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Draft Notes: Nationals, Bundy, Cardinals, Astros

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Be sure to catch up on the results from the first and supplemental rounds of the draft. As we await day two of the big event, here's what you need to know:

  • ESPN.com's Keith Law lists the Rays, Twins and D'Backs among his day one winners while questioning moves by the Braves, Rockies and others. High school outfielder Josh Bell heads Law's list of best remaining players.
  • Bell, Daniel Norris and Dillon Howard are the best players remaining according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.
  • Anthony Rendon, Alex Meyer and Brian Goodwin, Washington's first three picks, are all Scott Boras clients, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. The Nationals have a history of selecting Boras clients, going back to first overall picks Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper.
  • Rendon plays the same position as Nationals cornerstone Ryan Zimmerman, but "the point of the draft is to take the best player available" regardless of the big league roster, Zimmerman told Ladson.
  • Top Orioles pick Dylan Bundy may be an especially difficult player to sign, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. “The numbers that were thrown out were true," Bundy said, without saying explicitly that he's looking for a $30MM bonus.
  • Cardinals scouting director Jeff Luhnow sounds confident that he'll be able to sign first rounder Kolten Wong before the August deadline for deals, according to MLB.com's Matthew Leach.
  • Red Sox GM Theo Epstein and scouting director Amiel Sawdaye broke down Boston's top four picks and Alex Speier of WEEI.com has the details. Epstein says he thought some things broke Boston's way.
  • Stephen Goff of the Houston Astros Examiner gets the sense that Astros' amateur scouting director Bobby Heck will take a pitcher with the 69th overall selection (Twitter link).

Keith Law’s Final Mock Draft

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Keith Law of ESPN.com has written up his final projections for tonight's draft. Here are some of the latest highlights (Insider subscription needed):

  • The D'Backs select UCLA righty Trevor Bauer with the No. 3 pick, meaning two of the first three picks will be Bruins after the Pirates take Gerrit Cole at No. 1 overall.
  • The Orioles, turned off by Virginia lefty Danny Hultzen's hefty contract demands, take prep righty Archie Bradley out of Oklahoma at No. 4. Dylan Bundy then falls to the Royals at No. 5, which Law says would be a steal, and Hultzen slides back to the D'Backs at No. 7, a "dream scenario" for Arizona. That could lead to tricky negotiations considering Hultzen's demands and the fact that the pick is unprotected after Barret Loux didn't sign last year, but Bauer and Hultzen  would represent quite a boon to the D'Backs' rotation in the near future.
  • The Mets meet their organizational mandate to take a pitcher at No. 13, selecting UConn righty Matt Barnes.
  • The Brewers, with an unprotected pick at No. 15, need to take a signable player, and may be looking at Vanderbilt righty Sonny Gray or Oregon lefty Tyler Anderson.
  • The Red Sox probably won't spend too wildly at No. 19 and could focus on a high-probability player like Alex Meyer of Kentucky as they did a year ago with Kolbrin Vitek.

Quick Hits: Reyes, Pirates, Garvey-Hershiser

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A few items of note for Sunday afternoon. On this day in 2008, the Tampa Bay Rays selected Tim Beckham with the No. 1 overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft.

  • ESPN's Adam Rubin shares a video interview with Jose Reyes in which the Mets shortstop says he doesn't think about the constant trade rumors surrounding him because all he can control is his on-field performance.
  • Mike Pelfrey told Mark Hale of the New York Post that it would be tough for him as an individual, tough for the team, and tough for the fans to lose Reyes, whom he deems irreplaceable.
  • MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch covers the additional lefty relief options the Pirates have in Triple-A, and says that if a roster move needs to be made in order to appease manager Clint Hurdle's desire for another southpaw, Jose Ascanio is the most likely to be designated for assignment.
  • A Dodgers sale is not yet imminent, but Orel Hershiser has joined Steve Garvey and others, forming the Garvey-Hershiser Group, in hopes of bidding on the team should it be put up for sale by MLB, writes Jeff Painter of the Los Angeles Daily News. The Dodgers could be made for sale if Frank McCourt can't make the next payroll payments, according to Painter. Reports of Garvey's interest in purchasing the Dodgers first surfaced when MLB seized control of the team in April.
  • Red Sox right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, slated for Tommy John surgery this week, hopes to "come back to the game with the Red Sox uniform," writes Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com. Since it typically takes pitchers at least a calendar year to return from the surgery, Dice-K, whose six-year contract expires after 2012, may have played his last game for Boston and perhaps in MLB.
  • The Phillies' debt situation is broken down by David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News in the wake of Friday's news that the Phils are one of nine teams in violation of MLB's debt service rules. The takeaway: The Phils are in relatively solid financial standing, as the franchise is paid off, with their current debt representing only a "momentary hiccup," writes Murphy.

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

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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.

