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Rockies Sign Carlos Herrera

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The Rockies have signed Venezuelan shortstop Carlos Herrera for a $1.2MM bonus, according to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez (on Twitter). The 16-year-old ranked 11th on Baseball America's list of Top 30 international prospects and 15th on MLB.com's Top 30.The Rockies have the third-largest bonus pool this year at $4.21MM.

MLB.com writes that "Herrera is a line-drive hitter and capable defender with the speed to be a very good baserunner and a threat on the bases." Baseball America praises his speed, athleticism and hitting ability while projecting him to stay in the middle of the diamond.

In more Rockies-related news, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports that the team's previously reported agreement with Colombian righty Erick Julio is for $700K. Badler adds that the projectable 16-year-old isn't a power arm now, but should add velocity as he matures and "already shows the makings of a quality curveball and changeup."

International Prospect Signings: Astros, Cards, Yankees, Tigers, Brewers

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Teams were able to submit contracts for this year's class of July 2nd international prospects starting at 8am central time today.  You can find rankings here from Baseball America and MLB.com, and information on each team's international bonus pool at BA.  This is the first year in which teams have different bonus pools, and as explained by BA's Ben Badler, teams can trade for up to 50% of their pools (with plenty of stipulations).  The latest deals:

  • Badler reports that the Astros have signed Dominican shortstop Joan Mauricio for $600K. The infielder didn't make the Top 30 from BA or MLB.com, but Badler lauds his defensive actions and hands.
  • The Cardinals have signed Venezuelan outfielder Carlos Talavera (No. 28 on BA's list), Badler reports. The Cardinals have announced that signing as well as three others, and Kiley McDaniel has the bonus amounts: Dominican shortstop Hector Linares received $400K, Dominican right-hander Sandy Alcantara received $125K and Nicaraguan lefty Kerrion Bennett got $30K (Twitter links).
  • The Yankees have signed Dominican shortstop Yonauris Rodriguez for $575K, according to Sanchez (on Twitter). BA noted that he's one of the best defensive shortstop prospects in Latin America.
  • The Tigers signed Venezuelan catcher Elys Escobar for $350K, reports Badler.  They also signed shortstop Hector Martinez for $400K, tweets Sanchez. MLB.com's Jason Beck adds that the team has also reached agreements with Venezuelan outfielder Hector Hernandez and Venezuelan shortstop Anthony Pereira (Twitter link).
  • The Brewers signed Dominican outfielder Nicolas Pierre for $800K, tweets Soldevila.  Badler ranked him 20th, noting the Brewers connection, while MLB.com had him 28th. The Brewers also signed shortstop Franly Mallen, Badler reports. He later tweeted that MLB.com's No. 22 prospect received the same $800K bonus as Pierre.
  • The Athletics signed Dominican shortstop Carlos Hiciano for $750K, reports Badler.  The speedy infielder was 17th on BA's rankings and 26th at MLB.com.
  • The Indians signed Dominican outfielder Junior Soto for $600K, reports Badler.  He's known for his right-handed raw power. Dionisio Soldevila of ESPN Deportes tweets that the team also signed shortstop Willy Castro for $850K
  • The Padres signed shortstop Ruddy Giron for $600K, tweets Soldevila.  Baseball America called Giron a "high-energy player with good athleticism and above-average speed."
  • The Diamondbacks signed Dominican outfielder Francis Martinez for $350K and Dominican third baseman Josue Herrera for $150K, reports Badler.  They're nearing a deal with switch-hitting Venezuelan catcher Jose Herrera worth an estimated $1MM, tweets MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez.  MLB.com ranks Herrera seventh; BA has him tenth.
  • The Cubs signed Dominican righty Jefferson Mejia for $850K, according to Badler.  Badler notes that the 18-year-old Mejia can begin playing immediately, as his contract is for the 2013 season unlike most July 2 signings.  Mejia previously had an issue with his paperwork and had been declared ineligible to sign until April.  At $4,557,200, the Cubs have the second-largest bonus pool and figure to be active.  
  • The Mets signed Venezuelan catcher Ali Sanchez for $690K, reports Badler.  BA ranked him 25th, calling him an "intelligent, high-energy player" and noting the many Venzuelan catchers in the big leagues.    The Mets also signed Venezuelan righty Luis Silva for $275K, according to Badler.  They signed Dominican shortstop Yeffry de Aza for $475K, he adds.  The Mets have a pool of $2,664,600 this year.
  • Colombian righty Erick Julio agreed to sign with the Rockies, tweets MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez.  Julio, the best prospect out of Colombia this year, was ranked 14th by MLB.com and 13th by Baseball America's Ben Badler.  The Rockies are also expected to sign Venezuelan shortstop Carlos Herrera for close to $1MM, tweets Sanchez.  He was ranked 11th by BA and 15th by MLB.com.  The Rockies have the third-largest international bonus pool this year, at $4,213,800 according to BA.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Heyman On Nolasco, Dodgers, Utley, Young

