Guardians Rumors

Indians Sign Saul Rivera

By Zachary Links | August 22, 2010 at 5:31pm CDT

The Indians have signed reliever Saul Rivera and assigned him to Triple-A Columbus, according to the team's transactions page. This marks the righthander's second stint with the Tribe.

Rivera, 32, was shipped from Cleveland to Arizona in May for cash considerations. The D'Backs went on to designate the veteran for assignment in June and release him in August.

From 2006 through 2008, Rivera found a role in the Nationals bullpen as he posted a 3.72 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9. However his fortune turned in 2009 when he delivered a 6.10 ERA with 4.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9.

Indians Acquire Zach McAllister To Complete Trade

By Zachary Links | August 20, 2010 at 6:19pm CDT

The Indians have acquired pitcher Zach McAllister from the Yankees to complete the Austin Kearns deal, according to a team press release. The trade called for Cleveland to receive a player to be named later or cash.

McAllister, a native Midwesterner, has a 5.09 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 for the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate this season. He enjoyed a strong 2009 in Double-A Trenton, however, posting a 2.23 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.

Heading into the season, Baseball America ranked the 6'5" righthander as the fifth-best prospect in the organization and the second-best pitcher behind the now-departed Arodys Vizcaino. According to their 2010 Prospect Handbook, he had the best control of any pitcher in the Yankees system but his slider is his only plus pitch.

Draft Notes: Whitson, Indians, Harper

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 17, 2010 at 3:32pm CDT

The smoke has cleared and all but three of the first 50 picks signed deals. Barret Loux (Diamondbacks) and Dylan Covey (Brewers) did not sign, but both pitchers had medical issues that influenced the dialogue they had with the clubs that selected them. Here are the details on the third player who did not sign, plus Baseball America's winners and losers:

John Manuel of BA lists the Nationals, Pirates, Anthony Ranaudo and Bud Selig as winners. The losers? The Brewers, Padres and the process itself.
Padres GM Jed Hoyer told XX Sports Radio in San Diego that the Padres had a verbal agreement with Karsten Whitson for $1.953MM on draft day. The club boosted its offer as high as $2.1MM, but Whitson and his representatives were holding out for more, so the sides didn't reach a deal. You can listen in on Hoyer's comments here.
ESPN.com's Keith Law finds it "hard to see [Whitson] beating the Padres' offer … in the 2013 draft."
In the same piece, Law explains that he believes Bryce Harper and the Nationals both did well with last night's deal.
The Indians spent $9.3MM on the draft, Indians scouting director Brad Grant told MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince (Twitter link).
The Rockies are allowing first-rounder Kyle Parker to play college football, but their $1.4MM bonus is protected if he gets injured, according to Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

Draft Pick Signings

By Tim Dierkes | August 17, 2010 at 12:07am CDT

Today's draft pick signing deadline passed at 11pm central time. This post contains notable signings outside of the first round, with the latest up top.

