heading into the deadline, but Heyman writes that free-agents-to-be such as Upton, Ian Kennedy, Joaquin Benoit and Will Venable could be traded regardless. James Shields‘ backloaded contract limits his value, but one GM felt Benoit has “big value” and Heyman notes that Craig Kimbrel would be in huge demand as well, should the Padres try to recoup some value from that deal.
- Cueto, Samardzija and Leake are atop the Blue Jays‘ wish list, and the team was also in talks with the Braves regarding Jason Grilli prior to his season-ending injury. A top starting pitcher is Toronto’s top priority at this point, says Heyman. He also adds that there’s no evidence to suggest that manager John Gibbons is on the hot seat.