Draft Links: Rays, Astros, Indians, Diamondbacks

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Earlier today we learned that the Pirates plan to select Gerrit Cole with the number one overall pick in Monday's amateur draft, the first of over 1,500 players that will hear their names called next week. We'll keep track of draft news thoughout the day right here, with the latest up top…

  • The Rays are ready to cash in on their glut of draft picks, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.  Tampa Bay is the first team to have twelve of the top 100 selections in a draft.
  • The Astros are trying to reach a pre-draft deal with Stanford lefty Chris Reed for the 11th overall pick according Frankie Piliere of FOX Sports (on Twitter), though they are denying that is the case (also via Twitter). Baseball America ranked Reed as the 60th best prospect in the draft on their top 200 list.
  • ESPN's Keith Law is hearing "quite a bit" about the Indians being connected to Vanderbilt righty Sonny Gray with the eighth overall pick (Twitter link). Click here to see Ben Nicholson-Smith's Q&A with Gray.
  • Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic hears that the Diamondbacks may be willing to take a player with large bonus demands with the seventh overall pick. That pick is compensation for failing to sign Barret Loux last year and is unprotected, so they won't get another pick if they don't sign the player. For that reason, it's been speculated that they would take a player they know they can sign.
  • Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun puts a spotlight on high school righty Dylan Bundy, who is in the mix to be selected by the Orioles, number four overall. Jim Callis of Baseball America has Bundy going to the D'Backs and Danny Hultzen going to O's on his latest draft board (Twitter link).
  • The Red Sox have a unique opportunity on their hands in owning four of the top 40 picks in the draft, writes Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com. Boston had five of the first 47 picks in 2005, selecting Clay Buchholz, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jed Lowrie, Michael Bowden and Craig Hansen. Pretty nice haul there.
  • The Rangers are showing strong interest in prep outfielder Brandon Nimmo from Wyoming with the 33rd overall pick, according to Tracy Ringolsby of FOXSports.com (via Twitter). Nimmo has committed to attend Arkansas.

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

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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.

 

Olney On Marlins, Bundy, Matsuzaka, Mariners

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It appears that the Diamondbacks will be among the most aggressive teams on the trade market this summer. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney has an update on another team preparing to make deals and other notes from around the league…

  • The Marlins will also be among the most aggressive teams on the trade market, Olney reports. President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said this week that he believes in his team’s prospects and doesn’t see glaring holes on the Marlins.
  • Olney points out that talent evaluators love high schooler Dylan Bundy and suggests the right-hander will be selected early on in Monday’s draft.
  • It’s a reasonable guess that Daisuke Matsuzaka’s Red Sox career is over, according to Olney. The Red Sox probably didn’t get their money’s worth on their $103MM investment, but it's not like Matsuzaka's career numbers are bad (4.25 ERA, 622 2/3 innings, 8.2 K/9, 4.4 BB/9, 10.4 WAR). The right-hander will undergo Tommy John surgery.
  • As Olney pointed out yesterday, the Mariners will have to monitor Michael Pineda’s workload this summer. Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik says they’ll watch Pineda’s pitch count and innings count with a common-sense approach, rather than a “hard and fast rule.”

Hideki Okajima Hopes For Trade

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Red Sox lefty Hideki Okajima is hoping for a trade, he told Michael Vega of the Boston Globe.  Okajima has been pitching in Triple-A since clearing waivers on May 24th.  He told Vega through an interpreter he'd rather not be called up to the Red Sox following Rich Hill's injury.  Perhaps he didn't enjoy being used sparingly while in the bigs.

Okajima, 36, has excelled in eight Triple-A appearances this year.  It appears that the Red Sox explored the trade market for him a couple of weeks ago when he was designated for assignment, and found no takers.

Quick Hits: Skaggs, Maholm, Red Sox, Lamb

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On this date last year, Armando Galarraga came within one out of a perfect game before a blown call prevented him from making history. Here are Thursday’s links, including reaction to the Galarraga game:

Minor Deals: Brazoban, Reds, Rangers, Astros, Phillies

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Once in a while, a minor move becomes more than just a footnote.  For example, about six years ago the Rangers released outfielder Andres Torres, who found his way back to the Majors in '09 after several more stops and put up some big numbers for the Giants.  Today's minor deals:

  • Yhency Brazoban signed with the Diamondbacks after exercising his out clause with the Rangers, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The 30-year-old former Dodger posted a 3.42 ERA, 10.6 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, and 1.7 HR/9 in 26 1/3 innings for the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate. 
  • The Reds acquired righty Chris Mobley from the Rangers for future considerations, writes Baseball America's Matt Eddy.  The 27-year-old reliever has a 4.61 ERA in 27 1/3 innings across Double and Triple-A this year.
  • The Astros signed righty Brad Hennessey, reports Eddy.  The 31-year-old, who was drafted by the Giants in '01 17 spots before David Wright, has a 4.69 ERA in 360 2/3 career innings.  He last pitched in the Majors in '08.
  • The Giants released outfielder Terry Evans, notes Eddy.  Evans quickly signed with the Phillies, tweeted Reading Royals beat writer Jason Guarente yesterday.  Back in July of '06, the Cardinals sent Evans to the Angels for eventual World Series hero Jeff Weaver, plus cash.
  • Eddy reports that the Mariners signed lefty Tony Butler, one of the players they sent to the Orioles for Erik Bedard back in February of '08.
  • The Blue Jays released righty Chris Malone, writes Eddy.  Malone was the player the Jays acquired from Colorado for Brad Emaus in April, and they only needed eight innings to decide they didn't need him.  Emaus, meanwhile, is hitting .355/.419/.645 in 87 plate appearances for the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate, playing mostly second base.
  • Andrew Miller has a June 15th out clause in his contract with the Red Sox, so Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders if the Red Sox will consider calling him up to replace Rich Hill, especially given Miller’s recent success (Twitter link).  Brian McPherson of The Providence Journal talked to Miller, who isn't thinking about his opt-out.
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