Rosenthal On Betemit, Reds, Indians
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- The Marlins are "among the teams tracking" Royals third baseman Wilson Betemit. The 29-year-old is a free agent after the season and has hit .303/.378/.488 in 492 plate appearances in his Royals career. Betemit is earning only $1MM, so any team could fit him in. He has experience all around the infield and has dabbled at the outfield corners as well. MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith discussed his trade candidacy earlier this month.
- "There is not a lot of pitching to be had. It would be tough to get anyone if we do need someone," remarked Reds GM Walt Jocketty to Rosenthal. The Reds' rotation has been surprisingly lousy this year, but Travis Wood, Bronson Arroyo, and Mike Leake are not as bad as their cumulative 5.33 ERA suggests.
- Orlando Cabrera's impact is "very difficult to quantify," Indians GM Chris Antonetti tells Rosenthal. You have to wonder if O-Cab could provide the same intangibles off the bench, allowing the Tribe to start Cord Phelps or Jason Kipnis at second base.
Draft Notes: Cole, Hultzen, Bradley, Springer
The draft takes place one week from today; here’s the latest as teams prepare their draft boards for next Monday…
- ESPN.com’s Keith Law projects the Pirates to select UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole with the first overall pick, though he says they’re still seriously in on Virginia left-hander Danny Hultzen and high school outfielder Bubba Starling. It’s too early to rule out Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon either.
- The D’Backs could take Hultzen, UCLA right-hander Trevor Bauer or high schooler Dylan Bundy third overall, according to Law.
- It looks like the Orioles will take an arm fourth overall; they have Bundy, high schooler Archie Bradley and Cole in their sights.
- If Bauer falls to the Indians, they’ll take him, according to Law.
- The Cubs “sent a small army” to watch outfielder George Springer at the Big East tournament.
- The Padres are interested in UConn right-hander Matt Barnes and Vanderbilt right-hander Sonny Gray.
- The top three players on one team’s draft board are advised by agent Scott Boras, according to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan.
- Rendon's stock is down a bit because of a dip in production and injury concerns, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, but Rendon's coach at Rice, Wayne Graham, expects the third baseman to go within the top two picks.
- The Giants shouldn't (and won't) alter their draft strategy in response to Buster Posey's season-ending injury, writes Jim Callis of Baseball America in a mailbag.
Quick Hits: Pirates, Reyes, Mariners, Galarraga
Links for Sunday, after John Danks was unable to get his first win of 2011 this afternoon….
- It seems likely that the Pirates will place Ryan Doumit on the disabled list after he injured his ankle today, and Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh-Tribune Review says (on Twitter) that Dusty Brown would get called up to replace him since Jason Jaramillo is also hurt. Pittsburgh's 40-man roster is full, so a move will have to be made to accommodate Brown.
- Andy McCullough of The Star-Ledger reports (on Twitter) that Mets shortstop Jose Reyes was again asked about his contract following today's game. "I've told you like a million times already," said Reyes, an impending free agent. "If [an extension] comes, it comes. If not, I'm going to continue to play."
- Larry Stone of The Seattle Times spoke to Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik about the upcoming draft, who indicated that he will not draft based on team need and that they have a group of about five players they're specifically targeting for the second overall pick.
- Bob Cohn of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote about the importance that decision-making plays into the success of small market teams.
- Armando Galarraga wasn't pleased about his demotion to Triple-A, writes Chris Gabel of the Reno Gazette-Journal. The right-hander was blunt about why he stayed in the Diamondbacks' organization and accepted his minor league assignment: "The money. They have to pay me $2.3MM to come here."
- The trade pulled off by the Yankees, Tigers, and Diamondbacks in 2009 was the rare three-way deal that worked out for each team, says Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
- Asked whether the Indians could pursue Jim Thome this summer, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer points out that if the Twins make him available, it likely won't be until after he hits his 600th home run. Hoynes doubts that the veteran slugger is a fit for the Tribe anyway.
- While the Red Sox committed over $300MM to Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez this year, their smaller investments are also paying dividends, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- P.J. Walters was removed from the Cardinals' 40-man roster and cleared waivers earlier this weekend, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Cafardo On Indians, Young, Guthrie, Reddick
In his column today for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo argues against potential rule changes, discusses injuries around the league, and looks back at the 2009 trade that sent Justin Masterson to Cleveland and Victor Martinez to the Red Sox. He also dedicates some space to sharing a few hot stove notes. Let's check out the highlights….
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro on whether his team could be buyers at the trade deadline: "It’s not a matter of money. It’s a matter of not giving away any of our prospects. We’re not going to do that."
- Although the Twins won't say as much, they could move Delmon Young before the trade deadline in the right deal, according to Cafardo. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently looked at other players who might be available if the last-place Twins become sellers.
- The Orioles say Jeremy Guthrie won't be moved, but as one NL scout asks, "If you put together a package they can’t say no to, will they still say no?"
