Draft Notes: Swihart, Camarena, Starling
A few draft items of note, as Ross Detwiler, the first player of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft to reach the big leagues, exits his start in Colorado …
- The Red Sox hosted first-round draft pick Blake Swihart at Fenway Park prior to tonight's game against the Indians, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Swihart, the No. 26 overall pick, took batting practice, although he remains unsigned. The switch-hitting catcher has committed to the University of Texas. This sort of workout is common, so it may not indicate that an agreement is imminent, although it can't hurt, either.
- Likewise, the Yankees worked out 20th-round pick Dan Camarena, a right-handed prep pitcher from San Diego, writes Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues. Though he was taken later in the draft, Camarena was actually ranked No. 138 among all prospects prior to the draft by Baseball America, according to Axisa, so it looks like the Yanks will have to go well over slot to get him signed up.
- Royals first-rounder Bubba Starling, the No. 5 pick overall, told Tod Palmer of the Kansas City Star that "it's getting really stressful now," in reference to the approaching Aug. 15 deadline for draft picks to sign. Starling is currently partaking in football practice with Nebraska, where he's committed to play. Most draft experts think he'll sign with the Royals, however.
Quick Hits: Jimenez, Burrell, Ellsbury, Rasmus
A couple items of note as former Red Sock Justin Masterson battles his old team in Boston …
- Indians right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez, acquired from the Rockies in a pre-deadline blockbuster, never asked to be traded out of Colorado, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, although he wanted a resolution on the situation, and he didn't mind having the opportunity to waive his 2014 option with the commencement of the trade (via Twitter).
- The Giants activated Mark DeRosa from the 60-day disabled list today, but they haven't announced a corresponding 40-man roster move yet and "are being evasive about it," according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (via Twitter). Baggarly speculates that the Lads could activate Pat Burrell from the 15-day DL and release him.
- The Red Sox were willing to discuss a trade with the Cardinals involving center fielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Colby Rasmus in 2010, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter), but the talks never gained traction. That would have been a heck of a trade. Rasmus, of course, was traded by St. Louis to the Blue Jays prior to last month's trade deadline.
- The Indians were very close to drafting Ellsbury at No. 14 overall in the 2005 draft but instead opted for Trevor Crowe, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (via Twitter). So close, in fact, that team officials asked Ellsbury, a Native American, his feelings about the team's logo, the so-called Chief Wahoo. … Edes' sources didn't provide him with Ellsbury's response, though.
Quick Hits: Indians, Bedard, Braves, Phillies
Links for Thursday, before the Pirates try to reach the .500 mark and the Indians try to climb above it…
- One GM told Tim Kurkjian of ESPN The Magazine that the Indians gave up an awful lot to get Ubaldo Jimenez, "a guy you're just not sure about." However, reliever Frank Herrmann told Kurkjian that he believes in Cleveland's GM. "We're not going to meddle in the way the front office works," Hermann said. "I would be upset if Chris Antonetti came down to the clubhouse and told me how to hold my curveball."
- Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports that the Red Sox never stopped pursuing Erik Bedard throughout their negotiations for Jimenez, Hiroki Kuroda and Rich Harden.
- Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton told Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com that the Rangers want to prove that last year's World Series run was just the beginning. "We want to show we belong there, that it wasn't a fluke," Hamilton said.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Padres should have traded Heath Bell by now or signed him to an extension. Their best remaining option is to trade him this August, even though they have significantly less leverage than they did a month ago, Rosenthal says.
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle can envision the Astros winning as many as 90 games in 2013 – but he can also envision three consecutive 100-loss seasons.
- The Braves and Phillies will likely reinforce their bullpens internally, as Rosenthal explains. The Braves would like to add a right-hander and Peter Moylan, who is returning from back surgery, and minor leaguers Arodys Vizcaino and Julio Teheran are options. The Phillies, meanwhile, are looking forward to the return of Jose Contreras.
Quick Hits: Orioles, Beltran, Jimenez, Marlins
Wednesday night linkage..
- Former Orioles pitching coach Mark Connor, who resigned on June 14, has agreed to return to the Rangers organization, several sources tell Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com. Connor will assume his former post as player development special consultant.
