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Draft Notes: Diamondbacks, Giants, Indians

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The Diamondbacks got a great value by picking Nevada pitcher Braden Shipley with the No. 15 pick in the first round of this weekend's draft, Keith Law of ESPN says in his NL draft roundup (Insider-only). He also praises the Phillies for their first several picks (which began with California high school shortstop J.P. Crawford at No. 16), and says the Giants (whose draft class was headlined by Florida high school shortstop Christian Arroyo) had his least favorite draft of any team this year. Be sure to check out the rest of Law's post for his analysis of other NL teams' picks this weekend. Here are more notes on the draft.

  • The Indians took Georgia high school outfielder Clint Frazier with the fifth overall pick this year, and made what might turn out to be an excellent pick when they took Francisco Lindor in the first round in 2011. But right now, they don't have any of their former first-rounders on their 25-man roster, Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer points out. C.C. Sabathia (1998) and Jeremy Guthrie (2002) are currently on other teams' rosters, however.
  • In the 34th round on Saturday, the Diamondbacks selected Arizona State center fielder Cory Hahn. Hahn was paralyzed from the chest down while attempting a stolen base in a Sun Devils game in 2011. The pick was a meaningful one, both for the Diamondbacks and for Hahn, MLB.com's Tyler Emerick reports. "It's something that you can't really put into words, it was very humbling that they wanted to do this for me," says Hahn. "It's something I'll always cherish. No one made them do it, so the fact that they did — I'll be forever thankful."

Minor Moves: Paddy Matera

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Here are Wednesday's minor moves…

  • The Indians have signed infielder Paddy Matera and assigned him to Class A Carolina, the team announced (on Twitter). Matera, 25, has been playing independent ball since 2010, primarily with the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League. He's hitting .304/.365/.525 in 40 games this season and is a career .277/.358/.414 hitter in independent ball. The New Jersey native has extensive experience at second base, shortstop and third base.
  • The Mariners selected the contract of catcher Brandon Bantz, optioned Carlos Triunfel to Triple-A Tacoma and transferred Franklin Gutierrez to the 60-day DL. There was speculation that Mike Zunino could be on his way to the bigs with Jesus Sucre injuring his hand, but Bantz gets the call for now.
  • Six players currently reside in DFA limbo: Chris Snyder of the Orioles, Zach Duke and Henry Rodriguez of the Nationals, Tyler Robertson of the Twins, Tyler Greene of the White Sox and Vinnie Catricala of the Mariners.

Central Notes: Liriano, Carpenter, Berry, Kazmir

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From earlier today in the two Central divisions, Cubs GM Jed Hoyer sat down for a podcast with ESPN's Buster Olney, the Brewers are looking to the future and Jake Peavy is willing to be traded anywhere if the White Sox see fit to move him.  Here are some other items from both the AL and NL Central…

  • Francisco Liriano's 2014 option with the Pirates will vest for $6MM if the southpaw can avoid spending 120 days on the disabled list this season, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports.  Liriano signed a complicated deal with the Bucs in February that only guaranteed him $1MM in 2013 but could've been worth as much as $12.75MM if Liriano stayed healthy.  His stint on the DL this season already cost him around $1.625MM this season and an extra $2MM for 2014.
  • Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter threw to live batters on Monday, The Associated Press reports, and may repeat the process if his shoulder doesn't become numb.  Carpenter was thought to be out for all of 2013 and was pondering retirement due to ongoing shoulder injuries, but the former Cy Young Award winner has taken several positive steps in his comeback.
  • The Twins had some interest in Quintin Berry before the Royals claimed the outfielder off waivers earlier today, 1500ESPN.com's Darren Wolfson tweets.
  • Scott Kazmir credits his development of secondary pitches and better pitching strategies for his return to the Major Leagues, Howard Megdal of Sports On Earth writes.  Kazmir has a 5.13 ERA in eight starts with the Indians this season but his secondary numbers are good enough that MLBTR's Steve Adams believes he could earn a decent free agent contract this winter.
  • "Lots of changes figure to occur" with the Royals if the team can't get on track, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star writes as part of a reader mailbag.  If they make a big move like trading Ervin Santana, Dutton figures K.C. would look to acquire a slugging corner outfielder or a second baseman in return.
  • Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago covers several White Sox and Cubs topics and rumors in his live chat about Windy City baseball.  