The Padres signed sixth-rounder John Barbato for $1.4MM, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law (on Twitter).
The Blue Jays signed fourth-rounder Sam Dyson for $600K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter).
The Tigers signed second-rounder Drew Smyly for $1.1MM, according to Kendall Rogers of Yahoo (on Twitter).
The D'Backs signed 14th-rounder Ty Linton for $1.25MM, according to MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo.
The A's signed second-rounder Yordy Cabrera for $1.25MM, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law (via Twitter). The team has since confirmed the deal, but not its value.
The Pirates have signed second-rounder Stetson Allie, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Twitter). The 19-year-old, who plays third and pitches, had committed to the University of North Carolina. He gets a $2.25MM bonus, according to Hoynes (on Twitter).
The D'Backs signed eighth-rounder Tyler Green for $750K, according to Aaron Fitt of Baseball America. The prep righty can hit 95 mph with his fastball.
The Reds signed sixth-rounder Drew Cisco for $975K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America.
The Cardinals signed second-round right-hander Jordan Swagerty for $600-650K, according to Kendall Rogers of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
The Giants signed second-rounder Jarrett Parker for $700K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. The 21-year-old outfielder set multiple single-season records at Virginia last year.
The Mariners signed second-rounder Marcus Littlewood for $900K, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law (on Twitter). Here's Law's scouting report on the prep shortstop.
The D'Backs agreed to sign sixth-round right-hander Blake Perry for $500K, according to Aaron Fitt of Baseball America.
The Nationals agreed to sign 12th-round left-hander Robbie Ray for $799K, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
The Red Sox will sign Garin Cecchini, according to Kendall Rogers of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The fourth-round pick was looking for about $1.35MM and Jim Callis of Baseball America reports (on Twitter) that he'll get $1.31MM.
Eighth-rounder Alex Lavisky agreed to terms with the Indians on a $1MM bonus, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Twitter). The prep catcher is "a good athlete with arm strength," according to Baseball America.
The Red Sox signed second-rounder Brandon Workman for $800K, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
The Red Sox agreed to sign third-rounder Sean Coyle, a 5'8" shortstop, for $1.3MM, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. That's more than $1MM more than MLB recommends for the 110 slot.
The Dodgers signed 11th-rounder Joc Pederson, a prep outfielder, for $600K according to Baseball America's Jim Callis. That quadruples MLB's recommended maximum. BA ranked Pederson #154 in their draft preview.
The Rangers signed fifth-rounder Justin Grimm, a righty out of Georgia, for $825K plus incentives ($677K over slot), reports Baseball America's Aaron Fitt. BA ranked Grimm at #109 in their draft preiew.
The Indians signed fourth-round pick Kyle Blair for $580K ($334K over slot), reports Baseball America's Jim Callis. Blair is a righty drafted out of the University of San Diego; BA ranked him 84th overall in their draft preview.
The Royals signed second-round pick Brett Eibner and fifth-rounder Jason Adam, according to a press release. Baseball America's Jim Callis tweets that Eibner gets $1.25MM (almost $600K over slot), while Adam gets $800K ($629K over slot). Eibner is a center fielder and pitcher out of the University of Arkansas, and Adam is a righty drafted out of high school. Baseball America rated Eibner the 23rd-best player in the draft, calling him the "best two-way prospect" in the class. The Royals instead plan to use him as a center fielder.

Indians To Sign Drew Pomeranz

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 16, 2010 at 10:56pm CDT

The Indians agreed to sign fifth-overall selection Drew Pomeranz on a $2.65MM deal, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter links). The 6'5" left-hander turns 22 this fall. The Rangers drafted Pomeranz in the 12th round of the 2007, but he chose to attend Mississippi instead. Last year MLB recommended a $2.52MM bonus for the fifth-overall selection.

The Indians also signed second-rounder LeVon Washington and third-rounder Tony Wolters, according to Hoynes. ESPN.com's Keith Law says the Indians and Wolters agreed to a $1.35MM deal (Twitter link).

Click here for the complete list of 2010 first-rounders to sign.

Draft Signings: Hahn, Shipers, Cates, Cone

By Luke Adams 2 | August 15, 2010 at 10:25am CDT

The deadline for signing draft picks is fast approaching, as teams have until tomorrow night at 11 CST to finalize deals with this year's draftees. Here are a few notable above-slot agreements, with any new updates added to the top of the list throughout the day:

Sixth-round pick Jesse Hahn has signed with the Rays for $525K, reports Jim Callis of Baseball America. Hahn was projected as a first-rounder at one point, but Tommy John surgery hurt his value. Still, he easily exceeded MLB's recommended $150K maximum for players drafted after the fifth round.
The Indians signed 23rd-round left-hander Tony Dischler for $255K, tweets Callis.
The Mariners agreed to terms with 16th-round pick Jordan Shipers for a deal worth $800K, according to Callis. That bonus is the highest so far for any player draft later than the fourth round.
Third-rounder Zach Cates reached an agreement with the Padres for a $765K bonus, the highest to date for a third-round selection. Callis reports that the right-hander more than doubled MLB's recommended bonus of approximately $380K for the draft slot.
Derek Cone, the Dodgers' 31st-round pick, signed with the club for $150K, according to Callis (via Twitter).
For a summary of which first-rounders and sandwich picks have signed so far, click here.

