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Twins Seek Pitching

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The Twins are looking to add pitching depth to their organization, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports. General manager Terry Ryan said he’s not set on acquiring a certain type of pitcher — he’s just looking for outs.

"We don't have enough pitching," Ryan said. "We need pitching, and we need it bad."

The Twins are 29th in baseball with a 5.05 team ERA. Only two teams have obtained fewer innings from their starters and no team induces fewer strikeouts per nine innings (5.8 K/9).

The Twins selected pitchers with seven of their first nine selections in this year's draft and they’ve signed every one of those arms except J.T. Chargois and Luke Bard. Executives from other teams have wondered if the Twins would trade players such as Denard Span and Josh Willingham for young pitching, according to Olney.

Rosenthal On Dempster, O’s, Jays, Astros, Indians

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Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com has the latest from the rumor mill in a pair of videos, the Rosenthal Report and Full Count. Here's what's going on …

  • The Cubs are shopping starter Ryan Dempster to multiple teams, including the Dodgers. Chicago is willing to include significant amounts of cash in any trade in hopes of landing better prospects. Dempster has 10-and-5 rights, however, and thus can veto any deal, although he's willing to move to a contender.
  • The Orioles are pursuing starting pitching and scouted both Dempster and Matt Garza this week, although the Diamondbacks' Joe Saunders may be a better trade fit for Baltimore.
  • The Blue Jays are asking around for pitching help, although they may end up sellers before the non-waiver trade deadline.
  • The Astros are willing to listen on "virtually all of their players." Younger players like Jed Lowrie and third baseman Chris Johnson are all in play, although it would take a huge offer to pry away second baseman Jose Altuve.
  • The Indians are unlikely to make a move for a DH type like Vladimir Guerrero or Manny Ramirez. Their bigger need is a player who can play left field — perhaps someone like Carlos Quentin — but they first need to figure out where they stand with Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore, who are both injured.
  • The Marlins will have trouble bolstering their weak offense because of a depleted farm system. With Emilio Bonifacio injured, their most obvious need is center field. The Twins' Denard Span and perhaps the Phillies' Shane Victorino are potential targets.
  • The Angels no longer have room in the starting lineup for the injured Vernon Wells now that Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout have solidified the outfield, and one rival GM thinks Wells could be released when he's ready to return from the disabled list.

Knobler On Pirates, Brewers, Morneau

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The trade market remains relatively quiet, but it’s starting to take shape, as Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com explains. Here are some details from Knobler:

  • Pirates GM Neal Huntington said this week that "you can't buy when people aren't selling." The 32-30 Pirates figure to be looking for offense this summer.
  • The Brewers are simultaneously preparing for the possibility of becoming sellers and suggesting they could become buyers. They’ve told their scouts to identify prospects to target in the farm systems of contending teams, yet they won’t necessarily sell. They remain interested in keeping Zack Greinke, whose contract expires after the season.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos asked the Twins about Justin Morneau, Knobler reports. Yet as one unnamed executive told Knobler “Alex calls about everyone." The Blue Jays are said to be particularly interested in Morneau, according to Knobler.

Olney On Red Sox, A’s, Trout, Harper, Morneau

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It’s still a little early for struggling teams to acknowledge to fans that it’s time to start looking ahead to 2013 and beyond, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes. As a result the trade market remains relatively quiet. Here are some of Olney’s notes on team needs and possible deals:

  • The Red Sox are now focused on adding starting pitching.
  • The Athletics are ready to talk trades now, so Brian Fuentes, Grant Balfour and Bartolo Colon are available.
  • General managers are impressed by Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, just like everyone else. One GM told Olney Trout’s faster than Rickey Henderson. "He just rockets around the bases; you don't find players that skilled," the GM said. “They're all tooled-up, and they know how to play," another GM said in reference to the pair of young stars.
  • Rival executives view Justin Morneau as a tremendously risky trade target because of his $14MM salary and history with concussions (Twitter link).
  • Olney had more details on the trade market last night.

Olney On Red Sox, Quentin, Willingham, Pirates

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ESPN's Buster Olney shared a number of items (via his Twitter feed) about a variety of hot stove topics and rumors…

Draft Signings: Rockies, Twins, Angels

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MLBTR has updated lists of which first and supplemental first round picks have agreed to terms. Here are Wednesday's notable draft signings from the second round and beyond…

  • The Rockies agreed to sign third round selection Tom Murphy for $454K bonus, Jim Callis of Baseball America tweets. The catcher profiles as an above-average hitter, according to Callis.
  • The Twins signed fifth round selection Tyler Duffey for $267K, Callis reports (on Twitter). Duffey, a right-handed pitcher, mixes in a slider and throws a fastball that sits in the 92-94 mph range.
  • The Angels signed fourth round selection Alex Yarbrough for $303K, Callis tweets. The second baseman has some power, according to Baseball America.
  • The Tigers agreed to terms with 15 selections including fifth rounder Joe Rogers and 10th rounder Charlie Gillies.

