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AL Notes: Wade, Bundy, Middlebrooks

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The Astros’ sudden improvement this season has been fueled in part by George Springer and Dallas Keuchel, and new first baseman Jon Singleton looks like a contributor as well. All three were acquired during Ed Wade’s tenure as the Astros’ GM, and Wade reflects on his Astros tenure with pride, the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich writes. Drellich argues that the success of players like Springer, Keuchel, Singleton and Jose Altuve (who was signed before Wade’s hiring) suggests that the team’s farm system was not as barren at the time of Wade’s departure as many analysts believed. Some of the Astros’ worst drafting was done before Wade was hired, and Wade’s trade of Hunter Pence for Singleton, Domingo Santana, Jarred Cosart and Josh Zeid stands out as a major coup. “I have a sense of pride,” says Wade, “because there were a lot of good baseball people who were involved in the process at that point in time who I think have either been forgotten about or minimized as things have gone forward.” Here are more notes from the American League.

  • Top Orioles pitching prospect Dylan Bundy, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, made a rehab start for Class A Aberdeen against Hudson Valley Sunday and pitched five innings and struck out six, walking none and allowing one run. The start was Bundy’s first since the 2012 season, and his strong performance surely comes as welcome news to the Orioles. Bundy was on the fast track to the Majors prior to his injury troubles, and if his rehab outings continue to go well, he could make an impact in the big leagues sooner rather than later.
  • The Red Sox plan to have Will Middlebrooks work on playing the outfield, Maureen Mullen of Boston.com writes. Middlebrooks, who has been out since last month with a finger injury, recently began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket. With Stephen Drew, Xander Bogaerts and Brock Holt in the infield, there don’t figure to be many plate appearances there for Middlebrooks when he returns. Playing the outfield could allow Middlebrooks to find more playing time, and also to improve his trade value in time for next month’s deadline.

Giants Showing Strong Interest In Jeff Samardzija

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The Giants are showing strong interest in Cubs ace Jeff Samardzija, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter).  Other clubs in the picture include the Yankees, Orioles, Angels, Red Sox, and Blue Jays.

Yesterday it was reported that the Cubs have already started discussing trades involving Samardzija and Jason Hammel with at least two teams.  Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times cited the Braves, Blue Jays, and Mariners as clubs that have interest in bolstering their pitching through a deal with Chicago.  Seattle is viewed as the most likely landing spot for Hammel at present.

Samardzija, who is eligible for free agency following the 2015 season, currently has a 2.77 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 91 innings.  It has been long expected that the Cubs would dangle the 29-year-old and the future-minded club should find a ripe market this summer.  The Red Sox could be a suitable trade partner given their strong pitching and catching depth in the minors and Theo Epstein’s familiarity with their system.  The Orioles, meanwhile, have top-tier pitching prospects such as Dylan Bundy, Kevin Gausman, Hunter Harvey, and Eduardo Rodriguez that they can use to entice Theo & Co.

While some of the Samardzija suitors are playing catchup, the Giants are enjoying a 6.5 game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West and the top record in baseball.  Adding the Cubs ace to their rotation would further bolster their already strong pitching.  The Giants have a team ERA of 3.22, the third best in the majors.

AL East Notes: Gausman, Yankees, Uehara, Drew, Lackey

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Orioles righty Kevin Gausman has made a strong showing in his most recent MLB stint, and that could set him up for a more permanent big league assignment, reports Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun. The 23-year-old came into the year rated as the 20th prospect in the game by Baseball America. Having entered the season with 71 days of service to his credit, Gausman would line himself up for potential Super Two status down the line if he can stay up for most or all of the rest of the season.

