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Red Sox Agree To Terms With Jason Groome

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The Red Sox and first-round pick Jason Groome have agreed to terms on a $3.65MM signing bonus, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (via Twitter). The agreement, which is pending a physical, comes less than 24 hours before the deadline to sign 2016 draft picks.

Groome, selected at with the No. 12 overall pick, will receive $457K above his $3.192MM slot value. However, there was some trepidation as to whether he’d sign (or at least as to how much he’d sign for), as the high school lefty was reported to have an agreement in place to go to the Padres at No. 24 for a $5MM bonus. That caused teams to pass on him early in the draft — he was once looked at as a potential first overall pick and later a potential top five selection — but the Sox snagged him at No. 12 anyway despite likely knowing they would be unable to meet that price.

Adding Groome to the system gives Boston a top-end talent to add to its minor league ranks. He rated as the top prospect in this year’s draft class in the estimation of Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, while ESPN’s Keith Law rated him second overall and Baseball America ranked him as the draft’s No. 3 prospect. While there have been some negative reports on Groome’s makeup, the scouting reports on him are excellent. Law writes that Groome has the best high school curveball he’s seen since Lucas Giolito, while Callis and Mayo write that the 6’6″, 220-pounder “has everything to be a top-of-the-rotation left-handed starting pitcher,” with a 92-93 mph heater, the aforementioned curveball and a sparsely used changeup for which he shows good feel. BA agreed and praised his “sound delivery” and the necessary strength to repeat his mechanics well.

Beyond Groome, Callis reports (via Twitter) that the Sox have also reached an over-slot agreement with fifth-rounder Mike Shawaryn. The right-hander from Maryland will receive a $637,500 bonus that significantly outpaces his $375,500 slot. Shawaryn rated 77th on BA’s Top 500, 91st on Law’s Top 100 and 139th on MLB.com’s Top 200, with the various scouting reports on the Terrapin righty noting that a down season caused his stock to tumble from a potential first- or second-round pick to the middle rounds. However, the over-slot deal will convince the college junior from taking his chance at a stronger senior season that could’ve rebuilt some of his draft value.

Callis also reports (via Twitter) that Boston also inked fourth-rounder Bobby Dalbec — a third baseman out of Arizona — for a $650K bonus that tops his $501,300 slot. Dalbec came in at No. 88 on MLB.com’s Top 200 and No. 118 on BA’s Top 500.

Red Sox Close To Deal With First-Rounder Jason Groome

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12:57pm: Boston is indeed closing in on a final agreement, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports, though it’s still not over the finish line. He adds that the Red Sox had previously moved their offer to over $3.5MM — well above the ~$3.2MM slot allocation — and has crept further northward in recent days.

10:53am: The Red Sox are close to a deal with first-round draft pick Jason Groome, according to Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald (via Twitter). The young southpaw is in Boston for his physical, but the sides are still finalizing the contract terms.

Last we checked, the sides were headed toward an arrangement but still haggling over the final price. With Groome making the trip to get his medical clearance, it certainly seems that any remaining gap will be bridged in short order.

A high-school starter, Groome entered the draft as one of the most highly-rated prospects available, with MLB.com (#1), ESPN.com (#2), and Baseball America (#3) all listing him at or near the top of their boards. Chatter about his makeup seemingly took him out of contention for the top several picks, leaving other organizations in position to nab him down the line. While the Padres were said to have put a high-budget offer on the table later in the first round, the Sox chose to take a chance on signing him.

Latest On Jason Groome, Red Sox

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TODAY: A deal is “getting closer” and “should get done,” a source tells Speier (via Twitter). That being said, a final number has yet to be arrived at between the two sides.

YESTERDAY, 5:33pm: Talks between the two sides are intensifying, per Jon Heyman and Robert Murray of FanRag Sports (Twitter link), but there’s no deal in place just yet.