- Carlos Beltran has already proven to be a valuable addition to the Giants both on the field and in the clubhouse, writes MLB.com's Adam Berry.
- The Red Sox made a substantial offer to the Rockies for Ubaldo Jimenez on Friday, a major league source told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Howwever, Colorado was looking for near-major league-ready players, the kind that the BoSox were not willing to offer up in such a deal.
- There hasn't been a lot of dialogue recently between the Marlins and first-round pick Jose Fernandez, tweets Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel.
- The Orioles sent Mark Hendrickson to Triple-A Norforlk, but he won't become a free agent thanks to a previous agreement between the pitcher and the club, writes Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com. Hendrickson was demoted to make room for Jo-Jo Reyes, who was claimed off waivers from Toronto on Tuesday.
Heyman On Hendry, Yankees, Astros
Jon Heyman of SI.com looks back at the Cubs' quiet weekend and reports that rival teams were surprised when the Cubs said they wouldn't move Carlos Pena, Marlon Byrd and Jeff Baker. Here are the rest of Heyman's notes from around MLB…
- GM Jim Hendry has a strong rapport with Cubs ownership, according to people connected to the Cubs.
- Yankees people don’t think Erik Bedard would last 20 minutes in New York. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein said Sunday that he’s happy to let Bedard’s arm respond to his critics.
- The Astros hired an independent scout to watch their minor league affiliates and the scout found fewer than five players who should play in the Major Leagues.
- MLB officials “seem determined” to convince the players’ association to agree to a slotting system for the amateur draft. The union doesn’t want capped bonuses, which would limit amateur players' earning power.
AL East Notes: Bundy, Cervelli, Upton, Red Sox
Some news from the AL East…
- The Orioles have begun negotiations with fourth-overall draft pick Dylan Bundy, reports Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com. Denver Bundy, Dylan's father and also part of his representation team from BBI Sports Group, said today's meeting was "a feeling out process" and the two sides would hopefully discuss figures at their next session on August 10.
- The Yankees and Pirates almost agreed to a deal that would've seen Francisco Cervelli go to Pittsburgh in exchange for right-hander Brad Lincoln, reports George A. King of the New York Post. King hears from a Pirates source that the trade "was very close but [the teams] couldn’t agree on the value of the players." Such a move would have given the Yankees room to call up Jesus Montero as both a backup catcher and as a potential DH platoon partner for Jorge Posada. Brian Cashman said Montero could potentially be called up once the rosters expand in September.
- The trade deadline has passed and B.J. Upton is still wearing a Rays uniform, so Steve Slowinski of the DRaysBay blog is already thinking about what a potential Upton extension might cost Tampa Bay.
- With the Red Sox facing a crunch of prospects for 40-man roster spots this winter, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal wasn't surprised that the Sox moved three of those on-the-bubble prospects in the Erik Bedard trade. Boston would've risked losing Chih-Hsien Chiang, Tim Federowicz, and Stephen Fife for nothing in the Rule 5 draft had the club not been able to send Chiang to the Mariners and Federowicz/Fife to the Dodgers.
- By acquiring two first basemen (Chris Davis and prospect Aaron Baker) from their deadline deals, the Orioles appear to be taking themselves out of the Prince Fielder sweepstakes this winter, writes Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun. I respectfully disagree with Schmuck — if the O's have a chance at Fielder, they won't hesitate to sign him for the sake of Davis (who has struggled against lefties at the Major League level) or a minor prospect like Baker. Davis could also be moved into a DH role, or moved to third base while Mark Reynolds become the designated hitter.
Draft Signings: Red Sox, Rays, Royals
Now that the trade deadline is behind us, the next big event is the draft signing deadline on August 15th. We'll keep track of any draft signings here…
- The Cubs have signed ninth rounder Garrett Schecht for an above-slot $235K, reports Callis on Twitter. The high school outfielder from Illinois received the largest bonus in the ninth round so far.
- The Red Sox have signed third rounder Jordan Weems according to Baseball America's Jim Callis (on Twitter). Weems, a catcher from a Georgia high school, received a $500K bonus. MLB.com's slot recommendation was $275K.
