Orioles Rumors

Draft Links: Cole, Orioles, Phillies, Cardinals

By Dan Mennella | June 6, 2011 at 9:47am CDT

The day of the First-Year Player Draft is finally upon us. Here's the latest news and rumors as tonight's event draws nearer …

The Pirates, as has been speculated for several days, will take UCLA righty Gerrit Cole with the No. 1 overall pick, according to Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com.
The Orioles have long been linked to prep pitcher Dylan Bundy out of Oklahoma with the No. 4 pick, but they may be shifting focus to Archie Bradley, another prep pitcher, writes Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com.
Ed Barkowitz of Philly.com identifies TCU lefty Matt Purke as a possibility for the Phillies with their first pick, No. 39. Purke, who was a first-round pick of the Rangers in 2009 but didn't sign, has seen his stock tumble as a result of shoulder troubles.
Because the Cardinals have only one pick on Day 1 of the draft and only two in the top 100, they're less likely to take risky players, writes Nathan Hart of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. The Redbirds are tentatively planning to take a position player, though that is not definite.
The Rangers are looking at Massachusetts prep righty Tyler Beede, writes Jamey Newberg of the Newberg Report, noting how difficult it can be to accurately predict draft picks.
The Rockies are still on Utah first baseman C.J. Cron at No. 20, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (via Twitter).
It's never too late to draft a superstar, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo!, who runs down some of the best steals in draft history.
The Dodgers worked out Trevor Gretzky, Wayne's son, and Ryan Garvey, Steve's son, on Sunday, writes Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, though both players have committed to college.
Red Sox outfielder Darnell McDonald has had a strange journey through the minors, which is why drafting two-sport stars is tricky, writes Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com. Ryan Hannable, also of WEEI.com, has tallied up the experts' projections for the Red Sox's draft picks.
Owning the first overall pick in the draft does not guarantee future success, writes Rob Neyer of SBNation.com.

Cafardo’s Latest: Beltran, Guerrero, Marquis, Soria

By Luke Adams 2 | June 5, 2011 at 11:37am CDT

In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe discusses Buster Posey and Scott Cousins, examines what went wrong with Daisuke Matsuzaka, and lists 25 of baseball's most passionate people. Here are the other highlights from Cafardo's piece:

A National League talent evaluator on Carlos Beltran: "A contending team is going to get Beltran at the trading deadline, and they’re going to be very happy with him. He can still hit. He can be an emotional guy, but put him in a place where it counts, and he’ll produce for you."
At least a couple National League teams are eyeing Vladimir Guerrero as a potential trade deadline pickup. As Cafardo notes, the primary concern for NL clubs is how significant a defensive liability Guerrero would be.
Jason Marquis could be had in a trade if the Nationals received young talent in return. Cafardo speculates that Josh Reddick would be enough to acquire Marquis, but the Red Sox appear to be content with Tim Wakefield at the back of their rotation for now.
Joakim Soria's demotion from the closer's role doesn't make him any more available via trade. Cafardo spoke to Royals people who said the team still wasn't considering dealing Soria.

Nine Teams In Violation Of Debt Service Rules

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 3, 2011 at 3:22pm CDT

The Dodgers and Mets are among the nine MLB teams in violation of MLB’s debt service rules, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. The regulations came into being in 2002 and are intended to limit a team’s debt to ten times its yearly earnings and ensure that each team can pay its bills. The Orioles, Cubs, Tigers, Marlins, Phillies, Rangers and Nationals are also in violation of the rules, according to Shaikin.

MLB executive VP of labor relations Rob Manfred says he isn’t “concerned about the overall economic condition of the industry" and a National League executive called the high number of teams out of compliance a “hiccup” for an otherwise healthy league.

