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Rosenthal On Hernandez, Castro, Butler

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Trading Felix Hernandez for offense would make sense for the Mariners, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests. Hernandez, who’s under contract through 2014 and can block deals to ten teams, has a 3.52 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 94 2/3 innings this year. Here are more of Rosenthal’s notes from around MLB…

  • Few teams are willing to take on high salaries and part with premium prospects, Rosenthal writes. This would limit the Mariners’ potential trade partners were they to consider trading Hernandez.
  • The Mariners asked the Cubs about Starlin Castro and asked the Royals about Billy Butler in recent weeks, Rosenthal reports. They also talked to other clubs about potential trades for hitters, but none of the discussions progressed.
  • Virtually every team contacted the Cubs following a report indicating that Castro was available. However, the Cubs haven’t actually put Castro on the trading block.
  • Butler is also relatively untouchable, Rosenthal writes. The Royals consider him a core piece.

International Notes: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Twins

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A new set of rules and restrictions for the international prospect market will take effect less than two weeks from now, on July 2. Each team will be working with an annual budget of $2.9MM for international players starting next month. Here are the latest rumblings regarding the international prospect market, via Ben Badler of Baseball America:

  • The Blue Jays had seemed to be in the lead for Venezuelan right-hander Jose Mujica, but may not be as closely linked to him as expected, Badler writes. The Red Sox and Diamondbacks have also been linked to the 15-year-old Mujica, who's considered by many scouts to be the top pitching prospect available in Latin America. 
  • The Blue Jays are still favored to sign 16-year-old Venezuelan Franklin Barreto, according to Badler. Some teams consider Barreto the top available prospect, but he will likely move from shortstop to another position.
  • The Red Sox, Padres and Royals have been mentioned as possible teams of interest on Venezuelan left-hander Jose Castillo, Badler writes. Some view the Dodgers and Orioles as sleepers for Castillo, who’s expected to obtain a generous bonus.
  • The Twins are showing heavy interest in Dominican shortstop Amaurys Minier, according to Badler. The 16-year-old switch-hitter is expected to become one of the highest-paid Dominican prospects.
  • Some believe the Pirates are in on Dominican third baseman Julio de la Cruz.

AL Central Notes: Turner, Doumit, Royals

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The Tigers are calling on Missouri native Jacob Turner to make his season debut against the Cardinals this afternoon. Turner, who started three games for Detroit last year, had a 3.43 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 42 innings at Triple-A before getting called up. Here are today's AL Central links…

  • If Turner stays in the Major Leagues from this point on, he'll have two years and 134 days of service time after the 2014 season. There's a good chance it'd be enough for Super Two status, but it won't be enough to accelerate Turner's free agency. However, the Tigers' primary focus is no doubt winning games this year.
  • Ryan Doumit, who signed a one-year, $3MM contract with the Twins last offseason, has enjoyed playing in Minnesota and has interest in returning next season, Phil Mackey of 1500ESPN.com reports. No extension talks have taken place, and there’s a sense the Twins will wait until after the trade deadline before determining how Doumit fits into their long-term plans, Mackey writes.
  • The Royals won’t necessarily be sellers this summer, scouts tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The Royals are in fourth place in the AL Central, 4.5 games behind the division-leading Indians.

Rosenthal On Royals, A’s, Barney, Orioles

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Many baseball people expect the Padres to trade Carlos Quentin, but the team is in a fluid situation, so that assumption is not safe, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. The Padres should have some payroll flexibility this offseason, so they could keep the outfielder despite their modest budget. Here are Rosenthal’s latest rumors:

