Odds & Ends: Grandal, Red Sox, Salazar, Rockies
A few links to check out while we wait to see if the Rays can avoid falling out of first place for the first time in nearly two months…
- The Reds have made initial contact with the representatives for Yasmani Grandal according to John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer. GM Walt Jocketty said they will continue talks this week with 2010's 12th overall draft pick.
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier mentions that when Felix Doubront started for the Red Sox last night, he became the first Latin American player signed and developed by the Theo Epstein regime to reach the big league. ESPN's Jorge Arangure mentions (via Twitter) the Boston hasn't had a homegrown Latin American position player since the early 1990's.
- Meanwhile, MLB.com's Peter Gammons says (via Twitter) that only two teams were willing to take Manny Ramirez off Boston's hands two years ago even if they footed the bill: the Marlins and Dodgers. The Red Sox's requests for Mike Stanton and Andre Ethier were met with "no thank yous."
- MLB.com's Corey Brock, Brittany Ghiroli, and Gina Mizeli spoke to Oscar Salazar, who reflected on the trade that send him from the Orioles to the Padres last year.
- The Rockies will look at the middle infield market, but ESPN's Buster Olney tweets they're likely to just ride out Troy Tulowitzki's absence with what they have in house. He does however mention that Dan Uggla is one name to watch.
- Both Jhonny Peralta and Kerry Wood offered up the stock "it's out of my control" response when asked about the possibility of being traded, according to Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
- Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post says the idea of the Rockies' acquiring Cliff Lee is wishful thinking. The team would have to get back in the playoff race and show it can compete without Troy Tulowitzki before ownership would consider adding Lee's salary to the payroll.
- The Cardinals had interest in signing Ben Sheets this winter according to Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but the righthander's price was too high. “If he wants to prove his value here, we’d have interest,” said manager Tony La Russa. “It turns out he had value that wasn’t going to work.”
Odds & Ends: Oswalt, Reds, Lowell, Lopez
Links for Friday night, as Barack Obama takes in a Nationals/White Sox game….
- Nolan Ryan confirms rumblings we've been hearing for a few weeks now, telling Brian McTaggart of MLB.com that the Rangers are interested in Roy Oswalt.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that his club is considering available pitching options, but that he doesn't know "how many bullets we're going to have, so we'll have to be careful how we use them."
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports clarifies (via Twitter) that the Red Sox are willing to pay all of Mike Lowell's salary in a potential trade, but would like a better prospect in return in that case. The Twins and Rangers aren't budging so far.
- FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi tweets that, unsurprisingly, there isn't much trade interest in Jose Lopez.
- Jamie Moyer's son Dillon Moyer doesn't know whether or not he'll sign with Minnesota after the Twins drafted him in the 22nd round last week, according to Zach Schonbrun of MLB.com.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer thinks that whatever offense the Angels gain by playing Mike Napoli at first base is negated by playing Jeff Mathis behind the plate every day. The Angels are playing Napoli at first for now, rather than acquiring another impact bat.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Lee, Orioles, Gomes, Loewen
On this date back in 1996, catcher Chris Anderson delivered a run scoring single for the Hudson Valley Renegades of the short season New York-Penn League. It was the first hit ever recorded by a member of the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization. Anderson was the team's 66th round draft pick that year, but he never made it out of A-ball and hit just .170/.236/.298 in 432 plate appearances before calling it a career in 1999. Every team starts somewhere.
Here are a few links from the baseball blogosphere…
- U.S.S. Mariner dubs the Twins as the favorites to land Cliff Lee this summer.
- Camden Chat likes the Orioles' draft haul, but thinks it could have been better.
- Bernie's Crew uses Milwaukee's roster to show that the later rounds of the draft can be productive as well.
- More Hardball looks at the bang Jonny Gomes has provided for the Reds' buck.
- Liam McGuire's Blog wonders if Adam Loewen is the second coming of Rick Ankiel.
- 1 Blue Jays Way interviewed Tom Filer, former big leaguer and current pitching coach for the Altoona Curve, Pittsburgh's Double-A affiliate.