  • The latest injury news out of the Yankees’ rotation is not promising, reports Jorge Castillo of the Star-Ledger. Manager Joe Girardi said today that C.C. Sabathia is not expected to return until after the All-Star break, while Michael Pineda will probably be out until August at the earliest. Those updates certainly seem to increase the already-strong odds that New York will be in the market for starting pitching help at the trade deadline.
  • Red Sox closer Koji Uehara addressed his future recently, as Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. He said that his approaching free agency has not changed anything about how he goes to work, and indicated that he is taking things year to year at this point. “If I could change how I perform based on my free agent year, I would,” said Uehara. “But I can’t, so I’m just going to pitch how I can pitch. It doesn’t really affect me because I’m an older player. Every year I consider my last year.” As Bradford notes, it is reasonable to wonder whether Boston will consider making Uehara a qualifying offer after the season. As with last season, there are several high-performing late-inning relievers set to hit the open market, including Uehara, the Yankees’ David Robertson, Sergio Romo of the Giants, and the Jays’ Casey Janssen. Though he is throwing in his age-39 season, the righty has been nothing short of outstanding since coming to Boston on a one-year, $4.25MM deal that included an option that vested for 2014.
  • Boston CEO Larry Lucchino addressed several topics in an interview with WEEI.com’s Dennis & Callahan (story via WEEI.com’s Nick Canelas). Signing Stephen Drew made sense in part based on “the idea of paying money rather than paying prospects,” he said. While Drew is off to a rough start and is currently sidelined with an oblique injury, Lucchino says that the evaluation of the deal will still depend on how the rest of the year plays out.
  • Lucchino also touched on the situation of starter John Lackey. The club owns a league-minimum option over the starter for 2015 by operation of a vesting clause in his free agent contract. The Boston CEO said that the expectation is that Lackey will be back next year, but that it may not be at the relatively meager sum of $500K. “It depends on the circumstances,” he said. “John Lackey has been a tremendous contributor to this team this year and last. And we love having him here, and we’d like to have him here for a longer period of time. We’ll see when the time comes to negotiate whether there should be a playing out of the contract, whether there should be renegotiation with an extension. We’re open to a variety of possibilities.”

Draft Signings: Orioles, Angels, Cousino, Ockimey, More

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Here are the day’s draft signings, with slot bonus information by way of Baseball America:

  • MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets that Connaughton, Baltimore’s third-rounder, signed for the slot value of $428,100. Callis and his colleague Jonathan Mayo ranked Connaughton 112th prior to the draft and praised his 95 mph fastball.
  • The Orioles have announced the signing each of the first three players selected by the club: lefty Brian Gonzalez (3rd round, 90th overall, $594.2K allocation), righty Pat Connaughton (4th round, 121st overall, $428.1K allocation), and righty David Hess (5th round, 151st overall, $320.5K allocation). Actual bonuses have not yet been reported. Of course, Baltimore gave up the rights to its original first three choices by signing two qualifying offer free agents and dealing away the club’s compensation round A choice.
  • The Angels have signed 14 of the team’s selections to undisclosed bonuses, reports Jim Peltz of the Los Angeles Times. Among the players signed are junior righty Jeremy Rhoades (4th round, 119th overall, $436.5K allocation) and JuCo righty Jake Jewell (fifth round, 149th overall, $326.8K allocation).
  • Austin Cousino, the third-round selection of the Mariners, has agreed to terms, reports Cotillo (via Twitter). The University of Kentucky outfielder was taken at 80th overall, which comes with a $693.2K bonus allocation, though financial terms are not yet known.Baseball America and MLB.com valued Cousino in the sixth-round range.
  • Fifth-rounder Josh Ockimey has agreed to a $450K bonus with the Red Sox, tweets Cotillo. That represents a $167.2K overage against the slot value of the 164th overall choice. Ockimey is a high school first baseman from Pennsylvania.

Earlier Updates

  • The Dodgers have agreed to an at-slot, $534.4K bonus with third-round choice John Richy, tweets MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo. Richy, a junior righty from UNLV, was listed as Baseball America’s 203rd-best available player entering the draft.
  • The Braves have also inked their third-round pick, Max Povse, to a below-slot $425K bonus, Mayo reports on Twitter. That delivers $89.2K in savings against the 102nd pick’s allotted bonus value. Baseball America rated the UNC-Greensboro righty at 142nd on its list of the top 500 draft prospects.
  • Sixth-round pick Max George has been added by the Rockies with a well-above-slot $620K bonus, tweets Mayo. His slot value was just $259.2K. The Colorado high school shortstop, who did not appear on the draft boards of any major analysts, had been committed to Oregon State. That overage will account for a decent chunk of the team’s savings from signing first-rounder Kyle Freeland to a below-slot deal.
  • Brewers third-rounder Cy Sneed has agreed to an under-slot $400K bonus, tweets Mayo. That represents a $241.8K savings against the 85th overall slot’s assigned value. Sneed, a junior righty from Dallas Baptist, checked in at 158th on Baseball America’s rankings.
  • The Marlins have agreed to terms with third-round choice Brian Anderson at the below-slot mark of $600K, tweets Callis. Anderson’s 76th overall slot comes with a $737.2K allotment, meaning that Miami will save about $137.2K while adding a player that Baseball America listed as the 69th best available.
  • Fourth-round choice Taylor Gushue will land a full-slot, $388.8K bonus with the Pirates, Callis reports on Twitter. Both Baseball America and MLB.com saw the University of Florida backstop as landing just outside the top 100 draft prospects.
  • Milton Ramos, who reportedly agreed with the Mets yesterday, will receive a $750K bonus, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter). That represents a $98.3K overage against the slot assessment for the 84th overall pick. Helping to make up for that, the club has also added fifth-round choice Josh Prevost with a $100K bonus that will save $239.6K against the pick’s slot value, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com.