10:55am: New Jersey high school lefty Jason Groome remains the highest-profile draftee who is yet unsigned, and there remains a gap between him and the Red Sox, as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe explains. Speier’s sources express optimism that the 12th overall pick will ultimately sign, but there are a number of moving parts involved.

Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball reported yesterday that the Red Sox had offered Groome a $3.5MM bonus, higher than the pick value of $3,192,800 but significantly lower than the $5MM Heyman reported Groome could have gotten from the Padres had he lasted until the No. 24 pick. Now Speier writes that the Red Sox have gone a little over $3.5MM but are still short of his bonus demands. Groome could head to a Florida junior college and reenter the draft in a year if he deems the Sox’ bonus offers unsuitable.

The Red Sox have a bonus pool just shy of $7MM (an amount they could stretch to about $7.35MM without losing one or more future draft picks) and have already committed just $2.2MM of that. But they have not signed fourth-rounder Bobby Dalbec, whose pick value is just over $500K, or fifth-rounder Mike Shawaryn, whose pick value is around $375K. If they’re unable to sign Groome, they could also have interest in signing 11th-rounder Nick Quintana, a well-regarded high school infielder who is committed to Arizona.

Another dynamic in play, according to Speier, is that Groome hasn’t yet taken a physical in advance of Friday’s deadline. All things considered, though, the Red Sox will surely be highly motivated to sign him — a big lefty with good velocity and and a terrific curve would be a strong addition to any farm system.

Red Sox Notes: Ziegler, Clark, Trade Market

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New Red Sox reliever Brad Ziegler is a throwback to former Royals submariner Dan Quisenberry, ESPN’s Keith Law writes (subscription only). Like Quisenberry, Ziegler has been an effective closer for years despite not having elite velocity or throwing overhand. He can be a good eighth-inning option for the team, or he can work multi-inning stretches. Law characterizes the Diamondbacks’ return in the deal as being good enough, given that Ziegler is 36 and will be a free agent at season’s end — second baseman Luis Alejandro Basabe runs well and has good plate discipline, and Jose Almonte’s fastball might not be good enough for him to start in the long run. Here’s more on the Red Sox.

  • With negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement looming, MLB Players Association head Tony Clark recently offered his take on a few key labor-related issues, via Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. In the wake of the Red Sox being punished for circumventing rules governing international amateur prospect bonuses (resulting in several players’ deals with the team being voided), Clark describes both international and domestic baseball prospect development as “the wild, wild west.” He names domestic amateur travel baseball — which he describes as both costly and time-consuming — as one problem. As Drellich notes, amateurs and minor-leaguers are not part of the players union, but they are affected by collective bargaining. “With respect to these young players, to say we are concerned about how they were treated, is an understatement,” says Clark. “So suffice it to say from start to finish we have been and continued to be engaged on everything that’s going on.”
  • The Sox did well to hang on to All-Stars Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley and Xander Bogaerts, Peter Gammons writes. The team held onto all three despite some fans’ insistence the team make a big trade for a pitcher, and they’ve been key to the team’s resurgence this season. Of course, the Red Sox still have a need for starting pitching, partially because not enough of their prospects have developed into good back-end options. This time, though, the trade market is heavy on pitchers who don’t qualify as aces, which means that there likely won’t be much question of whether the Red Sox hold onto top prospects like Andrew Benintendi.

Red Sox Notes: Groome, JBJ

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With Friday’s deadline to sign 2016 amateur draft picks creeping up, the Red Sox and first-round selection Jason Groome are in a dispute over how much the left-hander is worth, reports Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball. Boston is currently offering Groome $3.5MM – which is $372K more than the 12th overall selection’s $3,192,800 slot value – according to Heyman, who adds that the 17-year-old had a pre-draft agreement with the Padres to sign for $5MM had he fallen to them at No. 24. The Red Sox have in the neighborhood of $400K remaining in their pool and could up their offer to Groome, Heyman notes, and he expects the two to eventually reach a deal.