- Baseball Opinion examines the best and worst picks of the 2005 draft.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: A’s, Reds, Murton, Maya, Chipper
Links for Tuesday, as Andy Pettitte and Tim Lincecum celebrate birthdays…
- A's assistant GM David Forst tells MLB.com's Jane Lee that the club would like to add depth to its lineup, even after the Conor Jackson trade (Twitter link).
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty tells John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that the club would consider trading for or signing a reliever.
- The Hanshin Tigers will pick up Matt Murton's option for 2011, according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (via Twitter). Jack Moore of FanGraphs recently updated us on Murton's success in Japan.
- Ben Badler of Baseball America hears that the Mariners will likely sign right-hander Jose Torres for $800K (Twitter link).
- MLBTR has an internship opportunity for a limited number of regular readers. Any skilled and experienced writers with an eye for detail should describe their experience as writers and editors in a couple sentences and e-mail mlbtrintern@gmail.com by the end of the day.
- Yunesky Maya was already unblocked, but he can sign with anyone now that he has been cleared by the FAC office, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNdeportes.com (link in Spanish).
- Chipper Jones could announce that he will retire after the season, according to Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle says Nationals GM Mike Rizzo misread Stephen Strasburg and should have called him up early on in the season.
- From what Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog gathers, the Mets and Mariners have talked a lot about Cliff Lee.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik declined to comment on whether the team would trade Lee now, according to Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com.
- Jay Greenberg of the New York Post says the Mets seem likely to keep relying on R.A. Dickey and Hisanori Takahashi, as tempting as Roy Oswalt may be.
- Buck Showalter and Phil Garner both told MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli that the O's have yet to contact them about managing the club.
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times suggests the Cubs could benefit from becoming sellers. – it just wouldn't be an easy sell to the fan base.
- David Ortiz tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he misses Manny Ramirez, though the two didn't socialize much beyond the ballpark.
Rosenthal On Braves, Marlins, Lee, Cubs
The Braves are interested in adding a right-handed hitting outfielder, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Melky Cabrera and Nate McLouth have not hit well for the Braves, and Jason Heyward's now slumping. Eric Hinske has played tremendously, but can't be expected to post an OPS near 1.000, so the Braves may deal from pitching depth for a bat. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:
- The Marlins are actively seeking relief help.
- Rosenthal says the Cardinals, Reds and Brewers – yes, the Brewers – could be interested in Cliff Lee this summer. The Brewers could provide the Mariners with a hitter like Corey Hart or Mat Gamel and trade Lee to a third team for younger pitchers.
- The Cubs would love to deal Kosuke Fukudome, but he will earn more than $21MMM between now and the end of 2011, so trading him will not be easy. Click here for more from Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi on Fukudome's availability.
- Red Sox GM Theo Epstein will probably look to acquire a reliever this summer.
Amateur Draft Signings: Monday
Several teams announced mass signings of players from the 2010 Amateur Draft today. Here's a round-up of Monday's signings…
- The Angels have signed over 20 of their picks, most notably supplemental round selections Taylor Lindsey and Ryan Bolden.
- According to a team press release, the Mariners have signed 17 of their draft picks. The highest of these picks was Tennesse Tech right-hander Stephen Pryor, taken in the fifth round.
- The Nationals have inked 22 draft picks according a team press release, including 15 of their 25 selections. No, Bryce Harper is not among those who signed on the dotted line.
- The Reds signed 14 draft picks according to John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer, including their second, third, and fourth rounders.
- Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog.com reports that the Mets signed 25 draft picks of their own, highlighted by fourth rounder Cory Vaughn (Greg Vaughn's son).
- Houston's signing of Mike Kvasnicka, the 33rd overall selection, became official today. In addition to Kvasnicka, an Astros team press release also announced three other signings, including seventh-round selection Roberto Pena.
Mike Axisa also contributed to this post.
Heyman’s Latest: Lee, Oswalt, White Sox, Nady
Jon Heyman has a new column up at SI.com, so let's dive on in…
- Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt are the two big name pitchers available on the trade market, but their value is very different because of the money owed to them. "At the end of the day," says one AL exec, "I don't think Houston will be able to move the entire (Oswalt) contract and get premium players back."
- Another AL executive noted that Lee has proven that he can be successful in the American League and will fetch two draft picks at the end of the season.
- The Red Sox turned down a straight up Lee for Clay Buchholz offer last year.