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Here's a look at the latest from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com..

  • A person familiar with the Ricky Nolasco talks says the Dodgers, Orioles, Giants, Rangers, and Rockies are among the teams in the mix, Heyman writes.  The Dodgers have been considered a favorite since they might be willing to absorb the $5.75MM remaining on Nolasco's $11.5-million 2013 salary, but the source suggested late Monday afternoon that there's isn't a deal out there yet that is good enough to jump on.  Colorado is said to have offered two decent prospects for the hurler but they are skittish about paying the salary.  While some have suggested that the Marlins are anxious to trade Nolasco before his scheduled start on Wednesday, they are still holding out for a quality offer.
  • Heyman hears that the word around baseball is that the Dodgers could have interest in Chase Utley. It isn't known if the Dodgers have gone so far as to contact Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, but he doesn't seem anxious to trade the second baseman despite the fact he is headed towards free agency.  If the Phillies do decide to sell, they are said to be more willing to part with Michael Young, who's interested the Dodgers before. 
  • With the deadline just weeks away, Heyman laid out the market as it stands today.  The piece starts by highlighting the six biggest sellers in the Cubs, White Sox, Brewers, Twins, Marlins, and Astros.

NL West Links: Puig, Feldman, Rockies, Francoeur

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The legend of Yasiel Puig added another chapter today as the Cuban phenom went 4-for-5, stole two bases and finished a homer shy of a cycle for the Dodgers in their 6-1 win over the Phillies.  Puig collected 44 hits in June, the second-highest hit total in a calendar month for any rookie in MLB history — the only rookie with more hits in a calendar month was a player you might've heard of by the name of Joe DiMaggio.  Though the Dodgers are still just 38-43 on the season and in last place in the NL West, they're only four games behind the first place Diamondbacks.  Here's the latest from this tightly-packed division…

  • The Rockies have already been connected to a few notable pitchers in trade rumors and now Cubs right-hander Scott Feldman can be added to the list, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports.  That said, the Rockies don't want to give up prospects for "a rental starter who is not going to re-sign" and Feldman is a free agent this winter.  MLBTR's Steve Adams noted that Feldman's solid ground-ball rate (50.7%) would make him a good fit at Coors Field as part of a Trade Candidate piece earlier this month. 
  • The difficulties of pitching at Coors Field make the Rockies "hypersensitive" about trading for pitching, Renck writes.
  • If Drew Pomeranz and Roy Oswalt pitch well as starters, Renck reports that the Rockies will cool their search for starters and instead focus on the bullpen.  The team is prepared to add payroll but it could resemble their 2009 trades for Rafael Betancourt and Joe Beimel that helped Colorado win the NL Wild Card.
  • The mention of Jeff Francoeur's name to Giants executives has drawn "a lot of scrunched faces and worries about his outfield play", Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets.  Francoeur was designated for assignment by the Royals on Saturday and could fit the Giants' rumored desire for a right-handed outfield bat.
  • In NL West news from earlier today, the Giants and Diamondbacks are two of the teams scouting White Sox right fielder Alex Rios, the Dodgers designated Matt Guerrier for assignment, the Rockies signed Xavier Nady and Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune shared a collection of Padres notes.

