East Notes: Red Sox, Phillies, Buchholz
Earlier today, we learned that the Phillies are likely to decide between buying and selling based on their current ten game homestand. General Manager Ruben Amaro says that he has had a lot of interesting discussion on his players with other clubs but whether any of them actually get moved remains to be seen. Here's more on the Phillies and other Eastern items..
- Tim Britton of the Providence Journal writes that what the Red Sox do at the deadline will impact their roster on December 12th. Boston has a number of players they need to protect from the Rule 5 Draft this winter, and that will explain who’s available and who’s not in July.
- If Clay Buchholz is healthy, it will be tough for the Red Sox to go out and acquire a starter, tweets Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. If another hurler is added to the starting five, it's not clear who would get bumped from the group.
- Within today's column from Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com, Amaro went on to say that no one is truly off the table, but there are players he'd definitely like to hang on to in particular. “Some guys are a lot less touchable than others,” he said. “But we’ll keep our eyes open, our ears open.” Amaro has been open about his desire to keep Cliff Lee and hang on to fan favorite Chase Utley. Last night, Amaro said it would be "really tough" for him to part with the second baseman.
Draft And International Notes: Jays, Cubs, Red Sox
Here is the latest news on draft and international signings as we look ahead to the July 12 deadline for Rule 4 draftees to sign. You can keep track of signings from the draft's first round right here. Only five players — Kris Bryant (Cubs), Colin Moran (Marlins), Phil Bickford (Blue Jays), Hunter Renfroe (Padres), and Aaron Judge (Yankees) — remain unsigned. As Jim Callis of Baseball America recently explained (subscription required), the changes to the draft system have sapped the signing period of its former deadline drama. Last year, for instance, only six first-rounders waited to sign until the last day, just three of those lasted until the last hour before the deadline, and only one (Mark Appel) did not end up signing.
- Among the unsigned first-rounders, Callis tweets that he expects all to sign. While he thinks Bickford will ultimately ink with the Blue Jays, Callis does say (via Twitter) that he is the most likely of the five to pass up a deal.
- The Jays are also angling to convince a late-round choice, such as Jake Brentz, Sam Tewes, or Rowdy Tellez, to forego college and join the organization, explains Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Toronto has cleared about $1.3MM of bonus pool availability after locking up second-rounder Clinton Hollon for $701k under slot. Davidi says that the club is expected to sign first-rounder Bickford for close to slot value, leaving the team free to spend the rest of its cash on one of its hard-to-sign picks.
- While Bryant remains the highest choice yet to sign, the Cubs remain confident that they will lock him up, GM Jed Hoyer told David Kaplan in a WGN Radio interview (Twitter link). Likewise, Callis opined (via Twitter) that Bryant will sign, though it may take until the deadline.
- Even as the Cubs finish up their draft signings, the team remains heavily involved in the international amateur market. Top overall international prospect Eloy Jimenez has yet to formally sign with Chicago despite reportedly agreeing to terms, which MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez says signals that the Cubs are paying close attention to the penalties for going over the allotted international bonuses. (Twitter link.) Concurring with MLBTR's Steve Adams' breakdown of the Cubs' international expenditures, Sanchez also provided some added background on the situation in a separate piece.
- We also just learned that the Jays' AL East-rival Red Sox have cleared a similar amount of cash. Callis tweets that Boston will "definitely" spend up to its slot totals and may also go into the tax penalty space up to the point of sacrificing a draft choice.
- The Angels are still working to sign 12th-round, high-school righty Blake Goins, tweets Callis. The club can go up to $472k before hitting any penalties, and could pay Goins as much as $621k before it would have to sacrifice a draft pick to sign him.
- Likewise, with their available funds, Callis tweets that the Reds appear to be targeting 14th-round choice Willie Abreu. The University of Miami commit reportedly has a power bat and arm.
Red Sox Agree To Terms With Teddy Stankiewicz
JULY 6: After his physical revealed a reportedly minor issue, Stankiewicz ultimately signed for $915k, according to a tweet from Baseball America's Jim Callis. This means that Boston has committed to spend $875,500 less than its bonus allotment at present, Callis explains, and can spend an additional $318,770 on top of that before it would have to sacrifice a draft pick. These figures could change if the team signs fourth-round choice Myles Smith for above or below his slot allocation. Should the club attempt to pursue one of its hard-sign, late-round picks, such as 13th-rounder Jordan Sheffield, Callis says it could afford to go as high as $1.3MM. (Twitter links.)
JUNE 10: The Red Sox have reached an agreement with secound-round pick Teddy Stankiewicz that will pay the Seminole State junior college right-hander roughly $1.1MM when finalized, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. The deal is pending a physical.
