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Quick Hits: Miller, Dodgers, D’Backs, Rays, Trades

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Here are a few items of note as Justin Verlander narrowly misses his second no-hitter of the season:

  • Red Sox lefty Andrew Miller, currently in Triple-A, will remain with Boston and not opt out of his contract, as we inferred earlier today. Now, we know why: Miller will likely soon be called up and added to the rotation, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.
  • With their financial future hazy, the Dodgers should take notes on how successful small-market teams like the Rays and Marlins operate, writes Tom Krasovic of West Coast Bias.
  • The Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with seven more Draft picks — bringing their total up to 30 of the 52 players they selected — including third-rounder Justin Bianco, according to a club press release.
  • The Rays signed second-round pick Granden Goetzman, writes Anthony Chiang of MLB.com.
  • This season's relative league-wide parity has led to a slow-developing trade market, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com (via Twitter). An AL executive told Morosi, "Too many teams still in it."

Quick Hits: Connor, Andrew Miller, Tigers

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A second pitching coach change occurred today, as Mark Connor resigned from the Orioles post for personal reasons.  Rick Adair will take his place.  Today's links…

East Notes: Jays, Reyes, Goetzman, Phillies

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It was on this day in 1948 that Babe Ruth made his last public appearance at Yankee Stadium during a celebration of the Stadium's 25th anniversary.  With several of his teammates from the 1923 World Series champion Yankees looking on, Ruth's #3 uniform number was retired, marking the second retired number in Yankees history after Lou Gehrig's #4 was immortalized in 1939.  Ruth passed away soon after this ceremony, on August 16, 1948.

Since the Babe grew up in Baltimore and spent his whole career in New York and Boston, let's stick to some items from the east coast….

  • The Blue Jays have focused on drafting high schoolers under GM Alex Anthopoulos, a strategy that Fangraphs' Reed MacPhail says is a sign that Toronto is ready to spend what it takes to get their picks signed.
  • A Jose Reyes extension could look like the disastrous contracts given to Luis Castillo and Chone Figgins if Reyes' speed lessens as it did with those players, points out Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  That said, Sherman asks "If Reyes played for another team wouldn’t the Mets be going crazy trying to sign him in the offseason? Especially if they were pretending to be the big-market team that ownership wants to claim this franchise still is?"
  • Reyes' "value is greater to the Mets than to other clubs." writes MLB.com's Marty Noble, who thinks the Mets should try to keep such a valuable asset.
  • Granden Goetzman, a second-round pick of the Rays (75th overall) tells The Bradenton Herald's Prep Rally blog that he will sign with the club tomorrow provided he passes a physical.
  • The Phillies have had interest in Rockies outfielder Ryan Spilborghs in the past, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post.  Renck isn't sure if Spilborghs is still on the Phils' radar as they search for right-handed hitting outfielders.
  • The Phillies released catcher Joel Naughton to create Triple-A roster space for Jason Grilli's activation from the DL, tweets MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.  Naughton (a native of Melbourne, Australia) has a career minor league line of .261/.318/.356 in seven seasons, though he only has 13 plate appearances above the high Class-A level.
  • The Red Sox have reached agreements with seven of their 2011 draft picks, reports WEEI.com's Alex Speier.  Sixth-rounder Miguel Pena is the highest-drafted of the signed players.

Badler Examines July 2nd Class

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Less than thrilled by your team's draft haul?  Don't forget about the July 2nd class of international players.  This year's group is an improvement on the 2011 class, writes Ben Badler of Baseball America.  He names the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rangers, Royals, Mariners, Pirates, Red Sox, and Reds as teams that could be active in the international market.  Badler's info on a few of the top prospects:

  • Outfielders Ronald Guzman, Elier Hernandez, and Nomar Mazara could challenge Miguel Sano's $3.15MM record for a Dominican hitter, writes Badler.  The Rangers, Red Sox, and Blue Jays have been connected to Guzman and the Royals are the frontrunner for Hernandez.
  • Speedy Venezuelan shortstop Wilmer Becerra has been linked to the Cardinals, Twins, and Athletics, says Badler.  Becerra is projected by many to move to the outfield.
  • Mexican righty Roberto Osuna, nephew of Antonio, is a top prospect who is currently pitching in the Mexican League.  The 15-year-old is battling all kinds of former big leaguers.  Venezuelan righty Victor Sanchez is another one to watch, according to Badler.
  • Key MLBTR posts are translated into Spanish at our Rumores De Béisbol site, which has a unique Latin American focus with features such as Hits Latinos.  Tell your Spanish-speaking friends!