Red Sox Sign Andres Torres

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The Red Sox have signed free agent outfielder Andres Torres to a minor league deal, the club announced (h/t to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, via Twitter). Torres, 36, had remained unsigned all offseason and has yet to play in 2014.

Torres, who has seen most of his big league time up the middle, figures to provide Boston with a new potential option to introduce into the team’s center field mix. While it is far too soon to guess as to whether or when he might see time with the Red Sox, the club has received meager output from its current options. Jackie Bradley Jr. owns a 59 wRC+ (.203/.286/.294 through 211 plate appearances), while Grady Sizemore owns a 69 wRC+ (.220/.291/.328) but has rated less favorably on defense.

Of course, Torres is most associated with the Giants, the club with which he launched a second career. After minimal early-career action with the Tigers and Rangers, Torres went three full seasons in the minors before returning to the bigs with San Francisco at age 31. The next year, 2010, was by far his most productive as a professional, as Torres put up a .268/.343/.479 triple-slash with 16 home runs and 26 stolen bases over 570 plate appearances.

All said, Torres has played above replacement level for each of the last five seasons. Though his production (and playing time) petered out over the last three campaigns — he hit .232/.315/.336 in 1,132 plate appearances over that stretch — Torres has remained a quality defender. Defensive Runs Saved views his work in center from 2011-13 as average, while UZR grades it as a positive, even if it is no longer the kind of top-end work he showed in 2009-10.

A switch-hitter, Torres has posted better career marks against lefties (.737 OPS) than righties (.682 OPS). Those splits have actually widened somewhat over his last two seasons. As Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal notes on Twitter, that could theoretically make him a compliment to Bradley’s left-handed bat in center.

Cherington On Outfield, Drew, Lester, Lackey

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The Red Sox currently sit a disappointing six games under .500 and nine back in the AL East. GM Ben Cherington discussed a variety of pertinent topics today, as Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports (except as otherwise noted below):

  • Cherington remains confident in his team’s core, indicating that he expects to rely on in-house options to carry the team back into contention. If they can do that, he said, “we’ll try to find any way we can to make improvements to the team as the summer goes on.” At this point, said Cherington, “typically, you’re sort of talking other teams into doing things, and that doesn’t always leave you in the best position to make deals.”
  • If the team were to make an addition in advance of the trade deadline, it would most likely be an outfielder, he told Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link). Indeed, the team’s greatest struggles have been in the outfield, which is currently being led by Jonny Gomes’s .722 OPS. When asked whether Boston has the payroll capacity to add players this year, he made clear that it does, reports Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal (via Twitter).
  • Cherington affirmed that Jackie Bradley Jr. is the team’s center fielder. “[H]e’s playing really good defense, he’s grinding, he’s making offensive adjustments,” said Cherington. “He’s a very important guy for us and we feel he’s the right guy to be our center fielder.” The GM was somewhat less sanguine about Grady Sizemore, saying that he “hasn’t made the impact as he’d like to.”
  • Cherington strongly disputed the notion that the club was forced by public pressure into signing Stephen Drew. “We signed Stephen Drew because I made a recommendation to ownership to sign Stephen Drew,” he said. “It happened to be that [Will Middlebrooks] got hurt. Stephen Drew was still out there, he was a free agent, and we felt like, if we didn’t sign him, we might be in position to have to make a trade at some point and give up talent to address, potentially an area of need … .”
  • He also said that the team has not entertained any thoughts of dealing away staff ace and pending free agent Jon Lester if the team cannot get back in the mix. “Our position hasn’t changed,” said Cherington. “We hope to have a conversation again about his contract. We’d love to find a way to keep him here [past this year]. … [W]e’re going to want Jon Lester pitching for us down the stretch.”
  • Finally, Cherington addressed the question whether fellow starter John Lackey might retire rather than playing next season for the league minimum option that the club picked up due to the time he’s missed due to injury. “That’s the first I’ve heard of it,” he said, “and obviously our expectation is that he’s going to be here.”