Along with the competitive balance tax and revenue sharing, the debt service rule figures to be a major financial issue in the negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the players and the owners. The Phillies have confirmed that they are not currently compliant with the debt-service rule, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Stark On Upton, Pirates, Indians, Red Sox, Fox

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 3, 2011 at 1:10pm CDT

One GM told ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark that he’d like to see the season shortened because it’s a mental and physical grind for the players and they could use more rest to regroup. Stark provides and passes along many suggestions, including a national doubleheader day (what’s not to like about that?) and expanding the active rosters beyond 25 players. Here are the latest rumblings from around MLB…

Though a couple of American League teams made strong proposals for Justin Upton last winter, D’Backs president Derrick Hall says it’s doubtful that Arizona would be in first place without their 23-year-old right fielder. About two dozen teams expressed interest in the former first overall pick last offseason. Put another way, only five teams weren’t interested.
There are signs that the 26-29 Pirates are going to make a run at .500 instead of trading MLB players for prospects this year. One NL assistant GM says he would shoot for .500 to start changing the perception that the Pirates are perennial losers.
Though the Indians understand the injury risks for catchers (Carlos Santana missed the end of the 2010 season after a home plate collision), GM Chris Antonetti says his front office appreciates “the potential competitive advantage of getting exceptional production behind the plate.”
They’ve already signed Kevin Millwood and now Red Sox are “poking around” for another starter to stash at Triple-A, according to Stark.
The Orioles, who designated Jake Fox for assignment this week, are trying to trade him and at least one scout expects them to find a taker.

Orioles Appear Poised To Spend This Winter

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 1, 2011 at 4:43pm CDT

The American League East appears to be as strong as always this year, but the Orioles have something to look forward to despite their last place 24-29 record. Orioles people are saying they’ll have significant money to spend after the season, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. Manager Buck Showalter wants a first baseman who can hit in the middle of the order and Prince Fielder may be the team’s top target, according to Knobler.

When MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes examined the team’s contract issues, he estimated that the Orioles could have over $18MM to spend on 2012 salaries without raising payroll (before accounting for players earning the MLB minimum). Derrek Lee, Baltimore's current first baseman, hits free agency after the season, so a need will emerge barring a trade or a surprise performance from a minor leaguer (2010 minor league player of the year Joe Mahoney has been on the DL twice and has limited experience above Class A).

President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and the rest of the front office will have multiple needs to address and Fielder figures to be looking for at least $22MM per season on a multiyear deal, since that’s similar to what Mark Teixeira and Adrian Gonzalez obtained. It’s worth noting that the O’s expressed some interest in Teixeira when he hit free agency after the 2008 season (though the first baseman later said their bid didn’t compare with his other offers).

Orioles Designate Jake Fox For Assignment

By Tim Dierkes | June 1, 2011 at 12:34pm CDT

The Orioles designated first baseman/catcher/left fielder Jake Fox for assignment to open a spot on the active roster for lefty Brian Matusz, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Derrek Lee will return from the DL soon, and Fox acknowledged recently his role with the Orioles was unclear. The team told Fox they'll attempt to trade him, tweets Zrebiec.

The Orioles acquired Fox, 28, in June of last year from the Athletics for Ross Wolf. Fox hit .209/.255/.426 in his Orioles career across 157 plate appearances. He did lead MLB with ten Spring Training homers though.

The move drops the Orioles' 40-man roster count to 39.

AL East Notes: Papelbon, Bautista, Lawrie, Fox

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 31, 2011 at 4:54pm CDT

It's early, but baseball's toughest division doesn't appear to be getting any easier. The Red Sox, Yankees, Rays and Blue Jays are all within two games of the AL East lead. Here are the latest links from the division…

Jonathan Papelbon told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he’d like to stay in Boston after the season and break records and win championships with the Red Sox. The prospective free agent says he’ll do what’s best for his family, though there’s more to that than the bottom line. "It's not about the money, it's about going somewhere day in and day out and wanting to be there."
Jose Bautista reflects on his ascension from hard-throwing college closer to utility player to MLB home run king with MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.
Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca that top prospect Brett Lawrie has made the adjustments the Jays asked him to make and is close to Major League-ready (Twitter link). Earlier today, ESPN.com’s Keith Law ranked Lawrie 11th among MLB prospects.
Orioles utility player Jake Fox told Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com that his role is unclear and that he has had trouble timing and recognizing pitches without regular at bats.