Stankiewicz was selected with the No. 45 overall selection in the draft — a pick which carries a recommended slot value of $1,229,600, according to Baseball America. In other words, Stankiewicz will be signing for about $130K under slot value. He was selected 75th overall by the Mets last year but elected to head to junior college instead.
Red Sox amateur scouting director Amiel Sawdaye spoke highly of Stankeiwicz:
“He’s a big, physical pitcher. He’s got, probably for me, one of the best deliveries in the draft. His arm works really well. He throws three pitches, and he really commands his fastball."
The 19-year-old Stankiewicz, who is being advised by the BBI Sports Group, ranked 77th on Baseball America's list of Top 500 draft prospects, 88th on Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com's Top 100 list and 61st on Keith Law of ESPN's Top 100 list. Law noted that he sits 91-96 mph with his fastball and features a curveball, slider and changeup as well.
Jeff Todd contributed to this post.
Olney’s Latest: Biogenesis, Utley, Wilson, Garza
In his latest column (Insider subscription required and recommended), ESPN's Buster Olney writes that Nelson Cruz is among the players whose free agent stock could be severely impacted by the Biogenesis scandal. If Cruz is cleared of any wrongdoing by that time he will be fine, but if discipline has yet to be handed out, or he receives a suspension near the end of the season, teams will be wary. Cruz's case could be further complicated if the Rangers make him a qualifying offer. Here are a few of the highlights from Olney's excellent piece…
- The Blue Jays are looking for upgrades in their rotation and at second base, and they will be interested in Chase Utley should the Phillies make him available.
- Former Giants closer Brian Wilson is working out in Hawaii and could pitch for teams later this month or in early August.
- The Cubs are "making progress" in trade negotiations surrounding Matt Garza, and they're actively talking with the Rangers, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Indians and Dodgers. They may also still be involved in talks with the Orioles as well as other NL West teams.
- Olney also spoke with his colleague Jayson Stark on today's Baseball Tonight podcast, and they discussed the impact of Biogenesis on pennant races in addition to discussing the upcoming trade deadline (Biogenesis talk begins immediately; trade discussions begin shortly after the 11:00 mark).
- Olney said he'd be "shocked" if Garza was still on the Cubs by the All-Star break, but Stark hears that the Cubs may prefer to wait for a team to meet their price, even if it means waiting until the end of July. Stark and Olney agree that Garza will have the highest price tag of any player on the trade market.
- The Dodgers, Rangers and Rockies are the three teams that are still in the mix on Ricky Nolasco, while the other formerly interested parties are "on the periphery" according to Stark.
AL East Notes: Yankees, Red Sox
Let's take a quick peek in at the American League's eastern division:
- The Yankees are still working to sign the last of the club's three first-rounders, Fresno State outfielder Aaron Judge. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets that Judge has yet to accept the Yanks' full slot offer of $1.677MM. As Baseball America's handy tracking page shows, New York is currently $311,900 under budget, so could presumably increase its offer to Judge if it wishes.
- As previously reported, the Yanks' scouting staff was among those represented in the stands last night to see the Marlins defeat the Braves. But Heyman tweets that the club was not there to watch Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco take the hill. Instead, according to Heyman, New York was scouting hitters.
- The Red Sox have signed University of Florida quarterback and 29th round pick Jeff Driskel, according to the Associated Press (via SI.com). As Jerry Hinnen of CBSSports.com reports, Driskel's deal will apparently allow him to continue to play under center for Florida, as he intends to do. Driskel, an outfielder on the ballfield, also says that he still hopes to pursue an NFL career before turning back to the diamond.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
Matt Garza Rumors: Thursday
Matt Garza dominated the A's in Oakland last night, firing eight innings of one-run ball on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts to drop his ERA to 3.45 (fellow trade candidate Kevin Gregg nailed down a save with a scoreless ninth as well). ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that a "dream scenario" has unfolded for the Cubs, as Garza is now the best pitcher available, and he's boosted his trade value with a hot streak. Garza has allowed just three earned runs in his past 30 innings of work. Here are Thursday's rumors on the right-hander…
- The Red Sox were among the teams on hand to scout Garza's start last night, writes Joe Stiglich in a special contribution to ESPN Chicago. Stiglich adds that Garza — a veteran of the trading circuit — isn't letting rumors affect him. Said Garza, "[Until] my phone rings, I’m gonna plan on being a Cub and I’m gonna stay a Cub. We’ll see."
- Gordon Wittenymyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports (free subscription required) that a dozen scouts were on hand to see Garza's start last night, and he implies that there's a possibility that it may have been Garza's last as a Cub. Wittenymyer notes that the Cubs were burned by waiting until the deadline last summer, as they had little time to navigate issues surrounding Ryan Dempster's no-trade clause and saw Garza get injured.