Rosenthal’s Latest: Wieters, Scherzer, Rollins, Delmon

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has been plenty busy over the past few days, digging up rumors from all around the league. Here are some highlights from his latest work…

  • Two sources tell Rosenthal that Matt Wieters’ throwing program is going poorly and surgery is looking more likely (Twitter links). A third source, however, cautions that it’s too soon to make that judgment, adding that Wieters has good days and also bad days at this time.
  • In this weekend’s Full Count video, he notes that while many were shocked by Max Scherzer’s decision to turn down $144MM in an attempt to secure more on next year’s free agent market, Scherzer has an insurance policy on his right arm that Scherzer says “takes the injury risk out of it.” While the policy likely doesn’t cover the full amount of that offer, it sounds to be a substantial amount. Rosenthal adds that Jon Lester has a similar policy, though not for nearly as much money as Scherzer’s policy.
  • Some friends of Jimmy Rollins feel that he’ll be willing to waive his 10-and-5 rights to approve a trade once he passes Mike Schmidt for the franchise lead in hits. Others feel he and his wife, a Philadelphia native, prefer to stay no matter what. Of course, Rollins’ $11MM vesting option damages his trade value as well, as he will easily reach the required plate appearances if he stays healthy.
  • The Giants are looking to upgrade at second base this summer. While they could use a starting pitcher, they aren’t likely to make an addition that would turn Tim Lincecum into a $17MM bullpen arm. The Athletics, on the other hand, could use a starting pitching upgrade and have the necessary catching depth to make a move.
  • The Orioles are willing to move Delmon Young, who is batting .286/.318/.369 and has lost most of his plate appearances to Steve Pearce. While Young isn’t the hitter than Kendrys Morales is, Rosenthal lists him as a low-cost alternative to teams that missed out on Morales; Young is set to earn about $600K over the rest of the season.

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AL East Links: Balfour, Price, Drew, BoSox

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Grant Balfour is no longer the Rays’ closer, as manager Joe Maddon told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that his team is moving to a closer committee.  The demotion comes as no surprise following Balfour’s rough performance on Sunday, when he allowed the Mariners to score five runs in the ninth inning.  Balfour has struggled badly this season, posting a 6.46 ERA and recording almost as many walks (20) as strikeouts (21) over 23 2/3 innings of work.  The 36-year-old signed a two-year, $12MM free agent contract with Tampa in the offseason.  If you have Balfour on a fantasy team, stay tuned to @CloserNews (MLBTR’s save-centric sister Twitter account) to keep tabs on the Rays’ bullpen and other late-game situations throughout baseball.

Here’s some more from the AL East…

  • The Rays could be sellers at the trade deadline, and Fangraphs’ Eno Sarris looks at some of the club’s veteran pieces with a particular focus on David Price.  While Tampa Bay will rightly seek a big prospect haul for Price, Sarris notes the difficulty in finding a contender (especially outside the AL East) who has the necessary minor league depth to swing a trade.  Sarris also notes that a fire sale seems unlikely, as the Rays will still look to contend in 2015.
  • Peter Gammons discussed several Red Sox topics in an interview on the Dennis & Callahan radio show this morning (WEEI.com’s Conor Ryan has a partial transcript).  While Gammons doesn’t think the Red Sox regret signing the struggling Stephen Drew, “there are so many political angles at play here that you’ve just got to wonder, ‘€˜What are they going to be a year from now?”  Gammons believes the Boston media’s criticisms of Xander Bogaerts’ ability to play short pressured the club to re-sign Drew, whereas Gammons felt the Red Sox should’ve acquired an outfielder instead.
  • Gammons doesn’t see the Red Sox becoming major sellers if they fall out of the race because they want pitchers like Jon Lester and John Lackey back in 2015 and also “just because of the nature of the Boston fans and because of the nature of the market and because of NESN.”  A.J. Pierzynski could potentially become a trade chip if the Sox fell far enough out of a playoff spot, which would open the door for Christian Vasquez to get called up and gain some big league experience.
  • Red Sox GM Ben Cherington won’t make moves for the sake of making moves, John Tomase of the Boston Herald writes, as the current roster will have to prove its worth as a contender over the next six weeks to convince the front office to pursue upgrades.
  • Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette appeared on Middays With MFB today (again, tip of the cap to WEEI.com’s Conor Ryan) and said that trade talk around the league is slow since so many teams are still technically in contention.  “There aren’t many sellers, from what I can tell. Usually after the draft, which was just completed, teams will start calling around, but I only know that there’€™s just a couple of sellers right now….It’€™s going to be challenging to add to the team,” Duquette said.
  • The Yankees should look to shake up their struggling lineup by getting rid of Brian Roberts and Alfonso Soriano, Mike Axisa of the River Ave Blues blog opines.  Since Derek Jeter won’t be moved down in the lineup due to his stature, Axisa suggests that Jeter actually become the leadoff hitter in order to have the Yankees’ best four hitters (Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Mark Teixeira, Yangervis Solarte) all hit in a row.