- Josh Reddick, recently recalled by the Red Sox, is "on a few teams' wish lists." Cafardo previously reported that Reddick was generating chatter among scouts, and says today that scouts for two NL teams are looking forward to evaluating the outfielder in the bigs.
The Indians’ Approach To The 2011 Draft
Yes, the Reds are scuffling. But the Indians aren’t the only first place baseball team in Ohio this year. The Columbus Clippers lead the Triple-A International League with a 33-14 record thanks to a roster that includes some of the Indians’ top prospects. The person who drafted many of them, director of amateur scouting Brad Grant, says it’s rewarding to see the players he’s selected approach the Major Leagues.
“It’s a good feeling,” Grant told MLBTR. “Our scouts have done a very good job at identifying talent that’s going to move through the system and up to the Major League club and that’s what we hope to continue to do. From Lonnie Chisenhall to Jason Kipnis, Drew Pomeranz, Alex White and a bunch of others, our scouts have done a very good job at identifying what fits for us .”
Cleveland’s system boasted the seventh-best group of prospects in the game entering the season, according to Baseball America. And so far in 2011, they’re performing like top prospects.
White posted a 3.60 ERA through three MLB starts after climbing through the Indians’ system in less than two years (he’s now on the disabled list). Chisenhall, selected when Grant was a rookie scouting director in 2008, has an .825 OPS at Triple-A and Kipnis, a 2009 selection, has an .856 OPS with the Indians’ top affiliate.
There’s a legitimate chance that Chisenhall and Kipnis make an impact for the Tribe in 2011. But when the Indians start selecting their next wave of talent on June 6th, Grant will be looking for players who will help the future teams, not ones that can bolster the AL Central-leading Indians this year.
“Those two things are separate,” he said. “They always have been in terms of our drafting philosophy. We’re looking again to try to get the best player available and try to get the player that fits best for us, but things change constantly at the Major League level and it’s changing for us right now, so to try to draft based on what the Major League team is doing is not the right thing to do.”
Instead of looking for short-term fixes, the Indians will rank over 700 players and determine which ones could contribute most in the long-term. The Indians figure to have lots of choice, as the consensus around the game is that the 2011 draft features a better collection of prospects than usual.
“Just looking at it in terms of the power pitching that’s out there this year, there are a lot of guys with power arms and there are position players as well,” Grant said. “It’s a very good draft.”
The Indians select eighth overall before selecting 67th, 97th and 128th. It doesn’t compare with the bevy of early picks held by the Rays, Blue Jays or Padres, but the Indians still figure to have a shot at an elite prospect with their top pick.
“I think we’ll have a good choice and I think it’ll be something where it comes down to a choice between multiple players that we like a lot,” Grant said.
Last year the Indians selected Pomeranz, a left-handed pitcher who has a 2.09 ERA with a 54K/15BB ratio in Class A. The price: $2.65MM, or nearly as much as the Indians spent on Major League free agents before this season’s surprise run.
All told, the Indians spent $9.4MM on draft bonuses a year ago, fifth in baseball and considerably more than large-market teams like the Angels, Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Cubs and White Sox. This year, the Indians will approach players with imposing price tags on a case-by-case basis.
“As we go through the draft we’ll make those decisions depending on what’s available at the time of each selection,” Grant said. “As we get to those decisions, we’ll consult with ownership and with Mark Shapiro, our president, and see where we are, but those will be decisions we make as we go through the draft.”
Deciding which players to draft won't be simple, since the Indians will weigh reports on the hundreds of amateurs they have evaluated since last June. And the decisions probably won’t have an immediate impact at the Major League level. But the way current Indians prospects like Kipnis and Chisenhall are playing, there could be some job openings in the minors for the 2011 draft class before long.
Indians Notes: Antonetti, Shapiro, Phelps
A year ago, the Indians were last in the AL Central with a 17-28 record and about to trade some of their most recognizable players for the third consecutive summer. Things are a little different this year; here are the details:
- Could the Indians become buyers? Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer explores this question and hears from GM Chris Antonetti that the Indians will consider going outside of the organization to acquire talent.
- "There's been a demonstrated willingness to spend above projected revenues when we felt we had an opportunity to win," president Mark Shapiro told Bill Lubinger of the Plain Dealer, "and there will be an ability and a willingness to acquire a player in July if we're in position to do it."
- The Indians won’t want to part with key pieces of their highly-regarded farm system, but they may have more cash than expected, as Lubinger explains. Ticket sales, TV ratings, ballpark concessions sales and other merchandise sales are up which means the Indians have lots of revenue streaming in.
- If you're jumping on the Indians' bandwagon, be prepared, warns Michael K. McIntyre of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "Cleveland bandwagons come with no seatbelts, no shock absorbers and no brakes."
- Indians prospect Cord Phelps is playing well (.927 OPS at Triple-A), as Zack Meisel explains at MLB.com. Cleveland's system features lots of talent on the infield, so Phelps' path to the Majors isn't clear-cut.