Minor Moves: Irwin, Chang, Teahen, Jacobs

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Today's minor moves…

  • The Pirates placed right-hander Phil Irwin on the 60-day disabled list, the club announced.  Irwin made his Major League debut this season, allowing four earned runs over 4 2/3 innings in a start on April 14.  Irwin, a 21st-round draft pick in 2009, has a 2.97 ERA and 5.03 K/BB rate over 423 2/3 minor league innings.
  • The Indians signed Taiwanese shortstop Yu-Cheng Chang for $500K, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America.  The Tribe has been one of the more active teams in Taiwan in recent years, notes Badler.  Chang doesn't have a plus tool currently, hears Badler, and projects as a doubles hitter who may have to move off shortstop.
  • The Diamondbacks outrighted righty Eric Smith off the 40-man roster, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.  The 24-year-old former second-round draft pick has a 7.29 ERA in 21 Double-A innings.
  • The Royals opened a 40-man roster spot for Salvador Perez, who returned from bereavement, by transferring lefty Danny Duffy to the 60-day DL, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
  • Mark Teahen was released from the Rangers' Triple-A club yesterday, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page.  He'd been signed to a minor league deal on May 23rd, after asking for and being granted his release from the D'Backs a few days prior.  Teahen, 31, has a .198/.293/.226 line in Triple-A this year across 123 plate appearances.  He was a key figure in the June 2004 trade that sent Carlos Beltran to the Astros from the Royals.
  • Speaking of the D'Backs' Triple-A affiliate, the Reno Aces signed first baseman Mike Jacobs, according to that same transactions page.  Jacobs, 32, last appeared in the Majors with Arizona briefly last year.  He signed a minor league deal with the Mariners in January but was released in March and subsequently played in the Mexican League this year.  Jacobs, a 38th round draft pick of the Mets in 1999, joined the Marlins in the November 2005 Carlos Delgado trade.  In October 2008, the Royals acquired Jacobs from the Marlins for reliever Leo Nunez, who is now known as Juan Carlos Oviedo.
  • Six players currently reside in DFA limbo: Mark Lowe of the Angels, Tyler Greene of the White Sox, Vinnie Catricala of the Mariners, Tyler Robertson of the Twins, and Zach Duke and Henry Rodriguez of the Nationals.

Romero Opts Out With Nats; Nearing Deal With Indians

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TUESDAY: Romero's deal with the Indians will become official if he passes a physical, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports (Twitter link).  Romero will report to Triple-A Columbus on Thursday. 

MONDAY: Left-hander J.C. Romero has opted out of his minor league contract with the Nationals and is working to finalize a new minor league deal with the Indians, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

Romero, who turns 37 tomorrow, had a 2.84 ERA with 16 strikeouts and four walks in 12 2/3 innings for Washington's Triple-A affiliate this season. According to Rosenthal, Romero would likely be ticketed for Cleveland's Triple-A affiliate in Columbus. Amanda Comak of the Washington Times notes (on Twitter) that Romero is on the minor league disabled list.

In parts of 14 Major League seasons, Romero has a 4.16 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9. He's held opposing lefties to a .220/.314/.298 in his career. Most of his 661 1/3 career innings were spent with the Twins, who selected the Puerto Rico native in the 21st round of the 1997 draft. Romero is the only player with a significant MLB career to come from that round, although outfielder Mike Colangelo saw some brief time in the big leagues as well.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Scott Kazmir

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The rise and fall of Scott Kazmir was a well-known tale when he signed a minor league deal with the Indians this offseason. After being infamously traded for Victor Zambrano in one of the more lopsided trades of the past 10 years, he quickly ascended to ace status with the Rays. He began to lose velocity in the 2008 season, and his control became increasingly problematic.  Kazmir

Kazmir was traded to the Angels, and things only got worse for him in Anaheim. 2010 would be the last full season he threw in the Major Leagues, and he posted a ghastly 5.94 ERA in 150 innings with a fastball that had lost more than two miles per hour from his peak. Despite speculation that he lost arm strength, Kazmir told David Laurila of Fangraphs that wasn't the case:

“I didn’t really ever lose arm strength, it’s more I lost my ability to use my body. I lost my ability to use my lower half — everything was upper body — and everything started swinging side to side; I didn’t have a good direction to the plate."

Kazmir ultimately wound up pitching for the Sugar Land Skeeters in 2012 as he contemplated his future. He had thrown just 1 2/3 Major League innings since 2010 when he signed with Cleveland, but it looks like he could be in for a full season of work. He's thrown 40 1/3 innings for the Tribe over eight starts. His 5.13 ERA isn't all that impressive, but he's averaging 91.7 mph on his fastball. Sabermetric stats like FIP (4.56), xFIP (3.96) and SIERA (3.79) all feel that Kazmir has been unlucky. Indeed, his .362 BABIP and 14.9 percent HR/FB both seem due for a correction.