  • Jeff Francoeur has played through ailments and injuries this year and the Royals like his leadership, so they aren’t necessarily looking to trade him.
  • Last August the Royals offered Melky Cabrera the same two-year, $13.5MM contract Francoeur eventually signed, but Cabrera declined the offer and the Royals traded him a few months later.
  • Rosenthal suggests the A’s aren’t eager to trade veterans for marginal returns. The team is hovering around .500 and plays 18 of its next 28 games at home. The A’s would probably love to trade Kurt Suzuki, Rosenthal writes.
  • One exec predicts the Phillies don’t have enough confidence in their outfield depth to trade Hunter Pence this summer.
  • An agent predicts Cole Hamels will sign a monster free agent contract this coming offseason and Rosenthal says the Phillies won’t go near $150MM for six years or $175MM for seven years.
  • Rival teams frequently ask about Darwin Barney and it’s possible the Cubs will trade the second baseman.
  • The Orioles seem to have the most interest in trading for Diamondbacks left-hander Joe Saunders, Rosenthal reports.
  • The Orioles’ Triple-A team, which includes Miguel Tejada, Jamie Moyer and Dontrelle Willis, tops the Orioles’ MLB team in career earnings, Rosenthal notes.
  • One executive suggested a growing number of teams could request 72-hour windows to negotiate extensions with trade targets this summer because of the provision in the new collective bargaining agreement that prevents teams from obtaining draft pick compensation for players acquired midseason. However, players wouldn’t necessarily be interested in signing and it’d cost teams time and leverage.

Draft Signings: Mariners, Nats, Pirates, Royals, O’s

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Here are the latest draft signings from beyond the first round, with the most recent news at the top of the post….

  • The Mariners announced that third-rounder Edwin Diaz and third-round compensation pick Tyler Pike have agreed to terms.  Figures weren't announced but Kendall Rogers of Perfect Game USA (via Twitter) reports that left-hander Pike signed for an $850K bonus, well above the recommended slot value of $370.8K.  Diaz is a right-handed pitcher and, as the 98th overall pick, has a recommended bonus of $485.7K.
  • The Nationals paid second-round pick Tony Renda a $500K bonus, reports Baseball America's Jim Callis (via Twitter).  Renda, a second baseman from Cal, carried a recommended bonus price of $630K as the 80th overall pick.
  • The Pirates announced the signing of high school pitcher Jon Sandfort, the club's third-round selection.  Terms were not disclosed, but Jim Callis tweets that Sandfort signed for his exact recommended bonus of $462.9K.
  • The Royals have announced (Twitter link) the signing of Vanderbilt left-hander Sam Selman, the club's second-round draft pick.  Selman signed for a $750K bonus, reports Baseball America's Jim Callis, which is below the recommended $781.6K bonus price for the 66th overall pick.  The Royals have now signed 28 of 40 draft picks, including all of their picks from the first 11 rounds.
  • Another Royals draft signing, fourth-rounder Kenny Diekroeger, will receive a $500K bonus, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (Twitter link).  The recommended price for Diekroeger's draft position was $346.6K.
  • The Orioles have agreed to terms with more than 20 draft picks, reports Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com.  The club is "in the very early or beginning stages" of negotiations with first-round pick Kevin Gausman and second-round pick Branden Kline.

Draft Signings: Mariners, Mets, Royals, A’s, Pirates

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Here are today's latest draft signings, with the most recent updates up top..

  • ‪The Mariners‬ signed sixth-round pick Timmy Lopes for $550K, well over the pick value of $198K, according to Callis (via Twitter).  The infielder out of California is said to have a good bat, not unlike his older brother Christian Lopes who was drafted by the Blue Jays last year.  The M's also announced that they signed 26 others from this year's draft and have now inked 25 of their first 30 picks.
  • The Mets‬ signed third-rounder Matt Koch for $425K, slightly below his pick value of $445K, tweets Jim Callis of Baseball America.  The right-hander has a 92-96 mph fastball and flashes good slider and changeup. 
  • The Royals‬ signed fourth-round pick, Stanford infielder Kenny Diekroeger, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.  Just one of Kansas City's top ten picks remain unsigned.
  • The A’s announced that they agreed to terms with center fielder Herschel Powell (20th round), right-hander Lee Sosa (26th), shortstop Christopher Wolfe (30th), and first baseman John Wooten (37th).
  • The Pirates announced that they signed eight draft picks, including infielder Eric Wood (sixth round).  Pittsburgh has now inked nine draft picks in total and continues to negotiate with eighth-overall pick Mark Appel.