  • Prior to his late-season major league breakout last year, Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. garnered the attention of several GMs while he was thriving in the minors, according to agent Scott Boras. “I had six different general managers calling me, because he was just killing the ball in Triple-A,” Boras said (via Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald). Boras added that he doesn’t ask GMs to trade his clients, so he didn’t request a deal out of Boston for Bradley – who has been outstanding for the Red Sox since last August. The 26-year-old earned his first All-Star trip this season on the strength of a .296/.378/.548 batting line with 14 home runs in 344 trips to the plate. In addition to his prowess with the bat, Bradley has been among the majors’ premier base runners this year, as FanGraphs shows.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/11/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league, each courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted…

  • Second baseman Cole Figueroa has elected free agency instead of an outright assignment to Triple-A from the Dodgers, per an announcement. Los Angeles designated the 29-year-old for assignment Friday after claiming him off waivers from the Pirates two weeks ago. Figueroa has picked up only 84 major league trips to the plate, but he has produced a respectable .288/.356/.376 line in nearly 2,000 Triple-A PAs.
  • The Red Sox have outrighted outfielder Ryan LaMarre to Triple-A Pawtucket, tweets Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Boston designated LaMarre for assignment when it acquired infielder Aaron Hill from the Brewers last week. Since the Reds took him in the second round of the 2010 draft, LaMarre has totaled just 32 major league plate appearances – six of which came earlier this year with the Red Sox. The 27-year-old has batted .265/.343/.379 over 2,469 trips to the plate in the minors.
  • The Reds have outrighted Juan Duran off their 40-man roster. The 24-year-old outfielder got a late start to his season and has struggled to a .191/.235/.255 batting line through 15 games and 51 plate appearances this season. Duran ranked among BA’s top 30 Reds prospects from 2008-11 but hasn’t appeared on that list since.
  • The Braves signed right-hander Maikel Cleto to a minor league contract. The hard-throwing 27-year-old has experience in parts of four big league seasons with the Cardinals and White Sox but hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2014. He’s averaged an impressive 11.6 K/9 in the Majors but has also averaged six walks per nine innings and posted an unsightly 6.60 ERA in 45 innings. Cleto pitched 14 innings in the Mexican League and caught Atlanta’s eye it seems, perhaps due to a much-improved 16-to-1 K/BB ratio in that brief stint.
  • Right-hander Vinnie Pestano has been released by the Yankees. The 31-year-old opened the season at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and enjoyed a strong April, pitching to a 3.38 ERA with 16 strikeouts and one walk in 10 2/3 innings but hasn’t pitched for the club since due to injury. Pestano has six seasons of big league experience and has worked to a 2.98 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 202 2/3 innings at the big league level.
  • The Marlins traded left-hander Tim Berry to the Padres in exchange for cash considerations. Berry, who was outrighted off Miami’s 40-man roster earlier this season, began the year in Double-A and was hit exceptionally hard, but he’s righted the ship after a stint on the disabled list and some time at Class-A Advanced, posting a 2.78 ERA over his past 22 2/3 innings (including one appearance with San Diego’s Class-A affiliate).

Craig Kimbrel To Miss 3-6 Weeks

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JULY 11: Kimbrel underwent successful left knee arthroscopy and partial medial meniscectomy surgery Monday, the team announced, and is on track to return in three to six weeks.

JULY 9: Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel needs surgery to repair cartilage in his left knee and will be out three to six weeks, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald tweets. Kimbrel had an MRI after experiencing knee soreness yesterday.

The 28-year-old Kimbrel, acquired at the start of the season in a big trade with the Padres, has a modest 3.55 ERA in his first year with Boston, but with his usual dominant peripherals — he has a ridiculous 13.6 K/9 to go with 4.1 BB/9 over 33 innings. He’s also recorded 17 saves this season.

