Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rockies Rumors

Draft Notes: Marlins, Rockies, Bryant, Padres

By | at

The new draft slotting system essentially allows teams to "trade down" with themselves, writes Dave Cameron of Fangraphs. Cameron uses the Astros' selection of Carlos Correa last year as an example, stating that by saving money on the No. 1 overall pick and re-investing their draft pool later on Lance McCullers Jr. and Rio Ruiz, the team employed the same philosophy that NFL and NBA teams do when they trade down: increase the quantity of good talent rather than focus on one elite player. Cameron adds that such a tactic is highly risky, as the No. 1 overall slot has produced significantly more value (in terms of WAR) than even the No. 2 and No. 3 spots in the draft, historically speaking. He does concede that in years without a consensus No. 1 talent, the strategy can make a lot of sense. Here are Wednesday's draft-related tidbits…

  • The Marlins are likely to focus on college players early on, specifically position players, writes Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Spencer writes that the Fish will likely select San Diego third baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant or UNC third baseman Colin Moran if either is available at No. 6. If both are gone, they could shift to Nevada right-hander Braden Shipley and target a bat later on.
  • The Rockies are also eyeing Kris Bryant at the No. 3 spot, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Bryant, regarded as the most powerful bat in the draft, has been popping up in rumors more and more as the draft nears. Some feel he has No. 1 overall potential.
  • After focusing heavily on high school pitching in last year's draft, the Padres are likely to focus on bats, assistant GM of player personnel Chad MacDonald tells Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Particularly, the Friars will be looking for middle infield help.
  • MacDonald has scouted prep right-hander Kohl Stewart, and the Padres are enamored with his "electric" talent, but he's very unlikely to be on the board by the No. 13 selection. "He's the best high school arm in the country," said MacDonald.

Minor Moves: Sean Gallagher, Matt Fox

By | at

Today's minor moves…

  • The Rockies inked pitcher Sean Gallagher to a minor league deal today, tweets Chris Cotillo of CLNS Radio. Tracy Ringolsby of ROOT Sports confirmed the signing (also via Twitter). The righthander had been playing with the Atlantic League's Sugar Land Skeeters. According to the Denver Post's Troy Renck, the Rockies have been looking hard for minor league arms after multiple injuries and will send Gallagher to Double-A Tulsa as a starter. (Twitter links.) Gallagher, 27, first reached the bigs as a 21-year-old for the Cubs in 2007. The former top-100 prospect never panned out, however, and last appeared in the majors in 2010 as a reliever for the Padres and Pirates, sporting a cumulative 5.77 ERA over 57 2/3 innings. He was similarly ineffective as a minor league starter for the Reds' Triple-A affiliate last year, posting a 4.92 ERA over 139 innings. He failed to demonstrate strikeout ability or control, logging 5.4 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9.
  • The Mets have signed right-handed starter Matt Fox from the independent league York Revolution, MLBTR has learned.  He'll start for their Triple-A Las Vegas club.  Fox is represented by David Sloane of Taurus Sports Associates.  Fox, a supplemental draft pick of the Twins in '04 as compensation for the loss of free agent Eddie Guardado, made four big league appearances for the Twins and Red Sox in 2010.  He pitched with Boston's Triple-A club in '11 and was in the Seattle organization last year.  Several former big leaguers hope to follow Fox from the Revolution back to a Major League organization, including Juan Rincon, Brett Tomko, Michael Wuertz, Andy Marte, and Eric Patterson.
  • Notable former Major Leaguers such as Ian Snell, Dontrelle Willis, Ramon Castro, and Ben Broussard are currently on the Long Island Ducks' roster, but as we learned yesterday from Danny Knobler of CBS Sports, Carlos Zambrano has not yet signed a contract despite agreeing to terms.  It appears Zambrano will exhaust his options to join a Major League organization first.

Latest On Roy Oswalt: Contract Details, Future

By | at

Last week, the Rockies struck a deal with Roy Oswalt, signing him to a minor league pact with an eye on the 35-year-old joining their rotation and providing a boost as the season progresses. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports provides a very detailed breakdown…

  • Oswalt will earn the pro-rated version of a $2.3MM base salary once he reaches the Major Leagues, and will make $15K per month in the meantime while in the minors.
  • The contract includes a $400K roster bonus for being added to the big league club, $1.35MM of incentives for number of starts made, and $1.25MM worth of incentives for innings pitched.
  • Oswalt will receive $250K for reaching eight, 10 and 12 starts. He will receive an additional $200K for his 14th, 16th and 18th starts.
  • Oswalt will receive $100K for reaching 50 innings pitched, $150K for reaching 60 innings, and $200K every 10 innings from 70-110.
  • The contract has out clauses on June 18 and June 28. If Oswalt is not on the Major League roster by either of those dates, he has the option to request his release if he is not promoted within 72 hours.

Meanwhile, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports writes that Oswalt is out to re-establish himself as a quality Major League pitcher and repair the damage to his reputation. Many in the game have been turned off by Oswalt's late starts, his selectivity over where he will pitch and his inability to mesh with what was reportedly a very positive Rangers clubhouse in 2012.