Royals Notes: Francoeur, Myers, Greinke

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The Royals' offense, which ranked sixth in the American League a year ago, now sits next-to-last in scoring with 224 runs. Here's the latest on the 24-34 Royals, before their series with the Brewers begins…

  • Wil Myers’ tremendous minor league numbers have put Jeff Francoeur on the trading block, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. The Royals could potentially part with Francoeur and call up Myers without damaging the team’s credibility in the short term. However, the Royals intend to be patient with Myers and Francoeur’s two-year $13.5MM contract could deter some suitors.
  • Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star explains that Zack Greinke could be a fit in Kansas City this offseason, despite the apparently acrimonious conclusion to his first stint with the Royals. Greinke, a free agent after the season, requested a trade from the Royals following the 2010 season, since he didn’t believe they were close to contending. Billy Butler has had critical words for Greinke in the past, but he’d welcome the right-hander back. “A lot of things get overshadowed when you have that type of talent,” Butler said.

Astros Acquire D’Andre Toney From Royals

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The Astros announced that they have acquired outfielder D’Andre Toney from the Royals as the player to be named later in the March 20th trade that sent Jason Bourgeois and Humberto Quintero to Kansas City.  Toney was drafted by the Royals in the 14th round last year.

Drafted players cannot be traded until they have been in professional baseball for a year which is why Toney was made to be a PTBNL rather than in the initial trade.  The 20-year-old hit .340/.432/.587 in 43 games last year for the Royals' Arizona League affiliate.  At the time of the deal, Astros GM Jeff Luhnow noted that the PTBNL would be the "key component" of the trade.

Draft Signings: Mathisen, Maxwell, Cardinals

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Here are Saturday's notable non-first round draft pick signings…

  • The Pirates have agreed to sign second rounder Wyatt Mathisen according to Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Sulia). Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects first reported the agreement. The high school catcher from Texas was the 69th overall pick, which carries a slot value of $746K.
  • The Athletics have signed second rounder Bruce Maxwell for a below slot $770K, reports Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). The college bat was slotted for $831K.  Maxwell is represented by Matt Sosnick and Adam Karon of Sosnick Cobbe Sports.
  • In addition to first rounder Stryker Trahan, the Diamondbacks announced that they've agreed to terms with 30 other draft picks. Second rounder Jose Munoz and third rounder Jake Barrett highlight the crop. The Arizona Republic has the full list.
  • Ben Nicholson-Smith reports (on Twitter) that the D'Backs gave ninth rounder Jeff Gibbs a $90K bonus plus college tuition. Callis reports (on Twitter) that they gave fourth rounder Charles Taylor a $250K bonus. Slot money for those two picks is $125K and $286K, respectively.
  • The Cardinals have signed third rounder Tim Cooney for a straight slot $404K bonus, reports Callis (on Twitter). The left-hander hails from Wake Forest.
  • The Mariners have agreed to terms with fourth rounder Patrick Kivlehan, reports MLB.com's Josh Liebeskind. Slot money for the Rutgers third baseman is $353K. Seattle also signed 12th rounder Mike Faulkner for $100K according to Callis (on Twitter).
  • The Red Sox have signed their fifth through tenth round draft picks according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier. All six players are college seniors.
  • The Royals have signed sixth rounder Zach Lovvorn for $275K, reports Callis (on Twitter). Slot money for the pick was $194K.
  • The Astros announced the signing of eight more picks, including ninth rounder Daniel Minor. Houston has now signed 18 picks total according to the release.
  • The Phillies have signed tenth rounder Kevin Brady for a straight slot $125K bonus according to Callis (on Twitter). The right-hander is out of Clemson.

Minor Moves: Kris Watts, Tim Sexton

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Keeping track of the day's minor moves…

  • The Nationals have acquired minor league catcher Kris Watts from the Pirates in exchange for cash, as announced on the Pirates' official Twitter feed.  Watts was Pittsburgh's 16th-round pick in the 2006 draft and has a .259/.357/.385 line in 1702 career minor league plate appearances.
  • The Royals signed right-hander Tim Sexton, according to MLB.com's transactions page. The 24-year-old pitched in the Dodgers' organization last year, posting a 5.48 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 162 2/3 innings at Triple-A and Class A. In five minor league seasons he has a 5.15 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9.
  • Matt Eddy of Baseball America details the remainder of the week's minor transactions.
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