Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Wagner, Holliday, Brewers
Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up. Let's dive in…
- Don't expect the Mets to just give away Billy Wagner as a salary dump. He'll have "actual trade value" this winter, and his $8MM club option would not be outrageous money on a one year deal if he's healthy.
- Even if his team declines the option, they could offer him arbitration and receive two high draft picks if he signs elsewhere since he projects to be a Type-A free agent. Wagner would be much more than a six-week rent in that case.
- Matt Holliday's performance with the Cardinals has undoubtedly boosted his stock as an impending free agent. One GM still thinks Jason Bay is a comparable player on the open market, but Holliday is better defensively, younger, and better at hitting breaking balls than Bay.
- The real question is how each player will age, which is impossible to say at this point.
- The Brewers have yet to place veterans like Mike Cameron and Trevor Hoffman on trade waivers, but with the team now out of contention, Rosenthal asks "why not?"
- GM Doug Melvin is disinclined to make such deals because he knows the return may not be significant, but Hoffman in particular would be attractive. The Rockies have already discussed him internally.
- Craig Counsell, Braden Looper, and Jason Kendall could have value as well.
- Earlier this season there was talk that Mark Mulder and Ben Sheets could help teams in the second half, but that hasn't happened. Sheets has decided that the risk of a setback isn't worth the reward of an accelerated return, but he should be healthy for next season.
- Mulder has only thrown 12.2 IP over the last two seasons, but he's been working with his former pitching coach Rick Peterson and supposedly wants to pitch this season.
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Odds & Ends: Padres, Rockies, Second Basemen
Some links to peruse this morning:
- Joel Sherman at the New York Post asked seven top team executives who they'd rather have manning second base over the next five years: Dustin Pedroia or Robinson Cano? Click over for the results.
- Bill Center at the San Diego Union-Tribune hears that the the Padres are interested in keeping impending free agent backstop Henry Blanco.
- The Rockies' newly-signed lefty phenom Tyler Matzek said a "gut feeling" led him to ink his $3.9MM deal with the team with only 10 minutes left till deadline, forgoing his career at the University of Oregon, according to the Associated Press. My gut says that $3.9MM is kind of a lot of money, but that could be just me.
Odds And Ends: Zambrano, Sheffield, Rockies
Links for the morning…
- Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times believes the Cubs need Carlos Zambrano, even if he hasn't endeared himself to everyone.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post suspects that baseball is about to retire Gary Sheffield. After all, it will be hard for a "41-year-old, oft-injured malcontent" to find work.
- Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle looks at the Rockies and sees a team without glaring weaknesses.
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times lists the best and worst free agent signings the Cubs have made since 2000.
- Sure, the Yankees and Red Sox are big spenders, but, as this Boston Globe piece shows, they develop lots of talent, too.
Odds & Ends: Padilla, Riggleman, Cabrera, Twins
Some links to wrap up your Thursday night…
- Scott Miller of CBSSports.com notes that Vicente Padilla brings hefty baggage with him to Los Angeles. He points out that the circumstances are similar to the arrival of one Manny Ramirez last year.
- The Nationals will conduct a search for a permanent manager in the offseason, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Jim Riggleman, the interim manager, will be a candidate for the job.
- R.J. Anderson at FanGraphs discusses the success of of Everth Cabrera, whom the Padres swiped from the division-rival Rockies in the Rule V Draft.
- And the Twins signed a German player with a family background in ballet, according to John W. Miller of the Wall Street Journal.
Stark On Wagner, Padres, Crawford
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark shows that a number of contenders have vulnerable-looking closers. The Cubs and Phillies two of many teams with shaky arms at the back of the 'pen. Here are the details and the rest of Stark's rumors:
- At least one scout believes John Smoltz would have been the perfect arm for the Marlins to add to their 'pen.
- However, clubs pursuing Smoltz heard that he wanted to start, at least for now.
- A scout who watched Billy Wagner throw has "no doubt" that Wagner could help a team win. The Rays and Marlins are thought to have interest in Wagner, but neither team would be likely to give up much of a prospect unless the Mets picked up salary.
- Stark hears that the Padres pulled Heath Bell and Adrian Gonzalez back off waivers after multiple teams claimed them.
- Mark Hendrickson cleared waivers, and can now be traded to any team. The Rockies were interested before the deadline, but they may decide to see where the Billy Wagner bidding goes before pursuing Hendrickson again.
- One rival GM considers the Cards "the best team in the league right now."