Odds & Ends: Holt, Lee, Klein, Valentine, Villone

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 12, 2010 at 7:18pm CDT

Links for Thursday, exactly 23 years after the Braves and Tigers swapped Doyle Alexander and John Smoltz…

The Indians signed tenth round pick Tyler Holt according to Baseball America's Jim Callis. Holt's $500K bonus is the largest we've seen for a player drafted in a double-digit round this year.
Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News wonders how much the Texas heat will play into Cliff Lee's decision about whether or not to re-sign with the Rangers after the season.
MLB.com' Brittany Ghiroli tweets that Orioles' third rounder Dan Klein is expected to report to one of the team's minor league affiliates once he passes his physical, indicating that the two sides have a deal in place.
Someone familiar with Bobby Valentine’s thinking tells Larry Stone of the Seattle Times that Valentine considers the Mariners managerial opening one of "the most appealing jobs in baseball.”
The Nationals released Ron Villone, according to Syracuse Chiefs broadcasters Jason Benetti and Mike Couzens (on Twitter). The veteran left-hander, who last pitched in the majors in 2009, posted a 6.59 ERA in Triple A this year.
The sale of the Rangers is now final, as MLB.com’s Barry Bloom writes.
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker previews some of the players who could soon make the jump from Japan to MLB. Wei-Yin Chen, a 25-year-old lefty represented by Alan Nero may be posted this offseason.
Veracruz, the Mexican team that holds the rights to pitching prospect Luis Heredia, will not entertain offers from MLB clubs until next Wednesday, August 18th, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Tim Chambers, Bryce Harper's college coach, told Byron Kerr of MASNSports.com that Harper, the first overall pick in this year’s draft, is “begging to play.” Chambers expects the Nationals to work out a deal by Monday night’s deadline.
Angels scouting director Eddie Bane told Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times that the Angels are "fairly close" to an agreement with first rounder Kaleb Cowart, though he expects negotiations to last until Monday, the deadline for signing draft picks.
Jamey Newberg counts down the ten biggest August trades in recent Rangers history for MLB.com. Rick Helling and Ryan Dempster have prominent roles on the list, which is worth checking out.

Indians Acquire Luke Carlin

By Tim Dierkes | August 10, 2010 at 1:17pm CDT

The Indians acquired catcher Luke Carlin from the Pirates for a player to be named later, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The backstop had signed a minor league deal with the Pirates in mid-January.

Carlin, 29, has big league time with the Diamondbacks and Padres. This year in Indianapolis he hit .239/.331/.317, a big dropoff from his work in the Pacific Coast League the previous two years.

Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Blue Jays, Morrow, Delgado

By Mike Axisa | August 8, 2010 at 6:30pm CDT

Some links to check out as Brandon Morrow just misses no-hitting the Rays…

Jim Callis of Baseball America (via Twitter) doesn't like the chances of the Cards signing their 12th-round pick, outfielder Austin Wilson.
Toronto's negotiations with first-round pick Deck McGuire will likely go down to the wire, writes MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
Morrow told FOX Sports' Jim Bowden (Twitter link) that he was happy to be traded to the Blue Jays this offseason because he knew he would be a starter and not a reliever.
Baseball America's Jim Callis tweets that the Indians signed 13th-rounder Michael Goodnight for $315K. Goodnight has a fastball that reaches 94 mph and a plus slider.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Tigers aren't pursuing the recently DFA'ed Jose Guillen.
Carlos Delgado told Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal that he and his agent spoke to the White Sox, Rockies, and Mariners before deciding to sign with the Red Sox. In a separate article, WEEI's DJ Bean writes that Delgado is more focused on winning a championship than anything else.
Joel Sherman of The New York Post explains how the Yankees have to develop their own bench players because no free agents want to sign with them only to sit on the bench most of the time.
Jason Churchill and Keith Law of ESPN take a look at some teams that need to land a few of their tough-to-sign draft picks before the August 16th deadline (Insider req'd).
Karen Price of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes about the newest Pirates and the difficult transition they've had to make following the trade deadline.
Meanwhile, the Chris Snyder pick up does not make a Ryan Doumit trade inevitable, says Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times says that Ozzie Guillen and Paul Konerko are happy with the moves the White Sox did not make.
The Cardinals are trying to find a long-term fix at the hot corner, writes Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. David Freese will be out indefinitely after suffering a setback as he rehabbed from an ankle injury.

Indians Claim Drew Sutton

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 6, 2010 at 2:37pm CDT

The Indians claimed Drew Sutton off of waivers from the Reds and optioned him to Triple A Columbus, according to both clubs on Twitter. Sutton, 27, appeared in two major league games this year and 42 games last year, but most of his pro career has come in the minors.

He has a career OPS of .810 in the minor leagues, including a .262/.366/.365 line so far in 2010. Even though he has just 291 big league plate appearances, Sutton has already played second, third, short and both corner outfield positions for the Reds.

The Indians have been watching the waiver wire all week; they lost Wes Hodges to the Rockies Tuesday, only to re-claim him yesterday.

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