According to Heyman, Oswalt wants to pitch beyond 2013, and that includes joining future teammates in Spring Training rather than sitting out the first month or two of the season as he's done in 2012-13.

Heyman also reports that the Rockies weren't the only team to show interest in Oswalt this time around, but the veteran rebuffed "a couple" of other offers to eventually sign with Colorado.

Prospect Rumor Roundup: Odorizzi, Butler, Yelich

By | at

You can't begin a month much better than Jake Odorizzi did during his start on May 5th against the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox. The young pitching prospect combined with three relievers to no-hit Boston's minor league affiliate. Odorizzi worked seven innings while walking four batters and striking out three. He was removed from the game early due to workload limitations. Relievers Frank De Los Santos, Kirby Yates and Jeff Beliveau preserved the no-no.

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times spoke with Odorizzi, who said he had all his weapons working during the game. "Everything was going my way. The defense was good behind me. It seemed everything was hit right at someone. Just kind of one of those days where everything goes your way." He has now held opponents scoreless in each of his last two starts (12 innings).

Although it's easy to get excited about Odorizzi's quick start to the season, the hype comes with caveats. The young hurler has always been an extreme flyball pitcher and his groundball rate is well below average on the year at slightly more than 22%. 

Odorizzi's pitching repertoire includes solid stuff but he lacks "plus stuff." He has average control and above-average command of his offerings: an 87-92 mph fastball, slider, curveball and change-up. In pre-season top prospects lists, Keith Law of ESPN (68th), Baseball America (92nd), and MLB.com (42nd) all ranked Odorizzi amongst the top 100 in the game. Baseball America's scouting report referred to the hurler's ceiling as that of a No. 3 or 4 starter.

Originally selected 32nd overall by the Milwaukee Brewers during that 2008 amateur draft, the Illinois native has been traded twice in his young career. He was sent to the Kansas City Royals in December 2010 during the Zack Greinke deal. Almost exactly two years later, Odorizzi was flipped to Tampa Bay in the James Shields/Wade Davis swap. If Tampa Bay — specifically its pitching staff with the fifth worst ERA in baseball — continues to struggle into the second half of 2013, the pitching prospect could become a big-league option later in the year.

Prospect Tidbits: Selected 46th overall in the 2012 amateur draft, Colorado Rockies pitching prospect Eddie Butler is off to a hot start to his career. Beginning the 2013 season in A ball, he's allowed just 18 hits in 41 innings of work. If the Radford University alum continues to pitch like this he could make quick work of the minor leagues…..The Miami Marlins brought in a lot of minor league talent during last November's shocking trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. Despite that, prospects originally drafted by the club continue to see their values soar. Outfielder Christian Yelich went 5-for-6 with two triples and a home run on May 8th. As MiLB.com's Ashley Marshall tells us, the performance also caught the attention of his manager. "It was one of the most impressive displays of a young hitter I have ever seen," Andy Barkett said. It raised Yelich's average to .343 on the year…..Baltimore's Dylan Bundy reached the big leagues in his first full pro season in 2012 but his development in '13 was halted by an injury. The bad news gives his Oklahoma high school opponent and friend Archie Bradley a chance to close the gap between the two a little bit. After five dominating starts in the potent California League (43 strikeouts, 1.26 ERA in 28 2/3 innings), the Arizona Diamondbacks promoted the pitching prospect to Double-A and he's struck out 11 batters with a 1.13 ERA in eight innings over two starts.

NL Notes: Pence, Rockies, Lutz

By | at

Hunter Pence felt guilty after being traded from the Phillies to the Giants last season, Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News reports. "To be honest with you, I felt really guilty," says Pence. "I was heavily invested in bringing the Phillies back, and it felt like… I felt guilty. I felt like it was my fault that it fell apart." Pence hit .271/.336/.447 for the Phillies in 2012, and the team was 45-56 when it dealt Pence near the end of July. Here are more notes from around the National League.

  • The Rockies are off to a surprising start, but Jeff Francis and Juan Nicasio haven't been positive parts of it, and it remains to be seen how long they'll be in the rotation, the Denver Post's Troy Renck writes. Francis has a 7.27 ERA thus far, and Nicasio has only lasted longer than five innings once this season.
  • The Rockies might have payroll flexibility to take on salary in a trade for a starter at midseason, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. But that payroll flexibility will be tied to increased revenue, a club official says.
  • Outfielder Donald Lutz of the Reds, who made his big-league debut last week, is likely the first German-raised player in MLB history, says Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. Lutz was born in the U.S., and his father is American, but his mother is German, and Lutz moved to Germany as a baby. Morosi points out that Germany lags behind the Netherlands and Italy in its development of baseball players, but that could easily change, since Germany is so populous.

Rockies Sign Roy Oswalt

By | at

FRIDAY: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that Oswalt will be able to earn more than $4MM should he reach all of the incentives in his contract.

