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Royals Sign Brandon Finnegan

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The Royals have announced that they’ve signed No. 17 overall draft pick Brandon Finnegan. MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets that Finnegan will receive the full bonus pool allotment of $2,200,600.

Finnegan, a junior lefty from TCU, was ranked the No. 15 draft prospect by MLB.com, No. 18 by Baseball America and No. 24 by ESPN’s Keith Law. MLB.com notes that he throws 93-95 MPH and has what could be a good slider. He also uses a changeup, although he might stop throwing the pitch if he ends up in the bullpen.

Finnegan could end up as a closer in the long term — he’s undersized at 5’11”, and MLB.com notes that there are questions about his durability. Finnegan also missed a few weeks in April and May with shoulder tightness. But he has excellent stuff. The Royals could use him as a starter, but Callis notes that he could make it to the big leagues quickly as a reliever.

Royals May Look To Acquire Bench Help, Right Fielder

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As the trade deadline approaches, the Royals will be in the market for bench pieces and possibly a right fielder to replace incumbent Nori Aoki, reports Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star. While the team’s scouts have been spotted watching several starters who are expected to be available, McCullough indicates that the front office’s focus is on other needs.

While Kansas City has suffered from less than optimal performances from other positions — second, third, and designated hitter chief among them — the players occupying those slots enjoy firmer commitments from the club. Omar Infante just inked a four-year deal; Mike Moustakas was a key organizational prospect who is still young; and Billy Butler is nearing the end of a large extension.

Meanwhile, Aoki has had an underwhelming run in Kansas City since coming over via trade. Set to reach free agency at the end of the year, the 32-year-old owns a .263/.326/.324 trple-slash through 292 plate appearances. After posting 3+ rWAR seasons in his first two years in the league, Aoki has dipped below replacement level, with advanced metrics also disliking his defensive work. McCullough cites Marlon Byrd of the Phillies and Seth Smith of the Padres as possible targets.

As for the bench, McCullough says that backup catcher Brett Hayes and utility infielder Pedro Ciriaco are both susceptible to being replaced. While neither has seen much action (36 and 49 plate appearances, respectively), that also shows that they are providing little function in reserve.

Royals Designate Donnie Joseph For Assignment

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The Royals have designated lefty Donnie Joseph for assignment, tweets Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star. In a series of corresponding moves, the club has also activated swingman Bruce Chen and optioned reliever Tim Collins to Triple-A.

Joseph had one regrettable appearance this year, allowing six earned in just two thirds of an inning, but did make six scoreless outings last year. Through 25 2/3 frames at Triple-A in 2014, Joseph owns a 3.86 ERA with 10.5 K/9 against 7.0 BB/9.

Minor Moves: Fisher, Clay, Diaz, Panik, Stinson

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Here’s a look at today’s minor moves from around the league.

  • The Braves have purchased the contract of Carlos Fisher from the Somerset Patriots and assigned him to Triple-A, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. Fisher, 31, previously spent parts of three seasons with the Reds, most recently in 2011. He posted a 4.74 ERA, 7.84 K/9, and 5.02 BB/9 in 98 2/3 innings.
  • The Angels have signed Caleb Clay from the Korean Baseball Organization’s Hanwha Eagles and assigned him to Triple-A, according to Cotillo (via Twitter). Clay was selected 44th overall by the Red Sox during the 2006 amateur draft. He’s since pitched for the Sox and Nationals organizations but never reached the majors. The 26-year-old right-hander struggled in his first season overseas, with a 8.33 ERA, 4.50 K/9, and 5.63 BB/9.
  • Once again from Cotillo (on Twitter), the Diamondbacks have signed 27-year-old Argenis Diaz to a minor league deal. Diaz was with the Reds until recently. Interestingly, Arizona’s Triple-A affiliate has only used Didi Gregorius and Nick Ahmed at shortstop to date in 2014. Diaz will presumably provide depth up the middle.

From earlier…

  • The Tigers will promote lefty Pat McCoy, Mark Anderson of TigsTown.com tweets. McCoy will have to be added to their 40-man roster. McCoy, 25, has posted a 2.94 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 33 2/3 innings this season divided between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo. The Tigers signed McCoy, a product of the Nationals system, to a minor league deal last fall.
  • The Giants will promote prospect Joe Panik, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Panik, the team’s first-round pick in 2011, will need to be added to the Giants’ 40-man roster. The second baseman was hitting .321/.382/.447 in 326 plate appearances for Triple-A Fresno.
  • The Orioles have announced that pitcher Josh Stinson has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles designated Stinson for assignment on Tuesday. He has pitched 13 innings for the Orioles this season, allowing nine runs while striking out six and walking six.
  • The Rockies have purchased the contract of pitcher Wilton Lopez, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding tweets. They’ve made space for Lopez by optioning pitching Chris Martin to Triple-A Colorado Springs and moving Michael Cuddyer to the 60-day DL. The Rockies outrighted Lopez last week.
  • The Yankees have released 1B/OF Russ Canzler, Donnie Collins of the Scranton Times-Tribune tweets. Canzler last appeared in the big leagues with the Indians in 2012. He hit .263/.332/.389 in 199 plate appearances for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2014.
  • The Royals have added selected the contract of OF Justin Maxwell, Jeffrey Flanagan of FOX Sports Kansas City tweets. Maxwell will take Norichika Aoki’s place on the active roster as Aoki heads to the disabled list with a groin injury. The Royals outrighted Maxwell in May, and he’s hit .316/.358/.541 in 106 plate appearances since then.
  • The Astros will add Jake Buchanan to their 40-man roster to start Saturday, and Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle notes (via Twitter) that fellow pitcher Jose Cisnero will head to the 60-day disabled list to make room for Buchanan on the 40-man roster. Buchanan, 24, has posted 5.2 K/9 and 1.2 BB/9 in 76 1/3 innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City this season.