Koji Uehara picked up a save yesterday for Boston, and the Red Sox added Diamondbacks closer Brad Ziegler last night, acquiring him from Arizona for two prospects. That move certainly looks to have been related to this one, although FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweeted before the seriousness of Kimbrel’s injury was known that the Red Sox were motivated primarily by the desire to add a different type of reliever, and via ESPN’s Scott Lauber (on Twitter), Sox exec Dave Dombrowski says the Sox and Diamondbacks were discussing a Ziegler trade before Kimbrel’s injury. In any case, the Red Sox’ timing looks fortuitous. Uehara and Ziegler will close until Kimbrel returns, according to Lauber (on Twitter). (Also via a tweet from Lauber, however, Ziegler will not be active today.)

[Related: Updated Red Sox Depth Chart]

At least from a health perspective, the Red Sox’ bullpen has had a rough time recently. In addition to Kimbrel’s injury, Junichi Tazawa was unavailable yesterday due to shoulder soreness. The Red Sox also lost offseason trade acquisition Carson Smith, who recently had Tommy John surgery.

Knocking Down The Door: Arcia, Benintendi, Bregman, Lopez, Reyes

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This week’s installment of Knocking Down the Door features a top prospect whose older brother is already in the Majors, two players selected in the top 10 picks of the 2015 draft, and a pair of starters that could add some flames to the back of the bullpen with their organization’s big league club.

Orlando Arcia, SS, Milwaukee Brewers (Triple-A Colorado Springs)

Arcia cemented his spot as the Brewers’ shortstop of the near future when he posted an .800 OPS with 25 stolen bases while playing most of the 2015 season as a 20 year-old in Double-A Biloxi. Now he’s on the verge of claiming that starting job before he reaches his 22nd birthday on August 4.

While Jonathan Villar’s breakout season (.806 OPS, 31 steals) has played a part in pushing back Arcia’s estimated time of arrival in Milwaukee—it wouldn’t have surprised anyone if he was called up in early May—the recent trade of Aaron Hill opens up third base for Villar while Arcia is putting the finishing touches on his Minor League career with eight hits in his last 20 at-bats, including three doubles, a triple, a homer and seven runs batted in.

Brewers Depth Chart

Andrew Benintendi, OF, Boston Red Sox (Double-A Portland)

The Red Sox have already patched up their bullpen by trading for Brad Ziegler, and they’re almost certain to acquire a starting pitcher before the non-waiver trade deadline on August 1 to shore up their shaky rotation. Their offense, meanwhile, is already the best in baseball and they could be even better once the Andrew Benintendi era begins.

I’m not certain that the 22-year-old Benintendi will be the first first-rounder (No. 7 overall) from the 2015 Draft to get the call to the big leagues—see Alex Bregman—but he shouldn’t be far behind. Coincidentally, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski recently hinted that Benintendi is close and might not need a stop in Triple-A.

Since a promotion to Double-A in mid-May, the left-handed-hitting center fielder has an .844 OPS in 47 games, including a .310 batting average since a 2-for-19 start. He’ll man left field once he arrives in Boston with Brock Holt moving back into his valuable role as a super-utility man.

Red Sox Depth Chart

Alex Bregman, INF, Houston Astros (Triple-A Fresno)

If you watched the Futures Game on Sunday, you know that I’m not the only person that thinks Alex Bregman should be in the Majors by now, including Bregman, who declared, “I’m ready,” when asked on MLB Network what he wanted the world to know about him.

The 22-year-old continues to tear the cover off of the ball in Triple-A and obviously didn’t have any problems with the elite talent on the mound yesterday, as he was a home run shy of the cycle after just three at-bats. Opening a spot in the Houston’s lineup is really as simple as moving Luis Valbuena to first base and allowing A.J. Reed and Evan Gattis to platoon in the designated hitter spot—Gattis has an .802 OPS versus left-handed pitching and a .641 OPS versus right-handers.

The surging Astros will be fun to watch in the second half, especially with Bregman manning third base and hitting in the No. 2 spot between George Springer and Jose Altuve.

