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Draft Notes: Phillies, Brentz, Rays, Harper, Whitson

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The reactions and updates keep trickling in, as last year's first overall pick prepares to make his much-anticipated major league debut…

  • The Cubs selected Bryan Harper, Bryce's older brother, in the 26th round, writes MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
  • Phillies scouting director Marti Wolever tells Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the team is "very close" to signing first rounder Jesse Biddle (Twitter link).
  • Red Sox supplementary rounder Byrce Brentz will sign for slot money, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. That should be an $891K bonus for Brentz, who was close to a deal just hours after the draft.
  • Rays second round pick Jacob Thompson tells Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that he's ready to sign. The right-hander says he doesn't want to play "hardball" with the Rays (figuratively speaking, that is).
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that he hopes to sign Bryce Harper and get his pro career started before the mid-August deadline for signing picks (Twitter link).
  • The Nationals plan to have Harper play outfield, not catcher, according to Ben Goessling of MASN.com.
  • Harper told the media that he intends on working out, having fun and fishing this summer, according to Goessling. In other words, don't expect the phenom to sign right away.
  • The Giants took Brett Bochy (manager Bruce's son) with their 20th round pick, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (via Twitter).
  • Not to be outdone, the Rockies drafted manager Jim Tracy's son, Mark, in the 22nd round, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link).
  • The White Sox selected Ozney Guillen in the 22nd round, but Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times says Guillen won't likely sign (Twitter link).
  • And before those three teams made their selections, the Tigers picked Patrick Leyland in the eighth round, according to Steve Kornacki of MLive.com.
  • Houston's top three picks all told Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle that they expect to sign. Delino DeShields Jr., Mike Foltynewicz and Michael Kvasnicka could all be in the Astros' system before long.
  • Padres executive Paul DePodesta explains that the club selected high school righty Karsten Whitson with its first round pick because of his upside, even though the pitcher's development could take years.
  • Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer explained to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News that the Yankees trust their scouts, even if it means surprising people with picks like Cito Culver.
  • The Tigers announced that director of player development Glenn Ezell stepped down. The timing is odd, to say the least.

Keith Law’s First-Day Draft Reactions

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ESPN's Keith Law found yesterday's first round insane.  To fully understand why you should join ESPN Insider and read his piece, which I heartily recommend.  A few highlights:

  • Law found it interesting that the Brewers snagged high school righty Dylan Covey at #14, because they are a team in need of more immediate rotation help.  GM Doug Melvin explained to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that scouting director Bruce Seid deserves credit for not taking the easy path in the form of a college hurler.  On yesterday's conference call, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith learned that Covey feels there's a "really good chance" he'll sign rather than attend the University of San Diego.
  • Law felt that the Reds took the best player available at #12 in college catcher Yasmani Grandal, and having strong catching depth in the system will not be a bad thing.
  • The Cardinals drew praise for landing college third baseman Zack Cox, who surprisingly fell to #25.
  • The Red Sox and Angels' many first-round picks were lauded by Law.  College righty Anthony Ranaudo was an intriguing choice by the Red Sox.  The Boras client was considered one of the draft's top talents before suffering a stress reaction in his forearm.  WEEI's Alex Speier has more on Boston's three picks.
  • The biggest surprise of the draft had to be the Cubs taking college righty Hayden Simpson at #16, who was not considered a first rounder by most draft gurus.  Cubs scouting director Tim Wilken told Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune he had it confirmed that other clubs would've taken Simpson before the Cubs picked again at #65.  The Yankees' selection of high school shortstop Cito Culver at #32 was another surprise.
  • The Dodgers took a very tough sign in high school pitcher Zach Lee, who has a commitment to play football at LSU.  Dodgers assistant GM Logan White insisted to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times that the team did not purposely take an unsignable player to save money.

Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Cubs, Whitesell

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Baseball's draft begins at 6pm CST today.  I'll be hosting a live chat here at MLBTR.  Beyond the draft, your afternoon linkage…

Odds & Ends: Perez, Howry, Brewers

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Sunday night linkage..

Odds & Ends: Fielder, Lincoln, Gorzelanny, Lee, Haren

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Links for Sunday..

Angels Targeting Cubs Bats?

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SUNDAY, 8:19pm: The Angels haven't aggressively pursued a trade for help yet and may not have Lee on their radar at this point, a source told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.  With their 9-4 victory in Seattle today, the Angels improved to 7-1 without first baseman Kendry Morales in the lineup.

FRIDAY, 7:15pm: The Cubs have not asked Derrek Lee to approve a trade, sources tell Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.  Lee's contract includes a no-trade clause, so the club could not deal him without his approval.

When asked about the trade rumors, Lee responded:

"Who are the 'excellent sources?'" the 34-year-old asked. "I've heard nothing on it. I've got nothing for you."

The first baseman also told reporters that he is not bothered by the trade speculation and wants to remain with the Cubs.

THURSDAY, 9:10am: MLB.com's Carrie Muskat hears that the Cubs have not talked to the Angels about Nady or Lee (Twitter link). That doesn't mean the Angels aren't interested, but it shows that talks are not far along.

8:08am: The Angels appear to be targeting Xavier Nady, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter). Nady, 31, has appeared in three games at first for the Cubs this year.

