Red Sox Designate Randy Williams For Assignment
The Red Sox designated Randy Williams for assignment to create 40-man roster space for Ryan Lavarnway, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (on Twitter). The club placed Kevin Youkilis on the disabled list in a related move.
Williams, 35, appeared in seven games for Boston this year, most recently on August 5th. He spent most of the season with Boston's Triple-A affiliate and posted impressive numbers with Pawtucket: a 1.44 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 25 innings of work. Williams has also pitched for the White Sox, Rockies, Padres and Mariners in his five MLB seasons.
Teams Spend $236MM On Draft
The totals are in and Major League teams have again broken draft spending records. According to figures compiled by Jim Callis of Baseball America, MLB teams spent a combined $227.94MM on this year's draft bonuses and $235.99MM including additional guaranteed money in MLB deals for Danny Hultzen, Trevor Bauer, Dylan Bundy, Anthony Rendon and Matt Purke.
A year ago, MLB teams spent about $35MM less: $195.78MM, or $201.83MM including additional guaranteed money in big league deals. The Pirates led the way in 2011, spending over $17MM and breaking the $11.93MM record the Nationals set a year ago. Washington also broke its previous record, spending over $15MM on Rendon, Purke, Alex Meyer, Brian Goodwin and others.
Though only seven teams had ever spent over $10MM on the draft before this year, ten teams did so in 2011, according to Baseball America. Along with the Pirates and Nationals, the Royals ($14.01MM), Cubs ($11.95MM), Diamondbacks ($11.93MM), Rays ($11.48MM), Mariners ($11.33MM), Padres ($11.02MM), Blue Jays ($11.00MM) and Red Sox ($10.98MM) spent eight figures on the draft.
The Tigers ($2.88MM), who didn’t select until the second round, and White Sox ($2.76MM) were the only clubs to spend less than $3MM, according to Baseball America.
Stark On Cubs, Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies
ESPN's Jayson Stark posted a new column yesterday; let's take a look.
- Stark speculates on four players the Cubs could attempt to trade Carlos Zambrano for: Carlos Lee, A.J. Burnett, Barry Zito, and Derek Lowe. I posted 11 Zambrano trade scenarios yesterday; check it out. A few baseball insiders Stark spoke to did think that with the right veteran team or manager Zambrano could be useful.
- Cubs players Kerry Wood and Reed Johnson were claimed on waivers and pulled back, reports Stark. Carlos Pena has yet to be placed on waivers, but the Cubs may not be motivated to move him.
- One baseball man who is close to Bud Selig told Stark the commissioner has "basically promised a lot of people he'll get them slotting by next year."
- The Red Sox are poking around for a right-handed bench bat, while the Yankees and Phillies seek veteran left-handed relievers.
Draft Links: Dunston, Hultzen, Red Sox
Earlier today we compiled draft reactions, now it's time to round up some miscellaneous links…
- Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune wrote about Shawon Dunston Jr., who signed with the Cubs for $1.275MM as an 11th round pick yesterday. Junior said he came to the decision to sign on Sunday night, without being pushed his father.
- Larry Stone of The Seattle Times spoke to Brodie Van Wagenen, advisor to second overall pick Danny Hultzen. Van Wagenen discussed the compromises made by both his side and the Mariners during the negotiations, which were impacted by both Trevor Bauer (the third overall pick) and Dustin Ackley (the second overall pick two years ago).
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier broke down the Red Sox's draft spending, which totalled over $10MM.
Red Sox Sign Matt Barnes
The Red Sox signed first rounder Matt Barnes for $1.5MM, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law (on Twitter). Boston selected Barnes, a right-handed pitcher, with the 19th overall pick. The 6'4" 21-year-old starred at UConn in college.
You can keep track of which top picks have signed with MLBTR's list.
Red Sox Sign Blake Swihart
The Red Sox signed first rounder Blake Swihart for $2.5MM, according to Zoodig (on Twitter). Legacy Sports Group represents the high school catcher, who was the 26th overall selection in the June draft. Swihart, who had committed to playing for the University of Texas, took batting practice at Fenway Park earlier in the month.
You can keep track of which top picks have signed with MLBTR's list.
Supplemental Draft Pick Signings
When teams lose ranked free agents after offering arbitration, they obtain supplemental first round picks in the following year's amateur draft. The teams then have until August 15th to sign the picks. Today is the last day for teams to sign this year's draft picks and we'll keep track of the latest deals for supplemental first rounders right here:
- The Rays signed Tyler Goedell, according to the team. The third baseman obtains $1.5MM, according to Callis. The Rays also signed Grayson Garvin, according to Conor Glassey of Baseball America (on Twitter). It's a $370K deal, according to Callis (on Twitter). Tampa Bay obtained the 59th overall pick for the loss of Brad Hawpe.