Astros Depth Chart

Reynaldo Lopez, SP/RP, Washington Nationals (Triple-A Syracuse)/Alex Reyes, SP/RP, St. Louis Cardinals (Triple-A Memphis)

I’ve lumped Lopez and Reyes together since the theme here is very similar. They’re two of the best pitching prospects in the Minor Leagues, both with limited experience in the upper minors—Lopez has 14 Double-A starts and two Triple-A starts; Reyes has made eight Double-A starts and nine Triple-A starts—and still a lot of room to develop as starting pitchers. But most will agree that they could dominate in the Major Leagues right now in one-to-two inning relief stints.

At 22 and 21 years of age, respectively, Lopez and Reyes could find themselves in the thick of the 2016 playoff race and pitching in plenty of meaningful games. Both can hit 100 mph on the radar gun as starters—I wouldn’t be surprised to see 102 mph in games where they’re only needed for a few batters. And, most importantly, their respective organizations could each use some help in the bullpen.

Nationals Depth Chart

Cardinals Depth Chart

“Knocking Down the Door” is a weekly feature that identifies minor leaguers who are making a case for a big league promotion.

Red Sox Notes: Bullpen, Left Field

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On the heels of acquiring reliever Brad Ziegler from Arizona early Saturday, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald that their bullpen is “pretty well set.” Dombrowski, who said the Red Sox had been working on landing Ziegler “for a while,” is optimistic about how the club’s relief corps will fare after Craig Kimbrel returns in a few weeks from knee surgery, stating, “Kimbrel’s coming back, and then you’ve got Kimbrel, you’ve got Koji (Uehara), you’ve got (Brad) Ziegler. I know Taz (Junichi Tazawa) is going through a little bit of tiredness in his arm and shoulder. They don’t think it’s anything major.” Drellich is less bullish about the unit than Dombrowski is, though, as he opines that the Sox shouldn’t bank on the health of Kimbrel or Tazawa down the stretch, nor should they assume effectiveness from 41-year-old Uehara and Heath Hembree.

  • Injuries have beset the Red Sox this year in left field, where Chris Young, Blake Swihart and Brock Holt have each missed extended periods of time. However, Dombrowski is comfortable with his in-house options. Regarding the possibility of acquiring a left fielder, Dombrowski said (via Drellich), “I’m not really looking to do that. At some point, Blake Swihart is going to come back, too. … Chris Young is coming back. Brock Holt looks like, when I went in there earlier, it looks like he doesn’t have to be on the disabled list. Bryce Brentz has done a nice job for us.” Notably, Boston is in possession of an elite prospect, Double-A outfielder Andrew Benintendi, who could solve their issues in left if he receives a major league promotion.

BoSox Rumors: Hill, Hellickson, Odorizzi, Lowrie

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  • The Red Sox recently sent senior vice president of baseball operations Frank Wren – their top talent evaluator – to St. Petersburg, Fla., to observe division-rival Rays righty Jake Odorizzi. Last-place Tampa Bay is considering shopping Odorizzi, who should draw plenty of interest given his cheap salary ($520,700) and three years of arbitration eligibility remaining. The 26-year-old has compiled a 4.33 ERA, 8.49 K/9, 2.98 BB/9 in 99 2/3 frames this season. He previously combined for 337 1/3 innings of 3.74 ERA pitching and similar strikeout and walk rates from 2014-15.
  • As of earlier this week, the Red Sox were scouting Phillies 29-year-old right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, a pending free agent who has posted a 3.92 ERA, 7.92 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 105 2/3 innings this season. Preparing for a possible trade, the Phillies have reciprocated by scouting Boston’s farm system.
  • The Red Sox considered trading for Athletics infielder Jed Lowrie before acquiring Aaron Hill from the Brewers on Thursday. But Hill’s relationship with Red Sox infield coach Brian Butterfield helped tip the scales in his favor. Lowrie played in Boston from 2008-11 after the franchise drafted him 45th overall in 2005.

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