Stark On Rays, Zobrist, Utley, Cubs, Padres

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The trade deadline is rapidly approaching and while things figure to get exciting over the next month and change, not everyone is drooling over what might be available.  “To be honest, I don’t see much out there,” an official of one contender told Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. “Who’s even selling? And what are they selling? I know there will be guys to trade for. But where’s the quality?”  The whole column is worth a read, but here are some of the highlights from Stark’s latest..

  • The Rays front office believed that they had the talent to win it all this year and that optimism could play into how they approach the deadline.  The Rays aren’t selling and Stark writes that if they believe what they have can power them to a championship next season, they might stand pat and keep the band together.  Teams that have spoken with Tampa Bay see a fire sale as unlikely.
  • The Rays might listen on Ben Zobrist, but one exec who has spoken with the club gets the sense that it would be “really, really difficult” for them to part with him.  The exception to all of this, of course, is David Price.
  • The Phillies are expected to be open for business between now and the deadline, but they might not like the offers that come in.  “Look at their trade chips,” said an NL executive. “Even if they blow it up, dangle [Cole] Hamels and dangle all these other guys, each one of those guys has some reason it will be hard for them to get back what they want.“
  • Meanwhile, one exec flatly said a Chase Utley trade is “not happening.”  The sticker price might not be met on Phillies like Cliff Lee, Jonathan Papelbon, and Jimmy Rollins, but teams see Domonic Brown as someone whom the Phillies would like to swap for a different young change-of-scenery candidate.
  • Teams that have spoken with the Cubs expect them to move pitcher Jason Hammel in the next two weeks.  That could just be the warm up for Jeff Samardzija, but they continue to tell teams that they’d like to hammer out a new contract with him.  This week we learned that the Cubs ace rejected a five-year, $85MM+ offer.
  • While some teams are beating around the bush, the Padres are aggressively letting teams know that they want to sell.  All of their outfielders, except Cameron Maybin, are available, and that includes Seth Smith, Chris Denorfia, and Will Venable.
  • Several teams report the Dodgers are telling them they’ll listen right now on every one of their outfielders except Yasiel Puig.
  • The Yankees have been asking almost exclusively about starting pitching in their preliminary conversations.
  • Teams that have talked with the Tigers say they’re focused on bullpen upgrades, not shortstop.
  • The Angels are in the bullpen market, but they’re looking hard at left-handed-relief options, not closers.
  • Things are murky around the D’Backs since no one really knows who is in charge their or what their goals are.
  • Royals GM Dayton Moore has indicated that the Royals can add payroll, but clubs believe that he won’t get to go-ahead to spend until mid-July.  When and if KC starts buying, they are expected to target right fielders and bullpen arms since that is what they’ve been asking about in conversations.

Deadline Notes: Utley, Rollins, Mayberry, Royals, Yankees, Mets

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There’s been quite a bit of chatter regarding Jeff Samardzija and the rest of the Cubs’ pitchers over the past few days, due largely to the fact that everyone is aware the Cubs will be sellers at this summer’s non-waiver trade deadline. For other clubs, the trade picture isn’t so clear. Here are some notes on players that are potential trade targets and on which clubs should buy and which should sell…