Draft Signings: Beck, Thompson, Copeland, Renda

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In a Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Keith Law listed some interesting names for the 2013 draft. College players like Austin Wilson and Ryne Stanek headline the crop along with high schoolers Austin Meadows and Clinton Hollon. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, here are the latest miscellaneous signings from this year's class…

  • The White Sox have signed second rounder Chris Beck for $600K, reports Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). Full slot value for the right-hander from Georgia Southern was $670K.
  • In addition to Beck, the White Sox have agreed to terms with 23 other draft picks according to a release. Fourth rounder Brandon Brennan highlights the list.
  • The Tigers have signed second rounder Jake Thompson for a straight slot $532K bonus, reports Callis (on Twitter). The high school right-hander from Texas was Detroit's top pick after forfeiting their first rounder to sign Prince Fielder.
  • The Nationals announced the signing of 23 draft picks in a press release, including second rounder Tony Renda and fourth rounder Brandon Miller.
  • The Rays have signed third rounder Bralin Jackson for $325K, reports Callis (on Twitter). The high school outfielder from Missouri was slotted for a $216K bonus.
  • The Marlins have signed supplemental third rounder Kolby Copeland for a straight slot $367K, reports Callis (on Twitter). The pick was compensation for failing to sign the previous year's third rounder. Kendall Rogers of Perfect Game USA first reported the news (on Twitter).
  • The Twins have signed fifth rounder Tyler Duffey, reports MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger (on Twitter). Slot money for the pick is $267K.
  • The Astros have signed five more draft picks according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (on Twitter), including sixth rounder Brett Phillips.

Twins To Sign Byron Buxton

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6:00pm: Buxton obtains a $6MM bonus, Jim Callis of Baseball America reports.

TUESDAY, 8:30am: Buxton's bonus will surpass that of first overall selection Carlos Correa, Ben Goessling of the Pioneer Press reports.

MONDAY: The Twins have reached an agreement with second overall pick Byron Buxton, pending a physical, according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Buxton arrived in the Twin Cities on Monday and will take his physical tomorrow.

There are no details on Buxton's signing bonus as of yet, but the recommended slot for the No. 2 overall pick is $6.2MM. With No. 1 overall pick Carlos Correa signing well under slot, there's a chance that Buxton could receive the largest bonus of the 2012 draft.

Neal reports that Buxton will likely report to the Twins' rookie league team in Fort Myers, Fla., and that he could advance to Minnesota's Appalachian League affiliate in Elizabethton, Tenn. It was reported over the weekend that the two sides were near an agreement.

More Draft Signings: Reds, Angels, Twins, O’s

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We'll keep track of tonight's notable draft bonuses from the second round and later right here…

  • Jim Callis of Baseball America tweets that the Reds have signed third round pick Dan Langfield for the recommended slot value of $436,800. Callis writes that Langfield can get his fastball up to 97mph, but his slider may be an even better pitch.
  • The Reds have also signed second round pick Tanner Rahier for the No. 78 overall pick's full slot bonus of $649,700, according to Callis (Twitter link). Callis notes that the high school shortstop out of California has a "promising bat," and praises his instincts and energy.
  • R.J. Alvarez, the Angels third round selection who signed earlier today, received a bonus of $416,300, which was the recommendation for his slot, according to this tweet from Callis.
  • The Twins have signed third round pick Adam Brett Walker, tweets Callis. Walker, the 97th overall pick in the draft, was reported to be one of the most powerful college bats in the draft. The Jacksonville first baseman signed for full slot value — a total of $490,400.
  • Steve Melewski of MASNsports writes that the Orioles signed non-drafted University of Maryland right-hander Sander Beck. The O's drafted the local product in the 33rd round of the 2011 draft, but he returned to Maryland for his senior season. Melewski adds that Baltimore also signed 19th-rounder Josh Hader, a high school lefty and another product of Maryland.

Twins To Sign J.O. Berrios

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The Twins have agreed to sign supplemental first round draft pick J.O. Berrios, Jim Callis of Baseball America tweets. Berrios, the 32nd overall selection, obtains a $1.55MM bonus.

Berrios, a high school right-hander, has a fastball that sits in the 93-95 mph range, a changeup and a sharp slider, according to Baseball America. MLB recommends a bonus of $1.55MM for the 32nd overall selection, which the Twins obtained as compensation for losing free agent Michael Cuddyer.

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