- The Yankees are happy with their rotation at the moment, but they plan on putting in a call in the coming days just in case they are "pleasantly surprised" by Seattle's asking price. Oswalt, meanwhile, isn't even on their radar.
- Some wonder if the Dodgers are saving money for a big score, but GM Ned Colletti will be hard pressed to acquire either Lee or Oswalt without ownership approval.
- The Cardinals might not be willing to take on Oswalt's deal with Albert Pujols' free agency rapidly approaching.
- The Mets might not want to give up the prospects to acquire another frontline pitcher, though the Rangers would be able to work Lee's salary into the budget.
- Heyman also goes through and offers some opinion on other teams that could use one of the two aces, including the Reds, Phillies, and Angels.
- Kenny Williams would like to fire Ozzie Guillen according to one person close to the team, but owner Jerry Reinsdorf is too loyal to let it happen.
- A trade of Xavier Nady to open up the Cubs' outfield logjam seems likely.
Odds & Ends: Bettis, Royals, Astros, Pierzynski
Links for Friday, as interleague play resumes…
- Tracy Ringolsby of Inside the Rockies tweets that Colorado signed second round pick Chad Bettis after he passed his physical.
- The Royals signed seven draft picks according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel, and MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports that the Astros have done the same.
- Ozzie Guillen said bluntly "A.J. [Pierzynski] isn't getting traded," according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun Times. Said the ChiSox manager: "I talked to A.J. a couple of days ago and said 'Listen man, you're not going to get traded." (Twitter links).
- Meanwhile, Pierzynski can't wait for his 10-and-5 rights to kick in this weekend, says Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune.
- Pirates' GM Neal Huntington chatted with fans about this week's amateur draft at MLB.com.
- The Athletics have signed 17 draft picks according to a team press release, including sixth rounder Tony Thompson and ninth rounder A.J. Kirby-Jones.
- Jeff Wilson of The Star-Telegram reports that the Rangers have signed 19 draft picks, highlighted by eighth rounder Jonathan Roof.
- The Braves have agreed to terms with second round pick Andrelton Simmons, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law (via Twitter).
- A team source told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that White Sox GM Kenny Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen almost came to blows yesterday.
- Guillen downplayed the tension between him and Williams and told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that he wants to stay in Chicago (Twitter link).
- You can now go back further than ever through MLBTR's recent posts by clicking "Previous" at the bottom of the site.
- The Reds are expected to sign their second rounder as early as tonight, according to Mike Pryson of the Jackson Citizen Patriot. Ryan LaMarre told Pryson that he has come to terms with the Reds.
- If you're a Mariners fan, I don't recommend reading this: Tom Verducci of SI.com explains how Yuniesky Betancourt may have cost the Mariners the chance to draft Stephen Strasburg.
- Carlos Santana got the call from the Indians and will debut tonight, writes Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (link in Spanish). Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer confirms the move via Twitter.
- Dan Connolly and Don Markus of the Baltimore Sun report that the Orioles will interview Bobby Valentine for their managerial job today.
- Connolly notes that the Orioles interviewed Eric Wedge Wednesday.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Orioles are also considering Buck Showalter for the job.
- Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe wonders if the Red Sox should release Mike Lowell instead of playing with what is essentially a 24-man roster.
Odds & Ends: Brewers, Orioles, Werth, Weathers
Some links after an astounding debut from Stephen Strasburg…
- Brewers owner Mark Attanasio tells MLB.com's Adam McCalvy that the Brewers could hypothetically add payroll if the team starts contending soon.
- Jayson Werth had a team spokesman tell Todd Zolecki and Zach Schonbrun of MLB.com that his impending free agency isn't distracting him at the plate.
- Phillies manager Charlie Manuel thinks Werth is putting extra pressure on himself to play well in his contract year, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
- The Orioles will interview Bobby Valentine for their managerial opening, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Andy MacPhail called former Indians manager Eric Wedge to gauge his interest in the position.
- David Weathers told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that he would be willing to come back and pitch for the Reds. The 40-year-old righty pitched 62.0 innings of 3.92 ERA ball for the Reds and Brewers last year.
- MLB has accepted the Mets' decision to place Oliver Perez on the DL, reports Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.
Keith Law’s First-Day Draft Reactions
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.