- Callis tweets that the Rays have signed fourth rounder Riccio Torrez for $180K, just above MLB's slot recommendation of $169K. Torrez is a third baseman from Arizona State.
- The Royals have signed their second-round pick, catcher Cameron Gallagher, according to a team press release. Callis says (on Twitter) he received a $750K signing bonus, well above MLB's slot recommendation of $563K. The club has now signed 26 of their 50 selections in this year's draft.
Quick Hits: Mets, Overbay, Springer, Storen, Stewart
Thanks to our loyal readers, MLBTR generated 3.1 million pageviews over the weekend! We appreciate you making MLBTR a regular stop, and have a lot of cool things planned in the coming months. On to today's links…
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson told ESPN New York's Adam Rubin that he tried to acquire a reliever before the deadline, but to no avail (Twitter link). He would not rule out a trade before August 31st.
- The Red Sox will not have interest in Lyle Overbay, reports Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). The Pirates designated Overbay for assignment today, and as Cafardo notes, he has great numbers in Fenway Park: .323/.395/.500 in 177 plate appearances.
- Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter) doesn't envision Jason Isringhausen re-signing with the Mets this offseason.
- The Astros are very confident that they'll sign first-round pick George Springer, but it may come down to the last week, tweets MLB.com's Alyson Footer. Last week we learned that Springer's father met with the independent league Long Island Ducks.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick names a bunch of waiver trade candidates in his latest article.
- The Twins wanted closer Drew Storen and minor league second baseman Stephen Lombardozzi for center fielder Denard Span, and the Nationals declined, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. I think that would have been a solid deal for Washington.
- The Indians announced they signed infielder Argenis Reyes to a minor league deal; he'd been playing independent ball. In slightly more important news, Ubaldo Jimenez will debut for the Tribe Friday in Texas.
- The extent of Boston's interest in Ubaldo? Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald says exec Allard Baird put in a call on Thursday and the Red Sox weren't in touch after that.
- Both sides have denounced the $30MM figure that was floated for Dylan Bundy, tweets MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. Talks are expected to start this week for the Orioles' fourth overall pick. Ghiroli has more on the topic here. Bundy is advised by Jay Franklin at BBI Sports Group; the company also employs his father.
- The Rockies were close to trading third baseman Ian Stewart to an undisclosed National League team yesterday, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, but the deal fell apart with a half hour to go.
- The Mariners and Red Sox are sharing the costs of Erik Bedard's incentives, reports Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
- Newly-acquired players Zack Wheeler and Jonathan Singelton head updated top ten prospects lists for the Mets and Astros, courtesy of Baseball America's Jim Callis.
Buchholz Unlikely To Pitch Again In Regular Season
Red Sox righty Clay Buchholz is unlikely to pitch again in the regular season due to a stress fracture in his back, reports Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com. McAdam's source believes postseason pitching is possible, though it'd be a tall order.
That explains why the Red Sox picked up Erik Bedard yesterday, though Bedard was actually Plan C after Hiroki Kuroda and Rich Harden. The Sox had a deal in place to acquire Kuroda for Tim Federowicz and another prospect Saturday night, reports McAdam, but the righty rejected it. The Kuroda talks were later used as a base for GM Theo Epstein to acquire Trayvon Robinson, who they sent to Seattle in the Bedard deal.
AL East Notes: Rays, Bedard, Hairston, Jimenez
The deadline has passed and the Yankees are the only team in the AL East that didn't make a deal. The Rays were pretty quiet, too, but there may have been a reason for that…
- Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman underwent an appendectomy last night, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. However, that didn't stop Friedman from conducting business from his hospital room this afternoon.
- The Red Sox and Mariners will each cover some of the incentives on Erik Bedard's contract, GM Jack Zduriencik told Larry Stone of the Seattle Times (Twitter link).
- The Red Sox had interest in Scott Hairston, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). However, the Mets weren't interested in minor salary relief or a marginal prospect.
- Boston wasn’t the only interested team, by the way. The Braves talked to the Mets about acquiring Hairston as a bench bat, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
- Jack Curry of the YES Network hears that the Yankees wanted a shoulder MRI for Ubaldo Jimenez, but the Rockies declined (Twitter link).