Indians Notes: Choo, Cabrera, Acta, Minaya
Mitch Talbot's ERA jumped from 1.46 to 5.87 today as the Red Sox welcomed him back from the disabled list with an eight-run attack. Boston won 14-2, but the 30-17 Indians still have the game's best record. Here's the latest on the Tribe:
- Former Indians GM Mark Shapiro and former Mariners GM Bill Bavasi reflect on two of their 2006 deals with ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick. Five years ago, the Mariners sent Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera to the Indians in a pair of trades for Ben Broussard and Eduardo Perez. They’re now seen as steals for the Indians, something Bavasi readily admits, but Shapiro wasn’t expecting one-sided deals. “You're not looking to steal players and win trades. You like trades to be a foundation for a future trade," Shapiro said. Now the Indians’ president, Shapiro says the Indians “identified [Choo] as a potential big leaguer, but not as one of the best all-around players in the big leagues. Not one scout and no objective analysis said that."
- Indians manager Manny Acta told Yahoo’s Jeff Passan that he has believed in his team's ability since Spring Training. “Just because you have a low payroll and you’re young doesn’t mean you’re rebuilding,” Acta said. “It just means you don’t have the resources and that you’re young.”
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears that former GM Omar Minaya can have a job as a super scout with the Indians at any time (Twitter links). Minaya, who is still being paid by the Mets, has ties to Acta and Indians president Mark Shapiro. Earlier today, Jon Heyman of SI.com reported that a few teams are interested in Minaya’s services.
Heyman On Reyes, Rodriguez, A’s, Minaya
We know that Mets owner Fred Wilpon doesn’t think Jose Reyes is a $142MM player, but how do other insiders see it? Jon Heyman of SI.com hears from five MLB executives who estimate Reyes will sign for somewhere between $45-108MM after the season when he hits free agency. Here’s the latest from around the majors, with a focus on Reyes’ Mets:
- Francisco Rodriguez, who can veto trades to ten teams, told Heyman that he understands baseball is “a business” and deals happen.
- There’s no chance the Mariners trade Felix Hernandez now that they’re playing better, according to Heyman.
- If the White Sox make a starter available, Edwin Jackson could be the one to hit the trade market, as he’s eligible for free agency after the season.
- Over the weekend, MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk weighed in on what a “bad” season would mean for Albert Pujols. Heyman says Pujols will surely do well even if his off-year continues, since the Cardinals “aren't going to lower their offer of nine years and more than $200MM.”
- Ivan Rodriguez repeated that he wants to play three more years.
- Despite the recent controversy involving A’s manager Bob Geren and relievers Brian Fuentes and Huston Street, Heyman says the skipper “isn't going anywhere.”
- The Indians are one of a few teams that has shown interest in former Mets and Expos GM Omar Minaya.
Justin Germano Clears Waivers
TUESDAY: Germano cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (on Twitter).
THURSDAY: The Indians announced that they have designated right-hander Justin Germano for assignment to create roster space for infielder Luis Valbuena.
Germano, 28, had pitched 12 2/3 innings of relief this year with as many walks as strikeouts (5) and a 5.68 ERA. Since debuting with the 2004 Padres, Germano has logged 253 MLB innings and posted a 5.02 ERA with 5.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 48% ground ball rate.
Valbuena has been a regular presence in the Indians' lineup since they acquired him before the 2009 season. The 25-year-old has a lifetime .227/.289/.348 line in 762 MLB plate appearances and has a .270/.323/.461 line at Triple-A Columbus this year.
Quick Hits: Cabrera, Kazmir, Padres’ Draft
Here are a few items of note as Jarrod Saltalamacchia parks one over the Big Green Monster on Sunday Night Baseball …
- The Indians' acquisition of shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is looking like one of the organization's best moves in recent years, writes Bud Shaw of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. The Tribe plucked Cabrera, now 25 and posting All-Star caliber numbers, from the Mariners in 2006 in exchange for Eduardo Perez. For more on how the 2011 Indians were assembled, check out Ben Nicholson-Smith's recent post.
- Angels lefty Scott Kazmir, who's spent most of the season on the disabled list, will soon begin a minor league rehab stint, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. Kazmir may return to to the bigs as a long reliever, and if he continues to struggle, he could be released, in which case the Halos will have to eat his contract (what's left of his $12MM salary, plus a $2.5MM buyout after the season). Mike Axisa wrote in January that this one would be a make-or-break season for Kazmir, and it's not going well so far. Ben thinks the lefty may have to settle for a minor league deal this offseason.
- The Padres own six of the first 58 picks in next month's draft, writes Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune, and they face some pressure after they were unable to sign last year's first-round pick, Karsten Whitson. Center speculates that the Friars could focus on pitching and up-the-middle players, considering their farm is relatively stocked with corner infielders and outfielders. For more on the draft, be sure to check out our Amateur Draft Glossary.