Orioles Sign Hector Veloz
The Orioles have signed Dominican third baseman Hector Veloz, writes Ben Badler of Baseball America. The O's director of international scouting, David Stockstill, confirmed to Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun that the club has reached agreement on a deal with the 16-year-old.
Veloz reportedly received $300K, which would be a franchise record signing bonus for a Dominican amateur. Badler writes that the prospect has shown plus raw power from the right side, though his hitting in games has been spotty. For Veloz's deal to become official, he will have to pass a drug test. The youngster tested positive for an anabolic steroid in May.
Odds & Ends: Peavy, Tigers, DeJesus, D’Backs
Links for Wednesday, as the Red Sox keep getting banged up…
- The White Sox announced that Jake Peavy is going on the DL with a detached muscle in his right shoulder. ESPN.com's Buster Olney says it looks like Peavy's season could be over (Twitter link).
- Tigers manager Jim Leyland told MLB.com's Jason Beck that he wouldn't mind if Santa delivered a reliever to the Tiger 'pen. GM Dave Dombrowski may bring Leyland the present he's hoping for; the Tigers are interested in relievers.
- Matt Klaassen of FanGraphs argues that the Royals should be looking to trade David DeJesus, even though he projects to be a Type A free agent.
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun hears that Dodgers assistant GM Logan White and former Padres GM Kevin Towers are in the running for the D’Backs GM job. However, Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer, tops the D’Backs' wish list (Twitter links).
- The Orioles have scouted the Padres' system recently, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com takes a year-by-year look at the in-season bullpen moves the Red Sox have made under GM Theo Epstein.
- Paul Konerko tells Ben Bolch of the LA Times that he doesn't want to be traded. Now that the White Sox are in contention, a trade seems unlikely.
- Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News says Rangers GM Jon Daniels should be creative and trade for starting pitching this summer.
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney that Matt LaPorta is hitting better because his toe has healed and he has less pressure than he did earlier in his Indians career.
Rosenthal On D’Backs, Dunn, Blue Jays, Morgan
In his latest column, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues that it's unlikely the Diamondbacks make a huge splash before the trade deadline. With interim GM Jerry DiPoto not expected to hold the position past this season, Rosenthal is skeptical that the D'Backs would give him the reins to blow up the roster. Although Arizona could trade potential free agents like Adam LaRoche, Chad Qualls, and Aaron Heilman, Rosenthal thinks the team probably won't move Dan Haren, Kelly Johnson, or Stephen Drew. Here are a few other notes from the piece:
- According to a rival club offical, the Nationals were asking the White Sox for either Gordon Beckham or Carlos Quentin in exchange for Adam Dunn.
- If the Blue Jays don't receive satisfactory offers for their free-agents-to-be, the club may take the same approach they did last year, when the departures of Marco Scutaro and Rod Barajas earned them draft picks. Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, and John Buck all project to be Type As or Bs, and could potentially net the Jays multiple 2011 compensation picks.
- When teams call the Jays to talk trades, Toronto's young starting rotation is the most frequent topic of conversation.
- Some members of the Nationals organization wouldn't mind trading Nyjer Morgan to open up center field for Roger Bernadina.
- Within seven to ten days, the Marlins should make a decision on whether or not to be sellers.
- If Buck Showalter lands the Baltimore managerial job, former Orioles such as Bill Ripken and B.J. Surhoff would be candidates to join his staff.
Orioles Release Garrett Atkins
JULY 6th: Atkins has cleared waivers and been released by the Orioles, making him a free agent, reports Connolly.
JUNE 27th: The Orioles have officially designated Atkins for assignment, reports Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com. The move clears a spot for Uehara to be activated from the disabled list. Atkins told Ghiroli earlier this weekend that he wouldn't look at it as a bad thing if the O's decide to release him.
JUNE 24th: Baltimore will likely designate Garrett Atkins for assignment, writes Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun. The O's must free up two spots on the 25-man roster in order to welcome back Brad Bergesen and Koji Uehara.
Atkins has been disappointing so far this season, hitting .219/.282/.292 with one homer in 149 plate appearances. The 30-year-old inked a one-year, $4.5MM deal with the O's over the winter. Baltimore's acquisition of Jake Fox on Tuesday was a sign that Atkins' time in orange and black was nearing an end.
To clear the second spot, the Orioles could either demote Frank Mata to Triple-A or designate fellow reliever Matt Albers for assignment. Seldom used fourth outfielder Lou Montanez could also be shown the door, though he will likely be kept until Felix Pie returns from the disabled list.
Odds & Ends: Millwood, Cardinals, Rangers, Pettitte
Links for Tuesday, as the Cliff Lee rumors get a little juicier…
- Kevin Millwood, who has pitched poorly since the beginning of June, is going on the DL with a right forearm strain, according to the Orioles. We can rule out a Millwood trade for the time being.
- The Cardinals say they won’t be big players in this summer’s international free agent market, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cards already agreed to a $1.5MM deal with pitcher Carlos Matias, though that has not been made official, due to an ongoing investigation.
- MLBTR's Tim Dierkes and Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog broke down the trade deadline in this video segment for SNY.tv.
- David Aardsma told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that he doesn't want to be traded since he loves playing for the Mariners.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels told Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com that he isn't counting on the completion of the team's sale, but he plans to keep making the club better between now and the end of the month.