Kazmir is still just 29 years old and won't be 30 until next January. If he's able to keep himself off the disabled list and see his BABIP and HR/FB regress toward the league averages (.292 and 11.0, respectively), Kazmir should draw significant interest on the free agent market. Paul Maholm figures to be the best lefty on the market, but Kazmir could stake his claim as the second-best free agent lefty.

Another enigmatic left-hander, Francisco Liriano, was able to secure a two-year deal worth $12.75MM with the Pirates this offseason despite posting an ERA over 5.00 from 2011-12 (he later had to re-work his deal after breaking his non-throwing arm). Even if Kazmir continues at his current rate, Liriano's deal seems attainable. If he can lower his ERA while maintaining his 9.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9, a higher annual salary or a third year could be in store.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cafardo On Lee, Papelbon, Sizemore, Rios

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In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders if George Brett is being groomed to be the Royals' next manager now that he has committed to being with the team every day as hitting coach.  Dennis Gilbert, who represented Brett as an agent and who has fallen short in bids to purchase the Dodgers, Padres, and Rangers, would have installed Brett as manager had he landed one of those clubs.  Brett could very well be Ned Yost’s eventual replacement if he boosts Kansas City's offense, but there’s also a lot of sentiment for Jim Fregosi, who has ties to GM Dayton Moore.  Here's more from today's column..

  • Cafardo spoke to a couple dozen executives, scouts, and players over the past few days about who the top player on the trade block will be and the consensus was Phillies left-hander Cliff Lee.  The Red Sox, Orioles, Indians, Angels, and Rangers would really like to have Lee and there are many more clubs who could be in the mix, including the Dodgers and the Yankees, who say they can’t swing it but have the means to do it.  One American League exec indicated there would be 20 teams lined up for Lee.  Lee might be the last guy Ruben Amaro Jr. wants to trade, but he'd yield the greatest return.
  • The Phillies have another interesting piece in Jonathan Papelbon and if they decide they are retooling, they probably don’t need a top closer.  Several baseball people say the Tigers would be a tremendous fit for Papelbon since pairing him with that starting rotation would be rather formidable.  He would also be an option for the Angels and Red Sox, but the Sox want to give Andrew Bailey every chance to do the job.  The Indians would also be a possibility.
  • It shouldn’t be long before a long list of teams start to inquire about free agent Grady Sizemore.  Sizemore has begun baseball activities after being sidelined by knee surgeries and so far he’s had no setbacks.  Cafardo suggests the Mets could be a fit as they are in need of outfield help.  
  • The White Sox, Blue Jays, and Twins might hold some of this year's top trade chips.  “Alex Rios, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, and you can add Justin Morneau, are definitely the major guys scouts are focusing on,” said one AL GM. 
  • After Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury stole five bases Thursday night against the Phillies, it started to dawn on people — including some in the Philadelphia organization — that Ellsbury would be a nice piece in the Phillies’ lineup next season.  However, he also hurt his groin during the game, and the injury question popped up.

2014 Vesting Options Update

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With two months of baseball in the books, here's a look at the players who have vesting options for the 2014 season..

  • Kurt Suzuki, Nationals: $9.25MM option vests with 113 starts in 2013.  Suzuki was slated to split time behind the plate with Wilson Ramos this season, but Ramos' hamstring has forced the club to give the veteran catcher 39 starts thus far (counting tonight's game).  The most recent update on Ramos, courtesy of the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore, says that he'll be sidelined until around July 1st.  If Ramos heals up and takes starts away from Suzuki, it will be a club option worth $8.5MM with a modest $650K buyout.
  • Jamey Carroll, Twins: $2MM option vests with 401 plate appearances. Carroll has 105 PAs in 27 games this season.  The veteran has had more than his needed total in each of the last three seasons with 500+ plate appearances in each of the last two years.
  • Wilson Betemit, Orioles: $3.2MM option vests with 324 plate appearances (combined 700 between 2012 and 2013). Betemit underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on March 26th and a late May update (from Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com) indicates that he still hasn't been cleared for baseball activities.  
  • Lance Berkman, Rangers: $13MM option vests with 550 plate appearances. So far, Berkman has 199 plate appearances to his credit and is on pace to lock in his 2014 option with ease.  In 2011, his last full season, the slugger racked up 587 PAs.
  • Roy Halladay, Phillies: $20MM option vests with 259 innings pitched (combined 415 innings pitched between '12 and '13).  This was a longshot to begin with, but shoulder surgery earlier this month makes this one impossible.
  • Brett Myers, Indians: $8MM option vests with 200 innings pitched in 2013 and a passed physical after the season.  After logging 21 and 1/3 innings in 2013, Myers was sidelined with tendinitis and a mild ligament sprain in his right elbow and has yet to return.  When he does come back, it's possible that the Tribe will move him to the bullpen.
  • Barry Zito, Giants: $18MM option vests with 200 innings pitched. Zito has racked up 62 and 2/3 innings through eleven starts this season.  It's far from a lock, but as it stands the veteran still has a chance at securing his 2014 salary.  His numbers are strong as he has a 3.88 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9.
  • Johan Santana, Mets: His $25MM option could have vested with 215 innings pitched or winning the 2013 Cy Young Award, but he won't have a chance at that thanks to a season-ending tear in his pitching shoulder.