Rockies Sign Xavier Nady

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The Rockies have signed Xavier Nady to a minor league deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  The Boras Corporation client was released by the Royals yesterday.

Nady was hitting .310/.382/.486 with eleven homers in 289 plate appearances for Triple-A Omaha and a scout who saw Nady recently said that he is swinging the bat as well as he has seen in a while.  That's far more promising than his 166 big league plate appearances last season for the Nationals and Giants in which he hit just .184/.253/.316.

Rockies Interested In Gallardo, Garza, Gregg

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The Rockies are on the lookout for pitching help, and Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes that the team is "aggressively scouting" right-handers Yovani Gallardo and Matt Garza. The Rox are also "taking a look" at Kevin Gregg, writes Saunders.

Vice president of baseball operations Bill Geivett declined to discuss the team's specific approach, nor would he discuss specific trade targets, but he did tell Saunders: "I won't comment on anybody specifically. But we are going to watch them all." Colorado is also interested to see how Drew Pomeranz will fare following his most recent promotion. Pomeranz is scheduled to start for the Rockies on Sunday.

The Rockies are not one of the 10 teams on Gallardo's no-trade list, so Geivett won't have to work to circumvent that obstacle if he pushes for a deal with the Brewers. The Diamondbacks have been linked to Gallardo in the past day, and the Braves have been linked to Gregg as well. Saunders echoes an earlier report that the Rockies won't pursue Ricky Nolasco if the Marlins insist that teams pick up the remainder of his salary, which appears to be the case.

Ricky Nolasco Rumors: Thursday

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Significant trades remain rare in June, but the Marlins' Ricky Nolasco has four days left to join a club that has added Kevin Youkilis, Mark Ellis, Joel Hanrahan, Sean Burnett, Mark DeRosa, Chris Perez, Nate McLouth, Jeff Locke, and Charlie Morton in recent years.  Dodgers GM Ned Colletti told Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN today that there have been far more serious trade discussions five weeks from the deadline than he can ever recall, and you have to wonder if Colletti is thinking of his own discussions for Nolasco while making that comment.  The entire NL West plus the Orioles have been linked to the 30-year-old righty, who is scheduled to face the Padres tomorrow night.  Nolasco has about $6MM left on his contract, which will certainly be part of the trade negotiations.  The latest:

  • Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports report that the Marlins are seeking a "good" prospect as well as the full $6MM of salary relief in exchange for Nolasco. The financial implications of those demands have pushed the Rockies out of the running. The Dodgers are the front-runners, according to one executive, though the Giants and Padres are still involved in talks. The Orioles are "less confident" in their chances, and the Rangers "loom as a possibility," according to the FOX duo.
  • The Dodgers are likely to pay more of Nolasco's salary if it means saving a prospect, tweets Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles. The Dodgers are pleased with the current direction of their minor league system.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Dodgers and Marlins have indeed made progress in talks for Nolasco. One source tells Olney that there's a 70 percent chance the deal gets done.
  • The Marlins and Dodgers are indeed in talks about Nolasco, hears Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
  • As a Southern California native, Nolasco would naturally prefer to pitch on the West Coast, notes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.  The interest from the NL West bodes well for that goal, though the Red Sox scouted Nolasco's last start, writes Frisaro.  Nolasco's opinion on being a walking trade rumor?  "Whatever happens, happens," he told Frisaro.
  • What might it take to acquire Nolasco?  Bowden offers proposals for each NL West team in this ESPN article. 