  • Phillies president David Montgomery tells Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the club can’t be stubborn and close itself off from trading certain players if it’s the best thing for the team — and that includes longtime cornerstones Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins. Referring to Utley, Montgomery noted that he’d like his second baseman to remain with the club beyond his playing days. Of course, both players have 10-and-5 rights and can veto any trade.
  • For his part, Rollins softened his stance on waiving his no-trade rights after surpassing Mike Schmidt for the franchise hits lead this weekend, Gelb notes. Said Rollins: “It really depends if everything is blown up. Then, you take that into consideration. Fortunately, I don’t have to worry about that right now. But if that time does come, and it’s time to go … people move on.”
  • Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports that the Red Sox and Yankees have some interest in John Mayberry Jr. as outfield depth. Boston has scouted several recent Phillies games, and one “plugged-in Major League source” tells Salisbury that the Yankees are a team to watch in regards to Mayberry as well.
  • In an ESPN Insider piece, Dan Szymborski opines that the Royals need to make a bold acquisition in an attempt to take the AL Central. Szymborski’s ZiPS projection system has the Royals as a 50-50 chance to make the playoffs and a 29 percent chance to win the division right now. With five regular position players ranking at or below replacement level (per Baseball-Reference), the team needs to make a splash, as the Tigers are far more vulnerable than most expected. He suggests that third base and right field are the two most viable spots, listing Aaron Hill, Ben Zobrist and Chase Headley as possible targets.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman expects to make a trade or multiple trades this July, writes Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com. “I feel that we need to get better from within, and I think I can speed up the process if I run into something outside at the same time,” said Cashman. “We usually make moves every year, so I expect to make moves again.” Bloom runs down a list of trade targets and notes that the stock of Dellin Betances has skyrocketed this season, though he wonders if Cashman would be willing to include a potential future closer for a short-term fix. Cashman said he didn’t want to wait to make a move but added that prices are often highest early on in trade season.
  • Though Joel Sherman of the New York Post said not long ago that the Mets should act boldly as buyers, the team’s recent woes have him convinced that the opposite may now be true. After a 4-11 skid, he writes that the Mets should deal two of Jon Niese, Bartolo Colon and Dillon Gee this summer and also make Daniel Murphy available in trades. Doing so will bring back valuable offensive prospects and position the Mets well for a high draft pick in 2015. He notes that Sandy Alderson’s regime has done well in trades, bringing in Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard, Travis d’Arnaud, Vic Black and Dilson Herrera by trading veteran pieces.

Royals To Sign Second Round Pick Scott Blewett

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The Royals have reached agreement with second-round choice (56th overall) Scott Blewett, according to Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter). Blewett lands a $1.8MM bonus, reports MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter), which lands well above his draft slot allocation of just over $1MM.

The 6’6 high school righty was placed as high as 20th on the pre-draft lists of observers, with ESPN.com’s Keith Law making that lofty assessment. Blewett landed at 51st on the list of Baseball America and at 55th on that of MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis. He is said to have a mid-90s fastball.

The Royals entered with just over $8.6MM in possible achievable pool space. Blewett’s big payday still leaves Kansas City $113.5K beneath its total pool, according to a tweet from Callis, who notes that two draftees (first-rounder Brandon Finnegan and seventh-rounder Brandon Downes) are still playing in the College World Series.

Minor Moves: Brian Gordon, Alex Burnett

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Here are Sunday’s minor moves from around MLB:

  • The Yankees have released right-hander Brian Gordon from Triple-A, tweets Chad Jennings of LoHud.com. The 35-year-old made 14 appearances (13 starts) for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season compiling a 4.75 ERA, 5.8 K/9, and 3.2 BB/9 in 77 2/3 innings. Gordon last appeared in a MLB game with the Yankees in 2011.
  • Right-hander Alex Burnett has signed with the Sioux City Explorers, an independent league team, tweets Phil Miller of the StarTribune. The hope for the 26-year-old, according to Miller, is to draw a contract offer from the Royals. In over 177 Major League appearances, mostly with the Twins, Burnett owns a 4.70 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Royals To Sign Foster Griffin

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The Royals have agreed to terms with first-round selection Foster Griffin on a $1.925MM signing bonus that is above the No. 28 overall selection’s assigned slot value of $1.815MM, reports MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter).

Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com ranked Griffin as the draft’s No. 28 prospect, while Baseball America ranked him 27th and ESPN’s Keith Law ranked him 34th. A high school left-hander out of Orlando, Fla., Griffin had previously been committed to Ole Miss. Griffin, who stands 6’5″ and is listed at 190 pounds, sits in the low 90s with his heater and has touched 94 mph, per BA. Griffin’s changeup is ahead of his slider, per Callis and Mayo, though Law notes that he is a work in progress, mechanically speaking. Law calls him a potential No. 3 starter with a swing-man role or lefty specialist serving as his floow.

Griffin was the second left-handed pitcher selected in the first round by the Royals, who took TCU southpaw Brandon Finnegan 17th overall. Kansas City received the No. 28 selection as compensation for losing Ervin Santana to the Braves in free agency.

Royals To Sign Chase Vallot

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The Royals have an agreement in place with competitive balance round A choice Chase Vallot, reports Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter). Vallot was taken with the 40th overall slot, which carries a slot value of $1.42MM.

Bonus terms remain unreported for Vallot, a Louisiana high school catcher who had been committed to Mississippi State. Ranking him 49th overall among draft prospects, MLB.com writes that Vallot has a power bat and arm. He could still stick behind the dish, but could ultimately transition to first base or the outfield. Baseball America similarly placed him as the 47th overall draft-eligible player, while ESPN.com’s Keith Law saw him as the 33rd best player available.

Kansas City agreed to an at-slot deal with third-rounder Erik Skoglund yesterday, after adding its fourth through sixth-round picks the day before. The team’s top two choices, lefties Brandon Finnegan and Foster Griffin, and second-round righty Scott Blewett have yet to agree to terms.

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