Pirates Acquire McKenry From Red Sox

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The Pirates have acquired catcher Mike McKenry in a trade with the Red Sox, a source tells Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  Boston will receive a player to be named later or cash considerations, according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com (via Twitter).

Pittsburgh has been in search of a catcher ever since losing Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder to the disabled list.  Manager Clint Hurdle recently admitted that the club was having a hard time acquiring a catcher as clubs were looking to take advantage of their situation.  The club could potentially be without Doumit until the end of July and without Snyder all season.

McKenry, 26, spent the first five years of his career with the Rockies organization before being dealt to the Red Sox in late March.  In 127 career Triple-A games, McKenry has a slash line of .268/.337/.425 with 13 homers.

Quick Hits: Pirates, Millwood, Astros, Gamel

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Here are some Sunday evening Quick Hits as the Reds take on the Giants..

2012 Vesting Options Update

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Now that the calendar has flipped to June, let's check in on the status of the various vesting options around the league…

  • Bobby Abreu, Angels: $9MM option vests with 433 plate appearances. Abreu has already come to the plate 276 times this year, so this one seems life a safe bet to vest, barring injury.
  • Rafael Furcal, Dodgers: $12MM option vests with 600 plate appearances. Furcal is back on the disabled list with an oblique strain, and he's still a month away from returning. He has only 69 plate appearances this year, so this one won't vest.
  • Jon Garland, Dodgers: $8MM option vests with 190 innings pitched. Garland has been on the disabled list twice this year (the first two times of his career), and he's currently out with a sore shoulder. He only has 54 innings to his credit and won't be back anytime soon, so this one won't vest.
  • Francisco Rodriguez, Mets: $17.5MM option vests with 55 games finished and if doctors declare him healthy at the end of the year. K-Rod has already finished 25 games, putting him on pace for 65 at season's end. A trade to a team that would use him as a set-up man would change everything, but right now the option figures to vest.
  • Koji Uehara, Orioles: $4MM option vests with either 55 appearances or 25 games finished. Uehara has appeared in 26 games and finished 11, putting him on pace for 69 and 29, respectively.
  • Arthur Rhodes, Rangers: $4MM option vests with 62 appearances and if he's not on the disabled list at the end of the season. He's appeared in 20 games so far, putting him on pace for 50. Rhodes' workload could increase down the stretch.
  • Joakim Soria, Royals: $6MM option vests with 55 appearances. He's already appeared in 28 games and is on pace for 71. It's worth noting that even if the option doesn't vest, the Royals would still control Soria as an arbitration-eligible player in 2012.
  • Dan Wheeler, Red Sox: $3MM option vests with 65 games; increases to $3.25MM with 70 games. Wheeler has appeared in 17 games so far, so a stint on the disabled list did not help his cause.

Adam Wainwright's 2012 ($9MM) and 2013 ($12MM) options will not vest because he will finish the season on the disabled list after having Tommy John surgery. Aramis Ramirez's option depends on MVP Award finishes and whether or not he's traded, not plate appearances or another counting milestone.

Mark Buehrle is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2011 season and although he doesn't have a traditional option in his contract, he gets an extra year at $15MM tacked onto his current deal if he's traded at some point this season.