- The Padres signed Michael Kelly, according to Callis (Twitter links). It's a $718K deal.
- The Red Sox signed 36th overall pick Henry Owens for $1.55MM, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com (on Twitter). They also signed Jackie Bradley Jr. for $1.1MM, according to John Manuel of Baseball America (on Twitter).
- The Nationals agreed to terms with Brian Goodwin, the 34th overall pick, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). The outfielder's bonus is believed to be $3MM.
- The Twins will sign supplemental first rounder Travis Harrison to a deal worth $1.05MM, according Zoodig, an athlete digital media platform, on Twitter. The Twins also signed supplemental first rounder Hudson Boyd for $1MM, according to Callis (onTwitter). The Twins obtained the 55th overall pick for losing Orlando Hudson.
- The Diamondbacks agreed to sign Andrew Chafin for $875K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. The D'Backs obtained the 43rd overall pick as compensation for Adam LaRoche.
Quick Hits: Marquis, Pedroia, Mariners
A few links of note for my fellow night owls …
- Diamondbacks right-hander Jason Marquis may once again rekindle his interest in pitching for either his hometown Mets or Yankees this offseason when he enters free agency, writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. “I’m a New York guy, and I have always dreamed of playing for the Yankees or Mets, representing my hometown," said Marquis. The veteran was thought to have talked with the Mets prior to 2010 before signing with the Nationals, although those talks apparently never became serious.
- Rob Bradford of WEEI.com looks at the uniquely structured contract of Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. There's a lot going on with this deal, but the takeaway is that there are escalators that can kick in depending upon where Pedroia finishes in MVP voting. Check it out here at Cot's Baseball Contracts.
- The Mariners have signed fifth-round pick Tyler Marlette, a high school catcher out of Florida, for $650K, writes Jim Callis of Baseball America. MLB's slot recommendation for the 153rd overall pick is $165.6K, according to Callis. Marlette was ranked No. 72 overall in BA's pre-draft rankings.
Draft Signings: Blue Jays, Indians, Red Sox, Pirates
The draft signing deadline is now less than three full days away, and the signing status of all first and supplemental first round picks can be found right here. We'll keep track of all the day's notable signings right here, with the latest up top…
- The Blue Jays have signed third rounder Josh Stilson for $500K, reports Jim Callis of Baseball America. MLB's slot recommendation was just about $290K. Stilson, a right-hander from Texas A&M, was expected to be a first round pick before injuring his shoulder this spring.
- The Indians have signed 19th round pick Shawn Morimando, according to the Reynolds Sports Twitter feed. MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo reports (on Twitter) that the high school left-hander from Virginia Beach received a $350K signing bonus.
- The Red Sox have signed 29th rounder Matt Spalding for $275K, reports WEEI.com's Alex Speier. Spalding is a high school right-hander from Kentucky.
- The Pirates announced that they have signed 12th rounder Candon Myles in a press release. He's a high school center fielder from Texas, and his signing bonus was undisclosed.
Quick Hits: Rhodes, Yankees, Villalona, Athletics
The A's announced that they have hired former MLB player and manager Phil Garner as a special advisor. The 62-year-old played for 16 seasons and managed for another 15. Here are the latest links from around MLB…
- Arthur Rhodes told B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com that the Red Sox, Yankees, and Phillies all had interest in signing with him before he joined the Cardinals (Twitter link). The Phillies wanted the veteran lefty to pitch in the minors before adding him to the big league roster.
- "What you see is what you’re gonna get," said Yankees GM Brian Cashman to Dan Barbarisi of The Wall Street Journal (Twitter link). Cashman doesn't expect to make any waiver trades this month.
- The Associated Press (via ESPN Deportes) reports that former Giants prospect Angel Villalona is suing the team for $5MM, citing unlawful termination of his contract. Villalona, once ranked as the 33rd best prospect in the game by Baseball America, has not played since 2009 after being charged with murder in the Dominican Republic.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues that MLB needs a salary floor (a minimum payroll) because certain teams aren't going to spend any more than they have to. However, the players' union has traditionally opposed salary caps and floors.
- Ian Kennedy told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he would listen if the D’Backs approached him about a long-term deal.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he didn't know Ron Roenicke before interviewing him for Milwaukee's managerial opening last fall. The new skipper has the Brewers in first place, four games ahead of the Cardinals.
- Joey Votto told Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer that superstars can be overrated in MLB, since they don't impact the game the way great players do in other sports. I highly recommend Daugherty's piece, in which Votto shows a strong understanding of the business of baseball.
- Tampa Bay, Arizona, Oakland, Miami and Washington are the five worst markets in MLB for Newsday's Ken Davidoff.