According to MLB.com's Jason Beck, the Tigers have signed sixth rounder Daniel Fields to a contract believed to be worth seven figures.
Tigers Rumors
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.
Draft Updates: Unsigned Picks, Tigers, Brewers
Two hours to go…
- ESPN's Keith Law says he's hearing "lots of reports of deals that are done, including "unsigned" first-rounders, whose contracts are being throttled by MLB to prevent other players/agents from using them as leverage." He expects there to be a flood of announcements from 11pm-12:30am ET tonight, so stay tuned.
- MLB.com's Jason Beck reports that the Tigers continue to negotiate with the agents for first rounder Jacob Turner, second rounder Andrew Oliver, and sixth rounder Daniel Fields. Turner and Oliver are Scott Boras clients, Fields isn't.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo says the Brewers continue to be aggressive in the later rounds, landing 16th rounder Scooter Gennett.
Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Magglio, Marlins, Yanks
It's going to be a busy night, so I hope you've got a comfy chair…
- ESPN's Peter Gammons writes that the Nationals and Stephen Strasburg need each other. I have to agree with that.
- MLB.com's Jason Beck notes that the Tigers still have to make a roster move to get the newly acquired Aubrey Huff on the 25-man roster, but GM Dave Dombrowski confirmed it would not involve Magglio Ordonez.
- The Marlins signed second rounder Bryan Berglund for $572,500 according to Baseball America's Jim Callis, a touch over slot. We first learned of this signing over the weekend, but now we have a dollar figure.
- Callis also reports that the Yankees have signed 16th rounder Bryan Mitchell to a deal worth $800,000. Obviously, that's way over slot.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus tweets that 10 of top 15 picks were still unsigned when we woke up this morning, and that that's still the case with less than six hours until the deadline. Should be a fun night.
- Kiley McDaniel of BP says he was told that another club fired an international scout last week for bonus skimming.
Draft Updates: White Sox, Tigers, Royals, Phils
4:33pm: John Manuel of Baseball America reports that the Phillies will sign Colvin for $900k, or six times as much as the commissioner recommends. The Phillies have now signed everyone they drafted through the first 13 rounds.
4:22pm: More updates, with under seven hours remaining before the deadline to sign picks…
- ESPN.com's Keith Law says the White Sox won't sign third rounder Bryan Morgado unless there's a last-minute turn of events.
- Law reports that the Phillies are working towards an agreement with seventh round pick Brody Colvin. However, Law hears that the Phillies aren't on the brink of signing the righty.
- The Tigers had their top three unsigned picks, including first rounder Jacob Turner, undergo physicals today, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck.
- It's too early to tell how their picks will work out, but J.J. Cooper of Baseball America says the Royals are spending aggressively on the draft for the second straight year.
Tigers Acquire Aubrey Huff
2:47pm: According to a team press release, the Tigers acquired Huff for minor league righty Brett Jacobson. The Orioles will assign Jacobson, who entered the year as the Tigers' 10th best prospect according to Baseball America, to Class-A Frederick.
2:43pm: Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Tigers are close to acquiring Aubrey Huff from the Orioles. The Tigers, who have been looking for a bat, can now play Carlos Guillen in the field, which gives them more flexibility. Huff makes $8MM and becomes a free agent after the season.
Draft Updates: Ackley, Cards, Tigers, Rangers
Here's a few looks at some clubs who are still working to sign their top picks…
- Ryan Divish reports that the Mariners have requested that first-round pick Dustin Ackley take a physical. Divish speculates that this could signal the two sides becoming closer to a deal.
- The Cardinals are still optimistic that they'll reach a deal with first-rounder Shelby Miller, according to Matthew Leach from MLB.com. The commissioner's recommended slot is $1.386MM for the 19th overall pick, but it's clear that Miller will receive more than that, Leach says. Miller himself was quoted, saying: "Right now, I'm definitely looking to sign a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. It feels good." Sounds like good reason to be optimistic to me. UPDATE: B.J. Rains tweets that Miller is on his way to St. Louis for a physical as well.
- Jason Beck writes that the Tigers have 21 picks that remain unsigned, including first-rounder Jacob Turner and second-rounder Andrew Oliver. Both Turner and Oliver are being advised by Scott Boras, which could complicate the signings. Turner was rumored to be seeking a deal similar to Rick Porcello's $7.285MM deal before even being drafted by the Tigers. Oliver is coming off a rough season which dropped him to the second round. Beck writes that he could raise his stock by returning to Oklahoma State for another season.
- The Rangers are "doing everything they can" to sign first-rounder Matthew Purke, says T.R. Sullivan. Purke passed his physical, and has met with club president Nolan Ryan. According to Sullivan though: "all indications from both sides are there is still a substantial gap to bridge before a deal gets done."
The Tigers And Magglio Ordonez
After today's game against the Red Sox, only 81 plate appearances stand between Magglio Ordonez and an $18MM payday next year. The Tigers, who will have to pay at least $3MM to buy out Ordonez's 2010 option, face a $15MM decision: what to do with Magglio?
He's not hitting this year, especially against righties, against whom he has a .658 OPS and just two homers. As for his glove, Maggs has been slightly below average defensively since the beginning of last year if you go by UZR/150. So why not limit Ordonez's at bats against righties in favor of Clete Thomas (.771 career OPS vs. RHP) and Ryan Raburn (.735 career OPS vs. RHP)?
Two reasons. First, Magglio has started hitting. Coming into today's game, he was hitting .295/.340/.523 since July 4th. Secondly, his agent, Scott Boras would be sure to remind the Tigers of his client's recent hot streak if they benched him, and Boras could file a grievance.
So what should the Tigers do? Are they stuck paying Magglio $18MM next year? Or can they wiggle out from under the 2010 option without compromising their playoff chances or infuriating the players' union?
Here's what a couple of analysts are saying: R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs says the idea of paying Magglio $18MM next year is extremely unattractive from the Tigers' perspective. Rob Neyer of ESPN.com expects the option to vest, so he says the Tigers have to win the division this year and get reasonably good production from Ordonez next year or someone needs to be fired.
Justin Duchscherer May Return Tuesday
Oakland pitcher Justin Duchscherer may make his big league season debut Tuesday against the Yankees, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Duchscherer, 31, had arthroscopic elbow surgery on March 31st.
Slusser says other teams have been scouting Duchscherer's rehab appearances, and the Tigers and Red Sox are among the clubs expected to be represented tonight. Whether these scouting missions fall outside of the teams' normal coverage and imply trade interest, I don't know.
Back on July 31st, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports suggested salary relief (about $1.06MM remains) and a "modest prospect" might be an acceptable return for the A's. As of right now, Duchscherer projects as a Type B free agent in the American League. Could the Rangers be a match? Here's what ESPN's Buster Olney wrote in today's blog:
I'd guess that the Rangers will claim him on waivers, whenever he passes through.
The Brewers and Dodgers are a couple teams seemingly on the lookout for pitching, though their interest level in Duchscherer is unknown.
Rosenthal On Angels, Rangers, Rockies
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Angels are looking for rotation upgrades and have no budget limitations. GM Tony Reagins says he's constantly evaluating the benefits of adding an expensive piece to the team. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:
- The Rangers have claimed several cheap bats off waivers, but have yet to acquire any of them.
- At least one GM expects the Rockies to win the NL West and the Cards to win the World Series.
- The Rockies are still looking for a reliever and a bench bat.
- Rosenthal says the Tigers have no choice but to keep playing Magglio Ordonez, even though his expensive 2010 option will vest after 90 more trips to the plate.