It's also worth noting that Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano has a $8MM club option for 2014, but it can vest at any of three levels – $5MM, $6MM, or $8MM – based on the number of days he is not on the DL this year with a recurrence of his right arm injury.  It's not known how many days the hurler must steer clear of right arm trouble in order to trigger each level of his option, however.  The left-hander made his season debut on May 11th.

Minor Moves: Ortiz, Robinson, Pirates, Green, Wimberly

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Here are your minor moves from around the league for Friday…

  • The Blue Jays have announced that Ramon Ortiz and Clint Robinson cleared waivers and were outrighted off the 40-man roster, per Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson Smith (on Twitter). Ortiz was outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo, while Robinson was outrighted to Double-A New Hampshire. Both were designated for assignment earlier this week.
  • Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal tweets that the Pirates have acquired Triple-A right-hander Graham Godfrey from the Red Sox in exchange for cash considerations. The 28-year-old Godfrey has amassed 46 Major League innings — all with the Athletics – and posted a 5.09 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9.
  • The Pirates have acquired Triple-A lefty Atahualpa Severino from the Royals in exchange for cash considerations, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Severino, 28, has a 3.40 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 156 1/3 career innings at Triple-A. He received a brief taste of the Major Leagues with the Nationals back in 2011, totaling 4 2/3 innings of relief.
  • The Marlins have outrighted infielder Nick Green to Triple-A New Orleans, according to the PCL's Transactions page, meaning that he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment Wednesday.
  • The Braves released minor league outfielder Corey Wimberly, according to the International League Transaction log. The 29-year-old hit .234/.268/.351 in 25 games (83 plate appearances) for Triple-A Gwinnett this season.
  • The Indians announced (via Twitter) that they have signed right-hander Chris Jakubauskas and assigned him to Triple-A Columbus. The 34-year-old has a 5.58 ERA in 166 big league innings and last saw the Majors with the Orioles in 2011. Jakubauskas spent 2012 in the D-backs and Blue Jays organizations, and he appeared in eight Triple-A games for the Brewers this season. He has a 3.75 ERA in 175 career innings at Triple-A.

Rosenthal On Fregosi, Upton, Indians, Rockies

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The hiring of Royals legend George Brett as the team's new hitting coach could buy manager Ned Yost some extra time, a rival executive tells FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, as Royals executives will want to see how Yost adjusts to such a notable change to his coaching staff.  If the Royals do fire their manager, however, scouts have rumored that Jim Fregosi could be Yost's replacement.  Fregosi's son is a special assistant to Royals GM Dayton Moore.

Here's more from Rosenthal, via his latest Hot Corner video…

  • In the wake of B.J. Upton's five-year, $75.25MM deal with the Braves last November, Rosenthal said a number of veteran players expressed surprise about the deal.  The general consensus was summed up as, "How can that guy get this much money?  He really hasn't proven all that much."  Upton's .146/.232/.247 line makes him Rosenthal's biggest disappointment thus far in the 2013 season.
  • Orioles first baseman Chris Davis, meanwhile, is the most improved player of the 2013 season.  Dan Duquette attributes Davis' success to his swinging at more strikes and being more selective at the plate.
  • The Indians and Rockies are somewhat surprising contenders and the big question for both clubs is if they'll have the pitching to stay in their respective pennant races.  Rosenthal figures Cleveland is the slightly more likely of the two to acquire another starter, as Colorado has Roy Oswalt and Double-A right-hander Chad Bettis as possible internal reinforcements. 
  • The Indians' and Rockies' ability to add players and payroll at the trade deadline will mostly be determined by how much revenue they can generate through attendance in the next two months.
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