Marlins Working To Trade Nolasco ASAP

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WEDNESDAY, 10:59pm: The Marlins are surprisingly open to eating some of Nolasco's contract, but only if the prospect return is significantly better than alternative deals, tweets Jim Bowden of ESPN.com.  Meanwhile, the Padres continue to have talks with the Marlins on multiple players, including Nolasco, but nothing is close or imminent, a source tells Bowden (Twitter link).

5:21pm: The Marlins have told other clubs that they have teams willing to take on all of the prorated portion of Nolasco's $11.5MM salary, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.  Nolasco is owed roughly $6MM between now and the end of the season.

TUESDAY, 12:41pm: The Marlins have been aggressively working to move starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco as soon as possible, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  So far the Orioles, Yankees, Diamondbacks, Padres, Rockies, and Giants have been connected to the righty, and the Marlins' aggressive approach was noted by Andy Martino of the New York Daily News yesterday.  And earlier today, ESPN's Jayson Stark wrote that Nolasco might win the "Most Likely to Get Traded Before the All-Star Break pool."  Moving Nolasco with over a month remaining until the July 31st trade deadline makes sense, because there's added value to a contender in having him for all of July.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new article on Nolasco, where he names the Giants, Dodgers, Padres, Rockies, and Orioles as interested parties (the NL West teams have expressed interest).  As opposed to Olney's report, Rosenthal writes, "The Marlins are 'kicking around' names in a potential Nolasco trade with clubs, sources say, but their talks have not progressed to the point where a deal is close."

Nolasco, 30, has a 3.68 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 0.81 HR/9, and 41.6% groundball rate in 100 1/3 innings this year, making him one of the better available starting pitchers.  He has about $6MM remaining on his contract, after which he'll be a free agent.  Another of the top starting pitchers available, Matt Garza, is under pursuit by the Padres and Dodgers, according to Rosenthal.  Any player traded midseason becomes ineligible for a qualifying offer in the offseason, removing the possibility of draft pick compensation and increasing the player's value to winter suitors.

Click here to see a leaderboard I've created of all the potentially available starting pitchers.

NL West Notes: Giants, Dodgers, Gonzalez, Rockies

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The Giants are hoping to get back to the .500 mark as they take on the Dodgers tonight and one might expect them to be eager to upgrade their roster for a late-season push.  However, we learned earlier today that San Francisco isn't planning to make a deal anytime soon.  At this stage, GM Brian Sabean believes that the asking price is simply too high for the desirable players on the block, but that can certianly change as we approach the deadline.  Here's more out of the NL West..

  • The Dodgers are determined to find an upgrade at third base and their pitching over the next five weeks, tweets JIm Bowden of ESPN.com.  The Dodgers have given Juan Uribe a great deal of time in the hot corner this season and so far he has responded with his best offensive season in a while, hitting .268/.356/.399 over 50 games.
  • Speaking of the Dodgers, they had multiple scouts watching Cuban right-hander Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez in his most recent game, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  The Dodgers are reportedly one of several clubs interested in Gonzalez and Red Sox GM Ben Cherington recently watched him throw in person.
  • The word in the scouting community is that Gonzalez could get as much as $60MM across five years, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
  • Any trade the Rockies make would likely happen after All-Star break in the two weeks before trading deadline on July 31st, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post.

Rockies Sign Reid Brignac

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The Rockies have signed Reid Brignac to a minor league deal, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).  The infielder will report to the club's Triple-A affiliate.

Brignac was designated for assignment by the Rockies in May and traded to the Yankees for $75K in cash within the ten day window.  However, the veteran elected free agency from the Bombers yesterday, giving Colorado an opportunity to welcome him back.  In 98 combined plate appearances for the two clubs, the 27-year-old posted a slash line of.185/.219/.261 this season.  For his career, the long-time Rays prospect has a .221/.262/.311 batting line in 814 career plate appearances.

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