Draft Notes: Cole, Hultzen, Bradley, Springer

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 30, 2011 at 8:02pm CDT

The draft takes place one week from today; here’s the latest as teams prepare their draft boards for next Monday…

ESPN.com’s Keith Law projects the Pirates to select UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole with the first overall pick, though he says they’re still seriously in on Virginia left-hander Danny Hultzen and high school outfielder Bubba Starling. It’s too early to rule out Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon either.
The D’Backs could take Hultzen, UCLA right-hander Trevor Bauer or high schooler Dylan Bundy third overall, according to Law.
It looks like the Orioles will take an arm fourth overall; they have Bundy, high schooler Archie Bradley and Cole in their sights.
If Bauer falls to the Indians, they’ll take him, according to Law.
The Cubs “sent a small army” to watch outfielder George Springer at the Big East tournament.
The Padres are interested in UConn right-hander Matt Barnes and Vanderbilt right-hander Sonny Gray.
The top three players on one team’s draft board are advised by agent Scott Boras, according to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan.
Rendon's stock is down a bit because of a dip in production and injury concerns, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, but Rendon's coach at Rice, Wayne Graham, expects the third baseman to go within the top two picks.
The Giants shouldn't (and won't) alter their draft strategy in response to Buster Posey's season-ending injury, writes Jim Callis of Baseball America in a mailbag.

Cafardo On Indians, Young, Guthrie, Reddick

By Luke Adams 2 | May 29, 2011 at 10:32am CDT

In his column today for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo argues against potential rule changes, discusses injuries around the league, and looks back at the 2009 trade that sent Justin Masterson to Cleveland and Victor Martinez to the Red Sox. He also dedicates some space to sharing a few hot stove notes. Let's check out the highlights….

Indians GM Mark Shapiro on whether his team could be buyers at the trade deadline: "It’s not a matter of money. It’s a matter of not giving away any of our prospects. We’re not going to do that."
Although the Twins won't say as much, they could move Delmon Young before the trade deadline in the right deal, according to Cafardo. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently looked at other players who might be available if the last-place Twins become sellers.
The Orioles say Jeremy Guthrie won't be moved, but as one NL scout asks, "If you put together a package they can’t say no to, will they still say no?"
Josh Reddick, recently recalled by the Red Sox, is "on a few teams' wish lists." Cafardo previously reported that Reddick was generating chatter among scouts, and says today that scouts for two NL teams are looking forward to evaluating the outfielder in the bigs.

Quick Hits: McCourt, Abreu, Sizemore, Purcey

By Mark Polishuk | May 27, 2011 at 10:58pm CDT

A night after striking out four times in four plate appearances, Adam Dunn walked in all four of his plate appearances in Friday's 4-2 loss to Toronto. If we're sticking to a pattern of Dunn's "three true outcomes," then theoretically, Dunn should hit four home runs against the Blue Jays tomorrow. Set your fantasy lineups accordingly!

Some news from around the majors as we go into the weekend…

Frank McCourt will be able to meet the Dodgers' May 31 payroll, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. One of Shaikin's sources says McCourt is still looking to secure the funds to meet the next payroll deadline on June 15. If McCourt fails to meet payroll, Major League Baseball will seize control of the team from the embattled owner and cover the payroll itself.
With Bobby Abreu on pace to easily reach 433 plate appearances and cause his $9MM option for 2012 to vest, the Angels will owe $48MM in 2012 to Abreu, Vernon Wells and Torii Hunter. Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com thinks allowing Abreu's option to vest "would be just another poor long-term decision for a GM [Tony Reagins] that seems to be specializing in them," and wonders why the Halos would tie so much money up in the outfield when their top prospect (Mike Trout) is an outfielder and Peter Bourjos is in the picture.
In his analysis of today's Scott Sizemore-for-David Purcey trade, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports notes that the Tigers first contacted the Athletics about Purcey on the very day that Oakland acquired the left-hander from the Blue Jays. The deal was a natural match since "the A’s long have had interest in Sizemore," and plan to convert him to a third baseman.
Matthew Eddy of Baseball America wraps up the week's minor league transactions.
Joe Girardi said he could move Nick Swisher into a platoon with Chris Dickerson if Swisher doesn't pick up his hitting from the left side of the plate, reports Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com. Swisher still has four months to get on track, but right now it looks like there's no chance the Yankees will pick up his $10.25MM option for 2012.
Ryan Drese was granted his release by the Orioles earlier today, and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun reports the veteran righty is expected to sign a minor league deal with the Astros.

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