WEDNESDAY, 10:40pm: The Cubs "may be involved in trade talks" that would send first baseman Derrek Lee to the Angels, according to Fred Mitchell and David Kaplan of The Chicago Tribune. The Halos, of course, will be without regular first baseman Kendry Morales for the foreseeable future following the fractured leg he suffered celebrating a walk-off grand slam last weekend.

The 34-year-old Lee missed tonight's game with a minor hamstring issue, but overall he's hitting just .232/.339/.366 on the season, down from last year's splendid .306/.393/.579 performance. The Cubs still owe him a touch under $9MM in salary for the remainder of the season, after which he'll become a free agent for the first time in his career.

We've already discussed the Angels' options for replacing Morales at length, though Lee's name was not mentioned.

Tom Gorzelanny’s Trade Value

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Jayson Stark, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi have each suggested that clubs could attempt to acquire Tom Gorzelanny from the Cubs. GM Jim Hendry is not shopping the left-hander now, but the Cubs won't have room for Gorzelanny as a starter if Carlos Zambrano pitches well in his return to the rotation tonight.

As long as Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Randy Wells, Ryan Dempster and Carlos Silva remain healthy, the rotation is set without Gorzelanny. You could make the argument that he is one of the team's top five starters, but he's in the 'pen for now after allowing five earned runs in two of his last three starts. 

If the Cubs consider trading Gorzelanny, who turns 28 next month, they should be able to obtain a significant piece or two for him. Despite the pair of rough starts that preceded his move to the bullpen, Gorzelanny has been an improved pitcher since arriving in Chicago last July. 

Gorzelanny is striking out more batters (9.3 K/9 vs. 5.9 K/9 with Pittsburgh) and walking fewer batters (3.3 BB/9 vs. 4.1 BB/9 with Pittsburgh) since joining the Cubs. Those improved ratios, and Gorzelanny's 3.66 ERA would compare well with any available starting pitcher this side of Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt.

But there's an important difference between Gorzelanny and other trade candidates like Lee, Oswalt, Kevin Millwood and Jake Westbrook. Every one of those starters earns at least ten times as much as the $800K Gorzelanny makes in 2010. That could give the Cubs more potential trade partners, since not every team can afford the salary of a veteran starter. And not only is Gorzelanny cheap, he doesn't hit free agency until after 2013. Unlike most starters we'll hear about in trade rumors, he's controllable and affordable.

Even though there's been lots of talk about Gorzelanny, there hasn't been a concrete rumor indicating that he's available. That may mean the Cubs keep Gorzelanny, but Hendry should be able to obtain good prospects or major league pieces in a trade if the Cubs decide to move him.

Odds & Ends: Sizemore, Lewis, Red Sox, Haren

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Some links for Friday before Roy Halladay tries to restore order for the slumping Phillies…

Stark On Orioles, Lee, Padres, Stanton, Angels

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Major league executives told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark which starters they would most want to have for the next ten years. Zack Greinke and Tim Lincecum didn't make the cut, but Felix Hernandez, Josh Johnson, Ubaldo Jimenez, David Price, Brett Anderson and Jon Lester did. Here are Stark's latest rumors, as the trade market starts taking shape:

  • Two teams say that the Orioles would listen on Kevin Millwood right now.
  • A rival executive says the Orioles are "sniffing around for a shortstop." Stark hears rumors that they have interest in Twins prospect Trevor Plouffe. 
  • The Mariners won't seriously consider trading Cliff Lee before they're sure they can't salvage their season.
  • There's increasing pessimism that the Astros will be able to obtain salary relief and prospects for Roy Oswalt.
  • Teams are giving up on acquiring Adrian Gonzalez this summer, since the Padres continue to win.
  • Two officials believe Heath Bell could be traded even if the Padres stay in contention. Check out this post from earlier in the week for more on Bell's trade value.
  • Tom Gorzelanny could be on the market in a couple weeks when John Grabow comes off the DL.
  • Stark hears that the Marlins will call Mike Stanton up next week. The Marlins are being cautious, since they want to prevent Stanton from obtaining super two status and teams believe the cut-off will be later than ever this year.
  • Stark's sources don't expect the Angels to start searching for a bat to replace Kendry Morales for a few weeks. When they begin looking for offense, they're expected to look for someone who is about to hit free agency or a versatile player who can defend around the diamond. Kendry Morales is under team control through 2013, so Prince Fielder wouldn't be a fit for the Angels.

Cubs Haven’t Begun Serious Trade Talks

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Whether or not the Angels want to acquire a Cubs bat may not matter just yet. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that there has been very little trade talk recently for the 24-29 Cubs. That could change, but GM Jim Hendry says he’s still waiting for his team to get hot.

''If we get it going and have a couple of good weeks, we can [get back in it],” Hendry said. “We've done that before. We need to do it now.''

It’s not clear whether the Angels are interested in Derrek Lee, but the first baseman obviously doesn’t want to talk about it. Lee declined to answer questions about his no-trade clause.

As Wittenmyer notes, Lee, Xavier Nady and Ted Lilly are free agents after the season and the resurgent Carlos Silva could appeal to teams looking at starters. For now, though, trade talks have yet to pick up.

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