THURSDAY: The Rockies have signed pitcher Roy Oswalt to a minor-league contract, the team tweets. Oswalt had previously tweeted to expect "exciting news."

USATSI_6395942

The Rockies will send Oswalt to extended spring training, the Denver Post's Troy Renck tweets. It appears likely that the Rockies will eventually promote him if he pitches well in the minors, although that is not certain.

It's not yet clear what Oswalt's role with the Rockies might be, although he has said that he prefers to start. The Rockies' rotation currently includes Jorge De La Rosa, Jeff Francis, Juan Nicasio, Jon Garland and Tyler Chatwood, with Jhoulys Chacin returning from injury to start on Sunday. Oswalt's deal contains out clauses, Renck writes.

Oswalt's agent, Bob Garber of RMG Baseball, said in March that his client hoped to pitch for a contender in 2013. He had previously been connected to the Phillies and Mets. 

Oswalt pitched 59 innings for the Rangers in 2012, with a 5.80 ERA but 9.0 K/9 and 1.68 BB/9. The righty has a 3.28 ERA in his career, pitching for the Astros, Phillies and Rangers. Oswalt did not rank in MLBTR's list of the offseason's top 50 free agents.

Steve Adams contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images (Matthew Emmons).

Quick Hits: Cubs, Blue Jays, Unroe, Angels

By | at

Earlier today, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts presented his plans for a $300MM renovation on Wrigley Field and made waves when he said that the club may have to move to a new park if certain requests are not met.  After his presentation, Ricketts told David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com that his focus is still on making things work at Wrigley.  "We also need to generate the revenue we need to compete as a franchise," Ricketts added. "There has been some question as to whether or not we can put up a revenue generating video board and signage in our own outfield and if we can't then at some point we've got to look at other options. But I don't think it's now. We really believe that we are going to be able to work this out and move forward."  Here's more from around baseball..

  • Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet looked at potential infield trade targets for the Blue Jays.  BN-S suggests that Brendan Ryan of the Mariners and Alex Gonzalez of the Brewers are among those that could make sense for Toronto.
  • High school shortstop Riley Unroe is seeing his stock soar as he was viewed to a fifth-to-seventh round talent but could now find himself going as early as late in the first round and in the sandwich round, at worst, writes Allan Simpson of Perfect Game.  Keith Law of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) recently wrote that he personally sees Unroe as a third round talent but wouldn't be surprised to see him go higher.
  • Despite their $148MM payroll and World Series expectations, it no longer seems like a fluke that the Angels are struggling, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.  The Halos snapped a four-game losing streak earlier today to bring their record to 10-17.

Yankees Acquire Chris Nelson

By | at

The Yankees announced that they have acquired infielder Chris Nelson for cash considerations or a player to be named later.  The Bombers moved Francisco Cervelli to the 60-day disabled list in order to make room on the 40-man roster for their newest acquisition.

We learned yesterday that the Yankees have had trade talks with the Rockies about Nelson, who was recently designated for assignment to make room for the promotion of Nolan Arenado.  The 27-year-old posted a .242/.282/.318 slash line in 68 PA as the Rockies’ regular third baseman this season.  Prior to that, he hit .284/.327/.427 in 593 PA from 2010-12.  

Nelson has played mostly third and second in the majors, and also played shortstop in the minor leagues.  With the Yankees, he’ll presumably provide extra support at third while Kevin Youkilis is on the mend.

Rockies, Astros Complete Wilton Lopez Trade

By | at

The Rockies announced that they have received outfielder Jose Monzon from the Astros as the player to be named later in the Wilton Lopez trade.  The 21-year-old will report to extended spring training before being assigned by Colorado.

Colorado received Lopez and a PTBNL or cash considerations from the Astros in exchange for starter Alex White and minor leaguer Alex Gillingham in December.  Lopez hasn't been terribly sharp so far in 2013 as he has posted a 6.17 ERA across 11 and 2/3 innings of work, though he does have eight strikeouts with no walks issued.

Monzon has yet to advance above Rookie ball in his four seasons in the Houston organization.  The youngster was not rated amongst the top 30 prospects in the Astros' farm system by Baseball America.

 

AL Notes: Astros, Draft, Andino, Nelson

By | at

The Astros haven't yet decided who they're taking with the first overall pick in the 2013 Draft, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports. Possible candidates for the top pick include college pitchers Mark Appel, Jonathan Gray and Sean Manaea; college hitter Kris Bryant; and high school outfielders Clint Frazier and Austin Meadows. "I think it's important to keep scouting them until the very end," says Astros scouting director Mike Elias. "We're making sure we're keeping the field as open as we can. We are not going to make that decision when there's no reason to, six weeks before the Draft." The Astros' draft signing bonus pool, which stands at $11.7MM this year, could play into their decision about who to draft. In 2012, the Astros took Carlos Correa first overall and signed him for significantly less than his bonus pool allotment, allowing them to take high-upside talents like Lance McCullers Jr. later in the draft. Here are more notes from around the American League.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top