- Andy Pettitte told Chad Jennings of the Journal News that he doesn't see himself playing three or four years from now. As usual, Pettitte will play the season out and determine his future afterwards.
- Daniel Nava and Darnell McDonald each tell Yahoo's Jeff Passan that the other player took a more improbable path to major league success.
- Mark Zuckerman of NatsInsider.com wonders if the Nationals should trade Matt Capps, whose value may never be higher.
Odds & Ends: Phillies, Orioles, Nats, Rangers, Lowell
Monday night linkage..
- Using MLBTR's reverse engineered Elias Rankings, Jack Moore of Fangraphs writes that Ted Lilly and Felipe Lopez are two Type A free agents to keep an eye on in the National League.
- R.J. Anderson of Fangraphs sees Kelly Johnson and Jose Lopez as potential fits for the Phillies.
- Buck Showalter told Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun that he has not yet been offered the O's managerial position.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson expects the Nationals to be buyers at the Trade Deadline.
- Chuck Greenberg's group has waived their exclusive right to purchase the Rangers, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. The lenders who hold the debt on Hicks Sports Group believe that there are other potential buyers out there who would pay more for the club.
- Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal wonders if Mike Lowell might consider retiring before the end of the season. If he were to retire now, the veteran would be leaving more than $5MM on the table.
Kevin Millwood Is “Off The Block”
Kevin Millwood's underwhelming performance in recent starts coupled with injury rumors have resulted in the hurler being taken "off the block", according to Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com (via Twitter). Ghiroli theorized that Millwood could be injured after he lasted just one inning and allowed five runs in today's start against the Tigers.
The veteran pitcher's value was already plummeting after a dreadful June. Millwood posted an 8.82 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in six starts. His latest outing gives him an ERA above ten in his last seven starts.
The Mets were linked to the 35-year-old for quite some time but are said to no longer have him on their radar. Other teams, such as the Cardinals, have considered Millwood, though his $12MM salary is a sticking point.
Orioles Zeroing In On Showalter
The Orioles are zeroing in on Buck Showalter as their choice for manager, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Showalter, who last managed the Texas Rangers from 2002 through 2006, spoke with the O's today.
Over the weekend, it was reported that Showalter and former Indians manager Eric Wedge were the leading candidates for the position. Wedge was called in for a second interview on Friday.
Showalter, 54, has a track record of improving the fortunes of young clubs including the aforementioned Rangers, Yankees, and Diamondbacks. Bobby Valentine was also in the mix at one point, but opted to withdraw his name from consideration once the Florida job became available.
Odds & Ends: Texeira, Orioles, Willis, Fielder, Giants
Links for Sunday, as the baseball world attempts to come to terms with Omar Infante's All-Star nod….
- Kyle Drabek, who was a part of the Roy Halladay deal, threw a no-hitter for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. This was the first nine inning no-hitter in the history of Toronto's Double-A affiliate, writes Alex Raskin for MLB.com.
- Rob Neyer of ESPN (via Twitter) says that he's usually hyper-critical of the Royals organization, but applauds their pickup of Kanekoa Texeira. The Royals claimed the pitcher off of waivers from the M's early last month.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) suggests that Mike Lowell could be an option for the Phillies if he gets healthy. He points out that the Phils went hard after him last time he was a free agent.
- The Orioles have made 46 personnel moves since Opening Day, writes Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun.
- The Marlins had interest in Dontrelle Willis before he was dealt to Arizona, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Frisaro hears that the lefty will take his time before deciding his next move.
- Kyle Parker, the Rockies' first-round draft pick, visited Coors Field, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding and Joey Nowak. Colorado hopes to sign the Clemson quarterback, who has three years of football eligibility remaining.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that the Astros have been telling teams they're willing to absorb some salary in a potential Roy Oswalt trade. We heard a couple weeks ago that Houston was entertaining this possibility if it meant landing better prospects.
- Heyman and ESPN.com's Buster Olney (both Twitter links) place their bets on the Orioles' managerial search.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says not to be surprised if the White Sox make a play for Prince Fielder.
- The Giants aren't expected to make a splash on the international free agent market, writes Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.
- Domonic Brown deserves to be labeled "untouchable" by the Phillies, according to this piece at Philly.com.
Tejada Prefers To Remain In Baltimore
Though he's been the subject of a handful of trade rumors lately, Miguel Tejada tells Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he'd like to stay in Baltimore. Tejada not only indicated that he'd prefer not to be dealt this month, but suggested he wouldn't mind wearing an Orioles uniform past this season.
"If they want me to be here, I’m staying here," said Tejada. "I definitely like it. I live in Florida, but I’ve always said, Baltimore is like my home. I signed my big contract here and the fans really have treated me this time like they did last time. I love playing at Camden Yards. But there’s nothing I can do. It’s out of my hands."
The Phillies are rumored to be interested in acquiring Tejada, and the 36-year-old could also appeal to the Twins, among other teams. With third base prospect Josh Bell now on the major league roster and the Orioles in the AL East cellar by a wide margin, a Tejada deal looks more and more likely as the deadline approaches. The former AL MVP has about $3MM left on his one-year contract, and would also receive a $150K bonus if he's traded.