Cafardo On Marlins, Burnett, Price, Cuddyer

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In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe looks at the impact that hitting coach Kevin Seitzer has had on the Blue Jays thus far in 2014.  Toronto used to be a swing-for-the-fences team, but even guys like Jose Bautista are hitting to all fields.  With a new, more patient approach at the plate, Toronto is leading the league in runs, homers, and extra base hits.  Here’s more from today’s column..

  • A Marlins official told Cafardo there’s no reason they won’t add a player through a trade. The National League East seems wide open, and they believe that they can find their way to the playoffs, even without the services of Jose Fernandez.  Miami has lots of pieces to offer, so they shouldn’t have trouble finding a match over the next couple of months.
  • Phillies veteran A.J. Burnett is some contending teams are looking at, but as one AL scout tells Cafardo, “if he doesn’t pitch better he’ll be another guy the Phillies are stuck with. When he’s the A.J. we saw earlier in the year or last year, he’s a guy you want out there in a tough situation. Right now, you wouldn’t touch him.” In his last six starts he has a 7.25 ERA, after posting a 2.06 ERA in his first seven.
  • The Rays will have to get at least three top players for left-hander David Price and if they don’t get that offer this summer, they’ll probably pull back and wait until the offseason.  Price, of course, still has great stuff, but his velocity is down, which is always a red flag.  There’s also no guarantee that he’ll re-sign with the team that trades for him, which could keep the Rays from getting the haul they want.
  • Rockies veteran Michael Cuddyer didn’t appear to be one of the possibly available outfielders at the deadline a month ago, but he could be if Colorado’s slide continues.  The 35-year-old is a great clubhouse presence and would draw trade interest along with Drew Stubbs.  Cafardo mentions the Red Sox as a club that could have interest in Stubbs as they seek an outfielder with power.
  • The Yankees, Rangers, Angels, Mariners, and Tigers (if they lose Max Scherzer) are among the teams who will line up if Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester hits the open market. On their end, Boston must decide whether to go beyond a fifth year because the other teams surely will.
  • The A’s nearly traded right-hander Jim Johnson to the Marlins last week, so, they’re clearly willing to move him.  Cafardo mentions the Orioles, Yankees, and Tigers as clubs that could have interest, but his rocky start and onerous contract make him a gamble.

Minor Moves: Spears, Pineiro, Worth, Angels

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Here are today’s minor moves from throughout baseball.

  • The Phillies have signed former Red Sox infielder Nate Spears, reports Mike Ashmore of MyCentralJersey.com (via Twitter; hat tip to Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com). Spears, 29, had been playing with the indy league Somerset Patriots. Despite two very brief cups of coffee with Boston, Spears has not recorded a hit in eight MLB plate appearances. He owns a career .244/.335/.371 line through 1,442 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
  • Joel Pineiro has signed a minor-league deal with the Angels, according to MiLB.com, and he will start tonight for the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees. The Cubs had recently released him. Pineiro is attempting to make it back to the big leagues after having last appeared in the Majors in 2011. He had made four starts with the Double-A Tennessee Smokies, posting a 4.43 ERA in 22 1/3 innings with 4.0 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9.
  • Infielder Danny Worth has accepted his outright assignment and will head to Triple-A Toledo, Chris Iott of MLive.com tweets. The Tigers designated worth for assignment on Wednesday after he hit .167/.217/.190 in 46 plate appearances.
  • The Angels have outrighted pitchers Michael Brady, Jarrett Grube and Brooks Raley, according to MiLB.com. After a strong 2013 season in the Marlins organization, Brady has struggled in the high minors in 2014, posting a 7.18 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9. Grube, 32, made his big-league debut for the Angels last week. He had posted a 3.52 ERA in 61 1/3 innings for Triple-A Salt Lake with 7.5 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. The Angels claimed Raley from the Twins last month, and he struggled for Salt Lake, allowing 26 runs in 21 innings there. These moves likely signal that the Angels are about to make other transactions that will affect their 40-man roster.
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