- The Royals don't seem interested in trading their top pitchers. They pulled Brian Bannister back from waivers and though Joakim Soria and Gil Meche are on waivers now, they aren't likely to be dealt.
- Clubs eyeing Carl Crawford believe the Rays are becoming less likely to deal him. Desmond Jennings could become the Rays' left fielder, but they'd probably have to be overwhelmed to part with Crawford.
- It's possible that Jamie Moyer could draw interest as a trade candidate after the season.
- One AL exec isn't sure Bryce Harper's the guarantee people perceive him to be.
- Stark points out that the Astros traded Ivan Rodriguez just as his incentives were about to start kicking in.
- An official of a team that inquired about Stephen Strasburg before the draft says that Scott Boras invoked Daisuke Matsuzaka's name without specifically saying he wanted $50MM for his client.
Rockies, Tyler Matzek Agree To Terms
The Rockies agreed to terms with 11th overall pick Tyler Matzek, according to Tracy Ringolsby of Inside the Rockies. His signing bonus is worth $3.9MM. The Rox obviously went well over slot, but they were able to sign the high school lefty without committing to a Major League deal. Click here to see Matzek's MLB.com scouting report.
Gammons’ Latest: Tate, Turner, Oliver
In his latest blog post at ESPN.com, Peter Gammons says that there "are rumblings that the commissioner's office wants to hold off the announcement of some of the bigger deals so they do not impact others." He hears the following deals are done according to GMs:
- Padres and first rounder Donovan Tate at $6.7MM, which had been done for five days
- Tigers and first rounder Jacob Turner at $6.7MM
- Tigers and second rounder Andy Oliver at $1MM
Gammons also says that the Giants and first rounder Zack Wheeler are close to a deal at $3.4MM, and that there are "conflicting reports" on Colorado signing Tyler Matzek and Texas signing Matt Purke, both first round picks. The Indians and Alex White are deadlocked, but the Tribe could go near $2MM.
Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Matzek, Mets, Helm
I think we're in the eye of the draft storm, because things suddenly got quiet…
- Baseball America's Jim Callis reports that the Red Sox have signed ninth rounder Kendal Volz for $550K. Volz was considered a first round talent coming into the year, but a down season at Baylor dropped his stock.
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post notes that Rockies first rounder Tyler Matzek didn't attend classes at Oregon today, an indication that he's interested in signing. Renck says it's hard to believe he'd sign for less than the $2.875MM Shelby Miller got from the Cardinals.
- The Mets are "still haggling" with top pick Steven Matz, according to SI.com's Jon Heyman.
- The Diamondbacks signed seventh rounder Matt Helm for $500,000, according to Callis.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus writes that there is "very little optimism right now coming out of clubs with unsigned picks." He estimates that we're looking at as many as six first rounders going unsigned by the midnight deadline.
- Make sure you check out our list of the first round picks who have signed to stay up to date with all the goings on of the draft.
- To get the fastest updates, follow MLBTR on Twitter and subscribe to our transactions-only feed.
Draft Updates: Brewers, Red Sox, Matzek
More updates, as the deadline approaches…
- Baseball America's Jim Callis reports that the Brewers signed third rounder Brooks Hall for $700k. Hall was a two-way player in high school, but he'll focus on pitching as a pro.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com points out that the Red Sox, who didn't draft any Scott Boras clients, have spent aggresively on players who fell because of perceived signability issues.
- DJ Bean of WEEI.com shows that the Red Sox have a history of drafting and spending aggressively under Theo Epstein. However, they are able to "draw a line in the sand" when necessary.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post hears that the Rockies and Tyler Matzek are still far apart in their negotiations, though that doesn't mean they won't agree to a deal.
Draft Updates: Miller, Yankees, Jays
More updates on the final day to sign draft picks…
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that top Cardinals pick Shelby Miller is in St. Louis for a physical. GM John Mozeliak says talks are "moving in a positive direction" and one official says the sides could end up agreeing on a deal worth about $3.25MM.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo hears that the Cards are making progress with Miller, but doubts they'll hand out $3.25MM.
- Mayo reports that first rounders Tyler Matzek (Rockies) and Matt Purke (Rangers) all have substantial gaps to overcome if they're going to sign today.
- Zack Wheeler and the Giants are now less than $1MM apart, Mayo reports.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America reports that the Yankees signed righty Caleb Cotham for $675k, which is more than four times the recommended limit for a fifth rounder.
- Callis reports that the Blue Jays signed 18th rounder Daniel Webb for $450k, triple the recommended ceiling for late round picks.