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

Quick Hits: Beltran, Santana, Bundy, Hultzen

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On this date three years ago, Ken Griffey Jr. hit home run number 600 off of Marlins lefty Mark Hendrickson. Slugger Jim Thome will resume his quest for 600 homers once the Twins activate him from the disabled list (Thome has 593 career homers). Here are today's links…

  • The Mets are willing to eat some of Beltran's $18.5MM salary in order to get quality prospects in return, tweets SI.com's Jon Heyman. Approximately $11.4MM is still owed to him this year.
  • Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times reports that the Dodgers have signed second round pick Alex Santana (on Twitter). MLB's slot recommendation for the 73rd overall pick is approximately $500K.
  • Orioles' scouting director Joe Jordan spoke to MLB.com's Britt Ghiroli about this week's draft, saying they "don’t expect" to set any bonus records for first rounder Dylan Bundy. You can see Baltimore's five largest amateur signing bonuses here.
  • Danny Hultzen (Mariners), Taylor Jungmann (Brewers) and Tyler Anderson (Rockies) are among the 2011 draftees who could make an impact in the Major Leagues before long, according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.
  • We’re looking forward to seeing pitchers like Hultzen in the big leagues, but building a rotation through the draft is harder than it seems, as Tom Verducci shows at SI.com. Even first rounders have a high rate of failure, Verducci explains.
  • Former first rounder Scott Kazmir has a 15.15 ERA with a 13K/16BB ratio in Triple-A, so it appears that it's only a matter of time before the Angels release him, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times.
  • Jim Bowden of ESPN.com explains that he would pursue a two-year, $30MM extension with David Ortiz if he were running the Red Sox. Big Papi's consistency, history of health and hot bat all figure in to Bowden's analysis. Ortiz has a .326/.394/.612 line with 15 homers.

Stark On Rollins, Fielder, Pujols, Olivo, Tigers

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A number of iconic players are in contract years, so ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark looks ahead to their free agent stock and provides other rumors from around the league. Here are the details:

  • No one Stark spoke with predicts David Ortiz will leave the Red Sox for another team.
  • Jose Reyes will be the number two free agent on the market this winter behind only Albert Pujols, according to one executive.
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. acknowledges that it wouldn't be easy to replace Jimmy Rollins, even though the shortstop is no longer an MVP-caliber player. The Phillies ‘poked around’ for possible alternatives at short last offseason, according to Stark, who predicts a two-year deal for Rollins and the Phils this winter.
  • Prince Fielder will no doubt sign a lucrative free agent deal, but one executive says the first baseman’s body will be an issue: "It has been since high school, and it always will be." Fielder is 27 now, so an eight-year deal would expire after his age-35 season.
  • Pujols will test the market, but Stark and his sources find it hard to believe that he’d leave St. Louis for any old team. One executive predicts that the Cubs are the Cardinals’ main threat.
  • The Cubs aren’t ready to start selling and haven’t started shopping Carlos Zambrano, despite his recent outburst.
  • The Red Sox offered Miguel Olivo a one-year deal before re-signing Jason Varitek last offseason. Olivo eventually signed a two-year deal with the Mariners.
  • The Rangers are ‘stepping up’ their search for a right-handed setup man and maintain interest in Nationals reliever Todd Coffey.
  • Rival teams say the Tigers are looking for a left-handed reliever. Southpaws Daniel Schlereth, David Purcey, Charlie Furbush and Adam Wilk are currently in Detroit’s bullpen.

Heyman On Yankees, Red Sox, Twins, D’Backs

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In the aftermath of Bob Geren’s dismissal, Jon Heyman of SI.com lists a handful of managers with suspect job security. Though 2011 probably won’t be a big year for managerial firings, Jim Riggleman of the Nationals and Edwin Rodriguez of the Marlins are on Heyman’s list. Here are the rest of his rumors:

  • Geren had "lost" the Athletics' clubhouse, according to people with Oakland ties.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman doesn’t expect elite starting pitching to be available this summer. "I just don't see a No. 1 pitcher you can pinpoint,'' Cashman said. 
  • The Yankees will look for starting pitching and left-handed relief. 
  • The Red Sox will also be looking to add a southpaw to their ‘pen.
  • Boston people expect top prospect Jose Iglesias to prove himself as the shortstop of the future and people don’t expect the Red Sox to “make a play” for Jose Reyes.
  • Competing executives say the Twins will “do what’s right” for the organization this summer, even if that means trading Major Leaguers for prospects. Watch out for the last-place Twins, who have won seven of eight.
  • Executives say the D’Backs, Padres, Pirates, Rays and Red Sox had strong drafts.
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