Draft Notes: Clinton Hollon, Kent Emanuel
Here are today's notable draft-related news items and non-first-round draft signings (all slot information courtesy of Baseball America)…
- The Blue Jays have signed second-round pick Clinton Hollon for a $467K bonus that is just 40 percent of the No. 47 overall selection's assigned pick value, tweets Jim Callis of Baseball America. There was an issue with Hollon's ulnar collateral ligament on his physical, which caused the prep right-hander from Kentucky to sign well below slot. Hollon can touch 95 mph with his heater and has a sharp slider, according to Callis. The extra money should be especially beneficial to the Jays, who have yet to sign first-rounder Phil Bickford. Bickford is one of just five remaining unsigned first-round picks.
- Third-round pick Kent Emanuel received the full slot value of $747,700 from the Astros, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (on Twitter). Callis tweets that the UNC left-hander has good command of his 87-91 mph fastball and features a plus changeup as well.
- Callis also tweets that the Blue Jays ($1.3MM), Astros ($1.077MM), Red Sox ($691K) and Rockies ($491K) are the current bonus pool savings leaders.
Clayton Mortensen Clears Waivers
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here..
- Red Sox reliever Clayton Mortensen has cleared waivers, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). Boston designated Mortensen on Saturday to make room for the call-up on Jonathan Diaz. The 28-year-old posted 5.34 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 30 and 1/3 innings for the Sox this season. Last season, Mortensen had a 3.21 ERA in 42 innings for Boston with 8.8 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9.
AL East Notes: Yankees, Red Sox, Young
Yesterday, the Orioles made the first significant splash of the trade season by acquiring Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger from the Cubs in exchange for Jake Arrieta, Pedro Strop and additional international bonus money. Here's more from the AL East…
- The Yankees' haven't gotten a lot of production out of their younger players, and that's a big problem, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman writes that the Bombers may have less 20-something talent than any AL East team.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com looks at how the Red Sox are getting ready for the trade deadline at the end of this month. While they'll look to upgrade when a deal makes sense, they'll also try to keep things in-house where ever possible. "We've had some turnover at [third base] and in [the bullpen]," GM Ben Cherington said, "but right now we believe there is a good chance the solutions are internal. We'll keep an eye out in these areas and any other that crops up between now and the deadline."
- The entire baseball world is trying to guess what Phillies GM Ruben Amaro might do at the deadline, but rival scouts and execs expect him to at least move Yankees trade target Michael Young, writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
- The Red Sox weren't in the mix for Matt Guerrier despite lacking a ground ball-oriented reliever, WEEI.com's Rob Bradford reports via Twitter, citing an industry source.
- Potential trade targets for the Yankees include Justin Morneau and Marlon Byrd, and Matt Warden of River Ave. Blues breaks down what they could bring to the Bronx. Warden included Josh Willingham on his list as well, but that was before the news that the Twins' slugger will miss four to six weeks following arthroscopic knee surgery.
Aaron Steen and Steve Adams contributed to this post.
Reactions To The Feldman-Arrieta Trade
Earlier today, the Orioles acquired Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger from the Cubs in exchange for Jake Arrieta, Pedro Strop and two international bonus slots. Here are some reactions and related news to the first significant trade of this year's trading season…
- MLBTR's Tim Dierkes reports that Arrieta has two year and 99 days of service time, meaning that the Cubs can avoid Super Two status if he accumulates less than 53 days of service time this season (Twitter link). If Arrieta picks up fewer than 73 days of service time, he will be controllable through the 2017 season.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs provides an excellent, in-depth analysis of the trade, noting that Feldman should net the Orioles an extra 1.0-1.5 wins above replacement, which is a critical upgrade over their internal rotation options. From the Cubs' point of view, Arrieta is a nice gamble, but the deal is really about the long-term future, Cameron writes. He agrees with the assessment of Baseball America's Ben Badler that the Cubs are clearly stockpiling international money to add top international prospect Eloy Jimenez after signing Gleyber Torres earlier today.
- Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette told Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio that he didn't want to trade prospects whose capabilities are unknown at this point. The O's parted with Arrieta and Strop because they believe they know what those arms are capable of (Twitter link).
- The Padres tried to acquire Arrieta, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, but it sounds like the Cubs fully intend on hanging onto him rather than including him in other deals.
- The Red Sox weren't in on Feldman, according to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.co (on Twitter). Feldman could have appealed to Boston had the rotation faded as the trade deadline drew nearer, but they weren't interested at this time.
- Cubs closer Kevin Gregg told MLB.com's Carrie Muskat that he couldn't believe the Cubs were able to acquire both Arrieta and Strop in the trade. Gregg offered high praise for the talent of both players, noting that a change of scenery could help Strop. Manager Dale Sveum expressed excitement to Muskat about acquiring a power arm like Strop that was part of baseball's best bullpen in 2012.